Welcome back everybody! This chapter was considerably harder to make after I accidentally closed the tab without saving, and a good portion of the entire chapter dissappeared, leaving me in total anguish.

Besides that, I'm really glad you guys reviewed, simply because I love your feedback! And not because I live for reviews because they're the best part of my day, haha! Please Review.

But seriously, thank you all for your feedback, i'm glad you like the concept, and any constructive criticism is appreciated because it helps me improve as a writer, and at the same time, any compliments are appreciated because they make me feel warm and fuzzy inside!

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 2: Pendulum of Souls

"So those are the two headmasters huh..." Yuya wondered out loud, he couldn't help but respect the taller one, and he couldn't help but like the shorter one, though they both seemed strong, the taller one had a sort of... kingly? It seemed like the word to describe it, but it seemed off, either way, he looked both wise and powerful, and exuded a commanding aura around him.

Yuya looked around him, Yuzu, Serena, Rin, and Ruri were all entranced, seemingly experiencing the same commanding presense he gave off. As for his brothers, Yuto and Yugo were reacting the same way he was, but he was particularly suprised at Yuri.

Yuri always seemed to try to find a way to act condescending at anybody, he hardly showed respect for anybody other than his brothers, his father, and now, these two people who stood on the stage in front of them, as he had nothing to say, though he had expected for him to say something like "Hmph, the small one doesn't look so tough."

Yuya felt bad even thinking that sentence, as if every part of his being yelled at him for even considering the thought of either of them being weak.

"You will however, refer to me as Mr. Atem." Said the tall figure, a smile on his face, he took a step back, allowing the shorter figure to take charge, "My name is Yugi, please call me Mr. Yugi," He said politely, "I hope we can all have a wonderful year together." He said, before taking a step back to stand next to Atem.

"And now, here are the teachers who shall be guiding you this coming year." He said, raising an arm, he swung it down, instantly more spotlights came down on multiple figures behind him, though there were four figures who stood in front of them as well.

One seemed to exude a playful presence, a smile etched on his face, he had brown hair and wore a red jacket.

The other seemed to be the oldest, he seemed calm, mature, you could almost tell that behind his poker face, there was an intense amount of skill, his hair was black with orange stripes running through them, he also had a similar orange line tattooed on his face, right under his left-eye.

Another one stood next to a floating blue figure, apparently sharing the spotlight. He seemed childish, playful like the brown-haired teacher, his hair was black with red spikes at the front. The blue figure however, had Yuya, and everyone else to be honest, questioning whether he was Human. He floated in the air and seemed slightly transparent, like a ghost. There were colored tattoos covering his body however, and he had an oppressive poker face etched on his face.

Suddenly, he remembered who they were.

The Brown haired man was Judai Yuki, a popular Duelist who was known for a having a strong sense of justice.

The older one was Yusei Fudo, he took a look at Yugo, he had already figured it out and was on the verge of freaking out. Yusei was an Idol to those who wanted to master D-Wheels anyways.

As for the last one, he was famous for having won a Duelist Tournament in his early days, there were rumors that he had saved the world once, but they were just rumors. His name was Yuma Tsukumo.

As for the blue figure, he was Yuma's partner, apparently they transform together into a single monster, with Yuma apparently controlling the monster while the blue figure helped him from behind, apparently Yuma for a period of time was unable to transform until he met the blue figure, and neither could the blue figure as well. His name was Astral.

As for the headmasters... not much was known about them, all they knew in advance was that they didn't wish to stand out, and apparently stayed at the school.

There were also a huge amount of other teachers behind them, Yuya recognized a few, but there were too many, so he gave up trying to name all of them.

"As of today, these people will be the ones who guide you," Said Atem, his voice almost booming, "With that, let us all have a great year!" He yelled, before snapping his fingers, causing a bright light to envelope the room.

In an instant, the stage was empty.

Later...

"Well..." Yuya said as he walked out of the auditorium with his brothers and the girls, "That was... something." He said. "I dont know how to describe it..." Said Serena, shaking her head, "It was... incredible? I dunno..." She said, shaking her head.

"Well enough about that," Said Ruri, "Remember, we have to get to homeroom now!" Ruri reminded them, pointing out the fact that school had now officially started. "R-Right!" Said Yuya, looking at his papers, "So... where are you guys going?" He asked as they all checked their schedules.

"Apparently i'm in class A5..." Said Yuto.

"Oh hey! Same here!" Said Yugo.

