The Third Sister

Alexis, a teenage girl with black hair and brown eyes, was rollerblading down Sunset Avenue. She wore a floral-print bikini top and a pair of blue jean shorts, enjoying the warm afternoon breeze.

As she passed a card shop, she noticed a troubling scene unfolding on the sidewalk. Henry, a notorious card collector known for bullying inexperienced duelists, had just snatched a still-sealed deck of Duel Magic cards from a young boy who had only moments earlier purchased it.

The young duelist's eyes filled with tears. He had spent weeks doing odd jobs around his neighborhood to save enough money for that very deck.

Alexis slowed to a stop, her fists clenching in anger.

"I'll show that cowardly bully," she muttered before skating toward them.

"Hold it right there!" Alexis called.

Henry turned to face her, the unopened deck dangling casually from his hand.

"You've got some nerve," Alexis said, crossing her arms. "Picking on someone who can't defend himself isn't impressive."

Henry laughed.

"If this little brat wants to become a duelist, then he needs to learn how to protect his cards."

Alexis shook her head.

"There's a difference between teaching someone a lesson and stealing from them."

She pointed at the sealed deck.

"I'll make you a deal. I challenge you to a Shadow Game. If I win, you'll return those cards to him and hand over your rarest Duel Magic card. But if you win, I'll give you my rarest Duel Magic card."

Henry smirked.

"It's a deal."

He closed his eyes. A dark wind circled around him as glowing symbols appeared beneath his feet. Moments later, a deck of Duel Magic cards materialized in his hand.

Alexis took a deep breath and closed her eyes as well.

The mysterious symbols etched across her stomach began to glow with a brilliant golden light. Energy swirled around her before condensing into a shining deck of Duel Magic cards that appeared in her hand.

The air grew heavy as dark clouds gathered overhead. Shadows stretched across Sunset Avenue while pedestrians hurried away, sensing something unnatural.

The Shadow Game had begun.

Henry took the first turn.

"I summon Iron Fang Warrior in attack mode!"

A heavily armored warrior carrying a massive sword appeared on the field.

"Then I set one card face down and end my turn."

Alexis drew a card.

"My turn!"

She studied her hand before smiling.

"I summon Sunblade Guardian in attack mode!"

A knight clad in shining golden armor stepped onto the battlefield.

"Next, I activate Radiant Blessing! It increases my Guardian's strength!"

Golden light surrounded the knight as its power increased.

"Now attack Iron Fang Warrior!"

The two warriors charged one another.

CLANG!

A brilliant explosion and Henry's monster shattered into glowing fragments.

Henry staggered backward as the Shadow Game drained some of his life energy.

"Grr..."

"My turn isn't over," Alexis continued. "I set one card and end.”

Henry drew another card.

"Perfect!"

Dark shadows erupted around him.

"I summon Shadow Hydra!"

A three-headed dragon emerged from a cloud of darkness, roaring at Alexis.

"Destroy her Guardian!"

The Shadow Hydra unleashed a stream of black energy.

Just before the blast struck, Alexis revealed her face-down card.

"I activate Mirror Barrier!"

A wall of crystal light appeared, reflecting the attack back at the Shadow Hydra.

"No!" Henry shouted.

The reflected blast engulfed his dragon, destroying it instantly.

The backlash knocked Henry to one knee.

Impossible..."

Alexis drew her next card and smiled.

"This ends the duel."

She held one card high.

"I summon Celestial Phoenix!"

A magnificent phoenix descended from the heavens, its golden wings illuminating the sidewalk. 

Henry shielded his eyes.

"It can't be..."

"Celestial Phoenix, use Solar Judgment!"

The phoenix soared into the sky before unleashing a pillar of radiant fire that consumed Henry's remaining defenses.

Henry's Life Points fell to zero.

Ashamed, Henry looked at the unopened deck still clutched in his hand.

Without another word, he handed it back to the young duelist.

The boy accepted his cards with a grateful smile.

Henry reached into his pocket to retrieve his rarest Duel Magic card. He was ready to hand it over as promised, but the moment he pulled it out, his expression changed.

Instead of a card, he was holding a small stone covered in strange glowing symbols.

"What kind of stunt are you trying to pull?" Alexis demanded, crossing her arms.

Henry stared at the object in disbelief, his confidence completely gone.

"The rarest Duel Magic card in my deck... the one I just purchased from someone I met on the street... somehow turned into a rock."

His voice trembled as he looked from the stone to Alexis.

"I don't understand. I didn't do anything."

Alexis narrowed her eyes. She thought Henry might be trying to trick her after losing the Shadow Game.

"Convenient," she said suspiciously. "You lose the duel, and suddenly your rarest card becomes a rock?"

Henry shook his head.

"I'm telling the truth."

Before Alexis could respond, the stone began to glow.

A soft golden light surrounded it as strange symbols on its surface pulsed with energy. The rock slowly lifted from Henry's hand and floated through the air.

Alexis watched in surprise as it drifted toward her.

The moment she touched it, the glowing stopped.

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.

Alexis stared at the stone, feeling a strange warmth coming from it. Something about it felt familiar—powerful. It wasn't just an ordinary rock. There was something hidden inside it, something she couldn't explain.

"What... are you?" Alexis whispered.

Henry looked just as confused.

"I've never seen anything like that before."

Alexis looked back at him, still cautious.

"I don't know what this is, but I'm not going to keep arguing about it."

She held the mysterious stone tightly.

"Here's what we're going to do. If you leave right now, I'll take the rock and we'll call this whole thing even."

