Streets of Heartland City, Evening…
Yuma and Astral walked ahead of Lance, who was pushing his bike, and Tori. They were returning from the train station. After hearing everything from Yuma about his duel, Lance found this whole situation odd.
"Didn't I tell you to get lost already Astral?" Yuma angrily asked as he stared straight ahead.
"You did, but I do not understand what you mean. How can one consciously get lost?" Astral inquired. "If I go somewhere, I will know where I am."
"It's a figure of speech." Yuma looked at him exasperated. "It means get lost. Beat it. Leave."
Astral looked at him. "I cannot until you and Lance collect the Numbers."
Yuma then started yelling at Astral.
Tori looked at Lance. "Are you and Yuma really seeing an invisible duelist?"
Lance looked at the duelist, known as Astral, before turning to Tori. "I'm seeing him alright, and given what I know about Shark, and what I observed about that girl I met, something big is going down."
"Is this like those stories your grandfather told you about his days at Duel Academy?" Tori asked.
Lance nodded. "Not exactly but close enough."
Yuma yelled out in frustration before turning his attention to Lance. "Lance, you have to help me! I can't get this guy to leave!"
Lance shrugged helplessly. "Sorry man, but it seems as though he's bound to your pendent. He already tried staying with me but could only do so for about five seconds before having to return."
Astral chimed in. "Naturally. You carry yourself as more of a duelist than Yuma. In time, the amount of time I can spend with you will grow."
"I'll have you know I'm a great duelist." Yuma looked at Tori. "Tori, you and I are going to duel, so I can prove it."
Tori was caught off guard. "You want to duel right now?"
Yuma nodded. "Help me show this guy that he's wrong."
"I mean, you do lose many of your duels Yuma." Tori returned.
Yuma moved over to the park. "That settles it. Tori, we're dueling right now."
"I think it's best to give him a duel." Lance stated. "I don't think I've ever seen him like this."
Tori sighed. "I agree."
Park
Lance sat atop his bike off to the side as Tori and Yuma faced off.
D-pad go
Duel Gazer on
Augmented vision link established
(Yuma 4000/Tori 4000)
"Alright, I'm feeling the flow!" Yuma declared intending to take the first turn. "I'll summon Zubaba Knight(LV 3/1600/900)." A warrior decked out in yellow armor with a red cape appeared. "I'll then end my turn." He looked to Astral. "What do you think of that?"
"It wasn't a good move." Astral simply stated.
Yuma grit his teeth. "What do you mean?"
Astral explained, "In your hand you currently hold Achacha Archer which would have circumnavigated the rule of no attacking on your first turn, due to its ability, had you normal summoned it. You also could have placed it face down as a surprise for Tori.
In that case, you'd also be safe from damage with your monster in face down defense position unless she were able to summon two monsters in one turn. That's where your trap, Bye Bye Damage, could have come in handy giving you a massive lead for your next turn."
"Wow, you really had an opening hand like that Yuma? Jeez, Astral is right. With that combo, you'd be in a great position, provided it went off as planned." Lance chimed in from the side lines.
Yuma got angry before grumbling to himself and crossing his arms.
Tori was completely lost as she hadn't heard a thing Astral said. "I'm going to take my turn." She drew. "I summon Musto, Oracle of Gusto/LV 4/1800/900)." A man in green robes and white cloak appeared.
"I then activate Transmodify. By sending Musto to the grave, I can special summon a monster with the same type and attribute, but one level higher, from my deck. I choose Reeze, Whirlwind of Gusto(LV 5/1900/1400)."
A girl in a green outfit and with green hair that had red at the end appeared. "Reeze shall attack your knight (Yuma 3700/Tori 4000). Finally, I'll end my turn with a face down. It's your move Yuma."
Yuma drew and Astral spoke. "It is my turn."
"Butt out Astral!" Yuma snapped. "This is my duel."
"Yuma, if we cannot work together when there are no stakes, how will we do so when Numbers are on the line?" Astral stated thinking back to the duel against Shark. "If you ever lost to someone with a Number, I may fade away."
"Good." Yuma turned away from him. "Maybe that's what I want."
Astral floated over to Lance and moved to his side. "You seem to know Yuma. How can I get him to obey me?"
Lance looked at him. "You got to understand that dueling is everything to Yuma. He absolutely loves it with all his heart. The fact that you're coming around trying to boss him around during the duel isn't going to endear you to him."
