Previously on TLA: Chazz prompted Syrus to visit the Slifer Dorm, only for him to arrive in the trap of a Dark Duel.
Facing the threat head-on, he barely defeated the unknown 'Pain To Power' Spell card capable of converting a player's taken damage into a monster's ATK.
In some ways, Syrus reminded Yugi of himself a few years ago with Yugi now playing the big brother role. Getting the story of his arrival hadn't been the most pressing of matters: getting him a serving of fried shrimp and a hot drink after the ordeal was more important. Hot food and a full belly went a long way to stabilising him and Syrus was able to describe his ordeal in detail.
"They came after you because you looked like you were wearing dorm colours." Yugi mused amongst the group. "Which looks good on you."
"Thanks." The old jacket briefly matched his complexion. "They look good on you as well."
"That new card sounds like trouble." He looked at students further down the table. "We pulled the data from Miguel's Duel Disk after we found him. He had managed to get his opponent down to 100 Life Points by Turn 4. If they were the same person from last night, it would explain how he lost in one turn."
"Where did they even get a card like that?" Steve focused on the practicalities of the situation.
"From someone with backing, has to be." Yugi fibbed. Knowing about Yliaster would put a target on these children's backs for the rest of their lives. "What happened to Syrus only reinforces what I said before: nobody goes around alone. It's too late tonight to get up to the Academy safely but we'll report this to Crowler first thing in the morning." Anyone could be hiding in the dark forest. For now, the creaky shack would provide the same protection it always did to the lost and abandoned.
A dorm leader got a more cushy room than their charges but Yugi refused to open an extra avenue of attack. A perk of his new room was the extra bunk, currently occupied by a gently squeaking figure. "Syrus," He took a deep breath through his nose without opening his eyes. "Stop making that noise and go to sleep."
"Sorry." Mouse squeaks echoed from under Yugi's mattress. A deep sigh from above signalled that he had done it again.
"No problem." Yugi took another deep breath and tried to mentally lull himself to sleep. "I'm sure that you have plenty of questions."
"Aww, not really." Syrus tucked both hands behind his head. "Jaden's a bit forgetful when it comes to dates but he probably called in a favour at the last minute."
"Something like that." Yugi smiled slightly in the darkness.
"What does worry me is that card." The easy conversation took a hard turn. "Where did he get that Shadow Card from? Superintendent Sheppard keeps tabs on any information about them, he wouldn't have let one get to Duel Academy without warning Alexis."
That was a problem he hadn't thought about yet - telling Dr Rhodes what had happened to Syrus. "Don't worry about that," A yawn split Yugi's sentence in the middle. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you guys while I'm here. Stick with the others and we'll all pull through."
"Like your friends did during Battle City? How, even though you were competing with Seto Kaiba, he came to help you in the Duel against Lumis and Umbra? Or like the time during the Duellist Kingdom tournament when Mai Valentine teamed up with Rex Raptor to take on Joey?" A dorm glow from beneath illuminated the ceiling as Syrus undoubtedly started looking up more details on his phone and the sleepy King of Games grunted slightly. He'd finally figured out the reason behind Jaden's childish nature: three years with a night light and the living white noise machine had probably regressed him.
Or maybe it was the restless sleep giving him some form of brain damage. Yugi felt bad about that idea as he drained his coffee, but not as bad as he would with a proper night of sleep. At around 4 AM, he'd woken to the sound of Syrus burbling happy nonsense and hung himself over the edge of the bed to find the short bluenette making nearly coherent conversation in his sleep. With his crowd in tow, the interim head of the Slifer Dorm arrived at Duel Academy looking like the world's most overworked parent.
"Dr Rhodes." He tried to gain some awareness by draining his already empty thermos. "Good morning."
"What. Happened. Last. Night?" Fuck. Crowler had already spilled the beans and Yugi didn't have the mental coherence to win an argument.
"An Obelisk Blue student used a Shadow Card to launch a Dark Duel and nearly claimed another victim." He shrugged internally. Might as well get the truth out there. "I called Chancellor Crowler first thing this morning to arrange a meeting and discuss it."
"Why didn't you call me last night?" Yugi was starting to understand what Jaden saw in his fiancée - she looked at a problem, figured out a solution, and then charged at it full bore. "You're still responsible for four students, it makes more sense to," She stopped mid-flare. One, two,
"Hey, Alexis!" Syrus waved cheerfully. "Surprise!"
