"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking." The pilot announced over the intercom and for the duelists in first class those words had stirred them from their sleep. "We hope you have enjoyed your flight from Domino City to Los Angeles, but we will be boarding in the next few minutes, please enjoy your stay in Los Angeles."
"I wish I could." Chloe thought as she yawned having had her sleep interrupted by the pilot's announcement, she glanced over to her left and saw that her boyfriend Lance was starting to stir from his sleep as well. "Morning sleepy head."
"Oh, like you can talk! You fell asleep before I did Chloe!" Lance teased his girlfriend who grinned in response before the couple shared a quick kiss. "First trip to America since Battle City, at least you're not as nervous as you were back then."
"In my defense, I have bad memories associated with New York but LA? This will be my first time here." Chloe responded as she shook her head before leaning back in her chair. "And considering why we're in LA this time around, I'm not looking forward to touching down! At least in New York I had my first non-school tournament to look forward too."
"True enough." Lance nodded in agreement before shifting his weight. "But hey, sooner that we can deal with the Orichalcos, sooner that we can enjoy a week's vacation in LA away from our parents."
"Do I even need to point out the reason why we're coming here in the first place?" Chloe asked with an annoyed glare and Lance winced once it hit him. "Mom's back home looking after the dogs, but we are here to rescue my dad's soul and put an end to the Orichalcos for good, once we've done that, I'll focus on enjoying myself."
"I'll drink to that." Lance responded with a grin. "Or at least I would if we were old enough to drink."
"Man, how long was I out." Chelsea groaned as she messaged her forehead, Beth was with her family in Idaho, so she had opted to sit next to Nicola whose eye had finally cleared up enough for her to stop wearing the eyepatch, the Autistic teen turned to her and she grinned. "Get much sleep Nicola?"
"I can never get any sleep in moving vehicles, doesn't matter if it it's a car or boat or, well, a plane." Nicola responded with a shrug as she glanced up at her friend. "In fact, the Duel Academy ship seems to be the one exception to that rule."
"Heh, at least we won't have to worry about you falling asleep behind the wheel of a car." Chelsea responded with a good natured grin and Nicola's grin broadened.
"True enough." Nicola nodded in agreement before Chelsea leaned back in her chair. "Any idea what we're going to do when we get to the hotel? I know what the main objective behind the trip is, but we don't seem to have much of a plan beyond that."
"Main objective is finding out where the main headquarters of Santiago Inc. is in LA, I don't know if you noticed but LA isn't a small place." Chelsea responded as she shook her head and Nicola nodded. "After that is planning our attack, we don't know how many agents Victor has left but if we can plan it out well, then we should escape with no casualties." Chelsea added before frowning. "But even I have to admit that that is not going to be nearly as easy as I'm making it sound."
"We'll worry about the details once we get to the hotel." Brandon chimed in and the two girls glanced up to see hm leaning against the back of Nicola's chair now that the seatbelt sign had been turned off, Theresa was sitting next to him and she was starting to wake up herself. "Chelsea, you brought that laptop that Sarah left behind after her second visit to the island, right?"
"It's in my carry-on luggage." Chelsea nodded as she motioned to her bags. "As for it's contents, it's not something that can be discussed in public."
"I'll take your word for it." Brandon nodded before glancing around, out of all of them Sophia was the only one sitting by herself as the other duelists, including the pro-leaguers, were either sitting with their friends or lovers with Adrienne and Amanda sitting in one corner and talking amongst themselves, Latoya and Louella just waking up from their nap and Phil and Francesca watching an in flight movie. "Anything good on Phil?" Brandon asked, and Phil scoffed as the Irish duelist looked up.
"It's an in-flight movie, they rarely air anything good." Phil responded as he shook his head. "Though this film is the lesser of two evils since the other option was Marley and Me."
"Oh god, I hate that movie!" Nicola groaned as she ran a hand down her face. "Why did the cute dog have to die in the end?!"
"It was being faithful to the source material." Phil responded with a shrug and Nicola groaned. "And you make it sound like that movie traumatized you."
"My parents took me to see that movie when I was nine, they thought I'd like it since I love animals and the trailers made it look funny." Nicola responded before she leaned back. "Let's just say that they weren't too happy when the ending scene played, and I didn't stop crying for hours."
