Ra Yellow Dorm, Duel Academy

February 6, 2028

12:04 PM

At first, waiting by the entrance to the Ra dorm for Brier to come and let him in had been nerve-wracking for Syrus. He'd been sure that the other Ra Yellows would chase him off, maybe even worse, as soon as they saw his red jacket. At the very least, surely a professor would come down, frowning disapprovingly, and tell him to get back to where he belonged.

Nothing had happened, though, and so the blue-haired boy had become considerably more comfortable around the place since he'd started. Professor Sartyr, the Ra headmaster, recognized him on sight now, and after a few older boys had tried to mess with him only to be chased off by Beauregard, no one else had dared.

Since a little bit before the kidnapping— even thinking the word made Syrus want to throw up— he'd been occasionally eating lunch with the two Ra Yellows. He and Brier had both signed up for a seminar on stage fright at the beginning of the semester and since then had discovered they had a lot more than that in common.

Now that Yuki was gone, lunch at Ra Yellow had become an almost everyday occurrence. Brier and Beauregard were good company; it turned out both of them understood what it was like to struggle with anxiety on a daily basis. Syrus had almost been convinced he was the only one, despite all his therapist's assurances. Everyone in the Wheeler-Valentine-Kaiba family had an overabundance of confidence, which was probably why Syrus had none whatsoever— their quota had been all used up by the time he'd come along.

And of course, Yuki wouldn't have been able to commiserate about Syrus's insecurities in his wildest dreams.

Syrus had actually begun wondering if that was part of the problem he'd had with Yuki lately, part of the reason why they always seemed to be at odds nowadays. Did he resent his best friend for having more self-esteem than him? Did he believe, deep down, that Yuki should have done something about Syrus's insecurities and was therefore partly responsible for them? The idea made an uncomfortable feeling squirm in the small boy's stomach.

"—rus? Earth to Syrus!"

"Huh?" Syrus snapped back to reality to find Brier waving a hand in front of his face. "Oh, sorry. What were you saying?"

"I was asking how you're doing," Brier said with a huff, sitting back on his heels and crossing his arms over his chest, "since you seemed to have spaced out on us."

Syrus felt his cheeks heat. "Sorry, I—"

"No reason to apologize," Beauregard rumbled. "You were thinking about," here he dropped his voice to a whisper, "Yuki again, weren't you? It's perfectly normal to experience fear when something bad happens to a friend." He glanced over at Brier.

Syrus swallowed hard at the reminder. When he'd gotten the news, all of his bad habits had come roaring back, his first thoughts being those of guilt— had it been his fault? If he and Yuki hadn't argued, would his friend have ever gone walking on that beach alone? Would things have been different if Syrus had stuck to his side every minute like he had during the first semester?

Needless to say, the past week had not been fun. First had been the panic, which had mostly subsided when Yuki had been returned safely to the island, but it had quickly been replaced by worry and fear. What if something like that happened again? How was he going to cope while Yuki was at home recovering? And of course, it had all been compounded by the persistent guilt eating away at his insides.

All of it had led to consistently sleepless nights, which in turn had ruined his ability to focus and basically function as a human being. Fortunately, Professor Dean had spread it around that Syrus was the "roommate of the boy who'd been kidnapped", so his professors had been taking it easier on him.

"Do'ya think maybe you could call him?" Brier asked, bringing Syrus back to the present. "Y'know, to reassure yourself that he's ok?"

Beauregard nodded in agreement. "Feelings of anxiety can be alleviated by action."

Syrus had, of course, already called Yuki in a babbling panic, apologizing for everything and saying he would always be Yuki's friend and was he alright and was there anything Syrus could do, etc. etc., and not that Yuki hadn't already laughed it off and said forget about it.

We'll always be best pals, Sy. But there had been an uneasiness in his tone Syrus had never heard before. Though that could be chalked up to having been drugged, kidnapped and held for ransom.

Yeah, it would be good to talk to Yuki again, see how he was recovering, and if that tone had faded from his voice. And to try and repair the damage that had been done to their friendship these past few months.

Syrus didn't know how long it would take him to drudge up the courage to actually do it, though.

