Teknisk Wereld v4

by Celtic Guardian 7

Two god cards have been found now only one is left. Their foes are just as deadly as before though. They know who their main enemy is, but whose side is Sarius on? COMPLETE

15. Love's Sacrifices

I'm sorry this chapter took so much time, but it was quite a long one! I really like how most of it turned out, so yay for that. Let's get on with it!

Moonjava: Thanks.

Captain Obvious: My foot is already sprained, it doesn't need to be broken. Still, nice to know you care. Yes, Sarius and Cyrus had to learn Japanese fast to deal with The Child, heh.

John: Claire finally gets to win another duel, and I actually hate Family Guy. Sorry.

P: Hey, you're back! I've been wondering where you ran off to. It's nice to see you again. Thanks for the compliments, I'm glad you enjoy those points of my writing. I wish I could have Teknisk Wereld become an anime! Believe me, I've wanted that for quite some time. Ah well, I can dream, right?

Demon Fan: Not quite. There are a few transformations of sorts, but Deck Masters don't evolve. It won't happen very often, if it even happens at all later.

Chapter 15: Love's Sacrifices

Larka stood there, frozen, as a golden monster rose in front of her. It was the same as the picture they had seen in the church. Will was petrified by its fierce, gleaming, red eyes that caught him in their deadly gaze. It could be nothing but Ra.

Despite this, he could see a figure behind it. Why did he seem familiar?

Then, he heard someone come up from behind him. He turned, to see The Child.

"Kare no dess," he whispered. "Kare shinzo sakebu e sore."

Then he heard the figure speak.

"It is his… his heart cries out to it…"

That voice… it had to belong to…

"We're being attacked!" Neo yelped, leaping up from the corner where he had been sleeping.

Will bolted upright, panting. He looked over at the alarm clock, which was beeping loudly. The time read 8:00 AM.

"It's the alarm, you idiot," Will grumbled, pushing a button on it to shut it off.

"Oops," Neo said sheepishly. "I'm not used to alarm clocks waking me up…"

"Nor am I. Usually, it's you blowing up some random kitchen utensil or another," Will said in disgust, getting out of bed. "Thanks for interrupting the dream I was having."

"Sorry… can you remember what it was about?" Neo asked.

"I saw Ra," Will said. "He was rising in front of Larka. Then The Child spoke to me. And then someone else was talking… I was about to recognize his voice, but I lost it the moment I woke up."

"I guess that's my fault, huh?" Neo said.

"Not completely," Will shrugged, throwing the covers over his bed. "The alarm would have woken me up anyway. Anyway, we should go outside and meet Claire."

"Right," Neo agreed.

They stepped outside, and began walking down the hallway, when suddenly a door opened and someone else rushed out of the respective room. The person slammed into Will, sending them both staggering back.

"Ow… sorry…" Miles apologized, rubbing his forehead as he looked up at Will. For a few seconds, they stared at each other, before they both jumped back with cries of, "It's you!"

Miles couldn't help but follow up with, "How are you gentlemen, all your base are belong to us."

Will brought out his book and smacked Miles over the head with it. "We don't need any Zero Wing jokes."

"Sorry, I had to say that," Miles said, wincing as he lightly touched his head. "You're going to kill someone with your book beatings one of these days!"

"No, I will merely cause an appropriate amount of pain. Enough on that though. What were you doing here?" Will asked.

"I spent the night here; it seemed safer than staying outside," Miles explained. "Although Fell decided to sleep on a roof like usual though, the lunatic."

"In other words, we are fine," Gen said, coming out into the hallway too. "But what about you? I assume you stayed here for the same reason, but where are Claire, Perseus, and Neo?"

"Geez, it's not like I'm invisible or something!" Neo complained, stepping out from behind Will.

Miles raised an eyebrow. "Who are you supposed to be, besides being someone behind in the times clothing-wise?"

"Don't make me roast you," Neo threatened.

"I'm surprised you didn't recognize him, since he kept his attitude," Will said dryly. "This is Neo."

"What? You've gotta be kidding me!" Miles exclaimed, stepping back.

A door opened, and a phonebook flew out, hitting Miles over the head. "Keep it down, you brats! It's still early!" they heard a man from inside the room complain before he shut his door.

"Are books just out to get me today or something?" Miles complained as he picked up the phonebook and then set it outside of the man's door. "It wasn't even a Yellow Book… no wonder the guy wanted to get rid of it."

"You have quite a memory for older commercials," Will commented.

"What's all the commotion?" Claire asked sleepily, coming out of her room with Perseus following. Then she rubbed her eyes, blinking. "Miles?"

"The residents of the hotel want us to talk elsewhere," Will stated. "Let's go outside."

"I won't argue with that idea," Miles commented as they went down the stairs.

They walked outside of the hotel. Miles looked around, and then indicated to Hector's card shop. "I'd like to get Fell to come with us before we discuss anything."

"Sure," Will said.

"You mean Fell slept on top of Hector's card shop?" Claire asked, looking astonished with the idea of it. She pointed to Hector, who was walking towards the door to open it for the day. "And Hector didn't object to it?"

"Well, you see, he didn't exactly know that his roof was being used as a bed…" Miles began.

That was when a black blur leapt off the top of the card shop. Unfortunately, Fell had chosen to descend at exactly the wrong time. He landed right on Hector, sending them both crashing to the ground.

"Ouch," Miles cringed. "And I thought I was in pain."

Fell didn't stick around; he instantly leapt off Hector and bolted away, right past the bewildered group. Hector staggered upright, but by then Fell was long gone. "Who the hell was that?"

"Sorry Hector, can't help you, hope you're all right, we've got business to take care of, ok, thanks, bye!" Miles said in a jumbled rush before grabbing Claire's arm and pulling her away as he ran after Fell. Will glanced at Hector one more time before following them, with the Soul Monsters coming as well.

"Hey! Hold on! I want an explanation!" Hector protested. Yet again though, he was left alone to deal with his confusion as the group dashed off. He felt his back with a grimace, and walked into the card shop. "Never mind then, they can tell me next time if they're in such a hurry. It's too early to be racing around the streets. Man, I need some coffee…"

The group quickly made it outside of town, where they saw Fell and Daine, who had come out of his Soul Card. Daine was saying, "You landed right on him? Really?"

"I would prefer not to speak of it," Fell muttered.

"Way to go, my ever so graceful companion!" Miles joked as they came up.

"I have not forgotten my desire to kill you," Fell stated. "Do not provoke me into actually doing it."

"Good morning to you too, Mr. Sunshine," Miles responded cheerfully.

Gen looked over Neo. "How did you become like this?"

Daine took a curious sniff. "Neo? Is that you?"

"Finally, someone recognizes me!" Neo said.

"It would be much easier if we could all exchange reports when the entire group has met up," Will told them. "Let's go there first, and then we can talk."

Miles shrugged. "If that's what you want."

With that, they set off towards their designated location.

…

Ruecian tried to shake Rue awake, but soon gave up. He knew more than anyone else, except perhaps Claire, about how heavy of a sleeper Rue was. Instead, he smacked Rue over the head.

"Ouch!" Rue yelped, sitting up at once. He glared at Ruecian. "Did you have to do that?"

"What did you do this time?" Draken asked, opening his eyes.

"Apparently, sleeping was something I deserved to be hit for," Rue said.

"No, the problem was that there was no other way to wake you up," Darche stated. "Ruecian tried to be gentle about it, but you weren't even stirring."

