I don't own ARC-V, but I DO own this story! Enjoy!
Darkness surrounded Aren. Nothing but an inky black void stretched around him with no end in sight. Looking down at his body, the War Eagle realized that he looked the way he did before his accident - his body in perfect condition with no scars or prostheses.
'Where am I…' thought Aren groggily, 'What is this place…' Continuing to look around, a small glimmer of teal light at the edge of his vision caught his attention. Turning his focus on the mysterious glow, a small, flickering teal flame floated over to Aren, circling around his body with a curious nature.
'So...you're the one…' said a powerful, yet quiet voice. Aren immediately recognized the origin of the sound as the wisp of fire. 'You live a life not desired...yet it is a life that has steeled your splintered soul.'
'My...splintered soul?' Aren thought in confusion, his eyes furrowing.
'Crush Claw has chosen his partner wisely.' continued the voice. 'Be sure to keep him close to you at all times. Your meeting was more than fate.'
"What are you?" asked the Obsidian teen, his voice cracking with disuse. "Do you have a name?"
'My name is-" The cinder started to respond, but stopped itself as if disrupted. The flame flickered before extinguishing itself, leaving nothing to ever prove it existed beside a still strand of smoke.
Before Aren could reach out to the smoke, he felt a pull opposite his navel pull him back, his body racing through the endless world of darkness at breakneck speed. As he clenched his eyes, the darkness that permeated through his eyelids suddenly began easing before turning into a blinding white light.
"Aren!" A fierce male voice rang through Aren's eardrums, bouncing around violently. "AREN WAKE UP!"
Aren's eyes snapped open. Signals and synapses began firing in his brain as it took in information of its surroundings. The War Eagle was lying on a bed, everything below his neck covered by pure white sheets. At the foot of the bed rested Shark and Rio, the former looking at Aren with an annoyed expression while the latter a more concerned one. Between the two stood Shay, who looked as if he had received a full-night's sleep for the first time in weeks, though his rested complexion was also one mixed with annoyance and the eldest Obsidian's typical bored, cold stare.
"I'm up! I'm up!" said Aren, wiping his eyes. As he did so, he noted a strange feeling in his left hand. It felt almost...human. Turning his eyes upon it, he was met with an unfamiliar sight: his handmade prosthetic arm/Duel Disk hybrid was completely gone, replaced with a carbon fiber polymer-based prosthesis, painted to match the color of the rest of his skin. Staring at the arm in confusion, he pulled off his bedsheets to look at the rest of his body. Aren blinked in shock: beneath his athletic shorts he realized that prosthetic leg had likewise been replaced with a less-mechanical looking one. Touching his left eye, he no longer felt the metal plates that held in his mechanical eye, but instead his fingers glossed over the bumpy, yet mostly healed scar tissue from his burns. It took him a moment longer to realize that his mechanical eye had been fully recalibrated, receiving neuro-signals to and from his new prosthetics with an even greater efficiency than his old makeshift ones had.
"What the heck did Declan Akaba do to me?" stammered Aren, running his fingers through the material, which flowed through his hands with no resistance.
"LID staff found you and Shay unconscious outside the building," explained Rio, placing her hand on Aren's knee. "Shay was fine, but your entire body was smoking like you'd been burned."
"Fast-acting tranquilizer darts no doubt," said Aren, itching at a spot in his neck. "Crude, but effective. The chemical blend must have messed with the wiring and materials in my prosthetics, rendering them useless."
"All of the prosthetics you had created were completely unusable," confirmed Shark, holding up what Aren recognized as the charred remains of the Duel Disk he had built into his old arm. Fortunately out of the corner of his eye he saw that all of the cards from his Deck were resting safely on a nightstand. "Declan had the LID staff hook you up with their best quality artificial limbs. I'm surprised that the company even has technology in that department."
"Probably Henrietta Akaba's idea," said Rio, her eyes rolling. "To her, there's probably no such thing as "enough money.""
"I'm not complaining," admitted Aren, "this stuff feels amazing. I almost feel human again." Turning his attention to his brother, who had continued to remain silent, the two siblings engaged in a stare down.
"It's been two days," finally said Shay. "We haven't heard anything from Yuto. If Declan and Claude know anything about what happened to him, they won't tell me. Claude keeps telling me that Declan's too busy to see me, Shark, or Rio at this time."
