Chapter XIII

Father

A small and young Ed looks at the Destiny hero cards, his elbows supported on a table, his eyes wavering as he checks every one of them, a memento of his father and everything he had left as a reminder of the tragedy.

The corner of his eyes become wet, a hand breaks that silence, the warmth on his shoulder waking him up to reality, he quickly wipes those eager tears with a whole arm and looks at the figure behind him.

"Ed, are you still awake? You should be sleeping at this time, if you don't get enough sleep, you won't grow enough."

The man standing there is none other than DD, his smile is fickle, disappearing as he turns on the light. The boy opens his tiny lips, but closes them shut, lowering his gaze. A deep sigh comes out of the man, he ruffles the boy's hair, yet again conquering his attention.

"You're interested in duel monsters, Ed? Well, your father was a card designer, I suppose, that is a worthy reason to be intrigued by it. "

"My..." he starts talking, unsure if it was a good idea, the man simply waits until he continues "My father made all those cards… I thought it's very cool. Plus, whoever… Whoever came there that day, they wanted a card my father made, didn't they?" he turns around, averting his gaze from the man "Do you think… Do you believe I could find him if I become a duelist famous enough to travel around the world?"

A twitch occurs on D's brows, but his composure of placidness does not break in front of the kid, a small curve on his lips and pitied gaze seeing those expectant eyes on him, a vouch of trust.

"You want to find that person on your own, is that what you are saying?" he ruffles the boy's hair again "You might be too young to be worrying about those matters."

"I'm not!"

He chuckles, but the answer is a slap shoving his hand away, Ed clenches the card of his father on his little fingers, turning his gaze away. A low, contained sniffle spreads in the air, DD's smile vanishes.

He kneels down, looking from below at the kid sitting there in front of him. The chair is too tall for that boy, his legs not even reaching the ground where he sits. Such a young child, such a big burden...

"Are you saying you want to trail the path of a professional duelist, Ed?"

"What if I do...?" he doesn't look at DD, in some sort of grudge and petty annoyance.

"Well..." he stands up, beating off the dust from his pants "In this case, I could teach you."

He gasps, looking at the man, his eyes waver, his ears are still not sure of what he heard right now. The man sneers, a faint smile on his lips.

"What do you say? Would you want that?"

"I can… You will teach me how to be a duelist?"

"If that is your wish, yes. I am your guardian after all, and I owe your father one..."

His eyes squint slightly at the last part, but it goes unnoticed on the eyes of that young boy, looking up to him as if a hero came down to help him. For the first time, Ed smiles brightly, filled with a sense of hope.

"Thank you, DD! Thank you so much! I want to learn how to be a duelist!"

"Well, first you'll need to be a good boy and sleep, no duelist can have a proper match if they're going sleepless before their big day."

"R-Right!" he drops from the chair, nodding briskly "I will listen! I will do my best!"

"Good."

He turns off the light, offering his hand to the youngster that accepts it affectionately, letting him guide through the house to the bedroom, unaware of the cold eyes of the man looking down on him, disdaining that affection, scorning at it even.

That memory of a distant past flickers like a paper burnt and blown away by the wind. In the present time, the two stare at each other, his mentor has a vicious grin and he clenches his teeth, perplexed, a drop of sweat delineating his face. The man starts telling his tale:

"I was nobody before. As a pro duelist, my career has sunken so low, I had nowhere else to go, that is, until a gift of destiny fell into my hands."

"A gift of destiny…?"

"Yes, the one who gave me that was you, Ed."

His eyes squint in relish, reminiscing the first time they met: a paper floats in the air, it gets stuck under a signboard, he squats down and picks it, surprised to see a duel monster drawn on it. A small gray-haired boy soon comes running and asks him to give it back.

"My father drew this, thank you for getting it, mister."

He rushes across the street to an apartment building. Enlightenment comes to his mind, if he can't win normally, then he just has to open a way through this maze of losses. He must become a legend.

