Thus the week passed quickly and Phil found himself lounging on a puffy recliner in the library of Obelisk Blue, ruminating about a job well done. Jaden and Syrus were easy to convince to attend, and he hadn’t had much of an issue with them bringing along Chumley. Bastion of course already knew about the idea, Alexis too, so they had shown up exactly on time, along with Jasmine and Mindy. Chazz had taken some extra convincing, but his pride was still smarting from is loss to Jaden earlier in the week, so Phil only had to push a few of his buttons before the boy had snapped back at Phil that he would be there.

Yup, nothing but some fun Saturday duels for me. Phil thought to himself as he sipped on his morning cup of coffee, completely oblivious to the concerned looks both Bastion and Alexis started sending towards him after they noticed the pot of coffee on the nearby table was already half empty. That in itself wouldn’t normally be a cause of worry for them, until they also realized that Phil was the only person in the library that actually drank coffee in the first place.

“All right, all right, all right!” Phil cheerfully shouted in his best announcer voice once the lads from Red had taken their seats. “Ladies, gentlemen, I suppose you’re all wondering why I’ve gathered you here today, in this fine establishment.”

Jaden scratched his head. “Didn’t you say it was for a stu-“

“Nopenopenope!” Phil interrupted Jaden hastily, and then continued. “I said, I suppose you’re all wondering why I’ve gathered you here today, in this fine establishment!” And, as to drive home his words, Phil sent a lengthy glare to Jaden to make sure he didn’t say anything this time, before continuing his dramatic statement.

“It has come to my attention that here in either a few weeks or a few months, as Ms. Hibiki never actually told me when the tournament is, a few of the fine gentlemen in this room will be representing our dorms and school in the international school duel. Now, I admit I don’t give that much of a shit if we win the whole thing, but it’ll be pretty funny to stomp some noobs at least. So, in the interest in testing our skills and making sure ya’ll have the game knowledge needed to keep up with yours truly, I set up this study session for us.”

“Ha, it doesn’t matter if you care or not, Phil. I’m more than enough to pick up your slack, and we will win the tournament.” Chazz replied, the conviction in his voice drowning out Jaden’s confusion over Phil not caring about the tournament.

Phil raised his eyebrow at Chazz’s confidence, but shrugged his own thoughts off. “Right-o. Well, I do see that we have an odd number of people, so how about we split up into pairs for a duel. I’ll spectate and do what I can to catch any ways you guys can improve. Then after a few rounds we can rotate around and someone else can spectate so there’s a wide range of opinions being shared.”

A moment of silence followed Phil’s words, and then to Chazz’s grumbles (that were only silenced once Jaden promised him a rematch) the students split off into pairs and got to work.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Alright, Syrus my boy, repeat after me.” Phil crouched next to the blue-haired boy who was currently struggling in a duel against Jaden. “Field spells are simple: you activate them, and as long as they remain on the field they apply the effect specified on the card text. There can only be on field spell in play at a time, so if a second one is activated, the first one will be destroyed. For example, take Bastion’s Umi. He activates it, and assuming I don’t destroy it, the card effect gets applied. Specifically, it states that all Fish, Sea Serpent, Thunder, and Aqua monsters on the field gain 200 attack and defense, while all Machine and Pyro monsters on the field lose that same amount. Capice?”

Syrus gulped, and then turned back to Jaden with a clear hesitance in his actions. “R-right. I activate Megaroid City!” At Jaden’s encouraging nod, the boy continued with a slightly firmer tone. “Megaroid City, activate your effect!”

Phil nodded to himself, happy that Syrus seemed to finally be grasping some of the elementary game knowledge he should already know, and then turned over to Bastion and Alexis, who were deep in conversation.

“… what do you think?” Alexis finished her question to Bastion, who wore a look of deep contemplation.

“Ghosts… as a rational man, I can’t fully believe if they exist or not, but if multiple students have said the same thing…” Bastion stroked his chin in thought, both players by now having completely forgotten the duel they were right in the middle of. “In the end I would have to see it with my own eyes to be sure, and even then it could be some sort of trick, with lights or even technology similar to that of a duel disk.”

Alexis nodded. “But what about the two Obelisk students in the nurse’s office? No hologram from a duel disk would be able to actually hurt them, much less keep them unconscious for that long.”

“Maybe they drank too much one night?” Phil snarked from where he stood from the side, and then approached the table. “What’s this talk about ghosts anyways? Is some spooky phantom sending people to the shadow realm or something?”

“Oh, it’s probably nothing.” Bastion replied and crossed his arms. “Just some rumors about this ghost that a few Obelisk Blues apparently summoned. Call’s himself ‘Jinzo’, if that isn’t ridiculous enough.”

