When All Was Lost...
Chapter Twenty-Four
24
It was an old building, massive in size.
Maybe it used to be a mansion...
Stepping in there was a heavy smell of dust and old furniture. Light from the boarded windows shined in like silver beams making the dust particles look like glitter. In the Middle of the room sat a lone luxurious chair, they called it Jack's throne.
"What are you doing here...Girlie?" His voice echoed around her and filled her with nervous shivers. This was generally Jack's special hide out and he came here often to be alone so...he didn't take kind to visitors often...even if it was his friends.
"It's Kalin..." she said softly.
"What about him?"
"I think he needs our help."
"Oh? And why do you think that...?"
"He's attacking Securities, Jack."
"He's what!?" Jack stood quickly," Yusei said he went out without saying anything earlier...what is he thinking!?"
"I wish I knew..." she said softly,"Crow sent me to fetch you, he's going to get Yusei, we have to go help Kalin-"
"So..." Jack paused," Is Crow the one then?"
"What?" she looked at him more confused than when she entered and he shook his head.
"Nevermind, Girlie." he sighed,"Let's just go..."
XXXXX
Once they got to where Kalin was, they split up inside in search for him.
The place was swarming with securities...
Sneaking past them was tough...
All in a day's work for The Bullets.
Akarii managed to randevous with Yusei, while Crow continued scoping the area.
It seemed she and he had the same idea.
"Akarii..." he whispered her name softly as he rested slinked against the wall pointing to a door between them. He motioned her to duck down and whispered.
"This has to be it..." he said softly," I can hear Kalin's voice inside."
To validate Yusei's claim she put her ear to the wall and listened.
He was right.
They looked at each other and gave their silent signal.
Taking a deep breath and preparing for the worst.
They had no idea what kind of pending doom that awaited them inside...
XXXXX
After One deep breath and the mutual signal to take action, Yusei and Akarii kicked the door in together.
Busting inside with their duel disks blazing, only to find Kalin standing over the beaten body of a security, defeated.
"Kalin..." Yusei was shaken at the sight.
"Oh...it's you, Yusei..." Kalin blinked before shifting his gaze to the girl the ash haired male brought along with him. "And you brought Akarii too, I see..."
"Kalin...what are you doing?" asked Yusei, as he tried to make sense of the situation.
"Well what does it look like!?" Kalin laughed,"You know...I've come to realize something...if we can beat securities...then we really will have conquered all of Satellite...wouldn't you agree!?" he laughed holding out his arms,"What do you think!? You guys should join me...what do you say!?" he beamed,"Let's take these guys on!" he darted his eyes back and forth between the two of them a couple times before finally settling on Akarii and pulling her toward him,"Akarii what do you think!?"
"Wh-What?"
"I said some pretty horrible things to you before...I'm sorry about that." he said softly," You're no wannabe...infact, you are easily one of the best duelists out there- and I know you got some pent up unfinished bussiness with securities too." he paused and gave the girl a smirk,"What do you think? Wouldn't you like to make them suffer a little for what they did to you?" he asked "For taking Kai away with no rightful good reason!?"
"Kai...stole..."
"So he found a couple cards lying around... I'd hardly call that stealing!" said Kalin,"If anything he had every right to keep them or give them away however he pleased, whatever happened to finders, keepers?" said Kalin,"The one thing he was guilty of stealing, was food and supplies to ensure you were taken care of...would you call that fair?"
"No..."
Kalin's words made her shiver.
She remembered the day Kai was arrested... forced to look back on those memories of the whole ordeal.
She remembered hearing him running...but he wasn't allowed.
He had told the girl to hide, and made sure the boys with her kept her head low until he finished. He had stolen food...the shelter they inhabited was low...his little sister was already so small...
He couldn't stand to watch her wither away behind such a bright smile.
They had already lost their family a long time ago...though Akarii was far too little to remember when it happened. She never even got to meet her parents like Kai did. He was only 10 when it happened... and she was still a baby. It was just Kai and her for some years...he did whatever he could to ensure they made it...
To make sure she made it...
And he was repaid but being shoved into the asphalt...covered in soot..forced into cuffs.
She remembered his eyes, looking at where they hid.
The child wanted to scream but the boys all kept her mouth cupped in silence...all she could muster was a few tears in her widened Amber eyes. Eyes that matched his own...as he flashed her a final grin...
"I'll come back to you soon Akarii...I promise... "
XXXXX
"Of course, it's not!" said Kalin, forcing the girl back into the present when she dwelled on the past too long.
"When you opened up and told me about Kai I really felt our connection as friends," he said to her, " I felt that we had finally really started to bond, you and me." he said," And we became family!" he declared, "I admired your brother for every sacrifice he was willing to make for you...I understand Akarii." He pulled the girl in against him in a gentle hug, this was closer to the touch of the Kalin she came to know...
The gentle embrace of this person...
She began to see as her brother...who understood.
Before all that followed...
"Fight with me, Akarii..."
His embrace was warm and welcoming, and his words wrung as heavy truths in her ears.
She wanted to give in...to join him...she almost did, until...
"NO!" Yusei pulled her away from Kalin before she could return his embrace, placing a firm hold on the girl, holding her back into her senses.
"You're not thinking straight, Kalin!" said Yusei,"And you shouldn't manipulate Akarii into your current twisted way of thinking!" he said,"We can't expect to win against all of them!"
It seemed the commotion was drawing the Securities' attention.
"Uh oh...there's a number of them coming this way!" said Yusei,"We should head to the hide out...Akarii and Kalin, Go!" he snapped," I'll be right behind you once I gather up Jack and Crow."
"Tch." Kalin wasn't thrilled but it seemed he hadn't lost all of his sanity yet, as he quickly gripped her wrist and dragged her along running back to their hide out.
To Be Continued
