Chapter 21
Photon Finex: Yahoo! Chapter 21 ahoy! *pops out of a jack in the box with Tron*
Tron: A ha ha ha! This is too much fun! More! More!
Photon Finex: You can have the toy, of you tell the readers one announcement.
Tron: Okay! Photon Finex does NOT own Yugioh Zexal! Can I have the toy now?
Photon Finex: Why not? *hands Tron the jack in the box*
Tron: WHEEE!
"Astral…." whispered Yuma.
The blue ghost gave a smile at his human companion. "I've kept you waiting too long, Yuma."
Yuma wasn't sure what to say. He had been separated from Astral for too many days. If you were in Yuma's situation, you would understood how he felt. There were times when both human and Astral Being were not together, but they always found a way to back with each other.
Now, Yuma felt tears flow through his eyes. This time, they were tears of joy, not anguish. He smiled at his spiritual companion with tears of joy. "Astral….. I'm just glad you're back.." he sniffled. "Don't worry me like that again, please."
"Yuma, I will never worry you too much. I think there's someone you should see," said Astral, reaching into his body.
Yuma couldn't tell what Astral was doing, but then, the ghost revealed a Xyz Monster card in his hand. Astral placed the card into the boy's eager hands, then he crossed his arms and waited for Yuma's reaction.
Yuma looked at the card in his hands intensely. Tears flowed even more when reading the card's name. "Number 39: Aspiring Emperor…. Hope…. You're here…." he stuttered.
To Yuma's surprise, Hope's image on the card began to glow. A small group of golden dust surrounded the picture, emitting a small light. Then, Hope began to speak through his image, "Yuma, Astral, I am sorry I could not help either one of you. Dark Mist had me under his control. He forced me to do horrible things, such as kidnapping your friends, Yuma. I am deeply regretful of committing that action towards your companions. I tried to fight back, but his magic was stronger than me."
"Hope…. Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault my friends are animals. Dark Mist had you under the influence of his….. Craft," replied Yuma. "All that matters is that we're together again: You, me, and Astral," said Yuma, in a slightly-happy tone.
Suddenly, Kurai's D-Pad began to glow. It gave off a purple shade, and it appeared to be coming from the deck. Curious, Kurai pulled the card out of his deck only to find..
"Number 96, Dark Mist? Why is his card here?" said Kurai. He looked at the picture of the card. The monster looked like a bull instead of a black version of Astral. The creature appeared to be more dangerous then ever. What was peculiar was that the entire image was grey, even the lettering.
"Astral, why is Dark Mist's card grey?" inquired Yuma.
Astral sighed. "While I was inside the Key, Dark Mist encountered me with a corrupted Hope, who had become Demon Tyrant Kaos. Both of us fought for control over him, but he ended up exploding himself…."
"Dark Mist did what?" interjected Yuma.
"As I was saying, I lost my patience…. And I killed Dark Mist…." concluded Astral.
Kurai glared angrily at Astral. His hand shook as he pointed at the spirit. "Y-you killed Dark Mist?… HOW DARE YOU?"
Suddenly, Dark Mist's card rose from Kurai's hand. It spun and spun like a hurricane, creating a wind storm. A ball of light crackled like thunder as the card was enveloped inside the plasma sphere. The light became so intense, everyone had to cover their eyes. After more crackling, the electricity died down, and Dark Mist's card fell into Kurai's hands. The image of the card looked worn out now, and there was no color. It was plain grey, and the lettering was no longer gold, only plain black text.
"W-what is this? What happened to Dark Mist's card?" cried Kurai.
"Ugh…. What happened? Where am I?"
Kurai ears perked up at the sound of Kotori rising from her force field prison. However, just by looking at the girl's eyes, the boy could tell something was off.
Kotori yawned, "Ugh…. What happened? The last thing I remember was-" She stopped midsentence when she saw TWO Yumas in front of her, which made her nervous and jumpy. "HUH? TWO Yumas? What's going on- Wait a minute!" she shouted. The greenette then realized that her normal outfit was replaced with a sparkly jade green dress, complete with a tiara on her head. "I don't remember wearing anything like this! The dress is too tight!" she cried.
Yuma ran towards Kotori's force field prison in panic. "Kotori! Listen to me! Kurai is the real bad guy here, NOT me! You gotta believe me!"
Kotori huffed, "If you really are Yuma, then….. When is my birthday?"
"November 11!" chirped Yuma.
"Anyone could've told you my birthday!" snapped Kotori. "Hmm….. When did you and Astral first meet?"
