It's been a little more than ten minutes since the countdown for the second wave of the Crashbug Virus began, and in order to stop it, Athena had challenged Mister Kay, who was responsible for creating the said malicious software partially thanks to the influences of the Number Card possessing him, to a Duel...
However, so far the battle was teetering towards her opponent's victory, especially since his summoning of Number 34: Terrorbyte, a monster capable of controlling others on the opposite side of the field.
Current Life Points stood at Athena, 3200, and Mister Kay, 4000.
"Your defeat is coming, Athena. I can assure you! But for now I place one card face-down and end my turn."
With that done, Gogogo Golem is released from Terrorbyte's control and reappears back on Athena's side of the field, much to her partial relief.
"Whew, least the mind control's not permanent...Okay, Addy, dig deep, dig deep..."
Attention: Viral Release will occur in approximately twenty minutes.
"Alright, that, I don't need to know! (Grumble) Stupid computers..."
Just as she finishes complaining to the surrounding monitors displaying the dropping clocks, Astral holds out a hand at the ready.
"It is my turn."
"Ugh, how many times do we need to have this conversation?! I got the duel disk and cards, not you, Astral!"
Meanwhile, Caswell was starting to question Athena's condition, and felt he should ask Tiffany about it.
"Addy keeps yelling and screaming at someone who clearly isn't there, and I mean aside from the voice of the computers. In the end, should we be concerned about her?"
"Nah, she's fine; don't worry, Caswell. (Sad smile) This isn't time Addy's been out of sorts, but it's never stopped her from reaching her goals before...Honestly, I prefer this weird behaviour as opposed to the moods she used to be in."
"You mean, back when she didn't, attend school as often...because of those bad teenagers?"
Tiffany's smile went into small frown:
"Yeah...and anytime she did make it to school, she looked like the walking dead, and acted as if the world had every intent to kill her...But, those days are behind her. Addy's a better her than she was back then."
She then eyes Caswell with a serious and stern expression:
"Which is why I would appreciate it if you didn't continue to use her fading reputation as if that's the only way to describe her."
"Uh...(Nod) Okay, I promise. Never again. I'm sorry if it came off that way too."
"Good...Just remember to apologize to Athena once she wins this duel."
Speaking of, we get back to the battle as the girl with red irises makes her next move:
"It's not over yet! My Draw!"
Yet she had not even a few seconds to look at all of her current hand before Astral opens his mouth again, much to her annoyance.
"I suggest that you summon Gonbara Knight."
"And I suggest you back off and find someone else to duel!"
"A Number Card is on the line here, Athena. If don't get that Number Card...I may fade away."
"That so? Tuh, in that case, maybe I should just flop this duel and let nature take its course."
Despite how harsh the reply initially sounded, somehow, Astral knew Athena didn't truly mean it, and merely kept up his insistence on his presence being a good thing for her.
"You need me here, Athena. You cannot duel without me. You are not good enough."
However, in Athena's eyes, he was becoming something she felt she didn't need: A reminder of her personal struggles.
"Rgh, dammit, don't you think I've heard enough of that from other people, that I'm not good enough, that I'm no more than a damaged liability that causes trouble for everyone else and wouldn't be missed if I was gone?!"
She then widens her eyes and slaps a hand over her mouth when she realizes what she just revealed to the outside world...The room went dead silent save the beeping of the many computer monitors, as Tiffany whispers Athena's name with surprise and worry, Caswell gaped a little, and even the possessed Mister Kay paused in his place, not a one of them expecting such a enraged outburst from the red-eyed teen...
Astral was just as shocked:
"...Athena, I-"
"Stop."
She looks up at him with an expression mixed with anger and one emotion that the blue-skinned being couldn't identify, like a part of her was in a tug of war to scream something she longed to tell someone, but was afraid to.
"I don't want to hear another word out of you for the rest of this duel, and that includes any other strategy advice you feel like you need to fling at me."
"Why would you disregard my valuable advice?"