Alexis's Room, Anubis Blue Dorm

February 6, 2028

12:23 PM

Alexis Kaiba scowled down at her lunch and poked at it with her chopsticks, taking a moment to indulge in her irritation. She'd been grounded for a week now and it was beginning to grate on her nerves. Most of the time, she could console herself with the knowledge that it wasn't nearly as bad as it could be— her father could have demanded she return home, after all— but at the moment she just wanted to be mad about it.

Not reporting Gerard hadn't been the smart thing to do; she knew that, ok? But it hadn't exactly been completely stupid either. She'd looked into him to confirm he was a real reporter and asked Dorothy to keep an eye on him; it wasn't like she'd taken no precautions whatsoever. She'd followed her instincts, and they'd paid off. Gerard had made an honest effort to help find Atticus, and while that had been a bust, some of the articles he and Sadie had consulted on were going to lead to real improvements at Duel Academy— her father had recommitted to cracking down on corruption, bullying, and had even announced his plans to reevaluate the ranked dorm system, which was a minor miracle. All of that was thanks to Gerard's articles, which he could never have written unless he'd been undercover on the island.

Of course, the small voice in the back of Alexis's head whispered, you had no way of knowing things would turn out that way. A couple of internet searches doesn't equate a full background check. It turned out he wasn't completely legit, and you didn't know because you didn't look hard enough. You could have been smarter.

Alexis shut down the voice. None of that mattered. What mattered was that it was completely unfair for her father to restrict her only to school activities, confining her to her dorm room unless she absolutely had to be elsewhere. No recreation of any kind until after spring break— and of course the confinement would continue all through her time at home. She was thoroughly dreading it.

On top of that, he'd made her retake Roland's security class, adding more work to all of her quad tests and projects. It grated to have to restudy stuff she'd known by heart since primary school. She stabbed particularly viciously at a piece of chicken. She wasn't even allowed to pick her own meals while on probation; everything was preordered and delivered straight to her door. She was getting heartily sick of the same rotation of meals every few days.

She wondered if Gerard was having as hard a time as she was. He was being charged with some minor offenses, due to his failing to report the admiral, trespassing onto private property, and other shady stuff he'd done as a reporter before this whole mess had started, but he wasn't actually in prison. Due to his offenses being non-violent and his agreement to testify against the admiral, he'd been released on bail, with KaibaCorp's security keeping a close eye on him. There would be a trial, at which Gerard would plead guilty and wind up with maybe minimal jail time, but probably just community service.

"I wish I could have gotten community service," Alexis grumbled. "At least then I'd be allowed out of this blasted room."

The thing that annoyed her most (other than not being able to look for Atticus, and she'd promised she wouldn't go back to that place in the woods without Yuki anyway, so it was a moot point) was not being able to call Yuki. That was considered recreational, and besides, he was supposed to be recovering.

Unlike her, Yuki had been sent home after being rescued, so he could process what had happened to him in a safe environment. He'd promised to come back after spring break, though. Because of course he would be back— attending Duel Academy was his dream. It always had been, even back when they'd attended school together as kids.

She hadn't realized it until they'd begun to reconnect during the past few months, but she'd missed him while they'd been apart— and not just because of a dumb schoolgirl crush, either. Yuki was generous and kind, if a bit oblivious, and had the ability to make you believe anything was possible.

Of course, because of all that, her schoolgirl crush wasn't going anywhere. She still got butterflies in her stomach when she remembered how he'd given up the School Duel— and not just the match itself, but the prestige that would have come with being the first Osiris ever to participate, let alone win— all for her. Because he had been worried about her.

She'd never quite figured out the right words to thank him for rescuing her. Oh, well, maybe she could squeeze it in between all her studying, since she now had so much extra time on her hands.

Chazz's Room, Osiris Red Dorm

February 6, 2028

12:31 PM

Chazz Devlin was not accustomed to feeling concern for his peers— or for anyone at all, really, except maybe, sometimes, his parents. However, the recent attempted kidnapping of his rival had forced him to accept, however reluctantly, that he cared for the slacker… a bit. It had taken him a while to figure out that was why he was so irritable, but the discovery hadn't made him any happier, unfortunately.

