AS ALWAYS, WHILE I DON'T OWN ARC-V I DO HAVE THE RIGHTS TO THIS FIC!
"And that's why you can't tell Shay about this, okay?" explained Aren. Following their duel, the War Eagle had spent the better part of an hour explaining his and Yuto's predicament to the elder Kastle twin.
"You should have told me and Rio about this right when you two first saw her." said Shark dryly.
"I know that keeping secrets is the last thing I should be doing, especially from my allies while we fight a war, but Yuto and I wanted to confirm a few things before telling you all about this." rationalized Aren. "What if we told you guys that Lulu was in this dimension and Shay went and carded every person in the city to find her? By observing her, Yuto and I have confirmed that she is not Lulu, but we both agreed that this can't be a coincidence. First Yuto and this Yuya guy from this dimension, and now Lulu and this pink-haired girl, two many similarities, and you know how I feel about coincidences."
"I hear you." said Shark, putting his hands in his pants pockets. "I may not like it entirely, I agree. It okay if I fill in Rio though, right? You know how close she and Sayaka were to Lulu."
"Go ahead." said the middle Obsidian dismissively. "Just don't tell Shay until Yuto and I do more scouting."
"What more do you need to scout about her?" questioned Shark. "If you know for sure that she's not Lulu, why bother?"
"I couldn't protect my sister from Duel Academy." said Aren softly. "If Duel Academy invades this dimension like they did Xyz, I want to make sure that she has the allies and skills necessary to keep herself safe from any Fusion freaks."
Shark said nothing for a moment, pondering the War Eagle's words. "Do what you need to do. I'll head back to the hideout. Be back my dusk, I still don't trust this place yet."
"See you tonight then Shark." said Aren, before jumping into the air, climbing up an alley wall and leaping onto a rooftop. Peering out at the midday sun, Aren closed his eyes and took in the salty breeze of the ocean.
[Flashback]
"Aren!" cried out Lulu, tears streaming from eyes. Shay stood next to her, his face clenched in worry and frustration. Beneath them, their brother laid on a stretcher in the Resistance hospital, burns covering the majority of the left side of his body.
"How is he doctor?" asked Shay, tightening his fists.
"Major burns to about 40% of his body, irreparable damage to his left leg and arm. His left eye has lost complete functionality." said the doctor, running through an assessor checklist. "He will live, but without a leg, arm, and eye."
"Oh, big brother!" wailed Lulu, burying her face in Shay's chest. The eldest Obsidian held his sister's head gently, whispering words of encouragement. Suddenly, Shay felt a hand grasp his. Looking down, he gasped at Aren who was partially awake, grinning goofily despite the severity of his injuries.
"You know, I bet I still look better than you do." joked Aren, coughing violently. Lulu cried in relief, taking her other brother's hand as well. At that moment, the yellow gem in the bracelet on her wrist glowed, and Aren felt much of the pain of his burns alleviate slightly. With some of his agony gone, Aren fell asleep, snoring soundly, much to the humor of his siblings.
[End Flashback]
"It was that day when we discovered Lulu's bracelet had the ability to heal internal and external pain." murmured Aren to himself. "If her bracelet hadn't done that, even if I still would've survived my injuries, I probably wouldn't have been able to keep on going…I would've drowned in despair."
"That's why you want to keep spying on that pink-haired girl." realized Soarnight Sniper, his spirit appearing next to the War Eagle.
"Lulu was there for me when I needed it the most, but when she was taken, when she needed me the most, I was still stuck on that hospital bed." said Aren. "That's why I will do everything I can to protect this girl from harm."
"That was really nice." said a voice behind Aren. The middle Obsidian turned his head to see that a mostly cloaked Yuto had silently arrived just like the phantom he was. "So, our pink-haired friend is below us?"
"Yeah, she just went in with a friend of hers, some blue-haired kid with a lollipop in his mouth." replied Aren. "I don't know what they are doing, but I thought I heard them mention something about Fusion Summoning."
"Fusion Summoning…then let's investigate, shall we?" said Yuto. The two ducked through the top of the warehouse's doors, which were closed a split second later by the pink-haired girl, stealthily leaping from one wooden crate to another to avoid detection from the two they were observing before arriving in the far corner, where they were hidden enough that they wouldn't be seen, but could easily listen on the conversation the two were having.
"Sora, I need you to teach me how to Fusion Summon!" begged the girl, bowing her head before the smaller boy and clasping her hands together.
"Here?" questioned Sora. "Right now?"
"Yeah." replied the girl.
