DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZeXal, the characters and cards are the original property of Kazuki Takahashi and Konami. I do not plan on making any money off of this, it is purely for the enjoyment of the fans. If you paid for this in any manner, you were ripped off.
On Names: In the writing of this fanfiction, the names of characters will appear in the manner they are normally used in Japan, with the Surname first, followed by the given name.
Note:The following is the full first chapter in one piece for easier chapter numbering for the author.
Chapter 1: To Test the Worth of a Protagonist
Walking down a street in the morning in a city by the name of Heartland, a rather fair skinned young man with hair the color of the night sky, and eyes the color of the sun peeking through the mist on a cloudy morning paused and observed how busy the city seemed so early in the day. After pondering this for a few minutes he walked on, until a person who came running down the street in the opposite direction and collided with him.
"Sorry," the other person stated looking at the young man. This individual who had come running down the street was about the same age as the the fair skinned youth looked, with black hair in weird style, and it was pink around his bangs. "I was in a hurry and wasn't looking where I was going."
The other stood up, dusting himself off. "No problem;" he said. "Just be sure to watch where you're going next time. But, since you were kind enough to run into me, mind telling me your name?"
"My name is Tsukumo Yuma," he said pointing at himself. "Since I just told you my name, do me the same and tell me yours."
"My name is Dusk, I have another name, but this is what most people call me. Nice to meet to you Tsukumo Yuma." Dusk stated extending his hand to Yuma to be shook.
Yuma grasped Dusk's hand and shook it. "Same to you. I'm sorry but I have to go."
"Wait a minute there," Dusk said before Yuma could move. "I have a question to ask you, as I have been looking for someone named 'Tsukumo Yuma' and you might be them."
"What is it?"
"Are you the Tsukumo Yuma who possesses some of these cards called 'Numbers'?"
"What? How di-" Yuma was cut-off by a white and silver being appearing out of the Pendant around his neck.
"Yuma, be careful what you say here." This person admonished.
"So you indeed are the Yuma I was looking for. I can tell because the Envoy of the Astral World is with you. Nice to meet you at last; Astral."
"He can see me?" Astral asked amazed.
"Indeed I can. At any rate, now that I'm 100% positive that you are the one I've been looking for, I want to Duel you."
A glint appeared in Yuma's eye. "A Duel eh? Sounds fun. I acce-"
"Wait before you agree, listen to my reasons for wanting to duel you, as well as my conditions for or duel. The reason I want to Duel you is simple, I want to test your worth. I want to see if your are truly worthy of using the Numbers. And if you accept this duel, we will duel using our Numbers against each other, but there is one other catch: In this Duel you can't have Astral help you, which I have a feeling he does in a lot of your duels. If Astral helps you in anyway, the Duel automatically will in your lost. Do you accept my terms?"
"I-I don't know, let me think about it for a couple of minutes." Yuma looked uncertain.
"Of course, you and Astral can talk it out."
Astral floated next to Yuma, "Yuma, maybe you should. I sense no danger form this person, something tells me, nothing too bad will happen if we duel him."
"What Astral are you serious?" Yuma asked. "You're usually so cautious, what's come over you?"
"Like I said, I feel no malicious intent from him. It might be worth it to try."
Yuma turned around and looked at Dusk uncertainly, still feeling unusually worried. Dusk looked at him expectantly.
"So Yuma, ready to prove to me, your worth to use the Numbers?" Dusk looked at Yuma and asked this question with a sardonic grin on his face.
"Why would I risk Astral's life in a Duel against you to 'test my worth'? If I lose, then Astral will be gone." Yuma was truly worried, he had a feeling this guy could beat him, especially since he was barred from Astral's help as per the condition set by Dusk for this duel. Astral looked at Yuma, finally understanding his concern.
"Simple, as a researcher and a Scientist (which I happen to be); I have developed a method to let Number Holder's Duel without either their Numbers, or their souls being at risk." Dusk pointed to the Pendant around his neck shaped like a fishhook, and flicked it with his fingers, causing a bright blue light to appear and spread around him and Yuma in the shape of a sphere, which then disappeared from view. "This necklace isn't just for show, it houses a device that gives off a near continuous electromagnetic pulse that prevents the Number's from leaving their owner's possession in the event of a lost. The process to complicated for you to understand though I bet."
"So...you took a fancy machine and disguised it as a necklace?"
Dusk rests his face in the palm of his hand thinking the duelist before him is perhaps the biggest fool he ever met. "Yes, Yuma that much is obvious. Now let's get this show on the road."
