Yu-Gi-Oh! ASPECT (Arc 1): Desire of the Duelist

by D'Sceptre Inc

Akaine. Percy. Save. Evy. Ceren. Tidus. These are the stories of the disgruntled and forsaken across three timelines make famous by three card-playing champions, and what they do when their grievances force them to measure up against their heroes. These are the voyages of the ASPECT.

6. Percy Shaddeus Prologue: Gold Standard

D'Sceptre Inc. here, creator of Yu-Gi-Oh! ASPECT and Desire of the Duelist, both of which coming at you with more twists and turns than a Candyland game being played on a merry-go-round.

We're gonna be taking a deep dive into one of the ASPECT's main characters here. Fair warning, this chapter's made for the non-Dystopia-centered events to be read top-to bottom, while the Dystopia-entering moment onwards-starting at the end of this chapter-is meant to be read bottom-to-top. Cool? Cool. Don't worry, it'll be great, the context helps with the final scene so much.

ANNNND AWAY WE GO WITH GOLD STANDARD!

---

NUMBER TIMELINE/HEARTLAND CITY/3 DAYS BEFORE JOINING THE ASPECT, HAND OF MIDAS CHARITY BUILDING

"This Duel'll be over in a flash! And considering who's come along to watch, there'll be plenty!"

Devon Knox's eyebrows lifted at the claim of the youth before him, Percy Shaddeus. "Perhaps," he answered airily to both musings. "But you'll need all you've got to get my fans on your side, and you'll need more than what you've got to survive my monsters' broadside!"

Devon then took another triumphant look at the field between them-a Number 59: Crooked Cook was busy shooting his flame jets to either side of the field, and Devon had 2400 Life Points to his name. Percy, however, had only 400 Life Points, 'Havenn the Harpsichord', and a thick curtain of sweat. This was due to a failed attempt to use Radiant Mirror Force on the FIRE Warrior when it attacked his other Xyz in 'Artifact Durendal'.

That tactic that had fallen short of targets as Devon triggered his Cook's special ability to chew through his other three monsters for a nine-hundred point boost that guaranteed the demise of his weapon-like Fairy Xyz. It also allowed his two destroyed 'Centauraffes' to replace themselves with 'Coach Soldier Wolfbark' and 'Coach Captain Bearman'. Only the Beast-Warriors being in Defense Position had saved Percy from further pain. [Centauraffe/FIRE/Beast-Warrior/Level 2/0 ATK/0 DEF] [Coach Soldier Wolfbark/FIRE/Beast-Warrior/Level 4/1600 ATK/1200 DEF] [Coach Captain Bearman/FIRE/Beast-Warrior/Level 8/2600 ATK/2700 DEF]

Devon had workarounds, though. After all, while he'd never miss out on workouts to present to his fans…

…like the ones crowded in front the HAND OF MIDAS arch between the stone wall and the towering Victorian mini-castle it framed…

…it was beginning to look a lot like cheat day.

"This one's for all of you who came to see how Devon 'Knox' the socks off his foes!" Hitting a switch on his D-Pad, the celebrity called out once more. "It's time for the ability of the 'Centauraffe' in my Graveyard to shine! Since there are three of them there now, I can banish one to Special Summon another to my field, make every monster I control Level Eight, and bring out an Xyz Monster on the spot! Go, Overlay Network, and get the lead out for…."

With a vicious flash, the three Beast-Warriors turned into red ribbons of light, swam into the nebula nearly touched by the Hand of Midas building, and bathed the field in blinding white.

"…the Rank Eight 'Coach King Giantrainer'!"

Wielding two batons as long as the building to the two duelists' sides was tall, the Rank Eight FIRE monster stormed out, its very footprints nearly causing tremors in the crowded courtyard. However, the vibrations were almost matched in ferocity from the squeals and shouts of the fans-there to see Devon Knox's premiere Dueling prowess in action. [FIRE/Warrior/Xyz/Rank 8/2800 ATK/2000 DEF]

Percy whistled in admiration. "Sure does look like it'll pack a punch, yeah?"

"Of course, man!" Devon proclaimed. "A pity it'll have to be on an Xyz so captivating as Havenn, though."

"I think so too! How about we change that up, then?" Percy revealed of the last two remaining cards in his hand. "My last Set card is 'DNA Surgery', to turn every monster on this field into a Fairy, followed up with the special ability of my 'Type Rioter' in my Graveyard! With its departure and every monster on the field being of the same Type or Attribute-there being three or more-the Phase being conducted ends on the spot!" A Level Three Fairy immediately sprang to the field, stared down the incoming Giantrainer, and with a curl of its sidearm rippled out a sound-barrier-breaking echo that flashed the duel forward, with Giantrainer back at proper stance like nothing had happened. The Type-Rioter vanished too. [LIGHT/Fairy/Level 2/150 ATK/1500 DEF]

Attack halted, Devon gave a grin. "And wouldn't you know, my fast and furious Battle Phase means that I can't follow up with Giantrainer's effect this turn! Guess it's up to you to make the next one count!"

"Guess it is…" Percy warily looked at his Deck, drew once, and finally gave a triumphant grin. "Guess I'm gonna have to send these people home hungry….for a new top celebrity! First, I call on Havenn's special ability, and detach a material to turn YOUR Fairy-merged Giantrainer into another Fairy Xyz-in this case, the Rank Five 'Tiras, Keeper of Genesis'!" The all-too-familiar starry sky lit up again with the plasma-turned skylight that was once Devon's chief Xyz Monster, a column of light lost among the stars. A powerful creature with shining bright wings took the place of the Beast-Warrior Xyz, and stood ready against Havenn.[LIGHT/Fairy/Xyz/Rank 5/2600 ATK/1700 DEF]

Devon stuttered. "W-what?! But I know about what Tiras is-you could have turned your Havenn into that, destroyed my Cook and used Tiras' effect to take down Giantrainer! Why this?"

"Oh, that Cook's going down regardless." Percy's smile only grew. "But powerful as that would have been, that wouldn't have ended the Duel this turn. You'd still have 2100 Life Points and a Tireless Centauraffe in the Graveyard to repeat the Summon of your Xyz and end me."

Percy's smile dropped like quicksilver. "And this new Fairy you have is LIGHT-which means I have my opening to take you down in flames right now! I switch my Havenn the Harpsichord to Attack Mode, and Normal Summon the 'Power Angel Valkyria'!" Another flash and the purple-haired Fairy was at the ready, javelin gripped tightly in its right hand and shield casting a vicious glare on the Crooked Cook, who stopped its simmering dish to cover its eyes. [LIGHT/Fairy/Level 4/1800 ATK/1050 DEF]

"And finally, I activate the Spell, 'Leeching the Light'! Since you've got a LIGHT monster on the field, every monster I control gains its ATK-a whopping twenty-six hundred!" With the activation of the Normal Spell, Havenn and the Valkyria raised their weapons and prepared to drain the radiance from the LIGHT Xyz.

Devon would have none of it though. "Good luck triggering that with no LIGHT target! I activate my Crooked Cook's ability, removing an Overlay Unit to destroy that Tiras and give the Cook three hundred more Attack Points!" And with a wink, Number 59 turned its flame jets to the ground and surrounded itself and its fellow Xyz in a field of flames, causing the crowd to shield their eyes as it had done a moment ago.

When the flames cleared, however, Tiras still stood-and its light was being sapped from its very wings while the Power Angel and Havenn cried out in overcharged overtures. [Havenn's ATK: 1500-3100] [Power Angel Valkyria's ATK: 1800-4400]

Then Devon realized what Percy was truly aiming to do.

"Oh no…."

"You said it yourself, Devon. You know all about what Tiras is-including its inability to be destroyed while it's got Overlay Units." Percy looked wistfully at the still-intact Fairy Xyz, and his two super-powered Fairies. "Now Havenn, take down that Number with your Havenn's Wrath attack!" One charge of the phantasmal steed that guided Havenn later, and Number 59 was dust in their wake, Devon's Life Points knocked down to a waning 1600.

"And now Power Angel, finish this-strike down Tiras with your Power Angel Pike!" Valkyria took to the air, shelved her shield at her back, extended one of her arms with her thumb and index out to align her shot…and fired a beam of light from her long-arm into the chest of the Keeper of Genesis.

Its explosion destroyed the LIGHT Xyz-and the eighteen hundred points of damage Devon took destroyed his hopes of winning the exhibition Duel, as his Life Points sank to 0.

Still coughing from the wake Valkyria's assault left on the courtyard, Devon's left hand waved to disperse of the dust-only for Percy to grab his wrist a second later. With the pregnant pause of their gathered crowd, Devon could only watch as Percy thrust up his hand and let the baying cries of the crowd show Devon that he had not been passed up as a celebrity this day.

Turning back to stroll back into the Hand of Midas HQ, Devon stopped Percy this time. "Hey, guess you were right back there. Most of the time I had that Number in the training we had before this, all I could think about was seeing the opponent burn. Then you show up and…"

Percy shook his head. "Father Maeda said I've got that influence on the chaotic. Think it's hokum, but you kept it together out there. Happy to help out with that Duel…and I can only hope my finals to get into the Heartland elite go so swimmingly."

"Yeah…and speaking of fathers…." Noticing the darker look that crossed Percy's face-one that had nothing to do with the shadow the building had cast over half of it-Devon pressed on. "I won't push, but…your state of mind with your actual one's mellowed out, right? That was….part of the reason I agreed to pop over her-"

Percy stopped him with another hand-this one held out between them, fingers stock-straight. "Don't, I know you don't do pity Duels. But…yeah, he seems to be weaned off the anger he had at everyone at his jo…He's changed, for the better, and being away from his restaurant's done wonders. I don't hold it against any of them now, though. Life's too short to be a zealot."

The LIGHT Duelist turned to look up at the building, the rotting foundation of the spires and peeling paint around the windows now his focus.

"And my life, between trying to keep this place from falling apart and trying to catch up with those legends from Spartan City….it's been a trip."

"Like the one you took when you heard Heartland snapped those two up." Devon's look softened. "Sure you don't want the guys in here? My last photoshoot was in one just like your hall, fifteen million likes on the net in the first hour of filming!"

"Heh!" Percy gave a short chuckle." A figure stepped out from the main doors to the House of Midas, his face a weather-worn but grinning façade that outshone the building above him in terms of raw strength.

"Goodness me, one would think better than to talk of someone who's not there-who knows how long till they actually aren't!" A boisterous chuckle accompanied Father Maeda's words.

Percy returned the happiness with a toothy grin of his own, and then turned to the crowd that now stood with bated breath.

"Speak of him, there he is right now! Hey, who here wants to see the man behind the legend?"

And the fans crowded in, Devon following them in with a, "...I guess your charity's about to get a new windfall…"

---

DYSTOPIA OF DESIRE/?/?

"...and I really hope the fall doesn't knock the wind from you too much!"

Percy didn't understand what she meant by that until he and Ehris were descending to the pitted stone floor of the Dystopia. "Where is this?" he asked suspiciously.

"Don't worry," said the spirit, her voice now sounding much like his own. "I know it's not the most beautiful spot, but… this is my home." She frowned sadly. "Or rather, what's left of it. So believe me; I know your pain. Everyone here does."

Percy nodded in realization. "Okay, now… where is everyone else?"

"You'll meet them first thing when we land," the spirit said, right before their feet touched the ground. "We're here," she announced, and beckoned him toward the entrance. Percy followed her inside.

As used to elaborate architecture as he was, the Dueling deacon couldn't help but be impressed by the architecture of the place. It was almost like the cathedral he'd spent the majority of his life in, right down to how half of it still looked like a war zone. Percy's opinion would stay to himself. As standoffish as he felt, he could tell this woman was making a concerted effort to try and welcome him, and he didn't want to spit in the face of her newfound hospitality.

She snapped herself to attention. "Anyway, it's time to meet the people I work with. Akaine, Ceren!" she called into the throne room, causing an echo. "He's here!"

