I'd like to thank my Patrons for all the support they've given so far!

Now let's start 2023 with something a bit more fluffy!

~O~

The walk back to the academy was quiet and uneventful, though really, I couldn't blame anyone. After the clusterfuck of a night we had just faced, silence felt like the perfect companion to us as we trudged our way through the dirt path and away from the Abandoned Dorm. Chumley had taken up the duty of carrying Jaden on his back, since he was technically the strongest out of all of us, while I toiled with the task of carrying a now-asleep Alexis, who as it turns out had been more exhausted than she seemed back in the cave.

That was not the reason I was lagging behind the group, however. The real reason for that, was so I could walk beside Seras instead, just far enough from the rest of the group that we wouldn't be heard if we spoke in a hushed-enough tone.

"Thank you for the warning, Seras…" I whispered to the Obelisk student, my tone as soft as I could without making it inaudible. "And, you know… for the help back there."

"It was no problem, mister Atlas," she replied promptly, her gaze fixed forward as she walked beside me, clothes fluttering in the cold wind of the evening. "I would welcome that you keep your silence regarding what you've seen, however… as I will of your own secrets."

Now, externally? I kept my cool, and gave a hum of agreement before turning my attention back to the path we were travelling.

Internally? I could feel the panic attack in my chest that I had to wrestle down like it was a gator and I was a crazy Floridian.

This… this was dangerous territory right there. I had no basis for who the hell Seras was, that was bad enough already, but now I had to also worry about her knowing my "secret"… whichever one she had been referring to. By all accounts, she could be talking about me knowing where to go, to the cards stashed away in my dorm, all the way up to "hey I'm an interdimensional traveler from a world where all of your existence is nothing but fiction!". It was a BROAD range of options to consider and respond to, and honestly, I didn't have time to plan for all this. With Titan having shown up, the clock was now ticking for Kagemaru to make his move, not to mention all the extraneous events that would hit in the middle of everything.

It was a sad day when the best solution to my problem so far was to not press Seras for answers, and simply trust her to keep mum about all this. Besides, I had a feeling asking about possible dark magic wouldn't end very well to me in the long run… at least yet. Better to let her decide when to explain what the hell was all that.

So, on we went, trekking through the empty, dark woods, with only the wind and animals to keep our group company. No conversation happened, an understandable thing considering the whole situation we had just gone through, but I found it odd that Banner wasn't trying to comfort Syrus or Chumley in any way. Considering he had a cover to maintain, you'd think the man would play the part of the concerned, caring teacher, and yet he was just as quiet as the rest of us. Maybe it had something to do with the circumstances themselves? Titan didn't have actual dark magic in the show, so maybe that caught Banner by surprise or something…

I don't know for how long we walked, my perception of time was a bit muddied what with everything that had just happened, but soon we exited the forest and reached the Academy's trails, which we then took to following up to the main building. Without the cover of the forest, the chill air of the night hit us full force, giving me more of an incentive to press my step, but in the end it was unnecessary: the second we crested the hill, we were greeted by a small army of Academy security officers led by Narita, Crowler, Fontaine and principal Sheppard, who all were staring at us with varying degrees of disappointment.

Breaking away from the group, Banner stepped forward and bowed to the three members of the faculty. "Chancellor, I've brought the students, as you've requested."

"Thank you, professor," replied the man, giving a motion to some of the security officers, who in return rushed to our side and took both Jaden and Alexis from our grasp and quickly rushing back towards the Academy, Banner and Fontaine in tow. "Miss Narita, please escort misters Truesdale and Huffington to their dorms."

"Yes, chancellor."

"Mister Atlas, miss Augur, please follow us."

-O-

"I shouldn't need to explain in how much trouble you all would be, were these normal circumstances."

Sheppard was… an interesting person to finally meet in-person. All I knew about him was what the show had showed, aka a giant goofball with a serious moment or two thrown in, and who kept bumbling around with world-ending threats, like letting Sartorius join the student body or never questioning Viper over his "survival duels". Overall, he didn't make a good impression on the fanbase, me included, but I could tell he meant well… it's just his writing was shit.

That feeling disappeared out the door once I was inside his office.

