I don't own ARC-V, but I DO own this story! Enjoy!
In their subterranean hideout, Aren was currently tinkering with his mechanical arm, trying to find the source of the acrid smoke that was rising from the motor.
"I need to start sleeping with this thing off." murmured Aren to himself annoyed. Over in the opposite corner, the Kastle siblings Rio and Shark were currently covering the noses from the awful fumes, trying to funnel as much of the smoke as possible out of the bunker and above ground.
"Remind me why you decided to fix this thing in here, genius." complained Shark.
"If someone notices the smoke rising from the warehouse they are going to call the police and we'll be busted." added Rio agitatedly.
"We're more likely to be busted because of my brother more than this." retorted Aren. "Wait...is that?" Aren took a screwdriver and began digging at the inner elbow joint, dislodging something stuck inside. "SHARK! HOW DID ONE OF YOUR EARRINGS GET INSIDE MY ARM?!" The middle Obsidian turned to the Kastle brother in a rage, his artificial eye glowing a fiery red.
"My left earring!" shouted Shark in surprise. "I was wondering where it went! How did it get stuck in your arm?!"
"Aren always moves around when he sleeps, remember big brother?" reminded Rio, continuing to funnel the last of the smoke out the room. "You probably put your earrings on the ground when we went to bed last night, and in his sleep he rolled onto it where it got stuck!"
Just as the three Xyz Dimension residents were about to get into a full-blown argument, Yuto jumped down into the hideout with an unconscious Shay slung over his shoulder.
"Yuto! What happened to Shay? Is he alright?" shouted Aren in alarm, jumping over to his friends, and helping the Phantom Knight user get the elder Obsidian off of his shoulder.
"Listen up Aren." said Yuto in a hushed voice. "I give us about five minutes before Shay regains consciousness and when he does he's going to bombard you with a bunch of questions all at once."
"Why?" questioned Rio. "What happened?"
"We just came from the opposite side of the city, where I dueled that loudmouth from LID Sylvio." said Yuto. "And we had quite an adventure over there."
[Flashback]
Yuto was currently walking amongst some shipping crates, looking at the outsides of the to determine if they had any supplies he could swipe for the group. Looking around, he noticed that Shay, who had been behind him a moment prior, was now nowhere to be seen.
"Shay?" said Yuto in confusion, looking around. "Where did he go?"
The Raidraptor user in question was currently hiding behind some boxes, observing an ongoing argument between a black-haired, dark-skinned girl, a young boy with sky blue hair and sucking on a lollipop, and a girl with bubblegum pink hair held back by two blue circular hair clips.
'What do we have here…' thought Shay to himself, his eyes narrowing from underneath his sunglasses.
"I'm going to crush you first, then her!" said the dark-skinned girl, pointing her finger and her blue Standard Dimension Duel Disk at the blue-haired boy.
"Nah, don't think so Jules." said the blue-haired boy nonchalantly. "After you lose to me, I doubt you'll have the guts to duel her."
"I'll show you guts!" raged the girl in response, clenching her fist angrily. "When I'm through you'll wish you never messed with the Leo Institute!"
"You're from the Leo Institute?!" said Shay from his hiding place, causing the two girls and one boy to look in his direction. Just as they did so, Shay dashed from his hiding place, elbowing the pink-haired girl out of his way, causing her to cry out and drop her Duel Disk, which spilled out all her cards onto the ground.
Facing the Leo Institute girl, Shay revealed his Duel Disk, attached to his left arm. Activating its blue checkmark-shaped blade, he said from underneath his scarf, which was currently covering the bottom half of his face, "If you're one of them, I'll battle you!"
Taking a step forward, the Leo Institute girl began to instinctively step back, a look of fear beginning to take shape on her face. "You...it's you! You must be the one who's attacking everybody!" Shay said nothing in response, but continued to face the girl in a ready position.
"Let's duel!" said Shay challengingly. "Bring it!"
At that moment, Yuto, who had been watching the proceedings taking place from a rooftop, jumped down, calling out, "Shay, no!" Landing next to the eldest Obsidian child, Yuto grabbed Shay's arm and held it tightly. "This won't solve anything!"
"You're wrong!" retorted Shay angrily. "She's with the Leo Institute, Yuto!"
Removing his lower faceguard, Yuto replied, "I told you before. This isn't our battlefield! You have to trust me! This isn't the way to go about this!"
Shaking the Phantom Knight user off of him, Shay lowered his scarf back to its normal position around his neck. "You better believe it's a battlefield! I have to do this to get Lulu back, and if you're going to stand in my way then you're my enemy too!"
