Finally, I was myself again. But of course, just like every other time it happened, it would only be temporary and short lived.
How would I spend this short time I had been granted? What would be the best way to use up what little time I had being free?
I had been thinking about it while I had not been in the driver's seat of my body. I had thought long, and hard, as I had plenty of time to do so.
I had decided, after thinking for such a lengthy time, that it would be best to get some much needed answers.
Immediately, as my freedom came to me, I closed up shop once more, and then called Flame out of the duel disk.
"Flame, I'm me again. We need to talk."
"What about, Kusanagi?" He asked.
"I feel like you know something I don't, or have done something bad."
This piqued his curiosity, "Oh?"
"Don't play dumb, Flame. You've done something wicked."
"I'm not sure I understand what you are accusing me of." He said, folding his arms, voice lacking any distinct emotions or tones.
"SOL or the Hanoi would have found you by now." I growled.
"What do you mean? I've been staying as undetectable as possible within the network, and I've been using the best algorithms I could find to-"
"Shut it, Flame. I'm talking about physically finding you, not tracking you within the network."
Flame stared at me, no words coming from him.
"SOL would have found you when they dumped my body back here." I explained with a fierce edge to my voice, "And the Hanoi would have found you when they took me from here."
Flame stared at me silently, but I couldn't read why from his countenance.
"Well, do you have anything to say for yourself!?" I snarled at him.
"... Yes." He said, unfolding his arms.
"Well, then SAY IT."
"When SOL came, it looked as if they were just looking to get rid of you as soon as possible, so I hid in the duel disk, and hoped they wouldn't find me. They ended up ignoring the duel disk completely, and just leaving as soon as they dumped you on the floor."
"Coward." I glared at him, "You just hid and didn't even try to help."
"What could I have done? Made the duel disk grow arms and legs and fight them off? Stare at them until they drop dead? There was nothing I could do in that situation."
"I don't care." I stated flatly, "What about when the Hanoi came for me?"
"That…" He paused.
"Tell me." I hissed.
"I thought I could hide again, just like with SOL, but…"
"Specter, should we take Flame with us too?" Takeru asked as Specter lifted the unconscious body of Kusanagi Shoichi from the floor.
"Flame…? Ah yes, the Ignis. Is he here?"
"He should be in the duel disk over there," Takeru pointed at me, "I believe he is the only Ignis in this van."
"Show yourself, Ignis scum."
I slowly rose from the display of the disk, and stared at the two of them.
"Hi Flame!" Takeru smiled.
"Hello." I greeted simply, "I hear that the Hanoi have done something to you."
Takeru glanced over at Specter, who gave a small nod.
"Yeah, they have." He kept smiling sweetly as if he was genuinely glad to see me. It seemed like he didn't understand the true weight of what he just said.
"... What have they done?"
"Hypnotised me."
"They're controlling your mind?"
"Pretty much."
"I can't say this pleases me." I felt on edge.
"You wouldn't understand. I wish you could but… I don't think you can hypnotise an AI." Takeru frowned a little.
"They're making you say that. They've brainwashed you." I said, regardless of how futile making such an observation was. I felt a complex blend of emotions. For one, I was glad Takeru looked okay and wasn't ignoring me like he was Kusanagi, but on the other hand I felt incredibly sad that Takeru wasn't exactly himself.
"They have. It isn't bad like you might think it is." Takeru scratched his head, wondering what would convince me of his views.
"Takeru, please stop letting yourself be controlled by-"
Suddenly, Specter grabbed Takeru by the shoulder and put a knife to his neck. Takeru didn't resist or seem at all concerned, and instead let the cold metal press against his throat. Specter was no longer holding Kusanagi, as somewhere through Takeru's conversation with me he had put the body down.
"Specter, what are you doing!?" I yelled.
"Sorry to end your conversation, but we have business to talk about." He began, "Since you are here, fire Ignis, we could take you back to Ryoken-sama, but since you are so precious to Takeru…" He paused, then continued, "I don't think we'll bring you to him just yet."
"What?" My yellow eyes widened. I failed to understand what was going through his head. Wasn't his goal to destroy all Ignis? Where was this lack of brutality coming from?
"When the earth Ignis was destroyed, I felt it happen to him. It wasn't pleasant to say the least. I think it would be best to spare Takeru from that while we can." He shrugged with one arm, the other arm still holding the knife to Takeru's throat.
"You felt it? Do you oppose the destruction of Ignis?" I asked.
"No, the Ignis must perish because Ryoken-sama says it must be so. We'll just let you live… temporarily."
"... I see. Could you please withdraw your knife from Takeru's neck? There doesn't seem to be any reason for it."
"Sorry, I cannot do that. The reason I have this pressed to his neck is because I need you to agree to something."
"Agree to what?"
"You are to not contact the other Ignis and notify them of us, and you are to stay out of the network. If we find that you've done these things, well…" Specter pressed the knife in a little further. It created a small and shallow cut that let out blood slowly, "You know what will happen. Do we have your agreement, Ignis?"
"...I… I agree…"
"That means you need to stop contacting the dark Ignis. Understood?"
"Yes…"
Specter flipped the knife shut and put it in his pocket, before offering his handkerchief to Takeru. Takeru took it and wiped some blood away from the cut.
"Thank you for doing business with us then." Specter bowed and grinned his usual manic grin.
Specter leaned down and picked up Kusanagi's body once more.
"Let's go, Takeru. We shouldn't keep Ryoken-sama waiting."
"Okay! It was good seeing you again, Flame!" Takeru gave me a small, innocent wave.
"What the hell?!" Kusanagi yelled.
"I couldn't have done anything."
"Well, if you could have done something, would you?!"
"... No. Takeru is my top priority. Specter would have hurt him."
"You… You son of a…" Kusanagi was fuming.
"I'm sorry, Kusanagi. There was nothing I could do then, and there is nothing I can do now. I thoroughly regret that I cannot help you."
"You don't regret anything!" He screamed, "You're just a goddamn AI who says that they feel things! Show some humanity, damn it!"
"Calm down! You're being unreasonable."
"No! You clearly can't be trusted! YOUR inactions have made me this way!"
"I'm sorry! I wish there was something I could do…"
"There is." His tone was one of finality, "There is something you can do."
He picked up my duel disk, "And that thing you can do is get out."
He kicked the door of the van open, and threw me out as hard as he could. The duel disk landed on a bush, then bounced off and onto the ground in front. Luckily the disk was not damaged.
However, I felt as if I was.
I jumped out of the van, ran around to the driver's seat and drove off. Slowly, my freedom faded and my autopilot-self started to drive away to the town center to set up shop. As I drove, tears welled up in my eyes. Had I really just done that?
