Lithon LP: 2900
Chaos Number 89: Synthetic Chaos: Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 4/ATK 1900/DEF 1900 – 1 OLU
Kodoku LP: 4000
Number 24: Friendship Demon: Fiend-Type/Xyz/WATER/Rank 3/ATK 1500/DEF 2450 - 0 OLU
Dan LP: 3100
Twin-Headed Behemoth: Dragon-Type/WIND/Level 3/ATK 1500/DEF 1200
Spell & Trap Card Zone: Ice Fire World [Field Card], 1 set card
Leah LP: 850
Number 17: Passion Aurora: Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 5/ATK 2500/DEF 1800 – 1 OLU
Spell & Trap Card Zone: Miraculous Descent [no target]
"Is that it?" Lithon sneered. "That was your big move? Number 17? I feel embarrassed for you two, I really do. Why would you go through all that trouble just to Summon a Number whose effect is essentially useless?"
"Useless?" Leah repeated. "Could you elaborate on that a bit?"
"Its effect prevents Special Summons if I remember correctly," Lithon said. "But I already have my Chaos Number in play. Why would I need to Summon anything else? All you've really succeeded in doing is placing your partner in a rather strict bind where he can no longer use his Numbers. And for what? For the mild bit of damage you'll inflict from attacking my Chaos Number? Was it really worth all that?"
"Oh definitely," Leah said without hesitation. "To get your Chaos Number off the field... I'd say a goal like that is worth every second of effort and hardship. Don't you agree?"
Lithon considered for a moment. "Well, I suppose the conclusions of your logic are to be assumed. I would do the same thing in your position."
Unbeknownst to everyone else, however, Lithon was feeling positively jubilant, despite his outward display of impassiveness. He was stringing them along beautifully. 'If I can keep them talking in this manner,' he thought, 'then an attack against my Chaos Number is inevitable. She has no choice. She can perform no further Normal Summons this turn… and due to using a Spirit Deck, a series of Special Summons is unlikely. Yes, an attack will come, I'm sure of it. And when it does…' He glanced at the card in his hand. '…I will be given the opportunity to trigger the effect of Honest. After that, I will have just the boy to deal with, who, considering his current field state, should not pose-'
"I activate Passion Aurora's effect," Leah declared, startling Lithon out of his reverie. "By detaching one of its Overlay Units, I can negate its own effects for the rest of this turn, which will allow us all to perform more Special Summons this turn." The single yellow orb of light broke orbit and flew into its helmet with a flash of light. A few feathers detached themselves from 17's wings and began to float in small circles around it.
Number 17: Passion Aurora: 1 → 0 OLU
"Oh yes," Dan said. "Oh, please tell me you're about to do what I think you're about to do."
"I might be," she grinned back. Then, she raised her hand up to the sky, the shining number seventeen on her left hand blazing brighter than ever. That was all the signal she needed. Immediately, Passion Aurora began to change. Its armour extended, growing back over the black material that covered its skin. The wings on its back retracted slightly, and split into three groups of two as the synthetic angel changed shape. Finally, the transformation completed itself, and the Number was once again left encapsulated within its sealed form – a golden, crest-like, oval structure lying on its side, sporting three sharp protrusions around the outside, each with two downy wings attached to them. Beneath the now-resealed Number, a large, galaxy-shaped portal opened up, just like the one used in the Xyz Summons of Numbers.
"What is this?" Lithon breathed. "What's happening here?!"
"I use Number 17: Passion Aurora to reconstruct the Overlay Network! Chaos Xyz Change!" Leah declared. Slowly, silently, the sealed form of her Number descended into the portal, which erupted like a volcano of pure light. "Appear, Chaos Number 17: Passion Aurora Sol!"
With the echoing sound of glass shattering, the green number seventeen on Leah's left hand dissipated, only to be replaced by a much darker copy, which pulsated and glowed rhythmically in time with her own heartbeat. Slowly and deceptively serenely, a solid golden sphere rose up out of the portal, topped with a halo of thick, pure white feathers. Bright yellow lines traced across the surface of the sphere, which began to open out, revealing a humanoid yet angelic figure curled up inside. This creature was also dressed in what seemed to be black latex, but far less of it was visible, as adorned as it was with the deep-gold plates that had once been its sealed form, but which it now wore as armour. As the monster stood upright, the downy halo slipped down behind it, and affixed itself to the monster's back, where it immediately spread out and formed six beautiful white wings, three on each side. Then the angel opened its eyes – no more than two glowing yellow dots – and all at once the wings flared with light. But not just white light; it was red, green, pink, violet... every single colour imaginable. It was as though the northern lights themselves were draped over the angel's wings like curtains, contrasting beautifully with the rich golden armour that covered its body. A single yellow Overlay Unit traced circles around the majestic golden monster.
