The Topaz District was hustling and bustling left and right, duelists from head to toe.
"Yikes, when they said Anima was huge and full of duelist, they weren't kidding." Zion murmured to himself, standing in the middle of all the excitement, facing towards the G-Chronus Duel Stadium. "..And I'm guessing that huge dome like building is the Duel Stadium, hosting that tournament I keep hearing about. Something about a 'G-Clock Open' or another?"
Zion played coy, but he knew all about the G-Chronus Duel Stadium, Anima City, G-Chronus Timepieces and most importantly the CEO of G-Chronus Timepieces, Gero Anima himself. Most of what he has heard about the grand Anima City is just tidbits here and there from his travels, yet one conversation between two men at a run down bar in the middle of nowhere really got him interested in Anima City.
Past - Bar in the middle of nowhere
It was a stormy night, rain pouring down as if the skys have declared war with the land. Zion found a run down shack, that was supposed to say "BAR" but in actuality said "BA" because the R signpost hung down, flickering on and off as it struggled to stay alive. It wasn't the greatest looking place, but Zion considered it was better than nothing, and decided to enter, taking a seat at the bar counter, where two other men chatted while a bar attented washed glasses.
"Hey Jack, have you heard about that there Anima City and them there fancy new Duel Disks?" mentioned one of the men in a drunken stupor.
"Why I don't right say I did Phillus" his friend, apparently named Jack, remarked. He lifted his glass to take another sip.
"I tell you what, those clean cut G-Chronies are coming up with all sorts of crazy new inventions. I heard they even make robots!" the man who went by the name of Phillus exclaimed, waving his glass back and forth "And get this, I heard from my cousins friend who lives down there, that the guy running the operation even has his G-Chronies working on making those trading card monsters come to life! Something or another about harvesting crops or one another with those there Duel Disks."
This got Zions attention. "Real monsters? That sounds impossible.." Zion thought to himself, before a little blue spirit tugged at him, his Spirit Partner, 'Time/Shifter Infinity Rookie'. "..Almost impossible, I guess." he reconsidered.
Zion almost thought about going to Amina City to investigate for himself, but he didn't really want to go out of his way to visit a place because of a rumor a drunk guy mentioned. Besides, it wasn't really in his path of travel, so it would just be too much of a bother. However later on in his travels, while working for a small store off on the coasts, Zion heard about the second annual G-Clock Open, which also just so happened to use the new Duel Disks created by the one and only Gero himself. Who would of thought that the second annual G-Clock Open would also be ran BY Gero. This had Zion recall back to the conversation in the bar, and really got him thinking. On one hand, it could just be a casual tournament, held to make the city stand out a bit more. On the other hand, if the rumor proves to be true, they could actually be using those Duel Disks for matters which just don't align with Zions moral standings. Because to Zion, anyone who wants to bring these monsters into real world must be absolutely insane or have some plans that are probably close to criminal intentions, or there is an alien attack on Earth which he hasn't heard about. So Zion decided to take the gamble, and first thing in the morning said his goodbyes as he left for a little trip to Anima City.
This brings us full circle, as Zion stands directly in front of the entrance that is G-Chronus Duel Stadium.
"It's bigger then I imagined." Zion remarks to his little floating Spirit buddy. "Figuring we're here under the assumption that this Gero guy is up to no good, it is probably best if you hide yourself for now, Rookie. It is best if we don't draw too much attention to ourselves."
Infinity Rookie had a sad expression, but decided it was for the best as he vanished back into Zions deck case among all of the other cards.
Zion went through the side entrance, only to be introduced to a huge stadium with chairs everywhere, as well as what seemed to be.. A fight taking place in the stands? He thought that dueling where people are supposed to be sitting isn't the best place to duel, but his attention did a complete 360 as he saw a large dragon that looked a awful lot like Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon, preparing to fire an attack down on a giant wielding a hammer. That said Dragon having a huge attack power of 5,600.
"5,600 attack points! That's.. That's fantastic!" Zion shouted to himself, shuffling his way to get a closer view. He saw the duel was between two red-headed girls, the one about to be blasted was wearing a straw hat, which helped make her stand out at a distance. "How is Straw Hat going to counter this attack, I wonder? Maybe a Half Unbreak, or a Mirror force? Even a Enemy Controller would help in this situation." he considered all of the possibilities of a counter attack the girl had, hoping for a fierce turnabout. Zion managed to get right next to the duel, as he sat in a empty chair among all the other empty chairs, peaking his head from behind the chair in front of him as he sat in excitement and anticipation.