Part 1: Chapter 6 – Mentor

Yuzu woke with a start. Coughing up some dust in her throat, she heaved forward and struggled upright. When she looked down at herself she saw, or at least barely managed to make out through the thick smoke, that she was clothed in her regular, though badly torn, riding outfit. For a brief moment she wondered if she had dreamed meeting Ruri until she noticed the crimson flower mark blazing with light on her right arm.

She felt different. Surveying her crash site, she expected to feel some kind of pain, such as a burn or bruise, from the violent fall she had experienced. But she felt no pain whatsoever. More than that, her body felt firmer and stronger than it ever had before. The thick smoke in the room didn't seem to bother her one bit. She couldn't even smell it, and it didn't bother her when she accidentally inhaled a smoggy plume of it. Curious, she held her breath. When she had held her breath for a full minute without feeling the least bit bothered, she suddenly gasped and felt her chest to see if her lungs were still working. Immediately when she put her hand up to her chest, she noticed that her heart had ceased beating.

"How are you coping?" Yuzu heard Ruri ask.

She whipped her head around to see Ruri standing behind her, draping her cape around her bare shoulders. Out of the corner of her eye, Yuzu noticed that the handkerchief she had given Ruri was missing, leaving the large cut in her hand exposed.

"I'm okay." Yuzu replied, staggering to her feet and feeling around in her pocket for Rin's handkerchief. "Did you take the bandage off?" she asked Ruri before she suddenly found the handkerchief resting in her pocket.

Ruri looked at her hand and shrugged. "I don't think you actually gave me the physical handkerchief in the Underworld, Yuzu." she explained, "I haven't learned everything about how the Underworld works, but please don't worry about me. I really am okay. And besides, I honestly think Rin would be happier if you returned her handkerchief to her without my blood stains."

"There must be something I can do though." Yuzu protested, examining Ruri's wounded hand.

Ruri smiled. "You really are such a kind person, Yuzu. Honestly! You've just died, you've been through the Underworld and back, and now the first thing you're interested in is my silly paper cut! I really appreciate your concern, but I don't really feel any pain, and besides, there's nothing much either of us can do about it at the moment."

"I'm not… so sure." Yuzu replied, feeling something welling up inside of her. Given the dramatic changes Yuzu was experiencing in her own body, it wasn't hard for her to believe that Ruri really couldn't feel the gash in her hand. Despite that, it bothered Yuzu to see Ruri wounded like that. With a pang of regret, she briefly thought of Sergey and how he had repaid her when she had tried to be merciful. Deciding to ignore the growing number of despairing thoughts, she pushed the memories of Sergey from her mind. This time, her kindness would not be wasted.

"What are you doing?" Ruri asked when Yuzu suddenly grabbed Ruri's wounded hand in her left hand while holding her right hand over Ruri's gash. The marks on Yuzu's arm and face began glowing brighter and the blue irises of her eyes lit up like lamps. As Yuzu illuminated the room with her light, the cut on Ruri's hand slowly mended itself together until it was as clean and smooth as it was before her duel against Sora.

Ruri gazed at her mended hand in wonder. "Healing powers." she murmured, "Truly… a very appropriate power for you." She gave Yuzu a warm smile before stepping forward and gently hugging her. "Thank you." she whispered, patting Yuzu on the back. "You're learning just as fast as Rin."

Yuzu pulled away from Ruri and gazed at her own hands with a shocked expression on her face. "I didn't… I didn't have any idea that would happen! I just felt like I wanted to act… to help you somehow. How did I do that?"

"I told you Yuzu." Ruri smiled, "You have been given a great gift. All those things you wanted to do in your past life, all those dreams you couldn't fulfill before, now you have the power to accomplish them. You and I are now stronger, quicker, more durable, and more capable than we ever were before. Together, we can do anything!"

Yuzu smiled back at Ruri, but then looked down at herself remembering something.

"I feel a little off." Yuzu explained, "…Actually, now that I think about it… I hardly feel anything at all."

Ruri hung her head, looking a little downcast.

"I'm sorry Yuzu." she apologized, "I don't have the power to truly resurrect you. At least not yet. Until I figure out how to truly give us our lives back, we'll all just have to cope with our own individual changes."

"What other changes are there?" Yuzu asked, sounding concerned.

Ruri pulled out her deck. "Along with our new bodies, Rin and I were given new decks. Of course, in our case, we couldn't carry our original decks with us, so the Earthbound must have created our decks from scratch."

"Earthbound?" Yuzu questioned.

"One of them rests within your soul." Ruri explained, "It is that spirit that has enabled you to return from the dead and which is giving you your power now."

Yuzu felt the mark on her arm, looking a little worried. "Is it possessing me?"

Ruri shook her head. "The bond between the Earthbound and the Dark Signer is symbiotic. Even if I have been given new powers and a new life, I am still Ruri Kurosaki just as you are still Yuzu Hiragi. Even if we may share our thoughts with our Earthbound spirits, it does not stop us from believing in what we believe in, desiring what we desire, and loving those we love."

Yuzu let Ruri's words sink in. It was true. Despite the insane experience of being raised from the dead and coming back as something she still couldn't comprehend, she didn't feel like her thoughts, feelings, or beliefs had changed in any way. She still upheld the ideals of You Show Duel School, she still wanted to end the dimensional war and bring peace to the four worlds, she was still Shuzo's daughter, and she was still friends with Yuya, Gongenzaka, Sora, Ayu, Futoshi, Tatsuya, Masumi, and so many others. She thought of each of their faces, but suddenly felt fear come over her when she thought of approaching them as she was now.

"Will the others accept what I've become?" she whispered, nervously shaking as she grappled with the reality that she might never be the same girl again.

Ruri looked off into the distance with a forlorn expression on her face. "I've asked myself that question every day since I transformed. I can only hope that the ones I care for continue to love me as much as I continue to love them."

"I've met Shun and Yuto." Yuzu reassured Ruri, "Believe me, if they cared about you before, their concern for you has only grown since you've been gone. They've done everything they could to try and find you."

"Please Yuzu, tell me about them!" Ruri begged, suddenly sounding anxious as she grabbed Yuzu's shoulders. "Have they been hurt? Are there others besides them? How did you come to meet them? What are you doing together now? What are you doing in this dimension at all?"

Yuzu was momentarily stunned as the roles reversed and she was suddenly the one getting bombarded with questions. Ruri seemed to realize this. She bowed her head and opened her mouth like she was about to apologize.

"It's alright." Yuzu reassured her, taking her hands in her own, "It's just a lot to explain. Some of it I don't even understand myself. Yuto and Shun came to my dimension looking for you. They actually mistook me for you because we look so similar. I got to know them a little, watching them duel as they searched for you and tried to protect me. I learned about the other dimensions from them and what happened to your home town. Academia eventually invaded our dimension, trying to capture me and Selena."

"Selena?" Ruri asked, looking concerned. "Is she another person that looks like us but comes from Fusion?"

"Yes… but she's a friend." Yuzu reassured her, "At first she came looking for Yuto and Shun, but after she learned about what happened to your dimension, she came to our side."

Ruri looked off into the distance, face hardening. "I wouldn't be too sure about that." she murmured. "If there is one thing I have learned, it's that the people of Academia are especially good at infiltration. Especially the ones that claim to be your friends. You should be careful, Yuzu." She seemed to recall something. "By the way Yuzu, I understand you were taught Fusion Summon. Who was your mentor?"

"It was another person from Academia." Yuzu explained, "A friend named Sora. I understand where he comes from, and that he attacked your people. I even know me might not regret it, but I think he was sincerely being a friend when he taught me how to Fusion Summon. He never needed to take the time to do it. So even if he may be an enemy, I still see him as a friend and my teacher. I want to help him, just like the other people in Academia."

Ruri closed her eyes. "Believe me Yuzu. I know it may seem hard to accept, but he was only using you. Everything he did, from becoming your friend to teaching you Fusion Summoning, it was all just so the Professor could add you to his collection."

"I understand why you'd think that." Yuzu sighed sympathetically. "But I still have faith in him. If you ever have the chance to meet him, I'm sure you'll see the good I see in him."

Ruri decided not to mention that she had met Sora and found no good whatsoever in the recesses of his soul.

"So how did you survive Academia's invasion?" she asked, returning to the previous topic.

"While I was helping Selena learn the truth about Academia's invasion, I was pursued by Yuri."

Ruri visibly grimaced, "So you got a chance to meet Yuri, face to face?"

"Yes," Yuzu nodded, "he spoke of you and Rin. He wanted to capture me just like he did with you two. I was cornered by him. He would have carried me off to Academia, but I was saved by this." she showed Ruri her bracelet. "I don't understand how it works, but whenever I am near a person who looks just like Yuya or Yuto, my bracelet starts glowing. Then, if anyone else like them approaches, the person I was with before vanishes. Yuri had found me and was just about to capture me, when another person like Yuri, Yugo, approached me. Yuri disappeared and Yugo approached me, thinking I was Rin. Then, not too long after that, my bracelet started glowing again, and Yugo and I found ourselves in the Synchro Dimension. We tried to warn the people here about the inter-dimensional war, but nobody listened to us so we both decided to join the Friendship Cup to make our voices heard."

"A noble goal." Ruri approved with a nod of her head. "Go on please. Sorry for interrupting."

"It's okay." Yuzu smiled, "I needed to take a breath anyway… or… actually…" she muttered, remembering how little she seemed to need to breathe now.

Ruri curled her lips into an understanding smile.

"So anyway…" Yuzu resumed, "… we both managed to enter the Friendship Cup and before I knew it, I learned that Yuya, Gongenzaka, Shingo, Tsukikage, Reira, Selena, Shun, and Dennis had followed me here."

"What about Yuto?" Ruri asked, looking somewhat fearful, "What happened to him?"

Yuzu cast her eyes down to the ground, looking a little ashamed. "I'm sorry Ruri, but I don't really know. He disappeared some time during the Miami Championship tournament in Standard. Sometimes I think I see him when I look at Yuya, but… it's hard to explain."

Ruri closed her eyes, tears glistening beneath her lids.

"I don't think he's dead." Yuzu tried to reassure her, "He's just… missing. I'm really sorry, but I don't know how else to explain it."

"It's alright Yuzu." Ruri sighed, wiping tears from her eyes. "I'm glad you got to know him a little. He wouldn't have wanted you to worry about him."

"He cared deeply about you. I truly mean that." Yuzu replied, feeling her own tears forming in her eyes.

"I know." Ruri nodded, "I cared, and will forever care about him." she smiled, "And I care about your friends as well, Yuzu, even if I haven't met them. I wish to protect them and everyone else in this universe from Academia, including the people in the Fusion Dimension. Even if I can't forgive Academia for what they've done, I do wish to redeem them just as you wish to redeem Sora and Selena. But we have to be careful. If you can help my plan to succeed, I promise to give redemption to every last person this war has harmed, including the perpetrators."

"How do you plan to do that?" Yuzu asked, enraptured by the conviction in Ruri's voice.

"Look through your deck." Ruri offered. "You'll find some of the answer there."

Yuzu pulled out her deck and began examining the contents, steadily looking more confused and shocked as she skimmed through.

"I never put some of these cards in here!" she exclaimed, "And some of the cards I already had are different now! Aria's effect has changed, Opera has had more added to her effect…" she pulled out two other cards, "… what on earth are these things!?" she handed the cards to Ruri who examined them thoughtfully, "Dark Tuner? Yami no Kakubunretsu? What on earth are these things?" she gasped, skimming through her extra deck to find several strangely colored cards.

Ruri handed the cards back to Yuzu. "Remember what I told you about the Earthbound building new decks for Rin and me? Well it looks like they have done the same for you. They didn't need to build an entire deck for you like they did when Ruri and I were resurrected, but it looks like they still bestowed their power inside of your deck."

"But what are these things?" Yuzu questioned, holding out the strangely colored cards, "And why does my Extra Deck suddenly have Xyz and Synchro monsters. I never learned either of those summoning techniques."

Ruri smiled, "I think the Earthbound saw hidden potential in you. You do come from Standard after all. If my understanding is correct. Your dimension isn't as bound to one summoning technique as the others. If you would like, it would be an absolute honor and privilege for me to teach you Xyz Summoning."

"I appreciate that." Yuzu hastily thanked Ruri, "But I'm still confused. I've heard of Xyz, Synchro, and I've even Pendulum summoned before..."

"Pendulum Summon?" Ruri asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"Something that my friend, Yuya, invented," Yuzu explained, "It's a lot to explain."

"You'll have to teach me some time." Ruri smiled. "I think it would be good if the three of us Dark Signers could use multiple summoning methods in our dueling."

"Right…" Yuzu agreed, "… but anyway, what on earth are these things!?" she held up the strangely colored cards to Ruri. "Dark Synchro? Dark Xyz? Dark Fission? I've never heard of these things.

Ruri took the cards from Yuzu and displayed them in front of the Standard duelist's face.

"As Dark Signers," she explained, "you and I have been given special privileges and powers unique to the rest of humanity. These cards…" she indicated the cards she was holding, "… mark you as a person worthy to use the power of the Earthbound. They are your regalia, the proof of your royalty and divinity."

"Divinity?" Yuzu questioned.

"I meant it, Yuzu." Ruri smiled, "You have been reborn as a true goddess, and this…" she took Yuzu's deck from her and skimmed through the contents until she found a card and presented it to Yuzu. "…this is your crown."

Yuzu stared at the card, dumbfounded as she read the text. Holding the card in her hand, she felt like it was far more than a thin sheath of cardboard. It felt alive, aware, and strangely, part of her very being. As she stared at the card, she felt her marks pulsate against her skin and glow with even brighter light.

She put the card back into her deck, feeling the marks on her skin become less agitated as she did. Looking back up at Ruri, she asked, "But what does my deck have to do with your plans?"

Ruri grinned, looking back at Yuzu like a sphinx watching a traveler struggle to solve its riddle, "Actually, your deck illustrates my point better than either mine or Rin's."

"How so?" Yuzu pressed, returning her deck to the slot in her Duel Disk.

Ruri put her hand on Yuzu's shoulder, "Your deck incorporates not only multiple known summoning techniques, but quite a number of summoning techniques the vast majority of the world has never even heard of. Mastering what the world considers impossible is what we Dark Signers are all about. Just as you will eventually master every single one of the summoning techniques in your deck, together, the Dark Signers will master every single one of our powers and master the entire universe in the process. We will create the utopia others have thought was impossible, one without war, inequality, or suffering."

Yuzu stared back at Ruri when she finished her speech. Ruri clearly believed in what she was doing. Her face had been animated and her marks had been glowing with bright light as she elaborated on her objectives. But there was something about what Ruri said about building a utopia. Something familiar to what Selena had said to her not too long ago when they first met.

"It sounds…" Yuzu hesitated, not wanting to hurt Ruri's feelings, "… it sounds a little like what Academia wants to do."

Ruri's eyes widened. From Ruri's shocked and angered expression, Yuzu could see that her comment had deeply offended her.

"Academia destroyed my home and my friends!" she shouted. "All their talk about building some fantastic paradise by fusing the worlds together is nothing more than propaganda trash! I'm nothing like them! I'm not some ego-maniac who wants to rule the universe with an iron fist! I just want to protect my friends! Is it wrong for me to want to end this war like you do!? Is it wrong for me to want to build a better world like Yusho wanted!?"

Yuzu recoiled from Ruri's angry tirade. "I'm sorry!" she apologized, "I know you're nothing like them. It's just… your goals seem so… grand. I can understand wanting to end the war, but it just seems…. it just seems like you want everything to be… perfect. I am all for building a better world, but I just don't see how we can achieve the kind of thing you're talking about."

"Forget about it!" Ruri snarled, dismissing Yuzu's comment with a wave of her hand. "I shouldn't have expected you to understand anyway!" She turned her back on Yuzu, angrily folding her arms against her chest.

Yuzu hung her head down, upset that she had offended the very person that had helped her in her time of need.

"I'm sorry." She repeated. "You're right… I don't understand what you've been through, but I want to help. Can you forgive me?"

Ruri turned to face her. Seeing Yuzu's sincere remorse, her face softened and she took a deep breath and slowly approached Yuzu. "I forgive you… Yuzu." She hung her head down, ashamed that she had lost her temper. Yuzu was right. When she thought about it, her plans really did seem grandiose and unrealistic. For a moment, she felt shocked that she had ever conceived of such a monolithic goal as paradise for every world. No wonder Yuzu had reacted the way she had.

"You are right, Yuzu." she acknowledged, "On the surface, my goal is very much like what Academia claimed they would bring to the universe."

"I shouldn't have said…" Yuzu stuttered.

