Next update here! I'm trying to make up for lost time here, so that's why this update is so quick I guess. I've also had this surge of 'OH MY GOD HAVE TO KEEP WRITING FOR ARCADIA' so that's another reason I'm doing so many updates. Something I've noticed, however, is that people with prominent characters submitted aren't reviewing. This really bothers me. I'm asking for your opinions because I want to make the story better and more enjoyable for you guys, and I need your feedback to do that. It's for your benefit, and it's not that hard to type a few words at the bottom of the page saying if you liked it or not.

On to the chapter!

Casualty Birth

The group of nine Sages made their way out of the hospital, towards the west end of the city. Takeshi, Alexianna, Jeff and Xerxes were leaving against the doctor's recommendation, which worried some of the others, but they left anyways.

"I know the perfect spot for us," Jeff informed as he directed the group towards a small neighbourhood near the edge of the city.

"This place is so quiet and nice," Hino commented and she helped Jeff along.

Jeff gave a small smile as he limped along, "This is my home. It's where I grew up."

Kheika eyed them from behind, scowling.

"Isn't that your boyfriend?" Alexianna asked the fiery girl.

Kheika shot daggers with her eyes at Hino, "Not anymore…"

Alexianna gave a perplexed look, "Why not?"

Kheika turned her angered expression on Alexianna, "He dumped me. He said he couldn't lie to me and himself any longer."

Kheika picked up her pace, brushing past Alexianna and bumping Hino's shoulder as she went to the front of the group with Cleotra.

"What's wrong with Kheika?" Hino asked, sincerely confused.

Jeff frowned before replying, "Don't worry about it. She'll get over it."

Setsuka and Ryuusei, who were backing the group, walked side by side, observing the rest of the group. Takeshi and Alexianna were in front of them, seemingly arguing about something. In front of them was Hino and Jeff, the former supporting the latter as they slowly made their way through the neighbourhood. Cleotra was at the front helping Xerxes along, with Kheika who had recently run up to help.

"This is the worst possible mixture of people I've ever seen. We'll kill each other before Grace can even get her hands on us," Setsuka stated to Ryuusei.

The Earth Sage shook his head, "They're teens. Any mixture of 7 teens and us would be bad. We'll keep them in check."

Setsuka pursed her lips, "Somehow I doubt that."

They reached a small cul-de-sac where a couple houses, a café and a small bakery sat. Jeff pointed to the bakery, and the group entered the small shop.

The bakery was small and cozy. It held a few tables with mismatching chairs at each for customers to sit and enjoy their fresh pastries. The walls were a pale blue, faded in areas near the tables. The back wall was lined with loaves of bread and disappeared behind another wall, presumably where the kitchen was. The cashier was next to a plastic shelf lined with deserts and breakfast treats.

Hino took a deep breath through her nose, taking in the warm, crave-making scents.

A man behind the cashier smiled at Jeff. He was older, greying hairs popped up in his head of black hair, his glasses rested on the tip of his small, tanned nose, and his green eyes seemed to sag as they peered over the rims of his brass frames.

"Jeff! It's been a while!" The man called.

"Hey Uncle Sam," Jeff greeted as he lifted a piece of counter to go behind the cashier and give the elder man a hug.

"Are these your friends? Do they want anything to eat?" Jeff's uncle questioned.

Jeff smiled, "Not sure, but we do need a place to stay."

The old man raised his eyebrows and made a welcoming gesture, "Say no more! The apartment upstairs is completely empty, it's all yours!"

Jeff smiled and gave his uncle another hug before lifting the counter to let everyone through. They rounded the corner to where the kitchen of the bakery was and found a staircase that lead to an upper level of the building. Hino held Jeff back before going up.

"Thank you," she thanked.

Jeff gave a soft smile, "No problem."

Hino took his arm and put it over her shoulders, "You need to take it easy, let me help you up."

Jeff shook his head and pulled his arm back, "I'm fine, don't worry about me."

Hino nudged him up a stair of the staircase, "At least let me spot you."

