Chapter 7: Blood

Yuchi could not stand feeling horrified by what he was seeing.

The innocent boy had already lost a big portion of his blood. His pale skin, his Deck, his cards, his Duel Disk, and even the pilot's seat were all in a red mess. Puddles of his own blood were literally everywhere surrounding him. And yet still, blood continued pouring out of his wide-open mouth.

Not only Yuchi, but the U.N.D.E.A.D. Commanding Centre was also at a loss witnessing this situation. Technical Officer Maya turned her head away out of disgust. She hated seeing bloody things the most. Some of the amateur staffs were screaming. It was the first time they realized the terrible aspects of their jobs.

However, there was one man who could still remain his calmness. He was comfortably seated at his desk, watching everything from his screen. The cries and shouts of his juniors did not seem to bother him at all. His facial expression showed a sense of dignity and seriousness. He was thinking about a plan that could turn this into a win-win situation, emerging as the victor of the battle while saving the poor boy at the same time.

His name was Lupine Hevesy. Commander Lupine Hevesy.

'Doctor,' he called out to the smartly dressed Indian woman standing to his right. She was also observing the situation from the Commander's screen.

'Prepare the medical team for an emergency. This boy is showing signs of rejecting control. We shall rescue him immediately after Pilot Kendai has won the duel,' he continued.

'Yes, sir,' the woman walked away.

The screen was now showing Yuchi in his Unit. 'Pilot Kendai,' said Commander Lupine to him.

'Sir!'

'Continue your attack. There is no need to hesitate,' instructed the Commander.

'But sir, I can't do that!' retorted Yuchi.

'Why, Pilot Kendai?'

'B… Because if I continue attacking, t… that boy will surely die!' Yuchi's slurred speech revealed that he was fearful.

'Never mind about that. Right now, the priority is to win and save the city.'

'I… I can't, sir!'

'You must do it, Pilot Kendai!'

'W… Why?' Tears started to appear in Yuchi's eyes.

'W… WHY? WHY DID YOU KEEP COMMANDING ME TO ATTACK? DID YOU RECRUIT ME JUST TO ATTACK?' Yuchi could not tolerate the pressure he was feeling anymore. He burst out and flew into a rage. He had never felt so angry for the past sixteen years.

'Pilot Kendai, this is an unexpected situation…'

'UNEXPECTED! IT'S AN INNOCENT LIFE THERE! HOW CAN YOU JUST LET ME KILL HIM?' he shouted.

'Pilot Kendai! We can't save him at the cost of the whole city! You must understand!' Even the Commander started to lose his temper.

But Yuchi did not want to listen to him. He just hung his head in silence.

Out of the blue, the screen blacked out. Then, when it finally returned to normal, it showed Wiles in his Unit instead of Yuchi.

'Technical Officer Maya!' called out the Commander. 'Can you check what has happened to Pilot Kendai?'

'Yes, sir!' the girl bowed to her employer and turned to work with her panels.

After a few seconds, she reported, 'Sir! Pilot Tenshi's Unit went out of his course and crashed into Pilot Kendai's Unit!'

'What?' exclaimed the Commander. The Units shouldn't have acted this way. Duel Mode also meant that the Units were autopilot. The computers shouldn't make a mistake!

'Unless…' thought Commander Lupine.

His suspicions were correct. Tenshi's Unit assaulted Yuchi's Unit because Tenshi himself commanded his Unit to do so.

'Argh!' Yuchi screamed out in pain as he felt the impact from the crash. Fortunately a barrier emerged to block Tenshi's Unit from attacking his Unit further.

'PILOT TENSHI, WHY?' demanded Yuchi.

'BECAUSE I WANT YOU TO FINISH THE DAMNED DUEL QUICKLY!' Tenshi also seemed to lose control of himself.

'BUT…!'

'STOP WASTING TIME! DO YOU KNOW THAT YOUR ENEMY IS SUFFERING?'

'My… enemy?' Yuchi turned to look at his opponent. The poor boy had already stopped bleeding, but the amount of blood he lost earlier had caused him to become severely dehydrated. His eyes turned blank, his mouth hanged open, and his soulless body was bending down motionless as though he had turned into a zombie.

'Yuchi, when I dueled you just now, I thought you were a perfect candidate to save the city…' Tenshi said.

'…but it seems that I was wrong.'

'I cannot… save the city?' Yuchi stared at his reflection in the black computer screen and started to think about Tenshi's words. 'My dream… is gone?'

Yuchi met himself.

