Kyo and his mysterious opponent faced each other, waiting to see who would make the first move. Kyo decided it would be him. Kyo charged at his opponent. He slashed his blade and the person countered. They swung at each other then blocked accordingly. "Just who the hell are you?" asked Kyo as he slashed. The person jumped back.

"A Red Cross Knight!" The Knight then did something unexpected. He slashed his blade, "Mizuchi!" A powerful Mizuchi sped at Kyo.

Kyo didn't have time to act shocked as the powerful attack sped toward him. "Mizuchi!" Kyo countered with his own Mizuchi. The two attacks collided and canceled each other out. The Knight charged at Kyo and vanished from view. "Where'd he go…?" said Kyo, trying to figure out his opponent's next move.

The Red Cross Knight appeared behind him. "Mizuchi!" Kyo was hit, hard, by the powerful attack. He was sent flying. Kyo got up and readied himself. "Is that the best you've got… little brother?"

"Nani?!" yelled Kyo.

"What, Nozomu never told you?" the Knight charged at Kyo and slashed. Kyo blocked. "He was my father as well." He kicked Kyo back. "My mother was Shihoudou. And then he left us for your human filth of a mother." Kyo roared and slashed at the Knight. He blocked but was being knocked back from Kyo's relentless attacks.

"Don't you dare talk about her!" yelled Kyo. The Knight kicked him backward.

"You should have seen her beg when I killed her," said the Knight.

"What are you talking about?!" yelled Kyo as he slashed again.

His opponent dodged. "I was the one in charge of killing your family!"

Kyo's eyes flashed. He had had enough of this. "Shishin Douji Hatsudou!" Kyo summoned his four most powerful attacks: Suzaku, the great red phoenix, Seiryu, the legendary azure dragon, Byakko, the mighty white tiger, and Genbu, the powerful black tortoise entwined in serpents. His opponent merely watched in amusement.

"Pathetic…" the Knight's blade began to glow with dark energy. "I invoke the dark secrets of the Mumyo Jinpu… San Suzaku!" The Knight charged at Kyo but was soon replaced by three pitch black versions of the Suzaku. Two of them destroyed Kyo's attack. The third slashed right past Kyo, knocking him into the air. The Suzaku turned around and plowed Kyo into the ground.

"Kyo!" cried Mahiro.

The Knight landed away from the crater. A man with has short snow-white hair appeared next to him. He had two different colored eyes (one blue and one red), and wore a futuristic caped uniform with a dark purple bandanna covering the lower part of his face. "What do you want, Migeira?"

"Your fight is over. We must regroup with the others," said Migeira.

Kyo stood up and wiped the blood from his mouth.

"I'm not done with you yet!" yelled Kyo. He charged at his opponent. Migeira lifted his right arm, revealing a large five-barreled gun in its place.

"Soul Shot!" A ray of white light shot from Migeira's gun and hit Kyo in his shoulder, creating a gaping hole as it blasted through him. Kyo fell back towards the ground. The Knight then vanished. Migeira walked towards Kyo but Mahiro got in his way, arms spread out defensively.

"You're not getting any closer!" said Mahiro. Migeira pulled a vile out of his cloak and handed it to her.

"Give this to him; it will speed up the healing process. Unlike the others, I have no interest in attacking a weakened opponent…"

"Then why did you attack Kyo!?" yelled Mahiro.

"Because if I didn't step in, my colleague would have killed him…" Migeira then turned and vanished.

Mahiro kneeled by Kyo. She opened up the vial and poured it onto the wound, praying that it would work.

"VINE!" Mimic's scanner cried as she slashed the card through her bow.

The image of the card was absorbed into her before she threw her bow forward. Instead of letting go of the handle, a large and thick vine extended from the end and wrapped around a large group of Albino Roaches. Making sure that the plant material was holding the Albino Roaches tightly, she lunged forward and slashed them all, causing them to dissolve into nothingness.

Checking her surroundings, she spotted some Albino Roaches heading off in a different direction. She moved to follow them before another scream echoed through the air. It only gave the female Advent Knight even more incentive to run faster.

Mimic dashed around several corners before she saw a swarm of Albino Roaches going for Jinx, Hikaru, and two girls Mimic recognized as Sanae and Wakaba. The hex witch and Tiger Beast Spirit were slowly getting overwhelmed as they tried to protect the two civilians. Acting quickly, Mimic reached to her holster for another card. She hadn't had the opportunity to use this one before. Category Jack of Hearts: Fusion Wolf. If there was a time to use it, then it was now. She removed the scanner from her Suzaku Arrow and attached it to her belt. Steeling herself, she slashed the card through her buckle.

"FUSION WOLF!"

Mimic's transformation was much different from expected. Instead of a golden projection of her card engulfing her, the image of the Wolf Beast Spirit superimposed itself onto her body before her armor changed.

