During our journey, we have met many new allies, both new and old. It was an unforgettable experience but when we arrive back to visit Luminas and her brother's home, their family and friend welcome them back with open arms. It was then I realized the reason Aquarius loves the human race so much, sure they are flawed but they have a chance to grow and bond with others.
I guess that's why I started to grow fond of the humans too.
Thoth's Journal Entry - Pente
A few days have passed when Delia, Eric, Kayla, and Yugi return to their world. Yugi already went back to Domino City to reunite with his friends and family, Kayla went back to help Karen run the café, but Eric and Delia were admitted to Aceso Children's Hospital. Apparently, it was due to overexertion due to using their newly acquired powers, Eric was very lethargic but still conscious but Delia was still unconscious. Luckily, Eric and Delia share the same hospital room. Eric grunts as he adjusts his bed using a remote for him to sit comfortably. He looks back at Delia's sleeping form, she was back to normal since they came back to their world. His grey eyes tint with worry as she hasn't wakened up yet. Eric's thoughts were still reeling at the who Duel Spirit awakening.
He remembers that Kayla and Yugi were interviewed, but he wasn't sure if they lied or not about visiting the other realm that is ruled by Erebus. He was taken out of his thoughts when he heard the hospital room door open. It was a group of four teenagers; two boys and two girls. Eric knows them as Delia's old band of friends from elementary school. He instantly recognizes the two boys as Tony and Tommy, he always saw Delia with them before they went to attend separate high schools. Tony went to Duel Academia to get more knowledge on dueling while Tommy moves to Domino City's Neo Sector due to his parents' new jobs and attending their version of Duel Academy. Eric didn't know much about the two girls but their names were Hayley and Florien. They also attended the same elementary school and were still in Vitalité City but they rarely see each other now.
Tony had ruby red hair tied into a ponytail with a blue hair band, brown eyes, and fair peach skin. His clothes were a purple shirt with a white collar and torn white sleeves. He wore a ruby bracelet on his right wrist and a white cufflink with a black button on it, blue shorts, grey socks, and white shoes with a red check mark log and soles.
Tommy's hair was short and black with blonde highlights, peach skin, and yellow eyes. He wore circular glass with a yellow frame. His clothes were a simple white shirt, regular jeans, white socks, and brown shoes. He also wears a brown book bag.
Florien had grass green hair and matching eyes plus fair peach skin. She wore a simple green T-shirt with a daisy with four petals on it, a knee-length magenta skirt with a yellow stripe and green knee-length boots. In her arms were a bouquet of daisies, they were for a get-well gift.
"Hey, we came because Delia was in the hospital," Tony said.
"So is she alright?" Florien added.
"She's fine," Eric replied, "She just overexerted herself."
"Overexertion? From what?" Tommy asked, "Eric, you know Delia isn't into extracurricular activities."
Florien was even more curious yet concerned, "So what really happened to her?"
Hayley goes to the right side of Delia's bed and puts her hands up. They started to glow blue energy. Eric was fascinated by the raven-haired girl's power. He did hear about her power from Delia a few times but this was the first time he witnesses them first-hand. Her eyes scanning Delia's entire body. After the scan is done, her hands stop glowing. "Looks like Delia has been spiritually drained," she notes.
"Spiritual drained?" Tony repeated, "But how? Eric, what were you and Delia doing anyway?"
Eric looks down and begins to wonder if he should tell them the truth, but will they believe him?
Florien went to put the bouquet in an empty pot on a table in the middle of Delia and Eric's beds. She then turns to Eric with a stern look, "Eric please tell us what happened? Is there something you're not telling us?"
Eric takes a big breathe and exhales. This was a huge risk since the claims were outlandish and crazy to someone that does not have the same experience as him and his sister. However, they were conveners so magic was not foreign to them. Plus they are Delia's friends so hopefully, they won't rat out them out. "Alright, I'll tell you the truth but promise you won't tell anyone else."
The four friends piped down and were intended to listen to every word. They heard everything from the elder sibling, the dark version of Vitalité City called Vide Ruins, the encounter with other Conveners, the existence and awakening of their Duel Spirits, and Erebus and his follower, who were responsible for the disappearances of both duelists and conveners.
"So let me guess this straight, you and Delia were transported to an alternate world where everything is shrouded in darkness and destruction," Tommy relayed.
"And you encountered other Conveners that were chosen to stay there to help those unfortunate enough to be prey for Erebus?" Tony added.
"And you finally awakened your Duel Spirits which were the ace monsters of Atem Sennen and Jounouchi Katsuya," Hayley finished.
Florien was just listening intently on the whole thing but she wishes that Delia would wake up and collaborate with Eric.
"That's all I know," Eric responded, "Delia told me she was also there but she arrived in that world before I did. But since she's knocked out cold, I'm afraid that you have to wait until she wakes up."
A small groan can be heard and everyone's attention was on Delia. She stirs for a bit before her eyelids flutter open. Everyone was relieved by Delia's awakening.
"Delia!" Florien cried.
"She's awake!" Tony added.
"Where am I?" Delia muttered. She tries to sit up but felt dizzy.
"Relax Delia, you just work up." Tommy puts his hands on her shoulder and adjusts the pillows so Delia can sit comfortably.
"Delia, Eric told us what happened there," Tony explained. "You over exerted yourself when your Duel Spirit, Black Magician* awakened."
"So you guys already know?" Delia asked, "You're not mad or consider me crazy?"
"Delia, we're your friends plus were also conveners, magic isn't totally foreign to us," Tony assured. The red-haired boy's explanation eases Delia worries. She underestimated her bond with her friends.
"I'm sorry I wasted your time," she muttered.
"Delia, you're our friend," Tony reminded, "Sure we wasted our time but it was for a good cause. You were in the hospital and unconscious for a few days. We feared the worst and went to see you." Delia was overwhelmed by how sincere her old elementary friends were and felt guilty she cut off ties with them after elementary school. When they went their separate ways, she let them go as she didn't want to interfere with their happiness. She felt her heart swell from the loyalty and devotion her friends were giving her. She will never forget this moment.
After Tony, Tommy, Hayley and Florien visit, Delia and Eric were given a few routine hospital checks before they were discharged for good health. Michelle and Danny were the ones to take them back home. The ride back home was awkwardly silent, Eric was sitting in the passenger seat while Delia sat at the backseat with Danny. The blue haired boy decides to break the silence and asks Delia about her and Eric's condition, "So what happened to you two? I mean you were gone for two days and then you suddenly came back along with a cafe waitress named Kayla and one of the Legendary Duelists, Yugi Mutou."
"Well uh," Delia stuttered before clearing her throat and finishing the conversation, "It's a long story, I'll tell you about it when we get back to the mansion."
Michelle decides to advert the conversation, "Speaking of stories I had a call yesterday from this Yugi person. He told me about you, Kayla, and Eric entering this other world."
Delia was taken aback, Eric shared the same sentiments. "The hell? Why would Yugi tell you guys? This was supposed to be private!"
"Well, he contacted us yesterday but you and Delia were still in the hospital," Michelle explained, "During the conversation, one of his friends blurted something about Duel Spirits and the other world you were sucked into. This caused at least an hour of explanation and then Yugi spilled everything on us."
"I didn't believe it at first but when you look at it, makes a whole lot sense," Danny added.
Michelle's pristine white car pulls up in front of her mansion's front yard and everyone exits the car. "There are some people I want you to meet. Yugi insists that he bring them here." The brunette woman with light blue highlights leads the three teenagers to the kitchen. They froze as they quickly found out the people Yugi bought. Atem Sennen, the Duel King of Domino City, and Jounouchi Katsuya, the legendary underdog duelist.
