[Fanfiction] Arena 2: The Cursed Chain [COMPLETED!]

[MewMew3]

I haven't read many fanfics writ in first person, and it does have it's advantages, as I figured out when doing the same thing in my latest chapter. The writing feels more natural and casual and you better understand a person's character and motivations since you get straight into their head.

 

Hawthorne Academy is in the New England part of America? The name suggests so. If true, it's a nice tough with all the supernatural Gothic horror stuff going on. - It felt like that to me anyway. Please right more. :)  

[Catterjune]

[spoiler=Chapter 26: A Drop In the Bucket]
Starfield Park, the Silverdome, and the Horakthy White Ball Room were all gorgeous places, but all of them paled in comparison to the beauty and splendor of the Aether Realm Grand Gathering Hall. The palace made Transit Towers look like a broom closet. There were white marble columns draped in ivory holding up the gold lined dome above which showed a rich tapestry of ancient legends.

I never understood the phrase 'they should have sent a poet' until I visited the Aether Realm. It was a vision beyond anything I could properly convey with the few words I knew. Even after living here for 500 years, it still took my breath away as though it were my first time seeing it.

The Demigods appeared to feel the same way, staring everywhere in awe and wonderment at the sight before us. The girls wore ball gowns and the boys wore suits because of the Sweetheart's Day Dance, yet despite this we all felt criminally underdressed for what we saw before us.

There were 12 towering thrones, each with a different motif or decoration on them. Zera, the Lord of the Sky sat in a throne made of black marble that had small pieces of gold in it for decoration. On the arm rest was fierce looking golden eagle. The eagle would occasionally look around, but otherwise didn't contribute to this chapter or to the entire story in anyway what so ever.

Next to Zera was an empty throne, but that throne was made of ivory draped with willow leaves for decoration.

On Zera's right was an older looking man, Demeidon, who looked like the painting of a sea captain from that 'documentary' Gal mentioned all the way back in chapter one. It was a seafoam green marble chair, decorated with coral, gold and pearls.

Across from Demeidon sat Persades, Goddess of Death and Agriculture. She looked like a beautiful corpse with her pale skin, blood red lips, yet funerary attire. It seemed she played up the farming aspect of her life more, since her green jade-like throne was decorated with barley.

Arena sat in a silver and gold throne, with a pair of gold baskets on either side of her as she was also the goddess of weaving and arts. Resting at the top of her throne was a snow white owl, fast asleep who would also not be contributing to this story in any way, shape, or form.

Across from Arena was a strong looking, but very ugly brass throne. It was currently unoccupied.

Next to the ugly scary chair sat Apollemis, God of Music, the Hunt, Wild Animals and Healing. He looked more like a snobby teenager from out of those clichéd teenage high school movies. As fancy as Arena's chair was, Apollemis's was even fancier. It was polished to an almost gaudy degree. There were magical inscriptions I recognized from what little I knew of Covenant of the Eternals etched into the throne. Above the throne was a sun-like golden disk with twenty one arrows going through it.

Across from him was another throne, however this one had a moon-like silver disk with twenty one arrows.

Next to Apollemis was Aphraestus, God of Love and Blacksmithing. He looked like a crazy old mad scientist, but there was also something sorta weirdly handsome about him as well. His throne was made of hundreds of gem stones and precious metals, and it seemed to be adjustable or have some kind of mechanics to it.

Like Apollemis, the chair across from him was also empty. It was gold and fancy looking. The back of the throne was shaped like a seashell

Lastly was Diomes, Detective Friedman's father. Diomes's throne was made out of stone and the arm rests were cut to resemble ram heads.

Across from him was a throne covered in grape vines that was empty.

And at the very center of it all, standing in front of a plain wooden chair next to a roaring fire was the leader of the Covenant of Eternals himself, Lord Ikari and his two kids - Robin Weaver and Candice Sublime.

But I didn't care about any of the Gods or anyone from the Covenant for right now. There were only 6 people I was hoping to see and as soon as my eyes adjusted to the bright light I was able to find them. The 'prosecutor outfit', '1920's prohibition ensemble', pirate costume, black and white dress and SilverCup Studios t-shirt stood out against the glory of the Aether Realm as I saw my friends casually leaning up against walls and pillars along the Aether Realm.

"Oh. Didn't expect to see you... ever again." Oliver said in a bit of a daze. In his arms was Hortense Friedman, who looked as though she was fast asleep, however we all knew she was actually in an irreversible coma from touching Arena's hand and being forced to live through Arena's entire life. Spencer's eyes lit up as he pushed past me to get to his sister.

"Hortense!" Spencer exclaimed he scooped up his little sister. He held her tightly and cried softly as he tried to wake her.

Mishegoss pulled him away, as did Alistair, but it seemed Friedman didn't care who saw him crying when it was about Hortense.

I however looked around me, not exactly sure what I had stumbled onto. As far as I could tell it seemed Lord Ikari was at last having his audience with the Gods of the Aether Realm.

"So... what's going on?"

"Well, remember in Trek Wars when Lucas Starwalker went up to the evil Dark Blader's Doom Sphere and had a nice reasonable debate instead of a cool laser sword fight with him?"

"No. We're not all big dumb nerdos like you." Acey said with a giggle.

"Was that in the special edition DVD?" Kristi asked. "Because I don't remember that part-"

"Well that's pretty much what we've got here." Oliver motioned towards the throne room. "Lord Ikari asked Zera to gather all the gods for a special discussion about the future of Eternal and Mortal relations. Snoozefest."

I turned just in time to watch Lord Ikari smile as he looked over the seven gods on their twelve thrones.

"So then, do we have a deal?"

The Gods did not smile back.

"So let's get me make sure I understand this all correct." Zera began calmly. "You pretty much want unlimited access to the powers of the Gods of the Aether Realm whenever you please?"

"Able to breathe underwater and explore the oceans." Demeidon said, with a disgusted sound to his voice.

"You'd like access to my healing power." Apollemis said with a bemused smirk, like a high school jock confronting a nerd on Freshman Friday.

