Hello there! I know that it's a little strange for me to put the author note at the start of the chapter, but there is some important/vital information that I want to share with you guys.
First, due to the way how his story is constructed, it's going to initially assume you know things that you can't possibly know. These will be further explained and elaborated on at a later point in the story.
Secondary, this is going to be a pretty dark story, so I might change the rating to 'M'. Some of the tehemes that are going to be explored in this story are going to be pretty creepy and twisted so you are warned. I also plan to have a more Slice-of-life feel to this story, so for the most part, it won't be an action filled story, but I'm going to try and include at least one duel in every chapter.
Third, the reason why I choose to publish this under the Arc-V/VRAINS crossover tab is because this story is going to use elements from both animes. For instant, this story is following the Master Rule 4 layout for duels and there are going to be, in fact, Action Duels are a later point in the story (as well as Speed Duels). Keep in mind that I'm not completely sure if this excuses putting the story in this tab, so I might have to change that at a later point.
Fourth, this story was, for the most part, written for my own enjoyment and it isn't a serious project that I spent weeks or months working on. The main point of Tales of Light and Darkness are to exploit stories and concepts that I wouldn't be able to use in my main projects. You are going to see fan-made rules and mechanics (Not summoning mechanics) connected to the trading game along with many other things. By that logic, it acts more like an idea dumpster than anything else. I can't say if there is going to be a coherent plot with this story, so no promises there.
Fifth and last, since this story uses characters from my other projects, I want to state right here that the versions of the characters you see here aren't the same as the original ones. Their backstories and appearance might differ from the originals and for the sake of this story, their ages were changed as well. Here are the characters' ages in this story:
Evan Greyson (16)
Avice Greyson (13)
Elizabeth Greyson (16)
Roxanna Petit (13)
Oni Hakuryù (10)
Vermilya Hayashi (15)
Levant (16)
Takuma Kita (16)
So, with all of this out of the way, the first chapter is going to be a little of a plot and backstory dump, but there IS a duel near the end, so... Good luck until then.
"Third Squad, report!" A security officer shouted at his radio.
"Squad Five has eyes on the suspect in district Seven A!" another officer joined in.
"Send nearby squads to block the district, make sure no one gets away!" Captain Denver ordered them. "Also call a car to come and take me, I want to personally arrest that scum!"
"Already done sir!" The second officer replied and gestured toward the stairs that leaded out of the watch tower on which they were stationed.
Captain Denver nodded and headed down the stairs, the dazzling lights of the police car's sirens flashing through the darkness of the night, just like a lighthouse that illuminated a sailor's way to safety. Given the things that he had to see in the last few weeks that might not be an exaggeration.
Denver stepped inside and closed the door before ordering the other officer to driver off with a single hand gesture. As the car passed through the empty death streets, the captain looked out of the window, his mind drifting out in thoughts while his eyes stared at the dark shadows of the huge factories of Valt Evernon. It made him wonder why he accepted to be stationed in that cursed collection of half collapsed buildings and metallic factories. Not as much of a town as a place for the most desperate people to come and earn some minimal wage in hopes that one day they would be able to raise in positions and get a better job or be moved to work in one of the bigger town.
But Denver had always known that there was something strange about Valt Evernon, something… evil. This place, the huge black clouds that concealed the sun during the daytime and the unbearable smell that filled the air had a strange way to destroy any and all hope of their inhabitants, transforming them either into empty shells forsaken to only work surrounded by the poisonous gasses of the giant factories until the day their tormented souls are given a final rest, or the most twisted of criminals, true monsters with no remorse of sympathy.
"Is something of matter?" The officer's words' caught Denver's attention and returned his mind back to the present. He looked back at the driver and shook his head.
"No, I just thought… They slipped away from us for so long, it's good that we are finally going to catch them." Denver said and looked forward. Familiar blue and red lights came into view not too far ahead with a helicopter flying over the streets, illuminating the empty buildings and walkways.
The car came to a stop and Denver stepped outside, immediately being greeted by a group of officers that stood next to their cars, which were parked sideway next to the multiple Gate Blockers that they used to, well, block the street. He walked toward them and looked over at the buildings illuminated by the helicopter that flew above him. Broken windows, a streetlight that collapsed backward onto the wall of a long abandoned shop. These ghostly sights were nothing new for anyone who had spent more than two days in Valt Evernon, many of the workers and even Security preferred emptiness in comparison to the drug addicts and murders that viewed this abandoned by God place as a safe haven.
"Suspect is on the run on the subways in area Q-STAH-Seven-One-Three!" Denver's expression hardened after hearing the radio's announcement. The nearest exit from the subway that the suspect could try to escape through would be through this exact street.
"Everyone in position!" Denver ordered his men. In just a moment, everyone moved one, some pulled out their guns while the rest pulled out their Duel Disks and summoned either an Assault Dog, Doppelwarrior or whatever these new security decks had inside of them.
It didn't matter, really. They were trained in using them and so far, arresting criminals through dueling ended up being easier than with guns, thanks to the Real Solid Vision of course. But despite all of that, that threat which Security had trouble catching for a few weeks proved that the dueling taught in the Academia wasn't always enough. And they did it in the worst possible way. No one could say what or how it happened, but many officers were already filling the beds in the central, all of which had fallen in some sort of coma.
"It's coming back! Look out! Look ou-! Hhyyyaaaaa!" An eye piercing scream came from the radios causing every Security officer in radios to grab their ears in pain while the street before their blockade suddenly collapsed. Denver recovered before any of his colleague and pulled out his gun, aiming it at the rather impressive hole, ready to shot if the thing that came out of there was hostile. He had no idea how right he was.
Raising itself with a powerful roar, Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord flew above the Security's barricade and fired a fireball at one of the Gate Blockers, obliterating it along with the car that was parked behind in, causing a chain reaction of explosions that threw Security's positions in complete disarray. Officers caught in the explosions were lying on the ground, screaming in agony, some went to help the injured while others could just stare at the dark dragon that stood before them. Only Devent was able to keep a clear mind through that nightmare. He put his gun away, knowing full well that something like that could do no damage to a being summoned with Real Solid Vision. He pulled out his Duel Disk and prepared to face it.
"You are surrounded! Come out with your arms where we can see them!" More security officers showed from the sides, some aiming their guns at the hole where the one that called for the dragon must be hiding, while others quickly summoned their own monsters, Goyo Predators, Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird and other creatures that were too much to name all came in to surround the rogue beast.
Denver breathed in slight relief, with reinforcements already there, he leaned back and put a hand over his chest. It was over. Or so he wanted to believe, despite all of the noise and voices, he could make out the faint sound of a motorbike that was becoming louder and louder with each passing moment. And then… More screams followed by a distinctive purple flame that engulfed those unfortunate enough to stay in the raider's path for too long. Passing between the remaining security officers like a flash, a rather old-looking motorbike jumped over the barrier and landed on the other side with Dragonecro Nethersoul Dragon following behind the rider whose features were hidden by an all-black outfit and a helmet.
"Another one…" Denver gritted his teeth and turned toward his remaining men. "Don't let them escape!"
Just for the tame it took Denver to give these orders, another person wearing a black cloak climbed from the hole and sat on the back of the motorbike which then turned around and drove straight toward the Captain himself. The two dragons raised their heads and fired their attacks, destroying more cars. Denver gritted his teeth and jumped out of the way before the biker could hit him. He pulled out his gun once again and immediately turned back to shot, but the only thing that came in sight was the darkness of the night. There was no sight of the attackers, as if they were engulfed into the shadows.
"Damn it!" Denver cursed and slammed his fist into the ground. Another failed operation, another group of his men to be hospitalized and another night in which these… These monsters would roam freely through Valt Evernon.
As the remaining officers ran to help their comrades, the captain was able to get a clear view of one that was hit by Dragonecro's flames. He looked death, there were no wounds on his body, but the lifeless eyes, sickly pale complexion and motionless said else, the only thing that different him from a corpse was the faint raising and falling of his chest. Denver raised his eyes and looked at the dark abyss that was the night sky, million thoughts racing through his mind. Who were these people? Why were they doing this? What went wrong with this operation? But far more importantly than that…
Was there anything that could stop that madness?
"So, where was the send-off party going to be?" a girl in the company of her two friends asked the one that was still seated onto his school desk.
