Sorry for the long wait, but I had a rough time choosing a deck type for the opponent in this chapter.

Fun fact of the day: Ironically, until this chapter was posted, this fiction had 67,666 words in it.

Demon Fan: I've never watched X-Men, to be honest. A friend of mine designed Varen, and yes, he apparently based him off Nightcrawler. But don't look at me, I hardly know anything about anything in X-Men. And what is Peacemaker?

John: Nah, Ikari belongs in his own, messed up little world.

Captain Obvious: Yeah, I rather like both effects.

Erestor Telemnar: Thanks.

Chapter 15: Purpose of Fighting

In the gorge, the river was enclosed by solid rock walls at first. But by going downstream for some distance, the walls began to slope, as the high elevation the group had originally been on smoothed out on the lower landscape. It was somewhat bare nearby the river, but close to it were more trees. These forests, once so rare in populated areas, had been left alone after the incident by the few survivors. Without anyone to interfere, the trees had had time to flourish, causing most of the areas abandoned to be covered in woods.

It was a common subject for the black-cloaked man to ponder over. At the cost of one species, another had been able to grow in abundant qualities.

Is that the only way for two different races to live in harmony? By killing off one of them? The man shook his head. He'd asked himself that question too many times, and he never knew the answer. This time, it was no different.

Compared to his fellow members among the black cloaks, he was certainly an odd one. He was somewhat younger than most of them, looking as though he was in his mid-twenties. Unlike his secretive companions, he often kept the hood of his cloak off, revealing his somewhat spiky, dark blonde hair that went to the end of his shoulder blades. His eyes were what surprised most people though. Their color, a deep gold, was startling enough. But there was something else about them that unsettled those who looked into them…

He was only able to get out of keeping the hood up when he was alone, which was one reason why he liked working solo. Wearing the concealing cloak just did not appeal to him, as it made it difficult to travel, fight, and was insanely hot when it wasn't winter. He didn't like keeping his features hidden either; it just wasn't his style. Protocol was protocol though, and as much as wearing the black cloak irritated him, he dealt with it.

"Sometimes I even wonder why I bothered to join," he sighed. "But if I can save lives by helping them, I suppose it's better than doing nothing."

He looked over at the swift-flowing water from the large rock he was sitting on by the bank. "Still, I'm not quite ready to report back yet. Not like there's no reason to anyway. They're used to me being late to contact them."

"Hm… it's been twenty years, hasn't it?" He continued to watch the river as he spoke to himself. "I was only five back then, but I still remember my parents so well. Guess that stands to reason though… it's not like I've met anyone else I can particularly say I like…"

He trailed off when he saw something. From the raging waters, a man crashed into a rock in the middle of the river, slumping over it. But due to the strong currents, the man was already beginning to slip away.

He didn't even think about what he was doing as he leapt off of the rock and ran to the side of the shore, vaulting over to the rock in the stream. He landed, and nearly fell over due to the slipperiness of the rock. He managed to recover his balance quickly though and grabbed the man around the waist before jumping back to shore. With the additional weight, he did not quite make it to dry land, but he landed in shallow enough waters to be able to stumble onto the shore.

"Whew… surprised I was able to do that," he muttered, laying the man on the shore. Although unconscious, he began to cough violently, releasing the water that had entered his body.

The man wearing the black cloak watched in disbelief as he kept coughing for several minutes. "How did you even manage to survive? Judging by how much water you swallowed, you should have drowned a long time ago." He shrugged. "Then again, what do I know about it?"

As the man finally went motionless, he looked over him and noticed something. The man's long, silver hair had just reminded him of an important description he had seen and read about recently.

"I wonder…" He reached into his Duel Disk and brought out a folded up piece of paper from the spare compartment. After quickly unfolding it, his suspicions were confirmed. "Aha! A friend of the marked one, huh? I don't know how you ended up here, but I'm guessing your friends will be nearby. Let's see… yep, description fits completely. So, if these instructions are correct, I guess it's my job to kill you, Ark."

