Yugioh 4HM

[Akio Nyuhara]

Yugioh 4 Horse Men

Lab Notes- 3/12/XX
Looks like we deciphered the code. That’s good. Seems that robot is running swimmingly. With a bit of hope, LUX could become the next big thing. Brain donor required. Suggested: member of Nevol clan. Wanted: Member of Shiyoke clan.

A tall man in a black suit was reading this journal, laughing as he flipped through the pages. The man was bald and his eyes were narrow, but his forehead was quite big. The suit had a few stains on it, making the man seem insane. “If only they knew. I can’t believe that I, Sho Ryuka, was able to get so far. I was able to create LUX, and now I will be able to purify the world.” His eyes filled with hope as he looked up at a fogged tube.

Chapter 1 Part 1: Youth of Nevol

A small boy with purple hair and young, blue eyes was riding on a small red bicycle. He smiled, “Look daddy, no hands!” He laughed as he peddled, his hands dangling in the air. His father was on the phone but was paying great attention to his son. “Daddy are you watching?” His father smiled but made no response. He just waved to his son, still talking on the phone. The words were too big for the young boy to understand.

Then his father hung up the phone. “Good job Sho! You’re doing very well!” His father waved as the boy laughed, not caring about anything around him. It was a bad mistake. He ran into a government official. It was hard to tell he worked for the government at first, but he realized it when scanning the man’s suit. He wore a black tuxedo with a white shirt and black pants. He had sunglasses on and a wire leading from his chest to his ear. He growled when Sho had hit him.

“That’s it you little brat.” The man said, picking up Sho. His father noticed this and slowly walked towards the government man. “You’re coming with me.” He said, laughing as he stared at the poor, crying child in his hands.

“Excuse me.” Sho’s father said, tapping on the man’s shoulder. The man turned around. Sho’s father slammed his fist into the man’s face, than grabbed the small child. The government official fell to the ground, the earphone attached to the wire shattering. “Let me make on thing clear. Outside of my home, the government has free reign. Inside of my property you’ll piss me off. Every time you piss me off I’ll make sure to break the bones of one man. I don’t care if I expose my child to violence; he’ll stick up for himself.” Sho looked at the man, smiling as if he knew the man was in trouble. His father slammed his foot on top of the man’s chest, destroying the wire.



Inside of a small, bronze building laid a giant, brown oak table. The oak table was oval in shape and around it sat 4 separate men, each wearing a tuxedo. A 19 year old wearing pants and a snow jacket stood in front. Everything but his skin and eyes were blue. His hair was spiked up and blue, his pants were messy and blue, and the snow jacket was all dark blue with black tracing. He had a smile, but the smile seemed more fixed than anything.

“I stand before you gentlemen to ask you what to do about the Nevol problem. Sho is the one we are after, but his father stands in our way.” He looked at the blank faces of the men. “Very well, I’m smarter than you so I suppose I would come up with an answer faster.” One of the men stood up. The 19 year old man glared at him and almost instantly the man sat down.

“Don’t mess with Lux,” one mumbled to the angered man.

Lux, the 19 year old, smiled. “My solution is simple. We already have the boy. You see, this whole time we had a secret bug placed in his father. A brainwashing bug. He’ll give us Sho, and Sho will think it’s just a small little vacation.” Lux stared at the sky. “Then we kill his father.”




A 4 year old boy sat down next to a monk. The boy had blonde hair and a white robe. The monk wore the same but was bald. “Time does not exist here. You know, I am actually 804?” The boy stared in amazement. “Yes, I am 804 months old.” The boy laughed. He had already calculated that that meant the monk was 67 years old. The monk laughed too, he was happy when the breaking meditation period started. He stood up and the 4 year old did as well. “Akio, I think it is time we retired.” It was still day time outside, but the monks had to keep watch at night. Akio was nocturnal; he fell asleep at 9 AM and woke up at 6 PM, then stayed up until 9 AM. It was a strange way to live but it was Akio’s way.

Akio awoke at exactly 6:02 PM. He stood up and walked towards the door, getting a strange urge to open it. It was as if there was a calling. He was focused on nothing but the door. The sleeping figures around him turned to shadows. The room seemed to implode upon itself until it was just the pathway to the door. Akio’s hands slowly moved towards the door as he opened it.

[Akio Nyuhara]

Chapter 1 Part 2: Serenade the Soul

-15 years later-

Sho woke up. For some reason, he had a dream about his past and the stories friends had told them of their past. He hadn’t had a dream in a while, but he wanted another. His eyes slowly closed as he was about to sleep, but then a bright light flashed. Sho’s eyes lightly opened as he looked around the vacant room. The room was in pieces. Half of the building was blown off, it was the roof mainly but a bit of the east wall was gone too. He was laying on a black, burnt bed to the west. How it got burned Sho did not know and did not ask. He looked across from him and noticed a TV. The strange thing was that a skull was actually inside of the television set. He noticed a card as well, actually a bunch of cards. It was his deck.

Slowly, Sho rose from where he had laid. His head bumped into the top metal bar of the bed that used to connect a second bed. As expected, that part of the bed was blown off too. He put his hand instantly to his head and sat down. “Dammit…” he mumbled to himself. Then he noticed something. His head was wet. He looked at his hand and saw blood. “Great, just great...” He grabbed one of the bed sheets and tore it, wrapping the torn sheet over his head to stop the bleeding. He sighed as he stood back up and looked upwards towards the light. It was just a search light. He walked towards the door and instinctively went to open it, but the doorknob was blown clean off. “Right…” he kicked the door as the door flew out, leading to the outside world. He looked around and saw nothing but debris.

He looked around at the trash floating around and the corpses on the ground. He looked at one in particular, still holding a card. It reminded him of his deck. He looked back, no point in trying to get his deck now. It was decayed and burnt by now. Who knows what diseases spread from the skull into the deck? He looked at the bloodstained card as his lips mouthed the name of the fallen comrade. A blood spot covered up the majority of the name, the only thing visible was an “i”. He couldn’t even tell if it was lowercase or uppercase. It might have even been an “l”. His hand lowered to the card and picked it up. He recognized the face of the corpse but just couldn’t give it a name. It was fresh too, decay hadn’t yet reached it. It didn’t even smell of death, it smelt of fresh blood.

