Darius

Though living in a nice apartment in the center of Athens, Darius's room was a helter-skelter mess with shelves loaded with tins and boxes full of common Duel Monster cards, and binders for which he used to do business. His home smelled of fried fish; for that was all he knew how to cook and stale gyros which sat on the kitchen counter still waiting to be eaten. Packages were stacked along the pristine white walls, and the polished wood floor was stained with beer and wine. He stuffed an orange slice into his mouth while watching an action movie on his flat-screen television.

His door opened. "Hello?" said a boy, hidden underneath the hood of his leather jacket. "Hello, Darius?"

"What the fuck?" said Darius. "Hey what the hell, man, I didn't let you in! How the monkey did you get in here?"

"I'm sorry," the boy said, removing his hood, revealing spiked blond hair. His eyes concealed behind sunglasses with red iridium lenses and his face was angelic. He jerked his thumb toward the hall and said: "Some guy with this combover had the key so…"

Fucking Dimitri, man!" Darius shouted, furiously getting off the couch. He stormed towards the door.

"Uh, yeah," said the boy. "I guess it was Dimitri."

"Friggin' asshole, man," Darius said going toward the door. He swung it open and shouted down the hall. "Oy! As to thialo!"

"Ah, kane mou pipa, Darius!" Dimitri shouted from down the hall.

"Kariolis!" Darius shouted back waving his palm in the air before slamming the door. "What the fuck did they give him the key for anyway!?"

"Look is this a bad time?" the boy said. "I can come back later."

"No, no," Darius said, putting a comforting arm over the boy's shoulder. "Loxley, Loxley, it's all right, man, it's not your fault. It's those jerk-offs out there. I swear I should be in Santorini right about now if it wasn't for that dumbass always scaring off my customers. So, what can I do you for, my friend?"

"You know what I'm here for, Darius," Loxley said seriously.

Darius gave a heavy sigh. "Nice sunglasses. What are you trying to look like a secret agent?"

"You'd prefer the people out there see my deformity?" Loxley asked.

Darius flung his arm down and shrugged. "Forget I said anything then. But, yeah, I do have this…Titan you're looking for."

"I know how much the card means to you, Darius," said Loxley. "It was the pride and joy of House Constantine, right."

"Pride and joy?" scoffed Darius. "My ancestors used the Titan as the sigil of our House. My great-great-great-grandfather took it here. Being one of the lucky few to immigrate during the Norman Invasion. But sadly, Royal Houses are not as prestigious here in Athens as they are in Termnnia. We lost what little money we had in the crash. Dad shot himself. Mom took his fortune and left for Panama City. And I got stuck here with my aunt who croaked last night."

"Oh, Sansa, passed away? I'm sorry, Darius."

"Don't be. She drove me crazy; I thought that bitch would never die."

Loxley coughed to hide the awkwardness he felt inside.

"Yeah, man," Darius continued. "If it wasn't for that card, I wouldn't even be in this apartment right now. There are some good-hearted Termnnians around here who knew my father and the legacy of my House. They set me up nice."

Loxley nodded and walked to the glass door leading to the balcony which gave a great view of the Parthenon. Darius stood where he was waiting for Loxley to say his piece.

"Sadly, you're the last living member of the House, and you have no money, meaning your title is not as prestigious as it once was, even if you did leave Athens and returned to Termnnia. It wouldn't mean a thing."

"Stick a knife in the old ego, why don't you?" said Darius.

"Come on, Darius," Loxley said, turning around to look at him. "The card was never your family's, to begin with."

"I know," said Darius. "Melodía Delgado, the last living descendant of Norman the Conqueror gave my family the card to keep safe from the Normans until it was time to return them. I guess that time is now."

"It is," said Loxley.

"But I can't part with it," said Darius. "Not even with the money you promised me. Do you know what parting with the Titan will do to my pride?"

Loxley slightly raised his voice. "And do you know how much evil you're going to allow if you don't return the card to me? This is of the utmost importance, Darius."

"And just how important?" Darius asked.

"High King Yuri is involved with this."

That caused Darius to pause and think about his decision. "I thought he was dead."

"Not as dead as you think," said Loxley. "I've seen him. Don't ask me how, because you wouldn't believe me if I told you. Though you've lived in this world your whole life, you know as well as I that our world works in mysterious ways."

