Sorry, guys! Been busy with other school stuff and all that stuff! This won't be a very long chapter, by the way!
Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh series, only the OCs!
Ever since arriving in Duel Academy, Jaden found out one simple fact about herself that others have been trying to tell her throughout the years...She has a habit of misleading and going through bad directions. What should have been a simple walk back to the Slifer Red dorm actually lasted more than a few days!
But, there was one good thing about her misdirection skills. It's that they always lead her to some new Neo-Spacian location somewhere on Duel Academy Island. For the past few days, her deck and her instincts have silently guided her through each different location.
First, she met her second Neo-Spacian on the volcano on the island, where she saw a faint smoke trail up in the air leading towards that area. Climbing up the steep, rocky ridges of the volcano, Jaden found a crater hole from where the smoke trail led and climbed downwards, soon finding herself deep within the volcano as there was a pool of lava right beneath her feet.
"Jaden Yuki, only you can restore balance," spoke an unknown voice somewhere within the volcano. "Phase 2 of your mission begins now."
"Huh? Who said that?" wondered Jaden, looking around before a small wave of lava rose up as a tall figure emerged from the lava, completely unaffected as the lava dripped from his body and vanished.
The figure that appeared before her appeared to be some sort of black armored bug man fit for combat and since he was living in lava, he must have been associated with the Attribute of FIRE.
"I am the Neo-Spacian of fire, Flare Scarab," introduced the stranger.
"Wow, so cool! Are you associated with Aquos? I mean, Aqua Dolphin?" asked Jaden. "I mean, he did say that he's a Neo-Spacian, too!"
Flare Scarab nodded. "Of course. He is a being of water, while I am a being of fire. For awakening us, we will lend you our powers. Follow me, and I shall guide you towards some of your new companions."
With that said, Flare Scarab transformed into a small ball of red light before floating past Jaden and towards a different path, prompting Jaden to follow after him. Soon, after escaping out of the volcano and heading towards some other rocky areas outside of the volcano, Flare Scarab vanished, and in his place came great winds.
Glancing upwards, Jaden saw a red, muscular bird-like Duel Spirit with angel-like wings.
"Jaden Yuki, I've been waiting for you," spoke the new, bird-like Duel Spirit.
"Whoa...it's a birdy..." awed Jaden, amazed.
"I am Air Hummingbird, the Neo-Spacian of wind. Come, Jaden. Let us protect this world from the Light of Destruction together. After all, only you can restore balance to the world."
Air Hummingbird became a trail of wind and green light as his power merged with the rest of Jaden's deck, joining with his brethren, the Neo-Spacians.
"Jaden...come to the forest..."
Thinking it was another Neo-Spacian calling out for her, Jaden headed out from the volcano and deep within the forest. Entering the shadows of the forest, she could hear faint whispers which she was sure belonged to the Neo-Spacian.
Arriving in a large field illuminated by the moonlight, Jaden glanced around, wondering which direction to go to when something approached her from the shadows and towards her. He wasn't too big nor small, but he was as dark as the darkness while donning a dark cape that was held up by a golden collar. He...was...
"MR. KITTY!" squealed Jaden, pouncing onto the black panther-like Duel Spirit before he could so much as yowl in surprise. "Awww! You're so cute!~ I love you already, Mr. Kitty!"
"GAH! I am not 'Mr. Kitty!' I am Neo-Spacian Dark Panther, the Neo-Spacian of darkness, and-Ohhhh...Ohhhh! Yeah, that's the spot!"
Just as Dark Panther was introducing himself, Jaden couldn't resist the urge the rub behind his soft, furry ears which seemed to please him as he was somewhat nuzzling against Jaden, urging her to scratch him some more.
Suddenly remembering his role, Dark Panther backed away from Jaden. "E-Enough of that! I am a Neo-Spacian, and I am duty bound to serve you! So...So, don't tell anyone of our encounter!"
Dark Panther disappeared into a mist of darkness that whirled together and entered Jaden's deck before Jaden could so much as blink. Laughter echoed throughout the area before a mole-like creature popped out of the ground.
