Chapter 8: The Unravelled Plan
It was another sunny day in Heartland. People were out and about, young children played in the parks, and litterbots went about cleaning the pavements. All of this happened while a figure walked slowly down a flight of stairs in darkness. He had blue eyes and raised light blue hair with a slick of green hair that fell down his forehead. His attire consisted of an extravagant green jacket with black sleeves and white cuffs. The jack also had eight red gems on it, four by the neck, and four going across his chest. Additionally, he had an embroidery by his lower abdomen that looked similar to a spider. He wore white trousers that were hidden by long black socks that were similar to leg warmer socks that went down his legs and white shoes.
He soon reached the bottom of the staircase and gave a disgusted look at the torn-up entrance of the bar in front of him. Never the less, he composed himself and walked to the door. When he opened the door, he could see most of the gang members were huddled around a table where a duel was going on. There was a massive uproar and the sound of a fist hitting the table. One of the players had just lost.
"Hey Naoko, you want next game?" A small red-haired gang member asked who was leaning against the wall. He had red hair and wore a sleeveless top with the words R and K on it.
"Actually, I'd like next game," the strange boy asked. All the gang members turned to see the oddly dressed boy in front of them.
"What the hell? I told the bosses we should've put a lock on that door. First those kids and now this punk?" the small gang member said.
"Ah, your bosses," the boy said with a smooth voice. "Rikuo and Kaio, better known as Scorch and Chills. I'd like to see them."
"Like hell, you will," the small gang member said as he and the other members surrounded the boy. "You've got a lot of nerve coming here punk."
The boy then chuckled.
"I'm sorry, I don't think you heard me correctly. I'd like to see Scorch and Chills, I have business with them" the boy said with a bit more force behind his words. This caused the gang members to laugh.
"You, have business with the bosses? What a joke!" The small gang member laughed. He then put his hand on the boy's shoulder after the laughter had died down. "Now why don't you be a good kid and scamper back home to mommy?" He asked teasingly. The boy had his head lowered so his eyes couldn't be seen. The then grabbed the gang members wrist and removed it from his shoulder, slowly turning it around. The gang member gave a yelp of pain as a terrible cracking noise came from his wrist as he turned it.
"I've hurt a lot of people in my life. Do you want to be the next one?" The boy said as he lifted his head up, sporting a psychotic look in his eyes.
"Geh! G-Get the bosses!" The gang member yelled to the other thugs as he fell to his knees due to the sheer pain.
"Good boy," the boy said as he released the thug's wrist. The thug cried out as he clutched his now injured hand.
"You brat!" The thug yelled as he raised his D-Pad. "I'll make you pay for that!"
"With a duel?" The boy asked.
"Yeah! I'll teach you your place!" The thug said as he tossed his D-Pad up into the air.
"Fine. But challenging me was your last mistake" the boy said as he tossed his own D-Pad up. It was a hexagonal shape that was dark blue and aqua green in colour and had a web embroidery underneath. Out of the D-Pad came four blades that looked eerily like spider's legs. Both D-Pad's clacked onto the combatant's wrists while they attached their D-Gazers. "Duel Disk, set!" The thug's D-Gazer was a standard silver model while the boy didn't get out a D-Gazer. Instead, a purple tattoo that was a strange crescent shape that had two circles at the top formed over his left eye. "D-Gazer, set!"
AR VISION LINK ESTABLISHED
Each of the thugs activated their own D-Gazers, eager to see how this would unfold.
DUEL!
Yagumo: 4000
Hand: 5
VS
Ginji: 4000
Hand: 5
"I'll take the first move!" Ginji announced as he drew his card.
"Go right ahead" Yagumo simply replied.
TURN 1
Ginji: 4000
Hand: 6
"I activate Hand Destruction!" Ginji called. Yagumo raised his eyebrow. "Now we send two cards to the graveyard and draw two new cards" Ginji announced. Both players did so. "Now I summon Bazoo The Soul Eater!" An ape-like creature with purple fur and several horns on its body appeared on the field. It gave a soul-shaking cry as it appeared.
Bazoo The Soul Eater: Level 4/EARTH/Beast/1600 ATK/900 DEF
"Next I play Wild Nature's Release!" Bazoo began to beat its chest and roared as a reddish white aura appeared around it.
Bazoo ATK: 1600 + 900 = 2500
"Bazoo now gains attack points equal to his defence points, but he's destroyed during the end phase" Ginji explained.
"Interesting, I wonder why you made such a move?" Yagumo said. Ginji smirked.
"You're about to find out. I end my turn." At this moment, Bazoo exploded into gold particles. "I now activate the effect of both Green Baboon's in my graveyard!" Ginji declared. A red aura then surrounded him as his life points decreased. "When a Beast-Type monster is destroyed, I can pay 1000 life points to special summon my Baboon from the graveyard. I'm summoning two!"
Ginji: 4000 – 2000 = 2000
The graveyard portal opened up and two figures flew out of it. These were two large ape-like creatures that had green fur and purple facial hair. Additionally, each wore a pair of brown shoulder pads and carried a large wooden club.
Green Baboon, Defender Of The Forest: Level 7/EARTH/Beast/2600 ATK/1800 DEF (x2)
"I end my turn with that" Ginji concluded.
Ginji: 2000
Hand: 3
Yagumo suddenly began to clap.
"Well done, you managed to get two powerful monsters on the field on your first turn." He then stopped clapping. "But if that is the extent of your strength then I'm disappointed." Yagumo then drew his card.
TURN: 2
Yagumo: 4000
Hand: 6
"First, I activate Dark Core!" Yagumo announced. As he did, a dark portal soon appeared on the field.
"Wha-! What is that!" Ginji exclaimed. Yagumo smirked.
"This card allows me to discard one card in order to banish one of your Baboons" Yagumo explained. The gravity from the portal suddenly intensified, sucking one of the Baboons in before vanishing.
"My monster!" Ginji cried.
"Next I summon Rainbow Spider!" Yagumo announced. Appearing on his field was a large arachnid that's body was the colour of the rainbow itself.
Rainbow Spider: Level 4/LIGHT/Insect/1700 ATK/1000 DEF
"And since I control an Insect-Type monster, I can special summon a second Rainbow Spider from my hand!" A second copy of the rainbow coloured spider appeared on the field.
Rainbow Spider: Level 4/LIGHT/Insect/1700 ATK/1000 DEF
"Who cares if you summoned a bunch of bugs? You can't beat my Baboon" Ginji declared boldly. Yagumo smiled maliciously as a red number 70 appeared on the left side of his face.
