Episode 51: Zero Hour
The future…
"The inexplicable disturbance came from this sector." A course, rough voice came bellowing through the air. An authoritative tone rang about his voice.
"There appears to be civilian casualties." A second voice came into the air, this one a bit less rough than its partner's voice.
Both voices were distinctly male, and both holding a sense of command in their words.
Reku's consciousness slowly drifted back to him with the intrusion of these two new voices. His mind stretched out, feeling through his entire body. The numbness that had washed over him previously had finally dissipated, leaving his body fully under his control once more.
Twitching his fingers, he felt the familiar grasp of another hand inside of his. Akina's hand. Smiling a bit, he forced the energy needed to pull his head up, opening his eyes to look around.
What he saw was a rather shocking sight. Where they were was a torn up mess, scattered with large chunks of debris everywhere. Around them on both sides were large stone buildings, both having seen better days.
Battle zone. The only words that came to Reku's mind to describe the scene he saw.
Two men also joined in his vision. The men obviously belonging to the voices he had heard earlier. They were dressed in deep navy blue uniforms, though they were tattered and ripped in several places. Around their waists they wore a large belt with many things attached onto it. They were cops.
"Are you two alright?" The man owning the second voice asked, noticing Reku's head off of the ground and his eyes open. They were both moving briskly towards Reku and Akina, both lying face down in the rubble.
The man who spoke was shorter and a bit skinnier of the two, with fiery red hair spiked out in every direction, like a complete mess.
His partner wasn't much taller, but broader in the shoulders. His hair was coal black, also in complete disarray. Scars traced their way down the man's dirty face.
When they were closer, Reku could see that both men, despite being 'on top' of the situation in their voices, both held eyes that looked as if they were going to burst out crying.
"Are you okay?" The second man asked again after not receiving an answer from Reku.
"Um…" Looking over he saw Akina next to him, also awake. Her eyes were full of both confusion and a bit of awe. Turning back, he nodded. "Yeah, we are fine."
As Reku and Akina began to pull themselves to their feet; the two cops stopped, a wave of terror flooding over their already pale faces. Stepping back slightly, they both un-holstered their guns from their waists, taking instant aim at Reku and Akina.
"Drop your weapons!" The first cop yelled out, his voice incredibly more forceful and mean. "I said drop them!"
"Weapons?" Akina questioned, now clinging onto Reku's arm with the guns being drawn on them. "What weapons?"
"I have no clue." Reku briefly looked over at her before bringing his attention back to the cops who were still backing away somewhat slowly. Taking a deep breath, he called back to them. "We don't mean any harm. We are unarmed."
"No your not!" The smaller cop cried out, slashing his arm through the air. "Do you think I was born yesterday?!"
"What is he talking about?" Akina questioned again, slowly pulling back, causing Reku to also take a step backwards. This movement made the cops jerk their arms straight, standing their ground.
"Do not move!" The smaller cop screamed, his arms already beginning to shake from the tension put on them from being so straight.
The broader cop pulled his left arm back, grabbing a hold of his radio microphone that was strapped to his left shoulder. Pulling it closer to his mouth, he pushed the button and began speaking into it. "We've got a situation here. Two individuals, early 20's, one male and one female. Black and sandy blond hair respectively. Male slightly larger. Both individuals are armed, both in possession of some strange custom model of duel disk. Both activated. Requesting backup."
"They think that our…" Akina looked at Reku as they both realized what the cops meant.
"Duel disks are weapons." Looking down at his left arm, he raised it slightly to stare at the emerald green model he had hooked there. The Life Point screen was still on by the gentle glow coming form it, but the numbers where his life points were was just blurry. His left hand was also empty, somehow the single card he had in his hand had just vanished.
"Suspects might be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Their responses are limited and disoriented sounding." The cop spoke into the radio again. Not once did either of them take their eyes off of Reku or Akina, their guns still aimed directly at them. "They fail to comply with our orders."
"Who would listen to you?" A gruff voice questioned, causing both of the cops to flip around, fearing an attack from behind. Their bodies were visibly shaking as they frantically searched the scene for the source of the voice.
Reku watched as a blur of black seemed to appear on the new backsides of the cops. Solidifying, Reku could see that it was apparently a man draped in some sort of cloak. The material waved out from behind him as the figure had come to a sudden stop.
Lifting both of its arms up, it proceeded to club the two uniformed official's right in the back of the skulls, dropping them both to the rubble covered earth below.
