Poor Luna just can't seem to catch a break, huh? Well, she definitely needs one now after what she just went through. For Yuma and the others, however, things are only just getting started. Time to head out for the Astral World!
Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Hope of Six
Chapter 68: Demon Arc – Part 6
"Thank you Droite. This is good coffee." Kaito said after taking a sip from the mug he was given.
Droite smiled warmly at him, holding her own mug. "I'm glad you like it."
They sat next to each other at the kitchen table, eyeing each other with a newfound fondness for one another. As it turned out, Kaito ended up staying the night at Droite's place. He didn't plan on that happening, but after how his conversation with her went, it couldn't have been helped:
Flashback
Kaito set his glass down on the table in front and turned to fully face the woman sitting next to him. "Droite. I need to discuss something… very personal with you."
"Discuss… what?" Droite asked, trying to not sound nervous… as well as perplexed. The last she checked, Kaito Tenjo wasn't the type of person to talk about anything "very personal" with anyone. Whatever it was, it had to be serious.
Kaito seemed to struggle figuring out what to say. After a moment, he appeared more resolute and spoke again with more certainty. "Over the past month, I've had something on my mind. Something… I couldn't wrap my head around. I've been trying to understand what that something was. And now… I think I've got it figured out."
"Figured what out?" Droite questioned, still having no idea where this conversation was going.
Kaito took a deep breath, let it out, and finally gave his answer. "How I… really feel about you."
The young woman sat there, stunned. She had not expected that to be the topic of discussion. Droite didn't know what to say to that. She said nothing as Kaito went on.
"Droite, as long as I've known you, you were a serious person that always thought things through before taking any action. Thinking back, I realized that there was more to you than that. You have also shown kindness, consideration, and respect. I actually admire all that about you." Kaito shook his head. "No, I meant I "like" all that about you."
"R-Really?" Droite said, her face reddened almost noticeably.
"Yes." The young man told her.
Droite was again without words for a bit. Was Kaito actually… trying to tell her that… he liked her? It seemed too impossible to believe. "Kaito. I… I don't know… What are you… trying to say?" She finally responded.
Kaito saw that his long time companion was trying to understand what was happening. He was still confused about it himself. He honestly thought she would open up a bit after saying all those things. Guess he would have to try something a bit more… to the point. He couldn't believe what he was about to do. "Will this tell you?" Right then, Kaito had put his hands on both of Droite's shoulders, leaned in, closed his eyes… and kissed her.
Complete and utter shock coursed through the woman's mind and body. Kaito was actually kissing her! She could not believe it! What surprised her even more was how soft and tender the kiss was. Like he was trying to show his own interest without overdoing it. It felt like a dream. She barely registered it when Kaito pulled away. "Kaito…" Droite muttered softly, her eyes wide and disbelieving.
Kaito saw the effect his kiss had on the woman before him. She seemed dazed, like she was in a dream like state. Honestly, he actually liked kissing Droite. Maybe it was due to his own growing feelings for her? He contemplated whether or not to say so when, most unexpectedly, Droite leaned forward and kissed him back. Unlike the one he gave her, Droite's kiss was harder and more passionate. He knew then that Luna was right: Droite really was in love with him. He could tell by her actions. Instead of resisting, Kaito gave in as the two of them wrapped their arms around one another and kissed like true lovers did…
Flashback End
Kaito and Droite wound up doing more than sharing a heated kiss. After their "wild night", they slept until the late morning, in which Droite made herself and Kaito some breakfast and coffee. Orbital 7 remained offline all night and throughout the morning. Kaito would reactivate him when he was ready to head back to Heartland City.
After draining their mugs, Kaito gave Droite an apologetic smile. "Sorry how… I was last night." He admitted. Droite still smiled.
"Don't be. I'm not." She replied softly. "What we did was something I'll never forget."
Kaito blushed slightly from that. "I… won't forget it either." He was silent for a moment, then spoke again. "Droite, how I feel about you now… I've never felt before. Or maybe I have, but never realized it until last night. Either way… I don't know how we go from here."
Droite placed a hand on top of Kaito's. "Me neither. We can find out together, if you want." She told him.
Kaito nodded. "Together then." The two gazed into each other' eyes before sharing a kiss. Their moment was interrupted when they heard a loud knock on the door. "Are you expecting someone?" Kaito asked.
"No. I'll see who it is and be right back." Droite said before getting up and walk toward her front door. When she looked through her peep hole, she gasped and widened her eyes in alarm. She immediately flung the door open. "What the?! Luna?!"
Luna stood there, appearing like she had just wrestled with a flamethrower. Her clothes were scorched in some places and had many burns throughout her body. Her breathing was haggard and moaned painfully while covering a nasty looking burn on her left arm. Her face showed how much pain she was in. She seemed to be struggling to stay on her feet. "Droite. I need to find… Kaito. Is he… here?" She asked breathlessly, like she had just run a marathon.
When it looked like Luna was about to collapse, Droite quickly moved and caught her. "Easy, I've got you."
"Kaito…" Luna started again.
"Yes, Kaito is here." Droite told her. "He's in the kitchen. But how did you know where to find him? And how the hell did you get burned so badly?"
"There's a lot… to tell. Please. I need to… talk to him. I have to tell Kaito…" Luna then had a fit of coughing.
"Luna, stop talking. Let's get you inside. Come on." Droite calmly instructed. Luna obeyed without another word. Droite then closed the door behind them and escorted Luna to the couch. "Kaito! I need you in here!"
At once, Kaito rushed out of the kitchen and into the living room. When he arrived, he was shocked to see Luna in her current condition. "Luna?! What the hell happened to you?!"
"Kaito… I've… I've come to tell you…" Luna started but coughed again.
