【71 - The Old World Collapses and Humanity's Desertion!】


Lying on his side in the dark, Sinan felt he was at the end of his rope. He'd been forcefully returned to his cell and the way he was now, even God's presence felt far away. His godless captors had allowed him to clean himself and change his clothes, and that was good of them, he couldn't deny. Still, his freedom was very short-lived. As he drifted to sleep he admitted to himself that his faith was finally broken.

If not Solvus, won't anyone, anything help me?

Sinan noticed his deck; in answer to his mental call Supernova Venus was glowing softly. Her presence was comforting, strengthening their connection. He drifted into sleep, only to be jarred awake some time later.

"Up! We're leaving now!" Tsukumo shouted.

Sinan straightened and blinked tiredly; Kanoa was there and holding another paralytic epipen.

"What's happening?" Sinan asked.

"We're in danger. Urobach could appear at any time," Tsukumo was going through a hoop of keys, then jangled one into the lock, "We don't have time to fight you, so either come with us quietly or we're paralyzing you again."

Kanoa's expression grew determined and he clenched the epipen.

Sinan's mouth opened but he stopped. In his mind's eye he could see Venus's glow from within Tsukumo. In that moment he could feel Tsukumo's urgency and worry. What came through most clearly was: truth. Sinan was frozen; he'd never experienced a sense like this before. Venus gave a supportive bird-cry in his head, feeling closer to him now.

The cell door opened.

"Easy way or hard way, Sinan? Choose now," Tsukumo said.

Sinan grabbed his deck and stood calmly, "Let's go then."

Tsukumo and Kanoa shared a look.

"Be ready to use that just in case," Tsukumo mumbled and Kanoa nodded.

Sinan walked out and they hurried up the steps.

In another section of the tomb, Heidi jumped into Summer and wrapped her in a hug.

"...what if I never see you again?" Heidi mumbled.

"You don't have enough food supplies to take too many people," Summer explained while clutching the back of her head.

Heidi pulled away and sniffled.

Summer smiled, "I have my own team to take care of. And so do you. Just be safe, Heidi."

"You know I can't promise that…"

"Then don't do anything stupid," Summer hugged Heidi again.

"Can't promise that either," Heidi murmured against her then laughed a little.

Jayden stepped forward, "I don't wanna be that guy, but we've got to go."

"Jayden is right," Engyo said.

The Hirazumi girls separated.

A few minutes later the flying saucer was boarded by eight passengers: Heidi, Kanoa, Sinan, Tsukumo, Engyo, Henka, Jayden and Hillary. M-006 was still offline and lying in a long canvas zipper-bag. Outside the window-band they could see the rovers taking off across the desert. Summer was sitting up high with a hand on her wide brim hat, staring back while her raven locks blew in the wind. Sunrise was pinkening her side of the sky, the orange sun rising up.

With Ijiwa finding Heidi so close to Summer's excavation site they had no choice but to leave. The flying saucer shot upward, becoming a gleaming point before it vanished.


"He's not yelling or anything…" Heidi observed.

"He's just standing there…" Kanoa agreed, sitting beside her.

Henka walked by and stopped, staring at the other teens then turning her head to where Sinan was standing. She looked back at them, "What is it?"

"Sinan," Heidi answered.

Henka looked at the guy in question again then turned back, "You guys are weird," she continued off.

It had been an hour since they left, and the flying saucer was on an auto-pilot course around the planet. Engyo was at a bench continuing M-006's repairs - they were in need of his information now more than ever. Sinan stood behind Engyo, watching unobtrusively. Tsukumo and Jayden were with Heidi and Kanoa, also studying their captive for any sign of a mood change.

Meanwhile, Hillary was near but facing away, hair obscuring her face. She was holding herself in a defeated manner none of them had seen before.

Heidi decided to walk over, "How are you holding up?"

"…It was all a lie. Pretending to be the force of goodness. It never once occurred to me that they would – that they could…"

"I'm shocked too," Kanoa had drifted over as well.

