Author's Note: I had a devil of a time writing the duel for this next chapter, which is why it's only being put up now. Yuma's duels in this story are proving to be some of the hardest duels to write since he and Astral are up against such strong opponents. Anyway, I hope this chapter proves to be worth the wait.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.
Chapter 23: Slaying Stardust
Despite the horrific ending of Michael's duel with Alnia, the people of Heartland flocked back to the stadium to watch Yuma's duel with Hikari. Kotori and most of the others in Yuma's circle of friends had returned to the skybox, with Stacy staying at the hospital with Kaito and Droite to keep an eye on Michael. Shark had joined Kotori's group up in the skybox, as Cleo had already eliminated him from the tournament. The mood in the stadium was a bit somber, as the cloud of the previous duel seemed to be hanging over everything. Even though the stadium was once again packed, it seemed that the spectators were having a hard time being pumped about the next duel.
"I still can't quite believe that we're having the next duel after everything that just happened." Kotori remarked. "You'd think they'd postpone things until tomorrow out of respect."
"In a way, this duel might be able to help everyone put what just happened in Michael's duel behind them." Shark pointed out. "Doing anything else would be like letting Alnia win."
"Nasch is right." Durbe agreed. "We can't let one bad experience ruin the whole tournament."
"Yeah, but… I'm just not sure if Yuma is up for this right now." Kotori pointed out. "One of his best friends is in the hospital in a coma. How can he think about dueling at a time like this?"
"This is Yuma we're talking about, Kotori." Shark pointed out. "A duel like this is probably just what that doofus needs."
Down on the stadium floor, Yuma walked onto the stage with Astral floating beside him. A determined expression was on Yuma's face. Hikari took her place on the opposite end of the stage.
"Hey Yuma, are you sure you're up for this?" Hikari asked. "I mean I'd totally understand if you weren't, what with what happened to Michael. We don't have to do this if you don't want to."
"Are you asking me to forfeit, Hikari?" Yuma asked.
"No, but… Cleo mentioned the little talk she had with you at the hospital on the way here." Hikari explained. "So if you're not up for this duel…"
"Hikari, Yuma and I would not be standing here right now if we weren't prepared to face you." Astral interrupted. "We want you to come at us with everything you have."
"Well… okay. If you're sure." Hikari replied.
"The next duel shall be between Yuma Tsukumo and Hikari Fudo!" the referee announced. "Let the duel… begin!"
With that, Yuma and Hikari activated their D-Gazers, as did everyone in the audience. All at once the color of the surrounding area took on a slight change.
"I'm up first!" Yuma declared as he drew his first card. "I summon Ganbara Knight in Defense Mode!"
Appearing on Yuma and Astral's side of the battlefield was a knight clad in burgundy and gold armor. The visor of his helmet slightly resembled the visor of helmets worn by football players, and on the sides of his helmet were two right lightning bolt-shaped blades. Both of the knight's arms ended with a large rectangular shield with a green and blue front and gold trim.
"That ends my turn!" Yuma announced.
"That's it?" Hikari asked with a raised eyebrow. "You're not going to set any face-down cards or anything?"
"Nope." Yuma confirmed. "It's your move, Hikari."
"Dammit, Tsukumo!" Cleo cursed down in the dugout. "If you're not going to take this duel seriously than you should've just forfeited instead of wasting our time like this!"
"Don't worry. Yuma's taking this serious." Alit assured her. "Just look at his eyes. Both he and Astral are determined to beat Hikari with everything they've got."
"Hikari, I want you to hit me with your best monster." Yuma told her. "Don't hold anything back."
Hikari sighed. "Okay. If you say so." She drew her next card. "I discard one card from my hand to summon The Tricky!"
Materializing on Hikari's side of the field was a jester-like monster clad completely in yellow and black. Hanging from the clown's back was a black cape with a red underside. A red question mark completely covered the Tricky's face.
"Next I summon Psychic Commander in Attack Mode!" Hikari announced.
Materializing on Hikari's side of the battlefield was a humanoid figure clad in a green army uniform with white gloves riding in a silver futuristic hovercraft with a long cannon barrel on the front. He had a grinning mouth filled with sharp fangs, and on his head was a helmet with a black visor showing four red eyes.
"I tune the level three Psychic Commander into the level five Tricky for a level eight Synchro Summon!" Hikari announced.
Psychic Commander flashed orange before changing into three rings made out of green light. The rings encircled the Tricky and transformed the masked jester into five white stars.
"Clustering hopes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon!" Hikari chanted. "Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"
The stars flashed and became a pillar of light that shot up into the sky. The light faded and Stardust Dragon appeared on the field with a roar, scattering particles of green light everywhere with his magnificent wings.
"Stardust Dragon, take out Ganbara Knight!" Hikari commanded. "Shooting Sonic!"
Stardust Dragon opened his jaws and fired a shimmering beam of light at Yuma's knight. Ganbara Knight was instantly shattered to bits upon being hit.