Jeff laughed as he ascended the staircase, "Fine."

The apartment was quite spatial compared to the bakery downstairs. It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large main room the size of a classroom.

"No kitchen?" Kheika asked.

Jeff shook his head, "There's a bakery right downstairs though. My uncle will refuse any attempt at paying him for food as well, so we're set for food. No need for a kitchen."

"How come no one lives here?" Setsuka asked.

Jeff turned to her, "At first, I lived here. Then I went to boarding school and my uncle tried to rent the place out, but the 'no kitchen' is usually a deal breaker. Even if someone takes this place, they get too frustrated and give it up. So whenever I come home for weekends or holidays, this is where I stay."

Everyone took a seat on either one of the two couches, or one of the three living chairs in the main room.

"So where's everyone gonna sleep?" Kheika questioned.

Jeff shrugged, "There's a queen sized bed in one room, and two twins in the other. That's enough room for 6 people. Then there's the couches, one of them has a hide-away bed that fits two people."

Xerxes raised her hand, "Is it alright if I take the couch with the hide-away bed?"

Cleotra and Kheika hissed as Setsuka stiffened a bit. Hino and Jeff both noticed something in Xerxes' eyes that let them know she was very serious about her request.

"Xerxes gets the single couch. Everyone else, pair up with someone. No one takes my bed, the queen," Jeff ordered, to which no one argued.

Everyone started looking around at each other – except Xerxes – the gears in their heads spinning behind their eyes.

Jeff turned to Hino who was sitting next to him on one of the couches, "Want to be my bedtime buddy?"

Hino felt a warmth fill her cheeks as she nodded, "S-sure… If it means I get the nice bed."

Jeff chuckled at her response before slipping his hand into hers.

Takeshi and Alexianna was a given pair, and took one of the twin beds.

"Cleotra and I call the other twin bed, then," Kheika declared.

Setsuka and Ryuusei looked at each other, realizing the same thing at the same time.

"Great, the crappy bed with you. How exciting," Setsuka gave sarcastically.

Ryuusei rolled his eyes, "Are you really all that surprised we ended up together? Who else would you have picked to share a bed with anyways?"

Setsuka thought about his remark for a moment, "Good point."

/

Grace sat in a wooden arm chair in the middle of the stage in the school's auditorium. She looked around the large space, admiring the murals that spread across the vast walls of the room.

Stephanie approached her leader, now dressed in all white attire, and bowed her head before speaking, "Zebel and Sigi have left the premises."

Grace nodded, unfazed, "Good."

"Good?" Stephanie questioned, perplexed.

Grace nodded again, "It's their fate. We're meant to follow our instincts; they lead us down the path of power and enlightenment."

Stephanie nodded, "Of course."

Both girls remained in silence for a few minutes before Stephanie spoke up again.

"What do you think they're going to do?"

Grace blinked a few times, "Kill something."

/

Aki sat in the garage of Yusei's home, face in her hands, grey-black droplet stains on her skirt. She sat, unmoving, as Yusei worked on his D-Wheel. This was the usual ritual the two performed when one was upset and distraught.

"You have insurance, the building will be as good as new in a week or two," Yusei gave, trying to comfort Aki from under the vehicle.

Aki gave an aggravated sigh as she straightened up and let her hands fall from her face and onto her knees, "Fuck the repair work. I don't really give a damn about that."

Yusei froze and stiffened at the foul language. It wasn't an everyday occurrence to hear Aki drop an f-bomb. He rolled out from under the machine and made his way over to where Aki was sitting. She looked ten times as worse than when she had spent the entire night at the hospital for Takeshi and Alexianna. Yusei took her hand and looked her in the eye.

"Aki, everything is going to be okay. You brought them all together, the Sages will fix this."

Aki processed his reassuring words, "You really think so?"

Yusei nodded and gave her hand a squeeze. Aki attempted to smile at him and laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm exhausted…"

Yusei raised an eyebrow, "Really? Hadn't noticed."

