Hi everyone, DisneyAnimefan94 here and welcome back to Barian Wars: Battle of the Barians. First of all I apologize for the long wait I was on vacation all last week. But now I am back so let's continue with this story. Just one thing this chapter may be quite long.
Disclaimer: I don't own Zexal!
Chapter 9: Stephanie's Past
Ryan was in his armored form but his armor was heavily damaged, and he was panting heavily. On the other side was Nash and Marin in their barian forms and above them was their chaos numbers.
"Well Ryan, it appears that you are all out of monsters." Nash said as he chuckled.
"And now it's time to finish you off old friend." Marin said as Ryan gasped.
"Shark, Rio please don't do this. I'm your brother Ryan and your friend Dylan." Ryan said with tears coming down his face.
"Enough!" Nash yelled out. "You are not Dylan, and there is no Shark and Rio anymore!" He said. "Shark and Rio are dead!" Ryan was frightened by this as he was backed into a corner. "Now Silent Honors DARK and Raganinfinity attack and destroy him." He said as both monsters combined their attacks into one blast as it headed straight towards Ryan. The mermail duelist put up his arms in defense.
"No we won't let you take him!" A familiar voice said as Ryan looked up to see Dine and the rest of mermail monsters in front of him forming a barrier to protect him.
"Dine, Gaios everyone! Why?" He asked in disbelief of what was happening.
"Because, we really care for you Ryan." Dine said with tears coming out of her eyes. "And so do I." She said as Ryan shook his head as he then saw that they were all disappearing. "Good bye Dylan, and good luck." She said as all the mermails disappeared.
Ryan's POV
"NOOO!" I shouted as I stood up and panted. I then gasped as I then put my hand on my chest as I couldn't feel my pendent. "Right, I forgot." I said to myself. "Nash and Marin's chaos powers destroyed it." At that moment I realized that I was no longer in the park and in a room. "By the way where am I?" I asked as I looked up to see a crimson light coming out of a window. I then climbed on the bed and looked out of it to see the outside of Heartland City. "Wait, I'm back in Black Hill Castle." Remembering the past when the barians controlled Lorenzo. Just then I heard voices as I looked to see a door. I then opened the door as I walked down a long hall way until I ended up in some sort of a dining room and was shocked to see who was in there. My friend Donovan, Kite's sister and now I guess Shark's ex-girlfriend Luna, surprisingly Lorenzo and then I saw someone who I never thought I saw. My sister Stephane, the last time I saw her was when we were kids. She was wearing a short red vest with a white t-shirt, short jean shorts, black stockings and brown boots. Just then Donovan looked at me and smiled.
"Hey look who's up." He said as the rest turned around to see me.
"Ryan!" Luna and Lorenzo said as Luna then ran over to me and hugged me.
"You're okay!" She said hugging me tightly as I winced at the pressure she put on me increased the pain of my injuries.
"Luna, I'm glad to see you too but can you please let go." I winced.
"Oops sorry." She said. "Come on, sit down with us." She said leading me to the table. "Here you must be hungry." She said pointing at the food.
"Thanks." I said as I quickly started eating. After filling up I then looked at everyone. "So who did my sister get a hold of all of you?" I asked.
"Your sister told us what was going on." Luna answered.
"Yeah, she told us what was going on and we quickly responded to help her." Donovan said. "I'm sorry about what happened to Shark and Rio." He said.
"Thanks Donny." I said then looked down at my plate. "I still can't believe they would turn their backs on us and sided with the emperors."
"You're not the only one who's heartbroken Ryan." I heard Luna as I looked at her as she looked just as sad, heartbroken and upset as me.
"That's right, I forgot how Shark's turning would affect you." I said.
"That's okay Ryan." Luna said. "I still love him and I know the real Shark is inside him. The kind and loving one." She said as I then looked to see was sitting next to her, Lorenzo.
"By the way Lorenzo, how did you get in all this?" I asked him.
"Well, Luna called me and asked to join the team your sister was forming and I had to say yes." Lorenzo said. "Plus I want payback for what the barians did to me." He said as I remembered the vampire incident. "So now we are a foursome and you my friend make five." He joked as we all chuckled at his joke. I then turned to my sister.
"I know you have many questions for me Ryan." She said. "And I will be glad to answer them." She then turned to the others. "For now I want you three to go out there and search for the rest of the emperors and find Yuma and his friends." She said as the trio nodded and exited the room. Once everyone left I looked at her.
"Where were you all this time? The last time I saw you was when we were kids before they put us in spate orphanages." I said as Stephanie nodded.
