Part II-II

warning: more killing in self-defense more explicit than before at the hands of minors. general fighting-for-survival violence

no-one can say what can be done

Vacuum sealed chambers have heavy doors and though they managed to move the debris blocking it away, the opening mechanism is jammed, forcing them to open it with...more creative means. As soon as they have a slit, they squeeze through.

Judai flicks his D-pad on and uses it as a flashlight against the complete darkness inside.

It reveals rows and rows of shelves, some toppled over and the contents spilled across the floor. Protected from the heat of fire, puddles of liquid or powder reflect the light.

After activating the same function on his pad, Shun mutters, "shut yours off. The Real Solid Vision disk have self-regenerating battery, it's better we use mine."

Wordlessly, two light-sources go down to one. "...monsters getting real enough in battle to fight or not, we'll need to get more new-style duel disks. Real Solid Vision disks weren't on the open market yet…" Judai says, tone considering.

Shun moves the light from one row to another, eyes glancing over the names of the drugs without any comprehension. Yuto might know what some of these are for, but Shun won't make Yuto face another second in this building if he can help it. Coming here was a mistake.

He decides to just take as many as he can fit into their bags. "I thought you were able to materialize monsters without Real Solid Vision." It came up when a scaled and clawed hand punched through the door's solid steel lock before Shun could even think of Duel Monsters as an option.

He senses Judai shoving bottles into his own bags much in the same manner as him. "Not for an entire duel, I'd pass out from exhaustion three turns in. ...When I'm older maybe."

…"Can you learn how to materialize like that or is it just you?" Shun's duel disk is a brand new model, two weeks old at most and a reward for his excellent results in an inter-duel school ranking tournament. An exclusive new type that wasn't to hit the market for another month yet. But he's learned now rather thoroughly that his life depends on his duels and he'd rather not be dependent on technology if he can help it.

Judai's movements pause for a moment, then continue on in the same pattern. The plastic bag crinkles loudly, mixed with the clatter of glass. "You already do it a bit subconsciously. Have been for a while. The Raid Raptors – I guess the best way to say it is that they've taken a liking to you. That's why you've got yellow eyes now. Maybe you can't call then without a duel disk yet, but if your duel disk had still made intangible holograms in… in the battle, they would have become physical for you."

Shun doesn't bat an eye – it's not like things like his eye-color, magic-like laws of nature actually existing, or his Raid Raptors having a mind and intelligence of their own is a concern. It stopped mattering the moment Heartland was attacked. All Shun cares about is how he can use what he has available, and to learn how to fast. "They did that for everyone else anyway." Who fought. Judai aside, Shun doubts that the toy-soldier man who ended that battle that Shun can hardly recall had a Real Solid Vision Duel disk. He wasn't a duelist and what use would a not-duelist have for real monster summons?

"...Yeah, and Academia sure fumbled the draw with that one. Bet they didn't expect that." He sounds cheerfully satisfied with that, almost deceptively normal except for the dark undertone. "But you heard what Akira said – the effect doesn't hold. As I understand it, basically, every world has a balance. Or so Yubel says. And when Academia...attacked, they took the metaphysical equivalence of a sledge hammer to that balance. Everything happened too suddenly. Too much at once. So much energy in so many duels everywhere, too many dead...that's what made every card real. Like a giant field spell. Or a system overload or something. But the world gets its balance back, so the effect leaves."

Shun turns to stare at Judai's dimly lit face. "Is there a way we can keep it? If Academia comes back, we'll need to be able to fight." And thanks to that 'field spell' they don't know yet it AR duel disks and monsters are accepted as opponents.

Weighting two bottles in his hands, Judai's lips press together. "...I don't really know. I think it depends on every individual. ...But the connection you need with just one monster to be able to materialize it...it's not something just everyone can achieve. The better bet would be to make sure our normal duel disks can be used to fight back. And if not get as many new models as possible. If we can provide a real body for spirits, they can do stuff outside of duels as well, so that's better anyway."

Like doing chores or going shopping. The memory of that afternoon is painful. "That's what Rio wanted to know? If Academia knew to use that?" Shun demands to know, eyebrows low. "Is that part of those 'Other Rules' she mentioned? I thought those only went for duels?"

