Surprise! It's another chapter! Thanks to Columbus Day, I finished this today as well! I hope you enjoy the last chapter of this arc!

As a disclaimer, two weird things happen in here. No, I was not high when I wrote this. THEY REALLY HAPPENED TO ME. I KID YOU NOT, THEY DID. If you want more details, feel free to request via review. I won't answer until chapter two of the new arc though.

Chapter 25: Fell's Night of Misfortune

"Well, that could have gone a lot worse than it did," Perseus commented as they sat down outside the condo. They would have normally gone inside, but they wanted Tenma, Kazel, and Raid to be able to hear their conversation also. Bringing those three into the condo would have been impossible.

"It could have also been better," Draken pointed out. "Now we have next to no chance of going back to the mansion."

"Even if we went back there, it could be difficult to find Julian," Larka said. "Daine and Malon might have some luck, but there's no way of knowing."

"What will you do about this?" Will asked Sarius.

Sarius thought for a moment, and then said, "I will try to find the boy again. But not yet. A few days will probably be a good amount of time to wait." He glanced at them pointedly. "I will be going with Aya only."

"But Julian is probably frightened from all this," Larka said worriedly.

"It will be all right. I'll try to talk to him before Lord Tirran does," Aya assured.

Hope looked over at Sarius and Aya. "There is something I have wanted to know for a while. What is your relation to Sarius? How do Adene, Mach, and Shadow connect with him? What about the Mavericks with Juno?"

"…Hm. I suppose a bit of information could not hurt," Sarius said. "I don't know how Juno selected his Mavericks, but they were originally human. He put parts of his own self into them to make them far more powerful than most humans. As for my group…" Sarius smiled slightly. "I won't tell you how I came across them, but they do have certain connections to me. Aya is my wife. Adene is my adopted son. Mach and Shadow are two of my most trusted soldiers. I picked them up from the same world. Adene came from a different one, and Aya… I won't be getting into that."

"What about Lario?" Zack inquired.

"I also picked him up from a certain world I visited. He trained under me, but had a different view than me. He believes that through creating perfect virtue in all worlds, a reality of light such as heaven itself would be possible through God's power." Sarius shook his head. "I do not think such a world will ever come into being, unless it was by the hand of God himself. Due to our conflicting beliefs, we separated. However, we are still friends, and work together at times. He is more with me than Juno, as you all know."

"Talk about complicated," Rue groaned.

Sarius lifted an eyebrow. "All you have learned about us is barely scratching the surface. Do you see why I do not go into depth?"

"Just who is the Child?" Hope asked.

"And what happened to him?" Claire questioned.

"…I'll tell you a little bit about this, but not too much, to keep things simple," Sarius said. "The Child is part of me. He is not the only part that I have, but he is a very important one. Due to his nature, I usually keep him out of my body, but close to me." He laughed to himself. "He is easily the best option among all my choices."

"So you… reabsorbed him?" Will inferred.

Sarius nodded. "Correct. I needed a power boost against Juno, so the Child provided it."

"Does he have a name?" Larka inquired, thinking to what Sarius had said when his wings had emerged.

"That is considered going into things too deeply," Sarius told her.

"All right, sorry," Larka said, letting the issue drop.

"Still, you had wings! Real wings! Are you an angel of some kind?" Rue asked.

Sarius closed his eyes and smiled. "Sore wa himitsu desu."

Rue cocked his head. "Huh?"

"Let me guess; that means screw off in Dutch," Neo joked.

Will promptly hit him over the head with his book, and gave Sarius a sour look. "It means 'that is a secret.'"

"Oh," Neo muttered, rubbing his head while wincing.

"I think that is quite enough about us," Sarius said. "You should be more concerned about the god cards."

"You're right," Hope replied, giving Will's Duel Disk a longing glance.

"Apparently, all of the god cards are unsealed," Daine said. "However, nothing has happened."

"Perhaps they all must be together," Kisara suggested softly.

"That might do it," Draken agreed.

"Which world should we try this in though?" Perseus asked. "Real life or Teknisk Wereld?"

