Vile: Howdy, ZEXAL fans? Did you miss me?

Yuma: Where the heck were you, man?!

Vile: In case you forgot, I've got 16 chapters of GSTART to write that won't be posted until they're all complete, not to mention school and other fics. This crap ain't easy!

Astral: I'm just glad you haven't forgotten us.

Vile: How could I? ZEXAL's easily my favorite series! XD Anyhoo, I finally managed to complete the first chapter of this fic, which serves as an arc in the Numbershot fanon. The plot's moving now, folks! No disclaimer needed, because you know how this works! Note: This story takes place a couple hours after Numbershot S43. Enjoy!

Story Routine, Set!

Computer Voice: Execute!

Keys To The Solution

Chapter 1

*Within the Emperor's Key*

Astral continued to stare at the odd mechanism that he didn't know was in the Emperor's Key. Six cylinders on a circular wall, colored red, orange, yellow, green, dark blue, and purple, with a large light blue center. The center glowed faintly, and the purple cylinder was lit up. 'What could this mean…?' Astral wondered.

"Astral?" Mia's voice asked. Astral turned to see the pink spirit float to him. "I was searching for you."

"Gomen, Mia. I was merely… observing this odd mechanism." Astral said, turning back to the mechanism. "Something about it just feels… familiar to me."

Mia floated closer to the mechanism. Out of curiosity, she slowly reached out and touched the glowing core. A breath escaped her. "…The Astral World."

"Eh?"

"There's energy coming off of this core. It feels identical to the atmosphere of the Astral World." Mia told him. "It's almost as if… the Astral World itself is beyond it."

"Like… a gateway?" Astral asked. Mia nodded. "Hmm…" He looked at the purple cylinder. "Perhaps the answer is related to that cylinder…" Suddenly, the cylinder's glow got brighter. Astral felt a jolt go through him. "Nani?"

"Astral? What happened?" Mia asked.

"I sense something… outside the Key." Astral said. "Let's go." Mia nodded, following Astral out.

*Outside the Key*

"You're right, Kaito. This card is weird." Yuma said. He, Kotori, Kaito, Haruto, Jenaveve, and Orbital 7 were in Yuma's house, trying to understand the meaning behind the mysterious card that Kaito acquired only a couple of hours ago: Haken Kocho (Supreme Key Insect) – Master Key Beetle.

"The energy within that card is highly similar to the energy inside the Emperor's Key." Orbital 7 said. "Haruto-sama thought you would know something about it."

At that moment, Astral and Mia emerged from the Key. Astral looked down and saw the Key. "There… It was that card I sensed."

Yuma and Kotori noticed him. "What do you mean, Astral?"

"Something is… familiar about that card. I feel it." Mia said.

"Yuma… May I see that card?" Astral asked.

"I… guess so." Yuma said, handing Astral the card. The minute the card touched Astral's fingers, it gave off a flash of light, rendering Astral and Mia visible to the others.

"Whoa…" Jenaveve breathed. "So they are… Astral and Mia!"

"The card made us visible… My feeling was true." Mia said. "That card is related to the Astral World."

"It is?" Yuma and Kotori asked.

"That would explain the similar energy." Kaito mused.

Mia took the card from Astral. "I have an idea. I'll be right back." With the card in hand, Mia returned to the Key, the card breaking down with her.

"What are you planning, Mia?" Astral wondered.

*Within the Key*

Mia floated back to the odd mechanism. As she got closer, the purple cylinder seemed to glow even brighter. When she held out the card, it glowed purple as well. Then, it flew out of her grasp and stopped right above the cylinder. A thin slot opened up on the cylinder, and the card flew inside, causing the cylinder to flash brightly. "Ohhh…" Mia breathed. Then, the purple cylinder fired lightning to the blue cylinder, striking it and making it glow as well. The light blue core began to glow, before it fired a laser beam outward from the Key. Mia quickly chose to follow it.

*Elsewhere* *Outside the Key*

An alert began blaring on the Number Distributor's monitor. "Nani?" He quickly turned, seeing images appear. "Oh dear…"

Vector was heard growling. "It's already happening…!"

*Yuma's House *

The Key's gem as glowing, the Key itself shaking. "W-What's going on?" Yuma wondered. Then, the beam shot out from the Key, projecting a screen on the wall.

"Hey, free movie!" Haruto chirped.

"Hold on, Haruto." Kaito told him. "This could be important." An image of Master Key Beetle appeared on the screen before turning completely purple. The screen zoomed out, revealing that the purple card was in a hexagonal formation with five other solid-colored cards of red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. The cards then had their glows fade to reveal their artwork and names. Kanji appeared on the screen. "…Six Key cards for the Master Lock. One for each Attribute." Kaito read. Mia emerged from the Key at this point.

The screen then changed to show the same odd mechanism in the Key behind the cards. "That mechanism…" Astral mused.

Slots opened up within each of the six cylinders, and Master Key Beetle was inserted into the purple one, firing lightning to the blue one, projecting a smaller screen that looked like a map, with a blue dot marked on it. The process repeated itself with the next four cards: Inserting themselves into the blue, green, yellow, and orange cylinders (in that order), striking the next one in line, and forming a mini-map. More kanji appeared. "When a Master Key is found… it will point the way to the next one." Mia said.