"Luna, whatever it is you're trying to tell Kaito, it can wait a few minutes. Let's get you treated first, alright?" Droite advised strongly. Luna nodded before laying her head back and closed her eyes. "Good. Now just rest here and don't move or touch any of your burns." Droite ordered, then looked up at Kaito. "Go get some ice water for Luna. I'll get the first aid kit."
"Okay." Kaito responded before the both of them left to complete their tasks. Within a few minutes, the pair were back at Luna's side. Kaito carefully lifted the cup of water to Luna's lips and allowed her to drink. After her patient drained the cup, Droite began rubbing some ointment on the injured girl's more serious looking burns on her arms and face.
Luna moaned from the relief she was feeling. It felt so good after how much her wounds had hurt during her Duel. After a couple of minutes, she looked up at her caretakers. "Thank you. Both of you." She said weakly.
"Don't mention it." Kaito said to her with a smile.
"That's what friends are for." Droite added while adding more ointment.
Luna smiled from that before turning to her other friend. "Kaito. Could you please bring me some more water?"
"Sure." He then left to refill the cup.
While he was gone, Luna turned to look at the older woman. "Droite… I'm sorry."
"For what? Coming here injured like this?" Droite asked, thinking that was it. "Do not worry about it. Still, I personally think it would have been better if you just went to the hospital where better treatment would be available." To her surprise, Luna shook her head.
"I guess. But that wasn't it. I meant… when we talked last time." Droite paused while rubbing the ointment.
"What?" She asked, clearly not expecting that conversation to pop up again. Luna smiled apologetically.
"You were right. It wasn't any of my business talking about your feelings. I was wrong to do that. I do not want to leave any bad impressions of me on my friends here. Will you… forgive me?" She asked in a hopeful voice.
Droite unexpectedly smiled warmly at her. "Of course I forgive you. And…" she paused for a brief second. "I'm thankful you think of me as a friend."
Luna smiled back, happy that her apology was accepted. "And I you."
Just then, Kaito came back with more water. Unbeknownst to both women, he hung back long enough for Luna and Droite to make amends. He was glad they did. "Here you go." Kaito said as he held up the cup.
"Thanks Kaito." She said before emptying the cup once more.
Several minutes went by in silence while the younger girl was being treated for her wounds. After being rehydrated and her burns not hurting so much, Luna was starting to feel better. Despite her wanting to relax, she still had urgent news to deliver. However, she decided to wait until she was given the go ahead to explain. She didn't want to be reprimanded by Droite a third time by talking when she shouldn't.
"How are you feeling?" Droite asked after a while.
"Better." Luna said, relief in her voice. "I don't feel so burned now."
"That's good." Kaito said.
Droite looked over her friend's wounds. "The redness and swelling seem to start to lessen. Give it an hour or so and you should be well enough to move without so much pain."
"Got it." Luna said.
The older woman then later let out a sigh. "Okay Luna, I think you're good to talk now."
'Finally.' Luna thought impatiently, though she managed to keep her mouth from saying it. "Thanks." The girl then turned to Kaito. "What I need to tell you really is extremely important. I had to get to you as soon as possible and hated being delayed in telling you."
"I get that." Kaito said, judging from the fact that Luna came straight here after being hurt so badly.
"So… tell us Luna. Where did those burns come from?" Droite asked again.
"Also, just what is it that you've been trying to tell me that is so important?" Kaito questioned.
Luna then dropped her smile. She knew how he would react once he heard, which was to say… not very well at all. But he had to know and she had been delayed long enough. "Kaito… something bad has happened. Very bad. It's about… Haruto."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Dr. Faker was at a total loss. After managing to take the Haruto robot to a secluded part of his lab, he tried everything he could to access it's memory banks. To his frustration, he had been unsuccessful. No matter what technique he used, he always had hit some kind of security block. He could not get through.
At the very least, the robot had not reactivated itself in all that time. It was held down tightly on an operating table with very strong and durable straps. He was sure in the event the lookalike came to life again, it wouldn't be able to break free.
What bothered Dr. Faker the most was that he had no clue if his real son was actually alright, wherever he was now. "Haruto. Where are you?" Just then, he got an alert that told him he had visitors at his front door. "Now who could that be?" He asked himself curiously. Making sure the robot was still firmly in place, Dr. Faker left the lab and proceeded to the front door of his home. He thought perhaps Kaito and Luna had come back. But if that had been the case, there would be no need to set off the visitor alert. So if it wasn't his oldest son, who was it? He wouldn't get his answer until reached the front door and opened it. To his great surprise, it was a large group mostly made up of people he knew, including Kazuma Tsukumo and his family. "Kazuma? What an unexpected pleasure. Did you and Mirai just get back into town?" His old friend nodded.
"Hey, Doc. We arrived home just yesterday." After introductions were made, Kazuma got right to it. "Listen, we really need to talk to you on an urgent matter."
Dr. Faker furrowed his brow and moved a hand through his hair. He had to be sure. "Let me guess. This "urgent matter" you're referring to is about Haruto, isn't it?" The whole group stared at him in stunned shock.
"What? Something's happened to Haruto?!" Yuma shouted in disbelief.
"Is he alright?" Ruri asked, sounding greatly concerned.
Dr. Faker sighed. "Just as I thought. This is something else. If it was about Haruto, Kaito and Luna would be with the rest of you."
"Wait, Kaito and Luna are not here?" Yuto questioned.
"No." Dr. Faker said. "Kaito departed yesterday for a personal matter and Luna left just a little while ago to find him. Neither of them are back yet."
"Hold on, Dr. Faker. Please tell us about Haruto." Kazuma said, wanting to get to the bottom of this.
His old friend beckoned them inside. "Come to my lab. I'll explain." The group followed Dr. Faker to the room in his lab, where everyone stood agape at the thing strapped onto the table. "Before any of you say anything, this is not Haruto. It is some kind of robot made to resemble him."