"Passion? Would you say you have the same passion for dueling?" Astral inquired.
"Lots of people have a passion for dueling. It's just higher for others as there are many passions one can aspire to. I may not be as expressive as Yuma when it comes to my dueling, but I'd say I love a good duel just as much as him." Lance stated.
Astral put his hand on his chin. "Fascinating. Observation 2: Humans can have many, different passions, yet not everyone acts the same way even if they may have the exact same love for something."
Yuma was content to let Astral bug Lance as he took his turn, and he wasn't about to use any idea Astral presented him. "I summon Gagaga Magician(1500/1000)." The blue and orange robbed magician appeared.
I'll then activate Blustering Winds to increase Gagaga's ATK by 1000 until my next Stand-By Phase. Gagaga Magician attack Tori's Reeze (Yuma 3700/Tori 3400). I'll finish by setting a card."
Tori drew. "I activate Contact with Gusto. Since I have two Gusto monsters in my grave, I can shuffle them back into my deck. Then, I can destroy a monster on your field. The only one you have is Gaga Magician."
Yuma was shocked. "Oh man, that's not good."
"I'm not done yet Yuma." Tori declared. "I activate Card Destruction forcing us to discard our hands and draw the same number we discarded. One of those monsters sent was Gusto Griffon meaning I can special summon a Gusto from my deck. I choose Gusto Squirro (LV 2/0/1800)." A green squirl appeared. "I'll then normal summon Kamui, Hope of Gusto(LV 2/200/1000)."
A child with green hair in a ponytail appeared "Now I build the overlay network using my Level 2 Squirro and Kamui to Xyz summon Daigusto Phoenix(R 2/O 2/1500/1100)." An orange, green, and black phoenix appeared. "By detaching an overlay unit, a face up wind type monster, like my phoenix, can attack twice this Battle Phase.
They'll both be direct attacks (Yuma 700/Tori 3400). I then set one card ending my turn." Tori looked up at him. "Come on Yuma. You can do this. Don't let the duel end like that. Put some fight into it."
Astral looked at Lance. "This conversation has been most illuminating, but I can feel myself starting to weaken. I must return to Yuma's side."
"No problem." Lance nodded. "Just one more bit of advice before you get over there. Treat Yuma as an equal instead of a meaning to an end. He responds better to those that don't look down on him."
"You seem to think highly of Yuma even though you are the superior duelist." Astral stated. "Why is that?"
Lance held out his arms casually. "I agree that I am an awesome duelist. One of the best in Heartland as far as I can tell; however, Yuma is my best friend. In a way, I don't see myself as superior to him no matter how many duels I win. I see him as an equal."
Astral floated back over to Yuma. "Observation 3: Friendships are complicated like humans are turning out to be."
Yuma looked at his deck before nodding. "Alright, I'm really feeling the flow on this draw." He drew. "Now, what do I do now?"
Astral answered, "Summon Goblindbergh and use his effect to bring Gogogo Golem with him, overlay into Zubaba General, and finish by using General's effect to equip him with that second Zubaba Knight in your hand."
Yuma glared at Astral. "Great, you're back to give me more orders."
Astral replied, "Not orders. Just suggestions." Yuma continued to glare. "Yuma, whether we like it or not, you, Lance, and I are connected. We will face many challenges, and I would like to start building trust now before it's too late.
If either of you lose, I may fade from existence. I will be lost. I will never gain my memories. Whatever mission I was sent here to complete will never be finished. So, I leave this decision to you, Yuma."
Yuma looked at his cards before sighing and becoming serious. "Alright Astral." He looked at Tori with his trademark smile. "Get ready Tori because I'm cranking this duel up a notch. I summon Goblindbergh(LV 4/1400/0)." A green goblin in a red plane appeared carrying a box.
"I activate his ability to special summon Gogogo Golem(LV 4/1800/1500)." The green and blue golem appeared. "Now I build the overlay network with my level 4 monsters to Xyz summon Zubaba General(R 4/O 2/2000/1000)."
The warrior in white armor with a red cape and black blade appeared.
Tori smiled. "Way to go Yuma! This is starting to look like a duel now!"
Lance joined in. "Agreed!"
"Just you wait because I still have a move left. I activate Zubaba General's ability. By detaching an overlay unit, I can equip him with a warrior from my hand, and he gains ATK equal to that monster's ATK. I choose a Zubaba Knight." Zubaba General(R 4/O 1/3600/1000). "Now my General will destroy Daigusto Phoenix (Yuma 700/Tori 1300)."
