Chapter 3: Yuma and Me

You ever get that weird feeling when you come into school on a Monday morning after fighting a blob of goo and gaining cards that may or may not be evil?...It actually feels just like every other day.

"Good morning, Lennox." I looked up to see Takashi Todoroki, our class representative. "Did you do anything interesting this weekend? To summarize, was it good?"

"Oh, yeah, nothing much." I shrugged, finding I was surprisingly good at lying...I think.

"I see." He nodded. "You know, I heard a rumour about the outcome of the Duel between Ryoga Kastle and Yuma Tsukumo. To summarize, I heard Yuma won!"

"Wait, Yuma won?" I didn't mean to sound rude but...this was Yuma! Who doesn't know how to Chain! And Ryoga made it to the finals in a Dueling Tounrmanent! "I find that a little hard to believe..."

"I know how you feel." He nodded. "Anyways, I'd better prepare the classroom." And so he hurried off to his duties.

'Class rep never sits still...' I thought. 'Still though...did Yuma really beat Ryoga? Rumours are really fickle...I'd better see if I can talk with Yuma later...'

That was my original plan, which I abandoned as soon as I saw Yuma get beaten to a pulp by class rep. Didn't lose a single Life Point. Do you see my point?

'I guess I should find Ryoga instead.' I decided.

So I spent the rest of the day looking for Ryoga, but I couldn't find him anywhere! Seriously, what was going on at the minute? I already had enough to deal with involving Numbers and Duel Blood! Still not over it!

It was only at Dueling time when something actually happened. I noticed Yuma talking to himself on the stairs, hell, yelling at thin air! He then turned towards me and walked over.

"Hey, Lennox!" He grinned.

"Uh, hey, Yuma." I waved. "Are you okay?"

"Uh-huh." He hissed through his teeth, obviously annoyed at something. "It's just that, I could have won that Duel with the class rep is SOMEONE hadn't left me!"

"...Are you shouting at the air?" I asked.

"No! I'm shouting at...shut up!" He had his back turned to me.

"...Are...are you okay, Yuma?" I asked.

"Yeah!" He spun on his heel to face me again. "Listen, Lennox, do you know anything about Number cards?"

"What!?" Yuma of all people was in on this!? I dragged him over to an unoccupied area of the Dueling grounds. "Yuma, how do you know about Numbers?"

"Eh!? So you DO know about it, Lennox!?" He gasped.

"I was asking how YOU knew about it!" I rebuffed.

Yuma reached into his Extra Deck and pulled out two Xyz Monsters: Number 39 and Number 17. "These are my Numbers I've got so far."

I reached into my own Extra Deck and pulled out Number 89 and Number 48. "Well then, these are mine."

We both stared at each others respective Number cards, until Yuma looked over his shoulder. "Be quiet! Lennox is my friend! Besides, he isn't acting all weird like Shark was!"

He's still talking to air...wait..."What do you mean, Shark was acting weird?"

"Shark had this card when I dueled him." He pointed to Number 17. "What was that again...I could have remembered it you jerk! They feed off of negative emotion."

"Negative emotion?" I echoed, looking down at the four Number cards. "I heard Numbers take their form based off of their holder..."

The two of us remained in silent thought, until the bell rang for the final lesson of the day. "Aw, crap, already?" Yuma moaned as we both put our Numbers away. "Hey, Lennox. Let's Duel sometime, okay?...Well what if I WANT to let you disappear!?" He then stormed off.

"...What...just...happened...?" I asked myself.

ZEXAL

All thgroughout that night and into the next day of school, I thought about Yuma and Ryoga. Somehow, they had gotten caught up with Numbers as well, and Yuma seemed to be a central figure somehow or other...so where did I stand in all of this?

Right now, though, I just had to focus on collecting Numbers from evil people, and I don't think Yuma was the evil type. Maybe a bit crazy nowadays, but not evil.

Speaking of Yuma, at Dueling time, he along with Kotori and Tetsuo came over to me. "Hello, Yuma." I greeted him.

"Hey, Lennox!" He waved. "Y'know, I was thinking, since we both collect Numbers now, we could have a Duel!"

"Duel, now?" I asked.

"Yuma, why are you Dueling Lennox about this?" Kotori sighed.

"I admit, I wouldn't think you'd have Numbers, Lennox, whatever they are. No offense." Tetsuo said.

"None taken." I smiled. "Alright, Yuma, I accept your challenge!"

"Alright!" Yuma cheered before looking over his shoulder. "I get it already!...Sigh...but no Numbers."

"No Numbers?" I echoed.

"Yeah, apprently Numbers...er..." He looked to be in deep thought.

"Tetsuo sighed. "You said that Numbers fight to control each other, right?"

Yuma hit his palm with his fist in realisation. "Yeah! That's it!"

"So it's a winner take all situation, huh?" Well, at least now I knew a bit more about the Numbers. "Got it, no Numbers."

