Quick thank you to everyone who has Favorited and followed this story. You guys are part of the reason I'm able to keep up my motivation to get this story updated as soon as I can. Now then, Review responses!

FantasyMan92: I've considered it, though I might just make it similar to Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon and just require a normal tuner instead. I plan on waiting a while to reveal Ki's new form so I can work out the details of which it will be. Other than that thanks for the feedback!

RoyalTwinFangs: Thanks for the consistent reviews. Means a lot to me.

HunterHQ: Thanks for the feedback! Took me a while to sort out how the duel would go, as well as how to decide the mechanics of the Fusion cards would work out. As for Takumi's adventure in Fusion, I had an interesting idea for it that I haven't seen elsewhere. Hope you like it when I get to it.

Now that recent Reviews have been answered, on with the story!

[LDS Control Room]

"Sir! We've lost the signal coming from Takumi Shou's Duel Disk!"

"What?" Reiji and Nakajima turned their attention to the operator that was monitoring the conditions of all Standard duelists out in the field. "Bring up the most recent image of him."

"Yes sir. He was last recorded in the glacial section." An image of Takumi's duel with Reiji then took up the main screen. Reiji watched in anticipation as he witnessed the end of the duel and how Takumi then went up to check on Ryuuji.

'Hmm. So he attempted to access an Academia disk.' He then noticed a moment of panic on Takumi's face just before he and Ryuuji were enveloped by a bright light. As it faded, Reiji was shocked to see that neither individual was there anymore.

"So… at the very least he wasn't carded already. The other Lancers will not likely take this well… Nakajima."

"Sir."

"Speak with the engineers. Have them analyze the most recent specs of Takumi's disk and determine if it is possible to contact it across the dimensional barriers."

[Academia, about the same time]

After a brief few minutes of Takumi quietly freaking out over being sent to another dimension on accident, he managed to calm himself enough to notice that while he might have been in the belly of the beast, the fact that it was dark out gave him some hope that he might be able to get out of here quietly without alerting security.

So after he finished shifting through whatever data was on Ryuuji's disk, he snuck off to look through the halls, with the Trinity looking out for security systems and poking their heads into rooms that were closed to see what was in there. After a while…

"Oi, Takumi, this looks like a storage room." Takumi took a closer look at the door Ki was poking through and read the sign out front, saying that the room was freely accessible to individuals who need new uniforms or equipment.

Smirking, Takumi opened the door and slipped inside before turning on the light. His eyes widened at the sheer size of the room, holding things from uniforms, to duel disks, to normal school supplies. "Wow. Alright then, let's see what's in my size."

With the Trinity keeping watch outside, Takumi found a uniform that fit him and slipped it on, thinking that if anyone saw him that they would think him a new student at the least and that he could bluff his way out from there. In fact, the people here were kind enough to leave a chart about what each year would require, so Takumi was able to pick out the red uniform for new students and a disk that he could hold on to complete the ensemble.

Takumi then slipped everything else he thought he cloud use into his backpack. "Man, I'm glad I thought of using this during the Royale, or I'd be in trouble here. Now then, where can I find a server room?" Just as he slung the bag over his back, he noticed a pile of books and walked over to them. Picking one up, he read the title and flipped through it. "Guide book for new students eh? …! You gotta be kidding… This thing has a map of the campus!" Looking through the map and comparing where he's been to what's shown on the map, Takumi was able to piece together where he was in Academia and spent another minute looking for anything of import and how to get there. He then turned off the lights and waited for the all clear from the others, then slipped out the room and begun to wander again.

After a few more minutes, he found himself outside a server room and saw that it required student identification in order to open the door. Flipping through the book he took from the room, Takumi read that the disks themselves could act as ID so long as your profile was in the system. Thinking back, Takumi remembered copying a number of files, so he hooked up the stolen disk with his own and found what looked to be Ryuuji's student profile. After making what he thought was the proper adjustments to the stolen disk, he held it up to the scanner. After a few agonizing seconds, the door opened and Takumi let out a sigh of relief.

After closing the door, Takumi walked through the large number of computers and picked one that was out of sight from the door before starting it up and connecting his own disk to it, the access systems breaching every firewall and shutting down every alarm, giving Takumi full access to the information on the system.