Phil nodded along to Bastion’s words in silence, but in his head Phil’s brain was slowly putting two-and-two together. Fuck. It’s a duel spirit, isn’t it? Jinzo… that was the anti-trap guy that Joey used in Battle City, right? Why’s some duel spirit going around trying to merc students? This is fucking stupid. Eventually, though, Phil replied after his thoughts were put in order. “Yeah, I don’t now either, buddy. How about we all keep a sharp eye out, and if some purple asshole wearing some weird green suit comes a callin’, we beat the tar out of him with chairs or something.”

Alexis chuckled at Phil’s words as the boy in question walked away, only stopping when Bastion put his arm on her shoulder with a serious expression. “Alexis… I think he’s serious about the chair thing.”

“Phil wouldn’t!”

“Phil would.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

A few hours passed and Phil noted happily to himself that the study session was in full swing, with the ice completely broken as well. Chazz had finally chuckled at one of Jaden’s dumb puns, Syrus had been surrounded by Jasmine and Mindy while they tried to pressure him into a rematch, and Alexis was in a close, yet still friendly duel against Bastion. All I have to do now, Phil considered to himself, is sneak some drinks from the cafeteria, enjoy the atmosphere, and figure out what that fatass creeping on us from the window wants.

Indeed, Phil had noticed an odd character looking into the library from a window who had shown up around an hour ago. A grown man, dressed in a stupid-looking mask, a long duster, and a black hat was just standing there. Staring. However, what interested Phil the most was what he could almost swear was the Millennium Puzzle the man wore around his neck. Now, Phil would be the first to admit that his memory wasn’t exactly top tier, but he was pretty sure that the puzzle was in the underworld or something like that after the final duel between Yugi and the Pharoah.

So thus, his curiosity was aroused, and Phil quietly slipped out the back door after muttering to Bastion that he was “Gonna be back real soon, just sourcing out some drinks for us.”. The lazy afternoon air was almost intoxicating to Phil as he left the cool environment of the library, but he steeled himself to press onto his mission, quickly dashing around the side of the building to hide in some bushes.

One big asshole looking in the window? Check. He could probably fold me like an accordion, so D.3.S card in my deck box plus accompanying psychotic spirit? Check. Oh yeah, it’s Phil’en time. Gonna Phil all over this jackass.

“Oi, asshole. You got a reason for creeping in the window, or am I just that good looking?” Phil lazily shouted as he pushed through the bushes. The man in question slowly menacingly turned around and looked Phil up and down.

“Jaden Yuki?” The man questioned.

Dafuq? Phil tried to run through the different possibilities in his head. I don’t know exactly when the Shadow Riders come into play, but I know it’s not this early. Some stupid scheme of Crowler’s maybe? Ah yeah that’s right. I think a good chunk of the conflict at the start of the school year was from Crowler trying to get Jaden expelled… Okay, I’ll bite.

“Yeah, you got me homie. Are you my date to a dance or something? If so, the line’s back there and you’d better bring some good booze, because they all know me back home as a real Casanova.” Phil replied with sarcasm oozing from every word. However, the large man only laughed in response.

“Jaden Yuki. I am the shadow duelist Titan. Follow me unless you want to face the consequences of my magic.”

Phil froze slightly, his face turning serious for the first time that day. A shadow duel this early… Nevertheless, Phil suppressed his own instincts that told him to run back to the library, instead following Titan to an empty classroom, so one so dark that he could hardly see five feet in front of his own feet. Then, as the two duelists came to the center of the classroom, an inky-black fog billowed out from under the large man’s coat, while the Millennium Puzzle around his neck glowed with a pale light.

“I have come to break you in this shadow game, Jaden Yuki. Beware! If you lose, your mind will be shattered into a thousand pieces, with your body becoming catatonic until the day you die!”

Phil tilted his head sideways at those words, but instead of replying he simply reached into his mustard-yellow jacket to withdraw a single deck with orange card sleeves, slotting it into his duel disk with a satisfying ‘click’.

“Duel start!” Titan roared, drawing his first card and setting his face into a mocking grin. “Easy prey! I discard my monster, Archfiend General, in order to use its effect to add one Pandemonium field spell from my deck to my hand. Then, I activate Pandemonium!” All around the shadow duelist the black fog became denser and gained an unhealthy green tint, while jagged arches made of sickly green stone rose from the ground at random around the classroom. “Now, I summon my monster, Shadowknight Archfiend (2000/1600) and equip him with Axe of Despair (2000/1600 -> 3000/1600)! After that I set two face downs and end my turn!” A brutal figure martialized onto the field, looking as sinister as its master with its skeletal armor and a hand that simply ended with a sword, as if the weapon was fused onto the creature’s very body.

