A/N Well it's Sunday and like I promised here is the new chapter. Thank your for your patience these past couple of weeks and I will once again try to keep my scheduled. Enjoy reading and just to prevent confusion, Astral's "soul" is separated from her body while she is in the orb/sphere and yes, it's canon.


'Astral, wake up.'

Astral opened her eyes to find that she is back in her ship, but when she tries to move, she finds that she's in some type of sphere.

"Computer, what is going on?" She questioned the screen in front of her. It started up and began playing the last couple of hours. It showed her failed attempt at basketball, the conversation with Yuma during lunch and finally her confrontation with Shark. She shivered at the at memory and then realized she wasn't wearing her school uniform, actually, she wasn't wearing anything at all. She looked at her hand and noticed she could see through it. 'What is this?' she thought.

"Computer, where am I right now?" The computer screen showed her laying in a bed in some unknown room. Just then, a lady came into the room and started rooting through things in Astral's bedside table. She then started talking to herself.

"Computer, raise the volume."

"Poor child, so young and she's already a victim of sexual abuse. How sad." The lady said, as she wrote down what was on the computer screens located beside Astral's bed.

"Hey, you can't go in there!" A voice from outside shouted.

"I'll be gone in a minute, I just need to see Astral." A familiar voice called back as someone runs in the room.

"Yuma!" She gasped when he entered the room.

"You can't be in here." The nurse told Yuma off.

"Please, just give me a minute and then I'll leave." He pleaded with the nurse.

"Fine. You have one minute."

"Thank you, um and will you leave so I can be alone?" Yuma said turning red. The nurse raised a quizzical eyebrow, but then saw how he was blushing. She smiled.

"Of course. Young love, it's so cute sometimes." She said as she left the room. Yuma walked over to Astral's bedside and kneeled on the floor.

"Oh, Astral, I'm so sorry you are like this." He said. She watched from her ship as Yuma as took her hand in his.

"What is this?" She said in amazement when she felt his hand in hers, even though he wasn't there.

"I'm sorry I took you over to Shark even though you tried to stop me." He continued as he stroked her hand. "But I'll make it up to you and defeat Shark. I'll make him pay for what he did." He finished as he dropped her hand gently back on the bed. Yuma then started to take something off his neck.

"Here, wear this." He said as he put the Emperor's key around her neck. "A key is something you use to unlock things but it can also be used to lock things. You have unlocked my feelings towards you and I want to lock them together with you and this will symbolize that." Yuma said as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. Astral felt this and could feel her face heat up.

"What is this sensation?" She said as she touched her cheek were Yuma's lips had grazed it. "I must find out." She said as another computer began glowing.

The nurse who had been in the room before Yuma walked in clapping her hands slowly.

"Oh, that was so beautiful! I could not have payed to see a moment like that." She said as tears came to her eyes as she awed at the beauty of the moment. Yuma gave the nurse a weird look until he understood what she meant. His face then became a dark shade of red and the nurse chuckled softly.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Your moment will be kept secret." The nurse reassured with a wink.

"Thank you, ma'am." Yuma said with a smile as he left the room.

"Oh youth and their love." She said as she continued to watch Astral. "You are a very lucky girl." She said as she left the room.


"Alright, Shark, lets start this duel." Yuma said as he took his duel disk out.

"Of course." Shark said smugly.

"Duel disk: Set! D-gazer: Set! DUEL!" They said in unison as the virtual world materialized around them.

"Go, Yuma!" Tetsuo cheered for his friend.

"I'll go first," Yuma stated "Draw." He added a card to his hand and started thinking. 'Crap I barely know how to use any of these cards.' He thought as he looked over his hand.

"I play Zubaba Knight in attack mode."

"Ha! You're a fool for playing such a weak monster in attack mode. My turn! Now, I summon Big Jaws in attack mode."


'A duel of the numbers has begun. Astral, your destiny awaits.'

Astral awoke from her nap.

"I must have fallen asleep after Yuma left." She said to no one as she rubbed her eyes. In front of her a computer was still watching her unconscious body in the hospital, but one thing she noticed was a second screen that showed Yuma.

"What's this?" She said as the screen zoomed out to show more of what was happening. There, on the field, was Yuma, who was down to 2800 LP and Shark who still had 4000 LP.

"Yuma! Let me out! Yuma needs my help!" She yelled as she started to punch the inside of the sphere. She felt something in her hand and opened it to find Yuma's key.

"He gave me this to symbolize the feelings he wants to lock together with me." She whispered as she cupped her hands and closed her eyes. 'Oh, Yuma, I wish I could help.'

'Astral, you can help. The key he gave you opens a gate. By opening this gate, you will be able to achieve your goal, you may assist Yuma.'

Astral slowly opened her eyes and saw a giant door sitting in front of her.