"You know what the most heart breaking thing about all this is?" She raised her face to her former students, tears running down her chin, "So many of us took altruism to heart. Some even made the ultimate sacrifice. And the spiritual beings, the ones we look up to and believe in, they throw all of that away as soon as it doesn't serve them… and… they become just as spiteful and basic as any child." She was lost in her disgust, staring out into space.

"They wanted to pretend they were in control of life," Heidi said. "But they're not really. Whatever influence they do have, a lot of it has to be done through lying."

"Does this mean…?" Kanoa had to wet his mouth, "Meilani wasn't…"

"Maybe not," Hillary mumbled, "Maybe they read your thoughts and memories and pretended to be her, to say their lies through her mouth, and further pretend their religion was the correct one."

Kanoa's face became pained, Heidi reached out and held his arm.

Hillary looked up, "But Kanoa… that doesn't mean Meilani's spirit wasn't communicating with you, or is out there somewhere."

"There's just no way to know for sure," Kanoa stated and Hillary gave a sad nod.

"We're still plugged into them somehow and I don't like it," Hillary said.

"I know what you mean," Heidi agreed, "it feels like static all around my body. Like it's trying to attack us. And everything feels wrong… like we all got super unlucky."

"I feel it too," Kanoa agreed.

"I still have my psychic powers," Hillary said, "It feels like they're trying to jam it, but I can still sense things. I can sense them properly now, for the first time, and that's how I know they're liars. It means my psychic gifts are still my own and they don't have full control of them."

"So, the universe being a place where souls come to learn lessons and become nicer people was too good to be true. What is life then?" Heidi asked.

Kanoa closed his eyes, "…it's like Hillary said. The truth always tends to be more complicated than we know. Even if there are spirits out there in organized groups, trying to keep people controlled for different reasons, the universe is too big for any force to control it completely, which is why life is inconsistent."

"So… that's what makes free will?" Heidi pondered, "These spirits don't have physical bodies, so even if they see things from a bigger perspective they have to lie to keep us controlled?"

Hillary was lost in thought for several seconds then she murmured, "When you go beyond love, beyond intelligence, beyond everything, there is nothing… and then you can turn back around, and gaze at everything..."

Both chosens wordlessly agreed to give her space after that.

Feeling plugged into the New Age beings was a huge problem that could spell disaster for their mission. All they could do now was hope that the other-dimensional meddling wouldn't cause the ship to malfunction, or lead Urobach straight to them. Where once Heidi had felt kindness and love, now she felt like her mind was being stretched and squeezed, and like they were trying to throw her off her centre. She could resist but that didn't make the attempt any less disturbing. Kanoa as well, when falling back on his meditation training to stay peaceful instead of succumbing to grief, saw a flash across his vision, as if his former allies were angry with his resolve.

Unknown to all three, Sinan had listened to their talk. The mysterious new power he'd inherited from Venus allowed him to see light from within all three, and it meant honesty. At the moment Venus felt calm and relieved they'd finally established a connection. Was this power a hoax? Sinan didn't think so, and it wasn't because of a feeling. It seemed rational enough that the phoenixes only wanted to save the world and wouldn't be trying to deceive him.

An hour or two later, most of the teens were gathered around a big map and discussing options. Jayden was mentioning an underground bunker that was converted from an old military base, and went deep enough to likely survive an atom bomb at the surface.

"Here we go, attempt three…" Engyo said after screwing a compartment shut.

"Third time's the charm," Tsukumo recited from beside him.

A button was pressed and M-006 sat up, his screen-face blinking dotted cartoon eyes.

"Eureka!" Engyo said proudly, removing his goggles.

"What have I missed?" M-006 chirped.

"We need you to access the internet now and tell us the state of Augus," Tsukumo instructed.

The others stopped chatting, and started to get up and wander over.

M-006 turned his head before whipping back a split-second later, "Holy crow! Sixty nuclear warheads have hit all major cities of the continent, except for Solvus! In a week over fifty-percent of Augus's landmass will suffer negative effects!"

"We know the war started. What are these effects?" Engyo asked.

"Radiation poisoning, acid rain, water pollution, and fallout depending on weather and wind conditions." Beep.

"Analyze all the hotspots and gather as much pertinent data as you can."

