Author's note: Apologies for the massive delay for this chapter; I've been busy with school, plus had some pretty bad writer's block. Still working on this though, hope to have Chapter 4 in a reasonable amount of time.

I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its spinoffs, cards, or characters.

As Z-one finished his speech, to his surprise, the result was not elation, but silence, several people turning and walking away. After a pause, though, an old man walked up to him. "They're just scared." he confided. "It's not that they don't want Tanaka overthrown, but they're afraid of what will happened to them if you are unsuccessful and they were to have aided you."

"As if Yliaster would lose to such an organization!"

"Yes, I saw your associate's duel earlier. However, Tanaka is not to be taken lightly. I believe you can win, but they know the power that you are trying to oppose. As much as they would like for you to succeed, they consider it too risky to open ally themselves with you."

"Yet this risk is acceptable to you?"

"I am an old man, now, and I have little left to lose. I have family, of course, but they were wise enough to leave this city before Tanaka took over; wiser than me, certainly."

"A fool? No, I believe this is fate. I believe that you were drawn to remain in this town so that you may one day aid us."

"Not sure I believe in fate, but if there's anything you need, let me know. I am Hideo Fujita, by the way."

"I... I'm Masaso Kubota." said a much younger man, walking up to join Hideo. "I... if Mr. Fujita trusts you, then I'll also... also help you."

"Be not afraid. I am head of Yliaster, the guardians of mankind. We shall not fail."

"What are your names, by the way?"asked Masaso. "I know you said you were... Apir... no, Apar..."

"Aporia." said Aporia, introducing himself.

"I am Paradox."

"Antinomy."

"I am known as Z-one."

"Are you foreigners? You certainly speak Japanese well if that's the case."

"Be polite, Masaso." said Hideo somewhat sternly. "I am sure our guests do not want to be bothered with such questions."

"No, it is no problem.", Aporia responded. "You mean because of our names? A valid question. The names we now use are merely codenames. We abandoned our real names long ago. I doubt any of us even remember them anymore."

A stunned Hideo responded, "Your very names? What would be so traumatic that you would abandon such a part of yourselves? ...Never mind, that would be extremely rude of me. Unless, you're... not human?"

"Interesting... It is rare to meet a human so perceptive. Indeed, all of my comrades are androids – human minds inside robotic bodies. As for myself, though the man inside this armor may still be human, I can no longer survive without this technology; I am functionally no different. As for the reason, I will only say that we extended our lifespans in order to accomplish a certain task, and once that task ceased to matter, we slept. It has been over a century since then, and we have finally awoke, and have found a new task. That is all I shall say on this matter."

"I understand, I think. I won't press you any further, then. In any case, my offer of assistance still stands. Is there anything we can do to assist you?"

"Is there anywhere we could stay in this city? We could, of course, fly back to Ark Cradle, our floating fortress, but I would prefer to live among the people of Ueda until our mission is complete."

"That could be arranged, yes. I have a friend who works at a hotel; he may be able to pull some strings."

"Then, we depart immediately."

Z-one began to follow Hideo, beckoning the rest of Yliaster to follow, but was interrupted by Masaso. "Um... if it's not too much of a bother, could I ask you for something first? Would you... duel me?"

"Duel you?"

"It...it's not that I don't trust your skills or anything, it's just..."

"No need for words, I understand. Aporia, Antinomy, Paradox, go on ahead. I'll meet you after this duel."

"With your permission, I would like to stay and watch, since I have yet to see your new deck." said Aporia, Antinomy and Paradox nodding in agreement.

"Then remain, if that is what you wish. Now then, shall we begin?" Z-one asked Masaso.

"No reason to wait! Let the duel commence!

Z-one floated up into the air, a massive machine emerging from within his D-Wheel. The machine split into two mechanical arms and a massive Wrist Dealer, containing Z-one's oversized stone deck, which began to shuffle.

"That's what you do every time you Duel?"

"Indeed, though that is admittedly not often. My cards are simply too large for more conventional means."

"Oh well, it's not important anyway. Now then, Duel commence!"

Z-one 4000 LP

Masaso 4000 LP

"I'll let you take the first move."

"As you wish. As I learned from Aporia's duel, that means I don't draw a card. I'll set one monster and one card facedown and end my turn."

"Alright, my turn! Draw!"

"I summon Versago the Destroyer! (1100 Atk/900 Def) Now then, I think I'll attack your facedown monster!"

Masaso's mummy-like creature leapt forward and swung its claws at Z-one's set monster, which was revealed to be Shaddoll Hedgehog. (800 Atk/200 Def)

"Ha! My monster's stronger!"

"Indeed, but my Shaddoll Hedgehog has a Flip Effect. When it's flipped face-up, I can add one Shaddoll Spell or Trap card from my Deck to my hand. I select the Spell Card Shaddoll Fusion."

"Not bad. I'll set 2 cards of my own, then pass the turn back to you."

"My turn! Draw! Now then, come forth, Jain, Lightsworn Paladin!" (1800 Atk/1200 Def) "Jain attacks Versago the Destroyer, its effect causing it to gain 300 Attack whenever it attacks a monster." (Jain 1800-2100 Atk)

The white-haired knight swung its sword, taking out Versago.

"Ahh!" Masaso screamed as his Life Points dropped to 3000. "That was... pretty good... but I'm still in this Duel!"

"I set another card face-down and end my turn, which triggers the effect of Jain. During my End Phase, I send the top 2 cards of my deck to the Graveyard."

