Lithon LP: 4000

Number 54: Curserider Chevalier: Warrior-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 4/ATK 2200/DEF 1900 – 2 OLU

Kodoku LP: 4000

Number 24: Friendship Demon: Fiend-Type/Xyz/WATER/Rank 3/ATK 1500/DEF 2450 - 2 OLU

Dan LP: 4000

1 set monster

Spell & Trap Card Zone: 2 set cards

Leah LP: 4000

All three kids – Matt, Leah, and Dan – stared at Kodoku's new monster with a mixture of feelings. On the one hand, the creature was clearly deadly. On the other hand, it looked so helpless, so lonely and fragile, that they couldn't help but want to comfort it. Yet while Dan was staring the thing down, determined not to let it get the best of him, Leah was thinking something veery different. She was recalling what Lithon had told them such a long time ago, about how a person's original Number can tell a lot about what its owner is really like. Original Numbers were created out of a person's deepest desires, and adjusted their abilities and appearances accordingly with their host. Now, looking at this poor saddened creature, she couldn't help but ponder on what that told her about the cheerful boy standing behind it...

Dan was the first to snap out of it. 'Now's my chance!' he realised. Without giving Kodoku time to continue, he triggered one of his face-down cards. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card, Demise of the Land!" His set card activated. "When an opponent's monster is Special Summoned, I can use this card to activate any Field Spell Card directly from my Deck. The card I choose is Ice Fire World!" As he activated the card, the field morphed into an icy prairie, with frozen sculptures surrounding them and a giant crack running across the centre of the field like an icy canyon. Inside the canyon, a river of light-blue flames were seething and churning.

"Hmm?" Lithon raised his eyebrows.

"Due to this card's effect," Dan explained, "any WATER monsters that a player uses for an Xyz Summon can be treated as two monsters rather than one."

"Yes yes, I'm familiar with the card's effect. I meant why would you even play it now?" Lithon queried. "You won't be able to make use of it until several turns have passed. Plus you run the risk of Kodoku abusing it in the meantime. So why bother?"

"He didn't play it for himself," Leah cut in, grinning. "He played it for us. For both of us."

Lithon scowled. "I see. You use a WATER Deck just like him, so you can both abuse the privileges of that card. He even waited until after Kodoku Xyz Summoned so that the chances of the effect being used against him would be minimal." The scowl quickly turned into a smirk. "Intriguing. It's nice to see that both of you are still as skilled as ever."

"I wish I could say the same about you," Leah smiled sweetly. "Your dueling is as predictable as last time."

"Predictable?" Lithon growled.

"She's right, you know. Why do you think I set my monster instead of going straight for an Xyz Summon?" Dan added. "You can't use the same trick on us twice Lithon."

"Enough," the scientist snapped. "Kodoku, finish your turn this second."

"Um, yes sir," Kodoku nodded. "I end my turn."

"Then it's my go," Leah grinned. "I draw. First, I Normal Summon Borealis Tenshi!" In a blaze of spectral lights, a serene angel descended onto the field. She wore a pure white dress, and a navy blue flower that sat neatly in her flowing, deep blue hair.

Borealis Tenshi: Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1600/DEF 700

"Tenshi's effect activates," Leah declared. "Once per turn, this card allows me to Normal Summon any Spirit monster from my hand as an extra Normal Summon. I choose Borealis Tatami!" A rainbow-hued angel appeared, garbed in a simple white piece of cloth.

Borealis Tatami: Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1700/DEF 1100

"And next I'll use Tatami's effect," Leah went on. "When it's Normal Summoned, I can add any Borealis monster from my Deck to my hand. I choose Borealis Leger." She swiftly extracted the card from her Deck and placed it in her hand.

"Now!" Kodoku exclaimed, stopping her in her tracks. "I activate the effect of Friendship Demon!"

"What? During my turn?" Leah gasped.

