Chapter 35 - Brother Dear
They really needed to stop with all of this falling and teleporting to and from different places on whatever planes of reality they belonged too... That was one of the first thoughts Zyro had as he began to stir, finding himself strangely aware, and not as groggy as he would have expected. That was much different from the other two times this had happened to them (all presumably within the same day)... The fact that he seemed to the one who had woken up first was nothing new though.
The Ifraid Blader groaned softly as he moved to push himself up onto his knees, and found the floor - or he assumed it was a floor - beneath his fingers to feel surprisingly smooth, cool to the touch. That was definitely different from where they had originally been, where the floor had been stone, smoothed out, but still rough and chalky, nothing like this.
With ease, Zyro got himself up onto his knees, and rubbed at his eyes, quickly getting the little bit of sleep out of them that had managed to gather.
Well, at least he wasn't sore this time... The moment Zyro opened his sky blue eyes to look around and see where they had landed themselves this time, he nearly had his breath taken away - for more than one reason.
For one, it was shocking, as he looked around and saw that they had landed in an entirely different place than where they had been, in all sense of the word.
Everything was no longer made of stone, but almost looked like it was made out of one, giant, solid crystal, smoothed out perfectly until there were no bumps or juts until the craftsman wanted there to be. Whatever it was made out of it, all of it shone with pale blues and whites and light purples, with glimmering spots that looked almost like stars from within.
Everything around them was carved of the same thing, made to look like a temple, as it appeared, though a far more beautiful one than they had originally been in. The second reason was, as had been mentioned before, that it was breathtakingly beautiful - you really didn't ever see something like this everyday in your lifetime.
Zyro snapped out of his awe-induced trance once he heard several soft groans from around him, and turned himself to look over at the others, who were all starting to stir as well.
"We need to stop doing that..." Ren muttered aloud, repeating Zyro's earlier thoughts as she too, sat up - she didn't appear to be that sore or groggy either.
"Agreed.." Kite said softly as he and Eight both sat up, which was soon followed by Shinobu, and Kira, and then Maru and Benkei, and then Madoka and Takanosuke.
"Ugh... Where are we?" Maru asked once she managed to rub her eyes a bit and look around.
"I don't know, but I'm just hoping not some sort of purgatory at this point.." Kira said flatly in response.
"I have never agreed with you more..." Said Shinobu wearily.
"How did we even end up here, anyway?" Benkei asked as he stood up and looked around at their surroundings. All of them soon followed suit, though a few were able to stand up with less difficulty than others.
"I remember falling through a floor.." Eight recalled, and all of them could at least agree that they had remembered that, as strange as it had been.
"How did that even happen?" Maru questioned, confused.
"I think Alcorin might have done that, from the sounds of it." Zyro answered, "I mean, I dunno if anybody else felt... Whatever that was... When he talked, but I think he might have been the one who did that.."
"Definitely, actually." Ren stated, who looked slightly uncomfortable at the topic, "As much as I hate to say it, I've felt that more than once..." All of them knew at that point what she was getting at, but nobody said anything about it.
"Y-yeah..." Madoka said in, at first, faltering continuation, "That happened.. But, that was after Gingka kept saying- Wait... Where's Gingka?"
At this question, all of them took to looking at their group - sure enough, Gingka wasn't with them. How had they had noticed that before?...
Everyone then turned to look around the large room, crystallized room that they stood it, observing every corner of white-blue-purple floor and surroundings. It was only a moment before Takanosuke spotted him.
"Over there!" The blonde boy announced to the others, pointing over in a direction just North (South, East, West, it was hard to tell...) of them, nearer to a crystal staircase at the far end of the chamber.
Everyone turned, and, sure enough, Gingka was there, unconscious.
"Gingka!"
"Gingka!"
Their quick footsteps echoed loudly in the crystal-like chamber as they ran over to the unconscious redhead, who lay on his side - and who, they also happened to notice, was no longer split between two different skin complexions. However that was managed, they had no idea.
"Gingka, hey, wake up!" Zyro called to the redhead as he knelt down in front of him, followed by Maru, Madoka, and Shinobu, who knelt down around him as well.
Without thinking, Zyro placed a hand gently on Gingka's shoulder and started to try and shake him awake - only the contact was enough to make him visibly flinch, almost spasming, before he opened his eyes almost in a near panic that only seemed to last a view waking seconds.
Zyro almost immediately retracted his hand in shock at the redhead's unconscious reaction, and settled it back down on the floor beside him.
"Gingka!.." Madoka said softly, a grateful look on her face as the redhead slowly sat up where he was, "Thank god, you're okay.."
"For the most part, yeah..." The redhead said wearily, rubbing his head a bit.
"Well, you seem to be doing pretty good, since your skin's back to normal." Kira pointed out, which almost immediately drew Gingka's attention. The Pegasus blader looked at him for a second (with two golden-brown eyes), before raising his left arm to look at it, to confirm that what Kira said was true.
He seemed surprised to find that it was - then again, all of them had found it fairly surprising, so it was no wonder that he especially would.
"Well... Okay then." He said almost breathlessly, his eyes glancing around a bit, "Should I bother asking where we are exactly?"
"I think we were kinda hoping that you could answer that." Kite answered, "Since this did happen just after Alcorin seemed to break from you saying that other name.."