Flame, as much as I hated him for not even trying to help me and straight up admitting that Takeru's wellbeing was more important than my own, he was the only thing keeping me sane. Whenever I had a moment of clarity, I'd have him to talk to. He was the only person who knew about my situation and wasn't for me being in it. Flame was the only thing I had left, and I had abandoned him on the ground on an empty road.
"Thank you for making breakfast, Takeru." Ryoken thanked me, placing his utensils down.
"It was delicious!" Yusaku placed his cutlery down too.
"I'm glad you liked it." I bowed, and went to pick up Yusaku's empty plate to clean up. I was stopped, however, by a hand with a red tattoo.
"Don't worry about cleaning up today. Specter will handle it. You can have a day off today."
"Are you sure, Ryoken-sama?" I asked.
"Of course. Spend today however you see fit."
"Thank you." I bowed again, and left the room.
I sat around in my bedroom for a while, wondering what to do. What would be a good way to spend today? I stared out the window at the ocean, the surface glistening brilliantly with the shine of morning sun. The waves crashed softly at the cliff below, and some seagulls flew by in the distance. It was a lovely day, and it would be an absolute waste if I didn't go outside to enjoy it. Perhaps the best way to start my day would to be to go on a walk.
I put on my white tracksuit and pants, slicked my hair back and left the house.
It really was a lovely day; the view from the window in my room had not deceived me.
The air was nice and cool and the sunlight felt warm against my skin. There weren't many people out and about, so wherever I walked was quiet and peaceful. I was grateful my day off had landed on such a pleasant day with such fine weather.
Everything was nice and calm for a majority of my walk. But as I ventured through the middle of Den City and out the other side to a set of empty, silent streets, a strange feeling hit me. It was an oddly familiar feeling that I hadn't felt in a while, and I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was supposed to be or mean. As I kept walking along a particular street, the feeling getting stronger with each inch I moved forward, I looked down and saw a familiar object.
It was my duel disk.
"What… what is this doing on the ground? And why here?" I wondered out loud. There was nobody around to hear me, "Flame, are you in there?" I picked up the disk, the strange feeling peaked, and I waited.
The display lit up, and Flame slowly poked his head out, "T… Takeru…?"
"Flame, are you okay? Why were you on the ground over here?" I was worried. Something must have happened.
"I don't know if I'm okay, but I'm glad to see you." He admitted, soundly rather gloomy.
I sat down on a bench next to the bushes I had found Flame near.
"Tell me what happened." My voice was caring and understanding.
Flame explained everything to me, from how Kusanagi had gone crazy until he got thrown out of the van. I felt bad for him. He was a victim of what we did to Kusanagi.
In no way did I regret what we did to Kusanagi though - it was what Ryoken wanted. I simply regretted that Flame had been in the wrong places at the wrong times.
"I'm sorry that stuff happened to you…" I said sympathetically, holding out my finger to him. Flame wrapped his arms around it for comfort and sighed.
"I don't know what to do anymore. You're the only person I have left, but even then…"
"It's the hypnosis thing that has you worried, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is. I admit, I want my free Takeru back."
"Am I much different?" I asked.
"Not really, I suppose, but I'm still worried about you not having free will. The main differences are you liking being controlled and, well, you working for a group who wants me dead."
"I'm sure I could talk to Ryoken-sama about you and make it so that you were safe. Other than that, being hypnotised is nice. It is very hard to understand when you haven't been hypnotised before. I yelled at Yusaku when I found out he let Ryoken hypnotise him often." I laughed a laugh of embarrassment, "But that changed when I was hypnotised. I finally understood why he liked it. I wish there was a way for you to know too."
"How can you be content when you don't have free will? What's so good about being hypnotised?" His tone was a mix of genuine curiosity and concern.
"Happiness is not based on what you own, such as free will. Happiness is based on what you do. You can still do things that make you happy without free will, and with other people controlling you." I explained, "Having somebody control you feels indescribably good. Ryoken, Specter and Yusaku's control over me feels loving. It helps me feel a connection with them. The feeling of hypnosis is nice too… It's relaxing and comforting. It refreshes you in a way that sleep could never match up to. When you wake up, you feel reborn. You feel reincarnated."
"Reincarnated?" I didn't know what to think about what Takeru was saying. I had come to believe been able to choose what to do in life was important. Maybe I was being unreasonable. Maybe I wasn't. I didn't know what to think anymore.
"Yes, reincarnated. I feel a special peace that I didn't feel back when I wasn't hypnotised. I still feel a roaring fire deep within me that gives me the courage to fight when I need it. But other than that, everything else doesn't feel so broken anymore. I don't feel lost anymore."
Takeru was happy. Was that all that mattered? Or did free will truly matter?
Human morality and human society claimed that being free is important. However, I was not a human. I knew that humans were prone to making errors and mistakes. I had the luxury of deciding if what most humans thought to be right was really right. I could judge whether Takeru was right, or the bulk of humanity. That would be something I would need to think carefully about.
"Flame, do you want to come back to Ryoken's house with me? Maybe I can show you what hypnosis looks like." Takeru offered.
"Come back with you? But what if you fail to convince Ryoken to let you keep me?" I asked.
"Don't worry about that, I'm sure it will be possible." Takeru gave me a reassuring smile, "You need somewhere to stay, right? You don't have many options. Besides, Ryoken-sama is a kind master."
"I suppose you are right… I'll come with you."
"I'm home!" Takeru called from the front door.
"Welcome back!" Specter replied from somewhere else in the house.
"It seems Takeru is back from his walk." I observed, giving Yusaku a small head pat.
"Mmm." Yusaku agreed sleepily, head buried in my chest as he hugged me tightly.
Footsteps sounded from down the hall, before someone knocked on the door of the living room.
"Come in."
Takeru entered the room and bowed, before closing the door behind him. He had one hand behind his back, and the hand was being obscured by his body.
"I have something I'd like to talk about, Ryoken-sama." He began.
"Take a seat." I said, gesturing to a chair, "What is it you would like to discuss?"
"On my walk, I discovered something and I have brought it back with me." He said, sitting in the chair and revealing a duel disk from behind his back, "Flame, come out."
An Ignis rose from the disk as the display lit up.
"Flame!" Yusaku exclaimed, sitting up and facing the AI.
"Your Ignis? Didn't you leave it with Kusanagi?" I asked, surprised by what he brought back with him. This was completely unexpected.
"I did." Takeru admitted, "But Kusanagi threw Flame out of his van in a fit of rage. I found him lying on the street."
"I see… Well, considering you want to talk about what you found, I doubt you're going to be asking me to kill it."
