The Lighthouse Pier, Academy Island
September 3, 2027
11:51 PM
Academy Island's lighthouse had been one of Atticus's favorite places to visit whenever he had the chance, even before he'd been enrolled as a student. He'd especially liked it when it was lit, watching the beam of light swing around and around and illuminate the fog that would roll in off the Pacific. On a night like tonight, he wouldn't have been able to resist the temptation to slip out after curfew and come down to the pier to enjoy it for a while.
Atticus wasn't here, though, to see this particular foggy night. Alexis didn't actually enjoy cold, wet weather, but she would give anything in the world to get back one of those many, many offers her brother had made to join him in his lighthouse-watching— offers she had almost always turned down. It wouldn't be the same as him being here, she knew, but going out to enjoy his favorite spot would make her feel closer to him all the same.
This was why she was currently slip-sliding down the hill behind the girl's dorm in order to get there.
Once she was finally on level ground again, Alexis shivered, wishing she'd taken the time to grab her raincoat, and started toward the lighthouse, going slowly because of the fog. It was thick enough that she didn't see the other figure on the pier until she was almost on top of them, their sudden appearance bringing her up short.
For one, brief, heart-wrenching moment, she thought the silhouette was Atticus, mysteriously and suddenly returned, but then the wind blew the fog away somewhat, and she recognized her cousin.
"Zane?" He didn't turn to acknowledge her, continuing to just stare coldly out at the harbor. "Hello?" She came closer, until she was within reaching distance. "What are you doing out here?"
"Nothing," Zane bit out. "I just felt like being alone."
Alexis's eyes softened in realization. "You used to come here with him, didn't you, when he would sneak out?" Atticus could be very persuasive when he wanted to be. She should have considered that Zane might come down here, too, on a night like tonight.
"So what if I did?" his cousin frowned.
"It's okay to say you miss him, you know." Zane didn't respond. After their talk on the first day of school, he had withdrawn into himself again, becoming as cold and stiff as he'd been since the day Atticus had disappeared. Alexis's hopes of reconnecting with her cousin had been quickly and effectively dashed.
She sighed heavily. "He always loved nights like tonight. He thought they were romantic and mysterious." She glanced at Zane out of the corner of her eye. "You know, it might not be my place to say, but… I thought, since Syrus started here, you'd want to, I don't know, be alone a little less?"
"Maybe that's because my brother shouldn't be here."
Alexis was startled at his harsh tone. "What?"
"You heard me. He doesn't belong here."
"How could you say that!? Zane, he's your brother! Your brother whom you still have."
For a moment, she thought he was about to apologize, but when he opened his mouth what came out was, "You're right. It isn't your place to say." Then he turned and stalked off, leaving Alexis alone in the fog, angry and confused. What was that about?
Osiris Red Dorm, Duel Academy
September 4, 2027
8:16 AM
Ever since school had started, Yuki had been thinking hard about Syrus's confidence problem. In middle school it hadn't made much of a difference; how often you participated in class was only, like… a really small percentage of your grade. But at Duel Academy? If Syrus got nervous every time he had to duel, it was going to reflect badly on his performance.
Personally, Yuki didn't understand how anyone could be nervous while dueling— it was just too much fun!— but it didn't really matter whether or not he understood Syrus's problem. What mattered was if he could solve it, and Yuki was pretty sure he'd come up with a fool-proof way to do just that.
Usually, this early on a Monday morning, Yuki would've still been in bed, but today he was already up and dressed, going through his cards one last time while Syrus finished in the bathroom. The smaller boy had been surprised when he'd woken up to find his roommate hunched over his desk with his deck spread out before him instead of still snoring away, but he hadn't asked about it. Yuki grinned to himself. Syrus was in for a big surprise.
"Um, I'm going downstairs to get breakfast, Jay." Yuki looked up to see that Syrus had emerged from the bathroom and was now by the door, getting his shoes on. "Do you wanna come with, or—"
"Sure, I'll come with you, Sy," Yuki said, scooping up his cards, "But first I want to give you something." He picked up the card he'd set aside earlier and handed it to his roommate.
The smaller boy blinked in surprise. "Polymerization?"
"Yeah. You have a fusion monster, right? Something-Gyroid?"
"Steam Gyroid, yeah."
"But you never get to use him, since you don't have any fusion cards. Well, I'm loaning this to you today, so that you can practice. If you can use both Ritual and fusion summoning, it'll naturally force you to improve your dueling skills. And once you know how to use Fusion, you won't have any reason to hold back from getting your own Polymerization card." Syrus's excuse that he didn't use Fusion because he didn't know how to use it had always confused Yuki. It was like saying you didn't want to try a new food because you didn't know how it would taste— that was the whole point.