She had changed into a more feminine version of the Wolf Beast Spirit, the Jack of Hearts, and was snarling through her teeth. She then lunged at the Albino Roaches and slashed them apart with her claws.

The Tiger Beast Spirit tensed up along with Jinx and Sanae, but when they saw the belt around the female Wolf Beast Spirit's waist, they knew who it was.

Growling, Wolf Mimic told them, "I need you to take both these girls outside. I'm gonna rejoin the others." She then leapt out of the window.

"Was that really Mimic?" Jinx asked and Hikaru could only nod.

"FUSION JACK!"

"FUSION JACK!"

Draco and Pluto had just activated their Category Jack cards. The two of them were now outside of the school and the students and teachers who stayed behind watched as the two Knights dealt with the remaining Albino Roaches.

When Wolf Mimic had arrived to the scene, jumping out of a window as she killed an Albino Roach, Draco looked shock at her appearance but Pluto offhandedly commented, "That's her mimicking powers you're looking at," before they all three faced the horde.

Wolf Mimic was the first to attack, pouncing and then tearing the Albino Roaches to shreds with her razor sharp claws. She let out a howl as they were being dismembered and decapitated by her own hands. She also used her fire and ice powers to freeze and burn them with her claws. The burnt ones were incinerated into ash and the frozen ones shattered to pieces.

"SLASH! THUNDER! MACH!" Draco sword announced as he slashed the three cards through, "SLASH SONIC!" His wings spread out and took him to the air before he dove down and slashed the Albino Roaches to pieces with his electrified sword.

"RAPID! BULLET! FIRE!" Pluto gun announced as he swiped the three cards through, "BURNING SHOT!" his six peacock tail-like wings took him to the air and he stayed there before aiming and firing a rapid volley of fireballs from his gun, causing them to explode when they impacted against the Albino Roaches.

The ones remaining, a small margin of them, then decided to make their escape. They beat their wings and flew off.

"No way!" Wolf Mimic shouted, "No escape for you!" She then concentrated all her fire powers and her body ignited with an intense flame. She then sent a powerful stream of fire at the retreating Albino Roaches.

"RAIJIN!" Draco called and lightning struck from the heaves to crash into the escaping swarm of Albino Roaches, vaporizing them until nothing was left.

Everyone who was watching this stood stunned before they began applauding and cheering for them.

Wolf Mimic slashed through her Category Ace, "CHANGE SUZAKU!" to once again assume her Advent Knight form.

"Let's go," she commanded as they all left the scene.

"Who made her boss?" Pluto commented as he spread his wings.

Draco chuckled before spreading out his own wings and grabbing his sister before the three Knights flew off before the students could swarm them and ask for questions.

Futaba and Yuusuke were among the students who'd seen this and well…this was starting to make their memories stir.

Episode 50: Berserker

The others, sensing something wrong, arrived in the clearing where Kyo was. They saw him in the crater and ran over to him. "Mahiro, what happened?" asked Mimic.

"That guy that Kyo fought, he was way to powerful. He beat Kyo and nearly killed him," explained Mahiro, choking back tears.

"We gotta get him somewhere. I wonder if Chigusa-sensei came back with the others," said Draco. They all reverted back to their disguises. Leo and Takada picked up Kyo and brought him to the infirmary.

There at the infirmary was only one person, a very attractive woman with brown hair and brown eyes who was staring at the group, shocked. "What happened?!" she exclaimed. This was Dr. Chigusa.

"Our friend was hurt during the attack," said Jennifer.

"But… but these are sword wounds," said Dr. Chigusa as she examined them. The group froze. What were they suppose to tell her?

"Ano…Um…" Leo stuttered, trying to think of an excuse, and failing horribly.

"Lister, sensei," Takada said sternly, "Kyo needs treatment, now. We'll discuss the details later but right now he needs to be patched up.

Dr. Chigusa nodded. She didn't have time to waste, "Put him on the bed and take off his clothes." Leo nodded and removed Kyo's shirt. Dr. Chigusa then started to stop the bleeding, putting patches on the wounds and cleaning them. Afterwards she stitched the wounds closed and put gauze strips over them. She then wrapped most of his torso in bandages. "He has stabilized and should be fine. He has some broken bones but I'll set them back into place. I'll let you all get some rest. I'll contact you as soon as he wakes up."

"Okay," said Hikaru.

"I'll stay here with him," Mahiro volunteered.

"Okay, Mahiro-san. Please take care of our friend, sensei," said Leo. Everyone except Mahiro and Dr. Chigusa then left.

"Mahiro-san," said Dr. Chigusa. "Please tell me what really happened to Kyo-san. And tell me what really happened a year ago."

Mahiro stared wide-eyed at Dr. Chigusa. She remembered? "Well…"

Elsewhere…

A tree stood strangely alone in a clearing. It emitted a strange white light, which showed the silhouette of two figures. The light faded to reveal the figures. Both were very attractive girls. One had shoulder length brown hair and green eyes. The other had shoulder length red hair and light brown eyes. "Midori, are you sure you want to do this? You know we aren't supposed to interfere with the past," said the red haired girl.