"That it does," said Darius. "You are right. And I do believe you. I've known you for a couple of years Loxley, but I've come to know there is no lying in you. Take the card."

Darius removed a loose floorboard that concealed a small compartment. He took out a dusty black box and presented it to Loxley.

"Take it."

Loxley walked casually towards his friend. And then he just stood there for what felt like an eternity before he opened the box to see the card. It was shielded in a small and fragile glass case with small arcane circles acting as magical guards. The card itself was clear like glass with the 3D art of the golden-armored dinosaur monster in the front. The text and the stats were displayed in a well-designed style that made it hard for Loxley to believe the card was from Duel Monsters.

"Made by the legendary Dani Ocampo," said Darius. "The same artist who designed the God Cards and the Ancient Beasts."

"Hmm," Loxley said with a nod. His sunglasses glimmered like the purest of rubies.

Darius could make out a thin silhouette of his eyes and the dark line of his eyelashes flashing black as Loxley blinked. He had known Loxley for two years, and he always wore sunglasses to hide his so-called deformity. Darius would ask what it was, but naturally, Loxley kept his secrets. Not even the young ladies he dated knew what his eyes looked like, for they told Darius that he got very defensive when they asked him about his eyes. These new glasses were locked on tight over his eyes and did a very good job concealing them from the world. Even with the metallic red-lensed spectacles on his face, Darius could see a look of determination and even content from the movement on the muscles of his brow. They went up and down and his lips formed a happy smirk at the corner of his mouth. He nodded his head up and down.

"Your gold will arrive as soon as I take you to the Gate out of this world," said Loxley. "I know this is hard for you Darius, but..."

"Go ahead, my friend," said Darius, waving his hands. "It's cool. And you know, to make this less awkward, why don't we put this whole matter behind us, eh? I feel the need to get out of here and roam. We can go into town. We can hit the arena and have a Duel. Maybe hit the bar later tonight; have a beer with some girls. What do you say?"

"Sounds like fun," said Loxley. "But no thanks. There's some important business I must take care of. And the last time you and I went to have a beer, I woke up in the Acropolis with no pants on."

"Good times, eh?" said Darius.

"For you, maybe," Loxley said placing his hand on Darius's shoulder. "I'm going to miss you, my friend."

"Where are you going?"

"After this whole matter with the Titan has been taken care of, you will see me no more."

"I see," said Darius. "So, this is goodbye?"

"Not yet," said Loxley. "Also, I don't need the card just yet. I'm going to ask you to be its guardian for one final time. Can you do that for me?"

"I can," said Darius. "But, what's so important that you'd come all the way here and tell me to hold onto it a bit longer."

Bonz

He watched Loxley and Darius from a rooftop a mile away through his hi-powered binoculars and sniggered when he saw the Titan in Loxley's fingers.

"Mua-ha-ha!" Bonz laughed. "That's him. That Loxley kid. He's the one Bakura warned us about." Bonz adjusted the zoom to get a better look at him. He let out a cackle of overconfidence. "He doesn't look so tough. My zombies will send him to an early grave."

Sid was sitting under a blue tarp tent sipping on his third bottle of water to keep cool from the blazing sun. "For the love of all things holy, why is it so bloody hot! I fucking hate this world!"

"Will you hush up!" shouted Bonz. "We can't let these people know we're here. The last thing we need right now is a panic!"

"Aw, don't worry about deeze puny Earthlings, boss," said Zigor, sitting against a wall. He smashed his fist onto his palm. "If anyone of deeze wimps tinks of causin' trouble for us dere's gonna be hell t 'pay!"

"No fighting!" Bonz ordered loudly. "No theatrics! No nothing! I don't like it either, but we need to lay low. If anyone gets wind that we're here, they will panic. And if they panic, Loxley will know we are here and he will run, no doubt with the Titan card, and we'll never see him again. Bakura took a long, long time trying to find this kid, and if we let him disappear, he's gonna be mad."

He went back to spying on Loxley. He was still in the apartment talking to Darius.

"Duuuh, what are dey doin' boss?" Zigor asked.

The question Zigor asked annoyed Bonz. The fact that Zigor asked him what they were doing for the umpteenth time combined with the heat caused him to growl furiously.

"What!?" Bonz shouted.

"I said what are they doing now, boss?" Zigor said, fanning himself.

