(Shhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...)
Water droplets fall heavy on the cold, hard concrete that was worn and heavy with the weight of the people who comb these teetering streets, individuals that lived life on the wilder and/or harsher side...
Sitting on the edge of one sidewalk outside a gutted bank building, was Athena, close to two years younger and with less fire in her eyes than what flickers in the present-day, hidden away by the curtain of her soaked, long black hair tipped copper-red. Her outfit consisted of a pair of worn grey sweatpants, a white tank-top, and dark red sneakers that highlighted her white ankle socks.
The girl could care less if she would end up catching a cold from the shower of rain...or perhaps she was barely able to acknowledge the weather, other than it being as depressing as she felt...
"...Well ain't this a sorry sight, seeing a pretty chick look like crap."
Athena tilts her head up slightly to see past her black tresses to the source of the new male voice:
A teen at least a foot taller and two years older than herself, thin but with reasonable muscle-build, his skin kissed moderately by the sun, highlighting his short, spiky green hair with black tips, orange-brown eyes, and wearing an outfit of a green t-shirt with ripped sleeves that read 'Society can suck it' in the middle with blood-red ink, a white-gray raincoat, black pants with chains hanging off the right pocket, brown boots with red laces, and indigo fingerless gloves.
"...Who're you?"
"Name's Trilos, Janko Trilos. Heh, and if you haven't hear my name before, you're definitely from the nicer parts of this godforsaken city..."
Athena stares at the older boy for a few seconds with a blank expression, before turning her dulled eyes in front of her again.
"...What do you want?"
Trilos kneels down to the girl's level with a somewhat sympathetic expression and replies,
"Well first of all, I'm a bit interested to know why a cute face like you looks ready to hang herself."
"...I don't have to explain myself to a stranger...(mumble) especially since even I dunno why I'm feeling so empty."
The spiky-styled boy doesn't miss the other half of the girl's dead-hostile response, and smirks to himself before covering the expression with a small smile.
"Hey now, no need to get defensive. Just a simple question...but what if I were to tell you there's a way to fill that black hole?"
That caught the red-eyed preteen's interest:
"...There is?"
"Hell yeah...though I'll warn you in advance, it ain't for the weaker hearts. Not that that's gonna be an issue for you."
Trilos stands straight again while pulling Athena up with him, caressing the left side of her face with a thumb brushing under the darkened bag under her eye.
"I can see it in your eyes: There's a beast, a fire biding its time inside you, waiting to be unleashed...and I've got just the thing to do that. What do you say?...You in?"
There's a pause, the silence highlighting the downpour pounding on the pavement...before Athena nods with a firm frown.
"Show me."
The boy grins and moves to wrap a guiding arm around the younger girl's shoulders, leading her down the sidewalk to elsewhere.
"I've got a good feeling you're gonna turn into the feature item we need down at the Fallen Stars..."
(Flash)
"That's how I was first lured in by that crazy bastard Trilos, all because I felt I had nothin' else to lose, so, why the hell not..."
"And you wound up discovering you followed a gang leader to an underground fighting club, yet, you still stuck around...Damn, I dunno whether to call you dumb or insane."
"Heh, I think a fair mix of both would be the appropriate description."
It's been at least two days since the duel between Athena and Shark down at the unfinished road complex, which would be aborted halfway through when the former was struck with a high spike in her metabolic breakdown of energy and passed out cold...
Now, both duelists and a certain celestial being were sitting/floating in her hospital room during a new morning, just talking about whatever came to mind. The most popular topic of conversation was the piece of personal history the girl revealed to the two boys in the room prior to now, that being what she ended up doing to cope with the numbing pain in her heart and mind after her kidnapping two years ago.
"How long was it again you kept coming and goin' from that place?"
"Roughly five months, and yes, I too find it amazing I'm not in juvenile hall...When I wasn't waving my fists in the ring, I also joined a few of the runs with some other faces to spray-tag and vandalize. Nothing too hectic, (wry smirk) but we did piss off a couple rival gangs of 'barely adults', enough so that they'd try to hunt us down. Never once got caught, though we did have a few close calls with a truancy officer..."
Astral, who was hovering on the left side of Athena's bed while Shark sat on the mattress's right, has his eyes just as wide with surprise as he has had them since the girl began her reveal two days ago, finding it hard to believe that she had such capabilities.
Meanwhile, the boy with violet-blue hair's expression was set in a neutral frown, most of his excitement used during the bigger reveal of the girl's dark past, as well as when she decided to tell him about the blue-skinned being who's been around her since their first duel...
"...So what made you quit that part of your life?"
Athena's expression darkened slightly, but didn't drop to downright hostile, as she looks down at the sheets of the bed before answering dryly,
"...I guess you could say, I gave myself a nasty gut-check to reality."
"Huh?"
"After my final fight, which ended in a loss on my end...it felt like I was trapped between the real world and a nightmare. I could barely acknowledge my own being as I staggered my battered-up body out of that building and made my trek back to the concrete jungle...At some point, I ended up in Mirror Alley, a place in the rougher part of the city that's got an urban legend attached to it. Said that looking in even just one mirror, reveals your innermost parts of the self, which usually ends with the person screaming in terror over what they see."