"Aw, man! That was so hilarious! I am so going to tell the others when I meet them again! Oh, by the way, I'm Neo-Spacian Grand Mole, the Neo-Spacian of earth! Nice to-"
"Ooh! You're so adorable!" Jaden squealed, hugging Grand Mole in a tight grip.
"Ack! Now I know what Dark Panther feels like when squished!"
Once Jaden was relieved of all her cute disease symptoms, she backed away from Grand Mole, who had gotten dizzy from her tight hugs before he shook his head rapidly to get himself back in control.
"Sorry, I just couldn't help it! You're just...so cute!~" said Jaden, clasping her hands together with excited eyes.
"That's okay...I'm gonna have to get used to this, aren't I?" sighed Grand Mole. "Well, at least you're a pretty cute one. I'll see you around, Jaden! Right now, I gotta tell something interesting to the other Monsters in your deck!"
After Grand Mole vanished into her deck, another being flew down from the skies and towards Jaden, causing her to admire the strange alien-like silhouette Duel Monster.
"An alien..." muttered Jaden in amazement before slowly pressing her index finger forward.
"...Jaden Yuki, what are you attempting to do?"
"Hmm? I got this from some alien movie where a human and an alien touch fingers together. I thought it might apply to the same thing here!"
"Er, no. I am Neo-Spacian Glow Moss, the Neo-Spacian of light. I am at your service as long as we work together to defeat the evil threatening the world-no, the entire universe."
Jaden nodded. "Yeah, okay! You're a pretty awesome alien dude, you know that?"
"I am designated as a female gender, you know?"
"Eh?! I didn't know you were a girl!"
"Yes, I get that a lot. Well, should you require my assistances, know that we will always be available." Like all the rest of the Neo-Spacians, she disappeared back into Jaden's deck.
Jaden shuffled through her deck as the last of the Neo-Spacians now existed within her deck until she came across one blank card. It was certainly strange, because when she fought that Duel Robot in Neo Space, she should have fully recovered her sight and her ability to communicate with Duel Spirits, but the one card she couldn't see was Winged Kuriboh's card.
Just when she was contemplating about unable to see Winged Kuriboh, she heard the familiar cries of Winged Kuriboh and hurried forward, hoping that his cries might lead her towards him. Sure enough, she found a light veil of a mixture of aurora-like colors pouring from the ground upwards to the night skies.
Emerging from the veil of light was her beloved partner, Winged Kuriboh, who flew downwards to cuddle with Jaden after being separated from her for so long.
"WINGED KURIBOH!" cried out Jaden, tears springing from her eyes as she embraced Winged Kuriboh in a death-like hug, unable to let him go. She nuzzled close to him and began crying. "I miss you so much! Waaaaaah!"
Winged Kuriboh, missing her dearly and her habits, also cried out loud. No matter what, they would always have each other's back and love each other dearly, for they were partners for life.
In the Duel Spirit World...
"Grrr! When I get my hands on you, you're dead meat! You hear me?! DEAD. MEAT!" growled Blazeman as he was pounding away at the floor with his fists alongside with his cousin, Heat, as the two Elemental Heroes were trying to catch, or rather, beat up a certain mole rodent.
"Haha! Catch me if you can!" taunted Grand Mole, popping up and down in numerous holes throughout the floor. "Can't catch me, can you? You're not gonna get me!"
"You know what I like about this?" said Heat, glancing over to Blazeman. "This is similar to Whack A Mole, and I'm a champion at Whack A Mole!"
In another corner of the meeting room, Dark Panther and Wroughtweiler were playing a simple game of chess, moving the pieces with their paws and ignoring the rest of the noisy sounds in the background.
"That's checkmate for me. You are a most worthy adversary. Never had I met someone whose skills rivaled mine," praised Dark Panther, offering his paw.
Wroughtweiler nodded and touched his paw, both shaking paws as a sign of their friendship unlike most cat/dog hate relationships.
Aquos was chatting with the rest of the WATER Attribute Elemental Heroes, discussing about their abilities and possible new strategies since they were going to be working together.
Glow Moss appeared to be forming a nice, quiet book club with some of the quietest members of the Elemental Heroes, such as Elemental Heroes Necroshade, Escuridao, and Clayman.
