We see Yuma and Astral in their room, atop the young duelist's bed, contemplating about the events that had occured the past few days. "There was nothing I could do to stop Kite," the young boy thought to himself. "He was on a whole other level, and Vixen… he could have easily beat me and Astral down to a bloody pulp. He claimed that he beat Kite like he was nothing, and the skills he showed during our duel proved that. I think he even held back in a few turns." Meanwhile, Astral was having a similar dilemma going through his head. Not only did they lose to Kite, but that Number Thief let them win by surrender.

"It's my fault we almost lost to that Number Hunter," he thought. "If the duel hadn't ended the way it did, I would have vanished… and then there's Vixen, he could've ended the duel with his victory, but he spared us due to not wanting to see my life fade, but if he wasn't so merciful…"

In an act of comedic timing, Yuma, having dozed off a few seconds ago, fell off his bed, waking up. "Whoops, I meant to do that. Haha…" he said, laughing it off. Astral however had no reaction. "...You know, something needs to seriously change here Astral!" he then adds, feeling upset at Astral's dull mood. "You've been staring at walls and making bummer comments! It's like Vixen said, Kite's gonna come find us eventually, and when that happens, we have to be ready for him!"

"But if we're not, and we lose…" the spiritual being didn't even want to hear the answer to that question.

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE ONE GIVING ME BIG INSPIRING SPEECHES!" Before Yuma could continue, a knock was heard from his door. Opening it, he saw Alex, Bronk and Tori standing there. "Oh, hey guys. What's up?"

"We wanted to come over and see how you're doing," Alex answered, before Bronk pulled out his duel pad. "Also, we have something you might be interested in."

On the pad was the online trailer for The World Duel Carnival, Bronk explaining it to him while Yuma watched it with slight interest, but lacked the usual enthusiasm that he normally would have for anything duel monsters related.

"Duelists from all around the world are gonna be there!" Bronk said with excitement.

"I bet Kite and Vixen are gonna be there," Yuma thinks to himself, Tori looking in worry while Alex watches with an indistinguishable face.

"What's up? Aren't you usually psyched about something like this?" his friend asks. Yuma just remained silent for a bit, until his grandmother appeared into his room with a giant bag of food.

"Yuma…" she said with a smiling face, shocking everyone at how she just emerged from thin air.

"Ah! Grandma?! When did you get here?!" her grandson exclaimed.

"I need you to deliver this to an old friend of mine," she said, gesturing to the giant bag of groceries she brought.

"Umm… not today grandma. I'm kinda busy and…"

"Who are you and what have you done with my kind and generous grandson?!" And as if Yuma had flicked a switch, her kind expression turned to one of absolute chained rage. A little bit of aggressive coercing from grannie later, and Yuma along with his friends were standing before…

"Ah, my old enemy…" Alex said, standing before a GIANT SET OF STAIRS that led up a mountain. "Stairs…"

"How are stairs your enemy?" Tori asks with an eyebrow raised.

"It's an inside joke."

As the sun began to set, Yuma, holding the giant bag of food on his back, Astral sitting atop it, was heaving up the stairs at a slow pace. Just up ahead, Alex, Tori and Bronk were atop a section, the later two gasping for air while Alex gave some light pants of breath.

"How are you not tired?" Tori asked with slight irritation between gasps for air.

"What? You've never done cardio before?" was the disguised thief's reply, a small unheard roar from Dark Rebellion called as if adding in its own two cents. Once Yuma had reached the section with the rest of them, he gawked in shock at the sight of even more stairs ahead of them.

"Everytime I think we've reached the top, there's just more steps!" he exclaimed, before falling over into a pile of self pity. "Ugh… my legs feel like jelly… I can't go on…"

"Well, look at it this way Yuma, if we turn back now, that means you'll have to carry that stuff all the way back," Alex said, causing Yuma to snap out of it.

"You're right! I've come this far, and I'm not gonna give in now when I'm this close!" In a burst of second wind, he was off, running up the stairs at mach speed, his friend following as close behind as they could. Upon reaching the top, they were greeted by an old dojo in the middle of a clearing. "Special delivery," Yuma said, opening the door. A few seconds later and the others heard him cry out in surprise as they reached the top of the steps. Entering the dojo, they found a small old man riding atop the bag, eating some of the food inside of it.

"Hey, more visitors! Got any dipping sauce?" Though Alex was kinda expecting it, seeing the kooky old man in real life is kinda off putting. In just a matter of 10 minutes, all the food Yuma worked so hard to bring up the steps was gone into the old man's distended belly. "Ahh… that hit the spot. Be sure to give my thanks to Haru for me."