The girl had long, untied red hair with blue highlights on the back and a pair of purple eyes. Her attire consisted of a closed grey hoodie with the number '61' written on the back, black sweatpants and blue converse sneakers. Her name was Vermilya.
Standing at her right was a boy named Draco. His hair was dual-colored, red at the front and orange at the back, pointing upward like flames, somewhat matching with his orange eyes. The boy's outfit consistent of a red shirt with a black unbuttoned vest over it, blue pants and red shoes.
At Vermilya's left side stood Levant, a rather tall sixteen years old with light grey hair that laid flat and had greenish-blue highlights at the front. His eyes were greenish-blue eyes and he wore a grey hoodie with white front, white pants and sneakers of the same color.
"Hmm?" The boy that was sitting down lazily moved his crimson eyes from whiteboard to look at the trio that stood in front of him. He was overtaken by his own thoughts and didn't notice them approaching until Vermilya spoke up. Unlike them, he wasn't excited about the upcoming party. Not even a bit. And why should he?
"At home. None of the restaurants we talked with wanted to host a party for a bunch of teenagers without any adults." It was a hassle enough that he had to host the party inside his own house and act as their moral compass for the night. He really didn't know how popular students were able to always host parties without worry about any of that, of course most of them did it in discotheques, but that was out of the question for him. Dark forces that he would rather not deal with today loamed above these places.
All three of the boy's friends smiled a little bit at his lack of enthusiasm. "Come on dude, don't get all gloomy today!" Draco said, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder, effectively earning himself a glare from the latter's crimson eyes.
"I'm not gloomy." The boy sighed and stood up. He took his two notebooks of the desk and put them into his school bag. This intrigued his friends a bit, they knew that he had two notebooks out during every class, one of them was used to write down notes and such while the content and purpose of the second one were a mystery, he never let anyone see what was inside, even did his best to hid it from curious eyes. All of that only added to the mystery of that secret notebook.
"I simply had other thoughts on my head and because of you dummies I forgot about them." The boy explained and looked at his friends with a smirk.
That was Evan Greyson, a boy that had white hair with red edges and five bangs on the right side of my face, three of which swept upward and to the right side of his head while the other two at the left. His outfit consisted of a simple white dress shirt with the top three buttons unfasten to show his neck, which had a red and black leather choker around it, and a bit of his chest. The rest of his outfit was rather formal as well with black dress pants and matching shoes. In most ways he looked like a normal everyday high-school student, but what made this one stood out was his rather pale skin and his sharp, shark-like teeth.
No one was sure what was up with those strange features, many thought that he was wearing fake vampire teeth while others thought that it might be connected to his bloodline. The Greyson family was a complete mysteries for the locals, it consisted only of three known members, Evan and his two sisters named Elizabeth and Avice. Strangely enough, the brother was the only one to show such strange features. No records were found about their origins and who the parents could have been was a mystery as well.
All that people knew about them was their home, the mansion of Joseph Fuller - a rick Englishman with a strange interest in the abnormal, people who had the honor to enter his home as guest had told about his huge collection of books about the supernatural. Unfortunately the good man was never able to have an heir, all of his children had died of measles back in the eighties. In fact, Joseph himself had admitted at many occasions that he was going to be the last Fuller. It came as surprise to everyone when, after his death two years ago, in his will he wanted the Greyson family to inherit everything owned by the Fuller family, including his mansion, but especially, and most importantly according to Joseph's will, all of his books about the supernatural.
"But be honest, aren't you proud with your sister just a little bit?" Draco asked Evan as the group made their way through the empty school corridors. Classes have ended for the day and as that suggest, most other students had already left the building, only these who had club activities were remaining behind.
"Being accepted in a university at the age of sixteen is quite the something, isn't it?" Vermilya leaned her head back and looked up at the ceiling. "It's not just some university either, it's Silver Valley University, the one with a hundred percent employment rate! I will be honest with you guys, I'm so jealous of Elizabeth right now!"
"Don't be, in order to be accepted for the program itself, you must be an honor student first." Levant explained and put his hands into the hoodie. "To think that our Elizabeth was the one approved of the six hundred that applied for the program is quite the thing."
"It's not so surprising. After all, this my sister that we are talking about here." Evan replied with a sigh. Of course, he was happy for his sister's success, but Silver Valley University was nowhere near where they lived, so she would have to find a lodging and he won't be seeing her as often anymore. While he didn't like the idea of being separated from any of his sisters, Evan couldn't say that he felt sad or anything like that. Not even for a bit. He simply didn't like it because it messed up with his own plans.
"At least she doesn't suffer of the same problem as you when it comes to studying." Levant said, staring to get a little annoyed with Evan's attitude.
"Problem?" Evan glanced at the boy, then smugly ran a hand through his white and red hair. "Last time I checked, being as handsome as me isn't connected to any problems with studying."
"You know what I mean by that." Levant retorted. "You got excellent grades as well, in fact, you are a born winner, and there is nothing that you even had problems with accomplishing, yet you don't put your skills where you should! Outside of high school marks, you have no academic achievement. The only reason why you are on third place when it comes to academic abilities is your lack of motivation, which, as far as I know, is the main quality for an honor student."
"Wait, what do you mean by 'third'?" Evan turned back to look Levant in the eyes. "Who is better than me in this school, expect for my sister?"
"The student council president." Levant deadpanned. "She doesn't seem to have much of a motivation either, but unlike you she takes part in clubs, cultural activities and is the student council president."
Evan blinked a few times. The Greyson moved his hands and put then on the sides of Levant's shoulders, holding the taller boy in place while his crimson eyes stared blankly into greenish-blue ones. Vermilya and Draco stopped in their tracks as well and turned back to look at their friends, wondering what was going on.
"This school has a student council?" The amount of sheer confusion in Evan's voice was alone enough to force Levant into face palming so hard, as to tear a hole through his own skull.
"Just how out of touch can you possibly be?" Levant asked, puzzled by Evan's apparent lack of basic knowledge about the school where he spent his whole student life.
"No… It doesn't really matter." Evan shook his head violently and stepped back, letting go of Levant's shoulders. "I will be off now, Avice and Roxy were going to wait for me to pick them up at the mall, so I got to hurry up now."
Before Levant or any of his other friends could retort, Evan turned around and ran toward the exit. The trio looked at each other in confusion, unsure of whenever the Greyson really had to pick up anybody, or he just said it as an excuse to run away before they started making fun of him for not knowing that there was a student council in their school.
"The party starts at eight, right?" Vermilya shouted after the boy.
"Eight and a half!" Evan shouted back before he turned a corner and disappeared from their view.
"So… I take it that Vermilya is the one who's going to tell Takuma about the change?" Draco suggested.
"Why me?" Vermilya protested.
"Because you are both part of the 'Gear Squad'?" The girl narrowed her eyes at Draco's poor joke. She was indeed part of that so called 'Gear Squad', but little did the fire-haired boy know about how serious of a deal that position was.
"What about you, Levant?" Vermilya turned toward the tall guy, almost in desperation to avoid that responsibility. "Why don't you call Takuma and tell him?"
"I can't. Today I got a lot of things to deal with at the student council." Levant sighed. He did want to help Vermilya out, but couldn't do so today. She and Takuma always had a rough relationship, he often got on her nerves just for fun and she often ended up getting in big trouble, both because of her own short temper and his constant teasing and joking. As a result of that, she naturally began to avoid him as much as possible, something that wasn't too hard to do since he rarely showed up anyways.
"You people are so mean!" Vermilya's shoulders dropped as tears began to fall down her cheeks like fountains. The two boys looked at each other and then breathed out softly.
Evan took a deep breath and looked at the blue sky. The city of Easthaven was as beautiful as ever with the sun hovering warmly above it and its citizens. The large skyscrapers that hide most of the smaller buildings were standing proudly, casting plenty of shade over the citizens to help them get along with the rather warm weather.
Standing out from that magnificent city was its school, the Westview Advanced Secondary School, which was located on its own district, a human-made river island, surrounded by a river that divided the large metropolis in two parts. A prototype for new schools, Westview functionate as a small city itself with a mall, public spheres and dormitories where students could stay if they so wish. It was a place meant to nurture its students about the world that awaits them after they finish their education. Exactly on that small island was where that weird group of friends spent their entire school life and got to know one other so well.
Currently, Evan was sitting a café next to the mall waiting for his sister and their friend to come out. The boy narrowed his eyes, the sun was shining too brightly, making it impossible for him to see his phone's screen. The trouble that this warm day was causing him only served to prove his personal view that rainy days were much better and far more enjoyable.
