A New Day For the Newcomer

Zeon woke up the next day, and realized that he wasn't in his usual room. *That's right, I'm in another dimension now.* This wasn't the first time he had been in another dimension. The last time he was though it was on a dead world; most of the people had already died there years ago at the treachery of someone who had poisoned most of the planets water, and the poison still wasn't diluted even after years had gone by. Being in a world other then his own that was alive was a whole different manner. Since he was staying here for awhile, he would have to learn the customs of this planet, how not to attract attention (he realized that he would have to ditch the black cloak in this world), and adapt in general.

And then there was the girl, Ami. He felt strange around here; it was the first time he had run into a girl around his age who wasn't trying to kill him. There were a few in the Illuminati, but he generally kept to himself when it came to the affairs of the group he was in; most people preferred to work alone or with certain partners unless the situation called for cooperation. It was a strange feeling; it felt weird but natural to talk around her.

*Don't lose yourself now, Zeon. You know there are things you can never tell her, no matter how nice she is. If she knew that you murdered some people while using dark cards she would lock you away. Or at least through you out; can the justice system here throw you in jail that easily?* Zeon realized he had to go to the bathroom. He realized he didn't know where it was. He went to the end of the hall and opened the door. After a quick look around, he realized that Ami was sleeping in a bed in the room. He had found her room. He started to back up, embarassed.

*Idiot! The bathroom wouldn't be located there. You should have known this world worked differently!*

Ami had not dreamed at all that night. Her sleep was uninterrupted, her mind drifting in an abyss of darkness. It was a peaceful rest...that is, until something stirred around her.

Having had police training, Ami had been taught to be constantly aware of her surroundings...and that training had seeped into her sleeping consciousness. Something around her had changed. Her hand creeped under her pillow, her fingers curling around a small pistol she kept there for defense.

Her body stirred and she looked up...only to see the face of man standing in her bedroom doorway. She gasped and immediately sprang into action. She rolled out of bed, landing on one knee, holding her pistol with both hands, and aiming it at the assailant's head. Her nightgown had slipped down her right shoulder, leaving that shoulder bare. Her hair, messed up as it was, still cascaded down and surrounded her neck and shoulders. It was a fairly cute look if you took out the fact she was holding a gun, ready to shoot.

"Who a--" her eyes widened as recognition finally set in. "Zeon! Oh my god....what are you doing?" A sigh of relief escaped her lips and she lowered her weapon. Of all the things to happen, she had NOT expected Zeon to walk in on her while she was sleeping. "I could have shot you!"

Zeon saw her pick up a weapon and roll. His mind vaguely registered that she probably was trained to do this, and that she didn't realize who he was after just waking up. *It's nothing I have to worry about. I can always teleport or curve the projectile with my shield. Oh wait, they don't work here.* Zeon has just realized how bad the situation was now. Fortunately she realized who he was and lowered the weapon. Now he could get a good look at her. Part of her nightgown had fallen off of her revealing her shoulder. He turned away quickly.

"I'm sorry. I was looking for the bathroom. This place is designed differently then the Illuminati hideout. I probably should have asked you last night where the bathroom was. It's my fault." *I need to be more careful. Without my abilities, I can die if I make one wrong move.*

She leaned forward on her hands, her legs moving so she cold sit on the ground. As she moved, her nightgown played out, and she sighed again. Adrenaline was pumping through her. "its down the hall...first door on the right." Her voice had a hint of embarrassment, a hint of annoyance, and a hint of relief....all the emotions she was feeling right now. As she spoke, she pointed in the direction of the living room. He had passed it on the way to her room...but she hadn't told him of it so she couldn't blame him for not knowing.

She waited for him to leave, then stood up, placing the pistol back under her pillow where it belonged. "That's one way to get up, I suppose," she whispered to the morning air. She turned to a mirror on her dresser and realized what a mess she looked like. Her nightgown was trying to slip off her shoulder, and her hair was an absolute disaster. Oh the joys of being a woman in the morning.

