(Cipher 44) 210: Six Ways to Five figures

Azar and the others entered the lower levels of the agents headquarters. Azar carried Shin while he was still unconscious. He was not the only one. "Wh-what happened?" All those who worked at this building were out, sleeping on the ground or against the walls. Even the enforcers. "Did Pandora do this?" Rita did not know why they were unconscious, but only someone like her could have caused this. "She did." Her suspicions were confirmed by a weakening voice. "Darcy!?" Azar saw her, resting in one of the chairs. "You trusted me. I am glad." She smiled, vaguely.

"It is not a trap then." Necara saw that Darcy was clearly in no condition to duel anyone, she could barely stay awake. "I couldn't. I do not have an overhundred Number." Darcy had seen how they dueled by now, so had Pandora. "She told me that I would not make a difference, even if I dueled one of you, I could not take any of your lifepoints away." Pandora had not said why this was, but Pandora had never lied to her before. "Then the same goes for..me." Necara reasoned. She suspected that even if she did defeat one of the Seven, their Overhundred Number would just go to another host. Rita and Azar had permanently defeated Numbers 107 and 105 with the blessing from the Echoes.

"Pandora? What did she do to you?" Azar was more concerned with what was going on. "She.. has put everyone to sleep, almost everyone.. My Numbers give me better control over my body, so I can keep myself awake a little longer. So I can help you." Darcy's trembling hand handed them a USB stick. "Take this. It's all I could find on the mainframe. It's about the Probe. I do not know..where it is being built, or how many there are. But I know why she did this. She has to focus. She cannot be distracted by other thoughts right now." With this many people unconscious, all efforts were diverted to the Probe and to the Seven. "The Probe? What do you know about it? Are there still people awake to work on it?" If anyone was conscious right now, it would be those people. "She is building it herself. You are running out of time, the Probe is close to completion. It launches today, within..." Darcy had said all she could. "Within?"The girl closed her eyes and passed out in her chair, before the last bit of info could be released. "Damn it!"

"We have to go to Dakar, now!"

...

Xander did not consider himself very driven or energetic, but he did see himself as a pragmatic man. When confronted with a target who could make himself invisible, he did not see any point to wasting time searching every square inch of the region. It was much more efficient to capture the target within a forcefield, so they could not get away. He knew that Dakar had not fled yet, because he would have sensed that. Had it been a less populated area, Ions powers could have helped flush them out. Instead Xander simply made the circumference of his barrier smaller with each minute. These kinds of barriers could only hold someone with a Number, others would not even see or feel it. Illusion or not, there was no hiding something like a Overhundred number. Walking in a straight line to the center of the city, sooner or later he would find the unfaithful owner of Number 104. Xander already had narrowed down his search area to the amusement park.

"Hey Xander!" The downside of making his barrier specific to Number-users only, was that non-Number users could pass right through. "You managed to find me! So how about a duel!?" Ruby could just pass through the forcefield and walk up to Xander. "Ruby!" He had not seen her until the barrier pulled off the invisibility spell around her. "Where are the others?" Logic dictated that Dakar could not be far behind. "Do you even know how many of us you are chasing? Eh, it doesn't matter. You are out of luck if you think I will just tell you." She took a deck of cards and inserted it into her D-pad. "You're gonna have to settle for me. And hey I am just as much of a threat to you as Azar is." She knew Xander could not ignore her now that a duel had been demanded. His Number would not let him.

Ruby's LP: 8000 Xanders LP: 8000

"You are just here for that, are you? You will not try to talk me out of it?" Xander was not completely taken by surprise, which was why he already had activated his own D-pad and gathered a deck of cards. "Talking is not my specialty. Dueling is. Obvious choice is obvious. I am feeling generous too, so you can have the first turn." Ruby did not just want to duel, she wanted to have the first battle phase as well. "I guessed nothing less of you. But do not assume I am unaware of your real motivation." Xander placed one monster down on his field and ended the turn. "You are a pawn who is sacrificing himself to let the more useful pieces get away."