"Well, yeah but that's a typical reaction to that film's ending." Fran chimed in and it didn't help Nicola's disposition one bit, minutes later the plane touched down and the teens stood up ready to get their bags.
*later, outside the departure lounge*
Once the plane had landed and the students had departed from the plane, they had gathered their carry on luggage and regular luggage before heading out into the airport proper, Sophia led the group through the building until they reached the pick up point where they saw some familiar faces.
"It's been a long time, guys." Eddie Roberts, the current Battle City champion who had defeated Theresa in the finals of this year's tournament, greeted them as they approached him, the champion was carrying a sign with the words "Duel Academy Students & friends" on it and Theresa grinned when she recognized him, alongside the others present.
"Indeed, if what Kaiba said is true then you'll need all the help you can get." Axel Loather nodded in agreement as he stepped forward, the German National Champion was undefeated before the Battle City Tournament, but that reign was ended by Theresa in the Quarter Finals. "What do we know so far?"
"Less than I would like to admit." Chloe sighed as she stepped forward. "They are based somewhere in LA, they've captured the souls of three Osiris Red Students and my dad and I get the feeling that it's just the tip of the iceberg."
"You father was a talented duelist from what little I saw of him in the Battle City Semi-Finals." Axel nodded in response as he turned to Chloe. "Taking out the Orichalcos takes priority but getting your father's soul back will be a plus."
"And we will, you can bet your ass on that!" Alex Fenix chimed in as the monster of a man stepped forward, Alex was Theresa's first opponent in the Semi-Finals but lost out to her, prior to that he had last been defeated by Eddie in the previous year's tournament. "Me and Miranda here will see to it!"
"I hope so Alex." Miranda Trayson said as she leaned against the car, the veteran duelist had been Chloe's quarter finals opponent but had lost out to Chloe on her road to the finals, prior to that she had taken on her sister Karen in an Orichalcos Duel. "Those bastards have done enough damage."
"I agree but it sounds like you are speaking from experience." Chloe responded, and Miranda frowned before opening the door to let several students into the first car.
"Not out in the open, I'll explain later at the hotel." Miranda added, and Chloe nodded before she, Lance, Chelsea, Andreas and Nicola got in the first car with her.
"Hey boss, they've touched down in LA." A robed figure said as he watched the duelists poor into the cars from the shadows. "They didn't say what hotel they are staying at."
"Hail a cab and tail them, you should have enough money for the cab ride in your account." Victor responded, and the figure nodded before hailing for a cab.
*later at the hotel*
It was a twenty minute drive from the airport though given that they were in a major city, that drive felt like it lasted a lot longer, even so they pulled up at the hotel Chelsea saw some familiar faces waiting for her and felt a sense of dread.
"Great, I forgot that the restaurant Jamie works at is based in LA." Chelsea thought as she glanced out the window and saw her older siblings, any other time Chelsea would've been happy to see them but with the attack on Scott still fresh in her mind Chelsea was fearing the worst as she got out of the car. "That doesn't explain why the others are here though, last I checked my brothers still lived in Chicago and the surrounding area, then again they did Skype me yesterday to wish me a happy birthday so maybe they were already in the city."
"Someone you know?" Miranda asked breaking Chelsea's concentration in the process as she turned to the older woman.
"Yeah, my siblings." Chelsea responded as she pointed them out to Miranda. "Any other time, I would've been happy to see them but the recent attack on Chloe's dad leaves me thinking otherwise."
"Do any of them duel?" Miranda asked, and Chelsea shook her head.
"Casually but they've all got non-Duel Monsters related jobs." Chelsea explained as the car rolled to a stop and Chelsea went to open the door. "Let's hope that it's just my paranoia talking." Chelsea added, and Miranda nodded in agreement before she opened the door and got out. "There's also the fist sized elephant in the room, it's only a matter of time before they bring up the incident with Jessica again and I won't be able to back out of it this time, hopefully I can at least unpack my bags and get settled into my room before they…"
"Hey sis!" Danny's voice rang out and Chelsea groaned before putting on a brave face as she turned around to greet her older siblings as they approached her. "Barely one day after the record got expunged and you're already traveling the world, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess." Chelsea responded with a nervous laugh as Miranda opened the trunk of the car to help get the bags out. "Not that I'm unhappy to see you guys or anything but what are you doing here? I thought Jamie would still be working at the restaurant and you guys were still based in Chicago."
