Chapter 34: The Serpent Gods
Her voice came out smaller than she intended, tinged with fear. "Mom?"
"Honey, are you okay? We heard there's a lockdown at your school."
"I'm fine, Mom." She hesitated before adding, "It's as safe here as anywhere else."
Her father's voice came on the line, too. "Have you heard from Dave? He's not answering his phone."
There it was. Their primary concern was Dave, never mind their own daughter, who was suffering an unimaginable ordeal herself. A hollow feeling opened up in Cary's chest, one she was overly familiar with.
"No. I haven't seen Dave. I'm sure he's safe." Her heart pounded violently, as if she hadn't lied to her parents hundreds of times in the past.
"We're so worried about him. Can you go find him at his dormitory? Tell him to give his parents a call. They need to know he's safe."
Sweat began beading on Cary's forehead, and her palms turned clammy. She knew exactly why Dave wasn't answering his phone. But telling them the truth would break her parents as much as it would break Aunt Jill and Uncle Bill. That's if the story wasn't too fantastical for them to believe it.
"Mom, I... I don't think I can do that. They've got us on lockdown inside the rec center for safety. The campus police are still looking for Dave and the other missing kids."
Her dad said, "Well, you have to at least try to get in touch with him. He could be in serious trouble! An extra head can only make the police's job easier. We'll give them a call and make sure they know it's okay for you to leave."
Her dad's frantic words lanced through her like steak knives. Of course he thought he held sway over the campus police. And he was perfectly willing to put Cary at risk if it meant helping Dave. Silent tears slipped down her cheeks as her parents thought only of her golden cousin, the one who could do no wrong.
"It's too dangerous right now," she choked out between suppressed sobs. "The staff won't let me outside. They're focused on keeping me and the others safe until we can be evacuated."
The pleading statement fell on deaf ears. "But shouldn't Dave also be the priority?" Her mom sounded like she was already crying. "We need to know if he's okay! Can't you look for him, just quickly?"
Despair threatened to swallow Cary whole, heavy and thick. As usual, her parents had only one priority, and it wasn't their daughter. Pressing her lips together to stop them from trembling, she struggled to remain calm and not scream the traumatizing truth. She knew she wouldn't utter a word about Dave's involvement in the current crisis—not when he had the whole school, herself included, held hostage. Telling her parents the truth would just make her even more of an outcast: the jealous daughter trying to slander her flawless cousin. All she could do was pray he came to his senses soon, before anyone was hurt.
"Where do we go first?" asked Yul.
Cary wasn't sure. It was so dark outside that the fog offered as much visibility as a blackout curtain. "Last time I was out here, Erica was dueling people along the beach. So let's head back toward Duel Academy but avoid that area for now."
"That creates a conundrum," said Syd. "It's too dark to see in the woods at night even when we're not covered with fog." She slapped her own arm as if she were killing a bug, but Cary knew she was trying to hide her shivers. Despite the rising seasonal temperature, the kaiju weather had forced the island back down another five or ten degrees. It was the first time Syd had her jacket buttoned up in weeks.
"You think flashlights will draw more attention than us tromping through the brush?"
Yul said, "I think all draws attention. What if they are waiting?"
"Then we won't have far to look," said Cary.
Syd huffed, something in between a chuckle and a scoff. "You seem awfully confident considering we're hunting down Shadow duelists who wield god cards right now."
"Yul has the biggest collection of cards on the whole island. Even Desiree is mad-jealous."
"She offers to buy, but I like to keep my collection," he said.
"Exactly. And there has to be a reason that all the Guardian Duelers went crazy except for Yul. If he's strong enough to resist the shadow magic, then he's strong enough to win against their avatars."
Syd was quiet for a moment, and Cary couldn't read her expression in the dark. Finally, she said, "I get it. You have to believe that." Cary chose not to argue.
Cary never realized how difficult it was to find her way through the woods until she tried to do so in the dark. By the time they stumbled on the agricultural facility, she was happy just to be somewhere with lights. Despite housing all the students inside DA-Rec, staff members still had to tend to the farmland inside the fenced-in area. She had never actually been inside the building or the grounds, but she was aware of their work treating the soil and promoting sustainability. The staff here were the reason students weren't going hungry even though ships were unable to dock and deliver supplies.
So late at night, she hoped the staff would all be safely asleep. But one shadowy figure stood outside the gate in front of the facility. When he turned to see Cary's approach, Dave entered the light and made himself visible through the fog. His expression now was completely alien. His jacket collar, though popped, did not shroud his face, revealing a hideous scowl plastered outside the happiest, most generous young man Cary had ever known.
Her worry for Dave abated—this person didn't even resemble her cousin—but her fear of the duelist before her grew. He was ranked Number 1, and he summoned Exodia against the headmaster. The air coming from him made Cary cower ever more. His intensity was immeasurable—a god staring down a mere rabbit. His Duel Disk was already active, indicating his challenge already extended to whomever would accept. Cary looked over the Yul, but she didn't see the same hesitation in his eyes that she herself felt. Yul was resolute and bold, maybe unconvinced of his ability to defeat Dave, yet convinced that he needed to win.
"I will accept your challenge, friend," said Yul as he activated his own Duel Disk. "As they say in the early days: It's time to duel."
Cary backed away, not knowing for sure how the duel would turn out but knowing undeniably that she needed not to get caught up in it. She had seen what the shadows did to Jim, Laura, and Erica already. A clash between Dave and Yul was bound to be even more dramatic.
Dave took priority over Yul, and so Cary simply crossed her fingers and hoped Dave wouldn't win on the first turn. Dave started off with Upstart Goblin, a green creature wearing decadent clothing and many jeweled rings. It let Dave draw another card by giving Yul 1000 LP. He set two cards and summoned The Bistro Butcher (4: 1800|1000), a purple-skinned goblin clad in orange and wielding a chopping knife in one hand and a hook over the other hand.
Dave: 8000 LP, 2 cards
Yul: 9000 LP, 5 cards
No doubt Yul knew he needed to act quickly before Dave got the chance to summon Exodia. But the best he could do to start was to activate Card Destruction, the hand replacement card, and hope Dave already held a piece of Exodia.
"Lucky!" shouted Yul, giving Cary a glimmer of hope. The digital display of Dave's Graveyard listed Left Arm of the Forbidden One, meaning it was no longer in Dav'es hand or deck. At least for now, Dave couldn't summon Exodia!
But Cary knew better than to get excited: Dave was a master at retrieving Exodia parts from his Graveyard. In fact, he might be even happier to have them there because then he knew exactly where they were. Dave also chained both Solemn Wishes and Appropriate; holographic rain began falling on the duelists. Whenever Dave drew a card, including by the effect of Card Destruction, he gained 500 LP, and whenever Yul drew outside of the Draw Phase, Dave got to draw an extra two cards. Card Destruction was such an occasion.
"I turn this beach into Necrovalley," Yul spoke. The holographic display between the duelists changed to show cliffs on either side, so high they disappeared beyond the range of the hologram projectors. "Now, we cannot affect any cards in the Graveyard, and you cannot summon Exodia." Again, Yul's cards were perfectly delivering on the promise to block Dave from summoning his most powerful combo.
And yet, Dave's expression was hardly one of concern. If anything, his expression was more terrifying than before.
"I will set one monster and another card."
