Prologue
It is the year 2107, and Teknisk Wereld is still as popular as ever. Although it has undergone some changes, it is still similar to what it had been left as.
In 2100, Hope Gales, Rue Klaus, Max Driger, Will Brown, Brandi Driger, Miles Salum, Draken Drayfall, Fell Luna, Larka Luna, and Zackary Wright were sentenced to be banished from Teknisk Wereld and be unable to contact one another until becoming twenty years old. Although they all felt much sorrow at this separation, they agreed to the conditions and left.
Throughout the years, members of the group have been returning to Teknisk Wereld to try and reunite with each other. Fell is the sole exception to this, for he remained with Sarius Tirran to go to other worlds.
Everyone else has finally come back, except for one: Hope Gales.
Chapter 1: Return
The clock said fifteen minutes to nine. It had only moved five minutes forward since she had last looked at it. Hope was really wishing she had a rock to throw at that mocking clock right then. Since that was not an option though, she turned her head back to her teacher, who was going over some of the mistakes they had made with the papers they had turned in yesterday.
Hope had certainly changed in the past seven years. She had grown a significant amount taller, and was slightly better when it came to athletics. Her dark brown hair had grown to about her waist, even though she continued to keep it in a ponytail. Her eyes were still the vivid blue they had always been. Today she was wearing a short-sleeved sky-blue shirt with blue jeans and black tennis shoes. Around her neck was the orb she still wore. People often gave it odd looks when it changed colors from white to black and back again, but Hope always assured them that it was a trick of the light.
She looked up at the clock again. Ten minutes to nine.
Today was the day she had been waiting seven long years for. It was finally her twentieth birthday, which meant that right after this class, she would be able to return to Teknisk Wereld at last. This was her only class, and since it was Friday, she would have nearly three days to catch up with her friends… if she could find them.
Hope had often wondered how they were doing now, especially Max. It had taken all of her willpower to make it this long without going crazy from the seclusion. She had made up for it mainly by throwing herself into her studies. As she had gone through school, she had decided that she wanted to have the career of being an author. She had already written some of the adventures she and her friends had had in Teknisk Wereld for practice, but she was nowhere near finishing. Now she was in her second year of college.
Five minutes to nine. She felt her anticipation rise at the time. Then she suddenly heard her teacher say, "Pass up your folders now. Paola, be sure to actually give them back this time; we would not appreciate it if you stole them again."
The class laughed, as did Paola, despite the fact that she was trying to protest to the statement at the same time. It had become a joke once she had accidentally kept the folders that had been passed to the front of her row and taken them to her dormitory. That had caused some hectic searching before her row had finally gotten them back.
Hope passed hers up, feeling rather pleased with the score she had gotten on her latest paper, a comparison. She was also happy that her teacher had apparently decided to end class early. There was a less chance of being called out for staring into space that way. Normally, Hope loved her writing class and paid complete attention to it, but this was just too important of a day for her to do so now.
Students had begun to get up and talk to each other when four people made their way over to Hope. She smiled as they came up to her.
"Happy Birthday!" Julia said to her enthusiastically, handing her an envelope and a small, wrapped gift. Julia looked similar to how she had many years back, with light brown shoulder-length hair and her soft blue eyes. She still wore the small pearl around her neck, and had on her favorite green shirt on that day along with her standard blue jeans.
"Thanks," Hope replied, accepting the items. "Are these from all of you?"
"We just decided to wrap them into the same box," Josh explained. He had matured into a handsome young man with short brown hair to complement his dark brown eyes and tanned skin. Now he wore a dark blue t-shirt, with several white dots on it that made it look like the night sky, and blue jeans of his own.
"Cow chewed up almost all of the wrapping paper we had," Samuel said, rolling his eyes. His black hair had grown a bit longer but was still rather short. His light brown skin and brown eyes were unchanged, but his outfit was now black jeans and a bright orange t-shirt with a phrase written on it in blue that said, 'I may be a blundering fool, but at least I am good at it.' Hope had no idea where he had gotten that shirt, and she did not think she wanted to know either.
