Thanks to everyone who read the first chapter, and for new readers; welcome!
Last chapter was a little messy, what with the effects being incorrect and all. So, this chapter will hopefully rise above the last one and give everyone a fresh sense of adventure!
Note: I don't own Yugioh 5D's, Koonami does. I also don't own the Shadowchaser universe, Cyber Commander does.
With that, let's get back to New York!
Yesterday, my sister and I caught a thug who was using two orcs to rob tourists in the city. Now, one might think, that can't happen that often. But in New York, it does happen, and it happens all the time.
There are people down at the docks who under pay any Shadowkind that work for them and give them less than hospitable housing. Chain stores with Aware managers sometimes allow Shadowkind to work for them for unequal wages.
I could go on and on for days about the way some Aware people treat Shadowkind, it's almost like the civil rights battles in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. African Americans and the Gay Community fought for their rights, and succeeded.
Unlike those two groups, Shadowkind can't exactly come out and say what they are. The majority of the world's population wouldn't be able to tell that they were telling the truth.
So, our efforts sometimes feel as though they've gone to waste. Maybe someday though, Shadowkind can reveal themselves to the world.
The NYPD was confused as they found a small gray haired man tied to a telephone pole with what seemed to be spider web. Reports had described the small man as acting alone, but eye witnesses said that there were two large men who had followed him. So, the police decided to go with their reports and declared that there was only one person involved with the robberies, and that the robber's captors should declare themselves so they could be awarded.
Jenny and Thomas had no intention of doing that though. They both sat in a rather large Manhattan apartment complex, the room they were in was painted a warm shade of gray and paintings adorned a few spaces. A large television clung to the north wall, two windows on either side of it. Thomas glanced at his cell phone and noted the time. "Clarice should be reporting back soon."
Jenny nodded and twirled a strand of her hair around one of her fingers. The cool evening air wafted through the room and a hint of that nights pizza fragrance still hung in the room. "She'll report in on time, don't worry about her. She can take care of herself."
Thomas nodded impatiently. "Yeah, but I want to know what was so urgent she had to call us out of dinner."
Jenny rolled her eyes. "Can you think of one thing besides your stomach?"
Thomas chuckled and leaned further into the cushy leather recliner he had sat himself in. "You didn't have to duel that guy Jen; I deserve a relaxing night off."
"Well, you're not going to get that tonight Thom." A voice spoke, ending the chatter between the twins. They both looked at the scream to see a young woman dressed in a clean cut black dress suit. She had long blond hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and horn-rimmed classes adorning her angular face.
"What's up Janice?" Thomas asked, wondering why Clarice wasn't on the screen. She was the one who gave them the status reports of any Shadowkind activity throughout the city. Janice was one of his mom's secretaries, and an elf to boot. Though the TV made it impossible to see through the glamour she had wrapped herself in.
"Clarice called me and told me to put a status alert up." Janice stated plainly as an image appeared next to her on the screen. "Four people were reported entering the city about an hour ago, normally we would have just checked it off as normal, but all four were riding D-Wheels."
Jenny shrugged. "So? It could just be a group of duelists. Why do we care? They aren't doing anything to Shadowkind…"
Janice narrowed her eyes slightly. "True, but then why would they go to all the trouble of putting a glamour on the swords they were carrying?"
The image suddenly zoomed in and Thomas and Jenny both gasped as each one of the mystery duelists swords appeared on their backs. "They cannot seriously have those!" Jenny growled.
"Can and will." Janice stated, the image clearing the screen. "There was a large amount of magical energy around the whole group, so Clarice was concerned that they might be here for something."
Thomas nodded slightly and rose slowly. "I'll go take a look at them and see what's up."
Jenny was about to stand when he waved her down. "Jen, stay here; we don't know what these guys are capable of." Thomas stated as he started walking out of the room.
"All the more reason for me to go, you don't know what they can do!" Jenny shouted as Thomas left the room, closing the door behind him. "Ugh! He is such an idiot sometimes!"
Janice sighed and shook her head. "Jenny, I'll put a video through on his D-Wheel, you can watch him if you want to."
Jenny sighed. "Nah, he can take care of himself." She walked over to the door and made sure it was locked. "I wish he would actually lock the door for once in his life."
Thomas turned his slim, black D-Wheel into an alley after driving for almost twenty minutes. The city that never slept had ridiculously bad traffic, even though driving was faster than walking. Thomas just needed to get over to where Clarice was, she had been tailing the group of duelists for almost two hours, and hopefully she was still close to them. He turned the engine off on his D-Wheel and locked the whole thing down.
