Yu-Gi-Oh! Generation Fusion!

by Autismo555

A masked man, known as the Controller, has plucked the major focal points of Duel Monsters history and gathered up the biggest villains from each timeline to destroy the history of Duel Monsters itself! Now with the help of their friends and allies, Yugi Muto, Jaden Yuki, Yusei Fudo and Yuma Tsukumo join forces to prevent the threat from destroying the game they love!

5. I'm Feeling the Flow!

Chapter 5: I'm Feeling the Flow!

The nighttime in Heartland City seemed so beautiful and peaceful.

In the distance seen from the rural outskirts of Heartland City, the many colors illuminated from the buildings, giving the city a wondrous show of spectrum and tranquility. The center of the city, simply called Heartland, was easily the brightest and the most festive part of the area. A single, huge tower sat dead center of Heartland, a red heart perched atop of the spire symbolizing the city's name and the proverbial heart of the city. Heartland had never looked so peaceful, not since the Earth became the battlefield for the Interdimensional War between the Astral World and the Barian World, and Heartland being the focal point for all the major battles that occurred.

It began a very long time ago when the malevolent deity of the Barian World, Don Thousand battled against the emissary of the Astral World, a spirit named Astral, for the possession of the Numeron Code, a card held by legend as a divine card, created by a single tear fallen from an all-powerful dragon and down to Earth. The tear formed a card that had records to everything in the universe and had the power to shape reality. By using the power of this card, the Astral World or the Barian World would annihilate their counterpart, thus ending a war that lasted thousand of years. Though Don Thousand was defeated and sealed away by the power of Astral's Shining Draw, remnants of Astral were scattered along the Earth, taking the form of fifty "Number" cards that fell to Earth, seven being wielded seven heroes or sages and the first original four to seal the power of Numeron away.

But Don Thousand knew of these "Number"-wielding heroes and staged their ultimate doom, reincarnating them as the Seven Emperors of the Barian World and using his own remnants -"Numbers Over One-Hundred"- and using the Seven Emperors as the instruments in his attempt to destroy the Astral World. Years became decades. Decades became centuries. Centuries became millennia. In all that time, the Astral World and Barian World both withheld their plans to go against each other in war, until finally, one eccentric Duelist appeared before them, armed and ready to take on the challenges handed down to him by the two interdimensional worlds.

The boy was named Yuma Tsukumo. He was a short lad for someone sixteen years of age, black and red hair that jutted out and upwards. He wore a red vest with a white hood over his blue sleeveless T-shirt, a big green "D" that stood for "Duel." On his right arm he wore a black pad on his elbow and a big bracelet on his wrist while on his left arm, he wore a brown, finger-less glove. His white pants was held up by his brown-and-withe-strapped belt, orange crescent moons outlined yellow by the at the bottom with his blue-streaked shoes held with white straps. Around his neck hung a golden triangular pendant with a green jewel in the round center at the top, a gift given by his father, Kazuma.

At an early age, Yuma's parents, Kazuma and Mira Tsukumo disappeared, one after another. Kazuma and his companion, Byron Archlight were researching twenty-three dimensional doorways, all theoretically leading into another world. Their head of research and founder of Heartland, Dr. Faker, betrayed them by sacrificing them into a pit that they discovered in order to open a door to the Barian World. Mira Tsukumo searched and scoured the world to find her lost husband, but under mysterious circumstances, she was lost from Earth as well, ending up back with Kazuma in the Astral World. Yuma and his older sister, Kari were placed in the care of their grandmother, Haru and have been ever since their parents' disappearance. Kazuma's legacy came to Yuma in the form of the Golden Key hanging down his neck and the never-say-never spirit of adventure in the form of his motto.

Feel the flow.

That brought Yuma to when everything started, one year ago when he stood up to the bully, Reginald Kastle, also known as Shark, a Duelist formerly playing in the Pro Leagues. When the two Duelists Dueled at the plaza of the Heartland train station, a strange occurrence happened. When Yuma opposed Shark's superior complex with the power to "high five the sky" his Key, shattered the day before by the WATER-Duelist's heel, fixed itself and Yuma found himself face-to-face with a sinister-looking Door. The Door explained that Yuma would obtain a great power but he would lose something important to him. With his Key repaired, Yuma leapt and insterted his Key into the Door, breaking the chains holding it closed and found himself targeted by a mysterious entity flying from the Door. After Yuma was trapped in a sphere composed of mysterious cards, another strange thing happened.

Shark was being influenced by a force not from Earth and it came in the form of "Number 17: Leviathan Dragon," an Xyz Monster that could't be destroyed in battle, except with another "Number" card, a card Yuma never obtained until he met the amnesiac entity first visible only through Yuma's eyes: a being named Astral. Astral was a glowing humanoid energy being with a transparent blue body, some parts of him shining with a bit of white lights. He had blue hair that resembled a Mohawk, pointed ears pierced with otherworldly earrings, blue gems and green markings all over his body. Astral's eyes were a different color, his left eye being gold and his right being pure white. His outstanding qualities usually involved his Dueling expertise and his ability to keep calm and cool in even the most dire situations.

From the first minute of meeting each other, Yuma and Astral got along like how a stoic mongoose got along with a spitting cobra. Although, it was through Astral's power that Yuma obtained his first "Number" and Xyz Monster: "Number 39: Utopia." With "Utopia" and a combination of "Double or Nothing!", Yuma won his Duel with Shark and was tasked to find 98 other "Number" cards.

The adventure and danger never stopped there. After obtaining several "Number" cards, Yuma had a chance encounter with Kite Tenjo, a Duelist who took the souls of those who wielded "Number" cards using his "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon", all in a fiendish deal to help his ailing brother, Hart, as an order from his devious scientific father, Dr. Faker. Thrown in the mix was Shark, the same bully who became a bit of a lone shark fighting for his twin sister, Rio after she was caught in an accident staged by Vetrix, Byron Archlight mutated in an insane, child form bent on revenge against Dr. Faker. Using his three sons, Trey, Quattro and Quinton and the power of their Crests to help meet the goal of destroying Faker by hurting those closest to him and going after Yuma for ruining his plans to destroy once and for all. What better way for the plan to be initialized than with the World Duel Carnival, a Dueling tournament gathering Duelists from around the world as a cover to collect the "Number" cards.

But then, in an unexpected turn of events at the WDC Finals, Dr. Faker revealed his plan to destroy the Astral World: Take the "Number" cards from Yuma, Astral and Kite, then use their energies to form a Sphere Field in a cannon with enough power to destroy the Astral World. With that, Yuma, Kite and Shark all stood up to Dr. Faker, who also revealed his intentions to destroy the Astral World was part of a deal from an emissary of the Barian World. If Astral World was destroyed, the Barian emissary would cure Hart of his ailment. Once Faker tried to change his ways, the Barian, Vector possessed Faker's body and attempted to destroy the Astral World himself. The plan would've succeeded, if the combined powers of Yuma and Astral's hadn't been discovered and used. With the power of Kite and Shark, Yuma and Astral, forming the character ZEXAL, defeated the Barian and he disappeared, but not before the other Barian Emperors decided to take action themselves.

After the incident with Vector, Yuma, Astral, Kite, Shark, along with his sister, Rio, discovered their roles in the escalating Interdimensional War. After surviving the onslaught of the Barian Emperors, including the revived Vector becoming the host for Don Thousand, Yuma and Astral were tasked to find the Numeron Code and gather seven "Mythirian Numbers" that helped to seal Don Thousand away; Kite had to retrieve the dragon that created the Numeron Code while battling Mizar, the Barian who wielded another "Galaxy-Eyes" card, one with powers that rivaled "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon"; and Shark and Rio discovered a horrible truth: They were two of the missing Barian Emperors, Rio once named Marin and Shark first known as Nash, leader of the Barian Emperors. As the events of the war rolled out, Yuma and Nash discovered they were being played by Don Thousand, who later admitted hen took the wielders of the "Mythirian Numbers" and and staged their downfall, thus helping to not only regain his full power, but to execute his plan to fuse Barian World and Earth in order to cause further destruction to the Astral World. Yuma, Astral and Nash were forced to Duel against Don Thousand, leading into a long, hard-fought Duel against the power of the "Numeron" cards created by Don Thousand. With Kite's spirit by Yuma and Shark's side, Don Thousand was defeated, but not before Nash challenged Yuma and Astral into one final Duel for the sake of which world would survive.

Neither Nash nor Yuma and Astral backed down from the intensified Duel in a rift between the Barian World and Earth. Despite Nash having an upper-hand against Yuma and Astral, the latter was defeated, the last of the Barian Emperors disappearing from the worlds, as his other six fellow Emperors had fallen from the war. This led to Astral finally obtaining the Numeron Code, fulfilling his mission to obliterate the Barian World. But Yuma refused and challenged Astral to a Duel for the fate of Barian World, the world where Chaos was born and the memories of the two ever having their adventures. Using all of the forms of "Utopia," Astral got the upper hand in the Duel, but Yuma countered by creating his own "Number" card, confirming that Yuma was one half of Astral lost in the battle against Don Thousand. Before Yuma used his own "Number" card to win the Duel, Astral revealed the Door Yuma saw in his dreams, the same Door that brought Yuma and Astral together. Yuma realized the one thing precious to him that he would lose: his best friend, Astral. With no other choice, Yuma destroyed the Door, won the Duel against Astral, and the two said their goodbyes before Astral disappeared into the Numeron Code.

After the Duel, things went back to normal. Yuma used the Numeron Code to revive Yuma's fallen friends, his parents from the Astral World and the Seven Barian Emperors, now in human form and attending Yuma's school. The last that anyone saw of Yuma, his friends and Astral was when they went to the Astral World to answer to a growing crisis.

This leads us to this night, when Yuma sat Indian-style on the red rooftop of his house, staring at the beautiful night sky with a sad and forlorn face. He gripped his Key at his shirt, sighing slightly as he reminisced all the times he shared with Astral, both good and bad. Yuma wasn't sure if Astral felt what he felt at the moment, but he hoped he did. He hoped that Astral somehow remembered the day when they first met, when their fates were met in one single Duel at the plaza of the Heartland train station.

"Tomorrow's the big day, Astral," Yuma muttered up to the sky. He reached to his chest and held his Key in the palm of his hand, a saddened smile spread to his cheeks. "I can't believe it's been a year since we've first met. We may have been like oil and water for the first few times you annoyed me, but overtime, we were like peas and carrots together. We've gone through thick and thin, we Dueled together and we never gave up on each other. That was the best time I ever had in a while.