"That ends my turn." Hikari announced.
At this, Yuma smirked. "Thanks for summoning Stardust Dragon, Hikari. You did just what Astral and I wanted."
"What do you mean?" Hikari asked.
Yuma did a backflip and drew his next card. "I summon Gagaga Magician in Attack Mode!"
Appearing on Yuma's side of the field was a silver-haired wizard clad in red and black. He wore a conical hat that curved forward and a black stocking covered the lower half of his face. On his left foot he wore a red knee-high boot, and on his right he had on a simple brown shoe with a chain coiled around the ankle that went up all the way around his waist up to the back of his head. Attached to the chain was a sort of belt buckle was a kind of gold ornament or charm. His shoulders were covered by pieces of red armor, and around his neck was a tattered red scarf.
"I activate Gagaga Magcian's effect and change his level from four to eight!" Yuma announced. "Next I play the Spell card, Gagaga x Gagaga! When activated, I can summon Gagaga x Gagaga as a monster with the same level as Gagaga Magician's!"
The large Spell card that Yuma played turned into a ball of white light that struck the ground next to Gagaga Magician. Appearing next to the masked wizard was a clone of him with negative coloring.
"Yuma, let's show Hikari what we're truly capable of!" Astral told him.
"You got it! Using both my Gagaga Magicians, I build the overlay network and summon a Rank 8 monster!" Yuma announced. "Come forth! Number 23: Lancelot, Dark Knight of the Underworld!"
A vortex in the form of a purple galaxy appeared in the center of the battlefield and pulled in Yuma's two monsters as balls of blue energy. Rising out of the vortex a few seconds later was a large shield made of an odd white metal. Emblazoned on the front of the shield was the image of a skull with four insect-like legs growing out each side of it like the legs of a spider, and fitted into the skull's eyes were two lavender-colored gems. Hanging down from the left and right corners of the shield were two purple sashes. Orbiting around the shield were two balls of purple light.
The shield began to glow with a blue light and change shape. In moments it had turned into a slender knight clad completely in bone-white armor. Its torso and waist were connected by what looked to be a spinal cord. Around the knight's neck was a long purple scarf that hung down almost to its ankles. Its face had four small round green eyes like the eyes of an insect, and glowing on its torso was the number 23 in blue alien writing. In his right hand, the knight held a simple rapier.
"Hikari. This is the knight that shall slay your dragon!" Astral declared.
"I've never seen Yuma and Astral use that one before." Cathy remarked up in the skybox.
"Astral must not have gotten it at the end of the Number War." Shark assumed. "I've got no clue who the hell had it originally though."
"I think I might know." Vector revealed. "Back when I was causing mischief on Earth after my cover as Rei was blown, this guy gave me a bunch of Numbers that he collected."
"Wait, a guy just gave you a bunch of Numbers?" Rio asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah. I forget what his name was." Vector confirmed. "It started with a K, I think. In any case, I think Number 23 was one of the Numbers he handed over. When I asked how he got them and why he handed them over to me, he just said that he was rooting for my cause and just left."
"That sounds super shady." Cathy told him.
"Yeah, like one of those guys who sell watches on street corners." Anna agreed.
"Maybe, but then I'm pretty shady myself." Vector pointed out with a shrug. "Besides, what does it matter now? Number War's over."
"However Astral ended up with it, that Number looks kinda creepy." Kotori admitted. "But I don't know how Yuma and Astral expect to use it to beat Stardust Dragon. Lancelot only has 2000 ATK."
"I know there a hundred of these Astral World Numbers, but I never expected any of them to look like that one." Hikari remarked down on the stage. "Mind telling me who had that one before you Astral?"
"The memories connected to Lancelot's previous owner are strange and hard for me to read." Astral revealed as he put his hand to his forehead. "But I can say that he seemed to have a very strong will, as well as a cunning mind. Somehow, this Number did not consume him."
"It doesn't matter where Lancelot came from." Yuma interrupted. "What matters now is his effect! As long as Lancelot has at least one overlay unit, he can attack the opponent directly!"
"Say what?" Hikari exclaimed.
"Lancelot, attack Hikari directly!" Yuma commanded. "Phantom Rapier!"
Lancelot raised his sword in salute to Hikari and then suddenly seemed to vanish. A split second later, the undead knight reappeared right in front of the stardust heiress and raised his sword to strike her. Hikari somehow managed to block the thrust of Lancelot's blade with her duel disc, but her life points still dropped to 2000.
"And now I activate Lancelot's other effect!" Yuma announced. "When Lancelot inflicts battle damage, he can destroy one monster my opponent controls!"
"That's a big mistake!" Hikari told him. "I activate Stardust Dragon's effect! When a destruction effect is activated, I can sacrifice Stardust to negate that effect and destroy that card!"
"We knew you would do that, Hikari." Astral told her with a smirk.