"Hai, Reika-chan," said the other girl happily. "Leo-kun and Kyo-kun are gonna need our help. Plus, I wanna see our old friends again."

"Fine, fine," said Reika, waving her off.

Hikaru had pulled Kat aside while Takada went off to do some research. This left both Leo and Jinx alone to do couple stuff.

"What?" Kat asked the disguised Beast Spirit.

"I smell Baihu," Hikaru told Kat and the Knight of Suzaku stared at her.

"He's here?" she asked. Hikaru nodded.

"Yup, but I don't know who he is."

Kat raised up an eyebrow, "I thought you could detect Beast Spirits."

"You can sense them too," Hikaru retorted.

"To an extent. When it comes to you Royals, it's just a weird vibe I get when I stand too close to you." Kat then asked, "So, how come you don't know who Baihu is?"

"Well…" Hikaru said, "He never took off his hood, so I never did see his human form. Only Shima, King and Paradox ever did see his face since they were all Kings, plus Baihu was always slippery. Back in the Battle Game he was a powerful berserker and a sniper."

"A sniper and a berserker?" Kat asked. She did not like how that sounded.

"He's ferocious and vicious if he gets too close and dangerous from afar. When he attacks, you won't know what hit you," Hikaru explained. "Only one Beast Spirit could scare him."

"The Joker," Kat reasoned. It made sense. The Joker was amazingly powerful.

"Yep," Hikaru nodded. "Baihu always tried to keep away from the Joker."

"Maybe he's hiding from the Joker, that's why we can't get a lock on him," Kat rubbed her chin.

"If we get close enough, maybe I can sniff him out," Hikaru suggested.

"Can't sniff out everybody," Kat reasoned, "Would be a waste of time and it could alert Baihu."

"You're right." Hikaru's stomach suddenly growled, "Can we get something to eat first? I'm hungry."

"Well, let's go to the cafeteria. Maybe we can get something before classes start again."

As the two girls walked away, Kanai poked his head out from around a corner, watching as they got further away. "Crap," he muttered. "They're on to me. I have to get that wretched little tiger cub out of the way or I'll be found out."

Hearing the two girls talk about that blasted monster brought back memories of the last time they had met. Seeing the Joker in battle was truly terrifying. It was a whirlwind of destruction and doom. A large number of Beast Spirits were sealed because of it. Kanai may have been a berserker in his fighting style, but he was precise and quick about it. He wasted no movement or attack. He preferred to keep his reserves as full as he could.

By the time the Battle Game was half finished, the other Category Ace Beast Spirits recognized just how big a threat the Joker was. So, Ryu, Zaku, Gen, and Byak, decided that he couldn't be left alone. So, all four attacked the Joker. Byak would get close since he was one of the few Beast Spirits who could avoid its attacks while Ryu and Gen would get it with hit and run tactics. Zaku would use long range strikes. When it had finally worn down, all four of the Aces attacked. They managed to put it down, but the damned thing wouldn't stay still long enough for the Master to seal it. Cer, Ber, and Us had to intervene to help the four Aces keep it down long enough for the Master to seal it away. Kanai had never felt more relieved than on the day when he saw that abomination to existence vanish into a Rouge card.

It was the weekend. Kyo was still out of it, coma wise, but not too severe. His wounds had healed, thanks to both Mahiro and Dr. Chigusa. Kat had commented that it took a lot to put down the red-eyed samurai, a fact everyone wholeheartedly agreed. Though they hadn't found any clues towards the Baihu Beast Spirit's secret identity or whereabouts, the group of young heroes decided to take the day off.

Leo had prepared a special picnic that he would share with Jinx. The girl shared a dorm room with Hikaru so he had to call her on her cell phone to meet him in the garden. She accepted the invitation cheerfully and he promised it'd be a special picnic lunch-date.

He hummed happily as he walked into the garden, the basket on his arm as he went to meet up with Jinx. Things had gotten back to normal after the attack, but many students were still wary of another one. Giant bugs attacks weren't exactly common or normal around these parts, unlike Nerima or Juuban.

As he walked into the garden, he saw Jinx but then he froze. His eyes widened with shock and horror as he dropped the picnic basket. There he saw, Jinx…in the arms of another man and their lips were touching.

They were locked in a deep kiss and Leo's heart began to break in two.

"Get off!" Jinx screamed as she pushed the man away. He was dressed in a yellow and red costume, with a mask on his face and a red lightning bolt on his chest. "Kid Flash! We broke up, remember?!"

"I just wanna get back with you, Jinx," the speedster grinned.

"And what makes you think you can just run up and kiss me?!" Jinx demanded.

"I wanted to surprise you," Kid Flash shrugged. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

"Just, go away!" Jinx hissed. "I'm meeting someone." She crossed her arms and turned away from him and then she just froze as she saw Leo standing there, staring.