"Hmm. Maybe I should start with Leo's plans." He then went through the files and found some data for something called 'Project Arc-V' as well as profiles for 2 duelists in the files. Takumi was shocked to see a pair of duelists that looked so familiar to him, one looking to be the Serena girl that Reiji showed him from the security feeds, and the other being a purple haired Yuya! "Seriously? Leo is involving the counterparts of Yuya and Yuzu here?! Alright then…" Takumi transferred the data to his disk and looked for more.

"Okay, maybe proof of what Academia has been doing to the other dimensions would help convince the ignorant?" Finding the reports of what happened in the Xyz dimension wasn't hard, but Takumi wasn't prepared for exactly how NUMEROUS the reports were. They ranged from basic reports to detailed attacks and even video footage! Takumi even checked one of the first videos to be uploaded in order to confirm that this was something he could use, and saw exactly what happened in the first few moments of the attack. It was atrocious…

Holding in his anger, Takumi copied and saved the files he felt were the most damning onto his disk, then thought about what other things might be helpful. "…! Say, what about…" Takumi then shifted through the data, remembering a promise he made and intended to keep and found exactly what he was looking for. "There! Let's see..." After figuring out how to get where he wanted to go, Takumi checked any means of getting out from Academia (feeling irked that they were on an island) and feeling confident that he had an escape plan, he disconnected from and shut down the computer, stowing his disk away in his backpack and started heading to another part of Academia.

After some time and some help from the Trinity, Takumi was able to avoid any security cameras or systems that would have otherwise ratted him out, and found himself at the base of Academia's East Tower, where the files said they were keeping Shun's sister, Ruri.

He then pulled out the scarf he got from shun and a hat he swiped from the supply room as an afterthought and put them on, the hat hiding his hair and the scarf hiding his lower face. Once they were secure, Takumi began his ascent of the tower and its countless stairs. 'Don't worry Shun. I told you I'd do everything I can to help you get your sister back, and I intend to keep that promise.'

After what Takumi estimated was about 5-10 minutes of running up the very tall flight of stairs, Takumi saw what looked to be the top and slowed himself enough to be able to peek above without being noticed immediately.

And immediately questioned the judgement of Academia, seeing how there was a lady dressed like she was some sort of Greek Goddess. She even had a staff! He knew that Academia wasn't entirely sane, but this just took things to the next level of crazy.

Taking a deep (but quiet) sigh, Takumi looked past the cosplayer and saw a wooden door just behind her. 'Guess that's where they're keeping her. Well, gonna have to work fast. Once I get in there, this place will know I'm here.' He then checked the stolen disk one more time to make sure any tracking or surveillance systems were non-functional, then loaded his deck and revealed himself.

The cosplayer noticed him and looked curiously at him. "Hm? Excuse me, but this area is off-limits to students, not to mention that it is past curfew."

Takumi smirked beneath the scarf. "Really? Forgive me. I'm new to the school and I guess I haven't learned all the rules yet. In fact, when I saw the size of this tower, I couldn't help but be curious. Who are you by the way?"

While the headdress seemed to place a shadow over her eyes, Takumi guessed that she was looking at him weirdly. "I am Diana, Guardian of the East Tower. Now you should really be going back to your room."

Takumi then turned his attention to the horizon, taking a brief moment to enjoy the night sky. "Really? Now I would do that, but I was in the middle of helping a friend find something. I thought that this tower might be a good place to help me find it. It does have a great view of the area after all."

Diana seemed to purse her lips thoughtfully. "Indeed. But like I said, you shouldn't be here, no matter what your friend lost."

Takumi rubbed his hand against the back of his head. "Yeah, I get that, but he is really desperate to find what he lost. It's probably one of the most important things in the world to him. After all…" He then dropped his hand and turned back towards Diana, causing her to flinch from the fierce look in his eyes. "He really misses his sister." He then activated the stolen disk and entered a battle stance.

Realizing what he was doing here, Diana quickly took a battle stance and prepared her own disk. "An intruder?! Here?! You will regret coming here!"

"Debatable. Now then, I'll give you one chance to step aside and let her go."