He considered the unconscious form for a moment before kneeling beside him and examining him. "Seems like you're completely out of it. I could slay you right now and save myself a lot of trouble later." He shook his head. "But no. I'm not that heartless. Besides, I have just thought of a use for you."

He lifted Ark and slung him over his shoulder with barely any difficulty. "Geez, you're light. Do you never eat or something?"

Of course, he got no reply. So he started off for the forest, saying one last thing.

"Either way, you'll do fine for what I need. Sorry to have to put you through this, but it just makes things so much easier."

…..

At first, Daine had no idea where he was. It was night time, and he was struggling to just remember what had last happened.

He sat up slowly, looking around. He was on the shore next to the river. Seeing the fierce current instantly brought his memory up to speed.

"They ambushed us!" Daine growled, standing. "I don't know how I even lived through that… I guess I was washed onto shore pretty quickly. I have the most amazing luck." He considered his options. "I have no idea where the others are, or if they even survived. I don't know if Zarek had a chance to live… but it's possible he and Varen were able to get off the bridge before the bridge collapsed. I wasn't able to see them before I fell unconscious. As for the others, maybe they managed to make it out too, or were able to swim."

He began walking over to the woods. "Well, if any of them survived, they wouldn't stay by the shore. I'd have better luck searching the woods."

…..

Ark knew instantly that something was wrong. He cautiously opened his eyes, and gazed at his surroundings.

He was lying in a clearing that was inside a forest. But that made no sense; the last thing he could remember was falling down the gorge.

Ark tried to move his arms, but found that they were bound behind his back. His legs were also tied together. He was instantly able to infer what had occurred.

One of the soldiers or black-cloaked people must have found me, Ark realized. But why would I be left alone, even if I cannot do anything? This is too suspicious for my liking…

With that thought in mind, he concentrated on his injuries. They were a bit more agonizing than before, due to the painful fall, but he guessed that they would be mostly recovered after another day.

Since there was nothing he could do besides let himself try to get over the pain, Ark let himself fall asleep. Being a light sleeper, he was sure that if anything happened, he would come to instantly.

…..

After he had made a few preparations, the cloaked figure had finally decided that it was time to try and find the members of the group. He kept to the shadows of the trees, walking quietly through the forest.

Then he heard footsteps. He quickly ducked behind a tree trunk and waited for the person to pass before looking at him from behind the tree trunk.

Black clothes… black hair… and black gloves. He smiled at the irony of it. So, the one I've wanted to kill for so long gets to be my first victim. Seems perfect, doesn't it? Then he looked over at the teen again. I'm still suspicious about what I've been told though. It seems like I was right to take all these precautions. Now, if I can just get him to come to the proper place…

…..

Daine kept his wits about him as he walked on through the dark woods. So far, he had heard nothing besides his own footsteps and breathing though. The forest animals all seemed to have vanished. There wasn't even any wind.

I'm getting a bad feeling about this… Daine thought as he looked around.

Suddenly, he heard a twig crunch. He spun to where he had heard the sound come from.

The tree was silent and empty, but that did not make Daine feel any better. I could have sworn I heard somebody. Was it just an animal?

After another few minutes of walking, he heard another sound. But again, nobody was in the tree he looked at.

Then it happened once more. This time, when he turned to the tree that the noise had been at, he saw a dark figure leaping off it.

He ran over to where the figure had landed, but found nothing. Disturbed by what he had seen, he looked down at the ground. There he saw the grass and dirt beneath it pressed down, showing that the person had gone that way.

I think that person is following me. But why? Is it an assassination attempt or something? Daine examined the barely noticeable trail again, and then began to follow it. It would be better if I found this person before they can gain the advantage of surprise. They'll probably notice me pursuing them pretty soon and reveal themselves then, but at least I'll be ready.