She quickly changed into a comfortable pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Today she was not going to worry about how she dressed, and she really didn't feel like wearing a skirt. Grabbing a brush, she sat down at her mirror and began working at the mess of hair on her head. She kept the door open so he could feel welcome to return, especially now that she was a little more decent.

"Thanks." Zeon rushed out of the room and into the bathroom, closing and locking the door in the process. After doing his business and flushing the toliet, he started poor water into the sink and splashing water onto his face. He sighed. What was he thinking? He should have realized she had a weapon, with her being with the law enforcement and all. He wasn't thinking straight. Ever since he came to this world, his basic survival skills seemed to have diminished. Well more accurately, it was ever since he met her that triggered it. Why did he feel so relaxed around her? He started drying his face with a towel, and then he looked at himself in the mirror. Even his eyes looked different; the last time he looked in the mirror his eyes were full of hatred. Now though.... he didn't know what was in them.

*I need to pull myself together. It's not for much longer. I just have to find a way to get out of here and then I can get back to my normal life. Relaxing isn't something I should do. It feels weird, it gets me off balance. It's nice to relax though. But I can't if I want to survive... UGGHHH!* He threw the towel on the counter in frustration and stormed out of the bathroom, and sat on the couch.

She finished brushing her hair, happy now that it was back in its soft, clean state. The adrenaline had diminished, and she was back to normal. She checked herself in the mirror one last time, then walked out into the living room. Zeon was sitting on the couch, but he seemed a bit troubled.

She felt bad for her reaction...but it was purely instinct. "Zeon...." she sat down beside him, watching him. "Zeon, are you ok? You look upset." Immediately thinking it might be due to having had a gun pointed at him, she quickly added, "I'm sorry about that back there....I...I'm not used to having someone walking around while I'm asleep...no one has ever come into my room while I've been sleeping...my reaction was instinctive...I'm sorry."

Zeon looked at her, and a sad smile spread out on his face. "That isn't it. I probably would have done the same thing if anyone went into my room. Of course, the rest of the Illuminati have enough sense not to do something like that." Zeon turned away. "It's just.... I should have known better. I was careless. I'm never careless. I got too relaxed. I mean it feels good to relax, but if I do I'll start doing stupid things. I have to get a-hold of myself. I need to think more clearly and realize that I can't rely on certain things to work anymore."

Zeon looked into Ami's eyes. "Do you ever feel like your feelings cloud your judgment sometimes? When I was first looking for revenge, I concentrated on nothing else. Those feelings of hate gave me a strange survival instinct. I didn't trust anyone, I always thought for myself, and that kept me alive. Later on though, I met some people I cared about. And then I realized that things weren't as simple as "Everyone in the Order of Solari is evil." I've been getting softer and softer as time went on, but most of my judgment was still intact. Now though, it's really slipped; I can't concentrate on anything anymore around you. I got too relaxed, and forgot that my abilities don't work here. In my world, if someone aimed a weapon at me, I either cut them down with a special sword, curved their projectiles around me, or teleported to safety. But I can't rely on that here. If you were a real enemy I would be dead on the floor right about now. And with my illuninati cards not working, my deck isn't very functional, and I lost to you. I can't afford to lose, ever. If I lost in a duel for fun, then what if someone dueled me seriously? I don't know... it's just that..... I feel strange around you. More relaxed. Like I don't have to worry about saving the world. But I know I have to worry about it sooner or later. What is with these strange feelings?"

Ami was surprised that he was opening up to her like this. In her experience, men never liked to open up, especially to women. But here they were, sitting on the couch together, him looking into her eyes.....that part made her blush a little. When was the last time anyone had looked at her like that?

"Feelings are natural, Zeon...they are what make us human. To suppress them can be very bad, but so can letting them roam free. To show your feelings...like when it involves someone you care about...to let those feelings make you stop and think....it shows what kind of person you are." She reached for his hand, holding it, trying to provide assurance. "It shows you are not a killing machine, you are a caring person. You have a heart, and you don't let revenge drive you." She felt like she was preaching to the choir a little bit, realizing that some of this pertained to her. "In my line of work, I can't let emotions get in my way...but i still have them. My job requires an unbiased justice...and a calm mind when dealing with medicine. At that specific moment in time, my only thought is my job...but later on that day, I might break down and cry." She looked him in the eyes, holding their gaze.

