I'm sure you've noticed I changed my summery of this story, all will be revealed in this chapter…
Chapter 15: Friend or Foe
In a lab beneath Heartland Tower, Kite was being treated by Orbital 7 for his paralyzed arm. "Okay. I theorize that you should have full motor skill in your arm by tonight Master Kite." Orbital said.
Kite then sat up. "Okay. Did you identify the girl?" Kite asked.
"Yes I did!" Orbital moved towards the computers. "As you suspected, she is registered in the tournament!" Orbital pulled up a picture of Eclipsa, it was a picture on a World Duel Carnival registration sheet. "The name on her registration is "Eclipsa", no last name, and the address where her Heart Piece was sent to was a P.O. box in Heartland."
"So finding her isn't going to be easy. And that name is obviously an alias." Kite said.
"While you're right about that, I did find an anomaly though. See, when I did the search in the registry I noticed three other girls had their Heart Pieces sent to a P.O. box in the same location." He pulled up the pictures of three girls, it was Terra, Mayura, and Millennia.
"Hey, I recognize two of them." Kite said, pointing to Terra and Mayura with is nonparalyzed arm.
"I would imagine so." Orbital pulled up two images under Terra and Mayura, one with Terra holding a trophy and Mayura singing on stage in a pop star outfit. "Terra is a world Duel champion, and Mayura is a pop star sensation. Their real names are Payton Kuron, and Ren Hio."
"Okay, but what about the two blondes?" Kite asked.
"Well with the one named Millennia, her mask covers too much of her face to run it against a data base search." The visible sections of Millennia's were highlighted. "But on Eclipsa I got a match!" Orbital pulled of a picture of Eclipsa in a prep school uniform. "This is a missing person photo of her from one year ago, and it lists her name as Auriana McLean, and she's been classified as missing ever since."
"Wait, did you say 'McLean'?" Kite asked.
"Yes, her family was a large contributor to Dr. Faker's dimensional experiments."
"But still, she's a runaway, Terra's a Duel Champion, and the other one's a pop star. I can get why they didn't want their home address's listed." Kite said.
"Oh, but that's not the only connection these three girls have!" Orbital pulled up a file filled with pictures, he pulled three of them, and each one has a younger version of the three girls with their families. "All three of them of survivors of the Heartland Shake."
"Oh my." Kite said. "That was nasty."
"Yes." Orbital focused on the one with Terra. She was 13 and had three boys around her, all three identical to her. "Payton was a quadruplet and her and brothers were soccer stars. Their only family was their mother, and Payton was the only member of her family to survive." He then pulled up a picture of Mayura. She was 12 and standing with her parents. "Ren was an heiress to two family fortunes. She and the daughter of the grounds keeper were the co-winners of a talent show that happened the night of the Shake, but her friend and parents didn't survive." Orbital then pulled up a picture of Eclipsa, she was 8 and sitting in the lap of her mother, and her blonde curly haired 15 year old sister was standing next to their father. "Auriana McLean, her mother's family was a big supporter of Dr. Faker's work. Both her parents died as they fell from a highway during the Shake, but her and her sister, Rosella, survived. However, her sister disappeared about a month afterwards though…" Orbital said.
"So they all lost loved ones in the Shake. Wasn't that caused by Barian and Astral World?" Kite asked.
"Correct Master Kite!" Orbital said. "Four years ago Barian launched an attack so powerful that it sent interdimensional shock waves so violent, and due to Dr. Faker's dimensional experiments Heartland City was very susceptible to dimensional shock waves, it literally rocked our world, or city, and dozens of people lost their lives…" Orbital said in a sad voice.
"So this event is what ties three of them together, but what about that fourth one, Millennia?" Kite asked.
"It's entirely possible that her face was compromised and that's why she wears the mask." Orbital suggested.
"Okay, but these four girls could be a serious problem. One had a Number and paralyzed my arm." Kite said as he gestured to his frozen arm. "I can only imagine what the other three are capable of. Orbital, dig into their lives, I've got a feeling that something else connects these girls together.
"I'm on it!" Orbital said as he began web surfing.
Yuma couldn't believe who was standing in front of him. "Is it really you?" Yuma asked the blonde.
Auriana laughed. "Of it's me!" She then moved in closer and gave Yuma a hug, who hugged back.
"Oh my God!" He said as he backed up. "It's been like what, four years?" Yuma said.
"Yeah, roughly." Auriana giggled. "I saw you win that Duel against that Pro Duelist! Those were some wicked monsters!" Auriana said. "Last time I saw you, you could barely hold your cards."
"Oh yeah, hey are you here for the World Duel Carnival?" Yuma asked.
"No, not really. I actually came here to see you since it's been such a long time since we've seen each other." Auriana said.
The two of them continued to walk in the park, catching up on the past four years. After talking for a little while, Yuma asked Auriana a question.
"Um, can I see it? I mean, your eye?" He asked.
"Um… Sure." She pushed her bangs behind her ear, revealing the left side of her face, which had a long scare that ran down over her eye and down her cheek, and her eye was closed.
"Can you open it?" Yuma asked.
"Yes, but I'm still blind in that eye." She pushed her bangs back over her face. "I grew my bangs out so people wouldn't stair. In fact, you're one of the few people who even know that the scar's there. I don't like people treating me differently because I'm half blind." She then gasped.
"Is something wrong?" Yuma asked.
"Um… I need to use the restroom." Auriana got up and walked way. "I'll be back in a minute!" She ran off.
Yuma smiled as Astral descended in front. "There is something not right about your old friend Yuma." Astral said.
"What are you talking about?!" Yuma exclaimed.
"Well for one she just pops up right after a battle, one with Numbers and a new Chaos Xyz."
