I can explain the delay of about two and a half months! Really! School was destroying me! And besides that, I have been packing because we're moving into an actual house in the summer! I'm not lying!

…In all honestly, I HAVE been busy. I do apologize several times for the horrifying wait everyone had to endure. Since spring break is coming up, I might be able to update more. However, Kingdom Hearts 2 is coming out in eight days… so no guarantees. Sorry everyone! I hope to do well with rapid updates though!

Chapter 3: Reunion

Despite just being crushed, Brandi recovered almost instantly. She grabbed the person by the ankle and threw him to the side as she stood up, causing him to land on his back with a yelp of pain.

"RUE! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?" Brandi shouted furiously.

Rue's only response was a groan.

"Rue?" Hope said, going closer. Now that she could see him clearly, Hope wondered how she had not been able to tell it was him from the start. Although he had grown, his outfit still looked exactly the same, further proving Hope's theory that those were the only clothes he owned. His white hair was still pretty short, and as his eyes snapped open, Hope saw that their brown depths were as deep as ever.

Upon seeing Hope, Rue sat up. "Hope! You're here-OW!" He collapsed again.

"Um… yeah, I am… are you all right?" Hope replied, looking concerned.

"I just fell about a hundred feet from the sky and only survived because I landed on Brandi, who will kill me for it," Rue said. "In other words… NO! I'M NOT ALL RIGHT!"

"For once, he's correct," Brandi stated, glaring at him.

"How did you fall?" Larka asked in bewilderment.

"Try looking up," Rue growled.

They did so and were just in time to see three large figures descending from the sky. Two Blue Eyes White Dragons and a familiar Red Eyes Black Dragon landed a few feet away, gazing at the group.

"That would explain," Zack said, torn between exasperation and amusement.

A man leapt off one of the Blue Eyes, a man Hope recognized at once. "Hey Rue! You survive?"

"Barely, no thanks to you!" Rue snarled.

"Hi Draken," Hope said, as though Rue was not seething on the ground next to her.

Draken's color scheme had not altered much. He wore a white shirt with a light-weight silver jacket over it and blue pants, along with the same white boots and blue fingerless gloves. His silver hair had grown out a bit more; the ponytail now ended at his shoulder blades. To go with that was his blue eyes, which were sparkling in delight at the moment.

"Hey Hope! Nice weather we're having today, huh?" Draken remarked, pointedly not looking at Rue. "It's the perfect kind to have an excuse to… DROP IN!" He laughed as he said that.

"As you can see, his puns have not gotten any better," Max said dryly.

"He tells the truth," Draken said as he pulled out a card and inserted it into his Duel Disk, causing a Red Potion to appear in his hand. "Either way, I guess I should heal you."

"I'd be more grateful if it wasn't your fault in the first place," Rue spat.

"I imagine you would be," Draken agreed, kneeling down. "But that doesn't matter right now, does it? So shut up and drink this."

While Draken was busy with that, two Soul Monsters got off of the second Blue Eyes and approached them. Gaston went up to them at once. "Ruecian! Darche!"

"Nice to see you again, Gaston!" Darche said. Ruecian smiled but remained as silent as ever.

"Yeah, same here! And it looks like you haven't changed at all," Gaston directed to Ruecian.

Ruecian shrugged.

"Figures," Gaston said with a small smile of his own.

"That should take care of you. Now excuse me while I back off so you won't throw me into the lake or anything along those lines," Draken said before retreating. Rue leapt up but did not try to pursue him, instead watching him with a look of annoyance.

Draken gestured to the Blue Eyes, and both of them took off, flying in the direction of the mountains. The remaining dragon came up to them, and a woman dismounted.

"Kisara!" Hope said, going up to her and embracing her.

"Hello," Kisara replied softly as she returned it, smiling.

Kisara's colors had also remained the same. The dress she wore was blood-red, but now had black trimming to go with her elegant black shoes. Her black hair still fell to her waist, and her emerald-green eyes sparkled with a happiness that she had previously lacked.

