A,N: Here is the next chapter. Hope you like it. A little warning, I believe it is rather emotional, so maybe a good idea to bring tissues. (my opinion!) Oh and if you are wondering about some of the moves in the duel, then it is because I needed it to fit the story. Hope you understand though and still think it is an interesting duel. Please comment on what you think. I would like feedback.

Yuma's p.o.v.

Yuma was standing in the arena and was looking up at the platform Zaira and Shark was dueling at. They were pretty high up. Yuma was a little annoyed he couldn't see the duel at a little closer range. He had to rely on the video feeds and Gazer. He sighed deeply. Astral was floating beside him and was looking as gloomy as ever. Yuma did notice however that he was having a worried look on his face. His gaze was focused on the platform all the time. Yuma sighed deeply. He knew Zaira was Astral's best friend in Astral world, so it made sense he was worried about her.

"Astral, just relax" he then said and tried calming down the ghost "Zaira is gonna return to us. I am sure about that". Astral turned his gaze towards him.

"I do not doubt that" he then said "Shark will do everything in his power to make her go back to her usual self. However I do feel rather uneasy".

"Oh why is that?" Yuma questioned. Astral sighed deeply.

"It's just how Vetrix manage to get Zaira on his side. It concerns me" the ghost then replied " Zaira never was keen on vengeance when she was with us, so why? Why is she keen on it now? Furthermore I feel there is something I should know. A memory so to speak". Yuma looked really puzzled at Astral now.

"What do you mean? What memory? Is that one of the fragments the numbers has?" He then asked. Astral hummed a little.

"I have no way of knowing. The memory eludes me" he then said and sighed "I just have this bad feeling. That and I am rather embarrassed Yuma".

"Embarrassed? Why in the world are you embarrassed Astral?" Yuma questioned surprised. Astral sighed deeply and looked at him with sad eyes.

"Zaira. She is my best friend, but I have no info on her past" he then said "She was not with me, when you opened the door, but shouldn't she have been with me? She is my protector? She instead got sent to that orphanage and suffered greatly. What friend am I? I should have helped her more". Yuma looked perplexed at Astral. He really was sad. More sad than he usually was.

"Ah cheer up Astral" Yuma then said. He tried reassuring the ghost that everything was going to be alright in the end "Shark will save her. If he doesn't manage, then we have to try, and you know me. I never give up. I will bring Zaira back to us. That's a promise!". Astral smiled a tiny smile, but he was still worried.

"Hey, if it makes you feel better, I will activate the speaker function in the gazer" Yuma then said and smiled "You know the one Shark and I implanted in each other's gazer's. That makes me able to listen to what Shark and Zaira are talking about. I can repeat it for you, then you can get some info on what's going on with Zaira".

"I will really appreciate it Yuma" Astral then said. He looked more happier now.

"Don't sweat it. What are friends for" Yuma replied and grinned. He activated that function in the gazer, and began giving Astral small comments on the duel and conversation. It was going pretty well. That until Yuma suddenly stopped up.

"Yuma? Something wrong?" Astral then questioned. Yuma looked up at the ghost.

"It's Shark's statement" he then said slowly. "He says.. He says there are two Zaira's".

Normal p.o.v.

Things was really heating up during the WDC. The people at the tribute was all fired up. They were watching the duel with eagerness. However sadly they didn't know what was truly going on here. With the war around the numbers, and Vetrix vengeance against Dr. Faker. Which properly was a good thing. People would properly ask many questions or panic. At the Tsukumo residence things were just as clueless the rest of the people. Yuma had lied to his sister and Grandma, not something he was proud off of course, and told them Zaira was at Shark's place before the tournament. Something with that she was hanging out with him for the time being. He just couldn't bring himself to tell them what was really going on. Grandma Haru had believed him. After all why should Yuma lie. That just made the boy more uncomfortable though. Right now Grandma Haru and Kairi was sitting on the couch in the living room and watching the carnival on the tv screen. They were pretty interested in the outcome.

"That boy Shark is not half bad" Haru said and smiled "He is keeping up with Zaira".

"I really can't see what you see in this boy grandma" Kairi complained "He is a delinquent. He is clearly not good company for Zaira at all. Actually I know he isn't, he had been in a gang for goodness sake". At that Haru actually chuckled.

"So has Zaira" she then replied. "There is really not much difference".

"Geez Grandma, why are you away protecting him?" Kairi sneered and leaned her arm at the armrest "He is nothing but trouble. I can see him dragging Zaira with him into all kind of mess". Haru hummed a little.

"Shark alias Reginald is a good boy Kairi. A little prideful, but so are our Zaira" she then replied "Secondly Zaira is happy around him. She is really smiling".

