Chapter 14
The Fourteenth
Chapter
Maybe if I stand still, they won’t notice me. I didn’t even blink, but somehow, they still saw me. The sound of a blade being unsheathed, echoed from atop the churchlike building.
“For King Arthur!” yelled a Noble Knight.
They jumped off the roof and landed right behind me, instantly bolting forwards in a blaze of glory.
“Merlin, you are truly remarkable.” I said.
It was an all-out war, but of medieval proportions. I evaded the onslaught and hurried to the inside of the building. I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to see. It was Justin. He was hiding behind a table near the king. But we weren’t the only ones inside the church. An evil presence fell over the place like a thick fog. The king was smooching someone, but I didn’t recognize her. It appeared to be a woman in a black and purple cloak, with a dark mask. As soon as she saw me, she snapped her fingers and disappeared into a black thundercloud. The king, furious because I had put a halt on his smooching, ran towards me in a fit of rage. I turned my body and slightly lifted my right foot. “Slam!” I punched him right in the forehead. He dropped like a sack of potatoes. I looked at Justin and said,
“What is going on here bro?”
“I was just about to make my move and take him down,” he replied.
“Sure…. Did you get a good look at the lady he was with?”
“Yes, but she was wearing a mask and I didn’t recognize her archetype.”
“Well let’s get out of here Justin.”
The Noble knights had finished off the last of the Ojama Knights and the time came for us to fly to the High Council’s temple in The Sanctuary in the Sky. I began my interrogation on the groggy king, as we saddled up J.D.
“You thought you were a mastermind, didn’t you? Sending the Burning Abyss on us and having the trio do your dirt work.”
“You just don’t get it do you. I’m just a symbol for the Ojamas. The trio doesn’t even work for me.” He replied.
“That lady must have been working with you. Who is she?” I yelled.
“No, no, no. she is only a friend. Nothing else. She knows nothing and has nothing to do with this.”
“Okay. If any of this is true, then who is the real boss?”
He nervously replied, “Okay, it was me! I did everything! Take me away officer! I will pay for the crimes!”
“I don’t believe he is being honest with us.” I said to Justin. I then looked back at the king and squinted my eyes for dramatic effect. “I don’t think the Council or my friend B.L.S. will be very happy about you lying. If you don’t fess up, just as soon as Matt gets through with Justin, he will deal with you.
“Don’t remind me.” Said Justin, sadly.
The king started to sniffle. Then all of the sudden, he broke out in song,
“It was the Dark Lady of the land of Koz! In Kozmotown, she’s beautiful and terrible, but you’ll never take her dooowwn. Beeeecause she haaas the fooorce,” and then he passed out.
We finally made it to the temple. Justin and J.D. were left to watch the trio, as I took the king inside. With my focus completely on the King, we entered the council’s chambers. A few of the Agents grabbed the king and placed him upon a stone tablet in the center of the room. They wrapped him in chains with solid steal shackles, which were bolted onto the side of the tablet in the center of the courtroom. There were several members of the council surrounding him. Each one of them had their own chair in this circular courtroom. The layout was to make sure that a pair of eyes covered every angle of the offender. There were many council members that I didn’t even know. Some of them must have been from the southern hemisphere, but each one had unspeakable powers. That’s the only way you can be granted a seat on the council.
“We can handle this from here Levi.” I heard from a familiar voice.
I turned around to find Orea, and beside her was Merlin and Michael.
“Thank you. From all of us,” said Merlin.
“I’m just glad it’s over.” I replied.
“Levi. We will be having a celebration when we return to Mount Sylvania,” Orea said.
“The trial will now begin!” said a voice in one of the chairs.
I turned towards the door of the temple, and walked out of the room. After the door to the courtroom closed, I looked over to where I had left Justin, J.D., and the trio. The chains were now wrapped around Justin and J.D. I turned around quickly and, “BAM!” they hit me in the head with a vase, and I fell to the ground.
I opened my eyes to find the trio and two Number 64: Ronin Raccoon Sandayu standing around me. The Raccoons started weaving hand signals. Within a few seconds, two clones made of a blue glasslike substance appeared. They looked just like Matt. I remembered that the Ronin could make a clone of the strongest being in 100 yards. This was good news for me. Matt was close. The clones lifted their swords to my neck. “Ching!” Matt jumped from atop the temple and disarmed them both in one swing. The clones began to attack him in unison. Every attempted attack by Matt was blocked by the clones, and vice versa. After a few minutes of swift and precise attacks, Matt jumped back and bowed his head in respect. He knew he had met his match. He unlatched his armor and dropped it to the ground. The armor was so heavy, that it made a small crater in the stone floor.