"Still, I hope you're enjoying yourself in Astral World as much as I did," Yuma said, remembering when he was put through trials and tribulation in the Astral World. "It'd mean a lot to me and my friends if we could see you again. I bet you're thinking the same thing I'm thinking of right now, aren't you?" Yuma smirked. "Of course of you are, Astral. Wanna know why? It's because we're friends, and we'll always will be there by each other's side, even though we might not see each other.

"But if you're hearing what my heart is saying now, then I bet you know where exactly I'm gonna stop first. We know that place very well. I hope you're getting what I'm saying, 'cause if you don't, I might have to Duel you and win again!"

"Yuma!" a shrill feminine voice shouted from the window, reeling Yuma back with shock. "Keep it down up there, will ya!? I'm trying to write an important scoop!"

"Oh... eh, heh... sorry," Yuma whimpered before turned and he smiled up to the sky again. "Astral, even though you're living in Astral World about a gazillion miles away from here, I know deep down you know about how important tomorrow is for the both of us. The question is, do you feel the same way I feel?"

Yuma looked down to the Key cradled in the wrinkles on his palm.

"I hope you do, Astral. I just hope you do."

---

Astral World.

One of two interdimensional worlds that resided in a dimension outside of the Human World, the other being the Barian World, which merged with the Astral World when one of its well-known envoys used the power of the Numeron Code. To travel to the Astral World required the individuals to "Rank-Up" spiritually, unless they wanted to become lost souls trapped in a darker place and/or an interdimensional transporter to travel through. The Astral World resembled a bright, luminous galaxy, many luminescent blue planets surrounding the center of the world, where many forms of light energy gathered in one spot. Inside that center was a city consisting of spire towers with many lit lights, a shoreline with an ocean reaching down as deep as the Marina Trench. Floating dusts of light floated up from the ground and the towers to the sky, never to be seen except in the great beyond.

It was towards the great beyond that Astral looked as he floated above the balcony of the tallest tower in Astral World. He kept his signature stoic face and crossed his arms, calm on the outside, but thinking on the inside. A deep feeling in his transparent gut somewhere reminded Astral of something important, and he was right. Astral remembered what the next day held for him. It was the day he was sent to the Human World from his own, when fifty pieces of his memories were lost and scattered into fifty "Number" cards.

More importantly, it was the day he gained a trusted friend in Yuma Tsukumo.

Every memory of Astral and Yuma working together flashed through his head like a montage, starting with their first meeting, their differences, obtaining the "Number" cards, the crippling fear of Kite Tenjo, the Number Hunter, obtaining the power of ZEXAL, the World Duel Carnival, the Duel against Dr. Faker with Shark and Kite, the Barian Emperor Onslaught, Astral's final Duel against Number 96, their reunion in Astral World, the Duels against Don Thousand and his mind-controlled Barian Emperors, the final Duel with Nash, his ceremonial Duel against Yuma, and finally, Astral and Yuma's good-bye.

Astral had defended his homeworld from any oncoming evil ever since then, even employing the help of Yuma and his friends. Astral World seemed so peaceful these last few days, no presence of evil, no dark forces at work. Just a bright new world where the power of Chaos restored everyone and everything thing to full health. Astral wondered what it was he would do next.

"Astral."

The spirit turned to a teal-colored muscular humanoid, the governor of Astral World named Eliphas. with long, flowing blonde hair and gold-plated sleeveless armor with sapphire on his pauldrons, faulds and blue-and-yellow finger less gloves. His heterochromic eyes each were colored beige and light green and he wore a gold half-helmet on his face, the centerpiece and two points colored sapphire. A white cape hung down from the humanoid's back as he approached Astral with a stoic face of his own. "You have been awfully quiet lately," Eliphas stated. "Care to explain what is wrong?"

Astral shook his head. "Nothing is wrong. I was just thinking about tomorrow, about the day I first arrived in the Human World."

"Yes, I remember," Eliphas said. "It was the day you were sent out to fulfill your mission for the Astral World. Just what is it about it that has you thinking?"

"What I was thinking about, Eliphas, was also how I came to know Yuma as a dear friend of mine," Astral replied. "Tomorrow is the anniversary of my friendship with Yuma, as well as the start of the adventures we've been through together." Astral held a closing fist to his chest, looking up to the galactic sky. "Somehow, I have this deep feeling in my heart that I must go back to the Human World, where I may reunite with Yuma and go for another adventure. But part of me is urging me to stay and look after my home to ward off any possible evil that might come forth from the cosmos."

Eliphas laid his blue gloved hand on Astral's shoulder, surprising the latter. "Then you may go if you wish," he offered. "Since Yuma Tsukumo means that much to you, then you may go and see him again. I will keep watch over Astral World while you are gone, but I must summon you back if I hear of another growing threat to this realm."

"You would let me go back to the Human World like that?" Astral asked, shocked. "But you couldn't possibly mean it?"

"I do. I am giving you your next mission, Astral: Go and see Yuma Tsukumo until further notice." The Will of Astral World smiled. "Your mission to collect all of the 'Numbers' and achieving the Numeron Code has been long completed, Astral. You are a free denizen of Astral World and you may go do whatever it is that pleases you the most."

"What pleases me the most..." Astral parroted quietly. A smile spread across his face as he gave the godhead a formal salute. "Right. I will not fail you with this mission, Eliphas." With much said, Astral took off flying into the dark blue sky, towards the cosmic atmosphere over the looming towers of Astral World until they disappeared through the stardust clouds. He passed through the field of illuminating blue planets and out of the Astral World, traveling down a portal in the sky where it connected to the Overlay Network. Astral smiled as he traveled down the long portal to the Human World.

Finally, after all this time separated by a fulfilled mission, Astral was finally going to meet up with his oldest and best friend, Yuma Tsukumo.

He had a gut feeling where it was that Yuma was going to stop first.

---

"So, explain to me why you're dragging me out all the way to the train station?"

Yuma walked through the busy streets of Heartland City, his hands held behind his head like he was relaxing while he walked. Walking slightly behind and to the right side of him was Yuma's closest friend, Tori Meadows, the main cheerleader of the story. She had green hair, teal bangs curling in a wide arc to the right side of her face, tied up in a bun with a red ribbon on the left side of her head. Of the many outfits Tori on this day, she wore the same dress on the day when Yuma's Duel with Shark changed their lives. She wore a white shirt with yellow decal, a pink skirt tied up in a dark raspberry belt. Black socks reached up to her knees as they were worn in a pair of white shoes. Tori stuck by Yuma's side from the first day they met each other, cheering him on in his Duels, even if it was subconsciously.

Yuma rubbed his nose with his finger, smirking as he looked back to Tori. "I told you, Tori, I'm just going around Heartland to the spots where Astral and I Dueled together," said Yuma. "Don't you remember the day when I met Astral for the first time?"

Tori touched her lip as she recalled watching Yuma's Duel against Shark with his other friend, Bronk Stone. "Oh, yeah, now I remember," she said, sporting a smile. "Everyone thought you were going crazy because you kept talking yourself."

Yuma fell over from Tori's snide remark, which made her giggle. He quickly recoiled with an exasperated look, fuming from his ears. "Hey! You would've gone crazy too if you had some alien ghost breathing down your neck all the time!" Yuma yelled before he crossed his arms and looked up to the sky. "Besides, that's not the real reason why I wanted go to the train station."

Tori tilted her head slightly, curiosity written on her face as Yuma explained his intentions to arrive at the train station. "The real reason why I wanted to go was because I thought it'd be best to go back where my friendship with Astral all started. You've seen everything that Astral and I went through together, Tori; the battles we fought, the risks we took in order to save our friends and our home and the time we had to finally say goodbye. If I didn't go to the station today, then I might never live it down. 'Cause, you know, that's where everything began and ended, you know?"

Tori stared at her friend with profound silence. She turned her gaze away, silently agreeing with what Yuma had to say. Then, breaking the silence, Yuma giggled and rubbed his nose again in a carefree manner. "Just listen to me, getting choked up from talking about Astral. It hasn't been that long since we settled that crisis in the Astral World, so what's there to be sad about?" he asked himself. "It's just a good trip down memory lane, it's no biggie."

Yuma turned to Tori, a growing excitement on his face. "Hey, I've got an idea. Once we're done visiting the station, how about we go to the tower where we saw that big 'Crashbug' in the sky? That'll bring back some nostalgia, right?"

"Y-Y-Yeah, right..." Tori muttered before Yuma turned and walked towards the station, carefree as always. Tori lowered her head slightly; she knew exactly what Yuma was feeling and how he brought up his happy demeanor as a defense mechanism. Deep down, Yuma missed Astral, one day an amnesiac spirit and a friend on the next day. Yuma hadn't hidden his forlorn expression since Astral disappeared into Astral World after being struck by his dark doppelganger: "Number 96: Dark Mist". Sure, Astral was alive and recovering in the Astral World and Yuma went a long way before reuniting with his friend, but the time between them felt like an eternity. During that time, Yuma moped and wished he was there with him to support him in his Duels against the Barian World. Tori hoped and prayed that Yuma wouldn't fall under a melancholy spell after their trip was done.

Sure enough, the time walking from Yuma's house to the station took only ten minutes. Yuma and Tori managed to arrive at the station with no problem at all. A few people stood by at the station, either taking in the sights or conversing with one another. Yuma inhaled deeply and let out a pleasant sigh, feeling the good energy emanating from the place where his life changed forever. "Isn't this great, Tori?" Yuma asked his friend. "This place brings back a lot of memories, doesn't it? Being here reminds me of when my life changed completely. I only remember it as though it was yesterday."

Yuma turned his head upwards and closed his eyes, letting off a pleasant smile as he remembered the significance of the station square to him. He opened his eyes back up as the day his life significantly changed came back to him. "I tell ya, Tori, runnin' around Heartland collecting all 'Numbers' was no easy picnic, but it was worth it. Because of Astral, we managed to make new friends and bring our friendship closer than before. Wish I knew what he was up to right now."

"Yeah, me too," Tori muttered. Then out from the corner of her eye, Tori spotted a group of two individuals standing near the few patches of grass making up the square of the station. "Hey, Yuma, look," she said, pointing to the three. "Is that who I think it is?"

Yuma looked to the direction where Tori pointed and gasped. Standing near the edge of the railing were two of Yuma's friends, one of them being his longtime Dueling rival, the other being a supporting friend. Instantly, Yuma recognized the first guy he saw was Shark, standing coolly with his hand placed on his hip. Today, he wore a black shirt, black pants held by a belt and a silver ring on his right ring finger. His shoes were white with green gems and he wore a dark purple jacket with teal wrists and decorated with green gems also. His stern, stoic face brought fear to all the weaker Duelists who dared opposed him or challenged his sister.

