Chapter 9: Enemy

'Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.'

- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

'Yuchi, do you know why I joined U.N.D.E.A.D. in the first place?'

Yuchi was in a total loss. He had forgotten why he wanted to join U.N.D.E.A.D. in the initial place. All he could remember was when he happily stepped into its Headquarters for the first time his nightmares just came back to him. Not to mention the breakup with his best friend, Kaworu Ikari that proceeded.

Now Wiles was visiting him, bringing along with him some flowers and fruits. Of course, Yuchi understood that Wiles couldn't possibly be there for such a simple reason. 'He must be here by Commander's orders, persuading me to go back there once more,' the words rang in his mind like a chiming bell.

'I… don't know…'

'I was just like you three years ago,' Wiles explained. 'I was the Duel Champion of Vancouver.'

Yuchi half-heartedly listened to Wiles' life story. 'You won't convince me to go back to the Headquarters anyway,' he thought confidently.

'But then, what's the purpose of being a genius if you can't save your family at all?' Wiles continued.

'What happened to your family?'

'My parents died. Murdered by someone,' Wiles took off his glasses and covered his face with both his hands. It was the first time Yuchi had ever seen such an emotional side of Wiles.

'And then, two weeks after my parents' death, my elder sister went missing.'

'So you joined U.N.D.E.A.D. to…?'

'Before my sister went missing, she left me a note. With "Careful, Soteria" written on it.'

'You believed that Soteria has something to do with Al-Magnum?'

'Yes…'

Wiles paused for a few seconds to cool down, and continued telling his story. 'I need to protect my younger brothers and sisters. Shield them from Al-Magnum and Soteria at all costs. And find out the truth behind those incidents.'

'Truth? Protect? Aren't those my reasons as well?' Yuchi suddenly remembered his purposes. 'Didn't I want to protect my city from enemies too? Didn't I want to find out the truth behind my father's disappearance too?'

'What's wrong, Yuchi? Feeling unwell again?' Wiles noticed that he was not paying attention at all.

'Nothing…' Yuchi smiled.

'I'm a genius. I'm a genius. I'm a genius…' the thoughts of his motives kept coming back to him.

'I was always a lonely person. Probably because others see me as a genius and did not want to come near me.'

Yuchi recalled the past when he was young and still living in the orphanage.

'Oi! It's that "genius" Yuchi acting "clever" again!' Somebody exclaimed.

A young Yuchi was sitting at the aisle, his face buried in his hands. He was crying. But no matter how loud he was, nobody wanted to go near him.

'Hey, you!' another person suddenly grabbed hold of him in the neck and snorted. Yuchi stopped wailing but he was now breathless. He reached out his hand, trying to suffocate his enemy.

Wham!

He was left with a black eye. The bruise never recovered until two weeks later.

'I was always bullied. Because I was smarter than them.'

A few years ago, he finally made out of the orphanage. He could still remember that scene, when he stepped out of the place. Some of the women there who treated him well were crying; some others were bearing with the sense of sadness in their hearts. But behind those ladies were the so-called "friends" that he had lived with for years. They were smiling like little devils, as if they were extremely elated about his eventual departure from the place.

Right now, Yuchi could still recall their evil smirks.

'I have no friends. But is my intelligence really useless? I can still use it to help other people! And my father! I want to find him!'

...

He gasped, and proceeded, 'Kaworu… I know you meant me well, but I just have to disappoint you for this time. In spite of those mishaps at the Headquarters!'

He reassured, 'Yes, despite the nightmares I have! It's nothing compared to my aspirations! It will not fool me! I'm going to break through the chains of Destiny and create a new life of my own!'

Yuchi regained consciousness. He looked at the concerned Wiles in his front for a few moments, and said to him, 'I'll go with you, Sir. I'll return to the Headquarters.'

'Onii-chan! Amaya's going to attack now!' the girl squeaked. 'Moonlight Raider, pulverize Berserk Dragon with Lunar Beam!'

