Chapter 13:

After the intense duel, the group sat down once again at the nearby 'Rescue Cat Café', not wanting to split up just yet. Blake and Jaden sat side by side, while the rest filled up after them. The two of them slouched in their seats, tired for some reason, while the girls talking animatedly about how cute the designs and drinks were.

"Oh man, do you also feel so … tired?", Jaden asked as he put his head on the table, looking at his seat neighbour.

Blake, who was leaning back in the chair with the visor of his hat drawn almost completely over his eyes, let out an exhausted sigh. "Yeah, I wonder why."

A soft cooing sound appeared, together with the transparent form of Winged Kuriboh, who floated at Jaden's head and pet him. "Thanks, little guy", Jaden chuckled, quietly enough that no one would overhear him. Well, aside from Blake.

"Your furry buddy is quite affectionate, isn't he?"

"Yeah, I was kinda surprised the first time but-", Jaden said before his eyes widened and he shot up in a sitting position. "Man, and here I thought I was going crazy, but I knew you could see him too!"

A slight smile curved up in Blake's face. He lifted his visor just enough to make eye-contact with Jaden. "You're not crazy yet, Jaden. But what gave you the impression that I could?"

"Back at the promotion exam, no one else seemed to notice your dragon talk, but I could see your smirk when he did. He's got quite the nasty language, though", Jaden explained. "Oh, and you have reacted on my Winged Kuriboh here too, even if I wasn't sure at first with how quickly you noticed and then immediately focused elsewhere."

'Ain't you a perceptive one?' "Looks like you got me", Blake smirked and gave up his order to the waitress who just finished up the others. "So, does the furball have any idea why we're so exhausted?"

The spirit in question hopped up and down, letting out some offended-sounding coos. "I don't think he likes that name", Jaden laughed. "But as far as I understand him, it's something caused by 'clashing powers', whatever that's supposed to mean. We were just dueling, like we do every day."

Blake's brows furrowed. 'That sounds pretty weird, yeah. Maybe the darkness in Jaden saw me as some kind of danger and that's why it released so much energy? But why would it? Because I have a spirit accompanying me as well?'

He was interrupted in his train of thought when Jaden punched him in the shoulder slightly. "But man, what a duel it was! We really have to do this more often …", he said with a bright smile, before his face turned muted.

"Jaden?"

"You're … you're fine, right? Just tired, no pain, no …", Jaden questioned with an even smaller voice, a hint of fear in it. "I know I am, even if your attacks blowed the wind out of me back then. But I'm good now." He rubbed his temple and winced.

"Don't worry, your last hero was just a bit too frosty for my liking", Blake stated. "You don't look that well to me, though."

Jaden waved him off, "It's just a headache."

"Remembered something unpleasant?", Blake inquired with a knowing look.

"I don't know, maybe?", Jaden replied, shaking the ache off. "It's kind of blurry. Most of the memories about my childhood, actually."

"Are you taking any medications? Regularly, I mean." 'He said something about getting some of his cards from a Koyo Hibiki if I remember correctly. That name doesn't ring a bell and it seems like he still got his dark power inside of him, so-'

The boy looked at him, surprised. "Yeah, actually. Ever since I was a child. I think my parents told me it was to deal with the nightmares I got back then, but I don't remember much."

'Not only the nightmares, but everything about the one that caused them. Unpleasant for him, but good to know this hasn't changed', Blake thought, taking the coffee that was just delivered and taking a sip. 'Should I tell him? Or anyone for that matter?' The thought itself caused a hundred other questions, questions he couldn't answer right now. The only times he thought of using his knowledge up until now were to get found by Pegasus with the card-making event – which hadn't worked at all – and when Banner implied him getting recruited for the Shadow Riders. The whole thing was scary and not something he should decide on the fly, he knew. Better the enemy you know and all that. But maybe …

"Well, I'm taking some pills to help me sleep myself", Blake explained, having decided to test out what a change in the original narrative could cause – if Jaden agreed. "Maybe you should try and not take them for a while, side-effects are a thing after all. It could help even with finding out what your buddy meant with 'clashing powers' as well. You said you don't remember much from back then, after all."

"Hmm … maybe", Jaden pondered. "But speaking about my buddy; what about yours? I don't see or hear him around very often. I mean, he's a big guy, but still. He seems to only be around when you pull him out in a duel."

That was a good point, actually. Aside from the duels, his dragon has only ever made himself known the day before when he had come back to his room when he left without his deck. "No idea, he's not really all that talkative." 'I wonder what he's doing. Jaden's spirit is around most of the time.'