"I activate Lancelot's other effect!" Yuma announced. "By detaching one his overlay units, Lancelot can negate the activation of an opponent's card effect!"
One of the purple balls of light orbiting Lancelot entered his rapier, causing it to flash with a purple light. Soon after, the undead knight's eyes flashed green and Stardust Dragon seemed to freeze. The silvery dragon's body started to give off a purple mist-like aura. Lancelot then dashed in and swiftly struck Stardust several times with the point of his rapier, causing glowing red marks to appear all over the dragon's body. When the knight's attack finally ended, Stardust Dragon's body shattered into particles of blue light that scattered away with the breeze. With his job done, Lancelot saluted Hikari with his sword and calmly walked back over to Yuma's side of the field. Both Hikari and Cleo were left stunned by what had just happened, as was much of the audience.
"I don't believe it." Cleo spoke. "So before, Yuma was baiting Hikari with Ganbara Knight, daring her to bring out Stardust Dragon so he could destroy it with that knight."
"And you thought he wasn't taking the duel seriously." Alit reminded her.
"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn!" Yuma announced. "It's your move, Hikari."
Hikari got over her initial shock and smirked. "Okay. Looks like it's on now." She then drew her next card. "I activate the Spell card, Stardust Shimmer! I banish The Tricky and Psychic Commander to summon Stardust Dragon back from the Graveyard!"
Particles of glowing stardust gathered together on Hikari's side of the field and took the form of Stardust Dragon. The silvery dragon roared and glared across the field at Lancelot, as if he was angry that the knight was able to best him. Lancelot seemed to flinch at Stardust Dragon glaring at him and raised his sword in preparation for the dragon's attack.
"I equip Stardust Dragon with the Spell card, Blazer Aura!" Hikari announced. The dragon began to give off a dazzling silver aura. "Once per turn, I can reduce the level of the equipped monster by an amount from one to five, and for each level the equipped monster uses it gains 300 ATK. I reduce Stardust Dragon's level by three to raise his ATK to 3400!"
"Not bad. But you're forgetting that Numbers can only be destroyed by other Numbers." Yuma pointed out.
"Did you really think I'd go into a duel with a Number user without preparing for that?" Hikari asked. "Blazer Aura's other effect is that it negates any effects of the monster Stardust fights during that battle, meaning that Lancelot is going to lose his invincibility to non-Numbers during this next attack."
"It appears that Hikari is truly starting to take this duel seriously." Astral observed.
"Stardust Dragon, take down Lancelot!" Hikari commanded. "Blazing Sonic!"
"I activate my Trap, Half-Unbreak!" Yuma quickly announced. "This card prevents Lancelot from being destroyed by this battle and cuts the damage Astral and I would normally take in half!"
Stardust Dragon fired a beam of silver light from his jaws at Lancelot. With his sword raised, Lancelot endured the attack, but Yuma's life points still took a slight drop to 3300.
"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn." Hikari announced.
Yuma took a big gulp and drew his next card. "Lancelot, attack Hikari directly! Phantom Rapier!"
"I activate my Trap, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" Hikari announced. "Your knight's attack is canceled!"
Before Lancelot could flash across to Hikari, a scarecrow made of junk appeared in front of her. Upon seeing the scarecrow, Lancelot lowered his sword.
"After being activated, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow sets itself back on the field." Hikari announced. With that, the scarecrow vanished.
"Yuma! Why did you not activate Lancelot's effect to negate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow?" Astral asked. "If you had, we could've ended this duel!"
"Wha? Oh crap!" Yuma exclaimed. "I got so mixed up when Hikari powered up Stardust Dragon like that I thought Lancelot's effect was a destruction effect."
"I see. And in that instant, Hikari would've used Stardust Dragon's effect to destroy Lancelot and leave us defenseless." Astral realized.
"I'm sorry, Astral." Yuma told him. "Looks like I really screwed up."
"Do not worry, Yuma. It's understandable that you might be intimidated by Hikari." Astral assured him. "We are up against the daughter of a legendary duelist, after all."
"Hey Yuma. Astral. I think we're pretty much done trying each other out." Hikari told them. "Don't you?"
After a moment, Yuma managed to regain his composure. "Okay Hikari. Looks like the real duel starts now."
Author's Note: I ended up doing a little bit of foreshadowing in this chapter about a future story in this series of ZEXAL fanfics when I revealed how Vector got a hold of Number 23. If any of you reading are familiar with the ZEXAL manga, you know who originally owned Number 23. Anyway, Yuma screwing up towards the end of this chapter is actually the result of me kind of screwing up when I wrote the outline for this duel. I remembered Number 23's effect wrongly when I got to that part of the duel, and by the time I realized my error it was a little late to change thing. So I decided to chalk it up to Yuma making it a mistake because he lost his cool. Sorry I didn't do a better job there.
Please review and let me know what you think.