"Teknisk Wereld," Max said. "It just seems more likely to work there."

"Fair enough to assume," Gen replied. "Should we try it today or tomorrow, after we have had the chance to rest?"

Rue scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Actually… Osiris is back at home."

"You hid it in real life?" Will assumed.

"Yeah. It seemed safer that way. What about you, Max?" Rue asked.

"I entrusted the location to Mana… and Brandi through her," Max stated, trying not to think of Mana. "Once I find out where Obelisk is, it should be easy enough to get."

"Will, of course, already has Ra, so I guess we'll be set after Rue goes home," Darche said.

"If you would not mind, I would like to witness what happens when the god cards are brought together," Sarius requested.

Larka nodded. "Sure, you can come. I don't think anyone would object to it, anyway."

"Nope," Rue agreed. "That means I'd better get a ticket back home."

"Me too," Claire said.

"Oh!" Hope exclaimed. "I nearly forgot that the ticket dad got me to go back to Illinois is dated for tonight!"

"That means we will also have to find a way to afford our own so we can go with you," Larka told Hope. "We can't try to fly Kazel again."

"Kisara and I should head off too," Draken said. "So it looks like Miles and Zack will be the only ones not going home yet."

"Actually, I want to head back to my apartment," Miles stated. "Now is as good a time as any."

"Then I am the only one who does not have to worry about traveling," Zack commented. "If you do not mind keeping me in your house for a while, Will."

"Not at all," Will assured. "This means that we will need to decide on a meeting location in Teknisk Wereld."

"Same time and same place as always?" Rue suggested.

"Sure. That would mean we're meeting at the lake at nine in the morning," Miles told Sarius.

"That is fine." Sarius glanced over at Fell. "I will travel with Hope, Fell, and Larka, if they do not mind. I have business to attend to in that area when all is said and done."

"What about you, Aya?" Hope asked.

"I will go back to Teknisk Wereld to remain with Adene, Mach, and Shadow. That way, Shadow will not be able to kill anyone," Aya smirked.

"Then it's settled. We'd better split up to get ready to go," Claire said.

"How about we meet at the bus stop and accompany you to the airport? That way, we can cover any details we might have forgotten in the bus," Will advised.

"You want to come to the airport?" Draken asked in surprise.

"Sure, why not? Call it a sending off," Will shrugged. "I assume Max and Zack will come to say farewells in real life, so I don't see why I shouldn't."

"All right. Let's all be at the bus station at seven," Hope said.

"Sounds like a plan," Miles replied as they got up. Then they headed their separate ways.

…

"And once again, we are left waiting for Hope," Miles observed as they stood on the sidewalk, waiting for the bus. It was nearly seven, and once it reached that time, the bus could take anywhere from one to fifteen minutes to arrive.

Then they turned as they heard footsteps. Hope came running up to them, Max following. Like everyone else, they had stored away their Soul Monsters for the bus. Malon was the only one still out, and Larka was hoping whoever the bus driver was would not make a fuss about him.

"Sorry we're late!" Hope gasped out as they stopped by the rest of the group. "I couldn't find my book because the table it was on had been knocked over. It took a while to come across it."

"How did the table get knocked over?" Rue asked.

Luckily, Hope did not have to think up an excuse for that one. At that moment, the bus drove up to the curb.

"All right! The bus didn't take fifteen minutes to arrive!" Draken said triumphantly.

"That's good," Claire stated as it halted in front of them.

The door opened, revealing the bus driver at the top of the stairs. He had on the standard blue uniform, with a badge that had the letters CTA stitched onto the right arm of the shirt. He had short black hair, dark brown eyes, and a large grin. His gold nametag said, "Geno."

"Welcome to the happy bus!" he said in a cheerful voice.

After a long silence, Rue summed up what everyone was thinking with one word. "…What."

"Come along, step onboard the happy bus!" Geno urged, waving his hand.

"I don't think so," Max said, retreating a few paces.

Hope grabbed his arm before he could go too far, and whispered, "This is our only choice. If we wait for another bus, we won't make it to our flight in time."

