Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V: Unity Between Dimensions

by Time Knight Leo

When Yuya unlocked the ability to Pendulum Summon, he'll soon find himself in the middle of an interdimensional conflict. With events already being different, such as a prior encounter with a girl named Rin, things are already changing bit by bit as Yuya hopes to show them what it means to duel. Hopefully without losing himself... (Cover image is currently a placeholder for now)

1. Part 1: Ready to Swing Into Action

Sooo... A brand new story... I know what you all are probably thinking: 'but what about your other story?'. Look, the thing is I tend to have bad cases of writer's block and especially lack of motivation. It's an annoying fact about me, and if you're starting to hate it since I've took so long to even do much of anything here, don't worry because I hate it just as much... As for the fact that I'm shifting gears to another story, well, it's because I also tend to have rotating interests. If you've checked my profile, you'd see that there are a good number of things that interests me, mainly video games. As such, I tend to rotate through them as I check things out either from YouTube videos, video games that I play, or fics that I read on this site. Don't get used to it, though. I really have no plans to post anymore stories outside of the two I've posted, and hopefully that won't change (for my sanity...).

Anyway, I suppose now's the good time to explain the premise of this story, and unlike my other story, this one isn't tied to another fic. This one is planned to be a sort of rewrite of the Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V anime with some differences spread throughout (yea, from one ambition fic to another. What is wrong with me...?). The biggest changes so far is that the 2 Bracelet Girls, Rin and Lulu, would not be captured by Yuri before the start of the story, instead being saved by one thing or another. In Lulu's case, she'd held her own long enough for Yuto and Shay to intervene, forcing Yuri to retreat since this was supposed to be a covert mission. In Rin's case, Yugo would have caught up to her and his Clear Wing Synchro Dragon card would have responded to Rin being in danger and warped her away to safety, where she'd be discovered by Yuya and Zuzu and taken in by the latter's family.

On the note of the second case, this does mean that Rin is already a You Show student at the start of this. I currently have no plans to show off how Yuya and Zuzu first meet Rin, but if you all want to, I could try to make a one-shot showing the events. However, don't hold your breath that I'd do it: I'm notoriously bad at heeding people's request combined with the issues labeled at the first paragraph.

With that said, the reason why I thought about posting this story (despite only having two parts completed by the time of this post) is because of the duels I've written. One of the plans for this story was to change and maybe even rewrite some of the duels in canon so that they'd play out... a bit different compared to in canon. This first major duel here is an example of this, being a bit different in the first half, but it's the second part's duel that's what prompt me to think about posting this due to how different it is compared to canon despite having some things that are similar. Thing is, I've read a good number of Yu-Gi-Oh fics here and, therefore, read a good number of custom duels. Many of the duels I've read were pretty good in my opinion, and it made me wonder if I could try writing out duels myself.

That being said, I was still hesitant to post this, not only because of the aforementioned issues but also because of one of my potential plans for this story. The thing is, one of my plans here is for Yuya to be with all four of the Bracelet Girls. Crazy, I know, but I've been thinking about how there hasn't really been a lot of fics shipping Yuya with a Bracelet Girl that's not named Zuzu. And I know I could've tried to limit to just one of the Bracelet Girls, but one is that the idea just wouldn't leave my head for whatever reason, and two is that I... do tend to think about crazy ideas, as evident in the fact my first story here is a three-way crossover between Pokémon, Digimon, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2, despite more focus going for the latter.

All that combined with the fact that I usually don't write romance due to my lack of confidence in writing them... Again, what is wrong with me...?

In any case, I hope you at least enjoy the first two parts to this crazy idea. The second part will hopefully be up later today, so until then, take care as I once again hope this doesn't turn into a train-wreck...

---

Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V
Unity Between Dimensions

Part 1: Ready to Swing Into Action

---

In a Japanese-inspired park, a duel was currently underway. On one side was a burly teen with a pompadour and wearing a white coat. In front of him were two mechanical samurai, one red and one blue. On the other side, standing on top of a gate, was another teen (though not as burly as the other) with red and green hair and wore a pair of goggles, a red shirt, a white coat wore like a cape, and a crystal-like pendant hung around his neck. Next to him was a pink hippo wearing a suit and top hat, and in front of them was a face-down card. Both teens had disks on their left arms that each had a hard-light blade extending outward.

"Alright, Yuya. It's time for Gong to go all out!" the burly teen, named Gong, called out, drawing a card from his Duel Disk, "Gong tributes Superheavy Samurai Blue Brawler and Superheavy Samurai Swordsman in order to summon his strongest monster in his arsenal!"

As he said, the two mechanical samurai burst into stars before an even bigger mechanical samurai appeared in their place, wearing black and orange armor and wielding a two-prong pitchfork.

"Meet Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei!" Gong yelled out as the new monster swung its pitchfork around, showing its dominance.

Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei/Level 8/ATK 1000/DEF 3500

"Big Benkei can switch to Defense Mode after being summoned," Gong continued as Big Benkei kneeled down, "And not only that, but it's capable of attacking even in Defense Mode using its Defense points to attack. It's time for you to show Gong what you got!"

Despite facing a behemoth of a monster, Gong's opponent, Yuya, doesn't looked too worried as he stretched his arms outward.

"Ladies! Gentlemen! And Gong. Time for you to feast your eyes on this performance!" he yelled out, hopping onto the hippo next to him as he activated something on his Duel Disk, "I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Hippo Carnival!"

The face-down card opened up, bringing out three female hippos of different colors and wearing festive dancing outfits.

"Hippo Carnival summons 3 Hippo Tokens in Defense Mode to be my assistants," Yuya explained, "And while they're out, they're the only monsters you can attack!"

Hippo Token x3/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0

With that, Yuya started dancing with the Hippo Tokens, much to Gong's annoyance.

"Yuya, we're supposed to be dueling, not dancing!" he called out.

Meanwhile, viewing the... action from another room was a pink haired girl wearing a sleeveless shirt, a maroon skirt, a pair of spherical hair clips, and a bracelet with a gem on it. Much like Gong, the girl wasn't too pleased with Yuya's performance.

"Yuya! You better take this duel seriously!" the girl shouted, slamming her fists on a machine across from her... which started short-circuiting and smoking. Realizing what was going on, the girl started panicking as a middle-aged, brown/orange haired man wearing a jumpsuit barged in, also in a panic.

"Zuzu!? What's going on!?" the man cried out, "We're supposed to treat the ARC System very delicately!"

Back on the field, Yuya was still dancing with the Hippo Tokens... until the area started fizzling out. Soon, the area disappeared as well as the monsters, leaving an open indoor room. Because Yuya was standing on a gate before it disappeared, he promptly fell down, much to his shock. Even Gong was surprised the area disappeared.

After the initial shock of the machine breaking down subsided, the girl returned to yelling at Yuya from the room's window. "Yuya, what do you have to say for yourself!?" she yelled, only to sigh seeing Yuya make a goofy face in response, "What am I going to do with you...?"

"I dunno, Zuzu, I think he's rather charming in his own way," said a new voice. The girl, revealed to be Zuzu, turned toward the door and saw another girl walking in. The girl had aqua-green hair and wore a blue and white jacket, thigh-high boots, and a bracelet with a gem on it much like Zuzu. Curious thing about her was she had the same exact face as Zuzu as well.

Zuzu response was to sigh. "You're much too soft on him, Rin," she responded, "I just wish he would take things seriously for once..."

---

Paradise City, a place that takes great pride in Dueling thanks to being the location of the Leo Corporation. It is thanks to the Leo Corporation that the world has developed the ARC System, short for Augmented Reality Combat System, allowing Real Solid Vision to be used. With Real Solid Vision, the monsters summoned are given mass and allow Duelists to interact with them. As such, a new form of dueling was formed called Action Duels, taking place in fully explorable areas constructed via the ARC System and utilizing Action Cards scattered around that Duelists can find and use.

Throughout Paradise City were a multitude of Duel Schools that teaches its students not only how to duel but also establishing a dueling style depending on the school. One such school was the You Show Duel School, founded by the pioneer of Action Duels, Yusho Sakaki, and currently led by its current principal, Skip Boyle. Though only five people enrolled in it, the school held three notable students.

The first was Yuya Sakaki, son of the school's founder and third strongest student in the school. When he was young, Yuya dreamed of becoming a 'Dueltainer' like his father, wishing to make people happy through his performances. However, his life had taken a turn for the worse once his father disappeared.

The second was Zuzu Boyle, daughter of the school's principal and second strongest student in the school. She was a childhood friend of Yuya and would often console him when he gets down. Though even she has limits to Yuya's tomfoolery.

And lastly, there was Rin Boyle, the strongest student in the school, and easily its most mysterious... In actuality, Rin was taken in by Skip and Zuzu after the latter and Yuya found her out cold in the middle of a park. She claimed she wasn't around these parts and were quite perplexed by the general area. She also claims she was being chased by someone before finding herself in the city. Though she had established herself into the rest of Zuzu's family quite nicely and had taken a liking to Yuya, much to Zuzu's annoyance, she still had a sense of sadness over being away from her home and possible friends, something that Yuya and Zuzu noticed.

All in all, these three students enjoy their time in You Show as it continues to stand even in spite of Yusho's disappearance. However, today may just challenge that.

"This is really bad!" the brown/orange haired man named Skip cried out, "Without our ARC System, this school'll go down the drain! Times like this makes me wish I was principal of a cooking school instead...!"

