--
Chapter 11
--

"I'll give you all one week to mull over all that I have told you…"

Those words Victor had spoken haunted Ritsuko the moment she heard them. "One week to decide the fate of two worlds." the girl mused apprehensively on her bed. It seemed more than Ritsuko could imagine. She had always thought there was something out there, that there was more to the world than just what could be seen on the surface. But, she had never in her life considered that the monsters within her cards were living and breathing creatures in another dimension. Duel Monsters were real? And they were coming here? To this world? It's just too much!

"Ritsuko!" Milly nearly shouted to her friend and roommate. "Snap out of it!"

The sudden exclamation managed to startle Ritsuko out of her reverie, and with quite a start, too. For a moment, all she could do was blink with wide eyes around the room as if searching for whatever made such a ruckus before she finally settled on Milly. "Oh, sorry." she replied sheepishly with a bit of a melancholy smile before rolling over on her bed towards Milly and fiddling with the edge of a blanket.

Milly knew she shouldn't have been this surprised, but a part of her would just never cease to be when it came to Ritsuko. Uttering a slow sigh, the blonde girl came to sit on the edge of Ritsuko's bed, crossing one leg regally. The look on her face was a mixture of exasperation and worry. "Sheesh, dear… You've been zoning out there for nearly five minutes." Milly began with her brow furrowing slightly. "It's what that odd one Victor said yesterday, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Ritsuko sighed into her pillow. "I just can't stop thinking about how this is way over our heads. I mean, we're first-year students! How are we supposed to be able to deal with this? This is a job he should've gone to the pros for." Even now, that thought was plaguing her incessantly. What made a bunch of first year students so special, anyway. Ritsuko barely had any victories before dueling Amy in Victor's "shadow dome", as she termed it, and that had been the hardest duel of her life. If things were only going to get harder than that, then she certainly wasn't going to hold out much hope for success. With whatever they were supposed to do, anyway.

"Oh silly…" Milly chuckled out as she stood up to stretch her arms over her head. They'd both been sitting for quite some time working on their homework before Milly had noticed Ritsuko staring out through the window. Well, at least they were trying to work on their homework, that is. Given the events of the past few days, it was pretty hard to concentrate on anything besides that. "I don't know why that egocentric nut-job came to us either, but the facts stand. I really hate to say this, but…I believe him."

"You…do?"

"Yeah, I was thinking it over last night, and came to quick agreement with myself."

"But…already?" Ritsuko could hardly believe the words coming out of Milly's mouth.

"Yes, is there a problem with that?" the blonde smirked while quirking an eyebrow at her friend.

"Well, I mean…I thought that after all he's done, that you'd…"

"Hate him and not believe a single thing that comes out of his mouth?" Milly chuckled as she paced back and forth to stretch a bit more. "I'm afraid only the first part remains true. I still hate the guy, but I already thought it was odd how he randomly popped up on us and played his devilish tricks." A barely noticeable shiver ran up Milly's spine as she remembered her duel with Victor. And those Stitched monsters of his. How horribly disgusting, they were. But then again, one of the first things her uncle Maximillian had taught her was that you couldn't always judge things by their appearance.

Not that they weren't any less ugly, though.

After pacing back to her own desk, Milly turned and fixed Ritsuko with a warning look and lifted a finger as if to clarify something important. "Now, while I can't agree with his methods… Well… I can certainly understand his designs."

Once again, Ritsuko found herself quite shocked at what she was hearing. Normally, Milly was way too stubborn to consider anything beyond the moment, the here and now. But yet, she was now showing a surprising depth of wisdom that Ritsuko had never seen in her before. "I…I suppose." she nodded reluctantly before sitting up and hugging her knees to her chest. All in all, what Milly had told her made a bizarre kind of sense, but she didn't like it any more than what she had to begin with. After all, putting people in coma's and tormenting them seemed like hardly a fair thing to do if you wanted help.

Seeing Ritsuko's expression made Milly want to try and cheer her up. Besides, the tense atmosphere in their room was becoming stifling. So she did what she did best. Flash a dazzling smile of pearly whites and place a hand on her hip before sassily popping it out and flashing a victory sign. There were very few things in life that could get Milly to stay worried, and she certainly wasn't going to let Victor or his designs have the honor of being one of those things. "Even if he's trying something with us, I know I can deal with whatever he throws out now." the blonde continued confidently. "He got the jump on me before, but this time I'll expect the unexpected."

That made Ritsuko's head perk up curiously. "But how do you know?"

"I just do. I know I can handle it. No matter what happens."

