-Comes onto stage- Hi people! -Gets hit with a bunch of tomatoes- Hey! That wasn't nice. But I can understand why. I am very, very sorry for the delay. High school is really taking its toll on me. But hopefully, I will be able to get in a few updates every now and then. Maybe once a week if I use my time wisely. Maybe more even. Thank you for continuing to review though!
eframtheretardedrabbit: Thanks for the kind comment.
Demon Fan: Whoops, thanks for pointing out my error. I'll have to fix it. And you know what will happen? Sorry dude, you have NO IDEA. Muahahahaha! And don't threaten me boy, or I'll have to get out my staple gun. Dun dun dun.
john: Matt has a sister? Wow. Why didn't he tell me, the author? P And your prediction is incorrect. But nice try.
DarkFictionWizard: Yeah, yeah. I already thanked you. P Thanks again though.
Zander: Because Ender is EVIL! Ok, maybe not. And will Brandi be ok? Good question.
Artemis of the Moon: I understand. Thanks for reviewing, and for your confidence in v3!
Chapter 2: Two Deaths, Countless Wounds
Hope looked around the area of total darkness, trying to find something important… something that meant everything to her… but it was gone once more…
She spun around, having heard someone approach. A black pitchfork with red prongs buried itself into her chest. She was aware of it piercing through her heart, to emerge from her back. The blood was nothing compared to the one who wielded the weapon though. Satan stared at her, with a triumphant smirk that she had seen so many times…
Then he began to slowly change… the pitchfork became a katana. Satan's silver hair became dark brown. And his red eyes became brown, and bloodshot.
Although he had a horrifying, insane grin on his face, there was no mistaking it.
Satan had turned into Max.
"Hope! Hope, wake up!"
Hope's eyes flew open as she finally came to her senses. She slowly sat up, heart still pounding.
"Hey, are you ok? It looked like you were having a nightmare or something," Larka said.
While Fell slept outside, most often on the roof, and Zack preferred the guest room, Larka had chosen to sleep on Hope's lower bunk bed. Usually, they got up at about the same time, or the one who woke up first would also wake up the other one. Both were, however, more commonly victims to Malon's method of waking them up, which was to jump on them and start licking their faces. Larka had tried shutting him out of the room once, but Malon howled the entire night outside of the door, so nobody got any sleep at all. After that particularly bad night, Larka let him stay in their room.
"Yeah… it was a nightmare…" Hope nodded. "A really vivid one… I'll be fine. Just give me a few minutes to recover."
"Alright, but you'd best get up quickly, or Malon will think you've gone back to sleep." Then she left the room.
When she was gone, Hope took out the orb from under her nightgown. She had taken to hiding it underneath whatever shirt she was wearing, as to avoid any questions about it.
As she had guessed, it was glowing black, but it was slowly fading.
"What does this mean?" she asked out loud. But nobody was there to answer her.
-----
When Hope had finally went downstairs, she found the others in the living room.
"There you are!" Larka said. "We're ready to go. What about you?"
"You managed to convince Fell already? That was pretty quick," Hope commented.
"He wasn't as stubborn today for some reason," she answered, glancing over at her brother, who seemed to be ignoring them like usual.
"Then let's get there," Hope agreed. "But would you wait for a few minutes? I have to eat something."
After Hope ate a bagel, they left for Teknisk Wereld at last.
-----
They arrived at the lake, nearby the outskirts of the forest, but nobody else was there.
"Wow, this is new. I guess we are the first ones here, for once," Larka inferred.
"They'll come soon enough," Hope commented before sitting down and opening a book she had brought.
Gaston sat down next to her. "What are you reading this time?"
She showed him the cover. The book was titled The Worthing Saga.
Gaston looked over at the author's name. "Orson Scott Card… isn't that the same author that wrote the book Max was reading?"
"Now that you mention it, yes, I believe he was," Hope replied. "He is one of the best authors I have come across. After I finish this one, I want to try and find more of his books."
After that, the silence was only broken when Hope turned a page and when Malon barked. Larka was playing fetch with him, which always got him excited.
A few minutes later, Will and Neo arrived. Rue, Ruecian, Claire, and Perseus arrived almost instantly after he did. Rue challenged Will to a duel, only to lose in about three turns.
"Cheapskate," Rue muttered, clearing away his cards.
"It was your fault for using a Black Magic Curtain when you had 8000 Life Points."
"Oh shut up."
Hope looked around the area. "It's odd. Usually, Max and Brandi come much earlier than the rest of us. Where are they now?"
"Maybe they slept in?" Claire suggested.
"It's possible, I guess," Hope shrugged. "Maybe I'm overreacting."
"No, you were right to worry."
Everyone but Fell, Daine, Larka, and Ruecian jumped at the sound of Matt's voice. The only reason Malon jumped was because he was greeting Matt by jumping at him.
"Malon, down!" Larka grabbed the energetic puppy. "Hi Matt. Long time, no see."
"You could have warned us that he was coming," Rue complained.
"Could have, but that wouldn't have been any fun," Larka teased. "So Matt, what brings you here?"
"Bad news, unfortunately," Matt sighed.
Hope stiffened, remembering her dream. "Does it have something to do with Max?"
Matt looked over at her. "You guessed it."
"What happened?" Rue inquired.
"Last night, Max pushed Brandi off the balcony of the condo they live in. By the time Mana made it outside, Max was gone, but she is sure that he was the one who did it."
Silence followed the statement, and then they all started talking at once.
"What the hell?!" Rue yelped.
"But why?" Hope asked.
"Is she ok?" Larka questioned.
"Were you there?" Gaston inquired.
"Where is Max now?" Will queried.
"Whoa, whoa! One at a time!" Matt interrupted. "Rue, you heard me correctly. Hope, I cannot say for sure why… but I have a theory." He drew out a torn card. "Does anyone recognize this?"
Daine sniffed it. "Olympion's Soul Card. So someone tore it?"
"That's right. I have no idea as to who did it, but this might explain why Max did something so out of character. You do know that Olympion helped Max keep his emotions under control, right?"
"Yes…" Hope nodded.
"Olympion, dead?" Neo asked, shocked.
"He may not have been the most friendly Soul Monster around, but I'm still going to miss him," Gaston said regretfully.