Gingka sweat-dropped with a sheepish look.
"Are you blaming this on me?" He asked sheepishly, which caused a few of them to sweat-drop as well.
"No, Gingka, we're not.." Madoka assured him.
"Maybe a little..." Maru muttered softly.
Madoka elbowed her softly.
Gingka just smiled at that.
Madoka then looked at her seriously again, concern written on her face.
"Well, I say we're gonna try and find a way out of here." The brunette said, voicing nearly everyone's earlier thought that they had already had, "Benkei can carry you again if you want." She gestured back to the purple-haired man, who nodded in approval.
Gingka simply shook his head.
"No thanks, I think I might be able to stand on my own." He said, sounding at least a bit confident in his abilities. They all looked at him a little warily, wondering if that really was so, considering that last time he hadn't been able to move his legs all that well, from what they could see.
"Well, okay.." Madoka said a little hesitantly, before quickly standing up (followed by Maru), and offering a hand down to the redhead.
Gingka gratefully took it, and, surprisingly enough, she didn't to assist him too much in standing. The redhead was able to get up on his feet fairly okay, but did stumble a bit once he got onto his feet.
Madoka, Zyro, and Shinobu were there to assure that he didn't fall, and it only took a few moments before he managed to maintain his balance again, and stood on his own.
"Yup, looks like falling through floors and supposedly traveling to different dimensions really does heal all wounds." Ren inquired lightheartedly, and all of them sweat-dropped at her statement.
"Yeah, sure, Ren..." Takanosuke said sheepishly.
After that, they all regrouped, and gathered in a small circle, trying to devise what their plan would be.
"Okay, so, how are we planning on getting out of his place?" Takanosuke asked, glancing around once again as they had all done many times from sheer awe of it, "We don't really know anything about this place."
"Which also means we don't know if there's actually an exit at all." Kira pointed out, being apart of the more practical section of the group.
"Well, there should be." Ren said pointedly, "If you can get into a place, than there has to be a way out of it. Somewhere..."
Madoka nodded in agreement.
"Ren has a point." The brunette suggested, "We know we got here from falling through the floor back up there,-" She gestured up to the ceiling, even though it really wasn't anything but a ceiling made of the crystal that everything else was made of, "-so I'm going to assume that our only way out might be going up. And I really don't think we have anywhere else to go other than to those stairs over there."
All of them glanced over towards the stairs on the far side of the room, which were, indeed, the only thing leading too and from the room. All of them looked back at each other again.
"Yes, well, I feel like that might have a chance of ending badly." Kira, once more, pointed out.
"Everything has a chance of ending bad." Shinobu responded, which was most definitely true, "Besides, I don't see any other options."
To that, Kira said nothing.
"Yeah, I think that probably settles it." Zyro said with a slightly nervous glance at the two of them. All of them looked around at each other, and they all seemed to be in fair agreement. Madoka then spoke, and said, "Alright then, let's go-"
"...Brother..."
The moment that soft voice, as quiet as a mouse, delicate, fragile, small, suddenly rang through the hall, all of them froze, and they all saw Gingka's eyes pulsate and glow that familiar red that he had been born with.
That voice did not echo, but it lingered upon all of them. No one even dared to move for a moment, all eyes drawn to Gingka, his face almost blank, and eyes that menacing red that was far scarier on him than it had been on Alcorin.
The redhead then turned slightly and looked towards the staircase, staring.
"Gingka?" Zyro questioned, looking at the older blader with as much earnest as the rest of them. Everyone of the left side of him all saw his eyes fade back to their original golden-brown color, and Madoka breathed out softly, feeling all the nerves in her body going off.
"W-was..." Ren started, looking from the staircase to Gingka, "Was that...?"
Without looking at any of them, Gingka nodded.
"Yeah." He said in confirmation, "It is."
He sounded as if he suddenly knew everything that was going on here, and, judging by the voice, the call, that they had just heard, they wouldn't doubt that he just might.
Without saying anything further, Gingka turned fully and started walking over towards the staircase. All of them looked at him in slight confusion for a moment, and a few glances were passed around between them before they all hurried to keep up with the redhead.
So they followed him, up the stairs, and into the corridor beyond it, and into the many other corridors that followed after. There were places where the road split, and left several choices, but they all trusted Gingka as he went down different passageways, never knowing where the other halls lead to. They kept following him, though they had no idea for how long, and the entire time he said nothing.
He seemed intent on only one thing, and a few of them had a feeling they knew what that thing was.
Now they followed him up a long staircase, and a few of them found themselves fairly winded after all the climbing they had done, and, finally, came to yet another hall. Only this one, however, had a wall just 8 meters in, in the direct middle of the floor, though with space to walk around on either side of it.
Somehow, this room seemed to hold a great foreboding that none of them were able to put their fingers on - however, it didn't feel bad... It felt almost good.
Once more, all of them followed Gingka as he walked directly towards the wall in front of them, and, before any of them could say anything to him, they all watched as an arched doorway suddenly
opened up for him, something that had not been there before.
Gingka, somehow, seemed entirely unphased.
Hesitantly, all of them followed him through the archway, and when they did they noticed that they had come out on a side where the wall they had just seen was whole, with no ways around it from any way. It was then that Gingka stopped walking, which confused all of them.
