Femme Fatale Flannigan

Episode 1: The Downward Spiral

It was three weeks into the new term at Duel Academy. By now, the daily grind was starting to become routine, and all students were beginning to settle in nicely to life at the Academy. Then again, I did say most students…

Jaden was hanging out with Jesse, Syrus and Hassleberry as usual. 'Tell you what guys – that class we had today was really chill wasn't it?' 'For you maybe Jaden – you spent nearly all of it snoring. We got put in an extra long detention later because of that.'

Jesse didn't seem as concerned however. 'Relax boys, just don't say anything and we'll go early. Especially if it's Crowler, the last thing he wants to do is be seeing our faces for two hours. He can barely stand seeing them for 30 seconds. Besides, J needs his beauty sleep.'

Just then, Blair ran up, adjusting her belt in the process. 'Hey Jaden, how's it going?' Seemingly oblivious to her existence, Jaden just walked on by, as Blair watched on in disappointment. 'He's been like that all term. And to think I thought we might be friends.'

Shortly afterwards, she was walking down the corridor when she passed Alexis with her friends. 'Oh hey Alexis, nice day isn't it?' Alexis gave Blair a deep, chilling stare, before sauntering off, the Obelisk queen laughing as she did. Saddened, Blair walked on by, headed to her dorm.

On the way though, she passed Chazz, who despite technically being in the same dorm as her, and therefore not her superior, he couldn't resist twisting the knife. 'Hey dork, how's life? Not found someone to fangirl over yet? Pity – could be Dorks Reunited.'

Chazz walked off smirking, having had some fun. Meanwhile the youngster just went back to her dorm, and threw all her energies into her duelling and her assignments. Despite this though, there was a hole in her heart, a hole which wasn't being filled.

The next morning

As Blair left her dorm early to enjoy a leisurely walk down to the theatre, Marcel was waiting by the edge of the beach. As she walked past him, he spoke softly. 'Morning Blair.' She nearly had a heart attack as he spoke. 'Oh sorry, did I scare you?' 'Sorry Marcel, I just didn't realise you were there. Is everything ok?'

Politely, he nodded. 'Yes. I was wondering if you… if you would like some company on the walk?' She smiled at him. 'That sounds nice.' 'I'm glad to hear it.' As they walked, Marcel enjoyed the scenery. However Blair had many other things on her mind.

They arrived to the lecture right on time, and almost immediately Dr. Crowler started by handing out homework assignments from the previous week. It was the usual assortment of rubbish, until she got to Blair and Marcel. 'Marcel, could be better, however at least you tried, I suppose this is the standard we set these days. Anyway… Blair Flannigan… good job, someone's actually been listening it seems. Keep it up and you might actually be out of Slifer Red by the end of the year.'

Marcel then patted Blair on the shoulder. 'You were great.' 'Thanks Marcel.' Somehow though, the grade wasn't enough, as if she was still searching for something internally. The good news only served as a temporary distraction, her smile hiding the tears of a clown. And just like a clown, nobody was listening because everybody was laughing. Or so she believed.

And silently, somewhere, a singular eye… was blinking.

After another successful hand-in, Blair noticed Jaden on her way out. 'So who are you saving the world from today eh?' He didn't respond, just walking off, as if her voice were little more than an annoying nat on his shoulder, rabbiting down his ear.

Before she could think any more of it, Marcel came up behind her. 'Don't worry, he's just in his own world I'm sure.' 'Thanks Marcel. You fancy joining me for lunch later?' Respectfully, he declined. 'I… uh… I have to go and speak to Vice-Chancellor Bonaparte. I'm sorry.'

Hearing this pretty much flattened Blair's confidence, but she didn't let it show initially. 'That's fine, I guess I'll see you later then.' 'I suppose we will indeed.' As he walked off, Blair went back to her dorm, and just broke down crying, sobbing silently. But nobody was listening.

Apart from a singular being. A singular eye awoke.

In the Obelisk Blue dorm, Alexis was just getting changed after a shower when another of the girls from the dorm walked up. 'Hey Alexis, would you like a towel?' 'I'm almost dry thanks.' 'Say, I saw you ignoring that Slifer girl earlier. Blair wasn't it?' Nonchalantly, the Obelisk queen replied 'Oh yeah, HER.'