Judai shrugs and gives him a half smile as he puts the two bottles in a new bag. "How do you define a duel? Technically you could say we're in a duel right now. The people of this dimension against the people of the other. More importantly, though, spirits are people too. If they have a body, they can make their own decisions just like everyone else. With Real Solid Vision we can give them a body. Academia hasn't got any duel spirits between them, so they don't even know that and only manage to put the faintest bit of life in any of those summons. Those monsters don't have anything close to a mind. At least the Antique Gear decks don't," he says flatly.

Yet those monsters are still good enough to destroy everything. Even though they are nothing, just empty puppets, they are powerful enough to blow their city to pieces. Shun feeds his rage at the injustice to the pool of fury inside him.

"Rio knows all that?"

Judai nods. "Seems that way."

She really does know what she's doing, doesn't she? It if were Shun in her place...he's still struggling to apply Duel Monsters to the world at large and not duels only. He couldn't build a strategy with that. Yet. But he's willing to learn. Anything, if it means he can protect Ruri, and his friends, and survive.

But nothing more.

Anything that's too metaphysical for even that-was-Yubel-she-lives-in-my-head-so-I-don't-need-to-summon-her-to-summon-her Judai to grasp Shun decides he doesn't want to have anything to do with. "...I can't believe you of all people know stuff like that." Judai doesn't deal with responsibility well – his favored approach to it is pretend it doesn't exist. ...On the other hand, putting the gifts that allowed Judai to know important stuff like that in the hands on anyone else... "Whatever is in charge of fate must have been very shrewed."

...and if he follows that train of thought for too long, Shun will start to feel even more angry. Fate was never a notion he liked, and now...

(Especially now. If there is some such thing as fate that decided that their home had to be destroyed Shun will not rest until he dismantled the entire damn concept.)

Judai's sigh is pronounced. "There is no such things as fate. Or at least that sort of fate. There isn't some sort of supercomputer that micromanages everything." Pause, as if listening to something. "...I didn't actually know that before. Huh. Thank the gods," Judai mutters. Then his tone changes again and he continues translating from a voice only he can hear. "In terms of 'fate' what there is, is potential. If you give a bridge-builder the tools to build a bridge, it's not fate that builts the bridge. It's the bridge-builder. Fate just gave him the option. Or something like that. Everyone is a bridge-builder. But not everyone has the power to build really, really big bridges. Also, I for example have the choice not to build a bridge, but I also have the power to decide what a bridge looks like. If it's good quality, if it's bad looking, if it falls apart if you try to cross it. Stuff like that. That's really all there is to fate." Judai pulls a face, grimace even more pronounced through the lack of good lighting. "If you want to know about the many, many different types of people with bigger-than-normal bridge-building power you should take notes. Also, I'll let Yubel explain it to you, because I'd...rather not know more."

"Thanks," says Shun flatly. "I get why Solid Vision holograms are loosing power and that we better try get more Real Solid Vision duel disks. So long as there's no script telling me how my life is going to go, I don't need to know more." Turning his mind back to salvaging medicine, Shun fills his first bag and crouches to tie a knot with the handles like he used to do with overstuffed shopping bags.

"Yeah, too bad that Yuto is one of the bigger bridge-builders, to-" Judai mutters, before snapping his mouth shut.

The expression on his face when Shun's head turns to stare, slowly, incredulously clearly says that he wishes he could take the words back. "...what," says Shun, utterly flat.

Judai winches.

Shun grits his teeth. He's got to be kidding. "What was that about my best friend. It sounded important." Shun doesn't want to know. His head fills like it's bursting with so much that he doesn't have time to process, he doesn't want anything more on his plate. But...if Judai really did just imply something about Yuto, about Shun's best friend, almost brother, then he doesn't freaking care what his head can or can't deal with.

Uneasily meeting his eyes, Judai runs a hand through his hair, dislodging the glasses he'd pushed up. "...Yubel and me, we think, and we aren't really sure, but we think Yuto is what is generally called a Trigger." He bites his lips. "In this situation that would be good for this world, cause if Academia triggered him then they'd bear the brunt of it, but….there's something really strange about him." Judai chews his lips and for the first time looks actually unsure. Dread slowly crawls up Shun's spine. Judai is not kidding. Not at all. Anything but. He's dead serious. This is a topic that worries him. "If Yuto's a Trigger, then...something set him off a long time ago. A long, long time ago. Shun, Yuto isn't that old. And...and the other day. Yesterday, I mean. It was like something…was crawling up from deep inside him…that's not how Triggers work."