"Oh yeah she is happy now" growled Kairi "But the day that boy breaks her heart, she won't be. She will be all sad instead". Haru lifted an eyebrow.

"I don't believe we are talking about Zaira any longer my dear" she then said and looked at her grandchild "Aren't you seeing passed him, to your old boyfriend Cha..".

"Don't you dare say his name!" Kairi sneered "Charlie can stay away for all I care. That lousy idiot of a jerk..". She began mumbling a lot of other stuff. Grandma Haru only smiled at her. They looked at the television screen now.

"Have I ever told you the fable about 'the wolf and Shark'" Haru then said. "It's an old story my mother told me once". Kairi looked over at her.

"Hmm no, I actually never heard of it" Kairi then said and wondered why her grandma was telling her about it now. Haru smiled a little.

"Well then listen. I believe you will find it very interesting" she then said and began telling "Once upon a time..".

"Once upon a time there was a Shark. A proud Shark who was the best predator in the wide blue ocean. Every other of its flock, looked up to it, but that Shark really didn't care. It was not interested in others opinion or was interested in any other fame. It only lived for the thrill of the hunt. One day when it rose to the surface looking for a new prey, it noticed a beautiful female wolf at the shore, and the Shark was thinking to itself 'that here was a prey worthy of defeating. It would make a nice meal too'. Sadly there was just one little problem. The shark lived in the ocean! The wolf was living on the land. The Shark couldn't leave the sea. Not unless he wanted to be stranded on shore for the rest of the life. The Shark began to think. He was a rather patient shark. After all you couldn't be the best predator for nothing. So it decided to wait. Sooner or later the wolf would get close to the ocean, and then it would strike.

Or so it believed. The Shark hadn't counted on that the wolf wouldn't drink from the ocean, because it was rather salty. It truly believed that if it was patient enough, the wolf lady there would sooner or later be its prey. So it waited. And waited and waited. Every day it swam up to the surface to watch the wolf, believing that today was the day, that the wolf would fall into the ocean and became its prey. However days became weeks, and weeks became months. The Shark still swam to the surface to get a glimpse of this beautiful wolf. What it hadn't realized was that it slowly, very slowly, had begun falling in love with the wolf. In its head it still believed that the wolf was its prey.

The female wolf had no idea that it was watched of course. It was just having a great time every day by enjoying life to the fullest, and be as kind as it could be. Sadly the other wolves in its tribe, especially the other females, was jealous of this beautiful female, and decided to do something about it. They confronted her and in the end they wanted to get rid of her. Since the Wolf couldn't swim, they all decided to drive her out in the deeps of the ocean. They wanted to see her either drown or eaten by the predators of the sea. They didn't care what. They just wanted her gone. However the Shark, who has been watching of course, didn't like this at all. He didn't want her to die just yet. So in the end he decided to save her. He tossed the wolf up at the shore, after scaring the other wolves away, and a beautiful friendship blossomed..".

"That is how the story ends" Haru then ended and smiled a little.

"That's a stupid ending Grandma" Kairi then said and snort "I mean the wolf should at least recognize the Shark's feelings. Why end it only with a friendship?".

"I wondered that myself, when I was young" Haru said and chuckled "And I believe it is because of creativity. After all you can create your own ending". Kairi hummed.

"Hmm however I feel a little nostalgic" she then said. Then her eyes widened. "Wait a Shark and Wolf. You don't think that story fits on Zaira and Shark do you?". Haru grinned a little. Then she nodded eagerly.

"That's exactly what I think" she then replied with a smirk "First time I meet Reginald, I noticed his eyes. I know he would never admit it to himself, but already there I believe he was hiding some emotions. He had fallen for her already there. That is the reason I defend him so much Kairi". Kairi hummed once again.

"Oh so just like the fable, a friendship blossomed eh" she then said "And he loves her? Do you believe the wolf alias Zaira would return his feelings?".

"Well that is something they have to clear themselves" Haru replied and looked at the television "But we can always hope".

The other Zaira's p.o.v.