"Then let's do this, already!" He cried as he tossed his D-Pad into the air. "Duel Disk, set!" It equipped to his left arm and opened up its slot zones. "D-Gazer, set!" We both put on our Duel Gazers.

"AR-Vision: Link Established." The robotic voice said.

"DUEL!"

Lennox vs. Yuma LP: 4000

"I'll go first!" Yuma declared confidently. "My turn! I draw!" He looked at his cards and smirked. "I summon Gogogo Golem in attack position!" The ground opened up and a golem with 1800 ATK climbed out. "I end my turn!"

'That's it?' I sighed internally. 'Geez, Yuma...' "My turn! Draw! I summon Constellar Pollux!" A white knight with a twin-bladed sword and 1700 ATK appeared.

"Heh, it has less attack then Gogogo Golem!" He then looked irked at the empty space beside him. "Shut up!"

I wonder if I should get him some help..."I activate Pollux's effect! When this card is Summoned, I can Normal Summon an additional time this turn!"

"Wait, you can Normal Summon twice!?" Yuma gasped.

"Yep!" I nodded. "So, I'll release Pollux to Advance Summon Constellar Alrescha!" A larger version of Pollux with 2200 ATK appeared.

"Uh-oh! It has more ATK then Gogogo Golem!" He realised.

"And that's not all." I continued. "When Alrescha is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Constellar from my hand in face-up Defense Position. My choice is this one! Constellar Antares!" A shining skinny figure wielding a spear on the end of a whip of some kind appeared with 900 DEF.

"Two Level 6 monsters in one go!?" Yuma panicked.

"Alrescha! Attack Gogogo Golem!" Alrescha slashed the Golem with its blades, causing it to burst into light particles.

Yuma's LP: 3600

"I set two cards and end my turn!" I finished.

"Man, you really are good, Lennox!" Yuma grinned. "I'm gonna kattobingu! My turn! Draw!"

'There's his phrase.' I noted.

"I summon Gagaga Magician!" I recognised this card of Yuma's, the mysterious magician with 1500 ATK. "Now I'll equip him with Bound Wand, which'll boost his attack by his own Level times 100!" Gagaga Magician grabbed the red jeweled weapon, increasing its ATK to 1900.

"Okay, now how can I get his attack even higher to beat Alrescha?" Yuma thought aloud. Kotori sighed and Tetsuo faceplamed as Yuma glared at thin air. "I knew that! I activate Gagaga Magician's effect! Once per turn, I can change its Level from 1 to 8 until the End Phase! I make Gagaga Magician Level 8! So now, Bound Wand increases its attack even more!" The eight points on the magicians belt glowed as it became Level 8, and Bound Wand raised its ATK to 2300.

"Gagaga Magician! Attack Constellar Alrescha!" The monster raised its weapon above its head.

"Trap card, open! Dimensional Prison!" The card flipped up. "Not only does this negate your monsters Aattack, but it is banished as well!"

"What!?" Yuma gasped as a tear into a dark world opened up which sucked Gagaga Magician in. "Gagaga Magician!"

"SInce he's gone, Bound Wand is also destroyed." I said as the card burst.

"Not good!" Yuma exclaimed. "I set a card and end my turn!"

"My turn, then. I draw!" I looked at the card and added it to my hand. "I summon Satellarknight Rigel from my hand!" A white robed knight with 1900 ATK appeared next to the Constellars. "Also, I switch Constellar Antares to ATK Position!" The monster stood up at its full height with 2400 ATK. "Now! Constellar Antares! Attack Yuma directly!" It jumped up and spun its weapon over its head in preparation.

"Trap card, open! Battle Break!" Yuma's own Trap flipped up. "Since your monster decalred an attack, this card derstroys it and ends the Battle Phase!"

"I won't allow that! Counter Trap, Stellarnova Alpha!" I cried. "When a Spell, Trap, or monster effect is activated, I can send a tellarknight I control to the Graveyard to negate its activation and destroy it! I choose Satellarknight Rigel!" I silently thanked the monster as it flew forward and pierced through Battle Break. "Finally, I draw a card."

"No way!" Yuma panicked.

"Constellars Antares and Alrescha! Attack Yuma directly!" The two monsters fired their attacks together, knocking Yuma off of his feet.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" He shouted as he was floored.

Yuma's LP: 0

Lennox: WIN!

"Man..." Yuma groaned as he sat cross-legged. "Lennox, your really strong!"

"Plus, your still kinda weak." Tetsuo joked.

"Hey!" Yuma jumped to his feet. "Alright, Lennox! I'm gonna become stronger, and then we'll Duel again, got it!?"

I smiled. "Sure, Yuma. Just make sure you improve."

"Yeah." He nodded in determination, before looking to the left of him. "Right, right...and let's gather the Numbers!"

"Sounds like a plan." I said, just as the bell rang.

"Alright, it's P.E next!" Yuma cheered as he ran off.

Seeing as Yuma was gone, I turned to Kotori and Tetsuo. "So, er...what's up with Yuma talking to himself?"

"tetsuo shrugged. "He says he's got some blue guy named Astral following him around."