Ruri silenced her with a hug. "No. You were right to bring up that concern. I just let myself get offended too quickly." she stroked Yuzu's hair, "There's no way I can really prove to you that my plan is any better than Academia's. I can only ask you to trust me. I have no desire to subjugate this universe to my rule. I just want to make things better. Especially since… well… in a way it was my fault Academia destroyed my home."

Yuzu looked into Ruri's eyes, shocked by her last statement. "How is it your fault Heartland was destroyed?"

Ruri sighed. "Had I not been there, Academia would not have called in the invasion. They attacked the moment Dennis discovered me."

Yuzu shook her head. "You can't blame yourself for what happened! Academia was planning to conquer your dimension anyway. Whether you were there or not wouldn't have changed their desire for war."

"You're just like Rin." Ruri smiled, shaking her head. "She also told me not to blame myself." she examined her bracelet. "I suppose you're both right, but that doesn't change the fact that the professor has been driven to war with the prospect of obtaining some hidden power by gathering us together."

"Hidden power?" Yuzu asked.

"I don't know all the details myself." Ruri admitted, "But I do believe you, I, and all our other counterparts are stronger when we're together. There's a reason we've been drawn together. One of my objectives is to find out why." She withdrew from the hug and held her hand out to Yuzu. "Will you help me do this?"

"Of course." Said Yuzu, taking Ruri's hand.

"Thank you." Ruri bowed, grateful to have another ally, "We should get going, there's plenty more that must be done, Rin should…" She stopped mid-sentence and scowled, staring down at something from across the dilapidated room.

Yuzu followed her eyes and let out an involuntary gasp. Across from them, nine Arrest Corps operatives wearing heavy armor and gas masks, quickly surrounded the two duelists in a wide circle and whipped out their Duel Disks.

"What are they doing here!?" Yuzu exclaimed, "Did they come to take me underground!?"

Ruri looked disgusted. "It doesn't matter what they came here to do. They should have stayed well enough away." She raised a hand and surrounded everyone in a circular wall of light. The arrest corps adjusted their stance but didn't seem perturbed.

"What did you do?" Yuzu asked, shocked by the sudden appearance of the barrier.

"I'm making sure your training session isn't interrupted." Ruri coolly explained, activating the wing-shaped duel field on her own Duel Disk.

Yuzu looked at Ruri, who didn't seem the least bit concerned that they were outnumbered by more than four to one. "Training session?"

Ruri smiled. "I'm going to use this to our advantage. It will be the perfect opportunity to teach you Xyz Summoning. Go ahead and summon your Duel Disk. Your god should help you with that."

Yuzu glanced at the Arrest Corps and then back at Ruri who stared at her opponents with a determined expression on her face. Feeling her own determination strengthening, Yuzu sensed something rising within her, beckoning to be unleashed.

"I'll duel with you Ruri." Yuzu proclaimed, "I'll do whatever it takes to help you end the war."

Ruri nodded in response as Yuzu stretched out her hands. Feeling immense power coursing through her veins, she instinctively clamped her hands together and felt a massive indoor breeze swirl around her in a mini tornado. Arrest Corps operatives backed away as darkness gathered around Yuzu until she couldn't see her surroundings anymore. Just like in the Underworld, Yuzu felt her marks burn against her skin as her clothing rapidly warped into the dark attire she had worn when Ruri first made her a Dark Signer. Transforming the second time was still excruciatingly painful, but her feelings of pain were eclipsed by an immense feeling of exhilaration as her powers were unleashed. When the darkness cleared away and she looked upon the Arrest Corps the second time, they suddenly looked tiny and insignificant.

Yuzu looked down at her new Duel Disk. Like her clothing, it had also transformed. The deck slot was a large black hemisphere with a red spiral and jagged teeth over the deck-slot. Jutting from the deck slot, a long black rectangular extension that looked like a thin rectangular shield with elaborate red patterns stretched past her left elbow. Taken together, the Duel Disk looked like a black and red flower with a thin stem and a circular center. Sensing the other duelists, the Duel Disk's red markings lit up and six crimson petal-shaped solid vision duel fields formed around the hemisphere like a flower in bloom. The petal over Yuzu's left hand displayed three card slots while the other five petals each held two.

"Action Field on." a coy female voice called from Yuzu's Duel Disk, "Earthbound Battlefield."

Ruri and the Arrest Corps operatives looked surprised as a wave of holographic energy burst from the center of Yuzu's Duel Disk. As the border of the wave expanded outward and made contact with the inside of the building, the interior transformed until the duelists were standing on a glowing raised platform shaped like Yuzu's mark with six petal-shaped extensions and a long stem. Hundreds of other platforms shaped like primitive drawings of animals, birds, fish, plants, humans, and geometric shapes surrounded the duelists on all sides while glowing with multi-colored light as diverse as the rainbow. Looking on all sides, Yuzu noticed nothing but empty black space above and beneath the platforms. From the flower platform, multiple ethereal crimson vines stretched out and snagged onto the other platforms, creating a web of thin bridges. Looking up, Yuzu noticed a large sphere of light shine above their heads before exploding and scattering tiny action cards across the platforms.

"That's quite some decoration." Ruri commented, mesmerized by her new surroundings. "I didn't expect something like this to happen."

Yuzu looked just as surprised as Ruri.

"I didn't mean to do it. I mean…" she paused, "… I've always preferred dueling in Action Fields, but I don't remember activating this one."

"Another gift from the Earthbound." Ruri shrugged, examining the surroundings. "Do try not to hurt these men, Yuzu." she admonished, "They're not our true enemies, and besides, they don't even have any free will of their own now." She smirked at one of the operatives. "Isn't that right Roger?"

"Dark Signer…!" a booming voice called out. From the suit of one of the officers, a beam of light shot out and displayed a colossal twenty meter tall holographic image of Jean-Michel Roger. Standing with his arms folded behind his back, he bent down and leered at Ruri like she was a mouse in a cage. "…that was an impressive display of your power just now. I must admit that I did not recognize you at first from the security recordings, but now that you're standing right next to miss Hiragi here…" he briefly glanced at Yuzu who just stared back at him with an expression full of contempt, "…I believe I have a good idea who you are. Do I have the pleasure of speaking with Hiragi Yuzu's counterpart from Xyz or Synchro?"

Ruri tossed her hair back and smiled back at the giant holographic image. "I'll let you decide where I'm from based on my dueling. I on the other hand…" her expression turned to a scowl as her irises began glowing with blood-red light, "… know exactly where you come from… child of Academia."

Roger threw back his head and laughed. "Child of Academia?" he asked, as if he hadn't heard of Academia, "I'm afraid you are mistaken miss…"

"Kurosaki." Ruri replied.

"Kurosaki…" Roger stroked his chin, "… now where have I…? Of course!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers, "Miss Kurosaki Ruri from the Xyz Dimension! Dennis mentioned you in his duel against Shun… your brother, right?"

"Yes." Ruri admitted, "The very same brother your people took from me when they kidnapped me after invading Heartland."

Roger's smile deepened. "Then if you are Ruri, your companion with the whale mark must be the one from here. And speaking of marks…" he pointed his gigantic finger at Ruri, "… that mark on your back… are you the first to bear it, or was there another who had a mark just like yours?"

Ruri snorted disdainfully. "You seem to know a lot about the Dark Signers. How did you come to hear of us?"

"One learns many things when one leaves their home and becomes familiar with the culture of a new land." Roger smiled, spreading out his hands.

"So you are from Fusion." Ruri smiled.

"Originally." Roger admitted with a shrug. "But I can assure you that I have severed all ties with that organization. I have no interest whatsoever in helping the professor achieve his goals. Quite the opposite in fact. It is entirely my intention to ensure that the Synchro Dimension remains forever outside of Academia's grasp."

"And why should I believe you?" Ruri interrogated, eye mark glowing white.

"How could I possibly benefit from an invasion of Academia?" Roger asked, holding out his hands as if the answer was patently obvious. "If I let the professor destroy the city, I am left with nothing! I go back to being the professor's stooge, a mere henchman awaiting the next assignment from his master." He leaned in closer, "If your enemy is Academia, then I believe we can benefit a great deal more from working together. With your power, you could help me keep Academia off my back, and in return, with my resources, I could give you the support you need to say… take your revenge on Academia with a full-scale invasion of their dimension? Well now…" he extended his hand to Ruri, "… how does that sound?"

Ruri threw back her head and laughed. Roger scowled back at her.

"Honestly!?" she cried, clutching at her sides, "You!? Helping me!? I think I'd only end up helping you by conquering Fusion for you!"

"I would carefully consider it." said Roger, looking completely unamused. "The two of you don't stand a chance against Academia alone. You two don't even stand a chance against me. Believe me Ruri. The last thing you want is the entire Synchro dimension as your enemy. Why not see if we can help each other instead. Last chance."

"Yes Roger." Ruri agreed, "It is your last chance. Step down from your throne and relinquish your control over this dimension, or there will be no forgiveness for you when I tear down your pride."

Roger looked over at Yuzu. "And do you stand with her?"

"You have no right to rule this city." Yuzu declared, staring back into Roger's eyes. "You cannot hope to build a future with force and control. I'll do everything in my power to return the smiles to the people of this city, even if it means standing against you."

"How unfortunate." Roger sighed. "Well then… Battle Royal rules I suppose. Destroy them all!" he ordered before vanishing.

"My turn!" an Arrest Corps member with the label, A-054, on his armor announced in a muffled voice, pulling three cards from his hand.

"Have you played in an Action Field before?" Yuzu hastily asked Ruri.

"Focus on the duel." Ruri admonished. "I'll figure things out. Trust me. The last person you need to worry about is me."

"I activate the magic card, Fusion," A-054 continued, "and fuse two monsters, Goyo Regent, from my hand, who are always treated as Synchro Monsters!"

Two monsters in royal robes rose into a large fusion portal above A-054's head. Over their faces, they wore painted masks with black makeup over the eyes and red makeup over the mouth and cheeks. Each held an elaborate fan in one hand and a small jutte in the other hand. Nodding to each other, they crossed juttes and began spinning into the center of the portal in a swirl of blue and red light.

"Noble souls of integrity with the authority to execute imperial justice," he chanted, "Now become one and sublimate! Yuugo Shokan! Come forth! Successor of the majestic predator's lineage! Level 10! Goyo Emperor!"

A monster kneeling upon a massive, elaborate throne hovered through the portal before dropping his head to his fist and looking down on Ruri and Yuzu with a disapproving expression on his face. His hair was purple and tied into two pony tails that rested over his chest. His face was painted a pale white with lines of red makeup over the eyes and cheek. His silk robes were extremely elegant and he wore a colorful silk emperor crown above his head. A holographic indicator appeared below the monster and showed it had 3300 ATK.

Yuzu gasped at the appearance of the Fusion monster, remembering how fearsome it had been when it had been used against Yuya. Ruri, on the other hand, looked unimpressed.

Meanwhile, several kilometers away, Roger watched the duel with amusement.

"Dark Signer or no," he mused with a smile on his face, "they are still subject to all the rules of dueling, especially those rules that generate rather below-the-belt strategies. Naturally, I cannot have the Arrest Corps attack on their first turn, but that doesn't prevent me from subduing them by other means."

"I activate the equip magic, Goyo Arrow…" A-054 continued, "…and equip it to Goyo Emperor!"

A small Gatling cannon appeared in front of Goyo Emperor. Taking it in his hands, Goyo emperor lowered the gun in the direction of the two signers.

"Once per turn," A-054 explained, "Goyo Arrow enables me to inflict damage to my opponent's Life Points equal to the level of my monster times one-hundred!"

Ruri folded her arms over her chest. "You truly are from Academia Roger. I'm willing to bet your entire plan consists of taking us both out with effect damage before we even begin our first turn! Is that why you sent nine officers against us?"

"Take out the leader, Ruri, first." Roger instructed from behind his desk.

"I use its effect now on Ruri!" A-054 declared, extending his hand toward the Xyz duelist.

"Ruri!" Yuzu cried, scanning the field for an action card as Goyo Emperor quickly lowered his Gatling cannon at her friend.

"I can take care of myself!" Ruri called back. "You just worry about you!"

Yuzu nodded and leapt off the flower platform, diving down before grabbing onto a vine, and using the vine to swing herself up with superhuman strength towards an Action Card lying on a platform shaped like a dog.

Before she could manage to grab the action card, Goyo emperor had already commenced his attack. From his Gatling cannon, Goyo emperor fired a stream of bullets strait at Ruri's face. However, despite the hailstorm of bullets, Ruri looked completely calm.

"Salvation Seraphim Prophetess effect!" Ruri declared, eyes and back glowing with white light. "If I would take damage while I have no monsters in my graveyard, I can Special Summon this card from my hand!"

As she threw the card onto her wing-shaped duel field, a majestic black-winged angel wearing long blue and white robes descended from the sky. She wore a small amulet inlaid with lapis lazuli over her neck, golden sashes over her waist and shoulders, and small white sandals over her feet. Her hair was long and black with white streaks and her face glowed with angelic light. Landing in front of Ruri, she held out her arms protectively while a holographic indicator appeared and displayed an ATK of 3000.

"When Salvation Seraphim Prophetess is summoned with her own effect, negate any damage I would take. In addition, while I have no monsters in my graveyard, I take no damage." Ruri explained as Prophetess stretched out her arms and summoned a golden force-field in front of herself and Ruri, vaporizing the bullets before they even touched either of them.

Roger gritted his teeth. Without the ability to attack for the first round, Ruri had successfully shielded herself from any further effect damage. Fortunately, Yuzu was a different story.

"Continue the strategy." He ordered his soldiers, "Only this time, focus your attacks on Hiragi Yuzu."

"My turn!" an officer with the label, A-261, on his armor declared, ripping a card from the top of his deck. "I activate the magic card, Fusion, and fuse two copies of Goyo Regent from my hand together to summon Goyo Emperor! Yuugo Shokan! Come forth! Goyo Emperor!"

A second copy of Goyo emperor appeared above the officers and glared up at Yuzu with a haughty expression.

"I activate the equip magic, Goyo Arrow," he continued, repeating the previous turn, "and use its effect to inflict damage to Yuzu's Life Points equal to the Level of the equipped monster times 100!"

"Again!" Yuzu exclaimed, unable to believe he had managed to draw the exact same hand through sheer dumb luck.

"They've disabled the auto-shuffle function on their Duel Disks!" Ruri snarled, looking disgusted. "You would never have dared to duel us with even odds, Roger!"

From the safety of his desk, Roger chuckled lightly to himself. What Ruri said about him rigging the duel from the start was true, though he hadn't exactly needed to entirely disable the auto-shuffle function of the Duel Disks. There was a perfectly easier way to ensure victory without having to cheat in such a blatantly obvious way. Instead of entirely disabling the auto-shuffle function, one needed only to slightly adjust the mechanism in order for the Duel Disk to shuffle only the bottom thirty-four cards of the deck instead of all forty, and Voila! The deck was technically shuffled, leaving his Arrest Corps free to manipulate the top six cards in order to create a combo capable of inflicting up to nine-thousand damage to the other players before they even began their turn.

"Go!" A-261 ordered, "Goyo Arrow!"

A-261's Goyo emperor fired a quick spray of bullets from his Gatling gun up to the platform where Yuzu was standing.

"Action Magic!" Yuzu declared, diving off the platform while slapping a card onto her Duel Disk, "Acceleration! The effect damage is negated!" she flipped through the air and landed on a vine before vaulting thirty meters forward towards a platform shaped like a pair of hands connected to a bird's body.

Roger slammed his hand on his desk. "That little…" he snarled. "Continue the strategy! QUICKLY!" he ordered the other officers.

"Action Magic." Ruri murmured to herself, understanding how the mechanic worked from Yuzu's demonstration. Summoning a pair of wings from her mark, she launched herself off the platform and headed upwards towards a platform shaped like a tree while Prophetess followed behind her.

"Not so fast!" an officer with the label, A-837, declared, running along a vine in order to keep up with the duelists. "I activate Fusion, and fuse two copies of Goyo Regent to Summon Goyo Emperor! Yuugo Shokan! Come Forth! Goyo Emperor!"

Goyo Emperor barely emerged from the Fusion Portal before A-837 slammed down another card.

"I equip Goyo Arrow to Goyo Emperor! Effect activate!" he ordered.

Ruri dived onto the platform and slid along its surface till she snagged an Action Card resting on one of the tree branches. However, when she looked at it, she saw that it was an action card called Miracle. Something completely useless to Yuzu in her current situation.

Fortunately, Yuzu had already managed to find what she needed resting on one of the platform's fingers.

"Action Magic, Acceleration!" she declared, dodging another spray of bullets before back-flipping off the platform and grabbing ahold of another vine in the air, swinging herself towards a platform shaped like a large rectangular Pelican.

