Author's Note: My online classes haven't killed me yet, though there's still one week to go. Anyway, I just want to warn everyone real quick that this next chapter is going to get pretty dark. It's also going to contain a couple of very special "guest stars" though.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.

Chapter 11: Resonating Numbers

"I suppose this was the most logical progression of our duel." Anitak observed. "You've summoned the one monster at your disposal that could counter my Number."

"Any monster that battles with Ghost Student Mary has its ATK and DEF switched during the battle." Alit began. "But Star Cestus' effect makes it so he can't be destroyed in battle and transfers any damage I would take to my opponent. In other words, Star Cestus is able to turn Mary's effect against you!"

"Then why not go ahead and test that power?" Anitak asked.

"Gladly!" Alit responded. "I attack Ghost Student Mary with Star Cestus and activate Star Cestus' effect! By detaching an overlay unit, I prevent Star Cestus from being destroyed in battle!"

Star Cestus began to charge across the field towards Ghost Student Mary. As he did, one of the balls of light orbiting around him went into the crest on his head.

"Did you think I would not be prepared for such an obvious strategy? I activate my Trap, Student Intimidation Tactics!" Anitak announced. "When my opponent activates a monster effect in the presence of a Student monster, Student Intimidation Tactics allows me to negate that effect and raise the ATK of one of my Student monster by 1000 points until the end of the turn!"

"I knew you'd try something like that! I activate the Counter Trap, Jolt Counter!" Alit announced. "Since I have a Battlin' Boxer on the field, Jolt Counter lets me negate the effect of your card!"

"And in response I activate a Counter Trap of my own, Trap Jammer!" Anitak announced. "This card renders your Jolt Counter useless!"

"Not bad, but I activate another Counter Trap, Counter Clash!" Alit announced. "This card negates the effect of your Counter Trap and doubles the battle damage both of us take this turn! So instead of you taking only 1600 damage, you'll be taking 3200 damage!"

"What!" Anitak exclaimed.

'Did Alit plan this for this to happen all along?' Kotori mentally wondered.

"Looks like I was two steps ahead of you." Alit observed. "Take her down, Star Cestus! Stardust Impact!"

Star Cestus raised his right fist to attack as he continued his charge across the battlefield. Mary flung her hooked chains at the Star Cestus, but the hooks merely bounced off the boxer's armor. As soon as Star Cestus came in range he swung his fist, which became covered in blue flames. The fiery punch made contact with Mary's jaw, knocking the undead creature back into the air. Anitak also moved like she had been punched in the jaw as her life points plummeted to zero. Suddenly Mary seemed to explode with a blinding flash of white light that washed over the entire area.

Alit found himself standing in the hallway of an unknown building. The place was filled with people who were just walking by and talking. From the age of the people Alit saw around him, he quickly deduced that he was in some kind of high school. What surprised him though was that the girls of this school were wearing the same uniform that Chitose wore as street clothes. The boys meanwhile were wearing a simple bluish jacket over a white shirt with long bluish pants. Everything around Alit had a deep sepia color to it, making it seem like he was inside an old movie of some kind.

As Alit looked around to try and figure out what was going on, he suddenly saw Chitose emerge from around a corner behind him. The dark-haired girl was carrying a large stack of books in her arms. Walking in the opposite direction was a young man with slightly long unkempt blonde hair. As he started to walk past Chitose, the young man stuck out his leg, causing Chitose to trip and fall forward. All the books she was carrying were quickly spread across the floor.

"Oops. Looks like you dropped something, bookworm." The blonde spoke with a cocky grin on his face.

"Only because you tripped me." Chitose pointed out.

"Yeah? Well what're you gonna do about it?" the blonde asked.

"There's nothing for me to do but pick up my books." Chitose calmly replied as she got back to her feet and adjusted her glasses.

