Vile: And so, after stalling for a bit with something else I was writing, here's the next Numbershot that you all wanted from me! But as you may have gathered from the description and categories, this is not a light-hearted Numbershot. It's time I revealed some of the answers behind the Numbers incident.

BEAR IN MIND: In order to make this headcanon work, I am changing some of the facts from the original canon, but only those that were revealed past Episode 50, since my headcanon split off from there (see Numbershot 38).

Vile: With that given to you, standard disclaimer here, folks. Oh, and the time of day is sometime at night. Enjoy!

Numbershot 99: No More Falsehood

Chapter 1

"And you're certain you can't get ahold of them?" An angry-yet-worried Dr. Faker said through his intercom to Mr. Heartland. The Number Distributor was next to Heartland, wearing a falsely worried face.

"I'm afraid not, Dr. Faker-sama." Mr. Heartland told him, shaking his head. "Kaito has blocked off our connection line, so we can't get in contact with him at all.

Dr. Faker sighed. "Why would Kaito turn his back on us…? We were trying to cure Haruto of what ailed him, yet he employs Jenaveve and that other kid, destroys part of the tower, and takes off with Haruto! Who knows what kind of suffering he could be undergoing as we speak?!"

"We are still searching Heartland for them, Dr. Faker-san." The Number Distributor told him. "But Kaito's training enables him to find any hiding spot."

"I should've convinced Droite and Gauche to stay after the end of the World Duel Carnival." Mr. Heartland said.

"Just keep looking, Mr. Heartland." Dr. Faker said. "The moment you find them, give me an update on how they are doing."

"Yes, sir." Mr. Heartland and the Number Distributor said, and Dr. Faker cut out the transmission, leaning back in his chair. 'Kaito… Haruto… Gomen-nasai. I know what I did to you was wrong, pulling you from the life you enjoyed… but that energy... I could not allow you to misuse it and hurt yourself, Haruto.' He gripped his head with a groan. 'And Kazuma… Byron… my idiocy led to your demise!' He sighed. 'I will not do wrong by anyone again.' He began typing on a computer that was near his chair, bringing up what looked like a communication line. 'That frequency must be in here somewhere.' After a few minutes of typing, a certain frequency appeared on-screen, but was suddenly covered by a red X, and the word "BLOCKED" appeared over it. 'I created this line, Kaito. I know how to get around it.'

*Meanwhile*

Kaito, Haruto, and Orbital were relaxing in Jenaveve's house, the girl in question doing something in the back room. All of a sudden, Orbital's head perked up and began spinning rapidly, his eyes turning red. "Kaito-sama, Haruto-sama!" He cried frantically.

"Orbital? What's wrong?!" Haruto asked him, startled.

"S-Someone's hacking the comm. line! They're breaching the block!" The robot cried.

Kaito's face went into one that seemed emotionless, but carried a hint of anger. "Nii-san?" Haruto asked.

"Disable the block, Orbital. I want to speak to whoever this is." Kaito told him simply.

"Eh?!" Orbital screeched.

"Trust me, Orbital." Kaito said with a small smile.

The robot hesitated at first. "K… Kashikomari." He said, disabling the comm. block that Kaito had inputted.

A transmission field appeared above him via hologram… Dr. Faker. "Hello… Kaito."

Kaito's eyes widened, then he glared at him. "Dr. Faker…"

Haruto jumped. "T… Tou-chan…?" He whimpered, fearfully looking into the transmission field.

Dr. Faker's eyes widened. "H… Haruto… your eyes! They have their sparkle again… but how?"

"Don't play dumb with us!" Kaito snapped, startling the man. "I know that everything that happened was all your fault!"

"N-Nani?! What are you talking about?!" Dr. Faker cried.

Kaito reached into his Extra Deck holder and pulled out a card. "I'm talking about this!" He held Number 71: Black Hole Gate in front of Faker's face.

"N-Numbers…?" The older man breathed.

"It was this card… The card you trained me to find… THIS was the cause of what happened to Haruto!" Kaito shouted. "You made me find these to cure Haruto, when it was this card that bent him to your will!"

However, Dr. Faker looked genuinely shocked. "N-N-No! I would never do that to my own son!"

Kaito scoffed. "Maybe not your own son… but you did cross the line." He said. "Jenaveve! Come here, please!"

The pink-haired girl came out from the back room. "What is it, Kai-chan-*gasp*" She gasped upon seeing Dr. Faker on the screen, mimicking Kaito's glare.

"Jenaveve? What are you doing in Heartland?" Dr. Faker asked.

