"Man... I can't sleep..." mumbled Jaden as he lifted the covers off himself and looked around the room at his companions. Most of them were asleep, except for Lynx and Kyah, who were sitting by the window, chatting. Jaden stood from his bed, slowly walking to them and sat on the edge beside Lynx, giving them an awkward smile.
"Hey Jay... we were just watching the two moons..." stated Kyah as they looked out the window again. Lynx sighed to herself.
"We're not in Kansas anymore..." she said, making Kyah giggle at her bad pun. Jaden smiled sadly, and then continued watching Kyah. She still looked like crap from her week depression, but she seemed to be making a come-back.
"Kyah... can I ask you something? Something that will remain between us three?" asked Lynx and Kyah stopped giggling and looked at her in slight confusion. She nodded slowly.
"How do you feel about Jesse? Please, tell the truth... it will remain a secret, so don't be afraid..." she asked and Kyah blinked at her, stunned. She then hid her face with her hair, looking at her hands which were tucked in her lap.
"I honestly don't know... at first he was a boy who seemed selfless, putting his own wellbeing before that of a strangers... the next he's suddenly my closest friend, and now that he's gone... it just feels like I don't have a heart in my anymore... like it's been cut out..." she mumbled, a light blush on her face and she felt a tear fall down her cheek. Jaden smiled sadly at the crying blonde.
"I thought as much... you see, I overheard Jesse and Jaden talking with Blair before we went to save you... Jesse thinks he may be in love with you..." stated Lynx and Kyah gasped, looking up at Lynx in shock with tear stained eyes.
"I-in... love?" she asked, then hid her face again. Lynx gave her a sympathetic look, and then looked down at her hands this time.
"And Kyah? I'm... sorry about before... when I snapped at you... I didn't mean to... my anger kinda got the better of me..." Lynx apologised and then smiled nervously up at Kyah who was smiling gently at her. Kyah had already forgiven her.
"Well, now that that's sorted out, what are we going to do tomorrow? Go and search for Jesse with Alucard's help?" asked Jaden, leaning back and crossing his arms behind his head. Kyah and Lynx looked at each other.
"Why would we need Alucard's help?" asked Lynx and Jaden face-palmed. This earned a pout from Lynx.
"One, because we know absolutely nothing about this land, and second because we need him to guide us and lead us back here before nightfall" explained Jaden and Lynx hung her head low, she couldn't believe she hadn't thought that through. Kyah began giggling insanely, falling onto her side and clutching her sides, laughing so much. Jaden smiled, happy that Kyah was finally smiling again. Lynx pouted, looking away but then secretly began smiling to herself for the same reason.
When morning came they looked outside to see for the first time that the sun was up and it was light outside.
"I thought this place remained dark until the Supreme King and Queen returned?" asked Chazz and Alucard smiled to himself.
"They have returned that is why the sky has finally gained light!" he exclaimed, looking up and holding his walking stick up to the sky in joy.
"I haven't seen this sun since I was a young boy... I'm glad I saw it again before the end of my life span... I can't thank the Supreme King and Queen enough..." he stated, returning back to normal.
"Huh? You lost me pops... who's the Supreme King and Queen? We're the only ones that came into this world recently..." asked Hassleberry, Nao still clinging onto him like a little duckling. Alucard chuckled then walked to Jaden and Kyah who were chatting to each other. He stood in front of them and they stopped talking, looking at him in confusion. Then he suddenly pointed his walking stick at the two of them.
"The Supreme King and Queen... you have returned at last... now peace can finally be restored to our land..." stated Alucard and they gasped, looking at each other in confusion.
"What! Jaden, you're the Supreme King? Why didn't you tell us!" asked Syrus and Jaden scratched the back of his head nervously.
"We didn't even know... I'm still not sure we fully believe it..." answered Kyah and Lynx walked to Nao.
"But she did..." stated Lynx, looking down at Nao. Nao glanced back up at her with her expressionless face. It seemed like a staring contest for a few minutes until Lynx broke away, sighing.
"I can't get nothing from this girl... it's like there's nothing inside..." she grumbled, holding her head.
"Anyway, Alucard, can you lead us around the area so we can hopefully find Jesse?" asked Atticus and Alucard nodded in agreement.
