Chapter 7: Out of Thin Air

"A Ghost might be turning people into agents of the Shadow Realm: Look it up for me. The Medici building used to be a burned-down dormitory and we found hidden records: Read everything and see if they explain why people disappeared years ago. Matt's parents are creepy, rich people who used to be part of a secret society and gave him previously unknown god cards: Why not crack into the secret society's database? By the way, you have two papers due Monday, a test on Friday, and Team OTK must schedule at least two public events this semester and hold regular meetings at least once per week. Could you please find out why the hospital would falsify death records for Matt's twin brother no one even knew existed?"

"Are you finished? I've only got one bar here and I'm liable to freeze my nuts off."

Despite her sarcastic protestations, Cary really did enjoy being the go-to person when anyone needed help. Matt, in particular, would be lost without her. She'd known him since orientation day freshman year when he decided to duel against a moderately high-ranking student and show off a lucky victory. He was like a little brother sometimes, including the fact that he had a tendency to pile on the favors. At this rate, he owed her his firstborn if she ever asked.

"Apologize for making me spend all my time researching things not directly related to me when I could be reading or dueling." Now she was just making him suffer. He already admitted he had to be outside to get any signal, and it was horribly cold outside in Yasna so far north. From her comfortable room wearing a sweater hand-knit by her grandmother and waterproof thermal socks, she could hardly fathom his situation.

"Technically I can't make you do the research for me. I ask you to and you do it because you enjoy having all the knowledge and being able to lord that over me, thus giving you the power dynamic in our relationship. And you love that."

She paused as she considered whether she wanted to admit he was right or if that would give him back some of the power. Finally she settled on, "Yeah, it's like crack to me. So you say your brother isn't really dead."

"I have no signal and I can't feel my… uh, everything… so I'm just going to start with bullet points and hope that I can get a message to you later to explain whatever needs elaboration. Are you ready?"

"Shoot."

"Okay. First, my brother goes by the name Zeke, which suggests I'm actually Andrew—the dead one. Did the hospital screw up or were they misled? Second, we haven't seen everybody duel yet, but we might be missing something as far as god cards go. We've seen five so far, plus Garry has one. But there are at least seven other people here. Obviously Bryan and I don't understand all the rules when it comes to people being allowed to participate. Can you find out names of people who have played the cards in recent months? That's all."

Cary took just a moment longer to finish making notes for herself, and then she gave her reactions for as long as Matt could handle the cold. "You really think someone misled the hospital into faking your death at birth?"

"Maybe. Given the events of my life over the last three years, I choose not to rule out any possibility."

"Does that spirit inside you have any answers?"

"If he does, he won't tell me."

"Mmm. Helpful of him. Bearing in mind most medical histories aren't publicly accessible, I'll see if I can find anything on that front. On the other side, if there's someone out there with the missing god cards, I'll find them."

"It shouldn't be difficult," Matt suggested. "I doubt if anyone could obtain such a rare and powerful card without the overwhelming desire to use it."

Now Cary had a chance to take back the lead in their little knowledge struggle. "But choosing not to rule out any possibility, you acknowledge that one or more of the missing gods may not be currently held by anyone. They could be hidden out there in places we'd never think to look."

"You might be right, but for now, let's start with the assumption that actually gives us the slightest chance of finding them. Being hidden in a tree trunk in the middle of a Peruvian forest will make them hidden virtually forever. At least longer than my patience will last."

Cary hummed to herself softly, both impressed with Matt's self-awareness and amused by his selfishness. "I'm sure for the sake of your patience, fate saw fit to give every god card a human owner. I don't suppose your divine friend is willing to tell you how they left Duel Academy to begin with?"

"He doesn't know. He saw me and Bryan bury it, but he doesn't know what happened to them after Bryan dug up Uria."