'Shay…' thought Yuto sadly. 'Have you forgotten your duel with your brother so easily? Has rage clouded your mind so thickly again that you can't tell right from wrong anymore?'
"Dipper, he's here!" said the Leo Institute girl, using her Duel Disk as a phone. "Get to building 33 at the harbor, right away!"
"Wait!" called out the pink-haired girl, having finally stood up. "How do you know for sure he's the one you've been looking for?" Turning to the girl, Shay felt like the world froze around him, for even if her hair was different, there was no mistaking the girl's face, having seen it so many times growing up with it in his house: it was his sister.
"Lulu!" called out Shay, his tone softening, but quite full of shock. So many questions were running through his mind at the moment. The girl seemed to recoil slightly at the sudden shift in his demeanor. Taking off his sunglasses, he said, "How did you-? Who helped you-? Did you get away?" Moving towards "Lulu," Yuto suddenly stepped forward and punched Shay right in the stomach, causing the girl and her friend to react with alarm.
Slumping over, Shay let out one a pained "Lulu."
"Sorry my friend," said Yuto quietly, "it's not her." Finally succumbing to unconsciousness, the Raidraptor user was slung over his friend's shoulder.
"Get in touch with the Leo Institute!" said the LID girl into her Duel Disk. "Tell them to send every person they can down here immediately!"
Looking at Zuzu's deck still all over the ground, Yuto zeroed in on one card in particular. His mind began filling with anger at the sight of it, having faced so many monsters from Duel Academy brought out by the card in the past. Picking the copy of Polymerization up and looking over his shoulder, he addressed Zuzu directly: "This card...it isn't right for you." His words clearly left the Lulu-clone looking very confused.
"You have a right to your own opinion," said Sora, whom Yuto turned to see was now leaning against a shipping container smugly, "but I don't like it when a stranger criticizes a card I picked for somebody." Licking his lollipop, he looked at the resident of Heartland with a glint in his eye. "And if you have a problem with my choice of cards I'd be glad to show you how wrong you are and how right I am!"
"Sora!" said Zuzu angrily to her friend, as Yuto engaged in a stare down with the boy. "This is ridiculous, stop it! Both of you!"
"Julia!" called a voice from nearby. Hearing her name, the LID Fusion user turned to see her two friends along with Yuya Sakaki running towards their group. Just then, the crystal in Zuzu's bracelet released a shining pink light, causing her, Sora, and Yuto to gasp in shock. The last thing Yuto saw was her shocked face before he felt himself and Shay be whisked away. When he opened his eyes, the Phantom Knights user was now standing outside the warehouse hideout.
[End Flashback]
"When Shay wakes up, he's going to have a lot of questions, and you won't be able to hide the truth from him any longer." said Yuto, helping set Shay down on a pillow.
"I know...my brother is going to be pissed…" muttered Aren.
"You knew this was bound to happen." said Soarnight Sniper, his spirit appearing next to Aren.
'I know buddy. Time to let the cat out of the bag.' thought back Aren, pursing his lips.
A few moments later, Shay groaned and opened his eyes. Surveying his surrounding and realizing where he was, he immediately looked at Yuto, his eyes burning with rage upon remembering what he had done to him at the harbor.
"Why did you punch me?! If that girl wasn't Lulu then who was she?!" shouted Shay, standing up and grabbing his friend by the collar of his shirt.
"Not Lulu." stated Aren, putting a hand on his older brother's shoulder. "Shay, sit down. It's time I tell you everything." Staring at his younger brother angrily for a moment, Shay released Yuto and leaned back against the wall, eyeing his brother.
"From the beginning." said Shay.
"Her name is Zuzu Boyle. She may be an identical clone to our sister, but she is not Lulu." said Aren. "Not only did she not know who Yuto or I were, but she is an aspiring Fusion Summoning learner." At that last remark Shay gasped. "You know as well as I do that Lulu would never use Fusion Summoning and especially not with a smile on her face. There are also obvious differences: the different hair color, the different eye color, the difference in their mannerisms, and the difference in their bracelets. Lulu's had a yellow gem, Zuzu's has a pink one. They may be clones across dimensions, but they are completely different. I didn't tell you about her because I knew you would react exactly the way you did earlier. Rather than saying that Lulu might be here and get your hopes up, I scouted her out to make sure that she was Lulu, and when I determined for sure that she wasn't, I didn't want to mention her at all, out of respect for her safety."
Shay said nothing at Aren's tale, his eyes facing the ground as he processed everything that he had just heard. "I understand."