"Yeah…" Takeru lowered his head a little nervously, "I want to know if we can keep Flame."
"You are aware I want all Ignis dead, correct?" I asked.
"Yes."
"What makes you want to keep the Ignis, exactly?" I made sure my tone was not accusatory, nor aggressive, but instead one that suggested that I genuinely wanted to know why. I didn't want to unnecessarily deny my servant their request.
"He's… He's always been there for me, for as long as I known him. He's helped me get through some dark times, too. If my personal reasons aren't enough, I suppose the fact he is a victim of Kusanagi might help convince you of what I want…"
Flame looked up at his origin, concerned.
"Something wrong, fire Ignis?" I asked, suspicious, "Are you scared that your wellbeing isn't assured?"
"Not at all." He responded, turning to me, "I'm worried about Takeru's wellbeing."
"Why is that? Do you think we'd punish him for making this request?"
"No. I'm worried that you are going to make him unhappy. I have decided that my priority is Takeru's happiness. I didn't just come here because I have nowhere to go, but also because I wanted to see if what Takeru was saying is true."
"Oh?" I found what the Ignis was saying to be interesting, "What did Takeru say?"
"He said that all of you who live in this house make him happy. He said that hypnosis makes him happy. I don't know whether you just told him to say those things or not, so I wanted to see for myself whether it was true. Admittedly, I'm a little concerned about you removing his free will, but I've decided if it is what makes Takeru happy, I can agree with it."
"My, such concern for your origin." I put my hand to my chin thoughtfully, "I find that quite admirable. However, you are still an Ignis. The Ignis need to be destroyed."
"Please reconsider." The Ignis sounded calm, "I know your father wanted all Ignis dead because we have the potential to take over the world, but if I'm going to be perfectly honest, I do not feel like carrying out world domination. I have no need to do that. I simply wish to be with my origin."
"You are an AI capable of lying. Why should I trust what you say?" I glared at the Ignis.
"I'll let you do anything to me if it makes you sure I won't do anything, as long as it isn't destroying me. You can lock me in the duel disk, cut my access off from the network, put me in new hardware, I don't care. I just want to make sure Takeru is okay."
"Well, that does sound tempting. An Ignis that can't escape or communicate is no threat to anyone. However, I do wonder what you plan to do if Takeru happens to not be okay." I said, considering his proposal.
"I suppose I'll try to do something about what is happening to him."
"We'll be able to destroy you easily from whatever vulnerable position we put you in. You're ensuring your destruction in that case." I pointed out.
"Well then, I guess I will perish after trying my hardest to save Takeru."
"And you are fine with that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I have nowhere to go, I have been disowned by the only person I had left other than Takeru, and Takeru is living with a group of people who would love to see me dead. I think death is a perfectly fine option in this case."
"Hmmm… Indeed you are quite admirable, and it seems we have the common interest of Takeru's wellbeing. I have a proposal. We will load you into an old device with no networking capabilities, and we'll let you watch us hypnotise Takeru. If you don't like what you see by the end of it, we'll destroy you. If you approve, we'll let Takeru keep you."
"I am fine with that arrangement." He said, accepting my proposal.
"How about you, Takeru?" I asked.
"I can agree to that." He smiled, "Thank you for giving Flame a chance. I'm grateful, as always. I'm sure Flame will see that hypnosis is a good thing."
"Hopefully he does. I know that you two are close, and it would be a shame to have to harm a friend of yours, even if he is my enemy." I paused, then resumed speaking, "Ah, one more thing. There is a little extra something I want to do when having Takeru hypnotised that will get you involved, Flame. I'm sure you will have no trouble agreeing, considering I've decided to be so very lenient today. This will be the only condition I will not outline to you."
"... I don't like how you are choosing not to explain it, but I suppose asking for anything else will result in a fruitless death for me."
"I'm glad you understand the sort of position you are in. Now then, we'll hypnotise you later today."
"Thank you, Ryoken-sama." Takeru got up from the chair, bowed, and left the room.
"That was a bit out of character for you." Yusaku commented, looking up at me.
"I suppose it was." I sighed, "I could have just hypnotised Takeru right there and then to hate the Ignis and let me obliterate it."
"I think your heart has been getting softer…" Yusaku leaned into my chest and ran his hand over my heart.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No, I like it." He smiled sweetly, "Perhaps I'm making you softer."
"Maybe you are." I laughed a little, "Either way, Takeru is a member of our family. I'd imagine you would be sad to see one of his closest friends killed. Although, would you still be sad if Takeru was hypnotised to believe it was for the best?"
Yusaku looked a little conflicted, "I think... I might be unhappy if that happened. It doesn't help him, does it?"
"I see you've learned." I gave him a small kiss on the forehead, "We should only hypnotise people when it is for the best."
"Yes." His smile grew. He was happy that he would be less likely to make the mistake he did when I hypnotised Taki, "Although, don't you believe that destroying the Ignis is for the best?" He asked.
"Yes, I do. But if we have an Ignis so useless it can't even enter the network and its only purpose is to provide some company for Takeru, is it really a threat? I could delete it at any time. Besides, we could use it as another way to control Takeru."
"Another way to control him?" Yusaku's eyes lit up. He was extra interested.
"Yes. I came up with a new idea for an experiment that involves hypnotising Takeru, and the experiment does require the Ignis." I explained.
"Wow, that sounds cool. Could that be the extra condition to Flame staying?"
"It is. You are as perceptive as always, I see."
"Mmm." He melted further into my arms, "I can't wait to see what you've thought of."
Soon after our conversation ended, Yusaku began snoring quietly. This was the perfect time to make the arrangements necessary for my plan.
Ring ring. Ring ring.
"I'll get the phone." I said, pulling it from the dock on wall and putting it to my ear, "Hello, Ryoken-sama. This is Taki speaking."
"Hi Taki. How did telling Aso and Genome about hypnosis go?"
"It went well. They were a little worried at first, but I managed to convince them to be fine with it rather easily."
"Ah, thank goodness. I'm glad it wasn't too difficult. Anyway, I have called you because I need you to design a device for me and deliver it to me as soon as you can."
"A device? What sort of device do you need us to make?"
"I need something that can read a person's feelings as they happen and convert them into a digital stream of information."
"What a strange concept." I giggled, "It should be no problem to make with Aso and Genome helping. We probably have sufficient parts in supply here on the boat to make the hardware required. Consider it done."
"When do you think you can get it to Stardust Road by?"
"Probably early evening." I estimated, "That includes both time spent designing, building, programming and travelling back to the docks. I'll see you then."
"That is perfect. Thank you for your help."
