It was quiet in the dark streets of Heartland, until the sound of broken glass disrupted the peace. "Hey! Stop that thief!" Vixen's shadowed figure dashed through the allies, jumping off walls and onto the railings of fire escapes, all the while multiple gang members were following close behind.

What's with the running you may ask? Well, you may also notice on Vix's figure a large sack upon his back. The gang that he had just stolen from was known as The Pack. They are a notorious group known to steal cards for their own benefit, so the notorious Number Thief saw fit to steal them right back..

Upon turning a good few corners, Vixen had finally lost them. "Finally, now to get you to the proper authorities." Before he started to leave however, he heard a low whimper. Curiosity getting the better of him, he opened the bag and grabbed a random card from it. Upon doing so, a cybernetic crow manifested before Vix's eyes. Dark Rebellion then appeared behind him soon after and began to speak with the crow. One unintelligible conversation later, and the crow then perched on the thief's shoulder, his ace vanishing soon after.

"So I guess you want to come with me, aye?" The crow nodded in approval and vanished too. Upon looking at the card in his hands, Vixen saw that the little monster he spoke to was the level 1 monster D.D. Crow. He then added it to his deck as he took the rest of the cards away.

"...In other news, a mysterious bag of duel monster cards appeared in a police station's board room seemingly overnight, along with a card that was found attached to it saying it was a gift from Heartland's infamous Number Thief. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that these cards were reported missing from several card shops and duelists, and fingerprints of the supposed thieves were uncovered. Through a database search, the authorities have determined that these people are suspected of card theft. If you recognise or see any of these faces, please contact your local HCPD as fast as possible."

Photos of some of The Pack's members were posted next to the news anchor woman while Kari seethed in rage watching. Take your guess as to why that's happening. Her little brother Yuma and their grandmother watched her in concern as she shoved food in her mouth.

"Unbelievable! Another story, just poof! Gone! Swept under the rug! My chance at another great scoop just flew out th-*hurk*" She then proceeded to choke a little on her food, banging her chest to dislodge it.

"That's what you get for talking with your mouth full," their grandmother whittingly remarks. "Now Yuma, you should go before you're late for school… well later than usual."

"Agh! Thanks Granny! Bye Kari! See ya later!" He then ran out the door with his school bag. On the way he ran into Alex who apparently was running late as well.

"So I basically slept through my alarm clock. It's never really happened before," he explained. "That's what I get for staying up so late," he then thought to himself.

"Okay Alex," Yuma responded. "Say, since you're here, how about a race to school?"

"Oh… I don't know Yuma. Even if you couldn't beat Bronk while he was on his board, I doubt I have the athletic ability to keep up with you, oh! Red light!" They stopped at a crosswalk as cars zoomed past, Yuma jumping in place with impatience.

"Come on! Can't this light turn any faster?!" The walk sign then turned on as Yuma made a sigh of relief and began to cross with Alex, until a bike almost ran them over. "Hey watch where you're…" The biker was then revealed to be Shark, who then drove off after one glance at the boys he almost ran over. "Was that Shark?"

"No time for that! Let's go before the light turns red again!" Alex says, dragging Yuma across the walkway.

Once they had arrived at school, Alex made his way to his desk, panting as though he had just run a marathon. While Caswell walked up to Yuma and asked to see his deck. Upon giving it to him, the blue haired genius looked through it and started making accusations.

"Admit it, the only reason you were able to win so many duels is because of those powerful Number cards you have on you! In the end, without them you're nothing!"

"That's not true! It's the skill that makes the duelist, not the cards!" Yuma counters. "Alex you believe me right?" Turning to the teen in question, they awaited his answer.

"To be honest, I find it's a bit of both," he replied honestly. "I mean, you have to admit, you wouldn't be able to win with a deck filled with only level 1 Normal Monsters, but just because you give a powerful card to someone, that doesn't make them unbeatable. They must know how to properly use it first if they expect to win. Every good deck needs a strategy, and the best decks have more than one, and sometimes you need some good cards in order to pull it off." Everyone stared in awe at the 'non-duelist's' explanation, while Alex blushed in embarrassment. "Oh course, that's how I think at least."

