Unfortunately, I failed to get up any chapters this weekend because I was very busy. However, I should be able to update once a day from now on like I said before.
John: Yep, Demon Rue's screwed. At least, it seems that way. We should find out during the credits of this arc, right?
Captain Obvious: You get the picture all right. As for Will, yes, he seemed the most likely to pass now that I think about it.
Chapter 5: Trial of Confrontation: Max
Max was forced to wait a short while so that his vision would improve. However, when it finally did, the results were not much better.
He was standing on a sidewalk at nighttime. There were houses, but not even one window was revealing inside lights. The lamp posts lining the street were not on either. There was almost no source of light.
Almost? Max glanced around, confused as to how he could even be able to partially see. Then he turned his gaze upwards.
In the sky, there were a few scattered stars. Surprised that only a few were showing, Max quickly counted how many there were. He arrived at a total of seven. All of them were shining brightly, but one in particular nearly blinded him when he looked up at it.
"Why are there so few stars, and no moon?" Max asked out loud, and then glanced around nervously, as though his voice had broken the spell of silence on this area. However, nothing stirred.
Max looked up again, knowing he needed to figure out what the stars represented before he could move on. His eyes locked onto the brightest star again, wondering why that one in particular stood out.
After a long moment, Max shook his head. "This is hopeless…" As he said that though, he had a sudden realization. "Of course! Hope!" Once more, his gaze went to the sky. "Hope is the brightest one, while the others represent…" He thought, and then concluded, "Mom, Dad, Brandi, Chasity, Ender, and Matt… they're farther away, but I am always thinking of them. Hope is the closest to me at the moment, so her star is the brightest…"
As he said that, the lamp posts suddenly lit up, showing him that he had guessed correctly. Max hesitated, and then began to walk down the sidewalk, following his instinct on where to go.
It was some time before he left the area with houses, coming to more public buildings. He did not stop walking until he suddenly heard voices.
Across the street he was on, he saw two figures that caused him to stare in shock. One was himself, but much younger, about ten years old. The other was his father.
Max quickly looked around the area, and recognized it at once. "No… it can't be this…"
His words made no difference to the unfolding scene. Another figure, clothed completely in black, jumped out of the shadows and, speaking loudly enough for the real Max to hear, said, "Listen up, and listen well, because I'm not repeating myself. Empty all of your cash from your bank vault, and give it to me. If you do this, I won't be forced to go to drastic measures."
Randall just shook his head. "No. My family needs this money. Please, just walk away quietly, and I won't be forced to report you."
The bank robber stood still for a minute, and then suddenly drew a gun and fired. Max's father collapsed, a shower of blood falling from the wound in his chest.
The robber swore, and then fled. The younger Max was left to sit by his father's body, sobbing, crying, begging him to wake up and comfort him…
"NO!" Max shouted, his hands clenched at his sides as he shook his head furiously. "That's over with! He isn't dead anymore!" Max looked at the ground as he whispered, "I've already accepted what happened. It hurt me a lot, and remembering it still does. But Dad's alive now. Even if I did not know that…" He turned his eyes to his younger self again, who had his back to him. "I learned to live with that event! So no more!"
As he said that, the young Max and his father's corpse faded away, leaving only the blood-stained sidewalk. Still pained by what he had seen, he crossed the street to the other sidewalk, stopping in front of the red area.
"Are you so sure that you have adapted to it?"
Max swiftly turned, staring at the reflection in front of him. It was slightly different from the one he had seen before though. The original one had had red eyes, while this one had bloodshot eyes.
Horrified by those eyes he recognized, he could only watch as the bloodshot eyes slowly became pure blood-red.
"Thanatos?" Max said.
"I don't know; you tell me," Dark Max smirked. "I am a reflection of your true nature. What that means is something only you can figure out."
When Max did not respond, Dark Max continued with a sneer, his eyes changing from blood-red to bloodshot and back again several times. "You were responsible for that robber's death. Did you enjoy that moment of revenge you had? Not only that, but you caused both your mother and sister such misery by fleeing, unable to face what you had done. What of your companions? You nearly killed them too. Your guilt still clings to you, and no matter how much you try, you cannot shake it off. You never will get rid of it, no matter how much you try to delude yourself. It's amazing that the girl even pretends to like being around you-"
"That's enough," Max growled.
"What?"
Max forced himself to look into his copy's eyes. "It's true that I did all that. I did cause agony among those I care about, and I will never forget that. Thanks to my loved ones, however, I have learned what I need to do. I had to face my problems head-on, and accept what occurred while moving on. Now that I know what my mistakes are, I can move on with my life, and avoid making them again!" He glared at Dark Max as he said the last sentence, daring him to disagree.