"The first round of the Junior ARC-League Championships end today," chimed in Rio. "We'll get our matchups for the second round in a couple of hours from now."
"I can't believe you and Shark didn't tell us about what was going on!" yelled Shark, punching Aren's right shoulder lightly. "It wouldn't have been much trouble to wake the two of us up!"
"Let's be honest here Shark," countered Aren bluntly. "If either myself or Shay had woken you or your sister up, the tranquilizer darts would have paled in comparison to how long you two would have knocked us out for."
"...Fair enough." admitted the Kastle siblings after a few moments of pause.
"There's more," added Shay, all eyes in the room turning to him. "Declan did tell me that they found a girl unconscious at that amphitheater park. She was lying in the middle of the rubble, but she didn't have a single mark on her."
All at once the thoughts in Aren's brain dispersed, leaving his mind perfectly clear and focused.
"We need to talk to her," stated the War Eagle firmly, "we need to talk to her now."
"We're in luck," interrupted Shark. "She's two floors down. All that stands between us and her are a couple of security guards."
"You mean a couple of unfortunate security guards," corrected Rio, a devilish glint appearing in her eyes as she cracked her knuckles.
[Downstairs]
Rin couldn't help but feel on-guard. Despite the breathtaking view of the Standard Dimension's cityscape spread out before her eyes, it all seemed fake. She kept thinking to herself that if she blinked, or de-tensed her body, the world around her would suddenly dissolve into the place she had been seeing in her nightmares for weeks.
Rin shuddered, a shaky breath escaping her lips. She hadn't talked about her dreams with anyone, not even Yugo, out of fear of being labeled as insane. Even so, the more she tried to forget the awful visions, the dreams would continue each night with increased clarity. From the crimson fire raging across the many floating islands, to the charred remnants of homes, and the scariest thing of all, the massive shadowy dragon whose form blotted out the stars in the smoky night sky, its ghostly yellow eyes which seemed to acknowledge her presence every night seeming to pop up at random in her daily life.
Rin reached into her pocket and pulled out her cards, the Windwitch-deck that had seemingly magically presented itself to her one night six years ago. To this day, Rin wondered how the cards had ended up in the middle of a Commons-district alley, completely unmarked, laying in a perfect stack. Based on how powerful the deck was, she didn't think that someone from the Tops had just thrown it out, dissatisfied with the playstyle. Rin couldn't shake the feeling that the deck had willed itself into existence just for her.
"I wonder where Yugo is," wondered Rin out loud. Since she had awoken yesterday evening, the employees of the building she was in wouldn't tell her anything, no matter how much she pleaded with them. To the best of her knowledge, they weren't there to hurt her: the employees had given her full-course meals, a warm bed, and a wonderful view. She was thankful at the very least to have a moment where she wasn't being chased by some freak with purple hair who otherwise looked like a carbon copy of Yugo.
A shout of pain outside her door made Rin's heart skip a beat. She backed herself into the corner of her room, shaking slightly.
'Oh no…' thought Rin, 'he's found me! I have to get out of here!' Rin's worries proved unjustified however, when the door opened and entered four individuals that comprised the strangest quartet of individuals she had ever seen in her life - three boys and one girl, all appearing to be slightly older than her.
"Don't worry," said the girl, raising her hands, "we aren't here to hurt you."
"You're the girl Declan's people found at the amphitheater, right?" asked one of the males, whom Rin guessed to be the girl's brother.
"Y-yes…" stammered Rin, still slightly afraid.
"It's Rin...isn't it?" asked the second-oldest boy, whom Rin was shocked to see had numerous prosthetic limbs across his body. "My name is Aren, Aren Obsidian. This is my older brother Shay," Aren glanced at the third male, who was staring at Rin with a peculiar expression, "and our friends Reginald and Rio Kastle."
"How do you know my name?" questioned Rin, a fierce expression slowly developing on her face, masking the frightened one from moments ago.
"You're Yugo's friend," continued Aren, "you were there the other night, when he had that duel against the guy who Xyz Summoned."
"How do you know so much about me?!" said Rin, angrily.
"My brother and I watched the duel," explained Aren. "We heard enough of what you said that made us realize that once we learned you were here in the tower, we needed to talk to you and share some information."
