Complex (NHS)

First topic message reminder :

This high-tech building serves as not only a shelter for those who need it, but also a control center for the Master of the Hunt. It is multi-storied, with a helipad on top.

"-u know where competitors are dude?"
dude? never mind u don't have much time
-quiet
suddenly he sees a way which leads to an elevator
he waits until they are almost gone then he tries to follow them but then someone else(cinque) arrives and he hides again
i can't wait any longer
"you want to know where the others are?then follow me"
saying that he runs and takes the elevator cable and goes down with it
"104: You know what your doing right Seraph?"
"102: Yes. Well i think i do."
"Cinq: Of course he knows what he is doing, he is taking us to Narnia."
narnia!?
***
"Cinq: It takes a long time to get to Narnia."
how does he know where he's going?is he working with the guy in intercom?
elevator stops and faervel is above it listening to what they are saying
***
"I don't really care. Before I leave, where can I get a duel disk?"
faervel realizes elevator is going up again so if he needs to find out this "truth" he needs to jump right in front of them
i came all this way then why not?
faervel jumps down and realizes everyone else has seen him
"oh...ummm.....hello humans....i guess"

"Sorry. I had to wait for everyone to arrive. If you desire to leave, then do so simply by turning around. It's not that hard to leave this place. In fact, the moment you turn around, you'll find yourself at the top of the lift. You'll find a duel disk there as well."

*He pauses.*

"But if you desire to know what it is I spoke of earlier, we must first look up."

*He presses a button on his console in front of him, and the ring in the center glows a bright green. Lines draw themselves across it in various places, accompanied by various other rings and symbols. Then, a large holographic... was it a map?... of the stars appears. It rotates slowly on its axis.*

"This is our local cluster of stars today. And this..."

*He presses another button. Some stars begin to wink out slowly.*

"Is our local cluster in ten years."

*Another button. More stars gone.*

"Twenty years."

*Another button. A vast expanse of the map disappears.*

"One-hundred years."

*More buttons. All but a few stars are gone.*

"Four-hundred and fifty seven years. This date is significant. Watch the remaining stars."

*He presses a button, and lines are drawn between the stars, revealing a pattern similar to the one on the floor, with one in the very center.*

"And now, five hundred years into the future."

*He presses one final button. All the stars are gone, except for one. He zooms in on that star, and shows that it has planets orbiting it. He zooms in on one, the third one from the star.*

"And this is Earth. Five hundred years from now."

*The planet is frozen, cold, and dead. There is a faint speck of a green glowing light on one of the landmasses.*

"That's all there is left."

*He zooms in on the spot.*

"These are the last living things on the planet. Hiding under a barrier of energy, waiting out their doom. The last living things in this area of the universe."

*He pauses.*

"Five hundred years, two months, eighteen days, fourteen hours, seven minutes, and fifty-one point two four seconds from now..."

*The green light fades out.*

"Erebus, you've been pretty quiet. Want to take the next part?"

-This is the result of a terrible catastrophe. We have yet to pinpoint when it happens, but we know it's soon. Could be within the next year. This event is due to a large surge of power. This is a power even we do not fully understand. The reason we know this is happening is 'cause we were there when the barrier fades.-

"We aren't from the future. This is our time. Yet, we have been there. And we have come back to stop it. So has Cinque, whether he knows it or not. We fear his memory (and sanity) may have been fractured on the return trip. His transition wasn't exactly... material. He lost his soul, and it was only through a great deal of effort that we were able to bring it back with us and reunite it with its body."

-In order to explain this, we have to go back two years ago. Watch closely.-

*The hologram changes, to an image of an underground laboratory.*

"What... what's this? The energy gauges are fluctuating? How?" Says a man with white hair. Despite his hair color, he appears to be seventeen at most.

"Probably that stone is reacting to something." Says a man who is clearly a slightly younger version of Ezekeil. "Klaus, try increasing the output. See what kind of reactions we can get out of this thing."

-Back then, we didn't know what we had. But we were going to find out soon.-

"What... what is this?" Says Klaus.

"I don't know. I feel... odd."

*They are both silent.*

"What was that? What did you say?" Says Ezekeil.

"I didn't say anything."

"I could've sworn you just said... There it is again! Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"There's a voice. Erebus, do you see anybody?"

-Yes.-

"Where are they?" Asked Ezekeil.

-... It's all around you.-

*The hologram changes slightly, showing what Erebus could see.*

*A strange black shadow swirls around Ezekeil. As it does so, its shape becomes more and more clear. It resembles a serpentine form.*

"Erebus, what is it?"

-It looks like... a snake? No. More like a... dragon? A mixture of both?-

*Suddenly, a voice emanates seemingly from nowhere. It sounds weak and frail. Almost hissing in places.*

~My name... is... Kaio. You... have released... me?~

"Kaio? Who are you, Kaio?" Says Klaus.

~I am... nothing... from your world. I am.. the Seal...~

"What does it mean 'the Seal'? What is this seal?" Says Klaus.

"Hell if I know."

-What about the design that was on that stone?-

~Yes... The stone... the green stone...~

"You came from that stone?" Says Ezekeil.

