Sorry it took so long for me to post Chapter 2 guys, it's practically been a year since I posted Chapter 1. I was way too busy with my studies, and stuff happened in my life. From now on, I will try to be more consistent in getting out more chapters. Anyways, time to answer some reviews from my last Chapter.
HunterHQ: Kuriphoton and Kurivolt will appear, and yeah I forgot to list out the OC Cards in the last chapter. I'll list Rio's cards from the last chapter in this chapter's Card Catalog. I'm not sure whether I want to do a 5D's story yet as I am right now content with just doing Zexal, but I might give it a try in the future.
I may as well say it already, I'm going to utilize duelists from the WDC DS Game during different plot situations like Rita Harker, the Gishki User. Some of them will serve as opponents for Kite, Rio, Shark, and Luna during the World Duel Carnival Arc. So basically, the NPCs in the WDC Staff are now just some random tournament participants in this AU. Even the Heartland Academy students from the game will appear too, so expect to see them using the likes of Evolzars, Inzektors, Naturia, and the list goes on. There won't be any Pendulums or Links, so I'm sorry if Kite's Solflare Dragon won't be making an appearance.
You will definitely be seeing Fusions and Synchros, and a couple of Rituals as well. Also, about Mecha Phantom Beasts, the Duelist who used them in D Team, Alpha will appear in this story. Lightwave tuning is going to be used on some occasions and I also made a couple of personal tuner monsters for the cast. Light End Dragon is going to be Kaito's Synchro Monster, I hope you can guess who will have Dark End Dragon then.
Yup, Kyoji, Luna, and E'Rah along with the D Team duelists are going to appear as well. Nistro will have his Number 86: Heroic Champion - Rhongomyniad and Hart will also have Titanic Moth.
Zuikakufan: I honestly was contemplating whether Yuma should only be restricted to one duel spirit or not. I feel like either Onomatopoeia or Gagaga Magician could be his main duel spirit with some of the others having their moments too. Yuma may as well be able to interact with all of his cards.
Loriana: Thank you! Even I'm interested to see how things play out from here in this Fanfic.
LogicalTips: Oh yeah, I remember you too! Yeah, that exact post got me thinking, whether I should write my own Fanfic, and so here I am, writing a Fanfic for my favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! Series. It's nice to have your support and yes I'll try my best to keep the effects of my original cards balanced.
Hell Kaiser Younes: Perhaps they're gonna have a 1v1 Duel themselves XD. We have to just wait and see!
Astlexis: Thanks man, and yeah that's probably why I think the Yuma and Rio pairing work well together. I honestly feel like Rio fits in better aesthetically with the main squad of Yuma, Astral, Shark, and Kite. Rio and Cathy will definitely duel, seeing as the former's ailurophobia plot has to go somewhere right? Zexal like many other spin-offs had a lack of girl vs girl duels, so I feel like changing that a bit. It's a shame that Rio's Deck is so scarce compared to the rest, and the only thing she has received in recent years, well actually this year, is the Zereort Migrator card.
Anyways, without further ado, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 2: Intertwined Destinies! Yuma vs Shark!
(In an unidentified location)
Alone in an unidentified spot was a certain young lad with crab hair. Sincerely, he had no idea where he was going, so he just kept exploring out of curiosity. The field looked it was devoid of life, almost void-like. He felt as though he shouldn't even be breathing, yet somehow he was still able to. Then, on the other side of the elevated elevated he was now walking on, he saw the outline of a small girl with pink eyes and blue hair. Yuma instantly started rushing to the other side after realising she was his childhood friend: he showed no concern at all that there was a very good risk he would tumble off the perilous path.
"Rio! Is that really you!?" The girl disintegrated away into blue particles when Yuma was just a few feet way from her. "RIO! Please don't leave me again!" Yuma shouted with teary eyes. He couldn't follow after the particles, as he then had to shield his eyes from the overwhelming white light that illuminated the entire area. After the light faded, Yuma opened his eyes again, and found a mirror that stood where Rio had been moments earlier. Yuma gazed into the mirror, and as he caught a glimpse of his reflection, he could see that he had grown taller, and he was no longer that seven-year-old kid. His new attire consisted of a red vest with a white hood and a blue sleeveless shirt with a green "D" symbol, as well as white pants with three orange moon crescents tied at the bottom with yellow outlines. He also wore a white belt with brown stripes, black shoes with blue streaks and white straps, a brown fingerless glove on his left hand, a thick dark blue bracelet with light blue gems and red outlines on his right wrist as well as his Golden Key that was hung by a black string.
"Woah!" Yuma was in awe as his new appearance reminded Yuma so much of a teenager, but he had no time to examine himself more since another bright light illuminated the area again. This time, a gigantic door with a menacing face that was wrapped in chains materialised in front of him, and barely a few seconds went by before Yuma heard someone speaking.
"He who opens this door shall obtain a new power. However, as the price for this power is..." Yuma sensed that what The Door was about to say next may have a significant impact on his future, so he retreated two steps away from the door out of instinct. The Door continued to speak. "You shall lose that which is most important to you." The Door's eyes began to glow reddish-orange, filling the surrounding area with light.
"That which is... most important to me?" Yuma pondered about what could possibly be the most important thing to him. His best friend and parents crossed his mind, and his startled look became a frown. "I have already lost so many things important to me, I don't know if I want to lose anything else." Yuma thought to himself as he tried to decide whether to open The Door or not. However, time was running short when Yuma inadvertently took another step backwards, causing the ground below him to collapse, and sending him plummeting into the pitch-black darkness.
(Reality, Tsukumo Residence)
In reality, Yuma fell out of the hammock in the attic, giving him a rather rude awakening.
"Oww!" Yuma rubbed his back in pain. He was sweating heavily due to the vivid dream he just had, which seemed unreal to him. He then looked at his wall-mounted clock, which read eight o'clock. He snatched his cards off the table as soon as he realised he was running late for school. After he climbed down a rope from the attic into his bedroom, he hastily put on his school uniform, which included a white shirt with red trim around the neck and sleeves, blue trousers, brown shoes and a red tie. He made a hasty retreat as soon as he had finished changing. Yuma headed downstairs to find Kari occupied with several flat-screen monitors. "Why didn't you wake me up Big Sis? Now I'm running late for school!" Yuma expressed his dissatisfaction to his elder sister.
"As you can see, I'm busy with news delivery this morning, and besides you're not a little kid anymore. You should be able to get out of bed on your own now." Kari countered as she took a sip out of her coffee. Ignoring her, Yuma hurried to the door to quickly put on his shoes. He ubfirned his grandmother that he would be heading to school now. When he failed to respond to her inquiry about him having breakfast, she became unhappy and used her broom to catch the collar of his shirt. She then made Yuma eat his breakfast, which further delayed his arrival at school.
Later, Yuma was running throughout the neighbourhood, and on a couple of those occasions, he would be jumping over robots that gather litter, called Litterbots.
"Yuma!" was yelled by a gruff voice as a big guy launched himself ahead of him on his skateboard. He was wearing a cap with his hair poking out the sides and front, and he was dressed in the same school uniform as Yuma. This was Bronk Stone, Yuma's classmate. "It's time for our daily duel Yuma!" With a smile on his face, Bronk said, hoping for a real struggle this time.
"Don't think you can win against me that way, I'm at the top of my game this morning!" Yuma took him up on his challenge, tossing the rice cake he held into his mouth and gorging it. Then he began to accelerate, but Bronk had everything covered as he sabotaged Yuma's chances of winning by kicking a Litterbot in his path. Yuma and the Litterbug collided, sending Yuma flying and scattering his cards. Bronk laughed at Yuma's current predicament, before riding away off to school. The Litterbots then grabbed Yuma's cards and started calling them trash, humiliating him in the process. Yuma suddenly lost his temper and began ranting at them, drawing the attention of everyone nearby as well as a particular young girl who was watching him nervously from a cable car above. She had dark green hair with lighter green bangs, which was tied into a side bun and orange eyes. She wore a typical schoolgirl outfit with a pink collar and skirt. Tori Meadows, a childhood friend of Yuma's, was also one of his classmates.
Later, in the school gym, Yuma was surrounded by a group of students who were getting ready to witness him clear twenty trapezoid blocks that Bronk had stacked. Yuma wouldn't listen to those who didn't think he could succeed and started running. "I'M GONNA HI-FIVE THE SKY!" Yuma then launched himself into the air, and it looked like he was actually going to succeed, only for him to collide with the blocks just before he could reach the top block, making everyone laugh at him for fumbling yet again. When Tori checked on Yuma, he was still facing many difficult obstacles that Bronk was putting in his path. He even got Yuma to try swimming the entire length of the pool in a single breath right after this one.
Yuma sensed that fatigue had finally caught up to him in class. The person seated next to him, Tori, became irritated. "You are such a moron! Why do you still take on so many pointless challenges?"
Yuma merely grinned. "It's simply something I must do. My childhood pal and my parents both pushed me to constantly push myself. I will be able to feel the flow more and more if I push myself. As long as I never give up, all that counts is that I keep on trying to overcome these challenges so I can feel better about myself." Yuma explained as held up his Golden Key,
"Isn't that a memento of your parents from one of their travels?" Tori asked about Yuma's key. She had seen him wear it ever since they were kids, but she had never bothered to inquire about it until now.
"Yup! This key's gonna help me open up a world of opportunities!" Yuma confirmed, his grip tightening on the key as he gave Tori a determined stare.
"Wow! Can something that small do that?" Tori pondered as Yuma gave her permission to examine it more closely.
"Not really! However, as long as I have this key with me, I feel like I can accomplish anything. I promised her that I will become a Duel Champion, and that's what I'm gonna do. I'M FEELING THE FLOW!" Yuma surprised his classmates and enraged his teacher with his careless outburst.
During their break, Yuma and Tori go to a square where students are dueling. In an instant, they donned their Duel Gazers and entered an augmented reality. Monsters were attacking left and right, Spells and Traps were being activated. As Yuma declared once again that he was going to become a Duel Champion, Tori wanted to ask him a question that had been on her mind for the past hour. "Can I ask you something Yuma?"
"Yeah sure, what is it?" Yuma replied. Seeing as she managed to gain his attention, she continued.
"I was wondering, who is this "her" person you were talking about earlier in class." Though not out of jealousy, Tori felt compelled to find out who he was talking about in case she had to face off against another girl for Yuma's attention. Furthermore, even if she did, Tori would never give Yuma up without a fight.
"Oh, do you mean Rio? She was my favorite dueling partner and my childhood best friend before you and your family moved into the neighbourhood." Tori was shocked to learn that Yuma had another childhood buddy except her; she had no idea. Yuma looked up at the sky, remembering the blue-haired girl from his early days and grinning at it. "Our mothers were once classmates when they were younger and good friends as well. Rio and I grew close through that connection as well. Every chance we got, we would get together in Heartland Central Park and duel whenever we could."
"What happened to her? How come I've never met her before?" Since Rio was still his friend, Tori reasoned that something had to have happened between them because she should have met her by now.
"The last time I ever saw her was when we ate ice cream after we had that last duel. Then a few days later, we found out that her parents died in a car crash, but Rio was never heard from again. I know she's out there somewhere, she just has to." Yuma reassured himself. He had made it his mission to find his childhood friend and duel her once again. He vowed that he was really going to let her have it once he found her again.
"She must be special to you. I would love to meet this Rio girl as well." Tori now had the faintest clue of how much Rio meant to Yuma, but then she noticed something else that drew her attention. "Look over there! Bronk's dueling someone."
"Oh really, who's he dueling?" Yuma and Tori hurried towards Bronk so that they could have a good look at Bronk's opponent. Their eyes then widened upon seeing who his opponent was. "No way! Isn't that Shark?"
"Oh no, this can't be good. How come Bronk is dueling the school bully?" Tori became concerned as a menacing grin appeared on the said bully's face. The bully had pale complexion, dark blue eyes, and dark purple hair that resembled tentacles hanging down. These tentacles sorta resembled pigtails in her opinion, but were curled up on the end. In addition, he had a blue-gray "crown" in front of his forehead and two grey rings adorned the fingers on his right hand. He was dressed in the same school uniform as Yuma, but with all the red being replaced with green instead, which meant he was a 2nd Year Student at Heartland Academy. His left eye was currently covered by a green and grey Duel Gazer with a red lens and a yellow spike.
"It's time for an Xyz Summon! I overlay two monsters that have the same level, I can use those monsters as material to Xyz Summon a Monster. I overlay the Level 3 Skull Kraken and the Level 3 Big Jaws!" Shark's monsters turned into blue orbs that entered a spiraling red portal on the ground. "I Xyz Summon! Come forth Submersible Carrier Aero Shark!" Shark summoned a large twin shark carrier that bursted out of the portal, looking ready to attack anytime now.
Submersible Carrier Aero Shark: ATK: 1900/ Rank: 3/ OVU: 2
"An Xyz Summon?" Tori had neither seen an Xyz Monster or ever heard of the Summoning Method before.
"Yup! The most special thing about Xyz Summoning monsters is that the monsters aren't sent to the Graveyard, but rather they become Overlay Units to support the Xyz Monster." Yuma informed his friend, after all, this wasn't the first time he had ever seen an Xyz Monster. He had dueled and been defeated by countless Xyz Monsters from various duelists, but his favorite one will always be Ice Beast Zerofyne, which belonged to his childhood pal. "I may not have an Xyz Monster myself, but they're just as cool as Fusion and Synchro monsters, aren't they?"
"Let's finish this! Attack him directly Aero Shark!" Shark commanded as he continued to grin evilly. His monster rammed into Bronk, sending him flying onto the ground.