The walls want to close in on Shun, his vision tunnels. "And you didn't think that was important to mention before?" If Judai looks worried about something supernatural, it's bad, and he didn't think to mention that?!

"Of course it's important!" Judai snaps back. "But I just don't know what's with Yuto, and I really should - that's bad, Shun! You have no idea how bad. How am I supposed to tell Yuto that?!"

Shun whirls and punches the wall. Skin on his knuckles breaks, pain pulsing with every heartbeat. "What the hell even is this - this Trigger thing? What does it mean for mean for Yuto that he isn't?"

For a long moment silence reigns. Shun wonders if Judai has to confer with the voice in his head. Then, in a dead sort of tone, Judai explains. "They are what they sound like. If something pushed them too far, then they hit back with equivalent or greater force." He doesn't even have to mention what that would be - should be - with Yuto. "But that's not what happened. Not even close. And I – Shun, I managed to do something. Halt it a bit. But it was like a dam broke. I can't fix that. Nothing can fix that. I...I haven't had time to think on it yet." No comment as to why not. "But I planned to talk to Yuto and see if we could try to figure something out. Dark Rebellion...it might want something, but it surely doesn't want Yuto to suffer." The tone of Judai's voice doesn't inspire confidence. It sounds, in fact, more hopeless than anything.

Dark Rebellion. Of course. Shun isn't even surprised. Duels are death-or-life, invasion from a different dimension, one friend happens to be from that very dimension and has a voice capable of ripping steal with bare hands in his head, Duel Monsters is in actual fact more like a magic ritual than a game, and Yuto is screwed over by a fate. Why not. And Yuto's ace card is somehow involved.

Again, why not.

Forcing a breath out through his nose, fist smarting against the wall, Shun wrestles the rage in burning inside him down. Getting angry at Judai won't help. Anger won't help at all. Not here.

"Nothing's gonna happen to Yuto," Shun says, harshly glaring as though daring Judai (or the world, or fate) to protest. "If there's something that wants to, then it'll be dealt with." Shun is not gonna let anything happen to anyone he cares about ever again. He'll systematically dismantle everything that tries.

Judai just stares at him for a moment, then smiles weakly.

"Not so long as we have anything to say about it," Judai agrees. (And if that's lacking hope then it's not any different from what their lives are like now in general. It's not like they're gonna give up on those either.) "We should be able to deal with it. After all, I'm fine, and Rio-san is fine, why shouldn't Yuto end up okay? Everyone can just do their thing, and Yuto can build his own bridge." He nods, as if determined to convince himself. "But first we need to get these bags filled. I don't want to see Rio-san's face, frankly, if she finds out we didn't take everything we could," he continues, on a more upbeat note.

Just as well. Yuto and whatever is just one more thing. One more thing they can deal with. That they have to deal with, if they don't want to lose. Losing is not something they can afford anymore.

There's always a way.

Shun exhales, some tension bleeding out of him before grimacing in agreement and takes out his second bag while Judai starts on his third.

Kamishiro Rio is a legend with not quite as many official duels to her name as her brother, but what she lacks in public appearances she more than makes up for in fan-following. Shun has vivid memories of Ruri trying out a water-style deck back before she build to her own Lyrical Luscinia deck and the tears she shed when she finally admitted the archetype wasn't working for her and she couldn't be like Rio now. Kamishiro Rio was the cool, elegant, stylish duelist that proved girls could not only duel, they could stand at the top and belong there. Young, successful, beautiful, the perfect lady.

Meeting her in person must have crushed whatever idol image Ruri held of her. The Rio-san Shun met is sharp like a dagger, cold like ice, and has an intimidating presence that he would not think misplaced in a King. Or a Queen. Not very much like the perfect lady at all.

Shun is glad for it. Rio-san doesn't seem like the type to let anything up to chance. Shun has no doubt that if Judai had said something she didn't like under that truth spell (or whatever), she'd have crushed him on the spot, witnesses or no. Possibly without a hair out of place.

Finally Shun finishes and ties the last bag close as well. Between two of them they now have eight bags of medicine that someone will hopefully know what to do with. "Done."