A shadowy figure appeared behind Tenshi's prized possession and a streak of white light shot out of its old wooden staff, reducing the latter into fine particles.

Amaya shrieked in excitement as Tenshi's Life Points were reduced to a mere 200.

'Amaya, do you think I'm playing serious against you?'

'Eh? I don't understand, Onii-chan…' Amaya shook her head.

'Just how long do you need me to teach you?' Tenshi shouted in anger.

'Onii-chan, calm down…' Amaya was frightened by such a response.

'That Yuchi Kendai, he's your colleague! And you can still fool around when your colleague's in danger! Think about that, Amaya!' Tenshi could not tolerate the fury in him anymore.

'It's not like I don't care about him, Onii-chan!' she was very annoyed now that Tenshi mentioned who was perhaps her 'greatest enemy' in the whole world.

'Then show me, Amaya! What's your proof?'

'It's...'

Both D-Wheels stopped abruptly. Tenshi parked his in a corner and trudged away, leaving behind a girl who was about to cry. 'Let's cancel the duel, Amaya. I need to cool down,' he said in a tone that was drastically different from just now.

'Hgn!' Amaya turned her head away in disgust. 'That bugger! Why does everyone like him so much? What does he have to take away Tenshi's attention from me?' She was getting very, very jealous. 'Who is he, the son of Kaiba Corp's president? Hgn!'

'My Mistress, the dissection report of Jun Higurashi's body is out,' informed Fate, as he handed over a brown envelope.

Sitting on the silver throne was a pink-haired girl. She had an extremely pretty countenance, one that would put many beauties in the world to shame. Wearing a laced black dress embellished with flowers and diamonds on it, she looked just like a princess. A princess that had unfortunately fallen to the charm of the devil and was seeking to expand her kingdom for her sinful thoughts.

'Let me see,' she reached out her small, white hand for the envelope. Fate dared not disobey her mistress and placed the envelope on her hand respectfully.

'And Mistress…'

'What is it, my Fate?'

'Soteria has just sent us their reply.'

'And what is their decision?' said the young girl, while flipping through a file containing papers. 'Hmm…' she murmured, 'The R.C. Syndrome, is it…?'

'They have agreed to provide us with 50 million worth more of funds. My Mistress, that would mean…'

'I know that, my Fate. You're referring to the costs of building an additional three Twin Darkness Units, am I right?'

'Yes, My Mistress. I'm pleased to inform you that Soteria has approved of our proposal. The Step Two, no… even Step Three of our plan can now be completed.'

The girl paused for a few moments there. Pearls of tears were in her eyes. 'My Father King… Fate?'

'My Mistress?'

'Will Father King be proud of me?'

'Of course, My Mistress!' assured Fate. 'When the great king entrusted me as your mentor, he had already foreseen this day.'

'What day?'

Fate cleared his throat, and said, 'the day when the power of his kingdom, Al-Magnum will finally rise together with you, my Mistress, as the superior person among all!'

'The enemy that we have been fighting so far, is called Al-Magnum. I'm sure you are not unfamiliar with the name, am I correct, Pilot?'

Commander Lupine spoke with a solemn tone that frightened Yuchi so much.

'Y… Yes…'

'Great!' praised the Commander. 'Then I shall tell you everything about it.' Yuchi looked at his superior keenly with his two eyes.

'Fifteen years ago,' the old man began his lecture, 'the nest of the cult organization Yami was demolished by the United Nations Security Forces. They were found to be possessing large numbers of deadly weapons, including military jets, in order to carry out their proceeding plan.'

'What is it, sir?'

'The leader of Yami was Ronald O John,' the Commander said, showing a photo of the criminal on the digital screen at his back. Yuchi deduced from his looks that he couldn't have possibly survived until today.

'Ronald O John is a wanted terrorist with both Irish and Japanese origin. What he hoped to create was the greatest kingdom in the world ruled under him, through what Yami termed as "Holy Conquests" according to their scriptures.'

