Arc of Eternity

by Tyler Nator

After recovering his memories at the hands of Zone and Infinity, Tyler Nochi resolves to throw his life away, and succeeds. But a chance encounter with a mysterious redheaded man will take him far beyond the world he thought he knew, force him to confront the darkness in his heart, and help him realize that not everyone gets a second chance.

17. White Flag

"Thank you for your time tonight, Tyler. We appreciate it." Mina spoke succinctly as she shook my hand.

"Th-th-th-thank you for putting up with me, Mina."

"It was no trouble, really." She smiled a pity smile. And I could tell that that was exactly what it was. I'd recounted to her almost everything. My early childhood, the death of my father Daisuke, Kobi and Joel, the abuse, escaping to the Satellite, Team Satisfaction, and then probably what was most important: the Ark Cradle and the last seven months of my life. There were, of course, certain bits and pieces I brushed passed – I didn't need to go over what happened with the Dark Signers, as she was, of course, there for all of my involvement, but there were other points when Mina hurried me along. I perhaps might have gone a little too in-depth about the physical abuse I'd suffered, for example, but I was honest, which was more than I could say for quite a few people I knew.

Of course, recounting everything to Mina was mentally and emotionally draining to say the least. I was definitely glad for it to be over, but by the end of it, I couldn't not notice that she was looking at me differently. Like she saw me as less human.

"W-well, in any case, it-it means a lot."

"I hope you don't mind if I inform Jack, um, Mr. Atlas, that you've returned?"

I shrugged. "Honestly, you can tell him whatever you like. I d-d-d-doubt he'll care either way."

"Don't say that."

"No, it's true. Jack and I are fundamentally two entirely different people now than we were back in Team Satisfaction. Back then, if either of us were as we are now, I don't think we w-would have become friends. We're just incompatible now, and that's okay. People don't stay friends forever." It was hard to admit, but it was the truth.

"Well, you might think that, but I'm sure he'll be glad to know you're okay."

"It's up to you." I shrugged once more.

"Alright, well, as I said, it was good to hear from you. I'll be in touch with you about the USB, but aside from that, you're free to go about your business. Have a good night, okay?"

"You t-t-t-too." I hesitated. "And th-thanks again, M-M-M-Mina…"

Mina bowed, moving away from the front door as I opened it, Mina bending down and slipping her high heels on.

"Thanks for coming!" Seria called from the kitchen.

"Take care, Miss Dale!" Mina called back, bowing once more before she turned and left, her heels clicking as she walked, tablet in hand, out of sight.

I closed the door and exhaled, shutting my eyes as I steadied myself.

"O~ka~ay! Dinner's ready!" Seria told me, honey in her voice.

I licked my lips and turned away from the door, moving closer to her. I watched her place a cutlet of chicken onto a plate next to rice and shredded cabbage. "Actually, um…"

"What is it?" Seria asked softly.

I felt really bad. Like shit, actually. She'd gone to all this trouble cooking dinner, but I just wasn't hungry anymore. "I-I-I'm…" I stammered. "I'm really tired. I… think I might head to b-b-b-b-b-b-bed, if that's okay."

"Oh…" Seria was taken aback for only a second. "Did it not go well with Miss Simington?"

"N-no, it… it went fine. Better than it probably… probably… probably…" I sighed. There was a block. I couldn't get past the fucking word! "probably should have gone. Sorry…" I apologized.

"Okay, well, did you have anything to eat while you were out with Akiza today?" Seria asked.

"N-no, I didn't…"

"Then you need to eat something now. Come on. Sit." She ordered.

"Seria, please, I'm really tired, and just… having to explain everything to Mina brought it all up again for me. I just… I'd like to go to bed."

"I'm not saying we have to have a conversation while we eat; I'm just saying you need to eat something. You can't go to bed with only having eaten breakfast. Now come on. Sit down." She repeated.

"Okay." I caved. It was easier just accepting it than possibly getting into an argument with her, and I knew Seria was just trying to look out for me. Everyone so far was trying to look out for me. Ever since I got back. Ancient Fairy Dragon, Seria, Akiza, Zena, Mina. I didn't deserve it.

I went and sat down at the kitchen table. I should have offered to take the plates over, but of course I wasn't really thinking. My mind was just completely elsewhere. It was only when Seria put a plate down in front of me and I got a little fright that I realized what I should have done.

It must have been quite a visual reaction too, because Seria reacted in turn almost immediately.

"Hey, it's alright…" she cooed. "It's okay…" she whispered.

"Sorry…" I apologized once more. "I-I-I've just been thinking about all of… well, everything, really. I know… I know it's good to talk about things, and not everyone does that, but… it's hard."

"I know. Especially now with your… condition. But I don't care about that." Seria cleared her throat as she placed a plate down at her side of the table. "What I mean is, that doesn't matter to me. You're still you. And for what it's worth, I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks, Seria." I smiled, watching as Seria took her seat. I looked down at my meal, cut some chicken up, shoved it into my mouth and closed my eyes. I swallowed hastily and opened them. "Sorry, th-thank you f-for the food…!" I stammered.

Seria giggled. "It's okay…" she told me. I didn't mean to be rude, and I'm sure that Seria could tell that my mind was elsewhere. Actually, I think hers was too. "So…" she said after a while. "Before, when you said you ran into someone, if it wasn't Yusei or Jack… and it was someone from when you were in Team Satisfaction… who was the lady that you said looked after you? Martha, right? Was it her that you saw?"

I shook my head. "No, Zena." I talked with my mouth full, quickly putting a fist to my lips while I chewed hurriedly. "Sorry, Kalin's ex." I spoke again when I'd finished.

"And Kalin was the leader of Team Satisfaction, right? And he was one of the ones who became a Dark Signer?"

I nodded. "That's right. We met Zena after a huge meeting with all the different gangs, and we were c-coming back through c-contested territory. She was all 'Hey! G-Gimme one of your vests!' and Y-Y-Yusei was like 'Nah!', and then Sector Security showed up, so we all had to run, she got separated from her g-gang and ended up tagging along with us. That's more or less it…" I trailed off. "Oh, and then she hooked up with Kalin, of course. They were actually a pretty solid couple until Kalin went all 'Hey, let's take over the Satellite!'. That kinda killed it… and then he actually did kill someone, and that really killed it."

Seria swallowed a mouthful of rice. "This might be a stupid question, but do you miss those days at all?" she asked.

"Not really." I admitted. "I mean, p-p-parts of it were fun, here and there. But every day was a struggle, y-y-y-y-you know? Some weeks I might have had one m-meal to eat. Most of what I found or got; I gave to the kids. I d-didn't want them to go without. And… with everything else… I never told anybody back then what I went through. Not Yusei, Jack, Crow, Martha."

"Right…" Seria muttered. "So, at that time nobody knew?"

"No."

"Was it that you didn't trust them back then?"

"No, they… we were… family. What happened to me… I thought that was my burden to bear." My tone shifted for the worse. "And it turned out I wasn't the only one who felt that way either. Yusei's father was head of the Momentum thing that caused Zero Reverse, and Jack apparently hated the Satellite from pretty much the very beginning, t-t-to the p-point that he lied and said he came from New Domino. N-N-Neither of them said anything about that back in the day, so you know." My eyes shifted from my meal to Seria. "Why? Did either of them say something t-t-t-to you at my service? That I should have told them everything back then? 'Cause that's a little hypocritical."

"No, they didn't say anything like that."

I sat back in my chair, putting my utensils down. "Sorry, I d-d-didn't m-mean to snap at you…" I mumbled.

"You didn't." Seria assured me.

"I-I… I just-"

"I know, you're tired." She dismissed. I sighed and resumed eating dinner. "Hey," Seria spoke up after a while, "I know our plans got thrown off today, what with Akiza and all. So… did you want to go shopping for everyone's presents tomorrow?"

My heart skipped a beat and I looked to Seria. "Yes, p-p-please." I nodded. "In fact, I… um… could we, um… I was th-thinking…"

"What is it…?" Seria cooed.

"I'd-I'd l-l-like to go and s-see Luna tomorrow too, i-if that's okay…"

Seria's face practically lit up. "Yes, yes! Of course!" she quickly got up out of her seat, came over and hugged me.

I froze up, instinctively pulling my arms in. It was involuntary. "Um…"

"Oh, I'm sorry…!" Seria pulled away immediately. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She repeated.

"No," I groaned and shook my head. "Don't apologize." I said, looking up at her. "I need to g-get over this. Just because Kobi and Joel did what they did to me when I was a kid… d-d-d-doesn't mean I need to freak out whenever you or Akiza or F-F-F-F-Fizdis…" I stopped, shaking my head, "t-try to hug me." I gently took Seria's hands in mine. "So, be physical with me, okay? No matter how much I squirm and spaz out, my retarded body needs to learn…!"

"O-Okay, Tyler, if… if that's what you want."

I got up from my seat. "Can I have another hug?"