However, after following the fairly straight path for a while, he was forced to halt.

What? The trail's ended... But why so abruptly?

For the first time in a while, he raised his eyes from the trail and saw a clearing in front of him, with someone lying on the ground in it.

As Daine stepped into the clearing, Ark's eyes snapped open, having been awoken by his approach. He looked over to see who was coming.

Due to the darkness, Daine had not recognized who was there until he saw his companion's red eyes.

"Ark! What…"

But Ark was more concerned about the shadow that had just emerged behind Daine. "Behind you!"

"Too late," the cloaked figure said, placing something with a steel edge against Daine's neck.

Daine froze, shocked. When he got a hold on himself, he spoke to the person behind him calmly. "It looks like I fell for your trap."

"You didn't think I would leave a trail unless I wanted to be followed, did you?"

"I thought it was kind of suspicious, but I didn't think much about it," Daine replied, still not moving. "Now I know better."

"Either way, you wouldn't leave as long as your friend's here, would you? Don't blame him for letting you fall for my ambush; he didn't even know I was here until now. I assure you that he's unharmed, and will remain that way as long as you follow my instructions."

Ark closed his eyes. "Sorry…"

"It's not your fault," Daine said. "The outcome probably wouldn't have changed even if you had been able to warn me earlier." He directed his attention to the one behind him. "So, aren't you going to kill me?"

"Why do you think that?"

"I know that you must be one of those black-cloaked guys that have been after me," Daine replied. "There's no way you can be just a soldier. All of the ones who come after me with black cloaks want me dead, so I have no reason to believe any differently for you."

"Good deduction," the man replied. "However, you might say I'm a bit… different… from the others. I prefer to see things with my own eyes, before blindly killing anything I've been ordered to slay." He paused before continuing. "I assume you are the one they call the marked one?"

"You assume correctly."

"Then I wish to try something." The pressure of the steel against his neck grew lighter. "Turn and face me."

Daine carefully did so. The man had his hood up, hiding all his features, so Daine took the opportunity to glance at the weapon the black cloaked man kept next to his neck instead. It was a black ring that had a white X in the center, which the man grasped it by. Daine guessed it was the handle, and that the entire ring was like a razor.

"Admiring my chakram?" he asked when he saw Daine eyeing it.

"Chakram?"

"Yeah. That's what these are called." He brought out another one of the chakrams that was identical to the first. "They're highly dangerous devices, even to the wielder. One wrong timing and you could get your arm cut off when it returns to you. It took me a long time to learn to trust my ability in them. Then again, I had quite a bit of free time to learn such things." He put away the new chakram, but left the other one out. "Now… this will be a simple enough procedure. I'm going to ask you a few questions. Answer me truthfully and perhaps I'll be inclined to spare you. If I suspect that I'm being lied to though… let's just say my good mood will be gone very quickly. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Then let's begin." The man brought his left hand, the one not holding his weapon, up to his hood and pulled it down.

Even without the chakram at his neck, Daine would have found himself paralyzed. He was a bit surprised by the man's somewhat spiked hair color, a dark blonde that was certainly not common. But his golden eyes were what stunned the teen. Even Ark's blood-red eyes had never intimidated him this much.

Then their intensity seemed to fade away. Even though they were still a very unusual shade of gold, they did not pierce into him as they had before.

"How about a few quick introductions? Tell me your name, and your friend's."

"I'm Daine, he's Ark. What about you?"

"I'll answer you this time, but remember that I am the questioner at the moment. Call me Kaden. Now, are you the one who is responsible for the Beginning of the End incident?"

Surprised by the question, Daine took a few moments to answer. "No."

Kaden blinked, and shook his head as though to clear it before locking his gaze onto Daine's eyes again. "You are not?"

"I did not cause that incident," Daine said. "I don't know why you would think I did either, unless it has something to do with this accursed pentagram."

"Pentagram? So that is the mark you have?"

"Yes."