"Annoying humans." The figure spun around on its heals, looking at Reku and Akina. From under the hood, they saw a face that they actually did recognize. Or vaguely anyways.
"Kiro…is that you?" Reku asked, slowly taking a step towards the new person.
"Yes it is Reku." He spoke, slowly lifting his right hand out to the side. His metallic black hand came into view as the robe he wore was pulled slightly back. He began to curl his finger, as if he was motioning for someone to come closer to him. "It's alright, come on out."
"Kaira?!" Akina exclaimed, watching as a figure came bounding over the side of the building that lay towards the right of them, slowly floating down to the area below. Turning, she smiled at the two of them, revealing a set of razor sharp fangs beneath. Her skin was much purpler now; here eyes slotted golden sphere set against a black backdrop. She was also covered in a tattered cloak to hide her appearance.
"Hello Akina. It's been far to long…" She cut her self off, covering her mouth as she realized she had made a mistake. Quickly moving to correct the error she blurted out; "on our end!"
"So then…" Reku looked around for the first time since he had stood up. The sky was overcast with strange, green tinted clouds. The suns rays that could actually pierce through the cover was dyed a poisonous purple. They were standing in what appeared to be an abandoned lot where it looked like a building had been demolished. The two structures on either side of them were also filled with cracks, broken windows, and holes where chunks of the walls were missing.
The street that lay behind Kiro and Kaira was empty, not a car or person to be seen. Buildings that were on the other side looked ghastly similar to the ones they stood between; abandoned, broken shells of themselves, on the verge of maybe collapsing. Many of them were boarded shut with 'Do Not Enter' signs pasted across their faces.
"Deruku really sent us to the future." Reku finally finished his sentence, bringing his eyes back to the two un-human forms before him.
"To a future, yes." Kiro walked forward at human speed, moving closer to Reku and Akina. Kaira was close in toe behind. "A future that was created because of your damn arrogant pride!" Kiro's demeanor began to shift, his jewel like eyes starting to flood with anger.
"Wait, wait!" Kaira grabbed onto Kiro's arm, dragging him to a stop. "Remember, they are from before the Toxic Days began. You can't blame this Reku. Apparently he made the other choice!"
"You are right." Kiro took a deep breath, subsiding his anger for the moment. Pulling his arm out of Kaira's grasp, he began to speak to Reku and Akina again. "Deruku apparently sent you to the future in which you chose to 'keep fighting' ignoring Deruku's speech. This is the world that has been created because you two lost to Freyr in the final turns. He detonated his Atomic Clock, sending his infectious feelings into the heart of man, woman, child, monster and demon alike.
"I know you, the you from this time, have regretted that mistake horribly." Turning, Kiro began to walk away from them. Without a word or a second glance back, Kaira turned and followed. With his right hand, he waved it over his shoulder, motioning for them to follow. "So much so that you pretty much sold your soul to prepare for this day. The day that the past him arrived here."
"So you guys knew we were coming?" Akina asked as her and Reku followed behind the two demonic beings.
"Your arrival made enough noise to alert people on the damn moon. But yes, we knew you were coming. Eventually. One day." Rounding the corner, the four of them slowly made their way down the torn sidewalk. In many places, it vanished completely, leaving nothing but a dirt patch.
"It's what Deruku told us would happen." Kaira spoke without looking back at them, elaborating on what Kiro was trying to say. "That he would have sent you to a future in which you actually failed, because, that is the only future on the path you are walking on. And thus, he figured that once you fail, that we could work on an answer, in which, when the you from that fork in the road showed up, we could give you the final weapon needed." Changing her subject, she reached out, slightly hitting Kiro on the arm. Though he showed not reaction that he even acknowledge the 'attack'. "You should really actually explain things to them better. Remember the five year gap in their memory."
"Whatever." Kiro growled.
Sighing with the response, Kaira slowed her pace down until she was walking next to Reku and Akina, both of them watching her with unwavering attention filled eyes.
"After the Day of Infection, he's been rather much more cold than usual. I know it seems hard to see, remembering the Kiro that he once was. He may appear the same but there are drastic changes that you could see if you spent more time with him."
"Is that what they are calling the event that we failed to stop?" Reku had to ask the question he knew was on Akina's mind as well. "The Day of Infection?"
