Angels of Fire

By: Prince Suzaku and Vyctori Windheart.

Hello, everyone. This is Vyctori Windheart, here. I've embarked on a Yu-Gi-Oh/Golden Sun collaboration with Prince Suzaku that I hope you'll like. The concept is by Prince Suzaku and we're dividing the chapters approximately fifty-fifty. This first chapter's by Prince Suzaku. I hope you'll enjoy it.

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Revenge.

That word means many things:

Retaliation. Inflicting punishment for an insult or wrongdoing. A reason to redeem oneself.

And in some instances, justice.

However, to call justice revenge is to demonstrate a lack of understanding. You will not find the word "revenge" in the definition of "justice," or the word "justice" in the definition of "revenge."

Revenge is the application of mind, in abeyance of the Ego, toward the fulfilling of a vendetta against someone for his or her words and/or actions that seem to harm a person or their self-image.

Justice is absolutely impersonal, has nothing to do with Ego and attempts to even the score in the sense of responsibility and accountability.

In this case, a young woman is seeking revenge, in the guise of "justice," for the death of her sister and friend. Driven by rage, she leads her small group of herself, a burly Mars Adept named Agatio and a mysterious Mercury Adept known as Alex towards the Jupiter Lighthouse.

She travels there with the intention is seemingly the lighting of the beacon. However, her true goal is to avenge the defeat of he sister, Menardi, as well as to bathe her scythe in Isaac's blood.

Her name...Karst.

The forest. A magical place, filled with the wonders and glories of Nature. This realm of lush greenery and serenity can bring peace to even the most chaotic of souls. In here, birds sing from the highest treetops and flowers burst forth in a spectacular display of color and beauty. At this point in the day, the time between evening and nighttime, the soft reflections of the sky give this place an ethereal look. But perhaps the most enchanting feature of this place is the solitude. The still quiet that drives the soul onto reflection and drives one to pay silent homage to this magical kingdom.

"Do you know where we are?" called Agatio.

...Well, it was quiet.

"For the 33rd time, Agatio, no," spoke an exasperated Karst. "Ask me that one more time and I'll rip out your tongue."

For within the aforementioned forest were Karst and Agatio, along with a calm Alex. This group was trying to catch up to Isaac and his friends so Karst could...well, read the introduction.

But due to Agatio's map-forming skills (or lack thereof), they were lost within a wood. As they walked, Alex simply let the conversation play itself out.

"I'm pretty sure we passed by that tree before," remarked Agatio.

"How can you tell?" questioned Karst. "All the trees look exactly the same. Anyway, it's your fault we're lost in the first place."

"How is it my fault?" Agatio demanded, his eyes glowing with anger.

Sweeping back her beautiful crimson hair, Karst proceeded to glare back at her partner. "Because you were the one who drew the damned map and you were the one who claimed to know the whereabouts of the Jupiter Lighthouse. That's how it's your fault."

"By Mars, she can be such a brat," muttered Agatio under his breath.

A moment after that statement, a swift jet of flame shot past him, narrowly missing his face. The burly Mars Adept turned slowly to see Karst behind him, her right hand glowing.

"What was that?" inquired Karst, her ruby eyes narrowed. "If you've something to say to me, say it to my face."

Cautiously, Alex stepped between Agatio and the feisty female before bloodshed broke.

"Since it appears that we won't reach Isaac and company now, I suggest we rest for the night," spoke Alex. "Besides, we need to be at full strength if we're to climb Vertigo Hills."

Wordlessly, the two Fire Adepts pulled back their flames and proceeded to make camp. They proceeded to set out their sleeping bags, prepare their dinner and started a campfire. Agatio went out to find some food to eat, while Alex decided to stay to the fire. So that left Karst to gather the firewood.

The task itself was fairly simple. After all, controlling fire and wielding a scythe made finding wood quite easy. Karst gathered as much as she could, then headed back to the camp.

Suddenly, the grass shifted. There was a quiet rustling among the fallen leaves that stirred the peaceful quiet of the midnight. Though she couldn't see it, Karst's needle-sharp senses felt someone was nearby. Slowly and quietly, she drew her scythe, ready for combat.

"Hello," commented a soft voice that seemed to be everywhere and nowhere. "What's a young woman such as yourself doing out in the middle of the forest on such a night?"

"What I'm doing is none of your business, so bug off," demanded Karst, ready for battle.

"You can trust me," the voice replied. "I'm naught but a traveling fighter. You seem like a strong opponent. If I may, I'd like the honor of sparring against you."

To prove his good intentions, the figure stepped out of the shadows. Though he was covered in a black cloak, Karst could still make out some snow-white hair. Her eyes widened a bit.

Hmm, she thought. White hair. I know it from somewhere. He seems...familiar...

After gauging the stranger's power, Karst then began to laugh by this fool's impudence. "Your Psynergy is so weak that fighting would be a complete waste of my time. I could crush you in an instant."