"Show me."

Daine hesitated, and then drew off his right glove, showing Kaden the red pentagram.

"So it wasn't a complete lie…" Kaden murmured before continuing. "Since when have you had that?"

"Since birth," Daine answered, putting his glove on again.

"Do you know what it does?"

"No."

"What age are you?"

"Um…" It took all Daine had to not look away. How am I supposed to answer that truthfully? Should I say sixteen, or thirty-six? Well, he said to answer truthfully. It would be best to give as accurate of an answer I can. I could lie, but something about him tells me that would not be a smart thing to do…

"I'm technically thirty-six. I've been asleep for twenty years in a laboratory," Daine explained.

"Twenty years? Were you asleep when the incident occurred?"

"Yes."

Kaden sighed. "That explains a lot… so you have no connection with the incident at all?"

"None that I know of. I didn't even know what this incident was until a few days ago, when I met my friends, who explained what had occurred."

Kaden stared at him for what seemed like forever before unlocking his gaze and moving the chakram away from his neck. "Alright, you pass."

"What?"

"You spoke truthfully, and your answers satisfied me. So you won't die instantly. However…" He held up the chakram again, this time pointing it at Ark. "I can't let you escape that easily. I've waited for a long time to meet you, and I do not intend to pass up this chance. So here's what I have to offer. We'll duel, and the winner can decide the loser's fate. I assume we'll both choose killing though. If you refuse, I'll have no choice but to slay Ark. I'd prefer not to waste the life I have just saved, so I hope you will accept my challenge."

"What do you mean by wasting the life you saved?" Daine inquired.

"I happened to come across him in the river," Kaden explained. "How he got there is beyond me though. I pulled him out."

"Due to one of your pals, my friends and I fell off a bridge and into the river," Daine said, giving Kaden a cold look. "Why did you save Ark? To lure me into dueling?"

"Not originally, but when I discovered who he was, I decided it would be a good use for him." He looked over at Ark. "My apologies, but sometimes I have to do things that even I dislike."

"You must have known my name," Ark stated.

"I'm afraid I don't follow," Kaden said.

But Daine realized what Ark meant. "If you knew who Ark was by his appearance, you must have already known his name. You probably knew mine as well. Why did you ask me for our names when you already knew them?"

"You could call it a warm up for the actual questioning," Kaden replied. "That and I wanted to confirm my suspicions anyway. Now, do you accept my challenge or not Daine? I assume you will, since you seem to be the type who cares for your friends."

"You do not have to accept," Ark said to Daine. "No matter what he does, I will be fine."

Daine shook his head. "No. You're already in enough pain; I can't let him add to it. Just hold on for a bit longer."

After a few seconds of struggle, Ark managed to pull himself into a kneeling position. "Very well. Do as you must…"

Daine turned on his Duel Disk and chose his Deck Master. "Retrained Elven Swordsman. What's your choice?"

A female humanoid monster appeared at Kaden's side. She wore a pale red top, along with dark red armor that covered her shoulders and her chest, and another matching piece of armor around her waist. She had an elegant white skirt, along with white boots that went up to her knees. Her gloves, which went up to her elbows, matched her boots. She also had a red helmet that covered the top of her head, with a green jewel in the center of it, and two white wing-like devices coming from the sides of it. At her throat was another green jewel that was identical to the one in her helmet. Her wavy purple hair went below her shoulder blades, and her eyes were a beautiful dark blue. The most interesting feature was the two white wings that emerged from her back though.

"Dunamis Valkyria," Kaden said, looking over at her. He seemed to be about to say something, but after a moment simply stated, "Are you ready to start?"

"Any time."

Daine: 8000

Kaden: 8000

Kaden took out a coin from his Duel Disk and flipped it. "Call it."

Daine shrugged. "Heads."

"Nope, it's tails, so I'll go first. I lay one monster in defense mode and one card face down. That's it."