Nodding, Kaira shifted her gaze up towards the overcast skies. "The time you lost is just as the new dawn had broken. A day that no one thought was going to be any different than any other. The Day of Infection. It led directly into what the mass public calls the Toxic Days. Both named because of the poison like feelings that were inserted into everyone and everything's hearts. Like a raging infection. It also doesn't help that since then, the suns rays that break the cloud barrier are poisonous in appearance."
"What Freyr apparently forgot to mention or did know about himself; which is most likely the case seeing how stupid the ass was, was that his feelings would also infect anything that was living. Animals, plants, even the Earth itself. This planet is dying at a much greater rate than it was already." Kiro spoke; his turn to clear up what his partner was talking about.
"That's so sad." Akina cranked her head around, gazing upon the infectious looking green clouds.
"Not but a couple of weeks after the Day of Infection, the masses finally got their wish and those held responsible were officially declared the top wanted criminals in the world." Sighing as she spoke, Kaira's head fell back down to looking at the ground. Bringing it up slightly, she saw Reku's eyes fixated on her, waiting for her to finish her tale. "Their twisted sense of justice made anyone involved a full fledge criminal. You two, us, everyone who was there.
"Likewise, because of the events that led up to the Day of Infection, it was deemed that any duelist, period, was to be held responsible. Dueling is not only a crime punishable by death now, but it's also an activity that strikes fear into anyone and everyone. Anyone seen even with a card or a duel disk is labeled as 'trying to become the next Freyr'."
"That'd explain why those cops were going to shoot us into Swiss cheese just for having our duel disks on." Reku, finally grasping the earlier situation fully, lifted his duel disk and stared down at it, feeling the full impact of the implications of such a simple device in this time period. Something so common to his everyday life.
Nodding to support that Reku's assumption was correct, Kaira continued on; "Every known duelist is hunted down, many of the executed on the spot. So many of them have changed their names, going into hiding. Others can do nothing else but keep running. That is all that we can do."
"It's a shitty way to live your life." Kiro growled, cracking his knuckles with the flexing of his fingers. "And there isn't even anyone I could bash the face of in to end all of this. It's damn frustrating."
"I can imagine." Reku agreed, slowing his pace so he wasn't within striking distance of the demon before him, even though he knew it honestly wouldn't do any good if Kiro actually wished to attack. "So…where are we going exactly?" He quickly changed the subject.
"Right there." Kaira pointed to a building that was at the end of the block they were on. Looking back over their shoulder, they could see they had made some good ground while they were walking. A couple of blocks worth anyways.
The building looked like an old movie theater. It was a good three stories tall, made out of red brick. Like all the other buildings around, this one was crumbling, falling apart as it stood there. The entrance way that would lead in towards the door had even fallen in on itself.
Without stopping, Kiro preceded to climb onto the pile of rubble, vanishing into a small opening that appeared closer to the backside. With Kaira's lead, Reku and Akina also climbed over the debris, sliding through the hole and landing on the floor on the inside of the building.
It was dark and smelled of rotting wood. Light pierced through the gloomy room in thin, dirty plate-like beams as it seeped through the small gaps in the pieces of wood that were nailed up against the windows. Echoing off the blackened walls was the hard sound of dripping water somewhere further down the hall. A mouse blazed a trail across the floor before them. Obviously also affected as well as it frantically jerked back and forth, incapable of running in a straight line.
"Seems a little movie-like, hiding out in an abandoned building." Reku commented as he folded his arms across his chest.
"It is just the most logical." Kiro growled, walking forward slightly and stopping again. Raising his right foot, he slammed it down against the floor. A loud echoing noise shot below their feet, making Reku and Akina instantly realize it was hollow below them.
"It's never hard to tell it is you Kiro." A voice spoke, startling Reku and Akina. A hatch on the floor just in front of where Kiro stood flew open, a small man stood there in the hole, gazing up at the demon.
His brown hair was a mess, and his face was rather dirty. He looked like he hadn't had a shower or a fresh change of cloths in at least a month.
Moving his eyes, they fell upon Reku and Akina, who were silently staring at the young boy. "Oh, brought more refugees did you? By all means, bring um all in."
Sliding his head back in, the boy vanished from sight. Obviously moving out of the way as Kiro effortlessly walked forward, falling down the hole in the floor.
"Go on." Kaira urged, pushing the two humans forward. Nodding, the two of them looked down to see that it was a good ways down. There was a later set up against the side that the two of them flipped around and climbed down.