During the night, after crafting a plan to intrude the apartment of the boy, he barges into the office of Phoenix, the card designer. The card he sees is just as marvelous as in the drawing, complete and powerful. His little adventure is not without thrill, the maker of the card appears with a flashlight.

"Who are you? What are you doing?!" he gasps seeing the card in the hands of the man "Put it back, you don't understand this card..."

"I do. It's the most powerful card in duel monsters." his grin enlarges, faced with images of glory that would come from owning it.

"No, that is not what I mean..."

Before he had time to explain, from the card a devilish hand comes out, grabbing DD's face and a surge of dark energy overcomes his body, his eyes become a bright, deep red and he looks enraged at the creator of the card.

Back to the cruise, he smiles while describing the memory to Ed that is even more disgusted with his delight.

"To become a legend, people in power always had to kill and sacrifice lives. By killing your father, I became a legend. Since I got this card, I didn't lose a single duel and I climbed to the throne of champion, keeping it for a decade!"

He presses a button, from the ground an altar arises, it has only two duel disks. His eyes have a mix of scorn and enjoyment, a treacherous smile on his lips.

"No, this can't be! If you killed my father, then why did you become my guardian?!"

"The repercussions of your case were bigger than expected, at that time, I had to keep an eye on the developments of the investigations, and you were the closest one to know about it..."

The gray-haired has a faint memory in which he talks to a gentle-looking DD, he is asked about the police investigations and innocently answers no culprit was found yet. That memory is shattered like glass, a fiery and burning rage boiling inside his chest.

"You really just wanted to use me?! For a reason like that, my father..." his fists close tightly "I accept your duel!"

The duel starts with the clash between those conflicted feelings throbbing inside his heart. The person he thought he could trust the most besides Saiou was nothing more than a puppeteer pulling his strings all along.

To think for those ten years the person who killed his father was near him, this whole time, seeing his constant efforts of relentlessly chasing criminals. He might have looked like a joke. A source of entertainment for an evil heart. No more. Things will be settled today.

Right on his first turn, Ed exhausts his hand, using all the cards, the tower of seclusion is placed in the field, and he halves the life points of his opponent, corresponding to the fierce attack, DD summons his main monster, the one whose fate entangles with Ed, his father and Saiou's.

"Come forth, Bloo-D!"

His blue eyes open wide, trembling at the sight, he has been searching for it for so long, he has been waiting to see it since he was a child and now, in front of him, in his opponent's field...

"So this is the Ultimate D..."

"I will show you that all is powerless against this card!"

He is about to face his most gruesome and cruel opponent, towering in front of him, the monster that was feared by all and caused him all nightmares and the tragedy of his family.

A drop of nervous sweat rolls down his face, even knowing he can't afford to lose his concentration. He spares a brief glance at Zara, she is leaning on a wall, still looking like she is in pain from the fever. His harsh, indignant wrinkles attenuate a bit in pity. She came here for him, but suddenly this all became a mess. He needs to win this duel for him, his father and for her sake too.

When his gaze is back at his opponent, he is completely free of doubt, determined to take on the challenge. His Dogma guy is destroyed and absorbed by Bloo-D that also incorporates the abilities of the monsters it destroys and half of its attack.

In a single blow, 3600 points of life are dealt to Ed, he falls on his knees, his chest hurts. It is real pain, just like he felt while dueling in the dark realm when that card came after Zara.

"Is this a duel to death like he said it was?"

With a grunt of motivation, he stands up annoyed, DD's smirk enlarges in a provoking tone.

"Oh, still didn't lose yet?"

"You're the one that's going to lose this duel!"

"Then, allow me to treat you with some more suffering."

He activates the card D force, putting it face up on top of his deck. A powerful and ominous white aura emanates from both his body and the hologram of the monster. Ed is astounded.

"What is this?"

"This is the power to recreate everything. A gateway that engulfs all, condensing and transforming it all into an evil light. Ed, there is no need to fear death." his voice is distorted in the last sentence, as if something else speaks through his mouth "Soon, all will end. You will only be going a bit before the rest."

