Back again, with the next part. In the time it took me to work on this, I started watching the original Yu-Gi-Oh! (And my U.S. English dub standards, that means the Duelist Kingdom season). In watching that, I started getting an idea to possibly rewrite how it all started using real world rule. I have a poll going on my profile page to find out where you think I should start. It'll be awhile before I start it, but I want to put the idea out there for future reference. Feel free to give me input on the idea in your review of this chapter, but I won't be able to know your answer until you answer the poll. Oops, the commercial's done and we're starting to fade back from black. Sit tight folks, Here we go!
NUMBERSHOT 41 Part 2
It had been a couple of days since Yuma, Bronk and Tori visited Fierman's. In that time, Yuma made another friend in Nelson Andrews and gained another Number card. Today, Yuma was enjoying another day at school (and enjoying it usually involved sleeping through class).
Standing over him, Tori snapped him out of his slumber by sharply pulling on his ear.
"Ow, Ow, Ow, OW!" he yelled. "What are you trying to do?! Tear my ear off?!"
"I'm trying to make sure you don't make your sister worry again," Tori told him. "Class is over, and I'm sure you don't want to be locked in here."
She let go of his ear, and he started to rub it.
"Well, you coulda tried something that was less painful," he told her.
"I did," she explained. "You're just a really heavy sleeper."
Once they got outside, Yuma took in a big breath of air.
"Finally," he said in relief, "the weekend is here. I can finally relax."
"Like you don't do that enough in class," Tori said, rolling her eyes.
"Hey, what do ya say we go pay Gordy a visit?" Yuma asked his female friend.
"Won't Kari tear your head off if you don't go straight home?" Tori asked him.
"Aw, she'll be ok with it," Yuma told her. "I mentioned I might drop by there after class. Plus, Grandma said she'd be there, so I technically won't be unsupervised."
"How'd Kari get off the war path on you doing it last time anyway?" the green-haired girl asked.
"Well," Yuma explained, "it was Mr. Fierman's apology combined with Grandma telling her that she was there earlier and said the place was legit. She told Mr. Fierman about me and I guess he told Gordy."
Tori just stared at Yuma, wondering how he managed to say all of that, and if he even understood half of what he just said.
"Well, come on," he then said. "Let's go!"
He then ran off with Tori running right behind him.
A short time later, they arrived at Fierman's, which seemed just as busy as last time. As they approached the restaurant's outdoor tables, Mr. Fierman, who was talking to two ladies at a table, saw them walk up.
"Yuma, Tori," he called out. "Take a seat. I'll be with you in a bit."
The kids sat down at an open table outside and shortly after, Mr. Fierman sat down with them.
"So, what brings you kids to my humble establishment?" he asked them with a smile.
"Well, we wanted to see how Gordy's doing," Yuma told him, "and I was hoping he'd take me up on my offer to duel."
"Now that I think about it," Tori said, "I don't think I've seen him in class lately."
"Yeah, he's been here working in the kitchen," the restaurant owner told them. "Strangest thing, the day after he met you guys, he was cooking as good as me."
"You mean he couldn't before?" Yuma asked.
"Don't get me wrong," Mr. Fierman continued, his smile fading slowly, "for his age, he's a good cook. It's just he lacks the confidence in his own skills to make the dish and it then ends up going wrong."
"Ouch," Yuma said, "sounds rough."
"Yuma," Tori scolded, shooting him a look.
"No, he's fine," Mr. Fierman told her. "I'll admit, he beats himself up over it despite me telling him it's okay."
"Though I guess it's partially my fault," he added with a sigh. By this time, Astral had appeared and was floating above them.
"What do you mean?" Tori asked.
"Well, I have Gordy working here as a busboy and dishwasher," he explained, "so he can earn his allowance in a real world setting and it's also an attempt at father-son bonding, but I think he thinks I'm having him show me he can one day run this place."
"You mean you don't want that?" Yuma asked.