"That's unfortunate. It would really help if the gods would stop hiding stuff from us at critical…"

"Cary?" Matt interrupted sharply. "You know I hate to interrupt you because you usually hit me, but I can really only get any reception in this one spot, which is outdoors, and it truly is so very, very cold. I know I'm asking a lot of you, but please text me whatever you can find and I'll call again sometime."

"Understood. Just… don't die."

He chuckled. "As you wish." And then the phone clicked off. Cary held it silently for just a moment before she dropped her phone into her pocket and turned back toward the other students in the airport study lounge, so named because it resembled the departure gates of an airport due to the wide array of international flags posted.

"Sorry about that," she said as she plopped down next to Darius Mantzios. She looked at her textbook, still open on the table between the three plush seats, and asked, "Biology, right? What did I miss?"

Cary met regularly with her study group in preparation for their biology assignments and tests. None was particularly adept at biology, but since they got together and helped one another understand the concepts, they saw a consistent rise in their understanding and significant increases in their test scores. Alister and Jessica were the resident advisors of the Blue Mansion dormitory, and were seniors who had been dating one another since early in high school. They'd just made their engagement official over the winter break. Maikeru and Sean were actually students of the Yellow Dorm, but in an effort to prevent class sizes from getting so small as to be inefficient, lecture courses were not separated by dormitory. Darius was originally from Greece and, despite struggling to understand English often, had the best understanding of biology and was the one most likely to answer questions in class. Ivy was a daydreamer whose home was Paris. For her, the study group was part of a self-improvement effort to help her focus more easily.

"You've missed nothing at all," Alister said. He was usually the one who kept the group focused and on task during their study sessions. For him not to keep going just because Cary got a phone call was unusual. In light of his role, Cary raised an eyebrow at him. He explained, "We're all a little interested in knowing how things are for Bryan and Matt."

"So far they're okay. They're surviving the weather as well as they can, and Bryan already won a duel against a Crystal Beast-user who played Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder."

"I didn't realize Pr. Dawkins went with them," Maikeru joked. She was the only Crystal Beast user on Duel Academy campus and the previous owner of Hamon.

As Cary relayed the rest of her phone conversation, she worried about her god-hunting friends. Never mind they were going up against all the god cards ever realized: They were spending a few days in what was probably the coldest village in the world. Maybe in still air Matt could hold on for a little longer than the average person, but if either of them stayed outside for even a minute too long, they could lose body parts permanently. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do except trust them to take care of themselves.

"Matt's recent brothers attacked students here and absorbed their cards," Darius pointed out. Among all the students dueled by Matt's colored-hair clones, Darius was one of the few who emerged victorious without losing his cards. Unfortunately, he still didn't understand what happened during that sequence of events except for the emergence of the spirit inside Matt. "In wintry isolation, if he attacks, Matt will be up the river without a paddle."

"It's 'up a creek without a paddle,'" said Jessica, correcting his word choice. "But really, what are the odds of Matt finding another brother all the way out there? And he has a god card, too? There's no way that can be coincidence."

Cary hadn't considered that. Matt's family was a box of riddles already: Three years and she still didn't have a clue how his mind worked. His father Dr. Apple was one of the strangest and most difficult professors she'd ever met. And what kind of woman must Leona Moxley be to understand and marry a man like that? But both his parents gave him cards that had god-like power that were never included in any history of duel cards. The twins Darius referred to never played any such cards.

But what if this brother had another unknown god card?

"We can't do anything about it now," Maikeru pointed out. He looked into Cary's eyes and added, "The best way not to worry about it is to focus on how we are going to kick biology's ass on Monday!"

She couldn't help but grin in reply to his fake enthusiasm. Maikeru was right about one thing: Bryan and Matt risking their lives halfway across the world didn't change the fact that everyone else still had a biology test on Monday. "Well, some of us," she semi-agreed. "Sean, what's the difference between a C3 plant and a C4 plant?"

With a bewildered look on his face, Sean asked, "Why are you picking on me?" That was as good as not knowing the answer as far as Cary was concerned.

