Fubuki felt disgusted by the Khan's actions. To enter with such grandeur was acceptable, but to put people on the spot like that without any warning, then promptly kicking them out? Either the act was staged by the man, or two people were just eliminated before even having a chance to compete. Either way, it wasn't acceptable by any means. But that issue would have to wait. She still had things to accomplish there. That being said, the Khan's next move was... Shocking, to say the least. Favorite monster, he said. It couldn't be. Slowly turning her head towards the gateway, she noticed it. Nekroz of Gungnir. It was there. But how... How did he know? Before she could ask any more questions, the monster walked up to her and bowed politely. "Shall we head to your room then, Ms. Motorei?" it said in perfect Japanese. "Y-yes..." Fubuki said, still unsure of what to think as the two walked out of the banquet hall and to Fubuki's room. There, Fubuki sat down on her bed as the Nekroz of Gungnir quietly presided over her. "Er... Can I ask you a few questions?" Fubuki asked, looking solemnly at the woman clad in armor. "My apologies. I am not able to answer any questions at this time." the monster responded, bowing her head in apology. "Is that so...? Well, I guess it can't be helped." Fubuki responded as she unpacked her luggage and laid down on the bed. Things would only get more difficult from here on out... Joseph ate his food rather quickly as the show began taking mild amusement in the Khan's theatrics. It wasn't exactly something you'd see every day, but then again this was a rather interesting show. Making a fool out of the two duelists, though killed Joseph's appetite on the spot. That just wasn't something you would do. Period. Lookinga t the Khan disdainfully, Joseph perked up when he heard 'meet' and 'favorite monster' in the same sentence. Quickly turning his head, he noticed a dragon glowing a bright ethereal white waiting outside in the hall. "Ah... Wow. Now that... That is impressive." Joseph said before turning to Kenta. "Guess this is where we part ways for now, Kenta. Seeya." he said, giving a quick nod to the Japanese boy before walking over to the Constellarknight Diamond waiting for him. "To my room, then?" Joseph asked brightly. The dragon simply nodded and walked off, Joseph following close behind.

Jack followed his monster quietly to what would be his bedroom for the foreseeable future. Jack was cautious not to utter so much as a single word. The situation, for the time being, was completely out of his hands. Even so, he was reluctant to surrender even the slightest bit of intelligence to his foes. Jack supposed it would have been a simple enough task to figure out what a duelist's favorite card was. All the Khan really needed was access to Industrial Illusions tournament database. That was not a complete answer, however, and Jack was not satisfied. There was no Jack DuBois to find in I.I.'s records. So, then, how could Khan know so much? "Your room, sir" Lily interrupted as they arrived. "Thank you," Jack responded. "You're dismissed." Within the threshold, he found the lights and revealed quite a luxurious setup. A four post bed draped with what appeared to be fine silk commanded the centre of the room. Say what you want to about the man, Khan really knew how to treat his guest. Understanding now what was meant by being customized to fit each duelist’s needs, Jack noticed a small desk and lamp off to the corner of the chamber. This would be his destination. Could The Khan have known his intentions here? It was a terrifying thought, and it certainly seemed to be the case. There would be time to address this later, however. Jack allowed his bag to drop gently at his feet as he himself dropped into the overly cushioned chair. Wasting no time, he opened his backpack and retrieved his laptop. It would be a vital tool in his investigation. The device instantly linked up with the mansions own wi-fi connection, but that would hardly do. Jack could not afford to let his host know what work he was up to, so instead he connected to his own cell phone’s hotspot. Meanwh, he used the phone’s browser to connect to the local internet and searched for some rather suggestive videos involving women and pasture animals. Safe, now, from any prying eyes, the real work could begin. This was not Fubuki’s first tournament, Jack had remembered her saying as much. If that were true, finding a lead on who the girl was should be as simple as logging into the Industrial Illusions database and finding her name. The irony was bitter, as Jack suspected that his rival may have already used a similar tactic, but the exercise should yield results all the same. Jack’s fingers were well practiced at the motions, and he typed information into the required fields quickly. Fubuki… Motorei… search. Loading… Loading… yes, there she was. Interesting, Jack thought, and not exactly what he had expected to find. It appeared that in her earlier duels, Fubuki had required a financial sponsor. Some kind of corporate interest, by the looks of it. This didn’t make much sense to Jack. She did not seem like some kind of corporate pawn, only in it for the money; for personal gain. And she certainly didn’t seem like the type to rely on others to get what she needed. There must be more to it than this.. Conducting a search on the company itself now, he found mentions of a dueling academy and ties to Industrial Illusions. Apparently, Fubuki’s prize winnings had been used to fund the academy. This, at least, began to paint a better picture. She duels so that others might learn, how quaint. Still, though, Jack felt he was missing pieces of the puzzle. No matter, though, he had gathered enough to make his next move. On to other matters then. Leaning over to dig in his bag again, he had noticed something had fallen from it and into the floor as he had brought out his computer. It was a small photograph, meant to be carried in a wallet. The portrait was of a young woman, probably in her twenties. The edges were worn and yellowed, but other than that great care had been taken of it. Gently, Jack picked it up and smiled, beginning to let his thoughts wander to better times. No, no, not now. He could not afford to be lost in his own memories at the moment. The game had to take priority right now. He needed to know more about this Khan fellow. Setting the photograph aside on the desk, he returned his focus to the computer and his work. He had found his angle to approach Fubuki with relative ease. Finding something to use against the Khan would be a much greater challenge.

