Chapter 19:

"Wow, to think something like that could happen at the academy …" Yuma mumbled to herself after Blake finished telling her, Bright, and Bastion about what had happened at and after the Abandoned Dorm. He'd left out some parts regarding who one of the perpetrators had been and their connection out, as he didn't want to risk opening that can of worms after he just had some success with Bastion regarding that.

"You'd think that security here would be too tight to let anything through unnoticed. I understand why they want to cover this up; it'd be a disaster if it got out." Bright added with a thoughtful look. The two girls had been shocked when he told them about the kidnapping, so much so that they didn't question how the invaders vanished afterwards, nor why they dueled them in the first place. But perhaps that was just an accepted way to deal with anything by now.

Bastion sat back down on an armchair next to the couch everyone else was sitting on as he put a little carrier with drinks on the table. "It is certainly a good thing that Mr. Kaiba reacted swiftly to that. I would not trust the security after this, although I assume it not being a big deal if no one knows." Speaking of Kaiba, there were some questions at first, but it wasn't like he was there for more than a few minutes.

"I for one appreciate that something's actually done after this," Blake added and took a can of soda, quickly opening it. "Imagine if everything would continue like normal after that." He took a big sip and let out a satisfied sigh. "I don't think I have to tell ya, but keep it to yourselves. Kaiba will have my head otherwise."

The three students nodded in agreement and grabbed a drink for themselves afterwards. While Bastion and Bright looked like they're in thought as they drank, Yuma got straight up in his face, which was easy as she sat right beside him.

"But you're okay, right? I mean, you weren't the one being kidnapped, but maybe …" she questioned him with a worried tone and look.

But he just waved her off, purposefully not meeting her eyes and instead those of Bastion. "No worries, nothing I can't handle." She didn't need to know, not yet at least, so why worry her needlessly. "I think the others got out fine as well, at least Jaden and Alexis were when I met them earlier. Gotta check up on the princess though."

He intended to move the conversation away from his own well-being, but perhaps he chose the wrong way to do so. While Bastion nodded appreciatively for being told that the others were fine, Yuma pouted at him, seemingly upset. "Why'd you care about her of all people? She's no different than all the other Obelisk students. If anything, she's even worse with how she likes to rub in her status and achievements … and other things …." She added the last part quietly as she looked down on herself.

"Because I wanna see if I get something for saving her butt?" he answered truthfully. While he didn't expect much, he awaited some kind of reward, especially now that his need for DP wasn't as high after Kaiba repaid their student loans. "I mean, if anyone should be able to cope with what happened it should be her. Hell, it probably happened to her before, she's a rich girl from a powerful family after all."

"You'd think that, but as far as I know nothing ever happened to the Umeno family in that regard." Bright interjected, her eyes on her drink. "They've kept a tight security, especially for their only child. No wonder, considering how much trouble the Kaiba brothers had years ago."

'Mokuba really was kidnapped pretty often, wasn't he?' "Either way, we've got stuff to talk about. And I wouldn't say no to getting a reward from the prettiest girl on campus." Blake said with a grin.

"Oh? I thought you'd agree with the rest of the male student body on Alexis being the prettiest." Bright looked at him teasingly, her eyes shifted from him to Yuma and back, however.

Bastion seemed uncharacteristically interested in this kind of talk with how he leaned forward just a bit, but remained quiet. Instead, Blake leaned back with a huff. "Nah, that's a different story. It all comes down to the definition." He pointed at Bastion and snapped his fingers to get his attention. "Alexis might be the hottest girl, but Kami is without a doubt the prettiest. There's a difference in that, right Bastion?"

His friend blinked before coughing, seemingly caught off-guard. "If we talk about aesthetics, you could draw a line there, that is correct." He seemed a bit flustered when everyone looked at him. "While I may not be well versed in this kind of topic, I assume you put the emphasis on the sexual appeal when talking about 'hot', while perhaps taking in the whole picture and presentation when talking about 'pretty'?"

"That'd make sense," Bright interjected. "While I don't swing that way, there's no denying that Alexis packs quite the punch in certain areas. I don't think any girl can compete with her in those areas."