"Coming!" replied two voices. Within moments, two youths – a boy and a girl – emerged from separate chambers. The girl had salt-and-pepper hair while the boy's hair was a standard brownish-black. "Hello, nice to meet you," said the girl, taking Percy's hand in her own and shaking it. "I'm Akaine Yubin, and this is my brother Ceren. Please just let me say, first thing, how incredibly sorry we are for your loss."

Percy was pleasantly surprised at how courteous this girl was. All the same, he was curious. "How do you know that?" he asked, somewhat warily.

"We're looking for people to help us with an important mission," said Ceren. "And we asked Ehris to find us people who'd be perfect for it. You fit the bill, and you just happened to be going through something, honest." "We don't mean any harm or disrespect," said Akaine. "Far from it. When we saw your Duel against that woman – Dextra, was it? – I thought, 'Him. He's perfect. He's motivated, he's got a strong will, and he understands what it's like to be wronged.' That, and you're a skilled Duelist, too."

"Come," said Ceren. "If you want, we can sit down somewhere and have a drink. Want to?"

"Ah, no thanks," said Percy, as politely as he could. "I'm fine standing."

"All right, that's fine," said Akaine. "All the same, there's a room we want to show you if that's alright." She turned on her heel and led them down a hallway into an antechamber. "Ehris, would you do the honors?"

"Absolutely," said Ehris, snapping her fingers. A large mirror-like monitor then appeared out of thin air. It began to glow, showing a chipper-faced kid beside a glowing blue-white being. "Do you know who these two are, Percy?" asked Ceren.

"Not the blue guy-but the kid looks familiar if Devon's talk of him was true..."

"They are. That's Yuma Tsukumo," explained Akaine. "And the glowing person is Astral, from a faraway place called Astral World."

"Um… okay…"

"In case you're wondering," said Ceren more seriously, "The reason you should care is that Yuma's actually connected to Kite Tenjo."

Percy scowled at Yuma's image. "Is he now?"

Oh yes," said Akaine. "And it's all because of Astral. You see Percy, Astral's home Astral World was at war with another world – one called Barian World. These two worlds fought what we would describe as a cold war, where they confronted each other indirectly using Earth as a battleground. And the instruments used to wage this war…" she pulled up an image of Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord. "…are the Numbers."

Percy's eyes widened. "What do they want the Numbers for?"

"Dominance," explained Ceren. "Both sides wanted to collect all one hundred Number cards in order to achieve superiority over the other. The problem we have with this is that not only did they use Earth as a battleground, but they also involved people from Earth in their war. Yuma Tsukumo is one such person. We believe he was recruited by Astral to help him acquire all the Number cards."

"So essentially Astral is directly responsible for much of the harm that's befallen Heartland City as a result," Akaine elaborated. "All the Number cards, Percy? He's the one they come from."

"I'm sure you can piece together what this means," said Ceren.

Percy took out Number 78 and looked between it and Astral's image. "How's Kite involved?"

"Only as a Number Hunter," answered Akaine. "His Photon Hand is part of his Photon Transformation – something that enables him to resist corruption by the Numbers, which is how he's able to hunt them."

"And for some reason, taking people's souls too," added Ehris. "Though the jury's out on why he'd want to do that."

"Hold on," said Percy. "You've got something wrong here. You're saying the Numbers are a bad thing?"

"Don't you see all the harm they've caused?" asked Akaine. Percy shook his head.

"I see the harm people who have them have caused." He cast a narrow-eyed look at Ehris. "And if someone hadn't interfered, there would've been one less problem to deal with."

"Oh, so true," Ehris countered, turning Percy's remark back on him. "But hunting Kite for Astral's war that Yuma's joined in is missing the forest for the trees, if you take my meaning."

Akaine gestured to Ehris. "Maybe it's time you should know what Astral wants the Numbers for. Ehris, if you please?"

"Certainly," replied the goddess, moving her hands around. The images of Yuma and Astral shrunk and receded to the upper part of the monitor, replaced on the lower half by an image of a broken card, its glowing pieces swirling around each other. "This Percy, is the Numeron Code," said Ceren, "A code powerful enough to do anything its wielder wants once they've assembled all one hundred Number Cards – even rewrite reality as we know it."

"Almighty…"

"Oh, it's close," agreed Akaine. "So imagine if someone had this code. They could do what Kite did to your people on an insane scale. Suffice to say, nobody should have that kind of power."

"And one of the reasons we asked Ehris to bring you here was that we hoped you'd want to help us make sure nobody ever gets their hands on power like that," added Ceren. "Well, that's one of our goals, at least."

"What other goals do you have?"

Akaine's expression turned serious. She nodded to Ehris again, who dissipated the image of the Numeron Code. "Before, we told you about Yuma Tsukumo and how he's helping Astral acquire all the Numbers," she said. "But stopping him's only one part of it. Seems our shared histories have a cruel habit of repeating-especially in putting pretender legends in large crises they only prevail in through luck and recklessness."

"One of them's Jaden Yuki-from a time long before yours, one my sister and I share." Ceren spread his arms. "And that soul-slaughtering charity case's kinda the reason this group began-or rather, why this Dystopia is here."

"Heady accusation for someone who's not here to defend themselves." Percy then saw Ehris's expression had turned to ashen stone. "Ehris...don't tell me..."

"He put me here, to begin with?" she explained. "Unfortunately...yes. My home with the other deities was...rather eye-catching. Then the Supreme King's little...wretched servant...popped up and turned it into dust. I've been looking for that she-fiend ever since."

Percy's mouth went agape. "One being did all this to your castle?!"

"Twelve other dimensions were set for the same, till servant and master turned on each other. The ex-King crashed back to Earth, but I haven't seen his servant yet." Ehris went on. "Not like the brat she served would know either; the next day he was off at that accursed academy none the wiser!"

"Gracious, what's wrong with that guy?"

"We're far past the time to play counselor," answered Ceren. "And speaking of that, we'll tell you about Mr. I Am Become Death, Yusei Fudo, later. The point is, Kite's on the fast road to becoming another Supreme King, and well...you're who we've set eyes on to stop him and his friends. We're looking for you-and people like you-to help us with this important mission."

"So how would we stop Kite and Jaden, then? Hypothetically?" asked Percy.

"Oh, you don't have to do anything against Jaden," said Akaine. "Your concern is Tsukumo and Astral. We're telling you this so that you know the full story. We want you to trust us Percy, but to do that we have to make sure you think we're trustworthy. Are we?" she added shyly, after a brief pause.

Ceren took the lead. "You don't have to decide right away," he said. "If you're still grieving, that's fine. Window to your time's still open, and we can have Ehris send you back. Fair warning though...there may not be another chance for us to meet with you for a while. Tidus says his window opened when the Barians touched down-for all we know, it might be too late then."

"We're fine with waiting, though." Akaine graciously clasped her hands together. "I'm not here to take advantage of the grieving, no matter the state of the world. Above all else, we want to make sure you're in your right mind before making a decision."

Percy nodded his understanding. "I appreciate that." A beat. "What do you guys call yourselves anyway? Does your group have a name?"

"Err, not yet," Akaine admitted sheepishly. "Honestly, we've been so busy recruiting people we haven't had time to come up with one."

"We'll probably just end up combining our initials anyway," said Ceren. "We don't want to agonize over coming up with something that perfectly encapsulates what we stand for. There's no time for that."

Percy chuckled for the first time. "I gotcha." As he saw the Yubins return his smile, he felt much better. Even now, it seemed someone watched over him, sought him out to keep him from the abyss, and even promised him a part in a greater cause than he could ever fathom. "So then...why not strike now? Surely, the crisis these peoples' presence provide demands swift justice?"

"Well, there's a bit more than that," said Akaine. "History believes that these three are all good people-with the cliques to match. Even at your time, you've seen the issues it took just to get to Kite, and Yuma's even worse. People deserve to have heroes who're exactly as they say they are-and someone willing to seize the powers they have rather than hang on them like a crutch. The fact that, say, Tsukumo needs Astral to Duel with him in order to win Duels makes him a mark and a fraud all in one, not some legendary Duelist."

She looked down for a brief moment, during which Percy saw a sad look on her face. "That's the problem with most of these so-called 'heroes,' Percy: They're either terrible people deep down, or fakes who need someone to do their work and fix their problems."

As Ceren reached down and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, Percy observed the two. It's amazing how much I agree with them, he thought. They're absolutely right. People do deserve better than false heroes. Heartland deserves better. My Hand of Midas family...my father...they deserve better than Astral and Yuma...and Kite, he added bitterly.

Again, Akaine offered her hand to the Dueling deacon. "So, offer's open. You beat the Wingweaver, proved your progress. Up for helping to save Heartland from itself? That is...if you'd like to be friends with us, of course."

Percy was surprised. He'd expected to have to work for these people, but the idea of being their equal rather than their subordinate was refreshing. In the Hand of Midas, he'd known camaraderie, but felt so helpless in the face of all that happened to it…to Father Maeda...

"I'm with you all." Percy finally stood straight. "Your cause needs all the great Duelists it can get...and I should have had your approach to life years ago."

Brother, sister, and goddess all smiled as one. "Great!" said Akaine.

Ehris instantly wrapped her arm around Percy's shoulder. "You're gonna have a great time here; we'll be just like family! But with more explosions! And hey, look at the bright side-with us, it's not like you'll be starved for..."

---

NUMBER TIMELINE/HEARTLAND CITY/2 DAYS BEFORE JOINING THE ASPECT, HEARTLAND SECURITY TRAINING ROOM

"...ATTENTION!"

Percy's eyes snapped to focus on Nistro's call to stand at arms (or Duel Disks, in this case). Despite the spaciousness of the hall he and several other duelists occupied, the person pacing in front of them was all too familiar. After all, it wasn't every day that the pride of Heartland came to meet them.

"Alright then, riffraff; you've got a lot to prove to us and to Mr. Heartland, got it? said the first of the two, her well-tamed purple hair belying her crisp attire and hard glance. "The people you'll be going after are not in their right minds. They're untrained with what they have, and endangering to the world for it!"

Percy swallowed thickly at this, his trained stance the only reason the duo didn't see it.

"Untrained? …these guys sound tough but these cards don't! Why should we….um, we-"

In an instant the purple-haired woman was in his face, the clackclackclacks her heels made on the ground so rapid you'd have thought a bag of pins had dropped between them. The only thing that actually did drop was her voice as she responded. "-Or maybe I pull you out of this line, throw you out of this building, and leave you for the Lilybots to sweep out of our town instead of listening to your latest ignorant wailings about the Numbers you're joining us to contain. All in favor?"

Dextra's hand mockingly went up in a flash. Following an acid-tinged glance around the room, the rest of the recruits shakily followed suit. Percy himself kept an arm at half-mast, curled and at about eye-level, looking more like he was set to wipe his brow than reinforce the woman's threat.

"Glad some of us realize why I've had you here at five in the morning-and it's not to have our authority questioned." The woman then let out a sigh. "At ease, sorry for that outburst. Nistro, take it away."

"Take that moment to heart, folks! Making sure you don't embarrass Heartland-or us-in your attempt to capture their Numbers! Discipline better be at the front of your minds, we clear?" The more shocking of the duo took a full pace in front of the prospects at this, brown-on-red hair set in curling spikes that mimicked the true fire in his voice.

The group in front of him nodded, Percy included this time.

"So….who wants to try and pass their finals?"

The whirring motors of a silver D-Pad answered Nistro's question. The expression of the Duelist wielding it asked many more. Only one such detail would be answered, however; why his eyes were still trained on…

"Dextra, I know why you push us so hard, and considering my role in the Hand of Midas, I know all too well tales of what happens to the careless and that which they love." Finally, Percy's eyes turned back to Nistro. "And today, I plan to do my home away from…..from…."

Dextra's eyes softened at the stammer behind Percy's words. He had mentioned this before, in a heated row with Dextra over her hardened ways on the fourth day.

The barbs about why they could not use Xyz Monsters so early on in their training.

Dextra's comeback of why the 40 cards in Percy's Deck weren't enough to keep him afloat.

Percy's reply of what Dextra could ever know about facing the odds and coming up short.

Dextra's voice, a harsh and rare echo against the pastel walls, wondering if he'd keep that attitude if she booted him back home right then and there.