"Emotions are a part of us...but they don't have to control us. As for relaxation....no one is going to hurt you here...I'm glad you feel you can relax here. Relaxing is a good thing at times. And don't worry about duels...you're in a world far different from your own...you can't be expected to perform at optimum performance in a new environment....it takes some adjusting." She looked down at her hand which was holding his. "I know you miss your home....we'll do whatever it takes to get you back." She lifted her eyes to him once more. "I promise."

Zeon was flabbergasted. He didn't think she would be able to understand him so easily. The more he listened to her the more he was convinced that she had gone through a lot of painful things like he had. He figured she was getting onto something with the emotions, but these things were new too him. He was a changing person; and even though she had probably gotten through a lot of changes herself, right now she was stable and had gone through most of her changes. He was in an unstable period when he was in the middle of changing; he was fighting with his old personality, the one that wouldn't hesitate to do what it had to do. The thing that got to him most though was when she talked about feelings for people he cared about. He supposed he had to find a balance between suppressing and letting his emotions out. Suddenly, something hit him. Was that it? Was he starting to care about Ami that much, despite only knowing her for one day? He also became aware of her hand on his. He blushed a little bit.

"Thank you. Although we do have time. The war is kinda at a standoff at this point; it's more like guerrilla tactics; no one can really risk an all out war at the moment. So we have time to send me back. Besides, I kind of want to look around this world a bit." Zeon thought about taking her hand off his, but then decided he liked it there for some reason.

"This world does have alot to offer," Ami smiled. He seemed to perk up a little after her little spiel on emotions and such. She hoped she had been able to help him understand things a little better. "And I'm more than happy to show you around more." She leaned back, removing her hand to brush some hair behind her ear. "Hmm....the tournament is around the corner....why don't you enter? We'll get you some cards and you can update your deck to my world's rules and standards. On top of that, it'll be good practice for you."

She was a little unsure about this idea, seeing as her archenemy was going to be there. But she could not think of a better way to get him involved in Duel Monsters here on Earth. She knew that throwing him in a tournament setting right away might have reprecussions, but he seemed like the kind of guy who would perform better if something was at stake. And the prizes for world championships and pro tournaments were always worth fighting for.

"A tournament sounds interesting. I want to see the strategies that the people of this world use. And how I shape up to everything else." Zeon realized that really talented people would show up. But it's not like any of them had anything like the Envoys; those cards were in a class of their own after all.

"This world has specific rules and standards?"

"Mm-hmm!" Ami nodded once, a smile playing across her face. At least he wasn't afraid of challenge. "We have cards that are not allowed in tournaments, some can only have one copy, while others can only have two. I'm not sure how it is on your world, but I'm sure the gameplay is different here." She looked towards the TV. "Some deck types work better than others...sometimes its the cards, and sometimes its just the duelist playing the cards."

She jumped to her feet and stretched, her shirt lifting slightly to show a little skin. "Now then....how about some breakfast?"

"That would be nice." Another strange aspect of this world. What was with that kind of list? What was the point of making a card if you would ban it later? In his world, you just used whatever you could; nothing was specifically banned, and even if it was, no one would pay it any mind. If you only had 1 copy of a card that generally mean that it was just hard to get. Zeon walked over to the kitchen.

"Are there any special cards in this world? Cards considered to be Gods?"

Ami paused for a moment. That question was unexpected. "Uh...." What was wrong with telling him about the God Cards? As long as she didn't tell him about her Guardianship over Obelisk, she should be fine. She trusted him, but people always changed when they found out that someone had a source of power that they wanted. She wasn't sure how he would react if he found out she had one of the three Egyptian God Cards.