"Damn, now I have to spend even more time with Fusion..." Grumbled Yuri, implying he was also, in A5.

"Wow... i'm also in A5..." Said Ruri, a look of suprise on her face.

"Oh come on! I have to be with Yugo!?" Yelled Rin, Yugo stuck his tongue out at her, she returned the gesture.

"...This is way too coincidental..." Said Serena, holding up her paper, revealing her homeroom class to be A5.

"I'm... also A5..." Said Yuya, as suprised as everyone else, "Maybe its because we're in the same dorm?" He pointed out.

"Well... i'm also A5..." Said Yuzu, smiling at Yuya, Yuya beamed, "That's great!" He said.

He quickly blushed as everyone looked at his considerably more excited reaction to hearing Yuzu be in his class. "W-We all get to spend time together now! That's great!" He said, "Nice recovery..." Said Yuri under his breath.

"Come on guys, this is great!" Said Yuto, agreeing with Yuya, "Besides, we should be more excited! It's our first homeroom class! You know what that means?" He asked, grinning widely. Yugo's face suddenly lit up, Yuri grinned as well.

Today was the day they first transformed into monsters.

"Alright! Hey everyone!" Yelled out a voice as everybody sat down, "Welcome! Let's have a great year, this'll be great!" He said, the optimism pouring out of his voice.

Once everyone sat down, he stood next to the whiteboard, grinning. "The name's Yuma! And I SHOULD say that it's Mr. Yuma to you guys, but I don't like it!" He said, a grin still etched on his face, "Just call me Yuma and we'll be set!" He said, suddenly the blue figure from the ceremony flew through the wall right next to him, "Yuma, your optimism is going to make them think you are weird." He said bluntly, Yuma sweatdropped as he said that.

Yuma cleared his throat, "*Ahem, Hello, my name is Yuma, and that is what you guys can call me..." He said, trying to sound professional, Astral looked like he was about to facepalm, "Want me to take over?" He asked, Yuma looked at him as though he was the saviour of the world. "YES, PLEASE." He begged.

Astral sighed, "Hello class, my name is Astral, and you may refer to me as such," He said calmly, "I'm sure you've already found out who this is." He said, gesturing to his partner, Yuma laughed nervously. "I'm sure you all are excited to unlock your first transformations, so we shouldn't wait much longer." He said, floating over to a door on the other side of the classroom. "Through this door is a way into the outside, once you transform, you are free to roam the island for a certain distance," He said, "We will collect you when it is time to return." He said, Yuma walked over and opened the door. "Well what are ya waiting for?" He asked, "Let's get outside and start!"

Everyone poured outside, everyone was excited about their first transformation, even if it wasn't strong, which a lot weren't expecting, it was still a big moment for them.

When they got outside, they saw a basket filled with Duel Disks next to a green-haired girl, "Oh, hey Kotori!" Yuma yelled, waving, she smiled and waved back, "That there is my assistant, she's the best!" He said fondly.

Astral began explaining what the disks did, "In the old days, becoming a duelist was incredibly hard, and also dangerous. "He said grimly, "Even if you had the power to become a duelist, there was a good chance that the process in fully unlocking your powers would kill you..." He said.

However, since then we have developed these..." He said as Kotori picked up a Duel Disk, "We've obtained the ability to draw out the strength of a duelist without any risk to their life." He said, smiling. "You won't need these after you transform unless you have trouble manifiesting your power even afterwards." He said, "And that is a problem that can be easily resolved." He said to the class. "Now, the problem with some when unlocking their powers, is that sometimes, the monster will take over and cause the person to go berserk." He warned.

"Which is why we're doing this one at a time!" Said Yuma, "Now grab a duel disk and line up!" He said, at which point everyone dashed for the basket to grab a disk, though they all had different models, they were all basically the same, Yuya grabbed a red one and strapped it to his left arm, and dashed for the line.

"Now, in the event of someone losing control," Astral said, do not worry, you have me and Yuma here, and we can easily subdue whatever monster may come out." They reassured. "Let's do this Astral!" Yuma said, extending his hand, Astral grinned, "You and me, partner!" He exclaimed, firmly shaking his hand, and in an instant, they seemed to merge together.

"Come Forth! Number 39! Hope!" They yelled as light surrounded them, when the light died down, in their place was a giant, armored warrior, clad in yellow and white with a green orb in its chest, there were two blades in scabbards by its waist, and it had wings resembling angel wings on their back.

"See?" Said a voice belonging to Yuma from the warrior, "We'll handle it fine, now, one at a time, starting with the first in line..." He said, "Press the button that says "Release" on it.

