Vile: I've finished Chapter 4, and the part most of you want to see, the Duel, begins!

Yuma: Yeah, at the end of the Chapter.

Vile: Well, waiting until next chapter to start the Duel seemed kinda pointless, so I started it early.

Shark: Oh well, at least it's gonna rock like your other Duels.

Vile: Now you're thinking the right way. Disclaimer's on the first page, any bolded cards are mine. Enjoy!

Numbershot 69: Chaos Among Friends

Chapter 4

The next class was eerily quiet. Yamoto had brought Sachi to the class on request, and based on absences, the class was only half as full as it should've been. With stuttering steps, Sachi went to her seat and sat down, her hand still unconsciously clenching Yamoto's arm, preventing him from walking away. "P-Please… don't go away, Yamoto-kun…" Yamoto blinked at her. "I've… n-never felt so scared… in my life…"

"Sachi-chan, there's nothing that you need to be afraid of." Yamoto told her. "Please, try and go through class without hanging on to me."

"B-B-But…" Sachi began to say, but she trailed off and looked down with a fearful look. Yamoto felt slightly bad for her, but wasn't sure what he could do for her. Her hair, however, hid something that began to glow on her shoulder.

Yamoto, however, saw a brief glimpse of a glow. "Huh? Sachi-chan, what's that on your shoulder?"

"H-Huh?" Sachi gasped.

"Let me see." Yamoto said, reaching for her shoulder, but Sachi recoiled. "It's all right. Don't worry." Nervously, Sachi let Yamoto move her hair out of the way. There it was: A two-color glow of black and white. The black glow was no more than a circle, but the white glow was clear: It was a Number digit, a "9".

Black Mist grinned. "Yes, yes, yes! She has the other half! We've found it!"

"Oh, dear… this isn't good." Yamoto said. He has to tell Sachi. "Sachi-chan… I have bad news. You have a Number in your possession."

Sachi squeaked. "A N-N-Number…?!"

"Sachi-chan, your argument was over a card that was ripped, right?" Yamoto asked, getting a shaky nod. "Do you still have that card?"

"I th-think so…" Sachi whimpered, pulling out half of a card. Yamoto only saw the bottom half of the image, but it was an Xyz Monster that had indecipherable text: The same text as the Numbers.

Yamoto groaned and formed his D-Gazer from darkness, sending a message to Yuma about what he found. After the message was sent, he turned back to Sachi. "Sachi-chan, this is part of a Number. Were you aware of what kind of card it was?"

"N-N-No… all I know is I wanted to see it… then Sei-chan started yelling at me…" Sachi whimpered. "Then… it ripped."

"Tetsuo-kun was right. Sei-chan does have the other half." Yamoto said. "Sachi-chan, we need to reunite the two halves of the card.

*Elsewhere*

"Abso-freaking-lutely NOT!" Sei growled at Yuma, Kotori, and Tetsuo outside the classroom, holding her half of the Number out of their reach. "I don't want anything to do with Sachi after how stupid she made me look!"

"Can you hear yourself? No one made you look stupid!" Kotori told her. "And what are you going to do with half a card, anyway?"

"When Sachi loses her half, I'll just swipe it and tape the halves together." Sei said adamantly. "No skin off my bones."

"Shark was right, Sei. You've become a Grade-A bitch because of that card!" Yuma yelled.

This made Sei snap. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" She went to slug Yuma. However, a large hand stopped her mid-stride by impacting her chest. "OOF!"

The hand spun her around and pushed her down by the back of her uniform collar, holding her there. "All right, Sei, that is enough!" Tetsuo growled. "I'm sick of your crap, so I'm ending it!" Pulling out his D-Gazer, Tetsuo dialed Yamoto's number.

"Hello?" Yamoto asked on the other end.

"Yamoto, meet us at the entrance hall of the school. Bring Sachi with you." Tetsuo said before hanging up.

"What was that about, Tetsuo?" Yuma asked.

"You'll see." Tetsuo said before looking at Sei. "As for you, you're coming with me." He hefted her up by the shirt collar.

"What do you think you're doing? Let go of me!" Sei growled, trying to swipe at him. All she managed to do was knock off his hat. She kept growling at Tetsuo practically dragged her down the halls.

Yuma and Kotori looked at each other with brief confusion. "I've got a bad feeling about this. Let's go." Kotori said, getting a nod out of Yuma before they followed them.

*Entrance Hall*

Sei had given up struggling and merely had her arms crossed as Tetsuo dragged her into the hall. On the other end, Yamoto walked in, a quivering Sachi latched to his arm. "Good. You made it."

