Like the last time we got a big duel, here's some music I used when writing it. Gotta get the right atmosphere, right?
- Duel Start:Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel BGM - Battle Theme #1
- Once the first high-level monster htis the field: Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel BGM - ClimaxTheme #1

Chapter 11:

For the first time since he had arrived on this island, Blake woke up well-rested and without being covered in sweat. Still way earlier than he had to, but after having to walk a dog and jog every morning his inner clock had adjusted. 6 in the morning read the digital alarm clock on his nightstand. His nightstand? He got up into a sitting position and took a look around the room, which was only dimly lit by the first rays of sunshine that broke through the shutters of the windows behind him.

He didn't hit his head; there was no bunkbed anymore, and the bed he slept in was almost twice as big as before. There stood a desk with a chair to his left and a wardrobe to his left, with two doors at the other side of the room, one of which leading to a small bathroom with an actual shower. His black cap and yellow uniform-jacket hung at the wall near the entrance, and it was this sight that made it finally click.

'I got promoted, right', Blake thought as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He shuffled out of the bed, stripped out of the shirt he wore, and checked it. A sigh of relief escaped him. 'Those meds sure did their job …' Grabbing his set of sports clothes, he entered the bathroom and washed up, his dripping face looking back at him in the mirror. 'Man, I look like shit. Hopefully now I can finally …', he inspected the dark rings under his eyes before he shook his head and put on his tracksuit. 'One promotion down, one to go.'

With a sigh, he zipped up his jacket, put on his shoes and was about to leave the room when his eyes lingered on the deck box that laid on the desk, next to his duel disk. He shook his head and put on his cap, leaving the room behind him.

After walking his by now regular lap across the western part of the island, he returned an hour later, just in time to see Bastion doing … drawing practice? "Hey Blake, I see you're up early as well! Why don't you join me?", Bastion greeted him, not stopping whatever it was he was doing. He wasn't in his uniform yet, instead wearing the same sports uniform as Blake.

"Morning … join you with what, exactly?", Blake asked with a raised eyebrow as he unzipped his jacket and tucked at his shirt to let some fresh air in.

Bastion only smiled at him. "What does it look like? Practice of course!"

"Practice for what? Shouldn't you know how to draw cards by now?", he couldn't help laugh when he asked. It just looked so silly, especially with Bastion being the one doing it.

After he finished one last draw, Bastion put his arm down and turned to Blake. "Naturally, but I don't just practice how to draw, but how to draw with focus." That explanation fell onto deaf ears, so he elaborated. "I've read about a new theory this morning and wanted to see its merit for myself. Have you ever heard about the concept of 'Duel Energy'?"

Blake tilted his head. 'Isn't that what that Viper guy tried to extract from students during the third year?' "Nope, enlighten me."

With a bright smile, no doubt because he found someone that wanted to listen to him, Bastion explained. "It's a theory that came up first shortly after the Battle City finals ten years ago. Since then, there have been a number of experiments that not only tried to prove that there is some unknown force connected to Duel Monsters, but also to quantify it. With the games concept based on ancient Egyptian rituals and hieroglyphs, as well as unexplainable events related to the game – like the aforementioned Battle City finals –, the theory had a good foundation from the get go. But once both the creator and King of Games had approved this theory, a large number of scientists and experts alike started their research and dubbed this mysterious force 'Duel Energy', or DE for short. The latest piece of that study was released a few days ago, by one Professor Thelonious Viper from the Duel Academies western branch. Apparently, they made a breakthrough and are currently developing a device to measure DE."

Taking a moment to let that whole rant sink in, Blake asked "And what's this energy supposed to do?"

The other boys smile thinned, his eyes calculating. "That's the thing I don't understand. The most mentioned reaction to this energy is supposed to be a physical reaction when dueling, but everyone knows that's just acting, right? Every child saw the pros do it, so they adopted it too."

"You ever seen me react to damage dealt by holograms?", Blake snorted in amusement.

"I haven't, nor has anyone ever seen the Kaiser for that matter", Bastion assured, but he seemed unsatisfied. "This physical reaction is how many experts to this day use as an explanation to what happened to Joey Wheeler in the semi-finals against Marik Ishtar. The chance of him having a medical condition that caused him to pass out when he could've not only ended but won that duel was disproven the same year it happened."