"Haru, my grandma? How do you two know each other, old timer?" Yuma asked.

"Old timer?!" the old man repeats, sounding offended. "The name's Roku young man, or as you shall soon call me Master Roku!"

"Master Roku?!" everyone but Astral and Alex replied in shock.

"Indeed, and since you can't go home…"

"Can't go home?!" the trio parroted.

"Yes, the last bus left a while ago and everyone calls it a day at sundown."

"So then we'll walk," Tori replies.

"But then you won't be able to help clean this room for me."

"What?" Yuma responds, looking at how much of a cluttered mess the room was. "But this place is a mess. It'll take us forever to clean it!"

"Well then, you'd better get started. Your grandmother said in her note that you would do anything that I asked of you. She's not a liar is she?" Roku then left the room to the care of the four kids inside of it. A few minutes later, Tori was scrubbing the floor with a rag while Bronk carried some heavy boxes to a closet. Alex was dusting the windows and Yuma just held a broom, his mind elsewhere.

"You're not helping Yuma," Tori pointed out, causing the said boy to snap out of it.

"Sorry, my mind was somewhere else… huh?" His attention was then drawn to a large set of doors. "Huh, wonder what Roku's got in there?" Opening the door, he saw a giant room with a bunch of statues of some iconic monsters; Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Neos, Blue-Eyes, Red-Eyes, Cyber End Dragon, etc. Once the others followed Yuma in, Tori and Bronk began to admire the wooden statues before them. While Alex also admired the carving work of the monsters, his eyes were instead drawn to a door in the back corner of the room that was partly opened. While he couldn't see much inside of there, he could see the outline of a familiar WIND Dragon used by a certain legendary duelist. Closer inspection would have to wait though as Roku appeared with a giddy chuckle.

"I'm glad you like it," he said. "I poured my heart and soul into making these wooden statues. Every time one of my little birdies grows and flies from the nest I carve a new one in their honor."

"Little birdies?" Yuma repeats.

"Yes, my students. This historical dueling sanctuary is a training dojo for duelists all around. Many incredible duelists have mastered their craft in this very room."

"That's so cool," Tori responds with wonder in her eyes. "And so are these statues. They almost look like they're about to move." Roku gave a sinister grin at those words.

"But they do move," he said, causing everyone but Alex to look at him wondering if he's gone senile. "During a duel, these statues come to life. Do you wish to see, hmm?"

"Sure!" Yuma replies putting his duel gazer on. "Get set to get decked old timer!"

And thus, Yuma and Roku's duel began. Unlike normal duels, they each had a statue monster already on each of their fields. Roku had Red-Eyes and Blue-Eyes on his field while Yuma had Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl. The cards they were using were made of wood, and in front of each opponent on a table, there was a stack of cards with five lying in front of them on a slanted platform. Yuma, going first, drew the field spell Statue Zone and immediately activated it. This caused all the statues to turn into their real counterparts, each gaining their original ATK and DEF. Upon that, Yuma had his Dark Magician attack Red-Eyes Black Dragon, destroying it and dealing 100 damage to Roku. It was then the old man asked the big question; 'Can you truly move a monster?'. Yuma didn't know exactly how to answer that, then his eyes became glazed over and his body was as still as a statue, meanwhile Dark Magician seemed to gain more sentience than before, something Alex took notice of.

"I really wonder how the old man did that," he thought to himself, Dark Rebellion giving a low growl in agreement. "Is it hypnosis, or something else?"

It was then Roku's turn, and in a swift turn of events, Roku summoned out the statue version of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon and destroyed Dark Magician Girl, then he used De-Fusion to bring back the three Blue-Eyes used as Fusion Material, and wiped out the last of Yuma's Life Points.

"H-He lost…" Tori responded.

"I may have pushed you a little too hard," Roku said, putting his duel gazer into his pocket. "But you felt it, didn't you? You felt the fear a monster faces every time you summon a monster into battle under your name. When you learn to make that fear your own, and master how to tame it, only then will you truly move a monster."

"I… I can't believe it," Yuma replied. "I always assumed monsters weren't afraid of anything…"

"Everything has a fear, Yuma," Alex said sagely. "No matter how one may try to hide it, we all are afraid of one thing or another. It may be something as simple as a phobia of heights or spiders, or it could just be as complex and relatable as fearing the unknown…" Everyone stared at him with wide eyes, causing the young man to flush with embarrassment. "Err… well, that's what I always thought at least. Hehehe…"

"This young lad is absolutely correct," Roku said with a smirk. "Everything has a fear. You, me and these monsters… you'll come to find that…"

"...They're just like me…" Yuma finished.