"You know.." Ruby activated the Fire Formation Tenki continuous spell card to add a Beastwarrior from her deck to her hand, and to give 100 attackpoints to all her beastwarriors. "People calling me a sacrifice is getting real old! Nobody tells me what to do! Besides, I know who the real pawn here is!" She normal summoned the added monster; the muscular beastwarrior of the Fire Fist Brotherhood - Caribou(4/1200/2000). "Attack!" Caribou smashed his spiked club into Xanders set monster. "I shall retract my statement then. Now, about your attack.." The crushed monster was a small hand connected to larger hand(4/1600/1000); one part mechanical and the other made from flames. "You killed Fire Hand. It destroys a monster when it is destroyed itself." The Fire Hands flames spread and overtook Caribou's own fire and body. "Geh." The Fire Fist warrior was reduced to ashes. "And Fire Hand then special summons Ice Hand from my deck." The molten lava hand inverted its temperature, creating a hand(4/1400/1600) of frozen ice. "Yeah? A destroyed Caribou can special summon a monster too; another member of the Brotherhood!" Ruby placed one trap card down and ended her turn. During the endphase, Caribou's effect was used to summon the warrior Gorilla(4/1700/1000) from the Brotherhood of the Fire Fist.

"Hm. You have noticed my new deck, havent you?" Xander gave her a question, as he started his turn and normal summoned another monster. That was Magic Hand(4/800/1600), a closed box. "Am I supposed to be impressed?" Ruby did not see the point in him asking that. "No. Concerned maybe." Xander activated a spell card, one he had drawn this turn. It was the continuous spell card, Cracking. "I prepare cards for each opponent I might face. The deck I wield right now was tailored to face you." Xander entered the battle phase. "Huh?" Ice Hand crawled forward and shattered itself upon Fire Fist Gorilla's body. It was the weaker of the two, but its effect made up for the loss. "When Ice Hand is destroyed, one of your traps or spells goes along with it." The broken ice fell down and impaled Ruby's face-down Kickfire trap card. "And Fire Hand is summoned." Xanders second hand of flames(4/1600/1000) was special summoned from his deck.

Xanders LP: 7700

"A cycle of fire and ice?" Ruby just groaned. She hated hard-to-get-rid-of cards. Especially when her deck favored destruction effects. "I get something out of this as well, Xander! Once a turn, when Gorilla kills a monster, I can set one Fire Formation spell card from my deck face-down on my field!" Ruby chose to set a second Tenki Formation spell. "Yes, nicely done. There is more to come however." Xander made the new Fire Hand attack Ruby's beastwarrior as well. "Tsk." Gorilla had to kill Fire Hand in battle, and trigger its monster destruction effect. The hand destroyed Gorilla, of course. "Once every turn, when Cracking is on the field while my opponent loses a monster to an effect, that duelist loses 800 lifepoints!" The destruction of Gorilla was followed up by a shot of electric energy. "Gah!"

Ruby's LP: 7200 Xanders LP: 7600

Naturally, Xander special summoned a second Ice Hand(4/1400/1600) from his deck after the Fire Hand had blown up. "I declare a direct attack with Ice Hand and Magic Hand." The icy claw swept past Ruby with a streak of cold energy. Next a red magic hand popped out like a jack-in-the box and pushed Ruby down against the ground. "Ack!"

Ruby's LP: 4800

"Now before I end my turn. I activate a spell card, Absolute Designator! You can add any card you want from your deck to your hand, while I can place any card I want on top of mine." With this spell Xander placed, of course, Rank-Up-Magic: The Seventh One on top of his deck. "Okay, there has got to be a catch here." Meanwhile Ruby added a Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Buffalo card to her hand. "In a way, there is. I triggered Magic Hands effect." The jack-in-the-box opened once again. "Magic Hand can send one card to the graveyard that is added to a players hand. Added, not drawn." The magical hand snatched Buffalo away. "Hey! Rgh!" She lost another 600 lifepoints, but not because of Xanders continuous spell. As that one only monitored deaths on the field."I should have mentioned, Magic Hand inflicts 600 points of damage when it sends a card to the graveyard." Xander helpfully explained.

Ruby's LP: 4200

Absolute Designator, Normal Spell
You and your opponent declares 1 card name each; activate 1 of the appropriate effects
* If the declared card is in his/her deck, add 1 of that card to your opponent's hand.
* If the declared card is in your deck, place it on top of your deck.