"I'd prefer it if you didn't cut me off next time." Yamoto said with slight annoyance. Then he saw Sei. "Sei-chan?"

Whipping her head, Sei caught sight of Yamoto and Sachi, growling at the sight of the latter. "What's the big idea bringing me here to face her?!"

Tetsuo pulled Sei by the collar so she was in front of him. "Lemme put it this way. Your little squabble has run me out of all the patience I had today, and I'm sick of it! You two need to kiss and make up right now!" He pushed Sei in Yamoto and Sachi's direction, Sei keeping her footing. Yuma and Kotori appeared behind Tetsuo, Yuma giving Tetsuo back his hat.

Snorting once, Sei looked at Sachi, trying to curb her anger. "…Fine..."

"Go on, Sachi-chan. You can't lean on me forever." Yamoto told her. Nervously, Sachi slowly stepped toward Sei, her eyes still wide with fear.

Finally she stopped, the two former friends standing in front of each other. The Number signs were clearly visible on their shoulders. Sachi nervously held up her half of the ripped Number. "H… Here…"

Raising an eyebrow, Sei pulled out her half. "Now we're getting somewhere."

"Yes!" Black Mist laughed.

"Yes." Astral breathed.

*Elsewhere*

However, two others were watching. "YES!/YES!" Vector retreated into the Distributor's body, and the Distributor gripped his fist, conjuring red darkness.

*Back at the School*

The two card halves were suddenly covered with darkness: Black on Sei's half, white on Sachi's half. "Nani?" Sei gasped.

"W-What's happening?!" Sachi whimpered.

Without warning, the two halves of the ripped Number shot forward, pulling Sei and Sachi with them. "WHAAAAAA!" The halves of the card impacted the space where they ripped, the tear repairing itself by magic as the combined Number flashed: "69".

Black Mist felt the pain in his body subside, and he let out a loud laugh. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! I feel like a brand new Number!"

Astral felt the pain subside as well. "The pain… It has finally lifted!"

"Astral!" Mia suddenly hugged him from behind, happy he wasn't hurt anymore.

However, when the tear finished sealing, combined black and white darkness covered the two girls, shocking everyone. "Sei!" "Sachi-chan!" Tetsuo and Yamoto cried.

"No… The Number was energized by the Number Distributor!" Astral realized.

Then, the darkness completely turned red, and it receded to reveal Sei and Sachi standing side-by-side, still holding the card in their hands, but the black and white marks on their eyes had turned red. Their eyes opened, showing their irises as dull. "The Number is complete, and you shall face its power." They said at once before leaping backwards. Number 69's card rose above them, then Sei and Sachi lashed out respectively black and white Duel Anchors that snared Tetsuo and Yamoto.

"Nani?!" Tetsuo cried.

"We're trapped!" Yamoto said.

"You interfered with the mission. You were supposed to be at each other's throats and dissolve your relationships." Sei and Sachi said. "But the tearing of the Number hindered it. But now, it does not matter. We'll defeat you as one being, under our Number's power."

"So it's a Tag Duel you want, huh?" Tetsuo mused. "I'm good with it! We're getting that Number out of you! Yamoto!"

"Right, Tetsuo-kun!" Yamoto said before looking at Sei and Sachi. "Prepare to feel our combined power!" His eyes narrowed. "Dark Duel Mode, activate!" His hair spiked wildly and turned dark purple, gaining lavender streaks. "Duel Disk, set!" His right arm was covered in darkness before it vanished, revealing his black D-Pad. "D-Gazer, set!" His eyes closed as darkness covered the left eye, wrapping around his head before dissipating, revealing the eye-themed Gazer. His eyes shot open, glowing purple intensely.

"Duel Disk, set!" Tetsuo, Sei, and Sachi's D-Pads clacked onto their wrists and activated. "D-Gazer, Set!" All three D-Gazers were placed over their eyes.

"AR VISION, LINK ESTABLISHED." All four players' D-Gazers flashed, as well as those of the spectators. "ESTABLISHING LINK BETWEEN A AND B." The area morphed into the augmented reality.

"DUEL!"

Yamoto & Tetsuo LP: 4000

Sei & Sachi LP: 4000

"I'll take the first move! Ore no turn! Draw!" Tetsuo said, drawing a card. "Continuous Magic, Automated Clockwork Machine, hatsudo!" His card formed into an odd machine with a circular gauge on it. "When this card is activated, 2 Clockwork Counters are placed on it!" Two keys inserted themselves into Machine and turned, changing the readouts to "2".