"Access to the realm of the dead." Persades looked away, blushing and embarrassed at what the father of her child was requesting.

"Access to our vast wealth of knowledge." Arena said calmly.

"Mechanics the likes of which mortal minds couldn't comprehend." Aphraestus began, playing with what looked like a four dimensional fidget spinner.

"And in exchange," began Diomes as he awkwardly picked at his nails with a small knife. "All you can offer is the Cursed Chain?"

The gods exchanged a look before they all suddenly burst out laughing. Even Arena, who was usually so serious gave a faint smile at his ridiculous request. Lord Ikari did not smile back.

"The Cursed Chain is worthless to us." Aphraestus declared. "A real chain would be better. The Cursed Chain though? It's small, insignificant."

"A drop in the bucket?" Candice asked.

"Precisely little girl!" said Apollemis, like he was trying to flirt with the head cheerleader.

"The Cursed Chain is not useless!" Lord Ikari declared as he removed his hood and tossed it aside. He was wearing a 'SilverCup Studios' t-shirt, a plain pair of sneakers and a pair of black dress pants. What little facial hair he could manage in his 18 year old body was neatly trimmed and his all black hair was slicked back.

"Look at what I was able to accomplish with just a single link in the Cursed Chain! I was able to restore my age, grow a near endless supply of food and grant my followers eternal youth! One link, just a fraction of a fraction of a God's eternal power and we were already able to establish a new Eden just outside of the little town of Hamlish!  With the powers of a God I could help all of humanity!"

Diomes suddenly slammed his blade into the sides of the armrests on his chair and growled.

"You do not comprehend what you ask for, human." Diomes said gruffly. "A small part of me was once mortal, eons ago. What I thought was a miracle back then and what I now know is truly divine are worlds apart. It's the difference between your world and the Aether Realm."

"To you, eternal youth and limitless food may be the pinnacle of human achievement but to the Gods of the Aether Realm, it's practically insulting!" Zera declared in disgust.

"So... now what?" asked Robin Weaver.

Zera looked away before shaking their right hand in a 'shooing' motion. "Take your precious little Cursed Chain with you and just go home."

Suddenly an all-white doorway, similar to The Door opened up behind us.

"Finally!" Guy groaned as he staggered to get back up on his feet. In one arm was my daughter, fast asleep. In the other was Gal, who also seemed to have dozed off. "We might be able to catch the end of Patchwork's last song."

I moved along with the crowded mass of people slowly meandering their way to the door, before suddenly Lord Ikari stopped one of us.

"Hold on." He put his hand on Spencer Friedman's shoulder, then turned him around to face the Gods of the Aether Realm.

"Restore the girl at least." Lord Ikari commanded as he motioned to Hortense, the girl in Spencer's arms. All of us stopped walking and had to turn around to see what would happen. The Gods exchanged a nervous and uneasy look amongst themselves.

Arena was the first to speak up.

"No."

---

I never thought of Arena as much of a good person.

For one, she wasn't a person.

Second of all, she didn't really believe in the concepts of 'good and evil'. Everything was relative according to her, and not too much mattered in the grand scheme of things. If you, like most people, considered killing something to be bad, then you'll be whatever the opposite of 'pleased to learn' is to know that you've probably done plenty to hurt the lives of people you've never even met in ways you couldn't possibly imagine.

Don't feel too bad though. There's probably plenty of things you did to help out people in ways you couldn't image as well. And for those that ended up hurting more people than they helped out in life, I'm sure there was a nice little lake of fire for them to swim in after they died.

But as I stared at the unconscious girl in Spencer Friedman's arms, I couldn't think of any reason as to why Hortense have to suffer like this for Arena's actions.

"Arena! What the hell!? How could you say that!?"

"I stand by what I said."

"You heard her." Apollemis declared with a smug smile. "The Goddess has spoken!"

"Let's just go home." Oliver said as he tried to pull me along.

"We rescued your friends, we got back the girl, and the Covenant got screwed. I think we came out on top." Alistair said with a smile.

Kira looked torn between sticking up with her father and sticking with the Demigods. Allison tugged at her arm though and it seemed the decision was made. The pair continued walking with the group towards the portal home together.

"You all know what Arena always says." Ami began. "The gods aren't allowed to meddle with human affairs."

That seemed to snap the gods to attention.

Diomes immediately teleported before us all, standing between the Demigods, the Cursed Chain, the mortals, and the Door that led back home.

"What do you mean by that child?" though Diomes only appeared to be a little bit older than Ami, he still seemed condescending enough to call Ami a child.

Oliver raised an eyebrow as he pulled Ami back. "What do you mean what does she mean?"

"Aren't allowed? What exactly do you mean by that?" asked Apollemis as he began walking towards us.

Perhaps sensing the tension in the air, Guy spoke up.

"Arena always says 'I cannot meddle with human affairs'." Guy began. "Like, there would be consequences or a punishment if she did."

"Punished? Punished by who?" asked Aphrasteus with a nervous chuckle. "We're the Gods of the Aether Realm for crying out loud! There is no punishment you mortals could inflict on us!"

I could sense a bit of animosity in the air brewing, and since she was the Goddess of War it was likely Arena sensed it as well.

"My friends misunderstood me." Arena stated as she teleported in right next to me. The other gods began to back off.

"I never meant that I physically was unable to meddle with human affairs. Merely that I chose not meddle for something so trivial."

"Umm... what?" I asked.

"Oh. I think I get what she means." Oliver began, before snapping his fingers at Ami.

"Ami, would you ever kill someone?"

"What!? No way! Never in a million years!" she exclaimed.

"Even if you knew no one could stop you?"

"Absolutely not! I would never-"

"THAT'S what Arena means." Oliver and Arena shared a nod.

"She is physically capable of meddling with human affairs. All the gods can. They just chooses not to... for some reason."

I paused to consider what he said.

"Then that's even worse! Here I thought you wouldn't help people out because you'd be banished from the Aether Realm or turned into a pillar of salt. Now I find out it's just 'cause you didn't want to!?"

Arena scowled. "It's more complicated than that..."