He looked at his cell and saw that Clarice had sent him a message. He opened and stared at the screen with confusion. "Look up?" He did just that, and saw Clarice on the roof of the building next to him.
Clarice appeared to most people as an elementary aged red-head with a brilliant smile and bright green eyes. In reality, she was a fairy, not that much unlike those of myth and legend. Albeit, she was almost four feet tall and had rather intricate butterfly wings, she snickered at the look on Thomas's face. "Jeez, took you long enough."
Thomas gave the fey a withering look. "How exactly am I supposed to get up there?" He was a wizard in training, but he didn't know a spell that could let him scale walls.
Clarice rolled her eyes and in the blink of an eye, was standing next to Thomas. "Jeez, you take everything so seriously."
Thomas gave her an exasperated look and indicated the other side of the alley. "I'm guessing that they're over there."
Clarice gave him a quick nod and moved slowly towards the other opening. "They've been walking around this place for a while now. I tried to listen in to their conversation," She scowled at Thomas. "But they have a ward around them; my fey senses can't get to them."
Thomas looked over and saw a group of four people, two guys, two girls, standing in front of a street lined with small townhouses. His eyes glowed for an instant and he saw a haze of golden mist hanging around them. His eyebrows arched in confusion. Since when were humans auras gold? "Yeah, they do have a ward. Otherwise I would have been able to hear them too."
Clarice sighed and pointed at the group. "What are you going to do?"
Thomas glanced at the fey for a moment and then turned his attention back to the group. "You aren't going to do anything. I have a feeling that the glamour around their swords is there for more than one reason."
Clarice shook her head rapidly as she stared at the young human. "No! You are not going over there by yourself! If that ward is as strong as you said it is, you can't break through it with magic!"
Thomas rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to fight them unless I absolutely have to. Besides," He grinned at the fey. "If worse comes to worst, I can always make a quick getaway from them."
Clarice sighed. "I still don't like it. They could seriously hurt you!" She was about to say something else, but Thomas was already moving. She groaned to herself and glared at his back as he went further and further away.
The group of four strangers stood in front of a plain white house, gated off and shrouded in ivy. They seemed to be waiting for something as Thomas got closer to them, but he heard one of them speak. "Are you sure this is the right place?" One of the women was speaking.
"Of course it is! Jalal wouldn't have given us the wrong address!" One of them men replied. The other woman sighed.
"He said that the house would be open at seven o'clock." She pointed at the glowing screen of a cell phone. "Here we are at seven, and the house hasn't been marked as clear yet."
The last of the group hushed them as Thomas walked up to them. He stepped forward and Thomas was unable to see his facial features in the dim street light. "Can we help you?" His voice was rather gruff and Thomas couldn't detect any hostility in it as he spoke.
"Actually, you can." Thomas murmured both hands behind his back. "I'm just wondering why four duelists like yourselves are standing in the middle of the street on a night like this."
The other man stepped up next to the last of the group. "I don't think that's any of your concern. We aren't doing anything illegal; so why do you care?"
Thomas scoffed at the group. "Really," His eyes were suddenly glowing violet. "Then how about you let down the glamour hiding your swords!" He pulled his hands from behind his back and they both gleamed violet as a blast of wind blew away the golden mist from around the quartet. Four swords appeared, one on each back of the four duelists. One of the women gasped as the wind dissipated.
"I want the four of you to explain to me why you're in New York with a glamour around your swords, as well as a silencing ward, at this time of night!" Thomas snarled as one of the group drew said sword.
"I don't think it's any of your business!" He shouted, charging forward, Thomas rolled out of the way as a sword whipped through the air where he had just been standing.
Thomas growled and his left hand glowed with a pale violet light. "I think it is my business!" He gestured with said hand and a bolt of violet energy whipped past the attacker.
The younger man snarled and charged again, Thomas's hands still glowing with violet light, a bolt of energy growing in the right one this time. "What's with you attacking me with magic! That just ain't fair man!" Thomas avoided another slash from the sword and a second bolt of energy rocketed past the swordsman.
"Enough!" Both froze as the two women appeared, one next to each of them, their swords pressed against the fighters necks. The gravelly voiced man stood in between the fighters and glared at each of them. "I will not tolerate fighting here." He glared at the swordsman. "You were out of line, drawing your sword on a civilian!"
The man glared at Thomas as well. "And you, I have no idea why you're here or who you are. But you will explain yourself." He stepped away from the group and waved his hand.
"Kylie, Abigail, move away." The two women stepped away and stood by the older man.
