Note To Readers: Hey guys! I hope you're all doing well. I had a bit of a writer's block but luckilly I was able to break through it! Thanks for all the encouraging messages about the fanfiction! I'm glad you all enjoy it so much. This Chapter will probably be confusing with certain parts but all will be answered. If you have a certain question. Don't hesitate to PM me!
Chapter 98: The Smile Of The Moon
"I'll never think that way..." "But..." "I won't...because I love you... too much Seto...I don't even know how it happened..." "...I don't either..." "Before I knew I was a faerie...I lived my life as any other human would...but...being like...this...I realized...that just being with you...gives me more strength than any magic...ever could..." Bloom's own words echoed in her head. She truly meant it too. It didn't matter how painful it was or the risk involved. She could overcome it all as long as she had him. As the redhead fell back into slumber she could feel a warmth embrace her as a gentle hand stroked her head.
{...What is this warmth...? That I feel...it's unlike...anything i've ever felt before...} Bloom questioned within. Slowly the faerie pried her blue eyes open. She found her head cushioned upon someone's lap. Petals a cherry blossoms dancing above her carried by the whisper of the wind as Bloom felt herself rocking gradually back and forth. "...Are you awake Bloom?" came a voice. It almost seemed familiar yet soothing. Was it Kaiba? No. It was a male's voice but she did not recognize the one whom was calling out to her. Turning her gaze upwards Bloom's eyes widened as she saw someone above her. The male had dark blue sapphire eyes such as was his hair wearing glasses and covering his body he was adorned with a dark blue, black and silver cloak. Rocking her back and forth in a wooden porch swing.
"...W...Who...are...you...?" the faerie questioned as she slowly sat up confused as to where she was and who brought her here. Wasn't she in the hospital just a little while ago? Or...was this actually a dream? "...I am one whom goes by many names..." the male replied simply. "Man In The Moon, Deity Of The Lunar Cycle, Wise One, The Great Mage...however...my true name is Artemis Moon...at last, we meet...a day I have long awaited...my Light Of Hope..." he almost whispered gazing into her eyes blue eyes with his. Gently Artemis Moon took the faerie's hand in his planting a kiss upon it.
Bloom only sat there stunned by such an introduction. She had heard that name several times. However, she had always wondered at how someone with the power of the moon itself would appear. And now he was sitting right beside her. Her old self would have never had believed such a thing was even possible. But she had to believe it as he was in front of her very eyes. "...You...you've been waiting...for me...?" the faerie finally answered as she attempted to wrap her mind around the situation unfolding around her.
"Indeed I have...for 10,000 years..." The Great Mage answered in return. "Although you hold no memory of it...you and I met long ago..." Artemis Moon murmured. "WOAH! that's like a REALLY long time!" Bloom cried before The Great Mage chuckled softly. "...Well...if Kaiba had a past life...I suppose it's possible I had one too...though that is REALLY hard to believe...and another thing. What IS this Light Of Hope? That's something I STILL don't understand. Does this Light that everyone keeps going on about refer to my dragon fire that I possess? Or is it...the Phoenix's fire...? I just can't seem to figure it out..." Bloom frowned.
"UGH! It's just so damn hard to keep track of everything...it's BAD enough no one will give me any straight answers! And to make things WORSE i'm SUPPOSED to be the most powerful faerie in the WHOLE magic dimension and the second I go to The Sealed Worlds I lose my powers when i'm going to need them the most! Because of THAT, my friends have to fight all by themselves! ALL I'M GOOD FOR IS IS GETTING IN THE WAY AND I'M SICK OF IT! " Bloom cried out all of her bent up frustration imploding as she stopped to catch her breath.
"...But that simply isn't true Bloom...your strength does not come from the magic you were born with...but from your heart...the power to light the way...even in the deepest depths of darkness...that my dearest Bloom...is the Light Of Hope of which I speak..." Artemis Moon murmured in a soft and kind voice as he looked her directly in her eyes. "For those that are lost...and cannot find their way...there must be one to guide them..." Bloom's eyes widened broadly as she took in his words.
"But...I don't understand..." the faerie confessed before The Great Mage with but a motion of his hand summoned cherry blossom petals into his palm. Placing the other over it a pink glow emanated from its crevice. After a moment Artemis Moon uncovered his hand to reveal Bloom's Cherry Blossom engagement ring resting on in his hand. "My ring!" the red head's eyes lit up as relief painted her face with a glimmer of pure joy. "I thought when Hiro disappeared that it would be gone forever..." Bloom murmured.