"Really? Let's test that shall we?" He said as he raised his hand. "I overlay my two level 4 Rainbow Spiders!" Both spiders turned yellow before shooting up as streams of energy. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" A golden galactic portal tore open in the air before the two streams of energy flew in. "Xyz summon! Unleash yourself! Number 70: Malevolent Sin!" The number 70 appeared and flashed red before a light blue oval shaped object descended out of the portal, with the red number 70 on the left side of it. Suddenly, a body crawled out of the oval, with eight large legs shooting out, four being on each side. The top of the monster's body had 5 large spikes with a dark blue tip and two red gems that went down the centre spike. The monster's head consisted of a horrific looking spider's head with six beady red eyes and four gnashing fangs. It let out a horrifying screech as it took the field.
Number 70: Malevolent Sin: Rank 4/DARK/Insect/Xyz/2400 ATK/1200 DEF/Overlay Units: 2
The gang members were all visibly horrified at the spider's appearance while Yagumo just smirked.
"I activate Malevolent Sin's effect! By using one Overlay Unit, I can banish one of your monsters!"
"What?!" Ginji cried as the spider shot out a string of web that wrapped around Green Baboon before disappearing.
"And with that, Malevolent Sin attacks your directly! Sin Slasher!" The monstrosity roared before charging at a terrified Ginji, slashing at him with its eight legs. Ginji cried out in pain as he was thrown back into the wall opposite, leaving a large dent.
Ginji: 2000 – 2400 = 0
Ginji: LOSE
Yagumo was still smirking at his victory as his D-Gazer tattoo disappeared from his face. Just then, Scorch and Chills walked into the room, visibly stunned at the sight of Ginji stuck in the wall.
"What the hell?" Scorch said in disbelief. Yagumo turned to meet his gaze.
"Ah, Scorch and Chills, a word if you may?" Yagumo said as politely as possible. "If not, then I guess you'll end up like your associate over there" Yagumo continued, referring to Ginji.
"What do you want?" Scorch asked simply. He just wanted these freaks to keep out of his hangout.
"I need you to do a job for me and considering your history and a recent encounter with the targets, you two were a perfect choice" Yagumo explained.
"What kinda job" Chills asked. Yagumo took of his D-Pad and pressed a few buttons before an image of Yuma, Lennox and Shark appeared.
"Simple, these three have a set of very powerful cards I'd like you to win off them in a duel," Yagumno told him.
"Why not just steal them?" Scorch asked.
"These are no ordinary cards, they are Number cards" Yagumo explained.
"Number cards? Aren't they those weird cards that have been turning people crazy recently?" Chills asked. Yagumo nodded.
"Yes," he confirmed. "They can only be taken by a victor in a duel, I want you to beat the three of them and retrieve their Numbers for me. Do that, and you will be rewarded greatly." Scorch was unsure.
"What's the catch?"
"No catch, just don't disappoint me" Yagumo warned.
Yagumo then reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of cash. "To prove I'm not lying, I'll give you this in advance." He handed the money to Scorch who just stared at the stack. "Do we have a deal?" Scorch grinned maliciously.
"Kid, you've got a deal," Scorch said as he shook Yagumo's hand.
"Perfect, now then…" Yagumo said as he opened up his extra deck and reached in. Scorch as Chills stared in confusion as Yagumo pulled out two cards. "If you're going to be dueling for their Number's, you'll need some of your own to stand up to them." Scorch and Chills reluctantly took the cards that Yagumo held out to them face down. Flipping them over, both gang bosses were surprised to see the cards were blank.
"The hell? It's blank!" Chills complained.
"Give it a minute," Yagumo said with a smirk. A dark aura covered both gang bosses as the Number's began to whisper tempting promises into their ears. A yellow 61 the appeared on the side of Scorch's right shoulder while a lime green 19 appeared on Chills' left forearm. Scorch grinned maliciously as power flowed through his veins.
"Great, when do we start?"
"Aww man!" An annoyed Yuma cried out as he sat up from where he was on the floor. Tetsuo just frowned at him. "I lost again."
"And game! I guess that makes the score 1-3 in Tetsuo's favour" Lennox refereed with a wave of his hand. He, Yuma and Tetsuo was currently enjoying a free period in the afternoon. The trio had decided to duel each other with Tetsuo just finishing his match against Yuma with a victory. Eventually, Kotori and Takashi, much to Lennox's annoyance, had come to spectate. Lennox still didn't like Takashi and wondered why Yuma even let him hang out with them in the first place. Cathy and Kyoya both had a lesson currently and Ruby was running errands for professor Ukyo at the moment, so they couldn't join them. Yuma suddenly jumped back on his feet.
"That was a sneaky move hiding that spell card Tetsuo but let's go again!" Yuma called.
"I just don't get it," Takashi said in disbelief. "How can Yuma keep going after so many losses? Especially the one he suffered yesterday at the hands of Shark? I'd never get up after a loss like that."
"Yuma's a determined guy alright," Lennox said, walking back towards Takashi and Kotori. "He says it's his Kattobingu spirit that drives him forward."
"Come on Tetsuo! One more time!" Yuma called. Tetsuo sighed and turned around, taking his D-Gazer off.
"Sorry, but I've played enough today. The bell's gonna ring in a minute" Tetsuo said as he walked away.
"But we currently have 18 minutes left before next lesson," Takashi said quietly so only Lennox and Kotori could hear.
"Weird" Lennox muttered. Yuma stared for a minute before smiling.
"What's with him?" He said aloud. "Oh well. Lennox! You're next!" He said while pointing at Lennox. Lennox looked at him surprised before replying.
"Um…actually I need to take care of something. Duel Takashi instead!" Lennox called as he ran off after Tetsuo.
"Ok then. Takashi! You're up!"
"Eh? Me?!" Cried Takashi.
"Come on Takashi! Get your deck out! I wanna at least finish before we have to go back!" Takashi
sighed as he got out his D-Pad and deck while Kotori looked over in the direction Lennox had gone.
Lennox ran after Tetsuo who was now entering the school building.
"Wait! Tetsuo!" Lennox called. Tetsuo stopped to allow Lennox to catch up. "Dude, what's wrong?" Lennox asked concerned. Ever since the confrontation with Shark yesterday, Tetsuo had been unusually quiet and seemed annoyed whenever he was around people.
"I didn't think Yuma would be the kind of person to go back on a promise," He said coldly. "In that duel, he promised us he wouldn't use a Number. But he went back on his word and summoned one anyway." Lennox frowned slightly. He too felt slightly angry at Yuma for using a Number but had decided it wasn't worth arguing about and had kept his mouth shut about it until now.
"Yeah, …it was a shock when Yuma did that. But I was the one a part of the bet, I should be the one who is angry, not you" Lennox told him. Tetsuo just growled in response.
"Yeah?!" Tetsuo huffed as he swung around angrily. "How would you like it when your closest friend stabs you in the back like that?!" He yelled. "I can't trust him anymore!" Lennox's eyes narrowed, and he glared at Tetsuo.