"I'm sorry Yuzu." Ruri apologized. "I didn't get the right one. Can I just get rid of this one?"

"It's okay!" Yuzu reassured her, landing on a vine and sprinting towards the platform, effortlessly maintaining her balance. "I looked at the card description on my Duel Disk. It says we can each carry two Action Cards in our hands rather than the usual one!"

"Got it!" Ruri replied, diving down to a platform shaped like a gigantic spider.

"All Arrest Corps!" Roger angrily ordered, "Obtain Action Cards, immediately!"

All nine of the officers instantly left the Flower platform and started making a mad dash across the vines, scanning the field for Action Cards.

"My turn!" an officer with the label B-733 declared, yanking out a card, before leaping down onto a condor shaped platform and snagging an Action Card. "I fuse two copies of Goyo Regent together and Fusion Summon! Come Forth! Goyo Emperor!"

His copy of Goyo Emperor charged out of the Fusion Portal, aggressively flying towards Yuzu on his floating throne.

"Goyo Arrow activate!" B-733 declared, equipping Goyo Emperor with an Equip Spell.

Goyo Emperor gave a roaring battle cry before unleashing a hail-storm of bullets at Yuzu who had leaped off the Pelican shaped platform when she noticed no Action Cards on top of it.

"Action Magic!" Ruri declared from overhead, swooping towards the officer, "Reflect! Now you take the effect damage!"

"Action Magic!" B-733 countered, "No Action! The effect of your Action Card is negated!"

"Action Field effect!" Yuzu declared, holding an Action Card in her hand while standing atop a platform shaped like a hummingbird. "I banish one Action Card in my hand to negate the activation of your Action Card!"

"Nani!?" B-733 exclaimed. Instantly, just as the stream of bullets from Goyo Emperor's Gatling cannon was about to hit Yuzu, a clear force-field formed around Yuzu, reflecting the spray of bullets back into B-733. B-733 let out an angry yelp before almost getting knocked off his platform as the bullets slammed into his armor and reduced his Life Points to 3000.

"Idiot!" Roger roared, at his wits end. "All operatives, keep any Action Card you find in your hand! When either of them activates another Action Card, use Earthbound Battlefield's effect to negate it! Beat her at her own game!"

The Arrest Corps redoubled their efforts, sprinting even harder as they swept through multiple platforms and balanced across numerous vines in search of Action Cards.

"Yuugo Shokan!" an officer with the label, B-234, screamed as yet another Goyo Emperor appeared before getting equipped with another Goyo Arrow. "Effect activate!" B-234 ordered, stretching his hand towards Yuzu while adding an Action Card to his hand.

"Action Magic!" Ruri roared, "Acceleration!"

"Earthbound Battlefield effect!" B-234 countered. "The effect is negated!"

Ruri watched helplessly as a storm of bullets sped towards Yuzu.

"Action Magic!" Yuzu called, making a daring dive headfirst down to a platform shaped like a lizard, "Earthbound Trial! If I would take effect damage, I halve that damage and I can add one random card from my deck to my hand!" She landed on the platform and snagged another action card just as the spray of bullets slammed into her, knocking her back and reducing her Life Points to 3500. "Effect activate!" she declared as her deck was shuffled and a random card popped out. Leaping onto a platform shaped like a monkey, she glanced down at the card and then froze when she saw what it was.

Earthbound God Ti'ika Sara.

The card Ruri had shown her earlier. The one she had said was the supreme symbol of her power. As she gazed upon the card, she felt power surging through her veins. Her marks began glowing brighter and seemed to come to life, wriggling slightly against her skin like little worms.

"At last!" a voice proclaimed from within Yuzu's head. Listening to it, Yuzu suddenly recognized it as the youthful female voice that had spoken when her Duel Disk activated. "After all this time… I have returned once again!" The card glowed with intense red light. Pressing her finger against the surface, Yuzu could swear she felt a heartbeat within. "Now Yuzu…" the voice commanded, "… merge with my thoughts and we shall crush our opposition to dust!"

"Yuzu!" Ruri called out when she noticed Yuzu had frozen like a statue. Hastily Yuzu looked up only to see another officer, B-916, equip yet another Goyo Emperor with Goyo Arrow before ordering his monster to fire his weapon at Yuzu. Yuzu tried to dodge the sudden stream of bullets, but was too late as a spray caught her in the chest, knocking her on her back and reducing her Life Points to 2500.

Yuzu leapt to her feet, and started making a mad dash towards another platform shaped like an Orca, which had a glimmering Action Card resting on the tail.

"Not that one Yuzu." the voice admonished. "Look below."

Yuzu felt something direct her gaze downward to the bottommost platform, a simple spiral shape. In the very center, Yuzu spied an action card.

"Who are you?" Yuzu asked, diving downward as yet another Goyo emperor was summoned by an officer with the label, C-238.

"I am Ti'ika Sara." The voice proclaimed, as Yuzu swung her body around with a vine and directed herself towards a platform shaped like a giant man. "I am the god who chose you to carry on my legacy. I am your ally and companion. I am your very soul!"

Yuzu nearly managed to land on the Giant platform before a spray of bullets knocked her away, sending her flying through empty space as her Life Points dropped to 1500. Ruri struggled to fight against the onslaught of Goyo Arrow armed Goyo Emperors, but no matter how many Action Cards she managed to activate, another officer would always have one in his hand to negate her card with the effect of Yuzu's Action Field.

Yuzu spread out her arms and legs, using her body to direct her fall as she fell towards the spiral platform. Noticing a vine leading down to the platform, she adjusted her body so that she was falling in a direction approaching the vine. Suddenly, an officer with the label, C-888, slid down the vine with a Goyo Arrow armed Goyo Emperor hovering right next to him.

"Effect activate!" he ordered, extending his hand toward Yuzu.

Utterly helpless, Yuzu felt an endless stream of bullets slam into her body, reducing her Life Points to 500 and knocking her back until she was falling down the empty abyss, eyes gazing up towards the ceiling where she could see a final officer with the label, C-460, merging his hands together as a final Goyo Emperor emerged from a Fusion Portal. From deep within, she felt unfathomable rage bubble up to the surface. "How dare they!?" the thought came to her mind, "How dare those… those… mortal scum knock me about like this!? DO THEY HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM!?"

Yuzu gasped as she felt the sudden inexplicable feeling of rage consume her. She wanted to hurt them, she wanted to rip them apart, she wanted to watch them suffer and beg for mercy before blowing them to ash!

"NO!" she screamed, struggling against the feeling. She didn't want that. Ruri was right. They were innocent. They didn't know what they were doing. She only had to defeat them. She didn't have to destroy them.

"You will miss the platform without my help." Ti'ika Sara counseled. "Merge your mind with me now or you will lose."

"I'm not beaten yet!" Yuzu mentally called back, fighting against the intense urges coming over her mind and body. Spinning herself around so she was facing the spiral platform, she opened up her arms and legs and directed her falling body towards the center of the platform just as the final Goyo Emperor started zooming towards her on his floating throne.

"Goyo Arrow!" C-460 called.

Yuzu heard the Gatling Canon fire.

"Action Magic!" Ruri called.

"Earthbound Battlefield effect!" an officer countered, banishing an action card in his hand.

"No!" Ruri screamed as the stream of bullets approached Yuzu.

Yuzu's right hand slammed into the very edge of the platform. Barely clinging on with just a few fingers, Yuzu managed to throw herself into the air and front flip onto the center of the platform, snagging the Action Card just as the column of raging bullets nearly touched her feet.

"ACTION MAGIC!" Yuzu roared, slamming down the Action Card. "EARTHBOUND RETRIBUTION!"

Instantly, a shadowy force-field formed around Yuzu, vaporizing the bullets before they could even touch her.

"Action Field effect!" an officer declared, "I negate your... AHH!" his hand was suddenly shocked by a surge of electricity when he attempted to banish his Action Card.

"Cards and effects cannot be activated in response to Earthbound Retribution's activation or effect." Yuzu calmly explained, looking up at her opponents with a disdainful expression on her face. "If I would take damage while my Life Points are one-thousand or less, I can negate that damage, and inflict the same amount of damage to my opponents instead!"

The force-field around Yuzu burst into nine streams of shadow that flew strait towards the officers, slamming them all back and reducing the Life Points of A-054, A-261, A-837, B-234, B-916, C-238, C-888, and C-460 to 3000, and the Life Points of B-733 to 2000.

"After the effect resolves," Yuzu continued, "my opponents cannot activate Action Cards for the rest of the turn, in addition I get to add 1 Earthbound Card and 1 Field Magic Card from my deck to my hand! I choose the Field Magic, Divine Melodious Stage, and the Continuous Magic, Earthbound Gardens."

The officers groaned in response, small bursts of black electricity occasionally crackling against their armor.

From above, Ruri landed behind Yuzu before taking her by the waist and lifting her off the platform, flying with her back to the center of the flower platform. Looking around, Yuzu saw that the Arrest Corps had surrounded them on all sides from multiple platforms, and yet, despite their immense numbers, she did not feel the least bit afraid. On the contrary, Yuzu almost felt pity for the officers as they recovered from the effects of her Action Card.

"There's nothing more you can do, Roger!" Ruri growled. "Your cheap tactics have failed you, but I will not forget what you did to Yuzu! End your turn now and prepare to face your punishment with dignity!"

It was disconcerting for Roger to have his plan thwarted, but he and his Arrest Corps were far from defeated. Even if they hadn't managed to eliminate either Ruri or Yuzu, they still held an overwhelming advantage.

"Turn end." C-460 declared, assuming a defensive stance. All nine of the Arrest Corps officers had managed to secure a safe position on a platform and acquire two Action Cards each. With an army of nine Goyo Emperors each armed with Goyo Arrow, they were ready to hold off just about any attack until they could unleash another stream of damage from attacks and effect damage during the next round.

Ruri removed her cape and cracked her knuckles, glaring angrily at the Arrest Corps before turning to Yuzu with a concerned expression on her face. "How are you holding up?" she asked.

"I'm okay." Yuzu reassured her, panting slightly. "Thank you for your help. I'm ready to learn Xyz Summoning now."

Ruri grinned back at her. "Yes." she agreed, "It's time. Watch closely, Yuzu! I'm going to teach you two of the greatest summoning methods ever created!"

The Arrest Corps braced themselves, holding their Duel Disks in front of their chests like shields.

"My turn! Draw!" Ruri declared, pulling a card from the top of her Duel Disk. Irises blazing like red fire, Ruri hardly paused as she moved through each play of her turn. "First, I activate the second effect of Prophetess. By banishing this monster until the End-Phase of this turn, I can make it so the Special Summon of Salvation Seraphim monsters cannot be negated!"

Prophetess glowed with intense white light before vanishing from Ruri's field, leaving a bright golden mist behind.

"Next, since I have no monsters in my graveyard, I can Special Summon the Level six, Salvation Seraphim Angel from my hand!"

A black winged angel wearing a white halo above her head and white battle-armor on her body while carrying a long spear and shield, descended onto Ruri's field.

"Next, I Normal Summon the level six monster, Salvation Seraphim Oracle, without release with its own effect!"

Salvation Seraphim Angel was joined by another black-winged angel with a bandage around her eyes and cracked fortune-telling bones in her hands.

"Oracle effect!" Ruri continued, "I excavate the top three cards of my deck in order to Special Summon one excavated Salvation Seraphim monster while sending all other cards excavated by this effect to the graveyard!"

Salvation Seraphim Oracle touched several segments of her bones while her eyes lit up with blinding white light from beneath her bandages. Above her head, the ghostly images of two black-winged angels and a long spear shimmered in the air like a mirage.

"I Special Summon the Level three monster, Salvation Seraphim Martyr, and send the monster, Salvation Seraphim Priestess, and the Equip Magic Card, Salvation Seraphim Holy Spear, to the graveyard."

A black-winged angel in a white dress and a long, golden spear descended into Ruri's graveyard through two black portals while another black-winged angel appeared to Ruri's field. Salvation Seraphim Martyr was a fairly small angel in comparison with the others. Her hair was coal black and her skin was a smooth chocolate brown. Looking up towards the Arrest Corps, she wore an expression on her tanned face that was sorrowful, yet determined. Her hands and feet were bound with strong cords, and her black wings were clamped together with a set of iron chains. A holographic indicator appeared at her feet and showed an attack of 300.

"I next Special Summon the Level three monster, Salvation Seraphim Healer, from my hand with its own effect, and activate its effect. I send Salvation Seraphim Disciple from the top of my deck to the graveyard in order to Special Summon the Salvation Seraphim Priestess I sent to the graveyard."

Yuzu watched as Ruri rapidly summoned a black-winged angel to her field and sent another angel to her graveyard before summoning yet another angel. She now had a force of five monsters on her field, two of them Level six, and three of them Level three.

"Priestess effect!" Ruri declared, "I excavate the top three cards of my deck, adding Salvation Seraphim Archon to my hand while sending the monster, Salvation Seraphim Acolyte, and the Magic Card, Salvation Seraphim Ascension Force, to my graveyard!" Ruri turned to Yuzu after adding a card to her hand and sending the rest to the graveyard. "Watch me now, Yuzu!" she instructed, "This is the art of Xyz Summoning!"

She stretched her hand towards her monsters. "Using the monsters, Salvation Seraphim Priestess, Healer, and Martyr, who each have the same Level of three, I construct the overlay network!"

Instead of sending the monsters to the graveyard, Ruri took her three monsters and stacked them together, before pulling a card from her extra deck. Meanwhile, on her field, the three monsters each turned into a stream of yellow light before draining into a galaxy-shaped black and yellow Xyz Portal, which formed on the ground in front of Ruri. Holding her hands together like she was praying, Ruri began her summoning chant:

"Noble heavenly servant clad in the armor of righteousness, take courage now as you raise your holy blade to smite the forces of darkness and bring salvation to this world! Xyz Shokan!" she cried, eyes glowing white, "Rank 3! Salvation Seraphim Brave Crusader!"

She placed the card from her Extra Deck on top of the stack of cards just as the Xyz Portal in front of her exploded in a blast of multi-colored light. From the center, a proud looking angel with blonde hair and white wings arose from the portal before posing in front of Ruri, holding its blade aloft. Three spheres of white light orbited the blade of its sword in a series of concentric rings.

"Brave Crusader's effect activates, and Martyr's effect chains to the activation!" Ruri declared, stretching her hand towards the ground. "If Salvation Seraphim Martyr is used as a material for an Xyz Summon, I can attach one card from any player's graveyard to the summoned Xyz Monster as an Overlay Unit! I choose to attach one Goyo Regent from your graveyard to my monster now!"

One of the officers snarled in frustration as a card was yanked from his graveyard before it zoomed towards Brave Crusader and transformed into another sphere of light that orbited her sword.

"Brave Crusader's effect!" Ruri declared as two black portals opened up beneath her feet. "I attach the Salvation Seraphim Disciple and Acolyte in my graveyard to my monster as Overlay Units! With six Overlay Units attached, Brave Crusader's effect raises its attack power to 2400!"

"Amazing!" Yuzu exclaimed, watching Ruri's angelic monster and its Overlay Units shine with brilliant golden light.

Ruri smiled back at Yuzu. "Do you understand it now?" she asked.

"I should be good so long as I remembered to put my Xyz Monsters in the Extra Deck." Yuzu replied with a slight chuckle.

"Why would you put them anywhere else?" Ruri asked, looking confused.

"Long story." Yuzu sighed.

"It'll have to wait." Ruri replied, pulling another card from her hand, "There's still much to show you!" she looked up at her opponents with a confident expression on her face. "Since I have no monsters in my graveyard, I Special Summon the Level 1 monster, Fallen Divine Mentor from my hand!"

Yuzu suddenly sensed a drop in the room's temperature as Ruri's new monster materialized into existence. Shape-wise, the new monster looked angelic, but it was bound like a mummy from the tip of its wings to the bottom of its feet in layers of thick paper bearing black Kanji spelling out thousands of different words such as, "Hidden," "Secret," "Unknown," "Mystery," and "Forgotten." Beneath the folds of paper over its mouth, Yuzu could hear the creature silently breathing ragged breaths. Yuzu couldn't tell what lay beneath the paper, but she had a sinking feeling that whatever rested within wouldn't be a pleasant sight to behold.

"Behold Yuzu!" Ruri declared, eyes glowing white with triumph as her voice reverberated across the room like a god's. "This is the power of the Dark Signers! With Fallen Divine Mentor's effect, I multiply the Levels of all monsters I control by negative one!"

"Negative one!?" one of the officers exclaimed. "That's impossible! You can't have a monster with a negative level!"

