[Fanfiction] Yu-Gi-Oh! Oracle

[~Faytl~]

Blame Zai.

Feedback, comments, criticisms all welcome.

[spoiler=Yu-Gi-Oh! Oracle- Chapter 1: Crater]

Sunlight played over the dingy brown brick of the Upper Quarter of Crater City, the morning dawning with the sun peeking over the fortified iron walls. The silhouettes of the wall guards bobbed across the rooftops, pausing every minute to gaze out at the frozen tundra beyond. The featureless plane they saw was just as quiet as always.

Yuichi was lying in his lumpy bed, staring at the dim ceiling with an emerald gaze. His scarlet hair was messy from sleep, not in its usual asymmetrical spikes, the blue lines that traced through it tousled out of alignment. His thin arms were crossed behind his head, his body ramrod-straight. His pale face was expressionless, only the odd blink moving it.

He had been awake like this for almost twenty minutes now. Since he woke facing the picture on his desk. His face had dulled as he turned away from it, lost in the image of the woman upon it. A smaller lady, in a military uniform, one with a dark red hair and eyes the color of his own.

A harsh beam of light lanced into his vision, and he squinted instinctively, pulling away from the grate-covered window. He glanced back through it, seeing that the sun's glow had illuminated the lower area of Crater. That it had illuminated the gleaming metal that lay down there, the tall buildings that even from their lower altitude almost poked up to be level with his home. The sun blazed off the shining surfaces into Yuichi’s eyes.

A few seconds passed. Yuichi kept looking down at the center of Crater, until his eyes began to narrow. He turned, kicking at a stray shoe as he stomped into the bathroom, hoping the cold water that no doubt awaited him would be more welcome than that sight.
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Two hours later, the city was considerably busier than it had been when Yuichi woke up. People bustled through the city streets hurriedly, drawing their coats around them as they shivered in the cold that constantly pervaded Crater. The narrow ways of the fifth ring were crowded even more by the soldiers, standing stock-still in their crisp navy uniforms, arms behind their backs as they ran their eyes over the citizens, all of whom avoided their eyes diligently.

Yuichi squeezed through a small gap, drawing his blue coat around him as he shivered. He ducked down to avoid the elbow of a passerby, grumbling about how difficult it was to be as short as he was.

“Yuichi! Hey!” He stopped, looking around for the source of the voice. He didn’t have to look very far.

A thin, sprightly girl with short dark hair ducked out from a nearby doorway, drawing her red scarf around her neck as she fell in next to him, drawing her black coat around her with a shudder as she bumped up against his shoulder. “What’s up?” she asked, fog billowing up from her mouth.

Yuichi grinned at the sight of her. “Hey, Houki. Just on my way to enlist.”

“Again?” Houki asked, disbelief and tiredness in her voice. “You were just there the day before yesterday, weren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Yuichi admitted, shrugging. “But my mum always told me you only got anywhere in life by being belligerent!” He grinned wide, hastening his pace.

“Well, you’ve certainly got her beat there,” Houki sighed, hastening to catch up. “Seriously, though, Yuichi, if you keep trying to enlist like this the only place you’ll go is to jail.” She looked nervously back at a group of guards who were following them with narrowed eyes. “You’ve been thrown out of there twice already.”

“They have to accept me sometime, Houki!” he exclaimed, turning and spreading his arms in a defeated gesture as he shouted over the bustle of the crowd. “I’m of the legal age, I’m just over the minimum height required, all I need to do is get at the Duel Test section and I’m set!”
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“I don’t get it,” Yuichi stated with disbelief for the fourth time in the last minute. “What the hell grounds do you have for rejecting me? I fill every quota-”

“You barely reach the height requirement,” the orderly drawled from behind his desk.

“Whatever, man, I’m still growing,” Yuichi shot back, waving a hand dismissively as he paced back and forth in front of the desk. “I still fit it, don’t I?”

“Yep,” the orderly replied noncommittally, perusing through his newspaper, the image of Mayor Jones’ face imposed upon the front page.

“And I’m sixteen, right? The age where people are allowed to enlist?”

“Yep.”

“And I have a full deck that meets all the requirements to enter the Duel Test section?” Yuichi went on pointedly, leaning over the desk and tapping a finger on its surface.

“Yep,” said the orderly, clearly not listening.

“Then I can enlist!” Yuichi exclaimed triumphantly, standing up straight and placing his hands on his hips proudly.

“Nope,” the orderly replied lazily.

“What do you want from me?!?” Yuichi yelled, smacking his hands on the desk multiple times. The orderly glanced up at the pair of soldiers at the front door as Yuichi kept yelling at him, and they resignedly stepped forward, clamping a hand on each of his shoulders.

“What is this, Samehaya? Third time this month?” asked one of them as they pulled the struggling youth towards the door. “Get a clue already, kid, you aren’t cut out for it.”

“Screw you, Nakashima!” Yuichi yelled at him, his face twisted in anger. “I’ve beaten you in more duels than I can count!”

“Three,” Nakashima sighed, reaching out with a foot to push the door open, a wide-eyed Houki looking in.

“Yuichi!” she yelled in surprise as the soldiers tossed him outside, the boy landing with a grunt on the snowy ground, whipping up and around to growl at the two men who stood in the doorway, unimpressed. “Are you okay?” she asked, brushing snow off his coat.

“Ah, Kobayashi, eh?” Nakashima’s face split into a sly grin as he leaned against the doorframe, his companion doing likewise. “When you gonna ditch that little freak and hang around here more often, eh?”

“Kiss my ass, Nakashima,” she spat by way of reply, pulling Yuichi to his feet.

“Be glad to,” he replied flippantly, his buddy snickering as they slammed the door, Yuichi pelting into it and pounding on it with a gloved fist.

“Let me in there, you pricks!” he shouted, voice echoing down the street, people turning their heads with wide eyes. Houki tugged on Yuichi’s coat, looking around worriedly.

“Yuichi,” she hissed under her breath. “Come on, we have to go!”

“I’m not leaving until they let me in, goddamn it!” he yelled, punching the iron door again with a loud slam. “They can’t keep doing this to me!”

“Yuichi!” Houki snapped, whipping her head around to look down the street. A group of soldiers were peering over at them, the tallest one at their head pointing at Yuichi and gesturing for the others to follow. “Come on, we can’t stay here! They’re gonna throw you in lockdown if you keep this up!” She pointed at the soldiers, who had started to walk their way. “Look!”
Yuichi turned to glare at the approaching soldiers, fire in his eyes. Houki sighed, leaning in and hissing in his ear, “Your dad is gonna have to come get you out of lockup, you know that, right? You wanna do that to him?”

Yuichi faltered for a second, biting his lip as he looked between the doorway and the encroaching soldiers. The leader held up his duel disk, calling out “Hey, you kids!” Yuichi snarled with frustration, turning and bolting off down the street, Houki running after him as the soldiers gave chase.
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“You don’t even like the army,” Houki complained as they trudged down a side street, gasping for breath from their fleeing. “You’re just like your mom, you know that? Those guys are all a******s, alright?”

Yuichi didn’t answer. He had pulled his dark green scarf up around his face, and was glaring at the brick wall he was passing, avoiding looking over at Houki. She waited for a few seconds for him to speak, before sighing and sliding closer to him, placing an arm around him and hugging him to her as they trod through the street.

“Hey,” she said consolingly, rubbing his opposite arm. “It’s okay, alright? Your mum would be proud of you.”

Yuichi didn’t respond. Houki took a deep breath, gazing up into the sky, and the clouds that were starting to cover up the harsh blue above. “Looks like it’ll be the first heavy snow of the season tonight, you think?” she asked, trying to inject some cheer into her voice.

“Sure does,” a lazy voice drawled. Houki jumped as a soldier, tall and gaunt with sleek dark green hair stepped out from the exit of the side street, his Crater badge of the patrolman glinting on his chest. “Looks like it’ll be a chilly night. Maybe you kids should run along home, eh?”

Yuichi leered up at the guard as Houki took a step back nervously. “We’re just heading there now,” she said solidly, striding forward to breeze past the guard. He clucked his tongue disapprovingly, throwing an arm out to bar her exit from the street.

“Now now, young lady,” he chastised, tone patronizing even though he clearly wasn’t much more than a year older than either of them. “You know that’s not how it works, right?” He held out a hand, beckoning to her as several other guards poked their heads into view, grinning slyly. “After all, we can’t be expected to keep you poor citizens safe from the Atlas menace without powerful cards in our decks, right?”

“We don’t have any,” Yuichi said shortly, hands buried in his pockets as he tried to pry his way past.

“Really?” the soldier asked, reaching out and lightly pushing Yuichi back by the shoulder. Yuichi jerked away from him, eyes aflame. “I don’t think that’s quite right… Everyone in Crater knows to always carry some of their cards on them. Even little punks like you.”

Yuichi’s eyes flamed up in indignation. Houki quickly stepped forward, waving a hand to grab the boy’s attention. “It’s okay… I have one from each of us!” she said quickly, brandishing two cards and holding them out to the soldier.

He eyed Yuichi distrustfully before reaching out and snatching the cards from Houki’s hand, taking a cursory look at them. Eventually he shrugged. “Good enough, I suppose,” he said carelessly, pocketing the cards. “Move along… and make sure your friend is better prepared next time.”

“He will be,” Houki promised, walking past the boy, her face turning into an exasperated grimace the second she was out of his sight. Yuichi stomped after her, his boots making a crunching impact on the ground as Houki fell in next to him, hissing at him under her breath.

“You IDIOT, Yuichi. You have to stop that… You owe me a card for that, back there, alright? Why don’t you have your spares on you?”