As Kenta gulped down the last remains of his meal he could feel his stomach being filled to the brim of the delicious food. Sighing in relief, he placed the spoon and fork down along with the bowl he had eaten with. Suddenly there was a loud sound, enough to make him startled. When the host finally made his grand entrance, the boy gazed in both awe and curiosity. However, when he called upon two duelists who were soon dismissed for such a little reason, he had to rethink back his previous words of praise...Certainly not the nicest host...But, given the nature of tournaments in general, being rough must be a requirement. Thankfully, he did do something that for Kenta, seemed rather generous. He would allow the duelists to meet their personal favorite monsters! At first, the boy was confused...But as soon as the monsters started appearing and pairing with their respective owners, he got the picture. Beside the boy was a humanoid tiger covered in both armor and surrounded by a ring of fire had appeared beside him. As if the flames weren't intimidating enough, the beast itself was no joke, arms looking like they're strong enough to lift more than humans, claws that could tear flesh and a feline visage that was adorned with a horned helmet along with a long flowing mane of red hair. It looked down on Kenta with a vicious glare that made him fear for his life, it raised it's claw overhead and the boy thought it was going to attack him...Fortunately, that wasn't the case and the monster simply grabbed him by the hand and gestured Kenta to follow it. Looking back at Joseph who had just bid farewell, he waved back with his free arm while being dragged by the beast. Earnestly listening to Aono's story about the card while gnawing on the fruit, she was a bit startled at the mention of blood and more shocked at the fact that he did those immoral things back then...Guess she was sort of right saying that he was a delinquent... All of a sudden there was a loud sound, enough to make the girl gasp. Then The Khan himself made his grand entrance. It certainly looked pretty, much like the rest of the area. He called on two duelists to fight and as they fiddled and did this and that, the Khan wouldn't take it and essentially kicked them out of the door. Certainly not the most patient of persons, is he? And soon, Miwa realized that in this tournament, it's win or lose. You either win a fight or lose your pride, shuddering at the thought of what might happen when one loses, she tried to regain her nerves and began to inhale and exhale repeatedly to regain her composure. Thankfully, the negativity began to disappear as he asked all of them is they'r ready to meet their favorite monster. What does that mean? Then Miwa could see a whole bunch of different monsters appearing beside the duelists, ranging from some vicious and large dragons, demonic and nightmare-inducing fiends, grotesque and macabre zombies, majestic-looking angels and all other assortments of various monsters. She tried to look everywhere for her own special monster, but to no avail. Suddenly, she could feel someone or something tugging on one of her pigtails, she turned her attention to see... A small, floating and adorable looking princess repeatedly pulling on her hair! It's hair styled into long, golden locks and with a cherry on top too! She was dressed in a gown that reminded Miwa of delicious confections, most especially cake...When the princess finally got her attention, she crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks. "How rude! A princess shouldn't be kept waiting, you know!" It was amazing! Right there floating in front of her was Madolche Puddingcess! Releasing the strands of hair clutched in the hands of the princess, Miwa eagerly asked her all sorts of things, but the princess refused to answer. "Hmph! Your questions will be answered soon, but us princesses need their beauty sleep! Come on, off we go!" The princess said as she floated into the direction of where Miwa's room was. She soon followed suit.

"Hey, blue thing, bite Khan, and lead me back to my room~" Ryo commanded to the dragon-thing that was beside him, with a slight, mischievious smirk, testing the full capabilities of the system. He wondered if the holographic dragon would be able to follow orders like this, or that it is restricted to only a certain set of commands. Folding his arms, he stared at Khan, wondering what would happen next, as he yawned at the chairman of Industrial Illusions~ "And now, out of all the mobs, why is that OP card's considered my 'favorite card', even when I haven't used it yet...?" Ryo frowned under the existence of the Blue-Eyed dragon beside him. He was actually expecting something like a Summoned skull, or worst, a Kuriboh. "Like... I don't even deserve to play that card in the first place~" Ryo hissed, turning back to the assigned room he was in~