He stared at the card, it was “honest”. “How ironic…” he mumbled to himself, “the liar finally becomes honest and dies. Serves him right.” With his foot, Sho rolled over the corpse so that it lay on its back. He dropped the card Honest back onto the corpse as he walked towards more corpses. Each one wore the same uniform; the very uniform that even Sho was wearing. He was disgusted at every one. “Death spreads faster then fire, but its slower than ice.” Sho mumbled to himself, reading the text below one of the fallen soldiers nametags. He looked at the sky, the sky was so polluted that he couldn’t even see any exhaust. Then he saw something that appeared like a mirage, but it wasn’t. Three separate duelists all stared at Sho. The three duelists that had caused this.

“Damn you cowards…” Sho mumbled to himself, “DAMN YOU!” He yelled. The one in the middle smiled and stepped forward. The one on the left had smiled extremely wide. The one on the right stood still. The one who stepped forward had red hair, but it wasn’t red because it was born that way. The hair was stained in blood. The one on the left had black hair that looked as if it lived and died again and again, the hair shifted from black to gray and back to black. The one who had the widest smile had gray and short hair, but it still somehow seemed haunting.

The one in the middle grabbed a duel disk and put it on. His voice smelt like alcohol and sounded strong. “Grab your deck. You’re the last one. Then we win, than it’s complete.” Sho’s eyes grew wide. I’m…I’m the last survivor? That can’t be! We…we won didn’t we? Sho fell to the ground and put his hands on the sheet that wrapped around his head. He yelled in the sky as he began to lose grip with reality. “War’s fun, isn’t it?” The middle man said.

“Oh now you’ve gone and broken the poor kid,” the person with a wide smile chuckled as he stepped forward. “My name’s Reaper, you remember that right Sho? This is Brute and of course you know Plague. It’s too bad you ran away from us.” Sho stared at Reaper and though Reaper wasn’t scared, he was still smart enough to take a few steps backwards. “Well why don’t you duel Brute? You still have your deck right? Wait…you don’t? Ha! Then we’ve already won. Take him out Brute.” Brute smiled as he walked towards Sho, but Sho just knocked out and dreamed once again of the past.


-15 years before-


“Come with me, Sho.” Sho’s father commanded as he grabbed Sho by the arm. “We’re going to a nice place that you’re going to love.” His father’s voice sounded a bit restrained, almost a bit robotic. Sho raised an eyebrow as he was pulled by his dad. “You’ll meet Uncle Lux and I’m sure you’ll love him.” Sho allowed himself to be pulled without question.

“Father?” Sho mumbled to himself as he looked up. There was no response, something was off. “Father!” His father looked down and gave a warm smile, Sho knew something was wrong. But he was in the car and headed towards Lux before he knew it.

[Akio Nyuhara]

I'm spoiling you, seriously...

Chapter 1 Part 3 – Xenophobia

Sho had arrived at where he was supposed to be. Lux Manor, as it was called, stood about 65 feet tall with pillars that connected the top of the roof with the floor. A man wearing a black suit waited outside. When the car stopped, Sho immediately walked out of the truck. He didn’t want to be with his dad, he had a feeling something bad would happen if he had stayed. His breath grew heavy as his eyes began to close, but they were wide open when he saw a figure at the door. The person at the door had a “Texas” hat, as the name on the hat implied. It must have been an artifact, something from the past that had a strange power. Sho had never seen something like that before. The hat was woven with straw; Sho figured it must have taken forever to create. The figure had pale skin with brown eyes and hair. He wasn’t wearing a coat or shirt which was probably because it was so hot outside. He was slightly buff and had a six pack, and he wore blue jeans and a belt with a buckle that said “Low” on it. He appeared to be 15. “You can call me Low, little fella.” Low smiled and put a hand outside. Sho shook Low’s hand, but he didn’t really know how to react.

“I’ll take care of ya fella.” Low pat Sho on the back as the two walked towards the estate. The butler took the bags and followed. “By the way, I’m in charge of the agriculture of the area. And by area, of course I mean the grand city of Hatsu Itonami. Gotta love it right?” Low laughed as Sho stood inside and looked around for the first time.

It was amazing how much glass could fit in a single room. The stairs were made of hardened glass, the chairs were made with a mixture of glass and minerals, and the tables and desks were also made of glass. Everything in this room was see-through except for the walls themselves. “This is the glass room. It contains over 30% of the town’s glass. Quite a fun fact, wouldn’t you say buddy?” Low smiled as he walked towards the elevator. When the elevator opened, a 16 year old stood there. “Oh, it’s you.” Low said looking at the figure.

The figure stood tall and stared at Low. He had to have been at least 6’5, he had gray hair and golden eyes. Sho would never forget the look he gave. “Low.” He simply said. His face was blank; it showed nothing and somehow held nothing back. “Wouldn’t it be funny if you got out of my way?”

“Well Tsu’re I reckon it’d be almost as funny as if you shut the hell up.” Low laughed as Tsu’re flinched, then hurried off. Sho stared at Tsu’re as he left, but was pushed by Low into the elevator. “Floor 13, buddy.” Low smiled as the two headed up the elevator. “Want to hear something funny? A thousand years ago the residents of a country called America didn’t believe in putting the number 13 on the elevator. The 14th floor was really the 13th? Isn’t it funny how in the dark they were?” The elevator doors opened, revealing a meeting room. Low took off his hat and in the hat was a small suit. He put on the suit, covering himself completely up. He put the pants of the suit over his other pants. “Let’s go.” Low put the hat back on and spoke with a completely different, less formal tone. There was no accent at all, it was completely sans. Low sat down at a table, but Sho was in awe at the room.

Everything…was…gold: The chairs, the table, the windows, the walls, hell, even the glass had a golden tint.

Low looked at Sho, “Go ahead and have a seat.” Sho sat down next to Low. “And Sho I want you to remember…”

- 15 years later -

“I’ll always be here for you, Sho-“

Sho woke up and grabbed Brute’s fist, stopping it dead in its tracks. From behind him, he heard a familiar chuckle. “Looks like the fourth one has arrived.” Brute said, staring at the man from behind. Sho looked at its hand, it wasn’t his hand that was stopping it…his hand moved towards his face to shield the blast. But the hand was familiar. “Howdy there, Sho! Long time no see eh?” It was Low. Low looked at Brute and gave a smile that would make a shark want to commit suicide. He threw Brute behind him, sending Brute crashing towards a mountain of rotting flesh. Low picked up a corpse. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Brute was struggling to stand up. He threw the corpse towards Brute and it sent Brute crashing down.

