Keane LP: 3300

Spell & Trap Card Zone: 2 set cards

Katie LP: 4000

Phoenix Gearfried: Warrior-Type/Gemini/FIRE/Level 8/ATK 3100/DEF 2500

Blazewing Butterfly: Insect-Type/Gemini/FIRE/Lvele 4/ATK 1800/DEF 1800

Spell & Trap Card Zone: Solstice Zone of Aphorism [Field Card]

"Blazewing Butterfly, direct attack!" The heated insect glided forwards on wings made of fire, intent on striking Keane down. But Keane was prepared.

"I activate the Trap Card, Soul Resurrection." The Trap Card flipped up, and a pale female spirit extended out of the card. "This card lets me revive a Normal Monster from my Graveyard in Defence Position. So reappear, Noble Knight Artorigus!" The spirit reached bith hands into Keane's duel disk, and pulled the disgruntled knight out of the Graveyard. She deposited him on the field and kept both hands on his shoulders, signifying the Warrior's attachment to the card.

Noble Knight Artorigus: Warrior-Type/LIGHT/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 1800

Katie gritted her teeth. Keane hadn't even bothered trying to protect his Xyz Monster, which could only mean that it didn't matter to him. But why? Was he trying to force her to use up resources? She felt uneasy. "Since our monsters are equally strong, I won't bother attacking it. I end my turn."

"My turn, draw!" Keane looked at his card. He seemed pleased with his draw, but no smile cracked his lips. "I activate the Spell Card, D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation. By discarding one card, this Spell lets me return a banished monster to the field." Keane discarded Kappa Avenger. "Reappear, Rescue Rabbit!" The fluffy ball of cuteness hopped back onto the field.

Rescue Rabbit: Beast-Type/EARTH/Level 4/ATK 300/DEF 100

"Then I'll use its effect. And you know what happens after that." Just like before, the Rabbit faded from view. "This time, I'll Summon two copies of Guardian of the Throne Room!" Two golden robots appeared. They ran on tracks, and had three white missiles fitted to their backs.

Guardian of the Throne Room: Machine-Type/LIGHT/Level 4/ATK 1650/DEF 1600

Guardian of the Throne Room: Machine-Type/LIGHT/Level 4/ATK 1650/DEF 1600

Katie knew what was coming next. Deep down, she had known it the whole time…

"Both of my Level four Guardians plus the single Noble Knight, Overlay!" As before, the monsters turned fully yellow and flew upwards away from the opening portal. But this portal wasn't a red spiral. It was the shape of a galaxy. "I use these three monsters to construct the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon!" One at a time, all three Xyz Material Monsters shot into the portal. The portal exploded, showering the field with light particles. "Arise! Number 94: Matrix Golem!"

Katie looked up, her fears confirmed.

The green number ninety-four flashed above the field, at the same time etching itself into the back of Keane's hand. Out of the residue from the portal rose a massive metal cube. It was a huge array of colours, but all of them were dulled out. Slowly, the cube began to split widthways, opening up into two pieces. These split through the middle, opening into numerous different shapes. These shapes floated slowly out and reconfigured themselves in different locations, eventually forming the crude appearance of a cyclops. Laboriously, the cyclops stretched its arms out and let off a strange electronic howl, full of static and buzzing. Its chest was raised far above its waist, and the area where its stomach should have been was little more than a pole for support. Its Number was clearly visible, on a round plate that replaced its solar plexus. Its colours were still dulled out: in fact, the most striking feature about it was its three bright yellow Overlay Units.

Number 94: Matrix Golem: Machine-Type/Xyz/Gemini/LIGHT/Rank 4/ATK 2000/DEF 2000 – 3 OLU

Leah cried out. "A Number!"

Matt looked at Keane, as if re-evaluating everything he'd said. "We should have realised. Only a Number could make someone act like this-"

"You're wrong!" Keane shouted. He had heard them talking, and if only for a few seconds, he had forgotten Katie. "This thing hasn't done anything to me. Everything I'm doing here is of my own free will." He clenched his fist so hard it started to shake. "I want to make her suffer more than anything in the world. This card hasn't changed that. It's just made it easier for me to inflict pain!" The Number let off another odd howl.