As Chitose began to move to pick up her books again, the blonde stuck his foot out again, causing her to stumble. Alit found himself balling his hands into fists at his sides as he watched this go on. The blonde meanwhile was snickering at the mischief he was causing.

"Boy, you're a real klutz today Amamiya." The blonde remarked.

"…Please knock it off." Chitose requested in a quiet yet angry voice.

"Huh? What was that?" the blonde asked as he put his hand to his ear. "I couldn't hear ya. Speak up."

"I said knock it off, Joey Wheeler!" Chitose yelled.

Alit gasped slightly when he heard the name of the young man who was tormenting Chitose. He couldn't believe that her bully was the same legendary duelist he had heard about before and slightly admired.

"Oh yeah? And what will you do if I don't? Huh?" Joey asked. "You gonna slap me or something? Go ahead."

"Leave her alone!" Alit ordered. Joey completely ignored Alit, causing the boxer duelist to storm towards him. "Are you deaf? I said…"

Alit stopped speaking when he tried to grab Joey's shoulder, only for his hand to pass through the blonde like he was made of air. Alit waved his hand through the back of Joey's head and got the same result. He quickly realized that what he was seeing was some kind of illusion. Chitose meanwhile was standing there doing nothing.

"You can't do anything, can ya?" Joey observed. "Y'know Amamiya, sometimes you just really piss me off. You walk around this school acting like you're smarter than everyone. I really hate people like that."

"Then you must despise everyone, since I'm sure at least ninety percent of the world's population is more intelligent than an ape like you." Chitose retorted.

"What the hell did you just say?" Joey shot back. Alit meanwhile found himself smirking at Chitose's comment.

"Knock it off, Joey!" a voice interrupted. Everyone looked to see a young woman with brown hair cut just above her shoulders approaching.

"Oh, it's just you Tea." Joey identified. "Why don't you mind your own business?"

"And why don't you just shut up and head to class?" Tea responded. "The bell's going to ring in just a few minutes. And didn't the teacher keep you after class yesterday for being late? You wouldn't want to be kept late again, would you?"

"…Whatever." Joey responded after a moment as he finally backed down. "I was getting bored with this anyway."

As Joey walked away, Chitose breathed a sigh of relief and resumed picking up her books. Tea quickly bent down and helped her.

"Here." Tea spoke as she handed Chitose her remaining books.

"Thank you." Chitose replied. "You're… Tea Gardner, correct?"

"That's right. I think this is actually the first time we've talked." Tea responded. "I kinda feel like I should apologize for Joey, since he and I are in the same class. Nice job the way you told him off."

"I shouldn't have done that." Chitose replied. "I let my let my temper get the better of me before."

"You had every right to get mad! Joey's a real jerk!" Tea told her. "I just wish a certain friend of mine would stand up to him like you did."

"Are you speaking of your classmate, Yugi Muto?" Chitose asked.

"Actually, yeah." Tea admitted. "Hey, do you know Yugi?"

"I've never spoken to him, but I have seen him around the school." Chitose answered. "He must have a very good mental acuity due to all the puzzle games he seems to play."

"That's one way to think about it, I guess." Tea replied. "Well, I should get going before the bell rings. See you around."

Chitose nodded in reply, and with that Tea headed off down the hall while Chitose headed for her own classroom. Suddenly everything around Alit turned to mist and reformed itself into new surroundings. Alit found that that he was now standing in the middle of some kind of office waiting room. There was a secretary busy typing at a computer behind a large desk that was to the left of a polished wooden door. On the wall next to the door on Alit's right was a polished nameplate that read, Hideki Amamiya, Senior Vice President.

At that moment, Chitose walked into the room and approached the secretary's desk. After a moment, the secretary looked away from her computer and turned to Chitose.

"Can I help you?" the secretary asked.

"I have an appointment to see the vice president." Chitose answered.

"Can I get your name please?" the secretary requested.

"Chitose Amamiya." The dark-haired girl answered.