Sheppard had this… commanding air to him now, the kind that makes you answer questions with one-word replies, standing at attention and never breaking eye contact. It was honestly surreal to see this bald, mildly pudgy man stare me down like he was a military leader about to send me to corporal punishment, especially when he was managing to outperform Crowler in that department.

Not that it was hard to do so, since Crowler looked like… well, Crowler, but he still could pull off an angry face even with all the makeup.

Before my mind could wander into the weird territory that was continuing to imagine ways for Crowler to be scarier, I was brought back to the situation at hand by Sheppard continuing his train of thought.

"Not only were you outside of your dorms at such a late hour, but both of you also entered a forbidden area of the Academy, one you should have no knowledge of," he spoke with utter seriousness, hunched forward and his hands steepled together. "The only reason that expulsion is not being cogitated is due to the extreme extenuating circumstances that led you two, and the other students, to enter the building. With that being said… I would very much welcome an explanation for why you went there, and what you encountered."

"We were merely out for a walk in the woods, chancellor," immediately replied Seras, before I could think up any excuses. "I invited mister Atlas for some time alone before the curfew started, and by the time we realized what time it was, we had lost ourselves to our walking."

"We were about to go back when we heard a scream, and we decided to check first to see what was going on," I added with as much calm and deliberateness I could, even crossing my arms to make sure I could hide my slightly shaky hands. "In my defense, I missed the enrollment speech, so if you explained it there, then I didn't hear it, chancellor."

"And you did not think to ask for information to your fellow colleagues, signor Atlas?" asked Crowler with a sneer. "You've spent quite some time socializing with students, yet had no mind to learn what knowledge they could offer?"

"You're asking a lot out of a young adult in college, professor."

"Then perhaps you can start by bettering your manners?"

"Enough, both of you," finally intervened Sheppard as he pinned both me and Crowler with a withering glare. "Vellian, we are not here to discuss mister Atlas' behavior, regardless of the merits of your claim. As for you, mister Atlas, while we understand that students can find it irksome to discuss academics outside of class, the fact still remains that you left yourself bereft of information others could have easily provided."

True, he wasn't wrong… but still, it was still a surprisingly dick move, considering the situation.

Time to return fire, then.

"Speaking of information, chancellor, I think in this case we are owed two tidbits of it," I called out, though I was careful to keep my tone as polite as possible even with how caustic the words were. "Since, you know, we almost died back there."

"Signor Atlas—"

"Professor, with all due respect, I just ended up watching one of my newest friends almost die because of some crazy maniac who apparently could do magic, and wanted to send my souls to hell or something. And as an incentive, yes, I am aware about Shadow Games and have information on them, so I am aware of what Jaden went through."

"As am I," added Seras with a knowing smile, her eyes almost seeming to spark as she paid back my earlier lie. "The occult is something I am intimately familiar with, chancellor… as I'm sure you're aware. And I can safely say that not many individuals are capable of performing such feats as that man displayed."

Thankfully, rather than causing a massive fight or scolding from either of them, the professor and chancellor remained silent… Or, well, Sheppard did. Crowler actually took a step forward and looked ready to start a rant, but was stopped by the chancellor's raised hand, though he still let out a dissatisfied huff as he stepped back. For his part, Sheppard simply continued to stare at us, eyes seeming to bore straight through us, which admittedly did not help with my anxiety over this entire situation. My bravado and angry could only go so far, and I had never managed to hold nervousness completely at bay during plays, so hopefully Sheppard wouldn't push it…

So, it was with no small amount of sheer relief that I felt myself relax as I watched my crazy bluff pay off, Sheppard letting out a tired sigh before sagging back onto his seat, looking far more stressed and tired than he had just seemed a moment ago. And after a long, drawn-out moment of silence, the chancellor returned his attention to us. "Understand that, as unfair as it is to impose this upon you two after the risks you underwent tonight, I cannot divulge any information regarding the abandoned dorm, or of the investigations currently being undergone over it. It is beyond even my authority as chancellor of this learning institution to speak of it to third parties."

