I'm back with more keyswap! Enjoy!
Responses to comments:
thor94: No, Yuma will still get his own character development and improve over time!
Destined Kartumata: I will say that I'm not roleswapping most characters, so Michael is going to go through it. :3
Michael yawns as he heads back down the hall to his dorm, the hand that comes up to cover his mouth hidden in the oversized sweater he wore to bed that night. The nights are still cold, and Michael suspects that the orphanage has been keeping the heat a bit low to save money. He glances up at Astral, floating along nearby, painfully aware that he's now effectively the 'weird kid' of the orphanage for talking to an alien no one else can see, but unwilling to ignore or blame him for it.
"I hope me and Thomas can get out of here soon..." Michael mutters, one hand coming up to cling onto the Key for comfort. Every day is either a drag or a fresh torment, spent at the orphanage or at the kind of crappy middle school he attends, and he's not sure if he can keep going like this.
"The fastest way to get out would be to simply leave." Astral suggests, earning a frantic head shake from Michael.
"That's not how it works. They'll probably look for me if I ran away, and besides, I'd be alone- well, not completely alone, you'd be there, but no one else can see you. Even if it sucks, I'm not alone here." Michael falls silent, still holding onto the Key, then he hears it.
Footsteps.
Michael immediately releases the Key from his grip, hands falling to his sides as he waits to see who's coming. While it's not against the rules to go to the toilet in the night, Michael knows that one of the more particular orphanage staff is on duty tonight, and he doesn't want an earful for 'fidgeting'.
A heartbeat, two, then a figure appears at the end of the hall, carrying an armload of D-Pads, and Michael can't help but relax.
"What are you doing up, Anna?" Michael waves at Anna, who grins as she approaches.
"What do you think I'm up for, Michael, I'm the only reason we have any working D-Pads around here." Anna smirks, adjusting her armload, then nods in the direction she's traveling. "Come on, I almost got caught by Yamasaki and I don't think you want to hang around if she comes this way either."
Michael tenses at the mention of Yamasaki, then follows after Anna without question. No, he doesn't want to deal with her tonight. The two (plus Astral) travel through the dim hall in silence, the quiet only broken by their footsteps and Anna occasionally adjusting her load, before reaching a staircase up.
"Thanks for cheering me on when I dueled Mamoru. How're things going with Umimi?" Michael asks as he creeps up the stairs, flinching as the step under his feet softly creaks. Anna doesn't flinch though, and only briefly shushes him before continuing up. Taking the hint, Michael goes quiet, focusing on just moving in silence as he trails after Anna, up and up, until they finally come to a halt at a door. Anna barely pauses before whipping around, backing into the crash bar and pushing the door open in one swift movement.
"There could have been a door alarm-" Michael's comment is cut off by a sharp laugh from Anna as she steps out onto the rooftop, holding the door briefly for him to pass through.
"There isn't. If there was, it doesn't work anymore." Her response, tossed out as she sets her load of D-Pads on the roof, is accompanied by an almost offhanded "You said your birthday was coming soon, right?"
"Yeah, on March 13th. Why?"
"Don't worry about it." Michael frowns at the obvious attempt to confirm his birthday, unsure if Anna, who's only been here for a few months, is aware of how hard it is to do much for a birthday here when no one has any money for anything. His gaze slides up to the sky, where despite the massive amounts of light pollution being thrown by the surrounding city, he can pick out a few particularly bright stars in the night sky, and without intending it, his mind provides him with a memory.
Michael is nine years old, and is taking his first ride on the family submarine. At first, it had been exciting to join his father and brothers aboard the Arc-en-Ciel, but several days in it's just proven to be kind of boring.
(An opinion shared with Thomas, who just spends his time watching outside for anything remotely interesting. One time they saw an odd fish, but it fled before they could get a closer look.)
Then, one night, Michael is woken from his sleep by Christopher, who gently guides him up and out the main hatch, into the chill night air somewhere in the Atlantic. Michael blinks around, still sleepy-
-then looks up and gapes at the sky full of more stars than he's seen in his life.
"I didn't know there were this many stars, Chris!" Chris smiles at Michael's exclamation, gently keeping hold of him so he doesn't slip off the top of the Arc-en-Ciel, before looking up as well.
"There's too much light in cities like London and Heartland to see the stars like this. The only way to get a view like this now is to go to a dedicated observatory, or, if you have access to a ship or sub, the middle of the ocean."
Michael doesn't answer, too enraptured by the sight of the night sky before him, and the two stare at the stars until the cold chases them back inside the sub.
"Hey! Hey, Michael!"