"That's… that's really nice of you, Yuki, but I don't really know how to—"
"That's why I'm going to teach you. You and I are gonna duel, right after breakfast." (As eager as Yuki was to set his plan into action, he wasn't crazy enough to duel on an empty stomach.)
Syrus blinked at him from behind his glasses. "Duel?"
"Yeah! What better way to learn new strategies and improve your game, right? Grab your deck, buddy, because as soon as breakfast's over? It's on!" Before Syrus could even open his mouth to reply, Yuki had already shoved his feet into his sneakers and was heading out the door, leaving his roommate with little recourse but to scramble after him.
...
"Now remember, this is just a practice match, but that doesn't mean you should hold back. Come at me with everything you've got, bro!" Syrus swallowed hard, suddenly wishing he'd skipped on breakfast.
"I told you we were gonna work on your confidence," Jaden had said in between shovelfuls of food. "What better way than to help you get better at dueling? We'll duel again and again and again if need be, until you've mastered every strategy your deck has to offer, maybe even more!"
In theory, it was a good idea, to practice with Yuki. In reality, though, Syrus couldn't help but feel that it was a waste of time. He just wasn't a good duelist, and there was only so much practice could do for him. Yuki shouldn't have to take time out of his day for a useless failure like Syrus, especially since he already did so much for him anyway.
Nevertheless, Yuki would be disappointed if Syrus refused his help, and so he reluctantly strapped his duel disk on and put it in Duel mode. Here goes nothing.
"Alright, Syrus, get your game on, buddy! Let's have some fun!"
"Sure, fun. I can do fun."
"What was that?" Yuki yelled across the beach.
"Uh… nothing!"
"Then let's duel!"
"Yeah, yeah. Let's duel."
Up above, on the cliff overlooking the beach, a pair of curious eyes watched the two duelists make their opening moves, their owner huffing in disbelief at the blunder Syrus made on his first turn.
…
"Can I crack up now?" Syrus asked after Yuki's second turn. "I just got nailed on both of our turns. I can't win!"
"Of course you can win, Syrus," Yuki encouraged. "You just have to believe in yourself. Don't give up now." Sighing, Syrus climbed back to his feet. Yuki didn't know what he was talking about, of course, but it was nice of him to say. For Yuki, he would keep trying, no matter how futile he knew it would be. Come on, Sy. You can do better than this, at least.
…
Syrus froze when he saw the two cards he'd just drawn with Pot of Greed's effect. One was the copy of Polymerization that Yuki had loaned him. The other… the other was Power Bond.
Yuki might like to congratulate himself on his originality, but he actually wasn't the first person who'd thought that adding Fusion to Syrus's deck would benefit him. No, that honor went to Zane.
Swallowing hard, Syrus fought back the memories that threatened to overwhelm him at Power Bond's appearance. It had been a present from Zane on his tenth birthday, back when his brother still chose to acknowledge him.
"I know you don't use fusion monsters, and so the card isn't really useful to you right now," Zane had said when Syrus looked at him in confusion. "But you never know how you might evolve as a duelist. It might come in handy someday.
"Or, you can just keep it as a reminder that you're my little brother, who has finally reached double digits, and that you're awesome."
Syrus had thrown himself around Zane's neck and hugged him hard, and Zane had actually hugged him back. The younger Wheeler was never sure exactly what he'd done, later, to make his brother hate him so much, but he had no doubt that Zane despised his very existence. He'd made that very clear the only time Syrus had ever tried to use Power Bond, against a school bully.
It had been in junior high, and usually, Yuki had protected his small friend from the bigger, meaner kids who liked to pick on him, but that particular afternoon he had been home with the flu, and Syrus had just wanted to prove that he could take care of himself for once. He'd been in the schoolyard, waiting for Zane since he wasn't allowed to walk home alone, when the bully had cornered him. Syrus had challenged him to a duel rather than just rolling over.
He really should have just given the bully what he wanted.
"I would never have given you that card if I'd known you were going to use it so carelessly."
"I wasn't being careless! I knew what I was doing!"
"Really? Then I suppose you accounted for the fact that your opponent had a face-down card?"
"Of course I knew he had a facedown card, I—"
"That's not what I asked. It doesn't matter if you know your opponent has a facedown card, what matters is if you account for it. Since you were about to slap down Power Bond, I know you didn't calculate the risk. You saw an easy win, and you went for it, recklessly. If that facedown had been any kind of spell-nullifying or attack-stopping trap, you would have wasted Power Bond's activation and taken a hit to your Life Points for nothing. You would have defeated yourself with your stupidity."
Zane grabbed Syrus's backpack, turning toward home without even looking at him. "You shouldn't even bother dueling anymore if you're so clueless as to how the game works. Let's go— and stick close. I won't have you getting hit by a truck because you fail to account for reckless drivers."
