It had been a couple weeks since Alex's duel with Mr. Kay. During that time, Yuma had just had his duel with Flip, who ended up giving him an Xyz monster called Baby Tiragon, which he tried to use to his own advantage against Yuma, only for it to backfire. While he wasn't around to watch the duel, his knowledge of knowing it happened from both the show, and Tori, Bronk and Caswell telling him so was enough to satisfy him.
"Hey, did you hear? The Sparrow is gonna be doing a shoot for his show here in Heartland City down by the port!" came a voice from Alex's left. Looking over he saw a bunch of ladies fangirling over a certain kid actor. The Sparrow, a show about an intergalactic hero looking to save the galaxy from the forces of evil. Y'know, the usual superhero action drama.
"Hey! Let go of me Tori!" Looking behind him, he saw Yuma getting dragged by Tori with Bronk closely following. Upon noticing Alex, the green haired girl soon ran up to him.
"Hey Alex! We're going down to the pier to see the Sparrow! Come with us!" she suggested.
"I appreciate the offer, but I've gotta get home. I have some stuff to take care of and-" He was then cut off by a hand gripping the back of his uniform's collar.
"I wasn't asking Alex. You really need to get out more, and that's what's gonna happen!" Tori, dragging both Yuma and Alex behind her, went to the Heartland Port with Bronk following close behind. At the said port, a load of girls were screaming the Sparrow's name, begging to meet the hero in person.
"Are we the only guys here?" Bronk rhetorically asks.
"It would appear so Bronk," Alex answered anyway.
"Oh, how I wish we could meet him!" Tori says with a smile on her face, and a blush on her cheeks. Lucky for her, there was just the person for the job to grant her wish.
"If you guys want to get in, I can provide you an entrance," the little glasses wearing kid in a bowler hat that they had all come to know as Flip offered.
After he tried and failed to sneak past the security guard by, in his own words, 'Act like a company big shot', the rest of them took the opportunity to sneak behind the guard while he apprehended Flip.
"Poor kid," Alex thought to himself. "I mean, I could've easily snuck in, but that would probably end up revealing my identity."
After some snooping around, the group eventually found the Sparrow practicing his act on a set. Astral, unaware of the tropes of television shows being works of fiction, believed that the Sparrow was an actual hero who was readying himself to fight actual villains. When he saw Yuma standing next to a prop that he thought was real, Yuma asked Bronk to take his picture, shifting the prop to press a button that pulled it up into the ceiling, taking both Yuma and Alex, whose shirt was unfortunately caught in the prop's armor.
"AHHH!" During the struggle of Yuma and Alex holding on to the prop for dear life, Yuma's deck fell out of his bag and right in front of the Sparrow. Once security found the gang, they took them to the security office to call their parents, except for Yuma, who the Sparrow decided to bring to his studio.
"So, you live alone?" the guard repeated to the boy in front of him.
"Yes, for the sixth time!" Alex repeated.
"Well, if no parent will punish you, then I guess we'll have to do it then! You can start by cleaning the stage!"
"HUH?!"
After grueling hours of dusting, mopping and sweeping, the security team finally let Alex go. But that is in the past, right now in the present, the Number Thief was scouting out an unguarded card shop. Finally weeks after robbing the first three stores, it would seem that he would strike once again.
"Thanks for finally letting your guard down for once coppers." A snarl of warning was given by Dark Rebellion as Alex prepared to make his move. "I know that it can't be that easy, but they should have put up more defenses."
After quietly breaking into the store, he used his Number Sense to locate the Numbers and steal them, all without tripping an alarm. After leaving his calling card, Alex left the shop, with three more Numbers in hand.
"Well, that was easier than I thought."
"Not so fast criminal scum!" came a familiar voice from behind him. After swiftly dodging an attack to the back of his head, Alex turned to see none other than the Sparrow. "Hmm… you're quite agile."
"Indeed," the Number Thief replies. "You don't get as good as I am without earning some points in dexterity."
"Hmph! Even so, I saw that you robbed that card shop earlier. What exactly did you take?"
"Some cards that should not be in the hands of those who cannot handle them, or use them for evil deeds." He then looked the Sparrow dead in the eye. "And I sense that you have one as well, Nelson."
That threw the Sparrow off for quite a loop. "Y-You know of my secret identity?!"
"Indeed, and it would seem that you are under a Number's influence, becoming a vigilante to save the day and stop crooks right in their tracks, while admirable, what happens if you take it too far? That's why I must steal that Number from you!" The thief then threw his arm out, revealing his duel disk.
"If you want a duel! I'll happily provide it for you!" the Sparrow challenges pulling out his own disk. Once they were set up, they drew their starting hand.
"DUEL!"
NT"s LP: 4000
Sparrow's LP: 4000
"I'll go first! I draw!" The Sparrow made the first opening move, drawing his sixth card. " I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn!" Two face downs then appeared onto Sparrow's field.