Bronk Life Points: 800 - 1900 = 0
Winner: Shark (4000 LP)
Sensing that the duel was over, the augmented reality dissolved itself as Shark approached Bronk. "I hope you're keeping your end of the bargain, I won't allow you to back out of our deal now!" Shark then got a hold of Bronk's Duel Disk and took out his cards. Yuma took offence at this and hurried up to them. Shark observed the newbie. "Now who might you be?"
"The name is Yuma Tsukumo pal! What do you think you're doing with my friend's cards!?" Yuma yelled, he wasn't about to let someone take Bronk's Deck. He knew how much Bronk loved those cards, so even if Shark was the bully of this school, he had no right to take something from anyone. From out of nowhere, two Second-Year students appeared behind Shark, ready to strike down Yuma for talking rudely to their Leader.
"Pipe down pipsqueak! Your friend and I had an agreement, whoever won this duel gets to take the loser's Deck home." Shark revealed.
"You did what! Why would you do that Bronk?" Yuma couldn't believe it. Taken aback by what he had just heard, Yuma stared at his friend as he waited for an answer. Why would Bronk ever risk his cards like that?
"These guys said that I'm a poser Duelist with no talent and that I'd never get anywhere." Yuma at last comprehended the reason for his friend's actions. All Bronk was doing was attempting to defend himself. It was something that he could respect, but what he couldn't respect was letting a bully have his way against others. Even though his buddies would probably attempt to talk him out of it, he had already made up his mind about what he was going to do next since he had to do it for a friend.
"You heard him. I was just collecting my reward. Now move aside!" Shark took a step forward before Yuma shoved him back, causing the former to stagger backwards. "What th-"
"That settles it! Shark, I'm gonna take you down! You're going to learn the hard way that taking other people's belongings is never okay! I'm going to win back Bronk's Deck by challenging you to a Duel!" Yuma's friends stared at him in amazement as he spoke with determination. The taller of Shark's lackeys quickly came to their leader's defense.
"Are you some kind of fool!? Someone like you could never defeat Shark in a million years! He has already competed in numerous tournaments and even made it to several finals!"
"I know that already! But still, I'm also aiming to become a Duel Champion, and if it means I have to beat Shark to get there one day, then so be it!" Yuma always felt frustrated that people tended to brush him off like that. A hand seized the collar of his shirt, and it was Shark, giving him a fierce glare.
"You say you want to become a Duel Champion! How dare you speak so lightly about becoming one! Are you what even aware of what it takes to be a Champion!" Shark screamed at the younger student as he let go of his collar, who would have fallen to the ground if Bronk hadn't caught him in time. "Fine then! You're going to pay for such a naive error! Before today, no novice has ever declared that he was going to become a Duel Champion, like you just did! You give all serious duelists like myself a bad name!" Shark then paused for a bit before continuing. "Say if I were to duel you, what would you give me in return? If you're going to duel me, you have to offer something that is the most precious to you."
"What's most... precious to me...?" Yuma once again wondered what that could be, images of Rio and his parents were flashing through his eyes as he looked down at his Golden Key. Shark caught him being fixated on the key and quickly swiped it while his lackeys held Yuma back. "Hey! Give that back! It's mine!" Yuma demanded for Shark to return his key.
"This must be of value to you, right? Let's duel for it. When you lose your most precious something, only then you will realize its true worth!" Shark yelled, startling Yuma, Bronk, and Tori by dumping the Key to the ground, stepping on it, and shattering it. Then, as Shark saw his lackeys allowing Yuma to fall to his knees, he laughed sinisterly. The thirteen-year-old boy picked up the fragments from what was left of his Golden Key, the only idea occupying his mind at the moment. What was that just now? Shark then kicked one of the shattered pieces farther away, which didn't help.
"HOW DARE YOU!" Yuma bellowed, slightly startling Shark's henchmen. Yuma quickly stood up on his feet and tried to lunge himself towards Shark, aiming to land a clean right hook across the face, but he was restrained by Bronk. "Let go of me! Come on Bronk! He needs to be taught a lesson!" Yuma got to his feet fast and attempted to lunge at Shark, hoping for a clean right punch across the face, but Bronk stopped him. "Let go of me! Come on Bronk! He needs to be taught a lesson!"
"Yuma stop it! Don't do something you will regret!" Even though Bronk was struggling to control Yuma, something in Yuma responded to his words.
(Flashback)
"Please don't do something you will regret Yuma!" a girl's voice cried out.
Yuma became calm when he recalled an incident involving him and his childhood pal. Then he turned to face his friends, grinning, and then he looked back at Shark. Like Rio had stood up for him against his bullies all those years before, he had to teach him a lesson no matter what.
Shark scowled at him. "Looks like you still want to go through with this. I'll offer you a chance. Since you were prattling about being the future Duel Champion, I'll challenge you to a Duel! If you somehow manage to defeat me, I'll gladly give this Deck back to you, however, if I win, your Deck is mine!" Shark declared, shocking Yuma and his friends. The crab-haired boy didn't know if he had it in him to put the cards that once belonged to his father on the line for a Duel like this. "This Sunday, at the plaza in front of the station. You better be there or you'll never get your hands on this Deck ever again!" Shark and his cronies disappeared, leaving Yuma in a state of panic and his buddies fretting over what might happen.
(Dream Flashback)
"He who opens this door shall obtain a new power. However, as the price for this power is, you shall lose that which is most important to you." The Door's eyes began to glow reddish-orange, illuminating everything around it.
(Reality, Tsukumo Residence)
Yuma was breathing rapidly and sweating after experiencing the same nightmare once more. The Door had warned him once more that the thing he valued most would be lost. He simply questioned why The Door continued to say that and why he was initially experiencing the same nightmare repeatedly. He gripped his shattered key and thought about it for a moment. Yuma sighed deeply as he glanced at the incomplete key. It simply wasn't the same now; he wasn't as motivated to perform something with a full key as he was before. In order to get ready for school tomorrow, he made the decision to go back to sleep.
(Next day)
At the school gym, Yuma was still feeling empty inside due to the broken key that was resting on his palm. He sighed heavily as he turned to see Tori running up to him.
"Yuma, are you gonna try for the 20 hurdle jump again today?" Tori wondered and smiled down at him, but that caused Yuma to clutch the key closer to his chest as he met her gaze.
"Not today," Yuma told her sadly.
At the pool, another student asked Yuma if he was going to try the underwater lap today, but he declined. Not even a second later, Tori had playfully splashed water at him, trying to cheer him up a bit.
"C'mon! Cheer up already, Yuma!" Tori didn't know what else she could do to encourage her friend, but that didn't mean she would stop trying.
"I already told you that without my key, I just can't work up the energy necessary to feel the flow anymore." Yuma stared down the pool and saw his reflection. Tori climbed out of the pool and sat beside Yuma near the edge. Unbeknownst to Yuma and Tori, Bronk had been listening in on them and decided that he had to do something himself.
After school, just as Yuma and Tori were about to head home, they were stopped in their tracks due to Bronk skating up to them.
"Are you really planning to face Shark tomorrow?" Bronk asked.
"Yes?" Yuma confirmed.
"Don't go." Bronk advised, he didn't want his friend to lose his prized cards as well. He had to at least try talking him out of this one more time. "If you can't even beat me, then you have no chance of beating him. He is someone who has always placed second or third in every National Tournament. Besides... This is all my fault, anyway.
"You've got it all wrong," Yuma exclaimed, making Bronk look at him weirdly. "I'm not going there for your sake. It's just that I have to stop Shark from ever trying to take what's important to me ever again. My parents taught me to never run away from my problems and I don't care if he made it to the nationals. I'm going to make it there one day as well and him getting second or third place means that he has been beaten before, right?" Tori was impressed by Yuma's speech, but Bronk however was not fully confident.
"Do whatever you like!" Bronk gave up on convincing him not to partake in this duel and instead, he held the part of the key that Shark kicked away in his hand. He tossed it over to Yuma, who caught it.
"You found the missing piece?" Yuma was touched that Bronk would do something like this for him.
"I just happened to stumble upon it." Bronk felt like leaving it at that and proceeded to skate away. Yuma smiled as he knew deep inside that Bronk was just trying to act cool.
(Tsukumo Residence, Night-Time)
Later that night, Yuma sat cross-legged on the floor of his dimly lit attic while the fragments of his Emperor's Key laid out on his desk like broken pieces of his confidence. His cards were fanned out before him, yet he barely saw them. The sting of his confrontation with Shark, the memory of his Key shattering still raw. It wasn't just a defeat- it felt personal, like something vital had been taken away. There was one question that tormented him.
"How can I stand up to him when I couldn't protect what mattered most?!" Yuma cried out in frustration. He hadn't noticed that his doubts had summoned two familiar figures, who materialized in a soft swirl of shimmering light behind him. One was a teenage girl with light-blonde hair and pink eyes. She was wearing a dark-blue outfit that featured a forward-curving conical hat with orange trim. She wore a long pink scarf around her neck, and a giant pink bow on the back of her skirt. Her skirt even had large pink diamond-shaped segments. In place of a magic wand, the young sorceress carried a crimson smartphone with two white skulls hanging from a large keychain.
The other figure that appeared in the attic was dressed in something was somewhat similar to the girl's, but his clothing was coloured differently because it was orange and black. Like the female, he wore a an orange-trimmed conical hat that curved forward, but he wore a black stocking over the bottom half of his face. On his left foot he wore a red-knee high boot, and on his right he had on a plain brown shoe with a chain coiled around the ankle that extended all the way around his waist up to the back of his head. He had a tattered red scarf around his neck and parts of crimson armor over his shoulders.
Yuma made eye contact with his main Spellcaster Duo, Gagaga Girl, and Gagaga Magician. The female sorceress was visibly annoyed as she had her arms crossed while Gagaga Magician looked indifferent as always.
Yuma blinked in disbelief. "W-Wait... how did you two—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Gagaga Girl threw her hands up, clearly frustrated. "Honestly, Yuma, I swear you're always getting yourself into these messes!" She glared at him, but there was a softness behind her eyes that betrayed her irritation. "How many times have we told you to stop putting all your hope into that stupid Key?!"
Yuma frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I thought… with the Key, I could—"
"Could what?" Gagaga Girl cut him off, throwing her hands on her hips. "You think a piece of metal is what makes you strong? That's the problem with you! You're so caught up in all these things—the Key, the ability to see Duel Spirits, the flashy stuff—that you forget it's you who has to be the one to do the work!"
Yuma flinched slightly, taken aback by her harsh words, but Gagaga Girl wasn't done. "I get it, okay? I know you want to be a great Duelist, but you can't just rely on something to make you great. You're still the same Yuma. You've always been the one pulling yourself through tough spots. The Key or no Key, it's you that matters!"
Yuma swallowed hard, feeling a mix of guilt and confusion. "But... what if I'm not enough Gemma?"
Gagaga Girl whose name was revealed to be Gemma sighed, rolling her eyes. "Idiot. Of course, you're enough. You just don't get it yet. You've got heart, Yuma. I've seen it. And that's what makes you special—not the Key, not any card, not any gimmick. You are the one who makes your duels count."
At this, Gagaga Magician stepped forward, his calm and steady voice offering a contrast to Gagaga Girl's fire. "What she means is that no matter how powerful your opponent is, it's your willpower and determination that define you as a Duelist. The Key doesn't define your abilities, Yuma. You do."
Yuma looked down at his cards once more, the weight of their words sinking in. He thought about the times when he had fought tooth and nail, never giving up no matter how tough things had gotten.
Gagaga Girl leaned over, her tone softening just a bit, though there was still a touch of annoyance. "Honestly, you're such a pain sometimes. But I wouldn't bother helping you if I didn't care. Just… stop relying on a broken Key and start believing in yourself, okay?"
Yuma nodded slowly, a small, determined smile forming on his face. "Yeah. You're right. I've got this."
Gagaga Girl huffed, clearly trying to hide her concern. "Don't get all soft on me now. I expect you to go and give Shark the beatdown he deserves, alright?"
Gagaga Magician gave him an encouraging nod. "We'll be right here, supporting you. Just don't forget: you're never alone, Yuma."
Yuma felt a surge of confidence well up inside him as he looked at the two figures beside him—his friends. They hadn't given up on him, and neither would he. He wasn't going to let the broken Key define him or hold him back.
He looked down at his deck again and picked up the Double or Nothing Spell card. The duel with Shark would be tough, but now he knew that, no matter the odds, he would face it with his heart and the strength he had inside.
"Thanks, you guys," Yuma said quietly, a new sense of resolve in his voice.
"Yeah, yeah, just get out there and show Shark what you're made of!" Gagaga Girl shot back with a grin, even though her words were tinged with something that resembled affection. "But seriously, don't let me down. I'll be watching and fighting alongside you."
As Yuma stood, ready to face his next challenge, Gagaga Girl and Gagaga Magician stood by his side. Despite her tough exterior, Yuma knew that Gagaga Girl truly cared, and that made all the difference.
(Next Morning)
"I'm heading out!" Yuma yelled out as he went on to rush out of the house. He was currently wearing his regular outfit, which was the same as the ones from his dreams involving The Door. Just as he was about to completely leave his residence, he was called back by his grandmother. "What is it, Grandma?"
"Here you go!" Haru tossed him a packed meal. "This is your duel fuel, you won't be at your best on an empty stomach."
At the park, Yuma, Tori, and Bronk were face to face with Shark and his lackeys. A crowd of people had gathered around them, Yuma could already tell that some of them were from school. It didn't matter how many were watching, all he cared about was putting Shark in his place and getting Bronk's Deck back. Just like him, Shark, Bronk and Tori were all wearing their casual clothes. Shark's regular attire included a dark purple jacket with green gems on the gray sleeve cuffs over a marron shirt, dark blue pants, and white shoes adorned with identical green gems.