Percy's scream to the cloud-thickened sky above about how his failure at this would already make his life to that point all for…

"Not to worry, Mr. Shaddeus," Dextra shook a lock of amethyst behind her ear again. "We'll see just how much you've learned in your path to be a member of Heartland's future! Nistro, you've got this!"

"As if I ever don't!" Nistro proudly proclaimed. Set at 4000 LP apiece, today's first test of Percy Shaddeus was about to begin.

---

ASTRAL WORLD (PRESENT TIME)/NUMBER TIMELINE/?

Behind his stony mask-both figuratively and literally, considering what had happened to his sons-Vetrix stewed.

Since arriving in this Astral World, it seemed people were falling out of the sky waiting to confront him. Such a person stood across from him-the Duel Spirit known as the Viral Vector-and unlike Eliphas and Astral, this person was thick with evil intent. So were the three mysterious Immortal monsters shielding her from view and the gigantic spiked microbes of the 'Immortal Incubator'.

And with 3000 Life Points to start his first turn with, Vetrix was not in a mood to deal with this obstacle long.

"I draw!" Vetrix took a look at card number six in his hand and smiled. If only it were the most psychotic grin in this match, instead of the second-most, behind Viral Vector's. "And your nightmares begin with the Normal Summon of my 'Heradic Beast Leo'!" A window-shattering roar followed the arrival of the pacing Level Four lion, its armored face surveying Viral's field as if it were a buffet. [EARTH/Beast/Level 4/2000 ATK/1000 DEF]

"Following up, here's the 'Heraldic Beast Amphisbaena'! I'll have to dispose of another Heraldic Beast to Special Summon it, but that discarded card is my 'Heraldic Beast Tyger'-which lets me go on the hunt for a 'Heraldry' Spell Card when it hits my Graveyard!" The 'Heraldry Reborn' that the Argent Patriarch fished out from his Deck was almost swamped entirely by the white portal bringing forth his dragonic devastator. [WIND/Dragon/Level 4/1700 ATK/1000 DEF]

"One good turn deserves another, doesn't it? 'Heraldry Reborn', bring back Tyger from my Graveyard-it's about time we tore through the net! The Overlay Network, that is!" Vetrix's cackle was soon followed by the Normal Spell working its magic, reviving the white tiger overlaid with golden diamonds-only for the swirling nebula above to swallow it and Leo whole. [LIGHT/Beast/Level 4/1900 ATK/900 DEF]

"I combine my Level 4 Heraldic Beasts Leo and Tyger to bring to you-'NUMBER EIGHTEEN: HERALDRY PATRIARCH'!" The imploding nebula's light filled the outskirts of the Astral World, clearing to reveal a gigantic red-eyed crystal rung by a boomerang-shaped cerulean crescent, the 18 standing proudly in gold on its most fragmented edge. [LIGHT/Psychic/Xyz/Rank 4/2200 ATK/2200 DEF]

"Not done quite yet, missy, as my 'Heraldry Crest' Equip Spell now allows my Patriarch some new-found power! One such ability makes the name of the monster YOU control with the highest original ATK become its own-which, right now, is your 'Zombyra the Dark'!" Vetrix finished as the Equip Spell added another golden-winged ring behind the Psychic Xyz Monster.

Viral raised an eyebrow at this, almost hidden behind its sloping white top hat, as Zombyra the Dark's name altered before her D-Pad's screen. "Wh-wh-w-WHAT INDEED, does stealing my monster's name avail you V-v-Vector?"

"The power to use imitation as the sincerest form of flattening!" Vetrix cried aloud. "And with the departure of one of Heraldry Patriarch's Overlay Units, flattening is just what I'll do to your Zombyra the Dark!" Heraldry Patriarch's one of two orbiting lights blinked out, only for it to fire a laser from its crystal-inlaid eye at the Level Four Fiend of Viral's. The ensuing dust cloud saw the Duel Spirit's field one monster shorter-and Lesser Beast's Attack Points seven hundred smaller [Lesser Beast ATK: 2450-1750].

"Thanks to that disposal of Leo, by the way, I can bring forth another 'Heraldic Beast' from my Deck to my hand, such as my 'Heraldic Beast Griffon!" EARTH Winged Beast safely in hand, Vetrix was ready to counteract the Immortal insurrection Viral Vector had wrought. "Now Heraldry Patriarch, take down his Candlelier Chevalier!" Heraldry Patriarch's blue and gold rings lit up, and a colorful storm of shards shot out from it to impale the illuminated Fiend where it stood, it shattering in a storm that caught up the sinister Duel Spirit in its wake. [Viral Vector LP: 4000-3300] [Lesser Beast ATK: 1750-1050]

"L-like that'll keep it down long!" Viral stuttered "My monsters are Immortal, and you'll see that once more! I tribute my Lesser Beast to bring t-t-t-t-THE Chevalier back! Or rather, I WOULD, if my Eternal Seeker in the Graveyard wasn't willing to re-r-r-RETURN to the Deck and help it come back w-wi-w-w-without a sacrifice! Since Chandelier is back, it's t-time to even our Life Points again, since the difference between ours is l-l-less than fifteen hundred!" With a flash of light, the wick-lighted warrior stormed back onto Viral's field.

"Not THIS time; thanks to my Patriarch's newest power!" the Argent Patriarch interrupted.

Viral's irises shrank to the size of buttons. "Wha-WHAT NEW POWER?"

"Simple! Since the Heraldic Beast Tyger is still one of its remaining Overlay Units, and my Patriarch is Psychic, the ability allows me to negate that monster effect right off the bat by detaching it! That's not all, however; the ability also lets me put a monster on your board too, as long as I summon a 'Heraldic Beast' from the same place with the same name! So as my gift to you, it's gonna be 'Heraldic Beast Aberconway' times two!" Two chalk-white dragons took down from twin twinkles in the sky on each Duelist's field, their wing breadth clearing the dust still left over from the Patriarch's assault-the Xyz Monster's, to be exact. [WIND/Dragon/Level 4/1800 ATK/900 DEF]

"Since they're here, and YOUR Aberconway is in Defense Mode, mine will make mincemeat of it in a split!" And Vetrix's Aberconway did just that, striking down its duplicate in an explosion of golden sparks.

"Now, these two Dragons will open the Overlay Network once again, and bring to you my great and powerful new Xyz Monster, 'Heraldry Duke GENES-LINEAGE'!" Overlay Network nebula at the ready to soak up the two Level 4 Dragons, the resulting implosion this time left behind a stag-like creature with great horns and a gateway of looping strands encircling its body. Its head was down and looking at Viral Vector even in its blue-tinged state.[LIGHT/Psychic/Rank 4/2000 ATK/2800 DEF]

"Let's see if you've got what it takes to keep up with ME now, Viral!" One card fizzled into the Spell & Trap Zone, and suddenly the Duel had taken a sharp turn in the Argent Patriarch's favor. The aforementioned Duel Spirit gritted her teeth at this.

"Happily." Not a single stutter penetrated her voice now. "After all, even now you STILL are nothing but a spoiled…"

---

DYSTOPIA OF DESIRE

"…Sport."

"What?"

"I said, you kind of skipped over your father's relevance to the plot a bit there, sport."

Percy looked up from his current match across from the Dystopia of Desire with the altered Wingweaver, Emissary of the Sky. Ehris-the Wingweaver's summoner-was off to the side, her six wings providing a makeshift throne for her to rest atop confidently. "Yeah, and what of it?"

"How bad was it?"

Percy snorted "Don't you know, guardian angel?" When no answer met him, a sigh finally escaped the LIGHT Duelist. "When I showed up in Heartland, weeks after, I had to seek him out. Had no money. Little did I know, neither did he-everything he made from the restaurant either went into the pockets of Weasel, Chills, and Scorch after hours in that meat locker after a Duel…or into his pantry. Wanted to be the best chef in the world, but the talent didn't match the talk. Temper exceeded it, though." Percy's next sigh sounded like it was propelled from the lungs of a man twice his age. "Guess I was always secondary, no matter how much time passed…or what town I wandered into."

Ehris waited for a minute, and then finally stood. "All this and you only started going loco now? Don't know whether to be shocked or impressed."

Percy gave a weak smile at this. Ehris did not contest its genuineness. "Couldn't have been that bad," he continued. "After all those guys did…"

"….which I'm still eager to hear about, mind." The chaotic Duel Spirit held up one hand, and her golden apple flashed back into its waiting grasp. Inspecting it, the goddess of chaos continued. "Being tapped for consideration by the Heartland sugar daddy, your new mentor helping you find a way forward in Dueling, the meeting with Devin, your dad's improving mental state, and Nistro. Wait-was it that you lo-"

Percy's eyes flashed dangerously at that. Immediately after, they uncharacteristically softened. 'Is it so long that it must be uncharacteristic?' the displaced deacon didn't say. What he did say was this.

"That all helped, sure, but Dextra….offered me another way out. Father-my actual dad, I mean-he was getting better, even with the Cook around, too. Actually retained staff, brought them gifts, everything! I think the...the Hand of Midas members getting hunted...was what started getting him agitated again…like it did so many who joined the Hand of Midas." His gaze turned down as his hand rose up to idly point at the silent but agitated Wingweaver.

"But I'm not sure I was the solution Father Maeda thought."

An explosion drowned his final words and sent the goddess of chaos toppling in the air. "ALMIGHTY! Warn me before you continue your Duel! And wasn't your monster weaker than Wingweaver?!"

"It was-and heavily so." Percy announced as...the Wingweaver winced, its Life Points climbing down to 1650. "My City of Enlightenment, Maedas' means your winged buddy takes the damage from the battle instead since St. Bath was in its self-made Truce Zone. Brings out a different Maedas monster on its destruction, too. Like 'Arcius, the Great King of Maedas'." As Percy finished his spoiler, the heavily-armored warrior ruler stepped onto the battlefield, his golden armor only getting an. "A little gold is okay, that much on a man is…so gauche," from Ehris. It gave the remark even less regard than Percy did. [LIGHT/Spellcaster/Level 7/1000 ATK/2800 DEF]

"…and to answer the question….he wasn't bad at all to me. That made it worse." Percy spat. "That he had to hide it from me…that everyone else suffered for his loose-handedness, and the ones closest to him were so….so starved for attention….that they would have taken…"

The displaced deacon would not continue. Nor were the next words uttered from him. "Arcius, destroy the Emissary Wingweaver's Goddess of Whim. Think that's what you were aiming for, yes?" Wingweaver's almost incredulous look at her maker was cut off by the Maedas Kings Great Arcius' Ghost attack, as it surged forward and shot out a phantasmal double of itself that exploded on contact with the leaf-dressed Fairy. The altered Wingweaver's Life Points took a short tumble to 1600.

Ehris sat back on her winged perch. "Continue your story again; you've got time. I want to know about the calm that came before your storm."

The incoming storm drenched the slowly moving figure in seconds as he made their way past the stone gates. Morning still had not fully graced Heartland City yet, but the Lilybots puttering around the cloaked figure gave him a wide berth. By the time he had reached the doors of the building, he was shivering.

One knock, however, and the door creaked inwards. The figure looked at it dumbly for a moment, then quickly stepped in and removed the hood.

Percy Shaddeus was…home.

And yet he still felt as cold and empty as that hall. Both realizations disturbed him.

He pulled out the Deck with one hand, a flashlight in the other, and made his way to the altar at the end of the countless lines of benches. Once there, he dutifully lit several candles around the confession stands-his body no longer trembling-and looked to the dimly illuminating hall.

"Father Maeda? I….I'm back."

A wayward glance at the Deck still cradled in his left hand brought back his memories of what had happened before his feet went slapping down the drowsy rain-slick streets of Heartland.

How his familiar trump card had been brought forth, against Nistro's hard-attained 'Heroic Champion – Aceleces'.

How finally, Percy was worthy of using Xyzes to get the upper hand, and how he'd make everyone proud.

How he used Havenn to Rank itself up into the powerful 'Vylon Disigma' and sought to make Aceleces its newest tool.