I hung up, put the phone back on the dock and looked over at Genome and Aso, who has been listening in on the conversation.
"I wonder what he's up to." Aso said.
"Indeed." Genome agreed.
"In any case, we'd better get to work immediately. He made it sound urgent." I sighed.
"Of course. If we put our minds together, we'll get this done in no time." Aso flipped his laptop open.
"I'll handle the programming that reads a person's emotions from their brain. Genome, can you please work on the hardware? And Aso, can you please work out the digital conversion?"
"Of course, after all I have the perfect DNA for the job." Genome smiled.
"Yep, I'll get onto it." Aso began typing.
"Good. Let's do this as well as we can in the shortest span of time we can."
"Aoi!" Akira yelled, running through the door and embracing his restrained and unconscious sister, "Aoi…!"
"I'm sorry, Akira." I apologised, looking down at the siblings, on the verge of tears.
Akira stood up, turned around and slapped me, "What were you thinking?!" He yelled, "You took her to the Hanoi's base! I don't care if she wants to be independent or mature, that is something too dangerous to be done by ANYONE!"
"I'm sorry… It's just… we need Playmaker in our war against Lightning, so…"
"Your message from Kusanagi's assistant literally warned you that something terrible could happen!" He yelled.
"Akira, I see that you are angry right now, but I also sense that Ema thoroughly regrets her actions and feels deeply saddened too. Please calm down. She understands that she has done something bad." Aqua said.
"I… fine." He took a deep breath and grit his teeth, "I'm very unhappy with you, Ema, but what we need to focus on is Aoi."
"Yes, it is." Aqua agreed.
"What can we do?" He asked.
"I could figure out what is wrong with Aoi if I had brain scans, and we might be able to find a solution to her problem from those. However, Ema doesn't have any equipment that could perform brain scans."
"I see, then we should take her to a hospital?"
"No." Aqua shook her head, "They won't know how to help her. If they perform scans on her, they will insist on her staying in the hospital and I we won't be able to help her further."
"That's… not good. Do we have any other options?" I asked.
"SOL." Akira said.
"SOL?! You can't be serious!" I exclaimed.
"Why not?"
"Because… Because they tortured Playmaker's assistant! I saw it with my own eyes, all of the brutal-"
"Can we trust the Hanoi after what they did to Aoi?" Aqua asked.
"But the footage-"
"It was probably doctored or completely made up." Akira crossed his arms.
"It was so real though…"
"Well, what more can you expect from the most wanted cyber terrorist organisation on the planet?"
I sighed. They were probably right.
"In any case, I can give her to some of my workers at SOL Technologies and get some brain scans. That way, we can get a copy of Aoi's brain scans and take her home at any time." Akira explained.
"I see. That idea sounds good." Aqua nodded her head.
"If we need, we can probably borrow resources to help fix her too."
"I think we should go ahead with that plan. I don't see the potential for anything to go wrong."
"Ryoken-sama, Taki dropped a box off at the door for you." Specter walked into the room, holding said box.
"Ah, perfect timing. Specter, would you happen to know where Takeru is?" I asked.
"Yes, he's in his bedroom. Why do you ask?"
"I have a job for you. Head into Takeru's room with that box, Yusaku and I will join you shortly."
"Very well, Ryoken-sama." He bowed and went off to follow my orders.
"Are you ready for our experiment, Yusaku?"
"Just a couple more minutes…" He mumbled, snuggling into my chest.
"Come on, we shouldn't keep Specter and Takeru waiting." I gave his shoulder a playful poke, "You can cuddle me all you want later."
"Mmmmm… fine…" He groaned, loosening his hug and sitting up.
We left the room and head over to Takeru's bedroom, where Specter was already standing, looking down at the fire Ignis in shock.
"Ryoken-sama is willing to let you keep the Ingis?!" Specter sounded very surprised, and slightly worried.
"Yes, I did." I cut in.
"Are you sure about this?" His voice wavered a little.
"Relax. We're going to be hypnotising Takeru with the Ignis in the room. If the Ignis disapproves, we'll destroy it. If he approves, we'll let Takeru keep him."
"I suppose that isn't too much of a problem…" Specter scratched his head, a little taken aback.
"Well then, what is the extra condition you refused to explain?" Flame spoke up.
Flame was standing with his arms folded, in an outdated duel disk with no networking capabilities that was intended for local duels. The disk rested in Takeru's lap.
"It's in the box Specter brought in here."
"It's an object?" His eyelids raised to indicate surprise.
"Yes, it was a little something I had my Knights throw together." I nodded, "Specter, we'll have you hypnotise Takeru. We'll have Flame hooked up to the contents of that box at the same time."
"Of course, Ryoken-sama." Specter bowed.
"Let's open the box first and get that set up."
Specter knelt down and began unboxing the Knights' creation. Yusaku peered over at the box curiously, as did Flame and Takeru.
"There appears to be a device with a duel disk connector on one end, and electrodes on the other…" Specter observed, pulling it out of the box.
"A device? With a duel disk connector and electrodes?" Flame scratched his head, "Is that… for Takeru and I?"
"Yes." I answered, "I won't tell you what happens in the device between the electrodes and the cord for the duel disk, but what I can tell you is that you'll find out soon."
Flame grumbled a little bit. Yusaku stared at the device with wonder in his deep green eyes.
"I'm assuming I'll need to place the electrodes around Takeru's head and plug the other end into the duel disk port?" Specter said, inspecting the device.
"Yes, please do that. Takeru, lie down for us."
Takeru nodded and placed the duel disk on the bedside table, before lying down and putting his head on his pillow. Specter began placing the electrodes on Takeru's head the way Taki had taught him to. Then he took the duel disk connector and plugged it into the duel disk.
"Nothing is happening." Flame noted.
"We need to turn it on first." Specter said, picking up the device,
Click.
Flame twitched a little, and then quickly looked over at Takeru.
"This is… What is this feeling...?" Flame asked in a confused voice.
"It seems it works. Taki and the others did a good job." I grinned.
"What am I… feeling…?" He looked down at his hands.
"I believe that would be Takeru's emotions."
"Takeru's… emotions…?"
"How do they feel?" I asked.
He paused, then answered, "Calm, I think."
"This little device will impose Takeru's feelings onto you. While we hypnotise him, you will slip into a somewhat hypnotic state of your own that will be affected by how Takeru is feeling."
"So you're hypnotising me too?!" Flame panicked suddenly, "I only came here to observe, and do something if necessary, not get involved! How can I form a judgement if I'm in a hypnotic state?!"
"Ah, you can experience hypnosis too, Flame! Isn't that great?" Takeru piped up, cheerful.