'He flipping died back then, yeah, but that was because it'd been a shadow game. Still, a better explanation than everyone acting when they get damaged in a duel.' "And what has any of that to do with you practicing how to draw your cards?"

With a shy look on his face, Bastion cleared his throat. "Ehem, well, you see … one further theory on that topic states that the more a duelist is into the game – focused, determined, trusting in the bonds with their cards – the better they perform. Yugi Muto is the prime example for this; everyone heard him talking about the 'Heart of the Cards' at least once in their life."

Blake frowned, adopting Bastions' manner of speech in his head. 'Because an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh was tag-teaming with him and had the power to effect causality in order to draw whatever he needed. Does the "Heart of the Cards" really have an impact in this world? Or is it just luck and proper deck-building? Maybe this actually has some merit …", but that frown turned into a teasing smirk. "Wouldn't that mean that you're on a disadvantage with all the different decks you build and use? No way you could bond with all of them like this."

"Perhaps, but only if that theory is proven", Bastion nodded. "Which is why I'm trying to put more focus and determination into my drawing in order to see the difference for myself. Maybe I'll even build one main deck for myself in the future, we'll see."

"You know what they say; a duelist is only as recognizable as their ace monster. And sadly, I can't think of one for you", Blake teased and moved along on his way back to his room.

He heard Bastion shout after him. "Then maybe it's time for a duelist to stand out without one!"

'Maybe it'd really be better if you focused on one deck, my guy. Don't want you to fall into irrelevancy like how I know you can.' He held that thought as he entered his room, his eyes instantly moving to his deck. 'But that theory on Duel Energy is something to keep in mind. Maybe it'll come in handy in the future if it's something I can influence, considering all the cheaters we're gonna have to deal with ...' Shaking his head at the image of the duelist that could affect every coin flip to his advantage, he made his way to the shower. 'We'll see how much they can do against a pro with one of the strongest monsters at the time for his ace.' The sound of screeching metal hummed lightly in the background as he hopped under the cold water.

"Alright, so where do we wanna do this?", Blake asked around as he left the classroom with the gang in tow, which included the Slifer boys., Bastion and the Ra girls.

"How about the arena?", Bright asked from one side.

"Too official", he answered with a shake of his head.

"Maybe the front gates!", Yuma jumped in from the other side.

"Nah, too many onlookers," he denied once again.

The group stopped, all switching into their respective thinking poses. They stood there for a few moments before Jaden snapped his fingers. "Hey, how about the cliffside near the docks?"

Bastion rubbed his chin with closed eyes, trying to visualize the location. "Off far enough so we can duel in peace, fresh air, and a good scenery. I like it, how about you?" He opened his eyes and looked at Blake.

"Sure, sounds good. Might as well do all of them there if no one has a problem with it", Blake nodded in agreement before looking over to the girls.

Bright huffed and rolled her eyes, before Yuma hugged her from the side with a thumbs-up she couldn't help but follow up herself. She did smirk at him, however. "You just don't want to get your butt kicked in public."

"You're not wrong about that", he laughed as he got out of his uniforms jacket and bound it around his waist. A nasty little thought about what losing meant before he attended the academy wormed its way into his mind, but he shook it off as he looked at the people in fornt of him. "But as long as it's you guys, I think I can live with it."

Bastion chimed in with a laugh himself. "I hope you won't regret these words when we're done."

Syrus, who'd stayed in the background ever since they left the classroom, appeared at Jaden's side and asked. "You sure are a lot more laid-back dueling them. How comes you're acting so different dueling the Obelisk Blue students?" The way he hid behind Jaden the moment Blake's eyes locked onto him made the older boy smirk.

"That's 'cause these are my buddies, while the pricks in blue are my ticket to getting promoted. Well, that and the fact that those guys really needed the trashing I gave 'em", Blake announced, his smirk only growing. "Heck, with the way most of those guys play you'd beat them if you really tried."

That caught the smaller boy's attention, and he appeared promptly beside Jaden once again. "Y-you think so?"