"Oh ye of so little faith." Ruri sighed, shaking her head as Fallen Divine Mentor rose into the air above Salvation Seraphim Angel and Oracle. With a banshee-like shriek, Divine Mentor shot thousands of ribbons of paper from her body, which bound Angel and Oracle together in a tight bundle. Screaming in agony, the two angels struggled against the bindings, but seemed unable to break through the paper, as if the paper had suddenly become as strong as iron chains. Brave Crusader looked shocked, and turned towards Ruri as if begging her to stop what she was doing. Meanwhile, the screaming of Angel and Oracle gradually faded away as their bodies slowly grew translucent.

"Stop it!" Yuzu shrieked, watching the monsters' agony with horror. "You're hurting them!"

"It has to be done." Ruri calmly replied. "Watch closely now. Soon, you will be doing the same thing." She raised her hands above her head as Divine Mentor flew upwards, carrying the imprisoned angels with her. "Using these two Level negative six monsters, I build the Dark Overlay Network and Dark Xyz Summon!"

With a final muted shriek of agony, Salvation Seraphim Angel and Oracles bodies disappeared completely as they collapsed into a small singularity, which warped the fabric of space around it.

"Legendary giant who inherits the blood of the divine," Ruri solemnly chanted, closing her eyes, "Open thy all-seeing eyes now, gaze upon the works of humanity, and dispense righteous judgment! Dark Xyz Shokan! Descend now! Level negative six! Earthbound Disciple Geo Nephilim!"

Yuzu braced herself as Ruri slammed a translucent card on top of the Angel and Oracle cards, sending a shockwave through the field as she did. As space folded out from the singularity, a giant blue angelic woman unfolded from the center and stepped onto Ruri's field, unfolding a massive pair of wings that each looked like a solid piece of flexible carved sapphire as a holographic indicator appeared to show an ATK of 2800. Ghostly yellow markings decorated its skin and dress while glowing with a faint yellow light. The upper half of its face was hooded with a deep-black cloak that covered most of its body, but beneath the hood, Yuzu could make out six massive white eyes that stared up at the Arrest Corps like spot-lights. Through patches of translucent skin and clothing, Yuzu could make out two shiny black crystals within Geo Nephilim, one in the chest and one in her midriff. Divine Mentor flew to the giant's feet and fell to her knees, repeatedly lifting her hands in the air and bowing to the monster as if worshipping it.

"When a monster is Dark Xyz Summoned," Ruri continued, "Fallen Divine Mentor's second effect activates. I can attach it to the summoned monster as a Dark Overlay Unit."

Earthbound Disciple Geo Nephilim, raised Divine Mentor to her feet with one of her own massive hands. Making a quick crushing motion with the other hand, Fallen Divine Mentor suddenly compacted into a shiny black crystal before flying into Geo Nephilim's forehead, phasing through the skin and becoming another one of its Dark Overlay Units.

"Why did you do that?" Yuzu asked, shocked by how brutal the summoning method seemed.

Ruri sighed. "Yuzu," she explained, "this war has unleashed a great amount of pain upon the universe. One of the powers of the Earthbound is to collect human pain in order to use it as a source of power. Using the power of that pain, we can stop the people who began this war, and ultimately put an end to all pain and suffering. You are a gentle spirit, and I can understand if you are disturbed by my monsters' pain, but good things have always required sacrifice, whether it was to call forth a stronger monster in Duel Monsters or build a greater world. But no matter how much individuals like us may have to offer, the blessings that will come from such selfless sacrifices always outweigh the costs. Now behold those blessings!" Ruri commanded, stretching her hand towards her monster, "I activate Geo Nephilim's effect! Once per turn, during any player's turn, it can attach a number of cards from the top of any player's deck, graveyard, or that are currently banished to one Xyz or Dark Xyz monster, except Geo Nephilim, as Overlay or Dark Overlay Units! With this effect, I attach one Goyo Regent from three of your graveyards to Salvation Seraphim Brave Crusader as Overlay Units!"

Geo Nephilim flapped its Sapphire wings once before stretching out its hands as the Dark Overlay Units within its body glowed with intense black light. Three copies of Goyo Regent were ripped from three officer's graveyards and morphed into spheres of white light that sped toward Brave Crusader's sword before joining the other Overlay Units and raising Brave Crusader's ATK to 2700.

"I cannot attack on my first turn due to Battle-Royal rules." Ruri sighed. "So I'll set one card face-down and end my turn. And of course, with the end of my turn, Prophetess returns to my field." As Prophetess reappeared to Ruri's field, she looked over at Yuzu and nodded her head. "Show me what you have learned." She commanded.

"My turn." Yuzu began, "Draw." She looked down at the cards in her hand. She had plenty to work with, but she was struggling to focus on any except one of them.

"It's time to embrace the powers you've been given." Ti'ika Sara admonished, glowing with red light from within the card. "Call me forth, and I shall take revenge against these pathetic mortals."

Yuzu shook her head, struggling against her own thoughts as memories of the Arrest Corps' abuse and Sergey's cruel murder resurfaced to her view. "There's a better way." Yuzu thought back, gritting her teeth as she pulled a card from her hand.

"Due to the effect of Earthbound Battlefield, I am allowed to play one additional Field Magic without having to remove Earthbound Battlefield from the Field Magic Zone." She wiped some sweat from her brow before slowly placing a card above Earthbound Battlefield on her Duel Disk. "I activate the Divine Melodious Stage I added to my hand!"

Filling the dark battlefield with brilliant light, the duelists were suddenly surrounded by a massive opera theater with a crystal chandelier, flowing red curtains, and a raised platform looming above rows of thousands of cushy red seats. Bits of confetti rained from the sky and legions of tiny fairy and sprite performers playing small instruments filled the air with joyful melodies. Taking in the bright atmosphere, Yuzu took a deep breath, even if it was unnecessary, and allowed herself to relax before continuing her turn with a small smile on her face.

"Next," she continued, feeling her spirits lift a little as she resolved to duel in the way she believed in, "I activate the Magic Card, 1st Movement Solo, and Special Summon Sonata the Melodious Diva from my deck!"

Pirouetting through the air with angelic grace, a green haired fairy in a blue dress decorated with musical notes tossed back her long hair before landing on the platform and letting out a beautiful, clear, high-pitched note while indicators showed a small ATK of 1200.

"Sonata's effect!" Yuzu proclaimed, steadily growing more confident, "If it is Special Summoned, all Fairy Type monsters I control gain five-hundred attack!"

Sonata's singing grew in volume as her ATK rose to 1700.

From his desk, Roger laughed. "Really!" he snickered, "That's the Dark Signer's play? At least Ruri was semi-interesting. I really wonder if I overacted when I found them here."

Yuzu, however, was far from done.

"Divine Melodious Stage's effect activates!" Yuzu declared, happily raising her hands over her head as the duel field filled with the sound of soothing music. "Once per turn, if I Special Summon a Melodious monster, I can add one Melodious monster from my deck to my hand!" She snagged a card from her deck and added it to the large pile of cards in her hand. "I use its effect now to add Quartet the Melodious Songstress from my deck to my hand!"

She shuffled through the cards in her hand, placing Earthbound God Ti'ika Sara in the back of the pile as she did. "Next," she continued, "since I control a Melodious monster, I Special Summon Cannon the Melodious Diva with its own effect!"

A blue-haired fairy wearing a golden mask and an elegant dress with pink puffed sleeves, a purple vest, and a short black and blue diamond pattern skirt appeared next to Sonata. Rings of musical notes orbited Cannons body like Overlay Units as it joined its voice with Sonata.

Yuzu reached for another card in her hand when she was suddenly interrupted by the voice.

"All is in place." Ti'ika Sara declared, "Summon me now and I shall wipe them all out in one blow!" Yuzu strained her face as the sound of intense girlish giggling filled her mind. Looking up to the Arrest Corps, she had a sudden urge to do as the voice said. Instinctively, she knew that what the spirit had said about finishing the Arrest Corps off in one blow was true. They had thought they could overwhelm her with their sheer numbers, but their numbers would only lead to their downfall! Quivering against the growing desire, Yuzu shakily reached out her right hand before pausing when she suddenly caught a glimpse of Ruri's Geo Nephilim from the corner of her eye.

"What am I doing?" Yuzu thought to herself, sweat beading on her forehead. She thought about what Ruri had said about sacrifices needing to be made in order for great things to be brought about. What she had said about summoning stronger monsters was certainly true. Whenever Yuzu Fusion summoned, there was always the cost of a few of her monsters. What about now? Resting on her field were two weak monsters who wouldn't be able to do anything against the Arrest Corps. Sacrificing them now would be nothing. She had done it before when she Tribute Summoned her Level eight monster, Mozarta the Melodious Maestra. But for some reason, this didn't feel… right. Ruri had caused her monsters pain when she Dark Xyz Summoned her Earthbound monster. Yuzu didn't want to do the same by summoning one of her own. And yet…

"You're struggling, Yuzu." Ruri observed.

Yuzu snapped out of her muddled thoughts and looked back towards the Xyz duelist.

"I don't believe you ought to tie your hands behind your back if there is a way you can win." Ruri smiled, "That said, I believe you should trust your instincts and duel in your own way."

Yuzu smiled back at Ruri, appreciating her understanding. "Thank you, Ruri." she said, sighing with relief, "You don't know how much that helps."

"Trust in the dueling you believe in." Ruri encouraged, "Whether you choose to follow my teachings or not, I still believe you will make a great Dark Signer."

Yuzu bowed to Ruri like she used to when she was being trained by Sora. "Thank you… teacher. I will definitely learn from your teachings and become stronger!"

Yuzu plucked the Earthbound God card from her hand and gently transported it to her pocket. "Forgive me," she whispered, "but I have to do this my way."

"We will speak again." Ti'ika Sara's voice reassured, slowly fading from Yuzu's mind. The instant the card was out of sight, Yuzu felt a weight lift from her shoulders as the marks on her eyes and face began to dim. Looking back through her hand, she continued her turn.

"I now Normal Summon the Level four, Solo the Melodious Songstress, from my hand!"

A fairy wearing an elegant red dress, white gloves, and a headdress decorated with golden treble clefts, appeared on the stage with Canon and Sonata, twirling on one foot like a ballerina while filling the air with a playful, "La la la la laaaa!"

Yuzu smiled back at Ruri. "Watch this. I'm about to show you what I've learned!"

Spreading out her hands to the Arrest Corps like they were her audience, she bowed to them before continuing with her move. "Ladies and gentlemen!" she proudly proclaimed, mimicking Yuya, "For the first time ever, we have the rare opportunity to see something never before accomplished by the Melodious! Please welcome our participants… the elegant Canon, and the graceful Solo as they perform an Xyz Summon!"

The stage darkened before a pair of spotlights beamed down on Canon and Solo, who looked stunned and anxious, but a little excited.

Canon bowed to Solo who took her by the hand with a smile. Together they leaped off the raised platform, transformed into a pair of yellow streams of light, and drained into the center of a black and gold Xyz Portal that formed in the center of the stage, spotlights shining on the center of the vortex.

Yuzu stacked the cards on her Duel Disk together just like Ruri did and commenced a summoning chant:

"Beautiful fairy who composes the songs of the heart, raise your baton to the air and touch the souls of all with your supreme genius! Xyz Shokan! Come Forth! The unrivaled artist! Vivaldina the Melodious Maestra!"

Ruri clapped her hands together with delight as Yuzu's Xyz Portal burst in a flash of multicolored light and a new Xyz Monster appeared to the field. Vivaldina had long black hair tied into pony tails to the sides of her head with two hair-clips shaped like bass clefts. She wore green eye liner over her glittering, solid gold eyes and had a black eighth note painted on each of her cheeks. Her dress was elegant but simple, with long translucent black sleeves over her arms, and a long, thin black dress that extended to her ankles. Large red ribbons covered the front of her chest, the back of her dress, and the top of her elegant red shoes along with an elegant pattern of golden musical notes. In her right hand, she carried a long wooden baton that sprinkled the air with shimmering pink dust and musical notes wherever it was waved. In place of Canon and Solo, two shimmering Overlay Units orbited the monster's body like miniature planets. Laughing to herself, the monster spread a pair of wings that looked like ethereal black harps and twirled through the air before landing next to Sonata. Indicators showed an ATK of 1800.

"Sonata increases the attack of all Fairy-Type monsters by five-hundred." Yuzu smiled, "In addition, Vivaldina increases the attack of all Fairy-Type monsters I control by two-hundred for each of her Overlay Units!"

Sonata and Vivaldina glowed with yellow light at Sonata's ATK rose to 2100 and Vivaldina's rose to 2700.

"Do you know how to use Overlay Units?" Ruri asked, still very pleased that Yuzu had managed to pull off a successful Xyz Summon.

"I've seen Shun and Yuto do it." Yuzu confidently replied. It should work like this. She removed a card from below Vivaldina and transported it to her graveyard. "Next I activate Vivaldina's effect! By sending her Overlay Unit, Solo the Melodious Diva, to the graveyard, I can draw one card from my deck!"

Vivaldina absorbed an Overlay Unit into her baton and pointed it towards Yuzu's deck, shooting out a beam of golden light from the end of the baton as if it were a wand. Yuzu's deck lit up with light and she drew a card before revealing it to the Arrest Corps.

"The Card I drew is Tam-Tam the Melodious Diva. Since it is a Level four or lower Melodious Monster, Vivaldina's second effect allows me to Special Summon it. Come Forth! Tam-Tam the Melodious Diva!"

A fairy with a mallet and a shield-like drum appeared to Yuzu's field. Smiling down at Yuzu she beat her drum with the mallet before posing next to Yuzu's other monsters.

"Since Tam-Tam was Special Summoned while I control other Melodious Monsters, her effect allows me to add one Fusion from my deck to my hand!"

Ruri's smile suddenly dropped when she saw Yuzu add the Spell Card to her hand. Turning her head away, she averted her eyes, not wanting to see what happened next.

Yuzu noticed Ruri's reaction and paused.

"What's wrong?" Yuzu asked, "Are you upset that I'm about to use Fusion?"

Ruri sighed. "I don't care what strategy you use, Yuzu, but please, whatever you do, do NOT use that card! I can never forgive it for what it did to my hometown!"

Yuzu felt a little ashamed that she had brought back Ruri's memories of the invasion just after she had managed to bring a smile to her face. She didn't want to offend Ruri, but Yuzu felt that her attitude towards Fusion Summoning in general was a little too narrow-minded, regardless of how much others had used it as a tool for conflict.

"I'm sorry you've had so many bad experiences with Fusion." Yuzu placated, "But I promise you, I'll show you the true power of Fusion. It can be so much more than a weapon." She smiled, thinking about something Sora had once said, "Used right, it's like blending ice-cream and custard together."

Ruri scowled. "And who, may I ask, taught you that?"

Yuzu looked straight into Ruri's eyes, not allowing herself to back down. "My teacher, Sora, from the Fusion Dimension."

Ruri angrily rolled her eyes and turned her back on Yuzu once more. "The Fusion Dimension," she growled, "was not fusing ice-cream and custard together when they attacked!"

Yuzu bowed her head in resignation, deciding that it would be better to show Ruri what she was talking about.

"I activate the magic card, Fusion, and fuse my Tam-Tam the Melodious Diva with the Serenade the Melodious Diva and Quartet the Melodious Songstress in my hand!"

Ruri grimaced, not daring to look back.

Above Yuzu's head, a glowing blue and orange Fusion Portal materialized into existence. Holding their hands together, Tam-Tam and two other fairies floated into the center of the portal. Serenade was a pink-haired fairy who wore an elegant long flowing red and yellow dress that left her shoulder's bare. Quartet had short white hair with black quarter-note shaped side tails and wore a crystal crown on her head and a dress that seemed to be an amalgamation of multiple styles and colors. Her left sleeve was blue and decorated with glimmering rubies while her right sleeve was crimson and decorated with shimmering sapphires. The front of her slender dress was a blue and orange swirl that vaguely resembled a fusion portal while her skirt was a swirl of black and yellow like an Xyz portal. Her long stockings and slippers were a bluish white with green rings like the column of a Synchro portal. Nodding their heads together the three fairies transformed into a swirl of radiant pink, yellow, and green light, which blended together into a sphere of color in the center of the Fusion portal.

"Echoes of the soul, music of the lover, inspiration of the divine," Yuzu chanted, "blend your voices together and be guided by the strokes of the baton into a new angelic hymn! Yuugo Shokan! Come forth! Prolific master of the written verse! Level five! Haydina the Melodious Maestra!"

