"The resurrection of Gyze shall commence within eighty-seven hours."

Spectre, Inferno, Magus, Hyakurai and Kai knelt before Overlord, the leader of the Rebellion, who was standing on a lowering stone pillar. Flicking his hand up, the hooded figures rose to their feet.

"Overlord." They said, swearing their allegiance in the cold, metal blue room. Each hooded figure tore their cloaks open, and the Zeroth Dragon they had captured emerged from their cloaks, glowing in the respective colours of the nations: yellow, red, purple, blue and white.

The Overlord looked at them with an approving nod, cupping his hands as the cards began floating towards him. They began to drop into his palms one by one, while the Overlord was pushing them into his chest, and absorbed them like he did for Zoa.

(Opening here)

"Izanoku, I can't believe you actually agreed to that guy's idea." Callum muttered, unpacking his black bag on a neatly prepared bed that was against a glossy wooden wall. Adjacent to his bed was Izanoku laying down on her own bed, and Zak unpacking on another. "And why do I have the bed in between you guys?!"

"We could always upgrade to separate rooms." Zak suggested, putting his neatly folded clothes into a large wooden wardrobe in the corner of the cozy and warm bedroom. "But, ask Mistress why she chose a room we could all sleep in together."

"Hey, Izanoku. Why did you choose this shithole?" Callum asked. "We had the chance to have separate rooms, but you chose to stay together? I need my personal space and time, especially if we're living with those guys now! I'll never have the same peace and quiet again!"

"Wow, I didn't know you cared about that kind of stuff..." Izanoku yawned, fanning her mouth with her hand.

"Are you even listening...?" Callum sighed dejectedly, slumping onto the fluffy carpet floor.

"No, I'm just enjoying how comfortable this bed is..." Izanoku moaned, sinking into the snow white mattress. "I haven't been on a bed this good feeling before..."

"She has a point, Callum. Get off the floor and experience how lovely this bed is." Zak smiled, his body planted deep into the bed as well.

"I'm not getting into the bed unless I'm in my underwear, and like hell am I stripping in front of both of you." Callum snarled.

"Oh, that's why you wanted a separate room... so we don't have to see your embarrassing sleeping habits." Izanoku laughed.

"Yeah right. I'm okay stripping in front of you, Izanoku, but letting Zak see my near naked body? That shit's gross." Callum said. "And it's just more comfortable to sleep in boxers. Maybe try sleeping in your panties again."

"Okay, I get your point now that you mention that..." Izanoku mumbled, blushing.

"I feel so excluded right now..." Zak muttered, face buried deep in his pillow.

"Just tell me why you chose to even work with them in the first place! I still don't understand!" Callum exclaimed. "If it means downgrading to this shithole, then forget it, I'm against it!"

"It's more like an upgrade, if you consider it." Zak said.

"No, it isn't! We're now living in a mansion, sure, but we're sharing it with like four other people and we're all cramped up in one room when there's three spare rooms we could each have!" Callum exclaimed. "I hate this place! I hate it!"

"Callum..." Izanoku sighed, sitting up and looking at Callum who bared his fangs. "This place gives you bad memories?"

"No..." Callum muttered. "I'm over that. I'm over those times I was still in England with everyone else."

"You mean... those guys who got sold off, like you?" Zak raised a brow.

"What else could it mean, smartass?" Callum asked, kicking his bed.

"Hey, I don't know the full story. Care to explain?" Zak asked.

"The guy who sold me off owned a mansion, and in that mansion he kept me and everyone else in there. Our living conditions were similar to this room, with everyone sleeping together. Only difference is that we sleep on cardboard boxes." Callum muttered, closing his eyes and furrowing his eyebrows. "Then, I got sold off and you know the rest. That fill you in, bastard Sherlock Holmes?"

"Yeah..." Zak mumbled.

"Like I said... I'm over it now. That's what... like nearly ten years ago? I'm not gonna hold a grudge against the guy who let me meet Izanoku." Callum said. "In fact, I'm glad I got sold off and shipped off to Japan. Life is still shit here, but at least I have Izanoku, fried chicken and White Flower to keep me going!"

