Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

[Ryu Mitsukai (Shadow) - 20 years old]
[Tezuka Kejinto (Storm) - 20 years old]

Tezuka slowly opens his icy blue eyes, expecting some kind of pain from either his chest or back. After all, the bullet must have flown through his chest if he blacked out this fast.

But pain does not come to his senses at all.

He is just staring at a white ceiling -- No, there is no ceiling. Nothing except whiteness and blackness all around the place.

Where am I? Tezuka carefully gets up only to spot something hanging from his neck. He gasps lightly as he quickly grabs the chains, pulling them only to tag his neck a little bit.

He lifts his hand to touch something cold and metal around his neck. Am I a prisoner?

But the chains seem to be going on forever. He cannot even see where they lead to. Only if he has Ryu’s aguila energy…

“Ryu!” Tezuka startles himself by yelling out his comrade’s name. He does not expect to say out loud like that.

When he only receives silence in response, he starts walking and wandering until at least he finds something in his sight.

After what feels like hours, he eventually spots something shiny on the black spot. He begins to jog towards an object.

“A key?” Tezuka asks himself after he picks up a simple, plain key. He starts touching and running his fingers across the metal band around his neck until he feels a key-shaped hole under his fingers. “To… this?”

Then, he inserts the key in the hole and is about to turn it --

A warm hand suddenly grabs Tezuka’s wrist, stopping him from unlocking completely. He freezes at the sudden touch. It feels so familiar to him.

“Don’t.”

Tezuka lets go of the key, which is still inside the hole. He opens his mouth only to find himself not knowing what to say at least a word.

“You’re not ready to die yet, Tezuka.”

“I’m… D-die?” Tezuka stammers.

“If you unlock your soul bind, then your real body will die for real. Forever.”

“Wait a minute! Am I connected to my real body --” Tezuka turns around and then freezes up at such a sight. “Y-you are…!”

“Welcome back. I didn’t expect to see you so soon.” A smile appears on the tan face. Cold green eyes make Tezuka shiver lightly. “What did you do to die this time?”

“I-I got shot.”

“I see.” The man… no, the godly figure chuckles softly as he comes even closer to Tezuka. He pulls the key out of the hole and waves it. “I hope you don’t need this anymore, right? I’ll hold it for you.”

Tezuka cannot help but stare at a pair of large wings on the God’s back. They are entirely made out of white and black feathers. 

Even though he had met Double God before, he could not really see him very well last time. It was as if Double God was not meant to be seen at all at that time.

“My name is Hikyou. Call me Hikyou-sama.” Double God runs his hand through his messy medium black hair. “I am one of the Gods of the Fifth Universe… Double God.”

“Is it real?” Tezuka asks all of a sudden, pointing at a white halo floating above Hikyou’s head before he realizes that he is actually speaking to the god… Double God, out of all Gods! He mentally smacks himself in the forehead. That was a stupid question.

Hikyou laughs out loud, much to Tezuka’s relief. “Yes, it is real.”

Tezuka has millions of questions for Double God, but he has no idea where to start. Should he start off by asking about his grandfather as the Breaker? Or if Double God is on Earth? Or why he and Ryu were chosen to receive the dark and light powers? Ryu.

“W-where is Ryu?” The young Kejinto asks.

“I knew you would ask that question.” Hikyou smiles gently at him. “He will eventually find us. All he needs to do is to follow my presence. Just like you did. He’s just a little bit late.”

“Are we dying?” Tezuka picks up the chains and then looks at the length of them. They just go and go on forever. “Where is this place?”

“This is the place that nobody can ever find… except Gods, Angels, and Universe Warrior,” Hikyou says.

“T-they… I mean, the Big Five is looking for you.” Tezuka frowns when he begins to remember how he got shot in the first place. “Alvarez…” He says bitterly.

“Everyone has always been looking for me.” Hikyou shrugs his shoulders carelessly. “Why should I care about the Big Five or whatever you call them?”

Tezuka stares at him in both confusion and disbelief. Double God doesn’t care? Then, why did he choose me to fight against the Big Five?

Hikyou’s calm green eyes have not moved away from Tezuka yet. After a short while, he finally says, “Earth is in trouble. That’s all I care about.”