"Yes." Yugi deadpanned at the blue coat. "It was a surprise." Gonna have to thank him for flipping the power dynamic later. For now, Alexis was looking embarrassed enough that he could push the advantage. "Luckily, Mr Truesdale intercepted the attempt and was able to survive the ordeal. We were on our way to speak with Chancellor Crowler about it. Would you care to join us?"
With the full facts in hand, Alexis reluctantly backed down. "You look worn out." A bad mortician might wonder if they'd let a body escape. "Do you want to get a coffee before the meeting?"
"He's already had two." A voice piped up.
"Botan, it's advisable to never share more than you need to." Zaw reminded his companion.
"Coffee would be lovely." Yugi's expression indicated the adults should pretend the conversation hadn't been heard.
"Crowler does a lovely vanilla roast." She led the group towards the elevator and ushered the group in ahead of herself. "Try and see if you can get me a cup as well." All the students in the lift were instantly clamouring for their cups. "Absolutely not," Her tone brooked no arguments. "Too much coffee when you're young will stunt your growth."
Yugi shared a look with the equally diminutive Syrus. Only by virtue of their hairstyles did either qualify as reaching her shoulder and both were now trying to ignore memories of young red coats brazenly serving endless cups at breakfast. "Well then," Yugi coughed uncomfortably. "Dr Rhodes has spoken." Maybe one of his past lives had been Caesar because he suddenly had a very stabbable feeling on his back.
The opening of the elevator doors (and a lack of knives) prevented a recreation of the Ides of March as he practically fled down the hallway. "You'll have to wait out here," Alexis gestured outside Crowler's office.
"But we're" Steve piped up in a fit of American freedom.
Yugi silenced it with a single raised finger. "Of course," he agreed amicably. "We'll all wait right here." Alexis glared at him.
"You know we'll be discussing sensitive subjects." That little spark of argument flared back up. "Things certain people are better off not knowing."
"We're twelve hours too late for keeping this a secret," Yugi admitted. "And there's nobody who needs to know more than the red dorm."
She gave him a level stare for a long minute. The sort that said further words would be had at a later date and he wouldn't like any of them. "You'll have to explain that to Crowler." She knocked heavily on the door with the expression of a captain manning a sinking vessel after ramming it squarely into the enemy flagship.
"Dr Mutou!" Crowler flung open the door with arms spread wide enough that he may have been about to embrace his superstar guest. Luckily, the horde of red coats provided enough spectators that he stopped in his tracks.
"Dr Crowler." He smiled politely. "Do you have any of that delicious French roast I've been hearing about?"
"We-I-ah," He rallied magnificently. "Not enough for all these scamps. How about they run along to the cafeteria while we have our meeting?" He tried to smile and they tried not to imagine a face mask stretched over an empty skull.
"After recent events, I'm not letting them out of my sight." Yugi responded firmly. Miguel had been ambushed coming out of the toilet. Besides being unsanitary, it also proved that nowhere was safe.
Crowler took in the stern glare of Alexis and noticed a familiar hairdo beside her shoulder. "Syrus? When did you get here?!"
"Last night." He let Crowler grab an arm and shake it enthusiastically. "I think Yugi's right, can we talk in your office?" With his old favourite, current favourite, and the lady who let him run Duel Academy arrayed against him, there was no choice but to let them all in. Ignoring the guest chairs in front of his desk, Alexis, Syrus, and Yugi stood at the forefront of the group of students.
"Dr Crowler, last night, a Duellist registered as 'OB-FTW' attacked Syrus under the assumption that his coat signified him as a Slifer Red student." While alarming by itself, Crowler noted it as the latest in the succession of attacks on the lowest rankers. Still, Syrus was standing healthy and aware in front of him which meant he'd either beaten his opponent or managed to avoid the Bio-Band. "OB-FTW used a Shadow Card in an attempt to"
"Dr Mutou!" Crowler shrieked as he leapt upright. He'd expected an outraged demand for an investigation into the Blue Dorm, not public revelation of highly classified information. "This is not an appropriate conversation in front of the students."
"No," Yugi agreed. "But we discussed it last night and nobody had nightmares. I think you might have forgotten where Slifers come from." While doing nothing at all, he managed to draw Crowler's attention to the flowing red jacket he was wearing and there was the slightest hint of a dragon roaring in his shadow.
The Chancellor swallowed nervously. "Neither the Kaiba Corporation nor Duel Academy officially recognises the existence of Shadow Cards or Dark Duels." As if three of the most powerful creatures in Duel Monsters history weren't contained in a buried temple out back.
"Because they're usually nothing more than a trick." Yugi countered. "Statistically speaking, nobody wins the lottery either but we're all mature enough to get along with reality today."
