"Come on, sarge. Don't you know how to hook up one of these things!" Hassleberry pulled the cable from Syrus's hands as he began to fiddle with the monitor himself. "The announcement's about to start, and we're here playing rookie IT squad!"

"Hey, just because I play a machine deck doesn't mean I'm actually good with machines," Syrus whined from behind his laptop, as he began searching for a stream of the event in question.

The rest of the gang sat situated around the two as they worked, talking and speculating about what they were about to hear. It wasn't every day a major tournament got announced like this— The closest thing was Battle City!

Jaden sat in the center of the group, looking off into space as he sat in thought. Occasionally, he'd glance to his right, where Alexis sat, mulling over the cards in her deck.

"We've gotta swap stories soon," he said, keeping his voice low.

"That we do," she answered, pausing as she looked over the card she showed Jaden earlier. "Though I imagine yours are a little more interesting."

"They start with me dueling Seto Kaiba, and end with me destroying an arena and becoming a fugitive of the law." Jaden's abridged story gave Alexis a moment of pause, before she nodded and began her own.

"I ran into Yugi a few months back, at an event where he was showing off that game he's been trying to push," she said then. "We started talking when I told him I could get him in touch with Chazz's brothers."

Putting her cards away, Alexis turned her attention to Jaden fully as she continued.

"Even though that fell through, we kept in touch, and he began to give me some dueling advice in private eventually." She gave it a moment of thought before nodding her head. "And that's about it. He gave me that card a little while ago and I haven't heard from him since."

"Wow," Jaden began, processing what was said. "Boy, am I jealous. Personally tutored by the King of Games himself!"

Alexis punched Jaden's arm as he said that, his voice getting too loud for her comfort.

"Can it," she ordered through gritted teeth. "The last thing I need is people hounding me for his phone number or something stupid like that."

"You have this phone numb—!?" Another punch to the arm shut Jaden up, who grumbled through the abuse. He certainly didn't miss this. Not at all.

Left with himself for a moment, Jaden dwelled on a thought as it formed.

"Hey, where did you say Chazz was again?" he asked, turning back to Alexis who shrugged.

"He said he was boarding a train to Domino yesterday. Hasn't called in since." Checking her phone, Alexis shook her head. "He's probably just running late."

"Yeah, probably," Jaden repeated with a laugh. "That knucklehead's probably—"

"It's starting!" Syrus called out, interrupting Jaden as the screen came to life with the logo of Kaiba Corp. The whole room came to attention, excited chattering turning to a hushed silence as they watched the stream commence. With a flash, a countdown appeared, ticking down from t-minus—

Three…

Two…

One.

The logo disappeared, replaced with the head of Kaiba Corp itself: Seto Kaiba. Scowling at the camera, he stood firm with his arms folded tight, the bright blue of the sky shining brightly behind him.

"Attention duelists, challengers of the ages!" The close-up of Kaiba's face cut away to a wide shot, revealing where he was located. A look of shock took the whole room then— The man was standing at the very top of the Kaiba Corp building, right on the edge! A slight gust of wind could send him falling to his doom.

Smirking, Kaiba took a step forward.

"I give you all, an ultimatum."

Cursing filled the air as Kaiba walked off the edge, plummeting off-screen. Then, a silence followed— a terrified anxious silence.

Did, did Kaiba just—

But then, with a burst of speed, Kaiba quite literally flew back into view, quelling the gang's worries before they could run away with themselves. Adorned on Kaiba's back was an astonishing sight— a set of shiny mechanical wings modeled after those of his Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

The image left the room gobsmacked, stunned with utter disbelief, yet they couldn't deny what they were seeing for a second.

"This guy!" Jaden shouted out loud then, laughing and breathing a sigh of relief all at once. Before he could get another word in, Kaiba's announcement continued.

"The next era of Duel Monsters is upon us! Are you ready to lead that future!" Kaiba threw his arm skyward, activating his duel disk in the same motion. "Watch and learn, as I summon my Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon!"

"What's he doing?" Blair asked then, as Kaiba was joined in the air by one of his many dragons.