“You asked for my help because… Earth is in trouble?” Tezuka raises an eyebrow. “Why me?”

“You’re the grandson of Kowareta Kejinto. He and Gotsu Mitsukai saved the entire universe. Because of his legacy, I figured that you would have at least the power to save Earth…” Hikyou stops suddenly and turns away from Tezuka. He grins widely. “He is here.”

“Gotsu,” Ryu says breathlessly. He had been running all the way from the moment he had awakened. He panicked when he found himself lost in this unknown world, so he started running around and looking furiously for someone - stranger or not. He is also wearing the metal band around his neck, also hooked with the chains.

“Hello there, Ryu.” Hikyou flashes a big grin on his face. “I am Hikyou-sama, the Double God.”

When Ryu gets his breath back, he continues, “My grandfather… I-is he alive? Where is he? Can… Can they help us?”

“The Breakers died 26 years ago. They sacrificed their lives to defeat the Lockers,” Hikyou answers. “But as you already know, one of the Lockers survived and stayed on Earth because he is seeking revenge.”

“So…” Tezuka says thoughtfully. “He deceived the Big Five into believing that by wiping out the entire humanity on Earth would lead to creating a brand new world? All for the sake of his revenge?”

“Jikan,” Hikyou says simply, as he nods his head. “She’s using the forbidden energy. Time traveling. I’ll take care of her. As for the rest of the Big Five; the Dark Team can help you out.”

“Dark Team?” Tezuka and Ryu ask at the same time.

“They have been helping you guys out recently, haven’t they?” Hikyou chuckles softly. “They are using 5-U as their secret code. The Dark Team is their real name, especially when it was named by Fifth Universe.”

“Sky, that dumbass! He hid it from me once again!” Tezuka shakes his angry fist.

“Knapp, what else haven’t you told us?” Ryu sighs lightly, trying to suppress his own anger.

Hikyou looks up as he says, “We don’t have much time. They are bringing you back to life. I made sure to take your souls to where I am. Your lives are in my hands."

“W-wait! I have so many questions to ask!” Ryu exclaims anxiously. “Why did you give Alvarez more than two powers? He’s about to destroy Earth!”

“It doesn’t matter how many powers a person can have.” Hikyou gives them a small smile. “For the last millions of years, I’ve seen people with just one energy defeating others with multiple energies. You just need to follow your hearts. And… coming from your hearts, that’s why I’m lending you powers temporarily…”

He places their hands on Tezuka and Ryu’s shoulders, sending dark energy into Tezuka and light one into Ryu. “Dark and light energies. Normally, only Dark and Light Gods can use them, but you have my permission to use them.”

“What happened to Dark and Light Gods? Why is it that you're the only one who showed up?” Ryu asks, as he takes a look at his hand trying to find any difference somehow.

Hikyou softens his green eyes, almost as if he is sad. “They died almost a thousand years ago. New Gods have not yet been born.”

“So, they’re really dead…” Tezuka says softly. Suddenly, he feels the chains tagging. “W-what?”

“You’re waking up in your real body.” Hikyou smiles brightly at him. He waves his hand. “See you later!”

“S-see you --” Tezuka is not able to finish his question when he suddenly gets pulled by the chains at the speed of light. Hikyou and Ryu disappear from his sight within just one second.

~*~

“Later?!” Tezuka manages to finish his question when he quickly opens his eyes only to feel intense pain coming from his chest. “Ow!”

“Whoa! Don’t sit up just yet!” Sky gently pushes Tezuka back to the bed. “You were shot a few days ago.”

“Days ago?”

“Yeah, you lost consciousness, but luckily, Johnny managed to pull you out of the building before it blew up!”

“R-Ryu?” Tezuka asks dryly.

“He’s in a coma right now.” Sky smiles sadly. “He is worse than you are. His liver was pierced, so we had to find a new liver for him. He won’t probably wake up for the next few weeks. But I’m sure he’ll be fine!”

“Of course he will.” Tezuka scoffs irritatedly. “Our lives are in Hikyou-sama’s hands.”

“Hikyou-sama?”

“It’s Double God’s name.”

“That’s his real name?”

“What are you, deaf?”

“Sorry!” Sky raises his hands up in the air. “Okay, I'll get Akane. She has been so worried sick about you.”