"Bah, nothing new there," Rue growled as he got up. "He's always violent about getting me up. I keep asking him to use a less painful method, but he won't hear for it."

Ruecian shook his head in exasperation before stepping outside. The others followed him.

"We should get to the meeting area right away," Darche said, holding up his sword. It began to glow blue, and after a few minutes, two Blue Eyes White Dragons landed in front of them.

"You are not going to do what you did to me yesterday," Rue told Draken.

"All right, all right," Draken grinned. "It was just a joke; you don't have to bite my head off."

"I'm sure," Rue muttered, getting on one of the Blue Eyes with Ruecian. Draken and Darche mounted the other, and they took off.

As they soared over the mountains, Draken caught sight of another figure flying by a short distance away that he instantly recognized. He took a deep breath, and then yelled at the top of his lungs, "KAZEL!"

Rue nearly fell off of his Blue Eyes in shock. "Hey! You could have warned me!"

"Sorry, but I had to get her attention quickly," Draken said as the Red Eyes turned and began flying towards them.

Kazel drew up next to them, with Kisara and Amy on her back. Amy currently had her head buried in Kazel's back, so Kisara called over to them. "Draken! Rue!"

"It is good to see all of you again," Kazel greeted. "Shall we head to the meeting area?"

"Right away!" Draken responded. Then he grinned mischievously. "Hey, want to race to see who gets there first?"

"No!" Rue and Amy chorused.

Kazel considered, and then bared her teeth in a fierce smile. "I like that idea! I haven't had the chance to try some fast flying for a while. Ready?"

"Let's go!" Draken yelled, and the three dragons put on a sudden burst of speed, zooming across the sky towards the lake.

…

Zack came to in an instant. He looked around swiftly, and confirmed that he had not been awoken by anyone approaching. Instead, he had set himself to rise at eight, so that must have been the factor that caused his rest to be broken.

He looked to his side, and was surprised to see that Larka had not stirred at all the entire night. She was still asleep against him, underneath his arm, with a small smile. In her lap, Malon lay slumbering, curled up into a furry ball.

Zack had not had many chances to see Larka when she was asleep. As he looked at her now though, he was struck by just how beautiful she was. Her slim, fit form… her delicate hands, despite her claw-like fingernails… her silver hair, which glistened from the sunlight coming through the stained glass of the early morning… even her abnormal ears, which were unhidden by her hair as she slept, added to her charm. Normally, yellow eyes such as hers would have made her appearance eerie. But they so openly displayed her emotions-her happy nature, her kindness, her caring-that one could only think of them as the perfect addition to her.

Zack shook his head, disturbed at where his thoughts were turning to. When was the last time I considered things such as this?

He did not want to destroy this moment of peace, but he knew there was no choice. So he reluctantly shook her shoulder. "Larka."

Her eyes opened slowly. "Zack? Is it morning?" Malon, awoken by their voices, jumped out of her lap and stretched, yawning.

"Yes. It is about eight, so we have an hour to reach the meeting area," Zack stated, rising. Larka followed suit.

"Are you all right now? Do you still hurt anywhere?" Larka asked worriedly.

"No, I've completely recovered," Zack replied.

Larka smiled at him. "That's a relief. I should have known, but I couldn't help but be concerned."

Zack wasn't sure how he wanted to respond to that; if he had not had his heart replaced by mechanical parts, he was sure its rate would have gone way up. Luckily for him, Malon chose this moment to run out of the room, whining excitedly.

"Malon!" Larka called, exasperated. "Even this early in the morning, he's full of energy!" Then she ran after him.

Zack looked around at the stained glass windows. "…I have to say something. I can't stay silent. My feelings are clawing at me. If I ignore them, I will be no better than those machine soldiers that were modeled after me."

Thinking over this, he went to the hall, walking on until he was outside. Larka was there, holding onto a squirming Malon. She looked over at him.

"Zack, I just realized that we have a problem when it comes to leaving," she said.

"What is it?" Zack asked.

"How will we get down?" Larka inquired. "We used a tablet of some kind to warp to this location. There's nothing like that here though. We have no cards that can fly us down. So what can we do?"

Zack sighed. "I should have thought of preparing for something like this…"

"It's not your fault," Larka protested. "I'm sure we can think of something!"

Zack pondered for a moment. "I can only see one way out of this."

"What do you mean?" Larka asked.

"We wait," Zack said simply. "The rest of the group knows we went here. If we don't come back, they will become concerned, and eventually come to check on us. We can ask for a lift down then. I'm sure Draken at least could help."

"I guess we have no choice," Larka agreed. "So what will we do in the meantime?"

Zack hesitated, and then said, "If you do not mind, I wish to talk with you."

"Sure. Anywhere in particular?" Larka asked, looking around.

Zack thought over it, and then indicated to the top of the stairs. "That will work."

"Ok," she replied.

They climbed up the staircase, sitting down on the top step. Malon leapt out of Larka's arms, looking over at them quizzically. Then he lay down next to Larka's side.

Larka seemed surprised at this. "Usually, he doesn't calm down for quite some time. I wonder why he felt like being quiet now?" She looked over at Zack. "I'm sorry, that's probably off topic. What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"Well…" He gazed into the distance ahead of him, trying to put together what he wished to say in his mind.

"…Zack?" Larka asked, seeming concerned. "It something troubling you?"

"You could say that," he replied slowly.

"Then please, tell me. I want to be able to help you," Larka said softly.

He forced himself to look at her. "Larka. What I'm going to say now is something I have known for a long time, but only just realized last night. It might sound foolish to you, but please, hear me out for what I have to say. You can tell me what you think when I am done… just please, do not interrupt me."

"All right," Larka said, looking slightly nervous. "Please go on."

Zack thought for a moment, and then began speaking. His voice was shaky at first, but as he went on, it became easier for him to speak. "When I first met you, I was not sure what to think. I was uneasy to be amongst a group of people when I was so used to working alone, especially since I had become a cyborg. I soon became more comfortable amongst everyone though, as I began to understand them."

"You always… enchanted… me though. That's the only way I can describe it." He looked into her eyes. "You are highly modest, so you probably have not thought about this much. But you are easily one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen."

Larka blushed deeply. "W-what? I'm only sixteen! And I'm n-not even human anymore…"

"That doesn't make a difference," Zack said. "No matter what happened to you during those experiments, your soul was unaffected. Do you know how rare it is to find someone who is pure? Someone who has been completely untainted by feelings of violence, or greed, or hatred? It's nearly impossible. You should have been affected the most out of anyone. At such a young age, you were tortured constantly. Only recently, after ten years, have you finally gotten away from it. Yet, despite all that, you remain pure, more so than any person I can ever recall meeting. You're someone who would do anything for your companions, who would cry for having to slay those against you… I have never, in all the time I have been alive for either life of mine, seen anyone who would shed tears like you did when slaying Viken. I would have thought it impossible that such a person would exist… until I met you…"

Larka wanted to speak, but remembering his request for silence, she listened as he went on.

"When I saw that you had been taken by the officials, my instant reaction was to help you. What I didn't understand then was why I felt so strongly about it. Usually, I try to think logically, and would not have attempted to slip around so many enemies. At that time though, it seemed like the only option. I never even considered trying to find the rest of the group, although later I realized that might have been more rational. Instead, I went to do everything I could to save you…"

"When you were influenced by the full moon, I knew it could not be you. I was sure it was something outside of your power, and it was. Your reaction to realizing what you had done in your berserk state… even though it was merely officials you had killed… it was painful to watch."