Aki actually smiled at his sarcasm. She let her eyes droop shut, and fell into a light sleep right there. Yusei wrapped an arm around her protectively and let her sleep there for a bit.

'You've earned at least a nap…'

/

Kheika checked the digital clock that sat on a nightstand in the bedroom with two beds.

"Holy crap, it's 10:30 already?"

The tanned girl left the room and grabbed a sweater from Jeff's closet in his bedroom where he and Hino were already sleeping. She subconsciously glared at them, noticing Jeff's arm around the pinkette's waist.

She stormed into the main room where Ryuusei and Setsuka were sleeping, and Xerxes was reading a book.

Xerxes looked up as Kheika made her way to the staircase, "Where are you going?"

Kheika slipped the sweater on, "For a walk. I'll be back soon."

Xerxes shrugged as she watched Kheika descend to the bakery. An uneasiness settled into the thirteen year old girl's stomach, "Something's not right."

Kheika exited the shop and made her way down the bricked street, looking around at the surprisingly beautiful scenery.

"Such a pretty neighbourhood…"

She kept walking as she mulled over that day's events. The wind was light and cool, brushing her hair away from her face as she strolled further and further from the bakery.

"Nice night for a walk."

Kheika halted, looking around in confusion, "Who's there?"

The voice laughed softly, "An old friend."

From the shadow of a nearby tree, Zebel immersed, dressed in a completely white outfit that contrasted greatly with his hair. He stood completely still.

Kheika took a step back, "What do you want?"

Zebel laughed as he watched Kheika back up into Sigi, also completely in white. Sigi grabbed Kheika's hands and restricted her as Zebel walked toward the now-helpless girl. He grabbed a lock of her hair and twirled it around his gloved finger, "There was a time when I found you irresistible. Now? I can't wait to dispose of you."

Kheika spat in his face, "You're not Zebel, you're a monster."

Zebel leaned in so that his face was only a few inches from Kheika's and smirked, "I take that as a compliment, Kaji."

Kheika spit again, "Go back to the deadlands, Hoshi."

Zebel wiped the spit off his face and slapped Kheika with his saliva covered hand, "I'm going to enjoy this."

Zebel began to prepare an energy disc in his hand as he took a few steps back from the fiery girl. Kheika sneered and created a ball of fire around her hands, making Sigi let go of her. Zebel launched the disc, knocking Kheika over into Sigi.

Kheika created an orb of fire around her, which burned Sigi severely. Zebel threw another disc at Kheika, knocking her out. The orb of fire diminished, leaving Sigi with burns all over her body. Zebel knelt down to Kheika's side and grabbed her arm. He made an energy disc and pressed it to the spot where her mark was, and leeched energy through it.

Setsuka, Ryuusei and Xerxes arrived a few minutes later as Zebel finished draining Kheika's energy. He and Sigi took off as the three Sages came to a stop at Kheika's body.

Setsuka created an orb of ice and chucked it at Zebel and Sigi while Xerxes and Ryuusei went to Kheika's side. The orb hit Zebel's thigh, making him shout in pain as he kept running. Once out of sight, Setsuka knelt down with the other two who gave her a grim look.

Setsuka looked back and forth between Xerxes and Ryuusei. Xerxes looked to Kheika as Ryuusei bowed his head slightly. Xerxes looked back to Setsuka and shook her head.

Setsuka took a few moments to search her brain for other possibilities of what Xerxes meant by her body language, but none came other than the one that had first come to mind. The realization sunk in after a few moments of staring at the ice haired girl.

Kheika was dead.

END

That was a depressing way to end the chapter, I know. Kheika is deceased, it's awful. I'm sure many of you hate me now. Please save your vegetables to throw at me for later though.

I suggest you guys read some stories out there in this fandom that are really good; Yugioh V Busters by Ten Commandments, and Infernity Mirage/Boss Rush by lalunaticscribe. You can find these stories in my favourites. Characters of mine are featured in both for a reason; I don't trust just any authors with my characters. Please read them.

Review as always please!