Chapter 18:

"Your medication isn't working then?" Professor Fontaine asked as she looked over Blake's newest scar.

He thought for a moment before he shook his head. "I don't know. It worked for the longest time, but the moment I exert myself in a duel I get nightmares right after."

"Hmm …" she hummed in response and carefully inspected the cauterized wound with her tools. "Can you repeat what you've seen tonight again?"

Blake sighed. "I was back in the underground arena like always. The cheers and applause turned louder and louder until they became deafening, then the scene shifted into the room under the abandoned dorm." He paused when the nurse sprayed something onto his scar, the sharp smell making his eyes water a bit. "The whole duel flew by, but then something changed. Everyone turned into these … shadowy figures, one after the other. After that, I saw the academies arena and instead of students sitting in the ranks there were just … phantoms."

Fontaine finished up her inspection and put some salve-holding bandage over the wound. "That sounds a lot like stress-induced trauma to me. From what you've told me, you had problems with arenas and the likes before. Considering you telling me that these 'demanding duels' tire you out and bring back your nightmares, I'd say that the stress of them reminds you of the same stress you had when dueling underground. This in turn jolts your memory, bringing back unpleasant scenes that torment you during the night. You also said you can feel your scars ache when you wake up?" Blake nodded. "Then I'd say my guess isn't too far off. There might be other explanations, but this is the best guess I have."

He put on his shirt again. "And what can I do about it?" 'I don't want this to keep happening, I barely feel rested when waking up. If it's really caused by stressful duels then I'll be dealing with them even more as the time goes on. There must be away to get rid of them.'

"Other than stop dueling you mean?" Fontaine asked and played with her pen as she wrote down some notes. "I'd say we try out some meditation first. It'll help you keep your head clear and pulse down, so if you feel stressed in a duel you can try to reign in yourself to stop stressing out. Otherwise, we'd have to do some therapy."

"I see …" Blake said with a grimace in return. He didn't believe it would help him much, if at all. In the worst case, it'd trigger the trauma she told him he had. "Guess I'll have to try that then. Got any material that I can work with?" Before he even finished the question, Fontaine shoved a bag with some books, bandages, and a soothing salve into his hands.

"These should serve you well. If you got any questions just message me or come by. Depending on how you classmates deal with what happened last night we could make a group session out of this as well."

'Group therapy? No thank you.' "Alright. Anything else?"

"I prescribe you with some bedrest; no physically taxing exercise and no duels for a week. Since you also won't have to attend classes for that time you should use it to find ways to calm yourself and maybe find someone you trust to talk about your issues. I'll always be available for that as well, but someone closer to you would be preferable."

'Yeah, very helpful.' Blake groaned internally. 'After seeing everyone's reaction last night, I doubt they even want to talk to me. Except Jaden, but he's got questions too … probably about all this Shadow Duel stuff. I guess I could talk to Bastion, but I'd have to tell him a lot of stuff the others know by now first and I don't know how he'll react to that … the girls … I can't imagine Bright staying around once she knows and Yuma … she might be fine with it but I can see her making a huge huff out of it and I don't think I want that. And Kami's gonna have a field day with that new piece of information. The last thing I should do is make myself vulnerable to her, she's already out for using me for her gain. I just hope she remembers who got her out of there …'

He left the infirmary and made his way back to his dorm. Bastion and the others didn't know what had happened, but he could see them trying to squeeze some answers out of him this evening when they're having their movie night. But how much could he really tell them? He had no idea. For now, he'd visit Jaden and deal with his questions, maybe that would help prepare him for the others. Now that he thought about it, with no expulsion duel he'd robbed Syrus some character development, hadn't he? Not like it mattered because he didn't really do anything afterwards, but it was a reason for Zane to duel Jaden.

Was that a bad thing? He didn't know. Did he care about causing such a change? Not really. It was to everyone's benefit, as they got their tuitions paid and didn't have to deal with expulsion. Plus, he had some shit on Crowler now, something he and Kami had to discuss how to use. And they even got to see Kaiba, even if only briefly over a screen. But he wondered about Jaden's repeated showing of the Gentle Darkness. This'd been the second time now, and they weren't even that far into their first year. Was this a good thing or not? He could see that Jaden manifested it whenever he felt like he's in danger, and he hadn't lashed out with it yet. So maybe this would teach him how to use and control it before everything goes to shit in the future? He sure hoped so.