"I guess I have no other choice." She lift the key and and pushed it to the lock.

"I'm coming, Yuma!" She called as she was pulled into the swirling vortex of a galaxy.


"Ma-master Kaito, there has been some sort of interstellar phenomenon in Heart Land." A robot said as he watch the computers.

"Your point, Orbital?" Kaito said annoyed.

"Um..well, should I tell Dr. Faker about the news." Orbital stutter out of fear of his master's annoyance. Kaito looked up at the monitors. Though he was curious, he didn't show it.

"No."

"B-but why?"

"I want you to collect more information before you tell him anything," Kaito commanded as he left the room "and if anything changes, you will tell me."

"Ri-right away, Master Kaito." Orbital said in salute.


"Hahahaha, you have no chance of beating me!" Shark said as Yuma's life points went down to 2800. "Face it, Yuma you'll never beat me, no matter how hard you try!"

"No! I have to try. I'm not giving up til my life-points run out, especially after what you did to Astral." Shark threw his head back, laughing like a maniac.

"You're hilarious! Why are you even fighting for her, you said yourself that you barely know her. Who knows, maybe this is just an excuse to make her notice you." He smirked at Yuma as his words worked their way into his tiny brain.

"I bet she doesn't even like you. I can even guess what you're thinking. You see yourself winning, running to the hospital arriving in her room gasping out how you won and now she's out of my grasp. Then you confess your love for her, only to have her look you in the eye and say that she doesn't feel the same way. Oh, the humility you'll feel when she yells at you because she was actually put in the hospital because of you!" Shark laughed. Yuma didn't say anything, all he did was stare at Shark.

"You're wrong," Yuma said calmly as he clutched his shirt were his key would usually sit, "yes, I may like her, but even though she may not have the same feelings for me, I know she knows that I am not the reason why she is in the hospital. I will fight you and beat you for her safety and this symbolizes it." He stated as he held a fist up. He then realized that his hand was empty. 'Oh yeah, I gave Astral the key when I was visiting the hospital' He remembered.

"That was so sweet. It makes me sick." Shark snarled.

"Fine I end my turn." He declared. Yuma drew his next card.

"I summon Gagaga Magician and then I equip him with the Spell card Wonder Wand to gain 500 attack points." Yuma said as an armored magician materialized onto the field. A wand appears in front of him, which he grabs, whipping it around.

"Hahahaha!" Shark laughed

"What's so funny?"

"You honestly think you can stop me with those pathetic cards?"

"What do you mean?"

"Trap revealed! Zeus Breaths. This card stops your attack and for every water monster on my field, you take 800 life points in damage and would you look at that, I have one water type on my field so that means you lose 800 life points." Shark said as Yuma was sent flying back from the force of the attack.

"Agh!" He said as he landed on his back then rolled over onto his knees. Yuma kneeled on the ground trying catch his breath. 'How am I going to win? I don't have any skills like him and he might be right about Astral. She might blame me for what happen.' Yuma clenched his fist tightly with all the anger that was building inside him. 'He's right, what happen to her is my fault.' He thought as he got up slowly.

"I for- " Yuma was about to give up when he noticed a burst of light was coming out of his fist.

"Wha-" he opened it to find the key there.

/Yuma, you better not think of giving up on this duel./ A voice whispered from behind him.

"Who's there?" Yuma asked only to see Astral float up beside him. She crossed her arms and looked down at him like a parent scolding her child.

/I hope you weren't actually going to give up./ Astral said as she hovered close to his face. Yuma was still in shock, not just because the girl he was talking was supposed to be in the hospital or the fact she was floating. No, he was shocked at the fact she was naked. His face turned bright red and he looked away from her.

/Yuma, Yuma. Oh, Yuma, you can see me, right?/ She said as she waved a hand in front of his face.

"Yes, I can see you. But what are you doing here?"

/I don't know./ She replied as she put her hands at her side, exposing herself even further to him.

"What do you mean you don't know?! Your floating right in front of me!" Yuma shouted as he got off the ground.

"Yuma, who are you talking to?" Tetsuo called from the sidelines.

"What do you mean? It's Astral and she butt naked, how can you not see her!" He shouted.

"Whoa, dude, I don't need to know about your creepy, erotic daydreams! No one is there." Tetsuo called back.

'So am I the only one who can see her like this?' He thought.

/Yuma, aren't you going continue the duel?/ She asked, getting Yuma's head back in the game.

"Oh right, I set one trap and end my turn." He said as a card appeared on the field.

"Hey, Yuma you know that both spell and traps can be put face down on the field, right?" Tetsuo shouted from the sidelines.

"Oh yeah, I forgot." Yuma said with a stupid grin on his face. Astral sighed, was he really the person she was supposed to work with?

