By the time the three of us were settled down - and I finished my explanation of Phantoms - it was night. From what I read from Girag, all Alito could get out was something about Ray, whom I knew the truth about. Alito himself was lying on one of the mats inside the BARian, and the other two were pretty upset. Mizar attempted to act aloof and that he didn't need me to tell him of the attack. But I could tell that inside he was grateful that I notified him of his injured comrade. Yuma wasn't going to like hearing about this; he might not believe me that Ray is Vector, and he ambushed Alito.
Mizar, kneeling just across from where I sat, addressed me and Girag. "Alito losing his battle to Yuma Tsukumo and then getting attacked is most troubling news. How could he be so reckless?... He was lucky you found him." He used a slightly hardened voice, but his tone softened at the last sentence.
Girag recalled him discovering Alito as he growled, "I'm gonna make this right." The blonde stood, meeting Girag's vengeful expression with his own cobalt gaze.
"Do not forget, Girag; we now only have one Barian sphere cube in our possession." Girag returned the look, eyes glowing red.
"Yeah, and I'll use that cube to avenge Alito; I can't wait till I get to duel that punk."
"No Girag; do not allow emotions to cloud our goals. We are here to retrieve Yuma's Numbers, not to get revenge. Is that clear?"
Girag turned, peeking over his shoulder and lied, "Uh, yeah; crystal." I planned to say that he was lying and disappear into the shadows before a hit could land, but they were talking too fast for me to worm into it.
"I am glad you understand our priorities. I am returning to Barian world and taking Alito - and this Phantom - with me. You will remain here alone; do not fail us Girag." Mizar used his power to pick up Alito; I made the Shadow Gateway - which is basically what they call an Overlay Network. "Remember, Barian world is counting on you to succeed." Mizar reminded the Barian warrior before we went into the portal.
What could've happened? I do not understand, I heard from Mizar as we were in the vortex.
"Understand what?" I inquired, making him noticeably tense up. He looked at me without turning his head, "If the place where Girag and Alito were was so isolated, how could someone know about it and slip in to attack our comrade?"
I answered, "It's because a 'comrade' turned traitor on you and the others; and I saw exactly who did it."
He turned to me with wide eyes; that seemed to catch his attention. His mind went from calm to a whirling tornado of shock and curiosity as he listed his suspects.
A comrade turning traitor?! And Star - of all people - knows who did it? Who could it have been? Girag didn't seem to know about it; I didn't either before she told me. It could have even been Star herself... No, that's ridiculous; if she was the one who did it, she wouldn't have reported it to me. Dumon is far too caring of everyone to deliberately commit something this aggressive. Of course, Nash and Marin are still MIA; but even if they did return, they wouldn't do this in millennia. That only leaves Vector to be the backstabber, which in reality does not surprise me. I began to see multiple memories from Mizar of Vector repeatedly bursting into fits of maniacal laughter. Both that and the crazed look in his eyes when I saw him were telltale signs that he was undeniably insane. Not to mention any of his thoughts that I read made me sick to my stomach. He was about to make his guess when we got to the other side of the vortex, on Barian world.
Still keeping Alito airborne, Mizar went into his Barian form, with the same yellow cloak that Yinlong saw when he took Tachyon. Speaking of whom, she was out and about the moment we got there, hissing in demand of an explanation. Mizar appeared to notice her there, because he assured, "Do not worry, dragoness. I let my Tachyon Dragon roam free in the Shadow Realm, and I only retrieve it when a challenge approaches." Yinlong accepted his explanation with a slight warble and relaxed, stopping her little hissy fit and leaving.
I looked down at myself, seeing that I was in the same cloak as when I first came here. Mizar was rather impressed, even though my cloak was rather ordinary compared to the ornate Barian cloaks. Mine had no gems or claw-like headpiece on it.
"Alright," I addressed the dragon tamer, "We should go tell Dumon about our little incident. By the way," I added, "Your suspicions are correct."
I looked over at Alito, seeing him in his Barian form as well, though still unconscious. Mizar sighed in his warped voice, "Let's get this over with."
I scanned the area, listening for any of Dumon's thoughts. I also kept a sharp eye out for any of his duel spirits. After a bit of walking, I was able to see and hear both. I began to hear Dumon thinking about Nash and Marin again as Number 102: Star Seraph Sentry, hovered above. I tapped Mizar's shoulder and pointed to where Sentry was, "Is Dumon over in that direction?" He nodded and walked in that direction with me not far away.
If you ask me, 'Star' is a rather odd name, Mizar's brain contemplated.
"Not as odd as being named after one." I snapped in response. The tamer tensed up slightly and dropped his head in dismay.
"Touche." When we both got there, we saw Dumon looking through a Baria crystal like a screen. The crystal showed Yuma and "Ray" dueling Girag in a sphere field, and Astral looked really weak. After setting Alito down, Mizar tapped at the wall, as if to knock at a door. The display on the crystal vanished as Dumon turned to look at us.
"It's you," he addressed as he recognized me, "The Phantom I met; if I recall correctly, Star is your name." I nodded and stepped to the side, revealing Alito, propped against the wall that Mizar knocked.
"What happened to Alito?" He asked both of us as he approached. Mizar explained, "For some reason, someone deliberately attacked him. Star here confirms my suspicions on who it was."