Zaira sneered in annoying's while staring down Shark in this duel. She clenched her hands a little. How dare he say I am not Zaira! I am Zaira! However she was a little impressed that Shark had figured out, they were actually, for the moment, two souls in here. She might be in charge of the real Zaira's body at the moment, but she didn't believe for a second, that Her Zaira would end up in charge sooner or later. She was hoping for it! However not before she had made her truly happy. She wanted Her Zaira to be happy. It was for that reason she was disposing off everyone. Everyone who hurt her in the past. They were all gonna pay! Right now the other Zaira was sitting on a cliff edge inside their shared soul. She had created it with her own power of darkness Vetrix had given her. From there she was looking out on everything that happened around her now. The duel with Shark. The people on the tribunes. Well everything Zaira could see with her own eyes actually. Groans could be heard a little away and this dark girl turned towards it. Below her was the real Zaira and Cy lying. The groaning sounds the girl could hear, was coming from Zaira. The dark girl tsk a little. She was not supposed to wake up just now. She had even placed an invisible barrier around the two of them. They were not supposed to wake up yet. Not before she was done with her job. The other Zaira snort. Maybe she had to strengthen the barrier a little? She jumped down from the cliff and landed gracefully down at the ground just beside Cy and Zaira. The girl frowned a little. Since her last visit down here, Cy had moved a little bit. He had moved himself and Zaira just a little, so she was wasn't hugging Cy's neck, but having her hands at Cy's chest. Cy was having a warm protective paw around her to keep her warm. It was easy to see that the number was trying to make it more comfortable for its mistress. The other Zaira rolled her eyes. As long as Zaira stayed here, she had no objections. Zaira groaned a little again. She moved around on the warm fur from Cy, and her eyes slowly opened. She still looked rather sleepy though. The other Zaira's eyes narrowed.

"I was sure.. I heard someone call my name" she then said in a low sleepy voice. "A boy's voice. He was saying I should wake up..". The other Zaira quickly kneeling down and grabbed her hand a little.

"You must have been imagining this Zaira" she then said in a sweet voice. "I don't hear anything. Just lie down and rest a little more. You look really tired".

"Hm yeah" Zaira mumbled slowly and yawned "I am tired. Goodnight!". Then she placed herself at the fur again, and soon she fall asleep. The other Zaira let out a relieved sigh. She didn't mind Zaira waking up, but she wanted to take care of things first so she could be truly happy.

"You will never make my mistress truly happy" a voice then suddenly said and the other Zaira turned quickly towards it. She found Cy looking at her. He had lifted his head a little and was staring at her. The other Zaira frowned.

"Oh and why is that Cy?" she then questioned.

"By the way you are going, you are only making my mistress unhappy" He replied and sighed "You would know that, if you really are part of her".

"Ahr what do you know?!" the other Zaira sneered out "You are just a number card. You are just saying that, because you want to take over Zaira's soul!".

"Hmf Believe whatever you want girl" Cy then said and sighed "I have no say in the matter. But please hear my advice. Don't listen to the boy with the mask. If you truly care about Mistress Zaira, then don't trust him". The other Zaira was about to ask what he meant, when she could hear a voice talk. It was coming from the duel field.

"Aero Shark, attack her beast wolf now!". The other Zaira notice how Shark was about to attack her and snort in annoying's.

"We will talk about this later. I have a duel to win".

Shark's p.o.v.

"Submersible carrier Aero Shark attack her beast wolf now" Shark yelled and hoped once again that this blow would wake up Zaira. Come on Miss stubborn. You are stronger than this. Don't let her control you! I hope this will wake you up!

"I activate my trap 'Wokabu'" Zaira then counters. "I will take no damage and my monsters will be safe". Shark sneered in annoying's. So much for waking her up.

"Fine, I throw down a face down and end my turn" Shark then grumbled, then yelled "But don't even think one second, that I will give up. Do you hear me Miss Stubborn? Don't let them win! Just wake up already!". He could hear Zaira tsk.

"She will never wake up Shark boy" she then said "Zaira and I are one spirit. We belong together forever and ever. That you can never change".

"Oh we will see about that!" Shark sneered "She will wake up. She is one of the fiercest wolves out there. No one is tougher than her. She will never bow down to you or Vetrix, or anyone for that matter. Do you hear me Zaira?!".

"Stop shouting!" Zaira sneered angry "Are you trying to make me mad? Zaira and I are one of the same. She doesn't want anything to do with you. She is mine!".

"No she isn't. She is no one's. She deserves to be free" Shark sneered "So give me her! Give My Zaira back to me! If not I will take her back by force!".

"Your Zaira?! Taking her back?!" Zaira yelled rather pissed "You will not touch one hair on her head. Prepare to be annihilated. I draw!". Zaira drew and summoned "Wolf" to the field. Shark eyes narrowed. She has three level 4 monsters on the field. Is she gonna XYZ summon? If so, to what? Cyclone beast chaos wolf? Bring it!

"You really pissed me off now" Zaira then sneered "I was going to show some mercy and end this quickly and summon Cy's chaos form, but I have changed my mind. Now I want you to suffer. Prepare yourself".

She overlaid her three monsters to summon.. Shark was actually a little surprised by that. It was not a Number card, but a plain old Xyz monster, but it looked rather vicious. This was not in the entail of monsters Zaira had used. At least not to his knowledge.