He must've seen…She gasped in shock.

"Leo! Wait! I can explain!" Jinx yelled to him but Leo didn't stick around to listen and immediately ran at blinding speeds. Jinx ran over to the spot where he had been standing and found the picnic basket. The food had spilt out and was ruined.

He didn't know how long he had been running but when he stopped it was in front of a lake. He dropped to his knees in fatigue and wiped away the tears.

"How…how could she?" he questioned to himself. Jinx said she loved him and he loved her, but then…why was she…kissing another man? He gripped the grass between his fingers and continued to cry. His mind and emotions were in turmoil. He felt anger, jealousy, sorrow, betrayal, all wrapped into one. He wanted to scream out and call to the heavens.

He then felt someone gently touch his shoulder and he looked over to see who it was.

"Are you…okay?" a gentle voice asked. Leo recognized it well. He could never forget it.

It was Sanae.

Sweet memories of the times he'd spent with the sweet young woman flooded Leo's mind. All of them were precious memories and he regretted losing them in the first place. Even so, he was happy he could recall them now.

"No," Leo replied, sounding a little hollow. "I'm not."

"Oh dear," Sanae frowned sadly, sitting next to the distressed young man. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Someone…" Leo tried to choke out. "Someone I loved was kissing another boy."

"No!" Sanae cried, beginning to understand how deep this boy's suffering was. Her soul started crying out to comfort this poor young man. "Are you sure?"

"Leo! Where are you?" called Jinx. She was back in her civilian disguise.

"You wouldn't happen to be looking for Ryuki Leonard Narukawa?" asked a voice behind her. She turned around to see Midori and Reika. "Would you?" asked Reika.

"Yes, I am. Do you know him?" said Jinx.

"Hai, hai!" said Midori, happily. "Where is he?"

"I'm trying to find him. We had a… misunderstanding," said Jinx softly.

"We'll help you find him," said Reika.

"Hai! Leo-kun is our friend! We have to help!" exclaimed Midori.

'Wow… this girl is a lot like Starfire' thought Jinx. She nodded, "Okay, let's go."

Leo wiped another tear away. "I really liked her, you know," Leo admitted. "She was so strong and independent, and I couldn't help but be drawn to that."

Sanae listened. At some points of the conversation, she had imagined what it would be like to be like Jennifer; confident, brave, strong and independent. Sanae was none of those things. She was just timid, weak, and sickly. When those monsters had attacked, she got scared. She coughed.

"Daijoubu desu ka, Minami-san?" Leo asked in concern. He couldn't call her 'Sanae-chan' anymore. Though he knew her, she didn't remember him all that well.

What he said, and the way he said it, sounded so…familiar to her. There was just something about this boy that seemed so…familiar. It was as if she had known him in another life. But that was crazy, right?

"I'm fine," she replied as she took another one of her pills. "So, are you going to be okay?"

"I don't know," Leo said as he tossed a pebble into the lake.

They didn't know they were being watched. Someone, or something, was in the bushes, observing them, watching them like a hawk. It was waiting for the opportunity to attack.

"Target: Ryuki Leonard Narukawa/Advent Knight Draco. Action: Extermination," it spoke in a monotonous voice, but it didn't hide the malice in its words. Its green eyes gleamed as it watched the two teens talking.

Kat, meanwhile, was with Hikaru and Takada. The three of them were doing some investigative work in the library. They were trying, in vain, to seek out the King of Diamonds. They had their cell phones out but the only thing they were detecting was Hikaru.

"You sure you can't find him?" Takada asked Hikaru, again, for the umpteenths time.

Hikaru was close to losing her patience. Takada had asked that question fat least 10 times now in the last 30 minutes. It was starting to get on her nerves, really.

"Sure I'm sure," Hikaru bristled. "He's a good hider, always has been."

"Well, we've ruled out students," Kat stated. "You did say you all took human forms based on your personalities."

"Yep, so Baihu would look a lot older."

"How old?" Takada questioned.

"Maybe between 25 to 35, give or take a few human years," Hikaru replied. "He was always so serious, except when he was going berserk. That is when he's really dangerous."

"So he has trouble controlling his temper?" Takada inquired. Hikaru snorted.

"More like EXTREME anger management issues," Hikaru replied, reminiscing on how many lesser Beast Spirits Baihu had defeated all on his own. "He just tears into anything in front of him like paper. He has a BFS and a BFG."

"BFS? BFG?" Kat asked.

"Big Fucking Sword and Big Fucking Gun," Hikaru clarified, "At least that's what I call them. Believe me, when he uses those things, far or near, he's dangerous."

Kat decided to take Hikaru's word for it. After all, she had been a member of the Royals AND participated in the original Battle Game so she had to know what they all were capable of. Takada, however, was not too convinced. He felt he could defeat this Category King and seal it.

