A/N: Here's the next chapter! Things start getting a little ugly here. Also, the spirits mentioned at the end of the last chapter will remain unnamed until close to the end, but feel free to guess who they are. Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX or Yugioh 5D's.
"I summon Hell Gainer!" Manjoume said. He didn't really have an opponent for this "duel" of his—he was simply practicing for when he started at Duel Academy this fall. "Next, I—"
He stopped as a strange light appeared right in front of him. As it faded away, there were five people standing there. There was a blond man with purple eyes dressed all in white; an orange-haired guy, shorter than the blond, with gray eyes wearing a vest and a headband with rings through it; some dude with black and yellow hair and blue eyes in a black and red shirt and blue jacket; a red-haired girl in the weirdest dress he had ever seen; and a brunette in jeans, a black shirt, and a red jacket that distinctly resembled the Duel Academy uniforms.
"What the hell!?" he exclaimed.
Judai started at the sound of that voice, torn between joy at hearing it again and an overpowering drive to get out of sight.
"Uh, Yusei," Aki said, "I think we forgot something important when we came here..."
"No duh," Jack said. "Like maybe we should've planned to arrive in a more secluded part of the world?"
"Sorry, guys. Unfortunately, we can't control that," Yusei said, sweating.
"Okay, you bunch of freaks!" The black-haired, black-eyed boy, wearing a deep red outfit similar to the Obelisk Blue uniform Judai had first seen him in, demanded, "Just who the hell are you, and where did you come from?"
Judai stared at him, unable to believe his eyes. Manjoume...
"Greetings, stranger!" Crow said, stepping forward. "My name's Crow, and we're from the fu—"
Jack grabbed him and pulled him back, cutting him off. "Are you crazy!?" he hissed at him. "We can't tell them that! They'd freak out! Just act casual, okay?"
"Yeah, you especially can't tell him that!" Judai whispered. "That's Manjoume! Let's just get out of here, okay?"
"Manjoume?" Yusei whispered.
"Friend of mine. He married my girlfriend," Judai whispered, looking like he'd rather not talk about that.
"And you're still friends?" Jack asked.
Manjoume smirked. "Heh. And here I thought you clowns couldn't get any weirder. What are you whispering about?"
Judai just stared, not trusting himself to speak. What were the odds they'd show up right in front of Manjoume? What were the odds, considering they were in Domino City? It wasn't like it was a small town or anything!
Yusei took control of the situation. "Look, I'm sorry for the scare, kid. We didn't mean to surprise you like that. See, we're not from around here, and, well, this may sound kind of weird, but we're looking for a spaceship. Any idea where we could find one?"
Manjoume raised an eyebrow. "A what? What are you guys? Some stranded aliens or something?"
"Uh, we're not aliens, little dude," Crow said, "but we really do need a spaceship. Preferably before this summer's out?"
Manjoume just stared at them for a long while. Finally, he said, "Okay. You people are weird." He looked at Judai, confusion written all over his face, and asked, "And, speaking of, why does it feel like I should know one of you?"
Judai looked at him, just as confused. "You shouldn't," he said. Not yet, anyway.
Manjoume humphed. "Guess it's just another reason you're all weird... As for that spaceship, I'm afraid you're out of luck. We just ran out at the Space Freaks store."
Jack growled. "Why, I oughta...!" he said, charging the younger boy.
Yusei put up an arm to block him. "Easy, Jack. We should be expecting this sort of thing. This does sound kinda weird, after all."
"Yusei's right, Jack," Aki said. "We had it coming, considering..."
Jack growled, but he backed down.
"Heh," Manjoume said. "Nothing but a—"
"Manjoume!" a female voice said. "Don't you ever get tired of that!?"
Judai's eyes widened in horror. That voice...!
Everyone turned to see a girl with long blond hair standing there, arms crossed, hazel eyes glaring at Manjoume. She wore a white tank top with deep red trim, and a pleated miniskirt of the same color, the same shade as Manjoume's outfit. If Judai had to guess, they had just gotten out of school, so this was probably their last day at the Duel Academy's middle school. But, really, did it have to be her?
"Seriously, why do you always have to be such a jerk?" the girl asked.
"Oh. Hey, there, Tenjoin-kun," Manjoume said with a grin.
Judai stared, looking like he had just seen a ghost. All things considered, it was the same thing to him.
"So, wait, that's Asuka?" Crow said quietly, taking a guess based on the look on Judai's face. "The one that ghost thingy Sho was referring to?"
"Yes...," Judai said faintly.
"Judai? You okay?" Yubel asked, worried.
I don't know, Yubel. I don't know...
