What exactly was Declan planning in regards to the Lancers? Why was the Battle Royale rigged to be a test to see who was strong enough to be a Lancer? There was too much confusing yet frustrating events going on today that it proved too much for Yuya to handle: the four dimensions, the Void and its Reversed Duelists armed with their Joker monsters, Zuzu getting captured, and now this. It all felt like one huge domino effect, one piece falling down and striking another, causing it to collapse and come into contact with a third and leading into one endlessly repetitive cycle. He needed to know why this was all a selection exam and what the bigger purpose of it was right now.
"Hey, Declan!" Yuya exclaimed. "What's the deal?! I thought the Battle Royale was the next stage of the championship! And now I found out it was just some sort of lame tryout to become one of your 'lancers'?! What are you trying to pull?!"
"I am simply trying to save all four worlds, Yuya," Declan explained. "Once I learned more about the Void and its army of the Reverse, I had no choice but to change oppositions and have the Lancers face off against them rather than Duel Academy. I originally planned on having the best students the Leo Institute had to offer to drive back the enemy, but it was too risky. The Void is far more of a supernatural threat. The slightest misstep would risk losing the strongest Duelists to the enemy. But you and your friends, however, have what it takes to defeat this mysterious enemy."
"So you used us?!" Yuya asked.
"Can't argue with that," Sora remarked. "Guess Glasses McDorkface here got desperate."
"I simply used the resources available to me," Declan corrected. "By repulsing those who were Reversed, you proved your strength today. But defending all four worlds is not good enough. We have to take the battle to the Fusion Dimension, which the Void has already claimed. And you and your fellow Lancers will lead the charge!"
"And end up like our friends?!" Yuya angrily asked. "Brainwashed and converted over to their side?! Reed didn't deserve this! Nobody did! Don't you see that?! And Zuzu… What about her?!" Tears poured from his eyes. "Dennis said she was captured!"
Well, he wasn't entirely wrong, but he was half right. Yuya wasn't given the full information because Dennis was concerned about how devastated the former would be if he found out one way or another. Yuri already knew what happened to his former target, but Sora hasn't; he gestured his friend to head over to where he was standing so that he could fill him in on this dilemma. He leaned over to his ear and cupped it with his hand, whispering the information of Zuzu's true fate during the Battle Royale while making sure to keep his voice silent enough for everyone else to not hear him. They were more focused on Yuya and Declan, after all.
Sora was horrified. "You're kidding," he whispered.
"I'm afraid so," Dennis whispered. "If Yuya found out, I'm certain he would be completely devastated. We can't let him find out no matter what."
"I… I understand," Sora whispered.
It was for his emotional safety; with Duel Academy forced to ally themselves with any non-Reversed reinforcements, especially in the Standard Dimension, they needed to make sure Yuya can deliver all the help he can get. Sora has been good friends with him ever since Sylvio's first defeat, and despite his revelations on the night he dueled against Yuto, he still cares about him. This can be applied similarly to Dennis; although they have known each other for only a day, he could tell there were struggles and inner turmoil within the Pendulum Duelist because of the Void, so he wanted to find ways to guarantee that everything will be alright in the end.
At the same time, Yuto sadly glanced at a sobbing Yuya. He could tell Zuzu meant a whole lot to him and he had shown great respect for her because her fierce determination and desire to protect her friends reminded him of her XYZ counterpart Lulu. If he wants to rescue his maybe-girlfriend, he was going to have to clear his mind, but what can he do to help? His eyes shifted to his right to see Declan, wondering what he has in mind that would make him vent out his emotions.
"You must be Yuto Osaku," Declan said.
"I am," Yuto affirmed. "So you must know why Shay and I are here."
"Your friend explained everything to me," Declan said. "But what are your connections to Lulu?"
Yuto looked a bit saddened. "She's my girlfriend," he explained. "And while I came with Shay to this dimension to keep him in line, I was also driven by my desire to keep her safe." He clutched his fist and held it close to his heart. "A desire I have had ever since I saw her dueling that fateful day. I witnessed her in a tournament and I was amazed by her duel-"
"Yeah, that's not what happened," Shay interrupted.
Yuto flinched a bit. "Shay, not now…" he said.
"Weren't you the one who said 'wow Shay, your sister looks hot'?" Shay asked.
That made Yuto blush. "All I said was that she has looks!" he exclaimed.
And just like that, Yuto's other side of his personality has been unveiled… Well, it's actually more of his real persona. The truth is he had learned to be knightly, noble, and respectful after discovering the Phantom Knights during his first day at his school's duel club. From that moment on, he had evolved from a quiet, lonely, and introverted wallflower with Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon as his only friend into what he was today. However, where did his dorky traits even came from? Was it because of spending his life living with his mother? Was it the result of witnessing love at first sight that would soon become true love? Regardless, Yuto was quite embarrassed about Shay spilling the beans of how he met Lulu.
Soon Yuto was able to regain his composure. "So you really think you can help us?" he asked Declan.
"I am not forcing you to make a choice," Declan said. "But I don't think you or Shay can defeat the Reverse by yourselves, especially with the few number of resources your Resistance has."
"Alright," Yuto decided. "I wasn't originally in this tournament, but if it's the only way to defeat this new enemy, count me in."
"I'll join too," Julia said as she stepped forward. She held onto Zuzu's hair clips. "I witnessed what the Reverse did to my friends. I can't let anyone else suffer that same fate."
"What about you, Yuri?" Sora asked. "Up for becoming a Lancer?"