If possible, Air Hummingbird would have had a flying competition with Avian and Tempest, but they were currently discussing the possibility and terms of the competition.
Unlike some hot-headed people, Flare Scarab wasn't really hot-tempered and was getting along with some of his fellow Elemental Hero comrades, slowly becoming friends with them.
Soon, Flame Wingman and the brand new Elemental Hero, Neos, entered the meeting room, causing everyone to quiet down and pay attention, right after Heat managed to grab Grand Mole and punch his face in.
"Ow!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, I like to introduce the Neo-Spacians, who will provide us assistance to defeating another great evil that will come across this world and threaten everyone we love! And by that, we mean our mistress, Jaden," announced Flame Wingman, causing a glance from Neos. "But first, we should thank the Neo-Spacians properly for restoring our belove-I mean, Jaden's sight back. Without them, she would never have regained her Duel Spirit ability ever again."
Everyone else besides the Neo-Spacians applauded for their new comrades, welcoming their new comrades-in-arms right into their new community.
"I believe that you've all been informed, but I'd like to mention is again. The Society of Light seeks to destroy all of darkness, and while that is normally a good thing, without darkness, there cannot be a balance and it will disrupt things. Plus, the Society of Light is revealed to be committing heinous acts such as brainwashing. If we wish to protect Jaden and the world, we must provide all the power we can to support our mistress and guide the world to a safer place. I know it won't be easy, but we must always be there, no matter what."
"That is why me and Flame Wingman decided to come to a compromise," spoke Neos. "From now on, the Elemental Heroes and Neo-Spacians will join together in two factions and will work together, so that this entire group will be controlled by two leaders. Myself and Elemental Hero Flare Wingman. It wouldn't be fair to just leave everything to one man alone, so it's best that we provide assistance as much as we can to both leaders and more importantly, our allies. If there is anyone who wishes to object, please say so."
Nobody in the audience spoke, for it was reasonable and understandable why there was now two leaders. All the stress and pressure would have piled onto Flare Wingman if he were to handle this situation alone, so it was more assuring to have someone by his side, and who better than the leader of the Neo-Spacians, Elemental Hero Neos?
"Thank you for your support," thanked Neos. "By the way, Flame Wingman, you keep mentioning Jaden over and over. Could it be that...you harbor family-like feelings for her?"
"He's overprotective of her, and so are some of the other Elemental Heroes!" answered one Duel Monster.
"I see. So, I assume that from amongst thousands of your meetings, most consist of...Jaden, correct?"
"...Yes. But it's only to assure her safety," admitted Flame Wingman.
Neos nodded. "I see. But the leader cannot always focus on Jaden. You're telling me that most throughout Jaden's life, you've held meetings consisting of her protection and even broke the Duel Spirit rules to ensure her safety?"
"I will not lie, Neos. Yes, that is true. While I am duty bound to my team, I cannot help but feel as though Jaden's grown to be a daughter to me-no, to the rest of us."
"I see. Why didn't you ask us for earlier assistance? Why did you decide to burden everything on your shoulders? Why...did you deal those hormonal teenagers...WITHOUT ME?!"
"WHAT?!" exclaimed the rest of the audience except for the Neo-Spacians, who sighed and facepalmed.
'Here we go,' thought the Neo-Spacians.
"Let me clarify. As guardians of Neo Space, we have looked over Jaden ever since she was born because we knew she would be the chosen one, so naturally, we have developed some...parental feelings for her as well, and wish to assist you even after the Society of Light is finished and disbanded," explained Neos proudly.
Flame Wingman couldn't believe that there was finally someone out there who understood what he felt. "Yes...Yes! We do have a lot to discuss!"
"Oh, man! Two overprotective leaders?! I mean, they're still cool and all, but seriously! We get it! Give Jaden some space!" complained Heat.
"Eh, you'll get used to his antics. He's been desperate to meet Jaden after so long," replied Air Hummingbird. If he could handle an overprotective leader like Neos, he could handle Flame Wingman just as much as the rest of the Neo-Spacians could.
Just when the situation got better, at the same time, it kinda grew worse, but they'll learn to adapt to it.
Whew! The introduction's all set! Next chapter won't be for a while, but it's the rematch you've been waiting for! Read and review!