"You got it! I'm kattobing!" Yuma yelled with joy at the prospect of a duel, and dons his D-Gazer, and activates his Duel Disk. "Duel Disk: SET!, D-Gazer: SET!"
Dusk dons his Blue D-Gazer and activates his green trimmed Duel Disk. "Duel Disk, set. D-Gazer, set. Time to get your game on and show me what you've got Yuma."
A feminine sounding computer voice announces: AR Vision; Link Established.
"DUEL!" Both Yuma and Dusk call in Unison.
Dusk LP: 4000
Yuma LP: 4000
Turn 1: Dusk
"I'll take the first turn Yuma." Dusk draws a card form his deck. "And to start things off, I summon my Twin-Headed Behemoth in Attack Mode." A shrieking cry is heard as a two headed purple scaled Dragon appears on Dusk's field .
Twin-Headed Behemoth:WIND Dragon Lv: 3 ATK/ 1500 DEF/1200
"Since I went I first I can't declare an attack, so I'll throw two cards face-down and end the turn. Your move Tsukumo."
Turn 2: Yuma
"I'll show my kattobing. My turn I DRAW!" Yuma draws one card at the start of his turn. "I start things off by summoning my Gogogo Golem in Attack Mode." The ground shakes and erupts as Yuma's Golem appears on the field.
Gogogo Golem: EARTH Rock Lv: 4 ATK/1800 DEF/1500
"Now I'll use my Golem to attack your Behemoth. Go Gogogo Golem attack his Twin-Headed Behemoth!" The golem charges the dragon, getting it's fist ready to strike it down.
"Your both simple minded and predictable Tsukumo, like I would really let that get through. I activate my face-down Trap Card: Scrap-Iron Scare Crow!" At these words one of the cards set on Dusk's side of the field flips face-up and activates, sending a scare-crow made of mismatched metal parts to intercept Yuma's monster. "When an opponent's monster declares an attack, I can activate this card and negate the attack, then it gets Set back on the field."
"Dang it, who would've though you had a card like that?, I throw 1 card face down and end my turn." Yuma sets a card looking a little annoyed by Dusk's trap card.
Turn 3: Dusk
"My move, draw." Dusk draws one card from his deck. " I summon my Masked Dragon to the field in Attack Mode." A roar is heard as a red and whited dragon appears on Dusk's field.
Masked Dragon: FIRE Dragon Lv. 3 ATK/1400 DEF/1100
"And now the real fun begins. I Overlay my level three Masked Dragon and level 3 Twin-Headed Behemoth to build the Overlay Network, XYZ Summon! Bring the Nightmares of the Sea to Life; Number 47: Marine Menace, Nightmare Shark!" An overlay network shaped like a Spiral Galaxy appears and an explosion appears from it's center. When the light clears a monstrous looking blue and white shark is seen with the number 47 appearing on the left side of it's neck in white.
Number 47: Marine Menace, Nightmare Shark: WATER Sea Serpent Rank: 3 ATK/2000 DEF/2000 Overlay Units: 2
"So that's your Number eh? It doesn't look too scary." Yuma sounded confident looking at the new Monster before, while inside he was shaking; trying to figure out what to do.
"It's ONE of my Numbers Tsukumo I have a few to my name, as I am collecting them. But that's something you should worry about latter, as this particular Number is about to launch you into a Nightmare. I activate the effect of Nightmare Shark! Once per turn by using one Overlay Unit, I can target one Water Attribute Monster and it can attack my opponent directly. I target Nightmare Shark with this ability." One of the glowing orbs circling around Nightmare Shark got absorbed by the monster and a tidal wave surrounded it. "Go Nightmare Shark, attack Yuma directly and show him your fury! Nightmare's Tidal Wave Strike!" The tidal wave and monster crashed into Yuma causing him to cry out and get thrown to the ground.
Yuma-LP: 4000-2000
"Well, I think I made my point clear here. I throw one card face-down and end my turn."
One card appeared set on Dusk's field.
Nightmare Shark-Overlay Units: 2-1
Turn 4 – Yuma
"I'm not going down yet, I'll show you. I draw." Yuma exclaims and draws one card from his deck.
"On your Draw, I activate my face-down Trap; Secret Barrel, when this card is activated I can deal 200 points of damage for every card on your field and in your hand. And between the two you have seven cards!" A barrel like cannon appeared on Dusk's field and fired a cannon ball at Yuma and exploding in front of him.