"Presenting 'Flame devil wolf'" Zaira then said and smirked "He is one of my vicious monsters in my extra deck. Zaira only uses it in emergency's. It has kind of an attitude problem".

Shark didn't disagree on that. It really looked vicious with the red/purple fur and horns at top of its head. That and it was surrounded in a weird dark aura. It snort and small flames was also shown in its nostrils. Calm down Shark. Even if it's one of the most nasties monster you have ever seen, it still only had 2500 att points. I would not lose too much damage here. Shark drake can take it out. Just have to survive until my next turn.

"Since it was summoned with beast monsters, your monster loses 1500 att points" Zaira then suddenly said and smirked "That and he has an eff, you should be worried about. By using an Ou, it deals damage equally to half of its attack points". Shark's eyes widened. Wait half of its att points. That's 1200 points of damage. And it has more Ou's. This is not good.

"Oh I am gonna enjoy this" Zaira then said and grinned "It's gonna hurt a lot. Flame damage blaster!".

Then she removed an Ou and a stream of fire blew out from the wolf's mouth. Shark let out a scream when the fire hit and reduced his life points to 2800. Shark fell backwards and hit the ground pretty hard. He groaned in pain. His body still felt like it was on fire, and Shark was sure he had blisters and burn marks on his body now. This is.. this is not normal fire! She deals real damage to me! It's even more worse than in my duel with Quattro.

"Get up Shark boy, I am not done with you yet" he could hear Zaira yell "Or are you surrendering?!". Shark groaned and got up on his feet's.

"Not by a long shot miss stubborn" he then sneered "I don't care how much you hurt me. I will not give up. I will save you Zaira". Zaira snort at that. Then she smirked.

"Good because I still have 2 Ou's left. So let's get to it shall we" she said and removed an Ou. Once again fire hit him..

Shark hit the ground for the third time. He was groaning in a lot of pain. His body was rather warm, and it was almost burning with real fire. Or that was how it felt.

"Is it just me or is it hot in here duel fans? Zaira Wroom hit Reginald with another wave of fire, leaving him with 250 life points" Mr. Heartland then announced "Can Reginald Kastle turn this duel around, or is he out for the count?".

Shark groaned weakly. His eyes was closed and he tried ignoring the sourcing pain who was running through his body. It hurt like hell. Shark sneered inside. To everyone else this duel looked like a normal duel, where he just got some effect damage. However in reality Zaira's wolf gave real damage. Shark figured it had something to do with that dark aura who was around her monster. Shark guessed Vetrix had a finger in play here. A monster shouldn't give that much pain and damage being a hologram. Zaira, I have to.. He tried getting on his feet's, but his body wouldn't really listen.

"Let me end your suffering" he could then hear Zaira say. She sounded rather pleased. "Flame devil wolf, attack his Aero Shark". Shark groaned weakly. No! This is not the end. I have to get up. I have to continue. I haven't told Miss Stubborn how I felt yet. So move! Move your damn annoying body. With all his willpower, he managed to get up.

"I activate a trap 'Defensive draw'. All battle damage turns to 0 this turn and I can draw a card from my deck" he then yelled and gasped a little for air. He drew a card, but sadly Aero shark and it's extra Ou's ended in the grave. Zaira snort and placed a facedown and ended her turn. She looked rather annoyed at Shark.

"You are rather persistent Shark boy. Why don't you just give up? It will spare you for a lot of pain" Zaira then said. At that Shark snort.

"Of course I am and I will continue to be persistent. That until I got you back Zaira" he then yelled and sent Zaira a cold glare. "Are you listening Zaira? Keep listening to my voice. Wake up already and take back your body".

"Shut up!" Zaira then suddenly yelled in reply "You will never have her. Just stop stalling and make your move already".

Shark glared back at her. Either this is working and Miss stubborn can hear my voice, or it's not and I am only making this other Zaira more mad at me. I hope on the first. However there must be a way to reach her. There just has to be. If not I can kiss this duel goodbye. Hmm I need to summon Shark drake, if I have to stand a chance I.. hold on. Shark drake veiss. Zaira and I summoned that together last time. Maybe that will stir up some memories. Well it is worth a shot. Shark drew. He needed 3 level 4 monsters to summon his Number card in the first place.

He drew and started off his move by summoning "Double fin Shark" from his hand. He activated it's eff. He could now summon a lv 3 or 4 fish type monster from his graveyard. Like his Shocktopus. Since he was having a water monster on his field, he could also special summon "Silent angler" from his hand.