Phil drew a card and continued considering his plan of action. Archfiends. Interesting. These seem to be the chess versions, not the better, newer ones. Still, I’d be best off by planning around the new support, too. Now, if I remember correctly, I have to avoid targeting his chess archfiends with card effects, since they all have protection effects that use die rolls to determine if they can negate the card or no. The field spell doesn’t do much, only making it so he doesn’t have to pay the life point maintenance cost all of the chess archfiends have each of his standby phases, that and I think it also lets him search archfiends somehow. Since he didn’t use any search effects last turn, I assume he can’t fill the condition at this moment. Something needs to happen. Either interaction on my part, or he’s missing a key card. Phil twisted his neck back and forth to a litany of ‘cracks’ and ‘pops’, and set forth to continue his own turn.

Right Phil, no mistakes allowed if you don’t want to get a fate worse than death.

“I activate Pot of Greed, drawing two cards. I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, targeting your field spell to pop it.”

As the blue vortex of water raged across the field to obliterate Titan’s field spell, Phil noted the slight gasp of shock from the large man before he mastered himself. Seems like he really doesn’t want the field spell to go. Interesting.

“Now, I’ll also activate Reinforcement of the Army, adding Don Zaloog from deck to hand. I set one monster, two backrow, pass turn.” Phil took a deep breath, centering himself as he reverted back to old habits and old slang without even noticing it.

“Fine!” Titan snapped out. “I draw, and in my standby phase I pay 900 life points due to Shadowknight Archfiend’s effect. Now, regret wasting your Space Typhoon on my field spell. I activate another Pandemonium! And then, I summon Pandemonium Watchbear (1300/1800) in attack position! Just try and destroy it now, boy!”

Phil clicked his tongue in mild annoyance as the rag-tag assembly of crude, broken arches sprang up from nonexistence onto the field once more, only this time they seemed much… larger. Phil’s eyes darted around the field going from the bulky skull-like figure of the archfiend, to the green arches, and to the red bear that was covered in chains, trying to soak up as much information as possible. The changed visual effects can’t be there for no reason. Is it because of… that bear? It would be the only difference between last time. It must have some continuous effect buffing or protecting the field spell.

“Now! Pandemonium Watchbear, attack his face down monster!.”

Phil’s back shot up straight as he responded. “On declaration of attack, I activate Ring of Destruction, targeting your bear!”

The red-furred bear wailed with despair as a metal choker outfitted with grenades settled around its neck and detonated the creature in a flurry of gore, causing Titan to wince as his life points dropped from 4000 to 2700, with Phil’s doing the same.

“You fool!” Titan shouted with venom dripping from his every word. “Each time you take damage, your body will be sacrificed to the shadows! Despair!”

Phil’s body started with no small amount of panic as he cast his eyes across his body. True to Titan’s words, a large chunk of Phil’s torso was simply… missing. Where there was once yellow cloth, followed by a white undershirt and pale skin there was just a large hole. But, Phil noticed with confusion, something seemed… off. He shook his head, forcing his attention back to the duel as Titan ordered the massive Shadowknight Archfiend to attack Phil’s facedown monster.

The mighty sword of the archfiend swung down on Phil’s mysterious card, and shattered it on impact. Yet, Titan’s smile faltered as Phil began to laugh to himself. “Easy! D.D. Warrior Lady’s effect activates, banishing her and your archfiend monster. And, since she doesn’t target, you get jack fucking shit for protection!” Phil crowed, continuing to laugh with his arms spread out, so great was his mockery.

Then, as Titan growled and ended his turn, Phil abruptly stopped laughing and his grin turned sharklike in intensity. “Damn. What a joke. Titan, huh?” Phil began as he made a show of patting the void where his torso used to be. “You know, I thought you were going to bring something better than that. Is this even a shadow duel? I should be trapped in a cage above lava or something, while manmade horrors beyond human comprehension gnaw at my flesh each time I take damage. Yet, even though I can’t see my torso, I can still feel it. Well, fuck it. I’m ending this now.” Before Titan could even manage a sneering reply, Phil sprang into action.

“Easy game! I activate Graceful Charity, proving that both greed and charity are nearly inseparable! I draw three, discarding my Don Zaloog and Blade Knight! Easy life! I activate Heavy Storm, popping your backrow! Any response? I thought not! Now, understand your relative worthlessness! By banishing my Don Zaloog and Blade Knight, who are a dark and a light respectively, I summon the bane of GOAT night! Black! Luster! Soldier! Envoy! Of! The! Begennnniiiiiinnnggggg (3000/2500)!