How the Overlay unit left it and…and how his move was so effortlessly…

"MAEDA! The exams…they didn' t go well at first, but…I have another chance! Where are the other Duelists, we have to get ready for the Counter Trap session!"

….how afterward, Dextra had come to meet him, far in the annals of the Heartland center building, his tear-stricken face a mirror to the pounding rain outside the lobby.

How she had commended him for how he'd picked himself up from Aceleces's final assault, nodded his concession to Nistro, marched out of the room for the next Duelist to try their hand.

How she had been the only one at the right angle to see his front shatter like stained glass once past the door, his head in his hands, before bolting.

How Dextra had followed, met him there in that lobby, talked to him of his ingenuity, said "…I'll be here by the day after next. Same time. Same rules. If you beat me, I'll see to it Mr. Heartland puts you at the head of the Duel Carnival security myself."

"…um, Father? I was wondering if…FATHER MAEDA!"

Father Maeda was just behind the pillar, the lights finally bright enough for Percy to notice him propped up against the stand he took to deliver his sermons. Rousing him awake, Percy was awash with questions.

"AreyouokaywhodidthishowdidallthelightsgooutshouldIcallthe-"

Without a world, Father Maeda shushed his star pupil with a finger to his own lips. When he spoke, his voice, low as the lights in the spacious hall, still rung with a touch of hope. "Fell unconscious…after the coma. Those lights were cut, my boy….and someone ran in while the commotion began. They took the number…the one used to resist temptation."

A series of wracking coughs broke the din. The sirens echoing just outside the door did as well, Percy only giving them a cursory glance before Maeda started again.

"The flock pursued our thief, I was losing consciousness and…and the lack of lights kept most of them from…noticing. Most except…your father."

Percy's heart should have made a sound, shooting into his shoes as it did. "My dad! Mother of all, where is he?!"

"He took back his Crooked Cook…made for the Heartland Tower. You must go after him, he is too headstrong."

Percy was already up, Father Maeda all but slung across his back as the paramedics rushed into the house. But before they made it across the hall, Father Maeda turned to Percy one last time. "My boy…there is one thing that can help….if it is that Photon prowler….you think it is."

"It MUST be!" Percy bellowed. "And I was too busy trying to be a security chief! I should have been here! An-"

"-Never mind that; right now…you will have to lead the Hand of Maedas. And these…" Father Maeda pulled out an ornate box from his robe and thrust it into his hand. "…will help you prevail at the duty, as I before you."

Percy took one look at the card atop the box and his heart ran back into his chest, pounding at a rate so hard he feared it'd burst. "These are your cards….your Deck! Your Number! I don't deserve this; I can't resist the pull of a Number! I couldn't even win against Nistro! Please, Father…" But his words failed as the medics took Father Maeda onto the stretcher.

"You can…and you already have. Your gift…will keep your heart alight…even if the path you find yourself on is not. This duty was always going to be yours, Percy. Now find your family…and your future." The oxygen mask settled upon Percy's mentor, the wheeling of the gurney faded out of the room, and Percy was left alone again. The words of the paramedic left behind rang hollow against his ears. All that could be heard to the impromptu leader…was the thoughts of his Number-holding brethren.

How they came to him much like how he'd seen Dextra and Nistro back in Spartan; broken and helpless. How he, back then was helpless himself, so weak-limbed he could only watch as that man in the gaudy suit and squared glasses whisked them off to a future in….Heartland, did that man say? How he followed them, found Maeda, trained effortlessly to see them again. How these fine men and women found strength themselves in the Numbers, and how when he turned a corner, their hard faces brightened-impossible, they thought, and surely a sign of miracles to come for this sport.

And now they were…lost.

Percy Shaddeus, however, would find them.

The rain pattered outside. Every part of Percy, from his heart to his shoes, pattered faster. Nature would not slow him now. Nothing would.

As the visage of the Heartland tower grew, so did his resolve.

"I'm coming! Everyone, I'm coming! Someone tricked us all, scattered us all-but I can handle this! I…can handle us..."

---

ASTRAL WORLD (PRESENT TIME)

"...I can handle….everything….you've put out so far," hissed Viral Vector. And with a swift draw, her psychotic look sprang back full force. "First o-off, the Immortal Incubator will begin its spawning again! With a simple payment of Life Points…" Viral's Life Points quickly dropped to 2850. "…it will bring me the Level Three 'Timender' and you the Level Four 'Wraith Master'-both in Defense Mode!" [Timender/Machine/Immortal/DARK/Level 3/950 ATK/850 DEF] [Wraith Master/Zombie/Immortal/DARK/Level 4/1800 ATK/0 DEF]

"Better still, that's two more DARK monsters on the field, and fourteen hundred more Attack Points for my Lesser Beast!" [Lesser Beast ATK: 1750-3150]

Vetrix gave a rumbling growl at this. "Had enough of seeing the Immortals?" Viral leered at the Argent Patriarch. "T-t-t-TOUGH, because the 'Immortals Into Darkness' Continuous Spell ensures I can add another powerful one to my hand!" A Level 8 Immortal monster was brought to Viral's hand from the Deck immediately – 'Athantos, Embodiment of Grave Mystery' was all Vector got from the card-and all he cared to.

"Then I target my Timender with Immortals into Darkness, giving it the ability to activate its Immortal ability without needing to come back from the Graveyard, at the cost of its attacking capacity and destruction at the end of your next turn! Now pick either your Main Phase 1 or your Battle Phase, for that'll be the Phase my Timender erases on your next turn!"

Vetrix's lip curled. "The Battle Phase, then. I have ways to get around your lockouts, anyways!"

"They won't come quickly enough! See, Immortals into Darkness also gives every Immortal monster I control three hundred additional Attack and Defense Points to play with when they fight, until the end of the Damage Step," Viral Vector snickered. "And what better time to fight than now! Lesser Beast, it's time to go get back my Wraith Master-strike with your Lesser Smash!"

The Lesser Beast's claws flashed out and it charged at the Wraith Master, who only quirked an eyebrow at the now 3450 Attack Point-toting monster ready to tear through her. She apparently was not one to worry much, however, as Vetrix was now prepared.

"My Heraldry Crest says only the Patriarch will endure your Beast's punishment this turn!" And with a fury unmatched, the super-powered Lesser Beast swung its tail into the Psychic Xyz, shattering it in a flash. Vetrix winced visibly as his LP suffered a similarly brutal hit, down to 1750.

"And that's not the only way your Lesser Beast's day will get worse! Both Heraldry Crest and Patriarch will activate their abilities now! First, the Patriarch will put another two Heraldic Beast monsters from my Deck into my Graveyard-like another Leo and my 'Heraldic Beast Unicorn'! Then, my Crest will put my Heraldry Duke right in the line of sight of your Immortal beast, and lock it in a field of stasis that will negate its abilities and drop its Attack Points by a thousand!"

The stag-like Xyz immediately rushed at Lesser Beast, and the yellow lightning from the Crest sent the mighty DARK Beast to buck in pain and fall to its elbows and knees-all six of them. [Lesser Beast ATK: 3150-50] "Oh, did I forget to mention my Leo's encounter with the Graveyard gives me a Heraldic Beast to add to my hand from the Deck again? Like my Twin-Headed Eagle?" Vetrix's literal half-mast grin betrayed his obliviousness. And Viral looked ready to wear out an inch of enamel in a second with how hard her teeth were grinding together.

"Rrrrgh! Chevalier, destroy Wraith Master NOW!" Chevalier quickly obeyed, and within a flash, the great mage was finally destroyed, her cries not mimicked by Vector as he had suffered no damage from this.

Yet.

"Now, Wraith Master, it's high time YOUR Immortal ability came into play-and thank you, wr-wr-w-w-w-WRETCH, for giving it a viable target! I sacrifice you, Lesser Beast!" With a cry, the weakened Level 2 Immortal monster was gone in a flash, and the skeleton-surrounded sorceress rose to take its place on the battlefield in Defense Position once more.

"Since it was destroyed, I can add another Immortal monster to play from the battlefield in Defense Position and switch the battle position of a monster on the field-like my Lesser-"

"The Heraldry Duke objects this time, Viral! And with the departure of one of its Overlay Units, not only will that effect be negated, but your new Immortal monster's name becomes the same as my Heraldry Duke!" Viral bristled at the interruption, but the lightning shot from Heraldic Duke's horns showed the formerly named Wraith Master no quarter in locking down its powers.

"It-i-i-i-i-IT…doesn't matter! Wraith Master-what it w-was known as-still has an effect that triggers on its Immortal return! And with the field now set for your demise, I end my turn!" Viral Vector yelled.

"Then I draw and start mine!" Vetrix responded.

"Not before Wraith Master's Immortal ability kicks in-since it's YOUR Standby Phase, Wraith Master's troupe grows by two-two 'Wraith Tokens' that is!" To either side of the Level Four Immortal monster, two skeletal replicas of herself rose from the pitted Astral ground. [Wraith Token/DARK/Zombie/Level 2/0 ATK/1800 DEF]

Undeterred, the Argent Patriarch continued his turn. "All the more pests to put down, then! I Normal Summon the 'Heraldic Beast Twin-Headed Eagle', and since its Normal Summon happened uninterrupted, my Heraldic Beast Griffon will be out to join it from my hand!" Both Winged Beast monsters flashed out from behind distant towers in the Astral World and roosted in front of Vetrix a minute later, their three combined sets of wicked beaks providing a sharper edge to the Duel. [Heraldic Beast Twin-Headed Eagle/WIND/Winged Beast/Level 4/1200 ATK/1400 DEF] [Heraldic Beast Griffon/EARTH/Winged Beast/Level 4/900 ATK/2000 DEF]

"Now with these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network once more!" A star-thick nebula appeared above both Duelists' heads again, and the resulting explosion from the light meeting dark called forth yet another of Vetrix's fearsome Numbers.

"I bring to you, 'Number 8: Heraldic King, GENOM-HERITAGE'!"

The sleek form and sharp colors of Genes-Lineage's distaff counterpart did not drag attention away from the number eight stamped on its facial helmet. [LIGHT/Psychic/Xyz/Rank 4/2400 ATK/1800 DEF]

"And now, the Heraldic Beast Griffon's effect activates; see, it'll target yet another monster you control, and give it the same name as one Psychic Xyz Monster of my choosing on the field. Then, if the Overlay Units my Xyz Monster has were monsters of the same Type, Griffon gives my Heraldry King Attack Points equal to half of your monster's Attack Points-like your Candlelier Chevalier!" With a warped cry, the Argent crest flashed its way onto the Warrior Immortal's face mask in a macabre fashion similar to Genom-Heritage's insignia. [Number 8's ATK: 2400-3150]

"It's time for Genes-Lineage's primary ability to shine! I remove one Overlay Unit from my Heraldic King to draw three cards-one for each monster on the field that shares Genes-Lineage's name!" Vetrix then pointed directly at the Vector. "That's not all, either-you take five hundred damage for each card I drew!"

The white-hatted woman's eyes shrank to pinpricks as the Heraldic Duke fired off a searing laser from the pendant on its chest directly into her own, smashing the Duel Spirit's Life Points down to 1350. "Now for my last steps!" Vetrix proclaimed. "The 'Heraldic Beast Unicorn', in my Graveyard, will now banish itself to bring back a familiar face-return to me, my Number 18: Heraldry Patriarch!" And the crystalline Xyz was suddenly back between its Heraldic brethren, forming a triad of Xyzes separating Vetrix and Viral.

"Then the Heraldic Beast Twin-Headed Eagle that I detached will banish itself from my Graveyard to load up one of my Overlay Unit-less Psychic Xyz Monsters with two more Heraldic Beasts-like my Heraldry Patriarch!" In a flash, both Heraldic Beasts Leo and Tyger were attached to Number 18 once more.

"Thanks to Unicorn, my Patriarch wouldn't be able to use its abilities, but my Griffon's recent Summon had another hidden ability; one that ensured no negation will stop any of my monsters' powers now! So I'll put one of the Patriarch's Overlay Units to good use, and target my Heraldry Duke-meaning every other monster with its name will be destroyed!" In a furious explosion, both Viral's Wraith Master and Candlelier Chevalier imploded on contact from the Heraldry Patriarch's vicious beam.