"Maybe he's got an idea about this. You should totally ask him if you get the chance", Jaden said.

By now the rest of the group had finished talking between themselves and turned towards them. With that the little one-on-one talk they had was over, the topic switching to their duel and how they performed. Blake heard someone say that they dueled like the pros on television, but his thoughts drifted away from the conversation quickly. There was much to think about.

After the group had split up Blake went back to his room, half-heartedly tossing his uniforms jacket over his chair. When he put down his duel disk he paused for a moment and pulled out his Dark Armed Dragon. He sat down on the edge of his bed and looked intently on the card.

"Alright big boy, time for you to come out. I've got a few questions", Blake said as he put took off beside him and ran a hand through is hair. After a minute had passed, he tried again. "Hello? Anyone home?" Since he didn't get any answer for another five minutes, he laid down the card on his bed and stood up. "Urgh, do I really have to pull you out in a duel for you to talk or was this just imagination after all?"

Before he could try something else, he got a call on his PDA. When he saw who called he couldn't help but groan, taking a seat on the chair this time.

"What do you want?", he asked as he took the call.

"Not even a hello? What's with the irritation, dear Blake? I just wanted to congratulate you on a job well done", the smooth voice of Kami answered and he could practically see her smirk from her tone alone. "The leaderboard has just been updated mere minutes ago; you're already half-way done with the other candidates for the title. I'm quite pleased to see you're not messing around wasting time."

He rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, putting his feet on his desk. "Feel free to gimme a bonus."

"You'd like that wouldn't you?"

"Yes, but I doubt you're calling to give me fake compliments."

A high-pitched sigh with a hint of annoyance came through. "Not used to a healthy working relationship, hm? You really should be happy about it; not everyone gets a call from me, much less to get praised. While I have my expectations, those duels weren't a foregone conclusion."

"Get to the point, princess."

"It's heiress, not princess!", she sounded even more annoyed. Good. "Urgh, anyway. While you may have gotten your little friends to duel you easily, the Princeton brat and Rhodes girl are something else."

'Chazz ain't the only brat here', Blake thought but wisely kept the comment to himself. "What do you mean?"

"Do you have a plan to make them duel you?", Kami asked.

"Do I need one?"

He could hear her rhythmically tapping her finger on some wooden surface. "Just because you challenge them won't mean they accept. As far as I know, Rhodes not only hates your guts but also has an issue with you showing up her friend in front of the whole first-year students. And the brat hasn't accepted any challenge since school started, only giving out his own."

"All the more reason for her to accept to get some revenge, or am I wrong? If that's not enough for her I can get Jaden to put in a good word, since they're friends from what I heard", Blake yawned, not worried about that in the slightest. "Although I've been wondering why Chazz didn't come after me like all the other Blues back when I challenged all of you. He's been focusing on Jaden until now and since he lost to Jaden while I beat him, that should be enough in my opinion. If not, I'll just insult his skills and pride, and how he only got here because of his family", he added with an amused snort. Riling up Chazz would be easy enough.

"So, you do have a plan, why didn't you say so?"

"Because I made it up just now. Getting someone to duel me isn't rocket science", Blake sighed. "Is that all?"

"No, there are two things I need you to do." He wanted to ask but he just kept going. "First; you'll take out some third-years tomorrow during lunch hour and give them the message that I'll be Queen soon and they should stop supporting the current one if they know what's good for them. Second; when you manage to arrange a duel with Rhodes, I want you to find out if she's interested in the titles as well. While I doubt she can take the Jack from you, she could still try for the Queen herself, she's pretty close with the Kaiser after all. It seems like her older brother was and technically still is the current King, although he's been missing since last year. Apparently, he was brought off the island for medical reasons or something, not that it matters. What matters is that it could be enough to give her a reason to aim for the title."

'Not as far as I know, though that would probably be preferable to what he's dealing with right now' "Anything else? I hope you're not forgetting to pay up."

"As long as you do your job properly, of course. Who would waste their resources on someone who doesn't perform, ohohoho-" The imagine of her laughing like your typical anime rich girl was enough for Blake to end the call.

'I don't think Alexis cares for any of this title-charade and getting her to duel me should be easy, as should Chazz be. And neither of them should pose much of a problem either. Although, if they have altered decks like Jaden does … eh, it won't matter.' He got up from his chair and grabbed himself a bottle of water, when the low sound of screeching metal erupted from his bed. The card he left there was giving off a dim glow, but unlike with the Winged Kuriboh, there was no form of his dragon in sight.

