"The newest homunculus was able to host the Code for fifteen minutes—the Barian Protocol must be working. Not everyone agrees—rebels have sprung up against the Protocol. Don't they understand that if we do not root out the corruption among ourselves, we will perish?"

ln 4, pg 46, Astral Project Journal 3. Author lost.

Kaito licked his lips nervously. The tower in front of him was so tall he felt like it was bending over, ready to topple down on top of him if he didn't keep an eye on it. The sky hung low and heavy with dark clouds, a faint spray of mist hanging around the top of the tower so that everything looked far duller and less colorful than it was supposed to. It was as if the air was bleaching the color out of the green and yellow paint that coated the building, dulling the bright red heart on the top.

Haruto was uncharacteristically silent beside him, gripping Kaito's fingers so tightly that he thought his bones might break. He gripped back, though, trying to make sure Haruto knew he was there. Haruto had just gotten quieter and quieter the past few years, and sometimes Kaito was afraid he would look down and his brother would be gone, turned into smoke and blown away.

The doors slid open at the foot of the building and he tore his eyes away from the giant heart at the top.

"You're early!" came the sickeningly cheerful voice of Mr. Heartland. Kaito tensed up as the man appeared from the doorway, practically flouncing over to them.

He briefly gripped their father's hand in a handshake, and then flashed a smile at Kaito and Haruto. Kaito couldn't find more than a scowl in return. Heartland made him…uncomfortable. Both the man, and the city.

I want to go home, he thought. Back to the fields and forests. Back to mom's house.

It had come as a shock when his father announced they were moving into Heartland Tower. Kaito knew that his father had a space there; he had spent a few weeks now and then on business trips to talk about city planning and design. But there had never, ever been talk of leaving home. Not before mom died. The city is no place for children, his father had said so long ago. I should know because I helped build the damn thing—you're better off where you can run around freely, where the air isn't thick and smoky.

But here they were, and Kaito already felt like the air was trying to strangle them. If Haruto was sick, as his father insisted, why would they come here? Wasn't the country healthier for him?

"Welcome, welcome," Mr. Heartland said, grabbing Kaito's free hand and shaking it. Kaito's lip curled and he tried to pull his hand free. He didn't get free until Heartland let him go, though, and he quickly wiped his palm off on his pants.

"Kaito, don't be rude," his father said roughly. "Mr. Heartland has been gracious enough to offer his help with Haruto's illness."

He's not sick, Kaito thought, tensing as he met Mr. Heartland's gaze. That smile looked so fake. He's depressed, if anything. He's not sick.

"We have some of the finest medical resources in the world at Heartland Tower, thanks in part, of course, to you yourself funding this city's design, Dr. Tenjo."

Kaito's father merely grunted in affirmative.

"Let's get Haruto in out of this horrid weather," he said. "Come on, boys."

Haruto's fingers tightened around Kaito's hand as he started to walk forward. Kaito hesitated, glancing down at his little brother.

His eyes were so dull. It looked wrong.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

Haruto only stared. And then, after a few beats, he started walking again, and this time it was Kaito who had to catch up.

The inside lobby was as cold and dull as the world outside. Clearly, this was not normal business hours, as the reception desk was empty and there wasn't a single person in any of the seats at the front. What was this building even really for, anyway? It was a symbol for Heartland City, and Kaito thought he had heard it was some kind of information desk for visitors, plus of course the lodgings upstairs for business trips, but apparently now it had medical facilities too?

It's cold, Kaito thought. Haruto will be shivering…

He automatically shrugged off his own light jacket, letting go of Haruto's hand long enough to drape it over his shoulders. Haruto instinctively gripped the edges of the coat to pull it around him, and Kaito placed a hand on his shoulder, holding his brother against his waist gently.

Heartland and Kaito's father were still talking about one thing or another as they lead the way to the back of the room and through the doors to the hallway behind, but Kaito was more focused on Haruto.

"Are you doing okay?" he whispered.

Haruto looked up at him, but didn't answer. So quiet…so still…he wasn't at all like the cheerful, squirming, excitable child that Kaito remembered, the one that he had to try so hard to hold on to before he ran off on some new adventure. Kaito's heart clenched up. Maybe…maybe Haruto really was sick.

