The effect of En Flowers activates and with that Ray defeats Zarc. As he shouts about how it can't be, four bracelets appear on Ray's wrist and in the flashing light, both Zarc and Ray split into four and fly off to parts unknown as everything exists gets engulfed in the light and experiences a fate similar to theirs.
"Where am I?"
The question is asked by Ray's consciousness. It's an experience that she can't fathom but it feels like she's in four places at once and capable of being aware of everything there at said places. From all four places, she can tell that none of them were her home. She does notice something. In each one of these places, she sees some kind of energy going to different spots and sees them forming into babies. Babies that each have a card with a distinct dragon on them.
"Those are Zarc's dragons. Wait! Why do those babies have those cards unless they're him."
Ray starts figuring that if she's aware of things around her despite sacrificing her body and on a level she can focus on four different places at once, it's possible Zarc can too. Then the possibility of Zarc using these boys as a means to revive himself comes to mind, and the horrors she stopped repeating again.
"No. I can't let that happen, but I can't stop him like this. No wait, I still can stop him but not as myself. Rather the four I will be. The same things going to happen to me but I need to make sure that the four I split into will be of help."
Standard Dimension.
"I'll have this part of me be the daughter of this man." Ray says referring to Shuzo. "He's close-friends to the man who's the father of Zarc's part here so they're sure to know each other."
Synchro Dimension.
"An orphanage. I don't want to abandon a baby at an orphanage like she's unwanted, especially in a world like this, but I need to stop Zarc."
As Ray looks at the next two dimensions, a dark force starts to interfere. She recognizes it easily as Zarc.
"What do you think you're doing Ray?" Zarc barks at her.
"Making sure what I stopped doesn't happen ever again." Ray replies with no fear.
"Do you think having those fragments of you can stop my revival?"
"Yes. Otherwise why would you interfere?" While there's no physical form of the two for either to see, Ray feels that struck a nerve. However, she should have chose words better as Zarc's anger starts messing with her ability to choose where her remaining two sides will go because every time she looks for a spot where they'd most likely meet with Zarc's other pieces soon, he stops her. She'd have to think more strategically in where they go and hope they'll meet later.
Xyz Dimension.
"This city is huge. So much that its duel school is separated into branches. Wait, from what I can tell, where you live in this city determines which branch you can attend." Ray scans the area and finds a family with a toddler boy. "I'll put this part of me in the same area as Zarc's and I'll send her to this family. The child they already have is a boy of a close age so even if she doesn't meet Zarc's part, maybe she will through her brother. I hope."
Fusion Dimension.
"I can't find a good spot but apparently by law all children at a certain age must go to a duel school where they'll live until graduation. I hate having to drop another part of me at an orphanage but at least she'll have a reason to never want to leave the academy until she graduates. This will increase her chances of meeting Zarc's piece."
After making the choice of where each of her counterparts will go, in each dimension, there's the crying of a baby girl. Each one clutching a bracelet of unique design and no one around them questioning whether or not the baby was there before. They act like they've always been there.
"Zarc. You weren't always evil. You just stuck with a bad decision and it led you down the worst possible path anyone could choose. If you had someone who would listen. Someone who could tell something was wrong. Someone who fully accepted you and help you from going astray no matter what then none of this would happen. These girls have my will and I want them to meet your pieces and make sure they never go down that same road you did."
"A noble sentiment, but even good people can go to Hell and no one is promised a problem free life. These boys are all me and the moment I find that one thing that will cause them to fall, I'll use it to become one again!" Zarc proclaims as he starts to fade.
"We'll see."
Ten years later in the Fusion Dimension, a young Yuri defeats one of the students. Again. Ever since he came to the Academy, he was free to duel as many of the students as possible. It was fun at first since it meant he could bring out his favorite card, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, as many times as he wanted. However, it soon became a curse. Every time he beat someone, they'd be scared of him because he was using a monster that is terrifying in every since of word. Starving Venom Fusion Dragon not only looks scary, but its effects and stats felt intimidating. How could a bunch of inexperience kids compete with something like that and someone as gifted as Yuri.
Things got worse when Yuri started attracting the attention of students who have been around long enough that they were allowed to wear one of the three Academy uniform jackets. Like everyone else, he wiped the floor with them and this just made others want to avoid him even more to the point very few even challenged him. In this massive castle turned school, Yuri felt truly alone with his only friend being Starving Venom who he could occasionally hear and talk to.
In one part of Academy, a young Serena is having a duel against another student and she's about to win.
"Now Lunalight Blue Cat attack directly!" Serena orders as her feline looking monster girl twirls and kicks her opponent to reduce his life points to 0.
"Wow Serena you're good." A girl who was watching the duel says.
"Yeah I guess." Serena shrugs.
"Huh you guess."
"I want a challenge. I want to duel someone really tough. You know the kind of duelist who won't go down easily. I tried challenging the older students but they keep saying they won't challenge a little kid." The fact the older students won't take her as a serious opponent gets her irritated.
"If you want a tough opponent our age, you should challenge Yuri." Serena's defeated opponent slips. When Yuri's name gets mentioned everyone within earshot starts trembling.