"So much about this then." Evan muttered and put his phone back into the pocket. He looked around the plaza, it was where many of the students came after classes or in-between them. There were several small cafes like the one he was sitting at the moment and almost all of them were filled with students and young teachers who had come to rest from their stressful day at school. Groups from certain clubs had gathered there as well.
For instance, the students from the literature club sitting on the benches near the small trees that were put there for decoration. The skaters were there as well, next to the fountains, chatting and trying out some new tricks. The school grounds were indeed filled with various people and colorful personalities. They were all so troublesome at times…
Then, something he noticed from the corner of his eyes caught Evan's attention. It was nothing special, just a simple shop that you could find anywhere in the city. But when the slide door opened and a girl walked out of it, his attention quickly focused on her. The girl had long vibrant black hair that flowed just past waist level with golden eyes. She wore a green jacket with matching miniskirt, black thigh highs and round shaped black shoes. The unknown girl had an athletic build and appeared to be younger than Evan, but he didn't care so much about her appearance as for her expression. It was stoic, blank, without any strong emotions on it. In fact, it appeared like there were no emotions at all.
Then there were the things that she carried in her bag, shampoo, soap. There was food as well with French bread and other things that he couldn't see. But the bag wasn't completely filled up, so the girl hadn't brought much. Judging by the choices she had made for shampoo and soap, the girl was going for the cheapest choices.
The students of Westview Advanced Secondary School were given a special currency called riel. Its value was different than that the regular money, with 1 riel being worth 20% less than the national currency. In addition to that, everything within the school ground was put at a cheaper price tag and so the students were encouraged to buy their products from within the territory of the school's complex instead of the rest of the city. But there was a catch to it, as it would be with a real work, the money that a student is 'paid' a month depends on their academic achievement and school marks.
Since Evan had high marks, but didn't take part in any school activities, he was earning 65% of what's possible to get. Many students that were living within the city were lucky enough to get extra financial support from their parents, but the number of those who have come from other towns wasn't insignificant either, because of that for many of them earning higher 'payment' was a priority in order to have average living conditions.
And that brought Evan back to the girl he was observing. She was buying the cheapest of the products available which meant that she was either someone with low school marks, or smart enough to know that it's not worth throwing away extra money for something because it looks shinier than other versions of the same product. Her clothes gave away that it was the second.
Evan had seen similar outfits being sold at the mall and thought they weren't the cheapest clothes at the stores, they weren't too expensive either. Also, the colors haven't started fading away, so that means the clothes she was wearing weren't washed very often, but there was also no right, so she must have brought them recently.
"Is there something you want?" The question snapped Evan back to reality and he noticed that the girl he was observing was now staring back at him. Her expression was still stoic but the Greyson could finally read an emotion on it. It was annoyance.
"Huh?" Evan leaned into his chair, taken aback by the question. There were several things that he wanted like new parts for his D-Wheel, someone to make his bedroom door stop creaking, but he doubted that she could grant him either of these two. "No, nothing of that sort. What made you think so?"
"You were staring at me." The girl looked on at him with her stoic expression.
"I just noticed that you had a rather cheap lineup in there." Evan stated calmly and pointed lazily at the plastic bag. "I thought that you are either an idiot with bad grades or someone with moderate sense of how to spend their money. But now I know that it's the later."
"Oh?" The girl's right eyebrow raised even so slightly, but she wouldn't admit that she was curious about how he found that out.
"Yeah, if you were just poor as I originally assumed, your voice wouldn't sound so bold and arrogant." Evan explained his logic to her. A poor person would be far more self-conscious and a more timid voice. That was how he saw it at least.
"Don't assume you know anything about people or that they care what you think about them." The girl told him and then turned on her heels, continuing down her original path.
'But doesn't the way you immediately tried to decline my point of view as false mean that you are trying to deny the truth?' Evan thought to himself and turned back toward the table he was sitting on. Well, it didn't matter much, he probably won't be seeing that girl ever again and even if fate choose to play games with him, all he would have to do would be ignoring her.
"That was a charming conversation that you had there." A new voice added causing Evan to turn his head toward the direction of the mall. Walking toward him were two girls, both 13 years old with the one that spoke up standing a few inches taller than the other.
"It was anything but charming." Evan replied drily and leaned back into his chair while the girls took their own seats around the table and put the bags they were holding on the ground.
The one that sat against Evan, and was also the taller of the two, was his sister- Avice. The girl had short white and green hair with the lower back part jutting upward like four spikes, while the front was swiped to the sides as to not get in the way of her green eyes. There was also an ahoge on top of her head. She had the most carefree look among the people that Evan associates himself with, wearing a white, short sleeved blouse, short jeans, white socks and black sneakers.
"Don't be like that, the girl seemed to have felt insulted after your conversation." The second girl pouted, prompting both Greysons to turn their attention toward her.
That was Roxy, Elizabeth's best friend who came to friend with them a few years ago and was now a student in Westview Advanced Secondary School.
The girl had a tanned skin and short Alice blue hair with two amber locks falling down the middle of her forehead, one more at each side of her head and an ahoge of the same color on the top. Her outfit consisted of an aqua blue shirt with a white collar, pink stripes on his shoulders and matching pockets at the sides of her waist, short sleeves with purple cuffs and a horizontal purple stripe going down his chest. Below that was a knee level skirt with pink and yellow stripes, white knee socks and blue flat shoes with pink bows on the front. In addition to that, the girl had a golden collar decorated with pink jewels, a similar golden bracelet on her right hand and a fingerless black glove that reached her elbow on the left.
"I doubt it." Was Evan's only reply to Roxy. He doubted that the girl cared all that much about his opinion. "What's in these bags anyways? Did you get something for me as well?"
Avice chuckled a little at the question and put her hand on top of a bag, pulling it closer to her chair. "Unless you like dressing up in girl clothes, I doubt anything here will interest you. Since Eli's going to be moving, Roxy figured out that getting her some necessaries for the new place would be a nice gift for goodbye."
"I see." Evan sighed, buying gifts was annoying, but he completely forget to get Elizabeth something as well. Today was also Friday so shops tended to close up earlier on this day, he would have to think of something quickly.
"You haven't brought her anything, have you?" Roxy asked the boy, but he didn't respond. "You really forgot about your own sister, didn't you?"
"Enough of that." Avice said calmly and waved a hand in front of Roxy, surprisingly, that caused the girl to actually hush her. "It's no big deal, I know that you are often busy with researches and other troublesome work, so I already brought something for you to give her." Saying that, Avice pulled a smaller bag from the one she was holding close to the chair and handled it to him. "Believe me, she's going to love this one the most."
"I will keep that in mind." Evan nodded and put the bag in front of himself. "There were no freaks to hunt down this week either, it's starting to get extremely boring for me."
"Same here." Avice replied. The little Greyson leaned her head against the palm of her hand and stared at her older brother with a dreamy expression. "But I caught rumors about some things happening in Valt Evernon."
"That industrial area near the sea?" Evan asked for confirmation.
"Yes, but rumors are rumors, you can't trust them around ninety percent of the time." Avice informed her brother.
"Hmm, we could do some research about it on our own, couldn't we?" Evan suggested, crossing his arms. "What else are we going to do during the weekend?"
"Um, relax and not go after possibly dangerous individuals, putting our own safety on the line for a bit of adrenaline?" Roxy gave a suggestion, sounding more timid that when she scolded Evan a bit earlier. She knew how much the siblings loved to get into dangerous situations, a trait that she thankfully didn't share with them.
"Um, no?" Both Greysons deadpanned, then Avice went to further elaborate on their decision. "This is about much more than adrenaline. We might not know much, but if there are rumors then at the center of the stays either a lie, someone extremely skilled, or a supernatural force. And guest which one is it according to Sola."
"Sola, huh?" Roxy sighed and rested her head against the flat table. "So your Duel Spirit told you that? I wonder why all of my cards remain just normal cards and never talk to me."
"Hehe~! This takes a special skill my dear." Avice stood up from her chair and walked over to Roxy, petting the girl on the head.
"It's getting close to afternoon." Evan took out his phone and showed it to the girls, although because of the sun it was hard to see anything. "We should get home and prepare ourselves for tonight's party. Elizabeth would also get worried if we don't get back in time."
