A/N: Fake Cards will have italicized titles, English names will be used unless said character has not been dubbed as of time of publishing. Also some characters will have contents of their deck changed.

A boy wearing a red shirt, white pants, and a duel disk opened his eyes, immediately closing them after seeing himself trapped in a small pod. The sensation was really quite nice, the temperature was just right, not too hot or too cold and the gel Yuma laid on was soft and yet firm enough to keep its shape. Yuma dared himself to take a peek again when suddenly above him a loudspeaker blared screeched.

A robotic voice sounded somewhere above him "Master, he has awakened", a snarky female voice yelled back "I'm coming!, prepare him for extraction!", "Yes master!" Then the AI activated the proper procedures and drained the Pod, reclothed Yuma in a new set of Clothes, identical to his old ones, and quickly massaged his muscles to get the blood flowing before forcibly ejecting him out onto the cold, hard floor.

"Where am I?", wondered the dazed Yuma as he looked around the room. It was barren except for his pod and some wires attaching it to the floor and ceiling. The entire room was painted silver. Yuma screamed out "Anyone there? Shark? Kite? Tori? ANYONE?" There was no response. Up ahead a pedestal suddenly rose up out of the ground, carrying a Duel Disk and a Deck of cards. Yuma immediately moved in and grabbed his cards. Checking through them he saw with an expression of relief that his cards were still intact, but soon turned to horror as he realized that all of his number cards were gone, even his prized Number 39:Utopia. Panicking, he desperately looked in every nook and cranny of the duel disk, tried banging on the pedestal, and calling out for Astral to help him. Only no one was there to respond. Tears welling up, Yuma remembered that Astral was no longer there with him and never again would be.

Thanks to the incident that destroyed the Different Dimension Airship. The incident that left Yuma in a coma for (though he didn't know it) three years. The Incident that had taken away Astral. All Yuma could remember from that once cheerful day was a sudden explosion on the deck of the DDA as Dark Mist descended upon the group with several heavily armored soldiers. Dark Mist sneered at the group before pointing to Astral and saying "The High Court of the Astral World will now charge you for Treason towards the Astral world, Put up your hands and follow me." Behind him, the armored Astral guards unveiled shiny blue duel disks and prepared for battle.

Yuma screamed out, "But why are you taking him! What has Astral done!" as he charged headfirst towards Astral who was by him confused.

Dark Mist let out a burst of malicious laughter, " Your friend Astral here may have had a noble objective when he set out to destroy the Barian world, but he broke some of our most sacred laws in order to obtain the power needed. I was the bit of memory that recorded those deeds, I was formed from his sins, and it is I who will force our so called ruler to repent for his crimes!"

"Now guards, ATTACK!"

There was a flash of light as all of the Astral Soldiers used their cards at the same time, next thing Yuma knew, he was lying inside what was a very comfortable healing pod.

"Well, well, well look at who finally woke up!", came the cheery voice of a small girl wearing a bright and colorful dress. To be honest I'm amazed you survived at all after you fell from that massive coil thing into my pool but I'm just glad you're safe Yuma Tsukumo. My name is Princess Cologne, and I have to say it's a pleasure to meet the legendary number hunter."

"Well nice to meet you too Cologne, and thanks for saving me and all, but I don't mean to rush, I really need to get out of here and find my friends!"

Yuma then tried to run away, but realized it was futile as the room did not seem to have any doors. Although it certainly didn't prevent him from banging on every inch of the wall he could find trying to find a gap. Cologne smiled at him after he tried to run up the walls and ended up toppling backwards and said. "Alright Yuma, I'll make you a deal. Duel me, and if you win I'll let you go free. And if you lose not only do you have to hand me all of your numbers, but you'll also going to be my personal servant to pay off the 3 years you spent recovering in my house. Is that fair?"

"Your servant I can't-Wait THREE YEARS!"

"Correct."

"What's going on?!"

"You really would not have wanted to see yourself when I pulled you out of that pond…"

"I need to get out now!"

"As I said, duel me and win, and I will let you go free. I'll even throw in my number to help you fight the good fight. Now what will it be?"