Athena doesn't reply to the question, instead adding in a calmer yet partially dead tone while stepping a bit forward,
"Short version, you say left, I go right. And since you're thinking Gonbara Knight, I'm gonna summon Achacha Archer!"
On that note, the next monster to grace her side of field would be a Level Three archer dressed in wood and metal armour with flame designs on his joint guards, his Attack Points reading at 1200.
Astral mutters,
"...Bad move," while Athena calls out the attack:
"Fire at will, Achacha, straight at Mister Kay!"
"Achacha!"
The flamed arrow flies and skewers through the man's torso, taking out 500 of his Life Points and dropping the total to 3500!
"Ha! Got 'im; direct damage!"
"Perhaps, but you missed out."
That wipes the bout of excitement off of Athena's face, as she looks over at Astral confused, until he explains a different approach she could've taken.
"If you had summoned Gonbara Knight as I advised you to, you would have been able to combine it with your Golem, and XYZ summoned Utopia."
"(Wince) Ooooo, right...But hey, that'd be too obvious a move! This one leaves the opponent guessing in suspense for the next one!"
Speaking of opponents, Mister Kay felt something stir in him from that direct attack:
"You're messing with my perfection...But fortunately, I've got a Trap: Damage Vaccine Omega-Max!"
The face-down on his side flips up, before flashing in activation, sending a large sprinkle of multi-coloured lights to drop over his body...
"And thanks to this card, I can use it to regain all the Life Points I just lost."
"What?! Oh come on, how could my attack be turned that pointless so fast?!"
"In a way, this entire duel is pointless, my dear girl. Someone like you can never beat someone like me!"
While Astral eyed Mister Kay with a calculating stare, Caswell began to fear for the worst much to Tiffany's worry/annoyance.
"Gaaah, I can see my future now: They're gonna think I was a part of this and throw me in jail for liiife! I'm never gonna be valedictorian and I'm never gonna get a job and Addy's running out of time, and that means...I'm running out of time!"
(...Slap)
"Guh!"
"Pull yourself together, Caswell! Panicking isn't going to solve our current situation!"
We can only rely on Addy wining this duel and Terry and Yoko finding a way to put the crack-down on the virus...
I hope those two are doing better than we are.
Terry's POV
Thank god I used to be a savant at the old MPORPG games...
I decided to take front seat for this part of the hacking since Yoko can't stand anything relating to mazes (Corn Maze incident back in high-school; long story), and after a feverish ten minutes, I was making headway to the end of the road, as noted by she.
"I think we're getting close to finding the deactivation code..."
"Yeah, I see it too...Just you wait, virus: You're going down!"
Astral's POV
Shortly after witnessing Tiffany backhand the boy Caswell across his cheek (which was certainly something I did not expect from a girl who seemed more mild-mannered than another I can think of...), Athena reluctantly ends her latest turn.
"Agh...I end my turn."
"You accomplish nothing! Just as I had done on my last turn, I can use my Number's Overlay Unit to seize control of one of your monsters!"
And by no surprise to me, he chooses to take control of Gogogo Golem once more.
Athena didn't seem as shocked either, but nevertheless complained:
"Damn it, there goes Golem again...!"
"If you had summoned Utopia, he would not have been able to take control of your Golem."
"...Explain."
"Terrorbyte's ability allows it to take control of a monster with a certain Level. But XYZ monsters, like Utopia, have Ranks, not Levels. Understand?"
She grits her teeth a little, but nods, giving me the open opportunity to try and reason with her and allow me to guide her through this duel.
"You're clearly inexperienced. You should listen to me."
But it seems the effects of that outburst from earlier have yet to leave her air of judgement.
"Screw that. A little more damage won't hurt me...(mumble) not that anything can these days..."
Huh? What does she mean by that?
"Besides, Gogogo Golem will return as soon as this turn is finished. When that happens-"
She's interrupted by a chuckle from the man, Mister Kay, who then asks her in a sardonic tone,
"Do you seriously expect me to use the same strategy two turns in a row? This time around, I'm activating two Continuous Spells!"
Continuous Spells? Oh dear, this will not bode well at all.