Aphraestus, the god of love, didn't scowl. In fact it was quite the opposite. He gave a smile, and a big goofy grin spread on his face. "It's not complicated at all! The answer is love of course."

"Our witty bitty Arena is quite the schemer." Apollemis declared as he put an arm around her shoulder and pinched her cheeks. "You'd have to recalculate everything, wouldn't you? You and Arthur's future is a hundred percent set in stone, and you two are on the road to the longest life possible as long as nothing ever changes, right?"

Arena didn't have to say anything. Even though I didn't want to believe Apollemis's words, a part of me knew what he said was true. I looked at Arena and caught her eyes as she looked away.

"Arena... you... you'd really let people die, knowing you could help, just so the two of us can be together forever!?"

"Arthur..." she leaned in to grab at my hand.

"No Arena. No." I said as I gently pushed her away. "You say you love me, but there's more to me than just... me physically! You don't care about my friends or my family or my life or my dreams or any of that! You just want me all to yourself from now until the end of time and if that's the case, I don't think we can really be together."

"Oof, dumping your date on Sweetheart's Day?" Kristi whispered.

"Ice cold bro." Alistair chimed in.

"But I was his Sweetheart's Day date." Gal reminded.

Arena stared at me with a serious expression for what felt like an eternity.

"Umm... Arena?" Ami began as she approached my girlfriend. Arena's eyes looked over at Ami's hips, and in one quick motion she snatched something off Ami's waist then looked back at me.

"I'm an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Aethereal Goddess. I could not bear the thought of eternity without you." Arena said simply as she looked at me with such intensity.

"I used to believe you did not have any effect on the mortal realm, however I also realized something else." She walked over to me and slipped something in to my hand.

"You are the only mortal who can affect the Aether Realm."

I glanced down at my hand and was shocked to see she had given me Ophelia's Blade.

---

Hundreds of years ago, the God of Blacksmithing forged Ophelia's Blade, a divine knife made for his future bride, Ophelia Daly. The night before she was born, her father disappeared along with the blade, until it eventually showed up again in the hands of our former headmistress, Lady Lorem Ipsum. As a weapon made of celestial metal, it existed outside time which meant it could store an unlimited amount of youth but more importantly for right now at least, it meant it could actually end not only a God's life but all influence they held.

If Demeidon was dead, the seas would run dry.

If the Apollemis was murdered, the sun and the moon would come crashing down.

If Persades somehow died, the undead would run loose amongst the mortal realm.

I stared at Arena, then stared at the blade, and gasped at what I believed she was implying. If she couldn't live with me then it seemed her plan was to stop living.

In a panic I immediately dropped the blade on the ground, threw it on the ground and pulled away from Arena.

"I... I..." I stammered, not realizing the blade had fallen, skidded on the ground, and landed right at Lord Ikari's feet.

I stared at Arena shaking in horror at what she was asking me to do until the loud booming voice of Lord Zera shook me from my stupefied state.

"Don't you dare!"

I could hear the crackle of ozone and see the Eternal Zera readying an enormous spear-like thunderbolt in his hands. The other gods looked armed and ready as well. Demiedon held a trident. Apollemis had an arrow ready in his bow. Aphraestus weilded a large hammer over his shoulder. Diomes had a small knife, but he had a fighter's stance and looked ready to dive in if needed. Persades carried a long scythe like she was the Grim Reaper.

Lord Ikari just gave a laugh as he looked down at the knife in his hands. "My my, how quickly the tables have turned." Even with 6 gods staring him down, weapons in hand, he didn't even flinch. His children however seemed terrified beyond words. It was difficult to tell if Candice was shivering or if she was just having trouble maintaining a solid form. Even though Robin couldn't shiver due to his paralysis, I could tell by the look in his eyes that Robin wasn't exactly thrilled to be staring down the entire Pantheon of the Aether Realm.

"Even if we survive here, we'll still lead cursed lives." Candice whispered.

"It's not wise to make enemies out of the Gods of the Aether Realm." Robin agreed.

Lord Ikari seemed as calm as ever as he spoke to Zera and all the other Gods. "I see now that you are all a cruel, unreasonable lot. If you will not listen to a trade, maybe you'll listen to a threat."

I was frozen in fear as he took one step towards Arena and I. Even though she made me angry sometimes I didn't want her to die, and I certainly didn't want to lose the entirety of human knowledge. Before I could do anything to help her though I felt Arena grab me from behind and I saw a bright light enveloping me. I blinked and I was on the other side of the room with the Gods of the Aether Realm. Arena had teleported us across the room.

She gave me a quick smile before turning back to Lord Ikari. She now wielded her shield and spear properly and looked ready for combat against the madman with the only weapon capable of killing a god.

"Listen mortal, we could kill you ten times before you even took a single step towards us." Apollemis declared as he began aiming his arrow towards Lord Ikari.

"The door is still open. Just go home." Demeidon declared, but it seemed everyone on the opposite end of the hall was frozen in fear and unsure of what to do.

Lord Ikari still seemed as calm as ever. "I do not fear death."

"No," Zera said with a smile. "But you need not be the God or Goddess of Family to realize your children still do."

The Gods adjusted their line of sight ever so slightly, looking to Robin and Candice. Candice was wrapped around Robin and Robin's ribbon seemed to try to hold his sister as well.

"There is no worse punishment for a parent than knowing their child is dead because of them." Zera declared.

At long last, the smile on Lord Ikari's face faltered, ever so slightly. He grimaced as his arm lowered and at long last he dropped Ophelia's blade fell to the ground at his feet.

"Alright, you win." he said with his hands up like he was surrendering to the police.

Robin looked up and gave a sigh of relief. Candice however looked as though Zera's words had given her an idea. She gave Robin one last look, then whispered something into his ear. Robin looked worried, but he gave her a nod.

Arena stared at Lord Ikari for a moment before giving her decree.

"Kill him anyway."

It happened in a flash, and considering it was a lightning bolt from Lord Zera that probably explained why it was so blindingly quick. I saw a bolt, and then I heard it, thunder after the lightning. I glanced over and saw all the Demigods, all my friends, Lord Ikari and Robin drenched head to toe in water.

