Alright, let's see how the others are dealing with Sy's death. Enjoy!


When the professionals came twenty minutes later, they had to physically drag Zane away from his brother's body, as he refused to release him. But, Zane still screamed at them to let him go back to his little brother. He joined them on the plane ride to the mainland hospital, unable to deal with any sort of separation. On the way there, Zane realized that Sy's friends would come to the mainland sooner or later, however, the black-clad Duelist only felt numb to that. Actually, all Zane felt was numbness, other than regret and sorrow.

"Mr. Truesdale?"

"Hm?" Zane hummed as he looked down, suddenly seeing a nurse in front of him. When had they gotten to the hospital? And when had he followed them in?

The nurse gently took his hand and guided him to a chair. "I'm so sorry, but we need you to stay here until we know exactly what killed you little brother," she explained, using her words carefully. "Please sit, I'll go get you some water."

Zane barely nodded and sat down, then the nurse left to get a cup of water. The moment she was gone, Zane leaned forward like he was going to be sick, putting his face in one of his hands in an attempt to prevent the tears from flowing freely. He did this. He drove Syrus into that Duel, and now he was dead because of it. Why had he even agreed to Duel Sy in the first place? Why did his deck have to be so focused on power?

Wait a minute...

The Cyber Deck user slowly reached for his deck and pulled out the four Cyberdark monsters, shock and horror written all over his face. But soon, pure hatred and regret twisted his expression the longer he looked at the monsters. These were the cards that killed Syrus, and Zane would never touch - or even think - about them again. Without a moment's hesitation, Zane threw the heinous demons into the nearest trash bin, not daring to look at them.

With a satisfied huff, Zane looked up as the nurse returned with his cup of water.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

About half an hour later, Zane heard rapid footsteps approached where he sat. The black-clad Duelist didn't have to look up to know that it was Sy's friends, and he had a pretty good idea what they were going to say/do.

"Zane-" Jaden Yuki's voice started, but Zane put up a hand and made him stop.

"Save it," he told them, sounding tired and almost dead inside. "I know what you're going to say so I'm stopping it now. Yes; It's all my fault that this happened to Syrus, and I'm not trying to hide it either. I let him use the shock collars, thinking they would only give him a slight jolt, but I was so very wrong. I had absolutely no intention of killing him, I only wanted him to see the pain I went through in those Underground Duels."

"Zane," Atticus' voice tried to intervein, but Zane was not done.

"I let my rage blind me, I let it consume me. Syrus had only tried to help me see the truth again - something I only now realize - and now I can't even thank him for trying so hard. I'm a horrible older brother, and I never deserved Syrus as my-"

"ZANE!" Jaden and Atticus suddenly shouted, causing said person to look up at them. Zane was taken aback by their looks of sorrow and...sympathy?

"Wha-" Zane attempted to say, but Jaden put a hand over his mouth to silence him.

Jaden took a deep breath and said slowly. "Zane, we don't blame you for Sy's death."

Zane blinked once, then pried Jay's hand off his mouth and demanded. "What!? How can you not blame me? He was Dueling me, and I won. How is it not my fault?"

"It's like you said Zane," Atticus explained, sitting next to his best friend. "You didn't know the collars were going to kill him, just show him some pain. Not to mention how you reacted when you saw that Sy was dead. You can't fake those emotions Zane, not even the best actors can."

Zane could only stare at his friends, unable to comprehend what was being said to him. He opened his mouth to reply, but froze when he saw a doctor approach them, a grave expression on his face.

"Afternoon, I assume you're all here for Syrus Truesdale?" the man asked, looking between the three Duelists there.

Zane stood up and nodded. "Yes we are," he told the man. "Have you found out what killed my little brother?"

The doctor nodded. "Indeed we have," he said, then he looked at his clipboard and explained to them. "It appears that Syrus had a barely noticeable case of Diastolic Heart Failure, and we never picked up on it, which resulted in him never getting any treatment for it and it steadily getting worse. So, when Syrus as being shocked by those collars, it damaged his heart even more and caused him to go into cardiac arrest at the end of the Duel. And because we never knew about it, there would have been almost nothing we could have done to save him."

Zane stumbled backwards in shock. Syrus had been sick all along and no one knew? How was that possible? Atticus and Jaden quickly went behind the black-clad Duelist, keeping Zane from passing out and making sure he was on his feet.

"I'm so sorry for your lose," the doctor said in an honest voice. "I have to go contact Syrus' parents now, but if you so wish, you may see the body. Don't worry, it is clean and not very horrific."

Atticus nodded his thanks. "Thank you, and I think we will see the body. Just so we can say goodbye one last time." he told him.

The doctor nodded, and then left. With that, Jaden and Atticus gently guided Zane to where Sy's body lay.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.

The image of the three friends walking away wavered, and soon Syrus was once again staring at his own reflection in the pool of water. With a sad sigh, Syrus pulled himself back from the pool and instead gazed at the lavender sky of the Duel Monster Spirit World. The spirit who had guided him here - Jaden's Winged Kuriboh - let out its signature noise sadly and sat on Sy's shoulder.

"Is that it?" Sy asked no one in particular. "Am I just stuck in this world for all eternity, watching the ones I care about live their lives and find ways to move on?"

"It does not have be that way, dear Syrus." a motherly, almost angelic female voice spoke from behind the younger Truesdale brother.

Syrus stood up and turned to the great Duel Spirit behind him. "What do you mean Ancient Fairy Dragon?" he asked, confused as to what she was saying.

Ancient Fairy Dragon lowered her head to meet Sy's gaze. "If I am correct, there is a Duel Spirit that can be the key to your return to the land of the living." she explained to him slowly.

Hope flared in the small boy's chest. "Who!? Who can help me!? And where can I find them?" he exclaimed, beyond excited at the though of seeing his brother again.

The great dragon shook her head, then used one of her wings to point west. "I do not know his name, but I do know that he resides farther west and will be glad to help you in any way he can." she told him.

Syrus nodded, then took a few steps in the direction where the dragon had pointed. "Thank you for all your help Ancient Fairy Dragon," he thanked the spirit. "But I think it's time for me to head west and get back to my big brother."

"Wait!" The spirit said quickly, making Syrus stop. "It is to dangerous to go alone, allow me to call for a friend to accompany you on the journey."

Syrus was about to protest, but Ancient Fairy Dragon had already let out a roar. Soon after, Atticus' Red-eyes Black Dragon flew up beside Syrus with a happy growl.

"Red-eyes," the great spirit said. "Please journey with Syrus to where he needs to go," she paused, then added. "And Syrus, do be careful out there."

The two nodded, turned, and began their long trek west to find the Duel Spirit that would allow Syrus to go back home. And Sy hoped that everything would turn out okay in the end.


Yes, I know Ancient Fairy Dragon is from 5Ds, but she's basically the ruler of the Duel Monsters Spirit World, so I had to include her. Anyway, now the chapters will include parts of Syrus' journey to this mysterious Duel Spirit. See you in Chapter 3!

One last thing, feel free to guess who the Duel Spirit is. Here's a hint: It's a dragon-type monster and is shown in the GX anime.