SPRING BREAK! I LOVE SPRING BREAK! Just got out yesterday!
I've been wanting to do this chapter and the ones to follow for quite some time, so I'm continuing my writing spree. Onwards!
Chapter Five: Guardian
It took a few seconds for Larka to comprehend what had just happened. She shakily looked towards where Lunacy had been thrown, but there was no sign of him, except for a few blood stains upon the ground.
"Larka!" Zack ran up, glancing over her in concern. "Are you all right?"
"Y-yes… I think so…" Larka managed to say.
"What just happened?" Draken asked as everyone else went over as well, Malon diving into Larka's arms. "Was that a trap card or something, Larka?"
"N-no… I didn't do that…" Larka trailed off, staring in the direction the spears had come from. The others turned to look as well.
Approaching them was a woman. She wore an emerald-green short-sleeved shirt with dark-brown shorts and black shoes; normal enough clothing, all things considered. The only odd garment was a sky-blue scarf that was wrapped around her neck, with one end hanging down her back. What managed to stand out even more was her dark purple hair, which descended to her shoulder blades in waves, and her yellow eyes, which were narrowed as she gazed at each person in turn before locking onto Larka.
The woman halted in front of Larka, which caused Zack to move forward a bit, body tense. Everyone else remained still.
After a moment, the woman spoke, her voice sounding almost robotic. "Substitute confirmed. Acts of defending properly used. Target destroyed. Returning to normal mode." She blinked once, and her eyes lost their intensity. "Default orders complete. Awaiting new commands."
"I know I've said this a lot today, but I repeat once more… what the hell?" Rue said.
"Do you know her, Larka?" Kisara asked.
Larka shook her head slowly. "I have never seen her…" Then her eyes lit up. "Wait… on second thought… I think I might have…"
"I know I have," Will stated.
Everyone turned towards him. "What do you mean?" Max asked.
"Right before we saw the effects of the deletion, I had a vision," Will explained. "This woman was emerging from water. Before I could tell of it, we saw the sky, and that drove the sight from my mind."
"Can't blame you for that," Gaston commented, glancing at the white.
Larka was still gazing at the woman in wonder. "Who are you?"
The woman responded in a matter-of-fact tone at once. "I am the core of Teknisk Wereld, often referred to as its heart. Codename, the Guardian. Name amongst humans, Angela."
"…Say WHAT?" Rue exclaimed.
"The core of Teknisk Wereld? What do you mean?" Hope said.
"You… aren't human, are you?" Larka said softly.
"No. I am data," Angela replied. "Teknisk Wereld required a core to be built around. It also needed an ultimate defense system to make sure it was never at risk of being deleted. I am that system."
"Whoa! How come I have never heard of this?" Draken said.
"I think I heard someone from the officials mention 'the heart of Teknisk Wereld' before, but he did not know much about it," Zack commented. "This must be a last resort that the officials did not want anyone to know about."
"Correct. Nobody was to know of me except for the Creator, his family, and certain officials," Angela stated. "Since you are not of the Creator's family, there is an 87.6521946 percent probability that you are an official. Furthermore, there is a 99.583109349 percent probability that you were ordered to be a substitute."
"The numbers! They hurt my brain!" Rue complained.
"You have a brain?" Draken said in fake astonishment. "Wow! I had no idea!"
"You're asking for it," Rue growled, tapping his Duel Disk pointedly.
Larka shook her head. "While it is true that I work with the officials, I do not know what you mean by a substitute."
"In the event of the Creator being unable to contact me, or dying, I am to take my orders from a substitute," Angela explained. "If there are any family members, one is chosen to be the substitute. In the event that there is not, another person is selected. The last person to have physical contact with where I slept is the substitute."
Larka blushed. "Oh no! Then this is all a misunderstanding! I found you by accident!"
"The location I was in is nearly impossible to find," Angela said. "There is a 99.999999999999…"
"Please, could you round to two decimal points?" Larka said quickly. "Or at least keep it to two?"
"As you wish," Angela said, her expressionless face not changing. "There is a 99.99 percent probability that the only way it could be discovered was to be told of it."
"Technically, I was," Larka said.
"Are you serious? You really found… um… can we call you Angela?" Hope requested to her.
"That is the name I was assigned so that humans could interact with me if necessary," Angela stated. "Use it if you wish."
"Right. Well… you really found Angela, Larka?" Hope asked.
"Yeah, I think so… I found a crystal formation in the waters one day," Larka said. "She was inside it."
"The lake? No wonder it would be hard to find! That thing is vast!" Rue exclaimed.
"More specifically, Larka said 'the waters'," Will stated. "But if no further clarification is needed, we can assume she meant the lake."
Larka did not respond, but she was relieved that Will had not tried to press her. She did not want to give away Brandi's secret location… well, if it was even secret now.
That caused another worry to come to mind. "Where is Brandi?" Larka said. "She came running this way…"
"You're right," Max said grimly. "We have to find her, quickly. Who knows what would have happened if she had been caught in that?"
"It has never happened before. Therefore, there are no records on this information," Angela said.
"Either way, it can't be good," Hope said, looking towards a rough path that led down the mountain. "Should we start looking for her?"
"Right away," Larka said worriedly. "She might be…"
Larka was interrupted when Brandi suddenly sprang up and over a ledge that had been near the path, landing with her hands held up in a perfect pose. "TA-DA!"
"Brandi!" Larka exclaimed. "You made it!"
"Yep!" Brandi said with a smile. "I was saved by…" She turned towards the path and trailed off. "…Um… where did she go?"
"Where did who go?" Mana called down from above, up on a cliff.
"What the… how did you get up there?" Brandi shouted up at her.
"How did I do what?" Mana said in her ear, right next to her.
