【30 - The Siege is Underway! Death, Drama and a Destined Duel!】


The raid on Ms Snaketail's apartment building lasted long into the night. They now had an hour until dawn, the five teens huddled together while more and more reinforcements descended the elevator to help at the lower levels. The entire Sword gang had blocked off the street and had watching gunmen on all sides. Gunshots were constant and every now and again they let loose with a bazooka that made the penthouse tremble. The radio worker flicked a red switch with a grimace, holding out the transmitter on loud-speaker.

"How long are we going to play these games, Ms Snaketail?" Genjin's voice could be heard through the static.

"As long as we must. A madman like you can't be reasoned with," the land-lady stood straight with fists clenched.

"Even so, your options here are simple. You can continue to resist and lose even more men… or you can surrender and let us in…"

"Turn off the speaker," she ordered and the worker flicked it off. The scarred woman was deep in a troubling thought.

"Grandma… are you going to surrender?" Diego asked.

"No…" Heidi felt furious and desperate "Even with the drugs and armed guards… this was the only neutral place in the city not run by the gangs! At least everyone given residence here was safe… if we surrender then the gangs control everything!"

"Which means the lieutenants control the city…" Amira added "which means Urobach does."

"There is no choice, I'm afraid..." Ms Snaketail turned "If I were to surrender Genjin would kill all of us anyway. Our only hope is to try and evacuate those of us here… and leave everyone else behind…"

They were silent. The gunfire rang into the night.

After half a minute Simon was the one to wet his mouth and speak "how do we evacuate?"

"There is an exit only I know of," Ms Snaketail explained "An old laundry chute. The ventilation shafts in this building are too small, the elevator can be shut off but the emergency stairwell will be how they get up here. That chute can take us all the way down to the ground floor, where we keep the three vans and the impala. After that we'd have to force our way out."

"That's risky…" Simon said.

"And the chute is a straight drop, meaning we have to take it one at a time, back against one side and use our feet to walk ourselves down. It will take all your concentration and a great deal of time, the young ones will be faster so they will go first."

"Well, it's the only option we've got…" Heidi commented.

Ms Snaketail waved to an employee and he fetched her another cigarette. She'd been smoking non-stop since the siege began. She lit it with the flip-lighter then waved to the radio worker who passed the speaker and flicked the switch.

"Genjin."

"Yes…?"

"We will surrender."

"That's wonderful news."

"But first you have to give us time to treat our injured and save who we can. Afterwards we will lower all weapons and you'll have our complete surrender," Ms Snaketail's grip was tight on the handheld speaker. Its curling wire connected to the radio box.

"I'm afraid I won't agree to that. I want an immediate, unconditional surrender. My men don't stop firing until yours drop their guns and put their hands in the air."

Ms Snaketail cursed, yanking the speaker and ripping the wire out. She looked at everyone around her "come on, I'll take you to the chute."

It was hidden in a back-room behind junk. They unscrewed a grate that'd been fitted over it. Ms Snaketail gave her grandson a screw-driver for the bottom one, kissed him on both cheeks and hugged Diego tight before waving for him to go first. He pocketed his car keys and the screw driver, climbed into the complete blackness and began the awkward and dangerous shuffle down. They waited a full minute before Amira went next. Based on the small crowd of people waiting, at that rate it could still take them most of an hour to evacuate. They couldn't see anything down the drop. Ms Snaketail held a tiny clock broken from a wristwatch, waiting on that little second hand until it was time "next."

"Heidi," Lisa nodded for her to go.

"But you guys," she looked between serious Simon and determined Lisa.

"Go," Lisa repeated and someone pushed Heidi toward the chute.

She climbed in, got her back against one side, stretched her legs out so her sneakers touched the other. She used her strength to push, keeping herself lodged over the long and shadowy drop. Then… she began to work herself down. Soon she was in utter darkness and could only hear herself breathe. Darkness like she was in the belly of a monster. Claustrophobia gnawed at the edges of her mind, but if she stopped pressing herself against both sides or made a misstep, she'd fall all the way down, on top of the others.

