The twins were ten now despite being a baby on his last visit. ( What day was it? Had it already been past his birthday?). Also Mrs. Wanda had a brother.

He was supposed to help Mr. Pietro look after the twin but as the evening went on it felt like he was looking after three kids instead of two. Still, Eli resigned to his fate and cooked something for the four of them.

"Whatcha making?" Tommy asked, hand reaching out for the fries. "Woah, what are those?"

" Hamburg Steaks," Eli replied as he added ketchup in the sauce. "It's very popular in Japan."

"Are you from Japan? Is that why your hair is so weird?" Tommy said with a mouthful of fries.

"My hair is not weird," Eli protested( and Yuma added). "It's perfectly normal where I came from."

"So where did you come from?" Tommy asked once more.

Eli paused, and with great difficulty he pushed the answer out of his mouth. "Heartland City."

"Heartland City? Where's tha-"

"Hey little dude, is dinner ready cuz' I'm starving!" Mr. Pietro called out.

"It's done!" Eli yelled back. "Just need to set the table."

He then turned to Tommy. "Why don't you go help your uncle? I'll let you get an extra scoop of ice cream for dessert."

" Can you tell me more about Heartland City?" The boy asked and involuntarily Eli tilted his head.

"What's that kiddo?"

Auntie Agnes was there when he woke up this time, smiling down at him ( it sent chills down his back).

"Rise and shine, sweetie. It's Halloween today!" She placed neatly folded clothing on his chair. "I even got your costume ready, hurry and put it on. You're gonna help Auntie puts up the decoration then we'll have breakfast at the Maximoff. Isn't that nice?"

(Against his will) Eli smiled back at her. " Sounds great, Auntie Agnes."

(It was harder to stand the pain with each step closer to the Maximoff household)

They had omelette that morning, (It would be nice if he could taste the thing). He got exactly two bites in before Tommy and Billy swarmed him.

"Eli, Eli, Eli! Play with us!" Tommy tucked at his sleeve. "Teach us how to play Duel Monster!"

Billy nodded along with his brother. "Please ?"

(And though it hurts, god, it hurts.) " Absolutely." He reached for a deck of cards that was not there. " Give me one sec."

The suffocating Chaos tried to get him to play his role but Yuma put all of his mind to dueling. Dueling was Yuma's life, through it he'd grow, through it he'd form bonds with so many people. Dueling was his dream. (But it was not his hope, Yuma was too selfish to place it in only dueling.)

Yuma didn't think, he acted, calling out for his cards and they came flying to the palm of his hand. He didn't care for the look that the adults were giving and kept his mind on dueling, on that joy that he had dueling ( with his friends, with Astral)

" Come on, I'll show you." He moved to the counter and gestured for the boy to follow.

"How are you doing that?" Wanda asked.

" I don't know," Yuma answered automatically, red and purple power still residing over him. "Might be because of that time I made a deal with a demon door ."

" You what?" Vision said in great concern.

" Who cares? Mom does stuff like that everyday" Tommy jumped up and down. "Duel monster now, please!"

" Okay so, This is a spell card." He pulled out 'Double or Nothing'. "This is a trap card" Here ' Halfway to Forever'. "And these are monster cards." It was no surprise to him that Gagaga Magician and Pinecono.

The boys ooh and ahh as they looked at the cards, however, Billy's eyes wandered over to his extra deck.

"What about those?" He pointed at the black cards. "They look like monster cards but how come the stars' symbols are black."

" Eli, maybe you should-"

" They're monsters from another dimension." He told the boy as red flooded his vision. Still, Yuma refused to yield. He was so close to being free. "When two or more monsters of the same level come together. They can overlay with each other to form…."

(He could remember overlaying with Astral. That incredible sensation of being together, how it eased away his loneliness, how it made him feel complete. Zexal was….)

"...A miracle."

Wand placed a hand on his shoulder as barely visible purple mist swirled around him. "Eli," Wanda began.

"Yuma." He corrected her with an accented voice. " My name is Tsukumo Yuma."

He turned to Agnes. "I do not have an aunt." Then Vision. "I don't live in Westview."

For once he could think clearly. " And my English is definitely not this good. How did I get here?"

Finally he turned to look at Wanda. " What happened to you? "

Everyone paused for a moment, before Pietro stepped between him and Wanda. "I think you're confused, little dude."

"No, I'm not." Yuma shook his head. " For days, all I could feel was grief while my body went on autopilot. Please," Yuma turned his red eyes to Wanda. " you're hurt. I just want to help."

Wanda's face was rigid. " I think it's time for you to leave."

" Please Wanda you're hu-"

" I said leave!"

Red mist hit him right in the stomach, sending him flying. All of Wanda's pain and memories poured into him forcing Yuma to experience everything she had been to all the while making him feel like he was hit by a firetruck.

As darkness took him the last thing he heard was.

"Didn't see that coming."