Chapter 10

Love Dulls Your Blade

"Atticus, get back here!" Alexis cried, running as fast as her petit legs would let her. Atticus only snickered in a mischievous way, shaking the white stuffed tiger clutched tightly in his hand. He kept waving it as he ran, enraging his little sister even more.
"Atticus!" Alexis screamed again. Finally the excessive running was too much for her and she slowed down.

Atticus slowed down too, but he was a safe distance away from her.
"Why are you so mean, brother!?" Alexis whined.

Atticus grinned, unfazed by his sister's simple choice of words. "You're just so slow, Alexis! Come on! If you don't catch me, then I'm keeping Mr. Whitey!"

Alexis sniffed. "That's not fair! You're older than me, so you can run faster!"
He sighed. "Oh gosh, you're such a crybaby, Alexis."

That hit a nerve, Alexis started running again. Atticus did the same, and she couldn't catch up to him.

- - -

"I sacrifice my Barrier Dragon."

Alexis and Atticus' eyes widened. What was he thinking? He already had a strong line of defense, and he had already pushed them into the corner, so, what was he planning?

"To activate my spell card: Infinite Cyberchain Virus." His dragon was consumed and shattered in a ring of green light.
"I've never heard of it," Atticus said. Alexis held her question. She was hoping that her brother would've been able to enlighten her.
"Well, I'm going to explain," Anguish stated stoically. "You won't like it's effect though. Each of you will receive three Cyber Detonator Tokens. Don't worry, they won't take up any of your monster zones, nor mine, however-" He snapped him fingers and the shards from his former monster quickly flew towards the two, forming into several, fairly large, metallized insectoids which latched themselves onto them.

"What the-" Alexis tugged on one, which was attached to her side. The two others gripped onto her shoulder and shin. No matter how hard she pulled, she was only hurting herself; she looked towards Atticus and he was in same position.

"What are these things!?" He demanded.

"They're bombs," Anguish replied simply. Alexis and Atticus froze.

"What… Are you planning?" Alexis said, she wasn't comfortable by the fact that there were multiple bombs permanently attached to her body.

Alexis jerked with fear as she saw his mouth grin sadistically.

"It's been a long while…" He said slowly. "Pain… I'll give it to you, then finally-" he stopped suddenly, as if his voice was caught in his throat. Anguish swayed slightly and moved his foot to regain his balance. Alexis and Atticus didn't notice anything.

She was feeling that same fearful aura she had encountered the first time she met their opponent. Alexis struggled to crane her head to look at her brother.

Atticus was kneeling on the floor, doubled over. At the sight of seeing her older brother tremble under the weight of dread, sadness, and fear, she felt worse.
"A-Atty…" Alexis pleaded. That seemed to do the trick, Atticus snapped out of it almost immediately and forced himself back on his feet.

"I-I draw…" he looked at his new card.

Yo.

The brunette's eyes widened. "Y-you! Thank goodness."

Eh, I wasn't going to abandon you, it would be a hell lot of trouble for me if any of you died, Atticus. Sorry though, you can't use me just yet. You lack the current requirements. Don't worry though, it'll come around. Just believe.

The card fell silent and Atticus looked up determined. He stopped shivering. "Time I make a difference in this duel! I play the field spell, Raging Firelands." He swiped the spell into his field slot and immediately the surroundings began to morph.

Alexis clutched her eyes. She didn't notice the ground crack around her with bright, golden lava bubbling. Pits randomly shot fire out of their mouths.

Atticus began to explain the effect. "This field boosts my beast and beast-warriors attack and defense by 800 points, but every turn I have to give up 700 lifepoints." He grimaced as flames licked away a portion of his lifepoints.

"And this also means I get to attack your lifepoints directly. It's time to win this!" He was about to declare the attack when-

bang

It happened too fast, too suddenly. His eyes were widened considerably. Blood sprayed from his shoulder as he fell back.

Atticus! Are you okay?