"Are you sure there isn't another option?" Zack asked as he eyed the bus warily.

"Unfortunately, there isn't," Claire sighed.

"Then let's walk, or something," Max said. "Anything besides this."

Fell seemed to be in full agreement with Max. He tried to slide away silently, but Larka was far too used to his antics. She imitated Hope by grabbing his arm. "We don't have any time to waste! Let's just get on there before we're late!" Then she dragged Fell onboard, Malon following her with excited yips.

Hope looked pointedly at Max. "Do you need that to be done to you or will you walk up the stairs?"

"Walking seems easier," Max muttered, slowly going into it. Hope went behind him, leaving the others to decide what order they would come on.

As she came on and paid for her own ticket on the bus, she happened to see a small white board propped up against the driver seat. It said, in green marker, "Welcome to the happy bus!" On the windshield, she also noticed a large, yellow smiley face sticker that glittered in the light.

At the moment, Larka was saying to Geno, "My Soul Monster doesn't like being in his Soul Card. Is it all right if he remains here?"

"Sure, that's fine!" Geno smiled. "He is certainly in the right mood for being on the happy bus!"

Malon jumped around, barking excitedly. Fell just sat down in a chair, a hand to his forehead.

Everyone else went on quickly. Then the doors closed and they were off.

"In all of the worlds I have visited, I have never witnessed anything like this," Sarius commented, looking as though he didn't know what to think of it.

Max just sat in his seat, his eyes locked on the ground so he wouldn't have to look around the bus.

Fell was glancing at a partly-opened window, as though he was trying to figure out if it was big enough to jump through. Seeing what he was doing, Larka picked up Malon and put him on Fell's lap. "Don't even think about it, Fell. If you try anything suicidal, I'll order Malon to bite you."

A growl from Malon confirmed her words. Fell looked down at the puppy, and then gave a half-hearted sigh.

"Cheer up Fell! This is the happy bus! So shouldn't you be, you know, happy?" Miles teased.

"Leave me alone," Fell muttered as he closed his eyes.

"Like always, he's no fun," Rue said. "Well, his loss."

"You are acting as though you are enjoying this," Zack commented.

"You aren't?" Draken retorted.

"…I am neutral to this whole ordeal," Zack said.

"Come on, live a little!" Miles encouraged. "Enjoy your time on the happy bus, since it gives us an excuse to be… you guessed it, happy!"

"I would prefer not to," Will said dryly, opening his book to read.

"It looks like only the three of us can see that this is the most awesome bus ever," Draken commented.

"No kidding," Rue agreed, looking as though he had highly taken to the bus despite his early misgivings.

"Heck, we probably won't have any time to be happy tomorrow, so why not now?" Miles said.

"That's the spirit!" Geno called back. "How about a quiz question?"

"How about no," Claire muttered. Kisara had buried her head into her knees.

Geno had not heard Claire though. "What goes around the world and makes everyone who gets it happy?"

"No idea. Riddles aren't my thing," Rue said.

"Rue, what animals did not go on Moses' ark?" Hope asked.

"Humans?" Rue guessed.

"None, Moses didn't have an ark," Hope answered.

"See! I suck at them!" Rue said woefully.

Miles couldn't help but laugh. "Even I could have gotten that one!"

"So, does anyone know the answer?" Geno asked.

"Um… a postage stamp?" Larka guessed.

"You're correct!" Geno announced.

"How did you know that?" Draken asked, looking a bit bewildered.

"When I was playing around with the remote control at Hope's, trying to figure out how it worked, I saw that question asked," Larka explained. "I think it was some show called… Sea Lion Street?"

Miles had just gotten over Rue's missed riddle, but this got him to laugh even more. "You mean Sesame Street! You actually watched that?"

"No, I just saw it for a few moments," Larka answered. "Why, is it a bad show?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," Hope assured.

"Of course, you get a prize. Name a color!" Geno said.

"Um… I don't know…" Larka murmured.

"Say red," Miles encouraged.

"Ok, red," Larka shrugged.

