Things are now escalating worldwide! We know how much trouble just one Number could cause, but nearly 100 across the globe? It can't be good, right? After that, we will return to Yuma's group on the Astral World. Let's get to it!
Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Hope of Six
Chapter 72: Demon Arc – Part 10
Las Vegas:
"We have a winner!" A dealer called out as a lucky player won big at a Black Jack table. Throughout the casino that day, people were either winning money or losing it. The winners cheered proudly, while the less fortunate groaned and cursed their bad luck. Little did anyone there know that everyone's good luck was about to hit the fan.
The winning Black Jack player, a young woman in her late 20's, felt like the luckiest person in the world. Since she arrived in the casino, the woman had not lost a single game. As a result, she had won over $900. Her latest victory raised her winnings up to nearly $1000. "Just one more big win, and I can buy that new car I want!"
She never told anyone, but shortly after arriving in Vegas, she found a Duel Monsters card laying less than a block away from the casino she now played in. Something about it drew her to it, compelling her to take it. After picking the card up, she suddenly felt lucky enough to win any game she would play. After winning her first few games, she became totally convinced that the card she found was her "good luck charm".
After placing another bet, the woman picked up her playing cards for another game. Once more, it was going her way. "Alright! Hit me!" She called for another card. Right then, the woman was hit by a new, stronger feeling. Her eyes glowed dark green eyes and smiled like the devil. "Enough of these foolish games! Why bother winning my money…" She dropped her cards, took out her "lucky" card from her pocket, and held it high above her head. "when I can just take it!"
A dense black aura surrounded the woman and the card she held came to life…
Around that same time, a Craps player had just finished rolling the dice… which ended up with a lower number than he wanted. "Crap!" The player yelled in frustration, slamming his fist on the table. A muscular man in his early 30's, the player had the worst luck in the world. He came to Vegas hoping to win some cash to get certain people off his back, but so far he hadn't won a damn cent.
"Actually, it's called "Craps"." Said a younger man next to him.
The losing player gave the guy a very sour look. "Shut up." He then shoved his way past the annoying pest and made his way to the bar. He slumped on the nearest bar stool and sat there, watching the other players doing better than he was. It didn't matter. If he couldn't get the money he needed, his life was pretty much over. As he gaze downward, he noticed a card laying facedown on the floor. Curious, he picked it up, figuring it was a Black Jack card someone had dropped. To his surprise, it was a Duel Monsters card. "The hell is a card for a kid's game doing in a place like this?"
As he looked at the card, he gasped as a black aura covered him and made his eyes the same wicked green as the woman. His anger and hatred at his poor excuse for a life suddenly began surging to the surface. He gnarled his teeth and held his card up. "To hell with this dump and it's rigged games! I need money and nothing will stop me from getting it!"
The casino erupted in chaos as two giant Duel Monsters, covered in darkness, materialized above everyone.
One appeared above the Black Jack table where the lucky player sat. It was a tall, slim figure wearing a green and purple striped suit and held a staff with a dark red "7" on the top. The second emerged at the bar where the man who lost the Craps game sat. It was a red skinned, bare chested man wearing a white kilt and winged shoes, which the left one had a dark purple "67" at the bottom. The most noticeable thing about the creature was the huge mallet it leaned on it's right shoulder, which was a white die split in half with a blue mustached face between the two half's encased in glass.
"See that Craps table, Paradicemasher?" The angry man, who now had a black "67" on his forehead, pointed at the aforementioned table. "Use that mallet of yours and smash it!" With a mighty roar, the Number lifted up it's weapon and brought it down on the game table, reducing it to splinters. The other people at the table, who were just out of range of the attack, turned and ran in terror. With them gone, the man walked over and picked up the money that was dropped, the money he should've won and deserved. Once that was done, he and his Number it moved to the next Craps table and continued the assault.
At the Black Jack table, the woman (whose forehead had a similarly black number "7") laughed maniacally as her Number instantly gathered up cash left, right, and center to it's master. "Yes! Just like that, Lucky Stripe! Bring Mama all that dough!" The people who were watching were too stunned to understand what was happening. Anyone who tried to interfere got a nasty whack from Lucky Stripe's staff.