Faced down by two dorm leaders, a Pro Duellist, and four students realising they weren't beaten into submission yet and would go down fighting, Crowler re-evaluated the situation. For one, Dr Mutou had definitely done himself out of that vanilla roast! "Tell me what happened." He gradually sank back into his chair.
"How much should I tell him?" Syrus muttered to either side.
"Everything." Alexis said at the same time Yugi countered with "Only about the card." Sparks flew above his hair as the pair flared at each other.
"Er, I was running back to the dorm. There's this path that cuts through the forest which saves a lot of time," Odd. The more he spoke about the shortcut, the more sour Crowler's expression became and the more he sensed knives being drawn behind his back. At least, until he began recounting the Duel. "They seemed to be playing a turtle/regen style. Then he played a card called 'Pain to Power' which converted his total damage into ATK. It also made the damage real."
"Do you have any proof of that?" Crowler interjected. Holographic effects were fun and could do little more than stir a mild breeze but they portrayed some terrifying visuals.
"A few trees got blown apart." On a muddy hill, on a semi-tropical island, in a storm. "And these." Turning on the spot, he showed an array of bruises still growing on his back where a shockwave had knocked him against a leafy trunk.
Both index fingers pushed against thin lips until it looked like Crowler was trying to pick bits out from his teeth. "Nobody is to speak of this to anyone not currently in this room."
"Who does he think talks to us?" Forget the chip on his shoulder, Jun had a whole crevice. Steve smirked in agreement at the statement as talk resumed.
"Regrettably, it would seem that the best course of action is to suspend studies for now and have them resumed in the next intake." Crowler mused. "Ziesmer has already argued for a compensated adjustment, this will not affect your marks in the slightest."
"Could you wait outside for a minute?" Yugi smiled politely at his cohort. "Dr Crowler and I need to have a word but I want you to come right back in if you so much as see anyone peeking around a corner." He waited patiently for them to leave before turning to stare across the desk again.
Alexis had seen those sorts of eyes before. Jaden's usually glowed when they did but it was the resolution behind them that hit harder. "Dr Crowler, with all respect, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU THINKING?!" Yugi suddenly roared as he grabbed for stationery.
"What? B-b-b" He managed to stammer out.
"SLIFERS GER ATTACKED, SLIFERS GET THE BLAME?! WHAT SORT OF ACADEMY ARE YOU RUNNING!" He quickly thrust across a scribbled piece of paper. 'Play along, they need this'.
"DR MUTOU!" Alexis shouted helpfully.
"DR RHODES?" Crowler shrieked in confusion.
"DR CROWLER!" Syrus wasn't entirely sure of the plan but everyone else was shouting.
"THANK YOU, MR TRUESDALE!" The three doctors broke into muffled giggles at the look of disappointment on his face at being the only one not called a doctor.
"LET'S ALL TAKE A BREATH AND DISCUSS THIS LIKE ADULTS!" Yugi wanted to retort about the amount of ruffles Crowler was wearing but he had a point - the act had gone on long enough. "Now then," Pinker than said ruffles, the pencil-thin principal straightened his outfit. "What was all that about?"
"The kids need to know they've got someone completely on their side." His blood pressure was lowering but his complexion still matched his jacket.
"I think what Yugi is trying to say, is that sending the Slifers away won't solve the problem." Alexis was the cool head amongst the group and felt the ordeal could have been handled differently. "It does nothing to address who has this card or helps the students in the infirmary."
"Plus, what's to stop them from being attacked again when they come back next year?" Syrus piped up.
"I know that." Crowler snapped back. "But it's better to get them to safety instead of having to fend off constant attacks."
"Except that someone has already broken into your office and stolen three Shadow Charms." Yugi spoke in a lower tone than the others.
"WHAT‽" Crowler shrieked.
"YOU HEARD WHAT I SAID!" Yugi shouted back while pointing a reminder finger towards the door.
"When did this happen?" Syrus was understandably upset.
"With everything that's been going on, I forgot you were coming, alright?" Alexis defended herself testily. "I checked the safe after Yugi suspected Dark Duels." She explained to the gaping fish face. "And gave him Jaden's old pendant for protection. Whoever stole the others took the ring, mask, and choker."
Crowler didn't shriek this time but he did turn paler. That much firepower in one set of hands was unthinkable. "We have a much bigger problem than I realised." He sank into his chair.
'You have no idea.' Yugi mused in the privacy of his thoughts. Out loud, he said "For now, I told the kids to stay together and by my side. If you'll let me ask Mr Truesdale if he's available,"
"I am, mm-hm, absolutely." Whatever the King of Games wanted, Syrus could provide. "Whenever you need." A few worried glances met his enthusiasm.