"I don't know." said Sora slowly.
"I really need help!" pleaded the girl once more, leaning towards the boy, who held his lollipop closer to his face in apparent discomfort. "I need to be a better Duelist!"
"I get it." said Sora, lowering his lollipop. "You're still burning from losing to that Leo Institute girl, right?"
"So, she wants to learn Fusion Summoning because she lost in a duel?" asked Aren, using sign-language instead of actually speaking.
"Looks that way." signed back Yuto.
After a moment, the girl groaned in slight anger. "They cut the duel short yesterday, but I'm worried they'll come back, and if they do I really want to be able to stand up with Yuya, and help him defend the school! That's where you come in!"
"So, she knows your lookalike then…" signed the middle Obsidian to the Phantom Knights duelist. "I guess they go to the same school or something."
"You called me a slimy little weasel, remember?" said Sora plainly.
"Right…" sweat-dropped the girl before bowing again. "It came out wrong! I'm sorry!"
"Hmm…" muttered Sora, turning his head to the right in slight annoyance. "I just don't know…"
Looking up once more, the girl said, "Please, Sora?"
"It's not that I can't teach you, I'm not sure I should, because if I teach you stuff your dueling will improve." said Sora nervously.
"Well yeah, of course. That's kind of the whole point. You teach me, and I get better!" said the girl. "Come on Sora…"
"Fine…" moaned Sora defeatedly. He took a green bordered card from his deck and held it out for the girl. "Okay here, this is Polymerization. This is the end-all-be-all of Fusion: it's pretty much the foundation. It's what you use to combine monsters together." The girl took the Polymerization card from Sora and looked at it carefully. "Got it?"
The girl nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I'm with you! So, the required monsters can either be on the field or in my hand, right?"
"Hand or field, that's right." said Sora. "The important thing is that they're all in one or the other. There are exceptions or course."
The girl nodded once again in confirmation of his teaching. "So, when I activate this, the monsters I'm fusing together go to the Graveyard, then I summon the Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck."
"Yeah, that's-" Sora suddenly cut off and looked directly at where Aren and Yuto were hiding in the shadows. The two Xyz Dimension duelists immediately jumped high into the air at a fast pace, but Sora began running after them, leaping up the crates towards the two.
"Hey, where are you going?" cried out the girl to Sora. Sora didn't respond, but slipped on his Duel Disk, chasing Yuto along the floor while Aren observed the chase from the ceiling. Yuto armed his Duel Disk's purple blade, leaping off the far wall towards Sora, who in turn activated his blue Duel Disk blade. The two collided their disk blades midair, the two struggling to gain an advantage over the other. Just as it looked like Sora might overpower Yuto, Aren sprang into action. Activating his left arm's silver wing-shaped Duel Disk blade, he shot straight down like an arrow. Spinning mid-descent twice, he smashed the flat of his disk's blade directly on Sora's blade, sending the lollipop-eater straight down. Sora hit the ground but quickly recovered, backing away a couple of steps from where Aren and Yuto landed, all three boys having their respective disk blades now fully visible.
"Talk! Who are you two?!" shouted Sora angrily. Neither Yuto nor Aren responded to this outburst.
"You're not from around here, are you?" added Sora slyly.
"Neither are you." said Yuto calmly.
"Hey! I know you two!" shouted the pink-haired girl suddenly.
"You do?" asked Sora in surprise. "So, who are they then?!"
"The one with the black and purple hair dueled Sylvio and beat him!" said Zuzu, pointing at Yuto. "The other one was there too, but he prevented me from intruding on the duel! So, is this latest incident your doing too?"
"Latest incident…what?" questioned Sora.
"Some Leo Institute teacher was attacked." explained Zuzu.
'Leo Institute teacher…I guess that's Shay's work…so that means the work that the five of us have been doing is attracting more attention then we thought.' thought Aren.
"Really, is that so?" pondered Sora. "That would explain why the security at Leo Corp was so tight. Well, you two have got a lot of explaining to do!"
"Instead of explaining, we'll duel instead!" said Aren, raising his fist at Sora. From within his sleeve shot an emerald green rope, which attached itself to Sora's Duel Disk, surprising the Fusion user. After it latched on, the rope disappeared in a shower of sparkles. "Neither one of us can break free from my Duel Anchor until we duel, and a winner is decided."
"Oh, so you want to duel, huh?" said Sora. "Fine by me! Hey Zuzu! Here's your first visual lesson! If you want to learn how to Fusion Summon, watch this duel closely! I be sure to Fusion Summon so that you can get the ropes!"