"I'll start off by going on the offensive!" Daine said. "I summon Blade Knight (1600/1000) and attack your defense monster!"

"That wasn't a good monster to begin attacking with," Kaden stated. "You revealed my Kelbek. (1500/1800) Any monster that attacks Kelbek is sent back to the owner's hand, so your Blade Knight is back in your hand."

Daine: 7800

Kaden: 8000

"So much for that idea," Daine sighed as he placed Blade Knight back in his hand. "I lay two cards of my own face down and end my turn."

"I don't like the looks of those cards at all," Kaden said. "At least getting rid of one is better than none. I will use Cyclone to destroy the card to your left."

"My Tidal Wave is gone…"

"All the better for me. Now I activate a field magic card, Sanctuary of the Sky!"

Suddenly, they found themselves to no longer be in the dark woods. Instead, they were surrounded by clouds, with a large white temple on the field.

"This field makes it so that any damage I take from an Angel being in battle is reduced to zero," Kaden explained.

Daine looked at the Kelbek. "You run an Angel Sub-Type deck? That doesn't seem very fitting."

"Why would you say that?" Kaden asked.

"Well, your group always seems to be associated with something dark… but Angels are the complete opposite of that!"

"I guess you have a point there," Kaden shrugged. "I never really gave that much thought though. I run Angels for a specific reason. It is to remember the ones I have lost."

"What do you mean?" Daine asked.

Kaden hesitated for a moment, and then spoke. "My parents were killed in the Beginning of the End incident. I was only five then, but I can remember them pretty well. Mother was very gentle and kind, and father had strong morals that I admired. Even though I did not know them for very long, they left strong impressions in my mind."

"You were alive when the incident happened? How did you survive?" Ark inquired.

"I have no idea, to be honest," Kaden replied. "I never even got to see my parents die… all that remained when I returned to our home was ash." He shook his head. "That sight… it affected me deeply. I didn't want anyone else to die in this manner. That's why I've joined up with this group known as The Defenders."

"The Defenders? That's not a very accurate name, since they're always attacking us," Daine stated.

"They call themselves that because they are trying to defend the world from another slaughter like the one that occurred twenty years ago. I didn't really care for the group itself, but they had the same goal in the end that I had. So I joined to see if I could eliminate the one who caused the incident."

"Then why do they continue to attack me?" Daine asked.

"I've already given away too much information," Kaden said. "If you want to learn more, you'll have to defeat me first. So I suggest continuing this duel. I sacrifice Kelbek to summon Agent of Judgment, Saturn! (2400/0) He attacks you directly!"

Daine: 5400

Kaden: 8000

"I lay one card down, and end my turn."

Daine looked at the card that he had drawn. "I play Angel's Gift. This allows me to draw three cards, and then discard two. Perfect! I discard Command Knight and Blade Knight. I summon Surprising Matasa. (1300/800) Then I equip him with The Fused Sword, Murasame Blade, which raises his attack by 800!" (2100/800)

"He's still not strong enough to destroy Saturn," Kaden pointed out.

"He will be, once I activate my trap card, Cry of the Living Dead! This brings back my Command Knight in attack mode. She raises all of my Warrior Sub-Types' attack by 400, so now Matasa is just barely able to defeat Saturn. (2500/800) (1600/1900) Matasa attacks Saturn!"

"Sorry to interrupt your plans, but I would prefer to keep Saturn alive," Kaden stated. "I activate my trap card, Drain Shield! It negates your attack and increases my Life Points by how strong your attack was."

Daine: 5400

Kaden: 10500

"You may have raised your Life Points, but if your main goal was to protect Saturn, you still failed!" Daine said. "Matasa attacks again!"

"What?" was all Kaden managed to say before the Matasa sped forward and sliced apart Saturn.

"Matasa has the ability to attack twice during each Battle Phase," Daine explained. "It looks like you didn't take any damage from that attack due to Sanctuary. But I still have Command Knight, and I'll have her attack directly!"