He gasped in pain as he clutched his open wound. It closed slightly, yet blood still dripped steadily from it.

Anguish laughed as Alexis rushed over to help her brother. "Every time any of us deals damage to another player, a random person with the Cyberchain tokens would explode and instead of the target taking the damage, it would be the respective person. Surprising, huh?"

Anguish- 700

Atticus- 100

Alexis- 2200

Atticus forced himself up again. "I'm fine Alexis, it's your turn now."

Alexis looked desperately as her hand. Her Data Guardian wasn't responding at all. There wasn't anything she could do and if she attacked with Cyber Blader again, she or Atticus would be reduced to nothing, and then they'd lose a Data Key.

"I pass this turn."

- - - - - - - - - -

"I don't feel very comfortable with this…" Jaden said. It's been ten minutes since the three entered underground though a partially hidden trap door. He was right behind Aster while Zane was leading the way. The air smelled terrible, and it was extremely hard to see. Several times, one of them stumbled over a hole or lump in the ground. This time, Jaden tripped backwards (somehow) and grabbed the red walls for support.

It cracked quickly and a dry, rotted corpse fell through, dangling by the torso from above. Jaden screamed in panic. Zane however, kicked it aside.

"We might be in some sort of catacomb… Jaden be more careful," he said.

"Y-yeah sure." He didn't spare the skeleton a second glance before trudging on with the flashlight.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Syrus was ready to collapse from all the dust he inhaled until he saw a small village in sight. Though there was something wrong. Its was set in flames and the roaring winds weren't helping at all.

Syrus panicked. "Oh man! Uhh… I summon Rescueroid! Go and put out that fire!" He felt awkward saying it, but now wasn't the time to dwell over it.

It was some time when his monster managed to extinguish the fire completely. When the image of the large vehicle monster faded, Syrus ran forward to see what had happened. "Hello? Is everyone alright?"
A couple seconds passed then ragged villagers crept from behind buildings and rubble.

An Elderly man made his way up to him. Syrus began to feel nervous that several people were surrounding him in a circle.
"Thank you, young traveler for saving our village. May we know your name?"

Syrus didn't expect it. "I-er… I'm Syrus… Truesdale." Murmurs ran through the crowd. Now he felt even more uncomfortable.

The old man asked, "Truesdale is it? Is your brother Zane Truesdale?"

Syrus flinched at hearing the name. For some reason the image of his tombstone flashed in his mind. "Yes he is. Why?"

More murmurs in the crowd. The elder replied, "Beware outsider, stay away from that man. He's evil, being near him or even looking for him would bring you trouble. Please be warned. My name is Sage, and pay heed to my words."

Syrus looked greatly confused. "Wait, what're you talking about? You can't say something like that about my brother!" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw people shaking their heads in disapproval. "He's not evil at all! He's a really good person…" he tried to argue.

"We can't convince you otherwise, but it's for your own sake. I'm sorry Traveler Truesdale, we don't have anything in this now-wrecked place. There's a larger town not so far from here, but I doubt you're interested in that. We can tell you're an outsider from this world."

Syrus scratched his head. Seeing that he's supposed to be dead and that monsters were physically real, chances were, he was indeed in a different world, or dimension, or something. "Yeah I guess."

Sage nodded. "I thought so, there will be a great war that would involve two completely different worlds. It's best that you go back to your own."

"How exactly?"

"There are six gates scattered everywhere. Any one of them can take you back home, but unless you have a true intention, most likely you'll be warped to a different reality. If that happens there'll be an extremely thin chance that you'll ever find your own reality."

Syrus shivered, he didn't deal well with these types of situations. "Er, okay. Thanks. Can you point me in the right direction? And also, can you tell me how you know Zane?"

Before Sage could respond, a single voice called from the crowd. "He's a tyrant emperor! He wants to destroy us all. If he lives, the war will come to pass."

The bluenette didn't believe it at all. Zane isn't like that at all. Besides, he's helping guard six Data Keys, which have the potential to jeopardize existence itself. The man opened his mouth to add more but the elder raised his hand to silence him.