The flight to Regno Ricco had gone off without a hitch. In just a few short hours, the private jet the Khan had sent off to transport Lyall had landed. He had slept most of the way there, but he did take a note of the dueling simulator the craft had so he could later be reminded to have some of those installed in his family's jets. Seriously, why hadn't anybody there thought of that yet? Grabbing his belongings and snagging a few sandwiches from a fridge, he exited the jet and made his way down the steps, a sleek black limousine already waiting for him at the bottom. Lyall grinned. "Heh, if there's one thing I can say about the Khan, it's that he knows how to provide for his guests!" Lyall thought it was a bit of a shame he couldn't stand around and admire the city's skyline, but at least he could see the city during the ride. Even from within the vehicle he could see that it lived up to its reputation of a place of splendor, much like the city where he came from. He thought the two cities would've looked similar, but that wasn't the case due to Regno's old styled architecture, which Lyall thought was pretty cool actually. He felt this would certainly be an... interesting trip, and not just because of the Duel Monsters tournament. That definitely was a big reason for his excitement though, he was interested in seeing new duelists and the type of decks they'd bring. The other part came from meeting the Khan himself to talk about some more "professional" dealings, but that was stuff he'd concern himself over at a later time. At the moment he actually did have something to think about, and that was the duel he'd be having as soon as he arrived at the dueling dome. The Khan had been considerate to Lyall's other duties and had moved his duel to a time later in the day. Checking the tournament information on his phone, he saw that his opponent would be some snooty looking guy posing with what seemed to be an Archfiend card. "Makes for a good picture," Lyall said as he pulled out his own deck, "But not a smart move unless you wanted for people to know what you'd be using. Cocky." The limo finally arrived at the tournament's building. The dome looked magnificent, somewhat resembling a colosseum due to the statues of monsters and soldiers carved into the structure, and of course that ancient design many other buildings had here. Lyall left for the dome with only his duel disk and deck as his luggage would be taken to his place of lodging. "Now then, let's get this out of the way!" The opponent was already waiting for him at the dueling stage, but he did not look happy. His eyes narrowed in annoyance as soon as he saw Lyall approach the stage. "I don't know how you did it, but you better have some damn good reason for moving our duel to this hour! I wasn't planning on wasting my time waiting for a duel I'll finish in mere turns!" Lyall raised an eyebrow before crossing his arms and shaking his head. "That's a way to greet your opponent, you're snottier than your profile would let on! Fine then, let me apologize for wasting so much of your precious time by actually making this duel last a few 'mere' turns." Other than a few more retorts, their duel began soon after, with Lyall taking first turn as a result of a holographic coin flip.... ... All details aside, the Duel did indeed last a few mere turns. Lyall arose the unquestioned victor, having lost literally no life points while basically keeping his opponent's field empty with the help of Moth and Girastag, two fearsome fiends that made the Archfiends seem like nothing. "What... how... THAT FAST?!" Lyall chuckled mockingly. "Of course, you said you were tired of being here so I decided to help you out in leaving. See ya later, and... don't feel bad. You were a decent appetizer." With that, Lyall haughtily walked off the stage. It would have been cool to linger around the dome and walk around, but seeing as how everything for today was over for now, there was no point. Now was the time to go to wherever it was he would be staying. ... Lyall was surprised to see his place of lodging would be at the Khan's Hall. He was expecting to stay at a hotel or something but not this. He walked in unnoticed and took an upstairs route, but stopped walking when he heard commotion. It was the grand entrance of the Khan, although Lyall focused more on the other duelists standing there that were completely mesmerized. Their trance was broken by surprise when they witnessed monsters walk in. "Monsters....? Here without.. or are they just costumes? No... they look to real to be costumes, and by the looks on their faces these are monsters they can 'relate' to..." He watched a bit more as the Nekroz of Gungnir and Lily physically interacted with their duelists. From the corner of his eye, Lyall saw two familiar red eyes flash, and turned to look at Evilswarm Kerykeion standing upright with only one of its staffs planted in the ground. "Nice to see you again." Kerykeion nodded before vanishing. Lyall smirked, it seemed there actually would be more to this whole place, trip, and to the Khan himself than he would have expected. He slinked away into the dark hallways afterwards, deciding to meet the duelists at another time.

The Khan finished his feast of a brunch in the study all by himself. Doning a vintage blue coat and under a white button down and white pants, he ran his hand through his messy hair that was a little longer than he usually liked. He looked around wondering where everybody was soon realizing he was in the study eating and now the great hall where he had announced to go that morning. Oh well a brunch in peace wouldn't hurt. Especially since he was sure he would get bombarded by the duelists today. He woke them up with a soft melody and then announced brunch would be held in the hall today as well as that the contestants favorite monsters were allowed to converse with their counterpart freely now. He walked into the hall with a wide grin on his face as he looked over all the duelists devouring french toast, eggs, sausage, rice, etc. Then he walked into the center of the room and stomped his Italian shoe once. The thundering noise ceased all conversation immediately as an eerie silence fell over the grand hall. The massive man took in the view of all the eyes on him and then took a deep breath of satisfaction. "Hello and good morning duelists. Welcome to your first day in Shambala!" He said smiling and turning in a circle to face all the duelists. "Today is a very special day. It was to my understanding that most of you rode in twos correct? Of course it is, that person will be your partner for the day and in case you don't remember what they look like... Your monsters do. You and your partner will be a duo today dueling against another duo for the first round of the tournament! If you were a third wheel? Ask your monster. The duo you will be dueling against can be found by looking at any of the holograms around the hall." He said winking. "Hope you all enjoyed brunch if you need me I will be either around or in the casino room! Happy dueling." He said with a sly tone to his voice. He then walked out of the hall and down the hallway and around the corner towards the casino room.