Atem shares the same outrageous hairstyle as Yugi's with some extra blond bangs sticking out, dark purple eyes, and tanned skin. He wore a blue jacket stylized as a cape, black leather shirt and matching pants with two belts (one is used to hold his deck holsters), and black shoes with studded straps. His additional accessories were golden earrings, a black choker, golden armlets, and studded bracelets.
Jounouchi Katsuya has shaggy blonde hair and honey brown eyes. He wore a green jacket over a white T-shirt with a blue stripe around the chest area, jeans, and black and white tennis shoes.
Delia notices two other people, she didn't recognize. The first one was a girl with shoulder-length brown hair with blue eyes. Her clothes were a pink coat over a yellow tube top, pink shorts with a blue belt, thigh-high black socks, and red pumps. The second was a boy with brown hair fashioned into a pointed edge and matching eyes. He wore a simple black coat over a white shirt, jeans, and brown shoes.
"Whoa, Atem Sennen, Yugi Mutou, and Jounouchi Katsuya!" Danny cried in excitement, "They're like the greatest dueling legends! Delia, Eric this is like a dream come true!"
"I guess your cousin is a huge fan of us," Yugi stated, "Anyway, these are our friends, Anzu Mazaki* and Honda Hiroto*."
"Nice to meet you," Anzu meekly greeted.
"Yo!" Honda exclaimed.
"Now that the introductions are done. Delia, Eric, Yugi told us you have the spirits of Black Magician and Red Eyes inside of you," Jounouchi was blunt and quick to the point of the reason why he and the others were here.
"Yeah, we do but what does actually need us for?" Eric was confused, what were Yugi and his friends really here for?
"You have your decks with you right?" Atem asked.
The Rose Siblings exchange worried glances, but Yugi assures them they won't judge their decks too harshly. Delia gives Atem both her Water and Dark decks, while Eric gives Jounouchi his Dragon and Winged Beast Deck. Both of the legendary duelists shuffle through both siblings' decks until they notice some crucial details.
"Delia, why did you put your Ritual Monsters in your Extra Deck?" Atem asked.
"Hey, Eric can you explain why there are Fusion Monsters in your Main Deck?" Jounouchi added.
Yugi, Anzu, and Honda inch closer to see the Rose Siblings' decks. Sure enough, both of Delia's decks had Ritual Spell Cards in the main deck, but the Ritual Monsters were in Extra Deck. Eric made the opposite mistake by putting the Fusion Monsters in the Main Deck. Eric and Delia are abashed when the duelists called them out on their mistakes. "Sorry about that, you see Delia and I are getting into the game," Eric explained, "So we got the summoning cards mixed up."
That explains a bit, Delia and Eric were still novice duelists, so they were bound to make a few beginner mistakes. Jounouchi and Atem take a closer look at their decks. The blonde duelist frowns, their ace cards were not in their decks.
"Everything okay?" Danny asked.
"Well yeah, it's just since Delia has Atem's Black Magician and Eric has my Red Eyes we just assumed that their card forms would be in their decks," Jounouchi explained.
"You know I didn't think about that," Eric pondered.
"Uh, what?" Danny was confused, what were his cousins, the Legendary Duelists, and their friends talking about?
Eric recognizes Danny's confusion and explains the situation, "Oh right, Danny you weren't there when we venture to the dark version of our world." This made the blue haired boy even more confused, "Dark version of our world what are you talking about?" Delia then steps in and explains about the dark world that Erebus created, how she and Kayla were dragged here probably by random. The encounter of the other conveners, Sari, Tsuki, Kuoni, and Terra D. Finally, the existence and awakening of their Duel Spirits.
"So wait a minute, this dark god, Erebus was created from the darkness from our hearts?" Anzu grasped, "And it has created a dark version of your home, Vitalité City called the Vide Ruins?"
"And you along with this girl, Kayla, were unfortunate enough to be his latest victims?" Honda added, "But you somehow evade capture and quickly found shelter at a nearby park."
"Then you encounter Sari," Yugi finished, "but when she left she found me and teleported back to your base both of you were gone. You returned and brought Tsuki, Kuoni, Terra D and Eric with you. All of them were conveners right?"
"Actually Delia is; Eric is not," Danny clarified, "In fact, I haven't seen him use any powers."
Jounouchi was skeptical, "Wait if that's the case then how the hell does Eric have Red Eyes Black Dragon inside of him?"
"Maybe Delia and Eric have enough energy inside of them to conjure our Ace Monsters," Atem reasoned, "They don't need to be a convener in order to have one."
"You mean as the Ancient Egyptians did?" Anzu asked.
Atem nods in agreement, his attention adverts to the Rose Siblings, "Do you know about duel monsters that were inside of people during ancient times?" Eric was clueless about the topic, but Delia knows about the concept. She was on the fence on whether those were really true. Atem decides to continues, "In Ancient Egypt, people had Duel Spirits inside them that reflect their nature. Their fuel was their Spirit Energy, Ba."
This caught Delia's curiosity, what was so important about Spirit Energy?
"Spirit Energy is the person's life source, it is needed for the creation of your Ka or Duel Spirit in modern times," Yugi explained. "If you are good then you will have a good Ka. However, if you are bad then you will have a demon Ka. Those that have Duel Spirits inside of them are called Duel Spirits Possessors."
"Duel Spirit Possessors?" Eric grasped, "That's a bit long for a title but that sounds pretty cool.
"Yeah but since we found the ones that have Black Magician and Red Eyes Black Dragon in their bodies what about our cards?" Jounouchi asked.
Delia was baffled, what was the blonde duelist talking about?
"Delia, you haven't heard about the news? A few months ago, certain Duel Monster cards haven't appeared in hologram form," Anzu explains. Delia was surprised, she never heard of that before though she was slow when it comes to recent news.
"There have been reports that certain Duel Monster Cards weren't appearing in holograms during duels," Honda expanded, "We saw it first hand when Atem and Jounouchi were dueling. When Atem was summoning Black Magician he didn't appear in the duel. The same thing happened to Jounouchi when he tried summoning Red-Eyes Black Dragon. At first, we thought there was something wrong with the Duel Disk and sent them back to Kaiba Corp for repairs."
"But the duel disks were working fine," Jounouchi explained, "And this baffles us for some time. Then Yugi went missing for six weeks when he came to visit Vitalité City. We looked everywhere for him, six weeks later we had to return to school without him but we kept the story alive. When searching for clues, we notice cases similar to Yugi's. All of them disappeared under similar circumstances. Then a few days, Yugi seemingly returns and elaborated that you and Eric had our monsters' spirits inside of you. It all started to click."
"So what are you going to do with us?" Eric asked.
"Well, in ancient times, Pharaohs and Priests would use Sennen Items to extract the person's Ka and put them in stone tablets." The tri-colored man then takes out an upside-down gold puzzle and puts it around his neck, "And I have one of them. This is called the Sennen Puzzle."
"So wait, you're going to take Delia and my souls to return your cards to normal?" Eric accused.
"No, of course not!" Yugi argued, "We're going to contact Ishizu-san about this since has more knowledge of this. For now, we're keeping this under wraps. Your aunt and cousin are already informed and so are my friends since I trust them not to spill the secret."
Delia nods in agreement, "Thank you, Yugi."
Yugi smiles at Delia's sincere gratitude, but notices how quiet and strained her voice was. The words struggling to be heard. He wonders if there is anything wrong with her voice.