"Don't play this game with me Tetsuo, Shark wanted to fight Yuma's Numbers, so it was perfectly fair" Lennox snapped back. Tetsuo let out a small gasp.
"So you're defending him?!" He accused. "A backstabber?"
"Wha? No! Yuma may have broken a promise, but at least he learned his lesson afterwards!" Lennox could feel his blood boiling. "So just drop it!" Tetsuo inched closer, so he towered above Lennox. Lennox glared back, showing he wasn't afraid.
"I don't think you understand how friendship works Lennox. You don't break promises" Tetsuo growled.
"And I don't think you understand how far Yuma and I go to protect all of you" Lennox snarled spitefully. His eyes suddenly widened, and he took a step back. He had done it now. He has said too much.
"Lennox?" Began Tetsuo. "What are you hiding?"
"I…have to go," Lennox said suddenly and turned to leave. Tetsuo grabbed his arm.
"No, you're not. You're telling me right now what you're hiding" Tetsuo said. Lennox sighed as his arm was released. Now was as good as any time to tell Tetsuo.
"Yuma isn't the only one who has Number cards" Lennox explained as he reached into his extra deck box. He pulled out Dawn Sword, holding it up for Tetsuo to see. Tetsuo could only stare in shock as the revelation sunk in.
"All this time…you've had a Number" Tetsuo managed to say at last.
"Yeah" sighed Lennox guiltily. "I got it when the Numbers first appeared, but so far I haven't been possessed."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Tetsuo asked. Lennox grimaced.
"I…I didn't want to involve you guys and have you get hurt" Lennox admitted. He had been afraid of this ever since Shino had first given him his mission. "Remember when you found me in the park?" Lennox asked. Tetsuo nodded, recalling the incident. "That duel I almost lost, it was because of the Numbers." It finally hit Tetsuo straight in the head. No wonder Lennox was so distraught. But even so, why didn't he ask for help.
"But I told you then, just ask us for help. Yuma has Numbers too! He could have helped!" Tetsuo began to protest.
"No! you don't get it! The thing I dueled played for keeps!" Lennox suddenly burst out. Tetsuo was about to complain but was cut off by Lennox before he could. "It went to attack Ruby," Lennox said. "It lunged at her" Tetsuo only stared. "Thank god I was there to distract it, but even so, I almost wound up hurt too." Lennox then looked at Tetsuo apologetically.
"I should have told you guys though, I should have never kept it a secret. I just didn't want you guys to end up getting hurt, that's all" Lennox explained, looking away guiltily.
"Yeah, you should have" Tetsuo huffed. "All this Number stuff is making it hard to trust the pair of you. How can I be friends with people who keep secrets from me." Lennox looked up at Tetsuo as he turned to leave. "I can't trust you guys right now, so I'm done talking to you." With that, Tetsuo walked into the school building leaving Lennox bewildered. Lennox was about to call out to Tetsuo when Yuma called his name. Lennox turned back to see Yuma, Kotori and Takashi walking towards him.
"Hey, Lennox! What was that about?" Yuma asked.
"It was…nothing" Lennox answered. "I thought you were still dueling?" Lennox asked, hoping to change the subject.
"Takashi ended it early as he wanted to get to lesson on time" Yuma sighed sadly as his face fell. Lennox let out a small chuckle, knowing Takashi would do something like that, just to get out of a duel.
"Well come on, we'll really be late if we're loitering out here," Lennox told them. The three agreed and they all walked into the school building. Inside, they were greeted with the sight of Tetsuo sitting at a table alone with his D-Pad out. There were several other students from their year relaxing in the building as it was for recreational use whenever the students had a free period.
"Hey! Tetsuo!" Yuma called. Tetsuo looked up from his D-Pad to see the group walking towards him.
"Let's duel later after school," Yuma said. Tetsuo shook his head.
"I can't duel with you anymore" was all he said as he grabbed his stuff to leave.
"Hey! What's with that stingy talk?" Yuma huffed in annoyance.
"You're not trustworthy. That's why" Tetsuo replied.
"Whaddya mean?!" Yuma called out as Tetsuo walked away.
"You broke a promise Yuma. Both you and Lennox. You summoned a Number when you said you wouldn't and Lennox has been lying to us too" Tetsuo explained. Yuma frowned. Why was Tetsuo angry with him? It wasn't like he had summoned Utopia on purpose to hurt his feelings. Astral wanted him to protect the key.
"Hey! I did what I had to in order to protect the key. And I don't get why Lennox is involved in this" Yuma finally replied. Tetsuo shot an accusing glare at Lennox whilst the others looked at him confused.
"Well…I…" Lennox began to stutter, unsure what to say. He was defiantly going to pay Tetsuo back for singling him out like this.
"He's had a Number card the entire time and never told any of us about it" Tetsuo accused, pointing at Lennox.
"Is this true?" Takashi asked. Yuma stared at Lennox in disbelief. Lennox, one of his oldest friends, had lied to him.
"I..yes" Lennox answered.
"Why?" Asked Yuma, clearly upset. Lennox sucked in a deep breath.
"Because I was given a mission by someone. I couldn't risk any of you getting hurt, but I needed to tell you" Lennox explained.
"See how I feel now," Tetsuo said. "How can I be friends with someone who breaks promises and keeps secrets."
"You shut up" Lennox huffed. The others stared at him in disbelief. "I told you no longer than a minute ago that I had my reasons for keeping it a secret. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if one of you got hurt because of me. But I know now that I can't keep you in the dark anymore. I'll tell you everything tomorrow morning when everyone's present."
"I trust you Lennox" Yuma then said. The others looked at him. "I know you. You've never hidden anything from us before unless you had no other choice. So, I'll trust you to tell us everything tomorrow then." Lennox smiled.
"Thank you, Yuma," he said before Yuma then turned to Tetsuo.
"I still don't understand why you don't want to duel with me though? I had to protect the Emperor's Key" Yuma said to Tetsuo, but he was already leaving.
"I already said it's because I can't trust you anymore. I'm done talking with you."
"Fine!" Yuma huffed in annoyance. "I'll just duel someone else then! There are plenty more opponents." At this moment, Astral decided to pop out of the key and join in the conversation.
"It's useless. Your friend clearly does not wish to duel you. But you would not win against another opponent anyway."
"Eh?! What do you mean by that?! I thought you said I'd improved!" Yuma yelled. Kotori just facepalmed and shook her head.
"Here we go again" she sighed.
"It's that Astral guy isn't it?" Lennox asked her. Kotori nodded.
"I mean, normally people would call Yuma crazy for talking to thin air but considering everything that's happened so far with all these strange Number cards popping up, I can't deny the fact I'm starting to believe 'Astral' exists" she explained.