"Huh?" said the other four at the same time.
"You had sound logic and acted rationally." said Shay. "I may not like it, but you did the right thing. Just don't keep secrets from me in the future, promise?"
"Promise, big bro." replied the War Eagle, patting his older brother on the shoulder. "Now, what do we do moving forward?"
"I have an idea." said Shark. Everyone turned to the elder Kastle twin. "That LID girl that was there with you guys at the pier, Julia was it? What if we go after her? It's clear that she is one of the top students at LID, and no way anyone at that company will let us card any of their students."
"So we lure her out, while also transmitting our location to LID, in order to lure Declan Akaba right to us?" said Rio slowly.
"What makes you think that Julia will come? She would have to be pretty stupid to accept a challenge from the people who have been taking down her teachers suddenly challenge her to a duel?" asked Yuto.
"That's exactly the point. She would have to be pretty stupid to accept a challenge from the people who have been taking down her teachers, but from what I've seen of her she is brash and proud. It's time we capitalize on that." said Aren.
[That Evening]
"Shay, we'll be counting on you to duel her. Can you do this?" asked Aren.
"Oh, don't worry. This will be a walk in the park." replied Shay.
Shay opened his eyes as he finished going over the game plan in his mind. On the roof above him to his right, he could just make out the shadowy figure of his brother hiding in the fading light, his mechanical eye glowing ever so slightly in the dusk.
Turning his eyes back to the street ahead of him, Shay saw Julia approaching cautiously, moving slowly with narrowed eyes.
"You're alone." said Shay, breaking the silence. Julia recoiled slightly at the calmness of his voice. "You should be careful, it's not safe out."
Julia tightened her fists at Shay's subtle threat. "I can take care of myself! It's you who should watch your back! You're the one who attacked Professor Marco, aren't you?! Why don't you just admit it?!"
"Who's Marco?" asked Shay slyly, feigning innocence.
"You know who I'm talking about!" yelled Julia, her tone dripping with accusation. "The Leo Institute professor who teaches in the Fusion Department!"
"Oh, him." said Shay shortly. "Hmph, he was quite the disappointment. I was hoping he'd at least put up a good struggle, but he was pathetic."
"BE QUIET!" screamed Julia fiercely. "Someone as rotten as you doesn't get to talk like that about him!"
"Well he's not alone. Everyone from Leo has been so weak and completely predictable." said Shay, looking away for a moment. "No real passion, no respect for the true art of the duel."
"Are you saying you beat the others too?!" said Julia in disbelief.
"Why not find out…" said Shay softly but menacingly. "Challenge me to a duel, then maybe you'll know if I'm your guy or not!" At that statement, Shay activated his blue Duel Disk blade.
"Those are some real fighting words." said Soarnight Sniper, his spirit appearing next to Aren. "Let's hope Shay doesn't underestimate this girl and get burned."
"I wouldn't worry about him buddy." said Aren softly, narrowing his eyes. "It's Julia that better watch out." As he said that, he noticed Yuto appear in the alley below him, having confronted none other than Zuzu, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. 'I'll ask him about that later.'
"Guys, I got him." said Julia, bringing her Standard Dimension Duel Disk to her mouth and speaking into it. "Hurry up!"
"Got it!" buzzed a voice in response. "I'm on my way!"
"Be there soon!" buzzed a second voice.
"So you called for backup?" questioned Shay. "Only two people though. You must underestimate me."
"You only heard two people, but now everyone at the Leo Institute knows exactly where you are. More importantly they know what you look like. We've got cameras on you right now. Smile, or don't!" taunted Julia. At that statement, Aren noticed a video camera almost right next to him trained directly on Shay. "Either way your little Dueling spree is about to end!"
"That's right!" called a voice. At that second Aren noticed someone leaping down from the rooftop opposite of his own, landing on the right side of Julia. The boy had a slim figure and was quite tall, but what Aren noticed immediately was his flamboyant purple hair that had a gold pin in the shape of the Big Dipper constellation, and his callous blue eyes. He wore a zip-up blue and purple jacket over a white long-sleeved shirt, with white pants, olive-colored shoes, and a loose blue belt. Aren squinted and noticed the LID badge pinned on the right side of his jacket. He also had a strange frame headpiece with a star underneath his hairline. "Came as fast as I could! I hope I didn't miss anything exciting!"