"What kind of information?" asked Rin, now somewhat confused.
"Will you hear our story?" asked Aren. "It might help answer some of your questions about what we think has probably happened to you lately."
[2 Hours Later]
"So that's basically it." said Shay.
"Let me see if I understand this right," said Rin, pacing back and forth. "People from a place in the Fusion Dimension called Duel Academy attacked your home, the Xyz Dimension, and kidnapped your little sister, Lulu, who looks just like me and another girl who lives in this dimension. The person Yugo dueled the other night, your friend Yuto, wasn't the one that tried to kidnap me in the Synchro Dimension, and fought Yugo because he believed that Yugo was allied with Duel Academy, since they fought before in Heartland. The five of you came to this dimension to abduct Declan Akaba, the son of the leader of Duel Academy, Leo Akaba, so that you could perform a prisoner exchange and rescue Lulu, but instead you've allied yourself with Declan, who is also fighting against his father, and are now participating in a tournament to find more potential allies to help in your collective fight?"
"That's basically it," confirmed Aren.
"Well that makes sense," shrugged Rin. The four Xyz-ians were surprised at her acceptance of this story.
"You really believe us?" questioned Shark. "You don't have any doubts whatsoever?"
"You've given me no reason to think you're lying," explained Rin, "and what you say aligns perfectly with what has been happening to me in the past few weeks."
"So you say someone who looks just like Yuto and Yugo cornered you in an alley in the Synchro Dimension and dueled you." asked Aren. "I'm going to take a swing and say that this guy also used a Dragon-type monster, most likely a Fusion Monster."
"How did you know?" inquired Rin.
"There is a boy who lives in this dimension named Yuya Sakaki. Like the guy who attacked you, along with Yuto and Yugo, he uses a Dragon-type Monster unlike any other, one that is completely unique. Like Yuto's Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon and Yugo's Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, Yuya's Monster is called Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon, and all three, along with this Fusion Dimension guy's Dragon, seem to possess a strange and hidden power that we can't quite explain."
"Tell her about your dragon," added Shay. Aren nodded and pulled out Crush Claw.
"Three days ago, during my first-round match in that tournament we mentioned, this card appeared before me and helped me win the duel. Crush Claw Ritual Dragon." Aren handed the Ritual Monster to Rin, who studied the picture intently.
"There are only a few Ritual Monsters in the Synchro Dimension," stated Rin, "but I've never seen any like this. You're right, there must be some sort of connection between these five dragons."
"I know we just met," said Aren, placing a hand on Rin's shoulder, "but I promise that the people in this dimension are on our side. We won't let Duel Academy take you, like they did to my and Shay's sister. And we'll help you find Yugo and I'll explain all of this to him too."
Rin stared into Aren's eyes, looking deeply into both the natural and mechanical irises. "Thank you, Aren. I believe you."
Aren smiled and then stood up. Just then, his Duel Disk buzzed, along with Shay's and the Kastle siblings'. Knowing immediately what it was about, he placed the LID tournament card into the Graveyard slot. A moment later, information about his second-round matchup appeared on the touchscreen interface.
"My duel is first thing tomorrow morning against some guy Trout, a "Fishing Duelist"," said Aren with raised eyebrows, wondering what in the world a Fishing Duelist was. "But before I duel, I need to take care of a couple of things. If you all will excuse me, there are some preparations I must make." Aren bowed to the ensemble, then exited the room, heading towards the elevator.
"That Rin girl is pretty interesting." Aren sighed as the spirit of Soarnight Sniper appeared, floating next to him. "If it weren't the fact that she looks just like your sister, I'd tell you to ask her on a date!"
'That would be incredibly creepy on a multitude of levels,' thought back Aren. 'Besides, it's clear that she and Yugo really like each other, not that they've probably ever admitted to out loud.'
"Fair point," admitted Soarnight, putting his hands behind her feathered head. "So what preparations do we need to make for tomorrow's duel, besides you getting some new clothes?"