"Me too," Larka sighed. "So, what about Brandi?"
"Mana healed what she could. Although injured, she will live. Gaston, I was not there when it happened, but Mana told me what she knew. Will, I do not know where Max is at the moment. I have searched for him, but so far, nothing has come up."
From behind a tree in the forest, Ender listened to them as they conversed, and could not help but feel somewhat proud.
This is going a lot better than I had anticipated…
"So what should we do?" Hope asked worriedly.
"I'm not sure myself," Matt shrugged. "I'm going to keep searching for Max when possible, but I do have a job, and I often look after Abby. So… I don't know."
Suddenly, someone teleported in, right next to them.
"Brandi!" Larka exclaimed. "You're…" She trailed off, unable to bring herself to continue.
To put it in nice terms, she looked terrible. She was obviously still injured, and was limping. She seemed very weary and depressed. Her eyes, usually bright and lively, were now dead.
Mana appeared immediately afterwards. She looked tired and worried, although not as much as Brandi.
"Brandi! You should be resting!" Matt told her.
"I can't… I'm too worried about Max," she said. "I just can't lie around while he's out there alone…"
Ender then felt something he had been ignoring so far: guilt.
I really did underestimate this… the situation is getting very out of hand…
This would have been the perfect time for him to slip away, but he still wanted to hear more information, and remained there.
Matt stared at her for a few more seconds before turning to the others. "Guys, I have a favor to ask. We aren't going to be able to find Max all by ourselves… would you come to South Carolina and help us?"
"To look for Max? But we wouldn't have any idea on where to search," Perseus pointed out.
"Brandi does, though," Matt replied. "Seriously, we need the help badly."
"What about ticket fares though?" Rue asked.
"Here." Matt handed Hope, Rue, and Will an envelope each. "That should cover it for all of you. Will, I expect you can take a taxi, while the rest of you guys can catch an airplane. So, will you come?"
"Well… I don't think there will be many problems, since it is summer…" Hope thought out loud.
"Yeah, we won't have any trouble either," Rue assured.
"I guess that settles it then," Will nodded.
Ender had heard all he needed to, and decided now would be his best chance to get away. But as cautious as he was being when he started to walk quietly away, he accidentally stepped on a stick, breaking it.
Malon leapt up, barking fiercely while Daine stood up with a snarl. Matt, wasting no time with preamble, immediately took his Soul Card from his pocket and hurled it into the area where they had heard the noise.
Masque emerged with a roar. But this time, he was not two stories high. Instead, he was only about seven feet tall. He lunged and grabbed the eavesdropper. Ender gave a few feeble struggles before giving up, and Masque easily brought him over to the group.
"Ender? What are you doing here? You should be at home…" Matt stopped when he saw the boy's face. He seemed uncomfortable, as though he had been caught in the act of doing something wrong and was about to be punished. This could also be described as guilty.
Hope was caught off guard though. The last time she had seen him, the aura surrounding him had been filled with anger and hate. But now… it seemed somewhat sorrowful, tinged with shame.
"Why were you spying on us?" Rue demanded.
Ender stayed silent.
Mana looked thoughtful. "Come to think of it, you have been acting somewhat… odd… lately. I thought I heard the door to your room open and shut. Chasity was asleep… I thought you were too, but now… why did you get up last night?"
Matt put two and two together instantly. "You… you were the one who tore Olympion's Soul Card! Weren't you?!"
The expression on Ender's face was enough to convince everyone that Matt was correct.
"You IDIOT! What on earth were you thinking?! Max is your step-brother, one of your blood-line! Yet you did this to him? Why?!" he snarled.
The others had never seen Matt get this angry, and they were somewhat shocked. Ender too seemed to have lost the power of speech.
"Well? Explain," he said, more quietly. That only seemed to make him more fearsome though, like a dog softly growling before it would pounce.
Suddenly, Hope was able to see an aura around Matt. It was dark with anger at Ender, worry for Abby, concerns for Max and Brandi… but underneath Hope could sense something else… the light side he had, his love for Brandi and friendship for Max. This alone proved what he was capable of; being a companion who knew the meaning of loyalty. Definitely one who could be trusted.
But Masque… he didn't have an aura. Hope now was catching brief glimpses of the others' auras-even the other Soul Monsters had them-but usually, they faded before she could analyze them correctly. But Masque… he had nothing. It was like he had no soul. An empty shell who only knew how to take orders from his master.
Ender hesitated before finally explaining. "My whole life… I've been told by my father that Max was the cause of all of our problems. If he hadn't left… no, if he didn't exist… then things would be better. Mother's sickness is due to him. So is my father's rage. Father… he said everything was Max's fault. He ran away because he didn't care about either of them, and that's when things… fell apart…"
To everyone's surprise, Brandi stepped forward and took Ender from Masque's grasp gently, embracing him. "It's alright. I forgive you."
"Brandi? Are you serious?" Rue said in disbelief.
"She is," Hope nodded. For now she could see a soft glow around Brandi… one that said plainly that she spoke the truth.
"But why? I thought you would hate me, after what I did!" Ender protested.
"…We may have different fathers, but our mothers are the same. That's enough for me. I do not like what you did to Max, but you obviously regret it, and holding a grudge would do nothing to solve this problem. Also, you have been brainwashed. Max and I ran away because Jason was beyond cruel. We left to escape from him. He has hated us for that, and probably would have told you about us in a twisted way. So… anything he told you about us is probably a lie."
Nobody could remember her ever speaking like this, and watched on in silence.
"A… lie?"
"Yes."
Ender just stared, shocked. "But… it can't be… my whole life has… been a lie?"
"Yes… I know that it must be quite a shock… please, try to believe what I am telling you. I, unlike your father, have no reason to lie."
Ender did not respond.
Brandi sighed tiredly. "I'm going to log off… guys, please come as soon as you can. Ender, you don't have a way home, do you?"
Ender shook his head, still looking somewhat lost.
"Alright, grasp onto my Duel Disk. I'll take you back."
"I'm off also," Matt said. "I hope to see you guys later."
"Of course," Will nodded, before vanishing.
"I hate it when he leaves without warning," Neo complained before following.
The others left immediately after that.