Larka jumped back with a surprised gasp as Malon barked in alarm and Brandi spun around with an expression of annoyance. "Stop that!"
"Stop what?" Mana said from behind her, grinning.
This time, Brandi was able to grab her before she could move. "How are you appearing around me randomly?"
Mana laughed. "Well, if you really want to know… I can now teleport! That is how I saved you earlier."
Brandi's eye twitched. "Then why didn't you tell me sooner, so that we didn't have to hike up the entire mountain?"
"Speak for yourself! I did so, a little at a time, and you never asked!" Mana said with a wink.
The rest of the group had been staring in complete disbelief. Angela broke the silence by saying, "Unable to identify as friend or foe. Standing by for orders to attack if necessary."
That allowed Neo to finally speak up. "Who are you?"
Mana stared at him. "Um… actually, it's more like… who are YOU?"
"And who is that?" Brandi asked, looking at Angela.
"Argh! This is too confusing!" Rue groaned as Draken slapped his forehead in exasperation.
"This is Mana," Brandi explained, causing everyone to go silent again.
"Mana?" Max went a bit closer, looking amazed. "But how…?"
"I was never dead!" Mana said. "Just in a coma. I finally came out of it to save Brandi. Now I'm a Magician's Valkyria."
"I knew it," Will said. "Her personality was too similar, as was her appearance…"
"Well, I didn't!" Neo said. "That would explain why you don't know who I am! I'm Neo!"
"Oh my gosh! You are! How are you doing?" Mana said.
"Pretty good, actually… except when I accidentally blew up Will's grill yesterday…" Neo muttered before raising his voice. "And you?"
"Not bad, considering I've been out of it for about seven years," Mana replied. "I still need to catch up on that, especially to see how you changed and such."
"That's a long story," Neo said. "But we can explain everything la-"
"NEO!" Mana cut him off.
Neo blinked. "What?"
A smack resonated through the mountains, along with Mana's shout of, "STOP CHECKING OUT MY CURVES YOU PERVERT!"
"Ow… that sure brings back memories…" Neo groaned as he rubbed the side of his face. "But I wasn't, darn it!"
Angela stepped forward. "Sensing hostility from one of the two new arrivals. Should I counterattack?"
"Please don't!" Larka said hurriedly. "They're friends!"
"Very well. Standing down." Angela halted.
"Seriously, who is that?" Brandi asked.
"Her name is Angela, and she saved me from a man…" Larka paused. "Wait… Angela, how did you do that?"
"Please clarify what you are inquiring on," Angela requested.
"How did you kill Lunacy? That was the name of the man who attacked me," Larka explained to Brandi, who had looked bewildered.
"A demonstration would be easier to explain with," Angela stated. "Please select a target."
"Rue!" Draken called.
"HELL NO!" Rue responded.
"Um… how about that?" Larka said, indicating to a large boulder that lay nearby.
Angela blinked, and her eyes were narrow once more. "Target locked on. Switching to combat mode." At those words, the ends of her hair suddenly shot forward, piercing straight through the boulder so swiftly that it was dissolved to dust in less than a moment. Then her hair recoiled, returning to the length it had been before.
"HOLY CRAP!" Rue yelped into the stunned silence.
"…Wow. I nearly killed Rue. I mean REALLY killed," Draken said in awe.
"Twice in one day… are you out to get me or something?" Rue asked.
Draken shook his head. "You're slow as heck, you know that?"
"You attack… with…" Hope trailed off as Angela closed her eyes.
"Returning to normal mode." She opened them, looking much more docile. "I am able to extend the human body part, known as hair, to whatever length I desire in quick fashion. This is done by rewriting my data structure to a small degree, which results in swift attacks."
"Good grief," Gaston said, still looking amazed.
"You said someone attacked you? Why?" Brandi asked.
"We were investigating the area to see if we could find who was responsible for the deleting," Darche said. "That was when we ran into two people. One called himself Kai, and he seemed to be in charge. The other guy was Lunacy, a deranged man that dueled Will."
"It seems Kai plays a large roll in what has been happening," Will said. "Either way, I won the duel. Lunacy tried to kill me, which Larka interfered with… by the way, thanks."
"I'm glad I could help," Larka replied.
"He tried to attack her instead, but Angela interfered," Hope finished.
"Why did you stop him?" Larka asked Angela.
"There were three primary reasons to kill him," Angela said. "One, he was responsible for helping to delete Teknisk Wereld. Two, he was trying to harm the substitute, who is one of my top priorities to protect. Three, I am to attempt to save any human that is not trying to harm Teknisk Wereld."
"Are those default commands?" Kazel inquired, looking interested.
"Yes. My most important one is self preservation," Angela stated. "Under no circumstance am I to risk my own life. If I go too far, I will be warned and will react accordingly. After that, I must do everything in my power to protect Teknisk Wereld and keep it intact, including killing those who try to destroy it. After that, I must protect the Creator, his family, or the substitute. After that, I must follow all orders they give me. After that, I must protect any human that is not involved with harming Teknisk Wereld. Anything else comes after all of those."
"My head is spinning again," Rue complained.
Will looked at Angela thoughtfully. "Larka, we have a great advantage now."
"What do you mean?" Larka asked.
"Angela is going to listen to almost anything you ask of her," Will stated. "Do you realize what potential that gives us for trying to find out who did this?"
"But I don't feel comfortable giving her orders!" Larka protested. "What if I make a wrong decision?"
"Then you don't have to decide by yourself," Will said. "As long as you are the one saying the command, it should be ok. We can help you choose what to say. Angela is surely intelligent, but I have noticed that she seems to lack something: emotions."
"That is correct," Angela agreed. "I have been programmed to have no emotions."
