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Yukino sat quietly, listening to Darren answer her inquiries. The woman felt better just having some information, just knowing as much as possible around her. Naturally, the first parts of Metalborgs and Daiyusha with judging them unfairly seemed like a terrible memory she didn't want to pry into. Then, Daikaiser is searching for the previous Dimensional Robo leader. The way he spoke... Understandably how she felt about losing any of her avatars. "Daikaiser will get him back", she reassured him, and let him continue.

Of course. Yukino knew it after recognizing who Trinity was. So Aedan is likely... Seifer's lookalike, and that twit Aoi Undyne is likely that miserable Maelstrom player. Yukino's still a Singularity Point, so he can-

wait what.

"You know where their base is?!" Yukino shouted, nearly jumping out of her bed to grab Darren's shoulders. "Where?! Where is Harbinger?!"

Darren smiled as she said Daikaiser would return him. He nodded as he felt the same way. He believed in his friend to bring his friend back. They all deserved to be together again. That was what he wanted most of all. Darren was surprised she didn't mention him knowing about her. He guessed that it was something obvious, that or she was too preoccupied with his other bit of information.

His eyes went wide as she grabbed his shoulders. "Malice went there a few times and I have all his memories," Darren said as he hoped she wouldn't shake. "I know where she is, but what would you even do if I told you? We can't break through her armor, not yet. If it would help anything I would have already went there. That's not the game. Cero tried and that... didn't work out well. People of this dimension can't harm her with direct contact. Oh, right... Malice went to as many Dimensions as he could in those three months. He even went to Brandt. If I was around at the time, I probably could've told you guys how to get to the first Reapers. Sorry I couldn't do that..."

"We can't get through her armor, forget about that! The important part are the humans with her! We can take them away from Harbinger! We can surround the perimeter!" Yukino explained, accepting their enemy was utterly invincible. That was a problem, but they can still focus on other matters. Attack from every point. They can't get to the Reaper? Get her drones. Even if they can't convince them, they can arrest the drones just to keep them out of the way. Hold them, interrogate them.

... Then Harbinger would transform and kill them all for trying to capture the drones.

Yukino calmed down and sighed, wincing over her accelerated heart beat. Quietly, she cursed over the powerlessness of just avoiding a fight with Harbinger. Someone would have to distract her and someone live long enough against the God of Death to succeed. No way in Hell that risk was going to be taken, considering it has such a minor chance of succeeding. The queen was visibly annoyed with the plot already being destined, to fail, but...

"Don't you apologize for not being able to tell us. It's my fault you were even in that... "state" to begin with. I'm not letting them take you again."

Never again.

Darren looked at her, wanting to tell her why that wouldn't work. She realized it herself soon enough. Tomato-Head would transform and take them all out if they did something like that. She could do it easily, but she hadn't yet. She wanted to continue to play this game, but the home base was out of bounds for the Heroes. Anyone who went there would likely die.

Hearing what she said about him, Darren couldn't take it anymore. She was in so much pain, so much self doubt. He wrapped his arms around her, bringing her into a tight embrace. His eyes closed as he said, "Don't put everything onto yourself... Yuki, we're a team aren't we? Sis... I'm here to help you, and I have powers that are as useful as yours are. I'm glad you wanna protect me but who's gonna protect you? I am! That' who."

Yukino was getting told not to put everything on herself, just as Ahmes said. The woman gritted her teeth, still having trouble not actually doing such. Still... these people keep hugging her too, and it feels nice. It feels nice to fall back on people, but as a commander, people needed to be able to fall back on her. A dilemma in her mind pushed away for the moment by Darren stating he'll protect her. She couldn't help but chuckle at how her younger brothers wanted to stand up for her. This still isn't their war, but they're in it with her.

Everyone's in it.

"Thank you. I'll be counting on you." Yukino expressed her gratitude, smiling softly to the boy who has been returned to their side.