I wasn't the only one who thought so: The boy Caswell began to panic again, but was briefly interrupted when Tiffany asks him,
"Uh, mind explaining what a Continuous Spell does?"
"It's just like a normal Spell, but it's effect stays active as long as the card stays on the field. Now please let me go back to freaking out...!"
Mister Kay then explains which Continuous Spells he will be using:
"With Infected Mail, once a turn, any Level Four or below monster I have on my field can attack you directly, but after it attacks, it's destroyed."
I mutter,
"Oh no," just as he makes the play I easily guessed he would:
"And since it's on my field, I'm going to attack you with your very own Gogogo Golem!"
(WHACK)
"Ugh!"
Athena is knocked backwards hard by Gogogo Golem's fist, as her Life Points drop to 1400...
"So sorry, Athena, but now it's time to say goodbye to your precious Golem!"
Said monster self-destructs, much to her exclaim of,
"Aw man, not good...!"
"I'm afraid it gets even worse, for that this moment, my second Continuous Spell activates! Since Infected Mail destroyed your Golem, Cracking hits you with another 800 points of damage!"
A bolt of lightning shoots from the card straight at her body...but that's when I noticed something I had not previously: Even though Athena was clearly taking some form of damage...the indifferent frown with ever-so-slight faltering, and the fact she was still standing without flinching, made it seem that she wasn't feeling any change to her condition.
How strange...Wait: Those words she mumbled before...
Could she have be hinting that she actually cannot feel physical pain at all?
...How is that even possible? From what I have seen so far in this world, all humans should be able to.
I decided to save that question for a later time, and focused back on the current matter at hand as Athena's Life Points settle down to 600.
"So what do you think of my special, patent Terrorbyte Combo?"
"What do I think? I think your combo's a load of crap, that's what I think!...Hm?"
It was then she focused on me, as my body began to fade in and out from existence as it did once before...
"...Uh, don't remember you being this transparent...What's going on?"
Holding a hand up to my eyes to see for myself, I answer,
"Every time you lose Life Points, I can feel my Life Force fading."
"Fading? So then...(Widens eyes) that's what you meant the other day...But, still: To be weighted down over something that serious, (narrows eyes) that'll just set you up for instant failure in the blink of an eye."
I was taken aback by her characterization, noticing something in her eyes that spoke of more than what she was saying, as if...she knew, or once knew, exactly how I felt in terms of failure...
"...Hey, Addy!"
We both turn around to the sound of Caswell's voice, and saw his body in a rather, odd position.
"Be like the, the phoenix, and ri~se from the ashes!"
Thankfully, I was not the only one confused:
"(Sweatdrop) Uuh, Cas, are you feelin' okay?"
"Neh, forget the phoenix: There's a dragon in your heart, Addy. A giant, sleeping dragon, bird-monster! Uh, in the end, what I'm saying is that you got tremendous potential inside of you!"
"Uh! You, really think so?"
"Yeah...I do...All you have to do is wake that potential up and this duel is yours!"
Athena seemed quite surprised by his words, but then forms a rather small smile (smaller in comparison to say her friend, Tiffany, suggesting she does not make that expression often) of gratitude and replies in a soft tone,
"Caswell...thank you."
She then turns to face the field again and says to herself,
"Okay then: Let's see about waking that inner beast!"
The turnaround of her mood was quite interesting, and had me wondering,
"Observation Number Six: Praise motivates humans."
With that in mind, I decide to give the notion a try in my own manner:
"Athena, I also have something I have been meaning to say to you."
"Oh? What would that be?"
"You are illogical, and you anger too easily. Your athletic abilities are brutish but well-balanced. You are stubborn too, and odd...But these are all excellent traits, so earlier, when I said you were inexperienced, I meant to say, incredible."
...She stares at me for a moment, before replying dully,
"Not the worst compliment I've ever heard, but you need to work on your delivery...Still, thanks, I guess."
(...Rumble)
"Huh?!"
Suddenly, before we realized it, this entire room began to move upward!
"What the he-Since when was this place a giant elevator?!"
"Wh-What the-the ceiling's opening! We're going up...We're outside!"