"Anyway, here's our status so far," Takada showed them the screen of his laptop. On it were the currently sealed Rouge cards of each of the original 4 Advent Knights "So far, here are the cards that have been sealed."

"Well, otouto-chan and I both already have 13 of our cards, each," Kat stated.

"I got 12," Takada added. He was only missing the King of Diamonds.

"And Desmond-nii has 10," Hikaru chipped in. "So that leaves…"

"4 Beast Spirits left," Takada finished, "You, Shima, Daichi, and the Baihu Beast Spirit."

Hikaru hated hearing that. Excluding Baihu, Shima, herself and Daichi were the last Beast Spirits still free. She knew sooner or later that she would be sealed. It was her destiny after all. Kat caught her expression and decided to add in her own two cents.

"Don't forget about the Black Joker, Takada," Kat remarked, "That thing is still loose too."

Takada nodded and noted the Black Joker as well. In total, they had 48 cards already sealed and 5 Beast Spirits still roaming free, not counting the Trials or the Cerberus Knights' Category Aces.

Kat looked to Hikaru. Despite being a Beast Spirit, she and the Tiger Girl had grown into close friends. Takada, on the other hand, still held some resentment towards her and the other Beast Spirits. His girlfriend had been killed by Isaka and most importantly the Beast Spirits had killed all the people involved in the archeological dig years ago that had released them. He wasn't going to forgive or trust them that easily. The only reason he was trusting Hikaru was because she had been recommended by Desmond.

His eyes then turned towards Kat. He did know what she really was, but he wasn't sure how to say it. He knew about her, more than she did, but had been ordered not to reveal too much. His thoughts also went towards her brother and his new power made the higher-ups of the Corporation wary. They didn't like surprises, especially surprises they couldn't control. As far as they were concerned, the twins could turn into a threat. They were only useful now because of the Trials that had been set loose.

Speaking of surprises, what was the deal about those Cerberus Knights? When Takada had asked about them, he received only one word as an answer: Confidential. He was not allowed to know nor was he allowed to ask anymore questions. The Cerberus Knights were something of an enigma to him since he had no idea who they really are or what their true purpose was. They had helped a few times, but Takada was not going to trust anyone so readily.

As Kat was looking through her cards out of boredom, she felt something in her mind and heart. It was jolt of something, an emotion.

It was heartbreak. She could feel as if something had broken her heart, but not hers entirely. She then realized what it was.

"Otouto-chan…" she whispered under her breath before she got up from her chair.

Suddenly, Kat and Takada's cell phones began to beep loudly.

A Beast Spirit was on the move.

It happened like lightning. It was fast, swift and unexpected, but you knew it happened.

It came right out of the bushes, sending leaves flying.

Sanae let out a scream as she was roughly pulled away from the ground and then held tightly in a grip of cold metal, her body pressed against the same cold metal.

And then another scream.

"SANAE!"

It was Leo's.

Leo quickly stood up and took out his bokken, going into an offensive stance. Electricity crackled around his body, surprising Sanae but she was in too much terror to react to it. Right now, she was in danger, frozen in fear, and crying with tears fallings from her eyes.

She was scared. The look on her face was pitiful and it enraged him, but the anger wasn't being directed towards the raven haired girl, but to the thing that had captured her.

Leo's cell phone alerted him frantically, telling him what it was.

It was another Trial.

It was mainly gunmetal gray with a green circle in the centre of its chest and green cables running underneath its arms. It had a simple arm mounted gun on both forearms. It had a smooth helmet which and a serpentine faceplate with green eyes. Green tubes ran from its back into its guns. The metal armor on its body looked bolted on in most parts. It had an oval belt buckle with more green cables running along its hips.

"LET HER GO!" Leo demanded, nearly sounding like a roar.

"Target: Ryuki Leonard Narukawa," it stated. "Retaliation is not permitted." One of its arm mounted guns was pointed at Sanae's temple. She cringed in fear and Leo grew angrier. He had to control his temper. This Trial right now was holding all the cards.

"What…do you want?" Leo growled out, attempting to rein in his anger to a point before he unleashed a devastating storm of power that could endanger Sanae.

"Answer: Target to be eliminated." The Trial then raised up its gun from Sanae's temple before aiming at Leo.

BANG!

"NARUKAWA-SAN!"

Jinx's head shot up from the sound and Midori covered her ears in shock. Reika was the first to speak, "That was a gunshot!"

'Leo…' Jinx thought, fearfully. "Come on! I think it came from this way!"

"But it could be dangerous!" Midori protested.

Jinx knew that. That was why she was going. Leo could be in danger.

Leo was on the ground, clutching his arm where the bullet hit. Strangely, there was no blood. He shuddered but got back up to his feet and picked his bokken up.

"You…need to try better than that," Leo said. He could walk forward but that Trial may decide to shoot Sanae if he got too close and she didn't have metal hard skin like him. In truth, Leo had now the powers of all of his sealed Beast Spirits, but right now he needed to play it safe, for Sanae. Though the bullet hadn't penetrated his skin, it still hurt like hell!

