Merry Christmas everyone! And to those who don't, Happy Hanukah, Joyous Kwanzaa, and Spiritually Fulfilling Equinox. I think that covers it. Anyway it took me forever to figure out how to start this chapter but I really pushed myself to get this chapter done for the holidays as well as my other fic Madness in Zexal so for those who read both, double update for you! And now on to reviews!
BahamutX978- I don't think I will be able to give Anna a bigger than what she had in the original, it's hard enough to balance everyone out as it is.
Double-DecaKiva-DenBlades- Yes things are escalating quite nicely.
The dimension inside the key was quite as always as Astral made his way to the panel that contained the Numbers. He was glad that Kaito was able to keep his promise that he would retrieve the other Numbers for them. Just as long as the Barrians didn't gain another Number things would be okay. But there was also the issue of Black Mist having Barrian powers as well but there was nothing more Astral could do about it until he got more information. Speaking of information, he really needed to look into the memories that were in these Numbers. If what he gained from the previous night and Kaito's story, these should hold the memories of the Barrians rather than his own. He held the two up to the panel and saw it, a gladiator being executed for a crime he didn't committee and a samurai lord being killed on the battlefield.
"So the Barrians did used to be humans…"Astral mused to himself. This kind of changed things, how did human become Barrians? Where they even aware of their past lives? If so, why do they look down on humans? Questions kept echoing through Astral's head but it didn't distract him from a pounding headache that was forming. What now? He wondered as his vision changed…
Astral could see a tall figure in front of him but the sight of him was blurry. Astral had no idea if his vision was unclear or he didn't have the memory concerning this person.
"Astral…I hope you understand your mission. You are to acquire the Numeron code and use it to destroy Barrian World. You must do this before they destroy us." The figure became more furious as he continued, "They are the reason our world is dying. There is no other way other than their destruction. Do you understand Astral?"
Astral felt his head nod and hear is voice in a rather steady and robotic tone, "I understand. I will not fail my mission."
Astral's vision cleared as he saw the Number panel again. A memory came back to him on its own and finally he knew what his mission was.
"I have to destroy Barrian World before they destroy my home…there is no other way. But you would beg to differ right Yuma?"
It was rather funny in an odd sense, Astral already knew what Yuma's reaction would be if he heard this. He would protest it then demand that there was another way. He was truly naïve, truly he was. No matter what happened to him he kept that cheerful attitude. Even towards the other Barrians the only one he showed true hate for was Vector for what he had done. Yuma had shown anger towards other before such as Tron and Faker but even then he gave them forgiveness. If Astral wanted to accomplish his mission he would need Yuma's help but there was no way he could imagine Yuma willingly assist in the destruction of a world.
"Yuma….what am I going to do with you?...What am I going to do about myself?" Astral could only laugh in sorrow over the predicament as the pain in his chest became tighter.
The ship hummed as they travel to the last coordinates. Technically it was the last two but the locations overlapped each other so might as well be one. Yu sat as he watched everyone on board going about passing the time until they got there. Currently he was doing a few practice duels with Yuma to get the feel of his deck and to stop double checking what cards he had played faced down. About half of the group was watching and trying to give advice, some of it not good.
"Try playing that card Yu." Yosuke pointed to the card in question.
"He can't because it's not his turn you idiot." Shark groaned.
"Then how come Yuma got to use that card?" Chie asked.
"Because when Yu called his attack it activated a condition that allowed Yuma to play Half Unbreak." Astral explained to the group.
"Sounds like you have to memorize all the cards in existence." Teddie whispered to Tokunosuke.
"Kind off…you could just read the card information on the D-Gazer or just steal their deck and look through it beforehand." That last half of the comment earned him a smack from Tetsuo and a death glare from Shark.
"Rio-san? Would you like to join us?" Yukiko called out to the girl who was sitting over in the corner.
"Huh?" Rio looked rather startled for some reason, "No…I'm good."
"You sure? You usually like to watch duels." Kotori asked.
"Just a headache….don't worry…" Rio brushed them off and laid her head back onto the console.
"She looks a little pale…is she alright?" Rise asked.
"She insisted she was fine this morning…I tried to tell her she could stay behind but she was a little stubborn…" Shark said.
"Then she is truly not feeling well…" Takashi muttered.
"I agree…usually she would have thrown something or yelled at Shark for calling her stubborn." Cathy agreed. Shark just gave another scowl.
Naoto looked over to the map at their destination, "So this place is underwater…do we have a plan to get down there?"
Astral mused for a bit, "I am not sure if the ship is designed for underwater travel and it is unwise for us to test this while you are all on board."
"Hey guys…." Kanji called out from looking out from the window, "There's a big storm coming."
"Really?" Yuma ran over to the console pulling up a viewing screen. True enough there were dark storm clouds up ahead.
"Can we go around it?" Kotori asked.
"It's impossible at this point," Astral said observing the screen, "The storm is moving towards us at a rapid pace."
