Fun Fact: Remember Yuya's last line in the last chapter? Yugo overheard it and constantly makes fun of him for it. Yuto says that it was sweet, but secretly thought it was corny as hell.

Chapter Summary: Yuto challenges Dennis to a duel. Throw in Sawatari, and it's a three-way war between talented duelists.

It was a rare moment for Ruri and Yuto, being in their hometown. Although they would hang out as often as they could, they weren't always in the Xyz Dimension.

With their days in the Xyz Dimension almost up, the two were enjoying a nice stroll through the town, surveying the changes - for better or for worse - to the landscape. It was bittersweet, seeing their town being built up from its own ruins. But they were both focused on how they wouldn't be here to see the town grow.

Their aimless walking lead them towards a Solid Vision circus tent. Yusho's booming voice, and the sounds of cheering children, could be heard inside.

"Sounds like they're having a fun class," Ruri said wistfully.

"Reminds me of that one time, in class," Yuto said. "You were still learning how to use props, and you accidentally let loose all those rabbits."

"Oh, yeah..." Ruri said sheepishly. "It wasn't an accident."

Yuto smirked. "Really?"

"Hey, I didn't know about Tetsuo's trick, okay? At the time, I thought the trick was just going to be him stuffing them in a hat until he pulled them out."

"At least it wasn't all bad," Yuto told her. "One of the rabbits relieved themselves on Kotori's backpack."

"Good, I hate that bitch," Ruri admitted. "She never gave me my pencil back."

"Wow."

As they passed by the circus tent, a surprise visitor popped out. It was Dennis, who was carrying a cardboard box full of papers and pencils. They were likely school supplies for his students, though Yuto and Ruri couldn't be sure.

"Hello, Ruri!" Dennis called out. "Hello, Yuya!"

Both Yuto and Ruri stopped. Ruri turned around and waved to the boy. "Hi, Dennis!"

Yuto, however, was livid. Hello, Ruri. Hello, Ruri. Who says that? And who did that guy think he was, speaking so casually to the person he kidnapped?

Fucking Dennis. Fucking Dennis. The little asshole who was clearly flirting with Ruri right in front of him. It was blatant taunt towards Yuto and the other boys.

It wasn't even the way he said it, either. Dennis clearly tried to sound seductive. Or wicked, like he was trying to mask a dark side to him. His tone was evil, malicious.

Dennis was a bad man now. He couldn't be trusted.

Yuto broke out of his angery stupor to look at Dennis. To his surprise (and unbridled fury), Ruri and Dennis had started a conversation about something. He had to put a stop to it.

"Dennis!" Yuto screamed. "I challenge you to a duel!"

Dennis and Ruri stopped talking. They looked at each other, then back to Yuto. Back to each other, and then back to Yuto.

"Okay!" Dennis said happily. "Sounds like fun, good buddy."

It was a tale as old as time: boys would come to the lot that once supported a school branch, then have a duel in front of a girl. But this tale was not a fairy tale. It was just another day for these strange, strange kids.

"I have no idea what's going on, but it seems very fun!" Dennis exclaimed.

"Stop talking and start dueling," Yuto seethed.

"Why are you so angry, Yuto? Sounds like you need a little ~~entertainment~~ in your life."

"I'll be less angry when I kick your ass."

To the trio's surprise, a glowing portal appeared roughly a foot avone them. A loud, high-pitched shriek grew louder and louder.

"What is that?" Ruri asked. "Everybody, back away!"

The three of them took a few steps back, but kept watching the portal. The screams grew louder and louder.

And then Sawatari fell out. He landed on the ground, face-first.

"Sawatari?" Yuto asked.

"Shingo!" Dennis said warmly. "What brings you here?"

Sawatari groaned and slowly rose up to meet his friends. Above him, the portal slowly started to close until it vanished from sight.

"Ugh, my head..." he grumbled. "Stupid portable Highways."

Sawatari looked at the trio in front of him. "Oh, there you guys are! I was looking for you! ... Yuya and Yuzu, not Yuto, Ruri and Dennis. I'm not here for you guys."

"Gee, thanks," Ruri said flatly. "Wait, you knew who we are?"

"Those guys need to hurry up and get back to our dimension!" Sawatari responded. "My pool party was a disaster, and I need them to be there for my half-birthday party?"