Not that Chazz was ever a very cheerful person, but in the weeks since he'd won the School Duel— the first Osiris ever to do so— he'd been less grumpy than usual. His classmates and teachers treated him with respect now, despite his lack of a blue jacket. The renovations to the Osiris dorm were almost complete, meaning he would soon be free of the closet-sized space he was currently stuck in. And, although they were very annoying, he'd found yelling at the gremlins allowed him to blow off steam whenever he needed to, instead of keeping everything bottled up and waiting to explode. Yes, things had been looking up recently— and then the idiot had gone and gotten himself kidnapped.

It was, his therapist had explained, the other side of having friends. The scary, painful side. When you allowed yourself to care, you increased the chances that you could get hurt.

It had been a very frustrating revelation.

Up until then, Chazz had begun to enjoy having friends. Real friends, not hangers-on like Topher and Conklin. He was able to be himself without worrying so much about what people would think— a hard habit to break, unfortunately. Still, it had been coming easier and easier— Chazz grinned as he remembered an argument Syrus and Yuki had been having one day, and how seamlessly he'd just… slipped into the conversation, like he'd been doing it forever.

...

"What's this? Trouble in paradise?"

"Hey!" Syrus screeched back at him. "It's private!"

"Come on, it's just Chazz," Yuki scoffed with a lazy grin. "We share everything. You know, like dessert." He eyed Chazz's lunch tray hungrily.

The black-clad Osiris hastily whisked it out of his rival's reach. "Yeah right, slacker. Keep dreaming."

"Okay. Then can I have your fish, too? And your rice?"

...

It had been so natural, so… friendly, and Chazz (though he'd die before admitting it) couldn't help but appreciate the feeling of being included.

"The slacker had better be alright," he muttered to himself in between bites of his lunch— which he promptly choked on when his phone went off next to him. "Gosh darn it," he rasped, snatching up his water and taking a long drink. When he could breathe again, he picked up the phone and scowled when he saw his mother's name on the screen.

Finding out there had been an attempted semi-successful kidnapping at her precious baby's school had kicked Mrs. Devlin's protectiveness into overdrive. Much to Chazz's dismay, Mr. Kaiba had sent out a letter to every student's parents, informing them of what had happened and what precautions they were taking to ensure it never happened again. Unsurprisingly, there'd been quite the uproar when word got out, and several students had been forced to leave the island altogether. For the most part, though, the stellar reputation that accompanied everything with the Kaiba name attached to it seemed like it was going to carry them through.

Not that KaibaCorp's reputation had meant anything to Chazz's mother. She was convinced he was downplaying the situation to protect his reputation.

...

"He wouldn't be so cavalier about this if it was his child on that island!"

"Mom, Mr. Kaiba's daughter Alexis is here at Duel Academy too."

"Well, yes, but only because he can't have it getting out that he kept his own children away while encouraging other parents to send theirs to his death trap of a school!"

...

Chazz had just barely managed to convince her that she didn't need to come and get him, thank the stars. His father had been a great help, pointing out just how unlikely it was that something else would happen. During the fifteen plus years that Duel Academy had been open, there had only ever been two incidents of students going missing— Atticus Rhodes and Jaden Yuki— out of the ten thousand or more that had ever been enrolled. The odds of something actually happening to any particular student were pretty slim.

He chose not to think about the fact that both Atticus and Yuki were a part of their close friend group, increasing the odds immensely. It was probably just a coincidence.

Headmaster Suite, Anubis Blue Dorm

February 6, 2028

12:47 PM

Dr. Vellian Crowler sat in his luxury Anubis Blue faculty suite, nursing a glass of fine wine and pondering recent events. Not for the first time, the subject of his thoughts was one Jaden Yuki, though they were considerably less vitriolic than they had been in the past.

His first impression of Jaden had been of a young man only interested in the thrill of dueling and the ambrosia of victory, with no respect for the discipline and devotion being a true master required. The boy's cavalier attitude toward basically everything had grated on the professor's nerves to the point that he'd taken active steps to get the seemingly unworthy pupil expelled. He winced now, remembering his ego-fueled attempts.

Because that was what it had been; he was willing to accept that now. His ego, giving rise to jealousy, that such a slacker of a student could be so talented. Crowler would have given up function in both legs (he needed his arms for dueling) to have that kind of natural skill, especially while still so young.

