Chapter XI

Investigation

Zane opens his eyes, his vision fading to black at a second interval. A deja vu, the sunlight spreading over his bare skin, a familiar ceiling greeting him. How many times has he seen this in those last weeks? It's too often for his own taste.

He hears a page flipping on the side, Syrus is sitting, reading a printed copy of the daily newspaper. He hasn't seen one of those in ages, everything is so modern nowadays, his head flops to the side, sinking on the soft pillow. His throat feels dry, his mind drawing a blank, having difficulty forming phrases.

His brother flinches once, feeling observed, lowering the paper to find those green eyes staring idly at him.

"You're awake."

He declares blandy, as if at loss for better words, putting the reading aside. Zane's hands push the mattress down to lift himself and sit, his sibling doesn't even bother helping, knowing the stubborn mule he is. When he leans his back on the head of the bed, the bedsheets drape on his leg covering partially his black underwear. Bandages wrapped around the bumps of his defined abdomen, the bruise on his face is less visible.

"I love you, Syrus, but I would prefer if your face is not the first thing I see when I wake up."

"I see your sense of humour is still intact. That's great."

"How long have I been out?"

"Many hours."

"Where is Rie, I mean, the girl? And Chazz?"

"Chazz just got some sedatives injected into his body, he's rested and will be discharged from the hospital soon. Nurse Fontaine helped cover your escape and his involvement. As for the girl, she's currently in the guest room, didn't say a word, though."

"She's mute, genius."

"What? You don't mean…?"

"You heard me well." He adjusts on his seat, straightening even more. "Nevermind, you said she's here? Like, in this apartment?"

"And where else would she be? It was dangerous leaving her there and I told you there are no shelters in the vicinity of the capital, plus she was really clinging to you as if her life depended on that, it made me feel like a villain, I had no choice."

What does Syrus even mean with that? He's giving that mean look of "I can't believe you". Ignoring that stare, he slides on the blankets, sitting on the edge of the bed and oh can he feel every stitch of his wound.

"I'll go talk to her, someone's gotta explain everything." He waves his hand, asking for his pants that are hanging on a chair nearby the bed.

"And what are you going to explain exactly?" He tosses the pants with a frown.

"We'll see where she can stay while you contact the rebels." He contains a grunt of pain, while stretching his leg to pull the pants all the way to his hip, still sitting. "If it can take up to a couple months, there are plenty of rooms for guests here."

"Are you out of your mind?! She can't stay here! Zane, this is a popular office, clients come and go, a catalyst is seen in the central hospital, news spread, people will have a profile of hers in the underworld in no time! Information circulates fast, if anyone sees her here, this is the end of the line for her! I can't do a bodyguard's job!"

"I get it." He raises a hand to stop the argument. "I'll take her to my place then."

He feels like it's a custody audience for a kid between parents and not a decision between brothers. With a stronger sway of his hand, he asks for his shirt, Syrus takes a deep and annoyed breath before hurling it at him, the cloth slapping Zane's palm when he catches it.

"The central region isn't safe for her!"

"And where do you want to send her to? To the streets?!" He buttons up the long sleeved pajama-alike shirt, facing his brother in a sour mood.

"So now you regret not following the plans to avoid this type of situations?" His tone is reprimanding. "Miss Fontaine told me about her 'issues' with duel energy. She can't stay here for her own safety and she shouldn't stay close to you while you recover either! Or any summoner, for that matter. I can't ask any of our friends to do it and sending her to Alexis in the duel academy is also out of question, it would be like giving her back to the Empire! I don't know where, but she can't stay right here or with you."

"I see you babbling and babbling but not giving a solution. What do you suggest, Syrus?"

"I don't know! Send her to a safer hospital in the meantime."

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"No! You are!"

"She was just kidnapped in the central hospital! You want to send her out there again?!" In a whim, he's up as if his health just came back.

"Zane, we can't simply take a catalyst in, we're in the core of the Empire, they'll sniff it out in no time and enforce law and that means goodbye life for all of us! You know how dangerous it could be! They won't just take us, they'll kill us and all our friends too if they find any connection!"

"Syrus!" His austere tone silences his brother for a moment. "Listen, this whole convoluted plot is my fault, I know that and I feel bad for it! I should've watched the slaves go away before darting into the battle. She could've been with the other slaves, she could be free, but she came back! She came back to that damn mansion to help me because she knew I would die there, and that saved my life! I was supposed to be dead! Do you get it?! I should be dead and she should be free! But that's not how things are now!"

"Zane…"

"This is personal, Sy. It's my responsibility! I can't just… Ugh…" He puts a hand to his forehead, a headache striking him and his old wounds stinging as well.