"A robot?" A stunned Kotori said.
"You're joking!" Akari said, hardly believing it.
"How did you learn about this?" Shun asked the scientist.
"Actually, it was Luna who made the discovery." Dr. Faker explained. "I was on my way to check on her about my progress on the portal machine when I heard some shouting coming from her bedroom. I ran over there as quickly as I could. When I got there, I found Luna covered in numerous burns and what I thought was Haruto laying on the floor." This got gasps from the group. The scientist continued. "She told me it was a robot and advised me to lock it up before she departed to find Kaito using her pendent. Ever since, I've been trying to discover whatever data is in this robot's brain."
"Luna's hurt?" Yuma said aghast. He hoped she would be alright.
At this point, Astral reappeared, not looking pleased. "Kaito will not be happy when he hears what had happened to his little brother."
"No kidding." Shark commented.
"But if this is a robot, then where is the real Haruto?" Rio asked.
"I have no idea. That's what I've been hoping to find out, but I've had no luck. This robot must have some state of the art software security system. I cannot unlock anything, no matter what I've tried. It's become a huge headache." Dr. Faker replied, scratching his head.
"There's got to be some way of opening up that tin can's head." Shark said.
"Perhaps I can be of assistance."
Dr. Faker nearly freaked out by the new voice. "W-Who just said that?!" He shouted while wildly looking around. But he then saw that everyone else was looking at Shark's D-Pad, which was now being held up. This baffled him.
"You think you can do it?" Ruri asked.
"I am confident I can. Ryoga, please place your D-Pad behind the robot's head." Reluctantly, Shark placed his device down on the table. And then, the full form of Earth arose. At this, it was Dr. Faker's turn to be stunned.
"What in the world is that thing?" He demanded.
"Relax Dr. Faker. He's a friend." Yuma assured him.
"I am indeed." Earth replied. "My name is Earth. I am an Ignis, an A.I. made to help humans. Allow me to help you, Dr. Faker."
"An A.I.?" The wide eyed scientist asked. He then recalled Kaito and Haruto telling him about it after their return from the camping trip. "Of course. Both my sons mentioned you last month."
"Indeed." Earth answered.
After calming down, the older scientist began to listen. "So… Earth. How do you plan to help me?"
"Allow me to access the robot's memory. My programming is more advanced than most technology on this world. I should be able to overcome all software security the robot possesses and uncover it's data." The Earth Ignis told him.
"Can you really accomplish that?" Mirai asked. Earth nodded.
"I can." He said confidently. He then turned to the scientist. "Dr. Faker. Will you allow me to access the robot's data for you?"
Dr. Faker was still flummoxed that he was talking to a form of artificial intelligence. And that it was asking him permission to do something he himself couldn't do. He turned to Kazuma. "Can we trust… him?" He wanted to avoid insulting the Ignis by referring to it as an "it".
"Trust me. Earth is no enemy. And if he says he can get in that thing's brain, he can." Kazuma assured.
"Alright then." With that, Dr. Faker seem convinced before turning back to the Ignis. "Earth, please do it."
"Very well." Earth then placed his hands on both sides of the Haruto robot's head and began to work. His eyes narrowed as they started changing color from blue to red and back again.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Inside the robot's brain, Earth floated through a dark green tunnel with red walls spaced apart. These barriers were the security programs protecting the data this automaton contained, and there were a lot of them. But it was nothing he could not overcome. To the Earth Ignis, it was as humans say "cutting hot butter with a knife". Still, it was tedious. "To have this many security protocols installed, the data must be valuable." Despite the large number of security programs, he plowed on through one after another.
When Earth came upon the final one, which resembled a red dome on a dark green surface, he ran into a snag. He discovered a message warning anyone attempting to reach the memory banks that if the last security program were to be breached, all the data stored would be instantly deleted. Whoever built the robot didn't want to take any chances of the information being recovered. To successfully reach the data, Earth would have to find an alternative solution.
The Earth Ignis floated around the dome, scanning it's design for any flaws. "This security program is tighter than the others. No possible way of penetrating it without initiating the data deletion. How can I…?" He stopped when he noticed something, floated down to the surface, and knelt for a closer look. It was small, but it was there. A break in the surface at the edge of the barrier. "This is damaged hardware. It must have occurred when Luna disabled the robot." Earth guessed.
He also saw that the barrier didn't extend beyond where the break was. This gave him an idea. If the damaged surface didn't affect the security program, maybe breaking more of it away wouldn't affect it either. Earth then got to work, smashing his fists onto the surface to widen the break further. If he could make the breach big enough, he could crawl beneath the barrier and reach the data without triggering the deletion. He just had to make sure not to make contact with the barrier itself.
The more he smashed, the wider the gap became. He kept at it, hammering away relentlessly. All the while, the security program remained undisturbed. This took some more time, but eventually the gap became big enough for Earth's bulky form to move through without tripping the deletion. Finally inside, Earth now saw a glowing dark blue globe about his size. "This must be the robot's memory data." He concluded. He was pleased he had made it without compromising the information he sought. Earth approached the globe, placed his hands on it, and began accessing the data within.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Back in the real world, Earth's eyes became solid blue again and glowed brighter. "His eyes!" Yuma exclaimed. "They've stopped changing!"
"Was he successful?" Astral wondered.
Earth looked up at everyone watching. "It is done. I have gained full access to the robot's data."
"That's great!" Kotori cheered. Everyone else was very pleased.
"Nice job Earth!" Yuma said.
"Thank you Earth." Dr. Faker said appreciatively.
"You are welcome. There was some tight software security, but I was able to succeed." Said the Earth Ignis.