While Skip cried out over the state of the school, Yuya merely sigh in frustration as he placed his goggles over his eyes. "If that duel would have lasted longer, then I would have gotten to the best part..." he mumbled before being interrupted by Zuzu.

"The reason why this happened was because you were goofing around!" she yelled out in response, "If you haven't distracted me with that tomfoolery of yours, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"You sure about that, Zuzu?" Rin interjected, thinking Zuzu isn't entirely blameless, "You said it yourself; you were distracted by Yuya. Perhaps if you hadn't gotten worked up over your boyfriend, you wouldn't have damaged the ARC System."

That comment struck a nerve in Zuzu as she turned to her adoptive sister, a blush forming unbenounence to everyone but Rin. "Rin, who side are you on!? I would have been just fine if Yuya hadn't started making a mess of things again!" she retorted as Rin held her giggles, "And for that matter, he's not my boyfriend!"

Though Rin and Zuzu has become very close friends and enjoyed hanging out with each other, Rin does possess a mischievous side that tends to show up whenever Yuya's involved. More often than not, she likes to tease Zuzu about her obvious crush on the Dueltainer-in-training, not helped by Zuzu's own thoughts that Rin could be developing a crush of her own toward Yuya. Despite all that, it's ultimately all harmless, something Zuzu knows, though it still sometime gets under her skin.

Yuya was just about to walk away from another of their arguments/teasings, only to bump straight into Gong, the duelist he was dueling prior to the ARC System malfunctioning. Though Gong doesn't go to You Show, being from the Strong Dojo that teaches the Heavystrong style, he's still a childhood friend of Yuya and, by extension, Zuzu, and often visits them at You Show. However, he doesn't look too pleased with Yuya right now.

"Yuya, why must you turn everything into a joke?" Gong chided Yuya, "Gong told you time and again that you need to step up your Dueling style!"

Yuya removed his goggles as he faced Gong with a chuckle. "I don't think there's anything wrong with how I duel," he responded, "So long as the audience is entertained, I'm not complaining."

"Yuya, how the audience is entertained is the problem!" Gong retorted, startling the Dueltainer-in-training, "You need to learn that there's a difference between someone laughing with you and someone laughing at you!"

With that, Gong turned toward a poster on the wall depicting Yusho, Yuya's father. "Yusho is the kind of duelist that takes great pride in making people smile. He always makes the audience amazed and makes his duels spectacular!" he reminded before turning back towards Yuya with a glare, "Your duels, on the otherhand, are an embarrassment!"

"I hear ya, I hear ya," Yuya responded half-heartedly, "Though you have to admit, a couple of his duels were embarrassing as well..."

That had the opposite effect than what he was expecting as Gong, Zuzu, and even Rin yelled in response. "Yuya!"

Before things could escalate further, a nearby door opened up, revealing a man wearing a yellow suit and tie. "Hope I'm not intruding, but..." he started before noticing the tense atmosphere in the room, "... Er, is there something amiss...?"

Skip hand-waved the situation, not wanting to continue the argument any longer. "Nothing to worry about," he informed, "Anyway, who are you?"

"Oh, sorry about that," the man apologized for no introducing himself, "My name is Nico Smiley, commentator of major league duels here in Paradise City. I'm also the manager and promoter of the current Action Duel champion, The Sledgehammer."

"Not the Sledgehammer!" Yuya reacted with shock, with the others also having shocked faces.

"Yes indeed. Strong Ishijima, who goes by the moniker 'The Sledgehammer'." Nico confirmed, "He's set to host an exhibition duel for Fan Appreciation Day tomorrow, and I've been sent here because he's chosen his opponent for this duel: Yuya Sakaki."

If they were shocked about Nico's connection with Strong, they're even more shocked by the challenge. "M-me!?" Yuya yelped in surprise, "W-why me!?"

"Don't you know? It has to do with what happened three years ago," Nico informed, prompting Yuya to adopt a solomn face as he thought about what happened.

---

(Flashback)

Inside a large stadium, the crowd was going wild, though not in a good way. There was going to be a championship duel between the founder of Action Duels and current champion, Yusho Sakaki, and his challenger to the title, Strong Ishijima. However, while Strong is prepped to duel, Yusho was nowhere to be found.

"Wh-what's going on!?" the announcer, Nico, wondered, "Where has Yusho Sakaki gone!? If he doesn't make an appearance soon, he'll be forced to forfeit the match and his title to Strong Ishijima!"

Everyone was getting impatient and irritated, but none more than Strong. "Where is he!?" he yelled out in rage, "Don't tell me he chickened out!"

Despite Strong not wanting to believe it, the crowd was thinking otherwise, believing Yusho was too scared to face Strong. They started jeering and booing over Yusho's 'disappearing act', calling him a coward. Not taking the insults lying down, a young Yuya rushed down to bottom of the audience stands.

"My dad is no coward! He'll be here soon!" he cried out in desperation, "Duel me instead! I'll duel you until dad's gets here!"

However, he was ultimately pulled away from the edge by his mother. And through it all, the crowd continues throwing insult after insult toward the disappeared Dueltainer...

---

As Yuya thought about what occurred before, everyone else worried about how he must be feeling. Even Rin was worried, despite not being around during that time and was only told what occurred by Yuya and Zuzu.

"After the match was forfeited, Strong Ishijima was crowned the new champion, gaining the moniker, 'The Sledgehammer', but he feels he hasn't truly earned his title," Nico informed the group, pulling out a poster advertising the duel between the Sledgehammer and Yuya, "That is why he has issued a challenge to you, Yuya. He felt that the only way he'll prove himself stronger than Yusho is by defeating his son in a duel."

Nico then faced Yuya. "Don't you see, Yuya? This is your big chance to prove yourself and your father," he continued, gaining Yuya's attention, "Just like how this is the Sledgehammer's chance to prove himself stronger than Yusho, this is your chance to prove that your father was the great duelist everyone believed he was!"

Before Yuya even had a chance to decide, Skip intervened. "I'm sorry, but that's not happening!"

Nico was surprised by the answered. "W-why not!?" he frantically questioned, "If Yuya participate, this would be great publicity for both Yusho and his school!"

"Publicity, my foot!" Skip retorted with a glare, "You just want an excuse to humiliate Yuya and his father even further! Yusho's disappearance left a bad impact toward Yuya. I will not let his life be ruined further by you or this 'Sledgehammer'!"

Yuya stared at Skip in shock as the latter stood up. "Nico Smiley, I'll have to ask you to leave."

Nico droop his head down in disappointment at Skip's statement. "Well, that is unfortunate news. You would have benefitted from this," he informed, "Not only would you have free publicity, but the Leo Corporation would have sent their newest ARC System model as a thank you."

Hearing that, however, caused Skip to stumble. "The newest ARC System model!?" he yelled in response, only to be hit by a large paper fan courtesy of Zuzu.

"Dad, don't you dare back out of your word!" Zuzu called out, much to Skip's discomfort. While that was going on, Yuya stood up and began walking away unbenounence to everyone else except Rin, who stared at Yuya in confusion.

"You didn't have to break out that fan, Zuzu..." Skip wept in response, "That new ARC System could probably save this school..."

"Instead of thinking about this school, how about thinking about Yuya!" Zuzu retorted. Just then, Nico's eyes widen, noticing something off.

"Zuzu's right," Gong added, "Yuya has been through too much since his father disappeared. Now more than ever we need to make sure Yuya is alright!"

"A valiant statement, but there's just one problem..." Nico nervously interjected, "... Yuya seemed to have disappeared."

Hearing that, everyone else frantically looked around. "Wha!? Where's Yuya gone!?" Gong wondered.

"Rin's gone too!" Zuzu added, not seeing her adoptive sister around either, "Where did they go!?"

---

In another location within Paradise City, Yuya sat on a railing at the edge of a bridge, gazing towards the stadium despite his goggles covering his eyes. He pulled out his pendant and held it between him and the stadium as it swung around like a pendulum. As he held the pendant, Yuya thought about his father and the advise he would usually bring.

"No matter how bad things get, life will eventually swing my way..." Yuya reminisce about his father, "... Just like a pendulum..."

As Yuya continues to reminisce, a voice broke him out of his thoughts. "So this is where you were going."

Yuya turned to where the voice came from and saw Rin approaching him. "Rin..." he spoke softly, removing his goggles from his eyes.

Rin soon joined Yuya on the railing, gazing at the stadium with him. "So, thinking about Nico's proposal?" she asked.

"Kinda, but I was moreso thinking about my father," Yuya admitted.

"Your father, huh..." Rin spoke, "I've heard great things about your father from both you and Zuzu, even in spite of what happened before... Makes me wish I could have met him..."

"I'm sure you would've liked him, Rin," Yuya replied with a smile before going back to reminiscing, "I've just been thinking about what he might say in this situation."

Rin turned back to Yuya as he held up his pendant, back to swinging like a pendulum. "He would sometimes give me advice whenever I'd be down and all around console me," he continued, "One of the big things he would say is that life was like a pendulum; no matter how bad things get, life will eventually swing my way."

"Really?" Rin replied in curiosity. Yuya turned back toward Rin.

"Of course, that's if I could believe in myself," he added, "So long as I believe in myself, I'd be able to swing my life around."

"Believe in yourself... and swing your life around..." Rin repeated, taking in what was said.

With that, the two returned to gazing at the stadium. They sat there in silence until Rin spoke.

"Funny, I followed you in hopes of consoling you, but seems you've already done a good job of that on your own," she said, smiling at the Dueltainer-in-training, "So, does that mean you've decided on what to do?"