"…yeah" Lennox replied, recalling his own past experiences. Kotori was about to speak up again when the bell rung, signalling for everyone to head to their next lesson.
"I've got biology now, so I won't see you guys for the rest of the day," Lennox said. Kotori nodded.
"That's fine, I've got English with Yuma now, so I won't either." The three said their goodbyes before walking off, with Kotori dragging Yuma away who was still arguing with Astral.
"The fact of the matter is, you've been dueling differently" Astral stated as Yuma walked alongside Kotori down the hallway. "Normally, you would try to use some sort of childish strategy. But today all you've been doing is pointlessly attacking your opponent over and over again" Astral said.
"So?" Asked Yuma.
"So, there is something wrong with you. It's because of Shark isn't it?" Astral replied. Yuma gave a look of surprise from Astral's answer. "You're irritated because of him, and its affecting your dueling isn't it?" Yuma paused, taking in Astral's words before replying. Kotori turned and looked at Yuma who stood staring into space.
"Eh?" Yuma said as he saw Kotori looking at him. "I'm fine Kotori, just go on without me." Kotori just shrugged and continued onwards to the classroom. Yuma then turned back to Astral.
So what?" Yuma replied. "Are you saying I have no chance now against anyone?" Astral nodded.
"Yes. It is due to your recklessness that you fall for such easy tricks like Tetsuo's magic card earlier, but there is also another reason why both he and Shark were able to beat you" Astral told him. Yuma was confused.
"Oh yeah? How so?" Yuma asked irritated.
"While indeed, Shark is a talented duelist, he mainly won because he thoroughly studied your deck. He learnt from his past loss and was able to figure out the Number's weakness and exploit it. He knows you very well" Astral explained.
"Yeah? So?" Yuma huffed.
"So, what do you know about him?" Astral asked. The question dropped like a weight on Yuma's shoulders. True, what did he know? Granted he knew Shark when they were kids, but Shark soon disappeared from his life shortly afterwards. Hell! He hadn't even seen him again until he started attending Heartland Academy and found out Shark attended there too. But by that time, it was too late. the old Shark was gone. Yuma suddenly recalled something that Tetsuo had said to him, how many people speculated that Shark had turned 'bad' after his loss in the circuit finals. He was going to have to do some digging.
Deep in the depths of Heartland's underground, a duel had just finished. The loser, a member of The Pack, was thrown against a wall with tremendous force. He hit the wall and didn't get up, instead he raised his head slowly to look at his attacker, Shark. Shark deactivated his duel disk and took off his D-Gazer before walking over to the injured man.
"Now, Talk!" He roared.
"Ok! Ok!" The thug cried, fearing for himself. "I heard the bosses were planning to raid the museum tonight. That all I know! I swear!" Shark then dropped the man and turned to leave.
"You'd better be right" Shark growled as he walked away.
"Now I summon Spirit Of Flames" Ruby declared as she slapped the card down on the table.
"You can't do that" Lennox told her. Ruby gave him a puzzled look.
"Huh? Why not?" She asked.
"Spirit Of Flames can only be special summoned by banishing a fire attribute monster from the graveyard" Lennox explained.
"Oh," Ruby replied as she shuffled through her graveyard until she found a fire monster she wanted to banish. "Sorry about that" she apologised.
"Its fine" Lennox said with a reassuring smile. "You're still learning the rules of the game, so it's understandable." Lennox and Ruby were currently practising in the library as they had now finished their last lessons and the school had now finished for the day. They had surprisingly found Kotori in the library too as she was currently studying for a physics exam she had the next day. Kotori had decided to take a break from studying and watch Lennox and Ruby practice, learning a few things in the process too.
"Cheer up Ruby, you'll get the hang of it sooner or later," Kotori said in an effort to cheer Ruby up.
"Yeah" sighed Ruby. "I'll-" Ruby started but stopped as soon as she saw a certain someone walking into the library.
"What's wrong?" Kotori then asked.
"Guys, look. Its Yuma" Ruby told the other two as she pointed at Yuma. Lennox and Kotori turned and surprisingly saw Yuma walk over to a computer and turn it on.
"Either the world's ending or somethings up. Yuma never comes to the library" Lennox joked.
"Why don't we go see what's wrong then?" Kotori suggested. The trio gathered their things and walked over to the computer where Yuma was sat at. It appeared he was having a bit of trouble working it.
"Come on! How is this one blocked too?!" Yuma huffed at the computer.
"You're using the wrong browser," Kotori said as she walked over.
"Huh?" Yuma asked as he turned to see her, Lennox and Ruby standing there.
"Here, let me," Kotori said as she took over the computer. "The school blocked a bunch of these browsers as there were a lot of pop-ups on them. There, done." Yuma turned back to the computer to see a new search engine was open, one that wasn't blocked.
"Thanks, Kotori" Yuma thanked and began to type into the search bar.
"Um…Yuma? What exactly are you doing here? You never come to the library" Lennox asked. Before Yuma could answer, a webpage with an article in it opened up and Lennox read the headline. "Duel Monsters National Championship Scandal? Fan Favourite Ryoga 'Shark' Kamishiro Cheats In Finals? The hell? Shark's in this article?"
"Yeah…I was looking up stuff about Shark and I guess this popped up" Yuma explained. Sure enough, the article was defiantly about Shark as there was a picture of a younger Shark underneath the headline. Upon closer inspection, Lennox could see Shark seemed to look very sad in the picture.
"I knew Shark was disqualified from the nationals, it happened in my hometown before I moved here. But I'd never thought Shark would resort to something like cheating" Ruby said.
"Come on guys, Shark wouldn't cheat for no reason like that. There has to be a reason" Lennox said, trying not to believe the article.
"Well the only way to find out is to read this article then," Yuma told him.
"I'll read" offered Lennox. "I started it and I'll finish it." He took a deep breath and began to read the first line whilst the other listened keenly. "Fan favourite champion candidate Ryoga 'Shark' Kamishiro was disqualified from the Duel Monsters National Championship for spying on his opponent's deck before the final match. Security cameras saw the disgraced champion peaking at his opponent's deck in the waiting room…"
About an hour later, the group was now walking home. The rest of the article just consisted of evidence against Shark and comments from his opponent, Thomas Arclight, who had won the championships because of the disqualification. Shark made no comments in the article, or any others that the group had read afterwards.
"I still can't believe Shark cheated. Kyoya is not going to like that" Ruby sighed.
"Well, it isn't true!" Yuma protested. The others looked at him perplexed.
"But, the articles at the library…" Kotori began.