"Therefore, we have advantages that she doesn't," Will said. "What if Kai, or anyone else he has with him, tries to force her into a duel? Also, what if they know of her existence? This way, we can help. We may also provide an element of surprise. Any plans they had to deal with Angela will be thrown off if we are assisting."
"Will wins again at the logic game," Draken commented.
"Yes… you are right," Larka said, relaxing slightly. "Thanks."
"The question is, what should we do next?" Zack said.
Larka thought for a moment, and then set down Malon, who gave a small whine of protest as she took out his Soul Card and gave it to Zack. "I actually wanted to check something. If Brandi comes with me, I could explain to her just who Angela is, since she missed it."
"Where would you be going?" Zack asked in concern as he accepted the card. "This does not seem to be a good time to split up… what if Kai finds the two of you alone?"
"Not where we would be going, I assume," Larka said. "It is where I found Angela, so I doubt they would know the location. I was thinking that Mana could teleport us there so that we could return quickly."
Zack gazed at her for a long moment, and then sighed. "If you must. But please hurry. I don't like the sound of this."
Max nodded. "Yeah. Be careful."
"Don't worry, we will be," Brandi assured. "Ready to go, Mana?"
"Any time!" Mana replied.
"Should I accompany you, in the event of something occurring?" Angela inquired. "There is still a 32.69 percent probability that you may be attacked on the way there by at least a wild monster."
"I highly doubt that," Larka said. "Why don't you stay with everyone else? Guard them. If anyone tries to attack, stop them, ok?"
"Affirmative," Angela answered.
"Return soon," Max said. Hearing the concern in his voice, Tenma got up from where he had been lying and went next to him.
Apparently, Mana was still terrified of Demons, because she shrieked, grabbing Brandi and Larka before vanishing. Malon was left to bark in protest for being kept behind.
…
They appeared about halfway down the mountain, but Mana teleported again at once, taking them to the foot. One more teleportation took them into the forest.
"It looks like your fear of Demons hasn't lessened," Brandi said, looking annoyed at the sudden departure.
"I can't help it!" Mana cried. "Who was that?"
"Tenma, Max's Soul Monster," Brandi answered.
"What? But Olympion…" Mana protested.
"Hope healed Max, since his soul had been damaged by the loss of Olympion, along with what Thanatos did," Brandi explained. "Some of her soul, mainly from Gaston, helped to reform Olympion as Tenma, an End of Anubis."
Mana shuddered. "Great… to hear…"
"Better get used to him." Brandi turned to Larka. "Why did you want me to come? It wasn't just for the teleporting benefits or the explaining, right?"
"No. You're the only one who I can go with," Larka said. "I wanted to look at the place where I saw Angela before. That was the Elemental Spring."
Brandi's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, now I remember! You did say something about a woman when I took you there!"
"Yes, I did," Larka confirmed. "I can show you where that is now."
"Sounds good," Brandi said, heading in the direction of the tree that would lead them to the spring. Larka and Mana followed her.
As they walked, Larka gave a quick run down of what they had learned about Angela. Brandi remained silent until she was done, and then said, "I think Will is right in that case. We should take advantage of our good luck."
"Yeah…" Larka could not think of much else to say to that.
They soon found the tree and entered it without hesitation, jumping into the tunnel. After a short walk, they emerged into the tropical area with the spring.
Brandi sat down at the edge, letting her legs dangle in the water. "I don't really want to get my clothes wet, so could you go in and indicate to the area?"
"If you insist," Larka said with a shrug. She leapt into the spring head-first, and then began to swim around the spring a few times as a warm-up.
Mana went next to Brandi, getting in the same position as she ran her fingers through the water. "It's great to be back here."
"Yeah," Brandi agreed. "I haven't been here since… you went into a coma, so-AH!" With a yell of surprise, she was pulled off the rocks and into the water.
Brandi managed to surface and looked around irritatingly. She quickly caught sight of Larka, who was laughing next to her.
"That wasn't funny!" Brandi said.
"Your reaction alone made it worth it! Seriously, you were asking for that when you mentioned your clothes," Larka giggled.
Brandi tried to stay mad, but couldn't bring herself to and broke out laughing as well. "All right, maybe I did. Well, since I'm already in, you might as well bring me straight to it."
"Ok! This way!" Larka submerged again, and Brandi went right after her. Mana went in too for the heck of it.
Larka swam to the bottom of the lake, indicating to a crevice in the wall. They were able to see some of the crystal pieces still scattered about on the ground, while the back of the hole was still outlined in it. Brandi nodded, and they went back to the surface.
After getting onto dry land once more, Brandi said, "I never went down that far, so it's no wonder I didn't notice her before."
"Same here," Mana seconded.
"I was curious enough to look around." Larka scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "And look where we ended up due to it…"
"You had no way of knowing," Brandi replied. "And as we all said, it's a benefit for us now."
"But what if the original substitute was expecting Angela to come to him or her when this occurred?" Larka said. "This might have messed up their plans…"
"We can't help that now," Mana spoke up. "What's done is done. We just have to take advantage of it as best as we can."
"I guess you're right," Larka said, standing. "I'm pretty much dry already… shall we go back?"
"Let's," Brandi answered as she and Mana rose.
As they turned to the tunnel, a sudden shriek broke through the tranquility. They looked up in alarm, and saw a large, dark blue dragon. It looked almost like a serpent with two decently-sized wings with red skin. Its underbelly was yellow, as were the three wicked claws on each of its feet. Its red, pupil-less eyes glared at them as it circled once in the sky before descending in front of them.
A man jumped off of the dragon's head. He wore a red long-sleeved shirt with dark green pants and white shoes. What stuck out was a gold mask that covered his face, which looked like a dragon's head. His face matched up with it in such a way that his mouth was visible due to the dragon's mouth being open, but that was it.