I must have asked in an outrageously serious tone, because Seria stifled out a little giggle before she nodded, slipping her arms underneath mine as she pressed herself against me. "Of course you can…" she whispered in my ear. I shivered, momentarily burying my head in the nape of her neck.

It was nice. I mean, apart from my brain telling me to curl up into the fetal position, it was nice. It was… human nature to want some sort of physical contact with other human beings, and I'd be damned if I was going to let Kobi and Joel beat that out of me.

I loosened my grip on Seria just a little. "Sorry I didn't tell you I was in the Spirit World before."

"Huh?" Seria quickly broke the hug. "Oh, that's okay. You know you're allowed to keep secrets if you want to. Just don't do it because you think I'll get angry or something. You can tell me anything you want, but I understand there are things that you might not want to tell me." Seria looked away. "Actually, um… speaking of the Spirit World, I wanted to ask you about that."

"Yeah?"

Seria nodded. "You'll probably think this is a silly question, but you have to remember I'm an outsider, okay? My familiarity doesn't extend that far beyond a research capacity. I don't have any first-hand experience like you do."

"What is it?"

"Well… what's it like in the Spirit World?" Seria asked. "I mean, I know… when we were both at the Arcadia Movement-"

"I know." I said softly, cutting Seria off. I didn't blame her at all for anything that happened back then. She didn't do anything wrong. It was Sayer that did everything, she just observed it. I sighed, pondering my response for a moment. "Well, when I went there to rescue Luna and Ancient Fairy Dragon, it, uh… wasn't too good." I understated. "But all the other times I've been, it's been nice. Warm, cosy, relaxing. I mean, I'd be happy to ask a Spirit what it's actually like to live there, 'cause I don't really know either. But, no… for me, it's nice…"

"And Ancient Fairy Dragon? What's she like?"

"Oh, really nice. The best." 'The best' honestly didn't feel like enough praise, and I wasn't just saying that because Ancient Fairy Dragon could have been listening in. "I mean, she's a dragon, so you know, she's big and intimidating," I gestured with my hands, "but… really nice. I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her." I suddenly laughed. "I could say that about a lot of people, huh? I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them…" I cleared my throat. "But, no, she's… I'm really thankful for Her Majesty."

"'Her Majesty'?" Seria giggled.

"Uh…" I got a little flustered. "W-w-w-well, she's the Queen or the Leader of the Spirit World, you know? The Goddess or something. I don't know what the hierarchy is. I just figured, you know, she's royalty, right? She's at the top. It's… correct to refer to her with some sort of title, right?"

"I think it's cute…" Seria beamed.

"Well I think I'm the only one who does it. I've never heard Luna or Regulus, or anybody refer to her with any sort of title." I sighed. "I dunno, it's probably stupid…" I grumbled.

"No, it's not stupid." Seria casually dismissed my statement. "It shows you've got respect for her. Actually, um… could you…" Seria shook her head. "The next time you talk to her, could you apologize to her for me?"

"Apologize? Why?"

"You know… me playing my part in what happened to you…" Seria mumbled. "And Luna too… You know, if, if you were meant to rescue her and save the Spirit World, the fact that I was a part of the organization that was keeping you both hostage… and the plans that Sayer had for you, I-I mean-" Seria's voice had gotten quieter, and she was speaking more quickly.

I quickly cut in. "Seria, I don't know for sure what she thinks of you, but you don't need to apologize. From what I understand, which probably isn't a lot, but from what I understand, that or most of that was meant to happen. That was why Explosivo did what he did, okay? That was all a part of the 'big plan', or something. So, don't worry, you're not to blame. And if Her Majesty hated you, or thought less of you or whatever, then I don't think she would have let me come back here to see you. She was the one that brought me back here. But I will ask her, the next time I talk to her."

"Thank you. That would be great." Seria sat back in her seat. "Sorry. I said you didn't have to speak, and here I am yammering on and asking you all these questions. We should finish eating before it gets cold, and then I'll let you head to bed, okay?"

"Okay." I nodded, my focus shifting from Seria back to my meal.

---

I was tired, but I couldn't fall asleep. I wanted to. I was in bed lying down, it was dark, it was late, and I needed to get some amount of sleep for the following day. But I just couldn't turn my brain off.

I could feel my pulse in my neck through my pillow as I laid on my side. Whether I had my eyes open or closed, I felt the same. Before going to bed, I was tired, absolutely exhausted, like I could fall asleep at any moment. But of course, now that I was actually in bed and trying to get to sleep, my retarded, stupid brain wouldn't let me.

I sighed and faced the ceiling, looking up at it for several minutes at least. I was having absolutely no luck getting to sleep, and if that was going to be the case, I figured I'd better at least tell Ancient Fairy Dragon upfront what my plans were. If she wanted to tell Luna or anything, or advise me against it, or whatever… it was just best I tell her. "Um…" I started, "Ancient Fairy Dragon…?" I whispered. "Can you hear me…?"

"I'm here, Tyler…" Ancient Fairy Dragon's gentle, soothing voice echoed inside my head, shadows twisting and distorting along the walls of the guest room. "Is everything okay…?"

"Y-yes, Your Majesty." I looked around the room, unsure of the direction to face before just deciding to stare back up at the ceiling. "I, um… I'm… I'm going to go and see Luna tomorrow." I told her. "I just thought you should know that… i-i-if you w-wanted to say anything to her beforehand, you know, let her know I was coming, y-you can."

"That won't be necessary…" Ancient Fairy Dragon replied. "Everything Luna needs to hear… she can hear from you…"

"Okay…" I cleared my throat. "Also, um… I, um… I know before I said I'm sorry, but I never said… thank you. Thank you for… being so kind and caring, and gentle and forgiving, and rescuing me after I came back here. Thank you for letting me spend time with you in the Spirit World and thank you for checking up on me, and, just…" I sighed. "Thank you for everything, Your Majesty."

"You're more than welcome, my child…" Ancient Fairy Dragon's gentle voice and warm tone made my body tingle. "I'm just glad I was able to save you…"

"Yeah…" I muttered, it only just occurring to me that, if she wanted to, Ancient Fairy Dragon could have let me die. She could have left me to bleed out when I arrived back home. The other Spirits probably wouldn't have been able to heal me without her.

"I'd never do that to you…" Ancient Fairy Dragon said, causing me to gasp. She'd read my mind again. "Your existence is important, Tyler… Not just because of what you were born to do, but because you were born at all… Life is precious, and I would never forsake yours…"

I swallowed, a lump in my throat. "Y-Your Majesty…"

"One day," she told me, "you will die. It is the one eventuality that ties all of humanity together. And for some, that is where their existence will end. But not you. When you die, it'll be like falling asleep. And when you wake up, you'll be here in the Spirit World with me. If you desire it, you can have an eternal afterlife with me… you and Luna both…"

"An eternal afterlife…?" I mumbled.

"That's right…" she said gently. "You don't have to decide right now, of course. You have the rest of your life to live, after all, but it's something to think about. Just know that I would be delighted to have both you and Luna at my side once you've passed from your world."

"Luna…" I mumbled, my heart beating a little bit faster. "Your Majesty, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course…"

"Um…" I wasn't quite sure how to start. "These… these feelings that I have for Luna… are they real? Are they mine? Or… or do I have them just because I'm supposed to have them?"

"You'll have to forgive me, I'm not quite sure what you mean…"

I sighed. "I mean… the bond that the Signers have, their Marks, that… red thread of fate… they were drawn to each other, to help each other… My fate's intertwined with you and Luna, r-right? S-so then… were my… are my feelings for Luna genuine, or is everything with her just… just what I'm told to feel?"

Ancient Fairy Dragon's voice suddenly sounded closer, like her face was only inches from mine, and it was as though I could feel her breath on my body, my skin tingling once more as I heard her words echo much louder in my head than before. "If you're asking if… either myself or the Crimson Dragon forced you to fall in love with Luna, that's not the case at all. While it is true that, without your joint connection to this world, it is highly unlikely that the two of you would have ever met each other otherwise, I can say with absolute certainty that you feel how you feel because you do, not through any kind of fate or destiny that the two of you may share. Believe me, Tyler, if I had control over your fate, I would not have allowed you to suffer how you did at the hands of a truly deplorable human like Kobi. You, like so many others, deserve so much more than the hand you've been dealt, and I'm going to do everything in my power now to help you, just like you helped me. You and Luna risked your own lives to restore mine and bring peace to the Spirit World, and all I want now is for Luna to be safe forever. I believe that Luna can be safe with you…"

"Well, th-thank you, Your Majesty, that means a heck of a lot coming from you."

"I say it not just to strengthen your own resolve, but because it's the truth. When Luna was younger, she spent a month with me here. Of course, you know that time moves differently between the Nine Worlds – what was one month for her body in the Human World was in truth much longer in the Spirit World. In that time, she had never been happier, and would never be happier. That is, until she met you."