"Gingka?" Madoka questioned, coming up beside the redhead, "Are you okay?"
She saw the sorrowful look on his face, but he did not look at her, and she then followed his gaze, as did all of them.
A ring of gasps echoed from all of them.
There, at the end of the room - not even 10 meters away - sat a boy.
No, not a boy, because he seemed to be older than that of who they had seen with Ryo - nevertheless, it was easy to see that it was the same person, only much different. He sat slumped forward, head bowed, in a chair made of the same blue, white, purple crystal that everything else was made of, his indigo-blue hair long and spread out all under him and over the sides of where he sat. He wore nothing but a long, plain brown gown, almost like a nightgown but with no design, which went down far enough to cover his feet from view. It was hard to tell he was even alive, because he wasn't moving, but the color in his skin was the only thing that depicted that he still lived.
After a moment was standing and staring, all of them followed Gingka over to the man in the chair, until the redhead stood just a foot away, looking down at the near limp form of his younger brother calmly, a type of serenity on his face that none of them could ever remember seeing for a long time, or even remembered at all.
One thing that they all managed to notice, now that they were this close, was the dozens of tiny strings that lay broken and snapped all around the younger twin.
None of them understood this all too much, but Gingka did. And when he spoke, it was unlike anything that they had ever heard from him.
"Brother..." Gingka spoke softly, though his voice seemed to echo loudly in the hall, almost mimicking the same call that they had all heard earlier. The other twitched slightly, and his head slowly lifted, hesitantly, as though he was afraid to actually look up and see what or who was in front of him.
Gingka waited, patient.
Slowly, the other lifted his head to look at Gingka, his own golden-brown eyes half-lidded and blank - he looked almost lifeless.
How long had he been here for?
How long had he been like this?
To think about that was unsettling, and even more so disturbing... However, all of those thoughts were whisked away as they all saw Gingka offer out his left hand to his younger brother, a symbolism of which they now understood.
"I'm sorry I'm late..." Gingka said in apology.
Despite his apologizing, he could feel that his younger brother didn't care - there was no need for apology.
The other seemed to struggle for a moment, but he managed to lift his right hand - the opposite of his proper handedness - and reached out towards Gingka's outstretched hand. He shook, not terribly, but still shook. However, he still reached out to him, and it felt like the most surreal moment possible. If they had not seen all the things they had before now, none of them may have believed that it was indeed real.
With a gentleness that seemed so otherworldly, the two of them slid their hands together, and both of them held on with the hands that had once been connected at birth.
Almost immediately after, Gingka's grip tightened by the slightest bit, his eyes widening quickly and calmly all the same, and both golden-brown irises pulsating and glowing red - but this time it was on his command.
The other felt that sudden jolt, felt the almost overwhelming surge of sensation that radiated from his brother's skin, and his eyes widened as they too pulsated and glowed, identical to Gingka's own.
As suddenly as that happened the world of crystal around them, as though it were all merely made of thin glass, cracked from the exact middle point of the wall behind the blue-haired man, appearing so suddenly as if they had just been whisked into existence, appearing like a complex web of lines. Then it all shattered, an outward force almost smashing against it, and they were all met with a light that was perhaps brighter than the sun as shards of luminous glass flew past them all, disappearing into the light.
Due to the brightness, all of them save for the twins raised their arms to cover their eyes, and felt it was the light washed over and almost consumed them in its warm embrace.
For a moment a few of them feared that this was death, brought to them under strange circumstances.
However, they were proven supposedly wrong once they all felt the light around them fade, and they slowly lifted their gazes to find that they were now left in a world made purely, entirely, of the ethereal colors that the crystal they had previously been surrounded by was made of.
Where they were was hardly a space, but yet they still stood on something solid, were still separate from the background, but were somehow almost interlocked with everything else.
Several gasps were elicited from many of them, but it wasn't because of this - it was because of the two brothers that stood in front of them all, the one they actually knew with his back to them as he faced his younger brother, and the other facing him with his front faced towards them. But they were not as they originally had been.
No, they had looked different, they had looked physically human before, and they still mostly did - save for the fact that neither of them had any pigment to them, other than the crimson, non-reflective eyes that had, forever, been identical beneath their human skin. Their hair, as white as their skin that was adorned with black markings all over their bodies, had seemingly grown out within seconds, reaching down to drag on the floor behind one and float just above it around his legs on the other.
Whether the not the two of them were aware that the rest of them were there was unclear, for they seemed only focused on each other in the few moments of silence that stood between them.
Only when there was nothing but the silence around all of them did one of them finally speak - and the one who spoke was Alcor-... No.
Minoru.
"Brother..." He said in an almost forlorn greeting, his voice soft, so much softer, more gentle, than Alcorin's could have ever been.
In response, Gingka said nothing.
His expression was calm, almost abnormally calm, and Minoru seemed to understand his silence - or at least suppose that he did.
"I'd never thought we'd have to end up meeting like this..." The younger twin continued, "I would've rather it be under much different circumstances, but I suppose that can't be helped. I'm grateful that you came here, though, although it wasn't really for me..." An expression of guilt formed on his face, and he looked down more towards the ground, "I'm so sorry for all of this... For everything that I've done to you, and your friends. You're here because of me, and I'm sorry for that.."
