Ha, thanks Life: Love it when you give me back-to-back problems to deal with.
Wasn't it bad enough that I've been bruised like an apple by those freaks from my old life comin' back with a vengeance?
Now I gotta immediately dive headfirst into another fight with this 'Number Hunter'.
...Sure, offer me no break between.
Those were the irritated-toned thoughts bouncing around the walls of Athena's mind as she does her best to stay brave in wake of the two Number Monsters, Illumiknight and Giga-Brilliant, that were now occupying her opponent's side of the field.
"Why does it feel like each incoming duel involving Numbers ends up being twice as difficult as the last one? Still, to summon two in one turn...that was fast. (Narrows eyes) Too fast."
Somethin's screwy about this Kite guy's game.
Meanwhile, Astral was more concerned about Kite's skills as a duelist.
Whoever this fellow is, he is certainly a force to be reckoned with.
Especially since even though he craves these Number Cards, he is not under their dark influence.
"And now I end my turn."
The Orbital robot cheers for his master:
"What a move, ending your turn! Right on!"
"That's not a move, gear-head."
"O-Oh, sorry, my bad."
The girl with red irises tches between clenched teeth before making her opening move.
"About time he finished up...I Draw! (Peers at the card) Gogogo Golem, huh? Alright, that'll do for a start."
With his ability, he'll be able to withstand two attacks in Defense Mode...
She looks to Astral, who nods in agreement to the hinted plan, before Athena calls out,
"I place a monster face-down in Defense Mode and end my turn."
Kite jeers back,
"Really? That's it? Fine! (Draws a card) It's my turn again, and first, I'm going to do this: Use Illumiknight's ability."
One of the XYZ Monster's light orbs bounces onto their lance...
"Now, by using an Overlay Unit and discarding a card, I, can draw a card!"
He glances up at the card he just drew, and grins.
"Alright then. Now I play Giga-Brilliant's ability: By using one overlay unit, Giga-Brilliant gains 300 Attack Points!"
The Rank Three monster's power rises to 2100...
"And now, Giga-Brillant, attack: Take out Athena's face-down monster!"
On that note, said girl's golem flips face-up to display their 1500 Defense Points, before raising its arms to block the charging Number, throwing it back some and maintaining its stance. Athena smirks and says in a mocking manner,
"Oh, so sorry, but Golem's got an ability that allows it to survive once per turn while in Defense Mode."
Kite's own smirk doesn't falter:
"Well then, I guess it's a very good thing that, I have plenty more attacks where that came from! Go, Illumiknight: Attack with Shimmering Sword Slash!"
This time, Gogogo Golem would not survive, and was cut down in two by the XYZ Monster's lance...Athena curses under her breath and mutters dryly,
"Well, so much for that, but I expected this would happen since he had two monsters to gang up on my one...What now?"
Astral replies,
"Now you relax: There are no other monsters on his field he can attack you with."
"True. I'm safe, least for the time being..."
Catching the one end of the conversation, Kite asks with a small, smug grin forming on his lips,
"Is that what you think? Hmph, you're a very long way from being safe."
Narrowing her red irises into a glare, Athena replies,
"Trust me, hunter, I'm well aware...but that's not gonna stop you from showing me more reasons to not feel safe, is it?"
He nods, before calling his next play:
"You catch on quick. I tribute Giga-Brilliant and Illumiknight; goodbye, you two! And...hello!"
Astral was a bit confused by the battlefield change, expecting the Numbers to stick around longer.
"Hello?"
His human partner, meanwhile, was getting increasingly annoyed by Kite's attempts to use suspense to scare his opponent.
"Oh spare me. What big bad monster are you bringin' out now?"
"Here. Why don't you simply see for yourself?"
Just a second after he sets the card onto his dueling disk, a strange, dark red, pendulum-like cross shape manifests on the duelist's right. All this did was make Athena's brow raise:
"Uh-huh, and that's suppose to scare me because...?"
A chuckle billows out of Kite's throat, before he grabs hold of the odd object and tosses it into the air above him. A flurry of starry pixels stream to meet the airborne shape, forming into that same dangerous-looking dragon monster he used against the punk at the mall a few days ago!
"...Ok-aaay, that'll do it; you've got my attention now."
"Say hello to Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!"
Getting a better look at this upright-standing lizard, we see that their wings were made from what looked to be neon-glowing points (seven for each side), their skin coal black with intracite glowing-white designs over parts of its hide, a central jewel on its upper torso, and a three-tine tipped tail. They were also considerably strong, Level Eight and packing a whopping 3000 Attack Points!