"Really?"

Ancient Fairy Dragon giggled, and there was an uncharacteristic hint of joviality in her tone. "My child, you cannot possibly realize just what a profound impact you've had on her life, and I don't simply mean helping her to free myself, Regulus and the Spirit World. When her feelings for you turned into love, that happiness could be felt even here, Worlds apart. But more than that, I could see it in how she spoke, how she carried herself. It's not a coincidence that once she met you, her overall health started to improve…"

Ancient Fairy Dragon was wrong. I had realized that, because I'd felt exactly the same. Just being around Luna, whether we were in a relationship or not, I felt happier, stronger, and better about myself.

I just never knew she felt just as strongly about me as I did her.

It stung, because it made what I'd done on the Ark Cradle so much worse.

I did my best not to let my emotions get the better of me. "And then I had to go and screw it all up…"

"But you came back, and you're trying… you've done so well…" she told me.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." I shifted around in my bed. "Oh, um… Seria as well, she wanted me to say sorry for… her role in the Arcadia Movement…"

"You can tell her… that the 'big and intimidating' dragon forgives her." Ancient Fairy Dragon teased, feeling my face get a little hot.

"Y-Your Majesty, I-"

"It's okay, I'm teasing…" Ancient Fairy Dragon whispered. "Truthfully, I would hate to think there's any part of you that's afraid or doubtful of me. As a human with a connection to the Spirit World and a bond with me, I love you as any parent should love their child. I think of you and Luna as my children. You both mean the world to me, so if ever you feel alone or unsure, just call for me, and I will be here…"

"Thank you, Your Majesty…"

Ancient Fairy Dragon hummed. "Now, my child… I think I've taken up enough of your time. You need to be well-rested for tomorrow. I can help with that, if you'll let me…"

I nodded. "Yes, please, Your Majesty. If it's not too much trouble."

"Not at all… Close your eyes and focus on my voice…"

I nodded, doing as she asked.

"Very good…"

And before I'd even realized it, I had already drifted off to sleep.

---

"Um… Hmm~mm…" Seria clicked her tongue, looking around at all the different jewelry in the display cases.

Coming from a bookshop having bought Akiza's present, we'd arrived at Oz Abstract just after its midday opening, and were quickly greeted by a sales assistant. I would have thought we'd go to Pandora or something, but Seria insisted that Oz Abstract was the best place to get jewelry for Luna. I wasn't going to complain. I knew next to nothing about jewelry or fashion or anything like that.

"Good afternoon, can I help you find anything?" we were asked.

"We're just looking for the moment, thank you." Seria smiled. Seria was looking. I was distracted by the heads of the deer or gazelle or whatever they were that were mounted on the walls, so I was glad at least one of us was able to focus.

The sales assistant bowed and left us to it, Seria leading me over to a table with some display cases. "What about one of these…?" Seria whispered to me.

"Uh…" I looked down at the display case. All the pieces looked so intricate. There was a ring fittingly called 'Black Rose' which I thought would have suited Akiza, but as for Luna, I wasn't sure. There were rings with crowns, skulls, demon eyes, and that was to say nothing of the bracelets, earrings, necklaces and all the other pieces of jewelry. "Um… well, I was thinking a ring, but all of these look really, um… flashy. I'm not sure if that's L-L-Luna's style…"

"Well we don't have to get anything too over the top. We could get her a sterling silver ring with her birthstone if you wanted. When's Luna's birthday?"

"The twe-twentieth of June."

"Right, so she'd have three birthstones then: Alexandrite, moonstone, and pearl." Seria slowly turned to me, a wide smile on her face. "So, a moonstone for Luna?"

"Is that alright? Or do you think it might be a bit t-t-too early for jokes?"

"I think it might help break the ice." Seria's eyes scanned the display cases in front of us. "You wouldn't know what her size is, would you?"

"Um, no, I thought you w-w-weren't supposed to ask women about that sort of thing."

"I meant ring size, you precious little angel!" Seria giggled, tapping me on the nose.

"Oh… see, I'm just an idiot."

Seria beamed at me. "That's alright. We can wing it, and if it doesn't fit properly, we'll see if we can get it resized. And if we can't do that, we can just buy another one."

"An…other one?" I asked.

"What's wrong?"

"I…" I sighed. "One is expensive enough…" I whispered. "Especially since I don't have any money. The fact that you bought Akiza's present…" I eyed the bag Seria was carrying. Inside was a copy of 'Botanica's Encyclopedia of Roses'. "I just feel bad. I know at the moment, I'm not doing anything to help, but…" I trailed off with a sigh.

Seria glanced around for a moment, before taking me by the hand to a corner of the shop. "Look at this…" she said under her breath as she fiddled with her pink Birkin bag, fetching her purse before showing me the contents.

My eyes widened. Seria was carrying a lot of money on her. Way more than I thought she even had. Way more than I'd ever seen.

I leaned close to her. "Where'd you get all that…?" I whispered.

"From my job." Seria smiled.

"Right, but, um… I didn't realize you had so much money…"

"Well I don't really like to flaunt my money around. I find it much better being frugal most of the time, and then treating myself every so often, you know?" Seria ran her fingers through her hair. "But you were so concerned with the money that I just thought I'd show you. There's nothing you need to worry about."

"I thought I was leaving you in the lurch a little, financially." I admitted.

"Oh, no. I wouldn't have offered you to come live with me if I was only barely getting by. I wouldn't do that to you – ask you to come and live with me if I was struggling financially. It was never about the money, Tyler. Why I was upset about Joel taking off with your money, is that that money was yours. I remember when you got your first paycheck, you wanted to use half to start paying back Joel and the other half to help me pay rent on the apartment."

"Well, yeah… I wouldn't have gotten that job if you hadn't have vouched for me. The way I see it, you were more entitled to the money I earned than I was. I just… I don't like owing people things, and… Joel having all that over me, everything he bought, which admittedly wasn't much – a suit, some food, but… after everything he and Kobi did, I just wanted it to be over. I don't want anything to do with him. And after that, it was just… yeah… helping you. I mean, you-you gave me a home. Why would I not give you the money I earned?"

Seria put her purse away. "Well, you don't owe me anything, so I don't want you to think that you do. Really, you getting a job is, for me, more about you having a reason to get up in the morning, rather than any sort of financial assistance. Have you had any thoughts about what you might want to do for a job once all this is settled?" Seria asked me.

"Um… not really, no. I-I know I probably should be thinking about that, but…" I sighed. "I r-r-r-really just want to get things sorted with everybody first. If I'm honest, I know I probably won't be as lucky as I was before, g-g-getting a job and holding it down. I had a really good thing going at the Library, and then I declined getting my contract renewed, so they probably won't want me back. And I'm not even qualified for anything. I only got that job 'cause of you."

Seria tilted her head to the side and hummed. "Have you thought about a career in the Pro League?" she suddenly asked.

"What? Like, like Pro Dueling?"

"Yeah. You said you won that tournament in the other Dimension, right?"

"Well, yeah, but it wasn't really fair. Most of the competitors were w-what you and I would consider Old Satellite residents, so their Decks weren't, you know, built to be the best they could be. Like, n-n-not what you saw at the WRGP or stuff like that. And anyway, it was a Tag Duel thing, and, I mean, Tim, h-he… I mean-"

"I just figured if you managed to beat the Jack of that other Dimension, you know, he sounded pretty tough from what you described. I just thought it's something to consider."

"I guess…" I mumbled. "It w-would be fun to Duel in a more casual environment." My eyes widened. "N-not casual, I know t-t-t-t-t-tournaments get compet… comp… get competitive. I just mean, it w-would be nice to Duel without the fate of the w-world on the line." I shook my head. "But I don't know. Even then, I'd prefer to do Tag Duels over Singles, Matches or Turbo Duels, and most of the Dueling Leagues nowadays focus on Turbo Duels anyway, and I haven't been in the driver's seat of a Duel Runner since the accident a year ago."

"Alright…" Seria pursed her lips. "We'll think of something…"

"I appreciate you thinking about it." I gently squeezed her hand. "What I do know, is that whatever I end up doing, I'll be doing it here in New Domino." I shook my head. "I still don't get why everybody left. Well, not everybody, obviously, but Jack and Leo. I mean, Jack especially, m-m-moving away." I quickly shook my head again. "This is the City where T-Turbo Dueling was invented! This is the place to do it! It's like, if you lived in the United States, New York City, and you went 'hey, I'm going to go and do musical theater in Australia', and you left New York, the place where it's, you know, the biggest, at its peak or w-whatever for some weird country like that. Like… like, what?! I just don't get it! Jack was already… from what I understood, people came from far and wide to challenge him. He didn't need to go anywhere. Everybody came to him. I thought that was the whole deal!"

Seria laughed. "Well when you put it like that, yeah, it does sound a little strange!" she agreed.