Astral asks,
"You mean these mirrors have the power to reflect the inner mind?"
"Heh, that's what the folks livin' near that area think, but it's more than likely a silly story drummed up by someone's last drug high...Still, it's amazing what the imagination can come up with...when you're drowning in your own spirit."
The girl's red eyes shone with an old fear as a shiver slithered down her spine in accordance the memories resurfacing.
"That day...I remember the rain shower being colder than usual. I was shaking from a freeze that came from nature surrounding...but at the same time, was coming from inside my head, like something was banging against the bone to break out. Each rumble of the thunder, every twitch of my limbs...was followed by an echo of voices, voices that sounded, pained."
Shark asks with a raised brow,
"Voices?"
"(Shakes head) I know what you're thinking: I was disoriented and on the borderline of crazy, so I could've just created those sounds inside me...But, those screams...they sounded too real, yet so far away...I also, faintly recall an image that flashed before my eyes: A swirl of colours, blues and sparkles of pink against the endless black, with stars glittering all around..."
Astral immediately stiffens to attention:
Uh! That sounds like...a simpler description of my homeworld...!
"But something was attacking it, these red shots of light, blasting against the blue...The same red, that made up a reflection in one of the mirrors that nearly gave me a heart attack. (Gulp) A...A monster of some kind..."
"A monster?"
"Mhm...I don't know where it could've possibly have come from, or why it was there, but, seeing that thing...It made me feel something I hadn't felt for those five months: Pure, unadulterated fear, so much so that when the monster lunged, I screamed and destroyed the mirror by punching it."
The boy with cerulean eyes sucks some air between his teeth:
"Ouch. That must've left a scar."
"It did."
Athena holds out her left hand palm-down, and squeezes her knuckles to whiten her skin, revealing a few very faint marks on her fingers.
"It'll be at least a few more months before these marks vanish completely, longer if I forgo the Bio-Oil."
"Hm...And, what happened after that?"
"Hah, well, once my chest stopped thumping like a hummingbird's...I felt this new wave of clarity very slowly wash over me, and...for the first time in what felt like forever, I could finally see myself with a straight head, what I had become. Then my conscious decided to jostle me up some more, and, (laugh) this is where you'll really question my sanity, but I wound up arguing with myself, rather, who I was before I joined the Fallen Stars, my Past Me."
Shark holds back a snicker and quirks,
"Your 'Past You'?"
"Mhm, and lemme tell you, I was quite the little spitfire: Didn't skip a beat in insulting my current persona, my, 'Berserker' ID...Long story short, my blinders had been removed, stomped to pieces, allowing me to see the world again, see, me again..."
Athena's smirk shifts into a grim smile as she finishes,
"Like all highs, mine had an expiration date. Once I made the drop...the next step was cleaning myself up, physically and mentally. I went home, got rid of basically everything that I had gained as 'Beserker', and reclaimed my identity as Athena Fujina. I may have received alot of mental and physical scars...but I take them in as a reminder to never, ever fall that far again."
The other two bodies in the room could only stare in awe at the girl between them, whose tone sounded like a beaten old woman's...
Unbeknownst to the trio, three others had arrived outside the partly-opened door to Athena's room to visit her just as she got to the part of her story involving the Mirror Alley, and became shocked silly from the depressing details...
Tiffany, whom today was wearing a frilly green babydoll top with a pair of blue shorts trimmed with white lace at the cuffs and white flats, turns to the other two boys with her and mutters softly,
"Wow...It's been so long since I heard Addy speak so, openly about that time..."
Caswell, who was wearing his full school uniform, nods with while swallowing a lump in his throat.
"I, I never even heard of these details before...never, bothered to ask...In the end, it's quite clear that part of her life still bothers her greatly."
Jamal, dressed in an orange t-shirt with ripped sleeves, black suspenders attached to a pair baggy grey jeans, black high-top sneakers and a dark blue ski cap over his head of long dreadlocks, nods absentmindedly, but his expression was set in an odd glare directed inside to the two people he could see inside the hospital room.
"...Jamal?"
"Hm?"
He turns his eyes to the girl with cornflower blue irises, who was looking at him with a mix of suspicion and concern.
"Is, something wrong?"
"Guh, um, no! Nothin's wrong. I just remembered something I was suppose to get for my mom, so, I gotta get goin' before I forget again. Later!"
With that, the boy spins on his foot and starts fast-walking down the opposite direction of the hall, despite his confused friends calling after him.
"Huh? Hey, Jamal!"
"Jamal?"
The sound of their exclaims snuck in through the crack in the doorway to arouse attention from the occupants.
"Huh?" "Hm?"
"Did you two hear something?"
There then came a soft knock on the hardwood before the door slid all the way open to reveal Tiffany and Caswell's faces, which were now occupying bright smiles.