"I was confronted by Heather shortly after this. All of my emotions were torn apart then. I didn't know what to do, and panicked. I wanted to run away from what I was feeling. I had before, by killing myself. If only I could do it again… that was what I thought then. I was persuaded not to think of such things by our companions, but it still remained in the back of my mind…"

"Then you were taken by Viken. My emotions were pushed aside temporarily then. I came to help find you, not just because I was requested to, but because I had to see, with my own eyes, that you were unharmed. I worried constantly as we went there, although I tried to hide it… Fell had enough on his mind without additional concerns…"

"When we were in the forest, looking after Ruecian, you gave me the chance to speak of those feelings that were paining me. I confessed what I wanted to do, how I wanted to put myself in a death-like state, and you told me you didn't want me to." Zack looked up at her again. "I had never needed words like that so much as then… I had never needed those words that asked for survival so much as then… you provided me with something that I had never thought I would have the fortune of obtaining; hope."

Larka's eyes brightened, but she remained silent.

Noticing the change, Zack had to take a few seconds to steady his voice. "When it was time for my ordeal, within the church, I... I spoke with Crystal. Her soul, perhaps…"

Larka could not help but interrupt now. "Is it all right for you to tell me of this?"

"It is necessary; she will not mind," Zack said. "She spoke to me of many things, but her last words were what made me the most confused. She said I was in love with someone, and my love for her should not act as a boundary for this new relationship."

Larka blushed again, but shook her head. "Go on."

"You were the first to be there when I finally came around from Thanatos' attacks. And when you went to help Brandi, I had complete faith that you knew what to do. When we were forced to try to find Vlademir, despite my actions to your brother, you showed no resentment. I was allowed to come, for a chance to get revenge upon the man who caused such deep wounds to my heart…"

"Yet, when you stated that you wanted no vengeance from your enemies, something changed within me. I still wanted to kill Vlademir, but not for revenge. I wanted him to die so that he would not harm others the way he harmed me. Your presence… has altered me… in a way for the better…"

"I never would have guessed how much I would have missed having you nearby, but when I began to live at Will's, I felt as though I was missing something vital. So when we were partnered together, to fight the Mavericks, I was delighted… it was a chance to be with you, alone, for some amount of time."

"When Lario wanted to kill you, for your powers, I had to step in his way. I was not lying… to see you in pain hurts me so much more than to be inflicted with physical wounds… yet, until you told me you were frightened, I could not put a word to these emotions. Heh… that was foolish indeed. I should have known… I have felt it before, after all."

"What… Zack, what do you mean?" Larka asked hesitatingly.

Zack closed his eyes, unable to look on. "I love you, Larka."

Larka stared at him in shock. This whole conversation, she had been wondering if it could possibly be true. But when he actually said it… "…Zack?"

"It's true…" he managed to say, voice shaking. "I was hesitant to believe it, but that is how I feel. I know you may not think the same. I have hardly shown any emotions to you, and have kept my feelings hidden most of the time. I'm not even human; I'm a cyborg, who should supposedly not have any emotions. Despite all that though, I feel love, for you…"

Larka gazed at him. "What about… your wife?"

"…I cannot lie. I still have love for her," Zack stated. "She was the one who told me to not let that interfere though. Crystal herself wants me to put my feelings for her aside, and to confess to you… that is something that I am grateful for." He looked away. "I am done. Say whatever you wish to. If you do not feel this, then tell me. I would understand why."

"Zack…!" Suddenly, Larka flung herself on him, sobbing into his shirt.

"Larka? What's wrong?" Zack exclaimed, alarmed at the sudden change.

After a few moments, she looked up, eyes shining with tears. "I never said what I felt, because I thought you would not want to hear this from me. I thought of myself as just a prototype of Viken's, never anything more… when I got the opportunity to have such great friends, I was so happy. But I felt something more than friendship for you… after thinking over it while you were gone at Will's, I realized that I was feeling… love. I had never thought I would be able to feel love for anyone in this way. But your wife… I did not want to say anything for fear of upsetting you. And I thought of myself as not even close to being able to compare to what you'd want." She closed her eyes. "I'm nothing…"

"That is not true!" Zack said fiercely, wrapping his arms around her as she buried her head into his shirt again. "I'm the one who is not worthy of one like you…"

Larka gazed up at him again, smiling despite her crying. "Neither of us are human anymore, are we? Yet… our souls remained intact…"

"Not mine," Zack whispered. "It nearly got torn apart forever… you were the only one who kept me from losing it. Thank you…"

"No, thank you," Larka said quietly. "For telling me I'm worth something… that is what I have always wished for…"

"It seems we both have similar needs," Zack replied, closing his eyes.

Larka stared in astonishment as a tear emerged from Zack's eye. "You can cry?"

"I thought perhaps I had lost the ability to do so," Zack said in wonder, looking at her again. "It seems you have proven me wrong."

"I'm glad then…" Larka said softly. "It helps to show sincerity… at least, that is how I see it…"

"Perhaps, in this case, it does," Zack said.

Larka shook her head. "I hope that I don't prove unworthy…"

"Never," Zack assured, embracing her again. "Never would you do anything that would make me think that…"

"But I've never loved anyone like this before," Larka said worriedly.

"If we truly do love each other, then nothing can come between us," Zack stated. "Nothing whatsoever. I will always be here for you, to protect you, to listen to your words, to do whatever it takes to keep you happy. If I can do that much… then I am satisfied."

"Then I will do the same, for your sake," Larka said quietly, embracing him in return.

In that position they remained. They seemed to have forgotten about the passage of time; they simply waited on those steps, not even aware of what they were waiting for as they let their emotions flow through tears. The knowledge that they had someone to share these pains with, perhaps, was what made their happiness absolute.

…

"We're here!" Miles declared as they sat down. "Now what?"

"We wait, obviously," Gen stated.

"Can't we do something while waiting?" Miles complained.

"I'd play Hangman, but I don't have any paper or a pencil," Claire said.

"Luckily, I always do," Miles said, bringing out the materials from his pouch. "You want to invent the word first, or me?"

"I will," Claire decided.

Will went next to her, and whispered something. Claire couldn't help but giggle at the idea of it. "That's a good one! Ok Miles, this word has nine letters in it."

"Nine? I'll start with the basics, A."

"Nope…"

Leaving them to their game, Will went a short distance away and opened his book to read for a while. Fell merely stared into the distance.

"P, space, o, n, e, b, o, o, space," Claire rattled off.

"Can I see?" Miles picked up the sheet, looked at it, and then slowly tore it to pieces while glaring at Will. "I do not need any reminders of phonebooks, thank you!"

"Glad to help," Will smirked, not even looking up from his book.

Before Miles could respond to that, they heard a combination of roars. They looked up to see two Blue Eyes and Kazel racing towards them, going at a very fast speed.

"I suggest we move," Perseus said dryly, stepping away from the area. Everyone followed him, and the three dragons landed with heavy thuds.

"Hah! We have triumphed!" Draken declared, jumping off his Blue Eyes.

"Hardly," Kazel snorted. "I was far ahead of those two. They could pass as flying snails compared to me."

"As if! You were left eating our air currents!" Draken retorted as Darche jumped off the Blue Eyes.