"Sorry about that," Danny apologized, "Delia isn't good with words so she uses actions instead." Delia blushes profusely in embarrassment after Danny's comment. The multi-colored boy was confused, when they were in the other world, Delia had no problem speaking with others. But here, she's quiet and meek and lets others explain for her. Yugi wonders if it's the environment.
"Alright then, since all said and done. We're going to help you fight this Erebus God!" Jounouchi gets up from his seat in a declaration. Delia blinks in confusion at Jounouchi's statement, wait they're okay with this? Helping them out fight Erebus? She gives some more thought as they do need more help in fighting this dark God. The light blue haired girl makes her decision and agrees that Yugi and his friends will help in the growing conflict.
However, deep down she wonders what happened to those that were captured by Erebus's Underlings? She hopes nothing bad happens to them.
Lavender stomps down the hallways of her base with clear irritation etched on her face. "I can't believe it," she huffed, "To think that Duel Spirit Possessors still exist. This just makes things more complicated. For the first few months, things were going off without a hitch but now some of the conveners have eluded capture. Now we have identified two of our newest targets as Duel Spirit Possessors! This makes thing even worse!"
"Yes, it has been a predicament," Scarlet mutters, "So why are we going to one of our testing rooms?"
"To see if the copies are done, silly," Lavender explained, "The duelists and conveners we captured were quite a catch. Especially since we capture a few legacy duelists."
The two women stop in front of two closed metal doors with the label TR-01. The doors automatically slide open to reveal a few people that were restrained by blue strings flowing with energy. "Scarlet do you know the true reason on why we call certain duelists legacy duelists?" Lavender asked. Scarlet was taken aback by her superior's question then responds with a simple no. Lavender continues and answers her simple question, "You see there were six realms. Each one was their own world, some were connected to one timeline while others were their own."
"Six? There were six other realms that function just like ours?" Scarlet interrogated.
"Why yes, but there is one thing all of them had in common, Duel Monsters," Lavender takes out a duel monster card from her pocket. "To think that this card game would have so much significance in the six realms. Anyway, the real reason they're called legacy duelists is that they originated from the original six realms."
"What happened to the six other realms?" Scarlet asked.
"They were destroyed by Erebus himself," Lavender replied as a dark aura surrounded herself, "They were powerless as he destroys each world into barren wastelands leaving no human life behind. It was glorious, he succeeded six times and now this time he would succeed again. And this time is humanity's last chance, and I'll be the one to squander it to the point that the Gods decide to recreate a new realm in which humans will not exist."
Scarlet was both unnerved and confused by Lavender's ramblings. Six realms before this one? Who were these Gods? She decides to ask one question at a time even tough her realm was reeling from all the information. "So what were these realms called?"
"They didn't have real names but they went by the codenames DM2000, GX2004, 5DS2008, ZEXAL2011, ARCV2014, and VRAINS2017." Lavender explained, "If there were any people present in the previously destroyed realms that they are labeled Legacy Characters. However, if the legacy character is a duelist then they're called Legacy Duelists."
"But how could that be?" Scarlet argued, "I thought every single human begin that inhabited those six realms were killed by Erebus."
"The human spirit is stubborn dear Scarlet," Lavender countered, "Even if the body is dead the spirit will live on and it seems a higher being had a hand in bringing some of these Legacy Characters back."
The two ladies look up to see one of the unfortunate captives. It was a teenage boy about 15 or 16 years old with blue spiky hair. His clothes consist of a blue above-waist-length jacket with dark blue outlines, over a lavender shirt with frilled cuffs, black pants with a white belt, and brown and white boots.
A screen suddenly pops up in front of the two women. It was their lead scientist of the Erebus Followers, Paradox. "Paradox," Lavender commanded, "Is the Dark Essence ready?"
"It is ready but it's still in the testing stages," Paradox replied.
"I do not care. Give me the current one and begin the operation."
The scientist was caught off guard but allowed his superior to continue operation, "Of course, Lavender-sama." The screen fizzes out and an orange orb suddenly appears on top of the bound teenager. It then melts into an amber liquid and pours itself all over him until it gathers at the floor into a small puddle. It then manifests into a perfect copy the only difference was glowing red eyes and a sinister dark aura to signify Erebus's power.
Lavender was pleased with the results, "Excellent since the Dark Essence is still in the test phases perhaps a little test run will help for further research and development."
Delia sighs in disbelief. Her legs swung back and forth as she sitting on one of the park brick benches. She was back in Topiary Park in all of its exquisite creative shrubs and topiaries with all the artists happily drawing and painting their new artwork and guitarists creating a new song or practicing an already existing one.
'Hard to believe that there are two versions of Vitalité City, this one and the dark one called Vide Ruins,' Delia mentally ponders, 'I wonder if there are more places that Erebus infected? That other dark dimension that Erebus resides.' "The Erebus Realm," she mutters as she decides to call the other world.
"Did you say something, Delia?"
Delia looks up and was shocked that Atem was here. "Atem-san!" Delia exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"
"Just to ask you about something," Atem replied. Delia was quite taken aback about the tanned man's response, there was no way a powerful duelist with the title of Duel King would be interested in talking with her unless.
"Is it about Black Magician?" Delia brings up.
"Yes, it is about my ace monster but also you," Atem said truthfully.
"About me?" Delia was now confused.
The tri-color boy nods in response and continues, "Yugi told me about your behavior." Delia looks down in shame. "There's nothing wrong about being shy and quiet. In fact, Yugi used to to be like you." This caught Delia's interest, "He did?"
Atem nods in confirmation, "Of course, he used to be a recluse and would play games all the time, but once I came into his life he started to become more confident and made friends. Delia listen, I've seen your deck and you have great potential but your problem is your confidence and pride."
"But isn't too much pride bad?" Delia argued.
"Yes it is but too little will leave you weak willed and self-doubtful," Atem disputed, "I'm going to help you become a better duelist."
Delia was skeptical, how was Atem going to teach her? She already knows the basics of dueling so what was the Duel King going to teach her?
"In order to become a better duelist you must have the pride and confidence of one," Atem explains, "And I'm going to help you get there."
"You will?" Delia asked.
Atem nods in agreement, "I will but only if you will let me." Delia looks down in deep thought, the King of Games was willing to teach her a novice duelist to become a better one. Maybe this would be good for her besides she really needs some self-esteem boosting. "I'll do it!" Delia declared. The Egyptian man was pleased with her answer and gets up from his seat, "I'll be waiting at the Kaiba Corp. Dueling Center."
"Kaiba Corp. Dueling Center?" Delia grasped.
"Yes, it's where duelists gathered to hone their dueling skills," Atem explained, "I'll be waiting for you along with my friends. Farewell, don't forget to come to the Dueling Center before dark." Delia waves goodbye as the tanned man leaves.
"That was really nice of Atem to take the offer," Delia muttered, "But first I need to talk to my friends." It was a weird thing to do, but she has a lot of time before dusk to reconnect with her friends. They did take the time to visit in her hospital when she was in a comatose state. Suddenly a shadowy figure with stars peeks from behind the trees. Delia feels its presence but when she looks up to find the source the figure was gone.
- Russet Apartment Complex -
Delia walks towards a ten foot high, brick building with a russet color. It was composed of five smaller beings due to the different shades and white roofs. In front of it was an ivory face with an intercom attached to the left side. She presses a button and voice was heard from it.
"Hello, welcome to the Russet Apartment Complex, can I help you?"
"Yes, I'm a friend of one of your residents in your complex," Delia replied.
"State that Apartment number and resident's last name," The intercom adds.
"Apartment Number 78, Brown," Delia responded.