Daine: 5400

Kaden: 8900

"Not a good situation for me, is it?" Kaden commented. "Luckily, I have just drawn something that should put a stop to your tactics. I summon Agent of Power, Mars!" (0/0)

"How will that help you?" Daine asked.

"His effect states that when I have Sanctuary of the Sky on the field, and if my Life Points exceed yours, then his stats are increased by the difference of our Life Points." (3500/3500)

"Ugh. Just what I needed," Daine sighed.

"Now Mars attacks Matasa!"

The Matasa held up his sword in a defensive position as Mars blasted him with an orb of light. As the blinding light vanished, they were able to see that Matasa was still there.

"I activated my Deck Master's special ability," Daine explained. "I choose one of my Warrior Sub-Types, and for that turn they cannot be destroyed in battle by monsters with 1900 attack or more. Unfortunately, I still lose Life Points for it…"

Daine: 4400

Kaden: 8900

"Annoying. I'll find a way around that though," Kaden said. "At least Mars' stats increased, due to you losing Life Points. (4500/4500) It's your turn."

Daine shook his head. "Nothing I can do yet… I switch Matasa and Command Knight to defense mode, and end my turn."

"Hm… one card face down, that's it."

"Now we're getting somewhere…" Daine said. "I lay one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

"I'll summon Zolga. (1700/1200) Then I activate my trap card, Ceasefire Treaty. It reveals all face down monsters, and deals 500 damage to your Life Points for every effect monster on the field."

"Argh… you revealed my Twilight Zone Warrior. (1200/1000) I have three effect monsters, and you have two… so I take 2500 damage…"

Daine: 1900

Kaden: 8900

"If only you had a monster in attack mode, then Mars could easily destroy you. (7000/7000) Ah well, at least I can take out your Twilight Zone Warrior. First, I have Mars attack Matasa. Do you activate your Deck Master's ability?"

"Yes. So Matasa lives."

"Then you won't be able to use it to save your Twilight Zone Warrior. Zolga attacks it."

"Not the wisest choice," Daine stated. "When Twilight Zone Warrior is attacked, it removes itself and the monster that attacked it from the game."

"Oh well. I didn't have much use for Zolga at the moment anyway. It's your turn."

Daine looked at his new card. "Excellent. I activate Theft! I'll equip it to Mars, so now he's under my control."

"Afraid not," Kaden said. "As long as Sanctuary is on the field, Mars is not affected by magic effects."

"Dang it… I end my turn… and on your standby phase, you receive 1000 Life Points for Theft."

Daine: 1900

Kaden: 9900

"All the better for me… and Mars, for that matter. (8000/8000) I'll have to pass though."

Daine nervously drew, and sighed with relief as he saw what his card was. "I'll activate my own Cyclone on Sanctuary of the Sky, destroying it!" The field vanished, leaving them back in the dark woods. "That means Mars comes to my side of the field now, due to Theft."

"But with his base stats, since Sanctuary was destroyed," Kaden pointed out. (0/0) He looked somewhat tense though, probably due to the situation he was now in.

"I still have a use for him," Daine said. "I sacrifice him to summon Warrior of the Sun! (2500/1400) Then I switch Matasa and Command Knight to attack mode. Command Knight and Warrior of the Sun attacks! Then Matasa attacks twice! After that, it's your turn."

Daine: 1900

Kaden: 800

"That right there displays the flaw of my deck," Kaden stated. "If Sanctuary is destroyed, it falls apart very quickly. But I'm not done yet. I play Jar of Greed to draw two cards. Well, it looks like I've been saved. I play Terra Forming. This magic card lets me get a field magic card from my hand and put it into my hand. I'll get another Sanctuary of the Sky and play it." Once more, they were in the bright sky. "Now I summon Warrior of Zera! (1600/1600) Then I sacrifice it to special summon Archangel Zeraato!" (2800/2300)

Daine watched the angel appear nervously. "How were you able to special summon it?"