'You'll see my avian ally,' thought back Aren, a smile forming on his face. 'First things first, let's see if Declan can get started on making us a Synchro Monster for when we reach the third round…"
[The Next Day]
"Well now folks, we're going to jump right into the action here in the second round of the Junior Youth Division of the ARC-League Championships!" announced Nico Smiley amidst the roars of thousands of cheering fans. "For our first matchup here in the main stadium, we have the man whose dueling skills always catch him victory! Hoping to haul in a spot in the third round, it's the Fishing Duelist, Trout!" A young man, around Shay's age, walked onto the pitch. He wore a green hat in the design of a whale overtop of his wavy black hair, along with a yellow fisherman's vest draped over his pink jacket and beige waders.
"And his opponent, a duelist who certainly left a frighteningly fiery impression on us in his first round victory over Aiko Sagiri, from the Leo Institute, it's Aren Obsidian!" There were no cheers as Aren walked on the pitch, but there were some mutters about the change in his appearance.
Aside from his new prosthetics, Aren now wore a sleeveless black hoodie, embossed with golden strips on the sides and red seams. He wore navy cargo pants, steel-tipped black leather boots, and his red Resistance cloth, which was previously a headwrap, now resided on his right hand, tied in the shape of an open-palmed glove. He also wore a traditional purple Xyz Dimension Duel Disk on his new left arm prosthetic.
"It looks like Aren's makeover was a success," said Shark, watching his ally walk out onto the pitch.
"And we have you to thank for that, Rio," added in Shay, smirking ever so slightly.
"It wasn't that difficult," admitted Rio, puffing out her chest in pride. "Aren has absolutely no sense of style, so I could have given him a clown suit and he'd have thought it looked good on him. I'm just glad I went after him and stopped him from putting on something ridiculous."
Turning to her left, Rio eyed Rin, who had joined the three Xyz Dimension residents in watching the duel from a hidden viewing booth offered to the four by Declan.
"You didn't have to watch the duel from here, you could have watched the broadcast from your room," said Shay, turning to Rin as well. "Why did you want to join us?"
"I wanted to see Aren duel up close," admitted Rin, folding her arms solemnly. "I want to see how he duels with my own eyes."
'And I want to see what sort of message his dueling conveys.' added Rin, thinking to herself.
Down on the pitch, Trout scoffed at Aren.
"You may have created a big splash with your win in the first round, but I'll be the one hauling in a big catch today, with a W for Trout!" Trout pointed his fishing pole straight at Aren's chest.
The Obsidian teen looked down at the fishing pole, then back up at his opponent. "That's a well-crafted rod, but do you carry it around because you're compensating for something?"
At this statement, everyone in the audience collectively sweat-dropped, including the You Show crew, who were watching with as much interest as they did Aren's first round duel.
"Uh, moving on then! Action Field, on!" announced Nico Smiley. "And the Action Field we have for today's duel is...Whirlpool Tidal Basin!"
"Generating Action Field," stated a female robotic voice from the loudspeakers. Beneath the stadium floor, the ARC-System lit up, transforming the field into a landlocked lake, whose water churned with multiple whirlpools.
"Action Cards dispersed." chimed the same voice from Aren's Duel Disk, as hundreds of glowing cards fell to the field from the sky.
"Duelists locked in battle! Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" cheered Nico Smiley and the audience in unison. "They storm through this field! Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling! ACTION-!"
"DUEL!" shouted both Duelists.
AREN LP: 4000
TROUT LP: 4000
"I'm starting things off!" announced Trout boisterously. "I'll begin the duel by activating my Continuous Spell Card, Water Hazard!" A spell card depicting a large wave with several spearfish underneath the water appeared in front of Trout. "When there are no Monsters on my field, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or below Water-Attribute Monster from my hand! So surfacing from the deep, is Fisherman's Apprentice!" A tanned, muscular young man with a net filled with fish appeared from a portal materialized from the Water Hazard card. (LV. 4, WATER, 1100/1200)
"When Fisherman's Apprentice is Special Summoned, I can add a Legendary Fisherman Monster from my Deck to my hand!" said Trout, a card expelling itself from his deck. "I choose The Legendary Fisherman III!"
"And Trout is off to a rousing start!" announced Nico Smiley giddily. "What will he do next?!"
"Next, I tribute Fisherman's Apprentice to summon The Legendary Fisherman from my hand!" said Trout. Trout's monster was replaced with a tanner, more muscular adult, wielding a harpoon and riding on a blue and yellow shark. (LV. 5, 1850/1600)
"The Legendary Fisherman…" stated Aren bluntly. "I see you're a fan of some classics."