From one to ten his stress level just went up by hundred. Rie can't go to the rebels anytime soon, she can't stay in Syrus' office and even if he takes her to his place, he'd need a three meters distance policy to not die from exhaustion, not to tell he'd need to hide her from any prying eyes and make sure her face is erased from all medias. Why did he get himself into trouble again?

"Fuck. me." He growls, a surge of repent causing turmoil in him for being reckless.

"Language." There's his very peculiar berating tone again, he takes after their mother, for sure.

"Give me a break… Bad language is the least of my problems now. I…" He shoves his hand into the air, sitting down after a nauseating feeling spread on him. "I just have to collect myself for a moment. One minute…"

Syrus pities him, his brows coiling up, a deep sigh, dispersing the tension that had built in his chest, he pats his brother's shoulder, Zane raises his head to look at him in surprise.

"Fine, I'll try to contact the rebels quickly, but like I said, it's complicated, I have to erase all traces of communication and by the time they reply, it's possible a considerable amount of time will have passed, the central region is the worst for this, if it was any other, we could get them in a day like we did other times."

He sighs already weary of the workload. Of all the regions they could've ended in, they were really unlucky to be here. Rebel moves are under meticulous scrutiny, all communications from residents and non-residents in the area are intercepted unless they use quirky strategies which they employed due to the demand, they also must change it constantly so the Empire does not notice it, some time ago the rebels used letters carried by Duel Monster deliveries and an infiltrate was handling all of it until his cover was blown, it almost costed them a hundreds of members to save some slaves.

He has to give it to the Empire that they strengthened their influence in the capital enough to give little breathing space to the anti-empirians, this only makes his job harder.

"She should stay with you in the meantime. My office has too many visitors and if I suddenly got a new assistant, they would all be over her, but no one goes to your place, so it should be safe. Besides, she won't interact or even look at me, she's been sadly standing in the corner of the guest room ever since we arrived, it's hard to watch."

"Thanks, Sy. That would be a great help, I'll take care of her."

"Miss Fontaine said you need to stay at home and recover finally, this is a good opportunity for you to get a vacation from those underground duels. And I understand you want to help every single person you can, but overexerting yourself won't help anyone." He crosses his arms, but it doesn't have the grave, lecturing effect he'd wish. "We make plans for a reason Zane, look at how much trouble you caused to everyone and to yourself. Think how worth it was to disregard the whole strategy we had and charge in alone. I hope you learned your lesson this time."

"Yeah, I understand. Bad move, let's just focus on not making any other mistakes."

A faint smile tugs on his Syrus' face, he helps Zane up with a bro's hand. This is the first time he'd seen a catalyst in person in his whole life and he wasn't expecting the situation to be like this, but he's good at patching up, if his friends or his brother require his help, he'll willingly offer his skills to assist them.

His brother drives him to the guest room in a wheelchair, Zane opening the door unannounced and standing up, the pink-haired is startled at their presence, her eyes almost popping out as he invades the room. She's still using the same hospital robes, dirtied by some sort of car grease.

"Rie, I know this is sudden, but we must talk."

Swinging her arms in front of her torso, an attempt to indicate he should stop right on that spot, cornering herself on the wall again, her head banging frantically in negation. He slowly stumbles a few steps ahead, ignoring her warnings, convincing her that he didn't care, should he even be walking?

"You don't need to be so nervous, Syrus is not a summoner and I'm very fine as you can see."

"You're still wounded and it's painfully clear you can barely walk." He corrects, clearing his throat.

"I think I know how much my body can handle, thank you."

The brother retorts between his teeth, his fatal glare sends the message, his expression blanks out as he turns to face the girl again.

"I don't want to sound rude, Rie, but catalysts are a lucrative commodity around these parts and we don't want anyone finding out about you like what happened in the hospital."

She gulps at the mention, her eyes widening even more if that was possible, Syrus wonders if he's actually having fun while being so crude. Isn't he dropping too much information at once?

"I understand this is uncomfortable for you, but according to my brother here, we won't be able to contact the rebels soon to send you to the south where you can get all the assistance you need. And… Meanwhile, you'll have to stay with me, until we settle everything for the rebels to pick you up."

Her jaw drops, she's trying hard to muster words, but her lips won't move, in shock. Syrus shakes off his head in disgruntlement, he knows his brother is pragmatic, still…

"Great job, Zane! Now you scared her!" His expression goes from 1 to 180, from annoyance to a kind smile blossoming on his face when he looks at the girl. "Listen, Rie, is it? We should sit down and explain everything to you, how about we all go to my office and have some tea?"