“Because I don’t want those a******s to have them!” Yuichi exploded, rounding on Houki, whose eyes ballooned in horror. “Why do they deserve anything from us, especially our cards? They’re supposed to protect us, they just use us as their damn slaves! They’re not what being a soldier is about!”

“Is that right?” came the dangerous voice of the lead soldier. Houki and Yuichi turned to see the gaggle of soldiers, six in number, all in a cluster at the end of the street, all leering at Yuichi with a predatory gaze. Their leader stepped forward, rolling his neck and cracking it audibly.

“You think we aren’t proper soldiers, kid?” he asked, words barbed underneath his lazy tone.

Yuichi opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by one of the other soldiers. “The kid doesn’t know what he’s on about, I guess, eh, Taro?” His tone was joking, but without the venom that his compatriot had shown earlier. “Kids these days… I’ll take care of this for you, you guys head back to base. No reason to trouble yourself, eh?”

Taro narrowed his black eyes, glaring at the tall blonde soldier who had spoken up. “That’s Corporal Tameyo to you, Private Jones, and don’t forget it-”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” the subordinate agreed, nodding profusely as he strode forward, shepherding Yuichi and Houki further down the street. “Corporal Tameyo, right-o. I’ll meet you guys at base later, alright? Don’t worry, I’ll set these guys straight.”

Taro narrowed his eyes as the blonde soldier lead the two away, further down the street and around a corner. When they were out of sight, the soldier came to a halt, turning and bending down from his considerable height and giving Yuichi and Houki comforting pats on the shoulder. “Hey, Yuichi,” he said, smiling brightly. “What’s up with you today, eh?”

Houki sighed with relief, clapping a hand on blue coat the soldier wore. “Thank you, Balthy, for that back there. Thank god you were in that group.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say that.” Balthazar Jones straightened up, peering around the corner watchfully, his blue eyes questing about for his superior. “That Taro is one rough son of a b****, I gotta tell you. I think my dad reckons he’ll be a good influence on me or something.” He shrugged. “He’s making my work a lot harder than it needs to be, I gotta tell ya.”

“I could tell,” Houki sighed. She gestured to Yuichi. “He tried to enlist again today.”

“And they denied him again?” Houki nodded. Balthy looked down at Yuichi, a cajoling smile on his bright face. “Come on, Yuichi… I don’t know what the Enlistment Office has against you, but they aren’t gonna let you in. You’d hate it anyway... “ He sighed, leaning against the wall. “It’s getting tough for me to protect everyone from Taro,” he admitted. “That guy is concerned with his status, and not about doing the job his status comes from. And most everybody else is like him.”

“I wouldn’t be,” Yuichi spat, kicking at the ground.

Balthy shrugged. “Yeah. You wouldn’t. But you’re not a general’s brat like me. I can get by making waves, you won’t. Even with who your mum was.”

Yuichi looked despondently down at the ground. “I hate them,” he said quietly. “I hate them all. Why do we even need them, anyway? Atlas forces haven’t been anywhere near Crater for the last year.”

“Believe me, I hate them too.” Balthy clapped Yuichi on the shoulder. “Not everyone in the world is as selfless as your mum was, pal. I wish they would be, though. She was a classy lady.”
Yuichi couldn’t help but give a small hint of a smile. “Yeah… She really was, wasn’t she?”

“Mmhm,” Balthy agreed. “Better than these rat bastards we have now.” Yuichi chuckled, Houki grinning widely as Balthy joined in the laughter.

“Rat bastards, eh? Interesting, Jones.” Balthy stiffened, Yuichi and Houki gazing up to see Taro standing atop the roof of the building. “You have a funny way of taking care of things.”

“Eh-heh,” Balthy wheezed weakly as Taro jumped down onto the fire escape, striding down the metal stairs with purpose. “Taro, hey. You know, they’re just kids and all, I thought, you know, let them off the hook, I mean, I know these guys, and-”

“Do you? Then you have a conflict of interest that prevents you from carrying out your duties. Remove yourself.”

Balthy frowned. “You may be my superior, Taro, but don’t think I ain’t gonna take this higher, alright?”

Taro rolled his eyes. “Sure, go cry to daddy, Jones. Gentlemen, show Jones why being so lenient is ill-advised.”

At Taro’s command, the remaining soldiers scrambled out from an alleyway, all running at the three. Balthy raised his hands in a futile gesture of surrender, receiving only a punch to the gut for his trouble as he was shoved up against a wall.

“Houki!” Yuichi yelled, turning to run down the street only to have one of the soldiers there to block his way, scowling down at him as Houki was cut off herself, the brawny man grabbing her by the back of her coat and holding her fast in a big, meaty hand.

“Let me go!” she yelled, struggling to twist free. The soldier yanked on her coattail, pulling her close enough to keep her held by his burly arms in a bear hug. Yuichi was the only one still standing, surrounded by Taro’s goons.

“You should respect us a bit more,” Taro stated, pacing around Yuichi in a circle. “We protect you from the Atlas menace that seeks to knock down our walls even now. But we’re bastards, apparently…” He gestured to Balthy, who was wheezing on the ground, two of the goons administering a swift kick if he tried to get up. “People like you are generating bad eggs even in the system, like poor Balthazar here. Keep that in mind from now on if you don’t want us to take more than just a few cards, civilian.”

He began to turn, but stopped as he caught a glimpse of Yuichi standing there, fist balled, rage in his face. He turned back, frowning as he took in the boy properly, actually looking at him and processing him for the first time.

“That coat,” he said suddenly, pointing at Yuichi. “That’s an officer’s coat. Why do you have it?”

Yuichi blinked, surprised. “I, uh... “

“Not too disenchanted with us to steal our uniforms and wear them yourself, are you?” asked Taro angrily, pushing Yuichi to the ground.
“Taro,” Balthy grunted from his spot on the ground. “You don’t understand, it belonged to his m-”

“Shut it, Jones!” Taro interrupted, kicking at Yuichi as he reached to his wrist. “This kid needs to learn a lesson about stealing from us, I think.” He held up his hand, which held the standard Crater Brigade Duel Glove, a long black fingerless glove with a green gem inset into the back of his hand. There was now a deck inserted into the top wrist compartment.

Balthy and Houki paled. Balthy called out out in alarm. “Taro, hey, cut it out! You can’t duel him with the Solid Vision on! These things are primed for the battlefield!”

“Good,” Taro drawled, clenching his fist, the green gem lighting up and the number 4000 flickering across it. “Maybe he’ll learn how hard it is for us to protect his ungrateful ass.” He sneered down at Yuichi, who had pulled himself onto his knees. “Come on, kiddo… You feel so much better than us, why don’t you show us?”

Yuichi pulled himself to his feet, coughing as he massaged the spot Taro had kicked him. He brushed his bedraggled red hair out of his eyes, glaring up at Taro. The older boy took a step back at the fire in his eyes, eyebrows raised in slight surprise.

“You’ve never protected any of us,” he said, pulling a Duel Glove from inside his own jacket. This one was a dark red, with a blue gem inlaid in the palm. Black lines traced across the surface of the glove, congregating around the gem.

“An officer’s glove?” Taro asked in surprise, his eyes flicking over the black lines, then back to Yuichi. “Just who are you, kid?”

Yuichi pulled the glove on before reaching to his belt, pulling his deck free and sliding it into the wrist compartment underneath his coat sleeve. “My name is Samehaya Yuichi! And I’d be a better soldier than you any day!”

“Samehaya…” Taro narrowed his eyes. “So… you’re Samehaya Sachi’s son!?”

“Samehaya?” asked one of the soldiers, looking with wide eyes to his companions. “Colonel Samehaya? No way!”

“What can I say, lads?” groaned Balthy, holding up a hand to gesticulate triumphantly. “I tried to tell you, didn’t I?”

“Shut up, Jones!” Taro barked at him, holding up his Gloved hand. “I don’t care who’s kid he is… he’s still clueless about what it takes to be a real soldier!”

Yuichi snarled. “No… My mum taught me that being a soldier means you strive for peace! But you guys don’t do that…” He swept an arm out, indicating the area around him, Crater in general. “This whole city is cooped up by you guys, all because you love having a reason to be in charge!”

His eyes welled up with tears at his next statement. “Before my mom… before the Battle of Avalanche Wall… she told me this.” He angrily raised an arm to his face, rubbing his eyes before looking back at Taro, fists clenched. “She told me this whole stupid army was full of nothing but politicians and bullies… Who had lost the will to do what an army is supposed to do… To fight for peace. And that she joined to change that!”

“Yuichi…” Houki whispered under her breath. Images flickered through her head: Her clothes black, sleeve wet from the tears that had fallen onto it. Yuichi, stood stone-faced beside his dad, not even seeming to register the coffin beside him, draped with the flag of Crater as Father Jeremiah spoke the eulogy. “So that’s why, all this time…?” she asked, mostly to herself.

He pointed at Taro, face ablaze. “So that’s what I’ll do too!” he shouted triumphantly. “I’ll kick your ass, and show those Enlistment Department pricks that I’ve got what it takes to fight! I’ll fight the Atlas, and I’ll fight people like you!” he shouted.

Taro scoffed. “Please. What will that accomplish? You think fighting from the inside will defeat the Atlas, you little idiot? Try changing anything when they sweep in here and lay waste to the entire military you want to undermine!” He sneered. “Will you have your precious peace then?”

“Maybe I will!” Taro took a step back, alarm splashed across his face. “Maybe if the Atlas knocked down the walls and took over Crater… At least the fighting would stop!”

Taro scowled. “You’re a damn Atlas sympathizer, aren’t you?” he asked, holding up his arm. “If you think you come anywhere close to the fighting power of the Crater Brigade, then come at me, you little runt!”