"I'd be happy if he did," Mr. Fierman went on, "but I'd be even happier if he followed his own path along density's road."
Yuma just looked at him confused as Tori nodded, understanding what he meant.
"What he is saying, Yuma," Astral explained, "is that he wants Gordy to live his own life. Much like how you duel, though your sister does not approve of it."
"Oh," Yuma said in realization, "I get it. But why? I figured most grown-ups want their kids to do what they do."
"Some do, some don't." Mr. Fierman said with a small laugh. "See my father was an investment banker. He was a wiz with numbers, and I was too. But when I told him I wanted to be a cook, rather than a banker, you know what he told me?"
Yuma and Tori just shook their heads.
"He told me that he'd help fund my first restaurant," he explained. "He also told me he never wanted to be a banker, but went to school for banking because his father pushed him to be one. He taught me that a real parent helps a child reach for their dreams, and I want Gordy to reach for his."
"Have you told him any of this?" Tori asked.
"Unfortunately, no," the restaurant owner answered, "but, just from causal observations, I see him at his happiest when he's dueling. That's one of the reasons why I have the 'duel for your meal' promotion. It's not just to bring in customers and give them a show, but to help Gordy try and better his dueling skills."
"Well, then," Yuma said, standing up, "why don't we see just how good he is. That way, you can see if you're doing a good job and then tell him what you want to tell him."
Mr. Fierman smiled, "Alright, let's do it," he then said and motioned to a near by waitress. "Can you go to the kitchen and tell Gordy to come out here, please?"
She nodded and walked through the crowded restaurant toward the kitchen. Upon entering, she found her boss's son standing near a grill cooking several items at once.
"Gordy," she shouted, catching his attention, "your dad wants you on the patio."
"Can't you see I'm busy?" he growled, turning back to the items he was cooking. "I've got six tables with about two people each, two parties of three and a party of five I need to get food for. Tell him I'll talk to him after the lunch rush."
"Gordy, he's your dad and right now your boss," the waitress told the youth. "You know that when your boss says 'jump', you ask 'how high' and then do it. So leave that to one of the chefs and get your butt out there."
"Fine," he sighed disgruntled. He gave his position on the grill to another chef in the kitchen and followed the waitress outside. On the way outside, Gordy started to get a strange feeling deep within him. Once he walked outside, he saw his father sitting at a table with Yuma and Tori. All three looked up and saw him walk out.
"Hey, Gordy," Yuma called out to him waving.
"Yuma, Tori, what are you guys doing here?" Gordy asked.
"We came to see how you were doing," Tori answered.
"And I wanted to have a chance to duel with ya," Yuma added. "What do ya say?"
"Sorry, Yuma," Gordy said, shaking his head. "I don't really have time to duel."
He started to turn to re-enter the restaurant until his left foot suddenly felt heavier than before. Looking down, he saw Yuma was now on the ground, his arms wrapped tight around it.
"Oh, come on," he begged. "Please."
"Yuma," Tori said looking away in embarrassment, "you're making a scene."
Yuma kept going on, repeating 'please' over and over again at an annoying pace. Gordy was about to turn him down again when a voice rang out in his head.
"Accept his challenge," it told him.
'Why should I?' Gordy asked the voice mentally. 'I'm not gonna gain anything from it.'
"But you will," the voice explained. "I sense this boy holds a number card. The ability you have now is only a fragment of what you can do. With I alone, you are close to par with your father, but with each other number you collect, my power will grow and you will be that much better than your father. Isn't that what you really want?"
The voice's words seemed to resonate with something inside Gordy. He did want that. And the only way to get it was to duel Yuma. Well, how could he say no?
Meanwhile, Yuma was still begging for the duel. Astral floated a little closer to him, making an observation about how humans behave irrationally and childish when they really want something despite not getting it.
"Alright, Yuma," Gordy finally said, causing the young duelist to stop his begging and make him look up to see him grinning slightly, "I accept your challenge."