The secretary raised an eyebrow. "Amamiya? Are you related to the vice president?"

"He's my father." Chitose answered.

"Your father?" the secretary repeated with a hint of shock. "Well… I'm sure you don't really need an appointment to see your own father."

"You obviously haven't been working here long." Chitose coldly replied. "Please tell him I'm here."

"Uh, yes. Of course." The secretary replied.

After the secretary used the intercom to let Chitose's father know his next appointment had arrived, Chitose opened the wooden door and walked though into the next office. Alit quickly followed her inside. Sitting behind a large polished wooden desk in the office was an older man wearing a dark suit and glasses with square frames. He had dark hair that was turning grey on the sides. The man had a very stern expression on his face as he read over some papers. Chitose stepped before his desk and waited.

"Sit down, Chitose." Hideki told her, not once looking up from his papers.

Chitose quietly complied and sat down in the chair facing her father's desk. Both Chitose and Alit waited as Hideki continued to read the documents in front of him. After what seemed like almost five minutes, Hideki finally put down his papers and looked at Chitose.

"What did you want to see me about, father?" Chitose asked.

Hideki leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands. "…It's come to the attention of both your mother and I that your grades have begun to slip. This sort of thing is unacceptable. I don't think I need to remind you that your mother and I expect you to have the best grades possible so that the university will accept you."

"I… I know, father." Chitose replied. "It's just that I've had difficulty keeping up with the workload I've been under."

"That's no excuse!" Hideki shouted as he slammed the side of his fist onto the desk, causing Chitose to flinch. "This world demands us to work hard if we are to succeed, no matter how big the task! If you cannot complete the tasks assigned to you, than you are a failure!"

"I… I understand." Chitose told him.

Hideki sighed and got up from his chair, turning to the wall behind his desk as he put his hands behind his back. "…I'm going to be lenient with you this time Chitose. But know that if you do not do well on your next exams, you will no longer be welcome in my house. Understand?"

"…Yes father." Chitose told him.

"Good." Hideki replied as he turned back around. "Now leave. I have work to tend to."

Chitose nodded and began to walk towards the door. Suddenly everything around Alit turned to mist again, and soon he found himself in another place. This time Alit was in the middle of a library. He looked and saw Chitose sitting at a table a few feet away writing something into a notebook. Around her on top of the round table several books, some of which were open. Alit walked up to get a better look at Chitose. It seemed that the dark-haired girl had not had a good night's sleep in days.

Three more young women walked up and stood before Chitose's table. The lead girl had long dark hair and seemed to be wearing lipstick.

"Hey Amamiya." The lead girl spoke, causing Chitose to look up from what she was writing.

"What do you want, Maya?" Chitose asked.

"The girls and I need you to take care of our algebra homework before tomorrow." Maya told her.

"I don't have time to do your work for you again." Chitose told her as she turned back to what she was writing. "I have too much work of my own to do as it is."

"Look Amamiya, I'm in no mood to mess around!" Maya told her as she slammed the desk with her palm, causing Chitose to look back up. "You either take care of work for us, or we're going to make your life at this school a living hell!"

"…Do whatever you like." Chitose indifferently responded after a moment. "I no longer care."

"…Fine then. Don't say we didn't warn you." Maya told her.

With that, Maya and her two friends left. Everything turned to mist again and Alit found himself in another office space. From the layout, Alit determined that he was in the teachers' offices at Chitose's school. Sitting behind one of the desks was a man with slightly long brown hair and a bit of stubble on his chin, wearing a tweed jacket over a polo shirt. As the man wrote something on a piece of paper, the door to the office opened and Chitose walked in. The man looked up from what he was doing as Chitose approached his desk.

"You wanted to see me, Mr. Kirisaki?" Chitose asked.

"Ah, Amamiya. I wanted to talk to you about your exam." Kirisaki told her.

"Is there something wrong with it?" Chitose asked.

