"Take my hand, and lead me to salvation.

Take my love, for love, is everlasting."

-Epilogue from Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schōnberg


"One second, Ellie!" Yuri Kazami stood up from the dining room table to move across the room to where the phone was ringing. Young Éliane Kazukata, the daughter of Reo and Yvette Kazukata, was five years old. Her pale green eyes widened with a mix of shock, curiosity, and annoyance from her duel being interrupted. She had just recently been given her deck for her fifth birthday, and she very much wanted to use it.

Yvette and Reo Kazukata were currently away on business in Paris, her Maman's home country, leaving the teenaged Yuri in charge of Ellie.

"Hello?" Yuri answered the phone. "Yes, this is her. What's up?" Ellie raced over to where her babysitter stood to grip onto her shirt, her free hand bitting her thumbnail.

"Yuri, I wanna duel," Ellie whined out. Her voice came out muffled from her thumb being in the way.

"What?" Yuri jumped in the air, her voice screeching, causing Ellie to swiftly move back from fright. "Dead..." Yuri's voice came out as a harsh whisper. Her hands were trembling horribly. "They died in a car crash? How? How the hell did this happen? What am I going to tell Ellie-" Yuri cut off her words upon realizing that the young girl was standing right beside her room. Her pale stared lifelessly.

Ellie couldn't process the information. She knew what the word 'dead' meant. Her Papa's parents were dead. Many people died years ago when Ellie was a baby in an accident. No one came back from the dead. No one could ever come back from death.

She didn't expect that word to apply to the two people she needed the most.

"She heard me," Yuri's voice shook into the phone. "Oh gods, Ellie heard me. What the hell do I do? How do I fix this?" Yuri was only sixteen. She had tears dripping down her face, effectively ruining whatever makeup she had on that day.

Little Ellie, they called her, would never call her again.

"Ellie..." Yuri tried calling out to her. This snapped the young one out of her thoughts. Ellie always thought Yuri was one of the most beautiful girls she had ever seen. Now her skin was puffy with a red overtone. The phone was hanging limply in her hands. "Ellie, I can explain. Please, come here..."

Ellie shook her hand, her fists tight in her hands. What would happen to her? She couldn't live without her parents. They might take her away. They might take her back to her Maman's country, where her grandparents were, or maybe her Aunt Adela would take her in and she could stay with her cousin Addi. Maybe her godmother would take her.

Ellie didn't want any of those options. She wanted her parents.

She did the first thing that came into her mind. Ellie flung herself towards the table, grabbed her cards, shoved them into the front pocket of her overalls, and ran.

Ellie could hear Yuri on the phone, begging whoever was on the other end to help her, to tell her what to do, but Ellie didn't care. She wanted to leave. She wanted to run away and never look back. She would run until she could escape this world and go into the world her Papa always talked about, the land with fairies and magic and flowers.

Ellie ran out of her home in a place known as the Tops and through the streets. She heard bystanders calling out to her, but Ellie couldn't stop. She could never stop. She could leave this world for a better one- one where her parents would still be alive to kiss her and be there.

Ellie stopped against a wall. She gasped for air, her eyes watering from exertion and despair.

"You have to stop," One of Lina's duel spirits, Star Magician, leaned next to the young girl and put his translucent hand on her shoulder. "You can't keep going."

"I don't care!" Ellie snapped back to the duel spirit. She stubbornly forced herself back to her feet, before collapsing onto the ground. No one could see her duel spirit but her. A gift, her Papa had called it.

This gift could not help her at the moment. As Ellie's vision blackened, she saw her duel spirit disappeared.

"I don't know about this. Shouldn't we check if she belongs to someone?" A deep voice could be heard- but it was almost as if it were through a fog.

"A kid who looks like that? You know where we are. The brat probably lost her parents in the accident years ago. Must be a stray. Why else would she be in the Daimon Area? The only things alive here are the thugs roaming around."

Ellie had been running for what felt like hours. She most likely didn't look the cleanest, or polished.

"Yeah, maybe. Satellite it is."

"Probably for the best. Do that for me, yeah?"

"Me?! Why the hell do I gotta grab the kid and drop it off there?"

"I'm not touching Satellite scum. I might catch what they have, you get me? Just do it, or you'll be on ticketing duty for the next six weeks instead."

"Alright. Whatever man."

Ellie could feel she was being carried. Then, she couldn't hear or feel anything.

When Ellie woke up, she was alone. The Satellite. Criminals were sent to the Satellite, but so were people who had been left there after the accident. The Zero Reverse.

Now Ellie was here.

It didn't matter. She had no home to go back to.