James was shaking. He'd only witnessed a few duels with Numbers. Katie vs Esta... Matt vs Hideo... Dan vs Leah... Matt vs Mizutsu... without exception, all of them had ended with someone getting hurt, or worse. And now Katie was dueling another Number holder. Worse, a Number holder whose only goal was to hurt his opponent as much as possible. Why had she agreed to this?

As a matter fact, Katie was asking herself that very question now. What was she going to do now? The Number's influence would only make it harder to communicate with Keane in a reasonable manner. She wondered if it was even possible at all.

"Now, let's begin." Keane was saying, turning his attention back to his opponent. "I Normal Summon Number 94: Matrix Golem!"

Katie blinked. She was sure she's misheard him. Then she saw it. The Number behind Keane: it had begun to glow. With a flash of light, all of the coloured panels covering its body lit up, It raised its arms to the sky and howled again, But this time there was no static, no interference. The Number somehow seemed more complete than before.

Number 94: Matrix Golem: Machine-Type/Xyz/Gemini/LIGHT/Rank 4/ATK 2000/DEF 2000 – 3 OLU

"He's Normal Summoning a monster that's already in play..." Leah said, confused. Then the penny dropped. "So that means... it's a Gemini monster?"

Matt nodded. "A Gemini Xyz Monster. I didn't think such a thing was possible."

Katie was likewise dumbfounded. 'So this Xyz Monster is also a Gemini monster...' She chastised herself for not being more wary of it. 'This thing's dangerous. I need to be more cautious of it.'

"I activate Matrix Golem's effect!" One of the golem's Overlay Units spiralled into its eye, which lit up. "By detaching one of its Overlay Units, I can perform an additional Normal Summon this turn."

Number 94: Matrix Golem: 3 → 2 OLU

"I Summon Gene-Warped Warwolf!" A hideous, deformed creature appeared, howling at the sky.

Gene-Warped Warwolf: Beast-Warrior-Type/EARTH/Level 4/ATK 2000/DEF 100

Keane's face twisted into a crude imitation of a grin. "Oh, I should also mention that Matrix Golem has another effect. Each time a monster is Normal Summoned, you take 400 points of damage!"

Matrix Golem's panels lit up brighter than ever. Then lasers, dozens of them, shot out from its body, shooting on all directions. The four observers threw themselves backwards, narrowly missing a laser that carved a smoking line in the grass where they had been standing. Others blazed perfectly straight lines across the surrounding buildings, damaging the brickwork that hadn't even been repaired yet.

But many of them sliced across Katie. She screamed. The pain was unbelievable. Each laser felt like a white-hot bar laid against her bare skin. She didn't fall, but rather stood there gasping for breath, eyes wide in shock, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Katie LP: 4000 → 3600

James stumbled to his feet, intent on running towards Katie. He couldn't let her continue. Not like this.

Something grabbed hold of his arms. Turning around, he saw Dan and Leah holding on to him. He struggled. "Let go of me! I have to help her!"

"You can't-" Dan tried to say.

Matt stepped in front of James, blocking Katie from his view. He was also looking stressed out by the current situation. "James, you can't go to her! Not yet!"

James stopped struggling. "Why?"

"Battle!" They all turned around in time to see Keane begin his Battle Phase. "Gene-Warped Warwolf, attack her Blazewing Butterfly!" With a roar, the werewolf pounced, destroying the bug in an instant. The flames of its wings went out like a light.

Katie LP: 3600 → 3400

"Now I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card, Limiter Removal. It doubles the ATK of all Machine-Type monsters I control for this turn only." Keane activated the card, which shrouded Matrix Golem in electricity.

Number 94: Matrix Golem: ATK 2000 → 4000

With a passionate shout, Keane gave the order. "Go, Matrix Golem, attack Phoenix Gearfried! Cybernetic wave impulse!" Matrix Golem charged a bright multi-coloured ball of energy in its single eye. With another mechanical roar, it fired. The sphere covered the distance quickly, and completely engulfed Katie and her monster. She screamed in agony, the energy waves surrounding her. Every cell in her body was on fire!