After shaking from his stupor, Caswell went back to laying it into Yuma. "The point is, in the end, It is impossible for Yuma to win without the Numbers."

"Oh yeah? What's it gonna take to prove you wrong?!" Yuma exclaimed.

"How about a duel?"

"Fine! I'll take one anyone you choose and win without using a Number card!"

"Even if that duelist is Shark?"

"No problem!" Yuma then grabbed his deck back. "I'll find him and beat him with my own dueling skills!"

The next day after school, Alex found Yuma getting beaten by Bronk in one duel after another. "So, what's up with Yuma?"

"He lost his duel against Shark, even when he used a Number card," Tori explained.

"He used a Number?" Alex asks.

"Yeah, even after he swore not to use one," Caswell replied. "Then again, Shark did ask for Yuma to use one so, in the end, I suppose he just wanted to fulfill Shark's wants. He was never all that prideful."

"UFO Turtle, counter attack Yuma's Gagaga Magician!" Another loss for Yuma as he fell on his butt.

"20 losses in a row," Caswell said.

"Ha! No sweat! Come on Bronk, one more time!" Yuma said with a smile on his face.

"You still want to duel?!" the blue bowl cut asks.

"I'm just getting started! Come on Bronk, one more time!"

Bronk only looked at Yuma with disappointment in his eyes, before turning around and walked away, leaving everyone in shock. Tori ran after him soon after while Alex and Caswell stayed behind with Yuma.

"Guess this is when Bronk got mad at Yuma for going back on his word," Alex thought to himself. "Better ask for further explanation so things don't get super confusing."

"So, what exactly happened in that duel with Shark, Yuma?" he asked the said duelist. He looked down for a couple seconds, before explaining everything that happened during the duel, of how he was trying to stop Shark from being with that gang, to Astral telling him how a Number doesn't make the duelist, then to his humiliating loss at how Shark handled with his Number's effect.

"He totally creamed me, like I wasn't even worth his time. He completely countered my strategy and everything."

"Hmm… so a Number can't be destroyed by battle, but can still be affected by card effects that would destroy or negate its destruction ability," Alex concluded aloud, although he already knew this.

"I tried so hard to beat him, but…" To Alex and Caswell's shock, tears started to leak from Yuma's eyes. "I couldn't even do that. Even when I more than likely hurt my pride as a duelist by going back on my word and used a Number card, I still couldn't beat him! And now he's gone back to those jerks! I'm such a horrible friend aren't I?"

He knew he was hurting, but he didn't think it affected him this badly. So without another word, Alex wrapped his arm around Yuma, and hugged him.

To say that Scorch and Chills were pissed would be an understatement. Just two nights ago, the Number Thief came into the old arcade that they were hiding out in and stole all the cards they had gathered, and now their faces were all over the news.

"That damn thief. Thanks to him our pack's been compromised," Chills says angrily.

"Yeah," Scorch agrees. "If we ever find that runt, there'll be hell to pay!"

"Umm… boss?" came a sniveling voice from beyond their door.

"What is it, Weasel?" Chill shouted at him.

"Uhh… It's about Shark sir! I can't stand how he acts so much better than us!" Weasel responds to his superior.

"Just deal with it Weasel, cause that fish is gonna make us rich, ya understand?" Scorch tells him. "We don't like him because we care or anything, we like him because he wins, and as long as he keeps winning, we'll be happy."

"Sounds a little biased don't you think?" came a cold voice from the doorway. Upon looking to it, they saw a young man in black with a nice looking hat standing there.

"What do ya want, Spice?" Chill asked.

"I want to make an offer to get us all rich quick," Spice said as the Number 50 glowed on his neck as he turned on the TV, showing a news report of an extremely rare yet powerful deck on display at a local museum. Scorch and Chill smirked in excitement as the Numbers 19 and 61 appeared on Chill's forearm and Scorch's shoulder. "We'll meet by pier 14 at midnight tonight, got it?"