"The restaurant's closed for renovations, won't be open again for another week or so." Jamie explained, and Chelsea nodded. "As for your brothers, they were visiting me before your eighteenth birthday but as for the reason why we're at this hotel, it's for the same reason you and your friends are in LA."
"The Orichalcos, why do I get I get the feeling that Kaiba is behind this?" Chelsea asked as she folded her arms and Mark nodded.
"Kaiba thought you would need some moral support in the days ahead and contacted us whilst you were flying in." Mark explained, and Chelsea frowned. "Don't ask how he got our contact details, but it sounds like you have a tough task ahead of you."
"You can say that again." Chelsea nodded with a sigh before she went over to the trunk and got her bags out. "You guys staying at the hotel as well?" Chelsea asked her brothers knowing that Jamie lived in the city.
"We were staying at a different hotel, but we weren't going to turn down the offer to stay at one of the fanciest hotels in the city whilst it was being paid for by Kaiba." Chris nodded before reaching out his hand. "Here, let me help you with your bags."
"Thanks, just be careful with some of the stuff in them." Chelsea thanked her brother as he took her bags. "I hope Kaiba knows what he's doing, I appreciate the moral support, but I don't appreciate my siblings' lives being put in danger."
"Wait, is that…." The robed figure thought before he got a better look at Chelsea. "Perfect!" He thought before putting a hand to his earpiece. "Boss, you were right, Chelsea Cunningham is among the duelists, permission to go after one of her siblings?"
"Permission granted, wait until they are asleep and until you can get one of her siblings alone, we cannot risk anything going wrong at this critical stage." Victor responded, and the figure nodded as he watched the students pour into the hotel with their friends.
"Understood." The figure nodded before breaking into the hotel via a back entrance. "I will soon have my revenge on Chelsea!"
*later that evening*
One surprise waited for the students as they walked up to reception, and that was that Kaiba had paid for them to be placed in the penthouse suite at the top of the hotel, so as they 17 duelists got traveled up to the penthouse, they were already excited and it didn't take long for rooms to be assigned with the couples opting to share a room each, however once they did get settled in it was down to brass tacks as the students gathered in the main foyer and were quickly joined by the Pro-Leaguers, Chelsea's older siblings on the other hand had gone down to the hotel restaurant for dinner giving them some privacy and once the introductions were done for those who didn't go to Battle City Chelsea got started on the meeting.
"Okay, I know we're starving, and I know most of us are jetlagged thanks to the long flight." Chelsea stated before letting a long yawn out. "And that includes me! In other words, I'm going to try to get through this as fast as I can without skimming the details." Chelsea added as she stood in front of a projector screen, the projector was hooked up to her laptop right now, but she also had the laptop left behind by Sarah. "Any questions before we get started?"
"How are you jet lagged? You slept through most of the flight from Domino City." Nicola asked and Chelsea sweat-dropped in response.
"Might have more to do with the fact that I was up all night Wednesday Night scanning the USB drive for viruses on my gaming pc." Chelsea admitted sheepishly before shaking her head. "So long as you don't ask me to do anything productive for the rest of the day, I'll be fine! Anyway, back to the topic at hand." Chelsea added before Tyler started the slideshow on Chelsea's laptop, the first picture showed the Duel Academy profile pics of Frank Goff, Sarah Baker and Billie Prince. "Meet Frank, Sarah and Billie, they have one thing in common aside from what dorm they belong too, namely the fact that their souls were captured by the Orichalcos during the Tag Team Tournament that Duel Academy hosted recently, fortunately we were able to defeat the duelists who captured their souls and there hasn't been another Duel Academy Student who's lost their soul since then."
"Yeah, but I came the closest to joining them." Caitlin admitted as she lowered her head. "That was not fun."
"At the moment, it's up in the air whether or not their parents will allow them to return to Duel Academy even if we return their souls but that's not important, what is important is returning said souls." Chelsea added with a nod before Tyler changed the slide to show Scott. "And this is where things will get painful for Choe, this is her dad, who some of you met during Battle City, the Orichalcos Duelists captured his soul yesterday to kick off this little adventure of ours, right now getting back their souls is one of our priorities but I'm sure Chloe will be the first to tell you that she'd prefer it if her dad was at the top of the priority list but unfortunately we can't afford to be picky right now."