Soon her legs were burning with the exertion. She had no way of knowing how close she was to the bottom. Sweat started dripping down her face, her jacket riding up her back so her skin stung against the metal. It was the most terrifying thing she'd ever done. When Heidi thought about the others still to come she started to move a little faster without thinking, not quite planting one foot before moving the other, and she slid almost two metres before jamming both legs out and slowing to a stop. She panted with fear before continuing at a careful pace. She didn't dare try adjusting herself into a more comfortable position. This was a life-or-death situation and she'd endure the pain and fear, keep going down… keep going down… It was all she could do, so she worked only as fast as was safe, in the black while losing complete track of time.

The dim light didn't quite register, but when she smelt air that wasn't stagnant she knew she'd made it. Her lower back was then exposed to air, her sneakers felt an edge.

"Heidi!" Amira hissed "You can drop down."

She let herself fall, turned and hit the metal bottom. Another manhole showed concrete two metres down, Diego had his arms out to catch her. She slipped out and got lowered to her feet, Heidi staggered to a pillar and leant against it. Her mind was numb with fear and she was panting and sore. Amira was there to put a hand on her shoulder. The vans and the impala were here, the sounds of the shoot-out were much closer. With no walls on this virtually empty level they could hear everything around the pillars to where the action was taking place. When Heidi started to get her breath back Simon lowered himself before dropping, Diego helped steady him. The blonde sat himself down and the next to drop down was Lisa.

"How are you?" Diego asked while he held her.

"That was absolutely terrifying. I'm never doing that again," Lisa replied.

"It doesn't sound like the Swords have taken this level yet," Amira remarked.

"Are they going to find us over here, or are they just going to take the stairs up and keep fighting their way to the penthouse?" Simon asked from where he sat.

"Who knows…" Diego answered.

More and more henchmen started to make their way down, sweaty and tired. So far nobody had fallen. Another bazooka went off and rocked the ground, dust sprinkled from above. The evacuees started to arrive with more frequency, things were probably getting desperate up there. Several minutes passed before the older Ms Snaketail dropped from the manhole, caught by three suited men. She looked utterly exhausted.

"Granny!" Diego rushed to her.

"They have gangsters as far up as level three…"

"How many more people are we waiting on?" Heidi demanded.

"Eighteen…" the woman answered.

They all looked around with a grimace. Time wasn't on their side but hopefully their luck would hold.

A few more minutes passed and then a bazooka fired into a nearby wall. Rubble and dust spewed inward, a deafening boom that made them cry out. Through the smoke a wide hole was knocked clear and then a rusted Cadillac peeled in and skidded around to a stop. The door opened and Magris stepped out, his orange eyes focussed on the one he sought.

"We have to go, now!" Diego yelled and there was a scramble. Everyone started to fill into two of the vans and Diego started up the shining impala. Magris started sprinting over and when henchmen pulled out handguns and started shooting he ducked behind a pillar.

Amira was last to the car and stopped with her hand on the door "if I go with you he'll have half the gang chasing after us."

"Amira, no!"

She swung the door shut "go!" The vans were already tearing out the hole Magris had made. The black impala fired up and left with them. Amira closed her eyes and took a breath. She could feel Pluto revelling in the nearby deaths, she channelled his power into her. Purple energy cloaked her body, she pulled up her black hood before turning around. With the power of darkness flooding through her she could feel the semi-possession of her phoenix. It dulled her fear and gave her strength.

Magris stepped out into view, his left hand trailing that ghostly purple. The two darkness duellists stood and faced off against each other once more.

"Kettou da, my love."

"Yoshi, let's end it this time."

Two dark tables appeared and they took their marks. Cyan shields projected outward and shone like crystal. They shuffled their decks and after setting them down their shield cards slid out.

"I told you I'd keep finding you, no matter what. I will have vengeance for this betrayal."

"No talk. This time you die."

"I summon Lone Tear Shadow of Solitude!" His other arm was still in a cast and the purple splotches on his face hadn't quite faded. "Turn end."

After appearing his grey ghost howled and then died, the card landing in his graveyard.

Amira drew and started "I generate Demonic Protector." The empty skeleton armour of her cross gear took shape.

