I do not own Yugioh Zexal or it's characters! The Yugioh franchise belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. I only own my OC Sasha and the altered plot. Askalan belongs to a friend of mine! Reviews are appreciated!

Sasha's POV

"Your defeat is coming, Yuma- I can assure you! But for now, I place one card facedown and end my turn!" Mr. Kay said to Yuma as the duel continued.

Mr. Kay: 4000 Yuma: 3200

"Ahhh...! Okay. Um. Lemme think. Lemme think!" Yuma starting getting flustered. It didn't help that the viral release would occur in 20 minutes.
"It is my turn!" Astral said taking charge.
"I can do this by myself, Astral!"

"Yuma keeps yelling and screaming at someone who clearly isn't there. In the end, should we be concerned about him?" Caswell asked, but me and Tori shook our heads.
"No no, he's fine, don't worry, Caswell! This is just what Yuma's like when he's really feelin' the flow." Tori said with me nodding in agreement.

"It's my turn! I draw!" Yuma drew a card.
"I suggest that you summon Ganbara Knight." Astral said to Yuma.
"Go away and duel your own duel!"

"A Number card is on the line here, Yuma. If we don't get that Number... I may fade away."
"Oh yeah? Well maybe I should let 'im win then!" Seriously? Can they just get along for 20 minutes?!"
"You need me, Yuma. You cannot duel without me. You are not good enough."
"Stop talking to me and just go away! I'm not gonna do anything you tell me to do in this duel!"

"Why would you disregard my valuable advice?"
"If you tell me that I should go to the right, then I'm gonna break to the left! You say I should bust out Ganbara Knight? So I'll summon Achacha Archer!"

Achacha Archer [1200/600]

"Bad move." Astral commented.

"Fire away!" Yuma ordered. The archer launched a fiery arrow, and damages Mr. Kay's lifepoints.

Mr. Kay: 3500 Yuma: 3200

"Whoohooo! See what I did?! I managed to damage his lifepoints!"
"Perhaps, but you missed out."
"Huh?"

"If you had summoned Ganbara Knight as I advised you to, you would have been able to combine it with your Golem, and then Xyz summon Utopia. " Astral explained. "Oh. I hadn't thought about that," Yuma said before realizing he just agreed with Astral, "I mean, it's all part of my master plan!"

"You're messing with my perfection! But fortunately, I've got a trap- Damage Vaccine Omega Max! And since I just took damage, I can use this card to regain all the lifepoints I just lost." Mr. Kay said.

"Uh...! Are you telling me my attack was pointless?!" Yuma asked in disbelief.
"In a way, this entire duel is pointless, my dear boy! Someone like you can't defeat someone like me!"

Mr. Kay: 4000 Yuma: 3200

"Aaah! I can see my future now! They're gonna think I was part of this and they're gonna throw me in jail for life! I'm never gonna be valedictorian, and I'll never get a job, and Yuma's running outta time, and that means- I'm running out of time!" Caswell started freaking out again. Having enough of his whines, I went over to him and slapped him in the face.

"What was that for?" He asked me.
"You freaking out like this isn't helping anyone, Caswell! So calm down!" I said and he stopped his panicking as I got a high-five from Tori.

"Uhh... I end my turn." Yuma said.

"You accomplished nothing! Just as I did on my last turn, I can use my Number card's overlay unit, to seize control of your monster!"

"Wait, wait, what? No, no, hang on, don't, hey- nononot, gaaaaaahh!" Gogogo Golem was then transferred to the other side of the field "Ohh, he got my Gogogo Golem again!"

"If you had summoned Utopia, then he would not have been able to take control of your Golem." Astral informed Yuma who turned to face him.
"Really?"
"Terror-Byte's ability allows it to take control of a monster with a certain level. But Xyz monsters, like Utopia, have ranks- not levels. Understand?" Yuma just sighed, "You are clearly inexperienced. You should listen to me."

"Forget that! So I take a little damage- big deal! Gogogo Golem's gonna return to my field! And when that happens..." Yuma was interrupted by Mr. Kay laughing.

"D'you seriously expect me to use the same exact strategy 2 turns in a row? This time around I'm activating 2 continuous spells!"

"Do you know what a continuous spell is?" Tori asked Caswell who was cowering on the floor whimpering.
"It's just like a normal spell, only its effect stays active for as long as the card remains on the field! Now please let me go back to freaking out!"

"With "Infected Mail", once a turn, any level-4-or-below monster on my field can attack you directly; but after it attacks- it's destroyed. And since it's on my field, I'm going to attack you with your very own Gogogo Golem!"

Mr. Kay: 4000 Yuma: 1400

"So sorry, Yuma. But now it's time to say goodbye to your precious Golem!"
"Aw, man, this is not good!"

