"It's time for Gong's two sword swingin', Superheavy Samurais to say buh-bye and hit the road!" The 14-year old young teenager named Gong said as he tributed his two monsters. "Now Gong can bring out the biggest, baddest Samurai of 'em all: Superheavy Samurai BIG Benkei (3500 Defense)! Alright Yuya, enough ridin' around, it's time to take center stage and show Gong what you're made of!"

"It's show time! Ladies, Gentlemen and Gong, how 'bout I kick off this round's entertainment with some carnival craving hippos! Get hopping hippos!" The 14-year old Yuya played, summoning three tokens to his field while riding on Hip Hippo.

"Hey! What's with all that shaking? We're not dancing, we're dueling!" Gong yelled out.

"Quit goofing around, Yuya!" A 14-year old woman who was watching the duel from a control room yelled, slamming her hands onto the control panel. However, it started to short circuit and smoke up. Much to her shock.

"What's going on, Zuzu?" A man asked as he entered the control room.

"Oh, just had a wee mishap," Zuzu said.

"I told you to treat this equipment with TLC!" The man reminded her. "Our duel school depends on this ARC system!"

"You hippos sure know how to have a good time!" Yuya said before the japanese duel field disappeared and he fell out of the sky and onto the floor, much to the discomfort of the boy with blue hair that was watching.

"Yuya… What do you have to say for yourself?" Zuzu demanded an explanation. In response, Yuya made a funny face. "Figures."

"Our duel school is going down the tubes! We can't teach Action Dueling without our ARC system!" The principal wailed. "Soon all our You Show students will turn into no-shows! At times like this I wish I were principal of a cooking school."

Yuya then put his goggles over his eyes and said, disappointed, "I was just getting to my most duel-taining moves when the system went down."

"Your duel-taining distracted me. You need to take life more seriously!" Zuzu yelled as she tried to slap Yuya, who ran to escape the blow only to bump into Gong.

"Is that you, Gong?" Yuya asked. "Or did someone just put a boulder in here?"

"Why do you have to turn everything into a joke, Yuya?" Gong asked his friend.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with giving the fans a good laugh," Yuya answered.

"When fans watch your duels, they're not laughing with you, they're all laughing at you! When your daddy was on the field he had all the fans smiling. He made duel-taining entertaining," Gong explained as he motioned over to a few photos of an older man in red. "Your duels are usually just embarrassing!"

"Well, if you ask me, my dad's last duel was pretty embarrassing, too!" Yuya joked.

"Yuya!" Both Gong and Zuzu countered.

"Relax!" Yuya responded.

"Look, I get it Yuya. You probably miss your dad and are feeling terrible because of that. Not helping is that there are jerks who remind you of his disappearance. I miss your dad too," Zuzu said as she held back tears, also feeling bad over her teacher and idol's disappearance. "But, if you don't take things at least a little more seriously you'll never be able to make him proud. He expected a lot from both of us, after all."

Yuya was surprised to see Zuzu show her emotions to him. After all, she usually hid her emotions behind an angry front as it would be harder to get hurt that way. Yuya was so shocked in fact that he didn't know how to respond.

Just then. A man in a yellow and black outfit entered the room and said, "Afternoon all. I do hope I'm not intruding!"

"Who are you?" The principal asked, confused as to who the man was.

"I'm Nico Smiley, dueling manager and promoter. Currently I represent the reigning Action Duel Champion, and the best Duelist out there, the Sledgehammer!" Nico explained.

"Not the Sledgehammer!" Yuya was shocked.

Zuzu, meanwhile, was shocked to be reminded of him at a time like this. After all, the last time anyone had seen Yusho was right before his duel against the Sledgehammer.

"Anyways, The Sledgehammer is hosting a fan appreciation day at the Leo Institute and as part of the festivities he's issuing a one-on-one dueling challenge to Yuya," Nico explained.

"You're inviting me to duel the Sledgehammer?" Yuya asked for clarity.

"I'm not inviting you to duel his grandma! Seriously, though, it's your chance to make up for your father's disappearing act. You remember what happened don't you?" Nico reminded.

"This crowd's boiling over and I don't blame them! Our Action Duel Championship was supposed to get underway an hour ago, but Yusho Sakaki still hasn't shown up to defend his title," The announcer said.