Matt started up his attacks again, but this time the clones couldn’t match his movements. His speed had greatly increased. He roundhouse kicked one clone in the head, but the other saw an opening in Matt’s attack. The other clone picked up his sword and lunged it towards Matt’s back. The whole scene was running in slow motion. Matt’s eyes opened wide as he realized he let his guard down. I kicked off the ground and pulled my blade mid-air. In the nick of time, I deflected the clones blade and took an offensive stance. There was no time for words, so I dove towards the clone of B.L.S., striking in every random way that I could think of. I was afraid to use my normal formation, because he outranked me in power. Then, Matt jumped straight into the air and yelled,
“Levi!”
“Right,” I replied.
I threw my weapon straight at Matt and hoped for the best. He caught the blade by the handle and landed beside me, between the clones.
“Duck!” said Matt.
With one final motion, he shattered both clones. He handed me my blade and we turned to the Ronin. I think he knew that they couldn’t be destroyed while they were together, because he stuck out his hand to banish them. The hand appeared from the infinite void. The first Ronin pushed the other out of the way, spending his own life for his comrade’s.
Now with only one left, the Ronin could be defeated. The Racoon started to weave hand signals again. A glassy clone started to form, but this time the clone looked different.
“That’s her. The Dark Lady. Keep on your toes Matt. The real one is nearby.”
My chest was heavy and my heart grew dim in the presence of the darkness. I jolted my eyes to every angle. By the time I noticed her, it was too late. She slashed the Fiendish Chains and grabbed J.D., as if he was a little dog. She wasn’t physically holding him though. He was just floating beside her, unable to move. “Poof!” she disappeared into the black thundercloud once again. Meanwhile, Matt was battling the clone, but he was no match. Even with his advanced speed, he could not land a single blow. It was terrifying to see Matt have no idea on what to do. But, he had an advantage over the clone. He could think, plan, and strategize. The clone was a mindless drone, who was only there to enact his master’s will of brutality. Matt kicked one of the clones legs out from under him and the clone went down hard. Matt flipped his sword around and stuck it right through the glassy clone’s chest. It shattered into a thousand pieces. He flipped the sword in the air and caught it by the tip of the blade. Like a throwing knife, he stuck it in the Ronins shoulder, catching him off guard. The Ronin was instantly destroyed.
“What a weakling,” I said.
“Your right. I thought he would have given us a run for our money,” replied Matt
We had forgotten the trio, because of the commotion, but they hadn't forgotten us. When we turned around, they were in formation. The hurricane was coming. Without thinking, I snatched the Harpies Feather Duster from my bag. I flicked my wrist towards them and out came a small but powerful gust of wind. Knocking the trio out of formation and off the floating city. It happened so fast that I didn’t even notice the gust was actually Jake, the sky scout. Like a winged predator, He swooped off the Sanctuary, claws out, and dropped towards the trio. He managed to catch all three of them with his talons. He flew back up to us and waved goodbye.
“Hey bro. good to see you. I’m gonna take real good care of these three for you Levi, or in other words, the ladies will be taking good care of them. Haha. They are very hungry today,” said Jake.
“Oh I bet they are,” I replied with a smile and saluted my friend.
“Well, I better get going. I’ll see you around Bro.”
He flew out of sight, as the sound barrier was broken. I had no doubts that the trio would be finished from here on out.
“Justin, are you okay?”
“Yep, I’m okay,” he replied. “How about you?”
“It was tough, but I’m pretty good.”
“I don’t know about the pretty part. Hehe.”
I paused just for a sec, and began to speak. However, Matt beat me to it,
“Noob,”
“Well anyways, I hate to say it, but it looks like we’re going to see that Dark Lady again,” I said.
Shortly after our conversation, the council finished the hearing. Orea was the first to exit the building and head my way.
“Levi, you have done well. I know this wasn’t easy, but you have brought justice to the northern hemisphere. Thank you, hero of Sylvania,” said Orea.
“I’m just glad it’s over with. Something else is bothering me though,” I replied
“Is it the Dark Lady?” asked Orea.
“Yes. She took J.D., and I…”
“You have already done so much for us all. Go home. We will take care of this Levi.”