The words still stung, and Syrus blinked back tears. He'd never told anyone what had happened, what he'd almost done, too ashamed to admit it. Just holding this card is enough to give me the chills.
"Hey, you alright there, Sy?"
Yuki's question snapped Syrus out of his thoughts, startling him into nearly dropping Power Bond onto the sand. He shook himself, hard.
"You wanted to teach me how to fusion summon, right? Well, tell me if I'm doing anything wrong. I play Polymerization!"
…
Although Syrus's fusion summon was the first of the duel, it wasn't the last. As lightning cracked across the sky with Thunder Giant's appearance, the duel's lone observer hissed in alarm, scrambling back from the edge of the cliff. Maybe it would be best if he came back later, when things weren't so… dangerous. Yeah, that would be best.
"I've gotta admit, I'm curious about something. Two somethings, actually," Yuki said after congratulating Syrus for a good match (which he'd won, of course). "First off, I thought you didn't know how to fusion summon, but you whipped out Steam Gyroid like you'd been doing it for years. What gives?"
"Uh…" Syrus scrambled for an answer, "Beginner's luck? Besides, I've seen you fusion summon a bunch of times. It wasn't really that hard to pick up." It was more than that, of course. He'd first learned fusion summoning from Zane, back when his brother could still stand to talk to him, after receiving Steam Gyroid as a gift from their grandmother for Christmas. (Nancy Wheeler knew hardly anything about Duel Monsters; she hadn't even realized that the purple border meant anything significant. It was kind of a miracle that she'd gotten Syrus's preferred archetype right at all.)
Anyone else might have been a little suspicious of Syrus's explanation, but this was Yuki. He just laughed and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I knew I was great, but I didn't think I was that great." He sobered, and Syrus's stomach sank. "So, what was that one card you drew but didn't play? You looked so excited." Before Syrus could stop him, his roommate had swiped the cards in his hand.
"Power Bond!? Why didn't you use it? You'd have doubled Steam Gyroid's attack points! You'd have had one tough monster." He paused to think this over. "You know on second thought, for my sake? I'm glad you didn't use it."
"You don't understand," Syrus said bitterly, getting to his feet and snatching the cards back. "Zane says I'm not good enough to use it. If I had I probably would have just lost faster. Thanks for trying to help, Yuki, but I'm just not worth the time or effort." He shoved the borrowed Polymerization card back into his roommate's hand.
"What are you talking about? Syrus? Hey, Sy, wait!" Syrus ignored him, running off down the beach. He didn't want to have to face his friend right now.
"I guess practice doesn't always make for perfect," Burstinatrix observed after Syrus had vanished from sight.
"I don't get it. He's such a cool guy; why's he so down on himself? I wish he could see what I see. The only thing that's holding him back is himself. I mean, he had this fantastic card all set to play, and then he doesn't use it!"
"An older brother's advice can mean a great deal to one who values it," Necroshade said sagely. "And it's clear that Syrus greatly respects his brother, even if the same is not true for Zane."
"That's another thing I don't get," Yuki said, kicking at the sand. "Zane was always such a cool guy. Why would he tell Syrus he wasn't good enough to use Power Bond? What happened between them?"
"Don't pry into what isn't your business, Yuki," Burstinatrix warned. "You know what they say about curiosity."
"Oh, I won't pry." Yuki grinned mischievously. "I'll duel Zane to find out what's up. It's been a while since the two of us went head-to-head; who knows? Maybe I can even beat him this time! Yeah! Look out, Zane! I'm coming for you!"
Burstinatrix rolled her eyes and muttered something about the foolishness of youth, but Necroshade's eyes crinkled with a smile. It is easy to forget, but beneath the surface, our young master is wise beyond his years.
Main Building, Duel Academy
September 5, 2027
12:36 PM
The next day, as he filled out a Duel Request form, Yuki still couldn't get Syrus's words out of his head. I can't believe that Zane would actually say something like that to him. I mean, no wonder Syrus has zero confidence. If my big bro told me that I wasn't a good duelist, I'd probably be insecure, too. Not that Yuki had an older brother, of course, or any siblings, actually. Well, that's all about to change. … Syrus's confidence, that is, not my lack of siblings.
Out loud, just loud enough for the girl behind the counter to hear, he mused, "Hmm, I wonder, do you spell Zane with two 'n's? These duel request forms are such a drag."
"My sincere apologies that our efforts to keep our school orderly and civilized are an inconvenience to you, Mr. Yuki." A familiar voice from behind him said sarcastically. Jaden resisted the urge to groan. "Planning a duel, are we?" Dr. Crowler asked, snatching the form away from the Osiris red and ignoring his protest as he did so. "Against whom?" The noise he made when he found Zane's name might have been funny... if it hadn't been so insulting.
"You must be joking."
