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In case anyone didn't see it, I changed the name of this chapter from "Gathering Information" to "A Standard Greeting." I thought it worked better.


Chapter 3: A Standard Greeting

Yuji breathed in and out as he leaned against the side of the warehouse, trying to get his bearings.

Calm down, Yuji, he thought, closing his eyes. Three. Think of three things. One: I fell through a portal that was meant to connect to another dimension. Two: I landed in a city I've never been to that I know nothing about. Three: there's no sign that Hanako, Ryoken, or Go arrived with me.

Okay that didn't help, Yuji thought with a frown as he hyperventilated. Looking around, he noticed a door nearby. Wanting to get away from the city, he opened it and headed into the warehouse. It was mostly empty with scaffolding on the sides, and a couch on one end to his surprise. Remembering something he read online, Yuji headed over to the couch, picked up a pillow, and screamed into it as loud as he could.

After a few minutes, Yuji finally felt his heart rate slow down. Removing his head from the pillow, he took a deep breath and let it out.

"Okay," he muttered. "Okay…"

Now that his panic attack was over, he needed to focus on what he could do. That was what Ryoken had taught him: Be aware of the big picture, but don't focus on it. Look at the little picture in front of you. Focus on what you can do and change, not what is beyond you.

"So what can I do?" Yuji muttered. That was obvious, wasn't it? He could gather information, find out which dimension he landed in, and then find the others. Once all four of them were together, then they could formulate a plan to get back home.

Obviously, the first step of his current plan was to gather information. And that would mean either hacking or… talking to people. Yuji groaned. He hated talking to people he didn't know. He always ended up saying something that made them mad or that they misunderstood. He was comfortable talking to Go, Hanko, Ryoken, his father, and Akira, but that was because they understood that his social skills were… less than stellar.

Besides, it wasn't like he could just go up to someone on the street and ask them, "Excuse me, could you tell me what dimension I'm in?" The general public back home didn't know of other dimensions, and he was willing to bet the same was true of this place.

It would be more expedient to find this world's equivalent of SOL Technologies, Yuji thought, nodding to himself. If I can gain access to their records, I could find information on this city and the people in charge. And if this city has a surveillance network like Den City does, then I could hack into that and retrieve the footage of the last couple hours. Examining that footage with the facial recognition software in my laptop will help me pinpoint the others.

At that thought, Yuji remembered the backpack he was wearing and pulled it off. He quickly unzipped it and checked the contents. Good. His laptop and tablet, as well as the spare Duel Disk his father gave him were all inside. All he had to do was check to make sure the software still worked and possibly find a more secure hideout, then he could go searching.

Wait… Yuji looked up from the backpack and turned to the couch. It hadn't occurred to him before, but why was this here? Was someone else living in this warehouse, or-?

"Hey!"

Yuji looked up as the light from the open door – he silently cursed himself for not closing it – was blotted out by several shapes. Thinking quickly, Yuji pulled his hood up to obscure his face; he didn't want anyone to be able to identify him. Not yet, at least.

The shapes walked in, and Yuji realized there were less of them than he thought; four, to be exact. One of them had brownish hair pulled back in a short ponytail, another had short green hair, and another had purple-brown hair. The one in front of the other three had light brown and blonde hair styled in layers. All of them wore a white and red jacket over a dress shirt and red pants, and all except the front one wore a tie.

The brown-blonde one stepped forward and looked at Yuji contemptuously. "Well, what do we have here? Some hoodlum who thinks he can use our warehouse when we aren't here?"

Hoodlum? Yuji thought. Well, if this warehouse was private property, then he was trespassing. But he was sure the blonde one was the same age as him, and it seemed unlikely he was the owner.

Here we go, Yuji thought. Talking to people. Ugh. Out loud, he said, "Who are you?"

Apparently, he had said something he shouldn't have, because all four of them looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Who am I!?" the blonde boy repeated incredulously. "Who am I!?" He turned to his compatriots. "Kakimoto, Ootomo, Yamabe, tell him who I am!"

"He is the son of the mayor of Maiami City!" the purple-brown boy declared, kneeling on one side of the blonde boy.

"He is the ace of LDS!" ponytail said, kneeling on the other side.

"And one day, he will be the number one duelist in the world!" the green-haired boy said, kneeling next to purple-brown.

"He is Shingo Sawatari, the best duelist you'll ever meet!" all three said as the blonde boy ran his fingers through his hair.

"Oh, yeah!" Sawatari said, snapping his fingers and grinning.

What? Yuji thought. While that introduction had been somewhat helpful – Yuji now knew the boy's name was Shingo Sawatari and the other three were Kakimoto, Ootomo, and Yamabe (though he didn't know which was which), and that the city they were in was called Maiami City – it had only left Yuji with more questions. Was this guy a performer? Were all people in this dimension this flamboyant?

He ultimately settled on the question that he felt was most relevant to his current task. "What's LDS?"

All four of them face-faulted when he said that, though Sawatari recovered fast. "What's LDS!?" he shouted. "It's one thing to not know me, but you don't know what LDS is!? Are you brain-damaged or something!?"

Well that's a little rude, Yuji thought. Out loud, he said what he usually said whenever someone accused him of not knowing something he should or of being insensitive. "I am socially awkward."

"That's no excuse!" Sawatari shouted, pointing at him. "How do you not know what LDS is?"

"…I am recently arrived in Maiami City," Yuji said, telling part of the truth. "I am not familiar with this city's established institutions."

"…So what, are you a country bumpkin or something?" Sawatari asked, placing one hand on his hip and an arrogant smile on his face. "That's the only way I can picture you not knowing what LDS is."

You have a very limited imagination, Yuji thought.

"But for your information, LDS is short for Leo Duel School," Sawatari explained. "It is run by the Leo Corporation, and it is the most prestigious Duel School in the world. Only the elitist of elite are allowed in, and that includes yours truly."

Based on his personality, I'm assuming he got in on money instead of his dueling skills, Yuji thought. Of course, it was possible he really was skilled; Go and Ryoken were just as confident in themselves as this guy was, though they weren't as loud about it. And Duel School? They had schools that based their curriculums around dueling? They didn't have those in Den City.

More importantly… "Leo Corporation?" Yuji repeated.

Sawatari smirked and shook his head. "Wow, you haven't heard of the Leo Corporation, either? The Leo Corporation is the largest company in Maiami City. It's founder Leo Akaba is responsible for the development of Real Solid Vision and Action Duels, and it brought Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz Summoning to Maiami City."

Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz, Yuji thought. Father said three of the four dimensions had access to only one Extra Deck summoning method. If this LDS teaches three, then I must be in the Standard Dimension. And based on this Sawatari's description, it is likely that Leo Corporation is this dimension's version of SOL Technologies. Assuming they have a surveillance network set up, I can hack into it and-.

"But enough questions from you." Yuji blinked and looked up at Sawatari's words. "It's time you answered some questions. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Yuji was hesitant to reveal his name. Even if he technically didn't exist in this dimension, he wanted to leave as small a trail as possible. "My name is Kingmaker," he finally said.

Sawatari and his friends blinked, then laughed loudly at Yuji's words. "Kingmaker?" Sawatari repeated. "Seriously? Is that your stage persona or something? Are you an Entertainment Duelist?"

Entertainment Duelist? Yuji thought. I suspect that has a different meaning than Go's dueling.

"You know what though? It doesn't matter," Sawatari said, taking what looked like a green tablet out of his pocket. "This is my warehouse, Mr. Kingmaker. And your bad manners piss me off. So why don't we duel, and you can learn to respect your betters?"

This guy is picking a fight with someone he just met, Yuji thought. He is either overaggressive, extremely confident in his skills, or an idiot. Possibly all three. But this could work. Yuji was curious to see how strong this dimension's duelists were, and it would give him a chance to test out the Master Rule Override.

"Alright. Let's duel." Yuji took his Deck from its holster on his belt and inserted it into his Duel Disk. He noticed Sawatari's and his friends' confusion and saw it was directed at his Duel Disk.

"I've never seen a Duel Disk like that," Sawatari said, narrowing his eyes. "And it's different than the one that last guy used, too. Why do I keep running into strange people who don't show their faces? Well, no matter. I'll crush you easily!" Sawatari placed the tablet he was holding on his wrist. Straps came out of the bottom and wrapped around his arm while two sections extended from it. Sawatari pulled a Deck out of his pocket and inserted it, making the touchscreen light up and causing a green-outlined blade to appear from the side.

So that's how Duel Disks in this dimension work, Yuji thought, narrowing his eyes. The other dimensions likely have different Duel Disks as well. And he mentioned seeing a strange Duel Disk before. Did he encounter someone from a different dimension before?

Setting that thought aside, Yuji activated his own Duel Disk's green blade.

"Duel!" they shouted.

Kingmaker: 4000 LP

Shingo Sawatari: 4000 LP

"Master Rule Override activated."

"Huh?" Sawatari blinked at the voice that came out of Yuji's Duel Disk. "The hell was that? Did you do something?"

"…Do you use any monsters from the Extra Deck?" Yuji asked. A part of him didn't want to explain exactly what the Master Rule Override was.

"Of course not!" Sawatari said, looking outraged. "Only the best students at LDS know how to summon monsters from the Extra Deck!"

Didn't you just say you were an elite? Yuji wondered. Out loud, he said, "Then it shouldn't concern you. It only matters if you summon a monster from the Extra Deck."

"…Well, whatever," Sawatari said, shrugging. "Let's go, Mr. Kingmaker!"

Yuji didn't respond as he drew his five cards and looked over them. Sawatari waited for him to make a move, then lost patience.

"Hey! Aren't you going to do something?"

"…I choose to go second," Yuji said, making Sawatari and his friends face-fault.

"Then say that from the beginning!" Sawatari shouted.

"…I am socially awkward," Yuji said, defaulting to that.

"Hey! That's not fair-!"

"I am… socially awkward," Yuji said, narrowing his eyes, though it was unnecessary to do so since Sawatari couldn't see his eyes.

"Eh… fine," Sawatari said, giving up with a shrug. "I'll take the first turn!" He looked at his cards and smirked. "The President may have taken away my Pendulum cards, but this Deck is still more than a match for anyone!"

Pendulum? Yuji wondered.