"Uh huh. Ivy, what's the Calvin-Benson cycle?"

"Is that the bicycle Alister rides all over campus?" Cary's amused smile was more genuine that time. Even with focus issues, Ivy wasn't usually that clueless. With an answer like that, she probably didn't know the correct answer and was trying for a joke instead.

"Okay then. Let's buckle down on carbon fixation, shall we?"

"All I'm saying is: I wish my dad was gay. He let me get away with stuff all the time when I was a kid. My mom always grounded me like her life depended on it. If I had two dads, my neighborhood would have named a watch association after me." Jason had an interesting way of looking at life. One might have difficulty drawing the line between saying whether he was optimistic or naïve, but he was confident with his worldview.

Clinton was feeling less certain lately. No young man likes the idea that his parents no longer loved one another, but it shook him emotionally to think that his dad turned gay because of it. "That's not as helpful as you think."

Jason shrugged it off. Maybe Clint didn't appreciate the quality of the joke, but it was better than some of the alternatives Jason came up with as ways to cheer up his best friend. "Things happen, man. Life comes at you fast. You've either got to roll with it and do what makes you happy, or you make yourself miserable trying to force something that doesn't fit."

"I don't care that my dad's gay," Clint argued defensively. "It just… came out of nowhere and blindsided me."

"Didn't your grandfather die just recently?"

"Yes. About a year ago."

Jason chuckled to himself. "Seems like he was probably gay all along." It was obvious to him that Clint's dad was forced to pretend he wasn't gay to fit in with what was considered acceptable societal practice when he was younger. Now that his father wasn't around to lay on the guilt and society as a whole was more accepting, Clint's father felt more comfortable admitting who he really was. Clint probably knew all that, too.

"Work on not stressing out. I find the easiest way is to shut your brain off."

Clint made a face. "You can't shut your brain off."

"Sure, you can," Jason insisted. "Like this." Suddenly Jason went limp in place. He was perfectly still like a mannequin, with a blank stare in his eyes that seemed to look straight through the entire campus.

"I'm telling you, it's not biologically possible." And then Clint realized Jason hadn't twitched in the slightest. "Jason? Jason!" He tried waving his hand in front of his friend's face, but the action still elicited no response at all. Figuring he had a surefire test, he licked his finger and shouted, "Wet willy time!" He moved his finger right next to Jason's ear without actually putting it in. Either Jason perfectly called his bluff, or he really did…

Suddenly Jason lurched backward and grabbed his forehead in a daze. He looked around for a moment like he was lost—like he'd just awakened and he wasn't in his bed. Slowly he realized what happened. "Oh, man. How long was I out?"

Clint just stared with a dumbfounded expression. "That's incredible."

Remembering what was going on now, Jason smiled. "I bet that helps you adjust to your dad's new lifestyle a little more easily."

"Whatever, Jase," Clint said, renewing his mixture of annoyance and support. "I've got a full semester here before I see him again. I'll be over it by then. Let's just go another round. I think I noticed a gap in my strategy that time."

With a laugh, Jason reactivated his Duel Disk. It was a J12-series Academia Duel Disk that he bought the day he was accepted into Duel Academy. He got the sleek model—a long and thin version just like he was.

"Does your strategy gap have anything to do with the fact that I'm better than you?"

About a foot shorter but with an ego only slightly smaller, Clint taunted back, "Your pigeons will make a good supper for my frogs."

"Then it's go time!" Jason slapped down Dark Grepher, but then something stopped him from finishing his turn. Maybe it was a lingering effect of shutting off his brain, but he felt something nagging at him. It was a sensation similar to knowing he'd forgotten something that he was trying to ignore.

"What's wrong?" Clint asked, unaware of Jason's issue. "You're not even going to use Dark Grepher's effect?"

"Shut up for a second," Jason snapped. He turned away, clearly indicating through his body language that he wasn't thinking about the duel.

Clint stood softly and looked around. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know. I just feel something… weird."

