Tamma sighed. The boy looked at his own reflection in the rocket's window and saw a now eighteen year old duelist. His crimson spiky hair was still held backwards thanks to his black bandana, but gone was the childish enthusiasm from his eyes. Without his youthful energy and curious behavior, the real Tamma was no more. What was left of him was a decayed husk of a teen. But why was he like this? What happened?

The day before the final exam of the Duel Masters school took place. Passing that exam meant not only graduation, but also the receiving of a diploma that would qualify one as an expert duelist. And how much Tamma hoped he would pass it! Everyone was counting on him: his family, his friends, his classmates, and most importantly, his two idols… But alas, that never came to be. He was the only one in his class to flunk the test, and such; he was taken to the office of Principal Wally.

"I did my best!" cried Tamma.

"And it was still not enough." replied Wally, who was dressed in a black suit with a red tie. "To think I was actually holding my fingers crossed for you. I should have expected you to fail all along; after all, you were always the weakest of the chosen duelists."

"But I…"

"No buts! You are deemed worthless not only to the school, but also to the dueling society! That means you have to receive your punishment."

"Punishment?"

The brown haired male reached for something in his drawer and pulled out a note that he offered to the red haired teen.

"Take this; you'll need it for your trip tomorrow." Wally explained and then he returned to his computer and began typing quickly.

"Huh? Where am I going?" a confused Tamma asked.

"You will soon see. Until then, I am sending an e-mail to your mother so that she knows what a failure of a son you've turned out to be."

Tamma rubbed his face. He still couldn't believe that it all ended up to that. It must have been some sort of terrible nightmare. But before he could delude himself into that way of thinking, a shriek from Wally made him turn around and run out of the office.

"You're still here? Get out, you shame of a human being!"

He had received no greetings from his mother, just a slap on the cheek as he got home, her disappointment being more than obvious. All of the tutoring hours she paid for, all the days she spent feeding and flying him to school, all that time and all those resources spent into making Tamma grow into the man she hoped to see had failed.

The next morning was a cloudy one. As he woke up, he saw that his luggage was already prepared – a suitcase with a pajama, two sandwiches and his cards. His mother escorted him to the rocket and afterwards she turned her back and never looked at him once.

In those times, in a society where dueling was playing a higher role more than ever, it was unacceptable for one to fail their final exam at the dueling school. If you flunked it, that meant that you were not skilled enough as a duelist and you would not be able to compete in tournaments or defend your city in case there was an invasion or a catastrophe. Because summoning creatures from cards into the real world proved to be far more effective than any other weapon mankind could have designed. But one had to tame those creatures too, for if they failed, they would end up putting everyone in danger. That was why that exam was so important, for the knowledge of everything that meant to be a duelist was going to be tested: from the game's knowledge to the safety ways in which one could control their creatures and own kaijudo energy. But now Tamma had failed, and he would have to face the consequences of being a social reject.

And now there he lay all alone in the back seat of a taxi rocket that was flying him all the way to the middle of nowhere. Both sandwiches had already been eaten, as more than half a day must have passed since they left. The driver spoke no word to him, no matter how many times he tried to strike a conversation. Outside it started raining, but it was no ordinary rain, it was a usual summer rain: sudden, abundant and loud. However that did not hinder the travel at all.

Over the course of those hours Tamma managed to reflect upon his whole life, upon his heroic deeds, his achievements, but also upon his mistakes and wrong doings. It was tough admitting to himself that in certain places he was wrong, but in the end he had no choice. The loneliness of the travel forced him to analyze himself lucidly. And now he had come to a conclusion: he would go back, he would study harder and he would attempt to regain what was once lost. Yes, that was he was going to do.

But just as the teen was about to get up from the back seat and tell the driver to turn around, the rocket began to land. The boy looked at what lied ahead of him and saw an immense factory out of which smoke was rising into the raining sky. There were few lights shining through its small windows and it seemed that there was no parking lot or main entrance into the building.

"Your journey ends here, kiddo." the driver finally spoke.

"Huh?" interjected Tamma.

"Get your luggage outta here. This is your final destination."

"This place?"

"Do I have to repeat myself? Move it!" the now impatient driver snarled.

In a few moments Tamma found himself out in the rain with just a suitcase in his right hand. The rocket had taken off and he watched the fire its engine was leaving in the sky slowly disappear in the rain. Looking back at the place he came from, he could barely distinguish a few hills. Once again the boy sighed and then he turned around to the factory, the place where his future lied.

Now that he caught a better glance at the factory, he noticed that its furnaces had sharp mouths shaped like arrows, the building was symmetrically shaped, and hanging above the center of the roof was a wheel that he immediately recognized as the Fire civilization's symbol.

"What is this place?" Tamma whispered.

