Upon hearing Yuma's decision the Barians decided to go to Barian world, a red skied, crystal like place. It was beautiful in its imperfection. This was so they could check the damage caused, and awaken Yuma's full power. Upon arrival all the Barians, apart from Shark, took their true forms. They had arrived in a small village, the buildings all made of the red crystals that made up the landscape. There was a strong military presence that was treating the injured, collecting the dead, and evacuating the living. The buildings had crumbled, but for the most part were intact.
One of the Barian army soldiers saw Yuma and the 7 Barian Emperors. He approached. He was indistinguishable from a human, as were all lower Barians, only the elite Barians, called Emperors had a second form.
"Emperor Nach." the soldier said bowing his head.
"Menous," Shark acknowledged the solider, "have you anything new to report?"
"Only that the evacuations are going well." Menous replied, his pale eyes looking at the other Barians, "I know you were worried about Iris, she was among the first to be evacuated to the palace."
"Thank you." Shark said a small relieved smile on his face.
"She's the little girl that looks like Rio, isn't she?" Yuma asked Shark, recalling one of Shark's memories that the Astral Key had once let him see. Yuma knew that Shark saw Rio's green haired doppelganger as family. Her safety meant as much to Shark as Yuma's and Rio's safety. Shark nodded, as Menous' attention was drawn to Yuma.
"It can't be." he gasped eyes widening.
"Can't be what?" Yuma asked feeling very self-conscious all of a sudden.
"We thought you were..." Menous started and trailed off, "...You are the exact image of Phantom."
"That's because he is." Vector snapped, clearly annoyed, "Soldiers, not always the brightest of the bunch. I'm going to get everything set up."
"Duman go with him." Shark ordered, "I don't Vector messing things up."
"Of course." Duman said, following Vector up a path that led to a palace in the not too far off distance.
"But how?" Menous asked, clearly proving Vector's point.
"Like me and Marin," Shark explained, using Rio's Barian name, "Phantom was reborn in the human world. We have returned to restore his full power."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Menous asked eagerly.
"Stay here, help guide the people to the relative safety of the palace." Shark answered, "Then prepare those that can fight, to fight if Astral world bypass Earth and invade us."
"Yes sir." Menous said, marching off to fulfil his orders. Shark then started to lead the now group of six up the winding path. He took Yuma's hand in his.
"Shark, why aren't you in your Barian form, like the others?" Yuma asked half way up the path, voicing a question that had been eating at him since they had arrived in Barian world. Shark stayed silent and Yuma thought he saw a nervous almost hesitant glimmer in his eyes.
"He's scared of how you'll react." Rio finally answered for her brother, "He told me so about a month ago." Yuma stopped walking. So did the rest, and something in how Yuma was hanging his head told Shark, it was best if they discussed this alone.
"Rio, Alito, Mizar, Girag," Shark said, "go on ahead. I am sure Duman will need your help right now. Vector is a handful after all."
"Ok. Take your time." Rio said as she and the others left Shark alone with Yuma.
"Why are you so scared of my reaction to your true form?" Yuma asked after several minutes of silence. Shark considered his answer.
"The last time you saw my true form," Shark began in a low voice, "you were duelling against me. I know it seems stupid, but in that duel we were, in my head, enemies. I guess I am worried about you seeing me like that, in my true form. I don't want to scare you off. I don't want you to see me as a monster."
"Shark." was all Yuma could say as he looked into Shark's distant blue eyes.
"I know. Stupid." Shark laughed harshly, "Especially given everything."
"I have never," Yuma breathed emotionally, "seen you as a monster. Ever. Even in your true form back then, I have only seen you. This face," Yuma reached up and took Shark's face in his hands, "is all I saw. The face that belongs to the man I have, and continue to fall in love with. Cheesy as it sounds."
"Yuma." Shark breathed softly, leaning into Yuma's affectionate touch.
"Besides," Yuma continued, "we are both Barians Shark. You'll have to take our true form in front of at some point, probably sooner rather than later. Also, I'm your boyfriend, you shouldn't have to hide from me. Human or Barian I love you Shark."
Shark let out a heavy defeated sigh. Of course Yuma wouldn't be scared by his true form. He let his own fear get control of him. Shark felt like a prize idiot. Yuma had the biggest, most accepting heart of anyone he knew. It was just one of many reasons Shark loved Yuma. Shark closed his eyes, a soft smile on his pale features.
Then beneath Yuma's fingers, which were still holding Shark's face, his skin turned magenta, with blue markings forming under his eyes, as his lips and nose disappeared. The skin also went from being warm and soft, to cold and hard to the touch as Shark's skin became like stone. Shark opened his eyes, now heterochromic blue and red.