Yuma – LP: 2000-400
"Not bad, but don't count me out yet! Let's do this! I summon Gagaga Magician in attack mode." A cry of "Gagaga" is heard as Gagaga Magician appears on Yuma's field.
Gagaga Magician: DARK Spellcaster Lv 4 ATK/ 1500 DEF 1000
"Next I activate my spell card Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy your set card that I know to be Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, meaning the one on the left" A black typhoon appeared and destroyed Dusk's set card on the left, which was indeed his Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. "Now that that's gone, I overlay my level four Gagaga Magician and my level four Gogogo Golem to build the Overlay Network, XYZ Summon! Appear Number 39: King of Wishes, Hope!" The galaxy shaped Overlay Network appeared and then the typical explosion and a monster clad in White and Gold with a red number 39 on it's left shoulder appeared on Yuma's field.
Number 39: King of Wishes, Hope: LIGHT Warrior Rank: 4 ATK/2500 DEF/2000 Overlay Units:2
"But that's not all, I'm gonna get serious! Since my Life is less than 1000, I can rebuild the Overlay Network using Hope." At this point Hope reverted to it's sealed state and sank into another galaxy shaped overlay network that appeared, which immediately emitted a burst of light. "Go CHAOS YXZ EVOLUTION! When a heart feels strong emotion, the true champion appears; come forth Chaos Number 39: King of Wishes, Hope Ray!" A new monster appeared on Yuma's field; a dark gray and gold colored monster with a red 39 on it's left shoulder.
Number C39: King of Wishes, Hope Ray: LIGTH Warrior Rank: 4 ATK/ 2500 DEF/2000 Overlay Units: 3
"I can't believe this, Yuma can preform Chaos XYZ Evolution, I may have miscalculated;"Dusk though to himself upon seeing the new development. "But thankfully, I have a secret weapon of my own, just in case I happened to hit a bad snag. But, as far as I'm concerned he appears both capable and worthy of using the Numbers." Dusk looked at Yuma, briefly displaying a look of shock, which immediately reverted to the calm expression he had been wearing for the majority of the duel.
Yuma being oblivious didn't even notice this. "Now I activate Hope Ray's effect. By using it's Overlay Units I can target one monster my opponent controls and decrease it's attack by 1000 points for each Overlay Unit I used, plus for every Overlay Unit I used, Hope Ray gains 500 attack points. I use all of Hope's Overlay Units for this effect!"
Hope Ray – ATK:2500-4000 Overlay Units:3-0
Nightmare Shark – ATK:2000-0
"Now go Hope Ray attack Nightmare Shark and take out Dusk's Life Points in the process; Chaos Hope Sword Slash!"Hope Ray drew its swords and they began to glow with a golden energy and flew towards Nightmare Shark and-
"I activate my face-down Quick Play Spell: Forbidden Lance!" Dusk cried. "With this card, I can target one face-up monster on the field and have it lose 800 attack, but it remains unaffected by the effects of other Spells and Traps for the remainder of this turn." A lance flew at Hope Ray, which it caught and used as it's weapon in place of it's swords to continue the attack on Nightmare Shark.
Hope Ray – ATK:4000-3200
Hope Ray stabbed Nightmare Shark with the lance it was given by Dusk's Spell, and destroyed it, causing the monster to give a scream and explode throwing Dusk clean off his feet and to the ground, grunting as the damage hit.
Dusk – LP:4000-800
"So, you managed to hang in there after all?" Yuma asked utterly dumbfounded. "Oh well, I throw one card face down and end my turn."
Turn 5 – Dusk
"Yeah, I barely hung in there. But this turn, I'll end this duel for sure with the end result being my win," Dusk panted out. "My Turn, DRAW!" Dusk draws one card. "You have greatly impressed me Yuma, but I'm about to show just how good I am."
"So you're saying you can end it this turn, and win?" Yuma asked amazed. "I want to see if you can really do it then."
"My pleasure. I summon my Twin-Sword Marauder in attack mode." A warrior clad in dark armor, and holding two swords appears on Dusk's field.
Twin-Sword Marauder: DARK Warrior Lv:4 ATK/1600 DEF/1000
"Next I activate my Spell Card; XYZ Reception. This card let's me target a monster I control that has a level, then I can Special Summon one monster from my hand with the same level, but it's effects are negated, and it's attack and defense become zero. With the effect of XYZ Reception; I Special Summon my Magician's Valkyria form my hand." This time a female monster appeared wearing a rather scanty blue and and pink outfit, as well as holding a magic staff.