… Damn it all, I couldn't even voice anything against that argument. I knew the Academy couldn't be solely responsible for the investigations into the disappearance of the students, there's no way Kaiba wouldn't get involved into this kind of supernatural stuff. And if Kaiba was involved, then that meant Kaiba Corp was involved, which turned this entire endeavor into a legal nightmare I had no wish to ingrain myself into. Better to just solve this like Jaden always did: duel it out and let the chips fall wherever they did. And for that, I'd have to wait for the right time… whenever that was.

"… Alright, fine. But what about the big guy?"

"His name is Titan."

The utter disgust in Crowler's tone was enough to surprise me, but when I saw his contemptuous expression, it really made me reevaluate just how much he was a different man compared to what I knew.

That I already knew Titan's identity was irrelevant. Things had changed, so now I needed to update my knowledge.

"No one has any information about his past, but what is known is that the man is… was an Eliminator for hire. Supposedly he had his start during the Battle City Tournament years ago, but these rumors were unconfirmed. What is more well known in the underworld of dueling, however, is that he possessed strange, occult powers, which he would use to force his victims into eternal comas." With a huff, Crowler crossed his arms and let his expression soften just slightly, though the seriousness of his tone never wavered, even as he stared out the window of the room. "Kaiba Corp's security division had been hunting him down for years now, but Titan seemed to have an almost prescient ability to avoid detection…"

"Until now, of course," completed Seras, earning a reluctant but firm nod from Crowler. "Fascinating… why would such a man attack Duel Academy?"

"He did mention an employer or something when we first crossed paths…" I muttered darkly, thoughts about Kagemaru and if he was still responsible crossing my mind. "Someone with a grudge against the school, maybe?"

Thankfully, the chancellor did not dismiss my statement, but his gaze visibly hardened for a second before he leaned back onto his chair once more. "Regardless, this situation will now be handled by both campus security, and all related parties already involved in the investigation… with that being said, all of the involved shall be excused from curriculum activities for the next four days, should you find yourselves too shaken by this experience."

"… And though I'm quite likely not supposed to speak this aloud… Kaiba Corp employs several psychologists trained for… situations such as these," added Crowler in a tone far kinder than I had ever expected out of him. "I would be open to contacting them should you require professional help. The same offer is available to both signor Yuki, and signora Rhodes."

That… was a surprisingly tactful thing for him to do. It felt strangely… touching that Crowler would go this far for students… well, non-Obelisk students.

"… Thanks, professor…" I answered softly, letting my posture relax into something truly neutral. "… If I may… I wanna go back to my dorm… it's been a long night…"

To that, the chancellor nodded in acknowledgement, and pressed a button on his desk. Not a moment later, two security officers walked in and saluted, before motioning to me and Seras. Nobody really said anything, but at this point, I could feel the exhaustion creeping back into my mind, so I didn't really have the mind to say anything else. So instead, I simply fell into step beside the campus officer and walked out of the chancellor's office, Seras and her own escort following closely by our side, until they broke off towards the Obelisk Blue's female dorm, though I caught sight of her giving a wave and a smile before she turned away.

My own walk towards the Ra Yellow dorm didn't take that long, but by the time the officer dropped me off at my room's doorstep, I felt ready to just collapse on the floor. Still, I managed to just barely power on enough to throw myself onto my bed, just as the Sandman whacked me over the head with a bat.

-O-

Everything was dark.

I was standing in darkness, darkness surrounding me so thoroughly, it was a wonder I could even see myself here. I don't know how, but I could… which meant I could see my strangely translucent shape, made of nothing but this strange glowing flame shaped like my body. When I tried pressing my hands together, they instead phased through one another, though there was no pain for it.

It has been quite some time since we've seen one another.

Suddenly, a voice echoed all around me, all-encompassing and powerful, like it could have shaken me down to my very bones… if I had any. Still, regardless of the fact it was such a directionless voice, I still turned to a specific direction… and beheld a small, glowing golden orb floating just shy of my… well, "wraith", for a lack of a better term.

Said orb was small, barely the size of a football, and its shine seemed almost decrepit, yet I could still feel the hidden heat in that faint glow, like I was staring at a tiny, contained sun right in front of me.

Who are you? Where am I?