"It's half of a birthday party?" Dennis asked. "Or are we celebrating your half-birthday?"

"Utopia damn it, Dennis," Yuto grumbled. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Idiot."

"Half of a birthday party," Sawatari answered.

"Wait, what?"

"The other half will be for my Quinceanera."

"What's that?" Ruri asked.

"I don't know, but it's foreign! It's French, so you know it's gonna be classy and sophisticated."

Yuto grumbled again. "Sawatari, we're in the middle of something. Please, just wait until we're done."

Sawatari felt his heart break into tiny little pieces. His shining speech, his boasts about his upcoming, and sure-to-be-successful party, denied by Yuto. He nearly fell to the floor and sobbed. But he didn't, because even Sawatari knew it wasn't that big of a deal.

But he was still peeved.

"Me and Yuto are about to duel," Dennis told him.

"Wrong," Yuto responded. "I'm going to kick Dennis's ass and make him stay away from Ruri."

"What?"

"What?" Ruri asked.

"What?!" Sawatari gasped. "Why?"

"Yeah, this is weird. I thought you just wanted to show off to Dennis, or something."

Yuto scoffed. "Dennis is a deviant. Just let me protect you from him."

"You shouldn't fight, though!" Sawatari announced. "You see, you shouldn't worry about how strong the other is, or what they have. Think about what's really important. You should focus on how far you've come, and how amazing you are now."

Sawatari stopped to take a breath. His breathing was heavy and his eyes were full of passion.

"Instead of holding yourself to others' standards, you should be proud of what you have done, and what's ahead of you. Let go of your feelings of inferiority, and hold on to your feelings of integrity!"

Dennis, Ruri and Yuto just looked at Sawatari with varying looks of disgust or confusion. There was a cold, awkward silence between them.

"Th-that's very sweet, Shingo! Thanks!" Dennis said meekly. "But what does that have to do with this situation?"

Sawatari blinked. "What?"

"We're fighting for Ruri's love," Yuto explained. "I'm protecting her from Dennis."

"You're breaking my heart, Yuto," Dennis sighed. "... But you think I have a shot with Ruri, then?"

"No."

"Hey, what about me?" Sawatari snapped. "I had a speech and everything!"

Dennis winked. "But you're jealous, and you're coming to fight me. Sounds like you think I could steal her away, Yuto."

"Enough talking!" Yuto barked. "Are you going to duel, or are you going to keep talking?"

Dennis activated his Duel Disk. He backed away from the others and held his blade up to his chest. "I can do both."

Sawatari looked to Ruri. "Are you going to let this happen?!"

Ruri blushed. "I... well... Yeah."

"Whyyyyyyy?!"

"I mean, it's pretty funny. And I have two guys fighting over me. And there's not a lot to do in Heartland if you don't like school or train conventions."

Ruri turned to Yuto. "You know this duel is stupid and unnecessary, right?"

"Sure, whatever," Yuto answered. "But I'm going still going to crush Dennis."

And Ruri turned back to Sawatari. "See? It's all good."

Sawatari acivated his Duel Disk. He backed away from the others and held the blade out before them.

"What are you doing?" Ruri asked.

"This is stupid!" Sawatari snapped. "I'm going to teach Yuto to egao with my ~~Entertainment Dueling~~, and I will teach Dennis to..."

He looked over to Dennis. Dennis gave him a polite smile and a wave.

"Something. I'll teach him something!"

Yuto just sighed. He was angry right now. He was annoyed. He had limited time before he had to give control of the body back to Yuya. He wasn't going to bother wasting any more time arguing with Sawatari.

"Fine," Yuto sighed.

After some preparation time, the trio of duelists all took their places on the lot. Yuto and Dennis stood a few feet away from each other, facing the other. Sawatari was off to Yuto's left and Dennis's right. Together, they formed a triangle. Ruri stood off to the side, watching the fight.

"Are we all clear on the rules?" Yuto asked. "We all start with five cards."

"You can attack someone who made their move already, but not someone who hasn't gotten their turn yet," Sawatari added.

"And it's a three-way duel, so only one will be left standing," Dennis concluded. "Are you ready, gentlemen?"

Their Duel Disks spoke: "FIELD SPELL: CROSSOVER, ACTIVATE."

"Duelists locked in battle!" Sawatari announced.