Michael snaps back to reality at the sound of Anna's voice, back to the orphanage roof and the light choked skies of Heartland City. Sighing in resignation, he turns to face Anna again, to see that she's got her mini pocket tool set out and already has a D-Pad opened up on the rooftop, the back cover set to the side while she pokes at the internals.
"Sorry, Anna. I was thinking about Chris. We were on a trip in our submarine, and-"
"I always forget how rich your family is..." Anna mutters, before speaking up louder. "You were asking about Umimi?"
"Oh! Yes, I was wondering if she was any closer to getting you out of here." Michael sits down nearby as he speaks, watching as Anna works. Astral watches too, his interest obviously drawn by the D-Pad internals.
"She's pushed back her wedding to focus on getting me out. Gonna be in the summer now, if all goes well." Anna states, grabbing the back cover to the D-Pad and screwing it back on before turning back to face Michael. "Can you lend me one of your monsters for a second? Mine are huge, they'll be seen a mile away by anyone wearing a Gazer."
Without question, Michael pulls out his deck and shuffles through it for a random monster, handing the chosen card (Chronomaly Nebra Disk) to Anna. In turn, Anna powers up the D-Pad and places the card on the playing surface, causing...for Michael, who isn't wearing a D-Gazer, nothing immediately obvious. After an awkward moment, during which he can only assume the Pad is working based on both Anna and Astral's reactions, Michael finally breaks the silence.
"...What if your blood family comes back-"
Anna twitches at the question, huffing as she sets both the Nebra Disk card and the Pad aside before turning to face Michael with a glare.
"As far as I'm concerned, everyone who chose to let me be sent here after my parents died doesn't count as family. If those cowards were to turn up tomorrow, they'd have to drag me away kicking and screaming!" Anna's voice is raised, her breath clouding in the frozen night air, and it's all Michael can do to hold his ground.
"Sorry, it's just that-"
"It's just that you're hoping Christopher will turn up for you and Thomas." Anna finishes what Michael was going to say, her yellow eyes boring into Michael's green ones until he looks away, towards the distinct shape of Heartland Tower far in the distance. "Honestly, anyone who would ditch their own siblings here is a coward-"
"Chris was fifteen! What was he supposed to do?!" Michael finally snaps back, instinctively jumping to the defence of his absent brother. "The only reason he didn't end up here with us too was because he was assisting Dr. Tenjo!"
For a moment, both Michael and Anna are silent, glaring at each other, then Astral finally interjects as if the tension wasn't there at all.
""Family" appears to be extremely important to humans. Michael, what is family?"
"Huh?" Michael blinks at Astral, considering the question as he starts toying with the Emperor's Key again, before slowly answering. "It's...you know how me and Thomas hang out all the time? He's my brother, so that makes him part of my family."
"...Are you talking to your invisible alien, Michael?" Anna raises an eyebrow, still tense but following Michael's gaze anyways.
"Yes, he asked what family is." Michael responds, nodding towards where Astral is so that Anna can 'face' him better.
"He is, huh? Well, to me, family is whoever you decide is your family. Since Umimi and Tobio are the only people who've been trying to get me out of here, I've decided they're my family. All the relatives who left me here to rot don't matter!" Anna declares, inserting herself into the conversation without a second thought. Michael slowly nods, his gaze returning to the Heartland City skyline as he thinks about just what family is to him.
"...Anna's not wrong. A lot of the kids here don't have anyone from their birth families, so there's a lot who cling to whatever groups they form. Me and Thomas are lucky that we at least have each other and weren't split up between orphanages." Michael continues to twist the Key in his hands, watching the skyline. "For me, my family is my brothers. Anna's family is Umimi and Tobio. A lot of the others here would probably say their families are the parents that aren't here, or their friends, or say that they don't have one."
Astral is silent, contemplating for a moment, then he glances away thoughtfully.
"Observation #8: Humans cannot agree on what makes up a 'family'." Astral's observation makes Michael frown, but Anna cuts in before he can try to explain further.
"So, what is the deal with Astral? Is he like the Stands in JoJo's?"
"Wha- Anna, he's not-" Michael can barely hear Astral asking what a Stand is over his own choked laughter and attempted explanations, and barely manages to pull himself together enough to give any kind of real answer. "Don't put ideas in his head! I'm pretty sure he thinks ESPer Robin is real! Besides, he mostly just backseat duels-"
"Why wouldn't ESPer Robin be real?" Astral asks, right as Anna yells in shock at the idea of Astral believing in ESPer Robin. Michael has to stop and sort out who to respond to first, quickly settling on answering Astral before Anna.