"I discard Mobius the Frost Monarch to Special Summon Berlineth the Firestorm Vassal!" A man in red armor with a dark blue cape appeared in Attack Position.

Berlineth the Firestorm Vassal ATK 800 DEF 1000 LVL: 3

"But Berlineth will not be staying for long, because now I'll Tribute him to Tribute Summon Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch!" Berlineth erupted into flames as an even larger warrior in red armor and a blue cape took his place.

Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch ATK 2400 DEF 1000 LVL: 6

Monarch? Yuji thought. I guess some archetypes transcend dimensions.

"Berlineth's effect activates!" Sawatari declared. "Since he was Tributed for a Tribute Summon, I can look at your hand and banish a card from it!" Yuji's hand glowed as holograms of his cards appeared in front of Sawatari, who then blinked in surprise.

"Cyberse?" he read, confused. "I've never heard of that Type. Is that something new?"

Yuji didn't answer, so Sawatari gave an annoyed sigh and selected a card. "I'll banish this card! Cyberse Wizard!" Yuji took the card from his hand and put it back into his holster. As he did so, he also rearranged the cards in his hand, since he knew what was coming next.

"And now, since he was Tribute Summoned, Thestalos's effect activates!" Sawatari declared. "I can now discard a card from your hand, and if it is a Monster Card, you take damage equal to its Level x 100." Sawatari smirked. "And I already know what card I want. The far left one!"

Yuji took the card from his hand and showed it to Sawatari, who was surprised. "You targeted the Level 2 Stack Reviver," Yuji said. "That means I take 200 points of damage." Thestalos threw a fireball at Yuji, who barely acknowledged it.

Kingmaker: 4000→3800 LP

"Hey!" Sawatari shouted. "What's with that! The far-left card should have been that Level 5 monster I saw! What dd you do?"

"I rearranged the cards in my hand after Berlineth's effect," Yuji answered, angering Sawatari.

"That's not fair! Cheater!"

"…It is cheating to move the cards in your hand around?" Yuji asked, genuinely confused. Was that also a rule this dimension had that his didn't?

"Eh… no," Sawatari said reluctantly. "Psh! No matter. I Set one card and end my turn." Sawatari turned to his friends, though Yuji was starting to suspect they were just lackeys. "So you guys, what do you think of my awesome dueling?"

"It's great!" "You're totally going to win, Sawatari!" "Though it would be cooler if you still had your Pendulum cards."

Sawatari's temper rose at that last comment. "Well of course it would be!" he shouted. "But the President needed to take them back to make new ones." He turned and sneered at Yuji. "Fortunately for you, Mr. Kingmaker, you aren't facing Neo New Sawatari. No, you're just facing Neo Sawatari! But that's still more than enough to beat you!"

I am getting tired of this idiot, Yuji thought. I really hope the rest of this dimension's populace aren't like him. If they were, Yuji suspected he would need migraine medication for the rest of his life to get over the raging headaches.

Setting that thought aside, Yuji placed his hand in his holster and took Cyberse Wizard back. Seeing what he was doing, Sawatari shouted, "Hey! What are you doing? I banished that card!"

"Berlineth's effect only lasts until the End Phase," Yuji reminded Sawatari. "That means I get my card back."

"I-I knew that," Sawatari claimed, rubbing the back of his head and giving a haughty laugh. Yuji noticed the other three were sweatdropping at him. I guess they aren't as on board with his antics as I thought they were.

After returning Cyberse Wizard to his hand, Yuji placed his hand on his Deck. "My turn! Draw!" Yuji looked at his card, then at the rest of his hand. Linkslayer, Cyberse Wizard, Backup Secretary, and Draconnet, he thought. With these cards in hand, he could easily bring out one of his Code Talkers. Powercode Talker in particular would inflict massive damage. However…

Yuji frowned. Father said this world doesn't have Link Summoning. If this Leo Corporation can detect summoning energy like SOL can, then they'll pick it up. I don't want to draw attention to myself until absolutely necessary.

Sawatari, growing impatient, broke into Yuji's thoughts. "What's wrong, Mr. Kingmaker? I know facing someone of my greatness can be overwhelming, but you should at least try and put up a fight."

As satisfying as it would be to Link Summon and see the look on his face, I'll have to hold back, Yuji thought. That said, I don't have to let him win, either. Out loud, he said, "I summon Linkslayer!" A warrior in golden armor with two digital blades attached to his wrists appeared in Attack Position.

Linkslayer ATK 2000 DEF 600 LVL: 5

"H-Hey!" Sawatari said, pointing to Yuji's monster. "You can't summon that! That's a Level 5 monster; you have to Tribute something to summon it."

"Linkslayer can be Special Summoned if I control no monsters," Yuji revealed.

"Eh? Really?" Sawatari was surprised, but then gave a patronizing smirk. "Even so, your monster only has 2000 attack points. Before my 2400-attack-point Thestalos, it is nothing but a gnat!"

"Linkslayer's effect activates," Yuji said. "Once per turn, I can discard up to two cards to target and destroy an equal number of Spell or Trap Cards on the field."

"Seriously!?" Sawatari said, panicking. Is this guy overreacting on purpose? Yuji wondered.

"I send Backup Secretary to the Graveyard to destroy your Set card!" Linkslayer swung its claws at Sawatari's card, destroying it.

Looking it up, Yuji narrowed his eyes. Sakuretsu Armor, he thought. Well, that would have slowed me down a little. Out loud, he said, "I summon Cyberse Wizard!" A green-haired man in white and black robes carrying a wand appeared.

Cyberse Wizard ATK 1800 DEF 800 LVL: 4

"Heh. Those monsters do have good stats," Sawatari allowed. "And I admit I'm curious about this 'Cyberse' Type I've never seen before. But my Thestalos is still much stronger than them."

"Don't be so conceited," Yuji said.

"What!?"

"Cyberse Wizard's effect activates!" Yuji declared. "Once per turn, I can change one Attack Position monster to Defense Position! Cyberse Algorithm!" Cyberse Wizard zapped Thestalos with its wand, changing its battle position.

Sawatari screamed. "Oh no! Thestalos only has 1000 defense points!"

"Battle!" Yuji declared. "Linkslayer, attack Thestalos!" Linkslayer leapt at Thestalos. "The turn Cyberse Algorithm is used, my Cyberse monsters inflict piercing battle damage!" Yuji revealed, making Sawatari panic more. "Meteor Break!" Linkslayer cut Thestalos into pieces, making Sawatari scream again as he was pushed back.

Shingo: 4000→3000 LP

"H-Hey!" the green-haired lackey said in surprise. "That damage was real!"

"Outside of an Action Duel?" the purple-brown haired one said. "Impossible!"

"It's just like before!" ponytail said. "Is he working with that guy who looked like Yuya Sakaki?"

Yuya Sakaki? Yuji wondered. Setting that thought aside, he pondered the first two's words. Evidently this dimension's Real Solid Vision was restrained to whatever Action Duels were. Curious.

Returning his thoughts to the duel, Yuji said, "I Set one card. I end my turn."

"Eh?" Sawatari said, surprised. "Hey! Aren't you going to attack directly with Cyberse Wizard?"

"The turn Cyberse Wizard uses its effect, my monsters can only attack the targeted monster," Yuji revealed.

"Well why didn't you say that earlier!?" Sawatari shouted.

"… I am socially awkward."

"Stop saying that like it's cool!" Sawatari growled. "Whatever. My turn! Draw!" Looking at his new card, he smirked. "Well, it looks like the real fun's just begun! I activate the Equip Spell Card: Restoration of the Monarchs! This lets me Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard with 2400 attack points and 1000 defense points or 2800 attack points and 1000 defense points in Defense Position with its effects negated. Come back, Thestalos!" Sawatari's monster reappeared in Defense Position.

Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch ATK 2400 DEF 1000 LVL: 6

"Restoration has another effect," Sawatari said. "It also lets me treat Thestalos as two Tributes for a Tribute Summon. So I'll Tribute Thestalos to Tribute Summon Thestalos the Mega Monarch!" Thestalos burst into flames, which soon receded. The monster that was left behind was much larger than Thestalos and had gold edges on its chest armor and gloves as well as more pronounced shoulder pads.

Thestalos the Mega Monarch ATK 2800 DEF 1000 LVL: 8

"Heh. What do you think of this, Mr. Kingmaker?" Sawatari asked. When Yuji didn't answer, Sawatari growled and said, "Fine! Be silent! Thestalos's effect activates! When he is Tribute Summoned, I can look at your hand force you to discard a card. And if that card is a Monster Card, you take damage equal to its Level times 200."

Yuji showed his hand, which was only one card. Sawatari smirked. "I knew it would be that one. I send Draconnet to the Graveyard and inflict 600 points of damage!" Thestalos threw a fireball at Yuji, who didn't react.

Kingmaker: 3800→3200 LP

"You aren't safe yet! Since Thestalos was Tribute Summoned by Tributing a Fire monster, it also inflicts another 1000 points of damage!" Thestalos threw another, larger fireball at Yuji, who didn't flinch at that one either.

Kingmaker: 3200→2200 LP

Sawatari laughed. "It's too late for you to realize how awesome I am right now. But if you get on your hands and knees and acknowledge my greatness, I'll let you off lightly."

Yuji didn't say anything at all, which only served to irritate Sawatari further. "Fine then! I'll show you a demonstration of my greatness! Thestalos, attack Cyberse Wizard!" Thestalos created a large fireball, which it flung at Cyberse Wizard, but Yuji only gestured to his field.

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card: Security Block!" he declared. "This turn, Cyberse Wizard cannot be destroyed by battle and neither of takes battle damage." The fireball hit Cyberse Wizard, but soon dissipated into nothingness.

"Ah!" Sawatari shouted, stomping his feet. "Stop ruining my moment!" He then calmed down and smirked. "Alright, then. I'll just end you next turn. I end my turn."

"My turn. Draw." Yuji looked at his card, but Sawatari spoke up before he could play it.

"I have to admit, you've put up a good fight, Mr. Kingmaker. But it's clear who the winner of this duel is. My Thestalos is far stronger, and even if you use your Wizard's effect, I'll still have Life Points left. And I'll win next turn. It's inevitable that someone of my greatness would win against you. Don't you agree?"