"You actually are there, what took you so long?", Blake asked and took a sip from his bottle.

A rough voice answered, sounding about as tired as he felt himself. "What do you mean, I got her as soon as I could! Unlike that furball, I actually have stuff to do!"

"Yeah?", he asked with disbelief. "Like what?"

"None of your business!", the dragon growled.

"Aren't you supposed to be, I dunno, my partner or something? I feel like the Kuriboh is doing a better job if you ask me. Especially with telling stuff."

That got him a thundering roar in response. "Don't you dare compare me to a lowly spirit like that! You've no idea what I'm capable off!"

"How about you tell me then?", Blake prompted him as he took the card. "This spirit-business is new to me, so it'd benefit both off us to give me some info."

"The only thing you need to know for now is that I'm one of the most powerful spirits. Don't bother listening to that other puny spirit either; the only reason we're exhausted is because you fought with so much of your Duel Energy without being used to it. And that's gonna cost you."

Blake sighed and rubbed his temple. "Why and how did that happen? And what exactly is it gonna cost me?"

"Your opponent started it and you fought back instinctively. Why he did I don't know, but since you used up so much energy it left both of us weakened, which'll only make my job harder. And you'll see the cost of it soon enough."

"Well, yeah, I saw Jaden use his little dark powerup, even if he most likely didn't mean to do it. But I thought that alone was the reason-"

"Now that you mention it, that human did have a small speck of darkness within him. No wonder he felt threatened by you; your energy is way more potent than his."

'Wait what? No way anything should trump the Gentle Darkness.', Blake blinked in confusion. "Is it now?"

"You don't know? Hah! Your energy's the reason I sought you out to begin with!", the spirit explained. "Ever since the weird pulse years ago, many spirits have been observing humans in order to find partners. The rapidly growing brutal energy of yours was the only one worth my time, something I made clear to the others that were gunning for it."

"Care to elaborate on that?" 'And spirits searching out partners? Isn't seeing them a rare thing in the first place?'

The dragon snorted in amusement. "Duel Energy is influenced by its wielders way and intensity of dueling. Once your desperate attempts as a child became fruitful, your style changed. You fought viciously with no regards for the suffering of your opponents, sometimes even revelling in it. That and your focus on monsters of the dark in combination with the ways you employ them translates to how your energy is today; dark, ferocious, and strong."

"I see how that matches you, yeah …", Blake nodded. "Can that be a bad thing, though?"

"Spirits that oppose that energy won't be fond and maybe even hostile towards you, but that's it. Just shows how weak they are."

"Okay, doesn't sound like much of a deal." 'At least until the third year, but that's gonna be a whole fiesta in and off itself' "What was that about a 'weird pulse'?"

The dragon hummed in thought. "It's hard to describe, but a few years ago there has been a gradual shift in the plane of spirits. Not only have there been newcomers, but things got a lot more active. Since I'm not usually around the knowing folk – spellcasters and the like, not really worth my time – I don't know much more than spirits banding together and preparing for something. Last I heard was the denizens of Dark World having some internal struggles, resulting in the Mad King Bronn to leave and attack other nearby worlds."

'That's a bit scary, but it fits what I remember. Would've been real helpful to have a spirit around that actually knows what's going on, though', Blake pondered, before asking another question. "You said there were other spirits interested in me? Probably because of the 'potency' of my energy?"

"Yes", the spirit grunted. "They most likely haven't given up on that just yet, but unless there are drastic developments in the other plane, I doubt they'll have the guts to show up. You'll notice them if they do, however. Ever since your energy was linked with mine, seeing and talking to spirits has become possible for you. Otherwise, you wouldn't see your friend's little fleabag either."

'That explains that, good. So, it's not that hard to interact with spirits as long as you're interesting to them. Maybe some others will get partners too then?' "And I doubt you'll tell me who they were?"

"Nope."

"Fine, be that way", Blake grumbled in annoyance. "Back to the Duel Energy: How do I utilize it? Consciously, I mean. And what can I actually do with it?"

"Hmm …", his metallic voice hummed. "How about this: You find out how to access it yourself and when you get it, I'll not only give you a rundown on what to use it for, but give you full access to what I can do. I could tell you right now, but where's the fun in that? We'll get more out if it if you struggle, and I get a good show out of it too." While the dragons' words had some wisdom, they also held a swagger to them that really grinded Blake's gears.

Not amused by that in the slightest, he shoved the card back into the deck, taunting the dragon with a low tone. "You better not start crying once I find out. 'Cause I'm gonna work you to the bone, lizard."