"Very well," Chill and Scorch agreed. "Weasel, you're coming with us."

"What?! But… but what if we get caught?! I'm already in enough trouble as is with some of The Pack's identities being revealed. If my parents find out I'll be shipped to boarding school and-"

"So what? With these special cards, we'll be unstoppable!" Scorch said, both him, Chill and Spice holding up their Number cards.

"But-"

"Quiet, seems we have a shark putting its nose where it doesn't belong," Spice said pointing to the door as Shark was seen peering through the cracks before backing away. Chill then kicked the door down and confronted the snooper.

"What do ya want, huh?"

"I want in," was his answer, shocking Weasel as Scorch and Spice followed Chill holding onto the boy's arms.

"Sure, just don't get in the way," Scorch responds.

"Yeah, else there's gonna be some problems," Spice added.

"Unbelievable, Shark was disqualified from the tournament," Tori said to Yuma.

"Well I don't believe it!" Yuma responds. "I've dueled him Tori. He's got the heart of a true duelist and he would never do something like that!"

"What are you guys going on about?" Alex said as he walked up to them.

"We were in the library earlier and we found out some things about Shark," Tori explained.

"Like what?" he asks.

"Well…" Before she could answer, Weasel ran up to them.

"Hey, you're one of those guys that Shark's been hanging around!" Yuma points out. "What are you doing here?"

"Shark's… in… TROUBLE!" he answered out of breath.

"What kind of trouble?" Yuma asks.

"Him and the other guys are gonna break into the museum and steal that rare deck!" Weasel explained. "It's all because of those card's they've got! Ever since they got 'em they've been doing crazier and crazier things, and that new guy that joined up with us not too long before Shark did didn't help matters in the slightest!"

"New guy?" Alex wondered aloud.

"I know how these guys roll. They're probably gonna have him take the blame!" That was all that needed to be said as Yuma ran off to the museum.

"Wait Yuma!" Tori called out to him, causing him to stop. "Shark's trouble. Shouldn't we just forget about him?"

"No, I'm not doing this just for Shark, but for me as well!" he told her. "I lied to myself and dueled Shark because I wanted to beat him so badly, and I went back on my word to do it, I didn't even care about helping him, but now that's what I'm gonna do!" He then took off again, leaving Tori to think over his words.

"Hey, Alex… huh?" She then turned to see that Alex had vanished. "Where did he…?"

"What did he mean by new guy?" Vixen wondered as he scouted the top of the museum's building. "There were only two of them in the original anime, right? So what's this about a third?"

Just then, three motorbikes hopped over the fence and into the courtyard, just as it happened in the original anime, except for one thing. There were two people on Chill's bike. The second person stuck to the back as Yuma then confronted them and proceeded to sneak away undetected to the back of the museum. Vixen then followed him to see him attempt to break in through the back door. One duel anchor cable later, and the shady individual was caught.

"Now who might you be?" Vixen asked.

"Hehe… I thought you might show, considering what you did a few nights ago, stealing all our cards and turning them over to the police. Only those whose finger prints weren't found on those cards were able to walk as free men, which was quite a few. I was one of them." The man then took out his duel disk as he readied himself. "Course when the jig was up for them, I knew it would only be a matter of time before I was found out, so I figured I might as well cut all ties with 'em here. That buddy of Shark's is just the icing on the cake to hold 'em off till the police arrive."

"So you planned to throw them under the bus while you took the deck for yourself? Not a very loyal member now are you?" the Number Thief said.

"I guess you could call me a fox amidst wolves," His Number symbol then glowed, cluing Vixen in on what was going on.

"A fox you say? Well as a thief named Vixen, I feel deeply insulted."

"Pft-hahaha! Vixen? As in a female fox? Aren't you a guy?"