The sound of boots caught Kaito's attention, and he looked up. His chest tensed and he tightened his grip on Haruto's shoulder. There were three men approaching down the hallway, two of them in what appeared to be security guard uniforms, and one in a lab coat. Kaito pulled Haruto a little closer to him instinctively. Who were these people?

"Very well, I'll leave them in your hands for now. I'll be in my office," his father said, the first words that Kaito had clearly heard out of him since they had come in. His head snapped to his father, eyes wide. What did that mean? What was—where was he going?

"F-father," he said, his voice cracking in spite of himself. "Where—"

But he was already, gone, the tail of his coat vanishing around the corner of the doorway, without even saying a word to them—not even a glance in their direction.

Leaving them completely alone in a dark, cold hallway with nothing but the strange men and Heartland's leering smile.

"All right, Mr. Haruto, we're going to have you checked up first," Mr. Heartland said.

Kaito tightened his grip on Haruto, tried to pull him closer, but one of the security men came forward and grabbed Haruto by the arm. Haruto let out a frightened squeak—the first sound he had made all day.

"Don't pull on him like that!" Kaito said. "You'll scare him!"

"We just need to run a few tests," the man in the lab coat said.

"I'm going too, then," Kaito said.

"Best leave this to the professionals, Kaito-kun," Mr. Heartland said with a laugh, putting his hand on Kaito's shoulder. "You and I have a few things to talk about in the meantime."

Kaito growled and yanked his shoulder free of Mr. Heartland's grip, pulling Haruto out of the other man's grasp and backing up towards the wall with Haruto in his arms.

"Haruto's not going anywhere without me," he said. "You can talk to me after I watch him during his tests."

Mr. Heartland actually frowned briefly. Then he shook his head, sighing, and nodded at the security guards. One of them grabbed Kaito by the shoulder and Kaito threw himself hard away from the grip, but that was enough to distract him so that the other one could pry Haruto out of his arms.

"Niisan!" Haruto screamed, struggling to get free. "Niisan!"

"Let him go! You can't take him! I have to go with him!" Kaito shouted, but the other guard pinned him back against the wall and Kaito wasn't tall enough or strong enough to wriggle free. "Haruto—Haruto!"

"Please calm down, Kaito-kun," Mr. Heartland said, shaking his head. "Like I said, Haruto-kun just needs to have some tests run. You act as though he's being kidnapped."

The guard dragged a screaming Haruto down the hall, the boy leaning back and stretching out his hand toward Kaito as his other arm was used to haul him away. The guard finally released Kaito and Kaito lost his balance after his obstacle was removed, almost falling over. He recovered and jumped to his feet. He tried to bolt forward, after Haruto—but a heavy grate dropped between him and Haruto, cutting off his path and making him skid to a stop so that he wouldn't be crushed.

"Haruto!" he shouted, squeezing his arm between the bars to reach out for him. "Haruto!"

"Niisan!"

Haruto's cries faded as he disappeared around the faraway corner. A heavy lump rose up in Kaito's throat and he felt like he was choking. It was all he could do just to stay standing, and if his arm wasn't lodged through the bars of the grate, he was certain he would have collapsed to his knees right then. Why couldn't he have held on tighter? Haruto was scared and Kaito—Kaito wasn't there for him.

"There, there, Kaito-kun, you'll see him again very soon," Mr. Heartland soothed, the sound of his voice feeling poisonous and slimy. "I just need to explain a few things to you while Haruto gets settled in to his treatments."

If Kaito's legs hadn't felt so weak, he would have whirled around right then and socked the grinning man in the jaw. As it was, he felt like he needed his hands to grip the grate so that he wouldn't fall down.

"What things?" he hissed between his teeth, barely able to even look over his shoulder at the man.

"Things like what you can do to help Haruto-kun get better."

That got Kaito's attention. He turned slowly, still bracing himself against the grate, eyes narrow.

"What are you talking about?"

Mr. Heartland only smiled, tapping the side of his nose.