"So what?! I-I'll bring them back, each with one of Wraith Master's Wraith Tokens as Tribute!" Both Immortal Monsters were back on board with Viral. "And since they both are, their Immortal talents will trigger again, with-"

"-Oh, neither of them are doing anything this time," Vetrix hissed. "Heraldic Duke will again negate the abilities of your Candlelier Chevalier and convert it to a copy of itself! And your Wraith Master?... Well, my new card will ensure it finds itself back in the hot seat! Go, 'Luster of the Divine Dragon'!" The Quick-Play Spell popped up behind his triplet of Xyzes. "Not only will your Wraith Master have its effects negated, but no other card effect affects it this turn!"

Viral looked back at Vetrix blankly at the maneuver as her Wraith Master screamed at the light permeating its body."Y-you really think you've finally cornered me out now, don't you?"

"Oh no." And with a final swipe that laid another two face-down cards in his Spell & Trap Zones, Vetrix grinned psychotically. "Now, I do."

---

NUMBER TIMELINE/HEARTLAND CITY/14 HOURS BEFORE JOINING THE ASPECT, HEARTLAND TOWER

Percy's run through the rain-slick city ended at where they had begun only scant hours ago-the gates to its highest tower.

The gates had been opened by a fire that had broken out in the security booth behind it, causing the people within to open it in a desperate attempt to put tracks between them and the burning station. But Percy wasn't focused on the fire. Already winded, his mind was focused only on the bodies lying around him that he recognized as fallen members of his flock. As he went to rouse them, he noticed their blank faces, their feverish touch – and most of all, their Number-less Decks, mostly preserved from the downpour by their D-Pads.

Then Percy passed the gates, lost in a sea of more Heartland paramedics, and slipped past the other security. He wanted to stay by his flock but only half were accounted for, and if their trajectories led where he thought it lead…

And so, on he marched until that shout came out, five words that finally turned his blood as cold as the rain.

"GO, 'GALAXY-EYES PHOTON DRAGON'!"

Suddenly, Percy couldn't stagger fast enough to that central building. Incomplete stages and stands greeted him and empty kiosks flashed by, but the second he laid eyes on that tower, his fears were confirmed: The Duel was over, and had been for some time.

Several other Duels had also concluded-those of the rest of his Number-less flock. Bagooska, Queen of the Night, and Master of Blades, and-

Curse it, why do I only know the NUMBERS' NAMES and not theirs?! Percy's mind reeled at the revelation, and suddenly he recognized a name, this time it was because of the face: Hair as salt-and-pepper-like as the seasonings he flooded his dishes with; deeply flushed skin, joked of as a result of the peppers so present in his special dishes; and a suit as crisp as his restaurant's pantry, which was being ruined both by the rain on the perch above and by his frantic attempts to pry the blond-haired white-clothed teenager's hand off of his increasingly colorless head.

The latter attempt was failing.

"DAAAAAD!" Percy was atop that high catwalk in a way he had almost forgotten, back when the ceiling of the Hand of Maedas' headquarters needed handiwork and he was the only one nimble enough to ensure it.

Once at the end, he turned to face the blond, and his statement from before was now tragically corrected: His father's attempt had failed.

White-haired, parchment-pale, and as comatose as the rest, Papyri Shaddeus slumped to the floor of the rain-slick balcony. The blond, apparently finished with his work, stuffed a card Percy could barely read as Number 59: Crooked Cook into one of his coat pockets before his vibrant glow left him, the coat now black with only white highlights to hint at his photonic power.

The figure – this apparent thief – then turned away from Papyri and towards the open sky, not even noticing Percy ten feet from him, though likely because Percy was coated in the shadows of the tower.

When he did make his turn, however, Percy felt the greatest chill he would feel that day course through him. He tried to put a finger on what he was feeling, not wanting to figure it out even though deep down he already knew what it was as he saw the kid press something on his wrist.

Recognition.

And then in a blink, the kid was gone.

Percy looked wildly around, but at this point, it was solely for the culprit's location. The identity of the hunter that had ripped the Numbers and souls from the Hand of Midas and so many others was clear: Kite Tenjo.

When he was certain the Photon Duelist was gone, Percy took several shaking steps forward, kneeling down beside his father's listless body. No, he begged to anyone above-or anyone who'd list. No, no, no, please don't be…

"Dad?" he ventured nervously, his voice cracking as he took his father's head in the crook of his body. "Hey, Dad, c'mon. Wake up…"

Nothing. Percy could feel it building up inside of him. He was torn between knowing it wouldn't happen and denying it was true. "Dad, please, c'mon…" he begged, imploring the man who'd brought him into the world to wake up and let him know he wasn't leaving. They'd never had the best relationship, but they'd always understood each other in their own way, and Percy realized how much he loved the crazy coot in his arms. "Dad, don't be gone. C'mon Dad, you were so close… Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please…"

When he finally stopped pleading, Percy held his head up to the sky… and let out an inhuman shriek to the silver sky, his mourning only answered by the scream of the thunderclaps.

---

NUMBER TIMELINE/HEARTLAND CITY/ 11 HOURS BEFORE JOINING THE ASPECT, HEARTLAND HOSPITAL

Percy's head snapped forward again. Right, hospital, he thought, wondering how he'd avoided catching hypothermia from running in the rain.

"Q….ques…questions for later…"

He craned his neck and immediately grunted in discomfort as the pain from his impromptu rest in the chair took hold. He rolled his head around in a three-sixty-degree arc to pop the muscles and loosen them up, noticing he was just outside his father's room. If only he could have seen Maeda before the exertion got to him! But the E.R. was a rather tricky place for a non-doctor to get into, so he pressed his ear against the door.

"Stable. Coma. Probably wouldn't come out of it. We're looking for a final diagnosis," came the words of the doctor, meeting him through the glass. After thirteen similar requests about the rest of the Hand of Midas were answered in the same way, Percy fled to the closest seat to his dad's room and laid in it, his eyes going blurry again as he remembered who he'd lost. He wished he hadn't woken so soon. He prayed that this was all a dream, that soon he'd wake up and his dad and the Hand of Midas would all be just fine, Numbers or not. But no luck. His head was in his hands again as thoughts of despair took hold.

His attempt had failed. He was now the leader of the Hand of Midas, a clique and doomed Dueling division now rooted in their beds in Heartland Hospital. Percy's heart burned with rage as he thought back to who'd done this to his fallen flock. The man responsible, that photonic scumbag who took Number hunting to the extreme.

Why, Kite? Why'd you do it? Why'd you have to take them from me? You got what you wanted, didn't you? You won the Duel, got their Numbers, so WHY their souls, too?! What satisfaction do you get from this?! He slammed his fist against the wall, angry at how powerless he was. And I just stood there. I just stood there and let it happen! I should've done something! I should've stopped that Photon Dragon; at least then Dad'd still be up!

Percy looked back towards his father's room when it hit him. Kite used Photons, he realized. PHOTONS! Of course! All this time the Number Hunter's been so close to me! He's been with Heartland's elite, he's been with… with…

---

DYSTOPIA OF DESIRE

"…Dextra and Nistro, yes?"

Ehris wrapped up that part of Percy's story. Percy, after a minute, nodded his approval of events. "They both…KNEW….of what Kite did. And they wanted me to help protect a tournament so he could do…what? More of the same?!"

"Guessing you didn't take that well, considering what I walked into."

"…no, really?!" Percy voice was a hoarse whisper as he turned to his Fusion-made opponent. "Now, I activate 'Manifest Destiny'! With the banishing of Arcius, I call upon the sacred root of the Hand of Midas, my Father Maeda's personification of righteous justice-GO, my Level Eight 'Maedas Elite-Farren, the Wildfire'!" Out from the heart of the inferno that had formed in front of the Dueling deacon, the angelic Fusion Monster was a terrifying force, walking from the embers that heralded his arrival like it was nothing-and staring at the Wingweaver like it was even less than nothing. [FIRE/Fairy/Fusion/Level 8/2500 ATK/3000 DEF]

Ehris whistled at the newest arrival on Percy's field. "See this? Just enough gold to hint at greatness, and goodness, that look! Akaine better fetch me soon…"

"…He can't hear you, you know that right?" Percy shook his head regretfully. "And the boss said she's sick of slipping in your drool, between this guy and that Salvio that Ceren's got…"

"…Oh hush, you, and focus on your Duel." Ehris then flashed up a copy of the card from the flames her apple once resided in, took one look at it, and suddenly blushed. "On second thought….guess focus doesn't matter in this instance."

"…Smart observation." The Dueling deacon raised his left hand to the sky. "Know the theatrics on my end are unbecoming-so I'll be swift. Farren, bring back the Arcius I banished to bring you forth back to my hand and hit that Wingweaver for damage equal to its Level times three hundred points! Should be a nice twenty-one hundred-and the last I need to pass this test."

Farren's Exalted Explosion barreled headfirst into the body of the LIGHT Duel Spirit, sending it sprawling back in a heap of fluttering feathers. [Wingweaver, Emissary from the Sky's Life Points: 1150-0]

The shimmering façade of the Duel environment faded away, though the petal-thick air of the Dystopia did not stop blowing. "And I guess that seals it; you're the winner, and our newest entry into the Dystopia! I'd shake your hand, but…"

And with a flourish, Wingweaver, E.o.t.S. was propelled forward into Ehris's outstretched hand, the struggles of the Fairy Fusion monster proving futile as she was turned back into the monster card she once was before. "…I think you know where mine's been."

"First, thanks. Second, ewww." Percy's mouth turned downward in faked disgust. "Also, I thought you said you'd stop that."

"I did. Viral Vector's still around, isn't she?" Ehris shrugged. "Besides, these are all cards either I run or the boss keeps. Ashes to ashes if they can't hold their own against us." Her gaze turned hard. "You may have to do more than this if the guys you're trying to replace don't go quiet, too-best I desensitize you to that now."

"Spoiler warning, then, goddess; not happening." Percy rolled his neck, trying to get out the kinks. "The Galaxy-Eyes users can burn in the light, but empathy for the deserving is never not a good thing. Now let's see who this show was meant for." As he spoke, the shimmering barrier behind the floating castle fizzled out of existence.

"…Fair, and we're going now but…" Ehris took Percy by the hand, and together, both deacon and deity started floating. "Well, I guess I'm curious enough, it'll be a long trip. How did your encounter with Dex go, if she was like what I saw her like when I popped in?"

Percy sighed heavily. "Sure you want to know? It's….really not something I'm too proud to remember. Especially with all the pain…"

---

HEARTLAND CITY/1 HALF-HOUR BEFORE JOINING THE ASPECT, HEARTLAND TOWER, PRIVATE DUELING ROOM

"…we went through to decipher the info we got on that family!" Dextra asked. This time, it was to a phone at her side. "Our Number hunting would be going better if we didn't have to worry about whoever these guys are that gave Kite so much trouble before! I'm already preparing for if that creepy-masked one comes calling, Nistro- you should be too! And-!"

Just then, the doors to the private Dueling stage swung open. One look at the visitor and Dextra knew of what had to happen now. "Yeah, one o' clock just ran in. Says it's urgent, another side of the city…and yes, I can handle it alone. Keep safe, Nistro." Snapping the phone shut, the Butterspy duelist turned to face Percy. "So then….second chance it is, then. And you're early too! Look, I heard about what happened to Father Maeda, do-"

"How long?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

The young deacon hadn't even raised his head to meet her eyes. His next words continued in the same low hiss, building with each sentence. "For the better part of a year, I've been hunting down someone who's been taking Numbers. Hurting people too; hurting them irreparably. So how long. Did you know. He was part of Heartland's elite?!"

"…w-wait, are you talking about Ki-!"

"ZIP IT!" Percy thundered. "You're not asking the questions here anymore! Let me repeat; I'm not here for the job, or to talk this out over a lobby chair I poured my soul into so you could pull the strings!"

Dextra visibly paled at this. "N-never! I was never going to manipulate you over this! Those people Kite hunted were criminals, Percy! One of them, the Gold Rat user, held up a mall! You even cheered his capture yourself!"