"Tell me Bloom...do you know what the Sakura mean in the language of flowers...?" Bloom only shook her head. "No, but Flora probably would. She's the faerie of flowers, not me." the redhead nervously scratched at her cheek. "It is a flower that signifies rebirth...the nature of the passage of time...nothing remains forever...so each moment must be treasured...as if it is the last...and yet...although the flowers may wither and die...you can look up at the bare trees...and see hope..." Artemis Moon began.
"And that is because you know that no matter how many seasons may pass...the flowers without fail will always bloom once more when the spring returns...it is the flower...that I chose for you...that is why your name is Bloom..." The Great Mage whispered as he took the ring from his palm and gently slipped it onto the faerie's finger as the wind carried the cherry blossom's all around them. Never as long as she had existed did she ever think her name held such significance and a deeper meaning. Bloom opened her mouth before Artemis Moon's sapphire eyes hardened.
"Yet...there is another...whom's name holds great significance...one whoms soul...is marked with the embodiment of Chaos...SET...a darkness that yet clashes with the light..." The Great Mage muttered. The faerie paused letting out a gasp as Kaiba flashed through her thought. "Are you...talking about Kaiba...about...Seto...?!" Bloom asked as her voice trembled at the ominous tone of his speech. "Yes...that is whom...I refer to...I will not deny it..." Artemis Moon answered the redhead without any hesitation.
"Sometime in the near future...he will learn his own truth...and you Bloom must burn brighter than you ever thought you alone could...trials await...ones that shall appear when you least expect them..." he told the faerie as she only looked at him with a frightened gaze. "...Just...what exactly IS going to happen?..." Bloom questioned fearing his answer. "Tomorrow only holds your answers... my dearest Bloom...I can say no more..." The Great Mage shook his head softly. "B-BUT THEN HOW DO I KNOW WHAT I'M SUPPOSED TO DO!?" the redhead cried out as tears rimmed at her eyes. "...TELL ME.!... What... I should...do..." Bloom broke down sobbing unable to suppress her bottled up emotions.
"You all...expect so much of me...how can I possibly live up...to your expect-tations...if you can't answer m-me that...?" the faerie choked out through her tears before Artemis Moon's hands warmly caressed her face. Gazing at her lovingly with a sweetened smile. "Because...I have always been here...watching over you..." he whispered so only she could hear pressing his forehead gently against hers before a magic circle slowly enveloped them.
"I Artemis Moon! The Guardian That Keeps Watch Over The Night...Open This Path Before Me To Pure Starlite... I Call Upon Stars Of The Moon And Sun...Come Forth With This Fire...Ignite Together As One..." The Great Mage chanted before Bloom gasped feeling a power flow through her. A warmth yet intense presence emerging from within her. Slowly a tattoo began to manifest upon her arm a rainbow flame wrapped around it. "W-What...is...this?..." the faerie questioned nearly finding herself completely overwhelmed in this moment in time. Artemis Moon only smiled as he backed away to meet her gaze.
"That is my gift to you..." "...I...I'm not sure I understand..." "The Phoenix's ashes...are kept by none other than me...but they are needed no longer...as another has already been reborn from them...and with them... a new flame that burns..."The Great Mage murmured before the red head's eyes widened "ARE YOU SAYING THERE'S A NEW PHOENIX!?the faerie gasped. WHERE IS SHE!? WHERE CAN I FIND HER!?" Bloom cried as she grasped at his cloak tightly. If there was another out there that could help them, then she NEEDED to know!
"She's...you...my love..." Artemis Moon answered the faerie before he leaned in and kissed her softly only to burst into a whirlwind of cherry blossoms afterward."WAIT!" Bloom screamed as she got up and chased after him. {I truly am grateful...that I could see you once more...in this life...until we meet...again...Bloom Faerie Of The Phoenix Fire...} The faerie heard The Great Mage whisper before Bloom stopped running. Looking upwards into the sky tears fell down her face. The redhead took her hand and wiped them away. "...That's funny...why am I crying...? And why do I feel so... sad...?" she questioned confused. "...Hmm, Seto...?" Bloom whispered as she looked at her ring. Suddenly a light from it eclipsed her and the world around her before she found herself back in the hospital in her room.