“Low…” the words barely escaped Sho’s mouth. Low stared at Sho with a look of disappointment.

“Sho…I don’t think I want to talk to you right now. You’ve let everyone down. You’ve let me down. You’re just…a traitor. I owed you a life, and I gave you yours.” Low sighed, “But now…now my debt is fulfilled. Sho, there’s one more thing I’ll do for you. I’ll inform you that you aren’t the last one. There are survivors.” Low grabbed Sho by the shirt, “Forget about what Tsu’re did, Sho!” He yelled as he stared at Sho in the eyes. It was odd, it had been 15 years but Low looked like he was 18. Sho wondered why, but then he knew. It was…because of Tsu’re.

“Forget about Tsu’re and Lux and even… You aren’t fighting this war for yourself!” Low pushed Sho on the ground, “You’re fighting this war…well, here anyways.” Low took off his signature hat and removed a deck from it. He was about to hand it to Sho when he shook his head. “No…no you created this Sho. You clean your own damn mess. But I want my revenge.” He looked towards Reaper. “Reaper, you screwed my past over. You know what happens now, right?” Reaper only nodded. Both Low and Reaper placed there decks on the ground as the decks dissolved. The corpses around the area disintegrated into thin air as shadows rose from the ground, creating a dome around the area. Two duel disks made entirely of a black energy came from the ground. Low and Reaper both put them on. “I’m one of the last 10 duelists alive, Reaper.” Low looked at Reaper, “One of the surviving 10. You can’t beat us.” Reaper only waved his hand as both decks went inside of the duel disks. Sho was almost unconscious; it seemed as if the dome was exhausting his very energy. Low managed to survive it though.

“Hm…” he looked at Reaper, “Let’s begin then.” Low seemed different, almost a bit darker. “The loser loses far more than the duel. Whoever loses rots with the flesh.”

[Akio Nyuhara]

Chapter 2 – Decay

-15 years ago -

“Alright Low, you’re here so we can begin the meeting.” A 10 year old walked into the room. Well…he looked 10, but he spoke with a certain mannerism that could only be adopted at the age of at least 40. The 10 year old had sandy blond hair and was slightly tan. He wore a small royal blue suit that was a bit big and held a teddy bear. His hands didn’t quite make there way past the sleeves. “My name is Luke, and I’ll be leading the meeting today. Master Lux is in need of…” Luke’s eyes met Sho’s, “surgery.” It seemed as if Luke had to change the word he was going to use just because Sho was there. “This is Mr. Sho, I presume?” The word Mr seemed a bit degrading to Sho, as if he was the only one in the room who didn’t earn the title “master”. Luke smiled, “At any rate, let’s begin with the meeting, shall we?”

-15 years later-

Low’s eyes met his deck as he drew his opening hand of five cards. “I’m gonna start this little game! I’ll activate the spell card Empty Cartridge. Now every turn I can add a bullet to the cartridge. These bullets give my monsters extra bonuses.” Low smiled as if he already one. “And now, partner, I’m gonna summon Outlaw in attack mode. When Outlaw is summoned, the cartridge gets 2 additional bullets,” two bullets would fly into the cartridge. “For every bullet in that cartridge, my outlaw gains 800 attack and defense points.”

Empty Cartridge – Continuous Spell. This card can not be destroyed by the effects of a spell card. Once per turn, during your end phase, place one “bullet” counter on this card. You can sacrifice this card to give one face-up monster you control 600 attack for every “bullet” counter on this card. This effect can only be activated during the battle phase of either player’s turn.

Outlaw – Earth Attribute Warrior Monster. 0 attack/0 defense. This monster can not be special summoned or set. This monster can only be normal summoned if you control a face up “Empty Cartridge”, “Pump Action Shotgun”, or “6-Shooter”. When this monster is normal summoned, you may add 2 “bullet” counters to an “Empty Cartridge”, “Pump Action Shotgun”, or “6-Shooter”.

“And now that I end my turn, my empty cartridge gets another bullet. That means my outlaw has 2400 attack in the first turn! Go ahead.” Reaper only smiled and drew a card.

“Then I suppose it’s my turn”. He drew a card. “I’ll end my turn.” His voice was sinister, but the lack of doing anything made Low laugh.

“Really partner? Not a thing? Well whatever.” Low drew a card from his deck and looked at it. “I’ll set one card face down and activate the spell card, ‘Quick Bullets!’ This card’s gonna give my gun quite a boost! At the cost of 1000 lifepoints I can add 2 bullet counters to my Empty Cartridge.” Two more bullets would fly into the cartridge. “You know you’re finished, right? My monster has exactly 4000 attack points, that’s enough to take you out. Attack!” Reaper only laughed as the bullet flew towards him.

Quick Bullets – Quickplay Spell. You must pay 1000 lifepoints to activate this card. Add 2 bullet counters to an “Empty Cartridge”, “Pump Action Shotgun”, or “6-Shooter”.

-15 years before-

“The main point of this discussion is the increasing reports of decay within the city. I believe this may be closely connected to the speculation of the ’Mio Apocolypto’ theory, in which the very saying of an apocalypse brings about the apocalypse. People are losing interest in farming because they think they will soon die. Mio was right in saying this, but it is safe to say that we have the situation under control.” There were some nods in agreement from a few people at the table. “That was the main point of the discussion, just to let you know…”

-15 years later-

“…everything is under control.” The words flashed in Sho’s mind as he constantly drifted in and out of reality. They came from both the flashback and from Low, who was staring at Sho with a smile. He looked a bit worried, as if the smile was a bad mask.