"God damn, Zigor, I am so sick of you asking me that question!"

Zigor grimaced and wiped sweat from his brow with his massive forearm."Aw, come on boss, yer da one wit the binoculars. I can't see any ting from here."

Bonz, too, wiped sweat off his forehead, and some from his eyes causing them to sting. "Look Zigor, they are just standing there and talking, okay? That's all they're doing! That's all they ever do! That's what they were doing last week! That's what they're doing now. Just standing around and talking!"

"Oh, now I'm up to speed," said Zigor. He scratched the back of his sweaty head stupidly."Duuuh, what are dey talkin' about, Bonz?"

Bonz paused and balled his fists. "You know what...I fucking hate you."

Patty

Patty felt cold as she stared at the five cards laid about on the floor in her room. Even with her blanket over her, she couldn't help but feel a chill. She shivered and draped the blanket over her shoulders. Max was cowering underneath her desk, whimpering in fear. Those cards laid out in front of her...He had a bad feeling about them. Each time they were summoned, he grew scared and ran for a place to hide. There was so much darkness in them. He was fearful of his master. He wished her could make her understand to stay away from them. But she ignored his whimpering and continued to look at the cards.

The monsters were versions of the Duel Monster known as Summoned Skull, each from a different monster type. There was Archfiend's Manifestation, who was a Fusion Monster. Archfiend's Awakening, a Ritual Monster. The Synchro Monster, Archfiend's Call. Archfiend's Ascent, the Xyz Monster. And finally, Linkmail Archfiend, who was a Link Monster. These beasts helped her climb the ranks of the EPX Qualifiers. She won many Duels and many rare cards. The cards she was particularly proud of winning were two Zombie monsters known as Doonking Balderdroch and Doomkaiser Dragon. But besides her two powerful prizes, the Qualifiers were particularly short and unimpressive. Despite all the grandeur and hubbub that Brett added to make the event more exciting, Patty found herself bored throughout the entire thing.

Despite the new rules and monster types implemented in the game, many players still played decks with vanilla monsters. They allowed her to walk all over them with ease. Her Archfiend monsters garnered lots of attention, as did the racy attire she wore that day. Though it was night time, Patty still kept her two long pigtails up. She grew to like them actually and thought to keep them up on a more permanent basis.

She saw something shimmering in the moonlight across the floor. A card. Strange. It wasn't there before. It was like it came out of thin air. She leaned closer and saw that it was a Synchro Monster. With 4000 ATK Points! Patty stretched her neck forward to get a better look at the card. Gold letters shimmering in silver light revealed the monster's name.

Beelzeus of the Diabolic Dragons.

Patty wriggled her way out of the blanket and reached for the card. She gasped, feeling a vice-like grip around her ankle. Suddenly, she was yanked halfway across the room. Max whined again and hid under one of Patty's shirts, for he saw something huge and fiendish hovering over the room. It was the monster that pulled Patty.

Patty gasped in fright when she saw the ghostly form of Archfiend's Ascent looking down at her. He growled like a rabid beast. Patty shivered at the sight of him. His glowing green eyes seemed to be burning a hole into her soul.

"That is not for you," the monster growled. "You are not ready for it."

The door to her closet burst open. Witty Phantom chuckled as he walked out of it. "No, indeed," he said. He picked up the card. "Silly me. I was wondering where I left it. You will get this card when you prove yourself."

"In the Grand Prix, I suppose?" Patty asked, covering her lower body with her blanket.

"Oh, goodness, no," said Witty Phantom. "We've got more pressing matters at hand here than some silly tournament. Of course, you can participate in those games; you've earned it. But we've got work to do. Lots of work to do."

"Concerning what?" asked Patty.

"There's a special task you must complete. I'll go over the details when you go to Greece for the first round of the tournament. Coincidentally, that is our first stop."

Patty looked away. "You had this all figured out, huh?"

"Yes. See? I know you," he pointed at her joyfully then wagged his finger. "All of us in the Shadow Realm know who you are, Pamela. You were born into this world with shadows enveloping your heart. That is why so many monsters come looking for you. Particularly those five gentlemen you played with during the games earlier today."

"And what about Zera the Mant?"

