【62 - You Are My Rival! The Consequences of Change!】


Chateau de Jayden, as their host fondly referred to their homestay, was an exquisite architectural marvel. The high-end of luxury craftsmanship. All large rooms blended against the lakeside, with upper glass fractals projecting an interplay of natural light throughout the north section. The bathroom floors were heated marble, there was a walk-in pantry in the open plan kitchen, a bar and wine cellar, intelligently regulated air con, automated blinds and of course a double garage. Inside were a collection of sports cars. As if the fifteen-metre yacht on his private wharf wasn't indulgent enough. It was outrageously guiltless.

Heidi supposed she liked the place. It didn't really make her feel better, but she liked how remote it felt. Also the lake sparkled like sapphire outside the huge windows. When they were open the lake sent cool breezes that played lightly through the transparent curtains. On her face, through her hair.

Both Heidi and Kanoa had transitioned to ordinary living, which meant they wore shirts, pants and shoes. Kanoa often fidgeted under them, pulling at the sleeves and collar. The climate was much cooler than the tropics so it couldn't be helped. Their host had ordered them clothes after their arrival. Kanoa was too big to fit in whatever filled Jayden's roomy wardrobe. He and Heidi had both opted for subdued outfits, but even if deceptively plain the material and tags were custom.

Wealth. It was something Heidi hadn't experienced since she lived in her small but luxurious dorm room at the academy.

Heidi and Kanoa were together, sitting silently in one of the spacious rooms. A lot remained unspoken between them… Meilani's death, the island's destruction, the decampment of the tribe, the latest global tragedy, Mars's absence and Heidi's dark turn. Neither had much to say, but the two often sat together like this. A vacant sort of rest. They left others to worry and plan for a change.

The other six teammates were Jayden, Tsukumo, Engyo, there were two operatives: a woman with darkish skin in her thirties with computer skills, and an ex-agent who was Engyo's age of about sixty. The sixth member was the AI robot M-006 who'd been captured and reprogrammed during a previous failed mission. This small resistance also had a mysterious ally who they were planning to meet up with after arriving in the desert region outside Solvus. Apparently it was someone held in high regard, who they felt they could trust.

Heidi and Kanoa turned when the double-doors were pushed open and the charming redhead smiled at them.

"Good morning, chosens!"

"It's the afternoon." Kanoa stated.

He was wearing desert-region attire. Not custom clothing, but a long tunic of bleached cloth and a headdress. He turned so they could examine his inconspicuous clothes, clearly enthused about going undercover.

"We're almost set to leave for the desert. Isn't this exciting?" Jayden continued.

"You think it's exciting?" Heidi asked.

"You don't?" He walked over and propped himself on the window seat beside Kanoa, opposite her.

"...if you find this end of the world stuff exciting you probably would've made a better chosen than Sinan, or Amira."

Jayden reached for a grape from the fruit bowl they hadn't touched. "The eight of us here are literally humanity's last stand. What could be more important?" He popped one into his mouth and chewed.

He was one of those rich people likely to get sucked into alien cults. This situation was probably his idea of the most exciting thing ever.

"Don't you have family, or like parents you're worried about?" Heidi pushed.

"Oh. You don't know my story."

"Guess I don't."

"It's actually refreshing to meet someone who doesn't know all about my life from tabloids or the internet. I get to talk about myself like a normal person." He smiled at her then shuffled up in his seat, putting a hand under his shoulder. "Hello, Heidi. Nice to meet you. I'm Jayden and I'm emancipated."

"What's that mean?" Kanoa asked.

"It means he disowned his parents or something, right?"

"Yes. My biological parents died when I was a baby. I got emancipated from my adoptive family two years ago. It was the legal case that first flung me into the public's eye."

"Guess being able to afford the best lawyer's helped. Still doesn't change the fact you're a celebrity for no reason. You have no talent, you're just rich." Heidi stated bluntly.