Bronk was wearing an orange t-shirt with a smiley face on which revealed the bottom of his stomach and the same blue pants he wears for his school uniform. Tori had a white t-shirt with a yellow stripe decal, a pink skirt, long black knee-length socks, and white shoes. Shark decided to start the conversation.
"I commend you for actually showing up! That's your third mistake though!" Shark gave Yuma a wicked grin. "Your first error was to declare yourself as a Duel Champion one day and your second fault is that you dared to accept my challenge. Can't you see! If you had run away with your tail between your legs, you could have at least saved your Deck!"
"You know what! I'd rather quit being a Duelist than run away from jerks like you! This isn't your Duel to win!" Yuma declared as he brought out his D-Pad and threw it into the air. "Duel Disk go!" The D-Pad attached itself to Yuma's Duel Disk, activating it. "Duel Gazer, let's roll!" Yuma exclaimed as he put on his Duel Gazer over his left eye. He then glanced over at Shark as he also slowly activated his Duel Disk and donned his Duel Gazer over his left eye. Yuma's friends, Shark's lackeys, and the rest of the audience had put on their Duel Gazers as well.
"Augmented Reality Vision Link Established." The duel pads called out as the AR Vision Link was set in motion. This was it, the augmented reality was set up for Yuma and Shark's Duel, to many in the audience the outcome of this face-off should be obvious, a National Tournament Participant should be able to take down a nobody who has never won a single duel in his life. Both Yuma and Shark know this, but the former still felt that there was hope, not every duel can be decided based on status or achievements.
"DUEL!" both Yuma and Shark yelled out in unison. Let the Duel of Destiny begin.
Yuma Life Points: 4000/Number of cards in hand: 5
Shark Life Points: 4000/Number of cards in hand: 5
Yuma 1st Turn:
"Here I go! I Draw!" Yuma dramatically drew his card by leaping into the air. He landed on the ground a few seconds later and looked through the cards he had in his hand. "Gemma and Golem are the only monster cards in my hand! Golem may be stronger, but I will save him for later just in case Shark summons a stronger monster I don't know about! I have to make do with this then!" Once Yuma had finished thinking things through, he grabbed Gagaga Girl's card and placed it onto one of the monster zones on his Duel Disk. "I summon Gagaga Girl in ATK mode!" Yuma's sorceress appeared on his side of the field, but she wasn't doing any sort of cute gestures that she would usually do whenever Yuma summoned her in a Duel. Instead, she was just floating in the air, glaring daggers at Shark and holding her cell phone tightly with her left hand.
Gagaga Girl: ATK: 1000/ Level 3
"So this is the Octo-freak who destroyed your key Yuma?" Gagaga inquired, well it was more of a statement than a question, but still she spoke telepathically to Yuma. "Can't wait to send him packing!"
"Don't worry Gemma, I've already got it planned out!" Yuma assured her.
"Ok, why is that witch glaring at me as if I've murdered someone? It's a hologram right?" Shark wondered as he sweatdropped, but little did he know that only served to intensify the angry aura that surrounded Gagaga Girl.
"Now I activate the Continuous Spell, Gagaga Heart!" A gigantic yellow heart appeared behind Gagaga Girl. The sight of the heart mesmerized Yuma's friends and the audience as it shone brightly.
Gagaga Heart: Spell/Continuous
Effect: During your End Phase, if you control a "Gagaga" monster(s): Inflict 500 points of Damage to your opponent. If a "Gagaga" monster(s) would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can send this card from the field to the Graveyard instead.
"With Gagaga Heart, every time during my End Phase, as long as I control a Gagaga monster, you're going to get hit with 500 points of damage," Yuma warned Shark, who replied with a scowl. "I set one card and end my turn! Now the effect of Gagaga Heart activates! It's your time to shine Gagaga Girl!" Yuma commanded as the golden heart shone even brighter.
Gagaga Girl who was floating in the air smiled wickedly and clenched her right fist, which proceeded to surround itself with a pink glow of energy. She then proceeded to dash over to Shark, who was taken aback by how fast she was and wanted to dodge her incoming assault, but it was too late. The sorceress nailed a clean right hook right across his face, sending him flying through the air and then sliding across the ground on his back.
Shark Life Points: 4000 - 500 = 3500
"Nice one Gemma! But you didn't have to hit him that hard!" Yuma felt bad for Shark, when Gemma gets mad, she tends to go overboard.
"Hey! I could have punched him even harder if I wanted to, and besides it's not like he didn't deserve it." Gemma huffed and crossed her arms as she continued to glare at their adversary, who slowly got up from the ground while holding his left cheek.
"Way to go Yuma! And you too Gagaga Girl! Put that bully in his place!" Tori cheered on her friend and his monster.
"I can't believe Yuma dealt damage to Shark during his first Turn, and with the way Gagaga Girl is fighting, I don't wanna be Shark right now!" Bronk still figured that Shark was the better duelist, but perhaps there was a chance that Yuma could beat him by knocking Shark into unconsciousness. "Ugh, who am I kidding! Yuma would never want to win that way, and knowing Shark, this attack only made him angrier. Be careful Yuma, your opponent truly acts like his namesake whenever he duels.
Yuma Life Points: 4000/Number of cards in hand: 3
Shark Life Points: 3500/Number of cards in hand: 5
Shark 1st Turn:
"What the heck was that!? That monster punched way too hard for it to be just a regular hologram!" Shark couldn't worry about that right now, he had a duel to win. "This was your fourth mistake Yuma! I'm going to put you in your place for insulting me like this in front of everyone! I Draw! I play Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw 2 more cards!" Shark then proceeded to draw the top two cards from his Deck. "I summon Hammer Shark in ATK Mode!" A torrent of water erupted like a geyser at Shark's side of the field, and a blue hammerhead shark swam out of it. Funnily enough, it had an actual hammer for a head.
Hammer Shark: ATK: 1700/ Level 4
"Now that is one tough-looking Shark!" Tori was suddenly glad that she wasn't out there dueling Shark when he had a monster like this at his disposal.
"Who says I'm done! I now play the Spell Card Aqua Jet! This now powers up my Hammer Shark by 1000 points!"Another torrent of water appeared on the field and brought forth a set of propellers, known as the Aqua Jet. The Aqua Jet quickly attached itself to Hammer Shark's back.
Hammer Shark: ATK: 1700 1000 = 2700
"You really should have played that witch of yours in DEF Position! Because now thanks to me activating a Normal Spell, I can Special Summon this monster from my hand! Let's do this Big Jaws!" Shark called out as a light blue shark with a metal jaw and a metal fin on its back appeared on his field.
Big Jaws: ATK: 1800/ Level 3
"Dammit, two monsters that are powerful enough to destroy Gagaga Girl!" Yuma panicked, he had to figure out a way to avoid taking as much damage as possible and help save Gemma from destruction.
"Now, which of my sharks should I attack your insolent witch with?" Shark pretended to think things through, much to the annoyance of Yuma. He glanced back and forth between Big Jaws and Hammer Shark until he finally made a decision. "Oh, I know! Big Jaws, give her a demonstration as to why you don't mess with sharks!"
"Am I the only one who finds it weird that Shark has beef with a hologram?" Bronk sweatdropped at Shark's behavior towards Gagaga Girl. Big Jaws was quickly on the move, swimming in the air towards Gagaga Girl.
"I can send Gagaga Heart to the Graveyard and save Gemma from destruction, but if I were to do that, I would be losing my other way of dealing damage to Shark's Life Points. Oh please forgive me, Gemma!" As if Gagaga Girl was able to hear his thoughts, Gagaga Girl turned to look at him with an understanding look on her face and spoke to him through telepathy.
"Don't worry Yuma! I understand, in dueling sacrifices must be made!" Gagaga Girl encouraged her master to go through with it. Big Jaws finally rammed into Gagaga Girl, destroying her in the process. Yuma shielded himself from the force of the attack.
Yuma Life Points: 4000 - 800 = 3200
"Now for my other attack, with this, you will have only 500 Life Points left! Go, Hammer Shark!" Shark's other monster was just as eager to hurt someone and swam his way towards Yuma.
"I have no choice, I have to use it! I flip over my face-down card! Defense Draw!" Yuma's face-down card flipped upwards. "I can make the Battle Damage I receive from this battle become 0, and I get to draw 1 card!" A golden force field surrounded Yuma, causing Hammer Shark to ram into it instead. The force field was too powerful for Hammer Shark, so he was sent flying backwards over to Shark's field again. Yuma then drew the top card from his Deck.
"Can't believe you lucked out! Why bother prolonging the inevitable!?" Shark had already grown tired of dueling Yuma. The latter didn't bother to try and answer his question, he was just glad that he could take a breather. " Anyways, I have one more move left to make!"
"Say WHAT!? But your Battle Phase is already over!" Yuma was confused, what else could Shark do in this turn?
"You're right about my Battle Phase being over, but I still have my second Main Phase left! I activate Hammer Shark's effect, once per turn, I can reduce his Level by 1 and Special Summon a Level 3 or lower WATER monster from my hand! Appear my Mermaid Shark!" A scaly blue shark that had a green-haired human appendage on top of its head appeared.
Hammer Shark: Level: 4 - 1 = 3
Mermaid Shark: DEF: 300/ Level 1
"Wow, that monster is cute! And Shark owns something mermaid-related!?" Tori found it odd that someone as rough-looking as Shark would own a mermaid card.
"Don't get used to it!" Shark yelled. "Next I activate the Spell Card Aquatic Duplication! This card allows me target a WATER monster on my field to have its level become equal to another Water monster I control. So, I choose to make Mermaid Shark's Level become the same as Big Jaws!"
Aquatic Duplication: Spell
Effect: Target 1 WATER monster you control; until the end of this turn, its Level becomes the same as another WATER monster on your field.
Mermaid Shark: Level: 1 - 3
"What's the point of..." Yuma started to say until it dawned on him what Shark was trying to do. "Don't tell me you're gonna Xyz Summon!?"
"Exactly, now I overlay my Level 3 Mermaid Shark and Big Jaws! With these monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" Shark called out as his monsters turned into blue energies of light that entered a spiraling red portal on the ground. "I Xyz Summon! Come forth, Submersible Carrier Aero Shark!" Shark's Xyz Monster appeared with two blue orbs circling it.
Submersible Carrier Aero Shark: ATK: 1900/ Rank 4/ OVU: 2
"Oh no! That's the monster he used to defeat me!" Bronk recalled in horror.
"Well you're right about that, but I never bothered to use its effect against you, because of how weak you were!" Shark stated. "I use one Overlay Unit to activate Aero Shark's effect. For each card in my hand, I can deal you 400 points of damage!"
"An effect that powerful!" Yuma was shocked, there was no getting out of this one.
"I have two cards, now take 800 points damage worth of hurt!" Shark announced as Aero Shark blasted multiple torpedos that were heading in Yuma's direction. When they were close enough, they started causing minor explosions around him.
Submersible Carrier Aero Shark: OVU: 2 - 1 = 1
Yuma Life Points: 3200 - 800 = 2400
Shark was smiling at Aero Shark's work, but then he realized something. "Wait a minute! I had 7 cards in my hand thanks to Pot of Greed! If I had summoned Hammer Shark and used his effect first, I could have summoned Mermaid Shark and used Aquatic Duplication to make their levels become 3, which would then leave me with four cards in my hand! Then using Aero Shark's effect, I could have dealt 1600 damage to Yuma and then used Aqua Jet to power up Aero Shark and Special Summon Big Jaws! If I had done that from the start, Yuma would've surely lost more than half his Life Points. But I was only focusing on destroying Gagaga Girl! No way!" Shark finally understood why Gagaga Girl delivered such a powerful blow to his face and glared at Yuma with immense hate.
"Uh, why is he glaring at me!" Yuma didn't know what he had done to be on the receiving end of Shark's infamous glare again.
"Looks like he finally caught on!" Looking over to his right, Yuma found the spirit form of Gagaga Girl appearing.
"Huh, what do you mean Gemma?" Yuma wanted to know what his monster was getting at exactly.
"You see Yuma, there were two reasons as to why I used more force than necessary against Shark. "Gagaga Girl let out a bright smile and explained what her two motivations were. "The first being that he wrecked your key, I really couldn't let him get away with that! However, as I said, I did it for another reason as well, which was to throw him off his game."
"Wait a second! So you're meaning to tell me, you did this so Shark could only focus on taking you down, which would then affect his plays!" Yuma had to hand it to Gemma, that was smart.
"Looks like it worked. It seems if he didn't fall for my deception, I think you would have had to use up Gagaga Heart and maybe even Defense Draw to keep yourself in the game! He would have most likely dealt more damage as well. Looks like I was right, causing him to misplay was definitely the better approach to take. As they say, fueling a shark's fury can blind the said shark." Gagaga Girl giggled.
"I don't think anyone says that!" Yuma sweatdropped but was glad over how considerate his monster was, he was lucky to have a sister figure like Gemma in his life. "Thanks, Gemma, leave the rest to me!" His monster gave him a nod and vanished, allowing to him focus on the duel again.
"Tch, I set one card face-down and end my turn!" Shark passed over the turn to Yuma.
Yuma Life Points: 2400/Number of cards in hand: 4
Shark Life Points: 3500/Number of cards in hand: 1
Yuma 2nd Turn:
"It's my turn now Shark! I Draw!" Yuma drew his card and smiled upon seeing it. It was Gagaga Magician.
"Nothing in your Deck can possibly save you from my Hammer Shark and Aero Shark!" Shark declared with utmost certainty.