"No, actually, I'm not," Jaden said, trying to keep his irritation out of his tone. "I'm taking Zane on to help Syrus get over his confidence problem."
"As usual, your reasoning is illogical, nonsensical, and befitting of an Osiris Red reject," Dr. Crowler sneered down at him. It suddenly occurred to Jaden that, of course, Dr. Crowler didn't know anything about the relationship between the Wheeler— er, Truesdale— brothers. "So, you won't be needing this, since there will be no duel." The eccentric professor proceeded to tear Jaden's half-completed Duel Request form into dozens of little pieces, laughing maniacally.
Despite Jaden's best attempts, he was eventually forced to leave the Duel Resources office, grudgingly ceding the latest round to the Anubis Blue Headmaster. Of course, that didn't mean he went quietly.
"Lousy Dr. Crowler," he grumbled to himself as he stalked across campus. "Where does it say those Duel Request forms need to be filled out in triplicate? And with a number eight pencil. Who even has number eight pencils lying around?"
"It seems to me, young master, that you are giving up far too easily," Sparkman said, shimmering into existence on Yuki's left.
"Well it seems to me that I don't have any other choice," Yuki shot back. "The Duel Request Forms exist for a reason. You never know how long a duel is going to last; that's why you have to schedule them ahead of time. I can't just walk up to Zane and ask him for a duel. He might have class or something. There wouldn't be enough time."
"Not for a regular duel, no," Sparkman agreed.
"Sparkman means you should have pick-up duel with small one's big brother," Clayman supplied, appearing over Yuki's right shoulder. The EARTH Elemental HERO had never had much patience for his compatriot's riddles.
"A pick-up duel— why didn't I think of that!?" Yuki turned on his heel and sprinted off toward the Anubis Blue dorm, his determination restored.
Behind him, Sparkman let out a long-suffering sigh. "You would have... if someone didn't insist on being a buttinsky," he sulked.
Osiris Red Dorm, Duel Academy
September 5, 2027
12:44 PM
While Yuki was out trying to get a duel with his brother (though he had no way of knowing that), Syrus was huddled under his blankets, wallowing in his own misery. He had taken Power Bond out of his deck and was studying it listlessly, debating removing it from his deck altogether. After all, it wasn't like he would ever be able to use it. He knew he wouldn't get rid of it, though. As much as Power Bond reminded him of bad memories and self-doubts, it had still been a gift from Zane, and Syrus had so few of those— since his brother had stopped acknowledging his existence.
"It's not like I can blame him, though," Syrus told the card. "I don't know a thing about Duel Monsters. I let everyone down. Mom and Dad were both famous pro duelists, and Zane will be, too, once he graduates. I'll be the only one not in the family business. Zane's probably been practicing pretending I don't exist for when he gets interviewed by reporters, so no one will ever know about his pathetic little brother."
He sighed heavily, letting Power Bond slip from his fingers. "What is wrong with me? Why did Zane get all the good duelist genes while I got stuck with the leftovers? I'm no good at anything!" He picked at his blankets, depressed by his bleak prospects. "I wonder if I could get Uncle Seto to give me a job at KaibaCorp as a janitor or something."
He was in the middle of parsing out what he would say to his uncle when Yuki returned, his hair flattened to his head and dripping water onto his shoulders. Syrus stared.
"What happened?"
"A couple of Anubis Blues decided to be jerks," Yuki shrugged nonchalantly, but Syrus could see the unusual tension in his shoulders. Usually, Yuki could brush off bullies with his typical blitheness, but occasionally something would happen that actually upset him. It was rare, but Syrus had learned to recognize the signs.
"Are you alright? Do you need anything?"
"Just a shower. They were using the water to mop the floors."
Syrus started. "Anubis Blues mopping the floors?"
"Yeah. Probably as a punishment of some kind, which should have been my first clue that they were jerks. Oh, well. Just shows you can't teach old dogs new tricks." Yuki forced a smile before stalking into the bathroom and slamming the door behind him. Syrus focused very hard on not thinking about what could currently be clinging to his friend's hair.
Yuki's mood didn't improve much after his shower. Syrus wavered on whether or not to bring up the subject again, to try and help, especially as Yuki stalked around the room, muttering to himself about not giving up and a duel, but by the time he made up his mind to say something, it was time for their afternoon classes. After that Yuki went off on his own, presumably to find someone to duel, and so Syrus didn't get another chance to talk to him until mealtime that night, and dinner in the Osiris Red dorm was not really the greatest place for emotional confrontations— too much rowdy conversation and obnoxious chewing.
It turned out Syrus shouldn't have bothered worrying about it. That evening, as they got ready for bed and Yuki said his usual goodnights to his deck, the younger Wheeler was reminded that Yuki didn't need his help, not really. He had an entire deck full of willing listeners to help him with his problems. Syrus curled back up under his covers and buried his face in his pillow. He'd missed the entire lecture in class today because he was too busy worrying about a friend who'd never needed him in the first place.