"I'm not clueless on the matter of my extraordinary privilege," he got his feet up and below him, now he was squatting in the chair. "But it's not like I'm just a selfish show-off either. I'm the one secretly financing our little resistance. Engyo can't access any of his old funds without creating a trail, so the new flyer, your new decks, this hide-away, the turbo runner you guys trashed is all thanks to me. In the end it makes me a good guy, right?"

Kanoa gave in and lowered his gaze. Heidi, did not - her dark gaze and expression resurfaced as a remnant of her change on the island.

"Hmph."

"You like the new power you were given to help you with your destiny? Dokindam X?" Jayden asked.

Heidi sat forward "You don't give a single shit about doing the right thing. You're helping us because it excites you. Don't you dare try telling yourself any different."

Kanoa looked at her.

To his credit Jayden didn't even falter, he plucked another grape and rolled it around in his mouth with his tongue. Then after thinking he bit down.

"You caught me. I don't really care about doing the right thing."

"Then why pretend?"

"Guess we all like to tell ourselves things, and choose what we believe in. But when we face off against real danger, and I mean that adrenaline rush you get when life is getting vivid and real, all those things we tell ourselves don't matter. It all falls away and all we're left with is instinct. But also, I suppose, we're all gonna die someday."

He hopped back up to his feet. "You two should get ready. We're leaving in a few hours." With that he strolled out and left them.

Heidi's gaze didn't linger on him, she shifted her stare out the window again. Kanoa watched her before staring out at the water as well. They were quiet for a while and Heidi didn't think Kanoa was going to speak, but he did.

"Heidi… are we going to talk about what happened to you on the island?"

"What's there to say?" She said without looking at him.

"...That day and a half was pure chaos. Too much was happening at once. You really had no intention to come back, and if it weren't for the fact you were recovering from snake venom I don't think you would've willingly stepped on that ship and left with us. But we took you with us… and while we were flying on the ship, and since landing here, you couldn't physically leave. Do you even want to be here?"

Heidi stared lifelessly at the shimmering water "...I don't know. Maybe it was momentary madness. But I feel like something inside me shifted that day. I don't know how I feel."

"...And what about the fact you still haven't told anyone that you lost Mars? Without Mars there's no point in trying to unite the chosens. That means everything they're doing," he flicked his hand, indicating to those they were living with "is pointless. After what happened Mars won't even be on the island, it's probably at the bottom of the ocean-" Kanoa stopped when Heidi stood.

She almost walked off but then didn't.

"...How come the water chosen isn't here? They were helping all throughout Urobach's last attack. I thought they'd be here and we'd finally meet face-to-face. But they're still hiding in the shadows alone, even now."

"I don't know, Heidi."

"...Gatekeeper Pluto said we already lost a chosen. If Sinan was still reportedly seen in Solvus, and the water chosen is still helping us by himself, then it's probably Amira. Nobody knows where she is after all. They probably found her before we could, and killed her."

"I don't know." Kanoa said again. "But from what you told me, finding Amira the last time was just a fluke."

Heidi considered it some more then walked out the room without another word.

As she trekked the magnificent corridors she couldn't help comparing the opulence around her to the emptiness inside. What parts of her could be recovered? And, were they all going to live long enough for it to matter?

She saw flashes from the past, falling like wonky puzzle pieces. Losing to the Mad Duelist, running and then the nuclear explosion. Soroban then Malo both dying in the exact same way. Defeating Luano and other tribesmen, seeing them thrown off their feet after she declared the final attack. Her memories were such a blur that she couldn't even remember how many Anemeons she'd killed during her meltdown, but she knew it was a lot.

"Heidi."

The intrusive voice made her stop. She half-turned to see Tsukumo approach from an adjacent corridor. The handsome blonde slipped hands in his pockets. "I thought Jayden told you we were leaving today. Your room's the other way, you should be packing."

Heidi faced him fully.

Tsukumo sensed something was wrong, eyebrows lowering "Heidi?"

"What if I don't want to come with you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What if, this time, I don't want anything to do with uniting the chosens and saving the world? What if I don't care?"