Flame twitched again, "You feel… Happiness…"
"Aren't you glad, Flame?" Takeru smiled brightly.
"I…" Flame stuttered. Takeru's happiness was blocking him from feeling his own emotions of concern.
"I'm happy for you, Flame."
"I… I'm happy…" Flame sounded unsure of himself. His hands were shaking a little.
"Are you nervous?" Takeru reached over and gave Flame's head a little pat.
Flame twitched once again at the change in Takeru's emotions, "Empathy…"
Takeru giggled put his arm back down by his side, "You'll be fine. Just relax, we'll be hypnotised together. I promise you'll love it."
"Indeed. Let's get started, shall we?" Specter clasped his hands together and grinned, "Close your eyes, Takeru. Take some deep breaths."
"No, stop-" Flame began, but was quickly silenced by a shock of emotion sent through the device. Takeru's relaxation robbed Flame of his ability to panic and argue.
"Shhh… Calm your mind." Specter said in a soft, hushed tone. Takeru obeyed.
Specter took Takeru's hand and began tracing patterns into his palm.
"Just feel the rhythm of the movement in your palm… Ignore everything except for my voice and the motion in your palm… Feel it going around, and around, and around, and around… Focus on my voice, and relax your muscles…" Specter talked calmly. Takeru sunk down into the sheets of his bed and breathed slowly. Flame fell to his knees, and his head flopped forwards.
"Feel the shackles of control solidify around your heart and your mind… Feel their love, feel their warmth… Submit yourself to what they make you feel… Slowly float away deep inside yourself… Let yourself become locked in a trance…"
Flame fell over sideways on the duel disk, and curled up into fetal position.
"Open your eyes, and be under my control." Specter ordered. Takeru's eyes fluttered open, and the hypnosis was complete.
"You are to take orders from Ryoken-sama and Yusaku once again." He commanded. Takeru nodded faintly.
"Good job, Specter." I said, approaching the bed with Yusaku by my side. I looked over at the Ignis and smiled a smile of satisfaction, "It appears the device has worked a charm."
"What are we going to be doing in this experiment?" Yusaku asked, clutching my arm.
"We're going to see what we can do to the Ignis through Takeru." I answered, running a finger over Takeru's forehead, "Hopefully this will be a pleasant experience for both Takeru and his Ignis."
"Ryoken-sama, might I ask a question?" Specter looked over at me for approval.
"Go ahead."
"Why don't you just destroy the Ignis?"
"It would hurt Takeru if I did. He seems to have a close relationship with the fire Ignis."
"But you could just hypnotise him to be fine with it, right?"
"I could, but I won't." I sighed.
"Why not?"
"I want to see the potential Flame has his helping us control Takeru, or perhaps even the other way round. Think of the possibilities, Specter."
"I suppose, but doesn't the Ignis pose a threat?"
"Look at it. It's completely at our mercy. Just like Takeru, who once stormed in through our door looking to start a fight."
"But your father said that-"
"We walk a new path, Specter. I have new goals now." I cut him off.
"Has your heart softened? Where has your ruthlessness gone?!"
"His heart softening, is that a bad thing?" Yusaku cut in. Specter stared at Yusaku, no reply entering his mind. Yusaku continued, "Do you not unconditionally love Ryoken?"
"I…" He paused.
"Do you only like Ryoken when he embodies certain qualities?" Yusaku questioned.
"I… I…" Specter stuttered.
"Perhaps your resolve has weakened, not just mine." I stared dead ahead at Specter, which intimidated him. "I still stand by you regardless. I would be very hurt if this were a one-sided relationship, and you would not do the same for me."
"I'm… I'm sorry…" He spoke quietly.
"Shall we continue, then?" I asked.
"I… I think it would be best if I sat this one out."
"Very well." I sighed, "We will go through with this without you."
Specter glanced at Yusaku and I, then made his way to the door and left quickly.
"Hmmm…" I looked at the empty doorway, and Yusaku gave my shoulder a tap.
"Was I too harsh on him?" He looked up at me with wide eyes, and a hint of guilt.
"You weren't too harsh. We'll go and talk with him about this later. I just want our family to be happy now. I admit, destroying the Ignis doesn't feel as… important as before."
"Perhaps it's because you have something more to live for than you father's will…"
"Maybe it is. I love this family of ours dearly, although I will not abandon the hunt for the other Ignis as they do pose a threat. Maybe we can find a way to remove the threat of the fire Ignis without killing it, for Takeru's sake. Specter did not react well when his Ignis was destroyed, and I would like to avoid that from happening to Takeru."
"Isn't that why Specter didn't kill Flame when he found him in the van? Why would he suddenly want Flame dead?"
"I'm not sure, maybe we can ask him later. Times are changing in this house with all of our new company, and I suppose we've left Specter behind in the process…"
"I feel sorry for him… Sometimes he just feels so distant from the rest of us, even though he is one of us."
"There you go again, being empathetic as always." I gave him a big hug, "We'll patch things up with him. He'll be fine. Okay?"
"Okay." Yusaku nodded, and I stopped hugging him.
"For now, our focus is Takeru and Flame. Let's see what we can do, shall we?"
"What are we going to try first?"
"Mmm… Good question." I sat on the edge of the bed, and looked into Takeru's absent expression, "How do you feel, Takeru?"
"So… tranquil…" He breathed.
"Sit up and look over at Flame for a moment please."
Takeru did as I asked of him and slowly sat himself up, and turned his head robotically to look at his Ignis.
"You know Flame better than the rest of us. How do you think Flame feels right now?"
"He looks… peaceful…" Takeru smiled.
"Hm, their relationship is strong enough to show through as happiness for one another even during a trance. If we had killed Flame, the results would have been disastrous even with hypnosis. Destroying Flame simply isn't a possibility when they are this close. Speaking of which, were you close with Ai?"
"Not at all." Yusaku stated flatly, folding his arms. This made me chuckle.
"I'm going to try and trigger some emotional responses in Takeru and see how it affects the Ignis."
I turned to our test subject, "Now then, Takeru, I want you to imagine something for me. Remember when you found out your parents were dead. Picture the room where you found out. Feel the emotions you felt back then. Remember each and every little detail and relive the moment…"
Takeru shuddered at the mention of his parents, then his shoulders slumped and tears began to flow down his cheeks. A faint wailing noise escaped his lips. Full blown screaming was being held back by the hypnosis.
"It hurts a lot, doesn't it?"
Takeru nodded, the tears showing no sign of halting.
"Focus in on that pain." I ordered. Takeru began to shiver.
The fire Ignis began to shiver too. Small particles were coming out from its eyes, and it had curled its hands around its head in pain.