Osirs Red Dorm, Duel Academy
September 7, 2027
5:08 PM
It took almost the entirety of two days running around asking questions, but Yuki finally had a good idea of where and when to find Zane to challenge him to a pick-up duel. Everyone generally agreed that Duel Academy's top student was always on the southwest part of the island, near the old lighthouse, around sundown— and that he was always there alone. It was as good a time and place as any. Yuki was itching for the chance to confront Zane, but there were still a couple of hours before sundown, so there was nothing to do but head back to the dorm, check over his deck one final time, and wait for dinner.
He swung open the door to room 2B and called to his roommate, "Aw, Sy, are you still in bed? I know you're down but that's not an excuse to act like some lazy slug— I mean even Necroshade got up today."
Necroshade huffed in false indignation. "I spend as many hours 'up' as the rest of you; it just so happens that most of them happen to be at night."
Yuki grasped his friend's blankets and yanked them away from the bed with a cry of triumph, intending to startle his small friend with a good scare. He was left holding the blankets and blinking in surprise at the empty bed. "Syrus...?"
"Where small one go?" Clayman asked, swiveling his massive head around to search the room.
"He left a note," Avian said from where he was hovering over the desk.
"What's it say?" Yuki asked, coming over to join him.
Dear Jaden,
I'm leaving Duel Academy. It's for the best. I really have nothing to gain by trying to struggle through classes about something I'm not very good at. Don't worry about me; I'll be fine. Don't bother trying to stop me.
Yuki was not reassured. He snatched up the note angrily, crumpling it in his fist. "Sy's not going anywhere," he growled. "Not if I have anything to say about it."
"You may not have anything to say about it," Burstinatrix said gently. "Syrus has to start making his own decisions at some point."
"Well, yeah, but not if he's going to be making huge mistakes like this!" Yuki argued. "Syrus and I have been dreaming of going to Duel Academy since we were kids— he can't just give up now! I've gotta stop him!" He turned on his heel and dashed out the door, the Elemental HEROs drifting after him.
"I do hope the boy doesn't do anything too drastic," Sparkman murmured. "For all his inherent wisdom, he is still just a boy who lacks experience."
"Which is why we let him make mistakes and learn from them," Necroshade said.
...
Almost half an hour later, even with the Elemental HEROs helping in the search, there was still no sign of the smaller Osiris. "Syrus!? Come on," Yuki ground his teeth in frustration, "where are you?" He grimaced at the rough terrain of the cliffsides. There were any number of alcoves and inlets Syrus could be hiding in that Yuki would never see from this vantage point, the view blocked by the cliffs. He needed to get down to sea level.
Yuki found one of the paths that lead down the cliff face and hurried down it as fast as he dared, scattering rocks and pebbles and sending them flying into the surf as he did so. He came to a halt on the next piece of flat ground and hastily scanned the rocks, looking for any hint of bright red or pale blue.
"Kuri… kuri."
"Huh?" Startled, Yuki whirled around, only to catch a glimpse of one white wing floating back behind his head. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw, to his surprise, the newest member of his deck floating there. "It's you!"
"Kuri!" Winged Kuriboh cooed again, floating a little way away from Yuki before looking back, as if expecting him to follow.
"Can you find where Sy's at?" Kuriboh cooed again. "Go, quick! Come on, guys!" Yuki took off after Kuriboh, not pausing to notice the fond smile on Avian's face.
"Our old friend certainly hasn't lost his touch."
[Following For the Sake of Syrus 6:33-7:02]
The Lighthouse Pier, Academy Island
September 7, 2027
5:47 PM
"…speaking of brothers, Zane, have you seen yours yet?"
"No. The circles of Anubis elites and Osiris nobodies don't exactly mix." Zane could feel Alexis frowning at him but couldn't bring himself to care—he shoved down any feelings that might have contradicted him.
"Rumor has it that Jaden Yuki's been trying to coach him, and apparently decided a duel with you would help him do it."
Zane scoffed. "The big bad brother. What, does Yuki think giving me a scolding will somehow make Syrus seem less pathetic?"
Alexis opened her mouth, probably to start scolding him herself, when they heard a familiar voice call out, "Stay back, Jaden!" Both Anubis blues turned to see a small figure in a red jacket, balancing precariously on what looked like what was supposed to be… a raft?
"Is that… Syrus?" Alexis sounded like she wasn't sure she could believe her own eyes. Zane sighed, a surge of irritation going through him. What was his idiot brother doing now? Alexis took off running, back down the pier and towards the rocks, leaving Zane to follow at a more dignified pace. Honestly, it wasn't like there was anything to worry about— Yuki was much closer than they were.