Although he had had a bit of trouble falling asleep on account of having slept during his flight, rest had been peaceful and more energizing than his nap when he finally did manage to doze off. Now, Lyall was ready for his first true day here in the Khan's city and more than ready to meet the other duelists lodging here. There was still the matter of speaking with the host himself though, after all, he hadn't just come to Regno for the purpose of leisure alone... "I don't think it'd look good to just waltz up to the man and demand to talk business... no, it's likely a better idea to make myself known through a few duels first, especially if the Khan is capable of doing what I think he's doing..." He instinctively cracked his knuckles and rubbed the back of his left hand before looking down at the crest of the Swarm. It just looked like a tattoo at the moment, not a hint of a glow to tip him off to any mysterious powers in the area. However, Kerykeion's presence last night said otherwise in that regard, especially since Lyall hadn't called upon the monster. Oh yeah, and there was also the matter of the OTHER monsters wandering the Halls with their respective duelists. "Something to be looked into later," Lyall sighed, "One thing at a time for now." Lyall exited his room and headed for the Great Hall after he had brushed his teeth, showered, and gotten dressed. He made sure to have his duel disk on him too. It was of a custom design, appearing as a slightly bulky forearm "bracelet" until it was activated for a duel. The color scheme was made to mimic the armor of one of his Steelswarms, Girastag, being a metallic, dark charcoal color with some red and orange markings here and there. Now at the Great Hall, he paused to observe the scenery. "...Wow..." Wow indeed. It might as well have been the dining hall of some Egyptian Pharaoh, and the food laid out for breakfast... Ooooooh yeah, rulers could definitely feast on this stuff judging by utterly delicious it looked. He didn't realize how hungry was until then, but when he did, he immediately headed over to grab a plate and load it with food. Lyall then sat down at a solitary table next to one of the Great Hall's pillars, observing the other duelists go about their breakfast. They seemed like a decently skilled lot much to his pleasing, and by the look and talk about them... they were looking for tag partners as per the Khan's request. Had he missed the man AGAIN? Ugh, what a fail on his part, he should really learn not to take so long preparing in the mornings... A flash of red in beside him diverted his attention from the others yet again. It was Kerykeion again, and both nodded to each other in acknowledgment. The monster hadn't been saying much lately... well, not that it usually said much, but he could tell it was agitated, no doubt as a result from being brought into this realm by some external power. It vanished momentarily before appearing by his side to look at the other duelists. Lyall decided he would wait for somebody to approach him, as was his custom for things like these considering he himself was never really one to form matchups...

Jack hadn't slept. Frankly, there was no need to. He had been far to busy trying to find even a scrap of information on his host, but to no avail. The man was a ghost, as they say. No matter. Jack would not be deterred so easily. As the sun began to rise over the horizon, Jack heard the sound of music. It was a gentle tune, almost comforting even, but it would have been loud enough to have roused him from a deep slumber. "It must be time for breakfast," he thought. Wandering aimlessly through the halls of Shambala, Jack eventually ended up in the same entrance hall where the Khan had made his first appearance. It seemed he had arrived just in time to hear The Khans plans for the day. So the first round was to be a cooperative effort? Jack had to admit, it saved him some time. He did not have to go and search out Fubuki, now she would come to him. Still, though, the whole situation was discomforting. What if the ride in the limo was no coincidence? Jack thought. But even if they were all playing directly into the Khan's hand, what did any of it mean? What could the mysterious brute of a man hope to achieve? The event was not just an ordinary tournament, that much was clear. But what, in fact was it? Jack's deliberation was interrupted by the arrival of his Injection Fairy Lily. "Shall I introduce you to your partner, Mr. Jack?" she asked with far more pep than Jack could stomach. "That will be unnecessary, Lily." he replied. "I believe we've already met." "I should think you're correct, sir." Lily beamed. "We'll meet up with Miss Motorei soon enough. First, I have some questions to ask you." "Of course!" Lily exclaimed, "Anything you need!" "Yes, yes, quiet down." Jack shushed her. "I need to know if you can show me a map of the palace. Floor plans, an architects sketch, anything like that." "Well.." She hesitated, "There is a directory near the main enterence..." Jack cut her off, "The directory is no good. I need to see something more detailed." "Well, sir, I don't have anything like that." she answered in a sad tone that apologized for the failure on its own. "That's quite alright, Lily." Jack said. It wasn't a huge loss, it wasn't really even surprising. He simply wanted to push the limits of her usefulness, and clearly that limit had been met. "But I can take you to someone who does!" She cried excitedly. Jack raised his eyebrows in surprise. Interesting, Jack thought, perhaps I've judged this monster too soon. "That would be wonderful, let's go."