Hiding from behind a turned over table, a certain dark haired young man wearing a western style hat watched the disaster unfold. Charlie McCoy stared at everything with confusion and fear… mostly fear. What got his attention the most was the woman using Lucky Stripe… a card he himself used. He knew it never did anything like that in his possession, especially making it's owner act like a greedy manic. "What the hell is going on?"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Paris:
9 hours ahead of Vegas, the City of Love had suffered it's own disaster.
During a quiet evening, everyone was enjoying some of the best food in the world at a fine restaurant. In the kitchen, the cooks worked diligently and efficiently to satisfy all their numerous customers.
One cook in particular, a chef de partie, was quite busy on making a special sauce for a fish dinner about to be served. He felt proud of his work, knowing it would bring joy to the people who taste it on their food. He smelled the aroma of his work in progress. "Ah. Just about right!" He said excitedly to himself.
The chef was reaching for the final ingredient to his sauce when he froze, eyes glazing over and unmoving. His sudden inaction did not go unnoticed.
"Hey Antonio! Stop daydreaming over there! Your sauce is needed in just a few seconds!" The head chef admonished. He growled when his subordinate did not respond. "Antonio! Did you hear me?! I said finish your…!"
Antonio was suddenly covered head to toe in what appeared to be black flames, yet he did not seem to be burning. The younger man had a crazed look on his face as he reached into his pants pocket… and pulled out a card. "You want me to finalize the sauce? I'll give you some of the hottest sauce this place has ever tasted… curtesy of my new partner!"
The card Antonio was holding above his head was a recent find. While he was home one evening on his night off from work, he decided to make a nice dish with a new sauce he had been working on. While Antonio got out his cooking ware, an oddity showed itself. It was a Duel Monsters card, nestled right on top of his frying pan. He picked it up and stared at, confused. "That's weird. I don't remember this being in my cooking stuff. How did not get in here?"
However it got came to be there, the card seemed to have given Antonio the inspiration to complete his new sauce, which proved to be a hit with not only his coworkers, but also the hungry customers who tasted it. He had been given a gift and he promised himself to not take it for granted.
But that promise, unfortunately, did not include being taken over by said "gift".
The card then took the form of a man wearing a red ascot and some kind of large chef's hat with a large propane tank strapped to his back. His belt carried various kitchen utensils. A flaming frying pan was held in his left hand, while his right hand was holding a small but dangerous flamethrower. The last and most noticeable detail was the yellow "59" near the top of the hat.
"It is time, Crooked Cook! Show these wannabes how you got your name!" Antonio commanded with an insane laugh.
The kitchen staff soon ran for their lives out of the kitchen and into the main dining hall of the restaurant. Antonio and his Number marched after them, setting everything ablaze as he went. The people that were eating also took off, wanting get the hell away from the madman that was burning everything around him. Before long the entire restaurant was one huge ball of flames. All the while, Antonio laughed… a laugh that echoed throughout the panic filled streets of Paris.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Heartland Theme Park:
V and Durbe eyed the pulsating black "0" on top of the two towers. They both had a feeling something very bad had just happened. But what?
"Hey!" The duo turned around to see Mizael running toward them.
"Mizael!" Durbe exclaimed.
"What is it?" V asked just their companion caught up with them. Before he replied he looked and saw the "0" above.
"Dammit! I'm too late!" Mizael cursed.
"Too late for what?" Durbe asked.
"After I defeated my opponent, I saw the Numbers going dark and realized it was some kind of countdown. I ran here to warn you, but I didn't make it in time."
"Do you know what…?" V started to ask, but he got interrupted.
"Hey!" The trio saw the rest of their team meeting up with them. "Looks like we missed you two finishing off the remaining Number hunter." Vector observed.
"We have won. And you?" Durbe asked.
"We got our jobs done alright." IV stated as he and the others revealed the Number copies they've taken.
"It is good you've all prevailed. However…" V looked back over at the top of the towers. "Perhaps we may have another problem."
"Like what?" V, Durbe and Mizael looked down to see a little blonde girl.
"Who are you?" Mizael asked.
"I am Cologne, formerly "Princess Cologne". The doll introduced herself.