"Your stupidity know no bonds, Yuma! You could never defeat me, no matter how hard you try. I draw! I bring out Skull Kraken and with his effect, I can destroy any face up spell card, so say goodbye to your Wonder Wand. Next I overlay my level 3 Skull Kraken and Big Jaws to summon No.17, Leviathan Dragon!" Shark cried out as a giant sea dragon arrived on the field.

"A Number, I've never heard of or seen that type card before." Tetsuo said amazed, yet shocked at the same time.

/A number, finally, it has shown itself./ Astral said in a slightly amused tone.

"Wait you're excited about this! Why?"

/Well, I wouldn't say excited but I'm happy. Now, Yuma, if you follow every instruction I give you, we will be able to win./

"Whatever Yusei." (You say)

"Now, I use Leviathan's special ability to detach one overlay unit and gain 500 attack points." Shark command as the great dragon reached out and swallowed one of the glowing orbs that was circling around it. "Now, Leviathan Dragon, attack Gagaga Magician!" The dragon attacked and Gagaga shattered to bits.

"I end my turn."

"Okay, draw!" Yuma said as he looked down at his card, it was Gogogo Golem.

/Perfect. Now, Yuma, put that card in face down defense mode./ Astral instructed as she leaned over his shoulder.

"Hey! Stop leaning on me! Now, I play Gogogo Golem in attack mode!"

/Yuma, didn't you hear me?/

"And I play the spell card Blustering Winds, which increases my golem's attack points by 1000. Say goodbye to your number, Shark." Yuma declared as his golem jumped up and punched No.17, causing a cloud of dust to erupt. Shark life points dropped to 3700.

"Well, so much for your powerful monster!" Yuma taunted as Shark looked at the field, with an evil grin on his face.

"Look again." Shark said as the dust settled with No.17 still on the field.

"What? But...how?" Yuma stuttered as he tried to find the right words. "What the...why wasn't his monster destroyed?!"

/Because only another number can destroy a number./

"That's just stupid!"

/But that's how it works, so you'd better start listening to me./

"Hahaha! You fool, did you really think that pathetic strategy would work?"

"Well, yeah, actually. But since I can't do anything else, I end my turn."

"Good." Shark said as he drew his next card. "First, I summon Drill Barnacle in attack mode."

/It looks like we might last this round./ Astral commented.

"Hey! Be quiet, will you, I'm trying to listen!" Yuma hushed her.

"Next, I activate Leviathan Dragon's special ability: by detaching one overlay unit again, gaining 500 more attack points, which makes Leviathan Dragon's overall attack points 3000! Just enough to take out that golem of yours. Now, No.17, attack Gogogo Golem!" Shark commanded as the dragon shot a beam of energy at Gogogo Golem, knocking Yuma's life points down to 800.

"Then, I use Drill Barnacle to attack you directly." The monster drilled under the ground and appeared right in front of Yuma as he and Astral were tossed into the air. They both landed on their backs. Yuma groaned in pain.

"Ow, that really hurt. Right in the Life Points, Shark!" He said as he rubbed his back and looked over to see how Astral was. She didn't seem hurt, but she was fading in and out like a light before it goes out.

"Whoa, Astral, are you okay? You look like you're fading." Yuma bluntly stated. Astral looked at her hand to find that it was more translucent than before.

/So this is what a number duel is./

"What do you mean?"

/In a number dual, the loser gets his number adsorbed by the winner, so that means that if you lose this duel I will fade from existence./

"Wow." Yuma said stupidly.

/Yes, wow. Now, if only you would pay attention to my instructions, then maybe we wouldn't be so low on life points, now would we./ Astral said as she rose back in the air and put her hands on her hips.

"Wait, are you saying this is all my fault?"

/Yes, Gogogo Golem has the ability to not get destroyed once per turn if its in defense./

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that ability." Yuma said as he activated a facepalm.

"Now, Drill Barnacle's effect is activated! That means whenever it has made a successful direct attack, it gains 1000 attack points, which now makes its overall attack points 1300. So, next move, Yuma, you will lose and I end my turn with that move." Shark taunted.

"How will I stop this? Oh, wait! I know, I set a trap card. Now what was that card?" Yuma thought as he clicked his duel disk to see what his face down was.

/You set Bye bye Damage. If you would have played that before we might still have Gogogo Golem on the field./ Astral patronized when she saw Yuma's mistakes.

"Well, maybe I wouldn't be distracted if a naked chick wasn't nagging me!" Yuma fumed.

/Alright, next turn we need to summon two monsters./

"What?"

/Special summon a monster./

"Oh, right, I knew that. Now it's my turn! I draw." Yuma tuned over the card.

/Yes, Monster Reborn, fate hasn't abandoned me yet. Now, summon out Ganbara Knight in attack mode./ She said as she pumped her fist in the air, excited.

