Originally, I was going to have a duel in this chapter. But it dragged on, so I will cut it short. Don't worry, there will be a duel next chapter!
*Chapter 26: A Lot Of Information*
"I'm worried," Hope confessed. "Rue is still gone, and anyone can guess why… he's still killing that man."
They had gone to the river to try and help Claire. Although the Red Potion Max had given her healed her skin, she was still in pain. So they decided to stay there for the night to assist her, while waiting for Rue. Besides the distant screams though, there was no sign of the teen.
"Maybe I should go get him?" Hope suggested.
Will shook his head. "Bad idea. I don't think anyone here will want to see what condition that General is in."
Gaston shuddered. "Good point."
Ruecian had not done anything up to this point. He suddenly got up and ran off though.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Neo asked.
"Isn't it obvious? He's going to get Rue," Will said.
"Oh… I knew that."
"Sure you did…"
*****
Segreto's head had long been severed from his body. Yet Rue kept hacking apart his and his Soul Monster's bodies. It was some time when Rue finally finished with one last, neat cut to chop apart his skull.
Rue surveyed his work, laughing to himself. Body parts, fur, and blood were everywhere. The sickening scent of death filled the area, yet Rue savored it. His axe blade was completely covered with blood, as was Rue himself.
He licked some of the blood from his battle axe blade, a look of content on his face. "It's been too long since I last had the opportunity to do this. I forgot how good human blood tasted." He snickered as he approached some of the General's hacked-apart limbs. "As I recall, their flesh tasted even better." He reached a blood-soaked glove out to take one of the limbs.
Distracted, he did not hear the approaching figure until it was too late. A wave of black magic hit him from the behind. All he had time for was one snarl of rage before he lapsed into unconsciousness.
Ruecian walked up to him and picked him up. Slinging Rue over his shoulder, he looked at the area. Shaking his head in disgust, he ran off, leaving the remains of their two enemies.
*****
Max had decided to be the sentry for tonight, so he was the first to spot Ruecian.
"It looks like Ruecian is back. What took you so long…" Max's voice trailed off at the sight of Rue. "What the hell happened to him?"
Besides Olympion, everyone gasped in shock at Rue's appearance. His cloths were completely soaked in blood, his axe was dyed red, and his skin and hair had fared little better than the cloths.
"What happened to him?!" Hope exclaimed. "Is he hurt?"
Ruecian shook his head as he placed Rue down next to the small fire Brandi had made.
"Then that means… oh God, that is the General's blood?"
Ruecian nodded.
"What did he do?" Hope whispered.
"I don't think we want to know," Gaston shuddered. "How did Rue fall unconscious?"
Ruecian waved his hand at one of the trees nearby them. Black magic emerged from his palm and hit the tree, sending it crashing down.
"Well, that explains," Neo muttered.
Hope picked up Rue's battle axe, wincing at the sticky blood on the handle. "I'm going to wash this. It's a good thing we are near a river. Ruecian, can you take care of Rue?"
Claire was leaning against a tree so she would not fall over, as she was still weak. "Rue's… never acted… like this… why…?"
Brandi sighed. "I wish we knew."
Hope stuck the axe completely into the river, and soon brought it out. She repeated the process two more times before wiping it clean with a towel she had brought along. She set the axe next to Rue's Duel Disk; he had torn it off his wrist before running after the General, so she had brought it along.
Ruecian took Rue over to the river, and dunked him under the water. In a few seconds, Rue submerged with a yell of surprise.
"Whoa! What's going on? It's cold!"
Ruecian hauled him out of the river. Still shivering from the freezing water, he examined his gloves, and groaned at what he saw.
"I wasn't dreaming… I killed him… hacked him to pieces… enjoyed it… even when he was begging for mercy… I actually had fun killing him!" He covered his face, sobbing. "What possessed me? Why did I do it? Oh God, I've become a monster!"
Claire sat up. "Rue… you aren't a monster. You did… it for me… and to stop him from killing others…"
Rue got up and walked over to her, kneeling next to her. He embraced her, trying to stop crying. "I could have just severed his head… or made it quick… easy… I tortured him… wanted to drink his blood… and eat his flesh… what have I become?"
Regardless of his bloody cloths, Claire hugged him back. "It'll be ok… it'll be ok…"
Hope indicated to the river. "Let's leave them alone for a while."
Ruecian remained with Rue and Claire, but everyone else made their way to the river.