"Get ready to meet defeat, 'cause my Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon is ready to seek and destroy!"
Athena gulps ever-so slightly and hisses,
"Geez, and I thought some of the Numbers looked dangerous...!"
Meanwhile, Astral felt a beat of familiarity pass through his mind as he took in the image of the new beast on the field.
I know this creature!
"I end my turn; make your move."
Athena questions to herself,
"But what move can I make? If I've got my head on right, Utopia may be the only one in my deck that's got a fair chance against that dragon. And the only way I can summon him out is by overlaying two Level Fours...Well, no sense in delaying! My Draw! First I summon, Gagaga Magician!"
Said Level Four spellcaster appears in front of the girl, who was just getting started on her latest play.
"Next, I activate from my hand, Monster Slots! With this Spell, by banishing a monster in my Graveyard the same level as my magician, I get to draw a new card from my deck. If it matches Gagaga's level, then I can summon them to the field!"
Please, luck of the draw: Be with me!
"Ha!"
(Swipe)
Athena looks down at her new card, and breaks out a small grin.
"Yes! That's what I'm talkin' about! I'm still in this...I summon forth Ganbara Knight!"
The knight with shields on both its arms jumps down beside the magician...
"I now overlay both Level Four Gagaga Magician and Ganbara Knight! Do your thing, you guys!"
The two monsters nod to her, before manifesting into dark purple and gold yellow streams of light respectively, twisting together and diving into the vortex below...
"I XYZ Summon, Number 39: Utopia!"
The Rank Four monster with the appearance of a warrior angel rises to greet the open air of the AR field, and Athena smiles slightly at them before chiding,
"Good to see you again, big guy. Do your best."
Kite himself chose to grin in anticipation at seeing the girl's signature Number Card before his eyes.
"Ah, the Number has finally appeared."
...At the same time this battle was underway, we turn back to the inside of Heartland City Tower, where the man wearing the green suit and dressy glasses was speaking with Doctor Faker again, proposing a new idea he's come up with to help in their goals involving the Numbers and Astral World...
"So Doctor Faker: What do you think of my plan?"
The man with the upright blond hair grins and replies,
"(Digital) A World Duel Carnival is perfect!"
"I'm so pleased you approve! I'll get to work arranging for the tournament at once. I'll see to it that all the finest duelists in Heartland are there, and of course, more duelists from around the world, duelists with Numbers."
Doctor Faker rubs a hand under his chin in thought:
"(Digital) Quite right."
"Naturally, Kite will participate...and when he wins the tournament, all of those wonderful Number Cards will belong to us!"
"(Digital) Yes, but, what if Kite should lose? (Points forward) What happens then, Mister Heartland? We should leave nothing to chance, for these Number Cards are of the upmost importance."
The other man, now identified as Mister Heartland, replies with a reassuring tone,
"There is no need to worry, sir: Kite won't lose. After all, his deck is simply unbeatable. Our knowledge of the other world has seen to that."
...We make the switch of viewpoints to where Doctor Faker was residing, they being some sort of an underground, high-tech laboratory.
"Yes, a valid point...Very well then: It's settled! Schedule this so-called carnival as soon as possible."
With that, he and Mister Heartland end their holographic call...The man then moves to exit to another room with laugh while saying to himself,
"And the sooner the better, for I have a great many Sphere Field experiments to run."
On the other side of the door, we see that he was gazing fondly at a gigantic, pale-gold electrical sphere being held stable between two machine tips...!
"And this carnival of duels will be the perfect place to run them, because with this sphere, I can draw out a Number's power, and then by using that power...!"
He cuts himself off with a maniacal laugh...just as we turn our eyes on the young boy Hart, who was once again being used to direct energy balls of trash to attack Astral World. For a moment, it looked like his body was starting to take its toll from the pressure these power releases were creating...
...But as soon as he felt the blasts connect with the distant galaxy, the other half of his damaged personality rose, and he giggled uncontrollably before muttering,
"Yes, it's all working...It's working, yes! The energy, is flowing!"
He gets ready to release another wave of his power, which in turn would cause some power spikes in that sphere of energy that Doctor Faker was currently attending to.
"Well done, Hart! Make Astral World pay; make them pay with your power!"
Astral's POV
"Mmh!"