"What are you talking about?"

His mind drifts through all the things Zara kept saying about world destruction. Was she referring to this? To whatever speaks through DD's mouth right now? A world of destruction. Just how far in the future did she foresee...?

Resuming the duel, Ed draws a card the effect of his own monster that was absorbed by Bloo-D affects him now, halving his 400 life points to 200. The pain is unbearable, he yells out loud.

"You're hanging now by a mere thread."

"No, I'm still in this!"

With his blazing spirit, he challenges destiny once more, by using his Diamond guy effect and drawing 2 cards, he summons Devil guy in defense mode and uses its effect of removing monsters from the game, choosing Bloo-D as the target. Unlike he planned, its effect is negated.

"It's pointless! When my D force is on the field, any and all monster effects that target Bloo-D are nullified!"

"What?!"

The tower of seclusion moves again, Ed doesn't lose his hope. In 2 turns it will activate and he will have a chance.

"Ed, it seems you didn't realize yet..."

"Huh?!"he scowls at those vile words.

"Believe in your D heroes' power over the future all you want… But time has stopped inside you. From the moment your father died… You haven't changed at all! You haven't grown at all! You're still the same kid from back then!"

His eyes waver in shock. The recollection of him crying as he holds dearly the cards his father made as his father lies still on the ground. The times he spent trying to become a better duelist, the talks he had with DD, unaware of the man's true intentions, and lastly, Zara's face comes to his mind.

How she cried that day on the yacht telling him he was stagnant and about the rage fueling his heart with bad emotions, making him unable to change. This whole time he… He has been wrong. Did he not grow a single bit since he was a kid? Did he not change at all? That can't be...

At that moment, DD activates the card Drain time, the tower of seclusion is frozen. Ed is bemused, looking at the hologram.

"When I have Bloo-D on my field, my drain time lets me freeze any phase I like. The one I choose is naturally the standby phase. With this, time has been completely stopped for you. Go, Bloo-D!"

Launching the attack, he expects the end of the duel, but Ed activates a trap card, D counter. Whenever a D-hero is attacked, he can destroy that monster. Nonetheless, his trap is negated. His Devil guy is destroyed, but he takes no damage from it.

"It's useless. No traps or effects will work!"

"Impossible! Monster's effects, magic, trap card, how can it all not affect it?!" his fists close in frustration.

"You should be touched, Ed. The ultimate D your beloved father created is truly absolutely flawless!"

He grumbles in irritation and a drop of sweat forms on his face, his opponent keeps provoking and foiling all his strategies. DD ends the turn by placing a card face down and Ed simply draws and places two cards face down, ending his turn.

"With no monsters in your field, I'd say the match is settled. Obviously, with my drain time effect your clocktower is unable to move. Die, Ed, go right to your father's side! Bloo-D, bloody fears!"

The explosion makes smoke, but when it dissipates, Ed is still standing, both players used their trap cards, while DD used his to destroy the clocktower, Ed used the Eternal Dread trap card.

"This card places 2 clock counters on my tower of seclusion. And since you destroyed the Clocktower, my Dread guy came out and protected me with his invincible barrier!" a smug smile plays on his lips.

"Even so, Bloo-D is immune to monster effects!"

"That is why I activated one more trap. Greed pact! Take a look at your deck!"

The D force card that should be on top of his deck is drawn, he is surprised.

"This card makes both players draw one card from their decks, and with D force out of your deck, your invincible field is also gone! Dread guy, activate your effect! It special-summons the D heroes in my cemetery!" he raises his hands as the monsters arise on his field "Show yourselves, Diamond guy, Diehard guy!"

"Even so, your defeat remains unchanged!" he grumbles in fury "Be reborn, D force!"

He puts it back on the top of his deck. His next move is the activation of the card unfair judge, whose effect is: when he is yet to attack during the battle phase with a monster, it resumes the attack of his monster but directs it towards all the opposing monsters at the same time. The attack vanquishes all the monsters on Ed's field, leaving him open again.