"How're you feeling, buddy?" he asked Jaden, who's laying down on his bunk bed with a cooling pack on his stomach.

"Nothing a good long sleep won't fix. The nurse said it's just a bruise," Jaden answered with a smile.

Aside from them, the room was vacant. Whether the other boys weren't here by coincidence or design, didn't matter. It was good they weren't here. "Well enough to ask your questions then?" Blake didn't want to deal with them butting in on what they're talking about, nor did he care for the looks they'd be giving him. He did feel a bit bad about the fact that Jaden laid there hurt, but there's nothing he could do about it.

"You bet! If I only knew where to start …" Jaden exclaimed before looking thoughtfully at the bunkbed above him.

Blake meanwhile took a chair and put it in front of the bed with the backrest facing Jaden, so he could slump over it. "With whatever first comes to mind. If you get any questions later, I'll be still around to ask then."

"Hmm … so what's all that about 'Shadow Duels'? I mean, I heard that before, but …" Jaden began.

"But you thought it was just some hearsay to scare off young duelists?" Blake interjected, to which Jaden nodded sheepishly. "Well, just like the Duel Spirits like your Winged Kuriboh, it's real. I assume you've seen the recordings from Battle City?"

He received a wide grin from Jaden at that. "You bet! I don't know how many times I watched it in the past!"

"Then you surely remember the semifinals match between Joey Wheeler and Marik Ishtar?" Blake continued, and Jaden's face went pale. "That was only one of many Shadow Duels, but more importantly one you could see something happening. And the fact that it was a Shadow Duel is also the only reason why Joey lost, I may add. Why else would he fall unconscious just before he could end and win, right?"

Jaden slowly nodded as he rubbed his bruised chest. "Now that you say it … there have been talks about what happened back then. Not just the 'falling unconscious' part, but also the weird distortions on the recordings. And you said it was the most public one? So, there's more of them?"

"Battle City was ridden with them. Basically, every duel Yugi Muto participated in was one."

"Damn … did that golden necklace of his have anything to do with it?" Jaden asked suddenly. "I can clearly remember him wearing it during Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, the Kaiba Corp Grand Championship … and that short sudden tournament a few years ago, but he wasn't wearing it then. Hasn't been for a good ten years, I think. And that Titan guy had one like Yugi's as well."

Blake leaned back a bit as Jaden pondered. The boy wasn't given enough credit for how perceptive he was. "It did, and after that one and its related items vanished the Shadow Duels should've been gone as well." 'It was an ancient Egyptian practice after all. But then again, the universe was expended afterwards, so I wouldn't say my knowledge is perfectly accurate.'

"So … what happened to those two guys that lost?" Jaden gulped, his voice growing a bit weary.

Not knowing how to word it nicely, Blake just threw the truth at him. "They're dead. Or banished. I think it's kinda like what people tell you Hell is like? Eternal torture and all that stuff." Jaden looked at him in horror, so he paddled back a bit. "Hey, I'm not sure, I haven't been there. But I don't think a place called 'Shadow Realm' will be a spa-vacation either."

"Why would anyone do that?"

"Because people suck. There's no merit in it other than getting rid of the loser. It was a form of ritual battle back when the pyramids were still young. To challenge people, to settle disputes, or earn someone's position or what not. Nowadays it's just used by bad people for bad reasons, like greed, pride, or revenge."

Jaden hummed in thought. "You really know a lot about that stuff."

"Maybe you should pay attention in class once in a while," Blake poked fun at him to raise the mood a little. Jaden laughed, so it must've worked.

"Alright, fair enough. But I'm pretty sure all that didn't come from just classes." Jaden looked at Blake again, more specifically at the scars hidden behind sweatbands and bandages. "Can I ask about those?"

Blake snorted in amusement. "I dunno, can you?"

"That's not what I-" Jaden groaned. "You didn't talk about it until now, and judging by how that Panik guy talked I think it's not something you like to talk about."