"Don't be so sure about that! I activate the Spell Card Fissure! Say goodbye to Aero Shark since he has the lowest ATK Points on your field!" Yuma exclaimed. The ground beneath Aero Shark opened up, causing it to fall into the opening. As soon as the monster was gone from the field, the separated ground quickly restored itself. "Now I don't have to worry about his effect anymore! Now I Summon Gagaga Magician!" Yuma's most trusted card appeared on his side of the field with his hands in his pockets.
Gagaga Magician: ATK: 1500/ Level 4
"Looks like Gemma did her part, we mustn't let this chance go to waste Yuma!" Gagaga Magician advised his master.
"I know! We can do this Gate!" Yuma then took the initiative again by activating another card from his hand. "I play the Continuous Spell Gagaga Soul!" Yuma's Spell Card appeared face-up on the field.
Gagaga Soul: Spell/ Continuous
Effect: Once per turn: You target 1 monster on the field, it loses ATK Points equal to the ATK Points of a "Gagaga" monster in your GY until the End Phase. If a monster would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can send this card from the field to the Graveyard and target one monster on your Field, gain Life Points equal to its original ATK.
"Gagaga Soul's effect activates, once per turn, I can lower the ATK Points of one monster on the field equal to the ATK Points of a Gagaga monster in my Graveyard until the end of my Turn!" Yuma explained one of Gagaga Soul's effects to everyone.
"Wait, the only Gagaga Monster you have in your Graveyard is... Gagaga Girl." Shark looked over to see a ghost-like form of Gagaga Girl appearing out of the face-up Gagaga Soulbringer. The ghost then proceeded to phase through Hammer Shark, weakening it.
Hammer Shark: ATK: 2700 - 1000 = 1700
"Yeah, way to go Yuma!" Tori cheered for her friend, whom she had a crush on even louder.
"Hold up Tori, it still isn't enough, Gagaga Magician is still weaker than Hammer Shark." Bronk pointed out that even with the power change Gagaga Magician did indeed have lower ATK Points than Hammer Shark.
"But not for long, because I equip Gagaga Magician with Wonder Wand!" A long dark silver wand with a large round emerald at its end flew into the hands of Gagaga Magician. "My Gagaga Magician now gains 500 ATK!"
Gagaga Magician: ATK: 1500 500 = 2000
Shark's eyes were shadowed as Yuma finally ordered Gagaga Magician to attack. "Go Gagaga Magician, finish off Hammer Shark!" Yuma's Gagaga Magician dashed over to Shark's field, he proved to be just as fast as Gagaga Girl was, but Shark wasn't having any of this again.
"Way to completely disregard my face-down!" Shark's let out an evil grin as his eyes became visible again. "Trap, activate! Poseidon Wave! When an opponent's monster declares an attack, I can negate the attack and if I control a face-up WATER monster, you'll receive 800 damage!" A geyser of water spewed out of the Trap Card, shoving Gagaga Magician back and drenching Yuma in water as well. When the water had vanished, Gagaga Magician was floating over at Yuma's field once again, while the aforementioned person was lying on his back, owing to the power of Shark's Trap Card.
Yuma Life Points: 2400 - 800 = 1600
"YUMA!" Tori and Bronk shouted in unison.
"It's all right, I've still got this!" Yuma reassured his friends. He just had to hope that Shark didn't have another Level 3 monster in his hand.
"Hmph, what a loser!" Shark blurted out without a care in the world.
"You can call me a loser all you want, but I can still do this. By ending my turn, I can activate the effect of Gagaga Heart!" Yuma declared as the physical manifestation of his Gagaga Heart shone even brighter than what it did last turn. "Take 500 Points of damage! Go, Gagaga Magician!"
"With pleasure!" Gagaga Magician's Wonder Wand was covered in a lilac aura as he rushed over to Shark. The second-year student of Heartland Academy once again got struck across the face, but this time by a magical staff. Just like before with Gagaga Girl, he was sent flying just as far and landed hard on his back again.
Shark Life Points: 3500 - 500 = 3000
Yuma Life Points: 1600/Number of cards in hand: 1
Shark Life Points: 3000/Number of cards in hand: 1
Shark 2nd Turn:
"Alright, Yuma still managed to inflict some damage on Shark. That Spell Card of his is really useful." Tori was in awe of Gagaga Heart's power.
"I hate to be a downer Tori, but don't forget, Yuma still took more damage than Shark did on his own turn, thanks to that Poseidon Wave card." Bronk reminded his friend. "Not to mention, Yuma has just about half as many Life Points as Shark does now. Yuma needs to find another way to lower Shark's Life Points because just damaging a skilled duelist like Shark with Gagaga Heart won't be enough."
"Ugh, dammit, I hate that card and those magicians!" Shark groaned as he got up from the ground and complained about Gagaga Heart and Yuma's Gagaga monsters. He dusted himself off and continued. "I've just about had it with you!" Yuma readied himself as Shark began his turn by drawing. "I Draw! I summon Skull Kraken in ATK Mode!" Shark brought out a holographic image of a dark skull with tentacles.
Skull Kraken: ATK: 600/ Level 3
"Alright, it's weaker than my Gagaga Magician." Yuma was ecstatic to see that Shark didn't draw a monster more ATK Points than Gagaga Magician. He had a good feeling about winning now.
"You think it'll be that easy? I activate Skull Kraken's effect! When Skull Kraken is summoned, I can destroy one Face-Up Spell Card you control and change this card to Defense Position." Shark wondered whether he should get rid of Gagaga Heart instead, considering that he suffered twice because of its powers and irked to him no end. "I'm going to Xyz Summon Black Ray Lancer anyway, who has just about enough ATK Points to take out his Gagaga Magician even with that Wonder Wand of his. I may as well do it." Shark glanced over at the golden heart one last time and finally made his decision. "I choose to eliminate your Gagaga Heart. Now go!" The golden heart on Yuma's field was swallowed up by cephalopod ink, causing it to dissolve into golden particles that vanished into thin air.
Skull Kraken: DEF: 1600/ Level 3
"Shoot! I just realized that Shark has gathered two Level 3 monsters on his field. That's why he didn't bother to destroy Wander Wand since he was already planning on summoning an Xyz Monster stronger than what Gagaga Magician currently is." Bronk now knew it was over for Yuma, Shark was just way out of his league. Tori also had a look filled with doubt on her face, she wanted to believe that her friend could win, but at the rate this Duel is going, the outcome was obvious to everyone in the audience. Yuma had overheard them as well and glanced over at his friends, seeing the frowns on their faces made him feel dispirited. Not even his friends believed he could win this duel. He wondered if Rio would still believe in him if she saw the way this Duel was going. He wanted to say something encouraging, but he couldn't come up with anything and he didn't even want to resort to giving his friends false hope either. Unfortunately, Shark saw this as a moment to further insult his opponent.
"What's wrong!? You seriously thought you could become a Duel Champion with those mediocre skills!?" Shark taunted, he wanted to ridicule Yuma to no end.
"There is no use. Without my key, I just can't. With the key broken, I can't get anything right. If only it wasn't broken." Yuma thought to himself as he stared at his broken key with an ashamed look on his face. "Why do I have to always lose everything? First my parents! Then my best friend Rio, who believes in me more than anyone. Even more than I believe in myself. I'm sorry Dad, Mom, Rio! I couldn't keep my promise, I don't have what it takes to become a Duel Champion and I'm afraid I'll never see any of you again!" Just the thought of that caused Yuma's shadowed eyes to well up, and slowly tears were rolling down his face.
"Starting to cry now are we!? Good! It seems you have finally realized that you're not cut out to be a Duelist, let alone a Duel Champion! It's all because you keep clinging on to that torn relic that you can't win a Duel!" Shark scorned. From his viewpoint, he knew he should just end the duel, but Yuma makes it so easy damn easy for him to hurl insults towards. He may just be his favorite victim to date.
"Say that again!" Yuma yelled as he gritted his teeth in frustration. It was taking everything he had to not just go over and punch Shark across the face himself like Gemma did. Yuma wasn't someone who resorted to violence, but at this rate, Shark was just making it harder and harder for him to not lose control.
"I just thought of something nice! After I steal your Deck from you, I'll shatter that key beyond repair right before your eyes! Because you're the kind of guy who can't do a thing on his own!" Shark let out an evil laugh, feeling satisfied that he had already told Yuma what he needed to be told.
"Cut the crap! I'm not like that! No matter how many times I fail! No matter how much I'm laughed at! I was always feeling the flow! It's because I am who I am and I believe in myself! I haven't even come close to being defeated by you!" Yuma spoke with conviction as he the ripped broken key off his neck. The piece of the Golden Key in his hand started to shine brightly, blinding Yuma for a few seconds.
(The Door of Destiny's Realm)
It wasn't long before the light had dimmed down, allowing Yuma to open his eyes and glance at the key he was holding in his hand. His eyes widened upon seeing his key being restored to how it was before Shark stepped on it.
"Now, open the door!" Yuma instantly recognized that voice and realized where he was. The voice came from The Door, who was right in front of him. Knowing that it had gained Yuma's attention, it continued to speak. "Open the door, once you do, you will receive a new power. However, as the price for this power, you shall lose that which is most important to you."
Yuma had already made his decision, he didn't need any more time to think things through. He had to take the initiative and prove his determination to The Door. Yuma clutched his precious artifact tightly and began running towards The Door. "Alright then! Let's flow!" Yuma shouted as he jumped dramatically and inserted his Golden Key inside The Door's lock. Yuma was then thrown back by the sheer force of the blue light that The Door was emitting. The chains surrounding the door snapped open, allowing a mysterious figure to come out. Yuma didn't expect to see this and was in awe by the being that was heading towards him. At that moment, just before the figure and Yuma could come in contact, the latter was trapped within a sphere made of blank cards that rotated in every single direction.
"What the!?" Yuma managed to yell out as the sphere shattered, returning Yuma to the park.
(Real World, The Park)
Yuma was now sitting on the ground, thinking over what he had just witnessed. "Wh-what was that just now? A dream?" the thirteen-year-old wondered as he stared at the newly restored golden key that was resting in his hand. "My key is fixed? What's going on?" At that moment, Yuma could sense an intense aura radiating from Shark's side of the field.
"What in the...? Power is swelling up inside me..." A purple aura surrounded Shark as he felt the intensity of this unknown power within him. He felt that the power was too much for him and proceeded to scream out loud, causing everyone else in the area to look at him with concern. It's not every day you see someone screaming for no reason during a Duel. If they only knew what was truly going on.
"Are you alright Shark?" Yuma asked, but to no avail, since Shark continued to scream in pain. After everything Shark had done, Yuma still couldn't find it within himself to despise him.
"Come, call to me. Let the "Number" control you!" a voice called out inside Shark's mind, telling him to let a "Number" take control of him. Shark instantly complied, he just wanted the pain to stop.
"I overlay my Level 3 Skull Kraken and Hammer Shark! I construct the Overlay Network using these two monsters!" Shark exclaimed, raising his right hand as Skull Kraken turned into a purple energy of light, while the same thing happened to Hammer Shark, but his energy color was blue. Yuma was expecting to see the usual red portal that appeared on the ground, but what happened next shocked him. Instead of the portal being red, it now looked to be more galaxy-like with black and yellow colors. The energies of light entered the galaxy portal, causing it to close itself and explode. "I Xyz Summon! Come forth, Number 17: Leviathan Dragon!" The sealed form of Shark's monster appeared on the field as it quickly began to unveil its true appearance. Shark's new monster managed to scare some of the younger kids watching the Duel, due to its rough appearance and the powerful roar it had just released. The Dragon with six wings and six claws had a deep purple serpentine body covered in dark blue scales and a long, beautiful tail protruding from its back. Its head consisted of five horns, crocodile-like jaws, red eyes, and a webbed crest. The number 17 was embedded on Leviathan Dragon's right cheek horn.
Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: ATK: 2000/ Rank 3/ OVU:2
"Number!?" Yuma exclaimed, not knowing what kind of monster Shark had just summoned. He did have a feeling that this monster wasn't just an ordinary Xyz Monster, owing to the "Number" in its name, there had to be something special about it.
"What is that thing?" Tori asked the question that everyone in the audience was wondering too.
"I have no idea, I've never seen Shark summon this one before!" Bronk was amazed by Shark's new monster, there was no way Yuma could ever beat that with the cards he had at his disposal.
"I activate Leviathan Dragon's effect!" Shark exclaimed as his purple aura became even more intense. "Once per turn, I can detach one of its Overlay Units. and raise Leviathan Dragon's Attack Power by 500 points!"
"What!" Yuma cried out as Leviathan Dragon swallowed one of the blue overlay units circulating it.
Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: OVU: 2 - 1 = 1
Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: ATK: 2000 500 = 2500
"Now let's not waste any time! Leviathan Dragon! Attack Gagaga Magician! Shark Stream Blast!" Shark ordered.
Leviathan Dragon fired a blast of dark blue lightning towards Gate, who tried to shield himself from the attack with his arms, but to no avail. Gate dispersed into particles as the attack continued its course towards Yuma, who stared at the incoming attack with immense fear. Upon contact, Yuma had never in his entire dueling career, felt this much pain from what was supposed to be an attack from a hologram. He was sent flying through the air, landing harshly on his back and groaning in pain.
Yuma Life Points: 1600 - 500 = 1100
"It seems the match is settled with this! I'm ending this Duel with my next strike!" Shark proclaimed.
While Shark was laughing like a maniac, Yuma on the other hand was still lying on the ground in pain. "Is it impossible? Can I even beat him? Guess everything he said about me was true! I'm not a good Duelist at all!" Yuma let a few tears fall, there truly was no hope of him winning now. However, a voice called out to him.