"Then I'm riding on the D-Wheel!" Avice raised her hand eagerly.
"Not with those bags." Evan pointed out, gesturing toward the ones she brought. "And you can't let Roxy carry everything either. So, in other words, you are taking the bus."
"Aw!" Avice pouted, but she understood her brother.
It wasn't like he didn't want her on his D-Wheel, quite the opposite actually, he loved to drive her around, but they both knew that there was a time and place for everything. Today would be the last time they will get to be with Elizabeth for a while to come. With everything said between them for the moment, the Greysons and Roxy all nodded to each and stood up, leaving down their own paths.
The night hour fast approached, the end of yet another week. The city of Easthaven was filled with lights, the lively atmosphere only increasing after the golden sun set down and the silver moon replaced it. The same true for the Fuller Mansion, the lights shone brightly through its windows and music could be heard from within it. But despite this being a teenagers' party, it wasn't as wild as one would expect. The music itself wasn't loud, allowing the friends to easily talk with each other and there was almost no real alcohol among the drinks.
Today was when they were going to say goodbye to one of their own, so they wanted to spend that beautiful night telling each other the things they weren't able to say before. Their chatting often consisted of small stories with smiles and laughter following soon after.
The group was inside the guestroom, most of them standing up instead of sitting around the circular table that Evan brought for occasions like this one. The whole mansion, had a strong 18th century feel to it with elegant wooden chairs and tables, snow white curtains on all of the windows whose frames were decorated with gold. A large crystal chandelier hung from the similarly ornamented white ceiling.
But back to the group, this time there were three new members among them. The first one was a tall boy with long blue hair that was tied into a ponytail and had lightning-shaped yellow bangs that juts upward. His outfit consisted of an open long-sleeved brown and worn out jacket with a high collar, a simple black shirt with a drawing of a D-Wheel underneath. Worn out jeans and calf-high motorcycle boots finished his appearance. That was Takuma, Vermilya's life long bully, but also an incredible friend when needed.
Next, standing between Roxy and Draco was a little girl, probably not more than 10 years old with long pale-pink hair tied into pigtails that reach her lower back and eyes of the same color. She was wearing a light purple jacket with yellow smiling face on the left side and high collar that reached her cheeks, also the large sleeves this cloth had totally didn't match her small body. Underneath that the girl wore a black shirt and blue shorts with a black belt over it. She also wore black sneakers over pink and purple stripped socks that almost reached her shorts. The girl's name was Oni, an orphan that Elizabeth found searching for food in an alley on day. Being the most kind-hearted of the Greysons, she of course took the little girl to live in the mansion where she occasionally serve as a domestic servant, helping out the siblings.
And last, was of course the person for whom the whole party was organized in the first place, Elizabeth Greyson. As Evan's younger twin sister, she shared the same height as him as well as some facial features, thankfully neither of these were his shark-like teeth or the extremely pale skin. Her hair was short and mostly black with blue locks at the ends and two pointy locks on the left side of her fringe, right above her oceanic blue eyes. Elizabeth's outfit consisted of bluish-white jacket with pink pads on the shoulders, a bluish-grey jumpsuit underneath, and white boots that reach up to her knees. She also had a purple belt with a golden button in the center and what seemed to be a deck holder resting against her right hip.
"You know Eli, it's sad that we got to say goodbye to you just two weeks before school ended." Vermilya told her friend. She was upset because beside herself, Elizabeth was the only one in their group that she could talk with about more girly stuff.
"Yeah, I didn't know that being an honor student had this kind of upsides." Draco nodded his head, agreeing with Vermilya. "The school let you graduate three weeks before everyone else!"
"You can say that I deserved it, if one of the best universities in the country wants me to enroll this fall." Elizabeth smiled and took her glass of lemonade in hand. "But seriously, I won't be gone forever. University doesn't begin until October, so I'm going to come and see you during the summer vacation!"
"I really don't understand!" Roxy pouted and leaned her head against Elizabeth's side. "Can't you rent a lodgings during the fall?"
"That's not a good idea." Levant spoke up, rubbing his finger against the edge of glass, which was filled with wine. "Others might rent all available places before her. I also did my own research and found that prices fall during the summer and winter season. It helps drawing more tourists."
"Even so…" Takuma was next to speak up, but the sudden pause was what caught the others' interest. They knew that he wasn't one to be hesitant with words, always speaking up his mind, even if it could insult them.
"I don't think that taking Oni with yourself is a good idea. She's a little kid, taking care of both her and yourself might be just outside your abilities."
Everyone else glanced at one another nervously. Unsurprisingly, they all agreed with what Takuma said. Even if she was accepted in a university, Elizabeth was still a teenager, and like most teenagers, she wasn't used to such responsibilities. Only Oni herself didn't understand why that made everyone go silent, but now they were giving her a chance to shine. She wasn't going to waste it.
"Don't worry!" The little girl shouted to make sure they could all hear her. "Oni can take care of both herself and big sister!"
Momently, the whole room burst in laughter once again, surprising the little girl that looked curiously at everyone. Was something that she said which made them laugh? She didn't know, but it made her feel like she accomplished something and that feeling filled her chest with a strange form of pride.
"Since Oni's so skillful, why don't we ask her to teach Vermilya how to drive a D-Wheel then?" Takuma asked jokingly.
"Hey!" The girl in question turned and pushed Takuma hard on the shoulder while a small blush covered her face. "Driving a D-Wheel and dueling on it isn't as easy as you guys make it seem!"
"But you failed the exam three times already!" Draco added, earning himself a push in the shoulder as well. "Ouch! I'm sorry, ok!"
Levant watched the two boys teasing Vermilya silently at the side before turned his eyes toward the rest of the room. Exanimating it, he noticed an important detail that somehow everyone else seemed to have missed as well. Naturally, he just had to address the elephant in the room.
"Where are Evan and Avice?" Everyone else was in the room, but the oldest and youngest Greysons were missing. He remembered them being with everyone else at the beginning of the party, Avice even gave her gifts alongside Proxy, so when did they left?
"Don't worry." Elizabeth waved off the question and laughed, albeit bitterly. "They are down in the library. You know what Evan can be when it comes to listening to music that he isn't a fan of."
"What are do you by 'don't worry'?" Vermilya turned toward her. "It's common sense for siblings to stay together at moments like this!"
"Well, I'm already used to being the third wheel, so…" Elizabeth looked down bitterly. She was used to her own siblings staying away from her, they never answer why they don't like her and though she was trying her hardest not to mind it too much… It still hurt. It hurt so much to know that she was unwanted by the only family she had.
Levant sighed. He was used to seeing the family separated like that as well, it was starting to bother him a little bit. "I will go see what they are doing."
No one else said anything on the subject. Everything only silently followed Levant's movement from the corner of their eyes until he left the room, but even after he was no longer there, the lively chatter that was once didn't return. Levant stopped in the hall where the front door was located. At his left were the stairs that leaded toward the second floor and next to them was a small door that was left half open with lights coming out of it. So they were still inside…
Levant opened the door completely and stepped onto the stairs that were leading downward. For reasons unknown, the previous owner of the mansion had chosen to build the library underground. Was he trying to protect it from prying eyes, or was it just mindless paranoia that drove him to do that? It just didn't matter, the man was death and the place was as safe as he probably wanted it to be. Levant noticed cables showing from the old walls and sighed bitterly. When Evan first invited him to view the library, there was no electricity inside, so they had to install it by themselves. A hard and dangerous work, but it paid out nicely.
Continuing on, Levant finally noticed the end of the stairs and the light shining from within the room he was about to enter. There were no doors separating the library from the stairs, so he just walked into it. The first thing to come into his view were the shelves upon shelves filled with all sort of books, the stairs that lead toward the second floor of the library which was just as full as the first. If a newcomer was to see all of these books, they would think that there were all sort of things to read about there, but the truth was that more than eighty percent of the books in that library were about the supernatural. Researches, simple literature, it was a collection of horror material.
And of course, sitting at the old wooded table in the center of the room were Evan and Avice. The two Greysons were looking down at a book each, while they wrote something on their phones. It appeared that they were doing researches using both the knowledge inside this library and the internet.
"Your sister is sad that you aren't there with her." Levant said.
"She has you guys, so everything should be ok." Evan replied dismissively and kept looking at both the book and the phone. "What did you really come here for?"