"...I guess...it was a dream after all..." Bloom murmured. "...Oh well, there's only ONE way to find out!" the redhead exclaimed and began to undo the bandages on her right arm. "W-Wait! Stop what are you doing!?" the doctor nearby cried. The faerie's eyes widened as she the rainbow flame tattoo on her arm. It wasn't all just a dream, somehow the dream became her reality. But it wasn't just THAT though. Her whole body was fully healed not even the pain existed anymore.
"In all my years as a doctor, i've never once seen anyone recover overnight before...I swear you must have some serious guardian angels watching over you Missy." Dr. Tyler murmured. "...Well...you could say that..." Bloom smiled to herself as she looked back at the ring on her finger before a loud knock brought her back to reality. "Dr Tyler. There are visitors here to see Mrs Kaiba." a woman's voice called from the other side of the door as Bloom turned three shades of red nearly giving off steam from the utter embarrassment. "Go ahead and let them in." Dr. Tyler answered. Slowly the door opened at the group came pouring in Mokuba ahead of them all running towards the hospital bed.
"M-Mi-Mrs...K-Kaiba...?" the redhead studdered as Mokuba wrapped his arms around Bloom. "SISSY! I'M SO GLAD YOUR OK!When I saw you before I was really worried...but now you're all better and everything's going to be ok!" the young brother wiped his tear-filled eyes. Bloom only smiled and hugged Mokuba back. "I'm sorry I worried you...but i'm fine really..." the faerie assured him before she turned to look at Kaiba. "...So...Mrs...Kaiba...huh...?" she still couldn't say it with a straight face no matter HOW she tried! The CEO couldn't even turn around his face about as red as hers if not more.
"D-Don't get the wrong idea! The doctor said the hospital had strict rules about only allowing family members to stay overnight...so I told him you and I...were...OH FORGET IT YOU GET THE PICTURE!" Kaiba grumbled as Joey grinned leaning over in the CEO's direction. "Yer not foolin no one yer as red as a tomata..." the blonde pointed out snickering which only earned him a bloody nose courtesy of Kaiba's fist."O-Oh so...that's what it was...of course silly silly!" Bloom laughed off her nervousness. Then again she did call him Seto earlier only to be reminded of Artemis Moon's words.
"ow...that's gotta hurt..." Roxy made a face seeing Kaiba's one hit knock out on Joey. "Don't mind him. He's just a little grumpy..." the faerie told the redhead. "Grumpy? Why because of me?" "Er...no...Kaiba's a pretty popular guy in Domino right...everytime he passes the halls all the young and old women start to go into auto flirt pilot or something...there was an even an incident where one of the older ladies grabbed his a-" "ACHEM!" Raeger interrupted Roxy by clearing his throat before she could finish. The last thing he wanted was for Kaiba and Roxy to get into it.
"Anyways Bloom we're just happy that you're all better. We were so scared after we found out what happened." Flora offered a smile. "And we have a surprise for you." "...A surprise for me?" Bloom questioned. She wondered what it could be. Slowly from within the crowd, Carlos and Selina emerged before the red head's face lit up. "See? I told you she'd like it" Loore purred as Roxy held and petted her. "SELINA! CARLOS! Oh my gosh what are you doing here in Domino City!?" the faerie questioned taken by complete surprise.
"We got your email that you sent us a while back," Carlos explained. "You sounded like you were in trouble so we tried to find you. Lucky for us someone happened to know your whereabouts." Selina informed Bloom as Takuna made his way over to her. "...Wait isn't that the professor we wanted to take his class once we got to college!?" the redhead exclaimed. "Yep. But someone bolted before we could." Carlos frowned. "Uh...about that...I can explain...!" Bloom attempted to reason. "We know Carlos is just being difficult. We have ALOT of catching up to do but it's probably best we don't talk too much now." Selina murmured.
"Yeah, you're probably right..." the faerie admitted before she reached up and pulled them into a hug. "Anyways it's SO NICE to see the two of you again! I've missed you like crazy!" Bloom exclaimed overjoyed to see her oldest and dearest friends. The Professor only watched them as Akiba snuck in. "How's Bloom-Chan doing?" the golden-haired male questioned softly. "Well, she's fully recovered from the incident...so that's good...any sign of the others that were at Chris GoldenWater's mansion?" Takuna questioned. Akiba only shook his head.