Dumon's storm-cloud gray eyes widened in shock. I saw from his thoughts that he immediately wanted Alito to be placed in a Baria crystal to recover. Using my own power, I lifted Alito, putting him in a position that I saw in Dumon's mind. Looking for an appropriate crystal, I saw one that the other two considered a good size. Concentrating, I carefully phased Alito inside the levitating crystal, which was as tall as I was. Once he was secured and centered inside the crystal, I released my powers, sealing him in.
I felt Dumon and Mizar watching with new respect towards me and my powers. I turned around and walked back to them, noticing that Dumon didn't have my moon globe.
"Where did you put my moon globe, Dumon?" I inquired. He was just about to answer when we heard small, quick plip-plop noises on the floor. The noises got closer and slightly louder, indicating that something or someone was heading here. I honed in on the source of the sounds, being met with Iris' familiar mind. Seconds after, she came sprinting in, with my moon globe flashing in her hands. Like Dumon, she recognized me on sight and smiled.
"Hi again!" I waved kindly at her, admiring the innocence she radiated, even in a place like Barian world. She explained, "Dumon had me hold onto this for him. I was looking at it when it started flashing like this; I wanted to show it to him. Maybe it's flashing like this because you're here." Iris' thoughts began to wonder about me: What does she really look like? She seems really friendly; why does she hide herself in that cloak? I saw similar thoughts of curiosity in the other two emperors. As I could barely handle it all, I closed my eyes to hold it all back. Using both of my hands, I slowly removed the cloak's hood from my head. The repeated questions immediately stopped cold. When I opened my eyes again, all three of them were staring. Iris' friendly blue eyes were wide with wonder at seeing my exposed face.
I felt Dumon look over my profile, comparing my face to scenes he saw in that crystal screen. Most of the scenes were of me staring daggers at "Ray" without his noticing.
"So it is you," the gray-eyed Barian confirmed, "I know the Phantoms' ways and their fighting tactics. That is why it doesn't surprise me that you only hold aggression towards a particular individual. But what is it about him that agitates you?"
My expression went from calm to dead-serious, "It might not be a good idea to discuss that topic around her." I gestured to Iris - who warily noticed Alito sealed in the crystal - to emphasize. Dumon nodded and gently ushered her outside; she was glad to do so upon seeing Alito's current state.
As soon as Iris was out of earshot, Mizar and I were ready to answer Dumon's questions. Said questions as to Alito's assailant and why I keep glaring at "Ray".
"Now," Dumon repeated, "Exactly who attacked Alito?"
Mizar began, "It was one of our comrades." That alone made Dumon even more shocked than he already was.
"What?! Who was it?"
We both replied in unison, "It was Vector."
"Did either of you see it happen?"
I answered, "I saw him attacking Alito with his own Barian power. Alito was already in bad shape, but I was able to stop Vector from dealing a possibly critical blow." Dumon seemed to, in a way, accept my answer.
"Is that why you are agitated by the individual that resembles Vector?"
I shook my head. "There's more to it than that; Ray Shadows is Vector, in human form. I saw that he also had someone seal my powers and change my eye color when I was eight."
Mizar staggered somewhat, "That sounds like a plan Vector had solitarily conjured to be rid of the Choseki family. It happened at least eight years ago, and we considered all three Phantoms deceased... Were you their child?" I stiffened upon hearing the mention of my family name, and I brought my hood back up to hide my tearing eyes.
"I am Star Choseki: daughter of Marina and Tomo Choseki; last of my kind."
The words I spoke hit both Barians as if I used Shadow Surge on them. They stood there, as silent and still as the crystals that covered the floor around us. Dumon's thoughts became slow and awestruck, All these years and we didn't know that she was still alive. 'Last of my kind'; that single quote says a lot about how few in number the Phantoms have become. Who would've thought that eight years would go by without notice that a plan didn't really succeed? I witnessed a memory of Vector telling all of the known emperors that the Choseki family has been completely and utterly demolished. Vector began to blurt out countless insults toward my people. The worst of them was calling us traitors and double-agents - should a Phantom weave into a war. Several other memories turned up of Dumon doing research on Phantoms and their actual fighting tactics. That must be why he knows so much about what I'm doing and why.
We all noticed another Overlay Network opening, and a large form began materializing on the ground. When the shape became recognizable, we realized it was Girag; from the look of him, he lost against Yuma and Vector. He was in really bad shape after being beaten by his own comrade. Remembering that I still had my gauntlet, I lifted my arm, touching the crystal on it with my finger. Out came the familiar Shadow mist that formed a screen-like display. It showed Yuma and "Ray" standing on the roof of Yuma's house. I wasn't able to hear him, but I noticed he wasn't wearing his key. I could, however, still read their thoughts and get the gist of the conversation. Vector was making Yuma believe that he and Barian World are good instead of bad, and hiding it from Astral.
"This is bad," I told the two of them as Dumon put Girag into another crystal.
Mizar - who watched the scene alongside me - inquired, "What were they talking about?"
I bit my lip, "Vector's made a really complex plan, to say the least. He's going to use deception and betrayal to tear Yuma and Astral's bond apart. The reason he took out Alito and Girag was only to avoid complications to his plan." Mizar and Dumon didn't like the sound of that as I touched the crystal again and made the screen disappear.
"Remember," I addressed them, "Even a total stranger who has their sanity is more reliable than a friend who's lost it."
Dumon nodded, "That is a very true saying among Phantoms; precisely why I believe I can trust you." I nodded, admiring that Dumon respected and trusted me. I opened the Shadow Gateway, hoping to keep my promise to him as I went home.