"If you'll let me ask Mr Truesdale to be my teaching assistant," Yugi continued. "I have no doubt he will be of substantial assistance." Unlike his celebrity substitute, Crowler had both doubt and memories of Syrus at a less mature stage.
"Come back in!" He called at the door. There was a hurried shuffling of footsteps as the students tried to enter under the impression they hadn't been hustled around the door. "After discussing it with your dorm leader, Dr Mutou made it clear that forcing you to suspend your studies would be an injustice in and of itself." While capitulating to the Slifer Dorm in this instance, Crowler had deliberately named Yugi to quash any notion they'd get similar treatment under normal circumstances. Tuning out slightly, Yugi watched a plane in the sky lazily trace plumes in its wake. "However, the option will remain available to those who wish to take advantage of it. Mr Truesdale has also agreed to provide his insight into the life of a Pro and will be staying with you for a duration."
"I want to assign some additional security to the dorm if you're okay with it?" Alexis went over Yugi's head to address his students. "Most of the support staff are still on leave but there are a couple I can personally vouch for who would be willing to come back for a bit."
The group looked amidst themselves with nobody saying anything. It could have something to do with intimidation, confusion, or embarrassment. "About that," Their newest member piped up. "I know someone who could drop in."
Yugi was the King of Games, Syrus was a top Pro leaguer, and Alexis daily dealt with the next generation of genius Duellists - all of them could keep a perfect game face no matter what the circumstances.
The four Slifer Reds on the verge of flunking virtually acted out a pantomime of expressions at the sight through the window.
"What?" Crowler whirled to see a flaming orange cloud drift idly past. "What was that?!" He shrieked.
A single glance to one side revealed more than he wanted to know. "What was what?" Yugi enquired politely.
"Hoo-rah!" A voice roared as Chancellor Crowler flocked to the window.
"Hieeek! We're being invaded!" It was easy to understand why anyone (even those not as hysterical as he was) could come to that conclusion. An emergency orange parachute was laid across a ledge a level down and surrounded by various excited cheers from further down. "Quick, get to the panic room!" He sprinted fast enough that his coat flew behind him like a cape.
Being more curious than panicked, the red coats gently wandered outside to view the spectacle in all its glory. "Dr Mutou!" The biracial beefcake tethered to Duel Academy threw a crisp salute. "Tyrrano 'Sarge' Hassleberry, at your service! Sy said you'd need some backup and I flew all night to get here today!"
"Glad to hear it!" Yugi called up, hiding his face from the reflected sun (and his embarrassment). "Why don't you come down and discuss it in person?"
"No can do, compadre!" Dangling maybe twenty metres in the air, a gust of wind had managed to snag his parachute and tether Hassleberry to the building. At the speeds parachutists dropped, it was a minor miracle he hadn't broken himself or the wall. "I'm well and truly stuck in place!"
"Are all of Jaden's friends always this happy?" Yugi checked with the singular sane member of that group.
"All. The. Time." Alexis gritted her teeth. "Even Chazz gets this creepy smug grin after too long." She glared up at the latest complication. "Why don't you climb back up? Put that dino DNA to use?!"
"That's a no-go captain!" A gust of wind had him twisting and bouncing off the wall before he could steady the movement.
"Dino DNA?" Yugi asked during the spectacle.
"Bone transplant, ask him later." She watched the rotations slow to a halt. "Why not?" She shouted upwards.
"Dino strength is nothing on a silky smooth parachute!" A few yellow jackets had stopped to watch the antics and were on their PDAs to call in more friends. With the limited numbers, it wasn't long until word reached the Obelisk Blues. "I'll get near the top and then get slid right back down."
"Why not jump?" She shouted back. "What's the worst you could do to the pavement?"
"Make a mess on impact!" A hearty laugh missed the hopeful look on Alexis' face.
"We'll get a ladder!" Yugi called up. "Do we have a ladder that big on campus?" He asked Alexis.
"We have some scaffolding bits around the place." Though she didn't sound to be in the greatest hurry to find them. "That might work."
"Sergeant Hassleberry?!" Zaw clapped both hands to his mouth to be heard over the distance.
"What's up Private?"
"Do you have a knife?" Every set of allied eyes turned to him with concern. A few approaching enemy eyes widened with fear. "Anything sharp will do!"
"I've got some pretty nasty chompers!" White incisors gleamed across the distance. "What are you thinking?"
