Vetrix was watching cartoons in his lair when Trey walked in.
Vetrix: So Trey, Quinton tells me you want to meet with Yuma Tsukomo.
Trey: I do. I have questions. He was the reason Quattro and I lost our duel. I want to know where he learned to duel with such intensity, and what the source of his power is. I won't rest until I discover the truth for myself.
Vetrix: Alright Trey.
Trey: I can really go?
Vetrix: Since you find Yuma so intriguing, I encourage it.
Trey nodded and left.
Vetrix: Speaking of intriguing duelists, have you found out anything about Troy?
Quinton: Yes, I was able to hack into the Heartland Security network, and I uncovered some rather interesting information about Troy.
He pulled out a tablet and handed it to Vetrix.
Vetrix: This is all very interesting. And it appears Dr Faker is as arrogant as ever, thinking that no one could be smart enough to hack into his system. Well done, Quinton.
Quinton: Thank you, sir.
Vetrix: Well, it certainly looks like Troy has had an interesting past. And I see he has a sister. I'd like to know more about her as well and see if I can use her to find out more about Troy.
Quinton: I will see to it immediately.
Vetrix: No. This is something I'll do myself.
Quinton: Are you certain?
Vetrix: Indeed. After all, I just love meeting new people.
Meanwhile, Troy and Yuma were both in a rush trying to find an opponent to beat in order to collect their last Heart Piece in order to enter the finals.
Troy: Crap, if I don't find someone soon, I won't be able to advance to the finals.
He was so distracted, he crashed into someone and landed flat on his back.
Troy: Ow. Sorry.
He looked at who he ran into, only to see someone he recognized from school.
Troy: Maria?
Maria: Troy, are you alright?
She stood up and helped Troy to his feet.
Troy: Yeah, sorry I crashed into you.
Maria: It's fine. Hey, so I heard you and Yuma were competing in the Duel Carnival. I'm also competing, and I only need two more pieces to enter the finals, see?
Troy looked at it and realized that one of her pieces was just what he needed to complete his and make it into the finals.
Troy: How about we duel? I only need one more piece, and one of yours will help me complete it.
Maria: Sounds like a deal.
Little did they know that Vetrix was watching them from a nearby rooftop.
Vetrix: This duel will allow me to learn more about Troy.
Augmented Reality Vision Link Established
Both: Let's duel!
Troy: 4000 LP
Maria: 4000 LP
Maria: I'll go first, and I play the Extra Foolish Burial spell card. By paying half my life points, I can send a monster from my extra deck to my graveyard, and I choose my Number 76: Harmonizer Gradielle.
Maria: 2000 LP
Troy: If she has a number, why would she send it to the graveyard? What is she planning?
Maria: Next I play the Supremacy Berry spell card, so since I have less life points than you, I gain 2000 life points to help even the score.
96: A most peculiar strategy indeed. She gave up a large amount of life points to send her number to the grave, even though she did use another card to regain the life she lost.
Troy: Yeah, something tells me I'd better stay on guard.
Maria: Now I play the spell card Left Arm Offering, so by sending my entire hand to the graveyard, I can add a spell card from my deck to my hand.
Troy: She must be going after a strong spell card to be giving up her entire hand for it.
96: Are you scared?
Troy: No way.
Maria: I add the spell Re-Xyz to my hand, which I'll now activate. This card lets me choose an xyz monster in my graveyard and xyz summon it by using the monsters in my graveyard as xyz material.
Troy: So that's why you sent your number to the graveyard.
Maria: Yep, so from my graveyard, I overlay my level 7 Puppet King and Darkblaze Dragon. With these two monsters, I build the overlay network, and xyz summon! Come forth, Number 76: Harmonizer Gradielle!
Rank 7/Light/Fairy
ATK 2700/DEF 2100
Troy: So that's your number?
Maria: Yep. And due to her special ability, her attribute is also treated as the attributes of the monsters acting as her overlay units, so since Puppet King is earth and Darkblaze is fire, she also becomes those attributes. In addition, she can't be destroyed by battle with or by the effects of monsters that have the same attribute as her, and once a turn during either of our turns, I can replace one of her overlay units with a monster in your graveyard.