"Well, I simply placed my power on par with yours. So really, you're the weak one right now," replied the calm stranger.

Smug prick, fumed Karst. This guy reminded her way too much of Alex. Who the hell does he think he's talking to like that!

"Well," said Karst with a smirk on her face and her scythe on the ready. "You seem to be serious. You really want to spar against me? Fine. But I hope you know you're facing the power of a master Mars Adept!"

The young man got into a fighting stance and countered her smirk with a soft smile. "I'm a great deal stronger than I look. I may not be a Mercury Adept, but I can still hold my own against your flames."

"Really?" spat Karst. "Hold this!"

With blinding speed she drew her scythe and aimed for the young lad's arm, intending to end this fight in an instant with as little bloodshed as possible. To Karst's surprise, her opponent blocked her slash with a swiftly drawn blade. The unexpected power of the blow, however, sent the sword to the ground a few feet away.

Karst jumped back, slightly impressed.

That blade. Only one person I've ever known wielded that weapon. But it couldn't be...

"So you do possess some skill," commented Karst. "That makes things a lot more interesting."

She then charged again, slashing with amazing power and technique. Unleashing a barrage of slashes, she tried to back the boy into a tree, where she'd have him. Evading her attacks, he began to inch towards his blade. As he head back into a tree, he hopped to the left just as Karst struck and grabbed his katana. Taken aback, he then delivered a deadly flurry of slashes, all of which were blocked and parried with Karst's weapon. With a swift swipe at the young man's stomach, she then tried to attack his legs. The man jumped out of the way and used a sweep to trip her up. With cat-like grace, Karst blocked and delivered a strong blow to the boy's face, which was deftly evaded.

The calm nighttime forest seemed to burst to life with the sounds of steel striking steel as sparks rained everywhere, the result of Karst's scythe's union with her opponent's blade. The two combatants fought as if they were mortal enemies, both forgetting it was supposed to be a simple sparring match. Yet for each slash and thrust, the young man countered her every swipe. And for every strike he sent, Karst parried as well. An annoyed frown covered her features as she relented her assault via scythe and withdrew.

Placing her weapon on the ground, the tired warrior said, "This fight isn't going anywhere. I suggest we start using our true power. Besides, I'm curious as to what Psynergy you possess."

The equally exhausted young man stuck his blade into the softened earth. "As am I."

As he threw his sword onto the ground, Karst couldn't help but notice a golden pendant with a flaming crystal around his neck.

Now I know I've seen this guy somewhere. And I know that…he's a friend…but how?

Her hands glowing with flame, Karst then unleashed a deadly Nova attack. The bright orb of flame exploded with energy, driving her opponent back a good four feet. She then charged him, unleashing a storm of punches and kicks that avoiding all of which was impossible. As Karst unleashed another punch, he ducked and countered by tossing her to his side, using her force as the spring. After that, she bared her teeth in a wicked smile and sent a Dragon Cloud headed for him. The fiery beast struck him, but not before he delivered another strike.

Shaken (and somewhat stirred), he got up and unleashed an attack of his own. Whipping his arm in a crescent moon-like fashion, a deadly wave of Jupiter Psynergy known as a Repukken was formed and mowed towards her. Inexperienced with that attack, Karst countered with a Fireball, yet suffered great damage from the collision of energies. After using her Healing Aura, she used a Scramble Beam to distract her opponent while she formed an Eruption headed for him.

The white-haired fighter didn't move at all. Instead, he sent a Double Reppuken attack to counter the Beam, then hopped high into the air and unleashed an implosion of the atmosphere and his Psynergy known as a Gale Slash. The impact sent Karst sprawling on the ground, at which point he intended to end this session by summoning one of his favorite techniques, the Ankoku Raijinken (Dark Thunder Punch).

Thunder crackled and lightning shot into his outstretched head, formed a deadly sphere of energy. As he shot it towards her, the weakened Mars Adept unleashed a surprise Pyroclasm that caught him head on. Both attacks delivered their deadly treats, leaving both fighters weakened.

In a tired voice, the opponent cried, "Enough! I concede."

With that, he began to use Potent Cure to heal himself, while Karst used Cool Aura to recover.

Delivering a smile and a bow, he stated, "I have never been tested in a fight like just now. I'd love to know your name, since I like to remember those that have beaten me in a fair fight."

Karst then got up, and picked up her scythe. "My name is Karst. And it would be wise for you not to forget that. Since you know my name, what's yours?"

The young lad then removed his cloak to reveal a mane of white-silver hair, doe-like chocolate eyes and the most innocent smile one could dream of. At this point, Karst did a double take.

His eyes beginning to crystallize with tears, the young man stated, "My name...is Ryou Hattori."

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And there's the end of Chapter One. By the way, for those of you who don't recognize him from the description, Ryou Hattori is Ryou Bakura of Yu-Gi-Oh. Please leave any comments, questions, etc. in a review. Otherwise, I'll send Menardi, my muse, after you! ~V. S. Windheart.