Finally, the FIRE Master Key was inserted into the red cylinder, forming new Kanji. "And when all six are gathered…" Kotori said.

At this, the light blue core changed to resemble some sort of gateway, more Kanji appearing. "…The path to the Master Lock will open, allowing the solution to be unlocked." Yuma read.

"Master Lock…? What could it mean?" Astral wondered.

"I think there's only one way to find out." Yuma said. "We need to find the other Master Keys!"

"But where would they be?" Haruto wondered.

"'When a Master Key is found, it will point the way to the next one.' Since we found Master Key Beetle… it should tell us where the next one is." Jenaveve said, repeating what Mia had read.

"The next one is line is blue. That mini-map should tell us where to find the next one." Orbital 7 stated. The mini-map conjured by the blue cylinder grew larger, showing a more detailed map with a blue dot marked on it.

"According to the map… The next Master Key is on the eastern coast of Hokkaido." Kotori said. "That makes it the closest to us."

"That still makes it really far away, Kotori. We're in the west of Hokkaido, in case you forgot." Yuma said, pointing to the rough location of Heartland in Japan's northern island region. "And I don't think we have the money for a round-trip plane ticket."

"And we don't have access to any of Heartland Tower's equipment. Tou-san's technology could have provided a quick way to get us there." Kaito said.

Orbital piped up. "Kaito-sama." Kaito looked at him. "I hope it isn't too much… but might I recommend something?"

"I'm listening…" Kaito said.

"I believe there may be someone who can help." Orbital said. Typing noises were heard from his system, and then a *PING!* was heard. "Message sent."

"Who were you calling, Orbital?" Kaito asked.

"…A few former enemies of ours." Orbital replied, confusing Kaito. Another chime was heard, indicating a return message, which Orbital read. "…They've agreed. We must leave. Please, everyone… Follow me." They were unaware of a trio of eavesdroppers nearby.

*A Little Later*

"I see… Your situation is definitely odd." Chris Arclight said, having had the situation explained to him. "We'd be glad to help you any way we can."

"That means a lot, Chris." Kaito said with a smile. "Do you know of a way?"

"There is one way…" Byron said, walking up from behind Chris. "It requires a combination of our powers… Mine and Haruto's."

"Eh? Me?" Haruto wondered.

Byron nodded. "Your powers are capable of breaking through the boundaries of space. However, they are rather… renegade, shall I say." Haruto sweatdropped. "However, through the power of my Crest and the research and technology left over from mine, Faker's, and Kazuma's work… we may be able to stabilize the portals and direct them to where we wish."

"Using the research of dimensional travel to better the world…" Yuma breathed. "That was always Tou-chan's dream!"

"It was the dream of all our fathers." Kaito said.

"And together, here and now, we will realize it." Chris said. "This research will redeem Byron Arclight, avenge Dr. Faker… and, hopefully, rescue Kazuma Tsukumo!" Yuma and Kaito nodded.

*Elsewhere in the castle*

"Haruto, are you ready?" Byron asked, standing in front of Haruto with two machines with arc-shaped attachments behind him, operated by Marcus and Chris. Kaito was operating a control panel, Yuma, Kotori, Jenaveve, Orbital 7, and Keegan were nearby.

"Ready!" Haruto said with a confident look.

"Marcus, Chris! When Kaito gives the signal, activate the machines!" Byron said.

"Right!" Marcus and Chris said.

"Haruto, engage!" Byron said, forming his Crest on his hand and making a giant copy of it form underneath them.

Haruto began channeling his latent power as much as he could, causing the area to slightly warp. "Ngh… Nah…" He groaned.

"Haruto…" Kaito breathed.

"I'm… all right… Nii-san!" Haruto told him through his struggling. Energy began to crackle around his hands as he brought them together, slowly forming an energy ball.

Byron felt his Crest begin to wane in the face of this power. "Ngh… So… strong…!" He groaned, trying to keep his focus and his power up. As the energy ball got larger, Byron kept struggling. "Agh! At this rate… I won't be able to hold it…!" However, the images of his sons' Crests appeared overtop of Byron's, pouring power into him. "Eh?"

"Don't give up, Tou-chan!" Chris said.

"We'll use all the power we can to help!" Marcus added.

"We're in this together!" Keegan said. Byron smiled, using the power his sons gave him to keep Haruto's power coming.

At that moment, a pulse was given off from the energy ball, which Haruto threw up a short distance. Kaito saw this and ramped up the power on the control panel. "NOW!"

Marcus and Chris pointed their machines at the energy ball and activated them, firing lightning from them that struck the energy ball. "Easy does it, Marcus… We can't go too quickly!" Chris said, getting a nod from his younger brother. Slowly, the energy ball was moved towards in-between the two machines, Marcus and Chris slowly turning the machines to keep the flow working. When the energy ball was directly between them both, the two brothers slowly pushed the machines closer together, linking their arcs to form a circular gate that the energy ball somewhat exploded within, creating a swirling portal within the circle.