"That's a coincidence Astral!" Yuma said.
"Yes, but still, she's got this… vibe. You would call it a 'gut feeling'. Your friend is hiding something from you. And I don't think that it's good." Astral said.
In the woman's room Eclipsa was checking to make sure she was alone, then she gasped again. She growled as her Crest glowed on her hand, she then held her hand to her face. "WHAT?!" Eclipsa yelled. The Crest glowed in flashes, as if it was a communication link between her and someone else. "Okay, thanks for the update…" She said as her Crest disappeared, then she walked out of the restroom.
Yuma looked and saw Auriana walking back towards him. "Hey Auriana, I need to ask you something…"
"Okay, what is it?" Auriana asked.
"Why have you been silent for the past year? I mean, all of the sudden you just disappeared, not e-mails, no letters, nothing…" Yuma asked.
Auriana exhaled and put her hands on her face. "Yuma…"
Then an energy ball flew between them, knocking on Yuma on his butt, but Auriana landed gracefully. "Crap, I missed…" A voice said.
Auriana, Yuma, and Astral looked up at a building and saw a large muscular man with a green mowhawk and his hand outstretched. Auriana saw this man and grunted, knowing who he was. Astral turned and saw the look on Auriana's face.
"Okay, who are you?!" Yuma yelled, knowing that this was about to get ugly.
The man then jumped and when he landed, the ground shook. He walked towards the two, and pointed towards Auriana. "You, you will pay for what you did to Alito!" He yelled.
Yuma gasped. 'Wait, he said "Alito"! That must mean he's-' "You're a Barian Emperor!" Yuma said.
He turned to face Yuma. "The name's Girag, and I'm not here for you!" He looked at Auriana. "I'm here to exact revenge on you for what you did to Alito!" He made a fist.
"Wait, what happened to Alito?!" Yuma exclaimed.
Girag turned towards him. "After his battle with you, he ended up somewhere where he was tortured and had his Barian Number removed!"
"His Barian Number?!" That caught Astral's attention.
"And Alito said it was a blonde about 13 to 14 years old and had purple clothes! And he said she had part of her hair covered one of her eyes, and a butterfly above her blue eye! That describes her perfectly!"
Yuma looked at his friend. She was shaking, and had her hands on the shoulders and breathing heavily. "Auriana?"
She looked at him and the Girag. "I don't know what you're talking about!" She yelled. "Numbers? Barians? Have I finally gone crazy?!" She put her hands on the sides of her head.
"You can't fool me!" Girag threw a red cube in the air. "I ACTIVATE A BARIAN SPHERE FIELD!" The cube broke and a sphere formed around the four of them.
"Oh no!" Yuma said as they were trapped.
"This is my lucky day! I get to get Alito's revenge and take out Astral!" Girag said.
Yuma then spoke up. "Hey, if you want to Duel me go ahead! But leave Auriana out of it! There's no way she did what you said to Alito!" Yuma said.
Auriana looked at Yuma and frowned. "Yuma, if this guy wants to Duel me, then let him Duel me! If you want, we can tag him!" Auriana pulled out a silver Duel Disk.
"Okay." Yuma put his Duel Disk on and his Duel Gazer, as did Auriana, but due to her having her left eye covered, it was made for her right eye.
"Perfect!" Girag held his fist in the air. "GO BARIANPHOSE!" His suspenders snap and his shirt ripped open, revealing a gold Barian Emblem with wings appeared on his chest with a red gem and his body became engulfed with Barian Energy. His head turned into a silver, mouthless helmet with his green mowhawk spiking out of the top. His body was now a dark shade of brown, easily twice as muscular as before, and wore darker gloves and boots and his body was decorated with orange gems and he had belt with a G on it. His Duel Disk was huge and circular, green and silver shell.
Augmented Reality Vision Online
Girag: 4000
Auriana: 4000
Yuma: 4000
"DUEL!" They all said as they drew their hand.
"Prepare for the beginning of your end! I DRAW!" When Girag drew his card it left a trail of flames, fitting considering the monster he drew. "I summon Fire Hand!" A ring of fire formed beneath him and turned into an inferno, and when it vanished a large right hand made up of molten rock, and at the bottom a small metal hand popped out and dug into Girag's right shoulder, who roared as the power flowed through him.
Fire Hand: Level 4/FIRE/Pyro/1600 Atk/1000 Def
"Incredible!" Astral said as he saw this. "He's actually harnessing his monster's powers!"
"I place two cards face down and end my turn!" Girag set his two cards down.
"We need to be careful Yuma. This Girag is not to be under estimated." Astral said.
Yuma nodded his head. "I know Astral! Now I-"
I DRAW!" Auriana said as she drew her card.
"Auriana?! I was gonna go next!" Yuma said.
She looked at Yuma with a smile. "Sorry." She then giggled.
Astral then starred at Auriana. "She acts all innocent and sweet, but I can sense a darkness lurking within her…" He said to himself.
Auriana smiled. "Now then, I summon Black Shadow Knight!" A humanoid shadow appeared on the field and from it rose a black and silver knight with a crescent moon on its chest plate.
Black Shadow Knight: Level 4/DARK/Warrior/1600 Atk/1200 Def
"And when it's Summoned, I can add any Black Shadow from my deck to my hand!" Her deck glowed and she drew her monster. "The monster I choose Black Shadow Luna! And when I have a Black Shadow on the field, I can Summon it from my hand!" She then took another card from her hand. "By why stop at one, when I can summon two Lunas!" On the field two crescent moon shadows appeared and from them rose two pale women in torn black dresses and wings shaped like crescent moons.