"Anything for the Supreme King and Queen..." he stated and Jaden and Kyah looked at each other awkwardly...
"Every time I hear that I'm gonna think they're married..." mumbled Chazz to himself which caused everyone to start laughing.
"Oh, I suddenly remembered something... I still have this chocolate bar in my pocket!" whispered Hassleberry as he pulled it out, and then snapped it in half, offering Nao the other half.
"I saw you didn't eat much at breakfast, so here, this will at least fill you up a little" he stated, and she took the chocolate bar. She looked at it for a second then nibbled at it. She froze for a second, and then her eyes seemed to be fully alive, a faint blush on her face and a small smile. Hassleberry blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
"Hey guys, look at this! Look at Nao!" he exclaimed and everyone turned to see the girl who had suddenly changed so much yet so little. They smiled, seeing how cute she was when she looked like just any ordinary girl.
"Onni-chan... this chocolate is sweet..." she stated and Hassleberry blinked a few times, and then grinned, a blush on his face.
"Onni-chan, ain't that cute?" he asked the group and they all watched, smiling gently. Nao finished nibbling the chocolate bar and she then clung to Hassleberry's jacket again. She still had life in her eyes again, but she was peering out from behind Hassleberry shyly.
"Aw, she's the cutest... when she looks like this she looks like a normal girl, rather than a doll with how she used to be..." stated Kyah, smiling down at her.
"We must begin now if we wish to make it back before sundown..." Alucard proclaimed and they all began walking back to where Alucard had found them.
Once they arrived there, they split up, searching the area. Jaden paired with Lynx, Hassleberry paired with Nao, Jim paired with Atticus, Alexis paired with Blair, Chazz paired with Syrus and Kyah went off on her own.
"Are you sure it was a good idea to let Kyah go off on her own?" asked Lynx as she tagged along not far behind Jaden. Jaden looked back at her, he wasn't wearing a smile and he didn't look very confident.
"Yeah, everyone needs time alone, even Kyah... but right now we should focus on us and where were going..." he answered and Lynx blushed a little before she got what he meant. She lightly hit her head with her hand in annoyance then followed Jaden through the ruins.
"There is nobody here..." stated Nao, standing next to Hassleberry. Hassleberry looked around, covering his forehead with his hand to block out the light.
"You sure Nao?" he asked and Nao nodded. She then looked around again.
"I do not sense anyone remotely nearby..." she answered and Hassleberry sighed to himself, then started walking and Nao jogged after him to catch up.
"So where exactly are we going squirt?" asked Chazz as he stopped, folding his arms over his chest and frowning at Syrus. Syrus was looking behind a giant bolder then peered into a small save made by some of the rocks.
"Not sure, we'll know when we see it I guess..." he answered and Chazz cursed under his breath then joined Syrus in the search.
"So we're searching rocks for Jesse?" asked Atticus as he pushed on a boulder, removing it from a path. Jim peered between two boulders that had fused together.
"I guess... just think of it as searching for someone back in the ancient roman days!" stated Jim, trying to encourage Atticus.
"But Rome's so ancient..." complained Atticus and Jim sweat dropped at his reaction.
"I feel like we should go in this direction!" stated Blair, pointing to a small hold made by the rocks. Alexis looked at where she was pointing.
"You sure? It doesn't look very safe..." she asked and Blair smiled at her, pointing at their duel disks.
"Don't worry, if something happens, we can just duel our way to safety!" exclaimed Blair and she then took off to the hole, waiting for Alexis to hesitantly catch up.
Kyah wondered through the passage she'd found. She brought out her flashlight, scanning the area for any signs of anything. Eventually she saw light up ahead, turning the flashlight off and ran towards it. When she entered she stopped, gasping and looked around. She thought she'd found an exit but she'd actually ran straight into a colosseum. She edged backwards a little then began running back through the corridor, not liking the look of this place. Suddenly a scream caught her attention, making her halt to a sudden stop. She looked around for the source of the noise, and then found a small passage in the tunnel. She then began running down it.