-----
Hope took off the Envoyant Machine quickly, jumping up and running off to find her mom right where she thought she would be-the kitchen.
"Mom! Mom!"
"What is it?" she asked, not lifting her eyes from the plate in front of her, where she was slicing up some broccoli.
"We're going to South Carolina, ok?"
"Yes, dear… WAIT, WHAT?!" she yelled, dropping the knife, sending it flying across the counter.
"It's just for a while!" Hope pleaded.
"AND WHY ARE YOU GOING THERE AGAIN?!"
"My friend is still ill, so I want to go back and visit him," Hope lied swiftly.
"And the fee?"
"Again, he paid for it."
"Why would the other three be coming too? I assume they will be?"
"Yeah. They're friends with him too…"
"Hm. Somehow, I get the feeling you are not telling me everything," Ms. Gales sighed. "But alright. I'll look up the plane schedule now. Go pack up."
"Thanks!" Hope said before running back to the others. "All clear! After we get an airplane flight time, we're set!"
"Sounds good. So what do we need to bring?" Larka inquired.
"Nothing. My suitcase is huge… it'll be able to hold on to all of the things you need. Just give me your extra clothes, hair brush, and such, and I'll take care of it."
"Ok then. I'll get that ready."
Gaston looked thoughtful, for once. "Hm… Hope, a thought just occurred to me. I think you should bring your bow and arrows."
"What? Why?"
"We're going to be in the real world, but with all the enemies we've acquired, I have a bad feeling about going around unarmed," he explained.
"That would work, except that airplanes won't let weapons onboard. If I'm caught with it, I'll be fined at the best, thrown in jail at the worst."
"Oh. I kinda forgot about that," Gaston said sheepishly.
"Well, that brings up another problem," Zack pointed out. "How am I going to get on the airplane? Metal detectors won't let me pass, and I can't exactly get rid of the switch blade on my arm."
"Ugh… you're right…" Hope groaned. "There's no way you'll be able to get onto the airplane… any ideas?"
"I don't understand… what is the problem?" asked Larka, confused.
"At the airport, as a safety precaution against weapons, they have metal detectors. If it beeps when you walk through, you have something metal with you, and it has to be confiscated if it's a weapon or something similar."
"Oh…" Larka thought for a few minutes, and then asked, "Do your suitcases go through the metal detectors too, Hope?"
"No. They go through a separate machine. Why?"
Larka giggled. "Hehe! I think I have an idea."
"Please explain," Gaston said.
"Ok, it's simple. We just get a REALLY big suitcase, and have Zack hide in that!"
Everyone stared at her.
"You must be joking," Zack said in disbelief.
"What? I think it would work," Larka grinned.
"Larka, they also look in your suitcases as they go to the plane, to prevent you from hiding things inside," Hope told her.
"Really? Well, let's say he's a prop for a play. That should work, right?"
"You are out of your mind," Zack muttered.
"Actually… that might work!" Hope exclaimed. "Nobody would believe he's a cyborg, anyway, so they could easily think he's a robot or something. Oh gosh, just the idea that we could pull this off is hilarious!"
"I do not find it the least bit funny," Zack informed them dryly.
This was too much for both Hope and Larka. They collapsed laughing while Zack just shook his head in incredulity while Malon cocked his head, puzzled. Gaston looked bewildered, Daine stared up at the ceiling as though it were quite an interesting sight, and Fell just closed his eyes, waiting for them to get back to their senses.
Malon looked over to Gaston and yipped at him.
"I can never understand girls either," he assured the puppy. "Not even when I live with Hope."
Malon blinked a few times at him before giving an irritated growl and turning away, apparently not satisfied with the answer.
Ms. Gales walked into the room. "Hope, WHAT are you doing on the floor?"
"It's nothing mom," she said, getting up. "Did you find out about the airplane times?"
"Yes. As a matter of fact, the next one is leaving in two hours. I managed to reserve tickets over the phone, so pack up and we'll leave immediately."
"Alright. Oh, mom, we need a really, really big suitcase. Do we still have dad's huge one?"
"What? Why on earth would you need that thing?"
"You are not seriously thinking of going through with this?" Zack asked.
"I just need it, mom. Please?"
"Well… if you must bring it, it's under my bed. Good luck trying to carry it. Why he bought it, I will never know…"
"Because he travels a lot, of course," Hope smiled. "Thanks!"
Zack sighed. "It's times like this that I wish I did not have this device inside my body."
"Wow! You actually have a sense of humor!" Larka said.
"I'm being perfectly serious."
Hope left them downstairs, but before packing her bag, went to the computer room and logged on to her email. All she had gotten was an email from Atlus advertising some of its new games. Making a mental note to get Phantom Brave later, she deleted the message and opened up a blank one. She hit a contact on her list, which immediately submitted Draken's email address: BEWDroxxors at hotmail.
"Nice address," Hope muttered as she typed up a brief message to him, putting the subject as Where are you?
Draken,
We are all concerned about you. Where have you been for the past three days?
Something urgent has come up. We are all going to Myrtle Beach at once, besides Miles-he still hasn't shown up. We need you to come too. If you want details first, email me before you leave and I'll tell you why.
Talk to you soon,
Hope
She read through it once, and after deciding it was good, she sent it and closed the program. Then she went to her room and began packing her bag quickly. The Duel Disk, deck, spare cards, book, all in there along with her other items needed, such as spare clothes. After tossing in what Fell and Larka required, she zipped up the suitcase and went over to her mom's room, dragging out from under the bed a huge, black suitcase. It was rather bland, hard instead of cloth-like, no special features whatsoever, but it was big enough to hold even a full-grown man. Which was what Hope was going after.
There was a pocket on the side of it though, and she slipped her bow and arrows into there. She then managed to pull the suitcase over to the stairs, where Gaston helped her lift it down.
Zack stared at the suitcase. "You have all gone mad."
"It's for Max's sake," Hope told him. "We all need to be there, including you."
"Please?" Larka said. "It's the only way at the moment."
"…I'm never going to forgive any of you for this," he muttered.
"Thanks for finally agreeing!" Larka grinned.
"Look on the bright side. It won't be that bad," Hope assured.
"I'm sure," he said sarcastically.