Magician's Valkyria: LIGHT Spellcaster Lv:4 ATK/0 DEF/0
"Now I Overlay my level four Magician's Valkyria and Twin-Sword Marauder to build the Overlay Network, XYZ SUMMON! Come forth from the borderland of Darkness and Light; Number 2: Knight of Balance, Twilight Knight!" The galaxy-shaped Overlay Network typical with the summon of a Number appeared, and then there was the customary explosion, after which the sky darkened a bit like the sun was setting, and warrior wearing chain mail appeared with a dark colored cloak wrapped around him, wielding a Longsword with a gray Number 02 on it's blade in one hand, and carrying the head of some enemy in the other.
Number 2: Knight of Balance, Twilight Knight: DARK/LIGHT Rank: 4 ATK/2500 DEF/2100 Overlay Units: 2
"I...I have a bad feeling in my gut just from seeing this monster, it seems..."Yuma stumbled over a word to describe what he saw, but couldn't come up with one.
"I believe the word you're tying to think of is "Ominous" Yuma." Astral stated, speaking for the first time in this duel. He had been silently observing the whole time, but did not speak till now, so he wouldn't be tempted to help his partner and cause him to lose the duel. "I feel it too, this Number doesn't give off any evil energy, but it still fells...dark and ominous."
"An astute observation Astral, but now, my strategy for victory is complete. I activate the effect of Twilight Knight. Once per turn by using one Overlay Unit, I can negate the effects of all other card's face-up on the field, then I can target one monster my opponent controls, and Banish it from the game. I target Hope Ray with this effect." Twilight Knight slashed one of it's overlay units and then leaped at Hope Ray, slashing it in half, causing it to vanish form the field.
Twilight Knight – Overlay Units: 2-1
"What?" Astral and Yuma stared and uttered dumbfounded.
"However, when this effect is used, Twilight Knight can't declare an attack this turn. But I will end the duel this turn, by exploiting the loop-hole in this effect."
"There's a loophole?" Yuma asked amazed.
"Kinda, just wait and see. Since my Life is less than 1000, I can rebuild the Overlay Network using Twilight Knight." At this point Twilight Knight faded into a dark fog and disappeared into a Galaxy Shaped Overlay Network, causing a burst of black energy to appear. "Go Chaos XYZ Evolution. When the duelist is pushed to his limit, when all resolve seems lost, a strong emotion is felt, the Courage to continue forward towards a seemingly impossible victory. Appear Chaos Number 2: Knight of Balance, Twilight Knight Cor!" A dark mist rolled across the field, and a figure was seen walking through it to the battle field. The figure cleared the mist, it was a warrior wearing battle-worn chain mail armor, wearing a dark colored tattered cloak, holding only a Long-Sword with the number 02 emblazoned on it's blade in black.
Number C2: Knight of Balance. Twilight Knight Cor: DARK/LIGHT Rank:4 ATK/2500 DEF/2100 Overlay Units: 2
"Wha- he used Chaos XYZ Evolution?"Astral actually cried with shock.
"That's right Astral, and this is the end. I attack Yuma directly with Twilight Knight Cor!" Twilight raised it's sword a charged at Yuma, preparing to strike.
"Not so fast, I activate my face-down Trap Card; Battle Break! When an opponent's monster declares an attack, I can target the monster negate the attack, and then destroy the monster."
"And that won't happen Yuma! I activate the effect of Twilight Knight Cor; when a LIGHT or DARK monster I controls attacks or is attacked and my opponent activates a card effect that targets a LIGHT or DARK monster during the Battle Phase on either of our turns, and my Life is 1000 or less; I can detach one Overlay Unit to negate the activation, destroy the card, and then inflict damage equal to half of my Knight's attack."
Twilight Knight Cor – Overlay Units: 2-1
Twilight Knight Cor slashes one of it's overlay units to activate it's effect, allowing it to slash Yuma's Trap Card in half, and then follow through with a back-hand swing which struck Yuma and threw him to the ground.
"Auuggghhh!" Yuma cried as he landed flat on his back.
Yuma – LP: 400-0
Winner: Dusk
The AR field beeped and faded away, leaving the two facing each other. Dusk walked over to Yuma, and grabbed his hand pulling him to his feet.
"That was a good duel Yuma, you really had me in a bind there for a minute," Dusk said as he helped Yuma to his feet.
"It was good, but you were way to much for me," Yuma admitted dusting himself off.
"A Litterobt would be 'way to much' for you Yuma," Astral stated looking at Yuma with a small smirk.