"That's right," the schoolboy nodded. "This effect can be activated during either player's turn. It requires me to detach an Overlay Unit, but once I do, it lets me take a look at your Extra Deck." The childish Number snatched one of its Overlay Units out of the air, clutching it between its hands like it was the most precious thing in the world.

Number 24: Friendship Demon: 2 → 1 OLU

"Then," Kodoku went on, "if I find any Xyz Monsters in there, I can force you to Xyz Summon one of those monsters to your field. I also get to choose which Xyz Material Monsters you use to Summon it." Leah stood in stunned silence as a list of fifteen names came up on Kodoku's D-Gazer. He cycled through them, stopping to examine the stats of some, and completely ignoring others.

"Well, Kodoku," Lithon said after an appropriate pause. "Let's get straight down to collecting data. How many Number monsters does this girl have?"

"Seven," came the reply.

"Hmm, a decent quantity," Lithon nodded. "Very well. How many Rank four Xyz Monsters does she have? And how many of those are Numbers?"

"Um... there are four here," Kodoku replied. "Three regular Xyz Monsters and one Number."

Lithon nodded expectantly. "I'll go out on a limb and assume that the Number is Number 10: Terra Storm. What about the rest of them?"

"Abyss Dweller, Vylon Disigma, and Fairy Cheer Girl."

"Intruiging," Lithon said. "Alright Kodoku, ignore the other Xyz Monsters and force her to Summon the Number. Oh, and don't use the effect of Ice Fire World to-"

"I know sir," the boy nodded. "Go! Level four Borealis Tenshi and Borealis Tatami, Overlay!"

"No!" Leah cried, as both her monsters shot upwards and away from her in their blue energy forms. Then, Kodoku's Number drew its arm back and tossed its Overlay Unit at Leah's field like a baseball. There was a flash of light as it hit the ground. The orb dissipated, but not before a galaxy-shaped portal was forcefully opened where it had struck.

"I use these two monsters to make you construct the Overlay Network!" Kodoku declared. "Xyz Summon!" The two bolts of energy flew down into the depths of the portal, which exploded, whipping up a mighty gale. "Out you come, Number 10: Terra Storm!"

The yellow number ten etched itself onto the back of her right hand. From out of the portal rose a small brown rock, no larger than a beach ball. But it was spinning... spinning on its axis at an impossible speed, drawing the blustering winds and dust around it in a spiral shape. The scything currents slowly began to rip up pieces of grass and dirt, which were hurled into the core of the tornado, and pressed against the small rock, which was slowly getting bigger as more and more substance was added to it. Finally, once its bulk filled most of the tornado, a pair of large grey eyes opened on the front of the giant boulder that had formed. The yellow number ten was printed onto the boulder's surface, just below the eyes, and two green Overlay Units circled it, seemingly unaffected by the winds.

Number 10: Terra Storm: Rock-Type/Xyz/WIND/Rank 4/ATK 1500/DEF 2600 – 2 OLU

Leah groaned. "I don't believe this..." she muttered. "With Ice Fire World I could've turned each of those monsters into separate Xyz Monsters."

"I know," Kodoku repeated. "But you can't now. Since I got to choose the Materials, I chose to use both of them without the effect of the Field Spell."

"It gets better," Lithon grinned. "I'm not even allowing you to keep that! I activate the effect of my banished Trap Card, Epignosai Pit!" A ghostly image of the card appeared behind him. "By returning this banished card to my Graveyard, this card banishes one monster you attempt to Summon." As if in response, a portal opened up directly behind the Number. Black and white tendrils reached out of the portal and wrapped themselves around Terra Storm, piercing through the blustering gale as if it wasn't even there. The tendrils then dragged it backwards into the portal. As the Number disappeared from view completely, the portal shrank down to a small orb of light, which disappeared with a small crack. The two green Overlay Units, now useless, dissipated into particles of light. "And thus, your field is... completely..."

He trailed off as he realised that Leah wasn't looking unhappy or exasperated anymore. On the contrary, she look positively cheerful. She turned to Dan and grinned at him. "So did you get a good idea of its effect?" she asked. "Think you can handle it when your turn comes?"