A girl who had gotten to the front of the line gulped and looked down at her disk, her hands shaking, she pressed the button.

Suddenly, she was surrounded by light as a glowing card appeared in front of her, it stayed there for a moment, before turning to energy and flowing into the girl's chest.

She glowed bright orange, and her body began to change shape.

The light finally died down, and in her place, was a blue-haired female with a green creature that resembled a crocodile next to her.

"My name... is Eria... Eria the Water Charmer!" She said confidently, looking down at her new body.

A series of claps were heard as she ran around, nearly tripping as she got used to her new body. "Man... I can't wait!" Said Yugo from behind Yuya, their excitement reaching peak levels.

More students began to unlock their forms, there was only one incident where a boy transformed into an Alexandrite Dragon and went berserk, he attempted to attack some of the students but in a flash, Hope had appeared in front of them, "Moonlight Shield!" He yelled out as one of his wings extended and changed into a large barrier between him and the dragon's claws.

The dragon's attack bounced off the shield and he recoiled, he was about to make another attack before suddenly Yuma had tackled him to the ground.

"Get it together!" He said, slapping the dragon in the face. He blinked twice.

"H-Huh?"

"Alrighty, everything's fine now!" Yuma yelled back at the students, they all cheered as Yuma helped the boy up, "S-Sorry..." He said, his head drooped, Yuma smiled, "Ah relax, nothing to worry about!" He said, now that you've gotten yourself together, go have fun!" He said, patting the dragon on the back, the dragon smiled in return, "Thank's Mr. Yuma..." He said, before he ran off to try and figure out how to fly.

Before long, it was Yuya's turn.

"Alright, you ready?" Yuma asked, "Wait!" Yuya said, suprising Yuma, "I-I want to ask a favor..." He said, looking him in the green-eyes of Yuma's form. "I-Is it okay if I can transform... with my brothers?" He asked, the said siblings, who were standing behind him, nodded.

"We've... always wanted to do our first transformation together, you know?" He said, looking at the giant warrior standing above them.

"Hmm... I really shouldnt..." He said, placing a hand to his chin, "Eh, why not!" He said, "Go ahead, knock yourselves out!" He said cheerfully.

"Alright!" Yugo yelled, running up to Yuya, "This is great!" He exclaimed, grinning widely, Yuto smiled, "Nice thinking Yuya." He said, Yuri just grinned. "Alright everyone, on three..." Yuya said, placing his finger on the button, his brothers did the same.

"Three!" Said Yuto.

"Two!" Said Yugo.

"...One." Said Yuri, a little more embarassed about yelling out then the others.

"Go!" Yelled Yuya.

They all pressed the button.

It was all a flash, suddenly they all glowed, Yuto glowed blue, Yugo glowed green, Yuri glowed purple, and Yuya glowed red.

Then suddenly, he was in a dark room.

Standing in front of him was a large figure, it wasn't human... no, it was a dragon.

It came out of the shadows, it was a large, red dragon with a yellow beak, it had two horns on it's back and a great big blue orb at it's chest, it's arms weren't "small" exactly, but it's legs were much larger, it seemed to be good at running, and it had a long red tail with spikes at it's end, it was covered in red scales.

But what entranced Yuya the most, was it's eyes.

It's eyes shone and glimmered even in the dark place they were in, it's right eye was a bright red, while the left eye was a bright green.

"Your name... is Odd-Eyes..." Yuya said softly, reaching his hand out and caressing the side of the beast's head, it purred in delight. "Odd-Eyes Dragon... that's your name!" He exclaimed, the dragon roared in delight, giving him a big lick on the face, seemingly laughing.

"How about it?" Yuya said after wiping away the dragon drool, "Wanna be my partner?" He said, extending his hand out at the dragon.

It let out a loud roar, before it kneeled down and placed it's forehead in Yuya's hand, closing it's eyes and accepting the boy in front of him.

The room suddenly filled with a bright light, suddenly they seemed to be standing on water, pure water, perfectly reflecting a bright, blue sky above them.

Yuya glowed, as did Odd-Eyes, and the light enveloped them both.

Yuya opened his eyes, he felt stronger, bigger, and powerful. He looked around, he found himself at around the same size as Yuma, who had stepped back in shock, he looked around him, searching for his brothers.

It wasn't hard to find them.

Everyone nearby stopped running around and stared at the four.

Yuya could tell which ones were which.