"I know, and that day was the worst day in my life." She said as both her and I remember that day.
Flashback
Normal POV
"Please, don't take my brother away!" A young Stephanie said trying to get past a police officer. Her brother was crying for his sister who was being put into a car.
"I'm sorry, but the decision is final you and your brother are to be put in separate orphanages." The officer explained to her as tears came out of her eyes.
"At least let me say good bye to him." She said as she finally got past the officer as she ran up to the window where a frightened and crying Ryan looked.
"Stephie, don't let them take me!" He said as Stephanie gave him a sad smile.
"Don't worry little brother, I'll find you, just be brave and stay strong." She said as the car that her little brother inside drove away with Ryan still calling out to her.
End of Flashback
Ryan's POV
Thinking back to that day was the worst day before I met up with Shark and Rio.
"I still can't believe how much you've grown Ryan." Stephanie said as I looked back up at her. "You look just like dad, now that you've cut your hair." She joked as we both chuckled.
"So how did things go on your end at your orphanage?" I asked her.
"Things weren't that bad. A few days after I arrived, I was adopted by a nice family who had two young kids of their own." She said.
"That's what happened to me too." I said. "Except Rio and Shark found me and their parents adopted me afterword." I said.
"Well that's a scary similarity." Stephanie said as we both laughed. I only stopped when I saw a familiar crystal on a stringed necklace.
"Hey that necklace." I said as I then looked at her and remembering Lightning. Then I realized how they both looked the same. "Stephanie were…were you Lightning?" I asked her as she nodded. "But then why didn't you reveal yourself to be my sister back then?" I asked her.
"Because I didn't want to risk your own safety or the others." She said. "I was trying to protect you from the barians." She answered as I was still confused.
"Why were you protecting us from the barians with your disguise?" I asked.
"Because I know one of the emperors personally." She responded as I was surprised.
"You knew one of the barians?" I asked as she nodded. "Who?" I asked wondering who it was.
"The emperor who you dueled to try to protect Shark and Rio, Dumon." She said as I gasped in surprise.
"Wait you knew Dumon?" I asked her as she simply nodded her head. "But how?" I asked.
"It happened about a year ago." She said starting to explain her story. "My family and I were on a camping trip in the mountains. We need to cross an old bridge to get to the camping grounds so we all had to cross very carefully. However, when it was my turn, the bridge gave way." She said as I gasped. "I fell into the river below and tried to keep afloat and finding something to grab onto until someone came to rescued me." She said. "But no one came and I felt myself fading out and drowning." She said as I clung to my seat hearing her story. "But then I woke up in a cabin and that's when I met him." She said. "And this is how it happened." She said as she continued to explain.
Flashback
Normal POV
Stephanie slowly opening her eyes as she looked up to see a roof over her head. She quickly got up but then winced in pain. She then looked as she saw both her arms wrapped up in bandages and looked down to see her waist rapped as well as well as her legs. She then put a hand to her head and felt bandages wrapped as well.
"I see you woke up at last." She heard a boy's voice as she turned to the entrance to see a boy with grey hair and wearing glasses and was holding a tray with a bowl on it. "That's good, was worried about you for a moment there." He said.
"Who-who are you?" Stephanie asked the boy. The boy smiled and walked over to the girl on the bed and put the tray on the nightstand next to her bed.
"My name is Dumon, and I am the one who rescued you." He said as he took a spoon and filled it with the liquid from the bowl. He then put the spoon up to Stephanie's mouth. "Here." He said as Stephanie just looked at him. "It's okay it's just broth." He said as Stephanie took it and savored the taste.
"Wow that's good." She said as Dumon chuckled and gave her more. Dumon finished giving her the broth as he put the spoon inside the bowl. "So Dumon, how did you find me?" Stephanie asked him.
"I was walking along the river then I saw your body." He explained. "I pulled you out and you were so cold so I had to act face." He said. "I found this cabin where I found you and took you inside to rest and keep warm. I also saw you sustained many injuries so I wrapped them up in those bandages." He explained.
"Well thank you." Stephanie said with a smile as Dumon smiled back at her.
"So are you a duelist?" Dumon asked as Stephanie looked at him. "I noticed that you have a deck when I picked you up." He said as Stephanie chuckled nervously.
"Yeah." She simply answered.
"So how about a duel?" Dumon asked as Stephanie nodded. "Good, but remember I won't go easy on you."
"Oh don't worry, I'm a very tough duelist so I won't." Stephanie said with a smirk on her face as she picked up her deck while Dumon brought out his as their duel began.
