As he worked on his deck, Leo thought about all the mistakes he made in his duel against Luke. He realized that the first mistake he made was challenging Luke in the first place. Leo dueled Luke because he wanted to humiliate Luke in front of Roxanne and Luna, and in front of everyone else at the academy. In the end though, it was Leo who got humiliated. Leo had dueled Luke for all the wrong reasons, and he swore to himself that the next time he challenged Luke, it would be for the right reasons. And until then, he would prepare for their duel.
The following Sunday was relatively uneventful. Leo and Luna's parents were away that weekend on business, so they had the house to themselves. The twins used much of that Sunday to work on any homework they had leftover from the previous Friday. That evening, as Leo had surfed the TV channels looking for a movie to watch, the twins ran across a news program that was talking about the mysterious meteor that landed outside of the city four nights ago. It seemed that several people in the city had gone to take a look at the meteor over the last four three days. One thing about the report that bothered the twins was that the reporter on scene where the meteor landed had a blank expression on his face and spoke in a monotone. It was just like how Luke and Roxanne had acted on Friday. Another thing that was odd about the report was that they didn't show any pictures of the meteor, or even the crater where it landed. Instead, it only showed an icon of a poorly drawn comet in the top right corner. Leo and Luna began to wonder if something sinister was going on.
* * *
The day after the weekend began like the day before it. Leo and Luna ran into Roxanne on their way to school, and Roxanne still had the same blank expression on her face and spoke in the same monotone. It was when the twins got to school that they noticed something different. Most of the students standing in front of the building all had the same blank expressions on their faces. None of those students spoke a word, and they all stood rigidly. Then the bell rang, and most of the students, except for Leo, Luna, and at least three others, walked into the building in a neat and orderly fashion. Which was the exact opposite of how everyone normally entered.
Things got even creepier when Leo and Luna entered the classroom. On a typical day, most of the students would be all over the room in small groups visiting with each other. That morning though, many of the students in the classroom sat rigidly at their desks, starring blankly at the front of the room. Both Leo and Luna were completely freaked out by this scene. Reluctantly, they sat down at their desks. Leo was getting worried. Luna sat three rows behind him on the opposite side of the room. So if anything happened, it would be hard for Leo to get to her.
Mrs. Kretch entered the room. On her face was the same stern expression she had every day. The only difference this time was that Mrs. Kretch didn't scratch her nails across the chalkboard to get the class's attention, as it seemed she already had it. Mrs. Kretch gave the morning announcements in her usual tone. It seemed what ever happened to the students had not happened to Leo and Luna's horrid homeroom teacher.
The same did not seem to hold true for all the other teachers at the school though. Every teacher that Leo and Luna saw all walked around with the same blank expression that many of the students had. It wasn't just teachers though. It was also the janitors and the cafeteria workers. Leo noticed that even the school nurse had the same expression as he saw her in the hallway. There was something extremely wrong at the London Duel Academy. Something that had both the twins very worried.
What troubled the twins the most was that many of their classes caused them to be separated. In a school where over half the student body and almost all of the teaching staff had seemed to become zombies of some kind, being separated did not seem like a good idea. There seemed to be no way around it though. Through out the entire morning, almost every student that Leo and Luna ran into invited them to go see the meteor after school, and each time they declined the invitation. At lunch, the twins sat down to plan a quick escape from the school.
"What's the last class that you have?" Leo asked in a whisper.
"Social Studies with Ms. Blackwell." Luna whispered back.
"Darn!" Leo exclaimed in a tone louder tan he intended. "I have a Dueling with Mr. Rolland all the way on the other side of the building."
"What do we do now?" Luna asked whispering in a worried tone.
"Don't panic." Leo whispered. "I'll try to leave class early. Once I'm out, I'll go to your classroom to get you."
"What than?" Luna asked.
"I don't know." Leo answered. "All I know is that we need to get out of this school as soon as possible."
Leo saw the worried expression on Luna's face.
"Don't worry." Leo said, patting Luna on the shoulder reassuringly. "I won't let anything happen to you."
Luna managed a weak smile.
There wasn't anything big going on in Mr. Rolland's dueling class that day. They were simply reviewing the Scrap monster archetype. Leo figured that it would only be a twenty minute lecture, after which the class would leave early. Unfortunately, Mrs, Kretch was filling in for Mr. Rolland, who had apparently called in sick that day. Mrs. Kretch painstakingly and meticulously went over five different examples of how to use different Scrap related cards. The lecture dragged on for about forty minutes. All the time, Leo was fidgeting and looking at the clock. Every minute that ticked by was another minute Luna was in danger. After it was over, Mrs. Kretch called Leo over to her desk and lectured Leo about how he didn't pay attention in class, which took another ten minutes.
As some as Leo got away from Mrs. Kretch, he began to run to the classroom where Luna was. Just as Leo entered the hallway leading to his destination, he saw Luke standing in his way.
"Hello Leo." Luke said, greeting Leo in his monotone voice.
"I don't have time to talk to you Luke!" Leo said in an irritated tone. "I have to get to Luna!"
"Your sister is no longer here." Luke told Leo. "She has gone to see the meteor."
Leo panicked.
"You're lying!" Leo shouted. "Now get out of my way!"
"There is only one way I shall get of your way." Luke responded.
Luke put down his backpack and pulled out his duel disk, which he then put on his arm. Leo's thoughts raced for a solution. He thought about running past Luke, but he knew for a fact that Luke could outrun him. That fact was proven to Leo when he raced Luke in gym class once. Leo also didn't think he could take Luke in a fight. There seemed to be only one option. Leo got out his duel disk and prepared for battle. It seemed that his rematch with Luke had come sooner than he thought.