"Come along with me, and I'll explain everything," he said. "That's the job your father has given me, after all."

Kaito didn't want to move. He didn't want to go anywhere with that discomforting, leering smile that never disappeared from the man's face. He didn't want to be anywhere near him—there was something in his blood that said danger danger danger.

But…if he could help Haruto…

"Fine," he spat. "Where are we going?"

"Just down the hall," Mr. Heartland said, beckoning. "And I'll explain everything."

Mr. Heartland led him to a huge, wide room, of polished metal floors and walls, lined with counters and equipment that shone with a mechanical cleanliness. Everything was neat, tidy, placed into perfectly arranged positions that indicated an intricate organization. There were tools that Kaito had no names for, and empty test tubes lined up neatly that glimmered in the pale blue-green light.

And at the center of the room was the biggest holographic projector that Kaito had ever seen.

It sat like a huge round table, at about his waist height, with a glowing blue projection of Heartland City in all its details covering the entirety of the surface. Kaito approached with his mouth hanging open, walking slowly around the projection. He could see everything—Heartland Tower, the five different dueling schools in town, every detail of the amusement park right down to the vending machines that dotted in between game booths and the swinging cars of the Ferris Wheel. Not only that, but he could see cars moving in the streets, tiny dots that must be people, moving even in the pale transparent windows of the blue projected buildings. Was this in real time? Was this a real time projection of the entire city? How was that even possible?

"Try looking up. That's more important," Mr. Heartland said behind him.

Kaito blinked, and raised his eyes upward. His mouth dropped open in spite of himself, and he wondered for a moment if that had been there before, or if Heartland had just turned on that projection now. There was no way he could have missed it.

Two swirling galaxies, big enough to take up almost the entirety of the laboratory, their lazy trails of stars swirling in spirals. One was a pale blue-green, the sparkles sending glimmers of cold, distant light across the floor, spinning slowly outward, dots of rainbow glittering between the white and blue. Like it was some giant prism.

The other was a hot, burning red, with black dots like planets or black holes swirling within it. This one spun inwards, close, too close to the other galaxy. As if it was pulling the white into itself, dragging it towards its black center like it was some kind of black hole, ripping the white and blue galaxy to pieces as it dragged that spiral towards itself.

He swallowed with a sudden burst of understanding. He had seen these galaxies before. In the eyes of that dragon in his dreams...

"What...is that?" he said.

Mr. Heartland hopped forward beside him, pointing upwards with his cane.

"That," he said, pointing to the blue galaxy, "is the Astral World. And that one is the Barian World."

"What are they?" Kaito said, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible. He didn't want Heartland to know how nervous he was.

"Dimensions," Mr. Heartland said. "Other worlds or planes of existence."

"You're joking. You said this has to do with how to help Haruto."

Heartland smiled and spread his arms out wide, gesturing with his cane.

"My dear Kaito, this has everything to do with Haruto-kun."

Kaito narrowed his eyes, suspicious. What on earth was this about?

Heartland tapped the ground with his cane, and the image of Heartland City dissipated, moving the twin galaxies down closer to the hologram table, so that they didn't have to crane their necks to see it.

"See here?" he said, pointing to the middle of the galaxies. "These dimensions are fighting with each other. They're getting ripped up at the edges."

Kaito remembered seeing something like that in his dream, but he tried not to show any recognition on his face.

"So?"

"I'm sure you remember the accident that took your mother's life."

Kaito tensed up.

"What about it?" he said, hands rolling into fists at his sides.

Mr. Heartland smile broadly, which seemed inappropriate considering what topic he had just brought up.

"It was no terrorist attack," he said. "It was an interdimensional accident."

"A…a what?"

Heartland poked at the hologram.

"A hole between the worlds. Very, very rare by themselves, and usually without so much boom to them. Something irritated the small piercing between the planes of existence, and it so unfortunately coincided with the Astral and Barian worlds intersecting. Thereby causing a rather staggering disaster as the two crashing dimensions leaked their debris through the hole."

He pointed at Kaito next.

"But, surprisingly, you and Haruto got out of it almost entirely unscathed. Why do you think that is?"