"I know," Yuma said, cutting her off. "But that duel I had with Shark…it wasn't a duel with that kind of person!" They all stopped just before the stairs that lead out of school. "If Shark was still that kind of person who cheated, then that duel I had wouldn't feel like a real duel at all. But it did! When I duel, I can tell whether a person is good or bad by their dueling, and Shark felt like he was a good person. I don't know where it comes from…I can just tell" Yuma explained.
"You're not the only one Yuma," Lennox said. This time, everyone turned their attention to Lennox. "When you dueled Shark, I could feel this aura of sorrow coming from him. Every time I'm around him, I'm just hit with a wave of sadness. I don't know why it happens. But I know from it that Shark is not a bad person. He's just misguided" Lennox explained. The conversation was then interrupted by the sound of someone yelling at the group.
"Oi! You lot! Hey!" The group turned to see the figure of one of The Pack's members clambering up the stairs towards them. He was small with red hair and wore a sleeveless top with the words R and K on it. Ginji. Once he reached the group, Ginji stopped and began to pant heavily. It looked like he had been running for quite a while.
"I know you! You're one of those gang members!" Yuma yelled.
"Shark's…in…trouble" Ginji managed to get out between breaths.
"What do you mean?" Lennox asked suspiciously. Ginji recovered and began to explain the situation.
"The bosses are going to steal that rare deck from the museum and have Shark take the blame," he said.
"What? But how are they going to do that?" Ruby asked.
"I heard the bosses were originally going to make me take the fall for it, the bunch of assholes. But then one of our members around this area tipped off to Shark about the raid. The Bosses found out and instead of me, they're going to lure Shark into a trap and capture him, handing him over to the authorities while they take the deck" Ginji explained. Without warning, Yuma shot off and began to sprint away, much to the shock of the others.
"Wait for Yuma!" Kotori called out to him. Yuma froze in his tracks.
"Don't do anything reckless. Let's tell the police about this. Surely they'll stop The Pack" she said.
"No Kotori" Lennox told her as he stepped forward.
"This is our problem whether we like it or not. Shark's gotten himself involved in all this because of his loss to Yuma. So naturally, it's only fair we bring him out of this" Lennox explained.
"Right," Yuma said as he turned back towards the group. "Besides, Shark's helped us out in the past, so we'll help him. I'm not just doing it for Shark, I'm doing it for me and Lennox too. I let us both down when I used the Numbers, I realised that now. And because of that, I ended up hurting one of my closet friends. I thought I was doing it to get Shark out, But I only wanted to win, that was the problem. I can't let it end like this, So I'm going to help him!" With that said, he and Lennox turned to run off again.
"Wait! Be careful! The Bosses have those weird cards!" Ginji yelled.
"What cards?" Lennox asked as he turned back towards Ginji.
"I can't remember what they were called, but after the Bosses got them, they've been doing crazier and crazier things" Ginji explained.
"It must be the Numbers" Lennox muttered as Astral appeared from the Emperor's Key.
"Then this is our problem. We must collect those Numbers" Astral said, even though Yuma was the only one who could hear him. The group then took off running. As they did, Ginji got out his D-Gazer and dialled a number.
"Hello? Boss? Yeah? They took the bait."
It was late at night by the time both Scorch and Chills had arrived at the museum. The pair jumped the fence and stood on the other side waiting for their prey to arrive.
"Where are they?" Chills huffed annoyed.
"Don't worry, they'll be here soon?" Scorch told his brother.
"Hey!" A voice rang out. The two brothers looked ahead to see a figure stepping out of the shadows. Shark.
"Well, well, well. The little Shark did decide to swim by this evening. What a nice surprise" Chills chuckled.
"Shut it! I'm going to make you pay for ever crossing me!" Shark yelled at them.
"Oh yeah?" Scorch teased. "You and what army?"
"This army!" All three turned around to see two more figures walking out of the darkness. It was Yuma and Lennox, both now wearing their casual clothes.
"Yuma?! Lennox?! What the hell are you doing here?!" Shark asked shocked.
"We came here to help you" Lennox explained. "I'm just glad we got here in time." Shark began to grit his teeth.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to get involved?" He huffed.
"Hey! Like it or not, we still care about you. So just suck it up and deal with it" Lennox snapped.
"Looks like the plan worked. All the little lambs are gathered up ready for slaughter" Chills chucked.
"What plan?" Yuma asked.
"You see, as much as we want that rare deck, we want something even more. We want those Number cards of yours" Chills explained. This shocked the three young duelists, as well as Astral who was present.
"They know we have Number cards? But how?" Lennox whispered.
"Since Shark was already after us, we had one of our members tip off our location to him" Scorch explained whilst Shark gritted his teeth at three revelations.
"And since we knew about your friendship with the two brats there," Chills said, referring to Lennox and Yuma. "We had Ginji tell them where you were, and we knew they'd come running to save their precious friend in no time." The two thugs began to laugh whilst Lennox growled at them.
"So…all this time it was a setup?" Yuma said surprised.
"It appears so," Astral told him. "The two of them used your friendship with Shark in order to lure you here so they could take your Numbers."
"I can't believe we fell for that trap" huffed Lennox.
"Yep, you walked right into it," another voice said. The three boys and Astral turned to see Ginji walking out of the shadows along with other members of The Pack.
"Eh? It's you!" Yuma cried.
"That's right," Ginji said with a nasty smile. "And now we're going to take your Numbers."
"Here's how it's going to work" Scorch bellowed to get everyone's attention. "Two of you will duel me and Chills in a tag duel, and the remaining one can take on Ginji if that satisfies you."
"Sure!" Shark yelled, stepping forwards. "After all you've done, I'm going crush you!"
"That doubles for me!" Lennox yelled.
"Eh? Lennox?" Yuma questioned, giving him a puzzled look as well as Shark.
"I want to pay these punks back after tricking us, and I owe you for saving me Shark" Lennox explained, flashing a smile at Shark.
"Fine. Just don't get in the way" huffed Shark.
"Then you're taking on me!" Ginji announced as he stepped forward towards Yuma.
"Sure! After tricking us and luring us here, I won't forgive such a cowardly move!" Yuma roared.
"Nor will I!" Agreed Astral as Yuma got out his D-Pad. The other participating duelists did the same thing.
"Duel Disk, set!" Each of their D-Pads was tossed into the air and began to change into duel disks before attaching onto their wrists. "D-Gazer, set!" Each duelist attached their D-Gazer to their eye before it flashed, signifying its connection with the dueling system.
AR VISION LINK ESTABLISHED
DUEL!
Scorch: 4000
Chills: 4000
Hands: 5
VS
Lennox: 4000
Shark: 4000
Hands: 5
Yuma: 4000
Hand: 5
VS
Ginji: 4000
Hand: 5
As the duel started, a lone figure stood watching from the room of the museum.