"Nathaniel was the only one that didn't go to the mansion. So he's still here but everyone else has vanished without a trace..." Akiba told The Professor whom only crossed his arms leaning against the wall. "...I see..." Takuna let out a heavy sigh before his gaze turned towards the rainbow flame tattoo on Bloom's arm. "She's got it finally...the Phoenix's flame..." the golden-haired male smiled brightly. "That appears to be the case..." "...Taku-kun?" Akiba questioned worriedly as the Professor remained silent as his gaze turned towards Kaiba. Just what was causing him such unease? It only caused the golden-haired male to worry more.
{I wonder why he's making such a face?} Amourette questioned taking notice of Takuna's darkened expression. "Joey are you alright!?" Flora asked as the blonde slowly got back on his feet. "Ow...yeah i'm fine...but I think meh nose may have been smooshed in..." Joey groaned rubbing his nose. "If you want I can heal it for you...uh! That is if it's ok with you Flora-Chan!" Amourette squeaked. "Yes please." Flora murmured before the blunette used her magic to heal his injured nose. "Aw man, dat feels much better! much appreciated!" the blonde exclaimed. "Oh good. I was worried when you weren't getting back up...and also..." Flora paused as she looked towards the door.
"Where the heck is Marik anyways? He's been gone since yesterday. I thought for sure he would've returned by now..." Duke muttered. "I'm worried...Layla went to look for him this morning and it's almost noon...i'm scared something awful may have happened..." Flora frowned. "I'm going to go look for her!" "T-Then i'm coming too!" Amourette exclaimed. "Oh, Amourette thank you." Flora smiled before the two girls took off together. "Hey! Don't just go running off on your own like that!" Duke cried out after them.
"I mean really wat could day possibly be tinkin!?" Joey sighed as he held his head aggravated. Kaiba only narrowed his eyes. "First Marik goes missing...and now Layla...I don't like where this is headed one bit..." the CEO spat. "Oh PLEASE, you guys worry FAR too much!" Stella interrupted. "Layla is one TOUGH faerie! If anything DID happen to Marik I feel sorry for whoever gets on HER bad side..." the blonde pointed out. "...Yeah...but Bakura was in our security feed when we were monitoring Chris's party..." Mokuba frowned.
"Aw man tell me this is NOT happening!" Joey groaned and started to bang his head against the wall light before his cell phone went off causing the blonde to jump slamming his skull against it. "...Ow...dat...hurt..." Joey twitched sliding down the wall before he slowly looked up. His eyes widened as the blonde recognized the name on the caller ID. "GAH! Uh, guys, I gotta take dis!" Joey exclaimed laughing nervously and grabbed the phone hurrying out of the hospital room. Everyone nearly sweatdropping as a response. "Idiot..." Kaiba muttered which Bloom tried to suppress a giggle.
"Can dis be for real?" Joey questioned once he was outside before he went ahead and answered the call."Yo! Dis is Joey Wheeler!...NO FRICKEN WAY! it really IS you's! How ya doin bud!? It's been like practically forever! We have GOTTA catch up!" the blonde grinned. "...WHA!? YER BACK IN DOMINO CITY!? Joey cried only to be hushed at by the hospital staff him nearly turning three shades of red from embarrassment as he turned down the volume."Well! Why didn't ya just say so!? Oh, right ya kinda already did eheheheh...AH, I see yer plane just landed! Well, den go ahead and text meh yer terminal gate! I'll be dare in two shakes of a baby dragon! Cya!" the blonde grinned before he stuck his head back inside the room.
"Hey, guys! Hate ta jet but a gotta make a stop at da airport fer a bit! Be back as soon as I can! Later!" Joey exclaimed before he took off as fast as he could on his bicycle just parked outside. "...It couldn't be Yugi could it?" Bloom questioned. "I HIGHLY doubt that..." Kaiba muttered. "I am rather annoyed that he hasn't even tried to contact us...hell we don't even know where he is...but if I know Yugi he's probably gotten himself into another big mess...he certainly has a knack for finding trouble..." the CEO pointed out. "I hate to be the one to state the obvious...but couldn't we just call him?" Roxy proposed. Raeger only shook his head.
