Hello! Welcome to Yu-Gi-Oh Cross Accel! I'm reviving this story as practice, 'cause I actually kind of like it. So here we go.

Constructive criticism is always welcome, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any songs used in this story, reviews are great... Okay, that's everything!

On with the story~


- 0 -


Cry, try to define
The reason of the cry
I hear it every time
when I'm alone and I know
The man, he's gettin' everywhere
and layers hid the truth
my body ripped up
Cause I'm aback to this single chant
I'm on the single, single chant

Trapped, by shiny little dust
Though darkness can't blind us
And only lasts for bit of your,
my temporal reality
Choked, I wouldn't let 'em cry,
and tumble when I'm wild
take off the bandaid
I'm tired, facing and exposed

TWEWY - The Death March


DING DONG!

That was it! The school day was over!

Akira Ayame had sprinted out the door the moment she'd heard the bell. It was finally time. Akira had been looking forward to the end of the school day on Wednesday since last week and been so excited that it was hard to focus on anything else. It was going to be the best day of the year. After all, today was the first day of the Card and Video Games club! Finally, a club dedicated to her favorite hobby. Akira had started it by herself, after getting the idea from a friend. She still couldn't believe that she'd successfully pulled it off. She had expected someone to declare it inappropriate for school, or for her parents to say no. But none of that happened! Her parents had even supported the idea, claiming that it would be a 'valuable experience'.

Akira wasn't sure what they meant by that, but she was glad that they had agreed. Since starting high school, she hadn't had much time to spend with her friends or play games. After school activities and homework had overwhelmed her and left her behind on her console games. Today that would change.

"It'll be so good to see everyone again! I have to tell them that that game I played a while back is on sale, I remember Aya seemed interested in it," Akira smiled. It was always nice having new sacrifices for the fandom!

"I hope no one's too busy," She thought, as she packed her bag. Homework, calculators, textbooks, her journal, Yu-Gi-Oh cards… Akira flicked through her deck to make sure her cards were okay. They were all there, and not a single one was bent or damaged. Akira smiled. She knew at least one person who would definitely be there. Akira tucked a lock of her brown hair behind her ear and picked up her backpa-

"Ack, heavy!" She thought, dropping the bag. She unzipped her backpack and placed a few of her textbooks back in her locker. She'd come back for them later or find a PDF online. Akira shut her locker and swung her backpack over her shoulder. Time to go!

She maneuvered her way through the dense crowds of people as she headed toward the staircase at the end of the hall. Most of the clubs were located in an old basement that was, as some people put it, 'the stuff of creepypastas'. Whether that was good or bad was up to interpretation. Akira personally thought it was creepy, she would have loved to avoid it if she could. Alas, she had no choice, as she had a different club almost every day.

"The school really needs renovations," Akira thought, "Maybe I should plan something to raise funds...though I don't think I have the time."

Akira strolled down the long hallway toward her destination. As she walked, she admired the artwork that lined the walls. They had been painted by students who had already graduated. Akira's favorite was a painting of a sunset on a beach. Something about it gave it a quiet, mystical quality. The landscape was peaceful and relaxing, yet also felt lonely. It was a beautiful painting, but that wasn't even the best part. The artist was Aqua Sylvester, who had also done the character portraits and backgrounds for a video game that Akira liked! It was incredible seeing art from someone she had heard of. Aqua had gone to this very high school! Akira had heard that the main game designer and writer had gone to this school too. So cool~! She'd love to meet them one day. Their games were her inspiration. Nightmare Labyrinth had been creepy and unsettling with a phenomenal story and soundtrack, and Eighth Dimension was so beautiful and heartbreaking while still being funny and action packed...! "Oh, I'm here! That was fast," Akira said, turning toward the door. Finally! Her game club could begin.

As Akira reached for the doorknob, she noticed that the lights in the room were off. Was she the first one there? She looked behind her. No one... but that was understandable. Some of the classes let out late, and most of the lockers were far away. She'd just have to wait a little longer!

"I can play Eighth Dimension while I wait!" Akira thought as she turned the doorknob. "The apocalypse ending is supposed to be the hardest to- huh?" Akira had noticed far too late that there was a winged figure waiting in the darkness. She felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. "Ah...!" Akira tried to scream, to do something, anything! She could almost make out a voice before she lost consciousness.

