Regaining Face

Spike had been a Rare hunter once, and he had to do some thinking , now he was back, he wanted to prove that he could beat Eliza and prove worthy of his Slifer card, and reclaim it from Eliza at that point, but the rare hunters would know at this point his loss of Slifer, which made him less of a legend to this group, as well as an Outcast, but one thing they needed to remember, he WON Slifer, he was formidable before without it, and he still was, he waited to see who would step up first

Sameonna had been hanging around out front of the Rare Hunter HQ, the entire courtyard being filled with the purple and gold glint of moonlight shining from the cloaks of the members which seemed to further their nefarious reputation. It was this night in specific that Sameonna had actually summoned one of her more prominent dueling specialists, his name being Hei Djinn, a ritual specialist who was quite skilled with Ritual Monster strategies. Hei Djinn would walk up to Sameonna, and they would respectfully acknowledging each other with a formidable nod. As Hei Djinn reached the door, he would open it, kindly allowing Sameonna to walk through first. Such manners were to be appreciated, even among criminals.

The pair would wander upward to the Arena, where Sammy would surprisingly find Spike waiting, for what seemed like anyone at all to greet him whether by common tongue or summoning. Instead of approaching him directly though, she had a feeling that something pretty intruiging could happen, something that may very well influence the direction of the path that Spike will walk. After the loss he suffered at the hands of Eliza, she hadn't heard from him, so Sammy had figured he'd went into hiding to perfect the resolve of his deck, in every essence of the sense.

Sameonna would sit on a nearby arch-bench, Hei Djinn watching from below, upward, simply looking as if he were to be staring at Spike. Sameonna came to the conclusion that the chances behind Hei's hardcore stink eye derived from his personal disgust of Northerners. Which, was understandable, though misplaced, because Spike was indeed a former Rare Hunter, and was accepted into their organization with open arms, to follow the same just cause that both Sameonna and Hei Djinn, himself, stood for. It would be wrong for him to hold a grudge for such basic reasoning. Hei Djinn would settle, leaning against the wall, following Sameonna's example to see what would develop.

And speaking of Eliza, she had been with Sameonna for the better part of the day and night, after a long morning of extended sleep, and waking up at around 2 PM, since that point in time, Sameonna had been escorting Eliza around Southern Keiritsu, showing her the ropes, teaching her about Rare Hunters, card strategies, and elaborating on the more powerful duelists of the organization. Those like Hei Djinn and Crazy Steve. Eliza would have followed both Sam and Hei Djinn into the headquarters, though, once Sameonna sat down and Hei Djinn would lean against the wall, it would be up to her to handle Spike as she sees fit. Sameonna would smirk at her, and give her head a quick knock to the right, a kind of 'get up there' motion settling in.

Adjusting to life as a Rare Hunter was a bit difficult for Eliza. She had to get used to the lack of interaction with people she actually knew, and instead be around all these creepy people. All of whom still made the girl felt like she was in danger with their mere presence despite being in the same "Organization". It was hard to call this place such, it wasn't quite organized but had had a certain structure to it at the same time. Everyone seemed to operate on their own accord but still followed the guideline's Sammeonna put on them. She'd never seen such a group operate in such a fashion.

Secondly was the sleep schedule, she had been told Rare Hunters primarily acted under the cover of night and that meant she'd have to completely flip the pattern she rested in. She had been working on it for the past few days. At this time of night, she was still a bit tired, but not as much as she was one her first day. She would have been on the verge of passing out by now.

Snapping back to reality as she was following Sammeonna, she found herself at the Area in the HQ. In her peripheral vision however, Eliza spotted a familiar figure. Turning her head to further investigate would reveal that it was Spike. But why was he back? How was he let in? Sammeonna said that he had to leave the rare hunters upon losing while acting as one. No one was doing anything about this either.