"You betcha," Dan grinned back.

"Good stuff," she nodded. "I place two cards face-down. Turn end." Her set cards appeared.

"My turn again, I draw," Lithon said, staring at the two suspiciously, but still not feeling overly worried. "I activate the Spell Card, Space Cyclone. With it, I can detach an Overlay Unit from any monster on the field. I choose Curserider Chevalier." A sudden gust of wind picked up and swept away one of the knight's purple orbs of light.

Number 54: Curserider Chevalier: 2 → 1 OLU

"Eh? Why did you do that sir?" Kodoku asked.

"To make this next move worthwhile," Lithon replied. "I Summon Epignosai Kaph!" A globule of black tar spread across the ground, and out of it rose a strange creature. It had the head and torso of a human (with the same gaping mouth and lack of eyes that the other Epignosai monsters had), but instead of legs, its black skin stretched down into roots, very similar to a tree. Black tar ran in streaks down its body, and from its wrists there were some sharp protruding petals, which resembled cuffs.

Epignosai Kaph: Plant-Type/DARK/Level 4/ATK 1500/DEF 1500

"I activate Epignosai Kaph's effect." Lithon declared. "During my Main Phase, I can use this effect to banish any two Epignosai cards from my Graveyard. However, I can't use this effect again for the remainder of the duel. I choose Epignosai Nun and Epignosai Pit."

Dan let out a groan as Lithon banished the cards. "Not again. Now I have to deal with that Trap Card too?"

"Indeed," Lithon nodded. "There is no escaping from my lockdown once it commences. Now then, battle! Epignosai Kaph, attack the boy's face-down monster!" The plant monster opened its mouth wide in a soundless cry, then swung its arm around, hurling a series of razor-sharp black leaves at Dan's field. His set card flipped over, revealing a beige, insectoid dragon monster. The petals sliced past it, and it gave a single pained screech before exploding.

Delta Flyer: Dragon-Type/Tuner/WIND/Level 3/ATK 1500/DEF 900

"Curserider Chevalier, follow up with a direct attack on the girl!" The demonic knight charged forward on its steed, and lashed out with its massive battle axe. Leah brought her duel disk up to defend. The sound of metal striking metal echoed across the field, and Leah staggered back under the tremendous weight of the attack.

Leah LP: 4000 → 1800

Lithon smirked as his monster cantered back to his field. "Pathetic," he muttered. "I end my turn with that."

"Back to me then," Dan nodded. "I draw. First, I Normal Summon Polaris Dragon Yve!" The dragon that appeared this time more closely resembled a wyvern, with only two wings and a sharp nose, and no front feet. It was blue with black traces outlining its body.

Polaris Dragon Yve: Dragon-Type/WATER/Level 3/ATK 1500/DEF 300

He glanced over at Kodoku. "Anything from you?" he asked. "Want to force me to Xyz Summon something yet?"

Kodoku shook his head. "Not yet. You won't trick me that easily."

Lithon, on the other hand, was frowning. 'No…' he thought to himself. 'Something's wrong. Back when I dueled the girl, she tricked me in a similar way. She kept on Summoning weaker monsters, and I, anticipating an Xyz Summon, allowed her to build up. But instead, she pulled out a pseudo-God card, one that was immune to my Trap Cards, and wiped me out. Maybe this boy is fooling Kodoku in the same way.' He smirked. 'Let's see if you pick up on it Kodoku.'

"If you say so," Dan nodded. "I activate the Spell Card, Ice Mirror! This card allows me to Special Summon a monster from my Deck that has the same name as a Level three or lower WATER Attribute monster on my field. So I Summon another Polaris Dragon Yve!" A second wyvern-esque creature appeared to join the first.

Polaris Dragon Yve: Dragon-Type/WATER/Level 3/ATK 1500/DEF 300

"Now's the moment!" Kodoku butted in. "I activate Friendship Demon's effect!" Once again, the innocent-looking Number reached up and plucked its last remaining blue orb out of the air.