"Kill me now…" Rue groaned, toppling off his Blue Eyes as Ruecian leapt off, landing gracefully.

Amy just let herself fall to the ground, looking extremely sick. She managed to bring out her Soul Card though, and Sakura appeared. She looked over at Amy, and shook her head. "How will you ever become an astronaut if you can't even handle a flight like that one?"

"I gave up… on that dream… a while ago…" Amy muttered. She looked over at Kazel. "I thought… you said… that you would be gentler?"

Kazel cocked her head, looking innocent. "I was being gentle there. You should see me when I practice battle maneuvers."

"No, thanks, I'll pass," Amy said hurriedly.

As Kisara dismounted, Will stated, "I'll act as the judge here, and say that Kazel was just barely ahead of the two Blue Eyes."

"Do you have any way to respond to that?" Kazel asked Draken, smirking.

"Ok, ok, you win," Draken conceded with a sigh. "Red Eyes Black Dragons rule, Blue Eyes White Dragons are not nearly as cool."

"Much better," Kazel said approvingly. The Blue Eyes White Dragons glared at her before flying off.

"Well… now that that's settled… what's been happening with you guys?" Miles asked. "You're here pretty early."

"So are you," Rue pointed out, getting up.

"Yeah. We wanted to make sure we wouldn't miss anyone," Claire said.

"We just came when we woke up," Draken shrugged. "So, we're missing Hope, Max, Larka, and Zack, right? Is that everyone?"

"I think so," Neo replied.

Draken looked over at him in surprise. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"Do I have to reintroduce myself to every person I meet?" Neo said in exasperation.

"That's Neo," Will stated.

"Huh? Say what?" Draken said in disbelief.

"Um… could we have an explanation?" Sakura asked.

Rue snickered, and couldn't resist saying, "Nice hat."

"That does it!" Neo snapped, eyes flashing. A ring of fire suddenly leapt up around Rue, before vanishing as quickly as it had come, leaving Rue covered in a fine layer of ash.

Rue looked at his gloves in disgust. "I suppose I deserved that."

"At least you admitted to that much," Neo stated.

"Aw… we can't make fun of Neo anymore?" Draken said in disappointment.

"One more word and I won't hesitate to burn you as well," Neo growled.

Will broke up the conversation. "We'll explain how this occurred, once the others arrive. If they don't come by nine, we'll search for them."

"Oh, that's right! We need to tell you guys something," Amy said. "We met up with Matt in the mountains, but he left early this morning to search for Hope and Max. He wanted to inform Max on how Brandi is doing."

"Did he say how she was faring?" Darche asked.

"Very badly, to keep it straight forward," Sakura sighed.

"We can only hope for the best," Kazel stated, lying down while folding her wings. "Let us not waste time on worrying over matters we cannot change."

"I agree," Draken said. "Let's wait for everyone else, and then discuss what we'll do next."

"So what do we do in the meantime? Free duel?" Rue suggested.

"Sure, I'll face you," Claire grinned.

"Come on sis! Let me fight someone I have a chance of winning against!" Rue complained.

"I'll place a bet on Claire," Miles offered.

"That's nice, but nobody will take it," Will stated, opening his book again.

"Rue, I need more practice," Claire insisted.

"How do you get practice off me when you win so easily?" After a moment, Rue sighed and shuffled his deck. "Fine. Here goes nothing…"

…

Max stared at the monster in astonishment. "What? You're… Olympion?"

Hope opened her eyes slightly, gazing at the monster nervously, before closing them again. Gaston did not move from his position as he watched silently.

"In a way," the monster answered. "I have all of Olympion's memories, but I am a completely new Soul Monster."

Max suddenly felt something warm in his pocket. He reached into it and pulled out a glowing Soul Card. Amazed, he read over it.

"An End of Anubis… I knew that's what you were…" Max murmured, before sliding it away.

"You may refer to me as Tenma for short," he said.

"How is this possible though?" Max asked.

Tenma looked down at Hope. "When the mistress conducted the soul transfer, the parts of your soul that you had lost were filled in, so that you would not die. I am a representation of that. Thanks to the mistress and Gaston, your soul is whole again; therefore, you are in no danger of dying any longer."

"Soul transfer? You mean we lent Max part of our souls?" Gaston said in disbelief.

"In a way," Tenma answered. "Except, it is permanent, not a mere lending. Due to having his soul complete again, I was formed once more."

Max glanced at Hope. "Is that why she is like this? Because she gave up part of her soul?"

"A very large part of it," Tenma confirmed. "Gaston also lost part of himself, but that was mainly to give me a physical form. He should be recovered by now."

"Yes… there are no side effects from what happened, when it comes to me…" Gaston said, standing. "But what about Hope?"

"That I do not know," Tenma replied. "She may recover, but I am not sure how. We cannot have another soul transfer, as it is something only she could do. She will have to regain her soul on her own."

"Is that the only way?" Max asked anxiously.

"I cannot be sure, but it is the sole idea I have at the moment," Tenma stated.

Max shook his head. "So we have no idea how long she will be like this… damn it! It's all my fault…"

"Don't… talk like that…" Hope managed to say.

Max looked at her again, surprised. "You're conscious?"

"…Barely…"

"Please, don't speak," Max said worriedly. "Save your strength."

"It isn't… your fault… I chose… to do this…" Hope whispered.

"You wouldn't have needed to do anything if I hadn't been so weak," Max stated.

"…I won't… be able… to rest… until you promise… that… you'll stop… blaming yourself…" Hope said slowly.

"Fine, I won't do it any more, if it worries you that much," Max said. "I'm sorry about that. Please, let yourself relax. I don't want stress to add to your pain."

"All right…" Hope murmured, smiling faintly.

Gaston glanced at her, concern showing in his eyes. "We need to leave as soon as possible. Should we head back to the meeting area?"

"Yes. Once we inform everyone else of what occurred, we'll leave Teknisk Wereld at once." Max stood up, still holding onto Hope carefully. He shook his head in amazement. "She's got a grip of steel; I can't believe that she still won't let go of my arm."

"You could say that once Hope gets a resolve in mind, she will not give up on it very easily," Gaston stated.

"Then I'll just have to carry her," Max decided.

"Are you strong enough to do that now?" Gaston inquired.

Max nodded. "Yeah. I feel completely fine."

Tenma sniffed the air, and suddenly growled as he looked around. "Someone is here…"

"I am surprised that you just noticed," Aya stated, stepping into the clearing.

Gaston's hand flew to his sword. "Who are you? What are your intentions?"

"I am called Aya, and I work under Sarius," Aya said. "You do not need to draw your weapon. I have not come here with the intention of harming you; rather, the opposite."

"What do you mean?" Max asked.

"Falling asleep without a sentry was not a wise decision," Aya said dryly. "If I had not been there, all of you would have been murdered by Dark Scythe before even waking up."

"He was here?" Gaston said in disbelief.

"Unfortunately. It takes quite a bit to make that cretin let go of his goals," Aya sighed. "I got him to leave for the night, but he will be back, most likely today. I will not be able to help you when he returns."

"Normally, I'd be more than happy to get a chance of revenge at him," Max growled. "We can't risk putting Hope in danger though. We have to find a way to avoid him!"

"Then think of one on your own," Aya told him, turning away. "I cannot remain here to be of assistance. All I can say is good luck."

Max was about to respond to that, when Hope said, "…Thanks…"

"Hm?" Aya looked back at her. "What did you say?"

