Another Generation   von Jitsch
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                          Kapitel 13: Another Partner
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It was only then that Johann realized that Jūdai was sobbing. “I killed
him,” Jūdai whispered. “If I had not dueled him, he would still be doing
well…”
 
“Jūdai!” Johann hurried over and put an arm around the other boy’s
shoulder. “Stay strong! If you give in to the darkness we cannot beat it!”
Jūdai swallowed. “I know… I know that… but how can I be the hope to beat
darkness when I hurt someone so much…” 
“Do not falter! This is unlike you, Yūki Jūdai!” Crystal Keeper shouted
impatiently. “You are the one who can turn this around!” 
Jūdai looked up at the card spirit. He looked lost. “I really don’t know
why you put so much trust in me. I have done nothing to earn it,” he said. 
Crystal Master shook his head. “Yes you have. You just do not know. But it is
Yūki Jūdai who can beat Darkness. We just know.”
Johann helped Jūdai stand up again. He was still weak on his legs.
“If they say so it must be true, right,” Johann said, but his optimism
seemed just a little bit forced this time.
Jūdai wiped away his tears with the sleeve of his uniform and tried to look
determined. “I will try my best,” he said. Behind him, Yubel nodded in
agreement.
“You have not beaten me yet!” he told Darkness. “And now it is my turn.”
Darkness cards were flipped down and shuffled again when Jūdai already drew his
card. 

 
Jūdai checked the card that he had just drawn.
“I set a Spell or Trap card,” he announced and put it on his field. Then he
looked at his opponent.
“It has to work this time! Neos, attack his Darkness Eye!”
“Your struggles are futile. I activate Zero and Infinity.”
Yet again, the Darkness Eye opened, telling Darkness which card was which, and
he activated them. Zero was now farthest to the right and Infinity in the
middle, with only one card between them.
“You get to live another turn, but you cannot destroy my monster. The card
that activates is Darkness 1 which destroys a card you control. I choose
Neos.”
The card flipped up and the lightning bolt hit Neos in the chest. It disappeared
immediately, leaving Jūdai with two set cards, one of them being the one he had
just placed there.
“Why are you still fighting?” Darkness asked darkly. “You can feel it, can
you not? The memory of Kaiser and of your group of friends falling apart - you
would be better off without that, wouldn’t you?” 
Jūdai swallowed. 
“Don’t lend him an ear! There might be painful memories, but you also have
good ones, don’t you?” Johann reminded him.
He did not wait for Jūdai to reply: “If your turn is over, let me
continue!”
Jūdai nodded. Darkness’ cards flipped back down and rearranged themselves,
waiting for the next turn.

 
Johann smiled at the sight of his drawn card. “There is still hope, and this
card proves it,” he announced.
“I activate my Spell Rare Value. I can send Amber Mammoth from the Spell
and Trap zone to the Graveyard in order to draw two cards.” 
The amber gem on Johann’s field disappeared and sent a ray of light to his
hand. He drew and nodded. 
“I activate the Equip Spell Golden Rule! I equip it to a Crystal Beast that I
control, and I choose Sapphire Pegasus. Now I can place two level 3 or lower
Crystal Beasts in my Spell and Trap zone as continuous spell cards. Appear,
Level 3 Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle and Level 3, Crystal Beast Amethyst
Cat!”
A bright red and a purple gem appeared before Johann.
“Golden Rule would also allow me to summon a Crystal Beast from my hand, but
I have none. But I can do this: I special summon Ruby Carbuncle from the Spell
and Trap Zone to the field in defense mode, then I can special summon other
Crystal Beasts which are currently on my field as Continous Spells.”
The red gem glowed and became a small, cat-like creature with blue fur and a
long tail that landed in the zone that was reserved for monsters. It gave a
high-pitched squeal. The red gem at the end of its tail glowed magically,
causing the purple gem to glow as well. That gem turned into a large cat with
pink fur who had a golden emblem on its chest that carried a purple gem.
“Ready to rock!” the cat exclaimed with a female voice.
“This is the sixth of his seven Crystal Beasts, and he has five of them on the
field,” Yubel felt compelled to point out.
Johann grinned. “Just wait until I get the seventh out!” he said proudly. He
turned to Darkness again.
“Time to break your combo for good. Sapphire Pegasus, attack Darkness
Eye!”
The pegasus jumped forth. But this time as well, Darkness did not let it go
through. 
 
