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I walked down a wide spiral staircase into a spacious room with a high ceiling. In the center of the room, a crystal sat on top of a pedestal. As I approached the crystal, I noticed a deck of cards encased in it. I figured this must be the deck I needed, but the crystal looked too strong to break. Experimentally, I gave it a kick. My foot just bounced off it.

After my failed attempt at shattering the crystal, I wondered, "Okay, now what?"

I took a closer look and realized that there was a pair of white wings on the crystal, like angel wings but smaller. They were familiar for one reason and one reason only—I'd seen those wings in some recent memory flashes.

"...Winged Kuriboh..."

Curious, I pulled the blank card from my pocket, where I'd been keeping it separate from my deck since I couldn't use it at the time. According to Johan, it was important, so I'd kept it on me as a sort of identification. Hey, it marked me as the chosen prince, so those few people who knew that would know who I was if I showed it to them.

Instinctively, I held the card up to the crystal, and the crystal started glowing, changing colors constantly. First blue, then green, yellow... When it turned orange, it started dissolving. Red and purple passed, and there was a hole big enough to grab the deck. Soon after, the crystal was gone completely.

I reached out to take the deck.

The moment I touched it, it started lighting up, shooting off rainbow-colored lights like the crystal. The light beams were wide and circled around the deck like a pinwheel. A slight wind stirred up, and—

And my memories came back.

I remembered everything. My destiny to save the world from the Light of Destruction with the help of the Neo-Spacians. How Yubel got along with everyone but me. How Johan was supposedly from a family of no-good liars and thieves. My parents' kindness and strength. How they always tried to make time for me. Stupidly climbing up on the castle roof when there was snow on it and falling off. And everything else, good and bad. It all came back to me, just like that.

The only consequence was that I felt like I'd been hit in the head by a meteor and lived. Small price to pay, really, given how much of a pain it was to remember nothing.

"Oh, geez..." I put a hand to my throbbing head. "Do I have a headache..."

"You okay, partner?" I heard. This time, I could translate the kuriing of my spirit partner, Winged Kuriboh.

I looked at him, finally seeing him again. He was a little brown ball of fur with big eyes, four green feet, and two white feathered wings sprouting from his back. And, boy, was he a sight for sore eyes.

"Oh, hey," I said, still holding my head. "Long time, no see."

The little guy teared up. When that Kuriboh gets emotional, he goes the whole way. "Kuri kuri kuri!" he cheered, taking on a solid form and charging right into my gut.

"Oof!" I said on impact, grabbing hold of the Kuriboh. "Hey, easy! I don't need a sore stomach to go with my sore head," I said, smiling.

Then a bunch of other spirits appeared. I didn't know them personally, but I'd seen paintings of them—the Neo-Spacians.

"Yuki Judai," the red hummingbird said. "We've been waiting for you."

I looked around in awe. I mean, I'd known growing up that these guys were a big deal, but they were even better in person. There was the bird, the mole, the panther, the dolphin, the beetle, and...whatever that last guy was supposed to be. And, of course, their leader: Neos.

"Whoa..."

The mole gave a slight laugh. "What's wrong? Are you really that surprised to see us? You're the one who summoned us."

"And it's about time, too," the panther added. "We feared you'd never be able to reach us. All things considered."

The amnesia. "Yeah, I know."

"Well, all that matters is you were able to reach us, despite all that's happened to you," Neos said. "You're a very brave warrior, and a strong fighter, too. That's just what we need in order to take out the Light. So, Judai. Will you do it? Will you fight by our side?"

A few minutes ago, I might have hesitated. I hadn't even remembered who I was, really, let alone what I needed to do. I might have asked a million questions to try to get some idea what was going on. But, now, I remembered what needed to be done. The Light had to be stopped before it could do any more damage. And I was the only one who could do it. With the help of these guys, of course. The fate of the world was in our hands!

I nodded. "You know I will!"

"Good. We're counting on you, Judai. Don't let us down."

With that, Neos and the others disappeared back into their cards.

I picked up the deck and made my way back out of that secret chamber, then snuck out of the library after making sure the coast was clear. One signal from Johan, and I scurried over to where he and Yubel were hiding in a small alcove in the wall.

"Well, pal?" Johan asked. "Figure it out?"

"Yeah, I figured it out," I answered.

"Great," Yubel said. "Then let's get out of here before someone finds us."

Quickly, she started sneaking away. Johan called Ruby back, and he and I followed.

When we were safely out of the castle, we made our way over to where Sho was waiting. His fidgeting and the look on his face told me he'd been getting worried.

"Aniki!" he cried when he saw us. "Guys! You're okay!"

"Yeah, Sho, we're okay," I assured him.

"Maybe. But let's get away from here, anyway, before that changes," Yubel said before running off.

"Right!" Johan agreed, and we all ran after her.

Unknown POV

I glared after the four as they ran off. I'd come a long way to retrieve that boy, and I didn't care who I had to face to do it. Keeping my distance and staying out of their sights, I followed. After all, that kid was mine, not theirs, and I intended to get him back, no matter what.

Judai's POV

Once we were back in the woods, the others asked me what I found out from the book. So I gave them the honest answer.

"What I found out from that book was how far it can fly. But I did find out where the cards are." I pulled the Neo-Spacian cards out as I finished.