With the impact he lowers his head, his eyes tremble upon facing an imminent destruction.

"It's hopeless, I can't win… I'm sorry father, Zara..." his eyes close tightly in defeat and angst.

Why did he have to lose like this? He wanted to make justice with his own hands, more than anything else, yet, all he did was bring himself death and involve Zara in it too. She did not deserve this. Just as his mind is bordering despair, the ring on his pocket shines, he hears a voice echoing in the air.

"Ed, believe in the power of the D-heroes..."

That familiar voice, bathed in fondness, he would recognize it anywhere, many images come to his mind, of his father playing with him and how they smiled and of the people he met in the duel academy too, Saiou and his sister, the last scene on his mind is a smiling Zara. He can't afford to lose here, for himself and everyone else that believed in him.

"Father!" his eyes open, filled with expectancy. "That's right… The match isn't over yet… I'll believe in the D-heroes my father left me!"

"It's my turn! I draw!" he shouts, his voice exhibiting confidence, his duelist spirit burns again.

The next card he draws is one his father left for him after dying, the D-hero Dark Angel. A monster with 0 ATK and DEF. What is the use of having that card is what he thought as a kid. But now, something clicks on his mind:

"I see, this hero is the weakness to the Ultimate D that my father left behind."

"I discard my Dark Angel card from my hand, sending it to the cemetery to activate its effect: it revives my Dark Angel!"

"A D-hero that revives from the cemetery, is it?"

"Yes! And this card gets revived on the top of my opponent's deck!"

Astonished by the revelation, he glances at the top of his own deck, his D Force is replaced by the dark angel card.

"With this, your D force has been locked away! And now, I activate the field magic, Dark City! When a D-hero attack is lower than an opposing monster, it raises its ATK by 1000 points! Show yourself, D-hero, Divine Guy!"

Ed launches the attack with his 2600 points ATK monster, and clenching his fists victoriously, he declares:

"When his attack is declared, Divine Guy destroys an equip card and inflicts 500 points of damage! I will destroy the dogma guy your Bloo-D absorbed!"

With the destruction of Dogma Guy, Bloo-D attack drops to mere 1900 and DD's life points drop to 700.

"How could this…?!" he complains enraged.

"Brace yourself, DD! I am avenging my father!"

He frowns, putting his closed fist near his chest, his heart simmers his blood from inside, pumping all that determination through his whole body. He is unstoppable now.

"Avenging your father? So you can't hear all those moans?" he guffaws.

From Bloo-D's wings, a disturbing sight: faces pop out, covered by its grey layer of wings, many people are in there, they cry in pain.

"It's true that I haven't used Bloo-D in official duels. But it has sucked up many souls of duelists through duels in the underground world. Don't you want to see, Ed? Your beloved father..."

From those devilish wings, the face of his father pops out, colorless, he has a saddened expression, Ed gasps at the sight.

"Ed…?" his father has a weakened voice "Ed, you've grown so much..."

"Father…?"

"Your father's soul is also inside Bloo-D! Even so, are you going to take it out?"

"Your snake!" he sweats, grinding his teeth.

"Ed, I've created a dreadful card." a tear trickles down his colorless face.

His eyes flicker upon the sight. The face of his father, consumed by a monster, he can see the affliction inside those monochromatic eyes, it pains him. Why did he have to encounter his father like this? He just wanted to avenge him, to give his soul peace.

"I heard it the moment I started producing Bloo-D..." his torso stretches out "The voice of the light of destruction!"

"The voice of the light of destruction?"

The words ring a bell vaguely on his mind, the destruction Zara has been talking about. Is it really related to that? And the horrid future she saw, one in which all perishes under this very same light.

"I just couldn't win against it… A temptation much like Pegasus' when he made the God cards… Even so, it was a mistake… Listen to me, Ed! The power of the light of destruction that dwells on this card is but an empty shell!"

"What do you mean?"

"The light of destruction's power is clinging onto someone else! And his name is Takuma Saiou!"

