Hey everyone. I hope you all had a great weekend. I'm going to be busy tomorrow, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to upload on my regular schedule, so I decided to upload this chapter today. I want to say now that there are probably a fair amount of episodes I'm going to skip over for a few reasons, including, easily forgettable, not important, or just plain weird. That said, everything up to the end of the World Duel Carnival will be the first part of the series, with everything after being a separate series. I don't own Yugioh Zexal or its related properties, but this story and its ocs are mine. Don't steal, and I hope you all enjoy.
Troy: Diablosis, attack Lancelot, Dark Knight of the Underworld!
His monster unleashed a red laser blast at his opponent, destroying his monster.
?: 0 LP
Winner: Troy
Troy's opponent fell unconscious and his number card floated into Troy's hand. When he touched it, he was shown another vision. He could see himself as a knight again, but he was training with the very monster he had just acquired.
Troy: Why do I get these strange visions every time I get a new number card?
He had been chasing down numbers all week but had only collected this one and Number 85: Crazy Box.
?: All will make sense in time.
Troy: Number 96?
96: Yes. You are getting better with every duel.
Troy: But after a week, I've only collected two number cards.
96: I'd love to stick around, but I must leave you.
Troy: Wait!
The only answer he got was silence. Little did he know, the current holder of the number card that had been speaking to him was dueling against Yuma across town.
?: I overlay my three level 2 Giant Germs to xyz summon Number 96: Dark Mist!
Rank 2/Dark/Fiend
ATK 100/DEF 1000
Yuma: Wait, Number 96? That's the number Troy asked about.
Bronk: It only has 100 attack points?
Tori: Is that right? I mean it's so big.
Yuma: Well, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
Bronk: Wait Yuma! Maybe it's you who's falling for a trap!
Astral: Bronk is right, we must be careful!
Yuma: Careful shmareful. Utopia, attack!
Bronk: No, wait!
Yuma: Cut through that mist with Rising Sun Slash!
Utopia sliced through the monster with his sword, destroying it.
?: 0 LP
Winner: Yuma
Yuma: Yeah, I won!
Astral took the number card, but the vision he saw terrified him. It looked the Earth was about to break apart. He came out of the vision and saw Yuma with Tori and Bronk.
Tori: Way to duel Yuma.
Yuma: Yeah, I got the skills to give the chills.
Seeing it was getting late, they all headed home, and Yuma felt like he was on top of the world.
Yuma: I'm tellin' you guys, these days no one can beat me. I'm not just feelin' the flow, I am the flow.
Tori: Wow, you sure are confident.
Bronk: A little too confident if you ask me. Don't forget your roots Yuma.
Yuma: Lighten up a little Bronk.
Bronk: Yuma, I'm bein' serious. You got where you are today with my help, we used to be a team!
Yuma: Well now I'm a solo act! And I never needed you anyhow.
Bronk: You know, you got a real big mouth.
Tori: Would you both knock it off!
Yuma: No but I'll knock Bronk's block off.
Bronk: Bring it on!
Meanwhile, Troy had arrived home, but he was starting to feel a bit sick.
Troy: I must just be tired. Hey sis, I'm home.
Emma: Hey there. Troy are you alright? You don't look so good.
Troy: I'm fine, I'm just a little,
He took a step forward, but passed out and collapsed into his sister's arms.
Emma: Troy! It looks like he's just overworked himself. He'll be fine after some rest, but he should definitely stay home tomorrow.
She got Troy into his room and set him down on his bed and changed him into some more comfortable clothes. She had just set him in bed and pulled the covers up over him when he came to.
Troy: Sis, what happened?
Emma: It's okay little bro. You'll be fine, but you need to rest. You're staying home tomorrow.
Troy: Okay.
Emma quietly left his room and gently closed the door behind her. She called in sick the next day so she could stay home and take care of Troy. Meanwhile at the school, Yuma and Tori had arrived, and Yuma had a few bandages on his face from his fight with Bronk the day before.
Tori: So, I heard that Troy is out sick today.
Yuma: I guess I'll have to tell him about the number card tomorrow.