Number 24: Friendship Demon: 1 → 0 OLU

A slight pause followed as Kodoku scrolled down the new list of monsters. Some he lingered on, some he passed straight by, and some he stopped and openly stared at. Dan assumed that it was something like Alpha Centauri that had caught his eye.

"Satisfied Kodoku?" Lithon asked. "How about you tell me how many Numbers this boy has?"

"Nine, sir."

"So a total of sixteen between them. Not a bad amount at all. Alright then, how many Rank three monsters are there?"

"Three sir."

"And they are?"

Kodoku scrolled back up the list. "There's one called Number 68: Glacial Dragon, another called Polaris Dragon Lord Skhultsar, and one more called Number 3: Comet the Skylord."

"Hmm... two Numbers..." Lithon considered his options. 'I have seen Comet in battle before, so I can capture it whether or not he Summons it during this duel. Glacial Dragon remains an enigma to me, so it is off limits to my extraction technique. Nonetheless, I remember Comet's powers from my last duel with this boy. It pains me to do so, but I cannot allow that Number to remain a threat. It must be purged right now.' Nodding, he raised his voice. "Kodoku, select Comet the Skylord!"

"Got it sir," the boy nodded, before turning his grinning face back to Dan. "You ready for this?"

"Bring it!" Dan retorted.

"Alright!" Kodoku raised his hand. "I use the effect of Ice Fire World, treating both of your WATER monsters as two Xyz Material Monsters." As if on cue, two jets of pale blue fire sailed out of the crevice that still separated them, and enveloped the two icy dragons. "Now, both Level three Polaris Dragon Yves, Overlay!" From out of the blue flames, four dark blue bolts of energy shot up into the air. Where they had stood, a galaxy portal opened. "I use these two monsters, treated as four monsters, to make you construct the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon!" The four energy signatures chased each other down into the spiralling depths, which exploded with light. "Get over here! Number 3: Comet the Skylord!"

The pure white number zero-three flashed onto Dan's hand. The rays of light from the portal parted, and out of it rose a white and grey asteroid with spiral patterns on either side, and a large metal halo floating just above it. With a shower of glowing dust, the asteroid split down the middle, and four wings unfurled themselves from inside. The wings looked like they were made of something impossibly smooth, and seemed to be reflecting a swirling rainbow pattern. Its body was a small diamond shape, enclosed on either side by the two spiral-patterned domes that had been its shell. Behind it was the halo, which was now fixed to the monster's back rather than above its head. All in all, the monster looked like some sort of synthetic, angelic insect. Two green orbs of light flew around it.

Number 3: Comet the Skylord: Fairy-Type/Xyz/WIND/Rank 3/ATK 2300/DEF 2000 – 2 OLU

"And as quickly as it comes, it goes again!" Lithon declared. "I activate the effect of my banished Epignosai Pit! By placing this card back in my Graveyard, that accursed Number is banished!" Once again, a black portal opened up behind Dan, and a swarm of black and white tendrils dragged his flailing Number into oblivion. "Do you see now how pointless your endeavours are?" he went on, turning to face Leah. "Let's be blunt about things young lady - you were predetermined to lose this duel ever since our first duel. And in doing so, you're dragging your friend down with you."

"Our first duel?" Leah repeated. "I'm not sure I get your meaning."

"Well, you Summoned your original Number, did you not? And that's one thing you should never ever show, for, you see, that Number is based upon your very soul. Only an idiot wouldn't realise that - especially as I gave you this very information before - and by showing it to me, you have torn away every single thing that keeps me away from the precious little secrets you keep hidden from the world; your deepest thoughts, your darkest secrets, your way of living and thinking and dueling... I know all of them. I know you more than even you do, and it's all because of one. Tiny. Little. Card. And I will never forget what I learned that day. And nor will you."