Reaper stood still, kuriboh destroyed in front of him. “By discarding Kuriboh I make all battle damage you dish out from an attack become 0.” Low stared angrily at Reaper. “But that’s not all I’m going to do…” Reaper smiled as Low ended his turn and added another bullet counter. Reaper drew an additional card to begin his turn. “I activate the spell card, ‘Demise of Kuriboh’. By removing from play a kuriboh from my hand, graveyard, and deck, I can take control of 1 monster on your side of the field!” One card from Reaper’s hand, deck and graveyard were removed from the game. Outlaw went to his side of the field. “But that isn’t all, I can also take control of 1 continuous spell card on the field! And 1 face down card on the field!” Both of the cards in Low’s spell/trap zone went to Reaper’s side of the field. “However, if I don’t win in this turn…I lose.” Reaper smiled and activated the face down card, “Your own trap card, Berserk Bullets! Let’s see what it does!” The number of bullets in the Empty Cartridge would double, as would Outlaw’s attack points. “Oh that’s perfect, absolutely perfect!” Reaper laughed, “Outlaw, Attack!” Outlaw would raise his gun and fire a bullet straight through Low’s chest.

Low looked at Sho. “Sorry kid…” darkness from the shadows rose up and began to engulf Low. “Really sorry…” Reaper’s laughter could be heard inside of Sho’s head, circling him as the shadows circled Low. Low looked around, they whipped out and covered his mouth as they pulled him down. “One…one last thing.” With his free arm he took the hat on his head and tossed it towards Sho. Sho caught it with ease. “Always remember, there are others…Sho.” The tentacle was now completely wrapped around his mouth as it pulled him towards the underworld. The shadows cleared.

Reaper and Brute slowly walked towards Sho while Plague kept a safe distance. A gun shot could be heard. “That’s enough.” From behind Sho stood three figured. One was a man in a tuxedo with sunglasses, he looked like Tsu’re. To the left of Tsu’re was a teenager wearing a red shirt and blue jeans, holding a rose as he leaned backwards on a tree. The third was a small boy holding a teddy bear. He was the one that spoke. Sho recognized the third one as Luke, and Luke hadn’t aged a day.

[Akio Nyuhara]

Chapter 3 – Within Reason

Tsu’re was silent as he effortlessly waved the guns amongst the three horsemen. Each one stood their ground, but none dared advance. It wasn’t Tsu’re they seemed to be afraid of; it was one of the other members. “Let’s go.” The member holding the rose said. “If we don’t go now, we may miss dinner. Quite frankly I’m starved.” The member walked towards the ladder of the helicopter but didn’t get up yet. “I’ll be the last to go. You’re first.” The member looked a teenager; he had dull gray eyes but an almost unsettling smile that he wore. He had a lean built; barely any muscle had shown itself. If Sho could compare him to anything it would be the calm before a great storm, but Sho didn’t have time to evaluate and judge this person. He ran towards the ladder and climbed to the inside of the helicopter.

The first thing Sho noticed about the helicopter was that the pilot was a female. She had long white hair with red eyes and an expression that screamed “you’ll die if you piss me off”. She wore black pants with a white t-shirt. On the picture of the t-shirt was a stop sign, but instead of the word “STOP” it said “GO AHEAD”. Sho smiled at the joke, but when he looked up at the girl she had seemed even more angered. “So why are you looking at my shirt? Pervert.” She turned around and seemed to focus back on the helicopter. Sho was confused, he had no idea what he did. Then again, Sho never met a girl in his life. He had lived a life of solidarity for the first four years of life, then his father had raised him and finally he lived with the government. He didn’t think of her any differently, he didn’t know why he should.

The second up the ladder was Tsu’re. “Are you sure you don’t need my help,” He asked as he rose to the top of the ladder. “If you do, just let me know.” Tsu’re looked at the pilot, “Hello Jade, nice to see you again. Where’s the pilot?” Jade seemed to look at Tsu’re coldly, but then she giggled a little. “But seriously,” Tsu’re began, “where’s Lux?” Jade looked down, then towards the lavatory. “Why does an android have to go to the bathroom? Oh that’s right; the lavatory’s the only room with a charger. He must be low.” Sho’s eyes bolted up at the word “low”, but then he realized it was two different “Low”’s.

Jade looked down at the ladder, “Speaking of which, when’s Low coming up? I can’t fly this thing without my co-pilot.” She smiled, but the eerie silence told her just what she didn’t want to hear. Her head lowered and a few tears fell from her eye to the floor, barely touching her cheek. It was horrible timing, but it was then that the next person came up. Apparently, his name was Growth. “Growth is here everyone, no need to be sad.” Growth then saw Jade’s expression, “Hey cheer up. I don’t want any suicidal runs on this thing. If you crash this helicopter and we all die I’m never speaking to you again.” A smile fell on Jade’s face as Growth walked towards the end of the helicopter. He sat on the last seat and faced forward. “All clear Luke.”

Luke went up the ladder. “GO!” he yelled, and instantly the helicopter took off. The ladder swayed through the sky and Luke detached it, making it fall off. “They tried to follow us with scarabs. Everyone check and make sure you don’t have any. When Lux gets out I want a full body search on each one of you. I don’t want any of you dead.” Luke had spoken now with an authority in his voice that had never been heard of 15 years ago. His physical form never changed, but his intelligence and maturity had grown almost double what they previously were. “After all, one’s already dead. That leaves us with nine, nine and Sho. What should we do with him anyways?” Silence. “Well I suppose we’ll find out sooner or later.”

Sho’s eyes darted towards the window. He had tried to look away from the ones that had obviously hated him now. Growth smiled and leaned in towards Sho. “Funny isn’t it?” He asked, still glancing at Sho. “Fifteen years ago you could make Lux do cartwheels in circles. Then you screwed up and everyone hates you. Well I want you to know that I don’t hate you. I’ll never hate you. I idolize what you did before, and you need to know that there are still those that will follow you.” Sho had his head rested on his hand, but apparently he had shown interest because Growth continued. “There are 10 duelists left, you included. Out of those ten, four were going to disband and join you. Now its three, I won’t go into details why but I’m sure you know.” Low must have been who he was referring too.

“What makes you so sure that now is any different than then?” Sho asked in a hushed tone. “I was disowned by my father, shot by my tutor and exiled by my city for even thinking that it could be real. Why should I continue to dream when it only leads to nightmares?”