Kaito scowled.

"I think you're making shit up," he said. It was true that the galaxies were familiar from his dream, but…who the hell did Heartland think he was kidding?

"Doesn't it seem odd that your brother's mysterious illness coincides with the night of the accident?" Mr. Heartland said.

"He's not sick," Kaito snapped. "He's depressed. Because mom is gone. There's your fucking coincidence."

Heartland tutted softly, as though against the obscenity. But he didn't point it out.

"Then how would you explain the voices that your brother says he can hear?"

"He…he doesn't hear voices," Kaito said. "He just hears…something."

It was from stress, or something else. It had nothing to do with…this bullshit that Mr. Heartland was spewing.

"Unfortunately, I will have to disagree with you," Mr. Heartland said. "Because I, and your father, have reason to believe that you and your brother absorbed some of the leakage from the exploding dimensions. Haruto got the brunt of it, which is why he's become so weak—he's integrated too much energy from another dimension. It wasn't meant to be in a human body."

"I think you're crazy."

"Oh? Then what would you think about this?"

Mr. Heartland's hand reached up to dig briefly into his chest pocket. Kaito felt a sudden, strange clenching in his stomach, even before the object came free.

It was a small chunk of glowing red stone that Heartland held between his fingers. And for some reason, it was making Kaito have trouble breathing.

He pressed a hand to his chest—why was his heartbeat so fast all of a sudden?

"What is that?" he said, his voice feeling choked.

"This is Barianite," Mr. Heartland said. "A gemstone found only in the other dimensions—only in the Barian World. You can sense its power, can't you?"

There had to be a logical explanation for why looking at the thing made Kaito feel sick. He swallowed past the bile in his throat.

"Why are you talking about stuff like this?" he said. "What is going on?"

"I'm only explaining what your father wants you to know," Mr. Heartland said. He replaced the Barianite in his pocket and Kaito felt like he could breathe again. "You know what your father studies, don't you? City planning pays the bills and gets the grants, but his real research is—"

"Interdimensional physics," Kaito mumbled. He knew that. He had always known that. His father used to read his theories aloud to Kaito like bedtime stories, looking haggard and frazzled from staying up too late and trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with his formulas this time. The way his face would light up in the middle of reading it aloud, and he would jump up so fast that the chair fell over as he rushed back to the lab to fix the mistake he had just found.

But…but there wasn't…really other dimensions, was there?

"You're saying that…that Haruto and I…absorbed the energy of another world," he said.

"That's exactly it."

"But…but why aren't I sick too, then?" Kaito said. "Why aren't I like Haruto?"

"Haruto was closer to the blast; he absorbed most of it since you were behind him," Heartland said. "We'll run some tests on you, too, to see just how much you have in your body and what we'll need to do to balance out any negative effects. But we're hoping that you and Haruto might learn how to channel that energy into something productive, and that may do the trick."

Kaito swallowed, trying to focus on all of this new information. He basically—he basically had alien energy in his system. And so did Haruto. If…if Kaito had managed to get on top of Haruto to shield him instead of falling with Haruto on top of him…would Haruto have been okay…?

"We're assuming that the two of you have Astral energy in your systems," Heartland continued, shaking Kaito out of his thoughts. "That's why you reacted so poorly to the Barianite. They're opposing forces, you see—as you've noticed, they're fighting for dominance."

"And…and that's bad, right?"

"It's certainly not good for you and Haruto," Mr. Heartland said with an inappropriate chuckle. "But don't worry—your father has been doing a lot of research, and he's come up with some plans to balance you out. We may be introducing small amounts of Barian energy into you and Haruto to see what we can do."

Kaito sucked in a breath.

"You said…you said there was something I could be doing to help Haruto," he said. "What…what can I do?"

He hated the way his voice shook, but his head was spinning with so much information, so much guilt for not shielding Haruto back then, that he couldn't keep his voice steady.

"An excellent question!" Mr. Heartland said. "Your father and I have been doing some joint research, you see, about the two worlds, and we think we have a few conclusions…first, there are, in fact, extraterrestrial beings in these two warring dimensions."