She watched his shock boil over into anger.

"Where's this coming from? It's not funny. You know it's not as simple as just handing Mars over. He'd have to choose a replacement for you, and we don't have time for that! Need I remind you Mars was the phoenix that took the longest to make up his mind?"

"I don't care." Heidi smirked. "You can't hide it from me. You always wanted to be a chosen, Tsukumo. You couldn't stand that you'd been overlooked, even when you were the DMA's best student. Even now you're trying to prove yourself by helping but it's never been good enough!" She pointed at him. "The real reason you always resented me was because you were jealous! Admit it!"

His expression bounced once more from anger to shock and back before it hardened with determination.

Kanoa, having heard their exchange from the echoes that carried along the spacious rooms, appeared in the corridor and watched.

"It was you who said we had to kidnap Sinan! What makes you think we can afford to let you go!?"

Heidi smiled. In truth she didn't know why she was saying this just to upset him. Was it true? Maybe. She didn't know why her motivation fluctuated. Nothing had felt real since their rescue from the island. She'd been intentionally picking fights, first Jayden and now him.

"If that's how you feel, let's duel!" Tsukumo challenged.

"No!" Kanoa shouted.

Heidi grinned "You're on, chosen reject."

They walked to the foyer, keeping pace while Kanoa worriedly followed. They left out the main doors and down the steps, over to the glistening lakeside under a clear sky. Tsukumo's hand shone white and Heidi's burned red. With the power they now possessed there was no guarantee they wouldn't still damage the house, but both looked beyond reasoning at that point.

Heidi's new finisher, Dokindam X appeared as a skull-faced figure crucified to a stone tablet. Six burning Xs representing seals appeared around him. He started the game in play, his card on the table while six cards slid from Heidi's deck on top before her shields set themselves.

"Breaking out your new deck, huh?" Tsukumo observed the ominously floating figure. "Well I also just upgraded what I'm using, even added an extra civilization. My light and fire deck has water now too!"

Heidi said nothing as they drew their hands.

"This time I'm going first before you can butt in!" Tsukumo declared. "Uncouth, but a bratty girl like you deserves it!" His table lit up yellow.

"Fine!" Heidi snapped back as she drew. "Not like it's going to make a difference!" She charged fire mana and passed back.

Both of them were remembering their last battle. They'd faced off in a much more extravagant setting, even if they'd used weaker cards. Stands had been packed with excited students, everyone gawking as their best student faced off against the two phoenixes Heidi had at the time. A far-away memory.

"I summon Liliang, Mysterious Light!" A gold band-like creature emerged. "When it's played I can play a spell that costs three or less for free! I play The Triple Three and I choose the effect that lets me draw three cards!" The spell was triple-civilization and shone brightly, fluctuating between yellow-red-blue. Tsukumo replenished his hand.

Heidi charged again "Done!"

"I summon Testa Rossa, Survival Star!" A finely-dressed cyborg with mechanical wings pumped his arms. "First lockdown! Now if you put a creature in play on your turns in any way other than summoning, it goes to the graveyard instead!"

Heidi drew slowly. More memories were coming back to her, from a carefree time when she used to love this game. Tsukumo was famous for his triple lockdown technique. After he'd beaten her twice she'd gone on a long quest of challenging every other prefect in school, working her way up to the point she could beat him. She'd finally succeeded in their arena match. These memories reminded her that a victory against the likes of him wouldn't come easy.

Regardless, all she could do was charge and end her turn once more.

"I see your new deck isn't focused on rush. That's fine, it gives me all the more time to get my zone in order. I summon Evo Lupia!" A brilliant fire bird on 4000 emerged, the colours of its wings and crest were red, yellow and blue, reflecting its triple-civilization. "After summoning I draw and if it's an evolution creature that can evolve on it and costs five or less, I can play it for free." Tsukumo whipped out a card and Heidi felt her pulse hammer. Tsukumo carefully slid the card into his hand then started arranging them. "Lucky for you, I didn't draw it. Your move."