Zane rethought this apparent safeguard when Yuki leaped onto the raft himself and promptly smashed it to pieces.
"Help! I can't swim!" Yeah, you should have remembered that before you decided to drift out into the ocean, with no supplies to speak of! Zane thought furiously.
"And you were about to raft out into the ocean!? That makes sense!" The older Wheeler glared down at the two flailing Osiris reds, ignoring the twinge of relief he felt at Yuki echoing his own thoughts— albeit without nearly as much vitriol.
"They do know the water here is shallow, right?" Alexis asked, just as they both seemed to realize it and got their feet under them.
"Why are you trying to stop me, Jaden?" Syrus asked. "I stink. Please, just let me go." Zane cocked his head to the side slightly, watching and waiting for the taller Osiris's answer.
"Sy, that's your brother talking. Come one, pal, you gotta believe in yourself."
"You gotta believe me. I'm a lost cause." Yuki growled at that but didn't seem to know what else to say. Zane sighed in disappointment.
"He is right, you know." Alexis sucked in an incredulous breath next to him, but he ignored her, focusing instead on his pipsqueak of a brother.
"Zane!"
"You're dropping out?"
"Well, yeah, kinda."
Zane held his gaze for a bit longer, before looking away. It was absolutely not because he couldn't stand to see the broken look on his younger brother's face. "Well, it's about time." Yuki said something to Syrus that was too soft to hear as muffled sobs drifted up from the water. Zane gritted his teeth, trying to breathe through the tightness in his chest. It's for his own good, it's for his own good, it's for his own—
"You're his big brother, how could you say that!?" Yuki demanded.
"Because I know him," Zane said flatly. Alexis was staring at him in full-blown horror, and her gaze burned, but he could endure it.
"Yeah, you've always seemed to think you know it all, Zane, but guess what, you don't!" Yuki shouted at him. "And I'm gonna prove it, right now! Let's duel!"
"No! Jaden!" Syrus tried to protest.
Zane's eyes narrowed, studying "Jaden" up and down. "Duel an Osiris?" Almost unwillingly, his lips twitched upwards into a smirk. Time to see how much he's improved. "Sure, why not? After all, you're a special case, aren't you, Jaden? Besides, it's been a while since I went slumming."
"Zane!"
"Then get your game on!"
"Jaden!"
Zane ignored both his cousin and brother, his gaze never leaving his soon-to-be opponent. You want to protect Syrus? Fine. Let's see if you have what it takes.
Syrus's stomach wouldn't stop doing flip-flops. Yuki had said that he could solve his friend's confidence problem— without causing his own— with this duel, but Syrus couldn't bring himself to believe it. Yuki had never once won a duel against Zane, even when they saw each other regularly, and now Zane had three full years of Duel Academy under his belt. There was no way of knowing how his skills had changed and evolved. Sure, Yuki had gotten better, too, while Zane had been away, but could that be enough? Syrus doubted it.
…
"Yes! Looks like Thunder Giant just made the big man on campus get a little bit smaller, wouldn't you say?" Yuki asked cockily.
No! Syrus thought frantically. No, I wouldn't!
"…but neither will be here long— in present form." Zane flipped the card in his hand around, revealing—
Polymerization!? Yuki's mind reeled. Since when did Zane start using Fusion?
"Dragons unite! Now, Cyber Twin Dragon, emerge!"
"Twin dragon?" Syrus was muttering to himself off to the side. "I don't remember Zane having that card before."
Yeah, because he wouldn't have been able to summon it with his old deck. I have to say, I'm impressed.
…
"…since Bubbleman's the only monster out on my field, I can use his special ability to draw two more cards." Yuki was broken out of his laser focus on the duel by a familiar cooing sound in his ear. "Huh?" He glanced down at the cards he'd just drawn to see a familiar pair of big eyes staring back at him.
Winged Kuriboh. You helped me buy time in my match with Crowler so I could eek out a win. With your help, maybe I'll have a chance to draw something that can turn that Cyber Twin Dragon into a pile of cyber scraps. But I can't summon any more monsters this round, so I'm just going to have to wait until my next turn. Despite himself, Yuki's lips turned upwards in a little smile. Still, I won't have to wait until next turn to use another card.
"Alright Zane, I play Polymerization and fuse my Elemental HERO Bubbleman with Elemental HERO Clayman. Now, Elemental HERO Mudballman, rise— in defense mode!"
"Mudballman's got 3000 defense points, so Twin Dragon's attack won't get through to Yuki." Alexis seemingly hadn't lost her habit of analyzing duels as they went. Syrus had finally stopped muttering and looked a little less anxious than he had before. Yuki grinned to himself. This might actually work!
…
Unfortunately, only a little while later, the Osiris wasn't feeling nearly as confident.