"Roger!" He turned his head away once more.

"Where do we go from here?" Henka asked, "I'm sticking with you guys. Without this ship I'll be found and hunted down eventually."

"Um, I don't suppose my château is still an option," Jayden stated.

"I know where we've got to go…" Heidi spoke in a low voice, "Darbyshire. It's a farmland town on the west coast."

"Why there?" Engyo asked.

"That's where my oldest sister Natsu lives. Tailee is probably dead, I just had to say goodbye to Summer, my only other living sister is Natsu so we have to save her!"

In the islands, Kanoa's family had been relocated with the surviving members of his tribe. Jayden was emancipated. Henka came from another dimension. Everyone else's family could already be dead or also in danger, but Heidi couldn't help her intense urge to find Natsu. Back in her hometown Heidi had wanted to escape her old life for heroism, now she was desperately clinging to the things she'd walked away from. She thought someone would try to talk her out of it, but then Engyo turned to their robot.

"M-006, how is Darbyshire?"

Beep, "The township is safe, but not for long. Due to weather estimates, toxic pollution from the nearest atom bomb will sweep the area in less than a day."

"Then there's no time to lose!" Heidi launched herself at the robot to say something else. When she was a step away his screen blacked out. They all froze.

"Is… is he alright?" Heidi asked, aghast.

Hillary took her gently by the arm and guided her back, Kanoa kept his distance too.

"I'm not sure what happened," Engyo laid M-006 back down again, "Perhaps he wasn't properly repaired after all. I'll do another check. In the meantime, Tsukumo, please chart a course for Darbyshire."

He nodded and went to the controls.

It felt like somehow, the invisible static around Heidi's body had fried M-006. Hillary rubbed her back while Sinan watched them.

Jayden went to Heidi, "I hope you know… we're not going to be able to save everyone."

Henka followed him, sucking in her lips.

"I know… but it's all I can think to do right now," Heidi answered.

"Darbyshire… if you go inland from there that's where the canyons are, right?" Jayden said thoughtfully.

"I don't know."

"I think so. And if that's the case, it's pretty close to my hidden bunker."

"You really are one of those crazy billionaires who prepared for the apocalypse," Heidi couldn't help smirking.

"Well, look where we are now," Jayden grinned.

It took under three hours to reach Darbyshire. While M-006's systems weren't completely fried, Engyo hadn't managed to wake him up again.

Heidi joined Tsukumo at the front of the saucer, they dipped through clouds and saw green countryside.

"Natsu manages a horse stable, she's got something like eight hundred of them on four square kilometers of land," Heidi informed him.

"That's impressive," Tsukumo said.

The saucer flew over barns, following a dirt road to a modest home on a hill. There were tractors and stacks of mint-green haybales. Various horses trotted with tails flicking, a few galloping along freely. Heidi felt her eyes prick - the last time she'd talked to Natsu was during the holidays, last year. That was over the phone, she couldn't even remember the last time she'd seen her.

"I suggest that while we're here we go to the supermarket and stock up on supplies," Engyo turned from his tinkering, which he'd resumed some forty minutes ago, "But we shouldn't stay any longer than an hour."

They touched down in a paddock, the nearby horses galloped away. As the ramp descended Heidi ran down and toward a group of farmhands who were uncertainly making their way over.

Natsu was wearing dirty gloves, a sunhat and a confused expression. Her hair was short like Heidi's and her body the most rounded of their typically slim family. Heidi jumped into another hug.

"No, it couldn't be… Heidi?" Natsu squeezed her close. "You've grown… but just a little."

The others disembarked as well. Then they went into the house, to the living room for their talk. At the request of privacy Natsu sent the farmhands back outside. Seated at her dining table, Engyo explained the situation. Natsu kept glancing at Henka's alien eyes. There weren't enough chairs and there was little elbow-room with cabinets displaying fine china against the walls. In the other rooms were doilies on wooden dressers and landscape paintings of countryside and more horses, as if there weren't enough of that outside the wide windows. In the heart of the home was a chimney with stacks of chopped wood beside it, and pelts covering couches angled to a flatscreen TV.