"Rise!" Yuma's eyes widened, he looked over to his right and found the same being that he had released from the door of his dreams. "Rise and win!
(Meanwhile, Heartland City Hospital)
At the same time, far from where Yuma was dueling Shark, a single blank card was floating in the sky above Heartland City. It was almost as if the card was heading towards its destination, which appears to be case since it had just entered a hospital room through an open window. It then proceeded to smoothly land on the chest of a sleeping 13-year-old girl with pale skin and dark blue hair with light blue bangs, wearing a pink hospital gown. She had bandages around her eyes, and having been in a coma for some time, indicated that this girl had been injured. It seemed like she wouldn't be waking up anytime soon and the wounds around her body were here to stay, but as luck would have it, the blank card had other plans in mind as it proceeded to glow silver. The blankness from the card had disappeared and was instead replaced with a manifestation of its true form. While the card had kept on glowing, the light managed to spread itself out towards the girl, causing the same silver glow to emanate from her as well.
When the light had finally died down, as if they were never there to begin with, the girl's injuries, scars, and burns had faded away. It didn't take long for the girl to slowly open her eyes, groaning out for the first time in a long while. "I'm...awake? How is that possible?" the girl wondered out loud as she sat up on the hospital bed. The previously comatosed girl's hands went to the bandages covering her eyes, she wasn't sure if she should be doing this or not, but the urge to catch a glimpse of anything besides the pitch black darkness was just too strong, so she took off the bandages. She opened her eyes, revealing them to be dark pink.
She blinked a few times just to make sure she could see properly. "Yes! My eyes are completely fine." the blue-haired girl cheered, although one question ran in her mind. How was she able to heal so quickly? She then caught the sight of a card resting on her lap. "Isn't that a Duel Monsters card?" Instinctively, her right hand had already moved towards the card, picking it up, which allowed her to get a closer look at the card. She read the card's name out loud. "Number 21: Frozen Lady Justice?"
The card artwork depicted a swordswoman with blue eyes and pure white hair. Something in particular about her hair piqued the girl's interest, four icicles were attached to the right side of her head, with one of them hanging to the right in front of her forehead. She was dressed in an elegant battle suit that consisted of white, blue, purple, and golden colors, a white skirt, and a white cape with horizontal highlights of purple, black, and blue at the end. To end it all off, she was wielding an icicle sword in her right hand, and her number was embedded on her left leg. The young girl smiled at the card. "She looks beautiful and elegant. She'll fit in nicely with my ice-themed Deck!"
Upon hearing the door to her hospital room being opened, she looked over to find an adult male doctor, who was most likely in his early 30s, entering the room. "Miss Rio Kastle, it's time for your daily check-up!" The doctor read through the pages that were pinned to a little board, showcasing the full details about her state. However, he received the biggest shock of his life when he took a moment to get a glimpse of the girl who was supposed to be lying in bed in an unresponsive state, to find her awake and healthy wasn't something he was expecting to witness today. "You're awake?" He did a double take to make sure he was seeing things right, but she was still there, perfectly awake, and continued to keep staring at him with curiosity evident on her face. "I have to tell this to the others, I actually can't believe that she was able to heal this quickly!" He rushed out of the room. It wasn't long before more doctors entered the room, and just like the first doctor that had entered, they were all in complete disbelief.
The female doctor walked up to the girl who was still resting in her hospital bed. "Are you sure you're fine Rio?" the female doctor asked, revealing the girl's name in the process.
"I've never felt better. I don't know how it happened, but it just did." Rio replied with a smile.
"Even her current report and stats indicate the same, it's almost as if she's never been injured in the first place!" the first doctor skimmed through the results he had just received upon the girl's awakening and double-checked to make sure there were no flaws. "We have to see if you're as healthy as you claim to be, why don't you try walking around the room for a bit?"
Rio saw that as an easy challenge, she quickly got out of bed and proceeded to walk around the room with little to no effort. Once again it seemed like she's never been injured at all. She smiled at the doctors, happy to show them that she could walk just fine.
"It's great that you can walk with perfect form, but we have to do a few more tests, and depending on if you can perform just as well in those tests as well, you might be able to leave the hospital and head home." Rio beamed upon hearing the female doctor's words, she just wanted to see her older brother again as soon as she got home. She knew her brother cared for her, just as much she cared for him. She can't imagine the amount of grief she put her brother through, thanks to her state of unconsciousness, and she promised herself that she would make up for lost time.
(Heartland City Park)
Meanwhile, Yuma continued to stare at the newcomer in awe. He had a thin transparent blue body with green markings and blue gems all over his body, blue hair that curled up in a mohawk, and pointed ears that were pierced with dangling earrings. He also had different colored eyes, with the left eye being luminous gold and the right a clear white. The transparent newcomer was floating in the air with folded arms.
"Let's win!" the newcomer's voice had to be the most calming voice Yuma's ever heard, but that still didn't explain who this ghost-like being was. Yuma got up from the ground with an excellent backflip and turned to stare him directly in the eye.
"Wh-Who the heck are you!?" Yuma did have a feeling of what this guy could be, but he was unsure whether or not he was an actual Duel Spirit. Something just felt different. "The only Duel Spirits I've ever interacted with are Gemma, Gate, and my other monsters, but his presence is so a lot different from them. I should inform my monsters about this later, they know more about this stuff than me, but of course that's assuming I can beat Shark."
Sensing that the boy was expecting answers from him, the newcomer decided not to make him wait any longer. "The name destiny has chosen for me to bear is Astral."
"Astral?" Yuma knew the word astral was something related to space, but it being an actual name for someone surprised him. "Still doesn't explain why you have to speak like a relic though."
At that moment, the virtual communication screens of Tori and Bronk popped up right in front of Yuma. "Are you alright Yuma?" Tori started.
"Why are you talking to yourself," Bronk continued for his friend. To him and Tori it seemed like their friend was speaking to thin air.
"Just like with my Duel Spirits, they can't see him either!" Yuma took note of that info and turned towards Astral.
"It seems no one except you can comprehend my existence, it may be for the better perhaps." Astral spoke apathetically as his eyes continued to study Shark and Leviathan Dragon.
"Are you some kind of ghost or spirit from the past? Or maybe even an alien who was sent from another planet?" Yuma listed down his assumptions as to what Astral might be.
"Ghost? Spirit? Alien? Are those Duel Monsters exclusive to this world? If so, what effects do they have?" Yuma facepalmed, apparently Astral assumed he was talking about Duel Monsters.
"Ugh, forget I ever said anything." Yuma figured there was no point in trying to ask questions anymore when the newcomer himself lacked awareness.
"It seems I somehow lost all of my memories, I guess when I came to this world, there was some kind of impact while crossing through the gate, which scattered them," Astral informed.
"Dammit, he has amnesia." was all Yuma could get from whatever Astral had just said right now. What did he mean that his memories had scattered? Scattered where? Yuma held his head. "I'm about to lose my mind, why did it have to happen during a Duel though!"
"Calm yourself. You mustn't lose your composure." Astral told his newfound acquaintance.
"Be quiet, this is your fault you know! Now my friends probably think I'm a lunatic for talking to thin air!" Yuma accused.
"Yup!" Tori and Bronk quietly muttered in unison.
"We'll discuss this later, I have a Duel to finish." Yuma glanced at his opponent and felt an ominous aura radiating from him. He could tell that it wasn't because he was growing impatient, there had to be more to it. "Ever since Shark summoned that Number Card, the atmosphere changed all of a sudden."
With his pupils glowing purple, Shark on the other hand was completely fixated on his new monster and the powers he had just received. "Number 17: Leviathan Dragon. When this Xyz Monster appeared, my body was overwhelmed with an endless power! As I am now, it feels like there's no way I can lose to anyone! I will take away your Deck, I set a card face-down on the field and end my turn!"
Yuma Life Points: 1100/Number of cards in hand: 1
Shark Life Points: 3000/Number of cards in hand: 0
Yuma 3rd Turn:
"Now come and face me young one, I'll show you exactly how futile it is to fight me!" Yuma tensed up upon hearing the rough voice that came out of nowhere, he wasn't sure if he heard it correctly, but it sounded like it came from Leviathan Dragon. Astral seemed to have noticed it too.
"I see... You can hear the voice of that Number too!?" Astral was quickly able to figure out Yuma's unique gift thanks to that one gesture. While pointing that out, he managed to get Yuma's attention and continued to speak. "There should be some of my important memories sealed within it. My instinct is telling me I need to win this Duel."
"Duel? Wait you mean to tell me, you know how to Duel!?" Yuma didn't know spirits were able to duel.
"Indeed... I'm a Duelist!" Astral declared to Yuma.
"Unbelievable, a spirit that knows how to Duel, you're joking with me right?" Yuma figured he should stop conversing with Astral for now, just so his friends didn't think he was completely out of it. However, at this point, he just couldn't help himself. There was something about Astral that made him want to keep on speaking to him and ask him questions.
"I am a Duelist!" Astral cried out as he dramatically spun around and pointed at their foes. "It's... my turn!"
"It's my turn, darn it!" Yuma yelled out childishly, he wasn't having any of this. If there was one thing he hated, it would be somebody stealing his thunder. "I Draw!" the card Yuma had just drawn was Blustering Winds.
"That card won't do us any good for now at least. I will Gogogo Golem in DEF Mode!" Astral announced, hoping that Yuma would comply.
"Don't tell me what to do! I'm the one wielding a Duel Disk! So, watch and learn, I summon Gogogo Golem in ATK Mode!" Yuma refused to let anyone else handle his Dueling for him, that was simply just not the way he rolled. The ground split in half, allowing Golem to climb out of the opening and onto Yuma's side of the field.
Gogogo Golem: ATK: 1800/ Level: 4
"Gogogo Golem has 1800 ATK Points, but it won't be enough to beat Leviathan Dragon who has 2500 ATK Points," Astral commented, noticing the Attack Power difference between the two monsters.
"Tell me something I don't know, which is why I'm gonna play my Blustering Winds!" Yuma revealed the last card he had in his hand to Shark. "Blustering Winds allows me to choose one Monster in ATK Mode and increase its Attack Power by 1000 points until my next turn! Your Leviathan Dragon is toast now!" Yuma smiled at his monster, who was now covered in winds from every direction, causing him to glow golden for a bit.
Gogogo Golem: ATK: 1800 + 1000 = 2800
"Here's your chance Yuma!" Tori jumped in delight as Yuma's monster was now stronger than Leviathan Dragon.
"Don't think I've forgotten about my Gagaga Soul's effect! Now this time I target Gagaga Magician in my Graveyard and decrease Leviathan Dragon's ATK points by 1500!" Gagaga Magician's ghostly form appeared out of the face-up Gagaga Soul card, and phased through Leviathan Dragon.
Leviathan Dragon: ATK: 2500 - 1500 = 1000
"Attack Leviathan Dragon!" Yuma commanded his monster. Gogogo Golem did just that. He dashed over to Shark's side of the field and landed a devastating punch on its face. The impact of the hit shook the entire field, causing some people in the audience to almost wobble, while Shark was busy trying to shield himself from the shockwaves and smoke with his arm.
Shark Life Points: 3000 - 1800 = 1200
"I did it! Now that should put your Leviathan Dragon to rest!" Yuma celebrated, it was only a natural thing for him to do when he took down two Xyz Monsters, technically he did use a spell to get rid of Aero Shark unlike with Leviathan Dragon, but that doesn't matter. What's important is that he was able to deal more damage to Shark's Life Points.
"Don't celebrate just yet! Look closely!" Astral alerted, gesturing for him to take a look at Shark's field. The smoke soon vanished, revealing that Leviathan Dragon was still there, it was as if the dragon hadn't felt the damage at all.
"Wait a minute! What gives? I just destroyed that thing! Gogogo Golem clearly had more ATK Points than your Leviathan Dragon!" Yuma pointed out, causing Shark to smugly explain to him what just happened.
"My bad, I seemingly forgot to mention this." Shark swiped his right hand to the side, allowing a hologram version of Leviathan Dragon's card to appear on the field. "Now take a closer look, a Number can only be defeated by Number Monsters.
"This can't be... I don't have any of these Number Monsters." Yuma started to despair as he knew the Duel suddenly became a whole lot tougher thanks to this information.
"What kind of effect is this, a Number Monster can only be destroyed by other Number Monsters!? What is he supposed to do now?" Bronk couldn't figure a way out of this situation, and he was a better Duelist than. It was completely hopeless.
"That doesn't matter, my Gogogo Golem is still stronger and your hand is empty! There is no way you can draw a card that can help you defeat my Golem this turn!" Yuma noticed that both he and Shark had no cards left in their hands.
"He doesn't need to draw a card to overtake your monster, he still has Leviathan Dragon's effect to use!" Astral had studied the hologram of the Xyz Monster's card to know what its effect was. "Now it all depends on if he draws a monster with 900 or more ATK Points in his hand next, we stand no chance of winning this Duel."
"My Life's still at 1100 you know!" Yuma couldn't figure out what Astral was trying to get at exactly.
"Observation #1: Your Dueling Tactics are by far inferior when compared to mine!" Astral concluded.
"Inferior to yours!?" Yuma felt insulted at what Astral was insinuating about him.
"Oh yeah, I can't forget to activate this before you end your turn! Trap activate, Determined Tides! It just gets even worse for you doesn't it, this card allows me to draw two more cards when I take Battle Damage involving a WATER monster I control!"
Determined Tides: Trap
Effect: When you take Battle Damage involving a WATER monster you control, draw 2 cards.
"Say what!?" Yuma's eyes widened at what he had just heard. "Shark gets to draw two more cards? No way!"