He sighed heavily, taking another sip of wine. He'd misjudged the boy, badly. It had become apparent during Jaden's duel with Chazz that he did, in fact, know when to take things seriously. That he completely understood the things that really mattered as a duelist— passion, drive, and respect for one's cards. Crowler had been struck dumb at Jaden's rush to defend Chazz, to call him a friend, despite the obvious bad blood between them. Could he, Vellian Crowler, say he had friends like that?

Had he ever had friends like that?

The Anubis Headmaster had recognized a lot of himself in Chazz, especially during that duel. Winning, being a champion, had been all that mattered to his parents and teachers, too. That kind of pressure didn't create a lot of avenues for friendship.

It wasn't until Crowler had been a young adult, thoroughly miserable as a professional duelist, that he'd realized how absurd it all was. Dueling wasn't worth it if it was just to win for the sake of winning; he needed something more to feel truly driven.

So, he'd quit the circuit and become a teacher. Indeed, part of his reasoning at the time had been an interest in helping students like Chazz, who were buckling under the weight of parental expectations. He'd failed quite miserably at that, he thought, taking another large swig of alcohol. It had taken Jaden Yuki, of all people, to remind him.

And then the foolish boy had gone and gotten himself kidnapped, and Crowler's career had almost come to a premature end as his heart seized in his chest, that familiar, terrible fear crashing over him once more.

Atticus Rhodes's disappearance had been devastating for Crowler— it was a horrific kind of failure, for something to happen to astudent on a teacher's watch. Jaden's attempted kidnapping had brought it all back, even though he'd only heard about it after the fact. It was then, when he'd felt such crippling fear over the last person he'd expected, that Crowler had begun thinking.

He'd become awfully cynical since Atticus's disappearance, he'd realized. When was the last time he'd sat down for a meal with a student (Bastion Misawa didn't count)? Or simply watched them duel for the enjoyment of it? He'd shut himself off, hadn't he, after losing a student. It had hurt too much, and so he didn't dare let himself form a bond with another pupil ever again.

Well, as Mr. Kaiba was fond of saying, one can't change the past, only the future. From now on, Dr. Vellian Crowler would do better, be better. He would be a professor the students of Duel Academy could depend on to have their backs, to be a friend instead of merely an instructor. It wouldn't be easy, but things worth doing never are.

(He would still keep a close eye on Jaden Yuki, though. The boy was totally lacking in common sense and seemed to have appalling luck, too, considering Mr. Kaiba's claim that the kidnappers had chosen the Osiris at random.)

Yuki's Room, Muto Residence

February 6, 2028

12:58 PM

Yuki lay in his bed, curled up on his side, gazing out the window and trying not to think about the heavenly aroma of fried shrimp that still filled the room. His mom had made it special for him, to try and coax him to eat. It had worked— he'd managed to eat a few before losing his appetite— but he still hadn't wolfed them down like he would have just over a week ago. He hadn't had much of an interest in food, or anything, really, since coming home, and it had nothing to do with the kidnapping, as he'd allowed everyone to believe. No, the real problem was that he couldn't remember.

He remembered awakening in the bare, metal room; he remembered the Admiral and panicking when he realized exactly what was happening, but after that… it was all fuzzy. Like a forgotten dream.

Mr. Kaiba had gotten permission for him to see the security footage of himself, deep in the bowels of the Deepsea Legend, doing… something to the engines, but it was nothing but a blank space in his mind. What was worse was what he'd seen on the news— it was impossible to cover up something like this, though Mr. Kaiba had managed to keep the Muto family out of it, miracle of miracles.

There was no security footage of the bridge, so there was no concrete evidence, but everyone had seen the Admiral's arrival in Domino City, had heard him and his crew babbling about the "supernatural creature" with glowing eyes that had attacked them. Of course, the media wasn't going to let something like that go, evidence or not.

The whole concept was so absurd that Yuki would have laughed it off, except… except. Belowski had said his eyes were glowing during their first duel. They'd chalked it up to a side effect of his spirit-talking, but what if it wasn't? What if it was something more sinister, something dangerous? This was the third time he'd blacked out during a perilous situation, and he didn't think he could continue to ignore it.

One is an accident, two a coincidence, three a pattern. And patterns have intent behind them.