Witty Phantom laughed. "Ah, Zera. Yes, we all knew he would come seeking you out most of all. No surprise he groomed you to be so...free. He was a womanizer back in our world. No doubt in my mind who couldn't wait to work his charms on you. You, my dear, are beautiful. But I digress. Thankfully, he's gone and won't bother you again. He's through. You kicked him out. A king of the Shadow Realm. Doing that proves you have what it takes to wield this card."

He held up Beelzeus with his two fingers. He then chuckled and tucked it into an interior pocket of his coat. There was a loud knocking at the door of Patty's apartment. Her phone then vibrated on her night table. Patty got up from the floor and checked it.

It's me! U awake?

Patty replied with: Yeah. Come on in.

From her room, she heard the loud jangling of keys and the clanking of the lock. The door creaked open and Crystal's high heels clopped against the wooden floor. Patty was about to say something to Witty Phantom, but he was gone, as was Archfiend's Ascent. Max scurried out from under the desk and ran out of Patty's room to the door so he could be in Crystal's warm embrace.

"What's wrong, boy?" Crystal asked sympathetically, scratching the back of his head. "Poor thing. You look like you've seen a ghost."

Patty walked out of her room, closing the door behind her. "Hey," she said.

Crystal scoffed at the sight of Patty without pants. "Oh, wow. Do you need a moment to change?"

"Don't be stupid," Patty snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. "What do you need?"

Crystal went to the kitchen to get a coke from the fridge. "Something….really big just happened to me, girl. You remember when I was working as an apprentice for Mr. Montgomery?"

"Remember?" Patty walked to the kitchen to get one of her own. "I downright hated it. I never saw you anymore."

"Well, my time with you might be even briefer. With Jacob gone, the company is without a CEO. During the funeral, his will was read and I was asked to be there in attendance." She drank her beverage nervously. A few drops poured down her chin and dripped on Max's fur.

"Was Yuri there?" Patty asked. "Please tell me he was there?"

Crystal shook her head. "No. He wasn't."

"FUCK!" Patty shouted, smashing the counter with the bottom of her fist. "Where the hell is he? For his sake, he better be dead. It's one thing walking out on your friends. But to just walk out on your family. What business is Yuri on that's so important he has to skip his own father's funeral?"

"You don't think I ask myself those same questions? Damn it all to hell. I have no idea what's going on. Ever since Yuri left, things have been so chaotic. Now they're about to get worse. Going back to the will."

Patty nodded. "Yeah? What's up?"

Crystal shook her head. "Seeing as how his kids have their own endeavors and Yuri just vanished from the face of the Earth, Jacob was left with only one alternative. He made me CEO of Phobos Corp."

Patty spat out her soda. "Get out of here!" she shouted. "You mean…"

"Yeah. I own Aquarius now. Duel Monsters, too. And the trillion-dollar fortune."

Patty leaned back against the counter. "Well, spank my ass and call me Charlie. Shit, Crystal. Congratulations. I guess all those long nights and lessons with Mr. Montgomery paid off."

"He loved me like a daughter, Patty. Gosh, if it wasn't for Mr. Montogomery, I don't know what I would have done. He was the father I never had."

"And that love has paid off," said Patty. "Do you have any idea what this means? You're a Queen now! You are, hands down, the richest person in the world! This is gonna be huge!"

"You have no idea. You know I've been getting calls to appear on The View and the Rachel Maddow show?"

"Augh, don't go to them," Patty said in disgust. "They're people with a very messed up point of view, and they're no doubt going to twist your success to fit their narrative."

"Yeah, I know. I haven't answered their calls. Then again, I don't want to appear on any shows right now. I'm not mentally stable to sit through any interviews. My mind is still trying to grasp all of this. And deep down, I miss Yuri."

"Fuck Yuri!" snapped Patty. "That asshole decided to pack up and leave us. No phone call. No letters. No goodbye. Nothing. You need to move on from that guy. You've got that Spanish hottie, Amistad, as your boy toy and you're CEO of the empire that was made for Yuri. You're better than him now."

"Well, no. I don't want to just forget about him. He's my best friend. Maybe I can lure him out with my fame and fortune."

Patty shook her head. "Crystal. If you keep thinking about him, you're going to make yourself sick. If you want to use your fortune to look for Yuri, you can. But don't be expecting him anytime soon."

"I have to try," Crystal replied with a sigh. "Word on the street is you qualified for the Grand Prix."