"Well, the problem is I'm not sure how to grade it." Kirisaki answered. "You see I don't want to cause you any problems, but these answers you've given… they aren't exactly perfect."

"I… I apologize for that." Chitose told him, as the color seemed to drain from her face. "I've been under a good deal of pressure lately."

"I understand. You see I know about the position you're in with your parents." Kirisaki replied. "Word gets around, you know. I'd like to help you out, but as an educational professional I can't exactly give a student any grade I feel like. There are standards I have to live up to, you know. I'm sure you can understand the bind I'm in."

"I understand perfectly." Chitose replied. "Is there anything I could do? Perhaps I could retake the exam?"

"Well… there is one thing you could do." Kirisaki told her as he stood from his chair. "That's why I asked you here. I'll make it so you pass your exam, provided you do me a small favor right here and now."

"What favor is that?" Chitose asked.

At this, Kirisaki took hold of her chin. "You're a lovely young lady, Amamiya. One I've had my eye on for a while now. If you do exactly what I want you to right now, I'll give you the top score in the class."

"You… you want me to…" Chitose quickly realized as she backed away in horror. "I-I can't! I won't!"

"Now, now. Don't be so hasty, Amamiya." Kirisaki told her. "Think about the kind of problem a bad exam score will cause for your parents. A girl like you probably wouldn't do well out on the street. I'm giving you the chance to make that little problem go away right now. You'd be an idiot not to take it."

"Don't do it, Chitose!" Alit told her, though he knew very well that she couldn't hear him.

"I don't have all evening, Amamiya." Kirisaki warned. "If you don't answer me soon, I'll just go ahead and grade your exam right now. So what'll it be?"

"…If… if it is what I must do…" Chitose began. "I suppose I have no choice."

"Good. I knew you'd see it my way." Kirisaki replied as he leaned against his desk. "Now, strip for me, slowly. I want to enjoy this for as long as possible."

Chitose slowly took off her jacket and tossed it to the ground. As she began to undo her tie, a tear rolled down her cheek. Alit tightly shut his eyes to try and avoid seeing what was to come. Soon though the surroundings changed again, and when he opened one of his eyes he saw that he was out in the yard in front of Chitose's school. When he opened his eyes fully, he saw Chitose walk past him with a sort of dead look in her eyes. Both he and Chitose soon noticed a crowd of students gathered in front of the school. The two of them walked up to the gathering to see what the commotion was about.

"What's going on?" Chitose asked.

The students who heard Chitose gave her an odd look and stepped aside to allow her through. Both Chitose and Alit went completely pale upon seeing what had drawn everyone in. Pinned to the bulletin board that was normally used for announcements were several pictures of Chitose standing topless in the middle of the teacher's office. Alit quickly deduced that it had been taken through the office window. Written on each picture in red ink was the word, whore.

Chitose put her hand to her mouth to stifle a cry as she backed away in horror. As she backed away she bumped into someone who had been standing behind her. She turned around that saw that Joey was the one she had bumped into. The blonde had the same odd expression that the other students had been giving her. Chitose ran off with tears coming to her eyes. Alit attempted to run after her, but the surroundings changed yet again.

This time Alit was standing in the middle of a restroom. He saw Chitose walk in through the door, revealing that he was in fact in the girl's restroom. It seemed he was seeing Chitose only moments after she had run away from the bulletin board. As the dark-haired girl tried to catch her breath, she walked up to the bathroom mirror. Chitose looked at her reflection for a few moments before letting out a scream and punching the glass. She hit the mirror with enough force that caused it to shatter. Suddenly a glowing white card fluttered out from behind the broken class onto the bathroom counter. Chitose noticed the card and picked it up.

In her hand, the card stopped glowing and turned into an Xyz Monster card with the name, Number 664: Ghost Student Mary. Chitose's expression then became completely blank as she looked at her shattered image in the mirror.

"I know what I must do." Chitose spoke.

