The Beach + Docks

The city of Neo Babylon is actually a coastal city. The edge of the city limits meets a great ocean, and so why not make use of it? The area here is kind of split into two parts: the beach, and the docks. While the docks is more used for commercial use, bringing in supplies, and fishing, the beach is more public-friendly. This large expanse of sand along the shoreline is perfect for families and friends to hang out at the beach on most any day (unless the weather is absolute crap). The waves range from small enough to not knock over a two-year-old at the waters edge to big enough for surfing. Come on out and enjoy the beach!

Also note that there are stores located on a boardwalk here as well. Arcades, restaurants, swimsuit shops, souvenirs, etc. Even if you're not on the beach itself getting all sandy, you can still enjoy a nice day at the boardwalk.

~~~~~~~~~~~

For such an advanced city, it still needs to have supplies shipped in from outside resources. The docks are obviously located at the edge of the city where the city limit meets a great ocean. Supplies from overseas can be unloaded here for Neo Babylon, so most people here are those working on the docks. People can fish here too, though just be careful of the big ships that might be in the way.

"What exactly went wrong?.."

Thats what Yamiyo asked as he left the arena and headed towards the docks. Wondering why his deck didn't respond to him at the time he needed his deck too the most. Was it something he did? Did something happen for the deck to not work? Just the many questions he asked himself as he stared out into the water with said deck in hand.

Yamiyo then walked to a nearby table and spread his deck out to see if there were any changes he could make to improve it

Fresh air. That's what she needed. After a bogus reading of her cards, Astrea found herself in the need of some serious relaxation. She didn't mean a spa treatment, but just some time and quiet to herself where she could sort her thoughts. "Remember, stay grounded... wait... and see..." she mumbled to herself. With a large bag over her shoulder, she made her way along the docks near the beach. The salty breeze in her hair, the smell of the sea clearing any crazy thoughts her mind may be having... and then she saw Yamiyo. Yamiyo, the whole reason her mind was in a loopy mess as it was. The birdbrain who was causing her to question even her own beloved card readings, the thing that had helped her through may situations in the past. What in hell's name is HE doing here?!

Wandering casually closer, Astrea could see that he had his deck out. Was he... confused? He looked like he didn't understand what he did wrong during the duel. Granted, even she thought the duel was a little too one-sided to be considered a proper duel... He looks like he could use a friend...

A friend... That was it! The reading didn't mean anything about love. It was for friendship! .... Ew, did that mean whe was supposed to learn to be friends with him? This wasn't some lovey-dovey anime about the power of friendship and ponies... But, she took it as a sign nonetheless. With a deep breath, she braced herself as if she was diving head first into the waters nearby.

"E-excuse me... mind if I sit here?" Astrea asked as she approached the table, but took a seat even if he was about to say 'no'. Seeing him with his deck made her pull out her own dueling deck, though she left it face down in front of her without bothering to look at it. Maybe it was just a sign that she was a duelist too, so he didn't think she was some stranger creeping on him. "I saw your duel earlier.. Sorry about what happened..." Astrea paused to take a sip from her totally not suspicious looking water bottle, setting it next to her cards. "I'm not any good at Synchro Summoning, or really anything involving the Extra Deck. So I'm pretty amazed people like you make it look so easy."

Yamiyo was constructing his new deck and then he saw a girl pull up to the table she was sitting in. She had asked to sit down and even though she didn't give a chance to Yamiyo to respond:

"Yeah go ahead if you want. I dont care

Yamiyo said that was a dark tone to his voice but he really didn't care if the girl sat next to him as long as she didn't bother him too much. Then the young lady brought up the duel that just ended also saying that she wasn't too good with synchro summoning. Just then Yamiyo put his finished deck into his duel disk and turned to face the young lady

"If you know about synchro summoning, then that means your duelist im assuming?" He asked the girl

"Of course I know something about dueling," Astrea answered, not really snipping at him but was more casual about the situation. She tapped her own face down deck that she set on the table with a single finger before taking another sip from her drink. "I just don't have a need for an Extra Deck with the style that I play. I focus more on... luck, and fate's hand to guide mine." she explained. Which, despite how vague it was, it wasn't a lie. Her deck revolved a great deal around Lady Luck being on her side.