Bing! The fence automatically opens. Delia walks in and the fence closes behind her. Even though it has been so long, she still remembers the area pretty well. She reminiscences on how she and Tony would play high and seek behind the bushes and shrubby. Delia sighs, it's been so long since she mingles with Tony. She was aware that Tony looks different after the 6 to the 7-year gap. "I guess we have a lot of catching up to do," Delia mutters. She goes up a flight of stairs and stops at a door labeled No. 78. She takes a deep breath and knocks on the door.
"I'll be right there," a male voice responded. The door opens to reveal Tony's father, Rudith Brown. He had light brown hair and matching eyes. He wore an open orange vest over a black T-shirt with a white stripe around the chest area and sleeves, jeans and orange shoes.
"Hello, Mr. Brown," Delia greeted.
"Hello Delia, are you here to visit Tony?" Rudith asked.
Delia nods in agreement and enters the room. Rudith closes the door behind them and Delia was greeted with the living room and walk-in kitchen. The living room has brown wooden floors, beige walls, and a white ceiling. The furniture was a brown couch with white and beige pillows, a brown rug, matching coffee table and flat screen TV attached to the wall. The kitchen has beige tiles and white walls with all the kitchen appliances (like the oven, microwave, and kitchen) and a kitchen island.
Delia looks around both areas, but Tony was nowhere in sight. "Tony is in his room," Rudith informs the young girl. Delia nods and goes to a mahogany door. She knocks on it and the door opens revealing the red-haired boy. "Hey Delia, are you here to hang out?" Tony asked. Delia nods and goes inside. She looks around and notices not much has changed after 6 or 7 years. The walls were brown with a red, orange and yellow flame pattern and a white stripe. There was a wooden bed with brown sheets with pink and white pillows. A simple wooden desk with a lamp, some posters of cafés, a bookcase that was filled with cookbooks, and a wooden chest that holds all his childhood toys. Tony then ushers Delia to sit on his bed. Delia sat on the left side and Tony settles beside her.
"You feeling alright?" Tony asked, "You just got back from the hospital."
"Yeah, I'm fine," Delia replied meekly.
"So how was your awakening?" Tony integrated.
Delia looks up to her childhood friend with skepticism. "It was cool, I guess," she muttered.
Tony nods at her response but understands that awakening a Duel Spirit for the first time is hard to put into words.
Delia decides to change the subject, "So how's Duel Academia Island?"
"It was great," Tony replied, "Although I'm still getting used to the school's social hierarchy."
"Duel Academia's School Hierarchy?" Delia grasped.
Tony continues his explanation, "Yeah, you see Duel Academia Island is divided into three divisions. There's Osiris* Red, Ra Yellow, and Obelisk Blue. Obelisk Blue is the highest rank with lots of luxury. That's where the best duelists hang out. Ra Yellow is the middle rank with okay arrangements. Finally, Osiris Red is the lowest rank."
"Sounds like a class system to me," Delia comments.
"Yeah, some of the Blue students did get there through connections but most of them achieve their rank through hard work," Tony added.
"So what dorm are you in?" Delia asked.
"Osiris Red Dorm," Tony replied, "The place is not too bad if you disregard the cockroaches."
"Do you have your uniform with you?" Delia pressed.
Tony gets up and retrieves his uniform from his closet to show her. It was a red jacket with a white band around the shoulder with a button and another to wrap around the bottom of the jacket, zipper jeans which allow Tony to use it as shorts during mid-spring to late summer, and red and black boots. He then shows his cap that goes with his uniform with the words Osiris imprinted on it.
"So it's okay to wear modified uniforms?" Delia asked.
Tony clarifies, "As long as it's not too different than the original. The school recently approved this rule."
Delia decides to dive into another topic, "Okay did you make any new friends."
"Of course," Tony replied, "remember Selene and Tonya?" Delia remembers Selene as one of Danny's old friend and Tonya was Tony's half-sister. Although, the two step-siblings seem to be on good terms. The light blue haired girl pressed on the topic, "Do you have other friends?" Tony validates the assumption, "Of course, I made about four new friends. Their names are Yasuhiko Tanka*, Yukino Fujiwara*, and Mamoru Hatsugokoro*." Delia was interested in his new school friend, "Really can you tell me more about them?"
Tony expands more on the three friends he made in Duel Academia, "Well, Mamoru was the first friend I made in Osiris Red. He told me all the basics of dueling and how to expand my deck. Yukino Fujiwara is a girl oozing with pride and confidence, but deep down she is sweet and caring. Finally, Yashuhiko is a headstrong guy, but is kind to others and not as stuck up as the other Obelisk Students."
Delia nods in response, those students Tony describe must be good friends. Why else would he talk about them so fondly? Her mind wanders about breaking the news about being under Atem's wing. "Delia?" Tony asked, "Is something wrong? You went silent all of a sudden." It wasn't uncommon for Delia to be quiet and non-talkative but she was comfortable talking to him and the others. Delia looks up and decides to tell him about the news. "Wait a minute, Atem Sennen? Duel King of Domino City?" Tony said incredulously, "That's incredible!" Delia was confused, what was so great about being a pupil to the Duel King? She was just going there to get some tips on dueling plus some confidence boosting. "That means Atem sees something special about you," Tony explained, "Many people would die to learn under his wing. You taking that chance is a once in a lifetime thing! So when are you meeting Atem?"
"I'm meeting him before dusk at the Kaiba Corp Dueling Center," Delia replied, "But I thought it would be a great idea to see all of you again."
"It has been a long time since we hang out," Tony points out, "I know why don't we all hang out at Dueling Center once you get in touch with everyone?"
Delia agrees with that arrangement. She gets up from her seat on Tony's bed and tells him that she will get everyone together.
"Alright, then, I'll be at the KC Dueling Center and wait for everyone to come," Tony added.
Both Delia and Tony were smiling unaware of the glint shining from both their respective trinkets (Delia's Star Necklace and Tony's Ruby Bracelet).
- Akia Building Complex -
Delia was now in front of a grey building. Unlike Tony's apartment complex, this one was more modern. Its design was mostly blocky and asymmetrical plus not all of the rooms have balconies. Small, thin trees line up around it on the ground floor. She enters through one of the four double doors of the building.
The reception room was very open, a spiral staircase reaches the second floor which contains a computer room for the residents and visitors to enjoy. The floors were out of marble and the walls were a creamy white. Beige couches with white pillows were evenly spaced on the first floor. Delia goes up to the reception desk and asks the receptionist where the Brain Family's room is. The receptionist's eyes lit up in recognition, "You must be Delia! Tommy's friend right?" Delia nods in confirmation. The staff in the Akia Building Complex were well acquainted with the Brain Family before they moved to the Neo Sector of Domino City. After they moved away, the staff decide to keep their old room intact when the family decides to come back for visits. Delia walks up to the elaborate spiral staircase and goes to the left. She scans the hallway of doors until she stops in front of a room with the Numbers 7812. She knocks on it a few times. Click! The doorknob turns and the door was ajar to reveal Tommy peeking out.
"Hey, Delia," Tommy greeted, "Are you here to visit?" Delia nods in confirmation and enters the room. Tommy closes the door behind him and she notices that there wasn't much difference when she last visited the place. The living room had neutral beige wooden floors with plain white walls and ceiling, and a window with sliding doors. The furniture was a grey couch, a glass side table with some yellow flowers, and a flat-screen TV attached to the wall. There was an additional walk-in kitchen with all the current appliances (a refrigerator, oven, microwave, and mini-oven), a small pantry to store food, and some cabinets above the sink to store dishes.
Delia looks around and notices something. "Where are your parents?" she asked.