"It wasn't his fault!" Toan said. His black hair had remained as short as usual, and his browned skin and brown eyes were of course the same as always. Now he had a white shirt with one of the Chik-fil-a cows that had the standard sign saying, 'Eat Mor Chikin' to go along with blue jeans. It was another thing Hope didn't ask about.
"I don't mind at all," Hope assured. "Thanks a lot, all of you."
"Not a problem!" Julia said with a smile. "But I assume you're eager to get to Teknisk Wereld and will probably wait until later to open it."
"What?" Hope flushed slightly at that. "Of course not!"
"I was just kidding," Julia said. "But I think you'll enjoy what's in there more if you look before leaving."
"Sure then." Hope carefully set the card and present into her bag before zipping it up.
"So, no homework for you?" Josh assumed.
"Nope! I made sure to finish them all ahead of time," Hope answered.
"Unlike Samuel, who is a great procrastinator," Toan commented, taking revenge for what he had said about Cow.
"Hey! I am not a procrastinator!" Samuel protested.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about the shirt," Toan laughed. Then he ran off towards the door with Samuel chasing him.
"…We'd better go after them," Julia said with a sigh as she slung her bag over her shoulder. "Samuel's going to get himself killed from running around like this one of these days." It was common knowledge that the two of them were still going out, which was promising considering how long that had been.
"I'm going straight to my dorm," Hope stated as she also picked up her bag. "I'll catch up with you guys when the weekend's over."
"You're not even coming out to eat?" Julia asked.
"I might, but it probably won't be for long if I even do," Hope said. "Don't worry too much about it. I've been in Teknisk Wereld for longer periods of time and come through fine food-wise."
"All right then. Just don't kill yourself," Julia warned.
"Have fun," Josh said.
"Thanks again!" Hope went quickly to the door, and just as she reached it, the bell rang. Hope instantly threw open the door and ran out. She bolted through the halls and out of the building. Many of the students on campus stopped speaking with each other to turn and stare as she went by them in a blur, but she didn't notice.
Hope arrived at her dormitory shortly and slowed down a bit, halting in front of her door and opening it. She walked in to see Gaston sitting in the chair he had been in when she had left, eyeing the clock with a raised eyebrow. "That's a new record."
"Can you blame me?" Hope said as she put her bag onto her bed. She had been lucky when it came to roommates, since she had ended up with Julia. They were both pretty easy-going when it came to space as long as they took care of their own things and kept the room relatively neat.
"No, I guess not," Gaston answered, getting up. Unlike their human companions, Soul Monsters never changed appearance-wise when it came to age, so Gaston looked exactly the same as he always had. Their personality could change over time, but Gaston's had not. He had been one of the other reasons Hope had been able to tolerate the long wait, and she was grateful for him.
"I have something I want to do quickly, and then we can go," Hope said as she brought out the envelope and tore it open, revealing a card that had a picture of a crumpled, torn piece of paper on the front. On it were the words, 'We wanted to give this card to someone we cared deeply about…' She looked inside, and saw, '…so of course you weren't our first choice, but there aren't many better candidates. Happy Birthday!' with their names and their Soul Monsters' names signed underneath it. Hope couldn't help but laugh.
"They're being as nice as ever," Gaston commented as he looked over her shoulder to see what she had.
"Yeah." Hope put the card aside and unwrapped the gift slowly, keeping the wrapping paper in one neat piece instead of shredding it apart. A small, white box was revealed. She opened it to see a note. She picked it up and read it, recognizing Julia's neat handwriting.
We meant to give you these sooner, but after what happened, you seemed to lose interest in Duel Monsters. As a result, we waited until today. In order from top to bottom, they are from me, Samuel, Toan, and Josh. Happy Birthday from all of us! Their names were once more signed underneath it, along with a tear that looked suspiciously like it had come from canine teeth.