"What are you-!" The girl stopped her sentence to turn her head to look at Sammeonna, only to discover that she was gone, along with her companions. Looking around to find her, she'd see the woman on a bench, giving   Eliza a signal that she would interpret to mean that she was wanted to handle Spike. Exhaling a huff, the firl turned her attention back to Spike with a scowl.

"Alright you, what are you doing here?!"

(TWC: 338)

Spike raised his left arm, his older duel disk he had not used since Shadow kingdom was strapped to his arm, and his right hand would point at Eliza, and he would tell her "I am here to get back my Spot in the Rare hunters, as well as to claim my Slifer Back, so Im challenging you to a Duel" and he would lower his left arm in prepreation that she would accept.

{Skip}

The girl groaned at the male's request. It hasn't been a week and he's already back asking for a rematch. Her hand came forward and out from the cover of her cloak to reveal Spike's old, custom model Duel Disc. She had taken it off the street from where he had simply dropped it. To her, taking it and leaving her old duel disc was a sign of leaving her past for a new future. But he was asking for Slifer. She hadn't even gotten to use Slifer yet and he was already back and asking for a rematch over it. She really didn't want to put her precious god on the line.

Eliza looked over her shoulder and back at Sameonna as she watched from her seat. She couldn't back down from her first challenge though. How would that look in front? Refusing to duel against the person she had just beaten no less than a few days ago. She was essentially obligated to accept.

"Fine" Eliza simply stated.

Her right hand reached over to boot up the duel disc on her left arm. From it, the sound of an automated shuffler and the holographic projector booting up could be heard. Finally, her head would turn back to properly look at the opposing male.

"I'll take you on again, and I'll be enjoying taking your second rarest card afterwards." the words escaped the girl's lips with a smirk.

After some patience and skillful plays on both players behalf, Spike came out the victor, and he would walk over, and removing his duel disk from his arm and his deck from it, offered it to her and asked "May I please have my Duel Disk and Slifer back now, I thank you for teaching me that lesson earlier, it was much needed" and he smiled kindly at her

Sameonna would watch the series of surprising events play out before her. Hei Djinn was even quite impressed with the performance of both individuals, to the point where Hei Djinn would walk to the duel arena, the platform lighting up as his heavy feet stomped onto the duelist plate. Hei Djinn was no ordinary man, and many, Sameonna included, believed he was a descendant of Egyptian bloodlines. He was exceedingly tall, around seven feet, and wore Millennium Cloth, a series of purple robes adorned with golden chains, Egyptian religious symbols and a thin wire-like crown baring a symbol in the middle of his forehead, the Eye of Ra. This was the standard outfitting of a Ritualist back in Egyptian times when the Shadow Games were widely prevalent.

While Hei Djinn simultaneously asked Spike for a duel, Sameonna would call Eliza to return to her side so as to watch Spike and Hei Djinn duel effectively. Sameonna would explain to Eliza that Hei Djinn was no regular Duelist, and in some respects, Sameonna even considered him a greater strategist than herself in some accounts. However, she would also note Spike's incredulous resilience and his darkened alter ego that formed after his extended stay in the Shadow Realm during the Shadow Kingdom tournament just four years prior. If Spike would accept Hei Djinn's offer, the duel phase would be initiated as soon as he prepared his duel disc.

Sameonna would turn to look at Eliza once the young girl would have reached her, extending her arm and lightly tapping the empty spot next to her on the bench. Wooden in material, and held together by studs and pins, it was an antique, and surprisingly sturdy. Once Eliza would have sat down, Sameonna would smile at her in a reassuring manner. "Do not feel bad, Eliza. Even the best duelists are defeated. Look at me, for example. You walked into the territory of the most notoriously recognized criminal organization on the planet and beat its leader. If, at the very least, you feel remorse or guilt for your loss against Spike this night; you should not, for you have achieved far greater triumphs in your past that would signify you well above the means of an individual who dwells on her past discretion. You must look at the past as a way to understand life, or, alternatively, things like this ancient game we play so carelessly as mortals.. You can either run from it, or learn from it." Sameonna would hope her words of inspiration did at least some good for the girl.

