Hey all, Raydark here, and we're back with another new entry into the Dual Guardians War of the Planets Arc. Thank you all for your continued support in reading our story and again. We are hoping to at least release one chapter per month if possible, so keep on the lookout just in case. We'd also like to once again thank our beta, Eneko95, for her continued support and help with our editing.
Also regarding the situation that's been happening around the world, don't let it get you down. Things may seem bad but they will get better. Just be sure you protect yourselves and wash your hands daily.
Now without Further ado, on with the chapter.
Chapter 34
War of The Planets
Regretful Winds
Ra Dorm
Meryem's Room
A larger sized room compared to those of the students, the walls colored the same yellow as the dorm's coloration. Thick curtains covered the windows to block out any light during the day. Most of the floor was covered in a soft carpet. On one side of the room was a large bed, still made, looking as if it hadn't been slept in for a day. For the other, where the carpet ended stood several towers of computers surrounding a desk holding numerous monitors and a few keyboards.
Green bathrobe draped loosely over her shoulders, Meryem's focus darted from one monitor to the next without ever losing ground. Her desk was the center of the main Academy server, in a sense, and she had to make sure every program was in good shape and in line with every other program. A single broken connection had real impacts on the rest of the hub.
It was hard work, and even with her staff backing her up, maintenance could often go long into the night. But the Head of Technology enjoyed the challenge of untangling a problem in someone's visor or Duel Disk and reconnecting it stronger than before. And there was a certain kind of satisfaction in looking over the network she'd built, that only she could really maintain.
She clicked one last "Apply" button and leaned back in her custom Ra-yellow office chair, stretching her arms out with a yawn and satisfied groan.
"O-kay, hopefully with these updates we'll be able to spot the damn glitches better now. If they even happen with the anti-virus' new parameters. Self-regulating systems are a beautiful thing, really."
With that, her evening task was at an end and she could finally turn in for the night after all the work she did. Meryem often enjoyed the time spent on the Island without classes, it granted her more chances to keep all the systems updated with the latest patches. Plus let her look up the newest changes that the Duel Disks would be getting for the next few years at Duel Academy. Despite her recent struggles with what's been going on, she found working on technology to give her some peace from it. It wasn't that she hated her job as a Teacher. It was more that she enjoyed the stability and logic technology gave most of the time.
Her thoughts soon turned back to her co-worker, Kanoa. She recalled his previous explanation about how all that was going on was the work of magic. A small chuckle left her mouth as she leaned forward to look at her computers.
"Superstitious idiot," she scoffed as she snatched up her coffee. "Hasn't he ever heard of Occam's Razor? No one's ever proven that shadow game voodoo even exists in the first place. It's a fascinating rumor and nothing else. Whatever this is, it's science-based, and we can solve it with science."
Meryem took a sip, letting out a breath of relief as she turned her chair to face the window close to her. Even though she said that, part of her couldn't help but wonder what else could possibly explain what happened. She double checked everything, tried every trick she could to find out if there was some kind of hidden virus, but nothing. It just left more questions than answers, especially regarding the students who were affected.
It struck her as odd that four students, all from different dorms, would just change their attitudes in the span of one to two days. Even most Psychologists would call that suspicious behavior. She'd agree with that, but her investigation of the Duels that occurred when the incidents happened showed her otherwise.
The teachers were able to see past Duels done by students at the Academy in basic form, analyzing and studying them to better help studies. Her investigation into the four students showed that their play styles just completely changed to another when the incident began. Obviously she knew about dueling just as well as anyone else and realized the difference after seeing their previous Duels. It was one thing to adjust your Deck to fit a certain situation, but another to just completely start a new game plan.
It just left her confused and frustrated.
Realizing what she was doing and shaking her head, Meryem chuckled at herself for letting her mind run off again. It called for another sip of coffee, which made her smile as she leaned back in her chair and relaxed. After a few seconds however, another thought popped into her head as she looked at the clock. When she saw that it was about ten minutes past curfew, Meryem moved back to her desk and brought up the list of Dorm rooms.
Despite their disagreements, Meryem did trust Kanoa enough to allow two of her students to visit their friends in the Slifer Dorm for the holiday. He knew what would happen if he didn't make sure they got back safely and on time. But with everything that had happened over the last few months, she felt obligated to make sure they were safely back anyway. Just in case.
With a few simple key strokes, Meryem checked the list of rooms of the students that were staying behind in her dorm. Each one lit up green, indicating that they scanned their key cards to verify their entry in.