Hope looked back at the box to see the back of a Duel Monster card. Upon lifting them, she found four. The one from Julia was a monster called The Magnificent Infiltrator. Samuel had provided another monster named Big-Shield Guarder. Toan's was the magic card Dragon-Slaying Sword. Josh had supplied the trap Assault Preparations.
"Not bad," Gaston said as she read the effects of each card.
"I didn't have any of these, and they're all useful," Hope said as she went to where her Duel Disk was lying. She slid the four cards onto the top of her deck, looking at her Life Point counter for at least the tenth time that day. The lack of the red dot on the screen still lifted her spirits as much as when she had seen it this morning.
"So, are you ready now?" Gaston asked, looking pretty eager to get going himself.
"More than ever!" Hope lay down in her bed put on the Duel Disk and Envoyant Machine, her hands slightly shaking as she did so. Then, for the first time in what seemed to be eternity, she pressed the button on it. Darkness engulfed her.
…
"Hey, Hope, you all right?" she heard Gaston say.
Hope opened her eyes to find herself sprawled out on the dark, emerald grass of the forest. "What happened?"
"You were out of it for a moment. It's probably because you aren't as used to teleporting here as you were before," Gaston explained. "You had this problem the first few times you entered, remember? It'll probably go away even sooner than before."
"I hope so. That's the one part of Teknisk Wereld that I can't say I enjoy," Hope commented as she sat up. She grew silent as she saw the familiar trees surrounding her, recognizing the area to be where she had appeared in Teknisk Wereld for the first time seven years ago.
"Happy to be here?" Gaston said.
"I'm still having a hard time believing it," Hope replied. "We're finally back…"
"Hopefully to stay," Gaston stated as he took her arm and pulled her up. "Shall we head to the town? We might be able to get some information on where everyone else is."
"Yes, let's do that," Hope agreed as she began to walk out of the clearing. She could remember the way to the town fairly accurately from where they were.
After several minutes of walking in comfortable silence, they emerged from the trees to see that they were on the shore of the lake. But instead of it being empty, as they were used to, they saw a Skull Red Pirate Ship with someone standing on the dock a few feet away from them.
"Wow, we finally see someone else here," Hope said in surprise.
The man heard her speak and turned to her. He was very short, to the point that he could almost be described as a dwarf, and had a long beard to go with the image. A black, ragged eyepatch covered his left eye. "Of course we'd be here, lass! We're about to go sailing once more. What else would you expect from me, the great pirate Brottor Khanchuckit!"
Hope blinked a few times. "Pirate?"
"Aye, one of the best," the man said. "Well, that might be because there are hardly any in Teknisk Wereld, but that's beside the point! We're about to set off once more, but before we can go, I need a baked potato! Would you go get me one?"
Hope and Gaston exchanged confused looks, but before either could say anything, another man came running off the ship. He had a bizarre outfit that looked like silver armor, along with a helmet. "Brottor, we need to get going quickly…"
"Ah, Claude Deschain, my matey!" Brottor greeted him. "Is it ready?"
"Yes, so let's leave now," Claude said as he grabbed Brottor's arm and dragged him towards the ship.
"What's the hurry for? Do you want to burn down yet another village?" Brottor said as they went onto deck.
"That last time was an accident! Really!" they heard Claude protest before they went out of earshot.
"…I pray that not everyone in Teknisk Wereld is like that," Hope said bleakly.
"That is fortunately doubtful," Gaston replied. "Let's go on."
"Please." They turned and went back up the slope, going towards the town.
As the town came into sight, Hope noticed that between the town and the route to the canyons, there was a big, round building that had no roof.
"What is that thing? It looks almost like a coliseum…" Hope trailed off as she indicated to it.
"Maybe that's what it is," Gaston suggested.
"Really? So people and Soul Monsters could fight each other? That would be incredible to watch…" Hope said.
"With safe guards in Teknisk Wereld, I don't see why not," Gaston stated. "It would probably be pretty popular. Should we look into it?"
"Yeah, but later. I want to see the town first," Hope said.