An expression of pure anger was painted of the girl's face. How could this guy walk into this place not even a week after she beat him and have all of those rare and powerful cards at his disposal? She had barely gotten her bearings of this new environment, she hadn't had much time to practice dueling. This was the first time she had gotten to duel with Slifer in her deck and she couldn't even summon him. The farthest she got to was drawing him into her hand.

"Fine then!" Eliza exclaimed.

She placed all of her cards back into her deck, placing at the bottom. After doing so, she began to shut down and unfasten Duel Disc she had taken off of Spike, working it off of her arm. Taking the device off, she'd proceed to remove her deck from the deck slot with the exception of Slifer at the bottom.

"This thing is nothing but a pretentious paint job anyway." She said bitterly as she walked forward to hand the duel disc back to Spike.

"And all Slifer was doing was taking up space. He didn't have a place in my deck anyway." She'd once again speak with a bitter tongue.

After Spike would take his things back, a lump grew in her throat. Her raging exterior was but a shell for her frightened interior. She was afraid, afraid the same fate of having to leave would be put on her so soon. She had just gotten here after all. She had made the choice to become dedicated and leave behind her previous life and now she'd have to either go back to Northern Keiritsu and lie, or tell everyone her guilt-filled truth. Eliza hesitantly looked back to Sameonna and began to exit the arena. Each step felt like a march in itself for the girl. She was dreading what sort of words the woman would have for her. A million possibilities ran through her head before finally reaching Sameonna only to be...invited to sit? She would indeed do so, only to be surprised with a short introduction about the man who had been a spectator up until he decided to challenge Spike himself, followed by a...rather inspiring speech.

"I mean..."

Eliza looked down at her feet, swining the limbs forward and back as the hovered off the ground.

"I get that you can't win them all...but I'm just disappointed I guess..."

Spike gave her his old duel disk as he took back the slifer disk, and Thanked her, then Hei Djinn stepped up to challenge him, Spike would cut his eyes to Djinn, and he would prepare the disk on his left arm as usual and nodded, as he said "Very well Lets start"

As Djinn had been defeated, he would smirk slyly at Spike. "So, Sameonna was correct in her assumptions of you. You do bare resemblance to a dear old friend of mine. Before he lost his soul, at least." He'd laugh. With that, Sameonna would interrupt him, and stand, calling out. "Hei Djinn. I would request that you duel my apprentice, Eliza. I'd like for your own.. Professional.. Assessment of her dueling skills. I assure you, what you find may surprise you." Sam would smile.

Sameonna knew Hei Djinn didn't mind losing, assuming his adversary was worthy enough to claim the victory from him. Hei Djinn was certainly a powerful individual, and if someone would have defeated him, they damn well would have earned it. Sameonna would place her hand lightly on the shoulder of Eliza, and tap it, gesturing to send her back up to the Arena. "Spike, great job on re-entry. Its good to see you back in uniform." Sameonna would flash a brief smile at him before sitting back down. Once Eliza had reached the Arena and prepared herself, the duel would have commenced.

Eliza looked up at Sameonna and nodded. She didn't need that stupid god card, all it did was unbalance her deck. Now she could perform much better. The little girl stood up from her seat and began to walk up to the arena, giving Spike a glare as she passed him on the way. Her right hand worked to place the duel disc properly on her left arm and slide her now thinner deck into the deck holding slot. Now that she was much closer and giving him more attention she could tell, this Djinn guy was big. Like really tall and had a hardcore egyptian theme going with him.

Her right index finger slipped under the core of her duel disc, pressing a button to boot up all the beginning rituals that started with the duel disc turning on. Various mechanisms running and subtle humming could be heard from the device on her wrist as she held it up in preparation of her duel.

"Well...I'm ready whenever you are." the girl said with a very simple tone.