A tall knight in blue armor stepped gracefully onto the field, wielding a curved sword in his right hand and an ornate shield in his left hand. For a moment the warrior coldly gazed at Titan, until a side pocket on Phil’s jacket was nudged open. From the pocket emerged an impossibly long, pink tongue that slithered around the field, unnoticed by Phil, until it reached the warrior’s metal boot. Then the tongue struck as quickly as a blood lusted snake, piercing straight through the blue armor to reach the flesh underneath. For a moment the blue-armored warrior shuddered, even appearing to try and scream, before he shook one more time and stilled.

“I.” The warrior opened his mouth and his jaw moved up and down robotically while and impossibly deep voice emerged from his mouth.

“I hunger.”

Titan screamed in horror, looking back and forth between the warrior and Phil as he slowly realized he was the only one of the two who could hear those words. “No no no no no no!” Titan dropped to his knees, trying to shield himself with his hands as Phil ordered the warrior to attack. “Wait wait wait wait!”

The blue-armored warrior came closer, and with one smooth moment dropped his shield, reaching up to his mouth with his free hand and ripping his own jaw off his face. From the gaping hole that was his mouth, a warty, green limb lazily stretched out, the webbed fingers on the limb grasping Titan’s collar.

“WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT!” Titan screamed out desperately while flecks of foam were flung out of his mouth.

Yet, the arm continued to emerge from the soldier’s ruined mouth, squeezing itself to the side as a second green arm pushed itself out of one of the soldier’s eye sockets. The arm gently reached down to the remains of the soldier’s mouth, causally brushing aside a few stray tendons to make room for a gradually emerging head. The classroom, still filled with an inky-black cloud, was filled with 'glurping’ sounds as the head of a frog pushed itself out of a jawless mouth, only to open its own mouth to reveal a mawing cavern devoid of all life.

And then in one quick moment, D.3.S. Frog’s head lunged forward to tear through Titan’s body in an explosion of gore. Phil watched the frog gorge itself on the bulky man’s remains for not even a full second until he turned to the side to empty both his lunch and breakfast onto a nearby desk.

“Mother- motherfucker.” Phil swore to himself, shuddering with every sickening ‘crunch’ that came from the man’s body. Even though his eyes were turned away from the carnage, Phil continued to vomit until the sounds eventually ceased.

“Fucking hell man, why did you do that! Wh- why would you go around and challenge people to a shadow game? You should’ve known death, or worse, is on the line! I’m – ah shit.” Phil felt his stomach heave again, yet nothing but a small amount of bile came up. “Fuck, man. You didn’t give me a choice! It’s you or me in a shadow game!” Phil wiped his mouth and cleared his face of what he suspected were tears before standing up with a shuddering sigh.

“Damn it.” He muttered. “Why couldn’t you have just walked away from whatever you were here for. Damn it.”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Back in the library, Alexis glanced at the clock on the wall. “Hey Bastion, Phil was just getting drinks, right?”

From the book labelled ‘duel strategies’, Bastion looked up at her in consideration. “Yes. He said that he was going over to the cafeteria to grab some drinks. Why do you ask?”

Alexis leaned back in her chair and sighed. “Well, it’s been almost two hours, and I’m starting to worry that Phil’s doing something self-destructive again.”

“Perhaps we should go and che-“ Bastion begun, before he stopped his sentence upon hearing the creak of the library door opening. “Huh. Speak of the devil, that must be Phil.”

Indeed, it was Phil who entered the library, walking past the dueling figures of Jaden, Chazz, Syrus, and Jasmine to plop down in a chair near Bastion. Immediately the pair noticed that Phil seemed… off. His complexion was pale, ashen even, and his eyes were filled with exhaustion despite the coffee both Alexis and Bastion had watched him practically chug all morning.

“Welp, sorry Bastion but I couldn’t find the drinks. The caf was clean out.” Phil muttered, causing a mixture of concern and trepidation to fill the pair’s minds.

“No, that’s okay.” Bastion eventually replied. “Say, Phil. You look a bit… out of it. Did something go wrong when you left?”

Phil gave no reply, only staring into thin air until Bastion snapped his fingers under Phil’s eyes. “Naw, it’s all good mate. I’m just kinda tired all of a sudden. Must be that the caffeine is wearing out.”

Bastion patted Phil’s shoulder, and then locked eyes with Alexis, both of them sharing the same thought.

Yeah I’m not sure if he’s telling the truth.