"Yuto...? Yugo? Yuri?" He said, looking at the forms they had taken, Yuto had become a dragon with pitch-black scales, it's neck was long, as well as it's tail, which had two spikes on the end, His chest seemed powerfully armored, and his wings seemed almost mechanical, there were purple orbs placed around it's wings.

Yugo had transformed into a large, white dragon, it had no legs, but floated above the ground easily, it's arms were large and it had large, glowing, clear wings that seemed to let out a constant source of light.

Yuri had become a Purple-green dragon that resembled a carnivorous plant, heck, it even seemed part plant.

"Whoa..." Said Yugo, "look at us!" He exclaimed, even Yuri looked suprised at his transformation. "We're AWESOME!" He yelled out, flying up into the air and doing multiple flips and barrel rolls before crashing back down into the ground. "Oof..." He groaned, "I'll get used to it eventually..." He said while Yuri helped him up.

"Wow..." Said Yuto, moving around, "This is amazing!" He said, "Yuya look at yourself! Look at me! Look at Yuri! Look at Yugo!" He said, excitement taking hold. "Sensei, look!" Yuto said, deciding to refer to Yuma as "Sensei".

Yuma snapped out of his trance, as did Kotori who was just as suprised as she looked at the beasts that had appeared in front of them. "Wow, that's amazing!" He yelled out, "It's just like my first transformation! Believe it or not, this was my first Duel Monster!" He said, pointing his thumbs at himself. "Well what are you waiting for?" He said, "Go have fun!"

"Alright!" Yelled Yugo, before taking off again. "Be careful!" Yuto yelled, flying after him, "Well, those two can go tire eachother out..." Said Yuri, who floated towards a patch of greenery, "I'm tired, wake me up when something important happens..." He said, setting down and promptly falling asleep. Yuya was still amazed at his own transformation, and was currently examining every bit of him that he could see. He was sure that his brothers were just as suprised with their new forms, but were handling it differently.

Don't you just hate it when you forget to save your work past this point?

"Yuya!" Yelled a voice from below him, he looked down and saw a purple skinned girl with wings that resembled a Harp, her outfit was prominent with music notes, "Oh! Hello... you're...?" Yuya asked, the girl laughed, "Yuya it's me! Yuzu!" She said, smiling. Yuya's face brightened, "Oh! Hey Yuzu!" He said cheerily. "Nice transformation!" He said, Yuzu blushed as he said that, "T-Thanks..." She said, "My name in this form is Aria, Aria the Melodious Diva!" She said, doing a little twirl.

"But enough about me Yuya!" She said, "Look at you! It's incredible!" She said, gazing at him in awe, "Can... can I feel you?" She asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

Yuya was already red in his form, so you wouldnt be able to tell, but he was blushing, "O-Oh uh, sure!" He said nervously, kneeling down so she could reach him.

She began examining him, the first thing she noticed was the blue orb that made up his chest, "Hmm... I wonder what this is for..." She wondered aloud, she took a look at his legs, "Hmm, seems like you'd be good at running and maneuverability on land..." She said, before she moved up to his head. "Wow..." She said out loud as she looked into his eyes, "Your eyes are so pretty..." She said, before she snapped out of the daze she had put herself in by staring into his heterochromatic eyes.

She had a single thought, a single curious thought of "What if I did this...?"

She scratched Yuya's neck, similarly to how one would rub the neck of a smaller animal. Yuya's dragon form let out a low purr, blood rushed to Yuya's face as he quickly took his head away in embarassment. Yuzu laughed, "You know, you look like such a powerful beast..." She said to him, "But at the same time, I can't help but feel like the look of your dragon form is cute in some way!" She said, laughing. Yuya was glad his natural color masked the heavy blush on his face.

Yuzu suddenly realized what she had been doing and blushed, "O-Oh! S-Sorry!" She said, backing away, "I should have kept mind of your personal space, i'm sorry!" She said, her head down.

"N-No, it's fine!" Yuya smiled nervously, "Thanks..." She said.

"Hey! I have an idea!" Yuya said, trying to cheer her up, "Why don't we go for a ride?" He asked enthusiastically, Yuzu lifted her head to look at him, "Huh? What do you mean?" She asked, looking him in the eyes.

"Well, I should probably run around to get used to my new body," Yuya explained, "And I thought, why not come with me?" He asked her again. Yuzu thought for a moment before she decided, "Sure! Sounds like fun!" She said, smiling. Yuya grinned as she jumped and used her wings to float onto his back. "Hey, where are your sisters?" He asked as she grabbed onto the horns he had on his back.