He was back on the rocky path. To his front was the same bright white light. To his back was an abyss of darkness. But this time, he was not walking anywhere. He was neither stepping forward to the light beyond, nor backing down to the realm of shadows.

He encountered a reflection of himself. The reflection had the same look, same helmet and same suit as him. He stood still in front of his own reflection, which seemed to be smiling at him.

'Yuchi…' said his reflection.

'Are you… me?' Yuchi was perplexed by what he was seeing.

'Yes,' replied the reflection. Strangely, this reflection appeared calm and collected.

'W… Why do you… appear?'

'To help you,' the reflection smiled at him. 'Because I'm your everything. Your mind, your body, your soul.'

Yuchi was dumbfounded.

'Yuchi…' continued the reflection. '…You mustn't falter. You should keep going on with your dreams…'

'B… But I couldn't save the boy! I even nearly killed him!' Yuchi began to weep.

'It's true,' the reflection let out a warm smile once more, 'the boy is already helpless. But think about it, you have to save more people!'

'More… people?'

'Exactly. If you have two paths to choose, why not choose the more noble way out? Why stuck yourself with the obstacles you face along the more risky journey?'

'The more… noble way out?'

'Correct. Yuchi… I've been inside your mind for sixteen years and I know who you are. Yuchi, you are a true genius, but being a genius comes a big problem. You get discouraged by your mistakes and failures easily,' the reflection explained.

'…' Yuchi was speechless. He could not fault his own reflection. Indeed, since young, he had always thought too highly of himself. He did have the abilities, but he was sometimes too overconfident with his abilities. And when he tumbled over along the journey of life, he would lose all his courage to walk on.

'I must choose… the more noble way out…' he encouraged himself.

'Yuchi… Tenshi is right. Don't waste any more time. You must leave here now, or else it would all be too late…'

Before Yuchi could even say a word to the reflection, the latter had already vanished into the light. Yuchi clenched his fist, and ran along the rocky path to reach the light that was awaiting him.

The evening sun had set. It was early night; the sky was deep azure with a tint of scarlet. Both Yuchi and his enemy's Units were still speeding along the Duel Lane. Tenshi's Unit was following closely behind Yuchi's. He had already settled his own battle with the two Enemy Units he was facing, both of which disappeared into a ring of light after the duel. Wiles had also finished his duel and had retreated back to the Headquarters.

'Pilot Tenshi,' Yuchi woke up from his delusion. 'Thank you. I know what to do now.'

Tenshi smiled. 'So you finally understood, my rival, no, my colleague,' he thought to himself.

The teenage boy on the black enemy Unit was still unconscious after the incident. Yuchi looked at him pathetically, and turned his head to focus at the front.

'It's still the Battle Phase of my turn. I activate my Trap Card, Urgent Tuning! With this, I can Synchro Summon during my Battle Phase!'

He proceeded to take away both monster cards on his Duel Disk and inserted it into the Graveyard slot. 'I tune my Level 3 Magical Fairy Apprentice with my Level 5 Sapphire Angel!'

'The lord of paradise, descend from the sky! Flap your great wings, and bring me to victory!'

'Synchro Summon! My ultimate ace, Supernova Angel Knight!'

And Yuchi's magnificent white warrior appeared. It let out an ear-piercing battle cry, as if it really wanted to serve his master well.

'Supernova Angel Knight, attack the enemy directly!'

The warrior pierced his gigantic weapon towards the teenager's Unit, and instantly his Life Points plummeted to a mere 100. Yuchi observed his opponent. Although he did not bleed again this time, he was still unconscious.

But all of a sudden, the boy was trembling vigorously again. Yuchi thought he was cold, but no. The boy's head jerked up and he was smiling evilly. His eyes were no longer black, but shining red. He seemed to be possessed once more.

'New pilot…' the boy started talking with a strange sharp voice he did not have in the beginning. 'If my own people can't crush you, then I'll defeat you instead! As the leader of Al-Magnum!'

'We shall see then,' challenged Yuchi. 'I set one more card and end my turn!'

'My turn! I summon Nightmare Wonder!' The boy inserted one card into his Duel Disk. The black smoke came out of the his mouth and shrouded the whole field once more.

'Nightmare Wonder's effect! By discarding one DARK monster from my hand, I halve this card's Attack until the End Phase!'

Yuchi looked at his screen. The Attack of Nightmare Wonder had indeed fallen to 1000. 'But what's your motive?' he thought.

'The card I discarded was Nightmare Striker. When it is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, it can be Special Summoned to the field!'