The only one missing was Candice.

"Is this blood!?" I heard Mishegoss wail.

Lord Ikari was frozen, a wide eyed thousand yard stare as he realized what Candice had done. At the last second she jumped in the way, took the full force of Lord Zera's thunderbolt and exploded, raining down on everyone in a watery mist.

"Uncool! Uncool!" Kristi said with a grossed out expression, and you would be too if you realized you were covered in somebody else's remains.

Despite missing Lord Ikari, the gods seemed pleased with their work.

"C-Candice..." Robin finally whispered, one of his ribbons coming to wipe his face. It was difficult to tell where Robin's tears ended and Candice's remains began. He blinked, as though suddenly remembering a promise he made, and he swallowed hard to build up the nerve again.

The Gods lowered their weapons and slowly began their approach. Persades, the Goddess of Death, was the only one who still seemed guarded and remained on edge as she hung back. Perhaps she was still too traumatized to face her former lover?

Zera smiled as he made his way across the battlefield.

"Well mortal, you were a worthy adversary but I doubt you'll try anything like that again. Consider your daughter to be the lucky one. She is now at peace. The rest of you must now continue on in the mortal realm and live the rest of your wretched lives, knowing your actions brought about your daughter's end."

Allison blinked, then tugged at Spencer's sleeve. He brushed her away and held onto Hortense tightly.

There was a chill in the air and I could see the demigods huddle up to make themselves smaller to try to get warmer, except for Allison who seemed to be desperately trying to get dry.

Using his tendrils made of fabric, Robin wheeled himself over to his dad. He whispered something to him, and I could swear I saw the man smile.

"One day when your hands are wrinkled and gray, you'll look back and realize this was a major turning point in your lives." Zera continued.

It was strange. Somehow Lord Ikari, Robin, Gal and my non-magical friends no longer looked drenched, while the Demigods, and Guy as well, still looked as though they just came out of the swimming pool together.

"Yes Lord Zera," Lord Ikari said as he got behind his son's wheelchair. "I'm sure all THREE of us will."

"She's not dead!" Persades finally realized.

And again, another sudden flash of motion. The Demigods and Guy Surname were suddenly, and quite literally frozen. And I don't mean that they stopped moving out of fear or something like that. I meant ice crystals suddenly began to form around their bodies.

Only Allison, the Demigoddess of Water and Candice's former teacher was familiar with this move. She knew Candice better than anyone and she knew the girl couldn't die from something as simple as being blasted to bits. She tried to warn everyone, but now she was trying to use her demigoddess powers to get out of Candice's icy grip. She didn't last long as a long string of fabric suddenly wrapped her up like an anaconda, ensnaring her like a mummy. The other demigods followed suit.

"Wh-what the hell!?" in the freezing cold, Guy Surname was unable to catch his breath which meant he was also unable to use the second link in the chain which would have allowed him to walk through solid objects.

"P-please-" he tried, before the mummifying wraps got to his mouth and encased him, along with Aynn Mischa in his arms as well.

In an instant, all of the demigods as well as Hortense in Spencer's arms and Guy and Aynn were encased in ice and wrapped up in Robin's fabric like cocoons.

Robin was now like a multi-armed octopus with his father staying as close to the center of the 8 armed merry-go-round as possible. Each of his eight ribbon-like arms held each of the demigods as well as Guy and Aynn, and to make matters worse it seemed Candice hadn't been killed by the thunderous blast either..

"Ha! Amateurs." I heard a voice as though coming from all 8 ice-cocoons. It was clear Candice had somehow survived and was now helping her brother hold all of the Demigods hostage.

Lord Ikari quickly bent down and, once again he had Ophelia's Blade in hand.
 
The other Gods were stunned, but Arena was not.

"You really intend to try this again!?" Arena exclaimed as she stepped forward to lead the other Eternals.

"You come into our house, threaten our children, and threaten our way of life! That sounds like a declaration of war if I have ever heard one!"

Arena sped forward and at last, Lord Ikari's horrible trap had been sprung. Arena's strike was quick and lethal, but that was exactly what they had planned for. With 8 cocoons, the pair had 8 half-human shields. I looked up to see that at the last second her spear had been driven into one of the ice-fabric cocoons.

There wasn't a gasp and there wasn't a scream. Arena pulled out her spear and a gush of orange liquid flowed out, ichor mixed with blood. Robin and Candice undid their cocoon like trap and I watched in gut wrenching horror as Acey's body collapsed on the floor, dead.

I didn't know her for very long, but I knew she was my daughter and seeing her on the ground with her eyes still open and with a pool of blood and ichor gathering around her I felt unrelentingly sick. I knew Arena felt the same. At least Acey's death was quick, and she didn't know it was her own mother who was her murderer.

Arena gasped, legitimately surprised. "Divine intervention..." she whispered shaking. Drinking alcohol, having a divine blade around had dulled her senses and now she was fooled by something she did not expect.

"This one's a new tactic." Lord Ikari began with a smirk as Robin pulled his half-human shields closer.

"I'm okay with dying. Robin and Candice do not fear death either. But what about your own children? The demigods?"

The gods exchanged uneasy looks. If even Arena was fooled into killing her own daughter, the others didn't exactly trust themselves either. It was like Lord Zera said, there was no worse punishment for a parent then knowing their child was dead because of them and nobody, not even the Gods themselves, wanted to be the one to pull the trigger.

"That's what I thought. I have the entire Cursed Chain, all of the DemiGods, and Ophelia's Blade. I demand you give me, Candice and Robin Eternal status right now. And if you want to stop me you'll have to kill your own children first."

"They won't have to stop you, because I will!"

I looked over to see Gal Surname, Duel Disk at the ready with a look of determination on her face.

"Robin Weaver, I challenge you to a duel!"

 

[Catterjune]

[spoiler=Chapter 27: The Fabric of Reality]

The Covenant of Eternals was a bizarre cult who knew all about the Gods of the Aether Realm. They had kept ancient traditions alive and through the use of spells and rituals were occasionally able to provoke the attention of the Gods themselves.