Black Shadow Luna: Level 4/DARK/Spellcaster/1500 Atk/400 Def
"Wow three monsters on your first turn!" Yuma praised. "You're really good!"
"Well I didn't get worst!" Auriana laughed. "But back to business! I play the spell Shadow Blast!" The spell showed two Lunas holding hands and blasting black lightning. "Since I have at least two Black Shadow monsters one of your monsters gets destroyed!" A blast o black lightning hit Fire Hand destroying it. But then the flames turned into a fire storm and incinerated one of the Lunas. "What the?!" Auriana responded.
"See, whenever Fire Hand is destroyed, one of your monsters is destroyed as well!" Girag explained, and then his deck glowed. "Oh, and when Fire Hand is destroyed, I get to summon Ice Hand directly from my deck!" He pulled the card out and played it. An ice storm formed and when it disappeared a left hand made completely out of ice, and just like Fire Hand a mechanical hand attached itself to Girag's left shoulder, allowing him to harness its power.
Ice Hand: Level 4/WATER/Aqua/1400 Atk/1600 Def
"That is a really powerful ability!" Astral said.
"Okay, then I'll do this!" Auriana held her hand out towards her two monsters. "I Overlay my Level 4 Luna and Knight!" The two monsters turned to dark energy. "With these two monsters I can build the Overlay Network!" The red portal opened and the two monsters disappeared into it.
I XYZ SUMMON BLACK SHADOW NIGHTMARE!"
A large shadow of a winged horse appeared on the field. It rose up, and was a dark horse with dark silver markings, had wings and a unicorn horn, and its mane and tail were pure darkness and ever flowing.
Black Shadow Nightmare: Rank 4/DARK/Beast/2000 Atk/1500 Def
"Wow, cool Xyz Monster Auriana!" Yuma said.
"Thanks Yuma!" Auriana smiled. "I end my turn with one card face down." She did just that.
Yuma looked up at Astral. "Wow, she bought out three monsters on her first turn and performed an Xyz!" Yuma said. "I mean, she was always good, but that was amazing!" Yuma put his hand on his deck. "Okay, I draw!" He drew his card. "I summon Gagaga Magician!" Yuma's signature wizard appeared on the field.
Gagaga Magician: Level 4/DARK/Spellcaster/1500 Atk/1000 Def
"And now I play the spell Gagagabolt!" Yuma's spell had the artwork of Gagaga Magician standing on a cliff and lightning above him. "Since I have my Magician out I get to take out one of your cards! So say goodbye to the Ice Hand!" A storm appeared in the Sphere and blasted lightning at Ice Hand, reducing it to cubes, but then a powerful ice storm formed and froze Ariana's face down.
"What's going on?!" Auriana said as her card then shattered.
Girag laughed. "Ha! Ha! Ha! See, when Ice Hand is destroyed one of your spell or trap cards are too!" Then his deck glowed again. "Oh and the best part is than now I get to summon another Fire Hand!" He did just that, and it was deja vu all over again.
Fire Hand: 1600 Atk
"With the maximum of three monsters with the same name, Girag has the perfect defense shield! With one hand replacing the last and one of his opponent's cards destroyed along with it!" Astral said. "Man, then he'll just bring out a new monster next turn and can Xyz!" He then picked a card from his hand. "I summon Gagaga Child!" A small child version of Magician with orange hair appeared on the field.
Gagaga Child: Level 2/DARK/Spellcaster/800 Atk/1200 Def
"I can summon him when I have another Gagaga Monster on the field! And then I can change his level to that of Gagaga Magician!" A popsicle appeared in Gagaga Child's hand and he gobbled it down, and reveled the stick, which had four Level stars.
Gagaga Child: Level 4
"I Overlay my two Level 4 Gagagas!" The two disappeared into the golden portal.
"I XYZ SUMMON NUMBER 39: UTOPIA!"
The Yuma guardian Number stormed on the field, ready to fight and protect.
Number 39 Utopia: Rank 4/LIGHT/Warrior/2500 Atk/2000 Def
"And now I place one card face down and end my turn!" Yuma did than and ended his turn.
"Aright kiddies! I draw!" Girag drew his card. "I summon out my second Ice Hand!" A second storm brewed and just like before, Ice Hand attached to him.
Ice Hand: 1400 Atk
"Now I Overlay my Level 4 Fire Hand and Ice Hand!" The two Hand monsters high fived before turning into energy.
"I XYZ SUMMON! COME FORTH NUMBER 106: GIANT HAND!"
What came out of the golden portal was a gigantic stone hand ten times the size of any of the previous hand monsters. Its finger tips and center of its palm opened up like eyes, red eyes with pupils resembling yellow target symbols. All six eyes stared angrily at its opponents, ready to literally crush them.
Number 106 Giant Hand: Rank 4/EARTH/Rock/2000 Atk/2000 Def
"Another Number over 100!" Yuma said.
"And if this one is anything like the last one, we can expect trouble." Astral said.
"Now Giant Hand attack that horse!" Girag said pointing towards Nightmare.
Auriana gasped. "Hang on, your monster has the same attack points as mine, so both of them will be destroyed!"
Yuma gasped, realizing that Auriana doesn't know about Numbers and their common ability. "Auriana, that monster is a Number Monster, and they can only be destroyed in battle by another Number like my Utopia!" Yuma explained. "But don't worry, I'll use Utopia's special ability to negate that attack!" Yuma said.
"Yuma wait!" Auriana yelled. "Don't use it!"
"What?!" Yuma said, very confused, but Utopia just absorbed an Overlay Unit
"To late!" Girag said. "I use my Giant Hand's own special ability to negate your monster's special ability! GO FATALLY PARALYZING PRESSURE POINT STRIKE!" The eye on the index finger glowed and turned into a drill, then drilled right where Utopia's heart would be, negating its ability, and severally hurting Utopia.