Ritsuko was silent, but the way she looked down and nibbled her lip was certainly loud enough to broadcast her unease, and Milly took note of it. Immediately, she dropped her victory sign and crossed her arms sternly in front of her. "Now look here…" she started, her brow furrowing ever so slightly so as not to crease that perfect forehead. "I don't want what I've said influencing you now. You need to decide for yourself whether or not to throw yourself into this. I'd never be able to live with myself if I dragged you into this and something bad happened." What she said was sincere. Despite her outward demeanor, Milly Pegasus was not one of those spoiled rich debutants that cared more for their hair and clothing rather than their "friends". People like that disgusted her on so many levels and she was bound and determined to never become like that. Besides… She liked her friends too much for that.

"Oh!" Ritsuko countered quickly while quickly waving her hands in front of her. "I'd never do that. You don't have to worry; I'll figure it out for myself." She meant it, too. In a way, Ritsuko was happy that Milly had come to terms with what she would do next, but it also made her feel that much more stuck in a rut concerning her own plans. Settling her chin on her knees again, Ritsuko let out a sigh and rolled her eyes at her own indecision.

Milly let out another chuckle before softly clapping her hands together as if in agreement. "Good!" she chirped. "Then if we're done with that, how about helping me with my Counter Trap homework? It's really got me stumped!"

--

Meanwhile, back in the boy's Blue Dorm, a certain pair was also seriously debating the validity of Victor's words. And whether or not it was worth potentially putting their lives on the line for.

It seemed that Joe was having a harder time with that than his chummier friend. He and Lee had been arguing over that in Joe's room for the better part of an hour, and it seemed to the Obelisk Blue that he was no closer to the end of it than he was at the start. Of course, he figured that would probably happen. Once Lee got an idea into his head, it was nigh on impossible to make him see it from any other angle. Not that it would stop Joe from trying, anyway. "Look, all I'm saying is…where's the proof?" Joe argued from across the room, his face gazing intently into his laptop's screen where some duel statistics were being displayed. "How do we know this isn't just another sham to lure us into?"

"Hey, pal, he's proof enough to me." Lee chuckled. While Joe sat at his computer desk, Lee had opted to sit in another chair. He was idly playing with an old Rubik's cube while listening to Joe's side of the story. Or trying to, anyway. He was still a little busy fantasizing about dreams of glory and kicking bad guy butt in another dimension. Looking up from the cube, the Ra Yellow regarded his friend with a big but incredulous grin. "I mean… How else do you explain what he's capable of? Black force fields springing over duels, people falling into comas, even being in different places at the same time? I mean…seriously!" Lee exclaimed.

An exasperated sigh was torn from Joe when he heard what Lee had to say, so he stopped typing on his keyboard and turned away from his desk to look at him with an eyebrow arched. "Yes, he's capable of 'something', but then stranger things have happened in the world. But Duel Monsters being real? This…" ,he said while picking up one of the cards he'd recently pulled out of a booster pack. "This being a real monster in some other dimension? You can't be serious."

"I am 100 percent sure of it, buddy." Lee answered as he twisted one side of the Rubik's cube. "Sure enough to put my life on the line. You should too."

This only made Joe want to shake his head even more. "No." he argued while fighting the urge to smack his forehead. "I need proof. I need facts. Something solid enough to really prove that this isn't all just a big fat trick."

"Can't put your faith in what the guy says?"

"That…guy…put at least two people we know into comas. I know that for a fact."

"Yeah, but he did it for a reason."

Again, Joe could only sigh at what he was hearing. "Yeah, and he also had your arm twisted behind your back. Remember that?"

"Oh yeah…" Lee chuckled, his ever-present grin growing wider as he no doubt was visualizing the scene. "I remember that, but I got him back for that one. BAM! Right in the ol' kisser!" he shouted while comically pumping a fist into the air.

"And even after that, you're willing to trust him?"

"Sure thing, man. He did it all for a reason." Lee replied, with a not a trace of doubt in his own words. If there was one thing to be said about the larger Ra Yellow, it was that he could either be the most stubborn or gullible person one could ever hope to find. Either that, he had a kind of sixth sense about situations like this. Lee chuckled again before finally completing one side of the little cube. "Granted, the guy could've chosen a helluva better way of doing things, in my opinion."

"No argument there…" Joe agreed, turning back to his computer.

"Look, pal. All I'm saying is why can't we trust the guy? If he'd have done something, he'd have done something." Lee continued to argue. "Instead, here he is letting our friends out of their comas and pleading with us to help him save the world. I mean, save the world for crying out loud, pal!" Lee exclaimed. In a manner of speaking, he was starting to feel just like one of the main heroes in all of those videogame RPG's he liked to play so much. And it was very cool feeling. "Just think about it…" Lee finished, tossing down the unfinished cube into the chair as he stood up. "But if you can't trust the guy, then oh well, man. But I don't know about you, but I gotta go. I hope you figure out what you're doing, because I'm already certain of what I'm up to."

"Indeed…" was Joe's only comment as Lee walked out the door.