"As I told you before, you'd better not disappoint me" Yagumo murmured to himself.
Kotori and Kyoya swiftly landed on their feet whilst Tetsuo landed face first on the ground and Takashi landed on his back. The four had currently climbed the fence of the museum in order to support their friends. Tetsuo had reluctantly been dragged along by an irritated Kyoya. He was still mad about what happened earlier in the day but Kyoya didn't care. Ruby was apprehensive about climbing the fence, but did so anyway, landing in Kyoya's arms.
"Guys! It's starting!" Kotori said.
"Thankfully we made it," Kyoya said as he let go of a blushing Ruby.
"Huh? It looks like they're having a tag duel" Takashi said.
"And Yuma is on his own" Kotori said worriedly.
"Hey! Yuma!" Kyoya called. Yuma, Shark and Lennox all turned to see their friends standing there.
"Guys! Why did you come too?" Yuma called.
"You didn't think we'd let you guys risk your lives alone? We're all in this together!" Ruby yelled.
"Guys…" Lennox trailed off.
"Heh, shall we deal with them, Boss?" One of the thugs closest to Kyoya said.
"Sure, we don't need more getting in our way," Scorch said.
"Guys! Leave now! Hurry!" Lennox called in a panic.
"And let you have all the fun? No way" Kyoya said. "Let's do this Tetsuo" Kyoya continued as he got out his D-Pad.
"Huh? Me?" Tetsuo questioned.
"Uh-huh," Kyoya nodded as he tossed up his D-Pad. Tetsuo, as well as two of the thugs, did the same thing.
"Well, looks like everyone's getting involved. I can't wait to see the looks on your faces when we crush you all" Chills chuckled.
"Grr! Shut it! Make your move!" Lennox yelled with a growl.
"As you wish!" Scorch yelled back.
TURN: 1
Scorch: 4000
Hand: 6
"I set one monster face down, and then set two cards. That's all for me." Scorch said as the face downs augmented onto the field.
"That's it?" Asked Lennox.
"Hey, I'm not one for flashy openings" Scorch shrugged.
Scorch: 4000
Hand: 3
"How's this for flashy?" Lennox retorted as he drew.
TURN: 2
Lennox: 4000
Hand: 6
"I summon Satellarknight Alsahm!" Lennox's angel-like warrior, coated in his gold and silver armour appeared on the field. A gold ring circled his body that had a metal sphere attached to it and he carried a small bow loaded with an arrow in his hands.
Satellarknight Alsahm: Level 4/LIGHT/Warrior/1400 ATK/1800 DEF
"Now for Alsahm's effect! So now that he's been summoned, you take 1000 points of damage!" Alsahm fired the pre-loaded arrow and it flew right into Scorch who only just grunted.
Scorch: 3000
"Now I set a card and end my turn!" Lennox declared as the single set card appeared.
Lennox: 4000
Hand: 4
"Nice job Lennox!" Yuma called, only to receive a response from Ginji.
"Ha! You should worry about yourself half-pint!" Ginji insulted as he drew while Yuma just growled.
"My turn!" Yelled Chills as he drew his card.
TURN: 3
Chills: 4000
Hand: 6
"I summon Pompadour Blizzardon in attack mode!" a huge gust of icy cold wind blew across the duel field before a large Allosaurus like creature appeared. It had a dark blue, almost black scales with two large chunks of ice sticking out it's back. The most notable feature of the creature was the large fin in its head that was made entirely of ice. It let out a high-pitched screech as the wind began to die down.
Pompadour Blizzardon: Level 4/WATER/Dinosaur/1400 ATK/1400 DEF
"A dinosaur? I guess they must use dinosaur decks and their Number's maybe dinosaur's too" Lennox thought to himself. He didn't expect the pair of them to use dinosaurs of all things but considering both their nicknames and the fact Chills summoned a water monster, Scorch must use a fire-based deck whilst Chills used water.
"I set two cards and end my turn!" Chills announced, giving a quick glance to Scorch who only smirked. This gave Shark an odd feeling.
"Wait…this feels very familiar."
"What's wrong? Scared out of your wit?" Chills teased. Lennox growled. The pair of them were up to something, he could just tell.
"Ignore them, guys! You got this!" Ruby cheered.
"Aww, looks like the little cheerleading squad is trying to help out, pathetic" Scorch spat.
"Shut it you!" Lennox yelled and turned to Shark. "Go for it Shark." Shark nodded and drew his card, announcing his turn as well.
Chills: 4000
Hand: 3
TURN: 4
Shark: 4000
Hand: 6
"I'm summoning Big Jaws!" Shark announced as a vortex of water soon shot out of the ground and his main muscle, a shark with a pair of large metallic jaws and a bladed fin swam out.
Big Jaws: Level 3/WATER/Fish/1800 ATK/300 DEF
"Next I summon Shark Stickers!" Another vortex of water appeared on the field, this one carrying the shark and remora hybrid that Lennox had first seen during Shark's duel against Yuma the day before
Shark Stickers: Level 3/WATER/Fish/200 ATK/1000 DEF
"Now he's got two level 3 monsters" Lennox murmured as Shark raised his hand.
"I overlay level 3 Big Jaws and Shark Stickers!" Shark declared as the two monsters turned into blue streams of energy and shot up into the air. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" Shark yelled as a red portal opened in front of him and the two monsters flew in. "Xyz summon! Come forth! Submersible Carrier Aero Shark!" Shark's infamous pair of armoured flying sharks flew out of the portal and onto the field, roaring as they did so.
Submersible Carrier Aero Shark: Rank 3/WATER/Fish/Xyz/1900 ATK/1000 DEF/Overlay Units: 2
"Awesome. Another first turn Xyz summon" Yuma murmured as he began to watch the tag match, much to Ginji's annoyance.
"Alright! With this kind of muscle, Shark and Lennox will win in no time!" Ruby exclaimed.
"I activate Aero Shark's effect! By using one overlay unit, I can inflict 400 points of damage to my opponent for every card in my hand" Shark explained as Aero Shark absorbed one of the circling overlay units, sending a shower of light towards Shark. "I'm holding four cards, so that's 1600 points of damage!" Shark yelled as he held up his hand. Aero Shark roared as it fired four black pods at Scorch, each one containing four gold missiles. The pods burst open and shot the missiles towards Scorch, exploding as they impacted the ground.
Scorch: 3000 – 1600 = 1400
"Alright!" Cheered Kotori as Ruby fist pumped the air. Tetsuo and Kyoya smiled from their duel as they saw Shark land the attack.
"How interesting. Both Lennox and Shark's strategy seems to be ganging up on Scorch to defeat them one at a time. And since they cannot attack during their first turn in a tag duel, they are using effect damage instead" Astral mused.