"Are we going all the way to the top?!"
Well, this is an interesting development...
Terry's POV
It took another eight minutes longer, but I finally made it to the end of the underground cyber maze!
"Gotcha!"
Yoko hugs me around my shoulders and cheers,
"Way to go, Ter! The viral code should be right behind that door!"
(Beeeep, beeeep)
"Huh?"
Oh great, now what?
The door opens, and reveals a Crashbug Avatar dressed in a cloak like some kind of video game boss...Somehow knowing what this next part entailed, I hold my hands up in a surrender gesture and say,
"I'm, gonna let you take this one, Yoko. You know better than anyone that I suck at fighter games."
"Roger. Step aside."
We switch places so she was sitting in my chair, and fold-cracks her fingers before creating her own little avatar dressed in a karate outfit and a tiny pink ponytail.
"Okay, virus, little tip: Never underestimate the power of a puzzle master and a fighter wizard!"
Haha, that's one way to describe us!
At that note, the Yoko Avatar is commanded into a charge, and I do my duty as the cheer section this round.
"Go, Yoko! Kick his ass!"
Don't know what you're doin' now, sis, but don't worry: We're gettin' close to the end!
Astral's POV
It would hardly be but a minute before the room slows into a stop at the top of this large tower...
"From up here, we'll have the best view in the city to witness the results of the viral bug! I'm placing one card face-down and ending my turn."
Even though the situation was becoming increasingly dire on a number of factors, Athena still continued to act as if she were deaf to my voice...I had hoped my praise would have softened her stubbornness a little, but it seems it did not work as effectively as I had hoped. Something inside her was clearly stirred from our mild argument previously...something in her heart that won't let the words go.
If Athena loses this duel, I will fade away.
How can get her to listen to me?
That's when I recalled her specific words:
(Flash)
"I don't want to hear another word out of you for the rest of this duel, and that includes any other strategy advice you feel like you need to fling at me."
"Short version, you say left, I go right..."
(Flash)
"That gives me an idea."
"Alright, game on: My Draw! (Looks at the card) Awesome! I was hoping I'd get this guy. Goblinbergh, takeoff!"
I had to agree this was a good draw, for this Level Four monster's ability would be our saving move. Tiffany and Caswell were quite excited too:
"Now his is what I call a promising development, because when Goblinbergh comes to field, it can bring another monster with it!"
"I knew Addy would swing back!"
This was when I put my plan into action:
"Athena, use this opportunity to summon Zubaba Knight."
"Good suggestion...'cept I'll be bringin' out Gonbara, not Zubaba!"
It was at the moment both monsters were present on the field, does Athena quickly realize her next play.
"Ah! Both are Level Four...(Smirk) which means I can XYZ Summon Utopia!"
Just as I hoped she would see...
"Alright: I overlay Level Four Goblinbergh and Gonbara Knight, and XYZ Summon Number 39: Utopia!"
And just like that, our main Number Monster was standing at ready on the dueling field...
"Athena, listen: Do not lay down a Trap Card. You're not skilled enough."
"What was that?! Rgh, I'll show you no skill...I place one card face-down and end my turn! Move's on you, sir!"
Yet another move well-executed...There may be hope for this girl yet.
All it takes is the right motivation.
Fujina Residence, No POV
"Tch, delete my entire hard-drive and erase the biggest story of my career, will you?!"
Come about two minutes of feverish clicking of the mouse and keyboard, Yoko will have successfully taken the Crashbug Avatar down a peg and then some!
"Yes!"
"Alright!...Huh?"
Unfortunately, it wasn't completely out of the race yet, and activated a last power jump to fight, much to hers and Terry's annoyance.
"Oh come on, really?!"
"Should've expected this from a master hacker...Okay, you got this, Yoko: One more time!"
Back to the Tower Under Construction
"It's my turn now! Ha!"
(Swipe)
"And once again, I'm activating Terrorbyte's special ability: This time, I'll be taking control of your Achacha Archer!"
Said monster becomes caught under the electrical chain and is summoned to the opposite side of the field, making Athena groan in annoyance.