"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Dennis proudly shouted.

"They storm through this field!" Yuto cried out.

"Behold!" Ruri added. "This is the latest and greatest evolution of Dueling!"

"Action!" came all four of their voiced.

"DUEL!"

"I'll make the first move!" Yuto stated. "I Summon The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak."

Materializing on the field was a cloaked phantom. Its body was all but hidden from the world, with the exception of glowing blue eyes, and twig-like arms. It let out a small, spooky gasp. (ATK 800)

"If I control a The Phantom Knights monsters, I can Special Summon The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots from my hand."

Crackles of lightnnight shot out from the disk, along with a light blue wisp. The wisp expanded and took a human-like shape. Ragged clothing materialized to cover up all of the body, except for the face. (DEF 1200)

"With these two Level 3 monsters, I build the Overlay Network!"

A black hole opened up on the field. The two monsters were transformed into balls of purple light, and were then sucked inside.

"Souls of knights who fell on the battlefield. Revive here and now, and become the light that breaks the darkness! Xyz Summon! Rank 3, The Phantom Knights of Break Sword!"

Rising from the black hole was a headless horseman. His black steed neighed and reared back; a threatening gesture meant to intmidate and scare those who stood against it. (ATK 2000)

"I play the Spell, Allure of Darkness. It lets me draw 2 cards, but I must banish a DARK monster from my hand. And then, I set a card."

Yuto then placed a face-down card in his Spell/Trap zone. "And with that, my turn ends."

Yuto ended the turn with 4000 Life Points, a face-down Spell or Trap, and The Phantom Knights of Break Sword on the field. He had two cards in his hand.

Now, it was Sawatari's time to shine. He eagerly stepped up for his time in the spotlight.

"Are you all ready for you Neo-Mega Ultimate Champion Mr. Master Sawatari?"

"Wow! That's a cool title, Shingo!" Dennis exclaimed.

"THANK YOU!" Sawatari shouted, a large egao on his face. "I Summon Abyss Actors - Extras to my stage!"

With a bit of an over-dramatcic flourish, Sawatari slammed a card onto his blade. A small, weird device appeared on the field. Three strange imps rose out from the device and waved to the crowd. (ATK 100)

"I can Tribute this card!" Sawatari announced. "That allows me to place a Pendulum monster from my Deck, into my Pendulum Zone!"

A blue column of light rose to Sawatari's right. The image of Abyss Actor - Twinkle Littlestar floated into the air. A number 9 appeared below her.

"I set Scale 1 Abyss Actor - Costume Designer in my other Zone!" Sawatari continued. "Then, I fabulously Pendulum Summon!"

The Scale went up, and a light went down. Appearing on the field was Sawatari's act, Abyss Actor - Superstar. (ATK 2500) The monster (along with its master) gave its opponents a bow.

"I feel bad, stopping my turn right as the act starts," Sawatari said. "But alas, I, uh, didn't draw a Tuner. So I set a card face-down, and then end my turn."

Sawatari ended his turn with one card in his hand, a face-down Spell or Trap, Abyss Actor - Superstar and two Pendulum Scales on his field. His Life points remained untouched.

"Your time to shine, Dennis."

"You're not going to attack Yuto?" Dennis asked.

"Nope! My strategy is meant to be surprising!"

"Are you ready for a show, everyone?" Dennis shouted out.

"Yeah!" Ruri cheered.

"No," Yuto said under his breath. "Fucking eat-"

"I dedicate this performance to you, Ruri!"

Ruri egao'd, but Yuto started growling. This was a horrible thing to do; if Dennis won, then Ruri would be wowed. But if Dennis lost, then he dedicated a faulty performance to her. One that failed. And Ruri was not a failure.

Yuto was practically foaming at the mouth now.

"With my Scale 1 Performage Card Dealer, and my Scale 6 Performage Overlay Juggler, I set the Pendulum Scales!"

Once again, two pillars of blue light rose to the sky, along with the monsters inside them. This time, the Scale 1 monster was one the others hadn't seen before; it was a small, monkey-like creature in a top cat, springing a full deck of playing cards from hand to hand. It wore a pale mask that covered the top half of its face, with heart-shaped eye holes and tear-like spades underneath its eyes.