Still, Gingka said nothing, and continued to look at him with an unreadable expression. Minoru sighed through his nose, and continued.
"I always tried to be as strong as I could, tried to do everything right, like my uncle always wanted..." He said, and looked up slightly, though not fully, "I tried, I really did. But I always managed to screw up eventually. I tried to suppress Alcorin as much as I could, but I was always too weak compared to him..." His gaze fell downwards again, "...Or you... I don't know you. At all... But I know enough about you to know that you're a good person.."
Still, Gingka said nothing.
Minoru looked up again, his crimson eyes forlorn, sorrowful, guilty.
"You've done things that most people would think are only in fairy-tales and books." He said, "You've done great things, things that no one can compare with. You've fought to protect your world, because that's what you believe in, what you care for... You're the last person who would deserve anything like what I've done. And I understand that you hate me for it, and so would anyone else who's known me... I've hurt the people you care about... A lot... And I know that I can never really apologize for that, so it's fine if you can't forgive me..." The tears, translucent, pearl-like, gathered on his white-tinted eyelashes, but he visibly fought against the urge to let them fall, "I never wanted to hurt them... To hurt you.. And I know that you - no one - could ever forgive me for any of the things I've done... But that's fine.." The younger wiped his eyes on his wrist, and refused to look up.
Still, Gingka said nothing, and neither did anyone else.
"So, it's fine.." Minoru said sorrowfully, though more calm this time, "You deserve better than I ever could... Because you're still a good person, no matter what anyone says. You have people who love you, people who care about you... Family, friends... Them, especially.." He gestured back to the rest of them standing behind the redhead (who wasn't really a redhead at the moment), "You still have so much more to live for. So... You can deal with me as you see fit.. You can say anything you want, and it'll be fine.. I don't care what happens to me, because it doesn't matter.." Almost shamefully, Minoru looked down to the ground, his hair - longer than they had ever seen it - falling around his face, "I'm just glad that, out of the two of us, at least you got to be happy..."
With that, Minoru fell silent, and he dared not look at Gingka's face. There was a long moment of silence, and all of them, save for Minoru, looked towards the older twin with mixed expression.
What would he say?
Why hadn't he said anything so far?
What was he thinking?
What would he do?
Clearly, Minoru seemed to believe to know what he was thinking, judging from all he had just said - however, all the resent the hate that he would expect to see in Gingka's face (of which he wasn't looking at) was not there.
Instead, the redhead frowned slightly and brought his eyebrows together.
"...What makes you think that I hate you?" He asked unexpectedly, causing Minoru to suddenly look up, confused. All of them looked at Gingka, all of confused and wondering.
All except for Takanosuke, who realized that he recognized this scene.
"W-what?..." Minoru questioned timidly, suddenly confused at the question.
"You seem to be pretty convinced that I hate you for all of this." Gingka clarified.
Minoru continued to look at him, wondering what exactly he was getting at.
"You're not entirely wrong, though..." Gingka said, in a voice that suggested there was something more, "True, they were hurt a great deal, and I hate the mere thought of it... After all, they're my friends - people who have always been there for me and me for them -, and I love them more than anything..." Minoru looked down slightly, and Gingka's expression softened more than it already had, "But you're still my brother."
Minoru's eyes widened, and he looked at Gingka again, crimson eyes wide in disbelief and confusion. As though he really couldn't believe that Gingka could actually say they were related after all that had been done to him - all that he had done to him...
Gingka saw his confused face, and simply smiled.
"Whatever you're thinking, I don't hate you." Gingka went on, "Yes, there is someone I hate for all of this... But it's not you. You didn't do any of this, and I think you know that, even if you don't fully believe it."
"But-"
"Minoru." Gingka stated more than said, halting the other's sentence, "That's your name, isn't it?"
Minoru looked confused, but he nodded.
"Last I remember..." Gingka continued, still smiling in that warm way of his, "...The one that I've seen and known is named Alcorin. I know who he is. But I don't know you. We've just met. And, personally, I prefer to see who people really are before actually deciding to judge them..."
Minoru's eyes widened, almost in disbelief.
"But..." The younger began, "How can you just say that?... Alcorin is me, we both know that, so..."
Gingka just shook his head.
"No, he's really not." He said as though it were the most simple thing ever, "From what I'm seeing, and from what I've seen, you two are pretty different... Same in body, maybe, but definitely not in mind." The older twin tilted his head to the side a bit, a forlorn smile on his face, "I'm pretty sure I remember him saying the same thing, too."
Minoru fell silent, adverting his eyes, unsure of what to say.
Noting his silence, Gingka kept speaking.
"I don't know what happened all those years ago, when Alcorin threw you aside and took control, so I really can't say that much on it..." He stated, "But I don't think that it was your fault.. And whatever else happened after that and before this wasn't either. Frankly, I don't care about any of it. That doesn't tell me who you are."
The tears on the edges of Minoru's eyes were very evident, but he refused to let them fall, and refused to look at his older brother at all.
Gingka nodded, and, softly, spoke again.
"The point is..." He started, "I'm saying that I'm not going to just abandon you."
This time, Minoru did look at him, a shocked look on his face, filled with disbelief - but with admiration all the same.