Emily had just awoken from a night of sleep, and had put on her clothes, as Vampire Vamp entered the room. "Miss, lets go eat a bit.. a young lady like you should eat well!" She said, as Vampire Vamp closed the coffin Emily had slept in tonight. "Well.. I guess you are right, lets go." Emily said, as she started following Vampire Vamp. "So that boy in the limousine was quite boring, and then you have that idiot Jack... Lets see what more there is around..." She thought to herself, as she sat down, having another glass of "Red Wine" as breakfast. As she heard the Khan speak, Emily sighted. "I hope i don't have to tag together with that idiot.." She thought, thinking about the guy who sat with her in the limo. "You know what Vampire Vamp.. I will finish my drink now, make sure my partner comes here." She ordered to her Vampire Vamp. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aono was already wake, as he didn't really sleep much, and was listening to Combichrist on his headphones, as he heard loud screaming from outside of his door. Aono sighted, as he put his music off, and he opened the door, realizing his Void Ogre Dragon was standing outside his room. "Master, follow me to lunch! I have shouted your name over 20 times now!" The Void Ogre Dragon stated, looking a bit tired. "Ah... that explains those background screams in my music.." Aono said, laughing to himself a bit, as he followed his Void Ogre Dragon, sitting down at a table, relaxing for a bit. As he heard the speech by the Khan, he looked around. "What is her name again... Miwa? I hope i get to tag together with her.." He thought to himself, looking around a bit, not seeing Miwa. "Just so you know, im not tagging up with that idiot." He stated to his Void Ogre Dragon, who started to laugh.

When he got to the room, the first thing Kenta did was plop himself down on the bed and stretched. The pillows were certainly comfy, the boy didn't bother resisting the urge to lull himself into sleeping. The day had been eventful, hopefully tomorrow it would be just as fruitful. The boy gave one big yawn before closing his eyes, drifting into slumber. When morning came to, the boy was still in his bed, now a mess from him moving all about in his sleep. He could hear a faint rumbling sounds nearby, was his stomach already hungry? He ignored the sound and tried to go back to sleep, unaware of his surroundings and only caring about the plush comfort of the bed, he could hear the faint sound getting louder and sounding more like a growl, Kenta could've sworn he heard something... "...ke ..p!" the disembodied voice said, in return the boy demanded five more minutes before closing his eyes once more. When the sounds stopped, he murmured small words of thanks and drifted into slumber once more. Then all of a sudden... "I SAID WAKE UP!!" roared Laquari with anger seething throughout his face. His voice boomed so loud that it practically made Kenta jump out of the bed while screaming like a little girl. Slowly getting up on his feet, Kenta hoped that his monster's little stunt wasn't heard anywhere else...Now he was face to face with the tiger-man, who was leering him from eye to eye. Laquari just scoffed, "This is who is going to lead me into battle? Pathetic." The words of belittlement pierced Kenta hard. Ouch, who knew these monsters had their own distinct personalities? "Whatever. Lunch is ready, there's no good in a leader that's dead. So get your butt movin'." Kenta grumbled at the harsh tone of his monster, if one is this bad what would happen if the others were here? Shaking his head, he and Laquari headed off to the hall. When he got there, the Khan had said that in this tournament they are going to be in pairs. Kenta sat in an available chair as he listened inquisitively. Who would be his partner? Are they going to draw raffles? Will it be randomized? Or is it going to be the person next to him? Then, the Khan said that it was...The person they sat in the limousine with. Kenta's face perked up at the thought, it would seem that he and Joseph are going to be a pair for this tournament. He gave a sigh of relief, thank goodness he isn't going to be fighting him. "Tch. He better have something good other than that pretty face of his, smiles ain't worth a damn in battle." Laquari said, as he crossed his arms. Kenta soon began to search for Joseph, eager to get started in dueling alongside him. As the sun shone with a radiance that made Miwa chipper, she merrily walked to the hall, Madolche Puddingcess following suit. "You're awfully happy today, Mistress." inquired the princess with a puzzled look on her face. Miwa just gave a light smile and said "W-Well, it's because the tournament is starting! S-Sometimes I get excited when it comes to dueling! It's one of the things I'm good at..." the girl said as she entered the hall. She woke up early beforehand, it was a thing she was used to. The hours prior were nothing extraordinary, just the girl eating breakfast and placing her belongings in the room she would be using for the duration of her stay, it was like a family trip. Minus the family part. Miwa sat down on a chair as the Khan explained what would happen in the near future. Apparently, they are going to be dueling in pairs! And their partner was to be the one they were with in the limousine. The girl and her princess were taken aback, she had to choose between either Moros or Aono...She couldn't do that, after all, both seemed rather fine, young gentlemen...Even if she did have her doubts with Aono, and all of the bad things he did back then..."Don't even think about that, Mistress! I refuse to ally with...with...A ruffian of his caliber!" Puddingcess with a pout on her face, obviously someone with a regal nature such as herself wouldn't dare dream of pairing with an uncouth man. The girl frowned a little and looked her in the eye. "Don't be like that, besides...I...I'm sure he said that it was all in the past, he seemed gentle enough, let's go find him." The princess grumbled "But..." repeatedly before Miwa told her to stop complaining, with a sigh from the princess, the two ran off in hopes of finding Aono.