"UTOPIA!" Yuma yelled as monster saw yelling in pain.
"And the best part is as long as my Giant Hand in on the field, your Utopia can't us any of its abilities anymore!" Girag said. "Now back to the task at hand! Giant Hand destroy that Nightmare!" Giant Hand stood in front of Nightmare and crushed it in its hand, but then a sphere formed and Giant Hand was forced back and revealed an uncrushed Nightmare. "WHAT?!" Girag yelled. "How did your Nightmare survive?!"
Auriana smiled and snapped her fingers and the Graveyard portal opened and a card appeared. The trap card showed Knight being surrounded by a shield that was formed by dark purple stars. "This was the card you sent to the Graveyard with your Ice Hand effect: Shadow Shield! See, normally this continuous trap prevents any of my Black Shadows from destruction once per turn, but since it was sent to the Graveyard was a Set card, until the end of my next turn none of monsters can be destroyed!" She smiled, then turned towards Yuma. "I tried to tell you Yuma, I can take care of myself. Sorry about your monster losing its special ability."
"That's fine, at least Utopia is stronger than Giant Hand." Yuma then turned towards Girag. "Which is finished once my turn begins!" Yuma yelled.
Girag laughed. "If this is what you believe. I end my turn." Girag said.
"Then, I draw!" Auriana said, she looked at the card she drew and squinted her eye, she then placed it in her hand and picked up another card. "I play the spell Shadow Pendant!" The spell's artwork showed a black round gem on a necklace that had bone white shards on the necklace as well, and the same necklace formed on Nightmare. "This card increases my Black Shadow Nightmare by 1000 attack points!"
Nightmare Atk: 2000 + 1000 = 3000
"Now, I might not be able to destroy your Giant Hand, but I sure as Hell can do a lot of damage!" Auriana said. "GO, EVERLASTING NIGHTMARE!" The horn on Nightmare glowed and sent a blast of dark energy at Giant Hand.
If Girag could smile he would at what he was about to do next. "Sorry, but I activate the trap Hand Vice!" Girag's trap flipped and a mechanical hand flew out of it and grabbed Nightmare, stopping the attack. "This trap not only stops your attack, but deals you damage equal to your monster's attack points!"
"WHAT?!" Auriana said as her monster was thrown at her, sending her crashing into the Sphere Field.
Auriana: 4000 – 3000 = 1000
"Auriana, Are you okay?" Yuma yelled to his friend.
"It would say not, considering she just lost three quarters of her Life Points in one move, and on her own turn too." Astral said.
Auriana grunted. "I'm fine." She then reached for the card she drew this turn. "I place one card face down and end my turn." She did just that, smiling at the card she just set, and Astral took notice of that.
"Something is wrong here. She just lost a major amount of Life Points, but doesn't look phased. And that card she placed, she clearly has something planed." Astral thought.
"Now I draw!" Yuma said. "Okay, Utopia may no longer be able to use its special ability, but that doesn't matter when my monster is stronger! GO UTOPIA! RISING SUN SLASH!" Just as Utopia was about reach for his sword, he stopped. "Utopia, what's wrong?" Yuma said, then the area where his monster was his by Giant Hand's ability and burst with flames, and the rest of Utopia followed suit. "UTOPIA!" Yuma yelled as his monster was destroyed.
Girag chuckled. "See, when Utopia was marked by Giant Hand, it was booby trapped, so that when it would attack it would be destroyed!"
"For real?!" Yuma said, but the proof was right in front of him, as his Utopia was gone.
"And to make matters worse for you, you will also take damage equal to Utopia's attack points!" Girag said as the tips of his monster's fingers glowed. "GO QUINTUPLE FATAL EYE BEAM!" The five eyes on the fingers blasted Yuma, dealing him massive damage.
Yuma: 4000 – 2500 = 1500
"Girag is ruthless! He's dealt massive damage to both us and Auriana on our own turns." Astral said.
"Yeah, and I don't have any way to summon a Number this turn, so I'll just place this down and end my turn." Yuma placed a card face down and ended his turn.
"Then I draw!" Girag drew his card and chuckled.
"HOLD IT!" Yuma said. "I activate the trap Xyz Reborn! This trap revives my Number!" The Grave portal opened and Utopia flew out, all shining and new.
Utopia: 2500 Atk
"And then this card becomes an Overlay Unit for Utopia!" The trap card glowed and turned into a shining Overlay Unit orbiting Utopia. "Now your Giant hand is weaker than both mine and Auriana's monsters, so good luck trying to beat us now!" Yuma taunted.
"Oh I don't need luck! I've got Rank Up Magic Barian's Force!" Girag held his card high in the air as it glowed.
"Oh no!" Yuma and Astral said, Auriana on the other hand growled as that card was glowing.
"I Rank Up Giant Hand into a Chaos Xyz Monster! I rebuild the Overlay Network with my Rank 4 Giant Hand!" His Number turned to into pure Chaos and went into the dark cloud at the top of the Sphere Field, which then exploded with energy.
"GO CHAOS XYZ EVOLUTION! I XYZ SUMMON THE HOTTEST OF ALL HANDS! CHAOS NUMBER 106: GIANT RED HAND!"
The new Number was at least ten times a huge as Giant Hand. Its body was similar to Fire Hand, but had molten rocks and instead of flames there was hot magma like Chaos coursing through it. The hand part had three middle fingers and one thumb on each side, plus two horn coming out of the wrist and one mechanical eye in the palm, overall the monster was terrifying as two Chaos Overlay Units formed in front of it.