"…For helping us… when he came… last night… you said you had… I just wanted… to say thanks…" Hope said weakly.

Aya thought for a moment, and then replied. "When you recover, I will want to speak with you again. Until then, stay alive." Then she left, pushing aside some tree limbs as she exited the clearing.

Max was silent for a moment, and then he said, "We should get moving. The longer we remain here, the more chances we have of Dark Scythe coming back."

"I will lead," Tenma said.

"Then let me be in the rear," Gaston volunteered. "The last thing we need is an attack from behind us."

They began to slowly make their way through the woods. At every clearing they went through, Tenma would stop for a moment and sniff the air before confirming that it was safe to move on. Gaston kept his hand towards his blade at all times, eyes nervously darting around. Max was mainly concentrating on avoiding branches, roots, and other such obstacles from the forest. Despite that, he was still tense as they continued.

They emerged into another clearing, one that was a bit larger than previous ones. It was here that Tenma froze, and snarled. "This stench… it can only belong to…"

"Dark Scythe? How far away is he?" Gaston asked anxiously.

"…Too close to get away from," Tenma stated.

As he finished speaking, Dark stepped into the clearing, Kankorou beside him. Tenma and Gaston instantly got in front of Max and Hope, preparing themselves for the worst.

Dark did not seem disturbed by the two Soul Monsters. "You did not honestly expect to be able to get away, did you?"

"One can always hope," Gaston said.

"It would have been finished last night, had Tirran's wench not interfered," Dark growled. "There is nobody to help you this time though."

"If you wanted us to die, why didn't you just ambush us?" Gaston asked.

"I am not interested in fighting physically yet," Dark said. "Since dueling is held in such high regard, I believe that it would be easiest to carry out my goals through doing that." He looked over at Max. "We will face each other once more. As before, our stakes will be our lives. To make sure it isn't disregarded, as you did with your previous loss, the loser shall be slain in this area by the opponent."

Max glared at him. "I'll accept your challenge."

"…Max…" Hope said quietly.

"Hope… I'm sorry, but there isn't any other way to get around him," Max said. "Will you be able to hold out while I face him?"

"…Yes…"

Gaston went over to them. "I'll see to her. You need to concentrate on this duel."

"Yeah…" Max slowly handed her to Gaston, trying to be as gentle as possible. Despite his caution though, Hope gasped in pain as the exchange took place.

Gaston looked at her worriedly. "Just moving you this much hurts?"

It took Hope a moment to get her breathing under control as agony coursed throughout her. "…I-I'll live…"

Dark smirked as he watched them. "It seems my illusion had completely fooled you. I'm surprised that the girl is even alive, but it still served its purpose."

"Enough on that!" Max snarled.

"Are you trying to hide from what you did?" Dark said mockingly. "Are you so ashamed of your actions? Are you afraid of revealing to anyone else that you would believe an enemy more readily than one of your closest companions?"

"That… that's…" Max could not find a response to that.

"…That's not true…" Hope finished, looking over at them through her barely-open eyes.

Max stared at her, while Dark merely laughed. "You choose to defend the one who inflicted this much pain upon you?"

"…Yes… because it was not… his fault…" Hope said. "His life… you took emotions… that he got during… his life… and twisted them… to fit your needs…" She broke off, and coughed hoarsely before going on. "I cannot… blame anyone… but you…"

"Very cute," Dark said sarcastically. "Believing in a loved one, no matter what happens… are you really so naïve? Do you really believe he is on your side?"

"Yes…" Hope answered instantly.
Max stepped up in front of him, turning on his Duel Disk as Tenma went to his side. "I cannot say whether I deserve it or not, but I'm being given another chance by Hope. What I do know is that I will not fail this time. Your cheap tricks will not work any more; I am never going to make the mistake of trusting an enemy more than a companion, ever again! That's something that I know I can promise now!"

"I would not promise that," Dark sneered, activating his own Duel Disk as he spoke. "Promises are so easy to break, after all."

"Maybe for a twisted person like you," Max said venomously. "But now I have someone to uphold my vows for; that is why they shall remain true!"

"That could be argued against," Dark stated. "But it will not matter in the end, I suppose. When I kill you, there will be no chances for apologizing for betrayed trust, after all!"

Max finished his part of the conversation as they drew by saying, "Likewise for you, since you won't have the time to even wonder how I can keep my promises before you're dead!"

"Only one of these threats will come true," Dark said in finality. "Let us now see which of us will be fortunate enough to see their sentence for the other carried out."

…

"I can't win!" Rue said in disgust as his Life Points dropped to zero again.

Miles laughed. "Hey, Rue, guess what? I just realized that the sky is blue!"

"I didn't ask for your comments," Rue muttered, shuffling his deck once more.

Will looked up from his reading. "It must be past nine by now, yet they have not arrived."

"You're right. Should we go out and try to find them?" Amy asked.

"We did inform each other on where we would be," Claire recalled. "Hope and Max went to the forest, while Larka and Zack went to the Sky Temple."

"But Matt is looking for Max," Gen said. "He might want him for something. I believe we should give Hope and Max some more time to show up, like until ten or so. It would do little good to attempt a search; the forest is much too vast."

"You have a point," Neo admitted. "But what about Larka and Zack? They shouldn't have any reason to be held up, right?"

"That's why I think we should check up on them," Draken said. "If Darche could call up two Blue Eyes, Rue and I can go and see if they're still at the Sky Temple."

"Why do I have to go?" Rue asked, remembering how his last ride on a Blue Eyes White Dragon this morning had gone. It was not a pleasant memory.

"They might need back up, so it would be better to have at least two people," Draken explained.

"But why me?" Rue protested.

"Because Claire beat you while dueling," Draken grinned. "So you have to take some form of penalty for losing. This will work."

"You suck. I just thought I'd tell you that," Rue growled.

"Yes, I am aware of what good of friends we are," Draken replied. "Darche, can you call them over now?"

"I'm way ahead of you," Darche stated, who already was holding his glowing sword in the air.

Two Blue Eyes soon landed next to them, glancing at Draken inquiringly.

"We need a ride up to the Sky Temple," Draken told them. "You know the way, right?"

As a response, the two dragons crouched down, waiting to be mounted.

"I'm going to get you back for this… someday…" Rue muttered, climbing onto one of the Blue Eyes with Ruecian.

"Hopefully, it won't be someday too far in the future, or I'll be dead of old age first," Draken stated, mounting the other one with Darche. "We'll be right back after checking it out, all right?"

"Got it," Miles said.

Without further conversation, the Blue Eyes took off, flying up high. They stayed below the clouds for a short time, and then suddenly began to go straight up.

"We'll be right in front of the Sky Temple!" Draken shouted to Rue. "If Larka and Zack have been delayed by an enemy, we'll have to be ready to fight!"

"I'm fine with that!" Rue called back. "Let's go!"

The Blue Eyes emerged right in front of the Sky Temple, and the two of them instantly saw their companions. What they were doing made both of them speechless though.

Larka and Zack were both still in each other's embraces, and had not even been aware that they had been waiting for someone to come. Now that their friends had arrived, all the four of them could do was stare at each other.

Rue broke the silence abruptly by yelling, "OH MY GOD!" while falling off his Blue Eyes White Dragon in shock. Ruecian covered his eyes with his hand in exasperation as the Blue Eyes dived after him.