Spike smiled as he sat next to Sammy to watch the next duel unfold, he was given his old cloak back and it was back on his shoulders where it belonged, and he smiled at Sammy when she welcomed him back, and nodded a thank you , then went back to watching the duel start

Sameonna would clap excitedly as the final blow had been struck against Hei Djinn, Eliza using Change of Heart at the end of the duel and taking control over one of his most powerful ritual monsters. Hei Djinn would look at Sameonna in a manner in which Eliza would look at the camera on the Office. Sameonna would simply smile at him, staring. It was at this point that Hei Djinn's stagnant emotions would shatter, revealing a more comedic side of his personality. "Well, Sameonna. You've definitely done your job in recruiting the best duelists from Keiritsu." Sameonna would accept his compliment, and ask for him to step down from the arena.

Doing so, he would oblige, and Sameonna would instruct Eliza to remain on the dueling platform. After the duel sequence had finished, Sameonna would collect Hei Djinn's ritual deck, having lost, thereas, following the rules that both he and his old master had laid, relinquishing his deck to the Queen of Hunters. Sameonna would bid that he sit down next to Spike, maybe catch up on tea krimpet time. Anything to keep them occupied while Sameonna wandered up to the dueling arena, stepping on the platform and initiating the hologram sequences derived from the activation of a duel phase.

Nearby pipes would rumble, sending from them clouds of steam which quickly elevated in the oxygen-rich air surrounding them. After the initial takeover of this place, a former Military Construction Facility, Sameonna  needed a way to effectively ventilate the massive building due to the tons upon tons of rust, water damage and bacterial growth having revealed itself as time went on. So, in addition to some playful creativity designing the dueling arena to be placed within a massive one-hundred twenty-four by one-hundred twenty-four circular room, Sammy managed to install a sixty four gauge ventilation and self-preserving electrical maintenance shaft system, wired with special conductor wire Sameonna created from things like bark, which automated fans that operate off of counter magnetism. Endless, reusable, safe, energy.

Sameonna would look at Eliza, and instruct her to prepare her duel disc again. "This time, dear. I assure you, your skills will be put to the test." Sameonna would smile, and then pull her cloak aside, which was formerly covering her arm, which would accordingly reveal the larger-than-average duel disc strapped to her arm like a war glaive of Azzinoth. Holding it up, Sameonna would slide her deck in, and tap the end of it, much like a soldier may reload the clip of a gun. As her duel disc reached its height and angle of activation, a holographic display of "8000 LP" would appear above Sameonna's head, and the same would concurrently happen in unison on the other side of the arena, just above Eliza.

Eliza tried her best to hide her pure excitement of winning her duel behind a more serious demeanor. Not only had she won, but won by a long stretched lead. Her lifepoints didn't go down at all, they in fact only went up. She finished the duel having taken no damage and gained lifepoints from Djinn using Upstart Goblin. She had the game in her hands most of the time anyway. At least from the look of her own hand she did. She had both of her Penguin Warriors in her hand, so even if she couldn't take control of Garma, she could have just sent it back to Djinn's hand and probably deal with his other two monsters with something she'd inevitably draw.

She would be just about ready to step down from the arena and shut down her duel disc until she saw Sameonna's signal to remain up there. She looked back at Djinn to see he was leaving though. Another look back to the female Rare Hunter would give Eliza the impression that it would be her that was taking Djinn's place to duel Eliza now. Well, if that were the case, she couldn't have too much trouble. She did beat Sam before after all. Her head turned back to the opposite end of the arena, seeing the exiting egyptian.

"Hey!" the girl shouted the first word of what she wanted to say and paused. She wanted to say the man's name but either it had slipped or mind or she had forgotten it.

"Good game...you!" she got her point across at least. With some embarrassment, yes. But her point was conveyed nonetheless.

Now with Sameonna on the stage, she'd simply reset her duel disc back to the start of the duel phase, as well as taking the cards in her hand, grave, and field, and putting them back into her deck. Her hand moved over to a button on the side of the device's deck slot and pressed it. Her deck would be consumed by the duel disc's core. Cards being moved around and snapped could be heard before being placed back into the deck slot. She looked back up at the opposite end of the stage to see Sameonna, her own duel disc prepped and ready to play. Though her body language gave a more serious tone than she had every seen the woman give off before.