Yuma's eyes widened in joy and he smiled from ear to ear.
"Really," Yuma asked excitedly, jumping to his feet, "you do?"
"On one condition," Gordy told him. "We duel in the restaurant in front of the customers. I think they deserve a good show don't you?"
"I guess do," Yuma agreed. "Alright, let's do it."
"I'll go let everyone know what's going on," Mr. Fierman said. "Millie, Sam, show Yuma to the platform."
As the restaurant owner and his son walked into the building, Yuma was ushered in by two members of the wait staff. Inside, Yuma and Tori saw that on wither side of the building was a small stage with some padding against the wall. Gordy was already up on one of the stages. After being lead to the other platform, Yuma walked onto it. Tori stood off to the side, near Yuma platform, while Mr. Fierman walked to the center of the restaurant.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention, please!" Mr. Fierman announced, catching the attention of his customers. "For your dining pleasure, Fierman's is proud to present a duel of possible epic proportions! First, the challenger, a young upstart with dreams of being a duel champion, Yuma Tsukumo!"
Motioning to Yuma, a light applause came from the crowd as he waved.
"And his opponent, the current Fierman's record holder for most wins. The undefeated, Gordy Fierman!"
Again, the crowd lightly applauded as Gordy too waved to the crowd.
"Gentlemen, prepare to duel!" As he said this, Mr. Fierman went over to Tori's side.
"Get ready, Gordy," Yuma called out. "Cuz I'm feeling the flow!"
With that, Yuma went through the motions he usually did when attaching and activating his Duel Disk.
"Duel Disk, GO!"
He then threw his folded up D-Gazer into the air, allowing it to unfold. He then caught it, and placed it on his left ear so that the lens was over his right eye.
"D-Gazer, Let's roll!"
Gordy went through a similar process with his generic white Duel Disk and standard model D-Gazer that was colored dark brown with a light brown lens (as if it could have been part of a pair of sunglasses).
"Duel interface set," they both called out as the augmented reality slowly came online creating a visual world around them and all others who were watching with their D-Gazers.
"AUGMENTED REALITY VISION LINK ESTABLISHED," said a female voice as all the D-Gazers were connected to this match.
"Let's Duel!" The two opponents declared as they drew their hands.
(Yuma: 8000) (Gordy: 8000)
"Well, now," said a voice behind Tori and Mr. Fierman, who turned to see Yuma's grandma behind them. "It seems that our boys are getting along well."
"They sure are," Mr. Fierman commented. "You were right about them being a perfect match. It was a good idea to bring them together."
"You mean you two planned to bring them together?" Tori asked surprised.
"Yep," Mr. Fierman answered, slightly sheepishly. "It was my idea for Gordy to bring you all to the restaurant. Mrs. Tsukumo talked it over with your mom and Bronk's mom, knowing you three would probably be together."
"Mr. Fierman," Tori continued, "how many other people did you do that with?"
"What do you mean 'other people'?" Mr. Fierman asked her. "You three are the only ones we did that to. Why do you ask?"
"Because Gordy said we were the fourth group this week you played that joke on," Tori explained.
"Uh, oh," Gordy's dad said in realization. "I think he said that so that he didn't look like a loser to you guys. See back where we came from, Gordy had no trouble making friends, but here he was like a fish out of water and froze up. I think that if I hadn't have pushed, he might have been friendless for a long time."
"You're being melodramatic," Yuma's grandma told him. "Your son is a nice boy. I am sure that he would have found friends even without our help."
"Here we go, Yuma," Gordy called as he reached for is deck. "I draw"
"We must be careful, Yuma," Astral told the young duelist. "We do not know what Gordy is capable of."
"No, duh, Astral!" Yuma snapped at him, attracting the attention of everyone watching, as to them he was yelling at no one. "Now stay out of this. There's no Number involved."
'So he does know about the Numbers,' Gordy thought. 'Better try to draw his out.'
"I set one monster facedown," Gordy said. The back of a Duel Monsters card appeared sideways on his field.