"No," Yuri bluntly said. He looked over at Declan. "I refuse to be labeled as part of your little boy band, but I will offer my contributions. Just know this: I am not a good person. I have done rather wicked things in the past, so redemption is out of the question. My only motive is to avenge the Professor and the only home I've ever known." He realized what he just said. "Come to think of it, I've never thought about that…"
Even though Yuto obliged to join the Lancers, a part of him felt like this was all forced down to the remaining Duelists in general because not everyone was a finalist for the Arc League Championship. Shay was having mixed feelings in regards to the truth of the Battle Royale because he believed he was played right into Declan's hands yet he has shown to be quite capable of holding off the Reverse. Since Yuri claimed to not be referred to as a Lancer despite his assistance and Julia outright stated she'll join, some other murmurs within the group were heard. From the sounds of things, it seemed that Dennis, Sora, Moon Shadow, and Sylvio were up for working with Declan to stop the Reverse from spreading across the four dimensions. The other two Duel Academy students figured their friend could use some backup, the Ninja Duelist offered this as an opportunity to search for any more interdimensional allies, and the Abyss Actor user knew his survival immediately made him an easy qualified candidate.
Yuya, however, did not hesitate to voice his differing opinions on the bigger picture. There was something about the way Declan handled with the invaders that rubbed him the wrong way. One may say that he flat out disagreed with them; letting the villains strike and gather any surviving Duelists who have the strength to overcome them? This would increase the chances of more innocent Duelists getting Reversed. If that was the case, then what was the point of being a Lancer when there's evidently more offensive ways of thwarting them?
"If you don't want to lose any more friends like Zuzu, then it's best you join my army of Lancers and take the fight to them," Declan advised Yuya. "This task will require all of the strength and determination you can muster. You can avenge them. I will provide the opportunity. All you must do is follow my lead and trust me."
"You're asking me to trust you?!" Yuya angrily asked, his fists clenched tightly. "After all your lies?! I don't care about your battle! All I want are my friends back and this stupid demon inside me to leave!"
"But Yuya-" Declan started to say.
"SHUT UP!" Yuya roared. In a fit of rage, he raised his clenched fist up and threw it into the air, hurling it towards Declan; however, the latter didn't block it. The built-up anger Yuya was storing caught him off guard and he landed a successful punch to the face. The blow was powerful enough to knock his glasses off and onto the highway, but they weren't damaged in the slightest. Audible gasps followed the punch and dumbfounded expressions were the only nonverbal responses for the Lancers because none of them expected Yuya to resort to violence like that. Even Declan was left fazed from the attack and had taken a few steps back to try and maintain his balance the moment he felt the fist collide with his cheek.
"A Duelist settles his issues with a duel, not his fists," Declan said as he put his glasses back on.
"Alright then!" Yuya exclaimed as he thrusted his right fist forward. "If that's how you want it, I'll duel you! For dragging us all into this fight!"
"Very well then," Declan accepted. "If you should defeat me, I will accept any punishment you see fit for my misdeeds."
Meanwhile, somewhere within Paradise City, a car was seen driving down the streets, slightly going over the speed limit as it went past the other drivers. Inside, a worried Henrietta wanted to make sure her family was going to stay safe during the sudden change of events, especially her adopted son Riley, who had recently became the winner of the Arc League Championship's Youth Division. Originally, he was meant to join Declan and the Lancers to take on Duel Academy, but it now looked like it was going to be unlikely, much to Henrietta's guilt. He became such a powerful and talented Duelist at such a young age thanks to Declan, but that only resulted from the tests she subjected him to in order to mold him into a mindless puppet for the Interdimensional War. Knowing that everything they worked so hard for was basically all for nothing made her realize what she had done; fortunately, their nonexistent relationship was ending today and she is going to do this the best way possible: keeping as many citizens out of danger.
Once she was finally out of the traffic, she made a beeline towards her destination, which only lasted for a few more minutes before stopping in front of a building. As she put the car into park, Riley glanced to his right with his favorite teddy bear in his hands, wondering where she had brought him. He read a sign that said "You Show Duel School" above the entrance. There was something about the name of this place that sounded so familiar; has he heard of it before?
"Forgive me for doing this, Riley," Henrietta said. "Declan has asked me to drop you off here for now. You must stay at this location and protect every Duelist in this dimension from the alien virus known as Link Joker. You should be able to identify the enemy by the red markings on their faces."
Alien virus? Red markings? A worried expression formed on Riley's face as he hugged his stuffed bear named Barry because he knew this predicament did not sounded good at all. How will he be able to protect everyone in the Standard Dimension from this Link Joker virus? It is true he is capable of fending for himself and will be a reliable person to hold the enemy back, but how will he do all that when he is assigned to remain at a duel school? As they both got out of the car, Henrietta escorted him into You Show, hoping there would be adult supervision inside to help keep the students there as calm as possible while ensuring everyone's safety, including Riley's as he uses his strength to free the Reversed Duelists.
However, Riley noticed no one was here. "Yes, I'm aware that everyone is still at the Center Duel Field," Henrietta said. "But who knows if there are any remaining Reversed Duelists in this dimension. You have to protect this area with your very life. Is that clear?"
Riley gasped, but he slowly nodded in response. "Good," Henrietta said. "Now I must contact Skip Boyle immediately to inform him about you."