My voice was strange, echo-like and with a strange reverb to it, but it was my voice nonetheless. The fact it was just as directionless as the orb's voice made me mildly curious, but not enough to ask about it, especially considering all the other stuff that was more pressing.

Have you really forgotten? I suppose it makes sense, considering your situation. Though I thought you'd remember the one that brought you here.

You… you're Null?

Indeed.

Why are you here? Where are we?

This is your subconscious. It is a much safer and private place of meeting than the waking world, wouldn't you agree?

A flash of annoyance traveled through me, though I did my best to bury it. No use getting mad with a ROB, and inter-dimensional kidnapping aside… they had been oddly polite and accommodating to my situation. Some politeness was due.

Alright, but… why?

Because of what you've gone through, young man. And to remind you of the stakes that you may face in this game.

… Did… did you bring Titan here?!

No, I did not. I told you before you began your journey, this would be your game. I am merely a watcher, keeping track of your progress. Anything you encounter throughout, is merely the workings of fate.

And you expect me to believe that?

Of course not… but I still ask that you do.

And there was something… strange in the being's tone. If nothing else, they seemed almost… sad, or even resigned. It made me wonder what could be the reason… but in the end, maybe I'd never find out. ROBs were always mysterious beings, why would this case be any different…

With a huff (that, strangely enough, seemed to tremble the world around us), I centered my thoughts once more, and then finally refocused onto the glowing orb.

Alright… where does that leave us, then?

The same place where you have been so far: continue to play the game, young Atlas. Make your own path, and never forget… you are not alone.

And before I could ask anything else, the orb's glow died out, and I found myself falling into the surrounding darkness…

-O-

Sunday, late morning…

My feet scrapped against the ground as I trudged towards the Full Deck Café, furiously rubbing my face to try and scrape the sleep away from my eyes.

Yeah, as it turns out, having dreams where you contact the whatever that tossed you four dimensions to the side leaves you tired as shit. Who would have thought…

Still, at least it was still the day off, so I didn't have to go to classes looking like a zombie, and get chewed out by one of the teachers… then again, that was probably a bit unfair against them, considering how thoughtful they had shown themselves to be so far.

But alas, none of that had been my priority. Instead… I just wanted some coffee and sugar, aka the two sweetest emergency startup fuels a human could shove into their bodies. If that didn't jumpstart me back into full awareness, then nothing would. And as luck would have it, the Full Deck Café had an absolutely gigantic collection of drinks and beverages for such an occasion… provided you could handle the prices of some of those drinks.

Seriously, twenty dollars for a cup of coffee, what the fuck…

Luckily, money wasn't that much of a problem to me, thanks to Null's little donations, but I was still caping myself off at eight thousand, so I had to be smart with my spending. But today, after what we went through in the abandoned dorm? You better believe I was gonna splurge. So, with as much effort as I could scrape, I dragged myself through the final stretch to the building, and pushed through the door with all the strength my wobbly, weak arms could muster. A small bell rang once I pushed the glass doors open, causing a voice to call out "just a minute!" from somewhere within, though I didn't really pay attention from where while I dragged myself to the closest chair and plopped down onto it like a bag of potatoes.

It was only when I was properly seated that I finally let myself relax, slumping forward against the table as I let out a downright miserable groan. Scant moments later, the sounds of steps reached my ears, and I blearily raised my head to stare at the waitress who was looking down at me with a nervous smile upon her face, a menu held close to her chest. "Umm… hello, mister?" she asked after a brief moment of hesitation, offering the menu to me.

"I'm skipping that part…" I borderline slurred out, waving one hand as energetically as I could (ergo, weak as shit), while the other fished the bundle of bills I had in my pocket and put it on the table. "Just… gimme a wake-up drink… lots of sugar, lots of coffee… heart attack on a glass… and make it big… also some food…"

"Oh… of course, we'll get right on it!"

And with that, she was gone once more, disappearing off to the kitchen to most likely grab my meal and drink, or perhaps make them. Honestly, whichever option it was, I was gonna tip her like crazy.