"Oh yeah? Well, let's hope we have a strategy for our duel" Yuma said slightly worried as he gazed at the Gagaga Magician on his field staring down Ginji's Beast Striker, which was a large ape-like creature that was covered in patches of black fur and held a giant mallet over its shoulder.
Current Status Of Duel
Yuma: 4000
Hand: 4
VS
Ginji: 4000
Hand: 4
Yuma's field:
Gagaga Magician: Level 4/DARK/Spellcaster/1500 ATK/1000 DEF
One set spell or trap
Ginji's field:
Beast Striker: Level 4/EARTH/Beast/1850 ATK/400 DEF
No active or set spell or traps
"Finally! You're paying more attention" Ginji huffed as he slipped a card into his graveyard. "I activate Beast Striker's effect! By sending a card from my hand to the graveyard, I can summon Moja from my deck!" A small cute creature with black fur covering all but it's face, yellow skin and two ridiculously huge eyes appeared on Ginji's field.
Moja: Level 1/EARTH/Beast/100 ATK/100 DEF
"Huh? What the hell is that thing?" wondered Yuma. Needless to say, it was beginning to creep him out slightly.
"I do not think he is finished" Astral advised.
"Now by releasing Moja, I can summon the King of The Beasts that I just dumped in the graveyard with Foolish Burial last turn!" Ginji explained. Moji disappeared in a burst of golden particles that was sucked into the graveyard portal that opened beneath it. A long bony hand rose out of the portal followed a second one and then a large mass of black fur. Yuma stared at the behemoth, scared to the bone whilst the Kotori closed her eyes and looked away and Ruby and Takashi held each other in fright. Once the monster finally rose out of the graveyard, everyone could get a good look at it. it appeared to be a large mass of black fur with a skull for a head and four long bony arms that it used to support itself. It gave a low grumble whilst its empty eye sockets flashed red for a brief second.
King Of The Beasts: Level 7/EARTH/Beast/2500 ATK/800 DEF
"Ah! What the heck do we do now?!" Cried Yuma in despair. He looked to Astral for an answer but the spirit was frozen in the air at the monster's summon.
"I am not sure. I didn't foresee this happening" Astral said. While it was obvious that Ginji was setting up for a big play. Astral didn't predict that play happening straight away on the next turn. Coupled with the fact that Yuma's facedown wasn't a trap meant to stop attacks, this was going to get nasty. Scorch could only laugh at Yuma's fate.
"You see that? Your friend is cornered, and soon you'll be" he said. "Chills!"
"I got you bro!" Chills answered as his facedown revealed itself. "I activate Blizzard Egg Level 5!" An egg completely made of ice appeared on the field before shattering, sending a cold wind in all directions and calling forth a blizzard. "When a player takes damage, they can special summon one level 5 monster from their hand, but if they don't have a level 5 monster, then they take 500 points of damage" Chills explained.
"Wait? So you're just taking a gamble?" Asked Lennox. Why? Scorch had already taken enough damage beforehand, so why was Chills willing to risk even more?
"Let's see…Level 5, level 5…" Scorch murmured as his hand hovered over his cards until he gave a wicked grin. "I summon Baggy Pants Lavasaurus!" A large red scaled dinosaur rose onto the field, radiating a wave of heat which cancelled the blizzard. It had large stout feet, big clawed hands as well as several large red crystals on its back and elbows.
Baggy Pants Lavasaurus: Level 5/FIRE/Dinosaur/2100 ATK/1300 DEF
"No way!" Cried Lennox while Shark gave a look of shock.
"Now my turn!" Called Scorch as his facedown flipped into action. Like Chills' Blizzard Egg, an egg-shaped fireball appeared before dispersing, sending waves of heat across the field. "Flame Egg Level 5! It allows my opponent, Chills to be exact, to summon a level 5 monster since I took damage. However, if he doesn't have a monster to summon, then he'll take 500 points of damage" Scorch explained while casting a glance at Chills.
"The same moved again? Seriously?" Lennox said while Shark just narrowed his eyes. Something was defiantly wrong here.
"I summon Iceberdon in defence mode!" Chills called as he slapped a card onto his duel disk. The ground cracked open to allow a dinosaur similar to a brachiosaurus appear on the field. The only difference between this new monster and an actual brachiosaurus was the large mountain of ice on the monster's back.
Icebergdon: Level 5/WATER/Dinosaur/1300 ATK/2100 DEF
"Seriously?! They both had level 5 monsters?!" Lennox cried. This was bad. They were outnumbered four to two, and with both of them having weaker monsters, it wouldn't be long before Scorch and Chills turned the tide of the duel. Shark just narrowed his eyes at this. Something wasn't right about this, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.
"I set two cards and end my turn!" Shark announced as the two cards then appeared.
Shark: 4000
Hand: 2
"This is bad" Takashi murmured. "Both Scorch and Chills outnumber Shark and Lennox. At this rate, it'll be over soon."
"Don't give up on them yet!" Ruby yelled defiantly. "We have to keep rooting for all of them" she continued, glancing across to Yuma who had just been on the receiving end of Ginji's attack, and to Tetsuo and Kyoya who only had Tin Archduke on their field while their opponents had both Dragonic Knight and Ultimate Tyranno on their field.
"It's my turn now!" Announced Scorch as he drew his card.
TURN: 5
Scorch: 1400
Hand: 4
"I now flip summon Flamesaurus!" The set monster on Scorch's field flipped over to reveal an ankylosaur covered in black scales with four red spikes that curved out of its armoured shell and had a spiked ball on the end of its tail instead of the normal bony club that a regular ankylosaur would have.
Flamesaurus: Level 4/FIRE/Dinosaur/1800 ATK/1200 DEF
"Now for its flip effect!" Began Scorch. "I can now increase it's level by one! So Flamesaurus becomes level 5!"
Flamesaurus Level: 4 – 5
"I now overlay both my level five monsters! Lavasaurus and Flamesaurus!" Both monsters turned into steams of red energy that shot up into the air. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" Scorch announced as the golden galaxy portal opened up at his feet.
"Here it comes!" Lennox called as both monsters flew in and a burst of golden light occurred shortly afterwards.
"Number 61: Volcasaurus! Be born!" Scorch declared as he slapped the card onto his duel disk. A yellow 61 appeared briefly before flashing, and the sealed form of the Number rose out of the portal. This was a large ball of piping hot magma that had two large spikes on the top of it. The ball then split open to allow the monster that was sealed inside to be set free. It was a large tyrannosaurus that had green eyes and was covered in red scales. Along with that, it had two large spears for hands instead of actual hands. Volcasaurus roared loudly as it took its place on the battlefield with two red overlay units orbiting it.
Volcasaurus: Rank 5/FIRE/Dinosaur/Xyz/2500 ATK/1500 DEF/Overlay Units: 2
"So, this is their first Number" Shark muttered.