Will shook his head. "I have never seen anything like it."
Neo shuddered. "Rue's a cannibal? OUCH!"
Will shook his book at him, glaring. "Not by choice! I don't know what happened to Rue, but that could not have been him back there! Something happened that we do not know about."
"Do you think it will be safe to be with him?" Mana asked. She was acting unusually serious.
"Although I can't be sure, I think it is," Gaston said. "He became like this because his sister was in danger. We are Rue's friends, and I doubt he would hurt us because of it."
"Right," Hope agreed. "I think the best thing to do would be to leave them alone for now, and get some rest. We can decide what to do in the morning."
Max and Olympion stayed awake, keeping watch, as everyone else slept. The night was uneventful though.
*****
The main group met in the morning. Rue's eyes were somewhat red from all of the tears and lack of sleep he had, but besides that, he seemed alright, if not quiet.
"Rue, what you have done will not cause a rift in our group. We don't know why you did it, but we do know you would not have if you had the option not to. That's good enough for us." Hope had decided to be the spokesperson.
"…Alright… thanks…" Rue said softly. Still, I cannot forgive myself.
"Do you feel better Claire?" Brandi asked.
"Yes, thanks."
Will asked one of the things everyone was wondering. "Why did you come to Teknisk Wereld?"
Claire explained about what had happened to her in the time that she had been here. She also introduced everyone to Perseus. He had recovered from the blast as well.
"That sounds really bad," Hope commented. "If they know where we live, then they could kill us in the real world while we are here!"
"We don't know that they know," Will pointed out. "They know where Rue and Claire live, and probably you too Hope. However, it seems that they do not know where my house is, or Max and Brandi's. So as long as we are in located in one of those, we are safe."
"So what should we do now?" Claire asked.
"We should go to the lake. Brandi may have already found a General there, but we haven't ever been on the other side of it. So let's go there," Will suggested.
"Sounds good to me…" Hope said.
"Hold it right there!"
"An ambush?" Neo wondered as about twenty officials jumped into the clearing.
"So you are the kids we are after!" one exclaimed.
"Hold on! That girl has the British on her side!" another one warned.
"They still believe that? My faith in humanity has dropped below the negatives," Hope commented.
"Mine was already way beyond that point," Max assured.
"Don't be such a nitwit, Trey!" the first one shouted. "I heard about that little incident, and it was just a ruse to get away!"
"Maybe they aren't completely brainless," Mana pondered.
"They're too close to that point for comfort," Brandi stated.
A man walked forward and muttered, "I'll take care of this." He then announced, "You are all under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Please come with us quietly, and we will not be forced to take dramatic actions."
"Here's a better idea; we all log out," Max suggested.
"I agree with him," Brandi declared. "So we'll see you idiots later!"
"Stop them!" the man shouted. All of the officials rushed forward.
One of them tried to seize Brandi, only to get kicked in the stomach, punched in the eye, and then have his nose broken. Tossing aside the unconscious man, Brandi laid another one down with a blow to the head, and yet another by kicking him in a very sensitive spot for males.
Another official actually managed to grab Will's arm. The official shouted in pain and let go though. Will pulled out the kunai that had been imbedded in the man's arm and hastily pressed the exit button on his Duel Disk. He teleported out, Neo following.
Claire and Perseus managed to teleport out as well while Rue kept the officials at bay, swinging his huge axe in front of them. After she left, Ruecian sent out a wave of black magic. Most of the officials managed to duck; the ones that didn't were sent flying. By the time they got back up, Rue and Ruecian were gone.
Hope was at the back when they ran forward. Only one managed to make it to her. She knocked him out with her bow before teleporting out with Gaston.
Max grabbed Brandi's arm and pulled her into the river. The officials, surprised at the move, hesitated for a minute. That's all they needed. In less than five seconds, they were gone.
The remaining officials stared at the river.
"Well, that sucked," one commented.
One punch later, and he wished he had kept his mouth shut.
*****
Hope undid the Envoyant Machine hastily, and sat up. Rue and Will were already up.
"Why isn't Max back yet? Did he get captured?" Hope asked worriedly.
"As if," Max said, pulling off his own Envoyant Machine. "I just took a little bit of extra time."
Will looked at the carpet where Max and Rue had lied. "Argh! The floor is soaked with water and blood! I demand you pay for this!"
Rue looked at his bloody cloths. "I'm going to have to pay a lot of bills at the end of this."
