Chapter 46: A Pledge.

Dextra's ace monster, the Photon Titania Papilloperative Empress. Ever since that night a week ago when Kite had arrived too late to save her, he had carried this card with him. A promise to right the wrong that had been done to Dextra, a reminder of the bond between them.

[Photon Titania Papilloperative Empress – Rank 8 ATK:2800/Def:1900 OU:0]

As Dextra's monster stood in front of him, placing herself between Kite and the nightmarish monster standing against him, he couldn't help but see the familiar shadow of the women from so long ago. He couldn't help but remember, back to where it all began.

----- Flashback--2 years ago ----

*Zzzzzzpt*

Arcs of electricity blasted out and flung a helpless duellist away and into a wall. Of almost a dozen duellist, each dressed in the same white and black duel test suites, more than half of them had collapsed on the floor, or had been flung into the walls of the circular chamber by the force of the training bot positioned at the centre of the room.

Shaped like the giant upper torso of a person, or a crash test dummy, the training bot was armed with eight long arms that cracked and sparkled with live current. High on the ceiling electronic sensors monitored the duellists below as they were attacked again and again while they were watched from a control room from a window set into the wall high above the action below.

"Stay strong young duellists! I know you are battling pain and fatigue but if you can survive these exercises you will become one of a select group of elite duellists that will lead the next generation." Came the voice of mayor Heartland over the speakers.

A young man with flaming red hair dodged quickly to the side to avoid a palm strike from the robot as he tried to set a card face down, meanwhile a girl with dark hair with a purple fringe was blasted in the wall as she tried to set a trap card.

"I draw!" called a younger Kite as he dodged another strike of the training bot.

He was exhausted, they had been at this for hours now with the difficulty slowly increasing over time. But Kite knew he couldn't give up, there was too much at stake for him personally. Unlike the rest of these people he knew the truth, the reason behind all this training to harness Photon energy in duelling.

As the son of Dr Faker, Kite didn't have to be here, he didn't have to be doing this. Others could take the risk and endure the hardships this path would entail. But Kite would not back down, they had seen real hope at long last, hope that Hart would finally had a chance to recover from his illness and Kite would do anything to help his father see it happen.

No matter the danger, no matter difficulty, for his family he would not give up!

*tiztzz!*

The blue electric energy the buzzing around the robot suddenly turn to a dark crimson as the speed of its movements and aggression suddenly spiked catching the duellists by surprise as it blasted out bolts of red current into them.

"Arrgh!" "Urgh!" "Eeek!"

"It seems our duelling bot has lost all control! You're not walking out of that test chamber unless one of you wins the duel!"

Kite could hear the hidden delight in Heartlands voice as he gleefully watched the situation in the test chamber spiral out of control from the safety of the control room. Unaware that Heartland himself was responsible for pushing the aggression settings of the duel bot beyond their safe limits.

"Aaaahhhh!"

"Dextra!" Cried the young Nistro as the girl was blasted once more into the wall behind them, but this time the bot would not let up as it sent a palm strike towards the women now cowering to get away.

"I got this! I draw!" cried Kite as he imposed himself between the rampaging robot and the girl. He didn't know what had gotten into him but he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

"Kite…" Dextra whispered at the bravery of this boy she had only met here so recently. The damsel in destress rescued by the charming knight, it was like a fairy tale.

"I summon <Daybreaker>! Go Daybreaker put an end to this now!"

Summoning the red caped silver knight, the monster charge forward towards the out of control bot as it focused all of its attacks against Kite.

*Slash*

With a might overhead swing, Kites monster bisected the robot down the middle with is blade. Its movements stopped and the red lightning ceased as smoke bellowed out from the trashed machine. As the duellists around the room were filled with a sense of relief, the regular lighting came back on and Heartlands voice rang out again.

"Excellent Duelling Kite! We will definitely be keeping an eye on you… The rest of you take note, that is what a duellist looks like! Now back to your dorms."

Dextra raised her hand towards the back of the man who had saved her, she wanted… she didn't know what she wanted. To thank him, to cling to him, to ask if he was alright?

"You were lucky this time I was around to save your neck, but I won't be around forever. Never forget, the only person you can count on is yourself." Kite said as he walked off and out of the testing chamber.

Unlike the rest of these duellists that had to live in dorms Kite had his own quarters, one of the few perks of being Fakers son that he made use of. Because this allowed him to stay close to Hart when he wasn't training.

When he got back to his room it was to find Heartland waiting for him.

"Kite my boy! Congratulations again on your stunning performance today."