Involuntarily, Ruri spun her head around and cracked open her eyes to get a glimpse of Yuzu's monster. In a swirl of petals, Haydina spun onto the dueling field, singing a high-pitched opera note and scattering light from the tips of her fingers and tiny white cherub wings as she did. Her elegant dress was a swirl of pink and gold, with a frilly chamber-ball dress bottom that extended down to her knees and a thin top that swirled around her upper body, leaving her left shoulder covered with a large white flower attached to her dress and slim parts of her upper body and her left shoulder and arm completely bare. In her naked right hand, she carried a baton just like Vivaldina's while her left hand was decorated with elegant green, blue, yellow, and red rings. Her elegant long honey-blonde hair was stacked into a swirling pile on top of her head, while a long strand at the bottom cascaded over her bare left shoulder. Smiling brightly at her audience with a pair of solid pink eyes, she winked once at Ruri before posing next to Vivaldina while indicators revealed an ATK of 2100.

"Quartet's effect activates! If it is used as a material for a Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Summon of a Melodious Monster, I can add one Melodious Songstress monster from my deck to my hand! I choose to add the Level four, Mezzo-Soprano the Melodious Songstress!"

She plucked a card from her deck before extending her hand towards her Fusion Monster.

"Haydina's effect!" Yuzu called, "While it is on the field, all other monsters I control gain three-hundred attack for each monster used in its Fusion Summon! Combining with Sonata and Vivaldina's effect, it means Sonata and Vivaldina's attack each go up by sixteen-hundred while Haydina's goes up by seven-hundred!"

Haydina joined her hands with Vivaldina and Sonata. Together they spun in the air together, blending their voices together in a harmonic song before Haydina and Sonata's ATK increased to 2800, and Vivaldina's ATK increased to 3400.

Ruri was enraptured by the strange sight. Here on Yuzu's field were an Xyz and a Fusion monster, monsters Ruri could only conceive of as eternal enemies. And yet, despite all her experience had taught her, here they were, holding hands and drawing strength from each other's effects like they were best friends. Feeling the gentle light of Yuzu's monsters tickle against her skin, she wondered if there really could be a good form of Fusion Summoning.

She looked back at Yuzu who was smiling at her almost as if saying, "I told you so."

Ruri folded her arms against her chest. "I'm impressed, Yuzu. I didn't think anybody could ever make me like a Fusion Monster." She looked up at Yuzu's three smiling fairies who were still holding their hands together. "Why don't I offer my own gift to your monsters?" she offered, holding out her hands to her Geo Nephilim.

"I activate the effect of my Dark Xyz Monster!" Ruri declared. "I take another three Goyo Regent from your graveyards and attach them to Yuzu's Vivaldina as Xyz Material!"

Vivaldina gazed in wonder as Geo Nephilim extended her hands towards the trio of fairies, causing a swarm of three glowing white Overlay Units to launch from three of the Arrest Corp's graveyards and join the two other Overlay Units already orbiting Yuzu's monster. Singing with joy, the spun around in the air once more as Vivaldina's effect rose Haydina and Sonata's ATK to 3400 while Vivaldina's rose to 4000.

"It's a shame we can't attack yet." Ruri commented, allowing herself to smile at Yuzu's monsters. "But I'm sure you have something figured out."

Yuzu nodded her head as she pulled another card from her hand.

"Haydina the Melodious Maestra cannot be targeted for attacks while I control another Melodious monster." Yuzu explained, "With that in mind, I will now equip Haydina with the Equip Magic, Saint Instrument!"

A large instrument that looked like a conglomeration of horns fastened onto Haydina's back while Haydina giggled with joy and blew a few clear notes from the bells of her new accessory.

"While Saint Instrument is equipped, the only monster that can be targeted for attacks is the equipped monster, in addition, if any player would take effect damage, I can use Saint Instrument's effect to negate the damage and increase her attack by the same amount of effect damage instead."

Ruri grinned till her white teeth were showing. With Saint Instrument and Haydina, Yuzu had effectively created a complete lockdown against the Arrest Corp's strategy. They could not choose any monster but Haydina as an attack target, but with Haydina's effect, she could not be targeted for attacks while Yuzu controlled another Melodious monster. Furthermore, if they tried to damage anyone's life points with an effect, Saint Instrument would only turn that damage into more attack points for Yuzu's monster.

"Thanks for that." Ruri said, thanking Yuzu, "You have no idea how much that helps me out. Now we just have to wait for Roger to finally complete his turns and we should be clear to win this duel."

Yuzu nodded her head, glad that she was once again on friendly terms with her counterpart form Xyz. "During my End-Phase, Divine Melodious Stage increases my Life Points by five-hundred for each Melodious monster I control." She sighed with relief as ribbons of music swirled around her and her Life Points rose to 2000. "With this I end my turn."

Roger reviewed the stats, twirling a pawn in his hand. Despite a few impressive plays, this was hardly the caliber of dueling he had been anticipating. Even if she seemed like the leader of the two, Ruri's dueling was just a little above average while Yuzu's had only slightly improved from her duel against Sergey. Still, the Haydina/Saint Instrument lock would be a little troublesome. Fortunately, there were quite a few ways around it.

"Hold position." he instructed the Arrest Corps. "Proceed to capture the two signers and be ready to counter any of their Action Cards with Yuzu's Action Field."

"My turn!" A-054 began, yanking a card from the top of his deck. "I summon the Level two tuner monster, Jutte Knight, from my hand!"

A diminutive man with black hair and glasses appeared to the officer's field. In his right hand he carried a small jutte.

"Next," A-054 continued, "Since I control a Warrior-Type monster, I Special Summon the Level one monster, Kiribi Lady, with its own effect!"

An even smaller woman with a white and red hood over her eyes and a pair of coals in each hand appeared next to Jutte Knight. A-054 stretched his hand towards his two monsters and continued his turn, "I tune my Level 2 Jutte Knight with my Level 1 Kiribi Lady and Synchro Summon! Come Forth! Level three Synchro Tuner! Goyo Officer!"

Jutte Knight morphed into a pair of green rings that surrounded Kiribi lady until her body was reduced to a golden outline with a single floating white sphere inside. In a column of white light, A-054's monster burst to the field. Goyo Officer was a short and rotund monster that wore a large white and red mask with a samurai helmet on top and a boar-hair moustache under the nose. In his hand, he held a long jutte with a red ribbon on the handle. A holographic indicator appeared and showed an ATK of 1500.

"Goyo officer's effect! Once per turn, I can pay one-thousand Life Points to Special Summon one Level six or lower Goyo monster from my Extra Deck ignoring the summoning conditions." His life points dropped to 2000. "Come forth! Level 3! Goyo Defender!"

A short soldier with white and red makeup over its face appeared to A-054's field. In its right hand it carried a short jutte while its left hand carried a large rectangular riot-shield.

"Geo Nephilim effect!" Ruri declared, "It's time to diversify your strategies a little! I attach three cards from the top of A-261's deck to Yuzu's Vivaldina as Xyz Material!"

Vivaldina giggled with delight as another three spheres of light joined the four already orbiting her body. With her effect, her own ATK rose to 4600 while Haydina and Sonata's ATK each rose to 4000.

"Turn end!" A-054 declared, seemingly unfazed.

"My turn!" A-261 began, drawing his own card. "From my hand, I summon the tuner monster, Jutte Knight, and use Kiribi Lady's effect from my hand to Special Summon herself to the field! I next tune my Level 2 Jutte Knight with my Level 1 Kiribi Lady to Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 3! Goyo Officer!"

"Honestly…" Ruri groaned at the repeat of the last turn, "…I thought I might see something different if I changed up the top of your deck."

"They all still have some cards in their hand." Yuzu observed.

"Yep." Ruri agreed, folding her arms across her chest. "I guess we might as well brace ourselves for a very dull round."

A-261 continued with his move as if he didn't hear either of them. "I next activate Goyo Officer's effect! I pay one-thousand Life Points and Summon Goyo Defender from my Extra Deck!"

Another copy of Goyo Defender appeared to the Duel field, stacking its shield next to the other Goyo Defender in a defensive wall.

"I guess if you're doing the same thing, then so am I." Ruri sighed, "I use Geo Nephilim's effect to attach the top 3 cards of A-837's deck to Vivaldina as Xyz Material!"

Vivaldina's ATK rose to 5200 while Haydina and Sonata's ATK rose to 4600.

"Turn End." A-261 declared.

Roger sneered at Ruri from behind his desk. "You don't think I'd actually make ALL of their opening hands exactly the same, do you? If you're just dying for some diversity, why don't you enjoy this?"

"My Turn!" A-837 began. "I summon Jutte Knight from my hand!" he extended his hand toward the pair of Goyo Defenders as his monster appeared to the field. "I next tune my Level two Jutte Knight with two Level three Goyo Defender and Synchro Summon! Prostrate before the power of absolute authority!" he roared as Jutte Knight morphed into a pair of green rings that circled the two Goyo Defenders until their bodies vanished away, leaving a line of six glowing white spheres. "SYNCHRO SHOKAN! Appear! Level eight! Goyo King!"

A massive, beefy warrior appeared to A-837's field. His stern face was decorated with the same white and red makeup as the other Goyo monsters, but his attire was more royal looking, with elegant robes and an antler-decorated crown. In one beefy arm, he carried a massive spear with a jutte-shaped blade on the end while a jutte-shaped sword hung at his side. A holographic indicator appeared and showed an ATK of 2800.

"Next," he continued, "from my hand, I equip the Magic Card, Goyo Sasumata to my Goyo King!"

Goyo King's spear transformed into a longer and broader spear with spikes down the shaft and a U-shaped pair of blades extending past the spear head.

"Goyo Sasumata effect!" A-837 commanded, "The equipped monster can attack my opponent's Life Points directly!"

Yuzu gasped in shock. Saint Instrument only made it so the only monster her opponent could attack was the equipped monster. Since players were not considered monsters, that made an attack on a player perfectly valid. Ruri would be fine with Salvation Seraphim Prophetess on her field, but her own Life Points were wide open. Even if she managed to get an Action Card at this point, the other Arrest Corps operatives would be able to negate the activation of that card.

"Goyo King's effect!" A-837 declared, "If it battles, it gains four-hundred attack for each Goyo monster I control!"

Yuzu desperately ran for an Action Card as Goyo King's ATK rose to 7600 before the Arrest Corp officer's monster charged at Yuzu with his spear.

"Trap activate!" Ruri countered, "Rank-Down Trap Judgment Force! I target my Rank three Salvation Seraphim Brave Crusader and Dark Xyz Summon, using it as the Dark Xyz Material!"

Yuzu and Goyo King both stopped in their tracks as Ruri's trap shot out a web of chains that ensnared Brave Crusader in their coils. Screaming in agony, Brave Crusader slowly turned transparent before its nine Overlay Units compacted into shiny black crystals and its body got sucked into the center of a singularity. Ruri pressed her hands together and began another summoning chant:

"Eternal wheel of heaven who carries the throne of the divine god, circle through the sky in an eternal cycle and protect the innocent from the wrath of the evil forces who oppose thee! Rank Down Xyz Change! Descend now! Rank negative three! Earthbound Disciple Geo Ophanim!"

Ruri threw another translucent card over her Xyz Monster, sending a shockwave across the duel field that blasted Goyo King away from Yuzu. From the center of the singularity, Ruri's new monster stretched out onto the duel field.

Earthbound Disciple Geo Ophanim looked like a female Buddhist monk with lilac hair tied into a short bun while wearing a half-lidded golden mask with a red ruby on the center of the forehead over her face. Her hands were balled into fists and pressed against each other over her chest while her legs and bare feet were crossed together in a meditation position. Her plain robes were a simple orange and brown and left her arms and shoulders exposed while covering up her body and legs down to her ankles. Surrounding her was an ethereal violet wheel that slowly turned the girl clockwise while an even larger ghostly white wheel inlaid with ten circles that surrounded the edges of the smaller wheel, spun around at a more rapid rate counter-clockwise. Slowly turning upside-down and back again, Ruri's new monster orbited the edges of the duel field, seemingly unconcerned with her surrounding environment as she maintained her meditative pose. Within each of the ten circles, Yuzu could see a glimmering black crystal shining against the light of Divine Melodious Stage.

"I know you don't like it." Ruri apologized, turning to Yuzu, "But perhaps I can teach you of the good that can come from the Dark Xyz Summon just as you showed me the virtues that can come from Fusion Summoning."

Roger slammed his fist against his desk as Ruri's abrupt summon forced a replay to occur. "Enough of this!" he shouted, "Repeat your attack!"

"Goyo King!" A-837 called, "Attack Yuzu directly!"

"I will not let you!" Ruri roared, extending her hand towards her new monster. "Geo Ophanim effect! I banish one Dark Overlay Unit in order to negate your attack and make it so that none of your other monsters can attack this turn!"

Goyo King suddenly stopped in his tracks as Geo Ophanim calmly cupped her hands outward and a Dark Overlay Unit in one of its circles collapsed in on itself. Blowing a kiss at Goyo King, a ghostly wheel suddenly surrounded the Synchro Monster. Goyo King's eye glowed white and it dropped its spear, staggering backwards in a daze.

"Next I activate Geo Nephilim's effect!" Ruri growled, "I attach three cards from the top of B-733's deck to Vivaldina as Overlay Units."

Vivaldina's ATK rose to 5800 while Haydina and Sonata's ATK each rose to 5200.

"Set Storming Mirror Force face down!" Roger ordered, frustrated that another of his brilliant strategies had been countered.

"I set one card face down and end my turn!" A-837 finished.

"My turn!" B-733 began, drawing a card. "I Normal Summon Jutte Lord from my hand and activate its effect! I Special Summon Jutte Knight from my hand! Next, I tune my Level two Jutte Knight with my Level four Jutte Lord and Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level six! Goyo Bodyguard!"

A massive, obese Goyo monster appeared to B-733's field. Wearing an orange demon mask with long black hair and little else but a loin cloth, white cape, and pair of sandals, the new monster looked more like a Sumo Wrestler than an actual bodyguard. A holographic indicator appeared and displayed a DEF of 2400.

"Goyo Bodyguard's effect! When it is Synchro Summoned, I can Special Summon Goyo monsters from my Extra Deck or graveyard whose total levels equal 6 or less! Come forth from my Extra Deck! Two Goyo Defender!"

"Not happening!" Ruri countered, "Geo Ophanim's effect! If my opponent activates a monster effect, I can banish one Dark Overlay Unit to negate the activation and make it so my opponent cannot declare an attack this turn!"

Geo Ophanim crushed another Dark Overlay Unit in its outer wheel before extending its hands toward Goyo Bodyguard. Instantly, Goyo Bodyguard froze as he was surrounded by an ethereal wheel of light. As his eyes glowed with white light, he roughly fell to his knees and stared off into the distance as if he was possessed.

"Nephilim effect." Ruri continued. "I attach three cards from the top of B-234's Deck to Vivaldina as Overlay Units.

With the added boost of Overlay Units, Vivaldina's ATK rose to a whopping 6400 while Haydina and Sonata's ATK trailed just behind at 5800.

"I set one card face down." B-733 grunted, placing down a copy of Mirror Force. "Turn end."

"My turn!" B-234 snarled, stepping forward. "From my hand I summon Jutte Knight! And now, since I control a Warrior-Type monster, I summon Kiribi Lady from my hand! With these two monsters, I Synchro Summon Goyo Defender! Come forth! Level three! Goyo Defender!"

A copy of Goyo Defender appeared to his field, slamming down his shield as if daring one of Ruri or Yuzu's monsters to approach.

"Next," B-234 continued, "I activate the Magic Card, Monster Reborn, and Special Summon Jutte Knight!"

Jutte Knight flipped onto his field, posing next to Goyo Defender in a crane stance as he did.

"I now tune the Level two Jutte Knight with my Level three Goyo Defender and Synchro Summon! Come forth! The compulsive power of authority! Level five! Goyo Recruiter!"

A pot-bellied Goyo monster wearing elegant robes appeared to B-234's field. On its back, a large banner depicting a pair of crossed Juttes waved in the wind. It wore an extremely stern and demanding expression on its white-makeup face is it pointed to other Goyo Monsters on the field and shouted orders at them. A holographic indicator appeared and showed an ATK of 1600.

"Goyo Recruiter gains two-hundred attack for each Goyo Monster I control. With fourteen Goyo Monsters on our field, that's an extra twenty-eight hundred attack!"

Goyo Recruiter roared as his ATK rose to 4400.

"I next activate Goyo Recruiter's effect! Once per turn, I can add one Goyo or Jutte card from my deck to my hand! I use its effect to add the Continuous Magic, Goyo Checkpoint, to my hand!"

Ruri snorted. "I'll allow it. I still need to train Yuzu after all."

Yuzu blinked at Ruri who just smiled back at her before sighing and saying, "Trust me Yuzu, you have no idea how much I've been holding back in this duel."