"Yes, actually...there are three Egyptian God Cards, three Sacred Beasts, and three Wicked God Cards. I've also heard rumors of cards called Earthbound Immortals....but I have never seen one, nor have I heard much about them." She breathed slowly and softly, her heart fluttering slightly. Obelisk only came to her when she direly needed his help...so not many were even aware that she had him in her possession. Anyone who did was more than likely in jail...or dead...depending on the situation. "The Egyptian Gods are supposedly the most powerful....if the three were ever to come together, they combine to form an Infinite Power attack...that's the strongest you can come by I imagine." She moved into the kitchen and began looking in the fridge. "Umm...what would you like to eat?"

"Anything will do." Zeon wasn't particularly interested in what he got to eat; he couldn't afford to be picky, especially if he was freeloading. He was very interested in these divine cards, and wandered if he could get his hands on one or more of them. Would it be the right thing to do? He definitely wouldn't do it if he had to take it from someone; it wouldn't be right, and plus those kind of cards developed a connection with their owners. He looked at Ami.

"Do you know what they do specifically?"

"Never mind actually, I don't need to know. Zeon figured that he would look up this stuff on his own time; it sounded like it would take awhile to explain all of their abilities. He suddenly decided on something that had been bothering him for awhile. Ever since he had first gotten that deck of his... well.... he would figure it out right now. He figured someone of her caliber would know. He took his deck out his pocket, took out the black card from it, and set it on the table.

"Ami, do you mind looking at my deck real quick? Something has been bothering me since the day I got it. It isn't that well put together, and I had to get powerful cards just to make it work. I sometimes almost feel like it was made to lose, but why would my father make such a deck? A duel means life or deck in my world, yet he was using that deck at one point."

Ami decided some toast and eggs would suffice, so she grabbed a skillet and began cracking the shells. Within minutes she had a hot meal of scrambled eggs and buttered toast ready and glided to the table with the plates, seating herself. She placed the plates down on the table then gently picked up his deck.

Having seen it in action, she already knew that it was in need of some help. She sifted through it, moving the top card to the back, viewing each card carefully. It was made of fairly common cards...though there were a few cards in it that she had never seen before. "I would love to help you with it." She continued to look at the cards for a moment then looked at him. "Perhaps you could leave it with me for a bit? I'm sure i could come up with some suggestions."

Zeon really didn't want to leave his deck with someone else. Although why would she steal it? She had a good deck already.

"Sure, you can look at it." Zeon went over to the couch and turned on the T.V., and started flipping around the stations until he stopped. Something was clearly interesting. There was a news report going on about the new exhibit in a museum. The exhibit was a huge sphere. The reporter was claiming that it was hollow.

"That looks like an expansion core. But that thing is huge." Zeon said.

Ami nodded in gratefulness and she finished her breakfast. Soon he finished too, and he had moved to the living room and turned on the tv. She smiled as she watched him with soft eyes, happy to see that he was beginning to feel at home.

She stood and cleaned off the dishes, then made her way to her room to grab her cards. She decided it best to take her cards into the living room, and so she pulled the box out to the couch. She then grabbed his deck, and sat on the couch beside him.

Sifting through the cards once more, she began pulling some out, placing them on the arm of the couch. These she would suggest he take out. She had just started to look through her cards to see what would be fitting as replacements, when he spoke, referencing something on the tv.

"What is an expansion core? What are you watching anyways?" She hadn't even been paying attention to the tv until he had disrupted her thoughts.

Intrigued, Ami continued to watch. The reporter obviously had no clue what she was talking about, so Ami began studying the object itself. It was a simple sphere...it almost looked mechanical. Like some part of a ship of some kind. Most people didn't believe in alien technology, but she had seen her fair share of aliens and strange powers, so such an object came as no surprise to her...as far as existence goes.

What did surprise her was finding out what it was....and seeing that it was here on earth.

"Monster cards, you say?" If an armored sphere is needed to encase cards....I wonder what kind of cards they might hold. "Zeon...what kind of cards do these things usually contain? And are these things popular in your realm?" Something didn't seem right. Ami's senses were sending all kinds of mental alarms, warning her to keep an eye out for trouble. What if more from his realm somehow made it to hers? What if these Illuminati and other powerful groups he'd spoken of before decided to start waging their war here? What if that sphere didn't contain cards, being as big as it was....it looked big enough to hold a person...or two.

