Chapter 18: The Truth Comes Out

When Bonz came to, he found his eyes straining against a bright light. Carefully opening them, he was surprised to find himself not in the afterlife, but in a living room.

"Huh? Where am-"

"Oh, you're awake!"

Turning slightly, he found Ally coming in with a tray of food and a roll of gauze, which she used to change his bandages.

"Where am I? How-"

"You're at our house. Zuzu brought you here after your duel, saying she couldn't just leave you to die. Dad didn't like it, but since he didn't have any better ideas, he decided to let you stay."

Once he was all bandaged up, Bonz started to eat. To his malnourished stomach, it tasted like a five star meal, although it was just eggs and toast.

"Good, you're awake."

Zuzu entered the room, setting her backpack down on a couch before kneeling down to Ally's height.

"Ally, do me a favor and let dad know I won't be at You Show today, okay? I want to have a little chat with our guest, okay?"

"Okay, Zuzu! Just don't be too hard on him, he seems nice."

"I'll be the judge of that."

Ally skipped out the front door, Zuzu smiling at her sister's nonchelant attitude. Her smiled hardened into a glare, however, as she turned back to Bonz.

"Alright, start talking. What do you ghouls want with me and Yuya?"

"I...I don't know."

Zuzu wasn't having any of this, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him up against the wall.

"Don't play dumb with me! Look, I could've left you for dead, but I took you in and fed you. The least you can do is tell me what's going on!"

"I would if I could, but I don't know! All I was given was your name and your description, but what their beef with you is beyond me. I promise, I'm telling the truth!"

Realizing he couldn't give her any more information, Zuzu sighed and dropped him, letting him get back to his food. As he scarfed down the first decent meal he had in years, Zuzu couldn't help but look on pity. He was only a year younger than her, but he was barely taller than her little sister, and he looked more like the zombies he had in his deck than a human being.

"Why are you working for the Rare Hunters? You don't seem like the sadistic type."

Bonz sighed sadly, wiping some food from his lips.

"I...I have nowhere else to go. I grew up in an orphanage, lets just say the matron wasn't exactly the nurturing type. I was lucky to ever get food, and when I did it was usually rotten or half eaten. One night I couldn't take it anymore and ran. Big mistake. Now I wasn't just hungry, but cold and wet. I thought I would die in the rain that night, but just as I was about to pass out I was picked up by these robed men."

"The Rare Hunters?"

"Bingo. They fed me and gave me new clothes, but they made it clear that I belonged to them now. I was scared at first, but for a while they took care of me. Gave me better food, taught me how to duel, stuff like that. For a while, I thought I had a real family. Boy, was I wrong."

Tears started to well up in his eyes.

"Once I was strong enough to hold a duel disk, they upped the training. Day in and day out, I dueled against other kids for the right to eat. The losers got the same treatment I had last night, and well...lets just say I lost quite a few times."

Zuzu gasped in horror. She knew that they were ruthless, but doing that to innocent kids? Any anger she had towards Bonz was now gone.

"After a few years of this, they told me I was decent enough to become a field agent, and...well, the rest is history."

His eyes went wide with horror as he came to a realization.

"Oh, shit! I can't go back now, they'd kill me! I need to hide, I..."

Zuzu placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling gently.

"It'll be alright. You're safe here. In fact...well, I'd have to talk to dad, but if you want...you could stay here with us."

"You...you really mean it?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Bonz leapt up and hugged her, crying tears of joy.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! How can I ever repay you?"

"How about starting by respecting personal space?"

"Oh, right, sorry."

(Midnight, Paradise City Docks)

A masked figure leapt down from on high, meeting up with his associate, the same teen that had saved Yuya and Zuzu.

"Well?"

The masked figure shook his head in disappointment.

"She's not Lulu, she couldn't be. She...she used fusion summoning."

"WHAT?!"

"I saw it with my own eyes. Lulu would never do that, not after what they did to our home..."

"DAMNIT!"

The taller teen punched a wall in fury, cringing only slightly as he hand throbbed in pain.

"Shay, its alright. We can still get her back."

"How, Yuto? That was the only lead we had."

"Its simple..."

Yuto held out a flyer, which Shay took. It was a flyer for LDS, with Declan front and center.

"...If their Professor is truly from this dimension, then all we have to do is kidnap his son. Once he sees we have his only offspring, he'll have to do what we say."