Dave: 8500 LP, 4 cards
Yul: 9000 LP, 2 cards
Dave gained another 500 points when he drew. He summoned Chainsaw Insect (4/2400/0)—an insect with rapid-moving chainsaws in place of mandibles—and sent it to attack Yul's monster. First, Chainsaw Insect's effect caused Yul to draw a card, but Appropriate chained to let Dave draw two more cards, and Solemn Wishes gave Dave 500 LP. The Insect buzzed straight through Yul's Giant Germ (100), which scattered bacteria big enough to be seen; the spread of disease inflicted 500 LP damage to Dave and replaced the card with two more Giant Germs (2: 1000|100) from Yul's deck. Dave still had another monster, with The Bistro Butcher (1800) and his large chopping knife, able to destroy a second Giant Germ (1000). Once again, a chain reaction started: Giant Germ scattered bacteria everywhere and inflicted another 500 LP to Dave, Bistro Butcher's effect gave Yul two cards from his deck, Appropriate let Dave draw two cards, and Solemn Wishes gave Dave 500 LP.
That was all Dave wanted to do for this turn. Because he held eight cards in his hand, and the rules limited each player to only hold six cards at the end of his turn, he discarded two cards. Yul checked the display. "Both pieces of Exodia," he said, probably for Cary's benefit. Apparently, Dave had given up on summoning him.
Dave: 9000 LP, 6 cards
Yul: 8200, 5 cards
Yul drew. "I send Giant Germ to the Graveyard to summon Vanity's Fiend (6/2400/1200)." The man who appeared on the field had long red hair growing all over his body, but most of it was covered by a black cloak. "He prevents us from using Special Summon. I attack The Bistro Butcher (1800)." Vanity's Fiend stood in front of the orange chef for a moment, then threw open the cloak and absorbed Dave's monster into the darkness, like there was a black hole outside his belly.
Dave: 8400 LP, 6 cards
Yul: 8200 LP, 5 cards
Dave drew and immediately summoned Armageddon Knight (4: 1400|1200), a man clad in iron armor, bearing a saber in one arm and a wire shield in the other. Upon summoning, the Armageddon Knight slashed Dave's deck to let Dave send a dark monster from his deck to the Graveyard: the fifth piece of Exodia. Then he sent Chainsaw Insect (2400) to suicide against Vanity's Fiend (2400); the chains on the insect's mandibles fell apart, but not before tearing chunks from the Fiend's body. Yul drew a card per Chainsaw Insect's effect, Dave drew two for Appropriate, and Dave gained 500 LP for Solemn Wishes. With Yul's field clear, Armageddon Knight (1400) slashed directly across Yul's body.
With a cry, Yul grabbed his chest and lurched. Cary asked him what happened. He pulled his hand away from his chest and looked at it. "That hurt, like being cut for real. More than Solid Sense. But I don't bleed."
Is this a real life Shadow Game? thought Cary to herself. It had to be—physical pain being delivered underneath the skin by holograms. Just like in the old legends.
Dave placed two cards facedown and ended his turn.
Dave: 9400 LP, 6 cards
Yul: 6800 LP, 6 cards
Yul looked almost hesitant to move after being attacked directly. Maybe that's why he spent the turn with even fewer moves to make. "I set one monster and another card."
Cary's blood pressure was sky high at this point. Yul had blocked Exodia, and that was great, but Dave's hand was full and his Life Points kept going up more often than they went down. If he summoned Slifer, everything was over. And Yul was barely able to keep up.
"This was a mistake," she said, finally turning to Syd. But Sydney wasn't there. With limited visibility into the woods, Cary couldn't see Syd anywhere at all. She pulled out her phone and sent a text message, hoping that Syd was still safe enough to see it and come find her.
Dave activated Contract with Exodia. A pentagon of five tombstones rose, each bearing the image of an ankh chiseled into them, and Exodia's head appeared in the middle. After verifying the energy present from each of the five Exodia pieces, the head nodded and granted Dave the right to summon Exodia Necross (4: 1800|0), a dark incarnation of the Egyptian god Exodia that burst from the ground like a zombie.
"The dead body of Exodia revived," Yul noted, referencing stories of Exodia. "It is a powerful card that cannot be destroyed and continues to grow each turn."
Cary knew that Dave held Exodia Necross, but it was rare for him to play it. There were other cards, stronger and faster. But Dave had the skill: He chained Torrential Tribute to his monster's summoning so that a sudden deluge flooded the field and wiped out every monster except for Necross. He then summoned Witch of the Black Forest (4: 1100|1200), a purple-haired woman with a third, green eye in the middle of her forehead. First, the Witch cast a short spell that struck Yul with a ball of focused energy, and then Exodia Necross planted his fist in Yul's stomach. Yul grabbed his chest once again and gasped painfully. He coughed wildly as he struggled to catch his breath.
Dave: 9900 LP, 5 cards
Yul: 3900 LP, 6 cards
"That was not a punch, really. It felt like squeezing my lungs." Yul was trying to describe the effects of this Shadow Game on his body. Cary wanted to point out that's what getting punched feels like, but it wasn't the important part of the story. The fact that Dave's holograms inflicted pain sounded physically impossible, and yet it confirmed Emily's fears. The old Yu-Gi-Oh! Gaming lore told stories in which Yugi Mutou and his enemies often dueled with magic that turned the card effects real. The Shadow Realm had come to Duel Academy.
At least Yul wasn't quitting yet, though Cary debated whether to grab him and run away. He activated Premature Burial to revive the Criosphinx (6: 1200|2400) from his Graveyard. Another rare card that Cary knew about but had never seen in action. With the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the head of a ram, the Criosphix was too heavy to fly, but maybe he was powerful enough to serve Yul's purposes.
"To counter Dark Exodia, I summon Exodia's sealed body; I send Criosphinx away to summon Exxod, Master of the Guard (8: 0|4000) in defense mode." The ambient energy left behind by the Criosphinx drew additional power from each of the five tombstones in front of Dave. The energy combined to form a pumped-up form of Exodia, but with a smaller head, a powerful force holding his fists together, and a ring of power behind him restricting his offensive strength. "All the individual powers of Exodia's pieces add to this incarnation's defense power. I set one card and one monster to end my turn."
Dave: 9900 LP, 5 cards
Yul: 3100 LP, 3 cards
Dave still wasn't impressed. Exxod had incredible defensive power, but it couldn't inflict damage and so it wasn't a real threat. Besides, Exodia Necross (+2300) drew power from the five tombstones and gained 500 points each turn. Eventually, it would be stronger than Exxod. He sent his Witch of the Black Forest to the Graveyard to summon Big Piece Golem (5: 2100|0), a gray boulder with rocky hands and feet sprouting from its neck-less body. Witch of the Black Forest activated her effect to give Dave a monster from his deck. With his monsters ready, he sent Exodia Necross (2300) after Yul's face-down monster.
As the massive black fist cocked back for attack, Yul activated a Trap Card: "I play Staunch Defender." Exxod stepped up and began to shine with power, guarding Yul's other monster. "All your monsters must attack Exxod (4000) during this turn."
Instead of taking any damage for his maneuver, Dave activated his Spirit Barrier card. An invisible shield restricted the backlash of his monsters' attacks; so long as he had a monster on the field, he took no battle damage, even from attacking a defensive monster with high defense points.