"I overlay my 3 monsters to summon 'Nb 32 Shark drake'" Shark then yelled and clenched his hands. He let out a loud scream too. A scream that certainly startled the audience, but Shark didn't care. A purple light of energy appeared around him now.

"I hope you are watching miss stubborn" Shark then yelled "This is a power you shared with me. By combining itself with its overlay units Shark drake can further evolve itself. Go Chaos Xyz evolution. Behold the dreaded chaos number 32 Shark Drake Veiss. This should wake you up Zaira. By using one Ou, I can banish one Shark monster from my grave to weaken your monster. I chose hammer shark. So 1200 att is deducted from your monster".

Zaira's eyes widened. Her monster only had 1300 att now. Shark sneered. He sadly couldn't use that effect again, so Zaira would still have some life points left. However Shark still hoped this blow would wake up Zaira. He attacked with Shark drake Veiss and destroyed Zaira's Flame devil wolf. She was only having 500 life points to her name.

"Zaira!" Shark then yelled as loud as he could and placed down a face down "Wake up! You got to wake up! I know you can hear me. You never been keen on helping Vetrix, so why now? Show me the fierce wolf I befriended!".

Zaira's p.o.v.

Around the same time.

I let out an exhausted groan. I was so tired. I didn't really know why. Just that my body felt rather exhausted and numb. I let out another groan and moved a little around on the warm fur I was lying on. I knew it was Cy's fur. Why I knew that, I had no idea. Maybe because I had touched it so many times, that I knew the difference between Cy's fur and other animal fur? I was not really sure, but I didn't really care. All I cared about was lying here on the fur and making myself comfortable. I let out a exhausted groan again. Why was I actually lying here? Yes I was tired, but I had a feeling I was supposed to be doing something. I was not supposed to be lying here was I? A loud roar could suddenly be heard, and I slowly opened one of my eyes. What was that? I blinked a little. The roar could be heard again. It sounded like some kind of animal actually. My eyes widened. It was a shark! I was sure of it. Then suddenly out of the blue this voice followed. It was a boy's voice and I was sure I had heard it before. It was shouting different things that really didn't make sense.

"Zaira! Wake up! You got to wake up! I know you can hear me. You never been keen on helping Vetrix, so why now? Show me the fierce wolf I befriended!".

I felt rather confused. What was I supposed to wake up from? What fierce wolf did he befriend? But at least I could hear him. Then my eyes widened in surprise. He had mentioned a name. A name I knew and it gave me a terrible headache. Vetrix! Then pictures flashed through my mind. A lot of them, and I knew that was memories. I saw a duel on a lava field. A puppeteer and a shark. I saw a boy. Shark, I now knew. I was standing beside him. Holding his hand while we were summoning a giant white shark to the field. It was Shark drake! Shark drake Veiss. Other pictures followed. My duel with Grace. The darkness and Vetrix. The other Zaira! I felt rather horrified now. I remembered how she had taken control of me. I remembered why I was lying here in the first place. On Cy's chest. I was actually sure I had a pale face now.

"Shark" I said weakly and got up on my feet's.

My legs was tottering around, and I was having a hard time keeping my footing. I tumbled backwards and fell towards the ground. I stretched my hand towards the air. Like I was trying to reach someone. Shark! Then I closed my eyes and waited for the pain to come, when I hit the floor. However it never happened. Instead I could feel a warm breeze around me.

"Mistress be careful. You are not well yet. We both aren't. Please lie down and rest a little bit more" a voice then said and I turned towards it.

I could see Cy lying weakly at the ground, but he had still managed to summon a tiny bit of wind. It made sure I didn't hit the ground. Cy carefully placed me down on the ground. Right beside him actually. I sneered a little.

"But Shark.. Cy.. Shark is calling me" I said in a frustrated tone "I need to..".

"I know Mistress. I can hear them too. The boy and number 32" Cy then replied and placed a protective paw on my lap "But we can't do much right now".

"What do you mean?" I sneered in an angry tone "He is calling me. I need to..".

"I am sorry mistress, but you can't" Cy then said and sighed. He lifted the tip of his tail. He was pointing at something. Cy continued "Not as long as she is there. That girl who pretends to be you, and her annoying invisible barrier".

My eyes widened and I slowly stretched my hand forward. It soon hit something solid. That must be the barrier Cy was talking about. I groaned in annoying's.

"Where is she? Where is that look alike of me?" I then sneered.

"Up there mistress" Cy then said and pointed once again with its tail. "Luckily she is occupied by the duel, or she would already have been here to make you fall asleep once again".