"I'm getting back on my winning streak, play time has only just begun." The child replied.

Spike wondered if Sammy would throw this duel or not And he would watch and wait to see how this duel would end

As Eliza's remaining life points depleted, Sam would flash a smile at her, but give her a thumbs up. "You did good, Eliza. You should be proud. Here, take these cards, add them to your deck, and be on your way if you'd like. Or, alternatively, I'm sure Hei Djinn would like to share words with you." Sameonna would handle her a handful of cards, and step down from the arena, making her way down the stairway and back to the two individuals lounging at the bench.

A good duel it was, and this night would mark the beginning of another realm of clarity for Eliza, assuming she spoke to Hei Djinn. Hei Djinn, being an Egyptianist, knows countless pieces of information about Ancient Egypt, and about things regarding the Shadow Games. Sameonna, herself, has tapped into the vast pools of knowledge which Hei Djinn has stored. It is through the very conversation she had with Hei Djinn, actually, that had sparked her curiosity and interest in the Millennium Eye, after losing her eye in the Shadow Kingdom tournament and being forced to cover it with a patch.

Sameonna would continue walking, past Spike, flashing him a smile. As she would reach the door, she'd look back at Hei Djinn, and called out to him. "Hei Djinn, perhaps you should offer some of your own personal information to Eliza. Shes quite the sponge of  information, and I'm sure she'd be more than delighted to hear some of your stories and experiences." With that, she'd nod, bidding everyone in the general area adieu. The door would swing outward, and she'd left the Arena.

Ultimately, Eliza lost. Was Sameonna holding back when they first met? The outcome in their last duel was drastically different from their other. She had Sameonna's field under control, being able to put away almost anything she threw out. Even and Egyptian god! But this time she was overwhelmed. Eliza was still doing what she could to get rid of what her opponent had. But this time she threw out more than what the girl could get rid of. It looked like her winning streak was going to have to wait for a while before being able to comeback.

Eliza took the cards Sameonna gave her with a bittersweet feeling. These cards, they were really nice. Good enough for all of them to be put in her deck in fact. But she still lost and these felt much more like a hand-out than a reward. She watched the woman begin her departure from the arena after bidding everyone a nonverbal goodbye. Eliza had the option of leaving now, yes. But Sameonna's words sounded as if it were better for Eliza to interact with Hei Djinn. She looked back in the direction of the two male spectators, specifically at the tall Egyptian male. Maybe he wouldn't be mean? He seemed to compliment her after she beat him, so he probably wouldn't be spiteful about that.

The child exited from the dueling arena as well, proceeding to the spectating area instead of the exit, and approach the taller of the two males. Being this close now, he was even more intimidating. He was like a sky scraper compared to her.

"So uh...Sameonna said there might be something you wanted to say to me?".

Spike took a pile of cards that Hei had given him, some advice as well as to how he could make his deck better, and then Spike noticed the duel was over, and Sammy flashed him a smile, and spike could not resist, he went after her, his curiosity was to much at this point about why she smiled so much at him, and he had to go find out.

Eliza was quite surprised by the kindness and respect given to her by Hei. She was so used to older people talking down to her because of her age, but in this place it seemed respect came mostly from your skill in dueling. Or maybe that's just how it was for the man. In any case, he spoke of having knowledge about egypt. Duel Monsters had given her a sort of fascination about ancient history and archaeology to do with Africa. A lot of history to do with Duel Monsters was hidden away from what she heard. The largest fact about the game that had been uncovered according to her knowledge was that it had roots in ancient Egypt and that was it.