Several of the others looked at Gingka as well, all wondering where exactly this was going. Zyro was, among a few of them, one who felt nervous. Any other emotions at the moment were confusing, but that was the one that stood out the most.
"I've met a lot of people over the years," Gingka went on when no one said anything, "and I've seen the different faces all of them have, whether good or bad... And, personally, I never thought for a second that any of them could have ever deserved to just be abandoned and left alone.. I've never thought that about anyone - even when I hated Ryuga, and Rago, and Doji, I never pictured any of them as being alone, per say... Well, maybe once or twice, but that's besides the point." Minoru almost chuckled at that, "Either way... Being alone is not a fate that I imagine anyone having to go through. Least of all you. So, I'm going to let you be alone, even if it means that I have to go down with you."
Gasps suddenly rang out at this, and most of them almost couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"Gingka-!" Madoka started to stay, but stopped once Gingka looked back at her, a calm and forlorn expression on his face.
She looked like she wanted to say something else, and she did, but she refrained herself from doing so. So she backed down, although she looked very pained and reluctant about it, because she knew everything that face said.
'Just trust me'.
Zyro looked at her a moment, concerned, before looking back to the twins, and seeing Minoru stand there, shaking his head.
"N-no.." He said, stuttering, "I-I can't ask you to do that-"
"You're not asking anything of me." Gingka said warmly, that smile back on his face, "I'm saying that because I mean it... I've had people all my life. I've always had someone there, whether friends or family... But, from what I'm getting, you've never really had anyone."
Minoru adverted his eyes.
"Well, yeah..." The younger agreed hesitantly, "But... I'm used to being alone... So it doesn't matter..."
A sorrowful look put itself on Gingka's face, though there was no sign of pity.
"...Just because you're used to it," The redhead said softly, "Doesn't mean you like it."
To that, Minoru said nothing.
Gingka sighed through his nose, and then spoke again.
"Listen, I don't care what you say about yourself, or about what anyone else says about you.." He said, "We're twins, we always have been. For twenty years I let you down, because I was never there. And that one chance where might have been able to, I didn't take... So I don't want to make that same mistake again. And we both know that if it's only you that goes..." Gingka's eyes narrowed slightly in understanding, "I will never be able to follow you."
Again, Minoru said nothing to that, because he knew that it was true as much as Gingka did.
"Besides..." Gingka continued with a smile, "Whichever fate we get... I would like to get to know you better."
Whether or not it was right at that moment that he realized Gingka truly wasn't going to leave him alone, Minoru wasn't entirely too sure, but he realized it nonetheless. It took a moment before he was truly able to even process that, marveling at the fierce determination that Gingka held to assure that he wouldn't be alone anymore even after all the loneliness that he had known his whole life, no matter which way they went.
He had seen and heard things of his brother while trapped within this crystal prison of his conscious, things that showed and proved that he was truly a wonderful, thoughtful, courageous person.
But anything that people had said was nothing compared to seeing it for yourself, and it was truly a sight.
Gingka looked on at him with a warm smile, bringing light and warmth to eyes that naturally reflected none, and, no matter how much he searched, Minoru could find no such hint of hate or anger in that face that he had originally expected.
Slowly, his shoulders slumped, and he looked sadly past his older brother at the others standing behind him. They saw this, of course, the silent apology on his face evident, the tears in his eyes slowly beginning to drip down his face.
It was plain to all of them, even Takanosuke, that this was most definitely not the same man they had known all this time - this was someone much different. Someone who actually felt guilt, and regret.
"So?..." Gingka asked softly, and Minoru looked up at him to see him put his left hand out, palm facing outward, a small, off-white scar just barely visible, "... Is that a yes, little brother?"
Minoru heard himself make a noise that was half an inhale and half a sob, and, suddenly, he was grateful. Almost reluctantly, Minoru lifted his right hand in turn, and put his own palm against Gingka's, where the older graciously interlocked their fingers.
Gingka smiled warmly, and Minoru sobbed, and the former redhead gently pulled him into a hug, and which Minoru accepted by burying his face in Gingka's chest (skin as smooth as glass), and sobbing quietly.
It was a surreal sort of scene, a heartbreaking one, of which even Kira could agree to, and it was something that none of them could say anything too. For what could've been a long time or a few seconds, it was a private moment between two brothers, and all of them felt it would be wrong to intrude.
But only after a few moments did a bright light suddenly appear in front of them, causing them all to either have to cover their eyes or squint for a few moments before it finally faded again. When it did, they found both Gingka and Minoru facing all of them, standing side by side.
Gingka still that forlorn smile on his face, while Minoru had his eyes lowered to the ground, and one arm folded across his chest.
"G-Gingka..." Madoka said softly, now that she - all of them - were finally able to get at good look at both of them.
There wasn't much to tell, however, the markings on his body were identical to Minoru's, although the colors were inverted, and eyes that very familiar red that they had known for quite a while, but with a much warmer quality to them. Despite the lack of pigment, and half-inhuman appearance, that face and that smile were still the same.
That, Madoka was most thankful for.
At the speaking of his name, Gingka just smiled, an almost apologetic look on his face that was painful to see.
"Hey.." He said softly, "I guess this isn't exactly what we planned on, huh..."
"G-Gingka, why..." Madoka began, though wasn't entirely sure what to say, "Why would you...?"