"Hah! As if you have the power to beat me!"

Takumi once again smirked through the scarf. "Well, I did manage to infiltrate Academia." 'Even if it was an accident, but she doesn't need to know that.'

Diana grit her teeth at that, unable to argue. She then looked at him condescendingly. "No matter. The Professor will deal with you once I win."

"You mean IF you win. Too bad I'm stubborn. Now let's do this!"

DUEL!

Diana: 4000

Takumi: 4000

"I'll go first. From my hand, I activate the spell card Polymerization! From my hand I fuse together Guardian Baou with Prenumbral Soldier Lady!

When the shining light hits the Flamberge, two warriors become one! Fusion Summon! Descend, Moon Protector!"

Appearing was a monster that looked like a mix between priestess and warrior, with a large shield bearing crescent moons in the middle and a staff with a moon-shaped tip.

"I activate Moon Protector's effect! I summon one Protector's Shield Token in Defense mode!" Moon Protector then raised her staff as it glowed, and a pillar of light created what looked like a stone tablet. "As long as I control a Shield Token, your monsters cannot attack Moon Protector. I set one card and end my turn."

"I draw! I activate Graceful Charity, to draw 3 cards, then discard 2. Next, I summon Blizzard Thunderbird!" A blue crystalline figure with bright yellow wings and a silver staff appeared on the field. "I now activate her effect and discard 1 card. Now, I can summon 2 Winged Beast-type WATER monsters, 1 from my hand, and the other from the grave. Fortunately, I discarded exactly the card I would need earlier. Revive from my graveyard, Aurora Wing! And from my hand, Storm-dancer of the Trinity!"

As the 2 monsters made their appearance, Thunderbird then became blue energy and shot itself back into Takumi's hand. "The only downside is that I need to return Thunderbird to my hand afterwards, but that is hardly an issue now that I have these two on the field. I now use my level 4 Aurora Wing and Storm-dancer to build the overlay network!

Majestic avian with the beauty of falling snow. Dance with your kin, and release the arctic winds that bring all to their knees before you! Xyz Summon! Soar through the skies, as the symbol of my will! Rank 4! Soul of the Trinity, Ao-Yuki!"

As Ao appeared with a shriek, Diana then let out a smirk. "So you're an Xyz user. Too bad for you. I activate my trap, Protector's Adoration! It negates Ao-Yuki's effects and summons 2 Protector's Shield Tokens to my field."

As 2 more tokens appeared on her field, Ao-Yuki was bathed in red light, sealing her powers. "Urgh!"

Takumi looked to her in worry. "Ao!" She looked back at him. "Do not worry, I'll be fine. Rather, you should keep your attention on her." He nodded after a moment and looked back at Diana.

"With the effect of Protector's adoration, you may attack all Protector's Shield Tokens this turn. But if you don't your monster will be destroyed at the end of the Battle Phase. So what will you do? Are you going to attack my Protector's Shield Tokens, or will you not attack and lose your monster?"

Takumi looked at her in thought. 'She wants me to attack her tokens, which means she's no doubt up to something.' He then put on a smirk. "Well, only one way to find out what it is. You trust me Ao?"

Ao then smirked at her friend. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be here now."

"Alright then. Ao-Yuki! Attack the first Token! Arctic Gale!" The Icebird then gathered snow-filled wind, and sent it straight at one of the tokens, causing it to freeze and shatter.

Diana grinned. "Moon Protector's effect activates! When one of my Tokens are destroyed in battle, the opposing monster loses 800 ATK points, and my life points increase by 800!" Moon protector then raised her staff, causing it to glow, as 2 beams of light shined down on Diana and Ao, increasing her life points and weakening the Icebird. "Argh!"

Diana: 4000 – 4800

2000 – 1200

"AO!"

"WHAT DID I SAY!" Takumi flinched at her tone. She then gave him a look of determination. "It matters not what happens to me. I trust you to be able to overcome this obstacle. And I promise you that I will not fall to something like this!"

Takumi looked at her for a few moments, before a determined look appeared on his face. "Alright then!" He then looked through his hand, a plan coming to mind.