"Now, if you would please tell us who you are," The older man started, but never finished as Clarice landed next to Thomas.
"Thomas, I talked to your mother." Thomas gave Clarice a horrified look. "And she said that we should take these Shadowchasers back to the building." The quartet of Shadowchasers looked at the fey curiously as Thomas checked the time on his cell.
"Fine, get your D-Wheels and follow me." Thomas didn't give the Shadowchasers any time to say anything as he walked back into the alley and got onto his ride. Clarice landed next to him, her wings still twitching from the recent flight.
"Are you sure you trust them?" Thomas asked as he donned his helmet.
Clarice shrugged and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I don't know, but Carrisa wants to speak to them, so we might as well hear what they have to say."
Thomas nodded curtly and heard the rumbles of the Shadowchasers D-Wheels a short distance behind his own. If his mother had decided to speak to them, then he wouldn't bear them any ill will. Until he heard what they had to say, that is.
The four Shadowchasers stared up in awe as they parked their D-Wheels in the garage of the rather expansive apartment building. The complex was one of the most advanced in the entire city, and had some features even the owners didn't talk about. Thomas took a good look at them as he dismounted his motorcycle.
The younger man had a nearly shaved head, the little hair that was there was blonde. He had narrow hazel eyes that shifted around, looking for some sort of trap that wasn't there. He wore a black leather jacket with nearly shredded blue jeans and boots.
The younger woman, Kylie, Thomas assumed, had pixie cut red hair, that wasn't even close to being a natural shade. Her eyes were a clean gray and examined the surroundings with every sense of serenity. She was wearing a light jacket with long jeans and combat boots.
The older woman, Abigail, had gray hair tied back in a ponytail and brown eyes that teemed a sense of knowledge. She wore a pair of jeans like the rest, but they weren't designer or full of holes. They were simple, clean cut denim. She had a faded denim jacket wrapped around her torso.
The man who had stopped the fighting was the tallest in the group, and by far the most intimidating. He had neck-length gray hair and deep-seated blue eyes, eyes which echoed deep experience. He wore a black leather jacket, badly worn and cut in places and a pair of blue jeans.
"This way," Thomas beckoned, as they stepped out of the garage and into the same place where Thomas and Jenny had conversed with Janice. The fire place by the windows crackled with fire, which Jenny stood next to.
"How are you?" She questioned as she ran up to her twin, embracing him with one arm. She looked the Shadowchasers up and down, but said nothing.
"Fine." Thomas replied, walking over to sit in the black recliner. The screen remained dark, which surprised the teenager. His mother was actually here.
Jenny beckoned the Shadowchasers over to the seating area and they followed suit of Thomas, but the twins could sense the tension rolling off of them.
The awkward silence lingered only for a moment, which was when a voice echoed through the entire room. "My, my, I haven't had this much quiet since before I had children." Everyone turned to stare at the holder of the voice.
She was a tall woman with striking facial features and waist length black hair. She was wearing a long black dress that covered the majority of her legs but halted just above the ankles. She had the same striking violet eyes that the twins possessed. "My name is Carissa Montague, and you must be the Shadowchasers Janice told me about."
The older man stood and went over to shake Carissa's hand. "My name is Rhys. I'm the leader of this particular squad of Shadowchasers."
Carissa inclined her head to the rest of the group. "It is a pleasure to meet all of you, and as you can see, these are my children, Thomas and Jennifer." The twins inclined their heads.
"Now, the reason I called the four of you here is for one simple reason." Carissa began, looking at each of the Shadowchasers in turn. "Where has your organization been for the past four years?"
The younger man jumped to his feet. "You listen here lady, we're going to ask the questions; not you!" He was cut off as Abigail grabbed the back of his jackets and pulled him back down onto the couch.
Rhys glared at the younger man and inclined his head to Carissa. "I'm deeply sorry that Michael shouted at you that way. He knows better than that." Rhys scowled once more and the promise of a later conversation gleamed in his eyes.
Carissa nodded. "There's no need Sir Shadowchaser, I deal with people shouting at me all day." She gave the older man a wink. "I'm not damaged by something that easily."
"As I was saying," Carissa began again. "I wanted to ask you why the Shadowchasers seem to have been absent from the Manhattan area for the past four years." She gave a piercing look to Rhys who bowed his head.
"Honestly madam," He looked up at the regal woman. "I was hoping you'd be able to answer that question for us." Rhys glanced at each member of his squad. "Jalal sent us here to find the squad that had been in residence here."
Thomas gave the old man a curious look. "Jalal, who the heck is that?"