She was about to smile in relief, but it quickly turned into a frown when she saw who the one inactive room belonged to: The very girls she'd allowed out for a visit.
To double check, she did a quick scan of her systems. Everything was operating accordingly and there was no lag with the system.
'Dammit.' Meryem slipped her bathrobe on more fully, grabbed her master key card from the desk, and headed out to see what was going on first-hand.
After a few minutes of walking down dark hallways, she finally arrived at the room and took a deep breath.
"I really hope it's just a bug, it is almost too late at night for me to deal with anything bigger."
The girls' door unlocked with a single swipe, and Meryem's heart sank. No one was in the room, and no one's cards or Duel Disks were either. The beds were somewhat neatly made, which she'd come to expect from teenagers anyway.
With that, Meryem tightened her fist and closed the door rather harshly. She began walking back to her room, entering and changing into her normal attire.
She wasn't in a good mood and someone was about to feel her wrath.
Duel Academy
Cliff
Stars filled the night sky, even the dimmer ones clearly visible at this distance. A lot of the students who'd never touched a telescope in their lives found the view awe-inspiring.
For Atsuko, though, the cliff was just the place she happened to be lying flat on her back and unconscious. She probably would have appreciated the view if she'd been awake for it.
A cold breeze woke her up, followed fairly closely by the realization that she had a headache.
'Owww… well, at least I'm still here,' she thought, rubbing her arms to keep warm. Atsuko sat up carefully in case she'd hurt something else. 'Wherever here is… wait a minute, what?'
The moment of panic spiked slightly when she remembered what had happened earlier. She looked around and saw an exposed cliff, a great view of the ocean…
And behind her, the Academy's main building sat not too far away. She sighed in relief; she was just on a different part of the island, not a cliff side pocket dimension or something.
"How long have I been out here?" she asked, getting out her phone. "If I can remember when we left the dorm…"
Her phone was on, but it didn't seem particularly responsive. The brightness faded in and out of "night vision" mode, the screen stuttered a lot, and all her messaging apps crashed as soon as she managed to open them.
"Rats. I hope it's not from getting caught in the magic net thing." Atsuko got up and dusted herself off, putting her currently-useless phone away. Fortunately, her Duel Disk was fairly close and in one piece.
After going to grab it, she mounted it on her right arm and turned it on to make sure it wasn't affected in any way. Luck was on her side as it powered up without problems, allowing her to check the time. Since every Duel Disk in the academy had access to the system, anyone with enough power and a decent signal could check the time basically anywhere in the world. As a nice bonus, the WiFi covering the whole island meant you'd never have to deal with lagging holograms or get disconnected in the middle of a Duel.
According to the main menu, only ten minutes had passed since everyone had left the Slifer dorm and gotten caught.
With one final check of her cards and herself, Atsuko determined she had everything.
"Okay, time to go find everyone else. I hope they're somewhere safe."
Her resolve took an immediate hit when some rocks tumbled to the ground nearby. She jumped, turning around to find a cave entrance just a few feet away.
She'd heard some of the other students mention dueling in a cave before, as sort of a challenge or just because they liked the scenery. With the trees around this particular cave shadowing the entrance, it looked less like an interesting place to Duel and more like the kind of place dumb teenagers got lost in urban legends.
Ignoring her instinct to turn around and walk away as best she could, she took a few deep breaths to steady her nerves.
"Don't be a baby, Atsuko… It's just a cave," she said to herself. "Your friends are counting on you, so find them… the faster the better."
Looking around, she noticed the Slifer Dorm on the cliff side in the distance. It wasn't close, but Atsuko knew it was the better option than going deeper into the forest.
"…help…!" Atsuko gasped slightly. "H-hello? Who's in there?"
"…Atsuko… Help…" the voice called out again. This time she recognized it—that was Takashi's voice!
She slowly turned around and let out a shuddering breath. 'Okay, this could easily be a trap… but I have to see for myself. I couldn't live with myself if I left my friend out here because I was scared.'
Atsuko took one last deep breath and walked into the cave.
Moments later, however, the entrance disappeared, and a vaguely male figure emerged from behind a nearby tree. His left hand glowed a dark green as he stepped forward.
"So it begins," he intoned. A magic circle opened on the wall where the cave entrance had been, and he stepped through it without leaving a trace.
Purgatory
Tap, tap, tap, tap… plop… plop, plop…
Atsuko couldn't shake the feeling that she should have heard other sounds by now. Takashi calling for her again, a mouse, something other than softly dripping water and her own footsteps.
