Young, dulled gold irises gently flutter open to stare up with faint wonder at a night sky filled with soft wisps of cloud floating against a deep cerulean blue flooded with the faint twinkling of stars, the air filled with white flower pedals that danced on a gentle breeze...
"...Hey, Hart. Look."
A pair of hands move in front of the boy's line of vision, belonging to his older sibling, that held a mug of steaming drink meant for the former.
"I brought your favourite, little brother, Hot Chocolate. Go on: Take a sip."
...Hart slowly peers his eyes around to take in more details of the place he and Kite were currently at, that being the front deck of a beautiful cottage with a hardwood red roof and stone chimney, sitting on the left side of a large oak that had a simple swing attached, in the middle of a large, open field of wild grass and delicate flowers of white, yellow and lilac. He himself was laying on a wooden lawn chair under an orange blanket, his head resting against a soft yellow pillow decorated with orange star shapes.
"But where, are we?"
"Don't you recognize this cottage? Think back: We lived here when we were growing up."
"We did?...Urh, I can't remember."
Kite had to fight hard to not let his strong front crumble like weakened ceramic, and proceeded in his latest attempt to gently assist his younger sibling recall what their mind had lost in their torturous endeavors.
"Well I remember how much happier you were back then. Nothing could get you down. You were always laughing and telling jokes...but something happened, kid...You changed."
Gritting his teeth a bit, the young man looks away and adds under his breath with a suppressed rage,
"And I know who did this to you."
...Suddenly, the area around the two siblings began to fuzz out like a television channel with a bad signal, before dissipating completely in a fester of pixels, revealed to have been an illusion created with a combination of the AR World and old photographs that captured a life before the events that would change their lives for everything but the better...
Mister Heartland would then appear through the floor entrance of an elevator just seconds afterward.
"Ooh. So sorry to interrupt this brotherly reunion, but I'm afraid it's time for Hart to get back to work."
Kite rose to his feet to glare at the sardonic-smiling man before replying lowly,
"He needs to rest. You're pushing Hart way too far. Don't you see; you have to take it easy on him."
"That may be. Nevertheless, Doctor Faker insists that Hart keep working."
"He won't!"
"Stay out of this, Kite."
The gray-eyed blond turns to stare at his younger brother in shock, while he rises to a sitting position on the side of his bed, ignoring the exhaustion wracking his bones.
"This mission is way too important for me to give up now."
"But Hart..."
"Don't worry about me. I'm the only one with the power to save our world, Kite."
The young bluenette flashes a weak smile at Kite and adds,
"I wanna do whatever I can to help."
"...I know..."
The man in the aqua green suit cuts into the moment between the brothers.
"It's settled then! Doctor Faker will be thrilled to hear you're back on the job, Hart."
The unlikely pair walk to stand on the elevator entrance, and the older adds in a near stern/mocking tone,
"And I'm sure Kite will get back to work tracking down the Numbers we need. Isn't that right? You do want your brother to get better, don't you?"
With that, they were gone, leaving Kite alone atop the infamous Heartland Tower, sighing in both an angered and saddened manner as he held the forgotten drink close to him like an old friend...
...His attention is then directed at something sticking out from inside the casing of the pillow on Hart's bed.
"Hm?"
Setting the mug down on the side table, Kite moves to tug out the mystery object, namely...a set of papers with images drawn on almost feverishly with various warm shades of crayon.
"What's this?"
Why, would Hart want to hide something like this?...Is there something he's not telling me?
Sitting down on the side of the bed, the late teen began to slowly analyze each picture coloured, all depicting a rather, disturbingly similar theme.
This looks like...a hallway of sorts...Some have walls of fire, while others...
They look like glass casings, with, figures trapped inside. What does this mean?
...Wait...!
His hand stops swiping through the papers come one particular image, that captured what seems to be multiple events at once: Drawn in red and golden yellow, we see a childishly-drawn figure of...a young girl looking outward from a room with a pained, insane expression on her face on one half of the paper, while other showcased that same anonymous person atop a flat surface with her back arched, screaming while something around her neck shone brightly!
...But what struck Kite, was the faint familiarity he felt as he gazed at the irises of the figure.
It's her!
Fujina Residence
"Whoa whoa, what?! Are you serious?!"
Moving along, we zoom into the inside of Athena's bedroom, as the girl with long, shaggy black hair with copper-red tips is informed by Astral of a piece of important information regarding her golden pendant.
"There's some kind of mechanized airship sitting inside a temporal space within my key?!"
"Correct."
Athena holds out her special pendant from around her neck, gazing at it with an astonished expression.
"Incredible...If that doesn't prove the ole 'more than meets the eye' quote, I dunno what does."
"Clearly, that key comes from a place far from this world. When your parents gave it to you, they may have known it contained many mysteries."
The girl shuts her eyes in thought, recalling a new dream she had the other night.
"Mm, that sounds right...And somewhere, in the back of my own mind..."