Back with the group, Yuya and Declan were getting ready to face off each other in their rematch. An Action Field was already selected, but it was something far different than what it was initially going to be. The ARC System throughout the city started to activate once again as beams of light were shot out and they materialized into a field that no one has never seen before. They appeared to be in a mountainous terrain and the sky has a few planets within close proximity of the surface but not dangerously close; however, it was somewhat difficult to determine if they were actually planets because there was thick dark purple and black clouds covering most of the sky. Declan explained that this Action Field depicts an earth-like planet where half of its surface has been coated with ominous clouds because of an evil force that has been attacking it. He figured it would be a much better Action Field to use than reusing Neo Heartland City from Shay's first duel against Sora, especially with the sudden change in enemies, but Yuya didn't care. Action Field selections were not that important to him right now; all he wants to do his get his point across about the whole Lancer ordeal.
Their Duel Disk screens flashed the words "Duel Mode" and almost instantly switched to "Standby" as their Main and Extra Deck compartments popped out. Their two blades materialized in front of their Duel Disks: one that was yellow and set at an obtuse angle and one that was red and completely straight. Declan snapped his fingers and Action Cards scattered all across the field. With their Life Points risen up to 4000, the two shouted, "Let's duel!" to signal the initiation of their first rematch.
"I'll use Scale 4 Performapal Trump Witch and Scale 8 Xiangsheng Magician to set the Pendulum Scale!" Yuya announced, starting off the duel. "I'm taking control of this duel starting now!"
He placed Trump Witch and Xiangsheng Magician on the opposite ends of his Duel Disk blade and the word "PENDULUM" flashed across one letter at a time in a rainbow of colors. The two Pendulum monsters ascended upwards in two pillars of light before coming to a stop, leading to the numbers 4 and 8 fading in below them and a larger version of Yuya's pendulum emerging in between them.
"Swing far, pendulum!" Yuya chanted. "Carve the arc of victory! My monsters are ready…to SWING INTO ACTIOOOOOON!"
Having the capability of simultaneously summoning his monsters between Levels 5 and 7, a portal opened up in the middle of where the light pillars were. Two streaks of aura trailed out of the portal and onto the field, revealing themselves to be Stargazer Magician and Performapal Splashmammoth, who were both summoned in defense position. Yuya decided to end his turn right there; no face-downs, no monster or Pendulum effect activations, no nothing. Just two monsters set for defense. He then passed the next turn to Declan, who drew a card from his deck and saw that it was D/D Berformet.
"Using the special ability of my D/D Swirl Slime, I will fuse it with my D/D Berformet," Declan announced, sending those two card to his Graveyard. "Your powers have grown to be quite impressive, but as you will see, I am more than capable of warding off any threat you send my way, Yuya. I Fusion Summon D/D/D Flame King Genghis!"
As he spoke, his two monsters became coated in red and light blue and the colored gleams swirled around together in overlapping spirals in the same manner to what the image was presenting in a traditional Polymerization card. A yellow glare shone from the spirals, leading to the arrival of D/D/D Flame King Genghis as he flew out and landed on the duel field. It has clearly been a while since Declan last duel someone and he knew for a fact that Yuya remembers this monster. Naturally, his turn was only just beginning.
"This is startin' to heat up!" Gong remarked. "If this is anything like their last duel, we're in for quite a show."
"So they faced off before?" Dennis asked. "Who won the duel?"
"We never got to find out on account of Declan runnin' out," Gong admitted. "But Gong's not sure Yuya woulda won."
"I think I'll add a little variety to the field by summoning D/D Nighthowl!" Declan continued, summoning the card from his hand.
"Whoa, that's a Tuner monster?" Dennis asked.
"That's right," Gong answered. "Declan's mastered a slew of different summoning methods."
"Once I've successfully summoned Nighthowl, I'm allowed to summon another D/D monster straight from my Graveyard by lowering its attack points to zero!" Declan continued. "I bring back D/D Berformet!"
Right as he was about to finish his declaration, somthing light purple in Nighthowl's mouth began to brighten. More so, it was also materializing as shown by the jaws twitching a little because of how they were clenched in between it. Finally, Nighthowl spat out the glowing purple substance, revealing it to be the resurrected D/D Berformet but with his ATK lowered to 0 almost instantly. A Level 3 Tuner and a Level 4 non-Tuner. Seeing them made Yuya and Gong know exactly what monster Declan was going to bring out.
"I tune Level 3 D/D Nighthowl with my Level 4 D/D Berformet!" Declan declared. "Observe. Such is the power we shall wield together when we defy the forces of Link Joker! I Synchro Summon D/D/D Gust King Alexander!"
Nighthowl ascended above the field and transformed itself into three aquamarine light orbs, which were converted into three green rings upon converging together. Berformet followed behind as he went into the rings, altering his appearance into a luminescent orangey-yellow outline of itself, fading away to reveal four of the same light orbs that aligned themselves, and reacting with a thick, straight bolt of icy blue lightning as a result of the two monsters tuning with each other. Just then, a pair of red eyes flashed as he manifested himself; he then rotated his whole body around with his light green cape flowing before unleashing his sword. Two down, one more monster to special summon.
"Impressive," Dennis remarked. "He certainly knows how to keep you on your toes."
Yuri, on the other hand, let out a huff. "True, but I would appreciate it if he ended his turn some time this century," he complained.
"When I summon another D/D/D monster, such as Gust King Alexander, Flame King Genghis resurrects a D/D monster from my graveyard," Declan continued. "Arise once again, D/D Swirl Slime! And as a further twist, D/D/D Gust King Alexander special ability activates! Whenever a D/D monster is summoned, my Gust King can command another D/D monster to rise from the Graveyard as it will now. D/D Berformet, return to the field of battle!
"Berformet's special ability now activates, doubling the level of my Swirl Slime to 4! And with that, I take my Swirl Slime and Berformet and build the Overlay Network! Prepare to face a trio of sovereign warriors, because there's a third king on the way! I XYZ Summon D/D/D Wave King Caesar!"