"Something… dark?"

During the previous semester, Jason was taken in by the darkness—by a man who sought to bring about the Apocalypse in corporeal form. It was a man who spent the better part of two years alternating between the identities of Michael Potter, a campus police patrolman, and the mysterious Ghost Duelist, who allegedly dueled students and stole their cards from them as trophies. In order for Potter to exact his revenge against the god of darkness, he needed to absolve his spirit of sin to prevent his own absorption by the darkness. He transferred his pride into Jason.

Though the other students, informally called the Sins by those who believed the rumors about the End of Days, had the darkness removed, Jason retained it. Aside from inflating his already impressive ego, the darkness inside him seemed to connect him to other sources to some extent—almost like broken pieces reaching to become whole again. For the time being, Jason had the edge over the darkness: He could use the strength and confidence it gave him without falling prey to the pitfalls of power. Clint only worried if that might change.

"You always think everything is evil," Jason mocked him. "Not that I can blame you, really. This campus does have a lot of bad things happen all the time. It's clearly haunted."

"I agree. Any chance you've noticed another Ghost or something?"

"I don't think so," Jason said. But he wasn't sure what he felt. "Let's go follow it!" He rushed to the coat rack by the door and threw on his leather jacket. Some accused him of trying to copy Bryan, some thought it looked better on him anyway, and some just thought it looked warm in the winter.

All Clint could think as he shut down his Duel Disk and grabbed his own coat was, "If I were a smarter man, I might try to talk you out of this. But in all honesty, I'm curious, too."

"That's what I like to hear," Jason replied with a smile.

Leaving the duel room in the basement of the Blue Mansion, Jason led his friend down the hall, past the lame study group, and out the door. There was no snow on the ground yet, but the winter air was crisp and cold—the kind of weather in which even Jason wore gloves. Despite the new sensation of the cold stabbing at all exposed skin, he still felt himself being pulled away from the dorm. He moved across the quad to the west, but then he felt the need to backtrack halfway. He continued to zigzag a ways to the north end, and then he spun around in a circle, frustrated.

"I lost it," he huffed.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean it's gone. The nagging feeling in my brain isn't there anymore. Whatever it was is gone now."

Suddenly a woman's voice asked him, "What are you looking for?" Hayley popped up behind Jason as smoothly as if she'd been hiding there the whole time. Neither Jason nor Clint saw her approach, even though she had the kind of appearance and presence that rarely went unnoticed. Her skin was silky smooth, and her hair had the kind of lush curls most women could only get at a salon. And it was just bad luck that her voice was high enough to startle Jason right then.

"Where did you come from?" Jason asked roughly.

"New Hampshire." Jason didn't feel the need to acknowledge that was a valid response. He just glared at her instead. "Um… I hope you find it?" she offered hesitantly.

"Thanks, Hayley. We'll make do," Clint said while Jason was still too annoyed to talk to her. How could a girl sneak up on him like that? And out in the open of the quad, too?

"You know," Jason started, "Hayley has had some dark tendencies."

"Yeah?" A well-supported but never psychiatrically-confirmed rumor that floated through the student body was that Hayley had multiple personalities. That's why she showed a much wider difference in her moods from week to week, though Jason saw that pattern among all women he met. Clint didn't have enough firsthand experience with Hayley to believe it was more than a rumor. "So?"

"So what if she's the source of that nagging feeling?"

Clint was still unsure of the point. "Does that mean you want to follow her?"

"Nah. It's gone now. Whatever she did is over for the moment. We'll be right behind her when I feel it again, though." He took one last look around the area and noticed nothing unusual. It would be easier if he had any idea what he was looking for, but that was the spot where the feeling went away. He made a mental note and slapped Clint in the shoulder. "Let's finish that duel and then go get our grub on."

The two duelists walked back down the quad toward their dormitory, and as they did, a single black wisp leaked into sky when the air wavered, momentarily providing a distorted image of the area as if looking through steam.