"We have a problem," Judai says, staring at their loot.

"What?" asks Shun, irritable.

"We can't carry all that back to Yuto and Ruri."

"So we'll go twice."

Judai's mouth twitches. "Right. Twice." Taking a deep breath, he takes two and shoves them ahead of him through the slit of the door. Shun, turning the light function of his D-pad off, follows.

In the corridor they are greeted by the stench of smoke that Shun hadn't noticed missing inside the chamber. Lighting is bad as ever and that makes the ruins of this formerly lively building even more sickening. Eerie. Shun is past the point where he'd be surprised if one of the corpses that surely lie somewhere were to suddenly sit up and wave at them.

It's only thanks to the broken windows everywhere that they can even breath inside here. The fire left the hospital charred if standing, in tones of black and gray inside out. It's a hospital so it burned out quickly.

No wonder, Shun thinks bitterly, angrily, that Yuto, who had spend much of his early childhood here, just shut down.

With Ruri passing out as well, finding a spot they could leave the two at had been a stroke of luck. They'll have to do better next time. Be more prepared.

One corridor and a corner later, Shun and Judai find themselves caught between walls on either side, two monsters ahead of them and two cutting off their retreat.

Neat clothes, gleaming helmet.

(Laughter, fire, screams.)

Vision darkening around the edges, Shun's hands tremble so hard he almost can't hit the activation button of his duel disk.

He isn't afraid. He's not.

But his body is, and his mind is one endless scream of terror, an echo that won't be silenced.

"Obelisk Force," Judai mutters in a low voice, back to back with Shun. Shun can imagine his face – the narrowed eyes, the disgust in the curl of his lips, the raised duel disk. "The elite force, the graduates. It used to be pattern that they all have the same deck, the same combos. Methodical burn damage plus counter Fusion Summons. Play off each other."

"Whatever they are, they're going down. Duel!" Shun growls, and his duel disk sets to team battle. Without hesitation, he draws five cards, then a sixth to start his turn. Raid-Raptors and magic answer his call, and in a matter of moments Shun has his field filled. Were this Before, he'd leave it at that, giving himself a chance to feel his opponent out. That's a mistake that nearly killed him the last time – yesterday!

If he were to overlay, it'd leave Rise Falcon with a weak defense. Again, nothing that he wouldn't have been able to stomach before, but not now with four enemies at once. Adrenaline rushes through his body, setting his nerves on fire. Not afraid.

No matter how collected those bastards are, no matter how unconcerned or how confident. No matter how much they are drilled to shut down and destroy XYZ -

Shun will just have to be better.

(When Judai's turn comes they will stare. Their own Summoning turned against them so thoroughly.)

And Shun will make them fear.

"I construct the overlay network with Vanishing Lanius and Fuzzy Lanius!" Two each. The bastards smirk. One is saying something, but Shun can't hear it over the summoning falling form his lips and the sudden, powerful rush of energy in his body. Like a static shock, except lingering. His Raid Raptors don't agree with his choice of monster, only grudgingly tolerate the interloper in their fold. In an instant, he understands and shares the dislike. It smarts his pride that he has this card, no matter how useful. That he tolerates it. It ruffles his birds' feathers that he chose to lean on this, not them. "Number 26, Black Hawk."

The monster burns like a low heated fire under his skin. No- whatever this Number grasps in him is much, much deeper. Shun gives it as much as it needs and not one inch more. Not of him. The Number doesn't like that. The Raid Raptors do.

The Number is unexpectedly small, fitting into the space between the walls as it emerges from the overlaying galaxies like a vengeful spirit. As tall as him, perhaps a bit bigger with metallic gleaming feathers and four wings. It's screech is nothing like the Raid Raptors' clear call, so high it's almost inaudible instead.

Shun isn't done. Smashing his last two remaining cards face down, he ends his turn. The so called Obelisk Force he shoots a fierce glare. Take that.

They don't look intimidated. They don't look like they care about what Shun does at all. Slight boredom in their posture, maybe.

Shun's lips curl back in a snarl.

(That's better than to let anxiety in his heart, than to let doubt gain a voice. Than to be afraid.)