Dave: 9900 LP, 6 cards
Yul: 3100 LP, 3 cards
Yul appeared to be getting restless. Cary couldn't blame him. Even though Yul made all the right moves to prove himself the superior duelist, Dave countered him perfectly. He was proving why he deserved to be Number 1.
"I Flip Summon my Des Lacooda (3: 500|600)"—a mummified, two-humped camel with no skin on its bones—"to draw one card." At the same time, the Appropriate plus Solemn Wishes combo activated to give Dave two more cards and 500 LP. "Exxod also activates during a Flip summon: You take 1000 LP damage." The ring of power began to spin behind Exxod, and even though his arms were bound, his power still blew past the limiters and hit Dave directly. "I also send Des Lacooda to the Graveyard to set a monster. Finally, I activate Yu-Jyo Friendship." He revealed one of his rarest Spell Cards—one that he had discovered during a trip abroad and that Desiree had attempted to purchase from him. The card's face featured the images of the legendary Yugi Mutou and his closest friend Jonouchi Katsuya… or Joey Wheeler, in the Americanized lore. "According to this Spell…" He held out his open hand. "I offer you a handshake, and if you choose to take it, we divide our total Life Points evenly."
Dave only stared at Yul's hand. The shadow magic surrounding him grew more intense, possibly to show his anger.
With a smile, Yul said, "I thought no. Why voluntarily reduce your Life Points? That's where the second effect of this card plays. I show you that I have Unity in my hand—" He revealed a Spell featuring Yugi, Jonouchi, and two more close friends. "—and you are forced to accept my handshake."
Again, the darkness swelled. For some reason, shaking hands was a truly repulsive considersation. Against the wishes of his inhabiting spirit, Dave grabbed Yul's hand. As soon as he did, Yul shivered noticably. "You're so cold," he gasped. Even though she wasn't the one touching her cousin, just hearing the emptiness in Yul's voice made her feel an eternity of solitude and agony. Was that just a hint of what it was like to be infected by the shadows?
Yul needed a moment to shake off the cold air when he released Dave's hand. Temporarily unable to speak, he placed a card face-down and ended his turn.
Dave: 6750 LP, 8 cards
Yul: 6750 LP, 2 cards
Dave drew and activated Cup of Ace. A golden chalice revealed a holographic coin, which flipped and landed with "tails" face-up: Yul got to draw two cards; however, Appropriate and Solemn Wishes activated again. Finally, Dave activated Infinite Cards, the card Cary worried might be coming. As long as that card remained on the field, neither player had a limit to the size of his hand, and so Dave needn't discard at the end of his turn.
After absorbing more power, Exodia Necross (+2800) attacked Yul's face-down card. As soon as Guardian Sphinx (2400) flipped face-up, Yul activated the Unity card he had already revealed earlier. Its effect increased Guardian Sphinx's (+6400) defense power by the defense points of his other monster, Exxod (4000). Unfortunately, Spirit Barrier still prevented Dave from taking battle damage. He set a monster and ended his turn.
Dave: 7750 LP, 9 cards
Yul: 6750 LP, 4 cards
Yul was slow to draw his card. He shivered heavily again. Cary wondered if she had crossed a line asking Yul to fight her battle on her behalf. Dave was too strong, maybe unstoppable. Both duelists were known for their defenses; Dave was practiced at stalling until he could pull together Exodia's pieces. But it felt like he was getting too lucky with having exactly what card he needed to block Yul's attacks every time. If Yul was going to lose, Cary resolved that she would watch every move, learn every trick in Dave's current deck, and then she'd be as ready as possible to avenge Yul.
"I flip Guardian Sphinx facedown by its own effect, and I set one card to end my turn."
Dave: 7750 LP, 9 cards
Yul: 6750 LP, 4 cards
Dave drew, watched Exodia Necross (+3300) draw in more power, then attacked.
"I play Negate Attack to protect my monsters and end your Battle Phase." A quick flash of light started from the outer reaches of the duel field and closed at the point of Exodia Necross's fist.
But Dave remained steady. His deck was shrinking fast, yet he didn't look impatient or anxious at all. For only an instant, the fog cleared up enough for Cary to see Dave's hand. All of his cards emanated that shadowy mist, but one card in particular seemed to drip with it.
"He has Slifer," she uttered. It came out as a raspy whisper, her throat raw from the fog. "He has Slifer in his hand!" she repeated, louder this time. Yul used his free hand to wave back at her, a signal that he heard, even if he didn't reply verbally.
Dave: 8250 LP, 10 cards
Yul: 6750 LP, 4 cards
When Yul drew, he breathed so deeply his shoulders relaxed. "Finally, I can eliminate Exodia Necross (3300). When I Flip Summon Guardian Sphinx (5: 1700|2400), all your monsters are returned to your hand." Revealing the sphinx again scattered spores that were buried and bred within the sphinx. The spores scattered over Dave's field and forced all monsters to retreat back to his hand, including Exodia Necross. And still, he didn't flinch.
"I will switch Exxod (0) to attack position and use Shield and Sword: All monsters switch attack and defense values." The energy binding Exxod's hands dissipated and enabled the tree-sized arms to move again. "Now I can attack directly."
But Dave was ready, too. As soon as Exxod swung his mighty arm, Dave activated Mirror Force. A reflective wall appeared in front of Exxod, sending his powerful punch right back at him. Shards from the shattering mirror also struck Guardian Sphinx, destroying both of Yul's monsters.
"This… is not desirable," Yul grunted. "I will set a monster and a card, and then I will end my turn."
Dave: 7250 LP, 10 cards
Yul: 6750 LP, 2 cards
Cary was watching Dave's hands closely, so she anticipated his combination play when he sorted four cards to the side of the others. He activated Polymerization to fuse Big Piece Golem and Medium Piece Golem into Multiple Piece Golem (7: 2600|1300), a gray-colored brick wall with jointed legs and hands with massive fingers. He grabbed Yul's monster and squeezed until it broke.
"You destroyed Mask of Darkness (400). When it flips, I take a Trap Card back from my Graveyard to my hand."
But Dave wasn't done. He activated De-Fusion, and a ball of light split Multiple Piece Golem back into the gray boulder Big Piece Golem (5: 2100|0) and Medium Piece Golem (4: 1600|0), a bulky, beige-colored rock with jagged edges. By their combined effects, he summoned Small Piece Golem (3: 1100|0), a small, brown rock that looked like a trashcan with blue eyes inside. Because Dave was still in the Battle Phase, he declared three direct attacks against Yul. Each rock monster plodded forward until it was close enough to collide with Yul directly.
When the attacks concluded, Dave wiped all three monsters to his Graveyard to summon Slifer the Sky Dragon (10: +6000|+6000). All the fog surrounding the duel turned black as midnight, lit only by the lightning strikes that pierced through and the struck the farmland. Cary felt how much more of a struggle it was to breathe. In fact, the shadows seemed to weigh on her physically, as if they had formed a curtain made from heavy, layered flannel and dropped it on top of her. Even when the shadows subsided just enough to reveal the enormous red serpent with spikes down its back and two sets of jaws, the noxious miasma stayed.
Slifer looked every bit like a scaled-down kaiju. Its roar reverberated through the air as if it came from the miasma itself. Its fierce glare was enough to make any student lie down and cry, including Cary.