He then looked back at Diana, who was giving him a smug look. "Are you finished with your nonsense yet?" He clenched his fists, as she continued. "No matter. Your situation is hopeless. As you destroy my tokens, your monster's ATK is lowered further, and my life points increase higher. But if you don't, you'll lose your bird completely."

Takumi had had it with her attitude. "Alright Ao! Attack the second token!" As Ao-Yuki shattered the second token, Moon Protector used her powers once again.

Diana: 4800 – 5600

1200 – 400

Ao-Yuki began to feel tired. "Urgh… I can still fight!"

"Then fight we shall. Destroy the third token!" The third token shattered, and Moon Protector used her powers once more.

Diana: 5600 – 6400

400 – 0

"URGH!" Ao-Yuki landed, exhausted, wings laying against the ground.

"Hahaha! Good job! You managed to keep your monster safe! However… It doesn't even have a single ATK point! What even was the purpose of keeping it?"

"Of course was a reason." At the confusion from Diana, Takumi spelled it out for her. "First of all, because SHE is my friend. Second, your protector is now all out of shields. And third, for a card like this! I activate the quick-play spell, Cast-off Xyz! If I control an Xyz monster with overlay units, I can pay half my life points!"

Takumi: 4000 – 2000

"I then banish 1 monster in my graveyard whose type matches Ao's. Help us out Aurora Wing!" The spirit of the light blue monster appeared and transformed itself into an Xyz portal! "Now, I can take any number of Ao-Yuki's overlay units and use them with this spell to Xyz Summon a monster of the same Rank and less original ATK! I'll take one overlay unit!" The spell then took an overlay unit as both shot into the vortex.

"Blaze with crimson light! Set aflame your thirsting wings, and light my very soul! Xyz Summon! Descend, Rank 4! Raidraptor – Blade Burner Falcon!"

Appearing with a shriek was the monster that symbolized Takumi's connection and promise with Shun, surprising Diana with its appearance. "Hoh? That certainly looks like an impressive monster. So what? That monster's measly 1000 ATK can't even touch my Protector."

Takumi then grinned at her. "Good thing you dug your own grave with that one then!" At her worried looked, an orange aura surrounded the Raidraptor. "If Blade Burner is Xyz Summoned while my opponent has at least 3000 more life points than me, I can increase his ATK by 3000!" Blade Burner then let loose a shriek as its blades become enveloped in flames.

1000 – 4000

"4000 ATK POINTS!?"

"And I'm not done yet! I also activate the quick-play spell Rank-Up-Magic Will of the Trinity, and Rank Up Ao-Yuki!" Ao-Yuki then flew into a vortex, taking her last overlay unit with her.

"Hear the tortured cries of the innocent, and sharpen your resolve! Let their pain become the wind beneath your wings, and show them a world without oppression! Rank Up! Xyz Change! Soar throughout the heavens, as the embodiment of my unyielding will! Rank 5! Unwavering Soul of the Trinity, Neo-Ao-Yuki!"

As the Icebird arrived in her empowered form, Takumi was slightly taken aback at the lack of helm, revealing long blue hair that glittered like snow in the moonlight. She then released a high-pitched cry, causing Diana and her monster to cover their ears in surprise. "THIS IS MORE LIKE IT! I KNEW YOU'D FIND A WAY TO SUCCEED!"

Diana looked at the 2 monsters in shock, not expecting anything of this sort. She held on to the hope that he couldn't finish her with the ATK points currently on the field. "When the targeted monster leaves the field, Protector Adoration is destroyed." The trap then destroyed itself, as Diana prepared a strategy for the next turn. She then heard the words that sealed her defeat.

"Neo-Ao-Yuki's effect! Every monster controlled by my opponent loses 100 ATK and DEF times their level for EACH of her overlay units! And my Winged Beasts gain ATK equal to 100x their Ranks for each overlay unit as well! My Rank 4 Blade Burner gains 800, my Rank 5 Neo-Ao gains 1000, and your level 7 Protector loses 1400!" Ao then sang a beautiful song, as powerful freezing winds then blew across the platform, causing the Xyz monsters to rise higher in the air and Moon Protector to curl in on herself to try and stay warm as she was slowly trapped in ice.