"Showing off new rules for this tournament maybe?" Zane suggested, leaning forward in his wheelchair. "It could be like the original Battle City, and that's this next era he's talking about."

Drawing the top card of his deck, Kaiba raised it to the sky.

"And now, I Normal Summon the Tuner monster, The White Stone of Legend!"

Jaden shot up from his seat, eyes bulging in surprise. In time with that, Yubel suddenly appeared in his view, her attention rapt with the screen.

"Did he just say—" Jaden began.

"Tuner monster?!" which Yubel continued. Neither had the opportunity to complete their thoughts, however, as Kaiba continued.

"I tune my Level 8 Blue-Eyes with my Level 1 White Stone!" With a thunderous flash of light, the white stone floating at Kaiba's side disappeared, replaced by a green ring that flew over to Kaiba's dragon. "I Synchro Summon, Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon!"

The display that followed was a spectacular show of light and movement, as Kaiba's monsters came together to form a mighty new dragon, a herald of the future. To Jaden, however, all he saw was a blast from his past.

Tuner monsters. Synchro Monsters.

Yusei.

Jaden fell back into his seat, as he began to process what he was watching.

"What in Sam Hill is that!?" Hassleberry shouted, staring at the screen along with everyone else.

"It's, a Synchro Monster," Jaden answered, not sure if he could believe it himself. He always knew that those things would show up eventually, but not this soon.

"Synchro what?" Alexis asked then, leaning in to hear Jaden speak. "What the heck is that? And why do you know what those are, Jay?"

"It's, uh, a long story." Shaking his head, Jaden pushed his attention back onto the screen. "Let's finish this."

"This is the future of Duel Monsters, right in front of your very eyes," Kaiba declared as he flew by his great monster. "And the future is coming whether you like it or not! So will you stand idly by while it passes you, or will you grab it by the reins, and charge forth to victory!"

Azure-Eyes let out a mighty roar in time with Kaiba there, providing a moment of pause before he continued.

"I am laying down an ultimatum for the world, Duelist Ultimatum!" Kaiba flew up to the camera, standing face to face with his audience as he explained further. "This tournament will see the greatest duelists of all time face off for a seminal prize—"

Reaching into his coat, Kaiba revealed a blank Synchro card.

"—To become the owner of the first legal Synchro Monster, and to become a new King of Games in the next age of dueling!" Kaiba floated back again, pointing straight into the camera. "Win and your name will ring throughout history! Lose and become a mighty challenger remembered for years to come! Don't take part, however—"

Kaiba sneered.

"And no one will remember you." And with that, Kaiba shuffled the card back into his coat, folding his arms and dismissing his dragon. "In two weeks' time, the beginning of a new era will commence. Be ready, because the future is coming."

And on that note, the stream cut off, ending where it started, with the Kaiba Corp logo. The whole room stood in silence, shock and awe taking every face at what they just saw. They were without words.

All except for Syrus.

"Holy shi—"

"So me, Yugi, and Yusei did this kickbutt combo and knocked Paradox's pasty white butt to next Tuesday." Jaden punched his fist as his explanation came to an end, an odd feeling running through him as he did so. "Literally! I think."

Just a little while ago, he was convinced he'd never be able to tell this story, and here he was, regaling it to the entire group to get them caught up.

"And, uh, that's why I know what Synchro Monsters are," he added, leaning back in his old too-cool-for-school ways. That'd be sure to explain it. Who would accuse Jaden Yuki of telling tall tales?

The whole group, apparently.

A look of doubt rested heavy on all of their faces. Even Alexis, who sat there with her lips pursed, couldn't stop her expression of disbelief coming through.

Then, standing up from the very end of the lineup of his friends, came Blair. Surely, she'd stand with Jaden and vouch for him!

"I don't believe you," she said then with a flat deadpan. The rejection was so swift and so firm that Jaden resisted the urge to fall forward flat on his face.

"Ah come on!" he whined. "I promise I'm telling you guys the truth! How else could I know about Synchros?"

Their stalwart doubt softened at that, as the group began to look amongst themselves. From his seat, Zane closed his eyes.

"It wouldn't be the most absurd thing we've all seen," he said, earning a few nods from the others. "It's pretty close though."