I turned to where Cy was pointing and saw my double sitting on some sort of self-made cliff edge. It was made out of the purest darkness and therefore it was hard to see if there was any self-made hill in here as well. My double was having a concentrated firm look on her face. My eyes narrowed. What was she doing? I looked around a little. Then I froze completely. Somewhere in front of my double was a window. Or a screen or something you could look out of. In it I could see Shark standing, and he looked hurt. Beat up actually.

"Shark" I whispered slowly and tried getting up. Cy prevented me from moving.

"Mistress please calm down and save your strength" He said "We can't do anything right now. We need more strength. We need the right moment to strike or she will overpower us once again. Maybe we have our change if the boy wins".

I let out a tiny whimpering sound. It wasn't fair. Shark was out there, dueling my weird double, and I was lying in here doing nothing. I sneered one more time and placed myself at Cy's fur. Cy was right. We had to wait for the right moment. If Shark won, we might have the power to overpower her. I stretched my hand towards the window.

"Shark be careful" I then said in a low voice.

Shark's p.o.v.

Shark let out an exhausted growl while staring down this other Zaira. His last attack with Shark drake veiss had caused her to fly a little backwards and hit the ground pretty hard. Shark groaned and placed a foot a little forward so he didn't tip over himself. He was not in the best condition at all. Not after those attacks that flame devil had given him. That and summoning Shark drake veiss drained a lot of energy in the first place. However he was not about to pass out. He would not pass out. Not until his Zaira was back. Not until the girl he loved was back. He just couldn't say it out loud sadly. He had tried. There had been tales about that love could break spells. Rio was all into those fairy tales when they had been younger. Not that he had or cared about that, but right now he wondered if there has been some truth to it. However the words would not leave his mouth. Maybe because he was dueling at a giant stadium where millions of peoples might hear him. Or maybe because his pride was in between. Shark really didn't care about the reason. The point was that he couldn't say it.

"Zaira? Are you back? Is the real you back?" he asked in a hopeful, yet a little scared tone.

If that didn't bring her back, and the other Zaira gained the upper hand in this duel again, he was not sure, he could keep himself from losing or save her for that matter. Shark gasped a little. Everything on him hurt. Everything burned. Everything! He closed his eyes a little too. Then they flew open. He couldn't sleep yet. He couldn't rest yet. He had too.. he just had to! His eyes fixated on Zaira who was still lying groaning on the ground. Come on miss stubborn. Come back to me! Please! You just have to! If not then.. Shark shook that thought out of his head. He was not gonna think like that. Zaira was coming back. But a slight doubting thought was still there. After all he had got no reaction from Zaira that she was really awake or alive in there. The other Zaira had confirmed they were two in there, but that didn't mean it would be forever. The other could surely consume the other or something like that.

Laughter suddenly could be heard and Shark turned his head toward the sound. Zaira was getting up on her feet again, and she was laughing out loud. Just like a mad man or something. Shark sneered angry. This was clearly not his Zaira at all.

"Ha-ha you are so funny Shark boy. I already told you, Zaira and I are one and the same. So why is it you don't believe me hmm?" Zaira then said and smirked. She looked over at Shark drake veiss now with a cold glare. A predators glare. "But I suppose I can give you credit for being a true predator at least. Your shark is rather vicious. It will be a worthy foe for me to defeat".

"Well bring it on" Shark then yelled and glared at her "I still won't give up. Not by a long shot miss stubborn. I am fighting for Zaira and there is no way you will defeat me". At that Zaira's eyes narrowed.

"We will see about that" she then said and drew.

Shark prepared himself for the worst. Zaira started off her turn by playing the spells "Pot of greed" and Graceful charity" to get some cards in her hand, and discard two cards to the grave. Then she summoned "Puppy wolf" (lv 3) from her hand. Since it was successfully summoned, she could also summon another lv 3 monster from her deck. Like "Sleeping wolf". Shark's eyes narrowed. What was she up to? If her plan was to summon "Cyclone beast chaos wolf" she needed 3 lv 4 monsters. Either that or overlaying "Cyclone beast wolf" with its overlay units, which Shark knew she wouldn't. The only rank 3 xyz monster he knew Zaira used was "Wolfman the criminal", but he couldn't beat Shark drake veiss. So unless Zaira had an unused Xyz hidden in her deck case, Shark had no idea why she was summoning two lv 3 monsters.

"I activate my facedown card 'Call of the haunted'" Zaira then said "I bring back wolf from the graveyard. Shark eyes narrowed again. Two level 3 monsters and one lv 4 monster. She can't overlay them, unless she has something that can change level.

"I activate 'spirit wolf's' eff from the grave" Zaira then said and smirked "By removing it from play, I can make my monsters have the same level as the highest one on the field. They all become lv 4". Shark eyes widened. When did she have that monster in the grave, but then he remembered the two cards she sent to the grave. Shark clenched his hands. He knew it. She was going for that chaos wolf.