But not Yul. Maybe he had overcome the most basic fear of the gods by wielding one himself, or maybe he was too much of a bookworm to even notice when he was in real danger. Whatever the source of his bravery, he was lucky that Dave couldn't attack anymore this turn.
Dave: 7750 LP, 6 cards
Yul: 1950 LP, 2 cards
"You should run," Cary tried to say, but her voice was throttled by the miasma. Was she too hoarse to speak? Or were the shadows so thick that sound couldn't travel? She didn't know the answer. She only knew that she couldn't muster the strength to move. Yul was on his own, facing down one of the Egyptian God Cards in an impossible situation. It was all her fault! Cary never should have asked him to give up his life on her behalf.
Yul activated Pot of Avarice, a card Cary recognized through the fog because it was large, ugly, and covered with jewels from back to front and even inside its fat jowls. By shuffling five monsters from his Graveyard back into his deck, he drew two cards. At the same time, Dave again gained two cards from Appropriate and 500 LP from Solemn Wishes.
"Slifer the Sky Dragon is arguably the most dangerous of the Egyptian God Monsters, especially in your hands. If I summon monster with fewer than 2000 defense points, Slifer will destroy it immediately. He also has unlimited potential because he cannot be targeted by effects and gains 1000 points per card in your hand.
"To begin my turn, I will activate Judgment of the Pharaoh." He revealed a Trap Card bearing the image of the ancient pharaoh said in the lore to have controlled the Egyptian Gods and aided Yugi Mutou in his journey to become King of Games. "At the cost of half of my Life Points, the pharaoh's power draws upon the Yu-Jyo Friendship in my Graveyard to negate the effects of all monsters on your field without targeting." He smiled. "Even the Egyptian God Monsters bow to the power of the pharaoh, and all of Slifer's (-0) effects are negated.
"Now I activate Cathedral of Nobles." A huge cathedral appeared with golden statues of Anubis, Horus, and Apophis lining the lobby and a seated jackal guarding a sealed casket. "With this on the field, I can activate trap cards during the same turn they are set. I play Monster Reborn to summon Mystical Beast Serket (6: 2500|2000) from my Graveyard." From the cathedral came a giant, red scorpion with massive claws and the Eye of Wedjet on its back. Cary didn't remember that card—in fact, she was sure she never saw it before—but her nagging memory reminded her that Yul had flushed his entire hand with Card Destruction at the beginning of the duel. It just took him long to get the other cards he needed to use this one.
The large scorpion located the weakened Slifer (0) and consumed the dragon from head to tail, Serket rending Slifer with its many layers of teeth. With each bite into Slifer's body, the miasma felt lighter. Cary could stand again. Was it coincidence? Maybe the timing was just right, or maybe Slifer was generating miasma directly, and it stopped with his destruction. Named for the Egyptian scorpion goddess Serket, Yul's beast defeated Dave's Egyptian God Card and absorbed a small piece of its power.
Cary couldn't believe that Yul could fight so hard against both Exodia and Slifer. How did Yul end up stuck at Rank 6?
"Before I end my turn, I will summon Theban Nightmare (4: 1500|500)." His monster was a collection of blue mist shaped as a nightmarish canine with a nonexistent snout, and its presence finally registered the theme for his entire deck in Cary's mind. Named for both the former capital of the Egyptian empire and the Greek city guarded by the sphinx, it proved that Yul had built a deck around Ancient Egypt—possibly the best way to counter an Egyptian God Card. "Finally, I set a card and end my turn."
Dave: 8250 LP, 8 cards
Yul: 975 LP, 0 cards
As soon as Dave drew, Yul interrupted his turn.
"I activate Last Turn. Every card on the field except for Theban Nightmare (+3000) is sent to the Graveyard, and you pick one monster from your deck to attack him with." The Cathedral of Nobles disappeared, taking Mystical Beast Serket with it. Dave's two Traps Cards also shattered. "The duelist with the last monster standing after this battle wins this duel." And Yul's monster gained 1500 points for being alone on Yul's side of the field.
For the first time since the duel started, Cary's heart leapt. Yul actually did it! He defeated Exodia in two forms, he beat Slifer the Sky Dragon, and he set Dave up in an unwinnable situation. Cary lost count, but Dave definitely had fewer than ten cards left in his deck. Maybe only five? (Actually, he had six, but that's pretty close for someone who can barely see the field.)
Dave searched his remaining cards summoned Spirit Reaper (3: 300|200), a skeleton clad in a purple cloak and wielding a large scythe.
Cary hadn't expected that. "Spirit Reaper is never destroyed in battle," she muttered. "That means the duel ends in a draw."
The two monsters collided, then seemed to bounce off one another in a comical way, the blue mist unable to get past the large scythe. Both monsters were completely unharmed and waited motionlessly on the field until the Duel Disks shut down and registered the duel's outcome as a tie.
Cary expected Dave to lash out and attack again. Instead, the shadows encompassing the field swirled around the two duelists like a maelstrom, increasing in intensity until all the ambient energy collected into a single spot, and then it exploded. The force—not holographic—blew both duelists backwards, throwing Dave into the fence surrounding the crops and Yul into the ground just shy of the woods. Out of instinct, Cary ran to check on her cousin first. He was unconscious and didn't respond to her cries, but he had a pulse, though fast. Yul was in a similar condition. Neither of them was bleeding, and all their joints were pointed in reasonable directions, so nothing was obviously broken.
As relieved as she felt in that moment for Yul's safety, she had her doubts about Dave. When he woke up, would he be free of whatever spirit had possessed him? Or would he merely attack again. Ultimately she decided that she couldn't make that decision. What she could do was call the campus police line and report that she found two unconscious students near the agricultural center, and she needed help getting them to safety.
The fog was such a pain in the ass. The path would look completely clear one second and then suddenly there would be a tree root sticking up a whole foot above the ground. Bryan was already frustrated to be essentially "roughing it" at his expensive, private school even before he could no longer walk anywhere without faceplanting.
"Why can't we just go find everyone else?" he asked.
Matt sighed, which was easy for him to do because he didn't spend half his time on the ground. "We have to find the Guardian Duelers."
That idea was exciting. "Because they're the ones who can get rid of that giant monster, right?"
A thought shoved its way into his mind, wondering whether that question any sense at all. How could a card game possibly protect people from a giant monster?
Matt only said, "Maybe." He had been stingy with his words ever since the fog rolled in. Which was weird because he usually loved to talk about all the knowledge he had and the puzzles he solved as a way of bragging. But for the past week, he barely spoke at all except to joke about how ridiculous this whole situation was and to commiserate with Bryan over the missing Guardians.
"Remind me why we're heading back to the Guardhouse?"
"Can you think of a better place to find the Guardians?"
"But you made a whole point of saying that it was dangerous to be anywhere close to there. That's why we've been hiding out at Slifer even though everyone else disappeared."
"What I said was that we couldn't stay there. If the Guardians came back all at once, they would outnumber us and we'd be screwed."
Bryan shook his head, which distracted him just enough to catch his foot on yet another shrub. At least he caught himself after a short stumble this time and stayed upright—about three for ten on that so far. "You made it sound like it was bad that I was there, specifically."
"Because you're not strong enough to take on the Guardians yourself."