"My turn then! I draw!" Alex drew and played his drawn card. "I summon Time Thief Chronocorder, (ATK: 1000, DEF: 1000, LV: 4) then I'll set a card and activate it! The trap card the Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine!"
"Huh, but trap cards can't be activated the turn they were set?"
"Indeed, but while I have no trap cards in my graveyard, I can activate it the turn it was set. Now onto the ability! When it's activated it becomes a monster! (ATK: 0, DEF: 400, LV: 4) Now I'll overlay them in order to Xyz Summon! Master of thievery across the temporal plane, appear before us with your masterful craft! Appear! Time Thief Redoer! (ATK: 2400, DEF: 2000, RNK: 4)" The thief appeared onto the field, ready to take on his opponent, who gave a smirk of confidence.
"I was waiting for this! I activate the trap card Defense of the Meek! Just because a card isn't strong doesn't mean they can't be helpful, as Defense of the Meek allows me to Special Summon one level 1 monster from my hand, and when I do, monsters I control can't be targeted for an attack for the rest of the turn! I summon Triple Star Trion! (ATK: 100, DEF: 100, LV: 1)" A green elf appeared before the Sparrow. "Next I'll activate my other face down, Inferno Reckless Summon! Since I Special Summoned my Trion while you control a monster, I can Summon more Trions to my field from my deck!" The blue and red elves appeared next to the first. "Normally Inferno Reckless Summon also has you summon copies of a monster you control, but…"
"Reckless Summon's effect doesn't summon from the Extra Deck. Very clever hero," the thief finished for him.
"Indeed, also thanks to Defense of the Meek, you cannot attack my monsters, so all you can do for now is end your turn."
"Indeed I shall, but not before putting two cards face down." Two more set cards appeared onto the field behind Redoer as the turn came to a close.
"Then it's my turn, I draw!"
"And during your standby phase, Redoer takes the top card of your deck as an overlay unit! Quantum Thievery!" Redoer's cable shot out and swiped the top card of his deck, turning it into an overlay unit.
"Hmm… Just like a thief I suppose, but I have exactly what I need at this moment! I tribute two of my Trions in order to Tribute Summon! D.D. Esper Star Sparrow takes to the field! (ATK: 3000, DEF: 1500, LV: 10)" A shadowed version of the Sparrow then appeared after two of the Trions vanished. "And now I'll bring back my two Troins due to their abilities! Now I'll overlay all three of my Trions to summon out Number 83: Galaxy Queen! (ATK: 500, DEF: 500, RNK: 1)" The queen then appeared behind the Sparrow, posing with authoritative power in defense position. "Now Esper Star Sparrow, attack Redoer!"
"Hmhm… I activate Time Thief Redoer's ability! By detaching a trap card that is an overlay unit I can return one face up card you control to the top of your deck. Your Sparrow is leaving it seems. Phantom Reversal!" Redoer's device absorbed an overlay unit and summoned a time vortex that Esper was sucked into.
"No Esper Star! Grr…" The Sparrow looked at his opponent with a scowl. "You may have taken down my Sparrow, but I won't let your monster have it as an overlay unit! I activate the quick play spell Book of Moon! This flips your Redoer face down!" A blue book appeared and opened, shining a bright blue light onto the thief and turning it into a set monster. "I'll set one card and end my turn."
"Hmhmhmhm Hahahaha!" Alex laughed. "I'll admit, you're possibly one of the first to pose a challenge for me."
"I'll admit that you did as well, but I can't help but feel as if this duel was meant to happen," the Sparrow comments
"Hero vs. Anti-Hero. A duel between two different colliding ideals. It was practically destiny!"
"Indeed, uh...! Say, who are you anyways?"
"Hmm? I can't tell you that. I have a secret identity to uphold myself."
"I meant your alias!"
"My alias? Oh, I go by the Number Thief."
"The Number Thief? Not to sound rude but what about a proper name?"
"Hmm?"
"Take me for instance, Sparrow. It's the hero name I have. The Number Thief kinda sounds like a title, y'know? Don't get me wrong, I'm not starting to like you or anything, but I do want to have an opponent with a grand name I can remember."
"A grand name to remember huh?" Alex then pondered for a bit, before smirking with a fox-like grin. "Okay, I'll give you a name to remember by. It's Vixen, the Number Thief. Call me Vix for short if you so desire, but enough talk, it's my turn! I draw!" After Alex, now named Vixen drew his next card, he smirked in confidence, before a familiar voice rang out behind them.
"Nelson!" Yuma came running, stopping before the battlefield, noticing the familiar opponent before him. "Huh? The Number Thief?! What are you doing here?!"