"Err...no...i'm afraid not...that is the reason most us use telepathy or letters to communicate. It would be one thing if we were in Covenant and Yugi was somewhere in The Sealed Worlds. But that won't work if our dimensions are separate...so that makes contact him through normal means nearly impossible." Raeger told Roxy. "EXCUSE!? You people live without cellphones!? I-I think i'm going to faint..." Stella cried before she fell over Roxy making a face as she hit the ground. "Stella!" Bloom cried. Selina only rolled her eyes. "That's just a LITTLE overdramatic..." "No kidding..." Carlos sweatdropped.
"This is just utterly ridiculous..." Kaiba muttered and stepped out of the room. He just could think clearly with everyone talking all at once. Maybe Wheeler had the right idea about getting out of this place but he couldn't leave Bloom behind. Although his previous self would've left without giving a damn. "Kaiba!" Bloom exclaimed as she opened the door following him outside. "Bloom? Shouldn't you be in bed resting?" "Look at me. Do I look hurt anymore?" the faerie retorted. "No, but that doesn't mean you should be up moving so soon either!" the CEO argued in return. Bloom only let out a heavy sigh.
"I KNOW you're worried about Yugi." the redhead began. "So if you're so concerned go and look for him!" Bloom told the CEO. "And leave you here with all these idiots? That's completely out of the question." Kaiba snapped. "I understand that you're worried and you want to stay by my side. But you can't be my protector 24/7. It's sweet that you care so much about my wellbeing...REALLY it does but I am a grown faerie and I have all of my friends with me in case something does happen...and besides...I got my powers back..." Bloom offered a sweetened smile before Kaiba's eyes widened.
"...How is that possible? We haven't even found The Phoenix's Ashes yet...you're telling me that your powers just came back like that?" the CEO questioned in disbelief. "...Mmm that's not quite right...it's kind of a long story...but I found the ashes...there was someone that had them...and in my dreams, they came to me...look..." Bloom unrolled her sleave and revealed to him the rainbow flame tattoo. "This...is what those very ashes created on my arm...I am Bloom...Princess Of Sparks...the keeper of The Phoenix's flame..." the redhead narrowed her eyes as they glistened with a new resolve and power. After a moment Kaiba only smirked.
"...So...the Dragon and the Phoenix huh...? Interesting...i'm looking forward to what comes next...as both beings of fire our combined power will only fan the flames...and lead to our ultimate victory...against The Wizards Of The Black Circle and that bastard Bakura..." the CEO grinned as Bloom only looked at him with a worried gaze. Artemis Moon's words echoed in her head. Suddenly a vortex made of shadow manifest in front of them as a male with bright red hair and fired red eyes appeared before their eyes wearing a silver cloak with a blue lining and boots to match.
"You know...if you play with fire...you're likely to get burned...or didn't you ever learn that lesson? Well anyways...you must be Kaiba...i'm afraid you'll be coming with me...conscious or not...your choice pretty boy..." the male muttered as he created shuriken out of hot red flames. Quickly Kaiba got in front of Bloom as the two men locked eyes. "I'd like to see you try...i'm going to send you back to the hole you came from!" the blue-eyed male spat as he revealed the hidden blades in his arms and feet. The redhead only laughed. "You got spunk kid...let's see your moves..." the stranger grinned as Kaiba charged towards him. Damn it! What was taking Yuki so long with that orb he promised to craft for him!?
Meanwhile...
A male with light blonde hair almost white with one eye green and the other eye blue made his way off the terminal. He wore jeans with a brown coat and white scarf looking around before he memorized his gate number and terminal from the airport and texted his location to Joey before he found a seat and sat down letting out a sigh as his mind went back in time to several days before.
{Flashback}
A red-haired male with his back against the wall comes into view as the blonde exits a room from one of several. The entire place is made up of crystal from pillars to the floors. "What's with THAT face?" the blonde questioned as he noticed the sour expression on the red head's face. "Who else? Tall Dark And Moody in person. Just returned from some mission the boss man sent him on...but of course it's always the silent treatment with him...man talk about givin a guy the cold shoulder..." "He IS mute Blaze..." "...Oh yeah...what about you Aster? Did YOU receive any orders from the boss man yet?" the redhead questioned.
"No. Not that I know of." Aster shook his head. "Aren't ya tired of sitting around this castle all day? I'm practically dying of boredom!" Blaze cried. "Well there's nothing we can do right BUT wait..." the blonde told the redhead. "...Even i'm not sure why HE decided to send Oblivion to Zaloz. But i'm sure he has his reasons." Aster murmured. "Well! There is ONE thing we DO know for sure...The A.O.J and the BriarBlood siblings have their eyes set on the Pharoah's current vessel...and the boss man doesn't want either of them to get their hands on the kid." Blaze surmised as he crossed his arms.