 

On this particular day, the three remaining cult members were on the edge of accomplishing their ultimate goal. They needed to bring one of their own to god-hood, and they had just the means to coerce the Gods, namely their children. Candice had used her watery shapeshifting powers to pin all the Demigods down, and Robin had encased them in fabric-like cocoons. They had all the Demigods held hostage, they could threaten the Gods of the Aether Realm with Ophelia's Blade, and they held seven and a half links in the Cursed Chain.

 

The only thing that stood in their way was a sixteen year old girl with half a link.

 

With Duel Disk at the ready, Gal Surname had just challenged Robin Weaver to a duel. Meanwhile the Gods stood on the sidelines, unable to attack for fear of harming their own children. The mortals however were concerned over Gal's sudden declaration.

 

"Gal, are you serious?" Oliver exclaimed

 

"Yeah I mean, you could have challenged him to a break dancing competition or something." I added in.

 

"True." Ami stated. "He would have lost since he can't move his legs."

 

"Gal, do you even understand what's at stake here?" Oliver continued.

 

"The Fabric of Reality?" she said with an absentminded shrug.

 

"Gal, you-" Oliver took a step forward, before but before he could close the distance, Arena suddenly teleported in between the two of them with spear in hand, aimed at Oliver's throat. He practically fell over himself as he backed away from her.

 

"A challenge was made in the war between The Covenant of the Eternals and the Gods of the Aether Realm." Arena pulled her spear back into an upright position, away from Oliver. "The Gods of the Aether Realm are duty bound not to interfere within each other's domains. The mortals must not interfere with her challenge either."

 

The other Gods muttered something but overall seemed to be in agreement with Arena's assessment.

 

After a bit of a silence, Ami Pastiche spoke up. "I'm sure Gal can do it!"

 

"She did beat Headmistress Lorem." I reminded.

 

"She TRICKED Headmistress Lorem into wasting her time and dying of old age." Oliver corrected.

 

It was a reasonable point to be made, however with the other three links in the chain all tied up at the moment it seemed Gal was our only hope for salvation.

 

I turned to my girlfriend to ask for advice.

 

"Arena, what do you think?"

 

"All my predictions are based on the mortal realm. The Aether Realm is much more volatile." She said before pausing and continuing. "Furthermore, the blade and the bag created too much divine intervention to calculate properly with such little time. You're on your own for this one."

 

Gal gave me a weak smile. "Well Ollie's against me, Ami's on my side, and Arena's being Arena as usual. Arthur, you're my sweetheart this year." The both of us blushed. "What do you think?"

 

I looked over at the multi-armed octopus-like Cursed Chain holder, then back to my Sweetheart's Day date.

 

"I think... there's more ways to beat the Covenant than to win the game. And if there is, I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out Gal."

 

I was hoping it would sound cool or smart or something, but honestly it was probably a pretty cheesy line. Nevertheless, it looked like Gal was inspired by what I had to say and a look of confidence spread on her face.

 

"Do you accept my challenge then Robin?"

 

"This is completely ludicrous." Lord Ikari declared before his son could even answer. "Why should Robin accept?"

 

Gal smiled as though a lightbulb went off in her head.

 

"You'd be saving us all a lot of time if you didn't. Refusing a challenge is akin to surrendering. If you give up now, I win your chain anyway."

 

Lord Ikari snarled. "You don't even have a Link in the Cursed Chain!"

 

"Is that what the both of you think?"

 

Robin raised an eyebrow nervously. "Umm..."

 

"If you're both so confident, go ahead and refuse the challenge then." Gal said with a tone of confidence in her voice.

 

"Don't fall for her tricks!" Lord Ikari declared. "We're so close to ending this my boy!"

 

Robin pulled the demigods closer to him and sighed deeply. If he could move his body, I'm sure it would have been one of those full body sighs, where you lift your shoulders before collapsing all in a heap. At last he turned to his father.

 

"Father, if what she says is true then we lose. And if what she says is a falsehood, then we'll only be delayed a few minutes. We've worked our whole lives for this moment. What's 10 more minutes going to hurt?"

 

Lord Ikari looked as though he was deep in thought before he exhaled loudly.

 

"Go ahead then my son." He gave a weak smile and a nod. "Show her what they taught you at Kelen Academy."

 

Robin couldn't nod his head very well, but his eyes moved up and down as he looked at his father. He turned his head to face Gal.

 

"Let's duel."

 

---

 

Gal was a duel disk prodigy so while she knew all the rules of the game and was aware of how to play, dueling was never her strong suit. We didn't know anything about Robin's duel style however if Gal had some way of knowing I'm sure she wouldn't have challenged him to a duel in the Aether Realm like this.

 

Seven of his tendrils were occupied with the seven demi gods, so with his final free fabric-like arm he was able to reach underneath his wheelchair and pull out a regular academy-style duel disk. With his ribbon-like appendage he was able to slip the disk onto his own arm, and again reach into his pocket and pull out his deck.

 

Gal's eyes lit up as she saw him preparing to slip the cards into his disk.

 

"Hold it!" Gal declared with an outstretched arm. "I don't quite trust you! Let's shuffle each other's decks first!"

 

I raised an eyebrow at Gal's words. Gal was trusting to the point of being naive, so her not trusting someone was a little strange. Then again, the fate of the world hung in the balance so maybe it was good to be skeptical right now. But even so, since she was a Duel Disk prodigy it meant Gal knew all about the Brybell Device in each and every duel disk and how it would ensure the cards would be shuffled thoroughly before and after every match. She didn't trust him which was fine. But not trusting a Duel Disk was something else entirely.

 

"Just what is Gal planning?" Guy asked.

 

"I'm sure Arena knows." I reminded. I looked over at my girlfriend, and she nodded in confirmation, followed by the other six Gods of the Aether Realm.

 

I watched as Gal removed her deck from her Duel Disk and walked a duelist's distance over to Robin and Lord Ikari, her cards in hand and ready.