Standing right beside him was his younger twin sister, a girl with curly dark blue hair and light blue bangs hanging down her face. She wore a white, sleeveless jacket with a dark blue border on the collar hanging down to her chest, tied with red ribbons. Underneath, she wore a pink long-sleeve shirt bordered with dark purple lines, the same color on the wrists with green gems. She wore a long white skirt with tall, black stockings reaching above her knees and white high-heeled shoes. She was known in her previous life and in the Barian World as Marin, the Ice Queen that sent chills down the spine of her opponents, and a force to be reckoned with when facing against her or with her brother. Now, in her current life, she was now Rio Kastle, a human girl sticking with her brother until their last days on Earth.

"Hey!" Shark and Rio both turned to Yuma, the latter surprised by happy to see them while Tori was happy to see Rio again while she waved her arms. With a slight chuckle, Yuma ran over to the three, waving while doing so while Tori followed him. "Hey, guys! I didn't expect to see you all here!" Yuma shouted, stopping before his friends to crouch, support his hands on his knees and gasped for breath. "So... what are you guys... doing here?" he panted.

"What does it look like? I'm here for the same reason you came here, Yuma," Shark said, keeping his stern demeanor intact. "I'm just here to check out the spots where we used to Duel, just for old time's sake. You really didn't think I'd forget the day and place where you handed me my first defeat, did you?" Yuma reeled back with shock, a sweat drop pouring down his head as he drooped with embarrassment and slight exasperation.

"Uh, no... not really," he muttered.

"I didn't think so," Shark replied.

"Yeah. Reginald told me about the times when he and you used to Duel with and against each other all over Heartland City," Rio explained to Yuma. "I was surprised to hear how you two Dueled like longtime rivals in a boxing ring!"

"That's only half of the story!" Yuma said, sporting a toothy grin. "You should've seen how down in the dumps he was when he lost our first Duel! The next time I saw Shark, he was still the lone wolf like how I last saw him and thought he stayed that way for sure!" Yuma slapped his hand on his chest and beamed with pride. "It was lucky for Shark that I stepped in and saved him from himself! I taught him how to feel the flow again and how to be the biggest, baddest Duelist I know today! Isn't that right, Shark!?"

"Please. The only thing I felt around you was a bad case of indigestion."

Yuma fell over on his side from the comment. He quickly recovered with exasperation written on his face. "Hey, come on now!"

"Still, I gotta agree with Yuma, for once," Shark smirked, looking up to the sky. "If it weren't for him, I'd still be either down on my luck, still working for Vetrix as his puppet or simply just a bunch Barian dust scattered in the wind. I'm only grateful that Astral was able to revive us with the power of the Numeron Code, because trust me, disappearing like that is no picnic for me or my friends."

Yuma rubbed his nose with his thumb and snickered. "Well, if it weren't for me and Astral, 'you would've already disappeared," he joked, chuckling. "It kinda brings me back to the day we first Dueled, doesn't it, Shark? You and I Dueling for Bronk's Deck, you breaking my Golden Key while you were pushing me back into the corner. I still remember that Duel as though it was yesterday."

Tori and Rio nodded as Yuma looked up to the sky with Shark, the girls following suit with a smile on their porcelain faces. The bright blue skies hanging overhead served as a reminder of the day when Yuma and Astral united their skills for the first time. The memories of Yuma and Shark's Duel, as well as the final Duel between Yuma and Astral flooded back into their heads as the gentle breeze whipped through their oddly-shaped hair.

---

Yuma, in his casual outfit, stood near the center of the train station square, facing off against Shark, Heartland Academy's third-year student and baddest bully of them all. He had purple hair hanging down his head like the tentacles of a squid and light blue hair at the front resembling a bottom jaw of a fierce underwater predator. He wore a black shirt and a pair of black pants held by a belt,which resembled an edgy infinity sign. His shoes were white with green gems and he wore a dark purple jacket with teal wrists and decorated with green gems also. His accessories included a silver ring on his right ring finger an a grey shark tooth-shaped pendant hung from his neck. His personality was like his namesake, a ruthless attacker who could take a bite out of those who opposed him.

The only prize Shark cared for was stealing his opponent's Deck or his prized possession.

Standing a good ten feet away from the Duelists were four other individuals, two of them being Shark's lackeys. Tori stood behind Yuma, her hand at her chest while Bronk Stone, a pudgy character and a good friend of Yuma's, stood scowling at the WATER Duelist who defeated him in his last Duel and took his Deck as an ante. He wore a red cap backwards over his black hair jutting out from the sides, a big green strand poking from the cap's back. He wore an orange T-shirt with red markings resembling a smiley face and his black suspender straps featuring round metal orbs were latched onto his back.

It was on this day that Yuma and Shark agreed to Duel for getting Bronk's Deck back from Shark while the latter put up Yuma's Deck as an ante. With his grandmother, Haru's approval, Yuma met up with Tori and Bronk at the train station square while Shark looked on proud and smug, believing that he, a former Professional Duelist, would easily win against a weakling like Yuma.

"I can't believe it. You actually showed," Shark said with a sarcastic tone. "Hope you've said your goodbyes, 'cause all of your cards are about to be mine."

"Sorry, but the only thing you're gonna be getting is a good old fashioned butt-kicking!" Yuma snapped, pointing his finger at Shark.

"And why's that?"

"'Cause I'm feelin' the flow!" Yuma tossed his red Duel Pad up into the air, which expanded in size in mid-air. Yuma strapped on his Duel Disk on his arm, a wristband with a Deck holder on the side on his wrist connected to the Graveyard box on top of his wrist. The Duel Pad turned as it fell onto Yuma's Duel Disk on his uplifted arm, glowing white as it attached to the Disk, completing the set.

"Duel Disk GO!" Yuma's formed Duel Disk revealed a pad from inside that flicked out, revealing two Monster Card Zones on it, then revealing two more on its left side and one more on its right. Then Yuma attached his Duel Gazer, a visual eyepiece with a mechanical appearance and a white-and-yellow color scheme, the glass being translucent green. "Duel Gazer, let's roll!" Yuma said as the eyepiece glowed green.

Through the eyes of the Duel Gazer, the entire environment was shrouded by digital numbers and the outlines of each structure glowed white. Holographic screens, seen only through the eyes of the Duelists and the spectators, popped up, reading "AR image stand-by." "Duel interface, set!" Yuma commanded as everyone not wearing the Duel Gazer disappeared, leaving only Yuma, Shark, Tori, Bronk and Shark's two henchmen the only few people in the scenery. The environment flickered as a cybernetic female voice spoke, "Augmented Reality Vision Link established."

Then Yuma and Shark stood by, ready for battle as they held their five cards and spoke out the usual mantra.

"LET'S DUEL!"

Then holographic screens appeared behind each player, showing their faces and a purple Life Point meter screen underneath it.

"Yay, Yuma! Win this!" Tori cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

"Get set to get decked!" Yuma shouted as he drew his card. His card hand consisted of "Ganbara Knight," "Bye Bye Damage," "Wonder Wand," "Gagaga Magician," "Goblin Out of the Frying Pan" and finally, the strongest monster in his hand. "I Summon 'Zubaba Knight!'" Yuma shouted, as he slapped his monster down on his Disk. "You're going down, Shark!"

Out from the materialized card came an EARTH-Attribute Warrior monster sporting golden armor on his chest, wrists, thighs, legs and helmet, the latter hiding his face with a red top and an orange lightning bolts sprouting from the back. "Zubaba Knight" also wore thick, padded clothes, a big red cape and carried two zigzag blades with orange crests at the back of the swords with a symbol resembling a "Z", crossing those blades over as he appeared, ready for battle. "Zu-ba-baaa Knight!" (1600/900)

---

The Duel took a turn for the worst as Yuma's only monster, "Gagaga Magician" was powered down when his "Wonder Wand" Equip Spell was destroyed. (2000 = 1500/1000) "Gagaga Magician" was one of Yuma's prized monsters, a white-haired Spellcaster donning black modern clothing underneath its black-with-orange borderline tunic with a gold plate on its waist, etched with eight dots connected by the points of two diamonds held in a chain reaching around his shoulders and body and making its way down its right leg. "Gagaga Magician" also wore copper plating on its shoulders, right knee and lower leg and jutting up from behind his concealed head, a pointed cap, mask and crimson scarf helping to hide its face. Bandages were wrapped around the Spellcaster's hands as it stared down two of Shark's ferocious sea creatures.

One of those creatures was "Big Jaws," a blue shark with a white underbelly with a blade for its top fin, cybernetic metal jaws and red light bulbs for its eyes. (1800/300) The other was "Skull Kraken," a dark, mutated cephalopod resembling a skull, sporting bony tentacles, empty black eyes with red dots for pupils and two orifices at the top of its head, one on its forehead, the other at the top. The two sea creatures belonging to Shark were both Level 3 monsters and with those, Shark would've Xyz Summoned his "Submersible Carrier Aero Shark" and destroy Yuma's "Gagaga Magician."

But that wasn't what worried Yuma. After all, he had another experience with the Door he saw in his dreams. With his mysteriously repaired Key, Yuma unlocked the Door and broke its chains, opening it and releasing a light that became a passageway that released a humanoid energy being then transitioned to him being trapped in a sphere of glowing cards. The glowing cards were broken and scattered which brought Yuma back to the present, leading him to discover that his Key was repaired.

What worried him was Shark being engulfed in a dark aura as he screamed from the feeling of power coursing through his veins.

"Yes, Shark, let the Number take hold," a deep, demonic voice spoke as his pupils glowed purple.

Shark yelled again as his "Big Jaws turned into a blue light and his "Skull Kraken" purple. "I overlay Level 3 'Big Jaws' and 'Kraken!'" The lights spiraled into the air as the entire area grew dark, which worried Tori and Bronk. Out on the ground came a galactic portal and the lights disappeared into the mysterious gateway.

"Now I can build the Overlay Network!" Shark shouted as the portal exploded, leaving him with a blank, glowing card. "Now, 'Number 17: Leviathan Dragon!' Be born!"

A glowing yellow "17" appeared, then a round, orb-like construct appeared, a purple orb wrapped up in scaly tentacles and mantis-like claws sprouting from the top held by support from the bottom, two glowing blue orbs orbiting around it like an atom, leaving a blue contrails. The tentacles began to move and unfurl, a claw reached out and grew its blue translucent wings. Finally, a dragon appeared with six white and purple-scaled arms, three on both sides with blue flapping wings underneath and blades substituting for legs. The purple-and-white head had five horns, a yellow "17" on the horn on the right side of its head graved in it and a toothy mouth that opened to bellow out a ferocious roar. (2000/0)

"What is that?" Yuma asked.

"I've never seen this monster before in my life," Bronk gasped.

"Yeah, same here," Tori replied.

"And what's with the whole Number thing?"