Then the sphere dissipated. And this time Katie collapsed. She couldn't help it; it was all too much. She fell down onto one knee, barely in control of her own body, the smell of burning hair tickling her nose. Phoenix Gearfired was simply gone.

Katie LP: 3400 → 2500

Katie's vision was dimming. It was hard to see, and even harder to make sense of what she was seeing. What was Keane doing now? Oh, he was activating a Spell Card... Xyz Shroud – that was it. But why? Ah yes, because it would save Matrix Golem from being destroyed by Limiter Removal... Katie was really struggling to concentrate, to fight her way back from the edge of consciousness.

James had seen enough. With an anguished cry, he tore himself free of Dan and Leah's grasp, dodged past Matt, and ran as fast as he could over to where Katie was kneeling. He didn't care about the danger anymore. He didn't care about the duel. His only thought was to protect his girlfriend.

But Keane wasn't having any of it. In the middle of his move, he turned his head slowly to watch James. The Number's head followed. Keane muttered something that nobody heard. Matrix Golem took a step forward.

James didn't even see the massive hand swinging towards him until it was too late to stop. It was like running headlong into a brick wall. The back of the golem's hand smashed into him and lifted him off his feet, throwing him several yards back. He landed heavily, the breath exploding out of him, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth.

"I won't let you interfere..." Keane said, as the other three ran over to their downed comrade. "After what this disgusting excuse for a person did, my little sis' deserves justice! I won't let you stop me!"

Katie had regained her senses, but was still shaky. She pushed herself onto her feet, looking at James. The fight had drained out of her. "Keane... please stop this. I'm so sorry about what I did to your sister, truly I am. But you have to realise, I wasn't myself then. I would never have done something like that-"

"You're sorry!" Keane shouted back. "Why should I believe that? I could see the malice in your eyes! You wanted to hurt her! What you were doing to her is no different from what I'm doing to you now!"

"I told you, I wasn't myself-" Katie began.

Keane cut her off. "You don't care about her at all! After what you did to her, you visited her once! ONCE! How could you be so cold-hearted?"

Katie was practically sobbing by this point, the tears flowing freely down her cheeks. She didn't try to wipe them away. "I couldn't bear to own up to what I'd done. I took one look at her and... and..." She sobbed again.

James turned away. He could remember that day all too well. The girl in bed ninety-four was in a bad way. Katie couldn't look at her. She had buried her head in his chest, crying her eyes out. And he had comforted her, but at the same time he was astonished. Katie was such a strong person. Almost nothing could make her cry: not pain, not sad movies, nothing. But then, he supposed, this was hardly a normal circumstance.

Keane was completely unmoved by her tears. "Stop it! After what you put me through... after what you put us through... you have no right to cry! You have no right to show remorse now! Face me, fight me, and accept what you deserve!"

Author-made cards:

Number 94: Matrix Golem
Machine-Type/Xyz/Gemini/LIGHT/Rank 4/ATK 2000/DEF 2000
3 Level 4 monsters
This card is treated as a non-Effect Monster while face-up on the field or in the Graveyard. While this card is face-up on the field, you can Normal Summon it to have it treated as an Effect Monster with this effect: ● This card cannot be destroyed by battle, except by a "Number" monster. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card; you can Normal Summon 1 monster in addition to your Normal Summon or Set this turn (you can only gain this effect once per turn). When a monster is Normal Summoned: Inflict 400 damage to your opponent.

Solstice Zone of Aphorism
Field Spell Card
Face-up FIRE monsters gain 300 ATK and DEF. When a Gemini monster is Normal Summoned: Its controller can add 1 FIRE Gemini monster from their Deck to their hand, then discard 1 card.

Xyz Shroud
Spell Card
During this turn, face-up Xyz Monsters you currently control cannot be destroyed by your card effects.

Fun Fact #10: This chapter is by far and away the hardest thing we've ever had to write. Two of us were literally welling up. Writing about pain and misery and despair like this is something that we all wanted to try (because writers have to be skilled in all fields), but not to this level. This was simply painful to write. Nevertheless, we think it turned out ok, but once this story is finished, we will only write stories like this very sparingly.