"Let's take this clown down, before the enforcement team arrives!" said a second boy, coming to a screeching halt on the left side of Julia. The boy was quite a bit shorter than Julia, wearing a dark blue long-sleeved shirt and pants under a tan jacket with an orange interior, with his LID badge pinned on the collar and the sleeves torn off in a strange fashion choice, along with brown socks, and burnt-orange and grey shoes. His spiky brown hair was second in strangeness to a wooden katana that was sheathed over his back. "We'll be known in the whole school as the students who caught the bad guy!"
"I like it." said Julia, impressed. "You in Dipper?" Dipper nodded, smiling kindly.
"We'll use Battle Royal rules!" shouted the second boy, Aren recognizing from the dock as Kit. "Which means the three of us get the chance to take you on!"
"Fine by me." said Shay plainly. "This way I can defeat you all in one duel!"
"LET'S DUEL!" shouted all four Duelists, with the LID trio all activating their Duel Disk blades.
SHAY LP: 4000
JULIA LP: 4000
DIPPER LP: 4000
KIT LP: 4000
"Alright Julia!" shouted Dipper. "Kick this thing off!"
"Happy to!" replied Julia. "First, I'm summoning Gem-Knight Lapis!" A small girl made of rock, with a purple gem embedded in her chest appeared. (LV. 3; ATK: 1200; DEF: 100; EARTH) "Then I place one card face-down, and end my turn!"
"It's your go punk!" said Kit, pointing at Shay.
"So it is!" said Shay, drawing a card. "First up, I'm playing a little something to take my game to new heights! Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius!" (LV. 4; ATK: 1300; DEF: 1600; DARK)
"Here we go…" muttered Aren.
"But it won't be flying solo." said Shay. "When it's Summoned to my field it can bring a friend: a second Vanishing Lanius!" (LV. 4; ATK: 1300; DEF: 1600; DARK) "Next I activate the Continuous Spell, Raidraptor - Nest!" A Spell depicting two glowing white birds flying into the sun above a scrap-metal nest with a single egg appeared before the eldest Obsidian. "Since I have two identical Raidraptors on my field, I can fly a third one from my Deck to my hand!" Shay plucked a card from the middle of his Deck and added it to the three cards in his hand. "But it won't stay there for long! My second Vanishing Lanius's special ability lets me Summon it right away! Looks like there's one for each of you now!" (LV. 4; ATK: 1300; DEF: 1600; DARK) With that, two face-downs materialized before Shay, signaling the end of his turn.
"It's my turn!" said Dipper, drawing his card. "I'm going to make some moves that are out of this world! Since I don't have any Monsters on my field and you do, I can Summon Constellar Siat!" A tiny armored child holding a vase above his head appeared on the field. (LV. 1; ATK: 100; DEF: 600; LIGHT) "Next, I Summon Constellar Pollux!" A behemoth of an armored knight wielding a splitsword appeared next to Siat. (LV. 4; ATK: 1700; DEF: 600; LIGHT)
"What makes it so stellar?" said Dipper almost mockingly. "I'll tell you! When it's Summoned, I can Summon another Constellar Monster from my hand, so come on out Constellar Algiedi!" Another armored knight, wielding a splitspear, appeared on the field. (LV. 4; ATK: 1600; DEF: 1400; LIGHT)
"Thanks to its special ability," continued Dipper, "I can Special Summon another Constellar Monster to fight by its side, so say hello to Constellar Kaus!" A centaurine knight wielding a double-curved golden bow appeared next to Algiedi. (LV. 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 700; LIGHT)
"Now I hear that you use Xyz Summoning." said Dipper to Shay, who didn't respond. "Well you should know that I do too, and I don't like how you're running around and giving Xyz Summoning a bad name! When I'm through with you I'll be the top Xyz Summoner in all of LID!"
"Talk about a superiority complex." muttered Soarnight distastefully.
"This guy makes Shark's ego seem normal." commented back Aren.
"Now if you don't mind," said Dipper. "I'll show you how a real duelist uses Xyz Summoning and get ready to find out why I and LID are the best at doing it! I activate Kaus' special ability, which lets it add one level to both it and another Constellar Monster on the field!" Kaus fired an arrow from his bow into the sky which exploded, showering both him and Algiedi and yellow sparkles, causing them to glow. (Kaus and Algiedi: LV. 4 - 5)
"Now he had two Level 5 Monsters…" muttered the War Eagle. "So if this guy is an Xyz Summoner like Shay and I, then there's no doubt what he's going to do next."