"It isn't, but I believe I can make an exception for you." Blake mused. "You've heard half of it already, so there's not really a point of hiding it from you."

"So, you really were some underground duelist?" Jaden questioned with a tone of surprise. "Why?"

'You didn't believe the others when they said it? Talk about a good-natured person …' "Because it was my only choice." Jaden furrowed his brows at that, so he continued. "I'm not from a good family, neither in wealth nor health. I'll spare you the details about how fucked up my parents were, the important part is that I got the chance of getting out of there by dueling underground, so I did."

Jaden slowly nodded along before interrupting. "Wait, 'were'? So-"

"They're gone and I don't miss 'em." Blake stated with a cold tone. "Moving on, my now guardian gave me a chance to get away from my parents and make money for myself. I did exactly that, dueled underground for a few years and eventually kicked that Panik guy off his little throne, which is probably why he came back to annoy me." 'And hopefully that'll be the last time. Don't think I can stomach looking at that face again.' "With that I had enough money to pay my tuition for the first year at Duel Academy, and after some persuasion on my part I got here."

"Man … that's rough buddy. But I knew you had a good reason for it if it was true. Sy-" Jaden responded before stopping himself.

Blakes grip on the chair tightened enough to cause its wood to groan. "Syrus should mind his own business." He spat out the boy's name. "His stares were annoying me already, but I suggest you keep him on a tight leash with that mouth of his. Can't promise not to do something to him if he blabs. Not like he'll make it much farther in the academy if he keeps going how he is." 'If anything, it'd be a good way to blast of some steam. And if he doesn't improve its very likely he gets booted based on his performance too.'

"I'm sure he won't," Jaden countered but paused. "But he's been acting a bit weird after that one time you talked him down in the academy."

"Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he tried talking you into staying away from me." 'He's a coward, so it'd fit him.'

Jaden didn't look well at that thought but instead of keeping at it, he changed the subject. "Remember when you told me about stopping to take those sleeping pills? To remember stuff?" Blake nodded. "I think that hit last night spurred on my memories a bit. But I can't make much sense of it."

"Oh? What did you remember?" Blake leaned forward in his chair. 'Anything will help here, honestly.'

"Do you know about a card named Yubel?" Jaden looked at him with a troubled expression. "After I saw you fight back the way you did, it reminded me of it. I think I used that card back when I was a child and … it didn't end well."

Blake blinked in surprise. 'Wow wow wow, Yubel? Already? That's … something.' "Vaguely? I've never seen the card myself but I heard the name," he lied smoothly as he tried to make sense of the situation. 'Is that because he used his darkness this much? Does the alter ego inside of him cause him to remember her? Him? It? What am I even supposed to tell him about that?!'

"I remember using that card a lot, it was my favourite, actually." Jaden mused with a sombre expression. "I don't know what happened to it, but I think my parents tossed it out with the rest of my cards back then. I only got to keep my new ones because they're a gift from mister Hibiki."

'Tossed out? Shouldn't Yubel have been sent to space with the Neo Spacians? What the fucks going on?' Blakes mind raced. He was fine with the fact that he's most likely the reason why Jaden's powers surfaced this early, but he wasn't around for anything Yubel related for sure. Something was different and he had no idea why or how. Did him participating in the card-making event cause Jaden's ideas to not be considered? Was it connected to that weird shift in the spirit world the lizard talked about? Maybe that dragon knew more about Yubel.

On one hand, not being exposed to years in space where the Light of Destruction would make the spirit go insane could be a good thing. On the other, he had no idea where Yubel ended up instead, and if it could be equally as bad. But with that, everything he knew about what would happen in their third year had gone to waste. This wasn't the story he knew from the show. That thought was … unsettling.

"I hoped you knew more, since you always do. My partner doesn't know either, so I guess that's that," Jaden finished.

"Sorry 'bout that. I'm not as all-knowing as everyone beliefs me to be," Blake joked in return. "Perhaps we can find out more about it in the future." 'Hopefully. Considering what happened originally, I really don't wanna be blindsided by that crazed spirit.' "Anything else you wanna ask me?"

Jaden pondered before shaking his head. "No, I think I'm good for now. Thanks man, not just for staying with me last night but for telling me everything."