Gaston nodded. "Fine by me."
They continued towards it, but nothing eventful happened until they entered the streets. Due to school and work, there were not many people, but a decent amount was still present. They passed by several small groups of people and soon found the card shop.
The shop was empty, except for Hector, who had been looking through a binder of cards on the counter in front of him. He looked up, and after a moment of surprise, he grinned widely. "Hope, Gaston! It's great to finally see you two again!"
"You too," Hope said as they went up. "I guess that means we're all back."
"Yep, according to Rue," Hector replied.
"You've seen him?" Hope asked.
"I've met up with everyone again, except for Miles," Hector said. "I have no idea where he's been; try asking one of your friends. Anyway, do you want me to tell you where they are?"
"If you know," Gaston answered.
"Nobody has come in today, but it's still pretty early," Hector stated. "How about I give them a location to meet you at?"
"That round building… is it a coliseum?" Hope inquired.
"Good guess! That's a relatively new feature added to Teknisk Wereld," Hector told her. "For a while, no developments were being made to Teknisk Wereld whatsoever. People were getting annoyed with the lack of updates, so the creator himself programmed the coliseum a few years ago. It sure calmed them down quickly! Ever since the first day, it's been a huge success."
"I'm interested in it," Hope said. "We'll go to check that out. If anyone comes in, please tell them we'll be there."
"Of course I will! Oh, before you go…" Hector flipped to a page in his binder and slid out a card, handing it to Hope. "Think of this as a welcome-back present. Or a birthday present. Whichever you want to call it."
"Female Warrior of the Wilderness…" Hope read out loud before looking back up as she slid it away. "Thanks Hector! I'm sure this will be a big help."
"No problem. Good luck in meeting up with the rest of your group," Hector said.
"Thanks again. We'll see you later!" Hope said as they left the shop.
"I wonder why Miles has been the only one who hasn't seen Hector yet," Gaston remarked as they went down the street.
"That is kind of odd. Hopefully, Rue or Draken will know," Hope said. "Out of everyone, I'd think they would be most aware of where he is."
As she said this, she began to turn a corner. Since she had been not looking forward, she collided straight into someone else, sending them both to the ground with yelps.
"Hey! What's the big idea?" the girl said in an undignified tone as she stood up with a frown. She looked to be about thirteen and had on a dark blue t-shirt and a black shorts, along with black running shoes. Her hair, dyed bright pink, went below her shoulders. Her blue eyes looked almost familiar to Hope for a moment, but she didn't think much about it at the moment.
"I'm sorry," Hope apologized, rising. "I should have watched where I was going."
"Yeah, but I probably should have too," the girl admitted, looking over at the Soul Monster next to her. She was a woman with a short-sleeved white shirt and a white skirt that left her midriff exposed, along with much else of her tanned skin. On her arms were gold bracelets, with one large, tight, matching hoop near the top of each leg. A white, cloth bonnet of sorts, secured by a gold circlet, kept her wild yellow hair down, where it fell to her waist. Purple feathers produced from the ends of the cloth, which matched the color of her fierce eyes.
"You aren't blaming me for this one," the woman said as she noticed the girl's glance.
"I wasn't, Petra, really!" The girl shook her head, and then looked back at Hope. "I've just been walking around town for a bit while talking about things with her."
"What about school?" Hope asked.
"We have a day off for teachers to do things," the girl said happily. "So I had enough free time to come here." She turned her gaze to Hope's Duel Disk. "Are you a good duelist?"
"Well… kind of. But I haven't played for a long time," Hope replied.
"Then how about we duel? It sounds like you could use a warm-up," the girl suggested.
Hope glanced at Gaston, who just shrugged, showing that he didn't mind one way or the other. She turned back to the girl. "Sure, we have time for that."
"Great! Let's get right to it then!" the girl declared, turning on her Duel Disk. Hope did the same, trying to get used to the menu once more.
Hope: 8000
Girl: 8000
"Who should go first?" Hope asked.