"S-so, then, what's that supposed to mean?" Sho asked. "If the book was totally useless, then how'd you—"

"Ah ha! I knew you were lying, Sho!" an angry, unknown voice shouted. "Just what are you doing out here?"

Sho started, then slowly turned toward the speaker. I looked, too, and saw a man wearing a black cloak. He had teal hair and matching eyes that were filled with fury at the moment.

Given that people who knew Sho were all from Tiller, where everyone wanted to beat him up, I didn't trust some random guy who showed up mad at Sho. I jumped in front of him, defensive, and demanded, "Who are you!?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Who are you?" he shot back. "And what are you even on? No one's ever this nice to Sho."

Is it possible to look awed while still showing little emotion? Because this guy was doing that. If I had to describe him in one word, I'd say he was stoic.

"Yeah, I know, and it drives me nuts," I answered. "But I'm not on anything! I just—"

Sho poked his head out from behind me and cut me off, saying, "Don't worry, Nii-san. Aniki's on the level. Right, Aniki?" He looked up at me.

Nii-san... Big brother? The guy standing in front of me was...

"W—" I looked at Sho, then back to the guy in front of me. "You're his brother!?"

When he'd told me he had a brother, I'd kinda had a different image in my head. You know, one that didn't wear black and look like a creep who wanted to beat up on the little guy. Since he'd let me take—not exactly borrow since he's probably never see them again—his boots, I'd figured he was a nice guy, but this guy didn't look too friendly.

This reminded me...I was still wearing his boots. Man, does my mind take some weird turns and sidetracks.

Sho's brother didn't answer. He just stared at me, looking a bit lost.

Behind me, I heard Johan whisper to Yubel, "Say, Yubel, do you follow what's happening here? 'Cause I'm totally lost."

"How should I know? I met the kid about the same time I met you. Though, from the looks of things, I'd say his brother's been looking for him for awhile now."

The man stared at me for a bit, then asked, "Sho, who is this guy? He seems a bit wacko, if you ask me."

Whoa, wait! Wacko!? Was this guy calling me wacko!?

"He's a..." Sho started before I cut him off.

"Hey! Who are you calling wacko!?" I demanded.

"The weirdo who doesn't hate my little brother for no reason whatsoever," he answered. "Even our parents think he's worthless. Right?"

What did he just say? But hadn't Sho's mom... She'd told him to "get the hell out of here." She hadn't been thinking it would be good for her son to leave for his own sake—she'd been glad to be rid of him!

Sho looked down, confirming this.

Okay, now I was mad.

I growled, "What...?"

Sho's brother looked at my expression with...concern? Oh, great, it seemed he thought I was psycho. Yeah, that was a totally fair judgment to give a guy for caring!

"Okay, that's it," he said. "Let's go, Sho. You're coming to live with me so I can protect you better." He started forward, as though he planned to force Sho to go back with him.

Yeah, seemed like me caring was a red flag. Which was stupid! I mean, it's not like it's impossible to actually care about somebody!

"But, Nii-san. I don't—"

"Hey!" I snapped, not appreciating the guy's thoughts on me. "Not everyone's a big creep! Some of us actually have hearts, and I find it insulting that you think that makes us crazy! Sheesh!"

The guy stopped between me and Sho and looked at me over his shoulder. "Trust me, kid. To be able to like Sho without growing up with him seems to be—"

"Yeah, well, maybe Neospacians are immune to that rule."

He raised an eyebrow, turning all the way around to face me. After a moment's silence, he asked, "You're the prince he claimed he was living with, aren't you?"

"Yes," I answered. "Prince Judai of Neospace."

"Whoa," Johan said. "That was some impressive observation you just made, sir. How'd you guess?"

Sho's brother crossed his arms. "Simple. Only an only child prince would be lonely enough to make friends with Sho right off the bat. Anyone else would have to be paid to hang out with him before they saw the good in him."

I wanted to retort about how that wasn't true. I mean, really, Sho wasn't that hard to like! People in Tiller were just jerks! But Yubel busted up before I could say anything and said, "Too true! I mean, clearly he's a very lonely prince, considering—" She gestured at me, a wide grin on her face.

"Shut up!" I snapped at her.

Johan stared for a bit, then sweat.

Sho's brother closed his eyes. "I rest my case."

"Yeah, well... Whatever!" I snapped. "The point is, I'm not crazy, and I asked Sho to come!"

Sho teared up. "Aniki..."

His brother just kept staring at me, his expression neutral.

Sho looked up at him. "Nii-san?"

He threw off his cloak, revealing that he was wearing a duel disk. "Very well. Then prove it. Duel me. Whether you're crazy or not will be revealed through your dueling," he said, activating his duel disk.

I activated mine as well, eager to prove this guy wrong. "Fine with me!"

"I am Ryo Marufuji!" he said. "Better known as the Kaiser!"

Being from Neospace, I'd never heard of him. But Johan had, apparently. His face lit up with excitement. "Oh, wow. The legendary Kaiser Ryo! This is awesome! I can't wait to see how this turns out!"

Okay, so this guy must have been good, given how Johan was acting. Suddenly I was getting excited myself. After all, insulted or not, there was nothing I liked more than a good duel!

"Duel!"