Yuichi held up his own arm. The gem on his palm pulsed with a sapphire glow, the black lines glowing with an inlaid blue as a faint sphere of blue light spread out in a sphere from his hand, encompassing both him and Taro before disappearing. Taro sneered as a much brighter green sphere did the same from his own hand.

“Solid Vision matrix online,” chipped a robotic voice from the gloves. On the boys’ wrist, a beam of light formed, moving several inches out from their wrists before halting, blue for Yuichi, white for Taro. With a sudden whoosh of noise, the beams swept out to the side along their arms, forming a platform of solid light, a black surface forming over it and running over with rainbow-colored circuitry.

The two reached for their decks, each pulling free five cards as they stared each other down. Then, with gusto, they shouted simultaneously:

“DUEL!”
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The red-haired woman at the computer console squinted at the screen in front of her, the circular array on the screen suddenly broken and misshapen. She leaned back in her chair, peering back at the large group of smaller consoles behind her, her green eyes seeking out one in particular.

“Jonas,” she called, gesturing to her screen. “You seeing this?”

The bespectacled man at the far left of the computer queue looked at his own screen, pulling a window that showcased the same disjointed circle into his view. “Yeah, one of the Oracles is out of alignment… So what? It’s just a few feet.”

“It’s not just the Oracle,” she responded, typing furiously. “It’s energy matrix is extending out as well.”

Jonas blinked in surprise. “Is it trying to escape? By itself?”

“I don’t know,” she replied absently, flicking between various windows, data flying across the screen. Her face was calm, but her hands flew over the keyboard with a frantic pace. “They’ve never moved out as anything less than a group before… Get me visual!” she called out.

“Yes, General!” A new window appeared on her screen, of a glowing cylinder of golden light, hovering in the air atop a great gleaming metallic spire. One side of it was bulged out oddly, misshapen. The General narrowed her eyes.

“Get the advance troops up there, I think they’re going to strike-” The footage flared in bright green light, blanking out the video briefly before it cut out altogether, a mess of static. “All troops to the Spire!” she yelled, rocketing out of her chair, pulling on an officer’s Duel Glove inlaid with a blue gem in its purple surface. “I need every able body up there to head them off!” she hollered as she ran towards the door, the two dozen techies surrounding her in a panic, running to and from various terminals as some tried to reestablish visual, some trying to tighten up cylinder defenses. She ignored them. Jonas fell in with her, nervously pulling on his own Duel Glove.

“Why is one of them coming out by itself?” he asked anxiously. “They have to know we can repel them in multiples by now, why would they risk a lone soldier?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Their energy matrix isn’t an overly powerful one, either… They can’t expect it to break free on it’s own?”

She came to a metal doorway, holding up the gem in her Duel Glove to the panel next to it. The door beeped, sliding open to reveal a catwalk high in the air, overlooking the Spire and the glowing cylinder as the howling wind this altitude held came billowing at them. A ball of green light the size of a small car was ricocheting around the barrier of blue light that encased the entire array.

“The secondary shield held,”Jonas breathed with relief, brushing his disheveled brown hair out of his view. His companion was not placated.

“It’ll break through that quickly enough,” she said simply, pulling a card from her deck. “The primary shield has the brunt of the defenses; The size of the secondary makes it much weaker.” She tossed the card onto her Duel Disk blade as it materialized in a shower of violet light, and the air around her and Jonas darkened as a giant mass appeared in the air above them, two giant vines shooting forth from the figure at the green light.

“Jonas, contain it!” she yelled. Jonas went to activate his own glove, but the sphere of light spiraled away from the vines, screaming at him as the image of a nightmarish, devil-like face materialized upon it, shrieking loudly.

Jonas gasped in horror and fright, falling onto the catwalk and slipping off the narrow grating that it was constructed of. The General swore, diving to the catwalk and grabbing onto his hand as it slipped off, grunting as she tried to pull the larger man up onto the catwalk with her.

“Dammit…” she hissed as she caught a glimpse of the ball of light veer away, streaking at the shield. It slammed against it, and the light flickered and went out. The ball of light screamed triumphantly, blasting off into the blue sky. She gritted her teeth, hauling Jonas onto the catwalk, where he hurriedly scrambled to the door, falling against it and gasping for breath.

“It… it got away…” he gasped, struggling for breath. “It… It’s my fault-”

“No it’s not, Jonas.” The General sighed, standing up and gazing out at the rapidly dwindling dot of light. “It caught us by surprise, is all. We’ll just… have to track it down.”

“But where’s it going?”

“It’s heading northeast.” The pair jumped as the doors behind them slid open, revealing a tall, dignified looking man with dark skin and graying hair. He was old, but he held himself upright with the air of a man thirty years his senior, the medals on his pristine jacket shining brightly and nearly blinding the pair in the harsh sunlight. He strode up to the woman, nodding thoughtfully. “Northeast, by the look of it.”

“Commander… Forgive us, please,” she said sorrowfully, bowing her head. “We tried our best to contain the Oracle-”
“Yes, I know,” he said placatingly, patting her arm firmly. “But the fact remains that we have an Oracle headed towards our lone bastion of defense in this war.”

She stiffened. “Wait… northeast is-”

“Yes,” he mused quietly. “It seems we’ll have to make sure that Crater is secure…” he looked up into her eyes, an amused smile playing across his lips. “Won’t we… General Samehaya?”

 

[~Faytl~]

Chapter 2 incoming! After a good while, because I can't be consice. How do people write chapters you can read in five minutes? I know not how.

 

[spoiler=Yu-Gi-Oh! Oracle - Chapter 2: Duel]

 

Yuichi (4000) vs Taro (4000)

 

“Duel!”

 

“I’ll allow you to take the first move, kid,” Taro called down the street to where Yuichi stood, his heavy, nervous breathing fogging in the air. “You clearly need it, with a Matrix that weak.”

 

“What’s he mean by that?” asked Houki. She had been forced down onto the snowy ground, back up against the wall beside Balthy, who was still rubbing at his stomach and breathing funny.

 

“You saw the Matrix,” Balthy explained, sounding pained. “The field that enables all Solid Vision… Taro’s Duel Glove is field-issue, and calibrated for actual battle.” He looked over at Yuichi, who was looking down at his Duel Glove with a tense expression. “Yuichi wouldn’t be allowed to have his mother’s Officer’s Glove unless its Matrix was weakened to civilian-issue level.”

 

“Yeah,” Houki said, nodding. “Whenever we duel, even though his Glove is a military one, it never hurts anybody.”

 

“Taro’s can,” Balthy explained grimly. “Which means Yuichi better start worrying about taking any damage.” Houki looked over at Yuichi, brow furrowed in concern.

 

Be careful… You idiot, she thought fervently.

 

Yuichi grit his teeth as Taro chuckled at him, reaching for his cards. “I summon Spellweaver Mage! Attack Mode!”

 

“Attack mode?!?” Balthy asked in horror as a shape began to materialize on Yuichi’s side of the street. A tall figure entrenched in a cloak of dark scarlet, a hood was lowered to reveal eyes of glowing blue, the same misty light hovering around the monster’s hands. A metal bandolier was around the monster’s chest, with a large circular piece over the heart, hollowed out and empty.

 

Spellweaver Mage
Level 4, Spellcaster, LIGHT
1500/1200

 

“Why is he summoning a monster like that in attack mode?” Balthy asked under his breath. “He has to know Taro has access to military-grade cards! Much stronger than that one!”

 

“Balthy,” Houki interrupted. “Can you please shut up.” It wasn’t a request. Balthy sighed in worry as Houki watched on, hands balled into fists on her knees.

 

“Attack mode, eh?” asked Taro, laughing. “What are you trying to prove, using a weak monster like that?”

 

“Spellweaver Mage’s effect!” Yuichi declared. “I discard a Magic card, and I get to draw a new card to replace it!”

 

“A-ha!” Taro exclaimed with mock shock as Yuichi slid his card into the rectangular slot on the front side of his wrist, inside his coat sleeve. “You get to draw a new card! That explains your daring strategy!”

 

“My turn’s over!” Yuichi yelled, raising a hand and grinning fiercely as he crooked a finger at Taro. “You think my monster’s so weak, come and get it!”

 

“He’s lost it,” Balthy moaned, putting his head in his hands.

 

“He’ll be fine!” Houki protested, without much conviction. You moron, Yuichi, she thought, seeing the fire in his eyes even from here. You’re going to get hurt like this… This is a real duel with more than just your pride on the line… She bowed her head. Please be careful.

 

“Heh.” Taro smirked. “Pathetic. Draw!” He only briefly looked at his hand before he played a card. “I summon Ironpelt Tigroar! Attack Mode!”

 

With a loud roar that shook the windows on the street around them, Taro’s monster appeared. A colossal tiger, striped fur made of glistening metal, and predatory glinting eyes of yellow. The beast crouched, gowling, as it paced around the small street the boys were dueling in, Yuichi sweating as he warily eyed the beast.

 

Ironpelt Tigroar
Level 4, EARTH, Beast
1800/700

 

“You should have left a weak monster like that in defense mode,” Taro sneered. “Now, feel the strength of a military-grade Matrix! Battle! Ironpelt Tigroar attacks Spellweaver Mage!”

 

The tiger pounced, unsheathing serrated claws as it leapt onto Spellweaver, who fell to the ground as the tiger roared down into its face with a deafening cry. Yuichi’s monster vaporized into shards of light as the blue gem inlaid on his Duel Glove flashed briefly.

 

And then small white sparks blossomed into life in the air around Yuichi, leaping out and dancing over his body from the area the sphere of light had occupied before. Yuichi spasmed wildly, shock and pain painted across his face as he grit his teeth, trying not to cry out.