"Saiou?!" he is flabbergasted.

"If the light of destruction releases its powers, the world will fall into ruin."

Ed's eyes falter at the discovery, true enough his friend has been acting more than suspicious, but that was the reason? He was influenced by an evil light? And Zara's predictions, the future she saw, is it all true after all? Her desperation to prevent it, her struggle to make him understand, he couldn't comprehend fully until now. This moment.

His eyes avert to the side once more, flickering, to the girl who strongly opposed to this destiny of destruction and failed. His attention is back to his father again with the next and last call:

"Go, Ed! Defeat Bloo-D and go to Saiou!"

"But..." he bites his lips, bitterly.

"Please, avenge me. And make your frozen time start moving..."

Uncontrollable tears spurt from his eyes, looking at the son once small enough to be held high in his arms, without another word, he is pulled back to those dark wings and disappears from the scene.

"Father..." Ed's brows are twisted in sorrow. "Father!" he calls louder, but his voice does not reach its destination "Father..."

Tears start swelling on his eyes too, a painful and sharp piercing sensation on his heart. His whole life he lived for this moment and now… He has to move on. A powerful growl comes out of his mouth, and with his tears dripping, he attacks Bloo-D. His mind is full of the memories he cherished with his father. All of them, he cannot see the holograms anymore.

When Bloo-D is destroyed, his enemy loses all the remaining life points. Challenging all the odds, Ed is the winner, as the animations occur in the background, he hears the calm and tender voice of his father for the last time.

"Goodbye, Ed."

"Father..."

His eyelids are close shut in angst, his fists clutch unwittingly, his body shakes, just like the time when Zara was almost dead, his strength seems to disappear. Before he has time to mourn, DD falls to the ground in defeat and with him, his deck, his cards slips out of the duel disk, among them, Bloo-D.

A white shadow comes out of the card, its evil eyes are red and it howls in defiance, causing an explosion. Ed's arms react to cover his face, but the flames from the explosion draw closer, he closes his eyes, with the impact and wind.

For a moment, those flames that should have directly consumed him avert his path, going up and down as if a barrier protected him, from his pocket an subject shines through the cloth, he is unable to notice that.

Even though the flames did not consume him, the blows of the explosions on the cruise sent him flying near the wall, where Zara is. The first thing he sees when opening his eyes is the card Bloo-D, taking it. His hands move on their own, taking it.

"Father..."

From the blazes burning brightly, DD arises once more, spitting his insanity with the utmost confidence:

"I am a legend! I am a chosen human!" the blazes overwhelm his whole body.

"DD… You've gone mad..."

Ed stands up, he quickly scans around with his eyes, until he spots Zara. Checking her conditions with his sight, she is not burned. He takes her with both arms, running away from those flames.

The shaking of his speedy movements awakes the sleepy girl, her eyes open slowly, still muzzy as she tries to focus her vision on his face while her surroundings move the whole time.

"Ed…?"

"Zara! Wait just a bit more… I will get us out of here!"

He comes to the deck of the cruise, everything inside is already engulfed by flames, he goes near the borders of the ship, casting a look down with a worried glance. With her in this state, he will need to jump and swim them both to the yacht.

From the sky, he hears a buzzing noise, it's an helicopter with a ladder hanging out of it, surprised he takes a look at the approaching vehicle and a voice calls out to him:

"Ed Phoenix! Come, you must hurry!"

It's principal Samejima, the man gasps seeing the two teens on the boat and his expression becomes even more serious. Letting one of his hands go from Zara, her feet drop to the ground, she swings back and forth slightly, as if dizzy. His brows curl in concern, the fever seems to not be gone yet.

Firming a grip around her torso, he puts her hands around his neck and uses his free hand to grab the ladder, bringing her as close as possible and supporting their weights.

"Hang onto me, Zara."

Her arms barely get a hold on him, limp and frail. Her head plops to his chest as the transportation moves away from the burning cruise. More explosions occur in the ship, casting a last glance back, under the reddish night, illuminated by the fire, he declares with relief:

"Father, I avenged you..."