Darren smiled and looked at her, moving away from the hug just enough so he could look her eye to eye. He nodded lightly and said to her, "I'll do my best, sis." He wanted to do what he could to help her, to protect her. In order to do that, he would likely have to be sure she understood what it was he could do. Now was as good a time as any to bring that up.

Um... about my power from before. The one I told you about... Well... He took a breath for a moment. His eyes flashed purple, staying purple as he looked at her. "This is what it looks like. I used it a lot against Trinity, that Star Vader. I used it so much that I passed out. I still don't know the limits to this yet."

"We'll have to gauge at those limits without you fainting again in the future if possible. If you have leftover power because of the Seeds and Metalborgs at your side, we're going to have to measure how much you can do. Judging by how much you did against Trinity, I'd say a lot right now. You brought down the Witches and went straight at Halcion. I'm more concerned with how long it can last, as the battle with that woman wasn't as long as the average Reaper assault."

Relax? Nah, no such thing. Yukino looked down at her blankets and immediately got to work as a commander judging the abilities of her subordinate. Having powers from the Seeds put Darren at a very high combat capability. Her worry however was how long he could use it until he was drained. Last thing she wanted was him to strain himself and prolong the use of this power. She folded her arms, trying to count in her mind how long the battle against Trinity was, and how long the battle against Gigaton was. Not every Reaper is as sturdy as Gigaton... hopefully, so if he could last that, he could last against hopefully all the others.

Darren let his eyes change back to normal. He laughed lightly and said, "I think that time I let out a bit too much power. I kinda got worked up with everything that happened. Between Halcion absorbing her own units' power to fuel herself and seeing all my friends' dark sides used against me... I guess I lost it."

He felt embarrassed just saying it. He lost his temper and overused his abilities before even understanding their limits. They were powerful enough to take on something with power comparable to Harbinger herself, or at least similar defenses. He even battled more than once with it that day, but he used so much that he burned out. "How about you oversee me training this power? You wouldn't have to do much but you would still be working. I know you'd get restless if you didn't do anything at all, but at least that wouldn't stress you out too much."

"Works for me, the doctor won't let me out of this room until they come and take me for an exam", Yukino agreed to overseeing his practice, rolling her eyes over how the medics were cracking down on restraining the girl as much as they could. Maybe if she just watched her damn health, they wouldn't have to worry about it. Still, she was glad when he mentioned just using it when he saw the "dark sides", the Reverse units were what he was referring to probably. No one needs to see that horrible virus again.

"Just hone your ability so you don't overexert like I normally do."

Memories of her facial scar opening were proof she had no grasp of the concept "don't over do it", so this was completely hypocritical for her to say.

Darren couldn't help but give a small laugh a he heard her say the doctors wouldn't let her leave. He knew it was her own fault. She always did too much, but he was the same way. During the Reverse incident, he almost never gave himself time to heal in between fights. They really were a lot alike.

"I'll be careful if you will," Darren said softly, calling her own hypocrisy without outright saying it. "Maybe there is something we can do in here that won't be too much on you. I'm pretty sure a cardfight would be a bit too much for you right now, even if the training would help us both." He remembered her deck from her battle with Malice. He was curious if the chances he made meant anything, but she was too injured to fight him if he used his ability.

Seifer just listened quietly to the conversation being had, holding onto Rosalia's hand. ...It seemed important enough, though he couldn't really contribute to it. Maybe out of ptsd or the fact that he didn't really know what to contribute to it. Besides, there wasn't much he could say that wasn't already said, so he'd just stay out of it. For now, he'd just be glad that his sister was okay. Which brought up another point... Noel was still asleep wasn't she. A sigh escaped his lips. Maybe it was to much for him to actually attempt to bear? ...No no, he had to put up with it. Had to try and bear it like he said he would.

How does it feel to fail again.. To let down not only your friends but your clan.. You are a failure!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!" Neo woke up screaming

"-pant- -pant- -pant- It was.. just a bad dream.." Neo said finding himself on a bed in the medical ward.