"Who's Yuri?" Serena asks.
"Uh, forget I said anything Serena." The boy says.
"Yes. Just don't go near Yuri ever." The girl warns Serena. However, despite this Serena's interest in this Yuri kid piques and soon who he is became the only thing on her mind.
A few days later, Yuri sits on a bench on the Academy grounds doing nothing. His attention is turned to a crowd of students surrounding an older girl in a pink school uniform. Apparently, her name is Asuka Tenjouin. She and her older brother moved into the area and as new residents of the Mainland, they must transfer to the school.
"Sigh, someone new shows up and they welcome her with open arms. Wonder how long till she avoids me like everyone else." Yuri says to himself.
"Hey are you Yuri?" Serena asks getting his attention.
"I am. Who are you?"
"My name is Serena. I've been spending the last couple of days looking for you."
"Wait you have been looking for me?" Yuri asks taken aback. "Why?"
"So I can challenge you to a duel. I've heard you were strong despite being the same age as me and judging by the fact that everyone I talk to freak out when they hear your name then it must be true."
"Yeah that's definitely me. Ok let's get this over with." Yuri speaks with apathy as he puts on his duel disc.
"Hey don't look down on me!" Serena shouts, which gets the attention of Asuka and the students around her.
"I'm not looking down on you. I just know how this duel will go. I'll win and you'll run away in terror." Yuri responds with no sign of emotion but Serena mistakes it with smugness.
"Well someone feels confidents, but I will beat you." Serena smirks as she activates her duel disc. With both ready, they start.
"Duel!"
Yuri: 4000 life points. Hand: 5.
Serena: 4000 life points. Hand: 5.
"Oh no someone else is dueling Yuri."
"She doesn't stand a chance."
"Hey why is everyone acting so nervous?" Asuka asks the trembling kids.
"That boy there is Yuri. He's the scariest and strongest student at Academy."
"He doesn't look scary." Asuka comments.
"Wait until you see him duel."
Serena takes the first move in the duel. "First off, I play Polymerization to fuse the Lunalight Blue Cat and Lunalight Purple Butterfly in my hand. Blue cat that prowls through the darkness! Butterfly with violet poison! Spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion summon! Level 7! Lunalight Cat Dancer!"
Lunalight Cat Dancer. Level: 7. Dark. Beast-Warrior/Fusion/Effect. Attack: 2400. Defense: 2000.
Serena's Cat Dancer performs a little dance to a Riq track before striking a pose. With her fusion monster summoned, Serena ends her turn.
"My turn. I draw." Yuri says. After looking at his hand, he then sighs and starts going through the motions with zero enthusiasm. "First I play Predaponics. Now once per turn, I can special summon a level 4 or lower Predaplant monster from my hand or grave with its effects negated. I use it to special summon Predaplant Moray Nepenthes."
Predaplant Moray Nepenthes. Level: 4. Dark. Plant/Effect. Attack: 1600. Defense: 1000.
"Next I normal summon Predaplant Flytrap." Yuri brings out a flytrap to join the walking carnivorous plant.
Predaplant Flytrap. Level: 2. Dark. Plant/Effect. Attack: 400. Defense: 800.
"Now I play Fusion Substitute. This card acts like Polymerization but I can only use monsters on my side of the field. Of course, this monster needs the materials on the field in order to be summoned. Two beautiful flowers with an insect alluring fragrance. Now become one and from beneath your petals, give birth to a new power. Fusion summon. Level 8. Starving Venom Fusion Dragon."
Starving Venom Fusion Dragon. Level: 8. Dark. Dragon/Fusion/Effect. Attack: 2800. Defense: 2000.
The sight of Yuri's ravenous dragon from hell makes the students watching shake as they all remember how it always means Yuri's overwhelming victory will soon be approaching. The only ones not scared are Asuka, who's more curious about it since she's never seen or heard of the card, and Serena, who puts on a brave face and wonder why this thing makes Yuri so feared.
"I activate Starving Venom's effect. On the turn he's fusion summoned I can make him gain attack equal to an opponent's special summoned monster so he gains the same amount of attack points as Lunalight Cat Dancer."
Starving Venom Fusion Dragon. Attack: 5200.
"Now battle Starving Venom!" Starving Venom Fusion Dragon opens up the maws on its back to cause branches of energy to form that fire a barrage of blasts at Serena's monster.
Serena: 1200 life points. Hand: 2.
"Ok I can see why that monster of yours is tough but strength means nothing if it can't destroy something. You see Lunalight Cat Dancer can't be destroyed by battle." Serena announces as her Cat Dancer is still standing.
"But you still took the damage. I end my turn there and Starving Venom's attack goes back to normal." Yuri says with a deadpan expression as his monster returns to 2800 attack.
"My turn and I draw. Yes. I play Sword of Dark Destruction and equip it to Cat Dancer to increase her attack by 400 and defense by 200." Serena plays her equip magic card giving Cat Dancer a demonic sword that boosts her power.
Lunalight Cat Dancer. Attack: 2800. Defense: 2200.
