The Judgement of the World
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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"Oh come on, you guys keep dancing around the subject and someone needs to say it." Cyber Blader retorted, sounding a bit miffed as she turned her upper body a bit so she could see Ryo fully. "He's well past the age to accept that this is just how you are and he needs to get over it. There's nothing you can do that's going to change who he is as a person. He needs to grow up and accept Ryo for who he is."
"A few months ago, Sho was in a duel and got hurt because he stopped paying attention to what he was doing." Isao explained quietly, unsure about disturbing the weight of the room with what was now going on.
"He was being stupid, he's a child and its what children do, so I fail to understand why you're trying to find excuses for it. Besides, he's fawning over that other student now, he doesn't even want 'you' as his older brother anymore. If you haven't bothered to notice who he spends all his time with," Djinn taunted as she settled down her lower half folding up. The very image of someone who was completely unimpressed with the conversation and the company.
Kazushi blushed in complete embarrassment and bowed to Ryo in shame as he began to try and think of how he could even reprimand his Duel Spirit. His Duel Spirit who showed absolutely no consideration for his presence at the moment. Though Ryo himself didn't look the least bit fazed by it, he even looked a touch contrite from the Spirits' words.
"Its ok children," Aki called out as she saw the children hiding in the shadows, gripping their Duel Spirits for security it seemed.
"Yes," Asuka followed up, feeling embarrassed that such a topic started blowing up while they were guests in the house of children. "We're sorry, you don't need to be concerned about our conversation, we got off track is all."
"Agreed," Ryo added with a slight nod.
"Well... If Power Tool can't talk to us, how are we going to find out who has been messing with the decks in the school?" Isao asked looking amid the sea of Duel Spirits, that were now focusing on him.
"Yes, that was the point of this whole visit after all," Asuka agreed, relieved that they were back on topic. Especially when Cyber began nudging her when Sho's 'new big brother' was mentioned by the Djinn.
"No one on Earth can do such a thing, but none of those decks have a Spirit so there's no way to ask..." Cyber Blader pointed out before giving a faint shrug. "However; its not like those cards are exclusive, so why not check to see if there are copies of those cards here?"
"Good idea," Witch of the Black Rose piped up, floating into the air. "Makes sense too, and the best place to start would be Rua's deck!"
The Witch made straight for Rua, yet despite her nonthreatening approach, spirits that belonged to Rua began to rise up. Blocking her path with stony silence, as they easily formed a wall with their sharp edged designs. Each pair of eyes, for those that had eyes, were fixed on Witch of the Black Rose in a hard stare.
"Well, own up to it then! Are those cards related to you?" She demanded, waving her wand to empathize her point.
While Rua was hidden behind that wall of Spirits and his stomach began to hurt as he watched them appear. He had thought his deck would be like Ruka's, a happy cheerful deck of mechanized Spirits. But they didn't speak or make a sound, and the quiet cough of an older voice worried him enough that he tried to push past them so he could see them.
"Hey! Let me through!" He struggled to wiggle his way between his Duel Spirits, yet not a single one budged. "Come on! What's going on?" he asked as he moved back to see if he could get around them. Yet they blocked the whole side of the room off! "Why won't you listen to me?" Rua asked growing frustrated.
His fingers curled into fists at his side as he began trying to climb up and over his duel monsters. Why was everyone talking about him, around him, but not 'to' him? All he understood was that some of the cards from the deck he was using went missing. But why was 'that' so important, and why was his Duel Spirits ignoring him?
"Rua, don't," Ruka could be heard on the other side of the wall of Spirits and he could see her get up from her seat by Aki. But even as she approached his Duel Spirits began closing up rank, the spaces between each Spirit taken up by a limb quickly shrank as the Spirits pressed in. Rejecting Ruka, his 'twin sister' Ruka was being physically rebuffed by 'his' Duel Spirits!
"Stop it! Why are you doing this? She's my 'sister'!" Rua began his voice growing tight with frustration and fear beginning to consume him. Causing him to yank on a pair of arms to force his Spirits to back off, when a soft whirling sound churned its way up Power Tool Dragon's throat area as its electric eyes began to shift colors ever so slowly.
"Rua!" the children rushed over as well, only to have his Duel Spirits cut 'them' off as well.
Rua looked down from his place on the wall of Spirits and watched as Teipei and the others looked at him helplessly. Behind the gang were their favorite Duel Spirits looking about unsure of what to do in this situation and Rua felt his eyes begin to burn with emotion. "Why won't you even 'talk' to me! Everyone else is talking why won't you?" He demanded as he rested his face against the cool metal of Morphtronic Celphons' arm.