 

Yuichi: 4000 > 3700

 

“Not bad,” Taro commented as the sparks dissipated, Yuichi slumping noticeably as he gasped for breath, hands to his chest. “Let’s see how you take another, civilian!”

 

“Heh?” asked Yuichi, disoriented.

 

“Ironpelt Tigroar’s effect activates!” Taro declared as his monster slunk towards Yuichi, licking its jowls like the predator it was. “When this card destroys an opponent’s monster in battle, they take 300 points of damage!” The tiger opened its mouth, releasing a savage roar that blew Yuichi back, digging in his heels to avoid being thrown off his feet, his coat snapping behind him in the strong wind as sparkes played along his body.

 

Yuichi: 3700 > 3400

 

Taro sneered as Yuichi’s legs wobbled, the boy straightening jerkily to stand upright again, breathing hard. “Go on,” he egged him. “Go ahead and say how terrible we are as soldiers.” He jerked a thumb up to point at himself. “I’ve been trained to duel through pain like this… It’s trivial for me. Six hundred points of damage and you’re already shaking like a leaf.”

Yuichi looked up at Taro, eyes glaring at him from behind the hair that had fallen into his eyes. Taro smirked. “Please, kid. That tough act won’t work on me anymore.” He reached into his hand, pulling out two cards. “You can’t even have the common sense to defend your weak monster with face-down cards… like these.” He took the cards, placing them on the end of the glowing blade that was his dueling platform right in front of his wrist, face-down. “I’ll set these and end my turn. Just try and fight back against this, kid.”

 

Yuichi tried to collect himself, but his brain was everywhere. The Tigroar, the two set cards that briefly appeared in his vision before fading away, the weaker monsters in his hand that couldn’t stand against Taro. Nothing in the duel was sticking in his head. There was only the anger, the fierce indignation.

 

“Yuichi!” Houki yelled out to him. “Snap out of it!” He had been standing there for nearly thirty seconds now, a frenetic look of anger and panic on his face. “He’s getting into his head,” she muttered, watching with concern.

 

“Take your turn, kid,” Taro drawled, smirking. “Unless you want to surrender now?”

 

That prompted action from Yuichi. He leered at Taro, reaching for his Glove. “Draw!” he yelled, looking at the card with a jittery gaze. Yes! He thought fervently. With this I can destroy his monster!

 

“Spellblade Mage, attack mode!” he yelled, tossing the card onto the duel blade. His new monster materialized on the field, tall and lean, wrapped closely in a dark blue cloak. He lowered his gloved hand as a sword of wavering purple light burst into being within his grasp, his pointed hat swaying in the breeze as he squared off against Taro and his beast.

 

Spellblade Mage
Level 4, LIGHT, Spellcaster
1600/1000

 

Taro curled his lip in distaste. “Barely stronger than your last one.” He shrugged. “If this is the best you’ve got, then I wouldn’t bother trying-”

 

“Spellblade attacks Ironpelt!”

 

“Eh?” asked Taro, surprised as the sword of gleaming light flared up, elongating to almost twice the height of the monster wielding it, Spellblade leaping forward.

 

“When Spellblade Mage attacks a Level 4 or lower monster,” Yuichi explained, “It’s attack power increases by half the attack points of your monster!”

 

“That means it has 2500 attack points!” Houki exclaimed, happiness across her face. Balthy had an entirely different reaction.

 

“Yuichi!” he yelled, jerking forward in alarm. “Watch out!”

 

“Too late! Trap card activate!” Taro lowered his hand to his wrist, where two glowing circles the size of small coins floated stationary in the air, pressing a finger against one of them, the contact turning the disc pure shining white. “Tiger Trench!”

 

What?! Thought Yuichi. I forgot about his Trap cards!

 

As Taro’s card revealed itself, a blast of explosive energy formed a deep furrow in the ground, a trench that led straight towards Yuichi, his coattails flying out behind him from the force of the blast. The sword of Spellblade whiffed over the head of Taro’s monster as it dove into the trench, running along its surface.

 

“Tiger Trench prevents my monster from being destroyed by battle this turn!” Taro yelled across the battleground to Yuichi. “It also inflicts 400 damage every time it battles!”

 

Yuichi growled under his breath. “You still take battle damage!” he yelled, crossing his arms in front of his face and wincing as Ironpelt rose from the trench, roaring loudly and sending him skidding back across the street. Taro raised his arm in the air, grunting as the sword struck the blade of his Duel Glove with a shower of sparks.

 

Yuichi: 3400 > 3000

Taro: 4000 > 3300

 

Yuichi let out a long, drawn-out grunt of pain as the sparks played over his body once again. Sparks laced across Taro’s as well, but they were smaller, not nearly as much snap and spark to them as the ones affecting Yuichi. He stood easily, smirking.

“As I thought; Civilian-issue Matrix,” he drawled over Yuichi’s gasps for breath. “Your officer’s Glove doesn’t mean sheet.” The sword of Spellblade Magician began to shrink as it returned to Yuichi’s side of the field, and Taro raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So Spellblade Magician’s effects only last until the end of the Battle Phase? Too bad for you, kid.”

 

Yuichi looked down at his hand blearily. I can’t use this card yet, he thought, shaking hand reaching for the Trap. But if I play it face-down… Maybe he’ll think I can!

 

“I play a card face-down!” he yelled, setting the card on the duel blade. “My turn… is over.”

 

“Draw!” Taro proclaimed, his eye straying to his other set card, then to the air in front of him as he raised a hand, gesturing in a scrolling motion as cards appeared in the air in front of him, the first being Yuichi’s Spellweaver Mage and flicking down to another card.

 

He discarded Double Spell on his first turn, he contemplated to himself. His Spellweaver forces him to discard Magic cards, and he only just now set a card… His deck must be dependant on his Magic and Monster cards, which he’s holding in his hand. He smirked. Of course, he thinks I can’t attack his hand as well…

 

“Blazepelt Tigroar, attack mode!” A tiger covered in flames streaked into existence, giant jets of fire issuing from its mouth as it roared at Yuichi, the boy leaping out of the way of the flames instinctively, then blanching and stumbling to his knees as the sparks reappeared on his body.

 

Blazepelt Tigroar
Level 4, FIRE, Beast
1600/1300

 

“What the hell was that?!” demanded Yuichi as he saw his Life Points decreasing in the wake of the sparks.

Yuichi: 3000 > 2400

 

“Blazepelt Ursa can inflict 300 damage for every Tigroar monster on my field every turn,” Taro explained, lip curling smugly. “And don’t think you’re taking no more damage this turn… Spellblade Magician is the card you drew last turn, so that set card is clearly something that was useless to you on turn one, and is useless now!”

 

Yuichi’s face slipped into angry surprise for a second before he attempted to keep a neutral expression. Dammit, he thought furiously to himself. How did he know?! He eyed the floating circle over his Duel Glove that allowed his card to be activated. My set card is Crystal Veil… Which requires me to banish a LIGHT monster from my Graveyard. And I don’t have one!

 

“Reverse card, activate!” Yuchi was yanked back into reality as Taro’s final Trap flipped up. “The Continuous Trap Robbin’ Goblin forces you to discard a card from your hand every time I inflict battle damage!”

 

“My hand?!” asked Yuichi in dismay, looking down at the cards he was holding. No… I can’t afford that! I need options against this guy!

 

“Ironpelt Tigroar attacks Spellblade! And inflicts 300 damage when it destroys a monster!” Ironpelt Tiger roared once again, shattering Spellblade into a million pieces in a fiery explosion. Yuichi threw his hands up over his face as the backlash hit him, screaming in pain as he was driven down from one knee to both of them, palms on the ground, gasping.

 

Yuichi: 2400 > 2200 > 1900

 

“And you’ll lose a card from your hand thanks to Robbin’ Goblin, and another one when Blazepelt Ursa attacks!” Taro laughed condescendingly. “Your pathetic hand won’t be able to stand up to the power of Corporal Tameyo-”

 

He was cut off by the shards that had been Spellblade Mage suddenly accelerating, directly towards him. He gave out a surprised gasp as they struck him, a small explosion erupting as sparks played over his body.

 

Taro: 3300 > 2900

 

“What the hell?!” he demanded, coughing as the smoke cleared. “How did that happen?! What did you do?”

 

“Shrapnel Mage can be Special Summoned from my hand when a monster I control is destroyed,” Yuichi explained, gasping as the smoke cleared to reveal him and a new monster, a bulky mage with a bandolier loaded with scrap metal parts and a ragged gray robe. “It then inflicts 100 damage for every level my destroyed monster had!”

 

Shrapnel Mage
Level 4, DARK, Spellcaster
1000/1700

 

Balthy breathed a sigh of relief. “Well… Now Blazepelt Tigroar can’t attack Yuichi directly.”

 

“But he still loses the one card from his hand,” Houki reminded him, watching with worry as Yuichi grimaced, sending a card to his graveyard. “If he keeps losing cards like that, he’ll never beat Taro.”

 

“That’s Corporal Tameyo to you, goddamn it!” Taro snapped, whipping his head around to leer at Houki, who shied away from his glare. “You refer to me by my rank, else I may just duel you after I take care of this runt!” he yelled as he threw 2 cards onto his Duel Glove, the set cards appearing momentarily on his field. “Your move!”

 

“Houki!” Yuichi breathed worriedly, hurriedly reaching to his deck as he stood upright again. I have to end this, fast! Before he drags Houki into this any more! It’s my fault she’s here! As he drew his card, he cursed himself as he saw the glowing dot out of the corner of his eye. Dammit! I could have inflicted even more damage with Crystal Veil!

 

He drew his card, pulling it from his deck forcefully and swinging his arm out with the motion. He momentarily lost his balance, catching himself and breathing deeply as he placed a hand to his head, eyesight blurring.