"And Leo too, like… I don't get why he'd leave… leave without Luna. I mean, I did that, but that was a mistake I made." I sighed. "Like, what Akiza's doing is incredibly noble and sweet, but what if she decided she wanted to go and do that in Europe or something and broke up with Yusei? I dunno. I… I…" I sighed once more. "All I'm trying to say is, do whatever you want, but don't make any decisions based on a stupid, incredibly rash one that I made. Nobody had to go and do anything because I did something. And it just… it sucks that I caused all these problems…"

"Hey…! Hey-hey-hey-hey-hey…!" Seria quickly cupped my head in her hands. "Listen to me: what you did… you don't need me to tell you again how stupid I think it was, but Jack and Leo, they chose to leave. No one made them. It's not your fault. And you're back now, and you're trying, and that's all anyone can ask of you. You being alive, and coming back…" Seria surrendered her hands to her sides. "Sorry, I don't mean to get mushy…" she whispered.

I laughed. "You don't need to apologize to me for that…!"

The two of us gasped suddenly as her bag vibrated, Seria fishing her cell phone out as she answered it. "Hello~" Seria answered. "I'm go~od, how are you? …Mhm? Out doing some shopping. Mhm. Yep, he's here with me right now," Seria said aloud before mouthing "Akiza," to me in silence. "That's right…" she nodded quickly. "He is!" Seria's eyes suddenly snapped to mine. "Do you want to speak to him?"

My heart jumped into my throat. No. No-no-no-no-no, no-no, no-no-no.

"I'd… I'd… I'd r-r-r-rather not t-talk on the phone." I understated.

"I'll put him on for you." Seria said before covering the phone and turning to me. "You talk to Akiza, and I'll take care of the ring, okay?"

"I-I-I-I-I really-" I could barely even form a thought, my heart was pounding so much just at the prospect, the fear of having to talk to someone on the phone, much less Akiza.

"You can do it. Don't worry." Seria assured me with the sweetest of smiles, forcefully placing her phone into my hand.

"S-Seria…!" I exhaled. I couldn't argue; she'd already walked away. I closed my eyes, bringing the phone up to my ear. "H-h-h-h-h-h-h-hi… s-sorry… hi, Akiza…"

"Hi, Tyler!" Akiza greeted warmly. "I just wanted to find out how things went with Mina yesterday. Did it all go okay?"

"Y-yeah, it w-w-went f-f-f-fine."

"Great! That's great! I'm so glad!"

"Yeah, so, um… if-if-if you want t-to, um…" I sighed, exasperated. "Sorry…"

"It's okay…" I heard Akiza whisper to me on the line.

"I… if you have time, and want to know where I've been, I would be happy to tell you sometime."

"I'd like that. Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to come around to my place, have dinner with me and my parents sometime. Are you free tonight?"

"Tonight? Um… I don't know. I'm, um… I'm actually going to… go and see Luna today."

"Really? Oh, that's great! I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see you!"

"I-I-I hope so…" I muttered. "We're getting her a present. I b-b-b-bought y-you one t-t-too."

"Tyler, you didn't have to do that."

"Yeah, I did." I stated matter-of-factly, though my tone was soft. "You've been so nice to me. You and M-Mina and S-S-Seria. And I want you to know, you know, how much I app-p-p-p-p-preciate you." I sighed. "But yeah, so… I don't know how things are going to go with Luna. I… might not be up for anything later."

Akiza sighed. "Tyler, I'm sure it'll all be fine, but I understand. It was short notice anyway."

"Sorry…"

"Don't apologize, it's fine." She assured me. "Maybe when this is all sorted, we could all get together for a barbecue or something?"

I found myself smiling at the thought. "I'd l-l-l-like that a lot."

"Great." She said warmly. "I know not everyone from Team 5D's is still around these days, but it would be nice to catch up with everyone that's here."

My smile faded. "Ak-Akiza, I told you… I wasn't, I'm not a part of Team 5D's."

"Tyler-"

"Akiza, I'm happy to get together, but… Team 5D's, that's you guys. You, Yusei, Jack, Crow, the twins, Bruno. I was in the hospital for most of that." I should have left it there. I should have stopped talking, but I didn't. "Not that Yusei or anyone else decided to visit me or anything, but whatever. I'm not saying they had to do what Luna did, you know, come and visit me pretty much every day. But not even once? And I'm not allowed to feel hurt by that?"

"Tyler, I'm… I'm sorry, I had no idea you felt like that."

"Well I didn't really feel like that at the time. I was probably too wacked out on medication to really feel anything, but getting my memories back, remembering how close we were back then, and then everything I've been through now… it hurts. Me, Crow, Yusei, Jack, Kalin and Zena. We were like a family. And I know me getting amnesia must have killed Yusei because I didn't… there was n-n-nothing there for me. But I didn't know, you know? And I did the best I could with him and Taze, and… I know it hurt Jack because he made it blatantly clear to me that I was dead to him. He said as much the last time I saw him."

I could hear Akiza breathing on the other end, but she otherwise stayed silent.

I inhaled sharply. "I'm not angry at you, Akiza, so please don't think…" I exhaled. "You're completely blameless, I know that. and when it comes to me and you, I know I fucked up. If I'd defeated Joel on the Ark Cradle, if I'd have killed him, I would have let you do what you wanted to the Planetary Gear. I never wanted~" I stopped, feeling my voice break. "I never wanted anything to happen to the City, to you, to Luna… I love you guys so much~"

"I know…" she whispered. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. For what it's worth… I know Yusei considers you a part of Team 5D's."

I closed my eyes, exhaling sharply. Those few months I spent in my apartment undergoing physical rehabilitation after the accident involving that 'Fake Jack' begged to differ. Yusei didn't visit me once during that time.

Again, I couldn't help myself. "Well, he had a funny way of showing it-"

"Tyler," Akiza cut me off. "There's… I really…" she stopped, exhaling sharply herself. "You need to talk to Yusei. As soon as you can." She said firmly. "Promise me you will."

"I plan to. Once I've seen Luna, and at least started to smooth things over with her, I'm gonna get in touch with Yusei."

"Good. Because… he… he misses you."

"I've missed him. I've missed all of you. That's why… that's why I came back. That's why I'm here, but… I just w-wonder, you know? It's hard to know what he's thinking sometimes. You know that probably better than I do at this point." I sighed. "Anyway, that's…" I trailed off, Seria catching my attention out of the corner of my eye, waving to me from the counter. "Oop, sorry, Akiza, I, um… I… I…"

"Do you have to go?" Akiza cooed.

"Y-yeah…" I stammered, slowly making my way over to the counter. "I th-th-think we've got the p-present for L-L-L-Luna sorted."

"Alright, I'll let you go. Good luck. I'll be thinking of you."

"Thanks."

"Wait, before you go…" Akiza paused, "If… if Luna calls me later, surprised that you're back, what would you like me to do?"

I cleared my throat, certainty in my voice. "Feign shock, p-p-p-pretend you don't know. I don't want you or anyone else getting dragged into this if it all goes to shit."

"I'm sure it won't, but alright. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay."

"Bye, Tyler."

"Bye…" I whispered.

I'd made my way to the counter pretty much as the phone call ended, Seria reaching out for my hand, looking quite excited. Both her and the sales assistant, who I assumed help Seria pick out a ring, had great big smiles on their faces. "Tyler! Tyler, look!" Seria said giddily. "This is the one we decided on. I think she's really going to like it."

Seria handed me a black velvet ring box with much enthusiasm, it occurring to me right away that that meant it had probably already been paid for.

Nevertheless, I gave Seria back her phone and opened the ring box. "Oh, wow!" I exclaimed, feeling a little short of breath.

"It's called a 'Colimica Ring'." the sales assistant told me.

"See? It's got little hearts on the sides, it's sterling silver, a~and… moonstone in the middle!" Seria beamed. "So, what do you think?" she asked.

"I… I…" I stuttered. "It's… it's beautiful, Seria, thank you! I'm… I'm sure Luna will love it! Thank you!" I gushed, my eyes darting between Seria and the ring.

"You're more than welcome." She continued to smile at me.

A Colimica Ring with moonstone. It really was a beautiful ring, and it looked to be about Luna's size too. I hoped she'd like it.

"I'll bag it up for you." the sales assistant smiled. I closed the ring box and gave it to her, watching her place it into a carry bag, along with a pack of incense, cloths, and pouches. "Here you are." She smiled, offering me the bag.

Seria nudged me to take it and I did, bowing to the sales assistant. "Th-thank you very m-m-much…"

"Thank you," Seria nodded to her.

"You're welcome. Thank you for coming in." she continued to smile.

I fidgeted a little, Seria slipping a hand into my free one, walking me out of the shop.

There wasn't a cloud in the sky as Seria and I re-emerged on the streets of the Tops East Plaza. I straightened myself up, clearing my throat. "Alright…" I said aloud, quietly.

