The Broken Doll

Chapter 5

Kaito took off the headset as per her instructions. He stood up, feeling more refreshed than before. Thanking her once again, he exited the room. Shing followed.

Yuma was just about to take Cathy to the training room to help her train her skill in dueling when something strange happened. The Key started blinking. First once, then twice, then three times, and then in rapid succession. Everyone shielded their eyes as the Emperor's Key shone brightly as its owners finally unlocked it after endless hours of work. That deep, inner portion of everyone in the room cheered; they all knew that Astral of all people would have some power to help them.

Two forms exited the Key. The first one was Astral, and when the light dimmed down, Dark popped his head right out of the gem embedded in the Key.

"What are you two doing here?" Shing asked in a mildly aggressive tone. Something told her that these two were going to be a pain to capture.

Astral looked around at Yuma and his friends, and he felt their inner selves screaming at him to help them. He ignored her and placed his hand on Yuma's temple. "He's in here, Dark. It's faint, but he still clings to himself."

Dark seemed to cringe at the boy, but he nodded. "I'll keep her busy, then. You do what you need to do."

Astral formed a shield around himself and Yuma. Cut off from his queen, Yuma couldn't hear her give orders to him to resist. He just stood there, staring at Astral. He didn't say anything, didn't do anything.

"Yuma..." Astral whispered and had them both kneel on the floor. Yuma followed his urging and knelt on the ground. "What has she done to you?" Yuma didn't respond. Astral looked at his blank face sadly and cupped that same face with his hands and touched his forehead to Yuma's. "Don't worry. I will bring you back."

Meanwhile, Dark took a protective stance in front of the shield. Shing giggled. "Finally, a challenge!" she exclaimed.

Dark cracked his knuckles. "You don't look like much."

"Don't worry about that." She clenched her fists and crouched into a fighting stance. "Come on!"

Dark immediately took the first, second, and third strike by catching her off guard. He sent a punch to her stomach, a punch to her cheek, and a kick up her chin. Shing flew to the ground, but she didn't stay down. She jumped back up and caught Dark with a punch right to his jaw. He took the damage without flinching. He made sure that his and Astral's mental link didn't include physical pain so his twin wouldn't be distracted.

Astral looked deep into Yuma's mind to look for the inner Yuma, the one that was crying out to him to free him. It was easy to locate him, but setting him free was a different matter. He concentrated hard to try to unlock the inner part of his dearest friend.

Yuma's eyes widened, and his mind was once again his own. He saw Astral sitting back with a smile. "Welcome back, Yuma."

"Astral...thank you!" Yuma was about to hug his friend when Astral suddenly flinched, holding his chest. It seemed Dark's separation from their link didn't last long.

They both looked back and saw Dark caught on the wall with Shing keeping him pinned with her claws. Dark didn't seem to be affected, though.

"I need to go help him. Stay in the bubble, Yuma." Astral then hurried off to go help his brother, sending a burst of mental energy right at Shing to get her attention.

Shing turned around and saw Astral. With a wide grin, she sent a wave of paralyzing energy his way, but he managed to dodge in time and reach out to Dark. Once they touched, a bright light washed over the whole room as they fused together into one being. The only ones expressive enough to present their shock were Shing and Yuma. The rest watched with blank expressions, but inside, they were just as shocked to see this new person.