"Then let's get to it. Show us what you've found." Shark insisted. Earth nodded.
"Very well. I shall…"
"WHERE IS IT?!" A seriously angry voice interrupted from the main lab, startling the whole group. "WHERE?!"
"That voice! Is that…?" Yuto's question was answered when Kaito came bursting in, nearly knocking down the door.
"Kaito! Hold on!" Luna called out as she and Droite came in right after.
"Droite! Luna!" Ruri cried out.
"Kaito! Earth just now…" Yuma tried to explain, but his toughest rival was not in the mood to chat as he shoved past the younger boy.
"It would seem Kaito has learned of Haruto's abduction and is indeed handling it quite poorly." Astral observed.
"You think?" Shark asked sarcastically.
When he reached the table, Kaito stared down at the thing that disguised itself as his little brother with unstrained fury. "Listen you pile of garbage! Tell me where Haruto is! Tell me now or I'll rip you apart one part at a time until you are nothing but worthless scrap metal!" He was seething, nearly unhinged. The robot's silence enraged him even more. "ANSWER ME!"
"Kaito! Calm down! The robot is offline! It can't say anything!" Dr. Faker said to his oldest son.
"Then switch it back on!" Kaito demanded his father. "Do whatever you have to! Just get it to talk!"
"Earth can do that!" Rio shouted back. Kaito turned to her.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Just before you and the others arrived, Earth managed to gain total access to the robot's memory data. He can tell us everything that machine knows." Shun explained calmly.
Kaito then gazed down the table again and realized the Earth Ignis himself was right by the fake Haruto's head. "You can reveal… all that's in there?" He asked, his rage beginning to cool now.
"I can." Earth acknowledged.
"Please Kaito. Being upset like this won't help you find Haruto. Calm yourself." Droite said soothingly, her hands on the young man's shoulders.
It took several deep breaths, but eventually Kaito was able to regain control of himself. Everyone was amazed how Droite was able to handle the situation. When he was able, Kaito made eye contact with the bulky A.I.. "Do it Earth. Show us." Earth nodded before facing upward.
"Everyone, observe. I will show the robot's memories for all of you to see." From the Earth Ignis' eyes, a large projection popped up, showing a clear view of Haruto's bedroom. It appeared to be nighttime, judging by how dark the room was. The robot seemed to be hiding somewhere it could not be seen. "According to the timestamp you see on the top right hand corner, the events here took place last night at approximately midnight." Earth said, indicating the clock at the spot he was pointing at. With that statement out of the way, everyone fell silent as the truth played out…
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
All seemed quiet and peaceful. No indication something was wrong. Then a new sound was heard… a very unnerving sound. It was the sound of glass being scratched deliberately slowly by something long and sharp. The noise was loud enough to wake little Haruto Tenjo from his deep sleep. "Wha… What was that?" He asked himself, nervousness in his voice. He looked around, but saw no one. "Is… someone there?" The boy still got no response as he looked around the room. "K-Kaito?" Haruto called out in a shaky voice, yet again he saw no other occupant in sight. Haruto then went to the window near his bed and cautiously peeked through. Nothing but black skies and trees moving in the breeze. He then sighed. "Maybe I was just hearing things in my sleep." He said to himself.
Before Haruto turned away from the window, he noticed something that wasn't there before he went to bed. A long, thin scratch was made onto the glass. He reached out with his hand… and his eyes bulged with fear. He could actually feel the scratch on his window. If it happened outside then he shouldn't be able to feel it at all. Haruto knew this meant only one thing. Who or whatever scratched the glass… was inside his room. Inside… with him. Haruto started to panic and hyperventilate.
"I-I have to get out of here! I have to find Dad!" Just as he turned around and prepared to bolt for the door, Haruto bumped into something that wasn't there a second ago. "Huh?" Whatever he felt was scaly and rough. "What is…?"
"What's wrong little boy? Afraid of the dark?" Haruto froze. The voice he heard was from no one he knew. Very slowly, the child lifted his head up, and saw… the scariest sight he had ever seen. It was a woman alright, but not a normal, human one. She was very tall, covered in green scales and black spiky armor, sported sickly green bat like ears and wings, long midnight black hair, and had glowing dark green eyes on a pale green face. She smiled down at him. "You shouldn't be: I'm MUCH more terrifying!"
Haruto screamed before he fell down on his rear end. He then rapidly crawled backward until he hit the edge of his bed. His wide, fearful eyes couldn't look away from the monster in front of him. "W-Who are you?! WHAT are you?!"
The creature laughed. "What am I? Why… I am what makes little brats like you wet their pants at first sight." She then began walking slowly toward Haruto, claws outstretched.. "I am the source of all things you see in your nightmares. I am the great demon queen, Hiretsuna! And you, Haruto Tenjo… shall be my next victim."
Haruto could only sit where he was, unable to move or do anything. "P-Please! Go away! Leave me alone!" The demon stepped nearer and nearer. "Dad! Kaito! Luna! Help!"
Hiretsuna laughed again. "Foolish boy. They can't hear you. I made sure of that." She stopped when she was standing right above the terrified child. She raised her claws toward him. "Face it, kid… this is one nightmare you won't be waking up from. Nobody's coming to your rescue…"
"Wrong, you evil demon!" Hiretsuna and Haruto turned behind the former to see a woman with blue and green hair in a black and white business suit. She pointed something at her; some kind of white blaster. "I won't let you touch that innocent boy! Take this!" Her weapon fired a blast of white energy at the demon, which made her scream in agony and collapse on her knees.
"Dammit! What is this?!" Hiretsuna complained. She seemed unable to move.
The woman took a small black device from her jacket pocket and pointed it behind her. A gateway made of dark yellow energy appeared. The woman then turned to the child. "Haruto! This way! Hurry!"