Number C106 Giant Red Hand: Rank 5/EARTH/Rock/2600 Atk/2000 Def
"His Number is powerful Yuma!" Astral said.
"Yeah, but Utopia has his abilities back and Auriana's Nightmare has 3000 attack points, so it won't do him much good!" Yuma said.
"Oh really?" Girag said. "Okay, then I'll use Giant Red Hand's special ability! By using one Chaos Overlay Unit Giant Red Hand can negate the effects of all cards face up on the field!" His Giant Red Hand crushed one of the Chaos Overlay Units and then the eye in the palm sent out shock waves, negating all face up cards. "HEAVY HANDED HURRICANE!"
Nightmare Atk: 3000 – 1000 = 2000
Auriana gasped. "Oh no! Since my Shadow Pendant is an equip spell, it too gets negated!"
"That's right, and now Utopia can no longer use its battle negating ability either!" Girag reached for another card in his hand. "I activate the field spell Erosion Hand Forest!" The field then became engulfed in brambles. "Now whenever my turn begins, we all take 1000 points of damage!" The brambles then caught on fire
"No way!" Yuma said. 'I have 1500 Life Points, but Auriana only has 1000 Life Points now!' He thought.
"Now Giant Red Hand, destroy that Nightmare! CRIMSON PALM OF CERTAIN DEATH!" Giant Red Hand then made a fist and swirled around, creating a spiral of destruction that destroyed Nightmare.
Auriana: 1000 – 600 = 400
"AURIANA!" Yuma yelled as his friend was hit with damage, but she was surprisingly unfazed by the damage.
"You should worry about yourself Yuma! I activate the spell Hand Burn!" The spell showed a third degree burned hand being treated. "Since a monster was destroyed by a Hand monster, you take half my monster's attack points as damage!" A fire storm brewed and hit Yuma, sending him flying.
Yuma: 1500 – 2600 X 1/2 = 200
"This is bad Yuma! Now when it is Girag's turn again, he will automatically win!" Astral said.
"That's why we need to take him out in one shoot! And with 200 Life Points we can summon Utopia Ray and wipe him out!" Yuma said.
"Oh I see! Utopia Ray will have only two Overlay Units, but with Overlay Eater in your hand and that spell, we can take his monster's last Overlay Unit and Utopia Ray will have three! Brilliant Yuma!" Astral said.
Auriana then clapped her hands and turn towards Yuma and Astral. "Very nice strategy you two, but I have a better strategy in mind." She smiled.
"Hang on a sec…" Astral realized she said "two".
Auriana then turn towards Girag. "You know what Girag…" She then smiled big. "I'm surprised that Alito was conscious enough after our, session, to give such a detailed description of me!" She then laughed.
"So you admit that it was you who hurt Alito!" Girag said.
"Of course it was me! And I can assure you, as much pain as he felt, I was experiencing as much pleasure!" She then continued to laugh.
Yuma was in complete horror. His childhood friend was talking like a maniac. "Auriana… what's going on? What's wrong with you?" Yuma asked.
She then turned towards her friend and gave a weak smile. "Sorry Yuma, I do wish I could keep this up, but this charade has run its course…"
"What are you talking about?!" Yuma said, in a state of fear.
"I wish you didn't have to find out mid battle, but the situation demands that I reveal the truth to you." She then put her hand on her Duel Gazer, and crushed it! She then opened up her eye, which turned into a lighter shade of blue and a purple Duel tattoo formed over her eye. Then her bangles glowed and turned to shadow and engulfed the Duel Disk, transforming it into a platinum blade with a purple gem in the center. But what devastated Yuma the most was the crescent moon Crest glowing on her chest.
Yuma was completely stunned. "Astral, that Crest... She must be mind controlled like Devon!"
Astral looked closely at the Crest and gasped. "Yuma, the power emitting from that Crest, it's pure! It's not diluted like Quattro or Trey's Crests, but is the same as the one that controlled Devon! Meaning that she's not being controlled, but rather is the one doing the controlling!" Astral concluded.
"No! NO! NO!" Yuma yelled. "I know Auriana! She not some evil puppet master!"
Auriana turn towards Yuma and exhaled. "You're right Yuma, Auriana wouldn't do the things I do, but I'm not Auriana anymore. My name is Eclipsa." It was faint, but Astral could see a tear falling off her chin, as if she was sad to tell Yuma the truth.
Girag gasped. "Her...her…name…E…Eclipse…aha…" 'That was what Alito said! He was trying to say 'Eclipsa' but passed out right before he said the 'a'!' Girag thought.
Yuma was paralyzed by what just happened, he could ever speak.
Astral on the other hand was not as surprised. While he didn't expect her to be the mastermind behind Devon or the Crests, he knew from the start that she was up to something.
"Now to continue this poor excuse of a Duel!" Eclipsa snapped her fingers and the Graveyard portal opened and Nightmare came out, with its Overlay Units still surrounding it.
"What's going on?!" Girag shouted. "You didn't activate that face down, and its own effects were negated by Giant Red Hand's!"
"Actually, what makes my Nightmare different than other Xyz Monsters is that its ability activates in the Graveyard! See, your Red Hand negated its ability on the field, but it regained this ability when it entered the Graveyard! Now Nightmare can Special Summon any other of my Black Shadow Xyz Monsters and attach its Overlay Units to my new monster! NIGHTMARE MANIFESTATION!" Nightmare's Overlay Units then swirled its horn and then blasted dark energy with the Units swirling it as the energy entered the Xyz portal, not the red one Nightmare come through, but the golden Number portal, which then exploded with energy.
"I XYZ SUMMON THE ALL MIGHTY NUMBER 26: BLACKSHADOW ENCHANTRESS!"