"Of course. A few upgrades to your deck and a pep-talk from Jaden and you're as good as promoted", Blake told him, but his eyes narrowed on the next part. "You did do some training with him and Bastion over the past month, right?"

"I … might've … pushed it back a bit. There was just a lot of –"

"- sleeping in and falling asleep in class? Do I have to get Zane to motivate you?", he threatened in a sarcastic tone.

"… it's not like he'd help. Besides, why would he listen to you?", Syrus grumbled, only for his eyes to widen in realisation. "Do you plan on dueling him?! That's insane!"

He was blown off with a wave as Blake turned around and began walking again. "Why wouldn't I? I plan on dueling Dr. Crowler as well, just gotta wait for him to agree to it. Probably wants me in his dorm before he accepts my challenge."

"Ooh! If you can manage that you have to invite us to see it", Bright added with an excited look on her face. "I saw him duel against Jaden, but if you dueled him, it'd be even more bombastic – no offense." She added with a shy smile, but Jaden only grinned at that.

"None taken, I'd love to see that too!"

After his head managed to process everything said, Syrus jumped in front of them, horrified. "Why would you want to do that?!"

'And here I thought giving him some assurance would work', Blake thought and sighed in annoyance, before he focused Syrus with a harsh glare. "How am I supposed to get better if I don't duel the strongest opponents I can get? I'm not getting anywhere in the Pro League if I only play against weaklings. Or wouldn't you want to get the chance of duelling the best, like Kaiba?"

That got everyone look at him like they were fish out of water. He all but felt the looks on his back, so he turned around and gestured at all of them. "Come on now, guys. You can't tell me you haven't ever thought about dueling your favourite pros?"

"See Sy, I told you I'm not the only one!", Jaden bellowed out a laugh. "I sure did, I even dueled my favourite before! Well, favourite aside from Yugi, of course."

Before Blake could comment on that, Bastion let out an amused chuckle himself. "Why am I not surprised that Seto Kaiba is favourite pro duelist?"

"Because he's an asshole that likes to trash-talk everyone and has an ego as big as the towers he's bulding?", Bright added with a snort. "Fits the bill, except for him being a handsome rich guy."

"Yeah, not rich yet-" "He's handsome though-", Blake and Yuma argued against her, both with a grin on their face. One that only grew when their eyes met and the smaller girl looked like she belonged in the Slifer dorm with how hard she blushed. It only took her a second before she fled behind Chumley.

The boys all laughed at that, causing Bright to roll her eyes with an exasperated sigh. "Don't encourage him, he's cocky enough as is."

"Only if I couldn't back it up, and you know I can."

"Urgh, can we get to the duel, please? I don't want to hear any more comparisons about you and-", she groaned, but Syrus didn't want to stop just yet.

"Seto Kaiba's not just rich; he won over the Kaiba Corporation when he was just a child! I think an interview said he challenged the former head of the company to a match of chess in order to get himself and his little brother adopted", Syrus recounted with his finger up like a teacher lecturing, and his eyes closed. That way, he didn't notice the glare Blake was giving him, one that made even Bastion swallow before he tried to interrupt.

"Syrus, I think you should-"

But the smaller boy ignored that. "And after getting out of the orphanage, he managed to get the majorities in shares of the Kaiba Corporation as well! He's not only a genius in duelling, but also in business and technology, atop of taking care of his little brother!" He continued narrating, only coming to a stop with an audible gulp when he met Blakes eyes. "I bet not even you could -"

The grin Blake had on his face was long gone, his lips making a thin line. "You're right; I missed my chance of getting anywhere big when I dodged that bullet", he spat out with so much venom in his voice that made any of the – sometimes pretty harsh – trash-talking he gave the Obelisk students sound like a tea party.

With that he turned and walked off towards the cliffside in sight. Syrus didn't dare move a muscle, while the others looked at each other, the good mood from moments prior replaced with confusion and unease. Their eyes fell on Bastion, who only shook his head.

Before anyone could say something, they heard a shout directed at them.

"Do you wanna duel or not?!"