"She was our opponent at the Doll House, but when Alito and I defeated her and claimed her Number copy, she lost all memory of our Duel and claims that she is a friend of Yuma." III explained.
"How do you know Yuma?" V inquired.
"We used to live together. Or at least… I did with the Yuma I knew." Cologne said, sounding as sad as she looked.
"The Yuma you knew?" Durbe asked.
"Cologne is not really from around here." Alito replied. "In fact…" he hesitated before dropping the bombshell. "She says that she is from the same reality as Luna."
"What?!" V was shocked by this. 'Another survivor from Luna's world?! How did she…?'
Girag sighed. "Look, there's a lot to tell so maybe we should head back to…"
"None of you can leave just yet!" The whole group looked back at the stadium entrance and saw an unknown tall woman covered in a very dark aura. Her facial features could not be seen, but she did have glowing dark green eyes. "Not until my lust for your pitiful souls has been satisfied!"
"Now what?" IV said with a groan.
Before another question could be asked, a big dark shape behind the woman spat out a large black fireball at the group. The attack came so fast that no one reacted in time. The following explosion blasted everyone off their feet and hit the stadium floor. Nearly all of them appeared to be unconscious. All… but one.
Slowly with a groan, Alito sat up and rubbed his head. "What the bloody…" He looked around to see his friends and comrades all out cold. "Oh no! Guys!"
"Don't fret about them." Said the dark woman. "You should be more worried about yourself!"
A pissed off Alito turned back to the attacker as he sprang to his feet. "Hey! The Hell's your problem lady?! Who are you?!"
After the mysterious dark shape behind her vanished, the woman approached Alito. While marching, a black and green Duel Disk materialized on her raised left arm and a glowing green tattoo around her left eye. "I am an obedient follower of the great Hiretsuna. If you must call me something, call me Sarama. My former human name no longer matters. Nothing in this world matters to me except to satisfy my beast's never ending desires! For example, it desires this tower! It is the perfect place for us and we have no intention of sharing it with anyone! Hence why your little gang has to go, starting with you!"
Gritting his teeth, Alito retrieved his D-Pad and switched it to it's Duel Disk mode before slapping it on his own arm along with his D-Gazer. "Fat chance Sarama!" Once both of them are in position, their Disks and Gazers came online and began their battle.
"DUEL!"
(Alito: 4000) (Sarama: 4000)
"The first move is mine! My turn! Draw!" Alito declared, deciding to take an early lead. "I'm kicking things off by playing Graceful Charity! This will let me draw 3 cards, then discard 2 of them!" He hoped the cards he discarded would come in handy when the time was right. "Then I Summon Burning Knuckler Shadow!" (FIRE; Level 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 1400) A dark clad boxer wearing a black scarf emerged. "Next, since I control a "Burning Knuckler" Monster, I can Special Summon Burning Knuckler Sparr from my hand!" (FIRE; Level 4; ATK: 1200; DEF: 1400) A grey robot appeared with yellow boxing gloves and red protective gear on it's arms.
"What are those for?" Sarama asked condescendingly.
"For this! I Overlay my Level 4 Burning Knuckler Sparr and Burning Knuckler Shadow! With these 2 Monsters, I build the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon! Bring the flame hidden in your soul into your fist! Burning Knuckler Bound Barbarian Lead Blow!" (FIRE; Rank 4; ATK: 2200; DEF: 2000) A masked fighter that had a big yoke around it's neck and right wrist materialized before it's controller. "With this bad boy out in the ring, I Set 1 card facedown and end my turn."
"You will be the one that shall be knocked out of this arena! My turn! Draw!" Sarama smirked unpleasantly. "This should do. I Summon Greed's Disciple!" (DARK; Level 4; ATK: 1400; DEF: 1400) A red flamed cloaked figure appeared on the Field. "When Greed's Disciple is Normal Summoned while my opponent controls an Xyz Monster, I can Special Summon a second Greed's Disciple from my Deck!" Another copy of Sarama's first Monster next to it's companion. "Since I have two copies of Greed's Disciple, I can change their Levels equal to the Rank of an opponent's Xyz Monster, plus 1! That makes both my Monsters Level 5! Now for my precious beast's debut! I Overlay both my copies Level 4 Greed's Disciple! With these 2 Monsters, I also build the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon! Appear! Number 14! Great dog with multiple heads! Feast your jaws on everything you see and share nothing! Greedy Sarameya!" (DARK; Rank 5; ATK: 2500; DEF: 1500) A huge dark purple three headed dog came bounding in with it's main body and tail made up of blazing fire. A blue "14" could be seen on it's left hindquarters. That same "14" also glowed on Sarama's forehead.