"My lord, our presence is required," Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En said to Alexander. Alexander woke up at the sound of his voice, then said, "Alright then. Shi En, go wait outside while I get changed." Shi En complied, and Alexander quickly changed into his standard attire, then proceeded to do other tasks that came with waking up, mainly brushing his teeth, washing his face, yadda yadda. Grabbing his Duel Disk on the way out, he opened the door to his room and said, "Alright Shi En, lead the way." When he stepped outside, he was not disappointed at all. If anything, he was fascinated by the glorious-looking food on the table. The Khan may have seemed odd, but at least he knew how to eat. As he gathered some of his favorites, as well as others that just looked delicious, the Khan appeared and told everyone that they would be performing tag duels. Well, that would certainly prove interesting. Alexander wondered who his partner would be, until the Khan mentioned that the one who he rode in the limo with would be his partner. Alexander guessed that left him with either the eyepatch boy or the mysterious girl. He took a bite out of a croissant and said, "Shi En, please direct me to my partner." Shi En bowed, then did as he commanded, with Alexander in tow. When he would meet Ryo again, Alexander would give a friendly wave while still probably eating his breakfast. Michelle was woken up by a ringing alarm bell. She was still groggy, and fumbled around to turn off the sound before finally doing it. She then looked around to see where she was and spotted a figure next to her bed. She was startled, then realized that it was the hologram of Destiny HERO - Plasma. Fully awake now, she remembered that she was at the tournament. She started to get changed, but then got embarrassed at Plasma watching her, even if he was just a hologram, and went into the bathroom with her change of clothes as well as whatever else she needed. Minutes later, she was ready to go out. Plasma walked out of the room and gestured for Michelle to follow. As they walked over to where they needed to go, Michelle marveled at the sight of all the food, which some people already seemed to be enjoying. Her mouth slightly watering, she grabbed a plate and started taking a few items for her breakfast. Then there was the explanation that they would be Dueling in tag duels. Michelle was worried, seeing as she rode alone and knew no one, and the explanation to "ask your monster" did not help much. She looked at Plasma and said, "Um, Plasma... please bring me to my partner." Naturally, Plasma obliged, moving through a path that would bring her to whoever she was to meet.

Moros woke up to the slightly eerie feeling of someone staring at him, he turned over in his bed to see The King staring at him with those soul-less eyes. Moros grinned, "Thanks for the wake up call king." He said and cheerfully got up and quickly changed. The king watched him, silently grinning his skull smile. Moros eagerly opened the door to the hall and gestured, "Come my king, I bet we'll have a feast worthy of you." As he guessed the feast was impressive, and Moros quickly filled himself. Apparently they were supposed to find someone and tag team duel with someone. Well Moros was a 3rd wheel so he turned to face his King, "Lead on." he said simply and the king weaved a path through the crowds and stopped next to a blood drinking vampire. Moros poked the vampire curiously, "Oh you're real," he said surprised, she looked like one of the monsters milling around. He looked at King and the monster nodded towards the vampire, "You want me to team up with her? Okay, wanna be friends vampire lady?" Moros asked curious to hear her talk, maybe she sounded like a vampire as well, he still wasn't quite sure she wasn't just a really good hologram.

Emily was drinking her "wine", as somebody poked her, hearing him say "Oh you're real." "Ofcourse I am real.. What do you think I am, some kind of monster?" She thought to himself, still ignoring the guy. In the blink of a eye, Emily stood behind Moros. "If you consider your life precious... you better stand still, as you are my next victim." She said with a dark voice, trying her best to sound like a stereotypical dark vampire. She opened her mouth, and as she is about to bite Moros's neck, she suddenly bursts out in laughter, appearing in front of Moros again, offering her hand for a handshake. "Nah, I'm just fooling around with you.. " She said, as her facial expression changed to a more nice one, with a calm voice like she usually uses. "The name is Emily. Emily Bloodriver. And yeah, lets be friends..." She said, as she looked at the Undead king standing next to Moros. "Thats quite the interesting monster you got there... It reminds me of some of my monsters.." She said, inspecting the King. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aono was sitting there for a moment, waiting and waiting for somebody to ask him to be his/her partner. "Nobody seems to be coming.." Aono thought to himself, while looking around. "You know... Miwa isn't exactly your type.." The Void Ogre Dragon whispered into Aono's ear. Aono stood up, and looked Void Ogre Dragon straight into the eye. "What do you know? You're just some huge ass dragon... What do you know about woman!" He shouted, keeping his focus on Void Ogre Dragon. "And I still have more luck with the ladies than you... we both know that." Void Ogre Dragon said to Aono, as he started to laugh. "Damnit you stupid dragon... Don't mess around with me!" Aono shouted, as he turned around. "You know what... I'll just search her myself then... Stupid dragon." He said, as he started to look around for Miwa. "Lets hope that loser doesn't find her first..." He thought to himself, making his way through the crowd still sitting at their tables. "I wonder what kind of deck somebody like her runs.." He thought to himself, as he continued making his way through the halls.