The next day, Yuma was busy polishing the old statues, giving them a new shine, while Alex moved to the back closet. Upon opening it, he found some wooden statues that appeared worn down due to time, all but one had no features that would make them recognizable. The only one that had any features that could be recognized, was a worn down statue of Stardust Dragon.

"Yuma… this is boring," Bronk said with a tone of annoyance. "Weren't we gonna go catch a movie today?"

"You guys can go on ahead without me," Yuma responded. "These statues won't clean themselves." Tori then smiled at seeing Yuma looking just as dedicated as he was before his duel with Kite. While the duel with Vixen snapped him out of his sad funk, he still felt a little on edge of having to face Kite so soon, but staying here and cleaning these statues seemed to put his mind in a state of ease.

"Okay… hey Alex, you coming?" Bronk then asked the raven haired kid.

"Nah… I think I'll hang around here. Helps to get some country air," he replied with a smile on his face.

"You too?"

"In that case," Tori said with a smile on her face. "I'll whip us all up some breakfast!"

"Hey! Agh… we're supposed to go to a movie…" The girl ran past Roku on his way into the room, a chipper smile on his face at seeing Yuma clean his statues, then his gaze drifted over to Alex who was still admiring the old Stardust Dragon statue.

"That statue was made by my grandfather," he said to the youngster, drawing his attention to him. "Do you at all know what monster that is?"

"...Not really, no," Alex replied, feigning ignorance, much to his own inner turmoil. Stardust was his personal favorite Synchro Monster, and one that his middle child brother, Leo, added to his Dragunity Deck. Sadly his current deck didn't have this monster due to the mysterious I/A, whoever that was. Roku's eyes slightly narrowed, as if sensing the lie, but immediately turned his eyes to the statue.

"It's supposed to have been a monster that was used many years ago. A creature of a summoning method that has been lost to time."

"What was it?" Alex asked out of fake curiosity.

"I don't know… it isn't lost to time for no reason," was the old man's answer. They then looked at the monster for a bit longer, before Yuma discovered something off about one of the statues.

"Hey, what's up with this statue?" he said, hands tracing over an indented line in a ninja warrior statue. "It's all messed up right here." Roku's eyes narrowed at seeing his newest pupil discover the aftermath of his old one. The way they had separated wasn't something the old timer would like to remember, considering he felt that he had failed not just his student, but himself as well, telling them to leave after they cut down the ninja statue in a fit of rage.

Roku then left to get some fresh air, feeling pride in the newest pupil he's taken up, when an old face came walking up the old staircase. "It's you…"

"Indeed it is," the man before him said. They were wearing a ninja outfit, a blade held in his left hand. "Didn't think you'd see me again did you, master?"

"I did not. I specifically told you never to return here!"

"You told me many things, but words are cheap, old man," he said, his duel disk activating. Seeing that there was no other way but to duel, Roku put his gazer on and prepared his disk for combat.

"LET'S DUEL!"

Back inside the dojo, Yuma was still cleaning the statues while Alex dusted some windows. Then, they heard a crash come from outside, and soon after, the mysterious man walked through the door.

"Hey, can I help you?" Yuma asked. In response, the man simply gave the boy a chilling glare.

"And you are?" he asked.

"Uhh…"

"Hey, buddy," Alex interjected. "If you're here just to be rude, then I suggest you leave."

"And who do you think you are giving me orders?!" the man replied in rage, throwing his glare at the raven haired boy, but he simply returned the cold glare with a determined one.

"Yuma! Alex! Get away from him!" Turning to the voice, both Alex and Yuma saw Roku being carried by Tori and Bronk, a few bruises on his body.

"Huh? What happened, old timer?" Yuma asked. "Was it this guy?"

"Yes, his name is Kaze, a former pupil of mine," Roku answered.

"The day has finally arrived, Roku," Kaze spoke up. "Now, where's the deck?"

"I think I accidentally threw it away."

"You think I'm joking?!"

"Your heart has been consumed by rage, Kaze! You don't even deserve to look at the legendary deck!"

"Raaaahhhh!" Kaze then drew the katana he held at his side. "I'll destroy this whole place if I have to! I will get that deck!"

"NOOOO!" Yuma shouted, grabbing onto Kaze, but the man managed to shake him off.

"Walk away you runt, this does not concern you!"

"Yes it does, because Roku is my master!" the boy declared.

"Tch… I guess that senile old fool will take anyone in."

