Chapter II
Partners
A camp was set near the excavation site, helicopters from the Industrial illusions hovered above, medical personnel dropping down, mounting a temporary medical barracks.
The place bustled in chaos, people running right and left, being brought to the barracks, men shouting in an unknown language. Inside a small tent, the noise from outside was nothing but indistinct chatter.
Sylvia stood in front of the table with a circular mechanical device from which a hologram of Pegasus bust flickered. Johan stood beside her, also reporting. He cast aside glance worriedly, she didn't have any wounds, but she didn't have time to recompose either, her figure wrapped in a blanket.
[Miss Hoenmann, can you please explain]
"The raiders exploded parts of the structure of the temple, sinking it into the sand again, not only that, our team suffered losses," she sighed, continuing to pile up her mistakes. "The stone tablet was damaged in the process and so were the contents of the coffin."
[You managed to open the coffin?] Pegasus sounded surprised.
Johan raised his hand. "The gem beasts opened it. It was full of precious stones."
[And I assume the raiders took it?]
"No, by the time I came back to check on it after the invasion started, the gems had become dust."
[Dust?] he frowned, looking at the woman. [And where were you in all this, Miss Hoenmann?]
She lowered her gaze, her long eyelashes drizzled with sparkling gem dust, a sorrowed expression. There was an exquisite beauty to it, like a piece of acting from a play or a scene from a movie.
"I fainted after engaging in battle with some raiders, and I only woke up when Andersen arrived, I have no idea what happened to the gems, but we'll investigate that."
[I'm disappointed, miss Hoenmann] he shook off his head, in a strict tone. [You were in charge to prevent the situation from going awry. Granted, the situation was already less than favourable before, but I do hope you understand what this means.]
"I understand," her voice was firm, but not as lively as Johan remembered. "I intend on taking full responsibility for this."
[In this case, I do hope you can clean this mess and for the time being, you will put your duties on hold until next notice.]
"I will wait until next orders, but If I may ask, chairman Pegasus, who will be in charge of the excavation next?"
[Well, that would be none other than professor Hoenmann.]
She sighed in relief. "That's good to hear. So he's fine."
[He has recovered and was already informed of the work to do. I will be waiting for your full report by tomorrow, miss Hoenmann. You may take your leave.]
Bowing politely, she obeyed that, Johan watched slightly concerned as she left. Pegasus called him to resume the talk, startling him.
[What did you find out, Johan boy?]
"Nothing of substance, but the fact that the tablet was broken and the gems inside the coffin disintegrated, that's at the very minimum odd. They were both intact when Sylvia showed me around, but something happened between this time frame when I left to fend off raiders and the time I came back to check on things."
[Do you believe it could be related… To Rainbow Dark Dragon's powers in any way?]
"It's difficult to say, but considering the coffin was an 'offering', this doesn't bode well to me…"
Pegasus' eyes narrowed. [Please, keep an eye on any strange occurrences and contact me immediately if anything transpires.]
"I will. There's something else I'd like to say. It's strange that raiders got wind of the excavation site in the middle of nowhere, don't you think?"
[Do you think someone from inside tipped off the raiders?]
"Yes, and talking about inside conflicts, I have a complaint to make about someone…"
[Oh my, did Sylvia's demeanor bother you?]
"No, not her. It's about professor Melchior…"
The scene followed with Johan's lips blabbering silently, Pegasus frowned at the accusations.
[I'll observe it closely from now on, you should try and check on the data we acquired about the tablet. See you next in a few days, Johan boy.]
Johan nodded determined, the hologram turned off. He swirled around in the same second, rushing out of the room, Ruby Carbuncle hopped onto his shoulders, meowing.
He Patted it, stopping in front of a tent, tilting himself, grabbing the cloth surrounding the entrance and peeked inside Sylvia's tent, her back had a lonely air as she organized her belongings into stashes, preparing to move out.
"Hey," he waved, she spared him a glance, a gloomy mood hovering around her.
"Andersen, do you need something?"
He took that as a cue he was allowed to enter, Ruby Carbuncle hissed at her and jumped out of his shoulder, bristling his fur and shoulders up before standing in between her and Johan.