"I activate Goyo Checkpoint!" B-234 growled, not appreciating the interruption, "While I control a face-up Goyo monster on my field, my opponent must pay one-thousand Life Points to declare an attack!"

"Nephilim effect." Ruri yawned, completely uninterested in the Spell Card's effect. From the top of B-916's deck, three more Overlay Units zoomed towards Yuzu's Vivaldina.

At this point, Vivaldina became covered in so many Overlay Units that it looked like a solid sphere of light had formed around her body rather than a swarm of orbiting Overlay Units. Cheering with delight, she and Yuzu's other monsters twirled through the air as Vivaldina's ATK rose to 7000 while Haydina and Sonata's ATK rose to 6400.

"I don't know if you managed to figure it out by now, Roger," Ruri smirked, "but your entire squad is now caught in an infinite loop. No matter how many monsters you summon, my Geo Ophanim will always be ready to stop their attacks and any unwanted effects. And since there are now so many turns in a round with all your Arrest Corps, Geo Nephilim will be able to constantly boost the attack power of Yuzu's monsters or replenish any of Geo Ophanim's Dark Overlay Units should the need arise. I don't know about you, but I'd seriously consider either quitting or coming up with a completely different game plan and coming up with one fast."

"Stop screwing around and get her now!" Roger roared at his officers, provoked by Ruri's taunting. "I need as many Goyo King on the field as possible and I need them right now!"

"My turn!" B-916 declared. "From my hand, I activate the Continuous Magic, Goyo Authority! With its effect, once per turn, I can target one Goyo monster on the field to have one Goyo monster I control that has a higher Level gain the effects of that Target! I target Goyo Recruiter to have Goyo Emperor gain the effects of that monster!"

A scroll appeared in B-916's Goyo Emperor's hand. Unrolling the scroll, Goyo Emperor displayed it to Goyo Recruiter as if it was a badge before glowing with red light.

"Goyo Emperor effect!" B-916 ordered. "Because it has gained Goyo Recruiter's effect, I can add one Goyo or Jutte card from my deck to my hand! I choose to add the Level six monster, Goyo Regent from my deck to my hand!"

He plucked a card from his deck and added it to his gloved hand.

"Goyo Regent effect! If I control a face-up Goyo or Jutte Monster, I can Special Summon this card from my hand with its own effect! Come forth! Goyo Regent!"

"Geo Nephilim effect." Ruri ordered as a copy of Goyo Regent appeared to B-916's field. I attach three cards from the top of C-238's deck to Vivaldina as Xyz Material."

B-916 grunted as Ruri repeated her monster's effect. "I set two cards face down and end my turn!" B-916 declared, setting down a copy of Dimensional Prison and Negate Attack before turning to C-238, nodding his head as if giving his fellow officer the permission to act.

C-238 nodded back as if understanding. "My turn!" he declared, drawing a card. "From my hand, I summon Jutte Knight!"

A copy of Jutte Knight appeared next to Goyo Regent.

"Next, I tune my Level two Jutte Knight with my Level six Goyo Regent and Synchro Summon! Come Forth! Level eight! Goyo King!"

A new copy of Goyo King roared onto the field, pointing his spear in Yuzu's direction with a menacing scowl on his face.

"I next equip Goyo King with Goyo Sasumata and attack Yuzu directly! Go! Goyo King!"

"Ophanim effect!" Ruri countered. Just like before, Earthbound Disciple Geo Ophanim crushed a Dark Overlay Unit within one of its circles before summoning an ethereal circle around Goyo King, stopping the Arrest Corp officer's dazed monster in its tracks.

"Naturally," Ruri sighed, stretching her hand towards Geo Nephilim. "You know what's next."

Vivaldina glowed like a supernova as yet another trio of spheres joined her growing number of Overlay Units.

"I set one card face-down." C-238 muttered, throwing down a copy of Call of the Haunted. "Turn end!"

"My turn!" C-888 snarled, drawing his own card. "From my hand I summon, Jutte Knight!"

"I'm really tempted to start playing Rin's point game right about now." Ruri muttered to herself.

"Trap activate!" C-238 declared, "Call of the Haunted! With it, I Special Summon Goyo Regent to my field! Be revived, Goyo Regent!"

C-888 nodded as C-238's Goyo Regent reappeared to the field with a small roar.

"I tune my Level two Jutte Knight with my Level six Goyo Regent!" C-888 roared, "Come forth! The absolute power of authority! Level eight! Goyo King!"

"They're summoning so many monsters!" Yuzu exclaimed, eyes sweeping the field as she counted the seemingly innumerable host of monsters the Arrest Corps had assembled.

"And yet, they can do nothing." Ruri replied. "Thanks to you the only out they have at this point is…"

"Goyo Sasumata!" C-888 declared, equipping Goyo King with another long U-blade tipped spear. "Attack Yuzu directly!"

"… and that's my cue." Ruri sighed, rolling her eyes. "Geo Ophanim and Geo Nephilim in that order please."

A repeat of the previous turn occurred with Geo Ophanim stopping Goyo King's attack with its effect and Geo Nephilim powering up Yuzu's monsters even further by supplying Vivaldina with even more Overlay Units.

"I set one card face down!" C-888 grunted, throwing down a second copy of Call of the Haunted. "Turn end!"

"I summon Jutte Knight!" the last officer, C-460 declared after drawing his card.

"Call of the Haunted!" C-888 replied, "Revive Goyo Regent!"

"Synchro Summon!" C-460 reciprocated, tuning Jutte Knight with Goyo Regent. "Come Forth! One more Goyo King!"

A fourth Goyo King appeared to the duel field, swinging his jutte-sword above his head as he roared with fury.

"Sasumata!" C-460 snarled, equipping his Goyo King with another massive spear.

"Seriously guys." Ruri groaned, "You're not going to get through all of Ophanim's Dark Overlay Units!"

"Attack Yuzu, Goyo King!" C-460 roared, not seeming to hear or care about what Ruri said.

"Pop quiz, Yuzu." Ruri sighed, pinching her forehead in exasperation. "What am I about to do?"

"Something different from all the other times." Yuzu shrugged, knowing exactly what she was going to do.

"I wish." Ruri groaned, activating Ophanim and Nephilim's effects in sequence.

Roger was beside himself with rage. They were humiliating him! Between Yuzu's lock and Ruri's constant interference, his Arrest Corps were managing to do nothing but slowly get their decks whittled down while Yuzu's monsters just kept getting stronger. Swiping through some options on his computer screen, he quickly reviewed the duel stats.

"End your turn C-460." he ordered, "The Dark Signers think they've won. I want to keep it looking that way. All of you will wait for them to attack. Once they do, use Mirror Force, or if necessary, Storming Mirror Force, and wipe out their armies."

"Turn end!" C-460 complied, keeping a single card in his hand.

"Finally." Ruri sighed, shaking out her hair. "Draw." She only briefly glanced at the card she drew before turning to her Geo Nephilim. "I think your monsters have enough of a power boost for now, Yuzu, so if you don't mind, I think I'll have Geo Nephilim replenish Geo Ophanim's Dark Overlay Units with a few cards from the top of A-054's deck."

Yuzu reviewed the stats for her own monsters. Ruri was absolutely right. Thanks to her help for the past ten turns, Vivaldina now had thirty-one Overlay Units, almost enough to create an entire deck. Between the various ATK boosting effects of her monsters, Vivaldina's ATK had climbed to 9400 while Haydina and Sonata's ATK had risen to only a slightly smaller 8800.

Ruri lowered her hands once the number of Geo Ophanim's Dark Overlay Units had been replenished to eight through Geo Nephilim's effect. "That's all for my turn." She finished, tossing back her hair before turning to Yuzu. "I'm leaving the rest to you. Show me what you've learned."

Yuzu smiled and nodded her head before looking back at her opponents with a determined expression on her face. Not even an hour before this moment, had Yuzu been faced with a similar situation, she wouldn't have believed she could have survived for more than three minutes against such an overwhelming force without running and hiding. But now, between Ruri's encouragement and their outstanding success against the Arrest Corps thus far, she felt nearly invincible. Without a single doubt in her mind, she was certain this was going to be her greatest entertainment duel yet, so why not go all out!

"Atashi no turn! DRAW!" she exclaimed twirling through the air as she felt power course through her arm and into the card she drew. Turning it over, she smiled when she saw what it was. Sora would be beyond proud of her if he could be with her now. But the card she drew would be for the finale. First, she needed to build excitement with her opening act.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" she proclaimed, spreading her hands out to her audience while spotlights shone on her three monsters. "On my field, we have the beautiful entertainers, Vivaldina, Haydina, and Sonata!" her three monsters graciously curtsied to the audience. "And on the opponent's field are nine Goyo emperor, four Goyo King, Goyo bodyguard, Goyo Recruiter, and two Goyo Officers. Behind these seventeen monsters are many facedown cards and in my opponents' hands are eighteen Action Cards!" Yuzu's three monsters gasped for dramatic effect. "We might not be able to win this turn," Yuzu frowned melodramatically before shrugging her shoulders, "but oh well! We'll still try our best, after all, the show must go on! Drumroll please."

Diminutive fairies and sprites lining the balconies of Divine Melodious Stage began beating on tiny snare drums, building anticipation as Yuzu continued her move.

"I activate Vivaldina's effect!" Yuzu declared. "I detach Canon as an Xyz Material to draw a card from the top of my deck, and if it is a Level four or lower Melodious monster, I can Special Summon it!"

Vivaldina absorbed an Overlay Unit into her button and pointed it at Yuzu's deck, looking a little anxious as Yuzu dramatically pulled a card from the top of her deck and put it against her face, keeping the back-side facing the audience. The sound of the snare drums grew in intensity as she slowly turned the card around.

"The card I drew…" Yuzu bowed her head and made a sad face, causing her three Melodious monsters to groan and a tiny sprite to play a melancholy "Bwah, bwah, bwaaaaaaaaah!" on a trombone.

Yuzu smiled, lifted her head, and displayed the card. "…just kidding!" she giggled, "The card I drew is none other than the Level four monster, Orchestra the Melodious Diva! With Vivaldina's effect, I special summon her!"

Yuzu's three monsters cheered and clapped their hands before Vivaldina opened her right hand and threw a tiny paper bomb into the air that exploded in a blast of confetti and music. When the smoke cleared away, a new fairy presented herself to the audience with a bright smile and a curtsey. Her puffy dress and short wavy hair were both an elegant crystal white while the irises of her eyes were a bright yellow. On her back, a pair of golden wings shaped like curled French Horns flapped through the air like the wings of a Cherub. Yellow diamonds shimmered on her dress and white gloves as she twirled in the air, causing her dress to billow out from her like a giant wedding cake.

"Goyo King effect!" four officers shouted. "If our opponent summons a monster, we can tribute one Goyo monster to take control of one Level eight or lower monster our opponent controls. We tribute our two Goyo Officers, Goyo Bodyguard, and Goyo Recruiter to take control of your Salvation Seraphim Prophetess, Haydina, Sonata, and Orchestra!"

All four Goyo Kings swung Jutte tipped ropes over their heads before launching them at the monsters, intending to capture all of them.

"Please hold all applause until after the performance." Ruri smiled, getting into the spirit of the moment as Geo Ophanim crushed four of its Dark Overlay Units and negated all four Goyo King effects. "Yuzu hasn't even reached the finale yet."

"Thank you, Ruri." Yuzu bowed. "Have no fear ladies and gentlemen! All of you will be thoroughly entertained!"

"ENTERTAINED!?" Roger roared, staring at Yuzu with disbelief. "Did those almighty ancient gods seriously choose this uppity little punk!?" he glanced back at the screen showing Geo Ophanim who still had four Dark Overlay Units, not to mention the ability to gain even more Dark Overlay Units with Nephilim's effect. If the Arrest Corps tried using their ability again, they'd only end up drastically reducing their forces before they managed to actually capture anything.

"HOLD YOUR POSITION!" Roger roared at the Arrest Corps. "Wait for the Dark Signer to attack and then clear away all their monsters with your Trap Cards!"

"And now," Yuzu announced, pulling out a card from her hand, "please welcome to the stage the elegant singer, Mezzo-Soprano the Melodious Songstress! Since I control a face-up Melodious Monster, this card can be Special Summoned!"

A new fairy twirled through the air, spreading out a pair of black sixteenth note-shaped wings while singing with a clear operatic falsetto. Mezzo-Soprano's hair was long, wavy, and aqua-marine with a strand of hair covering her left eye. Her eyes were a clear blue and covered with a pair of glasses. She wore a pearl necklace around her neck and an elegant yellow and black dress with turquoise buttons up the front.

"Once per turn, Mezzo-Soprano can change the Levels of all Melodious Monsters I control to a Level between four and seven! I choose to make the Levels of all my Melodious Monsters Level seven with her effect!"

Mezzo-Soprano smiled shyly at the audience before tossing back her hair, spreading her wings, and belting out a clear middle-pitch note, raising the Levels of Sonata, Orchestra, Haydina, and herself to seven.

"The Stage is now set!" Yuzu happily declared, clapping her hands together. "Using the Level Seven Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra, I construct the Overlay Network!"

Orchestra offered Mezzo-Soprano her hand. Blushing slightly, Mezzo-Soprano took it in hers before they both leaped through the air, transformed into two streams of surging yellow energy and poured into the center of a large black and yellow Xyz Portal.

"What monster will come to the field?" Yuzu asked, putting her finger to her chin for dramatic effect, "And what will it do when it appears? Let's have a drum roll please!"

A crowd of sprites giggled before pulling out their tiny drum sticks and beating on their miniature snare drums.

"The excitement is almost too much for me!" Yuzu exclaimed, "I'm getting the shivers!" she put her hands together and started wiggling her body back and forth, before winking at the Arrest Corps.

"Shivers!?" Ruri guffawed, unable to help herself. "Where on earth did you pick up that?"

Yuzu smiled back, delighted to see she had put a smile on Ruri's face again. The Arrest Corps, meanwhile, looked completely unimpressed, and even worse, increasingly hostile. Determined to put a smile on even their faces, Yuzu rose her hands to the air and began her summoning chant:

"Serene Angel flying through the music-filled air with a song of delight in your heart, spread your elegant wings now and touch the mind and spirit of all who gaze upon you with your divine inspiration! XYZ SHOKAN! Take your place on the stage! Rank Seven! Wing Diva the Melodious Choir!"

Rather than just exploding in a burst of multi-colored light, the Xyz Portal rang with the sound of choir music before bursting into thousands of white feathers that swirled around an indoor tornado before dispersing and revealing a new Xyz Monster.

Wing Diva the Melodious Choir looked like a cross between Yuzu's Melodious Monsters and Ruri's Salvation Seraphim monsters. Her flowing long grey hair fell down to her ankles and was encased in a golden hair net inlaid with rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and yellow diamonds. Her blue eyes were lined with green makeup and she wore an elegant necklace around her neck. Her yellow dress was large, with a slender waist, puffed sleeves, pads over the waist and rear, and black musical notes covering every inch. At the bottom of her dress, streams of elegant white fabric flowed downwards like the tail feathers of a bird. But the most outstanding feature of Yuzu's new monster was a massive pair of wings on her back. The feathers of her wings were mostly white, but a few large feathers were black, making her wings look like the keys of a piano. Throwing back her head, the monster smiled at the audience and expertly sang up and down a wide scale of notes before an indicator appeared and showed an ATK of 2000.

"Since Orchestra the Melodious Diva was used as an Xyz Material, her effect activates! Furthermore, I chain the effect of my Divine Melodious Stage to the Special Summon of my Wing Diva!" she plucked a card from her deck and added it to her hand. "To my hand, I add the Level eight monster, Mozarta the Melodious Maestra! And now, ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for Orchestra and her monster effect! When she is used as an Xyz Material for the Xyz Summon of a Melodious Monster, the summoned monster gains this effect: If it is summoned, until the end of this turn, my opponents cannot activate Magic or Trap Cards!"

"WHAT!?" all nine Arrest Corps officers and Roger screamed in unison.

Wing Diva spread out her arms and wings. Slowly, segments of her wings changed colors till they looked like a rainbow colored piano. With a mighty flap of her glowing wings, she sent a wave of music towards the Arrest Corp's face-down cards and the Action Cards in their hand, till all their Spell and Trap Cards began glowing with rainbow colored light.

"You may have sealed the trap cards." Roger snarled. "But Goyo Checkpoint's effect is continuous. It does not activate and therefore cannot be affected by your monster's ability. And besides…" he reviewed the card in C-460's hand, "… there are other kinds of effects you still haven't sealed!"