Huh? What was, that?
Just after Athena had summoned Utopia, I felt this strange sting of pain run through my veins. It only lasted for a second, but...it made me feel uneasy, in similar ways to the feelings that rose when I saw the memories inside Volcasaurus and Freezerdon...
I would have little time to ponder on the notion, however, when my human partner comments on our current situation.
"Okay, good news, we've got a strong monster out. Bad news, there's a 500 point difference between them and that dragon...Still, I'm gonna attack anyway."
I turned to stare at Athena with shock for such a reckless idea:
"Are you mad?!"
"Maybe, maybe not, but questions about my mentality haven't stopped me before. (Small smirk) Let's see if I can pull off the bold. I now activate the Spell Card, Blustering Winds! Thanks to this baby, Utopia gains 1000 Attack and Defense Points until the end of this turn!"
I watch as Utopia's attack power rose to 3500, making me feel a bit more assured that the girl knew what she was doing.
"Ha, and just like that, Utopia's the strongest monster on the field!"
"Perhaps. Well why don't we go ahead and battle and find out?"
Mm, I don't like the tone the hunter is using...
Athena seemed to sense it as well, for her smirk dropped and was replaced with a wary frown.
"Hm...Well since you're begging for one, I'll oblige! Strike the dragon down, Utopia!"
Our Number summons his golden blade...
"This is not going to be a pleasant sight."
"That, I can agree with you on. I won't judge ya if you need to shield your eyes."
"Not a pleasant sight, for you!"
That took Athena and I both aback:
What?!
"Come again?!"
"You underestimated my dragon's power, and now you'll pay the price! You see, when Galaxy-Eyes battles your monster, both of our monsters are banished!"
And just when Utopia's blade makes contact with the head of the dragon...both monsters vanish in a cluster of pixels!
Oh no!
"Utopia!"
"Your attempt to attack me failed miserably. So what's your next move?"
"Gh! I...end my turn."
The hunter, Kite, does not wait to get the jump on his next turn:
"I was hoping you'd say that, 'cause now, Galaxy-Eyes's ability continues, and the monsters that were banished from play, return to the field!"
I was quite shocked to learn that our main monster wasn't in fact destroyed...yet, something did not feel right.
There's much more to this dragon's ability. Utopia could not have been brought back on good terms...
Athena seemed to think similarly, if a little relieved to see the Number was 'okay'.
"Utopia! You're, still aliv-Wait...No. Something's wrong, really wrong. (Glare) You brought them back in your favour, didn't you?"
"Good guess. You're a bit smarter than I previously thought. If the monster that was banished from play with Galaxy-Eyes was an XYZ Monster, Galaxy-Eyes absorbs that monster's overlay units, and gains 500 Attack Points for each one!"
Hearing that made me very close to sputtering out one of the curses I've heard Athena use, but I managed to hold back, instead opting to exclaim with worry,
"Oh no!"
She meanwhile, did not hold back:
"Shit! Utopia's been sapped of his Overlay Units?!"
"Indeed he has, and if you do the math, Galaxy-Eyes gains 1000 Attack Points!"
And just like that, the dragon's power rose to,
"4000 Attack Points...!"
"Crap. That's enough to wipe me out in one shot..."
That was when the robot following the Number Hunter suddenly adds,
"T-That's right, and then your Number Card and your s-soul will go bye-bye!"
Her, soul?
Athena was just as confused and wary as I was:
"What're you saying? Is...that what happened to the punk at the mall a few days ago? He became an old man because he lost his soul?"
Kite meanwhile, was quite displeased that his follower revealed such information.
"Grh, you tin-twit: I've already got this kid on the ropes and you bring that up?! What is wrong with you?!"
"S-Sorry! Won't happen aga-gain!"
My partner of course, would not allow the subject to be dropped:
"What did they mean about the soul vanishing with a Number? Explain yourself, now!"
The Number Hunter seemed slightly taken aback by the stern tone in Athena's voice, but smiled darkly before obliging.
"I suppose there's no point keeping it a secret now, so okay. My method for taking a Number is somewhat, forceful...So forceful in fact that when I take it, that individual's soul, is taken as well!"
Uh! No! So, that would mean...if Athena loses...
"Taken how? What happens to the soul?"
"Don't know, and come to think of it, I really don't care."
"What?! You bastard; how can you not care about taking another's life away?!"
I cut in to steer the girl back to the true dilemma:
"Nevermind him, Athena. It is you that should care, otherwise we are both done for."