'I mean, you don't have to give me an answer, but why did you blank her?' 'I don't want her getting ideas above her station.' 'Meaning?' 'She has a crush o Jaden, and he likes her back. And she's smart. And pretty. I have to protect my position. Being queen of the Obelisk Blue dorm has it's benefits.'

'Like?' She smiled. 'Let's just say that some of the rules are… more flexible for me. And especially since Zane left, they wouldn't dare pull up their top student for a minor infringement. It would be very bad press.' Her fellow Obelisk smiled hearing this. 'You're so smart!' As they discussed it, Atticus listened on, his presence hidden by a wall.

Reception

As the day wore on, Blair walked into the reception area, looking for assistance. 'Excuse me.' 'How can I help you? Are you lost? I can send a Ra Yellow down to' 'No no, it's not that. Do you know where I can find some sort of mental health office? I've been really down lately and I need someone to speak to.'

The receptionist smiled, but as Blair turned her head, the woman rolled her eyes. 'We don't have an actual mental health department. Have you tried talking to your tutors? If you're struggling with your work then they can really help simplify things for you.'

'It's not that' 'Come on now, don't be shy. I'm sure lots of people struggle.' 'You're not listening to me.' 'Calm down, whatever the issue is I'm sure there's plenty of other people who are having issues. You don't have to raise the issue in front of everyone.'

'It's nothing to do with my work!' 'Excuse me, but if you're going to keep shouting, I'm going to have to call your dorm prefect.' Frustrated, Blair stormed off as fast as her legs would carry her, and quickly found Vice-Chancellor Bonaparte, fresh off of his meeting with his secret son.

'If you're looking for ton petit ami, he's near the yellow dorm.' 'Pardon? I don't speak French. Actually, never mind. I was wondering if you knew where I could find someone to talk to' 'Have you tried your dorm? I'm sure the rats would like to listen.'

Furious by this point, she folded her arms and refused to move. 'Not funny. I've been really down recently, and I need someone to talk to.' Bonaparte however, was taking her about as seriously as she had been previously. 'Try talking to an… experienced student.' As he walked off, he stopped to twist the proverbial knife further like a dagger into Blair's hopes and dreams.

'If you want to feel better, I fully recommend learning to read and write Madame. If you're struggling I'm sure the boat is regular at the docks.' As Bonaparte walked off, a group of Obelisk boys started laughing at her misfortune, leading to the combative Slifer squaring up with them.

Fortunately for both parties, they were swiftly interrupted by Alexis walking into the main building. 'Show's over boys, now get lost before I lock you out of the dorm and you have to spend the night sleeping in Ra.' This rather unconventional threat was more than enough to scare the students off.

In an attempt to show gratefulness, Blair then walked up to the scheming queen. 'Thanks for helping me out there Alexis.' Alexis looked down at the Slifer with an icy stare, invoking memories in onlookers of her time in the Society of Light, not least her brother.

After a brief stare-off, she simply stated 'Know your place' and left, followed by an entourage. They were quickly followed by Atticus, but not before he randomly patted Blair on the shoulder, an apparent show of admiration.

As she stood there still in shock, several of her fellow Slifer Reds ran up to her. 'That was awesome!' 'Huh, what?' 'The way you stood up for yourself there! Nobody ever stands up to the Obelisk boys like that anymore!' The one person who didn't seem impressed however, was Blair herself.

'What's the point? I'm not doing anything special.' Before the admiring slifers could say anything else, she wandered off, headed for her dormitary again. When she got there, she slumped down on her basic bed, barely one step up from a matteress on the floor.

'Why does nobody like me? Not even Marcel likes me – I mean, he cares at least, but it's barely even pity. Just look how he reacted when I wanted to spend time with him. I just don't get it.' Frustrated, she took her jacket off, left it in the dorm, and went to sit by the sea.

Obelisk Dorm

Alexis walked into the boys' dorm, having received a note inviting her. Soon enough, she found her brother. 'You wanted to speak to me?' Atticus wasn't in the mood for pleasantries however. 'Shut the door.' She did that, and then he made his feelings clear.