"Now I overlay Level 5 Constellar Kaus and Constellar Algiedi, in order to build the Overlay Network!" shouted Dipper. Kaus and Algiedi transformed into yellow streams of light, which dove into the center of the spiraling galaxy vortex, which upon their entry released a pillar of blue light high into the sky. "The light of the distant stars shatters the dark of the night! I Xyz Summon Constellar Pleiades!" A massive silver knight wielding a staff/spear hybrid, with a sixth-split cape that displayed an image of a spiraling galaxy. (RANK 5; ATK: 2500; DEF: 1500; LIGHT)
"Now, I activate the Spell, Constellar Twinkle!" said Dipper, activating a spell that depicted a sun showering sparkles on a Constellar Monster. "This adds two more levels to Constellar Pollux." As he said this, Pollux became surrounded in a yellow aura. (Pollux: LV. 4 - 6) "And then, thanks to his special ability, Constellar Siat gets to change his level to match Pollux's!" Siat threw his jar into the air, which flipped and showered the Light-Attribute Monster with golden sparkles. (Siat: LV. 1 - 6) "So now, I overlay Level 6 Pollux and Siat in order to build the Overlay Network!" Just as before, Dipper's Monsters dove into the spiraling galaxy portal which released a second pillar of blue light. "I Xyz Summon, Constellar Ptolemy M7!" Aren's eyes widened as a massive armored mechanical dragon with the same galactic pattern on its wings as on Pleiades' cape. (RANK 6; ATK: 2700; DEF: 2000; LIGHT)
"Back to back Xyz Summons! That's showing him what LID can do!" cheered Kit.
"Now I'm going to activate Constellar Pleiades' special ability!" said Dipper, as one of the Overlay Units on his Rank 5 Monster disappeared. "By using one Overlay Unit I can return one of your Vanishing Lanius back to your hand!" One of Shay's Lanius's exploded and reformed as a card in Shay's hand. (Pleiades ORU: 2 - 1)
"A bounce effect…" muttered Aren. "Normally that would be trouble for Shay but luckily this guy is an idiot."
"Now I activate Ptolemy M7's special ability, which lets me return another Vanishing Lanius back to your hand!" said Dipper, as an Overlay Unit disappeared from Ptolemy M7. (Ptolemy M7 ORU: 2 - 1) Another Vanishing Lanius exploded and reformed in Shay's hand, joining the other one from a moment prior. "With that I end my turn. You're up now Kit!"
"Oh yeah!" said the LID Synchro user. "Leave it to me! I draw!" Drawing his card, Kit grinned. "I'll start by summoning XX-Saber Boggart Knight!" A gremlin-like creature wearing spiked armor and a tattered red cape appeared in front of Kit. (LV. 4; ATK: 1900; DEF: 1000; EARTH) "When this card is summoned I get to Special Summon another XX-Saber Monster from my hand, so get set for the Level 1 Tuner Monster X-Saber Palomuro!" A tiny bipedal lizard wielding a tiny sword appeared next to Boggart Knight. (LV. 1; ATK: 200; DEF: 300; EARTH)
"So that's a Tuner Monster…" breathed Aren in awe. "I remember Yuto saying that the Synchro Dimension guy he dueled used a couple of those...right before he Synchro Summoned!"
"Now since I've got two X-Saber Monsters on my field, I get to call out XX-Saber Faultroll from my hand!" said Kit, placing a third Monster on his green disk blade. A muscular warrior adorned in futuristic red armor and wielding a massive broadsword thicker than Aren's body appeared next. (LV. 6; ATK: 2400; DEF: 1800; EARTH) "You've seen Dipper's Xyz Summon, so now you'll get to see some Synchro power! I tune Level 1 Palomuro with Level 4 Boggart Knight!" Palomuro turned into a single green ball of light which then floated upward and transformed into a spiraling green ring. Boggart Knight flew through the ring and turned into four stars. The stars all united in a singular blue line which doubled in size as the ring crackled with electricity. "I Synchro Summon X-Saber Wayne!" A Monster reminiscent of a cowboy wielding a gun with a blade sticking out of it appeared. (LV. 4; ATK: 2100; DEF: 400; EARTH)
"So that's what a Synchro Summon looks like…" remarked Aren. "I've got to say, that may beat out Xyz Summoning looks-wise."
"And what is that supposed to mean?!" questioned Soarnight, huffing.
'Beat it birdbrain.' thought back Aren, his partner's spirit disappearing with a sigh of exasperation.