"Isn't it obvious? I'm stealing a Number Yuma. One that your friend here has sadly fallen under the influence of," Vix explained. "Also I have a new name to go by now. Call me Vixen."
"Vixen?" Yuma repeated.
"Ugh! I don't have time for this anymore!" the Sparrow exclaimed, backing out of the duel before running off.
"What! Hey, come back!" Yuma called out, only for his words to be unherd. Turning back he saw that the Number Thief, Vixen was gone as well. Astral then appeared next to him.
"Yuma, did you hear what the Number Thief said? Apparently, it seems that Nelson is being possessed by a Number."
"Then I guess that means I really have to duel him!" Yuma declared, running after the Sparrow. Meanwhile Vix stood atop a building, thinking about his new alias.
"Vixen the Number Thief, love that name already. A shame I wasn't able to acquire Nelson's Number, but knowing Yuma, he'll get it for sure."
A few days later, Nelson was back to his old normal self thanks to Yuma and Astral, and as for Vixen, the Number Thief, he did his nightly patrols. Sadly though, the appearance of Number cards have become an all time low, so for the moment, we'll take a look into the life of the hero beneath the mask, Alex Kurusu.
When he walked into class that morning, Bronk and Tori were busy talking about Yuma's current win streak. "I'm telling ya Tori, Yuma has never been good at dueling, but outta nowhere he's been winning duels back to back, left and right. Only thing that makes sense is that he's actually got a dueling spirit helping him out."
"Haha! That's a good one Bronk," Alex laughs behind him, startling his wits. "There's no such thing as ghosts or spirits. If you keep it up, people'll start thinking you're getting jealous of his new skills."
"I am not!" Bronk exclaims.
"But I will admit, ever since Yuma got those Xyz monsters added to his deck, his game got a major improvement," Alex comments. "Guess they were just what he needed to improve his deck."
"That does make some sense," Tori replies.
"Hey, what's up guys?" Yuma said walking in wearing… wait, what is that outfit?!
"Uhh… Yuma. Since when were you interested in becoming a male stripper?" Alex asked, trying to hold in his laughter. Yuma then looked at what he was wearing, realizing that, again, he was not in his school uniform. "Seriously, this is, what, the fifth time this week?"
"Huh? Ah, what?!" He exclaimed seeing his outfit. Astral then decided to make his appearance, but remained silent during the exchange.
"You seriously need to see what you're putting on before you leave the house!" Tori adds in. "Also, you get like, five star lunches, also in gym yesterday, you had wires attached to your pants during that jumping exercise, don't you think that's odd?"
"You're right Tori! Someone's gotta be messing with me!" Yuma concluded. "Grr… I'm gonna get to the bottom of this!"
"Seriously Yuma, you're so oblivious at times. You couldn't even recognize fashion if it slapped you in the face," Tori comments. Yuma, not one who likes being insulted, countered.
"Yeah, well what about you? It's not like you're a fashion model."
"Well I'm not the one dressed like a 70's hazbin!"
"Well you're… wearing your school uniform!"
"KNOCK IT OFF!" Alex shouted, stepping between them. "This is ridiculous you two!"
"You know what you're right, let's be more civil," Tori challenged. "Tomorrow afternoon, we'll go to the mall, put on some outfits and post them to spacenook! Our class can decide who's more fashionable!"
"You're on!" Yuma accepted.
"Hold on! That's not what Alex meant, right?" Bronk tried to reason. Upon looking at Alex, he saw he was seriously trying his hardest to hold in his laughter.
"Spacenook?! How did the writers get away with that?!" he thought to himself.
"Alright then, time to see this challenge between Yuma and Tori," Alex thought to himself, until a stampede of kittens came running by him. "Uhh… what?"
"ALEX!" Yuma exclaimed, running up to him, and Astral casually floating next to him (which Alex made sure to pay no mind to). "It's Tori! She's been cat-napped!"
"Huh?" Alex replied confused, until he remembered. "Oh, it's that episode," he thought to himself. "Well, let's go find her!"
"Follow those cats! They'll lead us to her!" Yuma stated, running with Alex in tow. Upon reaching an old mausoleum-type building, Yuma and Alex entered inside. "Alright pal, let Tori go!"
"Welcome Yuma," came a reply. Across from them was Cathy Cathrine (say that five times fast), and her army of kittens. Upon introducing herself she immediately challenged Yuma to a duel for Tori's freedom if he wins. Being the young spirited duelist he is, accepts her challenge without question.
The duel started with Cathy using a clever technique known as an attack lock, where two monsters that have the same effect of 'your opponent cannot attack other monsters' are on the field at once. Her Stray Cats have this effect for as long as they are in attack position, which was stopped by Yuma using his spell to switch one stray to defence position allowing him to attack the only other one with Achacha Archer. This was then countered by Cathy using a face down Quick Play spell that allowed her to summon Monster Cat, destroying Yuma's archer and dealing damage to Yuma.