"I'll activate the magic of Power Bond!" Next to him, Yuki heard Syrus gasp. "With this spell card, I'm allowed to add Polymerization to my hand from my deck or graveyard. I do have one copy in the Graveyard, but I think I'll use my second copy in my deck for this move."
Yuki's eyes widened. He has more than one Polymerization in his deck? I thought he'd just added Fusion to his regular strategies, but he must have actually switched over completely like I did. Only serious Fusion users take up the space in their deck to have multiple Polymerization cards!
"Now, I'm allowed to summon a Fusion Monster, and with another Cyber Dragon in my hand, I can now fuse three of them together and create— the Cyber End Dragon!"
Yuki stared in awe at the huge, three-headed mechanical dragon towering above him. He had studied Fusion quite thoroughly when he'd decided to take it up, but he'd never heard of this monster.
"Plus, because I used Power Bond to activate Polymerization, the monster I fusion summoned has its attack points doubled thanks to Power Bond's other effect."
Yuki sucked in a breath. 8000 attack points. But Clayman's in defense mode, so—
"And there's more. When Cyber End Dragon attacks, the difference between his attack points and your monster's defense points are dealt to you as damage!"
So much for that. Yuki gritted his teeth. Winged Kuriboh wouldn't be able get him out of this. If he could have held on for one more turn, Power Bond's side effect would have taken Zane out, but the older Wheeler had played his cards well, just like always. I'm sorry, Sy, Yuki apologized in his head right before the attack hit.
"Yuki!" Syrus rushed to his friend's side. "No!" Yuki staggered to his feet, determined to take his loss with dignity. He placed a reassuring hand on Syrus's shoulder even as he lifted his gaze to meet Zane's.
"Thanks for a great duel, Zane. You haven't lost your touch— and you certainly surprised me with your new mastery of Fusion. I'll be ready for that next time."
Zane studied them both for a long moment, his eyes flicking between the two friends, before he turned on his heel and walked away.
Man, he talks even less than he used to. I didn't know that was possible.
"Zane, wait!" Alexis could hear Yuki already laughing off his loss, and Syrus even seemed to be joining in, but she wasn't going to let Zane off so easily. Yuki might have lost—which wasn't that surprising; he'd never been able to beat Zane even before he started using Fusion— but that didn't mean he should get away with treating Syrus like he did.
Her cousin didn't even bother slowing down for her, just continued striding away even as she managed to fall into step beside him.
"I don't know what you were thinking, talking to Syrus like that, but it was cruel and unnecessary—"
"Alexis." Finally, he stopped and turned to look at her. "Syrus will be fine. He's tougher than he looks, and he's got Yuki to watch his back. You don't need to worry about him so much." The harshness in his tone would have been enough to put off anybody else, but Alexis had known Zane her whole life and knew to listen to the content of his words rather than his tone.
"Wha— are you trying to tell me that was a test!? To see how far Yuki would go to protect Syrus or something? That's what your attitude these past few weeks has been about?"
Zane set his piercing gaze on her, staring her down. Alexis stared right back. Amazingly, he looked away first. "Or something," he admitted.
Alexis huffed. "Fine. I'll overlook it this time, but if I ever hear you talk about Syrus like that again, I'm calling Aunt Mai. You know I will, too." Tossing her hair, Alexis turned and marched off, satisfied she'd put the fear of God into her cousin— at least for now.
...
Meanwhile, it had just occurred to Yuki and Syrus that they had skipped dinner, and the two of them were already sprinting back to the Osiris dorm, eager for some of Professor Dean's late-night grilled cheese sandwiches.
"Master Yuki, slow down!" Necroshade scolded them. "Running on an empty stomach is likely to make you light-headed!"
· Syrus vs Jaden: As I've said before, Syrus doesn't start using Fusion until later in this fic. He actually does summon "Steam Gyroid" with "Polymerization" during this duel in canon, hence the alternate explanation of his using these cards.
· Jaden vs. Zane: Jaden originally draws "Transcendent Wings" in this duel, but in my timeline this duel takes place before he meets Miss Dorothy, so that's why he has a different card at this point in the duel.
· Originally Zane stops Syrus's duel with the school bully because he knew the bully's face-down was Spell-Binding circle, but there's really no logical way he could have known that— unless he had x-ray vision or something similar. Hence, the change.
· It always bothered me that Zane's canonical verbal abuse of Syrus was glossed over so much, so their brotherly relationship is actually one of the major focuses of this fic.
In this universe, at the time Yuki and friends are attending Duel Academy, "Polymerization" is the only Fusion Spell in existence. Because of that (and sometimes other reasons), some things in the future will be altered:
· "Dyna Base" is originally used by Hasselberry to Fusion summon; he uses it against Sartorius & Frost and Thunder, but these duels do not happen in this universe.