"That was when we first met Kaio. Later on, it went terribly wrong, though."

*The image changes to Klaus and Ezekeil standing in a room, arguing. It is the same scene from his dream. The two argue, and eventually Klaus is terribly murdered by the shadow. But then, the hologram continues past that.*

"What... KLAUS!"

-What the bloody hell?!-

"KAIO! Damn it, Kaio, what are you doing?"

~I didn't agree with his point of view.~ Kaio's voice was a lot stronger than it was previously, now seeming completely normal and healthy.

"That doesn't mean you just kill people!"

~Curious, because you yourself said you wanted to.~

"Wanted to what?!"

~Kill Klaus.~

*Ezekeil looks shocked, then confused.*

"I didn't once say that. Why would I ever say that?"

-Ezekeil. You almost did. 'Damn it, I'm done with your crap! I wish I could just-'-

"I never said the words 'kill Klaus' though!"

~But you did, here in your mind. The domain to which I am tethered. Or have you already forgotten?~

"But I..."

I didn't mean it, he thought to himself.

~Oh, but I think you did.~

"Go away, Kaio. Just, shut up..."

~As you wish.~

"This wasn't the end of our experiences with Kaio. In fact, it was only the beginning. Eventually, though, we decided we had to take a stand. And with the help of a man named Crown, we did just that. Through an interesting medium, too, if I do say so myself."

*The hologram changes again.*

"This isn't good. Kaio's little manifested duelist there is tough. Really tough. That many Orichalcos cards are difficult to hold out against."

~What's wrong, Ezekeil? Afraid to make a move? Or have you finally given up?~ Says Kaio through his fake duelist. Kaio himself floats behind the man, easily several hundred feet long, representing himself as a shadowy figure still.

"I never give up. You should know that by now. And I'm not afraid. Never again..."

*He reaches for his deck, ready to draw the next card.*

"... will I..."

*He draws the card, and simultaneously says...*

"... be afraid!"

*At this moment in time, Ezekeil presses a button on the console, playing a bit of music. (The background music from this scene in the Bonds Beyond Time Movie, up through Yusei's Synchro Summon https://youtu.be/B8Fso8TCOkA?t=34m13s )*

"It fits, trust me."


*He looks at the card he just drew, then at his duel disk. The EBS-1 itself serves as a disk, with what seems to be holograms or energy itself manifesting into a playing surface for his cards.*

"I activate my spell card, Malefic Divide! With this card, I can special summon one Malefic monster from my Graveyard, ignoring the summoning cost. But at the end of the turn, it disappears. But there won't be an end phase this turn, because I'm going to win here and now! So, return to the field, Malefic Rainbow Dragon!"

*A bright light fills the area, as the form of Malefic Rainbow Dragon appears in front of Ezekeil.*

"Next, I'll banish Cyber End Dragon from my deck to summon Malefic Cyber End Dragon from my hand!"

*The same light appears, this time manifesting Malefic Cyber End Dragon.*

"You ready for this, Erebus?" He says, looking at the Malefic Cyber End Dragon.

-Of course. Let's do it!-

"Alright. From my hand, I activate both of my spell cards; two Star Changers! I change Erebus' level to 8! Next I summon Malefic Parallel Gear in attack mode!"

*He looks up at Erebus.*

"No going back now. It's all in. Time to commit! Now or never! Let's do this... IKU ZE, Kaio!"

~What? What are you...~

"Crown, Erebus, and I have come too far to let you win now! I tune my Parallel Gear with Erebus, to synchro summon... Malefic Paradox Dragon!"

*The two monsters disappear, reverting to a series of white balls of light, which line up in sequence. Then they combine, and a bright flash of light fills the area once more. In its wake appears Malefic Paradox Dragon.*

"Next I'll activate my ace in the hole! Riryoku! By doing this, I can target your monster and one of mine, half one's attack, and add it to the other! And since the only monster on the field is yourself, Kaio, I'll target you!" He says, pointing to the large shadow.

~What?!~

*The indicators for Kaio's and Erebus' attack points begin to scroll wildly, inverting the numbers completely. Erebus' counter now reads 54,000.*

"But I'm not done yet! Now, I'll activate my other spell card! I've been saving this one for when it really counts, so now's as good a time as any! It may be old, but it'll get the job done! I activate Megamorph on Malefic Paradox Dragon! Erebus, I hope you like your new form now that it's getting a supercharge!"

*Erebus roars loudly as his attack point indicator doubles, increasing to 108,000.*

"Normally, this would only apply to original attack. But since you can bend the rules, Crown found a way so that I could too!"

~Argh, you little pest! I'm getting sick of this game! I activate my trap card, Orichalcos Counter Seal! When you activate a card that targets one monster on the field, I can activate this card and negate it, destroying a monster you control!~

"Not so fast, Kaio! You forget my own facedown! Thanks to Crown, I have some original cards of my own! I activate my counter-trap, Malefic Hyperjump! This card allows me to change the target of one of your cards! And I choose Malefic Rainbow Dragon!"

