Back with another friend for Judai to meet. In this timeline of sorts, Judai had not yet met with Jim since Dark World.

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Unearthing Mysteries

Jim "Crocodile" Cook

Jim leaned back against the bindings holding him up against the stone wall he was digging against and wiped the sweat from his brow. The sun this day was strikingly hot, rising early to warm the temperatures to unbearable heights, and never once relenting for the archaeologists unearthing the many mysteries buried beneath the clay. The cracked soil burned the foot and reflective rock scorched any hand careless enough to be placed upon it for too long.

Jim wouldn't have it any other way. The sweltering sun, the cloudless sky, the solid clay beneath his fingers; he'd take it each and every day he could until he'd one day become one with the Earth and join the fossils he found time and time again. Taking in the horizon, the excavator loved the quiet tranquility nature offered, along with the fresh scent of salt from a nearby waterfall where he and his fellow paleontologists would spend the long, surprisingly chilly nights together to sleep off the fatigue from their work.

He cracked his neck and opened the top of the canteen on his belt. He downed a swig of water, then poured some on his head, cooling himself off for a moment before the heat evaporated the residue from him, replacing it with sweat and grime. Jim peered around quickly for his trusty sidekick, the crocodile Karen, and noted she wasn't around.

"Figured as much," he huffed. "She's not exactly a fan of this heat, not as much as I am, anyway."

Briefly considering continuing his work for a while longer, Jim decided to take an earlier lunch than usual. He rappelled down the crag, downed another bottle of water from the tent at the base of the cliff, and searched for his reptilian friend, so they could get something to eat to fill up for the blazing sunlight to bear down on them in the afternoon.

Not finding her in the tents or near any of his co-workers, he began trekking through the rocks over towards a watering hole next to the camp. She didn't seem to be any of her usual resting places when she took a nap, either.

"Odd," he mused, "even if she doesn't stay on the bluff with me, Karen usually sticks near the campsite..."

After searching for a while longer, a low growl led him to a playfully wagging green tail protruding out from behind a massive boulder. The Duelist exhaled roughly at finally discovering his companion.

"There you are, Karen! I was wondering where you went. Come on, it's time for lu—OI!"

The croc was taking food—some kind of sausage, it appeared—from someone. Jim was about to warn the individual about Karen's behavior, when the person spoke.

"Oh, Jim's here, as well?" a youthfully vigorous voice crowed. "As expected, you'd never go away from him for long, would you, Karen?" The boy pat the reptile gently on the snout, causing the animal to grunt appreciatively.

"Judai?" Jim gaped. "Are you...is it really you?"

The former Osiris Red pushed himself up from his knees, quirking an eyebrow at the question. "Of course it's me; who else would I be?"

Jim didn't answer immediately, instead using the brief silence to glance over the form of his friend. The first thing he noticed were his eyes, which still held the same spark he knew from early on in the third year, but now had a quiet intensity about them. His outfit was scuffed from wear and tear—a feeling he knew all too well—and his hair and face were unkempt and wild, but they were unmistakably from the boy he met at Duel Academia more than two years earlier.

A barrage of questions paraded through the Fossil Duelist's mind, but he was interrupted by a low rumble. He watched the boy's grin falter, before the HERO-user dropped to his rear end, holding his stomach. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, allowing a pleading look to pass his features. "Heh...it's been a while since I had a decent meal..."

Jim chuckled soberly at the boy, helping him to his feet and assisting him to the campsite. Upon arrival, the leader of the excavation informed Jim he could take the rest of the day off, if he chose, but Judai insisted he wasn't going to take up that much of their time. The chief complied, but allowed his subordinate to take a longer lunch to catch up with his friend.

Jim lit a fire near the tent he occupied and began brewing a stew from some of the leftover meats and vegetables the rest area contained. The Osiris Red opened the travel sack he carried and released a large tubby cat, who leaped out and stretched. It nestled in the sunlight on a nearby log, carelessly swaying its tail. Letting the food simmer, Jim entered the food tent again and returned a short while later. He handed Judai a piece of fresh fruit, which was ravenously devoured, along with a water bottle, which was downed with an equal vigor.

"Wheeeew~!" Judai breathed, temporarily forgetting to do so in his hunger. "I'm revived!" He leaped to his feet and stretched, groaning with the loosening of the tension in his limbs. The boy then fell over, almost as if he was spooked by something.

"I told you guys not to come out that suddenly! You'll scare some poor soul!"

Jim saw a shimmering silhouette above Judai's shoulder, which then flashed into view for a brief moment. His eyes expanded in shock.

"No way...is that...!?"

"Ah...eh-heheh," Judai giggled. "You saw them, huh?"

The archaeologist nodded. "Yubel is one of your Card Spirits, now?"

The brunette scratched his cheek with a finger. "Well...kind of. Yubel and I are...a little closer than the average Duelist and their Card Spirit."

"Is that so...?" Jim pondered what he could mean, when Judai offered to inform him.

"We haven't seen each other since...a long time, now." The boy sat down on a nearby rock under some shade. "How about I pay you back for lunch by answering any questions you have for me?"

Over lunch, Jim began bombarding the Duelist with questions surrounding the events of Dark World and what happened after. Although the former Osiris Red was fuzzy on some of the details and unwilling to speak about others, Jim learned that O'Brien was able to help seal Haou at the cost of his own life. Judai, after some convincing from their remaining comrades, also regained his composure and took on Yubel, who had possessed Johan. After two Duels, Judai explained that he was able to fuse himself with Yubel.