(Flash)
The scene is blurred considerably, but squinting between the unfocused lens, we see a small, thrashing figure being held down by at least four larger ones on a table surface, before the entire area is overcome by a blinding flash of golden light, a youth's scream faintly echoing in the background...
(Flash)
"...There's a memory of one said mystery trying to make itself known."
Holding the side of her head with a grimace of frustration, Athena mutters,
"I just wish I could remember better than this. This trauma recovery's going way too slow for my liking...and, it's almost scaring me that my mind wants to go at tortoise speed, like it knows I'm not gonna like what I see...But I dunno how any of that, could be worse than the trials I've gone through already..."
Astral's expression shifts to one of concern and empathy:
"Athena..."
Shaking her head, she then asks more neutrally,
"But I'm steering us off-topic, aren't I? So, is there any way of getting that airship out of the key?"
Folding his arms, Astral replies in his own thoughts,
"I do not know. You see, the airship is constructed like a giant puzzle. I'm convinced that the Numbers we have been gathering are the key to solving this puzzle...If we succeed in gathering all of them, then we shall see."
"Hm, so the Numbers are acting as the combinations for both that ship, and your memories...(Wry smile) Talk about pulling double-duty."
Sensing Athena's dry attempt of humour, the blue being formed a slight smile of amusement, watching as she moved to sit on the side of her bed again, the bottom of her giant light grey sleepshirt riding up to the top of her knees.
"...There is one detail from those, (shudder) horrible days, that's coming back to me. It isn't really related to the pendant, least I don't think, but...it does strike me as odd."
"Oh? What does it entail?"
"Hrm...A, small figure, walking past the entrance to that room I was trapped in, between three taller ones...I think they were all male...And the smallest one: He stopped in front of me, and just...stared at me, I staring back, before moving along."
Holding a finger under her chin, the girl adds,
"And the weirdest part...is that I feel like, I saw them again recently...but I dunno how or when."
Kite's POV
...Once I shook myself loose of that shocking feeling that coursed through me after looking at those drawings Hart did, I tucked them back in their hiding spot so my little brother wouldn't get suspicious of my knowledge (I knew he would eventually tell me about them at his own pace) before leaving to find Orbital and get on with the next hunt.
...Yet as I stood in the descending elevator, I found myself thinking about that one particular drawing Hart made...and who my memory quickly compared it to.
It may not have been clear...but they looked almost exactly like that strange girl I dueled not too long ago.
...But what could she and my little brother possibly share in common?
Where's the connection?
The door opens, and I conclude as I start my approach to the robot sitting at the large supercomputer,
I'll find the answer eventually, but right now, I need to focus.
"Get it in gear, Orbital Seven. We're going Number Hunting again."
Of course, I would find him sleeping on the job, again...
"Hey you lazy hunk of junk, wake up...I said wake up!"
Orbital jolts awake with a yelp, before fruitlessly trying to defend his actions with some lame excuse.
"I-I, wasn't sleeping! I was, resting my se-sensors!"
"Yeah, right. Have you finished up that report yet, the one that lists all the duelists that have Numbers in the area?"
"U-Uh, I, kind-a forgot."
It took a heavy amount of restraint to refrain from shooting a fist at his mechanical head, instead opting to empty-threat the orbital unit.
"Your memory circuits must be failing. Maybe it's time I traded you in for a newer model."
That served to scare Orbital enough to scramble away in making up for his mistakes.
"Guh! P-Please don't do that! I'll whip up that report for you in a flash! I-I promise!"
At one time in the past, I might've felt a twinge of guilt from the harsh attitude I was directing onto him, since this robot has been with me through these last couple years and has virtually become the only being I could really trust with the issues I'm currently forced to carry on my shoulders...
...But in these current times, I can't afford to let such feelings hold me back from reaching towards the end of that winding road, so the only thing I can do is toughen up, and keep this mask going.
"While you're at it, find me the Original Number."
"The Original?"
"Yes. Doctor Faker said that there is an original visitor who brought the Numbers to this planet. I suspect, this visitor may have found a host in Heartland City."
"A-A-A-A host?...Ah! I think I h-have it!"
Extending his several tendril cord fingers to start typing again, Orbital then brings up the very girl I was thinking of but a few moments ago.
"Remember that g-girl Athena you challenged? I-I noticed something during your duel: She was wearing a strange p-pendant."
Pulling up a screenshot he took during that evening, the robot then does a search on the pendant in question.
"I'm running a computer analysis n-now..."
Half a minute passes, before the results come back.
"What does it say?"
"It conforms that the pendant, did not come from this pla-planet."
"Really?"
Hm...Her determination to protect her Numbers...
Hart's drawing that held a likeness to her...
They can't be a mere coincidence. There's some sort of mystery wrapped around that girl.
"Orbital, locate Athena and gather as much information on her as you can."
I turn to leave the lab and call over my shoulder,
"And please do not make me ask you twice."
"I'm on it, b-boss!"