Everyone looked at her for a moment, shocked that she'd put it that way, before Blake nodded in agreement. "You're both spot on. While Kami surely doesn't lack anything herself, she's but a cake compared to Alexis' whole bakery."

"Didn't hear that one before" Bright laughed loudly at his choice of words, while Bastion seemed content with sipping his drink, a bit of a blush on his face.

With how quiet Yuma had been ever since they touched upon that topic, Blake looked down at her and noticed her grabbing her clothes tightly, not looking up at any of them. 'She's not hurt by what I said, is she? Then again, perhaps she's struggling with her lack of development in those parts …' he thought. While he certainly wasn't an expert on girls, he could understand her comparing herself to the other girls.

Not wanting his maybe-friend to feel sad about this, he ruffled her hair. "But they both lose in the 'being cute' department. Yuma wins that one for sure." He stated with conviction. 'Not like she'd need more anyways. She's fine the way she is.'

The girl jerked up at that, her eyes a bit damp, before smiling at him. "You got that right! Ain't no girl cuter than me!"

"Or faster," he added.

"Or faster!"

They all agreed and shared a laugh. Since it was getting late, they booted up the movie right after getting a bowl of snacks. The bad mood from earlier had vanished almost completely, with Yuma being in so high spirits that she practically leaned on Blake as they watched together. He noticed Bastion and Bright whispering animatedly during the movie, with Bright seemingly less focused on the movie and more on Yuma and Bastion. As the movie ended, Yuma had fallen asleep on his shoulder, which caused them to share another quiet laugh while Bright rolled her eyes.

"Always the same with her. You'd think an athlete like her would've more energy." She sighed and tried to wake her up while Bastion cleaned up the table. "It's going be a pain getting her to her room like this."

"Want me to carry her?" Blake asked. "I doubt she weights much, though I'd need you to show me the way."

She eyed him with an inquisitive look before looking at her friend and pondering for a few moments. "I think that'd be the easiest solution. But since boys aren't allowed on the girls floors this late, we'll have to be quick about it. And I better not catch your hands wandering."

"To think you'd agree to breaking the rules, I'll have to mark my calendar on that." He joked in response and gently moved Yuma away from his shoulder so he could get up and down in front of the couch. He bit back on asking what exactly he was supposed to touch in the first place when carrying her, however. Bright was in a good mood and he didn't have to change that with a stupid comment. Especially one targeted at her friend.

"Funny," she responded drily but with a small smile and helped him getting Yuma on his back for a piggy-back ride, before leading him to her room. As they're going, she turned towards him. "Thanks for earlier, by the way. Yuma can get pretty upset when comparing herself to other girls."

"She really shouldn't, compare herself I mean" Blake said as he waited around the corner for her to see if the coast was clear. He didn't expect anyone to patrol the halls, but what did he knew. "Everyone has their own preferences. And while most guys our age just look at how big girls are, there are enough that would like her just the way she is."

"Believe me, I've told her that many times in the past. But maybe hearing that from you would be good as well." Bright sighed and lead him to Yuma's door. "While I appreciate what you said, I hope you're not having any ill intentions. The last thing I want for her is getting played by some guy, and, excuse my bluntness, you would fit the bill for doing that in my eyes."

He looked at her surprised. "Well … I think there's a compliment hidden in there somewhere, even if it's just you thinking I can manage that handily. But I can tell you that I don't have any intentions like that whatsoever."

Bright watched him intently as she opened the door. "I hope so. As I hope you've noticed that she's quite fond of you, for whatever reason. Which is why I ask you to make things clear and not leave her hanging once you've decided on how you feel about that."

That wasn't anything new to him, but hearing it from Bright gave it more weight than anticipated. Not knowing what to say, he simply nodded and followed her in and put Yuma on her bed before leaving. He hadn't thought about anything but getting into the academy and promoting quickly to make money. While the talk with Banner and Jaden did give him a lot to think about, as with how there were changes in what he knew, thinking about girls and relationships hadn't entered his mind up until now.

"Alright, I've had enough of this. Either you're gonna get in here and tell me what the fuck is going on or I'll rip your card in two."

