Yuri has always been one of the best duelers from Duel Academy. He knows that there is another, a girl named Serena whom he hears is just as good as he is. Unlike him, she doesn't leave Fusion, she stays at school. Away from the front lines. He doesn't know why but her name sounds familiar. Then again there are also a number of girls named Celina and he supposes he may be confusing her with one of them.
No.
Serena.
That name holds a great significance to him, he just doesn't know why. As he travels Synchro for her, still waiting on a picture from the Professor of what she looks like, he recalls his time back in the Xyz, Synchro, and Standard Dimensions as he looked for the other girls.
When he went to Xyz, specifically Heartland, he remembers getting the go ahead from Dennis that he found the girl with the bracelet. A silver bracelet with a yellow gem like a diamond and wings on either side of it. He remembers cornering the bow-hairstyle girl in an ally full of ruin. Her hair was a purple with light-purple (maybe lavender?) side tails.
Yuri can remember thinking that her side tails should be blue and her hair shorter, but the fierceness in her eyes could stay. Speaking of her eyes, Yuri thought they should green and not pink.
He thought the same the first time he came to Synchro and came after Rin. Her hair was short and curly, reaching her chin and green. Her eyes a hazel-orange color. He couldn't name it (still can't), that she didn't duel him. That she just ran and he was able to corner her just as he did Lulu, only Rin's capture was much quicker and he didn't really have to turn her into a card and then de-carding her once he reached Duel Academy.
Then he went to Standard. His target being Zuzu Boyle. When he saw her in that frozen wasteland and seeing her pink-hair and blue eyes he thought that she was almost perfect. Her hair just needed to be a dark purple, blue side tails, and her eyes more green; even her hair in two high pigtails he thought would be better if it was just one ponytail, being held together by some ribbon like thing and not the blue spheres. Then she would be perfect.
But why is he thinking such thoughts? Why does he care what they look like?
Hearing his duel disk go off, indicating he is receiving a message, Yuri stops running to look at it. It's the picture he needs. The picture of Serena. She looks like the other girls. Except she also doesn't. She looks exactly like what he thinks the other girls should be. She has indigo hair, blue side tails, and fierce green eyes.
Sucking a breath as the picture, Yuri's head is also slammed with memories. He remembers meeting her one day while sitting on a bench at school and seeing many of the students surround Alexis. Serena then appeared in front of him with the professor right behind her. As he got older he never really saw her, he just saw her with their classmates, dueling in the courtyards of Duel Academy.
He never really got the chance to see her up close until a few years ago. He remembers hearing the guards calling out and he hid behind a pillar. He saw a girl with indigo hair wearing a red shirt, a matching red skirt lined with purple, biker shorts, with white and red boots. He remembers wanting to help her so he followed them, getting ready to activate his duel disk and summon Starving Venom when she had been cornered, only for another kid with silver-white-hair and red glasses.
Yuri remembers him distinctly because the clothes he was wearing were just regular clothes. Not a Duel Academy uniform. Serena took his hand and left. The guards turned and looked at him. They took him back inside for more "studying." While they took him inside he looked to see where she and the unknown kid escaped only to the Professor there. Meaning that whomever that kid had been, he most likely didn't survive whatever the Professor did to him and Serena was put on strict probation.
Why has he forgotten all of that? Why is he remembering all of this now?
Shaking his head, Yuri tells himself "Never mind. It doesn't matter. I have a job to do." Yuri then begins his journey around the city, looking for Serena.
He finds her on the streets. Dueling against Fugo. She loses but she only does it because she didn't want Roget's help, she wanted to do it all on her own skill. Yuri can feel something in him that is what he supposes pride feels like. Fusion summoners really shouldn't rely too much on other cards, but they can come in handy every now and again.
Then he leaves. Something itching at him to tell the Professor that even if she is in Synchro, she isn't anywhere he as been able to check. Then he receives another message. Serena must be brought back immediately. Sighing inwardly Yuri is about to leave when Hugo catches sight of him and chases him through the streets, demanding to know where Rin is. Yuri smirks and tells him that if tells him where Zuzu is he'll tell him where Rin is.
His answer is the most annoying thing. "Zuzu lives on. . . . in my heart."
"She isn't the only one. Rin also lives on there! Now! Violet Flash!" Yuri uses his spell card to get away from Dugo as quickly as possible. He needs to find Serena.
Yuri does eventually find her; in an abandoned subway with Sora. Yuri feels something in him start to feel heavy (perhaps his stomach?) as he sees how weak she is. She can barely stand! What happened to her, Yuri doesn't know. But the duel he wants to have with her will have to wait another day. He challenges Sora instead, dueling one traitor is better than dueling none.
Then Yuya shows up and takes over. Then Yugo shows up. Yuri decides to take Fugo up on his offer of a duel while leaving Yuya to Barrett. Then something happens. Zuzu appears and sends him and Lugo away. Just like the previous time her bracelet sent him away, he is back at home. Duel Academy. That poor Fugo must be in Heartland wondering if his city got destroyed or back in Paradise City.
Either way, he is out of Yuri's hair.
Barrett arrives a moment later in the courtyard with Serena over his shoulder. "I need to get her back to the Professor." Barrett states as he starts walking towards the building.