"I think that Vixen is a gender neutral name, thank you."

"Alright then. I supposed you're not gonna let me go, yes?" the man asked.

"Certainly, especially now that I know you have a Number card. I make it a priority to steal them, hence the title of Number Thief."

"Ahh… so that must mean you've got more on ya, yes?"

"Certainly, and if you beat me, you can take any of the Numbers I have with me currently," Vix replies with a sneering smile.

"Very well then! By the way, the name's Spice! Now lets…"

"DUEL!"

Vixen's LP: 4000

Spice's LP: 4000

"Since you challenged me, you can go first," Spice said.

"Very well, my turn! I draw!" Vix then heard a crow's caw and saw the card he just drew was D.D. Crow. "Well hello there new recrute, I'll save you for later. To start I activate the spell card Time Thief Startup, which will allow me to summon Time Thief Bezel Ship! (ATK: 1000, DEF: 2000, LV: 4) then I summon Time Thief Chronocorder! (ATK: 1000, DEF: 2000, LV: 4) Then I'll overlay my two monsters 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)" Redoer then appeared onto the field, awaiting commands. "I then set one card and end my turn!"

"Then it's my move! I draw!" Spice then drew his card with a smirk, until Redoer took the top card of his deck which he growled about. "I summon Rice Suship! (ATK: 2000, DEF: 0, LV: 4)" A little boat made of nori with rice in the center appeared onto the field.

"Suship?" Alex repeated.

"Yeah, and since I summoned it, I can special summon Roe Suship from my hand! (ATK: 200, DEF: 300, LV: 4)" Similar to Rice Suship, Roe's boat was also made of nori but it had roe in the center of it instead of rice. "But before I start Xyz Summoning, I'll just activate this spell card right here, Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy your face down!" Vix's only spell/trap card was blown away into destruction.

"Hmm…" was the thief's response.

"Now I overlay my two level 4 monsters in order to build the overlay network! I Xyz Summon Number 50: Blackship of Corn! (ATK: 2100, DEF: 1500, RNK: 4)" A giant black boat then appeared onto the field in attack position, the number 50 on it's sail.

"Sushi and Corn, quite an interesting combination," Vix comments.

"Yeah? Well next I activate the equip spell Double-Edged Sword! It gives my Ship an extra 2000 ATK!"

(ATK: 2100 - 4100)

"But if I recall, Double-Edged sword deals battle damage to both players, yes?"

"Heh, true, but I'm not gonna attack with my ship. I'm activating Blackship of Corn's ability! By using one overlay unit, I can destroy one monster with ATK less than or equal to my ship's, then you take 1000 points of damage! Your thief is well below its own, say goodbye to it!" Blackship then sailed to its side as a cannon popped out, taking aim at Redoer.

"I activate Redoer's ability! By detaching up to three overlay units of different card types I can activate a different number of effects. I can only use one at the moment, so by detaching one monster card, Redoer is banished until the end phase! Quantum Jump!" The thief vanished right as the ship's cannonball (that was conveniently a corn cob) missed. "And since he wasn't destroyed, I don't take any damage."

"Grrr… My monster can't attack the turn it's ability was activated so I'll set two cards and end my turn." Redoer then reappeared on the field before Vixen drew another card.

"My turn! I draw, and Redoer's ability takes the top card of your deck! And now I'll summon out The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak! (ATK: 800, DEF: 1000, LV: 3) And I think a nice pair of boots would go great with them as I Special Summon The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots! (ATK: 200, DEF: 1200, LV: 3)" Two ghostly creatures appeared, one in a dark blue ragged cloak and the other in brown rags with boots on their feet. "Now I'll overlay them in order to Xyz Summon The Phantom Knights of Break Sword! (ATK: 2100, DEF: 1000, RNK: 3)" A black chestplate with arms attached to a suit of horse armor appeared with ghostly flames sprouting from its decapitated neck, appeared on the field in attack position, holding a giant broken sword.

"What is that thing?" Spice asked aloud.