"Speakin of which...you met that bunch a long time ago right? Or do I have you mixed with someone else?" the redhead inquired. "...Yeah...two years ago to be exact...I woke up in the Domino Musem...I had no memories...I didn't know how I got there...or who I was...all I knew was my name..." Aster began softly. "...It's still vague...but I remember it snowing...and cold...I managed to find my way out of the museum and into the city...confused...lost...I had nowhere to go...or if I did...I didn't know...I guess you could say I was almost like some kind of zombie...and then...I wandered out into the middle of the street of oncoming traffic..." the blonde told Blaze whom only made a face before he laughed.
"Aw man...so even back then you got into a heap a trouble. Well, you must've made it out in one piece if you're sitting here talking to me." the redhead teased giving the blonde a playful shove. "Oh, gee thanks!" Aster swatted at Blaze before he continued. "It's just as you said. I saw lights blaring in my face. But I couldn't move...just completely out of it before I heard someone yell at me. When I turned to see who it was a bicycle came towards me and grabbed I felt someone grab me both of us going flying across the sidewalk." Aster told Blaze with a bit of a chuckle.
"Then the person above me yelled "You's gotta be crazy jumpin out inta middle of da street like dat! Are ya tryin ta kill yerself or what!?" Blaze laughed in response. "Well can't blame him for asking that one!" the redhead snickered. "Yeah. Maybe now. But back then I didn't understand anything. After he made sure I was ok he took off again...so I followed him to his school...apparently, some student in an abroad program never showed up so everyone just assumed I was him...from that point on I went to Domino High...and made friends with his friends...Yugi, Tea, Tristan, Bakura...and...Joey..." Aster smiled warmly."Sounds like you enjoyed yourself there. So why did you decide to leave?" Blaze questioned.
"That's the day...I met HIM...Noix..." the blonde murmured before a male with periwinkle hair approached them in the same cloak. "Blaze! Aster! Our leader requires your presence." Celeste informed the two young men. "Alright! Geesh. We're commin no need to yell!" Blaze called back down the hall. "Come on! Let's not keep the boss man waiting!" the redhead urged the blonde before they made their way down the hall to the large crystal door. Slowly Blaze pried it open. At the window to the far right was a male with silver hair wearing glasses over his goldenrod eyes wearing jeans and a cloak as the rest of subordinates. As Blaze and Aster enter Oblivion left passing them by.
"It's about time! I was starting to rust from sitting unused for so long Noix! Blaze exclaimed. "I apologize...but events are moving along a lot faster than I had first presumed. Noix murmured. "I've called you here because according to Oblivion the Pharoah's vessel has already been captured by the BriarBlood...unfortunately this was an occurrence that we could not prevent...although we attempted to do so our efforts alone were not enough...there is good news however...the BriarBlood themselves do not have the boy held against his will...it would seem they prefer to gain his trust rather than use hostile force to gain his cooperation ..." the leader began.
"So they can use him against The A.O.J...huh? Just what I would expect from such a "classy" family." Blaze shook his head with a shrug. "Yes...those are my thoughts exactly...as of this moment...the Pharoah's vessel is in Zaloz's Juniper...however there has been a development..." "A development?" Aster questioned. "Yes, it would seem for reasons unknownst to us...The Wizards Of The Black Circle have also come to Zaloz...as long as the Pharoah's vessel stays within Juniper's boundaries he should be safe from their influence...the problem lies that upon The Goddess Of The Crystal, Undine whom has sent Seto Kaiba to see The Witch Of The Abyss...in Zaloz's Agethrim's forest...I have no doubt that Kaiba and The Wizards will cross paths with one another..." Noix pointed out.
"Therefore Blaze...the task falls to you to locate Seto Kaiba and bring him to The Witch Of The Abyss. Afterward, you are to track down the Pharoah's vessel and return him to the others. This task is of utmost importance so be certain to carry my orders to their exact detail." "Your wish is my command. You give the orders i'm just here to follow." Blaze mused half serious. "This goes without saying...but it is highly likely...that after he hears what it is The Witch Of The Abyss has to say...he is more than likely to resist coming back here with you...if that is indeed the case...you are to use whatever means necessary...you are not to return here without him...do I make myself clear?" "Crystal. In that case i'll be ok! Good luck bud." the redhead murmured and clapped Aster's shoulder before he left through a dark vortex.