"Trust me, I know." Chloe nodded in response with a sad sigh. "I know that we had to defeat the head of the Battle City branch to free all the souls that had been captured by them."
"That reminds me, didn't you guys defeat the Orichalcos for good after Battle City?" Alex chimed in and the students turned to him. "Then how come they are back with a vengeance?"
"We're not entirely sure, my best guess is that the leader of that branch was just another underling of the real threat." Chelsea responded before Tyler shifted to another slide showing Victor Santiago. "Speaking of whom, meet Victor Santiago, CEO of Santiago Inc., we haven't been able to deduce his motives yet so I'm just running with the idea that he's a rich idiot who decided to bring back the Orichalcos for the hell of it." Chelsea added before taking a deep breath. "He is waiting for us at the Corporate HQ of his company here in the city, and before someone points out the obvious, yes, I know that doesn't narrow things down and yes, I know that LA is a lot bigger than Domino City."
"I am familiar with his company, but I can't say that I've ever done business with the man." Sophia added as she walked to the front of the room and joined Chelsea in front of the projector screen. "But if he is truly behind the revival of the Orichalcos then he is dealing with forces he can't hope to control, when the man behind the original Orichalcos operation Dartz used it, he was able to bring out a beast called the Great Leviathan, it took the Egyptian God Cards to finally bring that thing down."
"Well, great, anyone want to start an archeological dig in Egypt?" Miranda chimed in with a frown on her face. "Because I don't see how we can bring them back otherwise?"
"Aside from the massive cost involved with such an operation, I'm sure you've heard of the recent troubles in that part of the world." Sophia responded grimly, and the collected duelists nodded in response. "Aside from that, the Ishstars intentionally kept the location of the burial site for the millennium Items and Egyptian God Cards a secret known only to those in their family and even if I was interested in tracking them down, they are very secretive and haven't left Egypt since the original Battle City, my father tried to replicate the God Cards some time ago, but it did not end well for the artists involved in their creation, I don't think I need to point out what a massive waste of resources such a risk would entail."
"And speaking as someone who stared down Obelisk the Tormentor in a Simulation Duel, thank god for that." Theresa responded with a frown on her face. "And by god, I mean the Judea-Christian God, not the Egyptian Gods, once was enough for me."
"I doubt you'll find many duelists who'll disagree with you on that point Theresa." Sophia nodded in understanding before Tyler switched to the other laptop causing the image to change. "I will hand it back to Chelsea for the rest of the presentation." Sophia added before she walked back to her original spot.
"Okay, I need to make one thing clear before we move on." Chelsea said with a deep breath as she folded her arms. "This info is coming from a laptop that was left behind by an Orichalcos Duelist, the same one who captured Scott Richardson's soul for that matter, we had to work tirelessly to break that things encryption and get at the files we needed and if this leaks to the press, it could bring down KaibaCorp and Duel Academy."
"That bad, huh?" Eddie asked, and Chelsea nodded grimly before the slide showed Victor again.
"Not a lot of people know this but there was a time when Victor and Kaiba were business partners, the relationship started after Kaiba retired from the Pro-Leagues to focus entirely on running KaibaCorp and, well, raising a family." Chelsea added as she motioned to Tyler and Miranda Kaiba. "Some time ago, the relationship soured, and Victor was forced out of the company, since then he has become a Persona-Non-Grata at KaibaCorp, to the point where Kaiba refuses to talk about it and even threatened to end my stay at Duel Academy if I kept pestering him about it."
"So, how exactly did you get Kaiba on board with this trip?" Amelia asked, and Chelsea motioned to Chloe.
"Chloe here stood up to him when he dismissed Victor's threats as empty." Chelsea responded causing the duelists not in the know to stare at Chloe with their jaws agape. "You think your surprised? I was getting ready to look for a new roommate in Ra Yellow when she did that but, well, it worked." Chelsea added before frowning. "Back to the topic at hand, it was thanks to our efforts that we found out why Victor is so despised by Kaiba, he was using KaibaCorp tech to try to bring back the Orichalcos." Chelsea added before the slide showed several pieces of KaibaCorp technology. "And what's worse is, he got close, according to the files in that laptop, if he had another week the Orichalcos would've been revived sooner but fortunately. Kaiba caught him before he could get that far but he escaped to LA before Kaiba could call the police on him and took the pieces of tech that you see on the screen with him, since then he's formed his own company and tried to do a hostile takeover of KaibaCorp several times now, we can thank our lucky stars that all of them have failed."