As I enter the elevator again, I add to myself fiercely,
Our next duel will be Athena's last.
Time Skip, Athena's POV
"Move it or lose it, people!"
Damn it, I cannot be late for swim class of all classes, or Tiff's gonna have my head!
Most of today's adventure of education's been fairly tame, even with my head drifting to the clouds over topics outside the realm of school, from the new fragments of my trauma-blocked memories that have been giving me jump-scares in my dreams this last while, to the mind-blowing phenomenon that was this supposed airship resting inside my pendant like a sleeping dragon.
But such distractions were costing me some in terms of punctuation, as evident by my currently sprinting form speeding down the halls with my school-tailored swimsuit wrapped in my one large white towel, the bundle tucked almost carelessly over my shoulder. I had already nearly knocked over six of my fellow academy attendees, four of which giving me dirty looks that I returned, while any others just backed to the sides quick, knowing that being in the middle of my path during these moments was a safety hazard.
It's a wonder I haven't accidentally sent anyone to the nurse's office this year...
(Whack)
"Gah!" "Ouch!"
Crap; spoke to soon!
Guess I wasn't paying as much attention to my surroundings as I thought I was, 'cause next I knew, I collided right into someone before we both landed right on our behinds!
...Shaking off a slight dizzying feeling from the impact, I ready to lift myself up while reaching a hand out to the poor sucker I ran into.
"Sorry, dude, didn't see ya the-Whoa...!"
I froze halfway when I was able to fully focus on the person in front of me.
"...Shark?"
He sucks some air between his teeth from the waning after-impact, before shooting me a smirk-glare.
"Is that how you greet all your friends when you're behind the eight ball, or am I just that special?"
Shaking off a flash of shock at his subtle acknowledgement of friendship, I let out a bark of a laugh and retort dryly,
"Cocky today, are we? Charming...So you're finally back in school, huh?"
We lift ourselves off the ground as he replies,
"Mm, yeah, I finally got bored enough to give school another go again."
"Hm. Well good for you. I was actually starting to miss your presence in this temporary prison."
(Bong, bong, bong...)
Letting out a muffled curse, I mutter,
"No way I'm gonna make it to swim class now, least not without getting an earful from the teacher...and Tiffany."
...I then felt a hand slightly bigger than mine lightly grip my wrist, and I look up to see Shark giving me a near-mischievous smile.
"Then why not forgo the class altogether?"
"Huh?"
"I was plannin' on skipping English right now anyway, and, I wouldn't find it an inconvenience to hang with someone for the next hour or so."
He wants to hang?
Forming my own wry smile, I quirk,
"You mean incase you get caught and you won't be stuck with all the blame?"
"Maybe, maybe not."
...Eh, what the heck? I'm already passing with flying colours in P.E.
After sneaking my swimming stuff back into my locker, Shark and I would find ourselves overlooking the front courtyard of the Academy up on one of the little viewing balconies opening to the outside from the buildings, chatting over some rather random topics (most relating to past duels)...until I somehow found myself revealing my encounters with that Number Hunter, Kite, realizing that the former was still an odd duck out among my circle of friends who hasn't heard of that mysterious duelist yet...
"So that's why you were down at the pier in the middle of that freak storm: You were trying to escape from him."
"Yeah, and a whole lot of good that did: He just came swinging again the next day after Akira and I barely won that brawl against those creeps from the Fallen Stars..."
"...And why did he suddenly take off? Seems like the duel was a waste of time if he was gonna leave before he could end it."
I nod in agreement with a glare of thought on my face cast to the grounds away from us.
"That's just the thing: I think he's on some kind of time crunch...and, it's gotta have to do with that kid I saw on that mini-mech's hologram."
I recall that brief snippet I was able to catch before the call was cancelled, and...that faint echo I heard within my mind during the climax before Kite vanished.
"Thinking about it more, Kite...He looked at that kid with the kind of expression my brothers get whenever I come home with more injuries than they'd care to see on me...I'm thinking there could possibly be a familial relation between them."
"You sure?"
"Yeah...But it still doesn't answer the question of why Kite's doing this, why he's trying to gather the Numbers I need to collect for Astral to restore his memory."
Shark lets out a scoff and states,
"Well it's gotta be for a selfish kind of reason. After all, these Numbers haven't really been reflecting a good from their temporary hosts, have they?"
Anyone else would've disagreed with his bitter-like remark...but I knew that in a way, he had a point.
I may not have been drawn under a dark influence by any of the Number Cards...but still.
My reason for collecting them could be classified as selfish, since I don't want anyone else getting their hands on 'em, 'cept for Astral since they're his more than anyone else.
"No, I guess they haven't...but he didn't reflect any of the signs of being a puppet to any Number, so, somehow his resolve is holding out."
"Tch, right...So when do you think he'll strike again?"
"No idea, and I'm trying not to think about it too much and save myself from a stomach ache."
A silence falls between us for a few minutes...before our eyes would catch something odd down below.
"Huh?" "Hm?"