*Malefic Rainbow Dragon disappears in a flurry of bright shards of light.*

"Now, since that's been taken care of, to make sure you don't do anything else like that, I'll activate another one of my traps! Royal Decree! You won't be able to activate any more traps as long as this card is on the field!"

Good thing for Crown's Malefic World program. Without it, and my field spell Malefic World, this wouldn't have been remotely possible, Ezekeil thinks to himself.

"Now, let's end this thing! Erebus!"

-Right!-

"Attack Kaio with Paradox Collapse! Go!"

*Erebus fires a massive beam of energy at the shadowy figure of Kaio.*

"For everything that has been, is, and ever will be! Go!"

*The beam makes contact with Kaio, and an unearthly howl is heard as his being itself collapses in on itself.*

"Nature has a way of resolving its paradoxes. Sometimes it just needs a little help from technology! Erebus, finish him! Malefic Rift!"

*A massive shriek is heard as the air itself tears itself apart, and the shadowy figure of Kaio is sucked into the void. After the wind calms down, the life point counters finally appear. Ezekeil's counter reads 150. Kaio's counter reads 0. Ezekeil stands there, looking drained and exhausted. Erebus appears again, back in his normal form.*

"We won..."

*The hologram changes back to the image of Earth, but this time as it appears today. It zooms in, showing the island.*

"We defeated Kaio. But we know that he's coming back. And he won't be happy. And that day is the day where the universe begins to die."

-Which is why you are here.-

"Cinque. I don't know how much you remember. But I brought you with me the first time we went to the future. We hid in stasis for many hundreds of years before emerging to the inhabitants. But you ended up getting involved in the fight that ensued about a month later, as did I. However, your soul was taken from you. I got it back, as well as your body, but it was... difficult. Your memory was fragmented. However, if what Erebus is telling me is true, every time you gain a Number, it reassembles itself a little bit more. This could be due to the power of the Numbers themselves."

-We want to make sure you can get it back. So we're willing to use our own Numbers to fix it if we have to. They're willing to give up their powers to help someone who isn't their owner, which is a taxing feat.-

"So, knowing what you now know, what do you say? Wanna help us out again?"

-And you, Leon. You know now too. You can choose to leave now and ignore all that you've heard here. In fact, you'll outright forget it. The duel disk will be on the table where you exit. Feel free to take it. Or, you can help us next time we head to the future.-

"We can't face Kaio alone. There's strength in numbers. We need as many people as we can get."

-No pun intended, of course.-

*Ezekeil smiles at Erebus' comment.*

Character John/Lokos

John was standing in the darkest corner of the room and watching the same hologram all others did.

'Well damn. I never thought such an powers existed...' John thought.

You never thought?! What about me? I am not just an normal alter ego or something? Without me you wouldn't even been able to get in this room! John was able to hear Lokos's angry voice in his head.

'Well yeah but you are nothing special...' John thought his answer.

"Nothing special?! Thats it I am taking over!" After that John could feel losing control over his body and little by little he became an little image in someone's mind. Lokos's mind. Nothing really had changed in his looks except that now Lokos had red eyes.

Lokos slowly waled  till he got in the group and said

"And all you want us to do is to lose our numbers? That is not really fun you know..." He grinned while looking in Ezekeil's eyes.

"Well hello... Lokos. Yes, I know who you are."

-Seems like more and more people are finding their way down here.-

"Well, Lokos, and John. And Faervel too. What do you all think? I extend you the same offer. After seeing what you have seen, you may or may not be happy about the world ending. But know this. Its death will be slow, painful, and cold. Why else would I be going through so much effort to stop something that happens years after we're all dead? Well, some of us. I know a few of the people in here are near-immortal. So tell me, do you want to experience the worst and longest death the universe has ever known? Or will you help me to stop Kaio before he comes back?"

-And as for the Numbers...-

"We need them all in one place, under one owner. We need their power to track down a certain someone. I mentioned him in the hologram. Crown. His program is the only thing that let me defeat Kaio last time. I'll need it again. We all will. Because it's going to take all of us to stop him for good."

Dante, seeing as he had gotten no answer from the person he challenged, decided to move. He heard about the elevator and decided to follow the path inward. He didn't hear anything until he walked into the elevator, where Drago and Heart appeared.

"This really isn't a smart idea," Drago said. "Do we really want to know about this 'truth' that Ezekiel is talking about?"

As the elevator moved, Dante replied, "Well, I'm a curious cat, Jiminy. I have to know."

Once the elevator made it to the designated floor, Dante stepped out with his two cards floating behind him in time to hear the man named Lokos say, "... All you want us to do is lose our numbers? That's not really fun you know..."

Dante, hearing this, stood back a minute while he listened to the rest of the story. After hearing the bit about Kaio coming back, Dante spoke up when Ezekiel was done.

"Alright, Zeke," Dante said, "I didn't hear all of this but I heard enough. I'll help, but I'll only help if I get to help on my own terms. I've grown quite fond of Jiminy and I'm not going to give him up easy."

Drago smiled proudly but Heart spoke up, saying, "Oh, so I'm not important now?"

