All most done with finals then one more semester till I graduate! Writing this has been a good destresser. And the reviews….
Raven Tsurara- I'm glad this fic can fill in the void for Zexal.
BahamutX987- Sorry about the split in the cast but I had to do that. Had I included everyone there would have been characters standing around not doing anything in a scene. I have to keep a checklist so I can be sure I had given dialogue or an action to each character in the scene or else I'm going to leave people out. This is a tactic in writing when there is a large cast is that they get split up a lot so that screen time doesn't get cluttered and focus can be given to each character. I didn't mind it Zexal actually because if the entire Numbers Club came along, they plot might of gotten lost and they would of just been standing around not contributing to anything. Plus I need the rest of the Persona cast back in Inaba for a certain reason. But thank you so much for offering to write the duels. I will contact you when a duel that wasn't in the show pops up.
VongolaHermit- Yeah the duel with Mach will be very similar but what happens will change a bit with the Investigation team along.
Guest- You'll see…..
Guest- Patience!
Durbe swore there was some god out there out to get him. After all the defeats they had faced at the hands of Yuma and Astral, running head first into their ship in-between dimensions did not help matters. He briefly pondered how that was possible since usually there is space to go around other travelers. Better not let Vector find out about this, he briefly thought. He finally took a look at his surroundings. Judging by the blue sky and green foliage, he was on Earth. Then he felt a twinch of pain in his arm.
"Darn it," Durbe muttered. Now being on Earth meant he automatically took on a human disguise which was much more delicate then the rock hard skin of his Barian body. No matter he'll just use his power and…his Lapias was broken. If he knew the name of the god that was responsible for his predicament, he would be cursing him right now. With the Lapis broken Durbe was now stuck in a human body until it was repaired, by another source of Barian power. Where was he going to find something like that!?
"No use just standing here," Durbe clutched his wound and explored the forest around him. He had to find a means to repair the Lapis soon, without access to his powers he was a sitting duck. That's when a bear showed up. It really was not his day.
The bear's roar caused Durbe to back up a bit. He needed a quick plan to get out of here but then a familiar voice echoed throughout the forest.
"KATTOBINGU DA ORE!"
Of all people….Yuma Tsukumo dove in from the trees above with Astral by his side and stood protectively in front of Durbe. He doesn't recognize me in this form, Durbe thanked his luck for once.
"Yuma get away from there!"
Durbe turned to the new voice and saw someone he did not recognize. A young man who appeared to be several years older than Yuma with silver hair ran as close as he dared to the situation. Strange…that boy had never been seen with Yuma before.
"I'm fine Yu! See…he's leaving."
Durbe was surprised, just by staring Yuma intimidated the bear into leaving. He hissed in pain as the wound in his shoulder reminded him that it was still there.
"Hey…are you alright?" Was Yuma offering sympathy to him? "Did you get that from the bear?"
"Yuma do you even know this guy?" Durbe didn't even realize that Ryoga had joined the group. Hearing the distrust in his voice Durbe had to make a quick cover story.
"M-my name is Nasch…I was just exploring in the area." Great…if his leader knew he was using his name he hoped that he would be forgiven.
"How on earth did you get here? I didn't see any sort of camp around here, nor trails for that matter."
The story wasn't working on Ryoga but Yuma did seem to buy it.
"Calm down Shark, can't you see that he's hurt?"
The third unknown youth then spoke, "Let's just help him out for now, at least until we can get him some treatment."
Ryoga just let out a disapproving groan.
"Just stay calm Yosuke…..it's just a creepy forest…"
After relieving himself several times, Yosuke had started his trek in locating the rest of the party. The crash had sent them everywhere and he really hoped that no one was hurt.
"Chie! Yukiko! Kotori! Rio! Yuma's friend who's name I can't remember! YU! Yuma! Anyone!"
No answer and Yosuke's throat was getting sore from all the yelling. Where could everyone be?
"AAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
A girl's scream, Yosuke didn't know who's it was but whoever it was they were in trouble. With a burst of energy he ran towards the sound.
After several minutes of running, Yosuke finally burst into a clearing and what was there surprised him.
"A temple?! What's a temple doing here!?"
"HELP!"
"No time for that, I'm coming!" With that he leapt into the temples entrance, greatly regretting that decision a second later.