"Mind if I take over Chelsea?" Tyler asked, and Chelsea nodded before she swapped positions with Tyler. "As Chelsea said, this information could bring down my father's company in the wrong hands, we plan to wipe the hard drive on the company laptop but everyone in this room must be sworn to secrecy if they are to proceed on with the assault." Tyler added before the final slide showed a tall building in downtown Los Angeles. "This is Victor's Corporate Headquarters, we know where it is, but we know that this will not be easy, for all our sakes, we are going to attack tomorrow morning after breakfast to ensure that we are well rested and ready for the day ahead." Tyler added before sighing, "We will be heading into the Lion's Den tomorrow but if we pull this off, we won't have to worry about anyone else getting hurt by these bastards, so, who's in?"
"I've been waiting for this day since my first duel in the Battle City Tournament." Chloe responded with a nod as she stood up. "The fact that they've got my dad's soul hostage just raises the stakes, you couldn't keep me away from this if you tried."
"I've seen how dangerous this Spell Card is for myself as well, I'm in." Lance nodded as he stood up and glanced at Chloe. "Besides, I'm pretty sure my girlfriend here will never let me live it down if I back out now."
"Speaking as someone who fell victim to the Orichalcos in Battle City, I can't stress enough that it is not a fate I wish on anyone." Andreas nodded before he stood up. "I'm in."
"And I'm in the same vote as Lance, I had to watch hopelessly as my boyfriend was captured by the Orichalcos." Nicola nodded in response as she stood up. "I don't want that to happen to anyone else."
"I think it goes without saying that I agree with them." Marcus added with a grin as he stood up. "I'm in."
"Aside from the personal reasons, as the holder of Critias, I can't back out." Theresa said as she stood up. "I'm in."
"And I'd be a fool to not support my girlfriend in this." Brandon added as he stood up. "I'm in." Brandon said before turning to Chelsea. "That just leaves you."
"Are you kidding? I didn't come all the way to California to turn back now!" Chelsea asserted with a grin as she stood up. "I'm in!" Chelsea added and one by one the other duelists confirmed their participation in the assault causing Tyler nodded in appreciation.
"Use the rest of the day to prepare, modify your decks, get some rest, do anything you deem necessary so that you are ready for tomorrow." Tyler added before they all heard their stomachs rumble. "And I think that perpetration starts with us going downstairs for dinner."
"One problem with that." Brandon responded as he checked the time on his iPhone. "Dinner was six to eight, right? Well, it's just gone eight o'clock." Brandon explained, and the students frowned before an idea popped into Chelsea's head.
"Why don't we all order a pizza takeout?" Chelsea offered, and the others turned to her. "We are going to war tomorrow, I say we at least have a pizza party to help lighten the mood the night before."
"I like the way you think." Brandon nodded in agreement before Chelsea went over to her laptop to place the order. "What place are you ordering from?"
"Dominos, as a Chicago girl I can't get enough of the Deep Dish Pizzas but on the other hand Dominos is the best Chain Restaurant for Pizzas." Chelsea added, and Chloe went to respond. "And no Chloe, I'm not getting into that argument with you again, it might end with the police being called this time around."
"Good point." Chloe responded as she lowered her hand. "Who's paying for the pizzas?"
"I'll cover it, still have plenty of birthday money left over." Chelsea responded as she went to the Dominos website and entered the zip code. "I'm getting the Meateor, what about you guys?" Chelsea asked, and the orders came piling in.
*two hours later*
After she repeatedly clarified that it was not a prank call Chelsea placed the orders and paid for them on her card, the large group enjoyed the pizzas and for the most part the duelists were making last minute preparations or getting ready for bed, all except one.
"Why am I so restless tonight?" Chelsea wondered as she sat at the desk in her room where she had set up the laptop. "I bet if Beth was here, she'd be telling me to come to bed by now." Chelsea thought as she glanced over her shoulder at the empty bed, after a few minutes she let out a sigh and stood up. "Maybe a midnight snack is what I need, there's still some leftover pizza in the hotel fridge, a quick warm up in the microwave should do the trick." Chelsea thought before she stood up and left her room, she walked through the penthouse as quietly as she could to not disturb the other duelists but as she entered the kitchen area, she saw a familiar face. "Oh, hey Danny." Chelsea greeted her older brother as she entered the kitchen. "Was feeling restless and decided to get a midnight snack."