Another cloud of black smoke came out of the Graveyard slot of his Duel Disk. Unlike Nightmare Wonder, it had red eyes and sharp claws. Yuchi looked at its data and found out that it was placed in Attack Position, with an Attack value of merely 800.

'Nightmare Striker, attack Supernova Angel Knight!' declared the boy.

'But Supernova Angel Knight has more Attack Points!' defended Yuchi.

'Nightmare Striker's effect activates! By removing this card from play, the monster it attacks is destroyed, and in this case, it is Supernova Angel Knight!'

Yuchi watched helplessly as his monster was engulfed by the black smoke and crushed into pieces by its sharp claws.

But it wasn't all. Next, the black cloud of smoke spread over to Yuchi's Unit and surrounded it. While Yuchi was wondering what happened, he was suddenly paralyzed. He could not move at all. Furthermore, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. It felt as though someone took a knife and pierced it into his chest.

'W… What is that?' he asked as the black smoke surrounding him started to disperse.

'That's the Card of Darkness' powers. It drains energy from you whenever it destroys a monster you control or attacks directly. In a sense, your monsters and your Life Points are like your lifelines whenever you battle against a Card of Darkness,' Tenshi explained through the screen.

Though painful, Yuchi could still bear the pain. He held his controller tightly, reminding himself not to lose grip.

'Next, Nightmare Wonder attacks you directly!' the boy launched his next attack.

The other cloud of black smoke assaulted Yuchi. Yuchi felt the same sharp sense of pain in his chest again. He clutched his chest to relieve himself.

Yuchi's Life Points dropped to 3000.

'I activate my Normal Spell Card, Dream Eater. It changes all my "Nightmare" monsters to Defense Position and inflicts 700 damage to the opponent for every "Nightmare" monster that declared an attack this turn,' the boy said as he inserted a green card into his Duel Disk.

Yuchi's Life Points lowered further to a 1600. As each Life Point was taken away, Yuchi could feel the agonizing pain in his chest increasing in intensity. 'But I must not falter, I must not falter…' he reminded himself.

'I set one card and end my turn!' the boy announced.

'During the End Phase…' Yuchi was gasping with pain, '…Supernova Angel Knight can be Special Summoned from the Graveyard by removing from play one Fairy-Type Monster in my Graveyard.'

The white warrior emerged out of the deep-blue sky.

'My… turn!' Yuchi was panting as he pulled out a card from his deck. He took a look at it, and let out a smile.

'I… I summon Marshmallon!' the gummy monster popped out of a white ring.

'Marshmallon, destroy Nightmare Wonder!'

'I won't let you! I activate my Trap Card, Trap of Darkness!' Four chains shot out from the pink card that was just revealed and bound the gummy monster up.

'With this, I negate your attack and inflict 1000 damage to your Life Points!' Yuchi screamed in pain as his Life Points were cut down to only 600.

'Supernova Angel Knight, destroy Nightmare Wonder!' the white warrior dashed over to the opponent's field and assimilated the black smoke with his shining silver weapon.

'I see…' laughed the boy. 'But do you have any more tricks to defeat me?'

'I have!' Yuchi cried. 'Trap Card activate, the Treasure of Hope!'

'When my monster destroys your monster by battle, I select that monster and let it attack again!'

'Wh… What?' the possessed boy seemed amazed by Yuchi's unexpected final move.

'I WILL SAVE YOU!' cried Yuchi as his Supernova Angel Knight dealt the final blow to his opponent.

...

His Life Points turned to zero. Yuchi had won the duel.

'No, you don't have to save me...'

These were the words that rang in Yuchi's mind.

He looked around him. He was not in his world of delusion. He was somewhere else, somewhere brighter and more cheerful. Everything was white there. The ground, the sky, the birds chirping happily far away, the water in the fountain…

To his front was the teenage boy that he had just 'saved'. Yuchi wondered why they were both there.

'Mr. Kendai, thank you but... you don't have to save me…' the boy smiled to him.

'But why? Why not?'

'Because the world doesn't need me anymore. I'm a useless person who has his soul taken away by the devil…'

'But you were not the one piloting the Darkness Unit! It's those evil people who has been toying you like their servant!' Yuchi was a bit emotional.

'I know,' the brown-haired boy laughed. 'I know… Come with me and I'll show you something…'

He took Yuchi's hand and led him along a white path. Far away, Yuchi could see that the path would eventually join up with a bridge. On the other side of the bridge was a great white castle. There was no sunlight there, but the gleams of the surroundings had already lightened the place up.

They walked and walked along the path. Walked for about five minutes or so until they finally stopped.