"Hey Addy! Oh, and Shark, here again, I see? Nice to see you too."
"Hello, Athena, Shark."
The girl resting in bed would respond first:
"Tiff, Cas, hey!...Um, Jamal's not with you?"
Meanwhile, Shark rose from his seat on the side of the bed and readies to exit the room.
"Guess this is my cue to head out before it gets too crowded."
"Oh, Shark, you don't have to leave just 'cause we're here..."
He flashes a small smirk at the girl with black, bobbed hair:
"Nah, it's fine. There's...someone I gotta see elsewhere in this place, anyway. (Glances back) See you 'round, Addy, (looks up) Astral."
The boy then makes his way out, leaving behind the other four souls in the room, the two new arrivals sporting newly widened eyes.
"Did, he just say-" Athena replies with a half-smile,
"Yeah, he did, Cas. He knows about Astral now; told him about the stuff he didn't witness during our first duel and what's been happening since."
"...And, how did he take it?"
"Skeptical at first, but after showing him the Numbers, including Leviathan Dragon, his memory jolted a bit from his experience of their power, and became that much more persuaded to hear more details."
By this time, Caswell and Tiffany had settled onto either side of the white-sheet bed while Astral moved to hover cross-legged over the foot of the bed near Athena's own legs. The girl with bobbed hair then asks while placing a hand on the other girl's arm,
"How are you feeling today?"
"Glad that I get to leave this white-washed joint tomorrow. This room's making me stir-crazy, and the nurses aren't helping my mood by acting like I'm a baby bird that fell out of the nest...In fact, if it haven't been for everybody visiting and Astral being here with me, (smirk) pretty sure I would've beaten the crap out of one of those Bettys by now."
The two teens laugh nervously from such a reply while Astral shoots the girl a scolding expression...
Meanwhile, in the Run-Down Arcade...
"Urrrgh, I can't believe that fish Shark just blew us off like he did! Not that I'm sorry he's gone; he acted like he was so much better than me and the rest of the boys...but still! What kind-a big man does he think he is ditchin' just like that?!"
That lanky redheaded member of Scorch and Chill's gang was complaining up a storm to his co-bosses in one of the upper rooms about the blunt leave of the younger teen a few days ago.
However, neither Scorch nor Chills seemed overly concerned or annoyed by Shark's quit.
"Just forget about 'im, Weasel. We've got ourselves another contact who's worth more trouble than you or that half-wit fish are ever gonna be."
"Huh?"
"Shark may have had the wins our gang needed to take down whoever...but there's another guy out there who really knows how to strike fear into his sources to blubber what he needs to know to move forward...and leave this city shaking."
A low chuckle resonates from behind the door to the room, before the source opens it to reveal a familiar tanned face with spiky green hair tipped black and orange-brown eyes, his mouth curved into a wild but serious grin.
"Well aren't we actin' the kiss-up, Scorch? Almost reminds me of your baby cousin, BB; always said the sweet words..."
Weasel flinches from the new face and exclaims,
"W-When'd you get up here; who the hell are you?!"
"...Who am I?"
(Slam)
"Guh!"
The new arrival props the redheaded male against the wall a few inches from the big tv screen by their throat, squeezing tight with a sadistic smile before whispering in a scary voice,
"I'm every punk's worst nightmare...I, am Trilos."
Time Skip, Athena's POV
"Ugh, thank god, I'm free!"
"You make it sound like you were released from jail."
"Yeah well, those damn nurses could easily be mistaken for prison wardens. I distinctly remember a few of those older crones giving me the evil eye like I descended from Hell."
It's now inching close to high noon, and I was finally able to check out of my hospital room. Adam came by earlier this morning to drop off a fresh set of clothes for me (my red top that had one left sleeve, my acid-washed grey jeans with the pocket chain on the right pocket, and my dark red sneakers), then it was all in acting like a little princess so that the Doctor Moreno wasn't fed a cock-and-bull from the bitchy nurses that I should stay longer...Oddly enough, Shark came by half an hour before now to visit me, and seemed visibly glad that I was gonna be released today.
We're now walking along one of the paths leading into the park, mostly content with eachother's company...that is, until I remembered something I meant to ask the boy on my left.
"So, you mind explaining something to me?"
"Shoot."
"How does a duelist of your caliber wind up heading for the National's top, but suddenly drops like a rock and becomes a minor delinquent at the Academy?"
...The air became quiet and tense, not quite the atmosphere of a funeral, but pretty damn close, as Shark's face contorted into a frown mixing of dull anger and slight regret.
"...Shark?"
"You haven't read the story on me, have you?"
I was a bit taken aback by the somewhat dead tone, but shook my head with a frown of distaste.
"I don't like reading entertainment tabloids. They're becoming as gossipy as a tween girl magazine, not counting those few articles recommended to me by Yoko."
He looks at me with a raised brow, and I add casually,
"Uh, she's my brother Terry's on-and-off girlfriend. Don't ask...Anyway, why should I bother reading a bias news source when I can hear the real story from the subject himself?"