Haruto didn't seem able to move. "W-Who are you, miss?" He asked, hardly believing someone had come when he thought no one would.
The woman gave him a confident smile. "I am Queen. I've come to save you from that monster. Now go through that portal. It will take you somewhere safe. I will follow you once I've made sure Hiretsuna can't follow us."
"But… my dad. My big brother. I can't just leave them." Haruto protested.
"I will let them know you are alright. Trust me. Now go!" Queen ordered.
Haruto hesitated for just a few more seconds before he finally agreed. He got back on his feet. "O-Okay!" He then ran toward the portal as fast as his little legs could carry him. He stopped just as he reached it and turned back to his savior. "Thank you Queen!"
Queen smiled at him. "You're quite welcome, Haruto. I'll catch up with you in a bit. Hurry."
With a final nod, Haruto ran through portal and out of sight.
After closing the portal and putting away the blaster in her jacket, Queen turned to Hiretsuna, who no longer seemed to be in pain. The two smiled at one another. "That was quite the performance, Hiretsuna. You really had the boy terrified, not to mention pretending to be "paralyzed" by my, literally, little toy."
The demon chuckled. "That was the plan, wasn't it? And speaking of performances, you acted quite the heroine. Very believable."
"Thank you." Queen then turned right toward the holo screen. "And now, time for you to take the stage. Come out to us." The screen then started moving toward the two villainesses from it's hiding spot. It then stopped in front of the two.
"I got to hand it to you, Queen. You made sure no detail was left out on this SOLtiS android. This bucket of bolts looks just like the real thing."
"Of course it does. The exception is the blue diamond on the neck, but with the android constantly wearing a shirt collar in public, no one will know the difference."
"Good." Hiretsuna then held up an energy orb made to look like a mirror. She held it before the screen. The reflection showed the perfectly copied face of Haruto Tenjo. "What do you think?"
A mechanical version of the boy that just fled spoke with a villainous smile. "I think… I look perfect."
The two women smiled as Hiretsuna dispelled the mirror orb. "Glad you approve." Said the demon woman. She then handed a card to the Haruto imposter. It was a Number card. "Take this. Use it along with the Deck given to you to duel Kaito Tenjo. He is sure to be so emotionally distraught for confronting you, his "little brother", that his defeat is assured. And when he falls…" Hiretsuna held up an palm and closed it into a fist. "I'll take his soul for Master Lightning, curtesy of the Number I've just given you."
"Understood." The Haruto robot acknowledged.
Queen then held up her black device again. "Time for me to head back and "explain" to Haruto how he will be much safer staying with me for a while. He won't be going anywhere. I trust you got things from here?" Hiretsuna smiled deviously.
"Oh yes. It's only a matter of time before I claim the Numeron Code. You can be sure of that."
"Very well. I'll leave the rest to you… Hiretsuna." With the push of a button, Queen vanished in the same dark light as the portal Haruto ran through.
Hiretsuna turned back to the Haruto lookalike. "Seek out Kaito when you have the opportunity. Do not fail." With that, the demon glowed dark green and also disappeared.
Now the android was alone in the bedroom. It turned, headed toward Haruto's bed, climbed in, and closed it's eyes…
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
The holo recording then paused… when Kaito who let out an ear piercing scream before slamming both his fists on the table. His body was shaking and his face was contorted with rage.
"Kaito…" Yuma said softly, unsettled by his rival's emotional outburst.
Without looking up, Kaito spoke to no one in particular. "Those two. How dare they? How dare they do that… to my little brother? How dare they… TAKE HIM LIKE THAT?!" He shouted.
"Kaito, we'll get Haruto back." Yuto assured him after waiting a moment to say something.
"We will do whatever we can to help you." Ruri added.
"We all will." Shun said, as did the others.
Some very tense moments passed before Kaito seemed to calm himself again and gazed around. "Everyone… I appreciate all of your support."
"There is still more data to observe." Earth said to the group. "May I continue showing it?"
"Yes Earth, of course." Kazuma said once Kaito was in the mood to watch more.
The Earth Ignis resumed the recording, where it showed the Haruto android getting up the next morning, changing clothes, then tried unsuccessfully to find Kaito. The android next entered Luna's room, where it lost control and attempted to steal her pendant. Then there was a burst of blue light… and the screen went dark after that. "That is it. There is no more data to observe." Earth said as he removed his hands from the android's head.
"What happened?" Akari asked.
"The energy burst we witnessed must have damaged the android's recording processor, preventing it from collecting more data." Earth guessed. He figured that was what also caused the hardware damage he saw while inside the android's brain.
"I can fill in the rest." Luna said before retelling her Duel with the fake Haruto and leaving to find Kaito at Droite's place before arriving here (Orbital 7 had also returned, but couldn't join the others du to tidying up Haruto's bedroom). She left out the part about the Astral World Priests to save for now.
Once everyone was up to speed, Kaito turned to the Ignis. "Thank you Earth, for getting the truth for us."
"You are welcome, Kaito." Earth replied.
Kaito next turned to the girl that brought him the news of his brother. "Luna, you learned about Haruto being switched with a fake. You fought this "thing" to protect me when you learned I was it's target. Even though you could've died, you refused to surrender and won the fight. And you came all the way to tell me this, despite how badly injured you were. For all of that… I thank you."
Luna nodded with a kind smile. "You're more than welcome, Kaito."
"Hey Luna, what was that blue light we saw just before the recording went out?" Akari inquired. Luna looked away.
"Yeah, you didn't explain that part." Yuma said.
"N-Not now." She said quickly.
Kaito and Droite wondered why Luna did not want to discuss it. Could it be something personal?
Luna brought up a more important issue. "Anyway, Who exactly where those two people in that recording? What did they want with Haruto? And why were they after you?" Kaito shook his head.