"Shut up Astral! That isn't true and you know it!"
"At any rate," Dusk stated trying to return to return to the point he was about to make. "Yuma, as far as whether or not I thought you worthy of wielding the Numbers."
"Yeah what about it?"
"I determined during the course of this duel that you have a lot of potential as a Duelist to be good without Astral's help, in fact; that was my primary objective. As far as the Numbers go, I had already determined before challenging you that you were fit to do so as Astral had appeared to you. All I wanted to do was confirm with my own eyes."
"Wait, I have potential?" Yuma.
"Yuma focus on the more important facts here," Astral snapped at Yuma. "He said he had already determined your fit to have the Numbers, which means he won't be trying to take them from us at any point or so it appears at the moment."
"Yeah so what if he won't try to take the Numbers?"
"It means he won't duel us without holding back in a situation that could cause my death."
Yuma looked somber for a second. "Oh yeah you're right." He hears a beeping noise emitting from his D-Gazer which had stuck in his pocket a matter of seconds ago. Pulling it out and tapping a button on it to activate a video call function. A face belonging to a girl with hazel colored eyes and green hair appeared on it. "Hey Kotori wha-"
A voice belonging the girl starts yelling at him: "YUMA YOU FOOL! You're late for school! Hurry up and get here before the teacher gets here!" There was a blip and the face vanished from the D-Gazer.
"Oh man, I'm late! I gotta run! If you want to finish this talk we'll do it later. BYE!" Yuma cried back over-his shoulder as he flat out ran in the direction he was initially walking when Dusk encountered him.
"Tsukumo Yuma," Dusk mussed to himself. "What an interesting individual, he'll make my research far more interesting for sure." His own D-Gazer started chiming. He pulled it out and activated the call function. "Dusk here, what do you need?"
"Did you succeed in your goal?" A male-sounding voice asked. "Did you confirm Yuma's worth?"
"I did Cloud. He was just what we expected. Now for Phase 2 to begin."
"As yes," Cloud responded, "the Duel Carnival and Underground Turbo Duel Tournament that bastard Heartland is planning. Which one will you take?"
"I'll take the Duel Carnival, the Turbo Duel circuit seems more up your alley."
"They don't start for another week, what are your plans till then?"
"I think I'll...go to school. Might be fun to learn some more."
"So you intend to go through with that plan as well? 'Infiltrating' Heartland Academy in order to get know the subject of your research better?"
"Ahh come on Cloud don't be like that. At least try to come around sometime. You can make your own observations. In fact, I heard of another interesting individual that goes to Heartland Academy who is friends with, or at least seems to know Yuma. Based on what I heard about him, he does seem to strike a cord of familiarity with me. His name is Kamishiro Ryoga; a.k.a. Shark."
To Be Continued...
Author created cards in this chapter:
Number 2: Knight of Balance, Twilight Knight
Rank: 4 Attribute: DARK Type: Warrior
Card text/effect
"2 Level 4 Monsters
While this card is on the field; it is also treated as a LIGHT Attribute Monster.
Once per turn (during either players turn): you detach an XYZ Material attached to this card and activate this effect:
Negate the effects of all other cards on the field until the End Phase; then target a monster on the field, and banish it; during the End Phase Special Summon it to your opponent's side of the field. This card cannot declare an attack on your next turn after you activate and resolve this effect."
ATK/2500 DEF/2100
Number C2: Knight of Balance, Twilight Knight Cor
Rank: 4 Attribute: DARK Type: Warrior
Card text/effect
"3 Level DARK Attribute Monsters
You can also Xyz Summon this card by using a "Number 2: Twilight Knight" you control as the Xyz Material. (Xyz Materials attached to that monster also become Xyz Materials on this card.) While this card is face-up on the Field, it is also treated as a LIGHT monster.
If your Life Points are 1000 or less you can use the following effect:
If your opponent activates a card effect during the Battle Phase (you or your opponent's)
when a LIGHT or DARK Attribute monster you control is battling; Detach an XYZ Material from this card: Negate the card's activation, and destroy it; then inflict damage to your opponent equal to half of this card's ATK. No card effects can be activated in response to this effect."
ATK/2500 DEF/2100
Funfact: If you read the title of this chapter and heard Paradox from the Bonds Beyond Time Abridge say the word "Protagonist" in your head, then you dear reader: Have no life.
Funfact: Some of the funfacts in this series will completely unrelated and random.
Funfact: Starting with the resubmission of this chapter, all the chapters will be numbered and named correctly.