"Now despite Heidi's insistence we get you, it would be unwise to split our supplies any further," Engyo stated with implicit meaning. He was sitting straight and proper.

"Don't worry," Natsu gave a flat smile, "No husband or kids. Married to my job and all that. How about you, Heidi?"

"Tried dating. Didn't work," Heidi answered.

"Us Hirazumi girls are too independent," Natsu said wistfully, "Never wanted to factor a man into our lives and change how we run things."

"Even if you don't have family of your own, I'm sure you have friends," Engyo continued.

"I do… We were afraid something like nuclear fallout might reach us here. But even if we took off in cars we can't outrun the weather. And what would petrol stations be like now anyways? Even in suburban areas that weren't hit, law enforcement and infrastructure has all fallen apart."

"So you were just gonna stay at the farm, get sick and die?" Heidi asked.

"I didn't want to leave the workers or the horses. They're like my family."

Kanoa stepped forward, "There's no shame in surviving. If your workers do care they'd want you to save yourself."

"Please do," Engyo returned his gaze to her, "Someone like you, who knows Heidi would be a great help in reigning her in from time to time. I think you'll be more of an asset than a hindrance."

"I guess…" Natsu took several more seconds to process everything, "I guess you're right."

Tsukumo stepped out to where the others lingered, "Some of us better grab supplies."

"I'll go," Sinan said, he was uncomfortable intruding on this family moment.

"I'll come," Henka rolled around the doorframe.

Tsukumo nodded, "Let's go."

Natsu cleared out her pantry, Heidi helped by gathering all the non-perishables into plastic bags. Then Natsu went to pack clothes and say some goodbyes to her favourite horses. Engyo went back to working on M-006, planning to stay in the saucer while Tsukumo, Henka and Sinan carried bags for the supply run. The heart of Darbyshire was just a few intercepting streets with essentials like various doctors, a post office, a library and an old picture theatre. The buildings were all spread apart, rural town distance.

The saucer touched down on a slanting green hill. The three teens exited. They used a post to climb over the barbed-wire fence then headed to the big block building that was the town grocery. It was late afternoon and the sun glared against windows. Nobody was around.

At the entry, automated glass doors slid open with a two note chime. Nobody was behind the counter. Some shelves looked empty and there was food strewn on the floor. Tsukumo pointed to a smashed back window and the teens continued with more caution. They got to the middle and it seemed nobody else was inside.

"I'm going to get canned food," Tsukumo said, "See if you can grab crackers, the long-lasting kind." At that Henka nodded and hurried down the aisles. Tsukumo turned to Sinan, "Get us drugs, and another first aid kit if you can."

"Fine," Sinan walked off.

He'd never done shopping before, but he found the pharmacy isle easy enough. There were various boxes, bottles and sachets for different maladies. Sinan started scooping whatever was in reach into his bag.

Another chime emitted through the store, two cheery notes that made Sinan freeze.

Casual footsteps. It was a lone man, Sinan could see a pair of boots making their way down the isles until he came into view.

"There you are, Sinan," a scarred man in grey uniform stopped and faced him, "As the only chosen I haven't had the pleasure of meeting, it's nice for us to finally talk. I'm General Urobach."


They went to the roof for privacy. Before now Sinan had wondered if Urobach was the harbinger of his God. Bringing about the necessary End of Days to put his people in charge of the world. And yet, with his new power he could feel much more dishonesty from this man than he did from his captors. Solvus had left Sinan alone in his torment. Was Urobach an instrument of righteousness? Or just a force of conquest and destruction, nothing more?

At seeing Sinan's reluctance, Urobach challenged him to a duel. They faced each other as tables and shields manifested between them. A brown field obscured the rest of Darbyshire from view, four gold tablets rising from the corners of their game.

"I'll soon discover the truth of all this..." Sinan warned.

"By all means..." a smile.

Urobach started and both players only charged mana for their first couple of turns.

"I cast Reload Charger," Urobach outstretched his arm, the card's shine fluctuating between red and violet. "I discard Deadzone and draw."