"Mph!...Right...Okay, currently, I don't have a way to overcome that dragon, so for now, I place one card face-down and end my turn!"
I could sense that particular surge of anger at how nonchalantly Kite dismissed his methods of extracting a Number was one that would not die quickly for the girl beside me, which meant either she will fight much more seriously than before, or there's a chance her emotions could blind her from making the correct play...
Our opponent moves the duel along with his next turn:
"Alright then, it's my move. Now, Galaxy-Eyes, let her have it: Photon Stream of Destruction!"
The dragon monster charges up, before releasing a torrent of star-like energy to blast against Utopia, who thankfully was able to withstand and remain on the field...
"Even though only a Number can destroy a Number, you're still gonna take damage!"
Athena held her ground, shielding her face with her arm as her Life Points dropped to 2500...But he was far from done.
"Next I'm gonna play this, the Spell Card, Photon Wind! And it'll be knocking the wind out of you, because when I deal damage without destroying your monster, you take an additional 1000 points of damage!"
In the time it took the billowing rings of power to hit our bodies, I realize aloud,
"Sooo, he was planning on not destroying Athena's Number Card!"
This time, we were both thrown back, as her Life Points drop further to settle at 1500...
"And that's not all my Photon Wind lets me do. Now I get to draw a card, and then I'll place one face-down. With that, I end my turn."
As I struggle to rise to my feet, I froze halfway at a kneel, when I notice my body was beginning to fade in and out of this world once again.
This is bad...
I hear Athena call to me with worry, and I mutter,
"As your Life Points diminish, my Life Force does with it."
I then hear the hunter mock our (or in his view, Athena's) situation:
"I have you right in the palm of my hand. Can you feel the crush of defeat closing in?"
Rising to her feet with only the slightest falter in her step, the girl retorts bravely with a smirk,
"No, but I'm definitely feeling the weight of your ego, so knock it off."
That wasn't what the other human expected, and he formed a frown while his robotic companion shouted bristly,
"Rrrrgh, you w-watch your mouth, girl! You're talking to a h-high class duelist!"
"Oh really? Where are they?"
"Why y-you-!"
She merely laughed at the robot, before saying to Kite calmly,
"You took a good chunk out of my Life Points, I'll give you that much...but this is where I'm taking things back to meet my favours, and where you're gonna go flying to the pavement with a fat lip! I Draw!"
As soon as she settled the card into her hand, I watched as she went into a moment of deep thought, glancing back and forth between Utopia and her current hand...
I think I know what she might be considering: Placing Utopia in Defense Mode.
"A risky move."
Athena turns to me with a confused expression, and I explain while glancing over at Kite,
"He went so far as to get rid of his Numbers to he could summon Galaxy-Eyes. He is sure to have a plan in place for you putting a Number in Defense."
"...So what do you think I should do, then?"
"The only thing you can do in a moment like this: You hunt the Hunter."
"You mean, just keep attacking until something connects?...I'm not saying that's a terrible idea, but, if it doesn't work, we're both meeting the afterlife."
"That is true, but I would rather go out with a bang than a whimper...Do you not feel the same?"
...A conflicted expression suddenly formed on her face, and she gazes ahead at Galaxy-Eyes and our opponent, before quietly muttering,
"Honestly...I don't know. I want to...but the idea of attacking relentlessly, with little thought before each blow...Throwing punches, trapping myself in tunnel vision..."
What?
That does not sound like...Wait. Could she be thinking of...
That's when I realized: In her mindset, the strategy we were discussing, sounded similar to what she was forced to undergo back when she was a part of that underground fighting club...
"Athena...you know that those pieces of your life have no connections to one another. You have even told your older brother this."
"Mh! (Nod) Mhm..."
"But it seems you yourself, are still having trouble distinguishing the differences between."
I reached out to ghost one of my hands over her shoulder, and chide to her,
"You must not allow your past to cloud your mind in the present. This battle we are undergoing right now, is nothing like what you've had to participate in back then."
She takes a deep breath in, before nodding and replying a bit more confidently,
"You're right. As much as I've been working to put the bad chapter of my life behind me, it still has a grip on me, one I need to shake loose from. And maybe...maybe this duel can help me do that."
Looking at me apologetically, she adds,
"Sorry that I hesitated my answer. Yes, I do want to fight with my head held high."
"It is alright, and I am glad to hear your bravery returning."