"Callum..." Izanoku said under her breath, smiling. "Well, I chose this room because I thought it was nice if we all got to sleep together... like... a family..."

"Heh... yeah, I guess us three are kind of like family." Zak chuckled. "It'd be strange, possibly dangerous, if we didn't stick together, especially in new territory."

"Exactly... we don't know if these guys can be trusted completely yet, and well... if we did sleep separately, and something were to happen to us in our sleep..." Izanoku mumbled. "It'd be better if we were all there, rather then not be there. Remember... we're stronger together as three, not as a one. And... well, one of the conditions of living here they placed upon us is that Callum had to share a room with someone, so I thought, if that's a thing, then we should just all be in the same room."

"Those damn assholes... not trusting me to have my own room...? I'm gonna kill em..." Callum muttered.

"Man, calm down." Zak said sitting upright, and scratching the back of his head. "You weren't gonna get your own room either way. Be glad we're here, okay?"

"Man, both of you guys have grown soft..." Callum sighed. "If you two don't stop, it's gonna rub off on me. And no fucking way am I ever gonna become a weak softie."

"Still talk big, huh..." Izanoku laughed. "Callum, have you ever thought that maybe... being a criminal all the time didn't have to be the only way you live life? I mean... yeah, you're a wanted person in Japan, but in here, you're under some form of protection or asylum since... well, the USR isn't Japan. It's a different country. Now that you have the chance to not be a criminal, and not have to be a villain because society pushed you in that direction, wouldn't you take it?"

"Even if I did take it, what would I do now? So what, I don't have to kill? You see Izanoku... I get that you don't like me going down this route completely. You don't want to see me hurt others, or whatever bullshit goodie two shoes crap is in your mind right now. You know what, I understand completely why the hell you would try to push me in this direction, but the fact of the matter is..." Callum stared down at her. "Killing... has become my first hand nature. Bloodlust, is all that's driving me. Hurting others, inflicting pain and torture... these are all things that I enjoy. If I'm not a villain, then I'm just a normal person. And a normal person doesn't do any of that shit. I'm far gone from a "normal person", Izanoku. And I know you recognise that too. My head is fucked... absolutely fucked. I've been through so much shit, I don't think you realise how much of a mental toll it's taken on me... I've been warped, disfigured, twisted... my brain isn't "normal" like "everyone else's". My brain thinks "Mangle their body and scramble their brains." all the damn time. I've been holding back my urge to kill, not because I wanted too, but because you wanted me to. But all this time, my anger, frustration, all this pent up bullshit is nearly gonna fucking explode, and at this point I just want to murder someone! I want to beat them down into a bloody fucking pulp, and gut their insides and rip apart their fragile body like if it was a flower... that's the kind of person I truly am, Izanoku..."

"I don't believe that... the Callum I met was that fragile flower..." Izanoku shook her head, tearing up. "The first time I met you, you were so... so weak, and so scared. Those shy, innocent eyes that were taken away by my mom... I know that person is still deep inside you, somewhere. That little kid I first met. That little kid I talked to everyday. That little kid that was my first friend. You talk, and act so hard... but really, in my eyes, it's just to protect yourself from those things that have haunted you. You've tried growing up, and acting mature to keep yourself together because... yes, I acknowledge that... your head isn't like a "normal persons"... but, I just wanted you to know that... if you're not hungry for blood, if you're not thinking about murdering someone... it's okay to try and be normal. It's okay to relax. It's okay to be soft. It's okay to be childish. It's okay to not act tough. It's okay to let those things go around us, and show a side that you've tucked away for so many years. It's lost... buried deep inside you, but that glimmer of someone I knew so long ago is still there... it's a hope for me, that you can be happy. You can stop suffering. Callum, I stuck by your side because you're a precious friend to me. Even though this... cruel stuff isn't really in my nature, and that... sometimes yeah, I'm scared, I'm worried, I'm sorry for all the bad things I've done... I realised that I can be a good person. And... thats partially the reason why I decided to join them... so we could all start over."

"Iza... Izanoku..." Callum uttered, dropping to his knees as a painful expression swept his face. Creases spread across his bony and pale face, before a loud cry came from Callum, with tears running down his face. His fist slammed the carpet floor repeatedly as he sobbed, as Izanoku knelt down and gently embraced him, tears running down her own face.

