A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates and responses. Holidays and real life have made things hectic. My step-dad had a heart attack, so I had to take care of him for a while. I've also been planning on going back to college this year, so even more of my time was eaten up. But I have no plans to abandon this fic just yet.
On the plus side, my absence coincides with the timeskip. This chapter takes place a couple of months after the Synchro arc. Since the fic has been more-or-less moving in real time, things line up perfectly.
Fun Fact: Serena's just going to get really fat one day, just you watch.
Description: Reiji and the Lancers plan ahead.
How long had it been since the Lancers gathered together? It had been nearly a year since they assembled in Reiji's conference room. Their discussions were usually conducted through conference calls, streams, or text messages - small, unobtrusive ways to communicate with each other. If they were to ever assemble properly, it would only be for the most important meetings.
As all of the Lancers waited for Reiji, every single one of them had the same thought: the Link Dimension. They'd spent several months training for their inevitable confrontation with that dimension's people. A war was at their doorstep, and they had to be prepared for it.
The Lancers were seated around a circular glass table. Yuya and Yuzu sat together, of course, while they held hands underneath the table. They both felt the heavy pull anxiety, but they chose to keep calm and stand strong. For each other, and the people around them.
There were a lot of people in the room. Of course, you had the main Lancers; Yuya, Yuzu, Gongenzaka, Sawatari, Sora, Tsukikage, and Hikage. But you had other members, like Dennis, Yusho, Jack, Crow, Asuka, Edo, and Kaito. It was a tight fit around the table, but they made do.
Finally, the doors swung open, and Reiji Akaba entered the room. The Lancers fell silent, watching their leader as he made his way to an empty seat at the table. Once he sat down, all of them waited anxiously for him to speak.
The first thing Reiji said was, "Yuya, did you enjoy your visit to the Synchro Dimension?"
An awkward silence fell over the room. Everyone, everyone looked from Reiji to Yuya, wondering why they had to put up with this again. It seemed as though every meeting began with Reiji making polite conversation with the boy.
Everyone except Yuya, who nodded and egao'd. "It was fine, thanks!"
Like he doesn't know all about it... Yuto sighed.
"I trust you had a lot of rest and relaxation," Reiji responded. "Unfortunately, I must tell you that the times ahead won't be so easy."
Reiji lifted his left arm, exposing his Duel Disk. With a few taps of the screen, the table before him started to glow. Its glassy surface now let out a gentle white light, and the image of the LDS logo appeared a foot off of the tabletop. It was a hologram.
"As you should all recall, we've been visited by several envoys from the Link Dimension. With every appearance, they have at least attempted to assault several people, cause damage to property, or otherwise disrupt our work."
The hologram turned into an image of a helmeted duelist and her female monsters, dueling against a man. The next image showed Flu, who faced an unseen camera with his Token Master. The image after that showed the backs of Tsukikage and Hikage as they stood on the roof of a bus, facing a man in a flowing green cape. This lead into another picture, showing Dennis and his Trapeze High Magician dancing in the air before a large, fanged rabbit monster. Finally, the last image depicted a duel between Shun and a brown-haired woman.
As Yuzu looked to an empty chair across from her, she felt a pang in her heart. Shun wasn't with them any more. She only saw him a few days after their return from the Synchro Dimension, when they visited Sawatari's home. That was almost four months ago.
"We have made several key conclusions in our research into the Link Dimension," explained Reiji. "For one, the Link Dimension didn't seem to exist until fairly recently."
Now, Jean-Michel Roget's top half was projected by the table. He was sitting in a bed, shirtless, and with several bandages wrapped around his torso.
"Jean-Michel, who had been trapped in the space between dimensions, was brought into the Link Dimension when it came into existence. From what Roget has told us, it seems that this happened around the time Zarc was reborn."
Yuya lowered his head. The... the memories of that day were blurry, but the incident weighed heavily on his shoulders. And because of recent events, the idea of Zarc's presence was always in the back of his mind.