Percy finally looked up into her eyes, and any thought of demanding an immediate apology for that insult died when Dextra's eyes met bloodshot ones from the Dueling deacon. "You, of all people, don't get to talk to me about rats," he said coldly. Dextra immediately took his meaning. "Tell me; were you even thinking of letting me win when I showed up here? Just gonna crush my hopes entirely and hope Kite picked my bones when I crawled back to Midas? Or were you hoping I'd forget all about them when I got clearance?"

Dextra finally found her voice. "I do not have to explain to you something I did out of-"

She winced as something flew past her head, connecting with the wall behind her and causing dust to fly from the ceiling. "Oh good, finish that sentence. It'll end well, I can tell. This whole private showing you cooked up after your best friend handed me my own coattails twenty-three hours previous, what did you do it out of? Love? Duty?…PITY?!"

"Familiarity, Shaddeus!" Finally, the purple-and-blue-haired woman stormed forth to meet him, finally unafraid of what Percy had looked like – or of her cracking façade in the face of someone she thought showed so much promise. "Of what it means to fight for something more than yourself! Of all the effort it takes to make sure those you care about come up with you! Of presenting your best face at the best time, as you did yesterday!" Dextra's voice finally got down to its level, familiar tone. "And if this is how you take how we handle the criminal element that has thrown this city into chaos more than once, as if we didn't warn you of what you'd face outside these doors-"

"Not a one of the flock that followed my dad in after that thief – not ONE -was a criminal! They were-"

"What, Percy, what? After running into a restricted area that someone committed arson to open, what were they? Of facing someone with a Number that they clearly weren't ready for, instead of helping your deacon to a hospital, what were they? Do they even tell you what they get up to after hours? Or maybe you'd be happy to give me a name and allow me to check your conclusions after class?"

Percy's scowl returned. "After all Kite did to them, you think I'd ever-"

"Kite?!" Dextra's famously steel-hard composure was gone; her words now shrill gunshots across the walls of the emptied office. "Why would he need to burn through a metal door to trap children into Dueling in that rainstorm? For their Numbers? Some of them would've given it to him if he asked nicely, they were that young! And if even half of what Kite said that guy who caught up to him did is true, I'm sorry, Percy, but your father didn't need a hand on his head to make him a lost cause!"

The pause that followed could have given away an ant's footsteps. Finally, Percy snapped up his D-Pad, his face twisted in a powerful scowl. "One last Duel. You promised it, anyways. Win or lose, I'm out of your life. But if you don't beat me here…if you don't put me in the same coma your blond best friend put so many people before me in…" And with a thwip that almost sounded like it hit bone, Percy's Duel Gazer was slammed into the space around his left eye. "….then I'm going for him next."

Dextra's lip quivered once. Twice. Then her eyes sharpened to shards of pure ice and she jutted out her D-Pad, the field around them shimmering with their Duel Field. "Let the record, figuratively and in the hospital, say you asked for this."

Percy drew out his five cards, not even caring to notice the trilling beep of his Life Point counter starting at 4000 like Dextra's. "The first turn's yours. If I were you, I'd…."

---

ASTRAL WORLD (PRESENT TIME)

"...have thought twice about facing me, like all those who underestimated my family's power and pride!" Vetrix finally stood at full height and ripped off his mask, the warped prism of light that consumed half of his face finally visible. "See what my encounters turned ME into, and ask me what I will NOT do to get back at those who endanger my kin!"

"WHAT YOU'LL DO IS SHUT UP!" screamed the Vector, her face still dissonant beyond the twists and wrenches of her open jawline. "And the biggest danger your family's had is the one who needs to hide behind masks to fight!"

"I'm not now!" Vetrix declared, knowing not of the double-ended meaning to the Duel Spirit's words. "And how have I ever let them down?!"

"Your actions throughout the Carnival, wretch! Stealing Hart's face and mind..preying on Yuma and Astral! All events I have witnessed and that my maker on that planet above you all has! How you threw uncontrollable power at them…watched them flounder with it….then rewarded them with rejection! A mercy they should have returned to YOU in kind!"

Viral took a foreboding step forward.

"But that, right now, is irrelevant. Because you know what happens when you face someone as willing to head to that brink and beyond as you are?! Then you become your own demise! Now end your turn, so I can end you! What do you think everything up to now is, if not the reckoning for your world?!"

"…Pity." Vector shot back. "Specifically, mine for you. I do have a question for you now, though."

The white-hatted woman drew, looked at her card, and then back at the Argent Patriarch. "…and what i-i-IS IT, wret-"

"-GO, 'SWORDS AT DAWN'!" The Quick-Play Spell span up, and Viral was blinded by its light. "Now, you know how well I take requests!" Vetrix triumphantly yelled. "Now my Spell Card will equip my Heraldry Patriarch with an Equip Spell from my Graveyard; my 'Heraldry Crest'! With it, this Duel is all but over!"

"…how so?"

"Because I've been keeping track, perhaps?" Vetrix pointed out her field. "You can see for yourself, too. The obvious plan you've been building towards is the Summon of that Athanatos you have in your hand. Probably by Tributing your Immortal monsters, and then chaining out their revival. But your field now means you'll lose one unless you lose your Athanatos. Meanwhile…"

Vetrix looked back at his Crest-clad Number 18.

"I have one monster that will overpower it, another that will turn its name into its own and destroy it should it make its 'Immortal return', and another that will simply negate its effect should it get past all else." A snort accompanied these words. "Of course, you could probably use your 'Immortal Incubator' to field another pair of immortals for it to strike at meeee…or use your 'Immortals into Darkness' Spell to forward its effect annnyways."

Viral gave a small smile at the words.

"Or I could simply activate my 'Heavy Storm Duster', and wipe them both off this Dueling platform once and for all!" The gathering twin typhoons immediately crashed to both sides of Viral's field, then set in on both her Spells. Viral's head finally hung downwards at the dire situation she was in, and Vetrix threw back his head in preparation to celebrate the mass destruction.

The maddened cackle that spilled forth, however, was not from the Argent Patriarch. Vetrix was staring holes through the tittering Duel Spirit in an instant. "I've won! Your back-row is about to be lost to the wind! Your greatest monster's about to walk into a trinity of Xyzes that will pick it apart! What gives!?"

"...hehehehehehehe…." Viral's head finally shot up to meet him. "Your soul and your Life Points, to list TWO! I ACTIVATE 'ADVENTAGEOUS ALLURE'!"

Viral's Quick-Play Spell flashed into action a moment later, and two curling light rays cut out Vetrix's gale force winds, curling into the shape of a helix above both their heads. "Since you've decided to force my hand, here it is! This allows me to conduct an Advent Summon-the ceremony to the unleashing of a monster class you'll never have seen before-and will never witness again! Using my Wraith Master, and both of my present Spells, I call upon the Arch of the Advent to bring forth a new monster-one made from monster and magic alike!"

"WAIT, WHAT IS THIS?!" Vetrix's shout would go unheeded, as the shooting lights that once made up the three aforementioned cards turned into tethers surrounding the main loop in the energy helix. The 'gateway' now resembled an incomplete strand of DNA, the untouched loop now filling with light that a new entity sprang from it…

…one that was an exact duplicate of the Duelist standing before Vetrix. "I Summon the Level Six Advent Monster, yours truly, the 'Viral Vector'!" [DARK/ Fiend/Advent/Level 6/1500 ATK/2500 DEF]

Vetrix's eyes almost crossed at the terrible revelation. "Y-you're an Advent Monster!? What is an Advent Monster….and how have you…"

"Questions for later, wretch-right now, my better half has a gift for you! See, for each card used for its Summon, it gains an Advent Counter-three to boot!" As she spoke, three hedrons circled her card-contained double. "It'll get another from the resolution of that Heavy Storm Duster Trap you activated, too, bringing it another pair of Advent Counters and five hundred more Attack Points!" [Viral Vector ATK: 1500-2000]

"Then, I activate the ability of my departed Wraith Master AGAIN, and tribute my Timender to bring it back to the field and activate its effect!"

Vetrix growled, "An effect I'll be happy to see wasted again, with my-"

"Oh, don't worry, V-v-v-VETRIX, baby; this time, you won't be able to neutralize the Master's effect this time." Viral immediately flipped forth the only other card in her hand. "Because MY 'Athanatos, Embodiment of Grave Mystery' will do it for you!"

"You're negating your own monster's ability?!" Vector was clearly shocked. "Wait! That monster must have a way to Summon itself!"

"And Wraith Master's activated ability after returning from the Graveyard to the field triggered it! Now I can Tribute Summon this monster using one monster, and it doesn't even have to be my own! Say goodnight to your Heraldry Duke!"

The departure of the blue-skinned Immortal, and subsequently, the Tributed Heraldry Duke Genes-Lineage-immediately summoned forth a crimson column of rushing liquid. As it curled in the air, the form of an endlessly black-scaled body broke its tide, before whipping it off mid-point with its sharpened tail. As the spray settled, Athanatos revealed itself, the figure of a regal fiend adorning its wicked head like an ornament. This walking horror then rose to its fearsome fifteen-foot height and roared, an unearthly sound that sent Vetrix's hands clasping his ears. [DARK/Dragon/Immortal/Level 8/3000 ATK/0 DEF]

Vetrix immediately saw his opening in this dire situation, though. "Since that's now the strongest monster on the field, its time I cut it to size. Heraldry Patriarch, that monster now shares your name-strike it down with your last Overlay Unit!" The Psychic Xyz's ray-blast shot forth and struck the creature head-on, leaving it in a cloud of dust once more, but when it cleared, the Dragon Immortal was still standing, as all-powerful as ever. "Wha-…but how?!"

"Think Athanatos is going down that easily?!" Viral Vector shouted. "That's its true defensive power you've run into with it-no effect will EVER destroy an Immortal monster now!"

"Battle still can, though!" countered Vetrix, "And I've still got the most powerful monster on this field!" Indeed, Genom-Heritage's power stood a hundred and fifty points above even Athanatos's own.

"Timender will fix that, then! I banish it from my Graveyard, in order to take a monster on each side of the field, and send them to the Graveyard-like my Athanatos and your Heraldry Patriarch!" Both monsters were immediately pulled into the rip in reality that the Machine Immortal monster's departure had wrought.

"Now, I call upon Athanatos' great power, and give away my Candlelier Chevalier to call it back to the field!" With an earth-cracking roar, the Embodiment of Grave Mystery slithered back onto the field from a fissure in the ground. "And its Immortal ability allows YOU a privilege this time-of choosing which of your monsters to BANISH!"

Vetrix's teeth were about to crack with how clamped together they were. "Fine! But first, my Patriarch's ability to call down two more of my Heraldic Beasts into my Graveyard will resolve-another two Unicorn and Twin-Headed Eagle should do!"

"But your field won't have enough monsters left for your Crest to drain one of their powers with! Genom-Heritage, vanish from my sight!"

The final Xyz of Vetrix's was whisked off the field in a flash of purple flames, Athanatos's Grave Silencer attack doing its dirty deed. Vetrix gave a hacking laugh at this action. "…I actually guessed right then, in how powerful its Immortal ability would be! A pity its power ends now! Since you banished my Heraldry King, my final Trap, 'Zero Force', will put both of your monster's Attack Points down to nothing!"

The light from the activated Trap washed over the field once more….and when it cleared, Vetrix… fell to his knees, still looking at the unaffected field of monsters. "N-no….that last move…I predicted it perfectly…."

"….And yours truly made that prediction worthless." Viral Vector's grin went full mast as she pointed at her double. "My Adventageous Allure protects everyone on my side of the field from Trap effects… Vetrix."

Vetrix immediately realized at that moment. "Y-you could have….you could have Summoned Athanatos and pushed past my defenses, all this time! W…wh-WHY DIDN'T YOU! What do you call what we've been doing these last two turns, if you could have stopped it with that beast?!"

Viral tented her fingers in front of her madly twisted face, her claws only scraping past locks of crimson hair in the process.

