Yugioh: The Hope of Six

Chapter 52: Arcadia Arc - Part 7

After sitting up, Stephanie looked around, surprised by her surroundings. She then noticed Rin staring at her. "Hey. I remember you. You're one of my most recent customers at work. What's going on? How did I get here?" She then noticed the clothes she was wearing, surprising her even more. "And why the heck am I wearing this outfit?" She asked.

"You don't remember what happened?" Rin asked, confused by Stephanie's question. She shook her head.

"No. The last thing I recall was leaving work after..." 'After feeling so upset.' She finished in her mind. After failing to confess her feelings to Jack Atlas and hearing his friend's advice about improving herself, Stephanie's memory went blank. She then woke up in this place. It was then she finally noticed a certain statue behind Rin. "Wait. Is that the Duel Shrine?" Rin nodded.

"Yeah, it is. You came here to try to destroy it. Or rather..." Rin hesitated a second before saying, "Blizzard tried to." Stephanie gasped, her eyes widened in shock.

"Blizzard?! She was...?!" The poor woman looked down, lips trembling. "Did she... hurt you?" She asked tentatively. Rin narrowed her eyes.

"She tried to kill me actually." The teen told her, making Stephanie cover her mouth in horror. 'So Stephanie knew about Blizzard...' Rin wondered how this came about, but she something more immediate to ask. "I need to know: Can you still feel Blizzard's presence inside you? Is she still there?" She asked. Stephanie seemed uncertain.

"I-I'll check." She said unsteadily. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then let it out. Rin waited patiently.

From some nearby trees, she saw the squad of police officers about to spring out and arrest the Psychic Duelist that came to attack the Duel Shrine. Rin held up a hand and mouthed "Wait". They hesitated, but the guy in charge seem to have gotten the message. He ordered his men to hold off until they they were told otherwise. Rin was grateful for that.

After over a minute, Stephanie opened her eyes and seemed very shocked. "I... I couldn't find Blizzard. I found no trace of her in my subconsciousness. This has never happened before. She's just... disappeared." She said in a stunned voice.

"What about your ice powers?" Rin questioned.

Stephanie then tried to conjure up a little snowball, but nothing happened. She concentrated, but produced no result. "Nothing. My powers... or rather, Blizzard's powers... are gone too. Both Blizzard and my powers have completely vanished." Rin nodded, having expected that answer.

"I think I know why." The teen then showed Stephanie her bracelet. "This is no ordinary piece of jewelry. It has great power inside it that I don't fully understand. It helped me stay warm while I was dueling Blizzard and showed me how to save you. I think that when I defeated her, my bracelet's pure energies erased Blizzard from your being. In other words..."

"She's gone, along with her ice powers." Stephanie finished, hardly believing it. Rin nodded again. There was silence between the young women. Stephanie was the first to break it after a moment. "Rin, I... I am so, so sorry. I can't believe what almost happened to you. I feel so... ashamed." She said remorsefully.

Rin looked sternly at her. "Don't feel that way. Blizzard was the one to blame, not you." The waitress didn't seem convinced. "Listen, Stephanie... please tell me about Blizzard. I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but I need to know. How did she come to exist? And how could she have controlled you?" Rin questioned. Stephanie slowly shook her head.

"Blizzard had been a part of me my whole life. We've been together since I was a child. This was before I came to Neo Domino City. I lived in a small town a long way from here during my childhood. I first spoke to Blizzard after a certain incident...