"It's his effect. I can't normal summon him, but I can special summon him by having a Sanctuary of the Sky out and by sacrificing a Warrior of Zera. Zeraato attacks your Matasa!"

"I'll keep him from being destroyed with my Deck Master's ability," Daine stated as a lightning bolt crashed into the defending Matasa.

Daine: 1600

Kaden: 800

"That effect is getting very annoying… I end my turn."

"I switch all my monsters to defense mode, and end my turn," Daine said.

"Not much else you can do, by the looks of it. I lay one card down and end my turn."

"Actually, I can do something, and now I will!" Daine declared. "I switch my Matasa to attack mode, and equip him with Thunder Sword! This raises his attack by 800. (3300/800) Matasa attacks Zeraato!"

"I'll activate my trap card, Emissary of Harmony," Kaden said. "This causes your attack to do zero damage, so Zeraato lives. Anything else?"

"No, I'm done."

"Good, because I now have a way to get rid of your Matasa," Kaden said. "I summon another Kelbek. (1500/1800) Then I activate my Deck Master's ability. By sacrificing a monster, I can increase another one of my monster's attack by the amount that the sacrificed creature had. I offer Kelbek and increase Zeraato's attack by 1500. (4300/2300) I can only use this effect once, but it's well worth it. Now Zeraato attacks Matasa."

"Once again, I'll keep him alive via my Deck Master's ability…" Daine said, watching his Life Point counter drop. That effect seems similar to Zarek's Deck Master's ability. They both focus on sacrificing a monster to power up another by the amount of the offered one's attack points. The only difference is their drawbacks, really…

Daine: 600

Kaden: 800

"That's all for me."

Daine looked at his hand, but saw nothing that could help. "I lay one card face down, and switch Matasa to defense mode. It's your turn."

"I finally drew what I've been waiting for," Kaden said. "Now I can activate Zeraato's effect! By discarding one Light Main-Type monster from my hand-in this case, a Marshmallon-all of the monsters on your field are destroyed."

"Not good at all…" Daine muttered as his monsters were hit with lightning bolts from the sky.

"Now Zeraato attacks directly!"

"I counter with Attack Nullification!" Daine said. "This negates your attack and ends your battle phase."

"Alright, I end my turn."

"My only chance of winning lies in what I draw next…" Daine said, looking at his next card. "Thankfully, it's just what I needed. I play Calling Reinforcements! This magic card lets me get one level four or lower Warrior Sub-Type from my deck and add it to my hand. Then I summon Troop Commander! (1200/400) His effect lets me special summon a level four or lower monster when he is summoned, so I call forth Initiate Troops! (1000/1000) Then I activate Initiate Troops' effect! By sacrificing them, I choose a monster on the field to destroy. So Zeraato is now gone. Then Troop Commander attacks directly for the win!"

Daine: 600

Kaden: 0

"Looks like you've won," Kaden stated, shutting off his Duel Disk. "Congratulations. So what do you want my fate to be?"

"Huh?"

"The conditions were that the winner would decide what would happen to the loser," Kaden reminded him. "Do you want me to die?"

Daine wasn't sure he liked the thought of having someone's life in his hands. He thought for a moment, and then shook his head. "No. There's something that sets you aside from the others that have been pursuing me. I'm not sure what… but I feel as though you can be trusted. My conditions are that you do not try to combat any of us again."

Kaden seemed a bit surprised by this. "That's it? That's the only reason you have for not killing me?"

"Why waste lives in times like this?" Daine said. "If you're honorable, then there should be no reason for slaying you."

Kaden considered this, and then smiled. Sounds like something father would have said… "It looks like there are some decent people still in this world. Maybe I should have searched for a bit longer before I concluded that there were none that I could find."

"That means you will agree to my terms?" Daine asked.