The screech of a door made his heart suddenly beat faster. He looked to a corner and noticed that out of a small opened door came a tall skinny figure dressed fully in black and with a gas mask covering their head.

"Hey you; get inside now!" a cold demanding voice came from it.

Tamma nodded and followed the stranger inside. As he stepped in, the door slammed shut. The teen gulped and looked around. There were few neon lights shining from the ceiling, some of them flipping on and off. The walls were rather rusty, the temperature was rather hot, the narrow hallway seemed endless, and to top it off, he spotted a black spider knitting its web in a corner.

"May I see your document?" the strange man's voice shifted to a calmer one.

"Oh yes, sure!" Tamma exclaimed, remembering the small piece of paper that Wally offered him.

In a matter of moments the paper ended up in the gloved hands of the tall man. In order to read it, he pulled off his mask and revealed the almost skeletal face of a skinny old man with grey long hair extending from the back of his head, shining baldness at the top of his head, and a pair of black eyes with a cold stare in them. After reading the contents of the paper, he gave Tamma a disgusted glare and spoke:

"Ah yes, another failure, you kids just aren't happy until one of you flunks it, no?"

"I tried…" Tamma murmured sorrowfully.

"That's what they all say." the old man dismissed and took Tamma's luggage. "I'll take this to your room. But until then, let me show you the whole factory."

"What is this place?"

"Oh, you'll soon see. And you better get used to it, 'cause you'll be spending the last days of your wretched life here."

The sound of those last words made Tamma shiver. Was he going to spend the rest of his life there? Would he never see his friends and family again? Would he simply be forgotten by everyone in the middle of nowhere? Unfortunately, the answer lied ahead of him.

The boy reluctantly followed the strange elderly man and together they wandered through different halls, climbed a few stairs, and at one point even took an elevator. The path they were taking was so confusing to the young duelist that he could barely remember how the first hall looked like. On his way, he could not help but notice the few red stains on some of the doors' dirty windows. Also, besides the heat that sometimes was growing, there was also a strange stench that bothered him and he had trouble of hiding his distaste. At one point, his guide broke the silence that lied between them, making their tour a little more comfortable.

"Oh, where are my manners? I am Doctor Edward Nieg, the only medical personnel you'll find in this place." the man introduced himself without even turning his head to the teen. "However, there aren't many people that require my medical treatment nowadays besides the big boss."

"And just who is this 'big boss'?" Tamma asked curiously.

"Don't you worry, you'll meet him soon, I assure you. But for now I expect you wonder what we are doing here, no? Well, for your information, this factory has been built almost a century ago on the premise of making machine pieces. Then something happened, something that made the men at that time shift a part of their work into something else. That something was fuel. And we needed lots and lots of fuel."

"Fuel? Fuel for what?"

"For everything! Look around you, kid, this is the twenty second century, everything around us is mechanical, and everything relies on fuel to work! Some prefer solar energy and electricity, but we've found another way of fueling our machines."

"And what might that be?"

"Fire!"

Right in that moment the two stepped in a large room, they walking on a corridor that was suspended above. It was clear to Tamma that the room was at least two levels big. When he looked down, he saw many conveyor belts moving strange metallic pieces and a handful of tall muscular masked people hammering them. In the middle of the room lied a large engine that was making the entire conveyor belts move, and under it there was a burning fire that was keeping it move. The red haired boy leaned a bit on the safety bars to have a better look at what was going on.

"Wow, who are they?" he asked, fascinated of the sight.

"They're just the regular paid workers. The ones with a salary and a decent job. Enjoy their sight, you won't be seeing them again where you're going. Scum like you only deserve to work with those of your level." the doctor coldly answered.

"Hey, I may have failed an exam, but that doesn't make me a scum!" Tamma frustratingly replied, being fed up with being treated like garbage for almost a day.

"Lie to yourself all you want, but that will never hide the truth." came the final response from the old man who then resumed walking.

After a few more minutes of wandering, they finally ended up in front of a large door upon which the words 'WARNING – UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL KEEP OUT' were written in red upon black. With a small secretive grin on his face, the old doctor opened the door and then he turned to Tamma, uttering:

"Why don't you go meet your new friends while I prepare your room?"

"Friends?" Tamma repeated.

"Why yes, your fellow co-workers. Or did you think that we would make you go through this all alone?" the doctor spoke satisfactorily.

Now the red haired duelist was highly panicked. Was he actually going to work the rest of his life as a slave in the factory? Was that what cruel fate had in store for him? It just did not seem fair to him. But before he could complain, the doctor pushed him inside and slammed the door shut, just like he did before.

What lied ahead of him was a large windowless room that was dimly lit by red neon lights. He could distinguish a handful of people working, their hands lying on conveyor belts. There were also four muscular men lying in each corner of the room, each dressed similarly to the workers he had seen before. Sitting against a wall was a large wingless red dragon with a blonde mane and samurai gear upon its body. The creature held two cross shaped swords that seemed to be rusting. Also, its eyes were shut, seemingly sleeping.