'So, her name is Zuzu…then that confirms it…she is not Lulu…but I guess I should've realized this earlier. My little sis would never try to learn how to Fusion Summon.' thought Aren, a twinge of bitterness etching itself into its thoughts. 'Guess Lulu must be at Duel Academy like I originally thought. But then why does this girl look like Lulu to a tee? Besides the bubblegum pink hair and the outfit, this Zuzu could be Lulu's identical twin!'
"This is rather intriguing isn't it, all these lookalikes from different dimensions…" said Soarnight Sniper, his spirit appearing next to Aren. "But this Sora makes my skin crawl…I get the feeling there's more to him than meets the eye."
'That's why I'm dueling him. His athletics, his knowledge of Fusion Summoning…' responded Aren mentally. 'He doesn't feel like the other residents of this dimension…and I'm going to find out why…'
"DUEL!" shouted Aren and Sora.
AREN LP: 4000
SORA LP: 4000
"I'll make the first move!" said Sora cheerfully. "I activate the Spell card, Polymerization!" A familiar Spell card materialized before Sora. "What can I do with this card again Zuzu?"
"Fusion Summon!" responded Zuzu, pumping her fists.
"Correct! From my hand I fuse my Fluffal Bear with my Fluffal Sheep!" A spiraling portal appeared behind Sora, in which two of his monsters began rotating into. "Fury of bear and wooled warrior! When the two come together, none is cuddlier! I Fusion Summon!" Sora clasped his hands together above his head, before bringing them down to neck level. A card popped out of his yellow Duel Disk's Extra Deck slot. "Come on out, Fluffal Koala!" A giant sleeping koala with angel wings and a peaceful smile on its face appeared before Sora, yawning contently. (LV. 6, 2000/1500, LIGHT)
"How cute!" squealed Zuzu with glee.
"There's more to my koala than just looks! When he is Fusion Summoned, I can hit you with 200 points of damage for every card in your hand!" said Sora, snapping his fingers. "With 5 cards in your hands Mr. Out of Town, you'll take 1000 points of damage!" Fluffal Koala yawned, a bubble escaping its mouth and moving slowly towards Aren.
"When I would be inflicted with effect damage, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!" said Aren, placing a card on his blade. "Enigma Eagle Night Burner, show yourself!" An eagle wearing tattered clothes with wings of fire appeared before Aren, popping the bubble with its beak. (LV. 3, 500/1500, WIND)
"Huh?!" said Sora in shock. "What happened?"
"During the turn Nightburner is Special Summoned, I don't take any effect damage." explained Aren. "What's more, I can then draw a card since his ability negated a minimum of 1000 points of damage."
"Humph, pretty good!" admitted Sora. "But I'm not worried. I place two cards facedown, and end my turn! Now let's see what you've got!"
"Oh, I'll show you alright." said Aren, drawing a card and adding it to the five others in his hand. "Since there's a monster with at least 2000 attack points on the field, I can Special Summon these two monsters from my hand! Come forth, Enigma Eagle Thunder Lashers!" Two eagles wielding whips of electricity and wearing gold armor appeared before Aren. (LV. 3, 800/800, WIND) "And when a Thunder Lasher is Special Summoned, I get to dish out 300 points of damage! Go Voltage Crackle!" The two whips of the Enigma Eagles lightly struck Sora, pushing back the Fusion user slightly.
SORA LP: 4000 – 600 = 3400
"And next I activate the Field Spell, Land of the Valiant Wings!" said Aren. The Field Spell card appeared above Aren, shining brightly. "With this in play, each time an Extra Deck Monster is summoned, this card gains a Gallantry Counter! Since there was already an Extra Deck monster out when I activated it, I can put one Gallantry Counter on it right away!" (COUNTERS 0 - 1)
"A Field Spell that gains counters with an Extra Deck summon…" said Zuzu worriedly. "So, if Sora Fusion Summons again, it'll be helping that Field Spell gain more strength."
"I overlay my level 3 Night Burner and my two Thunder Lashers in order to build the Overlay Network!" said Aren. His three birds transformed into green streams of light, which flew into the Overlay Network portal. "Relentless eagle with continuous shots. Descend upon this battlefield and strike down those who oppress us! I Xyz Summon Enigma Eagle Gatling Blaster!" A tiny eaglet adorned in chain-link armor with a large Gatling gun appeared before Aren, eyeing Sora with anger. (RANK 3, 1850/1000, WIND, ORU: 3)
"An Xyz Summoner…" muttered Sora, his smirk widening. "This got much more interesting."