After a week of failed meditation, some studying, trying to figure out a way to access Duel Energy with Bastion, and barely lessening sweat-inducing nightmares, Blake was done. It'd become so bad that he was regularly seeing shadowy figures at the edge of his vision no matter the time of day and he knew that his supposed spirit partner had answers. Answers he was going to get one way or another, even if it meant crippling his deck. The only saving grace of the situation he found himself in was that with not needing to go to classes the others were less exposed to his bad mood.

He waited for a few minutes, but nothing happened. "I'm counting to three, and if you don't respond then you can fuck off and look for someone else to 'partner' with. One-"

A low screech of metal was the only thing that warned him when the whole form of the Dark Armed Dragon appeared. But instead of towering over him like usual, the dragon was lying flat on his belly, taking up the entire floor of his room. What surprised Blake more than that was the fact that the spirit looked all messed up; some of its spikes were broken off, its blades looked dull, and there were even some wounds on the few spots where its scales were exposed.

"Damn, did you wrestle with a Blue-Eyes?" he joked. He had no idea what his partner was up to, but fighting stronger spirits in order to get stronger sounded fitting enough.

The dragon gave him a sigh of exhaustion mixed with annoyance as it turned its head to him. 'I would've preferred that, but that prissy white lizard hasn't shown itself in years.'

'I'm pretty sure it hangs around Kaiba most of the time, so no surprise there.' Blake thought before regarding the wrecked form of his own dragon. "Because you would've preferred fighting another dragon or because the Blue-Eyes would've been easier to deal with?"

'Yes,' the dragon responded with a weak smirk.

Blake rolled his eyes and continued in an annoyed tone. "So, are you finally going to explain yourself or do I have to make my threat a reality?"

They stared intensely at one another, the fire-red eyes of the dragon glaring defiantly before the dragon coughed out a laugh. 'To think a puny human would dare threaten me. I guess I really did choose the right person.' Blake wasn't amused and grabbed its card between his hands, so it relented. 'Alright, I'll tell you, but you're not gonna like it.'

"I don't like being unable to rest either, so get to it."

'When you duel, you're radiating Duel Energy. The more intense the duel, the more you radiate, and the more you use up.' He raised his eyebrow at the dragon. 'Using up a lot of energy makes you exhausted, that you should know by now. You were practically glowing with energy during your Shadow Duel, which served as a beacon for other spirits that might wanna cash in on that. Told you there were other spirits gunning for you before, right?'

He nodded. 'While I'm not doing this all the time, whenever you exhaust yourself too much I gotta deal with those spirits 'cause they want my place as your partner or just drain you of your energy. And with me battling them so often, you lose even more energy to refuel mine. Makes sense, right?'

"Looks like you got your ass handed to you this time around, though." Blake snorted as he looked over all the bruises the dragon had. "I get the exhaustion, but where do the nightmares come from? They're obviously not normal, otherwise my medication would help against that, and it only gets worse after dueling good opponents."

The dragon hummed in thought. 'I don't know about that, but I'd say it's caused by a spirit trying to make contact and speak with you over distance. Although that's not unusual, with Spellcasters, Fairies, and Fiends doing that primarily, I never heard of it causing such … distress.' There was but a hint of concern in its voice. 'Probably some crazy fucked up spirit or one that doesn't bode well with your energy exploiting your lack of defence when you're exhausted.'

'Please don't let it be Yubel. It'd make sense but I really don't want it to be that.' Blake thought and could feel how he got goosebumps. He caused Jaden to access his hidden power twice already, something that was linked to the supposedly crazy spirit. These kinds of nightmares didn't start until he arrived at Duel Academy, so they most likely weren't linked to the nightmares he had before either. Considering Yubel's demonic appearance, he could see why he might hear those whispers he couldn't understand, especially if they came from possibly another dimension. And her final form wasn't called 'The Ultimate Nightmare' for nothing after all.

"Is there any way for us to deal with that?" he asked with a sigh.

'I can try to find out who might be the cause of that, but I have to rest up before that.' His partner said with a groan as it fixed some loose parts of its armour. 'For that you'll have to lay low for a while, can't have you attract more vermin for me to deal with.'