"Yeah, that's right. The first round of the tournament is going to be in Athens, Greece."

"Oooo," hooted Crystal. "My favorite place in the world. Why wait for the games, though. Let's get a flight there ASAP."

Patty grinned. "I like the way you think Madame CEO." She raised her soda bottle.

Crystal nodded and raised hers. "To Duel Monsters."

"To us," said Patty.

They clinked their bottles and gulped down their drinks.

Nick

"Jeannie!" he called out to his sister. "Don't you wander too far. The surf is strong today."

Jeannie laughed and shrieked as the cold water rolled up into the sand and enveloped her ankles. She jumped up and down with joy as though she were an infant, thanks to her slow and underdeveloped mind. Tyson stood next to nick, admiring Jeannie's baby pink bikini. Nick did not approve of the looks he shot at his sister and punched his forearm to snap him out of his stare. Carter chuckled as he sat on a lounge chair reading a magazine. "Let her have some fun, Nick. She hasn't had a chance to relax in a while."

"Yeah man," said Tyson, taking off his shirt to join Jeannie in the water. "We're on vacation."

Nick glared at him. "Yeah, I know. Do me a favor and keep your hands to yourself, Tyson."

"I'll try," Tyson said with a smug look on his face. He ran down the dune to join Jeannie. "Hey, Jeannie! Let me join you, baby girl!"

"He better not try anything!" said Nick.

Carter snorted with laughter and set down his magazine. "He's not going to do anything to her, love. Stop acting so paranoid. Why don't we have ourselves a Duel to clear your mind, eh?"

"I'm not in the mood, Carter. By the way, any word from Patty?"

"Nothing," Carter said, shaking his head. "She's incognito. She didn't tell you where she was going? Why haven't you called her? It's been like four days."

"What a two-timer," said Nick. "She just got up and left one morning. I didn't see any baggage or anything. Maybe she got drunk with Crystal again, and they're probably passed out in her suite downtown."

"Maybe," said Carter. "We can have a look later."

Jeannie suddenly screamed.

"I knew it!" Nick shouted. He sprinted down the dunes, charging towards Tyson as though he were an opposing player from a football game who caught the ball. But he stopped because Tyson was nowhere near Jeannie. She was still in the water pointing at something.

"Oh, my goodness!" she cried. "There's a body in the water!"

"What? A body!" said Nick.

"Yeah, she aint lyin'," said Tyson. "I see it too, in the surf." He saw that the person's mouth was moving. He was dressed in a leather jacket and torn jeans. It looked like he had fallen off a party boat.

"HEY!" Tyson called out and sprinted into the surf. Nick dashed after him.

"HANG ON, WE'RE COMING!" shouted Nick. He paddled towards the body and pulled him to the sand. Jeannie clasped her hands together as Carter dashed down the sand to help them bring the young man to the sand.

"He's weak," said Tyson. "But I think he's alive!"

"Come on!" called Nick, still clutching to the scruff of the boy's jacket. They fought the waves and at last dragged the young man into the sand. Before Nick could attempt to do CPR, he froze completely when he recognized who he was.

"No way!" said Tyson. "It couldn't be!"

Carter smashed his hands on both sides of his head. All of them felt a wave of emotions go through their bodies as they stared into the bloody face of Ren Kakihara.

Ren

The sun's light burned his sore and heavy eyes. Thick crusts of discharge began to crumble down his face as he mustered his strength into his eyelids. He saw a fan on the ceiling spinning and cooling his burning skull. The skin on his face was red and peeling off from being scorched by the sun after spending God only knew how long at sea. Ren began to move his muscles. Every joint of every limb cracked and washed his body in terrible agony.

"Hey!" someone said loudly. "Hey, he's waking up!"

Ren wanted to tell whoever it was to keep it down. His voice was amplified two-fold in his ears, still itchy from the salt of the sea and a few clumps of sand that stuck to the walls inside the canal. The voice caused his head to throb.

"Shh," said a much softer voice. "Let him take his time."

At last, Ren opened his eyes. He saw nothing but an endless white canvas where the ceiling fan spun at a quicker pace, thanks to someone's intervention. He heard the click and a shimmy of the metal chain. He looked down, pain surged down his spine making him wince. But, he finally saw the familiar faces of his friends.

"Nick?" Ren said with a whisper. "Tyson? Carter?"