Troy: I see. That's truly an impressive monster.
Maria: Thank you. I end my turn, so show me what you can do.
Vetrix: This girl has backed Troy into a corner. Let's see if you can get yourself out of it Troy.
Troy: My move, I draw. And I play the spell Card of Adversity, so since I control no monsters and you control a special summoned monster, I can draw 2 cards.
96: You have to draw those cards if you want to win.
Troy: I'm aware, now be quiet and let me duel in peace please.
96 just shrugged and continued watching. Troy drew his cards and could barely contain his excitement when he saw them.
Troy: Alright! I play the spell card Forced Release. This will remove all the overlay units from your monster.
Maria: What?!
Troy: Now that you can't steal the monsters from my graveyard, I summon Malicevorous Spoon in attack mode.
Level 2/Dark/Fiend
ATK 100/DEF 500
Troy: Next, by sending Malicevorous Knife from my hand to the grave, Malicevorous Fork can be special summoned.
Level 2/Dark/Fiend
ATK & DEF 400
Troy: And now the effect of Malicevorous Spoon activates. When another Malicevorous monster is summoned while I control this one, I can summon a level 2 fiend type monster from my graveyard, so be reborn, Malicevorous Knife!
Level 2/Dark/Fiend
ATK 600/DEF 100
Maria: Three monsters at once?!
Troy: Indeed, and now that my Malicevorous trio has been assembled, the table is set for your defeat. I overlay level 2 Malicevorous Spoon, Knife, and Fork. With these three monsters, I build the overlay network and xyz summon. Come forth, the envoy of pitch-black darkness, Number 96: Dark Mist!
Rank 2/Dark/Fiend
ATK 100/DEF 1000
Maria: All that for a monster with only 100 attack points?
Troy: Don't let his appearance deceive you, as he has a pretty powerful special ability, but more on that later. I play the Leeching the Light spell card, so since your Harmonizer Gradielle is a light attribute monster, Dark Mist gains attack points equal to hers.
Dark Mist: 100-2800 ATK
Maria: Not good.
Troy: And it's about to get worse. I play the Oni-Gami Combo spell card, so by sending all of Dark Mist's overlay units to the graveyard, he can attack twice this turn.
96: Why did you do that Troy? Dark Mist could've used its ability to take half her monster's attack points and raised its attack points significantly. You could've then used that spell next turn to end the duel.
Troy: Because I plan to end the duel this turn. I play the Overlay Rebirth spell card, so now the Malicevorous Fork and Knife in my graveyard return to being overlay units for Dark Mist.
Maria: Impressive, you allowed your monster to attack twice, and then restored its overlay units.
Troy: Thanks. Now Dark Mist, attack Gradielle with Black Mirage Whip! At this moment, I activate Dark Mist's special ability. By using one overlay unit, half of your monster's attack points are taken away and given to Dark Mist. Go, Shadow Gain!
Dark Mist: 2800-4150 ATK
Harmonizer: 2700-1350 ATK
Maria: I activate the effect of Bacon Saver in my graveyard! By banishing it, my monster won't be destroyed by this battle, and I take no damage!
Troy: An impressive counter, if I hadn't played Oni-Gami Combo that is. Don't forget, Dark Mist can attack twice this turn.
Maria: I'm aware, but even if you attack, I'll still have life points left.
Troy: Let's test that theory. Dark Mist, attack again! And now I activate his special ability. Shadow Gain!
Maria: What?! It can use its ability more than once a turn?
Troy: Dark Mist's special ability can be activated every time he engages in a battle. Now, drain her monster's power.
Dark Mist: 4150-4825 ATK
Harmonizer: 1350-675 ATK
Maria: No way!
Troy: I'm afraid so. Dark Mist, end this duel with Black Mirage Whip!
Dark Mist shredded Gradielle with its claws, causing Maria to fall on her back.
Maria: 0 LP
Winner: Troy
Troy: Are you okay?
Maria: I'm okay. You beat me fair and square. My Heart Piece is yours, and I want you to take this as well.
She handed Troy both her Heart Piece and her number card.
Troy: Thank you. But how did you get a number card?