He turned to the side and saw Bronk. They both just scoffed and turned away from each other. The day continued like this until they left to go home. Yuma and Tori were walking through town when Tori suggested something that prompted a double take from Yuma.
Yuma: What do you mean apologize?
Tori: Well, one of you has to be the bigger man.
Yuma: Yeah, and Bronk's way bigger than me, so it'll have to be him.
Astral moved in front of Yuma to get him to stop.
Astral: Yuma listen to your friend Tori, she has a point.
Yuma just turned away from him, trying to ignore him.
Astral: Bronk is your best friend, so why not simply swallow your pride and go talk to him?
Yuma: I'll tell you why. Cuz I had a big lunch and I'm not hungry.
He turned to face Astral, but found himself face-to-face with Bronk instead. Bronk just turned and walked away.
Yuma: Wait hold up!
He reached out and grabbed Bronk's shoulder, who turned around and pushed Yuma away, inadvertently knocking his key away.
Bronk: Well, that's what you get for grabbin' at me.
Just then, black slime started to ooze from Yuma's deck, pooling under Astral before covering him, making him visible to Tori and Bronk.
Bronk: You don't see that every day.
Realizing the most likely cause, he ran back to grab the Emperor's Key.
Astral: Number 96 is trying to take control of me.
Yuma: What do you mean, trying to take control of you?
96: He means that when you dropped your key, you allowed me to escape, and now that I'm free, I can take control of your dear friend Astral.
Then, black tendrils shot out and wrapped themselves around Yuma's arms and legs.
Tori: Put him down!]
Yuma: If this is a bad dream, someone wake me up.
96: Oh, this is no simple nightmare.
Astral: Yuma, give Utopia to Bronk.
Yuma: Why?
Astral: Just do it!
Yuma reached into his deck and managed to pull out Utopia's card before throwing it to Bronk.
Yuma: Bronk, catch!
Bronk caught the card and couldn't believe what Yuma just gave him.
96: That doesn't belong to you.
Yuma: Let me go! And tell me what you did with Astral!
96: I will be the one making the demands here, not you. And right now, I am demanding that number card!
He extended his hand towards Bronk, but the Emperor's Key flashed, and a barrier was created between Bronk and Number 96.
Tori: Bronk, what's going on?
Bronk: I don't know, but I got a hunch it's got something to do with this key. If I can just get it to Yuma, maybe things will be okay, but that means I gotta free Yuma first. Hey tall, dark, and creepy. If you want this number so bad, then beat me in a duel!
96: A duel?
Yuma: Bronk, run! Save yourself!
Bronk: No way Yuma. I never leave a friend behind, and like it or not, you're still my friend.
Yuma: I am?
96: How touching. Very well, let us duel.
Augmented Reality Vision Link Established
Both: Let's duel!
Number 96: 4000 LP
Bronk: 4000 LP
Bronk: Who are you, and why do you want Utopia?
96: I am the spirit of the number your friend Yuma acquired yesterday, and as to why I desire Utopia, its power and the other numbers Yuma has collected would benefit Troy greatly.
Bronk: What?! How do you know Troy?
96: You could say he and I have a special connection. And once I defeat you, I'll be taking all of Yuma's numbers to him.
Tori: I can't believe Troy would do this.
96: Well, he has no idea this is happening. All he knows is that he needs to collect number cards. Troy has far more power than he realizes, and with my help, he's going to reach his full potential. Oh, and by the way, Yuma will be dueling for me. Not his mind, but his body, so be careful.
Bronk: Enough talkin'. I draw. And I summon Aye-Iron in attack mode.
Level 4/Earth/Machine
ATK 1600/DEF 1800
Bronk: And next I play the Spring Punch equip spell. With that done, I activate Aye-Iron's special ability, which means he gains 400 more attack points.
Aye-Iron: 1600-2000 ATK
Bronk: And that activates the effect of my Spring Punch. When the equipped monster's attack points increase, you take damage equal to half that monster's attack points, for a grand total of 1000 points.
A spring-loaded boxing glove launched itself at Yuma, knocking him over.
Number 96: 3000 LP
Tori: Yuma!
Yuma: I'll be fine. Keep it going Bronk.
Bronk: I activate the Gearspring Catapult continuous spell and end my turn.