Draken looked over to where they had gone, and then stammered out, "Er… um… sorry for interrupting you… we'll be back in about five minutes… that ok?" Before they could answer, Draken's Blue Eyes went down after Rue's.

Zack raised an eyebrow. "It looks like we scared away our rescuers."

Larka blushed deeply. "Did we… do something wrong?"

"No, nothing," Zack assured. "Rue just does not know how to comprehend love, while Draken feels awkward for intruding."

"Ok…" Larka looked somewhat confused, but did not pursue the issue. "Maybe we had better get ready for their return?"

"That would probably be the best thing to do," Zack agreed.

Meanwhile, Draken had arrived next to Rue's Blue Eyes, which had managed to successfully get underneath him so that Ruecian could catch him before hitting the ground. Rue still looked very shocked. "I can't believe this…"

"I'm surprised too," Draken said. "I didn't think they'd admit it this early."

"You knew?" Rue asked in amazement.

"Well, duh. You could tell from how they were acting," Draken replied. "I just thought they would have waited a while longer before confessing their feelings for each other. I bet everyone else in the group had noticed too… except for Miles, maybe."

"And I'm left out of the loop," Rue complained.

"I can't believe that you missed it," Draken said, shaking his head. "Couldn't you tell how depressed Larka or Zack acted whenever the other wasn't around? And how much they were concerned about each other?"

"Um… I didn't really pay attention…" Rue confessed.

"Next you're probably going to tell me that you didn't even notice that Max and Hope love each other," Draken said.

Rue's eyes widened. "…Say… what?"

"Geez, you really are hopeless, aren't you?" Draken sighed.

"They're in love too? Are there any other relationships I'm missing?" Rue said in disbelief.

"Unless you count Neo and Mana, nope," Draken laughed.

"I don't count that," Rue muttered. Then he smiled as he remembered something. "Ok, so you could tell about those two relationships easily enough. But how come you noticed their feelings when you can't even tell how much Kisara likes you? I noticed that you forgot to add that in when I asked if I was missing anything else."

"Bring that up again and I won't hesitate to blast you to outer space," Draken growled. "I said I'd give them five minutes, and I'd say it's been about that amount of time. Let's go back and talk with them." Without waiting for an answer, he flew back up.

Rue sighed. "He can see other relationships but not ones that concern him? That's just weird." He looked over at his Soul Monster. "Ruecian, do you understand any of this?"

Ruecian shrugged.

"Typical," Rue muttered, before telling his Blue Eyes to rise as well.

By the time both of them arrived, Zack, Larka, and Malon were waiting at the foot of the stairs. Rue, Ruecian, Draken, and Darche dismounted and went over to them. Malon instantly ran up and jumped at them, but Larka seized him quickly.

Larka still seemed somewhat embarrassed by what had happened before. "I'm sorry if we startled you…"

"Startled is a bit too mild for that," Rue said.

"All I have to say is congratulations," Draken grinned. "I thought it'd be a while before either of you got the nerve up to confess, but it's good that you went ahead and did so!"

"You knew?" Larka asked, surprised.

"I think everyone but Rue and Miles would have known," Draken stated. "Maybe Neo too, but enough on that. Is that the only reason why you guys weren't down there by nine?"

"We actually had no method of getting down from here," Zack said.

Draken blinked. "Huh? Then how did you all get up here?"

"While going towards town, we came across a tablet of some kind that teleported us up here," Zack explained. "There was no way to get back down though."

"Unless you wanted to commit suicide by jumping," Rue commented.

"In case you forgot, I wouldn't have been able to do that anyway," Zack said dryly.

"Oh yeah…" Rue looked away sheepishly.

Draken rolled his eyes. "Way to be insensitive."

"It is fine," Zack stated. "More importantly, it would be helpful if you could lend us a way to get down from here."

"No problem. You can have one of the Blue Eyes; it should be able to carry you three. The other one can get the rest of us down," Draken said.

"It can carry four people?" Larka asked.

"We're mainly descending, so for something like that, it isn't an issue," Draken replied. "Now, if we were going to take a flight to a farther location, where we'd have to rise in certain areas as well, it wouldn't be a good idea. For this though, there's no trouble in having one of them carry four of us."

"All right then," Larka said, tightening her grip on Malon as he tried to wriggle free. "If we're ready, shall we go now?"

They mounted the Blue Eyes and wasted no time in descending. Shortly after taking off, they landed next to the group.

"What took you guys so long?" Miles asked as they landed and dismounted.

"We talked for a bit," Draken shrugged. "No big deal."

"What was the reason for the delay?" Amy inquired.

"A lack of a method to get down resulted in us being stranded there," Zack stated. "We teleported up, and had no way to get back down."

"How did you guys pull that off?" Neo asked.

Zack looked over at him. "By using a tablet of some kind; it would be easier to show everyone it later. Neo, I assume?"

"Yay! Someone else finally recognized me!" Neo said triumphantly.

Malon went over to Neo and sniffed him, wagging his tail excitedly.

Larka noticed something else. "Where are Hope and Max?"

"We're still waiting for them," Will said, looking back at his book. "I suggest getting yourselves comfortable. It might take a while. Matt is already searching for them; if they haven't arrived by ten, we'll be going to look as well."

"All right," Larka agreed, sitting down next to Zack. Draken dismissed the Blue Eyes before letting himself relax too.

Claire didn't intend to give Rue the same leisure. "Let's duel again!"

"Spare me…" Rue groaned.

"Don't let up on him!" Amy grinned. "Show him that you're the one in charge!"

Rue glared at her. "Thanks for the support!"

"Any time!" Amy smiled.

It was around this time that Zack got the feeling that he was being watched. He glanced over his shoulder to see Fell staring at him. Noticing that Zack had seen what he was doing, Fell looked away instantly, but still gave him an occasional glance.

Perhaps something is on his mind, Zack thought, dismissing the incident as Rue and Claire began another duel.

…

Max: 8000

Dark: 8000

"I trust you will not mind if I go first?" Dark asked sneeringly.

"Do as you want; I'll win either way," Max stated. Tenma growled softly.

Dark eyed Tenma. "I thought you said you had no Soul Monster. If that is the case, who would this be?"

"Tenma is my Soul Monster now. How I obtained him is none of your business," Max snapped. "Get on with it!"

"Whatever you wish. I lay one monster in defense mode, and end my turn."

Max shook his head. "You didn't even lay down any magic or trap cards? That's a pathetic way to begin a duel. I place a monster in defense mode on the field, and one card face down. That's all."

"It seems I did not need one either way, since you did not attempt to do anything threatening," Dark pointed out. "I will summon Chaos Rider, Gustav (1400/1500) and have him attack your set!"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I need my monster to stay alive," Max told him. "I activate my trap card, Attack Nullification! This negates your attack and ends your battle phase."

"I cannot exactly say that is a threat," Dark said. "Go ahead and take your turn."

"I'll flip summon my face down monster, Newt! (1900/400) Due to Newt's effect though, his stats are increased by 500 when flip summoned! (2400/900) Then I summon Element Devil! (1500/1200) Newt attacks Gustav!"

Max: 8000

Dark: 7000

"Then Element Devil attacks your defense monster!" Max declared.

"You have destroyed my Dark Clown Master Peten," (500/1200) Dark stated. "When he is sent to the Cemetery, I can activate his effect. By removing him from the game, I can special summon another one from my hand or deck." Another face down card appeared on Dark's field, which was in defense mode.