'Stupid little dipshit', Blake thought, wisely not letting his eyes wander over to their audience. He wanted to kick himself for blurting out as much as he did, already done with having to deal with the questions that would come up. No one needed to know and no one would. With a shake of his head, he activated his duel disk, his opponent doing the same. The system did the coinflip, resulting in him going first. (Blake 4000 / Bastion 4000)

His starting hand didn't give him much to work with, grumbling out. "I'll start with the classic: I set one monster and two cards face-down."

Bastion looked a bit nervous as he drew for turn. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon and target your left face-down card!" The blue blur of wind ripped apart Blake's own backrow-removal in Dust Tornado and Bastion didn't seem to like that. "Next I summon Gemini Elf in attack mode!" Two gorgeous elves in differently shaded blue dresses appeared, staring Blake down (1900/900). "Now I'll attack your monster with them!" They rushed forward, attacking his monster from two sides and destroying the hidden monster.

"Since you destroyed my Mystic Tomato, I get to special summon a monster from my deck. I choose a second tomato," Blake announced, a giant floating tomato appearing in front of him (1400/1100). Bastion let out a sigh of relief at that.

"Alright. Before I end my turn, I set one card face-down and activate Heart of the Underdog!" A warm glowing aura gathered on Bastions side of the field as he passed his turn. Then it clicked.

Blake drew and looked at his opponent. "You're going for a Normal Beatdown? Mighty brave of you when one Crush Card can take that entire strategy apart. I mean, you don't play Exodia in it, right?"

With a loud laugh, Bastion shook his head. "I fear not, but as long as I beat you before you draw it, it'll be fine."

"That so? Let's see, shall we?", Blake taunted in a slightly better tone. "I switch my tomato into defence position (1400/1100), play another monster face-down and end my turn." 'Some draw-power would be nice, but he can go on and swarm the field as much as he likes. Got the answer for that right here.'

"My turn, I drew Insect Knight, so I get to draw again. Next is Sabersaurus, another draw. Next is Gamma The Magnet Warrior. This one isn't a Normal Monster, so I stop drawing here", Bastion stated, now having a full hand once again. "I summon Insect Knight!" A tall, bipedal insect armed with a sword and shield appeared next to Bastions' elves (1900/1500). "Battle, I attack your tomato with my elves!" The attack was quick, prompting Blake to summon his last tomato. "Then my knight destroys that one as well!" With the last one destroyed, Bastion took first blood. (Blake 3500 / Bastion 4000)

"Since I don't have any fruits left, I summon Armageddon Knight from my deck, who lets me send a monster to the graveyard", Blake said, dropping his Nacro Gardna where it belonged. His newly summoned monster flourished its sabre as it took its stance (1400/1200).

"You're burning through your monsters pretty fast, don't you think?" Bastion asked with a smile on his face. "It'll only get worse from here; I activate Two-Man Cell Battle! With this we get to special summon a Level 4 Normal Monster from our hand at our respective End Phases. And since I'm now entering mine, I summon Sabersaurus!" A bulky, bright red triceratops touched down to the other side of Bastions' elves (1900/500).

"That's the point", Blake declared as he drew. "The less cards in my deck, the higher chance I get to draw what I need. And would you look at that? I activate Pot of Greed!" With the smiling green pot shattering and an upcoming game plan in his hand, he made his move. "Since you were so nice and filled up your field it'd be rude not to answer to that." He sent his Polymerization card to the GY as his Lightning Vortex ripped apart Bastions' monsters.

"Now how about dealing some damage? I tribute my set monster and summon Caius the Shadow Monarch!" The large fiend appeared out of its usual dark portal and promptly flicked away Bastions' face-down. Blake checked and nodded. "Good thing I got rid of that Sakuretsu Armor, right? And since the monster I tributed was Witch of the Black Forest, I get to add a monster to my hand. I think I'll go for my Great Maju Garzett. Then I attack you with both my monsters directly!" A fistful of dark energy and a sharp stab later, Bastion tumbled backwards a few steps and held his chest, his lifepoints already in the critical. (Blake 3500 / Bastion 200)

"With that I end my turn. Got an answer for this?", he joked in a casual tone.