-----
"You ready Claire?" Rue asked as he came to the front door, dragging his suitcase behind him.
"Yep. What about you?" she inquired.
"Once Ruecian sends the battle axe to Myrtle Beach, we'll be ready to go," Rue assured.
"What? Why do you want to bring that?"
"Just precautions," Rue shrugged. "Ok Ruecian, go ahead!"
Ruecian grasped it, and concentrated for a minute. Then the battle axe was gone.
"Thanks. Well, shall we go?"
-----
A knock sounded on the condo door. Brandi opened it and smiled slightly. "Will, Neo, hi. Come on in."
"You guys made it here quickly," Mana commented.
"That's the advantage of living in the same state," Will said as they walked in. Mana shut the door behind them.
"So we are just waiting for the others now?" Neo asked.
"That's right," Mana nodded.
"I see… AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!" Neo collapsed as the battle axe landed, the blunt side of the blade slamming into his head.
Will couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "I actually feel somewhat sorry for you. That's the second time you've been ambushed by the battle axe."
"Aw shut up…" Neo moaned. "Ow… my head… Would you get this thing off me?"
Will managed to pull it off his Soul Monster. Neo stood up, gingerly examining his head, wincing. "I'm lucky I don't have a concussion… I'm going to have to talk to Ruecian about this when he gets here. Maybe he can improve his aim of where he wants to send that thing."
"Or maybe he intentionally tries to hit you," Will joked.
"…Typical. They just always have to pick on me," Neo muttered.
"It'll take the others a few hours to arrive," Brandi stated. "So you can just relax until then. The living room is over there if you just want to sit down and wait."
"Thanks," Will said, and he went to the living room and pulled out The Outcast of Redwall. This would probably be the last time for a while that he would have enough time to read, so he wanted to take advantage of it.
-----
Many a person in the airport turned to see the strange sight that the three teens and their Soul Monsters made. One of the girls looked normal enough, but the male and female's hair was so long that it was incredible. The fact that one of the Soul Monsters, one they recognized as Elven Swordsman, was dragging along a ridiculously huge suitcase only made their wonder even greater.
Hope was grateful that her mom had left almost instantly. She really hadn't wanted to explain what their idea of getting Zack into the airport was, and she had left before they had deployed it. Now they were off to the security check.
"Geez… if this thing didn't have wheels, I doubt I could even move it," Gaston muttered as he walked on. He was the only one among them who actually had the strength to move the suitcase with its cargo.
"It must get tiring fast," Larka commented.
"Maybe we should call the whole idea off?" a voice from the suitcase said.
"We've already come too far," Hope replied to the suitcase. "Just be patient for a while."
"Easy for you to say," Zack muttered. "You aren't the one who has to stay in the same position in a very small area for over four hours."
Hope did not happen to catch his comment, but turned to Larka and Fell. "Are either of you holding onto something metal?"
"Not me," Larka responded as Fell shook his head. "Why? Because it would be detected by that metal detector thingy?"
"Yeah."
"Are we actually going to be able to bring this huge suitcase onto the airplane?" Larka asked.
"No, it wouldn't fit. Still, we have to go through the security before we can have get this checked. Mom said back when she was young, you checked bags before going through metal detectors, but security is much tighter than back then. With the introduction of Soul Monsters, airports have been even more cautious. Your Soul Cards are not allowed to remain with you on the flight… in fact, they aren't allowed in the airport at all. You have to give them to the people at the metal detectors."
Malon whined softly.
"I can see why… doesn't make me any happier though. But… checking bags… that sounds like they'll look through your luggage," Larka said, confused.
"Sorry, I guess I should explain this better. For bags that aren't going on the plane, you get them put into a separate area. They have to mark your bags and such first though, so you can claim them later. They don't actually go through your stuff."
"Oh…" Larka still didn't seem to quite understand.
"You'll get it once we get there… ah, here we are."
Larka stared in astonishment at the line to the metal detectors. "There's so many people!"
"Yep. We're going to have to wait for a while to get through, but this isn't as bad as it sometimes gets."
They stepped into the end of the line. Larka seemed nervous around all of the people, while Fell kept eyeing them uneasily. Many of the people also had Soul Monsters, which made the line even more crowded. Malon kept whining, so Larka picked him up to comfort him. Daine just looked around at the various people in interest while Gaston kept his eye on the huge suitcase.
Ahead of them was a man in a black business suit and black pants. Underneath his suit was a crisp white shirt and a black tie. He carried a brown briefcase. He had dark brown hair, with a short, neat beard, and dark, hard brown eyes. He kept looking at his watch impatiently.
Accompanying him was a small girl who looked to be about five. She wore a pretty sky-blue dress and hard black shoes. Her dark brown hair went down to a little below her shoulders, and she had beautiful light-blue eyes. Around her neck was a beautiful silver cross that shined in the light. She also had on a small, black backpack. She seemed somewhat depressed about something.
This girl… she looks like me when I was younger, Hope realized. My eyes are just slightly darker than hers, and my hair a little darker and shorter, but that's about it…
As though sensing she was being watched, the girl turned around to see them. She glanced at the man beside her, and then smiled over at them. "Hi!"
"Um… hi?" Hope knelt down to be at her eyelevel. "Who are you?"
"My name's Katrina. What about you?"
"Hope. Why did you suddenly start talking to us?"
"You seemed nice," the girl said. "You reminded me of mommy somewhat. She looked a lot like you, and you two seem similar."
"Similar?"
"Yeah." She touched her cross lightly. "Mommy used to always wear this. She said that if we believed in God, then someday we would go to Heaven. So that isn't why I'm sad."
"Why would you be sad?"
"Mommy recently died from a new virus. Daddy says it was over quickly."
"The new one?" Hope asked in horror, remembering what Will had said about it.
"That's right. But she'll be happy now. She never really did like what grandpa did anyway. She said he was wrong to reject the real world."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Larka inquired.
Katrina turned to her. "Who are you? And who is he?"
"I'm Larka, and that's my brother, Fell."
"Larka… I like you. You make me feel… warm, kind of. Fell, I like you also. But why are you so old?"
Fell blinked. "What?"
"You shouldn't be that tall yet," she said. "Maybe about my height?"