"Now I get to Summon another X-Saber Monster from my hand thanks to Wayne's special ability!" said Kit excitedly. "So make way for the Level 3 Tuner Monster XX-Saber Fulhelmknight!" A warrior with a red cape and abnormally long blonde hair spinning his sword in a circle appeared. (LV. 3; ATK: 1300; DEF: 1000; EARTH) "And thanks to Faultroll's special ability, I can bring back Palomuro from my Graveyard!" The small reptilian Monster appeared one again on Kit's field. (LV. 1; ATK: 200; DEF: 300; EARTH)
"Another Tuner Monster?!" said Aren in quiet shock. "How many Synchro Summons is this kid going to do?"
"Now here's where things get really awesome, because now I tune Level 3 Fulhelmknight with Level 6 Faultroll!" Fulhelmknight turned into three green rings as Faultroll turned into six stars while flying through them, which expanded into a stream of blue crackling light. "I Synchro Summon Level 9 XX-Saber Gottoms!" A colossal warrior completely encased in silver appeared, swinging a massive splitsword over his back, an orange aura appearing around him as he did so. (LV. 9; ATK: 3100; DEF: 2600; EARTH)
"A Level 9 Synchro Monster...from what I remember Yuto said the Synchro Monster he faced was only Level 7...so I guess Synchro Monsters must go as high as Level 12 like Fusion Monsters do." surmised the War Eagle.
"That's not the end! Now Palomuro tunes X-Saber Wayne, to spawn an unstoppable cyclone of steel!" said Kit as Wayne flew through a single green ring. "I Synchro Summon Level 6 XX-Saber Hyunlei!" An armored woman wearing a headdress outfitted with an eye guard, spinning around and waving a katana appeared, pointing her sword at Shay in an acrobatic manner. (LV. 6; ATK: 2300; DEF: 1300; EARTH)
Shay said nothing at the consecutive Extra Deck summons, but one look at his face told Aren that his older brother was incredibly annoyed, even if his face didn't show it.
"Hope you weren't counting on your two face downs, because Hyunlei can destroy up to three Spell and Trap cards on your field!" said Kit. Hyunlei removed three kunai from her cloak and threw them at Shay's field. Raidraptor - Nest and Shay's two face downs: Unicorn Beacon and Raidraptor - Readiness all exploded, being sent to the eldest Obsidian's Graveyard. At that moment Dipper and Kit made eye contact, Dipper nodding in some nonverbal agreement.
"Now I activate Pleiades' special ability! By using the last Overlay Unit your last Vanishing Lanius is sent back to your hand!" said Dipper, as the final Lanius returned to Shay's hand. (Pleiades ORU: 1 - 0)
"Great!" exclaimed Julia happily. "Now his field is completely empty!"
"That's right, but let's put the pressure on him even more!" said Kit. "I activate the Spell Gottoms' Second Call, which brings back Faultroll and Wayne from my Graveyard!" The Level 5 Synchro Monster and the Level 6 futuristic Monster appeared, but Aren noticed something different about them. (Faultroll and Wayne ATK: 0)
"I guess Kit's Spell zeroes out the summoned Monsters' attack points." said Aren, tapping his finger.
"And thanks to Faultroll I can bring Fulhelmknight back!" said Kit, the Level 3 Tuner appearing once again. (LV. 3; ATK: 1300; DEF: 1000; EARTH) "I activate Gottoms' special ability! By sending an X-Saber on my field to the Graveyard, I can force you to discard in your hand! I tribute Faultroll, Wayne, and Fulhelmknight! With all three of these guys going to the Graveyard you'll lose your entire hand!" The three Monsters' essence were absorbed into Gottoms' sword, which was then swung, releasing a shockwave that passed through Shay. The three cards in his hand all glowed purple as the eldest Obsidian discarded the three Vanishing Lanius in his hand. "Perfect! Now your hand and field are both empty!"
Aren narrowed his eyes. 'Shay already has the setup for victory in his Graveyard...now all he needs is for his Deck to respond to his needs, and there's only one card in Shay's Deck that can do that.'
"Now remember you guys." said Kit to his two teammates. "The top team members from LID got trashed by this guy."
"I know." replied Dipper. "So if we take him out that means we'll become the best that LID has to offer!"
"Well time's wasting! I'll pass things back to you Julia for the finishing blow! Do what you're best at and pound this punk!" said Kit, ending his turn.
"It would be my pleasure you guys." said Julia, winking at Kit and Dipper. "I'm ending this now! I draw and start by playing Gem-Knight Fusion!" At that final word both Shay and Aren's fists tightened as awful memories began playing in their minds.
"Fusion…" growled Aren, his mechanical eye glowing brightly. What the War Eagle didn't notice in his anger was that the security camera right next to him turned and was now pointed directly at him. The camera remained that way for no longer than 3 seconds before turning back to Shay.