Ami shook her head, shaking such thoughts away. Sometimes, she had such a paranoid mind...her imagination was wild.

"Mostly they contain upgrades to every kind of deck imaginable. none of them are divine cards, if that's what you're thinking. And the cards themselves don't contain any dark powers or anything like that. Although some of them have really powerful effects. I don't know why these things exist to tell you the truth actually; they keep on popping up in various places all over Aeternitas. I don't know about other countries in my world though. Apparently this has been going on long before I was born; expansion cores sometimes show up in places, and people go around looking for them. Some people speculate that every time you make a new deck, an expansion core for your deck appears somewhere. I don't know if that's true or not, but I myself find it odd that there has been one for everyone deck. How do those things know what decks are out there? I mean they contain very specific cards for certain decks. Then again, there are a lot of things in my world that are really strange." Zeon stood up and looked at Ami.

"Do you think we can go to museum later and check it out?"

"You read my mind, Zeon." Ami had already been thinking of the idea. This capsule intrigued her, and she was very curious about it. Perhaps part of her hoped this capsule was meant for her. If there was one for every deck ever created...where was hers? And what could it possibly contain?

Of course, she also began thinking of other things such as, was this some form of trap? Did his enemies know he was here? If so, what would they try to do to get him back? This could be a casual stroll to the museum...or a trap.

"I say let's go sometime this afternoon then. It'll be a little quieter then." She went back to working on his deck. It needed some help..she just hoped he wouldn't resent any of her suggestions when she was done.

"I suppose I'll wait until then then." Zeon turns off the T.V. and decided to watch Ami help with his deck. He normally wouldn't like the idea of someone looking at it, but he didn't mind in this case.

*Well in this world, the cards that made things so easy don't work. Plus most people don't run pure LIGHT decks here like the order does.*

"So why are you and Alison at odds with each other?"

There was that topic again. It'd come up earlier, and she'd dodged it easily. The story was not a pleasant one...and she was fairly positive he would think ill of her afterwards. But to avoid it again....he would already suspect something was off. She trusted him enough now....she could share her story.

Ami sighed softly and put his deck away, so that she could focus on the story. "When i was younger...I was sent to a duel academy. I had already completed my high school years, even though i was only about 13 or so. My parents thought it best that i go somewhere to continue an education while trying not to look like a young know-it-all." She blushed lightly, feeling suddenly self conscious of herself. She moved some hair behind her ear and continued.

"While I was there, I met a girl, barely younger than me. Her name was Allison Wonderland. I cannot recall everything, but somehow she put me under some kind of spell, giving me dark powers. We were good friends at that point...my being her apprentice, and she teaching me what she knew. As my powers began to grow...we began to grow apart, and soon we became rivals. We fought to best each other, foiling each other's plans one after the other." Ami's voice grew soft and distant as she stared at the far corner of the room. "The rivalry became so bad...we finally decided to settle things at a tournament the school was holding. Of course, this tournament was more than just some simple contest. The winners of the tournament would receive great prizes...and great responsibility."

Ami frowned as she realized she was about to divulge information she'd been keeping from him for specific reasons. Nevertheless, he would find out sooner or later, so she decided to keep going. "We both made it to the finals, and...well, long story short, I won with an Exodia build I had created specifically for her. I won first place at the tournament....and in turn, I became the guardian of the Egyptian God Card: Obelisk the Tormentor."

A huge weight seemed to lift from her chest as she finally released that tidbit of information to him...no more secrets, it seemed. However, she still kept her eyes on the floor as she continued her story. "Allison hated me forever after that...who could blame her? The girl she had been training as her apprentice had turned against her and had humiliated her in front of the entire school. One day, she finally had enough...and she destroyed the school...but not before sending me into a coma and stealing my powers back from me. I woke up months later in a hospital with no memory of who i was, or what had happened to me. A good portion of the bones in my body were broken from the destruction of the school. I don't know if she knows that I'm alive...but I am certain that when she sees me...the reunion will not be pleasant."