It was Shark's turn to become surprised, and he pauses his steps while forming a conflicted expression, making me stop to watch him carefully.
Must've been pretty bad if he's lookin' that reluctant to speak...
Though I would've thought after my big reveal of my own fall from grace, he'd be a bit empowered to share some of his life with me.
...Guess that trick doesn't always work.
"...Addy."
"Hm?"
I snap out of my thoughts when I heard another male's voice calling to me from behind, and I turn around to see noneother than Jamal on his scooter, wearing a green tank-top with ripping at the bottom, his baggy grey jeans, white sneakers and his blue 'brain bucket' that covered most of his dreadlocks save the strands that peaked from under.
Huh, been a few days since I saw him...
"Jamal, hey...Where have you been this last bit?"
"Busy."
...That was a rather tactful reply.
I then notice that his eyes weren't so much on me, but were sending a glare towards, Shark?
He too was a bit taken aback, and eyes the other strangely, leaving me stuck in the middle of these two boys.
...Okay, what's goin' on here?
"Uh, guys...?"
"I see you're already preoccupied with him, so I'll leave you guys to it. Later."
"Uh! Jamal, wait!"
But he just whirls his wheels around and starts speeding off to god-who-knows...I lower my hand and placed both on my hips while looking down at the ground in slowly-growing frustrated thought.
"What the hell just happened here...?"
"Everything okay between you and your friend?"
I turn my head to Shark as he approaches and I reply with a shrug,
"No idea. I mean, we've gotten ticked with eachother before, but he hasn't acted this cold...Unless...Oh, god..."
"What?"
I slap my forehead with my palm as I realize,
"I think I know what might be up with him: He's jealous, the petty idiot!"
Shark was a bit confused at first...until the answer hits him too, making him laugh rather loudly.
"Oh geez, does he think-Wow!"
"I know, right? I mean, what the hell's wrong with us becoming friends? It's not like I'm pushing him out or anything!"
"Heh, I think it might be more than that."
That made me stop laughing in an instant:
"Huh?"
Once he cooled down, Shark straightens back up with an amused smirk and says,
"It's possible I'm wrong, but...I think Jamal may care about you in ways past simple friendship. You get me?"
"Uh...Wait...Oh hell no, you're not suggesting-"
I cut myself off as I hold my head from an oncoming headache in wake of this new stupidity.
"Aw hell no! Please, no way; not this dumbassery again!"
"Again?"
"...Okay, don't tell him I told you, otherwise he's gonna pulverize me, but back in elementary school...Jamal used to have a big crush on me."
"You're kidding..."
We were walking forward elsewhere again, and I shake my head with an embarrassed smile.
"No lie. Even gave me this big valentine heart in the fourth grade...Eventually, his eyes turned to other girls and I became the fading eye candy."
Or so I thought...Is his crush starting to come back now that we're teens?
...Frig, I hope not.
"I'm, guessin' you've got no interest in stuff like that?"
Shark's question sounded so awkward I was close to bursting into laughter, but I just shook my head with an amused smirk and replied,
"Nah. Romance is the last thing on my mind, and I haven't felt those dumb butterflies in my stomach from looking at any dudes..."
But let's see how long I can keep that crap up before I become as ditsy as other girls...
I decided since he seemed reluctant to talk about what happened at the Duel Nationals last year, I'd use this odd topic to turn the atmosphere between us back to a less intensified affair.
"...What about you, Shark? You got any girls on your mind surrounded by a pink heart?"
His reply came quick enough:
"Ha, as if! Do I look like a romantic?"
"No, but I hear the ladies go crazy for bad boys."
"You sayin' I'm bad?"
"Of course not...(Cheeky grin) I'm saying you suck at talking to girls."
"W-What?!"
His stuttered response sent me into a flurry of laughter, and before I knew it, I was running like a madwoman away from Shark as he chased me down with annoyed anger in his eyes.
"Come back here and say that again! I dare you!"
"Try and make me, barracuda boy!"
Unfortunately, due to it being my cautionary week of instability for my metabolism, I had to force myself to stop sprinting after about twenty minutes so I wouldn't risk getting severely winded, giving that boy the chance to catch me in front of the smoothie stand Tiffany and I frequent to. Once we both calmed down (and I begrudgingly agreed to taking back my playful insult, making him smile smugly), we got ourselves some drinks to cool off the heat produced from the run, and kept wandering around the area, trading words and sharing a laugh...
Small Time Skip, Run-Down Arcade, No POV
"So, are we just talkin' about doin' this, or are we, 'talkin' about doin' this'?"
"Oh, we're talkin' about doin' this..."
What Weasel and Chills were discussing, was the new report that was flicked onto the television regarding a new feature at the Heartland City Museum.
"The exhibition piece is a rare and powerful duel deck, which was donated to the museum by an anonymous benefactor. A panel of leading experts have yet to confirm who this deck originally belonged to..."