Dueling without the need of the extra deck

There were decks like that but they were very rare indeed. The fact she didn't use an extra deck interested Yamiyo so he got up and decided to declare something

"If you don't know anything about Synchro Summoning, i'll be glad to duel you and show you why im calling the Lightning Assassin" he said to the girl

A duel? In a world ruled by dueling, it wasn't a surprise that the topic would come up eventually. The surprise was the fact that it was still Yamiyo, a Pro League duelist, who was challenging her. Maybe this duel would prove better for him than the one he got from Kaen. Thinking back to the card reading, one phrase of the interpretation came to mind: Perhaps a first kiss (not happening) or some shared activity will give you more insight into your question. Dueling was a shared activity after all so... "Alright then. I accept your duel. Let's see if Lady Luck is on my side today," Astrea answered, grinning for once.

The figure from the arena came just in time to see a duel in it's beginning. He had lost track of the one he wished to speak to, but now he had the pro duelist in his sights along with a girl. It seemed they were about to duel, and if she was on par with a pro level duelist, then she could be worth speaking to as well.

"So then, "Lightning Assassin", how would you like to start this duel of ours? How about we flip a coin."

"Sounds fine with me."

"I just always happen to keep one on me... Let's see... Heads, I'll go first. Tails, you."

At the flip of the coin, with Tails being the result, Yamiyo started the duel by summoning Zephyros the Elite in attack mode, placing one card face down before ending his turn. A simple start to a simple game, yes? Perhaps not. Astrea quickly revealed her own archetype, that being the Arcana Force as she summoned VII - The Chariot in attack position.

"When I summon an Arcana Force monster, I flip a coin to see what the effect will be. Lady Luck, be with me..." And her plea was answered, the flipped coin landing on Heads, which meant she was able to keep her precious monster. She also played Ace of Sword, which ended up biting her in the butt as it landed on tails, and she took damage as if Zephyros just did a direct attack. Moving to her battle phase, she showed quickly why her Chariot was a force to be reckoned with. It quickly took out Zephyros, and then due to Chariot's ability, Zephyros reappeared on her side of the field, dealing direct damage to Yamiyo.

"How does it feel to be hurt by your own monster?" Astrea asked, but to which she received no answer. Yamiyo went straight into his turn, playing on the defensive by summoning a monster in face down defense position and ending. If that's all he would do, then she would answer. She summoned Nova Summoner before attacking once again with her Chariot, destroying his Pinaki the Waxing Moon and stealing it again to her side of the field. Now she could attack with three monsters directly: Nova Summoner, Pinaki, and Zephyros. With one face down of her own, Astrea ended her turn.

Yamiyo's turn had a little bit more into it by using Foolish Burial to send Kris the Crack of Dawn to the grave. Then he summoned another face down monster, and two spell or trap cards before ending in defense position once again. "Well that's something to be worried about.." she mused, referring to the face down cards. But she took her turn nonetheless, activating a face down of her own which was Lucky Chance. It would just let her draw if she called a effect monster coin flip correctly. Next she sacrificed Yamiyo's own Pinaki to summon her Arcana Force VIII - The Strength. She claimed it would be heads, but in face landed on tails. She almost lost her monster but (due to character skill) by paying 500 Life Points, she was able to keep it, and steal Yamiyo's monster once more. And though she was worried about the face down traps that awaited her, Astrea had nothing more to do than to open fire with all of the monsters she had. In the end, none of Yamiyo's traps could aid him, as she took out the remainder of his Life Points...

"Seems that the victory is yours, young lady," Yamiyo answered, to which Astrea was quick to answer: "I believe I'm older than you."