 

Damn, he thought. I’m taking too much damage from the Matrix… Mum always said it was excruciating, but I didn’t think it could be this bad… Every part of my body hurts, I can’t think straight…

 

His hand slid down his face a little, and he caught sight of the card he was holding in it. His eyes widened, vision focusing on the card pressed up to his eye. This is it, he thought. This is how I turn things around!

 

“Equip Magic: Runegear Spellfist!” He slammed the card onto his Glove, and Shrapnel Mage raised a hand skyward as light coalesced around his clenched hand. The light faded to show a gleaming mechanized gauntlet that encased the hand, shining silver gears that clicked and whirred as they spun around the wrist, with intricate glowing orange runes tracing their way across in lateral patterns.

 

“Oh? Equip Magic?” asked Taro guardedly. “What does it do?” His eyes strayed towards his set card. No matter what it does, it’ll fall before the power of my Sakuretsu Armor!

“A Spellcaster-Type monster equipped with Runegear Spellfist gains 1000 attack points!” Yuichi explained, reaching to his Glove. “I switch Shrapnel Mage to attack mode! Attack Blazepelt Tigroar with 2000 attack points!”

 

Shrapnel Mage: 1000 > 2000

 

“I don’t think so!” Taro yelled triumphantly. “Reveal Sakuretsu Armor! You’re history, kid-”

 

“Runegear Spellfist’s effect activates!” Yuichi interrupted, Taro blanching as the Spellfist began to spark, the gears and runes spinning faster and faster as Shrapnel Mage sprang towards Taro’s revealed Trap. “When a Trap card is activated while the equipped monster attacks, I negate that card and return it to its owner’s deck!”

 

“What?!” Taro yelled in disbelief. “My deck?!” The Mage wound its fist back, punching solidly at the Trap and shattering the enlarged cards into shards of light that streamed through the air, forming a small comet-like trail that flowed into Taro’s deck. It then turned towards the growling, burning tiger that stood against it, blazing fur raised on its back. The Mage cocked an eyebrow, then swung its fist down on top of the beast’s head, the monster exploding in a shower of sparks that peppered Taro.

 

Taro: 2900 > 2500

 

“You little sheet…” Taro grunted, lowering the arms he had raised to protect himself from the backblast. “You think you’re real clever with your crappy little Equip Magic, eh?”

 

Yuichi allowed himself a fierce grin, trying not to reveal how close his wobbling legs were to giving out. “It somehow got me around the defenses of a Military-tier deck… I’d say it was, yeah!” He took a card from his hand, looking at it carefully. I can’t afford to lose this to his Robbin’ Goblin… “I set one card face-down!” he yelled. “And I end my turn!”

 

“You think this is the most my deck is capable of?!” Taro yelled furiously, red with rage. “Let me remind you of the kind of monsters that are reserved for military use! Draw!”

 

“Military use?!” asked Houki, blanching. “He isn’t going to-”

 

“Xyz Summon?” Balthy asked, eyes widening.

 

“Bladepelt Tigroar, appear now!” Taro slammed a card onto his duel disk, a new tiger covered in serrated knife blades that stuck from its back like a great predatory hedgehog.

Bladepelt Tigroar
Level 4, EARTH, Beast
1500/900

 

“Both his monsters are level 4…” Yuichi said to himself, suddenly looking nervous.

 

“That’s right,” Taro said savagely, gesturing to his two monsters. “It seems you all figured it out: I overlay my 2 Level 4 monsters and build an Overlay Network!”

 

Taro’s monsters dissolved into twin blobs of orange light, flying into the air and spiraling in a circle as a galaxy-like portal opened at Taro’s feet, the lights streaming into it and causing it to explode in a glaring light that caused Yuichi to raise his arm, shielding his eyes.

 

“Great denizen of the jungle battlefield,” Taro intoned as a giant figure emerged from the portal, a giant silhouette in the bright light. “Strike your hammer with the full force of your mighty roar, and prove yourself alpha! Xyz Summon!” The light faded, revealing a giant, bipedal tiger warrior that stood fifteen feet tall. It was festooned with leather and iron armor, including a giant pauldron of brass on its left shoulder from which a blood-red tattered cape hung. The black stripes on its burnt orange body seemed to move like flames, rippling across its fur, as the beast raised a giant clawed hand that wielded a massive warhammer with a sharp gleaming point on the opposite end.

 

“Crush all opposition,” Taro sneered, “Warpelt Tigroar!”

 

Warpelt Tigroar
Rank 4, Beast-Warrior, FIRE
2400/1000

 

“An Xyz Monster…” Yuichi whispered, shocked and wide-eyed at the great monster roared in challenge, two orbs of burning orange light orbiting the beast. Houki and Balthy watched with horror from the sidelines, while Taro’s flunkies expressed their approval, clapping and cheering him on.

 

“End of the line, kid,” Taro gloated. “Warpelt Tigroar attacks Shrapnel Mage!” The hulking beast strode forward, each step sending tremors across the street as it pulled its hammer back behind it to ready its strike.

 

Yuichi’s hand flew to his Glove, hitting the floating button. “I won’t let you! Trap card-”

 

“”Warpelt Tigroar prevents any Magic or Traps from working when it attacks,” Taro interrupted lazily, the tremors from Warpelt’s walk reaching Yuichi’s Trap and sending red sparks blazing across its surface. Taro had placed a hand on his side, leaning back casually, thoroughly back in the role of the easy superior. “Your Traps are useless! Destroy his monster!”

 

“What?!” asked Yuichi with shock, taken aback as Warpelt Tigroar swung its hammer, catching the much smaller Shrapnel Mage in the side and shattering it into millions of pieces. The hammer continued, streaking towards Yuichi as his eyes widened.

 

“Warpelt Tigroar’s effect activates: When it destroys a monster I detach one Overlay Unit: Take 1000 damage, Samehaya Yuichi!” One of the orange orbs intersected with the hammer just before it struck Yuichi full on, sending him hurtling through the air, screaming as he was thrown a dozen feet before hitting the ground, bouncing and tumbling roughly until he slid to a halt against the brick wall of a nearby hostel.

 

Yuichi: 1900 > 1500 > 500

 

“Yuichi!” Houki yelled desperately, catapulting to her feet and running towards him, tripping as one of Taro’s lackeys slashed at her ankle with a foot, knocking her off balance and onto the ground with a grunt of pain.

 

“Yuichi! Yuichi!” Balthy yelled in kind, struggling to stand and break through the other soldiers. “Taro!” he hollered, glaring between the crush of arms surrounding him at his superior. “This has gone too far! Stop the duel!”

 

“I’ll stop the duel when he’s learned how much my contributions to this city really mean!” Taro catcalled back as he pulled a card from his hand. “Activate Magic card, Tiger Tactics!” Warpelt raised its hammer, slamming it down on the ground. Yuichi didn’t move, but the two cards he had left in his hand flew up high into the air, bursting into flames and evaporating into nothingness. “Since I inflicted at least 1000 damage to you this turn, I force you to discard a card! And Robbin’ Goblin takes your other one, leaving you with nothing!”

 

He then hit the floating button, his final set card flipping up. “I then play Tiger Trap! This destroys a set card on your field if I inflict 1000 damage or more in one turn!” Yuichi’s set Crystal Veil flipped up before shattering brightly. “All your cards are gone!”

 

Breathing heavily from the words he had just shouted, Taro lowered his arms, staring expectantly at Yuichi’s prone body. “So come on, then, Samehaya Yuichi,” he spat, sneering. “Prove you have what it takes to attain your precious peace! Turn end!”

The next few seconds stretched painfully. Balthy was forced against the wall, another swift punch to the gut administered to bring him down to the ground again. Houki sat prone on her knees, looking desperately at Yuichi, looking for a sign of movement.

 

Please, Yuichi… Just be alright, she wished silently, trying to stop tears flowing from her eyes. I try to make it through every day in this hellish pit, but I can’t do it without you. She struggled to hold back a sob of fear. “Yuichi, wake up!” she yelled frustratedly, punching the ground with a shaking fist.

 

“My…” Houki jerked, looking up. Yuichi was pushing himself up haltingly with one arm, glaring at Taro with a flaming gaze through the tide of blood streaming from a cut above his left eye, teeth gritted with effort as he struggled to right himself.
“Yuichi!” she and Balthy yelled simultaneously in relief. Houki stood herself, calling to Yuichi. “Yuichi, you have to surrender the duel! You can’t even stand-”

 

“My turn!” Yuichi yelled over her, forcing himself onto his knees, hunched over and breathing heavily.

 

“Yuichi, no!” Houki yelled in horror.

 

“Goddammit, Houki!” She stepped back in dismay as Yuichi turned, yelling at her forcefully. “He can’t win! I can’t let that happen!” He tore his gaze from her, trembling as he tried to stand on two feet, slipping and falling back to his knees. “Everything my mum stood for… I have to fight for it. Who else will, now that she’s gone?”

 

Taro narrowed his eyes, clearly annoyed. “We all fight the fight against the Atlas, you little idiot-”

 

“That’s not what I mean!” Yuichi screamed at the ground, trying again to stand and falling, bracing himself against the earth with his hands. “The Atlas aren’t a concern.. For the people of Crater. What matters to us is Crater, and how our lives are under attack here, without a single enemy soldier for miles!”

 

He looked up from the ground at Taro, tears mixed with the blood. “We all want to go back to Gleamtop… The city of the future we had to flee because of the Atlas! But that doesn’t mean the life of Crater has to be hell for us to reach it!”

 

Taro watched Yuichi grimly, his hair ruffled by the rising cold wind that sent chills running through everyone’s bodies. Houki drew her coat tighter around her, looking around her at the gray sky, the dingy buildings. Balthy’s thoughts drifted back years, to a time of gleaming skyscrapers of golden metal.