Other people, however, weren't able to decide nearly as quickly. This seemed to be the case as Amy was strolling down one of the many sidewalks around the school grounds. She had thought that a late afternoon stroll would help clear her thoughts and focus on what she should do, but so far it wasn't working very well. The more she thought about it, the more fantastic, incredible, and scary Victor's story became. The heels of her school-issue boots clicked lightly on the pavement as she kept walking. The blonde ponytail she always kept her hair in swayed idly in the breeze while a few stray strands framed the sides of her worried face. Part of her thought she was living every duelist's dream by getting a chance to "save the world" and all that, and honestly the thought did make her a little excited. But the more rational voice in her mind kept reminding her that there was a lot more at stake here than anything she could ever dream of? What would happen if she accepted? What would happen if they succeeded? Or worse… What would happen if they all failed?

Without knowing it, the girl turned a corner that lead closer to the woods where the group had their last meeting with Victor. She was still deep in thought, and not really watching where she was going, when she heard a sound that made her look up with a startled gasp. And saw that the sound that had scared her was only Mitch releasing a bored sigh as he leaned his back against a tree a ways off in front of her. "Oh geez!" the girl mentally exclaimed. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest when she pressed her hand to it and tried to calm herself down. "Gotta watch where you're walking, girl…" A mild shiver ran up her spine at the thought of accidentally finding Victor again, or another person just as creepy, instead of just Mitch. "Hey… Wait a minute." the girl thought suspiciously to herself when she lifted her gaze to where the taller boy was sitting. "Why is he out here, anyway? Oh wait…"

It was then that she remembered Mitch saying something about trying to "keeping an eye" on Victor and the woods. Amy couldn't help but tilt her head at him curiously at that. After all, what else was out here that any of the group hasn't already seen? "Keeping watch", as Mitch had put it, seemed like an exercise in futility to her. But even so, she couldn't help but let a small but knowing smile spread over her face as she thought about that reason some more. Despite the small amount of contact they had between them, Mitch struck Amy as being a bit duty-oriented in some ways. "He probably just didn't want to waste time sitting in his room thinking about things when he could be doing something productive." Or trying to, at least. The girl let her smile grow a bit more before she decided to make her way towards him and see what decisions he had come to. Besides, it looked like he could use some company. She knew she certainly did.

Coming up casually beside him, the girl laced her fingers behind her back and leaned her shoulder against the tree he was leaning on. "So…" she asked quietly. "Have you…found anything?" She knew she probably already knew the answer to that, though.

"No…Not that I was really expecting to, anyway." Mitch muttered and glanced at Amy out of the corner of his eye. His brow was furrowed in deep thought while he adjusted his glasses. "But, the problem is that I don't know if that's really a good or a bad thing."

"Why?" she asked him with another slight tilt of her head.

Mitch could only shrug his shoulders at Amy's question. "Because it might mean he's right." Mitch sighed while pushing up his glasses with a finger. "And if that's so, then we're definitely in for a very rough time. If that's even the right way to describe it."

Amy couldn't help but agree with what Mitch was saying, no matter how unpleasant it sounded. Whether she liked it or not, Victor was the key in all of this. If Victor was found still lurking near the campus, it would be fair to say that this was all just a sick joke or an even sicker sham. But if he wasn't found anywhere near, then it would probably because he had no reason to be, which then made his story seem all the more plausible. Either way, both outcomes were extremely unpleasant to the girl and the smile she once wore slowly faded away into a worried frown as she looked up at the boy at her side. "Well, there's no sense in over-thinking things and then working ourselves up into a frenzy over it. You sound like you need to relax a bit." she said as she came away from the tree to stand in front of him. "Let's take a walk. Walks always help me when I have a lot to think about." she smiled warmly.

For a moment, it almost looked like that Mitch was about to shake his head and refuse her offer. But then, as he glanced again at the woods through the corner of his eye, he had a change of heart about what it was that he really was doing out here. His shoulders shook lightly as a little chuckle left his lips. "Sure, why not? It's not like I'm missing anything here." With that, the two walked side by side back towards the school and feeling a little easier about how they would fare in the struggles to come.

Since then, the two had been walking together in relative silence. Yet, the strange thing was that this silence didn't feel stifling at all like Amy thought it would. Instead, it was almost soothing. Just having someone near, someone who knew what she was going through, was enough to settle her nerves about the whole. That… and well, having Mitch nearby made her feel a little bit safer against Victor or another creepy person popping out of the bushes at her. She smiled lightly at the thought before taking a step closer to Mitch as they continued to walk. "I never did thank you."

"Hm? For what?" Mitch replied curiously, his eyebrow arching at the girl while his glasses reflected the sunlight softly.