"We made pretty good time, I think. Anyway, that's Akiza's and Luna's presents taken care of. Now…"

I nodded. "Now your present."

Seria shook her head, smiling. "That's sweet, but I don't need anything." Seria opened her eyes, looking down at our interlocked fingers, before slowly look back into my eyes. "Just… to see you alive, and smiling, and happy… That's all I want. That's the only present I need."

"Seria…" I whispered, swallowing. "S-Seria, Akiza said… Akiza said… something to me yesterday that… I n-need to say to you." I steadied myself. "I love you. Not, you know, sexually, just… you're so supportive of me."

I watched Seria's cheeks go red and felt her hold my hand a little bit tighter. "Wha… what~?"

"Just… from one human being to another, I love you. I… want you to know that. 'Cause I know I can be difficult, and not all there, and might seem unappreciative, but… the truth is, I don't know what I'd do without you. You're like…" I pondered the best way to say it, eventually settling on "you're like a cool big sister."

I wondered if I should have been proud of how much I seemed to make Seria blush. I don't think I'd ever seen her face go as red as I'd seemed to have made it. "Big sister…" she whispered, clearing her throat several times over. "Okay, when you say 'big sister', how big are we talking? Because I'm not that much older than you, I'm…" Seria slowed her words, coming to a stop, her eyes averting mine for a moment. "Wait…"

"What?"

"Your birthday…" Seria said breathily. "Your birthday was two weeks ago!" she said suddenly.

"Oh…" I said aloud. "Oh yeah…" I honestly hadn't even realized. There were far more important things going on back then, and there still was. "Well, anyway-"

"We have to do something for it!" Seria insisted.

"No, we do~on't!" I said back in a sing-song way.

"Uh, yeah, we do~o!" Seria argued. "That makes you, what? Nineteen?"

"Yeah?" I shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I don't need to celebrate a birthday. Besides, there's more important things to worry about anyway."

Seria put a hand to her hip. "You're doing it right now, you know?"

"What?"

"Being difficult." She told me.

My heart skipped a beat. "I-I-I-I-I'm sorry-"

Seria suddenly smiled. "I'm joking!" she assured me. "Listen: if you don't want to celebrate, we don't have to, but… I think it would be nice if we did something. I mean, I know I've said it already, but… you're back, you're alive, you're here. That's… that's something to celebrate, I think. Don't you?"

"I guess so…"

Seria beamed at me once more. "Besides, what kind of 'big sister' would I be if I didn't want to celebrate the safe return of my 'little brother', right?"

I pushed air out my nose and laughed. "Fair enough."

"Right then. With that out of the way, what did you want to get for Yusei?"

"Um…" my mind drew a blank. "I have no idea, honestly. He's probably got almost anything he could ever want, at least in terms of stuff I could get him."

"Well, we don't have to get all the presents today. I mean, we've got Luna's present. We could go visit her now, save Yusei's for another time. What do you think?"

I turned to the direction of Leo and Luna's… Luna's penthouse, the highest point of New Domino City. I could see it quite easily from where we were standing in the plaza. "Yeah… Yusei's present can wait. I've put this off long enough."

The second understatement of the year.

"But," I pulled my hand from Seria's, taking a few steps back, "we're not going to go see her. Just me."

"Tyler…"

"This is my mess, Seria. You've gone above and beyond, but I d-don't want you to get caught up in it any further. I know how people get with things like this. 'Why wasn't I told?' or 'Were you keeping this a secret?'. I said the same thing to Akiza and Her Majesty. I don't want her blaming anyone except me. This is my fault, and it's time I take responsibility for the shitty things I've done."

Seria exhaled. "Are you sure you don't want me to at least drive you there?" she asked. "The car's just-"

"I'm sure." I told her. "It shouldn't take me too long to get there. Probably about twenty minutes from here." I smiled weakly. "You can head home and relax for a bit. You've… you've been so amazing."

"Are you sure?" Seria hesitated.

"I'm sure." I repeated.

Seria closed her eyes for a moment, relenting. "Alright." She came close to me, wrapping her arms around me, laying her head atop mine for a moment. "I guess I'll see you at home then, or I can come by later and pick you up?"

"I'll figure it out…" I whispered.

"I know you will…" Seria pulled away, running her fingers up my arms. She hesitated once more before leaning forward, gently pressing her lips to my forehead. "Good luck."

"Thanks…"

Seria pulled away once more, her smile not faltering. She reminded me so much of Fizdis. Her kindness, her selflessness. That… similar familial feeling, which was probably just a weird mental defect on my part.

I watched her turn and walk away, heading to her car, the opposite direction to where I wanted, no, needed to go.

When Seria had disappeared from my sight, I looked down at the carry bag with Luna's ring inside, took a deep breath, and started walking, briskly, towards the penthouse.

---

I stared at the door, the entrance to Luna's penthouse, for longer than I needed to without even knocking on the door. In spite of all the preparation, in spite of me spending the last month wishing I could be back, I was nervous. Not like how I'd been nervous before with Mina, or how I'd become generally anxious over having to speak, like with Akiza on the phone, or even back just before Luna and I had gotten together, and how I'd stood outside her place with a bouquet of roses, debating on whether or not to open the door.

No, it was a whole other level. In fact, it was all of it.

Luna's penthouse was where Explosivo betrayed me for the second time, where I'd tried to take my life, where Luna saved me and opened up to me, where we'd first kissed, where I fell in love. But above the bad and the good, beyond all of that, it was Luna's home.

It was like Tim said. Home was the one place above all else where you had a right to feel safe. And when I was with Luna, I felt safe, but… by me coming back and showing my face again, to her, after all this time, was I robbing her of that right? It had been a month since I disappeared, but she'd had six months before that to get over me. Sure, Seria said that Luna missed me, that she wanted to sort things out, but just because Luna had apparently said that to her, that didn't mean that was actually how she felt. It was a two-way street, after all. I didn't call Luna, but she didn't call me either! She could have if she wanted to, but she didn't. And Seria herself had even said that she hasn't spoken to her recently, so for all I knew, Luna could have moved on, and by me coming back, I would have just been drudging it up and opening all of those wounds again. And I would have been doing that to her in her home, where she was supposed to feel safe!

I was getting frustrated with myself. I knew if I kept standing there, I'd have eventually talked myself out of it. So, I closed my eyes, exhaled sharply, and knocked on the door. Future Tyler could deal with it if it all went to shit, I thought.

I could hear sounds from behind the door, people talking. I couldn't hear Luna's voice, but I could hear two others. I quickly drew my hands in behind my back, hiding the bag for the moment. The talking got louder, and before I knew it, my heart was in my throat, and my stomach churning with nerves.

The door opened, but it wasn't Luna standing on the other side. Instead, it was a girl about her age wearing a black sundress and a big pink bow in her long purple hair. She was chewing gum or eating something. She had something in her mouth anyway.

"Hello?"

I straightened up. All I had to do was say my name, but of course, my stutter coupled together with my nerves made that impossible. It was that damn hard 'T' that I just couldn't get passed. "Sorry," I apologized, "um… I have a stutter, um…" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Tyler. My name's Tyler. I-I'm h-here to see Luna. Is she available right n-now?"

I was so nailing the whole speaking thing!

"Uh…" the girl furrowed her eyebrows and turned around briefly. "Luna?!" the girl called. "Someone named Tyler is here to see you!"

There was a sudden, frantic rush of footsteps as Luna came to the door. I was quickly taken aback by how beautiful she looked. Not to say that she wasn't always beautiful, she was, just… how much she'd changed.

She wasn't wearing her usual clothes, what I remembered her almost always wearing. Her jacket, shorts and sneakers, and her hair wasn't tied into two pigtails either. Instead, her hair was longer, waist-length and down completely, and she wore a light blue shirt with a bright pink love heart just a little bit off-center on it. Her shorts, a darker shade of green than her hair, were dangerously short. She'd also gotten much taller too, and it would have been clear to anybody who saw her that, well, her… body had… started developing.

Luna was obviously taken aback by me as well. Her eyes were wide. She almost looked frightened that I was standing in front of her.

Her mouth dropped open. Okay, she looked legitimately terrified that I was standing in front of her!

"Luna-" I was silenced as Luna slammed the door in my face.

I took a step back, exhaling shakily.

I shouldn't have been surprised. Even if Luna hadn't have been angry with me at all, she'd thought I was dead, so of course she'd be shocked to find out that that was no longer the case.

"Uh, Luna, what the heck?" came that other girl's voice, muffled from behind the door. "Luna? Luna!"

Luna mumbled something, and I stepped forward, knocking on the door once more. "L… Luna…" I called to her through the door. "I-I know…" I closed my eyes. "I know this is… must be a… surprise that I'm here, but… if you'll just l-l-let me explain, I c-can… I'd like to talk to you. Please… can you please open the door…?" I asked softly.

No response, from Luna anyway. "Luna?" the other girl asked. I had no idea what was going on on the other side of that door. I waited until I heard the door get deadbolted, and my heart sank.

