'I've been an idiot.' Harry thought to himself as he drifted aimlessly through the darkness. He knew where he was. He knew he could control everything around him. He was drifting in his soul room. Yugi had explained the concept to him once when he was younger. 'Crap' He thought.
Thinking in one's soul room was, dangerous. A stray thought had more power here than one could imagine. Simply thinking of the memory altered the very reality around him and Harry fell to the newly formed ground.
"I don't understand." The higher pitched, younger voice of a thirteen year old Harry Potter could be heard to his right. Lying on the ground, Harry turned his head to see his younger self meditating, sitting in the lotus position with his eyes closed. "What good will this be in a duel?"
The older Harry turned to his head the other way and saw Yugi, who looked exactly the same as he did now, mirroring his position. "Contrary to what Kaiba, Joey, and even I have told you, there is more to life than duelling. You are growing stronger every day. We don't have a precedent for you; as a result we don't have any idea of your limits. Keeping your mind clear is the best way to teach you discipline and control."
'Even then, Yugi had such faith in me.' The older Harry thought. Looking back at his younger self he saw the eye of Anubis appear on his forehead signalling him using his power to enter his soul room for the first time. He knew what he was looking at. And he decided he was finished looking at his memories.
The world faded away from him leaving him in the dark once more. But this time, the world rotated. If one was to look, it would seem as if Harry stood up in the abyss. But Harry knew he had not moved. This was his world, and it would do his bidding.
He snapped his fingers, and light filled his vision. Streams of light lined the now visible room. This room was the manifestation of his soul. And true to his nature, it was chaos. The walls were black, but lined sporadically with light. A small collection of duel monsters cards, representing his power, sat upon a desk in the corner, all of the furniture was old fashioned, representing his maturity. In the centre of the room sat a crystal ball. In it, the swirling kaleidoscope of colour that encircled the world of the gods shone brightly. This ball represented his connection to the gods. He drew on it when he summoned Obelisk against the Gravekeeper Chieftain. And he dove into it every time he visited the realm of the gods himself.
Five thousand years ago, the owner of the millennium key would have crowned him Pharaoh upon seeing this orb.
"You were an idiot." The voice of the Dark Magician could be heard from a dark corner of the room.
"I agree." Harry muttered, summoning a chair for himself from the ether. "Mahad was never able to get in here."
"Mahad was connected to Atem and, as his reincarnation, Yugi. I on the other hand, am connected only to you. You are the embodiment of the first and most powerful Dark Magician. I exist, and am ordered to protect you, by divine decree." Harry's own green eyes could be seen glowing from the corner. "We are connected. Our souls are bound." The Dark Magician left his dark corner and summoned his own chair to sit upon. "You had no reason to fight Nightshroud. Your antics before your duel were idiotic."
"Which ones?" Harry asked crossing his legs. "The jumping into a volcano? Protecting the slifers? Or fighting Nightshroud using a sword?"
"Technically, a sword fight is considered a duel. Had you have actually continued the edict would have taken that contest as a method of deciding."
Harry's face contorted into one of surprise. He had not known that.
"On the other hand, if you had finished, you would be dead. Losing the duel forfeits your soul. Sometimes, you can be rescued. But death is death."
Listening to this, Harry's mind wandered to his duel. But unlike last time, the world stayed the same, bar one wall of the room. A still image of Harry, his sword locked against Nightshroud's red eye's black dragon sword. But his eyes didn't focus on that. Instead he focused on Alexis. Her face was terrified. Not of the flames, not of her predicament, she was terrified because he was risking himself.
"I could have lost her." Harry muttered. Shaking his head, the image faded away and the black wall took it's place.
Unbeknownst to him, a picture of himself and Alexis faded into existence on the desk with his card behind his back.
The Dark Magician on the other hand, did see it, and decided to drive the point home. Standing from his chair, it vanished as soon as his legs straightened. "Come, its time I taught you something for once instead of lecturing you." He offered his hand.
Harry took the hand and stood up from his own chair.