Trilos, whom had returned to the gang hideout again to meet with Scorch and Chills, gestures a thumb to the tv with a smirk and quirks,
"What'd I tell ya? Sweet idea for a score, huh?"
"Ha! Sweet doesn't even begin to describe: After tonight, that deck is gonna belong to us!"
"Just remember our deal: I give you the best routes to take in this heist, and as soon as you get your paws on the deck, you and your boys get outta my city."
Scorch nods in confirmation to Trilos, but couldn't help but comment with a wry smirk,
"Keh, normally, I don't let someone younger than me tell me where my boys and I go, but after hearing your rep and seeing some of what you got...I can see why you don't wanna let up your control."
Meanwhile, Weasel was feeling less than excited about this whole plan:
"This seems really dangerous...What about museum security? What if we get busted? If we get caught, my parents will send me to boarding school and-"
"Aw shuddup, ya little wuss. Your pussyfooting is really pissing me off."
Chills agreed with Trilos, and steps forward with a menacing frown to the redheaded male and retorts,
"He's right, you little worm: If you wanna run with the pack, then start actin' like a wolf!"
"I, I know! I'm just sayin'...!"
Scorch cuts in with a calmer tone:
"We're gonna be fine. Don't forget, Weasel, we got these..."
He holds up a duel monster card that was Rank Five with 2500 Attack Points...and held the numeral symbol 61 that would show up as a branded tattoo on the owner's right shoulder!
"There are our tickets in: As long as we have these bad boys, we can do whatever we want, and no one can stop us!"
In Chill's case, the card in his hand would also be Rank Five but with 2000 Attack points, holding numeral 19 that would be glowing plastered onto the skin of his left arm...
Weasel darted his eyes back and forth between his leaders, while Trilos shook his head with a frown of distaste on his lips.
Whoop-dee-doo, so they got powerful XYZ Monsters...
Tch, yet another reason to add to my list of reasons why I think Duel Monsters is becoming stupid.
"Sounds like you crazy bastards are gun-ho ready, so here, catch."
The boy with spiky green hair tosses a small USB Drive coloured black with a white skull and crossbones to Scorch, who catches it without any effort while the former makes his way out to other places.
"I got places to go and heads to bust, so good-freakin'-luck to you three."
(Ka-chank...)
The man with short, dreadlocked hair narrows his eyes slightly at the doorway Trilos exited through and thinks to himself,
Tuh, that kid needs to get his head checked...
Shaking off his frown, he smiles in anticipation and says to the other two in the room,
"Then it's settled: We'll meet by Pier Fourteen at Midnight tonight."
"Uh, yeah, but-"
Chills cuts into Weasel's stuttering and jeers mockingly,
"What'sa matter, little Weasel? Ya chicken?"
"No! I was, just, pointin' out the reality. Yeah, that's it!"
Scorch barks out a laugh and moves to stand up from his seat on an old sofa, before stepping over to loom over the redheaded male.
"Is that so?"
"Hnn...!"
"Well here's a reality for you to remember, punk..."
(Slam)
"Hgh!"
A fist connects with the wall just inches from Weasel's head, the owner adding in a hiss,
"Don't get in the way and play your part, or you'll have me to deal with."
Small Time Skip
It's now heading into late evening, and we catch up with Athena and Shark, who were now combing around the streets near the museum building before it got too dark...
"(Low whistle) So long story short, you got screwed over by that duelist in the tournament when he 'accidentally' left his duel deck behind and wide open to being seen..."
The boy eyes the girl with an odd expression and asks,
"...Are you saying you think I was set up?"
"Well no duh! I mean, come on, just ditching your cards on a table and leaving them for the world to see? That sounds too suspiciously careless...That opponent of yours, whoever they were, they wanted you to lose in any way possible."
Shark's eyes widen slightly...before he looks away towards some streetlamps and mutters quietly,
"...So you don't think I'm a cheater."
"I think what happened was a simple case of well-timed moment of weakness. You were starting to feel the overwhelming pressures, that guy knew it, and set the stage up so you'd crash under the weight...But you shouldn't let it continue to drag you down."
The two teens stop halfway down the sidewalk bordering the fence going around the Heartland City Museum just as the sun's rays finally make way for the night sky.
"We all make the mistake in giving into weakness at some point in our lives, Shark. The trick is to find a way to move on with your head held high, make it a life lesson, you know? (Sad smile) I should know, for I've given into a weakness that nearly destroyed me, as you well know about."
"Uh...Addy..."
Suddenly, just before the boy could come up with a viable response:
(Vrrrrrooooooommmm...)
"Huh?" "Hm?"
(Shrrrrrrooooom)
Two duel runners came zipping right over the fencing on the left far side, landing with a screeching stop on the mosaic patterned courtyard!
"What the hell...?"
"Damn, I can't believe Weasel ran like a little coward!"
The younger teens tense up upon recognizing the cursing voice:
"Was that...?"
"Yeah, that was Chills...Which means the other guy there's gotta be Scorch."
They step closer to the fencing with narrowed eyes of suspicion and whisper to one another,
"But what are they doing here?"