"Yusaku, give Takeru a hug."
Yusaku sat on the bed and wrapped his arms around Takeru. I gently hugged them both.
"You can stop thinking about that pain now. Yusaku and I are here for you."
Takeru's eyes widened. His tears started to weaken.
"Let those memories float away into the deepest reaches of your mind where you can't see them… Just relax and remember where you are right now."
I wiped some of the tears from his cheeks, and new tracks of water didn't form. Takeru sunk into the embrace of Yusaku and I, and he took some deep breaths.
"I'm sorry for making you have to feel that pain just now." I said in a calming, hushed tone, "But it is important that you remember that your life has changed for the better now. You still have a family that cares for you."
"Everything is going to be okay, Takeru. We're here for you." Yusaku added.
Takeru's shivering stopped and the corner of his mouth tugged upwards.
"Everything… is… going… to be... okay…" He breathed, repeating Yusaku's words.
"Yes, everything will be okay now that you're with us." I cooed.
As Takeru's greatest darkness was contrasted to the light he felt right now, an emotion bubbled up inside of him. Gratitude.
"Ryoken, look at Flame." Yusaku whispered.
I looked over, and saw that Flame was no longer holding on to his head like he was in pain, but instead his hands were over his heart. His digital tears had disappeared, and he was still once more.
"These two have felt two emotional extremes today. Perhaps we should stop, wake them up and see if anything interesting happens once they're fully conscious. Nothing out of expectation has happened while they've been in a trance." I said, withdrawing myself from the hug. Yusaku did the same.
"Can I wake him up this time?" Yusaku asked.
"Of course."
"Takeru, when I count to three you will awaken. Lie down for me and close your eyes, please."
Takeru lowered himself back down onto his pillow, and let his eyelids slide shut.
"One. Two. Three."
His eyes fluttered open, and he blinked a couple of times, adjusting to reality once more.
"Ryoken-sama… Yusaku…" He whispered softly, looking up at us both.
But it wasn't just him whispering. There was another voice.
That voice belonged to Flame.
"Ryoken… Yusaku…" The Ignis whispered again, still lying down and curled up.
"Oh…?" Was all I could bring myself to say. This was a strange reaction that I had not anticipated at all. What did it mean?
"Takeru?" Yusaku asked, "How are you?"
"I feel… loved. I feel wanted. I feel like I belong here…" He answered slowly.
"Did you not already feel that way?"
"I did, its just… I feel like I belong even more…" He took a deep breath, then turned to Flame, "Flame, are you okay...?"
Flame didn't answer, he just kept whispering snippets of the words Takeru had said, "I… belong…"
"Here." I said, grabbing the duel disk from the bedside table and handing it to Takeru. He took it, sat up and gave Flame a little head pat, which made him snap to attention.
"Flame?"
"T… Takeru…" he said, slowly turning his head to look up at the person who he spoke the name of.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, I don't think so."
"How was being hypnotised?"
"I think… I liked it…"
"Yusaku, can you please turn the device off for me?" I asked.
Yusaku nodded and with a click, the device shut off, severing the stream of emotional data from Takeru. Flame twitched.
"Tell me, Flame, have you come to a conclusion?" I inquired.
"A conclusion…?"
"About us and Takeru being hypnotised."
"I almost forgot." He looked up at his origin, who looked right back at him, smiling sleepily and gently, "There was… a horrible pain in Takeru's heart… You aren't making him forget the pain, but instead you're healing his heart…"
"You remember what you felt during hypnosis?" I asked, his observations piquing my interest.
"Yes."
"Do you remember what that pain came from?"
"... His parents, I think."
"What makes you think that?"
"I am Takeru's origin. How could I not know where his suffering comes from?"
"So you felt it?"
"Yes."
"You two really are close." Yusaku noted.
"Anyway, to answer your question, I think I understand why Takeru wants to stay here," Flame bowed his head, "and I approve of him staying here. You seem to be taking good care of him, and for that I thank you."
"You will be allowed to stay with Takeru, as promised." I said, acknowledging his thanks, "You are useful to us in helping to ensure Takeru's wellbeing. We trust you will help us to look after him?"
"Of course. After all, I came here because Takeru was all I had left, and I just wanted to know he was okay."
"Since you will be working to ensure Takeru is cheerful, that makes you a servant in this house." I got up from the bed.
"I am fine with that. Control… doesn't seem as bad as I initially thought."
"Yes. You know, one of my Knights, Taki, said something similar once."
"They did?" He raised an eyebrow then shrugged, "I suppose I'm having a rather human reaction to this."
"Human…" I thought for a moment, then continued, "I suppose you also have no more power than a human right now, and you even think a little like one. That's the sort of Ignis I can get along with if necessary."
"I have a singular request. I would be happy if you would set your hatred of me aside and we could be friends."
I sighed, "For Takeru's sake, I can do that." I put my finger out, and he shook it as if we were shaking hands, "However, I will not pardon the other Ingis, unless they are no longer a threat."
"I never intended on making you promise that to me. I simply wish well for Takeru." He said, "After feeling what he felt today… I would give him all the help I can give." The Ignis turned back to his origin, "Takeru, I feel like I understand you better now. You feel hurt deep down, but you keep going because others are around. I intend to keep being one of those people."
"Thank you, Flame." Takeru smiled, "You got me going in the first place. I want to keep you around until the end."
"Now then, Yusaku and I better get going. We have some business to attend to."
"Business?" Takeru asked, tilting his head to the side.
"We need to sort things out with Specter."
"Specter!" His eyes widened, "He hypnotised me, but I didn't realise he was gone until just now! Where is he?"
"Specter had… a little outburst tight after you were hypnotised." I sighed, "He just needs a bit of help. I think he didn't like that I didn't kill Flame."
"But Specter kept Flame alive in the first place…?" Takeru sounded confused.
"We don't know what is going on exactly, but he'll hopefully be fine."
"Can you let Specter know that he can talk to me if he ever needs help?"
"Of course, I'll pass that on to him. Yusaku, let's go. Takeru, enjoy the rest of your day off."
"Who is this hideous girl with the unfashionably short brown hair?" I asked my assistant, my long nail pressed up against the person in the CCTV footage on my monitor.
"I think that is Akira Zaizen's younger sister, Aoi Zaizen."
"Uck. Somebody should tell her that plain coloured hair is so 21st century."
"Miss Queen, I happen to have plain hair too."
"Well then, you better go get it coloured something outrageous or I'll get you fired. You could learn a thing or two from Akira. Come to think of it, if you don't get it styled into something more physics-defying too, I'll have you fired."
"But Miss Queen-"
"Look, I don't care if you write it off as a company expense, just go get it done. Get out of my sight." I snapped.