"This is bad! He will have a three-card hand next turn, and if there is a monster with 900 ATK Points or more among those cards, we're certain to lose." Astral glared at the card as he reminded Yuma about what he had said earlier.
"I told you challenging was a mistake you'll deeply regret Yuma! With this, the match is decided!" Shark declared as he drew two more cards. He glanced at the two cards, keeping a poker face just so Yuma couldn't figure him out. Following that moment, Yuma's current turn came to a close.
Yuma Life Points: 1100/Number of cards in hand: 0
Shark Life Points: 1200/Number of cards in hand: 2
Shark 3rd Turn:
Leviathan Dragon: ATK: 1000 + 1500 = 2500
Shark glanced at his Deck, he wasn't able to get a monster with at least 900 ATK points from the two-card draw, but this time he had to get it over with. "I Draw!" Shark drew the top card of his Deck dramatically, swiping the card behind him, as he then brought his right hand back in front of him to take a look at what he had just drawn. He stared angrily at the card. "Tch! I Summon Drill Barnacle!" the ground had torn itself for a barnacle-covered shellfish to rise out of it and appear on Shark's field.
Drill Barnacle: ATK: 300/ Level: 3
"300 ATK Points, we've been saved." Astral took note of the amount of Attack Power Shark's new monster had.
"I mean it now! What are you on about exactly?" Yuma as usual just couldn't keep up with Astral's thoughts.
"I activate Leviathan Dragon's effect! By removing one Overlay Unit, I can increase its Attack Power by 500!" Shark informed Yuma once again what his Number Monster could do. Leviathan Dragon swallowed his last blue overlay unit and was coated in a fiercer blue aura.
Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: OVU: 1 - 1 = 0
Number 17: Leviathan Dragon: ATK: 2500 + 500 = 3000
"3000 ATK Points... Are you serious?!" Yuma now understood what Astral was trying to tell him, how could he forget about Leviathan Dragon's effect?
"Leviathan Dragon did have one Overlay Unit remaining, so it was almost certain that he would use that effect to boost its Attack Points." Astral revealed to Yuma that he did indeed take Leviathan Dragon's Overlay Unit into account.
"Go Leviathan Dragon! Destroy Gogogo Golem with Shock Stream Blast!" Shark commanded.
"Foolish human, can't you already see! Admit it, you're hopelessly outmatched, my power is too great for the likes of you!" Leviathan Dragon roared as it hurled a blast of dark blue lightning from its mouth towards Gogogo Golem, who was trying to lessen the pain Yuma would feel from this attack.
"Now quickly! Activate your Gagaga Soulbringer's effect before it's too late! If you send it to the graveyard, you can gain Life Points equal to Gogogo Golem's original ATK Points when a monster of yours is about to get destroyed by battle or card effect!" Astral yelled out, informing Yuma of his continuous spell's other effect while Gogogo Golem was still trying to keep Leviathan's attack at bay long enough for Yuma to activate the effect. Yuma knew he had to listen to Astral this time, it was now or never.
"You haven't beaten me yet Shark! Because now I'll activate my Gagaga Soulbringer's other effect! When a monster of mine is about to be destroyed by battle or card effect, I can send this card to the graveyard and gain Life Points equal to the Original ATK Points of a monster on my field! I choose Gogogo Golem!" Both Yuma and Gogogo Golem were covered in a green aura, allowing Yuma to transfer his Golem's strength as Life Points.
Yuma Life Points: 1100 + 1800 = 2900
"Like that even matters, your Gogogo Golem is destroyed anyway!" Shark gestured for Yuma to look at Gogogo Golem who wasn't able to prevent the attack from destroying any longer and dispersed into particles. Yuma stood his ground and used his arms to shield himself from the shockwaves that came afterwards.
Yuma Life Points: 2900 - 200 = 2700
"This is unlike anything I've ever felt before. This Xyz Monster is so different from Zerofyne." Yuma recalled the first Xyz Monster he ever saw. "Zerofyne was so calm, and had a more positive aura, but this Leviathan Dragon carries so much anger and frustration. I feel bad for it!"
"The dragon does indeed look to be taking out its anger on us, but I don't think we can find out why right now since you should be preparing yourself for another assault!" Astral could sense that Shark was about to order his Drill Barnacle any second now.
"Tch, now I'll have to damage him all over again! I still have an attack remaining! Go Drill Barnacle, clobber him for me!" Drill Barnacle heeded its master's words, causing Yuma to be sent flying due to its powerful Drill Attack.
Yuma Life Points: 2700 - 300 = 2400
"Yuma...!" Tori called out in worry as Yuma landed on the ground. The boy quickly recovered and quickly decided to yell at Astral for lying to him.
"I thought you said we couldn't do anything to survive if he had a monster with more than 900 ATK Points, but it turns out we would've survived either way thanks to Gagaga Soulbringer's effect, and you knew that, didn't you!?" Yuma was referring to Astral's statement that they could've lost if Shark had a monster with 900 ATK points among the cards he drew.
"I lied." Astral came clean just like that, causing Yuma to almost fall over in shock. "You clearly wouldn't have listened to me otherwise."
"Don't know you it's considered bad to play around with a human's mindset!? I genuinely believed we would've been perfectly doomed." Yuma yelled.
"If you knew how to use your cards right, you could've made that play yourself. You could've even avoided having to send your Gagaga Soulbringer to the Graveyard by setting Gogogo Golem in Defense Position. It has an effect that allows it to survive a battle once per turn, meaning if you had done that, you wouldn't have taken damage at all this turn!" Astral informed Yuma what the appropriate play would've been from his perspective. Yuma realized Astral was right, he really should've known better, but it was hard for him to stomach the fact that an alien knew about Dueling more than him. Astral on the other hand noticed that his hand started becoming more transparent. "What is this? My life is fading as well..." Astral then looked into his memories moments earlier, and remembered something. "Numbers..."
"What about the Numbers?" Yuma wondered if Astral knew more about what a Number Monster is. Astral stared at the Number 17 that was embedded into Leviathan Dragon's horn.
"I remember now, Numbers... are fragments of my memory! Numbers are special cards, even among Xyz Monsters. The cards of this world are no match for them! And when two Number Monsters Duel, if the winner so desires, he has every right to take the loser's Number Card!" Astral didn't know if it was wise to tell Yuma that last part of the explanation, but seeing as he's practically bound to this kid now, he may as well inform him of the consequences that can occur in Duels between Number Holders.
"What does that mean?" Yuma had a bad feeling about whatever Astral was gonna say next.
"If we fail to win this Duel, and Shark chooses to take our Number, then I will disappear... from this world..." Astral heard a worried gasp from Yuma and slowly turned to look at him. "I must win this Duel at all costs."
"That's what I've been planning to do since the beginning!" Yuma knew that he had no cards in his hand and that his next Draw may prove to be the most decisive one. "If I don't draw the right card, then..."
"Thinking things through is a waste of time, Drill Barnacle's effect activates now. When this card successfully inflicts battle damage to the opponent, its Attack Power goes up by 1000 points! Additionally, Drill Barnacle is a Monster that can attack the opponent directly anyway." Shark's Drill Barnacle grew larger as it gained more ATK Points.
Drill Barnacle: ATK: 300 + 1000 = 1300
"On my next turn, I'm practically guaranteed to damage you! It's the end of the line!" From Shark's perspective, the outcome was inevitable, it's his victory. "It's high time you forfeit this Duel already!"
"No way I'll give up! Not to someone like you!" Yuma would do no such thing, giving up would go against the lessons his father had taught him.
"Then, do you still think you have a chance to win?" Shark gave his opponent a wicked grin, for him it was amusing yet somewhat aggravating to see Yuma remain stubborn.
"I said I wouldn't give up, didn't I? Now that's final!" Yuma continued to resist Shark's notion.
"You won't give up!? That statement pisses me off so much!" Shark frowned and gritted his teeth, why couldn't this guy just give up and save whatever was left of his dignity already.
"What should I do now...?" Yuma glanced at his Deck, he was unsure if he had it in him to draw his next card.
"You still have a chance. To take advantage of that chance, we just need to assemble two monsters with the same level on our field." Astral told the thirteen-year-old boy. "Do you have any cards in your Deck that can allow you to draw two cards, or at least a monster that can revive a fellow monster from your Graveyard, Uma?
"Ok first of all, the name is Yuma! And yes, I probably have a card that will allow me to draw more than once!" Yuma looked at his Deck. "The question is, can I really draw Pot of Greed at a moment like this? Not to mention, the chances of me even drawing it are much slimmer, because I have 30 other cards left in my Deck."
"Listen carefully... Foolma!" Astral began while mispronouncing Yuma's name again.
"It's not Foolma! It's Yuma!" Yuma jumped around dramatically, he was practically fed up with Astral's attitude towards him.
"As for your next draw, you have to draw the card that will enable you to draw at least two more. Then hopefully one of the cards will enable you to Special Summon a Monster." Astral had his doubts on whether they would be able to draw the necessary card, however it was their only saving grace and he didn't know if there were any other ways to get out of this predicament at the moment.
"A card that will allow me to Special Summon? Fine, I'll have to do it then! Are you done with your turn Shark?" Yuma asked his opponent.
"Hold it dweeb, I set two cards face-down and end my turn!" Shark declared as his two face-downs manifested on the field.
Yuma Life Points: 2400/ Number of cards in hand: 0
Shark Life Points: 1200/ Number of cards in hand: 0
Yuma 4th Turn:
"Ok, it's now or never! The decks that belong to me and Bronk are on the line in this Duel! My turn! Draw!" Yuma drew his card in a dramatic fashion. He flipped the card over, and saw that it was a Pot of Greed.
"Pot of Greed, nicely done. Now use it and draw again." Astral ordered, their fate was riding on these next two cards.
"I've got it, I play the Spell Card, Pot of Greed! This Spell allows me to Draw two more cards!" Yuma closed his eyes, and calmly drew his next two cards. Astral took a closer look at the cards Yuma just drew.
"Monster Reborn, and Painful Recovery..." Astral stared at the cards thoughtfully, trying to formulate a plan. "I've got it, please listen to me, you have to play Painful Retrieval, and be ready to give up some life points in the process.
"Painful Retrieval?" Yuma looked at the card in front of him. Gagaga Magician appeared behind him in spirit form. Astral noticed Gagaga Magician appearing as well, but didn't say anything as Gagaga Magician proceeded to speak with Yuma.
"You have to listen to Astral, I can already sense it Yuma, he can help you turn this Duel around," Gate advised his master, making Yuma turn to look at him. "Have faith in Astral Yuma, he may be our best hope of turning this situation around." Gate then proceeded to disappear, leaving Yuma alone with Astral again.
"I heard you loud and clear Gate, now let's do this!" Yuma turned to glare at Shark, who was still grinning like a madman. " I activate the Spell Card, Painful Recovery!"
"Painful Recoveryl?" Shark eyed closely at the Spell Card that appeared on the field.
Painful Recovery: Spell
Effect: Pay 1000 Life Points and Target 1 Spell/Trap card from your Graveyard; Add that target to your hand.
"To activate this card's effect, I have to pay 1000 Life Points." Yuma explained as his life points went down by a 1000.
Yuma Life Points: 2400 - 1000 = 1400
"Now I get to retrieve my Pot of Greed back from the Graveyard, and guess what, I'm gonna activate it again!" Yuma played his card right away and drew twice more.
"What in... He actually drew 5 cards this turn! Grghhh!" Shark could sense that Yuma had a plan in mind, but the strange thing was, from his perspective, Yuma was Dueling like a moron earlier, but now it felt like Yuma was another person. Instead of trying to rush through as quickly as possible, he was making more complex plays and now had a three-card hand. "It doesn't matter either way, there is nothing he can do to defeat me!"
"Monster Reborn, Ganbara Knight, and Bye-Bye Damage! Fate has not abandoned us yet... Yes, this is it, we've got everything we need to take Shark down now." Astral commented as he smiled at the cards Yuma was holding in his hand.
"Now we're talking alright, I'll start by summoning Ganbara Knight in ATK Mode!" Yuma was too late to realize that he got carried away, and called his Ganbara Knight to the field.
Ganbara Knight: ATK: 0/ Level: 4
Bronk was baffled by this play. "Yuma! Why did you play him in ATK Mode!? He has 0 Attack Points!"
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Yuma yelled out in worry.
Of course Shark had to comment as well and pointed his finger at his opponent. "And here I was almost starting to think you were getting better, looks like you're still a novice. Just give up, and don't embarrass yourself more than you already have!"
"I don't plan to give up! I just have to feel the flow, and hi-five the sky!" Yuma replied, he was getting tired of Shark's endless attempts at trying to get him to give up the Duel.
"Feel the flow and hi-five the sky?" Astral didn't understand what Yuma meant to say with those words.
"Feeling the flow means having the spirit to challenge and a heart that will never give up! A person's heart dies the moment they give up!" Yuma explained to Astral what his motto meant, and the reason why he wouldn't give up at anything.
Shark got angry again."You talk too much! You keep going on how about you aren't going to give up. Guys like you piss me off more than anyone! Besides, how do you plan on standing up to my monsters with that Ganbara Knight of yours, who only has 0 ATK Points?"
"You've done enough. Had you set him in Defense Position, you would have lost any chances you had for a turnaround...Toma." Astral informed while mispronouncing Yuma's name yet again.
Inside, Yuma felt that if Astral were to mispronounce his name one more time, he was going to punch him even though he was transparent. "Is my name seriously that hard to pronounce!? It's YUMAAAA!"
"Use Monster Reborn to revive Gogogo Golem from your Graveyard!" Astral ordered, staring at Yuma with a serious expression on his face. "I cannot allow myself to disappear from here...Please believe me!"