A large silver pentagram with a purple gem in the center spun on the field. The five sides glowed and morphed into a tight black dress with a silver bottom outline, sleeves that stopped at the elbows of the humanoid body by lengthen down do her feet. Her shin was pale, her hair was silver and had three small braids on each side, and one large ponytail braid on the back, and her eyes were fully blue. She had a black staff with a purple orb on the top and a yellow 26 number on the middle of her black dress.
Number 26 Black Shadow Enchantress: Rank 4/DARK/Spellcaster/2400 Atk/1200 Def
"Whoa, she has a Number…" Yuma said weakly.
"And she was able to summon it on her opponent's turn too." Astral said. 'This means she's incredible skilled, and will be very dangerous when we have to face her…' He turned his head towards the horrified Yuma as he thought that last part.
"Now to use the special ability of my Enchantress! By using an Overlay Unit, I can revive any monster from either of our Graveyards onto my field!" Eclipsa said as her monster absorbed an Overlay Unit into its staff orb. "Oh but don't worry boys, there's nothing in either of your Graveyards that I want, so I'll just revive my Nightmare! WICKED REVIVAL!" The orb glowed and blasted a beam of dark light that opened the Grave portal and the winged unicorn flew out, getting a second change.
Nightmare: 2000 Atk
"However, there is a hefty price for this revival ability; I give up my next available Battle Phase each time I use my Enchantress's ability, but it's well worth it." Eclipsa smiled.
"If you're done, I would like to end my turn. But I understand if you want to delay your unavoidable defeat." Girag said that last part with a chuckle in his voice.
But Eclipsa chuckled back. "Oh you think you have me under your thumb." She put her hand on the top card on her deck. "But time for you to witness a true nightmare!" She drew her card, and placed it in her hand and smiled big. "If you think that pathetic Chaos Number of yours is powerful, just wait until you see what I have in store!"
Astral gasped. He remembered the Rank Up Magic card Devon had, the one Eclipsa gave to him.
Eclipsa outstretched her hand towards her hand towards her face down. "I activate my face down; Rank Up Magic Legendary Force!" The card flipped face up and glowed. The card featured a stone slab with four Crests on and fitting together to make a symmetrical diamond, the red sun Crest on top, the yellow Omega Crest on the right, the green feather cluster Crest on the left, and Eclipsa's purple crescent moon Crest on the bottom, and there was writing beside each of the Crests, but the writing was runic in nature.
This surprised everyone, but Astral the most. "That's them! Those are the exact same Crests in my memories!" Astral yelled.
Yuma gasped. "For real Astral?!" Yuma asked.
"No doubt about it Yuma. Those Crests on that card are the same color and fit together the same was as those in my memories!" Astral said. "That means your friend is somehow connected to my past!"
"No…" Yuma said in a low voice. "Not Auriana…"
Eclipsa smiled as her card was activated. "This card takes my Number and Ranks it up by two in a Legendary Number!"
"TWO?!" Everyone yelled.
Eclipsa chuckled. "That's right; two! Now witness this glorious transformation!" Blue flames burst from the card and surrounded Enchantress, then Enchantress was completely encased in the blue flame and then flew up into the air. A portal then opened up, not a cloud like the Chaos Network, but one like Xyz Network, but was neither gold or red but light blue and when the flame coated Enchantress entered it exploded and Eclipsa's Crest glowed vigorously.
"LET THE FLAWES OF THE DIAMOND'S RAGE TRANSFORM INTO A FORCE OF DESTRUCTION! I XYZ SUMMON LEGENENDARY NUMBER 26: BLACK SHADOW MIDNIGHT ENCHANTRESS!
The new monster was even scarier than its previous incarnation. This Enchantress had a sleeveless dress that was flowing at the bottom. Her hands and half way up her arms were black and have veins sprouting out that covered her upper arms, and part of her visible chest was the saw it the black stopping at her neck ant that's where the veins started and they stopped at her cheeks, but one vein branched out over her left eye giving it a scar look, like its owner had over her own eye. Her right eye was blue but her left one was dark red, and her hair was unbraided and flowing down her back. And instead of a staff this Enchantress had a parasol with a silver handle and purple on the top. But the most striking feature was the energy flowing through the metal on the top of the parasol, in the belt on her waste, and in the tears on her dress, it was flowing like Chaos but light blue. And like all Xyz Evolution this new Xyz Monster had one more Overlay Unit than the last one, only these were silver and diamond shaped, had the same blue energy in the center, also diamond shaped, and had a gem on each end, the same color pattern as the one on the card that summoned this monstrosity.
Number L26 Black Shadow Midnight Enchantress: Rank 6/DARK/Spellcaster/2800 Atk/1800 Def
"A 'Legendary Number'?" Girag said. He knew about the Astral World's Rank Up cards, but this was completely different. It was stronger than his Chaos Number, in terms of attack points at least, but she forfeited her Battle Phase and his spell will take her out soon.
Astral was in shock too. He was expecting a Chaos Xyz or Chaos Number but this, this Legendary Number was completely insane!
Yuma was the only one who wasn't freaked out, as his heart and brain had already reached maximum overload.
Eclipsa chuckled. "What do you guys think of this magnificent monster? It's summoned higher than a Chaos Xyz, but is transformed from its old self and not turned into something else entirely!" Eclipsa full out laughed. "Now to use Midnight Enchantress's ability! By using one Legend Unit I can take control on one monster on the field!" One of the Legend Units in front of Midnight Enchantress glowed and went into the top of its parasol.
"OH NO!" Girag said, knowing what she was going to do.
Eclipsa turned towards Yuma. "Hope you don't mind Yuma, but I need Utopia! DARK DESTINY!" Midnight Enchantress pointed its parasol at Utopia and dark tentacles shot out of the tip and grabbed onto Utopia.