Panting heavily, and frantic Yuma acquiesced at last. "Alright Cologne, let's duel! I'll be feeling the flow!"

Cologne snapped her fingers and a duel disk extended from the ground and her eye turned red "AR Vision, Set!"

Yuma pulled out his D Gazer, "D gazer Set!"

Cologne drew for her turn, "It's my turn! I summon Mezuki!" She placed a card on her duel disk and a zombie horse holding an axe emerged. (4*/1700/800). I'll end my turn!

Yuma drew, "I summon Goblinbergh! (4*/1400/0) and use its special ability to special summon a level 4 monster from my hand! And I choose Tasuke Knight! (4*/1700/100)" Four planes carried a metal shipping container onto the field which broke to reveal a warrior wearing red armor. " Now I overlay the 2 monsters to create the overlay network! Arise Number 39: Utopia!" His extra deck popped open, but there was no Utopia to be found. Actually there were no numbers to be found at all. Then Yuma remembered, without Astral and the emperor's key. There was no Utopia. His fire considerably dimmed, Yuma overlayed to summon Heroic champion Excalibur (R4/2000/2000). A massive black knight with a equally massive sword emerged. Yuma proclaimed "I use the effect of Heroic challenger Excalibur! By detaching 2 overlay materials, I double his attack until the end of your next turn!(R4/4000/2000) Now Excalibur attack!"

Mezuki attempted to raise his axe, but was no match for the power of Excalibur and it shattered into many pieces as Cologne was flung back gasping as over a third of her life points disappeared (4000-1700). However from her suddenly erupted a massive black shadow, swirling over her head as it took shape into a large black beast the bright eyes and many legs. (10*/2400/2400) Cologne said "Whenever I take battle damage, Tragoedia can summon itself from my hand! His attack and defense is equal to the number of cards in my hand X 600"

Yuma was taken aback at the monster that seemed to have jumped out of nowhere before setting 2 cards and ending the turn.

Cologne said "My turn. I draw! (Tragoedia: 2400-3000) First I will use a spell card known as Rank Synthesizer (A picture of Grenosaurus with 3 black rank orbs surrounding it splitting in 2) this card lets me target one Xyz monster on the field and give it a level equal to twice it's rank. So Excalibur now becomes level 8. (8*/4000/2000) I activate Tragoedia's effect, by discarding my level 8 Despair From the Dark (8*/2800/3000) I can take control of one level 8 monster you currently control, like your Excalibur!

Tragoedia opened its mouth wide and swallowed the shadowy for of Despair From the Dark, then reached over and grabbed Excalibur, dragging it over to the other side of the field.

Cologne smirked and said "I'm not done yet! Now I activate another of Tragoedia's effects! (Yuma:How many does that thing have!) I can target one monster in my graveyard, and change Tragoedia's level to match it, and the monster I choose is Despair from the dark!" Tragoedia's form shimmered and then solidified into a large black and red shadow. (8*1800/1800) "Continuing on from that, I use the effect of the Mezuki lying in my graveyard, by banishing it from my grave; I can summon a zombie type monster from my graveyard. The monster I choose is Despair from the Dark! (8*2800/3000) The real Despair rose from the graveyard, its massive claws tapped against each other as it prepared to strike. "Now I overlay my level 8 Tragoedia and level 8 Despair from the dark in order to summon Number 22: Zombie Stein!"

Yuma let out a quick yelp in Shock as gigantic obsidian colored sphere formed in front of him. A giant red 22 flashed on the sphere before it unfolded into a Titanic behemoth, easily double the height of Excalibur when it stood at its full height and flexed its muscles. (R8/4500/1000) Yuma knew that numbers could only be destroyed in battle with another number. Last time he was in this situation, Astral had come along and saved him from the force that was Number 17:Leviathan Dragon, now however he was up against something with far more power without his blue skinned guardian.

Cologne waved her hand and called out "So what do you think Yuma dear? I do hope that you'll enjoy being my servant, I know I will" She batted her eyes at him and winked. "Now Zombiestein, attack Yuma directly and end this duel now! Zombiestein's massive hand curled up into a fist and it charged towards Yuma, ready to unleash its full fist of fury upon the teenager. That is until Yuma pressed a button on his duel disk and said" Not so fast! I activate the trap card Impenetrable Defense! With this card, all battle damage done this turn becomes 0!"