4000 – 4800

2800 – 3800

2100 – 700

"WHA-…" Diana was speechless, terrified at the position she found herself in.

"You know what's next I believe. Neo-Ao-Yuki! Take your revenge with Arctic Doom!"

"WITH PLEASURE!" She then intensified the winds, causing ice to form more rapidly over Protector, trapping her in a large chunk of ice with only the head remaining. As Protector looked up in fear, the Icebird then created a dozen large spears of ice, and sent them at the trapped Fusion monster, shattering it and knocking Diana back a bit. "Gaarrgh!"

6400 – 3300

"I'm not done yet!" Diana looked up in fear, as Blade Burner started charging up a large sphere of fire. "Blade Burner Falcon! Attack her directly! FIRE BOMB!" As the sphere became bigger than itself, it launched the attack straight at Diana, knocking her past the door and halfway to the edge. "AAAAARRRRRRGH!"

3300 – 0

Winner: Takumi

As the monsters faded, Takumi let out a sigh in relief. "Phew… At least you didn't break anything this time Ao."

The Trinity then took form with Ao looking slightly embarrassed. "Are ANY of you going to EVER let that go?"

The reply came simultaneously from Takumi, Ki, and even Aka as they smirked. "Not anytime soon."

Ao let out a sigh in defeat as Takumi got a closer look at the door to try to open it. "… Locked. Let's see if that cosplayer has a key…"

Ruri was worried.

She had been in the middle of a (fairly restless) sleep, when the sounds of commotion echoed from outside the room she was trapped in. And since no one here ever told her anything other than that the Professor wanted her unharmed and that she would be unable to leave EVER, she became worried about the sounds that had come from right outside her room. So, she had moved to the far side of the bed from the door in worry about what was going to happen next.

As she heard the sound of the door unlocking, she backed up slightly more, and saw what looked to be a boy about her age, wearing a red Academia uniform, a dark blue hat that covered their hair, a red cloth that covered the lower half of his face, a dark blue backpack, and an academia Duel disk on his arm.

"Whoa. Dark in here." The unknown duelist then reached around for a light switch and turned it on, revealing the layout of the room. As their eyes adjusted to the light, the duelist then looked around the room in what appeared to be surprise. "Wha-?! This is a prison? What the hell? Was the designer a fan of fairy tales or something, because this looks like the kind of place one might rescue a prin-" Their words cut off as they noticed Ruri on the other side of the bed, looking at him fearfully. "…cess. Wow. It's as if they WANTED something like this to happen. I once again question the logic of these people."

Ruri swallowed nervously. "Wh-who are you? Why are you here?"

The boy then blinked, then seemed to look over himself. Eyes widening in realization, he raised his arms above his head as if he were surrendering. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. It's okay, I'm not with these people. You're Ruri, right? My name is Takumi, and I'm here to help, I swear!"

Ruri narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Why should I believe any of that?"

Takumi then turned to look out the door, then back at her. "Well for one, your guard lady is out of commission for a little while. And two, I know your brother Shun." When her eyes widened at Shun's name, Takumi then pulled a card out from his deck and held it out to her. "Here's proof. He gave me this after I earned his trust."

Curious, Ruri slowly walked around the bed and took the card and widened her eyes at what it was. "Blade Burner Falcon! Shun is supposed to be the only person with this card!"

"Guess that makes me the only one to have it now." Ruri then turned her eyes back to Takumi, who had lowered the cloth around his face to reveal a large smile. "He even gave me this cloth just before the last time I saw him. Now, I would love to sit here and answer your questions, but I don't know how long until people notice that the cosplayer guarding your…" He then blinked and looked around the room in thought. "Actually, can you even call this place a cell? It has more stuff in it than the room I grew up in back home!" He then shook his head and turned his attention back to Ruri. "Anyway, doesn't matter right now. My point is, we need to go. The alarms are likely to go off any-"

"WARNING! INTRUDER ALERT! WARNING! INTRUDER ALERT!"

As the VERY loud alarms began to blare, Takumi had frozen in his speech as he realized they had less time than he thought. "… minute. Okay, now we really need to go. You coming?" He then set down his bag and pulled his personal Duel disk out and placing his deck in it.