"Why can't you appreciate their concern for your well being and just leave it at that?" Cyber End Dragon asked from the shadows where it hid, its tail connecting its shadowy form with Ryo.
Asuka looked about, standing up in growing concern for the child, recognizing the tone of a child frustrated to the point of near tears. The others also approaching in mounting concern of this almost passive display of defensiveness. Yet their own Spirits were as relaxed as ever, as though there was nothing going on that would alarm them.
"Why are you so up in arms? Machines are emotionless creations, but that doesn't mean they don't comprehend right from wrong," Djinn commented lazily.
"How is this right?!" Rua protested when he felt someone reach around him and begin pulling him away from his elevated perch. Sky blue light bloomed out of the middle of thin air pulling Rua closer as Ancient Fairy Dragon appeared.
The presence of the Signer Dragon blew away the wall of Duel Spirits like a gentle puff of air on a hand full of feathers. Sending them floating into the air gently revealing herself with Rua carried in her limbs like a mother holding a child. Her tapered head bowed low so that she could look at him with her large, soft, red jewel like eyes while her helmet and sea foam mane settled elegantly down her neck. Her large light pink butterfly wings beat a soft gentle rhythm in the air behind her, while her serpentine lower half stretched out further into the room.
"Ancient Fairy!" Ruka ran forward completely trusting this new dragon, while the other children joined her. Well 'new' to all but one of the teens, for Aki she knew this to be Ruka's partner dragon.
Though in all fairness, Ancient Fairy was 'the' most approachable looking dragon they had seen so far. With her bright colors, butterfly wings, sea foam mane, it was a stark contrast to the imposing mechanical Cyber End Dragon, or the dark and mysterious Black Rose. While Power Tool looked more like a comical rendition of a Dragon, this Fairy just exuded comfort and safety.
"What a pretty dragon! That's your dragon right?" Patti asked Ruka as she shyly reached out to the dragon.
"Rua, please forgive your Duel Spirits, they only have your best intentions at heart, even if they do not understand the emotional side of it. " Ancient Fairy Dragon answered, her voice rich and worn like a wooden flute polished and maintained through out the ages. Giving her the voice of warmth and experience while half the room recovered from their surprise at her manifestation. She lowered her upper body and gently placed Rua back on the ground, the light glinting off her gold bracelets and their red gems. While her large ear fins twitched in slight amusement as the children 'oohed' and 'aaahhhed' her presence.
"But I don't understand! Why won't they listen to me?" Rua argued, as he clung to her right hand.
"They 'are' listening to you," Ancient Fairy answered with her gentle voice while the other teenagers looked upon her with awe.
Save Aki, who was already acquainted with Ancient Fairy Dragon and had approached the pair of dragons. "Ancient Fairy, is there any chance that Power Tool Dragon talked to you about the significance of those cards?"
Ancient Fairy's gaze lifted up, her jewel like eyes reflecting Aki's image back at the young duelist before gently extending her head closer to the duelist. She swayed her tapered head gently side to side before giving an apologetic, "no, Power Tool is silent even to us Signers. If you want to find out what happened, you may have to use strictly human methods. I would tell you if I knew, however I was a prisoner at the time and unable to help."
Aki nodded with a touch of regret in her posture, while the other Duel Spirits looked at her then at the towering dragon.
"You speak Dragon?" Cyber Blader asked, with a head tilt of surprise as she looked at the Rose Duelist.
The Cyber Petite Angel chirped a little, "so you're a dragon?"
The comment startled Asuka into looking down at the little angel on her lap before looking up at Aki and then the twins. Realizing that outside of everyone there, those three seemed to actively communicate with these Dragons. There was this subtle undercurrent surprise to think of these 'Duel Spirits' were actually no different than people.
So she quietly lifted up a hand and after a moment of hesitancy, Asuka began to pet her Angel and was rewarded with a soft purring sound! "What do they say?"
"Now you're getting it!" Cyber Blader praised her duelist before adjusting her own focus back onto the Rose duelist as well.
"Ancient Fairy says we have to use well, non Spirit means. Power Tool won't talk, even to his fellow dragons," Aki reported dutifully.
"Can the lady tell us at least if she knows if its possible for cards to be moved outside of normal means?" Ryo asked as he approached the couch and rested his hands on the back of it. Standing between Asuka and Isao while the Cyber End Dragons' shadow curled up into a more relaxed posture on its place in the room.
"Our Highest God can do it, but he hasn't been around in a long time," Ancient Fairy answered calmly.
"Really? A 'highest God' what was he like?" Rua asked as he went to sit down on top of Power Tools' foot.