"Okay, now that move's getting old. Can't you use your own monsters for once?"
"Why should I? Thanks to my Terrorbyte Combo, I get so much more out of turning your monsters against you!"
The archer draws an arrow at the ready as Caswell notes nervously,
"Because of Mister Kay's combo, Archer will will be taken down, and Addy along with him!"
Athena mutters with a slip of a curse,
"Shi-oot, shoot! If he succeeds, I'm done for. Think, Addy, think..."
"Too bad Utopia is so useless. If only it had some ability..."
Astral's words made something in her brain click:
"Wait...that's it: Utopia has the best ability for the job!" She quickly makes her move:
"Check this ability out, Mister Kay: I activate Lightwing Shield! Using one Overlay Unit, Utopia can negate a monster's attack!"
Said Number uses their wings to deflect the incoming arrow, before Astral notes,
"Infected Mail's effect only activates when the infected monster's attack succeeds. Since Utopia's ability stopped the attack, not only is it safe, but Cracking will not be able to activate either."
Athena hums with a smirk directed at Mister Kay:
"Heh, looks like your special combo's become a flop, sir."
"Well, it seems I may have underestimated you." Caswell was certainly impressed:
"Athena's been displaying some rare bursts of intelligence."
But Tiffany guessed,
"She's more than likely swallowed her pride and started taking advice from the invisible duelist."
"You were serious about that...?"
Astral then says to Athena,
"Now your teacher has used up all of his Overlay Units."
"You're right. (Directs to Mister Kay) Not only is your combo a flop, it can't even be used anymore! What are ya gonna do now?"
But instead of nerves displaying on his face, the man was still airing confidence and slight smugness.
"You don't honestly think that I failed to get your strategy just now, do you, Athena?"
"...Didn't cross my mind, to be honest..."
"You've managed to pave a new road straight to my victory. I now activate, the Bug Switch Trap Card!"
A face-down flips up, the image briefly displaying a scene with some examples of the Crashbug monsters before flashing over white...
"When Crashbug X, Y and Z are in my Graveyard, I switch one of my monsters to summon Super-Crashbug in Defense Mode!"
Terrorbyte shifts into Attack Mode with 0 points, just as a new Level Four monster depicted as a giant mass of pixels with a Crashbug head graces the field with 3000 Defense Points! Though slightly intimidated by the defensive power, Athena dryly remarks,
"Huh, funny. I expected you to summon a strong beast in Attack Mode..."
"Now why on earth would I go and do something as ill-effective as that, when I can activate Super-Crashbug's special ability!"
The monster begins emitting a purple ring of light from its body, spreading to all monsters on both sides of the field...
"Now all monsters in Attack Mode swap their Attack and Defense Points! Terrorbyte had 2900 Defense Points, but now it has 2900 Attack Points."
Athena was floored:
"Aw crap! Then that means my monsters are gonna end up on the weak end of the scale!"
By that, she meant that Utopia now had 2000 Attack Points and Achacha Archer 600!
"And that means it's the perfect time to attack! Go, Terrorbyte: Attack Utopia!"
The data-chip monster makes it charge horn-first, as Astral 'warns' Athena,
"Don't dodge this!"
"Are you nuts?! I'm so dodgin' that! I activate Utopia's ability: Using it's last Overlay Unit, I can slam the breaks on your attack!"
The angel warrior's shield comes up just in time, and while Tiffany was excited, Caswell wasn't.
"Nice!"
"No, not nice: Now Utopia's without Overlay Units! Without those, Athena can't prevent future attacks!"
"...Oh no..."
Mister Kay wraps up his current turn:
"I place one card face-down and end my turn!"
Astral mentally notes,
I think I know what that face-down card is...
"This will all be over on my next turn."
Viral Release will occur in approximately five minutes.
Athena draws her next card:
"Terrorbyte just had to get stronger, didn't it? Mister Kay makes a good point, though: It's gotta be this turn I beat him, or I'll be on the train to loserville..."
"Athena, listen to me."
"Hm?"