"Sakaki has chickened out!" The Sledgehammer yelled out.

In response, the whole crowd was booing Yusho's name, believing him to be a coward.

"My dad's no chicken! Let me duel the Sledgehammer 'til my dad shows up! I'm not scared, duel me instead!" A younger child Yuya yelled.

Zuzu, meanwhile, was trying to calm down Yuya so that he wouldn't get himself in trouble for his rashness.

"Well, you'll be glad to hear that you're old enough to get your wish, Yuya! We'll publicize it as the duel of the decade! The son of Yusho Sakaki trying to clear up his father's name'" Nico finished as Yuya looked like he was contemplating the challenge.

"Forget it! I will never let Yuya take part in this match," The principal declined.

"Why not? It's what all the dueling fans want to see, plus it'll mean tons of free publicity for your dueling school," Nico countered.

"I won't let Yuya be humiliated! He's suffered enough since his father disappeared. Get out of here, Nico!" The principal demanded.

"Oh hey, I understand, Boyle! It's a real shame though, 'cause if you had agreed, the Leo Corp would've donated the newest Augmented Reality Combat system to your dueling school for no charge. As in free," Nico played his trump card.

The principal was quick to change his tune. "You've got a deal!"

Suddenly, Zuzu hit her father, the principal on the head with a fan. "You just said you'd never let Yuya duel the Sledgehammer!" Zuzu reminded.

"But for the good of the school…," The dad tried to counter.

"What about for the good of Yuya?" Zuzu reminded.

"Yeah, we gotta have Yuya's back!" Gong agreed.

"Well, I'd ask him but- he ran out while we were talking," Zuzu said.

"Just like his old man!" Nico commented.

Zuzu gave Nico an angry glare at this comment before deciding, "I'll go look for him. We'll let Yuya himself decide whether or not to duel the Sledgehammer." And so, Zuzu Boyle left the duel school in order to find her childhood friend.

Yuya was sitting on a bar on a bridge looking at the stadium as he moved his pendulum necklace back and forth.

"There you are, Yuya! I've been looking everywhere for you! Don't you know how worried we were when you left so suddenly?!" Zuzu yelled.

"Sorry," Yuya apologized with little emotion.

"Hey, are you okay? Look, you don't have to duel the Sledgehammer if you don't want to," Zuzu said.

"I know, but I think that I want to. After all, maybe then I can prove that my dad really is the greatest Dueltainer in the world and that we weren't wrong for wanting to follow in his footsteps," Yuya explained.

"Yeah. Are you worried?" Zuzu asked, concerned.

"Kinda, but I still believe I can pull off a win," Yuya answered.

Yuya was remembering some advice that he got from his father back when he was a child a few years ago. "Try to laugh when you feel like crying. And when things get tough, respond with a smile. It will give you the strength to keep moving forward! It's kinda like a pendulum. If the pendulum swings one way, you know it will swing the other way, too, like in a duel! The key to dueling is to believe in your deck and yourself. When you're falling behind, you can always make things swing your way again, so don't worry about anything. Just try and enjoy the ride."

"My dad was right. I can win if I just believe in myself and have fun!"

Later that day, when everyone got into the duel arena, they saw that there was a massive crowd turned out for this duel.

"You fans have been clamoring for this duel and now it's finally happening! Three years ago, the famous Duel-tainer, Yusho Sakaki failed to defend his title against The Sledgehammer! Now Sakaki's own son will try to erase that disgrace!" Nico Smiley explained to the crowd.

"Do you think Yuya will show up?" Zuzu wondered. "He said he would, but he could have changed his mind."

"Who knows? But Gong's gut says he will," Gong answered.

"All right! Then we'll get our ARC Sys-," At this, Zuzu hit her father with a fan. "Never mind!"

"Now, let's get this grudge match underway! Here goes! Time to activate the field… Castle of Chaos!" Nico played.

"Augmented Reality Combat system energized. Generating Action Field…," The computer said as it generated a castle and grasslands.