"Crap. A new freaking Number. Just what I need." Alito muttered to himself.
"You will see the power of my beast soon enough, little boy! I Set 1 card facedown and end my turn."
"Whatever Fido there can do, it ain't gonna make me back down! My turn! Draw!" Alito was weary. 'Now why did that crazy chick not attack me with that thing? It's stronger than Lead Blow for the moment, but she didn't go on the offensive. I don't like it.' The young man, who normally would take the fight to the enemy first thing, strangely felt he shouldn't strike just yet. "I Set 1 card facedown… and end my turn."
Sarama laughed, actually showing fangs in her teeth. "That's all? No attack from you? Wimp! My turn! Draw!" She was going to enjoy what was about to happen. "I will pick things up from here! Continuous Trap open, Number Barrier! Any and all "Number" Monsters I control now cannot be affected by my opponent's card effects!"
"Dammit!" Alito cursed. 'This means I can't use my Corkscrew Counter Trap card against her!'
"I'm done playing around! Battle! Greedy Sarameya, attack Bound Barbarian Lead Blow! Flames of Avarice!" At once the three heads of Sarameya had unleashed a triple torment of fire swirling toward Alito's Xyz Monster.
'I hope this works.' Alito thought before trying his plan B. "I activate Lead Blow's Monster Effect! When it battles, I can detach an Overlay Unit to…!"
"That won't work either! Due to having at least 1 Greed's Disciple as an Overlay Unit, my opponent cannot activate their Monsters' Effects at least unless that Monster is a "Number"!" Sarama countered once more.
"Oh come on!" Alito complained loudly.
"Now there's nothing you can do to stop my Monster from roasting yours!" Sarama shouted before her Number burned away Alito's with it's fiery breath.
(2500 - 2200 = 300)
(Alito: 4000 - 300 = 3700)
"I still got one trick up my sleeve! Trap card open, Attack and Receive! When I take damage to my Life Points, I can inflict 700 points of damage to you! Plus, for each copy of "Attack and Receive in my Graveyard, you take 300 more points of damage! I just happen to have 2 copies of my Trap in my Graveyard, so you get a grand total of 1300 points of damage!"
Sarama cackled. "Actually… I won't!"
"Huh?" Alito said, confused.
"I activate Greedy Sarameya's Monster Effect! When it destroys a Monster in battle, I can detach an Overlay Unit! Any damage I would during this battle is redirected to my opponent instead! Which means your Trap damages you instead of me!" Sarama laughed again.
"Damn! Ahhh!" Alito yelled from pain as his Trap's damaging Effect was used against him.
(300 x 2 = 600; 700 600 = 1300)
(Alito: 3700 - 1300 = 2400)
"This Duel is just about over, along with your measly life! And the lives of your friends! I end my turn."
Alito struggled to get up after being so badly burned. He barley managed to get to his knees. "Dammit. Guess this is how Luna felt after her Duel." He muttered frustratingly as he slowly got himself back on his feet. "But Luna didn't call it quits, and neither will I."
Sarama sneered at her opponent that clearly didn't want to stay down. "Well aren't you a stubborn one. You should just die already and save yourself more pain."
Alito smirked and chuckled weakly. "No chance of that, I'm afraid! I'm winning this match! I'll show ya! My turn! Draw!" His eyes widened, filled with hope now. 'This will help big time!' He eyed his darkened opponent with fierce determination. "I'll start my next round with this! I Summon Fiery Cub!" (FIRE; Level 1; ATK: 0; DEF: 0) A small red and orange humanoid infant lion wearing red armor gave a low growl as it appeared on the Field. "I activate Fiery Cub's Monster Effect! Once per turn, if a FIRE "Warrior" Xyz Monster is in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon 2 more copies of Fiery Cub from my Deck! Come out and fight little guys!" A couple more of Alito's newest Monster materialized before him.