"Then, I play my Giant Stew Pot and Heart of the Underdog Continuous Spells."
A spell card Yuma didn't recognize appeared on Gordy's field; and then behind his new friend was, like he said, a giant pot of something on a large stove burner.
"I'll end my turn here."
"Then lookout, Gordy," Yuma said as he drew his card, "cuz here I go."
'Yuma, it appears Gordy may be using the same Strategy as Flip,' Astral commented. 'I suggest setting a monster in Defense Mode and playing it safe.'
Hearing Astral advise him again angered Yuma to no end.
"Butt out, Astral!" he yelled. "This is my duel, and I'll do it my way. So I'll summon Zubaba Knight in Attack Mode."
Out of a portal that appeared when Yuma played the card leapt a knight in yellow armor with a red cape wielding two swords wit a jagged edge. (ATK: 1600)
"Now, Zubaba Knight, attack his facedown," Yuma commanded.
'No, Yuma, wait!' Astral called out, but he was too late as the knight began his charge down the field.
"I now flip my Boar Soldier," Gordy declared as his facedown flipped over and a humanoid pig-like being appeared wearing leather armor and holding a stone hammer. (DEF: 500)
Once Yuma's knight was close enough, he slashed at the pig-humanoid and caused it to dissolve as it uttered one last squeal.
"Now I'll place one card facedown and end my turn."
"Not bad, Yuma," Gordy complemented. "You managed to turn my Boar Soldier to diced pork."
As Gordy took the card from the card tray of his Disk and slipped it into his Graveyard, the monster appeared again over the boiling pot before dissolving into particles of light the sprinkled themselves into it.
"What just happened to your monster?" Yuma asked after seeing that happen.
"Nothing much," Gordy explained. "He was just added to a special surprise I'll serve up later in this duel. Anything else you want to do?"
Yuma looked over his hand one more time and saw the Copy Knight Trap Card.
'If I can get another monster, this can help me bring out one of my Numbers,' Yuma thought. 'What am I thinking? I can win this without the Numbers. That monster had 2000 Attack Points and yet he set it rather than summon it. I bet he'll probably stay on the defensive because of my awesome skills. Still, maybe it's better to be safe than sorry.'
With that, Yuma grab the card and set it on his Disk.
"That's all for me," Yuma told him.
'The card Yuma set was his Copy Knight Trap,' Astral told himself mentally. 'Why would he set that now? Perhaps he is planning to use it should Gordy have a Number card. Though, I am not entirely certain Yuma has the capabilities to plan that far ahead, as our previous duels have shown me.'
"Here I go, Yuma!" Gordy shouted. "I draw!"
He looked at his new card and smirked.
"Now I'll use Heart of the Underdog," he told him, showing Yuma he had drawn a card with a yellow border. "See, when I draw a Normal Monster, Heart of the Underdog lets me draw again after I show it to you. And as you can see, my Jerry Beans Man fits the order."
With that, he added the card to his hand and drew again.
"Well, at least he only gets one card," Yuma quipped.
"Don't be so sure, Yuma," Astral told him. "Heart of the Underdog's effect works even when the draw comes from itself. Meaning if his new card is also a Normal monster, he'll be able to draw again, and cycle will continue endlessly until he does not draw a Normal monster."
"Heh, I hate to break it to ya, Yuma," Gordy said, as he shown his opponent his new card, "but I just Battle Steer, another Normal Monster, so I can draw again."
He did so, but this time it wasn't a Normal Monster, so he added it to his hand and started to form a plan.
'Oh yeah,' he thought, 'this will help get things going.'
"All I'll do is set this facedown and end my turn," Gordy then said as another card appeared in the same position Boar Soldier once was in.
'Facedown again?' wondered Astral. 'What is he planning?'
"If that's all your going to do, this will be over quick," Yuma taunted. "I draw."
"Yuma, I again implore you to go on the defensive," said Astral. "Gordy's strategy seems very unorthodox, and we should proceed cautiously."