"Good luck..." Aster murmured as he watched into Blaze vanished before Noix turned his attention towards the blonde. "...So...i'm not going with him?" Aster questioned. "No...I have a diffrent task for you to see to...it's time for you to return to Domino and rejoin the others...as I told you, you eventually would..." Noix murmured. "...Now? But why!?" the blonde questioned perplexed as to what Noix could possibly be thinking. "...Do you remember the day we met...? I promised you answers to the questions you sought...and now I shall fulfill that promise I made to you that day..." the leader assured Aster.
"...Promise...huh...?" Aster murmured softly as he reflected upon Noix's words. "Don't you want to see him...the one that means the most to you...?" the leader questioned as the blonde's eyes filled with confliction. "I...of course I do" Aster clenched his fists at his side."...but not if that means...placing him and the others in danger...i'll pass thanks!" the blonde muttered with a fire in his eyes and turned around walked towards the exit of the room.
"He needs you Aster..." Noix spoke up as the blonde placed his hand on the doorknob. "...Only YOUR power alone can protect him and the others from what is coming...even the faerie's power will pale in comparison...a mere pact with Undine will not suffice to stand against the full extent of a Neitherworld Deity's wrath...knowing this...will you still refuse to go...?" the leader mused. Aster closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he turned around. "...By HE...I take it you mean-" the blonde began.
"Chaos...the lord of all darkness...the whoms power calls forth the shadows...creator of The Millenium book...for many long years...he's been asleep...but that slumber has been disturbed by an ancient artifact being stolen from his sacred shine in Zaloz...the blood that flows through the one whom took it...has the same blood as young Josephs...and with it...a new story shall unfold...do you now see the importance behind my request?" Noix asked Aster softly.
"Yeah...Chaos will no doubt mistake Joey as the one whom took it...and if that's the case...we've got to find the person who took the artifact...and return it to its rightful place...but...why do I have a feeling there's more to this mission? What is it you're hiding exactly?" the blonde questioned. "...One that has been forgotten in the darkness...will be recovered...along with another precious object that is been sought after...but that is all I can say...go forth and carry out your mission...when the time comes...you will finally understand..." Noix murmured softly. "Fine..." Aster muttered before he created a dark portal and walked through it only to find himself at a nearby airport to Tokyo. "Here I go..." the blonde murmured before his mind brought him back to reality as someone called his name.
"YO! ASTER!" Joey cried as he waved wildly nearby. Aster's eyes lit up at the sight of his long lost friend and hurried over. "JOEY!" the other blonde exclaimed in excitement and threw his arms around him. "Boy was I sure surprised when ya suddenly called meh! I thought I was hallucinatin or somethin!" "I mean! It's been two whole years! But ya haven't changed one bit!" Joey grinned and grabbed him in a choke hold ruffling his hair playfully. "HEY! CUT IT OUT" Aster laughed in return as he struggled to get away.
"So how is Yugi and everyone doing? I texted the others but I didn't get a reply." Aster questioned. "Oh, dem? Well as ya know like you's Tea went ta some fancy ass dancin school in America. Tristin went ta go work at his dad's factory woo sucks ta be him I tells ya! As for Yug, Bakura and I, we decided ta go school here at Domino University though right now Yugi's off visiting his folks overseas...and uh Bakura is...is...oh dats right! He's gone ta see his father too! Made a new discovery! Yeah dats it!" Joey laughed off his obvious lies. But Aster only smiled.
"I come back and this is the welcome community thanks a lot guys!" Aster half teased. "Hey! I came, didn't I! By da way...you wouldn't appen ta have picked up any special recipes have ya?" the blonde nudged his friend playfully. "Afta all nothin say welcome back like Welcome Home Curry!" Joey grinned. "AH! So you didn't miss ME just my cooking?" "Aw Nah! It ain't like dat man!" "Oh, sure!" Aster and Joey both cracked up. "Nothin like old times am I right bud!?" the blonde exclaimed as he threw his shoulder over Aster's. Aster only nodded with a smile. "Yeah...it's good to be home..."
RATE AND REVIEW! And maybe i'll write another chapter. ;D