"Leviathan Dragon" roared as Shark declared his next action. "Now, by removing one of my Overlay Units, like my 'Skull Kraken,' I can power up 'Leviathan Dragon's' Attack Points by 500!"

"What!?"

Shark sent his "Skull Kraken" to the Graveyard, which glowed as the WATER Dragon "Number" chomped on one of the orbiting orbs. "'Leviathan Dragon,' attack with Shock Stream Blast!" The scales of "Leviathan Dragon's" body glowed blue as it roared, a 500 Attack Point boost to boot and shot a stream of white light with crackling purple energy. "Gagaga Magician" was hit and destroyed by the blast, which knocked Yuma back and into the ground as his Life Points dropped to 1000.

"Yuma!" Tori cried.

"This Duel's just about done!" Shark said. "One more attack and you're through."

Yuma grunted in pain as he tried to support himself on his arms. "That's... some dragon," he moaned. "So much for a comeback."

"Rise."

Yuma looked over to the source of the voice and gasped as he saw the same being from his dream hover next to him, arms crossed with a stoic visage staring down the dragon and ignoring Yuma, but his mind focused on the actions of the energetic Duelist. "Rise up," he said gently.

Yuma shuddered from the unexpected appearance of the mysterious individual. "Who... who are you?"

---

"From my hand, I activate the Spell, 'Monster Reborn!'" Yuma shouted as a purple, circular portal appeared on the ground, the outer rings written in untranslatable runes. "And with it, I bring back 'Gagaga Magician!'"

Materializing from the portal came the Level-changing Spellcaster, flickering with green static as it rose from the portal (1500/1000). Standing next to it was another of Yuma's monsters, "Ganbara Knight," a Warrior donning crimson armor on its legs and chest with a gray suit underneath, the thigh plates and chest plates having yellow markings (0/1800). The helmet concealing the Knight's face resembled a crimson-and-silver football helmet with two orange lightning bolts prodding from the sides of the helmet. The shields had a yellow border with a light pale green color, marked with a darker pale green resembling an "H" and a single silver spike marking the midsection of the defensive armor.

"So what?" sneered Shark. "These 1500 Attack Points are no threat to me!"

Yuma growled until Astral declared, "At last. The stage is set."

"For what?"

"Teamwork," said Astral. "Overlay Level 4 'Gagaga Magician' and 'Ganbara Knight.'"

"Hang on a sec. Is this what I think...?" Yuma asked.

"Look at your Deck, Yuma."

On cue, Yuma's Deck Box opened automatically, and a glow of brilliant yellow shining as Yuma reached in and picked up the strange, new card. "Whoa. It looks like an Xyz Monster," he muttered as he stared at a blank Xyz Monster Card held in his fingers. "But I... I can't make out which one."

"I can," Astral replied as the card's artwork appeared. "It's 'Number 39: Utopia.'"

"Hey, is this... a Number card!?"

"It is. And now it belongs to you."

"Then let's see what this baby's got, 'cause I'm feelin' the flow big time!" Yuma shouted. "I overlay Level 4 'Gagaga Magician' and 'Ganbara Knight!'" The DARK Spellcaster transformed into a being of purple light and the LIGHT Warrior turned into yellow light, both of them rising up to the sky in a sort of helix formation as a galactic portal opened up in Yuma's field.

"And now that I have, I can do a little Xyz Summoning! So here goes..." The two lights traveled into the portal and exploded as Yuma and Astral both declared their move in unison.

"Rise on up, 'Number 39: Utopia!'/Rise on up, 'Number 39: Utopia!'"

The red "39" formed itself, and out of the portal came a sealed construct appeared, appearing to be a spear wrapped up in a gold spiral, covered by white, metallic wings held by a yellow frame, a glowing blue orb in the center. The wings unfurled themselves. A black glove, cuffed by yellow armor with a white muscular arm spread out. The yellow shoulder plate armor unfolded and attached themselves to the shoulder. Finally, the face on the white head of the forming monster, concealed in a yellow face shield, revealed itself from behind the opening facial section of the helmet, being black with red eyes.

Then, when the unsealing was finally complete, out came the Number Monster, a white-clothed muscular Warrior with yellow armor on his abdomen, wrists, front thighs knees and ankles, the chest area having a round, yellow piece with a light green jewel inside. Twin swords were sheathed at its sides in yellow-and-black scabbards. The white shoulder plates, the left one marked with the red "39", were each equipped with metallic white wings. "Number 39: Utopia" crossed its arms and stood on Yuma's field, standing ready as two yellow orbs of light orbited around the Warrior (2500/2000).

---

"Go, 'Utopia!' Attack that 'Leviathan Dragon!'" Yuma declared happily.

"Utopia" grasped its sword and, as it unsheathed its weapon, the scabbard disappeared into dust as it raised its sword, shocking Astral with the reckless move. "Oh my!" Astral gasped as "Utopia" brought up the sword to strike down "Leviathan Dragon", which was unfortunately 500 points stronger than the Warrior's Attack Points.

"Why is he attacking!?" Tori screamed.

"That Yuma! He never stops to think!" Bronk complained.

What Yuma's friend and ghostly partner failed to realize was that he was thinking, and he proved it as he detached "Gagaga Magician" from underneath his new Xyz Monster. "And now, I activate 'Utopia's' ability and use an Overlay Unit to negate that attack!" The last Overlay Unit was absorbed into "Utopia's" green jewel with a green flash. The sword, in response to the effect, glowed yellow before it dissipated into golden dust.

"You're a Duel fool!" Shark shark yelled with a sneer. "Why would you negate an attack you just ordered!?"

"I'll show you why!" Yuma replied with a confident smile as he revealed a card in his hand with glowed upon activation. "Now, from my hand, I play the Spell, 'Double or Nothing!'"

"Where are you going from this?" Shark asked.

Then, a wave of realization struck the WATER Duelist as he looked up to "Utopia," tiny vectors of light traveling up its body and gathered into the black blades of its swords. "It's not where I'm going, it's where 'Utopia' is going, 'cause since I stopped his attack before, his strength is now doubled, and he gets to attack again!" Yuma shouted as the blades of the monster's swords glowed orange, the power of "Utopia" doubled into an unstoppable force (2500=5000/2000).

"5000 Attack Points!?" Shark gasped.

"Now go, 'Utopia!'" Yuma's Key glinted with light as he declared his final attack. "Attack 'Leviathan Dragon' with Rising Sun Slash!"

"Utopia" brought both of his swords up in the air and sliced them into the Dragon's body, the creature bellowing out a painful roar as it exploded, sending the shockwave over to the shocked Shark's field. The Dueling bully grunted as the shockwave flung him back into the ground, his remaining Life Points dropping down to zero. (Shark: 1700 = 0)

Yuma stood on his field surprised as a holographic screen of his face appeared next to the word, "WIN" before disappearing. "Utopia" disappeared into dust with the sound of glass breaking, not doing anything to appeal Yuma's shocked reaction. "Hey. Did I... win?"

"Did he?" Bronk asked.

"He did," Tori answered.

Tori and Bronk looked at each other with a tense moment of silence, processing if they really saw Yuma win their Duel. Then, out of nowhere, both of them cheered and rushed over to Yuma while he jumped in mid-air, declaring his first excited feeling of victory. "Yeah-HA! I did it! I beat Shark!"

---

The memories faded away as the quartet slowly brought themselves out back to the present.

Yuma, Tori, Shark and Rio all looked up to the sky as if they were expecting Astral to appear before them, cross-armed and calm like the first time they saw him. To their disappointment, especially to Yuma's downheartedness, they found no glowing humanoid entity glided down towards the group from the sky. No dark purple portal with streaming red lights appearing in the atmosphere. No glow or movement from Yuma's key. Everything seemed so quiet, and around the time, peaceful.

A flying shadow passed over the group. Tori was the first to notice as she looked up in the sky and pointed towards the dark flying silhouette gliding in the bright sunlight. "Hey, guys, look up there!"

Yuma, Shark and Rio all looked up, gasping lightly as the figure of the silhouette flew past them, making a wide right turn and made a dive towards them. Looking closely, Yuma saw the silhouette was in the shape of a human, with mechanical wings to help him fly over the buildings of Heartland City. "Hang on a minute. Is that...?" Yuma wondered.

Then the wings detached themselves from the human, revealing a small robotic shape that sheathed its gliding wings into short, stubby crane claws. The human did a nosedive towards the ground before he acrobatically flipped himself in mid-air, positioning himself to land on his feet. The person landed on his boots and caught the fall with his hand. The little robot that detached itself from its owner bounced down to the ground after him, though it was more on the lines of crashing with a painful grunt than a gentle landing. The person rose up from his knees, surprising Yuma, Shark and the girls, for they knew well who he was and what his former profession used to be.

The person was none other than Yuma's main Dueling rival, the boy named Kite with curled-up blonde hair and dark green spikes at the front. He wore a partially zipped-up black jacket with a red interior showing from the inside of his collar and the back of his jacket, both sides bordered in yellow. Blue markings made the jacket design for his shoulders, wrists and his chest, spanning down to his belt, black and bordered yellow with gray orbs in the center, held up in a big brace for a buckle, holding two Deck Boxes at his side. He wore black pants that reached to his black-and-blue-with-yellow-lined boots, separated by gold, thick layers shaped like diamonds. The rival was known as Kite Tenjo, the Number Hunter who stole the souls of those who wielded "Number" cards. His gaze alone was cold enough to petrify any Duelist who were dumb enough to go against him or wield a "Number", but since his little brother and his father were freed from the Barian's power, he became quite humble and caring. Of course, his scowling look came back as he combed his hair with his hand and sighed.

Next to Kite was his robotic, stuttering assistant named Orbital 7, a living machine and a proud daddy of two little Litterbot children, all thanks to Yuma's adopted Litter Bot named Lilly. He was mostly beige armor over black circuitry, a crimson quotation mark on his front armor with two bendable arms with three claws at each end. He had two mushroom-shaped antennas, each with pale orange center and a face with two different-sized red lenses for eyes and a panel acting as the mouth. Powered by the Barian Crystal, Orbital 7 was an artificial intelligence with six other fellow Orbitals, three of which were known from the group, two of them merely programmed to be combative against any intruders.

Yuma gasped in excitement as he ran over to Kite, Shark and the girls following him with a similar. "Hey, Kite! Long time no see!" he shouted, grabbing his Dueling rival's attention before he approached him. "I didn't realize you knew today was the day Astral came down to Earth! But then again, you have a gazillion bits of data in your computer, so I shouldn't really be surprised that you arrived here just to reminisce the good times we had with Astral, huh?"

"On the contrary, Yuma, I didn't even know what went on today. Not until you happened to mention it," Kite remarked.