Yuma tried to remember when he and his partner first came together. As he thought harder and harder, it all came back to him. "Astral and I met the day I dueled Shark!"
"And why were you dueling Shark?"
"To get Tetsuo's deck back from Shark!"
Kotori stared at Yuma in astoundment. She couldn't believe what she had heard. He actually got those questions right! I knew it! He IS Yuma, not that cheapskate Kurai who thinks he's king!
"Yuma…. It is you!" cried Kotori, tears falling from her eyes.
Yuma looked into Kotori's eyes with a small smile on his face. "Kotori…."
"ARE YOU DONE WITH YOUR STUPID REUNION YET?" interjected an impatient Kurai, who was tapping his feet.
Yuma pointed his finger at Kurai. "Can't you learn to shut up for once?"
"I don't give a ****! Let's just get this duel over with, NOW!" snapped Kurai.
"Fine! Can't you learn to be, I don't know, patient?"
"I'm not listening to you!"
All of a sudden, Dark Mist's card began to give off a blue light. Kurai swiped the card out of his deck box and noticed the image was glowing. "What the?…."
Inside the jungle-like room of Heartland Tower, Anna happily ate a bunch of fruit Tokunosuke had brought her. The spider monkey smiled as he watched Anna consume the fruit he gathered.
"Mmm! This is really good fruit! Where did you find it?" asked Anna, chewing on an apple.
Tokunosuke made a few gestures with his hands, then chirps Anna couldn't understand. Then, the monkey guided Anna towards a gigantic tree stocked with any fruit you could name. The tree was the size of a California redwood tree, plenty of squirrels and chipmunks inhabited the tree, as they enjoyed the fruit.
"I've never seen a tree like this before!" exclaimed Anna.
Tokunosuke nodded in response. He made a few gestures to the top of the tree. "Ook eek ha ha yi!" he chirped.
Translation: "Let me get you some more fruit, ura!"
Tokunosuke climbed his furry body onto the tree bark, then began to climb higher into the tree. Halfway to the top, he began to feel slightly weaker. What's happening to me, ura? I feel like as if I can't climb a tree this good anymore!
Tokunosuke's fur vanished and was replaced with human skin. His arms and legs became longer from when he wasn't an ape. His face became less rounded and more human-like. Lastly, the tail vanished from his butt.
Suddenly, Tokunosuke spoke again, "Huh? What? Why am I-" He looked at himself, only to find himself completely nude. He blushed madly like a tomato. "Oh my god! What the? The last thing I remember was eating a bunch of bananas! I don't feel so good," he moaned, running his stomach.
"AAAAHHHH!"
Tokunosuke climbed up the tree in a hurry and his inside the leafy area of the treetop. He peered out of a hole that was made in the leaves and examined the source of the noise. He gazed towards a group of bushes and found three familiar boys surrounded by Anna. He placed his ear against the hole to eavesdrop.
"STAY THERE, AND DON'T CONE OUT UNLESS YOU HAVE CLOTHES ON!" Anna screeched at the bush, aiming her cannon at Shark, Tetsuo; and Takashi, who were also completely nude.
"Why should we listen to you?" snapped Tetsuo, huddling behind the bushes with Shark and Takashi.
"Hmph, you're more annoying than Yuma!" growled Shark.
Takashi coughed, "To summarize, you're being sexist, and I WANT MORE SALTY CRACKERS!"
Kurai stared in awe as the image on Dark Mist's card glowed even more. The card's picture emitted a dark blue light as the card suddenly projected a moving image.
"What is this?" he shouted.
Astral's eyes went wide. He nudged his partner, "Yuma! This is from when I….. Had a 'talk' with Dark Mist before I….. Disposed of him."
"How is Dark Mist's card playing a video?" cried Yuma.
"I cannot answer that question, Yuma", replied Astral sadly. "All we can do is watch the video…"
Dark Mist's card image projected a video from the card image as the picture began to glow even brighter. Soon enough, the video popped up.
Inside the clip, Dark Mist could be seen talking to Astral.
"I'm afraid of YOU? How can this be? All of the glory was for ME! Not that pathetic freak, Kurai! I was going to dump him after I kill you!" he snapped.
"You-You…. Were only using Kurai….. As a tool? I don't give a crap, 96! I am going to send you to hell!" scoffed Astral.
"Oh please, that little freak wasn't important to me, and he never will be, because he such is a loser! The only reason I even recruited him was just so I could have Number 39! Everything was going according to plan…. BUT NOOOO! YOU HAD TO CAME ALONG AND MESS UP EVERYTHING!" he shrilled.