Strangest thing: An upside-down garbage can that was moving on its own towards the entrance under us.
What the hell...?
Curious, we quietly steal ourselves downward until we were spying from around the corner a couple feet behind the um, garbage can, watching it with suspicious expressions.
Who the heck is dumb enough to sneak into an Academy of all places?
"I feel so trashy in this disguise..."
Uh! That voice...
The container is lifted a little, revealing the head of that very robot I had mentioned in conversation along with Kite just now!
"That l-locker room should be around here somewhere..."
It's Kite's robot sidekick!
...What's it doing here?
I feel a tap on my shoulder, and look up from my bend to see Shark looking down with a frown of knowing on his face.
"(Mouthing) Felt you tense. Is that thing, his robot?"
I nod furiously, and we both turn to watch that poorly-disguised robot continue on their way, before deciding to tail it and find out what it was up to...
Astral's POV
I was once again hovering around inside the strange apparatus within Athena's pendant, staring up at several dozen gold brick-like boxes representing the collected Number Cards in our possession in thought over their ties and relations to factors outside their function as XYZ Monsters...
"Numbers hold the secret...to this ship...and also, to my memories...and Athena's."
I am now more than convinced that this key, is withholding secrets regarding her ordeal in that horrible laboratory...
"We have ten Number Cards so far. Some have left me with more questions than answers, and that truly concerns me...My memory is weak..."
I look down with a frown and mutter to myself,
"I will need even more Number Cards if I'm going to solve the mysteries that surround me."
(Ba-Bump...)
"Hm?"
I dart my head upward when I felt a slight disturbance coming from outside this space.
What is going on?
The next strange occurrence was when the gears of this airship began to slow to a halt...
"How odd. Why is it stopping?...Huh?"
I then turn to the sound of small pixel-like explosions, and watch as the Numbers that have been discovered started to withdraw from their places among those, seals...
"The Numbers are disengaging..."
They reappear in their card forms around me, making me feel more tensed.
"Why is this happening?"
Looking upward to where I would go before materializing to the outside world, I saw what appear to be, dark rain clouds...
"I sense that something is wrong."
Shark's POV
Athena and I wound up creeping after that robot for the next several minutes, until we found it standing outside the entrance to the girl's locker room...
What could it possibly want from in there?
...Hang on: Addy was heading to swim class before, wasn't she?...Did that robot somehow get a hold of her schedule?
"This must b-be the locker room. I can t-t-tell from the odour, though it's not half as bad as the bo-boy's probably is..."
We watch as it began rolling inside after forgoing that lame trash can disguise, and silently make our way to watch from the entrance way as it scanned each locker.
"Now which one is A-Athena's?"
Uh! I knew it!
And it seemed she came to the same conclusion I did, and boldly steps inside to stand a few feet away from the robot before asking rhetorically,
"Why not ask me and find out?"
"Gaaah!"
It jumps a foot in the air before whirling around to stare almost fearfully at the girl who looked at it with her arms folded and glare set.
"Athena! W-W-We meet, again. Shouldn't, y-you be in class?"
"Don'tcha presume to think you can call me out on skipping when you're trespassing. Now how 'bout you explain to me why you're here trying to snoop around my personal items, 'cause I highly doubt this is what Kite likes to do in his spare time."
I had to fight back a snort of amusement at that cleverly-snide comment, before moving to stand near the girl as the robot bristled up before replying,
"I-I think you of all people should know."
"The Numbers?"
"Close. This has more to do w-w-with that pendant of yours..."
Her key?
Athena's right hand subconsciously grabs for her golden pendant on a defensive reflex, and I found myself inching closer to her in a kind of protective manner, both of us glaring at the robot in suspicion and alertness.
"What about her pendant?"
"If it's to get yours or rather Kite's mitts on it, forget it, ya bucket of bolts, 'cause it ain't happening."
"W-Why, you-!"
The robot then tries to lunge one of its arms towards Athena to likely swipe for her key, but I quickly counter with a hard kick to its torso!
"Ha!"
(Clang)
"Dauh!"
(Crash...)
It goes slamming into the lower lockers, and I turn to the girl and ask,
"You alright?"
"Yeah, thanks."
Our attention was then drawn to the sound of a growl coming from the robot, and we look to see it rising back up while glaring at us with a red flash in its eyes.
"That was a big mistake! I may look puny on the outside, but on the inside, I pack alot of dangerous surprises!"
Next thing we new, it suddenly transforms into a much larger and more lethal-looking menace!
Oh shit!
"Now hand it over, sh-shorty, or I'll start drillin' for it!" I exclaim,
"What kind of robot are you?!" It replies in a shout,
"The nasty kind!"
It then lunges a very sharp drill towards us, and we scramble to dodge in two directions to avoid getting impaled then ground to death, the weapon aiming into a few nearby lockers instead.
"Huh?!"
Flipping myself upward, I call to my friend,
"Addy, come on!"
"Right!"