"Save it Heartland." Kite snapped. He had never liked this man that his father had chosen to run his city.

He couldn't trust him, no matter what his father said.

"I must say that the lengths you will go to for poor Hart almost brings a tear to my eye." The man continued.

Kite almost lost it there and then. Hart was the most important thing to him, and to hear Heartland speaking about him, about them, in that oily, sarcastic tone. It burned his stomach more than any kind of indigestion ever could.

"Now, now, Kite, don't be like that." Heartland said, noticing how angry the boy was becoming.

"You should take the opportunity to see your brother this afternoon, you father has work for you tonight in his lab." He glibly continued before taking his leave.

------

After a quick change of clothes Kite made his way to his brothers' room on the floor above, the cold hard medical machinery and the dull sterile greys always Kite the impression of factory or a tomb. He promised himself to talk to his father about finding a better room for Hart, perhaps somewhere with a view, where he could see the sun rise and the stars above.

Hart was sitting in the special mobile medical chair his father had made to monitor his condition while maintaining mobility. But although Harts eyes were open, they seemed so distant or empty. It pained Kites heart to see him like this, slipping back to this unresponsive state after the brief period or normalcy he had enjoyed a bit over 2 months ago. How long would it be until Hart became completely catatonic again? Confined to his sick bed and hooked up to a gaggle of machines… a living corpse…

If only his father had managed to analyse that sample cure they had been given then maybe…

But this world had no place for if only.

Which was why this project was so important, why his training was so important. Even if he had to interact with Heartland, urgh…

Kite had been hesitant at first when his father told him about Barian World and their promise to cure Hart so long as his father agree to do that task for him. To destroy Astral World. To destroy a world for his own families happiness seemed so absurd to the boy at first, but after having Hart back for that short amount of time, and then to see him fade away once more… Kite knew that he would do anything to save his brother, even if it meant becoming a demon of destruction.

"Come on Hart, lets go out for a bit" Kite said as he wheeled Harts chair out of the room, a bit of fresh air and afternoon sun would do both of them some good.

-------

The afternoon sky was orange with the setting sun as Kite took Hart out to one of the towers balconies. As they looked down at the city spread out before them it was like everything was being dyed a golden orange. In front of them fluttered a small butterfly.

"Hart look, a butterfly came to see you." Kite said as the little thing landed on his outstretched finger. He gently brought it down to Hart as he remembered happier times from before, times in the cabin beside a small lake, times before everything had changed, a faint smile on his lips. But Hart was unresponsive having slipped further and further back into himself.

Unknown to Kite the two of them a third figure watched on from the doorway, a girl with a heart that ached for the lonely boy and the burden on his shoulder. As she wondered, if he's busy looking after Hart, whose looked out for Kite? And she promised herself she would become strong, strong enough to share his burden, so that she could protect him.

------

Several days later back at the testing room the next round of training was about to begin. Dextra made sure she started close to Kite again and her old friend Nistro joined them, concerned about how his friend had been acting strange lately. Pushing herself harder and further than ever. Nistro thought that she had developed a crush on the boss's son.

Kite looked ragged; his father had been pushing him hard these last few nights in an attempt to harness a fantastic new power he had discovered during his photon energy research. A power unlike anything Kite could have imagined, power beyond that of a Super Nova. But it was not so easy to tame such power.

The pain and stress it placed on his body was tremendous, but Harts worsening condition had driven Kite to push himself beyond his limits time and again. Even if he boiled away his blood, burned his flesh and broke every bone in his body it would be a small price to pay to have Hart back.

Even now his father was working away at his 'World Cannon' project which he planned to use to destroy Astral world, but no matter how brilliant a scientist he was, to destroy a whole world would require an energy beyond anything imaginable and could not conceivably be done in a single attack.

So logically his only option would be a prolonged campaign of destruction to whittle away at the alien world, but this meant that Astral World would have a chance to retaliate against them.

Which was why training a group of photon empowered elite duellists to face them was so important to Faker. Although why duelling was so important to both Astral and Barian world that they would forgo conventional forms of combat was something beyond Kite at this moment. But there must be a reason.

Up in the control room Heartland gave his instruction to the control team.

"Designate Kite as the priority target. Start at level 7." He ordered.

"But sir at that setting…" one of the staff complained. At such a high setting who could possible survive being the main focus of the machines attacks?

"Do it. If he can't handle something like this then will be of little use to the good doctor."