Athena smiles slightly, which almost made me form the expression back, before we both turned to the front with serious faces to continue the battle.
"Now the only question remaining, is what is our next move going to be?"
"Hmm...I've got an idea that should work."
Nodding to her in encouragement, she moves to make her play:
"Alright, no more sitting on my ass! Let's get this done! First, I summon Zubaba Knight!"
Said Level Three monster with 1600 Attack Points jumps to the field...
"Next, I activate my face-down, Copy Knight! This trap creates a duplicate of my monster, so now we have two Zubaba Knights on the field!"
The card transforms in accordance to her call-out, creating a muted-coloured version of her monster with the same Level but with 0 Attack Points.
"With that done, I overlay both Level Threes to build the Overlay Network! I XYZ Summon, Number 17: Leviathan Dragon!"
With that, we would soon be graced with the presence of the Rank Three water dragon settling on Utopia's left...
Their appearance certainly caught the attention of the robot:
"D-Did she say Number?...Yep, it's confirmed! M-Master Kite; it's another Number Card!"
He in turn smirked slightly:
"So you have two, huh? I wonder: Does that mean that you're a Number Hunter as well? I sure hope so, and do you know why? Because then you'll have all the more for me to snatch."
Athena calls back in a retort,
"Like hell I'm allowing you to do that! I now activate Leviathan Dragon's ability: By using one Overlay Unit, they gain 500 Attack Points."
"So what? Even with that boost, Galaxy-Eyes remains the strongest beast."
"Who says I care about who's stronger? I now play the Spell Card, Cross Attack!"
Ah! A good play!
"When I have two monsters on the field with the same Attack Points, one can't attack, but the other can, directly!"
That wiped away the smug expression on the hunter's face, encouraging a proud smirk to appear on Athena's.
"Go, Utopia: Attack him directly with Rising Sun Slash!"
"So predictable."
What?
"You didn't think I'd let a simple Spell Card defeat me, because it won't be! Allow me to show you why: I play the Trap Card, Lumenize! Now Utopia's attack is negated, and Galaxy-Eyes gains its Attack Points!"
And just like that, our monster's sword evaporates, while the opposing dragon's Attack Points rose to 6500, a total I would not have guessed previously to be possible! Nor did Athena based on her exclaim:
"What the hell?! You're just making your monster ridiculous-type strong!"
"(Laugh) That's right, to the tune of 6500!"
I chide to her,
"Just stay calm."
She sucked in another deep breath...before asking me,
"What do we do now?"
"I'll tell you what: We make the only move left to make."
"Which is? Come on, now's not the time to leave me in suspense!"
"Place the Trap in your hand face-down."
She looks down at said card:
"My Mirror Mail? You're sure that will-Hang on...Oh!"
I nod at her in confirmation to her realization:
"That is right: With this Trap, when your opponent engages battle, Mirror Mail will change Utopia's Attack Points to match that of Galaxy-Eyes."
"And because Utopia's a Number Card, it will be Galaxy-Eyes who ends up destroyed! That's how we'll win!"
"Then let us get to it."
"Ten-four. I place a card face-down and end my turn!"
We can only pray that this card, will work to our advantage, and not be directed to disaster...
Doctor Faker's Laboratory/Heartland Tower, No POV
As the duel between Athena and Kite waged on closer to the climax, we check back with the activities of Doctor Faker, who kept encouraging the young boy to unleash his power upon Astral World, and fuel the Sphere Field.
"You're doing great, Hart! Use your power! Use all you can!"
Meanwhile, deep in that inner chamber where the city trash was being dumped, Hart was just coming down from a recent release of his outworldly energy, leaning over the railing of the platform to catch his breath...
However, it seems this time he had pushed himself too far, and felt his heart skip a beat, before he was crying out in pain from a pulsating pound that ran through his skull!
Athena's POV
As soon as I set the last card in my hand, Kite jumps into his next turn.
Which hopefully, will be his downfall...
"My turn! I Draw!"
He and I are then in a staring contest that lasts for a moment or two, myself holding a poker glare as I taunt mentally,
Hit me with your best shot, Number Hunter...I'm ready.
...
...But instead of sending Galaxy Eyes to attack...
"I summon forth, Photon Cerberus! And when Cerberus is let off its leash, your Trap Cards are put on 'em!"
Auh! No!
With wide eyes, I watch as several chains go to wrap themselves around my face-down card!