"That thing is huge!" Cried Kotori in alarm.
"Y-yeah. I wonder what it does" Ruby muttered to herself. Another explosion occurred, and Ruby turned her attention to the other duel happening. Tetsuo's Tin Archduke had just bit the dust and now he and Kyoya were in trouble. She then looked over at Yuma's duel and could see he was now struggling too. Gogogo Golem was currently fighting off an attack from King Of The Beasts in defence mode, but Beast Striker soon picked up the slack and obliterated the golem standing in the way. Yuma now had nothing. The feeling of dread soon began to well up inside her. This was becoming hopeless, just like Lennox's last duel with the Duel Blood.
"I activate Volcasaurus' effect!" Announced Scorch which snapped Ruby out of her thoughts. Volcasaurus chomped down on one of its overlay units which sent a wave of red energy across its body.
Volcasaurus Overlay Units: 1
"By detaching an overlay unit, I can obliterate one of your monsters and slam you with damage equal to its attack points!" Scorch explained as his predatory eyes settled on Shark. "I'm taking out Aero Shark! Go, Magma Max!" The dinosaur's chest opened up and shot out a wave of hot magma which incinerated the pair of flying sharks, causing an explosion which sent Shark flying backwards.
Shark: 4000 – 1900 = 2100
"Shark! Are you ok?!" Cried Lennox as he watched his partner struggle to get off the floor.
"Don't think you're exempt from any punishment too brat!" Called Scorch as Lennox swung his head around in time to see Scorch order his attack. "Volcasaurus! Wipe out his monster! Tyrant's Flame!" Volcasaurus wasted no time in firing a jet of flames out of its huge jaws. Alsahm panicked before it was swept out of existence by Volcasaurus' flames. The attack caused yet another large explosion which sent Lennox reeling back.
Lennox: 4000 – 900 = 3100
"Lennox!" Ruby and Kotori cried in union while Kyoya growled angrily and then glared at his opponents.
"That's it. These guys are done for" he whispered angrily to himself. Lennox soon found himself struggling to get up like Shark had earlier. The latter was now kneeling next to him as he looked at their opponents who just laughed.
"Hahaha! This is too fucking easy!" boasted Scorch. "Our combination is perfect!"
"Yeah! Me and my bro here have never lost a tag duel" Chills chimed in. "What difference would the pair of you make?!" The pair soon began to laugh which sprouted up laughter from all the other thugs watching as well as the ones dueling. The small group of friends soon felt themselves being pushed into a corner with nowhere to run. They were rat caught in a mouse trap. Lennox stared at his oppressors and could only think of one thing…
"This…this is hopeless."
Altered Card Effects:
Rainbow Spider: Level 4/LIGHT/Insect/1700 ATK/1000 DEF
Effect: If you control a face-up Insect-Type monster, you can special summon this card from your hand. You can only special summon one 'Rainbow Spider' once per turn this way. Once per turn, you can declare a level from 4 – 10, this card becomes the declared level until the end phase.
Goodness me it's been a while! I originally started this chapter a while back but got extremely lazy and didn't bother to continue for a while. Now I feel like I'm going to get back on track. No fan-made cards from me which is probably a first, but next chapter will defiantly have some and I'm also using cards with changed effects that have been changed by me. This will mostly be manga cards used by manga characters that have never been released. Today's example will be Rainbow Spider which was a non-effect monster in the manga. Unfortunately, I have some bad news. My final exams begin next week, and my other exams begin another week or two after, so it's time for revision, yay! This unfortunately means I won't be able to continue writing for a while which is kind of a shame since I've gotten back into the swing of things and feel like I can keep going for a while (Although it's probably no big deal since I tend to update chapters every month or so XD). I'll probably write a bit of the next chapter for this week and then focus on my studies.
But I am going to leave you all with a parting gift, however. I've got all the chapters currently planned out until the end of the WDC I'm going to leave you all with a few chapter previews. I thought I might have a go at it since lots of other authors are doing it too, specifically in the VRAINS section. If any of you don't want spoilers, then skip this.
Chapter 9: The extent of our bonds! Armoured Xyz Combination: Lennox and Shark struggle against the combined might of Scorch and Chills. But with encouragement from their friends, Shark and Lennox bet it all on one draw!
Chapter 10: Friend to foe! The menacing creature's return: Wanting to know more about the Duel Blood. Lennox seeks out Shino Cubaki. At this time, Yuma who is searching for a missing Kyoya stumbles upon the Duel Blood and engages it. But something isn't right…
Chapter 11: Descend incarnation of light! The dragon with galactic eyes: Furious with the events that had just transpired, Lennox's mission is soon made much more difficult with the appearance of a Number Hunter who collects Numbers and souls! Worse still, Yuma ends up in a duel with the hunter playing for keeps!
Chapter 12: Rebuilding what is lost! The match between friends: Yuma is torn up over his duel with the Number Hunter and is completely shaken up. A familiar face decides to snap Yuma back to reality with a duel!
Chapter 13: The transfer student! Friend or Foe?: While Yuma is sent away to be taught by an old friend of his grandmothers, Lennox, Shark, Ruby and Kyoya are tasked with hunting the Numbers. Things are made difficult however when a new student shows up, but Lennox feels as if they've met before…
Chapter 14: All out attack! A rookie's struggle: The school is attacked by a violent group of individuals. With Lennox and Shark unconscious and Kyoya now restrained, it's all up to Ruby to save the day. However, she soon receives unexpected help…
There you guys go. These are the chapter listings for the next arc which will be the School Invasion Arc. This will be the last arc to helpfully introduce all the characters and develop them slightly before Kaito shows up and things start to get a move on with the plot. At this moment, it kinda feels like I'm feeding you guys filler instead of the plot as there are a lot of chapters to get through. I had originally planned out just over 70 up to the end of the WDC, but I realised that's way too much. Right now, I'm just trying to compress it all so there are fewer chapters to write that are filler based if you get what I mean. But this is hopefully not all filler as there are some important plot points to go through in each chapter.
Now then, one other thing I'd like to say. I am completely open to suggestions for ideas. These can be character ideas, cards, character interactions or things you'd just like to see. Deck ideas too! I'd love to hear what suggestions you guys have for decks that you want to see used in the future. I'm not accepting OCs just to say as I have plenty already and I'm not really good at writing other peoples OCs, but I could try. Either way, I might open up slots later down the line when I need to fill in room for characters in season 2. But anyhow, if you do have any suggestions, leave them in your review or PM me and we can talk about it in more detail.
Alright, I've rambled long enough now, and I'll leave you all in peace. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I you did, leave a review why. As for me, time for revision and research for exams! See ya in the next update!