"If that impressed you, then get ready for a modern spin! This next Monster can't be Normal Summoned, and can only be Special Summoned by tributing The Legendary Fisherman! So say goodbye to him and hello to The Legendary Fisherman III!" The muscular man became even more bulky, his hair more shaggy, and his shark grew even larger, a large ruby forming on its forehead. The man's harpoon also transformed into a spear gun. (LV. 7, 2500/2000)
"A modern spin, indeed," admitted Aren begrudgingly.
"Not only can't The Legendary Fisherman III be destroyed in battle or by card effects, is also unaffected by your Spell and Trap card effects! And for next to my move, I'm activating the Spell, Fisherman's Tidal Blast!" A Spell depicting a massive blast of energy striking the ocean appeared next to The Legendary Fisherman III. "Now for every "The Legendary Fisherman" Monster that was summoned during this turn, you take 300 points of damage, plus an additional 100 points of damage multiplied the levels of all of those Monsters!"
"Now if my math is correct, that will add up to a grand total of 1800 points of damage!" announced Nico Smiley, amidst the gasps of the audience members. A massive blast of teal-colored energy shot from Trout's spell, blasting the War Eagle off of his feet, sending the Xyz Dimension resident flying backwards in a heap.
AREN LP: 4000 - 300 - 300 - 500 - 700 = 2200
"With that, I'll place one card face down and end my turn!" announced Trout, hefting his fishing pole, a card materializing in the back row of his field.
Aren got to his feet with an annoyed look covering his face. "I'm up now! I draw!" Glancing at the drawn card out of the corner of his eye, the Obsidian male smirked.
"I activate my Spell Card, Extra Foolish Burial! I'll pay half of my Life Points to send the Xyz Monster, Enigma Eagle - Wildfire Katana from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard! However I can't set Spells or Traps during this turn!" Aren groaned as his body became surrounded by a purple aura.
AREN LP: 2200/2 = 1100
"We are only on the second turn of this duel and Aren Obsidian is already down to 800 Life Points! What in the world could he be thinking?!" shouted Nico Smiley in disbelief.
"When there are no Monsters on my field, I can Special Summon Enigma Eagle - Shadow Lanius from my hand!" said Aren. A bipedal black-winged eagle/lanius hybrid holding a small boot knife in its claws appeared in front of the War Eagle. (LV. 5, 1800/1500, WIND)
"Next, since you have a Level 7 or higher Monster on your field and I have fewer Life Points than you do, I can Special Summon Enigma Eagle - Incantation Ibisbill from my hand!" An eagle garbed in a sorcerer's outfit, wielding a wand crackling with electricity appeared on Aren's field, his eyes gleaming with a sinister light. (LV. 6, 1000/2500, WIND)
"When Incantation Ibisbill is Special Summoned to my field, I'm allowed to add the Ritual Spell, Enigma Excession Ritual, from my deck to my hand!" Aren took a card from his deck, showing it to his opponent.
"A Ritual Spell?" Trout muttered. His mind instantly flashed back to the terrifyingly powerful dragon that Aren had Ritual Summoned in his first round duel. "But Ritual Spells are very specific in what Monster you can summon with it, and that card doesn't sound like it can summon his dragon...so that must mean-!"
"I activate my Ritual Spell, Enigma Excession Ritual!" shouted Aren. The Spell Card displayed the spirits of various Enigma Eagle Monsters offering themselves into a shadowed image of a larger eagle. From the ground arose a large stone shrine, with a dais in the middle displaying a statue of a massive avian warrior wielding a double-ended sword. "From my field, I tribute Level 5 Shadow Lanius and Level 6 Incantation Ibisbill to Ritual Summon!" Aren's two eagles were transformed into green streams of light, which rose into the sky. The lights intermingled, creating a large thundercloud, which blocked out the light of the midday sun.
"Oh man here comes a Ritual Summon!" said Yuya shakily from the stands. "If this Monster is anything like that dragon he brought out in his last duel, this is going to be crazy!"
"Tempered steel and focused power! Ancient avian who combines both into one, be revived in this raptorial realm!" chanted Aren, holding his arms out wide. "I Ritual Summon! Appear, Level 10! Enigma Eagle - Chromium Cardinal!"