"…I do not understand," Fell told her.
"What isn't there to understand? You should be my height, that's all." She looked over at the suitcase. "Why do you have someone inside there?"
"Huh?" Hope looked over at it nervously. "What are you talking about? Nobody is inside there."
"But I can feel him!" Katrina insisted. "Someone in there is suffering, but he also seems like a nice person."
Luckily, Hope was spared the task of trying to answer her. Her father grasped her by the wrist. "Enough of this Katrina. We're running late. Let's move on."
"But daddy, I'm not done talking to them!" she protested.
"We don't have the time to stay here. Let's go!"
Katrina was dragged away by her father, but she waved to them with her free hand. "Bye bye! I hope I can see you all again someday!"
They stood, staring at where they had been.
"That was odd," Gaston commented.
"At the least…" Hope shook her head. She felt as though there was something important about that girl, but then realized this was no time to think about it. "Guys, we're next. Let's look into this later." She quickly made sure that nobody was looking in their direction, and then bent down to the suitcase. "Zack, you'd best shut yourself down. We need to hope this bluff works."
"Understood. I will do so immediately, and shall regain consciousness in exactly five minutes."
"That should be good," Hope replied. When she received no answer, she stood. "Alright, let's get this over with."
Gaston sighed before grabbing the suitcase again. "Let's also start praying."
They walked over to the metal detector that was farthest to the left. The man sitting behind the computer looked at the humongous suitcase. "Think that thing is big enough?"
"Barely," Hope said cheerfully. "We almost didn't get our cargo to fit into here."
The man gave her a strange look before helping Gaston lift the suitcase onto the belt and then going back to the computer to scan it.
He looked at the screen, and jumped back with a yell. "OH MY GOD!"
Everyone's head turned to them, and the room was completely silent. Hope blushed slightly. "Sorry! It's nothing! Go back to whatever you were doing."
The man nodded. "Yes… nothing…"
Gradually, the people went back to their business. The man however was still staring at Hope. "What the hell is that?!"
"I should have warned you," Hope confessed. "That is a robot that we made to take part in a play. It's supposed to take the role of a human though. Seeing that it fooled you means it should be a success though!"
The man gave the screen another look. "…Uh… I see. I guess. For a minute there, I thought that was a real human…" He examined their other suitcase, and then nodded. "Alright, good. I need you to hand me your Soul Cards now. After that, you may step through the detector."
Gaston and Daine disappeared immediately. Malon whined a bit, but Larka comforted him and he vanished a few seconds later.
Hope went through first. Larka, feeling confident after Hope went through without a problem, followed. Then Fell easily passed through. After that, they went over to get the suitcases.
Hope realized the problem immediately. "Now that Gaston isn't here, we have to somehow get this to the checking area without him. Ugh."
Fell grabbed the large suitcase and pulled it off, managing to put it onto the ground with some effort.
Hope blinked. "Wow. I didn't know you were strong enough to manage to do that." She grabbed the other suitcase, and then led the way to their next destination.
Right before they got in line, Hope bent over to the suitcase. "Zack? Are you awake?"
"Yes."
"We're going to the airplane now. We'll be on the plane for about three hours, so set yourself to wake up about then."
"So we got through the detector area?"
"With just a few problems," Hope grinned. "But nothing too bad. See you in a while."
Then they went to the line. It wasn't nearly as long as the outside line, and they made it to a desk quickly.
"How many bags?" asked the bored-looking woman.
"Two." Hope easily put her suitcase on it, while Fell managed to lift the other one and put it there too.
The woman raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment as she put two tags on them. "You may continue to your gate."
The gate was actually relatively close by, and they found it easily. Just as they arrived, the announcement to board came. They made it on quickly, and were soon sitting in an aisle nearby the front.
Larka looked around the plane. "This is pretty interesting."
"That's a good word for it," Hope agreed as she got out her book. "We should be taking off soon, so just relax until then."
When the engines for the plane came to life, it had an effect Hope hadn't thought of. Larka yelped, clasping her hands over her sensitive ears immediately. Fell didn't exclaim, but he also covered his own ears.
"Sorry! I forgot that the sound would be much worse for you," Hope apologized.
"We'll get used to it…" Larka winced. "I hope we do, anyway."
-----
Gen leaned against a tree, tired from searching around the lake for almost an hour. "No sign of them… I suppose it is possible that they are busy. I'll try looking again tomorrow." Then he teleported out.
-----
Rue rang the doorbell, and was almost immediately answered by Brandi. "Hi. How was the trip?"
"Not bad," Claire replied, walking in.
"Did my battle axe make it?" Rue inquired.
"Oh… it did, but you might not want to talk to Neo anytime soon. He isn't happy about being hit with it for a second time."
Rue laughed at the thought of it. "Again? Poor guy."
"I wouldn't feel sympathy for someone who would want to kill me," Brandi informed him.
"True. Maybe I'd better stay out of his way for a while."
-----
"The worst part is that we'll have to do this again when we're coming back to Illinois," Larka complained as they finally stepped into the airport. "But besides the noise, I think it was pretty fun."
"I enjoy taking flights most of the time," Hope nodded. "But it can be annoying at times. Well, let's get to the baggage claim area. After we grab our bags, we can leave."
When they walked over to the metal detectors, another airport assistant was waiting. "Identifications please."
Hope handed over the three tickets.
"All in order. Here you are." She gave them their three Soul Cards.
Since they would be taking a taxi soon anyway, they didn't bother summoning their Soul Monsters yet. They went downstairs on an escalator (which Larka was fascinated with) and then went to the baggage claim area.
Larka found their suitcase with their items instantly and grabbed it. After about five minutes of waiting, Hope was getting worried that their other suitcase might have been misplaced.
Then it came down, crashing into the ledge. Larka managed to hear Zack snarl, "Ouch!" as it collided. She couldn't help but laugh as she grabbed the handle and pulled it down. Although she nearly dropped it on her foot, she had managed to get it over to where Hope and Fell were.
"Have a good trip?" Hope asked the suitcase innocently.
"…I am never doing this again."
"But you'll have to, to get back to Illinois," Larka pointed out.
"Then I'll get an apartment in South Carolina, or something. I am not going through this again."