“Hn…. Oh wait.”

Sky stops when he gets to the door, “What?”

“5-U… It is not your team’s name? Is it the Dark Team?”

“H-How do you know?” Sky stammers.

“Hikyou-sama told us.”

~*~

TWO WEEKS LATER
FEBRUARY 3, 2047

Ryu had finally awoken two days ago, but he did not say a single word about Hikyou-sama at all.

Because everyone knows about Double God by now.

“Dark Team,” Tezuka simply says, as if he remembers something. He lightly rubs the bandage around his bare chest. “I’ve read a lot of history books about it. I used to think that some kind of nutshell was writing about them. Something about being led by our universe. But now it finally makes a lot of sense.”

“You graduated high school at 16 years old, didn’t you?” Knapp rubs his chin. “You read a lot of books?”

“I remember every single line from the books,” Tezuka says. “But that’s not the point. Why didn’t you tell us before? It’s not like your team’s name makes any difference.”

"We came here on the request of the Fifth Universe." Zack answers as he shrugs his shoulders. "Normally, the Dark Team looks for the aliens and takes care of them if they truly threaten the universe. We are not supposed to intervene with any planet’s business, but this is an exception.”

"So when Earth is in danger..." Ryu raises an eyebrow.

"Earth is the Heart of the entire Fifth Universe," Knapp answers. "It connects to every single sun, planet, and galaxy in the universe. Planet Heaven, the Soul of the Fifth Universe, is also connected to Earth, the Heart. Earth and Heaven need each other. Without them, the entire universe collapses into nothingness.”

“The problem is,” Zack adds, “Double God cannot break the chains, as they are the unique ability of the Lockers, which were created by the original Dark and Light Gods a long time ago. I believe that their original intention was for the natives to stay on their home planets, not visiting other foreign planets.”

“But the Breakers died, didn’t they?” Tezuka says. “How are we supposed to save the universe?”

“I believe that you and Ryu are the next Breakers,” Sky says firmly. “I know nobody believes me, but you were touched by Double God, right? He gave you the powers to use dark and light powers!”

“Even though dark and light powers are the most powerful in the universe…” Knapp shakes his head. “They cannot break the chains. Not even a dent. Besides, they don’t know how to control them properly.”

“But if they are not Breakers... there’s a possibility that they may be the next Gods!” Sky exclaims.

“We are not Gods.” Ryu snaps. “We almost died a few times!”

“The Gods died a thousand years ago! They were the fifth gods who were chosen by Double God!” Sky says. “I believe that he chose you to be the sixth! Why else are you able to use the powers of darkness and light?”

“That’s enough.” Tezuka snaps at him. He scoffs. “We, the gods? Are you that stupid, Sky?”

“Only Gods can use dark and light powers!”

“It’s ok.” Knapp places his hand on Sky’s shoulder. “Who cares about Gods? Our goal still stands. That’s to stop the Big Five from harming the planet any further.”

“What do we do… now that we have discovered who the leader is?”

“He escaped just before the whole base got destroyed.” Johnny joins the conversation. He shrugs his shoulders once. “At least, our original mission to destroy the base was successful.”

“We need to rest.” Knapp turns away from the Dark Team. “Tezuka, Ryu… Your wounds still haven’t healed completely yet. Meanwhile… Clear, you may start the search for the leader.”

“Leave it to me!” Clear says cheerfully.

“Two bases were destroyed so far,” Zack says suddenly. “Japan and Bolivia. Kasai and Rin were in charge of those bases. The Big Five lost a lot of resources from Japan and Bolivia.”

“How so?” Tezuka raises an eyebrow.

“Without Kasai’s guidance, Japan surrendered to the United States.”

“What?! That easily?!” Ryu cries. “It has been only a year since then…”

“However, Japan is still in trouble,” Knapp says. “If they join the United States as allies in the Nuclear War… while the United States is still in the control of the Big Five…”

“It cannot be good.” Jade shakes his head. “What do we do now? There are still bases in Germany and South Korea…”

Nobody is saying anything at all until Knapp turns around, about to leave the room. As he opens the door, he glances at the 5-U… actually, Dark Team.

“We obliterate the Big Five completely. The sooner, the better,” He says simply and then leaves the cabin room.