"G-Genji Double Cross…" Tamma recognized the creature. "What's he doing here?"

But then Tamma's attention switched to something else. In the very center of the room, lying imposingly was a giant wine glass shaped contraption under which all conveyor belts ended. Unlike the engine he had seen before, this one did not function by the use of fire.

"Well, well, looks like we've got a visitor." a male voice resounded right from the strange machine.

Immediately everyone's attention shifted from their work to Tamma. The sight of all those eyes staring down upon him did not delight him at all. Then again, nothing around him did. The person sitting above everyone slowly descended on the machine's stairs while making his welcoming speech:

"Ladies and gentlemen, stop your work for a few moments, because today's prisoner is a very special guest. I bring you – Tamma Gochi! He is the former chosen fire duelist, and now a dueling school dropout, hehe."

Nobody caught on with his humor, but the masked male did not care. He resumed his discourse:

"I suppose you've been called worthless and all that stuff by now, am I right? Well don't fear, kid, for they were all a pack of lying pieces of shit. From now on you will prove to be very useful for us all."

"How? By serving as your slave in this terrible place?" Tamma cried.

"Now, now, I wouldn't call it terrible, not after knowing the beauty of how everything works here. I suppose the good doctor gave you some introductory explanations. In that case, I'll continue from where he stopped. You see, our fuel is indeed fire, as he probably told you. But what he didn't tell you… were how this fire is being made, and more importantly, who came up with the idea!"

Right now the strange figure was face to face with Tamma, and the teenager could observe the red colored eyes through the gas mask.

"A long time ago, the factory workers were approached by a mysterious man who suggested that they use a new type of fuel for their work. When asked what he was speaking of, he revealed that he was in fact possessed. But it was no ordinary demon, no. It was none other than the great Dorballom, Lord of Demons."

"D-Dorballom…" a few shocked whispers came from the enslaved workers.

"The Lord of Demons used the man to spit out a new type of fire; we call it Black Fire, which fueled all of the factory's engines to such a magnitude that they needed nothing else for a few weeks. Dorballom explained to them that the only way they could harness such power was by channeling enough kaijudo energy that belonged both to the Darkness and Fire civilizations. Once enough energy is channeled through a source, Black Fire will erupt into the source and could thus be used for the factory's goals."

"Then why do you need us all here?" Tamma's question arose.

"I'm glad you asked that. You see, this is the fun part. Sadly nowadays you can barely find any strong duelists to gather enough kaijudo energy, so we needed something else to boost things up a little."

In the next moment the man's right hand reached for his head and pulled off his mask, revealing messy red hair that was shaped like a flame, a pair of cold red eyes and a smirk of pure sadism. A few workers gasped and Tamma's eyes widened. It was Rad Flames! Tamma's predecessor, a hero in his own rights and an all time racing champion, the Rad Flames was there in that cursed factory. It had to be a dream, some sort of twisted nightmare. Tamma could never believe that one of his childhood idols was working in such a place. All of a sudden, he began to feel dizzy and the room span with him until, not being able to resist, he collapsed on his knees.

Rad, now a man that was six months away from the age of twenty five, leaned to Tamma so that his psychotic face could meet the eighteen year old boy's scared expression.

"Surprise, Tamma!" he greeted but received nothing except for more stares of disbelief. "What's the matter, Tamma? You look like you've seen a ghost." he continued teasing him.

"This can't be…" Tamma mumbled.

"Oh but it is! Take a good look at me, Tamma, because this is the true me. This is what I'm up to when there are no cameras around."

"Why… Why are you doing this?"

"I'll get to that soon, but first I think I've got some explaining to do." Rad said while backing off and then he resumed his speech. "You see, there was only one way we could gather up enough energy, and that was through human lives! We devised this machine in such a way that we could have a duel on it, gather kaijudo energies from the match, no matter how weak they were, and when all was over, the defeated one would grant the remaining energy required for the machine to channel Black Fire. In fact, let me show you a test run."

With the explanation being done, Rad unzipped his costume and revealed his red racer suit that was decorated with yellow flames. He turned around and walked to the bunch of scared workers, asking delightfully:

"Are there any volunteers today?"

All that he received were glares of hate, this disappointing him due to the fact that he would have to once again pick someone at random. Their lack of courage to face him annoyed him and made him wish to be done with them even quicker.

Suddenly, a bald teen erupted in running and headed desperately for the opened door from the other side of the room. Rad crossed his hands as he watched two of the guards rush at him and then he spoke:

"Seems like I've found my volunteer."

Unfortunately for the would be fugitive, the guards were much faster than him and when he was a few steps away from freedom, he was pinned down to the ground, his arms and legs immobilized. To punish him, the guards had him electrocuted with tasers. Then they brought him up to the two dueling tables from the machine while Rad himself climbed the stairs as well, eager for a match.