"Probably gonna rob the place of something...Uh! And I think I know what: I remember seeing a news report last night about an ultra-rare deck that was donated to the museum."
That's when their ears pick up on the following response from Scorch to his partner in crime.
"Calm down, Chills. Thanks to that Trilos kid's blueprints, a scapegoat won't be necessary. We'll be in and out before those bozo guards even hear our footsteps."
Athena felt her blood freeze up from hearing the one name she never guessed to hear of again.
Did, he just say...Trilos?
...Damn it all, he's surfacing in the city again?!
...But wait.
"Since when does that bastard hand out favours for free?"
"Who?"
The girl jolts slightly when she realizes she said that part aloud, and turns to Shark while hissing between gritted teeth,
"Trilos. I heard Scorch say Trilos...and if I know that psycho like the back of my hand, he wouldn't offer these two losers help so lightly."
"So you think they've been played?"
"Most likely..."
Scorch's voice travels to their waiting ears again when he says with a confident laugh,
"Keh, plus why the hell should we be scared? We've got these on hand after all."
He then holds up the Number Card he possesses, prompting Chills to do the same as his lips curve into a dark smile.
"That's true. We're invincible as long as we carry these."
Numerals 61 and 19 glow on sight in their respected places, which do not go unnoticed by Athena or Shark.
"Uh! Did you see that?!"
"They both have a Number Card!"
Apparently, Astral had sensed the presence of the said XYZ Monsters, and immediately materialized out of the golden key pendant on alert.
"Somehow, this does not surprise me, considering how aggressively they behaved during our first encounter..."
Athena hms...before muttering,
"Okay, normally, I'd say leave these guys for the police to handle, but since there are Numbers involved..."
She huffs out a breath of air before rubbing her hands together, then leaping up to climb the fence, much to Shark's shock.
"Guh! Addy, what're you-"
"Bail out if you want to, Shark, but I can't lose this opportunity to snag more Numbers for Astral..."
Once she was on the other side, the girl silently sprints forward until she was standing a couple feet away from the two men, much to their surprise.
"Huh?"
"Who're you?"
The motion sensors turn on the ground lights, highlighting Athena's form.
"The force of nature that's gonna kick your asses, that's what."
Scorch and Chills grin in amusement from the girl's declaration, their bodies billowing that dark aura signalling possession of the numeric kind.
"Really?"
"This isn't a sandbox you wanna be playing in."
"Tuh, does it look like I'm scared of you two? If you losers wanna keep moving, you'll have to duel me first!"
"Is that so?"
"What's the wager?"
Athena reaches into her deck holder and pulls out one card to display, they being Utopia!
"If by some dumb miracle you do defeat me...then my Number Card goes to you!"
Shark had just hopped over the fence into the courtyard when he picks up on that bit of the banter.
She's out of her mind!
"Her card's just like ours, Scorch." He in turn glances at his own:
"I get it: So this is called a Number Card. Imagine how strong we would be if we had another one..."
He then focuses back on Athena:
"Are you sure that you wanna do this, pipsqueak?" She smirks and replies,
"Quite sure. Why? You afraid of taking on a girl?"
"Ha! Hardly."
"How 'bout taking on a girl and her ally?"
"Huh?"
Eyes turn to Shark, who casually walks over to stand next to Athena, much to her surprise.
"Uh, Shark!...You stuck around..."
"Please, as if I'm gonna let you take on these two alone like a crazy person...Besides..."
He shoots her a small smirk bordering a smile and adds,
"I, kind-a owe you for steering me away from these guys."
...Athena stares at him for a moment, before breaking a smirking grin of her own.
"Keh, screw that owing crap: I helped you 'cause you're my friend, and that's really why you're helping me, right?"
"You believe what you want, and I'll believe what I want. Now, we gonna focus on the real problem or what?"
"Right."
The two teens turn to face the two men with serious glares, which only served to amuse the latter pair.
"Haha, what's with those looks?"
"You two seriously think you can take us on?"
"Oh we don't think: We know we can take you on. And not only that..."
The girl with red irises throws up her duel disk at the ready:
"We're also gonna wipe the pavement with ya! Duel Disk: Go! Duel Gazer: Set! Duel Interface: Show me the impossible!"
Augmented Reality Vision Link Established.
"(All duelists) Let's Duel!"
...And just before the battle commences, Athena quickly sends out a message to her other friends to let them know where she was and a short version of what's going on, praying that one friend in particular would arrive soon.
You better not be a jerk and come here, Jamal...
I could use your support with everyone else, and it wouldn't kill you to be a friend to Shark.
Just as she finishes that thought, Scorch would make the opening move.
"What do you say we get this duel started? It's my turn; I Draw! I place a monster face-down in Defense Mode! Next, I end my turn by placing two cards face-down."
Astral doesn't miss the exchange of stares between the tanned male and his partner.
"It is apparent from the way they are interacting, that these two are used to dueling as a team."
Athena scoffs,
"Hmph, I say bring it on! My turn to Draw! First I summon Zubaba Knight!"