"SNAKES!"
"Yosuke is that you?!"
"Chie!? Are you okay?"
"We're further in but do something about the snakes!"
"Aw great," Yosuke looked down at the snakes that are covering the floor. How was he supposed to get rid of them?
"Yousuke!"
Yosuke was relived to finally see Yu, "Thank goodness Yu, Chie and the others are further in but there are snakes everywhere!"
"Just kick them!" Yuma jump forward into the fray.
Yu was going to object but much to his surprise, Yuma's kicks were working. He guessed that they were non poisonous. Then Shark started to kick them away as well. Then the whole group did including a boy that Yosuke didn't recognize. Where did that kid come from?
They did find Chie and the others taking shelter on top of a rock with Chie trying to kick them away. With back up the snakes quickly retreated.
"That was frightening," Yukiko said as she helped the others down, "Glad to see that we were able to meet back up."
"I'm glad too but…" Yosuke sighed, "What kind of a place is this? It's like something out of a movie."
"Can the Num-OW" Yuma started but was interrupted by Shark elbowing him in the ribs pointing to the strange boy they picked up. "That hurt Shark!"
Shark just gave an hmph then walked further down the hallway, "Huh….this leads to a dead end."
"A dead end?" his sister inquired, "But there was only one entrance."
"What kind of temple only has a hallway and a dead end?" Kotori inquired.
"Maybe there's a switch for a secret passage," Yuma stepped forward but there was an audible click when he took a step followed by rumbling.
"What's that noise?" Yu looked around trying to find the source.
Without any warning, the mysterious boy suddenly leapt forward and pushed Shark and Yosuke to the ground. Before anyone could questioned his actions, a stone wall fell, right where they had been standing then another one blocking the exit. Good news, they weren't crushed. Bad news, they were now stuck behind a wall.
"Shark!" Yuma started to bang on the wall, "Can you hear me?"
Shark's response was muffled, "Yeah….I'm fine. A passage way just opened up on this side, we're going to follow it."
"Be careful you guys." Yu called out.
"But what are we going to do?" Chie wondered as she leaned against the wall, only for it too open.
"I guess we just have to follow this path," Yukiko said.
The walk down the tunnel had been rather quite. Rio especially as she worried about her brother's safety. Yu was currently leading the way with Yuma close behind him.
"How far do these stairs go?" Chie grumbled.
Kotori brushed the wall with her hand, "I'm wondering when this temple was built. You think this would of gotten discovered at some point."
Yuma just gazed at the ceiling ignoring the ponderings of the girls.
"Something on your mind Yuma? If you're worried about your friend and Yosuke I'm sure they're fine." Yu tried to reassure the boy.
"Uh…oh….I was just thinking….about what that recording of my dad said…..I wonder just how much he knew."
"It is possible that he had visited my world at some point, most likely when he found the key he gave you." Astral muttered, "It could have been possible that he received a mission there or at least a vision of the future."
"Is that possible for your kind?" Yu asked.
"I think, I've had a few visions but they were usually of the past and of my memories." Astral sighed, he wished more than ever that he knew of his past and mission.
"Hey guys look!" Rio pointed ahead, "Is that a light source?"
Yuma squinted, "You're right! It could be the Number! Let's hurry you guys! Kattobingu da ore!" He then charged ahead with the rest of the group trying to catch up.
Shark was annoyed, okay pissed was the better word. First, Yuma had moved away only to show up with the ship later, "kidnapped" him from school, had gotten others involved, and now he was stuck with one of Yuma's new friends and the mysterious boy they had picked up. Second, Yuma's new friend was trying to strike up a conversation with him and utterly failing. What was his name again? Yo….Yu….Yosuke that was it. Yosuke was more annoying than anything. Thirdly, he didn't trust the mysterious boy. There was no possible way that he had just simply been exploring in the area. Shark did his best to tune out Yosuke and instead focused on listening to the echoes of his footsteps. They were muffled being in an enclosed space but Shark noticed when the echoing became louder.
"What gives? This is just an empty room!"
Thank you Captain Yosuke Obvious.
The room they had ended up in wasn't very big about the size of a decent bed room. The smooth stone gave no hints of any sort of exit. The boy began to walk the perimeter of the room studying the walls while Yosuke just ran to the other side of the room and began to bang on the wall. Shark just face palmed, "That's not going to work."