The reborn Swirl Slime and Berformet altered themselves into two shades of purple energy: one bright and one dark respectively. They both swirled once and dashed into an open yellow galaxy-like portal, and upon entering, an icy blue lightning bolt shot down, unveiling D/D/D Wave King Ceasar. His entirety was covered by thick, dark, thunderclouds, but a shine escaped from his aqua green eyes and he slashed the clouds away with his sword before raising it up in the air as if he has the power.
Dennis visibly gulped. "I can't…believe my eyes…" he said. "Why, this is unprecedented."
"Sounds like you need to get your nose out of your textbooks, Mr. McField," Sylvio snidely said. "Everybody at Leo knows Declan Akaba had mastered the big three."
"So it's common knowledge?" Dennis asked.
"Well, there's really nothing common about it, now is there?" Sylvio asked in response.
"You forgot one!" Yuya corrected. "Declan knows how to Pendulum Summon too!"
"Unbelievable!" Dennis exclaimed. "He knows four methods?!"
"And I'm sure he wants to test them all out against the Void!" Yuya said through gritted teeth.
Meanwhile, Yuto glanced at Yuri. "So you're my Fusion counterpart," he said.
"I am," Yuri confirmed. "I never had the time to say this, but…I'm sorry about what had happened to your home." He paused. "Then again, I don't think a simple apology will cheer you up, especially with what you went through."
"I didn't lose just my home," Yuto explained. "One of your Obelisk Force buddies tried to kill me."
Yuri looked surprised to hear that. "So the Professor did let soldiers from Branch OK-BLD join the Invasion…" he muttered.
Yuto overheard that. "What's OK-BLD?" he asked.
"A branch of Obelisk Force soldiers who were deemed as the most ruthless and bloodthirsty," Yuri explained. "They kill instead of card people, so the Professor established that special branch to prevent unfortunate mishaps from occurring during the mission."
"Then so much for that plan," Yuto said, his fists clenched. "Thanks to that Obelisk Force soldier, my mom is dead. She died protecting me."
Yuri had a feeling he would hear a reported fatality from Yuto; who on earth would allow the OK-BLD branch to even go out of their way to join the Invasion despite the setup that prevents any murders from taking place? His XYZ counterpart was lucky to have a family, let alone a potential biological one. Then again, he can never recall having a family of his own and the closest thing he got that he considered family was the Professor himself. To him, he acted so much like a father figure, fulfilling his goal to unite the dimensions, honing his dueling skills for battle and important tasks, and teaching him proper etiquette. He had reached a higher position than the Obelisk Force despite being an Obelisk Blue student himself, so seeing the brutally-mauled corpse of the one person that made him who he is today genuinely made him upset.
"I know how you feel," Yuri admitted. "You might have saw the Professor as an enemy, but to me, he was the closest thing I ever had to a father. After he took me under his wing, he treated me like I was his own son. He raised me, even sharing his best dueling tips with me."
"So you were pretty upset when you found him dead," Yuto assumed.
"I was more than upset," Yuri corrected. He clenched his fists. "He had called me over to his throne room for an important mission. But when I got there.." He let out a sob as he closed his eyes. "That image still scars my mind."
He can still remember exactly what had happened; a few days ago, during the same night where the two duels involving Yuto, Sora, Yuya, and Yugo arose, Yuri was walking down the tall and grand hallways of Duel Academy. He had heard about how Sora was administered to the infirmary after his forced return, but he chose to wait until his friend was all settled in and the doctors and nurses were done extracting and investigating his memories. Right now, he has to get to the Professor's throne room to receive his mission and plan it out in order for it to be fulfilled.
"Yuri, I want to speak to you immediately," Leo had ordered through the Predaplant user's Duel Disk. "I must entrust you with a very important mission."
"Of course, Professor," Yuri replied. "I'm on my way."
As he proceeded with his pacing, he spotted several students going on with their typical daily schedules. A few were on their way to their different destinations, most likely their dorm rooms, and there were a couple handfuls of groups containing two or more students discussing among one another, probably about Duel Monsters, the Invasion, the Academy's curriculum, or something. He also couldn't help but having his eyes catch on what some of the others were doing outside, including two long-haired Slifer Red girls—one with brown hair and one with grayish-blue hair—having a conversation with each other. He directed his eyes back indoors and he couldn't help but think.
It was so strange to him; even after all these years, everything felt like it never transpired. No matter how many days have passed, it still feels somewhat peculiar. Everyone used to avoid him at all costs due to his immense strength, and now here they all are, minding their own businesses and not ditching him at all. Was it because of his position? Was it an outcome of him getting taught and trained up into who he is now? He thought about it long and hard and soon realized how the students have been avoiding him less and less ever since he met the Professor. It was actually quite interesting. Have the students been not minding his presence or have they acknowledged his placement in the Duel Academy hierarchy? Whatever the reason is, Yuri was sure going to talk to him about it after his mission was done because…well…he had found a place to call home.
Several seconds later, he felt himself getting snapped out of his deep thoughts as his eyes snagged onto someone walking by him. A small gasp slipped out of his mouth when he saw her hair. Her chest-length indigo hair tied into a ponytail with an orange ribbon. Her light blue side tails. What was she doing here? And why was she walking away from where…he was…heading to? No, there was no way. What made Yuri slightly uncomfortable was her odd behavior. Her mouth had formed a grin that was more sinister than her usual one and her upper half of her face was shrouded by the shadow of her bangs, covering her emerald green eyes, but not these red markings on her cheeks. Where did they come from? He knew he had never seen her with them throughout his life. Something wasn't right around here and the Professor might have the answer to her unusual change in attitude.