"It seems you were about to leave, so I took it upon myself to interfere," the man said with a smirk.
Brandi and Larka stepped back, each reaching towards their Duel Disk. "Who are you?" Brandi demanded.
"My name is Seiryu, and I am the leader of the Judges," he stated.
"The Judges?" Larka said. "What are those?"
"We are a group that, as our name suggests, passes judgment upon others," Seiryu told them. "Many of us have had our eyes on Teknisk Wereld for quite some time. After a certain individual told us that we were wanted to help delete it, how could we resist?"
"Someone hired you?" Brandi inferred.
"In a sense. We don't accept every offer that comes our way; only the ones that interest us," Seiryu said. "This one ranked quite high on our priority list." He paused, and then said, "When we found the Guardian had left, we decided to wait to see who would come to investigate this area. It seems that you three are the lucky winners… or, more accurately, the unlucky ones." His eyes flashed in Brandi and Larka's direction. "You will both be valuable assets to helping dispose of the entire group you travel with. It is not like we can let you all get away when you know the truth, after all."
"W-what?" Larka said nervously.
Brandi flared up at once. "You want to take us? We won't let you!"
"Yeah! Stay away from them!" Mana yelled, leaping at Seiryu with her staff at the ready.
That turned out to be a bad idea. Seiryu's dragon reacted by sending out a blast of darkness, causing Mana to be knocked back.
"My Soul Monster is an Evil Knight Dragon named Ryuujin," Seiryu stated. "I doubt you will be able to defeat him by yourselves."
"Try us!" Mana shouted, raising her staff again. But before she could attack, the ground beneath her turned into what looked like a black whirlpool. Two strands of dark energy went up Mana's body, causing her to gasp and slump to the ground.
"Mana! What happened?" Brandi asked worriedly.
"I feel… like I've lost… all my power…" Mana said wearily, trying to rise but failing.
Two people that emerged from the side instantly caught their attention. They both wore black robes, which looked like wizard robes, and had matching cloaks draped over their shoulders along with brown shoes. In fact, they were practically identical, except for their hair and eye color. The first one had green hair and blue eyes, while the second had blue hair and green eyes.
"I knew my idea about Energy Drain was a good one," the blue haired one said with a smirk.
"Shut up Kasmaru, I'm in charge! And I said we should use Energy Drain to disable their monster!" the green haired one declared, which caused his companion to give him an annoyed look.
"Alamaru and Kasmaru, also known as the Black Magician Brothers," Seiryu stated. "They are two of our strongest members. As you can see, you are completely outnumbered now."
"Especially with our Soul Monsters!" Alamaru said as two more figures appeared. The first one was a figure dressed in an elegant yellow, orange, and red suit with white and black designs near his neck and at his waist. He had a red cape and carried a staff with a metal ball at the end, which had three small spikes producing from it. His head was a complete contrast to the rest of his gentleman-like appearance; it was purple and orange, with a single red eye in the center, and two horns coming from the sides.
The other one was just as disturbing. He had a gold body that was shaped more like some elegant piece of art than a human's, unlike his partner's appearance. Black markings were all over his body. He had a blue garment around his waist, along with blue gloves and a long dark-green cape. Around his neck was a lime green ring of sorts. Three red and black-striped horns came from his head, one from each side and one from the top. The ones on each side had a green hoop earring. He also had only one eye, but this one looked more like a carving than a real one.
Larka instantly knew that they had no chance of winning against these odds. She slid her hand towards her support cards. "Brandi, you have to run! Get out of here while I distract them!"
"No way!" Brandi retorted. "I'm not going to leave you here, nor Mana! Only if you come too will I attempt such a thing!"
"…It may be harder this way… but all right," Larka said, turning towards the tunnel to see if the route to it was clear. Her heart sank as she saw yet another two figures emerge from it.
The first one was a tall, well-muscled man. He lacked a shirt, but had bandages wrapped around the wrist of his left arm and a metal gauntlet on his right one. Matching the gauntlet were two metal leg guards, and he had dark brown sandals. A green and blue cloth was wrapped in a fashion that made him look as though he was wearing a cross between shorts and a skirt. It was held in place by a yellow belt with several spike-like ornaments. His brown hair was kept back in a thin ponytail, and he gazed coolly at them with light-brown eyes.
Next to him was a huge lion that stood on two legs, almost in a human structure. He had four fingers on each hand, with a white claw on every one. His fur was light-brown, except for the hair-like material that went down his back, which was a much darker shade. His eyes were pitch-black, and gleamed with ferocity.
"You are boxed in," Seiryu stated as they turned back to him. "Trapped, in other words." He paused once more for emphasis, and then said, "Take them."
"I believe the best way to do this would be with Merlin's powers…" Kasmaru said.
"Shut up Kasmaru, I'm in charge!" Alamaru interrupted. "And I say that Merlin seems like the best choice for this!"
Kasmaru gave him another glare before gesturing to the Soul Monster with the staff. "This is a Magical Mentor J. Do you know what he is capable of? I assume not. So I will allow you to find out first-hand."
The Soul Monster, who was apparently the Merlin they had spoken of, raised his staff and pointed it at Brandi. A pink gas emerged from it at once, headed towards her. But before it could reach her, Larka swiftly got in front of Brandi, and was hit full force. Her eyes widened momentarily, and then she fell back, where Brandi managed to catch her.
"Larka!" Brandi exclaimed. Larka did not respond though; she seemed to be completely unconscious. It was then that Brandi noticed that she felt rather… tired. So tired that she felt like passing out herself…
"Merlin can use sleeping gas," Kasmaru explained as Brandi struggled to remain awake. "It is futile to resist."