"I've got what, three duels against somewhat competent opponents coming up?" Blake counted out. "And I'm pretty sure I can refrain from going as hard against two of those as I did against Jaden and in the Shadow Duel. Hell, if I alter my deck a bit against them it should be a cakewalk." Kinda rude if he thought about it, but he doubted anyone but the Kaiser being much of a challenge, aside from his own group.

The dragon laughed. 'Good, then you can handle the weaker ones without me, but you better call me up when there's a real challenge.'

"I set a monster and pass," Alexis announced with a confident look as she finished the first turn of their duel.

Blake drew and looked at his cards. After the talk he had with his spirit partner the day before not much had happened. He'd contacted Kami via text message about his upcoming duel with Alexis and asked if she wanted to watch in preparation for her own duel against her, but she had declined. She'd told him to report to her about what he found out later, but she was rather evasive for the most part. He wondered why that was.

"I summon Dark Valkyria and attack your set monster with it!" The form of his only Fairy monster appeared as she flew down to the arena floor with grace (1800/1050). He could see and hear Jaden cheering from the sidelines already, where he sat between Bastion and Syrus, the later being more interested in looking at the Ra and Obelisk girls than the duel. Jasmine and Mindy sat not far from them, but purposefully more towards Alexis' side. His monster destroyed its target, revealing a warrior woman that left behind her brown hat, before another monster appeared and replaced said hat.

"When my Warrior Lady of the Wasteland gets destroyed, I get to summon 1 Earth Warrior monster from my deck. Say hello to Etoile Cyber!" Alexis' new monster stood taller than even his Valkyria, with long floating red hair and a bright red skinsuit adorned with accessories befitting of a ballerina (1200/1600).

'Setting up to fuse your ace, hm? Not if I can help it.' With the summoning of that card, he was confident that Alexis was most likely playing the deck he knew off, so he wasn't worried in the slightest. That deck was pretty bad without the later support of Cyber Angels, and even then, it wasn't great. "I set two cards and end my turn." (Blake 4000 / Alexis 4000)

"I see you've set up your defences, but I'm afraid those will have to go. I activate Heavy Storm!" Alexis stated with a confident smirk as the storm began to gather.

He couldn't help but click his tongue at that. At least he could keep his second face-down and gain another safety-net like this. "I chain Magic Jammer!" The whole field shined brightly as a magical green circle appeared around them, a large red hexagram connecting inside of it and thus negating the destructive storm. He discarded his Necro Gardna and waited for her to continue.

"Now that that's out of the way I activate Polymerization, fusing the Etoile Cyber from my field and the Blade Skater from my hand to summon Cyber Blader!" The two female monsters met in a mix of dance and skating before vanishing in the fusion swirl. Out came a tall woman with purple skin, skimpy red clothes, and a red visor. Her dark blue hair touching the ground as her half-skirt flew in the non-existent winds of the arena, while her bladed skates clinking loudly against the floor (2100/800). "I'm not finished just yet; I equip my Cyber Blader with Malevolent Nuzzler, giving her a boost of 700 attack points! And with you controlling exactly one monster, she's unable to be destroyed in battle as well."

Her ace received a dark-coloured necklace, the ghost of a green-skinned woman hovering above her (2800/800), while her red suit shimmered brightly. "Next I summon Cyber Tutu!" A smaller girl with pink hair appeared in cheery fashion beside her other monster wearing a ballet-themed outfit as well (1000/800). "Hope you don't mind getting roughed up by girls, Blake. I attack your Valkyria with Cyber Blader!"

He watched the two monsters fight briefly, before his own was cut in half by a graceful kick. Since he offered no resistance, her other monster attacked him directly with a twirling kick that saw his lifepoints reduced to half. (Blake 2000 / Alexis 4000) "I end my turn with a face-down of my own."

'No cards left in hand and an easily broken board, truly the best girl duelist the academy has to offer.' Blake thought with amusement. 'If that's all you got then that title goes to one of the new girls, I'm afraid.' With just a bunch of monsters on his hands, he was relieved to draw something else. "I'll start my turn by activating Allure of Darkness." The cards he drew gave him enough of a plan to deal with the situation, although he'd have preferred a board clear instead. With his Pitch-Black Warwolf banished, he decided to set his field up for the next turn. Since he had no immediate removal, he'd have to out her Cyber Blader another way. "I set one monster and end my turn."