Levant took a deep breath. Of course, there was no point trying to tiptoe the issue around with these two. When it came to Evan and Avice, they wanted you to either talk to them directly or not waste their time at all. The second option was also the more preferable one for them.
"There were strange incidents happening all around." Levant pulled one of the free chairs and sat down against Evan. The Greysons, in turn, put their phones down and looked at the boy before them, listening to what he had to say. "They were happening in different cities, people on the street don't seem too bothered about it, but I noticed the interesting detail that all the cities where these incidents have happened were around Valt Evernon."
The Greysons remained silent for a moment. Evan leaned forward and rested his hands on the table, putting his head on top of them. Valt Evernon – Levant was using the same name that Avice mentioned earlier that day, so the rumors must have been true. To an extent of course. Rumors were never a hundred percent true, even if they came from a reliable source.
"What sort of incidents are we talking about?" Avice asked.
"My knowledge is limited but victims usually end up in a coma. They are all found with lifeless eyes, pale skin and are completely motionless with just a faint pulse. No external or internal wounds, or anything in the vicinity that could leave them paralyzed. The doctors haven't been able to find anything related to a virus or an illness either. Then, exactly one week after entering that stage, the victims' hearts give up. They die."
"Pale skin and lifeless eyes?" Evan stood up from his chair and walked over to one of the many shelves inside that library. The boy took an old book and opened it, searching for something through the pages. While he did so, Levant used the opportunity to get a better look onto the book that Evan was reading before. The pages were still white and the edges were in perfect condition as well; it meant that the book he read was still new.
"Certain specimens from the Nosferatu kind have the tendency to feet from the same user several times by using a hypnosis that puts the victim in a trance. Since they don't have a reflection, security cameras won't catch them sneaking onto the patients. Plus, if a vampire is careful how and where they bite the doctors won't be able to find out until the victim is completely dry." Evan closed the book after explaining and put it back onto the shelf.
"There is something else." Levant added. "Witnesses say that they have saw what appeared to be Duel Monsters near the locations where the victims were discovered, so…"
"Their souls were stolen." Evan and Avice said in unison.
"If you get Duel Monsters involved then the cause is ninety nine percent a lost soul." Avice stated matter-of-factly and stood up from her chair as well. "This is in our specialty, so you probably want us to travel all the way to Valt Evernon and investigate it, right?"
"Actually, no." Levant sweat dropped. "I just wondered what you might think about it, if there is someone who steals souls, then we should probably go all as a team. You know, every one of us, including your sister."
Again, the siblings looked at each other. No words were needed for Avice and Evan to understand each other, seeing each other's eyes was enough for them to communicate with one another. The secret between their friendship with everyone else wasn't that they were students at the same school, oh no. It was because of their dueling skills that made every single one of them a feared opponent and the perfect force to keep an eye for any sort of dark presences that might lurk in the shadows of their bellowed city.
"Too bad, because we are going there for a two day investigation starting tomorrow!" Avice turned back to Levant with a grin and the boy already knew that there was no use trying to argue with them.
"If there's really something serious going on, contact us." Levant warned them. With this task finished, the boy stood up from his chair and turned around to leave, when he suddenly remembered about something. Words that were spoken just a few minutes ago resurfaced into his mind.
"Well, I'm already used to being the third wheel, so…"
It didn't have to be like that, he momentary realized. Siblings shouldn't separate themselves like that.
"You know, Elizabeth would be very happy to see you two on the party." Levant stated with his back turned toward the two siblings.
"We will join later." It was a simple response.
Evan and Avice both sat down onto their chairs like what Levant told them didn't matter at all and returned to what they were originally doing. The boy didn't even glance back at them as he walked back onto the stairs and left the room. At least he tried, so that counted as something.
Right?
"Everyone has already left, haven't they?" Evan looked at the empty mansion. Only the sound of water splashing came from within the kitchen. It was most likely Oni who was clearing the glasses and everything else.
The boy still looked around at the halls, Proxy and Avice had both gotten to sleep and his twin sister was the only one remaining. Currently, he was standing at her doorway, while she was finishing preparing her suitcases and an extra outfit was set on her bed. He deduced that it was the one she was going to put it on right after taking a bath. Although his attention was at the empty corridors, Evan glanced at his sister from the corner of his eye. She didn't seem to notice his presence, was she mad at him for spending this night doing research instead of participating in her party? He didn't really care about it either ways, but the silence was a bit unsettling.
Finally, the girl finished preparing her suitcase and turned to look at him. Ocean blue eyes meet with crimson red as the twins stared at each other. Unlike with Avice, Evan couldn't understand what Elizabeth was thinking and vice versa. It was like the two of them were complete strangers that had just meet for the first time.
"Do you require an apology from me?" Evan asked calmly. But Elizabeth didn't miss the tone with which he asked her, there was no real investment or regret from his side. Of course, knowing the darkness that resided within his soul she couldn't judge, but it painted her to know that her brother was heartless.
"There is no point in that." Elizabeth stood up and grabbed her suitcase, moving it over next to her bed.
Just then, two hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her back into an embrace. The girl's eyes widened even so slightly as her brother pressed his chest against her back and his lips against the back of her head. Elizabeth closed her eyes and focused. That was just like him, since he couldn't confront her as a brother his sister, he was trying to confront her as a boy would do toward a girl. She wasn't sure if this kind of attention should make her happy or disgusted, perhaps a little bit of both. Her shoulders dropped a bit and she relaxed into her brother's arms.
"Why do you hate me?" Elizabeth asked a simple question. Why did they always tried to drive her away? She couldn't even be angry with them because after every time, one of them would come and confront her like this, give her the fake feeling of being accepted, only for them to push her back down the next time. It was a never ending circle that she found herself unwilling to try and walk out of. Even if it hurt her soul, she wanted to be one of them.
"I got a gift for you." And of course, he avoided the question. Evan removed one of his arms and used it to take the gift from inside his pocket. Using the moment in which his hold was weakest, Elizabeth quickly turned her body around to face him and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck with a slight smile on her face.
Evan's eyes widened at the sight of his twin sister happy, but he grinned as well, showing his shark-like fangs a bit while his hand raised to show her a little black box that could fit in her palm. Elizabeth realized that it was a ring box.
"Truth be told, Avice was the one who brought it for me." Evan admitted and opened the box. Inside was a black ring with a single blue jewelry on the center; the same as her hair. "Both her and my Duel Spirits confirmed that this right would bright you a lot of luck if you wear it."
Elizabeth's lips curved into a big smile. She could hardly hold herself anymore, her face got slightly redder and she was going to burst in laughter due to how inappropriate and weird this situation was. Evan was such a dummy, he just couldn't read a situation, could he? Elizabeth pushed her face against her brother's chest and mutter her laughter.
After nearly a full minute of that, the girl raised her head and looked back into her brother's eyes with tears shinning inside her eyes "You are the worst." She said softly. "You are the worst human that I could have ever meet, so selfish and uncaring about others or their feelings. I despise you as a human being, but…" Elizabeth paused for a moment. She pulled her brother closer and rested her head against his shoulder with a satisfied smile on her face. "You did the best that you could do as a brother and I love you because of that. Even if you really hate me, I'm glad that I got you as my older brother."
'Not a surprise.'
The reaction was just what he expected out of Elizabeth, she cared for him and Avice too much to truly hate them, it was a troublesome situation for him, but until now it meant that he could require things from her without having to do anything in return. Just say sorry and hug her – she will follow you like a puppy the next day.
"Goodbye."
"Hmm?" Elizabeth peaked up to meet her brother's eyes again.
"I and Avice will be departing on a little adventure early in the morning, so I won't have the chance to properly part with you tomorrow." Evan explained with an almost happy tone. His smile hasn't dropped either, even as he was telling her farewell, it shinned brightly on his face.
"I see…" Elizabeth broke the embrace and pulled away from him. She looked down, knowing full well what he meant by 'a little adventure'. "You know what I'm going to tell you. Stay safe, both of you."
"Heh, don't we always?" Evan's smile turned more into a smug smirk and he turned on his heel, stepping toward the door. "Anyway, what was all I wanted to tell you. Good night!"
The door clapped loudly behind him, leaving Elizabeth alone in her room with the small box in her palm. She looked at the ring for a moment before putting it on her left right finger.
It fit perfectly.
A tear fell on the floor.
"That was a rude way to say goodbye, master." The spirit of a teenager wolf girl with grey 'fur' float next to Evan, her tail swaying behind her while she moved through the air.