Yuma could feel that Astral wanted to win this just as much as he did, and that the latter only wanted his complete trust. Yuma thought about it for a few seconds, and recalled what Gate told him before he played Gagaga Detention. Yuma looked away from Astral, and stubbornly declared that he wasn't about to perform this next move for Astral's sake. "It's not like I trust you or something like that, but just this one time I'll do it. From my hand, I activate Monster Reborn! I'm bringing back my Golem back from the Graveyard!" Yuma declared as Gogogo Golem now returned to his field after being Special Summoned from the Graveyard.
Gogogo Golem: ATK: 1800 / Level: 4
"If you think bringing back your Golem will save, you might wanna rethink that since he only has 1800 ATK Points!" Shark pointed out, he did take into account that Yuma had two Level 4 monsters on his field, but he doubted that someone like him would actually have an Xyz Monster at his disposal. Even if he did bring out an Xyz Monster, Shark was confident that Leviathan Dragon would be able to handle them no problem.
Yuma knew Shark had a point, and even he himself couldn't comprehend where he was trying to go with these plays, but Astral was quick to assure him. "With this, all the conditions are met. All you have to do is Overlay your Level 4 Gogogo Golem and your Ganbara Knight."
"Are you...saying...we're going to...Xyz Summon?!" Yuma couldn't believe that Astral had just suggested the impossible, he didn't even have an Xyz Monster and here he goes, telling him to summon one.
Astral was able to sense Yuma's doubt. "Take a look at your Extra Deck."
Yuma did as he was told and opened his Extra Deck. The Extra Deck emanated a faint golden glow, causing Yuma to shield his eyes a bit from the intense light while picking up a card from there. He looked at it, and he actually couldn't believe it until he saw the black frame, it was an Xyz Monster. "What is this Xyz Monster? I have a hard time understanding what it does, the text is so strange."
"I can read it, the name of your Xyz Monster is Number 39: Utopia." Astral revealed the name of Yuma's Xyz Monster, causing his eyes to widen in shock upon hearing the word "Number" in its name.
Yuma turned his head in Astral's direction. "Did you just say it's a Number Card?"
"Correct," Astral confirmed. "That's the power I've entrusted to you."
"I wish Rio were here to see me perform my first ever Xyz Summon." Yuma frowned as he thought about his childhood friend who suddenly vanished from his life. Then he looked at Utopia's card, he hoped this card could turn the Duel around for him. "Please Utopia, I have this strange feeling that you'll be the one who will lead me to the top, and help me win this Duel, and feel the flow more than ever! I Overlay my Level 4 Gogogo Golem and Ganbara Knight!" Yuma declared as his Gogogo Golem and Ganbara Knight turned into orbs of orange and yellow colors respectively. "With these two, I'm building the Overlay Network!"
The field then turned into a spectacular, rotating galaxy of lights, spiraling from turquoise to navy blue, and then bursting out in an explosion. "I Xyz Summon! Come forth, Number 39: Utopia!" Yuma and Astral shouted in unison, causing something to rise out of the vortex a moment later. It was the large sealed form of his Number Monster. Utopia's seal, surrounded by two circling golden orbs, looked like a delicate sword of white and gold with two metal wings folded inward on themselves and a large green jewel in the center.
The sword unfolded and as a stark contrast to the vile dragon, it assumed the form of a knight in shining armor with a pair of divine metallic wings protruding from its back, symbolizing Utopia's ability to soar above his adversaries. The humanoid warrior was adorned in sleek, metallic gold-trimmed white armor. The armor also featured intricate detailing, with geometric patterns etched into the surface adding to its futuristic aesthetic. It also had an angular and streamlined helmet with three golden horns on its head. Encircled by visor-like slits, Utopia's red eyes shone ever brightly, conveying its unwavering determination and resolve. A green diamond that resembled the one embedded in the Emperor's Key rested in the center of its chest. The number 39 was written in crimson on the sizable piece of armor on his left shoulder.
Number 39: Utopia: ATK: 2500/ Rank: 4/ OVU: 2
"Did we just witness Yuma perform an Xyz Summon!?" Bronk and Tori's jaws dropped as they glanced at Utopia. They couldn't believe that Yuma brought out such a powerful monster from seemingly out of nowhere.
"Where did he get that Monster from?" Shark was surprised, he didn't think Yuma would be granted a Number Monster as well. Utopia's glare towards both him and Leviathan Dragon made him feel the chills, it reminded him of how Gagaga Girl glared at him as well earlier.
"That is the only trump card that is capable of bringing down Leviathan Dragon. Well done, you have successfully summoned Utopia." Astral commended.
Upon hearing Astral praise him, Yuma snapped out of his trance. A rush of excitement filled him; he had finally performed his first Xyz Summon. "This is my Xyz Monster… He's the coolest thing ever!"
"It's been a while since I've been able to engage in combat. It's a shame that a beautiful world such as this one was destined to be our battlefield." A deep, composed voice cut through the air, drawing the attention of both Yuma and Astral. The voice carried a sense of authority, commanding attention.
Yuma's eyes darted toward his Xyz Monster, his face a mix of disbelief and curiosity. "Wait, Utopia… You can talk?" He mentally slapped himself as hearing his new monster talk made him forget that he can talk to Duel Spirits in general in the first place.
"Indeed!" Utopia's voice was kind as he continued to admire the scenery. He turned, locking his gaze with Yuma's. "But we can talk about that later, seeing as we are in the middle of a Duel and it's my sacred duty to aid you in battle."
Yuma stared at Utopia with a look of admiration and smiled. "I don't know why, but with you here, it feels like I can do just about anything. It's like I know we're going to win this Duel.
"Tch, you think you're going to win all because you summoned a knight in shining armor…" Leviathan Dragon's voice hissed with venom. "Such a notion is absurd. You should know by now, winning is only for the strong like me, and losing is for the weak like you.
Utopia's expression remained calm as he sized up the creature before him. "So, you're the other Number. Hmm, you look like you've seen better days, seeing as you're a manifestation of your master's blackened heart.
"You dare mock me?" Leviathan Dragon roared, its fury palpable. "Know your place! Your power pales in comparison to mine!"
Astral floated beside Yuma, his tone cautious. "Yuma, your Attack Power is enough to take down Shark's Life Points. But be ready—one of those face-downs could be his lifeline."
"Already on it, Utopia attack Drill Barnacle with Rising Sun Slash!" Yuma and Astral commanded together, allowing Utopia to clutch one of the swords attached to his hips, and throw it into the air. Utopia quickly followed suit and caught the golden sword mid-air. He then dramatically swung the sword downwards and proceeded to slice Drill Barnacle in half, causing an explosion that sent Shark crashing into the ground hard.
"Alright! A direct hit! Nice work Utopia! We beat him!" Yuma cheered knowing that this attack would be enough to wipe out Shark's Life Points.
Astral wasn't as cheerful and remained cautious about the situation. "Don't celebrate yet. He may very well have a card that reduces damage."
"I activate my Trap Card!" Shark called out as he slowly got back up to his feet. "Defense Draw! This card enables to me reduce the damage I took from this Battle to 0, and an opportunity to draw 1 more card." Shark angrily finished as he drew a card from his Deck.
"Looks like we have to hold out until our turn arrives again, but don't forget to set that card," Astral reminded Yuma of the Bye-Bye Damage Trap Card he had in his hand.
"Ugh, I place one card face-down and end my turn!" Yuma declared as a hologram version of his face-down manifested on the field. "Why is it so hard to damage this guy!"
Yuma Life Points: 1400/ Number of cards in hand: 0
Shark Life Points: 1200/ Number of cards in hand: 1
Shark 4th Turn:
The atmosphere so far had only gotten more intense, but still, Leviathan Dragon wasn't impressed with the abilities his fellow Number had displayed so far. "What's wrong? Afraid to face me? Are you simply admitting that I'm more powerful than you!"
"Worry not, your time will come. There is always a time and place for everything, and your destruction is no exception." Utopia proclaimed as he pointed his blade towards Leviathan Dragon. The two Numbers glared at each other, with each desiring an outcome befitting of them. The knight desired to slay the dragon's evil so that it would change into a better being, while the dragon desired to bury its teeth in his flesh and envelop him in shadows.
Shark who was still infuriated by Utopia's assault, wanted to finish the Duel by putting Yuma through pain beyond imaginable."You made another big mistake Yuma! For summoning a Number and daring to cause me pain... You will pay dearly! I Draw!" Shark angrily drew the top card of his deck and stared at it. He smirked. "Even though you summoned a Number Monster, you're still no match for me. I play Surface! This card enables me to target a Level 3 or lower Fish, Sea Serpent, or Aqua monster in my Graveyard, and Special Summon it in DEF Mode. Come forth Big Jaws!" Shark's cherished Big Jaws was on his field once again.
Big Jaws: DEF: 300/ Level: 3
"Next, by releasing Big Jaws, I Tribute Summon Jawsman!" The monster Shark had just summoned had mouths all over its body, with both hands and one of its feet also being mouths.
Jawsman: ATK: 2600/ Level: 6
"This card gains 300 Attack Points for every other WATER Attribute Monster I control on the Field," Shark informed. "As you should know, Leviathan Dragon is a WATER Monster, meaning my Jawsman gets a 300 ATK Point bonus."
Jawsman: ATK: 2600 + 300 = 2900
"Let's finish this! First, Leviathan Dragon will attack your Utopia!" Shark declared as Leviathan Dragon roared. The roar was so powerful to the point concrete began to fall, causing Yuma to begin panicking as he awkwardly tried to avoid getting hit by the falling rocks and stones.
"Doesn't Utopia have any effect!" Yuma asked while ducking huge chunks of rocks that were about to make contact with his head.
"Utopia's effect... By using one Overlay Unit, he can negate an attack." Astral explained to Yuma as the latter turned to face him with an angry countenance.
"Don't you think it would have been better to tell me that sooner!?"
"You didn't ask!" Astral explained his reasoning for not telling Yuma sooner. The thirteen-year-old boy wanted to complain a bit more, but Leviathan Dragon wasn't having any of this.
"Say goodbye! You shall fall to my Shock Stream Blast!" Leviathan Dragon fired a decisive blast of dark blue lightning towards his fellow Number. Unlike the earlier moments when he made use of the same attack, this one was much bigger and wider.
"Anytime now Yuma!" Utopia didn't want to stand around and take a meaningless hit for something he could easily prevent.
"Don't worry buddy, I have you covered! I activate Utopia's effect! By detaching one Overlay Unit, Leviathan Dragon's attack is negated!" Yuma swiftly sent Ganbara Knight to the Graveyard, which allowed Utopia to absorb one Overlay Unit and extend one of his wings. "Light Wing Shield!" Utopia's extended wing glowed silver as it made contact with the dark blue lightning, absorbing it. It didn't take much effort for the attack to be dispersed, and thus Utopia retracted his wing.
Number 39: Utopia: OVU: 2 - 1 = 1
"WHAT?!" Leviathan Dragon yelled out in rage and confusion. How could an attack from a dragon of his stature be dealt with so easily? Shark on the other hand didn't seem all that bothered by Utopia's effect.
"Is that Utopia's effect? But even if my attack is negated, you still can't defeat my Monsters and win!" Shark pointed out. He smiled gleefully, he knew Utopia wouldn't be able to make use of his effect for much longer. "You only have one Overlay Unit left to use! Although a Number Monster can't be destroyed in battle unless by other Number Monsters, you'll still take damage regardless. To avoid that damage, feel free to detach that remaining Overlay Unit! Go, Jawsman! Attack Utopia!" Shark ordered his monster to attack Yuma's Number. Jawsman agreed with his master and dashed over to Yuma's field. The said 13-year-old was in deep thought, trying to figure out what his next course of action should be.
Astral noticed that Yuma was taking a bit too long with his thinking, and decided to take the initiative to break him out of his thoughts, "Take the hit!" Yuma turned to face Astral and the latter gestured for him to take a look at his Face-Down. "Use your face-down instead, so we can save Utopia's effect for Leviathan Dragon's next assault."
Yuma nodded, and during that moment he remembered a special card that he added to his Deck despite not knowing how to use it. However, with Utopia's effect, that card could work in his favor. "Bring it on Shark! I activate the Bye Bye Damage Trap Card!" Yuma revealed his face-down as Utopia fended off Jawsman with his sword. Yuma was flung onto the ground because of the powerful shockwaves from their clash and it seemed like he was the only one who was meant to take damage from this Battle, however, the true purpose of his newly unveiled Trap was revealed. "Thanks to Bye Bye Damage, if I were to take Battle Damage from a battle, you'll take Effect Damage equal to double the amount of damage I just took."
"WHAT!?" Shark yelled out in anger as the Bye Bye Damage Trap Card that stood face-up on the field currently, released a wide magenta-colored beam that was heading towards the unsuspecting 14-year-old bully. The blast made contact and Shark too was sent crashing into the ground.
Yuma Life Points: 1400 - 400 = 1000
Shark Life Points: 1200 - 400 x 2 = 400
Both Duelists were lying on the ground exhausted from that clash, but they still knew that they had a Duel to finish. Yuma was able to get up first, with Shark being able to do so as well a couple of seconds later. "I have the lead in Life Points Shark! It looks like this Duel is about to end soon!"
Shark let out a sinister upon hearing those words, causing Yuma to look at him confused. "Not just soon, it's gonna end during your next turn! I should thank you for activating your Trap Yuma because now I can activate mine! Explosive Urchin! When it's my turn again, you'll be inflicted with 1000 points of Damage with this Trap! Now my victory is as good as decided!" Land mines appeared on Yuma's field, and all of them were ready to explode the moment the crab-haired boy announced his End Phase.