"Oh them?" Yuzu responded, "I saw Rin and Ruri fly after Yugo and Yuto before I came up to you," She answered, "Ruri became a monster called Lyrilusc - Sapphire Swallow, and Rin apparently became a monster called Windwitch - Glass Bell," She said, informing him of what they transformed into, "Serena became a monster called Lunalight Blue Cat apparently, and is now jumping around to get used to her new strength." She said. Yuya looked up to see his two brothers, flying around in the air, alongside them was a creature that looked part-human and part-bird, flying around the the black dragon, Yuto.

Next to Yugo was presumeably Rin, her form was still mostly human, she had a hair color similar to her regular hair except a little more "blue", She flew around like a witch on what looked like a broom, except the stick was made of glass, and instead of a regular broom end, there was a large bell instead, she indeed looked like a witch, as she had a typical witch hat on her had to top it all off.

Yuya looked around and saw a blue cat-humanoid figure jumping around everybody, he presumed that was Serena.

"Well? What are we waiting for?" Yuzu asked, "Let's go!" She yelled, Yuya smiled. "Alright then!" He yelled as he began to run, he jumped and began running into the forest, dodging trees as he ran. "Woohoo!" They both yelled as Yuya ran.

They rode around for a good amount of time until Yuya finally tired out, they stopped at a large cliffside with a nice view of the ocean, where Yuya promptly sat down to catch his breath. "Whew! Wow!" He panted as Yuzu disembarked him, "Yuya, you are crazy fast on the ground!" Yuzu said as she sat down against him, "thanks!" He said, panting.

"Wow..." Said Yuzu, looking out past the cliff, "this place has a really nice view..." She said, gazing out at the ocean, "I bet it's even better when there's a sunset..." She said dreamily, imagining what it would look like if she watched the sunset from here. "You know what?" Yuya said, grinning "You're probably right..." He said, agreeing with her.

They sat there for a while, just listening to the ocean crash against the island beneath them.

It was nice, and Yuya wished that moment would last forever, as did Yuzu.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.

"Hey... what's that?" Yuzu asked, looking up at the sky, Yuya looked up at the sky, everything seemed normal, "where?" He asked, she pointed at the sky, Yuya followed her finger, squinting his eyes to try and find whatever it was Yuzu was seeing.

He noticed a single black dot in the sky, "...Yeah, what is that...?" He said, standing up to see farther, the black dot was getting bigger.

Wait. No it isnt getting bigger.

Yuya's eyes widened, it was getting closer.

"Yuzu get on." He said quickly, "Huh?" She said confused, "Get on NOW!" He yelled, turning to her. She quickly mounted him, Yuya began sprinting at full speed away from the cliff.

It didn't matter.

Yuto and Yugo had just landed, Yugo was still bickering with Rin, and Ruri had gotten tired of flying and had decided to rest on Yuto's back, when they heard a large crash echo throughout the island, as well as a light tremor which they all felt.

Yuri, who was, like everyone else, still in his monster form, rose from where he was napping, "What was that..." He said, clearly annoyed. Suddenly, Yuma flew in carrying a bunch of students transformed, he seemed to be in a rush.

"Everybody get inside!" He yelled as Ms. Kotori opened the door, a series of students who were on the small side poured in. "Sir, some of us can't fit through the door..." Said Yugo.

"Yuma, we don't have time to teach them how to revert yet." Said Astral from inside Yuma's head, Yuma groaned, "Yeah I know!" He yelled, flying back over to the classroom and reverting back to his human form, he quickly entered the building, Astral followed him.

Five seconds passed.

Suddenly there was a flash of light, and suddenly Yuma had transformed back into Hope and kicked a hole in the wall from the inside, "I'll fix it later, GET IN." He said, the three brothers sweatdropped as they thought about the absurdity of him simply "fixing" the giant hole in the wall.

Nevertheless, all of the larger duelists squeezed into the large hall that was their classroom.

"Hey wait..." Said Yuri, who was being shoved against the wall, "Where's Yuya?" He asked, Yuma, who was looked like he was about to fly away, froze.

"...Crap" Said Yuma as he looked behind him and saw only three of the large dragons in the room.

Yuya groaned, he was still in his form as a dragon, he was laying on the ground, rubble laid around him, he heard somebody laughing.

He slowly got up, "Yuzu?" He asked, looking around, he saw the girl next to him, she was concious, but just barely, she was covered in bruises and dirt and had also ended up reverting back to her human form.