"Focus on the energy inside you." The Dark Magician instructed. "Your body is weak. But your mind is active. Free your soul from it's physical bonds and allow yourself to travel unhindered."
Once, Harry would have questioned the instructions. But lately he began to consider the possibilities of his powers. So rather than ask how, he took a deep, unnecessary breath, and allowed the energy inside him to flow.
A dream floated through his mind. The room faded away before his eyes.
"You better hope I never figure out how to fly, you'll never get me down." His words echoed throughout the room.
The room faded away, and Harry was standing in the infirmary of Duel Academy looking down on his own body.
"Congratulations." The voice of the Dark Magician could be heard beside him. "You may now add astral projection to your list of abilities."
"You are probably the first human to achieve this naturally." The Black Luster Soldier praised as he appeared beside them. The Dark Magician of Chaos appeared as well with slow applause.
"I'm grateful for the ability." Harry muttered as he sat beside his body. "But is there a reason for this?"
The three monsters gestured to the other side of the bed.
Harry turned.
On the bed beside him lay the figure of Nightshroud, though Harry knew that he was not Nightshroud anymore. In fact, as Harry looked more closely, he knew exactly who the older man was. Atticus Rhodes. Alexis's brother was lying beside him with a breathing apparatus of his own covering his face.
But in-between the two of them, holding each of their hands, was Alexis herself.
Harry walked right through his own body to see her more closely. Looking more closely at her face he could see the tracks of her tears. She had been crying.
"You've been out since last night. They brought the two of you here. She hasn't left. We've been watching her. She's been alternating between hugging him and crying into your chest." The Dark Magician informed him. "You said you almost lost her. She almost lost you. She thought her brother was gone forever. You were all she had. Then in one night she had seen you be tortured, and regained her brother, who's body had been used as a puppet to torture you."
"And now we're both here." Harry muttered. He laid a ghostly hand on her shoulder knowing she wouldn't be able to feel it. Yet her head lowered through it almost instantly. "Lying in the infirmary, barely able to breathe on our own. Is there any way I can wake up faster?"
"Well" The Dark Magician of Chaos hypothesised. "You will wake up first. You won the duel. Your body is exhausted and damaged from your duel. According to the nurse, you suffered burns on your hands and face and bruising on your chest from using your powers to soften your landing. Had you not been wearing armour, you would have broken your ribs."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"Truthfully I don't know. You could try to heal yourself. But I have no idea how you could. The answer wouldn't be in your shadow powers. It would be in your light powers." The true Dark Magician nodded in agreement with his chaos counterpart.
"Ah" Harry said absentmindedly as he stroked his best friend's hair with his ghost hand. "Those powers."
Calling them light powers was technically inaccurate. His powers were a manifestation of both light and dark. Light had the light of creation and destruction. Darkness had the gentle darkness and the shadows. Harry's had the ability to tap into all at once. Because of it, he could do almost anything if he learned how to. But as an Egyptian god once said, destruction came easy to mankind. He wouldn't know where to begin healing his body. Attempting to do so might actually do more damage.
"Alright, something for another time" He muttered. The doors to the infirmary opened and in walked the key keepers minus Doctor Crowler. Harry found his shade being hidden behind the figures of his three monsters.
"Trust me." Dark Magician whispered in his ear. "You do not want to be seen by Jaden right now. Alexis needs you to wake up. Having you as an unseen spirit wouldn't help."
Harry knew that Jaden wouldn't be able to see him due to his spirits being covered by a shroud of shadows. Jaden could probably guess who they were. But so long as he could not see through them like Harry could, he could not see Harry.
"How are they?" Zane asked for the group.
Alexis shook her head as a sad smile appeared on her face, "The same. Neither of them has so much as twitched." Harry saw her look towards his body. "Physically, Atticus is pretty well; he's just got trouble breathing because of the smoke he inhaled during their duel, other than that he just won't wake up. Harry's the opposite. He's got burns all over his body and bruising on his chest."