Brandi tried to step towards him, but the other Soul Monster appeared in front of her without warning. Its eye began to glow, which caused Brandi's eyes to roll back before she fell too, collapsing without a sound.
"Dark-Eyes Illusionist, by the name of Houdini," Alamaru declared. "Nothing can resist his hypnotic powers!"
"Um, they are unconscious," Kasmaru pointed out.
"Of course they are! What of it?" Alamaru said. Kasmaru merely sighed.
"Alamaru, take the girl you just knocked out," Seiryu ordered. "Kasmaru, you handle the other one. Pariah, the Soul Monster is yours. We are leaving this area. Obsidian and Crucio are waiting in the forest. That will be the perfect amount for what we are going to do."
The man with the lion as a Soul Monster, who was apparently Pariah, nodded and silently lifted Mana, who was still conscious but too weak to even speak. Alamaru picked up Brandi, and Kasmaru got Larka. Then they headed into the tunnel.
…
Despite what Keith had said about deletion, there was a certain other duo that had not left when Teknisk Wereld had been breaking apart. In fact, that announcement had been the deciding factor for them. They wanted to find just who was responsible for it. That was, after all, part of their job.
"Miles, are you sure this is a good area to look in?" Gen asked as they went through the forest. He was glancing around the trees anxiously, as if he was waiting for something to spring out at any moment.
Miles ran his hand through his light-brown hair, which he had kept rather short. His clothing was still focused on being dark, for he had a dark-grey short-sleeved shirt and black shorts on. Around his neck was his customary red bandana though, which still stood out like a beacon. His green eyes were narrowed in concentration. "I don't know. Something tells me that they would not stick around the area they just deleted though. So I just chose an area I knew well in hopes that we might find something."
Gen shrugged. "Well, I have no better ideas."
"Wonder if everyone else got out…" Miles commented as they went on. "Knowing them, they probably stayed in despite the warnings and went to investigate."
"Probably," Gen agreed. "Hopefully they will not run into trouble."
"Unfortunately, they seem to have a knack for finding it," Miles sighed. "As do I."
"This time, you are voluntarily looking for it," Gen pointed out.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Either way, I'm worried about them," Miles stated.
"Then go see them," Gen suggested.
"I've already told you why I can't do that!" Miles said in a harsh tone. Then his expression softened. "Ah… sorry. I'm at my last wits…"
"No need to apologize; we both are," Gen replied. "Let us just get this over with quickly."
"Amen to that," Miles said.
They continued forward in silence. For some time, all they heard were their soft footsteps against the dirt.
The quiet was lost when a voice suddenly drifted to them. "…should have been back by now. What is keeping them?"
Miles and Gen glanced at each other, nodded, and then slowly went forward, keeping to the shadows.
Soon they got close enough to see two men standing there. One of them appeared to be some sort of strongman. He had on a grey short-sleeved shirt that showed all of his muscles clearly, along with dark brown shorts. His black hair was long enough to throw his face into shadows, giving him a disturbing appearance. But Miles was able to see that his eyes were dark brown.
The other man was about as opposite as one could get of the first. He had on a white lab coat on, with black pants showing slightly. His short black hair was rather neat, which went with his spotless coat nicely. He also had black wire-rimmed glasses on, but those did nothing to hide his light blue eyes. Those eyes disturbed Miles; they seemed almost innocent at first glance due to their shade, yet while staring at them, he felt as though as though something monstrous lurked beneath them…
"Be patient, Obsidian," the man in the lab coat said coolly, pushing up his glasses. "They will arrive in a timely manner."
"Hmph. Easy enough for you to say; you've practiced the art of waiting almost every day of your life, Crucio," Obsidian stated.
"I will not deny that," Crucio said simply, not turning towards him.
Miles gestured to Gen, indicating to a tree nearby them. Gen nodded in confirmation and then quickly and quietly scaled up it. Miles followed him after a moment. They each got on a different limb. There was enough foliage to guarantee that they would not be seen unless someone looked at where they were for several seconds. On the other hand, they were able to see the proceedings rather well.
After a few minutes had passed, Crucio looked in the direction Miles and Gen had come from. "There they are."
"At last!" Obsidian said as a large group emerged. "What took so long?"
"It was some time before they showed up," Seiryu stated.
Miles frowned as he tried to get a closer look at the four new men and their Soul Monsters that had appeared. That was when he saw what Alamaru and Kasmaru were holding. Miles shot up, but before he could give away their position, Gen swiftly covers his mouth with his hand. The curse Miles was about to yell became a muffled noise that was completely masked by Obsidian speaking again.
"Two of them! That should be perfect!"
"Yes, it should," Seiryu agreed. "Obsidian, you get the one Alamaru has." Alamaru handed Brandi to Obsidian. "You also need to take care of her Soul Monster, who Pariah has."
"Understood, Seiryu," Obsidian replied, flinging Brandi over his shoulder and taking Mana into his arms. Miles had managed to get a hold on himself by now, so he carefully moved Gen's hand off his mouth and stared in amazement at Mana for a moment before switching his gaze to Kasmaru, who was talking.
"She has been weakened by Energy Drain. It should last for a very long time."
"That will be fine, Kasmaru," Obsidian said.
"And of course, it was all my idea," Alamaru stated, giving Kasmaru another excuse to glare daggers at him.
"The other is mine?" Crucio asked.
Kasmaru gave him Larka. "Yes."
Seiryu shook his head. "I don't envy them, that's for sure. You both know of what you are going to do?"
"By heart," Obsidian said with a smirk.
"I have a good idea of what I wish to test," Crucio stated, looking over Larka in interest. "If perfected completely, her mind will be shattered completely and permanently by the time your plan has been set into motion."