"Let it all out. It's okay to cry, Callum." Izanoku smiled amidst the tears.

"Damn it, Izanoku... fuck you..." Callum continued to cry. "I'm the bad guy... so stop trying to help me... just leave me alone already... I don't deserve any of this shit!"

"You're wrong. I think... you deserve it the most." Izanoku said, rubbing his back. "I know how much I mean to you. And I'm not gonna leave any time soon. I promise."

"For fucks sake..." Callum muttered, wiping his overflowing tears. "I didn't want this to happen... I didn't want this conversation to happen... fucks sake..."

"Hey, it's okay. It's just us three here. Like I said... you don't have to act tough around us." Izanoku said.

"But I don't want to be seen as weak..." Callum muttered.

"You're strong though. You endured all this hardship by yourself. That kind of strength is admirable." Izanoku smiled.

"Izanoku..." Callum sniffled, hiding his face in her body. "I'm just too far gone..."

"That's okay too." Izanoku said, sitting Callum up against the bed. She let out her pinky finger.

"Huh..?" Callum looked at her blankly.

"I said a promise, so we need to pinky promise." Izanoku said.

"Just like... when we were little kids..." Callum muttered, chuckling under his breath. He let out his pinky finger, and wrapped it around hers.

"Hey, Callum." Izanoku said, looking at the boy who was chained up and crying.

"Y-yeah, Izanoku...?" Callum raised his bruised face ever so slightly. Izanoku gently grabbed his swollen hand and forced his sticky pinky finger out.

"I know mom can be harsh..." Izanoku whispered, wrapping her finger around his. "That's why... I promise I'll always visit you every day. Okay?"

"O-okay..." Callum nodded, the corner of his lips turning upright slightly. "That's... a promise..."

"Hey, Izanoku." Callum said, eating some fried chicken on her bed. "You never explained fully about why you did any of this."

"Yes, I've been wondering for awhile now too, Mistress." Zak said, flicking through the channels on the large plasma screen television in front of their beds.

"Think about it this way." Izanoku said, sitting on the carpet doing a jigsaw puzzle. "If none of us have a Zeroth Dragon, and we have a shared enemy that has all the Zeroth Dragon, wouldn't it make sense to make a truce and work together? If were not fighting against each other, it wouldn't be necessary to fight them and cause more chaos in this already messed up situation we're in. Plus, we're only three people, so having them as back up would be good if we were attacked again. Plus, this is a good chance to build relationships and form possible bonds that may be relevant in the future. They have a roster of interesting fighters that may come handy to us possibly, so playing to their good side would be a benefit. Not to mention, if we work together we may be able to get the Zeroth Dragons back, or even form some kind of treaty or deal to let us keep the Zeroth Dragons we want, while they can have the rest."

"And it would also let us turn a new leaf as you said before." Zak nodded. "Although, I can't help but feel like you have another motivation..."

"She just wants to ask Masaru out." Callum said casually, chucking a chicken drumstick bone into the bin. "He's a good guy, she's a bad guy, if she becomes good her chance increases. Easy maths."

"But you can't do basic math." Zak said. "And while we're at it, you can't even count to fifty..."

"I can do both, jackass." Callum glared. "One two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen-"

"We get the point." Zak sighed. He then looked at Izanoku who's face was burning bright red. "Damn, Callum hit the nail on the head."

"I've known this girl for like eight or something years, I can tell when she has a crush. Especially when it's obvious as day." Callum said.

"I don't have a crush on him, stoooooooop!" Izanoku whined like a little kid.

"You're always a blushing mess around him, and surprisingly kind too. During that time in Malaysia you even tried to make a move..." Callum laughed. "I didn't know you were into flashy redheads."

"It's not my fault he's so handsome!" Izanoku squealed, covering her face. "I felt like my heart was going to jump out of my chest the first time I saw him..."

"And yet you still tried to murder him and his friend. I say your chance of going out with him has dropped to less then 0.000001%." Zak said.

"W-well, before I didn't know him! Now that I have... he's... actually pretty nice, and a little bit of a tease too." Izanoku giggled.