"Well it looks like he gets to sit this one out then." Jaden said in a strangely somber tone.
Bastion explained, "Students have been reporting vampire sightings down by the lake. Chazz checked it out but didn't find anything."
"But if you didn't find anything," Alexis trailed off. This time Chazz was the one to speak up.
"That was this afternoon. Now there's a castle sitting in the middle of lake." He lifted his duel disk and inserted his deck. "And we're going down to end this before it even starts."
"We understand if you don't want to leave your brother." Zane finished. "Or Harry."
"I have to go." Alexis said standing. "Atti and Harry are in this hospital because of these shadow riders. I have to give everything I have to stop it from happening again."
Harry was reminded of his conversation with Zane not a day ago. He truly believed in all of them. But that didn't stop him from worrying about Alexis. Knowing he wouldn't be able to stop her until he was conscious and able to protect her. So he did the only thing he could. Waving his hand, Harry levitated his arcane duel disk from the bottom of his bed and watched as it attached itself to her arm.
Alexis looked down at her arm seeing Harry's duel disk sitting on it. Looking down at his unconscious form she smiled and, uncaring about who was watching, placed a light kiss on his cheek before placing her own deck inside the duel disk.
"Let's do this."
"I didn't know it was possible for a spirit to blush." The Black Luster Soldier muttered as they watched the key keepers leave to duel a vampire. Harry said nothing. Instead he chose to follow them silently, wrapping the shadows around himself as he made his own way down to the lake.
Wrapped in shadows and under the cover of darkness, Harry went unseen by all as he stood away from the key keepers as they waited for the shadow rider. The others had elected Doctor Crowler to face the shadow rider.
"Interesting" Harry said to himself as he watched his headmaster worriedly approach the lake. "I've only ever seen Crowler duel Jaden." In his observation and musing of his headmaster's skills, he missed the castle doors opening and the vampire approaching. Shaking his head, he focused on the duel about to begin.
"Fine...if you are so eager to lose your Key, you may duel me," the woman bowed her head as a group of bats appeared out of nowhere behind her, "Camula, vampire mistress of the Shadow Riders!" Her eyes began to glow a bright red at the end of her introduction. "But beware, of you lose, not only do I get your Spirit Key, I get your soul..." Camula held up a small doll which looked like a voodoo doll, "Actually, this little doll does,"
Crowler smiled while the others looked panicky, "Is that all? Don't want something for your 'mummy' or even perhaps your pet werewolf for something to chew on?" he asked mockingly.
'He doesn't understand.' Harry thought. Crowler had never seen a true shadow duel before. 'It won't take long for him to realize just how much danger he's in.'
Camula smiled widely and evilly, "Be careful what you wish for, because it may just come true, Key-Keeper! Let's duel!" she hissed as Crowler made his way to another part of the beach, away from the others. Camula's duel disk grew from her bracelet to resemble the shape of a bat while Crowler's duel vest lit up and dispensed his opening hand.
"Let's duel" They both shouted.
Camula: 4000/Crowler: 4000
"So, Key-Keeper, you say you don't believe in werewolves?" Camula drew and looked at her card, "Well, perhaps this will convince you. Rise, Zombie Werewolf!" At her command, a large furry lycanthrope appeared on the field with eyes glowing bright red and blood dripping from his chin. "I'll end my turn with a face down," Camula finished.
Crowler smirked, "Please, what do you take me for, some kind of amateur? That facedown is obviously a Trap and that fleabag is clearly the bait. Even so, I'll bite," he raised his hand as his card popped out of the deck area into his hand. "First, I play a Spell known as Ancient Gear Castle!" The ground behind him began to tremble as a dark castle made of stone rose from the ground. "It gives all of my Ancient Gear creatures an extra 300 attack points. Secondly," he held up a card, "I'll play the Ancient Gear Soldier in attack mode!" He smiled as an obvious soldier formed of rusted iron and gears appeared from a shower of sparks. "Now Camula, I think it's time to give that slobbering, mangy mutt his shots!" Crowler pointed to the Zombie Werewolf, "Ancient Gear Soldier attack, with Rapid Fire Flurry!" The Zombie Werewolf howled in pain as the Gear Soldier opened fire on him, ripping his furry body with shrapnel before exploding into a giant cloud of smoke.