Geno tossed her a red balloon that was not inflated yet. "Enjoy!"

"Thanks," Larka answered. Then she leaned over to Hope and whispered, "What is this thing?"

Hope laughed softly. "I'll explain later."

By this time, they had arrived at another bus stop. They continued to go on, halting occasionally for more passengers. Every time someone got on, Geno would say, "Welcome to the happy bus!" The new arrivals would laugh, seem dumbfounded, or look as though they wanted to get off and wait for another bus. Nevertheless, they would board too.

Every time a child boarded, Geno would also give them a balloon for free. The children seemed to like this, but their parents prevented them from inflating them on the spot.

As they arrived at even more stops, the bus became very crowded. By the time they finally reached the airport, all of the chairs and the aisle had been completely filled. There would not have been enough room for even three more people.

"Last stop for the happy bus!" Geno called as he opened the doors. A mass stampede occurred from everyone hoping to get off as quickly as possible. The group was able to go out of the second door near the back. As they left, Miles shouted to Geno, "Thanks! Your bus rules!"

"Thank you for being such happy customers!" Geno replied as the last people left. Then he shut the doors and drove off.

Fell looked very relieved, as did Max, while Rue, Miles, and Draken seemed disappointed. "And there goes the coolest bus ever," Draken commented as they watched it vanish around the corner.

"Can we please just get to the airport?" Claire groaned.

…

When they arrived at the airport, Zack halted before the metal detectors. "I can't go any farther than this, so farewell until tomorrow."

"See you then," Larka replied, going up to him and embracing him briefly.

"I'm glad I'm not in love with anyone," Rue muttered.

"Same here," Miles said. "Too bad Draken can't agree."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Draken demanded as Kisara blushed slightly.

Max was still concerned about how Hope had been acting. "Stay safe."

"Thanks," Hope smiled. "I'll be fine."

"I'm sure," Max replied, smiling back.

"Goodbye for the time being," Will said.

"Don't worry, I'll pray for your kitchen," Rue assured.

"Neo is the one who needs them," Will stated as he turned around and walked away. Max and Zack followed him.

The passage through the airport was uneventful, except for the fact that Rue was randomly chosen as a victim of a complete body search for weapons. It took nearly twenty minutes, and Rue was still muttering curses at the woman who had decided it should be done to him. "Using me as an example just because my hat looks weird? That stupid little…"

Before Rue could continue, Claire said, "We're here!"

They had arrived at the gate Hope, Fell, Larka, and Sarius were supposed to remain in. After a few quick goodbyes all around, the four of them sat down in chairs. Malon had been forced to be in his Soul Card for the flight, as usual, which relieved Larka for the moment.

Hope glanced around the area. "We're flying on an airline that I've never taken before. It'll apparently be easier for mom to pick us up if we use this one, since we'd land closer to home."

"What is the name of the one you usually take?" Larka asked.

"It's called Delta Airlines. Overall, it's pretty good," Hope said.

It was about that time that a voice over the intercom announced that it was time to board the airplane. They went on when their seat numbers were called.

Fortunately, their seats were all close together. Fell got the window seat, Larka was in the middle, and Hope next to the aisle. Sarius sat right across from her, with two empty seats beside him. It looked as though this flight had not been completely filled.

When everyone else was on, the plane took off. Fell and Larka were well aware of the noise by this point, so they had covered their ears in advance. Hope distracted herself by reading a new book she had gotten recently called Vampire Hunter D.

As they were just going into the air, two woman appeared. They were both young teens or in their very early twenties, and wore a tight-fitting white shirt with orange shorts that showed just why they were called shorts.

"Welcome to Hooter's Airlines!" one of the girls said energetically into a microphone, which echoed loudly through the plane. "I'm Bessie and my companion is Jessie! We'll be your Hooter Girls for the day!"

Fell looked at the window longingly.

"Again, no," Larka said to him. "We'll just have to hope that they will be quiet soon."

"We've decided to start you all off with a quiz game! If you get a question right, you win a small prize!" Jessie beamed as though this was the greatest thing in the world. "If you paid attention to your Hooter Airline brochures, you should know the answers to this! First question: how old am I, and how old is Bessie?"