"When Card Dealer is first activated, I can shuffle a card from my hand back into my Deck," Dennis explained. "Then, I draw one card. And if it's a Performage Pendulum monster, I can draw again!"

Dennis slid a hand into his Deck. The Duel Disk shuffled the deck automatically.

"Shall we see what I got?"

Dennis drew a card. For a moment, he went silent. Just staring at the card.

"Well?" Yuto asked impatiently.

"I drew... I drew..."

Yuto frowned. "Hurry up!"

"I DREW A PERFORMAGE PENDULUM MONSTER!" Dennis laughed.

Dennis flipped the card over, revealing it to be Performage Wing Sandwichman. A large egao grew on his face. And then, he pulled the top card out from his Deck.

"Hope you enjoy the show, Ruri!" Dennis shouted. "I Pendulum Summon!"

Now Yuto was actually foaming at the mouth.

From the oscillating Pendulum above, two lights fell to the ground. Two Performage Wing Sandwichman (Wing Sandwichmen?) flanked Dennis's left and right. (ATK 1800)

"Yuto, do you like magic tricks?"

Yuto raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I do!" Sawatari said excitedly. "What about me? I like magic tricks! Me!"

"Sawatari, this is between me and Yuto! But I appreciate your enthusiasm."

"But-"

"Butt out, Sawatari!" Yuto barked at him.

Dennis cleared his throat. "When Performage Cup Tricker is in my hand, I can detach an Overlay Unit from an Xyz Monster anywhere on the Field! Then, I can Special Summon my Cup Tricker..."

An Overlay Unit flew away from Break Sword's orbit, landing on Dennis's side of the field. A large, green cup with yellow stars materialized on the field. It shook violently until it fell on its side, exposing a happy little creature inside. (ATK 1200) It egao'd at Yuto and waved, then grabbed hold of the Overlay Unit. It pulled out a smaller cup and placed the Overlay Unit inside. It shook the cup, then revealed it to Yuto: nothing was inside.

"... And the targeted Xyz monster loses 600 ATK." (ATK 2000 → 1400)

Yuto growled. "You steal from my field, just as you try to steal Ruri. You're sick."

"Ow! Don't be so mean, Yuto!" Dennis begged. "Your words cut like a knife."

"Stop being such a jerk, Yuto!" Sawatari shouted.

"Yeah, Yuto," Ruri said. "Please, try to relax. You know I'm not going to be stolen away from you."

Dennis turned to Ruri and winked. Then he turned back to Yuto and said, "Or maybe she will? I have to admit, many a lady has fallen for my charms when I duel."

Yuto's blood started to boil. His face turned bright red. Sweat was pouring down his forehead. Even his eyes turned bloodshot.

"I overlay my three Level 5 monsters!" Dennis announced. "Show yourself, artist of the netherworld!"

Into the vortex and back out again. The monsters became three Overlay Units (one golden, and two a soft orange) that floated above a black blob on the ground.

"Xyz Summon! Rank 5, Performage Shadow Maker!"

The blob rose up, taking the shape of a flat, egao-ing humanoid. The Overlay Units started to circle around its torso. A pair of large scissors materialized in its hands. (ATK 2600)

Sawatari gasped. "That monster's way stronger than ours!"

"Shadow Maker's effect!" Dennis declared. "Once per turn, I can detach an Overlay Unit from this monster; then I can Special Summon another Shadow Maker from my Extra Deck!"

Shadow Maker brought its scissor blades to its torso. The gold Overlay Unit left Shadow Maker's body and flew into the scissors.

"What's it going to do?" Ruri wondered.

Shadow Maker pulled on the scissors to a close, cutting its body in half. Ruri let out a yelp of surprise. "Oh!"

The bottom half of the monster's body fell to the ground. But then, after a moment, it rose back up. It took the form of another Performage Shadow Maker, complete with a matching pair of scissors. (ATK 2600)

"I'm not done!" Dennis announced. "When Cup Tricker is detached from an Xyz monster and sent to the Graveyard, I can transfer one Overlay Unit from one of my monsters to another!"

Performage Cup Tricker manifested on the field, floating between the two Shadow Makers. One of the first Shadow Maker's Overlay Units floated into one of Cup Tricker's smaller cups. The little monster shook the cup and revealed it to Yuto, showing that it was once again empty. And then, the monster faded away.