Camula: 3600 Crowler: 4000
"That was fun!" Crowler practically squealed, "I should get out of the classroom more often!"
"On the contrary, you should study up...," Camula told him, the calm look on her face, "Then, you would know that my werewolf is coming back!" No sooner had she said the words than the werewolf clawed it's way from the ground." Camula smiled as she petted the werewolf gently. "When Zombie Werewolf is attacked, I get to summon another from my deck, one with 500 more attack points
Crowler looked to the rest of the key keepers and smiled. "Don't worry, everything is under control. I'll place one card facedown and I believe it's your turn."
"Why thank you," Camula nodded as she drew her next card, "I summon Vampire Bat in attack mode!" Next to the werewolf, a group of large black bats appeared, all of their eyes glowing red as they screeched.
"Now, with my winged friend on the field, every Zombie monster I have gains 200 attack points!" Camula began to laugh maniacally, her face stretching and her fangs flashed in the moonlight. "Zombie Werewolf, go sic that Gear Soldier! Midnight Pounce!" With a howl, the werewolf leapt and sank its teeth into the metal hide of the Ancient Gear Soldier who let out a howl of it's own before exploding, sending shrapnel towards Crowler.
Camula: 3600 Crowler: 3700
"No!" Harry growled lifting his arm. As he did the shrapnel stopped in mid air before dropping to the ground harmlessly.
Camula's eyes narrowed at the intrusion before looking directly at Harry, or rather at his shadow cloaked figure.
"No intruders" She hissed. Her necklace began to glow and Harry felt himself being banished from the duel. The eye of Anubis appeared on his forehead as he attempted to resist.
"Harry, stop." The Dark Magician appeared beside him. "Return to your body."
"You're vulnerable like this." The Black luster Solider appeared on his other side. "Get back to your body."
Harry didn't return to his body. Instead he looked to the sky and began to chant. Minutes later he vanished in a flash of light visible to all.
Camula assumed she had banished the meddling spirit and resumed her duel.
Alexis turned. She didn't know the feeling she had just felt was the same feeling she got whenever Harry left this dimension. She saw the flash of light and decided to leave the duel to check on Harry.
The shadow duelist himself appeared in the realm of the gods.
"You're the fragments of light." He addressed them by way of greeting. "Teach me how to heal myself."
The three gods turned to him and stopped looking into the kaleidoscope that Harry had once seen himself fighting a war in. In it, he could see the duel he had just left behind.
"Your professor is going to lose this duel. The shadow rider has been spying on your friends since her arrival." Slifer's voice sounded in his mind as he coiled his body around Harry's spirit. "Your intervention spared his body but his soul will not be so lucky."
"Could I have fought her off?" Harry asked the sky dragon.
"You could have." Ra answered for his brother. "But doing so would have drained your spiritual energy. Your body would have recovered but your soul would need more time to recover. But since you are here asking for us to teach you how to heal yourself, its obvious you don't want that to happen."
"Come little one." Slifer said wrapping himself tightly around Harry. "Let's show you what you need to see." Harry felt himself being pulled back to his own body and even further, into his soul room. Only this time, the dark magician didn't keep him company, Slifer did. "I am going to take control of your body and heal it. You are going to learn how your power heals you. I will begin the process. You will finish it."
"Thank you." Harry muttered in an odd display of respect.
"Unfortunately, what my brother said is true. We will heal your body. And as a result you will be able to use it. But you won't be able to take part in a shadow duel or use your powers until your soul recovers from exertion."
"Let's do it."
All of this took place in the time frame it took for Alexis to walk from the beach to the infirmary. As the door opened, she looked upon Harry's bed and found it empty.
"I'm going to need my duel disk back."