"Pity," she uttered, throwing Vetrix's previous words back in the patriarch's face. "Specifically, mine for you."

Vetrix's arms finally fell to his sides, limp as he was in the face of both powerful beasts. "Could tell you before I end this that your little Trap-throwing tantrum gave my better half another two Advent Counters and five hundred more Attack Points…" [Viral Vector ATK: 2000 -2500] "But I'd rather we finish these festivities with something more…memorable."

With this, Viral took a finger, tucked it under her D-Pad, and a soft beep emerged from a button hidden under it. Immediately, lightning coursed through the D-Pad and up into the sky. And suddenly, the visage of the true world situated above Astral World shimmered and revealed itself, a flurry of destructive bolts leaping from the planet in short order-off towards the area near the Astral Tower.

Several did strike around their arena, however, and Vector sprang to his feet at this, noticing his still-frozen family in danger. "W-what is this now?! You said this was about retribution-how is destroying this world meant to hurt me?!"

"Weren't you listening, wretch?" Viral sneered, spreading her arms wide. "This is for those too stupid to realize the people they've trodden underfoot have venom in their very veins. Not you, not your sideshow friends…"

A stray bolt finally crashed into the strange mirror-like object behind her, shattering it. Viral did not wince. Clearly, that was never a part of her original form…but why would she destroy it…? Vetrix thought.

"….and certainly not the Aspect."

Vetrix's eyebrows unbalanced. "You mean, you're…."

"I have always been with a higher power, a maker…" Viral hissed. "And it is not that apple-cradling waste of cardboard, Ehris. Mine had me free of my two-dimensional bonds ages ago. And through my influence, I have found my way to them again, through the Aspect. Even now as we speak, one such member of it is feeling her…'control'….over her part in their plan being yanked from her grasp. Control the Aspect thought they had…until I slipped that leash loose."

"But, WHY!?" Vetrix yelled. "Who is this for, if not those invaders…?!"

Viral looked toward the sky. "A stronger world order. But by the time they do come…this world will be theirs-and yours beyond will follow. Attack, Athanatos."

Vetrix's stony stance wasn't even broken by the laser of red that the Dragon Immortal monster shot at him, but as his Life Point counter hit 0, the Argent Patriarch's warped face started flashing dangerously as he fell to his side. Viral took no notice, looking instead at the flashing light from the world above Astral, where bolts were busy striking near the areas the other two Aspect members were.

Viral looked to the lighting-thick sky and chuckled. "Do wish I would have had more time to play. But ever since showing up in your world, disappointment's about all I expect from people..."

---

NUMBER TIMELINE/PRIVATE DUELING ROOM

"…like you. Letting me play out my field first, to have something to coldly counteract. Think you got it from…me, didn't you?" Dextra's eyes narrowed in disgust. "And yet you levy all these….slanderous…words at me and my friends? After all the promise you showed? Good luck getting past your turn, kid, because mine's over."

Percy was once again silent, staring at his purple-and-blue-haired foe's board. He had seen it before in Dextra's Duels past, but this new configuration would have been paralyzing for him to face before.

'Butterfly Bloom' was her first activated card-a Continuous Spell that brought her a Butterspy, 'Morpho Butterspy', to be exact. [DARK/Warrior/Level 4/1200 ATK/1600 DEF] It also got the operative a Set Continuous Spell/Trap that would require the payment of Life Points to activate from her Deck. Both of those cards' survival was chained to the Swarm, however.

A 'Monarch Papillon' in the Graveyard, one of two that hit the field and provided the way for an Insect Xyz with a discard. [LIGHT/Insect/Level 5/2200 ATK/2600 DEF] In this case, that Xyz was a fitting card of subterfuge for the Heartland operative-the Rank Three 'Digital Bug Scaradiator', whose chrome eyes had bored deep into Percy's across the battlefield. [LIGHT/Insect/Xyz/Rank 3/1800 ATK/1400 DEF]

The discarded Continuous Trap in the Graveyard, one of two "Butterspy Lucidream" that granted her the second 'Monarch Papillon' on its demise. One such Papillon was long gone, the remaining Overlay Unit of the new Rank Five of Dextra's-a titanic cerulean critter known as 'Photon Kwagar Hercules Beetle'. [LIGHT/Insect/Xyz/Rank 5/ATK 2000/DEF 2500] Its first ability was how Corebage had its three materials; all Spells and Traps that she excavated from the top of the Deck and got to attach to its previous form in Scaradiator.

Her second is what got the Corebage and several other Continuous Traps on board; detaching two materials from her Scaradiator to bring out the Rank Five Digital Bug had triggered Photon Kwagar Hercules Beetle's other effect. [LIGHT/Insect/Xyz/Rank 5/2200 ATK/1800 DEF] With the loss of one of its overlay units, Dextra's Photon Kwagar Hercules became a thousand Attack Points stronger. [Photon Kwagar Hercules Beetle's ATK: 1900-2900]

Monarch Papillon hitting the Graveyard also triggered an arriving 'Butterspy Effect' from the Deck, putting Dextra's Life Points at 4000 from its demand of five hundred Life Points per card in her hand to activate.

A Rank Four 'Photon Butterspy Princess' that was vibrantly glowing beside her fellow spies was also present. [Photon Butterspy Princess/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/Rank 4/1800 ATK/2400 DEF] She had come about by the follow-up 'Moth's Molt' which netted Dextra two cards-Morpho Butterspy number two and 'Blue Mountain Butterspy'-after paying two thousand Life Points to activate it and gaining eleven hundred from its lingering effect targeting Monarch Papillon, putting Dextra's Life Points at 3100 at the end.

It was then that Percy saw the true power of 'Butterspy Effect', as each subsequent payment of Life Points from a Spell effect saw her add a "Butterspy" or LIGHT Insect monster from her Deck to the hand with less Attack Points than the paid Life Points. Each time, she added a 'Golden Ladybug'.

Her next two cards would put it far lower, though. Photon Butterspy Princess would end up detaching and Summoning back its Overlay Units as monsters and draw Dextra another card – which would turn out to be the fearsome 'Butterfly Swarm' that would put Dextra's Life Points at a low 2100. Another Golden Ladybug was brought to her hand with this action, and the turn was ended with a face-down Spell/Trap Card.

It was immediately followed with Photon Butterspy Princess taking flight and using its Queen's Crossbow Strike attack in the End Phase. The assault ripped three thousand Life Points from Percy – six hundred for each Warrior and Insect-Type monster Dextra so controlled - while giving her Life Points a six hundred point boost for each face-up Spell & Trap, putting her Life Points back at 3800 and Percy at a chillingly low 1000.

Now, Percy's turn started, and Dextra was kind enough to trigger her second 'Butterspy Lucidream' Continuous Trap and use its ability, calling…

"Attack Position – and with this announcement, this Duel is as good as over."

"How so?!" Percy yelled.

"With it, this card changes the battle position of every non-Warrior or Insect-Type monster whose effect is activated on the field, after ridding them of five hundred Attack and Defense Points." Dextra drew back a lock of hair that had gotten in front of her Photon-tattooed eye. "And for every monster of yours in that declared position during the End Phase, you take five hundred damage."

Percy's breath halted at the news. "And if I do Summon a monster in Defense Mode…"

"…you'd have to pay a thousand Life Points for the privilege. Which is exactly what you have now." Dextra idly looked at Corebage. "In addition, my Photon Kwagar Hercules Beetle will keep even a point of battle damage from hitting me, as well as take five hundred from you when you attack a monster. And even if you do manage to keep a monster in Defense after it hits the field, my Corebage will simply shuffle it back into the Deck on my next turn. You wanted me to make my turn count, Percy? Because the ways in which you're screwed right now are countless."

Percy took a step back at this, surveying Dextra's impressively constructed field. Then his face set in a determined grin.

"It'll be easy, cur." And with a draw to six cards in hand, Percy started his turn. "First off, I activate 'Remembrance', and with the departure of a Spellcaster-Type 'Maedas' monster to my Graveyard from my Deck, I add a Fairy-Type 'Maedas' monster from my Deck to my hand – like the Level Three 'St. Oletta, the Blightspotter of Maedas'!"

Dextra raised an eye at this. "Bringing out the new stuff already, sport? I suppose I should be honored."

Percy ignored her. "Now, my 'Narnia, Vested of Maedas' will come forth from my Graveyard in Attack Mode, thanks to me adding a Fairy-Type monster from my Deck to my hand, and turn one Monster Zone on each of our fields into a Vested Zone!" The black-haired Spellcaster immediately issued out of a geyser of water before her, held back by a magical bronze ring that also appeared on Dextra's field under her Blue Mountain Butterspy to spawn a similar pool.[LIGHT/Spellcaster/Level 3/900 ATK/1800 DEF]

"And my 'Butterspy Lucidream' will rip five hundred of its Attack and Defense Points away, then switch it to Defense Mode!" The Maedas Spellcaster yelled in pain as the spore storm from the Continuous Trap sent it to its knees. [ATK: 900-400/DEF: 1800-1300] "By the by, thanks for your Special Summon. It brought a wonderful thing for me to use, and one good turn deserves another – with my activated card, 'Demise of the Land' And it'll bring forth the final piece of the puzzle with the Field Spell, 'Savage Colosseum'!"

The glow from the Quick-Play Spell bathed the arena in an eerie green light, Dextra's next words sounding more like they were uttered from a pulpit than from an office space. "You know of that Field Spell, right? It'll give your monsters three hundred more Attack Points in battle, but all of them now have to attack, and every monster you have that doesn't is destroyed at the end of the turn. Just keeps getting worse for you, doesn't it, Percy?" Dextra's head lowered in masked fury. "Almost like spitting in the face of everything and everybody that got you here is a good way to be carted out."

Percy's next words came in a breath almost as rough and ragged as the thick dust Butterspy Lucidream's activation had kicked forth. "You. Do not ever. Get to claim credit for what's led up to this anymore. Only the blame."

Then, Dextra's 'Demise of the Land' shot out electrical sparks and fizzled out of play, Percy silently revealing two cards in his hand in response; the already-acquired St. Oletta…and a Spell-negating 'Herald of Green Light', both of which were sequestered in the Graveyard at the same time Dextra's neutralized card did.

"The only thing that got me here was my admiration for you and Nistro – that you've made me regret for the rest of my life!"

A Normal Summon of a 'Hypnotic Fairy' and an activated ability would then occur, the response of the Butterspy Lucidream turning it to Defense Mode and depowering it. [LIGHT/Fairy/Level 4/ATK 1800-1300/DEF 600-100]

"The only thing that kept me here was the Hand of Maedas, which your friend's crusade has now destroyed!"

Both the discarded Herald and St. Oletta were brought forth in Attack Mode, and their Levels-as well as the Hypnotic Fairy's-became Level One. [St. Oletta/LIGHT/Fairy/Level 3-1/1200 ATK/DEF] [Herald of Green Light/LIGHT/Fairy/Level 2-1/ATK 300/DEF 500]

Is he planning to go for a Rank One? But that Fairy of his only lets him Summon LIGHT monsters for the turn now! Slacker Magician wouldn't stand a second against my field, and Mira could prevent its destruction three times, but the damage I could push through it would be enough to finish him! Unless he's got a new Number, this is the end of his tu…

And then Dextra's eyes widened.

"Of all things, Percy, did that Deck come with a Numb-"

"-And the only person responsible for all the victory that led us both here – and I, beyond – is me…"

A swirling nebula appeared above them, and to the Photon operative's horror, St. Oletta and the Herald of Green Light shot into its center as beams of light.

"…myself…"

The nebula exploded, and for the faintest of moments, a pair of numerals – seven and eight – appeared in the crown of Percy's blond hair. Every part of his face below that symbol and his eyes were obscured by his steepled hands.

"….and PERCY SHADDEUS! With these two monsters and the Overlay Network, I Xyz Summon 'Number Seventy-Eight: NUMBER ARCHIVE'!"