Yuya turned toward Rin and gave his own smile. "Yup. I know exactly what to do," he answered, prompting Rin to face him again, keeping her smile.

"Well, whatever happens, know I'll support you all the way," she assured, "Me and the others."

Yuya nodded, never losing his smile.

---

The very next day, the stadium was packed with people excited to see the coming duel. The quote-on-quote 'grudge match' between Ishijima and Sakaki. Strong Ishijima, 'The Sledgehammer' and current Action Duel champion, up against Yusho Sakaki's son, Yuya Sakaki.

After their talk together, Yuya and Rin returned to You Show to inform Nico that Yuya will take part in the duel. Though the others were hesitant about this, Rin reassured that everything will be alright. In the end, they could only hope Rin was right.

We now see people close to Yuya rushing up to the edge of the audience stands to get a good view of the action. Zuzu gazed to the field in worry over Yuya while Rin was more confident. Skip was excited about the match and the ensuring ARC System installed in the school. And Gong merely crossed his arms, keeping his cool compared to the others.

"Alright, everyone! It's the moment you've all been waiting for!" Nico announces from the center of the arena, "The Duel of the Decade is about to begin! The Sledgehammer, Strong Ishijima, the current Action Duel Champion, now faces off against the sole son of the former champion, Yusho Sakaki. Yuya Sakaki!"

The crowd goes wild for the match. Meanwhile, Zuzu still looked a bit worried.

"Do you think Yuya will actually show up?" she wondered.

"Don't you worry about your boyfriend, Zuzu!" Rin assured, earning a frustrated blush from Zuzu, "I'm sure he'll make it."

"Gong agrees. This isn't something that Yuya would just miss out on," Gong agreed with Rin. Zuzu gave a slight nod before turning back towards the arena.

"Yea, Zuzu! Yuya will get here and win this!" Skip excitedly added, "And then we'll get that brand new ARC System!"

That last comment only rewarded Skip with a smack from Zuzu's paper fan. "Will you stop thinking about that ARC System for just a few minutes!?"

Back at the arena, Nico held up a special card as he continues. "For duels against the Sledgehammer, only one Action Field will suffice, and that would be 'Castle of Chaos'!"

With the activation of the card, the ARC System below the arena activated, constructing solid holograms of various trees and a few stone spires, and in the middle of the arena stood a large stone castle.

"With the stage all set, it's time to introduce our duelists!" Nico announces, gesturing toward the top of the castle, "The current Action Duel Champion, reigning for three years! You know him as 'The Sledgehammer' ready to slam his hammer on any unfortunate opponents that dares faces him! The king of the Castle of Chaos itself, Strong Ishijima!"

As the crowd cheer on, Strong revealed himself at the top of the castle. With gladiator-like armor, he sure looks like a competitor to watch out for. With the champion introduced, Nico turned toward the arena's entrance.

"And his challenger! The sole son of the former champion, Yusho Sakaki," Nico continued, "He trains in the You Show Duel School in hopes of becoming a Dueltainer like his father, and now fights to prove his father was no coward! Give it up for Yuya Sakaki!"

As the crowd cheered even more, none moreso than Skip, Nico noticed something wrong. He stared at the entrance, yet saw no one coming out.

"Wait a moment..." Nico interjected, causing the crowd to go silence, "W-where's Yuya? He should have gotten here by now..."

Everyone was shocked that Yuya hasn't shown up, especially those closest to him. Skip started freaking out, Gong merely raised an eyebrow, Zuzu was getting even more worried, and even Rin, who was the most confident that Yuya would show, was starting to look worried herself.

Soon, however, the crowd started booing at the disappeared Dueltainer-in-training. This was starting to be a repeat of Yusho's disappearance!

"Did this 'Yuya' ran away from the Sledgehammer like a coward!?"

"This is the same stunt Yusho pulled years ago!"

"Like father, like son, am I right!?"

Zuzu was starting to get frustrated at all the jeering. "Now wait just a minute!" she called out, "Yuya may be a goofball, but he's no-!"

Before she could say anymore, she was stopped by her adoptive sister. "Zuzu, snapping at the audience may not be such a good idea!" she warned.

Meanwhile, back at the top of the Castle of Chaos, Strong was also showing signs of frustration.

"Where has he gone...? This was not what I had in mind!" he spoke to himself, "I thought for sure that Yusho would have shown up if I brought his son into this..."

As he spoke to himself, he failed to notice that a clown has appeared behind him, though some of the audience started noticing. Even more of the audience began noticing the clown once he started making funny faces behind the Sledgehammer. Soon, even Yuya's friends noticed the clown, with Zuzu being none too amused by his antics.

"Oh, don't tell me..." she commented in embarrassment, even more once Rin started giggling.

Soon, the crowd started shouting at the Sledgehammer to look behind him. He did, and only then did he notice the clown making a funny face right in his face.

"Wha!?" Strong yelped as the clown leaped backward, "Since when did the circus came to town!?"

"Oh, don't mind me," the clown replied with a bow, "Just providing some comedy-relief for my opponent."

When the clown mentioned 'opponent', that's when Strong realized something. "So, you're Yuya!?"

"In the flesh!" the clown answered, pulling out his head accessories, revealing himself as Yuya, much to the crowd's shock, "Sorry if I was rude before, so to make it up to you, how about we get this duel underway!"

With that, Yuya activated his Duel Disk, causing a hard-light blade to appear. Soon, Strong did the same.

"I was hoping you'd show up, son of Sakaki!" Strong admitted, "Ever since that 'performance' Yusho pulled years ago, I've never felt more cheated in my life! I've trained in hopes to finally face off against Yusho and to see which of us was stronger. But all I got in return was a disappearing act and an empty title!"

Strong slammed his foot down as he spoke. "Until I can prove that I'm stronger than Yusho, I'll never be satisfied. And if I have to take down his son to prove it, then so be it!"

"We'll see about it!" Yuya responded as he and Strong drew five cards starting out.

"Seems like both duelists are eager to get the show on the road!" Nico exclaimed as the crowd cheered for the upcoming duel, their distain for Yuya's stunt all-but-forgotten, "Despite the setback, we are now ready to kick it into gear!"

With that, Nico stepped off of the Action Field as a swarm of Action Cards appeared over the arena in a ball. Nico prepared to snap his fingers and start off the duel.

"As this duel goes underway, both duelists will kick across the earth and fly through the air with their monsters!" he announces to the audience, "Keep your eyes peeled as they battle in the newest evolution of Dueling! It's time for the Action Duel to begin!"

With that, he snapped his fingers, prompting the storm of Action Cards to scatter onto the arena before.

"Ladies and gentlemen! It's now time to..."

"DUEL!"

Yuya LP: 4000/Hand: 5
Strong LP: 4000/Hand: 5

"Since you're the challenger, I'll let you go first," Strong informed, "Just know that it won't be long before I pummel you!"

"Well, before that can happen, it's just about time for my first performance," Yuya responded, rushing toward the nearby zip line, "For my first act, watch as I make a grand castle escape!"

With that, Yuya grabbed onto the zip line and started heading down and away from the Sledgehammer, much to his and the audience shock.

"And helping out with my escape is Performapal Hip Hippo!" Yuya added, summoning his first monster, which turns out to be the same hippo that was with him during his duel with Gong.

Performapal Hip Hippo/Level 3/ATK 800/DEF 800

Yuya let go of the zip line and landed on Hip Hippo as it ran through the forest with its new rider. However, the audience didn't take too kindly to the 'performance'.

"Hey, what's going on!? I thought he was dueling, not running away!"

"Maybe he should grow some wings to fly like the chicken he is!"

Yuya's friends were also startled by this turn of events, none moreso than Zuzu.

"Urrgg, I knew letting Yuya duel was a mistake!" she commented.

"Yuya should be facing the Sledgehammer head on! Not turning tail and run!" Gong added.

Despite the friends' protest, Rin had doubts about the whole situation. "I dunno guys..."

Back at the castle, Strong glared at the retreating Yuya. "You may think you can run, but I won't let another opponent run away. Not again!" he called out as he draws a card. He noticed what card he drew, but withheld from using it.

'I could use this monster to pummel the kid immediately, but no,' Strong thought as he stared at his cards, 'First, lets see if his skills even compare to Yusho...'

"First off, I'll activate the spell, Cost Down!" he called out as he placed down his spell card onto his duel disk, "With this, all monsters in my hand has their Level lowered by 2."

Yuya took notice of what he said. 'What's he planning?'

"Next, I activate Double Summon!" he continued, placing down another spell card, "Now I can make two normal summons for this turn!"

With that, he grabbed two more cards and prepared to use them. "And I know just the two monsters I'll summon..." he finishes as he slammed them on the disk, "Come on out, Lava Battleguard and Swamp Battleguard!"

With the Sledgehammer's command, two beastial warriors appeared on either side, one reddish and one green. They both leaped off the castle to chase after Yuya and Hip Hippo.

Lava Battleguard/Level 5/ATK 1550/DEF 1800
Swamp Battleguard/Level 5/ATK 1800/DEF 1500

"Amazing! The Sledgehammer has already summoned his prized Battleguards!" Nico commentated, "Does this mean he's bringing out his ace!?"

"I won't need my ace to bring this kid down!" Strong interjected, much to Nico's shock, "Especially since my Battleguards gain 500 Attack just for fighting alongside each other!"