"…You aren't a good duelist, are you?"

"I glad to see you- wait, what!?"

"I said you aren't a good duelist," Yuji said, holding up his hand. "And three things tell me that. One: when looking at monsters, you only focus on their attack points and don't bother looking at their effects. This leads you to underestimate your opponents when they use monsters with powerful effects but low attack points."

Yuji held up another finger. "Two: whenever I made a move you did not expect, you either panicked or threw a temper tantrum. This tells me you are unaccustomed to unexpected outcomes, when in fact a true duelist would be aware that such outcomes are possible and wouldn't react as you do. That also tells me you are inexperienced."

Yuji held up a third finger. "Three: your attitude is that of someone of a high social status who looks down on others for having a lower social status. This tells me that you judge your opponents on factors beyond their dueling when such factors do not matter in a duel. Thus, you believe yourself to be better when you are in fact, worse than them.

"All three of these tell me that you are not as a good a duelist as you think you are, and your skills are in reality average or below average." At least they are compared to mine and my team's, Yuji thought. Without having seen other duelists in this dimension, I cannot judge Sawatari as inferior to them or not.

Sawatari and his three lackeys stared at Yuji, all slack-jawed at the fact that he had just said more than he ever said before and that he had just bluntly told Sawatari how bad of a duelist he was.

"D-Don't joke with me!" Sawatari finally shouted. "I have the advantage here! You only have one card in your hand, and neither of your monsters is strong enough to finish me off!"

"That's true. But not for long," Yuji said, scaring Sawatari. "I banish Draconnet and Stack Reviver from my Graveyard. Doing so lets me Special Summon Degrade Buster!" A massive warrior in red, and white armor with blue boots and gloves appeared in Attack Position.

Degrade Buster ATK 2500 DEF 2500 LVL: 7

"I-Impressive," Sawatari said, holding in his panic. "But your monster still has fewer attack points. And-." He then remembered what Yuji just said and glanced at his Duel Disk's screen. Ignoring the two zones that were between the fields, he touched Degrade Buster's card, checking its effects. He paled on seeing what it could do. "Oh no!"

"It seems you can learn. That means there is hope you can improve." Yuji gestured to his field. "Degrade Buster's effect activates! Once per turn, I can banish one monster my opponent controls with more attack points than Degrade Buster until the End Phase! I banish Thestalos!" Degrade Buster formed its own fireball, which it launched at Thestalos, making it disintegrate.

"OH NO!" Sawatari screamed.

"Battle!" Yuji declared. "Degrade Buster, Cyberse Wizard, attack Sawatari directly! Degrade Fire and Illusion Spike!" Degrade Buster formed a fireball and lobbed it at Sawatari while Cyberse Wizard blasted him with lightning from his wand. Both attacks hit Sawatari, flinging him backwards while screaming.

Shingo: 3000→500→0 LP

"Sawatari!" The other three occupants of the warehouse cried out as they ran to check on their friend. Yuji for his part felt somewhat disappointed. Collective hackers put up a better fight than this. He had assumed that since the Standard Dimension had access to three Extra Deck summoning methods that it would be the strongest of the dimensions. Of course, Sawatari hadn't used any Extra Deck monsters, so he was probably a poor basis for an assumption of this dimension's strength.

"You bastard!" Yuji raised an eyebrow as the trio turned to him. "Hurting Sawatari like that! We'll make you pay!"

I don't have time for this, Yuji thought. Looking upwards, he saw there was an open window in the warehouse. Good enough. He held up his Duel Disk and pressed a button, generating a flash of light that blinded the other four occupants. When their eyesight returned, Yuji had left.

On the warehouse's rooftop, Yuji looked towards the tower with the letters "LDS" at the top. That's probably the Leo Duel School Sawatari mentioned, he thought. Considering its size, it's also likely the Leo Corporation's headquarters. Yuji's eyes narrowed. Alright, I know the powers-that-be in this dimension and where they're located. A little scouting, and then I can conduct Operation: Breaking and Entering.

Go was right. There's a reason the operation names are left to Ryoken, Yuji thought as he headed for the next rooftop.


2 hours later…

Reiji Akaba walked into the LDS control room. His right-hand man, Nakajima, was standing next to Reiji's chair, looking concerned at a tablet he was holding.

Looking up at his entrance, Nakajima said, "Ah. Mr. President. Everything's been approved and set up. The announcement of the Battle Royale will go out later today."

"Good." Reiji nodded and sat in his chair. "So what's the issue, Nakajima? Something has you concerned."

Nakajima didn't bother hiding it. "Not concerned, sir. Confused. A couple of hours ago, we detected the activation of Shingo Sawatari's Duel Disk in the harbor district."

Reiji raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't bring this up if that was all that happened."

"It wasn't. We detected an error in the Disk's systems. Some sort of overwrite to the programming inside."

"An overwrite? Of what kind?"

"We don't know. Sawatari's Duel Disk was activated again shortly after, and the error was gone. We think it was temporary, but we don't know the cause."

A bug? Reiji wondered, then shook his head. No, it must be something else. Reiji frowned. Earlier today he had encountered Serena for the first time in three years and been made aware his father would send people to retrieve her. He had just come back from a meeting to change the tournament plans for tomorrow to a Battle Royale between the Top 16.

It could be nothing, but better safe than sorry. Reiji opened his mouth to give Nakajima instructions, but one of the operators below them spoke first.

"Sir! We've detected a break-in through our firewall!"

"What!?" Nakajima said, surprised. "Where from?"

"We don't know, sir," she responded. "The hack is being rerouted through servers all over the world."

"Then trace it!" Nakajima shouted. "Trace it before they get anything!"

"Yes, sir!" Reiji narrowed his eyes. First an overwritten Duel Disk and now a hacker? he thought.


These people aren't bad, Yuji thought as he typed away. Their defenses aren't as advanced as SOL's, but still better than most places I've hacked into.

Yuji was sitting in what he believed was a computer lab on one of the lower floors of the Leo Corporation building, using one of the computers to hack into their systems and download what he needed onto a flash drive that he could look at later. He'd started with the last two hours of surveillance footage, and while that was downloading, he had decided to look at a few things Sawatari had mentioned: Action Duels and Pendulum cards.

After leaving the warehouse, Yuji had walked through the city, trying to get a feel for this dimension. He had thought he would have to stay to the alleys, but as it turned out, the city was nearly deserted. It hadn't taken him long to find out why; there was a Duel Tournament going on and most of the residents were either in their homes watching it or attending the tournament in person.

He had also seen dozens of advertisements for what he believed were the "Duel Schools" Sawatari had talked about. Evidently, they didn't just teach dueling in general, but also particular styles and methods.

Essentially, these schools are training this dimension's version of Charisma Duelists, Yuji had thought. Go would like this place.

After he reached the Leo Corporation building, he had observed it for a bit before going in. With help from his Duel Disk's AI, he was able to hack the systems to register him as a new student under a false name to get past the handprint scanners. Once inside, he had found a map of the building, which had guided him to his current location.

The building itself is also pretty abandoned because of the tournament, Yuji thought. He narrowed his eyes at the screen. Here we are: Action Duels. Apparently, these were Duels played in certain Real Solid Vision fields that simulated a Field Spell environment. And while these Action Fields were active, they also dispersed special Spell and Trap Cards called Action Cards, which the duelists could pick up and use, albeit with a one-card-in-the-hand-at-a-time limit. Interesting concept, Yuji thought. It adds an element of unpredictability to the duel while also encouraging the players to move around. Still, I think I would prefer Speed Duels.

Moving on, he found information relating to the Pendulum cards Sawatari had talked about. Evidently, Pendulum cards were Monster Cards that could be placed in zones called Pendulum Zones, and then the player could "Pendulum Summon" multiple monsters from their hand at the same time, so long as their Levels were between the "Pendulum Scales" of the placed cards.

I think I'll have to see these Pendulum cards in action to truly understand them, Yuji thought, downloading a couple videos on Pendulum Summoning to watch later. Moving on, I should see if Leo Corporation has any information about the other dimensions. Any data I can bring back to SOL would be of great value.

Going further into the database, it didn't take Yuji long to find information on the other dimensions. What did surprise him was the name of one of the files. Attack on Xyz Dimension? he wondered. …That does fit with what father said, but it seems I can learn more here. Opening the file, he quickly perused it and gasped. What the-? The Fusion Dimension attacked the Xyz Dimension and… turned people into cards? What does that mean?

Deciding he needed to look this over more closely, Yuji copied the file and started to look at related files. Academia, Leo Akaba, Lancer Selection… the hell is this stuff? Quickly glancing at the timer on the flash drive, he decided to copy these files as well. I've copied pretty much all the information they have on other dimensions. Once the surveillance data is downloaded, I can leave.

Just as he thought that, the download finished. Removing the flash drive, Yuji pocketed it and wiped all traces of his using it from the computer. He then left the room, and he wasn't a moment too soon, as the alarms in the building started blaring.

"Intruder alert," a voice over the PDA said. "Intruder alert. Being lockdown procedures."

Damn it, Yuji thought as he started running. I need to get out of here!


"Sir, we traced the hack!"

"Where is it coming from?" Nakajima asked.

"A computer lab on the 1st floor of the building!"

"They were inside the building the whole time?" Nakajima said, surprised. He quickly got over it as he said, "Initiate a lockdown! Send security to that room!"

"Find out what our hacker stole as well," Reiji added. "And if the room is abandoned, widen the search to the rest of the building. Alert any students and professors still in the tower to be on the lookout for suspicious persons and to contact us in the event they see said suspicious persons."

"Yes, sir!"


Yuji made his way through the building, being sure to avoid being seen. Thankfully, the noise of the alarms meant he didn't have to be quiet. I need to hurry, he thought. Before-.

At his thought, gates suddenly came down on the sides around him, and then another one came down on the path he wanted to take.

Before that happens, Yuji thought as he pulled a cord out of his Duel Disk. Opening a nearby panel, he hooked the cord up to a port.

"AI," he said. "Run hacking subroutines. Get this gate unlocked."

"Acknowledged," the AI said.

"Hey!"

Yuji turned to look at a person running up to him. He was shorter than Yuji, with long spiky brown hair and amber eyes. He wore a tan sleeveless jacket over a dark blue long-sleeved shirt and pants. He was also carrying a wooden katana.