Flashback Pause
Ryan's POV
"So you and Dumon dueled each other?" I asked my sister as she nodded.
"Yeah, and Dumon was a tough duelist, if my adopted father never thought me his fake out trick I would've lost." She answered as I was confused.
"A fake out trick? What's that?" I asked her. She smiled as she reached for her deck and pulled out three cards and I was shocked at what I saw. "Are those Blue Eyes White Dragons?" I asked her as she laughed and nodded.
"Yup, my dad had these cards before he gave them to me." She said as I was amazed that she had the three most powerful and retro cards in the game. "The trick is that if you have three of these dragons with both a Polymerization and Defusion spell cards, you can use them to fusion summon Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon and de fuse them to xyz summon this." She said as she pulled out a card from under her deck. "The Thunder End Dragon." She said as I was amazed.
"And let me guess, you have the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon to, right?" I asked her as she nodded.
"My deck is so full of dragons that my dad helped me build." She said. "But now back to my story." She said trying to keep back on topic. "For the next few days Dumon had watched over and taken care of me, we even took a picture together too." She said as I noticed her face beginning to turn red. "I've been with him for a while and I uh, I uh." She then muttered something that I couldn't understand.
"What? You what?" I asked as she muttered it again. "Steph, can you say that a bit louder." I asked her.
"I BEGAN TO HAVE A CRUSH ON HIM!" She yelled out as it echoed throughout the room as she then clasped both hands over her mouth as I was surprised.
"What you actually liked him?" I asked as she slowly nodded her head. "But why, what did you see in him that you began to crush on him?" I asked as she took her hands off her mouth and put them on her legs.
"I guess it was his kindness towards me." She answered. "Plus he was also good looking too, you know how teenage girls are when they see a good looking, hot or handsome boy." She said as I just crossed my arms.
"You think he's hot?" I asked her crossing my arms as she then looked annoyed.
"Look it was a long time ago alright!" She said as I put up my hands in defense.
"Okay, okay I get it." I said as she sighed.
"Any way, back to the story. After a few days all my injuries had healed. So one day he sent me out to collect some water when I got back, well." She said as a sad look on her face as she began to remember what happened.
Flashback
Normal POV
"Dumon I'm back!" Stephanie yelled out as she entered the cabin with two buckets of water. But when she entered she looked around to see Dumon wasn't there. "Dumon?" She asked looking around the cabin. "Dumon?" She asked again. She then went out to look around the outside of the cabin. But he wasn't outside either as she put her hands on her hips. "Where is he?" She asked as she then went back inside the cabin. When she re-entered it she noticed a piece of paper on the table. She then walked over to the table, picked up the piece of paper and began to read the writing on it.
Dear Stephanie,
I'm sorry but, I can't stay with you anymore for your safety. I know that you are now fully healed so you can now go out and look for anyone to take you home. I'm going to miss you so I've taken the picture we've taken with me so I can remember you by. You've made me open up my heart in a way I've never thought it would before. Just remember to stay strong and be brave.
Sincerely,
Dumon
Stephanie tried to hold back from crying as she couldn't believe what she just read.
"Oh Dumon, why'd you have to go?" She said as she then sat on her bed and cried. After crying for a few minutes she packed her things and began walking to find the nearest trail path. She soon found one and saw that she wasn't that far from the camp grounds and began to walk to them.
"Hello human child." A voice said as it startled Stephanie.
"Who, who's there?" She asked as she saw a light blue orb decend down next to her as she was confused.
"Don't be scared child." The orb of light said flashing off and on. "I am a messenger named Eliphas." It said.
"Eliphas?" Stephanie asked still confused.
"Yes child, I am using this form to speak to you, and I would like to talk to you about the being that took care of you." Eliphas said as Stephanie now understood what he meant.
"Oh, you mean Dumon?" She asked.
"Yes, I am here to warn you about him." Eliphas answered as Stephanie was confused again.
"Why are you waning me about him, is he in trouble?" Stephanie asked.
"More like he is the trouble." Eliphas answered. "He is part of a dangerous group that calls themselves from a world called Barian." He answered as Stephanie was confused.
"Barian? And what do you mean he is from a dangerous group?" Stephanie asked.
"He is from a world opposite from mine called Astral. And his group is an elite group from Barian that take the form of teenage children when they come to earth to disguise themselves in order to find special xyz cards called Numbers, and use them against my world." He explained as Stephanie was shocked as she then shook her head.