 

“Gleamtop…” he said wistfully, slumping against the wall as he turned to look at Yuichi, who was starting to stand once more.

 

“Even if we never go back home… always have to remain in Crater… I’ll take it if I can create a future where it’s happy!” Yuichi yelled, finally standing, wobbling at first, but finally upright.

 

“Happy?” Taro asked, scoffing. “We’re at war, Samehaya. Don’t you get that?” He dismissively waved a hand. “See what future you can create without a card in your hand to use.”

 

“Draw!” Yuichi yelled, pulling a card from his deck, turning it over to reveal a Magic card to his blood-cloaked gaze. Swords at Dawn! He thought, eyes widening briefly. This is it! This is how I beat Warpelt Tigroar!

 

“I may have only one card in my hand, but I still have this! The card I set to protect it from Robbin’ Goblin!” he declared, raising a shaking hand to point down as a card materialized, face down before him.

 

Taro cursed at the sight. Dammit… He saved a card from my attack on his hand?!

 

“Reveal Magic card: Monster Reborn!” The card flipped up, the glowing image of an ankh embossed upon it. Yuichi reached towards his Glove, readying to grab a card from the Graveyard slot. “This lets me summon any monster that’s been sent to the Graveyard this duel!”

 

Taro sneered. “None of the monsters in our Graveyards are as strong as Warpelt Tigroar!”

 

“They don’t have to be…” Yuichi muttered as he looked at the card he was holding. “I summon-”

He was going to say Spellblade Mage, but one more look at his card stayed his hand. Wait a minute, he thought, mind reeling as he realized where he was going wrong. Swords at Dawn can equip a monster with an Equip Spell in my Graveyard… An image of a card rotated in his mind. I can equip Spellblade Mage with Runegear Spellfist, and defeat Warpelt Tigroar… But that’s only Tigroar. It doesn’t beat him.

 

He held up his Magic card, looking at it with a drop of sweat rolling down his temple. The card brought back with Swords at Dawn is sent back to the Graveyard at the End Phase… All he has to do is summon a monster stronger than Spellblade Mage, and I’m right back where I started! He raised his hands to his face, covering his eyes as he thought frantically. No! He’ll be able to crush my Mage like it's nothing!

 

“Yuichi?” asked Houki, worriedly. He still hadn’t declared his intended target for Monster Reborn, and t had been thirty seconds since he played the card. “Yuichi, snap out of it!” she yelled.

 

Her words didn’t penetrate his wild thoughts. No! No! He’ll win!

 

“Oh man…” Balthy breathed, watching with wide eyes. “He’s locked up.”

 

A deep tiredness overcame Yuichi, and his body began to sag, slowly beginning the process of falling back to the ground. No! He yelled at himself, his body refusing to obey. Stay up! Stay up and fight!

His vision began to tunnel, blackness creeping in and mingling with the blood red. He groaned a long, effort-filled sound as he struggled to stay standing. There has to be a way… Has to! He forced into his thoughts. Come on, Yuichi!

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

“Come on, Yuichi!”

 

Yuichi looked up into the face of Sachi Samehaya, sitting at the foot of his bed as she patted him on the leg reassuringly. He barely felt the pat, as if she was touching him from far away. “You won’t fall this time, I’m sure of it.”

 

“But mum,” he said involuntarily, his words not his own, his voice higher-pitched, that of a youngster. “How can you know that?”

 

She smiled encouragingly. “You have to be able to walk to help take back Gleamtop, don’t you? Then you will, I’m absolutely sure of it.”

 

He looked down at his legs, the small appendages withered from lack of use. He felt his lip trembling as he began to cry. “But mum… The Atlas did this to me now… Even if I walk who says they won’t do worse?”

 

Sachi bent forward, taking his hand and squeezing it gently. “Hey, now… That’s no way to look at the future.” She reached up to her shoulder, readjusting the cast on her opposite arm. “Just because they forced us out of our homes now doesn’t mean we can’t reclaim them soon… Or that they’ll be less merciful than themselves.”

 

Yuichi looked at her in confusion through his teary eyes. “But mum… aren’t they our enemies?”

 

Sachi closed her eyes, breathing deeply. “In a manner of speaking, yes… But not every soldier on that battlefield believes in the atrocities they commit, Yuichi. Always remember that.” She smiled sadly. “The rulers of any nation will tell you more than their people, I promise you that. The same applies to the military, and all things, I’m afraid.”

 

Yuichi started to cry. “Mum… I can’t walk. How can I go back home if I can’t walk?” He buried his face in his hands, crying full force now. “I want to take us home!” he yelled.

 

He felt his mother’s hand gently pulling his hands away from his face. “You always hide your face when you’re trying to think, don’t you?” she asked sadly, pulling him close into a hug. “Don’t be afraid, Yuichi..., Even if you never walk again, you are still my son. That will never change. And I look forward to any future you can create.”

 

“But first… You must take a step. As we do in all things.” Yuichi looked up into her eyes, nodding hesitantly. As his mother pulled away, he turned, letting his legs hang off the bed, staring at the floor before him. It was a daunting sight. He lowered his feet until they touched the dingy carpet, then slowly, ever so slowly, forced one to slide forward…

------------------------------------------------------------------

“Monster Reborn brings back Spellweaver Mage!” he yelled out of the blue, Taro jumping with surprise as the scarlet-robed monster finally appeared from card Yuichi had used to resurrect it. Yuichi’s fall turned into a step, his foot halting his fall as he righted himself, breathing heavily as he glared with renewed zeal at his opponent.

 

“Took you long enough,” Taro griped, trying to regain his composure. “Anything you wanna do with that weak monster while you’re at it?”

 

“Yuichi!” Yuichi turned to look at Houki, who was wide-eyed with relief, a smile brimming on her face. She could see the renewed life in him, and it brought some to her as well. “Are you okay?”

 

Yuichi smiled, closing his eyes as he raised a thumb in the air. “A-OK, Houki. Balthy!” he yelled, looking at the older boy and flashing the same signal. “Hang in there; I’ll ge us out of here yet!”

 

“And just how are you gonna do that?” asked Taro, Balthy grinning despite the rancor with which his superior spoke.

 

“Spellweaver Mage’s ability activates!” Yuichi proclaimed, taking the card he was holding and hoisting it into the air. “By discarding a Magic card, I draw 1 card! I discard Swords at Dawn!”

 

“Swords at Dawn?!” Taro asked, taken aback. With that he could have reclaimed Runegear Spellfist… He thought feverishly to himself. “The hell are you playing at, Samehaya?!?” he demanded. “You’re throwing away your one chance to beat Warpelt Tigroar… for a random card?”

 

“What is he planning?” asked Balthy, surprised himself.

 

“This card doesn’t lead to my victory,” Yuichi declared with finality, sliding it into his graveyard. “But that is somewhere in my deck. I’ll take the chance it comes to me. I’ll take that step!”

 

“He’s crazy!” Taro exclaimed as Yuichi reached for his deck.

 

“Yuichi…” Houki said with amazement, seeing the vigor that had renewed her friend. “He.. He really intends to do it!”

 

“I… draw!” Yuichi yelled, pulling the card from his deck with force, turning it over to see the card he had entrusted his fate to.

 

Yes! He thought, all the haphazard cards and lines of movement in his mind snapping into a single path. I’ve reached it!

 

“I summon: Tuner monster, Gizmo Nutbolt!” he yelled, placing the card on the blade of his Glove.

 

“Tuner?!” Taro yelled in disbelief as a metallic silver hexagon the size of a football materialized on Yuichi’s field. From the top side of the hexagon, as well as the lower right and lower left sides, unfolded a metal triangle from which small flames issued, boosting the hexagon as it spun in a circle, the center unfolding to reveal two wide, innocent-looking blue eyes that blinked cheerily as the robotic beast let out a loud, robotic-sounding coo.

 

Gizmo Nutbolt
Level 3, Machine, LIGHT
300/300

 

Taro sneered in disgust. “You lucky little… You think some trashy Synchro Monster is going to take me down? Why do you think the military doesn’t even issue those to field soldiers? They’re worthless and unreliable.” He raised a hand, indicating his Warpelt proudly. “An Xyz Monster is simple, elegant: Two monsters of the same level. But you rely on cards that require you to balance your levels and add them together to create something to fight with?” He barked out a laugh. “You’ll never be able to form consistent strategy like that, Samehaya!”

 

Yuichi wasn’t listening to Taro. He looked between his two monsters, nodding briefly before intoning: “I’m tuning my Level 4 Spellweaver Mage with my Level 3 Gizmo Nutbolt!” Nutbolt let out a high-pitched squeal of glee before it began glowing with light as it rose in the air, splitting into three rings of green light that aligned themselves around Spellweaver Mage, the monster disappearing to reveal four shining bright pinpoints of light.

 

“Magic and machinery, move together to form the road to the future!” Yuichi chanted, a harsh glow issuing from his two monsters that caused Taro and the others to raise their arms to shield their eyes.

 

Golden plates of armor flew through the air, latching onto the body of the humanoid shape that could be seen dimly in the harsh light, clamping onto its right forearm, its left shoulder. With every twitch of its fingers it brought forth swirling trails of sparkling blue light. A silver bandolier spun through the air, closing around its chest as electric blue lights burst into radiance upon it, including a glowing sunken hole on the piece over the heart. Silver hair fell in gleaming strands over shoulders clothed in green and blue silk, and glowing blue eyes opened as the mage came forth from the light, raising a hand to shoot off a gleaming firework of electricity into the sky, exploding above in a bright star formation.

 

“Reach the new tomorrow! Synchro Summon! Gizmage Soul Mechanist!”