"Found you!" the boy said, grinning widely. "I just got out of the infirmary, and what do I find? Someone breaking into LDS! Well, you're not getting away!" He pulled an orange tablet out of his pocjet and accessed its communication functions. "This is Yaiba Todo! I've-!"

Yuji quickly hit a button on his Duel Disk, activating a certain function that caused the lights in the hallway to go out and for the boy's – Yaiba's – call to disconnect.


Nakajima gasped as the cameras in the building went down. "What happened!?"

"Sir, it appears communications and visuals are being jammed somehow. We can't locate the source!"

"Well, find it!" Nakajima shouted while Reiji silently watched in thought.


"Oi! I've found the intruder! Hello? Is anyone listening?"

"AI, continue to unlock the gate," Yuji whispered to his Duel Disk. "Do not speak unless I address you first."

"Understood." Yuji took a few steps forward, pulling his hood back up, while Yaiba was still trying to yell into his tablet.

"Can anyone hear me!? I found the intruder! Why won't anyone respond?"

"They can't hear you," Yuji told him. "I activated a communications disruptor. All coms and cameras in the building have been blocked."

"What? Well undo it!"

"No."

Yaiba growled. "You don't undo it, I'll make you!"

"The disruptor is a function of my Duel Disk. You want to turn it off, you'll have to defeat me in a Duel."

"Is that so?" Yaiba adopted a cocky smirk. "Fine then. I was looking for a little action anyway. I, Yaiba Todo, will now show you the full strength of LDS's Synchro course!"

Synchro? Yuji thought. Well, this should be a good test of the Master Rule Override. Besides, I need to buy time for the AI to finish unlocking the gate.

Yaiba strapped his tablet to his wrist. As he turned on its dueling functions, a green blade emerged from the side. Yuji activated his own blade.

"Duel!" they shouted.

Kingmaker: 4000 LP

Yaiba Todo: 4000 LP

"Master Rule Override activated."

"What the-?" Yaiba said, looking at his Duel Disk in surprise. "What just happened? What are these two new zones?"

"Those are the Extra Monster Zones," Yuji explained. "And the Monster Card Zones have become the Main Monster Zones. That means we can only Special Summon one monster from the Extra Deck at a time."

"What!?" Yaiba said, shocked at Yuji's words. "That means I can only control one Synchro monster." He growled. "No matter. That will only slow me down. I summon XX-Saber Boggart Knight!" A man with gray armor wearing a red cape and wielding a sword appeared on Yaiba's field.

XX-Saber Boggart Knight ATK 1900 DEF 1000 LVL: 4

"Boggart Knight's effect activates! When he is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'X-Saber' monster from my hand. Come, XX-Saber Fulhelmknight!" A short blonde-haired warrior armed with a sword broken into fragments and chained together by lightning appeared in Attack Position.

XX-Saber Fulhelmknight ATK 1300 DEF 1000 LVL: 3

"And since I control two face-up 'X-Saber' monsters, I can Special Summon XX-Saber Faultroll!" A masked warrior in red and black armor carrying a massive sword appeared in Attack Position.

XX-Saber Faultroll ATK 2400 DEF 1800 LVL: 6

Yaiba smirked. "Time for you to see my real strength. Level 3 Fulhelmknight tunes Level 4 Boggart Knight!" His first monster disappeared in a flash of light, turning into three stars that then turned into three green rings. The rings encircled Boggart Knight, who became an orange outline of itself before disappearing, leaving four stars. A beam of light went through the pillars as Yaiba chanted.

"Wielder of crossed blades of light, trample over this mountain of corpses! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 7! X-Saber Souza!" A large warrior in wearing black pants, a red cape, and wielding two longswords appeared, summoned to the Extra Monster Zone in Attack Position.

X-Saber Souza ATK 2500 DEF 1600 LVL: 7

So this is a Synchro Summon, Yuji thought, narrowing his eyes.

Yaiba looked at his Duel Disk and grit his teeth. "Looks like Souza really was summoned to that Extra Monster Zone. No point in using Faultroll's effect if I can't Synchro Summon Gottoms. I Set two cards. I end my turn."


"Sir! We've detected a Synchro Summon!"

"Energy levels?" Reiji asked.

"Low. We've also detected the activation of Yaiba Todo's Duel Disk, and… sir! We're picking up the same overwriting program we detected earlier!"

Reiji narrowed his eyes. That means Yaiba is facing off against the same person Sawatari dueled, he thought.


"My turn! Draw!" Looking at his cards, Yuji knew he had to end this fast. "I summon Cyberse Wizard!" The green-haired man in black and white robes wielding a wand appeared.

Cyberse Wizard ATK 1800 DEF 800 LVL: 4

"What?" Yaiba blinked. "Cyberse? I've never heard of that Type."

"I activate the Continuous Spell Card: Cynet Optimize! Once per turn, I can Normal Summon a Cyberse monster, but for the rest of the turn, I can only Special Summon Cyberse monsters from my Extra Deck. I summon Defect Compiler!" A white machine with a black orb in its center appeared.

Defect Compiler ATK 1000 DEF 1000 LVL: 3

"Heh. I'm a little surprised you have a Type I've never seen before, but neither of your monsters is strong enough to take out Faultroll or Souza."

"I activate the Equip Spell Card: Cyberse Annihilation!" Yuji declared. "And I equip it to Defect Compiler!" Yuji then gestured to his field. "Cyberse Wizard's effect activates! Once per turn, I can change your Attack Position monster to Defense Position!"

"What?" Yaiba said, his eyes widening.

"Go! Cyberse Algorithm!" Cyberse Wizard zapped Souza with its wand, changing its battle position. "In addition, if my Cyberse monster attacks Souza, it inflicts piercing damage!" Yaiba grit his teeth. "Battle! Defect Compiler, attack Souza!"

"What!? Are you insane?" Yaiba asked as Defect Compiler launched a beam of green energy at Souza. "Your monster has 1000 attack points while Souza has 1600 defense points!"

"Cyberse Annihilation's effect activates!" Yuji declared. "When the equipped monster battles the opponent's monster, its attack points become equal to your monster's attack points during damage calculation!"

"What!?"

Defect Compiler ATK 1000→2500

The blast hit Souza, blowing it to pieces and pushing Yaiba back.

Yaiba: 4000→3100 LP

Defect Compiler ATK 2500→1000

"What the-?" Yaiba said, one of his eyes closed. "That damage was real? We're not in an Action Field."

"Cyberse Annihilation's additional effect activates!" Yuji declared, drawing Yaiba's attention. "When the equipped monster destroys your monster in battle, you take damage equal to your monster's attack points!" Yaiba gasped. "You take 2500 points of damage!" Yuji's card blasted Yaiba with energy, but he gestured to his field.

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card: Saber Reflection!" he declared. "If I would take effect damage while I control an 'X-Saber' monster, the damage is negated!" A barrier appeared in front of him and blocked the blast. "And then, you take the damage instead!" The barrier reformed into an energy ball that blasted towards Yuji, who gestured to his own field.

"Defect Compiler's effect activates!" he declared. "Once per turn, if I would take effect damage from your card, I can place one Defect Counter on Defect Compiler instead!" A barrier appeared around Yuji this time, blocking the attack. A "1" then appeared on Defect Compiler's screen.

Defect Compiler: 0 DC→1 DC

"So he was ready in case I deflected his damage?" Yaiba wondered aloud.

"I Set one card. I end my turn." Yuji narrowed his eyes, annoyed. It wasn't often Cyberse Annihilation didn't work like this.

"Heh," Yaiba said with a grin on his face. "I have to admit, you pulled some surprising moves there. Changing my monster's battle position, then trying to inflict massive effect damage, then anticipating I would redirect it… It seems I can't afford to go easy on you. My turn! Draw!"

Yaiba looked at his card, then gestured to his field. "Faultroll's effect activates! Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'X-Saber' monster from my Graveyard. Resurrect, Fulhelmknight!" The blonde monster reappeared in Attack Position.

XX-Saber Fulhelmknight ATK 1300 DEF 1000 LVL: 3

"And now I'll tune Level 3 Fulhelmknight to Level 6 Faultroll!" Fulhelmknight became three green rings that circled Faultroll, who became six stars. A beam of light went through the rings as Yaiba chanted.

"Let your silver armor shine and crush the hope of everything that opposes you! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 9! XX-Saber Gottoms!" A massive monster in silver armor with a red cape draped on its back wielding a sword almost as big as it was appeared in the Extra Monster Zone in Attack Position.

XX-Saber Gottoms ATK 3100 DEF 2600 LVL: 9

Yuji narrowed his eyes. Level 9 this time. And 3100 attack points…

"Trap activate!" Yaiba declared. "At One With the Sword! This card equips itself to an 'X-Saber' monster I control. That monster gains 800 attack points, and if it destroys your monster by battle, I can draw a card."

"I won't let you!" Yuji said, gesturing to his field. "Trap activate! Cyberse Shatter! Since you activated a card that would change the attack points of exactly one monster while I control a Cyberse monster, the activation of that card is negated!" At One With the Sword disintegrated, not being able to stay on the field. "After that, I draw one card."

As Yuji drew, Yaiba growled. "You were prepared for that too? Well how about this? I activate the Spell Card: Warrior's Gift!" The card showed Souza and Gottoms with their swords crossed. "Since I control a Level 7 or higher 'X-Saber' monster, I draw two cards, but I cannot add any new cards to my hand from my Deck for the rest of the turn."

Yaiba drew, then said, "I activate the Spell Card: The Warrior Returning Alive! This card lets me add a Warrior monster from my Graveyard to my hand. I return Faultroll to my hand. And then, I'll activate the Spell Card Monster Reborn, to Special Summon Souza from my Graveyard!" The warrior with two swords reappeared and roared in Attack Position.

X-Saber Souza ATK 2500 DEF 1600 LVL: 7

Yaiba smirked. "I may only be able to Special Summon one monster from the Extra Deck at a time, but there's nothing stopping me from bringing back the ones you destroy!" Yuji narrowed his eyes at that. "And since I control two 'X-Saber' monsters, I can Special Summon Faultroll from my hand!" The warrior in red and black armor reappeared in Attack Position.