She does a baseball slide underneath the robot's arm to meet with me, before we make a break back into the hall and sprint for elsewhere, but not before catching the sound of the wall caving in and that mecha-creep calling after us,
"Come back here, cowards!"
Damn, we gotta lose that hunk of metal, fast!
...Eventually, Athena and I made it onto one of the roofs of the school where we figured that robot wouldn't be able to follow us, and stop to catch our breaths from all that running we had to do.
"Hah, hah, hah, did you know, that thing could do that?!"
"Hah, if, you mean, transform, yeah, but I didn't, hauh, know it had that form..."
Fantastic.
(Rumble...)
I'd have little time to grumble mentally about the situation, when the roof grounds suddenly uprooted from right behind us courtesy of that crazy robot!
"Ah!" "Fu-!"
"I want that pendaaaant!"
It lunges that drilled arm towards Athena, and I felt that brother-like protection instinct kick in, before I launched myself to shield the girl with my own body.
"Athena!"
"Shark!"
We both shut our eyes tight to brace for the impact...when an unknown male voice broke through and ordered,
"That's enough, Orbital!"
...I hear the drill slow to a stop, and opening my eyes in time with Athena's, I turn to see the robot retracting its weapon from us.
"I didn't authorize an attack."
Shifting my gaze upward, I could see a guy with blond hair and grey irises wearing some kind of trench coat outfit who looked around his late teens, staring down here from atop a higher level of the rooftop.
Uh! Is, that...?
Ignoring the robot Orbital's sulking mumble of,
"I never have fun," I turn to see that Athena was glaring in a seething manner at the guy.
...That was all I needed to know.
Yep. (Glares upward) This guy's gotta be that Kite character Addy just told me about a little while ago.
"Hmph. So you've decided to show your face to me again, huh, Kite?"
He smirks down at her in a cocky sort of way that held an undertone of seriousness.
"Nice to see you too, Athena. Now, why don't you do yourself and that friend of yours a favour and hand over that pendant to me right now?"
"Bite me, asshat!"
...I dunno what this guy wants with her pendant...but I'm not gonna let him get away with terrorizing my friend!
I stepped forward in an offensive stance and call up,
"So you're that Number Hunter who tried to hurt Athena a while back, huh? Tch, you don't look like much."
I hear Athena hiss my name in a warning manner, while Kite turns his eyes on me.
"Hmph, and who are you?"
"Name's Shark Castle. Remember it well."
"Hm...So tell me, Shark, are you a duelist as well? Do you have any Number Cards in your possession like Athena here?"
I did at one point...but he doesn't need to know that.
I smirk mysteriously and reply,
"There's one way to find out." He took the bait:
"Exactly what I was thinking. I'll take that Number, (glance) then with you out of the way, she'll have no protection for me to take her pendant. Call this a double or nothing match."
Athena grinds her teeth with a suppressed growl directed at Kite, before moving to whisper,
"You don't have to do this, Shark. I can take him."
Shaking my head at her, I reply a bit dryly in a low-volume voice,
"It's fine. He's calling me out on the challenge anyway...plus if worse comes to worst, you can run for it and I'll hold him off."
"Shark..."
Flashing her a small smile of assurance, I glance down at that key of hers and think to myself,
I was totally heading for trouble, 'til Athena pulled me back from the brink...
I still owe her big time, and today, I can fully pay her back.
"Okay, hunter! Bring it!"
I toss out my ocean blue duel disk and gazer at ready, not intending to show this guy any signs of hesitation to meet his challenge. He meets with his own brand of psyching up:
"Photon Transformation, Go! Heh, prepare to meet defeat!"
"Duel Disk locked, and ready for action! Hh-heh, yeah! Duel Gazer, go!"
Augmented Reality Vision Link Established.
"(Both duelists) Let's Duel!"
Athena was standing a few feet away from my right with her gazer on, and warns me,
"Be on your guard, Shark: Kite's strategies are alot more thought out than his ego is inflated."
I nod at her slightly, before focusing on my opponent standing distant from me.
"You ready? I'll go first. Let's do this! I Draw!"
Since this guy hunts Numbers, I bet he's gonna build his whole strategy around 'em...
But I've got a plan that should zero out his Numbers.
"To start, I'll send Big Jaws to the Graveyard, and activate the Shark Lair Spell Card! With this in play, your monsters that have Attack Points less or equal to the monster I just sent to the Graveyard can no longer attack, and Big Jaws has a whoppin' 1800 Attack Points! Good luck summoning a monster with more Attack Points than that...Next, I summon out Shocktopus!"
My Level Four red-skinned octopus monster with 1600 Attack Points rose with a flick of its tentacles to the field.
"Then I'll end my turn with a face-down."
I glare straight ahead at Kite and mentally taunt,
Come on, Hunter...Use a Number!
He then makes his opening move:
"Watch and learn from the real duelist. I Draw! First I activate, Polymerization!"
"A Spell Card?!"
