GX Month Day 21: “Crystal Bond”
Everyone has a special bond with their deck, but arguably no one more so than the Crystal Beast wielder himself, Johan/Jesse Anderson! Show off that colorful bond today.
This was gonna be longer, and require another apology up front, but then my brain took a vaca before getting the actual angsty part so here ya go - pain free! (mostly)
I won...?
The adrenaline of that final combo wears off and he stands in stunned silence as his opponent climbs back to their feet. His ears are ringing. He honestly hadn’t expected to get this far.
“Little King.” Athena’s voice snaps him out of it; he turns to the warrior spirit smiling proudly at him and realizes his ears aren’t ringing- the crow is cheering, screaming someone’s name-
His name, the one he chose before entering this tournament.
Smiling, Jesse throws his hands in the air.
*
Athena walks next to him as Jesse exits the duel arena. He feels wired and giddy, like he could step right off the ground and float through the air. His fairies chatter animatedly, praises and congratulations and reminiscing moments from the duel.
Jesse jerks to stop in the hall. There it is again; that weird...pull, like something is calling out to him. He barely takes a step toward the source when-
“Ah, Jesse-boy! Just the person I was looking for!”
His shoulders hike to his ears with an embarrassing yelp as he spins to face the speaker. ‘Jesse-boy’? Who the heck- Oh. Oh god. Maximillion Pegasus?! “Me?” he squeaks, gawking at the living legend before him.
“Yes, you.” Is it wrong to think the man’s expression looks something like a kid in a candy store? Because it does and it’s kinda weirding Jesse out. “I have something rather special for you, I believe. If you’d come with me.”
Jesse glances at Athena who nods her head. Well, if Athena doesn’t think this is a terrible idea, how bad could it be?
Pegasus leads him down the hallways at a brisk pace, talking animatedly all the while. “A few years ago, I created a new set of cards based on some artifacts from one of my expeditions. But as soon as the cards were complete, they sealed themselves in stone!”
To anyone else, Pegasus would probably sound like a madman; but to Jesse - glancing back at the duel spirit following them - this sounds entirely in the realm of possibility. “Couldn’t you just break it?”
“I tried. I broke one of my best chizzles,” Pegasus says. “And that’s when I heard a voice - ‘You are not the one we seek’. I’m afraid I don’t have you gift,” - Jesse’s shoulders tense as the man turns to smile at him once more - “but I do have some affinity for magic and the spirits.”
“That would make sense,” Jesse says, slowly relaxing. It would be weird if the creator of this game had no idea about its secrets, but Jesse’s never met anyone else who could see duel spirits. “Why are you telling me all this? Why are you here?” Any event where Pegasus makes an appearance will usually announce the man as a guest to the entire crowd.
“A fortunate coincidence! I was in the area from some other business and decided to check out the skill of the locals. I was not disappointed.” Pegasus almost sounds smug. “As for you, Jesse-boy, I tend to keep these cards with me in case I run into the person they seek. Today, a light shone from the cards when you took the field.”
Hold up. Is he saying these ‘special cards’ chose Jesse or something?
“So I want to see if they’ll break their seal for you.” Stopping before an unmarked door, Pegasus unlocks it with a key and pushes it open.
Seven card shaped gemstones sit on display on the single table, forming a rainbow. Jesse’s heart leaps as he realizes this is the source of the feeling he’s been getting all day. Something about their uniform edges strikes him as wrong, but the colors are undeniably familiar.
“Go on,” Athena whispers. “They’ve been waiting for you.”
But why me? Jesse wants to ask except his heart is in his throat and his body reacts before his brain can, reaching out to touch the nearest crystal card. The crystal shell cracks and crumbles under his fingertip, setting off a chain reaction from the other cards as all seven shed their shells in a colorful burst of light.
“Rubii!”
Jesse jerks as the purple cat-like creature leaps toward his face - carbuncle, she’s a carbuncle, his brain supplies - landing on his shoulder to nuzzle his cheek with an odd sounding purr. A pegasus shakes himself like a dog while a large cat stretches her legs before rubbing affectionately against Jesse’s.
“Finally. It’s been too long.”
A tortoise peers curiously out of his shell. A white tiger prowls the room. An eagle flaps his wings before perching on the table. A mammoth trumpets his awakening and Jesse’s hands fly over his ear. He knows all of them, their presence washing over him and settling somewhere deep inside him like it was always supposed to be there but something’s missing.
“This set isn’t complete, I’m afraid.” Jesse spins back toward Pegasus, only just now remembering his presence in the room. “From what information I can gather, there’s an eighth card, a dragon, that can only be summoned by possessing all seven gems. But its soul was sealed in stone and hidden somewhere centuries ago.”
Something inside Jesse aches. Ruby presses herself more firmly against the side of his face. Amethyst growls.
“But I’ve got my best team looking for it, and I won’t rest until that dragon is found!” Pegasus announces with enough enthusiasm to power a whole city block.
“Please remember to sleep,” Sapphire murmurs.
“Ey, if man wants to run himself ragged lookin’ for Rainbow, who are we to stop him?” Cobalt shrugs.
Jesse smiles despite himself. “Thanks, but...remember to sleep.”
Pegasus laughs. “Of course. Now then, I think I’ve taken enough of your time.”
Oh shit! Dad will be wondering where he is! Jesse gathers the Crystal Beast cards and Pegasus hands him the rest of the support for his new deck - weird to think of it that way, he’s been playing pretty much the same deck since he started dueling - and Jesse makes a break down the hall only for watapon to screech at him and headbutt him in the right direction.
“I see that hasn’t changed.” Topaz chuckles.
“Johan.”
Jesse jerks to a halt. Athena doesn’t use his name often, which means this must be important.
“It’s time for me to move on.”
“Move on?”
“My task is done, little King,” Athena says, voice as gentle and firm as it's ever been as Jesse stares up at the spirit that’s been his guidepost for years. What doesn’t she mean ‘move on’? “You have the ones who were always meant to be at your side now.” She nods her head at the new deck box clutched in Jesse’s hands.
His grip tightens automatically. “But-” Athena was his first duel spirit, someone he looked up to from the moment he opened that first pack of cards. He built his whole deck around her! How is he supposed to-
“Now I must find my true place.” She turns to look over he shoulder and Jesse forces himself to follow her line of sight. At the end of the hall next to a cross section, a little girl in pigtails stares at the two of them, eyes wide and mouth partially open, a monster plushie clutched tightly in one arm.
Jesse jerks, looking quickling back at Athena. “Can she see you?”
“Yes.”
Jesse looks back at the girl as his heart swells and clenches in the same instant. The first person he’s ever encountered who can see duel spirits too and Athena is asking him to-
Fingers tight around the deck box that houses the Crystal Beasts, Jesse swiftly swaps it with the one on his belt, hold it close while he steels himself, and approaches the little girl. Crouching in front of her, he holds out the box full of fairies. “Hey, can you hold onto this for me?”
The girl’s eyes widen. She reaches for the deck with tiny hands as if expecting Jesse to yank it back. When he doesn’t, her eyes light up with glee and she spins on her heel to run down the adjacent hall. “Mama, mama!”
A shaky breath. Jesse stands as she disappears with the only deck he’s ever played. So this is it. With a regal bow, Athena turns to follow the girl, and Jesse swipes a stray tear from his cheek. Ruby nuzzles his face.
“I’ll be okay,” he mumbles, automatically reaching to pet the ghostly creature.
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