Gingka smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
"You know me..." He said with a sigh, "You once said that I'm too kind for my own good sometimes, and you were right... But... Not this time, though." Gingka glanced over towards the younger of the two of them, who wasn't looking at anyone, before looking over at all of them again.
"Maybe it's a bit impulsive." He admitted, "And I'm sorry for that, but I can only really ask for you guys to at least try and understand."
Nobody really knew what to say to any of this, and several glances were exchanged between a few of them. No one said anything to each other, however, for either lack of anything to say, the feeling of wrongness of protesting, or just not wanting to say anything (This mainly being Kira's case). Takanosuke was the only one who stood there and said nothing for the fact that he recognized this - he had seen this scene before, as he had several others.
"Zyro." Gingka said suddenly, drawing Zyro's attention, as well as the rest of them.
Zyro looked up at the taller blader, who looked at him with an almost unreadable expression, but which had a smile nonetheless.
"I have something to ask of you..." Gingka said, and his smile faded for a moment, "But you aren't going to like it."
Zyro bit his tongue nervously, uneasy, but nodded nonetheless.
Seeing this, Gingka went on - almost reluctantly.
"I didn't want any of this to happen to you - or to any of you.." The older twin said, "I wouldn't have ever pictured it, and I'm sorry that I lied to you for as long as I did... If you're mad, then I get it. But I want to ask just one thing of you, and I'll never ask for anything from you ever again." Those last few words made the Ifraid blader twitch, but he continued to listen, "Somehow, you seem to understand a lot of this better than most people, and overall I'm not too surprised... You've grown up a lot way too fast, and I'm sorry for that - but I know that maybe that will make it easier for you to maybe accept what I'm asking for... I gave you a part of my power so that it could help you win against Kira, you remember that?" Zyro nodded, and Kira looked at both of them pointedly for a moment, though didn't say anything, "Well.. I guess I sort of gave you a little more than I meant to, and more than you could've bargained for. But, I think you might be able to manage it, as you're clearly able to manager your other power... But somehow I don't think I have to explain to you what I mean."
Zyro adverted his eyes briefly, glancing over towards Minoru, his expression suddenly calmer than it had been.
Yes.
He knew exactly what Gingka was talking about, so he had no need to explain it - because Minoru, his dearest old friend, had already told him so. He had told him when they had been in purgatory with Ryo.
Not aloud, of course, but they had always had a way of understanding each other in those dreams where only the two of them existed, almost full conversations through simple gestures and looks that said more than they could ever really say. A type of secret language of theirs. Even all these years later, under much different circumstances than the simple dreams that they both knew, that connection of theirs had still remained true.
So Zyro had understood it when Minoru had looked at him, seeming without meaning, supposedly never finishing what he had been saying - only he had, but to Zyro alone. He had understood, but that didn't mean it took it easily.
Finding out you were the accidental creation of a child demi-god wasn't exactly a thing you just brushed off.
Gingka smiled softly in understanding and nodded before he went on speaking.
"I thought so..." He said softly, "What I'm asking for isn't easy, and I know you'll probably refuse... I at least want you to try to understand, if you can. But whatever you do, I won't hold it against you, and I know that you'll believe it to be right.." Gently, Gingka brought both of Zyro's hands up and held them in his, looking straight into blue eyes that he should never had lied too, "So... I want you to destroy us." Zyro gasped silently in comparison to the many others that rang through the air a lot more loudly than his, "Destroy us with the power that I gave you."
Zyro was at a complete loss for words, for there really wasn't anything he could say.
How could he do that?
How could Gingka ask him too?
And to him no less...
He could feel the stares all around him, boring him from all around, and it suddenly felt very claustrophobic. But the almost overwhelming sensation that radiated from Gingka's skin (something he had felt before) and the slight hidden glance that he could just barely see from Minoru somehow made it just a bit better.
In truth, it would've been a much harder decision had he not heard Gingka's other words, that went silent to everyone else but him.
It was still a hard choice to make, but his heart was lightened by those words, and It was only then did he know what he would do, because he had a choice in this too - and, hopefully, they wouldn't be angry.
So Zyro nodded his head, and then looked up into Gingka's eyes, which were locked onto his.
While he himself wasn't entirely sure what to do, another part of him was more than familiar with this, and he felt his eyes widen and lock on to something in Gingka's, and in turn Minoru's, before he felt them pulsate and tingle almost uncomfortably.
And, suddenly, everything around them was gone, with Gingka's unspoken words to him ringing in his ears.
"It's your choice Zyro... It always was."...
Everyone suddenly opened their eyes (again, in Kira's case 'eye') as though they had done nothing but simply all close their eyes in unison, and once more found themselves exactly where they had been, Beys spinning and clashing in the midst of battle. All of them were as they had originally been, save for Gingka, who sat there in the same form they had just seen him in.
And he sat there and stared at his brother across the hall from there, who stood there, also in the form that had always secretly been under their skin, with an almost confused and frightened look on his face.
"What the hell just happened?" Ren asked, glancing around along with several of the others, who were just as confused and half-disoriented.
"I dunno, but I don't think we were dreaming..." Kite said almost breathlessly, noticing both Gingka and Minoru, as they all soon did.
"Zyro?" Shinobu questioned, looking towards his best friend, who seemed to be the only one who wasn't looking as confused as they were - he was just staring forward almost aimlessly.