"I told you to let me duel!" Yuma screamed at him, causing some murmurs to arise from the audience. Calming down, Yuma began his move.
"I summon Gogogo Golem."
What rose out of the ground on Yuma's field was a large monster made out of blue, grey, and green stones. It stood tall, ready to battle. (ATK: 1800)
"Gogogo Golem, go take out his monster," Yuma called out.
With that, the large rock monster took off down the field; swinging one arm back, ready to strike, as the monster that appeared was a tomato with rather fiendish face on it (DEF: 1100)
Once it was close enough, the Gogogo Golem pushed the monster, leaving juice on its fist and sending the remains into the pot.
"Oh, yeah, now it's time for a direct attack," Yuma gloated.
"Not quite," Astral told him.
"What do you mean 'not quite?'" the duelist asked the dimensional being floating next to him.
"Sorry, Yuma," Gordy called out, catching Yuma's attention, "but the monster you destroyed was my Mystic Tomato. And with its effect, I can Special Summon 1 DARK monster from my Deck to my field so long as it has 1500 Attack Points or less. So here comes another Mystic Tomato."
Gordy took a card from his Deck and placed it on his Disk allowing another faced tomato to appear. (ATK: 1400)
"Heh, one or ten more," Yuma laughed, "it won't help you against Zubaba Knight's swords."
On cue, the knight rushed down the field and cut the tomato in half with one of his blades, sending both halves into the pot. The attacked continued through, striking Gordy in the chest as the Life Point counter appeared in front of him to show the damage done. (Gordy: 7800)
"Nice job cutting a little of my Life Points," said Gordy. "Now, it's my job to return the favor. And I'll start by bringing out my Tongue Twister through Mystic Tomato's effect."
A new portal opened on Gordy's field, and from it emerged a very strange creature. It looked like some kind of long, mutated human tongue tips with fangs. Its long body coiling down to a single, claw, it glared at its opponent with its one green eye. (ATK: 400)
"Whoa, that thing's ugly!" Yuma exclaimed.
"Yes, and fairly weak," Astral added, "but as you yourself have shown sometimes, what is weak is not what is useless."
Instead of trying to think up a comeback and shout at Astral again, Yuma decided to just ignore him, and hoped he'd get the message.
"Well, that's all I can do for now, Gordy," Yuma shouted to him with a smile. "So give me all you got."
"Ask and you shall receive, Yuma," Gordy told him "I draw!"
As he looked over his hand, Gordy could hear the voice again.
"Yes," it said, "You have what you need. End this duel now."
"Not yet," Gordy told it mentally, "A good chef lets his dish simmer first. Going to full boil to soon will spoil it."
With that, Gordy took hold of one of the cards in his hand and played it.
"I summon Naturia Pumpkin," he declared.
Next to the fiendish tongue appeared a small creature that looked like a green pumpkin with arms and legs, and rather cute green eyes (ATK: 1400)
"Now, through my Pumpkin's effect, I Special Summon my Naturia Cherries."
On the tongue's other side appeared another monster of a similar design as the pumpkin, but this one was a pair of cherries attached to each other at the stem. They huddled cutely close to each other in fear of the strange monster next to them. (ATK: 200)
"What are you going to do with all of those monsters?" Yuma asked.
"I admit, I, too, am confused," Astral stated. "He has used up his Normal Summon, and his monsters do not cohesively have a Level they can reach for Xyz Summon. This is quite puzzling."
"Want to know what I'm serving up?" Gordy asked with a light chuckle. "Why, it's just one of the appetizers in today's duel meal. You see, I'm going to have my Cherries gave Tongue Twister a little flavor by tuning them together."
With that, the Cherries began to glow transforming into a green ring of a strange design.
"Tuning?" Yuma said utterly confused. "What the heck is that?"
"It is what you do when you perform a Synchro Summon," Astral stated, realizing what was happening.