"Okay…" I whispered, looking away from the door. I got the message. She didn't want to talk to me.

"Hey…"

I turned behind me to see both the Spirits of Kiwi and Lemon Magician Girl hovering above the floor.

"Luna can see us, can't she? I'm happy to go in and talk to her if you want." Lemon Magician Girl offered.

"No." I shook my head. "She can, but don't worry about it." I told them, looking back towards the door.

"Tyler," Kiwi Magician Girl spoke curtly, "I'm sure if she knew what you've been through, Luna-"

"It's fine. Really." I cut her off. I closed my eyes, debating on whether to press the issue further. I leaned against the door, calling to Luna from the other side. "Luna… I-I'm staying at Seria's. If you want to find me, or talk, that's where I'll be." I sighed. "I-I-I'm sorry for d-dropping by unannounced. Have a good afternoon, okay?"

And with that, I turned and left, heading back towards the elevator across the floor. I tapped my finger on the button as I reached the wall, and entered the elevator when the doors opened, Kiwi and Lemon Magician Girl entering with me.

"Tyler-" Lemon Magician Girl started to speak, but I cut her off.

"If she doesn't want to talk to me, then she doesn't want to talk to me." I said simply. I pushed a big breath of air out my nose. "Frankly, I don't blame her. I've been lucky with Seria and Akiza, and everyone else so far. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop at some point." I turned to the Spirits. "Thanks for checking up on me though, r-r-r-r-really. I ap… app…" I sighed, "it's those fucking p's, I swear to God!" I shouted. "Appreciate, fuck, appreciate. I really appreciate it." I sighed, covering my eyes with my free hand.

"Tyler…" Lemon Magician Girl groaned, sounding clearly pained.

"So, what are you going to do now then?" Kiwi Magician Girl asked.

I sighed once more, and brought my hand away from my eyes.

"I'm gonna go home…"

---

It was a fairly long walk from Luna's penthouse to Seria's apartment. Kiwi and Lemon Magician Girl refused to leave me alone with my thoughts during the trek home, instead regaling me with talk of the Spirit World, and how different mine supposedly was to the one back home in their Dimension.

I knew what they were doing, trying to keep me distracted, occupy my thoughts with other things. I wasn't really in the mood to talk, but I did so anyway, even if it got me random looks of concern and confusion from passers-by who couldn't see or hear Spirits.

By the time I'd arrived home though, Kiwi and Lemon Magician Girl had been called back to the Spirit World, and I came through the front door alone, dragging my feet inside.

I tried to be as quiet as I could, but I probably just ended up making more noise that way. Not that it mattered – Seria was sitting on the couch watching TV as I returned, and she switched it off immediately, turning to me and giving me her full attention.

"You're back! How'd it go?"

I gently placed the carry bag onto the countertop. "It didn't." I said simply.

"Oh no."

"Don't worry," I smiled, "it could have gone much worse than it did. She… she got a little freaked out and slammed the door in my face. My fault. She had a friend over, and I showed up out of the blue. Of course she'd react the way she did."

"I'm really sorry, Tyler-"

"Don't be. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have done…" I trailed off, looking down. "I dunno… there's a lot of things I could have done differently, now that I think about it." I looked back over at Seria. "I know I said I d-d-d-didn't want to imp-implicate you, but… I told her I was here. Is… is that okay?"

Seria nodded quickly. "Of course." Seria's eyes suddenly widened. "In that case, I'll go and grab my cell phone. She might have tried to call me." She said, quickly disappearing into her bedroom.

I sighed, mulling around before removing my shoes, leaving them by the front door and slinking down on to the couch in the living room.

"Three missed calls." I heard Seria say as she returned, showing me the screen. "I'll call her back." She said quickly, tapping on the screen and placing the phone to her ear. "Straight to voicemail." She said aloud before clearing her throat. "Hey, Luna, it's Seria!" Seria spoke with her trademark sweet, almost infantilizing tone. "Sorry for missing your calls. Hope you're doing okay. Call me back when you get this, okay? Talk soon! Bye~!"

I continued as Seria hung up the phone. "I just figured, you know, stay there and keep pushing, one of us might say something in the moment that we shouldn't, so… I just told her that, if she wanted to come and see me, that I'd be here." I exhaled. "So, if she doesn't, then that's it, I guess." I shrugged.

"Tyler…" Seria's face was awash with concern.

"It's fine. Mina's probably gonna tell Jack I'm alive, but he won't care. And I doubt Leo would want anything to do with me if Luna doesn't, so that just leaves Yusei."

Seria glanced down at her phone. "He still hasn't returned my call from yesterday."

"That's alright." I dismissed. "I mean, not for you, he should get back to you. I just mean, I don't think I could see him right now. I just…" and that was it. The last bit of my composure was gone. To be fair, I lasted a lot longer than I thought I would, all things considered. "I don't know. I don't know." I repeated. "I feel angry, but I know I shouldn't, because I caused all of this, and it's my fault, but I~" my voice broke, and I burst into tears.

On the bright side, there was probably no better place to cry than in the safety of Seria's apartment, away from the rest of the world. "Oh, honey, no…!" Seria came to my side immediately, sitting down beside me and wrapping an arm around my shoulder. "C'mere…!" she turned and completely pressed herself against me. "It's okay…" she cooed.

"I don't know what to do. I ruined everything." I groaned, my voice shaky and wet.

"You didn't. And she could… she could still call, she could still come here." Seria assured me, moving to cup my head in her hands.

I shook my head. "You didn't see her. It wasn't just… that I was there, that she was surprised like you were. She was absolutely…" I struggled to find the right word, "horrified that I was there. Like she thought I was going to kill her~" my voice broke again. "I don't know what I expected, and I don't know what to do now…" I turned away from Seria and exhaled. "God, this is such a mess…"

"You've done the best you can…" Seria whispered to me. "And that's all you can do…" Seria breathed on my neck and I closed my eyes.

We stayed silent for a little while after that. Seria had returned to sitting beside me, laying her head on my shoulder and wrapping an arm around me, the two of us facing the TV, our reflections visible on the empty screen.

"Thank you…" I whispered. "Thank you for everything…" I gently squeezed Seria's hand. "All of this crap has been about me, and I know y-y-you're probably sick of me talking about it all at this point, so I'm just…" I sighed, suddenly laughing. "I don't know, I'm gonna shut up…" I threw my head back against the couch, looking up at the ceiling in silence.

After a long few minutes, Seria moved her head from my shoulder and looked at me. "You know… every night, before I go to sleep, I don't hope that tomorrow will be a good or better day. I tell myself 'tomorrow, I'm going to do better'. Because there's no point in just hoping for things to be better. The only person you can rely on, the only thing you can control is you." Seria licked her lips, tilting her head as she looked away. "I mean, I'm Psychic, so technically I could manifest the powers of Brain Control and control someone's mind, but ethically and legally… you're only in control of your own actions." I turned to look at her, and she smiled. "You did the right thing, going and telling Luna, but it's up to her now. If she doesn't… if she doesn't want anything more to do with you, then… you just have to accept it." Seria exhaled, and I could feel her breath on my face. "And then, whatever happens… tomorrow, we'll do better… okay…?"

In spite of the continued presence of tears in my eyes, I pushed a bunch of air out my nose, closed my eyes and nodded. "Okay."

"Okay!" Seria beamed. I flinched, opening my eyes as Seria ruffled my hair. "Now that that's sorted… lunch! I was thinking," Seria pretended to ponder, "considering the circumstances, we could stay in, get something delivered and watch a movie? What do you think?"

"I-" I'd barely even started to respond, and Seria was already multitasking between the TV and her phone.

"What do you feel like?" she asked softly.

I closed my eyes once more and sighed. "I don't know. Anything. Please… don't go to any trouble for me."

"It's no trouble." Seria assured me. "What about something greasy? Golden Brown?"

I shrugged. "Sure…"

"I knew you'd go for that." Seria beamed at me, once again focusing on her phone. "Okay, if I get a Tofu and Burdock Veggie Burger, you'll have my fries, right?"

"Only if you don't want them."

"I might have a few. Anyway, what do you want?"

"Um…" I pondered. "Screw it! Can I be a total pig and get both a Classic Triple Burger and a Chili Cheeseburger?"

"You can, if that's what you want."

"Is that alright? I'll regret it tomorrow, but like you said, I'll do better then."

Seria giggled. "That's not quite what I meant, but if that's what you want-" Seria stopped, her and I turning to the front door at the sound of someone pounding on it. She frowned. "I'll get it." She said, handing me her phone as she got up off the couch, heading to the door. The pounding continued. I looked back down at Seria's phone, hearing her open the door and gasp. "Luna…?"

"Where is he?" I heard her say, and I turned back towards the door. Luna shuddered as our eyes met.

"Luna…!" I stood up from the couch. I could see her breathing visibly, her shirt moving in and out, her shoulders slightly hunched forward.