Instead, Dark Max laughed coldly. "Whatever you say…" A Duel Disk appeared on his left arm. "I will duel if you choose to not back down."
"I won't retreat," Max stated as he drew five cards. "Fight me to the best of your ability. When I win this duel, that will prove just how weak I was back then!"
Dark Max's eyes flickered again, changing to the blood-red color. Max thought he saw a flash of annoyance, but it was quickly gone as Dark Max drew his cards too, not responding to the comment.
Max: 8000
Dark Max: 8000
"You are required to go first," Dark Max told him.
"Fine by me," Max said, making a note of the odd wording. "I lay one monster in defense mode and end my turn."
"I'll activate Sealing Swords of Darkness," Dark Max announced. Pitch black swords plunged into the ground, trapping the face down monster in its current position. "For two turns, I am safe from the monster you set. Then I summon Dweller of Darkness Shadowkiller. (1400/200) Since you only have a defense monster on the field, he attacks directly!"
The Shadowkiller slipped around the Swords of Darkness and Max's face down monster. He brought up the axe in his hand and sliced Max's chest instantly.
Max: 6600
Dark Max: 8000
Max resisted the temptation to cover the wound, knowing it would only cause the blood to go everywhere. Dark Max said, "It is your turn, if you want to continue."
"You think that will stop me?" Max said as he drew. "Sorry, but you are very wrong. I play Cyclone, destroying your Sealing Swords of Darkness. Then I flip summon Newt, raising his stats by 500! (2400/900) I also summon Demon Soldier. (1900/1500) Newt attacks Shadowkiller, and Demon Soldier assaults you directly!"
Max: 6600
Dark Max: 5100
Max watched as the attacks hit Dark Max. They did not seem to leave lasting damage, but Dark Max still seemed irritated. Max said, "I am done."
"I summon Giant Orc (2200/0) and activate Shrink on your Newt, (1450/900)" Dark Max declared. "Giant Orc attacks Newt!"
The Giant Orc ran up to Newt, smashing through it completely with its club. The weapon managed to graze Max.
Max: 5850
Dark Max: 5100
"Although my Giant Orc loses 500 attack from Newt (1700/0) that will not really matter, since it is going into defense mode. I end my turn by laying one card face down."
Feeling pain flare through his ribs, Max winced. He considered himself lucky that Shrink only split the base attack of the monster in half; he would have lost more Life Points otherwise. He looked at his hand, and then shrugged. "Might as well… I summon Twilight Zone Trainer." (100/2000)
Dark Max stared at the monster that emerged. "You are planning something."
"Maybe. I lay a card face down. Twilight Zone Trainer attacks Giant Orc!" Max said.
Dark Max flipped over his face down card. "I activate my trap, Unholy Calamity. It destroys all other magic and trap cards on the field."
"Damn!" Max growled. "I should have waited to lay that down… I lose my Torture Wheel."
"Excellent," Dark Max smirked. "Going to do anything else?"
"I attack with Demon Soldier... lay one more card down, and end my turn," Max said reluctantly. He had wanted to keep a trap in his hand for back up later, but it seemed like using it now was the best option.
Max: 5850
Dark Max: 3200
"You will regret summoning that weak monster," Dark Max stated. "I activate Early Burial, to bring back Giant Orc."
Max: 5850
Dark Max: 2400
"Then I sacrifice him for Demon King of the Underworld: Ha-Des! (2450/1600) He attacks your Twilight Zone Trainer!" Dark Max said.
The dark energy blast easily tore apart the Twilight Zone Trainer. It hit Max, causing him to nearly fall over from the force of the attack.
Max: 3400
Dark Max: 2400
"I am done after that," Dark Max told him.
"…I play Jar of Greed to draw two cards." Max knew he was as good as dead if he didn't draw something good this turn. To his relief, the cards he got were perfect. "For once, I'll be the one copying my reflection. I activate Early Burial to bring back Twilight Zone Trainer." Max felt energy leaving him as his Life Points decreased, but he held firm.
Max: 2600
Dark Max: 2400
"Then I activate Cry of the Living Dead to special summon Newt! I sacrifice Twilight Zone Trainer for End of Anubis! (2500/0) After that, I equip End of Anubis with Power of Teamwork! (4900/2400) End of Anubis attacks your Ha-Des, finishing you off!"
Max: 2600
Dark Max: 0
Dark Max's eyes changed to bloodshot ones, and then back to pure blood-red as he began to disappear. "I thought your weaknesses would make winning easy…" he said before vanishing.
Max did not want to remain in this area any longer, especially with the gruesome bloodstain behind him. Fortunately for him, the location began to fade away.