Heidi drew and charged her fourth mana "I end…"

"You've had a bad start, and are now at an overwhelming disadvantage. My draw! I summon Izanagiterasu, Great King of Blue Wolves!" It was water, some blue fusion of a dragon with a knight rider. "I look at my top five cards, add one to my hand and send the others to the bottom of my deck. I choose… Still Justice Till The End (Kira Star)!"

The evolution he was looking for! Heidi's eyes narrowed.

Tsukumo slipped the other cards away. "What's more I can again cast a spell that costs 3 or less for free. I choose The Triple Three and once more draw three cards. Turn end."

"Alright, it's time!" Heidi drew with passion, but that red glow didn't move any further than her hand. Strangely, a part of her lamented that she couldn't draw Mars anymore and feel the comforting surge of power when their souls were in sync. "I cast Explosive Ninpo, Phoenix Jutsu! I can send two cards to the graveyard and summon a dragon from among them! So I choose two of Dokindam's seals!" Two cards slid off her small pile. "I bring out Shishio Kaiser, Explosive Ruins!"

"No you don't! Testa Rossa won't let you 'put' creatures, remember?"

Heidi growled in frustration "Well I still gain extra mana and remove a third seal from Dokindam!"

"Actually, you don't. The wording on my card is very specific. Since Shishio Kaiser goes to graveyard instead it never enters play, and none of its come into play effects activate. Dokindam may lose a seal each time you play a command, but you haven't played one this turn. Too bad."

Heidi's clenched fists shook as she glared at Tsukumo's creature, it was glowing faintly red as it jammed her. She'd accomplished very little so far. Was she still shaken up? Was that why her new deck wasn't answering her calls?

"I evolve Liliang into Still Justice Till the End (Kira Star)!" His metallica glowed as it transformed into a gold fighter. Its sword was ornate, its diamond shield shaped like a musical note. It had rainbows in its armour design and 8500 power. "I prefer it to my Silence Topaz. This creature makes my others that cost 4 or less blockers and allows them to untap at the end of my turns. I also get to draw! Then put a creature that costs 4 or less. I choose Sagrada Familia, Vizier of Instant Seal!"

A gold construct with a laser eye arose, humming ominously. Based on the tone of Tsukumo's voice it meant more trouble.

"Double lockdown! While it's tapped you can't use the shield trigger ability of spells! I have five creatures now so next turn I'll start attacking then it's all over for you! Bet you regret challenging me. No way some rural girl from Duextra was going to defeat the prodigy that is Tsukumo Kenji!"

Heidi rested her hand on her deck. She smiled. Something about Tsukumo's mocking felt… lighthearted? Could it be that he hadn't challenged her just to beat her? Was he actually trying to bring out the old Heidi by reawakening the flames of their rivalry instead? Tsukomo smirked back, but again she could sense it lacked true animosity.

She drew "I'm not going to lose!"

"That right?"

"You bet!" She studied her hand.

Mendelssohn and her Duelist Charger twinpact would've been much better cards to get at the start of the duel, but they were in her hand now. Couldn't be helped. She also held her revolution zero trigger, Bolshack Dogiragon with MaltNEXT Super Battle Dragon Edge. These four cards were her options and she had five mana currently.

No matter how tough things seemed, every fibre of her being was against losing this match to Tsukumo. It wasn't just her pride. Something in her valued their rivalry and made her want to do her absolute best, just because.

So what to do… If she charged her rev zero or other creature she could summon Bolshack Dragon, the creature side of Duelist Charger. It might be necessary for her to have something out. But she needed her rev zero for what was coming, and Mendelssohn was a multi-civilization spell and she was without any nature mana to cast it. That meant she could charge MaltNEXT for Bolshack instead of waiting an extra turn, when she'd get to unleash it and all its devastating effects.

She had to make a call… in the end Heidi decided to charge her multi-civilization spell and simply end her turn.