Later that evening, Blake was tinkering on his deck again, not quite satisfied with its performance against Jaden. While he did win, it was way too close for comfort, even against a skilled duelist like Jaden. He only won because he drew the one card that could've won him the duel in that moment, he was completely outperformed and he hated it. While he was satisfied with his draw-power for now – he'd have to get a copy of Card of Consonance when he got the chance –, the same couldn't be said for his defence. He'd grown used to using a lot of Trap cards in his deck, since they were the best way for him to interrupt and counteract his opponents, especially against those with better cards, but almost half of the ones he had in his deck didn't pull their weight.

'If only the good ones weren't so expensive … maybe switch them out for more proactive cards? The Virus-cards and negates are fine, but other than those I don't have anything game changing. A Mirror Force, Torrential Tribute, or Ring of Destruction would come in real handy … Some more search-power would be great too. While the Witch can search out all my big monsters, I don't have a way to reliably get her off the field once she gets tomatoed onto it…'

He pulled out his PDA to do some research on upcoming pack-releases when he got a message from Bastion.

"Good evening, Blake. I hope you feel a bit better now and I'm not interrupting something, but do you have time for a quick chat?"

Wondering what might be so important as to write him this late and not wait for tomorrow, Blake replied. "Nothing I can't do later. Wanna call or meet up?"

It didn't take Bastion long to respond. "I'd prefer to meet up. I think the lawn in front of our dorm would be good."

"Alright, see you in a few."

After he put on his jacket and cap once again, Blake made his way over, seeing Bastion sit on a nearby bench. "'Sup."

"Hello", Bastion replied with an uncharacteristically unsure look in his face. "Sorry to call you out this late, but this has been on my mind the whole evening."

"No harm done, so spill the beans," Blake replied and sat down next to him.

Bastion took in a deep breath before turning towards him. "You remember about that talk we had yesterday about the topic of 'Duel Energy'? After today I'm pretty sure it's a real thing but I can't explain it."

'Ah, so that's what's been bugging you. No wonder you look like that', Blake acknowledged, remembering what his guardian told him whenever he struggled with understanding his studies. "Maybe it'll help to voice it out; tell me what caused you to be so sure now."

The other boy nodded and looked up into the sky as he explained. "While I've seen some intense duels through the television screen, I never witnessed them myself. Sure, everyone knows how a duel between the King of Games and Kaiba looks like, but the feeling you get from seeing it second-hand and being there must be something entirely different. When I saw you and Jaden duel today, I thought that must be how it would feel like to watch them duel in person."

"Now that's a compliment if I ever got one", Blakes eyes widened and he actually felt a bit embarrassed by that. 'That's one thing I'd like to see myself too. That or Yugi dueling Jaden. I have no idea if I could even stay calm if I got the chance to meet either Yugi or Kaiba, but it would be awesome. Wonder why I have no trouble with Jaden in that regard …'

"You earned it in my books", Bastion said, fully convinced of it. "But the intensity of your duel wasn't the only reason. I believe I actually felt some of the moves you two pulled, and that really shouldn't be the case for holograms, no matter how advanced the tech from Kaiba Corp is." He rubbed his arms as if he were cold, which wouldn't be that far off as it was October, but the climate on the island was much warmer than the one in Domino City. "Especially the last combo Jaden pulled; I didn't just get goosebumps from it; I shivered from the cold. And while its windy around the cliffside, the air has never been that cold before."

'Yep, I felt that one too. Way too cold', Blake thought and wanted to say, but Bastion wasn't finished yet.

"But the one thing that convinced me was when you slumped down on your knee. I've seen you duel so many times and see you take quite a few hard hits, but never have you buckled under any of them. Heck, you have never reacted to them at all. Until that duel with Jaden today", Bastion concluded his thoughts and looked at Blake. "What do you think? Was it just excitement from my side that caused me to feel how I did? Did you actually play along this one time because the duel was so head-to-head?"

Blake pondered for a bit in the search for the right words. He knew that Bastion was right, of course. But would it be a good idea to tell him that all this was in fact real? Would it cause problems in the future? Would-… Blake shook his head to gather his thoughts. No existential dread regarding the canon now, not the time. He'd sort that out later, now he'd have to be honest and reassure his … dormmate? Buddy? Friend? Calling him that felt weird even if he only thought about it, but after years of only having his guardian to talk with, the concept of friends was more than a bit shaky. Well, that and any interaction with other people before getting to the academy having resulted in nothing but pain. But Bastion really was a good guy and he enjoyed his company, and it wasn't just him. But being friends meant he'd have to open up sometime, didn't it? He groaned internally, unsure what to do with that whole topic, but when he noticed Bastion looking at him expectingly he realised he'd been silent for too long.