Amy just shrugged at the question. "I heard that you were really worried about Milly and I after Victor put us both in comas. I just felt I should be thanking you." she continued with a hint of the old smile from before returning to her face. Once again, her fingers linked together behind her back as she looked up at him. She wasn't sure, but she thought she almost saw a bit of redness in his face for a tiny moment.

"It's not a big deal." Mitch gruffed. "I just… Well, I was worried that you'd be stuck like that forever. Anyone would be." he continued. The sun had just started to go down over the volcano behind the school, and the air felt warm and pleasant to him. But even with that, he still couldn't shake off the anger he felt at Victor and his tricks. Mitch's jaw clenched ever so slightly when he started to replay the events in his mind. Even from behind his glasses, the anger that blazed in his eyes was still quite visible. "I can't believe he tried that with us, putting people in comas. And what for? To make us see what it'd be like if we ignore what he says will happen if we don't help him? The ends don't justify the means."

"Yeah…" Amy agreed softly, right before she smirked at him lightly. "But even so… Thanks for worrying."

"No problem." Mitch replied simply, then settled back into silence. After a bit, he picked up the conversation again. "What do you think of all this?"

"It's crazy. Normally I can make up my mind about stuff." replied Amy, her arms reaching to the sunset sky to stretch them out. "Actually, it's always been a problem of mine that I decide stuff to fast. But this… This I just don't know about."

"Yeah… Same here. I can't help but think this is way beyond our heads. I can normally make up my mind and be happy with it reasonably quickly. But this is nothing like I've ever experienced before." A chuckle shook Mitch's shoulders. "It kind of makes me wonder what the others are thinking."

Amy couldn't help but laugh a bit at that. "Oh, I'm sure Milly's all for it. She's always been kinda reckless, and never thinks much about running into stuff." the girl continued while letting her arms settle down and behind her back. "Plus, she's always had her heads in the clouds. But Ritsuko's probably just as confused as me."

"How did you three end up friends, anyway? The loud cousin of the game's maker, the shy and quiet girl, and you? Seems kind of odd." asked Mitch with a hint of a chuckle at the end of his words. "Then again… You're kind of like a mix of 'em both, if you don't mind my saying."

"Oh, no worries." Amy laughed. "I get it all the time. But honestly, it just sort of happened. I grew up with Ritsuko, and was actually her only friend for some time since she was so quiet. But then Milly showed up, and immediately fell in love with Ritsuko's tigers. She's always been weird like that." She shook her head lightly at that little memory before continuing on, her gaze finding its way back to Mitch's as they rounded the corner back to the school. "But anyways, she wouldn't leave Ritsuko alone, and one thing lead to another and we all ended up great friends. Nowadays, you can't keep us apart." Amy was laughing to herself as some random memory as she finished, enjoying the trip down memory lane.

Mitch smiled to himself as a similar memory flashed by in his mind. "Sounds cool. It was kind of the same thing with Ian and me. Ian and I went to school together. I kept the bullies off of him and he helped me not to make too much of a fool of myself back then. I was always doing stuff like climbing trees and what not. …and falling out of them, mostly." Mitch couldn't help but sweat drop a bit at the memory of one such occasion where that happened. He had been trying to climb the biggest tree in the school yard while Ian stood on the ground and threatened to go get the teachers if he didn't come down right away. Well, he came down all right. Just not in the way that wouldn't hurt. Or one that wouldn't wind up with Ian right beneath Mitch with little dazed swirlies in his eyes. He and Ian had bruises for weeks after that little incident. "Of course, that doesn't happen so much nowadays." Mitch quickly added on.

"Oh, of course, of course." Amy nodded to Mitch while playfully ribbing him. "And what about Lee? You seem to be friends with him too."

"Oh yeah… That guy's a character, too. Although, I think he uses too many pronouns in my opinion. Always calling someone 'pal' or 'buddy'. We actually just met him when we came here."

"Yeah, I noticed that too. He is a bit odd."

"Yeah, you got that right. Makes me think he's going all for this crazy stuff. He seems the type."

"And what about Ian?"

"Ian…Well… I don't know about that guy." Mitch said quietly with his brow furrowing again. "I mean… We've been friends for more years than I care to count, and I still don't understand him sometimes. He has this random streak of getting serious and brooding before disappearing, especially after a duel."

That bit about Ian made Amy regard Mitch oddly again. It seemed to her that there was hardly anyone that was normal around here. Then again, she also supposed that included herself. "That's certainly odd. Any idea why that is?"

Mitch only made a very obvious shrug before settling his hands into the pockets of his Ra Yellow jacket. "Heh… You tell me. I haven't a damn clue."