Max was wringing out his cape. "I had to jump in the river to escape."
"I noticed," Will said dryly. "Well, we are all here in one piece. It looks like my kunai trap worked perfectly."
"First order of business is to eat," Hope suggested. "I'm starving!"
"I need to contact Claire," Rue announced. "Where's your phone?"
"Downstairs, in the kitchen. Why do you want to talk to her?"
"I want her to come to South Carolina as well. Do you mind?"
Will shrugged. "I guess not."
"Thanks." He ran off to make the call.
"Let's all go downstairs; I'll prepare something for us to eat." He glared at Neo. "And you aren't to even enter the kitchen!"
Neo, looking offended, retreated into his Soul Card along with the rest of the Soul Monsters.
Rue was talking on the phone when they got downstairs. "Yeah, I would feel better if you are here. Oh, could you also bring me some new cloths? Thanks, that would be great. See you soon." He hung up. "Claire will be here by tonight."
"Sounds like a plan," Will replied.
*****
It was about eight when Claire arrived. Rue was delighted to finally be able to get into some new cloths.
Not much happened after that. Gaston and Neo had a few sword duels outside, and Rue dueled Will for fun again. A tie was declared when Hope dropped a book she had been holding next to the field. While it didn't land on their cards, it scattered them all over the room. After Rue threatened to kill her a few times, they retired to their beds.
*****
Hope had thought the toaster blowing up had been loud, until she heard the explosion that woke her up. The whole house quaked for a few seconds, and then stopped.
Will threw the covers off of himself, and ran out of the room. "I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!"
"What's going on?!" Claire asked, sitting up quickly.
"It's just Neo," Rue reassured. "That bonehead probably decided to try and cook something again."
They all ran downstairs after Will, and found him staring at what had once been his kitchen. The whole thing was blacked, and there was not much left to tell what it was.
Rue decided to break the silence. "I hope you have insurance."
"Believe me, I do," Will replied. Then he held Neo's Soul Card up to his face. "I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME IN THERE! YOU SPINELESS COWARD! YOU COMPLETELY DESTROYED MY KITCHEN! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO BLOW UP MY OVEN?! YOU STUPID, IDIOTIC, DRATTED, BRAINLESS, DIMWITTED…"
The others left Will to his ranting and went to Will's room again, trying not to laugh. After getting over it, they realized something else.
"We can't stay here now," Hope pointed out. "Where can we go?"
Max shrugged. "I suppose we could go to my house. The Generals don't know where it is yet."
"Thanks for volunteering," Will said, coming into the room. "It will take a while for the kitchen to be fixed… thanks to a certain someone who thought the oven was needed to make soup!"
*****
They all managed to catch a taxi, and soon arrived at Max's house. Max walked up and knocked. Brandi and Mana answered quickly.
"Hi Max!" Brandi stared at everyone outside. "Ok, did you arrange a cub scout meeting here or something?"
"I resent that!" Hope protested.
"Neo blew up Will's kitchen, so we are staying here." Max said it in such an emotionless tone that Mana couldn't help but break down laughing.
"Don't worry Will; Mana does it ALL the time," Brandi assured. "She blew up my blender more times than one."
"Finally, someone knows how I feel," Will commented.
It was decided that they would spend the day resting so that when they got to Teknisk Wereld, they would be fully energized. Also, the officials would probably slacken their security by then, it was assumed.
They told Claire and Brandi about the other Generals to pass some of the time in the kitchen. Hope was going through her backpack, trying to discard stuff she didn't need anymore. That's when she found something she had forgotten about.
"Hey guys, I completely forgot to show you this! It's Zenith's diary!"
Rue choked on the apple he was eating. After Will hit him on the back a few times, he was able to swallow. After coughing a few times, he managed to say, "His DIARY? What in the blue hell?"
"Remember when he kidnapped me? Well, I woke up in his house, and found it. I didn't have time to look at it, so I'll show you now. I feel kind of guilty reading it, but we need any information we can get."
Hope began to read it out loud.
January 1, 2100
I am now an official General of Hell. At last, my master has agreed to help me. He will find the man who killed my parents, and I will slay him. I cannot wait. At long last, I will be able to have my revenge. It has been thirty years, but I can remember it like yesterday. He will find dying to be long and slow, and will be begging for me to end it…
January 2, 2100
The location had been given to me. I cannot write it down in case this is confiscated, but it doesn't matter. I'll probably never forget the address. I will not be able to write for quite some time, as I will be gone to slaughter this man.