"But, he has zero attack points."

/Trust me, I know what I'm doing./ Astral assured him.

"Fine, I will. First, I summon Ganbara Knight to the field."

/Next, use Monster Reborn to bring Gagaga Magician back on the field./ Yuma did so and then gave Astral a questioning look.

"Two monsters with the same level? Where's this going?"

/Yuma, take a look at your extra deck./ He did so and pulled out a card that wasn't there before.

"An Xyz monster? I don't even own one and I can't make out the words on the card." Yuma said in frustration as he tried to read the card's description.

/I however can. It is No.39, Hope. Now, Yuma, overlay your 2 monsters./

"Okay, I overlay level 4 Ganbara knight and Gagaga Magician. Now, rise on up Number 39: Hope! Okay! Attack Shark's Drill Barnacle with Rising Sun Slash!" Hope leaped into the air and pulled out his mighty swords and slashed them through Drill Barnacle. Shark's life points drop to 2500. Yuma stood back in awe of his monster.

"Did you see that, Tetsuo?! An Xyz monster and I summoned it! Ohhh this is just too cool." Yuma shouted, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Alright, I end my turn." Yuma declared, still giddy with excitement. He then heard Shark laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"You! You actually think that number can defeat mine? You're insane! Now, from my hand I play the spell Surface, which allows me to bring one water attribute monster back from my graveyard. Welcome back Big Jaws, but he won't be staying, because I now send him back to the graveyard to tribute summon Jaws Man whose attack power is 2600, but with his special effect it's raised by 300 attack points for every water attribute monster on the field. I have one, so that makes Jaws Man's total attack points 2900. Now, No.17, attack Hope!"

/Yuma, use one of Hope's overlay units to negate the attack!/ Astral said quickly.

"Right! I use one overlay unit to negate your attack! Moon Barrier!" One of the glowing orbs that was spinning around Hope went into his chest and he absorbed it. His wings then went out in front of him, forming some sort of shield.

"Heh, you may have stopped that attack but I still have a second monster. Jaws Man, attack No.39!"

/Yuma, use Hope's last overlay unit!/

"I could do that, or I could activate the card Bye Bye Damage! That means that my monster isn't destroyed and you take double the damage!" A gust of wind blew dust in his face. "But I also take damage." He said covering his face.

"You may have saved yourself this time, but this trap should end you by the next turn. I play the trap Boomin Urchin so at the beginning of my next turn you'll take 1000 life points of damage."

/Why didn't you listen to me! I told you to use Hope's overlay unit!/

"Yeah, but sometimes I don't listen to what I'm told. Now, No.39, attack No.17!" Hope took out his sword and started flying towards Leviathan Dragon.

/What are you doing!?/

"I'm following my own plan. I use an overlay unit to negate 39's attack and then I active the spell card Double or Nothing, which means when I negate my monsters attack their attack points get doubled and I get another chance to attack again. Now, Hope, attack Leviathan Dragon with Rising Sun Slash!" Hope flew up and dive bombed 17, running his mighty sword through the dragon, making it combust and shatter into holographic bits. Shark was blown away by the shock waves of the attack and landed on his face a few yards from where he had been standing. His life points dropped down to zero and his remaining monsters return back to their card forms. A box, with Yuma's face and the word winner, showed up on his side of the field and the simulation started to fade back into reality.

"I won! I actually won, I beat Shark!" Yuma yelled as he ran over to Tetsuo, who was still amazed at what his friend had done. Astral continued to float where she had been most of the time.

'Amazing. This boy actually defeated a number, but how? Was it dumb luck?' She thought. 'No, he must be the one, how else could he see me and be able to possess a number?' Astral thought. She then looked to Shark, who was still laying on the ground. She heard a noise that seem to be calling for her, asking for her to take it back. She reached her hand towards Shark and silently beckoned the number. It flew off of his duel disk and landed in her hand and was absorbed into her flesh. As that happened, Shark started groaning as though someone had come up to him and punched him in the stomach. Yuma heard this and stopped his conversation with Tetsuo and walked up to Shark.

"Hey, Shark, you okay?" Yuma asked.

"What happened?"

"You just lost the duel against me and now you have to give me back Tetsuo's deck." Yuma said as he held out his hand to take the cards back.

"What duel?" Shark asked in a confused tone.


A/N So was it worth the wait? A little fluff(If you want to call it that), some foreshadowing, and finally the duel. And I'll say it now it was not fun to write said duel. That was something I didn't think about when I started writing but I guess I'll say it now, I will for the, life of me, if it's possible, not write a duel. I just find them hard to write. Yes there are some I will have to write but small ones with little or no meaning will be skipped, done in a small shot, or simply talked about after the fact. Well I'm done talking, I think I might have missed something but hopefully not. Yami Gir signing off.