The further she went, the more eerie the cave walls started to look. Thankfully her Duel Disk's miniature flashlight near the Deck slot was also working, so she could at least see where she was walking. She wondered whether the small, bright light made the cave more or less spooky to walk through.
Her walk deeper into the cave soon held some hope as Atsuko soon spotted a dim light in the distance. She kept walking and eventually, the light got bigger as it brought some relief to her.
After a minute, she found herself in another larger portion of the cave with light bulbs hung around the walls and a clear lake in the center, which in turn hosted a large pumping system. She relaxed a little more; she'd found one of the island's natural springs, a main source of safe water for the whole academy.
Part of her was hoping for a drink, but she kept from indulging since it wasn't safe in its natural source.
Unbeknownst to her, the dark figure slid out from the walls of the path behind her. The mask hid it, but he smiled as he knelt and placed one hand on the floor.
Shadows spread out from his hand and flowed into the lake before disappearing. Atsuko was occupied with washing her face a little to help calm her mind, but even if she hadn't been, it was unlikely she would have seen anything.
"Scene one, take one. And… action," the shadow man murmured before reentering the walls.
Meanwhile, Atsuko finished and wiped away the remaining water with her sleeve before looking back at the pool. She sighed, noticing she still looked scared despite being somewhere she knew. Her friends made being brave look so natural, like they didn't have to force themselves to go even a little outside what they knew was safe…
"We could've been better, you know," said a sad little girl's voice.
Atsuko blinked, and to her shock her reflection was now her at five years old, still with the same scared look.
This caused Atsuko to jump back, yelling and breathing erratically in fear once again. Eventually calming down, she went back to the spot and slowly looked back at the lake. This time, it was her normal reflection that looked back at her.
"I'm okay… I'm okay…" she muttered. "Calm down. Whatever just happened wasn't real, it can't hurt me…"
A child's laughter echoed from a tunnel sort of behind the pump. When she looked up, a little girl in hiking clothes waved at her and quickly disappeared down that path.
"Hey, wait! Are you—?"
Not hesitating, she got up and ran after her. Even though part of her knew it could be a trap, she couldn't just leave a child alone in a dangerous place.
As she followed the mystery girl, torches began to appear on the walls, shedding light a little further ahead with every step. Eventually, she found herself on a gravel path leading into a mountain forest, with a wooden signboard and some walking sticks just off to the right. "How…?"
Then she saw the small family up ahead. A mother and father holding a little girl's hands, all smiling and all in hiking clothes.
Atsuko almost literally felt her heart skip a beat. The tunnel had somehow taken her to the Mt. Daimonji-yama hike trail, and the family up ahead… that was her family, with her younger self.
"Fascinating, yes? How much a person's mind can reveal about them, create fear in them," a male voice said from nowhere in particular. The shadows of the nearby trees began stretching out, merging with her own shadow and even wrapping vines around her limbs. "When someone can't tell whether the sensations, the familiar event they're experiencing is truly real… that's a level of terror few other things can match. "And all those regrets lurking in the back of your mind. All those things you wish you had or hadn't done instead, buried in the deep dark corners so no one, not even you, knows the real depth of your failings… but alas, no amount of wishing can change the past."
Atsuko pulled at the shadow vines, struggling to get them off her, but they only tightened. One vine snaked up her back and gently grabbed the sides of her head, as if it knew she'd look away if it gave her a chance.
"You know this better than anyone, don't you?" that voice continued.
"Yatta! Mama, look, I found another flag!" young Atsuko cheered. She ran back to show her parents the bright blue flag. "That's three so far!"
Her mother laughed and patted her on the head. "You're doing a wonderful job, Acchan. Keep practicing like this and you'll be a great seeker one day."
The little girl beamed and stuck her flag in her backpack. Atsuko's parents traded fond smiles as she kept going forward with them right behind.
Present-day Atsuko couldn't help a little smile of her own. Her parents had told her later that they'd bought the flags and hidden them along the trail the day before, knowing she'd need something beyond the view at the top to keep her attention on the hike. She was more impressed that they'd kept the secret from her than that they were willing to hike the same trail twice in two days.
Each scene played out as they continued towards the top, Atsuko finding a flag in unexpected places. Some needed her parents' help to reach, but they made sure to give her the credit for it. Each one made Atsuko more and more excited to find more as they got closer to the summit.
"Please… don't go further…" Atsuko muttered as tears began to form in her eyes.
The next scene shown was her and her parents finally reaching the Daimonji Viewpoint, the top of the mountain. Little Atsuko couldn't keep her excitement at such a spectacular view of Kyoto contained, and shouted into the valley.