His job as an information broker helped him interact with a diverse array of people. That smile disappears, puzzled as he sees a faint line of blue sand emanating from Zane and traveling towards the girl. Her expression twisting in a mix of fear, anxiety and sadness, she slaps her face onto her hands, finding shelter there.

"Don't tell me… This… This is…" His eyes follow the line of dust.

"You can stop fretting, Rie."

The teal-haired man steps ahead once again fearlessly, his feet almost dragging on the ground, an odd spaced sound of his shoes hitting the floor, making his way to her. He's unfazed, the drain of energy didn't bother him at all.

"We have to get out of here as soon as possible. If you're not interested in teatime, we should go. I guarantee you'll be able to keep your distance where we are going, and as long as you listen to instructions, you'll be fine, the rebels will take you somewhere safe when they come. There's no need to worry."

"Zane?" Even Syrus is surprised at him.

Her eyes squint upon landing on his silhouette, a harrowed semblance as more of his duel energy leaks into the air, she can see the weariness in his stoic face, yet there he is, right in front of her, offering a hand. Are all summoners this tough? Or is he just pretending?

Reluctantly, she nods, sealing a mutual agreement as they share a handshake. The summoner whirls around, his gaze landing on his brother who watches the scene, static.

"Do you have a hoodie, Sy?"

"A hoodie?"

He blinks twice, unsure if he heard it right, the scene fast forwards to him handing a jacket with hoodie to his brother who then promptly passes it on to Rie making no ceremony.

"Put this on. You need to cover your hair and face, we can't afford to have people recognize you on the streets and I'm sure the people interested in catalysts might have a portrait of you with a full body description."

She winces at the idea, but listens to him nonetheless, tucking her hair under the jacket and pulling the hoodie to hide her features, who would've thought Syrus clothes actually fit the girl.

"I'll try contacting a few people myself, Sy. See you another time. Come, Rie, we should go."

Without further adding anything to his speech, he wobbles through the room, the pink-haired woman is still visibly confused, but follows his back as instructed. There's an odd feeling in Syrus' chest, a bad omen.

If word goes that there's a catalyst around on the loose, he can only depict the sordid types that would come after her, after his brother too now that he's taken her under his wing. He prays for the best and hopes that was the wisest decision.

Domino's outskirts

Crowds walk on the wide cobblestone streets of the suburbs, the buildings on each side of the streets vary from 4 floor apartments made by a single room, to small houses and shorter buildings whose wall paint peels off, others aren't even painted, consisting of red bricks.

Some vendors loudly announce the products with discounts of the day, adding to the chit-chattering of the passerby visitors. Kids play around, running and hiding behind the baskets full of fruits on the stands of the sellers.

Half a dozen of Kuribohs help a vendor by moving merchandise from a cart into the selling stand to refill the goods; on the road, a couple Megazowlers pull a carriage of a peddler; Score The Melodius Diva performs a song from the front of a small bakery, from which a scent of sweet muffins and fresh bread invade the air pleasantly. Ahead in the streets, Aromage Laurel stands and bows to people, making buds blossom at the entrance of a small flower stand, eliciting chuckles.

The myriad of smells, sounds, people and monsters is charming in its own way, something unseen in the high society of Domino. The nobles hated to mingle with duel monsters and even more that some summoners make it an attraction, with a few exceptions of those that are interested in studying the ways and lives of the poor.

A couple of boys play soccer, each trying their best to reach the ball, one of them kicks it, but it goes astray, towards the people, they shudder expecting a disaster, prepared to make a run for it until a pair of hands blocks the advance:

"Gotcha!" The man shouts, a grin lighting up his face.

"Oh! It's Jay!"

"Jaden!" The other boy swings his arms up high.

"Here you go." He hands the soccer ball back to them.

From behind him and elegant woman steps near, her long black hair flapping and her deep-red garments covering her unnaturally greyish skin, getting the attention as she bends in to match the eye-level of the kids, raising a finger in a warning, but kind tone, her emerald-deep eyes alluring them:

"Be careful next time, right? You don't want to hit anyone's face."

"Yeah, listen to the lady!"

His guffaw fills the air with joy, his arms on his hips, they know it's a scolding, but the way he says it makes them laugh.

"And you, we're here to investigate, not to play around, remember that." Burstinatrix taps his shoulder, setting him back to the objective.

"Will you not play with us today?"

"Nah, I'm sorry, I have to go, guys. But before that, I'd like to ask: Did you hear or see anything strange happening around those bands lately?" He supports his hands on knees, an expectancy glint flaring in his orbs.

"Huh. Mom's freaking out saying I can't play until late. She's forcing me to go home earlier than usual."