"Whoa," Crow said. "She's pretty sweet, dude. Looks like a keeper."
If Judai hadn't been trying so hard to keep his heart from exploding, he might have strangled Crow for that comment, especially since he'd lost her in life.
"Honestly, can't you just learn to leave people alone already?" Asuka asked Manjoume.
"But, Tenjoin-kun," he defended. "These guys claim to be from outer space and are looking for a spaceship! Not to mention I know that one, sorta..." He eyed Judai. "The point is, they're clearly crazy, right?"
Asuka stared at them, stunned. "W-what?"
"Hey!" Crow said. "We never said we were from space! We're from—"
Yusei covered his friend's mouth. "Uh, out of town, ma'am. Sorry. You see, my friend here's looking for a space port because he's always wanted to be an astronaut." He looked at Jack.
"What!?" Jack exclaimed indignantly.
"Shh," Yusei hissed. "Just go with it, okay?"
Manjoume crossed his arms and, heavy on the sarcasm, asked, "Oh, is that all? Then mind explaining to me how you showed up out of nowhere in a beam of light?"
Asuka didn't hear that—she had scanned the strangers, her eyes sticking on one: the brunette. Now she was staring at him, stunned.
Winged Kuriboh didn't like this. "Kurii...," it said, which translated as "not good."
Judai was staring at Asuka as well. He couldn't seem to stop, either. Taking his eyes off her for even a moment seemed an impossibility at the time.
"Who...who are you...?" Asuka asked finally.
He just stared, not sure he could take this. Why did I agree to this insanity in the first place!?
"See what I mean? He's entrancing, isn't he?" Manjoume said, staring at him some more.
With both of them staring at him like that, Judai knew he couldn't handle it. He backed up a step.
"...Stop looking at me... Both of you, stop looking at me!"
Asuka blinked. "Oh. I'm sorry! It's just...have we met before? Because I feel like I should know you..." Silently, she added, Really well, actually... What is this feeling?
"You don't know me, we've never met, drop it," Judai said quickly.
Manjoume humphed. "Well, that's rude. And why is it, when I look at you, I start thinking of Ojamas?" Silently, he added, Yuck! And I want some, too! What's wrong with me!?
"...Ojamas..." Judai shook his head to clear it, then said, "Don't ask me! How should I know!?"
Winged Kuriboh had a bad feeling, a guess as to what was going on here, but he decided to keep it to himself.
Yusei, seeing Judai's suffering, drew attention away from him by asking, "Uh, anyway, about my friend Jack's dream?"
"Uh, right!" Asuka said, attention snapping to Yusei. "He wanted to be an astronaut, right?" She sweat.
"You got it, li'l lady!" Crow said. "The name's Crow, by the way." He grinned and winked at her playfully.
Asuka blushed. "Uh, okay. Well, if I were you, I'd ask the Kaibas. They're the richest family in town and should be able to help."
"Oh, that's right!" Aki said. "Mr. Kaiba and Mokuba. They own KaibaCorp, don't they?"
"That's right," Asuka said. "And they're the founders of all the Duel Academies across the globe, too. I'm going there at the end of the summer."
"Heh. As am I. I'm gonna become the next King of Games," Manjoume said with a smirk, pointing at himself proudly.
Crow smacked his forehead. "KaibaCorp! Duh! Of course, they'd have one! Why didn't we think of that sooner? Thanks a lot, miss! Later!"
He started walking off, and the others followed.
"Wait!" Asuka called. "You! The guy wearing the Osiris jacket! Just who are you!? Where'd you get that, and why on Earth do I know you!?" To herself, she amended, Know him!? I feel like I should love him! But we just met!
Judai stopped, standing there for a moment in silence, his back to her. Finally, he said, "I'm nobody. I got this a long time ago, so I can't say where, and you don't know me."
"But—"
"Yeah?" Manjoume interjected. "Then why do I have a strange need to call you 'idiot?'" Arms crossed and head lowered slightly, he mumbled, "Although, granted, you're all pretty crazy."
"I don't know!" Judai snapped, unable to take much more. "Maybe you're just weird, ever think of that? I mean, I've never seen you two before in my life."
Stop interrogating me, he thought desperately. Please, stop asking questions. Just let me go!
"Hey! Who are you calling 'weird,' you idiot!?" Manjoume demanded. "We're not the ones appearing out of nowhere and demanding a spaceship!"
"What's your problem?" Asuka asked, glaring at him. "You're a real jerk, you know? I just wanted some answers, that's all! No need to bite my head off!"
A little further away, Aki whispered, "Hey, Yusei, what's going on here? They're acting like they know him, but didn't he say they hadn't met yet?"
