Author's Note Part 1: *Sigh* Thanks goes to iloveyugiohGX93, Ulrich362, and mcdinh for reviewing the previous chapter.
So apparently I'm at a much more interesting part in this story than my others, so it's getting updated. This chapter also involved venting my frustrations, because my brother stole some of my belongings (extremely rare Pokemon Cards), claims (aka fully convinced himself) that they're his, and sorted two binders with them so that he can sell them along with some of his own cards. I took out thirty-nine (some of which I had previously taken back from him) from the binders; the ones that I can clearly remember getting. I had done this a couple nights ago with our mom's permission. Guess when he found out? Yesterday, when both of our parents were at work but we had a day off of school. -_-
Ahem, enough of my problems. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, but I do own my OCs. Uh, enjoy, I guess?
Chapter 9
"It's my, uh, turn," Shoshan says, drawing his card. He stares at it blankly for a moment, and then must realize what it is because he smiles a little. "I release Turtwig in order to Special Summon Grotle in his place."
Grotle ATK: 2000, DEF: 2400, Level 5
The small turtle disappears, only to be replaced by a larger one. This one has a yellow shell covering his entire back and the top of his head. He also has two bushes on his back. The turtle kneels down and turns blue.
"Then, I guess I'll bring Deoxys Normal Forme in Attack Mode," he continues.
Deoxys Normal Forme ATK: 1700, DEF: 1500, Level 4
A creature with a red-orange body appears next to Shoshan. The monster's face is blue, and that blue is what makes the under part of one arm. The red-orange color of its body covers the top of this blue arm. Then, its other arm is merely two long strands, one red-orange and the other blue twisting around each other like a double helix.
"I end my turn with one face-down."
I look at the DNA-like monster. Its weaker than my own, so why play it in Attack Mode? Maybe one of his face-downs will help it… "It's my turn, I draw!" I look at my card and add it to my hand. "Alright, I Flip Summon my face-down monster, Kamui, Hope of Gusto! Now his Flip Effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon one of my 'Gusto' Tuners from my Deck. I choose… Gusto Gulldo!"
Kamui, Hope of Gusto ATK: 200, DEF: 1000, Level 2; Gusto Gulldo ATK: 500, DEF: 500, Level 3
A boy with dark-green clothes underneath a light-green overcoat appears. He has bright green hair, tied back in a ponytail, and a staff barely as long as his forearm in one hand. The staff is made of wood, with a green orb at one end and decorated with two blue-green feathers right below the orb. Kamui waves his staff, and a bird with blue-green feathers and light green armor covering his back appears next to him.
"Here it comes! I Tune my Level 3 Gusto Egul with my Level 2 Kamui, Hope of Gusto! Twisted winds come together to create a mighty creature! Synchro Summon! Soar over darkness, Daigusto Gulldos!" I chant.
Daigusto Gulldos ATK: 2200, DEF: 800, Level 5
The two monsters vanish, only to be replaced by a larger version of Gulldo with a lot more armor and spikes on the armor, with a green-haired girl riding on his back. The girl has a staff that is surrounded in blue electricity.
Electricity. I hold back the nauseating feeling that comes from the memory of that event. Even the smallest thing reminds me of it, even though it's been three years…
"I activate the effect of Daigusto Gulldos," I say. "Once per turn, I can return two 'Gusto' monsters from my Graveyard to my Deck to destroy one face-up monster you control. I choose… Grotle."
The staff gathers more electricity before blasting at the large turtle, shattering him. A faint scorch mark is left on the ground; remnants of my failure at controlling my powers.
For a few seconds, Shoshan stares at the spot, and it looks like he trembles a little and mutters something to himself.
I can't give him any time, though. The longer this Duel goes on, the worse I'll feel when it's over. "Gulldos, attack Deoxys Normal Forme!" I shout.
Shoshan's attention snaps back to the battlefield. He presses a button on his Duel Disk and declares, "I activate my Continuous Trap Deoxymeteor! Now, once per turn, I can return a face-up 'Deoxys' monster to my Deck and replace it with another! I choose to replace Deoxys Normal Forme with Deoxys Defense Forme!"
Deoxys Defense Forme ATK: 1000, DEF: 2500, Level 6
The Deoxys that was on the field touches a meteor that appears on the field. It morphs; now its torso and arms are thicker, and its head dome-shaped. The strands for arms no longer twist because of their thickness. The monster holds its arms in front of it and turns blue.
"Well, that's one way to stall," I comment. "But it just means I can't attack—"
"Actually, Deoxys Defense Forme has a few abilities," Shoshan says confidently. "First, I can pay 1000 Life Points once a turn to, uh, double its DEF until after the damage step of the next time it battles. The second requires all Level 5 or higher monsters you control to battle it."
Shoshan's Life Points: 3000; Deoxys Defense Forme DEF: 2500 to 5000
"What?" I ask, surprised.
My monsters start moving on their own, prepping blasts from their respective staffs. Windaar's burst of green fire lets off first, with Gulldos' blast of lightning not soon after. Both attacks backfire, hitting me directly and knocking me off my feet; several feet back from my previous location.
Angel's Life Points: 700; Deoxys Defense Forme DEF: 5000 to 2500
I stand back up with a little bit of difficulty. Man, Shoshan has some pretty strong powers. Almost like… Sky did. I close my eyes and shake my head, willing the memory away.
My opponent blinks a few times, a blank look on his face. Almost like he's zoned out right now, and thinking or recalling a memory. Then, instead of blinking, he closes his eyes and a tear falls slowly down his face. "I… I can still hear his screams…" he mumbles, loud enough for me to hear, but probably not so that anyone else can.
"Whose?" I ask.