'I saw earlier, with that Blair girl.' 'Err ok?' 'When did you change Lexi?' 'What do you mean by change?' 'You want me to say it?' 'Say it!' 'When did you become such a bitch?' This question stunned the younger Rhodes sibling, she'd never heard her brother speak to her like this before.

'I don't get what you mean.' 'You're not the Lex that I know. The Alexis I know is kind and brave and would do anything for anyone who deserves it. That girl clearly needed to talk to someone – why did you ignore her? In fact, why did you look at her with such disdain?'

Self-assured, Alexis had an answer. 'I'm looking after Number 1 bro, you have to understand that. I have to look after myself.' 'Not when it involves standing on other people and making them feel small.' 'Being at the front of the blue dorm means that I have responsibilities.'

'What – like stepping on people?' 'I am not stepping on anyone. All this luxury I'm able to live in, it's all because of where I am. I can turn up late because I was having a bubble bath if I want, I can forget the occasional piece of work. And I don't need anybody putting my position in jeopardy.'

It was this last comment which sparked Atticus' attention. 'You're jealous! I've finally worked it out.' Now on the defensive, Alexis tried to ward him off from the truth. 'I don't think you have. You've got this all wrong big bro.' 'No, I don't. Because it's all making sense.'

'What is?' 'You're jealous of Blair because she's younger than you, she's got personality, and most of all because Jaden likes her. You think you're going to be replaced by her. Despite the fact that she's a 1st year. In fact, that's the only bit that doesn't make sense. Why would you be jealous of a 1st year? By the time she's in Obelisk, you'll have graduated.'

'Exactly. I'm not jealous, I'm just too busy to spend my time babysitting 1st years.' The comment, which was meant to prove her innocence, instead backfired completely. 'What happened to you? You were never like this until… until Sartorius.'

This angered Alexis. 'Hey not cool! We agreed never to talk about that.' 'We may not be talking about it, but you've never dropped it.' 'How can I? I'm reminded every single day of what happened.' He shook his head listening to the story. 'What happened to you? You've got a heart of stone.' Before she could respond, he left, giving his sister much to consider.

On the beach

Blair's mood still hadn't improved after her trip to the sea, but she was putting a brave face on. As she walked back in, she immediately saw Jaden on his own. 'Hi Jaden.' He briefly glanced over, before walking straight past, without the slightest of acknowledgements.

Unnerved further by this, she went straight into her next session, where Marcel was already waiting. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. But he could clearly see how much she was struggling to keep it all together. Crowler then walked around. 'Ah, Ms. Flannigan.'

'Yes?' Her hopes of another good grade were quickly dashed. 'That might be the worst assignment I have ever read. I've been teaching her for over 15 years and that was the worst piece I have ever seen. If I was you I'd just give it all up now.'

Blair was shell-shocked by this, and just sat there, holding back tears. Meanwhile Marcel was looking over the work himself, and then snuck the assignment into a bag, before making his excuses and leaving, only returning nearly 20 minutes later.

'Where did you go?' 'I… uh had to go to the toilet.' 'Ok, sure.' 'Just so you know, I think your assignment was great.' This made her smile, a rarity at this time. But deep down, she was doubting the one thing that she previously felt she had – her brains.

At the end of the session, Marcel was about to leave when Blair stopped him. 'Is everything okay?' Face full of thunder, she made a statement. 'I want to duel you Marcel. I need to know I'm capable.' 'Of course. May I have a few minutes to prepare?' 'Thank you.'

Somewhere else, an eye… was watching

Elsewhere

Dr. Crowler was walking out of the academy when a receptionist got his attention. 'Excuse me Dr. Crowler.' 'What is it?' 'Sorry to disturb, but' 'Just spit it out already, I don't have all day.' 'Chancellor Sheppard wanted to see you.' Hearing this shocked Crowler, as he believed Sheppard had left permanently at the start of term on a voyage of self-improvement.

Walking into the office, the Chancellor was indeed there. 'Sit down Dr. Crowler, I need to discuss something with you.' As he sat, he wondered why he was there. 'I was just packing up some of my belongings earlier when a student came in here with a concern about some grading.'