--

Meanwhile, the very person Mitch and Amy were talking about was in the middle of some heavy-duty brooding right this moment. After making sure Aaron wasn't going to be popping by, he simply locked the door to his room and sat down at his desk with his deck placed in the center. With the way he was staring it, one would think he was trying to decode the mysterious of life with it. In a way, what he was doing was a similar task, but one that he wished he wouldn't have to do. That task was to figure out the truth behind everything that was happening. And figure out, one way or another, what his Forgotten Toys had to do with Victor.

"So what is your connection with him, then?"Those were the words he had asked Ann not too long ago, almost right after he had finished his duel with Victor. They were mostly spoken out of anger and without waiting for a reply, but the bite of the jealousy he felt back then still hurt him even now, and it didn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. That, and remembering what Ann had said to that didn't help much either.

"I…can't explain it right now. We have to finish this match, and then everything will be revealed."That was her reply. And now, three days later and he still didn't know any more than he'd started with. He only had more questions. And he wanted them answered now.

"Ann." he whispered softly. "Tell me what's going on. I need to know."

For a moment, all Ian heard was the sound of silence in his own room. He almost thought Ann wasn't there, but in truth, he knew better than to think that. Ann was always there, whether he liked it or not. As if to confirm that, a little but plainly upset voice came from a spot on the desk's left side. "Three days later…" Ann's voice called out before she materialized on the edge of his desk, her one button eye staring square at him, "…and you finally ask."

"Don't try me." Ian growled, glaring back at the Duel Spirit. "I don't have the patience for that right now."

"But why? Why did it take you three days to work up the gumption to talk to us? We're still loyal to you. I tried explaining earlier, I did. Victor wasn't saying anything true. I can honestly say that we've never met Victor before he showed up here." said Ann, the hurt she was feeling made obvious by her tone. In a way, it was almost like she was trying to plead with him. To desperately convince Ian that neither she nor the other Forgotten Toys would never do anything to hurt him.

Ian, on the other hand, was still too angry and hurt to really notice any of that right away. This entire thing with Victor stunk of treachery, and the idea that it involved his closest friends in the entire world… Well, it did more than hurt him. It quite honestly almost tore him apart inside. His hard gaze remained unflinching as he watched Ann say her piece, only to then fire off a retort at her without a moment's hesitation. "Then how did he know what you did? Why did it all seem like it was according to his plan?"

"I don't know!" Ann shouted, standing up on the desk and stomping her foot on it like a little child. She didn't say anything more until she had recovered enough to look at Ian in the eye again, but even then the sadness and bitterness in that one button eye shone brightly as if it were real. "But I can tell you this. Our world is real, and so is the threat to it. We saw the potential in you and that's why we chose you! Victor saw that too, and that's why when I saw him after Amy and Ritsuko's duel, I trusted his words and lead you to him. I didn't think he'd do what he did. He said he just wanted to talk!"

"Is that why you were so worried? Cause he just want to talk?" The venom was back in Ian's voice, as if he didn't trust a single word Ann said.

Ann flinched back a little from Ian's tone, but quickly recovered enough to cross her arms defiantly. "The things he said…they had me…unnerved. What has been happening back in my world…I didn't know about since coming here for you. I knew something had to be done, and I realized that was exactly why you drew me and the rest of the Toys to this world. We needed you. And we need you now to trust Victor."

"How can I trust him if I can't even trust my own cards?" Ian retorted as he glanced away from Ann and towards the one window of the room. A slight breeze was blowing in and rustled through the boy's disheveled black hair.

Ann could only sigh at that and rested her head in one arm. A little shiver seemed to shake the doll's body as if she were cold, but anyone would know right away that doll's don't feel cold. "I don't know. If anything else, trust his intentions. I know they're true, and that he actually wants to save the worlds."

"But with students? First-years? Slifers!? Who's he kidding?" Ian was nearly shouting as he ended the thought. None of what Ann was telling, absolutely none of it, was making any sense to Ian. That, and the more he heard it, the more agitated he became. The way he glared at Ann made her flinch away from him again, and then all she could do was simply look up at him with like her heart was broken.

"Some people see things in what others discard. I thought you knew that." Ann replied quietly as her image faded away.

"Hmph…" Ian muttered as he settled back into his chair. He was still angry, and still feeling very hurt and confused, but what she had said hit a chord with him. It took him back to the day he'd found his deck, and why he'd seriously taken up dueling.

--

When he'd first started playing, it was something casual to do with friends. But it all changed the moment he'd found the Forgotten Toys.

They were nearly tossed, really. It happened while he was hanging out a the local card shop, when he was gazing wondrously at the powerful cards behind the counter that he'd never have a hope of buying, when he spotted the clerk moving to the back door with a box full of a cards. On a whim he shouted out, "Hey, what's that?"

"Oh, this?" the clerk mumbled. "Just some junk cards that nobody's buying. I need to do something with them to clear up space for new inventory. Why? You wanted to look through them or something?"