'Shut up, Wolfy.' Evan clicked his fingers causing the spirit to grab her chest tightly as darkness began to spread through her body and she disappeared, getting forcefully returned to where she came from.
He didn't need anyone reading him a moral code, less than that his own spirits, which weren't even fond of humans. He never truly saw any reason why he should be kind to people, unless they had some sort of use, there was no point bothering with them. But of course, he lived in a society so a basic level of politeness was required. But Elizabeth was his sister, so she had to get used to it.
Evan walked into his bedroom and sat down on his bed with a loud sigh. His own room was simple, a bed with a nightstand on the left, a large window above it, and a closet, put against the wall next to the door. The boy remained silent for a while, observing the room that he had seen a thousand times before, he tried to empty his head of pointless thoughts and focus on more important matters. His mind went to Valt Evernon. That town – if it could even be called that – wasn't too far away from the city, it would be at half an hour with a car or a D-Wheel.
They also had no lead about these 'incidents' either, so Evan could just hope that their little journey wasn't going to be a complete waste of his weekend. He clicked his tongue and put his hands on his shirt, unbuttoning it. After finishing, the boy pulled the cloth off his back and threw it onto his bed, revealing his torso. While Evan was, in fact, rather skinny for his age, there was a light tone of muscle, but more attention drawing were the numerous scars around his body and arms. Most of them were small, although there were several large ones across his stomach and back with most prominent being the scar at the center of his chest - it was large and a few years old.
After removing his upper clothes, Evan kneeled down next to his bed and reached under it for a not-so-secret suitcase. He put it on top of his bed and unlocked it, his crimson eyes were fixed on it, while his arms slowly opened it to reveal the content. Was it a secret book? Some sort of magical weapon? And old deck that he swore to never put his hand onto again?
No, it wasn't either of these things. The all so precious content of the suitcase was just an old outfit that Evan had worn a thousand times before. So, what was so special about it? Was it a super hero outfit? Was it connected to a dark past that was better left hidden? Or perhaps the clothes had a curse put on them?
Incorrect again.
Truth was, Evan just liked that extra feeling of badassery when something popped out that gave him an excuse to put on his favorite outfit, and he pulled the suitcase hidden under his bed.
A silly thing to do, but he liked doing it.
"It's still like it used to be." Evan muttered and ran a hand through the black and red leather jacket inside the box. White fur the ends of its sleeves and the large hood which had a pair of cat ears resting on the top. Underneath the jacket was a white short sleeved shirt with black tiger stripes, a red belt and black pants with red stripes on the thighs. Finally, at the bottom of the suitcase, Evan found and the most important part, his Wrist Dealer. It was a metal gauntlet worn on the left arm that Duelists used as deck holder during Turbo Duels.
"Let's see…" Evan put the Wrist Dealer on, testing its feeling against his arm. He moved his wrist a little to make sure that it wouldn't get into the way of his movements. Having their Wrist Dealer feel uncomfortable was one of the many things that Turbo Duelists that didn't want to duel while concentrating on dueling or riding the D-Wheel.
"It first perfectly." Evan muttered under his breath and then removed it. He put the Wrist Dealer on his nightstand and returned everything else back into his suitcase. He hide it under his bed again and lied down on his bed and tried to get comfortable. Tomorrow was going to be a long side, so he had to be at his best, rested up and focused. Evan turned over and got adjusted, closing his crimson eyes, he let his body rest surrounded by the darkness of his bedroom.
The next day came and as the Greyson said, they departed for Valt Evernon with Evan's D-Wheel. Despite the many different models that were available out there, his was a more basic, streamlined model with a primary black paintjob with crimson wheelbases and on the front fairing.
At the moment, Evan was driving on a road above Valt Evernon itself. Avice, turned her head to look at the strange town, if she could call it that. True, the people that worked at the huge factories and facilities also lived there, but the place was built to serve more as an industrial area that a place to live. She observed as huge clouds of pitch black smoke raised from the chimneys into the sky and hid the sun away. The place looked so creepily from where they were standing with the colorless buildings that looked like they were about to collapse and all of the junk on the streets. It reminded Avice that Valt Evernon also functionate as a junkyard.
The only thing about this place that wasn't revolting was the view to the sea. The dazzling light of the sun shone through the blue surface, completely unaffected by the black clouds that hanged above the town itself. Avice's lips curved into a light smile at the sight, it was so distant, yet strangely relaxing. It made her feel like she could fall asleep from just watching it, thankfully she was smart enough to know that it wasn't a good idea to fall asleep while on a D-Wheel, even if she wasn't the rider.
"You know, the view isn't so bad from up here." Avice spoke cheerfully and leaned back while her arms were locked around her brother's waist.
"It probably will be better if we get closer." Evan replied. "If we got time, I promise to get you to see the sea from up close."
"Really!" Avice's face beamed with happiness. She knew that he was really going to do it, her brother had always spoiled her before and there was no reason for him to stop doing so now.
"If that's what you want. Of course." Evan nodded. But as he said before, only if they had the time for detours. He was unsure about how grand the whole soul stealing business truly issue and if two days would be enough for them to get anything.
"You are the best!" Avice told her brother, prompting him to smirk smugly.
The siblings passed the first few factories that marked that start of Valt Evernon and noticed the change in light almost immediately. Everything began darker, the smell of incinerated plastic and other substances flow through the air. The siblings looked around cautiously as they passed through the empty streets, no humans or small animals appeared on their way, giving the Greysons the vibe of a ghost town from the place.
"You there, stop immediately!" A loud voice called from behind. Avice turned her head to look at who said that while Evan kept riding.
"We got trouble." Avice told her brother. Following on a white and black D-Wheel behind them was an officer. "Should we stop and see what he wants?"
"Nah, there is ninety percent chance that the guy is holding a speeding ticket with my name on it." Evan replied and looked around, noticing an old, half collapsed tunnel. He suddenly hit the brakes and made a sharp turn toward the old infrastructure before accelerating toward it. "Let's try to lose this guy instead!"
"He's not giving up!" Avice warned as the officer turned his police sirens and followed after the black D-Wheel.
Evan gave a single glance at the officer and hit the brakes again, falling back until the two D-Wheels were next to one another. If running wasn't an option, then he would have to get rid of the officer in a different manner – through a duel!
"Stop and surround immediately!" the officer wasted no time in telling the siblings to surrender.
"I heard you the first time." Evan replied and looked at his chaser. "If you want me to stop, then why don't you duel me instead! If you win, we are going to surrender without causing any more trouble, deal?"
"As expected…" The officer muttered to himself and pressed a button on his D-Wheel, causing a robotic voice to announce:
"Field Spell: Speed World NEXT. Set on. Duel Mode: On! Autopilot: Standby!"
"Turbo Duel!" Evan and the Officer exclaimed.
『Evan LP: 4000 Hand: 5 (VS) Security LP: 4000 Hand: 5』
A blade made from solid energy burst from both D-Wheels, creating the zones on which the duelists would put their cards. Evan narrowed his eyes and looked ahead, noticing that the tunnel has collapsed and there was a large hole on the left hole with railways on the other side. He knew for a fact that trains weren't moving through Valt Evernon for years, so…
"The one who gets on the railways first, gets to start!" Evan shouted.
The officer didn't respond to that, instead, he accelerated toward the railways, leaving Evan to follow him from behind on his regular speed. The Greyson rolled his eyes, it was so hard to trick his opponent into wanting to take the first move. Both duelists raised their D-Wheels to jump through the opening in the wall and landed on the other side, with the officer at the front of course.
"The first turn will be mine!" The officer said, drawing his five cards. "And because of Speed World NEXT's effect, we both get a Speed Counter right from the start!" A beeping sound turned Evan's attention to the purple screen of his crimson Duel Disk. It read - Speed Counters: 1. "I Normal Summon Stygian Street Patrol (Lv.4, ATK: 1600) and set two cards, ending my turn!"
Evan observed his opponent's plays carefully. He knew for a fact that Security officers underwent a special dueling training and were more skilled than your regular duelist, so he expected more than that. But that setup, a single weak monster in attack position and two set cards, it was an obvious trap, but that wasn't going to stop him from attacking.
"Then it's my turn!" Evan drew his sixth card and put it on his Wrist Dealer.