Automated Clockwork Machine: 2 Clockwork Counters

"Clockwork Crane, Shoukan!" His monster appeared as a toy crane-like monster, the crane looking like a key with a real key being inserted in the axle.

Clockwork Crane: Lv.4 EARTH Machine ATK:1800/DEF:1400

"Clockwork Crane no kouka hatsudo! When it's Summoned, I can place two Clockwork Counters on any card on the field!" Two keys inserted into Automated Machine and turned, increasing the readout to "4".

Automated Clockwork Machine: 4 Clockwork Counters

"Kaado ichi mai settei! Turn end!" Tetsuo's facedown emerged on the field.

"Wareware no turn! Draw!" Sei and Sachi said at once, but Sei was the one who drew a card. "Demon's Calvary, Shoukan!" Sei's monster emerged as a red-eyed, skull-faced fiend with red-and-gray armor and a white spiral lance, riding on top of an armored blue horse that let out a distorted whinny.

Demon's Calvary (TCG: Knight of the Archfiends): Lv.4 DARK Fiend ATK:1900/DEF:0

"Magic Card, Demon's March, hatsudo! While we control a Demon monster, we can Special Summon 1 more Demon monster from our hand with its Level increased by 1!" Sei picked another card. "Trick Demon, Shoukan!" This monster appeared as a purple-skinned girl fiend, rather young, wearing purple, black, and gold clothing with a pink feather-like cape and a skull-like helmet with horns, odd energy tentacles coming out of her head. A small rod was in her hand.

Trick Demon (TCG: Trick Archfiend): Lv.4 (due to Demon March, originally Lv.3) DARK Fiend ATK:1000/DEF:0

"Magic Card, Shady Deal, hatsudo! By discarding 2 cards from our hand, we can target 2 DARK monsters we control and increase their Levels by 1 each!" Sei discarded her last two cards, leaving her hand empty.

Demon's Calvary: Lv.5

Trick Demon: Lv.5

"Waraware wa, Reberu Go no Demon's Cavalry to, Trick Demon de Obarei!" The two Fiend-Types turned fully purple and shot into the air in a spiral. A red spiral portal opened up, and both monsters sailed inside. "Ni tai no monsuta de, Obarei Netwaaku kochiku! Ekushiizu Shoukan!" Darkness billowed from the portal as an ovular figure emerged. The whole outside of it was covered in black feathers. Then, the figure began to expand. "Arawareyo, Shūen no Shugosha (Protector of the End) - Adreus!" The feathery shell blew open to reveal that it was a pair of large black wings that were hiding the actual monster from view: A humanoid fiend-like creature with long and wispy black hair, a mostly black tunic with a black skirt-like addition, dark blue gauntlets, and glowing red eyes. The fiend grinned before drawing a weapon: A short dagger coated with red energy. Two purple Overlay Units circled him.

Protector of the End – Adreus (TCG: Adreus, Keeper of Armageddon): Rank 5 DARK Fiend/Xyz ATK:2600/DEF:1700 2 Overlay Units

"A first turn Xyz Summon. The Number has them working with no mistakes." Yamoto mused.

"As no attacks may be declared until we have all taken a turn, we cannot perform any more actions." Sei and Sachi said. "Turn end."

"Watashi no turn! Draw!" Yamoto draw his card. "They've become some kind of hive mind because of that Number… That means they're in perfect sync. We can't afford any mistakes this time…"

Author-Made Cards

Clockwork Crane
Level 4 EARTH Machine
ATK:1800/DEF:1400
When this monster is Summoned: Target 1 card on the field; Place 2 Clockwork Counters on the target.

Demon's March (TCG: March of the Archfiends)
Normal Spell Card
While you control exactly 1 "Demon" monster: Special Summon 1 "Demon" monster from your hand and increase its Level by 1.

Shady Deal
Normal Spell Card
Discard 2 cards from your hand to target 2 DARK monsters you control: Increase their Levels by 1.

Vile: The hive mind of Sei and Sachi have stuck Tetsuo and Yamoto at a bad advantage already, but the Duel's just started. Can Tetsuo and Yamoto overcome the challenge?

Yuma: I don't know. I didn't read the script.

Vile: Rhetorical question, Yuma.

Yuma: I know. I'm messing with you.

Vile: -_- I think I get messed with enough outside of FF, thank you. Anyhoo, if you guys liked this chapter, leave a review for me! JNFN: Ja ne for now!

Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.