So, for the next ten minutes/two years/eight trillion eons, I sat slumped forward against the table, waiting for my order to come up. I didn't really think of anything, what with the fact I was halfway to the grave out of exhaustion, but I did try and remember all the important tidbits of the events to come in the future. With Titan apparently out of the picture (though I had no doubt Kagemaru might have a way to bring him back), that was one less Shadow Rider to worry about, though the ones left were quite worrisome still. With any luck, I could somehow bullshit a situation to get rid of Banner, and take away admittedly the most dangerous duelist under his employee… though that could also oust me as having more knowledge than I should have, which was the kind of attention I didn't need in any way whatsoever.

I quickly gave up on that train of thought once I felt a headache coming, however. Plotting could come later, right now I needed to start existing properly again.

"Sorry for the delay, here's your order, sir!"

Just then, the sound of the waiter's voice pulled me from my sleep-depraved rambling, my head turning just enough to see the waitress, now having returned with a plate loaded with the biggest sandwich I had ever seen in my life, and a massive glass of what I could tell was a Frappuccino that looked one spoonful of sugar away from making me vibrate back to my home dimension.

In other words, exactly what I needed right now.

"Thank you," I mumbled half-coherently, before slowly forcing myself upright to let the waitress lay both the plate and cup in front of me. Just before she left, I slid a twenty-dollar bill to her, giving only middling attention to her surprised expression before I refocused on the food in front of me. And honestly, at the sight of the massive sub and the glass of frap, every little scrap of energy I still had left was used up in reaching for the beverage and taking as large a gulp as I could from it.

The effect was borderline instantaneous: I could almost feel the sugar and caffeine flowing through my bloodstream, pumping me full of instant energy that, admittedly, I knew would function more like a temporary steroid than anything else, but for now it'd work. After another long sip to cement my new awareness, I then turned to the sandwich and tore my way through half of it, before slowing down for the second half, which of course still meant I had most likely traumatized that waitress with my absolutely feral display of manners.

Sue me, I'm sleep deprived, I get a bit crazier.

Still, before I could actually keep going, I heard the door's bell ring as another customer entered the café. And while normally I wouldn't have paid much attention to it…

"Excuse me."

The sound of Alexis' voice made me spin around like a Beyblade to stare at her.

She looked… well, as healthy as she probably could be. I could tell she had slept about as well as me, but her gait was still firm, and there was no trembling whatsoever in her body. Still, that didn't mean I wasn't worried, so after only a brief moment of gaping, I rushed to my feet and ran up to her in a flash, concern clear in my face. "Alexis? What are you doing here, shouldn't you be with Fontaine?"

"Miss Fontaine said I was healthy enough to leave after a checkup," she replied with a smile, though the tiredness in her face clashed with the attempted cheerfulness. "She said there were no injuries or abnormalities on all the tests she performed.. though she still made clear I take it easy for the next few days."

"So you decided to go for a walk instead?" I asked with no small amount of skepticism, when suddenly something finally caught my attention. "… And where's Mindy and Cindy, I thought they'd be glued to your hip right now…"

In return, Alexis' exhaustion seemed to double out of the blue as she heaved a weary sigh and looked over her shoulder at nothing. "They already spent the entire night fretting over me, apparently… they were out cold when I woke up, so I let them sleep."

"Ah… yeah, that explains it…"

"Yeah… I was about to head to the dorm when… well, I realized how hungry I was, and the café was close by, so…"

"… Alright, come on then."

Before she could do much more than blink, I took hold of Alexis' wrist and carefully pulled her over to where I was sitting. Thankfully, she managed to stay steady on her feet until I plopped her down on a seat, leaving the Obelisk Blue girl to stare in bewilderment as I picked up a menu, rushed back to my seat, and plopped the thing down in front of her. "Here, pick out anything ya like, I'll foot the bill."

For a second, Alexis just kept staring at the menu, but slowly, she raised her gaze to meet my own, confusion still clear in her face, though now with more than a hint of amusement. "And the reason for this being…?"

"Cause I'd feel like shit seeing you walk in all fucked up like that, and just brush it off like nothing."

"… You have a weird way with words, don't you, Atlas?"

"Yup, now go on, order."