She looks up at Astral who says,
"Whatever you do, do not use Zubaba Knight and Achacha Archer to XYZ summon Leviathan Dragon. That is a bad idea."
"Uh...! That's right: I almost forgot I have that dragon now after yesterday...(Small smirk) And if you're flashing a red light to the idea, then I'm goin' green!"
With that, she summons the knight onto the field before getting on with her main play.
"Now that Zubaba's here, I'll be combining him with Achacha to form the Overlay Network! Mister Kay, say hello to Number 17: Leviathan Dragon!"
The two monsters twist into contrasting streams of orange and red lights, diving into the golden vortex to form the second XYZ beast at Athena's disposal, rising into form with a deafening roar.
"Interesting...but you seem to have forgotten the effect Super-Crashbug will have. Remember, the Defense Points of a monster in Attack Mode are swapped, which means your Leviathan Dragon now has 0 Attack Points!"
The girl with red irises sucks some air between her teeth and curses,
"Dammit! One fell swoop's all it takes to tank on the excitement..."
She turns to glare at Astral, deciding he had part of the responsibility in this latest disappointment.
"You just had to prompt me into doing that, didn't you?! Like when you told me not to dodge: If I'd stood there like a sitting du-..."
She cuts herself off, thinking back with a more careful head about what has been happening before now.
Wait a second...
(Flash)
"Don't dodge this!"
(Flash)
...Okay, I may have only met this guy just yesterday, but, somehow I know Hell will freeze over before he's dumb enough to spout stupid advice like that.
...At least not without a reason...Uh!
(Flash)
"Short version, you say left, I go right..."
(Flash)
"...You little sneak: You were playing the opposite game with me this whole time!"
Athena was ticked off at first...but then dips her head and shivers, before bursting into laughter, much to everyone's confusion.
"Huh?" "Addy?"
"What the..."
"Athena...?"
Once she got control over herself again, she wipes away an amused tear before looking up at the mysterious being with a smirk of acknowledgement for his little ploy.
"Alright, points to you on that one, Astral. That was pretty shrewd, using my stubbornness against me like you did. I'm somewhat offended, but it was still clever."
Hearing no signs of hostility from the girl's voice, Astral sends a ghost of a smile back before saying,
"You should play Thunder Short from your hand, Athena. With that, your victory will be assured."
"Hmph, really?...No tricks?"
He opens his eyes for emphasis as he replies seriously,
"No games this time. If you don't do this, I will vanish from this world."
...Athena lets out a large, tired breath before nodding:
"Fine. I'm using my listening ears this time...Just know if by some terrible luck this move backfires on us, I'm totally blaming you."
She then focuses back onto the duel:
"From my hand, I play the Spell, Thunder Short! With this, I can doll 500 points of damage for every monster on my opponent's side of the field. Don't think I need to tell you how to multiply, do I, Mister Kay?"
A twin shot of lightning blasts onto the man's body, making him let out a cry as his Life Points drop to 3000.
"Grh, this isn't funny anymore..."
"Never was from the start, but glad to know we still agree on something."
He shoots a glare at the wryly-smirking girl before activating his face-down a second time.
"Once again, I activate Damage Vaccine Omega-Max! And just as I did before, I regain Life Points equal to the damage I took."
Athena's eyes narrow as she mutters,
"Sheesh, he's actin' like he's in a shield made of jello: No matter how much you jiggle it, he's still in place."
Astral replies to her in a hinting tone,
"I think you are forgetting about the Trap Card you laid down."
"Hm? Oh, that's right: My Trap Card! I activate my face-down, Overconfidence!"
Mister Kay was taken aback by the play:
"The, the what?!"
"Since you regained Life Points, I can destroy one of your monsters on your side of the field. Hmm, let's see: How 'bout we 'subtract' Super-Crashbug from the party!"
Said monster disappears in an explosion of pixels, and Tiffany makes a sound of hope with a smile while Caswell exclaims excitedly,
"With Super-Crashbug gone from the field, all of the other monsters on the field switch back to their original Attack and Defense Points!"