XX-Saber Faultroll ATK 2400 DEF 1800 LVL: 6

"Faultroll's effect activates! I resurrect the Level 4 Boggart Knight!" The man in gray armor also reappeared in Attack Position.

XX-Saber Boggart Knight ATK 1900 DEF 1000 LVL: 4

"Souza's effect now activates! I Tribute Boggart Knight!" The man in gray armor disappeared again, confusing Yuji.

"Confused? You won't be for long. Battle! Souza, attack Defect Compiler!"

Cyberse Annihilation's effect will make Defect Compiler's attack points equal to Souza's, Yuji thought. Mutual destruction? No, if that was the case, he would have attacked with Faultroll.

"Souza's effect now activates!" Yaiba declared. "Since I Tributed an 'X-Saber' monster, your monster is destroyed at the start of the Damage Step!"

Yuji's eyes widened in surprise, but he regained his senses enough to gesture to his monster. "Defect Compiler's effect activates!" he declared. "By removing a Defect Counter, a Cyberse monster I control gains 800 attack points!" The "1" on Defect Compiler became a "0" as Cyberse Wizard glowed.

Defect Compiler: 1 DC→0 DC

Cyberse Wizard ATK 1800→2600

"That won't save your monster!" Yaiba reminded him. "Go, Souza!" Souza slashed Defect Compiler, destroying it and making Yuji wince. "Your turn, Gottoms! Destroy Cyberse Wizard!" Gottoms chopped Cyberse Wizard in half with its sword, making Yuji cover his eyes from the smoke.

Kingmaker: 4000→3500 LP

"And now Faultroll will attack you directly!" Faultroll charged through the smoke and slashed Yuji, pushing him back up against the gate.

Kingmaker: 3500→1100 LP

"I Set one card. I end my turn." Yaiba smirked as Yuji took a few steps forward. "You had some surprising moves, but it's obvious I'm the victor here. So either surrender, or fight back as hard as you can."

"…Why not?" Yuji said softly, placing his hand on his Duel Disk. "My turn! Draw!" Looking at his cards, Yuji thought, I was able to defeat Sawatari without Link Summoning, but I can't pull the same tricks against this guy. Besides, the Leo Corporation already knows I exist.

"I summon Lady Debug!" A humanoid mechanical ladybug appeared on Yuji's field.

Lady Debug ATK 1700 DEF 1400 LVL: 4

"Lady Debug's effect activates! When she is Summoned, I can add a Level 3 or lower Cyberse monster from my Deck to my hand. I add Draconnet from my hand. I then activate the effect of Cynet Optimize and summon Draconnet!" A white mechanical dragon with blue lines running over it appeared.

Draconnet ATK 1400 DEF 1200 LVL: 3

"Draconnet's effect activates! When it is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 2 or lower Normal Monster from my hand or Deck in Defense Position. From my hand, I summon Protron!" A small black and white ball with blue eyes appeared on the field.

Protron ATK 100 DEF 100 LVL: 1

"And since I control two or more monsters of the same Type, I Special Summon Cyberse White Hat!" A cowboy in a white coat and black pants with his mouth covered appeared in Attack Position.

Cyberse White Hat ATK 1800 DEF 2400 LVL: 6

"…I have to admit, that's an impressive lineup," Yaiba said, looking over the four monsters. "But none of them are strong enough to take out my monsters, and you have no more cards in your hand."

"You're right on both counts," Yuji said. "But I don't plan on using them." He gestured to the air above his head. "Appear! The circuit that leads to the future!" As his hand glowed blue, the Link portal appeared above him, shocking Yaiba.

"What the-? What is that!?" he asked.

"Arrowheads confirmed!" Yuji chanted. "The summoning condition is one Level 1 monster. I set Protron in the Link Marker!" His monster became a stream of energy that entered the bottom arrow, turning it red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link-1! Linkuriboh!" A small blue mechanical monster with a red arrow on the end of its tail and two large eyes appeared, summoned to the Extra Monster Zone.

Linkuriboh ATK 300 LINK-1

"Kuri kuri ku!" the monster cheered as Yaiba looked on, shocked out of his mind.

"W-What is this?" he muttered. "He didn't have any cards in his hand, so that must have come from his Extra Deck. But Link Summon? I've never even heard of something like this."

"Appear again, the circuit that leads to the future!" Yuji declared, shocking Yaiba out of his thoughts. Yuji's hand glowed blue as the Link portal appeared again. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two non-Token monsters. I set Draconnet and Lady Debug in the Link Markers!" His monsters became whirlwinds of energy and entered the left and right arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link-2! Binary Sorceress!" A white humanoid machine with arrows on its legs emerged from the portal, summoned to Linkuriboh's Link Marker.

Binary Sorceress ATK 1600 LINK-2 ←→

"H-Hey! You can't do that!" Yaiba protested. "You said monsters from the Extra Deck can only be summoned to the Extra Monster Zones!"

"That's mostly true, but Extra Deck monsters can also be Special Summoned to a Link Monster's Link Marker," Yuji revealed.

"What? Link Marker?" Yaiba looked at the screen on his Duel Disk and saw red arrows on Linkuriboh and Binary Sorceress. "Is that what those red arrows are?"

"Pretty much. Appear for a third time, the circuit that leads to the future!" Yaiba gasped as the Link portal appeared again. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two Cyberse monsters. If I use a Link Monster to Link Summon, its Link Markers count as Link Materials. I set Cyberse White Hat and Link-2 Binary Sorceress in the Link Markers!" His monsters, with Binary Sorceress splitting into two, became whirlwinds of energy and entered the left, top, and bottom arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! Link Summon! Appear! Link-3! Shootingcode Talker!" A blue-and-gold-armored monster with wings emerged from the portal, summoned to Linkuriboh's Link Marker.

Shootingcode Talker ATK 2300 LINK-3 ←↑↓

"Cyberse White Hat's effect activates! When it is used to Link Summon, all your monsters lose 1000 attack points until the end of the turn!"

"What!?" Yaiba gasped as his monsters became weaker.

XX-Saber Gottoms ATK 3100→2100

XX-Saber Faultroll ATK 2400→1400

X-Saber Souza ATK 2500→1500

"I activate the effect of Cyberse Shatter in my Graveyard! By banishing it, I can Special Summon a Link-2 or lower monster from my Graveyard. Resurrect, Binary Sorceress!" The white humanoid reappeared, summoned to Shootingcode Talker's left Link Marker.

Binary Sorceress ATK 1600 LINK-2 ←→


"Sir! We've picked up a string of summoning energies!"

"What kind are they?" Nakajima asked.

"…We… we don't know, sir! There's no record of this energy in the database!"

"What!?" Nakajima said, surprised. "No record!? That's impossible!"

"Observe the levels of the summoning energies and compare them to our records of Shun Kurosaki and Sora Shiun'in," Reiji ordered.

"Yes, sir… The energy levels are the same. They aren't the same kind, but the levels are just as high."

So our intruder is from another dimension, but they aren't using Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, or Pendulum, Reiji thought, narrowing his eyes. How interesting…


"He summoned three monsters from the Extra Deck with four monsters," Yaiba muttered. "Not only that, but he used one to summon another, and then brought that one back. Just who are you!?"

"Defeat me, and you'll find out," Yuji told him before he gestured to his field. "Shootingcode Talker's effect activates! At the start of the Battle Phase, it can attack your monsters up to the number of monsters it points to plus one!"

"Eh!?" Yaiba said, shocked. "Multiple attacks?"

"Shootingcode Talker points to Linkuriboh and Binary Sorceress. That means it can attack three times!" A golden bow unfolded on Shootingcode Talker's left arm, along with a golden energy string.

"Battle! Shootingcode Talker attacks XX-Saber Gottoms!" Shootingcode Talker pulled its string back, creating a blue arrow that it then released. Yaiba winced as the blow struck Gottoms, destroying it.

Yaiba: 3100→2900 LP

"Binary Sorceress's effect activates! When a monster it is co-linked with inflicts battle damage, I gain Life Points equal to that damage."

"What?" Yaiba asked. "Co-linked?"

Kingmaker: 1100→1300 LP

"The second attack! Shootingcode Talker attacks XX-Saber Faultroll!" Shootingcode Talker pulled back another arrow and released it, destroying Faultroll and pushing Yaiba back.

Yaiba: 2900→2000 LP

"Binary Sorceress's effect activates!"

Kingmaker: 1300→2200 LP

"Since you only control one monster, Shootingcode Talker loses 400 attack points."

Shootingcode Talker ATK 2300→1900

This is bad, Yaiba thought. I don't have a choice but to use it. He gestured to his field. "Trap activate! Gottoms' Emergency Call! Since I have a face-up 'X-Saber' monster, I can Special Summon two 'X-Saber' monsters from my Graveyard. Come back, Faultroll and Gottoms!" The two monsters Yuji destroyed reappeared in Attack Position, and because Yaiba had more than one monster again, Shootingcode Talker's attack points returned to normal.

XX-Saber Faultroll ATK 2400 DEF 1800 LVL: 6

XX-Saber Gottoms ATK 3100 DEF 2600 LVL: 9

Shootingcode Talker ATK 1900→2300

Yuji narrowed his eyes but still gestured to his field. "The third attack! Shootingcode Talker attacks X-Saber Souza! Shooting Complete!" Shootingcode Talker let loose a third arrow, destroying Souza and knocking Yaiba onto his back.

Yaiba: 2000→1200 LP

"Binary Sorceress's effect activates!"

Kingmaker: 2200→3000 LP

Yaiba growled as he stood back up. "Damn, he's strong," he muttered. "He wiped out three of my strongest monsters in a single turn. If not for Emergency Call, he could attack directly with his other monsters and I'd lose…"

"Shootingcode Talker's additional effect!" Yaiba looked up as Yuji placed his hand on his Duel Disk. "At the end of the Battle Phase, I draw cards equal to the number of monsters Shootingcode Talker destroyed by battle. It destroyed three, so I draw three cards!" Yuji drew, then said, "I Set one card. I end my turn."

Yaiba growled again. "You're good. Maybe one of the best I've ever fought. Still, I can't let you win. I have my pride as an ace of LDS! My turn! Draw!" Yaiba looked at his card, then gestured to his field. "Faultroll's effect activates! I resurrect Fulhelmknight!" The blonde warrior reappeared in Attack Position.