"I'm afraid it gets worse! For it's at this moment that my 2nd continuous spell activates! Since "Infected Mail" destroyed your Golem, "Cracking" slams you with an additional 1800 points of damage!"

Mr. Kay: 4000 Yuma: 600

"So what do you think of my special patented Terror-Byte combo?" Mr. Kay asked.

"Uhh... well, I think your special patented Terror-Byte combo... stinks! Huh?" Yuma, as well as myself, noticing Astral fading dimmer and brighter "That's weird...! Uh, why are you more see-through than before?"

"Every time you lose lifepoints, I can feel my life force fading."
"Fading...? Like... that must mean... You weren't kidding!" I instantly noticed a change in Yuma's demeanor. Tori noticed as well.

"Yuma seems like he's lost some of his enthusiasm." She said concerned.
"Of course he's lost his enthusiasm! He's losing this duel! He's gonna totally get me- ah! I know!" Caswell got an idea. I wonder what this is gonna be. "Hey, Yuma!" Caswell then got into a weird chicken-looking pose. What is he doing? "Be like the, the phoenix! And ri-i-i-i-ise from the ashes! Cacawww!" He then began flapping him arms like bird. What is up with this kid?

"Why are you- what are you-?" Yuma didn't know what was going on either.

"Ahh, forget the phoenix! Yeah! There's a dragon in your heart, Yuma! A- a- a giant sleeping dragon, bird, monster!" I think he's trying to be... encouraging? But the chicken wasn't necessary, "I-in the end, what I'm saying is that you've got tremendous potential inside of you!"

"Uhh, I do..?"

"All you have to do is wake that potential up, and this duel is yours!" Caswell told him.
"Uh, thanks, ah, that's a really cool thing for you to say! Let's go! Let's wake up the dragon!"

"Yuma, I, also, have something that I have been meaning to say to you." Astral added.
"What, Astral?"

"You are illogical, and you anger too easily; you are clumsy and lacking athletic ability... You are stubborn, too. And odd. But these are all excellent traits. So earlier, when I said you were inexperienced, I meant to say, 'incredible.'" I smiled at what Astral said, but Yuma missed the compliment.

"Yeah, right, now you're just makin' fun a' me!" Just then the room started to shake, "Huh? What? What's that? What's going on, why is the room moving?" The room started to raise up.

"Oh- whoa! The ceiling's opening! We're- we're going up! We're, we're outside!" Caswell announced.
"Are we going all the way to the top?!" Tori asked.

"From up here, we'll have the best view in the city to witness the results of the viral bug." Mr. Kay said as we shivered from the wind "I'm placing one card facedown and ending my turn."

"Here I go! It's my turn! I draw! Ha, sweet! I drew a great card! Goblindbergh, take to the skies!"

Goblindbergh [1400/0]

"This is what I call a very promising development! Because when Goblindbergh comes to the field, he can bring another monster with it!" Caswell exclaimed.

"Yuma, use this opportunity to summon Zubaba Knight." Astral suggested, but per usual, Yuma shrugged him off.

"Thanks for the suggestion; since you think I should go with Zubaba Knight- I think I'll go with Ganbara Knight!"

Ganbara Knight [0/1800]

"Whoa...! I just realized- they're both level 4! That means, I can Xyz-summon Utopia!" Zubaba Knight was only a level 3, so would Astral tell Yuma to play that instead? Unless... maybe... "I am feelin' the flow like you would not believe! I'm high-fiving the sky, baby! I'm not just in the zone, there's like, another zone inside the zone and that's the zone I'm in!" I smiled at Yuma's wording, "Now check me out as I Xyz-summon- Number 39, Utopia!"

Number 39: Utopia [2500/2000]

"Whoa...! Utopia..." Even Mr. Kay was stunned.

"Yuma, listen. Do not lay down a trap card." Yuma started growling in annoyance "You're not skilled enough to use one."

"Not skilled enough?! I'm all about skill, ya floating bag a' wind, I'll show you! I'm placing one card facedown! It's all you, teach!" I smiled as I realized what Astral was doing. Reverse psychology.

"It's my turn, now! Huh! And once again, I activate Terror-Byte's special ability! This time I'll be taking control of Achacha Archer!" Mr. Kay said taking Yuma's monster.

"Use your own monsters for once!"
"Why should I? Thanks to my Terror-Byte combo, I get so much more out of turning your monsters against you!"

"Because of Mr. Kay's combo, Archer will go down- and then take Yuma down with 'im!" Caswell said but I smiled.
"Don't count him out yet, Caswell."