“I use Darkness Eye’s effect to see my cards, then I
activate Zero and Infinity, and as the first card between them, Darkness
2,” he said. The cards flipped up. The image of Darkness 2 showed a ball of
fire above a surface of water.
“We haven’t seen this one yet! What does it do?” Johann asked warily. 
“A monster that I control gains 1000 attack points until the end phase. It
also gains 1000 more points for each card between Zero and Infinity.”
There was only one card left to activate and it flipped up promptly. Darkness
Eye’s attack points increased to 2000, letting the eyeball grow out of
proportion and tower over Sapphire Pegasus. 
“No!” Johann gasped but it was too late. A beam shot from the huge eye and
hit Sapphire Pegasus in mid-air. Johann’s Life Point counter fell to 3800.
“Crystal Beasts do not leave the field but become Continuous Spell Cards when
they are destroyed,” Johann explained. A blue, rough gem appeared on his
field.
“But you have no monsters that can beat Darkness Eye or Darkness Slime,”
Darkness pointed out.
“That’s right, but there is still something I can do! Amethyst Cat!”
Johann called. 
The cat flexed her claws and jumped.
“Amethyst Cat can attack you directly, but then the damage is halved,”
Johann explained. The Cat had 1200 attack points, so the damage would be 600.
The cat’s claws ripped at Darkness’ Cloak. He was down to 1100 Life Points.
“We almost have him!” Jūdai cheered.
Crystal Keeper and Crystal Master nodded, but the expression on the visible
part of the Keeper’s face still looked tense.
“I use the effect of Emerald Tortoise to move Amethyst Cat into defense
mode,” Johann announced. The Tortoise nodded, pulled its extremities into its
shell and raced across the field, throwing the cat onto her hind paws. She gave
a sulky meowing sound, but then settled down.
Johann nodded, content with the successful turn. “I can’t do any more than
this,” he admitted. “I play two cards face-down and end my turn.”

 
A new card appeared in Darkness’ hand. “It is time to show you that all
resistance is futile,” he said. “I tribute Darkness Eye to
summon Darkness Bramble.”
A monster appeared on the field. True to its name, it looked like a bramble
surrounded by thorny vines. It had 2000 attack points.
Darkness turned his head ever so slightly, showing that he was concentrating on
Jūdai. He had 1000 life points left and no monsters, but he did not look too
worried. After all, he still had two set cards, and Darkness had just given up
the advantage of being able to check his set cards with Darkness Eye’s
effect. 
“I attack Jūdai directly with Darkness Bramble,” Darkness ordered. 
But Jūdai had waited for this. “I activate my Trap Limit Reverse! I can
special summon a monster from my Graveyard which has less than 1000 attack
points. I choose my partner: Yubel.”
Thorns broke from the ground and formed the sinister shape of Yubel.
Johann had already seen the monster at Jūdai’s side in spirit form, but as a
solid vision hologram on the field it seemed more menacing. The bat wings spread
wide, the red third eye on its forehead was glowing, and there was a harsh,
merciless expression on the monster’s face. It emanated the determination to
destroy anyone who might threaten Jūdai.
“Thank you for calling me. I will protect you,” Yubel announced grimly and
spread their arms as well. 
“I do not think so,” Darkness said with a chuckle. “The effect
of Darkness Bramble lets me check my set cards.”
The dark structure of the bramble quivered, and the round sections of what had
looked like a fruit turned out to be eyes that shot open, all in the same
instant.
Darkness nodded and the eyes closed again. “I
activate Zero and Infinity.” The cards opened farthest to the left and
second from right. There were two cards between them.
He pointed at the card. “Darkness 1. I destroy Yubel.”
The lightning bolt hit Yubel right in the chest.
“NO!” Jūdai exclaimed desperately. He even stumbled forward as if he was
trying to get a hold of the monster hologram and keep it from disappearing. It
was no use. Yubel was gone.
 
Jūdai stared at where the monster had been seconds ago. 
 
“No… this cannot… this cannot be. You always protected me! You are
invincible! Yubel…!” Jūdai shouted desperately. 
 