The girl held out her hand. "Rock, paper, scissors?"
"All right," Hope agreed before bringing out paper. The girl had chosen scissors.
"I'll have you go first," the girl said.
"Ok. I lay one monster face down and a card. That's all," Hope said.
"I'll summon Amazoness Paladin," the girl stated as a monster identical to Petra appeared. (1700/300) "Her attack is raised by 100 for every monster on the field that has Amazoness in her name." (1800/300)
"You're running an Amazoness deck?" Hope asked, a bit alarmed. She could still remember that Rue had once faced against one with disastrous results.
"Yep. Seems like you've encountered them before," the girl said. "I lay one card down and play a permanent magic card, United Army! It raises my Warrior Sub-types by 200 for each Warrior or Magic Sub-Type on my field." (2000/300)
"Are you going to attack?" Hope inquired.
"No, I'm done," the girl decided.
"In that case, I'll summon Goblin Strike Team. (2300/0) They attack your Amazoness Paladin," Hope said.
"In response, I activate my trap card, Amazoness Phalanx!" the girl countered.
"What does that do?" Hope asked.
"I can only activate it if I have a monster with Amazoness in her name on the field, but when I do, it causes all of your monsters to change to face up attack mode, and it reduces their attack by 500," the girl explained. "No reverse effects are activated when this happens. Also, you're forced to attack with every monster you have while doing so."
"What? Then that means I'm in a horrible position!" Hope exclaimed as she flipped over her Mystic Swordsman Lv 2. (400/0) (1800/0) Her monsters ran towards the Amazoness Paladin, only to be cut apart with ease.
Hope: 6200
Girl: 8000
"I'd say you are," the girl replied. "Going to do anything else?"
"No," Hope answered, looking at her hand.
"I summon Amazoness Swordswoman. (1500/1600) She counts towards my Amazoness Paladin's and United Army's effects. (2300/300) (1900/1600) Amazoness Paladin attacks directly!" the girl declared.
"I'll counter by activating Cry of the Living Dead!" Hope said. "I special summon Goblin Strike Team from my Cemetery in attack mode!"
"I'll still attack it with Amazoness Paladin to kill both," the girl said. (1700/1600) "My Amazoness Swordswoman will attack directly."
It had been a long time since Hope had been directly attacked by a hologram. She instinctively flinched as the sword came down, going right through her.
Hope: 4500
Girl: 8000
"It's your turn now," the girl told her.
"Ok," Hope said, drawing. "Hm… I summon Troop Commander. (1200/400) Since he was normal summoned successfully, I can special summon Initiate Troops from my hand. (1000/1000) I'll use my Initiate Troops' effect to sacrifice them so I can kill one of your monsters. Amazoness Swordswoman dies as a result. Then I equip Troop Commander with The Fused Sword, Masamune Blade. (2000/400) He attacks directly! I end my turn after that."
Hope: 4500
Girl: 6000
"This is an annoying predicament," the girl said. "I think I'm going to have to do this… I summon Amazoness Martial Artist. (1700/1300) Then I equip her with Divine Blade-Phoenix Blade! When equipped to a warrior, it raises his or her attack by 300. (2000/1300) I'll attack your Troop Commander with Amazoness Martial Artist, killing both! That's all for me."
"I'll take advantage of your empty field to summon Blade Knight," (1600/1000) Hope said. "Then I lay down a card. Since I have one card in my hand, Blade Knight's attack is raised by 400. (2000/1000) He attacks directly, and then I'm done."
Hope: 4500
Girl: 4000
"It's time to get serious," the girl stated. "I play a magic card, Warrior's Return, to take Amazoness Paladin from my Cemetery and put her into my hand. Then I'll use Phoenix Blade's effect. When it is in the Cemetery on my standby phase, I can remove two Warrior Sub-types from my Cemetery to return it to my hand. I'll remove Amazoness Swordswoman and Amazoness Martial Artist to do so. Then I summon Amazoness Paladin and equip her with Phoenix Blade. (2300/300) She attacks your Blade Knight!"