The two guards pushed the bald teen in front of his dueling table where his deck had already been prepared by a third guard. In the meantime, the fourth guard was making sure all the four entrances to the room were locked.

"No, I don't want to duel! I can't take this anymore!" the desperate prisoner cried out.

"Well too bad, because you've lost your freedom of choice a long time ago, punk." Rad replied coldly while placing his deck on the dueling table, all cards emanating a dark red aura. "Heh, beat me and you'll win your ticket to freedom."

Freedom, such a beautiful word, but sadly, it lost its meaning to the boy a long time ago. Even if he would have defeated Rad, he never expected to be granted freedom as reward. Still, it was his only chance left, so he had to take all the risks. Reluctantly, he set up his shields and then he looked at his opponent.

"Duel start!" both declared.

Their first turns went off normally, both charging mana and ending, Rad's being Fire while the teen's being Darkness. Then Rad's turn came again, he sliding a Nature card in his mana zone, tapping both and showing two cards from his hand.

"I cast Faerie Gift and make the next creature I summon cost three mana less. Then I summon Magnum, Fast Attack Puppet!"

An eyeless puppet dressed in blue jeans, a blue shirt covered by a brown vest, a dark brown cape, a pair of cowboy boots and a cowboy hat with flames on it landed by Rad's side. The puppet raised both its guns and aimed them for the prisoner's shields.

"Heh, my Magnum's not only a 3000 powered speed attacker, but while he's in the battle zone, whenever we put creatures in the battle zone without paying their cost, those creatures are destroyed." Rad explained. "Now go, Magnum, break a shield!"

The trigger happy puppet immediately had one of the five shields penetrated by its rain of bullets. With that the racer's turn ended.

"I cast Emergency Typhoon." the bald male showed the Water spell card that allowed him to draw two cards, after which he discarded Necrodragon Guljeneraid. "I end my turn."

"I summon Ochappi, Pure Hearted Faerie." Rad made a peach haired faerie dressed in a white kimono appear by his side and make the Faerie Gift spell from his graveyard go to his mana zone as a fourth card. "Magnum, break another shield!"

Another wave of merciless bullets came from the cowboy puppet and they managed to break another shield down in pieces. However, this time a shining green light came from the broken shield. The boy showed it to his opponent, uttering:

"Shield trigger, I cast Faerie Life and put the top card of my deck to the mana zone!"

"Heh, maybe you might prove to be a challenge." Rad smirked.

"I summon Phantom Spear Zircon." the prisoner said and an ice creature with spear like limbs and only one eye lying on its sharp head appeared by his side, allowing him to draw a card and discard a second Necrodragon Guljeneraid. "I'm done."

"You sure are done." the racer's menacing voice replied.

Immediately Rad's right hand erupted with a flame shaped red aura. Four cards tapped in his mana zone as he showed another pair of two cards to his opponent, saying:

"I cast another Faerie Gift. Then I summon Genji Double Cross, Blastdragon!"

The dragon that had slept all that time in the room finally opened its eyes. But gone was the heroic stare of those eyes that had once witnessed great battles against invading demons. That had been replaced by the shining red lights of the fires of hell. The dragon growled, revealing its teeth, as it approached the dueling table.

"How pathetic, getting a blocker out in the hope of stopping my attacks. Well, let me disappoint you by saying that my Genji destroys a blocker every time he attacks." Rad broke it to his opponent.

"But that means…" the bald teen mumbled.

"That it's all over. Genji Double Cross, destroy Zircon and double break his shields!" the racer ordered and immediately the dragon rushed at the opponent, swinging one of the cross shaped swords and cutting the ice creature in half, the other sword also being swung and used to slash two shields.

But it seemed that the second sword went a little farther than the shields, because after the attack blood started coming out of the prisoner's forehead. Seeing that his face was bleeding, the boy dropped his cards, starting to panic.

"Ochappi, break his final shield!" Rad ordered, not being moved at all by his opponent's suffering.

The faerie jumped in the air, swinging her white staff, and with a general kung fu move coming from her, the final shield was down as well, leaving the opponent defenseless.

"Magnum, finish the job, todomeda!" came Rad's order for the final attack.

The cowboy puppet took a cool pose as it aimed its right gun at the terrified victim. Immediately it pressed the trigger and a single bullet made its solitary journey through the air and into the right side of the bald male's chest. The teen fell on the floor, crying in pain.

Rad had become famous in the dueling world for the very fact that his duels were quick and swift. With his Genji Gift deck, as he dubbed it, almost all of the opponent's forms of defense were easily dealt with at the very early stages of the game, all while he could keep attacking until he would win.