I had a sinking feeling in my heart, kind of like swimming towards the surface of the water, while being sucked in by a falling current. It seemed as though I couldn’t move forward. Every time I started to progress, something else grabbed me and tugged in the opposite direction. Every time I felt like this, I did my best to shake it off and be positive. With friends that felt closer than family, I knew where my heart was. It was in all of the places I had been, all of the people I had met, and in the adventure of reality that my life had become.
I stepped away from the crowd and heard a small voice off to the side,
“I love you,” said Burstinitrix.
I turned to her as she jumped into my arms. I softly touched her lips with mine and felt the passion that started the spark of our relationship. She sighed, as if she had waited a long time for that.
“I want to be with you for the rest of time,” she said.
Then I looked into her eyes, and said, “I can make that happen,” as I smiled.
“I’m yours,” she replied.
She kissed me again and we said goodbye for now. It was time for us to head back home.
Matt and Justin agreed to follow me to the edge of the Sylvan forest. We weren’t very far from it now, since the Sanctuary in the Sky never stopped moving over the land of Yu-Gi-Oh. Injection Fairy Lily, who had patched up a small scratch on Justin’s knee, was kind enough to give us a ride to the ground below.
“Hey hot stuff. I see the wings, but your too haught, to be an angel,” said Justin. He winked at her and she rolled her eyes. We pulled Justin away from the fairy, just long enough for her to get the heck out of there. “Oh come on! Baby noooo!” he yelled to her as she flew away. She shook her fist at him, but it could have been another rude gesture. It was just too far away to tell.
We made our way down the Coastline of Umi, back to the edge of the Sylvan forest. Without any problems, we made it to the Gusto gate on the west side. When Justin and Matt saw Diagusto Emeral and Sphreeze guarding the gate, they stopped in their tracks and denied stepping further.
“Thank you guys for everything,” I said.
“It was no problem bro,” replied Matt.
“Yeah, think nothing of it,” said Justin.
“I’ll be seeing you guys soon,” I said.
“Only time will tell,” said Justin.
“Yes, yes it will,” I replied.
“Noob,” Matt said to Justin.
We waved goodbye to each other in the distance, knowing that we would meet again soon. They went towards the south together, as I turned to the gate. I could hear Matt saying to Justin,
“So… Let’s talk about that business earlier, where I got hit by a hurricane that you re-directed.”
“Oh. Haha. Whoops,” replied Justin. I could see him nervously sweating from here.
“I would not want to be Justin right now,” I said to myself.
Their voices faded away into the sound of the nearby Ocean.
Now that I was back in my homeland, I was trying to think of how to rebuild my life. My heart was still tender from what had really happened with Burstinitrix, but that’s not what I told the guys. When I left the crowd and saw her, I was actually the one that said, “I love you.” After a pause, she replied,
“I don’t love you Levi. I’m sorry.”
Every fiber of my being shattered in an instant. Even though we were never together, I gave my heart to her completely. I was already eternally faithful to her, but I was welcomed with an unintentionally ill willed fate. I knew I was a fool, but it was too late to take it back. What I said earlier was the scenario I dreamed of. What my mind had conjured up. But the reality is so harsh. Back then, she sighed as if she had wanted to say something sooner, but was afraid to hurt my feelings. I looked at her and said,
“I wanted to be yours.”
She put her head down, and shrugged her shoulders. In shock, I turned and left her there. But all that was over now. I needed to focus on other things to keep myself going.
The sun fell on the shoulder of the horizon, as time continued to run. The beautiful rays of light shining through the trees were on their way to being a memory. The ground, covered with small holes, was damp and cold. It appeared as if a small gofer made this area his home. I started to dodge them, but they were getting bigger the further I went. I stopped when I heard a rustle in the bushes. I cautiously stepped towards the bush. It was nothing, but I almost stepped into a huge hole, which seemed bottomless.
“A person could fall into this and disappear forever,” I heard a familiar voice. I felt a touch on my shoulder and a sharp grass whistle from behind. I turned around, with time in slow motion. The Bladefender was standing right in front of me. He put his index finger to his mouth, “Shhhh,” he said. Then pushed me in, as he smiled.
The End
Date Finished - 12/07/2016 Levi Pertuset
Revision Finished – 03/29/2018 Levi Pertuset
: I do not own the rights for any Konami or Yu-Gi-Oh related characters or cards. This is strictly a fan-fiction novella.