The thundercloud suddenly let loose a massive blast of green lightning, which struck the statue, releasing a large amount of stone dust and smoke. From the smoke, a pair of red eyes gleamed, eyeing Trout with intent.
"What is that thing?!" shouted Trout, taking a step backward in fright.
The debris dissipated, revealing a red, armored eagle wielding the same double-bladed steel sword seen in the statue. His head was partially covered by a helmet bearing the shape of a snarling wolf. (LV. 10, 3500/2500, WIND)
"And Aren pulls off a successful Ritual Summon!" announced Nico Smiley shakily. "Look at that winged-warrior! It is ab-sol-ute-ly terrifying and from the looks of it, prepared to strike!"
"Th-that's quite the monster!" stammered Trout. "But don't forget that The Legendary Fisherman III can't be destroyed in battle! Even if I take damage, he won't be destroyed! And then during my next turn, The Legendary Fisherman III can use its effect to banish all of the Monsters on your field, so you'll be wide open and I will win!"
"You're assuming that there will be a next turn," replied Aren calmly, cracking a smile. When Chromium Cardinal is successfully Ritual Summoned, I can banish one Enigma Eagle Xyz Monster from my Graveyard, and until the end of the turn, the effects of all cards on your field are negated! So I'll banish my Rank 6 Enigma Eagle - Wildfire Katana from my Graveyard to do just that!"
"What?! All of my cards are negated?!" shouted Trout in disbelief. Looking around, both his monster and his facedown became enveloped in a gray aura, signifying their negated status.
"Next, I'm activating the Spell Card, Anger Point!" Aren activated one of the two remaining cards from his hand, which depicted an angered warrior charging his way through a legion of enemy warriors. "Since my Life Points decreased during this turn due to a card effect, one Monster on my field gains Attack Points equal to double that amount of lost Life Points! Then, one Monster on your field loses the same number of Attack Points!"
"Aren's Life Points decreased by 1100 during this turn, so Chromium Cardinal gains 2200 Attack Points!" realized Zuzu.
"And The Legendary Fisherman III loses 2200 Attack Points!" added Yuya, his eyes widening.
(Chromium Cardinal ATK: 3500 + 2200 = 5700)
(The Legendary Fisherman III ATK: 2500 - 2200 = 300)
"5700 Attack Points?!" shouted Trout in disbelief. "That won't help you!" Casting his fishing pole, he managed to hook an Action Card floating on the surface of the water close by. Taking the card in his hand and smiling, he immediately activated it. "I play the Action Spell, Illusion Dance! So now your Chromium Cardinal is switched to Defense Position for the rest of the turn, meaning it can't attack!" The Action Spell, showcasing a graphic of pink fairy bowing gracefully amidst yellow sparkles, shot a linear blast of yellow energy at the War Eagle's Monster.
"Sorry but that won't do you any good. Chromium Cardinal, show him what I mean!" shouted Aren, lifting his hand. Chromium Cardinal released a massive blast of sound from his beak, creating a sound wall that resulted in the yellow energy blast bouncing harmlessly off of it.
"What happened?!" shouted Gong. "Why didn't the Action Spell work?!"
"Chromium Cardinal is unaffected by your card effects, so both that little Action Spell, and that banishing effect you boasted about earlier, will not work on him at all," explained Aren, smiling even wider.
"He's good," muttered Rin under her breath. "His moves are tight and his skills are polished. That kind of expertise shows the mark of a true pro...I wonder how he would fare against Jack…"
"And now Chromium Cardinal, attack The Legendary Fisherman III with Scarlet Saber!" ordered Aren, pointing at Trout's Monster. Chromium Cardinal nodded, his sword blade now glowing with a red light. Running across the ground instead of flying through the air, the Enigma Eagle slashed the Water-Attribute Monster multiple times, leaving red lines of energy in the air where he had sliced. After a moment, he holstered his weapon behind his back and flew into the sky, just before The Legendary Fisherman III exploded in a flash of red light.
Trout yelled as the wind from the explosion sent him flying into the water. Fortunately, he did not land in one of the whirlpools, but emerged from the surface of the water, spitting water out of his mouth.
TROUT LP: 4000 - 5400 = 0
WINNER: AREN!