Nick shoved his way past Carter, Tyson, and Jeannie to see him. He knelt beside him at the side of the bed. "Yeah, man. It's me! Where the hell have you been? Why were you floating out at sea?"

"I don't know," said Ren, placing a hand over his chest. He noticed his clothes were gone. Except for his boxers, he was practically naked under the sheets. "I don't know how I got here, guys, but. I'm sure glad I did."

"Were you shipwrecked?" Tyson asked. "'Ey man, where's Yuri? Was he with you? Is he okay?"

"Yuri?" Ren said weakly. "Yuri."

"Yeah," said Carter. "Take it easy, man. What are you trying to say?"

Jeannie went forward and placed a wet cloth with cold water on Ren's head. He looked at her and smiled, but winced at the same time; for even smiling caused him great pain. "And who is this lovely young thing," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hi, Ren, I'm Jeannie. I'm Nick's sister."

Ren took her hand, he wanted to kiss it but thought better of it. "Well, sorry I never got the chance to see you. There was...some complications pertaining Yuri the night you joined us here in Aquarius. Nevertheless, I'd like to get to know you better."

"Oh," Jeannie said blushing. "Likewise."

Tyson crossed his arms. "Damn, even on the brink of death, you're a real smoothie, Ren."

"Some things never change," Nick grumbled, his face glowing red.

Jeannie looked back at Nick, her pigtails flailing with her movements. "So, is he your brightest student, big brother?" she asked Nick.

"Student?" Ren asked.

"Yeah, Nick says he taught you and Yuri everything you know about Duel Monsters. And that Yuri couldn't have won the Millennium Tournament without his advice. You must be so lucky to have such amazing pupils, Nick."

Ren leered over to Nick who now went pink with embarrassment. Even Tyson and Carter looked at him sternly. "What other bullshit have you been feeding this poor girl, Nick?" Ren said.

There was an awkward silence. Then everyone broke out laughing.

"Hey wait a minute!" said Nick, stopping the laughter. "You didn't answer the question, hotshot. Where the hell have you been? Where did you take Yuri? What were you doing washed up in the ocean like that? And was Yuri with you."

"No, he wasn't," said Ren. "Yuri is...somewhere else right now. And don't ask me where because even I don't know. He and I got separated after..."

"What!?" cried Nick.

Tears washed down Ren's eyes. Jeannie took a napkin from the pocket of her cutoffs and wiped them off Ren's face. "Something bad happened to Yuri, huh?" she asked sweetly.

Ren sniffed and nodded his head.

"He's not dead is he?" Tyson asked.

"I don't know," said Ren. "I was trying to help him when I ran into some kid in this weird city. He beat me in a Duel, and then the next thing I know I'm out at sea."

"A Duel?" said Carter. "How can a Duel do this to you? That's not possible."

"Where the hell have you been, Ren?" Tyson asked. "And just what the hell have you been doing?"

"Who cares!?" said Nick. "Start making sense, Ren. We're happy to see you and all, but we're still plenty mad you just up and left us the way you did. No phone call. No letter. Nothing! You just vanished and took our buddy, Yuri, along with you! Where is he? What happened to him? If you don't tell me what happened, dammit it, Ren, I'm going to make you feel even worse."

"Nick, shh!" Jeannie said, trying to pacify him.

"Take it easy, Nick," said Tyson. "Obviously, Ren's been through a lot and you're not helping."

"No! No!" said Ren. "You have every right to be angry at me. I'm sorry I left and took Yuri the way I did. As to where we went, I cannot say, because I'm under oath not to speak of it. Yuri's fate is unclear to me, that was why I've been going around trying to find answers. I haven't found any I'm afraid."

"So, Yuri's just gone?" said Nick.

"In a manner of speaking. But we can still find him."

"Wow," said Jeannie. "You mean there's a chance?"

Ren nodded. "Yes, there is, sweetheart. But I need all of you to trust me. Please."

Tyson nodded. "I do, Ren. It's not easy for me to say after everything you put us through with your disappearance. But now that you're back and want to fix the wrongs you committed, I'm with you."

Carter shrugged. "I guess, I'm with you for all the things he said."

"Me too!" said Jeannie. "I want to help find Yuri. Oh, Crystal will be so happy to know you're home, and with some news about Yuri."