Ruri thought over her options for a moment. 'Well, I guess he has no reason to lie. And if this is the truth, he may be able to get me back to Shun.' She then took a deep breath and looked Takumi in the eyes as he stood back up, holding out Blade Burner to him. "Alright then. You do have an escape plan, right?"

Takumi gave her a smirk and traded her the stolen disk. "Sure do. You got a deck?"

Ruri nodded and went to where she had stashed her deck. The people of Academia wouldn't allow her to have her disk, but for some reason they left her her cards. Looking at the enemy disk apprehensively (and noting that it seemed to be of a similar shade of purple to her hair), she then placed the disk on her arm and loaded her deck.

"Don't worry." Ruri turned back to a confident looking Takumi. "I've already gotten it cleared of anything that could be used against us. It's just a normal disk now. Now we just gotta get out of here." Ruri nodded as she followed Takumi to the stairs.

However, they hadn't gotten far when Takumi heard footsteps rapidly coming up the steps before them. Stopping, he turned around and ushered Ruri back up. "Ah crud, how'd they get here so fast!?" As they reached the top, Takumi turned around and activated his duel disk and pulling out a card. "Protector of the Trinity! Buy us some time!" The shield bearer appeared and took position slightly below the top of the stairs, ready to hold back the oncoming enemy.

Ruri then turned to him in worry. "Now what?! Did you have a plan for this?!"

Takumi looked over the horizon and let a small smirk cross his face. "Well, yes. But I can't guarantee that you'll like it." Takumi then picked out another card. "Remember though, you asked."

"Eh?" As Ruri looked at him in worry, Takumi ran to the opposite edge of the platform from the stairs and played another card. "Let's go, Mist Condor!" Appearing was a large regal looking blue condor that appeared large enough to ride on. As condor lowered himself enough to let him climb on, Takumi then held out a hand to Ruri. "So, ready to fly out of here?"

Taking a look back to see Protector starting to have trouble holding the enemy back, she took a deep breath and let Takumi pull her up behind him. "Alright! Condor! Let's fly!"

As they took off, Ruri's hold on Takumi tightened out of reflex as she shut her eyes from the heights they were now at while Takumi looked back to see how things were going on the stairs. 'Seems they haven't noticed us yet. Good thing it's still dark out.' Takumi then turned to where he could see the first light of the rising sun. 'But not for much longer, and I have no idea how long Condor will last. Guess we'll just have to hitch a ride after all.'

He then guided Condor down to where the docks were and spotted a speedboat that they could make use of. Landing right next to it, Takumi took notice of the tight hold Ruri had on him and turned to her. "Hey, we're on the ground now. You can let go if you want."

"Eh?" Ruri then opened her eyes and noticed what she was doing. With a small blush on her face, she let go and they hopped off of Condor, letting the bird dissipate.

"Alright, untie the line while I look for a way to start this thing." Takumi then hopped onto the speedboat he found and looked around for a way to start it up. Spotting an Academia computer system, he smirked and plugged his disk into it and watched as the access system once again granted him access. "Okay, this is way too easy… And now that I've said that it's going to suck in a moment isn't it?"

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Turning around, Takumi noticed a rather large number of Obelisk Force members with disks ready running their way, followed by Ancient Gear Hunting Hounds and Soldiers.

"Yup, there it is. I accept full blame on that one." Once he made sure Ruri was on the boat and the line was off, he started up the engine and sped out of there, just seconds before the soldiers could catch up to them.

Ruri yelled to him over the wind and engine. "You know how to drive this thing, right?!"

"One of my duel teachers had a speedboat, and whenever I beat him he would arrange a time for us to take it to a nearby lake and speed around! He even showed me how to drive it! Though I will admit, I've never steered a boat over the open ocean!"

Ruri widened her eyes in worry as she held on tight to the seat she had claimed.

After a few moments, Takumi chanced a look behind him as he saw not only other speedboats in the distance but some helicopters as well. "Wow. These guys REALLY don't want to lose track of you. Think you can keep the boat straight?"

"EEEH?!"

"Relax. All you have to do is sit in the seat and keep her steady. It's easy." He then carefully got out of the seat and slowed the boat slightly so Ruri could more easily maintain control, and moved to the back of the boat while pulling some cards from his deck.