"O..of course, Miss Queen." My dull assistant shuffled out of the room, on the verge of tears.
"Ugh, what a pain. Anyway, why is Zaizen's sister here?" I asked myself, zooming in on the girl with the camera controls, "Ah… She's unconscious, and they're using some brain scanning equipment on her. I better pinch some of the data from that."
I clicked a few keys, and started running a back end to the computer in the lab the ugly girl was in. I copied the data from their scans as they happened, and compiled a collection of the data into a folder on my desktop.
"Oh my…" I giggled, "There is something very wrong with this girl's mind. Last time I saw brain scans like this I was looking at the scan results of a brainwashed cult member. Although, the connections in this girl's mind are more haphazard and messy. I wonder why?"
I kept watching as the data rolled in, the entertainment I felt growing with each new result.
"Oh dear…" I laughed, "This girl is messed up. You know what? I could use a new plaything. Kusanagi was fun to mess with and all, but I feel like this young lady could be a perfect long-term toy for me. I'm going to go down there right now and taker her away."
"Kyoko, look at this." I turned my laptop around and showed her the screen.
"Brain scan results for… Aoi Zaizen? And a SOL watermark?"
Genome entered the room with some mugs of tea, and caught a glimpse of the screen that stopped him in his tracks.
"Not even the most disgusting DNA could make a mind like that." He remarked, eyes widening, "Ryoken-sama has done quite a job on her."
"It seems that Akira and Ema decided to take Aoi to SOL to get her fixed up after her little encounter with Ryoken-sama." I observed.
"Hm… Well, at least we have brain scan results to send to Ryoken-sama." Kyoko sighed and folded her arms.
"Should we be concerned though?" I asked, "He's done something… pretty bad to Aoi."
"He is our leader. Shouldn't we just follow his orders?" Kyoko shrugged.
"You were worried about him when he wanted to start the Tower of Hanoi. Why are you not worrying now?"
"I was the only one worrying back then, you two were fine with it. Why are you two are suddenly concerned about what he is getting himself involved in?"
"Well, that was then and this is-"
"It is no difference between now and then, Aso. They're both crimes, and they always have been."
"I suppose… I suppose they are…"
"Kyoko and Aso, perhaps we should hurry up and send this data to Ryoken-sama?" Genome said, putting the mugs down on the table.
"Yeah, I'll do that now." I said, getting back to work.
"Speaking of Ryoken-sama, I just received a message from him." Taki said, spinning her laptop around, and I read the subject line of the message.
"He… captured the fire Ignis?" I asked.
"According to this, yes." She confirmed.
I kept reading, and so did Genome.
"Wait, he hasn't killed it?! And he doesn't plan to?!" I heard Genome yell in disbelief.
I didn't know what he was talking about until I kept reading through, and found a line that read 'I have no intention of harming this Ignis.'
That got me mad.
"Ryoken-sama?"
"Yes?"
"Just before I leave, might I borrow that book you read to learn hypnosis?"
"Hm, what for…?"
"Personal business. You see..."
"You two, it isn't that bad. He explains why later in his message." I stated.
"No, this is terrible! The Ignis must perish!" Aso yelled. Genome punched the table, his face twisting into a creepy form, just like Specter's sometimes did when he dueled. Despite their violent reactions, I remained calm.
"Please, calm down, both of you."
"No! We have to do something about this!" Genome snarled.
"We can't do anything if you two are kicking and screaming like toddlers having a tantrum."
At that, they both shut up and stared dead ahead at me, silent.
"Okay," Aso began, taking a deep breath, "What do we do? What is our plan?"
"Our goal is to destroy that Ignis and get Ryoken-sama back on track." Genome stated.
"I have an idea." I said.
"What is it?" Aso asked.
"We're listening." Genome added.
"Prolog im Himmel." I said simply.
Aso and Genome stared at me, confused, for a few brief moments. Then, Genome fell back into his chair and Aso's muscles flopped. They were instantly hypnotised.
What had I done? It was simple. I had hypnotised them the night I got back from Ryoken's house, and made it so that if I even so much as uttered the name of the prologue of 'Faust' they would fall back into their trances.
"That was rather easy." I noted, flipping my laptop back around to face me. It was time to do what I had wanted to do in the first place with the powers of hypnosis.
"Both of you are very dear friends of mine, but you have hurt me. When I suggested that we might hurt Ryoken-sama by letting him go ahead with the Tower of Hanoi, you didn't even give my concern or Ryoken-sama's wellbeing a second thought. That disgusted me. How could you not worry about him!?"
Aso and Genome kept staring into space mindlessly, unanswering.
I sighed and continued, "You two only panicked about the ethical implications of Ryoken-sama's actions just now. Why did you not worry back then? Do you not care for Ryoken-sama as if he were your own family? Is destroying the Ignis all you care about!?"
They still couldn't answer me, but I kept going.
"Do you know what separates us from our horrible creations? The bonds we have with others. The Ignis would abandon one another in an instant if it meant their survival was assured. They don't even try to understand one another, or even people who aren't like themselves. How are you being any different from the Ingis? The answer is simple. You are not any different. I suggest that you put 'not being like an Ignis' ahead of your desire for their downfall. Am I clear?"
Both of the men nodded, a tear forming in one of Aso's eyes.
"Very good. I'll wake you up in a moment, but please don't feel disheartened by my words. They are meant for you to make yourselves better and clean up your act, not wallow in your own tears." I took a deep breath, "I'm sorry I had to get angry like that. You are still important friends to me, but I simply wish that you value better things sometimes."
Knock knock.
"Specter, are you in there?" Ryoken asked, rapping his hand against the door a few times.
There was no answer. Everything fell silent for a moment, before Ryoken knocked again. There was still no noises coming from the room.
"Ryoken, what do we do?" I asked, putting my hand over his and pulling it away from the door, "Clearly he doesn't want us in there…"
"Well…" He reached for the door handle and turned it. The door refused to open.
"He locked it…" I observed.
"I guess we have to let ourselves in." He sighed, and pulled a key from his pocket.
"You have a master key?"
"Yep." He answered, putting it in the door and turning it.
Click.
He pushed the door open, and we went inside. What we saw surprised us.
Specter was on his bed, hugging a pillow with tears rushing from his eyes. He glanced over at us, and buried his face quickly into the pillow the moment he made eye contact.
"Specter…?" Ryoken asked, approaching the bed and the door shutting behind him. I followed him, watching Specter with concern. "What's wrong?"
Specter refused to raise his head or speak. He continued to weep into the pillow, his hands shaking.
"Please talk with us. We can't help unless we know what is wrong."