The other younger bladers looked towards him as well, as though for answers, but Zyro didn't say anything to them - not directly anyway.
It only took a moment before his expression, having almost been dazed-looking, returned to normal, and threw his arm out in from of you.
"Ifraid!" He cried out, and said Bey heard the call.
"Yeah, great response." Kira said with a roll of the eye, before he too followed suit, "Bahamoote!"
"Phoenix!" Ren cried out once they all began to at least partially understand.
"Salamander!"
"Leviathan!"
"Orochi!"
"Bull!"
All 7 Beys heard the calls of their Bladers, and immediately rushed forward towards Bellerophon, now stationary, all them glowing fiercely in their respective auras as the spirits trapped within appeared.
The spirit of Bellerophon appeared as well, though it was motionless, all of its defenses down - just like its blader.
"Get behind it and rush it!" Zyro practically commanded to his friends, "Try and expose the top of it so I get at it!"
"Right!" Several of his fellow bladers said in agreement, before Zyro gave the command for Ifraid to pull back slightly while the other 6 Beys on the field rushed ahead and curved around the Bey that still didn't move, unlike it originally had.
"Phoenix!"
"Salamander!"
"Bull!"
"Bahamoote!"
"Orochi!"
"Leviathan!"
All 6 face bolts of all 6 Beys pulsated strongly, and they all created an incomplete ring around the iron-clad warrior of a Bey, before they all rushed it at the same time to catch it in the middle.
Surprisingly, it worked, and all 6 Beys smashed into it without said Bey protesting, all 6 spirits wrapping around the iron-clad warrior of which did not protest.
"Get under it, Bull!"
"You too, Phoenix!"
Both of said Beys, which were the 2 directly behind the opposing Bey, spun as hard as they could, ducking slightly to try and reveal more of Bellerophon's top as the other 4 Beys supported from the sides in making sure they could do so.
The tipping of the opposing Bey was evident among all of them, it gave more easily than it probably would have under any other circumstances, and the royal blue spirit itself collapsed onto it's knees with all the others surrounding it and keeping it in check.
It was then that Zyro saw the opening that Bellerophon - or Minoru - seemed at least half willing to give, and immediately thrust his hand out in front of him.
"Go now, Ifraid!" The raven cried, "Special Move! Burning Uppercut!"
Ifraid's face bolt pulsated visibly, and soon the Bey was engulfed in roaring flames as it dashed head on towards Bellerophon, who lay pinned down upon it's own will, and vulnerable by it's own say.
Minoru saw what was coming long before it happened, and he stood there, shoulders shaking, a look of quiet fear on his face that he couldn't prevent from feeling. He almost took a step back, considered running, shook from the fear of not knowing what exactly was next (whether life or death). But then he felt a hand wrap itself around his, holding tightly as they once had years ago but had been much, much to small to remember, and he felt himself calm down.
He slowly stopped shaking, anchored himself down to where he stood, and faced head on whatever Zyro had given them - and even though there wasn't anyone beside him, the hand in his was still more real than anything.
In that moment Ifraid then slammed head on into Bellerophon's top, and the impact immediately resulted in an explosion that shifted mostly in Minoru's direction. Everyone covered their eyes and steadied themselves against the force of it, all the while seeing Minoru getting thrown back off of his feet.
Though, truly, the younger of the twins didn't seem to care.
It took a few moments before the near blinding light of spiritual fire died down, and when it did all of them immediately looked towards the opposite end of the room to see what had become of Minoru, most of them expecting him to not be there, or something of the sort. However, he was there, laying just at the top of the stairs, seemingly unconscious, the colors that they had not seen in a long while restored to him. However, they were unable to tell whether he was actually alive.
Gingka was the one who had never barely ever shifted throughout all of it, and now stared just as he had in the direction of his younger brother, blankly, calmly.
Then he collapsed to the side, the form of which he had originally been born in practically evaporating from around him. By the time he hit the ground (which, of course, drew their attention), he looked as they had always previously known him, no longer split between two faces.
"Gingka!" Madoka exclaimed in worry, and immediately rushed and knelt down at his side, along with quite a few others.
They all knew what her thoughts were if Gingka's last words to Zyro had been anything to say by it, and they watched as the brunette carefully looked over to him to see what she so dreaded was true.
Maru stood nervously behind her teacher, fearing the worst, and knowing that it would break the woman's heart if it were so - in truth, it would break her own as well.
"Is he..." Eight began to ask, but trailed off almost immediately, afraid to say the word that they all knew floated heavily in the air.
The silence of those few moments were near terrifying, and nobody said a word or dared to move, dared to breathe... But, soon enough, they were surprised when Madoka uttered a heavy, shaky sigh of unimaginable relief.
"No..." She said, "He's okay!.."
"Oh thank god." Ren said in a breathy voice as she released all the air she had been holding, which could be said the same for everyone else.
"Thank you!" Benkei exclaimed loudly to the ceiling, which several of them sweat-dropped about.
"O-okay..." Maru said slowly, stuttering a bit, "But... How?" Suddenly, all eyes went to Zyro, who stood apart from them, exactly where he had been.
The raven looked around at the others, before awkwardly shrugging his shoulders.