"UTOPIA!" Yuma yelled. His monster tried to resist, be Utopia's body began to change. The areas where the tentacles were wrapped darkened and spread, his white turned dark pale and his gold turned black, soon his whole body changed in a darker, eviler version and was pulled over to Eclipsa's field, and made a wicked sound. "Utopia…" Yuma said as his monster went over to the dark side.
Eclipsa chuckled. "And additionally, Utopia also turns into a Dark monster!"
Utopia: DARK Attribute
Girag laughed. "And here I was worried! If you were smart you would have taken control of my Giant Red Hand and then you could have used its ability to negate my Erosion Hand Forest! But now you're doomed to take the 1000 points of damage and lose!"
Eclipsa smiled. "Oh but my Enchantress has another special ability!" Midnight Enchantress took its parasol and lifted it up and the tip glowed, as did all its dark marks. "See, since it has Black Shadow Enchantress as a Legend Unit, and I now have 3 DARK Xyz Monsters, all your cards go bye bye!"
"WHAT?!" Girag said.
"YES! There is nothing you can do!" Dark energy was leaking from the top of Midnight Enchantress's parasol and took the form of a butterfly, the top wings had a pattern like slit eyes and the pattern on the bottom wings were like sharp teeth. "GO MIDNIGHT ANNIHILATION!" The butterfly then flew on its own, and erratically. Whatever the butterfly touched began to melt and leaving behind a purple residue. It melted Girag's face down card, and then went under Giant Red Hand and destroyed it was it made its way up, and then crashed into the top of the Hand Forest and then the whole field melted away.
Everyone was in shock. The ability of Eclipsa's monster had completely cleared the field of everything except her two monsters and the one she stole from Yuma.
"You…you destroyed all my cards… my precious Giant Red Hand… But due to your own monster's effect you can't attack!" Girag said.
Eclipsa sarcastically gasped. "Oh really?" She then picked a card from her hand. "Well then I'll just fix that with Pledge to Blackest Knight!" The spell revealed a treasure chest with black armor in it, and then a ghostly version of black armor manifested on all three of the monsters. "See, since I have my Nightmare and Midnight Enchantress, I can attack this turn regardless! Downside is that at the end of the turn I take the total amount of damage you did from battle!" She then chuckled. "But this Duel will be over before that!"
Girag was freaking out. "NO! NO! NO! I HAVEN'T YET AVENGED ALITO!" Girag yelled.
"Sorry Girag, but my thirst for vengeance trumps yours big time!" She then gestured to her three monsters. "GO; BLACK ENCHANTMENT! NIGHTMARE ASSAULT! AND BLACK SUN SLASH!" Her two own monsters blasted from energy from their horn/parasol, paralyzing Girag, then the dark Utopia drew his sword and slashed down the middle, sealing his fate.
Girag: 4000 – 2000 – 2800 – 2500 = 0 (LOSE)
WINNERS: Yuma and Eclipsa
The three monsters disappeared, but Girag was still in his Barian form and was then approached by Eclipsa, who gave a wicked smiled. Her hand then turned into shadow and she plunged it into Girag's chest, who yelled in agony. When she pulled her hand out, she had the couple of Numbers he collected, and his Barian Number.
Astral and Yuma were in complete horror. "So, she really can remove Barian Numbers…" Astral said.
Eclipsa smiled as her hand returned to normal and the Numbers vanished. "Tell the other Emperors, the Diamonds are coming for them." She snapped her fingers and a portal opened, and Girag was sucked in.
Then the Sphere Field vanished and Eclipsa and Yuma were placed on the ground, and Yuma was still horrified by what happened. "Auriana, what's happened to you?" He asked.
Eclipsa shook her head. "Sorry Yuma, but the Auriana you knew died in that car crash."
"Yuma, what is she talking about?" Astral said.
"Oh, he doesn't know?" Eclipsa said. Astral then looked at her, and she smiled. "Oh of course I can see you! But he really doesn't know?"
Astral turned to Yuma, who sighed. "Four years ago, there was a catastrophe in the city. A large and sudden earthquake happened, and it killed a lot of people. Auriana and her family were driving on a highway when it hit, and fell a great distance." Yuma began to tear up.
Eclipsa sighed. "My sister dragged me out the car it exploded, and when it did a shark of glass from the window embedded in my face, blinding me." She lifted her hair up and showed her scar. "Afterwards I was shipped away to my European relatives, and then Rosella, my older sister, disappeared." She then started to cry. "I was left all alone. My relatives just shipped me away to some boarding school as soon I arrived there! The basically just threw me away! And it was because of Barian and Astral World's war!" She yelled.
"How is our war responsible for the loss of your family?" Astral said.
She then made a chuckle. "Barian World launched a massive attack on Astral World, so large that it sent shock waves into this world, causing the earthquake that left me an orphan!" She yelled.
"Hey, I lost my parents too okay?!" Yuma said as he got angry.
"Yeah, you lost your father first then your mother! But you still had your sister and your grandmother took you in! You didn't even have to move! I had to move half way across the world and was basically abandoned by my family! They didn't send me away for a better education! It was because they hated me because they my father because he left them form my mother!" She then pulled her self together. "A year ago we learned the truth, that we lost everything because of the war!" Eclipsa said.
"Wait, who's 'we'?" Yuma asked.
"We are a group who's lost everything we had to the war between Barian and Astral World! We call ourselves 'The Diamonds!' We were forged under pressure, we cut through everything, and are unbreakable!" Eclipsa then looked dead straight at Astral. "And it is our mission to destroy Astral and Barian World!" She said.