Lava Battleguard/ATK 1550 - 2050
Swamp Battleguard/ATK 1800 - 2300

"Now, Swamp Battleguard, crush Yuya's hippo!" Strong commanded.

The green Battleguard rushed toward Hip Hippo, ready to smash it with its mace. However, Yuya, still riding on Hip Hippo, grabbed a nearby card.

"You're gonna have to be quicker than that, Strong!" Yuya called out, using the card he grabbed, "I activate the Action Spell, Evasion, to dodge your attack!"

As informed, Hip Hippo effortlessly dodged Swamp Battleguard's attack, wowing the crowd. Strong, however, was unamused.

"So, you can use Action Cards effectively, even if it's only to escape the action," he commented, "But a professional Duelist can go beyond that! Lava Battleguard, finish what Swamp Battleguard started and crush that hippo!"

The reddish Battleguard chased after Hip Hippo. Yuya looked around and soon grabbed another Action Card, but just as he activated it, Lava Battleguard slammed its mace onto Hip Hippo and Yuya, covering the area in dust.

"Lava Battleguard managed to strike down Hip Hippo!" Nico commented, only to be surprised when Yuya, still riding on Hip Hippo, emerged from the dust cloud, "Wait! Yuya's monster managed to escape!"

"Yea, but just barely," Yuya added as a screen showed him activating another Action Card, "I activated Miracle, which saved my Hip Hippo and reduced the damage by half."

Yuya LP: 4000 - 3475

Needless to say, the crowd cheered for Yuya's escape, a far cry from their earlier attitudes. Skip and Rin were among those cheered, but Zuzu and especially Gong weren't convinced.

"Yuya can keep himself in this duel, but he needs to start fighting back instead of clowning around," Gong commented with his arms crossed.

"He is fighting back, in his own way," a voice spoke. The quartet turned back toward the entrance to see a middle-aged, yet still visibly youthful, woman with blond hair in a zigzag style.

"Yoko?" Skip called in bemusement toward the woman, who's revealed to be Yuya's mother.

"You may think that Yuya is just clowning around, but there's a deeper meaning in what he does," Yoko explains, "Ever since his father's disappearance, Yuya's been hiding behind a mask of a clown, so to say. He would much rather make fun of himself before giving others a chance to do so."

She walked towards the railings to get a better view of the arena. "He admires his father, and wanted to become just like him. And now he has a chance to prove to everyone his skill in entertainment."

Back on the field, Strong was annoyed that Yuya managed to avoid two attacks in a row.

"You think you're clever with your little trek, huh?" he called out, "We'll see about that soon enough. I'll lay one card face down and end my turn."

Yuya LP: 3475/Hand: 4
Strong LP: 4000/Hand: 1

With Yuya's turn starting, he drew a new card, still riding on Hip Hippo. Seeing the card he drew, he smirked.

"Alright, time for the next act!" he proclaimed, "And starting things off is our next assistant, Performapal Friendonkey!"

Another monster has appeared next to Hip Hippo, this one being a donkey carrying a pair of boxes on either side.

Performapal Friendonkey/Level 3/ATK 1600/DEF 600

"And now that Friendonkey has joined the show, he's allowed bring along another Performapal friend!" he continued as he lay another card on his Duel Disk, "So come on out Performapal Silver Claw!"

Yet another monster appeared and joined with the other 2 Performapals. This one was a silver wolf wearing a blue, fluffy cuff with chains and a bowtie.

Performapal Silver Claw/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 700

The Sledgehammer was unimpressed by the new monsters. "What exactly can they do against my tag-teaming Battleguards?" he questioned.

Despite the challenge, Yuya did not falter. "You'll about to find out now because I'm having Silver Claw attack Lava Battleguard!" he responded, much to everyone's shock as Silver Claw rushed toward the reddish warrior.

"Are you mad!?" Strong retorted, "Your wolf will kill itself!"

"That's where you're wrong, Sledgehammer," Yuya retorted back, never losing his smirk, "If Silver Claw attacks, all Performapals I have out gain 300 Attack, including himself!"

Performapal Silver Claw/ATK 1800 - 2100
Performapal Friendonkey/ATK 1600 - 1900
Performapal Hip Hippo/ATK 800 - 1100

"What!?" Strong yelled in surprise.

Silver Claw's metalic claws sharpened up and shredded Lava Battleguard apart, leaving its swamp counterpart alone.

Strong LP: 4000 - 3950

"No! Without Lava Battleguard, Swamp Battleguard's boost goes away!" Strong exclaimed in worry.

Swamp Battleguard/ATK 2300 - 1800

"Yup, and that means your second Battleguard is ripe for the picking!" Yuya added, shoving his arm towards the direction of the remaining Battleguard, "Friendonkey, give our remaining party crasher a hardy headbutt!"

Friendonkey did just that and, with Silver Claw's boost still active, headbutted Swamp Battleguard so hard it exploded.

Strong LP: 3950 - 3850

"And now the fields wide open!" Yuya finished as he hopped off of Hip Hippo, the crowd continuing to cheer, "Meaning Hip Hippo can now attack you directly! Go, Hip Hippo!"

Hip Hippo leaped up to strike Strong at the top of the castle. Before the attack could connect, Strong sneered.

"I won't even give you a chance! I activate Counter Gate!" he exclaimed, activating his face down, "With this, your direct attack is negated!"

A portal appeared in front of Strong and blocked Hip Hippo's attack, pushing it back towards Yuya.

"Then, I'm allow to draw a card," he continued, drawing a card and taking a look at it, "If it was a monster, I would have been able to summon it, but it appears you were lucky."

The portal that stopped Hip Hippo's attack blew apart, unable to summon a monster. Yuya sighed at that before getting back on Hip Hippo. "In that case, I'll end my turn," he said as he rode back into the forest, his other monsters following behind.

Performapal Silver Claw/ATK 2100 - 1800
Performapal Friendonkey/ATK 1900 - 1600
Performapal Hip Hippo/ATK 1100 - 800

At the stands, Yuya's friends and mother continue to watch the duel unfold. Skip, Zuzu, and Rin stared at the action with baited breath, and even Gong was having trouble keeping his composer. The only one still calm was Yoko.

"See what I mean?" Yoko continued her discussion from earlier, "There's more to Yuya than just clowning around, and it's all thanks to what he learned from his father."

Rin took in what Yoko said as she stare at the hippo-riding Yuya. Just then, she began noticing that Yuya was twisting his head back and forth. Almost as if... he's searching for something.

'Wait... Could it be...?' Rin wonder in thought.

Back on the arena, Strong started his turn as he drew another card. "I must admit, Yuya. You've proven more capable than I thought," he admitted, "So as a reward, I'll no longer hold back!"

As he announces this, he prepared to make his move. "I activate Feast of the Wild LV5!" he exclaimed, activating a new Spell Card, "This card allows me to summon up to 2 Level 5 Warrior-type monsters from my hand or graveyard, so I'm bringing back my two Battleguards!"

Two portals emerged from the Spell Card, bringing back Lava Battleguard and Swamp Battleguard.

Lava Battleguard/ATK 1550
Swamp Battleguard/ATK 1800

Yuya was shocked to see the two beastial warriors come back so easily. "There got to be a drawback to that, because otherwise that's just not fair!" he complained.

"It's just as you said, Yuya, as monsters summoned by this card have their effects negated. So my battling behemoths cannot gain their boosts like before," Strong informed, a large grin forming as he spoke, "But that won't matter as I'll be tributing them to bring out an even stronger behemoth!"

Yuya was even more shocked as the two Battleguards both turned into stars and formed a new portal into the ground.

"No forest can hide you, nor castle can protect you, from the chief of all wild savages!" Strong yelled out as an even larger monster emerged from the portal, "ALL HAIL BATTLEGUARD KING!"

The monster revealed itself to be a much, much larger red Battleguard wearing armor and wielding a much larger mace. With the portal's light disappearing, the monster roar with enough power to shake the arena.

Battleguard King/Level 8/ATK 3000/DEF 1100

"You think you're safe because you're protected by a wall of monsters? Well, think again!" Strong added, "Battleguard King lives for battle; since I tributed a Battleguard monster to summon it, it can attack twice per turn! Attack that puny wolf!"

With a massive swing of its mace, the king squash Silver Wolf into oblivion, pushing Yuya and Hip Hippo away with a shockwave.

Yuya LP: 3475 - 2275

"Now, Battleguard King, squash that annoying hippo!" Strong commanded again as the king ready its mace once more. Before it could connect, Yuya grabbed another Action Card.

"Action Spell, Battle Change!" he called out, "I can change the target to another monster I control! Protect us, Friendonkey!"

At Yuya's command, Friendonkey leaped into Battleguard King's swing, getting smacked away but stopping the attack from hitting Hip Hippo.

Yuya LP: 2275 - 875

The Sledgehammer growled at having been unable to destroy Hip Hippo once again. "So you hung on by a skin of your teeth and you've protected that annoying hippo," he commented, "Very well, but don't think you'll escape defeat so easily. I'm setting one card face down and ending my turn."

Yuya LP: 875/Hand: 3
Strong LP: 3850/Hand: 0

"Despite Yuya's tenacity, Strong was able to turn things around with his ace, Battleguard King!" Nico announces, "Can Yuya hope to come back from this!?"

The crowd wonder indeed as Yuya's friends became more worried for the Dueltainer-in-trainer. The only ones who weren't were Yoko, who still had a confident smile, and Rin, who continues to stare at Yuya as he rode through the forest.