Tori drew. "That was a good move Yuma, but I have to end this duel now. I summon Gusto Egul(LV 1/200/400)." A green bird appeared.
"What's that monster do?" Yuma asked.
"That is unimportant Yuma." Tori stated. "What is important is the last card in my hand, Creature Swap. Now we must each choose a monster on our field. Then, we trade those monsters with each other."
Yuma went wide eyed. "That means…"
Tori nodded. "I get control of Zubaba General and will have him attack Gusto Egul (Yuma 0/Tori 1300)."
Yuma laughed joyfully as they left augmented reality. "That was a blast Tori." He ran over to her. "Your deck's gotten even better since the last time we dueled."
Tori slightly blushed. "You think so?"
Yuma nodded. "No doubt."
"Thanks Yuma." Tori smiled. "That combo you pulled off was great to."
Lance joined them. "It certainly was. Good to see you were able to put General to good use."
Yuma looked at Astral. "I did have some help."
Tori noticed that the streetlamps were starting to turn on. "Oh, it's getting late." She ran but waved back at them. "Bye Yuma and Lance. See you at school tomorrow."
They both waved before Yuma turned to Lance. "So, sleepover at my house tonight?"
"You bet!" Lance smiled. "My mom and grandpa left for a tournament, so I'll be looking forward to your grandmother's cooking."
?
Someone worked furiously at a computer imputing countless strings of code into it until finally a small little monster appeared on screen with a head like a bomb and body of a little boy. He looked around on the monitor he now inhabited.
The monster could only say, "Crashbug."
The guy who created it chuckled. "Time to go viral."
He sent out many Crashbugs into the system.
Heartland City
Lights everywhere turned red at the same time leading to cars piling up. Litterbots were rewired to think people were trash. One picked up Yuma's grandmother while others picked up various others. Countless other incidents were happening all over the city.
Near Yuma's Home
The boys suddenly heard Kari scream as if in distress.
"That doesn't sound good." Lance stated.
"You're right." Yuma nodded. "Let's get inside."
Kari's Room
Yuma and Lance burst into the room to find Kari staring at her various screens, which were all red and spelled out ERROR, in utter shock.
"Sis, what's wrong?" Yuma asked.
"My research. My transcripts. My big scoop." Kari replied as she hadn't turned to look at them. "Some kind of bug just wiped out my computer."
Yuma and Lance could see where this was going as they both looked at each other and nodded before bolting from the room. You did not want to be around when Kari got like this.
Kari noticed them run and shouted. "Yuma, you and Lance better find me a new scoop or else!"
The boys ran outside and jumped on Lance's bike.
"Quick Lance, get us out of here!" Yuma frantically shouted.
"You don't have to tell me twice dude!" Lance stated before peddling down the road.
Streets of Heartland
Lance rode his bike through the stalled traffic as the sidewalks were cluttered with people. With the cars stopped on the street, it was safer to do this for everyone involved. Both Yuma and Lance looked around as Heartland's technology was frozen or on the fritz.
"The whole city is at a standstill." Yuma commented.
"Yeah…" Lance stated as his mind turned towards the cause. "This isn't any ordinary occurrence. Something is up, and it's the Sentai Ranger's job to find out what."
"Trash identified. Trash identified. Trash identified." Both Yuma and Lance heard what sounded like many litterbots behind them. That was because there were about a dozen on their tails.
Yuma patted his friend's shoulder. "Lance, we got litterbots. and I don't think they're after the candy wrappers in my pants."
"I hear ya Yuma." Lance stated. "Hold on because I'm about to pick up the pace."
Yuma gripped the Heroic duelist's shoulders, and Lance started peddling like there was no tomorrow.
Yuma's House, Night…
Eventually, the city fixed itself, and Lance and Yuma, dressed in their night clothes, sat at the Tsukumo table.
"Thanks for the food." They both echoed.
Kari wasn't in the mood as her head lay on the table lamenting what happened. "Why did the computers have to trash my report?"
"Speaking of trash, Lance and I were hunted down by a dozen litterbots until the city got everything back in working order." Yuma stated.
"It was insane." Lance nodded. "I'm glad now more than ever that I've done so much physical activity."
Haru said, "So you boys had a crazy run in with litterbots as well?"