"Like I said before, star-crossed lovers. Go get him, big sis." Zak smirked.

"It's Mistress to you." Izanoku stared at Zak unimpressed.

"Well, if we're turning a new leaf, I should call you by a more suitable name, right?" Zak said. "I mean, you are my big sister. Even though I'm taller then you."

"Fine..." Izanoku sighed. "Anyways, another reason I chose to join us is because... well, they promised a place for us to live. If you weren't aware, Ryuzaki is the son of Myoujin, a.k.a one of the richest people in the world. He's practically oozing with money, so I thought at the very least we could get a nice place to stay in considering our house was destroyed by them. I chose a room together because it reminded me of our old house, and how we were together, and that considering this is new territory I didn't want to take chances. Turns out, we got a major upgrade for the price of a smaller "house"."

"Still, this room is nice and spacious. It's the size of a living room." Zak chuckled, putting down the remote and taking a sip of water. "I don't mind living here. It's nice."

"That Payic bitch can cook some damn good chicken." Callum said, throwing the last of the bones into the bin. "That was the kush shit."

"Does that answer everything?" Izanoku asked the two.

"Yeah, pretty much." Callum yawned and jumped from Izanoku's bed to his own. "Well, I'm gonna take a nap. Peace."

"And he said he slept in his underwear..." Zak muttered, watching Callum fall fast asleep.

"There's an emergency meeting tomorrow." Izanoku said, looking at Zak. "We should get rest too. It's nearly midnight."

"If you say so." Zak said, turning off the TV and getting ready in bed. "Night, sis."

"Night, bro." Izanoku smiled, turning off the lights and getting into bed.

Elsewhere in the Mikazuchi Mansion, Yozora was inside a hospital room with the window was opened slightly to let the crisp night air inside. He laid on a hospital bed with a blank expression as the faint beeps of the heart monitor attached to him echoed quietly in the silent room. With an oxygen mask attached on his battered face, Chiharu stuck by his side, holding his hand tightly while she stared at his face with tears streaming down her face. Rubbing her thumb over his blooded knuckles, she buried her face into the thick blanket that covered him.

"Chiharu..." Yozora uttered, causing Chiharu to squeeze his hand tightly.

"Don't push yourself, Yozora... we can talk later, okay?" She mumbled, looking at Yozora with a sorrowful face.

"I... got a memory..." Yozora whispered. Chiharu raised her head and looked at him with a raised brow.

"You... you got a memory?" Chiharu asked, which made Yozora nod.

"Another one... that Kai guy... when he rode Chaos Breaker, I remembered something... something about... a Chaos Breaker break riding...?" Yozora said, looking down. "It... hurt... remembering it... hurt... so much... I felt like... my head was being torn apart..."

"You don't have to face it alone." Chiharu reassured him, getting closer to him. "I'll be here for you, always."

"I know that.... but in that moment... I was terrified..." Yozora coughed. "My breakdowns are... painful... my head burns... it's like a spear is stabbing you multiple times, tearing your brain apart slowly..."

"Why are you scared of your memories?" Chiharu gently pat his head. "Don't you want to know who you were those sixteen years ago?"

"No... I don't..." Yozora muttered weakly, shaking his head. "I hate the idea of knowing... knowing who I was truly before I was "Yozora"... my greatest fear is disappearing, Chiharu..."

"You told me that before." Chiharu said, holding onto his shaking hand. "You won't disappear, never ever."

"But... that's why it's scary... if I find out who I was truly those years ago, will I ever get to live the same way...? Will I lose myself... and become that person I once was...? I don't want to... I don't ever want to... look into my past... my past... is terrifying. The cracks I can see... frighten me... each night I sleep, my heart is torn... torn by anxiety... fear... will I remember more tomorrow? Or keep my sanity...?" Yozora asked, coughing. "I... I want to live as Yozora... the person I am now... I want to stay sane... keep living... becoming better... be with you... have a family... and spend the rest of my life being happy..."

"Yozocchi..." Chiharu sniffled, feeling Yozora hold onto her hand with the strength left in his body. "Remember in America...?"

"You mean...?"