"Astral, ESPer Robin is tokusatsu! It's not real-"
"Says the Ancient Aliens believer!" Anna interrupts again, smirking as Michael whips around to face her.
"That's not the same! You know my father was investigating other dimensions!"
"It's possible Robin traveled to one of those dimensions..." Astral comments, earning a loud groan from Michael as he buries his face in his hands.
"You're both ganging up on me, I hate you all." Michael mutters into his hands, following up barely a moment later with a quick "I don't hate you literally, Astral."
"Is Astral agreeing with me? I hope he's agreeing with me." Anna is still smirking when Michael finally looks up from his hands, and he shoots her an annoyed look in response before speaking.
"Now he thinks ESPer Robin visited one of the dimensions my father was investigating." Michael turns to stare at Astral, who just stares right back. A cold breeze blows across the rooftop, making Michael shiver in spite of his sweater, and he collects his copy of Nebra Disk before standing up.
"...I'm going back to bed, Anna. You staying up here?"
"Yup, got a whole pile of Pads to work on." Anna gestures at the pile, picking up her mini tools again to start work on another D-Pad. "See you in the morning."
"See you later." Michael walks off, breathing a sigh of relief as he steps back inside the relatively warm building and starts down the stairs to the main floor. For a while, both he and Astral are quiet as they make their way back to the dorm room, but then-
"Michael, you didn't explain what Stands are."
Michael's only response, as he realizes he's going to have to explain this, is a long, low groan.
The next day, Michael is watching TV with a group of other kids when Thomas comes up and taps him on the shoulder to get his attention.
"Hey, Michael. We're going to the dueling center."
Michael rolls his eyes at the demand, but gets himself up off the floor and follows his brother back to the dorm so that they can grab their coats from under their beds. Astral floats along as usual, coming up alongside Michael to talk to him.
"Michael, what is the dueling center?"
"It's a place people go to duel each other. They rent out D-Pads and Gazers too, so it's better than trying to duel here-"
"We should go. There might be Numbers there." Astral interrupts before Michael can finish explaining, perking up slightly at the thought of the Numbers.
"I'm working on it-"
"Hey, Michael, you talking to Astral again?" Thomas looks over as he fights with the zipper on his coat, eventually giving up and letting it hang open to show his graphic t-shirt underneath (some sort of knock off Pinnochio design, Michael thinks).
"Yeah, he thinks we'll find Numbers there." Michael fishes out his own coat, throwing it on over his own shirt (which probably originated from some tourist trap gift shop or another, based on the 'I saw Stonehenge!' text on the front).
"You know what, I hope he's right. I want to kick some Number ass." Thomas grins a sharp toothed grin, confident in his skill despite his loss to a Number a week ago. "But that's why I'm bringing you along, you're the one who actually has any Numbers."
"Oh, did you figure out a way to fight off a Number?" Michael keeps pace with his brother as they head back out into the hall, making their way to find a staff member to tell them where they're going.
"I think so, but I have to test it. Hang on-" Thomas runs ahead, apparently having spotted a staff member nearby, leaving Michael alone with Astral.
"I wonder what kind of strategy Thomas figured out." Michael ponders the mystery strategy, thinking about what he knows of his brother's deck. "It can't be anything too fancy, we've only got that bin of cards in the supply closet to add to our decks from. He might not need to add anything actually, I know he has cards like-"
"I would take caution." Astral crosses his arms, watching as Thomas explains where he's planning on going. "If he wins, I will die."
"Right..." Michael winces as he recalls the duel against Mamoru, how Astral had started flickering in and out when his LP got too low. "...I'll make sure you don't die."
Just then Thomas runs back, a wide grin crossing his face as he leads the way to the main entrance. "Alright, we got permission. Let's go."
Michael follows, trailing Thomas across the entrance lobby and out the front door, where he's immediately blasted by a sharp chill that forces him to bury his hands in his pockets for warmth. Astral seems unaffected, floating along nearby while Michael and Thomas make their way down the sidewalk.
"Mamoru still leaving you alone?" Thomas looks back at Michael as he once again fights with his jacket zipper, breath clouding in the frozen air as he talks.
"Yes, mostly. He keeps glaring at me, but I can deal with that." Michael shrugs, trying not to put too much thought on Mamoru's attitude towards him after their duel.
"Good. I'd hate to have to curbstomp him again..." Thomas smirks briefly before turning around to focus on his zipper situation, leaving Michael to frown at his back in return.
"How many times have you dueled him since I beat him?"