He then found himself in the forest. Although there were many trees and plants, Max did not see any other forms of life at first. Then he heard a startled gasp, and turned to the direction it had come from.
Seated on a tree branch a short distance above the ground was a young girl. Max tried to see her features, but she was out of focus, so he could not tell what she looked like.
"Is something wrong?" Max asked.
"I'm sorry," the girl replied. "You just startled me. I thought I was alone."
"It's fine." Max looked at the tree and saw it seemed easy to climb. "Mind if I join you?"
"No, go ahead," the girl said. Max responded by going up to the trunk and beginning to come up, ignoring the occasional flares of pain from the duel.
He sat on the same tree limb next to her. It was quite sturdy, and held both their weight easily. They remained silent for several minutes before Max said, "Are you here for a reason?"
The girl nodded. "Yeah. I'm really worried about something, so I wanted to be by myself for a while."
"Oh… sorry to ruin that," Max said.
"No, it's fine," the girl assured. "You couldn't have known."
"Well, since I'm already here, maybe I can help," Max suggested. "What is it that you are concerned about?"
"…You'll probably think I'm crazy when I tell you," the girl said softly.
"After all I've seen, I doubt it," Max replied. "Go ahead and tell me."
The girl slowly placed her hand over her heart. "I think there is something… inside of me… it's a power that frightens me. When I felt it… I felt an urge… an urge to kill everyone around me…" The girl looked away. "You see? I don't even have proof that anything is wrong, but I'm scared of this thing… very scared…"
When he saw she was done, Max said, "Don't worry. I believe you."
The girl turned back to Max. "Really?"
"Yes. I've had a problem like that myself," Max told her. "I hurt my friends badly, and nearly killed some of them…" Max paused, and then forced himself to continue. "I still feel guilt about it. But I've accepted what I've done and moved on."
"…Do you think… I will do the same?" the girl asked.
"Hopefully not," Max said. He smiled at her reassuringly. "You can fight the urges when they come. I might have been able to if I hadn't given up already. I won't ever know now. But I can tell that you are very strong. I have complete confidence that you can stand up to whatever is inside of you."
The girl seemed very relieved by what he had said. "Thank you. I feel a lot better now."
"I'm glad I could help." At a sudden impulse, Max said, "I can't help but admire you. I hope I have a daughter like you one day."
The girl gave him a look of amazement, and then smiled brightly. "I hope you do too, Max."
Max realized that he was vanishing. As he did, the girl suddenly came in focus for a brief second.
Max did not know why, but he was completely shocked at what he saw. Before he could say anything, however, he was gone.
…
Tenma got up from where he had been laying and growled as Max emerged from the mirror. Hope went over to him instantly, looking at the wound he had acquired worriedly. "Are you all right?"
"Yes, thanks," Max replied, forcing himself to not show any sign of the pain that he felt.
"Hey Max, I didn't know you were into astronomy," Rue joked as he saw what appeared on the mirror.
Max looked over at it to see a bright star glinting in the mirror. He said, "It was a good representation of what occurred." He glanced over at Brandi, who was exactly as he had left her. He asked Larka, "How is she doing?"
"No better, but no worse," Larka answered sadly. Max nodded in response, but said nothing else to her.
Instead, he commented, "Has anyone else gone first in their duels?"
"Yeah, I did," Rue confirmed.
"Me too," Will replied. "It is because they are reflections. They cannot move until we do. My reflection confirmed my guess when I asked."
"That explains," Max said.
Knowing the drill by now, they faced the next mirror. This time, Draken was the one who winced as his reflection appeared.
"Looks like it's your turn," Rue said with a grin. "You up for it?"
"If you can do it, so can I," Draken retorted, his nervousness vanishing in irritation.
Seeing that his comments were helping his friend, Rue continued. "Are you sure about that? It's pretty hard, you know. There's no turning back. If you want to get out of it, now's the time."
"Just wait!" Draken snapped. "I'll do fine!" He said to Darche, "I'll be back shortly, so don't worry."
"I'm more concerned about your reflection at the moment than you," Darche informed him.
"Nice to know." Draken said to the others, "See you guys shortly," and then stepped into the mirror.
…
Matt breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Max seemed ok overall. "Whew. It turned out all right."
"Good. He was one of the ones I was most concerned with," Claire commented.
Amy was watching the scene in the lake avidly. "Draken is going in next."
Hearing that, Kisara directed her attention back to the water immediately. "Draken?"
She was just in time to see him vanish. When Amy saw that Kisara seemed very worried, she placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. I'm sure he'll come through."
"I hope so," Kisara whispered.
To be continued…