"Due to Land of the Valiant Wings' effect, it gains one Gallantry Counter!" said Aren. (COUNTERS: 1 - 2) "Next I activate the Spell Card Interdependence!" A spell depicting a mother bird nurturing its baby chicks appeared before Aren. "Since I have an Xyz Monster out on my field, I can Special Summon an Enigma Eagle from my Deck with 500 or fewer attack points! So, I call out Enigma Eagle Flash Chick!" A baby female eagle materialized next to Gatling Blaster, rubbing its tiny head on the larger bird. (LV. 1, 0/0, WIND)
"A baby bird…you must be joking." said Sora.
'Oh, he's deadly serious twerp.' thought Yuto.
"I activate Flash Chick's special ability! Since there are more than one Extra Deck monsters on our fields, she can call out a level 1 Enigma Eagle from my hand, so long as I negate its special abilities!" explained Aren. "So, I bring out Enigma Eagle Rabbelrobin!" A tiny half-hatched eaglet/robin hybrid still in its turquoise egg appeared next to Flash Chick, squawking loudly. (LV. 1, 0/0, WIND)
"Two level 1 monsters, is he going to Xyz Summon again?" said Zuzu in shock.
"I overlay Rabbelrobin and Flash Chick to build the Overlay Network! Valiant eagle that soars through the sky, descend upon this battlefield and strike down those who oppress us! I Xyz Summon Enigma Eagle Soarnight Sniper!" Aren's ace materialized next to Gatling Blaster, pointing his sniper rifle right at Sora's Fluffal Koala. (RANK 1, 500/500, WIND) "Not only does my Field Spell gain another Gallantry Counter now, Soarnight's special ability grants him 200 attack points for each Overlay Unit he has at the beginning of every turn, so here comes the first power up!" (Soarnight: 500/500 - 900/900) (COUNTERS: 2 - 3)
"Only 400 points of power-up?" mocked Sora. "That's not enough to scare me!"
"Not yet it isn't, but once I activate the Spell Featherweight Fall you might get frightened!" said Aren, playing one of the two remaining cards in his hand. "Because of this card, by paying 1000 Life Points I can send one Rank 4 or lower Enigma Eagle Xyz Monster from Extra Deck to the Graveyard, and until the end of this turn, one Enigma Eagle on my field gains half of that monster's attack points until the end of this turn! In addition, if the monster I send is a Rank 4 monster, I get to draw one card from my deck."
AREN LP: 4000 – 1000 = 3000
"That doesn't seem like it's good!" said Zuzu worriedly.
"By sending Rank 4 Enigma Eagle Sky Kunai to the Graveyard, Soarnight Sniper gains half of his 2500 attack points, for a 1250-point boost!" said Aren, sending Sky Kunai to the Graveyard. As he did, his discarded monster's spirit flew into Soarnight Sniper, causing the Obsidian's spirit partner to screech with power. (Soarnight: 900/900 - 2150/900) "Next I draw one card since I sent a Rank 4 Enigma Eagle to the Graveyard." Aren took another card from the top of his deck and added it to the one remaining card in his hand.
"All this set up must mean he's planning something big!" said Sora, tightening his stance.
"Soarnight Sniper's effect activates! Once per turn by using one Overlay Unit you take damage equal to half of the combined attack points of all Special Summoned monsters on our fields!" said Aren, one of Soarnight's green Overlay Units disappearing. (Soarnight ORU: 2 - 1) "Your Fluffal Koala, my Soarnight, and my Gatling have a total of 6000 attack points, so you'll get slammed with 3000 points of damage! Soarnight strike now with Frontal Arc Phaser!" Soarnight directed his sniper right at Sora's chest and unleashed a colossal linear laser blast at the blue-haired boy.
"Too bad for you! I activate the Continuous Trap Card, Fusion Fortress!" said Sora, one of his face-downs revealing itself. "With a Fusion Monster on my field, I don't take any damage from a card effect!"
'Well crud, that Trap Card will also block Gatling Blaster special ability.' thought Aren.
"Well what do you think Mr. Xyz Summoner? Aren't I good or what?" said Sora, winking in an almost mocking manner.
"I can't blast you with effect damage, so I'll hit you with battle damage instead! Battle Soarnight! Take out Fluffal Koala!" said Aren. Soarnight shot a single bullet from his weapon, easily destroying the Fusion Monster.