Looking down at the suffering bald teen, he couldn't enjoy the sight any more. Gesticulating with his right hand, he made one of the guards go to the closet and bring him a red samurai sword with one side of the blade being shaped like a chainsaw. Upon receiving it, he fondled the straight side of the blade, all while looking down at the machine he was sitting on. Two tubes were being filled with red and purple energy that was going downwards. It was such great luck for him that his opponent used Darkness, that way he did not have to use other means into getting Darkness kaijudo energy. As for Fire, he himself was a Fire user, and a strong one, so that part was easily dealt with.

Now time for round two came. Rad pulled a lever and before the bald teen knew it, the machine had tied him up with chains and raised him up above a hole, holding his body by his limbs in an X position. The racer slowly approached, grinning at the sight of his victim's despair.

"Now that you've shown me what a weakling you are, it's time to at least put your body to some good use." Rad chuckled.

Until the prisoner could even comprehend all that he said, the red blade pierced through his upper torso, not far from his bullet wound. He screeched out in pain, terrifying all other factory slaves, but delighting his tormentor. Rad moved the sword down his body in a diagonal way, and then when he reached the half, he raised it once again up, also in a diagonal way, making a perfect V on the body. Then, with a simple swing, he pulled the sword out and let the blood splash his own body as well as the machine. Not being able to endure the pain anymore, the teen lost his consciousness.

Rad did not care anymore. He simply swung his sword again and sliced the victim's belly open, letting the intestines slowly fall out in a pool of blood. Slash! Another sword's swing made the intestines land on the machine alongside the pancreas, liver, kidneys and bladder. The sight of those guts was more than pleasant to him, almost a cathartic experience. No matter how many duels or races he would win, it would never have granted him as much pleasure as this.

Taking another look at his victim, he noticed that the heart was slowly ceasing from pumping blood. Unfortunately, that signaled that his fun was over. He needed the body alive for the machine, but in the same time he also wanted a small prize. Rad dropped the sword, took the bloody intestines and pushed the rest down the hole with his foot. Afterwards he pulled the lever back to normal and the chains untied from the still living victim, causing them to fall after their organs in the machine.

That was it; this was how the defeated one would grant enough energy for the machine to produce Black Fire. Their own body's energy and more importantly, their own life was the thing that combined with the kaijudo energies unleashed by the duel helped the machine channel the desired fuel. In a matter of moments, out of the small hole at the lower part of the machine, shaped like the foot of a wine glass, Black Fire emerged. Its burning darkness was terrifying all of the workers, but that did not matter. The flames were poured upon a really small engine and that was what made the entire conveyor belts run even quicker than usual.

As for Rad, he had gotten his real prize. Not caring for who was watching he unzipped his suit's jacket and let it fall behind him. Then he pulled off his red shirt and tossed it away, revealing his upper body. He was no muscular fighter, that much was clear, but he was not skinny either. The years of training in rocket racing had built up his body a bit, just enough for him to be able to compete. And now he took a lustful look at the bloody intestines that he so masterfully butchered out of that slave. In the very next moment, he began rubbing them all over his chest and belly, almost as if they were a sponge with which he was washing himself. The feeling of blood falling down his skin, the smell of flesh, all was so pleasant, so arousing. It was as if he finally knew what heaven felt like.

Tamma, who had noticed everything that happened, was beyond shock. In less than half an hour, the man he looked up to his entire life had degraded himself into a monster. What was worse, in the course of a day and a half, all of his childhood dreams had been shattered to pieces. Now all that he wanted was to somehow escape the factory, run away as far as possible, and inform the world of the atrocities that were going on there. But for that to happen, he needed to find a way out. All of the doors were locked, that was a problem. There were four guards, an even bigger problem.

The sounds of running feet awoke him to reality. Tamma noticed that now all of the workers had been terrified of Rad's behavior, and not wishing the same fate, they all spread in the four places of the room, heading to each of the locked doors. The guards were about to go and stop them, but with a single gesture from Rad's right hand, they stood back and watched how Genji Double Cross attacked them like a wolf jumping at its prey. The dragon used its cross shaped swords and then blood was splattered on the walls. That's when Tamma realized that the dragon's swords were not rusty, and that in fact they were bloodstained. Having finished with one side of the room, Genji lashed at the prisoners from another, not leaving a single one alive. Those who were fortunate enough to reach the doors had the misfortune of seeing them locked. They knocked at them desperately, begging for someone to save them, but to no avail. They all fell as prey to the samurai dragon.

There was no time for Tamma to feel sorry for them or to cry at his own fate. He had to find a way to escape the damned room. The guards would certainly pose a problem to him. Then there was Genji Double Cross, whose swords awaited to slice and dice. Wait a minute, that was it! That was his way out. But for that he needed to distract those around him, a hard thing since he was the only prisoner left. Tamma reached for his deck, but noticed that it was not there. Remembering that he left all of his cards in his suit case, he spat, cursing:

"Shit!"