"My mum too, she said it's dangerous. Something about a cereal killer." He scratches his head unsure.

"It's a 'serial' killer, you dummy!"

The friend elbows him. He elbows him back, they start scuffling for the soccer ball pettily while throwing silly arguments at each other, Jaden smiles worriedly appeasing them, holding each by the shoulder and separating them carefully.

"Now, now, let's not fight, boys. Listen to your moms, okay? I'm here on a very important mission to find the 'cereal' killer." He puts a finger to his lips. "But don't go spreading the word around. If you listen to something else interesting, I'm all ears, but now I need to keep going!" He waves at them, walking off with back steps.

"Play with us next time, Jay." One of them shouts in the distance.

"And summoning your E-Heroes to form a team doesn't count!" The other complements.

"Sure!"

With smiles flying, amidst the busy roads, he leaves, parting ways with his Elemental Hero who is sent to another part of the area to investigate.

Stopping by each stand of vendors, he asks them some questions, the reluctant responses and concerned looks tell him a better story than what they had to say. The fact most of the folks are unwilling to comment and frightened renders him serious.

No one could say in exact words how the suspect looked like or what he wanted, most disregarded it as another fuss of the news headlines for making it look uncommon that summoners die around those parts, despite the fame of the suburbs being that you can get involved with the wrong people and end up with a mouthful of ants or floating in a river.

Burstinatrix rejoins him with a disappointed shake of her head. His face becoming less and less bright as the questioning goes on, his brows making a crease appear as he ponders, his arms on the back of his head. A shadow flies above, he can hear the flapping wings drawing close until another Elemental Hero lands softly by his side.

"Hey! Avian! How were things on your end?"

The trio walks together, some people watching and commenting, although it wasn't uncommon to see duel monsters among them, people grew used to it.

"I've scoured the area, naturally under bright daylight there's nothing out of the ordinary, but when I questioned people, some of them were afraid to speak."

"So we have nothing about the criminal yet… Hm…" He bobs his head while daydreaming about the case. "You think the murderer has a grudge against summoners of this town or something?"

"It's possible, but we need more details."

Jaden's gaze trails off, the glimmer in his eyes disappearing, a voice snaps him out of his dismay:

"I know how important this place is to you, Jaden, we'll figure something out." Avian assures. "We also love those people, we wouldn't spare efforts to protect them, this is the job of us, Heroes."

"Thank you, man. I know you all are as worried as me, it's just… This sucks, the Empire refused to send an envoy to investigate."

He looks around, there are lines tied across the upper floors of some apartments, clothes fluttering at the breeze's will, a clear and sunny sky above, he can see the cracks in the buildings and the clumsily fixed bricks. One would not think such a noisy, lousy place would bring peace to his heart, but for him, it did. This was the closest of a place he could call home, after all.

"I've been to many places around the capital, people think summoning is all about fighting and wars, but there's so much more to duel monsters than this. Take a look at the community, you guys, people found a way to coexist with duel monster spirits and that's so great! I wish more people would see that..."

"It's too early to feel discouraged, Jaden!"

A strong, determined voice encourages him from the side. It's a tall muscular man dressed in blue and yellow, a sparking helmet hiding his features.

"Sparkman!"

"I've heard the most curious tale, a fair lady has witnessed an uncanny scene."

"Did someone see the criminal?" His fists close, his eyes widening in excitement for the clue.

"Indeed. Her report was a tad vague, but last night, the lady claims to have seen a shadow through her window, supposedly it had a strange shaped head and it was muscular like a man, strong enough that he raised a fully grown man by the neck."

"That's a strangely specific description…" Burstinatrix puts a hand to her chin. "Did she not see the scene directly?"

"There were curtains blocking the view at the time, she could not see the person fully, but she's certain it's a man."

"This sounds strange… Where did the incident occur?" Avian's eyes narrow under his mask.

"An alley on the western part of the neighborhood."

"If he appeared once around there, he might come for more! Guys, we'll stick to the plan!"

"Are you sure you can keep us all here for the whole night, Jaden?" Sparkman asks in a concerned tone. "It's a tough order."

"He's right, we don't consume much energy, but having us and Bubblemen here might be bad for your health." Burstinatrix supports the concern raised.

"You guys don't need to worry! I'll be fine, I brought a bunch of gems with me! Let's catch this criminal, I can't wait!"

South,

Shadow Riders HQ,

The clacking of high heels echoes in the damp hallways. It halts. Swift and pale, delicate fingers turning the doorknob. The flickering light of the almost fully melted candle supported on a bronze plate with a handle is the only source of luminance in the room. She closes the door behind, not minding the darkness that follows.