"I hate it when you get that look in your eye," Seiryu said, grimacing.
Crucio looked back up at him, with a cold smile that made Miles' body freeze, captivated by the man's gleaming eyes. "Be happy that it is not directed towards you."
"Hmph." Seiryu turned away from him, not showing fear if he even felt it. "Obsidian, you are to stay at the island with the volcano. Crucio, go to the canyons."
"Ah, perfect," Crucio said, his smile widening. "The cave of the dead… that is beyond what I had hoped for. Thank you for such helpful grounds." He glanced at Larka again. "By the way… what of her Soul Monster?"
"She didn't have one with her; who knows where it is," Seiryu said with a shrug. "Is there a problem with that?"
"Hardly. I merely wanted to make sure that there were not any extra factors to dispose of," Crucio stated before walking away.
When he was out of sight, Obsidian shivered. "What is with him?"
"Who knows how his mind works," Kasmaru said. "Sometimes, I think he's crazier than Lunacy. That is what is most frightening of all."
"Speaking of him, where did Lunacy go?" Alamaru asked.
"Kai and Lunacy went to see how much damage the deletion had done," Seiryu explained.
"That explains. Well, I am going to get started with her," Obsidian said, eyeing Brandi. "See the rest of you later." He headed off in the direction he had been assigned.
"So, we are going to have someone go to the group to inform them of their captured companions?" Kasmaru asked Seiryu.
"Correct. They will be forced to surrender, for fear of their friends dying," Seiryu replied. "Despite that, I believe a scapegoat should be sent to deliver the news, in case their temper gets the better of them."
"Who will that be?" Kasmaru inquired.
"Heinskitz," Seiryu answered.
Kasmaru smirked. "Good choice. I still wonder how the hell he got a spot amongst the Judges."
"Despite his… questionable… personality, he is a good enough duelist," Seiryu said, his eye twitching. "Anyway, I will tell Heinskitz to go to the group to demand their surrender. If he does not return in a certain timeframe, we can assume he has died. If that is the case, we will kill the two prisoners. Otherwise, everything should go according to plan. Now, let us leave. We have work to do."
"Of course," Kasmaru said. Alamaru shrugged while Pariah nodded. Then they all walked off, their Soul Monsters following them.
Miles and Gen waited in their hiding place for a good three minutes before finally moving. After climbing down the tree, Miles instantly said, "What did I tell you?"
"A lot. Anything in particular you want me to remember?" Gen inquired.
"The quote that had to do with them always getting in trouble," Miles said, glaring in the direction that Seiryu and his minions had left.
"Ah, that. Yes, I would have to agree with you completely," Gen said. "The question is, what are we going to do about it?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Miles instantly began to go back the way he had come. "We tell them everything we just heard. If we're quick, we can make it there before that Heinskitz guy does. That way, we could come up with a way to get around this."
"But Miles, you know what this means…" Gen trailed off as Miles held up his hand.
"I know. It's basically ruining everything I was trying to accomplish to this point," Miles said. "Nevertheless… this is vital. Brandi and Larka will die if we don't act fast. Either that, or all of the group will. You remember how I feel about that, right? It would be like intentionally killing them."
"Yes, you are completely right. This is definitely the best course to take," Gen replied as they continued through the forest. "I still regret that your efforts were in vain though."
Miles shrugged. "Ah well. It couldn't be hidden forever. Max, Larka, or Zack would have eventually noticed anyway."
Gen glanced at him. "You were just waiting for an excuse to go find them again, weren't you?"
"Well… all right, I'll admit it… HELL YES I WAS!" Miles said before taking off running.
Gen shook his head. "I swear, he hasn't grown up in the slightest when it comes to his personality…" Then Gen went after him.
…
"What is taking them so long?" Rue complained once more.
"You've asked that eighteen times now," Will stated. "And for the eighteenth time, I will answer you by saying there is no way of knowing."
Zack glanced at the sky worriedly. "Still, it has been nearly thirty minutes… with Mana teleporting, surely they should be back by now?"
"Apparently not," Gaston said. "Fretting about it won't help either. Please try to relax, Zack. I'm sure they will be back soon."
"…I hope so. I cannot help but get a very bad feeling about all of this," Zack replied, giving the sky another concerned look. Malon, who was lying next to him, whined softly.
Hope looked over at Angela, who was still standing at the top of the mountain path. "How are you doing?"
"All systems clear," Angela stated. "My current condition is at 100 percent. No need for recovery of any kind."
"Um… I didn't really mean that," Hope said awkwardly. "I meant… well… aren't you bored, just standing there? Or something?"
"I am unable to answer that, since I am unsure of what the word 'bored' precisely means," Angela said. "Processing word… process complete. Bored: to be weary from a factor of dullness, repetitiveness, or tediousness. Conclusion: the word bored does not fit this situation, due to the inability for me to be weary from any of those factors."
Hope blinked several times. "Uh… I see…"
"Face it, Hope, she's not like us," Draken said. "You can't converse casually with her like you would with others."
"Still, it doesn't hurt to try!" Hope retorted.
Draken held up his hands, looking startled. "Whoa, hold on. I wasn't trying to make that an insult. It's just the truth. From what she says, she can't feel emotions like humans. That's not necessarily bad; all I'm saying is we need to be prepared to talk with her in different ways."
"That is correct. I am not programmed with the ability to speak with humans on their level of thinking," Angela said without turning. "Your comprehension is appreciated."
Hope sighed. "Sorry. I guess I'm just a bit uneasy about this whole thing."
"It's fine. I should have worded that better anyway," Draken said.
Kisara spoke up softly. "If they do not return soon, should we go to look for them?"