Fun little fact about DuelistsIf they take damage to the point where they can no longer fight, they revert back to their human forms, unable to keep their monster forms up.

"Hey, Yuzu!" He said, nudging her with his beak, "Wake up!" He said, the girl's eyes opened a little more, "Yu... Ya?" She said, becoming fully concious. "What happened?" She said, Yuya shook his head, "I-I dont know..." He said, letting the girl use his head as a way to help herself onto her feet. "It was so sudden, more importantly, are you okay?" He said, concern in his eyes.

"Y-Yes, i'm fine..." She said, "How about you?" She asked, rubbing his beak, Yuya chuckled, "Well i'm still like this, arent I?" He pointed out, Yuzu chuckled, "I guess that's true." She said.

Yuya's attention was grabbed by the sound of a man laughing, he turned around to see a large man standing in the middle of a crater, he had purple hair done up in a mohawk, he wore clothing that screamed "punk" in every way, he was laughing heartily. "So the barrier WAS down!" He yelled, he continued laughing, "Barrier? What's he talking about" He asked Yuzu. "Don't you know?" Yuzu said, "This entire island has a magical barrier around it, you can only get in if you have permission, if you don't, it's like hitting a concrete wall." She explained, "It's invisible, so you can't really notice it until it hits you," She explained, "But there's no way it could be down..." She said quietly.

"Hm?" Said the man, taking notice of the two nearby, "Well well well, my first victims!" He said, grinning maliciously, Yuzu took a step back, fear prominent in her face, Yuya quickly stood in front of her, "Use my tail, climb on as quickly as you can." He whispered, before growling at the man, he was now walking towards them. Except his eyes widened as he realized who it was, he had seen him on the news.

"Congratulations Kid!" He yelled out, a glowing orange card materialized, floating in the palm of his hand. "You get to be the first victim of Strong Ishijima today!" He yelled out, grasping the card in his fist, he began to glow a bright orange color as he began to increase in size.

Yuzu climbed up onto Yuya's back, only to see the man growing in size, covered in an orange light. Yuya gulped, Yuzu held back a scream.

"Come forth! Battleguard King!" He yelled, as the light dissipated from his body. His form was now that of a large ogre-like monster, his skin was a dark red, and was clad in gray armor, a blue gem embedded in the chestplate, his eyes glowed a sinister yellow, and he wore a large helmet with absurdly long horns adorning it. As if his large arms werent already a hazard to one's life, he also held a large club behind his back.

"A Terror-Duelist..." Yuya muttered as he stared up at the giant beast, a criminal duelist, the eternal enemy of regular Duelists, who used the ability to transform in order to do whatever they liked, rob, hurt, kidnap, even kill.

Yuya gulped, he did not see his first battle as a duelist to be like this.

"Yuya RUN!" Screamed Yuzu, she didn't need to tell him twice, he immediately turned around and dashed away from the giant beast, Yuzu held onto him as tightly as possible. "You think you can escape!?" Boomed the voice of Strong Ishijima, though it was considerably deeper now that he was transformed. "Why, of all days, did THIS have to happen!" Yelled Yuya as he ran, he looked behind him, his eyes widened.

The giant monster was pretty much on top of him.

"Crap!" Yuya yelled, quickly jumping out of the way before the giant club he wielded crashed down on him, he saw the ground break as the club collided with it. "What the... why's he so fast!?" He exclaimed as he began to run again, the Criminal Duelist grinned evilly, "That's simple kid!" He yelled as he spat out three fireballs at the dragon, who quickly moved to dodge.

"I'm a Duelist who's been dueling for years!" He yelled, "I have more experience and strength than you'll ever have!" He said, suddenly appearing in front of the boy, Yuya quickly jumped away before he was crushed by a giant foot. Yuya cursed as he landed, "Seems we have no choice but to fight..." He said, Yuzu gulped, agreeing. "I guess it's time to duel...!" He said, before he charged at the giant beast.

"Oh?" Said Ishijima, raising his club, "Then bring it kid!" He yelled, swinging his club at the dragon, Yuya quickly jumped into the air to dodge the attack, "Let's go...!" He said as he hung in midair, "Pleaseworkpleaseworkpleasework...!" He thought as he mustered up energy into his mouth, "Flame Strike!" He yelled as he shot a large fireball at the large ogre, it collided with the giant beast's face. However he seemed unfazed.