"Uh... Yeah... I kinda didn't listen.." He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"But didn't he specifically ask you too?..." Ren asked.
"Yeah, he did..." Zyro said, looking off to the side, "But... I couldn't do it.. And I think he might've known that, so... I saved them instead."
"Yeah, can I ask how, exactly?" Kira asked almost impatiently.
"Uhh..." Zyro stuttered slightly, scratching his cheek lightly, "It's... Kinda weird." All of them sweat-dropped at that.
"Oh, you don't say..." Ren said flatly.
"Well..." Madoka started, smiling softly at the Ifraid Blader, "You can explain later when we get back to Metal Bey City. I think it'd probably be a better idea to work on getting out of here for now."
"Yeah, but we don't know where the exit is." Shinobu pointed, "We kind of just got dropped here, and this place is kind of a maze."
"It could forever to find a way out!" Eight exclaimed to punctuate the point that Shinobu was making.
"Um, actually..." Takanosuke spoke up almost shyly, drawing everyone else's attention to him, "Me and S-Sakyo found the door to this place when we got here. It... Might take a bit, but I could probably find it again."
"If you could, that would be a huge help." Madoka said gratefully, and Takanosuke nodded, only whipping his eyes briefly after the fact. After that, Benkei picked up Gingka's limp form and took to carrying him as originally planned, and they all crossed the room half-way to retrieve their Beys.
Almost expectantly, Bellerophon was nowhere to be found.
"That kinda did a number on her.." Ren said mostly to herself as she picked up Phoenix and looked it over before placing it in the carrying case on her belt.
"Ours too." Kite said in agreement as both he and Eight got theirs.
"Don't worry, me and Maru can fix them up later." Madoka said with a reassuring smile, "I don't doubt that you'll all probably need it after that."
"What about him?" Kira asked suddenly, gesturing over to the unconscious man that lay at the top of the stairs. From what they could tell, he was breathing, so that was a good sign.
Madoka looked at the blue-haired man for a moment, a conflicted on her face that was thinking all sorts of different things.
"Well, we can't just... Leave him... Right?" Maru asked hesitantly, looking up towards her teacher. Madoka didn't return her gaze, but instead glanced over at Zyro.
The raven looked at her in turn, an already set and determined expression on his face.
"We're not leaving him..." The Ifraid Blader said resolutely, "... I don't wanna separate them again."
At that, they all immediately knew what the two choices were.
Take both, or leave both - and it wasn't a hard decision to make.
"I can probably carry him." Kite offered once it was clear what they were doing, "I think he's small enough for me to manage."
They were all able to agree on that, and soon enough the spiky-haired brunette was able to get the younger twin onto his back fairly easily so that he could carry him.
With that, they all set off, and left the room behind to its dust and darkness and insects. They backtracked all the way that they had come, a few of them remembering certain parts while others recognized different parts, but still making their way through all the same.
Soon enough they came once again to the hall where they had met Takanosuke, and that was where they let him take over as leader of the group.
He did so quietly, solemnly, however, and lead them down the staircase that he had previously come up in a panic, surprised at how much lighter the air was down there than it had been when he had been running.
He was even more surprised when he found Griffin laying at the foot of the staircase, as though it had been waiting for him.
"How did that get there?" Shinobu asked curiously once the curly-haired blonde picked it up.
"I dunno..." Takanosuke said weakly in response, before continuing on, suddenly feeling sick at the reminder of what exactly was at the end of these halls.
But still, they all went on, even though it took a bit with the blonde having to try and remember exactly which way he had come from.
But, eventually, they came to the final hall that lead into the room from which the blonde had fled, and it was visibly noticeable of the way he stiffened up, tensed, breathed uneasily. From what they had heard from Alcorin, they could only guess why, and did whatever they could to brace themselves for what they would see in the room up ahead.
Eight and Maru were ready to cover their eyes if they had too (and undoubtedly would), and Ren was doing a quiet breathing exercise in preparation so that she, hopefully, wouldn't end up vomiting - she had never really been too good with blood.
Takanosuke, however, couldn't ever be prepared.
Finally, they all came through the doorway of the room, welcomed by the natural light of the glow-stone on the ceiling, and were immediately met with a shocking sight.
They had expected blood, of course, but not that much.
Blood lay splattered from what one spot on the floor, reaching several meters away, staining a good portion of the stone and indicating how hard the body (...body...) had supposedly been slammed down on the floor, while there was more blood in a drying pool to where it had been supposedly left to bleed out whatever it had left. Other things littered the floor, things that were more than any of them could really handle to look at or describe (Maru had already turned and buried her face in Madoka's leg to cover her eyes, containing her quiet whimpers, while Eight took and stuffed Kite's coat in his face).
Chunks of what looked like flesh, with damp hair attached, were scattered around from the impact spot, while white/red pieces and shards of... Something else... were also seen here and there.
Beside the impact spot was another, separate pool of blood, seeming much fresher than the rest of it probably was, but caused by something unknown.
The thing that got most of them, and made quite a few of them gag (Ren ended up throwing up after all, though she did it off to the side), was the smell. The acrid stench of death and blood and other things was overpowering, stale and fresh, ever lingering.
Though, as shocking as all of it was, that was not the main point for their shock and confusion - because, aside from the blood and pieces of matter, the room was empty.