"No that's not true." She said as she eyed the glowing orb. "Dumon is good and kind. He took care of me, he would never do anything so evil." She said.
"Whatever feelings that barian showed you weren't real child, he was just using you to get a number card." Eliphas said as this confused the young girl.
"What number?" Stephanie asked. Then as if to answer her question her deck box glowing as she pulled out her deck as she then pulled out a glowing card. "Don't remember this in my deck." She said as the card then stopped glowing as there was a dragon on it with the number 91 on it.
"So, it appears that the number has chosen you." Elphias said as Stephanie looked at the orb.
"The number? Me? Why?" She asked.
"I don't know child." Elphias said. "But I do know that it trusts you to protect it." Just then a necklace appeared with a blue crystal on the end of it. "Here, take this." He said as the necklace landed into Stephanie's hands. "It will protect you from the power of your number card in case it gets out of control." Stephanie nodded and put the crystal around her neck. "It will also help you find any other numbers, warn you if any of the barians like Dumon are nearby and help you communicate with me." He said as then Stephanie noticed that the orb was fading. "I'm afraid this is where we must bid farewell Miss… I'm sorry I never got your name child." He said.
"My name is Stephanie, and you can count on me to hunt down the rest of the numbers sir." Stephanie said with a determined look on her face.
"Good." He said as there was a flash blinding Stephanie for a few seconds. When she opened her eyes the orb was gone and she was once again left on the trail.
End of Flashback
Ryan's POV
"Whoa, that's one heck of a story sis." Ryan said as my sister nodded.
"After Elphias left me, I was soon found by a group of hikers as they told me that I was gone for three whole weeks." She said as I was amazed.
"Three whole weeks? Wow that's a long time." I said as Steph nodded.
"I was soon reunited with my own family who was glad to see me. For a while things returned to normal until I heard about the World Duel Carnival, and Elphias informed me that he sensed a whole bunch of numbers there along with another agent from Astral World." She said.
"That must've been Astral that he was talking about." I said as Steph nodded again as I realized something. "Wait, you were in the World Duel Carnival?" I asked her.
"Yes, I made it all the way to the knock out round where I was eliminated by a freaky kid with a mask." She said as I knew only one person like that.
"Vetrix." I said as she nodded. "Wait if you were there, why didn't you show yourself then?" I asked.
"It's like I said Ry, I couldn't reveal myself to you if the barians were involved in the tournament." She said. "So when I entered I went under the alias name Lightning for my lightning quick combo with the dragons." She said as a smile then came on her face. "But then I found you which was the happiest moment of my life." She then got up from her seat and walked over to me and hugged me gently unlike Luna. "I missed you so much." She said as that put tears in my eyes.
"I missed you too sis." I said. Just then the moment our moment was interrupted when Luna's d-gazer rang. Luna then let go of our embrace as she answered it.
"Hello?" She said as I just looked. "Whoa slow down Donny." She said as I gasped. "Don't worry I'm on my way." She said as she hung up when her gazer rang again. "Hello? Luna?" She said as I was worried again now for Kite's little sister. "Don't worry, just where are you?" She asked. "Okay that isn't far from where the boys are, I'm on my way." She said as she hung up and looked at me. "That was the team, they spotted Girag and Alito." She said as she got her d-pad. "I'm going out to help, you stay here and rest." She said as she began to walk out. She then stopped and turned around to face me. "Oh and Ryan, one more thing." She said as she reached out into her pockets and pulled out a small pouch and tossed it to me. I caught it and opened the pouch and was surprised at what I saw was shards of my pendent. "I managed to save what was left of you pendent." My eyes filled with tears as I looked back at her.
"Thank you." I said as she nodded.
"Sure thing Ryan." She said as she walked out.
Normal POV
As Stephanie exited the mansion she looked out into the city.
"Alright you guys, here I come." She said as she began to walk.
"Oh, you aren't going anywhere soon." A voice said as Stephanie said as she turned around to see where it was coming from. But when she did, she was then shocked by a crystal as she then fainted. The figure then walked over her body and then looked up at the mansion and laughed.
"This is where the fun begins." The figure said with an evil laugh.
Next time on Barian Wars: Battle of the Barians: Ryan receives a message from a barian foe telling him that he has his sister hostage and to come to Barian World. When he goes to Barian World he finds himself with Dumon and Marin as the three have been trapped and are now forced to duel for their own survival by the barian who brought Ryan to their world! Can the three of them put their differences aside and work together? Next time on Battle of the Barians: A Fragile Alliance.
This is DisneyAnimefan94, signing out.