"Well I can survive without a sex drive, Heart, but I can't survive without a conscience."

Cinquième watched in awe as the holographic images appeared showing the many counts of stars through and how the diminished through time. As Ezekiel zoomed in on the single star and then onto the third planet calling it Earth he gasped slightly before calling out "Cinq: GUYS WE MADE IT TO NAR-!" quickly before he could finish his sentence Seraph had covered his mouth "102: Its not Narnia." Cinquième was slightly depressed but continued to listen, soon the part about himself had been spoken which really caught his ever wavering attention "Cinq: So im from the future. No wonder no one gets my style." Seraph then slapped him really quickly "102: He said you were from this time, and no one gets your style because your crazy." Masquerade then looked back at Seraph and Cinquième with a more death like glare "104: Guys shut it im trying to listen." after that menacing glare Masquerade then looked beck towards Ezekiel as he continued to listen. The hologram then changed to the laboratory like area, Cinquième leaned over to Seraph and whispered into his ear "Cinq: Is this Narnia?" Seraph then looked at him with a menacing glare of his own "102: There is no such thing as Narnia." Cinquième then gasped screaming a bit "Cinq: NARNIA ISN'T REAL!?" Masquerade quickly turned around and grabbed Cinquième forcing him to stand right next to himself like a parent would a disobedient child. The hologram continued and the battle music begun to play, quickly Cinquième looked to Masquerade "Cinq: We need battle music to, it would be awesome~" Masquerade ignored the comment and continued to listen. Then during the duel as 'Malefic Rainbow Dragon' appeared Cinquième called out "Cinq: LOOK A FRIENDLY DRAGON!" Masquerade had then turned to Cinquième sighing a bit "104: I told you, dragons arnt always friendly." Cinquième then pointed up to the hologram turning Masquerade's head as Rainbow Dragon took the hit for Erebus "Cinq: I rest my case." Masquerade then turned his head back "104: Your a moron you know that?" Cinquième just smiled cheerfully "Cinq: But this moron was right!" This was the last of the conversation between then until the point where Ezekiel was asking for help and having many people come to help. Cinquième then answered just like the others "Cinq: As long as i get some battle music im in." the answer may have been weird but it was common because the last time he had agreed to help Ezekiel out he gave that exact same answer showing it was his heart speaking and not his messed up mind, both Numbers knew he was speaking from his heart at this time so they didn't scold him any. Masquerade then looked towards Ezekiel to talk "104: Well it seams the other numbers are responding to the courage and willingness to help others in need that is in his heart. But this also leads me to my question of us 'Numbers'. We were not always here, we were actually created not to long ago, about two years to be exact. Now continuing on when Cinquième here was heading to fight Matt he had actually ran through the two spirits of the numbers Dante had 53 and 46, afterwards he receive a large shock to his system and it seamed to have caused him to regain his sanity because he dueled like a pro, way better than any of my previous owners over these past two years. Then there was when he brought 102 to us, it was like his spirit reaching out to reclaim something that was lost. So i think that like you and Erebus the Numbers and Cinquième have a deep connection. Furthermore i think you two coming back is what made us Numbers. It would make sense seeing as how we have the connection with him and were made at the same time, i could also theorize that us numbers used the base of his memories(and sanity) to make ourselves during that rift in time because i do have some deep memories that aren't mine about a dark forest covered with petrified trees and the building of a frozen duel disk. I mean we were probably aided by a third outside force, probably the same force that allowed me to evolve into a Chaos form. So my question is, could us numbers actually be made due to you two travailing back in time? Also could we have been made from pieces of Cinquième's memory(and sanity)? It would make sense and all with the connection, and how after passing through Drago and Heart combined with a binding shock caused him to become temporally sane." Cinquième then looked over to Seraph "Cinq: Did you get that?" "102: I got the gist of it."

Last edited by Cinque on Mon Oct 21, 2013 10:47 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Fix some spelling errors.)

"If this shadow creature has been beaten before," remarked Harth, "then it can be beaten again. And by my experience, once something has been beaten it does not get stronger. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger? If I take off your leg, you won't think yourself stronger for it. I see no reason why you should enlist our respective helps, but I shall play along. Let's see how fun this whole thing will turn out to be

In the meantime, I do believe I challenged you to a duel?"

*Ezekeil's face grows very serious.*

"Under normal circumstances, yes. A defeated enemy would grow weaker. But not Kaio. He adapts.  He's had many thousands of years to learn. Every time he is defeated, he goes back into hibernation. When he awakes, he is many times stronger than before."

*He pauses.*

"Masquerade. I believe it is highly possible that the Numbers were created through this event. In fact, all of our data thus far points to it. As to why it happened, I can't say for sure."

*He turns back to Harth.*

"And as for your duel... What better place than here in a room full of hologram projectors? Just remember I have a few... special cards. Something you've probably never seen before. Still wanna face me?" He says expectantly.

Last edited by Ezekeil on Thu Oct 24, 2013 2:36 am; edited 1 time in total

"You haven't even seen ME yet; not properly. The cards you have don't matter; I don't care if there's only 1 in circulation. It's about how they're used. Let's duel."