"Oh no!"
"Fu-My Mirror Mail's useless now!"
"That's right, which means your last inch efforts to defeat me have failed, and you're all out of moves!"
...No...No, this can't be!
Astral was in just as much disbelief as I was:
"He knew. Somehow, he knew. He has out-dueled us both..."
Kite made no effort to hide the victorious smirk on his face:
"And now your soul and Number Cards, will be mine! Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon: Prepare to Attack!"
My mouth gaped, and I whirled my eyes to meet Astral's form, not wanting to believe this was our fate.
"Please...Please don't let this be the end!"
"...I am afraid so...Farewell."
No...No, No!
All I could do, was stare up at the dragon charging up its attack...That's when I felt a familiar pulse run through me, like what happened during my duel with Flip.
"Uh!"
(Pulse, flash)
...Fire...Hallways glowing a fiery red...
The sounds of human and inhuman screams ringing off the walls in a frightening symphony.
I'm inside...a lab room? It's trashed...
There's, something near my feet, but I dunno what. My eyes are ahead, staring up at...
The beast! The red beast! It, it's coming at me! Going to-
(Flash)
"Aaagh!"
I gripped the sides of my head from the pounding sensation, my eyes wide with fear, a fear that I hadn't felt for so long. It felt so familiar, yet so foreign:
W-What is this?! What was that thing?! What was it doing, in that horrible place?
(Flash)
A galaxy...being attacked by the same red...
(Flash)
"U-hah!"
...Was that...No.
No, it can't be! Did I just see, Astral World?
"BIG BROTHEEER!"
Uh! Wha-...That sounded like, a young boy...Who was that?
"Go, Photon Stream of-Uh-hah!"
...By some miracle, it seems I wasn't the only one who felt something wrong, and Kite screeched to a halt in announcing his attack!
"I-Incoming message...M-Master Kite!"
Though my vision was still coming down from those images flashing before me, I was able to make out the sight of a projection from that mini-mech, that showed...a young boy who looked like they had passed out.
"Hart!"
H-Hart?
The longer I stared at the boy...the louder that very faint echo of a young child's voice got.
Did it, come from him...?
"We'll finish this later!"
I was snapped out of my muddled thoughts, when Kite suddenly releases me from the Duel Anchor!
"Uh!"
"For now, I must leave! (Turns to the robot) Come on; we must hurry!"
"Then let's r-roll!"
And with no other words, the Number Hunter boards the now motorcycle-formed robo-lackie and speeds off to who knows, leaving the area around me to move free with time once again...
I barely registered the faltered steps of Akira, before I hear him slowly approach me.
"Addy?...What happened?"
...I couldn't answer him for a minute, until I finally stressed out in a whisper,
"I...I nearly got taken out, for good."
"What?"
The feeling in my legs is lost, and I dropped to my knees, the weight of everything in this duel crashing upon my shoulders with a vengeance, threatening to bury me alive.
"I dunno what's scaring me more...The fact that, I nearly lost it all, or, what I now know."
(Flash)
The image of that beast, that, inhuman beast glowing red...
Somehow, I know, it wasn't from that place. It came...came searching for something, someone.
...It came for me.
(Flash)
Just like those blasts of energy, that were attacking his world...
(Flash)
...I no longer had the strength to hold back the feeling to cry, and shamefully burst into tears from this overwhelming fear rushing through my veins.
"I-It destroyed that damned place, but not on good whims! It was hunting me, me! Just like he was hunting me now! No matter what I do, someone or something will always be plastering a target on my back! Why?! What the hell have I done to deserve this?! What...What did Astral's home do to deserve the brutal attacks they're facing?! What did he do to deserve being caught in my mess?!"
"Uh! Addy!"
I just shook my head in misery, shutting out Akira's voice, hugging myself in a vice-grip to try and steady myself, but to no avail.
"I'm sorry, Astral! I'm so sorry! I failed us! I failed us both!"
Through my watery vision, I swore that I saw said being break out of stupor to stare at me with shock for how weak I sounded. Hell, I was shocked that could sound so weak...but I didn't care. I didn't give a damn that I sounded like a total wimp. I was broken, my insides churning and threatening to tear into pieces.
All I could do, was continue to sob, near-oblivious to the arms of my other friend that wrapped around me to try and calm me down, his soothing words doing nothing to help me.
I was hurt...so hurt. The kind of pain that cannot be felt by the body...but by the soul.