Yuma felt his nerves jolt from Kite's comment as he was shocked into an angled stance. "Yeah, well I just assumed you were here to celebrate the day when all of Heartland changed, but... never mind." Yuma recomposed himself and rubbed the back of his head with embarrassment. "Anyway, what brings you here to the station?"

"Research," Kite turned his back to Yuma and tilted his head slightly upwards, speaking in a voice as plain and stoic as his face. "My father and I were following strange distortions all over Heartland City and I need a favor from you." Kite turned his head so he would meet Yuma with a sideways glance. "Yuma, I need you to Duel me, right here and right now!"

---

"Huh? Did you say you're onto something major, Kite?" Yuma asked, still surprised by the Photon Duelist's request.

"That's correct," the Photon Duelist replied. "As part of my research, I need you to Duel me." Yuma looked on with a slightly shocked expression, then reverted back into confusion as Kite sighed. "Perhaps I jumped ahead of myself. You see, my father and I were researching doorways leading into parallel dimensions, including the one that opened up leading to Astral World when we were summoned there. While we looked into those doorways, I came across a strange distortion not only in this area, but underneath Heartland Tower and the Duel Stadium. I had Orbital tap into the energies and record what he found, and what he found was an energy similar to your Shining Draws."

"Really? That's sounds amazing,"said Yuma.

"That's not the half of it. We looked at the spots where you performed your Shining Draws, looking deep enough until we reached one conclusion where those draws were merely the power of you and Astral combined with each other through the power of ZEXAL." Kite narrowed his silvery eyes, staring off into the distance. "But upon the further research, I learned that the conclusion was wrong. Dead wrong."

"What do you mean by that?" Yuma asked, growing wondrous and curious about science for the first time in his life.

Kite shut his eyes and lowered his head. "Orbital, explain."

"You-You got it, B-B-Boss!" the A.I. stuttered. Using the smallest lens, Orbital projected a circular hologram with two dots, one red and one blue. The red dot was labeled "YUMA" and the blue dot was labeled "ASTRAL", both of them in a teal circle with the metric expression of "20 ft." on the center right. "Le-let's say that the two dots represent you a-a-and Astral. When you two combined you power-powers, y-y-you gained the ability t-t-to draw the card you wanted with you Shining Draw-Draw-raw-raw, cor-r-rect?" Yuma slowly tried to process the information as Orbital 7 continued his lesson. "We thought it was the p-p-power of ZEXAL alone th-tha-that let you perform your Shining Draw, but from the gathered memories at this very sp-p-pot, we were proven that w-was wrong.

"A-A-As it turns out, we di-di-discovered a spherical field of ener-nergy similar to Ast-t-trite, the substance from Astral World expanding-ing about 20 feet in diameter emitting from Astral him-himself. Wh-Wh-When you perform your Shining Draw, it is a result of prolonged e-e-exposure-sure to the Astrite energy from, but c-c-can only be active whenever you are in the 20 foot radiu-u-us."

Yuma stood in his spot, as frozen as a statue. Then his head tilted sideways with a very confused look, an orange question mark wafting from his head.

"In other words, Yuma, the closer you are to Astral, the better the chance you have of performing your Shining Draws," Kite clarified.

"Really!? Sweet!" Yuma shouted. "Now I can draw the card I want just as long as Astral is right beside me!" Suddenly, a distressing thought ran through the boy's head. "But wait! If I could perform the Shining Draws without Astral and I going ZEXAL, how was I able to do so in the first place!?"

"We are not sure," Kite answered with a single shake of his head. "But that is something worth looking at. That's why I chose to come here first, because this spot is most likely where we could find significant amounts of data, since it has the most recorded distortions we could find anywhere on our maps; and since you're all here, this may be the only opportunity we have to collect the data we need."

"That's a good plan! Except, uh... for one... problem..." Yuma scratched his chin, looking away shyly from Kite. "Astral is probably still in Astral World right now, so I might have to give you a rain check on this one. Sorry about that, Kite."

Kite sighed. "It figures. There's no other way we could record any data without Astral around. Orbital, let's go."

"R-R-Roger!" Orbital 7 saluted.

"Kite, hold on-!"

Before Yuma could stop Kite and his robot, before Kite could even make it a step further away from the group, a strange light appeared in the sky. The light glowed with a mixture of light blue and white, nearly blinding everyone who saw the strange phenomenon, specifically the people who could actually see the phenomenon. Yuma and the others gasped with surprise and excitement as the shining light touched down to the, dimming to reveal a human-like figure within. The figure was the familiar humanoid envoy of Astral World floating over the ground, his arms crossed, his face calm and his eyes staring out into the great beyond. Yuma gasped happily before he ran up to his old friend with a big smile plastered on his face.

"Astral!" Yuma shouted excitingly. "Oh man, it's good to see you, pal! It seems like forever since we last saw each other!"

Astral turned his gaze towards Yuma, his head following suit. "Since we last saw each other? Whatever do you mean?"

"Huh?" Yuma's happy visage slowly melted into confusion. "Hey, Astral, is something the matter?"

"You know my name?" Astral asked, feigning surprise. "You can also see me, too. How extraordinary. What is your name?"

"My name? Come on Astral, it's Yuma. Yuma Tsukumo," the boy said, growing frustrated. "Remember!? You and I spent the year searching for 'Number' cards and we took down the Barians together!?"

"I am fairly certain I would remember all that if I could, but I cannot," Astral replied, looking into the palm of his translucent hand. "It seems that my memories were scattered upon my arrival to this world. How strange."

"You call that strange!?" Yuma snapped. "You're supposed to be the level-headed guy I consider my friend, and yet you came here telling me you can't remember anything! You're supposed to be the Dueling genius around here, Mr. Genius."

"A Dueling genius? Yes, I supposed that's one part of me that I can remember."

Yuma groaned with defeat, bending himself backwards so his frustrated screams reached the sky. He sat down in a squatting position, still clutching his head, and sighed. "Typical; just typical. The one day I see Astral on the day we met and he's lost his memories again! Now it's gonna take me another year and another big mess to find the 'Numbers' all over again!"

"It will not be as difficult as you expect it to be," Astral replied.

"Oh, yeah. And why is that?"

"Because I have not lost my memories upon my pending arrival." Yuma stood up and faced Astral, staring at him blankly as the spirit cracked a smile. "I believe the expression on this world is stated and I follow: 'Got you.'"

"Huh!?" Yuma stood frozen as if a gear in his head popped out of place. Then, after a moment's silence, Yuma began to understand what happened; the amnesia, the smile on Astral's face at the end. Astral played a trick on him like a fool and he completely fell for it. "GAAHHHHH! Not cool, Astral!" Yuma sputtered. "That was so NOT cool!" Tori, Orbital 7 and Rio began to laugh in response to Yuma's reaction, the robot laughing hard to the point where he fell on his metal-plated back and kicked his wheeled legs up in the air. Shark chuckled at a dull whisper and Kite just smirked. Yuma turned around, equally peeved and yelled, "That's not funny, guys! That was just a cheap shot!"

But the laughing throng didn't stop laughing; they just continued to chuckle in enjoyment to Yuma's reaction. From beside him, Yuma heard a slight chuckle form in Astral's throat, not escaping his smiling mouth. The anger in Yuma boiled down, seeing as how he was the only one in his circle of friends not laughing. Looking back, Yuma actually thought it was hilarious. He couldn't help but feel his lips wriggle into a smile before he began to chuckle, growing up into a big laugh. He wiped a tear from his eye and turned to his spirit friend.

"Actually, that was a pretty good stunt you pulled," Yuma commented, holding his hand out to Astral, forearm bent upwards. "I thought for a minute you were becoming the same amnesiac when we first met."

"There is no greater shame than to forget the ones I considered my friends," Astral said, clasping his hand with Yuma's hand, a brilliant light shining in the middle of their uniting palms. "There is also no bigger shame than to forget the day we met at this very spot."

"Same here, pal!" Yuma agreed. "I'm so glad you're back with us, Astral!"

"As am I, Yuma. As am I."

Yuma and Astral smiled at each other as the light faded away. The sound of black boots averted their attention to Kite as he walked up to them, one hand on his hips and his usual calm face plastered on his face. "I hate to interrupt this friendly reunion, but since Astral so willingly made his unexpected entry, we have business to settle," Kite informed.

"Business? You mean our Duel, right?"

"That's exactly what I'm referring to," Kite answered. "Now that Astral is here with us, we can begin our research on your Shining Draw abilities."

"Right now? Isn't that a bit too soon, Kite?"

"I'd say the timing couldn't be any better." Kite pointed his finger at Yuma and Astral, a righteous gleam in his silvery eyes as he narrowed them. "Yuma. Astral. I challenge the both of you to a Duel to see and observe your strength and your abilities. It won't matter who'll win or lose, so long as I can obtain the results I need."

"A Duel to test out our abilities?" Astral thought aloud. "Interesting. I have not been here five minutes and already we are challenged to a Duel."

"That's not a problem, is it?" Yuma asked.

Astral smirked. "No, not at all."

Yuma returned with a smile of his own as he reached for his Duel Pad. "Well, that's good enough for me, too!" he replied. "Kite, we're more than happy to accept your challenge! Now let's throw down!" Yuma threw his Duel Pad into the air, which expanded in size so it would attached automatically onto his left arm.

Kite cracked a grin. "Believe me, Yuma, the only person here who's gonna get thrown down... will be you! Go, Photon Transformation!" Upon activating by voice command, the nano-robotics weaved into Kite's black suit glowed, turning his suit into a bright white color as it traveled from his jacket collar down towards his boots. Soon, Kite was in his Photon Transformation Dueling Mode, his attire being white where the black threads used to be.

A hidden compartment in Orbital 7's head open and launched a spinning, purple crescent moon into the air, eventually coming into contact with Kite's left arm, onto a crystal mounted onto his wrist. The crescent moon expanded into a white, blue-tipped Duel Disk with a purple interior and five visible Monster Card Zones while the back contained two red marks, a blue center and a teal crystal.

Yuma attached his Duel Gazer over his left eye, the screen a light green hue as it collected the information on its surroundings. "Duel Gazer, let's roll!"

Kite's left eye glowed a purple tattoo resembling the marks of a Duel Gazer, which turned its silver iris into red. Another advantage of having the power of Photon Transformation injected into his bloodstream.

Shark, Rio and Tori all put their Duel Gazers over their left eyes as the matrix and the data developed the Augmented Reality version of their world. Multiple screens popped out of nowhere, spelling out the regular "AR image stand-by" message as the bystanders and passer-by's disappeared from the view, leaving Yuma, Kite, Shark, the girls, Orbital 7 and Astral left visible. "Augmented Reality Link established," the feminine voice said as Yuma and Kite both drew their starting five cards in their hands.