"Good idea," Neo said. "How about we give them thirty more minutes?"
"That seems fair," Kazel agreed. "Would you not agree, Zack?"
"…Very well," Zack replied.
Angela's voice cut through them. "Life forms approaching. Identifying… there is two. Both are unknown. Commence attack?"
"If it's more of those goons, maybe we can kill them before they even make it here!" Rue suggested.
"And if it's an official or an innocent, we would end up with murder on our heads," Draken said dryly.
Will thought for a moment, and then said, "Could you restrain them as they come up without hurting them?"
"If that is what you wish," Angela said.
"Do that," Will decided. "Then we can decide how to handle them."
"Command acknowledged. Decreasing power level by 50 percent to avoid risk of injuries," Angela stated. "Will attack in ten seconds."
Everyone waited in silent anticipation until Angela said, "Targets close enough to commence attack." Then her hair shot forward in six rope-like strands, whipping down the mountain path. A moment later, they all heard two shouts from below.
"Secured. Bringing targets forward for examination." Angela retracted her hair until the two figures came into view, in which she flung them onto the ground a few feet in front of her, still secured by the rope-like strands.
The group stared in stunned silence as Miles managed to lift his face from the ground, coughing a few times. "What a welcome…"
"Miles?" Draken said in disbelief.
"Obviously! Do you know anyone else who has a White Thief as a Soul Monster?" Miles said in an irritated tone.
"He has a point," Gen said as he managed to rise to his knees, arms still restrained.
"Angela, it's all right, he's a friend!" Hope called to her.
"No, keep him like that for longer!" Rue suggested. That earned him a smack over the head with Will's book. "Ow! Hey, he deserves it for not contacting us sooner!"
"I can explain that when you get her to let go of me!" Miles said.
"Conflicting orders. Unsure of how to proceed," Angela said.
"Release both of them," Zack told her. "Hope is right, they are old friends of ours."
"Affirmative." Angela released Miles and Gen, her hair returning to its normal shape.
Miles got up, dusting himself off. "Brutal… but I guess I can't blame you guys. You must have been wondering where I've been for some time."
"Actually, we were more concerned that you were another person who wanted to attack us," Gaston said.
"You were attacked?" Gen asked as he also rose, looking troubled.
"Yeah. According to them, they were the ones who deleted what they had of Teknisk Wereld," Darche said. "They called themselves Kai and Lunacy."
"Great. That means what we heard checks out," Miles said with a sigh. "Did you kill them?"
"Angela killed Lunacy, but Kai left before that," Will said. "Angela is the one who grabbed you, by the way."
"Yeah, what was that all about? Did she use her… HAIR?" Miles asked in bewilderment.
"Yes. You see, she is apparently the core of Teknisk Wereld…" Draken began.
Miles slapped himself over the head. "Duh! I should have known that!"
"Huh? You… knew about this?" Hope asked.
"Basically… I had better explain what I was doing all this time," Miles said. "But before that… Rue, you still owe me a dollar from the bet we made on Draken."
"Damn! I was hoping you would have forgotten about that! Fine, here," Rue grumbled, giving him the dollar.
"Thanks, just wanted to make sure I had that cleared," Miles said as he pocketed it. "Anyway, where I've been… it's the officials. I was working undercover for them. As a spy of sorts, I guess you would say."
"A spy?" Hope said in surprise.
"Yeah. You are aware that there are several illegal activities in Teknisk Wereld, right?" Miles said.
"It does get mentioned in the news a few times…" Hope recalled.
"There are tons of 'black market' areas and such. The ones that involve Teknisk Wereld… well, it's my job to find proof of illegal doings, and those are my main areas," Miles explained. "I'm pretty well known in those… areas, so I can gain trust amongst some of the law-breakers, only to turn around and tell the officials of their doings."
"That's quite a job," Draken said, looking a bit startled.
"Unfortunately, it meant that we had to keep silent about it," Gen stated. "The officials asked that we not tell anyone we know of it. In fact, cutting off all contact with companions was what they wanted."
"That's why you've been avoiding us?" Rue said in disbelief.
"Afraid so. Believe me, I didn't like it at all," Miles told them. "But I needed a job, and this was one I was good at. Also… well… never mind. It isn't necessary to talk about…" Miles trailed off, looking uncomfortable.
Will could see Miles' awkwardness, so he changed the subject. "Why did you come now then? If you have been avoiding us for this long, why suddenly change?"
"I had no intention of breaking that rule, but it was necessary after something I saw today," Miles said, his expression turning grim. "I just ask that you don't kill the messenger."
"Why would we do that?" Gaston asked.
"Because it's Miles?" Draken suggested.
"That and I nearly died by coming to your location," Miles said, wincing as he looked at Angela.
"We will not kill you," Kazel said impatiently. "Now what did you want to say?"
"Gen and I were looking around in the forest for the people who had done this," Miles said. "We were pretty sure they wouldn't be sticking around the deleted area. Too risky, and too obvious for officials that might look for them. As we searched, we found two men talking. They called themselves Obsidian and Crucio. Gen and I climbed up a nearby tree and waited to see if we could overhear anything."
"A few minutes after we arrived, a group of four came, along with their Soul Monsters," Gen continued. "Maybe the names will ring a bell? Seiryu, Alamaru, Kasmaru, or Pariah?"
"Never heard them before," Draken replied. Everyone nodded in agreement.
"Bah. Oh well," Miles said. "They mentioned Kai and Lunacy being in the mountains though, so I assume they're connected to the deletion. Anyway, I noticed that the ones called Alamaru, Kasmaru, and Pariah were each carrying someone. I looked closer, and…" He paused, bracing himself for the reactions his words would bring. "Brandi, Larka, and apparently Mana…"
"WHAT?" Max exclaimed, eyes flashing as Malon barked furiously.