'Mr. Kendai, look at this,' the boy showed him something. A white hourglass. It was giant, miles tall and wide. It stood magnificently at the side of the path. White sand was falling down little by little from the upper bulb to the bulb below and disappeared to nowhere. Yuchi could see that the bulb above had only a little sand left.

'That's the hourglass of Life. Everyone has an hourglass of Life. It shows how much more time God allows us to live.'

'And that…' the boy pointed to the upper bulb with a little sand in it, 'is my hourglass of Life.'

'Does that mean you don't have much time left?'

'I think so,' said the boy. 'Anyway, is it better if I could just have an earlier death now?' He turned to smile at Yuchi again.

'But…'

'Mr. Kendai… this... is your hourglass of Life…' he flicked his thumb and the upper bulb was filled up to full. Yuchi widened his eyes.

'My… hourglass of Life…?'

'Yes… I can see that your destiny hasn't ended yet.'

'My… destiny?'

'Exactly. And I believe that you can make it. Your dreams.'

'My… dreams?'

'You must have your own aspirations, right?' asked the boy.

'Y… Yes.'

'And your dreams are…?' The teenager in front of Yuchi seemed to be of the same age as him, but he must be a lot more mature.

'T… To help people…'

'I thought so,' the boy replied. 'That was my dream too. But unfortunately I can't do it.'

'So I'm putting all my hopes on you, Mr. Kendai,' he held Yuchi's hand. 'I'm sure you can help many people. Help them from disaster. Help them from their sickness. Help them from despair…'

He looked at his white wristwatch and informed Yuchi, 'Mr. Kendai, I think I must go now. A better place is awaiting me.'

'Where...?' asked Yuchi. The boy was turning away from him.

'Paradise...'

'Paradise...'

'Paradise...' His voice echoed in Yuchi's ear.

'Wait!' shouted Yuchi as the boy was walking away. He did not turn back.

The boy walked further and further away from him. Yuchi wanted to chase after him, but his feet could not move at all. He could only see his silhouette disappearing in front of him, into the light beyond…

'Technical Officer Maya, has the report from the government arrived?' asked Commander Lupine.

'Yes, sir,' said the young girl, handing some papers over to her boss.

'Jun Higurashi,' Commander Lupine read out the report, 'he suffered from a rare blood disease two years ago. His parents sent him to Al-Magnum as they believed that it could cure the disease, but he ended up joining the organization in their terrorism activities instead.'

'What a fine young man…' he commented. He continued to read the report, 'he was a student in the Emperor Military Academy before defecting to Al-Magnum…'

'So… he was forced to join Al-Magnum?' deduced Maya.

'I think so. By the way, how's the condition of Pilot Kendai?'

'He's still in the Medical Unit. The doctor says that he might have overworked himself.'

'Let him stay overnight then.'

'I understand, sir.'

The door closed behind Commander Lupine. He took a deep breath.

' "The key to mankind's survival, the hope that will shine in the darkness" yeah…? Sir Neo...' he put down his report and thought about that ambiguous speech his senior was saying.

'Do you mean…?' he looked at the PROJECT CLEAR folder on his table and suddenly realized something.

Preview of Next Chapter

In the next chapter, the female protagonist, Amaya Suzuki makes an official introduction!

Wiles Euclid shares his past with Yuchi. What is his backstory like?

Meanwhile, Tenshi duels against Amaya! Who will win in the end?

Yuchi quarrels with his friend Kaworu! What are they fighting over?

Don't miss… Chapter 8: Friend! Published before New Year's Eve!

Card of the Chapter

Treasure of Hope

(Normal Trap Card)

Activate during the Battle Phase, when a Fairy-Type monster you control destroys a monster your opponent controls by battle. Select that monster you control. It can attack once more during this Battle Phase.

...

A Note From the Author

This chapter is what I think the best out of all the seven chapters published so far.

Not only did it introduce one of the most pitiful character I have planned for the whole fanfiction - Jun Higurashi, but it also revealed the cruelty of the mysterious Al-Magnum.

But Jun's story would not end like this.

In the future, I still plan to let him appear in one of the very important chapters.

That would be months away from now, so let's not talk about that.

Christmas! Yes, that's the hip word for today.

What do you guys get for Christmas? I get nothing =(

However, I want to give you all something.

The special chapter I promised! It will be published tomorrow!

The title is called A Christmas Tale, so don't miss it!

Anyway, two chapters are already up in my other fanfiction for Lucky Star! Please do read it!

If you don't know where it is, it can be found in my profile! Just click on my name anywhere!

Please also remember to review after reading both of my fanfictions! Arigatou ne~!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

- Project M.G.