"Yes, that's right, and next I'm going to use its power to fuse these two Photon Lizards, so I can form Twin Photon Lizard to my field!"
His beast comes out as a Level Six winged lizard with two heads and 2400 Attack Points!
"As you can see, my monster is way more powerful than your Big Jaws."
Cursing to myself, I think,
I didn't count on him not going straight for an XYZ Summon...Guess this is what Addy was trying to warn me about.
Looks like I'll have to play at the top of my game to beat this guy.
"With Twin Photon Lizard out, your Shark Lair can't protect you anymore. Your pathetic strategy failed miserably."
...Geez, he is all kinds of arrogant!
"Now, Twin Photon Lizard: Attack! Go Photon Force!"
His monster shoots out two contrasting waves of energy from their mouths to crash against Shocktopus, destroying it and taking down 800 of my Life Points, leaving the total to settle down at 3200. Athena cries out my name with worry, while I retort back to Kite,
"I didn't fail anything! I activate Shocktopus's special ability!"
My monster that was just destroyed returns to the field as a new 'accessory' for Kite's monster.
"Now Shocktopus equips onto Twin Photon Lizard, and sucks out its strength! Your monster not only loses all its Attack Points, but it can't change battle mode either!"
I hear Athena mutter positively,
"Now that's a cool play," which made my confidence rise slightly as I point ahead to this so-called Number Hunter.
"You see that? It doesn't matter what you try to throw my way! I'm always one step ahead! You played me, and I played you right back! Next turn, I'm gonna take a serious bite outta your Life Points!"
And I'll make sure you don't even so much as lay a finger on Athena.
No POV
"Well wipe my drive! That twerp smacked you d-down!"
Kite wasn't feeling the concern that Orbital Seven was, despite how the situation looked currently, and sought to say so to his opponent.
"I can counter that move easily."
"Oh yeah?"
"I activate Twin Photon Lizard's special ability! Now Twin Photon Lizard splits back into two Photon Lizards!"
Said action is performed, the duel sides of the one beast splicing into lime green and purple lights before reforming into two Level Three monsters with 900 Attack Points each, cancelling Shocktopus's ability.
His Level Three Monsters are back! This can only mean one thing...
Athena wasn't as certain as Shark:
Hm, it's possible Kite might summon a Number...
But recalling what happened during our own duel...it may not be here for long...
"I overlay my two Photon Lizards, in order to build the Overlay Network! I XYZ Summon, Number 30: Acid Golem of Destruction!"
The monster that would rise to meet the eyes of our observers and action-takers, was a hulking giant with the features of a golem emerging from a grievous battle in acid rain, their armour shaded in two tones of purple (the dominant a dark lilac and the other a deep violet) and radiating off thin streams of a smoggy miasma, Rank Three and with a strong 3000 Attack Points.
Shark felt his mental expression twitch into a smirk:
I was hoping he'd use a Number, and this one has 3000 Attack Points.
It's the perfect moment to spring my Trap!
As she stared up at the new Number that was dripping acidic saliva from its mouth, Athena felt her danger senses rising.
This monster's giving me a ghoulish feeling...
If Kite wanted to strike Shark hard, he would've summoned this Number right off the bat and attacked, right?
Why bring it out now?...Unless...
Uh!
Athena swears under her breath and hisses,
"It's a scapegoat, just like Illumiknight and Gigabrilliant!"
"I activate, Splash Capture!"
The girl darts her head up and tries to warn,
"No, Shark, wait," but he was too deep into the heat of battle to hear her.
"Since you XYZ Summoned, if I take two Fish-Type Monsters and banish 'em from play, I get control over your XYZ Monster! So now I banish Big Jaws and Shocktopus! You were so predictable: I was positive you would summon out one of your Numbers, and I was right! My trap worked like a charm!"
The numeral symbol for Number 30 appears on the back of Shark's right fist at the same time the monster itself transports to his side of the field, and that familiar pulse of energy wobbles through the boy's body, causing his breathing to deepen some as he fought to keep his head straight.
"Hah...hah...hah..."
Athena watched him with worry dancing in her red irises, her fixation on the latter opening her ears to that faint, distorted-sounding echo.
"Yee-...let-...take..."
Huh. Odd...The Number doesn't seem to have as strong an influence rate as some of the others have.
...I dunno if I'd call that a good thing, though: Only raises my suspicion levels.
Once the boy with cerulean irises shook off the last weak wave of the Number's attempt of temptation, he then calls out to Kite,
"You thought Acid Golem would devastate my deck, but I just turned it against you! Once it strikes, you're through!"
Orbital began to panic:
"M-Master Kite, you should've let me take care of him and her before! I-"
"Stay out of this, Orbital."
"Oh! I-If you insist..."
"It's my turn! I activate the Spell, Forced Release! Now Acid Golem loses all of its Overlay Units!"
A purple-glowing hex circle appears and sucks away all of the Number's orbs of light dancing around its body into oblivion...
"Then I place one card face-down, and end my turn!"