He took another look at Rad, the sight of the racer now disgusting him. But then he hatched up another plan. If all worked well, he could distract everyone and be out of there in the same time. The problem of escaping the factory would be dealt with afterwards.

"Why are you doing all of this?" Tamma cried out, finally catching the murderer's attention.

Rad let go of the intestines and then he took his red shirt and put it back on his bloodied body, not caring that he would stain it with the river of life. Then he descended on the machine's stairs and approached the brave Tamma who looked him in the eye all the way.

"Why? WHY?!" Rad lashed out at him. "I don't really believe in motives, Tamma. You see, it's a lot scarier when there is no motive."

"Bullshit! You couldn't have done all this out of nothing!" the red haired teen tried to reason.

"Well you're going to die one of these days, so I guess you probably deserve to know the truth. You see, kid, seven years ago I faked my death. Many people thought that I survived by a miracle, but in reality everything was an elaborate plan. I had received a message from this factory to join them in order to gain more income, but with the price of sacrificing a year or two of my life to work here. I agreed and when everyone thought I was dead, I came here. Me being the awesome fire duelist that you know, I was an important element for them. I dueled many workers and had them die before my eyes. I remember the first time someone died because of me. I was shocked beyond belief. I wanted to quit it all and run away. But then something ticked in, when I saw him desperately struggle to not fall in the machine, I felt an immense power like never before, I had strength over him, it was as if I was actually dominating him. And that's how it all began. At first I was just a simple duelist that defeated everyone not only to supply the machine with required energies, but also to ensure that I myself don't end up in it one day. And as long as I won, I never had to fear that. Then again, I also wanted to run away from this place as fast as possible and tell the world of everything that was going on here. But there was only one way to do that. Yes, I secretly worked myself up to becoming the manager of the factory. Yes, I own it now. How? You don't know how simple it was to poison that motherfucker that used to own this place. That was it; I could finally leave this place and end it all. But something else happened, something that made me not only stay, but continue this business both as manager and chief executioner. A year had passed since I faked my death, and I decided it was the perfect time to return to the world. I rejoined my friends and acted all normal. Nobody suspected a thing. And to make things better, with all the income that the factory gained from selling its machine pieces and also with the secret sales of Black Fire over the black market, I could finally afford many things, such as my mansion back in our city as well as new racing gears for my rocket and… But anyway, that's all you need to know."

"I thought you cared for me…" Tamma whimpered. "I was your protégé. I trained so hard to take that exam. I wanted to become a dueling champion just like you. I wanted to make you proud of me. You were like a big brother to me. Now that means nothing to you? Are you actually going to leave me for the dead? After all we've went through…"

Those words changed the psychotic look on Rad's face into one filled with wrath. The glare in his eyes seemed to have reverted to the one the teen once knew. Rad grabbed Tamma by his shoulders tightly and growled into his face:

"I did care! You had potential, kid, that's why I taught you all the secrets I knew of the Fire civilization. I trusted you. In fact, you were the only one that kept my humanity alive." Rad shouted in Tamma's face and he noticed that small salty liquids formed in his red eyes. "Failure was not an option, you had to pass that exam and prove to everyone that you didn't need luck to be a true duelist. When you failed that exam, you didn't just fail the school and yourself, but you've failed me, and trust me, failing Rad Flames is the last thing you want to do." while uttering those words, Rad's stare reverted to the previous sadistic one as he let go of Tamma's shoulders. "Now you're dead to me. Gee, thanks, kid, you've managed to kill the last shreds of humanity that once existed in me."

Taking another look at him, Tamma felt sorry for Rad. He felt sorry for what his idol had become, and he knew that it was not the racer's fault. It was the factory's fault. It was the machine's fault, no, not the Black Fire producing machine, but the machine in which all workers were caught. Rad may have been the leader now, but he was yet another cog in that great machine that encompassed all that was in that factory.

"What happened to you?" Tamma uttered, even if he already knew the story.

"Victims… aren't we all?" Rad grinned at him.

Seizing the opportunity of the racer having lowered his defense, Tamma jumped in the air and used his foot to kick him in the stomach and have him fall on his back a few feet away. The four guards rushed at him, but Tamma ducked and all of them knocked each other in the head, the quartet falling wounded on the floor. Then there was Genji Double Cross. The dragon ran towards the red haired teen, its swords ready to be stained with even more blood. But just when one of the swords was about to cut Tamma's body in half, the boy jumped to the left, avoiding it, and having the blade that was the size of a human pierce through the main entrance door. Tamma jumped and landed on the dragon's head, kicking it in the forehead and knocking the creature out. Afterwards he rushed through the opening made by the sword and thus he was free.

"No!" came Rad's shout. "Don't let him get away!"