"As if you don't already know!" Jenaveve snapped.

"You tried to turn Jenaveve into one of your Number-possessed soldiers as well." Kaito told him, holding up Number 43: Sacred Persei. Haruto was glaring at Faker now as well. "Don't play dumb, Dr. Faker! Explain yourself!"

Dr. Faker was at a loss for words, but suddenly turned the anger back on them. "How am I supposed to explain myself when I have no idea what you're even talking about?!" He shouted. "I never authorized Jenaveve as a test subject for the Numbers! I didn't even know she was in Heartland!"

"Nani?" Jenaveve gasped.

"And Haruto… I'm aware of what the Numbers are capable of! Why, given your mental state and the powers you held, would I make YOU a victim of the Numbers?!"

"You used me to try and destroy the Astral World!" Haruto shouted. "You said it was 'for the good of the world'!"

Dr. Faker gasped. "N… Nani? I never said that!"

"That was what Mr. Heartland told us when he pulled me away from Nii-san!" The younger boy griped, Kaito placing a hand on his shoulder.

All of a sudden, Dr. Faker's hand clenched and his teeth grit. "Mr. Heartland… Why would he tell them such an egregious lie?!"

Kaito's eyes widened. "Lie?"

Faker looked at them, dead serious. "Listen to me, Kaito. You want the answers as to why everything is as it is now?" Kaito nodded sternly. "Then I will give you the answers… in person."

"Eh?" Kaito gasped.

Faker placed coordinates on the viewing screen. "Go to this position and wait. I will go there myself and meet you there… then I will tell you everything."

"This had better not be a trick, Faker." Kaito told him.

Faker's eyes closed. "…I have never been false to you, Kaito, or anyone you care about… regardless of what you think of me." The transmission cut out.

"Kaito-sama… Can he be trusted?" Orbital asked.

"No… that's why I'm going alone." Kaito said. "If he's up to something, I don't want any of you in danger."

"No, Nii-san. I'm coming with you." Haruto told him.

"But Haruto-"

"No! I wanna know what he did to me!" The boy said, adamant. "I can't let you go alone!" His fist clenched.

Jenaveve stepped forward as well. "I'm going as well. He's affected me as well, and if you got hurt, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I wasn't there." He grabbed his hand, her hand glowing pink.

"And I am obligated to accompany you through anything, Kaito-sama." Orbital told him. "You've accepted me as a friend, so I'll do what friends do: Aid each other! Kashikomari!" He saluted to him.

Kaito smiled at them. "Arigatou, everyone." He dropped his smile and looked stern. "Let's go."

*A Little Later*

Kaito, Orbital, Jenaveve, and Haruto reached the coordinates given to them from Faker: A vacant area of the city, run down from years of being unused. "This is the place."

"Kaito?" A familiar voice asked. Kaito turned and saw Yuma, Kotori, and a red-haired woman he didn't recognize walk up to the area.

"Yuma? What are you doing here?" Kaito asked.

"Nee-chan and I got a transmission telling us to come here." He said, looking at the older woman. "It said, 'Go here, and I will reveal the truth.'"

"We received the same transmission." Another familiar voice asked. Kaito turned and saw four more familiar faces.

However, he was not happy to see them. "Tron!" He growled, but he noticed something. "So, you show your face."

"My name is Byron, Kaito." The smaller boy said. "You already know my sons." He gestured to the three boys behind him. "You know them as III, IV, and V, but those are not their names." He pointed at each of them in the same order. "Keegan… Marcus… Chris."

"We cannot apologize enough for what we did to you." Chris told them.

"You are all here… Thank you." Dr. Faker's voice suddenly said. Everyone turned toward a vacant lot and saw the form of Dr. Faker emerge from the darkness. He was walking, and appeared unarmed. He stopped a short distance in front of them.

Byron couldn't hide some of his rage, as his eye began twitching. "Dr. Faker…"

"I see the hate in all of your eyes…" Dr. Faker said. "But the hate has been misplaced. It is not deserved by me… nor is it deserved by any of us."

"What do you mean, Faker?" Yuma asked accusingly.

Faker's eyes closed. "Our lives have been cursed by a being not of our world… The same world that the Numbers we seek originate from." He opened his eyes. "We are cursed by the Astral World."

Vile: Trap Card, Cliffhanger, activate! XD Sorry, I couldn't resist. But I had to make some jokes due to the overall somber tone of this Numbershot. If you guys liked this chapter, leave a review for me! Ja ne for now!

Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.