"I still haven't been able to make her speak up," Draken said with a sigh. "I've tried. Seriously."

"He is telling the truth." Kazel lowered her head, getting a close look at Hope as she released Kisara. "It is good to see you, Hope," she said, her voice retaining its song-like nature. Then she added, "Gaston as well," while looking over at him.

"You too," Hope said, Gaston nodding in agreement.

"By the way, happy birthday!" Draken added.

"Yeah, the same goes from all of us!" Larka said happily.

"It's Hope's birthday?" Rue said.

Everyone stared at him in silence, before Ruecian smacked him over the head.

"OW! What was that for?" Rue exclaimed.

"How could she have gotten back into Teknisk Wereld if it wasn't her birthday?" Max said.

"…Oh. Right. Hit me again please," Rue said. Ruecian obliged.

"It looks like almost all of us are here!" Draken said, looking around. "Just missing Will, Miles, and Fell from the main group… not that we could have done much about Miles or Fell anyway…"

"Damn it! I'm sick of him hiding!" Rue snarled. "Where is he?"

"Did someone tell you about Miles?" Draken asked Hope.

"Brandi said none of you have had any contact with him," Hope replied. "I'm rather worried about it…"

"We all are. But there isn't anything we can do at the moment," Draken said regretfully. "Hopefully, Gen is keeping him in line… if something happened."

"Where are Will and Neo?" Gaston asked.

"They should be coming soon," Darche replied.

"What about Claire?" Hope inquired.

"She went to meet up with Amy first," Rue explained.

"Amy's here? She's been pretty busy with college lately, according to Kisara," Draken stated.

"Yes, but she wanted to see me on my first day back here," Hope said. "It's been a while since we've seen each other, so I'm looking forward to it. Do you know where Claire went to find her, Rue?"

"Yeah, she mentioned the plains," Rue answered. "Either way, it shouldn't take them long."

"While we're waiting, how about I repay you for falling on me?" Brandi said, turning on her Duel Disk.

Rue stepped back, waving his hands in protest. "Whoa, wait a minute! That wasn't my fault! Draken pushed me off the Blue Eyes!"

"Yeah, after you said you wanted to see who the people on the ground were," Draken reminded him. "So I decided to let you go take a look!"

"You're a complete bastard," Rue growled.

"Well, actually, you have a point. It's not like I remember my father at all or anything," Draken said thoughtfully. Then he shrugged. "Either way, you're the one who started it."

"I didn't start anything!" Rue snapped.

"Really, I don't care who started it!" Brandi cut in. "Rue was the one who crushed me, so I'm going to take it out on him! I suggest you get ready for a duel, because otherwise, you won't get a chance to defend yourself. It's either through a real fight or through cards that this is decided, and I don't want to be charged for murder, so cards it is."

"I suggest doing as she suggests," Draken said.

"I suggest to myself that I never listen to you again after this," Rue stated before getting his Duel Disk ready. "Fine then. Let's get this over with."

Ruecian merely nodded, but did not go up to him. Apparently, Rue did not wish to use a Deck Master, although he did not say why.

Rue: 8000

Brandi: 8000

"How are we going to decide who goes first?" Rue asked.

"You go," Brandi stated. "I want you to."

Rue shrugged. "Fine by me. I summon Skilled Black Magician, (1900/1700) and lay one card down. That's it."

"All I do is place one monster in defense mode," Brandi said.

"You'll regret that," Rue stated, looking very confident. "I have the perfect play to make! First, I summon another Skilled Black Magician. Then I play Angel's Gift, drawing three cards and discarding two… excellent! I get rid of Black Magician and Double Magic. Then I play Early Burial, bringing back Black Magician!" (2500/2100)

Rue: 7200

Brandi: 8000

"I equip my Black Magician with Power of Magicians! (3000/2600) Now that each of my Skilled Black Magicians has three magic counters, I sacrifice both of them to special summon two more Black Magicians! Then I activate Cry of the Living Dead, to special summon one of my Skilled Black Magicians!"