"Crystal!" Ren said, darting up. He cringed, fighting back the pain, but the remembrance of his best friend, Crystal gave him something of a second wind. "Oh my God, is she still here?"

"She is," said Tyson. "And she's the new CEO of Phobos Corp."

Ren winced. "Mr. Montgomery's company? Why?"

Jeannie bit her bottom lip. "Well, Mr. Montgomery passed away while you were gone."

"No!" said Ren. "He can't be...gone? Is he?"

"I'm sorry," said Jeannie. "But in the will he left behind, he specifically instructed that the entire company go to her."

"He's crazy," said Ren. "She's just a kid. Crystal may have helped out with the company, but not enough that she gets the position as CEO."

"Well, that's the way it is," said Tyson. "She told us herself and showed us a photo of the damn thing on her phone."

Ren grunted, trying to keep himself up. "I have to see her."

Jeannie gasped and placed a hand on his chest to keep him from getting out of bed. "But you're not well enough!"

Tyson agreed and stepped forward to help in case Ren tried to be stubborn and force his way out. "Stay put, man, you need to rest. Crystal aint going nowhere."

"He's right," said Jeannie. "I'll go make you some food. In the meantime, why don't you recover and take a hot shower? Nick will fix you up and Tyson can get you some new clothes. After you've eaten your fill, we can go see Crystal."

Ren nodded and placed his hands on hers. "Nick must have been born under a lucky star to have a girl like you as a sister."

"Okay!" Nick said, gently pulling Jeannie away. "That's enough of that. Come on Jeannie."

Later, Ren showered and shaved, put on some new clothes that Tyson purchased earlier and went downstairs to eat. Once he was done, he finally got his wish and was driven to Crystal's mansion, well, it was Crystal's mansion now. Ren could not believe where Tyson had taken him.

"Yuri's house!?" he said, looking out the window of the SUV.

"Not anymore it aint," said Tyson. "After Jacob passed away, Paula took the kids to Pennsylvania to live in the country. She sold the estate. Well, Crystal, still having a heart for Yuri despite being pissed off with him, didn't want the estate to go to anyone else. So, she bought it."

"No way," said Ren. "I've got to pay my respects to the Montgomerys when this is all over."

Tyson parked the SUV in front of the fountain. Nick followed Ren out, despite his protests.

"Don't upset her, dude!" said Nick. "She's gotten really mad at you guys."

"Well, now's my chance to make it up with her," said Ren, fixing his jacket.

Nick rang the doorbell and they waited a while before someone answered the door. A blonde woman with her hair tied into a bun answered the door. She was in a clean white blouse and a black business skirt.

"Can I help you, boys?" she asked.

"Who are you?" Nick asked.

"I'm Autumn Williams," said the woman. "I'm to be Crystal's secretary while she's working as CEO of Phobos Corp."

Nick nodded. "Well, congrats on the job, lady. Now if you don't mind, we need to speak with Crystal."

"I'm afraid that's not possible right now," said Autumn.

"Why not?" Ren asked.

"Crystal left days ago on a trip to Greece to celebrate with some friends of hers."

"What?" said Nick. "Wait, did she happen to have a friend with her. A blonde girl with big pigtails with pink tips?"

"Yes," said Autumn. "Her name was Patty. Do you know her?"

"And how," growled Nick. "She's my girlfriend. Why did they need to go all the way to Greece for anyway?"

Autumn shrugged. "Crystal wanted a little free time before she begins her first day at the company. She's going to have a lot to do and wishes to relax with the little time she has left."

"Well, that makes sense," said Ren. "Do you know when she'll be back?"

"Sadly, I do not," said Autumn. "Would you like me to leave her a message for you?"

"No, that's all right," said Ren. "I don't want to disturb her."

"As you wish. Have a good day, boys." Autumn shut the door.

Nick did not approve of Ren's decision. "Come on, man, if you told her you were back, Crystal would have come flying back to Aquarius. She really missed you."

"It's wrong," said Ren. "I can't trouble her now. Not with so much happening in her life."

Tyson got out of the SUV. "So, I take it she's not here?"

"No," said Nick. "She went to Greece, and she took Patty along, too."

Tyson rubbed his chin. "So that's why we couldn't reach her. Man, why wouldn't she tell you?"

Nick's face went red again. "That's what I'd like to know."