"I graveyard-evolution Worm Gowarski, Masked Insect!" A red devil wrapped in a purple worm drudged forth on 4000. "Break her shield, ike!"

The creature whipped its arm, the worm slithering out and crunching a panel with its teeth. Amira came back hard with a shield trigger "I summon Death Hands Misfortune Emperor and automatically destroy Worm Gowarski!" The red-caped fighter cleaved its scythe through its enemy.

Magris pointed "once its destroyed you lose a random card in your hand."

A spell started glowing purple and Amira dropped it. "I can grave fatten too! I summon Jenny, the Suicide Doll and sacrifice her so you lose a random card in your hand! Death Hands break his shield, ike!" Amira's girlish death puppet came and went; her scythed warrior lunged and tore apart a panel. It jumped back and Magris discarded before adding a shield to his hand.

"I summon Magand, Bloodlust Demon Dragon!" It was one-eyed and purple, small for a dragon. "There's more fight in you now, I wonder if it has anything to do with the chosen fire duellist?"

"I graveyard-evolution Death March, Reaper Puppeteer! I cross it with Demonic Protector!" Her blue-hooded doll reached back for its sword. Bone armour spread along its body. "Death Hands break another shield, ike!" A jump and that scythe flew, glass bounced off Magris's cast but then began rewinding before Amira could call a second attack.

"Terror Pit takes out your puppeteer!"

When Amira's creature was dragged under her cross gear bent back into its previous shape and she was permitted to draw.

Magris began "I summon Brock, the Screw Soldier!" the 1000 armoloid with giant drills stalked out. "I return a shield to my hand with Magand, now he's a 7000 double-breaker. Attack Amira, ike!" The small purple dragon clawed through two panels and Amira felt glass rain on her forearms. No triggers, but now his hand was near-empty while hers was full.

"I evolve my dark lord into DarthRayne, Dream Knight!" The light of evolution swallowed her creature. A skeletal horseman trotted into play with 6000 power. "I send the top three cards of my deck to the graveyard and then… add Jenny the Suicide Doll back to my hand. DarthRayne attack Magand!" The horse charged close enough for its rider to use purple lasers, shooting down the one-eyed dragon as it tried to take flight.

Magris drew and added the card straight to his mana "My Screw Soldier takes your fourth shield, ike!" That power-drill launched glass pieces that cut up Amira's arm. She gripped it and hissed as blood ran down. Magris laughed "that pain isn't even an iota of what you put me through! Do you even feel at all!?"

"I summon Sealed Devil Samijal and Sealed Devil Ravaal the Reaper!" her purple blocker and bird-mutant touched down in the zone. "DarthRayne take out Brock, ike!" With a ghastly neigh they watched his final creature get wiped out and then the skeletal horse trotted back to its position. When the turn passed to Magris he simply added mana and ended. Amira drew "It's over, Magris. I evolve Samijal into Killer the Kill, Demon Dragon King!" Her 12,000 triple-breaker tore into the upper level. There were cries and gunfire, meaning they could be discovered any moment. Amira was sure she only needed to win this turn and then she could drive that third van out of here and make her escape. The dragon's body was composed of jagged spikes. It leered down in its cramped space, the giant purple eyeball at its centre fixed on Magris.

The lieutenant widened his orange eyes as Amira began her assault "DarthRayne double-break his last shields!" If only her luck had continued she might've killed him with her dragon, but this duel it was Magris's turn to be saved by chance.

"Demon Wolf, Howling Moonlight Castle!" A skull-faced moon shone its light on the field, white spires tore up from the ground "Ravaal the Reaper gets -3000 and is destroyed, Mana Arms 5 gets rid of your Dream Knight." Two of her fighters were impaled. "Meanwhile Death Gate, Gate of Hell takes out Killer the Kill and lets me revive BloodRayne, Start Dash!" That terrible dark door slid open, toothed vipers whipping out and squeezing her big dragon inside. Its claws scratched lines through the cement as it was pulled, and it ripped out a pillar before it left. The cowboy stalked out atop its tusked beast, dipping his hat in greeting. All of Amira's creatures were gone. She hadn't even thought to cross her gear, the turnaround was so sudden. She clutched her bleeding arm and just stared.