Maria: I just found it one day. It was kinda like it called out to me, you know?
Troy: Yeah, I know the feeling.
Maria: Hey, would you wanna walk with me for a little while?
Troy: Um, sure.
Vetrix: Well, that was an impressive victory indeed Troy. And seeing as you're busy, I think now would be a perfect time to pay a visit to your sister.
He entered one of his portals and came out the other end inside Troy's house.
Vetrix: So this is Troy's home? His sister must still be at work. This must be a picture of his family.
It showed a much younger Troy, maybe 5 years old, a girl who Vetrix assumed was his sister, and a man and woman who he could only assume were their deceased parents. He then heard the door open and saw Troy's sister Emma walk in.
Emma: You here Troy? I got to leave work early today, so I thought we could hang out a bit.
Her eyes landed on Vetrix and she pulled a taser from her handbag.
Emma: Who are you and what are you doing in my house?
Vetrix: You could say that I'm an associate of your brother Troy. I wanted to meet you and get to know more about you and your brother. He tells me you're a skilled duelist, so why not duel me?
Emma: Uh, sure.
They went outside and began to duel each other. Across town, Trey had just snuck into Yuma's room and found the picture of his mom and dad. He looked around the room and was amazed by all the artifacts Yuma's father had collected over the years.
Haru: Who are you?
Yuma: Will someone please duel me?
He got a call on his duel gazer. He answered the call and saw that it was his grandmother calling.
Yuma: Is something wrong grandma?
Haru: Your friend is here.
He rushed home and when got to his room, he received quite a scare as Trey was wearing one of the masks his father had collected.
Trey: Yuma, it is fate. Fate that brought me to your house. Otherwise, I never would've seen all these awesome artifacts. You've got Aztec masks, Paleolithic tools, and is that a royal Incan necklace? Sorry for geeking out, but this collection is incredible. It's just like the stuff in my favorite cards, see?
Yuma: Isn't that an Aztec Mask Golem?
Trey: Yeah, it's cool, isn't it? This is one of the first cards I collected for my Chronomaly deck. They're mysterious artifacts that could link this world to other dimensions. This world is part of a multi-dimensional matrix, and Chronomalies may have come here from another dimension. My father was a researcher, and he taught me about it.
Yuma: Awesome. My dad was into that kind of stuff too. He'd go on expeditions and always bring things back.
Trey: It sounds like he was someone who loved adventure.
Yuma: Yeah. Wait, we have more important things to talk about, like what you guys did to Hart.
Trey: I know, and I'm truly very sorry for what happened.
Yuma: You mean that?
Trey: I do, but I did what I had to. I guess I figured the best way to duel was to tap into the anger I had in my heart, but then I saw how you duel, and I realized there might be a better way. What's your secret? I've seen how unselfish you can be when you duel. Is that the source of the power you have?
Yuma: What do you mean?
Trey: The way you duel is unlike anything I've ever seen. It's like you're dueling with all your heart, and nothing can stop you.
Yuma: Well, I duel that way because, well, it's the only way I know how to duel. I just always try to high-five the sky.
Trey: High-five the sky?
Yuma: Yep. When I was small, my father told me to never give up or stop trying. To feel the flow and go for it.
Trey: That's awesome advice.
Kari: Hey Yuma, lunch is ready. You're both welcome to join us.
They all headed down to the kitchen and began to eat.
Lillybot: Tea is ready. Drink it slowly this time Yuma.
Yuma: I know how to drink tea.
He raised the glass to his mouth, only to immediately burn his tongue.
Yuma: Why didn't you warn me it was hot!
Trey couldn't but utter a small laugh from Yuma's antics.
Yuma: I don't see what's so funny Trey.
Kari: You're right, the way you eat isn't funny, it's disgusting.
Yuma: I can't help it if I'm in a rush, it's an emergency. I've gotta get in another duel, or I won't be able to advance to the finals.
He held his cards up, only for Kari to promptly to take them away.
Kari: No cards at the kitchen table, got it?
Yuma: I was just showing you. Come on, give 'em back sis.
Kari: You'll get them back when we're all done.