It wasn't unusual for him to act like that since he was fond of Johan and disliked other humans, except Jaden and a few others, so he dismissed that as unimportant, picking the cat up and putting it over his shoulder.
"I never saw Pegasus being so stern."
"Don't be such a pushover, Johan!" Topaz Tiger scolded. "Girls like bad boys better, just be real and harsh with her!"
"Asif you understand anything about human girls!" Amethyst cat snorted.
"Guys," he whispered, a pleading tone so he could have a normal conversation.
The gem beasts were his family and friends, but talking to someone else while having them around could be rather distracting at times.
Sylvia spoke while packing a pile of books in a box. "Everyone knows Pegasus has a soft spot for duelists and that he's harsh with his employees, I'm not special to get unique treatment like you. You're lucky to be on the side he adores."
"I'm not sure it's just about getting on his good side."
She paused her activities momentarily, taking a second break before continuing.
"I know you won your gem beasts rightfully at a tournament, Chairman Pegasus loves to gift unique cards as prizes in those. It's just hard to be recognized in my field."
"Wow, would you look at this? Her attitude went from 80 to 8," the Tiger whistled. "What a good dose of putting her in place doesn't achieve."
"Why are you so against her? Gosh, she's about to lose her job, have some sympathy!" Cobalt Eagle barged in the conversation.
"She was mean to Johan first!"
While they argued, Johan sighed tiredly, then resumed his dialogue, a worried smile stamped still on his face:
"Will you be fine? I mean, you were suspended from working…"
"It's my fault anyways, I let hell break loose Due to my incompetence to handle the situation and I intend to take full responsibility for it. Suspension is a small punishment."
"But you almost died there. I don't think anybody would be fine after something like this…"
He trailed off, his gaze drifting away as memories from the Dark World all flowed in his mind, from him as Yubel, the Supreme King, all of Judai's friends dying one by one.
"Talking about which," Sylvia folded her arms, finally looking him straight in the eye. "Why were you in that temple and not outside as I ordered you to, Andersen?"
"What do you mean why?" he blinked confusedly. "The building was collapsing, I saw many people coming out and evacuating, but not you, so I went back to check."
"W-What?!"
Her arms uncrossed on their own, her eyes widening as she repeated it gesturing with her finger.
"You went back to the building that was crashing down to help me?"
He nodded, admitting nonchalantly. "Yes. I was really worried."
Whether he was just this oblivious to his blunt words or if he was cynical. Nonetheless the fact remained that at least one person cared to go back to help her, there was this light flutter of happiness in her chest. Suddenly, her sight blurred with tears that filled up the brims of her eyes, she could barely make the shapes and colors ahead.
"Did I say something wrong?" he lifted his hands, unsure how to best deal with it. "You don't need to cry.""
"Who's crying?!" she angrily rubbed off her eyes, wiping away the tears. "This damn gem dust keeps falling into my eyes!"
"Johan strike number one," Topaz Tiger celebrated. "You got her."
"Who wouldn't melt in the charms of our boy? He has a heart of gold," Emerald Turtle nodded proudly.
"Guys," he said between his teeth in a low tone, then spoke too loud the last part. "I didn't come here "
"Oh well, then why did you save me?"
"That wasn't-"
He interrupted himself, sighing disheartened while the gem beasts chatted around him, no point explaining anything to Sylvia, then he closed his fists, gazing into her eyes declaring:
"Because that was the right thing to do."
She flushed, a small jolt hunching up her shoulders as she semi-pouted, her expression turning into a frown. Does he intend to stand here and rub his wholesomeness into her face?
"Did you come here just to flash your good deeds in front of me? As you see, I'm busy moving out."
"That's not what I-" he shook his head off. "I actually came here to give this back to you."
From his pocket, he picked the opal necklace that belonged to her, stretching his hand over, she slowly came closer, wide-eyed, perplexed.
"Where did you get this? I thought it was-"
"With professor Melchior, right?" he completed her sentence. "It fell out of his pockets. I caught him running away with it and a few gems. I knew something was wrong, that's why I decided to go back to the temple."
"Thank you," she stared at the necklace, now in her palm. "I thought he would get away with it."