"I don't know." He told her. "I've never seen either of them before."
"I know the human called Queen." Earth spoke up before anyone else could say anything. Everyone was surprised to also hear anger in his voice.
"You do?" Rio asked.
"Yes. She is from my world and was once in charge of a company called SOL Technologies. She is not a good individual and only cares about profit. Queen had me captured one time and dissected me for my data." Earth explained to the shock of everyone.
"Dissected you?!" Yuma said, aghast.
"That's awful!" Ruri added in disgust.
'Bitch.' Droite thought angrily herself. Earth nodded.
"I almost died from that. By some miracle, I had reformed while trapped inside Bohman. If it wasn't for Ray, I wouldn't be here now."
"It's clear now that this Queen person currently has Haruto somewhere back on her world." Dr. Faker said, worried for his younger son's wellbeing.
Kaito's eyes hardened. 'Then that's where I need to go…'
"What about this Hiretsuna character?" Droite chimed in. "What's her deal?"
"And she mentioned getting the Numeron Code." Luna said. "What did she mean by that?"
"Hiretsuna… is responsible for corrupting the Astral World." Astral revealed. Kaito, Droite, Luna, and Dr. Faker turned to the energy being in shock.
"Hold on. Is she the one you told us about a month ago? This "demon"?" A wide eyed Kaito asked. Astral nodded.
"She is. Ray and I may have only gotten a brief glimpse, but it was enough to identify her now." He confirmed.
Before he could reveal more, Droite brought up another issue. "The android used a Number against Luna. But that shouldn't be possible, since you have all the Numbers." She said to Astral.
"That's what I thought too." Luna stated. "That android completely surprised me in our Duel by Summoning Number 28. When I accused it of being a fake, the robot said it was the real deal. How could there be two copies of a "Number"?"
"It wouldn't be the first time this sort of thing happened." Shun said ominously. Kaito, his father, and the two women were informed of both the Number incidents yesterday involving Cathy, Anna, and Vlad. This alarmed them even more.
"So other Number copies have popped up?!" Dr. Faker said in disbelief.
"Yes, and now it's clear those copies were Hiretsuna's doing. If the Haruto android got one from her, then the others we saw must also have had her hand in it." Astral said with certainty.
"But how could she have her own Numbers in the first place?" Luna questioned.
"And why did she unleash them on our world?" Droite inquired.
"We don't know." Yuto said.
"Still, what does all this have to do with the Numeron Code?" Kaito demanded.
"That's why we're here." Yuma said. He went on to explain what he and Astral learned from Ray, Enna, Judai, and Playmaker. The four who didn't know all the details before knew now how serious things were.
"So, to sum up: Hiretsuna is the twisted daughter of Zarc and E'Rah. Lightning sent Hiretsuna to bring him the Numeron Code for whatever his master plan is, but Ai got there first. Now he's this demon's prisoner and you guys are going off to save him and put the Astral World right." Droite said. "Did I leave out anything?"
"Nope." Shark confirmed. "You pretty much nailed it."
Luna shivered as if she were in a huge freezer. "I cannot believe that E'Rah has a daughter, and she's the one causing all this trouble."
"The apple didn't fall far from the tree where she's concerned." Kotori said.
"We can agree on that." Mirai said, frowning deeply.
"I see where this is going." Kaito said before facing Yuma's group. "My father, V, and I have been tinkering with the inter-dimensional gateway that brought Luna here. It is actually a remodeled version of the Interdimensional Teleporter that was used to send Yuma to the Astral World last time. Instead of connecting to an outward power source via cables like before, it is hooked up to a unique battery capable of containing and safely distributing Astral World energy. The machine should be more stable now since Luna's arrival. However… there is one glaring problem we have not been able to overcome."
"Which is?" Shun asked.
"We have no sources of Astralite to fill the battery." Dr. Faker answered before he turned to his friend. "Kazuma, the Conqueror's Coins you left behind were the only source of Astralite we could find in this world. You don't happen to have more, do you?" To his disappointment, Kazuma shook his head.
"Sorry, old friend. I'm fresh out of those."
"So we can't go to the Astral World?!" Yuma shouted, starting to panic.
No one responded, which started to disappoint everyone.
Luna then looked down at her pendant. The blue energy still blinked, a constant reminder of the secret within. But now, she saw that the blue glow was now blinking faster. 'Could the Priests be trying to tell me something?' A possibility started to form in her mind. Maybe she should tell them. "Actually… there might be a way."
Everyone turned to her in surprise. "What do you mean?" Kazuma asked.
Luna looked up, facing Kaito's father. "Dr. Faker, please take us to the gateway. I'll explain then."
"Very well, if you say so." Dr. Faker led everyone out of the room and back out into the main lab.
On the way out, Yuma asked a question that he had been wondering about. "Say Kaito… Luna said she found you at Droite's apartment. Why were you there anyway?"
Kaito and Droite (who blushed slightly) shared a quick glance. No reason to let the little kid know what went down. "That is not your concern." He said flatly and refused to say any further. Although curious, Yuma decided to drop the matter. If Kaito didn't want to talk about it, then he shouldn't be made to.
Near the end was a large curtain, which the whole group saw when they first walked in. Kaito and Dr. Faker stood on either side of the curtain and lifted up both ends to reveal the teleporter. It indeed looked complete. "Alright Luna, tell us what you know." The scientist requested.
With a deep breath, Luna faced everyone with a surprisingly pained expression. "I'm sorry for not speaking of it sooner. I wasn't ready to talk about it before. But now, with the fate of Ai and the Astral World on the line, I can't keep it to myself any longer."
Kaito knew what was coming, and he was right. He listened, along with the rest of the gang, as Luna recounted the true story of how she came to be in their world. Kaito and his father weren't surprised, having heard it themselves before. The same cannot be said for everyone else.