As the top cards of Z-one's deck went to the Graveyard, they were revealed to be Ehren, Lightsworn Monk and Shaddoll Beast.

"Because Shaddoll Beast was sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, I can draw 1 card. Now it's your turn."

"Back to me, then? Alright, I draw! Sweet! I've been working on this deck for a while, but I've never been able to get out my ace monster before, but now I've finally drawn all the pieces. I activate Polymerization! Now, by fusing Summoned Skull and The Dark – Hex-Sealed Fusion from my hand, I can Fusion Summon Black Demon's Dragon!"

The two monster's in Masaso's hand appeared briefly onto the field, before merging together, created a massive, skeletal dragon. (3200 Atk/2500 Def)

"Black Demon's Dragon... Indeed, that is a powerful monster, and you were able to summon it without use of the legendary Red-eyes Black Dragon. Not bad for a human, but such a monster cannot defeat me!"

"We'll see. Black Demon's Dragon, attack Jain!"

"Not so fast. I activate my set card; the Quick-Play Spell El-Shaddoll Fusion!"

"A Fusion Summon during your opponent's turn?"

"Precisely, though I can only use this Spell to summon El-Shaddoll monsters. Now then, by fusing the LIGHT-attribute Jain, Lightsworn Paladin with Shaddoll Dragon from my hand, I can Fusion Summon El-Shaddoll Nephilim!"

Z-one's knight fused with the dragon puppet in his hand, forming an angel with wings made of string. (2800 Atk/2500 Def)

"When Shadoll Dragon is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, it lets me destroy a Spell or Trap card on the field. I select your middle card. Furthermore, when Nephilim is Summoned, I can send one Shaddoll monster from my Deck to the Graveyard. I select Shaddoll Lizard. Furthermore, when Lizard is sent to the Graveyard, I can send another Shaddoll monster to the Graveyard, namely Shaddoll Falcon! Finally, when Falcon is sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, it can be Special Summoned back to the field in face-down Defense Position!"

Z-one's shadow bird emerged on the field (600 Atk/1400 Def) as Masaso's Call of the Haunted was destroyed.

"You've set up a nice series of plays, but your monster is still weaker than my Black Demon's Dragon!"

"You are correct. However, Nephilim automatically destroys any Special Summoned monster it battles, without damage calculation being performed."

"Another strong effect. Luckily, I have just the remedy. Go, Fiendish Chain!"

Masaso activated his Continuous Trap, causing green chains to bind El-Shaddoll Nephilim.

"Alright! Now that my chains are in place, your Nephilim can't attack, and it's effect is negated! Go, Black Demon's Dragon! Meteor Flare!"

The massive dragon spat out a fireball from its mouth, consuming the puppeteer and dropping Z-one's Life Points to 3600.

"Impossible!" yelled a startled Aporia.

"Calm yourself, Aporia. This is far from over."

"Perhaps not, but I think I'm firmly in the driver's seat now. Your move."

"Far from it. Draw! First, I'll Flip Summon Shaddoll Falcon, activating its Flip Effect. With it, I can Special Summon a Shaddoll monster from my Graveyard in face-down Defense Position, and I select Shaddol Beast. Then, I activate the Spell Card Destroyed Future. This allows me to send cards from the top of my Deck to the Graveyard. I have 5 cards in my hand, so I'll send 5 cards from my Deck to the Graveyard."

"Ah, it would seem that the cards were Shaddoll Hound, Lyla, Lightsworn Sorceress, Solar Recharge, Needlebug Nest, and Chaos Sorcerer. Shaddoll Hound's effect activates since it was sent to the Graveyard, allowing me to change the battle position of one monster; I'll select my facedown Shaddoll Beast. Its Flip Effect allows me to draw 2 cards, then discard 1. I'll discard Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter. Then, I activate Shaddoll Fusion! This allows me to Fusion Summon an El-Shaddoll monster, and, since you control a monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, I can use monsters from my Deck. I fuse Shaddoll Hedgehog and Shaddoll Dragon to Fusion Summon El-Shaddoll Midrash! (2200 Atk/800 Def) As long as I control Midrash, neither of us can perform more than one Special Summon a turn. Finally, I summon Chaos Necromancer. This monster's attack is equal to 300 times the number of monsters in my Graveyard. Since there are 12, that means it has 3600 attack points. Chaos Necromancer will attack Black Demon's Dragon, and my other monsters will attack you directly. Since you have no more Set cards that can protect you, that means this Duel is over."

"You... are truly a superior Duelist. You have removed all doubt from my mind. I now know that you will be able to defeat Tanaka. Thank you."

Paradox walked up to Masaso and handed him a card. "Here. A gift."

"This is... What! How do you have a Red-eyes Black Dragon."

"A very old and long story, one that there is no time for me to tell. I have several, in fact, so don't feel bad about accepting this."

"Well, if you're sure... Thank you. Truly, this means a lot to me."

Hideo began to speak to everyone as Z-one stored his Dueling extensions.

"Alright, then, everyone's had their fun? We should get going, then."

"I concur."

Several hours later, Yliaster had settled in to the room that Hideo had managed to get for them. Aporia and Antinomy were in the corner, Dueling, while Z-one and Paradox were strategizing, when they heard a knock on the door. Paradox answered, and saw a man in a suit identical to Hiroshi's. "You are trespassing on Tanaka territory." said the stranger. "This cannot be permitted."