"They're coming after us because of him," Yuya said. "Because of Zarc. They think he's a threat, a weapon that we could use against them. And they wanted to discourage us from acting against them."
"Ironically, their attacks forced our hand," Reiji concluded. "In order to stop them, we need to strike at the source and meet with the people of the Link Dimension."
Now the hologram changed to the image of a Duel Monsters card. Specifically, a Link-3 Link Monster. It slowly rotated in a circle, allowing every one at the table a chance to view it from multiple angles.
"Of course, the cards are stacked against us. The Link Dimension uses a new summoning method. And with it, a new field with its own set of rules."
"Pendulum Zones are gone, which is lame," Sawatari said bitterly. "So we gotta use the Spell and Trap Zones if we want to Pendulum Summon."
"How many Extra Deck monsters we can summon is limited," Gongenzaka added. "Unless we use Link Monsters, we are forced to summon one monster from the Extra Deck at a time."
Yuya clenched his free hand. "Their rules are disgusting. Limiting the Extra Deck like that, hurting Pendulums... I can't agree with these new rules!"
"Neither can I," Reiji agreed. "But fortunately, we'll be able to fight them on more equal footing."
The hologram changed once more. This time, the Link Monster card shrank, and several other cards appeared around it. Over two dozen cards, all in four rows, were presented before the Lancers.
"We've reverse-engineered Link Summoning, its rules, and the cards that incorporate it," Reiji went on. "Because of this, we will have cards that will work in conjunction with the new rules, including our own Link Monsters."
"It disgusts me, having to give up Extra Deck space to Links," Yuya said quietly. "But I'll do whatever I can to bring out my Extra Deck monsters."
Sora pulled his lollipop away from his face. "Yuya sure seems angry about Links."
"He doesn't like the new rules," Yuzu told him. "The sooner we can get away from the Link Dimension, the better."
"Hopefully, we can resolve our disputes without dueling," Reiji commented. "Hopefully, these new cards will never have to be used. Though judging from our experiences with the Link Dimension, that possibility seems unlikely."
Yuya looked up. "But if we do duel, Entertainment Dueling might be our best shot at bringing peace and happiness to the Link Dimension!"
It's not like Links users deserve any happiness, was what he thought.
Reiji nodded in agreement. "Yes. I trust everyone - especially you, Yuya- to communicate our feelings through duels. This communication is one of the Lancers' greatest weapons."
Their actual greatest weapon was a missile.
"Now, to discuss our next course of action..." Reiji began. "We trained, we learned the new rules, we gathered intelligence, and we strengthened our decks. I'd say we're just about ready for the start of our mission."
Reiji looked to the crowd before him. Every Lancer looked at him, unblinking and unwavering. They all understood. They all knew this was coming. Worries or not, every single one of them was ready for this mission.
Reiji egao'd. "In a week's time, we will be setting off to the Link Dimension. From there, we will explore Link VRAINS and attempt to locate Aoi Zaizen's superior."
In response, the Lancers nodded. Some would comment with "Right," or "Understood." Again, none of them showed any hesitation or displeasure with Reiji or his ideas.
"It won't just be us fighting, of course."
"What?" Yuzu questioned. She raised an eyebrow. "I don't follow."
Reiji turned to Sawatari. "Sawatari convinced me to induct two new duelists to the Lancers."
With a big grin on his face, Sawatari rose to his feet. He looked over the other Lancers, and he let out a small, proud chuckle. He was really soaking in the attention now.
"Who joined?" Yuzu asked.
"It was simple, really," he said. "Child's play, really. I knew they would be assets. So I talked to Reiji about adding them to the team, and then I talked to them about joining the team, and-"
"Who joined?" Yuzu asked again.
"... And then I talked to them about joining the team, and-"
"Just tell us who joined," Yuzu said sternly.
As if on cue, the doors to the room swung open. Everyone in the room was drawn to a little girl, who proudly waltzed into the room with her hands on her hips. Mieru Hochun looked at the Lancers with glowing pride.