SORA LP: 3400 – 150 = 3250
Sora smiled as his monster disintegrated. "I activate my other Trap Card, Fluffal Repair Equipment! This
will bring back my Fluffal Koala and I get to draw a card!" A needle connected to a string dove into the Graveyard hole and pulled out Fluffal Koala, who yawned contently once more. Sora then drew his card and added it to the one in his hand.
"I place one card face-down and end my turn." said Aren. "Featherweight Fall's effect ends and Soarnight's attack points return to normal." (Soarnight: 2150/900 - 900/900)
"Tell me Zuzu, am I great or what! This guy could've done huge damage to me, but I limited it to only 750!" said Sora, turning to his bubblegum hair-colored friend.
"Mmm!" cheered Zuzu. "Do your best Sora!"
"I'll do just that!" said Sora, drawing a card.
"With each turn, Soarnight's ability gives it a 200-point boost for each Overlay unit he has!" said Aren, his ace glowing once again. (Soarnight: 900/900 - 1100/1100)
"I summon Edge Imp Tomahawk!" said Sora. A demon-esque monster with a body completely made of sharp blades appeared on Sora's field. (LV. 4, 1800/800, DARK)
'Well I guess there goes his cute monsters.' thought Aren humorously.
"Edge Imp Tomahawk lets me send Edge Imp monster in my hand to the Graveyard per turn to deal you 800 points of damage!" said Sora, taking one of his two hand cards and placing into the Graveyard slot on his Duel Disk. "I send Edge Imp Razor to the Graveyard! Go Tomahawk!" Tomahawk released several glowing blades which exploded on the ground in front of Aren, kicking up a cloud of dust and forcing the War Eagle to cover his face.
AREN LP: 3000 – 800 = 2200
"When Edge Imp Razor is sent from my hand to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon it to my field, so come on out little guy!" said Sora, another fiendish monster appearing on his field. (LV. 4, 1300/1000, DARK)
"Not so fast Sora! Since I took effect damage, I can activate this Trap!" said Aren, his face-down revealing itself. "Plume Aviation! Now listen up because I'll only explain this card's effect once! Since I have a Winged-Beast Xyz monster in my Graveyard, I can place 1 counter on this card for that monster!" A small number "1" appeared on the card. "Then by removing that counter I can summon one Enigma Eagle Xyz Monster from my Graveyard and equip it with this Trap! So, appearing from my Graveyard is Enigma Eagle Sky Kunai!" (RANK 4, 2500/2000, WIND)
"Oh boy now he has three burly birds." groaned Zuzu.
"Due to my Trap's effect, if Sky Kunai leaves the field, we both take 1000 points of damage, so I suggest you keep that in mind!" added Aren. "And now since I brought out an Extra Deck monster, the Field Spell, Land of the Valiant Wings' effect activates, gaining another Gallantry Counter!" (COUNTERS: 3 - 4)
"Humph! You just set yourself up for failure with that move! I activate my second copy of the Spell Card Polymerization!" said Sora. "With this, I fuse my Fluffal Koala with my Edge Imp Tomahawk! Sleeper of the jungle, master of sharpness! When the two come together, they call the king who is audacious! I Fusion Summon, Frightfur Daredevil!" A truly terrifying monster that looked like a demon-possessed baby doll with black wings and a pitchfork appeared on Sora's field, cackling wildly at Aren. (LV. 8, 3000/2200, DARK)
"Way to go Sora! Your monster may be incredibly terrifying, but it's super strong!" cheered Zuzu, a drop of sweat rolling down her face.
"My Field Spell Land of the Valiant Wings gets another Gallantry Counter since you brought out an Extra Deck monster" said Aren. (COUNTERS 4 - 5)
"Go Frightfur Daredevil, pounce on Sky Kunai!" ordered Sora. His monster pounced upon Sky Kunai, spearing it with its pitchfork and causing it to dissolve into yellow sparkles. Aren groaned as a heavy wind pushed him back.
AREN LP: 2200 – 500 = 1700
"Now Daredevil's ability activates Since he destroyed a monster in battle, you get slammed with 1000 points of damage! Eat this!" Daredevil slammed Aren with the flat of its pitchfork, sending the War Eagle flying backward.
AREN LP: 1700 – 1000 = 700
'Aren!' thought Yuto in worry, watching his friend hit the ground.
"Now due to your Trap Card Plume Aviation, we both take 1000 points of damage! But since I have Fusion Fortress still in play, I don't take any damage while you lose the rest of your Life Points!" said Sora with glee. Aren's Trap released a blast of green light which went straight for the War Eagle.