"Wow… if Rue manages to attack with all of those, Brandi will lose!" Hope said in awe.

Brandi did not seem the least bit intimidated. "So, going to actually attack, or just stand around all day showing off what you got from your special summoning spree?"

"Of course I'm going to attack!" Rue said impatiently. "Skilled Black Magician attacks your defense monster!"

They all had just enough time to see a thin young girl in rags appear before she was dissolved from the black magic attack.

"What was that?" Rue asked.

"You destroyed my Starving Girl," (0/100) Brandi said. She waved her finger at him. "For so brutally destroying a poor girl like that, your battle phase immediately ends."

"Say WHAT? You mean all of my efforts were for NOTHING this turn?" Rue exclaimed.

"Afraid so," Brandi replied with a grin as almost everyone watching began to laugh at Rue's expression.

"That's ridiculous! I end my turn!" Rue snarled.

"Rue gets screwed over again," Draken snickered.

"Shut up!" Rue snapped at him.

"He's only telling the truth," Brandi said. "Because now I play a magic card, Lightning Vortex. By discarding a card-Solar Ray this time-all face up monsters on the field are destroyed."

"What? But… that's not fair!" Rue protested as all his monsters were blown apart.

"Hey, it wasn't fair when you nearly crushed me to death," Brandi pointed out amongst the fresh wave of laughter that occurred from this. "Only repaying you. Now I summon Blade Knight (1600/1000) and attack you directly!"

As the Blade Knight sliced into Rue, Hope asked, "What did Brandi do with her deck? It used to be a Dark Main-Type deck, but Blade Knight is…"

"A Light Main-Type," Max said with a nod. "It's a Light Main-Type deck now."

"Like Larka's?" Hope said.

"Yes," Larka answered. "Coincidentally, she changed deck types around the time I returned to Teknisk Wereld."

"Huh. That's interesting," Hope said, turning back to the duel. Brandi was just placing a card down and ending her turn.

Rue: 5600

Brandi: 8000

"I'm not going to give up just because of a few minor set backs!" Rue declared.

"Minor? I'd call that more than minor," Brandi said lightly.

"Quiet, woman! I summon Doublecoston (1700/1650) and attack Blade Knight!" Rue said.

"I would prefer to keep my Life Points untouched," Brandi stated. "So I activate Magic Cylinder."

Rue: 3900

Brandi: 8000

"Damn it! Your turn," Rue growled.

"I summon Volt Girl. (1900/800) Volt Girl attacks Doublecoston, and Blade Knight attacks directly! You may take your turn after that," Brandi said.

Rue: 2100

Brandi: 8000

"Oh yeah? …Ok, you're right, I'm screwed," Rue said, then drew. "…Or maybe not! I lay one card down and end my turn!"

"That won't save you!" Brandi said. "I attack with Volt Girl!"

"I activate my trap card, A Hero Appears!" Rue declared. "This is a card I just managed to acquire recently, my only new one in a while. You select a card in my hand, and if it's a monster, it is special summoned to my field. Anything else goes to the Cemetery."

"Fine," Brandi said, looking bored as she went over to him. "Hold out your hand so I can grab one."

"Well, I think I only have one card anyway, so…" As Rue shifted his hand slightly, another card was revealed though. "Oh, wait, sorry. Make that… two…" He paled. "Oh… crap… Brandi, can I please take that move back? Please? Go ahead and kill me, I don't care, just let me take that back…"

Brandi snorted. "As if I would let you do that. You activated it, now suffer the consequences." Before Rue could protest again, she grabbed the card that had been previously concealed and threw it onto his Duel Disk.

Rue winced as Black Magician Girl appeared on the field, laughing brightly. Brandi gazed at her for a long moment, not saying anything before suddenly running up the slope.