Sinan charged more light-water, "End…"

"Ha! I summon Tigernitro, Explosive Devil!" The tiger plushie landed with a mischievous grin and dynamite sticks in hand. "Mana Arms 5, at the end of my turn you must discard all but one of your cards."

Sinan's shock made Urobach laugh again, even louder.

The plushie tossed the dynamite and it exploded against Sinan's table, shaking him violently. He examined his hand before making a painful decision and tossing out Memento Guardian Shrine, Dragon's Sign, Heaven's Rosia and Miradante Time Pope.

Sinan was hoping to use Rainbow Spark to draw an answer to this problem, but he drew another multi-coloured card so still didn't have enough mana to play it.

Urobach grinned, "Your revolution changes and putting strong creatures is a problem, but it seems I've solved that problem."

"I've not given up," Sinan charged Miracle Star and waited for his opponent to go.

"I summon Disohgeno and remove the third seal, giving my creatures +2222 power for the turn," a tablet behind Sinan exploded into rubble. It was a skeletal command on 9000 with a crab-like lower body. "Turn end."

"I cast Justice Shaper!" The twinpact shone blue in Sinan's outstretched arm. Three cards slid off his deck and floated up. Shinpas, Kernel and Miradante Super Future then slipped into his hand. "Turn end."

"Pointless. I summon Dorhakaba, Final Forbidden Delta and remove the second seal, giving Tigernitro slayer." A purple cyborg in a cape touched down, "Turn end."

Sinan's brow twittered with agitation. Mournfully he dropped Shinpas and Miradante Super into his graveyard.

"I summon Kernel, Blue Stagnation Dragon Elemental and freeze Dorhakaba." The elegant dragon emerged clinging to its bell, affording him at least one blocker against his opponent's growing forces.

"I summon Evil Heat, Screaming Demon Dragon!" Its shriek made Sinan cringe; it had skeletal armour and flowers bloomed off its carapace with skulls inside. "That's the first seal gone as well. I mill then return Tigernitro to my hand. Evil Heat attacks and invasion! I evolve it into Deadzone S-Rank Zombie from my graveyard!" A giant of darkness-purple crystals reached a jagged hand to complete the attack. "Triple break!"

Sinan curled in as glass blew by, shards turning over in the air. A glowing yellow card floated to him and he grabbed it, "Rosia, Final Dragon Edge!" The dazzling soldier emerged from lightning and thunder. "I call out Javeleon, Beast Lance!" The gold weapon slipped out of hyperspace and floated gravitationally into Rosia's grip.

"I end my turn," Urobach announced and Sinan threw out Mixel, "Even someone of your preoccupations must see how pointless fighting me is. Don't follow in Heidi's moronic footsteps. And unlike Kanoa, I haven't taken anything from you. Your home and loved ones remain, and just like the prophecies of Solvus said your city has become the capital of the new world. All thanks to me."

Sinan stared at him and said nothing.

Urobach raised his hand in offering, "You hold Venus. Tear that card up right now and you can join the winning side. Solvus can reward you again with luxuries and life, through me. It's the right choice."

In his mind Sinan could see Venus screeching angrily at his opponent.

The right thing. Right and wrong, good and evil. Venus turned her gaze side-on and gave a bird-cry, mentally conveying meanings to him. Is truth beyond that duality? Is each situation complex and unique? Shades of grey, or shades of a rainbow, multi-faceted and intelligent like fractals becoming the infinite configurations of what life is.

Urobach was still waiting with his hand out. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Prove that what you're saying is the truth," Sinan demanded with a level voice.

"What?"

Sinan began to shine the same harmonious glow as his phoenix, "Speak honestly." At those words a flurry of stars floated off Sinan's aura toward Urobach, passing by him as he looked around.

"Honestly?" Urobach said in confusion before saying casually, "I'm never honest. Even if you tore up Venus I'd still kill you because I'm frustrated. The water chosen has meddled with everything, Gatekeeper Pluto won't leave me alone to conquer this dimension and I just hate teenagers." Shocked, Urobach clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Sympathy! I Neo Evolve Shinpas, Calming Judgment Bond onto Kernel and double break!" The crystal metallica formed and whipped its staff, scattering glass. Urobach was thrown by the attack and grunted. Putting the pressure back on his opponent was all Sinan could think to do. After his turn was done he could dragsolution into his fortress. "Rosia, shield break!" The soldier leapt, bent its arm back then plunged his lance into another shield.