"Well, he came from your world actually. He keeps our world by his side at all times, our world is kind of like an egg to him." Ancient Fairy explained while her tail flicked out and settled back down to the ground. Her voice was warm with amusement as she leaned over and nuzzled the child while Aki relayed the Dragons' answer to Cyber End Dragons' Duelist.
"Can anyone even those who doesn't qualify as a 'God'?" Kazushi asked sitting on the floor next to his Djinn, mostly because she pulled him down next to her.
"Not really, because that's an abuse of power. That's why the Magicians have restrictions on what spells they 'can' and can't do. Since they have spells that allow for it," Witch of the Black Rose explained as she floated by Aki's right and leaned over to see Kazushi who was distantly on Aki's left.
"So it 'can' be done?" Patti asked from her spot under Ancient Fairy's shoulder. Catching the attention of the boys and bringing their attention to the conversation at hand.
"Sure," Witch of the Black Rose said with a shrug, "Its a spell card after all. And all spell cards are based on the book of spells that belong to the original Dark Magician so yeah."
"But there are no psychic duelists in the school save Izayoi, and she doesn't run a magician deck from what we've seen." Ryo pointed out calmly.
Clearly unaware that Ruka was also such a duelist while acknowledging that it couldn't be Aki because of the nature of her deck. Whether it was out of politeness or because of a genuine effort to treat Aki fairly. Either way Aki was appreciative of that effort while everyone thought about the day of the accident.
"Hey kids, you were there when it happened, did you happen to see who was given the deck after everything was settled down?" Kazushi asked, his expression thoughtfully while Aki moved herself back to her seat and settled down.
The trio blinked and seemed to return from the fantasy world they were mentally living in at the pleasure and joy of having their ace monsters' to play with. Having the Ancient Fairy Dragon and Power Tool Dragon present with their larger than life presences. The Spirits looked peaceful as they floated about their cherished child, this type of serenity that was woven around the kids and their Duel Spirits. Indeed all the Spirits seemed delighted to be able to spend time with their duelist, making Kazushi wonder.
How long had these spirits been by their sides, wanting to be heard and unable to? That this was their first time they could interact and the glow on the kids was visible even to him. Asuka was even starting to warm up like a young child herself. The moment she started petting her Petite Angel her expression softened. And the conversation between herself and the two Spirits at her side looked to be growing into as casual a conversation between two humans.
While he was sitting at the side of his far more assertive Djinn and he was pretty sure someone was going to tease him. Either about the type of women that attracted him, or whether 'he' was the duelist or was 'she'. Even so, just sitting by her, feeling the smoldering heat and raw power she exuded was exhilarating. It was a type of power that turned the holograms into pale imitations, and he had to wonder if Kaiba ever was this close to his Blue Eyes White Dragon. If it was a brief encounter or something else that made him strive so hard to make the Dueling systems so realistic.
"Not really. I think we were all too concerned for Rua to pay any attention to that," Teipei answered as he pushed his glasses up his nose some.
"But that doesn't mean we can't go and ask our classmates," Bob interjected with cheerfully with Patti nodding in agreement.
"We can start asking about it tomorrow!" Patti added giving an extra little bounce sending her bright blond curls bouncing.
"It is a shame that someone would tamper with the decks if that's the case, since we still don't have confirmation on what happened. If those cards are, for whatever reason, causing a glitch in the system that would hurt a duelist it needs to be found." Ryo stated as his Cyber End coiled its heads around him a bit. Giving the impression that it guarding him like a treasure, while facing the other two dragons. Which was understandable, if Dragons were really as territorial as legends spoke of, there were now three dragons, two whom they were in the territory of now.
"I want to believe its just the cards themselves too, Ryo. However I think just by Power Tool's insisted silence as well as the rest of Rua's decks' behavior. It may not be necessary to 'find' those cards because we already know what they are," Isao pointed out pragmatically. "Seriously wish I brought my deck, but I don't know how my Knights would react around all these Dragons."
"If that's the case, it feels wrong to drag you into this," Aki commented thoughtfully as her Witch settled down on her lap again.
While Asuka shook her head in denial, "don't worry about it. All of you are our classmates and though this may be a bit selfish of me to say. Its fun, a mystery to solve that might actually have a conclusion..."
Aki schooled her expression to not express her confusion over Asukas' wording, yet Cyber Blader seemed very aware of the situation and hugged Asuka briefly. The first semi public display of her powers and Aki found herself under complete control and everyone seemingly having a good time. Igniting a small candle flame of confidence in her abilities and powers that she never had before.