The Trial looked at him curiously and as Leo stepped forward, it took another shot at him, this time in the thigh. Leo fell to the ground, groaning in pain.

Sanae screamed, "Please! Please, stop! You're hurting him!"

The Trial was not programmed to understand nor care about human emotions. To it, Sanae's distress was merely illogical. It had a job to do; to destroy the Knight of Seiryu and make it as painful as possible.

Leo pushed himself back to his feet, the grip on his bokken tightening.

"Let…her…go…" Leo growled out, his emerald eyes glowing. Another shot whizzed past his face. It left a bad bruise but no blood. He reached into his pocket for his buckle but a bullet met his hand, causing him to flinch and move it away.

"Attempt to transform and this human will die," the Trial reaffirmed this statement by aiming the gun once again at the captured Sanae. She couldn't bear to watch Leo in pain anymore, but this monster was forcing her to.

Leo then said, in defiance, "Don't need to transform…right now." He walked over to Sanae and the Trial again, only to be shot not once but three times in the chest and stomach. He fell back onto the ground, in pain. THAT hurt, it really did. The hot metal impacting against his body was anything but pleasant.

"Narukawa-san!" Sanae pleaded, "Go! Run away!"

"I can't…do that…" Leo rolled over onto his stomach and forced himself back up. He was up on his knees before another bullet put him down again.

"Illogical," the Trial stated. "Why risk your own life for another?"

Leo answered, coughing out, as he pushed himself back up, "It's…what it means…to be human."

"Human," the Trial spoke, gun aimed at Leo, "Weak." It was preparing to shoot again.

Sanae would not let it. She did something utterly reckless and brave, but she needed to save Leo. So, surprising the Trial, her small arms shot out and grabbed its shooting arm. She wasn't strong, but she had surprised the Trial as it struggled to wrench its arm from the girl.

"LET GO!" the Trial roared before roughly grabbing Sanae and pushing her onto the ground. She looked up in horror to see its gun aimed at her. "Nuisance; terminated."

Sanae closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

"Henshin!"

"CHANGE SEIRYU!"

"RAIJIN!"

A bolt of lightning crashed into the metal armor of the Trial, sending it sprawling across the grass. Sanae looked up and saw…a Knight in shining armor.

A Knight who had saved her.

"Terminate this," Advent Knight Draco growled, hands crackling with electricity. The Trial got back to its feet and then gripped its fists, preparing for combat.

"Target: Advent Knight Draco," the Trial stated, "Action: Eliminate."

Mahiro was in the infirmary. She stood by Kyo's bed, wanting to protect him if what ever was shooting came to them. Had she'd been paying attention, she would have seen Kyo's hair slowly turn blood red, a malicious smile on his face…

The Trial marched towards Draco, an armed rise and it took a shot. Drawing quickly, Draco held his sword and batted the bullets away. The armor may provide extra protection, but those bullets could still hurt. He blocked with his sword as the bullets bounced of it while he reached for his Advent Absorber. He drew two cards out of it. The Trial came close and threw a punch at his face. He ducked and maneuvered around it before activating the two cards.

"ABSORB QUEEN! FUSION JACK!"

Sanae watched, transfixed as a golden eagle engulfed Draco and changed some of his armor gold and gave him wings. For some reason, this entire scene and that armor seemed, well, it was scary, but also so familiar.

Oh, Sanae, you don't know how familiar…yet.

The Trial went to shoot at him and he smacked the bullet away with his sword. Seeing Sanae, an innocent bystander, sitting there exposed and vulnerable, the young Knight of Sieryu took action. Spreading his wings, he flew straight at Sanae and grabbed her, holding her in his arms as his wings took him into the air.

The armed Trial watched as Draco flew away but then aimed both its arm mounted guns, its eyes flashing. "Target, in sight." It then let loose several shots.

The shots hit Draco's wings and Draco yelled in pain before he went falling towards the ground. He held Sanae protectively as they both fell through a few trees before rolling to a stop on the grass. As he made impact, the golden image of an eagle appeared before it shattered and left Draco in his normal Ace form. The Knight of Seiryu looked at Sanae. He had to know if she was okay.

"Sanae-chan?" Draco asked absently. "Daijoubu desu ka?"

Sanae, the girl in her arms, had some scraped and dirt on her but was otherwise fine. She held up a hand to touch his faceplate. "Leo-kun, daijoubu," she said, tenderly and lovingly, with an adorable looking blush on her cheeks. Her eyes were shining with tears. That look, he knew it.

She remembered.

(Flashback…)

The girls were already on their way back to their dorm rooms when Leo saw them. He then asked them, "I heard screaming. What happened?"

Sanae saw Leo and blushed before hiding behind Mahiro.

"Oh, Leo, it's just some of the boys being boys," she told the boy.

"Oh, really?" Leo said before he noticed Sanae. "Oh, Minami-san."