"I love you too, Yuma," Shark said, his voice sounding harsh, but it had an underlying softness to it, "can you forgive my stupidity?" Yuma answered by kissing Shark's now lipless face. Shark pulled Yuma close, closing his eyes understanding this to be Yuma's positive answer. Shark wished he had lips in this form to properly return Yuma's feelings.
20 minutes later Shark, still in his Barian form, and Yuma walked into the palace, where the others were waiting for them. Shark had one arm around Yuma's shoulder, his eyes shining with relief and happiness.
"Looks like someone has my brother wrapped around their little finger." Rio teased, noticing Shark's appearance.
"Shut up, Rio." Shark snapped.
"Good job, Yuma." Rio winked, teasingly. Shark ignored her this time.
"Duman, is it ready?" Shark asked.
"Yes, whenever Yuma is ready, Mizar and I can begin the ritual." Duman answered Shark's question.
"I'm ready." Yuma stated, sounding a little nervous. Shark gave Yuma's hand a very careful and reassuring squeeze.
"It'll be ok." Shark whispered as he walked Yuma over to a door at the far end of the room they were all gathered in, "But I won't lie. It will hurt like hell." Yuma nodded, as he alone followed Mizar and Duman into the ritual chamber.
"He's going to be fine." Alito reassured Shark, knowing Shark was concerned for Yuma, "He's a strong guy."
"Seriously." Vector agreed, "I should know. I've knocked him down, physically and emotionally a lot, but he's gotten back up stronger every time."
Meanwhile in the dimly lit ritual chamber, Duman was walking in a large circle placing glowing crimson crystals on the floor, in the centre of which was an amber coloured stone. Mizar was holding a book, double checking something.
"Yuma, go stand in the centre, hands on the amber stone." Duman instructed him. Yuma followed the instructions, taking his place with a mouth dry, "That stone is a conduit of chaos energy. It can be used to restore our energy, and awaken Barian powers within the human forms of our fallen elite. Such as yourself."
Yuma nodded to show he understood, he could feel the power coming from the stone. Mizar snapped the book shut. Duman took this as a sign and went to stand outside the circle, directly opposite Yuma, while Mizar stood directly behind Yuma, also outside the circle.
Duman and Mizar began muttering in an arcane tongue, using words that Yuma didn't understand, but he also found he didn't care for long, what they were saying, because a searing pain had entered his body from his finger tips.
The pain was like he had battery acid pumping through his veins. Yuma gritted his teeth to stop himself screaming, eyes watering. It was almost as if Yuma as turning into stone, or crystal from the inside out. Several minutes into the ritual, the burning sensation stopped feeling like acid or fire and felt like ice. Liquid in his veins, spreading a fiery cold through him. Yuma could feel the stony, ice freezing his blood solid in his veins, his heart becoming a cold crystal, as he felt his nose receding into his face, his lips smoothing over seamlessly.
Yuma closed his eyes as he felt his skin begin to solidify, changing colour as it did so. Shark hadn't lied. This was the most physical pain he had ever been through, and he was just thinking about how much he didn't want to feel this much pain again as it started to fade very, very slowly from his body. Yuma finally understood why Barians had a high pain tolerance.
Shark was pacing in front of the door to ritual chamber, worried because he thought he would at least be able to hear pained screams, that would at least let him know Yuma was alive. But the silence had him panicked. Then after several long minutes, that to Shark felt like years, the doors opened. Duman and Mizar were the first to emerge from the shadowy chamber. Shark's eyes widened in fear, then a third Barian emerged.
It was Yuma, only now his face was featureless save for his scarlet eyes. His skin was the same blue colour as had appeared so many years ago on the flags of the United Lands of Poseidon. His hair had remained the same. Yuma's clothing had changed into a white, high collar 1800s era military style jacket and sliver grey bottoms and black boots. As with all the Barians, Yuma's clothing appeared to be apart of his, for lack of a better word, skin. Over Yuma's heart was the Barian symbol, as if to show that Shark and his people were what was closest to Yuma's heart, and where buttons would have been were green coloured gems.
Shark thought that the memories he had recovered of Phantom over the last several weeks had not done Yuma's true form justice. If he had a mouth, Shark was sure it would have gone completely slack, his eyes transfixed on Yuma.
"Well?" Yuma asked, spreading his arms, his voice still his own, just with the harsh rasp of a Barian Emperor. Shark, without input from his mind, walked the short gap between himself and Yuma, taking Yuma's newly featureless face in his purple skinned hands, and pressed their foreheads together.
"You are the most beautiful being I have ever seen." Shark whispered, "I just wish we had lips with which to kiss." If Yuma could have, he would have blushed. But he couldn't have agreed with his beloved leader more.