Growth leaned back in his chair as he played with the rose in his hand, as if trying to think of something to say. “Nightmares led to your birth…” he began, but before he could say anything else the helicopter began to land. Growth smiled, still staring at his rose, now twisting it with his thumb and index finger. Sho’s eyes widened when he saw what he was really doing. Blood ran down from his two fingers onto the thorns of the rose.

The place where they had landed was formally called Hawaii. It was supposed to be a tropical place, but well over half of it was destroyed by a tsunami. Both Sho and Growth stood up first, followed by Tsu’re, then Jade, then Luke. “Lux will be out shortly,” Jade began, “he’s still charging.” The helicopter had landed successfully and they all walked out. The first thing Sho saw was a duel. It looked like it was almost over. On the left side was a boy wearing large earphones (the kind that had covered your entire ear) and on the right side was a small child sitting down with the duel disk unattached to his arm.

The kid with the earphones was the one who was going to win. “Alright, I summon Midnight Violinist and activate the spell card ‘White Noise’!”

Midnight Violinist – LIGHT Warrior/Effect – 1500 attack/1000 defense – This card is unaffected by the effects of continuous spell cards. You can sacrifice this monster to send the top four cards of target players deck to the graveyard.

White Noise – Continuous Spell - When this card is activated, all monsters lose 1000 attack points. As long as this card remains face up on the field, neither player can activate a monster’s effect from their hand.

“And now I don’t have to worry about that pesky Honest. Plus, since my Midnight Violinist ignores the effects of all continuous spell cards, he doesn’t lose the attack points! But your Shining Angel, on the other hand…” Shining Angel’s attack would decrease from 1400 to 400. “And now I attack!” Midnight Violinist would play a haunting tone on his violin as a spirit would rise from the ground and destroy the Shining Angel. The child’s lifepoints would go from 800 to 0. “Good game kid.” The man with the earphones would turn on a song and walk away as the child studied what happened in the game.

“You see,” Growth began, looking at Sho, “when you lose a duel here, you will spend hours finding out why. You can’t just play the game for fun anymore, now that it’s winner-take-all.” Growth smiled and walked towards a dimly lit cave on the island. “Follow me. I need to show you what you have done, and why we appreciate it.” Sho followed Growth into the cave.

“The difference between now and fifteen years ago is that now we have the prophecy. They don’t know that, Sho. We know what will happen, they don’t. If you take the leadership position once more we can overthrow them and end this once and for all. What do you say, are you in?” Growth smiled and held out his hand.

Sho weighed the possibilities. If I join…I’ll be the leader. But then I may have to kill my friends. If I don’t join, the apocalypse will wipe us out. Should I risk the lives of my friends to save the entire world? It’s too hard of a choice![/b] It was then that his decision was made.

[Akio Nyuhara]

Chapter 4: Virtue

-15 Years before-

Akio, remember what I have told you in the past. You must remember, above all else, to love peace and fight war. You must remember to find the loved solution, not the reasonable one. Within reason there is conflict.

Akio wondered amongst the area. The door was open and he was staring at the figure before him. He looked towards the side out of curiosity to see if anyone was watching him. He was four now, it was his birthday yesterday though the monks that he had lived with paid no mind. Instead of seeing a human being, he saw a mirror, he saw himself. His blonde hair was a bit messy and covered a bit of his left eye. His hat wasn’t fully on his head; it was a bit tilted to the left. His one free eye was its same shade of purple, but since he was tired a red color filled the rest of his eyes. He then looked back to the door. He saw a teenager ahead of him, around the age of 19. The teenager had slick black hair with a smug look on his face. He was pale with eyes that looked like coal. When he spoke, his voice was dignified and sophisticated. His mouth moved, but they barely matched the words he had said. It was as if he was just learning to speak.

He wore a brown t-shirt and had a bit of muscle that was tucked into his black pants. He had a brown belt that went over the pants. He smiled.

“Hello Akio. You may call me Lux.”

Akio stared at the man, dumbfounded by the strange emotionless state of Lux’s face. Lux only continued his smile, but Akio knew nothing laid underneath.

“Are you alright?” Akio inquired. Lux still smiled, as if he didn’t know how to respond. Akio continued to observe him. “Well,” he cleared his throat, “what are you here for anyways?” Even though Akio was young, there was a maturity about him.

Lux took a few seconds to respond, as if he was a computer with a load time. “I am fine, and I am here to escort you to my castle.”

A man who looked like he was about to drive past the limo that Lux had arrived in slowed his car and stopped. He opened the door and stepped out. He was wearing a tuxedo with sunglasses on. There was an imprint of a gun under his clothing by his left ankle, and a gun holster was clearly visible near his right thigh. Lux paid no mind.

“You see, I am with the government. I am part of an organization created to take and train young minds to become exceptional leaders. We are known as ALPHA. That isn’t our true name, only a code name. I will not give you the true name until you enter the limo.” The man in the tuxedo and sunglasses began to walk cautiously towards Lux.

“You’re in the…government? What’s the government?” Akio tried to say the word ‘government’ but it just made him sound idiotic. He was an adolescent, yes, but he still preferred to sound sophisticated over immature.

“Yes. I am with the government and I have come - “A knife stabbed Lux in the neck. Behind Lux was the man in the tuxedo and sunglasses. Sparks flew from Lux’s neck as Lux fell to the floor.

“I guess you just aren’t that lucky you robotic ass.” The man in the tuxedo stared at Akio. “You have to follow me at once Akio, you are in danger. The monks cannot protect you, they hired me to nonviolently take you.” He stared at Lux. “Well, it was peaceful I suppose. I mean, I only hurt a robot. He’ll be fine anyways.” The man looked at Akio. “But still, you must come with me right away!”

- 15 years later -

Sho smiled, “I’m not going to join.” Growth’s face showed utter shock. “That is, not yet. There is one thing I must do. I thank you for doing what I wanted you too. I asked that as soon as you found me you reactivate my memory. You did. You’ve passed the test with flying colors.”

Growth nodded, his shock faded and was replaced with a look of happiness. “Right Sho, you know best.” Growth began to walk out, but just before he turned back to Sho. “Sho, we’re going for Plague first, but they’re going for Brute. We’re splitting in two divisions. I’m taking Harmony, Rude and Diss. I would be honored if you went with us.”