Orbital 7 was among the first cheerleaders in the sidelines to raise his voice to cheer and support his creator. "D-D-Do your best, Ma-Ma-Master Kite!" he shouted. "Show that Dueling w-w-weakling who's the Boss around these par-ar-arts!"

Rio, Shark and Tori all stood in the sidelines in suspenseful silence, waiting for the two biggest Dueling rivals to make their first move. Rio turned to Shark, feeling a bout of curiosity. "Hey, Reginald, you said these two are supposed to be like complete opposites to each other, right?" she asked. "Who do you think is gonna win this Duel?"

"It's hard to say," Shark explained. "The last time that Yuma and Kite Dueled, Kite came out of the Duel as a winner, but this Duel should is completely different. This is a Duel where whoever wins this won't matter, because in the end, it's all just one big experiment. But after seeing how strong Yuma, Astral and Kite got after all this time, this Duel should be a close match."

Tori only stood on the sidelines, her hand placed ceremoniously at her chest. A smile replaced her frown as she raised her arm into the air and called out to her childhood friend. "Do your best, Yuma! Show Kite how strong you've become!"

"Heh. That's what I intend to do!" Yuma shouted. "Now let's get this thing started!"

"Yes, let's," Kite replied, smiling a toothy grin.

"LET'S DUEL!"

---

The Duel had taken a turn in Kite's favor as he continued to shift his strategies against Yuma's offense and defense. Right now, on Yuma's field, he had three Spell/Trap cards face-down and two "Gogogo" Rock-Type monsters on his field. One of those "Gogogo" monsters was "Gogogo Golem," a tan, egg-shaped golem with oversized rock hands and a red glowing eye, sporting teal blue armor on its legs, arms and the top of its head. The golem was crouched in Defense Mode with its arms crossed, a good defensive tactic since it had the effect to not be destroyed in battle once while it remained in the same position (1800/1500).

The other "Gogogo" monster was called "Gogogo Giant," a brown, armored colossus with one glowing yellow eye, standing taller than its fellow mate. It had round, brown turrets for its oversized shoulders, its arms and its legs, a head resembling a cobra's hood and a design that was almost as if it was adapted from ancient Mayan ruins. It remained in Defense Mode since it used its effect to revive "Gogogo Golem" from the Graveyard (2000/0).

While Yuma and Astral retained a defensive strategy against Kite's onslaught, both of them expected, but not prepared, for whatever their main Dueling rival had in store. Kite had five cards in his hand and two face-down cards on his Spell/Trap Zone, which could prove to be fatal for Yuma's strategy as the Photon Duelist always thought ahead of his situation. What intimidated them the most was Kite's devious smile, the same smile he grew when he hunted for the "Numbers", a good tactic to bring his opponents great unease. This tactic, along with his Dueling skills, made Kite one of the most dangerous, yet strategic Duelist Yuma ever faced. What Kite had in store would push Yuma and Astral to a corner, all for the sake of research.

Shark, Rio, Tori and Orbital 7 stood by in a mixture of amazement and stoicism as Yuma stood his ground against Kite's power. Everyone knew the two were pretty powerful Duelists, and only the victor would come out in a close shave. Tori kept her hand at her heart, watching with wonder, questioning to herself how Yuma would finally fight back against Kite.

The answer came as Kite put his fingers on the top card.

"It's my move, Yuma! I draw!"

Turn ?: Kite

"To start off my move, I Summon out, 'Photon Thrasher'!" Kite shouted. "Since I have no monsters on my field, I can automatically Summon him from my hand!"

The screen faded to black. Then several glowing cut marks slashed across the black, which shattered to reveal an armored humanoid Warrior, the body made entirely out of pure, blue light while it wore blue armor on its body, also sporting an orange "X" on the chest. It carried a sword on its unarmed left arm, save for the orange fingers on its hand while his left arm was equipped with armor, the shoulder plate having an illuminating orb inside. "Photon Thrasher" wore a silver helmet with a red, glowing eye inside as it pointed its sword at Yuma (2100/0).

"Next, I Summon, 'Photon Crusher!'" Kite declared. A hulking figure, also made out of pure light appeared. It wore green teal armor and golden plates at its chest and its left hand, the latter carrying a twin pillar-like club in its hand. The Warrior wore a silver helmet with a glowing red eye, like "Photon Thrasher" inside. "Photon Crusher" spun its heavy weapon in its hand like a baton, then stood in a battle ready pose (2000/0).

"Uh-oh. This looks bad!" Yuma commented.

"I agree," said Astral. "If Kite is planning on Summoning what I think he is Summoning, then this Duel will be over before we know it."

"Since I have both 'Photon Crusher' and 'Photon Thrasher' out on my field, I can now Overlay my two Level 4 monsters!" Kite declared as his "Photon" monsters became yellow, and shot up into the sky, much to Yuma, Astral and everyone else's surprise. A red portal appeared into the ground, which sucked the lights into its never-ending emptiness. "With these two monster, I now build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon, 'Starliege Paladynamo!'"

The red portal exploded, revealing its Xyz Monster, a LIGHT-Attribute Warrior sporting pure, white armor on its chest, legs, thighs and shoulders, even including metallic wings trailing from the shoulder armor. The armor on "Paladynamo's" thigh, knees and wings was embedded with illuminating blue crystals while the chest armor and shoulders contained glowing, yellow orbs. The Warrior's under armor was purple and white, and the helmet had purple glass to conceal its face. "Paladynamo" swung its illuminating, but deadly sword as it aimed its weapon at Yuma's "Gogogo" monsters (2000/1000).

"This is quite the unexpected turnout. Kite had the right monsters to Summon his strongest monster, yet he brought out his Xyz Monster," Astral commentated. "I fear he has quite a strategy planned especially for us."

"I can see that, Astral," Yuma replied. "The question is, what's he gonna do to us, this time?"

"Focus, Yuma! This is where I pull out all the stops!" Kite shouted. "Now, from my hand, I activate the Spell Card, 'Polymerization!'"

"Huh!? 'Polymerization!?'" Yuma squawked.

"That's right, Yuma! This Spell Card allows me to send the monsters from my field or hand to the Graveyard and I can summon a Fusion Monster to the field!" Kite took two cards from his hand, revealed to be two copies of the monster, "Photon Lizard." "Now, I send two 'Photon Lizards' from my hand to the Graveyard so that I can Summon a Fusion Monster!"

Shark furrowed his eyebrows as Rio turned to his brother. "Hey, Shark, you've Dueled Kite once before, right? What kind of monster is he bringing out?"

"It's a powerful monster, Rio, and one that'll give Kite an edge in this Duel," Shark grumbled, remembering his only Duel against Kite and the monster that instigated his loss and the theft of his soul. "There's only one Fusion Monster Kite has in his possession that could possibly bring Yuma and Astral down, once and for all."

"I Summon my 'Twin Photon Lizard!'"

Two holograms of an armored lizard made up of black scales, red armor, two yellow lights for eyes and a glowing body appeared briefly. The two copies of "Photon Lizard" were twisted to form a spiral and curved towards each other, creating a whirling effect in the background that revealed a silhouette of a slender, twin-headed drake, its form revealed as it flew over to Kite's field with a screech. The "Twin Photon Lizard" had two heads, the left side having yellow armor and a yellow wing and the right side having red armor and a red wing, both connected by a glowing orb in the center, reached down its red-and-black body until it ended at the six claws which dragged a slender, glowing tail behind it (2400/1000).

"Huh, boy. This isn't good," Yuma whimpered.

"No, it's going to get a lot worse," Kite said. "Go, 'Paladynamo!' Attack 'Gogogo Giant' with Photon Dividing!" Acting upon the command of its owner, "Starliege Paladynamo" swung its sword back and brought it down on the gigantic rock figure. "Gogogo Giant" cringed as the swords slashed it in half, causing it to explode into piece with a force that made Yuma instinctively cover his face with his arm. Kite wasn't done with his battle just yet.

"Now, 'Twin Photon Lizard!' Attack 'Gogogo Golem' with Photon Fury!" The double-headed "Photon" drake gathered a green-colored light the mouth of the left head and a purple-colored light in the right head's mouth, both shooting the streams at "Gogogo Golem" as it maneuvered its gigantic hands to intercept the attack.

"Since 'Gogogo Golem" is in Defense Mode, it can't be destroyed by battle!" Yuma declared as the Fusion Monster's breath neared its target.

"I know that for a fact, Yuma," Kitereplied, shocking Yuma and Astral. "That's why I anticipated this. I play my face-down! Go, 'Photon Trident!'"

Out of thin air, a three-pronged trident materialized, consisting of an iron staff, golden head and photon energy which made an excellent substitute for the prongs. The trident rode along the stream as it shot towards "Gogogo Golem" like an arrow, itself becoming a third stream of light, colored light blue. "Since my 'Twin Photon Lizard' is attack your monster, it gains a 700 point boost, but that's not all," Kite informed. "When it attacks a monster in Defense Mode, you're taking the difference as damage!"

"It does what!?" Yuma shrieked.

"Kite clearly planned for our defensive strategy to turn itself against us! With his knowledge of 'Gogogo Golem's' effect, Kite was ready to strike us down by turning our defense into his offense!" Astral gasped as the ATK of the Dragon Fusion Monster increased by 700 (2400 = 3100/1000)

"Go, Photon Fury!" Kite commanded as the twin lights hit "Gogogo Golem" dead center. The trident light pierced through the stone body of the golem and shot directly towards Yuma and Astral. Yuma screamed as the light, and the shock-waves that followed knocked him and Astral back on the ground, causing him to lose 1600 Life Points. The smoke cleared and revealed "Gogogo Golem" still standing, but was banged, bruised and smoky by the attack. It was the closest thing to relief that Yuma ever felt in his lifetime.

"And next, I activate the other effect of 'Photon Trident!' When you take Battle Damage from this effect, I can destroy one Spell or Trap card on your field!" Kite pointed the card to his right, which was Yuma's Trap Card. Yuma and Astral gasped in horror as the same trident of light pierced the face-down Trap Card, the only card to help them survive another round of Kite's Beatdown strategy.

"Ah! No way! I was saving that for later!" Yuma screamed.

"This is not good," Astral commented. "Our chances of winning this Duel has dropped by ten percent!"

"Who asked you about our probability!?"

"I'm not done, Yuma!" Kite shouted. "I'm sure my next face-down brings back some happy memories! Go, 'Photon Wind!'" The card flipped face-up, which shocked Yuma and Astral even further as it sent a series of light shock waves hurtling towards their direction. "Your 'Golem' may have survived this battle, but because of that, you're taking an extra 1000 points of damage! So much for your strategy!"