"Brandi!" Larka exclaimed. She stepped forward, arm stretched out, but then let it fall to her side as she watched Brandi run off.

"Oh no…" Hope whispered, remembering what Max had said earlier.

Rue: 2100

Brandi: Forfeit

"…Well… I tried to warn her," Rue said meekly.

Max glared at him, eyes blazing with fury. "Tried to warn her? You should have never even taken that risk in the first place! I specifically told you what would happen if you did that!"

"I know, I know! I didn't see that card in my hand, honestly!" Rue said, waving his hands. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to do that!"

"It doesn't matter what you meant to do; you did that either way!" Max snarled. "You're going to be lucky to be alive when I'm done with you! I don't even know where to start!"

"Allow me," they heard someone say. Before they could react, a solid thud sounded, and Rue dropped to the ground with a yelp.

They looked up to see a man standing there, holding a thick book in his hand. Even without that accessory, Hope would have known who he was on sight.

"Will!" Hope exclaimed.

"It's been a long time, Hope," Will said as he moved his book, The Half-Blood Prince, away from where Rue laid.

"Far too long!" That caused Hope to notice who was standing nearby him.

"You look as energetic as ever, Neo," Gaston commented.

"That's me!" Neo said, twirling his staff for effect. Then he indicated to Rue and said, "I told him to work on avoiding Will's book attacks, but nooo, nobody listens to me!"

"As usual," Gaston said dryly.

"As usual," Neo agreed mournfully.

"Max, I advise against killing Rue," Will said as he walked over to them. "Who knows when we'll need him again?"

"How about I at least put him inches away from death? Can I do that?" Max growled.

"Well, you technically could, but I do not think you should," Will stated.

"Yeah. Instead, you should be asking us how much we improved!" Draken said, indicating to himself and Kisara.

"You improved?" Rue asked as he stood, holding his hand to his head.

"You've seen me duel," Draken pointed out. "You should have noticed my improvements."

Rue shrugged. "You win some, you lose some."

"Ain't that the truth!" Draken said. "When it comes to Kisara and me, we're about dead even! I win one, then she wins one, and so on…"

"Then how about you have a duel now? I'd like to see," Hope said, using the excuse to get Max's attention off of Rue.

"That's what I was trying to say!" Draken looked at Kisara. "That all right with you?"

"Yes," Kisara replied quietly before going a good distance away. Then they turned on their Duel Disks.

Draken: 8000

Kisara: 8000

"Unlike Rue, I'm a gentleman at heart. Ladies first," Draken said in an exaggerated gallant tone.

Kisara laughed softly. "All right. I lay one monster in defense mode and one card."

"He always manages to flatter her," Kazel commented.

"He just insulted me again, didn't he?" Rue grumbled.

"I'll summon Spear Dragon. (1900/0) He attacks your defense monster," Draken stated.

"Holy Barrier-Mirror Force," Kisara said, flipping over her trap card. The Spear Dragon bounced off the barrier and exploded.

"Dang it. I lay one card down and end my turn," Draken said.

"I sacrifice my Doublecoston (1700/1650) to summon a Red Eyes Black Dragon. (2400/2000) He attacks you directly," Kisara said.

"Yay for having no counter!" Draken said before getting hit by a huge fireball.

Draken: 5600

Kisara: 8000

"Well, I'm assuming it's my turn," Draken managed to say, coughing a few times from the smoke. "I lay a monster down and end."

"I summon my own Spear Dragon. He attacks your defense monster," Kisara said.

Draken winced as his monster was pierced. "There goes Dol Dora." (1500/1200)

"Red Eyes Black Dragon attacks directly."

Draken: 2500

Kisara: 8000

"Time for a counter attack!" Draken declared. "My Dol Dora returns from the Cemetery. (1000/1000) Then I activate Cry of the Living Dead for my Spear Dragon. I sacrifice both of them for a Blue Eyes White Dragon! (3000/2500) Then I play a magic card, Burst Stream of Destruction! Your monsters are destroyed! Since I can't attack with my Blue Eyes now, that's it for me."