Hope: 4200
Girl: 4000
"I lay a card down and end my turn," the girl concluded.
"I'll activate my face down card, Theft!" Hope said. "I equip it to Amazoness Paladin!"
"No way am I going to let you get away with that!" the girl retorted. "I'll use my trap card, Quick Save! It can be activated when one of my monsters named Amazoness is targeted with a card. I return her to my hand and special summon another monster from my hand. I'll bring out Amazoness Archer!" (1600/1000)
"Ack… in that case, I lay one monster in defense mode. That's all for me," Hope stated.
"I'll summon my Amazoness Paladin again," the girl said. (2300/300) (1800/1000) "Amazoness Paladin attacks your face down monster."
"You've run into my Retrained Elven Swordsman. (1400/1200) He can't be destroyed in battle by a monster with 1900 or higher attack," Hope said.
"Big deal," the girl said with a shrug. "I'll attack him with Amazoness Archer and end my turn."
"I lay another monster in defense mode and end my turn," Hope stated.
"I summon another Amazoness Martial Artist," the girl decided. (2100/1300) (2500/300) (2000/1000) "Amazoness Paladin attacks your defense monster."
"It was my Command Knight…" Hope said as her monster got sliced through.
"Amazoness Martial Artist and Amazoness Archer attack directly!" the girl declared.
Hope: 100
Girl: 4000
"Don't think you're off the hook just yet!" the girl said as Hope glanced at her Life Point counter. "I'm going to activate my Amazoness Archer's special ability! By sacrificing two monsters, such as my Amazoness Paladin and Amazoness Martial Artist, you take 1200 Life Point damage!"
Hope: 0
Girl: 4000
"I was careless…" Hope said as she shut off her Duel Disk regretfully.
"You did well, considering how long it has been," Gaston stated.
"Well, I've seen worse," the girl told her as she did the same. "Then again, you said you had seen them be played before. Who have you seen use Amazoness cards?"
"Someone I knew a while ago… her name is Chasity," Hope said.
The girl's eyes widened. "What? But… that's who I am! How do you know my name?"
"You're Chasity?" Hope looked over her with disbelief.
"I thought I recognized the eyes for some reason," Gaston commented.
"Me too, but everything else threw me off," Hope said. "You used to look almost identical to Brandi, so…"
"You know my sister too? Who are you?" Chasity asked.
"Hope, and my Soul Monster is Gaston," Hope answered.
"Hope? You're Hope? Oh my God!" Chasity said, slapping herself over the forehead. "You've changed too!"
"Yet you didn't remember what I looked like?" Gaston inquired.
"It's been a long time, and I was just a kid back then," Chasity said.
"Technically, you still are," Petra remarked.
"Thanks for reminding me," Chasity sighed. "Boy, do I feel embarrassed now… I should have known it was you after you commented about the lack of dueling. Max told me you were coming back today, after all."
"Do you know where he is?" Hope asked, finally brightening up a bit after the loss she had been handed.
"What, Max? Yeah, I should… wait… oh shoot!" Chasity suddenly exclaimed.
"What's wrong?" Hope asked.
"I was supposed to meet him at the coliseum to help him with a fight!" Chasity groaned. "He's going to kill me for being late! Petra, why didn't you remind me?"
"You can't depend on me forever," Petra stated.
"More like I can never depend on you for matters like that," Chasity said. "But seriously, we'd better get over there, and fast! Follow me!" She took off running, and the other three went after her.
They didn't run into any incidents on the way out of town, although they saw a group of people standing in a circle on the way out. Hope managed to hear a person on the outskirts of it say, "Build an opera house in Teknisk Wereld? Only Erik Daae would think of something as ludicrous as that…" as they went out.
The trip over to the building was eventless as well. Only one person was standing outside, a man with a wolf-like Soul Monster that Hope recognized as Silver Fang.