"And in one turn, Aren Obsidian has overcome a massive first-turn deficit and wins the duel! He now will move on to the third round!" announced Nico Smiley, amidst the cheers of the audience members.
"It was nowhere near as brutal as his last duel, but it was just as incredible of a comeback," admitted Yuya. "He's really strong."
"Yeah, he's definitely still a strong favorite to win this tournament," chimed in Zuzu.
As Aren exited the stadium, he turned his gaze toward the LID Tower, where he knew that Declan had been watching his duel. As he entered the entry/exit tunnel, he stopped in surprise. His Duel Disk was now beeping slightly. Looking at the notification, his eyes widened in shock. Just as he was about to inform Declan of this piece of information, he skidded to a stop. None other than Rin was waiting for him, leaning against the wall of the tunnel with her arms crossed and her eyes closed.
"That was an impressive victory. Every move was perfectly calculated and executed," stated Rin, her eyes still closed. Opening them slowly, she turned to Aren with a grim expression. "That being said, the way you duel tells me a lot about you as a person."
"And what does it say?" inquired Aren.
"It says you're carrying around a lot of weight on your shoulders. There is so much emotion in the way you duel and all of it conveys sadness," Rin explained, unfurling her arms. Putting a finger on Aren's heart, she added, "That kind of sadness is only possible when everything you know and love has been ripped away from you. I know I said I believed your story earlier, but it wasn't until watching you duel that I think I truly believed it."
"Actions speak louder than words to you, I guess," remarked Aren, shrugging.
"Not necessarily," replied Rin. "In my home, the number one duelist says that a duel is a clash of two souls firing on all cylinders. But it's also a conversation between two hearts: the way you duel is how you speak to your opponent. When I watch you duel, I interpret your message as, "I want to have fun, but I won't. If you stand in my way, then I will strike you down.""
Aren looked down at hearing these words, eyeing the floor.
"Is that what you really want your dueling to convey?" asked Rin, walking away. "I told you before that I would help you find your sister, Lulu. But if you keep dueling with that sort of message, the brother she loves probably won't be the brother she reunites with."
As Rin rounded the corner, Aren turned back toward the portion of the tunnel that led back to the stadium field. Nico Smiley was currently announcing the next duel: Yuya Sakaki would be facing the duelist Iggy Arlo.
'Am I losing myself?' thought Aren pensively. 'Is Rin right?...Who am I kidding, she's absolutely right. I know Sensei Yusho would be disappointed in how I'm dueling, and so would Lulu. I need to find the fun again. I think that will be the best way to end the Dimensional War.'
Aren smiled a little, before running in the direction Rin had gone. The War Eagle now knew that a mere change of clothes wouldn't help to change him, but he now had an idea on what he could do next to start that process.
"And what do you have in mind to start that process?" inquired Soarnight, Aren's avian partner appearing in spirit form next to his Duelist.
'It's time that I expand my horizons - if I want to defeat Duel Academy, and do it the right way, then I need to understand them,' explained Aren. 'Which means…'
"You're not serious." squawked Soarnight in disbelief. 'I mean I know you've already talked Declan into making you a Synchro Monster, but-"
'But yes, my avian friend. I'm going to-' thought back the War Eagle.
"But Declan's too busy for him to give you a crash course on that subject," interjected Soarnight, throwing his wings up in disgust. "Who are you going to get the rundown from?"
'From the experts themselves.' thought back Aren, smirking. 'My Duel Disk informed me before I talked to Rin that they've arrived in the city.'
"So, that means-!" screeched Soarnight in shock.
"Two more agents from Duel Academy have appeared in the Standard Dimension," confirmed Aren, nodding slightly. "And who better than a member of Duel Academy than to teach me how to Fusion Summon?"
{Next Chapter: Fusion Foes and Fusion Friends}
Aren finds Declan in the middle of a duel against the former's Fusion Dimension rival, Barrett! Before he can intervene, his accomplice, a girl named Celina who looks just like Lulu, Zuzu, and Rin, challenges him to a duel! As the duel unfolds, Celina quickly forces Aren on the defensive, and Declan reveals his secret history with Duel Academy!
Author's Note: Hello again, it's me. Yeah, contracting COVID-19 is not something I'd recommend, whether or not you end up being asymptomatic (thanks China for ruining the world). Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter - look forward to the next one releasing soon!
-S4S