A crash of lighting startled everyone on board and the clouds moved over them. "Was the storm there a minute ago?" Yu asked.
"I don't think so…but storms of this magnitude don't form that fast." Naoto said trying keep her balance as the ship began to rock.
"WHO'S THERE!?"
Everyone turned to Rio in shock. Who was she talking to?
"Rio, we're all here." Rise said.
Rio seemed to ignore her, "What you do want with me!? Just who are you?" She called out to the air around her.
"Is she hearing things?" Chie asked.
"She did go crazy foretelling oracle on us the other day…" Yosuke pointed out.
That's when the power when out.
"I can't see anything!"
"Somebody do something!"
"Get the power back on Yuma!"
"I'm trying but it's not responding!"
"Hey these buttons feel soft."
"TEDDIE!"
"Never mind…."
"Astral, you're a walking flashlight! Get over here so I can see!"
"He doesn't provide that much light Yosuke."
"Wait…is the ship going to fall into the ocean with no power?"
"…"
"GET THE POWER BACK ON!"
Just as suddenly the power went off, the engines hummed as the resumed motion and the lights turned on.
"Head count, is everyone here?" Yu called out.
"Eight Persona users…" Kanji called out, "Our group is here."
"RIO!" Shark cried out, "She's missing!"
"Up there! On the screen!" Tetsuo pointed to the viewing screen showing the outside deck. Rio was out there walking towards the railing.
"How did she get out there? We couldn't see anything!" Tokonosuke exclaimed.
"Doesn't she know it's dangerous out there?" Rise expressed her worry.
Shark just ran for the outside fighting the winds towards his sister, "Rio get back from there!"
She ignored him walking closer and closer to the edge. When she couldn't go any further, she leaned forward.
"RIO!" Shark reached for her arm but missed as she went over the railing into the water below. Doing the only thing he could think of and ignoring the cries of everyone behind him, he jumped over the railing into the ocean as well.
"Shark!" Yuma leapt over the railing as well with Astral behind him.
"Are you crazy?!" Kotori cried out only to watch Yu jump as well, "You too?!"
"Sempai!" Kanji went into the ocean as well followed by Naoto.
"Don't make me regret this!" Yosuke went for it as well.
"Is anyone else that crazy?!" Cathy yelled.
No one else ran for the edge but instead, the storm dissipated.
"That….was not normal." Chie observed.
Tetsuo ran for the railing and looked over, "I don't see anyone!"
Everyone else joined him, "Sensei! Yuma! Everyone?!" Teddie called out.
"They're not coming up…" Rise whispered.
"Do you think they made it down to the ruin?" Tokonosuke asked.
"But it's at the bottom of the ocean. To summarize, they could be anywhere now." Takashi reasoned.
"Maybe not….Rise…you said your Persona is a reconnaissance type?" Kotori asked.
"Yeah…what are you getting at?"
"I may have an idea."
Consciousness eventually returned to Yu as he felt sand and surprisingly air around him. Didn't they jump into the ocean? Thinking back on it, why did he jump into the ocean in the middle of the storm? It was a crazy thing to do but apparently he wasn't the only crazy one as he looked around and saw that Kanji, Naoto, and Yosuke followed him. Shark and Astral were close by trying to rouse Yuma.
"What was up with that freaky whirlpool?" Yosuke brushed the sand out of his hair.
"It pulled us in…"Naoto looked above them, "And there's a force field of some sort keeping the water out."
"Hey…do any of you see where Yuma and Shark landed?" Kanji looked around for the two boys in question.
Yu slipped his glasses on just in case and scanned the area around them. Mostly sand fields surrounded them expect for a rather imposing structure in the distance with a set of footprints heading towards them.
Shark looked them over, "They have to be Rio's."
"So I guess this is the last ruin…" Yuma looked over the sight, "Why did Rio run in?"
"We have to follow her…she was acting weird before jumping into the ocean." Naoto said.
They followed the footprints to the entrance of the structure which turned out to be a temple surrounded by a maze. Yosuke groaned about the prospect of having to navigate a maze especially with no more footprints to follow. The maze was made out of smooth tile and seemed to stretch for a good mile. Rio could be anywhere in here if she didn't know where she was going.
"Hey look!" Yuma reached up into a crack in the wall and extracted two coins, "Looks like my dad was here as well."
"Enough about that Yuma….we need to find Rio." With that Shark started his way into the maze with the rest of the group following.
"Why don't we punch through the walls? It will go much faster that way?" Kanji proposed.
"I have a suspicion it won't be that easy." Astral said as they made their way through the maze, "We have no idea what the guardian spirit here is like and it might not appreciate cheaters."
"I agree with that notion, let's just play by the rules for now." Naoto agreed.
Shark just hung back for a bit, something about this place was rubbing him the wrong way. As if he had been here before. He shook it off as something caught his eye in one of the paths leading off the one they were on. He walked up and crotched down to pick it up. It was Duel Monster card, one of Rio's to be exact.
"What you've got there?"