"Four times. Enough to prove I can still beat him whenever I like." Thomas glances back again, by now just attempting to physically hold his jacket shut against the cold instead of continuing to argue with the faulty zipper. "By the way, have you had any door nightmares after all this alien Number bullshit started?"
"No, they've stopped-" Both Michael and Thomas spot the tiny white flake drifting down at the same time, Michael cutting off what he was saying to watch it fall. Another one comes into view after a moment, then another, until Michael and Thomas are caught in a light snowfall that gently dusts their hair and shoulders with white.
"Huh, did you hear anything about snow today..." Michael goes to ask, trailing off as he spots Astral nearby, watching the snowfall with a look of confusion on his face. Unlike how it sticks to Michael's pink hair, it just passes through Astral's form as if he wasn't there at all, which is only emphasized when he lifts a hand to try to catch a snowflake.
"...Astral, have you never seen snow before?" Michael asks, Thomas blinking in confusion nearby as he pieces together what's happening from Michael's words.
"No. Is this common?" Astral blinks, still watching the snow come down and dust the sidewalk.
"In the winter it's pretty common-"
"It's the same as all the white stuff already on the ground! Let's keep moving before I freeze!" Thomas abruptly cuts in, setting off at a brisk pace that forces Michael to have to jog to keep up.
Michael stomps on the entrance mat at the dueling center to knock loose the clumped snow on his shoes, pulling off his coat as he does so. Thomas, meanwhile, beelines straight for the front counter, trailing melting snow off his own shoes behind him as he does so.
"Are you going to be using the public space again?" Michael hears the single staff member asking as he approaches, the mildly annoyed woman glancing distastefully at the trail of slush behind Thomas as she asks.
"Yup, and I brought my brother this time!" Thomas gestures at Michael, who slightly nods his head in response. In turn, the desk attendant glances at Michael before rummaging under the counter with an offhanded "I figure you both need rental equipment again?"
"You got it!" Thomas agrees, giving Michael a moment to tie his jacket around his waist for safekeeping before the attendant comes back up with a pair of D-Pads and accompanying Gazers. Behind him, the doors slide open to let in a boy wearing a blue hoodie, who looks around nervously before walking up to stand behind Michael and Thomas.
"Alright, let's go!" Thomas takes one of the Pads and Gazers, leaving the other set for Michael before striding off in the direction of the public space. Michael nods, hurriedly grabbing the set off the counter before rushing after his brother, though not before glancing at the blue hoodied newcomer (who is now approaching the counter himself) once more.
The public room is a large gymnasium like space, with four marked out fields for dueling and numerous people milling around watching the duels already in progress. Light floods in from the line of large windows along one side of the room, and a high ceiling provides space for the AR effects to move unimpeded.
"Ugh, guess we're waiting for a field to open up..." Thomas mutters, surveying the four occupied fields with an annoyed look.
"It is the public room, Thomas. You know we're sharing this." Michael adjusts the Gazer over his eye, once again unhappy with its weight on his face, while glancing around himself.
"It's still annoying." Thomas whips around, stalking over to a pinboard on the wall beside the door. "I'm gonna check the upcoming events, you keep watch for an open field, okay?"
"Alright!" Michael turns around to keep watch, idly toying with the Key as he does so just to keep his hands busy. Beside him, Astral is looking around with interest, watching the various duels intently.
"Michael, you should keep an eye out for Numbers." Astral states, getting an annoyed huff from Michael in return as he keeps fiddling with the Key.
"I know, I don't exactly get much chance to look when I'm stuck in an orphanage-
"Who are you talking to?" Michael turns to see the boy from earlier standing behind him, his hood pulled up so that most of his hair is hidden from view, aside from a flash of blue bangs. He doesn't seem hostile, just curious, but Michael can't bring himself to tell the truth anyways.
"Oh, sorry, I was just talking to myself." The boy looks confused, frowning at Michael's explanation, but before he can even try to move on to a different topic someone runs up from behind with a loud shout.
"Hey, Michael! What are you doing here?" Anna's voice sounds from behind Michael as he scrambles to get space, eyes wide from shock at the jumpscare.
"Anna! Don't scare me like that!" Michael shouts, earning a snicker in return from Anna.
"Not my fault you're easy to jump! So, what are you doing here? And who is that?" Anna glances over at the boy, who looks startled at the interaction.
"I'm helping Thomas test an anti-Number strategy today. And this is...uh..." Michael trails off as he realizes he doesn't know who this is. The boy looks uncomfortable too, tensing slightly as Anna suddenly squints at him before yelling in shock.
"Ahh! Are you-!"
"Don't!" The boy cuts in, waving his hands around before Anna can finish her sentence. "I came here to get away from my job!"