"You're too late," the man commented as they went up to the door he stood by. "The most recent match ended. We missed it too, thanks to Kaizier."
The wolf promptly mule-kicked him in the groin, causing the man to fall over with a yelp of pain. "Ignore Telicis, he's an idiot. It just concluded a few minutes ago, so if you want to see another match, it should start shortly."
"Thanks, but that's not why we're here," Hope said, eyeing the man and wolf warily before going inside. The others did as well.
"Where did all of these crazy people come from?" Chasity complained. "While we've gotten some good duelists recently, we've also found a whole new batch of morons."
"As long as the unholy trio of Caleb, Ifrit, and Buster Blader is not here, I think we will live," Gaston muttered, causing Hope to laugh.
"What do you mean by that?" Chasity thought for a moment, and then shook her head. "Actually, I don't want to know."
"Where are we going?" Hope asked as Chasity lead them through the dark hall.
"To the locker rooms. Since the match ended, I assume that's where Max will be," Chasity answered as they came to a door to their left. "Ah, here we go." She opened it and went inside with Petra. Hope followed shortly, feeling slightly nervous yet eager, and Gaston came after her.
Despite her confusion with his younger sister, Hope recognized Max almost instantly as he faced Chasity. He now wore a gray long-sleeved shirt and blue jeans, along with black boots, but he still had his father's blue vest on. His dark brown hair was shorter, and his lighter brown eyes seemed more weary than Hope could recall. He looked very pale, almost to the point of being ill, but she still knew him on sight. That was an improvement.
"Chasity, where the hell were you?" Max snarled as he took out his Duel Disk from one of the lockers lining the room. "I had to go against both of them by myself, and thanks to that, I only barely won! As it was, I'm lucky to even be alive right now!"
"I'm sorry!" Chasity said, looking away sheepishly. "I just… kinda forgot…"
"You forgot? That's the last time I reserve a match for both of us at the same time," Max growled as he slid a few magic cards into a compartment on the Duel Disk. Hope saw that they were Red Potions; apparently, he had already healed his wounds.
"Hey, at least something good came out of it," Chasity said. "I found your girlfriend, didn't I?"
"What?" Max turned to the door to see Hope and Gaston standing there. "…Hope? Is that really you?"
Hope could only nod in response.
For a moment, they remained where they were, staring at each other. Then Hope went forward swiftly, embracing him. That brought Max out of his daze, and he returned it.
"God, it's been so long…" Max said, his voice quavering. "I could barely stand the wait… it was like I was dying inside…"
"It's over though," Hope said, looking up at him. "We can make up that lost time, starting now."
They would have probably remained that way for a long time, but Chasity remarked, "This is the girl you've been crying in bed over for years? She couldn't even beat me in a duel."
"You did not need to mention that," Max growled as he released his grasp on Hope and went towards Chasity. "Besides, don't you have homework to do?"
"But I have today off!" Chasity complained, even though she knew she wasn't about to win. Whenever she annoyed Max, he was able to use the dreaded homework to put her back in line.
"You still have to do it," Max stated. "Take care of it now so you can have the rest of the weekend free."
Chasity sighed. "Fine. I guess I'll see you later, Hope." Then she left, Petra following.
"So… how is Tenma doing?" Gaston inquired.
"Fine. He always goes back to his Soul Card after fighting since he won't fit though this door," Max explained.
"What about your family?" Hope asked.
"You saw how Chasity is. Dad's completely alive again and doing well, and as a result, Mom's doing better," Max said. "She has needed the support though, especially since…" He trailed off for a moment, his eyes darkening. "Ender's permanently crippled from what happened before."
"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that…" Hope said sadly, not knowing what else she could provide.
"Thanks… but there isn't much we can do about it," Max sighed. "As for Brandi…"
At that moment, the door burst open, and a young woman ran in, throwing herself onto Max. "Max! Hi!"