"I'll do better than that," Kaden said. "Now that I know that you are not responsible for the incident, I will leave The Defenders."

"I don't understand. Why do you believe what I said so strongly?" Daine inquired.

Kaden looked awkward at being asked that. "Give me a second to put this into words…"

Daine nodded, and then went over to Ark, kneeling behind him and beginning to undo the ropes binding him. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Ark replied as he grasped his wrists to get the circulation going. "You played well."

Daine was somewhat surprised by the unexpected compliment, but said, "Thanks." Then he got up, as did Ark shortly afterwards. "Kaden, are you ready to explain?"

Kaden shrugged. "I'll try my best. Ok, all of The Defenders have a type of power. Like, one of the ones called Regus has the ability to read minds."

"He was killed a few days ago," Daine stated. "We dueled, and since we were playing without shields…"

Kaden blinked. "Well, go figure. That's what I get for slacking off-I miss all the important news. Can't say I'm mourning for him though. I never really liked any of The Defenders I met. Anyway, as you might have guessed, that means I have a special power too. I have the ability to tell whether someone is telling the truth or not."

"That explains completely," Daine commented. "You could tell I was speaking truthfully about everything."

"Yes, that's right. I can usually tell whether someone is being honest or lying just by hearing them speak, but looking into their eyes helps. I don't know why I am able to do this, but it is an ability I have had for a long time, if not ever since I was born." Kaden paused, and then went on. "When I was speaking with the head of The Defenders, I felt as though he was hiding something. He wasn't lying outright, but I still felt suspicious about him. That's why I decided to ask you those questions, before killing your outright. Now I'm glad I did."

"And you'll turn against them now?" Daine asked.

"Yes. I never trusted them completely, and this about destroys any I had left for them. I'm on your side now."

"You can sever your connections with them that easily?" Ark inquired.

"Well, I could just abandon them right now… or I could pretend to still be serving them, and thus get you some more information about them. It's your call."

"Wouldn't they get suspicious if you try any kind of spying ideas?" Daine questioned.

"Probably not. They think of me as someone who never follows instructions very well," Kaden explained. "I'm usually late to get to where I need to be, and such. Thus, they never really try to depend on me unless necessary. Due to the fact that I haven't done much for The Defenders, my ranking is very low. I can still get some good details for you and your companions though, if you wish."

"I'm still worried about you being caught doing that though," Daine said. "Are you sure about trying that?"

"I'd be fine with it. However, they would wonder what is going on if I came to the location I'm supposed to be at this early," Kaden told them. "I should wait until they phone me. They're used to having to do that to get me to arrive in my proper area."

"Alright then. Why don't you travel with us until they call you?" Daine suggested. "It would be good if you also met our other friends… if they lived, that is…" Daine shook his head. "I have no idea what happened to them. It doesn't sound like you got to look around before Kaden found you, Ark."

"Correct," Ark replied.

"Then we should search for them," Daine said. "We can only hope they made it…"

"I think we had better get some rest before attempting that," Kaden stated. "It's been a long night for all of us."

"Yeah. Alright, we'll remain here until morning," Daine decided. "Who should watch first?"

"Let me. I'm not tired yet," Kaden said. "I'll wake up one of you when I'm done."

"Thanks. Good night then," Daine said, going over to a tree and laying down nearby it. He fell asleep swiftly, as did Ark, who lay beside a nearby tree.

Kaden climbed up the tree near Daine and sat on some of the sturdier branches to keep a look out. As he watched the silent forest, he thought over what had occurred.

Everything has changed so quickly. But I never felt right being with The Defenders. This seems like a group of people I actually want to help, though. Amazing what a little motivation to the right cause can do for you. He looked through the foliage towards the stars. Wonder what my parents would think of the way I spent my life… Well, no use dwelling on the past when I should be concerned with the present.

With that thought settled, he leaned back against the tree trunk to enjoy the cool night while waiting for his shift to end.

To be continued…