Thanks for coming back for another chapter! We've got another chapter for you to enjoy! ... Repeating myself a bit... What to say to you as an intro to this chapter without giving away the whole thing? Character development? Let's go with that. A chapter of character development! But which character? What sort of development? Is it just this chapter? That's how it usually goes, yeah? Like one chapter as a break to develop a character and then back to the action. We'll see.

Chapter 21

Wounded Soul

Part I

Morning

Ra Dorm

It was a calm morning in the dorm as most of the students were in the cafeteria, eating their meal of the day before heading to classes. All for one, Jessie, who had found himself called to the Head of the Dorm's office to discuss something. Meryem was reading something as the student stood in front of her, waiting for her to speak. "Congratulations, Mr. Alexandros," she said after several moments. "You're off probation now. But that doesn't mean you're free and clear to act however you want. You need to keep your nose clean."

"Yes, ma'am. Thank you," Jessie replied before turning and leaving the room quickly.

"If you need to tal-"

The door closed with a small bang. She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

Meanwhile, Jessie walked towards the dining hall practically radiating frustration. He kept replaying his duels with two certain Slifer students, trying to figure out where he'd gone wrong. Not only had he lost his reputation as one of the best first-year Ra students, but now everyone only remembered him for ending up in the hospital wing after exams. And that was supposed to have been the start of his comeback!

As he began to ponder the last few weeks, a sizeable wad of damp paper slapped into the side of his face.

"HA!" a familiar voice barked. "Told you I'd get it in one go!"

Looking over, Jessie saw some of those who used to call themselves his friends laughing and high fiving over the successful spitball shot.

"Whachoo gonna do about it, Loser?" one of the others challenged as the group began glaring at him.

The guy had nothing but anger on his face, wanting nothing more than to pummel them for disrespecting him, but knew it would only land him in more trouble.

He scoffed and walked away, hearing their laughter echo through the halls.

Jessie was soon in the cafeteria as he went towards the line and got his food in a huff before going to an empty table to sit down.

A few eyes looked as he was eating in frustration, two of which were Sera and Laura.

"Oh joy, yet another Jessie tantrum… I swear, it's like the guy just loves to make it about him," Laura said.

"Dubur zn ealaa khirab eashh," Sera said, not looking up from her food.

"…What?" Laura asked, confused.

"Closest English equivalent? You reap what you sow."

Jessie finished his meal in an angry silence before he left the cafeteria in a huff. Still grumbling to himself about how badly things had turned out for him.

Afternoon

Cafeteria

As usual, the room had large amounts of students enjoying their lunch time before going back to their grueling classrooms. Most were in their usual spots, including the odd bunch as they all sat together, still looking up information on the Duel Spirit World.

"Man, I never knew how many nut jobs there are online," Nick remarked while looking at his phone.

"No joke, I don't know whether half these guys are geniuses or insane," Laura added while also looking.

"The anonymity of the internet allows them to say things that'd normally get them thrown into the loony bin if they said it anywhere else." Barclay sighed.

"So how accurate is any of this stuff, anyway?" asked Sera. "I mean, if anyone can say anything on the Internet…"

"Well, I would think if enough people are saying the same thing that'd be a good place to start, right?" Atsuko suggested.

"Possibly. But then comes the trap of confirmation bias," Barclay replied. "How many proper scholarly articles are out there on the Duel Spirit World?"

"Well, I did read about one Professor who was looking into it, though its nothing concrete," Takashi added. "Ah well, whatever can at least give us some ideas, even if its fake, is better than nothing right?" the red-haired teen said. They nodded in agreement.

Before they could continue, an uproar of laughter emerged as it got their attention and made them turn to where the source was.

Jessie had entered the room, though now he was drenched in milk once again as someone had thrown their box at him.

The group saw him staring at his former friends, who were busting a gut once again as the guy huffed and left the cafeteria.

"Wow… the irony here is almost sad," Nick commented.

"He doesn't deserve your pity," replied Laura.

"That's a bit harsh don't you think?" Takashi asked.