Fubuki stretched as she woke up, glancing to her side as she did so. She was still there. The Nekroz of Gungnir. It wasn't a lie in the first place. The monster was sleeping there, leaning against the wall like a bodyguard would. The armor made of the original Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier glistened in the light of the room, even though the Sun was only beginning to rise. They even got that down, huh? As Fubuki silently moved from her bed and changed her clothes, the monster slowly woke up and, as if recognizing a major error, bowed in apology. Fubuki waved it off; after all, it wouldn't do to have someone feel so subordinate to her. It felt too strange for her to go along with. Changing into her regular outfit from the clothes she slept in, Fubuki and Gungnir quickly walked to the dining hall. Luckily, not many people were awake, so she was free to eat her meal in silence. Eggs, rice, and soy sauce. Simple, but she didn't want to look too greedy shoving her face with all of this heavy American cuisine. More and more people showed up as time went on. Fubuki went largely ignored, and instead spent most of her time building a different deck. There was probably a different deck that might work better for her when she wasn't using Nekroz, but figuring that out was proving to be... Troublesome. Then the Khan's announcement came. Well, it didn't matter much- she was already there, doing her own thing off to the side. When he arrived and came on stage, her expression changed to one of slight distaste. So she'd have to work with him... Well, at least she had the ability to converse freely with Gungnir now. Fubuki turned to the monster, who seemed like she just had a giant load taken off her shoulders, before speaking. "Given your history in the Duel Terminal lore... Is it alright if I just call you 'Emi' for now?" she asked, not wanting to have to call her 'Gungnir' or some variation thereof all the time. The monster replied with a bitter smile. "I haven't heard that name in ages... It's fine. Do you need help finding your partner?" Emi asked earnestly, to which Fubuki shook her head no. "I've found him already. He gives off this unmistakable sense of uneasiness, even with all of these people here." she sighed. "By the way, do you know who Misaki Motorei is?" Emi was silent for a few seconds before responding. "Your mother. She was responsible for the development of the M-Tree, wasn't she?" So she knew. It had taken her ages to find that information out, but this hologram knew. There was definitely something afoot. But that could wait- for now, she had to continue along for the tournament. Walking over to Jack and Lily as they were about to leave, Fubuki casually grabbed Jack's shoulder. "You're not going to research on your own, right?" she asked slowly, a sharp edge to her voice. Joseph yawned as he work up. His room was still dark, only illuminated by the presence of Constellarknight Diamond. Well, he had closed the shades and whatnot, so waking up to that would probably be expected. Hopping out of bed, Joseph cracked his shoulders and looked confidently at Diamond. "Hey. Know what time it is?" he asked casually before beginning to change. "...10 AM." the monster responded. Joseph's eyes widened in shock. 10? His parents would kill him if he ever slept in that late, even on a weekend. No, ESPECIALLY on a weekend. Scrambling to finish changing clothes, Joseph remembered a few seconds later that he was in Regno Ricco for a tournament. Right. His fear was definitely unneeded. "Any news from our host?" "Meeting in the banquet hall for brunch. Attendance highly recommended." Well, it's not like he wasn't planning to head there anyhow. Opening the shades and taking in the late morning sunlight, Joseph grabbed his Duel Disk and deck and followed Diamond to the hall. When they arrived, the place was already bustling. Choosing to grab a bowl of chowder and a small panini for his meal, Joseph took a seat. Almost as if on cue, the Khan burst in with his usual grandeur and announced the day's events. A Tag Duel? With Kenta? Huh. This was interesting. Noticing Kenta excitedly searching around (probably for him), Joseph waved to the boy and his monster as he continued eating. Today was gonna be fun.

Jack used the momentum of his stride to spin around gracefully on his heel to face his captor. "Ah, Fubuki, good morning to you. Heard the big news have you? I was actually looking for the men's room, but I suppose I have time to chat." Jack spoke quickly and cheerfully, but it was a mask he knew Fubuki would see,through. Come along, she would read through the lines. We have something important to discuss.

Emily was drinking her "wine", as somebody poked her, hearing him say "Oh you're real." "Ofcourse I am real.. What do you think I am, some kind of monster?" She thought to himself, still ignoring the guy. In the blink of a eye, Emily stood behind Moros. "If you consider your life precious... you better stand still, as you are my next victim." She said with a dark voice, trying her best to sound like a stereotypical dark vampire. She opened her mouth, and as she is about to bite Moros's neck, she suddenly bursts out in laughter, appearing in front of Moros again, offering her hand for a handshake. "Nah, I'm just fooling around with you.. " She said, as her facial expression changed to a more nice one, with a calm voice like she usually uses. "The name is Emily. Emily Bloodriver. And yeah, lets be friends..." She said, as she looked at the Undead king standing next to Moros. "Thats quite the interesting monster you got there... It reminds me of some of my monsters.." She said, inspecting the King.