Kari looked up. "Wait, what?"
Yuma picked up his chop sticks. "Oh yeah, it was wild. Traffic lights were wonky, cars everywhere, and an army of litter bots chasing us around." He smiled and pointed at Lance. "Without this guy, I don't know if I'd have survived."
"You kidding?" Lance chuckled. "I never could have stayed one step ahead of them without you watching our backs. Your guidance allowed me to keep up a good pace through all the chaos."
Kari interjected, "Wait, I'm not the only one who had problems today?" She lifted her head. "This is starting to smell like a scoop."
"Yuma, quick grab your food!" Lance shouted as he brought his own food close. Yuma did the same just narrowly avoiding Kari's chop sticks as they reached for his fish.
Kari blinked. "Hey quit messing around! I need to replenish my energy!"
Yuma and Lance began to rapidly eat their meals.
"Hey, today's been a busy day for us as well." Lance stated.
Yuma nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we all have our own dinner, so stick to yours."
Kari put her chop sticks down. "There's no time to eat anyways." She ran off. "I got to get started on this story."
Astral observed both boys as they ate. "So, this is how Humans replenish their energy."
Attic
Yuma already crashed in his own hammock, and Lance did the same after pulling out the guest hammock. Both boys were out cold after a full day of dueling and outrunning litterbots.
With them asleep, Astral hovered nearby. "I cannot shake the thought that I was sent to this world on an important mission. Perhaps to fulfill that mission, I was to take over Yuma's body." He then put a hand to his chin. "If that's the case, what about Lance?
I can go to him and the time I can spend with him is gradually increasing. This is all very confusing. From what I can tell, something went wrong scattering my essence into 100 pieces. 100 Number cards.
If I had the power to take over humans, it stands to reason that a card containing a piece of me would have that power as well. Though, why would taking Yuma over be part of my mission?" He looked to Lance. "What part does he have to play? What went wrong?"
Astral reached out for Yuma's key only to be absorbed by it.
Inside the Key
Astral opened his eyes to stare upon a blue space with a huge, golden object suspended in the air. "What happened? Where am I?"
Attic, Morning…
Yuma fell out of his hammock waking Lance up.
The Heroic duelist sat up to find Yuma looking around before smiling. "Looks like Astral finally took the hint."
Lance rubbed his head. "Yuma, I thought you'd have learned something after he helped you duel Tori."
Yuma stood up. "Maybe." At that moment, the clock on the wall went off. "Oh no, we're late!"
Lance jumped out of the hammock as he and Yuma frantically went around gathering their things. "We won't be late if I have anything to say about it. Get dressed quickly and let's hit the road."
Math Class
Yuma and Lance ran into the class and took their usual seats with Yuma next to Tori and Lance in the seat across the aisle.
"We made it!" Yuma happily declared as the bell went off signaling the start to class.
Lance noticed that the school's systems still seemed to be down due to yesterday. His attention, like many, were drawn to their teacher Mr. Kay as he began class. Mr. Kay has brown hair with dark brown fringes. His attire consists of brown pants with a vest covering a pink shirt.
"I know we were going to spend today's class discussing the quadratic equation, but, due to yesterday's debacle, our systems are still offline. Extra credit to anyone who can determine the source of this." Mr. Kay stated.
Another student stood up. He had blue hair over black hair in a bowl-cut style and no one ever catches him out of his 1st year school uniform unless it is a special occasion.
"I can take this one Mr. Kay." The student happily replied.
Mr. Kay said, "Uh, you know I was being sarcastic, right Caswell?"
Caswell just walked to the front of the class and cleared his throat. "Pay attention simpletons because some of this may go over your heads. Yesterday's incident was the result of a virus planted in the city's systems by a hacker. In the end, by pinging several…"
Yuma spoke up. "Hey, since we can't talk about mathy stuff, let's have a duel tournament."
Mr. Kay smiled. "That's not on the curriculum but sure."
Yuma was excited. "Alright Mr. Kay. I am totally feeling the flow."
Everyone cheered except for Caswell who was angry over being interrupted. "That upstart stole my spotlight. That does it." He pointed at the Syllable duelist. "Yuma! I challenge you to a duel here and now."
Yuma smiled. "Get set to get decked."
Guard0077:I'm thinking of a little story more with Anna. I won't guarantee anything, like her becoming a main character like Yuma and the others are, but I think it'll be pleasant surprise.