· "Dragon's Mirror" is originally used by Trueman to Fusion summon against Jaden, but both this character and (by default) all his duels have been written out of this universe.
· "Debris Station" is originally used by Prince Ojin to Fusion summon against Jaden, but both this character and (by default) all his duels have been written out of this universe.
· "Power Bond" is originally used by Syrus to fusion summon in his tag duel with Jaden against Para and Dox, a duel that does not happen in this universe.
· "Power Bond" is originally used by Zane to fusion summon "Cyber End Dragon" to save Syrus from "Doom Dozer", which does not happen in this universe.
· "Miracle Contact" is originally used by Jaden to fusion summon against Sartorius, but both this character and (by default) all his duels have been written out of this universe.
· "Miracle Fusion" is originally used by Jaden to fusion summon against Kagemaru, Howard X. Miller, and Prince Ojin, but all these characters and (by default) their duels have been written out of this universe.
· "Miracle Fusion" is originally used by Jaden to fusion summon against Amnael, a duel that does not happen in this universe.
· "Fusion Gate" is originally used by Jaden to fusion summon in his tag duel with Syrus against Para and Dox, a duel that does not happen in this universe.
· "Fusion Gate" is originally used by Jaden to fusion summon against both Alexis and Atticus (Nightshroud), duels that do not happen in this universe
· "Future Fusion", with its incorrect effect, renamed "Future Fusion I" in this universe, is originally used by Zane to fusion summon against Chancellor Sheppard, a duel that does not happen in this universe
· "Future Fusion, with its correct effect, renamed "Future Fusion II" in this universe, is originally used by Trueman to fusion summon against Jaden, a duel that does not happen in this universe
· "Instant Fusion" is originally used by Jaden to fusion summon against Howard X. Miller, but both this character and (by default) all his duels have been written out of this universe.
· "Instant Fusion" is originally used by Jaden to fusion summon against Marcel (Yubel), a duel that does not happen in this universe.
· "Vehicroid Connection Zone", with an incorrect effect, is originally used by Syrus to fusion summon in his tag duel with Hasselberry against Frost and Thunder, a duel that does not happen in this universe.
· "Vehicroid Connection Zone", with an incorrect effect, is originally used by Syrus to fusion summon against an Osiris Red student, but both this character and (by default) all his duels have been written out of this universe.
· The effect of "Power Bond" is changed to:
- Summon, from your hand, Fusion Material Monsters that are listed on a Machine-Type Fusion Monster Card. Activate "Polymerization" from your hand, Deck, Graveyard, or field and Special Summon that Fusion Monster. If you do, its ATK is doubled. During the End Phase of your turn, the player who controls this monster takes damage equal to the original ATK of the monster.
· The effect of "Overload Fusion" is (tentatively) changed to:
- Summon, from your Graveyard, Fusion Material Monsters that are listed on a Machine-Type Fusion Monster Card. If you then Special Summon that Fusion Monster, its Fusion Material Monsters are removed from play instead of sent to the Graveyard.
· The effect of "Miracle Contact" is (tentatively) changed to:
- Summon to the field, from your Deck, hand, or Graveyard, the Fusion Materials that are listed on an "Elemental HERO" Fusion Monster that lists "Elemental HERO Neos" as Fusion Material. Then, if you successfully summon that Fusion Monster, shuffle the Fusion Materials back into your Deck instead of sending them to the Graveyard.
· The effect of "Fusion Gate" is (tentatively) changed to:
- If you Fusion summon a monster, the Fusion Material Monsters used to summon it are removed from play instead of being sent to the Graveyard.
· The effect of "Miracle Fusion" is (tentatively) changed to:
- If you Fusion summon a monster that includes "Elemental Hero" in its card name, the Fusion Material Monsters used to summon it are removed from play instead of being sent to the Graveyard.
· The effect of "Time Stream" is (tentatively) changed to:
- Target 1 "Fossil" Fusion Monster you control; Tribute it, and if you do, Special Summon 1 "Fossil" Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, whose original Level is 2 higher than that monster's. (This is treated as a Tribute Summon.) During your Main Phase, except the turn this card was sent to the GY: You can banish this card and 1 "Fossil" Fusion Monster from your GY, then target 1 "Fossil" Fusion Monster in your GY; Special Summon it.
· The effect of "Vehicroid Connection Zone" is (tentatively) changed to:
- If you Fusion summon 1 "Vehicroid" Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters from your hand or field as Fusion Materials, it cannot be destroyed by card effects, and its effects cannot be negated.
· The effect of "Fossil Fusion" is (tentatively) changed to:
- Summon, from your Graveyard, Fusion Material Monsters that are listed on a "Fossil" Fusion Monster Card. If you then Special Summon that Fusion Monster, its Fusion Material Monsters are removed from play instead of sent to the Graveyard.