"Wh e . . .r . . e . i . s . s . T . h. e . . . o t . . t . . H e. .r . . r o. n. e..."


A couple minutes later, Nyx Shizuya stood at the door to the staircase.

"Is this the right one...?" Nyx had never been to the basement before. She usually didn't care for after school activities. Seven hours of school was more than enough. Yet, this club was different. It was a club where she didn't have to socialize with anyone unless it was about Yu-Gi-Oh or games! It even gave her a reason to not go home immediately. Plus Akira would be there, and Nyx would never turn down a challenge from her. Or anyone, really, even though there were no challenging opponents to be found at school except Akira. Sigh. One of these days she'd have to enter an official tournament at the nearby card store.

Nyx looked up at the clock above the door. It read 2:23. School had ended three minutes ago. "Only thirty-two minutes until Luna gets home. I should hurry," She thought. She opened the door and sprinted down the stairs. She would make every second of her ephemeral freedom count. Now...which room was the club in?

"...I'm an idiot."

Nyx silently cursed herself for forgetting the room number. How could she forget the room number?! She should have written it down somewhere... And there were so many doors lining the hall. The thought of having to check them all was depressing...

"I'm sure Akira remembered... Why does my memory suck so badly..."

Nyx walked slowly, searching the doors and walls for a sign of some sort. All the rooms were empty. Were there no clubs on Wednesday or something? That would be good, it would make her search a little easier. Still, it seemed kind of strange that there was no one at all. Not even a teacher. It seemed... lifeless. Boring. Lonely. Nyx couldn't help feeling a little sad about that. She'd expected the basement to be filled with music and creative people.

"Dead silence in the hallways, broken by... Nyx!" She said with a laugh. Quiet was nice sometimes, but this quiet was suffocating. She'd had enough.

"There will be no more!"

Nyx walked by the art wall. "Oh, these paintings are nice. There should be a CD player in the hall. Then the music kids could have their art admired too. I'd love to hear them! I remember how hard Shio worked on her final-" Nyx frowned. Shio. Why was she thinking about Shio? She didn't want to think about her right now, it would kill her excitement. Shio was a selfish person who had abandoned her sisters... right? No. That wasn't right at all. Shio wasn't selfish. She was amazing, and kind... Besides, Nyx couldn't be mad at her. She understood why her sister had left. She wanted to run away too. To find another world, far away from her life here. And far away from her mother.

THUD.

A loud noise sounded from one of the doors ahead of her, causing Nyx to jump. Had someone heard her thoughts somehow? No. That couldn't have been it. Her mom wasn't a mind reader. She wasn't even here. Silly...

Nyx sighed with relief. Then what could that noise have been? Nyx had thought the hallway was empty...

"Who's there?" Nyx asked, her previous thoughts forgotten. She approached the door where the sound had come from.

"Over here? Strange, I was sure that there was someone there. Where could they have gone?" She closed her eyes. "Oh! Maybe the basement really is haunted! That sound could have been a monster that lives in a closet and-"

"Incorrect."

Nyx's eyes snapped open. The air had become frigid, like the temperature had dropped twenty degrees. Most of the lights behind her had gone out. The only thing missing for a perfect horror setting was foreboding music. If only one of the orchestra members were there.

Nyx figured that she should run, but her curiosity got the better of her and she turned around. Behind her was a pale, human-like figure with a pair of wings covered in iridescent violet feathers. A single remaining light shone down on it like a weak spotlight. The figure reached out it's hand toward her. Nyx instinctively took a step backward.

"Would you like to try again?" It spoke with a voice that was inhuman and captivating. Flower petals swirled and danced in the air with every word. They surrounded Nyx and filled the space between her and the creature. Then the realization hit her.

Rose petals. She knew what this was.

"Of course! You're-"

The figure moved before she could finish. Nyx felt a sudden lightheadedness.

"How... what...did you...?" She tried to get the words out, but her voice failed to oblige. Her vision went blurry and she fell to her knees. The white and violet shape moved closer.

"It's started. Tomorrow should be interesting."

Agh... she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer...

"Sweet dreams, Nyx" She heard the figure say, before blacking out completely.


Until next time!