"Ergh, I activate Thunder Lasher's ability from my Graveyard! By banishing it and my other Thunder Lasher from my Graveyard, the effect damage I take drops to 0!" said Aren, a barrier forming around him at the last-second, protecting him from the blast of green light.
"Oh well, that's too bad." said Sora glumly. "But I still have Edge Imp Razor on my field! Attack Gatling Blaster!"
"But Gatling Blaster has more attack points than Razor!" protested Zuzu. "Why do that?!" As she said this, Gatling Blaster reflected the balls, which struck Razor and destroyed it.
SORA LP: 3250 – 550 = 2600
"I did that because when Edge Imp Razor is destroyed in battle, it's special ability can deal out damage equal to half of its attack points!" Razor's spirit appeared on Sora's field, before rushing at and passing through Aren's body. As this happened, the War Eagle felt a sharp pain in stomach, causing him to fall onto the ground almost motionless, his body feebly twitching with agony.
AREN LP: 700 – 650 = 50
"I place one card face-down, and my turn." said Sora, placing a card in his Spell & Trap Zone. "You've got 50 Life Points left and you look ready to keel over. That's what you get for spying on the two of us, but I still want to know why!"
"…You want to know why…" muttered Aren, raising himself up off the ground. "Because there is a mission I'm on that I will complete at any costs…and no matter how many of my morals I must break, I will see it through! It's my turn so I draw!" Eyeing the card he drew, a plan formulated in the War Eagle's mind. As he did, Soarnight's strength increased via his ability. (Soarnight: 1100/1100 - 1300/1300)
"First I activate the effect of Featherweight Fall from my Graveyard." said Aren. "By banishing this card, I can take two Enigma Eagle Spell and Trap Cards from my Deck and set them on the field." Two cards popped out of Aren's deck, the Obsidian then playing them face-down. "These cards can't be activated the turn I set them, so you're free from their terror for now. And now for my next move, I banish Enigma Eagle Flash Chick to activate its special ability!" Aren's Level 1 monster spiraled out of existence from the Graveyard. "Now I can Special Summon one Enigma Eagle monster from my Deck, but during the beginning of my next turn, I must destroy it. So, I call out Enigma Eagle Braveheart Curassow!" An eagle adorned with various medals and wielding a shield with a blade sticking out from the bottom appeared next to the War Eagle's other monsters. (LV. 7, 2600/2000, WIND) "Braveheart's ability activates! Not only does he get an extra 100 attack points for every Enigma Eagle in my Graveyard, but once per turn I can destroy a number of cards on your field equal to the number of Enigma Eagle monsters in my Graveyard! However, I have to skip my Battle Phase during the turn I use this effect. With two of my feathered friends roosting in my Graveyard, I'll destroy Fusion Fortress and Frightfur Daredevil!" (Braveheart: 2600/2000 - 2800/2000)
"I don't think so! I activate the Trap Frightfur Defender!" said Sora, his face-down card flipping up. "Not only does it save Daredevil from destruction, but he gets an extra 800 attack points!" A barrier formed around Daredevil, protecting it from Aren's monster's effect. However Fusion Fortress was destroyed. "And then by banishing Defender from my Graveyard, I take no damage for the rest of the turn!" (Daredevil: 3000/2200 - 3800/2200)
"3800 attack points…" muttered Yuto.
"I end my turn now." said Aren. "One turn…one more turn for you to try and finish me off…if you can't, then I guarantee you'll go down after that."
"Ha! Big talk for someone about to lose!" said Sora, drawing a card. As he did, Soarnight powered up once again. (Soarnight: 1300/1300 - 1500/1500) "I activate the Equip Spell Frightfur Graft! Now I can Special Summon a Frightfur monster from my Extra Deck and equip it to Daredevil, and until the end of the turn Daredevil gains that monster's attack points! I choose Frightfur Bear, giving my Daredevil an extra 2200 points of fun!" Daredevil cackled as Frightfur Bear appeared behind it, its fabric-like body attaching itself to Daredevil, not only giving the Fiend-type Monster armor in the shape of Bear's body, but Daredevil became surrounded by a blackish-red aura. (Daredevil: 3800/2200 - 6000/2200)
"That's a lot of attack points!" cheered Zuzu.
"But now my Field Spell gains one more Gallantry Counter." stated Aren. (COUNTERS: 5 - 6)
"Time to put them to good use by winning this duel!" said Sora, smiling brightly. "Daredevil, attack Gatling Blaster and win us this battle!" Daredevil shot itself like an arrow at the Enigma Eagle, its pitchfork straight out in front of its body like a missile.