The light-waves from "Photon Wind" bounced Yuma and Astral back further on their ground as another 1000 Life Points were depleted. Astral's body began to fluctuate between fading and whole. Tori shouted, "Yuma!" in shock while Shark and Rio watched on in awe, the latter having been more surprised by the attack. The energetic Duelist laid on the ground, sustaining minor injuries that left him paralyzed for a moment or two. Then, with the twitch of his fingers, Yuma grunted with slight pain as he put some weight on his hands and pushed himself up from the ground, Astral doing nearly the same thing.

Kite lowered his Duel Pad down and watched as his rivals struggle to get up on their feet. "It looks like the both of you are having a hard time trying to stand up. I commend you for your efforts for acting tough and staying strong, but even it won't save you from my next attacks. If you want to back down from this Duel, then I understand completely. There's no shame in admitting defeat since I've got you backed up into a corner."

Then Yuma did something in response that surprised Shark, Rio, Tori, and even Kite: he began to giggle as he stood up from the ground, evolving into a hearty chortle. Yuma helped prop Astral up by his arm, and the two halves of the Numeron Code looked at Kite with a determined smile. "You think I'm just gonna give up, Kite?" Yuma asked. "No way, this Duel has been the most fun I've had since the WDC! There's no way I'm gonna give up in this Duel!"

"Indeed," Astral replied. "Dueling against you and winning has been one of our biggest dreams we have yet to accomplish, Kite. You may have us backed into a corner, but now we are prepared to strike back with everything we've got."

"You've said it, big guy! Now let's get this show on the road."

Kite hummed as a smile grew on his face. "Now there's the Yuma and Astral I know. Very well then, if you're looking for a more difficult challenge to strike back against, then I will be more than happy to oblige! But first, because of the effect of 'Photon Wind', I get to draw a card!" Kite placed two fingers and thumb on the top card and drew before he declared his next move. "I now Tribute my 'Starliege Paladynamo' and my 'Twin Photon Lizard!'"

Just then, the two LIGHT monsters on Kite's field disappeared into a fine dust. Then, emerging from different dusts of light, came a red, mechanical cross with a glowing jewel in the center. Kite grabbed one part of the red cross and threw it upwards into the sky as it began to spin, his white garbs glowing. "I summon a monster more savage than a supernova! With a cataclysmic force of ten black holes put together! A cosmic surge that vaporizes anything in its path! I summon, 'Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon'!"

The jewel in the spinning cross gathered up light which was absorbed into the jewel. Then, in one instant moment and panning out from a galaxy, came a draconic creature whose body and wings were made entirely out of photon light. Dark indigo armor on its head, nape, both sides of its torso, shoulders, claws, tail and thighs held together the dragon's body while bits of red framed the wings and the jewels on its forehead, chest and the tail. The dragon gave a mighty screech as it spread its wings outwards before the light dimmed out into darkness, the only light on its body being its veins (3000/2500).

Yuma gaped with wonder as he stared down Kite's strongest monster. "Whoa, there it is! 'Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!' It looks as strong as it did before!"

"Yes, and I am fairly certain that we have a challenge to overcome ahead of us," Astral commented.

"I place one card face-down and end my turn!" Kite declared as a face-down card materialized in his Spell/Trap Zone.

"Guess it's our turn now, Astral," Yuma said, looking over to his spectral friend with a smile. "Are you ready to do this?"

"You have absolutely no idea how long I have awaited to do this, Yuma," Astral replied, grinning back.

"Alright! Then let's win this Duel together!" Yuma raise his arm up as high as he could reach.

"And show him what the true meaning of teamwork is all about!" Astral raised his hand together with Yuma's. Suddenly, a bright, yellow light flashed in the hands of Yuma and Astral. Shark, Rio, Tori and Orbital 7 stood by was amazement while Kite narrowed his eyes; this was the exact moment that he was waiting for.

"Orbital, are you recording this phenomenon right now?"

"Y-Y-Yes, sir, since before the Duel started!"

"Good. Keep recording this. This is exactly what I need for my research."

Turn ?: Yuma

Yuma placed his hand on the top card of his Deck, the card glowing in response to the light. "Here goes something! I draw!"As Yuma declared his action, a trail of light streamed from the card as he drew it. Everyone waited in eager anticipation as Yuma inspected his card, a big grin spreading across his face before he yelled out triumphantly. "Alright, get set to get Decked, Kite! I Summon out, 'Gagaga Magician!'" The Monster Card materialized face-up, and from it, "Gagaga Magician" appeared next to "Gogogo Golem," his AR body crackling a little bit as he stood up, his chains clinking as it stood ready to serve his owner (1500/1000).

Now Yuma's friends and rival all gasped as they realized what he and Astral were about to do now, since he had two Level 4 monsters out on his field. This was probably the reason why Yuma hadn't Xyz Summoned using "Gogogo Giant" earlier. "Hey, Astral. You've got the card we need to win this Duel?"

"I do indeed," Astral replied. "I would never leave Astral World without it."

"Then let's bring him out for this little shindig! I Overlay Level 4 'Gagaga Magician' and 'Gogogo Golem!'" The DARK Spellcaster turned into a dark purple light and the EARTH Rock monsters turned into an orange light, both shooting upwards into the sky. A galactic portal appeared into the ground in Yuma's field, which attracted the lights, that were previously Yuma's monsters. "With these two monsters, I now build the Overlay Network!"

The portal exploded as Yuma and Astral declared their move.

"I Summon, 'Number 39: Utopia!'/I Summon, 'Number 39: Utopia!'"

As the two summoned their most powerful monster, a red "39" appeared, following with the entrance of a familiar white-and-yellow armored Warrior flying in to serve its master once more. "Utopia" did an aerial spin and crossed his arms as it touched down on Yuma's field, spreading his arms out, ready to do battle against its draconic rival.(2500/2000) "Hey, 'Utopia.' You're finally back," Yuma said as his eyes glimmered at his ace monster. "Welcome back to the winning team, big guy."

"Number 39: Utopia" looked down at Yuma, its faceless visage showing a desire to fight alongside its owner again. Kite's snickering attracted Yuma and Astral's attention as they saw their Dueling rival facing down against their "Number" card. "Well, that's certainly a sight for sore eyes," Kite stated. "But I hope you've found a way past my 'Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon.' As you might recall, 'Galaxy-Eyes' can banish any monster battling, and if it happened to be an Xyz Monster, then it gains 500 Attack Points for every Overlay Unit it sends to the Graveyard. Face the facts, Yuma and Astral, unless you have a plan, you might lose this Duel."

"We do have a plan," Astral replied. "And now it has created a formula for our victory."

"A formula for your victory?" Kite asked. "I hope you're serious."

"I am serious!" Yuma snapped. "And this next move is gonna prove it to you! I activate the Trap, 'Courageous Heart!'"

The Trap Card flipped face-up, and a portal similar to the Graveyard portal appeared in front of "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon." Kite 's eyes widened a little as Yuma explained the effects. "You remember this card, don't you, Kite? I just gotta pay half of my Life Points and your Dragon's abilities are negated for the rest of this turn! That means our comeback is about to being right now!"

"It's gonna take more than just a Trap Card to break me, Yuma," Kite replied. "I activate the Trap, 'Solemn Judgment!' By halving my Life Points as well, I can negate the activation of your Trap Card and destroy it!" Yuma's Trap shattered into a fine dust, which made Yuma and Astral shield their face with their arm from the blown light soot. "I hope you have a better backup plan worked out, Yuma, because you're move is too obvious. You're trying to negate my Dragon's effects, and when the time was right, you would use 'Utopia's' special ability and 'Double or Nothing!' to raise its Attack Points and destroy it in battle. You've got to have more skill and strategy if you want to defeat my 'Galaxy-Eyes.'"

"That's exactly what we've counted on, Kite," Yuma replied, making Kite gasp lightly. "You see, we knew you were on to our plan to get rid of your Dragon and we knew you would try and stop us from going along with our plan. That's why we set up those three face-downs as a decoy."

"A decoy!?" Kite gasped, his eyes widened and shivering pupils spelling out shock.

Shark, Rio, Tori and Orbital 7 looked on with gaping mouths and widened eyes as a smiling Yuma explained the unexpected move. "Yep. You thought that my face-down card would tip the Duel in my direction, so you used 'Photon Trident' just so you would cripple our strategy and we wouldn't have any chance of winning. Well guess what, Kite: your guess was right on the money all along and now I'm about to show you why."Yuma threw his arm out to the ground. "From my Graveyard, I activate the Trap, 'Breakthrough Skill!'"

The Trap Card spun in a dreary, dull world of darkness and purple before it faded into oblivion, which in turn, released a lightning bolt from the purple Graveyard portal. "By banishing this Trap Card from my Graveyard, I can negate 'Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon's' special ability until the end of this turn!" The lightning bolt struck "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon" in the chest, directly in the jewel. Kite looked up in a bout of surprise as his Dragon's body became as gray as stone. "And now that 'Galaxy-Eyes' has no special ability to protect itself with, it's now wide open for an attack."

Kite smiled. "Well done, Yuma. You managed to fool me there for a split second."

"Aw, it was nothing," Yuma said, rubbing the back of his head whilst blushing. "I've been learning a lot from watching your past Duels, so I've gotta be prepared for any plan necessary if I wanna beat someone at your level."

"I must say, you have grown quite considerably since the last time we saw each other," Astral said, smiling with wonder.

"You'd better believe I have," Yuma boasted. "There's no one in the entire world who would dare challenge me and walks away with a full set of Life Points."

"Then again, I might have implied you've grown in height and not in maturity."

Yuma fell over from the comment as he felt his ego get shattered into little pieces. He quickly recoiled, sputtering and shaking his fists at him. "Oh, come on! How many times are you gonna give that snappy attitude!? I am mature, it's just a slow process!" Yuma continued spatting at the otherworldly humanoid as Shark, the girls and Orbital 7 looked on with slight embarrassment while Kite simply sighed.

"Well there's something we've all missed: Yuma's going all out on Astral like a comedy routine," Shark remarked.

"What he lacks in maturity he does make up for his Dueling skills," Rio agreed.

"That's what makes Yuma... Yuma, I suppose," Tori explained, flustered.

Yuma huffed with annoyance after his spattering with Astral was done, his cheeks puffed out with sheer annoyance. "Geez, the first time I see you in a long time and already, you're making fun of the way I think."

"Then perhaps you should focus more on this Duel other than your thinking."

"Don't worry about it, pal, I'm already putting my plan into focus!" Yuma said before thrusting his fist up in the air. "Go, 'Utopia!' Attack 'Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon' with Rising Sun Slash!" Acting on command, the "Number" unsheathed its sword, swung his weapon upwards and flew up in the air as he brought itself and the sword down. Luckily, this was the combo that Yuma loved to perform and now it would bring him and Astral to victory.