"AND WHAT IS A SYNCHRO SUMMON?!" Yuma screamed at his interdimensional partner.
"Synchro Summoning is a precursor to Xyz Summoning," Astral explained. "While Xyz Summoning uses two or more monsters of the same Level to summon an Xyz Monster whose Rank is the same as the Levels of the monsters used; Synchro Summoning uses two or monsters, sometimes of differing Level and including a special monster known as a Tuner Monster, to summon a Synchro Monster whose Level is equal to the exact total of the combined Levels of the monsters used."
"Uh, in English?"
"Just watch."
The green ring lowered itself over the tongue monster, which dissolved into an orange outline of itself, with six white stars shining within. Suddenly, a pillar of light , about the size of the ring, erupted in that spot.
"With my Level 1 Tuner and Level 6 non-Tuner," Gordy shouted, "I Synchro Summon Nacheesmo Golem."
The light faded away to reveal a giant monster that looked to be made out of nacho cheese and tortilla chips. Bits of tomatoes, green peppers, black olives, lettuce, and onions could also be seen dotting its body. Its left eye was a dollop of sour cream and its right was one of guacamole; both had a single piece of black olive for a pupil. It roared loudly as it took a lumbering step forward. (ATK: 2300)
"Whoa, that thing is huge!" Yuma exclaimed in shock.
"And it's not your only problem," the young chef told his opponent, playing another card in his hand. "I now play my Red-Pepper Spice Spell Card."
A cloud of a fine red powder began to fill the field.
"Thanks to this Spell Card, not only does my Pumpkin gain 300 Attack Points, but your knight loses that same amount."
As if on cue, Zubaba Knight dropped his swords as he started to have a coughing fit, while the cute, lazy eyes of Naturia Pumpkin took on an angered stare, full of fire. (ZK: 1300) (NP: 1700)
"Now, to make sure you don't pull a fast one on me, I play the Spell Spice – Brown Sugar card."
Another cloud of powder, this time a dark brown, filled the field again; and once it was gone Yuma looked to see his face facedown card was covered in a brown shell.
"What happened?" he asked in shock.
"My Brown Sugar card just caramelized your facedown card," Gordy explained. "Which means you can't use it this turn. Meaning it's now safe for me to launch a counter attack. Nacheesmo Golem, destroy his Gogogo Golem."
The giant food monster drew back its fist and trusted it forward, sending a large glob of melted cheese towards Yuma Golem. It collided with the monster with enough force to break it apart and send a shockwave to push Yuma backwards a little bit. (Yuma: 7500)
"Now, it's time for Naturia Pumpkin to squash your knight."
On that command, the pumpkin monster jumped into the air, landed on its side, and began to spin at a very high speed. It took off like a shot aimed at Zubaba Knight. Unable to defense himself, due to him still suffering from a coughing fit, he was run over it with ease, causing him to disappear into pixels as the pumpkin continued rolling at struck Yuma in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to fall onto his back. (Yuma: 7100)
"And that's all for this course," Gordy finished, as Naturia Pumpkin rolled back to his side, seemingly back to normal. (NP: 1400)
Astral floated closer to Yuma as he brought himself to a seated position.
"Are you alright, Yuma?" He asked him.
"Yeah, fine," the young duelist grunted. "Just caught me off guard was all."
"Perhaps now you will start taking my advice," Astral suggested.
"I don't need your help," Yuma told him, as he flipped himself back to his feet. "I can win this one on my own."
'Oh, I wouldn't count on that, Yuma' Gordy thought to himself as a small evil grin crossed his face. 'Once I bring out the main course, you might need all the help you can get, particularly from your Number card.'
(Fade to Black)
A/N: Time for another commercial break, folks. Hopefully now that I'm on my winter break I can bring you the next part quicker than I did with this, but I can't make any promises, you how life can be, sometimes. Anyway, please R/R, I'd like to hear what I coulda done differently, or if I goofed in any way. Thank you. Till next time.