There will be some dueling in this chapter but nothing super detailed or described. Me and Chibi aren't good at dueling scenes in fanfics, to many cards and effects to remember. So please don't expect good dueling scenes from us.

The room that Shing led Yuma to has the same properties as the headset he is wearing and she explained this to him as she took the headset off his head and set it on the table that is next to the bed.

"Please don't leave this room without putting on your headset alright?"

Yuma nodded mindlessly.

Shing smiled, "Rest mt knight, tomorrow you will be put through training."

Yuma nodded once again before going over to the bed to lay down and rest. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

~.~.~

"Grandma?!" Kari called from upstairs. "Have you seen Yuma?!" she hurried back down to the living room to see if he was just playing a prank.

"No, I haven't seen him today," Haru replied.

"We go out for one minute, and he's suddenly gone! I can't believe it!" Kari crossed her arms in anger, but the anger quickly turned to worry. "It just doesn't make sense. He should have been here by now."

Haru just shook her head. They both told Yuma to be home as soon as school was out to do chores around the house. While she and Kari knew he would get on the chores later than expected, he was a good kid. He would never just skip out on what he promised to do. "We need to find him."

Kari nodded in agreement. "We should. You stay here. I'll check by his friends' houses to see if he went to visit." Without waiting for an answer, Kari rushed to her room. Threw on her biking clothes and helmet then ran back outside. She mounted her motorcycle and revved up the engine before speeding off into the streets.

~.~.~

Yuma has since woken up, and Shing watches him as explores the building and looks at the machinery. She sighed as she rested on her chair with a smile on her face. He was going to be the key to her rule. With him at her side, they would be the most powerful in the city, which would become her new kingdom. She would be happy as long as Yuma was by her side. He was what she was missing this entire time.

She noticed how his hand absently floated to the dull Emperor's Key around his neck. Shing wondered if she could control the two energy beings who live in the key. From her experience in her own home world, she knew that the dark energy being was more of a powerhouse than a duelist. With his strength she would have a bodyguard or a palace guard. The pure one, the one named Astral, is able to fuse with Yuma to form a much more powerful being known as Zexal. No one would dare to defy her with that kind of power. Unfortunately however the key seems to be unresponsive, as if locked.

"Yuma, are you doing alright?" Shing calls to him.

Yuma looks over and slowly releases his grip on the key. "I'm fine my queen, do you require something?"

"Not at the moment my knight."

"I'm feeling well enough to train, if you will allow me."

Shing stands up from her seat and examines her knight physically as well as mentally via the same machine she used to control him. He's recovered surprisingly fast. Of course some of the mental damage was still there, but in due time that would heal as well. "Alright my knight, it's off to the training room then."

She took his hand and led him to the training room, which would help condition his physical and mental strength should he ever encounter a powerful duelist or foe. While Yuma is training Shing steps out of the room and goes to the main room of the building. There she takes out pictures of Yuma's friends from her desk, trying to think of a way that they could be useful to her. They weren't the strongest, that much was for sure. So she couldn't exactly use them as soldiers. Well, what else does a queen need? The answer to that is simple. They could all become servants. A queen needs servants as well as knights.

Shing puts the pictures away and goes back to the training room to watch her knight train.

~.~.~

Yuma wasn't at his friends' house, but his friends helped Kari look for him. They all split up and searched for the entire rest of the day. He wasn't in the park, at the school, in the alleyways, or anywhere else in Heartland City. Discouraged, they all met up at the park at duck.

"Any sight of him?" Kari asks, hoping that they did see him, even though she knew they didn't find him.

"No," Tori sighed. "He wasn't anywhere I checked."

"In conclusion," Caswell spoke up, "I think he must have been kidnapped."

Kari stood up from the bench and ran her fingers through her hair. "If he was kidnapped, he could be anywhere right now. Where was the place you guys saw him?"

"In this park." Bronk replied. "We just finished dueling, and then we walked home together, he was the first one up so he just left."

"He was definitely home then," Kari sighed. "He left his duel gazer on the table. I know he wouldn't leave home without it."

"Then someone must know where he lives," Cathay gasps. Like a stalker."

"A stalker…" Tori repeated. "But who would stalk him?"

"Some sicko that's who," Kari grumbled. "Let's go home, we'll keep searching tomorrow."

Yuma's friends walked home while the red-haired journalist mounted her motorcycle and rode home.

~.The Next Day.~

Yuma's group of friends went out to search again without Kari because she and Haru had to go out on an errand again. So it was just them. Once again they searched around the park.

"Hey guys!" called a familiar voice from behind them. "What are you looking for?"

Cathay turned around and let out a gasp. "Yuma?!"

The others turned and saw their previously missing friend running up to them with his usual huge smile. The only difference that they could see is a headset over his ears. It didn't seem to be connected to anything, but maybe it was wireless.

"Where have you been?" Tori asks incredulously. "Kari said you were missing yesterday."

"Oh that." Yuma laughed. "I went to a friend's house. She invited me over last minute and gave me this really cool headset." he brightened up suddenly. "Hey maybe I can get her to get you guys one too. It's super cool."

"Well let's get you back home first." Flip says. "Your sister was pretty mad last night when you disappeared."

The red-eyed boy shakes his head. "I'd rather not face her right now. How about we have a duel? You know, like a rematch from yesterday."

The others look at him skeptically, but Yuma insists. They have the duel underway soon. For some reason Yuma had no need for a duel gazer.

From behind a set of bushes, Shing watches the duel with great interest. Her knight was pretending to lose right now to keep up the image that he was still himself, but soon turned the duel around quicker than his friends could keep up. When he finally ended his turn, his friends were all gasping at the highly intelligent moves he was pulling off.

"That was incredibly impressive," Bronk commented. "Is Astral helping you out here?"

Yuma shrugged nonchalantly. "Astral's given me some tips since yesterday."

"So much that you're suddenly improved?"

"Come on Bronk, it's your turn isn't it? Let's see what you've got!"

Bronk narrowed his eyes and played his turn. He played a few spells, summoned a monster, and set a trp. His turn ended.

On Yuma's next turn, he finished the entire duel. Upon winning, his expression suddenly turned blank. "Now?"

"Now," a mysterious voice called from behind the bushes. Shing pops out of the bushes and walks over to Yuma.

Yuma looked at his friend and held out his hand. A sort of essence escaped from Bronk and gathered into the possessed boy's outstretched hand. Meanwhile, Bronk grew weaker until he could no longer move.

"Yuma what are you doing?!" Tori cries out, unable to do anything to stop her friend.

"I'm keeping you from preventing my queen from ruling. And you will soon join her," Yuma replied in a monotone. Then, his mouth curled into an empty smile. "It's not that bad, I promise."

"Yuma you can't do this!" Tori exclaimed. "Snap out of it!"

"He's my knight now," Shing says with a smile. "He'll do what I want." She looks at Yuma. "The others are obviously not going to cooperate. You know what to do."

"Yes, my queen." The boy reached into pocket and drew out a pocket knife. Quickly as lightning, he snatched Tori and slashed the main tendons so that she couldn't move. When he looked up again, the others were gone.

"Don't worry about them for today," Shing says. "Let's just get these two back to our place to get ready for recruitment.

Yuma nodded and helped his queen take Bronk and Tori back to her building. Before locking them both up, Shing operated on Tori to fix the tendons so that she wasn't completely useless. Then, into the prisons they both went to wait for their friends.

Well, that's chapter 2. I hope you're enjoying this story so far. see you all in chapter 3