"Wait." Yuri calls out. "Let me do it. He may have sent you as her bodyguard, but he has sent me to capture all of the other Bracelet Girls. He knows I am they only one strong enough to duel them and win."
"What does that mean?"
"I have seen you duel and I have heard of Serena's. I know that if you were to take her on in a match she would win. I am the only one who has a chance against her. Besides you look tired and need a rest."
Barrett looks around seeing if the coast is clear. When he sees that there are no students he turns and smiles at Yuri, handing him the injured girl before walking away. Very few people see Yuri's good side and those who do value him as a good . . . . acquaintance? Friend? Solider? He isn't sure what word works but nonetheless they put up with Yuri and his weird disorder.
Most of the time Yuri is sadistic and ready for a duel. But sometimes-mainly at night, in his room-Yuri feels that leave him and he will look at his hands, his disk, deck, and especially Starving Venom, horrified of what he has done. Even when he brought Lulu and Rin here he couldn't believe he did that. He considered going into their rooms and sending them back to their homes. Lulu back to her brother and friends and Rin back to Yugo.
As he looks at Serena he can remember one day very vividly. He remembers being at the beach one day and then getting sick and going to the infirmary and then going on about his days after. People bringing up Serena but the name had no significance to him.
Now it does. The Doktor has done something to him; and undoubtedly more than once, because how can he remember all of his other classmates but Serena?
As he takes her inside, Yuri plans to take her back to his dorm. Everyone avoids it, even the Professor, so when Serena is awake and better maybe she can explain these things to him. Namely their bond and what happened between them when they were children and how he forgot her. Walking in the halls no one pays him any mind. All staying quiet.
He knows what they are thinking. That he and Serena must have dueled and he won. Hearing footsteps coming from the opposite direction, Yuri stops and looks up to see the Professor standing in front of him.
"Thank you, Yuri. I can take care of her from now forward."
"Yes. . . sir." Yuri reluctantly handed her over, something inside of him to yell to throw a fit and make an argument that he can take care of her just fine. But he has never disobeyed the Professor before nor as he ever shown any signs that he could be trouble for any of the leaders at Duel Academy. Besides how can do all of that for a girl he hardly knows?
Everything after that becomes a blur.
That is until he has merged with Yuya and he sees Serena in one of those tubes with Zuzu, Lulu, and Rin. Yugo and Yuto are the first two to call out, followed by Yuya as Yuri tries to figure out Serena. They have a bond, or did, when they were younger, that much is clear. But why can't he remember now?
Feeling something crawling out of his ear, Yuri, Yuto, and Yugo look on his shoulder and see one of the Doktor's many parasites. Has that been inside him all this time? Controlling him?
Yuri, feeling like he has come out from a fog, looks back at out and sees Serena. He calls out to her, confused about everything that has happened and he wants his answers.
"Guys! What is going on?" Yuya wonders as a black orb forms in the center of the circle the quartet has made.
"I need to talk to Serena!" Yuri cries.
"No way! I need to see Rin! I only saw her when she was possessed we deserve our reunion more!" Yugo argues.
"No way! I haven't been able to talk to Lulu in months and the only chance I got she was possessed and wasn't dueling for what she believed!" Yuto counters.
"Guys!" Yuya calls out in vain as Yuri, Yugo, and Yuto keep arguing over whom should get their reunion first. "GUYS!" Yuya shouts as he sees the orb getting bigger. The other three turn and see it as well. It's growing bigger and bigger, until they can't see the ground from inside Yuya's head. A light shoots out from the orb and all four cover their eyes, the horrifying realization sinking in. Zarc is being resurrected.
The next thing Yuri knows he is kneeling in front of his old friend as Yuto, Yugo, and Yuya also kneeling in front of Serena's look-a-likes, the Bracelet Girl that they each know respectively. "Ser-Serena?" Yuri's voice comes out small and quiet and curious. "What. . . . What's going on? What happened?"
Serena smiles at him, her eyes softening. "Yuri, glad to have you back. To put it short, you and the other boys kneeling are reincarnations of a psychotic duelist and me and the other girls are reincarnations of the Professor's daughter, Ray. He put us in here to try and bring her back." She explains. She opens her mouth about to continue when the machine starts up.
She gasps and leans against the glass as she fights the sleep in her eyes. "Serena!" Yuri shouts worriedly.
"Lulu! Rin! Don't close your eyes!" He hears Yuto and Yugo at the same moment, calling out to their girls again.
Yuri can feel an anger rise in him that he has never felt before. He and Serena used to be close and that was snatched away from them. As they got older they only grew more separate as they did not have any classes together and people barely mentioned her to him. He could only watch her from afar as she dueled wanting to be moved up to Ra Yellow or Obelisk Blue, but never did. The Professor keeping her a Slifer.
Then he sends Yuri to go after his former friend's counterparts, unaware that they could possibly have some sort of affect on him. That sending him after Serena without thinking of any sort of consequence. His anger only grows as he sees the indigo-hair girl's legs start to disappear. He can tell that Yuto and Yugo and Yuya must feel the same as Zuzu's legs also start to disappear and the hands of Lulu and Rin are the first to go into the reactor.
Yuri, Yuto, Yuya, and Yugo surround the Professor and activate their duel disks. With out hesitation and at once all boy counterparts shout "Duel!" ready to take on the Professor.