Eventually Yuri arrived in the throne room. "Hello Professor," he said as he entered. "I'm her for-"
He couldn't finish his sentence. His jaw was left ajar at the sight of something he never thought he would see. The entire throne room was eerily darker than normal save for a dying toxic green color gleaming through a portion of the long rectangular window. It blatantly didn't lit up the entire room, but it did reveal four transparent tubes, two on each side of the throne, and all of them were destroyed. Over half of each tube had the glass missing, meaning the sharp shards must be scattered within the vicinity. Yuri has never seen these tubes before yet he had a feeling what they were meant for. It wasn't time for them to be used right now since two of them were held captive in the towers. Now what was the point of using them if they sustained massive damage?
In an abrupt moment, there was a booming echo of the gigantic double doors closing behind him, startling him back to reality again and gradually treaded down the humongous room. Just like earlier, he couldn't help but analyze his surroundings; almost everything was all scratched up with claw markings, from the pillars to the walls. Parts of the window also endured the same scratches, but they weren't as bad as the ones on the structure itself. Regardless, he tried piecing together if there was a pattern with the marks. They were all placed randomly throughout the throne room, but whatever this thing was, its claws slowly got redder and redder. How was it possible? What the hell happened here? There was no way this was the work of OK-BLD, so who could have done it? Why was this room feeling like it is longer than usua—
Splash!
Yuri stopped dead in his tracks and diverged from his third trance when he heard a small sound of what is believed to be a puddle. His head shifted downwards as he lifted his right foot up, distinguishing a dark red color that had now stained the bottom front of his shoe. The same color as some of the scattered scratches. He felt his heart strongly skip a beat as if it was about to burst from his chest. Why was this blotch—no, these small streaks and puddles—spilled all over near the corner located on his right? His mind being lost in the ominous setting that has now plagued the throne room has brought him to where he was. Where was the Professor? Was he alright? Before he knew it, Yuri body was on the move, going a tad slower as he inched closer to the right side of the thickly darkened corner. His conscious wanted to stop, but his worries about him were consuming him, which was unusually unlike him. He needed to know. He had to know.
"Professor…?" Yuri called out, his voice quaking. "Where… Where are you?"
His feet kept creeping towards the densely shadowed corner of the room, wondering if that's where Leo was. The closer he got, the thinner the shadow became. Within seconds, its blackish-purple haze gradually dissipated to divulge a hand laying down on the floor, covered in blood. The gray boots with light blue and red decals on the front were next to reveal themselves, and based on their positions, this mysterious person was on their right side. Yuri began to feel like he couldn't take much more of the suspense; he has never felt this uneasy in his entire life…and that was saying something.
Finally choosing not to take much more of this, he squeezed his eyes shut and his feet halted. His slow and now interrupted movements left his body standing not too far but not too close to the corner. He could feel it. He could tell he was no longer striding in his desperate search to find the Professor, but…what was the identity of this figure? He didn't want to move closer yet he still had to at least know before deducing why the throne room was a complete wreck. His left eyelids loosened their grasps on each other, allowing him to take a peek on what was in front of him. From his point of view, blurred color splotches shaped themselves to purple attire stained in red spots and streaks that the corpse was donning, who was also surrounded in small pools of blood that were streaming down from his open wounds on his torso and…face?!
No! That's not possible! How can it be?! Stammers and breathless gasps shot out of Yuri's mouth as he took a few steps back in distraught, not breaking free from a locked stare that felt permanent. His shrunken, dark fuchsia irises met with a pair of lifeless, light gray eyes that belong to a critically scratched-up face that was all too familiar to him. With his legs shaking, his arms vibrating, and his hands twitching, nothing could describe the sheer horror of witnessing the freshly-deceased remains of someone so close to him…other than the built-up shrieks waiting to burst out.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Suddenly, a voice came from Yuri's Duel Disk. "Yuri, where's the Professor?!"
But Yuri was too surprised to even speak. "Yuri, come in!" the voice shouted. "We- AH!"
The shout snapped Yuri out of his state and he moved his left arm that has the attached Duel Disk in front of him. He tried responding to the student who was contacting him in order to break the bad news about Leo, but there was nothing but static on the other end. Was there anything wrong with them? Well, one thing's for sure: "them" could be applied to a group of people, specifically the other students. Yuri had to stop trying to contact the caller because he could hear muffled screaming from outside the throne room. As much as it pains him to leave behind Leo's corpse, he had to find out what was going on.
He ran straight for the humungous double doors and barged them wide open before running out into the hallway. He scanned the area from left to right to pinpoint the source of the screams, but they were everywhere; where was he supposed to start? In an act of desperation, he went down the same path he took earlier to get to the infirmary. He had let Sora know as fast as possible. As he dashed down the halls, he ran past some windows where the same situation was occurring. He paused his running to see what was unfolding. Countless duels were engaged between the students and the victims of the XYZ Dimension's Invasion, who were now uncarded. Oddly enough, it seemed as if those who can duel are the only ones remaining; their databanks did list out who was and wasn't a Duelist. Unfortunately, they weren't the same prior to them getting carded.
They were coated in a dark red aura, the top half of their faces were shadowed, and their eyes appeared soulless as shown by the lack of highlights and pupils, but what grabbed his attention were the red markings they bore on their cheeks. They all reminded him of the markings he saw on her face as they walked past each other and now they have them on their faces. Much to his fear, they are also spreading like the Bubonic Plague. Everywhere he turned, the dueling students are suffering endless defeats, only for them to awaken with the same marks, eyes, and shadows as the XYZians, who are now aiding them in converting any other students to their side.