Chaos Number 17: Passion Aurora Sol: Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 5/ATK 2500/DEF 1800 – 1 OLU
Lithon stared across the frozen canyon at the angel, pure shock etched into every line of his face. "W- what? What is this?! How could you have... this is impossible! It's-"
"Oh, I'm sorry Lithon," Leah grinned. "I probably should have mentioned that I had a Chaos Number too, but you seemed so wrapped up in your 'I control the world's only Chaos Number' speech, I didn't want to steal your thunder."
"But... but..." For quite possibly the first time in his life, the scientist found himself at a total loss for words. "But... this can't be! You... how did you-"
"Sir... that thing's awesome," Kodoku breathed. "What is it?"
"It- it's impossible," Lithon stuttered. "It cannot... you can't have, you... but it's really-"
Leah laughed. This was exactly the sort of reaction she'd been hoping for. "It's not just me either," she went on. "Matt, Katie, myself... we all have Chaos Numbers now."
"No... no, you're lying!" Lithon shouted, finally able to articulate full sentences. "That is something I cannot and will not accept! But this thing..." He was still staring at the Chaos Number as though he couldn't (and didn't want to) believe it existed. "How could this happen?! How did you create this thing?! I want answers, now!"
"Answers?" Leah repeated, putting on her best good-little-girl smile. "I thought you already had all the answers. Remember, you told us that an incredible emotional surge is needed to create-"
"Yes yes, I remember what I said," Lithon snapped. "I also remember saying that humans cannot physically experience such emotional surges."
"Then how did you do it?" Dan countered. "You hinted at it last time, but there's no point keeping secrets anymore. We have the power of the Chaos Numbers on our side already. You have nothing to lose by revealing how you did it."
Lithon scowled at him, but begrudgingly realised that the boy was talking sense. "The only way I was able to do it was by subjecting my Number to constant attacks and assaults from the other Numbers in my collection," he explained. "This wore my Number down, weakening it to the point where it was as desperate to gain strength as I was. Its desperation mingled with mine, and thus I was able to evolve it with far less effort on my part."
"You tortured your own Number to get results?" Leah said. "That's sick."
"That's science!" Lithon countered. "Now, if you don't mind, girl, I'd like to know exactly how your Chaos Number came to be. You don't have the same resources as me, nor the same level of ingenuity, so how did you accomplish it?"
"Wrong both times," Dan said, before Leah could say a word. "She certainly does have the resources, and I'd say her ingenuity far outstrips yours."
"What was that?" Lithon growled threateningly.
Leah laughed. "Alright then, I'll tell you. Don't start arguing," she smiled. "Well, I was in a duel with a guy called Skyler. You remember Skyler?"
"The one with the robotic limb?" Lithon asked. "The one I extracted Tesseract Dragon from? Yes, I remember him."
"Good. Well, we were dueling, and... let's just say he was pushing me a bit too far. Both with his dueling and his words. Eventually, I snapped and lost my temper, and when I did, I broke the object we use to control our Numbers." She rested a hand against her pocket, where her metal band was still tucked away. "Once I did, the Numbers took over, and I lost control of my emotions. After that... well, things got a bit crazy-"
She suddenly stopped talking as she realised that Lithon was no longer paying attention. He was breathing heavily, his hands curled into involuntary fists. "Of course..." he whispered. "Using the natural abilities of the Numbers to amplify one's emotions... it's so simple, it's brilliant..." He looked back up at them. "But it still wouldn't work! A human's emotions still aren't enough to perform a Chaos Xyz Change, even with that kind of help. There must've been more to it!"
"There isn't," Leah said. "Just your own short-sightedness."
"My what?!"
"What exactly do you know about emotions?" she went on. "After everything you've done – torturing schoolchildren, yourself, and your own Number, taking advantage of the only child in the world who looks up to you, all for the benefit of 'research' - what exactly is there to convince me that you're even capable of understanding emotions?"
"That's quite enough of that!" Lithon snapped. "You're just a child! Who are you to think you can judge me?"
"I can judge you because I'm your superior," Leah replied. "In every sense of the word."
The scientist growled, shifting his glare back and forth between the girl and her Chaos Number. Then, quite unexpectedly, he rounded on Kodoku. "You! Boy! You looked at her Extra Deck twice during this duel. You must have seen the Chaos Number. Why didn't you inform me of it?"
"I- um..." Kodoku seemed stuttery and nervous the moment he heard Lithon's sharp tone directed at him. "Er... I didn't know what it was. I just thought it was another Number. It didn't look important-"
"Didn't look important?!" Lithon roared. "Just another Number?! You idiot boy! Do you have any idea what you've done?!"
Kodoku gave a little gasp of fright and took a step back.
"Hey!" Dan shouted. "Don't speak to him like that!"
It was no use. Lithon was furious. "Chaos Number!" he was shouting. "That's all you had to say, Kodoku! Chaos! Number! Just two little words! Instead, you just chose to call them Numbers! You idiot!" Kodoku looked genuinely hurt and scared by his teacher's berations. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to run away. "That was the most crucial piece of information in this entire duel, and you just chose to ignore it! You're useless, boy! Useless!"