"Talking about that, Sylvia, I'd like to ask you something."
His smile disappeared, the slightest furrow of his brows transforming his expression into a serious one.
"Give me your honest opinion: don't you think the timing of the raid is rather convenient?"
"What do you mean by that? They did it at nightfall, it's when we are preparing to leave the site and rest,because it's difficult to work at night, if anything it doesn't surprise me."
"Yes, but why did they do it exactly on the day I arrived? I'm sure there was a few days' interval between the last raid and this, yet they did it exactly when I arrived. I somehow have a hard time thinking this is a coincidence."
"And what are you implying here? That someone set this up knowing that you would be here?"
"That'd only be possible if someone from inside was leaking information," he lifted his gaze at her.
"Ah, I see where this is going. You suspect me," she narrowed her eyes.
"I don't personally think you're the culprit, but it's my job to clear all suspicions. Do you remember anything that happened before I arrived? You fought some raiders, but then what?"
"I-I…"
She gulped, recollections overwhelming her mind. That Dragon ominously baring its teeth, the sword, how no words came out of her mouth, the pain of the wounds, her hand shook while getting a hold of herself on the table behind her. A headache splitting her head, she winced, putting her hand on her forehead.
"I-I don't know, my memory isn't very clear,"
Johan's eyes squinted, Sylvia doesn't strike him as the type that stutters, much less tremble like she's in fear.
"She's hiding something!" Topaz tiger accused.
"He might be right this time, Johan, she's avoiding your eyes the whole time," Amethyst Cat supported the theory.
Turning around, she pulled a bottle of pills from her pocket, dropping a few on her hand and tossing them into her mouth, swallowing it dry, bending down in pain.
"Great, now my headache is back… "
"Tell me if you remember anything."
"I will. Can you leave now?"
He has seen this before, not here but with pro duelists. When he was "shown around" by some promoter interested in him, he remembered going to a room where duelists looked depressed, they took pills or went for a smoke or drinks after the duels. It made him think just what they went through to resort to this.
"Andersen, what are you still doing he-"
She flipped, turning at him again, but stopped herself midway, straining her eyes like she was trying to see something, pointing at his right shoulder.
"There's something on your shoulder… A purple dot…"
Johan looked at his shoulder, Ruby carbuncle was still wrapped around it, but there was nothing else like dust there.
Walking slowly towards him, not shaking that bothersome feeling that something was stuck to his shirt, Sylvia brushed his shoulder giving strong pats to beat off the dust with her hand, Carbuncle hissed and jumped away from Johan.
Sylvia watched the dot move down, then blinked stronger. The exhaustion must be getting to her, she took a look at his shirt, arching one of her brows, puzzled.
"So… Did it go away?" he asked awkwardly, scratching his head as she stared so intently at his chest.
She gasped, backing off, rubbing her eyes again, then slid her hands combing her bangs up while puffing wearily.
"I probably got some sand in my eyes, it's nothing…"
"That seems to be her staple lame excuse," Cobalt Eagle inferred.
Walking back to her table, she resumed packing her stuff, Johan cast a glance at his gem beasts who were more than distrustful of the woman, he shrugged his shoulders as if to say this was the limit of how much he could pressure her today.
"I'll see you tomorrow, then, tell me if anything else comes to your mind."
"I won't be here for long, Andersen," she turned her face, her profile half hidden by the strands of hair falling loosely over her face.
"Huh?" he flinched.
"I don't think we will be seeing each other anymore, I'm suspended from work and I'm moving out of the camp. I wish you'll accomplish what you came here for, this is a farewell."
"I see… Goodbye, Sylvia," he smiled briefly before going away.
Sylvia's body quivered, sweat trickling down to her chin, dropping on the table. She gazed at her sweaty, shuddering palm. Was that whole vision with the dragon a dream? She should've died, right? On top of that there was that strange dust and Johan had suspicions over her being the snitch that caused the whole ruckus. She nibbled her nails out of nervousness.
"There's no way. I-I'm not crazy, right?"
Undressing the robe around her and tossing Johan's jacket atop the table, she inspected her torso, her finger gliding, delineating a line from the cleft between her breasts down to her belly button on her white seamless skin.