“I use the second card to destroy my own card, Darkness Slime. After all it
looks like your Neos right now - but he as well cannot protect you
anymore.” 
The lightning hit. Neos, or what looked like it, went up in smoke.
Jūdai had one set card left, but his expression said that it would not help him
against a direct attack. He looked at Darkness like a deer in a headlight.
“I activate my Trap! Cut Jewel!” Johann said quickly. “I send a Crystal
Beast from my Deck to the Graveyard to halve the original attack points of one
of your monsters! I send Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger to the graveyard to halve
the original attack points of Darkness Bramble!” 
The card flipped up, Johann searched the Crystal Beast card from his deck and
put it into the graveyard. An energy pulse from the card hologram hit Bramble,
which went down to 1000 attack points.
Johann grit his teeth. His move could have helped Jūdai if he still had more
than 1000 Life Points left, but at this rate he was just using it to search the
final Crystal Beast from his deck. There was nothing he could do anymore. 
“Jūdai,” he called out. “I’m sorry.”
 
Jūdai looked at him. He looked utterly lost.
 
“It’s me who is sorry,” he said miserably. “You and your spirit partners
thought I could beat Darkness, but I was totally useless. I always need the help
of others to do anything… Without Yubel I would have been able to do nothing
until now… Yes, it was all thanks to Yubel, and that man.” 
“NO!”
The cry came from both sides of Johann. Crystal Master and Crystal
Keeper had spoken simultaneously.
Johann turned his head to check their expressions. Crystal Master was
trembling. Crystal Keeper had balled both hands into fists and his mouth was
quivering.
“Why…” Crystal Master whispered sadly.
“This is not what I wanted,” Crystal Keeper said. “Everything was
supposed to be better.”
Jūdai stared at the two spirits. He was looking bewildered. 
“It puzzled me,” he said in a shaky voice. “I forgot one person after
another, but all this time I was always remembering the man who
helped Yubel and me back then.” 
“What man…?” Johann asked.
Jūdai closed his eyes. He remembered it like yesterday. 

 
Jūdai was sitting alone on a bench in a small park near the municipal hospital.
He was only a child, but there was no adult to be seen near him. In his small
hands, he held a single Duel Monsters card and sighed at it. 
The boy became aware of footsteps. He quickly put the card that he had been
looking at into a pocket of his jacket before he looked up. 
Leisurely strolling towards him was a man, an adult. He wore black pants and a
loose shirt, and had voluminous teal hair that was partly tied up into a small
ponytail and partly fell almost to his shoulders. He was wearing sunglasses, but
Jūdai could tell that he was looking at him. He came closer with short, slow
steps. Jūdai remembered that his teachers had told him to not talk to
strangers, but he had never really understood why someone who didn’t know him
would have a reason to do something bad to him. 
“Hey boy,” the man said when he was just a few steps away. 
Jūdai looked taken aback. “Oh, it’s a foreigner,” he murmured in
Japanese. “Um, I - harro… naisu to meet… you…?” 
The man chuckled. “I can speak Japanese… a bit,” he said and crouched to
bring his face on the same level as Jūdai’s. 
Jūdai looked less timid immediately: “Wow, it’s the first time I meet a
foreign old man who can speak Japanese!” 
An eyebrow half hidden behind the large sunglasses twitched. “Old man?” the
man repeated complaintfully. 
Jūdai cocked his head. “You are an adult, right? All adults are old.” 
 
The man looked a bit beaten, but he sighed. “You’re just a kid, I get it,”
he murmured in English. Then he became more serious again. “You have a
problem?” he asked, changing the topic. He sounded a bit insecure about his
choice of words and his pronunciation was a bit strange, but Jūdai could
understand him fine.  
Jūdai turned his head away. “It’s not my fault,” he said quickly. 
“Your fault?” the man asked. 
Jūdai shook his head. “I said it is not my fault!” he insisted. 
The man still looked serious. “I want to help you,” he said. “Please tell
what happen.” 
Jūdai shook his head. “The doctor’s say they can’t help.” 
“Doctors? Help with what?” 
Jūdai’s head drooped. “Osamu. A friend. He just… he is not waking
up.”  
The man slowly got up and took a seat on the bench next to Jūdai. 
“What happen?”
 