"My turn…" that psychotic excitement returned to Magris's gaze. "I summon Dragon Ultimate God Geki…" The gold-adorned divine emerged in the space previously burrowed by its predecessor dragon. It was black and orange, waving two soul-blades of ghostly-blue. "BloodRayne take out her last shield!" The cowboy reared up on its beast, charging forth while aiming its arm-blaster. Amira's final shield shattered around her under laser-fire. She'd never thought of herself as lucky but this was too much to bear. After almost ridding herself of her stalker he managed to turn the game around and soon it would be her left dead under this crumbling building. Why did Heidi have to inspire me with her dumb hero shit?

Neither player had shields so Amira could still win if she drew another graveyard-evolution… but she didn't. By the way things were going he was probably going to.

"I summon Sealed Devil Ronovel and Sealed Devil Samijal. I cross Ronovel with Demonic Protector." Her crustacean was equipped with bone armour, her purple devil flexed its myriad insect-legs. Amira stared through her two blockers with ice-blue eyes as Magris started his turn.

"Ultimate God Geki ike!"

"Ronovel blocks!"

"You lose your hand!" Magris pointed and Amira felt a hit of despair. Her other phoenix…Asteroid Gellum, Dark Comet. The Terror Pit she was holding, gone before she could use it. As her crustacean burnt apart she was permitted one draw from her cross gear. "Turn end."

Amira went to reach for her deck again and that was when she realised everything was going blurry. It took her a while to figure out what was going on, but after struggling to breathe she realised this was the onset of a panic attack. Then Amira realised she was propping herself up against the table, without registering the mini-blackout. The terrifying dragon watched her through its helmet and beside it the psycho lieutenant who was bent on her destruction. She was gasping, her lungs only capable of shallow breaths.

"You're the one who's going to die soon, if you don't make your move!" Magris's voice echoed in her throbbing ears.

Amira tried to get herself together and formulate a plan. She wasn't out yet. Nothing in her hand could help her, but if she bet on one more card… "I cross Samijal with Demonic Protector… I cast Accident Eye!" Twin whirlpools of blue energy opened, glaring upon the field.

"You're…" Magris stared at the girl as she struggled to stand "You're destroying all crossed creatures… your own blocker, in the hopes you'll draw a card that can beat me…?" Blue beams fried her last blocker and Amira coughed harder in the resultant smoke. Magris snarled "you have two mana left, so what did your cross gear let you draw Amira? Anything that could save you?"

"I… no," the timid girl hung her head. She was spent. As scared as she was part of her was glad it'd soon be over. She summoned a single Marrow Ooze, the Twister. At this rate dying would be better than enduring the fear of it.

Magris laughed and then shook his head "Game over, my love" he spat that last part with hate. "I summon Dragon Ultimate God Metsu and God link!" Blue lightning whipped through all the pillars and fried the tube-lights. The conjoined 14,000 menace tore up into the third level, the two-headed God glaring down in all its terrible glory, between sparking wires and leaking pipes. Cement wreckage tumbled down to their level. Amira felt her knees shake. The fire-darkness divine looked hungry to take a life. Magris roared his order "ikeee!"

It was all Amira could do to tap her blocker. The rapture threw her off her feet, her back hit the ground and she slid to rubble. She lifted her head, keeping her wide eyes on her opponent.

"You didn't need to worry, Amira…" he smirked. "I was never going to attack you with my God anyway. That death would've been too swift. After you've had everything taken from you, after you've suffered as much as me, then… I will kill you. BloodRayne, Start Dash ike todomeda!"

She'd barely got to one knee before that hog beast charged, the cowboy swung his arm and Amira flew once more. Her body crumpled into the stack of rubble behind her. She'd lost… And with her shallow and weak gasps, she knew now he was free to do whatever he liked. Her body was struggling to get enough oxygen, her brain was going black…

Diego's black impala skidded into the building, veering aside to avoid hitting the rubble. Its left wheels hovered over the ground before touching down again, it skidded to a stop. The nice car now had bullet-holes in its side. Amira remembered Diego saying it was his pride and joy, that it was his fifteenth birthday present from his grandmother. He washed it by hand every week.