More than relief, those words were meant as a final goodbye, knowing his father's soul could finally rest in peace. With help, he gets Zara up and Samejima takes her to one of the seats, Ed enters the helicopter right after.

The man seems surprised the girl is there too, however, there is no time for questioning that now. Ed sits her down and puts the seatbelt around her, taking a seat right beside her while the principal sits across them. He exchanged glances between the girl that seems to have lost consciousness again and Ed.

He crosses his arms, his blue gaze is fixed on the side, where she is. After all this is over, he's going to need to sit her down for a good talk about all those dreams she had and about her future too. His eyebrows are angled in apprehension, sadness even, just by listening to her soundly, but troubled breath.

He's been so wrong this whole time, how he just ignored her claims even though he knew deep inside, there was some truth to her words.

Despite all he did, she still went after him and almost died in that ship, he cannot allow any more of that. With his father avenged, his mind is clear from all the rage and revenge, but there is one more thing to settle, the matters about Saiou and the light of destruction.

His concentration is interrupted by the principal, who refers to him once more.

"She will be taken to the infirmary as soon as possible, don't worry." he nods in a serious manner.

"Thank you." he entangles his hands together, a worried expression on his face.

"Ed, what happened on that ship?"

"I was settling things with the one that killed my father on that ship."

"What?!"

"Even so, there is more to settle..." his eyes squint, remembering the words of his father about the one behind all this mess.

His mind drifts to the past, when he is in front of his father's grave under the rain and an odd looking boy approaches, holding an umbrella over his head to block the rain.

"There is no rain that won't stop. A storm might come, but it will also end eventually, just like your tears will. But while the rain is falling, I will hold the umbrella for you, until it stops."

What he said back then was comforting to the young Ed who just lost his father and puzzling at the same time:

"My name is Takuma Saiou. With destiny as my guide, I came here."

The rain ceases and he closes the umbrella, smiling at the young boy confused with his words. Next he knows, he is at the apartment of his father, talking to that same strange boy who came to him.

He draws arcana cards and places one face up on the table, the hierophant, explaining what it means: salvation, advice and someone of use.

"This card is you."

"Salvation? But who am I going to save?"

"Me."

"You?"

"I have foreseen my own future. And the answer I achieve is… destruction. The upright devil card: crimes, temptation and restraint. I don't know what future lies ahead… But I want to avoid it."

His blue eyes flicker in sorrow hearing that. To see their own destruction and still not be able to do anything to save themselves. Tears of affliction form on the corners of his orbs.

"If you are in a storm and you just can't move ahead anymore… I will hold an umbrella for you too. A very, very big umbrella." he wipes his tears.

"Ed..."

As if awakened from a dream, with wrinkled face, Ed gasps, sighting the duel academy island under the daybreak. He scowls seeing the obelisk dorm painted fully in white, remembering the words…

"Destruction..." with an abrupt gesture, he grabs the pilot's shoulder, demanding "Take the helicopter to the white dorm!"

"Ed!" the principal is shocked.

"I have to go see Saiou..."

When looking at the windows of the dorm, he sees the silhouette of Saiou inside, he rashly pulls the control of the helicopter to make it go more down:

"Get lower!"

Undoing his seatbelt and opening the door of the vehicle without a second thought, almost desperate, he prepares to jump. Casting a short glance back before doing so:

"Principal, I leave Zara in your hands for now!"

"Wait, Ed!"

There is no time, he already jumped. Breaking the window with his legs, he rolls into the dorm amidst the shattered glass, looking around frantically in search of that shadow he saw. The insides are dark and eerie, but he has no time to waste. He must finish this for once and all and free Saiou from the influence of the light of destruction.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

presea221: Yes! Finally some development plus DD's plot wrapping up and Aster is almost finished with the things he must do before he can go on. Also, DD got some scenes here, a bit of how he was to Ed. Zara's mystery remains, though. Edo is already becoming a lot more gentle and caring.