Nightshroud sits on the edge of the bed, his head lowered, his arms supported each on one leg, his face lifting slightly to grace her with a welcome look beneath his mask.

"Why did you call me here?"

Her tone was placid, almost elegant, her expression carved into the same stoic stare at him, but he knew, inside her stellar eyes, she's still mad.

"Cleah, it's highly likely the organization will keep trying to find more and more cards blessed by the light, and they might require your services."

"And why does that matter? It's nothing more than an assignment."

"That… Isn't the problem…"

The sudden pauses along with the raspy-sounding voice caused a short twitch on her expression, her feet approaching him, stopping at an arm's distance. That's when she sees particles of red dust in the air mixed with pitch-black specks floating together, out of him, a slit opening between her lips.

With a swing of her hand, she cuts off the stream of energy, as if attesting whether it was real or not, her palm landing on his shoulder, her body leaning closer, her face the same height as his.

"Since when?"

"I think Neos' powers… the Light's powers, affected this body… I didn't even notice until recently…" He grabs the cloth at the middle of his chest, clutching it, suppressing the pain.

"Did he 'break' you?" He feels her grip strengthening a tad after the question.

"My powers are leaking."

"Can you fix it?"

There's a deep and loud huff, his head swaying weakly in denial. Dissatisfied at the conclusion, her posture straightens up.

"I thought you and the Light were the same. How come you lost?"

"He has a vessel that's not human."

"You mean a 'stronger' vessel? How pitiable can you be?" She snorts, an underlying irritation that heeded from more than his failure, her mouth betraying her. "There has to be a way to fix it."

"My essence has been continuously overflowing, if I seek help, they may find the truth about this body."

"Erase their memories, like you always do."

"I'm in no position to do that, Cleah. Like I said, my powers are lessening by the second."

"What will happen if this continues? Will you…" Her lips purse unwillingly, a hint of distraught. "Die?"

"I can't die." He proclaims steadfastly. "But if I can't maintain control over this receptacle for now… It could be very bad. You'll have problems… Both of you."

Her head bends to the side so subtly he can barely notice, with "both" does he mean her and… Atticus Rhodes? What will happen to Atticus' body if his duel energy is drained out and Darkness can't help him anymore? Will he die instead? Or disappear?

The thought causes a small chill, running from the tip of her fingers to her spine. What if this Atticus dies or his consciousness vanishes before she gets the chance to ask him about her brother? What if Darkness isn't here to help her either? That strange sensation crawls inside her heart again, a sensation that makes her blood boil, of not being able to prevent a scenario in which she will be on her own, all alone, with no clue about her brother yet again, wasted efforts. Her lips moving before she planned:

"Stay put, Darkness. I will find a way to he-"

A knock on the door disturbs her sentence, they both turn their heads with a startle, exchanging a distrustful glance before she opens it. Rex's sleazy smirk greets her, he analyses her figure from up to down, giving a nine out a one to ten score in his mind.

"Interesting to see ya here, did I interrupt something?"

"What do you want? My master does not wish to meet anyone right now."

She stands in between him and the entrance, to prevent him from noticing the duel energy permeating the air. He's not done in pestering her, and he's loving to relay the orders this time:

"Wow, wow, I brought a message m'lady, the boss wants to see that master of yours." He tilts his body to the side, peeking inside the room through the cleft between her and the door frame. "Nightshroud, you have new commands. I'm sure you'll like this one."

He stands up firmly, not letting a trace of his worries surface, coming out of the room in a dim, stern posture.

"What are the orders?"

Cleah steps ahead, but Rex's arm blocks the path, his hand flatly and softly pushing her shoulder back, a defiant grin as if he's delighted.

"Ease there, sweetheart. The orders were only for him."

They exchange a glance, her eyes waver briefly. They've always received orders as a team, why is the boss requiring that they go separate ways? Do they suspect something? No, it can't be…

Nightshroud allows himself a last gaze over his shoulder before departing, his mask concealing his expression, making her unable to read it. Rex watches the scene from the side, his smirk enlarging in joy, wicked thoughts changing his face:

"Yeah, you bet he won't be here forever to protect you, lass."

The green-haired woman stays behind, gaping as her master disappears into the somber corridors, losing sight of him. She can't just stay behind, not now that he's in this state. What if the boss finds out what he is? Or what she is?

Underneath the layers of her empty stare, a fierce spark of determination is lit. Their identities must remain hidden, it's her duty to take upon the task now. Her eyes squint discreetly, tunneling on the way her master walked not long ago.

As she steps backwards, the shadows bathe her figure until she's fully embraced by them, her presence vanishing into thin air. If they're going to play this secrecy game, she knows how to play it well.