"I tell you, people, this ARC technology blows my mind! The field it's generating is so real you can actually climb the castle walls or toss your mother-in-law in the dungeon!" Nico said as the Sledgehammer stepped onto the castle's upper floor. "Ladies and gentlemen, presenting Leo Institute's top Action Duelist and reigning world champion. He's the biggest, baddest bruiser to ever pick up a deck… The Sledgehammer! His challenger is a young teen with a mission! Everybody give it up for Yuya Sakaki!"

"Yay, Yuya!" Skip Boyle cheered, only to be confused upon seeing that Yuya was nowhere to be seen.

"Sir, that's your cue," Nico awkwardly said.

Meanwhile, the crowd was saying that Yuya was a coward, much to the anger of Zuzu.

"Say what?" Zuzu said as she faced the crowd.

"Not now, Zuzu," Gong stopped Zuzu before she could get violent.

"But Gong! They're disrespecting Yusho and Yuya! Besides, Yuya could still show up!" Zuzu tried to counter.

"I was hoping if I challenged the guy his father would show up for sure," The Sledgehammer said to himself as a clown appeared behind him. "I must defeat Yusho Sakaki in a one-on-one duel to prove I am deserving to be the true champion of Action Dueling!"

Everyone was confused upon seeing the clown, but after he made a face, people started to realize that he was Yuya.

"Please tell me that isn't who I think it is," Zuzu pleaded.

Meanwhile, near an entrance to the arena…

"So, the guy showed up after all. I wonder how long he'll last against the champion here, though," Luna, an 11-year-old wearing a white cloak said to herself.

Back in the arena…

The crowd was trying to get the Sledgehammer to notice Yuya. "What's wrong?" He then turned around and saw Yuya dressed as a clown. "When did the circus come to town?"

"It didn't. I'm your opponent," Yuya answered with a bow.

"Do not tell me you are the son of Yusho…"

Yuya tore off the face mask and wiped away the makeup before saying, "Yep, the one and only! Well, are you ready to get this show on the road? Or should I say, on the castle!" At this, Yuya activated his duel disk. "Let's see if you're as nasty as you smell!

"For such a little clown, you have a big mouth! You won't be so insolent once The Sledgehammer squashes you!" Yuya, however, only responded to his opponent's words with a smile.

"It looks like sparks are flying and they haven't even started dueling yet! Okay, duelists, get your five cards in hand and get set to battle! Our duelists and their decks are primed for an epic showdown like nothing you've seen before! As we kick off this contest, the whirlwind action will leave you breathless! It'll be the duel to end all duels! Only the toughest duelist will survive this face-off! Are you ready?" Nico Smiley announced.

"Let's Duel!" Both duelists said as Nico snapped, sending a variety of cards across the arena.

"Listen carefully, clown boy. I cannot wait to pummel you out of those pantaloons. Let's get this battle started!" The Sledgehammer yelled.

"All right, show time! Welcome to the Yuya Spectacular! For my first move, I'm going to make a spectacular getaway!" Yuya said as he took a zipline down to the grassy tree-filled field. "And to help me make my escape, I'll summon Performapal Hip Hippo (800 Attack)!" Yuya finally landed on his hippo who was on the ground. "Yo, Sledgehammer, why don't you try and catch me!"

"They just started and he's already taking off?" One guy said.

"The kid should grow some wings, then he could fly away like a real chicken," His friend responded.

"I had a feeling letting Yuya duel was a mistake," Zuzu huffed.

"Yeah, but he's not dueling, he's running away!" Gong pointed out.

"So you want me to catch you, kid? No problem!" The Sledgehammer drew his card and he drew a powerful card. "I activate the spell Feast Of the Wild Level 5! This will get the crowd crazy for more because it lets me summon two battling behemoths! I summon Swamp Battleguard (1800 Attack) and Lava Battleguard (1550 Attack)! I tribute you both right away so I can summon your ruler! No forest can hide you or castle can protect you from the chief of all wild savages! All hail, Battleguard King (3000 attack)!"

"The Sledgehammer summoned a monster that's as mean as he is! I wouldn't wanna be in Yuya's clown shoes!" Nico Smiley commented.

"Your father got away from me, but you won't be so lucky! We will battle! Battleguard King, bash that Hippo!" Sledgehammer ordered.