That was one of the first lessons Grandpa had taught him about strategy. Yuki had always thought of it in terms of Duel Monsters, but that didn't mean it couldn't apply here. There had to be an underlying cause of his blackouts; all he had to do was find it.

Rolling over, Yuki pulled out his cellphone and opened the notes app, skimming through what he'd written down that night months ago, when he'd somehow known Alexis was in danger and apparently gone to rescue her.

A cold, slimy feeling. Strong urges to track it down and expel/defeat/destroy it.

Was Alexis the common factor? Did he have a sixth sense attuned to her like he did to dueling? After all, his second blackout had also led to him rescuing her, hadn't it? The second time… actually, the second time that cat (what had happened to it? They hadn't seen it since) had led him to Alexis, not some bizarre ESP. He'd only blacked out once he'd gotten closer to her, like the last time. So… what did that mean?

The blackouts happen in response to a threat, whether to myself or to a friend.

But was it to all threats, or just really, really bad ones? Being kidnapped and held for ransom was a pretty obvious threat, but there was nothing supernatural about it, not like the entity Alexis had faced.

A supernatural entity… supernatural glowing eyes…supernaturally attained powers and knowledge that he hadn't had before...

What was this, a superhero origin story? Maybe he really was an escaped experiment from KaibaCorp's labs, like the tabloids said. He should probably get his parents to show him his birth certificate, just to be safe.

Muto Residence, Domino City

February 6, 2028

1:03 PM

A very useful talent possessed by all Duel Monster spirits was the ability to "phase" in and out of different levels of presence. Phase 1, the "Dormant Phase" as it had been labeled by KaibaCorp researchers, was what was colloquially referred to as "being in the cards"; not strictly accurate, as that implied one could rip open a card and find a Duel Spirit inside, but it was close enough. Phase 3, the "Active Phase" was when the Duel Spirits were "out" of their cards and interacting with the world around them (well, as much as they could in their incorporeal forms, anyway), but more significantly, with others (who could see them) who could then respond in kind.

Phase 2, however, was the most useful one, in Clayman's opinion. Called the "Potentiality Phase", it was when Duel Spirits were present enough to interact with each other, but not with the corporeal world. In other words, it allowed the six Elemental Masters to meet without the risk of Yuki overhearing.

As a monster made mostly of clay, Clayman was not the best speaker, and so tended to remain quiet even when he was present enough that Yuki could hear him. Staying in phase two allowed him to be aware of everything without feeling any pressure to respond.

How he wished that could be the case now.

"There's no two ways about it, Avian. His powers have awakened, so it's time to tell him about them. That's what we all agreed to." Burstinatrix, who always preferred the most direct approach to any problem, had been hammering away at this point for a while now.

"But he is not conscious of them yet," Avian countered. "He knows something unusual is going on, but he doesn't have a full grasp of what it is yet. Telling him now comes too close to dictating his path, and that is not our job."

"We won't be dictating anything! We'll just be giving him all the information."

"I agree with Trix," Sparkman chimed in, because of course he did. "We're the boy's guardians; what kind of protectors would we be if we continued to allow him to stew in his own fear and uncertainty? We're already keeping so many secrets from him, and while I understand the reasons," he held up a hand to ward off Avian, who'd opened his mouth to speak, "I think we should be as transparent as possible whenever we can."

"Exactly," Burstinatrix nodded. "Necroshade, how about you? You must understand the dangers of keeping this hidden any longer."

Necroshade took his time responding. "I agree that withholding information from someone who trusts you absolutely can— will— have negative consequences. But at the same time, there are advantages to operating in the shadows. The fewer people who know a secret, the less likely it is to get out."

Clayman felt his hackles raise, understanding at once what Necroshade wasn't saying.

"You mean that making the boy aware of what he is will paint a larger target on his back. As soon as his enemies get wind of his return, they'll all be coming after him," Avian said slowly.

Burstinatrix looked a bit green. "I hadn't thought of that."

Sparkman shook his head. "The enemy is already coming after him. All we'd be doing by telling Yuki the truth is better preparing him to face them. And if we keep what we know hidden much longer, when he finally does learn the truth, it will damage his trust in us. We will have been handicapped by our own inaction."