Yuri was left aghast at the nightmare he was forced to watch. His home was literally crumbling apart right before his very eyes; he was losing almost everyone he has known over the years and these corrupted fusions of their individual archetypes and the Ancient Gears are destroying the structures down to the last detail. He took a step back in disbelief, wanting this to be all but a bad dream. Just then, his eyes fixated on the two girls from earlier, who were now comforting each other and trying to escape the island. They both stopped running to see a horrified yet perplexed Yuri, hazel and tealish-blue eyes meeting dark fuchsia. Why are the XYZians free and possessing evil powers? Why isn't Leo here to do anything about it? They had to try and exchange information as quickly as possible before they fall victims themselves.
"What do you mean the Professor is dead?!" the younger of the two girls asked.
"I'm afraid it's true," Yuri answered. "And I suspect Celina is to blame. I saw her leave the throne room." He readied his Duel Disk. "So have either of you seen her?"
"Are you insane?!" the older girl asked. "You have to get out of here! This place isn't safe anymore!"
"No," Yuri insisted. "That girl killed the closest thing I had to a father. I must duel her in his honor!"
"I get that you're angry, but the best thing you could do is go to another dimension," the older girl suggested. "The Professor's dream might be dead, but we need to join forces with other Duelists."
Yuri looked saddened. "That's easy for you to say," he admitted. "I did unspeakable things in the XYZ and Synchro Dimensions."
"Then what else can we do?" the younger girl asked.
The older girl slightly glanced up and instantaneously glued her stare into the dark hallway that was behind Yuri. From within the darkness, two pairs of eyes pierced through and locked onto their next targets. A feeling of dread crept up from her back to her chest, making her heart skip a beat; she wasn't sure how to react. What should she do? Realizing there may be very little options at this point, she worked up the courage to tell Yuri to look out from behind him. He quickly turned his head around and saw the two eyes, one completely soulless and one beaming right at the three, as well as a few dark rings glowing red adorned on parts of its body. The student declared their attack, causing their monster to lunge at them, but Yuri leapt to his left to easily dodge the intense pounce he would have endured. As for the girls, they barely escaped the damage the monster created because it had crashed through the window yet its large size also took out parts of the wall.
As the rubble pummeled onto the ground, there were subtle traces of smoke lingering, but there was clearly no time to waste. Running out of options, Yuri called out to the girls to get out of the island now. The younger girl was about to ask why, but he cut her off by saying that this wasn't the best time to think of something to do and the only thing they can do is try to escape. He added that he will meet up with Sora as fast as possible, so once they all manage to find and settle into any safer areas for a little while, they should contact him. Besides, his friend knew of a good place where they could find any potential allies. The brunette girl knew he was right; if they tried to fight back, there was a high probability they will succumb to the dark forces that the XYZ Duelists now possess. With that, the two girls grabbed each other's hand and began to run to the nearest dock and Yuri continued his venture to the infirmary, all while getting his last few peeks at them as they used their ace monsters to fend their foes off long enough to reach a nearby boat.
It was hard to believe everything that had happened a few days ago has all led up to this, let alone abruptly striking at his home in the first place. Although he was glad there were some survivors of the onslaught, he wasn't sure if he would say the same thing about his home or Leo. The entire structure was mostly demolished and the Reversed Duelists have now claimed what was left of Duel Academy and most likely the Fusion Dimension as their own. He had already realized that Celina was the one responsible for the Professor's murder and the violent downfall. Celina! Of all people! Why didn't he put these pieces together earlier?! If he had intervened her, it would have at least delay the Academy's destruction, but what could he do to bring Leo back to life?! Nothing! It's not as easy as wishing him back to life because it's physically impossible to do so! …And what about the two girls? Yes, they were able to get onto a boat, but were there any safe places left in the Fusion Dimension? A hidden cave? A secret passageway? Anything? Yuri let out a devastating sigh because of the frustration, stress, and even sadness that were building up in him. The invasion of the Reversed has left him with negative emotions that were not like him yet here he was, standing in the Standard Dimension and venting all that has been on his mind lately.
As Yuto and Yuri were having their conversation, Yuya and Declan's duel continued. "Gust King, focus your fury on Stargazer Magician and blow him off the field!" Declan exclaimed.
Gust King Alexander raised his sword in the air and slashed it down to the ground to create a tornado with earthly rubble swirling around it that was heading straight for Stargazer Magician. The latter tried his hardest to deflect the attack, but since Gust King Alexander had 2500 ATK, it was more than enough strength to destroy the 1200 ATK magician, who was sent flying far away from where Yuya and Declan were dueling and crashed into a mountainous terrain. As his body laid stuck on the damaged elevation, lightning cracked and thunder rumbled from the sky above, which was immediately followed with thick dark purple and black fog surrounding the entire Action Field, including the terrain where the battle-damaged Stargazer Magician was located. Inside the fog, it rapidly enveloped his body in the same two colors before glowing dark purple and dissolving it into the darkness.
"Wave King Caesar will be next to strike," Declan continued. "Send Splashmammoth into extinction with Tidal Torrent!"
Wave King Ceaser's eyes flashed light blue and he then raised his weapon to his left before repositioning it to the center while holding it with a firm grasp. With a swift slash down, a huge crevice with rubble-covered waves splashing was forming on the ground that was heading to Performapal Splashmammoth. The waves engulfed the monster underneath the water and sent him into the thickening fog, where the black and dark purple cloud enveloped him and he vanished from the field with a dark purple gleam.
"Yuya, you picked a battle you could never win!" Declan exclaimed. "Now feel the full force of Flame King's ferocity!"