"Shield trigger! Kizamu, Forbidden V removes the final seal! Dormageddon Big Bang Liberates!"

It was just like when Amira did it. The final tablet broke and the dome was torn away, revealing the overcast sky, and breeze of outside. Then their senses muted before returning slowly, revealing the hulking figure of Dormageddon X. Red shrine gates fell onto Sinan's creatures, pinning them to the ground. The dragheart weapon was sucked back into hyperspace.

Sinan's turn was over, and likely the duel.

"Dorhakaba, shield break! Kizamu, shield break!" He was suddenly shieldless.

"No…" Sinan murmured, falling back on his butt.

"Dormageddon X, lay this sorry soul to rest!"

"No!"

"Todomed-!"

"General Urobach," Someone was suddenly standing between them.

Everything felt tense, like space itself had tightened from fear.

"Gatekeeper Pluto…" Urobach blinked in shock.

"What are you doing with that?" He raised a delicate finger and pointed at Dormageddon X who hovered, still frozen. Sinan had also not met this Gatekeeper Pluto before. He was facing away, Sinan could see a silk gown and a sleek black ponytail tied at the nape of his neck. Onyx earrings on chains swayed with his movement. Instead of questioning the interruption Sinan remained sitting and clamped his mouth.

"M-my Dormageddon, Sir?"

"I gave that card to General Amira."

"General-!?" Urobach stifled his outrage. "But Sir…"

"All Generals of our colony are given copies of Dormageddon X, are they not?"

"But-!"

"We are far from the colony, and Amira is the better conduit for Gatekeeper powers, is she not?"

"But Sir-!"

Suddenly Pluto was standing close to Urobach, mouth by his ear, "You are the inferior General. Do not disregard my will again." With dark painted nails he pulled Dormageddon X with its seals from the table, the creature faded out. "And don't forget, the chosens to you are exactly the same as you are to me. Dispendable… entertainment…"

Then Pluto was gone and Urobach could finally breathe, hands falling against his table as the fear overcame him.

Sinan watched from where he sat, wondering if now he should be gathering his cards and making a run for it. There was still the giant Deadzone facing him, but the fear kept him in place. Sinan willed himself to get up, but all he could do was sit and watch as Urobach recovered and finally lifted his gaze.

Sinan could see the hopelessness, the desperation before it was overcome by hate. The desire to step on all others. Sinan realised then that the people of Aurellia, the chosens, the lieutenants, and even General Urobach were all trapped. It was all because of the Gatekeepers, just what the hell were they?

"It's time I ended this game, Sinan," Urobach declared, and the teen felt his speculations of escape deflate.

Suddenly Urobach looked up, afraid again. He caught black fire and the next second the flying saucer crashed into his table, its front exploding into fire. The supermarket was carved in two and Sinan blew backwards into a violent roll.

When he looked up, disbelieving, he saw the bronze disc-shaped mechanisation lodged side-on. Its end was flaming and sparking. From the cock-pit M-006 slid out and down its length before face-planting against the ground. Smoke was climbing high into the air; M-006 awkwardly got its limbs underneath and stood back up. Sinan could hear shouting from down below. With his focus returned he ran to his table, scooped his deck then ran to the building's edge. Sinan took hold of the gutter drain and began climbing down. Another mini-explosion blew out the glass from the windows beside him and he paused before continuing his descent.

Had that killed Urobach? Somehow Sinan didn't think so.


AN: Just a tame lil chapter, nothing to see here. Wow Shuriken is now up-to-date with my story, like Acuma! That's great! Exams are done, another semester dusted. Unlike last holidays I've not been grinding this so hard, I think it's already been something like two weeks. Maybe I'll get this arc done before my next semester starts, or maybe not. I'd at least like to get this 75% done, that'd be a cool new milestone to hit. Can't think of much else to say on the morning after a night shift, better just post this and get me some sleep.