Moros blinked puzzledly as the vampire lady suddenly vanished and then he heard her talking behind him, he turned to see her jaws coming towards his neck until she suddenly stopped and told him she was joking. Moros gave a disappointed mental sigh, being a vampire would've been really cool. However his outward smile remained unperturbed and he shook the pro-offered hand replying, "Sweet we're gonna be great friends, my name is Moros, the Greek god of Doom. Funny isn't it." he said delighted once again at the irony of his name, he still wasn't convinced that she wasn't a vampire with that pale skin and a last name like Bloodriver. Then she examined his King and Moros felt a little proud, "This royal robed skeleton is The King of Skull Servants, he seems weak at first, but that's because he relies on the power of his friends to make him strong. Anyway if we're a tag team them we need to find another team to duel." he finished looking around curiously, from what he could see poeple were still milling around attempting to form teams of their own.

Fubuki glanced around at the pairs of Duelists floating around and sighed before releasing Jack's shoulder. It would probably dredge up suspicion if they stayed around discussing things like this in the middle of the crowded hall, so it made sense to make a move to go elsewhere. "...If you're headed there, then fine. But I'd rather not be attacked while alone, so I'll be tagging along. Of course, I'm sure you wouldn't mind, right?" she asked coolly as she waited for Jack to move. If they could dodge their initial Duels while everyone else was caught up and start prying into the depths of the mansion... Emi stood by Fubuki, looking at her with a concerned expression. She could understand her master's reasoning and motivation, but at the same time it felt... Conflicting. Though she could intervene, it felt as if there was something holding her back- something making sure that these two reached their destination. But why?

It had been a long trip filled with long and lonely rides from random strangers and one particularly annoying ride in the back of a farmer’s truck, but the first rays of morning were finally shining on Regno Ricco particularly the Khan’s palace. The morning breeze played with Aedan’s blonde locks as he eyed the massive front doors of the palace and for a moment he thought back to home and the massive social divide that existed and how much that infuriated him but if he was to play this game with these people he was going to have to do whatever it took to survive. As he pulled the strap of his worn bag back over his shoulder he took in a deep breath and gave the doors a big push and waited as they opened wide for him. The commotion that was inside before he opened the door was brought to a halt when the sun reveled him to those inside; his short blonde hair spiked in the front, his strong lean frame covered by a dirty muscle shirt and thick work pants suitable for hard labor jobs and thick welders gloves on both hands. Walking past everyone in the grand hall, ignoring the not-so-silent whispers of those he ignored, Aedan walked towards the hallway which would lead to his room. As he past numerous upon numerous rooms that were taken until he came across one that there was no mistaking was meant for him. As he stepped inside the machines around the room groaned to life and the fires under the molten containers flickered to life and their heat began to rise higher and higher until it became sweltering hot. It was like he was home. As he casually dodged sparks from welding machines Aedan threw his modest duffle down on a slab of concrete with a modest mattress and pillow and began digging through it to find his deck and duel disk and prepared himself to go out and deal with the other competitors of this tournament. As he stared at the worn and beaten duel disk and stared at the deck in a box made of duct tape everything came flooding back of everything that brought him to this point. Taking a deep breath, deciding to dismiss his thoughts at the moment, he placed his deck into the homemade duel disk and walked back towards the hall where he assumed that everyone would still be waiting. As he quietly walked back into the room Aedan found an empty place against the wall and propped up against it, taking a moment to read his opponents in this game.

"I don't mind at all," Jack replied calmly as he grasped her wrist firmly, but with care. "Stay close to me, we need to get through this crowd." Coordinating his movements with hers, now, Jack weaved his way through the mob of duelist in the hall and towards a set of heavy doors at the far end. It took mere moments before they had passed the majority of their counterparts, and Jack felt comfortable speaking candidly. "You're probably wondering what we're up to," he said as they walked through those doors and entered another part of the palace. "I have a hunch that we need to follow up on. Things have developed quicker than I anticipated, and I need to know what we're up against with certainty." Jack eyed their Duel Monster companions with suspicion. "Tell me, Fubuki," Jack asked, "Do you trust me?"

Fubuki maneuvered through the crowd of Duelists, keeping pace with Jack as he kept moving. It felt like he was dragging her at times, but given the situation it couldn't be helped. As the crowd thinned, Fubuki breathed a sigh of relief. Seemed like the worst was over... For now. Jack's statements and question caught her off guard, though. Did she trust him? Well, the man did have his share of secrets, but at this point it was probably safe to say he was a safe enough person to be around. She wasn't naive enough to blindly trust a person, but if she could give her more leads... "I trust you enough to understand my goals as I will yours. At this point, I'm with you for however long it takes to bring the truth to light. The more information, the better." she stated to Jack before turning to the set of doors. Ominous was the only work she could use to describe it. "That should be good enough, right?"