"They went out for a bit, they'll be back by nighttime," Tommy replied with a shrug, "Do you want to talk in my room?" Delia nods in response and follows Tommy to his room. It was quite small as it was mostly white with the only furniture being a weird shaped desk, a laptop, and a small game station. A small window with yellow curtains was beside it. Tommy then goes to the wall across from his small furniture and pushes back a small portion of it. He pulls on it which reveals a hidden bed with yellow sheets and white pillows. Delia instinctively sits on the bed while Tommy boots up his laptop and effortlessly types on the keyboard. She watches him with intent as he searches through various topics on Ancient Egypt, Spirits, the origins of Duel Monsters, and finally Erebus and the Tag Force. The duo colored hair boy then ushers the young teen girl to see his laptop, "Hey Delia, come look at this!" Delia peeks a look at Tommy's electronic, it shows images of stone tables with Duel Monsters carved into them that dates back to Ancient Egypt. She recognizes one of the carvings as Black Magician. The girl then adverts her attention back to Tommy to ask him the importance of showing her these tablets.
"I believe this is what you were talking about," Tommy explained, "During Ancient Egypt, Priests and Priestesses would use magic items specifically the Sennen Items. You did mention that Atem already knows about the legend right?" Delia nods and also tells him that Atem is in possession of one, the Sennen Puzzle. Tommy then switches to another topic, "Do you still have the Dueling Legends Book with you?" Delia shook her head no, she always left it back in the mansion inside the safety of her room. She felt there was no incentive to carry it around. "Do you remember the Erebus and Tag Force Story?" Tommy added.
Delia still remembers her favorite tale vividly. The story about the origin of Erebus and how Aquarius, the Goddess of Water gives her life to stop Erebus from destroying the world. Hundreds of years later, Thoth came down to Earth to learn more about humanity as well as dealing with the grief of losing Aquarius. She remembers that after the water goddess's death, Thoth was left with a blue egg which hatches into Ophelia, a bird rumored to have powers to alter reality. Erebus came back and captured Ophelia for its own use. Thoth searches far and wide for the ones that could help him take down the dark God. Apparently, the chosen ones were Luminas, Aquarius's human reincarnation, and her older brother, who was the best in his village but his name was lost due to time. Both of them created the Tag Force which was forged by their strong sibling bond and the connections they have with their family and friends. After going through many grueling trials, they confront Erebus but the brother sacrifices himself to stop him as Aquarius did before. His body and soul broke apart and went to the remains of the six destroyed worlds. After her brother's 'death', Luminas went to Thoth's temple where she spent the rest of her days. Before her death, she created six Tag Force Artifacts to help those chosen in order to stop Erebus once again.
"So we know that Erebus is real and very much alive in his home domain," Tommy deducts, "but if that's the case then the Tag Force should be as well."
"But Tommy, the Tag Force is the bonds that people have with each other," Delia argues, "Even if the artifacts aren't found then we'll create our own to defeat Erebus!"
"Delia..." Tommy was unsure as this is the first time that Delia was aplomb. At that moment she was filled with resoluteness and determination, he wonders if her Duel Spirit awakening boosted her confidence. He smiles and unbeknownst to them, his Topaz Ring hung loosely around his neck and her Star Necklace glinted for a fraction of a second.
- Carnation Garden -
A garden with a variety of carnations was in clear vision of Delia's sight. Red (in lighter and darker shades), white, yellow, pink, purple, and green colors greet the young girl's eyes. She was amazed at the different variants there were. However, she knows that they're all carnations since Florien told her they all fall into the same genus group, Dianthus. Delia looks around and finds a path that leads to an open area in which she sees Florien tending to some of the carnations by watering them with a watering can.
Delia takes the path and the open area was a clearing with fresh cut grass and some picnic tables. The lime green haired girl was crouching down, her back towards Delia, replenishing the thirsty flowers.
"Florien!" Delia cried.
The green-eyed girl was caught off guard, but she turns around and smiles when she sees her childhood friend. "Hello, Delia! Come let's sit in one of the picnic tables!" She goes the nearest picnic table and ushers Delia to sit in the same spot beside her. Delia complies and Florient begins up a simple topic, "So how's school?"
"School's okay, I guess," Delia simply replied. She and Danny were currently attending Sakura High School in Vitalité City. Sakura High was a private school and have their own uniform. The girls wear a simple white collar T-shirt with a blue tie or bow, a knee-length blue skirt, white or black socks, and simple brown or maroon dress shoes. The boys wear a simple blue jacket over a white collar T-shirt with a blue tie, blue jeans, white or black socks, and brown or maroon shoes. Delia was quite jealous that the boys were lucky to wear long sleeve jackets and pants during winter to keep themselves warm. She didn't mind the uniform, the only problem she did have is that it looks plain and restrictive which contradicts Vitalité City's theme of creativity and energy. Shouldn't the students have more freedom with their dress code? Regardless, Delia lets it slide since it is a private school and they decide whether or not to allow a school uniform of it.
Florien looks up and sees the sight of the elementary school that she, Hayley, Delia, Tony, and Tommy all attended. The children were playing at the playground. Most of them were at the jungle gym, monkey bars, or slides. Sometimes, she misses the days of playing without a care in the world. However, due to the looming threat of a dark God that can end humanity, things have started to become more somber but there was a chance to beat it.
"Florien?" Delia asked in concern.
Florien looks back at Delia and just shook her head, "I'm just thinking about simpler times. Peace, tranquility, and togetherness." Delia smiles at Florien's simple mindset, but she wonders if it was a façade to ignore much heavier topics since she is still a young girl. Delia was young herself, but she could handle darker and more mature subjects better than most people her age could. Her friends would comment that she was dubbed an 'old soul' when she tackles deeper subjects like aging, corporate corruption, future job employment, relationship, and even death. However, it is how she approaches them leads many people to believe she seems pessimistic and cynical. This gives them the impression that she was an angsty teen. However, her friends especially Tommy believe that she was looking at things more realistically, but she needs to be more positive as she has plenty of time to improve once the time comes to challenge those themes.
Florien then switches to a different topic, "I'm just glad you came to visit. Your last one was after we graduate from elementary school. After that, you stopped coming."
"I was busy with other things," Delia countered, "You know with school and everything. Time just past by so fast."
"It really does," Florien commented, "Although it is nice to catch up with everyone."
The two girls smile as they enjoy each other's company. "It is," Delia added. She looks at the elementary school she fondly remembers. The building was two floors high but was many floors wide. The front yard of the school was very large with lots of colorful circles and other drawings.
"So I heard you are Atem's pupil," Florien said. That statement caught Delia off-guard, how did she know that? Then she remembers that she told Tony, and Tommy already figured that out. "Word gets around pretty fast especially when you're in a social media group," Florien states. Delia face faulted, maybe she should've kept it a secret. Anything and everything spread fast on social media. "Don't worry, Delia," Florien reassured, "Tony, Tommy, Hayley, and I are only ones in that social media group. Since you're reconnecting with us, I think you should create an account so we can add you to our group." Delia requests the name of the website and the group name. "Oh the website is called Cardinal-Call and our group is called the Color Kids," Florien replied. Delia was baffled by the chosen group name and wonders what the meaning was behind it. Florien was happy to explain, "Well since the city we live in is full of color and oozing creativity and energy, I thought it would be appropriate to name ourselves that. Plus we have different color motifs which perfectly matches the theme! Mine is green, Tony's red, Tommy's yellow, Hayley's dark blue. So what color do you want to be?"
"Light blue," Delia replied, "I think it fits."