The left one calls his turn, draws. The card he pulls has him smiling wickedly and he slaps it down. "I activate the magic card Polymerization to -"

Arm snapping out, Shun cuts in, "by detaching one Overlay Unit from Black Hawk I can select one Special Summoning and until the end of the turn, neither player can choose it to summon! I choose Fusion Summoning!"

Watching the smirk disappear makes some previously unknown sense sharpen. A weakness. Like a predator smelling blood.

"Nice," comes Judai's vindictively dark.

...but...blocking Fusion is not enough.

It's like Shun cutting out their Fusion did nothing. In the span of a few cards the damn bastard has three Antique Gear Hound Dogs on the field and burns through thousand eight hundred of Shun's lifepoints and directly attacks Judai.

Judai, who hasn't had his first turn yet, no cards played, never mind monsters to defend him.

The hound dogs leap past Black Hawk, the first runs Shun over with what feels like the weight of a car and bits down on Judai's shoulder with it's massive jaw. The others follow, like Judai is their chew toy.

Blood splatters before Shun's eyes, an agonized scream sounds, but.

Shun forces himself to blink the hallucination away.

Just a memory.

Judai's lifepoints drop indeed down to a thousand, but he doesn't scream. Standing braced against their weight and momentum, he instead glowers at the dogs with a dual-colored pair of eyes like he scraped them from the bottom of his shoe. The Hound Dogs wrench their heads like dogs pulling on a bone but only for a moment before the attack concludes and they bound back to their summoner. The bulk of all three crowds the corridor, like the guard dogs of hell.

Something thick and green winds around Judai's limbs protectively, looking like snakes until Shun sees the thorns. Whatever it is fades out a moment after, leaving Judai seemingly none the worse for wear. The alien eyes stay, staring without clear focus but obvious intent in the direction of the Obelisk.

Picking himself up with the wall as support, Shun isn't given a chance to feel relief before the second Obelisk Force, the second and last one blocking the way ahead of Shun, calls out his turn.

Shaking off tremors with sheer determination, Shun activates Black Hawk's effect before the enemy can even think about Fusion Summoning. Two Overlay Units down, two to go. Another two Obelisk Force before Judai's turn. Three, with this one.

Judai, who still can't defend himself, unfazed by physical attacks or no.

The second manages to summons only one Hound Dog, dealing effect damage to Shun and declaring a direct attack on Judai without hesitation. Shun manages to leap out of the way of the dog's charge this time -

Crack.

Rumble.

A shout of shock and surprise that is cut off with a gurgle. Sickening crunch.

The Hound Dog bursts into pixels a hair's breath away from touching Judai. Judai's face spasms once, then the strange eyes fade. A faint tremor of exhaustion coats his body in sweat.

Shun's head turns, heart pounding at what he is going to see.

The ceiling came down over the head of the soldier, flattening him beneath it. Shun can't tell at the distance if the man's still breathing. Shun doesn't care either. Vicious satisfaction curls in his gut, making him sneer when the first solider stares in shock next to him. But the solider only clicks his tongue in annoyance after a moment, not a shred of concern for his partner.

Sufficient physical injury means an end to the duel, lifepoints aside.

The tactic of the toy-soldier man that Shun remembers only in flickers.

(Judai does learn fast when its about dueling.)

Once more, Shun picks himself up, struggling back into position. Now Judai only has to survive two more.

Two more.

With a thousand lifepoints. When the weakest monster of the enemy has a thousand attack points.

Two more.

"Shun," Judai whispers lowly. "You have an idea?"

Shun swallows, but adrenaline rushes too much to even tell anymore what he's feeling. "Can't you do that – whatever you did – again?"

"Too tiring like that," Judai replies quietly as the third recovers from the shock the ceiling save their little prey, and declares his turn. "But Yubel – we may have something. Trust me?"

Shun calls on Black Hawk to seal Fusion once more."What hell sorta question is that? Now?"

"Then," intently, with the faintest tremble of fear under determination, "don't do anything." The third Obelisk calls out his monster effect, cutting with a searing jet of fire that Judai manages to avoid Shun's life down to one thousand as well. But he too doesn't have the luck to draw the card that allowed the first one to do three Normal Summonings, meaning that he has to choose between who to target with an attack.

Shun, with his two reverses and a monster with higher attack, or bringing Judai's life down to zero.

"Antique Gear Hound Dog, finish that XYZ rat off!"