"I don't know," Yusei whispered back. "Maybe there's some space/time rule we just don't understand."
Judai teared up again. He could handle Manjoume yelling at him, but Asuka...
"...I'm sorry...," he said quietly.
"Sheesh. Now he's crying," Manjoume said, gesturing to him. "What a weirdo."
Asuka stared at him, not sure why those tears in his eyes caused her pain.
Judai stood there another moment, staring at the ground, his eyes burning with tears. "I can't do this... Damn it, Yusei, how'd I let you talk me into this!?" He glared at the man in question.
Yusei didn't answer, but he didn't like the look on Judai's face. He hadn't meant to hurt him; he had only wanted to help.
"Okay, scratch that," Manjoume said. "You're not an idiot or a weirdo, you're just nuts."
"Manjoume!" Asuka glared at him.
"What? He is! Look at him!"
"He seems upset to me, actually." She looked at him, wondering, Why does that hurt so much? I feel like I should help him somehow...
She stepped forward, unnoticed by Judai, who was still glaring daggers at Yusei. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she said, "Hey, it's okay."
Judai jumped, then looked at her.
"Oh!" she said, pulling back. "I'm sorry! Did I scare you?"
It took him a moment to form the words to say, "No. I just...wasn't expecting you to..."
"Oh, great," Yubel said. "You okay, kid?"
Asuka tilted her head to the side slightly. "Hm? What's wrong? You've been upset ever since you first saw me. Do I remind you of someone?" she asked gently.
She's comforting a lunatic. Manjoume rolled his eyes in disgust. "Oh, brother. I don't have time for this. See ya around, Tenjoin-kun," he said, walking off.
"...Yeah... You could say that...," Judai answered her.
"So, what happened? Obviously it wasn't good."
"She...died."
"Oh! I'm sorry. So, I look sort of like her in your eyes, then?" She thought, Okay, now I'm scared. First I feel like I should love him, then his pain hurts me, now I feel like I'm dead! But I'm alive! Aren't I...?
Sounding nervous, she asked, "Um, this girl... What was her name? And I am still on Earth in Domino City, right...?"
"Yeah, you are," Judai answered. "Her name..." His voice cracked on the last word.
"Uh, Yus?" Crow said. "Is that really a good idea? I mean..."
Yusei stepped forward. "Alexis," he said.
Asuka turned to him, confused.
"Her name was Alexis," he clarified. He looked to Judai for confirmation.
Judai was silent another moment, trying to regain some of his composure. "Yeah," he said finally. "Alexis."
Asuka looked back at the older boy. "I'm sorry..."
True as that was, she couldn't help but be somewhat relieved. For a moment there, she had felt as if she were dead.
Judai didn't respond—he just stared at the ground.
"Anyway, Judai," Yusei said, "we should head for KaibaCorp now."
Judai nodded slowly. "Yeah..."
Why? Why do I want to help them so much? Aren't they just looking for a way to get that one guy into space? Making up her mind, she asked, "Wait, can I come, too?"
"What?" Judai asked, startled.
"Can I come?"
Yusei looked at Judai, leaving it up to him.
Judai stared at his old friend, his old flame, for a moment before asking, "Why?"
"I...I don't know," she admitted. "I just want to help, that's all..."
He hesitated another moment. Finally, he said, "I guess..."
"Uh, Judai?" Yubel said. "Is that really a good idea? I mean, that's..."
"Great. I'm Asuka Tenjoin, by the way."
"I'm...Jaden," Judai said, not willing to share his real name. Hopefully she hadn't heard anyone saying it earlier.
"Judai!" Yubel protested.
"Nice to meet you, Jaden," Asuka said. "So, who are your friends?"
Yusei answered before Judai could. "I'm Yusei. Yusei Fudo, and those guys are Aki Izayoi, Jack Atlas, and Crow Hogan." He gestured to each in turn.
"Hi," Aki said.
"What's up?" Crow greeted.
Jack humphed.
"Nice to meet you all. So, are we ready, then?" Looking at Jack, she thought, Funny, he kinda reminds me of Manjoume.
'Last chance, 'Jaden!' Get rid of her before she hurts you again."
"Kurii kurii!" Winged Kuriboh agreed.
Judai hesitated slightly before saying, "Let's go."
"Judai!" Muttering, Yubel said, "Arg. He's such a glutton for punishment, isn't he?"
From above, the green-eyed spirit watched anxiously. "Oh, boy. They're off to a rough start. Think they'll be okay, pal?"
The other shrugged, thinking of the fact that they had just gotten Asuka involved in all of this.
"Yeah, I know," the green-eyed spirit said. "Here's hoping he knows what he's doing."