 

It was such a bizarre scene before us. Gal, dressed like a 1920's-era gangster was awkwardly balancing on the tips of her flats, handing over her deck of cards like a girl handing out a raw steak to a hungry mountain lion. Lord Ikari snatched her deck and began shuffling it for Robin.

 

With her deck in his hand, Lord Ikari was too preoccupied to stop Gal's actual plan of attack.

 

"Thanks!"

 

In her right hand was Robin's Duel Monsters cards, but with her left hand she grabbed onto Robin's wrist, then interlocked her fingers with his own.

 

It happened so fast it was hard to realize what it was, but at long last we noticed Robin's fabric arms moving and modulating a little bit slower and slower, until finally Robin's eyes grew wide, and suddenly his ribbon cocoons came crashing down.

 

The pods burst, and the cold, shaking demigods staggered to get back on their feet. Candice and Robin needed to work in tandem to have the seven securely intertwined, and without her brother's Cursed Chain the demigods were able to break free.

 

"What's going on!?" I heard Candice's voice coming from 7 different directions. At long last, I saw Guy take a deep breath and disentangle himself from the icy prison using the third link in the chain, leaving Aynn completely crystalized within Candice's clutches.

 

"Wh-what did you do!?" Robin exclaimed as he angrily shook his hand unsteadily towards Gal. The fact he could shake his hand at all seemed to surprise him.

 

"Still think I don't have the Seventh Link in the chain?" Gal put her hands on her hips and grinned.

 

Lord Ikari was stunned. "You... you..."

 

"Without Robin's power, all of your hostages are free to go!"

 

Arena suddenly snapped her fingers quite loudly. "Now!"

 

In one sudden move, every single God of the Aether Realm opened a portal underneath each of their respective demigod. The demigods, and the Candice shell that was frozen around them, was absorbed in a pillar of light and sent back to the mortal realm.

 

"What just happened!?" Ami exclaimed.

 

"All of our kids were sent back in the mortal realm," Demeidon declared as he raised his trident and all seven portals shut. "They'll land harmlessly all around the oceans of Crimson Wind Academy."

 

"A brilliant idea little sis." Apollemis declared as he hugged Arena. "Even though they're back to the mortal realm, that shapeshifting daughter won't be bothering anyone for a long time."

 

"She's split up in 7 different places, and the tropical water will melt her down and spread her apart even further." Aphraestus said. "It'll be months before she can sort herself back together again."

 

Lord Ikari and Robin were speechless at this sudden turn of events. They had the upper hand and in one quick motion they lost their one and only advantage. Gal however was grinning and giggling.

 

"Alright Eternals, now that your children are safe you can defeat the Covenant of the Eternals!"

 

Arena stared at Gal for a moment before speaking.

 

"No."

 

Now the mortals were the ones shocked.

 

"W-what do you mean no!?" Oliver protested.

 

"Were your meager mortal minds not paying attention?" Zera exclaimed. "The mortal girl gave out a declaration of war and we, the Gods of the Aether Realm, must honor it."

 

"Alright then..." Gal began nervously as she snatched back her deck, as well as Ophelia's Blade from the still surprised Lord Ikari. She hastily made her way back to her side of the field.

 

"I guess we're having a duel after all."

 

---

 

Gal took in a deep breath, loaded her cards into the Duel Disk, let the auto shuffler do its work and drew an opening hand of five. She looked over the cards, diligently studying and plotting out her next move. But until she knew what Robin played and what her sixth card would be, it was all for naught.

 

"I could make him surrender you know Gal." Guy called out. "I'd just have to ask him nicely and the game would be over."

 

"N-no." Gal said as she shook her head. "I want to beat him fairly, all by myself. I've been relying on other people too much lately. It's time for Gal to rise on her own two feet!"

 

We couldn't do anything else to stop her as the duel began.

 

Robin drew his top five cards and smiled as he saw a strategy forming.

 

"Alright, it's time to start my turn!" Robin declared.

 

Lord Ikari smiled as he peered over his son's shoulder.

 

Gal wasn't smiling, wasn't determined, and wasn't angry or upset. She was more confused than anything by what Robin had just said.

 

"Uhh, aren't you gonna draw a card on your draw phase?"

 

Robin looked as though Gal had just thrown him a baseball and, despite not paying attention at all, he somehow caught it.

 

"Of course I am." he said, trying to suppress his surprise. "Just testing!"

 

His finger muscles had atrophied from lack of use, so as he tried to play his first card he awkwardly fumbled and almost dropped them before he attempted to summon his monster. "I summon Shaddoll Beast in attack mode!"

 

"How could he do that!?" Oliver exclaimed. "Is there some field spell I don't see on the field?"

 

Ami looked around. "What do you mean?"

 

"It's a level five monster." I explained. "You can't just normal summon it without a tribute unless there's an effect that lets you do it."

 

And sure enough, try as he might and fumble as awkwardly as he could with his underdeveloped fingers, Robin could not get his duel disk to read the normal summon of the Level 5 Shaddoll Beast.

 

"Hey! Play another monster!" Gal declared. "That one needs a tribute!"

 

"I... I knew that! I meant to say, I normal summon Shaddoll Hedgehog!"

 

Gal once again looked confused. "... Did you mean to play that in defense mode?"

 

"You mean set it?" I asked. "You know, face down so it gets its flip effect?"

 

"No way!" Robin declared with a smirk. "its defense is way lower than it's attack!"

 

We stared at the duel before us with a notable tinge of confusion. No one knew quite what to say or what to do in response to what we were seeing. At long last though, Oliver cut the tension.

 

"Is this... is this guy for real? What the hell is he doing?"

 

Arena cleared her throat and began explaining.

 

"He's a 10 year old child going to a Duel Academy for the handicapped."

 

We looked at her for a good long time before she declared what we had all guessed since Robin's opening move.

 

"He is not a good duelist."

 

We all groaned in annoyance.

 

"What!?" Gal exclaimed in shock. "If I knew he was terrible I wouldn't have waited to challenge him for so long! We could have ended everything in Hamlish!"