"Great. If these cards were meant for me alone, you must think I am not a very serious opponent." The Hand-things were wackier even than those weird Golems Xander used in the past. "Nothing of the sort, Ruby. I do not take you or anyone else lightly." Xander said. Still, you can admit that they fit the tone set by this battlefield." They were standing in the middle of this funpark, surrounded by carousels and animatronics. "Yes, hilarious." Ruby muttered under her breath. She never liked these places. Then again, she did not get to leave home very often in her younger years. "On the other hand they do not fit you at all. I mean, nothing personal Xander. I am sure you're a nice guy, but you were always kinda boring to be around."

"I suppose I might be to you. That just does not matter to me when I arrange my deck." Her words made Xander shrug. He just used whatever was beneficial at the moment. "Heh.. what does matter is that you need an actual card effect to put The Seventh One on top of your deck. I guess you aren't as strong as you used to be!" In the past he could simply have forced The Seventh One to come to him, not so right now. "You are correct. The seven of us are at their strongest together. Take one of us away, and we weaken as a whole." Xander finally ended his turn, after he placed a trap card down. "You mean..Subito and Claud. Is that all their deaths mean to you; a loss of power?" Xander did not even sound broken up about it. "I do not like to express my anguish, though I do consider it a great tragedy. They were my comrades.. Even if in Subito's case, I saw it coming. He led himself to ruination."

"Do not talk about Subito that way. You don't deserve to!" She drew her card and placed it face-down in the zone. Then she activated the set Fire Formation Tenki spell. Tenki added Fire King Avatar Yaksha to her hand. She normal summoned the Avatar(4/2000/200), powered by both Tenkis, and quickly pushed into the battle phase. "Subito was ten times the man you or me will ever be!" Yaksha attacked, smacking Magic Hand and its box into a nearby wall and destroying it. "End turn!"

Xanders LP: 6400

"He was a braver man than me, I know." Xander almost looked remorseful, for a second. "But not a man who followed logic. He could not let go of his feelings when he should've." Xander, at last, drew the Seventh One and revealed it to Ruby. "I do apologize for the way I talk, but I do not intend to follow his example. He would not want us to fail! I activate my Rank-Up-Magic card!" Xanders spell targeted Number 106 in his extra deck and evolved into the chaotic arm of lava: Giant Red Hand(5/2600/2000). "Your Number doesnt scare me, Xander!" Ruby shouted. "I wouldn't say that so hastily, Ruby." Xander took another card from his hand, Gogogo Golem(4/1800/1500), and normal summoned it. Then he selected another card in his hand. "When Ice, Fire or Magic Hand are under my control, Prominence Hand can be special summoned to the field." A metallic two-sided claw(4/600/2000) scuttled across the pavement, responding to the presence of Ice Hand. "I Xyz-summon Antiluminescent Knight Cairngorgon!" Gogogo Golem and Prominence Hand were overlayed. Gold metal and green brickstone poured together to form a corrupted knight(4/2450/1950) of diamonds, prisms and minerals. "Let's conclude it. I declare an attack.." Xander sent Ice Hand out to smash itself dead against the staff of Fire King Yaksha.

Xanders LP: 5800

"Again?" Ruby watched as Ice Hand's effect targeted the only card in her spell/trap zone. "You asked for it!" She shouted and flipper her trap face-up. "I activate Safe Zone! Any monster the Zone targets can not be destroyed or attacked!" A spaceship flew into the air and emitted a barrier. "That wont do you any good now, Ruby." Ice Hand would still break the continuous trap, whether it was face-up or face-down. "Not for me.. That is why I am targeting your monster!" Safe Zone was cast down on Giant Red Hand. "The monster that Safe Zone defends, must be banished if the Safe Zone goes away!" This way Xander would indirectly get rid of his own Chaosnumber. "Ah, quite clever of you. Alas.." Xander detached one material from his other Xyz-monster. "Cairngorgon can manipulate the targets of effects! It switches Safe Zone to another appropriate target: Fire King Avatar Yaksha!" The Anti-knight released a flash of prismatic light which clashed with Safe Zone's barrier. "Damn it!" The Zone came down on Yaksha. Now when Ice Hand's effect finally resolved and the continuous trap was destroyed, Yaksha was destroyed along with it. Then, thanks to the effect of the Cracking spell, Ruby was sapped of another 800 lifepoints.