"With this card I can fuse Gem-Knight Lapis and Gem-Knight Lazuli!" said Julia. Lapis clasped hands with an identical rock girl that had a green core, the two swirling into a vortex above Julia. "Two gems shine together, illuminating a new stone! I Fusion Summon, Gem-Knight Lady Lapis Lazuli!" An adult rock woman wearing a blue-colored cloak with a sapphire brooch in her chest appeared, holding out her hands gracefully. (LV. 5; ATK: 2400; DEF: 1000; EARTH)
Shay clenched his teeth at the sight of the Fusion Monster, Aren doing the same from his hiding spot.
"Now here's a move that's a cut above the rest! Since Lazuli went to my Graveyard I can add one Normal Monster from my Graveyard and add it to my hand, so that means Lapis is back for more!" said Julia, grabbing Lapis' card from the Graveyard slot in her Duel Disk. "And that's not all because by banishing one Gem-Knight from my Graveyard I can get back Gem-Knight Fusion! Now I activate Gem-Knight Fusion once again!" At the sight of the card fury burned inside of Aren, almost making him want to jump down and tear the projected image of the card off the field shred by shred.
"I fuse Gem-Knight Alexandrite, Gem-Knight Emerald, and Gem-Knight Lapis! Magical rock of dark and light! Gleaming green knight of good fortune! Lavender gem of wisdom! Combine your brilliance to forge a blinding new brightness! I Fusion Summon the mighty Gem-Knight Master Diamond!" A massive armored figure rose from the earth, its armor and sword both lined with precious stones, but none sparkled as bright as the massive diamond in the knight's chestplate. (LV. 9; ATK: 2900; DEF: 2500; EARTH)
"Oh man, I almost feel sorry for this guy!" said Kit mockingly.
"Yeah, because Julia's Fusion Monsters are going to send you packing!" added in Dipper.
"Master Diamond gains an extra 100 attack points for every Gem-Knight Monster in my Graveyard for a total of 300 extra points!" explained Julia as Master Diamond glowed. (Master Diamond ATK: 2900 - 3200) "And that's not all because now I activate Lapis Lazuli's effect! By sending a second Lapis Lazuli from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard, (Master Diamond ATK: 3200 - 3300) I can hit you with 100 points of damage for each Monster on our side of the field that was brought out from the Extra Deck plus half of Lapis Lazuli's attack points!"
"There are six Extra Deck Monsters on our fields!" said Kit enthusiastically.
"And Lapis Lazuli has 2400 attack points!" chimed in Dipper.
"So you are about to get rocked for some serious damage!" shouted Julia. Lapis Lazuli unleashed a glowing sphere of blue energy that exploded on the ground in front of Shay, kicking up a plume of dirt, forcing the eldest Obsidian to growl angrily as he shook himself off from the impact.
SHAY LP: 4000 - 1800 = 2200
"This move was taught to me Professor Marco!" said Julia, her voice dripping with venom and sadness. "Now I'll use to teach you never to mess with me, my friends, or my school ever again! By banishing a Level 7 or lower Gem-Knight, in this case Lapis Lazuli, from my Graveyard, Master Diamond gains its effect! So now he can use her ability just like before! (Master Diamond ATK: 3300 - 3200) I send my third Lapis Lazuli from my Extra Deck to the Graveyard (Master Diamond ATK: 3200 - 3300), and so now just like before you take 100 damage for each Extra Deck Monster plus half of Master Diamond's attack points!"
'2250 points of damage, normally that would end things for Shay, but luckily for him…' thought Aren nastily.
"I activate a Trap from my Graveyard, Raidraptor - Readiness!" said Shay. "By banishing this card from my Graveyard and reducing my Life Points to just 10, I can block all the damage heading my way!"
SHAY LP: 2200 - 2150 = 10
A shield formed around Shay, completely protecting himself from the blast sent by Master Diamond's sword slash.
"Ugh!" complained Kit. "He blocked the damage!"
"But he's hanging on by a thread!" reassured Dipper. "One attack from Julia is all we need!"
"That would be true if not for the other effect of Raidraptor - Readiness." stated Shay. "I won't be taking anymore damage this turn."
"What?!" said Kit in shock. He and Dipper turned to Julia.
"So even if she does attack then…" started Dipper. Julia clenched her teeth in frustration.
"I can't beat him. I end my turn." said Julia in half defeat.
"It's as I suspected." said Shay. "You three are like lambs trying to fight a lion. There's no iron will of steeled strength in your dueling. You're weak like all the others I crushed."
"Ha!" laughed Dipper. "Big talk for someone so close to defeat!"