In which case, Utopia and Leviathan Dragon would be back to 2500 and 2000 Attack Points each, while Terrorbyte dropped back to 0, much to Mister Kay's shock.
"Auh! No, this can't be: Now Terrorbyte's back to 0 Attack Points!"
"You're up first, Leviathan: Attack Terrorbyte with Shock-Stream Blast!"
The dragon would obliterate the data-chip rinocer-oid in one shot, leaving their wielder to cringe back against the electrical tide while his Life Points dropped to 2000...But that was only part one:
"Alright, Utopia, finish this off: Attack him directly with Rising Sun Slash!"
(SLASH)
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaagggghhhhhhhh!"
The math teacher meets defeat, his Life Points gone in one swing from the Number's golden blade...!
Tiffany and Caswell cheer for Athena's win:
"Yes! Addy for the win!"
"A miraculous, come-from-behind victory!"
The bob-cut girl was then swinging in a circle with the bowl-cut boy as they laughed and giggled happily, while Athena pulls off her gazer with a breath of accomplishment, the AR World vanishing to make room for reality.
"Yet another stroke of luck...and against my math teacher of all people." Astral replies,
"I'm also somewhat amazed we pulled that off."
"Hm...By the way, how'd you figure that Mister Kay would pull that restoration move again like he did?"
"You math teacher was seeking perfection. It became clear to me that he did not want to lose any Life Points, that he would put his desire to be perfect above everything else. So I reasoned that he would try to regain his Life Points, even if he did not need to at the time."
Athena nods, and hums with an indifferent frown,
"All the more reason I believe fixation on perfection is dangerous...Better to accept your flaws rather than deny them."
The being of blue stares down at the girl for a moment, before focusing on retrieving Number 34 from the semi-conscious Mister Kay.
Athena's red orbs watch the action from start to finish, wide and filled with curiousity...
"This card contains a memory of what was once a part of me. Number, 34..."
"...And, what's the memory this time?"
Astral closes his eyes in concentration as he let his mind soak it in, picturing a vast galaxy made from many hues of blue...
"...I remember the place where I came from...A different galaxy...Astral World. That is where I am from."
A small smile forms on Athena's lips as she muses,
"Heh, so you're named after your home? That's pretty cool."
She then notices the small frown on Astral's face, and formed one of her own in mild concern.
"...Astral?"
"...That is all I remember."
Her eyes widen slightly, before softening them into a sympathetic expression and tries to reach out to gently grab the being's hand...only to find,
"Oh!"
Her hand just went right through!
Whoops...I guess he's a bit more spirit-like then I thought...
"Athena?"
She looks back up to see Astral looking at her with mild surprise at her actions:
"Did, you just try to..."
She looks away in some embarrassment and quietly replies,
"Um, yeah, I did...It's, something humans do to comfort one another when they seem sad, distant or troubled..."
"I see..."
"...Don't lose hope, Astral."
"Hm?"
Athena looks up at him with a more positive expression and says to him,
"We just have to take this one step at a time. It'll all come back eventually...okay?"
"Uh...(Nod) Alright."
She shoots a half-smile, half-smirk, before moving to help her friends raise their math teacher into a sitting position to rouse him awake.
"Mister Kay...Mister Kay, wake up!"
"Come on, Mister Kay, this ain't the time to be wandering in dreamland!"
His eyes blink awake a moment after the calls:
"Uh...U-Uh, what? What are all of you guys doing here?"
Athena then urges,
"Good, you're up, now please, hurry and shut down the countdown to this virus!"
"The viral countdown? I can't: The viral release doesn't have a cancellation code."
"Gh! Seriously?! Does that mean, our city's about to plummet into the dark ages?!"
Fujina Reisdence
"Rrrgh, don't you know when to quit while you're ahead?!"
During the last events of the duel, Yoko worked furiously to defeat the Crashbug Avatar Boss, her ferocity making Terry flinch back in mild fear.
Yipes. I keep forgetting she's got the temper of a viper...How our brief break-ups didn't end with hospital trips is beyond me.