"I activate the Trap, Gravity Lapse!" said Aren, one of his set cards activating. "Now all monsters on the field lose attack points equal to their defense points!" The War Eagle's Trap shot blasts of energy that hit all four monsters on the field, causing them all to drop slightly. (Gatling Blaster: 1850/1000 - 850/1000), (Daredevil: 6000/2200 - 3800/2200), (Soarnight: 1500/1500 - 0/1500), (Braveheart: 2800/2000 - 800/2000)
"That won't matter, my Daredevil can still wipe out your Life Points!" said Sora assuredly.
"I activate my second Trap, Starlight Refraction!" shouted Aren, his second set card showing itself. "Now since the attack points of a monster on my field were altered, I can negate your attack and end the Battle Phase!" A blast of light shot from the Obsidian's card, blasting Daredevil back to Sora's field.
"Ohh!" whined Sora. "I was so close, but that was really good Mr. Xyz Summoner! But I still won't lose! I end my turn, so Frightfur Graft's effect ends, and Frightfur Bear returns to my Extra Deck." (Daredevil: 3800/2200 - 1600/2200)
"I warned you." muttered Aren, causing Sora and Zuzu to stiffen. "I gave you one turn to finish me off and you failed, now feel the wrath of my mighty beasts! I draw!" (Soarnight: 0/1500 - 200/1700) A blast of green-colored wind shot from Aren as he drew, pushing against the other three in the warehouse. "Since I have at least 2 Enigma Eagle Xyz monsters on my field, I can activate Feather Reincarnation Ritual! This lets me revive Sky Kunai from my Graveyard with no attack points or special abilities!" Sky Kunai rose once more from Aren's Graveyard, but glowed blue as he powered down completely. (Sky Kunai: 2500/2000 - 0/2500)
"What good will that monster do now?" questioned Zuzu. "It's like a bird whose wings have been clipped."
"My Field Spell, Land of the Valiant Wings now gains one more counter since I brought out an Extra Deck monster." stated Aren. (COUNTERS: 6 - 7)
"That Field Spell has ben in effect this entire duel," muttered Sora, "but he hasn't done anything with it besides racking up counters…unless!"
"That's been my plan all along! I activate Land of the Valiant Wings' effect! Since it has 7 counters on it, I can destroy it and all the Xyz Monsters on my field to summon an Enigma Eagle Xyz Monster whose Rank is equal to that of the combined Ranks of the destroyed Xyz Monsters!" said Aren.
"No way!" shouted Zuzu and Sora in disbelief.
"The combined Ranks of Soarnight Sniper, Gatling Blaster, and Sky Kunai totals 8, so now I can summon a Rank 8 Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck!" said Aren, taking a card from his Extra Deck. "Valiant bird of predatory power, descend upon this battlefield and strike down those who oppress us! I Xyz Summon, Enigma Eagle Radiant Zweihaender!" A massive eagle, armored in armor made of reflective metal and wielding a triple-pronged sword appeared in front of Aren, screeching a bloodcurdling cry. (RANK 8, 3400/3000, WIND)
"What an incredible monster…" breathed Zuzu.
'That one's new on me.' thought Yuto, his eyes widened in awe.
"Due to my Field Spell's final effect, my destroyed Xyz monsters become Radiant Zweihaender's Overlay Units!" said Aren, as three balls of light began cycling around his newest bird. "And now I activate Radiant Zweihaender's special ability! By using one Overlay Unit all cards on your field lose their special abilities and you are prevented from activating any Spells or Traps until your next Standby Phase!" (Zweihaender ORU: 3 - 2)
"That's not good!" said Sora, backing away.
"Next, by using one more Overlay Unit I can activate Zweihaender's other special ability!" said Aren. (Zweihaender ORU: 2 - 1) "By releasing Braveheart Curassow, Zweihaender gains its current attack points until the end of the turn!" Curassow dissolved into yellow sparkles, which were absorbed into Zweihaender's body, causing the Rank 8 monster to gain a yellow aura. (Zweihaender: 3400/3000 - 4200/3000)
"4200 attack points!" said Zuzu in shock.
"It's time Zweihaender! Attack Frightfur Daredevil with Eternity Refraction!" roared Aren. Zweihaender's armor sparkled with a thousand colors, the light being given off absorbed into his sword. Zweihaender screeched, and then did a downward slash, releasing a multicolored vertical line of colored energy that instantly tore Frightfur Daredevil to shreds, causing a massive explosion.
Sora screamed as he was flung back into the warehouse's walls, his back smashing into the doors. After a split second, Sora fell to the ground in a heap, his body covered in bruises.