96: Then it's my move. First, I activate the effect of Acorno. By discarding one card, I can special summon this card from my hand.
Level 1/Earth/Plant
ATK 200/DEF 400
96: And now I activate the effect of Pinecono in my graveyard, allowing me to summon it right back to the field.
Level 1/Earth/Plant
ATK 400/DEF 200
96: And now I summon Darklon and activate his special ability. When he's summoned, I can use his effect to raise the levels of all my monsters by 1 and make them dark attribute. And now I use my three level 2 monsters to build the overlay network, and summon myself, Number 96: Dark Mist!
His monster appeared, but it looked entirely different than when Yuma dueled it.
Bronk: Oh man, he already summoned a number card.
Tori: Wait, how is that thing Dark Mist?
Yuma: It's totally different from yesterday.
96: That is because this is Dark Mist's true appearance. Now, attack Aye-Iron.
Bronk: You're attacking with only 100 points?
96: Not exactly. I activate Dark Mist's special ability. By using one overlay unit, half of your monster's attack points are taken and given to Dark Mist. Go Shadow Gain!
Dark Mist: 100-1100 ATK
Aye-Iron: 2000-1000 ATK
Bronk: If that's the case, then Dark Mist will always be stronger than my monster.
96: You catch on quickly. Now Dark Mist, let him have it! Black Mirage Whip!
Bronk: 3900
96: I place two cards face-down and end my turn.
Bronk: I guess now I know what I'm up against. And I'm not backin' down! And during my standby phase, the effect of Gearspring Catapult activates, causing it to gain one Gearspring Counter. Next I summon Tin Goldfish.
Level 4/Water/Machine
ATK 800/DEF 2000
Bronk: With him out, I can play the Iron Call spell card. Since I control a machine monster, I can summon a level 4 or lower machine monster from my graveyard, like my Aye-Iron. With him back, I play the Iron Draw spell card. Since I control 2 machine monsters, I can draw 2 cards. Don't worry Yuma, you're gonna be safe soon. And now I overlay my level 4 Tin Goldfish and Aye-Iron in order to summon Number 39: Utopia!
Rank 4/Light/Warrior
ATK 2500/DEF 2000
Yuma: Utopia.
96: This will be fun.
Bronk: With Utopia out, I use the effect of my Gearspring Catapult. By using one Gearspring Counter, Utopia gains 500 attack points until the end of this turn.
Utopia: 2500-3000 ATK
Bronk: Now Utopia, put those points to good use and beat down his Dark Mist!
96: You fool. I activate Dark Mist's special ability. Go Shadow Gain!
Bronk: What?! You mean it also activates when he's attacked?
Utopia: 3000-1500 ATK
Dark Mist: 1100-2600 ATK
Tori: It stole Utopia's attack points!
96: And it's going to use them as well. Go Black Mirage Whip!
Bronk: I activate Utopia's special ability! By using one overlay unit, I can negate his attack. Go Light Wing Shield!
Yuma: Way to play defense Bronk.
96: More like way to play right into my trap. I activate the Counterforce trap card. With it, since Utopia's attack was just negated, you take damage equal to the difference in our monsters' attack points.
Tori: Wait, so Bronk gets hit with 1100 points of damage?
96: Correct!
Bronk: 2800 LP
Yuma: Bronk, are you okay?
96: Perhaps now you see, for every move you make, I can make one better.
Bronk: I activate the Automatic Gearspring Machine continuous spell. Once activated, it gains two Gearspring Counters, and during each of my standby phases, it gains one more, and by sending this card to my graveyard, I can add its counters to another card.
96: And just what are you planning with all those counters?
Bronk: You'll find out. Next, I place one card face-down and end my turn, which means Catapult's effect ends and Utopia loses 500 attack points.
Utopia: 1500-1000 ATK
Suddenly Yuma cried out in pain before collapsing to the ground.
Tori: Yuma!
96: Do not worry about Yuma, he is just getting into his role as my pawn. It's my move, and now Dark Mist attack Utopia with Black Mirage Whip! And now his special ability activates, go Shadow Gain!
Dark Mist: 2600-3100 ATK
Utopia: 1000-500 ATK
Bronk: I use Utopia's special ability, Light Wing Shield!