With his right hand gripping onto his sword, Flame King Genghis lunged forth to where Yuya was standing to unleash his direct attack, much to the latter's worries. With his defenses down and only two monsters on his Pendulum Zones, there was nothing much he could do for the duration of Declan's turn. Before he knew it, he could feel the force of Flame King Genghis' slash impacting him and it sent him flying onto the ground, where his Life Points was cut in half.
"I place one card face down and end my turn," Declan concluded as Yuya slowly got back on his feet. "Of course I know that nothing I have done so far has been a surprise to you. I know exactly what you're thinking. That you still have a chance to come back? You've learned how to maximize your Pendulum powers. Yuya, I encourage you to use them against me. It's the only chance you have a winning."
Yuya gasped for breath as he clutched his chest. "When it comes to dueling, you don't miss a beat, do you Declan?" he wheezed. "No wonder everyone thinks you're a genius." He grasped his arm. "I bet you also knew exactly what would happen in the tournament too, like how many would end up falling victim to the Void. But you did nothing to stop it."
Declan said nothing as Yuya continued. "I refuse to keep playing the role of your perfect little puppet!" the tomato-haired teen cried out. "You're not going to be pulling any more strings! Not after I get through with you! Someone has to take you down a notch, Declan! And that someone is me!" He drew a card to start off his turn. "It's time for this duel to swing my way again, Declan! It's showtime!"
The Pendulum portal reopened in between Trump Witch and Timegazer Magician along with the large replica of Yuya's pendant swinging back and forth. Three bright streaks of sky blue, light green, and orange energy trailed out of the portal and onto the field; the Extra Deck compartment opened up, allowing Yuya to grab two Pendulum cards, which happen to be his two monsters that were destroyed by two of Declan's D/D/D monsters.
"I'm bringing back Stargazer Magician and Performapal Splashmammoth, but I'm not stopping there!" Yuya proclaimed. "Come on out, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
Flashes of red and green shone from the dragon's heterochromatic eyes and he rose his head up, letting out his signature roar. At that moment, Yuya could feel something emanating from his ace monster; he wasn't giving off any traces of aura or anything, but he could definitely tell this was not like anything he ever experienced before… Well, other than the Void and the Reverse. But what was it? Was this…happiness? Odd-Eyes was actually happy?
"Odd-Eyes?" Yuya asked. "Are you…happy about this?"
Odd-Eyes roared in response. "Well then, if you say so," Yuya replied. He continued his turn. "Splashmammoth, it's time for you to splash onto the scene and add some bubbles to this battle by activating your special ability so I can Fusion Summon without Polymerization! Alright, now I'll fuse Performapal Splashmammoth with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! By fusing the fierceness of my dragon with the ancient might of my mammoth, I'll create a new, more powerful monster! I Fusion Summon Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
A pair of yellow and green eyes along with an orange orb lit up in the black darkness, which faded away to reveal Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. He jerked his head to his left as he spun around once and thrusted his feet onto the ground, unleashing his signature roar upon finishing his arrival after getting Fusion Summoned.
"Rock on!" Gong cheered. "That dragon was so powerful that it even took Gong down in a duel before, so it's gonna destroy Declan!"
"I activate Stargazer Magician's special ability!" Yuya continued. "Now I can bring back one of the monsters I used to summon Beast-Eyes! Welcome back, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Now I activate Performapal Trump Witch's Pendulum ability! Like Splashmammoth, she also lets me Fusion Summon a monster without using Polymerization! She'll give a little hocus to my Odd-Eyes, and then lend a dash of pocus to my Stargazer Magician! I'm fusing Stargazer Magician and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! I Fusion Summon Rune-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
A glowing orange ring spun out from a light blue glare that came from the Fusion vortex and it was then binded to a massive dragon, causing the glow to dissipate and reveal a more golden color on the ring. The tail whipped sharply as his body rotated until a close up of his right eye was shown, having a runed plate over it with a transparent Stargazer Magician briefly appearing. Rune-Eyes raised his head up high before lashing it down and getting into attack position, with a flash of green reflecting off his left eye.
Yuya hasn't used this dragon since his duel against Aura in the qualifying matches for the Arc League Championship. Rune-Eyes is a Level 8 DARK Dragon-Type Fusion monster with 3000 ATK and 2000 DEF who requires a Spellcaster-Type monster and a Pendulum Dragon monster as his Fusion Materials. Based on the original Level of the Spellcaster-Type monster, one of the following effects comes into play regarding how many times he can attack during each Battle Phase: Levels 4 or lower grants a double attack, Levels 5 and 6 guarantees a triple attack, and Levels 7 through 12 permits a quintuple attack.
"Two Fusions in a row? Wow, you really miss Zuzu, don't you?"
Yuya was surprised by the sudden voice. "Odd-Eyes?" he asked, looking at his Duel Disk.
"Yuya?! How did you hear me?!"
"I was going to ask you the same thing," Yuya admitted.
"Weird… Guess this is part of the whole 'unite as one' thing. Somehow we can hear each other's thoughts."
So that's what this was about? Was that why he could feel Double Iris'—er, well…technically Odd-Eyes'—happiness of getting to bring out Beast-Eyes and Rune-Eyes from earlier? Yuya couldn't believe that they could hear each other's thoughts and feelings; his ace must have been eager to be part of a double Fusion Summon because he might have had a hunch about wanting to cope with Zuzu's disappearance…and it seems he was right. Could this be an unexpected gift from the Void? A gift that can be used to his benefits…to understand Odd-Eyes better? But why would the Void leave them this ability when it is in serious progress of Reversing the four dimensions?