SORA LP: 2600 – 2600 = 0
WINNER: AREN
"Are you okay Sora?" said Zuzu, rushing to her fallen friend. To her surprise, Sora got back up on his feet with no difficulty, but what she didn't see were Sora's eyes, which were filled with rage and directed at Aren, as if he couldn't believe he lost to him.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but we still need to get these two to talk." said Sora, his rage-filled eyes changing to normal ones.
"How about we start with who you two are?" suggested Zuzu. "Why did you duel Sylvio? What are you up to? What's your problem with Leo Corp?!"
Aren was about to say something when the warehouse doors opened behind them.
"Answer the questions!" shouted a female voice. All of the four looked at the entrance, to see that a teenage girl with dark skin tone, shoulder-length black hair and red eyes, wearing a small blue shirt with her LID badge pinned on it, over top of a cream one-piece long-sleeved shirt and shorts combination, along with black skin-tight shorts underneath ending above the knee, and blue boots had entered, staring at Aren and Yuto intensely.
"Julia!" said Zuzu in shock.
"Who are you two and what did you do to Professor Marco?!" asked Julia angrily, walking into the warehouse.
"This is turning into a real party…" muttered Zuzu apprehensively.
"I'm going to ask you two one last time: where is he?" said Julia aggressively, holding up her dark blue Standard Dimension duel disk and equipping it to her left arm. When Yuto and Aren stayed silent once more, she continued. "Alright, if you don't want to talk, then maybe you want to duel!"
"Hang on a second!" protested Zuzu. "You can't just barge in here and start demanding-"
"Get out the way wannabe!" interrupted Julia angrily.
"Did you just call me a…" started Zuzu before changing her sentence. "Look, you only think they're involved with your missing professor, but you-"
"I'll know if they're involved when we duel, and they start Xyz Summoning!" interrupted Julia once more.
"Xyz Summoning…" breathed Sora. "Oh…very interesting."
'You know what I think.' thought Soarnight to Aren. 'that little twerp must be from the Fusion Dimension.'
'Agreed, but we'd be wise not to do or say anything until we're 100% sure, which I'm not.' thought back Aren.
"You'll be talking soon enough when I'm through with you two!" said Julia, holding out her left arm and activating her duel disk's orange blade. "Come on let's do this!"
"You're not going to get answers this way!" said Zuzu, walking up to Julia. "You've got to calm down!" Just then, Zuzu's bracelet glowed once more, blinding her, Sora, and Julia. Aren managed to cover his eyes just in time to see Yuto dissolve in a shower of pink light and disappear.
'That's the same thing that happened before!' thought Aren. 'That glow is just like the one Lulu's bracelet gives off, but while her's attracts Yuto to duel with her, Zuzu's teleports him away! Why is this happening?!'
As the light faded, Zuzu looked at her bracelet in shock. She, Sora, and Julia gasped as Yuto was now gone, but Aren was still there in as much shock as the two of them!
"Great." muttered Julia. "One of them's gone, but at least there's still one left."
"Zuzu! Are you in there?!" called out a male voice. All four were surprised to see none other than Yuya Sakaki enter the warehouse. "Good, everyone was totally worried, and you weren't answering your phone, and I'm really sorry if I made you feel unappreciated before!"
'Yuya Sakaki again! Just like before!' thought Aren.
"I get it know!" said Julia, looking at Yuya. "You must have teamed up with those two and helped the first one escape! But don't worry, because I'll trounce your pal and make him tell me what I want to know!"
"Is that what you think?" muttered Aren softly, causing Julia to react in shock. Aren played his Spell Shadow Stitch, instantly transporting himself out of the warehouse and away from the four duelists.
As he materialized back in front of the hideout where he and his allies were staying at, Aren began thinking to himself. 'So many questions and so few answers. I get the feeling though that if we manage to get to this Declan Akaba guy, then some of them will finally be answered.'
{Next Chapter: For Our Tomorrows}
After learning about a skirmish involving Shay, Yuto, Julia, Sora, Yuya, and Zuzu at Paradise Prime Pier, Aren is forced to explain everything he knows to his older brother. Learning this new information, Shay engages in a duel with Julia, who teams up with her friends Dipper and Kit to arrest Shay for his attacks on the Leo Institute staff.
A.N. Hope you guys enjoyed this one, and sorry about the wait! As a side note, I'm no longer putting my OC cards' descriptions here at the bottom in order to save me some time and stress. Hope this doesn't bother anyone!
-S4S