Rhys gave the young man a patient look. "Jalal Stormbringer is the leader of our organization. He is the reason why we do what we do." He stated plainly. Thomas nodded quickly and allowed him to continue.
"So Madam," Rhys continued. "My question to you is why you and your children do what you do?"
Carissa smiled and walked over to stand by the fireplace. "Do you believe in folklore?" She asked the old man, a clearly serious look on her face.
Rhys shrugged. "I'm a Shadowchaser; folklore is sometimes alive and breathing right next to me. Why do you ask?"
Carissa waved her hand and the fire was suddenly gone, a small ball of flame lingering in her hand. Thomas noticed that Michael, the younger man clenched the handle of his sword as Carissa stared at the orb of flames. "There is a legend that some hear and laugh at, but they have never seen the results of said legend." She glanced back at Rhys before turning her attention back to the burning orb.
"The legend states that if the seventh daughter in an unbroken line of daughters bears another unbroken line of seven daughters, the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter will be able to commune with the spirits." Carissa chuckled and the ball of flames suddenly vanished, the fire returning to its place in the grate. She turned to the small group of people and her eyes gleamed with violet light. "I am the seventh daughter of the seventh daughter, and through that bloodline, I possess the power of Awareness, as well as sorcery."
Rhys stared at her blankly as the woman sat next to her children. "The seventh daughter of the seventh daughter," He looked up at her. "That's one I never did hear about."
Carissa chuckled. "Well, it turns out that my being Aware came as a shock to my family. After childhood I continued to see Shadowkind as they actually were, and I was frankly shocked at the way some Awares treat them." The older woman shook her head. "I was horrified at the way Shadowkind were being treated and I decided to stop it.
"I learned magic in my late teens, and I used it to further my cause. I fought against those who mistreated Shadowkind for what they were, and I won a few minor battles. But eventually, I found that fighting by myself wasn't enough." A pained expression clouded Carissa's features.
"I was trying to stop a few thugs from harming a fey who had taken up residence in one of the apartment buildings near where I lived at the time. Neither of the thugs were Aware, but there was one man who came with them who was. I managed to create enough of a distraction to let the fey escape. But then the attackers turned on me." The older woman shuddered.
"Even with all of my magic I couldn't stop them from breaking one of my arms, giving me extensive bruises, and even shattering one of my legs." She grimaced for an instant before continuing. "I had enough energy to stop them from doing anything uncouth to me, but before they left, the one man who was Aware stopped by me and asked me why I had protected the fey.
"I told him it was because Shadowkind were just as equal as humans were." Carissa closed her eyes, the emotion of the moment flowing from her voice. "He laughed at me and told me that they were nothing more than rabid animals." Her eyes opened and the same violet light gleamed in them again. "Rabid animals that deserved nothing more than servitude or a quick death; that Shadowkind were in fact, even lower than dogs."
"I was found after they left by one of the tenants who came to check on the noise and rushed to the hospital. My family made me promise to not venture out by myself like again." Carissa shrugged. "I thought about what that man had said, and I decided that I couldn't let something like that stand. I needed others to help me, resources to assist me.
"I married my husband a year after that, and I officially took over Wicked Studios." The older woman smiled. "I had the resources, but I needed people to help me, and thankfully, the fey I had helped save came to work for me at the Studio. The fey whom the four of you met tonight, Clarice.
"After that, I found that Clarice had told other Shadowkind about my openness to have them work for me, and some came nearly the week after I hired Clarice. Janice was one of those actually." Carissa added to the twins, both of whom looked at her in shock.
"I had my children about a year after that, and more Shadowkind than ever were coming to me with help in habilitation. I helped all that came to me, and eventually, I taught my young children magic, hoping that one day they could assist me. And here they are." She winked at Jenny and Thomas before continuing.
"Now, I had kept an open dialogue with the Shadowchasers, I spoke with one quite often, Geoff I believe his name was." Carissa nodded to herself. "Then four years ago, the Shadowchaser activity simply vanished. Delinquent Shadowkind roamed freely around Manhattan, and when I tried to contact Geoff, I could find no trace of him." She paused and looked at Rhys. "I'm assuming that he is one of the Shadowchasers you are looking for…"
Rhys bowed his head and spoke slowly. "Yes, Geoff was the leader of the Shadowchaser squad that was in charge of the Manhattan area." He looked up, staring straight in to Carissa's eyes. "I had hoped that you might know something about their fates."
Carissa bowed her head. "I apologize, but I have heard nothing of them in four years."