"You see where this is going, don't you? I'll summon a third Shadow Maker!"

The second Shadow Maker egao'd, then brought the scissors back to its body. The Overlay Unit appeared around its torso, then entered the scissors. And the second Shadow Maker cut its body in half.

Once again, the lower half of the body fell to the ground. And it rose back up, becoming a third Shadow Maker with a pair of scissors. (ATK 2600)

"So cool!" Ruri gasped. "Dennis, that's amazing!"

"NRNNNNNNNNNNNNGH..." Yuto gagged.

"Thank you!" Dennis responded to Ruri.

"NNRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-"

"Now you can destroy my monster and wipe me out!" Sawatari exclaimed happily. "Guess I better awesomely grab an Action Card and-"

"I'm not aiming for you, Shingo," Dennis said. "This is between me and our friend here. So just sit tight and wait for me, okay?"

Sawatari fell onto his hands and knees, crushed. He had to face reality as the third wheel here. They didn't even care enough about him to wipe him out early.

"Battle time!" Dennis announced. "My first Shadow Maker attacks Yuto's Break Sword!"

"I activate my Trap card!" Yuto announced. "Phantom Knights' Sword!"

The face-down card rose up, revealing a spectral sword with a skull handle. The Phantom Knights of Break Sword's own sword vanished, to be replaced by this new one. (Break Sword ATK 1400 → 2200)

"I targeted Break Sword this this card, giving it a boost of 800 ATK," Yuto explained. "And the first time that my monster would be destroyed, Phantom Knights' Sword is destroyed instead."

Break Sword pulled its sword back and brought it down at Shadow Maker. The shadow, however, caught the sword between its scissor blades. It cut down on the sword, shattering it. (Yuto: 4000 → 3600)

Break Sword's old sword appeared in its hand. (Break Sword ATK 2200 → 1400)

"I can still attack with my other two monsters!" Dennis roared. "My second Shadow Maker attacks The Phantom Knights of Break Sword!"

The Shadow Maker's scissors clashed against Break Sword's sword. When the scissors were brought down this time, the entire enemy monster was shattered. (Yuto: 3600 → 2400)

"When The Phantom Knights of Break Sword is destroyed, I can activate its effect," Yuto said. "I can Special Summon two of my Phantom Knights of the same Level from my Graveyard. Their levels are increased by 1."

As Break Sword's body shattered, two more bodies rose from the ground. Both Ancient Cloak (DEF 1000, Level 4) and Silent Boots (DEF 1200, Level 4) crouched down and guarded their master.

"I can banish my Phantom Knights' Sword to Special Summon The Phantom Knights of Break Sword from my Graveyard, but it's banished when it leaves the field."

The neigh of a horse echoed from the ground. The Phantom Knights of Break Sword was rising out of the dirt, holding its classic sword to the air. (ATK 2000)

Yuto bit his lip. He had Summoned Break Sword in Attack mode for a reason: it needed to be the target. The needed to draw Dennis's fire away from his other monsters.

"Hmmmm..." Dennis mused. "Now, which monster do I attack? Should I go for a weak monter and get it out of the way first... Or do I go for your Xyz monster, and inflict some damage?"

Yuto looked to his right, searching for any nearby Action Cards. At any rate, it probably wouldn't hurt to try and grab one, no matter which monster Dennis chose to attack.

"I think I'll target..."

Yuto took a step forward. But his other leg wouldn't move.

"Break Sword!"

Yuto looked down. A Shadow Maker was flat on the floor, holding on to his leg with one of its hands. He pulled back, attempting to break free of the monster, but it's hold on him was too strong.

He heard the battle and looked up, just in time to see his Break Sword fall to a Shadow Maker's blade. (Yuto: 2400 → 1800)

"I set one card face-down, and end my turn," Dennis said to him.

Dennis's turn ended with his two Pendulum Scales, a face-down Spell/Trap, and his three Shadow Makers on the field. He had no cards in his hand, and his life points were still at 4000.

With the card he drew, Yuto now had three cards in his hand.

Even in his anger, he still wanted to conserve his resources. Unlike Dennis, who used his entire hand to create his big display, Yuto was going to try and play things safe.

First things first: use his monsters. Right now, he had all the things he needed to bring out his ace monster.