Harth moved into a stance for dueling, then realised he had no duel disk. He changed form slightly and grew one made of bone from his left arm. To fit the scene, he decided to turn into a full skeleton.

"you are not going anywhere.." faervel says and stands between harth and ezekeil
"we both have lost numbers and we both have the same situation here...so here's the deal you duel me 1st then our winner duels that guy"faervel says and prepares his duel disk...waiting for harth's answer

"I am afraid I don't have a number at present. But if you wish I will duel you anyway; I care not about the order in which I face anyone." Harth bluntly replied.

"Oh, boy! What a surprise!"

*Ezekeil's console slides to the side, with him on its platform still, so that he is positioned on the outside of the ring looking between the two.*

-Let's have some fun then.-

"And... begin!"

*Leon walks closer to Ezekiel as the changeling's confrontation shifts to the vampire.*

"The last thing I want is for the entire world to be wiped out and my immortal body is just floating around for eternity."
-Leon... what are you thinking?-
"Here it is plain and simple; I'll help you gather these Number cards. I really could care less about 'winning' this event. After we use this deck to take care of Kaio. Harness all of the power of the Numbers to destroy me. If Kaio overpowers the Numbers then I guess I'll have to cross my fingers that this Kaio is capable of killing me."
-Very selfless, aren't you?-*Leo said sarcastically with a pinch of disgust*
"We don't have time to argue over such petty things."
-Petty? *Leo roars and Leon stumbles back several steps* The entire human race being wiped out and your concerned about how horrifying it would be if you survived. Petty is a suitable word.-
"Leo..."
Leo was right. I still can feel fear. I hide from society for long periods of time and then I will forget why people have the will to live or the reason to love.
-I'll make sure you die, Leon. It will be my honor.-
"Thank you, Leo."
-Let's get that duel disk and gather some numbers.-
"Wait?"
-For what?-
"I wanted to ask Ezekeil a question."
-What question?-
"I wanted to ask him if Kaio is stronger than the Numbers?"
-You don't want to ask him that because you don't know the answer. You want to ask him that because you want to hear what you already know to be true.-
"You are one smart Number."
-He looks like he has his hands full anyway. Let's head out.-
*Leon fixes his duel disk to his arm*
"This is hideously uncomfortable."
-Wrong arm... Leon.-
"That's better and lighter than it looks. So where do I put my deck?"
-We'll talk and walk.-
*Leon waved at Ezekiel as the elevator ascended them back into the hallway.*
"Ezekiel! We'll be back and we will take care of Kaio no matter what."
*Leon and Leo walk down the hallway. It's still dark and green lights lit up the floor.*

Dante watched the events unfold and was mildly surprised. With Heart and Drago behind him, he suddenly felt a chill and shivered lightly, almost as if something had passed through him. Little did he know that this thing was far worse than he imagined. As he watched the immortal leave and Faervel and the changeling did battle, Dante heard a very faint voice; a voice only he could hear, similar to when Drago first appeared.

"... Power..." said the voice. "... Need more power..."

Dante felt around in his mind, wondering where he heard that voice. He found the source but couldn't see a physical form. "Who are what in the blue ****s of hell do you think you are, trolling around in my mind?" Dante thought to the "spectre" as it looked in his mind.

"Why, I am you..." The voice said. "You want to win this game, don't you? You can't help Ezekiel or your friend Cinque without the Numbers, can you...?"

"Well, not to toot my own horn, but I do know my way around a deck, you know."

The voice merely sneered and said, "Oh really? So that's why you power through your opponents which almost never works without a partner. Am I right?"

Dante chuckled in response. "Hey, it's worked so far. That's how I ended up with Number 53, ya know. But you are right. We do need more of the Numbers to help Cinque get his memory, and sanity for that matter, back."

The voice spoke with a smile in its tone as it said, "Excellent... First, we'll need Heart-eartH Dragon to complete the power of Number 53. Perhaps you can think of a way to acquire it...?"

"Of course," Dante replied. "I can get anything if I try hard enough."

Little did Dante know, this would be something he never expected... He actually needed to learn strategy.

Sorry, Harth. As much as I'd like to have the opportunity to duel you, more pressing matters require my attention.

*Ezekeil waits until nobody is watching him, then turns around an immediately finds himself back in his control center. He looks back again and sees only the door leading out into the hallway from the room.*

"Well, good to know that system works like a charm."

*He reaches over across the console and presses a button, which turns the lights back on in the complex. He then sits in his chair. After about three seconds, he stands up again, anxious. He starts pacing around the room.*

-Something wrong?-

"No, of course not... Yes, yes there is." He's clearly nervous about something.

-You need to get out. You've been in here too long. It's eating away at your mind. Take the helicopter around the island. People seem to follow you, so get them distributed to the other locations. I'll stay here and work on Crown's program.-

*Ezekeil sighs, not wanting to abandon his work but at the same time knowing Erebus is right.*

"Fine. I'll go."