"It is I, Mieru!" the girl declared.
Also, Yuu Sakuragi was there. The boy trailed behind Mieru, walking with a more casual stride. Though he seemed much less bombastic than the other recruit, he had a small, polite egao.
"Sawatari told me that you would need my help," Mieru explained. "He said that, with my clairvoyance, the Lancers can 'avoid a stint in jail...' Whatever that means."
"I didn't want to break out of prison a third time..." Sawatari grumbled.
"Mieru's abilities were something I overlooked before," Reiji explained. "I don't want to make the same mistake again."
"It's great to have you aboard, Mieru," Yuya said, egao-ing.
"Yeah, it's wonderful," Yuzu lied. "But why are you here?"
"To help my friends," Mieru answered. "Sawatari told me all about the horrible things that happened to you guys during the war!"
But then her chipper tone became somber. "About Zarc, and the Battle Beast, and... other things. They sounded so scary."
Mieru put a hand to her chest. "But I couldn't let my darling go through all that again."
Yuya egao'd. "Mieru, that's very nice of you! But you don't have to worry about me."
"Yeah!" Yuzu agreed. "The Lancers protect each other... And I'll have Yuya's back, most of all."
"And I'll help!" Mieru affirmed.
"That's so nice of you!" Yuzu lied. "But I already have Yuya's back."
"And so will I."
"You'll need to watch your own back, too," Yuzu said ominously.
And suddenly, an awkward, chilling quiet filled the room. Everyone in the room could feel it: it was like being in the eye of the storm, waiting for a horrible disaster to strike at any moment. A feeling that every one of them was in grave danger.
Dennis decided to change the subject. "And what about the other guy? Yuu, I believe was his name? What brings you here?"
"Yuu Sakuragi," Yuu answered.
"Are you sure you can handle the job? We have a tendency to run into tough crowds."
"I've been wanting to join the Lancers for a long time. I've been training for nearly a year in the hopes that I could help."
"I even started coaching him, myself!" Sawatari added. "That's why I vouched for him - I know he's good."
"...Are you sure you can handle the job?" Dennis asked again.
"I trust Sawatari," Reiji said.
Everyone in the room looked to Reiji. Everyone but Yuu and Sawatari seemed to be in disbelief... Which, all things considered, was something Sawatari was taking personally.
"W-well, of course you should!" Sawatari snapped. "Haven't I proven myself time and time and time and time again?"
Yuya nodded. "O-of course! I trust you, too!"
"Hell, so do I," Crow agreed.
"I... I don't think I ever talked to you before," Asuka said. "I'm sorry - I shouldn't have assumed that you were just..."
"Just what?" Sawatari said. "A joke?"
"No, I... I..."
"Let's put this aside for now," Reiji said. "At the end of the day, the Lancers have proven themselves on the field. And I'm confident that both of our new members will do the same."
"I understand," Yuya commented. "And hey - I'll be there to keep them safe."
For the most part, the Lancers seemed to agree. Some gave quick words of agreement, or nodded to their new comrades. But Gongenzaka crossed his arms and kept a stern eye on Mieru.
Not that Mieru was paying attention to anyone but Yuya. "Thank you, my darling!"
There it was again. That chill in the air. The deafening silence. Mieru could feel it, but she couldn't understand it. She didn't need to; she was confident that her "darling" would protect her from harm.
Yuzu rose up from her seat and slammed her hands down on the table. The glass shook upon contact, and the other Lancers would all swear that they heard it crack. Maybe they were wrong, though; they were way more focused on Yuzu's disturbingly serene expression.
"I think we should get more acquainted with the new Lancers!" she said happily. "How about a friendly duel, Mieru? We'll see what you got!"
A/N: This chapter was going to be longer. But since you guys have been waiting patiently for so long, I want to get this chapter out quickly have something out. The chapter's cut content will be fleshed out and given its own chapter or two. I hope that's okay with you guys.