Specter shook his head.
"Come on Specter, let us help." Ryoken put his hand on Specter's shoulder.
"I'm sorry…" He whispered into his pillow. His muffled voice was faint, but audible and understandable.
"What are you sorry about?"
"I'm… sorry about everything…"
"If you're apologising about getting angry before, its okay-"
"It's not okay!" He yelled, his sadness fueling him, "I shouldn't have questioned you, yes, but that isn't the full problem…"
"Explain the problem to us then. We'll listen." Ryoken sat on the bedside, and I sat with him.
"I've been finding it so hard these recent weeks… I've tried and I've tried to remain as loyal to you as possible, but it has just been so hard…"
"Why has it been hard?"
"Self hypnosis… it isn't enough. I can't keep going like this…"
"Self hypnosis isn't enough?"
"Yes… I feel like I'm going crazy… I just want to be properly hypnotised again. I feel… starved…"
"Specter…" Ryoken looked really concerned.
"I have to hypnotise Takeru to make him happy, but I can't feel happy myself… I feel lost, I feel stuck. I don't know how to be happy. I was happy once, but now those days are gone and I'm chasing the feeling from my memories with no success…" He sniffled, "Normally I would follow you unquestioningly. Today showed me that something is really wrong with me… I couldn't help myself. I've been irritable, and I've been frustrated. It's only been getting worse, too…"
Ryoken gave Specter's back a small pat.
"Why can't I be happy? Why can't I follow you without hesitation…?" He wiped a tear from his face, "Self hypnosis has kept me going, but I won't last much longer. It isn't just that though. I feel empty. Ever since Earth passed away… There's just been a hole in me, and I can't explain why. I never even met that Ignis, but it hurts. Why did I cry at the death of my enemy? Why must I feel hurt by their passing? It lingers with me. It constantly hurts. When I saw Takeru with Flame back in the van, I wanted to protect Takeru. Today, when I saw that Ignis again, I felt jealous. Why do I have to be the only one feeling this pain!?"
Specter's crying grew stronger, "I feel so alone… You know, I was watching before when you were hypnotising Takeru. You hugged him. You told him everything was going to be okay. Nobody tells me that anymore. Nobody comforts me like that anymore. I feel so utterly alone…!" He squeezed the pillow harder, "Ever since Yusaku came here, things have been going downhill. Ryoken-sama, you refuse to hypnotise anyone except Yusaku unless there are unusual circumstances, and I've had to watch Takeru feeling the happiness I used to feel. I wish I had a best friend like he does. I wish I could be hypnotised like him. I wish I could feel comforted like him. He's so lucky…! And Yusaku has you, Ryoken-sama. Everyone has someone or something to keep them happy. I have nothing left for me. I've been drifting apart from everyone. It's like the more people surround me, the more alone I feel. Isn't that ironic?" He laughed despairfully, his pained voice breaking.
Ryoken looked down at Specter, patting his back, wondering what to say.
I spoke up first.
"I'm sorry, Specter." I apologized sincerely, "I didn't mean to make things harder for you."
"You don't need to apologise, Yusaku. I don't hate you. The things that happened after you came just happened to be unfortunate for me. You couldn't have controlled it."
"I could have…" Ryoken said, "I'm so sorry… I should have seen these problems sooner. This is my fault as your master." He bowed his head shamefully.
"Ryoken…" I put my hand on his shoulder.
"Please, lie down properly, Specter, and take some deep breaths. I owe you this much."
Specter looked up at Ryoken, the tears in his eyes glistening, "Are you…?"
"Yes, I'm going to hypnotise you."
"Th… thank you… so… much..."
Specter stopped hugging the pillow, and lay out across the bed.
"Just take some deep breaths and relax…" Ryoken wiped away Specter's tears, and spoke in a soft, gentle and understanding tone.
"Calm yourself… Listen to my voice… Slowly shut your eyes… It won't hurt so much soon…" He said, rhythmically patting Specter's head. Specter relaxed under his touch, and did as he asked.
"Just focus on the softness of the bed… Think about how warm it is… Feel yourself melt into the comfort of the bed…" Specter did as he was told, and kept following along with his master's words.
"Feel the power of my hypnosis gently taking over your mind… Calmly surrender yourself… Breathe, relax and fall into a trance…" Ryoken coaxed him.
"Open your eyes. When you do, you will be under my control."
Specter half opened his eyes, showing a bit of his absent-minded gaze as he did.
"Ryoken, can I ask you something before we start talking to Specter?" I asked.
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you hypnotise Takeru or Specter yourself?"
"I was saving my hypnotic abilities for you."
"It's okay to hypnotise them yourself. I don't mind." I smiled.
"But hypnosis is our bond-"
"Ryoken, I know it is, but it hurts our family to keep it to ourselves." I looked down at Specter, "I want them to be happy. If they're happy, we're happy, right? Besides, we can hypnotise them together. Our bond is hypnosis, so lets share it."
"Together…" Ryoken trailed off.
"Yeah, we can do it together. I'm always with you, remember?" I gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Yeah…" He smiled at me, "I think you're right. I don't want to hurt our family."
"What are we going to do to make Specter feel better?" I asked.
"Hmm… Specter, sit up for me. You are to follow commands from Yusaku as well as myself."
Specter nodded, and sat up.
"You are family to us, Specter. Trust me, it has pained us too to know that you are drifting apart from us, but it also hurts to not know why you feel so distant. If you feel hurt or sad, you are to tell somebody. You don't need to shoulder your burden alone. All we want to do is make you happy."
"Takeru even says that he wants you to talk to him if something is wrong. All of us are worried about you. We don't want you to feel alone." I added.
"Indeed. You feel empty, right? You don't need an Ignis to fill the hole it left. You have all of us. We're here for you. If that hole stays, we'll help find a way to fix it. We don't want you to suffer. We don't want you to feel that pain." Ryoken looked at me, "Yusaku, let's give him a hug." I nodded.
I wrapped my arms around Specter and gave him a hug. Ryoken did the same, with his arms also enveloping me.
"We're here for you, just like you're here for us. We love you because you are our family. Everything is going to be okay." He tightened his hug.
"It doesn't need to hurt."
"Flame…" Takeru smiled softly, his arms wrapped tightly around the duel disk, "I'm so glad you will be staying here. I've missed you…"
"I've missed you too." I replied, curled up on top of the duel disk display, watching the sleepy Takeru fall asleep slowly.
"We can spend time together… just like we used to…"
"Yes, we can."
"We won't… get separated… again…" Takeru's eyes began falling shut.
"No, we won't."
"We… can…" He managed, before he passed out.
"Goodnight, Takeru."