 

Gizmage Soul Mechanist
Level 7, Spellcaster, LIGHT
2500/2000

 

Taro’s eyes were wide as he took in the powerful monster that stood before him. “Impossible… He Synchro Summoned even under these conditions?”

 

“Battle!” Taro was brought back to earth as Yuichi pointed at Warpelt Tigroar, his monster cupping a hand as blue sparks began dancing around within its palm. “Gizmage Soul Mechanist attacks Warpelt Tigroar!”

 

“It’s only 100 damage, though, right?” asked one of the other soldiers. “That’ll barely touch Taro.”

 

“What the?!” Taro yelled, as the ground in front of Yuichi opened up into a rippling violet abyss, a light darting forth from within as the portal closed as quickly as it had opened. The light dimmed to reveal Gizmo Nutbolt, zig-zagging through the air towards Soul Mechanist, crying out joyously. “What is your Tuner doing back again?”

 

“Gizmo monsters transfer their effects to a monster Synchro Summoned with them!” Yuichi said by way of explanation. Soul Mechanist reached out his free hand, grabbing hold of Nutbolt from the air. He raised the happy-looking robot and slammed it into the sunken hollow on his bandolier, the monster’s face obscured by a blue glow that spread to Soul Mechanist.

 

“What effect does Gizmo Nutbolt have?” Taro asked warily.

 

“Whenever Gizmage Soul Mechanist now attacks an opponent’s monster, he gains 800 attack points!" The blue glow dissipated as Mechanist's attack power rose, higher even than 3000.

 

Gizmage Soul Mechanist: 2500 > 3300

 

“No way!” Taro yelled, flashing a hand towards his Glove. “I may be out of Traps, but I won’t let you take my monster down! I activate the effect of Bladepelt Tigroar in my graveyard!”

 

“That guy had a monster effect he could use from the grave?!” Balthy asked in disbelief.

 

“By banishing this monster, I cut the attack points of your Mechanist in half, then add them to my Warpelt’s own!” Taro smirked as a dozen swords materialized, stuck from the back of Warpelt like porcupine quills as the beast let out a roar that sent the hair of Mechanist rustling. “Too bad, Samehaya Yuichi… you lose!”

 

Yuichi watched the giant Warpelt lumbering towards him for a second. He considered it, then smiled happily. “Thank you, Taro!” he called, flashing a thumbs-up. “You just secured the path to victory for me!”

 

What?! Taro thought. No way he has another trick up his sleeve!

 

“Gizmage Soul Mechanist’s effect!” The blue lights orbiting Nutbolt on the bandolier began to spin, turning emerald green as they formed a ring. Soul Mechanist raised a hand, flying forward to strike its palm into the chest of the approaching Warpelt. The beast roared in discomfort as a similar green ring appeared, rotating quickly around the outstretched fingers of Yuichi’s Mechanist.

“What’s happening?” asked Taro, wide-eyed as he saw his monster fall to one knee. “What are you doing to my Warpelt?!”

 

“Each turn, when an effect is activated during the Battle Phase,” Yuichi said with mounting excitement in his voice, the end goal of this already apparent to him, “Soul Mechanist can negate it… then absorb it as his own!”

“WHAT?!”

 

Houki and Balthy dropped their mouths open in shock. “Then that means, Warpelt loses half its attack power…” Balthy began.

 

“And Soul Mechanist gains it all!” Houki finished, watching with wide eyes as green sparks moved across Warpelt’s hide, moving into Mechanist.

 

Warpelt Tigroar: 2400 > 1200

Gizmage Soul Mechanist: 3300 > 4500

 

“Go! Soul Mechanist!” Yuichi yelled, punching a fist forward. “Soul Mage Strike!”

 

Raising the hand that still held the little bundle of electricity, Soul mechanist punched upward, a bolt of blue lightning as thick around as a tree trunk sprung forth from his hand. It lanced up, blasting through the lower jaw of the Tigroar, a loud piteous bellow blasting from the monster’s jowls as it was sent tumbling back, dust and snow kicking up as it was sent hurtling back towards the wide-eyed Taro, slamming into him and sending the older boy, body awash in Matrix sparks, flying into the wall of the shop behind him.

 

Taro: 2500 > 0

 

“Yuichi!” Houki ran towards him, unhindered by the shocked soldiers as she threw her arms around him, hugging him. “You did it, I can’t believe it!”

 

“Ah, geez,” Yuichi forced out, almost falling over. “Watch out, Houki… I’m still kinda beat up here.”

 

“Nice work, buddy!” Yuichi looked to see Balthy trudging towards them, one hand over his stomach, massaging the pained area gently as he approached the two, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ve worked with that guy for three weeks; Nothing brings me more pleasure than watching him get what’s his. Great dueling there!”

 

“Thanks,” Yuichi said gratefully, looking up to see Soul Mechanist’s Solid Vision hologram fading out, the shimmering lines of the Duel Matrix flickering into sight briefly before vanishing as well. He could feel his Duel Glove deactivating. “I just needed a bit of a pep talk there at the end to get through.”

 

“Eh?” asked Balthy, tilting his head. “What does that mean?”

 

Yuichi was spared the opportunity to answer by a loud, angry call. “You think you get off the hook for just beating me in a simple duel? You think you get special treatment?” Yuichi turned to see Taro striding towards them, fury in his red face. “You’ll feel all the force a Corporal can bring down on mere civilians!” he roared, reaching for his Duel Glove as Houki took a step back, Yuichi and Balthy taking grim steps forward.

 

“That force is nothing, Corporal Tameyo. Mind yourself.”

 

Taro froze, his face sliding into a mask of rage and fear. Everyone turned their eyes skyward, where the voice had come from. Upon the roof of the shop Taro had just been thrown against stood a young man, perhaps in his early twenties. He was tall, powerfully built, with dark blue hair that spiked up on either side of his head, and cold turquoise irises that leered down at Taro with the force of a hurricane.

 

“Major Kade?!” Taro asked in disbelief, voice strangled.

 

“That’s Maxwell Kade?” Balthy asked under his breath, awed.

 

“I place you under arrest, Corporal Tameyo Taro!” Kade yelled in his deep, commanding voice, pointing down at him. “Soldiers, arrest them and hold him for processing!”

 

Streams of guard soldiers bounded from the streets around them, all holding their active Duel Gloves up threateningly as they surrounded Taro and his lackeys, who all collected in a gaggle, looking nervous as they raised their hands in surrender to the dozen men.

 

“I’m sure your court martial will be expedited swiftly,” Kade assured them as he descended the fire escape, hands behind his back as he approached the street level. “Men! Escort these soldiers to the nearest holding station!”

 

“Yes, sir!” the men yelled in concert, forming a ring around Taro and his group as they marched them down a street. Taro looked over his shoulder, flashing a glare of hatred at Yuichi. He returned it in kind, Houki looking over his shoulder with a mixture of anger and relief. Balthy chose a rude gesture, quickly lowering his raised hand as Kade turned his icy blue gaze on them.

 

“Private Jones, is it?” he asked, voice clipped.

 

Balthy snapped to attention instantly, shouting “Sir, yes sir! Private Balthazar Jones rep-”

 

“Oh, cut that nonsense out, Jones, I don’t have time for it. At ease,” Kade sighed. Balthy faltered, surprised as he slipped into a more casual stance.

 

“You tried to protect these civilians, yes?” Kade asked. Balthy nodded, looking back at Houki and Yuichi with a worried look until they swiftly added nods of their own. Kade nodded thoughtfully. “I see. Jones, you’re dismissed. I’ll take things from here. Good work.”

 

“Thank you, sir?” Balthy asked, a little taken aback as he slowly turned to walk down another street, looking back worriedly at his friends as he walked out of sight.

 

“I was leading a patrol when we caught word of your duel,” he explained, turning to look at Yuichi, offering a hand. “Major Maxwell Kade, Mr. Samehaya, I’m head of Public Relations. It’s Yuichi, isn’t it?”

 

Yuichi blinked, surprised. “Um, yes,” he said, taking the hand and shaking it slowly. “How do you know…?”

 

“We’ve met,” Kade explained simply. “I was at Colonel Samehaya’s funeral. One of the pallbearers.” He lowered his voice, speaking softly. “I understand if you don’t remember meeting me. It was a troubling time for you, I could tell. Once again, I’m sorry for the loss you’ve suffered.”

 

Yuichi’s eyes dimmed a bit, face slackening as his mind was wrenched back to that day. A stream of old military men he had never met before had come to him, offering their insincere-sounding apologies and shaking his hand. One had sounded genuine, though. And now he thought back on it, the face that went with it was indeed Kade’s.

 

“Yeah…” he said distantly. “You were there, weren’t you?”

 

Kade nodded, sizing Yuichi up and down with concern in his eyes. “You’re injured. Let me escort you to a medical facility.” He frowned, looking down the street his en had walked down. “Damn brat Tameyo… The courts won’t convict him but you can be damn sure I’ll try to make his professional life a living hell from now on. It's the least I can do.”

 

Yuichi and Houki exchanged surprised glances. They weren’t so used to a member of the military caring about one of the enlisted men being cruel to civilians. “Um… thanks, Major, but my dad’s a medic,” Yuichi offered. “I think I’d really just like to go home and be fixed up there.”

 

“You sure?” asked Kade, looking up at the dimming sky. “I can escort you there myself; It’s no trouble. It’s the least we can do, given the circumstances.” He crossed his arms, cocking his head as he smiled a bit. It fit surprisingly well on his stern face. “I caught the last bit of the duel there… I was about to step in myself. But you handled yourself well. Your mother would be proud.”

 

Yuichi averted his eyes, a sad smile on his face. “Thank you, Major… I think we can make it on our own.” He tilted his head towards his friend. “I have Houki here, anyway. We’ll be alright.”