"With my Level 4 Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak and Silent Boots, I build the Overlay Network!"

Yuto's monsters returned to the black hole, which had opened for what seemed like the eight hundred thousandth time this chatper.

"Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Now, descend! Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 4, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

From the hole came came the pitch-black dragon. The beast let out a threatening roar as it appeared before everyone. Two purple Overlay Units revolved around its body. (ATK 2500)

And then it turned around and gave Yuto a hug.

Yuto cleared his throat. "A-hem! Yes, I missed- I missed you, too."

Yuto looked back to Dennis and Ruri. It was a bit hard to keep up the anger when your best dragon buddy was hugging you, but he was sure going to try.

"Dark Rebellion's effect activates," Yuto said to the others. "By removing an Overlay Unit, I can target one monster my opponent controls; it loses half of its ATK, and Dark Rebellion gains that much ATK."

Sawatari put his hands to the side of his face and gasped. "Superstar, no!"

"I'm targeting a Shadow Maker, Macfield. Treason Discharge!"

An Overlay Unit disappeared into Dark Rebellion's mouth. The dragon emitted a purple lighting, which shot down on the Dennis's first Performage Shadow Maker. The Shadow Maker made a loud, howling laugh of excitement. (ATK 2600 → 1300) (Dark Rebellion ATK 2500 → 3800)

"Then, I target another Shadow Maker and do the same! Treason Discharge!"

The second Overlay Unit disappeared into the dragon's mouth, and another Shadow Maker was blasted by the lighting. This time, the monster simply frowned and growled. (ATK 2600 → 1300) (Dark Rebellion ATK 3800 → 5100)

"I banish The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak from my Graveyard!" Yuto announced. "This allows me to add one The Phantom Knights card from my Deck to my hand."

A card ejected near the bottom of Yuto's deck. Yuto grabbed the card and revealed it to his enemy. It was The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Launch.

"A good card!" Dennis said with an egao. "I bet I know where this is going."

"Hey, I can't see it!" Sawatari called out. "Point it over here!"

"I activate The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Launch!" Yuto announced. "I can target one DARK Xyz monster I control without any Overlay Units; I can Xyz Summon an Xyz monster that's one Rank higher, from my Extra Deck. Both my monster and my Spell Card will act as its materials."

The black hole ripped through the ground, and it extended its black tendrils around Dark Rebellion. The Dragon was slowly smothered in a sea of ever-rising tendrils, blanketing in black until it was completely covered.

"From the depths of purgatory, dedicate to the unsinking souls your song of rebellion! Appear and echo forevermore!"

The monster let out a roar. It clawed through the tendrils, ripping apart the darkness that engulfed it. It now sported a new, armored body and wings that displayed a wide array of beautiful colors. (ATK 3000)

"Rank-Up Xyz Change! Play the sounds of disobedience! Rank 5, Dark Requiem Xyz Dragon!"

"Amazing!" Ruri cried out. "Dark Requiem, your wings are beautiful!"

The dragon egao'd. Honestly, it was a lot more threatening and scary than the dragon had intended to be.

"Wow!" Dennis exclaimed. "So that's your plan, huh? Weaken my monsters, then hit hard with your yours?"

Fucking Dennis, man. It wasn't in his right to say that. That was for Yuto to announce. Fucking Dennis.

"Dark Requiem's effect! By detaching an Overlay Unit, I can reduce one of your monster's ATK to 0, and Dark Requiem gains ATK equal to your monster's original... ATK."

"Dennis is screwed!" Sawatari announced. "Guess I better prep for my next turn, when I fight to kick Yuto's a-"

"And I target your last Shadow Maker!" Yuto continued. "Requiem Salvation!"

Dark Requiem flew into the air. It spread its glorious wings. The sun's rays were caught in them, casting beautiful lights across the entire field. Everyone was caught gasping in amazement over the beautiful display of colors.

The Last Shadow Maker didn't seem upset, either; it quietly awed as its body started to crackle with lightning. (Shadow Maker ATK 2600 → 0) (Dark Requiem ATK 3000 5600)

The dragon flew back down to the ground, and its colorful display ceased. With the light show over, everyone was left to realize the aftermath.

Dennis covered his mouth with both hands. "Oh no!"