"I believe I do, I draw! I drew Sabersaurus, another. Next is Gamma The Magnet Warrior, another. That one wasn't a Normal Monster, so that's it", Bastion announced with a smirk. "Next, I activate Graceful Charity! I draw 3 cards and discard 2." The angels light made his smirk into an even wider grin. "I activate another MST to destroy your remaining face-down! But I'm not done yet, I know what you got in your graveyard. I activate Soul Release in order to banish your Witch, Necro Gardna and three Mystic Tomatoes from your graveyard!" The spirit of a blue woman breezed over the field, causing Blakes' duel disk to eject those cards, which he reluctantly took and tucked away in his pocket.

'And there goes my defence, wonderful', Blake thought as his both own Sakuretsu Armor got destroyed, and his additional save from his Necro Gardna. 'Maybe I shouldn't rely on that one, but who in their right minds play Soul Release normally?'

"Now to deal with your monarch, I summon my second Sabersaurus to the field! Then I activate the Field Spell Gaia Power, which raises all Earth monsters attack points by 500 in exchange for losing 400 defence points!" The field was overtaken by a mighty tree, its roots spreading through the ground and empowering Bastions' dinosaur with a visible glow (2400/0) "And since you have no face-downs to worry about, I crash my saurus into your monarch!"

The two monsters fought, Caius's fist connecting with the Sabersaurus's side while it rammed its horns into him, destroying them both. "I set one card face-down and at the end of my turn Two-Man Cell Battle activates and lets me summon Gamma The Magnet Warrior!" A shiny pink robot with a magnet around its neck appeared with spread wings on the field (1500/1800) and got empowered like the dinosaur before it (2000/1300).

"Alright, my turn. I draw, then I activate Allure of Darkness, which lets me draw another 2 cards in exchange for banishing a Dark monster. I choose to banish Dark Valkyria." Now this he could work with. Blake made his next move with a smile. "Next I pay 1000 lifepoints so I can activate Instant Fusion!" (Blake 2500 / Bastion 200)

A giant cup of instant-ramen labelled "Fusion" appeared on Blakes side of the field, to which Bastion nodded with a smirk. "I see, that's one way to bring out a high-level monster. While the special summoned monster can't do anything and gets destroyed at the end of your turn, its perfect tribute-fodder."

"That it is", Blake agreed just as a big, navy blue shark with a giant eye on its forehead appeared out of the cup, only to be squished between two furred arms seconds later. "I tribute my Deepsea Shark to summon Great Maju Garzett!" Towering almost as tall as the tree on Bastions' side of the field, the demon swelled with power as it absorbed its sacrifice (3800/0). "And since I don't want to risk you actually having a Mirror Force, I switch my knight into defence position before I attack."

Just before Blakes' fiend could destroy its target and end the duel, Bastion intervened. "I activate my face-down; Dimension Wall! Instead of me, you'll take the battle damage for this attack!" As the arm of the attacking monster still ripped through his little robot, a portal caught its hand and send it through another to hit Blake instead of Bastion. But unlike Bastion, he didn't even flinch. (Blake 700 / Bastion 200)

There were some cheers and cries from their audience, but Blake only smirked. "Alright, I didn't expect that one. Just glad it wasn't a cylinder."

"Well, since you like to have monsters with absurdly high attack points on the field, I felt like this card was perfect to use against you", Bastion replied with a similar smirk. "Though I hoped I could defeat you with it, rather than just save my skin."

"What can I say, I adapt to my surroundings. And when everyone wants big numbers, who am I to withhold the biggest?", Blake chuckled as he ended his turn. "But I hope you know that I've got other ways to end this."

Bastion drew for turn. "Believe me, I do. Which is why I took all these precautions. I didn't draw a Normal Monster, but I drew this; I activate Pot of Avarice! With this I shuffle back my two Sabersaurus, my Gemini Elf, Insect Knight and Gamma, then I draw 2 cards!" The purple – and frankly disgusting looking – pot laced with jewelry sucked up Bastions' fallen monsters before it exploded into two gems that flew right on top of his deck.

"And for the big finale I tribute the three magnet warriors in my hand to summon Valkyrion the Magna Warrior!" The forms of all three magnets appeared on the field, only to disassemble and build one huge warrior (3500/3850), who then got empowered by Bastions' Field Spell as well (4000/3450).