February 4, 2100
It took over a month, but now it is over. The man is dead. It was probably the best day in my life when I killed him. I was fortunate that he had great endurance-I was able to keep him alive for five whole hours before he died of blood loss. As fun as it was, I must get to work. My master has said that we will be attempting to take Teknisk Wereld in May. I do not know what he plans, but he needs some things done, so I will do them.
Hope flipped through the pages. "There's nothing of interest until… April 29."
April 29, 2100
We will be starting to take over Teknisk Wereld on May first. For some reason though, my master is nervous. Apparently, a girl has signed up and entered Teknisk Wereld for the first time today. I do not understand why he cares-it is just a girl, right? What can she possibly do? I have also heard she has no experience in Duel Monsters. So why is my master worried?
"That's the day I first entered!" Hope exclaimed. "Is he talking about me?"
"Maybe," Rue said. "Keep reading, don't leave us hanging!"
April 30, 2100
I have my newest assignment. It is to kidnap that girl, and then duel her in Teknisk Wereld. She is just an amateur-I will win for sure. I do not know why my master thinks she is threatening, but I will rid him of his fears.
"That's his last entry," Hope stated, shutting the book. "I dueled him on May first. And that is when he was killed."
"So the big boss is afraid of you, Hope? Why?" Rue wondered.
Will shrugged. "There isn't much to go on from the diary, unfortunately. Still, it's a start. Let's sleep on it; we will need to get up early tomorrow."
Brandi got up. "Claire and Hope, you can sleep in my room with me and Mana. Can the rest be in your room Max?"
"I have enough room, yes."
*****
The girls were changing into their nightgowns. Hope noticed something when Brandi had taken off her shirt. There were bruises, too many to count.
"Brandi! What happened to you?"
She fingered the area. "I got in a fight. I was outnumbered, as there were forty guys. I managed to take thirty-five before the remaining five got me. Luckily, Max came in time to help me."
"Wow… you took thirty-five all by yourself?" Hope gasped. "That's incredible!"
"It's no big deal," Brandi said modestly. "I learned to fight for Max."
"For Max? What do you mean?" Claire asked.
"Max… when he was young… he wasn't like he is today. He tried to commit suicide at least twice a day. The only reason he is still alive is because of me. I stopped him from killing himself. I stuck up for him when he was threatened by gangs of meaner, older, and tougher boys. I dropped out of school to help him. I was too young to go to jail, and my foster parents always bailed me out of juvenile jail."
"That's awful! I'm sorry you had to go through that," Hope said softly.
"It's the past now, thankfully," Brandi concluded. "Max can take care of himself now."
Claire was looking at Brandi's swollen ankles. "Were those from fights too?"
"I broke my ankles several times from kick-boxing, and in fights. Now let's get to sleep."
Hope could tell that she did not want sympathy, so she kept her comments to herself as they turned off the lights and fell asleep.
*****
"I don't understand. Why do the girls want a room to themselves?" Gaston asked. "How can I protect Hope if I have to be in here?"
Will shook his head. "You don't want to know."
"You could use some lessons from Neo," Rue suggested. "He knows why."
"If he wasn't staying in his card from being a coward, I would ask," Gaston said.
"At this rate, you will probably never get a girlfriend," Perseus joked.
Rue covered his mouth to keep from laughing out loud at the bewildered look on Gaston's face. "Let's get to sleep. Gaston, Hope will probably not be attacked, so try to relax."
Gaston still looked uneasy, but fell asleep quickly anyway. One by one, all of the boys were soon fast asleep.
*****
There were two children, and their mother was watching them. They were in a park. They ran around excitedly, laughing and playing, knowing nothing but innocence. Suddenly, five men approached them. They all carried rifles. They began to shoot the three happy figures. They all fell in a shower of blood. The shooting stopped as soon as all of them were dead. Then, someone stepped forward. A silhouette of a man, behind the shooters, was watching. He began to laugh, a cold laugh that could freeze the toughest man's soul…
Max woke up, gasping. He was covered with a chilling sweat, but it wasn't even half as cold as the laughter of the man.
Rue woke up. He sleepily rubbed his eyes, and suddenly sat up. "Max? What's wrong?"
Olympion was once again pulling a dark aura toward him. After it was gone, Max fell asleep immediately.
Poor Max… that must exhaust him, Rue thought before falling asleep himself.
To be continued…