Blake cleared his throat. "Sorry, I thought about how to say this but I'm not as eloquent as you: I think that you're completely right, because I felt the same. You're not imagining this and I believe we can replicate this with some trial and error." 'And more importantly have you help me in figuring out what the damn lizard didn't want to tell me. A win-win in my books.'

Bastion smiled and looked back up into the dark sky. "And here I thought the curry finally got to me." They shared a laugh before Bastion got up from the bench. "Then I hope I'll have your assistance to get to the bottom of this?"

"You can count on me, Professor Misawa", Blake replied playfully, a huge smirk on his face. He got up himself and they bumped fists to seal the deal before making their way back to their rooms.

Both of them were oblivious that someone had been listening in on their talk since the beginning.

A bit shorter this time and no duel, but in exchange you'll get two next time! Some post-duel talk about the strange happening during the duel and raising some questions that need to be answered some time. Also, DAD's back and finally gets a one-on-one talk! Even if he's not that open about everything, the pointers and insights are important for Blake.

I actually had no idea what to write once I was done with the DAD-talk, but I think the conversation with Bastion filled up the rest of the chapter quite nicely. Can Bastion help Blake, where his spirit partner refused to? Can Blake open up to the others after years of being by himself? We shall see.

I hope the little paragraph about Blake being disappointed in his performance and voicing out ideas to improve his deck was interesting. Always find it interesting when stories do that, so I tried it myself. It's a good reminder that his deck isn't perfect as well.

Time for some reviews!
- Limited Cards: Its quite possible that cards where limited - and mostly one-offs, really - in the anime and definitely in the games, but I'm not using any sort of limited- or ban-list here. I try to write engaging duels, though I'll try not to have everyone spam Pot of Greed for that.
- Traps: While they got cleaned up in the Duel with Jaden pretty easily, Traps are a big point at that point in time in the anime, especially since Blake really likes to play traps. Good duelists of course have removal for that, which make them useless in that case. Traps will remain in Blake's arsenal, but as you could see from his thoughts about that, he might shift the balance a bit.
- Demotions to Slifer Red: Yeah, lol. Never happened anywhere, but I refuse to belief that only Syrus ever managed to get out and no one dropped, so I'll do my own thing here.
- Consistancy with effects: I'm gonna be honest here; I'll most likely only use Bubbleman and the Philosophers Stone anime effects, because they're a big part of Jaden's strategy when they get pulled out. Other than that, I'll go for pre-errata versions if they fit the time frame - looking at you Ring of Destruction. But yeah, manga Stratos' effect is attrocious.
- Ruling Mistakes: Please, if any of you notice me messing up the rulings somewhere; call me out on it! I'm not activelly playing rn and mostly look up card rulings and spell-speed, and if I'm still unsure I ask a friend of mine who's better with that stuff. Should there be mistakes I overlooked feel free to rip me a new one. (And I'll fix them asap)
- Story and TagForce characters: I have some changes in mind, some happening before the Shadow Riders, and am excited to see not only how that'll work out in the long run, but how you guys will react to them. Since I'm juggling Anime and Manga verses here - with addtional Tag Force characters - , I'm trying to make something new and exciting I haven't read somewhere yet.
- Why not using X-cards?: Hope this chapter answered this. Blake's deck isn't perfect yet and some cards are hard to get by. Gorz is a great example here, because he's a Dark-type handtrap that fits his playstyle like a glove, but since its a handtrap in a time where there aren't many, I see it as hard to get.
- Characters, love interests and EDGE: Oh boy, Blake definitely has a certain edge to him by design: Wears black, is a moody a-hole and uses dark monsters. He'll mellow out and sharpen again over the course of the story, but I hope he doesn't come off as a complete edgelord - he'll generally lighten up, so no worries. But that point will come up quite vocally sometime with a certain someone. The girls will get some development next, since Bastion has been in the forefront up until now. I placed some drops in Bright and Yuma's talk before the duel last chapter, but that won't be all. I actually only have two love-interests in mind for now (not Alexis), but Reggie might be a fun idea too. I got a quote in mind for when she and Blake first meet.
- Monologues/Insights: Good point and something I've added to my notes to keep in mind. Seeing how a character ticks makes them more relatable and their actions more sound, which I might've not done too well up until now. I hope I'll improve on that and it went well in this chapter.

Can't believe we actually made it past 100 follows AND favs, so thank you all for reading and reviewing, it means the world to me.