"If you want to get what you're after, you're gonna have to go through me to get it!"

"Is that so? Because that won't be a problem." The two then activated their duel disks and prepared to duel.

Yuma then started the duel by summoning out his Gagaga Magician and setting a card. Then it was Kaze's turn, and he started by summoning Flame Armor Ninja. Then with the Armor Ninjitsu Art of Teleportation, which special summons Air Armor Ninja from his hand. Then he used his two ninjas to Xyz Summon Blade Armor Ninja, which just so happened to be the monster that the broken statue was made after. Blade Armor Ninja then attacked Gagaga Magician, but Yuma activated his trap Gagaga Shield, which protected his Magician from destruction twice this turn. A good thing too as Blade Armor Ninja used an overlay unit to use its ability to attack again, dealing more damage to Yuma. Kaze then ended his turn with two face downs.

Yuma then began his next turn by summoning Dododo Warrior without tribute at the cost of lowering its ATK. Kaze mocked Yuma for not tributing Gagaga Magician for Dododo Warrior so its ATK was normal. Yuma ignored his mockery and used the spell card, Full Force Strike. This card allowed Dododo Warrior to attack Blade Armor Ninja without having Yuma take any damage, in turn the monster the warrior battled would be destroyed. Sadly Kaze was ready for it as he activated his continuous trap card Armor Ninjitsu Art of Freezing, stopping Dododo Warrior's attack in its tracks, also both of Yuma's monsters can no longer change battle position. Yuma then ended his turn with a face down. Kaze's turn started with him activating the spell Spy Attack, sending Aqua Armor Ninja to the graveyard to look at Yuma's face down card. Soon after, Haru and Kari walked into the Duel Sanctuary.

"Roku, did you get Yuma to do all this cleaning?" asked the grandmother with a smile on her face. "I can't even get him to clean this room."

"Haru?" Roku replied. "Haha, long time no see." While Roku was ecstatic about seeing a familiar face, Bronk and Tori were more worried at seeing Yuma's sister show up. Meanwhile, Alex simply watched the exchange as Kari then berated Yuma for dueling, but Roku managed to calm her down and let her see reason. So reluctantly, she allowed him to continue dueling.

Back to the duel, Kaze then ordered his Blade Armor Ninja to attack Gagaga Magician, destroying it and dealing Yuma damage, then using its last overlay unit, the ninja attacked one more time, destroying Yuma's Dododo Warrior and dealing even more damage once again. Kaze then revealed the face down card that he knew was Gagaga Back, a quick play spell that could bring back every monster that was destroyed by paying 600 LP. Before Yuma could activate it, the ninja man then activated the continuous trap Armor Ninjitsu Art of Rust Mist. This made it so every monster summoned would have their ATK cut in half. Despite the circumstances, Yuma activated Gagaga Back anyways to return Gagaga Magician and Dododo Warrior to the field, lowering his LP even further, and Rust Mist cut each of their ATK in half.

Kaze then began to gloat that Yuma was weak due to the bond he had with his monsters, saying that friends make you weak, but Yuma was able to read him like a book and see that he was someone who had no friends at all, something of which Kaze seemed to show that he cared nothing about. Yuma then began his turn by activating Gagaga Bolt, destroying Blade Armor Ninja, thus allowing him to attack directly with both his monsters. Kaze tried to use Aqua Armor Ninja's ability to negate Dododo Warrior's attack, only for the said warrior to have an ability that negates the effects of the former student's cards, making its ATK become its original and dealing a massive blow to Kaze. Yuma then ended his turn with a face down and a smile on his face.

During Kaze's turn, he activated a spell that destroyed his Ninjitsu Arts in order to draw two cards, then using its ability he summoned Earth Armor Ninja to his field, then using the Ninjitsu Art of Revival spell, he brought Flame Armor Ninja back to the field, and used its ability to increase its level by 1, now having two level 5 monsters to Xyz Summon his new monster, Number 12: Crimson Shadow Armor Ninja. Crimson Shadow then attacked Gagaga Magician, only for Yuma to activate his trap, Guts Guard, switching the attack target to Dododo Warrior and preventing its destruction. Yuma was able to prevent his loss, but he seemed to be struggling. Luckily, Astral gave him the pep talk he needed, that and a bit of duel fuel from Tori.