"You...fused together?" The youth nodded firmly. Jim couldn't even begin to imagine what that meant, only that it took a substantial amount of will power to go through with it coupled with a love the paleontologist wasn't sure he could comprehend.

Judai seemed to read the South Academia Champion's mind. "It didn't take as much strength as you'd think. No more than what you used to stand up to me when...I sealed myself away inside." Jim could sense his voice teeming with pain at the memory. "Jim...I'm sorry...it won't make up for what I did...but after all I put you through...it's the least I can say..."

Jim flew an open hand towards the youth, causing him to flinch. Instead of striking his face, however, the palm smacked him on the back, not once, but several times.

"Jim...?"

"You're right, an apology won't make up for everything you did," he said. "Not just to me, but to all of our friends and the innocent people you affected in that realm.

"However," the Fossil-user grinned broadly at the brunette, "I think you know that without me telling you. And you're going about trying to live your life for their sake the best you can. Am I wrong?"

"Jim..." Judai clenched his fist and gave the excavator a fist bump. "Right!"

Finishing up several bowls of stew and the bread offered by his companion—one of which was engulfed by Pharaoh—Judai began to narrate the tales of what happened at the Academia after his return. Jim remembered the being known as Trueman—he faced tens of hundreds of the man before falling into Darkness himself—but didn't have many of the other details except from the few bits of information he gleaned from O'Brien. He knew Judai had fought to save all of them when he heard the boy's voice echo in his mind while sealed in Darkness' world. Judai filled in the rest of the story, explaining the cause and the resulting Duel with Darkness.

Jim then heard part of a tale he hadn't expected. "How was the Graduation party?"

The HERO-user shrugged. "I didn't go."

"What?"

"I hate goodbyes. Especially when I know I'll see them again, at some point. Goodbyes just make it seem so..." Judai contemplated what word fit best, "...final."

Shaking his head, Jim began to chortle somberly at his jaunty nature. "Still, I think they would've liked to at least saw you off," he nodded. "Tomorrow Girl and Dino Boy and the others."

Judai stared off into the distance. "Yeah..." He seemed lost in the memory for a few moments before he rose and began stretching, speaking up again. "It's been a while; I should probably go visit them."

The archaeologist started at the sudden decision. "You're leaving already?"

"I can't keep you from your work," the boy stated. "Those fossils are just waiting for you to dig them up, right? Can't keep them waiting."

It suddenly dawned on the excavator that they were out in the wilderness, with hardly any easy way to reach them. The location selected was surrounded by a large layer of sand and smoldering sunlight, not easily passable without a convoy of some soft. He didn't remember hearing a helicopter's propeller or engine, either.

"One last question," Jim insisted. Judai rose from patting Karen's snout fondly and smirked at the one-eyed man, acknowledging his request. The Duel Champion opened his mouth to speak, before closing it. A second thought rose to his mind.

'Does it matter how he got here?' the paleontologist inquired. 'What matters is he's back to the same way he was before Dark World and has accepted everything that's happened.' He remembered O'Brien mentioning the Duelist had grown up the most out of all of their friends in the journey from Dark World. He wasn't wrong.

"Why did you come out here?"

The youth frowned, but began chuckling at the suddenness of the inquiry. "Well, I was coming to meet you, for one, but I also was out here for another reason." Jim arched his brow curiously. "The Duel Spirits recently have been getting restless. I had tracked some of the disturbances to around here, but I wasn't quick enough. It didn't seem like they were tampered with."

"That so," the Duel Champion sighed in relief.

Their conversation was interrupted by the tone of a cellphone. Judai reached into his pocket and peered at it. "Huh...O'Brien..." He slid the phone up and pressed the button to talk.

"Ahhh...Judai, here. What's going on?" the boy probed. "Ehh? He wants to talk to me?" The archaeologist's eyes widened inquisitively. "Industrial Illusions, huh...Awesome! I'll get to see Hayato, again!" The youth nodded. "All right. I'll see you at Duel Academia in a bit. Later."

He ended the call and slid the phone back into his pocket. "Well, guess I'll be heading off, now."

Smiling, Jim gave him a thumbs-up. "All right, then." He started. "Oh, wait a second. I have something for you."

He dashed into the food tent, coming out with large hunk of bread and several pieces of exotic fruit. He handed the former Osiris Red the foodstuffs, who looked at them eagerly. "You mean...I can have all of this...!?"

"You said you hadn't had a decent meal in a while before meeting me, right?" Jim countered. "This way you can at least have something to tide you over until you get to wherever you're going."

Judai scrutinized the morsels eagerly, but contained his fervor enough to wrap the food and stuff it on a side pocket of his sack. "Gotta keep it away from the feline," the HERO-user grumbled. "He tends to get hungry on long trips." Tucked away for safekeeping, Judai called over Pharaoh. The cat lumbered over to the brunette and clambered clumsily into the bag, allowing its tail to waft in the gentle breeze.

"I'm off, then." Judai held out a friendly hand.

Instead of shaking, Jim slapped it amicably. "Yeah. Go for it."

He watched the Duelist speed away around a corner and knew he was gone long before he probably ever was. The archaeologist softened his gaze on the boulder Judai sat only moments before, clenching his fist.

"All right. Time to get back to work. I have to help free those fossils underground."