But the guards had all passed out. Angered, Rad kicked one of them in the stomach and spoke to himself:

"Worthless bastards… If you want to get a job done nowadays, you've got to do it yourself."

Tamma ran through the corridors in the opposite direction from where he previously came. It didn't matter where he was going; all that he knew was that he had to go forward, as far away as possible from that accursed room, and hopefully, near the exit. But that factory was so big, so maze like, that finding an exit was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Moreover, the halls looked so similar that they could easily give anyone lacking a map the impression of running around in circles.

Soon Tamma heard other running footsteps coming from behind. Turning his head, he had the horror of witnessing an angered Rad running athletically towards him, seemingly catching up. No, he couldn't allow himself to get captured and go back there. He had to somehow get out of that nightmarish place and inform the world of what was going on. But for now he had to hide. Yes, he had to hide in order to ensure that his own life was safe so that he could live to tell the tale. In the next moment he turned to the corridor from the right and immediately hid in the very first room his eyes laid upon. Luckily for him, Rad didn't take into consideration the fact that he was hiding and just kept rushing down that corridor.

Tamma wiped the sweat off his face and sighed. His heart's beats were rushing worse than a racing horse. So much was at stake and now everything was lying by a thread. Trying to concentrate, he turned around and saw that he was in a janitor's room. Not exactly the most exquisite hideout, but it had to do. Then he also saw that there was a man around Rad's age lying against a window, gazing at the cloudy sky from which tears were falling. He distinguished the pair of dark blue jeans and the short sleeved black T shirt upon which there was the mark of the Darkness civilization – a four horned mask, half black, half white, with its oval eyes also half black and half white. His black mane was falling gracefully on his shoulders. It was obvious to Tamma who this was. He exploded in cries and hugged him, crying:

"Brother Subaru, it is you! I missed you so much!"

But there was no response coming from the one called Subaru. Tamma kept weeping:

"I'm so scared! Help me, please! Brother Rad's gone mad!"

To Tamma, Subaru was his last light of hope. Ironically, since he was once the chosen darkness duelist. Also, Subaru was the other idol that Tamma looked up to. Thanks to him and Rad, the boy was now using both the Fire and Darkness civilizations in his deck. For once, the fears of Rad and of the factory had disappeared, because with Subaru by his side, he knew that he would be able to find a way out. Unfortunately, those final hopes were shattered as Subaru whispered to him in a malicious voice:

"We all go a little mad sometimes."

Those words struck him like lightning. Tamma let go of the hug and backed down, looking at the one in front of him. Subaru grinned, revealing sharp fangs. He then opened his eyes, that were black instead of white, and the brown iris had shifted into shining red. Tears of blood formed and swelled down the cheeks of the darkness duelist.

"Not you too!" Tamma exclaimed.

"Oh Tamma, dear little Tamma, do you happen to know what the greatest and most tempting sin is?" Subaru asked, slowly approaching him, making the teen back down.

"N-no…" he murmured, afraid.

"It's giving up the last bits of sanity that you were born with and surrendering to the inner beast." the black haired man explained with a deep hissed and growled voice that sounded worse than a dog's coughing.

If Tamma hardly handled one shock, a second one almost blew him to pieces. Even his second idol had gone over to the dark side. Or were they both together in this to begin with? What about the rest of the team? What about Sora, Edo and Tsugumi? Did they mean nothing to them? There were so many questions and no answers.

"Do you want to play with me?" Subaru's question struck him.

Tamma watched how the demonic version of the once warm hearted darkness duelist approached him with the same killer intents as Rad. But while Rad was simply out of his mind, Subaru looked like he was possessed. Not wasting one more second, Tamma immediately rushed out of the janitor's closet and resumed his running down the corridor, trying desperately to find any sort of exit: a window, a vent, a door, anything. During those haunting moments of insanity in which survival instinct had taken over, the run seemed even more tiresome and the corridor even longer.

"There's the brat, get him!" Rad's shout was heard from the corridor, waking the boy to reality.

Tamma looked behind him and saw two muscular masked workers dressed fully in black rush after him. In front of him, Rad was waiting with his arms open wide. That was it, he was cornered. Or so they thought. The red haired boy looked above himself and saw an opened air vent. Not thinking twice, he jumped and grabbed it with his arms. Then he quickly entered it and disappeared through the ventilation pipes.

"Fuck!" Rad yelled and kicked a wall. "And you two shitheads, you just couldn't grab him before he jumped up there, could you?"

"But sir…" one of them tried to defend himself only to receive a punch in the face.

"I'm surrounded by fucking morons!" the racer complained and then he looked up at the air vent. "But don't think it's over, Tamma, I won't rest until I personally slice you open and see your insides. That's a promise."