"So I take it we wait for them to come back," said Ren.

"Fat chance!" said Tyson. "When Crystal gets into the party life, she might not come back for days."

"Weeks now that she's in Greece," Carter added. "I just checked her Instagram. She's living it up right now."

"So, let's go!" said Nick.

Tyson shook his head. "And how, pray tell, are you going to do that? I mean, you did just finish paying for that Lamborghini which set you back some. And you don't have a contract in the TDF anymore until the next season."

"Oh, right," said Nick.

Jeannie got out of the car. "Why don't we ask Crystal's boyfriend for help?" she suggested.

"Oh," said Ren. "She has a boyfriend now?"

Jeannie nodded. "He's a champion from Spain. He's staying here in Aquarius for a few months. However, I think they got into a fight or something. Still, he's super-rich; and he could be our best shot to finding her."

"Won't a phone call suffice!" Carter suggested from the SUV.

"You don't think we've tried?" said Nick. "She went incognito. Our only chance to get her together with Ren and find Yuri is to go to Greece and track her down."

"But the country is so big," said Ren. "What part did she go to?"

Nick scratched his forehead as he put on his thinking cap. "I don't know. What are the best spots for Crystal to celebrate something like becoming CEO?"

"Maybe Amistad will know," said Jeannie. "It's worth a try."

"Hop in," said Tyson. "I know where he's stayin' at. Crystal took me to his house to watch the Battle City Tournament last week."

They got back on the SUV. Tyson took them to the next island of Aquarius where Amistad was spending the summer in his estate by the sea. He was in the driveway working on a classic muscle car when they drove up to his home. He waved, instantly recognizing Tyson and Nick.

"Fellas," said Amistad, wiping the grease off his hands.

"Hi, Amistad!" Jeannie said sweetly.

"Hello, baby, how are you? Say, the gang's all here. What's the occasion?"

"We need your help, pretty boy!" said Nick, and he said it with authority.

"Calm down, asshole!" Tyson said, punching Nick in the arm. He walked to Amistad and performed a handshake with him. "What's up, man?"

"Nothing much," said Amistad. "Just fixing the old Impala. My dad went on his first date with my mom in this baby."

Tyson nodded his head, whistling at the classic. "Man, he had good taste."

"So what can I do for..." Amistad paused when he saw Ren come out of the SUV. "Hello," he greeted Ren. "Who's that?"

Nick, still rubbing his sore arm, grumbled and said: "This is Crystal's friend, Ren."

Amistad paused. "Ren? Ren Kakihara." He laughed happily and shook his hand. "My goodness, Crystal's told me all about you and Yuri. Is he here?"

"Sadly, no," said Ren. "But that's why we're here. We need your help getting Crystal. She's the key to helping me find, Yuri."

Amistad's face creased in confusion. He scratched his head and chuckled. "Wow...that sounds very mystical. But, Crystal left to celebrate in Athens."

"Greece?" Nick asked.

Whack! Tyson smacked Nick in the back of the head. "OW! You fucker!" Nick shouted.

"No, Athens, Georgia!" said Tyson. "Of course Greece! Forgive him, man. While we were in school studying geography, this dumbass was passing notes to Patty."

"We know she left," said Ren. "But the thing is, we need to see her ASAP. It's of the gravest importance."

"Well, when you put it that way," said Amistad.

Jeannie cooed to get Amistad's attention. "Pardon me for sticking my nose where it doesn't belong, but, why didn't you go with her?"

"We had a bit of an argument the day of Mr. Montgomery's funeral," Amistad answered. "I didn't want to go if it meant making her feel unhappy. What do I care, I've been to every club in Greece."

"Well, we're going to need your help getting there," said Ren. "Crystal needs our help. Amistad, if you truly loved her, you'd help me get to her. With your help, we'll be one step closer to finding Yuri."

Amistad paused. "You serious?"

Ren nodded. "You could make things up with her for this."

"I don't care about that," said Amistad. "Yuri seems to be someone very important to all of you. Not just her. I'm not doing this for her, but for you guys."

"You mean it?" Jeannie said clasping her hands together.

"I do," said Amistad. "Count me in. Besides, Crystal's told me so much about him, even I feel I know him. If what you say is true, then I think it's time I met him. So, count me in."

"You're the best!" said Nick. "Pack your bags, everyone. We're going to Greece!"