"It's my turn!" Yuya called out as he drew a card. Seeing what card it was, he smiled as he directed Hip Hippo onto one of the arches surrounding the forest.

"Ladies and gentlemen, before we get to the main act, allow me to let you in on a secret," Yuya started, stepping off of Hip Hippo, "Hip Hippo here is unique in that he can be treated as two tributes if I Tribute Summon, so go on, Hip Hippo!"

With a smile, Hip Hippo leaped off the arch and burst into stars that starts to form a new monster.

"Now put your hands together and welcome... our main attraction!" he continued, getting the crowds excited, "One of the wonders of the dragon world, with beautiful dichromatic eyes, the spectacular Odd-Eyes Dragon!"

The stars formed a dinosauric dragon with curved spikes on its back, large legs compared to the arms, a pair of gems on its chest, and as Yuya pointed out, different colored eyes, one red and one green. Yuya leaped off the arch and, removing the rest of his clown outfit and revealing his usual attire, landed on Odd-Eyes' back, grabbing hold of the curved spikes.

Odd-Eyes Dragon/Level 7/ATK 2500/DEF 2000

"It's showtime!" Yuya yelled out, catching the attention of those close to him. Skip and Zuzu suddenly became excited as Yoko continues to smile, already knowing what'll happen next.

"Still continuing to fight, huh?" Strong said, narrowing his eyes towards Yuya's own ace, "You'll learn soon enough that you're better off running off like a coward. Much like your father."

"My dad was no coward! He would have beaten you had you had that duel," Yuya retorted, looking more serious, "And to prove it, I'll win this using the skills he taught me!"

"And how do you plan to do that?" Strong responded, "Your dragon is no match for Battleguard King!"

"We'll see about that," Yuya replied with a smirk as he slot in a new card, "I activate the Spell Card, Wonder Balloons!"

Suddenly, a party box appeared in front of Battleguard King as Odd-Eyes Dragon rushed back into the forest. Yuya began grabbing as many Action Cards as he could find, slotting them into the graveyard as soon as he picks one up.

"Allow me to explain what Wonder Balloons does," Yuya called out as Odd-Eyes exited the forest and back to where Battleguard King was at, "For every card I've discarded, Wonder Balloons gains one counter. I've already discarded three Action Cards, so that three counters."

The box opened up, revealing three balloons floating around Battleguard King.

"And now by destroying Wonder Balloons itself, I can reduce the Attack of one monster I choose by 1000 for each counter it has. You can already guess this, but I'm choosing Battleguard King!"

With the box destroyed, the three balloons blew up, covering Battleguard from neck to toe in balloons. It was now a sitting duck!

Battleguard King/ATK 3000 - 0

Nico was amazed at that performance. "What a move! With clever use of Action Cards, Yuya has managed to zeroed out the Sledgehammer's ace!" he announces to the cheering audiences.

"We're only allowed to hold a single Action Card at any time," Strong informed, "So how was he able to pull that off so quickly?"

It was then he realized something. At the same time, Rin came to the same conclusion as Strong.

"He knew where all those Action Cards were!" she exclaimed, prompting Skip, Gong, and Zuzu to turned to Rin in surprised, "When it looked like he was clowning around in the forest, he was actually scoping out the locations of those cards! This must be what you meant, Yoko!"

Yoko nodded, glad that Rin understood.

"So that's how he was able to protect Hip Hippo so easily! And how he managed to get so many counters in Wonder Balloons!" Zuzu realized, an excited smile forming on her face, "Yuya might actually win this!"

"Clever little clown... You planned this from the beginning..." Strong commented to himself upon realizing what Yuya was really up to, "So this is Yusho's potential..."

Yuya stared at the cheering crowds and smiled. 'This must be what dad felt on stage...' he thought before turning back toward the Sledgehammer.

"The stage is set for my final act! Odd-Eyes Dragon, attack Battleguard King!" he commanded as the orbs on Odd-Eyes' chest began glowing, "Oh, I should mention that if Odd-Eyes destroys a monster by battle, you take damage equal to half of your monster's Attack!"

"Since Battleguard King has 3000 Attack normally, I'll take 1500 damage," Strong calculated, "Adding in Odd-Eyes Dragon's own Attack and that makes..."

At that, he gasped in surprise, fear showing up on his face.

"...4000!?"

"I'm ending this duel right now!" Yuya exclaimed as Odd-Eyes leaped into the air, "Odd-Eyes! Finish this in one blast! Spiral Flame!"

Odd-Eyes Dragon opened its mouth and unleashed a stream of fire toward the defenseless Battleguard King. The attack soon made contact, engulfing the area in smoke. Though it appears the outcome was obvious.

"Yuya won! Yuya won!" Skip cheered with the rest of the crowd as Zuzu, Rin, and even Gong cheered with him. Soon the smoke cleared revealing...

"Surprise!" Strong yelled out as Battleguard King was revealed to still be standing, albeit still trapped by balloons. The crowds, including Skip, Zuzu, Rin, Gong, and even Yoko, were surprised by this development, but none more so than Yuya.

"What happened!?" Zuzu questioned in shock, only to see a screen showing Strong next to a familiar Action Card.

"You're not the only one who can use Action Cards!" Strong exclaimed, sweat from his earlier fear still there, "In fact, I've had this one, Miracle, nearby just in case! You should be familiar with what this one can do."

Strong LP: 3850 - 2600

"I'll admit that I've underestimated you, Yuya. You're every bit as resourceful as I expected your father to be," he admitted, "This will ultimately make this duel all the more satisfying! I now activate Battleguard Rage! Since I took damage, I can have a Battleguard monster gain 2000 Attack!"

Battleguard King/ATK 0 - 2000

Yuya nervously groaned at the still-standing Battleguard. "I... end my turn," he said, dejectedly, "And that means... Wonder Balloons' effect ends as well..."

With newfound strength, Battleguard King burst out of the balloons, stronger than ever. Yuya guided Odd-Eyes Dragon back into the forest.

Battleguard King/ATK 2000 - 5000

"Yuya better do something quick, or it's all over!" Zuzu exclaimed in panic. Even Yoko was getting worried. Rin, meanwhile, closed her eyes and put her hands together near her chest.

'Yuya... Please make it through this...!' Rin prayed for Yuya's safety.

"You may hide, but there's no longer any escape! My turn!" Strong yelled, leaping off the toward and onto Battleguard King's open palm, as he drew a card, "Battleguard King, smash that overgrown lizard and end this Duel!"

Battleguard King began chasing after Odd-Eyes as Yuya nervously looks around. He soon found another Action Card and grabbed it, but it was too late as the king slammed its mace into Odd-Eyes, destroying it and sending Yuya flying into the ground.

"Yuya!" Yuya's friends yelled in fear, only to find that his Life Points were unharmed.

"What is the meaning of this?" Strong questioned as Yuya weakly stood up.

"Action Spell... Damage Banish..." he informed as he steady himself, "Any sort of battle damage... is negated..."

The Sledgehammer tched at that. "So you managed to survive another turn. As expected from someone with a knack for finding Action Cards," he said, "But it won't help you much from here on out. Though Odd-Eyes Dragon is sent to your hand due to Battleguard Rage, good luck bringing it out."

He then slotted a new card into his Duel Disk. "Since Battleguard King cannot attack again without monsters to target, I'll set one card and end it here."

Yuya LP: 875/Hand: 3
Strong LP: 2600/Hand: 0

"Draw your last card, Yuya," Strong urges, "I promise you it won't help you! You may be better off running away!"

"I'll stay and figh-" Yuya retorted, only to stop himself as he looked downward.

'What am I saying...? I don't have anything else that can help me here...' Yuya thought in sorrow, looking at his cards, 'Odd-Eyes Dragon and Stargazer Magician are too high leveled to bring out easily... Whip Snake's the only monster I have that can take out Battleguard King due to its ability, but it's not enough to finish off Strong...'

'Is this it...? Have I lost...?'

Seeing the sorrowful state Yuya's in, the quintet could only watch in worry. Rin was still praying that Yuya could make it through this, and Zuzu was also wishing for the same thing.

'Do I really have what it takes to inherit dad's legacy...?' Yuya continues to think to himself, 'Dad... What would you do in this situation...?'

It was then he remembered the talk he had with Rin, about how his father would always say that he could swing his life back his way only if he could believe in himself. Thinking back to his father's advice, he stood back up.

'Alright, Pendulum... You've swung his way... Now it's time to swing my way!' Yuya finishes his train of thought as he prepared to draw.

"It's my turn! DRAW!"

He drew his card so hard his pendant started swinging around, but interestingly enough, it also started glowing. Yuya was startled by the bright light, and even the audience was surprised by the light's appearance. Though Yuya was even more shocked to see light engulfing three of his cards. Stargazer Magician, Odd-Eyes Dragon, and the card he drew, Timegazer Magician.

"What's... happening...?" Yuya questioned as the three cards started transforming, turning from orange to half-orange, half-green and gaining an additional effect box with arrows on either side.

Yuya stared at the cards for a bit until, as if he suddenly knew what to do, faced ahead with determination, holding two of his transformed cards up.

"I'll use Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician to set the Pendulum Scale!" Yuya exclaimed, placing the two cards on the ends of his blade, "I'm taking control of this duel starting NOW!"

Suddenly, two pillars of light appeared on either side of Yuya, surprising the audience. Within them was a white garbed wizard wielding shielded staff in one pillar and a black garbed wizard wearing a special gauntlet in another. A hologram of Yuya's pendant appeared between the two pillars swinging around like a pendulum.