"As if that's enough to take me down!" He yelled, hoisting his club up and swinging it at the dragon, Yuya quickly shot another fireball at the beast's eyes, blinding him temporarily and causing him to miss his swing as Yuya came back down to earth. "Argh! Damn you!" He yelled, rubbing his eyes in pain. "Now's my chance...!" Yuya said, gathering up energy once more.

The blue orb in his chest began to glow with magical power, his eyes flashed as flames gathered in his mouth. "Spiral Flame!" He yelled, letting out a stream of spiraling flames at the beast, a look of panic filled his face as he opened his eyes only to see the flames spiraling towards him.

They heard a scream of pain as the flames struck him, engulfing the beast in flames. "Did we do it?" Yuzu asked, still holding onto the dragon for dear life.

"I... I think so..." Yuya said softly, "We... We did it!" He yelled out, letting out a roar of triumph.

Suddenly, Battleguard King was in front of him.

A look of terror filled Yuzu's face, Yuya's jaw dropped, he didn't have enough time to move out of the way, so he did the next best thing. He quickly threw Yuzu off of him as the giant club descended on him.

Yuzu could only watch as the club crashed onto the dragon's body, he let out a roar of pain as he was crushed into the ground.

Everything went dark.

Yuya was laying down on his back, he didn't know where he was, he opened his eyes and recognized where he was.

This was where he met Odd-Eyes.

The sky was just as blue as they were before, except the pure-white clouds seemed to be turning gray, Yuya looked to his side, he saw the dragon he had bonded with laying on the ground next to him, he was covered in injuries. "Odd-Eyes...!" He yelled out, trying to get up, only to collapse again, realizing he too, was injured. The dragon let out a sad groan as they looked at eachother.

"Is... Is this it?" He said out loud, "This can't be how it ends..." He said, tears forming in his eyes, "I can't let it end like this!" He yelled out, the dragon roared along with weakly with him, as though he was agreeing.

"Is that true?"

Yuya lifted his head in suprise, he looked around for the source of the voice, he looked at Odd-Eyes, the dragon shook it's head at him, it wasn't him.

"Are you determined to make sure it doesn't end?"

It was a different voice this time, they were both male voices, but he didn't know where they were coming from.

"Are you determined to protect the ones you love?"

"Determined to become strong enough to defeat the ones who dare threaten you?"

"Answer us."

They're voices boomed through the space surrounding them, Yuya gulped, before he stood up, every part of his body ached as he forced himself to stand, his dragon did the same.

"...Yes," He said, "I am!" He yelled out, he had never felt so sure of anything in his life. Suddenly two balls of light formed in front of him, his pendant began to glow and swing, a blue light surrounded him, his wounds began to mend, the same happened to his dragon next to him.

The balls of light dissipated, revealing two magicians, staring Yuya in the eyes.

"Then we shall aid you on your path" They both boomed, before suddenly all of them began to glow, a glowing red card appeared between them, they raised their hands and shot two beams of light into the air, they combined into a single orb above them, before shooting down at the card.

Yuya felt power flow into him, his dragon reared it's head and roared as its body glowed a bright red, the card began to change colors, it glowed red, then it glowed green, then red, then green again, and so on.

"We shall grow alongside you, helping you to become stronger." Said one of the magicians, he wore a white cloak and held a strange staff in his hands, "My name is Stargazer Magician, the Magician of Astromancy!" He boomed. "And my name is Timegazer Magician, the Magician of Chronomancy!" Said the other Magician. "With our power, you shall gain the power you seek!" They boomed as light enveloped the space.

"Yuya..." Yuzu muttered as the giant beast lifted his club from the ground, the dragon was gone, Yuya had reverted back, his eyes were open, yet unmoving, she couldn't see his chest rise and fall as it should, when somebody is breathing. Tears formed in her eyes, she couldn't stop the fear from overtaking her mind, no matter how much she screamed at herself to be brave, to run, to do something. It did nothing, she was frozen in place, and all she could think about now was the beast walking closer to her, and the limp body of her best friend, her first friend when she came to this school.

"Yuya...! YUYA!" She screamed, panic now rising in her head, she tried to transform, she couldn't, she didn't have the energy to muster it. She tried to stand, her legs failed her almost immediately, she collapsed on the ground, her legs shaking violently. "Yuya...!" She cried, "No..."

"Don't worry little girl," Said Ishijima, raising his club, "You'll be seeing him soon." He said, a grin on his face.

Suddenly, a pillar of light exploded from the area where Yuya laid, sending a shockwave through the area, "Huh?" Said Ishijima, frozen in place as he stared at the pillar of light.