"In that case, it's back to me." Tsukumo drew. "I cast The Triple Three and use one of its other effects!" The three-civilization spell shone once more. "This time I use it to lower another creature's cost by 3 and make it a speed attacker! I summon Shuff, Eureka!" This version was a woman casino worker, flicking a deck of cards between her hands. "I choose number 7, which means no creature that costs 7 can attack or block!" She held out a seven of clubs card.

"With my remaining mana I summon Mixel, Strange Stone!" A gold flyer with a drill on its nose swerved in "Now, finally! Triple lockdown! If you put any creature in play that costs more than the cards in your mana it gets bounced to the bottom of your deck! Without further ado," He pointed, the lakeside breeze flicking the fringe of his annoyingly perfect hair "Sagrada Familia, shield break!" The laser eye brightened before firing a bolt and breaking glass.

Heidi caught the card as it popped off the table, knowing now that her shield trigger spells wouldn't activate.

Tsukumo pressed on "Still Justice Kira Star double breaks!" It flew forward, carrying a gust of wind with it. Heidi turned and protected her face as its sword slashed two shields into bouncing shards. One of them rewound, shining red and levitating to her hand.

"Shield trigger, Batocross Battle Passion Dragon!"

"Uh!?"

"Since it's not my turn Testa Rossa can't stop it from entering play!" A four-armed colourful dragon roared to express its sudden appearance. "I use its effect to force battle Testa Rossa!" It flew and with 7000 power punched apart the opposing cyborg. "That's one lockdown disrupted!"

"Don't forget Mixel! After all its come into play effects are resolved Batocross gets sent to the bottom of your deck!" The flying metallica shone and the dragon dissolved into gold dust.

Heidi looked up at Dokindam and saw that half its seals were gone.

"Now Shuff, Eureka attacks a shield and I choose number 8!" She blew her cards together before pulling an eight of hearts from her sleeve. Then she lunged and flicked her deck, glass broke and instead of scattering the cards flew back into her grip. "Evo Lupia breaks your final shield!" A loud cry followed by more breaking.

When Heidi lowered her forearms she was defenceless.

Tsukumo pointed grimly "If you can't beat me, how are you supposed to stop Urobach? Mixel… todomeda!"

"Revolution Zero! I can play Bolshack Dogiragon if I draw a dragon! So let's go!" From across the zone Mixel parked itself in mid-air to wait for her. "I'm not going to let myself lose to you! Because you are… my rival, Tsukumo!" At her declaration his eyes widened in surprise. She pulled and… "Batocross Battle! It comes out and battles Mixel! Then Bolshack Dogiragon battles Still Justice Kira Star!" After Mixel was pulverized a 12,000 mecha dragon punched out Tsukumo's cornerstone creature. "All but one of my seals are removed from Dokindam and now your army of weenies won't be able to untap or block!"

Tsukumo smirked with his eyes down in shadow "Maybe so… but Bolshack Dogiragon still gets sent to the bottom of your deck, leaving you with nothing once more." At his words the towering behemoth dissolved into gold dust that drifted off in a cloud over the water.

"I summon MaltNEXT, Super Battle Dragon Edge!" A flaming gold hero of red and blue emerged. "Dokindam liberates!" Then the crucified figure struggled before heroically prizing itself free, the final glowing X fading from sight.

An overwhelming force instantly swallowed the duel. For several seconds everything was silhouetted starkly black against red. Their cells seemed to vibrate like reacting to the tense gravity of a black hole. Then everything stabilised, like their eyes were adjusting to a new space. Dokindam hovered above as a white, red and black hero shrouded in purple flame. Two gold halberds swung from his neck like haunting pendulums. Even if he didn't cloak the field with a visible aura, his mere presence was somehow more tangible.

Then red torii gates fell one-by-one on each of Tsukumo's creatures, sealing them.

Dokindam X was stronger than anything Heidi had used before. Like the force of a nuclear bomb in a single being, he boasted a power of 99,999.

It was godly. Euphoric.