 

Kade chuckled slightly. “I guess you did just beat an enlisted soldier,” he admitted. “You’re quite capable to reach home. But if you like-” He stopped as a small metal attachment on his ear started beeping loudly, flicking an irritated glance towards the sound. “Excuse me a moment, please,” he said shortly, stepping away and reaching a hand towards his ear.

 

Houki immediately leaned in close to Yuichi. “What is his deal?” she whispered. “HE’S head of Public Relations, did he say?”

 

“I know,” Yuichi agreed. “Everyone else must not be on the same page as him.”

 

“One escaped the perimeter?” Kade hissed into the device, quietly enough that Houki and Yuichi wouldn’t hear. “How? I thought the protocols were ironclad.”

 

“It moved free on it’s own,” came the female voice on the other end. “They’ve always moved in groups, Kade, but that’s not important: What IS important is that it’s heading towards Cradle right now and we aren’t able to catch them.”

 

“Dammit, Samehaya,” Kade whispered, flashing a glance back to Yuichi and Houki. “I’m dealing with something right now.”

“That Oracle is approaching Cradle at one hundred and eighty miles an hour!” came Sachi’s yell through the device, Kade wincing and spinning the volume knob to a more manageable level. “What could possibly be taking your precious time that’s more important than this?”

 

“As it happens, your son,” Kade said flatly.

 

Silence on the other end. Kade cautiously turned the volume back up as Sachi spoke after a brief pause, softer, her voice oddly tight. “Yuichi? How… How is he? Is he alright?”

 

“He’s been better,” Kade sighed. “One of the corporals got high and mighty and went after him in a duel. He’s fine, don’t worry. He even managed to win. It was quite impressive.”

 

“Oh. Well… Is he really okay?”

 

“As okay as he can be… thinking that his mother is dead.” The disapproval was clear in his voice. “My god, Sachi, you couldn’t even let your son and husband know about-”

 

“I’ve made my position on this clear, Kade,” Sachi interrupted, her voice shaking. “I… I couldn’t tell Yuichi or Hiroshi. It was for their own good, and for mine.”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Kade replied flippantly. “When is the Oracle set to arrive?”

 

“In one hour.” She sounded relieved to have the subject changed.

 

“Right. I’m on it.”

 

“You’ll let me know, won’t you?” A begging question suddenly as Kade paused in the move to turn off his earpiece. “About what happened in Yuichi’s duel?”

 

Kade was silent a few seconds, before sighing in defeat. “I’ll requisition the duel log from Tameyo’s Glove. You’ll have it tomorrow.”

 

“Thank, you, Kade. Thank you.”

 

Kade switched off the earpiece, pivoting to rejoin Houki and Yuichi. “Right, then, sorry about that. Official business,” he stated, clasping his hands together and rubbing them quickly. “Cold out, isn’t it? You sure you can make it home?” The two nodded. “Alright, then. It’s getting close to curfew anyway… Best not to worry your parents by taking you to the medical facility.”

 

“Thanks,” the two said timidly, turning, Houki supporting Yuichi as they began to trudge towards Crater’s upper ring.

 

“Samehaya.” The two paused, turning as Yuichi met Kade’s eyes. A glint seemed to pass over his icy blue irises. “If you’re able, meet me at my offices tomorrow. Second ring, northeast quadrant. I’d like to speak with you, if I could.”

 

Yuichi blinked, then nodded in stupification. “Um… alright.”

 

“Excellent,” Kade stated, clapping his hands together and turning down towards the lower rings. “Take care, now. And if you don’t make it back before curfew, just tell the guards to ask for me. I’ll sort everything out.” He began jogging down the street, quickly disappearing in the dimming light.

 

“He’s right,” Houki agreed as the two set off again. “Curfew in forty minutes. We better hurry… What do you think he wants to talk to you about?”

 

“No idea,” Yuichi admitted, before his eyes brightened. “Maybe he’s impressed with my dueling? Maybe he’s gonna push my enlistment forward!”

 

“Head of Public Relations usually have that kind of power? Come on, Yuichi.” Yuichi sighed as he thought that Houki was most likely right.

 

“Still though… That was super impressive back there, huh?”

 

Houki sighed, giggling. “Yes, Yuichi… That was impressive as all heck. Way to go.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Kade!”

 

“What is it, Sachi?” Kade asked the earpiece. “I’m almost to the base now, I’ll have a squad assembled, we should be all set-”

 

“It’s almost there!”

 

“What?!” Kade demanded, coming to a halt on the sidewalk, tearing, clawing at the earpiece and turning the volume up. “It’s only been twenty minutes since you called-”

 

“It just accelerated! Almost four hundred miles an hour! Arrival estimated at fifteen minutes!”

 

“I don’t have time to wait for a squad,” Kade declared, turning and scrambling in the direction of the first ring. “Requisition me a vehicle with HQ, now, and keep me posted on where that thing lands! Be prepared to divert all patrols to the area!”

 

“I know, Kade, I know!” came the frantic reply from the other end.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You think you can make it the rest of the way without collapsing?”

 

Yuichi raised a thumbs-up. “It’s only seven houses down, Houki, christ. I’ll be fine.”

 

Houki sighed, leaning against her doorframe as she raised a hand in a farewell wave. “Alright… Man, your dad is gonna freak out when he gets a look at you.”

 

Yuichi looked down at himself, at the blood caked on the side of his head and the many scuffs and bruises he was bearing. “Well. He’ll get it, once I explain what happened.”

 

Houki nodded. “Well anyway. Goodnight, Yuichi. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

“Night, Houki.” Houki’s door closed behind her as Yuichi set off down the darkening street. Everyone around him was filtering into their houses in anticipation of the coming curfew. It was only a few minutes before at the very least a hefty fine could be imposed on anyone for being outdoors. Probably worse.

 

Yuichi sighed, putting his hands behind his head as he looked skyward, flakes of snow touching his face from the clouds above. Your mother would be proud. Kade’s words echoed in his head as Yuichi smiled, holding up the arm that still bore his mother’s old Duel Glove.

 

“Thanks, mum,” he said fondly. He lowered the glove, catching sight of a shooting star. He chuckled at the cliche going on above him. “Um, alright,” he said, shrugging as he walked down the now-empty street. “I… I wish I can make a future not only mum would be proud of… but that I can be. Yeah.” He nodded, smiling. “That seems good.”

 

He looked up at the shooting star again. And frowned. The star was getting brighter. Weren’t they supposed to only be visible for a few seconds? This one appeared to be getting brighter and brighter… No. It wasn’t that it was getting brighter. It was getting CLOSER.

 

Yuichi was thrown to the ground as the glowing emerald ball of light, as big around as five men, crashed into the street in front of him. Lights flickered in every house as the power grid fought to remain online, and failed, emergency power kicking on a second later as light as bright as a weak candle sprung from every bulb. The street was torn asunder, a giant crater blasted into the pavement as slabs of asphalt went flying, one narrowly missing Yuichi’s head as he yelled against the onslaught of sound.

 

It was over as quickly as it had begun. Silence reigned over the street Yuichi struggled to pull himself up on his weak legs, looking with disbelief at the massive hole that had been blasted into the street in front of him. It was twenty-five feet wide at least, and went ten feet down. He walked slowly up to the crumbling edges of the pit, trying to peer down into it. The shards of pavement on the edge snapped, and he struggled to remain upright as he slid down, stumbling as he kicked up dirt and stone on his way to the smoking bottom of the pit.

 

Somehow he remained standing, resting his hands on his knees as he took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. It was then he finally saw what rested at the center of the pit, amid a plume of pure-white smoke.

 

A girl, about his age, laid out in a crumpled position, eyes closed. Her skin was a pale white, her long, straight hair even paler. She wore a thick, long-sleeved black tunic with gleaming lines of silver embroidered upon it, with matching pants. A pair of combat boots, out of place with the rest of her outfit, were upon her feet.

 

Yuichi paused, looking around with uncertain eyes. “Um… Hello?” he asked, reaching down towards the girl. “Are you alright, ma’am? Did it hit you?”

 

Before he could reach her, a million sirens burst into life. “WARNING, WARNING.” Yuichi jerked back in surprise as an intercom-garbled voice basted from the speakers mounted on every home. “LOCKUP IMMINENT. CURFEW AUTHORIZED IN TWO MINUTES.”

 

Yuichi cursed, looking briefly at the girl before he turned, moving to climb out of the pit. He shouted in surprise as he felt something close around his ankle, jerking away as he turned to see-

 

“Help me,” the girl begged, looking plaintively up at him with vibrant purple eyes. Her voice was soft and tremulous. “Help me… They’ll… hurt me. Please.”

 

Yuichi looked at her with wide eyes, reaching up with a hand to cover one of his eyes as thoughts clashed in his head. Lockup was happening any second now. He couldn’t risk being locked out, not when he was beat up like this in an emergency. He couldn’t-

 

“Please,” the girl whimpered piteously, her fingers slipping free of Yuichi’s leg as her eyes fell shut again. “I can’t walk.”

 

Yuichi halted, biting his lip. The girl collapsed again, breathing slowing. He swore loudly, bending down and picking her up, slinging one of her arms over his shoulders. At the very least she wasn’t that heavy.

 

Yuichi would never figure out how he had the strength to pull himself and the strange pale girl up the ten feet of the slanted pit to the surface, or get them to the door of his house in the two minutes before the iron grates slammed shut in front of the door, and all the windows. The one thing he would remember was the one thought screaming through his mind as he and the girl slid to a seating position against the door, his unconscious partner slumbering against his shoulder as he stared wide-eyed into the air in front of him.

 

What have I done?

 

 

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED... EVENTUALLY.