"Those hairballs don't scare me." Sarama taunted.
"They're not meant to! Now I Overlay all copies of my Level 1 Fiery Cub! With these 3 Monsters, I build the Overlay Network again! Xyz Summon! Appear! Numbers 54! Your hot-blooded war cry shakes even sleeping souls! Rebellious Fighter – Lion Heart!" (EARTH; Rank 1; ATK: 100; DEF: 100) Replacing the three smaller Monsters is a huge armored humanoid lion with an overflowing blonde mane. It wore a mask and gauntlets with two huge metal claws. It also sported a golden "54" on it's left breast plate.
Sarama was not impressed. "That's it? Your Number may look tough, but's Attack Points are a joke! It can't beat my Greedy Sarameya!"
"Agree to disagree on that sister!" Alito retorted. "Let's do this! Battle! Lion Heart, attack Greedy Sarameya! Burning Crosscounter!" Alito's Legendary Number roared while charging head on and clashing with the three headed monstrosity's jaws. "Lion Heart can't be destroyed by battle, whether it is from fighting another Number or not! It ain't going nowhere, which means your own Monster's Effect can't be activated!"
"Moron! Even if your Monster can't be destroyed, you still insured your own demise! I told you that your Number was too weak to take down mine!" Sarama insulted.
"Wrong!" Alito retorted. "See, my Number's got his own Effect! When I take damage from battles involving Lion Heart, you take that damage as well!"
"But you…!" She yelled before she and Alito both took a big hit.
(2500 – 100 = 2400)
(Sarama: 4000 - 2400 = 1600)
(Alito: 0)
"Numbskull! What was the point of attacking with an indestructible Monster if you end up all your remaining Life Points?!" Sarama tried to protest, but the damage was done to both of them… but not for long.
Alito answered as he fell to the floor again. "I activate… Lion Heart's… last Effect! If my Life Points become 0… while battling with him… I can detach an Overlay Unit… to make my Life Points… 100! Restore… Shock!" As he finished explaining, he felt huge electrical jolt that made him gasp loudly and breathe hard.
(Alito: 100)
"That was so cheap! You're supposed to lose when your Life Points hit 0!" Sarama complained loudly.
"Sorry to… disappoint ya." Alito breathed heavily. "I've still got enough fight in me for one more round… and win!"
"How? Your last attack may taken a big chunk out of my Life Points, but I haven't lost. You've got no chance to win against me!"
"Yet another thing you're wrong about Sarama! For each Fiery Cub attached to a "Warrior" Xyz Monster as an Overlay Unit, that Monster gains an additional attack! I've still two more to go, but I just need one to finish the job!"
It was then Sarama's jaw dropped. "No! Y-You can't! I must satisfy me and my Number's greedy desires!"
"Screw you both! Time to ring the final bell on this match! Lion Heart, attack Greedy Sarameya one more time! Take her down!"
With one more mighty blow, Lion Heart struck the opposing Number, triggering it's Effect and damaging both Duelists once more. This time, both Alito and Sarama fell…
(Sarama: 0)
(Alito: 0)
… before Alito restored his Life Points once more using Lion Hearts last effect.
(Alito: 100)
After getting up again, Alito saw the darkness evaporating from Sarama. She was revealed to be a long haired brunette wearing a dark green shirt and grey shorts. She also appeared out cold. "Phew. Glad that's over." Once he was sure Sarama was unconscious, Alito quickly ran over to pick up her fallen Number. However, just before he could grab it, the card shot itself into the sky soared away in a stream of black and green energy. "What the hell?! Since when can Numbers get away like that?! And where did it go?!"
He was just processing this development when his fellow former Barian Emperors, the Arclight brothers, and Cologne finally came too. "Man, what hit us like that?" Vector complained while rubbing his head. He looked up to see Alito staring back at him. "Alito! You know what happened?"
"Some crazy lady tried to burn me to death with her nasty Number, but I got the better of her. She's down, but her Number… got away."
"What do you mean "got away?"" III asked.
"It sort of blasted off like a rocket and soared away to who knows where." Alito told him.
"That's never happened with a Number before." Durbe stated.