Cologne replied "Honey, do you really think such a simple trick would work on me? I activate Zombiestein's effect! By detaching one Xyz material and discarding a card from my hand as well as switch Zombiestein into defense position (DEF:1000), I can negate the effects of any card on the field. The card I choose is Impenetrable defense!" Zombiestein's fist glowed black, then smashed the impenetrable force, resulting in a shockwave that sent Yuma flying before retreating into defense mode. Cologne continued her onslaught "Now Excalibur(R4/4000/2000) attack directly and wipe Yuma out!" Excalibur raised its sword and charged head first at Yuma, bringing it down onto his head in a blinding explosion. Cologne licked her lips, thinking of what she would do with this handsome( Yuma's 3 years older) young servant of hers when the smoke suddenly cleared, revealing Tasuke knight standing in front of Yuma with a large shadowy hand sticking out from its back, preventing Excalibur from breaking through. Yuma chuckled "Not today, I used the effect of Pinpoint Guard to bring back my tasuke knight in defense mode, and thanks to its effect, my knight cannot be destroyed by battle!"

Cologne gritted her teeth and then yelled out "Oh is that how you want to do it is it! I play the spell card Overexertion Combustion!( A picture of Wind-Up Zenmeister bursting into flames) This spell banishes a Xyz monster that attacked this turn without destroying a monster and inflicts damage on you equal to half its attack! So take this Yuma!" Excalibur burst into a massive fireball and struck Yuma at full force, knocking him back off his feet and bouncing a good 5 feet (4000-2000). "I end my turn with one facedown."

Yuma jumped up and shouted "I'm feeling the flow! I draw, I summon Gogogo Golem(4*/1800/1500)! Now I'll switch tasuke knight into attack mode. Gogogo Golem attack Zombiestein! "Cologne smirked, "Not so fast Yuma, I activate my mirror force trap card! With this, all of your monsters are destroyed!" A large mirror emerged in front of Zombiestein and a blast of light erupted from it, shattering Yuma's monsters into tiny little pieces. Yuma collapsed trembling as his monsters turned into dust. He thought "This is it…it's over, I can't do anything! I need you Astral!" But no one came. Cologne said again "Well looks, like this is the end Yuma, I hope you're ready to say goodbye to your numbers and your freedom." Yuma thought of all the moments that he spent with Astral and tried desperately to think what the blue Alien would say. Suddenly the way presented itself to him. Yuma launched himself off the floor and screamed " I AM FEELING THE FLOW! I place two cards facedown and end my turn!"

"Well, well so much for that. It's my move! I draw! Now I activate the effect of the field spell Vampire Empire! The field quickly changed from a clean and bright interior to a courtyard inside a massive city of dilapidated buildings under a forever dark night sky with the full moon shining brightly down upon them. Cologne paused to admire the effect her spell had on Yuma before continuing on, "Now I use the effect of the Vampire Sorcerer in my graveyard and banish it to normal summon a Vampire monster from my hand without needing a sacrifice. The monster I choose is Shadow Vampire! (5*/2000/0) and when Shadow Vampire is normal summoned, I can special summon a second Vampire straight from my deck, and his good friend joining him will be Vampire Lord! (5*/2000/1500). But I'm not done yet, I overlay my 2 Vampires to Xyz summon Vampire Bram the Edelritter (R5/2500/0). The two Vampires formed the Overlay Network, emerging as a tall white haired Vampire with black armor, sword and shield. "Now then Bram has a special ability, in exchange for an overlay material, I can summon a monster from your graveyard, but in exchange the only monster that can attack would be the summoned monster. I choose your Tasuke Knight!" An Overlay unit flew into Bram's sword as he smashed it into the ground, leaving a large hole from which Tasuke Knight was pulled out (4*/1700/100). Cologne grinned "now you can't use its effect to save yourself by bypassing Zombiestein's ability! Tasuke Knight attack directly!" Yuma braced himself for the strike, and was only knocked to his knees this time. (2000-300) "I end my turn by moving Zombiestein to attack mode.(4500) Just give up now Yuma, there's not a single card in your entire deck that can stand up to Zombiestein, just save yourself the trouble."