"No!" Magris roared as he charged.

Diego whipped his gun over the car roof and started firing, forcing the lieutenant to take cover. Someone else appeared by Amira's side and sat her up, it was Heidi. The darkness duellist was shaking like a leaf and couldn't speak. The words wouldn't leave her but Heidi seemed to understand, she got up and ran to collect Amira's fallen cards. After she came back the other girl still hadn't been able to stand. Diego was walking over while firing. Magris whipped around and fired back with his own gun. The teens ducked and swore.

"Come on Amira, we have to go!" Heidi heaved her and finally Amira's legs started working. They raced to the car and threw themselves in the back, just as Diego spun the wheel and a gunshot took off his side-mirror. He swore again and sped out the building. More gunshots went off and windows smashed. Diego swerved but changed gears and slammed the pedal down, they bumped and tore along the pothole-riddled street.

"Make sure they don't put another missile on us!" Diego shouted over the engine's roar. The girls tried sitting themselves up, their hair blowing from the wind.

Heidi twisted around "oh God…"

"Heidi?"

"Go right, now!" At her yell he turned them into the opposite lane. A bazooka fizzed past and went in through a shopfront before exploding. Buildings collapsed, falling straight down and spewing dust. The road shook and the car wobbled before straightening once more. They drove further and further, soon they were out of reach.

Amira looked at her two rescuers "I thought I could take him… I'm sorry."

"We'll get another chance," Heidi assured her.

"Did they seriously try to take us out with a bazooka?"

"They got one of the vans while we were getting away…" Heidi murmured.

"Diego, your grandmother!?"

"She's gone," their driver answered in a hollow voice. Amira said nothing as she recalled the scarred Ms Snaketail in her silk kimono. The information broker was dead.

"We were waiting for you to get out," Heidi explained. "When we saw the blue lightning I knew it was a God link, I knew you were in trouble…"

"This is terrible…" Amira hunched forward. How does Diego feel? This all happened because he came up with a plan to take out the triads. But no… the lieutenants supplying all those weapons are to blame. Amira couldn't help thinking that just like with the elderly couple who took her into their home, she was bringing death to everyone still choosing to associate with her.

The three went down turns, navigating their way deeper into the decaying city. The morning was now well and truly underway. Rubbish bags and paper cups were sucked into the wheels of the car and tossed out again.

"I suppose our next stop's gotta be Mr Barrow's shop again," Heidi started.

"Do you know how to get there from here? Cause I sure don't," Amira answered.

"Dammit! We need Simon…"

"Well him and Lisa left with the last van," Diego chided "You were going to run back for Amira on foot if I hadn't agreed to drive you."

"Heidi…"

The other girl looked at Amira "how can I unite the chosens one day if you die?"

Amira sighed then caught sight of something in the rear-view mirror "truck!"

They all looked back to see not just a truck, but an eighteen-wheeler gaining speed as it advanced on them. They whipped through decrepit and empty toll booths, starting to climb an overpass. The buildings began to shrink and the huge truck sped on. They were now on a multi-lane road and gaining height, the truck was at the other side of the high-way and five lanes over.

"Do you think it's friendly?" Heidi tried without much hope.

"No. We're not in the clear yet." Diego eyed the petrol meter, it was almost empty.

The eighteen-wheeler sped by and got in front of them. Amira thought she glimpsed a peeling red circus advertisement. The three blinked forward after getting cut off. The back door slid open and they came face-to-face with three peculiar individuals. The one in the middle had a misshapen head, a kind of ugly that would make a child burst into tears on sight. His coat flapped fiercely in the wind. To his left was a lithe man with hoop piercings in his bald head, he was stretching as if to limber himself up. His limbs and body stretched further than what a human should be capable of. As for the other figure… perhaps it would've been more accurate to say there were four individuals, because they were a set of conjoined twins. Identical twins, a pair of Asian ladies who were neither pretty nor ugly. None of the four faces were wearing pretty expressions. The one with the misshaped head sneered, he nodded and the gang dove into action.