"This is where my Element Devil's effect comes into play," Max said. "When I have a Wind Main-Type monster on the field, if he destroys one of your monsters in battle, he can attack again. So I'll have him attack your second Peten!"

"I will remove him to get a third."

After glancing over his hand, Max said, "I'm done."

"I lay one monster in defense mode, and two other cards," Dark said. "That is all."

Max looked at the card he had drawn, and instantly played it. "I summon Dweller of Darkness Shadowkiller! (1400/200) His effect is that if you only have defense monsters in your monster zone, he can attack directly. So I will have Shadowkiller attack you directly!"

Max: 8000

Dark: 5600

"Then I attack your last Peten with Element Devil! I'll use his effect to attack your other defense monster as well!"

"It was Wicked God of a Thousand Eyes…" (0/0)

"Newt attacks directly! After that, I'm done."

Max: 8000

Dark: 3200

"So far, it's looking pretty good for Max," Gaston commented. "If he can just get Dark down by 200 more Life Points, then he will not have any way to use Hell Tempest."

"Good…" Hope whispered.

Dark seemed far from finished though. "I will play an instant magic card, Scape Goat. It gives me four Goat Tokens in defense mode. (0/0) I lay one card face down, and end my turn."

Max shrugged. "That isn't really a fitting card for you, and it does not pose much of a problem. I'll summon Giant Orc." (2200/0)

"In response to that, I activate Tidal Wave," Dark said. "It destroys all monsters on the field."

"Damn it," Max muttered. "I lay one card down and that's all."

"I play another Scape Goat card, and end my turn after laying another card down," Dark stated as four more Goat Tokens emerged.

"I activate Early Burial. By paying 800 Life Points, I can special summon Newt in attack mode," Max said. (1900/400)

Max: 7200

Dark: 3200

"Then I summon Demon Soldier. (1900/1500) Both of my monsters attack, to destroy two of your Goat Tokens. Then I'll lay one card face down and end my turn."

Dark smirked as he looked at his next card. "This ought to work very nicely. First, I switch one of my Goat Tokens to attack mode. Then I activate a magic card, Forced Transfer! We each choose a monster on our field and exchange them with each other. So I will let you have the Goat Token that is in attack mode, while I get one of your two monsters."

"Take Demon Soldier," Max decided.

"That's fine. I'll have Demon Soldier attack your Scape Goat."

Max: 5300

Dark: 3200

"I lay one monster in defense mode, and end my turn."

"That isn't too bad of a set back," Gaston said as Max drew. "Max still has the advantage."

"…Yes…" Hope said softly.

Gaston looked down at her, and saw that her eyes were reflecting her agony even more intensely than before. "What's wrong? You seem worse off than before… am I doing something wrong?"

"Yes… it's more painful…" Hope admitted.

Gaston thought for a moment, and then laid her on the ground gently. "Does that help somewhat?"

"…Yes…"

"Maybe it was the way I was holding you, or my body temperature; if you're condition is similar to a sickness, it could be because of that," Gaston said, kneeling down next to her. "Go ahead and relax. Max will win shortly."

Max had been watching them out of concern. When he saw that the situation had apparently been resolved, he began to take his turn. "I lay one monster in defense mode, and attack your last Scape Goat with Newt. I'm done after that."

Dark glanced at his next card, and smiled coldly. "This is the end for you. I sacrifice both of your monsters to special summon Lava Golem!" (3000/2500)

Max seemed undisturbed as he appeared in the flaming cage of the Lava Golem. "This gets old rather fast."

"Now I flip summon my Wicked God of a Thousand Eyes," (0/0) Dark said. "It attacks Lava Golem!"

At these words, Max grinned. "You've walked right into a trap!"
"What?"

"I activate Unholy Calamity!" Max said. As he spoke, a purple vortex emerged from beneath the field, pulling in Dark's two face down cards. "It can only be activated when you declare an attack, and it destroys all magic and trap cards on the field. Go ahead and have your Wicked God commit suicide on Lava Golem. All that will result from it is you losing several Life Points!"

"Those cards were Hell Tempest and Return From the Twilight Zone…" Dark hissed as his Wicked God was burned to ashes. "Damn it all!"

Max: 5300

Dark: 200

"Now you can't attempt to activate Hell Tempest again," Max pointed out.

Dark glared at him. "That is not important at this moment. I switch Demon Soldier to defense mode, and lay one card down. That is all."

As Max drew, the flames around the cage suddenly flared up, burning into Max. Tenma growled angrily as they cleared, leaving Max covered with ash.

"That's right…" Max recalled. "For each of my standby phases, Lava Golem deals 1000 damage to my Life Points."

Max: 4300

Dark: 200

"It still has its uses though." Max looked at the card he had drawn, and blinked. Then he looked over at Hope, and back at his hand. "How ironic… I lay all three of my cards face down, and attack Demon Soldier with Lava Golem!"

"Now it is your turn to fall for my trap," Dark sneered. "I activate Magic Cylinder, negating your attack and dealing damage to your Life Points equal to the amount of the attack."

Max: 1300

Dark: 200

"Argh… if Lava Golem is still around on my next standby phase, then it will only lead to even more trouble…" Max realized. "There's only one way around this. I'll end my turn."

"That only brings you closer to defeat," Dark stated as he drew.

"Actually, it's time to get rid of Lava Golem," Max said. "I activate a trap card, Cry of the Living Dead, to bring back my Newt in attack mode. In response to special summoning him, I activate Tidal Wave, destroying all monsters on the field. I'm not done yet though. I'll chain onto my monsters dying by activating another trap card, Soul Line!"

Hope smiled faintly as she saw him activate him, while Gaston shook his head. "That's quite a coincidence. I never would have guessed what a connection the card you gave him would have had to these recent events."

"It can only be activated when a monster on my side of the field is destroyed. By paying 1000 Life Points, I can special summon a level four monster from my deck. I'll bring out another Demon Soldier!" (1900/1500)

Max: 300

Dark: 200

"It will do you no good," Dark smirked. "I lay two cards face down. That is all."

Max glanced at the two cards tensely, and then drew. He looked at his card, and sighed in relief. "It looks like I've found a way to get around your defenses."

"How?" Dark asked apprehensively.

"By using this permanent magic card, Ectoplasm!" Max said, sliding it into his Duel Disk.

"What does it do?" Dark inquired.

"On each player's end phase, they choose one face up monster on their field and sacrifice it. This causes the other player to lose Life Points equal to half of the monster's base attack," Max explained. "So, do you see now what will happen?"

"Impossible…" Dark growled.

"Afraid not. I end my turn, and sacrifice Demon Soldier for Ectoplasm!" Max declared.

As he said that, the Demon Soldier began to dissolve, becoming a white light. Then the light shot straight at Dark, slamming into him.

Max: 300

Dark: 0

"So you won," Dark said coldly.

"Yes. I don't expect you to keep to our bargain though," Max stated.

In a crimson flash, Dark brought out his scythe. "It seems you know me rather well."

Before he could advance though, Max lunged at him. Taken by surprise from the aggressive move, Dark had to concentrate on trying to block Max's punches. After a few seconds though, Dark brought down his scythe. Max ducked, avoiding it the first time, but the second time, his left leg was cut.

Gaston was unsure of how he could help in this fight; if he tried to assist, he was just as likely to hurt Max as Dark. His problem with that was solved when Kankorou suddenly appeared in front of him. Before Gaston could react, Kankorou brought up his hands, and made a throwing motion towards Gaston. Instantly, Gaston was thrown backwards, crashing into a tree before falling to the ground.