"Good," Florien said, "So once you have the time, create your own Cardinal-Call account, find our social group chat, Color Kids, and ask for a request to join and we'll add you instantly!" The green haired girl the moves on to another topic, "Okay, next topic! I decide to get into Duel Monster and created a plant deck! Can you take a closer look and see what I should improve?" Delia takes the stack of cards from Florien and shuffles through it. Her eyes scan intently through all the monster, spell, and trap cards. The monsters were mostly Earth Attribute with Plant and/or Insect type. The monsters that Delia was mostly interested in was the Aroma archetype. It depicts elegant pictures of various girls and one male carrying tools against a background adorned with flowers. She stops on the two unique monsters in her deck, Flower Princess and Queen Flora.
Flower Princess was a Level 6 monster with 2300 ATK and 2600 DEF. Her attribute was Earth and was an effect monster. Her description reads, 'When this monster is Normal Summon, she will gain 200 ATK for every Plant-type and Earth attribute on the field. If she is Special Summoned, she gains 500 DEF for every Plant-type and Earth attribute monster in the graveyard.' She was depicted as a girl in her late teens with magenta and light blonde hair, green eyes, and fair peach skin. Her accessories were a pink tulip crown, a single earing with a leaf dangling on a gold chain and a pearl necklace with a daisy charm. Her clothes were a light green vest with a four leaf clover design over a light blue shirt, a magenta petal skirt in two different colors, and white flats.
Queen Flora was a Level 8 monster with 2800 ATK and 3000 DEF. She was an effect monster and her attribute was Earth. Her description reads, 'When this monster is Normal Summoned, you can destroy your opponent's spell and trap cards depending on how many Plant and Earth attribute monster you have on your side of the field. When this monster is Special Summoned, she can attack by the same amount of monster your opponent controls.' Her depiction was of a young woman with scarlet red hair, blue eyes, and fair peach skin. Her accessories were a crown of leaves with a light blue daisy on top, light blue diamond necklace. She wore a red dress with a petal-like skirt over a light blue shirt and light yellow, high heels. She was holding her light blue daisy staff proudly in her right arm.
Delia was impressed by the effects of Florien's two ace monsters especially their effects. They change depending on how the monsters are summoned.
"Pretty impressive huh?" Florien commented, "Go with a deck that mostly consist of Earth Attribute monsters to support them is pretty neat!" Delia agrees, a deck to support her two ace monsters was a pretty good start. "Since you, Tony, and Tommy are into dueling, I thought I would join in as well! Anyway, Tony also told us that you're going to meet Atem at the Kaiba Corp Dueling Center. So can I come too?"
Delia says yes and Florien was delighted. The light blue haired girl then gets up from her spot, Florien thinks she is going to meet Hayley. "Are you going to find her?" Delia nods in response. The green haired girl explains that the psychic wielder was on the other side of the city. Delia sighs in disappointment, why was Hayley so far away? In the past, Hayley lived very close to their elementary school. Florien explains that after they graduated, her family moved to the other side of the city due to job opportunities.
Delia decides to go visit Hayley despite the long distance. Her choice of transportation was bus travel. The local buses were very custom made as they have their own style and unique designs. The artwork was always captivating to the young teen girl. She sits down on one of the bus stop station's benches and waits for the next bus. Delia fishes out her pink cellphone from her jeans pocket and goes online to research Cardinal-Call. The link to the website was the first thing to pop up on the search engine. She clicks on it with the touch of her finger. She was about to sign up when a bus pulls up. She quickly puts her phone away and jogs towards the bus when the driver opens the door.
"Where to miss?" The bus driver asks when Delia boards the bus.
Delia remembers Florien saying the area where Hayley was at. "Ayla District," she said.
"Oh, that's pretty far miss, at the other side of the city," the bus driver points out.
"I'm willing to travel that far," Delia shrugged at the bus driver's comment. The bus driver takes it as is and Delia's takes her seat a few rows behind the driver.
She takes out her phone again and logs into her new account. There were many options in terms of colors and themes for your profile page. She chooses the light blue color and the underwater theme for her page. She then looks for her old friends' social group, Color Kids. She automatically sends the request the looks at all through the current members' pages. First was Tony's his account was CompassionFire09 his profile page was red and his theme was fire. The second was Tommy's, his account was IntellectLight11, his profile page was yellow and his theme was light. The third was Florien's, her account name was CarnationFlora03, the page's color was green and her theme was flowers and other plants. Finally was Hayley's, her account page was ESP07, the color was dark blue and her theme was fireflies. Delia takes a closer look at their postings.
Tony's postings were mostly him in Duel Academia Island. Delia smiles at the pictures of the Osiris Red Dorm. She scrolls down and sees pictures of Selene wearing the male Ra Uniform and Tonya, his step-sister wearing the Osiris Red female uniform.
Delia scrolls further down and sees a picture with his classmate, which she assumes was Mamoru. He has blonde hair that was slightly spiky, brown eyes, and regular peach skin. He wore the standard Osiris Red male uniform, with a yellow shirt underneath, grey jeans and his uniform red and black boots.
Below that picture was a girl and a boy wearing blue versions of Tony and Tonya's uniforms with small smiles on their faces. The girl had lavender hair tied into two pigtails with light yellow hair accessories, red eyes, and fair peach skin. She wore the standard female Obelisk Blue attire with a black tank top and blue boots. The boy had short purple hair, grey eyes, and tanned skin. He wore the standard male Obelisk Blue uniform which was a blue long-tailed jacket with white trimmings, a black shirt underneath, two black belts around the waist, jeans, and his school's standard blue and black boots. The picture was labeled Yukiko and Yasuhiko.
She scrolls further until something catches her eye. There was a picture of Tony wearing his uniform but it looks like he was surprised before the flash of his phone. Her eyes widen when she recognizes the person. It was Judai Yuki*, the Duel King of Duel Academia Island. She heard about him when researching on the different archetypes and randomly came across the Hero Archetype. Delia knows that Tony's father used to run a Masked Hero deck before he retired to take care of his family, but there were two very well-known duelists that use cards in the Hero Archetype, Edo Phoenix* with his Destiny and Vision Hero deck and Judai with his Elementary Heroes. How did Tony know Judai and why didn't he bring this up when she went to visit him? She then realizes that he was probably embarrassed to bring it up just as she was when she chose to be Atem's pupil.
The picture depicts Judai had duo brown hair (orange on top and normal brown on the bottom) and matching eyes. He wore the standard male Osiris Red uniform open over a black shirt, jeans, and his uniform's boots.
Below another picture was Judai making the peach sign above Tony's head. Another boy with spiky teal hair was mimicking the brunette's hand gesture. Her eyes were somber as she recognizes him as Johan Anderson, the Gem Beast user, who went missing a couple of months ago. His friends were devastated and were in an active search for him. Delia wonders if, after Johan's disappearance, Judai probably kept a close eye on his friends to make sure they didn't disappear as well.
She slowly snaps out of those terrifying thoughts and goes to Tommy's page. There were pictures of his new school, Neo Duel Academia, showing some classrooms, the cafeteria, and the schoolyard. There was not much else on his page only posting stock pictures with some inspirational quotes he found when reading his expanded library.
However, when she scrolls down something caught her interest. Tommy attended a Riding Duel Tournament and was watching the finals. There was a picture of two D-Wheelers whirling past the stands. Delia maximizes the photo and notices two D-Wheelers* whirling past the stands. Delia maximizes the photo and notices the D-Wheelers belong to two legendary duelists Jack Atlas and Yusei Fudo, the Duel King of Domino City's Neo Sector. Through the image was blurry due to the speed and motion of the vehicles, she still recognizes them and the drivers. Tommy was fortunate to get a picture of the finals.