The 'everything'-part of that bothered Blake a little, but he didn't let it show. "No need to thank me. I've got your back and you've got mine, right? But if that's everything I should get going. No offense, but being here when Syrus and Chumley return won't be any good."

"It's fine, I understand. They'll come around, I'm sure," Jaden grinned as he waved him off.

'If only everyone was as positive as you …'

"Jaden, Chumley and I have talked about what happened last night and we think that we should all stay away from Blake." Syrus stated. He and Chumley had just returned from getting them some sandwiches.

Jaden cringed at that as it was exactly what Blake told him would happen earlier. Was he a psychic or something? "I think you guys are overreacting. He's our friend and he's helped us out, right? Not only down there but when security got us! What do you think would've happened without him?" He reasoned. His parents would be happy when they got the money for his tuition back for sure. Well, and the fact that he, nor any of them, wasn't expelled.

"We would've come up with something!" Syrus claimed. "I mean, have you seen his look during the duel? He was enjoying whatever happened back there! And, and, that other guy confirmed him doing underground duels, those are outlawed!"

He really wanted to back up Blake here, but he doubted that he'd like him to share his secrets like that. Blake said he'd make an exception for him after all, though he wondered if he'd tell Bastion as well. It ultimately didn't matter, as it wasn't his story to tell. "I think you're missing some part of the story there, Sy. And besides, has he ever done something bad to any of us?"

Syrus mumbled at that, something about 'he was mean to me,' before shouting out again. "It doesn't matter! He's a bad influence and obviously a bad person! We don't need him anyways; you're leagues better than him! And next time, I'll be your partner!" He sounded both scared and frustrated, making Jaden wonder what caused that.

"You do remember me losing to him, right Sy?" Jaden asked jokingly.

"Do you really think you could've dueled at Jaden's side last night?" Chumley brought some reason into the conversation, causing both of them to look at him. He twitched under the sudden attention. "I don't mean anything bad by this, but you're comparing yourself to one of if not the best duelist in our year, Syrus." The fact that Syrus hid behind him during the duel was left unsaid, but they clearly all remembered that part.

"Chumley might be right about that one," Jaden argued diplomatically. "That duel was pretty intense, and it was Blake who closed up the match."

Syrus gulfed down his sandwich and stood up tall, as tall as he could be anyways, and declared. "I might not be the best duelist now-" he started and Jaden couldn't help but imagine Blake saying something along the lines of 'that's an understatement.' His little quips really hit the mark, although Jaden would've preferred it if he wasn't so blunt all the time. "But that ends here! I've been putting this off for too long, so I'll show you! You, Blake, my brother, everyone! I'll train hard and be the best duelist I can be!"

"That's the spirit, Sy!" Jaden cheered. They had talked about this weeks ago, but every time he or Bastion offered to help, Syrus deflected. Now that he was up for it, it was only the right thing to do to help his friend.

"Jaden, I challenge you to a duel!"

"I challenge you to a duel, Blake!"

That wasn't what he had expected her to say as her first words once they met again. "Oh? How come?"

Alexis, who he'd run into after he'd gone to the card shop for some booster packs, looked at him tersely. "Isn't that what you wanted anyway? Or are you one of those guys that'd ask me for a date to repay my debts?"

He couldn't help but laugh at that. "Now that'd be the most worthless date to get, no. But is that really it?"

"At least we can agree on something," she said, though his wording might've been a bit off judging by her furrowed brows. "You've been dueling all high ranked duelists from our year aside from me and Chazz. I don't really care about all that title-stuff, but I do care about battling strong opponents. You beat Jaden, and you've beaten those guys last night." She paused for a moment and he waited for her to say something about Atticus's picture he'd given to Jaden, and Jaden in turn to her. He'd written a little note on the back of it for later, in hopes it might pay off. But she didn't say anything about that.

"So, that enough reason for you?" she crossed her arms, which she really should stop doing, because she gave every guy in the vicinity a reason to look at her. Well, two reasons.

"Sure, but since Professor Fontaine has forbidden me from dueling for a week, we've to postpone it for a bit." He answered with a roll of his wrist.

