Back in Action
A few days had passed for the heroes. Yugi and his friends continued to attend school as well as enjoy playing their favorite game: Duel Monsters. Joey even got a new video game recently ad was eager to play it. While continuing her studies, Emily also continued working at the bakery and worked on some ideas for new recipes for her treats. Max had also returned home after hosting another concert outside of town.
As for Kaiba, he continued to manage his company with regular assistance from his brother and their Digimon partners. Mokuba would also still regularly meet up with his own friends at their Secret Clubhouse hidden at the norther border of the Pure Valley. Once in a while, Kaiba would also go to the secret headquarters to survey the Valley and check and see if any doors to any new worlds would appear.
It happened to be exactly what he was doing right now. He met up with Emily and asked her to grant him access to headquarters. Emily happily helped him out by opening the entrance. After granting him access, she went to one of the melon patches in the Secret Garden to pick out a nice watermelon to take home.
Once Kaiba was inside, all of the mechanisms and computers began to turn on. The brunette approached the main screen and began to survey the area. His attention was directed to a flashing light on the screen. It was an alert that a door to a new world had appeared. A smile beamed on Kaiba's face. This was the moment he and his friends had been waiting for. He had to hurry to tell them.
Once Kaiba left headquarters, he went to the watermelon patch. "Briar," he called to Emily.
She looked and saw him running towards her. "What is it, Kaiba?"
"A door to a new world has appeared," he informed her.
The blonde was ecstatic to hear that. She almost even dropped the watermelon in her arms. "Really?"
"Yes," he replied. "Come on. We've got to tell Yugi and Wheeler." Together, they hurried back to the door to their world. Emily passed through first and wound up back inside her house. The first thing she did was put the watermelon she brought with her in the kitchen. Then she stepped outside and walked into the game shop next door. It was a good thing she and Yugi were next door neighbors.
"Yugi, are you home?" she asked, looking around. She instead saw his Digimon partner Patamon at the front desk. "Hi, Patamon."
"Hi, Emily," he returned. "Yugi's in the living room. I can get him for you."
"Yes, please," she said politely.
So the little flying Digimon flew to the living room and saw his partner on the couch. "Yugi, Emily's here to see you."
"Okay, I'm coming." He got up from the couch and walked into the shop. "Hey, Emily," he said as he walked up to the front desk. "What's up?"
"Kaiba informed me that a door to a new world just appeared in the Pure Valley," she told him. "We're hoping it's a world with a Cobalt Star shard."
Yugi was thrilled. He had been waiting to hear this. "Give me time to get ready," he told her. "Let me pack everything I'll need. I'll give Joey a call too."
"Okay," Emily replied. "I'll go home and pack my things too." And she exited the game shop and went back to her house.
Not too far away, Joey was in the middle of playing his new game and was having trouble navigating through a dungeon. Just then, his phone rang. "Hello?"
"Joey, it's me," Yugi's voice said on the other line. "Emily just came by and told me that a door to a new world has appeared."
"A new world?" Joey asked, excited.
"Yeah, we're getting all packed up," Yugi said. "Do you think you can meet us later in the Secret Garden?"
"Yeah, sure," the blonde lad replied. "Give me about fifteen minutes. I'll see you then."
"Great," said Yugi. "See you later, Joey."
"Bye," he said, ending the call. "Oh, shoot!" he suddenly cried, realizing he forgot to pause his game while he was on the phone. An enemy had just attacked him. "Ah, well," Joey sighed. "Time to stop anyway." Thankfully, he had remembered to save his game before entering the dungeon and he wasn't that far ahead anyway. He turned off the game and headed to his room to fill his backpack with all of the necessities he would need like clothes and hygiene products. He also checked his wallet to make sure he would have enough money.
Biyomon saw Joey packing and asked, "Are you going to another world, Joey?"
"I sure am," he said.
The pink bird sighed. "I wish I could go with you."
Joey knelt down and gently rubbed her head. "I know, but I don't want you to get hurt. This is a new world, so there's no telling what it'll be like." That wasn't Joey's only concern. Biyomon also wouldn't be able to use her powers or digivolve in a different world. So there really wouldn't be much that she would be able to do to protect her partner.
The blonde lad had an idea. "How about this?" he asked. "If I think about going to a different world –, one that I've already been to, then I take you with me?"
Biyomon looked up. "Promise?"
"I promise," he said. He placed his backpack over his back. "I won't be gone long. Take care and I'll be back before you know it." And he stepped outside and locked the front door. Joey didn't have a problem with leaving Biyomon by herself. He always made sure she would have food to eat whenever she would get hungry. He also trusted her and knew she wouldn't damage anything while he would be out.
Kaiba had already finished packing as well. He packed the same necessities as his friends and he also put his glasses in a case and tucked it in his pocket in case he would need them. He also asked Agumon to stay and take charge while he would be gone.
Max got the alert too about a door to another world appearing in the Pure Valley. Even she had been eager for a new adventure as well as anxious to know when she was going to get another shard of the Cobalt Star.
However, Max wasn't aware of the recent adventures her friends had been on. As such, she didn't know about the four Dark Masters. Part of the reason was because she was on tour and hosting concerts in different cities. Another reason was because Yugi and his friends promised each other not to tell her anything. They didn't want her to be distracted from her job. They also didn't think that Max needed to be concerned about the Dark Masters since none of them had any Cobalt Star shards.