Sho recognized the code names. Harmony was the man who had dueled previously, his real name was James. He was from America and seemed to be addicted to music. Rude was a small child who was usually kept locked in a cell. His real name was Ruke, Sho wasn’t sure of his origin. He had a strange disease that made him go into a coma whenever he fell asleep, so he had to be chained up in order to avoid him from killing himself. Diss was a young girl who was, before, Sho’s advisor. She was born when Sho was 17 and gave him advice when she was 8 (he was 25 at the time). She was much smarter than Sho, probably the second smartest of the entire survivors (the first being Luke). Her real name was Jing, she was from China.

“So we’re going for Plague? Very well. Obviously I’m going to help you. We’ll take off after them.” Growth nodded.





Luke was very tired. It was midnight and he had the night watch. A fire was roaring in front of him and smoke slowly rose to the air. He stared up to the smoke, his eyes glistening against the sparks flowing through newly formed ash. He heard a snap in a bush behind him and smiled as he stood up. Finally some action, he thought as he turned to the noise. He noticed who it was immediately.

“So this is your little camp?” It was Brute. He was by himself but was well equipped to absolutely destroy anything in his way. “Nice little place you got here.” Brute smiled as he sat by the fire.

“It’s just you. You’re no threat.” Luke’s eyes narrowed, he seemed a bit disappointed. “I’m killing you first you know.”

Brute’s laughter echoed into the air; it almost seemed to push away that thin gray line flying from the fire. “You…kill me? Don’t be foolish, we both know what would happen if you even tried it.”

“Perhaps I should better introduce myself. My name is Luke.” Luke smiled as his eyes grew red. The campfire began to rise slowly. “Luke is short for my real name. In biblical terms…Lucifer. I am Lucifer the barer of light and the spawn of darkness. I am he who controls life at a whim. Reaper’s powers fade away at my very hand!” The campfire fell as a halo grew above Luke’s head. The halo was black and covered in fire and thorns. “I am the beautiful fallen angel – the greatest of the fallen angels. Not only that, but you may say that I created sin. Meaning, I created you, Brute.” Luke’s eyes seemed to grow yellow as his halo also became a bit lighter. It seemed as if the shadows created by the fire had fed the fear of Brute, and that fear was clearly visible. “I will come for your soul later.” Luke smiled and stepped forward, Brute also stepped forward.

“I am the embodiment of war! You can’t defeat me!”

“You may be the embodiment of war, Brute, but I am he who created war!” Luke smiled, “Though this body grows tiring. Perhaps removing your soul and placing my soul in your body would make me more powerful.” Luke’s smile grew as he continued to step forward. “Then I would control war itself, instead of try to lead men into war I could force them! Wouldn’t that be fun?” Brute snarled like a bull and disappeared in a flash of fire. Luke fainted by the campfire.

“Luke!” Jade woke up from a bed in the helicopter in time to see Luke fall. “Luke, wake up!” Jade ran towards Luke.

[Akio Nyuhara]

Chapter 5: The Silent Prayer

“Luke, please!” Jade constantly shook Luke until Luke’s eyes slowly drifted open. His eyes were the color of blood; however, his expression seemed innocent like a child. “Luke…what’s wrong with your eyes?” Jade examined Luke. She had always seen Luke as a brother, but she knew something was strange about them.

“It’s nothing, Jade.” Luke sounded very tired as he stood up. “I ask that you don’t shake me in my sleep any further. Thank you.” Luke began to walk towards the woods. No trail… he thought to himself. Then something strange happened. It was as if Luke was plunged into his own subconscious. Luke fainted, but when he awoke he definitely wasn’t where he used to be.

………………………………………..

Luke looked around. All he could see was a hall of mirrors. “Where…am I?” Luke could hear a small laughter in the distance. Luke looked at one of the mirrors as his body began to take the shape of Lucifer. “AH!” Luke punched the mirror as it shattered in pieces. The glass made his hand and knuckled bleed, but as the blood dripped to the floor it began to fade away. “Who…who was that?” Luke began to walk forward; more mirrors began to rise from the ground. It made a maze of mirrors, and it looked exactly like something someone would find in a carnival.

“You don’t know who I am?” Luke’s shadow began to grow a white mouth and two white eyes. Luke turned around and was horrified by the image. “I’m you, Luke. You were actually named Lucifer, just like me. They changed your name to Luke to stop a part of the prophecy but…well as you know that didn’t work too well.” Luke’s eyes widened as he fell to the ground. His breathing grew shorter and shorter until he felt no need to breathe. His heart stopped beating. His vision began to fade away.

He closed his eyes, his vision becoming black. When he opened them he saw a blurry image, it looked like Lucifer holding a sword made of light. His eyes closed again. When they opened, Lucifer was closer and the sword was pointed at Luke’s throat. His eyes closed for a final time, but he heard a voice.

“How weak…honestly Lucifer, I am not impressed at all. You’re about to kill a child? Hah! Oh how the mighty have fallen, oh how God would love to see his frightened mistake! You’ve fallen from the heavens, Lucifer, and now must pay your rent for staying on Earth.” The voice paused. “A soul? You think a soul will pay that debt you owe! Hah! A soul will get you nowhere, not a child’s soul anyways. Your rent must be paid in a corrupt soul, YOUR soul!” Luke finally recognized the voice. His eyes opened and his vision cleared.

In front of him was still Lucifer, but his vision somehow shifted to the left. To his left was a man sitting on a chair, lounging on it. The man sat sideways, his legs dwindling from one side of the chair and his head resting on his arms from the other. The figure was staring directly at Lucifer and smiling. “You can’t call me weak!” Lucifer exclaimed to the figure. The figure stood from the chair.

“The child stays with me, Lucifer. My plans are much greater than you can comprehend.” As the figure walked closer, Luke removed all doubt from who the figure was. His purple hair was slightly covering his two yellow eyes. He was the prophet, Tsu’re. “But I have use for you as well. I will allow you to live without your debt, but you must host inside of my soul instead. We both know that my mentality will torture you if you try anything funny.”

“You know not who you deal with!” Lucifer’s eyes filled with flames. All Tsu’re did was snap his fingers. Every mirror shattered simultaneously. The glass that shattered formed crystallized snakes that wrapped around Lucifer.