Henry glanced at the stone one last time. Whatever it was, he clearly wanted no part of the strange mystery surrounding it.

Without hesitation, he turned around and walked away down Sunset Avenue.

Alexis watched him disappear into the distance.

Alexis stood alone on Sunset Avenue, staring at the mysterious stone in her hand. The strange symbols carved into its surface suddenly began to glow brighter.

Then something impossible happened.

The symbols lifted off the rock like streams of light, floating into the air. They twisted and turned before drifting toward Alexis.

Alexis stared in confusion.

"What is happening?"

She wanted to ignore it, but a powerful feeling told her she needed to follow them.

The symbols moved farther down the road, guiding her away from Sunset Avenue and toward an unknown destination. Alexis followed cautiously, keeping the strange stone close.

After traveling for what felt like hours, the symbols stopped.

Floating in the air before her was a swirling portal unlike anything she had ever seen. It shimmered with colors she couldn't identify, and strange energy crackled around its edges.

Alexis took a step back.

"Okay... this is definitely not normal."

She looked at the glowing symbols and then at the portal.

Whatever this was, the stone had led her here for a reason.

Taking a deep breath, Alexis slowly stepped forward.

The moment she entered the portal, the world around her disappeared.

Brilliant waves of colored light rushed past her. Red, blue, green, and gold streaks flashed around her as she was carried through a tunnel of energy. The lights moved faster than anything she had ever imagined, faster than any person could possibly travel.

Alexis felt as if she were moving between worlds.

Then, suddenly—

Everything stopped.

She stumbled forward and looked around.

The portal had brought her to a completely different place.

As Alexis walked across a field towards a destroyed barn the alarms in an underground bunker now a new command center began blaring. Yellow lights flashed and Data-G-01 sensors detected an intruder outside of the underground bunker. 

The command center's advanced sensors scanned the area above ground. A figure moving across the field was highlighted on the screen.

"Unknown individual detected," the automated system announced.

Energy readings appeared beside the image.

"Unidentified power signature detected.”

Above ground, Alexis stopped near the destroyed barn and looked around. A strange feeling came over her, as if something beneath the earth was aware of her presence.

She glanced down at the glowing stone.

"What are you leading me to?" she whispered.

Deep inside the underground bunker, the alarm continued to echo through the corridors.

Data-G-01 reacted immediately.

The advanced android reached into the weapons chamber and grabbed a double-barrel phaser. Its twin energy barrels hummed as he moved quickly down the long corridor toward the entrance.

As he approached the exit, he saw Bridget standing nearby.

She had heard the alarms and knew something unusual was happening.

"I am going with you," Bridget said.

She closed her eyes, concentrating.

A handheld phaser materialized in her hand.

Data-G-01 stopped and looked at the weapon.

"Your phaser power level is insufficient for unknown threats," he said.

He carefully adjusted the settings, increasing Bridget's phaser to its highest possible output.

"Your defensive capability has been increased."

Bridget nodded as the two moved toward the massive underground bunker door.

Data-G-01 placed his hand near the controls and slowly opened the entrance. His finger rested on the trigger of his double-barrel phaser, ready for any danger waiting outside.

The door opened.

Beyond the entrance was the quiet field surrounding the abandoned farmhouse.

Then Bridget felt something.

The strange symbols on her belly began to glow.

She looked toward the field, confused.

"Wait," Bridget said.

She placed her phaser back into her pocket and stepped outside the safety of the bunker.

Data-G-01 watched carefully but did not stop her.

Bridget slowly walked forward until she saw Alexis standing near the destroyed barn.

For a moment, neither girl moved.

They simply stared at each other.

Then something impossible happened.

The symbols on both of their bellies began to glow brighter, responding to each other as if connected by the same energy. The light pulsed in perfect harmony.

Bridget looked at Alexis in amazement.

"I... know you," she whispered, even though they had never met before.

From inside the bunker, Data-G-01 began scanning Alexis.

"Analyzing unknown individual."

Energy patterns moved across his sensors.

"Threat assessment in progress."

Seconds later, the results appeared.

"Conclusion: Individual is not hostile."

Before anyone could say anything else, another presence approached.

A strange feeling had drawn Asia out of the bunker. She stepped into the open field, unsure why she had followed the sensation.

The moment she saw Alexis and Bridget, she froze.

The symbols on Asia's belly began glowing as well.

She stood completely still, overwhelmed by confusion.

"What is happening?" Asia asked.

The three girls looked at one another as the glowing symbols connected them.

Data-G-01 moved closer and activated a deeper scan.

"Beginning comparative analysis."

The android studied all three girls as they revealed the matching symbols on their bellies.

Energy readings appeared across his display.

"Symbol patterns identical."

"Energy signatures synchronized."

"Genetic and dimensional markers analyzing."

The command center processed the information.

Then the final result appeared.

DATA-G-01 ANALYSIS COMPLETE.

"Conclusion: The three individuals are sisters."

Silence filled the field for a few moments.

Tears began to roll down Bridget’s cheeks.

“You are my sister,” Bridget whispered as she stepped forward and hugged Alexis.

Alexis was stunned, but she could feel the same strange connection that Bridget felt. The warmth of the embrace felt familiar, as if they had known each other their entire lives.

Asia felt the same powerful bond. Tears filled her eyes as she moved closer and wrapped her arms around both of her sisters.

The three girls stood together, united by a connection they could not explain.

The mysterious rock had brought the third of the seven sisters together.