"Well… let's talk over this later. Right now, we need to get to Brandi's house."
Once they made it out of the airport, and into an empty area, they finally opened the suitcase. Zack certainly did not seem to be very happy, and he covered his eyes almost instantly to the bright sunlight.
"Like I said, I am not doing that again."
"We'll see," Larka grinned. "So Hope, how do we get on these taxi things?"
Hope waved down a taxi, and after giving the driver directions, they were off. After a while, they finally arrived. Hope paid the driver, and they let their Soul Monsters emerge. While Gaston and Daine were much more calm when they came out, Malon knocked Larka over instantly, yelping joyfully.
In a way, Malon was the doorbell. Brandi heard the commotion and opened the door.
"I see you guys finally arrived," she commented.
"We took our time getting here," Hope admitted. "Sorry about that. Are the others already here?"
"Yes. The only ones we are missing are Miles and Draken, but that's to be expected. Come on inside!"
Larka grabbed Malon and got up, and then they went inside.
"Are Chasity and Ender here?" Hope inquired.
"Yes. Ender is in his room though, and wants to be left alone. Probably to think over all that's happened."
"I don't blame him," Larka said. "That was a lot of information to take at once."
They walked over to the living room, where Rue, Claire, Will, and their Soul Monsters were.
"Hi!" Claire greeted. "We were waiting for you guys to arrive before we talked about what we would be doing."
Hope noticed that Rue didn't appear to be in the best of moods. "What's wrong with you?"
"I had Ruecian teleport my battle axe here, but it landed on Neo. Again." He gingerly felt the top of his head. "That guy can really hurt you when he wants to."
"That battle axe must have hurt ten times more than that," Neo pointed out.
"But you have armor on! Armor for crying out loud! I have… what? A cloth hat. Gee, some protection I'm getting."
"As interesting as this is, can you two wrap up the argument?" Gaston asked. "We need to discuss what we will be doing."
"Wait… can I check something first?" Hope requested.
"What would that be?" Brandi questioned.
"I sent an email to Draken. I want to see if he replied yet."
"Alright then. The computer's right over there," Brandi said, indicating to it.
Hope sat down at the computer, opened an internet window, and went to the MSN website. She signed on to her Hotmail account, and found out she had three emails. One was from Amy, and she made a note to read it later. The second one was an advertisement from Atlus, the video game company that made Disgaea. She had no idea why Atlus kept sending her these irritating emails, and deleted it before looking at her third one. The subject was RE: Where are you?
"He's replied!" Hope exclaimed.
"Well, don't keep us in suspense! What does he say?" Rue asked.
Hope read the brief message out loud.
Hope,
Sorry that I've been worrying all of you.
I wish I could come to South Carolina, but I have a pressing matter I must take care of.
I will explain everything later, because I don't have the time to now. My deepest apologies to you guys.
If you want to talk with me, I must warn you that I might not be checking my email for some time yet. You can try anyway, but I'm just saying it's possible that it won't work.
Good luck with whatever you are attempting.
Sincerely,
Draken
"Argh! That jerk!" Rue growled. "He could have told us earlier that he was ok!"
Claire seemed a bit more worried. "What do you think he means by having a pressing matter?"
"It can't be anything too serious, or he wouldn't have been able to reply," Hope stated, logging off her account and closing the internet window. "Knowing him, he would normally come over to here with no questions until he arrived. This must be a severe thing he has to deal with, but nothing life-threatening."
"Let's hope so," Larka said. "Alright, since everyone who will be coming is here, we should talk about trying to find Max now."
"Where do we start looking? He could be anywhere," Claire pointed out.
"I was thinking of starting with the forest nearby. It's pretty close, and not many people go there, so it's a decent place to start," Brandi explained.
"Should we leave immediately?" Perseus asked.
"Yes, no sense in wasting time."
The door in the living room opened, and Chasity and Hime emerged.
"Brandi! Why didn't you tell us they had arrived?"
Malon barked excitedly and ran over to Chasity, licking her face furiously.
"Hey! Stop that!" she laughed, pushing the dog off of her. "Looks like you haven't changed much."
Malon yipped again.
"He must like the fact that you're his size," Rue joked.
Malon growled, then walked over and bit Rue's leg.
"YEOWCH!" Rue swatted at Malon, but the puppy let go and ran behind Chasity.
"I wouldn't be acting so high and mighty when I beat you in a duel in two turns," Chasity pointed out.
Will got a good laugh out of that. Rue sighed. "Thanks for bringing that up again."
"You were asking for it," Chasity said, petting Malon.
Brandi turned to Hime. "We're going to look for Max. We'll be back either when we find him, or by nightfall. Ok?"
"Alright. Be careful."
"Oh, hold on." Hope reached over into the big suitcase and brought forth her bow and arrows.
"Why are you bringing those?" Claire asked.
"Just to be on the safe side."
"Good call," Rue said, grabbing his battle axe.
Malon licked Chasity's hand one last time, and then ran out through the door, following the others.
"Good luck!" Chasity called as the door shut.
-----
Brandi was leading the way to the forest. Everyone else simply followed in silence. Silence that lasted a grand total of one minute, anyway.
"So how was your trip?" Rue asked them.
"Terrible," Zack answered.
Rue looked over at Hope and Larka, who were laughing, and blinked. "Did I miss something?"
Will caught on instantly. "Wait… Zack, you couldn't get on the airplane, could you? How did you get here?"
"In a very large suitcase," Zack growled.
Will raised an eyebrow while Rue too began to laugh as he imagined it. "That must not have been very comfortable."
"Obviously." Zack still didn't seem very happy.
When they entered the forest, they fell silent again though. They felt sort of tense while in the forest, hoping they would find Max but worried about what kind of condition he would be in.
After wandering for a while with no success, they only got more worried. Daine and Malon were now up beside Brandi, trying to catch a scent of their friend, but so far there had been nothing.
Finally, Daine stopped. "I have caught the scent of another nearby."
"Is it Max?" Larka asked.
"No. I do not recognize this scent. I can lead you to the person, if you wish."
"Please do," Brandi nodded. "Maybe they've seen Max."
"Alright. Follow me."
After a few minutes, Daine halted once more. "There."
Everyone stepped forward to see what he was indicating to.