Yuma Life Points: 1000/ Number of cards in hand: 0
Shark Life Points: 400/ Number of cards in hand: 0
Yuma 5th Turn:
Bronk, Tori, and the rest of the audience continued to spectate the duel, however, all of them knew it was now over for Yuma. "It's hopeless, Yuma has exactly 1000 Life Points, he's as good as finished." Bronk was the one who spoke.
"It can't be, Yuma can't lose... he just can't..." Tori closed her eyes, trying not to lose what little faith she had in her friend and secret crush.
"It's your final chance to save yourself from further embarrassment. Give it up, you can't possibly sink much lower than this?" Shark figured this had to be the moment that could break Yuma before the Duel could even finish, but yet again he was amazed by the latter's stubbornness.
"You still don't get it, do you!? I haven't lost yet, I have faith in my cards and they have faith in me! Together we won't give up until the last card is played!" Yuma declared as the spirits of Gagaga Magician, Gagaga Girl, Gogogo Golem and Ganbara Knight appeared behind him and smiled, each of them being proud of Yuma for refusing to give in to Shark's demands. They all then turned to glare at the 14-year-old, who couldn't see their actual forms, but instead, he caught the sight of four golden figures of light. This frightened Shark a bit, and he began to wonder whether he was dreaming things or not. The four gold figures soon vanished, allowing Shark to only see Utopia and Yuma on the other side of the field once again.
"Ok, what was that!? Ever since I met this Yuma kid, nothing has been normal. Four gold figures were glaring at me for reasons I don't even know. Better put an end to this before I lose what little sanity I have left." Shark thought to himself. "You only have one turn left! Why aren't you giving up the Duel!?" Shark asked Yuma, it was clear in his voice, that more and more frustration was building up within him.
"How about I ask you a question instead! Why do you want me to give up so badly!?" Yuma shouted, asking a question in return. "Going by your attitude, I can already tell you have also given up something important to you, isn't that right Shark!? Have you abandoned something precious to you!?"
Shark was taken aback by Yuma's words, and for a brief moment, it looked like he had overcome the possession because the purple glow in his eyes had faded away, only for the purple light to return and intensify his aura even further.
Yuma continued to speak as he thrust his right palm out and spread out his fingers. "I for one will never give up and will continue to feel the flow. I'll show you what I mean by beating you!"
"So you still have a way to turn this around?" Astral asked the determined crab-haired boy.
"I do! I have a combo in my Deck that can beat him." Yuma remembered how he was sorting his cards in his attic last night, and picked up the said special combo, looking at it confused because he didn't know how to properly use it at the time. Then he stared at the meal he had received from his Grandma the moment he left the house earlier in the day. "Grandma... Thanks for giving me my victory meal." Yuma picked up his meal and proceeded to devour it in one go.
"Yuma, what are you..." Tori and the rest of the audience stared at him in shock, who in the world would start eating in the middle of a Duel?
The crab-haired boy on the other hand could've cared less about whether or not he should be eating during a Duel. "All that matters now is that I'm feeling the flow again!" Yuma decided to show off his athletic abilities and proceeded to backflip a few times before eventually coming to a halt. "I DRAW!" Yuma shouted as he once again dramatically drew from the top card of his Deck, maybe a bit too over the top this time, since he lost his balance mid-air and fell to the ground.
Yuma glanced at the card he drew and grew ever so jovial because it was the one that he needed to win. "It's here! Utopia do it now! Attack Leviathan Dragon!"
Utopia didn't need to be told twice even though he knew that Leviathan Dragon had a higher Attack Power, 500 more to be precise. " Yuma I don't know what you're trying to do here, but my heart tells me that I should trust in your instincts." Utopia once again took action by throwing his sword into the air.
"I don't believe this!? Are you planning to take yourself out!" Astral was at a loss for words, he hoped Yuma knew what he was doing.
"Have you lost it!? Utopia doesn't have enough ATK Points to take on Leviathan Dragon yet!" Bronk yelled at his friend for his stupidity.
Utopia caught his golden blade mid-air and was about to swing it downwards, until Yuma yet again, seemingly made another inappropriate move.
"Then by activating Utopia's effect, I can detach one Overlay unit to halt his attack." Utopia absorbed his last overlay unit, allowing the blade he had just raised to vanish into golden particles, which indicated that he had stopped his attack upon Yuma's behest.
Number 39: Utopia: OVU: 1 -1 = 0
"What's the point in a combo that doesn't deal me any damage!?" Shark couldn't comprehend what the point behind Yuma's play was, to him it looked like he just wasted an overlay unit that could have lasted him another turn. Yuma looked Shark directly in the eye, he could tell that there was a deeper reason behind Shark's behavior and that he may carry burdens of his own. Yuma decided to say one last thing before he played his last card.
"You know Shark..." Yuma began, gaining Shark's attention. "There is a special reason as to why I can't lose to you. I made a promise to a girl who used WATER Monsters just like you Shark. She was my best friend during my childhood and the one person who understood me more than anyone. Even though she may not be with me today, I can still remember how much she loved her WATER Monsters and her Deck, it was as if her cards were an extension of her. Too bad I can't say the same for you! The lack of a True Duelist's heart is getting to you, doesn't it? You use WATER monsters as well, but unlike her, the way you play your cards make it seem like your heart isn't truly in this Duel anymore, and that's affecting the true love you hold for Dueling deep inside!"
That struck a chord within Shark, but not in a good way. He was livid, how could this twerp dare to insinuate that he was not a True Duelist when he had made it his mission to become one of the best at the very sport of Dueling for the majority of his life. "You dare say I'm not a True Duelist!? Who are you to tell me that!? You better be quiet because you don't know the first thing about me!"
"I know enough to tell that you don't seem happy with the way you're playing your cards right now, it's like you're not feeling any passion at all besides wanting to hurt people. That's the only way you know how to deal with whatever is bringing you, right!?." Yuma yelled out, causing Shark to grit his teeth, knowing that Yuma's words had some merit to his current predicament. "Your eyes are giving it away Shark! Taking it out on others will only serve to hurt you in the end, and I don't want you to walk on a path that will lead you nowhere! That's why I have to beat you to make you see reason and also... I don't know why, but beating you makes me feel like, it will bring me one step closer to meeting her again!"
"Whatever! I could care less about who this friend of yours is! You still don't have any means of beating me! Your Utopia can't declare an attack anymore, and not to mention you used up your last Overlay Unit. You're practically shark food right now." Shark reminded Yuma of Utopia's inability to attack this turn, due to the knight already having done so earlier.
"Hehehe, that's what you think! I'll have you know Utopia's Barrier of the Moon can be utilized in a more complex way Shark! Here let me show you, because this Quick-Play Spell will change everything! I activate Double or Nothing!" Yuma decisively played the only card he had left in his hand. "When my Monster's attack is negated, this card doubles that Monster's Attack Power and allows it to attack once again!" the young boy explained as Utopia called forth not just one, but both of his golden blades this time.
Number 39: Utopia: ATK: 2500 x 2 = 5000
"A Quick-Play Spell that doubles your Monster's strength..." Shark knew the Duel had been decided right then and there, the 14-year-old didn't have any other moves to make, and now what he had figured would just be another daily case of him beating someone down turned out to be anything but such in this Duel. He was going to experience a loss to someone who had never won before.
"It's time we make Shark see reason Utopia! End it now!" Yuma ordered Utopia to attack for what he figured would be the last time in this Duel.
"NOOOOOOO! This cannot be!" Leviathan Dragon was in complete disbelief, he was going to experience defeat at the hands of a knight whom he initially deemed as inferior to him.
"I can feel Yuma's spirit resonating with mine, and it has empowered the both of us. It's over Leviathan, you lose!" Utopia's voice carried unwavering resolve as he launched himself toward Leviathan Dragon, ready to strike. With the distance closing rapidly, he angled downward, both blades raised high, prepared to deliver the final blow.
"Rising Sun Slash!" Yuma, Astral and Utopia shouted in unison, as the latter finally swung both of his swords downward, slicing Leviathan Dragon. The amount of light Utopia's sword carried now was powerful enough to absorb the darkness within Leviathan Dragon, and thus the knight had successfully expelled his fellow Number's inner darkness. Leviathan Dragon then turned into turquoise particles and vanished into thin air, but the force of Utopia's ultimate attack didn't stop with Leviathan Dragon's destruction, even Shark was sent crashing hard into the ground in utter defeat because of the shockwaves.
"Guaaaaaaagh!"
Shark Life Points: 400 - 2000 = 0
Winner: Yuma Tsukumo (LP: 1000)
"Did I... win?" Even though Yuma was in control of his plays, he found it unbelievable that he beat his school's best Duelist. It wasn't just him, the entire audience was shell-shocked by what Yuma had just done.
"Yuma won..." Tori and Bronk said at the same time. They then looked at each other to make sure they weren't dreaming or something, and when they realized they weren't, they happily ran towards Yuma as the rest of the audience cheered.
Yuma too managed to overcome his surprise and started yelling out in happiness while jumping high into the air. "I did it! I beat Shark!"
Shark's lackeys on the other hand were disappointed in their leader. "To think you'd lose to someone like him... We're outta here, Shark!" they spoke one last time and ran away from the scene.
Astral figured this was the perfect moment to take Leviathan Dragon, and directed his open right palm towards Shark's defeated figure. Leviathan Dragon's card glowed from Shark's heart and left his body, then it proceeded to fly towards Astral. The transparent being quickly received the card with his right hand and took note of the Number 17 that was embedded on top of Shark's right hand had dissolved itself, which indicated that he was no longer possessed. Astral then analyzed Leviathan Dragon's card. "So this is Number 17... A piece of my memories..." Astral then absorbed the Number card and became overwhelmed by the new information he had just received by doing so. "Does this mean... If I managed to collect all 99 scattered Number cards, I can recover my memory?"
The augmented reality had vanished once everyone took off their Duel Gazers, including Shark who got up from the ground, disappointed at himself for losing to a nobody. "To think I would... lose..." Shark turned to look at the person who handed him his first defeat in a while.
Yuma smiled as he thought back on his loved ones, holding his pendant close to his heart and gazing up at the pristine blue sky as his buddies were enjoying themselves. "Dad... Mom... Rio, I won." Then, with a deck of cards sitting on his open right hand and a disappointed expression on his face, Shark surprised the winner of the Duel by approaching him. "Shark..."
"As we promised." Shark handed over Bronk's Deck to Yuma.
"Thank you, and thank you for keeping your word." Yuma looked Shark square in the eye and sensed that although his words hadn't completely reached him yet, he could confirm that Shark was an honorable Duelist at least. Sensing that he didn't have much else to say, Shark turned around and left Yuma with a few parting words.
"Yuma Tsukumo, I will remember this." Shark told the 13-year-old boy as he began walking away from the area.
"Shark! I had a lot of fun! Let's Duel again sometime! But we won't bet our Decks next time!" Yuma cheerily suggested, causing Shark to stop in his tracks for a moment. He felt like he wanted to reply, but decided against it and left without saying a word.
"You bet on the the draw of a single card, and bet everything on it, I see..." Yuma's last play was clearly understood by Astral now, as well as the fact that the young boy loves to take risks.
"Huh? Did you suddenly have a little change in attitude?" Yuma took note of Astral seemingly figuring out why he did what he did. "Well, it's cool. What do you think of that display, it was amazing right?"
"Generally speaking, you are a Duelist whom goes beyond my understanding... Foolma." Once more Astral ended a sentence by mispronouncing Yuma's name.
Yuma clenched his teeth as his mood changed from being on cloud nine to hilarious rage due to his name being called out for the third time that day, and he jumped, frightening everyone in the area with his loud voice. "It's not Foolma, it's Yuma!"
So that's it for this chapter, I made some changes to Yuma and Shark's first Duel, but it still ended up practically the exact same way, because of course the showdown between Utopia and Leviathan Dragon is one of the most iconic Zexal moments. I will explain how and when Yuma was able to see and converse with Duel Spirits. He's not the only one who has that ability in this fic though. Next chapter should be released within a week or two. But anyways, I decided to make the Card Catalog, so you can keep track of all the OC cards or any effect changes to cards that already exist.
Bless 2024 for finally fixing some Zexal archetypes. Gimmick Puppets received support, Tachyon and Heraldic beasts as well. Sharks had a good year as well. Although both S37 and S38 deserved better than what they got.
Card Catalog:
Yuma's Cards:
Painful Recovery: Spell
Effect: Pay 1000 Life Points and Target 1 Spell card from your Graveyard; Add that target to your hand.
Gagaga Heart: Spell/Continuous
Effect: During your End Phase, if you control a "Gagaga" monster(s): Inflict 500 points of Damage to your opponent. If a "Gagaga" monster(s) would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can send this card from the field to the Graveyard instead.
Gagaga Soul: Spell/ Continuous
Effect: Once per turn: You can target 1 monster on the field, it loses ATK Points equal to the ATK Points of a "Gagaga" monster in your GY until the End Phase. If a monster would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can send this card from the field to the Graveyard and target one monster on your Field, gain Life Points equal to its original ATK.
Shark's Cards:
Determined Tides: Trap
Effect: When you take Battle Damage involving a WATER monster you control, draw 2 cards.
Rio's Cards (last chapter):
Aurora Phoenix: ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1400/ Attribute: WATER/ Level 4/ Winged Beast/ Effect
Effect: When it is Normal Summoned, Flip Summoned, or Special Summoned, if there are no other monsters on your side of the field, Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower WATER Winged Beast monster from your hand.
Aurora Barrier: Trap
Effect: When an opponent's monster declares an attack on a WATER Winged-Beast Monster: Target the attacking monster; negate the attack, and if you do, inflict 300 damage to your opponent for each card in your hand.