They walked for just a short distance after that, all of them in silence. The tunnel was lit with small lights dug into the rock walls. As they moved under the abandoned theater, they eventually came to a large, dug out underground cave.
It was filled with all the duelists that were trying to hide from the corrupt system the world had fallen into. They were spread out across the room, many of them just talking. They all looked rough and dirty; their bodies torn up by the hard times.
Many of them instantly looked up as they entered the room, terror filling their faces. Murmurs could be heard instantly, filling the air with all the gossip.
Reku instantly knew why. Looking around, he saw everyone eying the still active duel disk on his arm.
His attention was suddenly grasped away from the people as a loud gasp filled his ears. Jerking forward, along with Akina, the two of them stared at the source of the noise.
Directly across the room from where they stood, a man rose from his place on a rock. His long, scraggly black hair waved out to the side as his body came to a stop in a full upright position. Around his face was a large beard, the likes of which was very unkempt. His cloths were torn and ripped, his body appearing to be just as worn as everyone else's in the small chamber.
"A…Akina…" He spoke, slowly taking a couple of steps forward. "Is…that really…you?"
She nodded, a bit confused. She couldn't quite make out who the man was, partly because he was so far away still. His speed picked up though allowing him to move quickly across the room.
"Oh, that's right." Kiro sweat dropped a bit watching the human come across the room. "You spiraled into a bad depression when Akina died."
"I did what?" Reku jerked around to stare at Kiro, his eyes wide as he was taking in the sudden new info.
"So that guy is…" Akina realized just too late as she was swept up into a large hug by the future version of Reku.
"I've missed you so much." He exclaimed loudly, keeping a firm grasp around the young woman. His expression rivaled that of a young boy finding his long lost dog. "It is so good to see your beautiful face again."
"Um…" The younger Reku was unsure what to say, but he knew he probably should stop himself from hugging Akina to death. "Excuse me…"
"Oh, right." Future Reku smiled stupidly as he released the girl, taking a few steps back. "I guess I overacted. It has just felt like forever since you…left me." His expression dropped a bit as he spoke.
"I…died?" Akina looked over to her side, directing the question towards the two inhuman companions that were next to them.
"Yeah, sadly." Kaira nodded. "Many have."
"So that's what you meant by 'it's been a while'." Reku, remembering what Kaira had said when they first met.
"Indeed. But if it makes you feel any better," reaching out, she put her hand on the younger Reku's shoulder, trying to consol him on the strange, but grim none-the-less news, "she didn't die through human execution. The multiplied pains that come from the reflected anger, hate and greed drove her insane to the point her body just gave out on her. It is happening too many; the human race is quickly going extinct. Either by killing each other off in fits of grief and anger, or by killing themselves off."
"But you can fix it, can't you?!" The future Reku spun on his heels as he was yelling, taking off in a mad dash across the chamber.
"Um, Reku?" Akina reached over, tugging on his shirt a bit to get him to lean closer to her. "Please never grow a beard. Please."
"Not a problem." Reku smiled stupidly a bit at the request. "I also promise to bathe more than that. And actually change my cloths."
"Thank you." She smiled, hugging his arm.
"Before that, you actually have to beat Freyr." Kiro interrupted the conversation, standing there quietly while the older version of Reku came racing back across the chamber, a small, locked, wooden chest in his hand.
Setting the box down on the floor, he also took a key he was holding and slid it into the scratched golden lock that was securing the contents of the box. "After the loss, we analyzed the situation, and what we could have done to fix it. What we needed to have that we didn't. That last draw is nothing that can prevent your loss; I know this for a fact."
Reku and Akina both looked down at their duel disks with the knowledge that this Reku was right.
"Shortly afterwards we tracked down Pegasus, and he produced these." Reku was explaining when the lock clicked open. Feeding the curved golden bar through the loops on the chest, Reku dropped it to the dirt floor. Swinging the top of the case open, he yanked out the contents. Holding them up, everyone in the room shrank back from them. They were two Duel Monsters cards. "The keys to the survival of humankind. You must use these in order to save us all."
Reaching out, Akina and Reku each grabbed one of the cards, reading them before looking back up at the future version of Reku. He was slowly righting himself, smiling wide. The once grim and dirty looking face was replaced by that of a happy man.
"Don't let the Day of Infection come." Kaira declared, stepping in front of the two of them.
"If you win, Freyr's plan fails. That is how those two cards will work." Kiro threw in as he stepped over behind Kaira, not directly looking at the two humans. "Don't screw it up."