She stopped at that, no doubt remembering in what shape Jaden and he had been when they got out of the Abandoned Dorm. It even looked like she wanted to ask him about it, but she briefly shook her head. "That's fine with me. I'll send you a request for next weekend then. I imagine you don't have a problem with an audience?"

"If you mean Jasmine and Mindy, I'm fine with that. Jaden, Bastion, and the rest will most likely want to watch as well."

"That's fine by me as well." She nodded. "And thank you for your help last night."

"There you are, Blake. The others were already doubting whether you'd show up or not." He encountered Bastion after going about his day not really knowing what else to do.

Which is why he had tried out the meditation exercises written in one of the books Fontaine had given him. Needless to say, he didn't get anywhere with it. After his talk with Jaden, his mind just wouldn't calm down about what could be going on with Yubel, which changes to what he knew he influenced himself and which not. The revelation of what had happened to that card did answer a few of his many questions at least. About why Jaden used different and newer cards, why people like Bright and Yuma were so strong, yet newer showed up in the show, the changes about not all girls going to Obelisk Blue.

Many things were the same, or at least similar, not just the people and cards, but the events happening, as demonstrated by Titan's arrival. But how long would that continue? He had to talk to his spirit partner asap, but that stupid lizard wasn't responding. He had a whole week to think about all that stuff, but he doubted that he'd calm down anytime soon.

"Sorry, I got a bit lost when trying out some exercise Professor Fontaine told me to do. Didn't look at the time." He excused himself lamely.

Bastion mustered him for a moment. "Just so you know, the girls want to know what happened last night. So, if there's anything you want to get out before meeting up with them …"

He looked intently at Bastion. After he'd failed at meditation, he'd tried to address this exact issue. He didn't think that telling them what had happened would be an issue. No, the issue laid in what came after that. On one hand, if he did choose to open up, it could be a good thing to get the weight of keeping his secrets to himself off his chest. Not only that, but maybe it'd bridge the gap in where he could truly call them his friends. Something he was reluctant about, as he's hiding so much and doesn't know if he can trust them and himself about it, not to mention the shitty years he had to go through to get here. It worked with Jaden, but Jaden was a bad example with how positive, friendly, and all that stuff he was. He'd originally forgive Kagemaru after he'd released the Sacred Beasts and tried to wipe the world clean off spirits. Shonen protagonist stuff. He had gotten a massive headache from thinking about that.

On the other hand, they could reject him for who he was, leaving him alone to deal with everything. Not that he'd a problem with being alone per se, but after getting used to not be by himself it wasn't preferable. And it would make meeting them pretty awkward. Not only that, but if Bastion did so, it could break off contact to Jaden entirely, as his roommates were most likely already against him. That'd mean he'd have to act by himself and without any input from other perspectives. It'd leave him with no one beside Kami, who might come around after her rescue, but would be far away from what the plot was going to be, if she didn't try to blackmail him with the new information in the first place. If that happened, he didn't think he'd open up to someone again anytime in the future, so it was a huge gamble.

Which is why he'd hoped that he'd get a chance to talk alone with Bastion beforehand. If he didn't react at least neutrally about everything, then there was no point to tell anyone else. "I have, actually." He motioned Bastion to follow, which he did, and led him to his room, where they both sat down.

"I'll start with the short version and you can ask questions if there's more you want to know. I'm gonna tell it twice anyway. Sounds good?" he asked Bastion and got a nod in return. Taking a deep breath, he briefly gave him an overview off how Alexis and Kami were kidnapped. How Jaden, he and the others followed into the Abandoned Dorm, and the duel that happened afterwards. "And after security brought us before Chancellor Sheppard, we got our buts saved by Seto Kaiba, who in turn fired the security for letting any of this happen in the first place. The end."

Bastion scratched his chin in thought as he nodded along. "Alright, I believe I got the gist of it, but what happened to the kidnappers."

"Would you believe me if I told you that they succumbed to their own plans of evoking an ancient Egyptian ritual that resulted in them getting drawn into another dimension and or potentially killed by it?" Blake responded dryly.