"You mean if this succeeds, my goose is cooked?!" Yuma panicked.
"Too bad Utopia is so useless; if only it had some ability." Astral said hinting at Yuma.

"Wait a second...! Utopia has the perfect ability! I got an overlay unit for ya, Mr. Kay! Go ahead and hit me with your best shot, 'cause thanks to Utopia, I can put a stop to one monster's attack!" Yuma said catching on.

"Infected Mail's effect only activates when the monster's direct attack succeeds. Since Utopia has stopped the attack, not only is Archer safe... but "Cracking" will not be able to activate, either." Astral explained and I grinned.

"Hah, yeah..! I can stop you from pulling off your combo!" Yuma said proudly.
"Well; it seems I may've underestimated you." Mr. Kay complimented.

"Yuma's been displaying some rare bursts of intelligence." Caswell noted.
"It's, probably the invisible duelist telling him what to do." Tori answered.
"You were serious about that?" He asked and I looked at him.
"You're forgetting, I can see him as well."

"Now your teacher has used up all of his overlay units." Astral told Yuma.
"Nice! You can't do your combo anymore!" Yuma called to our teacher.

"You don't honestly think that I failed to gauge your strategy just now, do you, Yuma?" Mr. Kay asked.
"Maybe."

"You've managed to pave a new road leading straight towards my victory. I now activate- the "Bug Switch" trap card! When Crashbug X, Y, and Z are in my graveyard, I switch one of my monsters to summon Super Crashbug in defense mode!"

Super Crashbug [0/3000]
"Oh boy, that's a relief. For a second there, I thought you were busting out some huge monster in attack mode." Yuma said relieved.

"Now, why on earth would I go and do something as ineffective as that... when I can activate Super Crashbug's special ability! Now, all monsters in attack mode swap their attack and defense points! Terror-Byte had 2900 defense points; but now it's got 2900 attack points!"

Number 34: Terror-Byte [2900/0]

"Aahh! Are you serious?! It was strong before, but...! Aw, man- and now my monsters are weaker!"

Number 39: Utopia [2000/2500]
Achacha Archer [600/1200]

"And that means it's the perfect time to attack! Go, Terror-Byte! Attack Utopia!"

"Don't dodge this!" Astral said, and luckily, Yuma didn't listen.
"I'm absolutely dodging it! I'm activating Utopia's ability! By using up its last overlay unit, I can stop your attack!"

"Nice!" Tori said watching on.
"No- not nice! Now Utopia's completely out of overlay units; without those, Yuma can't prevent future attacks!" Caswell said, but I knew better.

"I place one card facedown and end my turn! This will all be over on my next turn." Mr. Kay said passing his turn to Yuma.

"Viral release will occur in approximately five minutes." I nervously pulled at my hair, hoping this would be over soon.

"Terror-Byte is so much stronger than my monsters now...! Mr. Kay is right; if I don't beat him this turn, then I'm done-for!" Yuma said worried.

"Yuma, listen to me." Astral said.
"Huh?"
"Whatever you do, do not use Zubaba Knight and Achacha Archer to Xyz-summon Leviathan Dragon. That is a bad idea."

"Oh, yeah- that's right, I've got another Number card! And since you think this is a bad idea, then I think it's the perfect idea!"

Zubaba Knight [1600/900]

"Now that my Knight is out and about, I'm gonna overlay it with Achacha Archer to form the overlay network! Mister Kay, I'd like to introduce you to Number 17, Leviathan Dragon!"

Number 17: Leviathan Dragon [2000/0]

"Interesting. But you seem to have forgotten about the effect Super Crashbug will have. Remember, the attack and defense points of a monster in attack mode are swapped- which means your Leviathan Dragon now has 0 attack points!"

Number 17: Leviathan Dragon [0/2000]

"Dah..! All that effort and excitement, right down the drain!" Yuma said before turning to Astral "See, I told you that was a bad idea! It's like when you told me not to dodge- If I had just stood there, then- ohh..!" Yuma must have just realized what Astral was doing, "You were playing the opposite game with me!"

"You should activate "Thunder Short" from your hand, Yuma. With that, your victory will be assured. No games this time. If you don't do this, I will vanish from this world." Astral told him. Yuma looked at me, almost in guidance, and I nodded.

"From my hand, I'm activating the "Thunder Short" spell card! Thunder Short dishes out 500 points of damage for every monster you have- you can multiply big numbers, right, Mister Kay?!"

Mr. Kay: 3000 Yuma: 600

"This isn't funny anymore. Once again, I activate Damage Vaccine Omega Max! And once again, just as I did before, I regain lifepoints equal to the damage I took."

Mr. Kay: 4000 Yuma: 600

"I just can't make a dent in this guy!" Yuma said exasperated.