'A decade after Ronald O John was arrested, he hanged himself in prison,' Commander Lupine continued, confirming Yuchi's deductions. 'But apparently his influence had not ended yet. Three years ago, his right-hand man, Fate Ingris, founded Al-Magnum together with Ronald's only daughter, and a few of Yami's former members.'

Yuchi expected the screen to reveal the appearances of both people, but to his dismay, only a blurred photo of a young man was shown. His face could not be seen clearly but he had a height and body size much like Yuchi's own.

'Commander, why…?'

'I know, Pilot,' interrupted the Commander. 'Both the data of Fate and Ronald's daughter were still very much in a mystery. This man show here, was the only footage we have of Fate.'

'What about the name of Ronald's daughter?'

'We have not confirmed that Ronald actually has a daughter yet. We only have one piece of evidence. Maya?'

'Roger, Sir!'

The girl beside the screen took out a thumb drive from a folder and inserted it into the computer. The screen buzzed and a Ronald covered in blood was shown.

'He he…' laughed the hideous man in the screen. 'I may be dead, but don't forget, United Nations freaks! I still have my daughter! She'll be the successor to my aspirations. There'll be a day when Yami, no, Al-Magnum will conquer the world once and for all!' And the man continued with his hysteric laughter.

The screen buzzed again.

'T… That is the only evidence?' Yuchi was dumbfounded.

'Exactly. That was Ronald O John in prison two weeks before he died.'

The Commander thanked Maya and proceeded, 'Obviously Al-Magnum is a much serious problem than Yami. As a religious terrorist organization, they have been using their "scriptures" to radicalize people to join them and assist them in their malicious acts.'

An image of Jun's soulless eyes flashed through Yuchi's mind.

'And then…'

He hinted at Maya to show the next material. This image showed the Darkness Units.

'Two years ago, Al-Magnum has somehow attained the highly confidential information, which, you have known, is an asset shared by both the Neo Domino Self-Defense Force and Kaiba Corporation.'

He coughed a little and revealed the answer, 'The Units.'

Yuchi remembered the first time he was evacuated to a nearby shelter, when he was fourteen. As the Neo Domino Self-Defense Force claimed, it was because 'an earthquake is about to happen'. Who would have imagined that it was actually some black, massive Duel Monsters gadgets piloted by possessed teenagers invading the city?

He thought, 'Was Soteria involved in this?' He took a peek at Wiles who was outside the transparent glass wall. The man in white robes seemed to be researching on something on the computers.

Yuchi turned back to Commander Lupine. He was talking to Maya. Yuchi could not hear what they were communicating about.

'Shall I ask him about my father? Would he know?' Yuchi asked to himself. He tried to pick up courage to ask the Commander, who might have hints to his father's whereabouts. His father was formerly related to U.N.D.E.A.D., as far as Yuchi could remember.

He gave up that thought. 'Never mind then, I'll ask him some day later.'

Yuchi hurriedly packed some necessities into a canvas bag. Clothes, a towel, his birth certificate, a portable radio received from Old Mr. John and his beloved Duel Disk. He had less than twenty minutes left before the black-suited people outside his apartment would forcibly take him back to the U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters. He had been officially recognized into the organization and would be moving into the underground hostel that day.

'Mum,' he said to himself, smiling, 'Your son has finally made it. I swear I would find Dad for you.'

Everything was ready! He slung the bag over his shoulder, took one last glance at the house he had been living for years and banged the house door shut behind him. 'I would miss you for sure,' he said to it.

He paid one final visit to his old neighbor.

'Ah, I see that you are ready to go, young man!' laughed Mr. John.

'Thank you for your care,' was Yuchi's reply.

He bowed at the old man and took the steps to ground level. The men there stood proudly and solemnly, as if a very famous person was about to come.

'Wait, Yuchi!' Yuchi was interrupted by a cry from far away. He turned his head and noticed a white-haired teenager rushing towards him.

'Wait, Yuchi!' the boy was panting. Yuchi could not help but feel pitiful for him.