"We won't." Reku and Akina both shot back, their declaration echoing off of the walls of the chamber. Looking around, they saw all eyes focused on them.
"We won't let any of you down." Akina reassured them, slowly sliding the card face-down on top of her deck.
"And I won't let this world happen." Reku reassured not only himself, but his future version of himself. "I won't let a world where so many suffer happen. I won't let a world where I lose the one most important to me happen."
"I put my faith in you." The future Reku smiled, watching his younger self slide the card on the top of his deck. Once it clicked into place, the two of them seemed to be engulfed in a surge of light.
Present Day…
Kooru, Heruru, Hebanu and Kiro went flying back with a dome of light surrounding Freyr. Their bodies slamming limply into the 'wall' of the darkness they bounced off, falling face-down onto the darkened 'floor' of the dimension.
Just behind where the bodies of the four demons fell limp, the lifeless body of Ronin that was piled up on the floor stirred. Shaking a bit, he slowly opened his eyes, staring out into the blackness that had surrounded him. "What the hell…"
His body was completely numb, yet he could still feel in incredibly strong, vibrating pain that shot through each of his limbs.
What he saw though was the large crystal, glowing brightly with a demonic aura floating out from its top side. The last thing he even remembered was watching his Daedalus getting killed by Freyr's Khaos monster. His memory was incredibly fuzzy after that.
Filling with light, the area was blinded for a couple of seconds, only to dim in record time, leaving Reku and Akina standing in their spots on the dueling field. Both of them staring off towards their large, demonic opponent.
"There back!" Joe cried out, pleased to see the return of his friends in one piece, even though they were only gone a couple of seconds on his end.
"And ready to take out this abomination." Reku reassured his companion without looking over his shoulder.
"Back? Where…" Ronin's body was still to inoperable to move, but from his point on the ground, he could stair directly at Reku's and Akina's backs. "Where did they go? Are they…dueling that monstrosity?"
His question never found an answer, as his mind blurred and he passed out again.
"The last hope we have." Kooru, was pushing himself to his feet, bracing against the sword. "As long as Freyr's body remains in that crystal, we can't beat him."
"Then let's take this guy out, shall we?" Reku smirked, looking over at Akina who nodded in agreement. "As I recall, you had just ended your turn, and it was about time for ours to begin." Lifting up his duel disk, he placed his fingers delicately on the top card of his deck, slowly sliding it off. Flipping it over, he smirked at the draw, looking up towards Freyr as he moved it towards his emerald green duel disk. "I set this card face-down and finish my turn."
"That is how you are going to beat me?" The aura beast stared on as the card materialized inches before Reku's feet. Throwing his head back, Freyr enjoyed a good, long laugh. "That is pathetic! No card you set can help you! And by ending your turn you've only hurt yourself further!"
The demonic hand on the floating clock moved another notch over, indicating that it had gained its next counter. The skull in the middle copied its master, laughing manically into the darkness, mocking its opponents.
"Another Apocalyptic Minute Counter goes upon my card, bringing the damage its going to deal up to 4000!" Freyr bellowed out into the darkness. "I will win this!" With the decoration, Freyr's three anti-angel monsters roared up into the 'sky'.
"Wouldn't count all of your eggs before they hatch, Freyr." Akina boldly declared, a confidence burning in her eyes as she held up her duel disk, placing her own fingers on the top card. "It is my turn now. Draw!" Jerking the top card free, Akina's eyes fell on it before looking over at Reku, who gave a swift nod. "And now it is time. I activate the magic card; Everlasting Bonds of Hearts!"
Sliding the card gently into her duel disk, the emerald green device began to react, flowing with an immense amount of energy as it read the data off of the card. The hologram appeared before her in a raining light.
"The power between us is what is going to defeat you Freyr." Reku chuckled a bit, lifting his duel disk up to his chest, resting his right hand wrist against the metal binding that clasp around his left wrist. "The ties in our own hearts will overcome the agony and despair you wish to inflict on the world. Chain set card; my own: Everlasting Bonds of Hearts!"
His finger fell forward, pressing one of the buttons on the back side of the duel disk, causing the card he set on the last turn to flip up. The identical cards began to glow their radiant light that cut through the darkness.
"Your what?!" The eye's on the aura beast were wide, yet his arms were thrown up over his face to shield himself from the massive amount of light that was being produced.