Bryan frowned. That's not how he remembered the conversation. After the fog rolled in, Bryan definitely remembered going to the Guardhouse. All the Slifers were being relocated because of the flood damage, so he went looking for Lucy and the others to make sure they were okay. The Guardhouse was at a similar elevation, so it made sense to him that maybe they flooded, too. But the house had been free of people. Slightly messy—not fully trashed, but like someone got drunk and kept bumping into furniture in literally every room. Eerie, yet oddly comforting.
Matt had found Bryan rummaging through Yul's bedroom. From what Bryan remembered, the conversation went something like:
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Because you've been gone three days. Have you eaten?"
"Weird. I'm not really hungry."
"What are you looking for?"
"The Guardians."
"Which ones?"
"Yul. Erica and Justin… Do you not remember who the Guardians are?"
"You seem out of it. Maybe we should get out of here."
"Not until I find my family."
"They're not in the dresser drawers. I suspect they've scattered across the island to hide from the giant monster. But I can help you look for them."
"Okay."
Obviously Bryan didn't have the same word-for-word memory that Matt did, but that didn't mean he couldn't remember a simple conversation from just a day ago.
After they tromped another hundred yards through the woods, Bryan asked, "You know what I can't figure out?"
Surprisingly, Matt didn't interrupt him with a deflective joke, such as "Trigonometry?" or "Why Mario is still fat after all that running around?" He just remained silent.
"You were so concerned about my being at the Guardhouse, trying to find the Guardians, but now you think that we'll be able to find them and help them with just the two of us. What makes you so special?"
This time, Matt did answer. "It's not that I'm special. It's that you're special, and that puts you at risk."
"Me? What's special about me?"
"When the fog rolled in, everyone's first instinct was to find someplace to hide and protect themselves. It's perfectly natural and even expected. Even on airplanes, they say to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others. It's how you survive long enough to help others. And yet your first instinct was to head straight to the Guardhouse, without an oxygen mask. Maybe I could understand why if you had said you were looking for Lucy." Bryan flinched at the name. "Or even Erica." That name made him feel warm inside. "But instead, the first name out of your mouth was Yul's."
That name made Bryan feel conflicted. It was like the name Yul represented something that needed protection but only long enough to perform some divine task… something that Bryan felt like he was meant to be part of.
"So I think the fog is actually being caused by the Guardians. Or at least it's supported by them. If what Leona told us is true, then I suspect the Guardians have become the anchors that now give physical form to some particularly nasty spirits."
"Like the giant monster," said Bryan.
"Maybe. It seems to have its own physical form already, so I don't know why it would need a bunch of humans to be its anchor."
"Because of whatever Howard is doing inside that miasma?"
Matt stopped and turned to look at Bryan. It was hard to see his expression through the mist, but Bryan could tell he was confused. "You remember that discussion?"
"Kind of? I definitely remember how callous you were when we watched Numbers Harper lose a duel against Mikey. All you cared about was whether the miasma flickered during the duel. You didn't even care that whatever Mikey did to her left her unconscious in the grass."
Matt shrugged. "Who names their kid Numbers anyway? And she's safe now."
"Because you think no one will find her inside our dorm room?"
He said, "Basically, yes. Slifer isn't part of what's going on, plus whatever magic Mikey did to knock her out probably means that she's useless to all of the Guardians now, so they're not coming back for her. And her loss provided vital information about the integrity of that miasma."
Bryan said, "Because it flickered during the duel."
"Specifically, every time Mikey lost Life Points."
"Which means that Mikey is helping Howard." Matt didn't respond verbally—just with a quick shrug. "I know you said Howard found some hidden Duel Academy magic that broke the seal on all three giant monsters."
"Three?"
"Yeah. The Chaos Phantasm, the Creator of Light, and The Wicked Endgame." His voice had an edge as the named the latter two. For some reason, they scared him more than the first one. "I kinda hope they never meet up. I know the world would be better off without them, but man would they break a whole bunch of stuff trying to kill each other."
Matt's expression grew sterner, which is what Bryan was finally able to see through the fog. "Do you feel some kind of connection to them?"
"No, that's ridiculous."
"Is it?" Matt stepped closer and got on his toes so he could look closer into Bryan's face. "You're not hearing intrusive thoughts? Someone telling you to go duel people and steal their souls or anything?"
Bryan shook his head and pushed Matt to free his personal space bubble. "No, nothing like that."
But now that Matt mentioned it, Bryan realized that maybe he did hear something. Or he felt it. What was it? Something terrifying, that sent chills down his spine even under his jacket. He drifted a bit away, bypassing the path to find the Guardhouse front door and heading instead to the northeast side, just outside the lake. Mikey was there again, surrounded by a fog even blacker than the normal fog covering the island. He had looked the same way before he dueled against Numbers. Somehow, Bryan knew he was here. It was that darkness that gave Bryan goosebumps. He knew it was frightening and powerful, but he didn't understand it.
"Mikey again," said Matt when he caught up. "You have a knack for finding him among all the Guardians."
"I'm getting closer this time."
Matt seemed to notice Bryan's utter confidence. "Are you sure that's safe?"
"He ignored me last time." After Mikey had defeated Numbers, he had turned to stare at Bryan. For a moment, it was like an old western showdown, just waiting for Mikey to draw and start the next duel. But Mikey abruptly turned away and disappeared into the fog that time, leaving Bryan free to go back and tell Matt what happened. "So this time, I want a better look." He didn't even bother creeping as he walked straight up to the sidewalk.
He had to wait for a wave of fog to ebb before he could identify Mikey's opponent as Sydney King. "What's she doing out here? Do the girls at this school just not understand how to stay out of danger?"
Matt said, "I agree with you, but I also can't think of a better duelist to challenge someone like Mikey."
"Because she has boobs?"
With a scoff, Matt said, "You're not wrong."
Lucky as always, Mikey got to make the duel's first move. Bryan just hoped it wasn't the only move in the duel. "I'll play Pot of Duality: I get to see the top three cards from my deck, keep one, and put the others back in the deck." As soon as the two-faced ewer stopped spinning, Mikey threw a monster in defense mode.
Mikey: 8000 LP, 4 cards
Syd: 8000 LP, 5 cards
Bryan wasn't sure whether Syd was anxious, eager, or frightened. No matter the case, he recognized how gutsy she was to wander into the woods during a kaiju attack to seek out a duel against god cards. "I'll set four cards. Then here's Nova Summoner (4: 1400|800). And attack." Her monster was a sort of inhuman fairy, more resembling a donut or a wheel than a traditional angel. Its powerful light obliterated Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive (1000), but flipping it brought another card to Mikey's hand on one of the cargo cars.
Mikey: 8000 LP, 5 cards
Syd: 8000 LP, 1 card
"I can also set cards," said Mikey as he placed two face-down on the field. "And Armageddon Knight (4: 1400|1200)." An armored man with no helmet appeared, his face obscured by a red scarf. He slashed Mikey's deck. "An extra card goes from my deck to the Graveyard. That's all for now."
Mikey: 8000 LP, 3 cards
Syd: 8000 LP, 1 card
Matt said, "Mikey sounds funny."
"Funny how?" asked Bryan.
"Well, not like a clown! Don't you hear that weird rasp in his voice? Like there are six Mikey's talking at the same time?"