"If for some reason... Everything that I've built up for the past 7 months is ruined, and I lose sense of my identity, and the past self of me ever comes up... Please stay with me." Chiharu recited, looking at Yozora who's eyes widened with tears. "We promised that."

"You... you remembered..." Yozora sobbed, his hand shaking. "You... remembered..."

"Of course I would..." Chiharu smiled, rubbing her eye. "It's a promise I won't ever forget. If you were to lose yourself, I'll always be there for you, no matter who you are. You even said that no matter what, you knew that I was the one for you. So I'll keep those precious words close to my heart and stay with you, no matter what. Is that okay, Yozora?"

"It's... more then okay... Chiharu..." Yozora sniffled, Chiharu taking off his oxygen mask. She leaned forward, and gently placed a kiss on his lips.

"I love you, Yozora."

"I love you more... Chiharu..."

After the events of Monday, after school on Tuesday Ryuzaki held an emergency meeting, gathering everyone he could into the Mikazuchi Mansion. Sitting and standing around the table in the living room was Payic, Maverick, Chiharu, Zeon, Shika, Rukia, Rino, Wyvon, Masaru, Riku, Callum, Izanoku and Zak, while Inu and Yozora witnessed the meeting through a live camera Riku and Chiharu was held, transmitting what was happening to their phones while they were in the hospital beds, letting them experience the meeting with everyone else.

"As all of you know... an unfortunate, sudden turn of events had Sin, Inferno, Magus, Hyakurai, Spectre and Kai attack the holders of the Zeroth Dragons, win the fights and take them as a prize. Now, some of you are confused on why we have shanklad, whipgal and bugboi here, but from yesterday onwards after we exacted our revenge by running a truck into their house, we decided to have a truce and team up because we have no reason to fight one another now. So say hi to your new best friends for me!"

"Hi!" Everyone turned to the three and greeted them.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you all. My name is Izanoku Shinoa."

"I make bombs, Zak Remashita. Also, got to top sixteen with Megacolony before it was good."

"Weird flex but okay. If you let me shank you, we'll be good friends." Callum nodded.

"Say your name." Izanoku nudged him.

"Callum Sykes."

"Spoiler alert, they tried to murder me and my vegetable cripple friend while we were in Malaysia." Masaru said.

"Well, we didn't in the end." Izanoku said, sending a nervous glance at Masaru.

"You should be thankful we spared your life." Callum said, sending a glare at Masaru.

"Maybe dying would've been the better option..." Masaru muttered.

"Spoiler alert, Masaru tried to steal our Zeroth Dragons by entering our house through sneaky ninja ways." Zak said.

"Spoiler alert, you guys nearly killed me twice and I never wanted to go to your house in the first place!" Masaru exclaimed.

"Spoiler alert, we didn't, and even treated your wounds and fed you spaghetti!" Zak fired back.

"Spoiler alert, I didn't even want the spaghetti! I just didn't want to be rude!" Masaru shouted.

"Spoiler alert, you still enjoyed it!" Zak snarled.

"Spoiler alert, I did!" Masaru exclaimed.

"Spoiler alert, Izanoku's cooking is usually shit." Callum slid in casually.

"Hey!" Izanoku huffed and threw her arm into the air, ready to smack Callum.

"Spoiler alert, we don't have any clue on what you guys are talking about!" Ryuzaki shouted, sending glares to the four of them.

"Okay to explain, back when you guys were about to go to China-" Masaru said.

"Yeah I don't care." Ryuzaki said. "Back to business... there's another strange thing that happened is that I can no longer track the Zeroth Dragons. I don't know what happened, since the tracker is still completely functional, but wherever these Zeroth Dragon are is a complete mystery, outside of the fact they are with the hooded figures."

"Speaking of hooded figures, I find it strange that Aina didn't make an appearance." Zak said.

"Ah, yes. For those unaware, Aina is another hooded figure who uses Neo Nectar and was the person Zak had to beat to get Zoa. I found out this information yesterday when asking Zak about how he got the Zoo Zeroth Dragon." Ryuzaki explained. "It's strange Sin was the one to go after you, when he uses a Star Gate clan."

"Well, Hyakurai decided to go against us." Wyvon said. "And he has a Dragon Empire clan."