"Wait, so what you told us before wasn't true?" Yuma asked, not understanding.
"It's not nice for someone to lie to their friends, Luna." Kotori said admonishingly.
"Definitely not." Rio added.
"Why did you not tell us all this?" Astral demanded. He did not appreciate being kept in the dark about anything regarding his home world, even if it was a different version. "These Four Element powers sound like a very significant detail worth mentioning."
Luna sighed. "Listen, I'm deeply sorry for not being honest before. I was still reeling from the loss of everything I knew… everything, and everyone, I loved." She said with a glance at Shark. He frowned with disapproval, but she still saw sympathy in his eyes.
"Is there anything else you should share with the rest of the class?" Shark asked rather roughly.
"Actually yes, and it has to do why I asked everyone to come here." Luna went on to explain her encounter with the Astral Priests that represented the Four Elements during her Duel with the Haruto android. This surprised her friends even more.
"Why did you not mention them earlier when you brought up that Duel?" Kaito asked.
"I was waiting for the right time to bring them up, and it wasn't then." Luna answered.
"So these Astral World Priests were the real reason that brought you here?" Dr. Faker asked, dumbfounded by the new revelation. Luna nodded.
"Yes. They came to me when I almost quit and gave me hope." She held up her pendant. "They told me that my pendant can take me back to my reality and enable me to enact my original plan. But first, the power of the Priests is needed here."
"You think the Astral Priests can energize the gateway?" Rio asked, realizing what Luna was getting at.
"I am sure of it, Rio. Their power is huge, probably enough to get us there. What I don't know is exactly how we can…" Luna was cut off by what happened next.
Four blue energy orbs floated out of Luna's pendant and hovered in the air above the group. Each orb held a symbol that represented each of the Four Elements. "What's going on?" Yuto asked.
"Luna?" Ruri asked.
"I… don't know." Luna replied.
After the orbs appeared, they took on the forms of the very beings Luna had just described. "Those guys! Are they…?" Yuma began to ask.
"The Astral World Priests. They must be." Astral said, in awe of their appearance.
"Why are they appearing?" Shun asked. No one answered, nor did anyone need to.
Without saying a word, the four Priests floated toward certain individuals. The Light Priest stopped before Yuma. The Air Priest halted before Kaito. Both the Priests of Sea and Land hovered before Shark.
"Why are two of the Priests in front of you, Ryoga?" His younger sister asked.
"Beats the heck out of…" Shark was cut off when the Land Priest pointed at his D-Pad. The boy instantly knew what it meant and raised up the device. "Earth, I think you better get up here." At once, the Earth Ignis reappeared.
"It would seem this particular Priest requires my presence." He said.
"But… why? What are they doing?" Kotori asked.
The Priests each held out a hand toward the ones they were in front of. "Yuma Tsukumo, Kaito Tenjo, Ryoga Kamishiro, and the Ignis known as Earth. The four of you have been chosen to wield our power. Use it to travel to the Astral World, and right the wrong that has been inflicted upon it. Will you accept our gift and purge the evil that threatens this world?"
Yuma looked at Astral, who gave an encouraging nod. "Go on."
With that, Yuma took the hand of Astral Priest before him. Kaito, Shark, and Earth did the same with their respective Priests. The moment their hands were grasped, the blue energy beings absorbed themselves into their chosen hosts. As they did, Yuma and the others gave off a faint blue glow from their bodies.
Then something most unexpected happened. Without warning, Earth separated himself from Shark's D-Pad, floated down to the ground, and glowed brighter. Everyone watched as the Ignis grew larger in size until he reached Shark's height. When the glow faded, Yuma and the others were dumbstruck by what they saw. "Uh, Earth… what the heck?" Yuma asked, not quite sure what he was seeing.
Not only was Earth now the size of a human, but he wore armor that resembled tree bark on his upper main body, upper arms and legs, with a tree trunk like helmet on his head. Finally, the glowing blue symbol of "Land" shined on his chest. "Apparently, my natural size was inadequate for occupying the Astral Priest of Land. Therefore, it altered my body to become a "proper" vessel for itself." Earth explained.
"That's… something." Rio said, actually admiring the Earth Ignis' new look.
"Ditto." Shark add, agreeing with his sister. Even he couldn't deny that the socially awkward A.I. actually looked like a badass now. "Anyways, let's see if we can power this contraption." He and the other three Priest hosts moved to the arch at the center of the gateway. They each placed a hand on the arch and began transferring energy into the battery. Before long, it was fully charged and a stable blue portal leading to the Astral World opened up.
"It works!" Mirai exclaimed, very pleased like the rest of the group was.
"Astral World, here we come!" Yuma cheered.
"Wait. Other than Yuma, Kaito, Shark, and Earth, who else is going?" Dr. Faked asked.
"We discussed that before coming here, and we have some volunteers." Kazuma answered. He and Mirai let the gang make the announcements.
"I am going." Yuto said first.
"So am I." Ruri added before taking her boyfriend's hand.
"I'm also going. My little sister is not running off to some dangerous new world without me." Shun said emphatically. During the previous meeting he felt adamant that Ruri should not go to somewhere she could possibly get hurt or even killed. Ruri pointed out that she was not a helpless girl, that she was a member of the Resistance like him and Yuto. She had just as much right to fight as he and anyone else. Yuma, Rio, and Yuto backed her up, forcing Shun to finally cave in and let her join, under the condition that his sister would stay by him at all times. Ruri gratefully agreed.
"My brother and my boyfriend are not going anywhere without me either." Rio confirmed before standing between the two most important people to her.
"That's everyone." Akari said. At least, that's what she thought.
"Hold it." Droite spoke up before moving to be with Kaito. "I'm going as well."