It was Sy'd turn, so all he heard for now was, "Mystical Space Typhoon." A whirlwind swept across the field on Mikey's side. Solid play: just destroying one of Mikey's set cards. But she didn't do anything else. Bryan couldn't believe both duelists were off to such a sluggish start when they were supposed to be such high-level competitors.
Mikey: 8000 LP, 3 cards
Syd: 8000 LP, 1 card
"Double Coston (4: 1700|1000)," said Mikey, playing a monster that looked like two black ghosts attached to each other by their wispy butts.
Bryan shrugged. "It's not that weird. I just thought the just was reverberating when he spoke." But based on the angry expression Matt wore, that explanation might not be scientifically sound.
Mikey continued, "And they both overlay for Lavalval Chain (4: 1800|1000)."
Syd was right there on top of him. "Black Horn of Heaven to negate your Special Summon." Like a harvest horn blown by a giant, the sound blasted through the shadows and stopped Mikey's monster from ever even taking form. His field had no more monsters.
"Call of the Haunted," he replied. A headstone rose on the field, and an incorporeal essence attached to something underground… until it re-emerged above ground. "I bring back Armageddon Knight (1400), which sends another monster to the Graveyard." The Knight slashed his deck again.
Mikey: 8000 LP, 3 cards
Syd: 8000 LP, 1 card
A golden box appeared on the side of Syd's field. "Gold Sarcophagus." She grabbed a card from her deck and placed it inside the box, watching it seal shut outside of her reach. "One more card face-down." And that was she had left to play.
Mikey: 8000 LP, 3 cards
Syd: 8000 LP, 0 cards
"Here's Fire Formation – Tenki." A stream of firebirds flanked his field as if taking up battle positions. "That gives me a monster to my hand. Here's Fire King Avatar Yaksha (4: +1900|200)." A man wearing a sabertooth tiger mask and ceremonial armor pounced on the field, poised to attack with his long staff. "Finally time to attack." Avatar Yaksha (1900) pounded his staff on top of Nova Summoner (1400). But destroying the angel wheel summoned another copy in its place. Mikey didn't want to lose his other monster, so he ended the battle.
Mikey: 8000 LP, 3 cards
Syd: 7500 LP, 0 cards
Syd drew but had no moves to make, except shifting Nova Summoner (800) to defense mode. Visually, the difference was unnoticeable.
Mikey: 8000 LP, 3 cards
Syd: 7500 LP, 1 card
"Alright, alright. I'll set another card, then overlay my monsters for Blackship of Corn (4: 2100|1500)." Its name was mostly descriptive, like a large, sailing ship made out of black corn. Bryan wasn't sure why he played it in defense mode, though.
That ended up not mattering. "I have another Black Horn of Heaven," said Syd as her card blasted a sound wave that prevented the ship from ever being constructed.
"And you always say I'm the lucky one." Syd gave no reply to that. "If you're going to destroy all the monsters I have, then I can summon Photon Thrasher (4: 2100|0)." Bryan wasn't sure how to describe that monster except to call it a Mega Man robot with a glowing sword. Even though it was in attack mode, the monster assumed a defensive stance. "I can't attack with him this turn, so I guess you're up."
Mikey: 8000 LP, 2 cards
Syd: 7500 LP, 1 card
Right after Syd drew, her Gold Sarcophagus opened. The card inside went straight to her hand, and the sarcophagus disappeared. Then she flipped one of her face-down cards. "I activate Cards from the Sky." A light shone overhead as cards began to rain down. "By banishing Hyperion from my hand, I draw two cards." After checking out her new cards, she played Dark Hole: A singularity of infinite blackness formed in the middle of the field to absorb and destroy all monsters. She set a monster in defense mode to end her turn.
Mikey: 8000 LP, 2 cards
Syd: 7500 LP, 2 cards
"Well, aren't you cautious today?" said Mikey. But he was one to talk considering he set yet another card in the backfield. He sure looked Trap-happy today. And to prove the point: "I use another Call of the Haunted to bring Armageddon Knight (4: 1400|1200) to the field yet again. And his effect activates to send a dark monster from my deck to the grave."
When the knight slashed his deck again, Bryan recognized the card he buried as one of the Heroes. He didn't wait long for verification, either. "I banish Destiny Hero – Malicious (6: 800|800) from the Graveyard so I can summon another one to the field." Malicious looked like a devil creature with satyr fur, horns on its head, and bat wings. And then a ladybug appeared on its arm. "By reducing Malicious (-5) one level, I also summon Level Eater (1: 600|0) from the Graveyard." Another bug appeared on Malicious' (-4) other arm. "In fact, I'll do it twice. And then I overlay Malicious (4) with Armageddon (4) for Blade Armor Ninja (4: 2200|1000)," a ninja in crimson armor with swords and arms crossed like an X over his chest. "And then I overlay the Level Eaters (1) into Slacker Magician (1: 200|2100)." Far less imposing, she looked like a teenage girl just lounging on the couch, only with alchemical flasks instead of a cell phone.
"Now it's time to attack." Blade Armor Ninja (2200) fileted Syd's muscular Shining Angel (4: 1400|800), but doing so triggered the Angel's effect to summon another copy of himself to the field. "Still defended just enough to hold the line," he said. "I guess that ends my turn."
Mikey: 8000 LP, 2 cards
Syd: 7500 LP, 2 cards
"D.D.R.," said Syd after she drew. She dropped a card from her hand and a rip appeared in spacetime over the field. "Different Dimension Reincarnation: It means I summon Master Hyperion (8: 2700|2100) from being banished." The archangel hit the field surrounded by flame—one of the strongest fairy cards Bryan knew of, able to destroy Mikey's other cards both in and out of battle.
Except for the springboard that activated underneath its feet and threw it into the air. "My Trap is Compulsory Evacuation Device. Your monster gets kicked off the field and back to your hand." At the same time, it destroyed her D.D.R. card.
Syd nodded. "Fine. Your turn."
Mikey: 8000 LP, 2 cards
Syd: 7500 LP, 2 cards
With a new card in his hand, Mikey grinned. "Why don't I help you get rid of that powerful monster in your hand? Here's Hand Destruction. Of course, you get to pick which two cards you have to discard, so you could keep Hyperion… if you had a third card."
"I get it," said Syd as she discarded both her cards and replaced them.
"Get this: By removing an Xyz material from Blade Armor Ninja, he gets to attack twice this turn."
"Then I'd better bolster my defenses." She activated Scapegoat, which loaded her field with four Sheep Tokens (1: 0|0) in defense mode.
"Well played. Well played. You're a real master at this. Except for one thing: You left Shining Angel (1400) in attack position." Blade Armor Ninja (2200) performed a spinning flip with his blades flashing and slashing. He seemed to wait for Syd to summon a replacement monster, but Syd didn't summon anything else. Instead, the Ninja fileted a Sheep Token (0).
Mikey: 8000 LP, 1 card
Syd: 6700 LP, 2 cards
Syd's turn was just as exciting as ever: She set one monster and a card in the backfield.
Mikey: 8000 LP, 1 card
Syd: 6700 LP, 1 card
"If you can't attack me, you'll never win," said Mikey.
"What can I say? Your luck apparently extends all the way to my deck."
"Sure does. Blade Armor Ninja activates again. My Level Eater (1: 600|0) also flips face-up so I can eat one of your Sheep. But first my Ninja (2200) will destroy your real monster."