Still, Max was looking forward to seeing everyone again and wondered what they were up to. It's one thing to keep in touch through calls and emails, but it's also nice to actually see people once in a while.
Once everyone was assembled, Kaiba led his friends to the spot where the new door was.
"I wonder what world we'll be going to this time," Joey mused.
"Well, we can always ask for a little information before we go," said Emily. She placed her hands close to her chest and released the Millennium Star from her heart. The Millennium Star emerged and began taking on the true form of the Great Goddess.
"Greetings, my heroes," she welcomed. "And to you, Lady Max."
Max was a little surprised. It wasn't that she forgot that Millennia could temporarily take on her true form here in the Pure Valley. No, she didn't forget at all. It had just been a while since she last saw the Great Goddess in her true form.
Kaiba immediately spoke up. "Great Goddess, this new world we're about to be sent to, is there a shard of the Cobalt Star hidden somewhere there?"
Max looked at him in bewilderment. "Now why would you ask a question like that? Every world we've been sent to has had a Cobalt Star shard."
"There's no harm in asking," said Kaiba.
The Great Goddess softly chuckled. She understood the meaning of Kaiba's question. It was because the previous new worlds he and his friends had visited did not have Cobalt Star shards. The Great Goddess was also aware that Max did not know about their past adventures. Rather than bring up the matter, she decided to answer Kaiba's question straight away. "I understand you have all been anxious to know when you will covet another shard of the Cobalt Star."
"It's caused us – well, mostly me – to be impatient lately," the brunette confessed.
"It's not that we don't like taking a break from doing hero work or visiting other worlds we've already been to," Joey was saying, "but when you take it easy for some time, you tend to get a little stir-crazy and want to get back in action."
"Indeed," Millennia replied. To her, this meant that her heroes were taking their mission seriously. "In that case, you will be glad to know that the world I am sending you to does indeed have a shard of the Cobalt Star."
She was right. They were glad to hear that they were going to covet another shard. But they were also still curious to know what this world would be like. "Will this world be like the other worlds we've been to?" Joey asked. "One with monsters and magic?"
"Yes, it will," Millennia answered. "And like those other worlds, it will also have its own histories, but still have a connection to the histories of the Shadow Games as well as my battles with the Dark Lord."
"I'm not surprised," said Kaiba. "It's pretty much been like that with every world we've been sent to. Everyone knows about us and our ancestors."
"And you also know as much about your friends from their worlds," Millennia added. "But it is not your knowledge that connects you and makes you allies. It is by learning to trust in each other and helping each other to meet your tasks."
"That's true," Yugi said in agreement. "No matter how much we think we may know, we will always learn something new. And that's not just for when we go to a different world; that's a life lesson."
Kaiba agreed. "Each world we've been to has had many similarities, but they are also still different. So while it's important for us to hold on to what we already know, it's also just as important to be open to learning new things because what we think we might know can still turn out to be wrong."
"Trust and respect are both important," the Great Goddess was saying. "They help individuals who share a common goal to learn to put their differences aside and work together as allies and friends." She faces the heroes and tells them directly, "You have already understood that wisdom and have followed it very well during your adventures and you must continue to do so; especially now."
Emily blinked and asked, "Are you saying that that notion could be challenged?"
"It's understandable," Max suddenly said. "Something I've noticed in the past: a lot of our friends and allies in the other worlds have had trouble trusting me at first because I'm a warrior of the Dark Lord."
That was true. A lot of the heroes from the other worlds assumed that Max was an enemy because of that matter. But throughout every adventure, she proved that she was a friend and could be trusted.
"The Dark Lord also warned me about this," continued Max. "He said that as I acquire more shards, the harder it will be for anyone to trust me."
There was a brief silence between everyone. Finally, Joey said, "I trust you, Max. I always have and I always will." Yugi, Emily, and Kaiba agree, telling her the same thing. While they may not have exactly started out as friends with Max in the beginning, none of them had anything against her. And even when they were all getting to know each other, they proved that they cared about her. Even now, after discovering new things about Max –, things that surprised even Max herself, the heroes still cared about her and considered her their friend.
The Great Goddess spoke up. "Despite being unbalanced, light and darkness still depend on each other. And the time will come when that will be put to the challenge. Until then, it is important that you all keep supporting each other."
Joey smiled. "Don't worry. If anyone gives Max any trouble, I'll be there to back her up."
Emily nodded. "We'll help prove that she's someone who can be trusted."
The Great Goddess gave a small smile. She trusted her warriors and she trusted Max as well. "I shall now grant you access to the new world. Also, in this world, you will be permitted to use your powers."
That was good news. This meant that they would be able to fly and cast magic.
"Will we also need special tools or weapons?" Joey asked.
The Great Goddess was getting to that. "Yes, I will provide you with new weapons." And she uses her magic to create weapons for the boys. Yugi is given a new sword, Kaiba is given a boomerang, and once again, Joey is given a bow and arrows."
"The same weapons," Yugi observed. "Not that I'm complaining."
"Me neither," said Joey. "I do well as a marksman anyway."
Kaiba looked at his new weapon. He thought this was a little unexpected, being given something different. But he had no complaints.
Once more, the Great Goddess wished her heroes the best and returned to her form as a star. Emily then returned the Millennium Star back inside her heart.
Yugi looked at his friends. "Is everyone ready for a new adventure?"
"That's what we're here for," Kaiba replied.
"Ready as I'll ever be," Joey said eagerly. And the heroes passed through the door, wondering what new adventures awaited them.