"I apologize for the sudden outburst, but yes, it's true. Your brother does have a tainted soul. You'd best go your own way and seek out one of the gates. The nearest one is east from here, you came here from the west. Just follow the mountains, you can't miss the gate."

Syrus decided not to question the issue about his brother anymore and thanked the old man for his help.

It took him almost an hour before the village disappeared from view. Syrus knew what he had to do. He wasn't leaving this freaky world without his brother.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Alexis screamed for the second time. She couldn't take the pain anymore. A token exploded and she was almost out of lifepoints. Her side was bleeding tremendously and the wound wouldn't close at all. Since she couldn't stand at all, Alexis forced her elbow to support herself. Still her Data Guardian wasn't responding at all.
"Atty.. I-it's your turn…" Her voice was shaking with pain. Through a slit in her clenched eyes, Alexis looked despairingly at the Cyber End Dragon that just attacked her.

Anguish- 700

Atticus- 100

Alexis- 300

Atticus turned his head away from his suffering sister. It hurt him to see her like this. I told Zane that I was going to take care of her! And look what I'm doing now, I can't even win this duel for her. Damn it. What should I do? He looked down at his own Data Guardian as if it would give him advice.

The next thing he knew, Atticus was reading the name.
I'm sorry, Atticus. There's only one thing I can do for you now. I will save your sister for you but there will be a great price. Her own Data Card is failing her in this duel.

Atticus nodded, his eyes closed. Ah, yeah I know the price I'll have to pay, just don't let my baby sis die!

Immediately, the card felt warm in his hand as he raised it. His eyes glowed with newfound energy.

"I summon Data Guardian- Gisei!" The already lava-filled ground cracked open to reveal a great black dragon. Glowing veins of fire outline its wings and claws. Gisei's eyes glowed with flaming fury as red and black aura leaked from its glinting skin.

Atticus closed his own eyes to remember something.

He continued to run with the stuffed tiger, well until someone else stuck out his foot and he fell over.
"Ouch! What was that for?" He looked up only to see Zane staring down at him, in disapproval of course.

"You shouldn't pick on your sibling like that," he said. Atticus pouted. "Well you're the one to talk!" He surrendered the darn tiger to his friend.

Zane handed it to Alexis who muttered a shy 'thanks'. Atticus dusted himself and got up. "Gosh, Alexis! You can't always rely on Zane like that, he's not always going to be there for you!" With that he walked away.

"Is he mad?" Alexis squeaked. Zane shook his head. "Naw, he's just annoyed cause he didn't win this one, that's all."

Atticus smiled at the memories, they seemed so far away. This time I'm wrong, Zane I trust Alexis to you, now that I won't be here any more.

"Gisei's effect is that I can declare one monster name and all of those monster on the field are removed from play." The remaining Cyberchain Tokens shattered and Alexis found it easy to breathe again.

Anguish seemed unfazed, yet he seemed like he knew what was coming.

"Gisei can't attack yet because I used that effect, but he has a second one! If I take half of his attack points as damage, I can transfer him to another player's side of the field, and next turn he'll be able to attack under command, no matter whose turn it's supposed to be!"

Alexis ignored her side and got up. "What the hell are you doing Atticus! You'll lose the duel!"

A sad smile crossed his lips. "Yeah maybe, but it's better than both of us going down. Alexis…" The great black dragon turned its neck and opened its mouth to claim its price.

"I'll leave the victory to you…"

"ATTICUS!"

It was too late, his body was already consumed in a roaring inferno, when the flames passed, his body fell backwards limb. His lifepoints were at zero and the Data Key around his neck disintegrated.

Tears formed in her eyes. The Data Guardian reappeared on her side of the field. Alexis whirled to face her opponent, her eyes filled with fury.

"Damn you! I'll kill you!" She raised her arm to declare the attack.

Then Anguish's mask fell away.

Her arm fell limb.