From his peripheral vision he catches motion and shoves himself against the wall to stay out of the way. If he hadn't, Judai and the Hound Dog would have toppled him over and buried him under them. Judai lands on his back, head thudding around the floor, the dog planting all fours around him and jaw closed on Judai's right arm.

Judai's stare of concentration becomes one of dazed shock, as soon as the dog retreats, apparently not even noticing that with this his lifepoints are down to zero.

Did -whatever - not work?

The Obelisk who called the attack chuckles while the one on Shun's side mutters derisively "finally, one down" when Judai doesn't get up, cloak spilled under him. He continues to stare dazedly at the ceiling.

Did it not work?

Stepping around his monster, the Obelisk approaches Judai's downed form without a care in the world, a twisted smile on his lips while he readies his duel disk when he stands over him.

Laughter. Laughter. Laughter. Laughterfireandscreams-

Something burst past his lips without permission and Shun only realizes its a shout when the Obelisk starts to laugh. Shun throws himself forward, but the Obelisk's finger already lowers and he won't make it-

-thorned whip lashes out, tearing the Obelisk's legs out from under him. The purple burst of light misses Judai completely, hitting the ceiling as the man topples.

It happens in a flash.

Judai moves, negating the falling man's efforts to catch himself with his own weight. As he pulls back a fist to hit the man he straddles, Shun's eyes see double -

- black scales so small they look like skin, corded muscles under it, clawed fingers curled in a-

- fist smashes the man's chin up with so much force, the crack echoes in the corridor.

Silence. Judai rolls of the limp man, trembling on all fours next to him, panting harshly. It. A body. No neck can bend at that angle.

The Hound Dog that finished Judai's lifepoints disappears. The body's duel disk emits a strange beeping sound, flashing, and the body disappears into particles.

Silence except for Judai's pants.

"….you little bastard!" The one who hadn't yet had a turn shouts. "How dare you little XYZ scum -!"

Not even able to stand yet from shaking so much, Judai shoves his previous five-card hand back into his deck, resets the duel disk and enters the duel. Intrusion penalty, that damn thing, sends sparks into Judai, but rule forced upon them by the Academia disks or no, Judai's disk isn't Real Solid Vision so the damage can't physically hurt him. Judai draws a new hand.

The one Obelisk that Shun can see, the one without his turn, without monsters on his field or cards to protect him goes from bristling anger to sudden apprehension. He takes a step back.

"If we are scum," Judai retorts harshly, struggling to his feet, "then what does that make you, who are about to lose to us?"

Intruders are immediately slotted for the next turn. If one of the original players hasn't had a turn yet then that's their problem.

Shun feels like he can breath again as he understands. That's right, isn't it, losing a duel isn't the end; getting carded is. Everything up to that point is fair game, including physical attacks.

Judai slots a magic card onto his disk. His gaze is hard. "I activate Polymerization." The Obelisk Judai faces chokes on his spit. "From my hand, I fuse Elemental HEROs Burst Lady and Featherman. Feather in the wind, spark of the fame. Unite and become a roaring blaze - Hear my call Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!" Another magic card. Wildedge goes to the graveyard from the Extra Deck and Flame Wingman gains its effect.

"Battle!" Judai calls, not attacking the one opposite him, but the one Shun faces. Flame Wingman rushes past Shun, the corridor too narrow for it to fly. The three Hound Dogs get engulfed in a jet of red flame and explode. Their master shouts, not spared as more than three thousand points of damage are dealt to him at once.

The Obelisk curses, steam rising from him even as arms and uniform shielded him to the best of their abilities.

No monster and no cards left.

Though luck that he didn't take them seriously enough to set reverses Shun thinks spitefully.

"I'm not done," continues Judai ruthlessly, aggressively, slapping down another card. "De-Fusion, activate. Let's end this!" Bust Lady and Featherman reappear, seemingly staring darkly at their opponents. Featherman attacks the first man directly, ending him. Burst Lady splits from her partner and takes a chunk out of the last, remaining Obelisk soldier's life. Finally, setting one card, Judai ends his turn.

Seeing as the one opposite Shun is pierced by feathers all over and only just managed to move enough to press a button on his disk that has him burst into light, Shun turns, taking a place shoulder to shoulder with Judai as they face the last enemy.