Stargazer Magician/Scale 1
Timegazer Magician/Scale 8

"I'm now allowed to Pendulum Summon monsters from Levels 2 to 7!" Yuya explained as the pendulum swung faster and faster, "Swing far, Pendulum! Carve the arc of victory! My monsters are ready... TO SWING INTO ACTION!"

A portal formed as the pendulum swung in a circle and from it, two lights emerged. Both lights hit the ground in a burst of light, revealing monsters. One was a purple cobra wearing a top hat and bowtie, and the other was Odd-Eyes Dragon... though it looks different.

The general appearance was the same, but it's gained a pair of horns that curved backward. Its two spikes were still there, but they're more pronounced and had a number of orbs. One spike had a single red orb while the other had two green orbs.

"Whip to it, Performapal Whip Snake!" Yuya exclaimed, "And turn up the heat, dragon with wondrous dichromatic eyesI Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

Performapal Whip Snake/Level 4/ATK 1700/DEF 900
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon/Level 7/ATK 2500/DEF 2000

The crowds was shocked to see such a development, but none more so than Yuya's friends and family.

"Pendulum... Summon?" Zuzu wondered, "How was Yuya able to do something like that...?"

"And Odd-Eyes Dragon..." Rin added, pointing out how different Yuya's ace looked, "What happened to it...?"

---

Meanwhile, within what appears to be a highly advanced moniter room, the staff was busy typing on their computers as multiple graphs were spiking up.

"Sir, we're detecting an unusual level of summoning energy!" one of the staff called out, "It's coming from the seafront of the city."

"Analyse the signal immediately!" what appears to be the head of the staff ordered as the others started working on pinpointing the signal.

After a bit, one of the staff found something. "We've managed to pinpoint the signal," she informed, "According to our readings, it appears to be... Pendulum Energy."

"Pendulum Energy!?" the boss cried out in surprise, "How's that possible!? We've never encountered anything like this!"

---

Back at the arena, everyone was stunned silent over what Yuya has done. The Sledgehammer narrowed his eyes in shock that something like this happened.

"Summoning two monsters at once, one of them being Level 7!?" Strong exclaimed to himself, "Something like that has to be illegal!"

Just then, a holo screen showing Nico showed up over Strong's Duel Disk, also looking quite perplexed. "If it was illegal, the judges would have intervened by now!" he explained, "Whatever that trick was, it's considered legal as far as the Duel Disks are concerned."

The holo screen disappeared, leaving Strong even more perplexed. "Just what is this...!?"

"First off, I'll have Whip Snake hypnotize your Battleguard King into swapping it's Attack and Defense!" Yuya called out as Whip Snake swung its metronome tail and hypnotizing Battleguard King into kneeling.

Battleguard King/ATK 5000 - 1100/DEF 1100 - 5000

"Now then, let's try this again!" Yuya exclaimed, hopping onto his transformed Odd-Eyes, "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! It's time to give the Sledgehammer a blazing send-off!"

The newly christened Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon readied its attack, its eyes and orbs glowing brightly. Strong, however, isn't taking this sitting down.

"That won't work!" he said, activating his face down, "I activate Battleguard Howling! Because you tried to attack my Battleguard King, I can send that overgrown lizard back to your hand, and you'll take damage equal to its Attack!"

"Not happening!" Yuya retorted, gesturing his arm toward Timegazer Magician, "Timegazer Magician can rewind time to stop a Trap Card from activating! Infinity Gear Reverse!"

A metal board appeared from Timegazer Magician's gauntlet as it circled around to his other arm, appearing like a clockwork gear. A wave of temporal energy erupted from the gear and engulfed Strong's Trap Card, keeping it face down. He growled before leaping into the forest.

"If I can't stop you with traps, I'll do so with spells!" he exclaimed as he grabbed an Action Card, "I'll use Evasion to dodge your attack!"

"That won't work either!" Yuya retorted again, this time gesturing his arm toward Stargazer Magician, "Stargazer Magician can neutralize the power of Spells, sealing them off! Halting Horoscope!"

Stargazer Magician held his staff forward, tracing a constellation outline and launching a wave of spatial energy towards Strong's Action Card, sealing its power away just like his trap. He couldn't believe his eyes; he can't stop Yuya's attack!

"Now then, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! With your dual-colored eyes, lay waste to all that you see!" Yuya commanded in determination, "Spiral Flame Strike!"

All charged up, Odd-Eyes unleashed a massive flame blast from its mouth towards Battleguard King. The king attempted to intercept the blast with its mace, holding it back.

"Even if Battleguard King goes out, I can just block your snake's attack with another Action Card!" Strong exclaimed, "Then I'll finish you off next turn!"

"There won't be a next turn, Strong!" Yuya retorted, surprising the Sledgehammer, "If Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon battles a Level 5 or higher monster, the damage you take is doubled!"

"D-Doubled!?" Strong cried in shock and fear.

"Finish this, Odd-Eyes! Reaction Force!"

At Yuya's command, Odd-Eyes turned up the intensity of its attack as it soon overpowered Battleguard King's mace and engulfed the monster in a blaze of glory, causing it to explode and launching Strong into the ground. This time, the results was clear...

Strong LP: 2600 - 0
WINNER: YUYA!

With the duel over, the ARC System powered down, removing the Action Field and monsters and reverting the area back to a plain arena. Despite the duel ending, the crowd continues to watch in astonished silence. Even Yuya's friends and family didn't know what to say.

Zuzu was ultimately the one to break the silence. "Did... Did Yuya just won...?"

"I... I think he just did..." Rin answered, equally shocked.

In the end, it was Skip that cried out in excitement. "YES! Yuya won! Woohoo!"

Back on the arena, Yuya stood there for a bit before he blinked, almost as if he was in a trance. He looked around, confused, before noticing Strong lying on the ground, defeated.

"Huh...? Strong?" Yuya said in bemusement, "Did I... win...?"

"That you did!" Yoko called out, catching Yuya's attention as he turned toward his cheering friends, "You managed to win the duel in your father's honor!"

"You were amazing, Yuya!" Zuzu congratulated.

"You may just be the best Duelist I've met!" Rin added.

"Gong's sure that if Yusho was here, he'd be proud!" Gong finished. Hearing all of that got Yuya smiling as the crowd now cheered for his victory.

Soon, the Sledgehammer got back up and stared at Yuya. "Impossible... How was he able to pull off that win...?" he questioned, only to be knocked back down by a rushing Nico.

"Fantastic duel, Yuya! That was a wonderous performance!" Nico praised the Dueltainer-in-training, who could only scratch his head in embarrassment from all the praise, "The way you continuously push the Sledgehammer to the corner with your Silver Claw's boost, your attempted one-turn kill, and then your spectacular summoning method! You have got to tell us all about this brand new... Pendulum Summon, you called it?"

Only hearing the last part was what caused Yuya to stiffen. "Pendulum... Summon?"

---

Within an office at the Leo Insitute tower, a young man walked in and sat behind his desk. He had silver hair and wore a pair of glasses and a red scarf. With him was a black-suited man wearing sunglasses.

"Have you identified the cause of the new energy surge, Claude?" the silver-haired man questioned the suited man.

"We have, Mr. President. The readings was revealed to have come from this boy," Claude answered, activating a large flat-screen moniter showing Yuya's picture and information, "His name is Yuya Sakaki. Fourteen years. Paradise City Prep School in eighth-grade. He duels in the Junior division and his duel records aren't anything special."

The president stared at the information. "His win/loss ratio is 50/50 at best..." he commented, "What duel school does he go to?"

"That would be the You Show Duel School," Claude informed, "Like Yuya, it isn't anything too special."

The president raised an eyebrow, finding the info intriguing. "You Show Duel School..." he repeated, "That would be the school Yusho Sakaki formed."

"Indeed," Claude nodded, "Yuya appears to be Yusho's son."

"Yusho Sakaki disappeared three years ago, and now his son shows up with an unknown summoning method," the president said, wondering if there is a connection as the screen shows Nico interviewing Yuya.

Soon, the president stood up from his desk and turned to Claude. "Perform a background check on Yuya Sakaki," he ordered, "Find out everything you can about this Pendulum Summoning, no matter how trival."

"As you wish," Claude accepted before exiting the office.

---

Over at You Show Duel School, a huge line of teens converged on the door, anxious to learn about the Pendulum Summoning Yuya had used. Two kids stared at the line in bemuse.

"Could they be enrolling in the You Show Duel School?" the overweight blonde boy question.

"Either that or they had our school mixed up for something else..." the red-haired girl commented.

Within the duel school, Zuzu was busy trying to keep the hoard of teens under control with signing them up.

"Keep in mind, you all, that it's not guaranteed that you'll enroll in this school," she informed, holding out a pair of application forms, "But if you can sign these application, I promise we'll take your requests into consideration."

Of course, with how many people there were, Zuzu was having a tough time keeping up. Just then, the two kids from before entered through the elevator and greeted Zuzu.

"Hey there, Zuzu!" the red-haired girl greeted, getting Zuzu's attention.

"Oh, Allie! Frederick!" Zuzu acknowledged the girl and boy respectively, "Has school let out early for you two?"

"We've been called here by Principal Boyle to help out with the chaos here," Frederick informed before looking around, "Where is Principal Boyle anyway?"

"My dad's busy with setting up the new ARC System model that came in thanks to Yuya's duel," Zuzu answered with a sweatdrop, "I think he wants to adopt it into our family..."