"That's all? Don't mind me then. Cyber Blader, attack that set monster!" Alexis' ace rushed forward and sliced the monster apart, only for a number of spikes being sent back at Alexis. (Blake 2000 / Alexis 3500)

"Hope you don't mind me either." Blake smirked at her. "When Giant Germ gets destroyed by battle, the attacker receives 500 points of damage and I get to summon up to two more Giant Germs from my deck." True to his word, a duo of floating germs bigger than either of them appeared and floated in front of him (1000/100). If they were stronger then Alexis could've used her Cyber Tutu's effect to attack directly, but with their attack points being even she couldn't do so and neither did she intent to crash them.

"I end my turn, but since you have two monsters on your field my Cyber Blader's effect changes from being indestructible in battle to doubling her attack points!" The monsters' skates began glowing red and extended in length (5600/800) as it twirled around on the spot, the glow from its clothes fading in exchange.

"Not for long. I tribute one of my germs to summon Inferno Hammer!" The hulking red-skinned demon took the place of his germ, lifting its large hammer onto its shoulder (2400/0). "Inferno Hammer, attack her Cyber Tutu!" Alexis looked at him in confusion, but when she looked up his monsters' effect on her duel disk before her eyes widened.

"Not if I can help it! I activate Astral Barrier! It lets me-" Just as her barrier formed a tunnel to direct the attack at her rather than her monster, a large Swiss army knife appeared next to the tunnel and took it apart with its various gadgets, causing the attack to hit its intended target. (Blake 1000 / Alexis 2100)

"While my Seven Tools of the Bandit took some of my lifepoints, it lets me do this! When Inferno Hammer destroys a monster and sends it to the graveyard, I can flip one of your monsters into face-down defence position. This not only takes away its Equip Spell, but also leaves it weak enough for my Germ to destroy it." Blake announced as his plan came to fruition. Cyber Blader might've a good attack stat, but its defence was lacklustre. "Giant Germ, attack her monster!"

And just like that, his opponents' field was wiped clean and Alexis was left with one card on her hand. He set a new face-down himself and passed back to her.

Alexis took a deep breath before she drew her next card. "I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards!" 'Oh, come on!' "Then I summon D.D. Warrior Lady to the field!" A blonde woman clothed in black appeared out of a black and white portal and drew her blade, which ignited in white light (1500/1600). "Attack his Giant Germ!" The warrior rushed forward, only to be interrupted by the ghost of a defender.

"I think you got enough damage on me as is, which is why I banish my Necro Gardna to stop the attack."

She grumbled and set a card. Perhaps the last one on her hand was a high-level monster or another fusion card? It didn't matter, nor did her face-down matter after Blake drew his final card. He thought it was only fair since Alexis top-decked a Pot of Greed. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to get rid of your face-down." The card was revealed to be Sakuretsu Armor. "Phew, lucky me. Now I can finish up this duel in peace. Inferno Hammer, make pancakes out of that Warrior Lady."

His demon moved forward and struck its target down with its hammer, only to be pulled into a portal that appeared beneath the defeated monster. (Blake 1000 / Alexis 1200) Not caring for Alexis' explanation about her monsters' effect, he sent his other monster for a direct attack. (Blake 1000 / Alexis 200)

"Looks like you miscalculated; I still have lifepoints left and next turn-" Alexis said but was interrupted by the appearance of a tombstone on Blake's side of the field.

"Nah, I study with Bastion; I never miscalculate. I activate my set Call of the Haunted to bring back my Dark Valkyria. Hope you don't mind getting roughed up by a girl?" Blake mocked as he watched his monster finish the job. (Blake 1000 / Alexis 0)

Back with another chapter! Took a bit longer this time around since I fell ill for a week and got NOTHING done, but now I have. Happy to see so many of you liking the interactions last chapter. Got some more of those this chapter too, as well as moving forward the nightmare-plot and starting to rounding up the duels against important characters. Alexis wasn't much trouble, but perhaps the remaining two will be?

As always, thanks for reading and reviewing 3