However, the next picture caught her full attention. A picture of Tommy and Yusei smiling at the camera. Yusei had spiky black hair with some yellow highlights, royal blue eyes, and tanned skin. He wore his signature long sleeve blue jacket with a high collar and amber gems, over a sleeveless black shirt with a red symbol, and brown gloves that also contain an amber gem, a brown belt which contains his two duel holsters around his waist, black jeans, amber knee pads, and brown boots. Just how did Tommy manage to take this amongst a crowd of rabid fans? Delia shook her head, maybe he was lucky?
She scrolls further down but there's nothing more but stock photos with inspirational quotes.
She goes to Florien's page and notices that there was a lot of pictures with flowers on it. The most noteworthy were pictures from the Carnation Garden that she regularly tends to.
Finally, she goes to Hayley's page, but there were about four to five posts. They were only crude drawings of stick figures and some weird quotes she randomly found on the Internet.
Bing! She gets a notification that her request to join the group was accepted. Delia then felt the bus stop. The bus driver turns around and informs her that they arrive at Ayla District. Delia pays for bus fare with her own money and exits the bus.
The Ayla District was known as the moonlight district. Its name was given because residents have the clearest view of the moon giving it a very whimsical and almost magical feeling. However, there was another reason for its magical reputation. This is where the more powerful Conveners would come to practice and enhance their skills. Delia looks around the streets and notices beautiful paintings of the moon and stars on the brick walls and sidewalks. Some kids were playing hopscotch on the sidewalks or at a small local park. Delia wonders if she could find Hayley, to her luck she sees the ESP user talking to two girls near a fenced area.
"Hayley!" she calls out.
The raven-haired girl turns around and smiles when she sees her old childhood friend. "Delia! It's been awhile."
Delia jogs up to her and smiles at their reunion. Hayley was genuinely happy to see her again, "How are you doing?"
"I'm just trying to catch up with everyone," Delia replied.
"That's good," Hayley said, "We've all missed you since our last encounter six to seven years ago." Delia's attention was now set to the two girls, Hayley was talking to earlier. "Oh, these are my friends, Karena and Taylor."
"Hello!" Karena greeted.
"Nice to meet you," Taylor added.
Karena has black shoulder-length hair tied into a low ponytail, yellow eyes, and fair peach skin. She wore a brown dress with long sleeves with green stripes and a brown circle and yellow swirls and brown circles around the skirt, and open brown boots with green stripes on the side.
Taylor has shoulder-length light brown hair with matching eyes, and peach skin. She wears a red T-shirt with white dots connecting to a bigger one in the middle, jeans shorts, white socks, and red shoes with black soles. Her additional accessories were black hair clips with white pearls and black studded bracelets.
"So are you a convener?" Taylor asked. Delia nods in confirmation, she was identified as one at an early age. She takes out a pink bubble wand and blows. Normally, when someone blows on a bubble wand, big bubbles would come out and float for a few seconds before they gently reach the ground and pop on contact. However, in Delia's case, the bubbles stop in mid-air. Taylor takes one of the bubbles in her right hand. She notices that the bubble did not pop when she touches it. "A water convener, the Class 1 Type. Can you do something else?"
Delia takes out a custom made pink and blue beaded bracelet and drops it on top of the bubble. It easily slips inside much to Taylor's amazement and it stays in there. The bubble didn't pop when the bracelet transitioned.
"That's it?" Taylor was disappointed, she was expecting more.
"Sorry, I can only make bubbles that don't easily pop," Delia apologizes.
"It's alright," Karena assures, "Many Conveners at your age can do only minuscule things that many people won't find impressive. For example, water conveners can only create bubbles when near a source of water. Fire conveners can create only small flames. Light conveners can create small balls of light or maks rays of sunlight slightly brighter. Dark conveners can only make the environment darker for a short amount of time. Wind conveners make the wind blows faster. Finally, Earth conveners can only make flowers bloom. However, with some more training, you can manipulate your environment more."
After the two girls exchange their cell phone numbers, Delia then commands the bubble in Taylor's hand to back to her. The bubble pops and the bracelet ends up back in the light blue haired girl's hand. Taylor was slightly interested in how Delia manipulated the bubbles, she could probably do more with the proper training.
"Delia, can we talk more in private?" Kayley asked. The psychic then tells two girls that she wants to be alone with Delia. The two girls walk together down the streets of Ayla District. Delia then musters up the courage to ask Hayley her secret.
"Oh, did they know that you have a Duel Spirit inside of your body?" Hayley grasped, "Yes, I have." Delia frowns in worry, sensitive information like that should be given more discretely. If that information falls into the wrong hands then Delia would be a target for experimentation by unknown organizations even the government. "Don't worry, I trust and their possessors. They will keep your secret safe." Delia looks back to Karena and Taylor. Karena just gave a small wave while Taylor stares awkwardly at them.
Delia decides to talk to the psychic about another topic, "So Hayley, I've talked to Tony, Tommy, and Florien."
"Oh really?" Hayley concurred.
"I joined your social group, the Color Kids," Delia acknowledged.
"That's good," Hayley commented, "I've heard that you're Atem's pupil."
"Yeah, I figured Tony told all of you," Delia conceded. Tony can keep to secrets but is willing to spill to those he holds close friends. "I wasn't sure to break the news to all of you and would probably spill it to everyone you know."
"But aren't we friends?" Hayley clarified, "I know it's for your personal safety but I believe those who are truly close to you will protect your secret."
Delia was baffled, "Really?"
Hayley was firm in her beliefs and continues, "And even those people did expose your secret to strangers then that means they don't respect your privacy and didn't care for you at all." Delia was touched by her friend's words. "So after you visit me, you're going to the Kaiba Corp Dueling Center where Atem will be waiting," Hayley deflected.
Delia nods in confirmation, "Yeah and I was wondering if we can go together by bus so it would be easier to meet up with the others at the dueling center."
"It has been a while since we went on the bus together," Hayley reflected, "Do you remember the field trip?" Delia remembers that field trip when they were still in elementary, it was to a children's art museum. It was a very enjoyable experience.
Both girls were now sitting at a bench in a nearby bus station. Delia texted Tony, Tommy, and Florient about meeting up at the KC Dueling Center. She instantly gets responses back summarizing that they will be there waiting at the entrance. Delia smiles at everyone willing to go hang out with her, she knows that everyone had their own plans but having some moments together makes life a bit sweeter.
A bus with tropical flowers pulls up in front of the bus station. Delia and Hayley instantly get up from their seats and told the driver their location. They sat together with a few rows behind the driver. The route was mostly quiet but both girls were smiling due to being in each other's presence.
The bus stopped in front of Kaiba Corp. Dueling Center. Delia paid for the bus fare and both she and Hayley get off. Tony, Tommy, and Florien are waiting at the entrance of the building. The reunion was cute as the kids slowly rekindle their friendship after being at least six years apart.
"So are you ready to meet Atem?" Tony asked, "I know it's overwhelming to be training under a professional duelist especially a Duel King, but we believe you can do it. There is a reason why Atem chose you to be his pupil."
"It is an honor to be a student under a Duel King," Tommy commented, "Taking this opportunity would be great for you."
"We'll be supporting you all the way," Florien added.
Delia nods in agreement from all of her friends' support. All five of them enter the building. The Duel Center was at least three floors tall. The first floor was the reception floor. This is where people would relax and take a break from dueling. The second floor was the Duel Box Area in which people would duel inside a closed area with only a table and two chairs facing each other. This is area was created for duelists that didn't own duel disks or just want to play the old fashion way. The third floor was where all the duels were held. Many duelists would gather either to watch the duels or participate in the action.