"I think you are forgetting about your trap card." Astral reminded.
"Huh? A trap card? Oh yeah! I activate the Overconfidence trap!"

"The... the what?!" Mr. Kay asked.

"Since you've regained lifepoints, I can destroy your monster! Or to put it in a way a math teacher would understand, 'whaddaya get when you subtract Super Crashbug from your field?!"

"With Super Crashbug gone, all the monsters on the field revert back to their normal attack and defense points!" Caswell said as me and Tori cheered.

Number 39: Utopia [2500/2000]
Number 17: Leviathan Dragon [2000/0]
Number 34: Terror-Byte [0/2900]

"Uh-! This can't be! Now Terror-Byte has no attack points!" Mr. Kay said in shock.

"Do your stuff, Leviathan Dragon! Attack with Shock Stream Blast!" Leviathan Dragon does just that, obliterating Terror-Byte and damaging Mr. Kay with a blizzard of purple, "And now Utopia's gonna bring it home! Direct atta-a-a-a-ack! Rising Sun Slash!" Utopia then takes out the rest of Mr. Kay's lifepoints.

Mr. Kay: 0 Yuma: 600
Winner: Yuma

"Hurray! You did it, Yuma!" Tori cheered.
"A miraculous, come-from-behind victory!" Caswell said before grabbing Tori's wrists and swinging her around, while I ran up to Yuma who lifted me up in a hug before putting me down.

"I totally did it! I beat my math teacher!"
"I'm somewhat amazed that we pulled that off." Astral said and Yuma and I looked up at him.

"Huh? Hey, how didja know that Mister Kay was gonna restore his lifepoints like that?" Yuma asked.

"Your math teacher was aiming for perfection. It became clear to me that your teacher did not want to lose any lifepoints; that he would put his desire to be perfect above everything else. So I reasoned he was going to try to regain his lifepoints, even if he did not need to at the time." Astral said before absorbing the number card.

We then all ran over to Mr. Kay. Tori began shaking him.

"Mr. Kay? Mr. Kay? Wake up!" Mr. Kay groggily came to; back to his usual self.
"What're... all you guys doing here?" He asked.

"Hurry! You said you'd stop the viral countdown thing!" Yuma said urgently.
"The viral countdown...? I can't. The viral release doesn't have a cancellation code."

"Are you serious?! You mean the city is doomed?"

The computer then began counting down.
"3" Caswell stifled a wail of fear by stuffing his fingers in his mouth.

"2" Tori huddled on the floor, nearly crying, holding her head.

"1" Yuma pulled me into a tight hug as we prepared for chaos to ensue, but it remained peaceful.

"Aah! We're doomed! It's all over!" Caswell said freaking out.

"What're you guys shouting about over here?" Mr. Kay asked.
"Your virus! Weren't you trying to crash the city's systems and cause panic and chaos?!" Yuma answered Mr. Kay who looked shocked. "Why would you think I'd do something like that?!"

"Uh, everything does seem normal..." Tori commented.
"I'll admit that during my preparations I accidentally caused some trouble, but..."

"But what were you trying to do?" I asked cutting him off.
"Ah...! There we are! You wanna know what I did? Just put on your duel gazers and look up at the sky! Or just look up in your case Sasha." He said.

"This is getting weirder and weirder." Yuma muttered as we looked up "Whoa! What is- is that-"

"There's a giant crashbug in the sky!" We all said at the same time.

"I was looking at the patterns in the city's night lights, and I noticed that they seemed to be forming an incredibly complex matrix code. With my duel gazer, I scanned the pattern, and realized it was just one optical fragment away from being and exact replica of the Crashbug Q-code! And I realized, the museum's dome isn't normally lit up at night." Mr. Kay explained.

"So then all of this was just you trying to turn on those lights and make a giant Crashbug appear in the sky?!" Yuma asked.
"Yeah, you got it." We practically fell over, we went to all that trouble and worry over this?! "Well that's weird!" Yuma commented.

"Yuma- look!" Caswell said handing Yuma his card.
"Your Crashbug card? You rubbing it in that you beat me yesterday?"
"Read the description!"

"'Crashbug is an electric spirit that eats the bugs in our lives. Sadness, doubt, frustration- no bug is too big for Crashbug. If you see Crashbug on the night of a full moon, it brings you good luck'!"

"Don't you get it, yet? In the end, Mr. Kay just wanted everyone to have good luck!"

"Observation #7, Number cards affect people; they change them. They seem to amplify their individual wants and desires, almost to the point they take over... I need to remember that." I heard Astral say behind us.

I leaned my head on Yuma's shoulder, with him putting his arm around me, and we both blushed as we watched the fireworks.