 

"Unlikely." Arena said simply. "Candice is still quite skilled."

 

"I've got plenty of skill too!" Robin declared as he set a support card face down. "Just watch! After I set this support card I end my turn!"

 

---

 

Gal looked over her cards, as well as the new sixth card on her draw phase and a strategy began to form. She seemed cautiously optimistic about her chance of victory, but presumably was aware one bad misplay could spell the end for her, and for all of reality itself.

 

"I activate Charge of the Light Brigade!"

 

Robin eagerly flipped his face down card. "Chain! Mystical Space Typhoon!"

 

Oliver had to stifle a laugh. "Oh man! Really? That's like... Destroy versus Negate 101!"

 

Ami shook her head slowly. "I don't understand."

 

"Uhh... yeah. Explain it for Ami's sake!" Guy said nervously.

 

"Mystical Space Typhoon will destroy Gal's card, but it won't negate Gal's effect." I said. "She still gets to send 3 to the grave and she still gets to search out her Lightsworn monster."

 

"I don't get it." Ami said with a scowl.

 

Guy rolled his eyes dismissively as he pointed to Oliver and I. "Pro Duelists..."

 

"You don't have to get it." Oliver said. "That's how the rules work, and Gal's duel disk will agree with me."

 

"Uhh..." Gal said nervously as her Duel Disk made a beeping noise, and a light flashed from underneath where her deck was held. "I mean, my Duel Disk is telling me I can mill them. Can't argue with it."

 

"W-what!?" Robin exclaimed, looking like he was about to cry.

 

"S-sorry. I don't get the difference either." Gal said sheepishly.

 

"Do not despair my boy!" Lord Ikari declared. "Face your opponent with strength!"

 

I've seen Gal duel before, and her mills were usually about 50/50. This time though, it seemed all 3 cards were on her side.

 

She sent Eclipse Wyvern, which she would use to banish for Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon.

 

She sent Raiden, Lightsworn Assailant which she would revive with Lumina's effect after she searched for it.

 

Lastly she sent Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness which she wouldn't need since she was about to win the duel on her first turn.

 

"Alright, I'll go slowly for this!" Gal said with a smile. "I'll search out Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner, then activate her effect to revive my Raiden, Lightsworn Assailant!"

 

Gal discarded Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress for Lumina's effect. Then with a wave of her arms and a shimmer of light, Lumina brought back Raiden from the grave.

 

"Now with Raiden's effect, I can send my top two cards to the graveyard!" Raiden raised a blade and sent Light Pulsar Dragon and Dark Flare Dragon to the graveyard. But more on those two later.

 

"Now I'll banish my Eclipse Wyvern in the grave top special summon Black Dragon Collapserpent!" A dark looking dragon monster emerged on the field, but it seemed Gal was more concerned with the monster she had just banished.

 

"When Eclipse Wyvern gets banished, I get to bring back the monster I banished before, so I'll get back my Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon to my hand!"

 

The play was obvious, and even someone who was just a Duel Disk Engineer could see it.

 

"Now I'll banish Collapserpent from my field to special summon my Darkness Metal Dragon!"

 

Collapserpent was pulled into darkness, and out of that darkness came an even grander, more frightening beast. Gal's Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon roared with might as it emerged on her side of the field.

 

"With my Darkness Metal Dragon's effect, I can revive any other Dragon from the grave, so come back Light Pulsar Dragon!"

 

Gal now had two very powerful monsters on the field, but she wasn't done yet.

 

"With Lumina and Raiden I can perform a Synchro Summon!" The two joined hands and disappeared into a portal in the sky. From the portal in the sky came a golden knight riding what looked like Judgment Dragon.

 

"Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn!" Gal declared. "For one thousand life points, I can banish your Shaddoll Hedgehog!"

 

It was a clear line of sight to Robin's lifepoints, and Gal looked pretty confident with her three powerful monsters on the field, but her Main Phase 1 wasn't over yet. She balanced one card delicately between her pointer and middle finger, and we were all sure we were about to see Gal's most powerful card.

 

"Lastly, I'll banish Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness and Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner to special summon my Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End!"

 

The heavens twisted and the ground shook as a dimensional void opened and out came the harbinger of the end, the one who would end the duel with a victory for Gal Surname. We all flinched as the monster roared dramatically, setting its sights on Robin Weaver.

 

Gal grinned from ear to ear, before looking at her field and back at her opponent who barely even put up a fight. He smile faded and she looked slightly ashamed.

 

"Aww geez. I kinda sorta feel bad for him." she said as she rubbed her arm.

 

"They're gonna destroy the world if you let up." Ami reminded.

 

"They held Headistress Mishegoss hostage." Guy called out.

 

Gal looked over at me, and she followed my line of sight to the girl collapsed on the ground. Acey, some version of my daughter remained dead on the ground because of the Covenant's actions. Gal sighed, finding the resolve and prepared to start her battle phase.

 

"Hey!" Robin called out. "It's okay! Finish the duel!"

 

Gal gave a weary smile. She wasn't happy or angry or eager for revenge. She was tired and wanted this all to come to an end just like the rest of us. She took a breath and pointed dramatically.

 

"Attack!"

 

With a direct line of sight to Robin's life points each of Gal's monsters sped forward and attacked the boy's life points directly. While facing the four powerful beasts there was a reserved quietness to Robin's stance as he didn't flinch after any of the attacks.

 

At long last, Robin's life points hit zero and the game was over.

 

"I... lost." he whispered, tears streaming down his face before he looked up and smiled sincerely at his opponent.

 

"Congratulations Gal!"

 

---

 

Ami and Oliver rushed to meet Gal and practically tackled her to the ground like she had just scored the game winning touchdown. Guy awkwardly limped towards his sister while leaning on me as the two of us walked over to meet her.

 

"Great job Gal! You beat a crippled kid." Oliver said as he playfully ruffled her hair.

 

"You're the best sis." Guy gave an awkward thumbs up, but it was evident his body was still quite cold and his arms and legs were sore from the tight bindings of the ribbon cocoon.

 

I glanced over to Gal's opponent on the other side of the field.