'Well I can't help it if students aren't happy with their grades Chancellor, I'm sure you would understand.' 'Usually I would Dr. Crowler, and I think you are a fantastic teacher. However, this student was very insistent, so I read through, and I think this has been mis-graded horribly.'

Crowler was stunned by this. 'Grading wrong?' 'Indeed. I would like you to have another look over it, and tell me if you stick by your grade. Because I want to know what logic there was behind it.' Crowler shook his head but nevertheless agreed to look at it.

Having spent time reading through it, he was shocked by what he found. 'I remember this assignment, but that isn't the grade I gave it.' He then took another look at the front page, and realised the ruse. 'This isn't my handwriting either!'

The outgoing Chancellor agreed. 'You're right – this is far too neat for your writing Crowler. I must say, I'm very disappointed in you.' 'In me?' 'Yes, I would have thought that you would keep your filing cabinet locked.' 'I do.' He then realised how it happened.

'Although… I did lose the key earlier. I couldn't find the key this morning when I came in. I took my first lesson, and afterwards I found the key on the floor. I was confused I will admit, but I figured I was just under a lot of stress.'

The Chancellor was unimpressed. 'Dr. Crowler, I need you to step up your game. Therefore, I am delaying leaving by a month. Because I need to know that this school is in safe hands once I'm gone. I will tell you now Crowler, I want you to take over from me when I leave.'

'As Chancellor? How could I?' 'Because deep down, when you get past your inflated ego, you are the best teacher we have here. And you will make a fantastic chancellor. But before you do that, you have to prove yourself. Prove that not only are you worthy of the role, but that you can handle it. You have four weeks. If not, I will find an alternative. You can go now.' 'Thank you Chancellor.'

In the duel arena

'Mystic Dragon, attack Marcel's Life points directly!' The towering dragon shot out fire, which roasted Marcel's remaining points (Marcel LP:1300-0). With the duel over, Blair gave the faintest of smiles, and thanked Marcel again, before leaving. As Marcel left, Dr. Crowler arrived.

'Have you finished your little contest yet?' 'Yes. She destroyed me. Dr. Crowler, may I speak to you?' Remembering what he was told by the Chancellor, Crowler lead Marcel to the office.

'What appears to be the issue then?' 'It's Blair, she's acting strange. That duel, I've never seen her so aggressive.' 'Well a little bit of aggression might be good.' 'This wasn't a little bit of aggression. As soon as she took damage, it was almost like a switch flipped. She was so angry, I felt like she genuinly hated me.'

Crowler considered this. 'Also, I think she's got mental issues.' 'How exactly?' 'She just always seems so sad. I don't understand it, but I think she feels alone. I wish I could do something to help.' Trying to prove himself, Crowler thought back. 'I do have to say – she has seemed rather glum in recent times. And she is one of our best students.'

A horrible reality then set in. I'm afraid I may have missed an opportunity earlier to help her. I'll talk to her later, see if I can help.' Thankful at the apparent salvation coming for his friend, Marcel smiled. 'Thank you Dr. Crowler.' As Marcel left, Crowler smiled. 'This will be one step closer to that big pay check.'

And lying deep… the eye… opened

When Marcel went to Blair's dorm room, he quickly found it locked. 'Blair.' The reply was muffled. 'Whoever it is, go away. I clearly deserve to be alone.' 'It's Marcel. Your assignment was marked wrong.' 'I really don't care anymore!' He then saw Jesse walking past.

'Hey, have you seen J?' 'No. When you see him, could you send him this way?' Seeing the concern on Marcel's face, Jesse decided he wanted to help. 'Why, what's up dude?' 'It's Blair – she's locked herself in her dorm.' 'Hey, I recognise that name… it's that girl Jaden told me about. Intellegent, friendly, a little bit cuckoo?'

Jesse then knocked on the door himself. 'Go away! I want to be alone!' 'I don't think anybody believes that kid. Listen, I talked to Jaden earlier, he was talking about you.' Blair though, was too smart. 'I don't believe you.' 'Well don't believe me. But believe your buddy out here. He's so worried about you, he's asking a total stranger to help just so he can see you. Does that tell you he don't care? Because if it does, you're way less cool than he suggested.'