Though she seemed ready to argue, Alexis chose to instead roll her eyes and refocus her attention on the menu, her eyes quickly skimming over the pages' contents until she seemingly came to a decision and called over the waitress and pointed to whatever she had picked, earning a cheerful nod from the waitress, who once more disappeared into the kitchen, and we begun waiting. Throughout it, I side-eyed my still-leftover meal, though I decided it'd be impolite to start eating while Alexis had no food, regardless of how famished I still felt.

I also kept a close eye on Alexis herself, though while it was far more out of worry… I couldn't help but let myself admire just how pretty she was. Sure, I had seen her more than once on campus already, but seeing her up close, it really made me realize why she got that "Queen of Obelisk Blue" or whatever nickname: her features were all soft, almost angelical, and her eyes seemed to almost shine under even ambient light. Hell, even with the exhaustion clearly affecting her, Alexis still held herself with a professional, focused air, as if her faculties weren't affected at all.

It probably didn't help my bias that, way back when I was younger, she was one of my big childhood crushes, and her older incarnation in ARC-V stayed as such when I got older. Thankfully, said thoughts were tempered by the memory that I was technically six or so years older than her, so… plenty of "abort it right now" signals going off in my head.

Finally, after a short wait, Alexis own order of food came up, carried this time by a different waitress. And it seemed that unlike me, my newest company had gone somewhat light with her choice of meal: a far smaller sandwich, a bowl of assorted fruits, and a pot of tea.

"Heh, figures you'd be all refined and shit with your food," I said with a smile as I watched the food be set down, before quietly slipping another twenty dollar bill to this waitress from under the desk.

"Well, some of us have appearances to keep," replied Alexis with just as much mirth, though now her gaze was solely focused on her meal. "Not to mention, I rather prefer to keep my body healthy, unlike certain recent company."

"Hey, I'll have you know I take real good care of my body."

"Doesn't look like that from where I'm sitting."

"Everyone's allowed a cheat day once in a while."

"Well, whatever you say, mister 'I am the only king out here'…"

With the ribbing seemingly finished, both of us began eating our food in silence, not even glancing at each other as we ate. It wasn't the most companiable of silences, but at least it was uncomfortable… though it definitely also felt like the kind of silence two accident survivors would share, which, you know… made sense. Still, I wanted to get Alexis to open up at least a little bit to me, otherwise the next few years would be a tad bit awkward, not the least of which was the fact I'd very much like to hang around with Jaden without having to awkwardly dodge around Alexis' presence whenever she popped up.

Luckily, I had just the right thing to say.

Which was also liable to blast whatever good will I had built up with her, but hey what the hell, in for a penny, in for a pound… or a pounding, in this case.

"So, mind if I ask you a question?" I said innocently enough as I swirled what was left of my Frappuccino around inside the cup. "Just, you know, for curiosity's sake?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"… What exactly were you doing on that dorm?"

Ah, there was the jolt I expected the question to cause. Not exactly something I liked being proud of, but at least it got a reaction, so progress was made. Better press some of the advantage. "Cause I mean, Jaden's dumb enough to go there for whatever stupid reason he and his friends cooked up, but I don't see you going to a forbidden building on a dare." I followed that statement with a pause just long enough to gauge her expression, which thankfully enough, remained carefully neutral. "… Anything you wanna get out of your chest?"

When Alexis took longer than I expected to reply, I got worried I had overplayed my hand. Still, I decided silence was the best answer to that. Finally, however, she let out another weary sigh, and withdrew from one of her pockets a small silver locket, which she carefully opened to reveal a small picture inside.

And though it was lightly yellowed from age, and the quality wasn't that crisp compared to what I was used to from cameras back home, I could still see the face of Atticus Rhodes staring back at me from within the locket, a charming and friendly smile adorned on his face like a medal.

When Alexis started speaking again, her tone was far softer and more melancholic, the young woman staring at the locket in wistful longing. "This is my brother, Atticus. He enrolled here four years ago, back when the abandoned dorm was used as a co-ed meeting place for all three dorms. He was… going to graduate this year, if he was still here, along with Zane."

"… Was going to?"