Shark had to resist groaning, Yosuke had followed him. "One of Rio's cards."
"Then she must of gone this way then! Hey Yu…."Yosuke trailed off as he turned around to discover that pathway was no closed off. "That wall was not there before was it?"
"No…." Shark leaned in to inspect it, just where did it come from? "Oi! Yuma! Can you hear me?!"
"Yu! Naoto? Kanji?" Yosuke cried out too with no responses back, "Do you think to notice us missing?"
"I don't think it's going to matter…." Shark looked at the pathway ahead, walls where appearing and disappearing creating a straight pathway ahead, "This place's got a mind of its own."
"So why is it giving us the easy path?"
"Don't know….but I'm going to find out…don't get in my way." Shark sent Yosuke a glare for good measure.
"Why do I keep getting stuck with him?" Yosuke muttered before following Shark down the path.
"Shark! Yosuke!"
The rest of the group was trying to backtrack the moment they notice they were down two members but were now lost due to running around in a panic.
"I think we already went this way…." Yu panted.
"I agree with that…" Astral looked at the wall, "We've passed this crack four times already."
"So we are going in circles?! Great! Now what?" Yuma complained.
"How about calling them?" Kanji suggested.
"No dice…" Yu held up his phone that showed 'no signal', "We're underwater so I don't think we're going to get a signal.
"It might be best that we head for the center," Naoto said pointing to the temple in the distance, "We are here to find the Number so we better head for our goal. We might be able to meet back up along the way too."
"But…." Yuma started to protest.
"Don't worry kid…" Kanji ruffled his hair, "Yosuke is with him….oh…Maybe they're at least okay."
"I wouldn't worry about them too much," Yu reassured the group. "Yosuke can handle his own."
Astral semi paid attention examining the walls around them a little close and noticed something odd, "These walls…."
"What about them?" Yuma asked.
"We've seen this wall before….but not in this location."
"Are you saying the maze rearrange itself?" Kanji couldn't believe it, "So much for following the rules…"
"Clearly something doesn't want us to find our way…" Astral was now worried. Whoever was controlling this place wanted them to get separated. There was still the matter of finding the Number and the question of whether or not a Barian had already arrived in their hunt as well. "Let's just stay close as we can to each other, we cannot allow the maze to separate us anymore.
The group nodded in agreement as they set of trying to navigate the maze further.
Shark did not like this one bit. The déjà vu was not leaving him, it didn't matter if the maze was creating a strait path for him, he felt like he had been down this path before. "Just stress…." He muttered to himself, Rio was missing after all. Mercifully Yosuke was quite as they walked, that was a skill that he had and Yuma did not. The maze lead them to the temple that rested in the center allowing them to climb up the long staircase to the top and when they reached the summit, they saw something that surprised them, "Rio?"
Rio was standing there before them but dressed completely differently. A white dress and headdress with some simple jewelry gave off the vibe of an ancient priestess. But it wasn't just the outfit that felt changed about her, there was something about her gaze at them that felt odd, as it she was seeing both of them for the first time in her life. And in her hand…was a Number Card.
"Rio! What's going on here?" Shark demanded of his sister.
"I've been waiting for you….Ryoga Kamashiro." Rio's voice was the same but sounded foreign at the same time.
"You think the card possessed her?" Yosuke pinched in his two cents.
"She wouldn't let something like that happen to her but….." Shark narrowed his eyes, "Are you really Rio?"
A blue aura appeared around Rio and spread briefly showing a figure behind her as she spoke again this time her voice distorting, "My name is Abyss."
"The Number spirit…." Shark whispered.
"Did you posses Rio to jump into the ocean! That is not cool! We all panicked!" Yosuke shouted.
Abyss ignored him and kept is attention on Shark, "It is your destiny to fight me. It is time to awake your power that has slept within you."
"I have no idea what you're prattling on about but I will be your opponent." Shark stated getting his D-Pad ready. "But first let Rio go!"
"I will, only if you defeat me…" Abyss retuned to Rio's body as her voice returned to normal.
"You sure about this? That's your sister up there!" Yosuke protested.
"He's not going to let her go any other way…." He growled.
"This is nothing you should show concern about Persona User…."
Yosuke felt his back go rigid when he heard Abyss address him, "How did you know about that?!"
"You should not be here, this trial is for Ryoga Kamishiro only."
"Like Hell I'm going to leave him alone here!" Yosuke shouted back, "As long I'm here I've got his back."
"Very well…." Abyss raised a finger towards Yosuke as he felt something grip his throat, "A vow of silence is upon you. You will not repeat a word of what is to happen here until Ryoga gives you permission to do so."
Yosuke coughed as the sensation left his throat. "You alright?" He heard Shark asked.
"Yeah…just beat him already."
"Gladly….let's duel Abyss! I'm getting my sister back!"
DUN DUN DUUUUNNN! Now we are moving on to the big feels part of Zexal. When we are done with the Number Hunt arch the next arch will take place back in Inaba so back your bags for a trip!