"Wing Diva's monster effect!" Yuzu grinned, "I detach Orchestra the Melodious Diva from my monster to Special Summon one Melodious Monster from my hand! I use this effect now to Special Summon Mozarta the Melodious Maestra!"

A tall fairy with curly grey hair, solid blue eyes, an elegant red and gold dress, and a large baton in her hand appeared to Yuzu's field, graciously bowing to the audience before flying next to Wing Diva and Yuzu's other monsters.

"Wing Diva's effect!" Yuzu declared, "Each time I Special Summon one or more Melodious Monsters, I can inflict five-hundred damage to my opponent's Life Points! Go! Elegant Surge!"

Wing Diva absorbed an overlay unit into her chest before putting her hands to her diaphragm and singing a sustained high-pitched note. A sphere of light and musical notes formed just in front of her mouth before she flapped her wings and doubled her singing volume, sending the ethereal sphere strait towards the Arrest Corps before it burst into an explosion of musical notes that knocked them all back, reducing A-054, A-261, and B-733's Life Points to 1500, and A-837, B-234, B-916, C-238, C-888, and C-460's Life Points to 2500.

"I don't care what you have to tribute!" Roger snarled, "Use Goyo King's effect now!"

The officers staggered to their feet before A-837, C-238, C888, and C-460 each extended their hands toward their monsters. "Goyo King effect!" They all declared, "We tribute four Goyo Emperor in order to take control of Salvation Seraphim Prophetess, Haydina, Mozarta, and Sonata!"

"Ophanim…!" Ruri began.

"Wait!" Yuzu countered, leaping strait down the abyss towards a platform shaped like a large coiled snake.

"I hate it when she does that!" Ruri exclaimed, astonished by Yuzu's recklessness. Even if her body was more durable as a Dark Signer, she was certain it could still get shattered if she slammed against the platform at terminal velocity.

Yuzu snagged an Action Card hanging from a vine and continued falling strait towards the platform. Fortunately, just before she smashed her body against the platform, Wing Diva swooped down and caught her in her arms as Yuzu activated the Action Card.

"Action Magic!" she declared, "Earthbound Suppression! I send the Continuous Magic, Earthbound Gardens, from my hand to the graveyard to negate the effects of all my opponent's monsters until the end of this turn!"

Just as the four Goyo Kings threw their ropes towards Ruri and Yuzu's monsters, a wave of darkness suddenly burst from Yuzu's action card, severing the Goyo King's ropes and blasting the monsters back. Yuzu flew up to the flower platform with Wing Diva before leaping from her monster's arms and landing next to Ruri.

"Good work Yuzu." Ruri complimented, impressed that Yuzu had managed to counter the Goyo King's effect without her help. "I think you've pretty well mastered Xyz Summoning at this point. If you want to end your turn now, I can make sure to take them out my next turn so you don't have to pay any Life Points for Goyo Checkpoint."

Yuzu grinned back at Ruri. "But I'm not done yet! It's like Yuya always says, the fun has just started!"

She raised her hands up to Wing Diva. "You have done an amazing job entertaining us. Now it's time to call a new performer to the stage!"

Ruri looked intrigued. "How are you going to do that when you already have five monsters on your field?"

"Simple." Yuzu answered, "I'm going to perform another Xyz Summon!"

"With Haydina and Sonata?" Ruri asked. "I didn't see any Rank-Up cards in your deck."

"I think you have an idea, miss infinite possibility." She teased with a wink.

"There are several ways." Ruri admitted, "I'm just eager to see what you will do."

"Then brace yourself!" Yuzu replied. "The real show starts now!"

She closed her eyes and smiled to herself, almost not believing that she was figuring out so much about Xyz Summoning already. It had taken her days to figure out Fusion Summoning, and here she was, just learning about it in one duel and already talking about making plays like she was an expert.

"Using my Rank seven Wing Diva the Melodious Choir as Xyz Material, I construct the Overlay Network!"

Wing Diva spread out her arms and opened up a black and gold Xyz Portal beneath her feet. Descending into the center, she gave a final curtsey to the audience before disappearing completely as Yuzu began her summoning chant:

"Enchanting Muse who fills the heavens with the singing of a thousand hymns, take flight through the melodious sky, encompass the world below in your divine wings, and lift the souls of all to a higher plane of genius! RANK-UP XYZ CHANGE! To the center of the stage! Rank Eight! Wing Prima the Melodious Choir!"

The swirling Xyz Portal rose to the sky before morphing into thousands of rings of golden musical verses, radiating thousands of harmonic melodies. Merging together, the Musical Verses blended their physical form and music together until they formed a pair of golden angel wings attached to the body of a radiant fairy. Her long white hair was stacked in a pile on top of her head like a wig and adorned with strands of pink pearls. On her ears, she wore a pair of large earrings shaped like white treble clefts. Her warm eyes were a deep mocha, and her lips and cheeks were decorated with red lipstick. Her long dress was similar to Wing Diva's, but hers was white with large golden ribbons and gemstones that were a deep green color. Holding up a crystal goblet, she began singing an extremely high-pitched note until the crystal goblet exploded in her hand, causing the new fairy to blush dramatically. An indicator appeared below the monster and showed an ATK of 3000.

"Wing Prima can attack once for each of her Overlay Units!" Yuzu declared. "With two Overlay Units, that's a total of two attacks, however…" she smiled and turned her head to Ruri.

"Got it!" Ruri grinned. "Geo Nephilim effect! I attach Goyo Officer, Goyo Bodyguard, and Goyo Recruiter from my opponent's graveyards to Yuzu's Wing Prima as Overlay Units!"

Wing Prima sang with delight as three white spheres joined the other two already orbiting her body.

"Wing Prima's second effect!" Yuzu declared, "I can detach one Overlay Unit from Wing Prima in order to return one card on the field to the owner's hand! I detach Mezzo-Soprano the Melodious Songstress from my monster to return Goyo Checkpoint to my opponent's hand!"

Wing Prima absorbed an Overlay Unit into the center of her chest gem before inhaling and letting out another high pitched note that resonated through the air in a column of sound waves. With a flap of her golden wings, she caused ribbons of golden musical verses to stream from her wings and wrap around the columns of sound waves before the entire mass of harmonic music slammed into B-234's Goyo Checkpoint, causing it to disappear in a shower of golden sparks.

"Brilliant work Yuzu!" Ruri complimented. "You've truly learned a lot. I think you could teach me a thing or two about Xyz Summoning."

"We're not done yet!" Yuzu enthusiastically shouted. "If I attack now, we'll only be able to defeat eight of our opponents. I'm going to make sure I defeat them all on this turn!"

"I'm sorry, Yuzu," Ruri apologized, "but I can't use Geo Nephilim's effect again. With your field already full, I'm afraid the maximum number of attacks you can do this turn is eight."

"There is a way!" Yuzu asserted. "It's time to show you what Xyz and Fusion can do when they work together!" Smiling even wider, she pulled the out the card she had drawn at the beginning of her turn.

"I activate the Magic Card, Melodious Fusion! If I control a Melodious Monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, this card allows me to Fusion Summon one Melodious monster from my Extra Deck by sending monsters I control to the graveyard and banishing monsters in my graveyard as Fusion Materials! Everyone," she invited, "come forth to the stage!"

All the monsters on her field gathered together on the center of the raised platform while a group of ghostly melodious monsters from her graveyard joined them.

"I fuse Haydina the Melodious Maestra together with the Canon, Mezzo-Soprano, Orchestra, Tam-Tam, Quartet, Serenade, and Solo, in my graveyard to Fusion Summon!"

Haydina joined hands with a legion of seven other fairies before ascending to the center of a glowing fusion portal and swirling into the center in a raging vortex of red, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange, white, and black light. Closing her eyes and raising her hands above her head, Yuzu began her Fusion Chant:

"Prolific master, noble resonance, tranquil voice, converging harmony, echoes of the soul, inspiration of the divine, music of the lover, the flutter of angel wings, by the guidance of the baton assemble your power! YUUGO SHOKAN! Now on stage! The song of passion! Level seven! Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir!"

In a swirl of flower petals, Bloom Prima the Melodious Choir pirouetted onto the stage. She wore an elegant yellow dress that looked like an upside-down blooming flower and had a pair of blue and black flowers attached to her back. Twirling through the air, she sang several clear notes before landing next to Wing Prima. Smiling, the two monsters took each other's hands and gave a curtsey to the audience.

Ruri felt something from the display of Yuzu's Xyz and Fusion summoning. It dawned on her that Yuzu was doing more than offer entertainment through her dueling. She was using her dueling to convey a message. By combining Xyz and Fusion Summoning together, she was showing Ruri that the two summoning techniques not only could work together, but might even be stronger together.

"Haydina and Quartet's monster effects activate! Since Haydina was removed from the field, I can increase the attack of all monsters I control by three-hundred for each monster previously used in her Fusion Summon, thus maintaining the original attack boost and giving my new Bloom Prima an additional nine-hundred attack. Furthermore, Haydina's second effect allows me to add 1 Melodious monster from my deck to my hand. With her effect, I add the Level two monster, Score the Melodious Diva, to my hand. Next, since Quartet was used as a Material for the Fusion Summon of a Melodious Monster, her effect allows me to add one Melodious Songstress monster from my deck to my hand! I choose to add Contralto the Melodious Songstress from my deck to my hand!"

After adding the two cards to her hand, she extended her hand towards her five monsters.

"All of my monster's effects are applied. Sonata increases the attack of all fairy-type monsters I control by five-hundred, the Haydina that was sent to the graveyard raises them by nine-hundred, Vivaldina, with thirty Overlay Units, raises the attack of my monsters by six-thousand, and finally, Bloom Prima, with her own effect, gains three-hundred attack for each monster used in her Fusion Summon!"

The entire duel field filled with light and music as holographic indicators displayed Sonata's ATK at 8600, Vivaldina's ATK at 9200, Mozarta's ATK at 10,000, Wing Prima's ATK at 10,400, and Bloom Prima's ATK at 11,700.

"Bloom Prima can attack twice per Battle-Phase." Yuzu explained. "With the added attacks from Wing Prima, Vivaldina, Mozarta, and Sonata, that's nine total attacks!"

"Impossible!" Roger gasped, failing to comprehend how a few pathetic fairies and their entertainment duelist could become such a formidable force.

"Bloom Prima begins!" Yuzu declared, "Attack C-460's Goyo Emperor!"

Bloom Prima rose into the air in a shower of flower petals and raced towards C-460's Goyo Emperor, flowers on her back blooming to expose their beautiful blue, black, and white interior.

"Activate Jutte Lady's effect!" Roger screamed in desperation, "Stop her now! STOP HER NOW!"

"Jutte lady effect!" C-460 declared, "If a Goyo monster I control battles, I can discard this card from my hand to have my monster gain one-thousand attack for each Goyo monster I control! With nine Goyo Monsters on our field, Goyo Emperor gains nine-thousand attack! GO! DESTROY BLOOM PRIMA!"

A woman wearing white and red make-up and a black ninja outfit appeared next to Goyo Emperor before bowing to him. Presenting a golden Jutte to Goyo Emperor, she dropped a smoke bomb and vanished before Goyo Emperor picked up the Jutte and glowed with intense red light before rending the air with a roaring battle-cry. As his ATK rose to 12,300, Goyo Emperor placed his fist to his mouth and blew a raging inferno of scarlet fire from his mouth straight towards Yuzu's Bloom Prima.

"Score the Melodious Diva's effect activates!" Yuzu roared, jumping into the air to fly right alongside her monster. "By discarding this card from my hand, I change the attack of the monster my Bloom Prima is battling to zero!"

"WHAT!?" Roger gasped, "But that wasn't even its effect before! How is she not cheating right now!?"

Just before the stream of fire reached Bloom Prima, a diminutive blue-and-violet-haired fairy, who was wearing a white and purple dress zoomed underneath Bloom Prima and Yuzu, creating a pathway made of light behind her. Yuzu landed on the pathway and sprinted towards Bloom Prima, who used the sudden upsurge created from the path to dodge the flame of fire before swooping down and catching Yuzu in her arms. Swooping Down, Score opened up a sheet of music and let out a high pitched note straight at Goyo Emperor, dropping its ATK to 0 as Goyo Emperor shielded his face with his hands. Bloom Prima followed soon afterwards, blowing Goyo emperor and C-460 away is she opened her wings and let out two simultaneous streams of musical sound waves.

"Next is C-888," Yuzu ordered, stretching out her hands while being cradled in Bloom Prima's own delicate hands. "Attack his Goyo King!"

Roger watched with growing horror as Bloom Prima blasted back another of his Officers while he was completely powerless to stop it.

"And now the Grand Finale!" Yuzu declared, "Everyone! Come to the stage!"

Tiny fairies and sprites all over Divine Melodious Stage began playing little instruments while Yuzu's five fairies rose into the air and joined Bloom Prima.

"Eins, zwei, drei!" Bloom Prima called, counting in German.

Joining hands, the five fairies joined their voices together as they glowed with intense light. In a flurry of shimmering golden music, flower petals, and feathers, the remaining seven Arrest Corps officers and their monsters were lifted off the ground on each of their own mini-tornadoes of music and thrown down, each of them landing on the flower platform in a dazed heap before their Life Points dropped to 0 and their monsters disappeared. All around the Arrest Corps, the air swirled with golden light, flower petals, and golden feathers before converging together, shooting into the sky, and exploding into a golden firework that spelled, "Fin."

Flying down to Ruri, Yuzu jumped out of Bloom Prima's arms before the Duel Field faded away, leaving Ruri and Yuzu standing in the same damaged sky-scraper with a pile of unconscious Arrest Corps officers.

Yuzu approached one of them, looking a little concerned.

"They should be fine." Ruri reassured Yuzu. "Once I finish my work in the Synchro dimension, I'll make sure to free every one of them from Roger's mind control."

"Roger seemed to know something about us." Yuzu replied, deactivating her Duel Disk.

"It won't really matter what he does so long as we're together." Ruri smiled before looking a little nervous. "And Yuzu, I… want to thank you for the duel you showed me just now. It… it was nice to see how open minded you were towards… other summoning methods."

"Have you changed your mind about Fusion?" Yuzu asked, feeling almost as hesitant as Ruri.

Ruri turned her head away, looking sorrowful. "I can never forgive Academia for destroying my home." She turned back to face Yuzu and smiled, "But perhaps I can forgive Fusion Summoning."

"I should teach you sometime." Yuzu offered with a grin.

"I'm actually more interested in the Pendulum Summoning you mentioned." Ruri replied. "Who did you say invented it?"

"My friend, Yuya." Yuzu replied. "He's a bit of a goofball sometimes with his Entertainment Dueling, but he has a kind heart."

Ruri smiled and shook her head. "You really need to meet my friend, Sayaka. I sincerely hope and pray with all my heart that she is okay. You two would make such wonderful friends!"

"Well…" Yuzu smiled back, "… I'm glad I already got to make a new friend today. Thank you for your help in that duel."

Ruri shrugged. "I stopped a few attacks and gave you a few Overlay Units. You were the real star in that duel."

Yuzu closed her eyes, appreciating the compliment. "I could never have done what I did without your help… teacher."

They both bowed to each other before Ruri noticed something.

"Well way to ruin the moment!" she sighed as three-hundred Arrest Corps operatives began flooding the dilapidated room.

Yuzu looked around at the army of opponents, looking worried. "We need to go! I don't think we can take them all."

"No." Ruri smiled, shaking her head. "You go, Yuzu. Head to the Duel Palace Stadium where Rin is. I'm sure she'll be happy to teach you Synchro Summoning if you ask her nicely."

"But what about…!" Yuzu stuttered, not wanting to believe that Ruri was going to sacrifice herself to allow her to escape.

Ruri chuckled to herself before tossing her hair back and activating her Duel Disk. "What do I keep telling you, Yuzu? The last person you need to worry about is me. I should be done with these people in about five minutes."

Yuzu looked back at Ruri and noticed her face brimming with confidence. She could feel that Ruri was not just telling her a lie so she would leave. With a nod, Yuzu quickly leaped out of the hole in the side of the building, and began leaping across the roofs of buildings and the tops of track-ways at superhuman speeds. Eyeing the Duel Palace, she thought of her friends and how they must be worrying about what happened to her.

"Wait for me Yuya." she whispered, "I'm coming for you!"

Ruri watched Yuzu race into the distance before turning to face her opponents.

"Honestly…" she sighed, shaking her head, "…you'd think Roger would give me a challenge after witnessing our power." She placed her hands on her hips and sized up her opponents. "So…" she asked, "…which one of you is the first to taste my judgment?"

"My Turn!" one of the Arrest Corps officers began, activating his Duel Disk.

Ruri grinned, marks and eyes glowing with intense white light. "And we have a volunteer!"