That got some astonished gasps from their onlookers, with Jaden being the loudest as always. "Man, that thing is huge!"

"Aww, but I wanted to beat him!", Yuma added almost just as loud.

Bastion raised his hand. "And since there's nothing to stop it, I'll attack your Great Maju with Valkyrion!" The two titans clashed, wrestling each other for a few seconds before a sword pierced the demons' chest and destroyed it. (Blake 500 / Bastion 200)

"You have no Caius, no Maju, and not enough cards in your graveyard for your new boss monster", he said as he ended his turn, no cards in hand.

"Oh, but I don't need those", Blake said with a wide smile on his face as he drew his next card. "I activate my second copy of Allure of Darkness!" He drew and couldn't help but snort in amusement. "Guess what I just drew."

"Your Crush Card Virus?", Bastion questioned with a chuckle.

Blake didn't say anything, but that was answer enough. 'And while I could win this with the burn damage of my Giant Germ, that wouldn't be fair to him', he thought as he banished the monster. "You remember when I said I didn't need big monsters to win? This one is a great way around them", Blake said as he slammed down his card. A group of green-skinned warriors with yellow eyes and ninja outfits appeared, all of them drawing their weapons (1300/0).

For a few moments, the two duelists only looked at each other, before Bastion let out a resigned sigh and closed his eyes. "I guess I can't anticipate everything."

"No, but you dealt with everything you knew I had. Good game, mate", Blake declared. "Using their effect, I attack you with my Goblin Black Ops directly!" His group of monsters darted forward, dodging the Magna Warrior that tried to stop them, and landed their hits. Bastion let himself fall backwards into the soft grass, a smile on his face. (Blake 700 / Bastion 0)

The others cheered loudly, while Blake slowly made his way over to his buddy. "You really thought of everything, didn't you?" He said as he held out a hand.

"Almost", Bastion answered and grabbed the offered hand, getting pulled up right after.

"C'mon man, Soul Release?", Blake teased.

"It was the best option I had. Maybe you should get one too, could help you with getting out that dragon."

"Hmm … maybe. But you know what I really wanna get right now?"

Bastion knew all too well with what part of his body his friend was thinking when he heard a low growl, especially now that the sun slowly began to set. "Curry?"

"You know it."

And thats it. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, 'cause I sure had a blast writing it. I decided on using Bastions first Tag Force deck with a few teched-in cards to counter his opponents core strategies, mainly because I think it was the best one to use to rush his opponent down. Of course, the Crush Card was a risk, but a risk I saw him willing to take.

Before I get to the reviews, I have to thank everyone for making this story get over 10k views. Its insane to me, especially since this story only started a little over a month ago, but it sure keeps me motivated. With that milestone I took the time - and oh boy was it some time - to try and make a cover for this story with the use of ancient Egyptian dark magic (otherwise known as AI-Art). While it's not perfect - the hair could've gone better on the sides, but oh well-, I'm quite happy with it and hope it'll give you a better picture of our lovely MC and maybe even a hint towards the future.

Now to answer some reviews;
- Yes, there are only a few duelists that actually stand a realistic chance , which is why I hope you don't mind me skipping over uneventful duels (like against some Blue guys)
- My inspiration for Kami's character was easily found out I see, but I hope I can give her the necessary twist to make her stand by herself
- Considering both Kamis and Katherines intentions with Blake, I think calling him the attack dog is fitting
- Just how much of a puppet master Blake wants to be and how much he manages to be is something to look out for
- I initially didn't want to get more modern cards in than necessary, only to get the cards necessary for certain decks (something you'll see with Jaden). Maybe I will go further, but there are no plans on that front
- And to finish things off; Blake only has one deck atm, which has a 25-30 card core while he switches around the rest of his deck as he sees fit against certain opponents he has knowledge about. He's effectivelly side-decking whenever he can, but the core of his deck is set.

To end this already long AN I hope no one minded the rant from Bastion regarding DE, but this fic isn't labeled as "Supernatural" for nothing. Out of all the characters he and Banner are the best for exposition like that, though I hope I won't need much more of it and instead show you what its about. See you around next time ~