"Your job?" Michael blinks, feeling confused, only for Anna to elbow him in the side and stage whisper at him in disbelief.
"Michael, that's Fuya Okudaira! From ESPer Robin!"
"What?!" Michael shouts, causing Fuya to flinch and look around again in panic.
"Will you stop yelling?! If people find out I'm here..." Fuya mutters at Michael and Anna, continuing to glance around worriedly. Michael winces, shooting a glance of his own at Anna before dropping his voice to hopefully not be overheard.
"Sorry. It's just...what are you doing here?" Michael cocks his head, curious about his presence. Nearby, Astral seems genuinely startled, staring at Fuya in wide eyed surprise.
"...I just wanted to get away for a bit-"
"I'm back, Michael!" Fuya's explanation is cut off by Thomas, who strides up without warning. "No open fields yet? Don't tell me we're gonna have to fight Anna for a space."
"Hey, it's first come, first served!" Anna jumps in, glaring up at Thomas as she steps into his space. "Maybe I wanna see if I can beat one of Michael's Numbers!"
"Bullshit, your entire strategy is just 'summon a bigger train'! Unless you've got some monster effect up your sleeve-"
"-Says the guy who runs a stun deck! It's no fun when you can't even play because your opponent decided to bring Gravekeeper's to the duel-"
"Hey, knock it off!" Michael interrupts Thomas and Anna, glancing back at a wide eyed Fuya before forcing himself between the bickering pair. "I'm only using Numbers against Thomas because he's my brother and he asked for help! Besides, you're scaring Fuya!"
For a second or two, Thomas and Anna continue to glare at each other in spite of Michael's protests. It's Anna who backs down first, grumbling something under her breath that Michael doesn't catch.
"...Whatever." Anna pauses, considering something, then with a brief glance at Fuya, turns to face Thomas with a shit-eating grin. "...Hey, wanna guess who we met?"
"I don't know, who did you meet?" Thomas steps forward, glancing at Fuya as he tenses again. "He looks familiar-"
"It's Fuya Okudaira! From ESPer Robin!" Both Thomas and Fuya flinch at Anna's proclamation (Thomas from shock, Fuya from worry over getting caught in public), but Michael is by now tuning out the conversation to focus on the still staring Astral.
"What are you thinking, Astral?" Astral continues to stare at Fuya in spite of Michael's question, a vague hint of confusion in his usual neutral expression.
"ESPer Robin's behaviour is strange. Is there a reason he's hiding who he is?" The question, asked in complete seriousness, forces a sigh out of Michael as he realizes that Astral still doesn't understand.
"We've been through this Astral, ESPer Robin isn't real. Fuya is an actor who plays him on TV." Michael pauses, trying to figure out how to make it clear. "It's...it's like he's pretending to be someone he's not as entertainment for others."
A pause, as Astral considers this.
"...So he's pretending to be the real ESPer Robin." Astral raises a hand to his chin, ignoring Michael's dumbfounded expression. "If the real ESPer Robin is busy traveling, then it makes sense he might have someone else pretending to be him for TV."
"No-"
"Why do you keep talking to yourself?" Michael is dragged out of his conversation with Astral by Fuya, who is staring at him again. Both Thomas and Anna snap to attention as well, coming out of their second argument of the day to briefly glance at each other before simultaneously intervening.
"Don't worry about it Fuya, it's how he thinks! Right?" Anna speaks first, her gaze flicking to Michael as he awkwardly nods in agreement. Meanwhile, Thomas is looking around the room, briefly perking up before grabbing Michael by the arm and pulling him towards the dueling fields.
"A space just opened up, come on!" It's all Michael can do to keep pace, yanking his arm back to walk beside his brother instead of being pulled along.
"Thanks for the save. It's nice when you can actually work with Anna instead of fighting with her." Michael glances back in the direction he came from, catching a glimpse of Anna throwing double thumbs up and Fuya watching in the background before returning his focus to Thomas.
"I don't know how you're friends with her of all people, she just gets on my nerves." Thomas grumbles, earning a glare from Michael in response.
"I don't pick fights with everyone else? She's good at keeping Mamoru off my back."
"True. Anyways, you ready to help me test my strategy?" A sharp grin etches its way onto Thomas' face, his gaze fixed forward as he strides towards one side of the field. Michael takes his own position on the other side, engaging his D-Pad as Astral floats alongside him with a serious look.
"If you do this, and you lose, I will die." Astral's heterochromatic gaze is fixed forward on Thomas, who is busy letting his own D-Pad autoshuffle. "I do not recommend going through with this duel."