"Cut some spare cables and use them to fashion a rope!" The young revolutionary called back. "You should be able to get low enough to jump safely!"
"How did you come up with that plan?" Botan was amazed at the ingenuity of his roommate.
"My family had to use bedsheets to escape the riots last year," Zaw spoke of the turmoil in Myanmar as only a native could: anger, disgust, exhaustion, numb boredom. "Is he really trying to bite them?"
His assessment of the situation was (unfortunately) accurate. Hassleberry was clambering up the lines of his parachute and gnawing at the ends. "Syrus." Yugi couldn't bring himself to look at the earnest figure by his elbow. "Can you explain your conclusion that calling Mr Hassleberry was the best course of action?"
"Aww, Hassleberry's not that bad." Tyranno finally chewed through the line, dropped back with the prize in hand and began tying a loop around his boot. "He's helped Jaden and me out plenty of times and I thought he'd be a good backup to protect the kids." Another triumphant yell and the (technically still falling) parachutist dropped to a mere ten metres from the ground. "He does survival training and search and rescue stuff a lot of the time, really smart guy."
"Geronimo!" Stepping out of the loop, he thundered to the ground and landed in a low crouch. "Syrus!" Pounding towards the group, everyone over five feet had the sense to dive out of the way as Tyranno scooped his buddy into a bear hug and swung him through the air. "Sy, old buddy, haven't seen you in forever! How have you been?!"
"Gack!" He articulated beneath a Slifer Red face.
"Hassleberry, put him down!" Short of screaming 'I volunteer as tribute', Alexis couldn't have done more to put herself in his crosshairs.
"Captain!" Dropping his diminutive buddy to suck air, he turned to the usually elegant and unshakeable figure of refinement as she suddenly realised her mistake.
"No, nonono!" He grabbed her by the midriff and practically threw him into the air with shrieks of delight. "Hasselberry, put me down!" Embarrassment flooded her expression as formerly impressed students saw her flailing like a delighted child.
It would be wrong (and dangerous) to interrupt a reunion of this magnitude. However, "Mr Hassleberry?" He tapped a sculpted shoulder and hoped it didn't break his finger. "Can we have a word inside?"
"Major Mutou!" Yugi wasn't up to speed on military rankings and didn't know where that slotted in beyond 'above Private'. "Can do!" With a final flailing hug to his captain, he grabbed a bag from the wayside and followed Yugi into the building. Behind them, Alexis tried to steady her spinning head by leaning on Syrus who instantly collapsed beneath her weight and his low oxygen levels.
Hurrying into the first room available, Yugi shut himself and Tyranno in a tidy meeting just off from the main hallway. "I'll be brief." He'd dealt with Joey on espresso, this exuberant soldier couldn't have a shorter attention span than that. "How much did Syrus tell you about what's going on?"
"My bestest little buddy called in and said we had some more little tyrants running around with those damn Shadow Cards." Flipping open his backpack, he pulled out a chunky silver Duel Disk and poured an assortment of survival equipment onto the table. "Ain't nothing else to do but call in a favour to hitch a ride over here ASAGDP. I've tangled with these grubbers before and I'll not have them showing their faces again, no siree." Various bits and pieces were being slotted into the many pockets of his camo vest, including what looked like a flashbang and throwing knife.
"Oh," Yugi said weakly. "Good." Was it good? He spoke traditional English fairly well, and American dialects even better, but couldn't keep up with the rollercoaster of information and idioms. Padded gloves, tactical sling, flashlight, energy bars, how many more pockets did he even have?
"Anyway, me and Brodie have this nailed down." Properly equipped for an incursion into hostile territory in the remote depths of a rainforest, Hassleberry tied the neck of his bag shut and tossed it back over his shoulder. "He dropped near the dorm and went straight to check out that tidy hole Syrus made last night. Lot easier to see from the air and it means he can get some prelims done before anyone even knows he's sniffing around."
"And Brodie is your service dog?" Jaden hadn't mentioned how energetic his squad buddy was. Probably because it fit neatly against his own cheerful outlook.
"Brodie?" Hassleberry roared with laughter. "He's a bloodhound alright. Jaden worked with him back in the day and y'all gonna love him as well."
What 'back in the day'? How were they going to feed this moving mountain of muscle and his canine companion? At least there were plenty of available rooms but this man's energy was pushing the boundaries of the meeting room, let alone a rickety cabin! Yugi suddenly had a deeper understanding of Alexis' chilly demeanour - everyone in Jaden's life moved with the best intentions and too much energy to suffer any further encouragement. With any luck, their sinister opponent would be even less prepared to endure the assault than Yugi was.
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