"Sorry, but we have to get hopping! I activate my Action spell Evasion! Roll with it, Hippo!" Yuya said as he dodged the attack.

"Why doesn't Yuya stand and fight?" Gong wondered.

"I wouldn't jump to any conclusions," Yuya's mother said as she entered where the others were at.

"Yoko, hi," Skip greeted the mother.

"Yuya's running is actually pretty cunning, Gong," Yoko said.

"That kid knows how to use Action Cards all right, but only to help him stay out of the action! I will force him to battle me now! Battleguard King, loves nothing more than a fight! So it can attack twice in one turn! Eliminate that Hippo!" The Sledgehammer yelled out.

"No, not again!" Yuya yelled in concern as the massive monster attacked him.

"Whoa, that should wipe the smile off that Hippo's face! Battleguard King took it out with a single blow! Wait, they're okay!" Nico yelled as Yuya and his Hippo got out of the smoke.

"He survived?" The Sledgehammer was confused.

"Yeah, but barely! Just before Battleguard King landed his blow, I activated the Action Spell Miracle! It saved my Hippo's hide and halved the damage I took!" Yuya explained.

Yuya

2900

Sledgehammer

4000

The crowd was starting to become impressed with Yuya.

"Whatever. Battleguard King will stomp out both of you next time," Sledgehammer said as he set a card.

"I guess Yuya's not doing bad, but I still don't see what he's up to," Zuzu commented.

"I think I do. For a long time, Yuya's been treating everything like a joke. Clowning around was his way of protecting himself. You see, Yuya felt that people would look down on him because of his father. He idolized his dad. To Yuya, he wasn't just a great duelist, but a hero. Now Yuya has a chance to be like his father… and prove he was a hero," Yoko explained.

"My turn again!" Yuya yelled as he drew his Odd-Eyes Dragon. "Aw, yeah! Your attention please! My next move is a real showstopper! As some of you may know, if I tribute my Hip Hippo right now, it'll count as two monsters! It's one of Hip Hippo's favorite tricks! Go for it buddy! Now, put your hands together and welcome…," Yuya said as he got out of his clown outfit and into his normal clothes. "Our main attraction! One of the wonders of the dragon world, the spectacular Odd-Eyes Dragon (2500 Attack)!"

` Yuya jumped up onto his dragon. "What do you say we swing into action?"

Tate was amazed as Skip was in happy tears. "Bravo! That's exactly what his father used to say! The man's a chip off the ol' block!"

'You've been waiting for this chance, Yuya. Make the most of it,' Yoko thought.

"I will teach you to fear me just like your father did!" The Sledgehammer yelled.

Suddenly, Yuya sent a link on his duel disk, saying, "My dad wasn't scared o' you!"

"O' yeah?"

"He would've beaten you easy! And I'll prove it, too! By taking you down using all the moves my dad taught me!"

"I see you can talk a tough game, but your monsters pack no punch! Your dragon cannot lay a claw on Battleguard King!"

"But after I use this spell here, it'll be a different story! Wonder Balloons!"

"Whoa! This duelist has my toupee spinning! He must have a nose for Action Cards cause he's finding them like nobody's beeswax!" Nico yelled as Yuya found three Action Cards and sent them to the graveyard.

"Okay! Wonder Balloons go! I got a balloon for each Action Card that I found and sent to my graveyard. Next, I'll be sending my spell card Wonder Balloons to the graveyard, which will cause those other balloons to burst, and each one drops your monster's attack points by a thousand till the end of this turn!" Yuya explained as he snapped his fingers and balloons encased Battleguard King. "Who'd have believed a few balloons could be so dangerous? But they just let the air out of all your Batleguard King's attack points (0 Attack)!"

The crowd roared as Nico said, "Unbelievable! Yuya's just turned Sledgehammer's hero into a zero!"

"Now I see that you have been playing games with me from the beginning! You just pretended to run away to find as many Action Cards as your feeble fragile fingers could pick!" The Sledgehammer realized.

"It was risky, but I knew the duel would swing my way!" Yuya answered as the crowd cheered on Yuya. 'The crowd's got my back! They're all cheering for me… just like they used to cheer for my Dad during his duels!' "Okay, Odd-Eyes! It's not enough for us to win this, we've gotta win with style! Hey, Sledgehammer! When Odd-Eyes dethrones your King, you take half its attack points as damage!"