She backed away, her blood turned cold.

"Who the hell are you?" Alexis was looking into the face of Zane Truesdale.

"Aren't you going to kill me?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"ARGH!" Zane gasped suddenly. He doubled over onto the musty ground.

"Woah, Zane are you alright!?" Aster knelt besides him, but he didn't respond. He couldn't respond at all. His features were twisted in agony. His hands were clawing into his sides, as if something was destroying him from the inside.

"What's happening, Aster!" Jaden asked in panic.

"I don't know, snap out of it Zane!"

The older teen's restricted movements stopped and his entire body went limb. Aster's eyes widened. "He needs air! We need to get him out of here! Jaden take his arm."

"Hold on, we're almost there," Aster said listening to Zane's ragged breathing. It took almost twice as long to reach there starting point. He let go of his arm and pushed open the trap door.

It wouldn't budge. "Hey Jaden, give me a hand here." The brunette nodded and the two pushed with all there might. Still, the door wouldn't move at all.

"I hope we're not trapped in here."

"One more time…" And again, the door didn't move.

"Someone locked us in with something," Aster concluded calmly. Jaden was different.

"How can you be so cool about it? We're locked in a catacomb with a guy who just collapsed on us!" His voice was almost hysterical.

As if on cue, Zane stirred.

Aster noticed. "You're awake. What the hell happened to you back there! We thought you were dying."

Zane stared down at his hands. He was shaking slightly. Visions he had just saw in his former state flashed in his mind. Atticus's bloodied up body on the ground and Alexis's tortured face.

"I… I don't know."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"W-what the…" Alexis's world got dizzy. "Who are you… what did you do with Zane…?"

He frowned. "You're disappointing me. I am Zane. You're wasting time… make your move."

"Atticus… What do I do…" she whimpered. Her brother was dead, and if she didn't attack, his sacrifice would be a waste. If she did attack though, the person who looked like her lover would die.

"What do I do?" She repeated, clutching at her head. Gisei and Cyber End were facing each other. What are you doing, little girl? Attack!

"I… can't!" She cried. Her wound opened up, making her conditions worse. Alexis was standing in a pool of her own blood. Her vision got foggy.

Foolish brat! Attack while you still have the chance!

"I… can't…" Her voice trailed off as she fell forward, unconscious from the loss of blood. The Data Guardian roared as it shattered into pieces. The opposing Cyber End Dragon had a wide opening to attack, yet he did not declare it, he let his own monster fade away and both duel disks were deactivated.

"It seems that I didn't win this one," he said softly. Slowly, Zane walked to Alexis. Her cheeks were flushed and wet trails led down her face. He knelt besides her and felt her pulse. She was barely alive and her key and card was still intact.

Zane took out his newly acquired Data Key. "Gisei, you should keep that promise you made with Atticus." As if commanded, a thick black aura poured from the screen and surrounded the large gash on Alexis's side. It sealed up almost instantly and left no mark.

He slipped the key around his neck and carefully picked up the unconscious Alexis.
"Why… Why didn't you recognize me? I thought… I thought we still had a chance. I'll leave your brother here. Three of your friends are near by. They'll find the body. But you, you're coming with me." He knew that she couldn't hear him.

His surroundings spun out of sight until he found himself in a different place.

"Eh, you're back now? What took you so long, and why the hell are you carrying that girl like that. Hell, she's not even supposed to be here!"

"Leave me alone, Aries," he muttered, Alexis still in his arms.

Aries laughed. "I know what happened! You could've won that duel! But you were soft, and you held back. Master isn't going to be very pleased."

"Shut up about 'Master'!" Zane snarled. He turned away to head for his own quarters. Aries only giggled childishly.

"Ah whatever, Anguish-Zane. But you should know. Love dulls your blade!"

As he walked away, Alexis stirred slightly and tilted her head against his chest.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Aster, Zane, and Jaden all gasped as they felt something like an electric shock pass through their bodies.
"G-guys, did you feel that?" Jaden automatically wrapped his hand around his Data Key. Aster and Zane nodded. "Someone on our side just lost a duel."