"Hello, sempai," Sanae said shyly.

"Are you alright? You seemed a little red," he inquired with concern.

"I'm…fine," she said, trying to hide herself. He was nice, not like the other boys, but she was still a little shy.

"So, are you all going back to the dorms?" Leo asked. "Then allow me to escort you ladies."

"That really isn't necessary," Mahiro said.

"Okaasan said this; a gentleman must always defend a lady, or in this case ladies," he quoted. "Now, shall we?"

"C'mon, Sanae-chan! Just admit that you have a crush on Narukawa-san!" yelled Wakaba.

"I… I think…I really like him," Sanae blushed and hid under her blanket.

Wakaba smiled and turned to her cactus. "What do you think, Togemura-san?" The cactus seemingly squeaked in reply.

(End flashback…)

"Elimination in progress," the mechanic voice of the Trial spoke as they heard its feet crushing some of the undergrowth as it came closer to the Knight and the one he was protecting.

"I'll explain later," Draco promised as he helped Sanae stand. "But you need to get back. This thing is dangerous."

"H-hai!" Sanae nodded as she began running for the opposite direction the Trial was coming in.

The gun wielding Trial broke through the underbrush and entered the area where Draco was standing. It kept its weapon trained on the Knight. Even if he couldn't fly anymore, it didn't mean that he wasn't dangerous. Draco looked to his Advent Absorber, but to his horror, his Category Queen and Jack had been knocked onto the ground. He had no idea where they had landed. He only had the King now and he needed the Queen and his other cards to evolve.

The Trial didn't have any snappy words or useless computer lingo. It just stared coldly at Draco before firing with both its guns.

"GAHH!" Draco cried before being launched back by the shots. Several more shots rang out alongside Draco's cries of pain. The bullets were hitting his joints and places over vital organs. His armor was protecting him, but Draco was soon unable to move.

"LEO-KUN!" Sanae cried. Draco turned his head slightly to see the young woman running up to him.

"S-Sanae-chan?" Draco gasped. "I told you to run. H-hayaku."

"I couldn't," Sanae cried, tears dropping onto the silver armor. "Not when you didn't have these!"

Sanae held up two cards which were the ones Draco had lost in the crash; Absorb Capricorn and Fusion Eagle. The Trial didn't seem to care that someone had come. It would just eliminate the girl as well.

"Sanae-chan," Draco managed to speak. "You need to...take my King card."

Sanae nodded, remembering how Draco had changed into the winged form. She reached to the Advent Absorber and opened the side panel she saw Draco get the other cards from. Inside was another card with a shining dragon on it which read 'Evolution Qinglong'. With the Trial coming closer to finish the job up close and personally, Sanae swallowed her fear and pulled the card out. Taking the Absorb Capricorn, she found the slot near the top of the device and slid the card inside.

"ABSORB QUEEN!"

The Trial seemed to become agitated, "Nuisance is now considered a threat. Terminate."

Sanae reacted quickly. Taking the Evolution Qinglong card, she found the scanner on the side of the Absorber and slashed it through.

"EVOLUTION KING!"

Sanae's world became bathed in gold light as Draco's body took to the air while all his cards began circling around him. The cards then turned gold before they shot into Draco's armor, changing it into a more majestic and powerful form. His sword appeared in his hand as he landed back on the ground, red eyes trained on the Trial

"Come no further, you beast," Draco ordered, growling. Something inside him appeared to have awakened.

Sanae gasped when she saw Draco's new armored form. He looked like an imperial Knight clad in shining golden armor. He looked so powerful and noble. The Trial didn't share her sentiment and merely raised up an arm, its gun aimed at Draco.

Jinx arrived at the spot and upon seeing the golden light she knew it had to be Draco. Midori and Reika were behind her and the brunette gasped in shock.

"Is that Leo-kun!?" Midori exclaimed. Jinx now became puzzled. How did this girl know about Leo and Draco? Jinx's eyes were transfixed on who Draco was protecting. For some reason, seeing that hurt.

Draco approached the Trial as it began shooting at him. The bullets did make contact but bounced off the golden armor harmlessly. The Trial, puzzled, still continued to shoot but then Draco was in range and with one swift swing, he unarmed the Trial. Green fluid gushed out of the tubes close to the stumps of its arms as its green eyes flashed.

"WARNING! WARNING!" The Trial yelled out as before Draco grabbed it by the neck and then hauled it up. The red eyed and gold clad warrior glared into the Trial's evil green eyes one last time before he sent it flying into the air with a single throw. Draco then summoned 5 cards, Categories 10 through Ace, and then quickly fed them into his sword.

"SPADE 10! JACK! QUEEN! KING! ACE!" the sword announced as they absorbed the power in the cards and the five projections appeared in front of him before they swiped over his armored form, allowing him to absorb their power as well. He looked up to see the Trial coming back down. He gripped his sword and pulled it back as it announced, "ROYAL STRAIGHT FLUSH!"