He attempted to rise, only to realize that it was nearly impossible to move. He glanced at arms and saw that they were bound with a clear material. "Wires? Fitting," Gaston muttered as he tried to reach for his sword.

While he was distracted though, Kankorou went up to Hope, opening his hand to bring out more wires. But before he could do anything else, Tenma slashed him in the back. With a screech, Kankorou attempted to bind Tenma, but he was too large and strong to fall for it. He tore away the wires that had begun wrapping around his right arm easily, and then seized Kankorou. In less than a few seconds, Tenma had torn him to shreds, and the few parts remaining of Dark's Soul Monster soon vanished.

Max was not doing as well in his fight against Dark. Two more slashes of his scythe had connected with Max's chest and other leg, causing him to have three long, bleeding gashes. Max was well aware that he would not be able to beat him in combat like this, so he swiftly grabbed a card and thrust it into his Duel Disk. As he came next to Dark again, trying to hit him, he felt something form in his hand. Recognizing what it was, Max tackled Dark, attaching the item to his back while he was distracted.

Dark did not even notice what had happened as he jumped up and tried to cut into Max again. Max rolled backwards though, getting a decent distance away from him before rising again, holding a chain.

Noticing the chain, Dark paused, looking at where it led. His eyes widened as he realized where it ended, which was himself.

Max grinned as he saw Dark's comprehension, and before Dark could do anything, said "Bang," and pulled on the chain.

The Chained Dynamite instantly activated, causing and explosion to tear through the clearing. Tenma crouched down in front of Hope and Gaston, shielding them from it.

Only when it cleared did Tenma rise and go over to Gaston, cutting away the wires binding him with one swipe of his claws.

"Thanks," Gaston said, wincing as he stood up. He looked around at the damage, and blinked as he saw that several trees had been knocked away, and the area all around had been blackened. "I seriously hope Dark did not survive that."

"…Max…" Hope said worriedly. "What happened… to him…?"

Gaston went over to her, still looking around. "There's no sign of Dark, but none of Max either…"

"Because I got thrown a few yards away," Max stated, coming out of a pile of fallen trees and limping over to them. "I probably should have stood farther away."

"That might have been wise," Gaston agreed. "How badly are you wounded?"
"It's nothing," Max said, bringing out a Red Potion and drinking it. "He grazed me, nothing more. What about Hope?"

"…I'm fine…" Hope replied.

"So Dark's gone?" Gaston assumed.

"Unless he has a miraculous way of surviving an explosion that he is in the center of, he's dead," Max said. "I doubt I will be mourning for him any time soon."

Gaston nodded. "Indeed."

Tenma suddenly snarled, sniffing the air. "Someone is coming."

As he said that, Matt ran into the clearing, stopping short as he saw them. "Max! What the hell is going on?"

"We got attacked, so I had to take some drastic measures to kill him before he could do the same to us," Max said. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to try and find you. I suppose I should be grateful for that explosion, or I would have never been able to find you," Matt stated. "Anyway, it's about Brandi. She's been getting worse. I wanted to tell you so that you could go see her."

"Damn! Another thing to add to my list of problems," Max growled. "All right, I'll see to her. You're coming too, I assume?"

"Yeah." Matt eyed Tenma warily. "You can explain what happened later. We have to get back post haste though."

Max paused for a moment, looking over at Hope. "I guess we will have to go back to the real world now. But what if that has a negative effect on Hope recovering?"

"We don't have the time to think about that," Gaston said. "Leaving her here certainly won't benefit to her health. She might actually recover more quickly if she was able to rest at your place anyway, Max. The main problem is telling the others where we have gone, but we can worry about that later. This takes priority."

"Fine. We'll go back immediately," Max decided, kneeling next to Hope. "Is that ok with you?"

"Yes…" Hope said softly.

"I'm going to send you back first then." Max took her Duel Disk, and selected the option on her menu. She vanished instantly, and Gaston went right after her. Tenma also left without warning.

"See you in a few seconds," Matt said, leaving. Max looked around the clearing one more time, and then left as well.

…

Next to Brandi's bedside, Mana looked over the thermometer once more, her eyes filled with worry. "105.5… it's been like this for two hours now. If this keeps up…"

Hime, who had come in to check on them, asked anxiously, "Isn't there anything we can do to help her?"

"I don't know…" Mana said softly. Then she looked up. "Wait… yes, there is a way. There is something I can do, but I must ask for you to not interfere with it."

"Huh?"

"Please, just promise that you won't stop me!" Mana exclaimed, turning to Hime, who could see several tears falling from her eyes.

Hime hesitated, and then nodded. "Very well… but what are you going to do?"

"Keep her from dying," Mana said as she went onto the bed and straddled herself on Brandi's midriff. "I can't afford to have Brandi moving during this… every bit of energy counts." She then began to concentrate all of the energy in her body into the palms of her hands.

"Mana, please don't do anything rash!" Hime protested. "You mean too much to Brandi to be taking any large risks!"

"It's too late for that, Hime," Mana stated grimly. "There is no other way at this point…" She then rested her hands directly on Brandi's chest, right over her heart.

"Here goes nothing…" Mana murmured. Then she began to release the energy. Light poured out of her hands and entered Brandi. Mana tried to hold steady, but could not help but moan in pain as her energy flowed into Brandi.

Despite the agony, she held strong. I know that this hurts… but I have to do it. I have never tried healing Brandi when she was sick, but there is no other way she will live at this point. If I want her to live… I must finish this!

Hime watched in worry as Mana grew more and more pale, and her breath became very ragged. "Mana, please stop this! At this rate, you will…"

"I know!" Mana yelled, trying to focus long enough to complete her task. "But it will be worth it if it saves her!"

I have to do something… Hime thought fretfully. But I promised I would not interfere! Mana, what have you done?

Suddenly, Mana shuddered, and let go of Brandi as she fell off of her, onto the bed, beside her.

Mana's movement stirred Brandi from her sleep. "Hm… what is going on?" she asked exhaustedly. Then she sat up, looking at Mana in alarm. "Mana?"

Mana managed to turn her head towards Brandi. What Brandi saw horrified her. Mana, who was usually so happy and cheerful, now looked almost like a ghost, she was so pale. Her eyes, filled with life normally, were now dull, as though the light inside of them had died.

"Mana!" Brandi exclaimed, bringing her fallen Soul Monster closer to her. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry…" Mana whispered. "I just wanted to make sure that you would be ok… but I overestimated my capabilities…"

"What do you mean?" Brandi asked worriedly.

"I tried to save you from dying by healing you to purge the sickness…" Mana said softly. "I mostly succeeded and you should be out of danger… but now I am too weak to survive… I lost too much energy…"

"Mana, please stop talking like that!" Brandi begged. "You're fine. You're just tired, like every time you heal me. After resting, you'll be fine, I know you will be!"

Mana smiled weakly. "There is no use in denying it…" She stiffened, and then murmured, "Brandi… I love you…" as her eyes slowly drifted shut. Then her breathing ceased as she went limp.

Brandi stared at her, unable to believe what had just happened. "No…" she whispered, her voice barely audible from her shock.

Max, Hope, and Matt had just woken up when the calm silence in the house was broken by Brandi's sorrowful scream.

"MANA!"

To be continued…