Chapter 1: Prologue
The war was over. Leo Akaba and his army of Fusion miscreants had finally been defeated. In the ruins of Academia, atop the rubble of this once impenetrable fortress had stood the Lancers, the elite group of duelists responsible for bringing peace not just to the fusion dimension, but to all dimensions. It had been difficult at first, with the Xyz dimension needing to be rebuilt from the ground up. The war had ravaged the once sprawling metropolis that was Heartland City to the point where it had simply become a husk, a hollow shell in which even the hardiest of creatures could not find its home. And yet, this shell remained a symbol of a new beginning to its former inhabitants, who all maintained a strong desire to restore it to its former glory. They vowed to reclaim their city from the fire and dust that had enveloped it, and that's exactly what they had begun to do.
However, after a war that had caused such intense and widespread suffering, reconstruction was never going to be as simple as rebuilding houses and social infrastructure. All this restoration and work meant nothing without people. After all, what are homes if there is no-one to inhabit them? What is a city without its citizens? This sentiment was shared across the dimensions, uniting those of the Synchro, Xyz and Standard dimensions behind a policy of amnesty and forgiveness towards those of the Fusion dimension. Such a policy would allow a new world to rise from the ashes of Academia, free from the chains of oppression that had bound its indoctrinated populous for so long. Nevertheless, for the communities of this tortured dimension, rehabilitation was always the biggest concern, but even this was only the first step in healing the damage done by the Professor.
Accepting change was the next. Whereas change had only begun to flourish for the Fusion dimension in the immediate aftermath of the war, it had already set its roots firmly in the Synchro dimension, with a revolution sweeping the city of New Domino within weeks of the Lancers' arrival. The revolution spread across the city like a tidal wave, a raging torrent of animosity and resentment consuming the hearts of the Commons that cried out to be liberated. This deluge of ill feeling towards the Topsiders threatened to flood the entire city with hate and misery, until a single duel changed it all. This duel brought smiles to both Topsiders and Commons alike, convincing them to lay down their arms and cooperate with one another. With this cooperation, the harsh nature of their world became clear. Their survival, and the survival of everything in it, was dependent on their ability to co-exist together in peace.
Of course, peace on a dimensional scale was much harder to achieve. This task again fell to the Lancers of the Standard dimension, just as it had done during the war. Through their unyielding tenacity and their unwavering compassion, each dimension underwent a complete change not unlike a caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly. At first, these worlds were weak and vulnerable, but within two years they had emerged anew, born again with radiant wings emblazoned with the lasting achievements of the Lancers: Compassion, forgiveness, tolerance… and peace.
And so, with peace achieved and the reconstruction of dimensions all but completed, the Lancers left their old lives behind. They left behind the despair, the anguish, the grief… and the heartache.
…Or at least that's what Sora had hoped.