"Clearly these Number copies are becoming more evasive than they previously were." V said, feeling uneasy.
"How are we supposed to contain these Number copies if they start escaping after their holders are defeated?" Mizael demanded of no one in particular.
Before any more questions could be asked, V got an incoming call from his D-Pad.
"V, are you and the others alright?" Dr Faker spoke through V's D-Pad.
"We have suffered some minor injuries, but we are okay. What is going on?"
"Listen. You and your group need to get back to my lab at once. The situation has become far more complicated… and more catastrophic."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Once the team was back in the lab, they saw how serious Dr. Faker was about their Number problem.
"You've gotta be freaking kidding! Numbers are popping up all over the planet?!" IV shouted incredulously.
"It is no joke, IV." Said Dr. Faker in a most serious tone. "Not only are those Number copies appearing nearly everywhere, the people they are controlling are causing many disasters."
"This is crazy! How did this happen?" Cologne asked, shocked and terrified at the same time.
"From what we have just learned, it would seem defeating you and those other Number holders in Heartland Theme Park was the catalyst that brought about this calamity." Kazuma surmised.
"So we were set up to trigger this?" Girag asked.
"It seems we were." Mizael replied, angry that they were duped into bringing this whole mess about.
"So how do we stop it?" Alito asked.
"Apparently, simply defeating one of these "dark Number holders" isn't enough because the Number just escapes and finds a new host." V said as he showed Number 14 using it's new host to set fire at a planetarium in New York.
"Is there no permanent solution?" Luna questioned.
Kotori thought of it. "Ruri and Shun! Thanks to Ruri's bracelet, they each have the power to destroy those Number copies! Maybe they can do the job somehow!"
"One problem with that: Ruri and her brother are currently off world." Akari reminded her.
"Then we will just have to try to keep the Earth from falling into total chaos until Yuma and the others return." V said.
"If that's the case, then we've got our work cut out for us." Vector replied, with everyone nodding in agreement.
As the majority of the group discussed their new battle plan on handling the Number attacks, Luna and Cologne separated themselves from the others to talk in private. When Luna first saw Cologne when V's group teleported back, she was floored. She truly believed she was the only living survivor of her reality, which was destroyed by E'Rah. It brought her both happiness and sorrow. Luna was happy that she was no longer alone, but she also felt bad that Cologne pretty much lost everything herself. Even worse, it seemed that like Luna, the former princess doll was also made into a tool for an evil being's amusement.
"I truly am happy to see you again, Cologne. Knowing that you also made it out alive brings me comfort. But, that still doesn't change the fact that we both have had our home taken from us." Luna said sympathetically.
Cologne nodded. "I'm glad to see you too, Luna. But from what I've just been told, things aren't doing so well in this reality either." She then frowned, looking very worried. "Do you think Yuma and the others will get back in time to fix all this?"
Luna looked up to the screen showing the large number of attacks happening on Earth. "They will. I know they will."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Are we even getting close? That castle looks just as far away as ever." Yuma complained. He and his group had been crossing the treacherous terrain of the corrupt Astral World for about an hour and they seemed no closer to their destination than when they first arrived.
"I hate to admit it, but I agree with Yuma. No matter how much we walk toward that place, the distance hasn't shortened one bit." Shark replied, frustration evident in his voice.
"It is an illusion. My enhanced eyesight shows me that we are closing in." Earth revealed. "My hypothesis is that Hiretsuna is trying to discourage us from reaching her stronghold."
"It matters not. We must press on if we are to accomplish our mission." Astral insisted.
"Let's hope so." Droite said.
"Uh, guys… What's that?" Rio asked nervously, pointing up in the sky.
Everyone looked up to see a swirling vortex forming above them. Green electricity streaked across the vortex as it grew, causing the wind around them to pick up.
"That… doesn't look friendly." Yuto said.
"Nothing in this world is friendly." Shun added wearily.
"Guys… I think we better get out of here!" Ruri strongly insisted… as the vortex began to descend towards them!
"RUN!" Kaito ordered before the whole team ran as fast as they could.
But it was futile. The monstrous phenomenon was upon the teens within seconds. They all screamed as they were thrown around and around in the vortex… before scattering them in separate directions.
To be continued.