"Sure!" Ian agreed quickly, thinking he might get lucky and find a new powerful Monster or Spell. Besides, he didn't have anything better to do.

And then, as he was rifling through them, he saw his first Forgotten Toy. It was Ann, and for some reason…it was calling out to him. It was begging him to dig them all out. To save them from a life in some basement box, or worse…a dumpster. He couldn't explain why, but back then it seemed like the most important task he ever had. One that made him feel so happy and so excited at the same time. So he quickly dug out the entire box, grabbing every one of the Toys before turning to the clerk. "How much for these?" he asked, urgency tainting his voice.

"Whoa kid." the clerk chuckled. "Calm down. Lemme see here." The clerk mumbled to himself as he went through the cards, occasionally checking the notebook at his side for prices or something else. As soon as the last card was set aside, the clerk simply regarded Ian a bit curiously before just shrugging his shoulders and smiling. "Heh." the clerk laughed. "Well kid… since I feel like such a nice guy, and I see you with your friends in here all the time, I'll give you a break. Besides, it's not like I was going to be selling 'em anytime soon. I'll let you take them all for free, but only if you promise to keep it a secret, okay?"

Hearing that almost made Ian literally jump for joy. "Sure!" Ian shouted as scooped up the cards and dashed out the door within a moments notice. However, maybe three seconds later, the chime of the door sounded softly and Ian poked his head back inside. "Thank you, mister!" he called out before dashing off again towards his house. As he ran off as fast as his little legs could carry, he became sure these were just the thing to help him beat his friends. They might all have good cards, and always beat him in the past, but that was about to change!

--

However, it seemed that was not to be. The young Ian soon found himself facing down an old rival with his Toys during a lunch time duel at school, and he was still being beaten badly. Even worse, the opponent was openly mocking his cards.

"Come on!" the kid bragged. "Everyone knows Snipe Hunter is way better than that dumb Puppet! And don't even get me started on that wimpy Ann card."

"No, they're not!" Ian's younger self shouted. "I'll show you what they can do!" With that, he reached out and yanked the top card off his deck, then slammed it onto the table. "I play their Field Spell "Broken Toy Chest", and then I activate the Trap "Locking the Chest". This gives a permanent 1000 ATK boost to all Forgotten Toys, which let's me use Teddy to defeat your monster…and you!"

"What? Impossible!" the kid shouted, his eyes bugging out of their sockets in total disbelief. But then, the other kid simply growled at Ian and stood up from his chair. "That's not fair. I quit." the kid huffed while he gathered up his cards. With another huff, he turned and stormed away, leaving Ian to bask in his own contentment. He'd finally won! He'd never beaten this guy, and now he'd won! He'd have sat there gloating to himself more if the bell hadn't rang.

--

That night, Ian found himself sprawled out on the floor of his bedroom with the Forgotten Toys laid out in front of them. Every one of them was there for him to see. Ann, the Puppet with his ever-present yet creepy grin, the disciplined and scarred Solider, Teddy, the Serpent, and even the little wind-up Reaper. "Thanks guy…," he spoke to them, ignoring the fact that he was addressing cards.

"And thank you, kid," The voice had startled Ian so bad, he almost leapt straight up the ceiling. He was on his feet at a moment's notice, his head frantically whipping around this way and that to look for where the voice had come from. "Over here, kid…" the voice sighed. Turning towards his bed, he almost fainted from shock at what he was seeing. One of the monsters from his cards, Ann to be exact, was sitting on the edge of his bed with her legs innocently dangling over it!

"What the? But you're…you're…"Ian comically sputtered.

"That's right! I'm Ann!" the little doll called out, waving a small fingerless hand at him. "And I think there's something special about you. That's why we, the Forgotten Toys, are going help you."

By now, Ian was sure that he was either dreaming or going insane. But even so, the only thing that came to mind was nodding his head at the doll and blinking owlishly at her. "Seriously?" he asked her incredulously.

"Yeah, kid! Seriously." The ragdoll smiled, and it somehow assured young Ian that she spoke the truth, and that everything would be great from now on. Boy, he didn't know the half of it!

--

Which brought Ian back to present times. The words Ann had spoken to him all those years ago now replayed themselves over and over again in his mind, each time more clearly than the last. It was almost enough to make him laugh. Back then, he had felt so sure that the world just became a lot more fun and that he would never ever feel bored or lonely again. The world was his adventure, then.

Unfortunately, he hadn't foreseen his "adventure" getting his wild and crazy. "Heh… And now look at what's going on."Ian thought to himself. "You've got crazy psychos dueling people into comas and talking about world's colliding. And to top it off, my own cards are somehow involved. At least, that's what the crazy psycho says." The words held a hollow ring to them even as he spoke them.