Under the face mask, the man's mouth is twisted in anger. He draws. But he doesn't look so confident anymore. No partners, no Fusion for his turn, a good potion of his life already gone, Shun's turn next, and after that Judai again before he can even start to think about Fusion Summoning? It's as good as hopeless for him.

But.

No pity and no mercy.

The man's turn ends after having taken out one of Judai's HERO's with a magic-trap combo, but you don't have to be a professional to see that that was not what his deck was designed for. Fusion shut down, without numbers on their side, these so called elite, these tormentors that slaughtered them like sheep, are not even particularly skilled.

One on one, Heartland's residents would have stood a chance.

That they didn't have that chance makes a fire burn in a deep, dark part of Shun's mind burn at the injustice of it. No honor, no respect – to those bastards, the humans of this world aren't even people.

Shun ends the duel, his Raid Raptors screeching as they crowd the corridor. No pity and no mercy.

The end of the corridor blows up with the Raptors' strike, the floor trembling with the vibrations. He'd blasted the lifepoints into the negative thousands, and part of Shun hopes that pathetic, cowardly little Fusion user is gonna die from the damage. As the defeated soldiers are teleported out Shun will likely never know, but he likes to think at least that they suffer.

Exhaling forcefully, Shun checks the hill of debris that came down from the ceiling on top of the second one. There's no soldier buried underneath it. Must have been teleported put at some point as well.

Shun turns. "Judai."

"...huh?" Judai acknowledges him dazedly after a long moment, staring blankly at his hands before he tries to hide them in his cloak.

With narrowed eyes Shun inspects the younger boy. No physical injuries, not even at the right arm. His whatever seems to protect him well. Good to know. But his pupils are blown wide and his hands have tremors that even the too long sleeves of his cloak can't hide. "We survived."

Judai makes a hysterical noise at the back of his throat and chokes down on it physically by biting his lip. "Yeah. Yes, we did. We're...we're okay. We're fine. I just defended myself, I know Yubel. It's just...a shock."

Obviously. Judai just killed one person with his bare hands (or a close approximation thereof), almost got killed via carding himself and possibly directly caused the death of a second person.

Shun maybe has blood on his hands as well, but he's fifteen compared to Judai's twelve, and he didn't do it with his bare hands.

Might make a difference in how they deal with it. Shun doesn't know. Doesn't care either. Point is, Judai's looking bad.

Deactivating his D-pad, Shun says, "Let's go back to Yuto and Ruri. What if there're more of those bastards here.."

They make it as far as to pick up the bags they had had to drop before an eerie cry pierces the air.

TBC

...yeah, it's violent, but I stand by it. Judai doesn't exactly have a choice about how he goes about surviving. If he has to use tricks, you damn well bet he will. It's his life at stake here. If you are bothered by it, I haven't planned such up close and personal violence again for foreseeable chapters.

Also, remember how I said I was going to stretch boundaries and limitations? Here we go. Losing a duel but not turning into a card is one step on that ladder. (Duels are used to beat people down so that they can't run or defend themselves anymore, not because something magically ensures that zero liefpoints = becoming a card. With Dark Duels/Shadow Games that might be so, but Academia doesn't know stuff like that exists). Another one, one that I didn't make up, is Barret's flashback of Heartland that I spoke about in a previous AN already.

Yubel takes up guard to protect Judai from as much injury as she can. Does she care that she is not summoned in the duel? Obviously not. Besides, she's part of Judai so it's technically only Judai protecting himself. From a certain point of view. Unfortunately she can only guard him so long has he has the energy to sustain her protection. Too much and it cuts out or else Judai is going to face plant.

Since I couldn't find one that would fir Shun's deck, I made up Number 26: Black Hawk: (1400/1000) Using one overlay unit it seals one Special Summoning Method for both players. Effect lasts until the End Phase. Can be used multiple times per turn.

Finally, one big thanks to Tintaglia, whose supportive review really encouraged me! Thank you! It's indeed a harsh reality these poor children are living in and I wanted to show that, I wanted to address what choices they are forced to make, what living is like in this hell. The Shun and Yuto that we see in the anime are very obviously traumatized by what happened, and I didn't just want to gloss it over just to 'get on with the plot' on the basis of 'everyone is just turned into cards, it's not like they are dead, so it's not important'. For the survivors of the Invasion, the people Academia got are all dead.