XX-Saber Fulhelmknight ATK 1300 DEF 1000 LVL: 3

"I tune the Level 3 Fulhelmknight to the Level 6 Faultroll!" Yuji's eyes widened as the blonde warrior became three rings around Faultroll, who became six stars. A surge of light passed through the rings as Yaiba chanted.

"Let your silver armor shine and crush the hope of everything that opposes you! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 9! XX-Saber Gottoms!" Another large warrior in silver armor with a red cape appeared, summoned to the Extra Monster Zone in Attack Position.

XX-Saber Gottoms ATK 3100 DEF 2600 LVL: 9

I see. So he has more than one copy of that monster, Yuji thought. It made sense of course; Go, Hanako, and Ryoken ran multiple copies of the same monsters in their own Decks.

"I activate the Field Spell Card: Saber Vault!" Yaiba declared. "This card increases the attack points of each 'X-Saber' monster I control by 100 times its Level and decreases their defense points by 100 times their Level."

XX-Saber Gottoms ATK 3100→4000 DEF 2600→1700 x2

"I'm ending this here! Battle! The first Gottoms attacks Linkuriboh!" Gottoms charged Yuji's monster, but he just gestured to his field.

"Linkuriboh's effect activates!" he declared. "When your monster declares an attack, I can Tribute Linkuriboh!" Said monster disintegrated, dodging Gottoms' sword. "Your monster's attack points now become 0 until the end of the turn."

XX-Saber Gottoms ATK 4000→0

Yaiba growled, then said, "I can still take out another monster! The second Gottoms attacks Binary Sorceress!" Gottoms swung its sword, cleaving Binary Sorceress in half. Yuji winced from the damage.

Yuji: 3000→600 LP

"Trap activate!" Yuji declared. "Cyberse Beacon! Since I took damage, I can add one Level 4 or lower Cyberse monster form my Deck to my hand. I add Backup Secretary to my hand."

Yaiba narrowed his eyes, then gestured to his field. "The effect of the second Gottoms activates! By Tributing an 'X-Saber' monster, I can discard a random card from your hand. I Tribute the 0-attack point Gottoms!" The first Gottoms became a ball of energy that struck one of Yuji's cards. He took it from his hand and placed it in the Graveyard.

"You may have survived this turn, but I'll win next turn. My Gottoms has 4000 attack points. I end my turn."

"AI," Yuji whispered, talking to his Duel Disk. "How long until the gate is unlocked?"

"One minute," the AI answered, just as softly. "Warning: multiple lifeforms detected on other side. Suspected hostiles."

"…Understood." Yuji could end this by bringing out another of his Code Talkers, but to get past Yaiba and deal with the people on the other side…

Alright. "My turn! Draw!" He looked at his card, then played it. "I activate the Quick-Play Spell Card: Mystical Space Typhoon!"

"What?" Yaiba gasped.

"This card destroys a Spell or Trap Card on the field. I'll destroy Saber Vault!" A gust of wind destroyed Yaiba's Field Spell, weakening Gottoms.

XX-Saber Gottoms ATK 4000→3100 DEF 1700→2600

"Since I control a Cyberse monster, I can Special Summon Backup Secretary!" A purple-haired woman in silver armor and purple robes appeared on Yuji's field.

Backup Secretary ATK 1200 DEF 800 LVL: 3

"Appear for the final time! The circuit that leads to the future!" Yaiba started as the Link portal appeared again. "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two or more monsters. I set Backup Secretary and Link-3 Shootingcode Talker in the Link Markers!" Shootingcode Talker split into three, then Yuji's four monsters became whirlwinds of energy and entered the left, bottom-left, right, and bottom-right arrows, turning them red.

"Circuit combine! The malicious dragon whose claws defend the world! Link Summon! Appear! Link-4! Viral Dawn Link Dragon!" The light blue dragon with dark blue armor emerged from the portal and spread its large wings. Its red eyes glowed as it roared from the Extra Monster Zone.

Viral Dawn Link Dragon ATK 2500 LINK-4 ←↙↘→

"What the-?" Yaiba said, taking a few steps back. "This monster gives off a very different vibe than the others…"

"Viral Dawn's effect activates! If it is Link Summoned using a Link-3 monster as material, the effects of all your Level 5 or higher monsters are negated! Infection Code!" The orbs on Viral Dawn's body lit up and released pulses of red energy.

"Eh?" Yaiba gasped as his Gottoms lost some color. "You took away my monster's effects!?"

"I activate the effect of the Equip Spell Card: Cynet Defrag in my Graveyard!"

"What? In the Graveyard?" Yaiba gasped. "That's the card I sent with Gottoms' effect!"

"It is, and Cynet Defrag lets me Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Cyberse monster from my Graveyard in Defense Position and then equip Cynet Defrag to it. And if Cynet Defrag is in the Graveyard, I can activate this effect by paying half my Life Points. Resurrect, Cyberse Wizard!" Yuji's monster in white and black robes reappeared, summoned to Viral Dawn's bottom-left Link Marker.

Kingmaker: 600→300 LP

Cyberse Wizard ATK 1800 DEF 800 LVL: 4

"Viral Dawn's additional effect activates! I Tribute the Cyberse Wizard at its Link Marker to lower the attack points of your Level 5 or higher monster by Cyberse Wizard's attack points!"

"Eh!?"

"Go! Corruption Drain!" Cyberse Wizard disintegrated into energy and then entered the orbs on Viral Dawn's wings, which lit up with swirling energy. The orbs released tendrils that entangled Gottoms, draining its power further.

XX-Saber Gottoms ATK 3100→1300

"Crap!" Yaiba said, realizing what was about to happen.

"Battle!" Yuji declared. "Viral Dawn Link Dragon, attack XX-Saber Gottoms! Daybreak Tempest!" Red energy traveled over Viral Dawn's skin before gathering in its mouth. Viral Dawn blasted Gottoms with the gathered energy, destroying it and sending Yaiba flying backwards until he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Yaiba: 1200→0 LP

"Gate unlocked," Yuji's AI reported. Yuji turned around just in time to see the gate open, revealing the small army of security agents on the other side.

"Go, Viral Dawn!" Yuji shouted, directing his still remaining dragon. Viral Dawn blasted the agents with its attack, making them cry out in pain and causing an explosion.

When the smoke cleared, Yuji saw the guards lying on the ground – just unconscious, thankfully – and the security gates behind them broken into pieces.

I think I know what father meant by "the applications beyond dueling," Yuji thought as he started to run again, Viral Dawn vanishing as he left. Luckily, he managed to find an exit which led him out of the building.


Reiji narrowed his eyes as the cameras and communications came back online.

"Report in, everyone!" Nakajima shouted.

"Sir! The jamming has been turned off, but security has not located any suspicious persons."

"Nothing!? They got away?"

"Evidently, sir. We did, however, find student Todo unconscious on the first floor, with several more unconscious guards nearby. And… security reports that a few of the security gates were destroyed."

"Destroyed?" Nakajima grit his teeth. "They must have used Real Solid Vision to defeat Todo. Take him to the infirmary immediately!"

"Yes, sir!"

Reiji then spoke up. "Have you ascertained what our hacker took from us?"

"Yes, sir. They accessed files on Action Duels and downloaded a few videos related to Pendulum Summoning along with… sir! They made copies of the files related to Academia and the Lancer Selection!" Reiji narrowed his eyes further. Well, that wasn't good. If this hacker was affiliated with his father, then they had just lost the edge of surprise.

That seems unlikely however, Reiji thought. We never detected any signs of Fusion Summoning. While the levels suggest a person from another dimension, the fact that the energy was "unknown" suggests they weren't from Fusion. Or Synchro or Xyz. That leaves…

Out loud, he said, "Did they take anything else or access any other files?"

"Only one other thing: they downloaded the last two hours of surveillance footage."

"What?" Nakajima said, surprised. "Why would they want surveillance footage?"

"Why indeed?" Reiji mused, steepling his fingers. Why indeed?


Yuji breathed a sigh of relief. He'd established a great deal of distance from Leo Corporation, and had managed to avoid the cameras. At the moment, he was back in the warehouse district, but had set up in one on the other side of the pier; he didn't want to risk running into Sawatari again.

Powering up his laptop, Yuji plugged in the flash drive containing the surveillance footage, then hooked his Duel Disk up to the laptop.

"AI," he ordered. "Run facial recognition software on this video. Set parameters at 50% recognition. Search for these IDs: Hanako Zaizen, Go Onizuka, Ryoken Kogami."

"Acknowledged."

Yuji had to admit that while he found AIs annoying sometimes, they did have their uses. That didn't mean Ryoken had to like them, of course.

While the AI dealt with the footage, Yuji opened the videos he'd downloaded on Pendulum Summoning. And then had to rewind it because the first time had left him stunned.

What the-? Yuji went to a point in the video and zoomed in on the face of the only person in the video. It was a boy about Yuji's age with red eyes, and red-and-green hair. The hair and eyes aside, he had the exact same face as Yuji.

How is this possible? he wondered. Why does someone in this dimension look like me? Checking the tags, he saw the boy's name. Yuya Sakaki. Sakaki. Wait. Sawatari's friends mentioned him. And a guy who looked like him who dealt real damage…

It couldn't be, Yuji thought, shaking his head. Two people looking alike can be a coincidence; with seven billion people on the planet, not to mention other dimensions, there are bound to be people who look the same. But three people? In one city? That's…

Yuji shook his head to clear his thoughts. Don't focus on the big picture. Look at the little picture. He took a calming breath, then watched the video. So… He had been right. Watching it did make understanding Pendulum Summon better. And watching the second video allowed him to see a Fusion Summon for the first time.

So Pendulum Summoning can be used to bring out materials to summon monsters from the Extra Deck, Yuji mused. It might be a good idea to find some Pendulum cards and bring them back home so father can study them.

Setting those thoughts to the side, Yuji loaded up the other files he copied, starting with the attack on the Xyz Dimension. Hmm… It appeared that a group from the Fusion Dimension called Academia had launched an attack on a city called Heartland City. They had used Real Solid Vision to destroy the buildings and had captured the populace by using some form of technology to seal people into Duel Monster cards.