"Oh really. You don't look it." It was a compliment, one that Astrea would take kindly, though she didn't seem to have Yamiyo's attention as he continued to speak: "Seems my deck still doesn't want to respond to me."

Astrea frowned a bit. This fight was supposed to help him... wait, it was? She was doing this because of that bogus card reading she did earlier in her condo, but it seems to have only made things worse. "I'm... sorry. I was trying to help you, and I feel the duel only made it worse... If you'd like, I can do a special card reading for you. Much like how my deck is based on the Arcana, I am fluent in interpreting Tarot and Wisdom cards that might give you some answers."

As the duel came to a close, the mysterious figure came out of the shadows. He showed a duel disk of his own and activated it in front of Yamiyo. A silent challenge was made, one that the pro player did accept. The battle itself raged as a back and forth between the dark Heroes of Destiny, and they equally dark Black Wings. Yamiyo was driven into a corner early as he was facing down two powerful fusion monsters. Destiny Hero Dangerous and Destiny Hero Dystopia. Together, they made quite a dent in the life points of Yamiyo and almost took the duel before he had a chance to do something, but he was able to do something. He was able to Synchro Summon his ace monster, Raikiri, and it proved able to destroy the figure's creatures, only to fall in battle to Dystopia. Yamiyo was eventually able to destroy Dystopia with yet another Synchro monster and soon he was on the offensive. Even with that, his opponent was able to hold on much longer than most ever would against a pro duelist in their stride.

In the end, Yamiyo was able to barely win the battle, destroying Fear Monger, which would have revived a Destiny Hero during the next turn. He would have been able to revive Dystopia and continue the fight from there. It seemed like the figure had control of the match, but he still lost in the end. Was he holding back, or was Yamiyo that strong when he had a chance to fight his best? Only time would tell...

""Just what I thought. You are as strong and as sharp as a pro should be. It's a shame that you were defeated by a card that shouldn't exist earlier on. Clear Wing Synchro Dragon is a card that is only in existence due to the D.E.S. system, and it isn't alone. There are others like it. Myself and my comrades wish to rid the world of the D.E.S. system and restore the natural evolution of dueling as well as the world. I know that your strength will be able to aid us."

The young girl, young to Yamiyo anyway, decided to duel him with no extra deck. That is what made Yamiyo interested in fighting the girl in the beginning. Turns out it was Blackwings against the Arcana Force tribe. The Arcana Force monsters is a deck that relies on coin flipping and controlling the duel at there pace.

The duel was even for both sides but the young girl showed the power of the Arcana Force using there abilities to manipulate the coin flips and steal Yamiyo's destroyed monsters. Yamiyo wasn't in a good position but he was impressed with the play from the young girl duelist. But at the same time he wasn't happy because for the second straight duel, his deck wasn't responding to him to anything he wanted. The Arcana Force duelist overpowered Yamiyo and he fell in defeat yet again.

Why wasn't his Blackwings responding to him?

Yamiyo then gave praise to the girl before then deactivating his duel disk. Then all of a sudden a shadow figure appeared from the shadows. Yamiyo didn't know who this person was, but he watched as the person slowly approached him and activated his duel disk as if he was challenging Yamiyo. Three straight duels and with his blackwings not responding, Yamiyo wasn't sure if he should accept the challenge, but something in the back of his mind told him too so he did. He had no idea what to expect

Turns out the shady figure was using the Heros of Destiny and Justice. Yamiyos Blackwings finally decided to respond and allowed him to synchro summon some of his most powerful monsters. Raikiri and Silverwind. Raikiri was Yamiyo's ace card. He would do anything to prevent the destruction of Raikiri. It was Synchros vs Fusions and the Synchros came out on top as Yamiyo survived all of the tricks the figure had up his sleeve to win the duel.. but then came the interesting part

The figure then talked about Yamiyo's duel with Kaen and how that Clear Wing Synchro dragon was a card that shouldn't exist. The figure then explained that he was part of a team wanting to rid the world of the D.E.S system and offered Yamiyo a chance to help.