It was a person in a black cloak. The person appeared to be asleep, for he or she was lying on the ground, leaning against a tree trunk, not moving. The cloak completely covered the person, so they could not be sure.
"Looks like he's asleep," Rue commented.
"Or it might be a she," Will reminded him.
"What should we do?" Gaston inquired.
Brandi looked over at the person, and made her decision. "I'm going to talk to him." Then she started walking towards him.
Zack couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling he was getting. He glanced around the trees, and then saw something that enforced his worries.
A glint of metal.
At that moment, when Brandi was approaching the person, she suddenly tripped over a trip wire, falling to the ground. But Zack was already moving. He managed to cover Brandi just in time.
Knives flew out from the nearby trees, slamming into Zack. If Brandi had been hit, she would have died instantly. But Zack's metal body caused the knives to do little damage. A few actually impaled him, but as they were metal areas that were not vital, they did not harm him much.
Everyone stared in shocked silence as Zack stepped back, and Brandi shakily got up.
"Brandi! Zack! Are you two ok?" Larka exclaimed.
"I-I'm fine," Brandi stammered.
Zack pulled out a knife that had buried in his left arm. "No serious injuries."
"Damn. Looks like I missed."
They turned to see that the black cloaked figure had stood. He was looking towards Brandi, or at least his head was turned in her direction.
"You… were trying to kill Brandi? But why?" Will asked.
"Actually, anyone would have worked. Having her die would probably help the most though."
"You know who we are?" Larka said nervously.
"Of course I do. I've known for quite some time."
Hope trembled slightly. She was getting a very bad feeling from this person. She didn't need to see his aura to tell her that.
"What do you have against us?" Rue demanded.
"Your existence would be one of the main points," the figure said. Then, as though sensing what Hope was thinking, turned his head towards her.
When Hope saw the man turn towards her, she thought she saw, for a second, an eye. Just for a second. But it was enough.
She cried out in pain, dropping to her knees, holding her head in her hands, shaking uncontrollably.
"Hope! What's wrong?!" Gaston said worriedly, kneeling down next to her. But she was unable to answer, only trying to control the pain lancing through her head.
The man laughed, a dark, cold sounding laugh that caused all but Hope to turn to him. "Unique girl, isn't she? But I don't have the time to spare on her, or the rest of you." He looked over at Zack. "I came to kill Brandi, but you have irritated me. You shall be the first to witness my power." He held out his arm, and strapped to it was a Duel Disk. He inserted his deck. "This will be the easiest way to take care of you."
"And if I refuse?" Zack questioned.
"Then you will die instantly. Doesn't look like you have much choice now, correct?"
He doesn't know how right he is, Zack thought as he wordlessly inserted his own deck.
"I knew you wouldn't be able to deny my challenge. Let us begin."
The way he said that made Zack even more concerned. He sounds like he knows about my structure… but how can he?
"Can you at least tell us your name?" Claire asked nervously.
"I suppose… call me Thanatos."
"Thanatos? Isn't that Greek for death?" Will realized.
"Trust you to know that. Yes, it is. Now, enough stalling."
Zack: 8000
Thanatos: 8000
"Who's first?" Zack inquired.
"You may."
"Alright… I lay three cards down. That's all."
The figure looked at the card he had drawn. "Quite a good start, if I do say so myself. I play Terra Forming, allowing me to search my deck and add a field magic card to my hand." He selected one and quickly shuffled his deck. "Then I play the field magic, Lair of Ten-Thousand Demon Lords!"
The ground from beneath them cracked open, and a golden battlefield came out. The sky turned red and orange, not like a sunset, but like a storm coming this way. It was like the scene of a dark ritual. It made them all very uneasy.
"What does it do?" Zack asked.
"You'll find out soon enough. I will then summon Warrior of Zera. (1600/1600)"
"What? Why would he use Warrior of Zera?" Claire said, confused. "That's for special summoning Archangel Zeraato, but this guy doesn't seem like one who would use an Angel deck."
Will paled. "I think I know what he's trying to do. There's another monster Warrior of Zera can special summon, and it fits him perfectly."
"You are as well versed on your Angel cards as ever, Will. I sacrifice Warrior of Zera to special summon Devil Mazera!"
A wicked creature with large, green wings emerged. Its bottom half was a dark blue, with a long tail that could easily crush though any monster standing in front of it. There was also a yellow jewel at its waist which gleamed cruelly. Its upper part was brown, with green hands and claws, and a green helmet-like object over its head. The helmet also had two red horn-like things. Its eyes were a sickening red. (2800/2300)
"This will not end well," Gaston muttered.
"When Devil Mazera is special summoned, you lose three random cards from your hand. Quite useful, isn't it?"
"I only have three cards…" Zack said. "I lose my KA-2 Death Scissors, 7 Cards, and Machine King…"
"Now, Devil Mazera attacks."
"I will halt him with Destruction Ring. He's destroyed, and we both take damage equal to his attack power."
Zack: 5200
Thanatos: 5200
Even as his monster was blown up before his own eyes, Thanatos did not seem the least bit concerned. "It was a small sacrifice to leave you in such a vulnerable position. And I will make any sacrifices necessary to win. What other purpose are pawns here to play? I lay one card down, and end my turn."
Zack glanced at the one card in his hand tensely. "I activate my other trap card, Cry of the Living Dead. This will bring my Machine King back from the Cemetery. (2200/2000) He also powers himself up by 100 attack points due to his own effect; for every Machine Sub-Type on the field, he gains 100 more attack. (2300/2000) I also summon Drillago. (1600/1200) This powers up Machine King again. (2400/2000) Machine King attacks directly. And then Drillago does as well."
Thanatos did not even flinch as the Machine King's powered up fist struck him and as the drills hit him.
Zack: 5200
Thanatos: 1200
"That's all I can do."
"Hm… where to begin. First, I will use Early Burial on Warrior of Zera. This may cost me 800 Life Points, but it does bring back my monster. Then I sacrifice it to special summon another Devil Mazera. (2800/2300) As you can see, I always have back up in case one falls. Normally, he would force you to discard three cards again, but you don't seem to have a hand."
"Damn it," Zack muttered as Devil Mazera emerged.