Draco had his own name for the attack too and today he was going to use it. When the Trial fell just in front of him, he swung his energized blade and called out the name of his attack, "ROYAL DRAGON SLASH!"

The blade made contact with the Trial's body and then there was a bright explosion of light and energy, forcing those nearby and watching this to cover their eyes. They could hear the Trial scream…then silence.

The light cleared away and there stood Draco, holding his sword. The Trial? Nothing was left of it now. It had been totally vaporized.

"Leo-kun!" Sanae cried but then she felt something wrong as Draco began to growl. "Leo-kun?" Draco dropped his sword and he continued to growl. The clouds darkened as they collected, billowing together. Then, he let loose a roar as he summoned lightning from the sky to crash into the ground and even a few trees, causing them to catch fire. His eyes were glowing red and so was the blue gem in the centre of his chest.

"Leo isn't here at the moment," 'Draco' snickered ominously. "Will I do instead?"

"And just who are you?!" demanded Jinx. That didn't sound like Leo. He never snickered.

"If you must know, you little harlot," 'Draco' growled. "I am called Ryu, the Category Ace of Spades!"

"The Seiryu Beast Spirit!?" the hex mistress gasped, disregarding the harlot comment.

"The same, yet so much more," Ryu snickered. "In this form, I'm fused with my twelve lower class brethren. It is a very intoxicating experience to have this much power!"

"Let him go!" Midori cried.

"Do you think I'm that stupid?" Ryu snorted. "This is my first time free since my little jaunt in Nerima with Zaku before the little weakling, his bitch sister, those slutty Senshi, and asshole Knights sealed me back up again! I'm not going anywhere!"

"Ryu-san," a quivering voice spoke up. The possessed Advent Knight turned to face Leo's first love as she stared him directly in the eyes, showing courage and determination well beyond her years. "Give back Leo-kun. You had your chance and you lost. GIVE HIM BACK TO ME!"

Jinx flinched at Sanae's voice and she felt jealousy. This girl felt so strongly about her boyfriend that she was going to go up against a Beast Spirit to try and get him back.

"I wouldn't even if I could," Ryu snorted as he leaned over and picked up his sword.

"What do you mean?" Reika asked cautiously.

"I can hear them," Ryu chuckled while resting his sword on his shoulder. "All twelve of them, my brothers under the Spade banner of the East. The Qinglong is demanding I give him control while the Capricorn begs to make you little pukes suffer. Strangely, The Eagle is asking to show mercy. The others are just making their own little whims, but I can't hear Leo. It's like he's not even there."

"NO!" Jinx cried, fearing the worst.

"Well, he's not dead," Ryu shrugged. "I just don't know if he has enough willpower to care. Seeing how his first love now remembers him and their times together puts discomfort and doubt in him."

Both Sanae and Jinx felt their breath stop for a moment. Was Leo becoming unsure on who he loved? No, it couldn't be. He was always so sure on what he wanted. He would be able to make a choice when the time came, right?

"Then seeing his second love kissing another man, now that just shattered his little heart," Ryu laughed. "It was so rich! I wish I could have seen the look on his face!"

"And all that doubt and sadness helped you, didn't it?" said Midori.

"Damn straight!" Ryu laughed. "And with his mind divided like it is, there's no one who can stop me!"

Mahiro was sitting on her stool as she patiently waited for her boyfriend to wake up. As she waited, a sudden rustling caught her attention. Knowing it was Kyo, she turned to greet him properly, but what she saw would have made her scream hadn't this person's hand clasped her mouth shut.

"Now, now, dear," Akuma grinned maniacally. "We'll have none of that. I've sensed an incredible opponent who I am now looking forward to fighting! I'm in such a good mood now that I'll even let you live. I want to fight this King myself and I want to be at the top of my game!"

Mahiro could only whimper in fear.

Kat suddenly stiffened as she felt a cold chill run down her spine. Something was wrong, very wrong. Even worse though, it involved her otouto-chan. That was something that she could not ignore no matter what.

"Kat?" asked Takada. "What is it?"

"Otouto-chan," Kat replied simply before she turned towards the forest. "I gotta go!"

"Huh?" Takada cried. "Wait!"

He was too slow though. She was already gone.

ZK Chromedragozoid: OK, the Seiryu Beast Spirit is in control and Leo's gone, or is he? Stay tune. Ten Faced Paladin and Shadow Element 13 helped out with this fic and if you read what Ryu said, it's something slotted to happen in Paladin's fic, KSM: The Advent, a joint production made by yours truly and the Paladin.

Preview to the next chap:

Leo's sister and friends try to bring him back but it proves futile as the Seiryu Beast Spirit is able to beat them down with ease since he has control of the power of all the Spade Beast Spirits. Then, there is a battle between two powerful forces, make that three as Wild Mimic enters the fold. Also, what's happening back home? Stay tune for the next chapter.

Episode 11: Broken