"Now Lunalight Cat Dancer attack Starving Venom Fusion Dragon! Remember my monster can't be destroyed by battle and when she attacks you take 100 points of damage!" Cat Dancer jumps up and decapitates Yuri's dragon. She also jingles the rings on her hands and feet to deliver a small shockwave that deals minor damage to Yuri.
Yuri: 3900 life points. Hand: 2.
Serena gives a small celebratory smile but then becomes shocked when she sees a shadowy version of Starving Venom rise up and destroy Lunalight Cat Dancer. Serena's completely baffled by what happened.
"If you must know since I summoned Starving Venom through fusion summoning that means that when he's destroyed then all of your special summoned monsters will also be destroyed." Yuri explains.
"Tcch. I end my turn." Serena reluctantly says.
"My turn. I draw and I pay 800 life points to keep my Predaponics on the field."
Yuri: 3100 life points. Hand: 3.
"Now I use Predaponics to bring back Predaplant Moray Nepenthes and I attack you directly with it." The plant monster rises back to the field and just as Yuri commands, it rushes toward Serena in a creepy manner then bites her with both heads causing the young girl to scream in response.
Serena: 0 life points. Hand: 2. Yuri wins.
As the duel ends, Yuri sighs and starts thinking to himself. "Like I said, I would win. Now she'll start running away in fear like all the others and I'll go back to being alone and bored."
"I want a rematch!"
Everyone especially Yuri are all shocked when they hear Serena say that. What really catches Yuri off guard is that she doesn't look scared or sad at all. She looks frustrated like none of what happened was acceptable.
"What did you say?" Yuri asks.
"A rematch! You and me duel again. It's bad enough I lost so easily but the fact that you finished me off with some stupid looking plant when you have something as powerful as that dragon of yours is unacceptable! Give me a rematch right now!"
Other than blinking, Yuri doesn't respond.
"Hey say something you jerk! Don't tell me you're one those guys who after they beat someone, they never challenge that person to another duel again because they're afraid they'll lose?" Serena fumes with tick marks forming on her head.
"No it's not that. I'm just surprised that's all. No one has ever challenged me to a rematch. Like I said, everyone I duel runs away scared after I beat them. You're the first person to ever challenge me to a rematch." Yuri explains.
"Well I'll also be the first to defeat you." Serena activates her duel disc determined to win.
"You said you're name is Serena correct?"
"Yes."
"Very well, Serena." Yuri smiles as his duel disc activates. "I accept your challenge."
Like before, Yuri takes Serena down but she then challenges him again. And he beats her in that match too. Over the next few weeks, Serena challenges Yuri to a duel everyday and he happily accepts. Serena would lose in every match they had but unlike her first few losses, she didn't feel as angry as before. The reason being is that while she hated that he kept winning, she did keep getting better. Serena would spend her free time thinking about Yuri's strategies and possible strategies from studying the cards she knows he has. She would then restructure her deck numerous times and get needed cards either through trading with other students or seeing what's available at Academy's card shop. Yuri started getting more enthusiastic about their duels. He knew he'd win but this time he didn't act like some preprogrammed robot. Their duels became something all the younger students would talk about and watch just to see if Serena would win with Asuka attending all the ones she could so long as it didn't interfere with her schedule. Then one day.
Yuri: 0 life points. Hand: 0. Serena wins.
"I lost." Yuri says dumbfounded.
"I won." Serena says surprised before jumping up in down in glee. "I won! I finally beat you!"
Yuri is about to congratulate her on finally winning. He truly felt happy that her hard work paid off until a thought came to his mind. "Wait. If she defeated me, won't that mean everyone will see her as someone stronger than me. It'll also mean that'll they'll start being scared of her too. Will Serena wind up like how I was before I met her? Someone everyone's too scared to approach and completely alone. No I never want that to happen to anyone especially not her. Anyone but her."
"I want a rematch!" Yuri yells.
"Huh." Serena says.
"A rematch! You always got one from me when I defeated you so it's only fair that you give me one or are you one of those duelists who refuses to challenge people they defeat because they're scared they'll lose."
"What did you say!" Serena grabs him by the shirt in anger with that last remark.
"I said I wanted a rematch! So will you give it to me or not?"
"You bet I will. In fact, I'll give it to you now."
Before their duel can start, they both hear Asuka giggling at their antics. "Oh my, you two really are interesting."
"Um, who are you?" Serena asks.
"I think her name is Asuka or something." Yuri guesses.
"I'm Asuka Tenjouin." Asuka introduces herself. "Sorry for interrupting but to be honest, I really loved watching your duels and would love to see more. If you guys don't mind?"
"Uh, no we don't mind, Asuka. My name's Serena and I'm sure you know that this is Yuri." Serena says.
"Yeah, I know who you two are. It's nice to formally meet you." Asuka offers her hand to both of them.
"It's nice to meet you too, Asuka." Yuri accepts.
Note: The idea for this fic came from a what if scenario talked about in the Yuri/Serena chapter of my previous work A New Life for the Dimensional Counterparts. I originally wasn't going to write this but after talking to LoveGlutton and discussing some ideas, I decided to try writing it.