-Alright. Leave the EBS-1 here. I can work faster if I'm plugged directly into the system.-

*Ezekeil reaches underneath the EBS-1, pressing a button that releases the clasps and retracts the cables into it. He places it in a specially-fitted spot on the console, built to hold the EBS-1. He makes sure the cables are attached properly to the console. He reaches up to his earpiece.*

"Check, can you hear me still?"

-I hear you. See you later, Ezekeil. Now seriously, go.-

*Ezekeil heads out of the room to the helipad.*

Masquerade wasn't completely satisfied with the answer he was given but for now it would have to do, he then turned over to Cinquième and Seraph who had begun to duel ageist each other while they were waiting.

Current Standing-
102 LP: 2000
Cinq LP: 3100

It was Seraph's turn and his field looked empty except for one card set on the field, on Cinq's side there were two set cards and a face-up Spell Striker. Seraph, who looked like a golden Cinq at the time, drew his card in a over dramatic way looking at it "102: Well it seams i just got the upper hand." Seraph then raised the card calling out "102: I Summon my Pahunder in attack mode." as e threw the card on his disk the projector lit up and Pahunder appeared with a small box indicating it's attack, defense, and Level. "102: Now i use Pahunder's effect allowing me to normal summon 1 level 4 Light-type Thunder monster in addition to my normal summon..." Pahunder then begins to glow and light up a card in Seraph's hand, he then pulled the card and threw it on the field "102:... I normal summon Batteryman AAA in attack position, and thanks to his ability i can special summon the AAA in my grave." Seraph's grave then lit up and the Batteryman that was resting there came out onto the field. The three monsters then lined up with small circles showing there level, all of them being 4. "102: Now i use my three monsters to build the overlay network..." the three monsters then became balls of flashing light and plunged into the spiraling vortex that was the overlay network "102: ....I exceed summon myself Number 102: Star Seraph Sentry!" his monster manifestation the arose from the vortex with three balls of light circling around it and a small box showing its Attack, Defense, and Rank. "102: Now i detach 1 overlay unit to activate his effect..." then one of the overlay units enters Star Seraph's hand forming an arrow of light "102:....I can target 1 monster you control and negate its effects along with halving its attack, and i choose your Spell Striker." the monster Seraph then loaded the arrow onto its bow and aimed at Spell Striker, then released the arrow sending it flying at Spell Striker. As the arrow pierced through the monster it box came up showing its attack halved. "102: Now I attack your spell striker, go 'Star Piercing Arrow'.." the monster Seraph then pulled back a new arrow and fired it at Spell Striker, the arrow pierced through the other monster and headed strait for Cinq "102: ..and since its effects were negated you still take damage" the arrow then pierced through Cinq causing him to step back a bit as his life points dropped to 900. "102: and with that i end. Looks like your about to lose."

102 LP: 2000
Cinq LP: 900

Cinquième then drew his card in an over dramatic way "Cinq: We will see, my turn draw." after confirming it wasn't a certain card he just added the card into his hand already knowing it wasn't going to be needed "Cinq: I'll Start my turn by activating my set Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your set card" a huge gust of wind then left Cinquième's card flipping Seraph's destroying it. "Cinq: Next i normal summon my Madolche Mewfeuille, which in turn lets me special summon my Modolche Hootcake." he threw the two monsters onto the field ad they appeared with little boxes showing Attack, Defense, and Level. "Cinq: Now i use Hootcake's ability to banish the Spell Striker in my grave and Special Summon 1 Madolche from my deck, so i special summon my Madolche Messengelato." Hootcake then glows sending Spell Striker out of the graveyard then cause Massengelato to come out of the deck in a flash of light "Cinq: Now for Messengelato's ability, since he was special summoned while there is a Madolche Beast monster on the field i can add 1 Madolche Spell or Trap to my hand..." he then holds his hand out to the side as rays of light shot from his deck to his hand forming a card "Cinq:..and im going to activate it strait up, go Madolche Chateau." he places the card in the field zone causing the area around to change into the field. "Cinq: Now all my Madolche monsters in the grave return to my deck." the grave then lights up and the Madolche flew out of the grave and into the deck, the deck then shuffled. "Cinq: Now i overlay my Level 3 Mew and Level 3 Hoot and build the overlay network..." the two monsters then became balls of light and plunged into the spiraling vortex "Cinq:...and with that i Exceed Summon M-X-Saber Invoker!" the monster then arose from the network with two spheres circling around it. "Cinq: Now i use Invoker's ability to special summon another Messengelato in defense position." as the unit disappeared into invoker Cinquième's deck lit up shooting a beam of light out, and form that beam Messangelato appeared. "Cinq: Now i overlay my two level 4 Messengelatos to build the overlay network and Exceed summon...." the two monster then followed the path of the previous ones and went into the spiraling vortex "Cinq: ....Come forth Madolche Queen Tiaramisu" the queen then arose from the vortex with two spheres circling it like a neutron. "Cinq: Now i use Tiramisu's effect, by detaching one overlay unit i can return up to two Madolche monsters in my grave to my deck..." his grave begins to light up as two monsters were sent from his grave to his deck "Cinq:...now i can return up to the same amount of card from your field to your deck, so cya 102." Cinquième waves as 102 and the face down lit up and returned to the deck. "Cinq: Now Madolche Queen Tiramisu attack his life points directly!" the queen then hopped forward attacking Seraph causing his LP meter to drop to 0 and the holograms begun to fade away "Cinq: Yes i WIN! Now you have to accept that Narnia exists!"