"I summon Hatchling of the Trinity!" The small brown bird then appeared next to him, feet latched to the railing of the boat. "If I control a Winged Beast-type monster, I can summon Blade Wing!" The red avian appeared above the boat and kept the same speed as them. "I activate Hatchling's effect and make both him and Blade Wing level 4 and then Xyz Summon!" Blue energy shined out from Hatchling's crystal and enveloped itself and Blade Wing, before both shot into an Xyz portal.

"Beautiful avian with veins of ice! Descend upon this field, and put all beneath you in their place! Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 4! Ice Beast Zerofyne!"

Out came a beautiful crystalline figure of various shades of blue, bearing deep blue eyes and wings and 2 blue overlay units. "Zerofyne's effect! I use an overlay unit to shroud my opponents in ice!" Zerofyne then grabbed one of her overlay units and held it out, causing a freezing wind to blow out from it and over all the Academia vehicles, shutting down the engines of the boats and icing over the windshields of the helicopters. Takumi watched in satisfaction as their pursuers slowed to a stall and they sped away from them.

[About an hour later]

Feeling somewhat calmer about steering after Takumi showed her what controlled what, Ruri had now been steering the boat since their escape from Academia while Takumi had made sure that there was nothing on the boat that could give away their position such as a tracer. (The Trinity were a big help with that.) A little while later, they came within sight of land, and after getting close enough to see the shoreline, Ruri slowed down slightly as Takumi looked for a safe area for them to dock.

"Over there! That cave looks like a good spot for us to hide the boat until we get a good idea of where we are." Nodding, Ruri followed his instructions on how to get the boat there. After arriving in the cave and making sure that the boat wasn't easily noticed from the outside, Takumi shut the boat down and released the anchor.

He then took off the Red uniform jacket and gathered his things together before making sure that the water was shallow enough to wade in with one of the emergency paddles. "Alright. We can walk out of here and look around by foot. You okay with a little water?"

"I think so. But I still have some questions."

Takumi stopped all motion as he remembered that he still hadn't told her very much yet. "… Oh yeah. I guess I still owe you some answers." Takumi then put the paddle back and took a seat in the boat. "Alright then, we may as well get the questions out of the way now. What do you want to know?"

Ruri looked at him curiously, then took a seat across from him. "Well, who exactly are you? And how do you know my brother?"

Takumi smiled at her. "My name is Takumi Shou. I'm a new friend of Shun's. Haha, though I did have to work for the privilege of having his trust. I met him in what you'd call the Standard dimension."

"Standard?"

"Yeah. Shun wound up there with a friend of his looking for a way to get you back. One thing led to another, and next thing either of us knew, I was promising my help in the fight against Academia."

"I see. How did you manage to infiltrate Academia?"

Takumi's eyes widened slightly at the question as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Yeah… I may have… hitched a ride without meaning to."

"… Eh?"

"Haaah. Okay, so I had just taken down an Academia duelist and was attempting to access the systems in their Duel Disk to see what I could grab. Then the return protocol activated… with my disk still attached to his. Next thing I know I'm sitting in an Academia courtyard. I'm just glad it was night out and not bustling in activity, or I might not have been able to get to you and then get us both out."

Ruri took a few moments to process what he just said. 'An accident…. He wound up here on accident, then completely improvised the rescue and escape. I don't know if I should consider him lucky, foolish, or both.' Ruri let out sigh as she gave up thinking about it for now, and continued to ask questions about Takumi.

[Meanwhile, in the Spirit World]

The Lyrical Luscinia monsters looked around the area in awe. As Takumi had led Ruri out of the East Tower, the Trinity were able to extend their influence into the Fusion Dimension's part of the Spirit World enough to get Blade Burner and Ao to lead a raid and go to the location of Ruri's Duel Spirits in the spirit world and led them to the domain of the Trinity, fighting off numerous Fusion and Ancient Gear monsters on their way.

They had now returned to their foothold in the Spirit world and the newcomers were in awe of the three mountains, the forest between them, and the numerous monsters that had gathered here. Not only had more Winged Beasts arrived since they began to prepare, but even Duel Spirits from some of Takumi's friends could be seen here.