Yuma straightened up and said "No! I learned from Astral that there is always a way out and to never give up, and even if he's not here with me, Astral is still there in my heart! My turn, I draw! First I summon my Chamenleon(4*/1600/1100) and use its special ability."

Cologne interjected " I activate Zombiestein's effect to negate it"

"Not so fast!" Yuma revealed one of his facedown cards. "I activate the effect of my memory loss trap card! This card activates when your attack position monster activates its effect and negates it. Then my trap turns it into defense mode!"

"Gr..Well played"

"Now that Zombiestein is no longer an issue, Chamenleon summons a monster from my graveyard with 0 defense, and the one I choose is Goblindbergh! (4*/1400/0) the green lizard suddenly turned transparent and stuck its tongue inside of Yuma's graveyard, pulling out one plane and its goblin pilot. "With 2 level four monsters I construct the overlay network! I Xyz summon Maestroke The Symphony Djinn! (R4/1800/2300) Now then I activate my other facedown card Blustering Winds, this card gives Maestroke 1000 extra attack and defense until my next standby phase.(1800-2800) Now Maestroke attack!"

Yuma paused and tried to consider what Astral would do in this situation. Yuma's first motive would have been to simply attack Vampire Bram the Edelritter (R5/2500/0) But then next turn Zombiestein could attack and end the duel then and there. Zombiestein was a Number so Yuma was helpless there, but if he destroyed Tasuke Knight then Bram could just snatch it back from the grave…..snatch it back from the grave… suddenly it all made sense to Yuma now, he smiled knowing that was exactly what Astral would have done and declared "Maestroke, attack Tasuke knight now!" the fiendish conductor jumped across the field and brought down his baton with all his might upon the head of the red knight, destroying it and sending him back to the graveyard.(1700-600) Satisfied with his work, Yuma declared "I end my turn"

Cologne was no longer acting cocky now that there actually was a chance of her losing. But the girl straightened herself out and began her turn. "I draw! I'll switch Zombiestein into attack mode (4500) now I'll attack Maestroke with Vampire Bram the Edelritter! With the effect of Vampire Empire, whenever a Vampire monster attacks it gains 500 attack points (2500-3000) which means it can attack and destroy Maestroke!" The Vampire raised its sword and brought it down on the conductor's head only for Maestroke to channel one of its overlay units into his Baton and block the move.(300-100) Yuma smiled widely " Maestroke can detach an overlay unit to prevent it from being destroyed." Cologne growled," this is it Yuma! I activate the quickplay spell from my hand Blood Feast ! (Vampire Lord feasting on Marauding Captain) Whenever one of my Vampire monsters inflicts battle damage to you I can choose a type of card: Monster, Spell, or Trap and you have to send a card of the same type from your deck to the grave. I choose spell card! Groaning reluctantly, Yuma sent Monster Reborn to his graveyard. "I'm not done yet! Due to Blood Feast's effect I also gain life points equal to your monster's attack!" (600-3400)

Cologne pressed onwards "Now the effect of Vampire Empire activates, whenever a card is sent from your deck to the graveyard, I can destroy one of your cards by sending a Vampire monster from my deck to the grave! I send my Vampire Grace (6*/2000/0) to the grave, now say goodbye to Maestroke! The moon from above shot down a burst of light upon Maestroke, who then deflected it with another Overlay Unit, which sent the beam crashing into an ancient building. It then collapsed, leaving Yuma to jump again in fright. Cologne thought privately maybe she didn't want someone like him around serving her anymore. She brushed the thoughts aside and called out "now Zombiestein attack Maestroke !" The Behemoth obeyed; clearing the field in one jump it raised its fist and brought it down hard onto a large force field that had suddenly appeared. Tasuke Knight stood in front of Maestroke Triumphantly. Yuma cheered on his monster "Tasuke Knight can be summoned from my graveyard if I have no cards in my hand and you declare an attack, it also ends the battle phase." "You have one more turn before I finish you, I end my turn. You have no cards in hand, 100 Life Points, and only a couple of weak monsters, what can you even hope to do but lose?"