Masquerade watched the ending of the duel quite pleased with Cinquième, but that satisfaction was quickly removed when he learned what they were dueling over. Masquerade the went over and started dragging Cinquième and Seraph onto the elevator "104: Cinq you cant make something real by wining a duel, and Seraph i think Matt was rubbing off on you because that was just pitiful you could have done way better." Masquerade then pressed the button that would send them to the Helipad "104: Now lets go see if Ezekiel will let us ride the helicopter." "Cinq: YAY HELICOPTER RIDE~!" "102: But i hate heights." the elevator doors then shut and it began heading up.

*Ezekeil is about to get inside the cockpit of the helicopter when the doors behind him open up, revealing Cinque to be standing in the elevator.*

"Well, I suppose if you still want that helicopter ride, now's the time."

"Can I just duel someone already?"

Harth was clearly irritated. He morphed once again into the form of a dragon and let out a loud roar.

As Dante watched Ezekiel leave, Dante figured now was as good a time as any to get that number. He turned back to the elevator and stepped inside but stopped when the doors closed. He then looked to the spectre in his mind and said, "Where do I go now? I don't think I even know that."

"Why of course you do," it replied. "They're on the fourth floor, remember?"

"Oh yeah. 4th floor." Dante pressed the button to go to the 4th floor and, while he waited for the elevator to move, he continued his conversation with "himself."

"So, let's see... Where are those cards... Ay yes. They're behind a wall in a special vault room. It's got a large vault door on it that is rigged to the security system.

"Great. Looks like we aren't just going to walk in and take it."

"Hmmm... What's another plan?"

[i]"I could do that vent shaft thingy. That always seems to work in the movies."

As the elevator dinged, Dante stepped out of the elevator to see a hallway with polished floors and...

...


...


...


...


...

Nothing. Not a single thing on the walls, the floors were a polished metal, and not a single door on the whole floor.

"Well, sh*t. This sucks." Dante then began to feel his way down the hallway, being careful not to slip on the metallic floors. Not that he would; his shoes were slip-resistant but nobody knows if there could be a banana peel that nobody saw or something. As he ran his hand along the wall though, he felt a small area buckle beneath his touch. Dante stopped and said, "Oh, lookie here... What's this button do?" Pressing on the panel, the wall slid away, revealing the large metal door to the vault the cards were in. "Bingo."

Dante then looked above him and, sure enough, a vent opening was there. Using his half-demon body, he leaped up and grabbed the grate to the vent, pulling it down to the floor. He then jumped again, slipping inside the ventilation and landing with just enough room to crouch. He then followed the ventilation shaft to the direction of the room. Now, normally, nobody thinks to put security in the vents because, let's face it, when you walk in those things, it sounds like Thor is trying to come in. Hence, why he waited for Ezekiel to leave.

Dante wandered upon a vent opening and peered down, sticking Ivory between the bars to use as a mirror. Seeing the vault's interior, he knew he was where he needed to be. Kicking downward, the vent opening gave way and he fell to the floor inside, landing on one knee like Neo from The Matrix. "Landing: 10's across the board."

Satisfied with the result, Dante looked at the interior. It was set up similar to a safe deposit box room, with each of the drawers numbered. Now, of course not all of the drawers had locks on them. The ones that were unlocked were all of the numbers in circulation. He then looked around the room, going number by number, counting aloud to himself. "88... 89... 90... 91............. A-ha! There you are. Number 92."

Pulling Ebony out once more, he attached a suppressor to the barrel and shot the lock, the suppressor also cutting down on the ricochet. After the bullet bounced off two walls, it stopped completely, falling to the floor and laying there. He picked up the bullet and put it in his pocket, making sure to grab the shell casing as well. "No trace left behind... Except the gaping hole in the box where the lock used to be."

Pulling out the box, he opened the container and there was the card he was looking for. Number 92: Heart-eartH Dragon.

Good... Now my body and mind are together again... The spectre thought to itself, shielding its own thoughts from Dante. Now to slowly turn this man in to my puppet...

Exiting the room the way he came, he then hopped on the elevator and asked "himself", So, why did we need this card again?

"Oh yeah. Heart-Earth isn't really useable without this too." And with a silent chuckle, the spectre said to himself, And he'll have no idea I'm controlling him, either...

(Note: This is a planned event. This card will NOT be used in the tournament by me, however it is out of the competition.)

Cinquième eagerly jumped up off of the elevator floor grabbing both Seraph's and Masquerade's hands dragging them along with him into the Helicopter "Cinq: Its the whole reason i came here in the first place." "102: But i hate heights..." "104: Suck it up and deal with it we have to follow him where ever he goes."