The door then swung open. 'Come in.' As they walked in, the door slammed shut again. Blair was lay on her ramshackle bed, just staring at the damp-laden cealing. 'What do you want?' 'To tell you that everything isn't as bad as you think.' 'I've not even got my intelligence now. My grades were the one thing I had left.'

Marcel then revealed his conversation with Sheppard. 'I… uh… I went to the Chancellor.' This made her totally freak out. 'Why did you do that? I'm going to be in so much trouble for snitching now.' Jesse then stepped in. 'Calm down, it's all good.'

The son of the vice-chancellor then explained. 'I went to him because I thought it was better than that. And he agreed.' 'Really?' 'Yes. He's talking to Dr. Crowler about it now.' 'See, it's all good. I'll talk to Jaden later, I'll see what's going on with him. Everything's good. You ok now?'

She just nodded in apparent relief. 'I'll just be a few minutes.' After the two of them left, Blair stood up, straightened herself out, readjused her belt again, and then stared into the mirror in her dorm. 'I just don't know what I can do to to get his attention. They say that mirrors can hear your wishes, so here goes nothing… I wish Jaden would notice me.'

And silently, an eye… was ready

After her issues, Blair decided to talk to the Chancellor about it. 'Blair, if you're here about your assignment, I think Dr. Crowler wants to talk to you about it.' 'It's not that really.' 'Come on then – talk to me, tell me what's bugging you on this fine day.'

'I just feel… alone. As if nobody ever notices me. It's just… I don't know what I've done to deserve feeling so alone and empty like this. Like nothing's ever going to go right. And I don't know what I can do about it.' And then came a fateful mistake, as the Chancellor misread the situation.

'Well that assignment has been sorted, I've seen Crowler regrading it personally, so that is fine. I've known Crowler a long time, and he's a damn fine teacher when he wants to be.' 'But you're not understanding what I'm saying. It's not the assignment at all, I just feel like I've got nobody who truly cares.'

'Come on, it's fine. We all get homesick, especially when you've just left to travel all the way over here to board. You're going to get used to it eventually. It's just a case of people getting to know you. Then I'm sure that you'll feel a lot better. But don't worry until then, we all miss home at sometime.' 'Thanks.' Deflated, Blair left the room, muttering 'That's not exactly what I meant' as she did.

And in a darkened corridor… a shadowy arm… was glowing

That evening, Atticus was walking across the corridors to return to his dorm for the night when he noticed a light was on nearby. 'That's strange, the lights aren't normally on at this time. Wonder who's burning the midnight oil.' He wandered across to see what was going on.

And there he saw a pair of slim figures routing through a filing cabinet. Dr. Crowler's name was scrawled on the front. Atticus quietly watched on, as one of them pulled out a file, then retrieved a paper from the middle. 'Blair Flannigan's explanation of chains and resolutions. Got an A-.'

A familiar voice then stated 'We'll see about that. I think an E+ will keep my position safe' Just as they were about to tamper with the grade, Atticus walked in on them. 'I think we've been caught.' 'You don't say...' But the elder Rhodes sibling was far from impressed.

'Lexi, what have you gotten yourself into here?' She then turned around, black face-mask covering all but her eyes. 'I'm doing what I have to in order to protect my status and to stop her sneaking into Jaden's thoughts.' Before Atticus could say anything though, they heard a piercing scream. 'You're lucky that I'm busy.' He then rushed off, with Alexis following afterwards, but taking a different direction.

When she reached a narrow, abandoned corridor, she heard a faint groaning. She tried to call Atticus, but there was no signal. Exploring, she eventually found a trail of slime. And not far from it, she found Marcel lay, nearly unconscious, with a deep yellow scratch in his neck.

Seeing the severity of the situation, she pulled her mask down and her heart softened again. 'It's Marcel, right?' He just nodded weakly. 'What happened? Why are you all the way out here?' With the very last of his strength, he pointed out a message in blood on the wall, stating 'It took her. It took Blair.'

END OF EPISODE 1