Author-made cards:

Borealis Tenshi
Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1600/DEF 700
Cannot be Special Summoned. During the End Phase of the turn this card was Normal Summoned or flipped face-up: Return it to the hand. Once per turn: You can Normal Summon 1 Spirit monster (except "Borealis Tenshi") from your hand as an additional Normal Summon, but it cannot attack that turn.

Borealis Tatami
Fairy-Type/Spirit/WATER/Level 4/ATK 1700/DEF 1100
Cannot be Special Summoned. During the End Phase of the turn this card was Normal Summoned or flipped face-up: Return it to the hand. When this card is Normal Summoned: Add 1 "Borealis" monster from your Deck to your hand.

Epignosai Kaph (credit to Superjad)
Plant-Type/DARK/Level 4/ATK 1500/DEF 1500
You can target 2 "Epignosai" cards in your Graveyard; banish them. Each player can only use the effect of "Epignosai Kaph" once per Duel.

Number 54: Curserider Chevalier (credit to Dreamlord8025)
Warrior-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 4/ATK 2200/DEF 1900
2 Level 4 monsters
This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. When an effect is activated in the hand or the Graveyard: You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card; negate that effect, and if you do, banish that card, then inflict 1500 damage to your opponent.

Number 24: Friendship Demon (credit to Superjad)
Fiend-Type/Xyz/WATER/Rank 3/ATK 1500/DEF 2450
2 Level 3 monsters
This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card; look at your opponent's Extra Deck, and if they have any Xyz Monsters there, Xyz Summon 1 of those monsters from their Extra Deck to their field, using appropriate face-up monster(s) they control as the Xyz Material Monster(s).

Number 10: Terra Storm (credit to Superjad)
Rock-Type/Xyz/WIND/Rank 4/ATK 1500/DEF 2600
2 Level 4 monsters
This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. This card can attack while in face-up Defence Position. If this card would be destroyed, you can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card instead. During your next Battle Phase after this effect was used, this card can attack your opponent directly, and if the effect was used more than once since your last Battle Phase, this card's maximum number of attacks this turn is equal to the number of times that effect was used since your last Battle Phase.

Number 3: Comet the Skylord
Fairy-Type/Xyz/WIND/Rank 3/ATK 2300/DEF 2000
4 Level 3 monsters
This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card, then target 1 face-up Effect Card on the field; destroy that target, then this card gains 1000 ATK until the End Phase. When this card destroys an Xyz Monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard: Draw 1 card for each Overlay Unit attached to this card.

Epignosai Pit (credit to Superjad)
Trap Card
Cannot be banished (except by the effect of an "Epignosai" card). When your opponent Summons a monster while this card is banished: You can return this card to the Graveyard; banish the Summoned monster.

Fun Fact #94: And here we have yet another interesting concept that ZEXAL barely touches on. Original Numbers are the physical manifestation of a person's very soul, and of their deepest desires, so it makes sense that you could glean a lot from seeing it. ZEXAL could do so much more with this idea, but like so many other things, they just push it to one side in the name of MOAR ACTION. Action isn't the only way to make a story engaging. If you're not going to use this idea ZEXAL, then we will. So there.

Fun Fact #95: The word 'Tenshi' is the Japanese word for 'angel'.

Fun Fact #96: ZEXAL needs to hurry up and explain Astral's powers already. In Episode 102, Number 96 told Astral that he could no longer absorb him now that he had transformed into a Chaos Number. And yet, Astral has absorbed Chaos Numbers before, like Shark's one (offscreen yes, but it was definitely in Astral's possession a few episodes later). Perhaps it has to do with the fact that Number 96 ranked up Number 96 with Barian's Force rather than by the traditional method. But if that's true, then wouldn't that apply to Number 65 as well? And if so, doesn't that mean that Astral can never obtain the Numeron Code, since he can't gather the seven Ruins' Numbers due to Number 65 being unabsorbable? (Yes, that is a word.) What's the betting that ZEXAL leaves these questions completely unanswered?