"Chelsea, it's only ten o'clock." Danny pointed out as he motioned to the wall clock and Chelsea sweat-dropped when she realized that he was right. "But this is good timing, we need to talk." Danny added before Chelsea realized that Mark and Chris were in the kitchen as well. "All of us."
"What about?" Chelsea asked as she rubbed her arm nervously. "If it's about how much pizza I ate earlier, you guys got me into that stuff!"
"No, it's something more serious than that." Mark responded with a sigh as he stepped forward. "We need to talk about your anger issues."
"And I've suddenly lost my appetite." Chelsea responded before she promptly span around and headed back to her room, Danny reached out to try to grab her by her jacket but just missed his younger sister as she made her way back to her room and locked herself in. "This is the last thing I need right now." Chelsea thought as she sat down back down at her laptop, it didn't take long for there to be a knock at the door and Chelsea rolled her eyes. "If it's Danny then fuck off! I don't need this right now!"
"Actually, it's Chris but Danny's here with me!" Chris responded, and Chelsea shook her head. "Chelsea, you just turned eighteen, not eight! Can't we be adults about this!?"
"What part off "I don't need this right now" don't you understand?!" Chelsea yelled back before quickly opening her iTunes and searching through her library for an album to play. "Need something good and loud to drown them out."
"Chelsea, normally I'd side with you, but your brothers are right." Wattchimera chimed in and Chelsea rolled her eyes before she started playing "Mass Confusion" by Dust Bolt to drown them out. "I know you've been trying to put those issues behind you."
"What do you know?" Chelsea demanded as there was another knock at the door, judging by the loudness of the knock it was likely from Danny. "You don't know me as well as you'd think Wattchimera!"
"We are sharing the same body, I know more than you think." Wattchimera responded and Chelsea continued to ignore him as the knocking continued. "Including how you feel about how successful your siblings are."
"That's none of your fucking business!" Chelsea snapped at her Duel Spirit partner before she checked her Facebook wall.
*meanwhile outside*
By this point the knocking was disturbing the other duelists who got out of their rooms to see what was going on but once Danny gave a quick explanation and apology they returned to their room.
"I'm guessing your attempts went as well as we expected?" Jamie asked with a sigh as she approached her brothers and they nodded. "Did she say anything before or after she locked herself in her room?"
"Only that she had lost her appetite before heading back to her room, and then she said that she didn't need this right now." Danny responded as he turned to Jamie. "I think the stress of it all is getting to her."
"Let me try." Jamie responded before stepping through the crowd and knocked on the door. "Chelsea it's me, we're not mad, we just need to talk!"
"I don't give a shit!" Chelsea shouted back as she searched for an option to increase the volume on her laptop. "The only thing that matters is taking out the Orichalcos tomorrow anyway."
"You know that's not true." Jamie responded, and Chelsea said nothing in response, as the music picked up again Jamie turned to her brothers. "I'm telling her."
"Jamie, we agreed that that would only be used as a last resort." Danny protested as he folded his arms. "Give us time."
"This is the only way she'll learn, trust me on this." Jamie responded before waiting for the music to stop again, once the last song on the album ended Jamie walked up to Chelsea's door. "Chelsea, dad told us that unless you listen to what we have to say, he's pulling you from Duel Academy and sending you to military school!"
"I DON'T…" Chelsea's voice trailed off and they heard movement coming from the other side of the door, they didn't realize it but the eighteen year old was pacing up and down her room deep in thought. "He didn't actually mean that, right?"
"I knew it would take tough love to break through her shell." Jamie thought before taking a deep breath. "That incident on Wednesday? It had more of an impact on mom and dad than you think, they are close to the breaking point with you, but we said we could get through to you if they just gave us a chance." Jamie added before sighing as Chelsea let out a deep breath. "You know your better than this Chelsea, we all do, but like it or not, you need our help."
"I've managed just fine on my own." Chelsea asserted but Jamie could tell that she was close to the breaking point.