"My… my brother's… They killed him, you know? Those teenagers that were in the building… they… they…"
My vision suddenly cuts to black for a moment. When it returns, I find myself in some building, and I can't move. Then I realize I'm not alone—there are several teenagers crowded around two men—both of whom look like Shoshan, which surprises me for a second until I realize they're just twins. The two men are tied to the same wooden pole, and what looks like firewood is beneath them.
'Is this… Shoshan's memory?'
"Hehehe," the tallest teenager laughs. "Le's show these two creatures what they get for messin' with us. Jus' like the ancient witch trials, they's gonna get tested by the fire!"
He lights the firewood under the twins, which quickly sets ablaze, likely due to gasoline or some other flammable liquid already there.
One of the twins—the one that isn't Shoshan and I can only tell that it's not him by his voice mutters, "Shoshan, I'm going to get you out of here."
"What about you?" the other replies.
"Don't worry about me. You just have to… to promise me that, no mat-matter what, you keep r-running… Okay?"
"I can't leave without you!" Shoshan says.
"Promise me!"
"I…" Shoshan closes his eyes. "I promise…"
The fire starts to spread up the pole now, nicking both of their feet. The twin whose name I don't know closes his eyes for a second, opening them back up with an almost evil look in his eyes. "Dark Void!" he shouts. "SHOSHAN! RUN!"
Darkness fills the room, and when it vanishes, the fire has clearly spread, the teenagers are unconscious, and Shoshan is running away with tears in his eyes. His brother is still on the pole, slowly catching on fire and yet not screaming at all. He hangs limp already; his eyes totally blank.
I blink, and I'm back in the Facility, staring at Shoshan. His head is in his hands, and he's shaking. I start to walk closer, words forming on my lips to help comfort him, but a chilling blast of wind knocks me back. It's not just wind, though. With Shoshan at the center, a blizzard is destroying the room.
'These are his powers?' I think, shielding my face from the bitter wind. 'I wonder why Sayer hadn't found him before now… but I guess it's too late, since he's a prisoner…'
And suddenly, the indoor blizzard stops, Sayer walking down next to me and clapping.
XXX
And so, four hours later, Shoshan ends up in the Arcadia Movement, more specifically, the Red Faction. Even more specifically, stargazing on the roof of the headquarters, in the spot that I normally am.
"Ah! Sorry, do you want me to move?" he asks, noticing me.
"Well, that's my usual spot, but… no, you can stay there," I reply. "You seem to have a lot to think about."
"You saw my memory, didn't you? The one with Escolar—" his voice cracks, and I realize that this 'Escolar' must have been his brother.
"Yeah, I saw it. I'm really sorry for your loss…"
"You know how it feels to lose a family member." He says it like it's a fact, not even a question at all.
"I do… My mother died because of a severe illness, and my father, well, he's not dead but for the longest time I thought he was…" I trail off a little. "That doesn't matter, though."
"Guilt, though. You're harboring guilt for… something important," he says. "Death of a close friend?"
"It's none of your business," I say. What gives this man the right to start asking so many personal questions when we've only known each other for a few hours? Also, how does he know I'm harboring guilt?
"Okay." Shoshan stares back at the night sky and smiles. "First thing tomorrow, I'm going to find my girlfriend. As far as I know, she's still part of this place."
"As far as you know?" I ask. "Sounds like you haven't seen her in a while."
"Mmm, about three years."
"And she's still your girlfriend?"
"Yep. She even gave me her favorite card. I'm supposed to give it back to her whenever I see her next. She was acting really strange that day… like something extremely bad had just happened."
'He can't possibly mean…?' I think, my mind making a connection back to that day like it always does. "What's her name?" I ask.
"Sky."
And my entire world comes crashing down. "L-Last name?"
"Fudo. Why, did something happen to her?" His face fills with a mix of curiosity and shock.
I bite my lip and look away. "Show… show me the card she gave you. Please."
He quickly pulls a card out of his Deck and doesn't give it to me, just lets me look at it.
Celestial Dragon-Quasar. The only card that Sector Security didn't recover from her body or the floor from when…
"What was that?" Shoshan demands, suddenly going angry and grabbing me by the throat. "What did you say?"
"I di-didn't realize I said that out loud," I reply, stiffening up. "You want the truth about what happened to her, and you're going to hear it from me, because if you ask anyone else, they'll tell you lies."
"What happened to her?!" Shoshan shouts.
"Three years ago, she was arrested… on several counts of murder. The day after, she was sentenced to Duel me." I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to hold back tears. "She lost it, and her powers went wild… Director Goodwin had to intervene, and she recognized him and lost it even more…"
"So, what? She's in the Facility, or Satellite, for life or something?"
"No. No, she's not in either place," I reply. 'Why is it so hard for me to tell him?' "It… it was an accident… she tried to kill my fa—" I catch myself and continue, "she tried to kill Director Goodwin and… my powers retaliated, stronger than I wanted them to."
His grip loosens, and his face fills with denial. He doesn't want to believe me; no one would.
"You saw the oddly large painting, didn't you?" I ask. "The one in the Facility? It's there because… because they tried filling in the dent and it didn't look right. The... thedentthatSkymadewhenmypowersmadeherhitthewall!"
"What…?"
"She's dead, Shoshan! I'm sorry, but Sky's been dead for three years, and it's all my fault!" My breath hitches, and the tears start falling again. "It's all my fault…"
To be continued…
Author's Note Part 2: Er, yeah. This is what happens when I get frustrated and my muses decide to latch on to said frustration. Sorry about having two relatively evil chapters in a row.
Thanks again to anyone who has reviewed this story so far! It boosts my confidence level to write even more. So, all I have to say now is please leave a review! I'd really appreciate it! Bye for now!