"Apparently the Numbers are part of Astral's memory." Kotori added.

"Memory?" I echoed. "How are cards pieces of memory?"

"I dunno, it just seems a bit weird to me." Tetsuo shrugged as he walked off.

"Thank you for Dueling Yuma, Lennox!" Kotori thanked me as she also headed inside.

"Numbers...they're getting more mysterious by the second...and I'm talking to myself again."

ZEXAL

I walked down the street on my way home, contemplating everything I knew so far. The Numbers seemed to play multiple rolse with negative emotions and possibly being a fragment of memory...but how did those link? And what did the Duel Blood have anything to do with this? I didn't have enough answers...

Suddenly I heard the screeching of tires and halted as a red car spun around the corner and headed straight for me!

"Holy shit!" I jumped out of the way as the car crashed into a building in a small explosion. "What the hell as that!?"

I scrambled to my feet as a figure emerged unharmed from the fire. He had crazed frizzy orange and purple hair, and wore a mad mix between a pink clown outfit and blue biker jacket, with baggy yellow trousers with white pig faces on them, and big poofy green shoes with oversized orange laces...what? I'm just describing what I saw!

"Yeehahahahaha!" He laughed maniacally. "Gee, that sure was fun! Pretty fireworks too! Woo-hooooooooo!"

"Who is that guy!?" I yelled my thoughts.

"He overdramatically peered into the distance. "Let's see what else there is to do!" He began skipping away!

"Hey, hold on!" I called after him as I gave chase. I chased him as he yelled like a lunatic (which I think he was) until I cornered him in front of a building. "Got you now!"

He turned to me with a crazed grin. "You've benn following me! Yehahahahaha! You wanna play a game, buddy?" He held up his right hand, and I noticed there was an 85 on the back of his hand.

"Numbers..." I mumbled. "Alright then, how about a Duel?"

His grin widened. "A Duel? Sure! Yehahahahahaha!" He got out a standard D-Pad and D-Gazer.

"Duel Disk, set!" I activated my Duel Disk. "D-Gazer, set!" I placed it over my left eye.

"AR-Vision: Link Established."

"DUEL!"

Lennox vs. Wirano LP: 4000

"Yehahahahaha! I'm going first!" He laughed. "I draw!" he smiled at the card he drew. "I summon Mad Shaman from my hand!" A skinny figure wearing a leaf skirt and an angry tribal mask holding a wooden staff appeared.

Mad Shaman, Level 4, Warrior, DARK, ATK: 1400 DEF: 1200

"Now I activate Mad Dance!" The Spell showed two Mad Shaman's and a Mad Archfiend dancing around a campfire. "With this, I can Special Summon 1 Mad monster from my hand! I choose my second Mad Shaman!" An identical monster appeared.

"He has two Level 4 monsters..." I whispered.

"Lennox!"

"Huh?" I turned to see Yuma, Kotori, and Tetsuo. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We heard you chased after some crazy guy, so we came looking for you!" Yuma said.

"Who's the nutjob?" Tetsuo asked.

"Yippie! More friends to play with!" Wirano said giddily. "I'll finish playing with him, then start with you!"

"Eep!" Kotori screamed.

"Let the games begin! Yehahahahahaha! I overlay my two Level 4 Mad Shaman!" The two monsters turned into purple streams of energy. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" The two monsters dived into thge galactic portal.

"Come forth! Number 85! Insane catalyst of darkness! Crazy Box!" A large dark purple cube with a red 85 on it appeared; the Number in its sealed form, before comnponents of the cube broke off and fell away, revealing a spiked core and a red eye, as the Number cackled evilly with 3000 ATK!?

"That Number has 3000 attack!" Yuma yelled.

"It's only a Rank 4! How can it have that much power!?" I shouted.

"Yehahahahahahaha!" He laughed. "Be grateful! Crazy Box cannot declare an attack!"

"Wait, so it can't attack?" Yuma thought aloud.

"So it must be effect reliant." I said.

"I activate the effect of my two Mad Shaman's!" He continued. "When they're used as Overlay Units, I can attach a card from my hand to that Xyz Monster as an Overlay Unit!" Two cards in his hand glowed before zipping up to Crazy Box and becoming purple comets, making a total of four. "Yehahahahaha! Now! Witness the power of my Number!"

I glared at Crazy Box. "What is your secret? Number?" The monster just cackled madly in response.

Mad Shaman: When this card is used as an Xyz Material for an Xyz Summon; you can attach one card from your hand to that Xyz Monster as an Xyz Material.

Mad Dance: Special Summon 1 'Mad' monster from your hand.

And this makes chapter numero tres, sorry if this one seemd a bit uneventful compared to the previous two, but you can't have major revealances or big mysteries every chapter.

But in any case, those who have been reading so far, thank you for your support so far! It's greatly appreciated.

By the way, since Number 85 debuted this chapter, what is your favourite Number? Mine personally is Number 96: Dark Mist.

Thank you for reading, everybody! See you next time!