Said Level Four monster spin-jumps onto the field:
"Zubabaaaa Knight!"
"...But if I remember correctly from what my brothers taught me, in a tag duel, no one's able to attack until all players take their first turns, (glances over at Shark) right?"
"That's right...Dare I ask how long exactly has it been since you even done a tag duel?"
"Uuuh...roughly five years?"
Shark resists the urge to facepalm, as Athena finishes her first turn while shooting a mild glare at her dueling partner.
"Don't judge me, dammit! Anyway, that's all for this turn!"
Scorch mutters to himself with an amused smile,
"What a rookie. This is gonna be a piece of cake."
Chills was feeling just as confident to victory as he makes his first move:
"It's my turn. I Draw! I summon, Pompadour Blizzardon!"
The monster he summons had the appearance of a raptor-like dinosaur with dark onyx skin and a crowned frill running over its head in dulled ice blue matching the large spikes at the bottom base of its back, their Level being Four with 1400 Attack Points.
"Then I place two cards face-down and end my turn! Once this train gets goin', it doesn't stop!"
Scorch adds in a taunt with a wicked gleam in his eyes,
"You're gonna wish you stayed in your beds tonight, kids."
Shark glares at the other silently, before he conducts his own first turn of the tag duel.
"Well you're gonna wish you stayed out of the water, 'cause I'm summoning Big Jaws!"
Said blue-finned cyborg fish splashes onto the field...
"And that lets me also summon Shark Stickers! See, I can bust out this monster whenever I summon a Fish-Type Monster to the field."
Athena smirks slightly, knowing where her dueling partner was going with his moves.
"Two Level Threes already, huh? Sweet; bring out the big guns!"
The cerulean-eyed boy almost smirks back before continuing his play:
"I overlay Big Laws and Shark Stickers! With these two monsters, I can build the Overlay Network and XYZ Summon, the merciful carrier Aero Shark!...And now I activate its special ability: Once a turn by using an Overlay Unit, Aero Shark can dish out 400 points of damage for every card in my hand."
Astral comments,
"An excellent move: He is skirting around the rules by using a special ability to deal damage."
Said boy smirks as he holds up his current hand:
"Since I've got four cards in my hand, I'm serving up 1600 points of damage to Scorch!"
2400 would be where said opponent's Life Points dropped to after being bombarded by Aero Shark's missiles...
"Ha! How'd you like that, Scorch?"
Athena's taunting smile quickly shifts into a frown upon hearing the man reply with a spout of laughter, his face revealed to me smiling sardonically through the dissipating smoke...
"We were hoping you'd do that..."
He glances over at Chills, who mirrored the expression before calling out,
"I activate my Trap, Blizzard Egg Level Five!"
A blustery wind of white rushes onto the field, causing the younger teens and the blue being hovering with them to flinch as Chills explains the nature of this card.
"When a special ability deals damage, Blizzard Egg enables the one who took damage to summon one Level Five Monster from their hand. But if he has no monster to summon, then that duelist gets slammed with 500 points of damage himself."
"So that would mean..." Astral finishes Athena's sentence:
"He is gambling on Scorch having a Level Five Monster in his hand, which is quite a reckless risk for him to take."
Scorch peers over his current hand:
"Let's see...(Grin) I summon Level Five Baggy Pants Lavasaurus!"
This monster had the likeness to a tyrannosaur with rock-like armoured skin and glowing red frills, its Attack Points sitting at a strong 2100.
"And now, to really heat things up, I activate my Trap, Flame Egg Level Five!"
This time, the younger duelists would cringe back from fiery embers that go flying around the field, and Athena curses mentally,
Shit, first hail, now fire?!
"When I take damage from a special ability, Flame Egg grants my teammate the ability to summon one Level Five Monster from his hand! But if he's not holding one to summon, then he takes 500 points of damage."
"Aw crap, don't tell me-!"
Chills calls out in an answer to the girl's exclaim,
"You're about to learn why nobody messes with us!"
2100 Defense Points would be what read on this latest icy menace from the Mesozoic...
"Something is not right here: Both of them have Level Five Monsters waiting in their hands?"
Athena was starting have similar thoughts to Astral:
"Yeah, it's really pure luck to be able to summon strong beasts like that in a single move, one that's not even theirs. (Narrows eyes) Somethin's up..."
Chills retorts back,
"What's up is that we've mastered the art of the extended combo!"
"Did we forget to mention that no one has ever defeated us in a tag duel?"
"Who cares?"
"Hm?"
Scorch's smug smile shifts a frown as he stares down Athena, who glares at him and calls back,
"All streaks come to an end at some point. They don't go on forever, and you and your partner are going to meet yours tonight!"
"We'll see about that, pipsqueak!"
Astral mutters to himself as he notes the stronger air of smugness around Scorch and Chills,
"There is something not quite right about this scenario. Why are these two so confident?"
Shark narrows his eyes and thinks to himself in a suspecting manner,
I think I smell a rat...