"I can just imagine him crying tears of joy at it," Allie commented with a smile, "And it's thanks to Yuya that our school was saved!"

"Yea! When he pulled off that Pendulum Summon, I was so excited I got the shivers!" Frederick added.

Zuzu smiled in response, glad that Yuya was able to accomplished this. Just then, a person from the crowd called out to her.

"So, is this the place to go to to learn about Pendulum Summoning?" he asked, prompting Zuzu to turned back to the crowd.

"We do plan to cover it, so if you'll just sign the forms, you'll be able to see how it's done!" she answered, holding the application forms up, only to be startled by the influx of new applicants.

'Man this is a lot of people...' Zuzu thought to herself nervously, 'At this rate, I won't be ready for the mock battle with Yuya...'

"If you're worried about Yuya's mock battle, then don't be."

Zuzu turned back toward the elevator to see that Gong and Rin just walked in. Gong looked mightily pleased, though Rin just looks a bit annoyed.

"You just leave it to Gong," Gong continued, "Gong'll fill in for you as Yuya's opponent."

"How about no?" Rin retorted, "This is meant to be Zuzu's duel, so she should be allowed to duel Yuya."

"Rin's right! Besides, you don't even go here, Gong!" Allie added as she and Frederick glared at Gong.

"You are bad for business. Off you go," Frederick finishes as he and Ally started to push Gong back into the elevator, much to Gong's exasperation.

"But Gong wanted to duel!" he tried to retorted, only to be shoved into the elevator by the two kids. Rin soon approached Zuzu with a smile.

"I can handle the people here, Zuzu," she informed, "You go get ready for your duel."

Zuzu smiled at Rin's offer. "Thanks, Rin," she thanked her adoptive sister.

"Hey, that's what sisters are for," Rin responded with a wink. Zuzu nodded and prepared to head off, but not before noticing someone within the crowd. It was a boy around Ally's and Frederick's ages with blue hair.

"I've seen you around this school before..." Zuzu recognized the boy, getting his attention, "Are you here to watch Yuya's duel?"

Hearing that, the boy smiled and nodded. Soon, all the applicants were taken care of by Rin and they soon find themselves in a hallway overlooking the duel arena. Skip was done looking over the ARC System and was currently giving a speech to the group.

"Listen up, everyone! This is the duel school where we teaches Action Duels and the essence of Dueltaining!" he started, "The concept of Dueltaining was started up thanks to our founder, Yusho Sakaki, which came from the new evolution of dueling started by the Leo Corporation's ARC System. It was thanks to the ARC System that Action Duels were realized, their potential fully revealed later thanks to Yusho."

As Skip continued on, the crowd started getting bored, wondering when they'll get to learn about Pendulum Summoning. Just then...

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Yuya called out from the duel arena like a performer, prompting the crowd to ignore the embarrassed Skip and gaze into the arena, "Allow me to welcome you all to the Yuya Spectacular!"

Suddenly, Yuya was smacked in the head by Zuzu's paper fan. "This isn't all about you, Yuya!" she yelled in frustration, "I'm a part of this duel too!"

Some of the crowd didn't take too kindly to what Zuzu did and started booing her off the arena, further increasing her frustration.

"So you think I'm the villain here, huh...?" she commented, losing her cool, "In that case, that's just what I'll be!"

She then pointed right toward Yuya. "Yuya Sakaki! You may think you're a hot shot now," she called out, getting into the villainous role, "But I'll make sure to knock you right off your pedestal!"

Yuya was confused by how Zuzu was acting, only for the latter to slip toward him and whisper into his ear. "It's called improvising. Just play along..."

Yuya figured out what's going on and leaped back, playing along with the roles. "You... you must be the Sledgehammer's sidekick!"

Zuzu was caught off guard by what Yuya just said. "The Sledgehammer's... sidekick!?" she cried out. 'I know I told you to improvise, but this wasn't what I had in mind!'

"You think you can get revenge for Strong Ishijima, but I'll beat you the same way I beat the Sledgehammer; with Pendulum Summoning!" he added, getting into a heroic role. Zuzu, however, was getting more frustrated with all this going on.

Meanwhile, within the ARC System control room, Allie, Frederick, Gong, and Rin was watching the scene unfold, with Gong handling the ARC System's controls.

"Wow, those two are really rallying the crowds!" Frederick commented.

"Yeah, but I get the feeling Zuzu's won't appreciate this too much..." Rin added with a sweatdrop, noticing Zuzu's frustration.

"Hurry up, Gong, and set up an Action Field!" Allie called out to Gong in excitement.

Gong stared at the keyboard in irritation. "Why must Gong handle this neuance...?" he questioned before activating the ARC System.

Back in the arena, both Yuya and Zuzu prepared to duel as the duel field materialized, turning the room into an open plain with a few trees, some streams of water, and a stone stage right in the middle.

"Are you ready, Yuya!?" Zuzu called out to the Dueltainer-in-training.

"As ready as I'll ever be!" Yuya responded with a smile, "It's time to..."

"DUEL!"

Yuya LP: 4000/Hand: 5
Zuzu LP: 4000/Hand: 5

"Hope you don't mind me going first," Yuya said with a bow before making his move, "For my first performance, I'll be summoning Performapal Hip Hippo!"

With a card slot, Yuya's familiar hippo appeared next to him, much to the crowd's amusement.

Performapal Hip Hippo/Level 3/ATK 800/DEF 800

"That'll be a wrap for my turn," Yuya finishes as he got on Hip Hippo and rode off, "Let's see what you can do, Zuzu!"

Despite seeing Yuya scamper off, Zuzu smirked. "I know what you're up to, and it won't help you much. I draw!" she exclaimed, "I'll summon Aria the Melodious Diva! Take center stage!"

The monster Zuzu summoned was an elegantly dressed opera singer with a single orange wing.

Aria the Melodious Diva/Level 4/ATK 1600/DEF 1200

"Aria, attack Hip Hippo with Piercing Note!" Zuzu commanded as Aria sang an arrow-shaped verse toward Hip Hippo. Before it could connect, Yuya grabbed a nearby Action Card.

"Action Spell, Evasion!" he called out as Hip Hippo narrowly avoids the attack, leaving the sound arrow stuck to the ground, "My hippo dodges your attack!"

"Had a feeling you'd try that stunt, which is why I came prepared," Zuzu responded, "Since Aria failed to deal battle damage, she can hit you with 800 effect damage. Resonating Wave!"

As commanded, Aria sang a different verse that interacted with the sound arrow, causing it to burst and hit Yuya with the resulting shockwave.

Yuya LP: 4000 - 3200

"That'll be the end of my turn!" Zuzu ended before lowering her voice toward Yuya, "Yuya, now isn't the time to be lounging around. You got a bunch of fans waiting for you to Pendulum Summon."

Yuya heard what Zuzu said and turned toward the cheering crowd. A smile developed on his face as he stood up.

"Alright, everyone! The moment you've all been waiting for has arrived!" he exclaimed, posing alongside Hip Hippo. Zuzu, however, was unamused.

"If you're waiting for applause, you'll be waiting for a long time..." she commented.

Yuya LP: 3200/Hand: 4
Zuzu LP: 4000/Hand: 5

"Alright then, it's my turn!" Yuya yelled as he drew a card.

Yuya took a look at his cards and noticed he had two cards that were both orange and green: Timegazer Magician and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon.

'I don't really remember how I did it...' he admitted to himself, 'But Gong gave me a play-by-play on my duel with Strong. All I got to do is...'

"I set the Pendulum Scale with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Timegazer Magician!" Yuya called out, placing the aforementioned cards onto his Duel Disk.

Just like before, two pillars of light appeared on either side of Yuya's. Within them was Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Timegazer Magician, and between them was the pendulum swinging around. The crowd awed at the spectacle.

Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon/Scale 4
Timegazer Magician/Scale 8

"Now I Pendulum Summon Performapal Whip Snake and Performapal Sword Fish!" Yuya exclaimed as he prepares to summon. The crowds cheered for the Pendulum Summon, except...

*BZZZZZT*

Yuya was startled by the buzz as the crowd turned silent. He looked down and saw an error message on his Duel Disk.

"WAH!? What's going on!? Yuya questioned, "Why aren't they summoning!?"

Zuzu was confused about why nothing was happening. Back in the control room, its occupants were equally confused.

"What's going on? Why isn't Yuya Pendulum Summoning?" Allie questioned.

"Maybe he forgot how to do it...?" Frederick guessed.

"He's just done it during his match with Strong," Rin corrected, looking worried, "I doubt it's something he would forget so quickly."

Back at the field, Yuya was frantically trying to get his monsters to come out, only to keep getting error messages.

"I don't get it... Why aren't my Pendulum Cards working...?" Yuya questioned nervously. A couple of the watchers caught on to what he just said.

"Pendulum Cards...? What are they?" they wondered.

'Think, Yuya. Think! What was different between now and then?' Yuya thought, thinking back to his duel with Strong, 'If I remember correctly, I Pendulum Summoned after Strong destroyed my Odd-Eyes and left me in a near-unwinnable situation... Perhaps I could only Pendulum Summon if I'm in danger!'

Figuring out what went wrong, Yuya turned toward Zuzu with a smile. "Alright, I'll end my turn here," he said, surprising everyone, "Now then, Zuzu. Hit me with your best shot!"

"Wait, you want me to attack!?" Zuzu responded in shock.

"Yup! Don't hold back!" Yuya confirmed. Zuzu continues to hesitate, but ultimately nodded.