The last thing Neo remembers was talking to Darren but he must have passed out due to the fighting against Trinity.

"That dream.." Neo said as he tried to get up but knocked down his cards

He went to go pick them up one by one and as he did, he had flashbacks of his fight against Trinity and how he lost. Neo was still depressed about it in a way but was motivated at the same time. He wanted to get stronger to be more of a help the next time danger strikes.. But he didnt know how..

Rosalia had started to half doze by the time Yukino woke up, and her conversation with Darren was more or less confusing. There was a lot that the pinkette had missed, but she wasn't about to interrupt and start asking questions. All she had to know was that there was some invincible enemy that they had to figure out how to beat, and apparently Darren remembered where this enemy was while acting as... Malice? The name itself didn't sound good, so she merely curled up more with Seifer, shutting her eyes as she rested her head against his chest.

Something about overseeing training.... Rosalia could use some training herself....

"Hey, Seifer?..." she asked softly, looking up at her fiancé. "... Can we go find something to eat? I'm hungry~" the female admitted, a light embarrassed blush filling her cheeks. What? You expected her to ask for a fight, didn't you.

Seifer continued to watch before feeling the female at his side move. Oh, she'd dozed off... Cute. Looking down at the pinkette, he smiled softly when she mentioned that she was hungry. "Alright, let's go get something to eat then." gently he kissed his fiance's forehead... leading her through the midst of things. Speaking of, he was hungry himself and only just now noticed. Yukino you're having a really bad effect on your little brother aren't you. "Just call me if you need me, or tell Yunos or something. We're just going out for food though so it shouldn't take to long I guess?" he spoke more to Yukino than anyone else in the room before leaving. Rude.

After waking up from his nightmare, Neo freshened up, got dressed and started walking around the slums only to find it a ghost town

"Wonder where everyone is.." Neo said

Neo then saw Yukino in the medical ward resting with Darren by her side. Neo peeked his head in the door

"Hey Darren, how is Yukino doing?" Neo asked

Darren turned to Neo. It seemed that he was awake now. That was good. He had taken multiple big hits before now so it explained why he seemed a bit shaken. It was clear in his eyes. Something was wrong.

"Hey there Neo," He called out. "Guess you got your beauty rest. Yuki's doing alright but we're probably gonna do some training later. Or maybe as soon as we can think of a way to train in a room like this."

"Ah thats good.." Neo said

Neo then took one look at Yukino and his hands started shaking.. He was still feelig guilty for losing to Trinity..

"If im up for it, maybe I could join you guys in that training.." Neo said with doubt

Darren crossed his arms for a moment. He could tell what Neo was thinking already. He moved his hand up as his deckcase was in his hand.

"Why don't we have a fight right here and now? That's what you want, right? It has been a while."

He needed a chance to get control of his own abilities anyway. Making sure they didn't activate mid battle outside of his control was a good start.

Neo then took out his deck, stared at it for a moment and then responded to Darren.

"You got yourself a cardfight!" Neo said

Darren's Metalborgs battled Neo's Brawlers.

The sparks were flying fast as Darren and Neo brought one another to 2 damage early on. Darren was staring down Big Bang Knuckle Dragon. He rode Metalborg Valen Grader. He used the skill, giving him the ability to search for and ride a Metalborg Grade 3. He chose Metalborg, Dryon and not Sin Buster. It was an odd move, but Darren didn't want to run the risk of activating his power and causing actual damage.

His choice was almost beneficial. With a high amount of power and 2 criticals, Darren almost ended the fight in one blow thanks to a double critical trigger. Neo activated his own Legion, but was unable to gain much from it. Darren had no rear guards to retire. He didn't say it, but he remembered this deck from Malice fighting it. He didn't want Neo to know he remembered all of what Malice had done.

In the end, Neo used his Brawler, Shotgun Blow Dragon to remove Darren's field and strike for two Critical. Darren was able to guard this but a critical trigger afterwards saw to the end of the match. Darren smiled to Neo, glad he was able to do well, though he knew he technically held back in the fight quite a bit. Not just from using Sin Buster, on the two critical turn he could have made it near unblockable and pushed for early endgame.