"I don't think the Void's that generous. It must be because of our special bond."
"You think so?" Yuya asked.
"I know so. Now let's show Declan the true magic of Dueltainment!"
"I was thinking the exact same thing," Yuya agreed. "You're more than just an ally. You're my friend. And I wouldn't have discovered how to bring out the best in you if it hadn't been for Zuzu."
"Interesting…" Declan remarked. "Are you talking to yourself, or your dragon?"
Yuya faced towards Declan as he questioned on who the former was talking to. How the heck did he—kind of—knew he was talking to Odd-Eyes? Then again, why does he feel like he might be the only one who now possesses this ability?
"This is a rather unusual event," Declan continued. "I heard about some Duelists who talk to their cards as a form of pep talk, but it seems as if your card can talk back. I don't even think I have seen something like that before."
At that moment, Yuri looked worried. "You feelin' alright, Yuri?" Sora asked.
"I'm not quite sure…" Yuri admitted. "But it seems I am not the only one who can talk to Duel Spirits."
Yuya was alarmed to hear that. "Duel Spirits…?"
"Wait, are you talking about that time we stayed at a motel?" Sora asked.
"I am," Yuri confirmed. "Somehow the spirit of Celina's Lunalight Cat Dancer came to me for assistance. She wants me to help her free Celina from the Reverse."
Yuya clenched his fists. "Celina…" he muttered. "She's the one who started this whole thing, isn't she?! Why should you help her?!"
"It's a bit complicated," Yuri explained. "All I know is that Starving Venom has taken a liking towards her ace and the Void influenced her to destroy my home. And if I can fight my overwhelming urge to seal her up inside a card, I'm certain you can control yourself too!"
"You're not the one with a demon inside you!" Yuya pointed out as he clutched his chest. "I refuse to get involved in this war, so leave me out of it!"
"Remember: I will only leave you be in you defeat me," Declan recalled.
"That's exactly what I'm going to do!" Yuya exclaimed. "Since I used Stargazer Magician to form Rune-Eyes, he can attack three times! Let's do this, Rune-Eyes! Power up, and take out his kings! Go, Triple Spiral Sky Shot!"
Light blue orbs connected onto the open gaps of Rune-Eyes' ring, with each orb connecting to one another with beams of electricity to form an equilateral triangle, and let out a ferocious roar once his effect has been all charged up. After Yuya declared his attack, the dragon's left eye shone a green light and he soared above the field, launching out a wide blue blast out of the ring and aiming at all three of the D/D/D Kings. The first monster to go was Flame King Genghis, which 1000 damage points to Declan. Gust King Alexander followed Genghis and added another 500 damage to the Damage Step upon getting destroyed. Finally, Wave King Ceaser was the last monster to get sent to the Graveyard, dealing 600 more damage to Rune-Eyes' assault. Despite having his Life Points shot down to 1900, Declan simply stood there, practically unfazed by Yuya destroying his three D/D/D Kings.
"Okay!" Yuya exclaimed. "Go, Beast-Eyes! Blazing Spiral Storm!"
"There's no way Declan's packin' here enough life points to survive a direct attack from ol' Beast-Eyes!" Gong pointed out. "He's finished!"
Beast-Eyes was already in the air while Yuya was declaring his second attack, but the moment he finished was when the fireball charging up in the dragon's mouth had reached full capacity and a flaming dragon head shot out and dashed directly towards Declan, who gasped in shocked at the sight of the attack. An explosion resulted as a result of the fiery head strike and filled a portion of the Action Field on where they were currently standing. Yuya stood parallel to the smoke with a mix of anger and determination on his face, knowing there was no way he could've made it out of this; well, he clearly would still be alive, but he basically knew this Duel was definitely in his favor. Suddenly, he could see a silhouette slowly walking from the thick patches of smoke, with a pair of white sneakers revealing themselves from below.
"What gives?!" Gong demanded.
"I kept myself from feeling the burn by activating my Trap card D/D/D Contract Change," Declan explained, revealing said Trap.
"Huh?!" Yuya muttered.
"By banishing the D/D/D monster in my Graveyard with the most attack points, I took no damages from your Beast-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Declan continued.
Yuya tensed up. "I was so close!"
"That's not all," Declan added. "I add a D/D Pendulum monster to my hand that's Level 4 or below. Your strategy has failed. True your bond with Zuzu may have gotten you this far, but not far enough. A Duelist cannot win on simple raw emotions. But if you believe you shouldn't get involved in the war against Link Joker, you're sadly mistaken. I sense great strength within you, Yuya Sakaki. Strength that we need to free all who were Reversed. I know you and your friends have what it takes to go deck-to-deck with them."
"I already told you, leave me out of this!" Yuya demanded.
"Oh?" Declan questioned. "So you'll let your dear friend Zuzu fall victim to the Reverse?"
An unanticipated jolt of pain struck Yuya's heart and triggered a sharp skip in the abnormal slow beating; it was as painful as the Void finding and claiming him as its host, but this wasn't internally physical pain like he experienced that night. This was raw, sheer emotional pain. The dreaded fear of losing his close girlfriend to the Reverse was a nightmare he couldn't even fathom, whether it was true or not. In the small crowd, Dennis stood next to Gong with a worried expression as he heard Declan say such antagonizing words to Yuya. He let out a gulp down his throat, making it as quiet as possible because of the thought of the worst case scenario becoming a reality.
"Are you telling me…I can save Zuzu?" Yuya gasped.
"You want to save her?" Declan asked. "Well let's see if that's even possible. If you can't defeat me, how can you expect to save her like this?"