A loud crack sounded through the area. They turned to see that Zack had slammed his metal hand against one of the rocks, leaving a long fissure running through it. "I knew it was a bad idea from the start! I knew that!" Then he let his hand fall as he slowly shook his head. "Yet I did nothing to stop them…"
"It's not your fault," Hope assured him. "We all thought it would be all right if they went. Even Angela did!"
"The chances of being attacked were very low," Angela stated. "I should have accompanied them. It would have lowered the possibly of them being overcome by 90 percent."
"What did they do next?" Will asked, being one of the only ones to keep his head after hearing this news.
"Brandi and… was it really Mana?" Gen inquired. "I thought she was… dead?"
"Mana was in a long coma," Darche explained. "She woke up today."
"At least there's some good news," Gen said. "Well, Brandi and Mana were handed to Obsidian, and Larka to Crucio. Seiryu-he seemed to be the leader of the group-told Obsidian to take Brandi and Mana to the island with the volcano while Crucio was instructed to bring Larka to the canyon area. Something about a cave of dead?"
"The place where we fought Morte…" Hope said, paling. "That's one of the most vile areas of Teknisk Wereld!"
"And the volcano certainly isn't a nice place to be either," Draken said grimly. "Especially with the memories Brandi has of that place…"
"They departed, and Seiryu said he would be sending someone to tell you all to surrender, or they would kill Brandi and Larka," Miles stated. "Some guy called Heinskitz was chosen. Apparently, he's an idiot, so they aren't worried if he kicks the bucket. But if he doesn't report back, they will go ahead and slaughter Brandi and Larka. That sums pretty much everything up."
"Why the hell didn't you stop them?" Max snarled.
"Why the hell do you think I didn't?" Miles retorted. "What would have happened if I had shown myself? That's right, I would have been outnumbered by at least ten to two! Add in the fact that I'm not much of a fighter, and you can see what the results would have been! I would have been killed, or possibly even captured myself! For Brandi, Larka, and Mana's sakes-as well as my own and Gen's-I thought I should find all of you and tell about it. How would you have liked it if that Heinskitz moron showed up and reported all this? We would have been without options!"
"Miles is right, for once," Will stated.
"FOR ONCE?" Miles protested, but Will ignored him.
"This way, we have a chance to save them," Will continued. "Miles, what condition were they in?"
"They all seemed unconscious, although I could be wrong," Miles replied. "I didn't really get a close look at them. They certainly did seem limp though."
"Are Obsidian and Crucio just planning on holding them in those areas? They are not going to move again at the last moment?" Kazel inquired.
"They didn't seem interested in doing that…" Miles thought for a moment, and then said, "Oh! I just remembered something Seiryu said. He seemed to be implying that those two were supposed to do something. Obsidian merely said he knew his job, but Crucio had a longer and more detailed response. Something about how Larka's mind would be… shattered…"
Without a word, Zack turned and walked towards the mountain path.
"Zack! Where are you going?" Hope called.
"To that cave Miles mentioned," Zack stated as he halted, not looking back. "If I don't do something now, it might be too late…"
"It may be too late already," Will said. "Zack, we HAVE to plan this out. Rushing off on impulse will not get us anywhere."
"…You're right… I'm letting worry overtake me," Zack said, turning to face them. "Sorry. Do you have any ideas?"
"Actually, I do," Will replied. "We need to save Brandi and Larka obviously, but what of this Heinskitz? If he finds that we are all gone, he might get suspicious, contact Obsidian and Crucio, and tell them to kill Brandi and Larka before we reach them. That would ruin everything. So I suggest we split up."
"Split up?" Draken inquired.
"Have about two people go to save Brandi and Mana, and two to save Larka," Will explained. "The rest of us wait for Heinskitz and force him to duel. If we win, have him die. If he doesn't return to Seiryu, he will ask Obsidian and Crucio to kill their hostages. But if we timed everything correctly, those two will also have been slain by then. That seems to be the least risky way of going to rescue them."
"That sounds like the best option we're going to get," Gaston agreed. "Anyone disagree?"
"No. How should we split up?" Kazel asked.
"Obviously, Max will want to go for Brandi, and Zack will wish to find Larka," Will stated. "We need two more volunteers."
"I'll go with Max," Hope offered.
"Ok, that works. Anyone in particular want to be with Zack?" Will inquired.
"I will accompany him," Angela stated.
Everyone looked at her in surprise as Zack asked, "Why?"
"It is one of my top priorities to ensure that the substitute is kept safe," Angela answered. "Therefore, I will assist in this."
"That works out well enough," Will said. "The rest of us will wait for Heinskitz to show up. Is everyone clear on what we are doing?"
"If Rue understands, we all do," Draken commented.
"Yeah, I get it… HEY!" Rue glared at Draken, who merely grinned in response.
"Then we should go at once," Zack said. "I believe I know where this cave is, so we should not have trouble finding it."
"We've been to the volcano often enough," Max stated grimly.
Zack looked down at Malon, who was begging at his feet. "Sorry Malon, but you probably won't be able to keep up. That, and I'm afraid you might give away our location if we are forced to be silent." He took out Malon's Soul Card. "Either go in here or stay on the mountain."
Malon yelped, looking distressed. Then he vanished into the card.
"Wow. He must really want to help Larka," Draken said. "Not that that's out of character, but this is the first time I've seen Malon go into his Soul Card without a big fuss."
"Well, we'll see you guys later," Miles said.
"Good luck to all of you," Kisara said softly.
"Thanks, we're going to probably need it!" Gaston replied as they began to descend the mountain.
To be continued…