Yuma was unfazed. "As long as I believe in the deck my father gave me and Astral helped make better, I can do anything! Now I draw! This is it Cologne I drew the card that will allow me to defeat you!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it! I activate my trap card Pixie Ring! As long as my trap stays on the field, you cannot choose the monster with the lowest attack points as an attack target. Which means the only card you can attack is my Zombiestein!"

Yuma smirked and revealed the card he just drew. Triumph of the Bloodline (A picture of a faceless warrior stabbing a heavily armored King with a white crown shaped helmet while countless other ghost warriors watched from above.) Cologne blanched in horror as Yuma activated it "Now let's get this show on the road. I can only use this card when it's the only card in my hand and I control no cards in my spell/trap zones. To activate this card I must first tribute a monster I control." A large white sword shot out of the card and stabbed Tasuke Knight with it, glowing blue in the process as it exploded into a cloud of lights which engulfed Maestroke. Yuma continued "Now when Maestroke battles with a monster its effects are negated, but that's not all. By banishing any number of monsters from my graveyard with the same level and type from my graveyard, I can add their attack points to Maestroke! So I choose Tasuke Knight and Goblindbergh and add their powers to him! (1800-3200-4900) With that, Maestroke has enough attack power to overpower Zombiestein! Attack now!"

The Conductor jumped up covered in a blue halo turned red with the spirits of Yuma's fallen warriors with a great yell of power, he slashed across Zombiestein's massive Chest with his baton, leaving a very large scratch across it. Yuma then said "This duel is over, when a monster affected by Triumph of the Bloodline destroys a monster in battle, the opponent takes damage equal to the destroyed monster's attack power. Since Zombiestein has 4500 attack, you take 4500 damage"

Cologne screamed, "No, no NOOOO!" as Zombiestein exploded, taking out her lifepoints in the process. (3400-0) A horn blared, symbolizing Yuma's victory as the AR vision faded away in a flurry of 1s and 0s.

Yuma ran over to Cologne shouting "Where's the exit?" Then he stopped abruptly as he saw his enemy crumble away into nothingness only leaving behind a card in her wake. Yuma bent down and saw that it was Number22, reaching out a hand, he grabbed the card and held it up. As Yuma admired his new card from every angle, a shroud of darkness surrounded the card, then surrounded Yuma, trapping him within.

A/N: Well that's the end of the first chapter. How will Yuma escape the grasp of Zombiestein? What will he find once he leaves his prison? Find out next chapter.

All the non italicized Cards can be found here: wiki/Category:Duel_Monsters_cards

As for the Fake cards. What I imagine the Picture being is in brackets.

Rank Synthesizer(A picture of Grenosaurus with 3 black rank orbs surrounding it splitting in 2) Spell/Effect: Target one faceup Xyz Monster; it is treated as having a level equal to its rank x 2.

Overexertion Combustion( A picture of Wind-Up Zenmeister bursting into flames) Spell/Effect: Activate only in main phase 2. When an Xyz monster you control battles without destroying a monster this turn, you can destroy it and inflict damage to your opponent equal to half its attack.

Blood Feast(Vampire Lord feasting on Marauding Captain) Quickplay/Effect: Choose one Vampire monster you control, this turn it is unaffected by other monster effects. When the monster targeted with this card battles a monster, gain Life points equal to the other monster's attack. When the monster targeted by this card inflicts battle damage you can declare a card type, then your opponent has to send a card of that type from their deck to the graveyard.

Triumph of the Bloodline (A picture of a faceless warrior stabbing a heavily armored King with a white crown shaped helmet while countless other ghost warriors watched from above.) Spell/Effect: Activate only if you control no spell or trap cards while this is the only card in your hand. Target one monster you control: You can tribute another monster, if you do when the targeted monster battles, negate the effect of the monster it battles. Banish any number of monsters with the same level and type from your graveyard. The monster you selected gains attack equal to the total attack of the banished monsters. When a monster targeted with this card destroys a monster by battle, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's attack. During the end phase, banish all cards you control.