The men dressed in black suits beside Yuchi attempted to block the boy but Yuchi stopped them.

'Never mind, I'll do it myself.'

'Kaworu, Konnichiwa,' Yuchi smiled warmly at the boy.

'Yu… Yuchi, is this how you treat me as your best friend?' said a rather sorrowful Kaworu.

'I have no choice, Kaworu. I must do this.'

'But Yuchi…' protested Kaworu.

'No buts,' retorted Yuchi, retaining that smile on his face. He was bearing with the tears in his eyes, trying not to cry. He felt guilty for not telling his friend about anything. 'I cannot run away. Running away is wrong.'

'No, Yuchi, no, you can't go…' begged Kaworu. His eyes were already red with tears.

'Kaworu…' replied Yuchi. '…I must do this. I must protect the city, no matter what. This is my destiny.'

'Sorry, Yuchi, sorry for what I've done yesterday…' Kaworu started to weep. He reached out his hand to pat Yuchi's nose.

'Never mind, Kaworu…' said Yuchi, who was feeling rather bad already. '…If I were you, I would choose to do the same.'

'I'm really, really sorry, Yuchi…' lamented Kaworu. '…Can you choose not to go, Yuchi?' He kept begging Yuchi to stay with him.

'Like I said, I have the duty to do this. I cannot escape from my destiny, Kaworu…' Yuchi, too, reached out his hand to tidy up Kaworu's beautiful white hair, which had been blown into a mess by the cold wind.

'I still can't accept this, Yuchi... What if your headache comes back again?'

'Kawo…' Yuchi was about to say something when he was interrupted by the men beside him.

'Pilot, Commander has ordered us to bring you back immediately. Something has happened,' informed one of them.

'W… What is it, Yuchi?' asked a concerned Kaworu.

But Yuchi did not reply. He nodded at the men and followed them to their black car, refusing to look at the friend he would be leaving.

As he was being driven away, Yuchi did not turn back. He understood that it would be difficult for Kaworu to accept such a cruel fate of losing his best friend, but everything could not be helped.

'Sayonara, Kaworu…' Yuchi wiped off the tears in his eyes as the car swerved away from the lane leading to the apartment. '…I'm sure we'll meet again, somehow…'

'Sir, we have brought Yuchi here according to your orders!'

'Excellent,' commended the old man, noticing the Yuchi behind the men.

'All Pilots are in order! Prepare Unit Types One, Two, Three and Four! Order evacuation of all residents of Neo Domino City,' he shouted out.

'Roger!' replied Maya.

'Pilot Kendai,' said the Commander. 'Today's battle is a little tougher than last time. But do not fret. Someone will guide you along. Do you still remember your last Unit Duel with the Darkness Unit?'

'Yes, sir…' replied Yuchi. '…But what is happening, Sir?'

'Al-Magnum launched a surprise attack on Neo Domino City. They have sent out ten Darkness Units this time. Pilot Euclid and Pilot Tenshi will each handle three of them, while you and Pilot Suzuki will each handle two.'

'Onii-chan, why do I get only two?' protested an irritated Amaya to Tenshi. The arrogant man remained silent. 'Luckily you're alright, Yuchi,' he thought.

'Pilots standby!' Commander Lupine raised his voice.

'Yes, sir!'

Preview of Next Chapter

Unit Duels make a comeback!

Next chapter, we have Yuchi dueling two Darkness Units at once!

We will also show segments of other Duels that are happening at the same time!

All in the exciting Chapter 10: Versus (Pt. 1)!

Card of the Chapter

There is no card of the chapter.

...

A Note from the Author

This chapter starts off with a quote.

Hence, you can imply that most of the events in this chapter are closely tied to the quote.

Wiles purpose of joining U.N.D.E.A.D.

Yuchi's realization of his own destiny.

Al-Magnum's backstory.

It's an ancient Chinese quote that I like very much. And I find it very suitable to base this chapter off that quote.

Anyway, please review after reading! Arigatou-ne!

- Project M.G.