Syd revealed her monster as Nova Summoner (800) again. "When he's destroyed, I summon Sonata the Melodious Diva (3: +1700|+1500)." Her green-skinned diva began singing a song so invigorating that it gave herself extra attack and defense points.
"Sheep time." Mikey's Level Eater (600) scuttled across the field and bore down on a Sheep Token (0).
"Even good luck comes in waves, huh? You activated Mirror Force." Syd's field was shielded by a reflective barrier that threw all of Level Eater's kinetic energy back at both of his attacking monsters, sending them both to the Graveyard. For someone who prided himself on luck, Mikey seemed pissed.
Mikey: 8000 LP, 2 cards
Syd: 6700 LP, 1 card
When she drew, Syd immediately threw Mystical Space Typhoon after Fire Formation - Tenki. But Slacker Magician (2100) had too many defense points for Sonata (1700) to handle, so Syd ended her turn.
Mikey: 8000 LP, 2 cards
Syd: 6700 LP, 1 card
"Luck remains on my side of the field," said Mikey. "I summon Dark Grepher (4: 1700|1600). His black steel is enough to eliminate your Diva."
"You think?" asked Syd as her songstress grew wings. "If I discard Honest, then Sonata (+3400) gains the same points as your monster." Dark Grepher's sword couldn't pierce the sound wall that Sonata had created. Instead, her song overpowered him. "I think that puts me on the board."
Mikey: 6300 LP, 2 cards
Syd: 6700 LP, 0 cards
When Syd drew, she smirked. "Maybe deep down, you're sharing a bit of your luck with me. I summon The Agent of Mystery - Earth (2: 1000|800)." Her new monster had platinum skin—maybe representative of earthen minerals or something? But more importantly, she harmonized with Sonata's music. "I tune my monsters to summon Armades, Keeper of Boundaries (5: 2300|1500)." A fireball collided with a frost wave, and a monster appeared in between them, absorbing the fire into his right hand and the ice into his left. "Time to destroy your last defense."
After the fire and ice slammed down onto Slacker Magician (2100), the steam cleared to show that the magician had simply rolled over to avoid the attack. "Once per turn, Slacker Magician can't be destroyed by battle. I guess your luck isn't so good after all."
Mikey: 6300 LP, 2 cards
Syd: 6700 LP, 0 cards
"So far so good," said Mikey as he set another card.
Mikey: 6300 LP, 2 cards
Syd: 6700 LP, 0 cards
Bryan sighed when he watched Syd do nothing for yet another turn. He leaned over to Matt and asked, "Are my duels this boring?"
"She's putting all her effort into preventing him from summoning a god card. He's probably just toying with her. The result is a very slow duel with a lot of one-card plays."
Maybe he was right about what Sydney was trying to do, but Bryan had a nagging feeling about one of the cards in Mikey's hand. It looked a little too… sparkly?… considering the way the fog hung head to toe over Mikey.
Mikey: 6300 LP, 2 cards
Syd: 6700 LP, 1 card
"Here we go," said Mikey. His voice resonated a half-octave lower than before. "One more card face-down, then Call of the Haunted." His third one. "I revive Destiny Hero - Malicious (800), then by lowering his level again, I revive Level Eater (1: 600|0)." Bryan was positive now. Mikey had three monsters on the field, and that card in his hand began to burn in the darkness. "I'll send all three of my monsters away to summon The Wicked Eraser (10: +4000|+4000)."
Thunder rolled through the fog even without lightning, as if sound came from the shadows themselves. The shadows took the form of a giant serpent, stretching so far through the fog that Bryan was certain he felt it rub against his leg from so far away. When the shadows solidified, a steel mask emerged in front of Syd, the creature behind it shrieking with the force of thousands of tortured souls. Maybe Syd screamed, too; Bryan couldn't be sure because his own heart pounded in his ears at the sight of that horrific creature.
"Freddie Fazbear has nothing on that jump scare," Bryan joked. But Matt didn't reply, just staring in Syd's direction. No doubt he was even more scared now for her safety.
Mikey chuckled. Now his voice changed to a much lower pitch, like his balls suddenly dropped right at the instant. "Eraser (-7) has levels to spare, so I'll summon all three of my Level Eaters (1: 600|0) from the Graveyard." An army of large ladybugs scurried onto the field… all the same level. "I overlay them all to summon Number 83: Galaxy Queen (1: 500|500)." She was difficult to discern as her body seemed to be one with the fog, but Bryan caught the image of a woman with shimmering diamonds on her tiara and her scepter.
"Galaxy Queen activates her effect: By removing an Xyz material, my monsters can't be destroyed by battle, and they inflict piercing damage." Eraser's (4000) shriek was echoed by Bryan's nerves. Suddenly Syd's Sheep Tokens (0) were utterly useless as a defense. The volume of darkness that engulfed her field was so much that even outside the field, Bryan felt like he was standing inside a deluge. He had to lean forward just to remain upright. Whatever Syd felt had to be many times that same effect.
Mikey: 6300 LP, 1 card
Syd: 2700 LP, 1 card
It quickly became too clear that Syd was hurt by the attack… because she was on the ground and wasn't standing back up. Only her illuminated Duel Disk made her stand out in the dense fog. But at least her arm was moving, so she was still alive and probably not comatose yet.
Matt shouted her name, which prompted Mikey to chuckle. "You think I hit her so hard she forgot her name?"
As she sat up and rubbed her head, Matt asked, "Can you go on?"
"I'm not an invalid," she said. But she spent several minutes rubbing her head, neck, and shoulders before she finally pulled her Duel Disk in front of her, still sitting down, though. "I'll place another card down." After she did, she lay back down.
Mikey: 6300 LP, 1 card
Syd: 2700 LP, 1 card
"You're not going to get up and face me?" said Mikey, sounding amused.
"There's no rule about it," she replied.
He was less amused as he drew his next card. "Your disrespect doesn't matter when you left your other Sheep Token (0) on the field." As Eraser (+4000) moved in for the final attack, a hole opened in the sky in front of Mikey's god card. The entire serpentine body dove inside, never reaching the other side of the tunnel before disappearing from the field. When the sky closed, much of the darkness dissipated.
"What happened!" shouted Mikey.
"Dimensional Prison," said Syd, still lying down.
"But that's not possible. It's a targeting effect; god cards are immune to targeting."
Syd swung her right arm flippantly. "I don't know what to tell you." She was right: Regardless of the rules everyone always assumed to be true about the god cards, the game allowed her card to consume Eraser and remove it from the field.
Bryan had seen the gods resist targeting effects before. "What do you think changed?"
Matt said, "I don't know. Something about his power source. Could be that Mikey's not strong enough to evoke its full strength. Maybe there's a missing link in whatever connection he has with Howard." He kept staring at the duel, but Bryan felt like Matt was giving him side eye—not that he could see it clearly in the fog, but he could feel the uncomfortable attention focused on him.
More important, Syd survived another turn, and Mikey's god card was gone.
Mikey: 6300 LP, 2 cards
Syd: 2700 LP, 1 card
Just as Syd touched her deck, Mikey began to lose control of himself. "This is impossible! The Wicked Eraser can't be defeated by mortals, and not with such simple cards. The system has to be broken." He pulled the Duel Disk off of his arm. Usually that's okay in case the duelist needs to adjust the weight on their arm or something. But Mikey must have done it with such force that he jostled the components or shook something loose because an error message jumped across his Life Point counter. All the lights shut off on his Duel Disk. Syd's Duel Disk flashed and played the "winner" jingle.