Yuto threw up his arm and pointed at Dennis. "Battle! Dark Requiem attacks-"

He could feel something pull his arm back. A Shadow Maker had grabbed hold of his arm and started to pull it back. The monster was trapping him again.

"Dark Requiem attacks your last Shadow Maker!"

"Ruri!" Dennis exclaimed. "I'll get out of this, don't worry! I won't let you down!"

"NASHHHHSSSSSSNHRRHRHRH-"

Dennis was on the move. He backflipped several times, moving towards one of the floating platforms. "Look at this, guys!"

And then Dennis's hand slipped, and he fell to the ground.

"Good job," Yuto mocked. "Dark Requiem, at..."

Yuto's eyes fell back to his dragon. The other two Shadow Makers held onto its arms, forcing it in place. The dragon let out a roar and flailed itself wildly, trying in vain to break their hold.

Yuto's eyes shifted back to where Dennis had been. He wasn't there. It was all a distraction.

"Action Card - Selection of Miracle!" came Dennis's voice.

Everyone looked up. Dennis was on higher platforms, waving to the crowd. "Any battle damage from this battle is halved!"

The Shadows let go of their hostages, slinking back to Dennis's side of the field. And with its regained freedom, Dark Requiem Xyz Dragon spread its wings and took to the air. It opened its mouth and fired a purple bolt of lighting down on one of the Shadow Makers, destroying it. (Dennis: 4000 → 1200)

"Good job, Yuto!" Ruri called out. "You almost got him!"

He didn't acknowledge Ruri's words. Yuto kept his eyes on Dennis. At the moment, he was focused more on winning than anything else.

A content Dennis hummed as he jumped down from platform to platform, until he reached the ground. When he reached his spot on the field, he gave everyone a proud little egao.

"What?" Yuto asked. "What are you smiling about?"

Dennis chuckled. "You didn't think I could see a set-up coming from a mile away?"

"What?" Yuto questioned.

"I knew you wanted me to attack your Break Sword!" Dennis announced. "I wanted you to Xyz summon a strong monster."

"But why?" Sawatari asked. "Now it'll be even harder for me to beat him!"

"Because I wanted him to destroy my monster, Shingo~"

Yuto went silent. Ruri put a hand to her mouth to stifle her gasp. Sawatari's jaw almost literally dropped to the ground.

"I activate my face-down! Rank-Up-Magic Magical Force!" Dennis declared. "When an Xyz monster is destroyed by battle and sent to my Graveyard this turn, I can Special Summon that monster, then use it as Xyz Material to Xyz Summon a monster that's one Rank higher!"

The swirling black hole opened up. A shadowy blob rose up from Dennis's Duel Disk, then hurled itself into the hole. The Rank-Up-Magic card dissolved into a wisp of light, then followed the shadow into the portal.

"The show must go on! Master of magic and speaker of spells! Your charismatic presence draws the entire world to you!"

From the black hole came twin ropes, which took to the sky. They were attached to a long trapeze bar, held onto by two gloved hands.

"Rank-Up Xyz Change! Rank 6, Performage Arch-Magician!"

The new monster flew on out of the portal and into the air. It was a monster similar to Trapeze Magician, with a masquerade mask. It had a purple tophat, with a gold star pattern. It wore a purple-and-gold suit with a cravat, not unlike Yusho Sakaki's performing outfit. A long black cape with a purple underbelly billowed behind it. Two dark, inky purple Overlay Units orbited around its torso. (ATK 3300)

"Are you ready for my turn, Yuto?" Dennis said cheerfully. "Because the show must go on!"

A/N: In the anime, Shadow Maker's effect could only be activated when it's targeted by card effects. In-universe, this restriction is no longer true thanks to Zarc's changes. And since Shadow Maker was never summoned after Zarc's return, this doesn't contradict anything in the anime.

Out-of-universe, this is just more convenient for me. Otherwise, Dennis would just have to grab some Action Cards and target his monsters, and that would not only be kind of repetitive to read, but it would also bog down the story.

Dark Rebellion is another card that got changed. It can target any monster, not just ones that are Level 5 or higher, to align with its IRL effect. It still keeps the one Overlay cost it has in the anime though, so as not to contradict the anime.

Next time: The war between Yuto and Dennis continues, and Yuto's anger grows out of hand. Also, Sawatari is there. Hope you studied on on Chaos Theory.