"Our way to defeat you!" Reku and Akina cried out together, slashing their arms in opposite directions as the two magic cards before them blasted out beams of light that engulfed the three demonic monsters still standing before Freyr.
"These cards are going to turn your own monsters attack scores against you." Reku declared, pointing at the three Sky Scourges. "Your fallen angels will be the downfall of you."
"Everlasting Bonds of Hearts adds together the attack score of all monsters on the field," Akina continued from where Reku left off. The two of them working in completely perfect sync. "Leaving us with an astounding 7000 total."
Slashing their arms through the air, their index fingers became locked onto the aura beast that was hovering out of the crystal.
"And deal that damage to your life points!" They both shouted simultaneously.
Freyr's body of shadows shook, horror shooting through this state of being, realizing what the cards were going to do.
In an eruption of light that the cards produced; the darkness seemed to vanish in the radiant glow. Streams of white lights shot from the card images, crashing harmlessly into the fronts of the three Sky Scourges, seeming to collect inside their bodies. When the energy was ripe enough, three balls of light came blasting out of the monsters backs, slamming into the large body of the crystal all at once.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Freyr's screams rang out of the aura monsters mouth, aimed directly up into the dark abyss that surrounded them all. The ensuing light swept up, causing the monsters aura to dissipate, whisping away from the large, red, gem below, also being bathed in the crisp white light.
Reku-300 LP
Akina-750 LP
Freyr-0 LP
"We win Freyr." Reku boldly stepped forward. With a pump of his left arm to emphasize his point, he smirked with their victory. "You and your twisted plan have come to a complete halt."
"Working together," Akina stepped over next to Reku, allowing him to put his arm around her shoulder, "we put an end to your sick ideal world."
The light seemed to be vanishing, slowly seeping into the walls of the blood coated crystal. Darkness slowly fell back over everybody. The calm was only disturbed by the painful groans of Gurabe, who was still suffering.
Everyone looked on. No one was completely sure as to what they were supposed to say.
The crystal was the first to break into the moment. It began to rattle, creating a strange buzzing noise. Visibly on the outside of the crystal, sparks of black lightning began to trace their way down the sides, surging into the 'floor' of the darkness. It continued, growing more and more violent.
"Stand back!" Chime cried out, racing forward, snapping her left arm up in front of her chest. On it, her forest green duel disk activated, sliding out its duel tray. "Deruku informed me that this would happen."
"What?" Joe cried out from behind her. "Why didn't someone mention that before?"
"There was no time." She yelled back over her shoulder, sliding her deck into the duel disk. "He just knew to wait for me to arrive to inform me of what I needed to do."
/Flashback/
"Wait…huh?" She was a bit confused as the strange man began to push on her, ushering her towards the door, rather at the moment against her will.
"You've got the only source of power strong enough to resist Freyr in this state. He's destroyed all the miniscule powers drawing from the crystal itself. Yours being much different."
"What are you trying to tell me?" Chime questioned, still being shoved towards the door.
"When he is defeated, the demon blood in the crystal is going to become unstable. It's already unstable, that is what is causing the worlds to be ripped open like it is." At this point Chime could actually see what he was talking about. Through the door, the room was completely empty, but a large rip in space sat at the far end, and she could see the entire gang inside, the duel raging on. "But without his continuous link, it'll become explosive. Since the Orichalcos Stone came from the crystal, it is theoretically on a close level. With the power of the crystal out of flux, it'll most likely be too divided to be able to overpower your Seal of Orichalcos. You must use that to create a loop in itself, sucking the power out until there is nothing left. It is mankind's only hope."
"Okay…" Chime sweat dropped a bit, not fully grasping the technical aspect of what Deruku was explaining. "Whatever you say."
/End Flashback/
Yanking the top card off of her deck Chime slid it instantly into her duel disk's field magic card slot. "I have the power to stop it! I activate the Seal of Orichalcos!"
Appearing against the darkness of the 'floor' of the abyss, the green circle materialized beneath the base of the crystal. The six pointed star began to trace its way around the ruin marked ring, sending a pillar of green light shooting up along the sides of the crystal.
All this seemed to do was create a massive power surge in the crystal. The lightning became horridly more violent, but the bolts of electricity couldn't penetrate the outer wall the Orichalcos was creating.
"It's trying to break out!" Joe realized, watching the crystal surge with all of its might, but failing against boundary.