The other man, the contortionist, threw himself onto their bonnet and latched on like some terrifying spider. Diego cursed and struggled to keep the car straight. The conjoined twins went back and started heaving over a wooden crate. The man with the misshapen head flung himself out and started to climb to the top of the moving truck. All three seemed capable of physical feats beyond what normal people could do. These were freaks of nature.

The contortionist's limbs were bent over the bonnet unnaturally, keeping himself lodged in place. He stared at Diego through the windscreen, face against the metal and eyes blank. The ugly man was now at the top of the truck, crouching like Spiderman as his coat flapped wildly. A few loose hairs on his bald and misshapen head were billowing forward. The conjoined twins pushed, using their extra body mass to knock the box over and send a flood of spikes to hit the street and burst their tires.

"Shit!" Diego fought to maintain control of the car.

"Whatever you do, don't send us flying off this overpass!" Amira yelled.

With their tires in tatters they were now driving on metal. When the contortionist lifted his head the girls screamed.

"Shit… grab my gun!" Diego yelled. Heidi reached for it and tried to get her waist out the window, twisting and firing. The freak slinked away from her but after two shots Heidi was out of bullets. She swore and threw the gun. The contortionist let go and suddenly he was by Amira's smashed window, clinging to the side and staring at the terrified girl. Sparks were flying up from the wheels due to their speed. Heidi ducked back inside and then the roof of the car dented. The girls screamed again, another freak was now attached to their car as they drove.

"Diego, for fuck's sake get us out of here!" Amira screamed.

He pulled left and as the girls jostled closer the contortionist made a grab from the window. Amira pushed herself back into Heidi in an effort to stay out of reach. Diego was growling and he went to slam the car against the concrete barrier. The contortionist flipped up, joining his cohort on the roof. They crunched against the cement and bounced away. The eighteen-wheeler was still ahead and began crossing lanes to cut them off again.

"That thing's gonna crush us!" Heidi shouted. A dirty hand whipped out from her window and closed around her neck. She gasped and started clawing at it. Amira leaned back and kicked the arm repeatedly until it let go.

"We're almost off the overpass!" Diego yelled with desperation, eying the engine warning lights that were now flickering on the dashboard.

"Diego!" Amira screamed as the giant red truck veered closer as if to sandwich them.

Ahead the barrier had collapsed in places and they could see the tops of withered trees. He made a snap-decision and turned the wheel. Suddenly they were airborne, from the back-window the girls could see two figures dislodged and free-falling. The car tore through branches before hitting the street, skidding to a stop outside an abandoned megamall. The engine died.

Diego was wearing his seatbelt while the two girls had fallen and been lodged between the seat-backs and floor of the car. When they were able to they kicked open their doors, crawled out the ruined impala for fear it might explode. The three of them were panting on the street; Amira's arm was bleeding again.

"You could've killed us…" Heidi choked.

"But I didn't," Diego huffed back.

"Well where do we go now?" Heidi demanded.

"Here," he pointed to the mall's entrance.

"I don't like it, but we don't exactly have a choice." Amira was the first to stand and dust herself off.

"What is it?" Heidi asked.

"That is the very heart of this city..." Diego stood then helped Heidi to her feet. "The megamall was built during the high-point of this province's success, and opened only months before the factories and power-plant shut down. Now it's over a hundred square metres of deserted habitat. Indoor Ferris wheel, empty shops, broken escalators and food courts… It's the biggest drug den here, but it's also the safest place to hide from those freaks… come on." Diego made his way over and the two girls looked at each other before following.


AN: Oh wow... please wait a moment while I try to process dees feels. *phew* Seems I was able to carry my writing mojo all the way to this arc's mid-point. We are now halfway through darkness arc. It seems only a week ago we reached the quarter-point... and honestly maybe it was. I don't quite keep track of the days. Anyway this fic is now over 150,000 words and that's something to celebrate. This Uni holiday has been doing me good, but once my second year starts it will be harder to write for fun. Here's hoping I write as much as I can before I have to juggle updates with work and classes once more.