"Leave him alone!" Leah shouted. "I activate Chaos Number 17's effect! By detaching one of its Overlay Units, I can declare any type of Summon. Then, this effect will destroy all monsters on the field that were Summoned this way, except itself, and also increase Aurora Sol's ATK by 300 points for each one." The single yellow orb of light was absorbed into the monster's forehead.
Chaos Number 17: Passion Aurora Sol: 1 → 0 OLU
"I choose Special Summons," she called, desperate to distract Lithon from Kodoku, if only for a second. "Both Friendship Demon and Synthetic Chaos were Summoned by a Special Summon, so both of them are destroyed!" With a deep percussive thump, a pulse of rainbow-hued energy emanated from Aurora Sol's wings, and shot across the field as a shockwave. Both enemy duelists covered their faces as their monsters were incinerated by the intense energy.
"No... no..." Lithon gasped, his student briefly forgotten as he stared at the scorched patch of ice where his Chaos Number – his ultimate weapon, the monster that he had painstakingly crafted through hours of research, toil, and pain – had stood moments before. "This can't be happening... my Chaos Number... my masterpiece..."
"And don't forget," Leah went on, "Passion Aurora Sol gains 300 ATK for each monster destroyed by this effect. You lost two between you, so it gains 600 attack points."
Chaos Number 17: Passion Aurora Sol: ATK 2500 → 3100
"Stop this!" Lithon shouted desperately.
"Battle!" Leah cried. "Passion Aurora Sol, attack Lithon directly!" The angel raised both hands above its head and began drawing in energy. Slowly, tortuously, a crackling green sphere began to grow atop the Chaos Number's arms. It grew larger and larger, until its size dwarfed all four duelists, and even the angel that was holding it.
Lithon stared up as the ball grew larger and larger. "This is your fault, Kodoku!" he shouted, not taking his eyes off the attack.
"But..." Kodoku whimpered. "But sir..."
"If you had told me about this, I could have prepared for it," he snapped as the attack was fired. "My defeat – my blood – is on your hands, Kodoku. It's all your fault! All of it! It's your fault!"
The attack struck him with the force of a meteor. The explosion tore a huge hole in the ice and the earth beneath it, pelting the duelists with clod and grass. Eventually the light died down, to be replaced by small wisps of smoke that rose out of the crater left by the attack. The once-proud and strong scientist was now lying in the centre of the tremendous crater, smoke rising up from his charred yellow lab coat.
Lithon LP: 2900 → 0
Author-made cards:
Chaos Number 89: Synthetic Chaos (credit to Superjad)
Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 4/ATK 1900/DEF 1900
3 Level 4 LIGHT/DARK monsters OR 1 "Number 89: Blacklight Prototype"
Cannot be Xyz Summoned unless there are 5 or more banished cards. This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. This card is also treated as a DARK Fiend-Type monster. You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card, then target 1 card on the field; banish it until your next Standby Phase.
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 17: Passion Aurora
Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 5/ATK 2500/DEF 1800
2 Level 5 monsters
This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. Neither player can Special Summon monsters. During either player's turn: You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card; negate this card's effects until the End Phase.
Chaos Number 17: Passion Aurora Sol
Fairy-Type/Xyz/LIGHT/Rank 5/ATK 2500/DEF 1800
3 Level 5 LIGHT monsters OR 1 "Number 17: Passion Aurora"
This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. If you have 1000 or more Life Points, destroy this card. During either player's turn: You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card, then declare 1 type of Summon (Normal, Flip or Special); destroy all other face-up monsters that were Summoned this way, then this card gains 300 ATK for each one.
Fun Fact #104: Oh hey, did Doctor Lithon just go from plain to extra crispy? I think he did.
Fun Fact #105: So, Shadow Specters has new Spirit monsters and Spirit support, Ritual support, new Gemini monsters, support for a forgotten manga archetype, an answer to the Gimmick Puppets' main Xyz problem, a reference to the Crystal Beasts, and a replacement Rai-Oh to stop Spellbook Decks... is this what heaven feels like?
Fun Fact #106: Konami has been reading this fanfic. That's the only explanation! Aratama was clearly made by merging the searching concepts for Borealis Tatami and Borealis Kita, along with similar ATK and DEF to Kita. That's not to say we don't like it - we love Aratama to bits. And its friend Rakshasa. Three guesses whose Deck will be getting an upgrade.
Fun Fact #107: So, Konami made the stupid decision to semi-limit Rai-Oh just before the release of Spellbook of Judgement, in order to profit more from it, and thus ushering in the Spellbooks' reign of terror. Now, a few weeks down the line, they bring in a Continuous Trap which prevents players from adding cards from their Decks to their hands except by drawing. And its name is literally 'Mistake'. It's nice to see Konami owning up to their errors for once.
Fun Fact #108: I don't know who came up with the ridiculous idea of combining the Crystal Beast theme with Pumpking of all things... I do know that I love it.