"No honour amongst thieves, eh?" Barclay muttered. "How long before it stops being comeuppance and starts being gratuitous?"

"Depends on how much bad karma he's built up, I suppose," Nick replied sadly, still staring off after Jessie.

Night

Ra Dorm

Jessie's Room

Jessie's day had only gone downhill from the cafeteria incident, so he had felt at least marginally better upon returning to his room. But of course, seeing the empty bed opposite his own just got him worked up all over again. Not only was he being laughed at and disrespected, he didn't even have a sympathetic (or at least neutral) ear to complain to about his lot in life.

He balled up his fist and punched the wall with a frustrated yell. Once his hand stopped stinging from the impact, he walked up to his nightstand, grabbed his deck case, and threw it across the room.

Jessie breathed heavily for a few seconds, then sighed and let himself flop down onto the bed. "Why the hell am I still here? Even those Slifer idiots are mocking me…I really am worthless, huh?"

No one answered him, leaving him to simply take off his shoes and turn away as he decided to turn in for the night.

"You've lost something precious…" a voice echoed in the dark room. "Something you had long before you came to this Academy. Something that is not yet irretrievable."

"Who's there?" Jessie demanded of the darkness, sitting up. Silence answered him, but soon enough he saw a faint light in the middle of the floor.

Curious, he got up and promptly found Heroic Challenger - Excalibur in his hand. The light grew stronger and stronger until the monster appeared manifested before him as if he had played it during a duel.

"Wha…"

"Greetings," the monster said. "It seems, now that your pride's been shattered, your ears and eyes have finally been opened to me."

Jessie opened his mouth to yell at it, but then thought of something else. "Wait, how is this even happening? I know I'm not dreaming, and if this was a gas leak I'd be standing outside with everyone else."

" Don't try to logic this, you never really had the brains for that sort of thing," the spirit remarked. "'You always trust your gut, don't you? Tell me, do you feel anything off about me?"

Jessie huffed at the spirit's insult, but realized Excalibur was right. Somehow he knew it had good intentions.

"Ok…Say I believe you, why are you here?"

"To help."

"To help?"

"To rebuild your burning spirit you once had," Excalibur continued. "To reclaim that precious thing you lost so long ago."

Before he could reply, the spirit extended his hand to give him his deck case. Jessie raised an eyebrow but accepted it anyway. To his surprise, it felt practically empty; opening it to find not a single card except for what he had in his other hand.

"What the hell? Why is your card the only one I have?"

"To reclaim what was lost, you must gather what was broken and rebuild," Excalibur replied.

"Wow, vague and obvious at the same time. That's a first," Jessie muttered.

Before he could continue, the spirit placed his armored hand on his shoulder, turning him towards his wall.

In seconds, Jessie found himself looking out onto an expansive green field in broad daylight. It grew as far as the eye could see, moving gently with the wind. He turned to look at the spirit and asked what he did, but found he much option, Jessie began to walk forward until he stopped.

He knelt down, touching the grass and realizing he actually could feel it, causing him to pinch himself and feel the pain too. "This.. This is real…"

He turned back around to get some kind of answer about this from the spirit, but found that the warrior disappeared.

"I'm starting to regret this…" he said to no one before turning back around to continue forward.

With each step he took, Jessie felt like the sea of grass would be endless. However, he was wrong since after a while, he found in the middle of it, a stump.

Though what caught his attention was a single Duel Monsters Card that was lying down on top of it.

He slowly reached out and grabbed it, causing the entire area to change in mere moments as a light made him close his eyes. When it stopped, Jessie opened them only to find himself back in his home in Greece.

He then heard a familiar voice began to speak.

"Agóri, you suck at this." a familiar, feminine voice laughed.

Jessie turned and saw three kids sitting around a table outside their home.

Two boys and a girl.

The older two were laughing and clearly enjoying themselves as they laid tiles down on a board, crafting large, complicated words. While the youngest one, one of the boys, was looking angry and frustrated.

"Is there any game you don't suck at, Agóri?" the older boy asked.