"Oh really? You call being expelled from four schools and being nearly expelled from Duel Academy "just fine"? You call spending a year in juvenile hall because you broke a Pro-Duelist's nose "just fine"?" Jamie asked, and Chelsea groaned in frustration. "Because the way I see it, you haven't been managing it "just fine" at all…..."
"What the hell do you guys know?!" Chelsea snapped at her and Jamie took a deep breath. "You've all got spotless records and great careers, how the fuck am I supposed to compare to you guys with everything I've done as a teen?! And as for my record, you were just fine with leaving me alone in juvenile hall and only visiting when I had my leg broken, I know you guys are secretly ashamed of me, so why bother!?"
"We bother because we care, and secretly ashamed of you? That's nonsense and you know it!" Jamie called back, and Chelsea could be heard taking several deep breaths as Jamie waited. "Are you ready to talk like an adult yet?"
*back inside Chelsea's room*
"FUCK!" Chelsea screamed mentally before she sat down on the floor next to the door, she could see her room key sitting next to her laptop and whilst it wasn't that hard to reach even from her sitting position, but she found herself reluctant to reach out. "Why can't they see that I don't want to talk?!"
"For someone who doesn't want to talk, you seemed ready to argue with your sister." Wattchimera responded and Chelsea ran both hands threw her hair. "You can drop the façade Chelsea, I know you want to talk with them."
"But…." Chelsea tried to argue with her duel spirit but couldn't find the words, she let out a deep breath before helping herself up using the desk and grabbing her keys. "I'm coming out." Chelsea sighed as she closed her eyes before she unlocked the door and opened the door, Chelsea said nothing for the longest time before she stepped out of her room. "Where do you want to start? Because I get the feeling that we'll be here all night."
"Frankly Chelsea, there was a lot to unpack from your conversation with Jamie that we're not even sure where to start." Danny responded as he messaged his temples in annoyance and Chelsea nodded. "But I think the best place to start is that whole "we're secretly ashamed of you" stuff, you don't believe, that do you?"
"What else am I supposed to believe? As I said, you guys almost never visited me in juvenile hall." Chelsea responded as she leaned against the wall. "And the one time you did, you pointed out how it could've all been avoided if I had controlled my temper after my duel against that pro-duelist."
"Only because it was true, and trust us, we wanted to visit you more often." Chris asserted, and Chelsea glanced up at him. "But Jamie was busy with culinary school, Danny was busy with his football career, I was busy getting my tech degree and Mark was working on getting his book published, we basically had to drop everything when news reached us that your leg had been broken by another inmate and it was our idea to throw the welcome back party when you were released."
"And then there's the stuff you said comparing you to us, we didn't get anything handed to us on a silver platter Chelsea, we had to work hard at it just like your doing at Duel Academy." Mark responded, and Chelsea let out a deep breath. "Look, I know you've had it harder than us, but we know you'll do great as a duelist, this intervention will just be the first step towards that."
"Can I at least get a drink before we continue?" Chelsea asked as she motioned towards the fridge. "My throat is sore from all the yelling." Chelsea added, and her siblings nodded before letting her past as she went towards the kitchen, once again she saw a familiar face and did a double take when she did. "Chloe?"
"Oh, hey Chelsea." Chloe greeted her roommate awkwardly as she looked up from the fridge, she was clad in what Chelsea could only assume was one of Lance's t-shirts because not only was it a metal shirt, but it was several sizes to big for her, it also didn't take her long to figure out that Chloe was completely naked under it. "What was all the yelling about?"
"Long story, I'll tell you in the morning." Chelsea responded as she reached for the fridge, Chloe held the fridge door open to allow Chelsea to get at one of the cokes. "I disturbed you and Lance whilst you were in the act, didn't I?"
"No, we had finished by the time the shouting match started." Chloe responded as she shook her head. "What it did disturb was our sleep and I decided to get a drink, didn't feel like looking for my day clothes so I asked Lance if I could borrow one of his shirts since I figured that it would be long and baggy enough to cover up my naked body." Chloe responded as Chelsea opened the coke can and took a sip. "Seriously, everything okay with your siblings? Because it sounds like trouble to me."
"Just family problems, don't worry about it." Chelsea assured Chloe who nodded. "Are you heading back to bed?"
"Yeah, was considering asking Lance if he was up for round two but the shouting match ruined the mood." Chloe responded as she shook her head and Chelsea nodded.