"That might not be as much of a problem as it seems," Bubbleman spoke up. "We are the Masters of the Elements, meant to teach the balance-keeper their nature and how to work with them. But we are not meant to be his closest allies." He held up a hand to stop Burstinatrix and Avian, both of whom had opened their mouths to protest, incensed. "You know it's true. The boy's closest allies will be members of his own kind. Humans who can understand where he's coming from in ways we simply can't. We've had unique opportunities to bond and befriend him this time around, due to… extenuating circumstances, but we need to remember that sooner or later, we're going to have to let him go."

Silence descended on the six spirits, no one wanting to admit Bubbleman's truth to themselves. Clayman glanced over at the bed, where Yuki had fallen asleep, deep furrows on his usually relaxed visage. The idea of letting go… it hurt, more than he'd expected it to. But Bubbleman was right. Duel Spirits, by their very nature, were fluid and transitory. The six of them would recover from their lost closeness with Yuki, faster and more completely than a human would. Humans were a bizarre species, adaptable but also stubborn, clinging to what they saw as inherent truth and resisting change until something extreme— usually time itself— forced it on them.

When Yuki faced the challenges of being who he was, the struggles and the fear and the loss, they wouldn't be able to understand, not really. They couldn't be his primary support.

"Young one should choose," Clayman said in his gravelly voice. Everyone turned to look at him. "Tell him we know truth. Tell him is hard truth. Let him choose."

"…I suppose that's fair," Avian said reluctantly, "but when would we approach him about it? I don't think he's ready just yet."

And so started off another round of arguing.

Family Room, Muto Residence

February 6, 2028

1:15 PM

Yugi Muto joined his wife at the chabudai table in the family room, silently handing her a cup of freshly brewed tea. After their lives had quieted down, no longer filled with recitals and tournaments and a young baby, they had made it a habit to sit down together after lunch, have some tea, and talk. It had come as a surprise to them that, compared to the whirlwind their early married years had been, settling down and living together was actually much harder. Marriage is just like anything else in life, Grandpa had said when Yugi expressed his frustration. If you want to get better at it, you need to practice. Hence, the daily teatime.

"I saw the fried shrimp in the kitchen," Yugi started. "He ate some of them, at least. That's an improvement."

"Or a sign of just how badly he's hurting," Tèa sighed. "I just wish there was more we could do to help him."

Slowly, Yugi set his teacup down. "We could tell him everything we know," he offered.

Tèa looked up at him, startled. "You mean…?" He nodded. "…Are we allowed to do that?"

Yugi shrugged. "I don't know. She never said we couldn't; just that we wouldn't need to." He grimaced. "We never made a backup plan."

His wife looked back down at her teacup, tapping her fingers against the porcelain. "I thought we'd have more time," she admitted quietly. "He's only fourteen."

"I was only fourteen when I solved the puzzle."

"That was different. It was…" her face made the complicated expression it always did when someone brought up Atem, "…temporary. This isn't. And this time it's not my friends in danger, it's my son." She looked at him then, some unfathomable torment in her blue eyes. "I don't know if I'll be able to stand it."

Yugi reached out and took her hand in his, quietly offering comfort. They sat like that for a while, until he finally forced himself to say, "We can't stop it. But we can be there for him when he needs us. I just don't know what that's going to look like yet." He let out a frustrated sigh. "I wish he felt comfortable just telling us what he's been going through. How long has it been going on? Why hasn't he come to us?"

Kaiba had told them everything he knew, had even shown them the security footage, but the largest clue that something was going on had been the news, and the kidnappers' claims of a demon with glowing eyes.

"You didn't tell anyone about the puzzle at first, either," Tèa pointed out. "Maybe he just needs more time."

"Yeah, but how much more time does he actually have?"

The answer to that question, as it turned out, was exactly three days.

1. Syrus's view of Yuki as perfect leads him to seek other explanations for their arguments, mainly blaming himself. He was beginning to grow out of that, seeing Yuki ignore him so easily as he made other friends, but the kidnapping attempt set him back a few steps. He is NOT right to start blaming himself again for Yuki's thoughtlessness.

2. Yuki's relationship with Syrus is the oldest and most advanced, meaning it is at the stage where it has started hitting some rough patches as they change. In contrast, his relationships with Alexis (even though they were friends in the past), Chazz and others are relatively new, meaning they haven't quite gotten there yet.