Aster thought for a moment before suggesting, "We need to get out of here fast, this way was blocked somehow. I remember clearly that the archeological team discovered exactly three passages to the surface. They were in the forth when the way collapsed, and that is far from here. We have our means for communications. We should be alright. Though everyone, be careful. Someone knows we're here."

The other two agreed, they traveled down the single path until they found a four-way fork. Aster pointed out the ones that have already been explored, and they parted.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Where did those guys go?!" Chazz asked rashly at the air. He suddenly choked slightly as a wave of energy shot through his body; it left him almost gasping for air.

"This feeling… Alexis, Atticus! Once of them lost! I can't believe it!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Chazz, Atticus, or Alexis… What happened to them? I knew we shouldn't have parted, damn it all!" Zane stopped himself from punching the wall in frustration.

"Why did I collapse? I only remembered what I saw…"

Zane flinched as his Data Key suddenly grew hot. His eyes widened as his Guardian's voice echoed through his mind.

Zane, it's me. I can't tell you my name just yet. You won't hear it, now's not the time, but there's something you need to know.

Yeah?

Do you know how much your Origin Soul is split up?

Origin Soul…?

It's the center of your very existence. Whatever exists, whether alive or not has its own origin. Right now, all the pieces of Origin Souls are in great danger.

Explain more.

Certainly. What I'm saying is that there are several, no millions of realities out there. Each dimension or reality has one piece of everyone's Origin Soul. When that piece dies, or is converted into something else, like a corpse turning into dust or metal rusting away, that piece of existence falls into a different category, or even forms its own. Are you following me?

Barely.

Well listen up. Over infinite stretches of time, realities were at war, fighting one another for dominance. All the realities are split into two sides. One side is Negative Existence, and the other is Positive Existence.

Okay…

There are six gates for each reality. The six are randomly scattered and hidden throughout the world. For some realities, they're easy to find, for others, they're almost impossible. I have good news though; you and your friends are heading towards one of the gates. Only holders of the so-called "Data Guardians" can pass through or even destroy the gate.

Why are they so important?

There gates warp you to a different reality. They're six routes that have multiple destinations. You're going up against the Negative side of existence. I'm not sure what their intentions are but they want to use us, the six spirits to merge all existing realities into one.

What the Hell? Are they insane?

Probably. They believe that if all the realities were merged together, there would be no Negative Existence. Everything would be straightforward, perfect, happy, and there would only be one decision available.

That sounds impossible.

And that's why if they succeed, they'll make all existence disappear.

Just by collecting all six data keys?

I don't know everything. We only got so far into history. Just make sure that they don't succeed.

Is there anything else I should know?

Yeah, but you have to figure that out for yourself.

That seemed to be its last words for now because it didn't respond to Zane's questions.

He didn't notice how far he was walking while having a conversation with his Data Guardian until the narrow passage way lead into a vast circular room. Strangely enough, the room was already lit with burning torches illuminating the red-metal walls. There was a lot of blood on one side of the room, and a heap.

"Atticus!" Zane dropped his flashlight in shock and ran to his fallen friend.

"Oh no…" Atticus's body was cold, lifeless, and Zane had a big hunch on what had happened. He tugged the brunette's collar out of the way. His key wasn't there. One of the worst things was confirmed. With shaking fingers, Zane pressed the radio button that was strapped around his neck.

"Hey… you guys there…?"

Aster and Jaden replied, "Yes, did something happen?"

"Atticus… I found him. He was the one who lost the duel."

-X-

I hope I didn't squish too much of the plot into this single chapter, but I was kind of dying to let it out after 9 chapters. I still have 1/3 of the plot to introduce. Idiotic, huh?

SOO… When was the last time I updated this one… 3 months ago? Geezes. O-O So sorry. I'm procrastinating a lot on these.

Hopefully, some of your questions are answered.