The analytical part of Yuji couldn't help but admire the concept of sealing people into cards, from a scientific perspective. It was an effective way to take prisoners of war, but they didn't need food, they took up far less space, and so long as the process was reversible, it was more humane compared to many of history's POW camps. The moral part of Yuji, however, was repulsed. The act of sealing people into cards reminded him of the viruses the Collective had started using back home. Those people were left in vegetative states until given the antivirus. Academia was essentially stealing people's souls.

But how did the Standard Dimension know about Academia? A look at the other files answered that question; the leader of Academia, also known as the Professor, was a man named Leo Akaba, the former CEO of the Leo Corporation, who had disappeared a little over three years ago, leaving control of the company to his ex-wife Himika and their son Reiji Akaba, who had taken control of the company at… 16!?

This guy's younger than Go and Ryoken, and he's in charge of an entire corporation!? Yuji thought, shocked out of his mind. This guy is ten years younger than Akira and outranks him. He must be a genius… That or the employment standards at Leo Corporation are lower than at SOL.

That thought aside, Yuji looked at the file titled "Lancer Selection." He read it thoroughly and had to admit he was impressed. It seemed that the local tournament being held was in fact a selection process to determine duelists who would fight against Academia. Smart plan, Yuji thought. A tournament format is the perfect way to weed out the weak and get the strongest duelists. But the names on this list…

Yuya Sakaki, Yuzu Hiragi, Noboru Gongenzaka, Shun Kurosaki… Yuji narrowed his eyes. There aren't any pictures, but if Yuya Sakaki is on this list, it makes sense that the others would be around the same age. Making 14-year-olds fight a war… Well, considering my own employment, I can't comment. But the notes underneath… Yuji gasped. Kurosaki is from the Xyz Dimension!? Is that how the Leo Corporation is aware of Academia's attack?

Yuji's thoughts were interrupted by a beep from his Duel Disk. "Footage analysis complete," the AI said.

"How many appearances of each subject?" Yuji asked.

"Zero matches for Go Onizuka. Zero matches for Ryoken Kogami. Possible match for Hanako Zaizen."

"Highlight the spots the partial match for Hanako Zaizen appears in."

"Acknowledged."

The AI pulled them up, then Yuji looked at them. He couldn't help but start and stare at the picture.

It wasn't Hanako. It couldn't be. Hanako's hair was crimson, not pink. And she wore it in a ponytail, not pigtails. And she absolutely wouldn't be smacking someone with the same face as Yuji with a giant paper fan.

So Hanako has doppelgangers, too? Yuji thought. Looking through the other highlighted sections, Yuji saw that all of them contained the pink-haired girl, and many contained Yuya Sakaki. And none of them were of Hanako.

Damn it, Yuji thought, scowling. I should have arrived in this dimension about two hours before I stole the footage. That means I should have seen at least a hint of Go, Hanako, or Ryoken. The fact I didn't leaves three possibilities. One: they all managed to avoid the cameras. Two: they landed outside of this city. Three: … they didn't arrive in this dimension with me.

The first one is the most unlikely; Ryoken could probably manage it, and maybe Hanako, but there's no way Go would; he isn't stealthy enough. The second one is also unlikely. Father showed this city as the picture representing the Standard Dimension, so I can assume Maiami City is the center of this dimension, or at least the most likely destination.

That means the most likely outcome is… they're all in other dimensions.

Yuji didn't know what to think after that. The possibility of his brother and comrades being separated like this… No, he had to think. Otherwise he would just get stuck.

I need to find a way to the other dimensions to find them, Yuji thought. But how… Yuji reopened the Lancer Selection file. Shun Kurosaki of the Xyz Dimension. He must have crossed dimensions too, but unlike me, he did it on purpose. That means he must have access to interdimensional travel technology.

The files also say the next part of the Maiami Championship will be a city-wide Battle Royale. That means if I can find Kurosaki and obtain his Duel Disk… For the first time since he landed in this world, Yuji smiled. If I can get Kurosaki's Duel Disk, I might be able to travel to the other dimensions and find my teammates.

Go, Hanako, Ryoken… Wherever you are, I'll find you!


Kingmaker vs. Shingo Sawatari

This Duel is conducted as a Master Duel.

Turn 1: Shingo

Shingo discards Mobius the Frost Monarch to Special Summon Berlineth the Firestorm Vassal (800/1000/3) in Attack Position. Shingo Tributes Berlineth to Tribute Summon Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch (2400/1000/6). Since Berlineth was Tributed for a Tribute Summon, Shingo can look at Kingmaker's hand and banish 1 card until the End Phase. He banishes Cyberse Wizard from his hand. Since Thestalos was Tribute Summoned, Shingo can discard 1 random card from Kingmaker's hand, and if it is a Monster Card, Kingmaker takes damage equal to that monster's Level x 100. Shingo forces Kingmaker to discard Stack Reviver (Kingmaker: 4000→3800 LP). Shingo Sets 1 card. He ends his turn. During the End Phase, Cyberse Wizard returns to Kingmaker's hand.

Turn 2: Kingmaker

Kingmaker draws. Since he controls no monsters, he Special Summons Linkslayer (2000/600/5) in Attack Position. He activates Linkslayer's effect, discarding Backup Secretary to destroy Shingo's Set Sakuretsu Armor. Kingmaker Normal Summons Cyberse Wizard (1800/800/4). Kingmaker activates Cyberse Wizard's effect, targeting Thestalos. Thestalos is changed to Defense Position, and if a Cyberse monster attacks it, it inflicts piercing damage.

Linkslayer attacks and destroys Thestalos (Shingo: 4000→3000 LP). Kingmaker Sets 1 card. He ends his turn.

Turn 3: Shingo

Shingo draws. He activates the Equip Spell Card Restoration of the Monarchs, which lets him Special Summon 1 monster with 2400 ATK/1000 DEF or 2800 ATK/1000 DEF from his GY in Defense Position with its effects negated, then equip it with Restoration of the Monarchs. He Special Summons Thestalos (2400/1000/6) and equips it with Restoration of the Monarchs. The monster equipped with Restoration of the Monarchs can be treated as 2 Tributes for a Tribute Summon. Shingo Tributes Thestalos to Tribute Summon Thestalos the Mega Monarch (2800/1000/8). Since Thestalos was Tribute Summoned, Shingo can look at Kingmaker's hand and force him to discard 1 card, and if it is a Monster Card, Kingmaker takes damage equal to that monster's Level x 200. Shingo forces Kingmaker to discard Draconnet (Kingmaker: 3800→3200 LP). Since Thestaloas was Tribute Summoned by Tributing a Fire monster, it also inflicts 1000 damage to Kingmaker (Kingmaker: 3200→2200 LP).

Thestalos attacks Cyberse Wizard, but Kingmaker activates his Set Quick-Play Spell Card Security Block, targeting Cyberse Wizard with its effect. Cyberse Wizard cannot be destroyed by battle this turn, and neither player takes battle damage this turn. Shingo ends his turn.

Turn 4: Kingmaker

Kingmaker draws. Kingmaker banishes Draconnet and Stack Reviver from his GY to Special Summon Degrade Buster (2500/2500/7) in Attack Position. Kingmaker activates Degrade Buster's effect, letting him banish 1 of Shingo's monsters with higher ATK than Degrade Buster until the End Phase. He banishes Thestalos.

Degrade Buster attacks Shingo directly (Shingo: 3000→500 LP). Cyberse Wizard attacks Shingo directly (Shingo: 500→0 LP). Kingmaker wins.


Kingmaker vs. Yaiba Todo

This Duel is conducted as a Master Duel.

Turn 1: Yaiba

Yaiba Normal Summons XX-Saber Boggart Knight (1900/1000/4). Since Boggart Knight was Normal Summoned, Yaiba can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "X-Saber" monster from his hand. He Special Summons XX-Saber Fulhelmknight (1300/1000/3) in Attack Position. Since he controls 2 face-up "X-Saber" monsters, Yaiba Special Summons XX-Saber Faultroll (2400/1800/6) in Attack Position. Yaiba tunes Level 3 Fulhelmknight to Level 4 Boggart Knight to Synchro Summon X-Saber Souza (2500/1600/7) to the right Extra Monster Zone in Attack Position. Yaiba Sets 2 cards. He ends his turn.

Turn 2: Kingmaker

Kingmaker draws. He Normal Summons Cyberse Wizard (1800/800/4). Kingmaker then activates the Continuous Spell Card Cynet Optimize, which lets him Normal Summon 1 Cyberse monster during his Main Phase. He Normal Summons Defect Compiler (1000/1000/3). Kingmaker activates the Equip Spell Card Cyberse Annihilation, equipping it to Defect Compiler. If the equipped monster attacks one of Yaiba's monsters, its ATK becomes equal to that monster's ATK during damage calculation and if the equipped monster destroys a monster by battle, Annihilation will inflict damage equal to that monster's ATK. Kingmaker activates Cyberse Wizard's effect, targeting the Attack Position Souza. Souza is changed to Defense Position, Kingmaker's monsters can only attack Souza, and if his Cyberse monster attacks a Defense Position monster, it inflicts piercing damage.

Defect Compiler attacks Souza (Defect Compiler: 1000→2500). Souza is destroyed, with Cyberse Wizard's effect inflicting piercing damage (Yaiba: 4000→3100 LP) (Defect Compiler: 2500→1000). As the equipped monster destroyed a monster by battle, the effect of Annihilation activates, inflicting damage to Yaiba equal to the destroyed monster's ATK. As Yaiba would take effect damage while he controls an "X-Saber" monster, he activates his Set Quick-Play Spell Card Saber Reflection, inflicting the damage to his opponent instead. As he would take damage from an opponent's card effect, Kingmaker activates the effect of Defect Compiler, placing 1 Defect Counter on it instead of taking damage (Defect Compiler: 0 DC→1 DC). Kingmaker Sets 1 card. He ends his turn.