Rhys nodded. "Thank you, madam, for the help." He stood, and the other three stood with him. "I appreciate the help you've given us. I think that while we're here, you can lower your guard a little. We can take care of any trouble that might arise."
Carissa stood and walked over to shake his hand. "I thank you for the offer," She gave him a glamorous smile. "But I think that there is room enough in the city for both of our organizations to work."
Michael growled at those words. "We're the Shadowchasers lady! We're the ones who are supposed to deal with any Shadowkind threats!"
Carissa turned to look at him slowly and gave him a glacial look. He froze where he was standing as she stepped closer. "Young man," She moved in so her face was nearly touching his. "I've been fighting and protecting Shadowkind since before you were born and I must tell you." She glared at the young man and he took a step back. "If you have a problem with myself and my children helping you out, then you can speak to Jalal Stormbringer. If he has any problems, he knows how to contact me."
The sorceress stepped away and nodded at Rhys. "It was good speaking to you Sir Shadowchaser, but I'm afraid that I must ask you to leave."
Rhys nodded and turned towards the door. "Come on everyone, the safe house should be clear by now." He started walking away, the others following him one by one. Michael glared at Thomas before exiting the room.
Thomas stood and went over to give his mother a one armed hug. "That was an interesting night." He commented. Carissa chuckled and walked away.
"Well darlings, that was fun but I really must be getting to bed." She smiled at her two children and exited the room. Jenny glanced at Thomas once before standing herself.
"Well, that certainly wasn't what I was expecting." She stated as she walked over to where her twin stood.
Thomas grunted and walked towards the door. "Well, there's always tomorrow to look forward to."
Jenny giggled and followed him out. "Jeez, don't sound so excited about it."
Thomas rolled his eyes as the twins stepped out of the large room and flipped the light switch.
Miles away from the building at a rather intimidating skyscraper, a tall man with dark hair stared out the window, watching the lights of the city glowed in the late night. He turned away from the window and stared at the rather open office before him, sitting at the desk where he did his work. Albeit, the things he had on his desk were mostly distractions from what he normally did; stocks, reports from his agents, personal data from his secretary who was rather uncanny at finding things out about people.
But none of those things were important at the moment, he had received a message that four D-Wheels had entered the city a few hours ago, all of the riders had been dressed in traveling clothes and each apparently had a sword strapped on their back. They had all stood near a townhouse on 20th and Spring Streets, staring at it for almost two hours before a teenager had an encounter with them.
The entire encounter had been recorded and saved as a video file on the businessman's computer. He had had the original copy destroyed as soon as he was finished downloading it. No need for data like that to get into the wrong hands. He chuckled at the thought. Most people considered him the 'wrong hands'.
A phone rang, shattering the silence of the room. The man sat at his desk and hit a small glowing square on his desk. A voice echoed throughout the room. "The Shadowchasers have returned." The man at the desk chuckled.
"I was aware of this," He replied, his voice resembling a fountain of serenity. "And you are worried, because?"
"Rhys is one of them. They have also made contact with Carissa." The voice at the other end snarled.
The man at the desk laughed, a clear ringing one that bounced off the walls of the office. "I'm still curious as to why I should be worried. The plan is falling into place, and soon our secret weapons will be ready. So, don't worry."
The voice at the other end of the line gave an exasperated sigh. "Sol, you aren't invincible. None of us are."
The man at the desk, Sol, smirked. "Whatever you say my friend; I'll leave you to your own devices for now." He touched the glowing square on his desk once more and the line disconnected.
Sol chuckled. "My friend, you may not be invincible," He stood and walked over to the wall on his left hand side, touching the corner of his desk as he passed. "But soon, I will be." The wall shimmered and disappeared, leaving only a shelf in its place. Twenty mounts were set on the shelf and in all but four of them was a sword, carved from dwarven steel. Each ones hilt glowed with a faint red light, and if one was quiet enough, they could hear a faint pattering noise, reminiscent of heartbeats throughout the room.
"Soon, I'll command more power than that blasted dragon, and when I do, nothing will be able to stop me from taking over this pathetic world." Sols smile became suddenly evil and a terrible laugh echoed throughout the entire room.
You've seen me duel once already, but next chapter, you'll witness Jenny take on a rather irritated Dark Elf. Think you know what kind of deck she uses? Well, think again.
"Loge's Flame" is coming up next.
Thanks for reading and I hope you tune in for the next chapter!
Don't expect updates this fast again. I could only pull this off because I had some kind of crazy possession that allowed me to. I couldn't stop writing.
Isran Darkstrider