Sarius gave the two flight attendants a rather exasperated look while Hope sighed. "At least the happy bus was amusing. This is just stupid."

A young, stupid-looking man near the front, who was obviously smitten with the two upon first sight, said, "Um… you're nineteen while she's twenty?"

"Almost!" Jessie grinned. "We'll give it to you anyway. I'm twenty while Bessie is nineteen. Next question: how long has the tradition of Hooter Girls gone on?"

"The answer is: we don't care," Hope grumbled, trying to concentrate on her book. The microphones were making it hard for her though.

They went through many more of the completely pointless questions while Hope failed to be able to get any farther in her book. Larka was holding her hands over her ears while Fell growled softly. Sarius had closed his eyes, probably in an attempt to fall asleep so that he wouldn't have to hear the idiocy of the Hooter Girls.

Finally, the two moronic Hooter Girls stopped the line of questions and gave everyone in the airplane a paper napkin. They returned to the front, where Bessie said, "Now we have a bonus activity! You must try to fold your napkin, or tear it, into as close of a shape to the Hooter Owl as you can! No drawing on it though! Ready? Go!"

Hope stuffed her napkin into the pocket in her seat without even paying attention. Larka did the same. Sarius merely put his into another seat before shutting his eyes again.

Fell, seeming highly annoyed by all this, decided to take out his anger on the innocent napkin. He tore it apart, throwing the pieces into the aisle.

"Now, all those who attempted, please raise your Hooter Owl into the air!" Jessie sang out.

About ten bent napkins emerged. They split up and went looking at them, complementing some and criticizing others.

As Bessie came near their row, she stopped suddenly, looking at the floor. "Oh my!" she exclaimed, picking up one of the pieces from the napkin Fell had torn up. She held it up, and everyone who actually cared enough to pay attention gasped at the exact Hooter Owl shape.

"Who did this?" she asked, looking around the plane.

A guy from the row behind them pointed at Fell. "He did!"

"Congratulations! You're the winner!" Jessie said, running over to them. "Please come with us."

Fell shook his head, giving them glares that would have melted solid ice.

The two oblivious Hooter Girls did not seem to notice. Bessie unbuckled his seat belt and pulled him out of his chair, to the front. Fell looked as though he was debating whether to scratch, bite, or just beat Bessie and Jessie to death.

"As our lucky winner, you get this free t-shirt!" Bessie said, handing him a white t-shirt that said, in orange letters, 'I Love Hooter Girls' with a Hooter Owl on the front and a small heart near the 'Love'. "We'd offer phone numbers, but we don't live in Illinois. So, why don't you put that shirt on now?"

Fell just stared at them. Then he walked towards the cabin.

"Hey! You can't go in there!" Jessie protested as they followed him out of sight. "What are you trying to… EEEEEEKKK!"

Everyone in the airplane froze as they heard the two Hooter Girls begin screaming bloody murder, which almost completely drowned out the snarls and sounds of blows raining down on them. After a few minutes, Fell calmly walked out, tossing the shredded t-shirt at the man near the front who had liked them.

That man yelled, "You monster!" before running to see what condition the two Hooter Girls were in. Two other men followed him.

When they were gone, silence filled the plane. Then a man near the front broke it by shouting, "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!"

At those words, everyone else in the plane broke into loud applause, showing that they had thought the Hooter Girls were beyond stupid as well. Fell blinked, and then darted back to his seat, his face slightly red.

"Fell, you're my new hero," Hope said as she turned back to her book, finally able to read.

Sarius smiled slightly, his eyes still closed, while Larka seemed torn between scolding Fell for attacking Bessie and Jessie or complimenting him. The latter finally won out. "Well… I guess it was all right this time."

Fell simply buried his head in his arms, which rested on his tray table.

At long last, the airplane arrived at the airport. As they left the plane, they noticed Bessie and Jessie at the front. Their faces were swollen with a mass of bruises and scars from Fell's claws. Seeing Fell, they fled in terror to the cabin, calling, "Thank you for flying on Hooters Airlines!" The three men who had helped them before followed while everyone else left.