 

"Sorry I didn't win father." Robin said

 

"My son, you fought valiantly." Lord Ikari said as he patted his son on the shoulder. "There is nothing to be sorry for."

 

"Th-thanks dad." Robin gently raised his hand and his fingers intertwined with his father's. The touch of his hands seemed to surprise Lord Ikari. He smiled, and looked as though he was about to cry tears of joys.

 

At long last, Lord Ikari's misty eyes turned to the Gods of the Aether Realm.

 

"Do what you will-"

 

"We intend to." Zera said with a tone of anger as a white pillar of light erupted from the ground and swallowed both Robin and Lord Ikari.

 

"Tell Candice-" was all I heard from Robin before his voice faded away.

 

The pillar of light faded away, and the two were gone.

 

"Are they... dead?" Gal asked with a tone of hesitation. It was likely she did not want to know the answer.

 

"They came at us armed with the Blade of Ophelia and we felt death was an adequate punishment for that." Zera began.

 

"Yeah, but when they held our children hostage, we believe that deserved something even worse." Diomes concluded.

 

"A fate worse than death." Ami whispered towards Gal. Gal swallowed hard like she understood and nothing more felt it needed to be said about it.

 

I gave a bit of a smile and a nod towards my Sweetheart's Day Prom Date but I felt there was something a little more pressing to deal with. I put my back to my friends and began walking towards Arena, who was studying something on the ground.

 

"But seriously Gal, that was so awesome!"

"Yeah, you beat the Covenant of the Eternals!"

"Aww shucks, come on!"

"That was so sick!"

 

I stood next to my roommate, looking at the girl who laid on the ground, dead.

 

"Irredeemable monster..." Arena whispered between tears.

 

"Acey..." I whispered as I placed my fingers over her eye lids, dropping them down and shutting her eyes for one final time. "Marie Aynn Sumischa..."

 

Arena was strong, but it seemed at seeing her first born daughter dead, because of her, she had to lean on me for support. The both of us stood over our daughter's corpse for what felt like an eternity. We were so lost in our mourning we didn't even notice the shadow that came over us, and I didn't even care that it was getting colder and colder with her approach.

 

"She's in a better place." Persades, the Goddess of Death said simply.

 

I looked up at her, feeling like a mess as I tried to wipe my sleeve. I felt I barely knew the girl and yet as my daughter I felt I owed her something better.

 

"I'll take care of her from here on out." Persades draped a long black cloth over my daughter, held it there for a second or two, then picked it back up. Acey's body was gone, like a magician making a watch disappear.

 

Persades looked me right in the eye and gave me a wickedly morbid smile. "You'll see her again really soon."

 

I wasn't sure what to make of Persades comment but it sobered me up a little quicker. I took a deep breath, then Arena and I turned and began to make our way back to our friends.

 

Gal's entire right arm was completely wrapped up in a long, bandage-like fabric. She grinned at me ear to ear, then suddenly struck me in the face with her bandage like it was a whip.

 

"Ta-da!" she grinned until she saw me rubbing her face. "Oh! Oops!"

 

Gal's ribbon seemed to coil up like a snake and once again wrap itself around her arm.

 

"Sorry Arthur! The sixth link in the chain is pretty hard to control."

 

"It's fine." I said as I rubbed my face.

 

"So... uhh... what happens now?" Oliver asked.

 

Arena towards Oliver. "Do not fear. I will re-open The Door for you and lead the five of you back to the mortal realm myself."

 

Guy breathed a sigh of relief at Arena's words. "I just wanna get back home to Silvershine."

 

"Crimson Wind." Ami corrected. "The Door is on the mountains of Crimson Wind Academy."

 

"Crimson Wind, whatever!" Guy said dismissively.

 

"No whatever about it Guy Surname!" Ami said as she put her hands on her hips. "Next year you and your sister will be calling Crimson Wind Academy your home!"

 

Oliver put a hand on his cheek. "Oh right, you guys are still planning to do that from like... Spirit Day or whatever?"

 

Oliver put an arm around my shoulder and smiled. "Man, next year's gonna be great. Just me and Artie here, two single dudes all alone in a school filled with woman!"

 

I looked over at Arena and put my arm around her. "Just one problem with your dream scenario Ollie. I'm not single."

 

Arena blushed and smiled as I kissed her on the cheek. "I could never leave my girlfriend behind."

 

Arena's face got redder and redder before she finally said what was on her mind. "Soulmate. With a love that transcends time and space."

 

"So you're gonna take us home now, right Arena?" I asked my girlfriend.

 

Arena looked at me seriously for a moment, a little nervous before she spoke "I'll take you all to where you need to be."

 

With a wave of her hand, a white rectangular door-shaped box appeared before the six of us.

 

"Team Surname?" Guy asked, raising a fist as he leaned on Gal.

 

"Team Surname!" we all shouted back in unison as we made our way to The Door.

 

Though we didn't know what we'd be facing on the other side of the portal, we knew that as long as the six of us were together there was nothing we couldn't accomplish. With Arena on my arm, Gal with her brother, and Ami and Oliver in supporting roles, the six of us walked in to the portal hand in hand, excited to see the last few days of the school year before summer break. After the adventures we faced this year, all of us were ready to go back to living our regular happy little lives in the mortal realm.

 

[MewMew3]

I've seen Gal duel before, and her mills were usually about 50/50. This time though, it seemed all 3 cards were on her side.

 

 

 

Ah, the curse of Lightsworns. I tried for - what, a decade now? - to make them as consistent as possible. It's like trying to make an ideal machine. 

 

Though we didn't know what we'd be facing on the other side of the portal, we knew that as long as the six of us were together there was nothing we couldn't accomplish. With Arena on my arm, Gal with her brother, and Ami and Oliver in supporting roles, the six of us walked in to the portal hand in hand, excited to see the last few days of the school year before summer break. After the adventures we faced this year, all of us were ready to go back to living our regular happy little lives in the mortal realm.

 

 

 

I'm glad they earned their happy ending. Fighting demigods isn't easy for us mortals. They deserve it.