One punch later, and the Yoko Avatar knocks the enemy down flat, it disintegrating into pixels!
"Ha, finally, I did it!"
...But much to hers and Terry's shock, the clock still kept going down:
"Uh! Why's the clock still ticking?"
"Gh! Maybe...maybe this virus doesn't have an off-switch!"
The young adults turn to one another with wide eyes and mutter,
"Oh, shi-"
Back to the Tower
3...2...1...
(Beep)
"Auh, we're doomed!"
"It's all over!"
Mister Kay comes over to the edge of the room following Tiffany's and Caswell's exclaims, majorly perplexed by their fright.
"What are you guys shouting about over here?" Athena replies incredulously,
"The virus, what else?! Didn't you create it to induce panic all over the city?"
"Why would think I would do something like that?"
It was then the girl with blue irises notes the quiet and peace of the city nightlife:
"Um...oh, nothing's happening."
"I'll admit that during my preparations, I accidentally caused some trouble, but..."
Athena quickly realizes with a deadpan,
Oookaaay, I'm starting to get it now: The Number must've aroused something in his brain that made him go wacky.
...But wait, if that's the case-
"Then what were you really trying to do?"
...Down below in the streets, the lights of a large, dome-shaped building go on!
"Ah, there we go! You want to know what I did? Just put on your duel gazers and look up to the sky."
Though suspicious, Athena follows the example of her friends, muttering,
"And I thought yesterday was a top contender for weird..."
When she looks up, her eyes bulge out when she sees a familiar monster enlarged to gigantic proportions!
"Whoa! Is that..."
"(All three teens) There's a giant Crashbug in the sky!"
Mister Kay then explains his true motives, a smile on his face as he did so:
"I was looking at a pattern in the city's nightlights, and they seem to be forming an incredibly-complex matrix code. With my duel gazer, I scanned the pattern and realized it was just one optical fragment away from being the Crashbug Q Code, and I then I realized that the museum's lights aren't normally lit up at night."
"You mean to tell us all this craziness was because you were just trying to make a giant Crashbug appear in the AR sky?!"
"Yeah, you got it."
The three teenagers fall over in exasperation, and Athena irritably mumbles,
"Bloody Jesus," before turning attention to Caswell's address:
"Athena, look."
She sees his Crashbug Card, and takes it to look while asking with a shrug,
"What about it?"
"Read the description..."
As she does, we see that the citizens all over Heartland City, young and old, cluing into the large projection, becoming excited and smiley at seeing the monster sending bomb-induced fireworks to dance across the stars. Even Terry and Yoko watched the display from the front window of the Fujina residence, with their own smiles and holding an arm around one another...
"'Crashbug is an electrical spirit that eats the bugs in our lives. Sadness, Doubt, Frustration. No bug is too big for Crashbug. If one sees the monster on the night of a full moon, good luck and happiness will smile upon you'...Huh, go figure."
"You see? In the end, Mister Kay wanted everyone to have good luck."
"I do, Cas."
"...Um, listen, Athena?"
She looks up from the card to meet the boy's pear green eyes with her red, and he suddenly pulls her gently to the side from Tiffany and their teacher in an almost private-like manner, forming an apologetic expression.
"Uh, Caswell?"
"...I'm sorry about what I said about you, before our duel during school today. That wasn't fair of me, and incredibly judgemental."
Athena was taken aback by the apology...but then smiles a little and claps the boy's shoulder.
"It's, fine. Not the first time I've been judged based off one aspect of me...Thank you for apologizing, though; I appreciate it."
Caswell takes a turn at being surprised by the forgiveness...but then forms a small smile of his own.
"You're welcome."
"Hey. How 'bout we work on more 'getting to know' and less 'judging the cover', eh?"
The two shake hands as the boy replies,
"In the end, I find that to be an excellent plan."
...From afar, Astral watched the exchange of friendliness between the teens, before focusing on making note of the power of these strange cards that were once a part of his being.
"Observation Number Seven: Number Cards effect people. They change them...They seem to want to amplify an individual's wants and desires, almost to the point that they take over. I need to remember that."