Seeing the interaction between the two of them reminded Trey of how he and his brothers had been years ago when they were still young, the memories causing him to cry.
Yuma: What's wrong?
Trey: Please excuse me, I need to leave. I'm sorry Yuma, but I know what I have to do.
After running for a bit, Yuma managed to catch up to Trey.
Yuma: Trey, what's going on?
Trey: After spending time with you, I think I understand now Yuma. It's your family. They're the source of your power. It's not the same with me. My family is different than yours. It wasn't always the way it was now. We used to be happy like you and your family. The day we swore to get revenge on our enemies, everything changed, and it was like we became different people. Maybe once we get our revenge, then everything can go back to normal for us. You're in our way, and we can't get our revenge if you keep getting in our way. I will find a way to beat you Yuma. For the sake of my family, I must.
Yuma: You're wrong Trey. Revenge isn't the answer, it'll destroy you and your family.
Trey: I have to stay loyal to my family.
Yuma: But Trey.
Trey: I'll do whatever I have to Yuma. We'll settle this tonight. Meet me at this location.
He threw Yuma a small device with a screen, showing a roadway that was under construction in the bay.
Astral: He wants to duel you there?
Yuma: Looks like it.
Trey: See you around.
Across town, Troy was walking with Maria, and they had learned a fair amount about each other. Maria wanted to become a singer one day, which would explain why Harmonizer Gradielle didn't have much of an effect on her.
Troy: I'm sorry I knocked you out of the tournament.
Maria: Hey, you won that duel fair and square. Just promise me you'll do your best, and put my card to good use in the tournament, okay?
Troy: I promise.
They were interrupted by the sound of an explosion. Troy looked up and saw that the origin was near his house.
Troy: No!
Maria: Troy, wait up!
Troy arrived and saw his house was fine, but the same couldn't be said for his sister. She was leaning against the house unconscious wearing her duel disk and duel gazer, and she was bleeding somewhat from the left side of her forehead. Troy looked over and saw what looked like a child wearing a metal mask.
Vetrix: Well, it's nice to finally meet you Troy. I learned a lot about you from your sister here.
Troy: What did you do to her?!
Vetrix: We had a little duel is all. Although I'm afraid she suffered the same fate as everyone who duels and loses to your friend Kite.
Troy: You took my sister's soul?
Vetrix: Not just her soul, her memories as well. You must be feeling awful, especially since this isn't the first time you've caused harm to your family, right Troy?
Troy: I'll destroy you!
He ran up to Vetrix and swung his fist in an attempt to punch him, but Vetrix disappeared, causing Troy to fall flat on his face.
Vetrix: Temper temper. If you want to help your sister, make sure you make it to the finals. I'll be waiting for you there. And by the way, call me Vetrix.
He disappeared through one of his portals. Troy ran over to his sister and tried anything he could to get her to wake up.
Troy: Emma please. I already lost mom and dad, I can't lose you too.
Maria arrived and found Troy crying next to his sister. She pulled out her phone and called 911. An ambulance arrived shortly and took Emma to the hospital. Vetrix returned to his lair and was met by Quinton.
Quinton: I assume everything went as planned?
Vetrix: Indeed. Now I know everything I need to know about Troy, as well as giving him motivation to fight as hard as possible in the tournament.
Just then, Trey returned.
Vetrix: Welcome home Trey. I trust your trip was a success?
Trey: Yes, I suppose.
Vetrix: You don't have to tell me anything. You're hungry for power, aren't you? The power that can crush Yuma Tsukomo.
Trey: I am.
In Yuma's room, he was thinking about what Trey said.
Astral: Yuma, I do not trust that boy. I advise you not to meet with Trey.
Yuma: I have to go. Trey's better than he pretends. I have to try and help him, and in order to do that, I have to duel him.
Hey everyone. So, a couple of things. One, I'm skipping Yuma's duel with Trey. Two, I'm going to be focusing on my upload for my GX series for a little while. I write when I can and when I do write, I focus on whichever series I feel like at the time, and as a result, I've got a handful of chapters for my GX series ready to upload, while this series doesn't have many chapters ready. I'm going to keep writing for this series and circle back to it eventually, so please be patient.