A flash of light ended the scene. A charred crystal stood alone in the darkness, its white skin seeable behind the burned rock. Smoke slowly rolled off of its, drifting out into the abyss. The seal had vanished when the crystal had run out of power, causing Chime to fall to her knees, her body suddenly weakened.
Panting hard, she smiled a bit, knowing that she had accomplished something good. She had finally found her meaning. She finally could say she understood why Reku, Ronin and Akina had stood up to her and her lackeys those five long years ago. Most importantly; she felt like she had found a meaning to her life. Why she had been betrayed by her father, why she had found Dartz, the power of the Orichalcos, and why she met the group of people, and demons, standing behind her.
Her life had brought her to this point.
Her eyes were suddenly jerked to her duel disk when it began to hum. The field magic slot flipped open, but to her shock, it was completely empty. The Seal of Orichalcos had just suddenly vanished, leaving nothing left.
"Is…" Kevin began, slowly walking forward, leaving Joe standing alone holding a still suffering Gurabe. "Is…it over?"
"As far as Freyr is concerned." Akina responded as she looked back at the boy.
"And as far as the crystal is concerned as well." Reku observed the large crystal, watching as its charred body suddenly collapsed, crumbling into a pile of rubble.
He felt it, and he knew Akina did too. It was warm. Illuminating their faces was the suns rays, slowly seeping through the large holes in the dimension. Morning had finally arrived. The world hadn't been infected by Freyr.
"I told you that the sun would rise today." Reku began, bringing his head over to look at Akina. "The first day of the rest of my life. A life that I get to spend with you."
"You humans…" Gurabe chuckled, though his words were strained, and obviously very painful. "Got your happy ending after all…" As the final words came out of his mouth, his body went completely limp, the final souls clinging him to life seeming to escape finally.
"Gurabe…" Joe spoke softly, knowing that this was the end of the line for the man. The strange, but an ally none-the-less, man's road came to an end right here. Slowly sliding him out of his arms, Joe left him on the 'floor' of the abyss.
"It won't be a happy ending if I don't seal up this pocket between dimensions." Kooru growled, slowly walking forward, holding up the black bladed sword he was holding. "And I think I finally also understand why this was here. I thought it was going to be the only thing that could stop Freyr, but its energy is all we've got left. With it, I can seal off this cross-dimension. If we don't, it'll continue to rip and eventually destroy both sides."
"Then let's get this over with." Reku encouraged as he smiled at the gray haired demon. "We'll leave the rest up to you."
"Did those idiots really forget about me?!" Dementia stomped her foot against the darkness, a bit annoyed at being ignored. Already feeling abandoned, this was just making her angry.
Turning, she slowly floated through the air until she flew through the hole against the darkness, emerging on the other side and staring down at the human world.
A deep sigh escaped her purple lips as she slowly descended. The morning rays of light seemed to just pound on her. Her class of vampire was much higher than normal, leaving her strong enough to resist the suns rays that typically threatened all vampires. That is why Freyr chose her. Her power. Her strength.
"Was that a lie?"
She pondered to herself as she slowly drifted down into a dark alley, landing on the ground.
Slowly walking down the concrete ground, she moved aimlessly into the morning.
In the main chamber of the castle, there was much talk going on. The light from the rising sun in the Dominion of the Beast came racing through the large wall, the lasting scar to remind them of what had happened.
The demons were getting bandaged up, having severe wounds from their rough battle against Freyr.
"There we go." Kaira smiled, accidentally showing her fangs while she ran her hand over a bandage that ran up Kiro's right arm. Feeling the end of her tooth rub against her bottom lip, she was instantly reminded of her situation. Her mouth shot shut trying to conceal it.
"Kaira." Kiro began, not looking at her but rather down at the floor. With his left arm, he reached up and placed his hand on the bandage that Kaira had just put on his opposite arm. "It'll take a bit of getting use to. You're not used to your body's new changes yet. You'll discover a few new things as time goes on."
"Kiro…" She tried to speak but Kiro cut her off.
"Don't worry. I will hunt down that damn vampire and get you back to normal. I swear it."
"Isn't that sweet?" Akina spoke to Reku, the two of them sitting in the large golden chair, both of them watching the scene between Kiro and Kaira. "Would you do that for me?"
"Of course I would." Reku responded, pulling her tightly to him. "I'd do anything for you."
Before anything else could be said by him, he noticed that Ronin, who they had laid out on the long table, was starting to stir. Lifting his head up, he looked around. The look plastered on his face showed that he was in immense pain, and a bit confused as to where he was.