"Tyler…!" Luna squeaked, the poor girl hyperventilating. I took a few steps towards the door, and Luna took a few steps toward me, her eyes becoming lachrymose. "How…?"

Seria quickly looked between the two of us. "Want me to explain for you?" she asked me.

"N-no, y-you can't be him…!" Luna started trembling.

"Luna…" I sighed. It hurt to hear that, to be honest. I mean, it was a logical response – it made sense, but still.

Seria's eyes widened, turning fully to face Luna. "Luna, it is Tyler. I know it's hard to believe…"

"It's him…"

My body shivered at the sudden sound of his voice, my former Spirit Partner, Explosivo, making his presence known to Luna and I.

"You…" I whispered.

"He might look a little different to how you remember him, but his soul's the same. It's definitely Tyler."

"Y-you brought him al-l-l-long…?" I asked softly.

"Tyler?" Seria looked at me with concern. I was shaking, and I didn't even realize it until Seria grabbed one of my hands. I flinched and reeled back. "Tyler, what's wrong?" she asked.

"So it is Tyler then?" Luna asked Explosivo.

He nodded, a warm smile on his face. "Alive and well, it seems."

I was pushing out ragged breaths, doing the best I could to keep my composure.

"Is there a Spirit in the room?" Seria asked me.

"Mhm." I verbalized.

"I needed to bring someone who knew you, that could sense your soul and prove it was really you…" Luna said.

"If that's all you need, shall I leave you to it then?" Explosivo asked.

"No-no-no, don't go…" I said softly, even though I knew he wasn't talking to me. "I've actually got some stuff I need to say to you."

Explosivo bowed. "If that's what you want."

I shook my head. "You never cared about what I wanted."

"Tyler…" Seria muttered, and I turned to her.

"This isn't fair to you." I said aloud. I went over and grabbed my Duel Disk, fitting my hand into it and activating it. "You brought the card with you, didn't you? H-h-hand it to me." I spoke to Luna while looking at Explosivo. I outstretched my arm for her to give me the card.

"Do as he says…" Explosivo told her.

Luna looked to him and nodded quickly, fumbling around in her pocket for the card before handing it to me. I slapped the card onto my Duel Disk, Explosivo's form becoming corporeal.

"Oh my goodness…!" Seria gasped, taking a few steps back in surprise.

"There." I said firmly. "Now we can all see, we can all hear, and there are no secrets."

"What card is that?" Seria asked.

"That's Explosivo." I told her. "A servant of Her Majesty, the Ancient Fairy Dragon."

"And he's the one that-"

"Yeah." I cut Seria off. She knew. I'd told her everything, but at least now she could put a face to a name. And it wouldn't have been right to exclude her from the conversation just because she couldn't see or hear Spirits herself. "Explosivo, this is Seria." I introduced. "She used to work with the Arcadia Movement."

"I know." He said simply. "I've listened in on conversations between Luna and her before."

"Okay, good, so y-y-you're all up to speed then." I said in a patronizing way. "You know that last year I got my memories back, so, you know, I remember everything. But I've been away for a while. I've had some time to think, have things put into perspective." I noticed Explosivo's body tense for a moment. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not going to throw you under the bus like you did me." He would have known that I disappeared too, and for whatever reason it seemed, he didn't tell Luna either. And I highly doubted that it was because Ancient Fairy Dragon told him not to. "I just want to understand…"

"Understand what?" he asked.

"Just… why…? All the shit I went through with Kobi and Joel… that didn't need to happen…" I muttered. "If I had to get to the Arcadia Movement back then to rescue Luna, 'cause that's where she'd end up at some point, could you not just have brought me there, back then when I was eight? Right after my father died, instead of enduring all of that, I could have been there for, I don't know, however many years. I wouldn't have minded waiting if you had have explained yourself. Why did I have to suffer for a year? Why did I have to get beaten down day after day and night after night? Why didn't you help me?"

"If I had taken you to the Arcadia Movement back then, you would have died." Explosivo said bluntly. "The experiments those humans were conducting… your body wouldn't have been able to handle them. From what I understand you were barely able to handle them when you were seventeen. As an eight-year old? You'd have died like so many others there."

Seria shook her head quickly. "N-no, I wouldn't have let that happen to him!" she insisted.

Explosivo eyed Seria wearily. "I'm aware that the death of that boy, Toby Tredwell, was the catalyst for your change of heart. If Tyler had have arrived at the Arcadia Movement before he did, then he would have certainly met his end from your experiments." Explosivo turned to me, "And I… we needed you alive."

I swallowed. "What if Kobi had raped me? Wh-what would you have done then?"

Seria gasped.

"Excuse me?" Explosivo too seemed totally taken aback by my question.

"You heard me. What if Kobi had raped me, and I w-w-wanted to kill myself because of what he did? What would you have done then?"

"Tyler…" Seria whispered breathily.

"No, I'm serious." I dismissed. "In another Dimension, I know for a fact that that's what happened, only that Tyler didn't have a version of you breathing down his neck. He had love and support from Spirits who actually cared about his wellbeing." I said, my thoughts turning to Fizdis.

"I do care about you-"

"Do? No. No you don't." I said bluntly. "Did? Maybe, but only because you needed me alive, right?" I asked. Explosivo hesitated. "Answer my fucking question…!" I pressed.

"I never wanted any harm to come to you."

"Right, well, um, harm did come to me. So…" I trailed off. Explosivo didn't say anything more, so I sighed. "Fine. Okay." I relented. "Look, I get it. I know that y-you were between a rock and a hard place. You did what you thought you had to do at the time 'cause you couldn't see any other way of things working out. You had a job to do, I get it. You wanted to atone. Whatever. I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat if it meant rescuing Luna and saving Her Majesty. And hey, if I hadn't have gone to the Satellite, I wouldn't have met Yusei, Jack, Crow, Kalin and Zena. But… this whole thing… could have been avoided with just… better communication." I closed my eyes, admitting "That's something I have to work on too."

"Tyler, I-"

I once again cut Explosivo off, and hoped that he would actually listen to what I was telling him. "I'm not angry with you… I don't hate you… but understand… that I can't forgive you…"

"I understand."

I exhaled. "So… what do you say we just… l-l-l-l-leave it at that…?"

"If that's what you want." He repeated.

"It is." I offered my hand to him. Explosivo looked down at my hand, then back up to me and nodded, shaking my hand. Once he let go of my hand, I removed his card from my Duel Disk, Explosivo's Spirit remaining.

"Oh…! Is that all then…?" Explosivo asked softly, sounding surprised.

"It is." I repeated.

"Well then… I wish you the best." Explosivo bowed, his Spirit slowly fading away.

I sighed, closing my eyes. I felt like my heart was going to explode. "Seria, I'm going to go have a lie down." I said aloud.

"Um… Tyler…?" Seria nudged me.

I opened my eyes, catching Luna's gaze. "Luna…!" I gasped. "Luna, sweetie, I'm so sorry…!" I'd gotten so caught up mentally and emotionally in my confrontation with Explosivo, I had honestly, truthfully, forgotten that Luna was even there, and I hated myself for it.

"I shouldn't have come…" she whispered, shaking her head. "I-I-I-I should go…!" she said quickly.

"No, L-L-L-Luna, please stay!" I begged.

Seria quickly grabbed Luna's hand. "Please…" she whispered. "Stay…"

Luna exhaled shakily, pulling her hand from Seria's as she walked toward me.

I sighed with relief. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh, God, thank you!"

"What do you expect me to say?" Luna asked. "Okay, so… you're the real Tyler… what the Hell?"

"Luna!" Seria sounded even more surprised than I was that Luna swore, even mildly.

"Do you have any idea what that was like?"

"Luna, I-"

"I'm not done talking." Luna said firmly, cutting me off as tears started to run down her face. "What I had to go through… all of it… You going off with Yusei, Bruno and Sherry to the Momentum Express Development Organization, and only Yusei and Bruno coming back? Yusei giving me Explosivo and telling me… telling… tell…" Luna whimpered, out of breath, "telling me that the last thing you said to him was that you loved me? Do you know what that did to me? I cried for weeks. I took time off school, I stopped helping Team 5D's with the WRGP. I couldn't focus on anything. All I could think about was…"

I cringed. That all seemed like it happened so long ago, but it really was where everything changed for us. My issues with Explosivo, Kobi and Joel had nothing to do with Luna, but I'd been so focused on that that I neglected her, and that's where I'd screwed things up for us.

"And then Sherry…" Luna continued. "When the sky cracked, and the Ark Cradle appeared. And she said that you and her were with Zone, working with him to destroy New Domino City. I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. I wanted you to be alive, but… I couldn't imagine you'd do anything to hurt me or destroy the City, my home."