Delia knows that Atem carries a duel disk due to his status as a Duel King where dueling was highly popular. So she deducts that Atem must be on the 3rd floor. The entire group uses the elevator to reach the last story of the building. Once they arrive, Delia expected Eric and Danny to be here but is pleasantly surprised that Kayla and her sister was present.
"Kayla, Karen? What are you doing here?" Delia asked.
"Well, we wanted to know if it's true that you are Atem's student," Karen explained, "Your brother Eric told us."
Delia gave Eric the stink eye look and the elder Rose sibling defends himself. "Hey, don't give me that look! I truthfully answer since Kayla does have a right to know since she is your friend."
Delia rolls her eyes in annoyance and turns her attention to the waitress, "Right, and why is Karen with you?"
"Oh, Karen wanted to come as well," Kayla answered, "Don't worry an uncle of ours is looking after the café so we come here."
Delia looks around the crowd of spectators and duelists to if she could spot Atem, Yugi, and his friends. He couldn't be that hard to find as Atem's and Yugi's reputation as powerful duelists as well as their wild hairstyle will make them easy to spot. She notices a crowd much bigger than the others and notices the two tri-colored teens were in a tag duel with two other duelists. Jounouchi, Anzu, and Honda were watching and cheering them on. Delia and her group go to where Atem and Yugi's tag duel was taking place. Anzu was the one who notices and greets them.
"Delia-chan! I'm so glad to see you, and you brought friends with you!"
"Yeah, Atem and Yugi are dueling together against two other duelists?" Delia asked.
"Yes, the duel started thirty minutes ago, but Atem and Yugi already have the advantage," Anzu informed.
Delia looks at the current board. Atem had Skilled Black Magician* on the field and the gems on his armor were glowing to indicate the spell counter limit has been reached, two cards face down. Yugi had Blockman in defense mode, Silent Magician LV 4 in Attack Mode and one card face down. It was currently Atem's turn. The Egyptian teen looks down at his hand, his Black Magician* card peeking out. The tanned man was unsure if he should play his Ace Monster. Last time, the purple-robed magician didn't appear.
"Atem, don't worry besides Delia is here," Yugi assured. Atem looks and sees Delia with her friends. The light blue haired girl looks up and gives her a small smile. The tanned man mirrors the smile and gives it a try. "I use my Skilled Black Magician's effect. Since I have three Spell Counters, I can tribute it and summon Black Magician from my hand. Come on out, Black Magician!"
The monster disappears in a flurry of magical dust and a yellow beam comes out from the ground to reveal the purple-robed magician carrying his jade staff firmly gripped in his right hand. Delia felt a warm feeling in her chest when Atem summoned Black Magician to the field. It was hard to put into words but she felt like it was glowing. The purple haired man's blue eyes look to Atem and Delia with a warm smile. The tri-colored man is grateful to see his ace monster again, and Delia was in awe at how Black Magician was reacting to them. Everyone else was astonished by the appearance of a Duel King's Ace Monster in battle.
"Go Black Magician, Black Magic Attack!" Atem commanded. Black Magician leaps up and fires a ball of dark energy from his left hand. His opponent smirked as he has a trump card, Mirror Force but Yugi uses a Counter Trap to negate it. Black Magician's attack goes through and his opponents lose the rest of his life points. Everyone cheers at Atem and Yugi's victory. The two multi-colored males go down to meet with their allies.
Atem looks at friends Delia came with, "Delia, I'm glad you're here and you brought your friends and family with you." Delia looks back and didn't realize the number of people she brought, "Sorry, I just want to hang out with them." Atem smiles at the friends she gathered, "Are you here for your lesson?" Delia nods in agreement as she begins her path to become one of the strongest Convener Duelist.
A/N: Phew this was a long chapter, basically, Delia is rekindling her friendships from elementary school before meeting Atem.
Japanese - English
Cards:
Black Magician - Dark Magician
Skilled Black Magician - Skilled Dark Magician
Characters:
Jounouchi Katsuya - Joey Wheeler
Anzu Mazaki - Téa Gardner
Honda Hiroto - Tristan Taylor
Yasuhiko Tanaka - Simon
Yukino Fujiwara - Wisteria
Mamoru Hatsugokoro - Gillian
Judai Yuki - Jaden Yuki
Johan Anderson - Jesse Anderson
Edo Pheonix - Aster Pheonix
Other Terminology
Osiris Red - Slifer Red
D-Wheelers - Duel Runners
Trivia:
The codenames Lavender gives to the six previous realms are references to the Japanese releases of the Yu-Gi-Oh Anime.
DM2000 - Original Japanese run of Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters run from April 18, 2000, to Sept. 29, 2004. The English Dub version ran from on Sept. 29, 2001 - June 10, 2006.
GX2004 - Original Japanese run of Yu-Gi-Oh GX run from Oct. 6, 2004, to Sept. 28, 2008. The English Dub version ran from Oct. 10, 2005, to Aug. 23, 2008. However, English Dub Version Season 4 of GX never aired, speculation ranges from a lawsuit from TV Tokyo and Nihon Ad Systems, the tone of Season 4 being darker, or 4Kids rushing to start the production of the Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's, English Dub.
5DS2008 - Original Japanese run of Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's from April 2, 2008, to March 30, 2011. English Dub Version ran from Sept 13, 2008, to Sept. 10, 2011. Side note: Just like GX Season 4, Season 5 of 5D's was never aired along with a select few episodes.
ZEXAL2011 - Original Japanese run of Yu-Gi-Oh ZEXAL from April 11, 2011 - March 23, 2014. English Dub Version ran from Oct. 15, 2011 - Feb. 21, 2015. Side note: The Zexal Anime was split into two different parts ZEXAL I and II, each being 3 seasons apart plus the only spin-off series to have all of its episodes completed dubbed. ZEXAL II Seasons 2 and 3 were released on Hulu.
ARCV2014 - Original Japanese run of Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V ran from April 6, 2014 - March 26, 2017.
English Dub Version release is pretty interesting since at least 3 different companies (Teletoons, Nicktoons and 9GO!) were in charge of airing it. This was a nightmare in terms of broadcasting since depending on what country and channel you were using during Arc-V's TV broadcast certain episodes will be missing. The only way to watch all of them was online.
Season 1: Teletoon Version (July 22, 2017 - March 9, 2018) 9GO! Version (March 11, 2018 - May 5, 2018) Nicktoons Version (Jan. 13, 2018 - Dec. 15, 2018)
Season 2: Teletoon (July 22, 2016 - Oct. 7, 2016) 9GO! (Oct. 12, 2016 - Dec. 2, 2016).
Season 3: Teletoon (July 22, 2017 - March 9, 2018) 9GO! (March 11, 2018 - May 5, 2018) Nicktoons (Jan 13, 2018 - Dec. 15, 2018)
Side Note: I forgot to mention when researching English Dub releases Teletoon would air the first half of every season of Arc-V, while 9GO! would air the second half. Nicktoons Version is much odder since they release Season 1 and 3 but not Season 2.
VRAINS2017 - Original Japanese run of Yu-Gi-Oh VRAINS ran from May 10, 2017 - to the current year in which this chapter was posted). English Dub Version was released by Teletoon on September 1, 2018.
Yasuhiko Tanaka (Simon), Yukino Fujiwara (Wisteria), and Mamoru Hatsugokoro (Gillian) are characters from the Tag Force Games.