Days quickly turned to weeks. Ellie had managed only to survive from scraps of food from vendors who pitied her in the different Squares. A beautiful girl, they called her. Sometimes people would approach Ellie for the cards in her hands, but they couldn't catch her when she ran. They never did, and they never will.

The Public Maintenance Officer (she had learned from a Vendor that they were the ones who drop people off to the Satellite) had left her abandoned on a dirt road, leaving it up to Ellie to find a place to sleep, and food to eat. Ellie was currently walking home to her current resting spot when she heard a voice cry out to her.

"Hey, you! Wait up!"

Ellie's back straightened, her eyes going wide. Without thinking, she pulled out one of her cards- Sun Hope's Magician.

"Who is it?" Ellie didn't dare turn around. The voice sounded young- maybe her age?- but she couldn't question it. The duel spirit appeared by Lina's side and smiled.

"They're safe," The duel spirit promised her. "I promise. Talk to them!"

Ellie nodded. She carefully put the card back with her deck, forcing the duel spirit to vanish. She slowly turned to face whoever was trying to talk to her, only to be met face to face with two boys. One was taller than the other with blonde hair and purple eyes, while the other had spiky black hair with yellow streaks and blue eyes.

"Who are you?" Ellie raised her chin in the air, her posture defensive. She still didn't quite believe these two were friendly, despite every part of her body telling her this was exactly where she was meant to be.

"Where do you think you're going? It's getting dark!" The blonde one complained. "Don't you know you're a girl!?"

"What about it?" Lina's eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"We saw you were alone," The one with black hair interrupted before the blonde one could say anything. "We thought maybe you were all by yourself."

"And what if I am?" Ellie sized up the boys.

"Don't you have somewhere to go?" The blonde spoke bluntly.

"Jack, shut up," The black haired boy shot a look towards 'Jack'.

Ellie froze, her breath catching in her throat. The black haired boy seemed to catch on what was happening.

"We have somewhere you can go," The boy promised the young girl.

"Her name is Martha. She's our adopted Mom. Neither of us has parents, but we have her. You could come with us," Jack promised Lina. "She's better than anyone else I know."

"You don't have parents either?" This made Ellie look up in shock and disbelief. "Do you...do you think Martha could be-"

"We can take you to Martha," The raven-haired boy confirmed with a nod.

"I'm Jack Atlas!" The blonde declared. "I'm six, and I'm the best duelist you've ever seen!"

"I'm Yusei," The blue-eyed boy looked to Ellie with a smile.

"My name is Éliane," As soon as Ellie said her name, she knew it was a mistake. Both Jack and Yusei looked at her in confusion, Jack more than Yusei.

"That doesn't sound like a word!" Jack complained. "Say it again!"

"Jack," Yusei rolled his eyes.

Her Maman had told her Éliane was a beautiful name inspired by her first language, French.

She could tell them her name was Ellie. It was her nickname everyone called her.

But her parents called her that. No, it wouldn't work. She wanted something new, something meant for her.

"What about Lina?" Those were the first words to pop into her head. She had thought of different variations of her name but settled for that.

"Lina," Yusei repeated. "Ready to go home?"

"Yeah, and when we do that, we can duel! I won't go easy on you! I see your deck, but I bet it doesn't have a chance against mine!"

Both Yusei and Jack held their hand out for her to take. With a large smile, Lina grabbed both of their hands in one of hers. Together they began to walk down the road to her new home, with Jack on her one side and Yusei on the other.

"I won't go easy on you either, Jack," Lina promised the blonde.

A home. She had a home.


A/N:

Edit: (12/16/18)

I started this fic in June of 2018. Admittedly, it was the first thing I've ever published in public without fear of people seeing it (well, there was still some fear!). It's crazy to think of where I started and where I ended up. The positivity I've been given is mindblowing, especially considering how late it is for the fandom. It's only been a few months, but my writing style has already changed and adapted so much since starting.

That's why I made the decision to go back and rewrite some of my earlier chapters. When I first started, I started on shaky feet. I wasn't sure where to start or where I would go, but I know now what I want. I want to give out my best work, which is why I think my earlier chapters should match what I'm giving out in my newest chapters. I'm not changing the story, so don't worry about needing to re-read anything. It'll just be the words, maybe some conversations, and the overall style. The goal isn't to rewrite the story or themes. The goal is to give my story, my audience, and myself the best choice available. That's what this story deserves.

Thank you to everyone who will read this story, who has, and who has continued. It means so much. I'm excited for what's in store for you, and for Lina. Thank you :)

xoxo

Kara

Edit: (12/31/18)

The Game Begins is officially updated. Thank you for your patience while things underwent maintenance.