"Nice fight, Neo." Darren said with relief that his ability did not go out of control, even though it tried to flare after the double critical appeared. "Guess you have nothing to worry about."

"I guess I dont.." Neo said

But deep down Neo knew that Darren held back and didnt Ride Sin Buster on purpose. Neo knew Darren wasnt a person who held back but for now Neo didnt question it and acted like there was no concern. Neo took his Brawler deck off the table, put the cards into the deckcase. But he didnt know what to do. At this point he didnt know if he was useful fighting the big battles with everyone else. He just thought he would get in the way. So Neo decided to do something as he took out both of his deck and gave them to Darren.

"You can have both of these decks Darren. Im not worthy of using Narukami anymore. Between leaving the first time and letting them down in the fight against Reverse.. they dont deserve me" Neo said

Neo then started to walk out..

"Tell Yukino and everyone else im sorry"

Darren looked at Neo with wide eyes as he gave his decks away. He couldn't believe it. He looked down at the Brawlers with a frown and said, "Neo... Damit Neo!" He grabbed the nearest pillow he could find, throwing it at Neo's head before he had a chance to leave.

"If you really think you aren't strong enough, how the hell is this suppose to help?!" he said to Neo as his eyes flashed purple. Now he really couldn't control it. "You think you let your Narukami down? What are you doing now! What's a bigger let down then a Vanguard that benches himself when things get tough? If you don't want them, then I'll use the deck for you! But don't act like its because you or the deck aren't good enough!"

You dont get it Darren.. I keep causing pain to everyone around me. You wanna know something Darren?" Neo said leaning against the wall

"I bet you dont know who was one of those who started the Reverse the very first time. It was me.. I reversed people left and right and it continued the cycle. I even Reversed Rosalia, and the sad part is that I was in full control the entire time.. and the only person who was able to stop me was Tsubasa.. After that is when I left.." Neo said covering his face as tears fell

No one will ever forgive me or understand that pain of burden. Not a single one of you will. Ever since I came back every cardfight has been nothing but pain! Nothing but a reminder of what I started!" Neo said

That is why.. Im giving you my decks.. because im scared of what damage I could do if I go power hungry again.."

Darren's fist started to shake. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Neo started the reverse, and now he was going to give everything up? He did everything he could to not punch Neo in the face just because he said that much.

"You think its bad that you Reversed people?" Darren said to him with a glare. "I almost destroyed the whole Damned world as Malice! I was the one who got a Seed implanted in me because I couldn't kill one of my friends! Because of that a monster at least 10 times worse then anything you could have ever been came into the world! He caused you so much pain... He made Yuki cry... He tormented Noel... and used everyone else for his own sick ambitions... You think I don't understand?! Wake up, you idiot!"

He started panting, Metalborg Sin Buster appearing behind him purely by accident. He placed his hand on Darren's shoulder as Darren said, "But with all that... do you think I have time to be down on myself? NO! The only way I can do anything about what happened in the past is to make up for it with my own power! Even if it kills me, I'll do everything I can to make the world a better place as repayment for almost ruining it! Not because Yuki told me to, not because its the right thing to do! This is something I owe to the whole world! If you really feel like you can't trust yourself, then fix it! If you can't cut it without hurting people, then hurt the ones that wanna DP the earth! Grow a pair and get in there!"

...

Neo didnt know how to reply to that.. but he felt his anger building and rising as Darren was talking.. then out of nowhere..

BAM!

Neo ran up to Darren and punched him in the face

"Ya know what? Your right. You were Malice, caused people pain and caused the world pain. BUT NONE OF IT WOULD HAVE STARTED IF I DIDNT GET THAT POWER AND BECOME REVERSED DAMNIT!" Neo screamed

Me walking away is probably the best thing and you want to compare to yourself! Nothing can compare to what I did and started!"