She then turned towards her parents, seeing that they were a bit behind from her, making young Atsuko frustrated. Her patience wasn't well-known as she wanted to find the final flag already to complete her hunt.
A few minutes later, young Atsuko turned to find her parents having stopped, looking for something close by.
This made her groan before turning to see what she was looking for, the flag. It was a little farther off the main trail than the other flags had been, near the edge of a smaller cliff side path.
Present Atsuko fell to her knees and closed her eyes. "No… no, I get it, don't show this…" she murmured. The vine on her head curled around to reach her face, forcing her eyes open anyway.
Her younger self smiled and went towards it, unaware of her parents calling out to her. She quickly noticed that it was actually more forward on the edge than expected. With a deep breath, she inched forward with her hand, getting down on one knee to grab it.
The ground she was under broke off with a vaguely ominous crumbling sound. Partly from sheer panic and partly from seeing it in cartoons a few times, she grabbed onto some newly-exposed tree roots to try and save herself.
While she was no longer falling, the cliff was very steep and even the thicker root couldn't hold her forever.
"Tasukete!" she cried, squeezing her eyes shut.
"Acchan!" Atsuko heard two sets of footsteps quickly coming to her.
"Hold still, sweetie! I'll be there in a moment," her father said as calmly as he could. "I'll get you back on solid ground and we'll all be fine."
Atsuko's grip on the root strengthened with each passing moment, as did her prayers to whichever mountain and forest spirits were listening to keep her there. Her heartbeat thudded frantically in her ears.
A slow snapping noise made her scream in terror again, as did the feeling of a smaller root breaking off in her hand.
The overwhelming fear was about to cause her to pass out, but she regained herself after feeling someone grab her. Soon said person lifted young Atsuko to their chest as she grabbed their clothes.
In mere moments, she opened her eyes and looked up to see her father's calm, but clearly relieved smile.
"This is why we told you to be careful," he admonished gently. "Daimonji won't protect us if we don't respect his space."
Little Atsuko made a brief squeak before burying her face in her father's jacket and sobbing.
"I know, sweetie. Not much fun anymore, is it?" He started rubbing her back in a calming way.
Then the rock slowly, painfully broke off under her father's hand. Her mother screamed in horror, and Atsuko grabbed him that much tighter.
"Don't let go, Acchan," her father ordered, wrapping both arms around her. "Hold on to me and don't look down."
Young Atsuko didn't exactly need convincing to do that.
The next few moments were a blur of snapping tree branches, rushing wind, and sharp pains all over her body.
Eventually, they stopped completely with a heavy thud. The sounds of breaking tree branches were replaced by echoes of multiple people yelling.
Still trembling, she opened her eyes and saw that they'd landed in the forest far below that cliff. "Ow ow ow ow…are you okay, Papa?"
He didn't say anything.
Young Atsuko turned her attention to him and recoiled in shock. Her father was lying on the ground knocked out, and a branch had pierced his shoulder. Blood pooled under him like ink spreading in water.
"…Papa?"
"They're over here, hurry!"
"Oh my god that poor girl…"
"Yes, we need an ambulance…unconscious man with a shoulder wound, little girl with cuts everywhere… No, I don't know what specific…"
The voices faded out in Atsuko's mind. All she could do was stare at her father and cry, even as someone picked her up and turned her away from the sight.
She'd never really forgotten that day, but seeing it play out in front of her hurt just as much as it had when she was a child, and the images felt newly-burned into her memory.
The scene and the vines disappeared, allowing present-day Atsuko to fully collapse onto the cave floor and sob.
She didn't see a new shadowy figure emerge from the walls, solidifying into a human shape as it approached.
The new arrival had on a dark green hooded cloak, open just enough to billow semi-dramatically with every step. He pushed back the hood to reveal a white mask covering his face, with two large, vaguely conical protrusions in the same shade of green close to the sides of his head. A blue gem sat on the forehead over two glowing yellow eyes. Lighter yellow bases near the mouth held two more dark green protrusions jutting out towards the back of the head, like reversed fangs. A matching collar rose up from the figure's clavicles.
He knelt in front of her and slowly lifted her face so she could look him in the eyes. "Such a tragic moment for such a little girl. You knew her, didn't you." Somehow it was worse because it wasn't really a question.
"I… I let that happen…" she said, voice trembling. "The rock slide wasn't anybody's fault, but I put myself and my father in danger because… because I wanted to rush ahead so badly…"
He gently rubbed her cheek before helping her back onto her feet.