This made the girl laugh and caused the young boy to get up from his chair.

"I'll find a game I can beat you both at!" the youngest shouted, before storming away from the table.

"That'll never happen, Agóri!" the girl called after him.

"You know the boy?" Excalibur questioned as he appeared next to Jessie.

"No... He was a runt, a small fry who couldn't compete with anyone," he said while tightening his fist. "This whole Christmas Carol sequence isn't gonna help me."

"Only through pain can one find the answers hidden."

As he said that, the place disappeared, leaving only another card floating in mid-air for Jessie to grab. When he did, it disappeared and entered into his deck case.

Jessie continued walking, finding cards and phantoms. As he traveled, the landscape slowly changed around him. The ground began to become more of an incline. The grass grew sparser, replaced with rockier outcroppings. More trees began appearing, a mix of cypress, pine, and poplar.

Looking in his deck case, he counted fifteen cards. "All that hassle, and all I've got is a Side Deck…" he muttered, but he could not help but smile at the cards he had gathered. Suddenly, he was faced with a specific tree, in which he saw another card.

"Elaiódendro... So, Palláda Athiná is also my guide?" Jessie said as he reached towards the card. "Then please guide me, Strategist of Olympus."

Once again, he was enveloped in a near blinding light when he touched the card. Again, the light faded and he saw another memory. This time, one he was far more fond of, even if he had not thought of it in many years.

"Duel Monsters?" a young boy asked. "What's that, Mamá?"

"A card game." the woman replied. "One your Patéras and I used to play a lot."

"If you and Bampás played it, it must be-" the boy started.

"Fun?" the woman interjected. "Yes, yes it is and I am sure you will come to enjoy it more than the other games you've played."

The voices faded away a bit as the woman explained how the game was played. Jessie stood there for what felt like hours, watching the woman and the boy play the card game. She was clearly going easy on him, but it did not matter. It was the first time the boy had any fun playing a game.

Excalibur noticed a faint smile appearing on Jessie's face from seeing that memory.

The scene then shifted back to the boy and the two older kids.

"And I attack you directly, bringing your Life Points to midén," the boy said happily. "I win!"

"What?" the older boy groaned. "How could I lose at this simplistic game?"

"I told you one day I would finally beat you!"

The scene in front of him soon disappeared with the boy's laughter.

"That runt seemed to have found what he truly loved, didn't he?" The spirit remarked.

"Guess so, probably one of the few moments that made him happy was dueling," Jessie remarked.

Soon small memories of the boy appeared dueling, winning trophies, and everyone cheering for him.

"Least, it was…"

With that last remark, he continued following the path laid in front of him.

Somewhere

As his journey continued, Jessie started to find that getting the cards were a bit more difficult now as he had to pass through insane obstacles and terrain to grab them.

After surviving each ordeal, he had 20 cards in his main deck now, including some new cards he'd never had before.

The next one he found caused the area to transform into an empty alleyway, making the Ra student's eyes widen as he realized what he was about to see.

Once again the boy appeared. This time he looked a little down. He still carried a trophy, but this one was clearly for second place. Still a good showing for the tournament and his age, but he still felt the bitterness of defeat. Laughter and two familiar voices drew Jessie's and the boy's attention further down the alley.

"Don't go..." Jessie muttered as the boy moved towards the noise.

"These miniature walkies-talkies were a great little investment!" the older boy laughed.

"I know! Bringing Agóri down a peg made it worth it," the older girl agreed.

"It's so much easier to win this stupid little game when you know what cards your opponent's playing."

"I'm just glad we got to see that look on his face again."

"You cheated?" The boy said, drawing the attention of the older two. "You hated me finally being good at something that much? You had to cheat?"

"Shut up, Agóri." the older boy sighed. "You were starting to get a big head."

"Yeah, pride's not something you need." the girl added.

"I finally had something! Something I was good at! Something I could have fun with! And you ruined it!" the boy screamed at the two. "Misó kai tous dyo sas!"

The boy then threw the trophy at the ground, destroying it and turned and ran away from the two.