Yuma, who was flying above the island, saw the pillar, "Huh? The heck is that!?" He exclaimed, "I... I do not know..." Said Astral from in his head, Yuma quickly flew to check it out.

Suddenly, the pillar of light dissapeared, and in its place, was Yuya, his wounds were gone, standing tall, his pendulum swinging on his chest. "What!?" Yelled Ishijima, "That's impossible! I crushed you!" He yelled, Yuzu's eyes went wide, "Yu... Ya?" She muttered, shocked at what she was seeing.

Yuya slowly opened his eyes, "...Away from her..." He muttered, "Huh?" Said Ishijima, confused. "I said GET AWAY FROM HER!" He yelled, his eyes glowing. Yuya extended his hand, a glowing card materialized, floating in his palm, it glowed a bright red, before switching to green, to red, and to green again. "What the..." Said Ishijima, "What the hell kinda monster is that!?" He yelled, pointing at the card.

Yuya crushed the card in his hands, it dissipated into energy that flowed into Yuya's chest, "ORRYAAAAAAAAH!" He yelled as light covered his body as he transformed, Odd-Eyes Dragon stood in his place when the light disapeared, but the light quickly returned as it covered the dragon.

Yuma stared in shock as he watched, his plan was to jump in and attack the Criminal Duelist, until he saw what was going on with Yuya, he had never seen anything like it before, "Astral..." He muttered, "What is that..." He said, in awe. Yuma could hear Astral's shock in his head, "I... I don't know, it's... something new...!" He said, his focus completely on the red dragon before them.

Suddenly, two transparent pillars of light appeared beside him, two more cards rose from within them, both the same as before, glowing red and green. The cards exploded into light and in their place stood two spellcaster monsters, there was no duelist in sight to have transformed into them, they were just... the monsters.

"Astral?" Yuma said, expecting Astral to know what was happening this time, and this time, he was right. "T-Those are...!" He exclaimed, shock prominent in his voice, "Servant Spirits! But... that's impossible!" He exclaimed, "I've only seen the headmasters and Judai have them!" He exclaimed.

"Timegazer Magician, Stargazer Magician!" Yuya yelled, "Lend me your strength!" He yelled, as per his command, the two magicians extended their arms and fired beams of light at him, he let out a loud roar as the power flowed into him. His dragonic body glowed bright red, except for his eyes which glowed an even brighter red and green.

"Dragon with dichromatic eyes, obtain the unlimited potential that is the power of pendulum!" Yuya yelled as his body went through another change, the horns at his back grew larger, as did his entire body, two more horns sprouted on his head, his tail grew longer and he exuded a powerful aura around him.

"Come forth... Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" He yelled, the light surrounding him broke into shards around him, revealing his new form, he had two new horns atop his head, and the horns on his back were much larger, on top of that, adorning his horns were more jewels, similar to the blue orb in his chest, on his right Horn, there were two green gems, and on his right was a large red gem, and adorning his forehead was another blue orb, it was much smaller, but it was there.

He was considerably bigger, and he felt stronger as well. A red aura seemed to surround him, he looked straight at the giant beast that stood above Yuzu.

"Get away... I WILL PROTECT YUZU!" He screamed, before letting out a loud roar, courtesy of his dragon form of course, nearly causing the giant beast to fall over.

"Just what..." Said Yuma.

"Is going on...?" Finished Yuzu.

And THAT is the end of this chapter, see, just like the anime, I decide to end it right after Yuya unlocks pendulum, arent I clever?

Someone in the distance: No you arent!

Fair enough.

As I said before, this chapter was considerably harder to make simply because I saved at one point, wrote up to the point where Strong Ishijima is fighting Yuya, and then accidentally closed the tab.

I didn't remember when I saved last

That's never a good sign.

As for why I have Strong Ishijima as a villain? I just figured that would be more interesting, and considering the amount of screentime he got in Arc V, it works, at least in my opinion.

Also, for anybody who freaked out when Yuzu called Yuya a "Friend", DON'T PANIC, YOU DO REALIZE THESE TWO LITERALLY JUST MET TWO DAYS AGO RIGHT? Calm your butts.

As for the other protagonists? Oh don't worry, you'll see them soon, I plan to have all of them be prominent in the story.

As for Yuzu being a damsel in distress, and her and the rest of the girls getting the weak monsters of their archetypes? Don't worry, again, this is only the second chapter.

Anyways, i'll see you all next time! See you then!