"That's right, because they were always forcing us to the brink. Always close to defeat...always close to losing it all…" said Shay. To the three LID students it was incredibly cryptic, but to Aren it was anything but. "In the end we will always push back and it is our enemies who tremble and cower in fear! IT'S MY TURN!" Shay drew his card with such force that all of the birds lining the gutters of the houses flew away in unison, causing shock amongst the three LID students.
'He drew it.' thought Aren.
"I now activate Dimension Xyz!" said Shay, a Spell displaying a dimension structure with green, red, and blue Overlay Units cycling around it. "Since I have less than 1000 Life Points and three copies of the same Monster in the Graveyard, I can use them to Xyz Summon!" Three purple lights shot of Shay's Duel Disk and into an Overlay Portal. "I overlay the three Vanishing Laniuses!" A blue pillar of light, one far higher than either of Dipper's, shot into the sky from the portal. "From the shadows, the falcon soars on wings of courage, talons ready for the rebellion! I Xyz Summon! Witness the ascent of Raidraptor Rise Falcon!" Shay's most trusted mechanical bird soared onto the field, three purple Overlay Units circling around its avian form. (RANK 4; ATK: 100; DEF: 2000; DARK)
"Huh?" said Dipper, confused at Rise Falcon's low strength.
"Raidraptor Rise Falcon can attack each of your Monsters once!" said Shay. "Prepare for total destruction!"
"Total destruction?!" scoffed Kit. "That thing doesn't have enough attack points to destroy ANYTHING!"
"I am afraid you are quite mistaken." said Shay simply. "By using one Overlay Unit, Rise Falcon gains the attack points of every Special Summoned Monster on your field!" An Overlay Unit dissolved next to the LID trio's Monsters, causing an aura to form around each of their Extra Deck Monsters. (Rise Falcon ORU: 3 - 2) Those auras all shot into Rise Falcon, who grew a fiery coating as it rose high into the sky, embers shooting off of its body. (Rise Falcon ATK: 100 - 2800 - 5300 - 8600 - 11000 - 14100 - 16400)
"Is that...I mean...is that a...how can that?!" stammered Dipper, unable to form a sentence at the sight of Rise Falcon's strength.
"No way!" said Julia in horror.
"This is bad!" added Kit.
"And NOW!" shouted Shay, pointing at the LID trio as if death itself. "Raidraptor Rise Falcon will finish you all1! RAVAGING REBELLION!" Rise Falcon flew high into the sky, then struck all six of the LID side's Monsters, severing each of them in two and causing a massive explosion, sending Kit, Dipper and Julia flying into the air before crashing incredibly hard into the pavement.
KIT LP: 4000 - 27400 = 0
DIPPER LP: 4000 - 27600 = 0
JULIA LP: 4000 - 27100 = 0
Shay stared at the three defeated students preparing to card them until he caught Aren's eye. Just as Aren was about to respond, a voice from the end of the street caught Shay's attention.
"We've got you surrounded. There's nowhere to run."
A group of LID staff had gathered around fifty feet from Shay, a man in sunglasses and a black suit leading them. It was clear that the suited man was the one who had issued the threat.
"Run? You don't know me very well." said Shay. "I don't run from hunting dogs. In fact, I was hoping you would show up. Tell me, where's your master?"
"I'm right here." said a new voice. On cue, the LID delegation formed two parallel lines, making a path for an approaching figure.
'That's him.' thought Aren, narrowing his eyes.
The newcomer was a thin young man with pale skin and grey hair, the front layer being a lighter grey than in the back. His hair was arranged in a simple style, flicking upwards at the ends, and his piercing eyes were purple, but partially hidden by his red-framed spectacles. His ears were both pierced with black stud earrings, and he wore a dark-blue sweater, white pants that ended just above his ankles, white shoes without any socks, along with a long red scarf wrapped around his shoulders with the ends trailing to the small of his back.
'Declan Akaba.' thought the Obsidian together.
{Next Chapter: Just Winging It}
The Resistance's plan to capture Declan Akaba takes a sharp left turn when the son of Leo Akaba reveals a shocking revelation: he's fighting against his father! He's forming a team to take on his father and he wants Shay and Aren in it, but he also wants them to enter the ARC League Championships as LID students to find more potential teammates. Agreeing to his request, Aren faces off against Aiko Sagiri, a Fusion user who uses his monster's to increase his own strength while not caring for their own wellbeing in the First Round. Enraged at his opponent's heartless tactics, Aren makes a vow, and a new power from a lost world emerges...