Zack: 5200
Thanatos: 400
"Then I summon Demon Soldier. (1900/1500) Demon Soldier attacks Drillago, and Devil Mazera attacks Machine King."
Zack: 4400
Thanatos: 400
"I also lay one card face down, and end my turn."
"Hm… I hate gambling, but it's my only chance now. I summon Roulette Bomber. (1000/2000) When this monster is on the field during my Main Phase, I roll two dice. Then I choose one of the dice and destroy a monster with that level. So now, I roll…"
The dice clattered onto the field. One landed on a three. The other landed on four.
"Excellent. I'll destroy Demon Soldier. Then I end my turn."
"A pathetic attempt to stay alive. I summon Shadow Knight Demon. (2000/1600) Fortunately for you, damage Shadow Knight Demon does to your Life Points is halved. But it is still strong enough to take out your Roulette Bomber. Shadow Knight Demon destroys it, and Devil Mazera attacks directly."
Although holograms weren't supposed to be able to severely hurt the players, it wasn't exactly painless for Zack to have Devil Mazera thrust his claws right through his body.
Zack: 1100
Thanatos: 400
"This is too close for comfort…" Rue commented.
"There's still a chance that he could win," Perseus stated. But he too seemed worried.
"I agree. We must not jump to conclusions just yet," Daine said.
Malon whined, pawing at Larka. She picked him up absentmindedly. She was much more concerned with how the duel was coming.
Hope was still in pain, but it was fading away slowly. She didn't want to risk trying to stand up yet, so she looked at the battlefield from the ground, carefully keeping her gaze averted from Thanatos.
Zack examined his next card. "Yet another risk, but again, I must take it. This could win, or lose, the game for me. I summon Magical Reflector Reflect Bounder! (1700/1000) And then I end my turn…"
"Going down fighting? I'm afraid it will do you no good." Thanatos drew his next card.
"Hold on!" Will interrupted. "What about your Shadow Knight Demon's cost? I thought all the Chess Demon cards had to be paid for with certain Life Point amounts."
"Ah yes… that idiot, Echecs, did mention that, didn't he? But my Lair of Ten-Thousand Demon Lords makes it so that I do not have to pay any more Life Points for my Demons."
"You know about Echecs? That's impossible!" Neo protested.
"I thought all of you would have realized that we have passed over the line of reality, after all of the things that have occurred." He examined what he had drawn. "I summon Genocide King Demon. (2000/1500)"
Brandi, seeing the Genocide King Demon emerge, was reminded of Olympion instantly, which brought back all of her worries for Max. This duel was wasting time that they could be using to search for him…
"What will he be able to do for you?"
"Well, this monster does have the ability to negate effects of monsters that he destroys… but I had something a bit more painful in mind. I activate Diskabado Attack. By sacrificing a card with Demon in its name, my Genocide King Demon is allowed to attack directly. So I sacrifice Shadow Knight Demon, and Genocide Demon King has the pleasure of finishing you off."
Zack: 0
Thanatos: 400
"Ironic, is it not?" Thanatos said with another cold laugh.
Nobody was able to say anything as they watched Zack lift himself from the now normal ground. When the duel had ended, the golden battlefield had left as well.
What does he mean, ironic? Hope thought. By now, she was feeling almost normal again. Wait… could it be… no… but… I saw it… I'm sure I did…
Thanatos picked up one of the knives that had fallen near him, testing its edge lightly. "So, now we come down to this," he announced to the horrified watchers. "By full right, since I have won this duel, I would be able to kill your friend right here if I desired."
None of them could bring themselves to say anything, in fear of having Zack's fate be worse. There was nothing any of them could do, anyway. But Zack almost felt a sense of relief. It seems I will finally get my wish… Then he remembered Crystal, talking with him in the church. But… is this what I really want? I have wanted to die for years… I can't begin doubting that now, when I am finally granted the opportunity…
Thanatos stepped forward, holding the knife up. "However… it is no fun to kill the willing." Then he brought the knife down.
In the split second before the knife connected, Zack was close enough to Thanatos to see under his hood. And his eyes connected with Thanatos'. Eyes that foretold of pain and death that he would deliver.
No! It can't be!
And the knife entered the most vulnerable area in Zack; his neck. Everyone winced at the scream of pain that followed.
So… it comes… to this… they have… to realize… Then he collapsed.
"No…" Larka whispered.
Thanatos heard her. "You don't need to worry about him. He's still alive. But the rest of you will not escape. One by one, you shall fall, so feel fortunate that even one of you will be spared. For now, at least." Then he turned around. "Yes, that was quite entertaining. I'm sure the next attack will be much better though. So watch for me…" Then he began to walk away.
"No! You aren't going anywhere!" Hope yelled, firing her bow. While he had been talking, she had loaded her bow without him noticing. Or maybe he did notice, but didn't care. She didn't know, but she wasn't going to let him leave until she confirmed her suspicions.
Thanatos jumped aside, but the arrow still caught the hood of his cloak, tearing it away and revealing his face to them.
Once more, everyone was speechless. But for a good reason. For seeing that the one who had almost killed their companion was once one as well was certainly shocking. But in a way, Hope had already known who he was.
Max. But his eyes were no longer Max's. Thanatos' bloodshot eyes were indeed those that spoke of a desire for death.
Brandi tried to say something, but it was like she had forgotten how to speak. She couldn't even remember how to.
"Max… but how?!" Rue shouted.
"Max? He is dead. Max no longer exists. His body is now mine." He turned again. "I have some business to take care of. If you have any other questions, save them for the next time we meet. That is, if you live long enough to ask them."
"Max! You can't leave again!" Brandi exclaimed, and leapt at him at a very fast speed. They couldn't even see her very well.
Yet when she leapt at him, Thanatos casually caught her leg and slammed her into the ground. "You think you can harm me with attacks in slow motion? None of you can hope to injure me. Compared to any of your pathetic fighting skills, I am a god. I suggest accepting that fact before I see you all again." Then he ran into the forest, fading from sight.
The tears Brandi shed were from pain. But that pain was not only because of her torn legs. Her heart was hurting her far worse.
And Hope was not sure if the solitary tear she herself shed was for two injured companions or for what Max had become.
To be continued…