"Yes, but Narukami has a better match up against Granblue— that's it!" Ryuzaki exclaimed. "Deletors will always have a better match against a grind deck like Darkface since they can rush earlier and end game quicker. Plus, Aina would be at a disadvantage if you used the original Darkface to stun her calls, preventing multi attack and wasting Bloom bonuses."

"That's what I thought too." Zak said.

"Seriously though, I can't believe Yozora had his fight in the "Black Hole". It's almost unbelievable..." Ryuzaki muttered. "These hooded figures are dangerous... Spectre can freeze people, Magus can do some kind of illusion trick to distort time and space, and Kai has his own personal black hole he can suck people into. We should approach more cautiously against these people."

"Yeah, I guess we were a bit reckless..." Wyvon laughed slightly.

"I didn't have a choice... I was frozen and forced to fight." Rukia sighed. "I tried my best, but..."

"We all did, but it didn't work out." Shika said, punching himself in the face. "That fight, I made so many rookie mistakes! Damn it!"

"Don't beat yourself up about it." Chiharu said. "We all had them on the ropes at least, right?"

"I got humiliated before I even got to stride." Zak gritted his teeth. "I never got a chance to fight back..."

"You guys did your best in defending the Dragons. There's no point in looking in the past, since what happened has happened. Instead, there was some good that came from this. Rino was a hidden dark horse during this whole deal since he managed to get us footage of Hyakurai fighting Wyvon." Ryuzaki clapped. "This means we got some evidence of them really existing. Now, what's left is to figure out who is who... and figure out the source of those black flames."

"Black flames?" Zeon asked.

"Yes, black flames. Last night in the Star Gate district of Tokyo, an apartment building was set upon black flames, and red smoke rose into the sky. The effects of these black flames were strange... nothing was destroyed, and no one was seriously injured or hurt. However, no one knows what happened, or how black flames even exist— scientifically, it should be impossible. But that's exactly why it's important to us. We live and breathe the impossible. I say it's the work of a hooded figure." Ryuzaki said. "Personally, I believe the most likely culprit is Inferno, since he uses a deck based on fire itself, and his name implies it too. Since this happened late at night, it would fit his timeline of events. He beat Chiharu during the early evening, and the fire broke out at around 9pm."

"That's when we were still at Izanoku's house..." Maverick muttered.

"And only a couple hours after Yozora reappeared outside my house..." Chiharu said.

"I don't understand why they'd target that building." Ryuzaki said. "The only relevant people to even harm in that apartment complex is the Heatwave siblings, but even then, they haven't been a threat or shown a significant interest in Zeroth Dragons. Plus, they play Gold Paladin."

"Ayato would've said "I think that'd be enough reason to kill them"." Rukia laughed.

"...I can tell it's a joke, but I personally suspected Ayato as a possible hooded figure." Ryuzaki said. "If it's not dead people, then what quality does Kaiko have? Being a Branch Manager. What if... the Branch Managers wanted to take these Zeroth Dragons and dispose of them so they wouldn't harm others. The main hole in this crackpot theory is that Maxios is a manager and he's on our side. However, Kaiko was a former manager, so there's a possibility it can just be anyone who was a manager."

"I never even considered that..." Zeon said, thinking about it. "But me and Rukia talked to Ayato yesterday."

"And it was when Inferno and Chiharu were cardfighting." Rukia said.

"Well, that idea went bust." Ryuzaki sighed, slumping in his chair. "You know, if they have all six Zeroth Dragons, they can awaken the God of Destruction. We need to prevent that... no matter what."

"Sup everyone! I'm back~"

Ryuzaki's eyes widened upon hearing the voice. Everyone slowly turned their head to the person who had joined them, before a pale white colour washed over the faces of Rukia, Shika, Zeon, Rino and Wyvon. Everyone who knew this person was left stunned, unable to speak with their jaws dropped open. Chiharu, Masaru, Callum, Izanoku and Zak glanced at him with confused expressions, while Payic and Maverick stood up and stared down at him. Ryuzaki ground his teeth together and narrowed his eyes, standing up and pointing at the trespasser with a furrowed brow.

(Ending here)

Next time on Z World:

Question and Answers 6

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