"It's fine, Astral. I know Thomas, he'll hold back if I tell him." Michael mutters back before raising his voice to call across the field. "Hey Thomas, you need to be careful! If I lose this, Astral will die!"
"What-" Thomas yelps out, shock crossing his face before he recovers himself. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah, I'm serious! You need to be careful!" Michael glances at Astral again, who stares at him with an unreadable expression that sends a vague sense of unease through him.
"Fine, fine. I'll be careful." Thomas shrugs before focusing in, his expression returning to his usual intensity. "Are you ready?"
Michael glances at his D-Pad, nods in confirmation that it's fully ready, then looks back up at Thomas. "Yes!"
A pause, Michael and Thomas staring across the field at each other, then-
"DUEL!"
"I'll take the first turn!" Michael says, glancing over his hand as he does so. "I Normal Summon Chronomaly Gordian Knot, which lets me Special Summon Chronomaly Colossal Head! Gordian Knot's Level will also change to match Colossal Head!"
The two monsters materialize onto the field as Michael places the cards on his D-Pad, Colossal Head hitting the floor with a solid thud while Gordian Knot floats next to the stone head. Gordian Knot's Levels appear after a moment, the three stars boosting to four before the Levels vanish again.
"Let me guess, Shark Drake? You only have one Rank 4." Thomas calls across the field, one eyebrow raised as he observes Michael's monsters.
"You got it! Figured you'd want a chance to beat it!" Michael's response comes as he picks two more cards from his hand and sets them on his field. "I set two cards and end my turn!"
The two cards materialize onto the field, giving Michael a moment to glance at Astral. He's quiet, not attempting to backseat duel for once, and Michael frowns at the unusual behaviour before returning his focus to the duel.
"My turn! I draw!" Thomas draws from his deck, glancing at the card before adding it to his hand. "I Normal Summon Gravekeeper's Priestess! As long as there is no Field Spell in play, the field is treated as Necrovalley and all Gravekeeper's monsters gain 200 ATK and DEF!"
The monster, a brown skinned woman wearing an eye obscuring headpiece and holding a cobra headed staff, appears onto the field. As she does, she briefly twirls her staff, causing Michael's surroundings to shift to a deep gorge valley, Egyptian pyramids in the far distance.
(Sort of, the field effects are somewhat translucent, signalling that it's not a true Necrovalley.)
"...You didn't actually get Necrovalley in your hand?" Michael can't help but taunt even as Gravekeeper's Priestess' ATK and DEF appear, showing as 1000 ATK and 1500 DEF before ticking up to 1200 and 1700 respectively. "Falling back on Priestess to get your cards to work?"
"Hush, you! It's called having a backup plan!" Thomas calls back in mock indignation as he picks a second card from his hand. "I activate Necrovalley Throne! I can choose to either add one Gravekeeper's monster from my deck to my hand or Normal Summon one Gravekeeper's monster, and I choose..."
Thomas pauses dramatically, still holding the card before picking a second from his hand and setting them on his D-Pad with a smirk.
"...to Normal Summon Gravekeeper's Descendant! Come on out!"
The monster, a man wearing dark clothes and carrying a similar staff as Gravekeeper's Priestess, appears on the field. Much like when Priestess was Summoned, its ATK and DEF appear and tick up to 1700 and 1400 before vanishing from sight again.
"...Of course that's your anti Number plan. All that confidence and it was just Descendant." Michael can't help but be slightly disappointed, shooting an unimpressed look at the (still silent) Astral for a moment. "I was starting to think you somehow got something good out of that box of cards at the orphanage!"
"Hey!" Thomas snaps back, more genuinely insulted this time. "I didn't get a chance to test Descendant the last time I fought a Number!"
"I can tell, you lost last time!" Michael barely holds back a snicker at Thomas' indignation, watching as he huffs and puffs before recovering himself and stretching a hand out to issue an attack.
"Gravekeeper's Descendant attacks Chronomaly Gordian Knot!" Gravekeeper's Descendant surges forward, staff raised to swing at the blocky Monster, only for Michael to gesture forward at his set cards.
"Trap activate! I use Thunder Pot to negate the attack and end the Battle Phase!" The pot appears on the field in time with Michael's command, a dragon made of lightning emerging from the top and loudly roaring, head rearing back before lunging forward to push Gravekeeper's Descendant away.
"Tch..." Thomas mutters under his breath as Descendant lands back on his side of the field and Thunder Pot vanishes, reaching for his hand again. "I set one card and end my turn!"
"Won't be so easy to stop me!" Michael taunts again, reaching for his deck. "My turn! I draw!"