"Probably for the best, we have a big day tomorrow." Chelsea responded, and Chloe nodded in response.
"Why do you think I was sleeping with Lance?" Chloe asked as she rubbed her scarred arm nervously. "For all I know, it could be the last night I spend with him."
"It won't be, we'll make sure of it." Chelsea assured Chloe who grinned in appreciation. "Though that does remind me of how much I'm missing Beth right now."
"Could always make up for it on Pornhub." Chloe teased her, and Chelsea laughed in response. "Knowing how many times I've caught you on it." Chloe added before Chelsea finished her drink and started walking back towards her siblings. "You sure everything's okay?"
"Like I said, just family problems." Chelsea assured her, and Chloe nodded before heading back to the room she shared with Lance.
*an hour later*
The intervention lasted an hour but as far as Chelsea was concerned, it felt like it had gone on for far longer and it had left her with a lot to think about.
Chelsea was currently out on the balcony admiring the view, she didn't care how cold it was that night as, being from Chicago, she was used to the cold, Chelsea folded her arms and leaned against the railing noting that the balcony had a lower floor as well. "Shouldn't you get to bed?" Wattchimera's voice broke her concentration and Chelsea shook her head as she glanced over at Wattchimera's transparent form.
"I tried but after everything that happened before, during and after the intervention, there was no way in hell I was getting any sleep." Chelsea responded as she scratched her tired eye. "I'm sorry for what I said Wattchimera, I know you were trying to help but my head wasn't in the right place, so to speak."
"I understand." Wattchimera nodded in understanding and Chelsea let out a sigh. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"
"Ready as I'll…." Chelsea trailed off when she heard a familiar voice scream out in pain and her head snapped up. "Jamie?!" Chelsea called out but got no answer, it didn't take Chelsea long to figure out where the sound was coming from, namely the lower balcony and she rushed down the stairs as quickly as she could.
She didn't want to believe what she was seeing.
In front of her the Orichalcos was in play as the robed figure from before stood before Jamie's prone form, even worse Chelsea could see the life-point counter on Jamie's Duel Disk.
It had just hit zero.
"Ahh, so you've finally arrived." The robed figure greeted Chelsea as she ran up to the Orichalcos wall and desperately pounded on the wall. "It's been a long time Chelsea."
"Who are you?!" Chelsea demanded as she glared at the figure. "And how do you know my name?!" Chelsea added, and the figure chuckled before removing his hood, when she saw his face Chelsea's eyes widened. "Dan?!"
"Ahh, so you do remember me." Dan responded as he looked at Chelsea with a sadistic smirk, he was a handsome guy with short black hair and blue eyes behind a pair of glasses, but he didn't remove his robe. "I'm surprised you remember me, you were so quick to jump into bed with another girl."
"Chelsea, do you recognize him?" Wattchimera asked and Chelsea nodded grimly.
"He's the boy I was dating when I realized that I was gay." Chelsea responded before the seal closed in around Jamie and Dan took off. "Get back here Dan!" Chelsea yelled at him, but he was long gone, she quickly turned her attention to Jamie who looked up at her younger sister weakly. "No, no, no, this is not happening!" Chelsea said as she collapsed to her knees in front of the wall.
"Chelsea what's…..." Danny's voice rang out as he came out alongside Chris and Mark, when it hit them, it hit them hard. "No!"
"Chelsea, be strong, I know you'll get my soul back." Jamie said weakly as she pressed her hand against the wall and Chelsea did so as well. "Just remember, no matter what happens, blood is always thicker than water." Jamie added before the seal claimed her soul as the watery eyed Chelsea watched on, eventually the wall disappeared, and Jamie collapsed.
"Danny, call an ambulance." Mark told Danny who nodded before he rushed off to get his cell, Mark then nodded to Chris who approached Chelsea. "Come on Chelsea, there's nothing you can do now."
"No, there is one thing I can do." Chelsea responded as she glanced up at her brothers. "And you and I both know what I'm talking about."
"You'll get your chance against the Orichalcos in the morning." Chris assured her, and, with some reluctance, Chelsea slowly stood up. "We'll still be there for support."
"I hope so." Chelsea nodded before she walked off with her brothers. "I can't let one of the last conversations I had with my sister be a shouting match." Chelsea thought as she wiped away a tear. "I'll get your soul back sis, I promise!"