In one area, some Performapals were putting on a show for some of the younger spirits. In another area, X-Sabers, Constellars, and Gem-Knights were sparring in a wide area with other spirits. Moving between the mountains, different Arcana Force monsters could be seen, surveying the area, watching the skies and occasionally meditating, allowing them to get a brief glimpse of the near future. And Raidraptors of all kinds could be seen moving in patrols around the outskirts of the forest.

As the Rescue party moved closer to the Domain, they were greeted by an approaching Aka and Ki. "Excellent work everyone. Go and get some rest." With that, everyone but the Trinity, Blade Burner, and the Luscinias headed down into the main forest area. "Greetings Lyrical Luscinias. I am Aka-Ho. This is my brother, Ki-Rai. And I believe you have already met our sister, Ao-Yuki."

One of the Luscinias moved in front of the rest and bowed to the Trinity, the rest following suit. "Indeed. I am known as Assembly Nightingale, and we thank you for helping us escape our captors."

"Please, raise your heads. We only seek to help those who need it. Now then, Blade Burner. Please help them find a place to rest."

"Of course sir. Come sisters." With that, Blade Burner led the Luscinias down to the forest as the Trinity observed.

Ao then smirked at her siblings. "It seems that even the spirits share a strong familial bond like their current masters, don't they?"

"Indeed. It seems that earning the trust of Shun has done more than Takumi had realized." Aka then turned to Ki. "Say brother, you are being unusually quiet. Normally you are extremely exuberant about any new arrivals."

Ki said nothing, simply looking in the direction that the Luscinias had gone. Aka and Ao then shared a look, before Ao went over and gave Ki a nudge, shocking him back into awareness. "Huh? What?"

Ao looked at him questioningly. "Are you alright brother? You have looked out of it ever since the Luscinias arrived."

Ki's eyes widened slightly, before Ki cleared his throat. "O-of course I'm fine. Really, n-nothing wrong here."

Ao and Aka looked at Ki in shock, both thinking the exact same thing. 'Did Ki just… STUTTER!?'

Ao then realized something and decided to test her theory. She then pretended to notice something behind him. "Oh? Did you need something Nightingale?"

Ki briefly froze, then quickly turned in the direction that Ao was looking. Ki was confused as he saw nothing, then felt a small sense of dread. He slowly turned his head back to his siblings to see Ao with a wing over her beak, and both of them with VERY wide eyes. "…Uh, I should get back to, uh, sparring with the newbies." He then bolted as fast as he could to get away from his siblings before anything else could be said.

The 2 of them just floated there, shocked at what they had just discovered, before Aka broke the silence. "… You noticed that he never once took his eyes off of her, didn't you?"

Ao then nodded and asked in a quiet voice. "You know what this means don't you?"

Aka then let a smirk cross his face. "Indeed. The one thing that can make Ki nervous, is not a powerful foe, or an unstoppable army. No. It is a pretty spirit." Mere seconds after Aka finished his sentence, the two of them burst out laughing, surprised yet unsurprised at the revelation, and wondering how things would progress from here.

A/N: The one thing that can hamper the courage of even the bravest of souls… A crush. Haha. I originally wasn't going to do spirit love, but due to seeing it in other stories as well as encouragement from a friend, I figured I'd try it out. Thoughts?

Anyway, I'm getting close to finishing Takumi's new outfit, so almost out of time to make suggestions for it. I am still willing to hear ideas for new OC cards as well as OC characters you think might be interesting. Also willing to listen to ideas for what I can do with the story. Feel free to speak up if you got something you think might be fun, as well as any questions you have for the story, whether it's as a review or a PM. Other than that, thanks again for the feedback and see you guys next update.

OC cards

Cast-off Xyz: Spell/quick-play

Target 1 Xyz monster with Xyz material you control and pay half your life points: Banish 1 monster in your graveyard with the same type as the target monster, then Special Summon 1 Xyz monster from your Extra Deck with the same Rank and less original ATK than the target monster, then attach this card and at least one of the target monster's Xyz material to the Summoned monster as Xyz Material. (This summon is treated as an Xyz Summon.)