Yamiyo didn't know what he was getting himself into, but he wanted to keep challening himself to become a better duelist, so he accepted the offer.

So what was next?

Astrea wasn't exactly happy with how quickly Yamiyo went into the next duel. Would his deck respond to him this time around? It seemed like it was doing anything and everything to stop fighting period, but it turned out better than both her duel and his duel with Kaen. He was able to Synchro Summon some powerful monsters, monsters that Astrea found interesting. She was glad that Yamiyo's deck was finally answering him, especially when this mysterious Fusion Duelist was giving him a run for his money. At the end, when Yamiyo finally claimed victory, this mysterious figure went on about some organization that would better the world through the destruction of the D.E.S... Was that really the right way to go about it?... She didn't have time for a proper reading, deciding to just reach into her bag and draw a card at random. It turned out to be from her Wisdom deck, the same deck she used for a reading that led her to the docks in the first place. The High Priestess of Water... When you draw the symbol of Water, it signifies a time when things in your life are changing shape right before your very eyes. Go with the flow, as these changes are powerful signs of wondrous experiences, lessons, and gifts. Even if you don't understand these changes at the moment, you will later...

So was this a sign that she was supposed to go along with the whole "gang" thing? Astrea frowned, still unsure as to what to do. Either way, she directly wasn't offered the position anyways. So as she watched Yamiyo go off on his own, wishing she could talk to him more, she instead turned to the mysterious duelist with her arms crossed, having put away her Wisdom card. "Does this mean I'm offered the same position as well? This... group of yours seems... interesting... yes, that is a word for it... I'm confused about your talk about Clear Wing Synchro Dragon though. This card, and others, it truly isn't meant to exist?... And stopping the D.E.S. is supposed to resolve this problem?..."

Senju turned to the girl with a raised brow. He had seen the tail end of her duel and she was skilled in her own ways. It would be good to have her on their side. "The offer I made to him, extends to you as well," he began. He seemed to have no intention of hiding anything. His eyes said that much.

"The D.E.S. system altered the fate of mankind. Evolution has been proceeding much faster than nature originally intended. My organization wishes to end the influence the D.E.S. has on things. Doing so would, in turn, set the world back onto the proper path of evolution... A path with far less loss..." He sounded sorrowful as he spoke in the end. He then turned away from her for a moment, only to turn back and said, "I don't want those close to me potentially getting harmed as the D.E.S. escalates."

Astrea stared back at the mystery man's eyes, knowing he spoke nothing but the truth. And the last words he spoke, those about keeping those close to him safe, it was the vow of a man who had resolve in his actions. She thought back to the Wisdom card that she drew earlier. The card told her to follow the flow, and so she shall. She also wanted to talk to Yamiyo again, and if he was part of this organization, then she would have better luck keeping in contact with him if they had something in common other than dueling. "Alright... I'll join this organization. I would like to know more about it, but I guess that will come with time... For now, I'm going to go find Yamiyo again. Should we exchange numbers in the meantime? It'll save trouble later for when I am to be summoned..."

Senju gave a nod and said, "Thank you, and yes, that will be the best way to keep in contact. Yamiyo is easy to contact, but I can give you my card." He handed her what almost looked like a business card. It had his name, Senju Yuugo, as well as the profession of Pro League Duelist. His organization was on it as well, the Guardians. A number was below. "Keep it close in case you have any questions."

Astrea nodded in return, taking a once-over look of the business card before putting it away. So this is in fact the Guardians, the ones rumored about destroying the D.E.S., and the whole reason the Sabres have come into existence... Well, what's done is done. she thought with a silent sigh. "I'll keep a hold of it. We will talk later it seems. I'm going to find Yamiyo for now." With that, the female started to head off into the direction that Yamiyo had gone, hoping she hadn't taken too long. If she lost him now, she wasn't sure if she could find him again on her own.