"How does it work then?" Hassleberry asked then, pulling Jaden's attention. "If this is gonna be the future of dueling, I gotta know how to fortify my troops."

Breathing a sigh of relief as his friends began to come around to the idea, Jaden smiled.

"Okay, so you got a special kind of monster called a Tuner, right?" he said, earning some nods from the group. "So you take that, and another monster, and you, uh."

Jaden paused, realizing he hadn't committed the exact mechanics to memory. His hesitation quickly registered with the group.

"…And I think at that point, you do some math?" At that, the whole group groaned, realizing Jaden wouldn't be the invaluable boon of information they were hoping for. "Ah come on guys, I'm trying my best here. It was a really busy day."

"Wait, check this out," Syrus called out from behind his laptop. "Kaiba Corp uploaded an explanation of Synchro Summoning alongside the tournament rules!"

And like that, the whole group rushed to Syrus's side, leaving Jaden alone to skulk and grumble.

"So unlike Fusions, Synchros need all their monsters on the field, and specifically require a Tuner monster and one or more non-tuner monsters," Syrus began, stumbling a bit as he went over the explanation. "And then you, add their levels together?"

"Hah, I told you there was math!" Jaden shouted out as Syrus continued.

"And then you summon a Synchro Monster whose level equals the total of the monsters you used." Syrus nodded to himself as the explanation came to an end. "It says here that Tuner monsters will be released in the coming weeks in the build-up for the tournament."

"So Synchros are kind of like my Rituals," Alexis said immediately, folding her arms. "Adding the levels together, it's exactly like summoning a Ritual."

"Except you don't need to have a Ritual Spell," Zane interjected. "And it sounds like Synchros live in the Extra Deck alongside Fusions, so you don't even need to have them in your hand."

A thought occurred to Jaden then.

"They're a lot like Neos!" he shouted out, jumping back into the conversation. "Contact Fusion!"

A round of nods followed, the comparison ringing true. They were a lot like Jaden's contact fusions, and not only that, they were a lot more accessible too. They only needed a Tuner and Non-Tuner, no specific monsters. Strong and easy to summon. Despite no one saying it out loud, a similar thought was running through all of their heads.

Synchro Summoning was powerful.

"So, hey, what about those tournament rules?" Jaden asked then, swinging by to where Syrus was seated and leaning over his shoulder. Scrolling down a few times, Syrus found the rules in question and began reading them off.

"In the next week, all eligible duelists will be able to pick up an Egyptian God Locator Card," he said. "The card they get will represent the skill level of the competitor in question. All Pro League Duelists will automatically qualify for a Slifer Red Locator Card whilst national champions and finalists from Battle City will begin with an Obelisk Blue one."

"Playing favourites with the colours again, eh Kaiba?" Atticus shouted out, noting how Kaiba had made Obelisk the highest tier, just like in Duel Academy.

"Duelists will then face off in open matches in stage one of the tournament, anteing up one of their locator cards," Syrus said then, turning the screen of his laptop around and showing everyone the cards in question: They were sheets of shiny colourful metal— red, gold, and cobalt blue —and etched with the art of the god cards in all their glory. "At the end of stage one, all duelists with one of each locator card will qualify for stage two."

Scrolling a few more times, Syrus nodded to himself as he finished.

"And that's it," he said aloud, closing his laptop and leaving the room in pitch silence.

"This is really happening, huh?" Jaden was the first to say, his hands stuffed in his pockets. "A huge tournament, with all of us and the best duelists in the world."

The whole group looked at him as he said that, his contained tone matching the concentrated stare he kept with the screen displaying the Kaiba Corp logo. A smile crept onto his lips, becoming a cheeky grin as he turned.

"This is going to be sick!" Jaden threw his fist into the air, becoming the clear center of attention in the room. "The gang's back, Kaiba and Yugi are back, heck, I'm back! Do you guys know what this means?!"

He spun to a stop at the question, pointing towards the group of his friends in general and to Alexis specifically.

"What, Jaden?" she answered, humoring his antics. With a characteristic giggle, Jaden stood straight.

"It's time to get our game on!"

End of Chapter 10