"Because of Mana Arms 5 MaltNEXT brings out from hyperspace…" The other hero used two fingers to direct electric chains up, tearing open a portal to higher space and out fell a red and blue dragonic temple that crashed against the lake shore. "Heart Burn, Battle General Galaxy Fortress! Dokindam X is still only a triple breaker, but my dragheart fortress makes all my dragons speed attackers! MaltNEXT double breaks!" Fire burnt his panels into glitter. "Now Dragon Mana Arms 5 lets MaltNEXT untap after attacking if at least five of my mana cards are dragons, this then makes my fortress dragsolution into GuyNEXT, Super Battle Victory Dragon!" It shone and vibrated, levitating before transforming into a titan. It lacked Dokindam's concentrated feeling of astronomical mass, but it was a giant with 17,000 power in its own right. "GuyNEXT makes all my creatures speed attackers! Break Tsukumo's final shields!"

After the resultant inferno the blonde guy was sweating. A shield trigger assembled and floated into Tsukumo's hand. He eyed it before lowering his gaze "congratulations, Heidi. Let's stop here."

"No…" She looked at him darkly.

"Heidi!" Kanoa cried.

"Dokindam's attack will be enough to wipe out all of us!" The trip from her power high was too much. She didn't care at that point if the whole landscape was vaporised. She couldn't even register Tsukumo's level stare as the mania took over. "Dokindam todo-"

"In that case, shield trigger! Arcadia Spark sends Dokindam back into your deck. He's only immune to spells that cost less than four. And as his other effect goes, the moment he's no longer on the field you lose the duel!" He held up the spell that shone, flickering between yellow and blue.

Heidi gaped as the power malfunctioned. Then her table exploded and she was blown over, her back hitting the sand and sliding.

"My, my… and to think I was willing to let you believe you actually beat me." Tsukumo sighed then walked over, joined by Kanoa. They stopped and stared as she sat up, blinking in disbelief. Tsukumo slipped his hands in his pockets "You really were about to kill me, along with yourself and everybody here."

"I… I don't know what came over me." Was all she could say.

"You can't be trusted with a power like Dokindam X. Not until you fix whatever the hell has happened to you. Hand it over." His palm moved into her line of sight.

Heidi realised she was somehow still holding onto Dokindam. She wet her lips and mouth then relinquished it. Tsukumo slipped the card away.

Again Kanoa was just watching her with that sad expression "Heidi…"

"Both of you need to sort yourselves out. And make sure you do it soon, we're leaving for Solvus in one hour." He walked off and left them.

After a few seconds Kanoa crouched down. Heidi felt too much shame to look at him right away, but when she did there was only sympathy in his downward gaze.

"...He's right. These past two weeks I've felt like I've barely been able to keep myself together, after Meilani. But so long as others haven't given up we owe it to them to keep trying. I want to make up for my short-sightedness." He said miserably, unexpectedly Heidi's eyes watered up as well. "No matter what you thought about Tsukumo in the past, he didn't duel you just now because he wanted to beat you. He was willing to fake a loss at the end there if it meant bringing the old you back, for the sake of the mission."

Heidi stared at her hands.

"I suppose this is something we came to know about ourselves too…" Kanoa reflected. "People change."

Heidi wiped her eyes and stood, sniffling a little. She glared out at the horizon.

"...Let's go pack. We have to capture Sinan."

And so they went back up into the chateau together.

An hour later, they were dressed in new appropriate garbs and carrying light baggage underarm. The bronze flying saucer gleamed under the sun. Inside their teammates were busying about. M-006 saw them and waved its robotic arm. The chosens made their way to the ramp.


AN: Two major assignments and a test are the reason why I not only missed updating last Sunday, but also why I fell behind in keeping up with Chronicles of Shishima. I get that people don't want me to feel added pressure that I got to update every Sunday, but I'm choosing to take on this challenge cause it's both productive and fun. I want to average out a chapter a week so aim to update this Sunday too. If this works out I should finish Light Arc by around the end of this Uni semester. Thanks Acuma and Shuriken for reviewing!