"Luna-"

"I thought you died!" Luna shouted. "And then I find out, not only that you're alive, but that you wanted to destroy New Domino City. Have you got any idea~ what that did to me~?" Luna's voice was cracking, tears continuing to stream down her face. "How the Hell do you think I'm supposed to take that?! I loved you! I thought 'There's no way he'd do this! There's no way!', but then I saw you there, on the Ark Cradle…" Luna paused, almost struggling with the next word, "dressed in those clothes, I thought 'how could you do something like this?' 'How could the person I love want to destroy the very thing he vowed to help me save?'… and then Akiza said that you got your memories back, and how all you wanted now was revenge on Joel." Luna looked away, "It was just… looking at you, it's like you were a completely different person. I hated you. I honestly hated you." Luna swallowed, taking a few shallow breaths. "But my heart didn't. When we went in, to the Support Gear with the others, and I saw Zone for the first time, he… he looked like you. He was wearing… what you wore on our first date. I didn't know why he looked like you, but then he said that he showed us what our hearts wanted to see. And it was you. The old you. Watching you talk to each other, just how different you both seemed, like there were two different sides to you. It was like a nightmare. And then…" Luna paused, "Zone killed you, and I… I actually thought… 'Good…'"

"Luna…" I whispered, pained to hear that. I felt like I was suffocating.

"Akiza started to cry, and Yusei and Jack looked like they were about to explode. Even Joel seemed upset… and I couldn't understand any of it. Yusei then challenged Zone to a Duel, wanting to avenge you and Bruno, and save New Domino City… and I gave Yusei the Ancient Fairy Dragon to use in the Duel, but I still couldn't really understand. I couldn't even focus on the Duel, I just found myself staring at your body the whole time. And then I heard Yusei ask Zone that if he won the Duel, he would bring both you and Bruno back to life. But Zone said that he would only restore one life… and Yusei chose you…"

My tear-stained eyes went wide. I had no idea that Yusei had to choose between Bruno and me. "I-I-I-I had no idea-"

"Of course you didn't! You ran off as soon as we made it back to New Domino!" Luna snapped. "But then… Sherry and Akiza told me everything… everything that you went through with Joel and his dad, and how whatever it was that Zone did to you in returning your memories made them all jumbled up, and… I realized that, while I couldn't condone your behavior on the Ark Cradle, in spite of it all, you were still you. I wanted to apologize and let you know that I would be there for you if you needed me, but you were gone. A few days later I bumped into Seria and she told me that you were now living with her, so I thought that maybe you needed some time to think things through, but months passed and I hadn't heard anything from you, so it became clear that you didn't want to talk to me, or be in a relationship with me or anything-"

"That's what you think?" I asked her, my voice breaking again.

"Yeah! It is! I don't hear from you for six months and then I get a letter from you! I thought that was it, that that was you ending it! I-I didn't realize it was a suicide note until Seria called me and told me how you stormed out of here. The two of us organized a search for you, but all we found were your shoes at the shoreline of the Satellite. I thought… we thought…" Luna shook her head. "And you come back now, a-and you just expect things to go back to how they were-"

"No." I shook my head quickly. "I know we can't go back. That's not what this is. I just needed you to know that I'm sorry. You don't have to forgive me; I don't want you to forgive me-"

"I was ready to forgive you! Sherry told me what you'd said to her on the Ark Cradle, about everything you'd been through with your stepfather and stepbrother. It doesn't excuse what you did, but I understood why you did it. But… but you just left, and that was it. I thought you needed time, but you never called me, you never messaged me. I… I… h-how am I supposed to feel?" Luna heaved.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that." I told her. "I'm not going to try and justify what I did, 'cause I know what I did was wrong, but… w-w-w-what would you have had me do? If I'd declined Zone's offer to join him – a God of Destruction – do you think he'd have just let me go? Let me come back to New Domino City? He killed me on the Ark Cradle when we confronted him, remember? He could have done that to me at any point if I'd said I wasn't going to help him. And it was n-never about him and what he wanted anyway. I wanted you safe. I bargained with him; I tried my best. I just wanted Joel gone and you safe~" I croaked. "That's all I want~" my voice broke for the final time, "all I wanted~" and I couldn't talk anymore.

"Well… where do we go from here then?" Luna asked, the two of us visibly distraught. The look on her face was killing me, but I wholeheartedly deserved it. And even still, she looked beautiful, even like that.

"I think," Seria spoke up, her voice a little shaky too, "Tyler put it best before when he said better communication is what's needed. He said… he said to me before that if he'd known you were waiting to hear from him, he would have called you straight away. I tried to push him into calling you, but he didn't know why, and I should have told him. He thought you hated him, but you don't hate him, do you, Luna?"

Luna shivered. "No… no, of course not. Maybe for one moment on the Ark Cradle, but…" she trailed off.

"And Tyler," Seria turned to me. "You still love Luna very much, don't you?" she asked.

"Of course I do~!" I whined. "Luna, I've… I've m-m-missed you…" I whispered. "I've missed your eyes, your voice, your smile. You've got a really good smile, and I hate that I had a part in making you lose that."

Luna exhaled shakily, and I felt her breath whip at my face. "My smile…?" she asked softly.

I nodded. "Wh-when I used to… p-p-p-pick you up after school, I'd see you outside the front of Duel Academy, l-l-looking out for my Duel Runner, and every time you saw me, you'd get this great big smile on your face, and my heart would skip a beat. Whenever you'd smile at me, Luna, I'd feel like the luckiest person in the world. And I knew that, being with you, I was."

I watched Luna's face fill with color, but I wasn't quite sure what else to say or do, so I just stood there, shaking, trying to stop my diaphragm from spasming.

"Aww~" Seria cooed.

"Luna…! If I could go back, I'd do a lot of things differently. I… I should have never given Explosivo to you. I-I mean, what kind of… what kind of person does that? Gives their reason for attempting suicide to… to the person that means the most to them…?" I swallowed. "And then… w-when you were sick after what happened with Sly, I should have come in and looked after you, not just… send you inside with the promise of a d-d-d-date the next day. I should have told you I was taking medication when I first met up with you again. I should have called you…" I whispered. "Luna, I… I've literally thought about you every single day. I'm not even kidding. That's probably not something I should be telling you, but it's the truth. You weren't the only reason that I wanted, had to come home, but you were damn sure the main reason!" I exhaled. "Luna, I wanted… I had to see you again…"

"Well~" Luna's voice broke. "Here I am~"

"Here you are…" I whispered. And even though I'd said it out loud, part of me still couldn't believe it. It might have sounded a little bit cliché, but honestly, I thought I'd never see her again.

But there she was, standing right in front of me.

The one I love, the one I left behind.

We just stood there staring at each other, both of us I'm sure not quite knowing what else to say or do. I sure as Hell didn't. It was only when Seria nudged me, and mouthed the word "ring," to me in silence that I even remembered Luna's present.

I made a sudden, erratic move to the countertop, grabbing the carry bag as I continued to sniffle and hyperventilate. I'm sure Seria thought we looked ridiculous. I could feel the stains of tears on my face, and Luna's face looked similarly tear-stricken.

"I, um… I got you a present…" I said weakly, offering the bag to Luna.

"Present…?" Luna mumbled.

I nodded perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. "Please take it…!" I insisted. "I w-w-w-w-wanted t-t-to get you s-s-something to say 'I'm sorry'."

"Go on…" Seria urged her softly.

Luna nodded, taking the bag from me and opening it up. "What's…" she trailed off, taking the ring box out of the bag.

"Open it…" I whispered.

Luna set the carry bag aside, opened the ring box and gasped.

I couldn't tell if she liked it or hated it. And her hands were shaking so much that I thought she might drop it.

Then she started crying even more, and I felt like shit even more.

I closed my eyes. She hated it. I messed up. I shouldn't have gotten her a ring, I should have gotten her something else, like a fountain pen, or card, or something simple. Like how I'd gotten Akiza a book! Not a fucking ring!

That building, swirling mess of negative emotions inside me suddenly came crashing down.

As did I. Almost.

I very well nearly fell to the floor, my entire body freezing up as I felt Luna's lips crash into mine.

I opened my eyes in shock, and Seria gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

My body made sounds involuntarily, and I could taste the remnants of Luna's tears on my lips. But in spite of that, and the sadness, uncertainty and doubt that came before, there was an almost wholesome warmth.

I flinched as I felt Luna's hands come to my shoulders, gently pressing as though to urge me down to her level, myself realizing only then that she was probably standing right up on her toes to kiss me. I gave in, crouching down just a little to allow Luna to better rest her feet on the ground, our lips staying together as she moved her hands to cup my face.

It might have just been my brain and the state I was in at the time, but the kiss was unlike anything I'd ever felt before. All the visions I'd had over the years, the experience of getting high in the forest with Joel, the feeling of traveling through Dimensions with Tim in that boat, all of those feelings paled in comparison to the euphoria I felt from Luna's lips touching mine. It was a feeling that I never wanted to end.

And for that moment, at least, it didn't.