"The key to my victory!" Vixen answered. "By detaching an overlay unit from Break Sword, I can destroy one card on each of our fields, I choose both Break Sword and your Blackship of Corn!"

"What?!" One of the Knight's overlay units was absorbed into its broken sword as it charged recklessly at the ship. Upon making contact, both monsters blew up into an explosion. "You just destroyed the monster you just summoned to destroy mine?!"

"Break Sword may go down, but not in vain," Vixen said as two portals opened up, both Ancient Cloak and Silent Boots appearing from them. "When Break Sword is destroyed it brings two Phantom Knights back, only they're one level higher!"

(LV: 3 - 4)

"Now I overlay them into a new Xyz Monster. Maiden of quantum mechanics, assist us with your wonderful inventions! I Xyz Summon! Time Thief Perpetua! (ATK: 1900, DEF: 2500, RNK: 4)" Perpetua then appeared next to Redoer in attack position. "Then I'll use her ability to attach a Time Thief card to Redoer from my deck! I attach another Time Thief Chronocorder to it! Now my Time Thieves! Attack him directly! First is Perpetua!" Using her laser pistol, she shot at Spice, only for him to activate one of his face down cards.

"I activate Call of the Haunted! With this continuous trap, I can bring a little someone back from the dead! Actually it's a very big someone! Come back Number 50: Blackship of Corn!" A portal appeared onto the field behind Spice, Blackship slowly making its way out, but before it could, the crow in Vixen's hand called out.

"I hear ya. In response I chain the effect of D.D. Crow! By discarding it from my hand, I can banish a card from your graveyard, and I choose to banish Blackship of Corn!"

"What?!" Spice exclaimed in shock as his ship behind him began to fade into shiny dust as it was banished.

"Since your ship is no longer in your graveyard, your Call of the Haunted's effect lost its target, meaning you're still open to attack! Continue if you please Perpetua!" The red head continued to aim toward Spice, but he wouldn't give in that easily.

"No! I won't lose like this! I activate Mirror Wall! When your monsters attack, their ATK will be halved!"

"Hmm… Perpetua, continue." She finally shot her bullet off. First it passed through a wall that upon touching it halved her ATK.

(ATK: 1900 - 950)

Spice's LP: 3050

"Now Redoer! Attack with Quantum Strike!"

(ATK: 2400 - 1200)

Spice's LP: 1850

"I'll end my turn there."

"Then it's my turn! I draw!" Spice then looked at the card he drew, and smirked. "And Now you'll know why I am called Spice!"

"Before you do…" Vixen began.

"Yeah, yeah, Quantum Thievery and all that. Yada yada," he said as Redoer took the card.

"Hmph, rude much?"

"Like you're one to talk, breaking into The Pack's base and stealing their cards. Also I have to destroy Mirror Wall since I'm unable to pay 2000 life points to keep it around." The continuous trap then vanished as Perpetua and Redoer's attack points returned to normal.

(ATK: 950 -1900)(ATK: 1200 - 2400)

"Now, I activate the spell card Terraforming! This baby gets me a field spell to my hand! I'll add Suship Galley Kaisen, and activate it! Next, I'll summon another Roe Suship from my hand, (ATK: 200, DEF: 300, LV: 4) and that activates Galley's effect allowing me to place a Rice Suship from my deck on top of it! And now I'll activate Roe's other ability allowing me to excavate the top card of my deck, and if it's a Rice Suship, I can summon it. Since we both know it is, I won't bother with showing it! (ATK: 2000, DEF: 0, LV: 4). Now I'll overlay them both in order to Xyz Summon! Dreadnought Suship - Roe-class First Wardish, spice up the action! (ATK: 2200, DEF: 300, RNK: 4)" A dreadnought warship made of nori, rice, roe and some greens appeared onto the field with a ring of a bell in attack position.