The test began, this time the duellists not only had to deal with the attacks of the duelling robot but also remote flying drones. But the majority of their attention seemed to be focused on Kite. Most of them were pleased by this, it meant less pressure on them and they were never close to the loner anyway. Only Dextra, and because of her Nistro, tried to help him under this unrelenting assault as the difficulty slowly increase.

"I summon Daybreak- Urgh!!" Kite tried to summon a monster but was blindsided by a drone that rammed him into a wall. While dazed the duel robot lashed out with a crushing blow that could seriously injure the boy, but as Kite helplessly looked up at his impending doom a figure interposed herself between them.

"Go Swallowtail Butterspy!"

*BOOM*

Kite just saw Dextra in front of him as he lay collapsed on the ground, her silhouette against the crackling energy.

"You don't have to do this alone Kite. I promise I will stand with you if you let me… Please…"

----- Present Day -----

"Go Photon Titania Papilloperative Empress! Attack with Imperial Feystrike!" Kite commanded Dextra's monster to attack Dangerous Frightfur Nightmary.

"Don't forget my little old Fairy Ward is still active this turn, mean I can use this skill to save my Nightmary from destruction by banishing Fluffal Leo from my grave."

[PTPE ATK:2800 > DFN ATK:2000 – Alice LP > 300]

"Eeek!" Alice scream as her life points plummeted, but she soon recovered.

"Now you have no monsters left to attack and I still have 300 Life points, on my turn I will get my Frightfur Wolf back and Nightmary's attack will skyrocket beyond anything your monsters can deal with. Face it Kite you have lost!" she gloated as she reached into her dress to pull out a small silver hand mirror, its back marked with the eye of Horus.

In her head she was very excited. Even though they had not been able to bring the Seal of Orichalcos to this round of the WDC, it didn't mean New Order had no way of deal with pests like Kite. She secretly activated the mystical artifact she was holding in her hand, a Shadow Charm that could tap into the powers of the Shadow Realm.

Something that only high ranking New Oder agents like her had been given for situations like this in this second round. Once Kite lost, she would banish him to the Shadow and put an end to any trouble he could give New Order, now and forever.

"Wrong! the one who has lost is you! I activate the quickplay spell <Rank-Up-Magic Cipher Transcendence>! Go, Rank-Up Cipher Xyz Evolution! Fey lord who precedes over the court of vengeance, appear and let dream of reality return to nothingness. Appear <Cipher Papilloperative Emperor Oberon>!

A whirlpool of rainbow light wrapped itself around Dextra's Xyz monster, infusing it with a new, greater power. Its golden mask shattering to reveal sublime face before she was cocooned in the same energy as Kites Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon.

[Cipher Papilloperative Emperor Oberon – Rank 9 ATK:2200/DEF:1700 OU:2]

The cocoon split apart as Kites new monster spread its majestic wings, to reveal the Papilloperative emperor in all his emerald armoured clad glory, his crowned head gazing at Alice's monster in stern judgement.

"That's… That's… still not enough." Alice squeezed out over the pounding of her heart, even if this new monster Kite had surprised her with attack, it wouldn't be enough to finisher her.

"Go Cipher Oberon and attack with Cipher Swarm! And when my monster attacks, I can use two Overlay unit to half all your monsters attack points. Go Cipher Edict!"

"NO!" Alice screamed as she tried to deactivate the Shadow Charm in her hand before it was too late, but she suddenly felt a pressure in her mind from far away. And a voice coldly whispering in her ear.

"This is your punishment for failure…" came the voice of the Orichalcos King.

[Cipher Papilloperative Emperor Oberon – OU:2 > 0]

Oberons Overlay Units flew over to Alice's Nightmary and exploded in a shower of sparkles that coated her monster with golden dust.

[Dangerous Frightfur Nightmary – ATK:2000 > 1000]

Cipher energy then flowed out of Oberon's wings into a massive orb of light that transformed itself into a single great butterfly, and as the Cipher emperor thrust out his hand it swooped down and rammed into nightmarish doll to exploded in a dazzling display of light, ending the duel.

[CPEO ATK:2200 > DFN ATK:1000 – Alice LP > 0]

<<KITE WINS. 500 Duel points & 1x Map fragment & x1 Duel Skill: Wisdom of Wizards I, claimed.>>

Now Kite intended to have some answers.

But as he marched towards the venomous girl hundreds of long black, shadowy tentacles seemed to erupt out of a small hand mirror she had take out at some point without Kite noticing. These tentacles whipped around in a frenzy as they wrapped themselves around the girl, who only now began to scream.

"Forgive me my King! Forgive M-!!!"