Athena rose a brow at the play:
All that just to disable the Number's Special Ability? Hmm...My gut says that will be real bad for Shark, so I hope his guard doubles.
But contrary to her thoughts, Shark was feeling confident that the monster he took would still work in his favour.
"Tch, that Spell of yours didn't get you out of danger. Acid Golem still has 3000 Attack Points, (swipes out a card) and I can't wait to use 'em!"
Kite forms a smirk on his face, glancing at the girl with long black hair tipped copper red as her eyes widen with realization, before focusing back on his opponent to berate their confidence.
"You fool. Don't you realize that Acid Golem is still going to help me win this? It seems Athena has."
"Help you?...Huh?"
Shark looks up to the sound of bubbling, and sees Acid Golem pivot its body towards him...before shooting out a sound wave of purple energy to hit his body and knock him flat on his back, his Life Points knocked down to 1200!
"Shark!"
Gritting his teeth, the boy struggles to rise up from the small crater his body made in the concrete, as Kite explains the rather fatal consequence of using this particular Number Card.
"Even though you're controlling it now, Acid Golem is still doing my dirty work. It may have 3000 Attack Points, but its great strength is balanced by great weaknesses."
"Rgh, yeah, like what?"
"Here's one thing: You must use an Overlay Unit each one of your turns, or else you take damage, 2000 Life Points to be exact."
Shark rose back onto his feet as he took the information in, before retorting,
"Hold on. You're forgetting one thing, Number Hunter: It can still attack! Now go, Acid Golem! Start blasting away!"
"It can't."
"Why not?"
"Because Acid Golem needs Overlay Units in order to attack."
The younger male's cerulean irises widen when he concludes,
"So it's, powerless now," and Athena adds within her head,
It's like a new twist on that old-age combo with Saggi the Dark Clown and the Crush Card Virus, only way deadlier!
...Find a way to ditch that Golem, Shark, fast!
"You were doomed from the start. I suspected that you would try to swipe my Number. I set you up."
Shark lowers his arm from a commanding gesture and mutters,
"...Guess I was the one who fell into a trap, then."
No wonder Athena sounded so antsy in her description: That Number Hunter knows his stuff.
Underestimating him was careless. This duel is done unless I think of something fast!
"Rrrgh!"
But what? It seems hopeless!
"...Shark."
Snapping away from entering that road of despair, Shark pivots his head to meet Athena's eyes with his own, she eyeing him with a calmer expression then before.
"Deep breath, dude, and don't answer the door for Doubt. Okay?"
He looks at her a bit confused, but then faces in front of himself before shutting his eyes, and draws a deep intake of air...
...She's right. Now's not the time to think about giving up.
I know she wouldn't if she was here where I was, so I won't either!
Nodding firmly to himself, the boy finishes his latest play:
"I play a face-down and end my turn. You're up!"
"And you're going down! I Draw!"
Shark glances at his mystery card with a more clear head:
I still have a chance. With my face-down card Life Regeneration, I won't take damage from Acid Golem's special ability on my next turn.
That should buy me some time until I can figure out how I can beat this guy.
"I'm activating the Spell, Photon Sublimation! So by banishing two Photon Monsters, I can draw two new cards! And that is bad news for you and your Life Points...And now I Draw!"
Glancing up at the card he gained, a grin forms on Kite's face before he continues wit his latest turn.
"I special-summon, Photon Thrasher!"
This monster bore the likeness of a rogue warrior wielding a sword with similar elements to a claymore but with an inward curve in the blade nearing the hilt, Level Four with 2100 Attack Points...
"And next I summon, Photon Crusher!"
The next warrior to jump to the field would akin closer to a cyber viking wielding a large, club-like weapon, also Level Four but with 2000 Attack Points...Kite's iris and gazer tattoo glow contrasting shades of muted neon pink and blue, amplifying the battle's intensity.
"But, neither one is hanging around, 'cause I've got something bigger and badder in mind! Prepare yourself!"
"Wait, what're you doing?!"
"Just watch! This monster can only be summoned by tributing two monsters that have 2000 or more Attack Points. It's quite large. You might even say...astronomical!"
Seeing that fatal symbol being tossed into the air that nearly costed her own life once, Athena yells within her mind,
Oh fu-He's bringing out Galaxy-Eyes!
"Once this monster attacks, Athena's pendant and your Number will be mine!"
"Uh...! Oh no!"
"Say hello to Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!"
With that, the massive Level Eight dragonic beast with 3000 Attack Points rises to the field. Its roar would echo over the area in an almost earth-shattering level, making Athena wince while hovering her palms over her ears.
Damn, still noisy as ever...Should've known it'd be a matter of time before Kite would bring that thing out.
What now?
(Rumble...)
"Hm?"
She turns her red irises upward to the sound of thunder, and saw that the sky had darkened considerably with clouds that promised a storm.
"When did the weather shift so quick...?"
Something feels...strange...