Michael swiftly draws, glancing at the card to see none other than Chronomaly Aztec Mask Golem. He can't help but grin at the sight of his favourite card, slapping it onto his D-Pad without hesitation.
"Fierce warrior of the past, come forth and aid me now! I Normal Summon Chronomaly Aztec Mask Golem!" The red Monster materializes onto the field, standing next to Gordian Knot as Michael reaches for his Extra Deck.
"You ready, Thomas? I don't intend to make this easy!" Michael pulls his chosen Monster from his Extra Deck, watching as Thomas gestures impatiently at him.
"Bring it on, Michael! Bring out the damn shark already so I can beat it!" Thomas' demand gets a nod in response from Michael, and he goes to play the card only to be interrupted by Astral.
"Do not play Shark Drake." The statement, his first comment this whole duel, gives Michael brief pause as he takes a moment to mutter a response.
"I have to. I promised Thomas I'd help him, and I promise he'll hold back. I told him what will happen if he wins." Then, taking a breath as he refocuses on the duel, he slaps the card onto his D-Pad with intent.
"Show yourself! Number 32!" The yellow portal forms, Aztec Mask Golem, Gordian Knot, and Colossal Head all dissolving into energy as they dive into the portal. Michael waits until the portal bursts outward before starting the rest of his chant, timing it up with Shark Drake's emergence and formation.
"The most powerful ruler of the deep sea! Crush everything between your fangs! Shark Drake!" The final words come just as Shark Drake takes its full form, three Overlay Units orbiting it as it roars at Thomas and his Monsters.
"Finally!" Thomas smirks at Shark Drake, all sharp teeth and a harsh glint in his eyes that send a chill through Michael until he reminds himself that Thomas said he'd hold back. Astral too seems ill at ease, watching silently once more.
"Shark Drake attacks Gravekeeper's Descendant! Depth Bite!" Michael gestures forward, Shark Drake lunging towards Thomas' field with gaping fangs.
"I'm not falling for that trick again!" Thomas cuts in, ripping a card from his hand and moving it to his Graveyard. "I discard Charm of Shabti to stop Gravekeeper's Descendant from being destroyed!"
The gold statuette-like monster appears briefly in front of Gravekeeper's Descendant, taking Shark Drake's attack before exploding into light and vanishing again. Thomas grunts as the damage goes through, his LP counter appearing to show his LP sliding down from 4000 to 2900, but otherwise seems unscathed from taking the damage.
"Guess you won't go down that easily. I end my turn!" Michael huffs in annoyance at being unable to get Descendant off the field, watching as Shark Drake settles back onto his side of the field with a low growl.
(It's almost as if Shark Drake itself is annoyed at being unable to destroy Gravekeeper's Descendant. Then again, Michael knows he has a habit of empathizing too easily with his Augmented Reality monsters. It's probably that, he thinks.)
"My turn! I draw!" Thomas draws, then smirks as he glances at his drawn card. "I play Necrovalley to the field! The Graveyard is now completely cut off!"
The AR effects surrounding Michael and Thomas suddenly strengthen as the real Necrovalley hits the field, Gravekeeper's Priestess and Descendant's ATK and DEF both shooting in tandem (1500/2000 for Priestess, 2000/1700 for Descendant). Thomas' smirk grows, sending another jolt of unease through Michael, but Thomas plunges onward before he can say anything.
"Remind me Michael, what exactly does Shark Drake's card text say about what can destroy it?" Michael blinks, glancing at the card on his D-Pad to look for the text.
"'Can only be destroyed in battle by another Number.'" Michael pauses, takes a breath. "Thomas, you know you need to-"
"Perfect." Thomas cuts Michael off, that nasty glint back as he focus in on the duel. "Gravekeeper's Descendant Tributes Gravekeeper's Priestess to destroy Number 32: Shark Drake!" He gestures forward sharply, Gravekeeper's Descendant raising his staff in the air in time with the command. The staff glows, Gravekeeper's Priestess and Shark Drake briefly glowing as well before both burst into light and vanish.
"Not so fast! I activate Stonehenge Methods!" Michael gestures at the Set card, only to blink when nothing happens. He pauses, gestures again despite the gesturing technically not being needed, but the card refuses to activate.
"What-"
"Shark Drake was not a Chronomaly." Astral cuts in, arms crossed as he watches Michael. "Stonehenge Methods only works with Chronomaly monsters."
Michael goes silent, gritting his teeth as he realizes his mistake, then looks up in time to see Thomas openly snickering at his efforts.
"Shut up, it was force of habit!"