Kurai growled angrily as he listened to every single word that Dark Mist had said. His rage boiled inside like crazy, and his mind raced intensely. That damn Astral Being….. He was using me? How dare he? He called me….. A freak! NO ONE CALLS ME A FREAK!
Yuma watched Kurai nervously as his body shook and shook. He noticed something was unusual after he had seen Number 96's card project that conversation. "Astral! Don't tell me that Dark Mist's words are true! It can't be!"
"Yuma, I'm afraid that this is actually true. Dark Mist had deceived Kurai the whole time he was with him. He was only using Kurai to steal Hope," replied Astral solemnly.
Yuma looked at Kurai worriedly. His evil twin shook nervously and he kept breathing heavily. He reached his hand towards the other boy's shoulder. "Kurai…." whispered Yuma hoarsely.
Kurai smacked away Yuma's hand harshly. He looked even more enraged than before. "DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU DAMN, DIRTY, GOODY-TWO SHOES!"
Yuma backed away nervously as Kurai angrily stomped towards him. "I am nothing like you! I'm a freak, but you're not! Why the hell is your life better than mine? Answer me, dammit!" yelled Kurai.
"I can't answer that, because I don't know!" snapped Yuma. "Stop taking your anger out on others! I'm sorry your life was terrible-"
SLAP!
Yuma pressed his hand against his stinging cheek after Kurai had slapped him harshly. He held his cheek in pain. "Ow! What the hell was that for?"
"I DON'T WANT YOUR SYMPATHY!" Kurai snapped hotly.
Kotori gasped after she watched Kurai hit Yuma within her prison. She just wanted to be free so she could teach Kurai not to hurt her friend!
"HEY! Leave Yuma alone, jackass!" shouted Kotori.
"Shut your mouth, you stupid girl!" growled Kurai. He continued to speak, "You're not even worthy to me anymore, since you'd rather have Yuma over me!"
Kotori huffed and crossed her arms. She stated straight into Kurai's eyes. "Well, good riddance! I'm NOT the one who kidnaped you from your own house, force you to marry me, and hypnotized you into my husband! You need to grow up!" she snapped.
Kurai retracted, then spat, "YOU GROW UP, MAGGOT! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DIFFERENT, BUT YOU'RE JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE! I AM DONE PLAYING NICE WITH YOU! IF YOU WON'T LISTEN TO ME, THAN I'LL MAKE YOU LISTEN TO ME!"
Kurai didn't know it, but in his heart, the darkness from both Numbers 2 and 96 increased greatly. They both filled his body with evil, unclean thoughts. "W-what is this power?"
"Yes….. Kurai….. Let us…. Use your body…." rumbled both Numbers 2 and 96 in sync.
"NYYYAAA!" shrieked Kurai. Dark energies entered his body, which caused him to fall into tue ground and hold his head.
"KURAI!" cried Yuma, as he sadly watched his opponent suffer from his pain.
Soon enough, the dark energies shrouded Kurai's entire body. His Dragoon armor became midnight black, along with a few streaks of purple. The dragon-shaped D-Pas looked even more wicked than before. Last but not least, both of Kurai's glowed with a "2" in his left eye and "96" in his other.
Yuma, Astral, and Kotori were astounded by Kurai's change. Kurai appeared to be more aggressive than before. He scowled deeply, showing some of his sharp teeth.
"Kurai! Don't give in to the Numbers! They're only using you!" cried Yuma. "STOP IT!"
"Yuma, this is NOT good! Kurai's inner darkness combined with Numbers 2 and 96's powers are very dangerous!" shouted Astral.
The Number-possessed boy spoke, but in a low voice. "There is no Kurai anymore…. You think I'm a freak…. But, I'm not. Those of you who called me a freak will suffer…"
"No… KURAI!" cried Yuma.
Kurai shouted, "SHUT UP, YUMA! DON'T CALL ME THAT NAME! Bow down to me…. I am your Dark Lord…"
Numbers 2 and 96 glowed in Kurai's eyes, emitting a dark, gloomy shadow.
"Yes…. Kurai….. Show your hate…." loomed both Numbers 2 and 96.
Astral: What the? How could Kurai be possessed by two Numbers?
Yuma: You're right! Didn't Tokunosuke get possessed by two Numbers before?*
Astral: Yuma! This is serious!
Yuma: You're right Astral! We have to free Kurai from the Numbers! Don't give in, Kurai! STOP IT!
*Zexal episodes 5 and 6