Jūdai pulled up his shoulders and pouted. “If I tell you you’ll just not
believe it and tell me to not make things up, just like all the other adults,”
he said. 
The man considered it for a moment, maybe he had not understood everything
completely. “I believe you,” he said nevertheless. 
Jūdai looked sceptical. “Nobody believes me,” he insisted.  
“And your parents?” 
“They haven’t heard of this yet. Dad is on a business trip and mom said she
will be late today…” 
The man nodded thoughtfully. “I believe you,” he repeated earnestly. “Tell
me.”  
Jūdai hesitated, but the empathetic smile on the man’s face convinced him.
“I was playing duel monsters with Osamu. And I summoned my strongest monster.
But Osamu used a trap card and destroyed my monster. And then he just fell
asleep and didn’t wake up.”  
Jūdai skeptically looked at the man who had been listening with
concentration.  
“Your strongest monster…” he said thoughtfully. “Is it a monster who
looks like human with bat wings and white and blue hair?”  
Jūdai looked surprised. “Yes! How do you know?”
The man smiled. “I can see monster behind you. They look sad.” 
“What!?” 
Jūdai jumped up and turned, kneeling on the bench. 
 
There was nobody to be seen. 
“Are you making fun of me?” he asked the man with a pout. 
The man immediately shook his head. “You can’t see them yet,” he
concluded, “but I have a special… power. I can see spirits of Duel Monsters.
I can talk to them.”  
Jūdai’s eyes went big. “Really?!” 
“Really,” the man said with a small laugh. 
Jūdai looked excited now. “Nobody believes me when I tell them that I can
hear the cards speak!” he exclaimed.  
The man propped his arms into his sides. “I believe you. You have the same
special power like me.”  
Jūdai’s eyes were shining. “You can really see the monsters?” he asked. 
The man nodded.  
“And you can talk to them?”  
Another nod.  
“Then you can talk to Yubel?” he asked and pulled the card from his jacket
and held it in front of the man.  
The man looked at the card, then at someone behind Jūdai. “Yes, I can talk
to Yubel,” he said.  
“I know Yubel did something to Osamu! Please tell them that they must not
hurt my friends like that!” Jūdai pleaded immediately. “And to wake up
Osamu!”  
The man scratched his chin, watching the invisible monster behind Jūdai.
“Yubel can hear you,” he pointed out. “But I ask Yubel why they do
this.” 
“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Jūdai said.
The man got up. “I have done nothing. I talk to Yubel now and tell you what
they say. Okay?”  
Jūdai nodded happily.  
 
The man moved a bit away from the bench. Jūdai watched him for quite a while,
peering over the bench’s backrest. The man was talking to someone Jūdai could
not see, that much was obvious. But it still looked weird how he talked and
gestured all by himself, so it made Jūdai giggle from time to time. 
Then the man came back. Jūdai jumped from the bench and looked at him with
great expectation.  
“I talk to Yubel,” the man said and got to his knees again to be on
Jūdai’s level. “I explain why it is forbidden to hurt people.” Jūdai
nodded happily.  
“Yubel say they want to protect you. They say another kid is mean to you and
makes you cry.” 
Jūdai shook his head vehemently. “I… I was just sad because he
destroyed Yubel! I want Yubel to appear in the duel and beat the
opponent!” 
“See?” the man said. Apparently it was directed at the monster. 
He turned to Jūdai again: “Yubel say they get angry when they see you
cry.”  
“Then I will not cry anymore!” Jūdai announced. 
The man shook his head: “It’s okay to cry. When you tell Yubel what makes
you sad, they help you. They say that. And someday, you will be able to talk
to Yubel like me.” 
Jūdai suddenly looked timid. “O- okay… Yubel…” he looked at where he
thought Yubel must be. “Then will you… will you be my friend?”  
There was a short pause. “Yubel says yes,” the man relayed with a smile. 
Jūdai beamed. “Thank you Yubel!”  
He turned. “Yubel, let’s go, we have to wake up Osamu!” 
He started to run in the direction of the nearby hospital then stopped again
after a few steps and turned around.  
“Thank you, old man!” he shouted and waved his hand.  
Then he ran off.  
 
A tear rolled down Jūdai’s cheek when he remembered this. It was no
use. Yubel was gone, and he would disappear right after them.
“Die, Yūki Jūdai,” Darkness ordered with ice-cold calm.
The dozens of eyeballs that made up Darkness Bramble opened their lids and a
beam came out. Jūdai went down with a low gasp. 
“Thank you old man,” he whispered. Then his body slackened.
 
Darkness simply continued his turn: “The effect of Darkness Bramble: During
the End Phase, my Life Points become 4000 again if I have less.” 
Darkness’ Life Point counter rose. His combo cards set themselves back
face-down and shuffled. He chuckled. 
 
 
 

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