"… Atticus, he… disappeared, about two years ago, just… vanished from the island. The last time he was seen, he had been at the dorm, along with some other students who had been there with him…"

It hurt to see how sad Alexis got as she finished that sentence, especially when I saw how tightly she was gripping the locket… so instead I simply put my hand atop her forearm, giving it a gentle squeeze as I waited for Alexis to regain her composure. Once she did, the young woman took in another steadying breath, and pulled the locket close to herself once more. "They… never did find out what made him or the others vanish… Professor Banner and the chancellor promised to keep me updated on the situation, in case they ever found an answer, but… well, it's been a long time… so I've taken to at least paying my respects to him… it's the least I could do, really…"

Once I saw Alexis had finished talking, I let go of her arm and instead scooted my chair closer to her so I could drape my arm over her shoulders, just enough to pull her into (an admittedly awkward) side hug, though I made sure to keep my hands to myself. "I dunno if this means a lot to ya, Alexis, but… I know, one day, you'll get your brother back," I said softly and calmly, making sure to push as much care as I could into my words.

"… Heh…"

The resigned chuckle I got in response definitely wasn't the kind of reaction I wanted, however.

"I… appreciate the thought, Drake," replied Alexis in that same sorrowful tone, before looking up to me with those same tired eyes she had sported right before she sat down with me. "But… I'd rather not keep false hopes anymore…"

"I wouldn't call it false hopes, really," I said in return, carefully swirling what was left of my drink around. When Alexis tilted her head in confusion, I set down the cup and drew in a calming breath. "What I mean is… well, if weird shadow magic that can make people disappear exists… what's to say there's not something that can bring them back?" And with that wonderful design of wisdom and profundity, I leaned back on my chair and crossed my arms. "I know it's a stretch… but hey, nugget of hope in everything?"

After another long pause, I let my posture slump as I heaved a sigh and began furiously rubbing my face with both hands, before finally lowering them again to stare at Alexis with a saddened gaze of my own. "I'm sorry, I'm not good with this kind of stuff… but I mean it, Alexis, even if its to wait for the final news… don't give up that hope. But take it from me, with the things I've seen out there, I just know Atticus will come back one day."

Silence once more fell upon us, though this time it was more one of finality than of awkwardness, and I did shift my focus away from her to stare down at what remained of my drink. Just as I reached for it, however…

"… Heh…"

I heard Alexis let out a single, almost amused chuckle, and when I raised my head to look at her… she was smiling.

It was small and tired, and I could see how it strained considering the conversation we had just gone through… but the important part?

It was genuine.

"You are something else entirely, Atlas," said Alexis with the faintest trace of cheer in her voice. "Hard to think you're the same guy that was shouting his head off against the professor."

"Hey, what can I say? I'm a man of many facets," I replied with a lopsided grin, flashing her a lazy V-sign with one hand. "Now, speaking of facets… what's this about you leaving a love letter for Syrus?"

"Oh, God, don't remind me…"

"C'moooooooon."

"… Ugh, fine… so, apparently Jaden and Syrus pissed off some Obelisk Blue kid…"

The rest of our meal was accompanied by small talk and inane chatter as Alexis relayed the tale of that little misadventure, with all of its twists, turns, tribulations and laughs. Sure, it felt good to finally get an answer for that little tidbit I had been dying to learn about… but what really mattered to me, was seeing the sadness slowly seep away from Alexis' face and give way to genuine happiness and fondness as she recounted that night.

Maybe Atticus wouldn't be coming back soon… but he would come back. I'd make sure of it.

Bring it on, Kagemaru… do your worst.

~O~

Shorter-ish chapter this time, mostly just a denouement from the last one considering the events involving Titan.

I was gonna end the chapter with a lighter-ish cliffhanger, something to segue into the next chapter, but I decided to keep the surprise until then. Nothing TOO drastic, just following up on a little something already mentioned a couple chapters ago.

And once more, apologies for the delay on this. Thankfully, my work schedule has been reduced by an hour, so I'm getting a bit more rest every day. Hopefully this will help me pump out chapters at a more welcome pace.

Now, fucking FINALLY… we're going back to Titanomachy, to follow up on our newest mission!

Time for team RWBY—I MEAN… Team VALE to escort a slimy shitstain back to Republic space! Nothing could go wrong, right?

… Right?

Stay tuned, folks!