"Jesse... was that your scream?" she whispered while running. She then reached the end of the passage and peered into the room, gasping at what she saw. There were three different duel monsters standing over someone, kneeling on the floor in agony. They were kicking the poor person, probably trying to beat them to death. She didn't know what to do; if she summoned Master Hyperion then the building they were in could collapse due to his size. One of the duel monsters moved to grab something and Kyah gasped with she saw familiar blue hair and pale skin. He looked up slightly to glare at the monster and Kyah saw his green eyes.
"Jesse!" she whispered, still peering from behind the corner. Either that or it was his twin... She searched through her deck, trying to find the right monster for the job. She finally decided on Zeradias, Herald of the Heavens with 2100ATK and 800DEF. She summoned him and he appeared next to her, about her size, maybe a half metre taller.
"I need you to rescue my friend over there, can you pal?" she asked and Zeradias nodded, then he walked into the room. The duel monsters stopped and looked at him just as one was about to use some sort of flesh cutter on Jesse. Jesse gazed up at the monster, wondering what monster had come to torture him now. He gasped in realisation when he saw the monster properly. Kyah peered out from behind the corner, watching Jesse with a worried expression. Jesse smiled slightly; glad he'd finally been rescued.
Zeradias then unfurled his wings, sending hordes of feathers at the monsters, striking them down. Zeradias then grabbed Jesse but a scream caught their attention. They both looked at the exit and saw another monster pulling Kyah's arm up painfully.
"Kyah!" yelled Jesse and Zeradias made a noise in his language that showed he was pissed at a monster hurting his mistress like that. Kyah was wincing badly in pain, and then glared at the monster in anger. Her eyes then flashed red and a sudden wind blew through the area. The monster looked around in confusion then looked up as the building began to crumble around them. Outside was a giant dust tornado and it was sucking everything into it.
"Zeradias keep Jesse safe!" yelled Kyah and Zeradias nodded, his grip on Jesse tightening. Suddenly the entire building was gone and the dust tornado was close. Kyah just stood there, her expression a glare and her hair battering around her madly. The monster had let her go and was watching the dust tornado in horror.
"This is for disobeying your queen!" she yelled and the monster screeched as all four of them were sucked into the dust tornado, then spat out flying far away. Zeradias kept his grip on Jesse and kept themselves from being sucked in. Jesse just watched in amazement and then looked at Kyah. This was a new one for her. The dust and wind suddenly vanished and Kyah stood there, blinking in confusion as to what had happened.
"Supreme Queen, you have proven that you are the Supreme Queen my dear..." stated Alucard as he walked closer to her. Kyah blinked at him in confusion.
"What do you mean Alucard? I only remember being held by that monster..." she asked, looking at Jesse in confusion. Jesse shrugged his shoulders then winced in pain. Zeradias then slowly brought Jesse to her and she hoisted his arm over her shoulder, helping him stand despite the pain he was in.
"The Supreme Queen, ruler of the land... she controls the land and the surrounding, the weather, everything that determines this earth. The Supreme King rules over all the beings, the living creatures, while the Supreme Queen controls all the non-living things..." he stated and Kyah thought to herself for a minute.
"What a sec, you said the Supreme Queen controls all the non-living things right? Does that include time?" she asked and Alucard chuckled to himself.
"While I myself have never seen her control time, there is a rumour she can..." he answered and Kyah blinked in shock. She then focused on Jesse as Zeradias, Herald of the Heavens disappeared.
"Jesse? Are you alright?" she asked and Jesse winced badly in pain, and then gave her a weak smile.
"I am now that I've been saved... I think today was going to be my last day, with the whole flesh cutter and all that..." he answered, chuckling nervously.
"Jesse!" yelled Jaden's voice as they all looked out behind Alucard to see the rest of the gang run up to them
"We saw the giant tornado and figured that'd be you Kyah, so we rushed over here as quickly as we could!" stated Jim and then Jaden ran up to Jesse, trying to catch his breath. Jesse smiled weakly at Jaden.
"Welcome back partner!" exclaimed Jaden as he gave Jesse his 'gotcha' pose. Jesse beamed a smile at him then at the rest of the group.
"Glad to be back you guys..." he stated and then the group rushed to him, giving him hugs and asking him questions. Alucard just watched to himself, smiling gently. But something big was about to happen, and he'd need the Supreme King and Queen's help to overcome it.