Similar events were occurring within her golden pendant, as the clouds that gathered above the mechanized airship began to slowly swirl, making Astral feel all the more uneasy.
"Something is happening, in the world outside this key. What, is this?"
...Suddenly, that same deep voice that once protruded from that mysterious demonic door the blue being first entered this reality through, began echoing into the atmosphere of this strange inner space of the pendant.
"The hour for action is approaching...You need the Power of Zexal. The power that changes all darkness into light...The Power of Zexal."
Back outside, Shark's anxiety levels began rising some as Galaxy-Eyes settles to wait upon their next move.
"There must be some way out! Come on, think!" Kite chides unkindly,
"It's all over...Go Photon Stream of Destruction!"
As the electrical fire-blast connects with Acid Golem's body, the younger male felt something dawn on him that didn't fit right in his eyes.
"Hold up: Why are you attacking with that monster?!"
The Number monster disintegrates in a cluster of pixels...
"It's impossible! Galaxy-Eyes isn't a Number Card! Only a Number can destroy a Number!"
"Wrong again: Once Acid Golem loses its Overlay Units, that rule no longer applies! That's why Galaxy-Eyes was free to destroy it."
Shark grinds his teeth in a growl, before retorting,
"In that case, you just made a giant technical blunder, didn't you? With Acid Golem, I would've taken massive damage, but by destroying it, you saved me from its curse and kept me in the duel!"
Though it may have seemed like that on the surface, Athena immediately knew there was more to the move than Kite meant to showcase.
"No, Shark, it can't be that simple!"
He looks at her with surprise at her disagreeing, before focusing back on the blond male as he lets out a short chuckle and says,
"She's quite right. You've already lost."
"How's that?"
"Because you're still under Acid Golem's curse. When it's destroyed, the duelist wielding it takes 2000 points of damage, which means your Number Card belongs to me now, along with Athena's pendant!"
"Tha-That can't be!...Uah!"
Said golem suddenly rose from an abyssal drop zone, before wailing a fist forward into Shark's torso, sending him flying with an outcry as his Life Points fall to zero...!
"Shark!"
Athena immediately starts rushing over to help her friend, but was thrust back by the strong grip of Orbital Seven's spinal cord phalanges wrapping around her upper arms!
"Aah!"
"Not so fast, girly!"
"L-Let, go of me, rust-bucket! Shark! Shark!"
He turns his head over to the ensnared girl's direction with a wince, before muttering back with a regretful expression,
"R-Rgh...please...forgive me, Athena..."
A few tears began forming in the girl's red irises from how guilty the boy looked.
"Shark..."
"I'll take that Number now."
Attention is then focused on the approaching male with grey irises, who stood before the down Shark and held a palm out towards the other.
"Along with your soul as well."
Hearing those words only made Athena struggle harder to break free:
"No...no! Leave him alone! Don't you, dare, you-!"
(Shoooom...POW)
"Aaaaaaagh!"
"Shaaaaaaaaaark!"
The ghoulish-glowing appendage shoots out from Kite and penetrates deep into Shark's spirit, robbing him of it and the youth attached...!
...Athena felt her voice die in her throat straight after her scream, her teary irises wide with horror over what she was forced to witness.
...No...No, no, no! Shark! Shark...!
The shock that riddled her being was so great...she fainted...
Meanwhile, Kite was left to stare down at the collected Soul with his own befuddlement, when he finds no signs of the numerals he hunted.
"...Uh! I don't understand this. There is no Number...!"
His ears catch the sound of a barely-audible gasp, and he turns to see the girl's body being held up limply by his robot companion, her long, shaggy black hair tipped copper red shadowing her face.
"I th-think she went into shock, Master Kite."
...Finishing the collection of Shark's soul, the blond walks over to kneel down and lift Athena's head up by her chin, noting the break of the a new sweat and the tear stains left on her cheeks.
"Hm, so it would seem..."
"...Addy, are you up here?!"
The hunter turns his head to the entrance of the roof, and saw Tiffany, Jamal, Caswell and Caden rush out to meet the open air again, only to become shocked by the scene before them.
"Huah!" "What the heck?!"
"Is that Shark?! What happened to him, and who's that?!"
"Hey! Let go of Addy, you creep!"
Acting as if there weren't extra witnesses, Orbital then informs his creator,
"M-Master Kite. The Photon Mode is eighty-five percent. N-N-No more dueling, please, it's t-time to move out!"
...Kite took one more look over Athena's face, before reaching down to pull off her pendant while simultaneously releasing her mandible.
"Relax, we're leaving."
"Oi, that's Addy's key, you thief! Put it back and tell us what you've done!"
He momentarily glances over at Jamal's glaring face, before signalling Orbital to drop the girl and transform into his glider form. The impact of the sudden fall would stir Athena awake:
"U-Uh...Huh?"
As her vision clears, her red irises would catch a faint golden gleam hanging from Kite's fist before he takes for the air, jolting the girl right back to reality when she realizes,
Shit! He's got my key...and, Astral's still inside!