For a moment, Hope was confused and a little jealous, but then she recognized the blonde hair and blue eyes as the girl released Max, who looked a bit embarrassed by the show of affection. Even what she wore gave away who she was. Her top was the same one Hope had gotten her on her birthday, and she had on a familiar khaki skirt. The white high-heeled sandals were new, but Hope recognized the ankle bracelet she had gotten from Matt.
"Brandi?" Hope asked.
Brandi turned to Hope in surprise. "Hope?"
"Yes," Hope said.
"Welcome back!" Brandi said happily. "How did you find your way here?"
"Chasity brought us here after some identity confusion," Gaston answered.
Brandi laughed at that. "I bet her new appearance surprised you. People were always confusing the two of us, and that really annoyed her. So she made herself look vividly different from me."
"That explains," Hope said. "What about you? Why did you come here?"
"I was watching the match," Brandi explained. "Max fights here often. In fact, he's one of, if not the, best fighter here."
"Really?" Hope asked.
"Yep! He needed something to take his mind off things, so he began to come here once it was made," Brandi said. "Now he's very skilled at it!"
Max seemed awkward about what Brandi was saying, so Hope said, "It looks like you're doing well."
"I am," Brandi replied. "So is everyone else. Want to go see some of them?"
"Definitely!" Hope said.
"…Before we go, can I have a few moments here?" Max asked. "I need to say something to Hope alone."
"Of course," Brandi answered, going outside of the room. Gaston went after her.
Hope waited until she was sure Brandi was gone before she said, "She seems to have recovered from what happened."
Max slowly shook his head. "It took a long time. Matt remained with her constantly, and dad helped too. When Larka returned, she finally seemed to return to her old self. But we can't mention Mana, or else it launches her into depression. The same thing goes for the Black Magician Girl card. Please don't say anything about it with her around."
"All right," Hope agreed. "Was there something else you wanted?"
"Yeah…" Max reached into the locker and brought out a small, wrapped gift that he held out to her. "I regret not being able to get you anything until now, but it is your birthday today, so…"
"Thank you!" Hope said, accepting it. She carefully removed the wrapping paper, revealing a black, velvet jewelry box. Hope opened it to reveal a gold clip with small, emerald green designs on it.
"I didn't know if you still wore your hair back in a ponytail, but I thought that if you did… well… you could use that…" Max said, looking embarrassed again.
"It's excellent, thanks!" Hope instantly pulled off the ponytail holder she had been using and replaced it with the clip.
"No problem," Max said with a note of relief in his voice. "That was all I wanted. Let's find everyone else now."
They went outside and found Brandi and Gaston waiting a short distance away. The four of them headed out of the entrance, where nobody was in sight, and began to walk across the field.
"Where are we going first?" Gaston asked.
"Zack and Larka said they would be by the lake, away from the forest," Brandi answered. "Since they should still be there, it'd be easiest to find them first."
"That sounds good," Hope said.
"Did you really lose to Chasity?" Max asked.
"Afraid so," Hope admitted.
"That's nothing to be ashamed about. She's a good duelist," Brandi said.
"And you haven't dueled in about seven years," Gaston reminded her.
"What? All seven years? You must be completely out of shape!" Brandi exclaimed.
"Yeah… I need more practice," Hope agreed.
"How about facing Max then?" Brandi suggested. "You've never faced each other except for dire situations anyway."
Hope thought for a moment, and then asked Max, "Do you mind?"
"Not at all." Max took out his Soul Card, and Tenma emerged, gazing down at them.
"I am pleased to see you once more, mistress," Tenma said.
"Um… same here," Hope replied as she activated her Duel Disk again.
"This should be good to watch," Brandi said as she stood off to the side.
"So, we're both ready? Then it's time to start," Max said as he drew.
…
"There is still no suspicious activity, Captain," Helmer said to Captain Lapis Roman, who was currently sitting at her desk.
"Still? It's been seven years," Lapis said.
"I know. If a move will be made, it will be done soon," Helmer stated.
"Without evidence, there isn't much we can do but wait, and hope that our worries are incorrect," Lapis sighed.
To be continued…