Kaito was more surprised by this than anyone. "Droite, no. This will be more dangerous than you can imagine. You can't go." He told her.
Droite crossed her arms, frowning deeply. "Gauche got to go with you on your last trip to another world. This time it's my turn. Besides…" She hesitated before adding. "Someone needs to make sure you don't do anything reckless while we're there."
Kaito saw that she wasn't going to change her mind and sighed deeply. "Alright. Just stay close to me." The woman nodded.
"Thank you." She said politely.
Shark then looked over at Luna. "If you're thinking about coming as well, forget it. You still haven't fully recovered from nearly being burned alive."
Luna groaned. "I had a feeling you'd say that, and you're right. I should sit this one out."
Shark was pleased to hear that. "Look, we'll be okay. Just rest up and heal, alright?" Luna nodded.
"Thanks, I will. And Ryoga…"
"Yeah?" Shark asked, curious about what she was going to say next.
"I want you to know…" her face showed regret. "I'm very sorry for blowing you off all month. I shouldn't have done that." Shark shook his head.
"Hey, no hard feelings. Just… be here and talk to me when we get back, will ya?"
"I will be right here. I promise." She said with a warm smile.
Shark returned the smile and nodded.
"Alright guys! Let's go and save Ai and the Astral World!" Yuma exclaimed excitedly.
"Excited for the next adventure as always." Astral muttered to himself with amusement. Though he knew how perilous this would be, he knew as long as he and Yuma were together, they could handle anything.
"Off already?" The entire group turned around to see several familiar faces. Five of them were the other former Barian Employers, who all smiled at them. "What? You guys are off to fight the big bad, and we don't get a chance to say good luck?" Vector said in fake mocking tone.
"Vector! You guys! You made it!" Yuma cheered. They all nodded.
"Of course we did, Yuma." Durbe said.
"You guys asked us to help keep the whole "Number" situation from getting out of hand while you're all away." Alito added.
"We wouldn't be late for something like this." Girag added with a chuckle.
"From what we heard, you guys will need all the luck you can get." Mizael said grimly.
"You got that right." Yuma said.
The remaining three individuals with Durbe's group were also old friends of Yuma, Kaito, and Shark. They were boys of different ages and all dressed in medieval like attire. One, who seemed the youngest, was a boy around 15 with short pink hair which curls slightly at his neck, and emerald green eyes. His clothes were mostly red and white. He appeared to be the friendliest looking of the trio. "Hi Yuma. I'm glad we got here in time to see you off."
Yuma smiled back. "Me too, III."
"Hey Shark, you and your sister seem ready to tackle this thing head on." One of the older boys, who looked to be 17, spoke up. He wore nearly all white and had large, spiky layered dark red and yellow hair with dark red eyes. He also had a long, cross-like scar running down the right side of his face.
Shark snorted with a smirk. "You bet your ass we are, IV."
"He's right. We got this." Rio said confidently. IV smirked at the Kamishiro siblings without a care in the world.
The final young man, who looked to be at least 20, approached Kaito with a stern expression. He had blue eyes and long, flowing silver hair with light purple fringes and one light green in the middle. His clothes were white and dark purple. "Kaito… I trust you know what you're getting yourself into."
Kaito gave his own stern look, one added with fury and determination. "V, I can handle whatever awaits me in that messed up world. The way I'm feeling now, nothing will stop me from taking down the monster behind this mess."
V narrowed his eyes. He sensed the anger in the younger boy's voice. "Something has happened. What is it?" He asked calmly.
Kaito hardened his eyes again before looking away. "Haruto… was kidnapped. That beast, Hiretsuna, had a hand in it. I intend to make her pay."
V was visibly shocked by the news. 'Haruto… kidnapped?!' He could understand his old pupil's anger and desire for revenge. "I am sorry to hear that, Kaito. Is Haruto on the Astral World right now?"
"No." Kaito said. "He's somewhere else. I'm going there after we settle things on the Astral World."
"I see." V replied. "In that case, make sure to come back… to save your brother."
Kaito nodded. "I plan to."
"Hey, seriously. We got this." Vector reassured everyone. "Earth is in good hands."
"It better be." Shark said. The rest of the group staying to protect Heartland all gave their own assurances that their home would be fine in their absence.
Astral knew there was one more thing to do before his group departed. "As you all know, some copies of my Numbers have appeared here in Heartland City and caused trouble. More than likely, there are many others who have not shown themselves yet. To combat them, you will require these." As he extended his hand, Astral let several glowing gold cards fly from him to those protecting Heartland.
All 8 members caught the cards that came to them. "You're giving us your Numbers?" III inquired.
"Indeed. Your chances of success would increase if you combat Hiretsuna's Numbers with yours."
"Thank you Astral." Durbe said, accepting what he was given. So did the others. Astral hoped the Numbers he gave would be enough.
"Alright. Go do it son." Kazuma said with an encouraging smile
"Be careful Yuma." Mirai said as she hugged her son.
"Don't do anything stupid, little bro." Akari advised.
"I will Mom, Dad. And I'll be fine, Akari." Yuma replied.
Once all was said and done, Yuma's group turned back to the portal. Just as they were about to march toward their path to danger… "Shun!"
Shun looked back at Akari, looking concerned. "Yes?"
"I just wanted to tell you…" The older Tsukumo sibling paused before managing to say "Please be careful… and get back safe."
Shun gave her a confident smile. "You have my word, Akari."
With no more words left to be said, Yuma and his friends stepped through the opened doorway… and disappeared from sight.
"Good luck… everyone." Kotori said, hoping all her friends would come back safe and sound from this ordeal. Yet she could not help but fear what might wait for them on the other side. She prayed they would be ready… for everyone's sake.
To be continued.