"Alright... If you say so. My turn!" she accepted, drawing a card, "Since I control another Melodious monster, I'm allowed to summon Sonata the Melodious Diva!"

Another elegantly dressed opera singer appeared next to Aria, looking more mature than her ally with a blue and green wing.

Sonata the Melodious Diva/Level 3/ATK 1200/DEF 1000

"Now I'll tribute them to bring out my own ace!" Zuzu called out as her two divas joined hands and dispersed into stars, "Enchanting melody echoing in the heaven. Awaken, the sleeping virtuoso! Take center stage Mozarta the Melodious Maestra!"

In the divas' place was a new opera singer wearing a large red dress and wielding a conducting baton. Unlike the previous two divas, this one had a full set of golden wings, which appears to resemble piano keys.

Mozarta the Melodious Maestra/Level 8/ATK 2600/DEF 2000

"Mozarta's ability allows me to Special Summon another Melodious monster from my hand," Zuzu explained as she summons another monster, "So I'll bring out a second Aria!"

Aria the Melodious Diva/Level 4/ATK 1600/DEF 1200

"Now I'll be getting rid of that hippo of yours. Go, Aria!" Zuzu exclaimed as Aria blasted through Hip Hippo with a sound arrow.

Yuya LP: 3200 - 2400

Despite the attack, Yuya still stood with a smile. "That's it, Zuzu! Hit me with everything you got!" he yelled out as the crowds cheered for the ensuring Pendulum Summon.

"Very well, you asked for it!" Zuzu responded, gesturing her arm forward, "Mozarta, attack Yuya's directly! Graceful Wave!"

With Zuzu's command, Mozarta waved her baton around, conjuring a sphere of soundwaves, before sending it directing toward Yuya. Despite facing what is otherwise certain defeat, Yuya still stood his ground as he prepares to Pendulum Summon.

"That's what you think!" he retorted, "I now Pendulum Summon Performapal Whip Snake and Sword Fish!"

The crowds cheered even louder as Yuya summons his monsters in retaliation. However...

*BZZZZZT*

Yuya was stunned by another error message and everyone was left speechless. Mozarta's Graceful Wave soon connected, blasting Yuya right into the duel field's wall and down onto the ground.

Yuya LP: 2400 - 0
WINNER: ZUZU!

The Action Field disappeared, leaving the people stunned silent at what happened. Yuya got back onto his butt as Zuzu approached him, not looking too pleased.

"If this is your idea of a joke, I'm not laughing," she said, not in a good mood.

"Err... Yea, about that..." Yuya weakly explained.

Yuya and Zuzu soon entered the hall where the group was at. Rin soon joined up with them, looking worried.

"Yuya, what happened?" she questioned, "You were able to pull it off flawlessly before. How did you mess up?"

Yuya could only scratch his head in embarrassment. "Well, the thing is... I might have... forgotten how to..." was his excuse.

Rin was surprised by the excuse. "You forgot!? How did you forget!?" she exclaimed, waving her arms around.

"When I was staring at my cards, it felt like I was going into a trance..." Yuya admitted, "One second I was facing Battleguard King having just lost Odd-Eyes, the next second the duel was over and Strong was on his back defeated. I didn't even know how exactly I won there..."

Rin, Zuzu, and the crowd was perplexed by Yuya's reasoning. Just then, one of the teens raised their hand.

"So, um, what exactly did you mean by Pendulum Cards?" he questioned, getting the girls' attention.

"Pendulum Cards...?" Zuzu and Rin repeated in confusion. Yuya sheepishly grinned.

"Well, actually I don't know what they're called," he admitted, "It's just what I've been calling them."

"Can we take a look?" Zuzu asked, prompting Yuya to take out his deck and show off Timegazer Magician. Zuzu compared it to one of her monsters and noticed that the cards looked different.

"So wait, does that mean we could only Pendulum Summon if we had those Pendulum Cards?" the teen questioned. Soon, the rest of the crowd started looking annoyed.

"That doesn't exactly sound fair," another mentioned, "Maybe this whole Pendulum Summoning business doesn't exist!"

"Maybe he hacked the Duel Disk to allow that to happen," a third retorted, "That was how he's able to be the Sledgehammer!"

With all that, the crowd turned to leave, having enough of dealing with 'a coward' as they put it. Skip tried to stop them, but he was ultimately trampled. Yuya and Zuzu was sadden by this development, but Rin merely glared at the retreating figures.

"Hacked the Duel Disks? Who in their right mind would think that's possible!?" Rin retorted, only to notice Yuya's sorrowful face. He hung his head low and put on his goggles before walking away.

"Yuya..." Zuzu tried to stop him, but she was ignored. Yuya continues walking until...

"You are no cheater, Yuya!"

Yuya was startled by that and turned to where the voice came from. His answer was the blue-haired boy that Zuzu talked to before the duel. Unlike the others, he had a determined face.

"I know you won that battle fair and square!" he cried out, "You don't need to cheat to beat the Sledgehammer! Your skills are real, and so is your Pendulum Summoning!"

Gong soon appeared alongside Allie and Frederick and lay his hands on the boy's shoulder, looking proud at what was said.

"Yuya, are you just going to stand there and let your first fan fight your battles?" he called out.

Yuya blinked at what Gong said. "First... fan...?" he repeated. Zuzu soon got in between them, smiling.

"His name is Tate," she introduced him, "He's been coming around this school for a while now to watch your duels."

"He always likes it when you clown around," Allie added, "But seeing your duel against the Sledgehammer made him a true fan!"

Tate stepped forward and faced Yuya with his own smile. "I've always thought you were amazing, Yuya," he explained, "Being able to entertain the crowds like a performer and bringing them all together in happiness... I want to have duels like that, Yuya!"

Yuya stared at Tate and the others in wonder.

"So, Yuya. Are you gonna run away?" Gong questioned, "Or are you going to work hard for your fans?"

"That's right! We're fans too!" Frederick chimed in, "We're all a part of this school, including Tate!"

Hearing that the school got a new student got Skip to stand back up and rush over to Tate. "Is this true!? Are you a new student!?"

Tate nodded, earning a giddy response from Skip. Yuya watches it unfold as he smiles and remove his goggles.

"Thanks you all," he thanked his friends, "You're right, I can't let my friends down!"

Zuzu and Rin soon smiled back, the former handing Yuya's cards back. Yuya accepted them, only to frown.

"That being said, it doesn't change the fact that I don't know how to Pendulum Summon," he admitted before developing a determined smile, "But I promise: I'll master this new summoning method and learn all of its secrets!"

"And we're help you all the way!" Zuzu added, earning nods from Rin and Gong. Yuya nodded back before heading back to the duel arena with Zuzu and Gong.

As all of this goes on, Rin could only smile at how Yuya was able to bounce back, thinking back to that talk she had with him.

'Believing in oneself and swing life your way...' she remininced with a smile, 'Despite everything not working out for him, his life always seems to swing his way afterward. Perhaps I could do the same...'

She then stared out the window toward the setting sun.

'Until then, stay safe Yugo... I promise we'll see each other again...'

---

Inside a suite room, a blonde-haired teen was tossing darts at something. He was currently in a call with someone.

"So you want me to steal Yuya's Pendulum Cards?" the teen affirms, "Would a couple suffice or do you want all of them?"

*We only need a couple, but you're free to take as many as you can get,* the caller, Claude, informed, *You're also free to go about this in any way you desire. My only request is that you leave my name out of this.*

"Sounds like a reasonable proposition," the teen commented with a nod.

*After you've obtained those Pendulum Cards, we'll meet at the designated spot,* Claude continued, *There, we'll trade you those rare cards you're after in exchange for those Pendulum Cards. So, do we have a deal, Sylvio Sawatari?*

The teen, revealed to be Sylvio, smirked as he tossed one last dart to his target: a picture of Yuya.

"... You got yourself a deal."

---

So there we go. Again, the first example of a duel being changed compared to canon. I know that the second half is more-or-less the same since it's meant to be when Yuya unlocks the ability to Pendulum Summon, but I hope I at least did well enough on the first half by not having Strong immediately summon Battleguard King. One thing to mention is that I will be using a mixture of anime card effects and RL card effects, whichever works better for me. Hip Hippo, for example, uses its anime effect to be counted as two tributes, while Feast of the Wilds LV5 adds in its RL ability of bringing back monsters from the Graveyard. Note that which ever card effects I use for these monster will be what they'll have for the rest of this story, so Hip Hippo will likely not get its RL ability.

And speaking of Strong, you'd notice that I use the English names and terms for this story, yet Strong is only the Japanese name for the Sledgehammer. I actually had a headcanon formed in that Strong Ishijima is his real name in both languages, yet his 'Sledgehammer' name is a moniker or title he uses since he's so famous. Hope you like that little tidbit.

Oh, and the Yuya vs. Zuzu duel was unchanged since it was meant to show Yuya forgetting how to Pendulum Summon, and it, in my opinion, wasn't meant to be a super-serious, super-important duel since it wasn't the main focus here.

One last thing to mention is that while I had a script to use for my other story, I couldn't find anything of the sort for Yu-Gi-Oh ARC-V and I had to make due with the summaries found on Yu-Gi-Oh Wikia. Not that it would help me a whole lot if the story gets too different in the later half (which is a real possibility), but if the dialogue is a bit inconsistent, that is why. Just making due with what I had.

Anyway, hope you all at least enjoyed it. Like I said, next part will hopefully be up later today, so keep an eye on that. See you all there!