The Crests' images faded, making Byron begin to pant. Haruto, woozy, fell to his hands and knees. "Haruto!" Jenaveve gasped, rushing to him and kneeling down.

Haruto, however, had a weary smile on his face. "Eh heh heh… I did it… Huh, Nee-chan…?" He panted. Jenaveve smiled at him, as did Kaito.

Byron gazed at the portal, being joined by his sons. He wiped the sweat from his brow. "We've done it… we've successfully created a portal. All our research… has come to fruition."

"You think this can help, Arclight-san?" Kotori asked.

"Definitely. All we must do is program the coordinates." Byron said, walking to the control panel. "Based on the mini-map image recorded by Orbital 7…" A map of Hokkaido appeared on a monitor, with the same blue dot as the mini-map appearing. "The coordinates can easily be set." Byron inputted coordinates into the system, and a lock-on cursor zoomed in on the blue dot, turning green. "There. Coordinates set. The portal should take you to where the first Master Key is."

Yuma looked at Kotori. "Ready, Kotori?"

"Mm-hmm." Kotori said with a nod.

"Me and the others will remain here to keep an eye on the system, Yuma." Kaito told him. Yuma nodded.

"Keegan." Byron said, getting his youngest son's attention. "Go with Yuma and Kotori."

"Eh? Why me?" Keegan asked.

"I didn't trust you enough for anything… back then." The father said with a sad look. "But it's time I started. Marcus and Chris can remain here to help me, while you aid Yuma and Kotori." Byron placed a hand on his son's shoulder with a smile. "I have faith in you, Keegan."

Keegan gave a smile, hugging his father. "Arigatou, Tou-chan." Pulling out of the hug, Keegan nodded at Yuma and Kotori, who nodded back.

"What, no goodbyes?" A voice said. Yuma and Kotori, shocked, turned around to see all their friends and family: Shark, Tetsuo, Takashi, Cathy, Tokunosuke, Hikaya, Ariel, Rio, Sei, Sachi, Yamoto, Akari, Tetsuko, Haru, Gauche, Droite, Anna, Yuya, Spade, Raio, Rokujuro, and Yamikawa.

"H-How did you-?" Yuma was cut off.

"Akari." Shark said, pointing to Yuma's sister.

"Don't tell me: You heard everything." Yuma said.

Akari nodded, walking over to him. "You thought I was just gonna let you leave without telling everyone?"

"She has a point, Yuma. That was a pretty jerk move." Tetsuo said.

"What were you thinking, not telling any of us?" Anna asked.

Yuma had no answer. "I… *sighs* I guess I wasn't thinking."

"At least he's honest." Spade whispered to Raio.

"Gomen for not telling any of you." Yuma said. "But this is something we have to do, so-"

"Save it, Yuma. We're already okay with it, Ura." Tokunosuke said with a hand up.

"We'll gladly hold down the fort here until you get back." Yamoto assured. "If the Distributor and Vector try to attack, we'll take them on."

Yuma and Kotori smiled. "Arigatou, everyone."

"You're already turning out just like your father, Yuma. Willing to ignore repercussions just so you can help people." Haru chuckled.

"Just don't allow your heroism to lead to suicide." Yamikawa told him. "We want our hero to come back alive."

"Don't worry, guys. I'm not alone in this. Not by a long shot." Yuma said, Kotori and Keegan beside him. Astral and Mia appeared from the Key, winking at him. He looked at his partners. "Ready?" Both Kotori and Keegan nodded.

"Good luck, Yuma!" All their friends and family said at once.

Yuma, Kotori, Keegan, Astral, and Mia turned to the portal. A wide grin appeared on Yuma's face as he rushed toward the portal, the others not far behind. "CHOU KATTOBINGU DA, ORE!" He leapt into the portal, the others filing in one-by-one.

'Kazuma… Faker… Can you see it?' Byron thought. 'Our dream has been fulfilled…'

*Meanwhile*

"Yes…?" A voice said into a D-Gazer.

"Major change in plans." The Distributor said through the other end. "I'm changing gears to complete a new mission. I want you to deal with Tsukumo's friends and family. Understood?"

"Completely. Don't worry about us." The voice said, hanging up. The voice's owner turned to a group of shadowed figures. "Well, everyone… Looks like we finally get to have some fun." He held up a glowing blank card as he gave a dark chuckle.

Vile: The families of Tsukumo, Tenjo, and Arclight have come together to form the path to the solution. It's all on Yuma, Kotori, and Keegan's shoulders now!

Yuma: Wait... If we're apparently being transported to the other side of Hokkaido... then what happens to any new Numbers?

Vile: You, Kotori, Astral, and Mia won't be in them. Until you guys get back (AKA when this story is done), you four will be absent from the Numbershots and Decks-hibitions, giving the other characters time in the spotlight.

Yuma: Hmm... Can't argue with that logic!

Vile: Of course you can't. ;) Anyhoo, if you guys liked this chapter, leave a review for me! Hopefully it won't take too long for the next ZEXAL story, which is either the second chapter of Keys to the Solution or my newest Numbershot! Stay tuned! Ja ne for now!

Computer Voice: Vile, logging out.