What is Tsu’re talking about…what debt…? What’s going on… Luke’s vision faded away as he snapped back into consciousness and saw Jade once more.

-15 years before-

Luke was asleep in his room. He heard a knock on the door and his eyes bolted open. “Luke, get up.” It was Tsu’re. “Are you decent?”

“Yeah.” Luke rubbed his eyes to try and wake up. When Tsu’re opened the door, he was with two girls.

“The one to my left’s name is Jade, the one to my right’s name is La…for some strange reason she prefers the name La, anyways. Heaven knows why. Anyways, it is your assignment for today to show them where the girls dorm is. You’re the only one young enough to take them there without any…additional steps.” The two girls blushed as Tsu’re took a step out of the door. He was clearly tired. Before he took another step he looked back at Luke. “Luke, I want you to know who your allies are. Remember, in this building I am your only friend.”

Luke knew exactly what Tsu’re had meant. Both Luke and Tsu’re had planned to assassinate the new child, Sho. They had stumbled upon a prophecy that mentioned Sho bringing an end to the world. They wanted to prevent that. Normally the prophecy would be ignored, but it had already made 4 predictions, all of which coming true. Lux was dismantled, Akio was kidnapped, a war between the third world countries had broken out and Sho had joined the Japanese government. It was so specific that Tsu’re and Luke knew it to be true. So Sho had to die.

“Oh and one more thing. Tonight. Nine O’clock. Be there.” Luke nodded as Tsu’re walked out. Luke never was much for killing, nor was Tsu’re, but they were both trained to do whatever was needed.

“Uhm…what are you guys talking about?” Jade looked at La and La just shrugged her shoulders.

“Nothing,” Luke stepped out of his bed and walked towards the door, “let’s go.”

-15 years later-

Sho and Tsu’re were looking right at each other, each having a deck of cards on the table. “I have to tell you something about what went on 15 years ago. But I’ll only tell you if you manage to defeat me. I need to make sure you’re strong enough to hear it.” Sho shuffled his deck as Tsu’re shuffled his. “I don’t have much time, so we’re going to play Sudden Death. We both only have 1 life point. Effect Damage from spells, traps and effects don’t deal damage, and life points can’t be restored. Let’s begin.” Sho nodded, he’d played Sudden Death before. It was the only way to duel Tsu’re, Tsu’re never really enjoyed full duels. They bored him on turn 5, so when he did do a full duel he’d usually use a deck that would beat the enemy in one turn.

“I’ll start,” Tsu’re said as he drew a card. “Why don’t I tell you about my past Sho?” Tsu’re set one card from his hand onto the field in face down defense mode. He then set one card face down. He nodded as Sho drew a card. “You see,” Tsu’re continued, “I was born under atheist parents. I too am an atheist; I feel that the heavens hold no power. After all of this you may be wondering why…well…I have a bit of a reason for that. I’m not an atheist because I don’t believe in a god; I’m an atheist because I don’t want to believe in a god.”

“That sounds like bull to me.” Sho played a spell card, “Mystical Space Typhoon”, which destroyed Tsu’re’s “Bottomless Trap Hole”. “This is a pretty weak deck, is it one of your old ones?”

“No, its one of yours. I found it a few years after you had left.” Sho nodded and summoned a “Giant Orc” monster in attack mode. “Let me continue,” Tsu’re said, looking at the Giant Orc, “The reason I don’t want to believe in a god is because of the nightmare’s I have seen. I have studied an old prophecy so much that I had dreams of what was to come. I began to tell a therapist of those dreams, and when they began happening, word spread fast. My mother and father both got into a religion and forced me into a church.”

“Church made you lose faith in any form of god?”

“Yes, isn’t it ironic? You see, the pastor there treated me with disrespect because I was a child. He never talked to me, nor did he answer my questions. He hypocritically told me that all living creatures deserved love when nobody loved me.” Tsu’re said this with such a lack of emotion that it made him sound detached, but the clarity in his expression made it certain that he had despised his past. “That’s not all though.”

“What else happened? So far you just sound like a spoiled brat to me.” Sho smiled but Tsu’re shot him a look that quickly removed Sho’s expression.

“My parents were murdered…by the pastor.” Sho’s eyes widened and his mouth opened, but no words came out. “He wasn’t a holy man, he was an assassin. I won’t walk into another church because I know that they’re just waiting to finish the job.” Tsu’re’s eyes locked onto Sho’s, but Sho’s eyes retreated back to the game.

“Let’s just…keep playing. I’ll attack.” Sho attacked with giant orc, revealing a face down sangan.

“I’ll use Sangan’s ability to bring a Hayabusa Knight to my hand.” Sho nodded. Tsu’re looked through his deck until he found a Hayabusa knight and put it in his hand, then shuffled his deck. “Anything else this turn?”

“Yeah, one face down.” Sho looked at the game, he didn’t want to finish, he wanted to know why Sho’s parents were assassinated.

“Alright, I’ll summon Hayabusa knight in attack mode and double attack.” Giant Orc was destroyed and Sho’s lifepoints went from 100 to 0. “Good game.” Tsu’re stood up and walked outside. Sho just silently stared at the table.

[Akio Nyuhara]

Season 2 - War

Chapter 6 – Brothers in Arms

“Tsu’re, wait…” Sho couldn’t even finish the sentence. He had no idea what was happening, everything was moving too fast. He no longer had the luxury of freedom; it perished away and was replaced with a weight even Atlas wouldn’t bear. His eyes continued to look at the deck Tsu’re had given him. It was a strong deck, but didn’t reflect his style of play. That’s it, Sho thought to himself, I have to get my deck. But first I’ll need fuel. Sho tried his best to remember anything he may have known before from Hawaii. He was desperate to find information about anything that would supply fuel. His eyes instantly bolted open. Of course! He jolted towards the door, but slipped and fell down on the hardwood floor. He at once passed out.

Luke walked in and saw him on the floor. His eyes narrowed as he turned his head. What the hell did you do, Tsu’re? Luke bolted out of the door and stared directly at Tsu’re, eyes full of rage. “Tsu’re!” he yelled, jumping down from the stairs and grabbing his duel disk, “what did you tell Sho?”

Tsu’re smiled, “I didn’t tell him anything, Luke. Nothing important anyway.” Luke obviously didn’t believe him. He put on his duel disk and Tsu’re got the idea, grabbing his own. He grabbed a secret deck inside of his coat.