"I know, but it was funny!" Thomas laughs a bit more before pulling himself together with a renewed smirk. "Now! Ancient tomb guardian, take your tribute and step forward to battle! I tribute Gravekeeper's Descendant to summon Gravekeeper's Oracle!"
Gravekeeper's Descendant vanishes in a burst of light, then a moment later what seems to be an older version of Descendant emerges. He holds the same staff as his younger counterpart, has the same blond hair, but carries a more serious demeanour as he stares forward at Michael.
"I choose to activate Oracle's first effect! It gains ATK equal to Descendant's Levels times one hundred, on top of the Necrovalley boost!" Gravekeeper's Oracle's stats appear as Thomas calls out the effect, showing the ATK and DEF shooting up to 2900/2000 before vanishing from sight once more.
"Thomas, this isn't need-"
"And I activate Hidden Temples of Necrovalley! Neither of us can Special Summon any monsters besides Gravekeeper's monsters!" The set card flips up, flashing briefly before a temple emerges from the ground behind Thomas with a rumble.
Michael goes still, realizing Thomas is going off the rails. He glances sideways at Astral, seeing him floating there wide eyed, only for his attention to be pulled back to the duel by Thomas' shout.
"Gravekeeper's Oracle, attack Michael directly!" Michael goes to object, but he barely manages to get a word out before Oracle raises his staff skyward and shoots a beam of light that arcs through the air towards Michael.
"Thomas- agh!" The force of the attack causes Michael to drop to his hands and knees, breath coming in gasps as his LP slides all the way down to 1100. As the shock wears off, giving him the chance to slowly stand up and catch his breath, he glances over to see Astral flickering in and out.
"Astral..." The sight makes Michael freeze, cold horror at the thought that Astral tried to warn him, Astral told him not to do this, it's going to be his fault if Astral dies, then with a sharp breath, he turns to scream across the field at Thomas.
"Thomas! Astral is going to die if you keep this up! You have to stop now!" Thomas flinches at the scream, eyes widening in realization, then softly mutters a curse before speaking up.
"Alright, fine. I proved my theory anyways. I surrender the duel." The airhorns sound to signal Michael's win by default, the AR effects (Gravekeeper's Oracle, the Field effects) dissolving a moment later as Thomas crosses the field to talk to Michael.
"Sorry, I just got carried away. Astral's okay, right?" The concern is clear in his voice, Thomas glancing around for the alien he can't see, and Michael looks over to see that Astral's form has stabilized once more. Michael tries to guess what Astral is thinking, but is unable to interpret his expression.
"He's fine. I...I shouldn't have agreed to this." Michael glances sideways at Astral again, noting that he's watching him. "If he died because of me-"
"I should have stopped after destroying Shark Drake. I didn't need to attack you directly." Thomas cuts Michael off, swiftly ruffling his hair before turning to lead the way back to the sidelines. Michael hesitates, glancing at Astral once more, then trudges after Thomas back towards Anna.
"...Where's Fuya?" Michael catches up just in time to catch Thomas talking to Anna, visibly glancing around for Fuya as he talks.
"He left in the middle of your duel. Something about needing to get back home." Anna shrugs, apparently not too concerned. "Now that you've tested your theory and managed to not murder Michael's invisible friend, you can duel me! I'm more than ready to take you on!"
"...I'm actually going to take Michael back to the orphanage. You can do whatever you want here." Thomas waves Anna off, ignoring her huffs of frustration, then turns to the still downtrodden Michael. "Come on, let's return that equipment we borrowed and go back.
"...Alright, Thomas." All Michael can do as he trails after Thomas is take his D-Gazer off and fiddle with it in his regret, glancing back in a silent goodbye at Anna.
"...I'm sorry, Astral. I just figured it'd be nice if Thomas could help us and had a solid way of fighting Numbers." Michael watches Astral as he apologizes to him, toying with the Key as he follows Thomas through the falling snow back to the orphanage. For a moment Astral is silent, just watching him, then his gaze slides to Thomas' back as he answers.
"Thomas' self control was extremely poor. Why did you trust him to hold back?"
"...He means well. I know he's impulsive, and he likes to annoy me sometimes, but..." Michael watches Thomas as well, watching him hold his coat shut against the cold. "...But he wouldn't seriously hurt anyone."
Astral pauses, considering. Then, a second later: "Observation #9: Trust can override all reason."
"It's true..." Michael mutters in response, before speaking slightly louder. "I won't throw around Numbers like that again. I'll only use them against other Number holders from now on."
Astral nods, silent once more as the group pushes on through the snowy streets.