Next turn, she used Monster Cat's effect to add a Stray Cat from her graveyard, and summoned it, then used all three to Xyz Summon Twin Tail Cat Lady. Using her effect and the field spell Cat World, Cat Lady grew to 2800 ATK, dealing major damage to Yuma, bringing him down to 400 LP. His life taking a hit, he activated the face down he set during his last turn, Pixie Gone, summoning a pixie dressed up as a war general.
All during this duel, Yuma kept on saying how awesome Cathy's dueling was, causing the girl to blush from her crush's compliments, all the while, Alex just sweatdropped at Yuma's obliviousness. Upon hearing her story and Yuma unknowingly calling himself a jerk, Alex can't help but facepalm at Yuma's density. After Yuma gave her some great love advice, he then proceeded to win the duel, literally right before Cathy was about to confess to him.
"By sending Pinecono to my graveyard, I can summon Acorno to my field! (ATK: 200, DEF: 400, LV: 1) Then Pinecono's effect from my graveyard activates, allowing me to Special Summon him! (ATK: 400, DEF: 200, LV: 1)"
"W-Wait, h-hold up a sec-"
"Now I overlay all three of my level 1 monsters in order to build the overlay network! I Xyz Summon, Baby Tiragon! (ATK: 900, DEF: 900, RNK: 1)" The little dragon that Yuma got from his duel with Flip appeared onto the field in attack position. "Next I'll summon Gagaga Magician (ATK: 1500, DEF: 1000, LV: 4) and I'll use his special ability to change his level to 1! (LV: 4 - LV: 1) Next I'll use Baby Tiragon's ability! By using an overlay unit, a level 1 monster I control can attack directly this turn. I choose my magician!" Baby Tiragon used an overlay unit to enchant Gagaga, making it glow. "Now Gagaga Magician, Gagaga Magic!" Once again, Cathay's words were unheard as his magician brought her down to 900 LP. "Next, Baby Tiragon will attack your Cat Lady!"
"But Yuma, Baby Tiragon doesn't have enough attack points," Astral comments.
"No worries, because I activate the Ego Boost spell! This card boosts Tiragon's ATK by 1000 and your monster's ATK becomes its original!" Yuma answered, Tiragon's ATK getting boosted and Cat Lady's lowered.
(ATK: 900 - 1900)
(ATK: 2800 - 1000)
"Yuma wai-"
"Now Baby Tiragon! Finish this duel with Baby Stream!" The baby dragon then blasted energy from its mouth, taking out the Cat Lady and the rest of Cathy's LP, winning him the duel.
After Yuma helped Cathy to her feet, she followed through on her deal and told him of Tori's location, as it would turn out that she spent the whole day playing with cats. As he left the building, Cat stared longingly as her crush left the house.
"Oh, Yuma…"
"Sorry about him," came Alex's voice, startling the shy girl. "Dueling is all he thinks about. He isn't much of a romantic, sadly."
"Oh right, you're here too," she replied.
"Uh- you just remembered?" he said with a sweat drop, Dark Rebellion lightly chuckling in his head.
"Sorry, I guess I was so invested in the duel and Yuma, I just forgot about everything else," she replied.
"It's fine. Yuma's the same way honestly. Once he starts a duel, nothing stops him until it's over," Alex explained.
"I wonder if I should really just give up. It's clear he's not into me."
"No way! Yuma may not be interested in love now, but when that day comes, you gotta be there to have him sweep you off your feet!" Alex said with gusto. "And if he doesn't work out, then you can't stop searching! There's bound to be someone for everyone!"
"Y-Y-You really think so?" Cathy asked with a blush, which grew upon seeing Alex's cheshire grin and giving a thumbs up.
"I know so," he replied. "Now I gotta go. Seeya Cat!" He then followed Yuma, leaving a blushing Cathy Catherine behind.
"Has another stolen this kitty's heart?"
Outside Alex ran after Yuma only to notice a familiar face on his bike down below on the streets, Shark. Remembering what was bound to happen in the near future, Alex watched as he drove off into the slums, where the gangs hang out.
"Shark, you have a lot of development left to go through. Hopefully Yuma will be enough to save you from the darkness. If not…" Alex then turned and walked away, and if this were a cartoon, the viewer would see a phantom appearance of Alex's Number Thief getup put on with Dark Rebellion standing right behind him. "Then I guess Vixen will have to pitch in and help also."
Author's Note: FINALLY DONE! Sorry it took a bit, I was caught halfway through and didn't know where to go from there, but hopefully the other half was good enough. Anyways I have a question for you. Which Number Would you like Alex/Vixen to steal next? Black Ship of Corn, or Doom Chimera Dragon? I will try to post a poll on my page. If I can't, please post your suggestion in the reviews please. Thank you, until next time!