"It is true, you aren't at fault in the sense that you directly caused the accident," he explained. "But you did rush ahead, and your father spent months suffering as a result. Think poorly of me for making you relive that if you like, but you must know this. Now, as then, you have a chance to avert a painful tragedy for those you hold most dear with a simple action."
Atsuko's eyes widened when she heard him say that, looking at him with confusion.
"All you must do is ask your friends to stop fighting. Beg them to give up and let our masters take what they need. Once that is done, we leave and no more harm will come to them. I'm sure your father would appreciate that the lesson sunk in."
The Slifer student lowered her head and thought about what he said. She didn't realize that the dark energy slowly crawled up from the ground to her body. It began changing her thinking as she soon started wanting more than anything to make sure nobody else got hurt. Visions of her beaten and unconscious friends invaded her mind as she started crying once again, squeezing her hands together.
Her enemy in front of her smiled under his mask, knowing that he would soon have her completely at his mercy.
Though his whole plan would soon disappear as a single tear dropped from her face, perfectly landing on top of her left hand where the mark was. With that single act, it began glowing and channeling its energy into her body.
The darkness that had seeped into her quickly disappeared, allowing the calming light to help Atsuko's troubled mind. While hidden from visible eyes, it began showing her flashes of memories with her friends since first meeting them.
Their initial meeting when she first arrived at Takashi's room, the lunches they had at the Academy, the smiles all of them shared, and the comradery with everything she did with them. One memory stopped as she could see all of them turn to her, each one holding a smile on their face. Though her attention focused on one particular individual, Takashi, who gave his signature thumbs up.
Unbeknownst to the man standing in front of her, the darkness began faltering around him as the cave construct he made began slowly falling apart
She looked back up to him, now having a look of reignited determination as her mark caused a powerful glow of light. The light began blinding the man, despite wearing a mask, as he covered his face and began walking back.
"Maybe you are right… maybe we will end up losing more than we thought if we keep fighting you people," she began speaking. "But none of them ever stopped trying to help, or let me down when I needed them. Two of them are actually risking their lives to save the whole academy from whatever you're planning, not just us! How can I know all that and abandon them when they need help more than I ever did?!"
As Atsuko got more worked up, her mark made the light more and more visible, until finally it burst into a pillar that punched through the cave ceiling. The cave collapsed around them with a demonic shriek, leaving them standing in a featureless black void on what felt like glass under her shoes.
The force from the collapse pushed him a few feet away, though he was finally able to put his hands down when the light faded. He then got a good look at Atsuko, who practically radiated a fierce aura to match her determined expression.
"So, shadow man, are you the one who's been hurting people to find my friends?"
The man laughed as he took off his hood, revealing that the mask covered not just his face, but a large portion of his hair as well.
"You could say so. I consider myself more of the lovely assistant to my masters' carnival magician act. But it doesn't matter what I tell you! Jupiter has seen and sealed your fate!"
Soon two green magic circles appeared under both of them, causing Atsuko's glowing aura to dissipate as he then focused energy into his left arm.
Suddenly the energy solidified into a Duel Disk, albeit one unlike any she'd ever seen before. The main body of the duel disk was round with a wicked metallic gray paint job, along with a side slot for the Graveyard and a spiky elbow protrusion. The top of the duel disk had a stylized eye pattern in vaguely dripping dark green ink, like he'd just painted it on a few days ago. Black writing in some script Atsuko didn't recognize circled the base.
He then activated its digi-construct, which took on the appearance of a jet black bar with five individual slots shown in it. Though one closer look and someone could see small individual lights across the bar, almost as if someone was looking into a panel of space.
"No one escapes from Purgatory without paying the price for their insolence!"
Despite the gruesome look of her situation, Atsuko finally let go of her fear with her now determined passion as she activated her Duel Disk. Her own construct appeared and her system linked up with her opponent.
"You're going to wish you simply let the darkness in," Jupiter mocked. "You have no chance of escaping it!"
"The time for talking is over, now it's time to Duel!" Atsuko declared.
Yay... trauma? Yeah, a heavy chapter leading into the duel chapter. But, hey! Duel next chapter! Try not to be too salty about it, I recall many scenes in Yu-Gi-Oh! official media that went the same way (or sometimes brought out all the heavy trauma during the duel (looking at you GX Season 3). Anyways, let's see how this duel goes! Will Atsuko win like she did against Anakin? Or will the weight of Jupiter be too much for her to handle?
Translations:
Yatta - "I did it!"
Tasukete - "Help!"/"Save me!"