Getting back on his feet, he began his next turn by activating Decrease, making Dododo Warrior's level 4. He then overlaid his monsters to Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia. It then attacked Crimson Shadow, but Kaze then used its ability to prevent its destruction, which turned out to be the misplay to Yuma's victory as the said boy then activated the revenge attack spell card, allowing Utopia to attack again 1000 ATK stronger, depleting Kaze's LP and winning the duel. After it ended, Astral used his powers to take Number 12, freeing Kaze from its influence, and returning another piece of his memory.

"Great job Yuma!" Yuma's friends cheered, causing the young duelist to have a bashful look on his face. Their attention however was drawn back to Kaze as he once again rose to his feet, sword in hand, and rage on his face as he stared down the statue of Blade Armor Ninja. He then raised his blade, prepared to strike, and Yuma jumped in front of him.

It all happened in an instant, the katana was dug into the ceiling, Yuma standing before Kaze, and Alex to the ninja man's side holding a raised mop, then in a swift motion, brought it down on Kaze's shoulder, forcing him to his knees. "I suggest you take a few moments to calm yourself before you act irrationally."

"H-How did you?"

"Yuma, I believe there's something you'd like to say?" the raven haired boy asked the said duelist, causing him to snap out of his stupor.

"Look, I don't get what you're so angry at, but slicing this statue in two won't make it better! Master Roku poured his heart and soul into this statue! You don't get to destroy it for having a bad day!"

Kaze reflected on his past with his old master, and how the betrayal of his former friends scarred him from trusting anyone. "I can't do it, after what I've gone through, I just can't trust anyone…" he said with tears in his eyes, until Roku put a hand on his shoulder.

"You can still learn how my boy. It is never too late to learn." Shocked at how his former master accepted him back into his teaching, he bowed.

"T-Thank you master."

"So… Alex, how'd you do that?" Bronk asked.

"Do what?" the said boy replied.

"That!" The rotund boy then gestured to the blade in the ceiling, causing Alex to stare in shock, before blushing in embarrassment.

"Uhh… I'm more nimble than I look, hehehe…" Seeing that was the best he was gonna get out of him, Bronk sighed in defeat and left, but Astral, who had just watched the whole event, stared at Alex in wonder.

"How did he do that? I do not recall Alex ever having those kinds of skills," he asked Yuma. The said boy merely shrugged his shoulders.

"Beats me, but everybody's got their secrets."

"I suppose so… but what that secret is, I wish to know…"

Later outside, Roku had given Yuma the Sanctuary's legendary deck as a gift, which Yuma was beyond stoked about. With these new cards he will finally stand a chance against the likes of Kite and Vixen. As the gang was prepared to leave however…

"Oh and Alex, might I speak with you for a moment?" Roku asked. Raising a brow, the said boy nodded his head and proceeded inside.

"Do you need help with something?" he asked the old man.

"No, just a simple question," Roku replied, turning to Alex, sharp quizzical eyes now judging him. "How long are you going to keep up this lie?"

"Huh?" Panic began to flood his mind as he tried not to show it. Did he know? If so, for how long? How much does he know?

"I can see it in your eyes, young man. You have the spirit of a true strategist… the heart of a true duelist… yet you claim to have never played a single game of duel monsters. Why is that?"

"Uhh…" Thinking up an excuse on the fly, he gave him an answer. "Well… I guess I just got so good at the game it became boring to me, so I just hung up my disk and quit." Roku's eyes narrowed, clearly knowing it was a lie. He then turned his back to Alex and spoke one last time.

"If that is the excuse you want to go with, very well, but when your friends find out the truth, I pray that they won't be too mad at you." And with that exchange, the two went their separate ways, Alex looking towards the city, with a ghostly Dark Rebellion and Redoer standing beside him.

"What next sir?" the thief asked with a voice that sounded very similar to a certain doctor.

"Wherever the next challenge awaits my friends…"

Meanwhile, in Heartland tower, Nistro was preparing his Number Hunter deck to take down his next target, whose silhouette was being shown on a screen.

"Just you wait, Number Thief, because your days of stealing are coming to an end!"

Author's Note: I honestly wanted to do the duel with Nistro this chapter, but since some of the PMs and reviews I got had a few concerns about whether or not Yuma would go see Roku, I decided to do another Alex based chapter. Sure it was probably rushed and shorter than normal, but I hope it settles any unease towards Yuma getting the Legendary Deck. Anyways, I'll say this once. No, I'm not changing Dark Rebellion's effect any further. I think his effect is just fine as is. An ace monster does not need a powerful effect to be a good card. Look at Dark Magician and Neos, both used by two Yugioh protagonists and each were Normal Monsters. I will be sure to add some cards to give Dark Rebellion an added edge to what he lacks, which is what every deck should have.

Anyways, until next time!