Kisara gazed at her hand worriedly. "I lay one monster in defense mode."

"This seems like a good time for me to summon Sapphire Dragon! (1900/1600) He attacks your defense monster!"

"My Lord of Dragons…" Kisara trailed off as her monster was destroyed.

"Then my Blue Eyes White Dragon attacks directly!"

Draken: 2500

Kisara: 5000

"Some gentleman! You just attacked her!" Rue said.

"It would have been disrespectful to go easy on her, don't you think?" Draken pointed out.

"Yeah, but… gah! Just forget it!" Rue went back to sulking.

"I summon a Sapphire Dragon as well. He attacks yours, and that is all," Kisara said.

"My Blue Eyes attacks directly. I lay a card down and end my turn," Draken stated.

Draken: 2500

Kisara: 2000

"This is pretty close," Hope said. "They've improved too. If Kisara doesn't get something this turn…"

"She will! Or so I hope," Rue said, glaring at Draken.

"I summon Dark Dragon Hatchling. (800/500) Then I play Stomping Crash, to destroy your face down card," Kisara said.

Draken groaned. "My Tidal Wave… and I lose 500 Life Points…"

Draken: 2000

Kisara: 2000

"Then I use his effect. By sacrificing him from my field, I can special summon a Red Eyes Black Dragon from my hand," Kisara said. "Then I play Dark Mega Flare, to do damage equal to my Red Eyes Black Dragon's attack."

"Oh I KNOW this is going to hurt…" Draken managed to say before being hit head-on by the fireball.

Draken: 0

Kisara: 2000

"OWNED!" Rue cheered from the sidelines.

"You're one to talk," Draken said as he dusted off his ash-covered clothes.

"Hey, at least I didn't lose… although I nearly did," Rue admitted.

"You were both great," Hope said.

"Yeah. I've gotten better due to experience, but Kisara really jumped thanks to dueling with me all the time," Draken said. "Before, she didn't get much practice."

"It is true," Kisara confirmed, smiling. "I am grateful for it; I have gotten much better."

"And Draken STILL denies that they're in love," Rue said.

Kisara blushed as Draken made a threatening gesture towards his Duel Disk. "Don't make me get out a Murasame Blade and slice you apart."

"You cannot keep the truth hidden forever!" Rue said before speeding away, Draken following him as they ran in circles.

"More like, YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!" Neo said.

"…That wasn't needed," Darche said.

"But it was so fitting," Neo grinned.

Hope looked in the direction Brandi had gone. "About Brandi…"

"I was here long enough to see what happened," Will stated. "I think she went towards the mountains."

"She would probably prefer to be alone right now," Larka said softly.

"I guess so…" Hope said.

At that moment, a high-pitched whining suddenly sounded. They all turned to see Malon pressing himself against Larka's legs, whimpering frantically.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Larka asked, picking him up.

Malon began to shake in her arms, still whining.

Tenma then growled. "I sense it…"

"Tenma?" Max said.

Kazel's eyes narrowed. "Something is not right… I can feel it."

"What?" Gaston looked at her in concern, and then winced. "I just felt it as well! It's like… ah… how can I explain this… as though something major is about to happen, and not in a good way!"

"Call me paranoid, but I agree with him!" Neo said worriedly.

"I as well," Darche stated, putting his hand to his sword. Ruecian glanced around, his body tense.

"What the hell is going on?" Rue said.

…

"It is time. Delays kept me from doing it until today, but… at last, it is time." The finger on the key paused. "…I cannot hesitate. It must be done." It pressed down.

An emotionless voice came from the computer to acknowledge the command. "Confirmed. Deletion of Teknisk Wereld will begin at once. Please stand by."

To be continued…