"Yeah! I'd love to hear what you know!" she exclaimed with excitement

Hei Djinn would look upon Eliza and begin explaining. Well, in Ancient Egypt, there was a game that was played as a sort of judgment system, a way for the ancient Egyptians to evaluate or hand out judicial proclamations or court ordering. An individual would step into an arena designed to channel dark energy produced by magical objects with power bestowed in them unlike anything mankind has experienced. These objects are called Millennium Items. However, with this terrifying power, comes terrifying costs and consequences." Hei Djinn would cough, briefly, allowing the phlegm in his throat to clear.

Once adjusted, he would begin again. ".. These games were to be played at the risk of the users life, an experience your mentor, Sameonna, and my ancestors, have endured already. It is a wonder, have you ever thought to ask her what happened to her eye? The reason behind why she wears an eyepatch? Surely you wouldn't insult her by doing so." He would ponder if Eliza knew why Sameonna wore the patch over her eye, and got rather lost in that train of thought for a moment before snapping back into reality.

Carrying on with his tale of shadow weaving, Hei Djinn's voice would deepen, almost as if in a semi-playful manner to emphasize on the seriousness and importance of the story, whilst maintaining a childlike demeanor to appeal to Eliza's comprehensive antics. ".. Anyway, these games were played at the risk of the duelists life, and using the energy generated from the Millennium Items, these duelists could summon otherworldly creatures, capable of leveling towns and cities with a single swipe of their wings, or destroy countless empires with hordes of goblins and dragons. The very monsters you so precariously play with here, were the very same summoned into reality a millennium ago." Hei Djinn would stop and wait for a response from the girl before continuing.

Eliza never really thought about Sameonna's eye patch more than that it was cool looking. So did that mean she participated in one of these special kind of games? If that was true, then that meant that the risk that was presented with this game back in ancient Egypt could be simulated today by some means. Hei also kept bringing up these things called the "Millennium Items". She had a bit of knowledge about them...in that she had the card Millennium Shield with its flavor text saying that it was capable of blocking and deflecting powerful attacks, which was true, as it had defensive power rivaling some of the most powerful monsters in the game.

"These Millennium Items you keep mentioning...just what are they exactly?" the child asked

Eliza's curiosity was perked. The duel discs they had today could generate holograms of the monsters but these things could put them right into reality? She tried to imagine it, someone controlling and commanding a Blue Eyes White Dragon. A pure destructive force like that could sometimes prove difficult to deal with in the game, but a real version could probably destroy as much as it wanted nowadays with little to no trouble.

Hei Djinn would look at Eliza as she asked what the items were. "Well, Millennium Items were objects created by the Ancient Rulers of the era I speak of, and contained power well beyond the comprehension of mankind. As such, many of the items were sealed away until a destined holder had managed to come across the item, and their trial proved them worthy of wielding it." Hei Djinn would itch the back of his neck, and stand. "I don't mean to leave you so suddenly, but, I do have important matters to attend to. But hey, at least I gave you some unique knowledge to use, eh? These are things I'm sure they wouldn't be teaching you in history class!" Hei Djinn would laugh, and quickly, yet formally bow, before exiting after Eliza would have responded.

The man's last few words struck the child's heart like a spike. History class...school...another thing she would get to experience again anytime soon if she were to commit to this new life of her's. Her mind wandered off to think once more about her friends and family. She hadn't been gone a week and already such thoughts filled her with a sense of nostalgia. It was there at home where she felt safe and secure. But here, no matter what the conditions, she always felt like she was in danger. Her hands clenched into fists at her side as her teeth gritted together. She'd never feel truly at peace here. But at the same time, this is where she would get stronger. If she wanted to become the best she could at duel monsters, she'd have to stay here. An environment where getting better by any means was fine. These "experts" were impressed by her skill and what she had learned was simply self taught. With direction she could go anywhere she wanted in the realm of duel monsters.

Eliza's eyes scanned the room. Hei Djinn had left. She was alone. A sigh escaped from the girl's small mouth as she turned her body towards the exit. Her small footsteps filled in for the room's silence, followed by the sound of a metallic door being opened and closed as Eliza left the arena.