Ruby's LP: 3400

"Don't get so full of yourself! When you destroyed my Fire King, the effect of a monster in my hand is triggered! Fire King Avatar Garunix summons itself!" Ruby special summoned a monster from her hand in defense position; a red-feathered garuda bird(3/700/1700). "One of my cards was triggered too, Ruby." Xander revealed a continuous trap: Chain Ignition. "I observed your recorded duels in the tournaments. Your Fire Kings favor selfdestruction, that is why I added this trap. Chain Ignition can destroy one card when one of your monsters is destroyed by your own card effects!" Within the same chain, Chain Ignition set off a series of explosions that travelled all the way to Garunix and blasted it to a pile of smoldering feathers. "Then you must also know this, Garunix can special summon another Fire King Avatar when something kills it! It can be an effect or an attack, it isn't picky!" The destroyed Garunix Avatar called a second copy of itself(3/700/1700) to her field in defense position.

"Interesting. It would seem luck is on your side." Xander entered the battle phase with a less than vulnerable opponent. "If one were to believe in such a thing." The Fire Hand(4/1600/1000), that the destroyed Ice Hand had special summoned, attacked and killed the second Fire King Avatar Garunix. "Go!" Ruby activated that Garunix' effect to special summon the third and last Garunix(3/700/1700) from her deck in defense mode. "Again then." Xander made Cairngorgon crush that bird with its zirconian pillar arm. "One more!" The last Garunix special summoned another Fire King Avatar from her deck, Kirin(3/1000/200). "..." The white fire horse was pulverized by an attack from Giant Red Hand. The effect that a destroyed had sent a fire monster from the deck to the grave. Kirin sent a Volcanic Shell. "You have always been very resistant. Yet you can not deny that your chances are slim, Ruby. You came into this duel, expecting to lose. In fact, why would you continue to fight? I can understand why the others have joined Azar. Even Korose, as he must feel indebted to Azar. But I do not know why you are so defiant."

"You have to ask me that?" Ruby's turn came up again, though Xander had to say more to her apparently. "I have listened to Azar time and time again. Why should we yearn for what he proposes? We all know the earth of the past. A world full of violence and pain, that is what we will get without our Numbers."

"But it is our world, Xander! Not theirs! Maybe we can coexist, that is what some friends of mine liked to believe before they went nuts. But we need to be equals! I will not let some high and mighty hologram lady dictate what I can and can't do!" Ruby activated the spell card, Swords of Burning Light. The spell made it rain swords of flame around Xander, keeping him and his monsters at bay as long as she controlled no monsters of her own. "I've had pain, you've had pain! Maybe you want to forget that, but I.. I do not. I don't want to live in a lie!" She placed a trap card down and ended her turn. "There just has to be another way, Xander. We should not take the easy way out."

"Another way, you say. I believed you said you were not going to try and talk with me, yet here you are. Almost as if.." Xander paused, looking he suddenly recalled something urgent. "You are diverting my power." Whatever it had been, he had realized it too late. "A group of four have broken through my barrier from the eastside." Xander now understood why Ruby had dragged him into a duel. "Oh, so they made it in. Good." Ruby was pretty pleased with herself. It sounded like Azar had succeeded in teleporting to their location. "Did you know that Number 106's barriers weaken over time? Or was it a guess?" Xander had not been able to keep the forcefield at its maximum strength because his Number was using its power elsewhere. "I remember Korose once telling me, so the former." She smirked. "Hm. Well, I would not celebrate just yet. We anticipated a setback. I have the fullest confidence that Ion and Ariel will be able to to stop them now that I failed to..."

(To be Continued in Cipher 211: Bravery without Fear)

New Cards used by Ruby Irant
Brotherhood of the Fire Fist - Gorilla
Fire King Avatar Garunix

New Cards used by the Xander Carson
Fire Hand
Ice Hand
Magic Hand
Prominence Hand

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Cracking

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Chain Ignition