Several giant cylindrical shelves slammed into the ground beside the deacon, before a gigantic library of the same structure formed around both Duelists.[Number 78: Number Archive/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Xyz/Rank 1/0 ATK/DEF]

Thankfully, Dextra's poker face kept Percy from noticing her shock. "So this explains your mood shift. I guess beating you will be for both our own good now. End your turn and let's be quick; I…" the operative stuttered. "…I miss the old you. This you's not winning today, no matter whose Life Points hit zero."

"…all you miss, cheerleader, was how the old me fell for the same old tricks," Percy said. "And I'm through with being used. I'll use one of Number Archive's Overlay Units, however, to finally show you the true reason I was never trusted with a Number…"

The library glowed with blinding light within seconds, the only visible vision being the various seventy-eight symbols fading to jet-black on the library shelves' surfaces. "…'cause the truth of your great Numbers is this; these Numbers don't create evil; they reveal evil. Being true of heart means the Number bends to your will, instead of you to it. I may be the only member of the Hand of Midas standing, but I am one Duelist too many. Your lapdog should have finished the job yesterday…"

The Number Archive suddenly rumbled, as if something was about to uproot it from its cocoon around both Duelists."…and you and Nistro should have stayed in Spartan City." Percy's scowl returned. "Now face the very Number my home perished for you to pilfer! I turn the Number Archive into another arbiter of justice-the Rank Eight 'Number Ninety: GALAXY-EYES PHOTON LORD'!"

"Galaxy-Eyes-?!" Dextra's uncharacteristic shock was swiftly interrupted by the eruption of the Overlay Network, the one sole light that flew into its cradle crashing down to earth to reveal a shining blue paladin, luminescent skin and sword as long as the room it rose to scrape the ceiling of. [Number 90: Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord/LIGHT/Warrior/Rank 8/2500 ATK/3000 DEF]

Dextra's next words were part of a disbelieving stutter. "Y-you…Your Hand of Midas…had this Number? A Galaxy-Eyes?"

Percy's look turned bitter, yet somber. "We had that number-above our temple's highest wall. It was a sign of the temptation towards evil with our powers as Number holders…and how we kept it at bay. Right now, the Archive has simply produced its powers to bear for a turn. It has the Photon Lord's name and abilities….but little of its longevity. By this turn's end, my Lord will fall."

Percy flashed out another card in his hand. "But it will see you struck down first, with the help of this! I activate the Spell, 'Leeching the Light', giving my Photon Lord the same Attack Points as your Photon Kwagar Hercules – all twenty-nine thousand points of it!"

"Then I guess it's time I put in a final trick of my own!" Dextra retorted. "Since my Xyz, 'Photon Butterspy Princess', has no Overlay Units, it can make one out of the destroyed body of a Special Summoned monster with higher Attack Points than it – like your phantom Photon!" Dextra shot out one of her hands. "Go, Photon Absorption!"

The Princess immediately sent out the pincers on her side at the Warrior-Type Xyz Monster, the tips of them glowing flickeringly. "My Number is staying right where it is, and this Spell will ensure it – go, 'Black-to-Back Wave'!" The Quick-Play's magic immediately issued a star-studded bolt of black into the chest of Percy's illusionary Number, turning its luminescent skin dark as the cosmic network it came from. "Since this Xyz has another Xyz as one of its Overlay Units, it detaches them all, replaces one of them with itself, and draws me a card for each! It then protects my monster against all other targeting card effects– like your Princess's piteous effects to absorb it!"

The Rank Four monster's pincer bounced off of the Photon Lord's skin, the indigo armor above it now glowing with the light Percy's previous spell was sapping from Photon Kwagar Hercules Beetle' wings. [Photon Lord ATK: 2500-5400]

"Impossible!" Dextra stepped back in shock – shock that was short lived as she remembered. "…but this doesn't matter. Photon Kwagar Hercules Beetle protects me from all battle damage from my monster's fights. Which means you'll still be five hundred Life Points shorter when your attack fails to finish me."

"Oh, my Photon Lord will be fighting a monster, all right – but none on the field! Number Ninety, attack Dextra directly! Photon Slash of Destruction!"

"But how-?!"

"Black-to-Back Wave, of course! It keeps the monster insulated by its shroud from attacking monsters, but allows it to attack players instead!" Number 90's sword was drawn, and the five-thousand-Attack-Point Warrior crossed the almost insignificant distance between both players immediately. Dextra could only stand in stunned shock as its pierce sent her across the room and embedded her in the wall, her Life Points shooting down to 0.

As the Galaxy-Eyes ghost vanished, Percy shelved up his D-Pad, straightened his suit, and crossed the distance to the Photon operative himself. "And you're right about that ditty you delivered before."

"R….right about what?" Dextra strained out, trying to pull herself from the her-sized indent in the soft plaster.

Percy calmly looked at one of his hands. "Me beating you in a Duel is not how I win. Not even with the Photons that were once exclusively yours-though the joy from having the Dragons fall to this knight will be glorious." "You not stopping me until the plan's over is how I win."

Then Percy's hand glowed. "Turns out, the Maedas hands me a transformation, like your Photons afford you. It almost…really broke me, when I made the connection with how Father Maeda roused so many out of Number rages, and how a hand on the shoulder make you feel like family. But….I think he didn't know. That's the whole thing this has been about, isn't it? Being in the know?"

Dextra's head hung at the words. "I'm sorry."

Percy calmly turned to face her again. "You're not, number one. You shouldn't be, number two-the truth is always better than harbored illusions. Speaking of such-thanks for the preview, because I plan to have Kite fall to me the same way, with the same monster. And at his end, I'll put him down with the same gesture he did my dad. Not for me, my father, my….mentor, or my flock. But because the world is done making people like me-starting now."

The deacon's right hand clamped around Dextra's weakly shaking head, blue and purple locks looping around his fingers like rivers. "So right now, I'm going to use this hand to wipe the slate clean. Instead of ripping memories from your memory I'm going to give you mine. You'll gonna think you were waiting here, all this time, for someone, and then you won. That you left afterward. That every encounter we had was just another faded memory until your goals came true. You'll never remember even meeting me-but I'll be just as much a nightmare to you, Nistro and Kite as he was to me. And when I'm through with him…I take away the scales from your eyes, and see how you like having your sanctuary violated."

A solitary tear ran down Percy's face. "Sad thing is-I mean, what was all this for? A bunch of Xyzes? Was being at the top of Heartland not enough for you, and Nistro, and Kite? Apparently so. And yet here you sit, the fox trapped under the chicken coop. Do tell; is this everything you wanted, Dextra?"

As Dextra struggled to get out her newest words, Percy lowered the hand until it covered her mouth. "Sorry, wrong number. The deity you're trying to reach is below your feet, not above."

Percy's hand glowed and Dextra's eyes went glassy, though her complexion did not change as Kite's had. Her struggles grew though, and as they started getting frantic, another hand came into existence – right on Percy's shoulder.

"Stop," came an ethereal whisper. Turning to face it in shock, Percy was met with the silvery skin and encircling wings of a white-haired being, its black eyes boring into his own. Whipping around to potentially ask Dextra who this person was, Percy's Midas Hand clutched around empty air. The scene before him was a sea of soft pebbled rock under his thin shoes, the floating shadow of a great castle just out of his line of sight in the chalk-white sky.

The winged being pushed a finger to his head, and memories began flooding into the deacon's mind-something of a great titanic struggle, the dis-anchoring of the castle above him into the void of space, a being unconscious atop its highest tower.

"Who are you?" Percy sputtered, the memory imparting over. "And what do you want? If you've come to stop me-"

"Oh, perish the thought!" said the being. "Although you are doing it wrong, so I had to intervene."

"Intervene? On what?"

"You weren't doing it right. You were trying to wipe her memories, but you were doing it too intensely. You were hurting her, and if I hadn't stopped you, you could've killed her." Noticing his expression, she added, "Oh don't worry, she didn't get off scot-free. I know you wanted her memories gone, so I did it for you."

"Why?"

"Because I want to help you. And believe it or not, it's not just me, Percy. There's a secret group of people who share your pain and who'd like to meet you. Would you like to meet them?"

Percy folded his arms. "What's in it for me?"

The spirit paused. "I can't articulate it all at once," she admitted, "But if you don't like it, I'll bring you right back there, promise."

"And what makes you think I'll play ball? You whisked me from my city-"

"-one you said you were about to wreck for corrupting everyone-"

"-without my consent or compliance-"

"-want I should shoot Dextra the directions to your glass house there, sport-?"

"-and now demand I Duel again to-!" Percy stopped at once, his outstretched hand smacking against a glowing yellow barrier. "Wait! I'm guessing who you want me to meet is in that high castle, right? What gives with this obstruction to it? And who are you?"

Ehris chuckled. "Seriously, now I'm starting to see what they said about your good perception! Indeed, my name is Ehris, and I am the Goddess of Chaos!"

"Any relation to the one from the Greek myth?"

"Not too sure, but the people in Greece I visited long ago seem to think so!" Ehris chirped. "However, to go further into my home requires tribute, like the Greek worshippers of old. The first step to meet my friends-who are united in a common cause, much like you!-is to get past the Dueling lock on my Dystopia, as they did. Prepare yourself."

"…for what, exactly-SWEET SACCHARINE STARS!"

As he had spoken, Ehris twirled out a card, rested a golden apple on it that she produced from behind herself like a magician, and pushed a six-winged fairy with silver-gold armor into the coarse pebbles of the ground between them. Rushing to its feet in a flurry of limbs and feathers, the entity tried to speak, but no words came out.

"Don't worry about her-anything gets too complex, I translate for her,"the chaotic fairy explained.

"...okay, gonna need you to not be treating people you can command like that as if they're tools. Had enough of seeing that in Heartland." Percy shuddered.

Ehris grinned again."Sure thing, handsome."

Percy flushed red. "I am not your pin-up calendar!"

"Oh c'mon sport, it's a joke. You'll need 'em when you're back in Heartland society. Now, Percy...your new challenge awaits."

Rigidly, the fairy beside Ehris tentatively extended an arm and a D-Pad with crescent curves sprouted on her arm. Percy gave her one last look, in somber realization of Ehris's power, before extending his D-Pad and starting the new chapter in his life anew. A titter spilled from Ehris's lips. "Play nice, sport-we've got cookies afterward, and I can't stand cold…well, anything."

Percy sighed. "And once I meet these people, you sure I'll want to stay?"

Ehris shrugged.

"What I'm sure of is that you'll love it here…Deacon Percy Shaddeus."

---

You know this story's continuing on from here-there's a lot of Aspect-started Duels in the present to conclude-but do let me know how this first foray into the past of one of the Aspect's members went.

And to make up for lost chances before, I'm gonna be dropping links to the card bases each character's using from now on, with care given to specific ones from this chapter forward. Sorry for the link spamming...

Devon Knox's Centauraffe: bdsceptyr/art/Centauraffe-780149140

Viral Vector's new cards: bdsceptyr/gallery/?catpath=&edit=0&q=Viral

...and Adventageous Allure: bdsceptyr/art/Adventageous-Allure-667764454

Vetrix's new cards: bdsceptyr/gallery/?catpath=&edit=0&q=heraldry

That new Luster of the Divine Dragon: bdsceptyr/art/Luster-of-the-Divine-Dragon-739226192

Nistro's Heroic Champion-Aceleces: bdsceptyr/art/Heroic-Champion-Aceleces-750918397

Dextra's new Butterfly/-spy Support: bdsceptyr/gallery/?catpath=&edit=0&q=butterspy

Wingweaver, Emissary from the Sky: bdsceptyr/art/Wingweaver-Emissary-from-the-Sky-779847604

Percy's Maedas Set (focus on Remembrance, Oletta, and Narnia): bdsceptyr/gallery/60601538/The-Maedas

…Type-Rioter…: bdsceptyr/art/Type-Rioter-779609774

…Havenn the Harpsichord…: bdsceptyr/art/Havenn-the-Harpsichord-742912071

…Black-to-Back Wave…: bdsceptyr/art/Black-to-Back-Wave-780153865

…and finally, Hypnotic Fairy: bdsceptyr/art/Hypnotic-Fairy-626252740

That should be all of them for this chapter; the others will be handled in the next chapter, Triple Play! D'Sceptre Inc., over and out.