The air ventilation pipes were getting narrower the more Tamma advanced. The feeling of suffocation was persistent due to the lack of clean air. Also, with hardly any light to see, the darkness seemed dominating, eternal and pure, as if he were one with it. But he didn't let himself distracted by those details, he had to move on and find a way out of there. Then all of a sudden, he heard voices echo in his head. They were not at all normal in any sense. They were mysterious, alluring, and in some cases, demonic even.

"Tamma…"

"Come to me…"

"You know you want to…"

"There is no escape…"

"You will become one with the others…"

"Tamma…"

The teen put his hands on his head, struggling hard to escape the maniacal melody of their choir. He closed his eyes and snarled:

"Get out of my head!"

"Tamma…" one of the voices sounded closer than the others.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a pair of red dots shine in the darkness in front of him. Right then he was grabbed by a pair of hands and pinned down against the cold metal. Whoever or whatever it was; now it crawled on him. And he could feel its breath on his soaking cheeks. Fear had gotten the best of him, no matter how much he tried to suppress it. And in the end, it was fear that had doomed him, for it rendered him weak in front of the enemy right in that very moment.

"No tears, please. It's a waste of good suffering." Tamma immediately recognized the devilish voice as belonging to Subaru.

"Get off me!" Tamma shrieked and punched him, making the black haired one fall off and disappear in the darkness of the vent.

No, he would not submit to fear, not after how far he had gone. He had to finish his quest before it was too late. But just as Tamma tried to gather his thoughts, he heard noises coming from behind. When he looked back, he had the horror of witnessing Rad crawling through the tight metallic spaces. His shirt was torn in many places, probably due to the climbing inside; his head was bleeding from the right side, possibly from hitting it once he got in. He didn't care how many scratches he was getting from the metal, not even the blood that was falling on his right eye didn't hinder him one bit. Now he was set only on catching Tamma, no matter the cost.

"Come back here, you little fuck, I'll rip you to shreds!" the psychopath shouted murderously.

The teen tried to resume his running, but he saw the two red dots shine in front of him. Behind him the blood thirsty racer was fast approaching. He was cornered by both Rad and Subaru. He was like a rat in a cage. But he could not accept the situation. It did not have to end like this.

There was only one way out, but once again he had to tempt luck's hand. Tamma began to kick the metal beneath him as fast as he could, and luckily there were many dents. The noises made by him were loud and disturbing, but that served as a nice distraction, for they were making both Rad and Subaru back down from him. After a few seconds, he finally made a hole in the ventilation pipe and he immediately fell out of it, landing back on the corridor.

Right in front of him, there was a big door with the word 'EXIT' written on it. A wide grin made its way on Tamma's face, all up to the cheeks. Never would he have expected to have this much luck. There it was. There lied his gateway back to freedom, the thing he desired ever since he had set foot in that horrible building. But there was no time to waste.

The loud noise of metal cracking open made Tamma jump scared as Rad and Subaru fell out of the ventilation pipe as well. The murderous duo got up and stretched their arms, blocking the path and imposing their figures like gods. Their glares had surpassed the borderline of sanity and they took sadism to a whole new level.

"I've got you now." Rad growled, revealing the fact that he was growing tired of the chase.

"In your dreams, asshole!" Tamma spat at him and rushed through the exit door happily.

But right then it struck him. They were still at the fourth floor of the building. He had not gone down any stairs or used the elevator during the chase. That meant that he was four levels above the ground, and since gravity was always a bitch, he fell. During his fall, he could hear the heart piercing laughter of the demonic Subaru as well as Rad's mocking voice:

"He never was too bright."

And then all turned black.

When Tamma opened his eyes, he was back at the factory's main room, all tied with chains, and hung above the machine's hole by his limbs. In front of him, Rad and Subaru were hugging and, to his surprise, kissing passionately. He watched with disgust as the two males played with their tongues and then Subaru's fangs bit Rad's lips, making more blood come out and stain his chin and neck.

"I've got to say, we've done yet another good job." Subaru whispered tenderly.

"It's always a pleasure working with you." Rad replied in the same manner. "But now if you excuse me, I've got a little failure to take care of."

"Alright, make sure you keep some blood, I'd like to have a nice drink once in a while." the black haired man winked.

"Your wish is my command." the red haired made a joke bow to him, both murderers laughing. "I'll be sure that once I'm through with him, Lord Dorballom will get his soul."

"Yes, he will be a fine toy to add in his collection." Subaru hissed and licked his bloodstained lips and fangs.

And so, Rad walked up to Tamma with his sword ready in his hands. The weakened teen noticed that the red haired man that stood in front of him had small marks on his skin, many holes torn in his red shirt, blood almost all over him, and his flame hair got even messier than usual. The only thing that even reminded him of who this man used to be was his crimson eyes in which the cold stare had permanently installed itself.

"Be honored, I'm the one doing it." Rad whispered to him.

The last thing that Tamma felt was the sharp sword's cold metal going through his flesh.