"Since Wardish was summoned using Rise Suship as an overlay unit, I can draw a card. Now Wardish! Attack Time Thief Perpetua! Spicy Cannon!" One of the ship's cannons shot out and destroyed the red head, causing her to scream in pain as she was destroyed.

"Perpetua!" Vixen exclaimed as he took damage.

Vixen's LP: 3700

"That's not all. Since Wardish destroyed a monster by battle, one card on your field goes with it! I'm taking aim at Redoer!" The dreadnought aimed at Redoer as it fired another round.

"I activate Time Thief Redoer's ability! I detach a monster and spell card in order to draw one card and banish Redoer!" Vixen said as he drew a new card to his hand and Redoer did his signature Quantum Jump. "Also, since Redoer left the field by a card effect, I can bring one of my Chronocorder's back! (ATK: 1000, DEF: 1000, LV: 4)" the mechanical butterfly appeared in defence mode onto his field.

"Grr… fine! Just so you know, since Wardish was summoned using Roe Suship as an overlay unit, it can attack twice per Battle Phase! Wardish, finish off that little droid! Spicy Cannon!" Wardish once again took aim at Vixen's monster, only for him to play one last trick up his sleeve.

"I activate Chronocorder's ability to tribute it!" Vixen responds as his monster vanishes. "Since it was summoned through its ability, it is banished instead of being sent to the graveyard."

"What?! Why would you do that? You're wide open!" Spice then paused for a moment, puzzled at Vixen's choice, until he came to a conclusion. "This is a trick. You're trying to trick me aren't you?!"

"Perhaps, or perhaps you are being paranoid?" the thief quipped.

"No, no, no. I see what you're trying to pull here and I'm not falling for it."

"Hmm… then I guess you're too much of a coward to take the risk."

"...What?"

"I said that you're-"

"A COWARD?! I'LL SHOW YOU A COWARD! WARDISH ATTACK HIM DIRECTLY!" The dreadnought fired it's cannon at the thief, exploding the area around him and kicking up a dust cloud. "HOW'S THAT FOR BEING A COWARD HUH?" The cloud then faded, revealing Vixen completely unharmed.

Vixen's LP: 3700

"B-But… how?"

"You were right, it was a trick, and now you'll pay the price for falling right into it." A phantom appearance of Chronocorder appeared as its wings glowed bright with energy. "Because I tributed Chronocorder, the next battle damage I would have taken is dealt to you instead."

"W-What?"

"Should have listened to your gut instead of letting your anger get the better of you." Chronocorder then shot out a beam of energy at Spice, hitting him dead on and ending the duel.

Spice's LP: 0

Vixen: Wins!

Before he hit the ground, Vixen flashed forward in a glow of violet as he stole Spice's Number card Blackship of Corn. Later, after Yuma and Shark's 2 on 2 match against Scorch and Chill, the authorities arrived to take them away, and when one decided to the check the back of the museum, they found Spice tied up, a gag covering his mouth and a Number Thief calling card attached to the ropes.

The next day Alex was walking to school, a look of confliction was on his face. "That man, Spice, was not in the original anime. Does this mean that things are different from the cannon? If so, how much?"

"Alex!" Tori's voice shouted as Alex turned to see her run up to him. "Where were you last night?! After I found Bronk, we looked all over town to find you, but you were nowhere to be seen!"

"Oh! Um… I was uh… at home," he stuttered.

"You think I'd believe a lie like that?! Answer me Alex!"

"And why should I?! It's my business, not yours!" They continued to argue on their way to Heartland Academy. Meanwhile, in the center of Heartland, poor shots of Vixen were being viewed by Dr. Faker.

"This Number Thief, he may end up in the way of my plans! I want you to find him immediately and take his Numbers!" Behind Dr. Faker was the cunning individual known as Mr. Heartland.

"It shall be done as soon as we can sir," he replied with a wicked smirk.

Author's Note: Another chapter in the bag, thanks for the reviews. As you could see, Blackship of Corn was the winner. Also thank you for not using the poll I posted on my page! :( (It was my first one too) Until next time then!