96: I think not. I activate the trap Overlay Banish! This trap negates your monster's special ability, but you know what is not negated? My attack!
Bronk: 200 LP
Tori: Get up Bronk!
96: Yes, please do, so you can see me destroy your Gearspring Catapult.
Bronk: No way!
96: Did you really think that I was going to let you keep your spell card? It is obvious that you plan on using it to power up the next monster you summon.
Yuma: You're wrong. What he plans is to take you down in a single blow.
96: A single blow? And how would he do that?
Yuma: His face-down card is most likely Gearspring Exploder.
Tori: Don't give away his strategy Yuma!
96: No do, I find this all quite enlightening.
Yuma: Gearspring Exploder is a trap card that deals your opponent 800 points of damage for every Gearspring Counter on your field.
96: 800 points each?
Yuma: So next turn, his cards would both gain a counter, giving him a total of 4, dealing us 3200 points of damage, taking away all our life points.
96: Thanks for the info. In that case, I will just destroy that face-down card. I activate the spell card Xyz Cyclone! Since I destroyed your Xyz monster, I can destroy one of your spells or traps as well.
Bronk: So much for Gearspring Exploder.
96: And with that, I will end my turn. Thank you Yuma, always nice to get the inside scoop.
Bronk: I can't believe it, Yuma sold me out.
96: Without your Gearspring Exploder, you have no chance of victory. Give up now, and I will show you mercy.
Bronk thought back to the day he met Yuma, and that no matter how much the odds were against him, he never quit.
Bronk: No matter the situation, Yuma never gives up, and neither will I! I won't give up, just like Yuma never has. Wait a second, maybe he still hasn't. I draw. Perfect.
Gearspring Machine: 3 counters
Catapult: 1 counter
Bronk: And now I remove 3 counters from my Gearspring Machine to summon Gearspring Spirit!
Level 8/Dark/Machine
ATK & DEF 100
Bronk: And due to his special ability, your monster's attack points become 0 until the end of this turn.
96: It what?!
Dark Mist: 3100-0 ATK
Bronk: Next I play the Monster Reborn spell card to summon Number 39: Utopia!
Tori: Way to go Bronk!
96: How can this be?
Just then he heard Yuma laughing.
Yuma: Way to duel Bronk!
96: Hold on, you are my servant.
Bronk: Yeah, his body but not his mind. You said so yourself. You see, it's Gearspring Catapult that was the key to winning this match. If you had destroyed it, I wouldn't have had a chance. That's why Yuma pretended to be your mindless servant, to make you forget about my Catapult.
96: I do not believe it!
Yuma: You better believe it, the only people I serve are my friends.
Bronk: And now I use Catapult's effect in order to give Utopia 500 attack points.
Utopia: 2500-3000 ATK
96: I do not like this.
Yuma: Well then, you're gonna positively hate what's coming up next. Do you feel it Bronk, because I sure do.
Bronk: You bet. I'm feelin' the flow! Utopia, attack with Rising Sun Slash and end this duel!
Number 96: 0 LP
Winner: Bronk
96: This cannot be!
Bronk: Yuma, catch!
Yuma: Thanks Bronk.
Yuma caught the Emperor's Key, and once he did, Astral reappeared and sealed Number 96 away.
Yuma: You did it Bronk.
Bronk: Thanks pal. And thanks for setting me up for that way awesome combo move.
Yuma: Uhhh, yeah, it's my pleasure.
Bronk: Oh, so it was Astral's idea huh?
Yuma: No way, of course not. Astral had nothing to do with it, you know for the most part.
Tori: Guys, do you remember what he said about Troy?
Yuma: Yeah, what do you think he meant by a "special connection"?
Bronk: I don't know, but maybe we should hold off on telling him anything Dark Mist until we figure it out.
Yuma and Tori just nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Astral was holding Number 96's card.
Astral: Number 96, are there more number cards like you? And just what is Troy's connection to you and the number cards?
Those of you who have seen Zexal probably already have an idea of what Troy's connection to the number cards is, but for those who haven't, I'm not going to ruin anything. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I hope to see you in the next one.