"Looks like someone is awake." Reku commented, motioning with his head towards Ronin. At the rather friendly comment, Ronin groaned and let his head fall back against the table.
On the other end of the room, Joe, Kevin, Ryokurio, Usami, Sachiko, Chao and Chime all stood by the large opening, staring out at the beautiful day that was coming.
"I…" Joe started speaking this time, turning towards Chime, but refusing to look her in the eye. "I was wrong about you. You really helped us out down there. If it wasn't for you being here…"
"I know." Chime smiled, knowing that getting gratitude, much less a peaceful conversation towards her from Joe, was rare. "I have to thank you all again. For the second time you've all helped me. The first time I was stopped from doing a terrible thing, and then this time I was guided to see a purpose for my being."
"It's kind of funny how we all just kind of came together in the end." Ryokurio responded, looking back at the group in the entire room. "If you think back to when this all began, and how we've formed this. Meeting each other and the things that have dragged us all back together time and time again."
"I know what you mean." Sachiko couldn't help but agree. "It doesn't seem possible that it was just five years ago that Reku, Ronin and Akina formed Team Zero and won the World Tournament. So many things have happened."
"Team Zero," Kevin couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the name, "the 'thing' that really is the core of why most of us are here. At some point in time or another, we came in contact with those three…"
Looking over at Sachiko, he quickly corrected himself; "those four." Pretending to clear his throat, trying to hide his little mistake, he continued afterwards. "At some point in time or another. Joe and I came one day to just challenge them again, to test their strength, and we got wrangled up into all of this with the Crystal. That was even the first time we met come to think of it." Changing the subject, he looked over at Joe who just nodded.
"Yup, and if I recall right, had a grand duel with one another. Which ended in a draw…"
Joe's hesitation after realizing he had an unsettled score made the small group laugh.
The laughter was interrupted as something new was happening. The door to the large room swung open, allowing for Kooru, Order, and a rather confused looking young man to walk in. Looking around, the man's eyes fell upon Kiro and Kaira, both sitting on the floor staring at him.
"Oh…" Kaira's slotted eyes grew wide, realizing something different about the man. He was normal again. No longer possessed. "Deruku!" She screamed, jumping off of the floor and wrapping the boy in her arms.
"It's been so long since I've even thought about it." Kiro spoke, looking from the scene back down to the floor with a slight chuckle.
"About what?" Reku asked from his place in the chair with Akina still on his lap. "What's going on?"
"Deruku is Kaira's brother. He was possessed by a 10,000 year old…" Stopping for a second, Kiro looked up while the gears turned in his head. "…tournament organizer…"
"A lot of things have changed." Deruku spoke, pulling back from his 'new' sister. "I really can't recall much. I don't even know where I am. Or who you people are." After looking past the vampire to all of the other people, he brought his eyes back onto the woman before him. "Except you, and you…are…different."
Deruku wasn't sure if he was supposed to be scared of her or happy to see her. She was still his sister after all.
"Things have indeed changed." Order agreed, walking ahead of the small group she found herself in, moving to the center of the room. "Good job everyone. You all faced a threat a thousand times more powerful than you all and you never backed down, once."
"But what will happen now that the Crystal is gone?" The question burning at everyone's mind came rolling out of Akina's lips finally.
"Nothing." Order looked at her, a smile pulled across her face. "Nothing can happen. It can no longer threaten anyone ever again." Looking over all of the faces, even Ronin's who had picked his head off of the table to listen. "You all can go back to life the way you knew it. Life as it was five years ago before this all started."
"Nope." Joe cut in, causing Order to focus on him with a rather confused look. "For once Order, you are wrong."
His head shifted a bit to look at the green haired woman that was standing next to him before bringing his attention back to her. Balling his right hand into a fist as he spoke, confidence flowed through his words.
"We can never go back to the way things were. We've all been through so much, and I can say for a dead set fact that none of us are ever going to forget what we've gone through. We've all changed. Some just growing stronger, some of use finding our place, others coming to find the things in life worth fighting for."
"It has been quite a run." Kevin agreed with his friend.
"Here, Here!" Chao shouted his agreement from behind Joe as well.
"Maybe then you are right." Order spoke, getting a simultaneous nod from everyone in the room but Ronin. "There was no abnormality to your life. This was what was normal for you. Everything you've gone through has been part of your destiny."
THE END