Yosuke scowled, "Do you have a better idea? Hey kid do you have an idea?"
The other boy didn't answer. He just leaned against the wall instead, "Looks like we'll have to wait."
Shark frowned, "And why should we listen to you?"
"H-hey calm down," Yosuke tried to calm the tension in the air, "We need to stick together if we want to get out of here."
"I'm not listening to you either."
"Aw come on, I'm friends with Yuma. Isn't that enough?"
"Sorry but Yuma doesn't have the best judgment in people sometimes."
Yosuke was about to say something but then closed his and downturned his eyes, as if he knew what Shark was talking about. Wait…did Yuma tell these people about Vector?! Shark was going to kill him.
They other boy's attention was suddenly drawn elsewhere. "Do you two here something?"
Yuma's group had found themselves in a large chamber and inside was what appeared to be a large alter with a glowing card above it.
"That's it." Astral said, "That's the Number."
"What are we waiting for? Let's get it!" Yuma charged forward reaching for the card only for it to emit a bright light blinding everyone.
"What now!" Chie yelled, "I don't think I can take any more surprises today!"
Yu instinctively put on his glasses, he knew they wouldn't be that useful but he always felt more confident when he had them on. "Who's there!"
The light had formed into the figure and as it dimmed they could see who it was. To their surprise, a knight in silver armor with a curvature design to it and long blond hair with a lock of it covering his left eye stood before them.
Yuma took a defensive stance, "Who are you?"
"My name is Mach and if you want this Number, you'll have to duel me."
Kotori sighed, "Of course it wasn't going to be that easy."
Yuma donned a serious expression, "Fine it's a duel you want it's a duel you'll get!" With a flourish, Yuma tossed out his D-Pad and attached it to the brace on his arm and then whipped on D-Gazer which became active as he placed it over his eye. Astral taking a ready position next to him.
Mach didn't placed anything over his eye but instead just held out his left arm and a D-Pad appeared having the appearance of a Pegasus.
"DUEL!"
Mach: 4000
Yuma: 4000
"Um…..Chie can you see what's going on?" Yukiko asked.
"No, is something supposed to have shown up by now?"
"Oh….you guys don't have D-Gazers do you?" Rio asked.
"D-what?" Chie asked confused.
"D-Gazers," Kotori tapped the one she was wearing, "You can't see the duel if you don't have one on and I don't think we have extras."
"Well isn't that just great we can't see what's going on so how are we…"
"Put the glasses on."
"What was that Narukami?"
"Put the glasses on, I can see the displays."
"Really?" Chie slipped hers on almost immediately seeing the life point displays, "Whoa! These glasses are amazing!"
"Teddie will be over the moon when we tell him just how useful they are," Yukiko chuckled, "I just hope we can keep up with the game, we barely know the rules."
"Don't worry," Rio reassured them, "I'll explain things as we go."
"I'll take the first turn," Mach declared, "Draw!" He drew the top card from his deck and just barely gave a glance at it. "I'll play this monster in face down defense position and one card face down and end my turn." Two cards appeared on his side of the field and that was it.
"Fine then, my turn. Draw!" Yuma drew his first card and grinned, "I summon Gagaga Magician!" A magician wearing more of punk like armor appear on his side of the field, "And since I just summon a Gagaga monster I can special summon Gagaga Kid from my hand!" A kid wearing a shirt and the same hat as the first magician munching on a Popsicle appeared as well, "And since Gagaga Kid was summoned in this matter his level increases to level 4!
Gagaga Kid: Level 2 - Level 4
"Yuma," Astral warned, "Be careful. Gagaga Kid's effect…"
"I know, if I use Gagaga Kid to summon Hope he won't be able to attack this turn so I'll do this instead! I play Gagagatag! This will raise the attack points of all Gagaga monsters by 500!"
Gagaga Magician: 1500 - 2000
Gagaga Kid: 800 - 1300
"I see," Astral observed, "You plan to attack with both Gagaga Magician and Kid then summon Hope the end of your turn to avoid dealing with Gagaga Kid's effect. You really are improving."
Mach didn't react at all. He just stood there staring at Yuma. "I should inform you that there is another thing at wager here."