Kaito's eyes lifted back up to the projection of the dimensions, and he remembered his dream, with the screams lifting up from the two worlds.

"And of course, both dimensions are very, very unhappy about the other one encroaching on their territory," Heartland continued. "They're trying to destroy the other, as it is. And with the energy of those worlds in your blood, you and Haruto will feel some negative effects of that."

"So…what do we do?" Kaito said.

Heartland smiled as he turned to face Kaito. He leaned his cane against the projection table so that his hands were free to grip Kaito's shoulders. Kaito felt sick being touched by him—or maybe that was because the Barianite was getting closer again.

"We have to stop that war, of course," he said. "Your father is taking on a mission to see what he can find about the worlds themselves, and at that point, we'll have a stronger game plan. But for now…"

Heartland released Kaito and took his cane again, using it to swipe through the projection of the galaxies. Something else formed in its place.

Kaito almost choked.

It was her. It was the dragon from his dreams.

It took everything he had not to reach out towards the hologram and try to put his hand against the dragon's head. He only barely concealed his shock and recognition—but not enough.

"Ah, I see you recognize it," Heartland said. "I wasn't mistaken, then. Your encounter with the other world's energy has awakened some latent power in you."

"What—what are you talking about?"

"You can hear it, can't you?" Heartland said softly. "You can hear the dragon calling out to you."

Was…was that what it was? The memory of his mother's lullaby, the dragonsong…it was…it was a dragon? Calling out to him?

"Haruto-kun can hear the sounds from the Astral World with his power and connection," Heartland said. "Your father and I believed you may be able to hear something else. The Galaxy-Eyes."

Kaito tried not to make any expression. Galaxy-Eyes…it rung in his head and his heart, made him feel, for some reason, like he was going to start crying. Not in front of Mr. Heartland.

"And?" he said. "What about this dragon is important?"

"This dragon might be a key," Heartland said. "It's an ancient beast from between the dimensions. It will help us find the keys we need to stabilize Haruto. And you, Kaito-kun, seem to be the key to finding the dragon."

Kaito licked his suddenly dry lips.

"So…you want this dragon, so that you can find…what, exactly?"

Heartland once against tapped the table with his cane, and a new image appeared. That was…oh! Kaito recognized that.

"A Duel Monsters card?"

"Duel Monsters is no ordinary game," Heartland said. "The game seems to have a very strange power…one to create small doorways between the worlds, and safely channel interdimensional energy in a way humans haven't learned how to yet…"

Kaito glanced up quickly at the man. This was…this was crazy.

But…but for some reason…it sounded right…

"There are strange artifacts in this world that seem to be of both our world and the others," Mr. Heartland said. "Your father was studying their history in his research. He believes that they may be able to change forms depending on the era…and in this era, we believe they have become Duel Monsters cards."

"Why Duel Monsters?"

Mr. Heartland shrugged.

"They're called Numbers," Heartland said. "And what we need from you, Kaito-kun, is for you to collect them. They may hold the key to saving Haruto's life. And for that, we need you. We need the dragon, too."

Numbers…what an odd name for them…

Kaito stared at the spinning, blank Duel Monsters card on the projection. The hologram changed again, then, and became the dragon again. Kaito's heart panged softly. This was…this was crazy. All of this. Interdimensional wars, magic artifacts, alien energy, and dragons? It was crazy. He shouldn't believe any of it. Mr. Heartland was fucking with him. If Kaito didn't hear it directly from his father, he didn't want to believe it at all.

And yet…

Galaxy-Eyes.

It felt right. It felt like a name he had been waiting for ages to hear. Something that resonated in his soul and blood.

And…and if it would help Haruto…

Mr. Heartland moved up beside Kaito, putting his hand on Kaito's shoulder.

"Well, Kaito-kun?" he asked. "Are you ready to work for Haruto's sake?"

Kaito looked up at the man, at the hand that stretched towards him. He felt sick again. Was it the Barianite, or was it Heartland that made him feel like this?

"All right," he said quietly, and he gripped Heartland's hand back in a handshake.

He couldn't help but feel like he had just signed his soul to the devil.