『Turn 2 [Evan] LP: 4000 Hand: 6』
『Evan's Speed Counters: 2/Security's Speed Counters: 2』
"We are missing one piece." Avice informed her brother, staring at his cards from behind his shoulder. They needed one specific card for their winning formula to be finished, but it wasn't in their hand, yet.
"I know." Evan replied, not worried about that. He took a card and put it on the blade before him. "I Normal Summon ChronoDevil Summit Hornet!"
A portal opened and a large metallic hornet covered with golden platting appeared on the field. Its eyes flashed blue and its horn had a gear on it with two large clock arms coming from it, pointing to the sides.
ChronoDevil Summit Hornet
Level: 3/Attribute: DARK FIRE/Type: Insect/Effect
ATK: 1000/DEF: 500
Effect: When this card is Normal Summoned, you can Normal Summon 1 DARK monster from your hand, as an additional Normal Summon. You can banish this card from your Graveyard, then target 2 face-up Spell or Trap cards on the field; return them to the hand.
"What the?" The officer looked carefully at his screen. He pressed a button to zoom onto the monster that his opponent just summoned, but it wasn't a mistake, the small circle at right side of the name showed the colors and names of two attributes instead of just one like regular cards do!
"Now, I activate the effect of Summit Hornet! When it's summoned, I can Normal Summon again! Come out, ChronoDevil Speedster!" A second portal appeared and a humanoid in a dark brown suit of light armor jumped out of it. The monster had a breathing mask and goggles covering its face, two circular objects covered the back of its arms and instead of feet, it had wheels with tailpipes on its ankles.
ChronoDevil Speedster
Level: 3/Attribute: DARK WIND/Type: Warrior/Effect
ATK: 700/DEF: 1400
Effect: If this card attacks, it's ATK becomes triple this card's original ATK until the end of the Damage Step. If this card is Special Summoned: Draw 1 card.
"Two Level threes?" Avice looked at her brother curiously. She was wondering if he was going to go all out from the start. "Are you planning to Xyz Summon and lock down his set cards?"
"I'm interested in seeing what these security officers are all about." Evan replied. "Because of that I'm going to give them a chance to bite back."
The two ChronoDevil monsters turned back to look at Evan and silently nodded, knowing what was going to happen next. They slowed down to get behind the D-Wheel and then accelerated forward, jumping over the Greysons' heads; the monsters turned into whirlwinds of energy.
"Appear circuit of past and future!" Evan gestured forward and the square appeared before him, absorbing the two monsters. "Arrowheads confirmed! Summoning requirements are two ChronoDevil monsters! I set ChronoDevil Summit Hornet and ChronoDevil Speedster in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Here comes one of my favorite! The wild spirit dancing over fading ages! ChronoDevil Time Tamer Kitty!"
Out of the circuit jumped a neko girl with yellow eyes and long black hair tied into twin tails with large bells tied to them with blue ribbons. Two cat ears on top of her head and a long black tail with a white dot on the end were enough for people to figure out why her name was 'Kitty'. The monster had a red cloth tied around her neck like a scarf. She wore short, sleeveless brown vest that left her belly and shoulders revealed. Her fingernails were all colored red and she had a long black fingerless glove that reached to her elbow on her left arm. Underneath that she had a heavy belt wrapped loosely around her waist with a black skirt that was, very, very short and had bells tied to it. Finally, her outfit ended with black tight highs and dark brown boots that had a clock attached to the front. The neko girl held an old rifle in her arms as her weapon of choice.
ChronoDevil Time Tamer Kitty
Attribute: DARK EARTH/Type:Beast-Warrior/Link/Effect
L-Markers: Bottom-Left, Bottom-Right
ATK:1700/LINK-2
2 "ChronoDevil" monsters
Effect: When this card is Link Summoned, Special Summon 1 DARK monster from the GY. Once per turn (Quick Effect): If this card battles, you can make this card gain ATK equal to half the ATK of one monster it's linked to (until the end of this turn), and if you do, your opponent can't activate Trap Cards for the rest of the Battle Phase.
"A Link Summon?!" The Security officer called out in disbelieve. Even though it made logic since there were only two Extra Monster Zones onto the field, it was the first time he had to face one outside of training simulations.
"It's been so long!" Kitty meowed and stretched her arms. There was no need to worry about the security officer hearing her because humans weren't able to do so, unless they had a special connection to the spirits. "Who am I going to snap today, master?"
"I activate my monster's effect!" Evan declared and his monster aimed her weapon at the ceiling above them. "When Time Tamer Kitty is summoned, I can revive ChronoDevil Speedster!" The neko pulled the trigger of her weapon but instead of firing a bullet, a black vortex appeared before her and the aforementioned monster jumped out of it, landing next to Evan's side in attack position.
"And when Speedster is Special Summoned, we get to draw a card!" Avice explained the effect while Evan added another card to his hand. The girl saw a glimpse of the card that her brother drew by the effect and her eyes softly widened. "That's…"
"Next turn we win." Evan confirmed with a low mutter that only his sister could hear. He had collected all the pieces needed. "Now let's battle! ChronoDevil Speedster is going to attackStygian Street Patrol! Go!" The warrior's goggles glowed brightly and it dashed toward the demon.
"When Speedster attacks, his attack points get tripled!" A burning blue aura surrounded the warrior's body and it groaned loudly as its strength multiplied.
ChronoDevil Speedster, ATK: 700 * 3 → 2100
Stygian Street Patrol turned around and fired at ChronoDevil Speedster, but the warrior managed to outrun and dodge all of the bullets before he jumped over and delivered a kick right into the monster's face, destroying it. The shockwave from the attack caused the security officer's D-Wheel to shake a little, but he managed to steady it and glared back at his opponent.
『Security LP: 4000 – 500 → 3500』
"That kind of energy is too much to come from a simple level three monster!" The Security officer cried out. "What kind of cards are those?"
Evan's crimson eyes looked at the officer from behind the black visor of his red helmet and his lips curved into a smirk. "Those are cards of Darkness, they hold incredible power along with a powerful curse."
The security officer gasped at the bit of info that was provided to him. "A curse? What kind of,"
"Because the battle ended, Speedster's attack return back to normal." Evan cut him off and his monster slowed down so it was running next to the black D-Wheel.
ChronoDevil Speedster, ATK: 2100 / 3 → 700
"But we are not done yet!" Avice gestured toward with her right hand. "Right, bro?"
Evan nodded in respond to his sister's question and gestured forward as well. "ChronoDevil Time Tamer Kitty is going to attack you directly! And when she battles, half the attack power of a monster she points to gets absorbed to power her up!"
"Before you do that, I'm going to activate my Trap, Shadow Spell!" The first of Security's Trap Cards flipped face up and several chains shot out of it, tying themselves tightly around the neko's body. "When this card's in play, your monster loses seven hundred attack and can't declare an attack!"
ChronoDevilTime Tamer Kitty, ATK: 1700 - 700 → 1000
"That's just annoying!" the Duel Monster gritted her teeth and tried to break the chains, but to no avail – she was trapped. "I made such a grand debut only to be chain up like this is some sort of bondage session!"
"Not a bad move." Evan commented and took three cards from his Wrist Dealer, putting all of them onto the purple energy blade before him. "But are your traps better than mine? I set three cards and end my turn!"
"Traps, huh?" The Security officer looked at the three cards on his screen he was already prepared to deal with traps, but his opponent's words just confirmed his expectations. "You are going to be sorry for telling me that! My turn!"
『Turn 3 [Security] LP: 3500 Hand: 3』
『Evan's Speed Counters: 3/Security's Speed Counters: 3』
"Heh, nice!" The officer chuckled and pressed a button on his Duel Disk. "I activate the effect of Stygian Street Patrol in my Graveyard! I banish it to Special Summon another Stygian Street Patrol (Lv.4, ATK: 1600) from my hand!" A second copy of the field appeared with a creepy chuckle. "Next, I Normal Summon Stygian Security (Lv.1, ATK: 100)!" A small blue devil with wings on the side of its head and a red flash on the top appeared beside the other monster.
"Obvious Synchro Summon is obvious." Avice commented.
"I tune my Level One Stygian Security to my Level Four Stygian Street Patrol!" the officer shouted. His first monster turned into a green ring that flew around the second, which transformed into four balls of light. "Race your prey full throttle to the end of the world and capture it in the iron chains of law! Synchro Summon! Stygian Sergeants (Lv.5, ATK: 2200)!" A two headed demonic monster riding a bike appeared out of the light.