"I am gonna summon my most trusted ally" Zaira then said and smirked "But before that I think I will use my spell to deal with your trap".

Shark sneered angry when Zaira destroyed his trap with 'mystical space typhoon', leaving her with 2 cards in her hands. Enough to summon that chaos wolf now. Shark sighed deeply inside. Deep down he knew he had lost. He had seen Zaira's chaos wolf in action. It could reduce his monster's att points with 500 for every stolen card she stole with the chaos wolf's eff. With only 250 life points to his name, and his trap destroyed, he was done for.

"Hope you prepared for defeat shark boy" Zaira then said and grinned.

She summoned Cy's chaos form. The black and red vicious wolf growled at him. Shark sighed inside and lowered hand with duel disk to the ground. He had lost. She would use Chaos cy's eff and finish him off. However once again Shark actually got surprised. Zaira was not using Chaos cy's eff. Instead she used some entirely differently method. Since her sleeping wolf had been used as an Ou, she could halve Shark's monster's att in half this turn. Shark was rather surprised by that. Zaira had apparently been planning this from the get go. He could hear Zaira chuckle.

"What's wrong Shark boy? You look a little surprised" she then mocked "Did the big bad shark boy believe I needed to go all out to beat him? Don't kid yourself, you're not even worthy to get beaten by my wolf's special eff. Are you ready to lose now?". He could see on the wide smirk on Zaira's face, that she was enjoying this.

"Yes!" Shark then yelled and surely surprised Zaira with those words "I am ready to lose. I will take my defeat head on. Like I said before, I don't care that you beat me. I will not give up on you never ever. That is a promise!". At that Zaira chuckled.

"Oh how sweet, but Zaira doesn't want anything to do with you" she then replied "She belongs with me forever and ever". Shark sneered angry.

"No that is not true. She doesn't belong to anyone" he then yelled and clenched his fists. He needed to say it. He wanted no regrets here. He continued "Not even to me! But I wish.. I wish she was. At least a little bit..". Zaira looked rather puzzled at him. Shark sneered once again. He took a deep breath.

"Zaira, if you truly are in there and are awake, then please listen to my voice" he then said in a loud tone. It was close to yelling "You would properly think this sounds uncaring and uncool. Actually I know it is, since I have never done this before. It was something I have been meaning to ask you, but things kept getting in the way. That and truth to be told, I might also been afraid to really ask you. I was afraid of the answer". He took a deep breath and then continued.

"Zaira, you are one of the kind. A fierce wolf, who's almost never afraid of anything. However you are also sweet, caring and funny as well. You make my heart race. I wish to be with you every minute, no every second of the day. When you are not around, I miss you and I can't stop thinking of you. What I mean to say is.. Zaira I.. I love you!".

Shark took a deep breath again. He had after all blurred all that out. He had no idea where all that came from. Maybe from the heart. He felt rather embarrassed about it too, but he regretted nothing. He had after all confessed to the girl he loved. Even though she now was controlled by some evil doppelganger, and he had no idea if she actually heard him, but still. He finally got it of his chest at least. Zaira, or the other Zaira was staring at him with big eyes. Silence was between them now. That until clapping sounds could be heard, and Shark turned even more red than he already were. Apparently Mr. Heartland or whoever was responsible for the sound here, had made his supposedly last words, go all around in the arena.

"Well you look at that" Mr. Heartland then yelled "Talk about showing burning heart. Reginald Kastle has apparently just confessed live at the WDC duel fans. What an unexpected development. Wonder how the girl will respond".

Shark sneered inside. Just great! I finally confess, and then the circumstances are like that! Figures! He took a deep breath and turned towards Zaira, who was still staring at him. Shark bit his lip a little and ignored the crowd completely now. Please miss stubborn. I don't care about your reply. Just show me.. just show me that the real you is in there.

"Shark" whispered a little voice then and Shark quickly fixated on it. It was coming from Zaira. An weird expression meet his gaze. Zaira was having a mix between shocked and sad expression on her face. Tears were running down her cheeks.

"Shark I.." she said in that low voice and stretched her hand towards him for a second, before the girl grabbed her head and shook it wildly. "No! What's wrong with me? And why am I crying?". The last part was shouted out in an angry tone. Zaira let her finger roam around her face and tried to make herself stop crying.

"I don't love you!" she then yelled angry and rubbed the tears away "I hate you! Why would you even think that? Is that a new stalling technique I should know about!".