*Ezekeil climbed into the cockpit and closed the door behind him. He turned on the engines and throttled up, causing the rotors to spin faster and faster. Eventually, the helicopter lifts off the ground.*

"Next stop, the forest."

*The helicopter rapidly disappears into the distance.*

Dante, now feeling accomplished, decided it was time to go hunting again. Drago appeared behind him as he exited the complex and asked while giving Dante the stink eye, "And what exactly was THAT you just pulled?"

Dante shrugged and said, "Hey. I needed the other half to this card so it works out for everyone."

"Oh really now? So you decided to steal it. Is that it?"

"Holy jumping Jesus, Jiminy. Get off my back."

"Hmmm..." Drago said, tilting his head and looking forward. He fell silent for some time as he thought to himself, This is not good... He's not acting like himself.

Not caring what Drago did, Dante continued on, deciding to try the Mountains this time.

The power came back on.

"Those people back there; they were all duelists?"
-No, some of them were duel spirits like me.-
"They didn't look too threatening."
-The duel spirits have the ability to personify themselves. Like me.-
"They can take the form of a human."
-No. We still have characteristics of our original form. Like different colored eyes or scales.-
"So you're not in your original form?"
-My original form is printed on the Number Card.-
"I only looked at it a couple times. I don't remember what you look like."
-Does it sound quieter in here?-
"Here is where we entered from. Where is he headed?"
-The mountains are just ahead.-

Leon and Leo - Headed for the Mountains!!

"I'm bored of this. Time to do something noticeable."

Harth seemingly disappeared entirely. However, the grass he was standing on seemed to rapidly change colour through to a dead brown, as all life around it seemed to quickly dissipate. A nearby rabbit fell over dead. Plants, flowers, grass, animals, weeds. They were all dropping dead in a line. But a purposeful line. This was a path from one place to another. A most cruel way of getting from A to B. The complex was A, and B would be quite visible to anyone, based on the trail of dead wildlife Harth had left with him. While it is not how a changeling works to leave parts of themselves behind as they travel, it would still not be advisable to touch the dead bodies. The plague they may carry is fast and deadly, much how Harth wishes to convey himself at present.

*faervel was watching the others leave the complex
"it seems i am alone once again"
he suddenly saw the half-demon that took the53 from him is running to the elevator
"...or not"
he looked the elevator
"1...2...3...4"
then the elevator suddenly stopped
"so its 4th floor isn't it...what are you looking for?"
faervel waited for elevator to come down and then entered it and went to the 4th floor without wasting time
"he has no idea what a dangerous card he's carrying"
...
the elevator stopped
"88... 89... 90... 91............. A-ha! There you are. Number 92."
faervel hided in the hallway as he watched dante entering the elvator with 92 in his hand
"that's not good...you have no idea what you are doing"
he followed dante to the mountains

This place is quiet. I wasn't gone that long, was I?

Leon was quick to notice the missing helicopter.

Ezekiel is gone. No he wouldn't leave. He needs to monitor the security cameras. Wait! That voice from before!

=You need not worry, you two. For what Ezekeil cannot see nor hear on his own, he can through me.=

I thought it was an AI. Maybe an application that sensed spirit matter and sound waves and communicated that information to Ezekiel. I was wrong. Now I am sure that was the voice of his duel spirit. I Ezekiel must trust his duel spirit a lot.

Leon stood outside the complex lost in his thought.

"Duel spirit of Ezekiel! I wish to come inside and speak with you."

Leon knew that there must be a hidden camera and a mic hidden close to him but he wasn't sure if Ezekiel's duel spirit was monitoring them. Only time would tell.

*The area is silent for a period of about five minutes. Then, the intercom crackles to life.*

-I have a name, you know. Well, I suppose you wouldn't have made the connection between it and myself yet though. Regardless, what is it that you want? I can only do so many things at once, and between working on this program and talking to you, I'm using a fair bit of our available CPU space. Needless to say, come inside.-

*The doors slide open silently, powered by hydraulics, and the intercom clicks off again.*

Leon walks inside. He walked down the hall trying to remember the name of Ezekiel's duel spirit.

This place is a maze.

Leon looked to his left to a solid wall. Only hours ago that same wall opened to reveal a secret elevator. Leon continued to walk and came to an unlocked door.

This room is huge. But there is nothing in here. Not that surprising considering this place is new; this room is probably one of many empty rooms waiting to be filled.

Leon looked to the ceiling assuming a camera was facing him from above.

"Hey, uh... Duel Spirit. I wish to know how to get a new deck."

*Erebus speaks again, irritation creeping into his voice.*

-'Duel Spirit'. 'Duel Spirit'. I have a name, boy. It's alright if you forgot it. Just say so. Anyway. A new deck? Why would you need a new deck? What for?-

Leon, still looking at the ceiling, called out to the duel spirit.

"I lost my Number to the guy in the duster. I think his Number was named Jiminy. Duster Guy gave me advice and it was good advice. he said, Your deck was made to work for your Number. You need a deck that will work for you. Something like that. With all honesty, Duel Spirit, I don't think Ezekiel ever told me your name."

There was a slight pause.

"What's your name?"