"And now, our combo's big finale, Glare Level Five! Thanks to the power of this trap, you take 500 points of damage for every Level Five Monster on our fields! We've got two Level Fives out, so we're talkin' a thousand points of damage, and it's all for you, Shark!"
The eyes of said monsters glow red, before billowing out an antagonizing wave of light towards their victim, who was thrown back harshly as his Life Points drop to 3000!
"Shark!"
Athena rushes over to his side as Scorch scoffs with a dark smile,
"Kuh, that'll teach ya for ditchin' us a few days ago."
With slight waver in his voice as he recovers himself from the attack, Shark finally finishes his move.
"I place two cards face down and end my turn."
...He then pivots his head to meet the concerned red irises looking at him and gently waves her off.
"I'm fine, Addy. (Stands up) Just stay focused on why you're here, or rather, why we're here."
"Uh...(Firm nod) Right. Gotta keep my head up."
It won't help anybody if I become rattled...
Besides, I can't afford to allow my body to become too badly stressed the rest of this week. I'm already pushing it with this duel.
...Tiffany, Jamal...where are you two?
Unbeknownst to her, those two teens on her mind had just hopped clumsily over the fence into the museum courtyard as we start the roundabout of turns again with Scorch.
"And now the fun really begins! First I switch my face-down monster to Attack Mode. Here comes Flamesaurus!"
Level Four with 1800 Attack Points, this beast had the likeness of a member of the Ankylosaurs...
Jamal comments from beside Tiffany (who was wearing the same garb we last saw her in) in surprise,
"Whoa, a tag duel!...Didn't expect Addy and Shark to actually work on the same side..."
Scorch makes his main play:
"Flamesaurus's special ability activates, and that means it becomes a Level Five! Now I can overlay Flamesaurus and Baggy Pants Lavasaurus!"
The monsters form into blood-red and salmon-red beams of light before shooting into the galaxy-likened vortex...
"With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network! I summon Number 61: Volcasaurus!"
This Numeral-based behemoth had skin that seemed to liken to molten lava, its appearance a mix of various carnivorous dinosaurs with boned wings, Rank 5 with 2500 Attack Points!
"Holy hell, that thing is huge!"
Jamal's exclaim wasn't far off of Athena's:
"Jesus, that freak looks like an undiscovered fossil!"
Hearing his voice, the girl turns to meet his eyes with a softer expression:
"...Jamal..."
"...Addy..."
Attention would turn back to the duel as Chills compliments his partner's latest move.
"Nice goin', Scorch."
"I'm not done yet. I'm gonna let them know what happens to little chumps. I activate Volcasaurus's special ability: By using one Overlay Unit, one of your monsters is destroyed, and you take damage equal to its Attack Points! Say bye-bye to Aero Shark, and say hello to a world of hurt!"
One flaming wave of power is all it takes to destroy Shark's monster in a cluster of pixels...
"Don't you know who we are, you little runt? Nobody gets to betray the pack and just walk away!"
Something in the way Scorch threatened the boy, triggered something inside Athena's mind.
"Gh!"
(Flash)
(WHACK)
"GUH!"
"Who the hell said you could just ditch the club, you little bitch?! No deserter gets off scot-free!"
(Punch, kick)
(Swi-GRASP)
"Huh?!"
"And who, the hell said, that I would go down quietly...you BASTAAARD!"
(Flash)
Then before she knew it, the girl with red irises had launched herself over to Shark's proximity just as he gets shoved back by the wave of power, his body crashing into hers as she wraps her arms tight around his torso to take the bulk of the fall!
"Addy!" "Addy, Shark!"
The boy's Life Points drop to 1100, but his concern was more directed on the girl who cushioned his blow.
"A...Addy...Why'd you-are you okay?"
"Yeah...I'm cool."
The both part to rise up off the ground just as Chills calls over with a mean smirk,
"You're just settin' yourself up for more punishment, little girl..." Scorch alliterates,
"'Cause next I'm destroying your little Zubaba Knight!"
Another Overlay Unit is used up for Volcasaurus, before that shower of ember obliterates Athena's monster, and forces her down on her knees as she fights off the strength of the back-wave, her Life Points dropping to 2400.
"Rrrrgh...!"
Tiffany cries out the other girl's name with worry, but once the attack finishes, Athena dips her head up with a grim smirk and retorts,
"If that's the best you can do in terms striking me, you've got no chance in hell of taking either of us down!"
Shark was a bit taken aback by the casual brush-off, until he remembers,
Oh, that's right, I almost forgot: Athena's body doesn't take in physical pain like a normal person's does...
Still...how long can she go for before that immunity goes bitin' her in the ass?
"Ha! Big words from a bug who's about to be squashed!"
Chills adds to his partner's taunting:
"Your Number Card's as good as ours!"
And as they broke into a chorus of victory-confident laughter, Athena growls while thinking to herself fiercely,
Not while I'm alive it's not.
I'll fight with all I have by my dueling partner's side, and we will prevail over these rough-cut idiots! Just they wait!