Turn 3: Yaiba

Yaiba draws. He activates Faultroll's effect to Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "X-Saber" monster from his GY. He Special Summons Fulhelmknight (1300/1000/3) in Attack Position. Yaiba tunes Level 3 Fulhelmknight to Level 6 Faultroll to Synchro Summon XX-Saber Gottoms (3100/2600/9) to the Extra Monster Zone. As he only controls 1 face-up "X-Saber" monster, Yaiba activates his Set Trap Card At One With the Sword, targeting Gottoms. At One With the Sword is equipped to Gottoms, it gains 800 ATK, and if it destroys Kingmaker's monster by battle, Yaiba draws 1 card. As his opponent activated a card that would change the ATK of exactly 1 monster on the field, Kingmaker activates his Set Trap Card Cyberse Shatter, negating the activation of At One With the Sword and then drawing 1 card. As he controls a Level 7 or higher "X-Saber" monster, Yaiba activates the Spell Card Warrior's Gift, which lets him draw 2 cards. Yaiba activates the Spell Card The Warrior Returning Alive, letting him add 1 Warrior monster from his GY to his hand. He adds Faultroll to his hand. He then activates the Spell Card Monster Reborn, letting him Special Summon 1 monster from his GY. He Special Summons X-Saber Souza (2500/1600/7) in Attack Position. As he controls 2 "X-Saber" monsters, Yaiba Special Summons Faultroll (2400/1800/6) in Attack Position. He then activates Faultroll's effect to Special Summon Boggart Knight (1900/1000/4) in Attack Position. Yaiba Tributes Boggart Knight to activate Souza's effect. During this turn, if Souza battles Kingmaker's monster, that monster is destroyed at the start of the Damage Step.

Souza attacks Defect Compiler. Kingmaker activates Defect Compiler's effect, removing 1 Defect Counter from it to increase the ATK of 1 Cyberse monster he controls by 800 until the end of the turn. He targets Cyberse Wizard (Cyberse Wizard: 1800→2600) (Defect Compiler: 1 DC→0 DC). At the start of the Damage Step, Souza's effect destroys Defect Compiler. Gottoms attacks and destroys Cyberse Wizard (Kingmaker: 4000→3500 LP). Faultroll attacks Kingmaker directly (Kingmaker: 3500→1100 LP). Yaiba Sets 1 card. He ends his turn.

Turn 4: Kingmaker

Kingmaker draws. He Normal Summons Lady Debug (1700/1400/4). Since Lady Debug was Normal Summoned, Kingmaker can add 1 Level 3 or lower Cyberse monster from his Deck to his hand. He adds Draconnet to his hand. Kingmaker activates the effect of Cynet Optimize, letting him Normal Summon 1 Cyberse monster He Normal Summons Draconnet (1400/1200/3). Since Draconnet was Normal Summoned, Kingmaker can Special Summon 1 Level 2 or lower Normal Monster from his hand or Deck in Defense Position. He Special Summons Protron (100/100/1) from his hand. As he controls 2 or more monsters with the same Type, Kingmaker Special Summons Cyberse White Hat (1800/2400/6) in Attack Position. Kingmaker uses Protron to Link Summon Linkuriboh (300/1/↓) to the Extra Monster Zone. Kingmaker then uses Draconnet and Lady Debug to Link Summon Binary Sorceress (1600/2/←→) to Linkuriboh's Link Marker. Kingmaker uses Cyberse White Hat and Link-2 Binary Sorceress to Link Summon Shootingcode Talker (2300/3/←↑↓) to Linkuriboh's bottom Link Marker. Since White Hat was sent to the GY as Link Material, all of Yaiba's monsters lose 1000 ATK until the end of the turn (Gottoms: 3100→2100) (Faultroll: 2400→1400) (Souza: 2500→1500). Kingmaker activates the effect of Cyberse Shatter in his GY, banishing it to Special Summon 1 Link-2 or lower Link Monster from his GY. He Special Summons Binary Sorceress (1600/2/←→) to Shootingcode Talker's left Link Marker.

At the start of Kingmaker's Battle Phase, he activates Shootingcode Talker's effect, letting it attack Yaiba's monster up to the number of monsters it points to +1. Shootingcode Talker attacks and destroys Gottoms (Yaiba: 3100→2900 LP). Since a monster co-linked with Binary Sorceress inflicted battle damage, Kingmaker gains the same amount of LP (Kingmaker: 1100→1300 LP). Shootingcode Talker attacks and destroys Faultroll. (Yaiba: 2900→2000 LP). Binary Sorceress's effect activates (Kingmaker: 1300→2200 LP). Since Yaiba only controls 1 monster, Shootingcode Talker loses 400 ATK (Shootingcode Talker: 2300→1900). Yaiba activates his Set Trap Card Gottoms' Emergency Call. Since there is a face-up "X-Saber" monster on the field, he can Special Summon 2 "X-Saber" monsters from the GY to his field. Yaiba Special Summons Faultroll (2400/1800/6) and Gottoms (3100/2600/9) in Attack Position (Shootingcode Talker: 1900→2300). Shootingcode Talker attacks and destroys Souza (Yaiba: 2000→1200 LP). Binary Sorceress's effect activates (Kingmaker: 2200→3000 LP). At the end of the Battle Phase, Shootingcode Talker's effect lets Kingmaker draw cards equal to the number of monsters it destroyed by battle. He draws 3 cards. Kingmaker Sets 1 card. He ends his turn.

Turn 5: Yaiba

Yaiba draws. He activates Faultroll's effect to Special Summon Fulhelmknight (1300/1000/3) from his GY in Attack Position. Yaiba tunes Level 3 Fulhelmknight to Level 6 Faultroll to Synchro Summon XX-Saber Gottoms (3100/2600/9) in Attack Position to the Extra Monster Zone. He then activates the Field Spell Card Saber Vault, which increases the ATK of each "X-Saber" monster by 100 x its Level and decreases its DEF by 100 x its Level (Gottoms: 3100→4000/2600→1700 each).

Yaiba attacks Linkuriboh with the first Gottoms, but since Yaiba's monster declared an attack. Kingmaker activates Kinkuriboh's effect, Tributing it to change Gottoms's ATK to 0 until the end of the turn (Gottoms: 4000→0). A replay occurs and Yaiba cancels his attack. The second Gottoms attacks and destroys Binary Sorceress (Kingmaker: 3000→600 LP). Since he took damage, Kingmaker activates his Set Trap Card Cyberse Beacon, which lets him add 1 Level 4 or lower Cyberse monster from his Deck to his hand. He adds Backup Secretary from his Deck to his hand. Yaiba activates the effect of the second Gottoms, Tributing the first Gottoms to discard 1 random card from Kingmaker's hand. Kingmaker sends Cynet Defrag to the GY. Yaiba ends his turn.

Turn 6: Kingmaker

Kingmaker draws. He activates the Quick-Play Spell Card Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy 1 Spell or Trap Card on the field. He destroys Saber Vault (Gottoms: 4000→3100/1700→2600 each). Kingmaker Special Summons Backup Secretary (1200/800/3) in Attack Position via its effect. Kingmaker uses Backup Secretary and Link-3 Shootingcode Talker to Link Summon Viral Dawn Link Dragon (2500/4/←↙↘→) to the Extra Monster Zone. Since Viral Dawn was Link Summoned using a Link-3 monster as material, the effects of all Yaiba's Level 5 or higher monsters are negated. Kingmaker activates the effect of the Equip Spell Card Cynet Defrag in his GY, which lets him Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Cyberse monster from his GY in Defense Position and equip Cynet Defrag to it by paying half his LP. He Special Summons Cyberse Wizard (1800/800/4) to Viral Dawn's bottom-left Link Marker (Kingmaker: 600→300 LP). Kingmaker activates Viral Dawn's effect, Tributing Cyberse Wizard to lower the ATK of 1 Level 5 or higher monster Yaiba controls by Cyberse Wizard's ATK. He targets Gottoms (Gottoms: 3100→1300).

Viral Dawn attacks and destroys the first Gottoms (Yaiba: 1200→0 LP). Kingmaker wins.


Warrior's Gift Normal Spell Card

If you control a Level 7 or higher "X-Saber" monster: Draw 2 cards, also for the rest of this turn after this card resolves, you cannot add cards from your Deck to your hand.


Chapter Preview

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V: The Fifth Circuit. Chapter 4 – Invoked Xyz


Question of the Chapter

If Yuji learns the other summoning methods, should he get alternate forms of Viral Dawn, Yusaku's Extra Deck monsters, or alternate Cyberse monsters?


Author's Notes & Responses to Reviews

Thank you to jdkeller2000, ZarcEternal, Nirvash Neo, Dante, Yuu Sumeragi, Darwin-18, HunterHQ, Yasutake Fan, DARK REQUIEM XYZ, snowman1989, Ethan Kironus, Linda Fullmoon, ThePLOThand, bladeWriter3, Tiny Pink Kitten, SoulMatter, Guest, Crossing, RoyaTwinFangs, and Emperor dragon for reviewing Chapter 2. Little note: When I do these, I'll only acknowledge and respond to the reviews of the previous chapter, unless I see a question I feel is important enough to answer.

Crossing: I do understand what you mean about telling instead of showing, but it's a little tricky at this stage. I do, however, intend to show flashbacks, which I hope will show more of their relationships developing.

Okay, sorry this took so long. I was working on Hidden Memories Chapter 31 and 32, which I'm glad to say are done and almost half-done respectively. That aside, this chapter had two duels, one with Sawatari, and one with Yaiba Todo, and it took place halfway through Episode 41.

I've read a lot (and I mean a lot) of fanfics that start with OC characters dueling Sawatari and him using Monarchs, so I saw no reason not to do that. Also, I couldn't help but picture how someone like Yuji, who is very serious, would deal with someone like Sawatari, and I knew I had to include that. And I just think Sawatari is funny in general. Also allowed me to do a shout-out to Earth.

As for the duel with Yaiba, that was inspired by EZ2412's story Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V: The Past and The Future's Chapter 4, where he also had characters infiltrate Leo Corp, though they dueled Masumi instead of Yaiba. I honestly thought it was a good way to introduce the Standard characters to Link Summoning, so I decided I'd do something very similar. Though Yuji didn't have backup like EZ2412's character did.

I'm sorry to anyone who hoped the Standard Dimension arc would be longer, but I would like to move the story along quickly, which was why Yuji landed there during Episode 41. As for the other three characters, we'll be spending the next three chapters with them and seeing how they react to the other dimensions.

Thank you for reading Chapter 3 of The Fifth Circuit. Again, sorry this took so long, but I hope you enjoyed it.