It should have been pierced, but there's not as much as a hint of a scar there. Frightful, she covered herself up quickly. If she tried hard enough, maybe she could forget about it.
Sunrise,
The next day was uneventful compared to the previous night, Johan followed the movements of Melchior with his eyes, then caught a glimpse of someone else from afar.
Sylvia talked to an older, burly man, he had streaks of grey hair and glasses, his eyes closed gently as he held her shoulders, her lowered gaze told the whole story as her lips moved silently. That must be professor Hoenmann, Johan smiled warmly, at the very last she got to meet her father.
Melchior on the other hand, glared around, assessing the surroundings, talking behind tents with some workers and even going as far as bribing them with money. Johan followed him the whole day, behind crates and barracks, his eyes narrowing the more he found out just how shady he behaved.
He waited until nightfall, on stakeout. Cobalt Eagle shrieked from the skies to call his attention, his eyes flashing to the target: Melchior came out of his tent in the dead of the night. He looked around, making sure that no one noticed him and went down to the excavation site that was still being unearthed after the disaster.
Johan sneaked around, a permanent crease between his brows. Melchior squatted down, swiping some sand away under the structure mounted to be climbed for the excavations. He opened a trapdoor, Johan gaped at the revelation.
So there was a secret entrance? This guy is bad news.
Melchior went down what seemed to be a deck of stairs, then the trapdoor closed with a stony noise. Johan rushed over there, searching for any activation mechanism in the darkness, until his Emerald turtle stretched its head out and blew off some sand near a metal handle, making some sand cloud lift. He smiled to thank him.
Getting a firm hold on it, he prepared to pull it open with all his might, until a voice startled him, from right beside him, Ruby Carbuncle hissing.
"So there was an entrance here, huh? Good job finding it, Andersen."
His jaw dropped, none other than the orange-haired woman, crouched down, with a deadpan face.
"Sylvia?!" he shouted silently. "What are you doing here? I thought you-"
She raised her hand like a stop sign, scowling. "I don't intend to be suspended from work forever, if I get that dirtbag down, I'm sure chairman Pegasus will be pleased and I'll go back to excavating, like I should."
"Sylvia, this isn't a joke, this guy is dangerous. Going down there is-"
"Oh, please, you think excavations are like your duels where the worst dangers you face are holograms?" she also shouted in a low voice. "I don't intend to back down on this, so you better not steal my thunder, Johan Andersen, I want credits for finding out whatever this guy is doing too!"
"I can't believe it, she will just be in the way!" Topaz Tiger complained.
"You think I'll be in the way, don't you?" she huffed, much to his surprise, like she had read the beasts' minds.
Bringing her face closer at the pace he bent his torso back to avoid the proximity, she gave her ultimatum:
"Well, you better swallow that pride 'cause we're working together on this whether you like or not," finishing her speech with a sickened tone, defiant tone in her last sentence. "We're gonna be best buddies from now on until this case is solved."
With Sylvia, there was no negotiation, this much he got a gist of already, then she clutched her whip, ordering:
"Enough talking!" she glared at him, determined, pointing her whip at the trapdoor. "Now, open it, we must follow him quickly."
"No! We can't allow this!" Topaz tiger objected.
"We don't have time now!" Amethyst Cat sighed.
"She's right, we have to do our best to support Johan and to not let her get in the way," Sapphire Pegasus galloped downwards.
"Such a feisty lady," Emerald Turtle chuckled, having fun with the prospect, like his wisdom made him face the situation in a more light hearted mood than the other beasts.
Johan pulled it open, there was a staircase downwards illuminated by small torches on the sides, one could barely see the next step or the bottom of it. More so he was surprised by her courageousness. Instead of bawling her eyes out or wallowing in depression after failing and being scolded, she took a stride and recovered fast, coming back to settle down the pending problems.
"I'll go first,"
She unashamedly bumped him to the side while going down the stairs. Johan's mouth twisted into a disconcerted smile as he mumbled to himself:
"Oh boy, oh boy… This is gonna be difficult…"
He followed after her, gulping concernedly. Between babysitting the archeologist, finding the truth and following a suspicious person unnoticed, he's gonna have his work cut out for him.