Shark could hear how Mr. Heartland commented on that he sadly got turned down, but for Shark, that was a completely different case. He had not been turned down, because the girl talking now, was not the Zaira he loved. It was not his Miss stubborn. Shark couldn't actually stop smiling. The voice before. The weak voice from before. That had been his miss stubborn. There was no doubt about that. Which meant she was still in there. His Zaira was still in there and was wide awake. That was all he needed to know. He could hear the other Zaira sneer angry at him.

"You are gonna pay for that" she then said and sent him a cold glare. "Chaos wolf attack him now! End this duel!".

Then her monster blasted him. Shark got sent flying through the air and hit the ground. His life points hit 0. However he was still smiling. Beat up but smiling. He took a last look at Zaira, before he looked up at the sky and the gazer who still was on his eye.

"Yuma did you hear that?" he then said in a low voice "She is still in there. I leave the rest to you". Then he passed out.

The other Zaira's p.o.v.

After the duel.

Zaira stumbled inside the lodge where Vetrix was. After all her duel was over now. Zaira let out an exhausted groan. The duel with Shark had taken more out of her than she actually realized. The annoying delays and headache she was now having was a big nuisance. She rubbed her temples a little.

"Welcome back Zaira" she could hear Vetrix say and saw the kid with the mask standing up in the couch while leaning at the backrest. He was grinning "That was quite some duel. One vicious one of that. you surely made your point".

Zaira snort and sat down in the couch as well. They were having a little intermission before the next duel. Zaira guessed it was because the medic team needed to get Shark to the hospital. He had collapsed right after the duel. However Zaira really didn't care. He had been an annoying huddle to pass on her path to revenge, so he deserved it.

"But I do wonder my dear, are you feeling alright?" Vetrix then asked and looked at her with an annoying smirk "I heard that Shark boy's confession. You seemed out of it in the duel". Zaira hissed a little in annoying's.

"Everything is fine" she then said. Vetrix hummed a little, but didn't say anything. Zaira was happy at that, because everything was not fine. Not by a long shot. Zaira sneered inside and let the past event roam through her mind.

While they were dueling, the real Zaira had awoken. Not just woken up, but she actually broke the barrier she had around her and Cy. Where she had all that strength from, the other Zaira didn't know. All she knew was that after Shark confessed to them, the real Zaira had let out a frustrated scream, and broke the barrier. The other Zaira, who at first had been occupied with the duel, of course noticed this and meddled. She had tackled Zaira to the ground. She was sitting on her back, but even so, the real Zaira had been fighting against her like it was life or death. Yelling stuff about Shark and that she needed to get out of here, and she couldn't stop her. However even with the angry attempts from Zaira, the other still managed to keep her at bay. Then at the end Zaira had let out a frustrated cry and tears were shown on her cheeks. She mumbled Shark's name just before she passed out from exhaustion. Apparently the fight had ripped her from her lastly strength. The other Zaira had grabbed her and walked back with her to Cy and placed her there, while creating the barrier once again. She was sure to make it a lot stronger this time though. However the other Zaira couldn't really understand her alter ego's behavior just now. That was something she still didn't understand right now. Why had Zaira flipped out like that? Why had she been so angry and fought her? She was after all here to make her happy? Why was my Zaira so eager to leave this place? It couldn't be because of what that boy said could it? The other Zaira shook her head. No that couldn't be it. Zaira would never fall for a Shark boy like him. She just couldn't! She could hear Vetrix chuckle now, and then she felt a hand at her forehead. She looked surprised up. Vetrix was really having his gloved hand at her forehead. He smirked at her.

"You look troubled" he then said in a weird, maybe caring, tone?!

"I just have a headache" Zaira then lied rather quickly. Vetrix hummed a little.

"Well maybe this will lessen it a little" he then said. Zaira could see that his hand was glowing. Energy ran through her body, and like he said, the headache soon disappeared. Zaira blinked a little.

"Thanks" she said and blinked a little again. Then she surprisingly added "Sir". Not that she minded that much. She felt he needed the respect anyway.

"You are welcome Zaira" Vetrix then said and chuckled. He moved his hand away and jumped down from the couch "Now I have to go and take care of Dr. Faker's son. However I would like you to come with me. I would like you to be there when I eliminate Kite Tenjo". Zaira smirked a little.

"That would be a great honor sir" she then said. Soon they both left for the arena.

A,N: Well that was that chapter. Interesting and sad ending in my opinion. Sniff. Oh well. However hope you enjoyed it. In the next chapter, the duel with Vetrix and Kite begins, and surprisingly Yuma AND Zaira are having a front seat to that lol. That and Vetrix have a little creepy surprise for Kite. Zaira who is now even more under Vetrix influence, is also having a big role in this. So hope you are eager for the next chapter.