"And now, I activate 'Utopia's' special ability! By using one Overlay Unit, I negate my monster's attack!" One of the orbiting Overlay Units was absorbed into the green jewel in "Utopia's" chest, and the sword held in its hand disappeared into oblivion. "And now, from my hand, I activate the Spell Card, 'Double or Nothing!' Now 'Utopia' can attack again, but this time, its Attack Points are automatically doubled!"

As the Spell Card, "Double or Nothing!" took effect, "Number 39" was engulfed in a fiery aura as the sword reappeared in its hand and unsheathed its other sword with its other hand, spreading them out as the Attack Points were raised by twice the amount (Number 39: Utopia: 2500 = 5000/2000). Kite looked on with mild shock as Yuma's Warrior stared down at his Dragon, which was undoubtedly weaker than his beast. "That card has enough power to destroy my Dragon!"

"Precisely!" Yuma said, smiling. "Go, 'Utopia!' Rising Sun Double Slash!" The two glowing swords clanged as "Utopia" brought them together before jumped back in the air, bringing his swords down on his target. "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon" roared as its whole body glowed back in its illuminating state, gathering a great orb of light in its sharp-toothed mouth.

Kite grunted before thrust his hand out to command his beast. "'Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!' Push back the attack with Photon Stream of Destruction!" A great stream of light shot out of the Dragon's mouth towards "Utopia", which was being pushed back as the "Number" trudged through its stream, using the swords to plow through the light. Everyone could hear the deep, masculine grunts coming from "Utopia" as it struggled to continue while the Dragon began to tire from breathing its furious light.

Then, at the point where the swords of "Utopia" and light from "Galaxy-Eyes" connected, another strange light began to emerge from within. Everyone looked up in shock as they saw the light grow bigger, followed by a strange, loud gale force coming from the same spot. The light completely engulfed "Utopia" and it disappeared into its illumination, which helped it expand towards every known direction. "NO! 'UTOPIA!'" Yuma shouted as he and Kite covered their faces with their arms, Astral grunting whilst struggling against the wind, Shark holding Rio close to him while Tori screamed.

"Orbital! What's happening!?" Kite demanded to know.

"Ma-Master Kite! The connecting atta-tacks somehow triggered an unknown phenomenon-non-non, and everything is disappearing i-i-into the ligh-ligh-light! Cause unknow-known!" Orbital stuttered fearfully.

"Disappearing!? But where is everything disappearing!?" Shark yelled.

"I don't know, guys!" Yuma shouted as he turned around. "But I think we'd better amscray from this place right now!"

"For once, I'm with Yuma!" Shark yelled. "This light could possibly spell trouble for us! Come on!"

Yuma, Shark and the girls made a break for it as the light continued to grow to the size of a playground structure. Astral floated alongside Yuma, looking back at the light to ponder the unexplained phenomenon."This light... this unknown force... where have I seen this before...?" Suddenly, it hit him. Astral's heterochromic eyes widened and he gasped, knowing too well what the light was and where it everything was disappearing into. "No, it can't be true! The legends in Astral World told of this long ago, but even I thought this was just a myth! This light is...!"

The light slowly reached to "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon", the drake screaming as it too disappeared into the light. Kite looked on in complete horror, completely petrified while watching Dragon scream like it was suffering from intense pain before it faded into the light. "No! My 'Galaxy-Eyes' is gone!" Kite cried as he became the next unfortunate victim of the light, his screams becoming mere echoes into nothingness.

"MA-MA-MASTER KITE!" Orbital 7 screamed as he reached out his mechanical arm, which was touched completely by the light. Orbital's screams became ghostly wails.

"Oh, no! Kite and Orbital disappeared as well!" Tori screamed at the sound of a loud whimper.

"Forget about them and worry about that light!" Shark snapped. "That thing is catching up to us and fast!"

"That is precisely the point!" Astral informed. "There is no way we can outrun this light!"

"What!? What are you talking about Astral!?" Yuma screamed.

"Everyone listen to me! I know what this light is! The light is a gateway to..."

Before Astral could finish his sentence, Rio's screams and Shark's grunting were made heard as the light covered them as well, becoming nothing but phantasms in the bright brilliance. "Shark! Rio!" Yuma yelled as he, Astral and Tori were quickly made into the light's next three victims. Their screams were brought into silence as the light covered every block of Heartland City, making its way outwards and towards the mountains. The light engulfed the lands beyond those same mountains, then made its way overseas and to every known city in the world.

Heartland, just like its previous three victims from a different timeline, had become the next ones to be pulled into the Void.

---

FEATURED CARDS

YUMA TSUKUMO'S CARDS

-EFFECT MONSTERS-

Gagaga Magician
(DARK/Level 4/Spellcaster/Effect/1500/1000)
Once per turn: You can change this card's Level to any number from 1 to 8 until the End Phase.

Gogogo Golem
(EARTH/Level 4/Rock/Effect/1800/1500)
Once per turn, this Defense Position card cannot be destroyed by battle.

Gogogo Giant
(EARTH/Level 4/Rock/Effect/2000/0)
When this card is Normal Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 "Gogogo Golem" from your Graveyard in Defense Position, then change this card to Defense Position if you activated this effect.

-XYZ MONSTERS-

Number 39: Utopia
(LIGHT/Rank 4/Warrior/Effect/2500/2000)
2 Level 4 monsters
Cannot be destroyed by battle except with "Number" monsters. You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card: negate the attack of 1 monster.

-SPELL CARDS-

Double or Nothing!
Quick-Play Spell
When a monster's attack is negated: Target that monster; during this Battle Phase, it can attack once again, and if it does, its ATK is doubled during the Damage Step only.

-TRAP CARDS-

Courageous Heart
Normal Trap
Pay half your Life Points, then target 1 Effect Monster your opponent controls; this turn, negate that monster's effects and the activations of those effects.

Breakthrough Skill
Normal Trap
Target 1 face-up Effect Monster your opponent controls; negate the effects of that opponent's face-up monster, until the end of this turn. During your turn, except the turn this card was sent to the Graveyard: You can banish this card from your Graveyard, then target 1 face-up Effect Monster your opponent controls; negate that target's effects until the end of this turn.

KITE TENJO'S CARDS

-EFFECT MONSTERS-

Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon
(LIGHT/Level 8/Dragon/Effect/3000/2500)
Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Must first be Special Summoned (from your hand) by Tributing 2 monsters you control with 2000 or more ATK. If this card battles an opponent's monster: You can banish this card and that monster. The monsters banished by this effect are Special Summoned at the end of the Battle Phase, and if the other monster was an Xyz Monster, send all Xyz Materials from that monster to the Graveyard. This card gains 500 ATK for each Xyz Material you send to the Graveyard by this effect.

Photon Crusher
(LIGHT/Level 4/Warrior/Effect/2000/0)
If this card attacks, it is changed to Defense Position at the end of the Damage Step.

Photon Lizard x 2
(LIGHT/Level 3/Dragon/Effect/900/1200)
You can Tribute this card you control: Add 1 Level 4 or lower "Photon" monster from your Deck to your hand.

Photon Thrasher
(LIGHT/Level 4/Warrior/Effect/2100/0)
If you control no monsters, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). If you control other monsters, this card cannot attack.

-FUSION MONSTERS-

Twin Photon Lizard
(LIGHT/Level 6/Dragon/Fusion/Effect/2400/1000)
"Photon Lizard" + "Photon Lizard"
You can Tribute this card to target the Fusion Material Monsters in your Graveyard that were used for the Fusion Summon of this card; Special Summon those targets.

-XYZ MONSTERS-

Starliege Paladynamo
(LIGHT/Rank 4/Warrior/Xyz/Effect/2000/1000)
2 Level 4 LIGHT monsters
During your Battle Phase: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card, then target 1 Xyz Monster your opponent controls; until the end of the Battle Phase, that target's ATK becomes 0, and if it does,negate the effects of all face-up cards on the field, except this card. When this card on the field is destroyed by your opponent's card (either by battle or by card effect): Draw 1 card.

-SPELL CARDS-

Photon Trident
Quick-Play Spell
Target 1 face-up "Photon" monster you control; until the End Phase, it gains 700 ATK, and if it attacks a Defense Position monster, inflict piercing battle damage to your opponent. When it inflicts battle damage to your opponent this turn: You can target 1 Spell/Trap Card on the field; destroy that target.

Photon Wind
Quick-Play Spell
During your Battle Phase, when a monster you control inflicts battle damage to your opponent during a battle with an opponent's monster but did not destroy that monster by battle: Inflict 1000 damage to your opponent, then draw 1 card.

Polymerization
Normal Spell
Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck, using monsters from your hand or your side of the field as Fusion Materials.

-TRAP CARDS-

Solemn Judgment
Counter Trap
When a monster would be Summoned, OR a Spell/Trap Card is activated: Pay half your Life Points; negate the Summon or activation, and if you do, destroy that card.

FLASHBACK

-EFFECT MONSTERS-

Big Jaws
(WATER/Level 3/Fish/Effect/1800/300)
You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) during the turn you activated a Normal Spell Card.

Gagaga Magician
(DARK/Level 4/Spellcaster/Effect/1500/1000)
Once per turn: You can change this card's Level to any number from 1 to 8 until the End Phase.

Skull Kraken
(DARK/Level 3/Aqua/Effect/600/1600)
When this card is Normal Summoned: You can destroy 1 face-up Spell/Trap Card your opponent controls.

Zubaba Knight
(EARTH/Level 3/Warrior/Effect/1600/900)
At the start of the Damage Step, if this card attacks a face-up Defense Position monster: Destroy that monster.

-XYZ MONSTERS-

Number 17: Leviathan Dragon
(WATER/Rank 3/Dragon/Effect/2000/0)
2 Level 3 monsters
Cannot be destroyed by battle except with "Number" monsters. Once per turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; this card gains 500 ATK. If this card has no Xyz Material, it cannot attack your opponent directly.

Number 39: Utopia
(LIGHT/Rank 4/Warrior/Effect/2500/2000)
2 Level 4 monsters
Cannot be destroyed by battle except with "Number" monsters. When any player's monster declares an attack: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; negate the attack.

-SPELL CARDS-

Double or Nothing!
Quick-Play Spell
When a monster's attack is negated: Target that monster; during this Battle Phase, it can attack once again, and if it does, its ATK is doubled during the Damage Step only.

Monster Reborn
Normal Spell
Target 1 monster in either player's Graveyard; Special Summon it.

Wonder Wand
Equip Spell
Equip only to a Spellcaster-Type monster. It gains 500 ATK. If you control the equipped monster and this card: You can send both to the Graveyard; draw 2 cards.