Vile: Since this chapter is a short one, I decided to upload it quickly.
Yuma: Okay, so why didn't you just stick it at the end of the last chapter?
Vile: Well, for this one, the "Numbershot" chapters will mainly for the Duel and the banter before and after each Duel, so I felt it would be better to give it its own chapter.
Kaito: Makes sense, I guess, though I still think it should've gone at the end of Chapter 7.
Vile: Well, good thing you're not the one writing this. :P Anyhoo, disclaimer's on the first page, amigos. Enjoy!
6 in 1 Numbershot Special: VS The Terminal Gang!
Chapter 8: The Challenge Concluded
*Inside the Terminal Gang's Base*
Akun was laying on a bed inside the base, still out cold. The others sat around, some of them watching him. "This isn't right. How did Akun even get a Number?"
"How did YOU guys even get your Numbers?" Shark asked.
"I don't exactly know…" Kyorei replied. "It must have been slipped to us when we didn't even know it."
Astral, who still had Mia hanging on to his arm, held up Number 81. "It was probably the Number Distributor." He said, making Mia look at him. "The darkness surrounding this card is characteristic of Numbers held by him. But how did the others get into their Decks?" Mia looked at the card with worry.
Then, Kyorei heard Akun groan while in bed. The black-haired boy's eyes shook before they opened, the yellow orbs back to normal. "Akun!"
"Ngh… what happened to me…?" Akun groaned. He gripped his head. "Oh… my head…" The others looked at each other before telling Akun everything that happened during his Duel. This made the Steelswarm Duelist widen his eyes. "Please… tell me you were joking!"
"Unfortunately, we're not." Galen told him. "That Number made you go cuckoo and almost kill us! What got into you, man?"
"Don't take that tone with me! I don't remember anything about the Duel!" Akun shot back.
"Akun, answer me this." Kyorei said. "Do you remember receiving a strange card?"
Akun went into thought. "…Yes, I recall something. Someone approached me…"
*Flashback*
Akun was walking back to Terminal Field. "Excuse me, young one." Akun looked around, confused. "Over here." He followed the voice, seeing a man wearing sunglasses walking at him. "Aren't you a member of the Terminal Gang?"
"Oh, another fan?" Akun asked.
"Yes, I've heard much about the prowess of you and your comrades." The man told him. "I wanted to give the six of you these special cards." He held out six cards. "There's only one of each of them in the world, so count yourself lucky!" He held out the cards.
Akun noticed that they were all Xyz Monsters, and one of them was a Steelswarm, making him smile. "Sweeeet…" He picked the Steelswarm and suddenly felt darkness radiate through him. It only lasted for a second, and he shook his head in response. "What the…?"
"Something wrong?" The man asked.
"I just got a really weird feeling." Akun replied, taking the rest of the cards. Nothing happened with the five of them. "Eh, must be nothing. Thank you, sir."
"My pleasure." The man said, lowering his sunglasses briefly to wink. "Have fun with them!" He then left, leaving Akun to head back to Terminal Field.
*End Flashback*
"I didn't think anything of it at the time." Akun said. "Then, what I got back to the base, I noticed that none of you guys were there, but your Decks were. So, I just figured I'd put the cards in your Extra Decks for when you guys got back. I didn't see any Numbers on the cards, so I thought they were normal!"
Astral relayed a message to Yuma. "Akun, you said the guy lowered his sunglasses to wink at you. Did you catch his eye color?" Yuma asked.
"There was no way I could've missed it. They were a bright blue. And I thought my eyes were piercing, but his eyes had a much greater effect."
Yuma clenched his fist with a growl. "The Number Distributor!"
This made all the Terminal Gang's members snap to him. "You mean that vile man who keeps giving Numbers to people all over the city?" Honto asked.
Yuma nodded, and Shark growled. "Damn him! Is he purposely trying to piss us off now? Targeting Ariel and her friends… He makes me sick!" Ariel hugged him tighter.
Yuma looked out the window. Even if the person wasn't there, he decided to carry the message on the wind. "Listen up, Number Distributor! It doesn't matter how many Numbers you send out! We'll find each and every one of them!" He yelled.
Kaito joined him. "We'll make you pay for all the problems you've caused!"
"Don't think you're safe from us!" Yamoto yelled. Tetsuo and Kotori looked out the window with the same determined looks as the others.
Their voices echoed into the air, but they couldn't see that the person they were addressing was on top of the base and had heard them. 'Keep up your tough talk, fools… It will all come down to your defeats in the end! Hahahahahahahahah!' He vanished in a cloud of darkness.
*A Little Later*
Everyone was now outside the base, Yuma and his friends about to leave. "Despite the repeated intrusions of the Numbers, the six of you emerged victorious in all of your Duels, so as per the rules, you have won our 6-on-6 Duel Gauntlet challenge!" Kyorei said. Yuma's team shared high-fives all around, the two couples in the group (Yuma and Kotori, and Kaito and Jenaveve) sharing a kiss. "Hopefully you all aren't too much of strangers!"
Akun then stepped forward. "I am really sorry for all the trouble I caused, everyone. If I hadn't taken those Numbers, none of this would've happened."
"Don't worry about it, Akun." Kaito told him. "Since you DID take them, we were able to secure them, no problem. So in effect, you helped us out." Akun smiled.
Yuma's group then turned and began to walk away, waving at the Terminal Gang. "See ya around, everyone!" Yuma called back.
After Shark had turned his head away from them, out of nowhere, Ariel appeared by his side and nuzzled into his shoulder. Shark smiled and took her hand. "Is Kyorei ever gonna make a move?" He whispered to her.
Ariel glanced back at her friends. "I doubt it. He's too gentlemanly, and Megami doesn't have that boldness that I do." Shark's eyes flashed, and his smile became a smirk. He began whispering something in Ariel's ear, Ariel listening intently. Her eyes widened with a small blush at what Shark was telling her. When he finished, Ariel sported the same smirk. "Oh, that is devious. I am so in."
Shark grinned, the two of them fistbumping. "Those two are SO gonna thank us for this." He said as they continued on with Yuma, Kotori, and Tetsuo, as the others were heading home. Their plan was one for another day.
Vile: The Distributor was at it again, but he's lost once more. The others have already left, so it's just me here. My next work is a one-shot for another pairing that actually gained some appeal in my eyes, so keep watch for it. And no, it's not the pairing I hinted at at the end of this one. ^_^ Anyway, if you guys liked this chapter, leave a review for me! Ja ne!
Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.