There were two more Hooter Girls outside of the airplane in the same skimpy clothing, offering stickers to kids that said, 'You can be like us when you grow up! Eat at Hooters today!' Apparently, however, word of what Fell had done had reached them. They scattered when he came out, leaving the pathway completely open. Fell walked by without even glancing at them, while Hope, Larka, and Sarius followed.

As they left, the man who had shouted about entertainment before ran up to them. "Please wait!"

They halted, and the man brought out a camera. "I'm a reporter for a local newspaper here. Can I please take a picture of you… um… hey, I don't even know your name."

"He's Fell," Larka said, grabbing his arm again before he could take off. "Go ahead."

Fell sighed and stayed where he was as the man took an individual shot of Fell, one with Larka keeping a tight hold on his arm, and one where Hope was next to Larka, holding up her book. Sarius had mysteriously vanished and was not present during any of them.

By that time, Mrs. Gales had found them. She politely thanked the reporter and said they would be sure to check the newspaper before she had the three of them follow her.

"Thanks for coming," Hope said.

"I'm glad to see you again," Mrs. Gales replied. "So it's still just Fell and Larka?"

"Actually, I was hoping to be allowed to stay for the time being as well," Sarius said, coming up to them.

"There you are," Hope said in relief. "Mom, this is Sarius. He's a friend of mine too, and only wants to stay for one night."

"All right, but just one," Mrs. Gales told him before exiting the doors.

"She's gotten a bit more flexible," Hope smiled.

"So where were you?" Larka asked Sarius.

"Hiding. I dislike photos," Sarius stated.

Fell gave him an envious look but did not comment.

…

When they got to Hope's house, they went straight to bed, except for Sarius. He went outside, to the roof.

Fell was there, looking up at the sky. Daine lifted his head, but when he saw it was Sarius, he laid it down again.

"Is there something you want?" Fell asked, sitting up.

"I simply wished to know if you had thought over my proposition," Sarius stated. "I will be leaving this world soon. This is your chance to come, if you wish to."

"It is still an option?" Fell inquired.

"Yes," Sarius said.

"…Then I accept," Fell answered.

Sarius nodded. "Very well. What about your sister? Will she be coming too?"

"No," Fell stated. "I will tell her of where I am going tomorrow."

"All right. We will not be leaving immediately; I need to find the second Limiter still," Sarius said. "Be ready to depart shortly though."

"…I have nothing to bring with me, except for my equipment, my deck, and Daine," Fell stated.

"Excellent, it will make traveling easier," Sarius replied. "That is all I wanted to know. Have a good night." Then he went down from the roof, leaving Fell to his thoughts.

…

She was in front of the painting once more, staring into Obelisk's red eyes, Osiris' yellow ones, and Ra's red ones. They looked as though they were at long last awake, all three of them.

Satan appeared to be slumbering, yet by how tense his body seemed, it was as though he would wake up any moment. The figure on the right was gone. The one at the left was almost visible from the shadows though. Something produced from its head, and its back… and now another object had emerged from its lower back… and the dark blue gem on its forehead gleamed…

Then, she heard Satan.

"It is time. You shall awaken me… my most loyal servant… and then you shall become…"

"NO!" Hope exclaimed, her eyes flying open.

For a moment, she was about to panic, seeing her vision was blurred. Then she realized it was tears that clouded her eyes. She sat up slowly, wiping them on her sheet.

"Hope? Did you have another nightmare?" Gaston asked softly. Somehow, Larka and Malon had slept through Hope's outburst.

Hope nodded slowly. "Gaston… I… I'm not who you think I am…"

"What are you talking about?" Gaston put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "All you had was a dream, a bad dream. Don't worry; nothing will happen to you. Now go back to sleep. You need to be ready for tomorrow."

"Yeah… thanks…" Hope smiled shakily, and then lay down and closed her eyes.

However, her doubts remained, even as she fell back into a troubled, yet dreamless, sleep.

THE END