The Sledgehammer then thought, 'Half of Battleguard King's original attack points equals 1500. If I lose another 2500 in damage, the total would be catastrophic!"

"I can't believe it! The guy might actually win!" Luna said to herself.

"I can end this duel in one blast! Odd-Eyes, get set to strike! Take out Battleguard King! Spiral Flame!" Yuya yelled as his monster attacked.

"Yeah! Bull's eye!" Skip cheered.

"Yuya!" Zuzu and Gong cheered.

Meanwhile, the smoke cleared, revealing that Battleguard King was still there. "Surprise, clown guy!"

"I can't believe it!" Zuzu muttered.

As it turned out, The Sledgehammer had gotten a Miracle Action Spell. "You're not the only one who has a Miracle spell card. I was keeping this baby handy just in case!"

Sledgehammer

2750

Yuya

2900

"Talk about staying cool under fire! The Sledgehammer shows once again why he's the champ!" Nico yelled.

"You pose no threat to me, boy!" The Sledgehammer yelled as he jumped from the castle and to the ground. "Just like your father, you are all show and no grit! And this trap is going to prove it! Since I took damage, Battleguard Rage inflates its attack points by 2000 (2000 Attack)!"

"I… end my turn," Yuya reluctantly said.

"Battleguard King now bursts out of those balloons! The King of savages is stronger than ever (5000 attack)!" Nico yelled.

"Yuya and his Odd-Eyes better do something quick or he's gonna be the odd man out!" Zuzu said in concern.

"Now I have the upper hand, my little friend. And I'm going to use it to crush you!" At this, Yuya and his monster ran. "No! You won't escape! Battleguard King, destroy his Odd-Eyes!" The Sledgehammer cried out.

Yuya noticed an Action Card, only for his monster to be destroyed before he could grab it.

Yuya

400

Sledgehammer

2750

"Because of Battleguard Rage's effect, your Dragon goes back to your hand instead of the graveyard. Watch how a winner duels as I wield Battleguard Magic! It will pump me back up with life points as it deflates any chances you had of winning this duel!" The Sledgehammer yelled.

Yuya

400

Sledgehammer

4000

"Could this get any worse?" Zuzu asked.

"Fortunately for you, my Battleguard King cannot attack again this turn. You'll survive for now. But I promise you this, you won't last long. It is useless, but go ahead and draw. Maybe you should pull a disappearing act, kid. After all, like father, like son!" The Sledgehammer said as he set a card and ended his turn.

"No thanks! I'm staying-," Yuya began only for his courage to disappear. "Who am I kidding? It's hopeless. I don't have the cards or the skills to pull this out. Maybe I should pull a vanishing act… After all, I'm not the duel-tainer my dad was and I never will be." Suddenly, his dad's words appeared in his mind, reminding him not to give up. At this, Yuya got up and announced, "It's time to swing into action! Okay, pendulum, you swung his way. Now you'll swing my way!" Yuya yelled as he drew his card and his pendulum glowed. All of a sudden, Yuya's deck and hand glowed, with his magicians and Odd-Eyes altering to be part green and have scales on them.

"I'll use Stargazer Magician(1) and Timegazer Magician(8) to set the Pendulum Scale! I'm taking control of this duel starting now!" The two magicians appeared with the numbers for their scales appearing beneath them. "I'm allowed to summon monsters from level two through seven all at the same time!"

"What's that boy doing?" The Sledgehammer was confused.

"Swing far pendulum! Carve the arc of victory! My monsters are ready to swing into action!" Yuya cried out as his Odd-Eyes (2500 Attack) and two other monsters were summoned out.

"How'd he do that?" Zuzu asked.

"Got Gong!" Gong responded, just as confused.

"What in the world is this? How did he summon three monsters at once?" Luna asked. After all, this was a very interesting development. At this rate, they may get another helper when it comes to achieving their goals.

Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Sorry for redoing this story. I just felt overwhelmed writing both the original Yu-Gi-Oh characters and the Arc-V characters. I'll try to find ways for things to be different later on, though.