Italics indicate thinking

Yuki's POV

Things seemed rough, even though we had been winning, or at least it felt that way, we were having more and more problems. Astral was missing and Rio was comatose again, things just seemed generally bleak with Yuma going so far as to lock himself in his room.

"So what are you planning to do?" Luna asked.

"Hmm nothing." I said.

"We're a guide not a babysitter!" Cleo snapped "If he wants to sit and cry then let him work it out on his own."

"Don't stress out about it Luna." I took back over and closed the door as I headed out "I'm sure things will be fine."

I was taking a walk, Luna was also running off to do her own thing.

"Still sitting around here." I found Shark at the hospital.

He didn't turn back to look at me.

"Good talk." I laughed "Don't worry it'll be fine, we can solve it. But she's not what's bothering you I can tell."

He didn't respond.

"Oh, good silent treatment." Cleo rolled her spectral eyes at me "Why not just read his mind?"

"No reason to intrude like that." I thought back.

"Come on let's take a little walk." I told him "You could use some fresh air."

"I don't-."

"You're coming." Cleo took over and started dragging him out "We're going for a ride."

I went outside to my car and threw him in and drove off.

"Look a funk is fine, letting it run your life is really stupid, Rio was already in a state like this once and came out just fine…except for the weird visions thing." I hummed "Hmm, that didn't help."

I drove in mostly silence till we got to the outskirts of town where there was an estate.

"This is the place, you're childhood home." I parked "Now let's go in there and figure out whatever your problem is."

I walked in the front door "Jeez been a while since someone came through here I see."

"Yeah…" Shark looked around.

"Whatever you think you are, you aren't." I commented "You're whatever you want to be."

"How'd you-."

"I know more than you think." I tapped my head before stopping "There's something else here…"

"HYA!" Cleo and I held our hand up, strange tentacles appearing and getting blocked by our multicolor light.

"It's a Barian." Cleo took over and jumped us outside.

"Watch how you speak lowly human." A man in a purple suit with long white hair appeared out of the air.

"HA!" Cleo groaned when something pricked our necks.

"Poison!" I warned.

"I know." She groaned again.

"It's going to destroy your bodies." He told us "Just like it is to that girl."

"Rio!" Shark yelled.

"I heard that she was at the hospital so I stopped by." The Barian explained "Now if you want to cure it you'll have to beat me in a duel. You have no choice!"

"Don't start just yet!" a voice yelled.

"Huh?"

Up on the roof was one of those brothers, the one with the red and yellow hair.

"Quatro?!"

"You are…one of those Vetrix brats." The Barian said.

"Getting stung with poison, you're both pathetic." The boy said.

"Hey I just used my powers to protect us inside!" I yelled.

"Insolent little runt!" Cleo yelled as well.

"What are you even doing here?" Shark asked.

"I was asked to come." He said.

"I don't need anyone's help!" Shark said.

"I don't care about helping you, but I do care about helping your sister." Quatro explained "Seeing her suffer leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

"I'd like to hurry up and stop this annoying aching." I said.

"My blessings should expel the poison soon, but the same isn't true for Shark and Rio, we need to hurry up and win."

"If you two boys are done arguing we can begin." Cleopatra glared.

"Though there is one more condition." The Barian said "Since I'm at such a disadvantage my life points will be raised as such to 10,000, you will each have 2000.

"So he's stealing our life points too." Cleo groaned "Fine we'll win regardless."

The Barian took on his true form, that of a jellyfish like humanoid.

"DUEL!" Cleo glared as her Gazer attached.

"I'll go first." Shark drew "I summon Saber Shark!"

Saber Shark- LVL4/ATK 1600/DEF 1200

"And I set one facedown card." He nodded.

"My turn then." Cleo drew "I summon Evilswarm Kerykeion!"

Evilswarm Kerykeion- LVL4/ATK 1600/DEF 1550

"Then I'll activate it's effect which allows me to normal summon another Lswarm monster this turn." Cleo said "Evilswarm Azzathoth!"

Evilswarm Azzathoth- LVL4/ATK 750/DEF 1950

"Then I overlay both monsters and XYZ summon Evilswarm Thanatos!"

Evilswarm Thanatos- RANK4/ ATK 2350/ DEF 1350/ OVRL 2

"I lay a facedown and end my turn." She said.

The Barian, Chironex, went next and quickly summoned a Number, Number 4 Stealth Kragen.

Number 4: Stealth Kragen- RANK 4/ATK 1900/ DEF 1500/ OVRL 2

"Now I use it's ability to destroy Saber Shark and inflict the ATK points it has to you as damage."

Shark- 2000 to 400

"I set a card and end my turn." He said.

I looked over and nodded, Quatro quickly summoned his own XYZ card, Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder.

Number 15: Gimmick Puppet Giant Grinder- RANK 8/ATK 1500/DEF 2500/OVRL 2

"By detaching an overlay unit this card destroys all other XYZ monsters on the field and inflicts damage to the controller equal to their attack!" he said.

Giant Grinder- OVRL 2-1

"You'll wipe out your own side." He said.

"I also detach an overlay unit!" Cleo snapped "Once per turn during either players turn I can detach an overlay unit from Thanatos and it becomes unaffected by other monster effects!"

With our monster safe Stealth Kragen was ripped apart and Chironex dealt damage.

Chironex- 10000 to 8100

"Stealth Kragen's second effect activates and I summon Kragen Spawn from my extra deck equal to the number of overlay units Stealth Kragen had, and then divide the units among them!"

Kragen Spawn- RANK 4/ATK 1900/DEF 1500/ OVRL 1

"You get two copies of the last monster?!" Cleo snapped.

"I use my effect again!" Quatro said

Giant Grinder- OVRL 1-0

Chironex- 8100 to 4300

Of course the Barian wasn't done and their effects resummons Stealth Kragen and another spawn.

Kragen Spawn- RANK 4/ATK 1900/DEF 1500/ OVRL 1

Number 4: Stealth Kragen- RANK 4/ATK 1900/ DEF 1500/ OVRL 2

Shark went next after Quatro set a card, he tried to play a monster face down but it was forcibly flipped into face up defense mode by our opponent.

Skull Kraken- LVL 3/ ATK 600/ DEF 1600

"My turn then." Cleo drew "I set a card and attack Kragen Spawn!"

Chironex- 4300 to 3850

Of course the spawn came right back and Cleo ended her turn setting a card.

After that our opponent played a spell that changed all our monsters to water types so he could use the effect of Stealth Kragen to destroy them, Cleo quickly used the second overlay on Thanatos to protect it while Quatro lost his giant Grinder and most of his lifepoints but managed to protect Shark's monster from Kragen Spawn

Evilswarm Thanatos- OVRL 1-0

Quatro- 2000 to 500

We never even had to attack again Quatro and Shark combined their skills to get more monsters on the field, including number 73: Abyss Splash and with it's effect ballooned it's attack to such a degree our opponent was felled in one blow.

He soon vanished, but not before planting more doubt in Shark's heart.

"I don't know if this trip made things better or worse." I sighed.

"We eliminated another Barian causing trouble, at least there's that."

AN

Thank you for reading. Feedback is appreciated. Feel free to message me any questions or concerns.

Pick up- EP 116

Till Next Time!