FEATURED FANFIC CARDS

Arrest Corps Monsters

Goyo Regent/ EARTH/ Level 6/ Warrior/ Effect/ ATK 1800/ DEF 1600/ (This card is always treated as a Synchro Monster). If you control a "Jutte" or "Goyo" monster, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand).

Jutte Lady/ EATH/ Level 3/ Warrior/ Effect/ ATK 0/ DEF 1800/ If a face-up "Goyo" monster you control battles an opponent's monster, you can discard this card at the start of the Damage-Step: Increase the ATK of that "Goyo" monster by 1000 for each "Goyo" monster you control until the end of the Battle-Phase.

Arrest Corps Extra Deck

Goyo Officer/ EARTH/ Level 3/ Warrior/ Synchro/ Tuner/ Effect/ ATK 1500/ DEF 1000/ 1 Tuner + 1 or more Non-Tuners

Once per turn, you can pay 1000 LP: Special Summon 1 Level 6 or lower "Goyo" monster from your Extra Deck or Graveyard except "Goyo Officer" ignoring its summoning conditions. The monster summoned with this effect cannot attack the first turn it was summoned. This card cannot be selected as an attack target while you control another "Goyo" monster.

Goyo Bodyguard/ EARTH/ Level 6/ Warrior/ Synchro/ Effect/ ATK 2000/ DEF 2400/ 1 Tuner + 1 or more Non-Tuners

(You can only control 1 "Goyo Bodyguard"). When this card is Special Summoned, you can Special Summon up to 2 "Goyo" monsters from your Extra Deck or graveyard whose total Levels equal 6 or less, ignoring the summoning conditions. While you control 2 or more "Goyo" monsters, you take no damage. If this card or another "Goyo" monster you control is targeted for an attack, you can tribute 1 "Goyo" or "Jutte" monster you control: Negate that attack.

Goyo Recruiter/ EARTH/ Level 5/ Warrior/ Synchro/ Effect/ ATK 1600/ DEF 2000/ This card gains 200 ATK for each "Goyo" monster you control and 300 ATK for each monster you control that is owned by your opponent. Once per turn, you can add 1 "Goyo" or "Jutte" card from any player's deck to your hand. (This card cannot attack the turn you activate this effect).

Arrest Corps Spells

Goyo Sasumata/ Spell/ Equip/ Equip only to a "Goyo" monster you control. The Equipped monster can attack your opponent's LP directly.

Trivia: Like the jutte, the sasumata was a special weapon used by imperial Japanese police during the Edo period. Its unique U-shaped end was exceedingly useful for grabbing the limbs of opponents and suppressing them from a distance.

Goyo Checkpoint/ Spell/ Continuous/ While you control a face-up "Goyo" monster, your opponent must pay 1000 LP to declare an attack.

Goyo Authority/ Spell/ Continuous/ Once per turn, you can target 1 "Goyo" monster you control to select 1 other "Goyo" monster on the field with a lower Level: the targeted "Goyo" monster gains the effects of the selected "Goyo" monster until the end of this turn.

Ruri's monsters

Salvation Seraphim Disciple/ DARK/ Level 1/ Winged Beast/ Effect/ ATK 100/ DEF 100/ Effects unrevealed.

Salvation Seraphim Acolyte/ DARK/ Level 1/ Winged Beast/ Effect/ ATK 200/ DEF 100/ You can discard this card from your hand: Set 1 "Rank-Up" Spell Card or "Salvation Seraphim" Spell/Trap Card from your Deck. During either player's turn, if this card is in your Graveyard, you can discard 1 card to target 1 Winged Beast Type Xyz Monster you control: Attach this card to that target as an Xzy Material. (You can only use this effect of "Salvation Seraphim Acolyte" once per turn).

Salvation Seraphim Martyr/ DARK/ Level 3/ Winged Beast/ ATK 300/ DEF 1800/ If this card is sent to the graveyard by battle or a card effect: You can Special Summon this card from your graveyard. (You can only Special Summon "Salvation Seraphim Martyr(s)" once per turn with this effect). An Xyz Monster that was Xyz Summoned using this card as a material gains this effect:

If it is Xyz Summoned, you can target 1 card in either player's graveyard: Attach that target to the summoned monster as Xyz Material.

Salvation Seraphim Priestess/ DARK/ Level 3/ Winged Beast/ Effect/ ATK 1200/ DEF 1000/ If this card is Normal or Special Summoned, you can excavate the top 3 cards of your deck: Add 1 excavated "Salvation Seraphim" monster to your hand and send all other cards excavated by this effect to the graveyard.

Salvation Seraphim Healer/ DARK/ Level 3/ Winged Beast/ Effect/ ATK 100/ DEF 1000/ If you control a "Salvation Seraphim" monster, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. (You can only Special Summon "Salvation Seraphim Healer" once per turn with this effect). Once per turn, you can send the top card of your deck to the graveyard: Special Summon 1 "Salvation Seraphim" monster from your graveyard.

Salvation Seraphim Angel/ DARK/ Level 6/ Winged Beast/ Effect/ ATK 2000/ DEF 1400/ You can send this card from your hand or your side of the field to the graveyard: Add 1 "Rank-Up" Spell Card from your deck to your hand. If you have no monsters in your graveyard, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. Once per turn, you can declare a Level from 1-6: The Levels of all face-up "Salvation Seraphim" monsters you control become the declared Level until the End-Phase.

Salvation Seraphim Oracle/ DARK/ Level 6/ Winged Beast/ ATK 0/ DEF 2500/ You can discard this card and 1 other card from your hand: Arrange the top 6 cards of your deck in any order desired. If there are no monsters in your Graveyard, you can Normal Summon this card without tributing. Once per turn, you can excavate the top 3 cards of your deck: Special Summon 1 excavated "Salvation Seraphim" monster and send all other cards excavated by this effect to the graveyard.

Salvation Seraphim Prophetess/ LIGHT/ Level 8/ Winged Beast/ ATK 3000/ DEF 2800/ If you would take damage while this card is in your hand and you have no monsters in your graveyard, you can activate this effect: Special Summon this card from your hand, and if you do, that damage becomes 0. You take no damage while you have no monsters in your graveyard. You can banish this card until the End-Phase of this turn: Until the end of this turn, the Special Summon of "Salvation Seraphim" monsters and the activation of their effects cannot be negated. (This is a quick effect).

Fallen Divine Mentor/ LIGHT/ Level 1/ Fairy/ ATK 0/ DEF 0/ You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) if you have no monsters in your graveyard. If this card is Special Summoned, you can activate this effect: The Levels of all monsters you control become equal to their current Level X -1. If you Dark Xyz Summon a monster, you can activate this effect: Attach this card to that monster as a Dark Xyz Material.

Ruri's Extra Deck

Salvation Seraphim Brave Crusader/ LIGHT/ Rank 3/ Winged Beast/ Xyz/ Effect/ ATK 1800/ DEF 700/ 2 or more (Max 5.) Level 3 monsters

If this card is Xyz Summoned successfully, attach all "Salvation Seraphim" monsters in your graveyard to this card as Xyz Material. This card gains the effects of each "Salvation Seraphim" Xyz Monster attached to itself as Xyz Material. This card gains 100 ATK and DEF for each Xyz Material attached to itself. Once per turn, if you have no monsters in your graveyard, you can detach any number of Xzy materials from this card: Inflict 100 damage to your opponent's LP for each card detached for this effect.

Earthbound Disciple Geo Ophanim/ LIGHT/ Rank -3/ Fairy/ Dark Xyz/ Effect/ ATK 1200/ DEF 2400/ 2 Level -3 monsters

If your opponent activates a monster effect or declares an attack while you have no monsters in your graveyard, you can banish 1 Dark Xyz Material from this card: Negate the activation of that effect or attack, and if you do, your opponent cannot declare an attack until the end of this turn.

Trivia: "Ophanim" refers to the wheels seen on the chariot by Ezekiel. According to the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Ophanim are an actual race of angels, who, with the Seraphim and Cherubim, keep an eternal watch over the throne of God. The monster's wheel design for this story was inspired in part by the witch, Walpurgisnacht, from the anime, Madoka Magica.

Earthbound Disciple Geo Nephilim/ LIGHT/ Rank -6/ Fairy/ Dark Xyz/ Effect/ ATK 2800/ DEF 2600/ 2 Level -6 monsters

Once per turn, during either player's turn, you can attach cards from the top of either player's deck, either player's graveyard, or that are currently banished to an Xyz or Dark Xyz monster on the field (except "Earthbound Disciple Geo Nephilim" as Xyz or Dark Xyz Materials, up to the number of Dark Xyz Materials attached to this card.

Ruri's Spells

Salvation Seraphim Holy Spear/ Spell/ Equip/ Effects unrevealed.

Salvation Seraphim Ascension Force/ Spell/ Continuous/ If a "Salvation Seraphim" Xyz Monster is Xyz Summoned to your side of the field, you can activate this effect: Attach 1 "Salvation Seraphim" Xyz Monster from your Extra Deck to that card as an Xyz Material. If you have no monsters in your graveyard, you can tribute this card to target 1 Xyz Monster you control: Xyz Summon 1 "Salvation Seraphim" Xyz Monster from your Extra Deck whose Rank is up to 2 Ranks higher than that target's Rank, using that target as the Xyz Material. (Xyz Materials attached to that target become Xyz Materials on the summoned monster).

Ruri's traps

Rank-Down Trap Judgment Force/ Trap/ Normal/ Target 1 Xyz Monster on the field: Dark Xyz Summon 1 Dark Xyz Monster from your Extra Deck whose Rank is equal to the Rank of that Target X -1, using that Target as the Dark Xyz Material. (Xyz Materials attached to that target become Dark Xyz Materials on the summoned monster).

Yuzu's Monsters

Quartet the Melodious Songstress/ LIGHT/ Level 4/ Fairy/ Effect/ ATK 400/ DEF 400/ If this card is used as a Material for the Fusion, Synchro, or Xyz Summon of a "Melodious" monster, you can activate this effect: Add 1 "Melodious Songstress" monster from your deck to your hand. If this card is removed from the field, you can activate this effect during the End-Phase: Special Summon 1 "Melodious Songstress" monster from your hand or graveyard.

Contralto the Melodious Songstress/ LIGHT/ Fairy/ Tuner/ Effect/ Level 3/ ATK 1200/ DEF 1000/ Effects unrevealed.

Mezzo-Soprano the Melodious Songstress/ LIGHT/ Level 4/ Fairy/ ATK 1500/ DEF 1000/ If you control a "Melodious" monster, you can Special Summon this card (from your hand). You can only Special Summon "Mezzo-Soprano the Melodious Songstress" once per turn this way. Once per turn, you can declare a Level between 4 and 7: The Levels of all face-up "Melodious" monsters you control become the declared Level until the End-Phase of this turn. You cannot Special Summon monsters the turn you activate this effect except "Melodious" monsters.

Orchestra the Melodious Diva/ LIGHT/ Level 4/ ATK 1000/ DEF 2500/ You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) if you control no monsters. A monster Xyz Summoned using this card as a material gains this effect:

If it is Summoned, your opponent cannot activate Spell/Trap cards until the end of this turn.

And of course, something I'm certain everyone has been anticipating for a long time…

Earthbound God (Jibakushin) Ti'ika Sara/ Stats unrevealed/ Effects unrevealed.

Trivia: "Ti'ika" is the Quechua word for "Flower." Mama Sara was an ancient Incan goddess of grain and fertility.

Yuzu's Extra Deck

Haydina the Melodious Maestra/ LIGHT/ Fairy/ Level 5/ Fusion/ Effect/ ATK 2100/ DEF 1200/ 2 or more "Melodious" monsters

Increase the ATK of all other monsters you control by 300 for each material used in this card's Fusion Summon. Cannot be targeted for attacks while you control another "Melodious" monster. During the turn this card is removed from the field, you can activate this effect: increase the ATK of all monsters you control by 300 for each material used in this card's Fusion Summon, and if you do, you can add 1 "Melodious" card from your deck to your hand.

Trivia: This card is named after the famous classical composer, Franz Joseph Haydn.

Vivaldina the Melodious Maestra/ LIGHT/ Rank 4/ Fairy/ Effect/ ATK 1800/ DEF 1000/ 2 Level 4 "Melodious" monsters

Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card: Draw 1 card. Then, if the card drawn by this effect was a Level 4 or lower "Melodious" monster, you can reveal that monster: Special Summon it. Fairy-Type monsters you control gain 200 ATK and DEF for each Xyz Material attached to this card.

Trivia: This card is named after the famous Baroque composer, Antonio Vivaldi.

Wing Diva the Melodious Choir/ LIGHT/ Rank 7/ Fairy/ Xyz/ Effect/ ATK 2000/ DEF 1000/ 2 Level 7 "Melodious" monsters

Cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects. You take no damage from battles involving this card. Inflict 500 damage to each of your opponent's LP each time you Special Summon a "Melodious" monster(s). Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card: Special Summon 1 "Melodious" monster from your hand or graveyard.

Wing Prima the Melodious Choir/ LIGHT/ Rank 8/ Fairy/ Effect/ ATK 3000/ DEF 3000/ 2 Level 8 "Melodious" monsters

You can also Xyz Summon this card using 1 Rank 6 or higher "Melodious" monster you control as a material. Xyz Materials attached to that monster also become Xyz Materials on this card. This card can make 1 attack per Battle-Phase for each of its Xyz Materials. You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to target 1 card on the field: Return that target to the hand.

Yuzu's Spells

Action Field – Earthbound Battlefield/ Spell/ Action Field/ You can play 1 Field Spell Card in addition to this card. Players can use Action Cards but each player can only have up to 2 Action Cards in his/her hand at a time. If a player would activate an Action Card, any player can banish 1 Action Card in his/her hand to activate this effect: Negate the activation of that Action Card, and if you do, destroy it.

Divine Melodious Stage/ Spell/ Field/ Cannot be destroyed while you control a Special Summoned "Melodious Monster". Once per turn, if you Special Summon a "Melodious" monster, you can activate this effect, add 1 "Melodious" monster from your deck to your hand. During each of your End-Phases, increase your LP by 500 for each "Melodious" monster you control.

Melodious Fusion/ Spell/ Normal/ You can only activate 1 "Melodious Fusion" per turn. If you control 1 or more "Melodious" monsters that were Special Summoned from the extra deck, you can Fusion Summon 1 "Melodious" monster from your Extra Deck using monsters from your side of the field, and/or by banishing monsters in your graveyard as Fusion Material.

Yami no Kakubunretsu/ Spell/ Normal/ Effects unrevealed.

Trivia: Literally translated from Japanese, "Yami no Kakubunretsu" translates to "Fission of Darkness," or, "Dark Fission." A possible English dub name would be, "Dark Hydrolysis," referencing the chemical reaction opposite to polymerization. Its Japanese name references the chemical reaction of Nuclear Fission whereby material is added to an unstable atom until the nucleus splits and tremendous energy is unleashed.

Action Cards

Reflect/ Spell/ Action/ If you would take damage from an opponent's card effect, you can negate that damage, and if you do, your opponent takes damage equal to the damage you would have taken.

Earthbound Trial/ Spell/ Action/ If you would take effect damage, halve the damage, and if you do, add 1 random card from your deck to your hand.

Earthbound Retribution/ Spell/ Action/ Cards and effects cannot be activated in response to the activation of this card and its effects. If you would take damage while your LP are 1000 or lower, you can negate that damage, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent's LP equal to the damage you would have taken. Then, you can add 1 "Earthbound" card and 1 Field Spell Card from your deck to your hand. After the effects of this card resolve, your opponent cannot activate Action Cards for the remainder of this turn.

Earthbound Suppression/ Spell/ Action/ Discard 1 "Earthbound" Card from your hand: Until the end of this turn, the effects of your opponent's monsters on the field are negated.

SPECIAL OFFER

This series was inspired by fan art, especially the fan art of a particular artist named MoonFlowerLilica. In recognition of this fact, I wish for this series to promote the fan art of my own readers. Here's how it works: First create some "Yu-Gi-Oh Arc V," "Yu-Gi-Oh 5 D's" or "Signs of Renewal" related Fan Art. (Only fan art of these series will be accepted. Submissions must be an original work created by the submitter, and nothing M-rated or otherwise vulgar or graphic will be accepted. If you have a question, please PM me). After you have created your Fan Art, please PM me a link to your work and your work could be featured as a cover for "Signs of Renewal" for a full week, meaning plenty of artists will have an opportunity to display their art. There is no time limit for this offer, so get out your paintbrushes, coal, colored pencils, and have at it! Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to seeing your submissions. Stay awesome everybody and, as Tiny Tim would say, "God bless you, everyone!"