But then, Ian merely shook his head and breathed a sigh as he sat up in his chair. "No." he muttered, countering his own thoughts. Quite frankly, his little trip down memory lane had reminded him of how fun having the Forgotten Toys at his side could be, and what they really meant to him. The time for moping was long gone. "That's enough of that." he said to himself before looking at the corner of desk where Ann once stood.

"Ann."

"What now?" the ragdoll murmured, although she still refused to turn visible for Ian to see.

"When we first met, you said you guys were going to help me."

"Yes, and we still are."

"Then I guess that means I gotta help you then, doesn't it?" Ian smiled as he spoke, and his grin only grew larger as Ann rematerialized on the desk. But this time, the hurt she had was replaced with something else. Hope.

And thus, the day came.

One week after Victor's speech, everyone met up back in the clearing, in the exact spot where they had met Victor last. Why? Because it had been unanimously decided that if Victor was going to show up anywhere, it was going to be here. And now the only thing left to do was to wait and see.

"So, we're all here, eh?" Lee called out as he scanned the crowd. He lightly pointed at each one like he was taking a headcount of sorts, but then stopped short once he had come to the spot beside Ian. "Hey, wait a minute!" Lee exclaimed as he took another count just to be sure he didn't make a mistake. "Where's Aaron? Ian, you're his roommate, right? Where is he?"

"Aaron?" Ian repeated blankly before looking around as well. Sure enough, the person in question was absent. Ian scratched his head a bit in bewilderment before he turned to address Lee again. "I don't know. To be honest, I haven't really talked much with him all week. I think I barely got around to telling him that we were meeting here today before he rushed out the door this morning."

That brought a dissatisfied grunt from Lee as he looked the around the area, almost in hopes that Aaron would come rushing out through them at any moment now. "Well… Victor said he needed all of us." Lee argued. "So he should be here." The comment was made as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Despite the fact that no one had seemed to remember asking Aaron what his take was with all of this. But that was just how Lee's mind worked sometimes.

Mitch, on the other hand, was quick to point out that fact to Lee. "Lee, if Aaron decided he shouldn't' come, then he shouldn't come. This kind of thing probably doesn't leave room for a lot of doubt, you know." Mitch commented idly. He knew just as well as anyone else did that most of the things Victor had told them about were probably true, based on the duels with them and the powers he'd shown thus far. But even so, to believe all that and to accept a mission like this from him were too very different things. Part of him was beginning to wonder whether or not they were all out of their gourds for doing that. "Besides, I can hardly blame him. I still can't believe I decided to go along with this craziness."

"Me neither." Joe agreed. "But I don't see much choice. It's just a fact we'll have to deal with."

But then, before anyone else could speak, a voice from the shadows made itself known and drew the group's attention like moths to a flame. "Well…" Victor answered as he stepped out of the darkness and into plain sight, almost as if he were a living shadow turned solid. "It's good to see you've all got some sense after all."

"Oh, don't start your crap again, buster!" Milly shouted indignantly as she walked straight up to the black-clad duelist and thrust a finger into his chest. "But let's get one thing straight. You and me. We're not friends. End of story. I'm sure the rest of them are more than willing to agree with me on that."

Victor almost seemed to be taken aback by Milly's sudden brazen act, and he blinked almost comically from behind his glasses. But then, the moment was over as quickly as it had begun, and Victor released a chuckle before gently taking Milly's hand into his own and easing her finger away from him. "Fair enough." he smiled grimly. "But, you keep in mind that I didn't do this to win any popularity contests." The bespectacled man replied, his voice turning to ice as he released the blonde girl's hand. "But something needed to get done. Now, if you'll all follow me, we'll ignore the missing attendee and move on to me showing you the next step."

"Wait a sec…"Joe interrupted. "I thought you said you needed everyone. And now you're just…dropping him?"

"Yes." Victor said simply. "It's as your friend said before. There isn't enough room for much doubt in this. But all's well that ends well and all that rubbish." With that, he merely shrugged, but in such a way that it was unsettling and yet funny at the same time. Like a deranged male version of Mary Poppins, in some respects. "So, whatsay we get a move on, eh?" With that, he motioned over towards a spot on the northern edge of the clearing and started to head that way. Everyone else was about to follow silently, and reluctantly, close behind him. But mostly because they still weren't sure whether or not he would suddenly vanish on them once they got deep enough into the woods.

But then….

"WAIT!" a voice called through the trees. "Waaaait!" Everyone looked up with utter surprise, except Victor who only smirked, to see Aaron running from the other side of the clearing. With the way he was huffing and puffing and how red his face was, it almost seemed like he just ran a one-minute mile. Which, given the distance they were from the school, wasn't really all that odd.

"Hey Aaron!" Lee shouted while cheerfully waving an arm. "Get a move on over here, buddy!"