“Using your platinum deck, eh?” Growth smiled as he walked from the shadows, holding a small sack. Luke looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “It’s dinner.” Luke’s gazes shifted back towards Tsu’re. “You haven’t used that deck in three years. If I remember right…it wasn’t since our little duel.” Growth just kept the smile on his face.

“I don’t care if he uses a bronze, copper, silver or diamond deck. I’m kicking his ass. I’m tired of his stubbornness, I’m tired of everything he’s done!” Luke drew an opening hand of five cards. “We’re dueling, Tsu’re. The loser swims with the sharks!”

Growth’s eyes widened, I’m sure he doesn’t mean…loser dies…why would he get rid of one of the only ten people left on earth?! “Luke, you idiot, stop this! Don’t kill him!” It seemed as if Luke didn’t even bother listening. It made Growth a bit mad, but Growth just walked into the cabin.

“Come on, kiddo, show me what you’re made of.” Tsu’re smiled as Luke drew a card.

Luke stared at his hand for a few seconds before finally deciding to make a move.

Growth looked over towards the cabin door and noticed Sho walking out, holding his head. There he is. Sho walked over towards Growth. Growth glanced at him and frowned, “Are you alright buddy?” Sho just shook his head ‘no’ and glanced at the duel. “Ah, you’re wondering what’s going on. Well, you see, Tsu’re has been constantly beating Luke at…just about everything…since they first knew each other. We always thought it was harmless, but for some strange reason Luke has been growing a rage within himself. Tsu’re has done a good job at holding it in, but I think it’s gone loose. Neither of them are taking any chances though. Luke is using his famed Chaosrider deck, whereas Tsu’re is using his famed platinum deck. I’m the only one who’s seen it in action.”

“How about I start?” Luke asked as he drew a card. “First I summon Chaosrider Gustaph in attack mode!” A motorcycle appeared on the field with a demon riding it. “Now I’ll activate Card Destruction!” Luke discarded his hand and drew four cards, while Tsu’re discarded his hand and drew five. “Now I use Meteor of Destruction, dealing 1000 damage to you!” Tsu’re’s lifepoints went down to 3000. “I’ll finish with a face down card!”

- 15 years before -

Akio followed the stranger into a limo. The man opened up a door and led Akio in. “My name is Growth, and as said before I have come to take you to a secret chamber that only a select few know about. If that robot got a hold of you, you’d be dead.” Akio was silent because there were so many things were going on at once. The man removed his glasses and loosened his tie. “We should be there shortly.” He rested his head on his arms. “Just sit tight. You’ll know it when you see it.” Akio looked out the window and rested his chin on his hand. He had no idea where he was going, but for some reason he didn’t care.

[Akio Nyuhara]

Chapter 7 part 1 – An Ode to Akio, Part 1

“Please…no! Stop!” A scream was heard across the field when the limo had begun to slow down. Growth let out a small smile as he stared behind Akio. A sound of thunder roared, and Akio immediately knew the thunder was a gun shot. His eyes widened, but Growth didn’t seem phased.

“Who…who was that?” Akio had asked, staring at Growth. Growth remained silent as the limo came to a complete stop. The door opened. Akio remained silent for fear of sounding rude. As he stepped out, he had his answer. A young blonde woman was on the ground, blood quickly escaping from her hair. A once white dress was now soaked in red. Her hair began to go red too. “Oh my.” Akio rushed towards the woman and crouched near her, lowering his head to pray for her. He was interrupted by Growth who grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him away. As he was being grabbed, Akio got a look at the surrounding area. It was a mansion with fields surrounding the entire area.

A pale faced man with dark hair greeted the two. “Finally you’ve made it. And my other agent?” The man stated. His voice seemed a bit strange, almost like the entire speech had already been planned. Growth nodded at the man, and the man frowned. “That’s too bad. Oh well, he was expendable. Just a robot, after all.” Growth smiled as the man walked away.

Growth looked at Akio and sighed, “I’d tell you where we are, kid, but we have to do a bit of work first. I guess I should start by saying where we are. This place is known as Lux manor. It’s a little shack compared to where you’ll be staying, but it’s where most of our meetings will take place.” A man was laying down with a western style hat over his head. “His name is Low, and he usually takes care of the new recruits. You, however, have a special mission. So I’ll be taking you on it.” Growth smiled as he pulled out a small revolver from his coat pocket and tossed it towards Akio. “Keep that in your hat, you’ll be needing it.” The young boy just nodded and placed the tiny gun into his hat, than put his hat back on his head.

Growth stared towards Low. “Low, enjoying your day off.”

Low took off his hat, “Never wake me up, Growth. You know that.” He just put his hat back on and fell asleep. Growth laughed.

“Ok, watch out for ticks.” Growth looked around the area, “Well, follow me.” Growth began to walk towards the manor. “We need to get you assigned into a room first. Your roommate is called Sho.”

15 years later

“It’s my turn already? That’s all you wanted to do? Fine.” Tsu’re drew a card from his deck. “I’ll start by using the spell card, Mystical Space Typhoon! This card will wipe out your face down card.” A vortex from the spell shot out, piercing through Luke’s face down card and destroying it. “Well, that’s gone. Now I’m going to summon my Platinum Elf, in attack mode!” A crystallized version of a small elf holding a bow appeared. “This elf, as you may notice, has no arrows. That’s because I can send the top card of my deck to the graveyard to give it an arrow. I can only do this twice.” Tsu’re sent the top two cards of his deck to the grave as two arrows appeared in the platinum elf. “It can’t attack the turn it’s summoned, though, so I’m ending my turn with one card face down.”

Growth tapped Sho on the shoulder. “Sho, there’s something I have to tell you.” Sho looked at Growth, but said nothing. The duel between Luke and Tsu’re went on, with multiple monsters on both sides of the field being destroyed. “You see, your friend Akio…for a long time you were told he died on a mission. That’s not true, I know who killed him.”

Sho’s eyes widened. “Who? Who was it, Growth?” Sho grabbed Growth’s shirt, staring at him eye to eye. “I swear whoever it was I’ll-“

Growth interrupted the threat, “It was me.”