Astral and Yuma gasped. "You want to destroy BOTH Worlds?!" Yuma yelled.
"Yes. Both worlds are equally guilty. Their war has caused countless human casualties! And not just from the Heartland Shake, but in the centuries up centuries that their war has gone on, countless humans, innocent humans, have been lost to this war. They dragged us into this!"
"But what about Devon Knox?! I pretty sure he didn't want to be brain washed!" Yuma said.
"That's different than what the Barians did with their Rank Up Magic card! Devon wanted to do something against Duelists who cheated and bullied others, so I gave him the power do something about it. And in exchange for that Crest and card, he would also hunt Numbers for me. But when he lost I revoked his power, he was a Pawn, so he was insignificant!" Eclipsa explained.
"But he had no memory of what happened to him! And what about Quattro and Trey?! They have Crests too, but are different." Yuma said.
"They have their own Crests and goals, but they collect Numbers for us. I won't ruin the surprise of how many of us there are." Eclipsa smiled.
"Let me guess, there are four Diamonds, one for each of those Crests on the card of yours…" Astral said.
"Very good. But Yuma, the real reason I approached you was because I wanted to make an offer." Eclipsa said.
"An offer?" Yuma said.
"Yes. It's not your fault that you got dragged into this war, I didn't have a choice, but you do!" Eclipsa said. "Tomorrow, sunset, met me at warehouse 14 by the docks. Come to me with your decision…"
"What decision?" Yuma asked, not liking where this was heading.
"Your decision to give me all the Numbers you and Astral collected."
"WHAT?!" Yuma and Astral said.
"If you do, you won't have to face Kite, the Barians, or any of the other Diamonds! You'll be free!" Eclipsa said.
"But what about Astral?" Yuma said, gripping on his key.
"He'll no longer be a problem for you."
"What?! But Astral…" Yuma looked at his friend.
"I'll give you till sundown tomorrow to think it over." Eclipsa then turned around. "I wish you didn't have to find out the way you did, but I'm kind of glade you did. That way, you know what's coming for you if you chose to go against us." She spanned her fingers and a portal opened. "I hope you make the right choice Yuma." She then walked through and vanished.
"Auriana!" Yuma reached his hand out, but the portal closed, and his friend was gone.
Fanfic Cards:
Black Shadow Knight: Level 4/DARK/Warrior/1600 Atk/1200 Def
When this card is Summoned you can add 1 "Black Shadow" monster, except "Black Shadow Knight", from your deck to your hand.
Black Shadow Luna: Level 4/DARK/Spellcaster/1500 Atk/400 Def
If you control a "Black Shadow" monster, you can Special Summon this card from your hand.
Black Shadow Nightmare: Rank 4/DARK/Beast/2000 Atk/1500 Def
2 Level 4 "Black Shadow" Monsters
If this card is destroyed by battle or by an opponent's card effect, you can Special Summon 1 "Black Shadow" Xyz Monster from your Extra Deck, except "Black Shadow Nightmare", and attach all the Xyz Materials this card had when it was destroyed to the Summoned monster as Xyz Material. You can only use the effect of "Black Shadow Nightmare" once per turn.
Number 26 Black Shadow Enchantress: Rank 4/DARK/Spellcaster/2400 Atk/1200 Def
2 Level 4 DARK Monsters
Once per turn, during either player's turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, Special Summon 1 monster from either player's Graveyard onto your field. Skip each of your next available Battle Phases each time you use this ability.
Number L26 Black Shadow Midnight Enchantress: Rank 6/DARK/Spellcaster/2800 Atk/1800 Def
3 Level 6 DARK Monsters
Once per turn you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card and take control of your opponent controls, it also becomes a DARK monster. If this card has "Number 26 Black Shadow Enchantress" as Xyz Material, it gains this effect:
•If you control 3 or DARK Xyz Monsters, you can destroy all cards in your opponent's controls. You can only use this effect once per Duel.
Rank Up Magic Legendary Force: Normal Spell
Target 1 "Number" Xyz Monster you control, except a "Number L" monster: Special Summon from your Extra Deck, 1 "Number L" monster that is 2 Ranks higher than the monster you control, by using it as Xyz Material. (This Special Summon is treated as an Xyz Summon.) Xyz Materials attached to that target also become Xyz Materials on the Summoned monster.
Pledge to Blackest Knight: Normal Spell
If you at least 2 "Black Shadow" monsters on your field, negate any effects that prevents you from conducting your Battle Phase or attacking, you can attack regardless of any previously activated effects. At the end of the turn you take damage equal to the amount of Battle Damage your opponent took this turn.
Shadow Blast: Normal Spell
When you have at least 2 "Black Shadow" monsters on your field, destroy 1 monster your opponent controls.
Shadow Pendant: Equip Spell
Equip only to a "Black Shadow" monster. The equipped monster gains 1000 attack points.
Hand Burn: Quick-Play Spell
When your opponent takes damage from a "Hand" monster, your opponent takes half that monster's attack points as damage.
Shadow Shield: Normal Trap
Once per turn you can prevent 1 "Black Shadow" monster from being destroyed. When this set card is destroyed, until the end of your next turn, none of your "Black Shadow" monsters can be destroyed.
Author's Notes:
I bet NOBODY saw that coming. See, when I first published this story there were 13 or so Number cards that were unnamed, and those cards would be my fan Numbers! But over the course of these years all Numbers have now been named. Upside to that is a couple of them are better than what I had in mind, and now that all have official names are given, I can us and Number I want as a fan Number, taking away some of the predictability. The Diamonds will cause quite a bit of trouble for not just Yuma and Astral, but the Barians and Kite as well! Tune in next time to witness a battle you won't think would be possible!