The sight of Lee cheering him on seemed to give the rather timid boy a burst of strength and stamina, and he picked up his speed into a full sprint towards where the group waited. His heart was pounding in his chest, his expression hopeful that he knew he'd made it in time.

But just as he reached the middle of the clearing…

A dark figure in shrouded in a black clothing leapt from shadows and grabbed Aaron almost right out of his shoes. The figure immediately twisted his arm behind his back, making the boy release a frightened cry something cracked ever so ominously. Everyone else that saw it happen was staring with a mixture of shock and anger, and were moving towards the figure to help their friend. Victor, on the other hand, merely stayed where he was and regarded the black robed stranger with a curious tilt of his head.

"Hello there, Victor." the stranger chuckled in a feminine voice. "I knew you were up to something here." Aside from her voice, not much else could be told from her. She was dressed in all black garbs very similar to Victor's, except she had a strange black scarf wrapped around her head to hide her hair and face.

It wasn't until he heard the stranger's voice that his expression lightened humorously. "Oh it's Aika… How are you, dearie? Still working up that sorry excuse for a chain of command? What're you now…? Third from the bottom?" he asked smugly with his arms stuffed casually into his pockets.

"Silence, traitor!" she commanded sharply. "And as for the rest of you…" she seethed sternly at the other duelists. "Move any closer, and I'll break your friend's arm. And proceed to break every other bone in his body before any of you can blink." With that, one of her arms rose to grip the scarf and fling it off to reveal her face. Now that it was gone, everyone could see just how strikingly beautiful she was. She was obviously Japanese, with soft ever so slightly tanned skin and brown almond-shaped eyes. But what the others noticed most about the woman was her hair. It was very long and softly swayed in the wind with a kind of ethereal grace, each strand shining with a copper red color. When her hair settled down, she regarded Victor with a vicious predatory smile. "It seems you've quite the team established here." she commented while motioning to the other duelists.

"Yes, yes, it would appear so." Victor replied easily. But then, his expression changed ever so slightly to a hint of sadness. After all, he knew what her answer would be before he even asked the question. "Aika… You wouldn't mind ditching that crooked self-centered, self-styled "king" and siding with the right people, would you?"

Her reaction was just as Victor surmised it would be. In fact, she seemed to grow infuriated by it. "No, I will not." she spat, as if the very idea disgusted her. "I shall fight for Caius-sama, and win his trust. Then, he'll uphold his end of the bargain for me." She spoke with the faith that rivaled even that of a zealot in most ways, but with the cold determination of one who experienced lots and lots of bloodshed in their lifetime. A very dangerous combination.

Yet, even so, Victor was hardly unnerved by it. "You can't honestly believe that rubbish he told you. You're smarter than that. At least, I thought you were." Victor chuckled sadly, appearing relaxed while the rest were tensely staring at Aika.

Again, the words only seemed to infuriate red-haired woman even more. She let loose a snarl before harshly tossing Aaron to the side as if he were no more than a paper doll, then whipped an arm towards the duel disk she wore on her belt. "I trust in his word, and will defend his ideals!" the woman roared at Victor. "And now we duel. So I can rid him of one without honor such as you."

Victor was about to reach for his own before a voice from another shattered the climatic atmosphere, and shattered it so badly that it drew everyone's attention to him. "Hold it." Mitch interrupted as he moved to stand between Aika and Victor with his hands in the pockets of his jacket. His voice was practically dripping with a quiet and seething fury that almost seemed to rival even Aika's, and his eyes were once again blazing behind his glasses. "First off… I'm not about to let you get away with doing that to Aaron, especially after all that crap you spouted about "ideals" and "honor." Well, I got news for you. If you had any real honor at all, then you wouldn't be betraying your own world and everyone on it! That's not honor, that's sick." He shouted those last words, the air ringing with their message and the emotion behind them.

Even Ian was taken aback by the way Mitch was acting. He had never, in all the years that he'd known the guy, seen him get this worked up or this angry. He, and everyone else, could only watch and stare transfixed as his friend lifted his arm with his Duel Disk and bring it in front of him. The machine suddenly whirred to life with a brief flash of its tiny lights, and the single pad on the side of it extended forth and spread out to form the Deck's Zone. Once it had clicked into place, Mitch thrust his arm out and Aika and pointed a single accusing finger at her. "I don't know about everyone else, but I for one am sick standing on the sidelines. If you want a duel, you're going to duel me. Come on… I'll show you true honor!"

For a moment, the only response Mitch got from Aika was a cold silence, but then she nodded once. "Fine…" she answered, though her glare strayed to Victor once. With that, she reached into a pouch hidden beneath her coat and whipped out a deck, which she shoved into the slot the slot of her Duel Disk to activate the contraption. "I'll deal with you first, conspirator. Let's duel!"

Next Chapter: Showdown!