"Is it me, or are these monsters more demonic looking than us?" Kitty asked out loud.
"Let's battle!" The officer cried out and his Synchro speeded toward Evan. "I attack ChronoDevil Speedster with my Stygian Sergeants!"
"I think not!" Evan cried out and pressed a button, activating one of his own set cards. "I play Time Shift! This trap negates an attack against my ChronoDevil and turns all of your monsters to defense position!"
Time Shift (Trap) Normal
When your opponent declares an attack against a face-up "ChronoDevil" monster you control: Target that monster; negate the attack, then change to Defense Position all face-up monsters on the field with less than or equal ATK to the targeted monster's original ATK.
"I expected so much!" The officer stated. "I play my own trap, Trap Stun! Until the end of this turn, all other traps are negated, including the one you just activated!"
The card that Evan had activated turned grey and then shattered, leaving the field. The duelist however, didn't seem concerned at all, even as the attack continued and his warrior got ran over. A loud cry escaped Speedster's throat as he got destroyed, but it seemed to have fallen into deaf ears since neither Evan, nor Avice seemed concerned about the spirit.
『Evan LP: 4000 – 1500 → 2500』
『Evan's Speed Counters: 3 → 2』
"But it's not over!" The security officer continued. "Stygian Sergeants destroys a monster by battle, it gains eight hundred extra attack and can attack you again! Destroy his other monster!" the two demon heads looked up and the beast-warrior and shot their flame breath at the neko.
Stygian Sergeants, ATK: 2200 + 800 → 3000
"Kyah!" Kitty cried out in pain, her body was set on fire and then destroyed with the resulting shockwave knocking Evan's D-Wheel off balance for a few moments.
『Evan LP: 2500 – 2000 → 500』
『Evan's Speed Counters: 2 → 0』
"I'm ending my turn there!" the officer finished, his monster's attack returning back to its original value of 2200. "It seems like you are going to get in handcuffs after all!"
Evan didn't seem to acknowledge his opponent's taunting, let alone retort back to it, his attention was completely drawn onto the cards on his Wrist Dealer. There were no set cards on the officer's field, he must be either too cocky, or he had already used all of the traps in his hand. It didn't matter either way.
He was going to win anyways, so there was no point in overthinking that stuff.
"It's my turn, I draw!" Evan stated, drawing once more.
『Turn 4 [Evan] LP: 500 Hand: 3』
『Evan's Speed Counters: 1/Security's Speed Counters: 4』
Evan didn't even glance at the card that he drew before he put it on his Wrist Dealer. He had collected all the pieces needed for victory was turn, so this draw was just a formality. Avice leaned against her brother's back and looked at the cards from over his shoulder. She tightened her grip and pressed her body harder against his.
"Let's do it!" She told him with a smile.
Evan nodded and took a card, swiping it across the purple blade. "When there are no monsters on my field, I can Special Summon Unknown Synchron (Lv.1, ATK: 0) from my hand!" A small metal ball with a single red eye appeared before the D-Wheel. "Next, I Normal Summon ChronoDevil Starpulse Wyvern!"
A small purple dragon standing on its back legs appeared out of a portal and roared. Its wore clock gear ornaments on its ankles, knees, elbows and wrists, while its chest and neck were covered in brownish yellow scales with a green energy orb integrated in the center of the its chest. The dragon had a long tail which divided into two at the end and its wings were replaced by artificial ones made from yellow metal with fake purple patagia on them.
ChronoDevil Starpulse Wyvern
Level: 4/Attribute: DARK WIND/Type: Dragon/Effect
ATK: 1900/DEF: 1200
Effect: When this card is Summoned: You can target 1 face-up monster on the field; increase that target's Level by 1 or 2 until the end of this turn.
"I activate Starpulse's effect! When it's summoned, I can increase a monster's level by two and of course, I choose Unknown Synchron!" The dragon flew over the machine and roared, giving it a green aura.
Unknown Synchron's Level: 1 → 3
"Let's go!" Evan and Avice cried out together and their monsters flew in front of the D-Wheel. "I tune the Level Three Unknown Synchron to the Level Four Starpulse Wyvern!" The machine turned into three rings around the dragon and a beam of light enveloped the tunnel.
Evan's eyes began to glow and he started to chant. "Fearsome beast breaking through the boundaries of time! Lead me toward the future! Synchro Summon! Level Seven! ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon!"
A beam of light shot through the rings and a dragon flew out of it. The beast had a purple, slender body with its chest, arms and legs covered in golden armor and appearing to be artificial and made from the same material as its twin spiked long tail. The dragon had robotic wings and two long cannons sticking between them with long pipes connecting the weapons to the sides of its neck. The beast landed on its hind legs and I noticed the green cables attached to its limbs, generating its long claws. The same devices were placed and on its chest, connecting to the glowing orb in the center. Then its head, it had a long jaw filled with sharp teeth and had two falls of a clock gear attached to the side of its head like horns.
ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon
Level: 7/Attribute: DARK FIRE/Type: Dragon/Synchro/Effect
ATK: 2400/DEF: 1700
Effect: If this card battles a monster whose ATK is equal to or less than the ATK of this card, you can destroy the monster immediately with this card's effect without applying damage calculation, and inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's ATK. If this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard: You can add 1 Spell/Trap card from your Deck to your hand.
"A Synchro Summon at a time like this?" the officer looked over the strange cyborg dragon and gritted his teeth.
"Battle!" Evan accelerated his D-Wheel, easily passing around the officer with Mystic-Flare following behind him. "ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon attack Stygian Sergeants!"
Mystic-Flare Dragon leaned toward and aimed its cannons which started to charge green energy beams. Then it released the attack toward Stygian Sergeants which in turn prepared for the impact. The Security officer gritted his teeth; that was going to hurt a lot.
"At this moment I activate ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon's effect!" Evan continued on, his beam becoming bigger and more powerful. "If it battles a monster with lower or equal ATK I can automatically destroy that monster without Damage Calculation and inflict its ATK as damage! Time Nullify!"
The attack connected and the officer cried out as he was forced to take the full value of his own Synchro's attack value.
『Security LP: 3500 – 2200 → 1300』
『Security's Speed Counters: 4 → 2』
"Now, I activate my trap, Dimension Gate! This card lets me banish ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon!" Two rings flew out of Evan's card and enveloped his dragon, erasing it from the field.
"W-what?" The Security Officer looked confused. Why would someone banish their own monster like this? He felt like there was more to the boy's strategy and that was what worried him.
"I now activate my other trap, Wild Tornado to destroy Dimension Gate!" Evan's continuous trap shattered in front of him. "Now the other effect of Dimension Gate activates! I Special Summon the monster that was banished by its effect! Revive, ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon (Lv.7, ATK: 2400)!"
"Impossible!" The officer gasped as Mystic-Flare Dragon flew in front of him and roared.
"Now for the finish!" Avice called out.
"ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon attacks you directly! Electro Storm!" The dragon aimed its cannons for one more attack and blasted the officer. His D-Wheel burst into a cloud of smoke and decelerated, fading into the distance as Evan drove forward at full speed.
『Security LP: 1300 - 2400 → 0』
『Winner: Evan』
"That was a nice one!" Avice grinned.
Evan kept his focus on the road, or the railway in that case. Surely, the officer was going to call for backup, so he had to escape the tunnel before any more cops showed up. Soon, light became visible at the end of the tunnel and the boy accelerated further. What was just a small dot in the distance began to grow in size and become more detailed. Evan could almost see what was outside!
Then, the familiar sound of police sirens echoed through the air once again. The Duelist pressed his brakes and turned the wheels, sliding sideways until he came to a full stop. Evan narrowed his eyes, standing in front of them was a barricade of police cars with security officers standing outside, aiming their guns at the siblings. The one he dueled before was behind them, so both sides for escape were blocked, there was no escape.
"Hold your hands where we can see them!" One of the officers shouted at them.
Evan glanced back at his sister waiting for her response. She nodded solemnly and both of them raised their arms in the air.
"Can I go for a speeding ticket instead?" Evan asked awkwardly.
So, I see that you are still alive. This concludes the first chapter of "Tales of Light and Darkness" and if you want to read more of it, then go ahead and click the "Follow" button to get notification when I update it. If not, then, please leave a review and let me know your thoughts. Hearing feedback from others is the best motivation for a writer and it also helps me with improving the writing.