"You mean this phenomenon called Shadow Duel?" Bastion questioned in turn, to which he nodded. "While it sounds highly unscientifically, it would share similarities with the theory about Duel Energy. But to be drawn into a different dimension because of it … I'm not that deep into multiversal theory as of now, I'm afraid."

"I'm not so sure about what happened to them either, it's just a theory."

Bastion pondered for a while, probably a good few minutes, before talking again. "Alright, so if a Shadow Duel overlaps with Duel Energy, then that must be the reason you all got sent to the infirmary, right? While I believe the shock of what happened last night would be enough for that, I've got a feeling that there's more to it."

'I don't know whether it's a good or bad thing for you to be so insightful' Blake thought and promptly pulled up his shirt and the bandages to the side to show Bastion his scar. "You're right. This will be by reminder for what happened. Jaden didn't get out cleanly either, but he just got a bruise."

Bastions eyes widened at the sight. "This … was caused by a duel?"

"A Shadow Duel"

"Pardon, a Shadow Duel?" Bastion asked as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Yes. It's not pretty, but better than dying or being send to hell."

"You seem alright, but are you really?" Bastion asked with concern, which he waved off.

Now was the time to gamble it all, so he put away his sweatbands and the bandage around his neck as well. "As you can see, I've had worse. The new one stings a bit, but I don't think it'll hinder me in any way."

Bastion looked like he'd just had a rug pulled away from under him as his eyes widened. He didn't speak immediately, but when he did it was with a mostly calm tone. "Is that the point you wanted to tell me specifically?"

"Yes. I doubt you know what might've caused these, so I'll just tell you; Shock collars, used in underground duels." He threw the information at Bastion and waited. He really hoped he wouldn't regret this, but he didn't know what else to do. There was too much happening at once today and he really needed something to ease his mind. So, he waited nervously for Bastion to react.

"I see … that would explain your skills and why you didn't show up at any tournaments." 'Wait, what?' "You probably don't know this, but there are a few rumours going around about you, with you being a former underground duelist being one of those as well. While it sounded outlandish before, I didn't dismiss the idea completely, as your performance and attitude did fit into what I imagined such duelists to be."

He looked baffled at the boy sitting in front of him. "Excuse me?"

"Ah, my apologies." Bastion responded and cleared his throat. "Since you're showing me this, I believe you expect me to ask why you were doing something like that? Judging by your behaviour and goals, I don't think it was off malicious intent, but do clarify."

He told Bastion what he'd told Jaden earlier, which prompted a similar reaction. "While I can't imagine how it must've felt to go through all that, I must agree that it was a good plan on your part. Regarding everything else, you've my condolences. It must've been difficult for you and I appreciate you opening up towards me about it. I would, however advise against telling Bright and Yuma about this for the time being, until you can comfortably say that they will react positively about it."

Blake let out a long sigh at that before falling backwards onto his bed and laughing. "God, you have no idea how much I dreaded to talk about this." He was touched by Bastions words and it felt like a huge weight fell of his heart. Actually, he never felt as good as he felt right now.

"It is a rather heavy topic to talk about. Rest assured that I will keep this to myself." Bastion responded. "Nor will I treat you any different now that I know about it. I may not be the most social person myself, but even I know when to keep my mouth shut." The sound of a ping caused him to rummage around. "We should get going or someone might give you a harsh scolding."

"Yeah, we should. Thank you, Bastion."

"Hey, that's what best friends are there for."

And cut. The aftermath of what happened at the Abandoned Dorm is almost complete, all that's left is to see Kami's reaction once she and Blake meet again. Now both Jaden and Bastion know Blake's past roughly, and they've taken that up pretty nicely. But all ain't flowers and sunshine with Syrus and Chumley, at least it sparked some motivation though. Will that little fact break apart the two groups? Only time will tell.

Jaden's resurfacing memory about his favourite card threw a wench into Blake's perception of the world and opened a whole other can of worms too. For clarification, he didn't ask about his bursts of power with the Gentle Darkness since he didn't see his eyes change colour, nor has anyone told him. But if Yubel isn't in space, where could it be?

Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing! The story passed the 200 followers mark and I couldn't be happier. I'm sure its not to everyone's taste, but its great to see that people want to read it. Hope to keep having you around!