Yuma paused, "What do you mean?"
"Observe," Mach waved his arm and an orb appeared next to Yuma displaying an image.
"Shark!"
"Yosuke!"
"Other kid!"
The orb revealed the trio trapped in a room getting back to back as close as possible and for good reason. The walls were closing in.
Yuma turned to face Mach, "What are you doing!"
"They are part of the wager, if you lose I will take their souls."
"That's low!" Chie yelled, "You didn't tell Yuma that when he agreed to this duel!"
"Release my brother now!" Rio insisted.
"Yosuke!" Yu called out, "Be careful!"
Much to their surprise, Yosuke actually reacted.
Yu!? Is that you?
"Yosuke!" Yukiko called out, "Can you here us?"
Loud and clear Yukiko.
Yuma, you better get us out of here!
Yuma flinched at Sharks yelling, "Don't worry, just find a way out!"
"You can provide the means to their escape. The answer lies in this duel."
Everyone turned to face Mach.
"What do you mean," Astral asked.
Mach didn't say anything.
Yuma gritted his teeth, "Fine then, I attack your face down monster with Gagaga Magician!"
Gagaga Magician leapt forward and with a blast of magic, he struck the face down card revealing it to be a man in robes with two shields but was destroyed by the attack.
A door!
Let's get out of here!
Yu sighed in relief when Yosuke and the other two found a way out of the death trap.
"A hero once said deep bonds with each other may open new ways for each other." Everyone what bewildered by what Mach said but he ignored them, "When Secret Sect Druid Wid is sent to the graveyard I am allowed to play a continuous spell card from my hand. And I choose Labyrinth of Decision, the card at the cost of 600 life points I can send one card from your hand to the graveyard."
"But isn't that hurting him?" Kotori wondered.
"I then activate my trap card, Unfair Treaty!"
"That doesn't sound good." Yu muttered.
"The card forces you to take the damage that I would of received from my continuous spell cards." Mach explained.
Yuma gulped, "This isn't good. That's going to drain our life points."
"You might as well finish your plan for your turn Yuma. We need to start to plan how to counter that trap." Astral advised.
"Alright, I now attack directly with Gagaga Kid!" Yuma announced.
Mach didn't flinch as the attack drained his life points.
Mach: 4000 - 2700
Yu! Tell Yuma to keep doing what he's doing! Yosuke called out rolling out of a room that had the ceiling caving in. It keeps opening up exits for us!
"Got is Yosuke be careful!"
"Now discard a card from your hand!" Mach declared.
"Fine then!" Yuma growled as he selected the card and sent it to his graveyard giving him 600 points of damage.
Yuma: 4000 - 3400
"A deadly strategy, depleting our hand and life points." Astral muttered. "It can't be…..it's a test!"
"A test?!"
"Every time we attack, an exit opens for Shark and the others but that activates his combo. But if we don't attack…."
"It's a test of character then," Yukiko relized.
"But you didn't have to put my brother's life on the line!" Rio screamed.
"We can't let them die…." Kotori was scared, "But Astral will die if Yuma runs out of life points!"
Yu paused as he heard her, this was the first time he heard of that.
"It doesn't matter, I'm going to win and save my friends!" Yuma declared, "I over lay both Gagaga Magician and Gagaga Kid! With these two monsters I build the overlay network! XYZ summon! Number 39 Kibou-Hope!" Yuma's ace finally took to the field. "Don't worry Shark, Yosuke, Nasch….I'm gonna save you!
And now we're getting into full swing into the Legendary Number's story arc but if you were missing the rest of the investigation team….we'll check in on them later. I actually had fun writing from Yosuke's and Sharks' point of view, for some reason it's just really easy to write them. Anyway I have a question for you all, Astral will gain a Persona later on in the story but I'm having a hard time figuring out what it will be. I would like it to be one of the New Orders cards that Eliphas uses but I can't decide which one. Which one do you think it should be or should it be something else? Let me know. Now to keep writing more chapters but I can't get this ZexalXHarry Potter plot bunny out of my head!
Next time….Yosuke does something cool.
And now Arc-V…don't know how I feel about it yet. Wish we could of gotten more plot in the first episode so I know what direction this series will take but I really like Yuya as character….he's just adorkable.