"Jessie!" their voices called after him as he ran as hard as he could away from them.

The scene disappeared as it left Jessie alone in another field of grass once again with a stump in front of him and a card on it.

He grabbed the card in a frustrated manner.

"Seems now we've found what you lost—" Excalibur began to say, but was interrupted.

"Screw you! I didn't lose shit, I learned that day nobody can win unless they do whatever it takes! I needed to use everyone same way they did, it was how the world worked!"

"And how has that worked out for you?"

"Perfectly," he said flatly.

"Right," the spirit replied. "So, naturally, you still enjoy Duel Monsters and weren't thinking of dropping out of school?"

Jessie soon saw everything that happened to him since starting the academy, from the duel with Nick, to the loss against Takashi, and even the humiliation from his former friends.

"So, what? Now you think you can read my mind and tell me what I'm thinking and how I feel?" Jessie demanded. "Of course I'm not enjoying myself. Losing sucks and proves you're worthless, especially when you gained the respect I did. I don't deserve to be here, its meant for the great ones, and all the losses I've taken just show I'm not great..."

"Strength is not defined simply by the number of victories one earns," Excalibur said. "Consider this as you collect the rest of your cards: Who possesses greater strength? An undefeated warrior, or a warrior who gets back up and fights having known bitter defeat?"

All Jessie gave the spirit was silence as he continued walking to the next part of his journey.

Some time and a lot more flashbacks and card collecting later, Jessie found himself atop a very familiar seaside cliff. There was even a sunset, like every other time his parents had taken him there as a child.

He looked at his newly-completed deck, wondering how all of this was going to end for him.

"I wonder when the Ghost of Duels Future is going to show up," he mused aloud. "That's how this usually goes, isn't it? I got all my cards back, I saw enough of my memories to prove Excalibur's point…"

Conveniently, Excalibur materialized just behind him.

"I do not know what 'ghost' you refer to, but you have indeed regained the pieces and rebuild what you lost . Now, you must simply let go of your fear and embrace your faliure's."

"..." Jessie slowly turned to face the spirit. "You… you're not seriously implying what I think you are? Are you crazy?"

"Remember what I told you earlier," the spirit said simply before disappearing again.

"Treló bástardos," Jessie muttered as he turned back to face the cliff. "I can't believe I'm going to do this…"

He stood up straighter, closed his eyes, took a deep breath and stepped forward.

For a moment, Jessie felt weightless, felt the wind rushing past him, felt his stomach jump from its normal position to his throat.

Then... nothing.

"What you said, about using everyone to win... Don't you remember that we once meant something to you?" Jessie opened his eyes to find himself in a duel arena now, having a standard duel-disk on his arm with his deck already inside it.

"What? What in Hades is going on now?"

Before getting an answer, a door of light appeared on the opposite side as the figure walked through it.

"Hello there, Agóri," said Jessie's older brother.

"To truly regain what you have lost, you must realize the truth of what has been holding you back. Only then will you be complete."

Well, that was quite an insane chapter wouldn't you all agree? For those who're wondering, it won't be a long arc like Initial Order, just two chapters at most. Regardless, we still thank you all for reading and we hope you continue to. We also give thanks once again to Eneko95 for continuing her support as our beta.

Translations:

"Dubur zn ealaa khirab eashh." - an Egyptian-Arabic proverb meaning "A wasp that brought about the destruction of its own nest through its buzzing." (He asked for it, it was his own fault.)

"Agóri" - Greek for "boy"

"Elaiódendro" - Greek for "Olive tree"

"Palláda Athiná" - Greek spelling of Pallas Athena. The olive tree was, according to mythology, her gift to the city of Athens (hence its name) and thus became one of her symbols. Jessie calls her "Strategist of Olympus" since her domains included military strategy.

"Patéras" and "Bampás" - Greek for "Father" and "Dad" respectively

"Midén" - Greek for "zero"

"Misó kai tous dyo sas!" - Greek "I hate both of you!"

"Treló bástardos" - Greek "Crazy bastard"