First, Mikey just grimaced like he had eaten bad sushi. Then he dropped to his knees, still doubled over from the pain in his abdomen. The shadows focused their intensity over his body, roiling like the last remnants of a fire gasping to find more combustible material, and then with a fizzle and a wheeze, the shadows dissipated. Mikey collapsed completely to the ground.
"What the fuck just happened!" said Bryan, sounding far more enthusiastic than he meant to. Maybe part of it was just being surprised that a first-year student was good enough to beat one of the Guardians. Er, she won, at least, and she destroyed a god card, so that was the same thing as beating Mikey, right? What were the odds that Mikey's Duel Disk would malfunction and end the duel right then?
Syd finally stopped resisting her exhaustion. Just like Mikey, she dropped to the ground, barely catching herself before faceplanting. Matt rushed to her side. "I'm… fine. Just tired. Didn't realize how much a magical duel… would wear me out."
Matt said, "Yeah, there's a lot of unexplained phenomena going around this week."
"This semester," said Bryan. "Remember the Denkard?"
"No, I had forgotten. Thanks for the reminder." He didn't really forget; he was just being snarky. To Syd, he asked, "Can you walk?"
She breathed loudly into the grass a few times. "I'm not sure I can even sit up."
"I'll help." First Matt gathered her cards into the Main Deck slot so he could fold up her Duel Disk. He squatted next to her, pulled one arm over across his collarbone, then hoisted her easily enough off the ground so it looked like they were hugging.
And then she crumpled. She would have hit the ground if he didn't have both arms around her torso. "Just leave me here," she said. "A little nap and I'll be okay."
"You deserve to nap in safety," he said, grunting for each word. He got his weight under her again and then lifted her legs so he was carrying her fireman style. He looked a little bit wobbly as he took the first step.
Bryan chuckled. "Do you need some help?"
"I'm not that fat," said Syd. It was hard to tell if she was joking because she sounded half asleep already.
"You're tall," Matt said as a way of explaining why a slender girl was so hard for a muscular guy like him to carry. Maybe if he weren't six inches shorter than she was, he'd have better leverage.
"I can help," said Bryan.
"You'll have your hands full with him," said Matt.
Bryan looked back where Mikey had fallen. For some reason, Bryan was happy just leaving him there. Wasn't he one of the bad guys? But wait, that was a ridiculous thing to say. That magical mist that surrounded him had made Mikey say things that were out of character. It couldn't have been the real Mikey in that duel, which meant he was possessed or something. So it wasn't his fault, and Bryan shouldn't punish him for it. Right?
"Fine." Mikey was also tall despite being lanky. At least Bryan's stout figure gave him a better center of gravity than what Matt was dealing with. "Back to Slifer, right?"
It was whispered, so he almost didn't hear Syd say, "No. DA-Rec."
But Matt argued with her. "It might not be safe to take him there."
Something about the way he said it… Bryan wondered whether the person Matt was worried about wasn't Mikey.
Cary found herself unable to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Dave's face, twisted in agony with malicious glee. He wasn't the cousin she had known her whole life, and yet that face haunted her now. She sat up from her sleeping bag, surrounded by enviable students who had managed to fall asleep without the night terrors. Light-footed as she was, she exited the lecture room without a sound until she reached the door. The hinges were decently oiled, but the door was so heavy that it pounded, even though she kept the handle turned to avoid the metal-on-metal scraping of the latch. She paused for a moment to make sure she didn't start any commotion, then she reminded herself that girls were getting up throughout the night to go pee, so being quiet about it made her more suspicious.
She crept silently down the hallway toward the infirmary, keeping an eye out for faculty or staff. It's not like she wanted to sneak out again now that Dave was back, but she wasn't eager for another lecture from a professor about outdoor safety during a kaiju attack.
The infirmary room was dark but with emergency lighting along the floors and molding. Just enough light to move around safely without disrupting anyone who might be lucky enough to be just sleeping. But no one had woken up yet. Her eyes traced the beds, reminding her about all the people who had succumbed to the alleged Shadow magic. She couldn't see her cousin, but her eyes did linger on Yul.
"Who are you looking for?"
She jumped to realize that Kimberly Walter was sitting next to the wall, doing something on the laptop on that side of the room. She was the facility manager for DA-Rec, apparently also with some medical training for really bad situations where Dr. Nagell needed backup. She was a lot younger than the doctor—maybe just thirty years old or so.
Catching her breath, Cary said, "My cousin. Dave."
"We moved him to another room," said Kimberly. "The professors weren't sure whether Dave would continue to be a threat."
Though part of her brain rejected the notion that Dave could be a threat, Cary understood the logic and caution. Instead, she stared back at Yul. "How's he doing?"
"He's in similar condition to the others, though maybe slightly better off, except for the bruising. Yul and Dave are basically identical right now. Hopefully Dr. Nagell will figure out the cure soon enough." Unfortunately, Cary was feeling certain that any possible cure for this sickness would not be found through medicine and IV hookups.
"Get some sleep," said Kimberly as Cary left the infirmary. As if sleep were an option.
The instant she stepped in front of the closest boys' bathroom, Haruki opened the door, took a quick look down both hallways, and then beckoned Cary to enter. Cary would have rejected the request outright had she not spotted Miyu standing behind him. She was curious, though she hoped it wasn't a sex thing. And when she saw Cee-Cee was also in the bathroom, she really hoped it wasn't a sex thing.
Haruki jumped straight to the explanation. "Yul dueled Dave, and then Dave was no longer possessed. We should hunt the other Guardians."
Cary only had one response. "I know. But that experience was terrifying. Yul went through physical pain during that duel. It…" She didn't want to say how guilty it made her feel, knowing that she was the one who dragged him into that mess.
Miyu said, "We need to. Tell us how to sneak out."
"You're serious."
Cee-Cee said, "Please help us. If you're worried about people being involved, then it's better we stay quiet so others don't try to follow, right?"
Cary stared at Cee-Cee for a moment. Why was she already talking to Haruki and Miyu about sneaking out? If they trusted her so much already, then she must be the one they picked as the next leader for Team OTK. The thought made Cary's stomach tighten.
"Okay. Let's go find more Guardians."
Fun fact: If you read (and memorized) the previous version of this story, the duel between Yul and Dave will be familiar to you. I mostly kept it because I was so proud of it last time and I'm not sure I could ever recreate something quite so much fun without spending a TON of extra time on it. And it really isn't plagiarizing when the other thing isn't (really) published, it's shadow-deleted, and you're the original author.
Drafting the first chapter for the next arc took me nearly two weeks because of my limited time and because I'm really not great at writing quickly. Especially duels—I noticed that in an hour, I can usually write only three turns of a duel that meets today's standards of combos and chains. So I'm not sure exactly how long it will take me to get Arc 4 out there, but you won't have to wait as long as we're waiting for Netflix One Piece Season 2.
As always, thanks to the OCs for joining the story:
* Emily Li...Amourenvie
* Iracema "Cee-Cee" Silva...HardWrapping
* Mikey Brittle...Vstriker
* Sydney King...TC-For-Short