With her other hand, Chitose pulled a large shard of glass from the mirror. She held the shard tight enough that the sides of it drew blood. Alit desperately called for Chitose to not do what she was about to do, but all he could do was watch in horror as she slit her own throat with the glass. As her blood splattered onto the mirror and her body collapsed, the room was enveloped in another blinding flash of light.

Alit stood frozen in shock in the place where he and Anitak had just dueled as rain started to come down. Anitak meanwhile had returned to her human form of Chitose, only her hair had lost its braided ponytail and she had become as pale as a sheet. Chitose looked at Alit with a hurt and angry expression, as if she knew what he had just seen. Alit couldn't fault her for that though, as he had just witnessed things that were obviously too personal for him to see. Kotori meanwhile was looking at both of them with a confused expression.

"Chitose, I…" Alit began.

"You had no right!" Chitose shouted. "NO RIGHT!"

Before Alit could respond, Chitose let out a piercing scream and turned into a ball of red light. The light flew into a galaxy-like portal that had appeared behind her and vanished. As the portal closed, Kotori ran up to Alit.

"Alit, are you okay? What happened?" Kotori asked.

"I… I think I just saw stuff from Anitak's… from Chitose's past life." Alit answered.

"Was it because of that light that went off when your Number fought Anitak's?" Kotori asked.

"I think so." Alit answered. "It's almost like during the Number War when the Legendary Numbers would fight the 10X Numbers of us former Barians."

"But why would your Number react with Anitak's like that?" Kotori wondered.

"…I have no clue." Alit replied. "I think there's something between me and Chitose I don't know about."

Samantha sat in her lair with a scowl on her face, looking at the large crystal orb floating above the table. The orb was currently showing an image of Kotori and Alit standing in the rain. She had just witnessed the duel between Anitak and Alit. Suddenly the orb turned red and showed the silhouette of a woman with large angelic wings. Samantha knew exactly whom the silhouette belonged to.

"Hi Alnia." Samantha greeted. "I figured I'd be hearing from you shortly. I take it Ani is with you?"

"Yeah, and she's ranting and tearing the place up." Alnia confirmed. "What the hell happened over there?"

"There was a little bit of an incident." Samantha replied. "Ani just dueled one of Don Thousand's old pawns, Alit. Not only did she lose, her Number resonated with the 10X Number held by Alit. Meaning he probably just saw bits of Ani's past life."

"What! How the freakin' hell did that happen?" Alnia demanded to know.

"Well… there was this other little thing that happened during Ani's plan to kill all of Don Thousand's ex-pawns to make it easier to get to Yuma." Samantha revealed. "I didn't mention it because it didn't seem like a big thing. But after one of the psychic duelists that Ani hired screwed up, she decided to have some hot angry sex with Alit. I think she has some kind of weird love-hate crush on him or something. Anyway, it looks like whatever happened at that time was enough for a connection to be formed between Ani and Alit."

Alnia sighed and seemed to rub the bridge of her nose, or at least the spot where such an organ would be. "That dumb bitch. Okay, looks like you're on your own now, Mitaka, since Anitak's in no shape to help you right now. You better not screw up like she did, or else you're gonna get it!"

With that, the orb went dark. Samantha waved her hand to cause the orb to vanish and rose to her feet with a sigh.

"Well, looks like I'm going to have to move a little faster to get the Numeron Code from Yuma." Samantha said to herself. "Otherwise, Alina's going to hand my ass to me on a platter."

Author's Note: This last chapter is probably the darkest thing I've written to date. Anyway, I'm sure those of you reading have figured out that at least the first part of the flashback took place before Yugi solved the Millennium Puzzle. And if anyone reading thinks Joey was OOC in this chapter, even for the punk he was, you should read what he and Tristan did to Tea in one of the early chapters of the original manga. And this was after Yugi solved the puzzle.

Please review and let me know what you think.