Hey there! So now we begin the Xyz Arc! I enjoyed the beginning episodes a lot, as they made the first one into a recap of what has happened so far and the two following had great duels with Kite, so I decided to only rewrite a few scenes for this chapter. If you want to see the duels, watch the official dubbed anime's season 3's first episodes.

Heartland City - Xyz Dimension

Yuya, Celina, Gong, and Sylvio walked through the ruins of what used to be the Xyz Dimension's Heartland City. Yuya tried to call Zuzu and Sora on his Duel Disk, but with no luck. Celina had put her Duel Disk away per Shay's suggestion so she wouldn't confuse them with the enemy.

Yuya sighed as his attempts to reach Sora and Zuzu failed again. "No luck reaching Zuzu or Sora, huh?" Gong asked. "Nope."

"Gong thinks we'd have a better chance finding a tropical oasis than gettin' interdimensional cell service."

Sylvio began to hallucinate that kind of imagery in front of him, as he was exhausted from walking. "You're right! Ah! Last one in is a rotten banana!" With that, he jumped and dived into the imaginary water. A concerned Yuya called out, "Wait!"

Falling on his front, Sylvio started to perform swimming strokes despite being on dry ground, still imagining that he was in water, much to the chagrin of the others. "So cool and refreshing! Too bad I didn't bring my snorkel!"

Gong then picked up Sylvio by the scruff of his neck. Sylvio just muttered, "Water. It's just... so wet." Celina then gave him a punch to snap him out of it.

"All this water talk isn't helping our thirst!" Gong and Celina yelled at Sylvio. Then Sylvio saw something and uttered, "Water!" "Now drop it or I'll drop you." Gong said in annoyance. "But it's... right there!"

Looking in the direction Sylvio was pointing, they saw a middle-aged woman gathering water from a fountain, which miraculously still worked, up ahead.

"Hey!" Yuya's voice caught the woman's attention as she saw them running towards her. "Hello there! Care to share? We're awfully thirsty!" Seeing Yuya's Duel Disk, the woman's eyes widened, and she quickly ran away from the approaching Lancers. "What's wrong?" Yuya wondered before looking at the rations the woman left behind, consisting of a metal box and a basket of tinned food.

Gong carried the metal box on his left shoulder, while Sylvio carried the basket of food on his head as they all got moving again, with Yuya and Celina leading them.

Meanwhile, Celina was clutching both of her arms in an uneasy manner as she looked around. "Zuzu, Shay, and Declan told me that the Academy was relentless in their invasion, but I never imagined it was like this. It's like the end of the world here. I'm such a fool for thinking we were doing the right thing. I guess... I'm not so different from them."

Celina's thoughts were interrupted by Yuya giving her a pat on the shoulder. "Don't blame yourself, you had nothing to do with this." Yuya smiled assuredly at her. "...Yeah." Celina started to brighten up from her regret-filled pity upon hearing that.

"Guys, how 'bout a quick snack to lighten the load?" Sylvio's suggestion caused them to stop in their tracks and look at him questioningly.

"You only volunteered to carry the grub to get your mitts on that meal. Gong shoulda known." "I don't think gobbling up someone else's eats is the best way to make a good first impression to the folks in this dimension." Yuya added. Celina added her opinion as well. "She needs that food, Sylvio!"

"But... so do I!" Sylvio complained as his belly rumbled.

"No! Don't do it!"

A man's cry caught the group's attention. They saw a man begging for his life after falling down on his back. "I'm begging you! I'll give anything you ask!" Then the man was consumed by a purple light and disappeared, shocking the Lancers. "No way!" Yuya exclaimed.

It was then the culprits were revealed. Walking out from behind a ruined wall, two red Fusion Warriors emerged with a yellow one leading them. The yellow Fusion Warrior then retrieved a card from his Duel Disk, which quickly revealed the image to be the man who they carded.

From behind a broken wall, the Lancers looked on bitterly. Yuya then said, "He turned him into a card!"

Arriving at a huge street that now had a huge trench with an artificial stream at its bottom, Yuya then said, "The Professor's responsible for all this destruction. He has to be stopped."

They then heard a noise and turned toward the source.

"They're going to find us! I don't wanna be turned into a card!" A little boy said. "Shh! Be quiet!" A woman hushed. "But Mom..." "They'll hear you!" Yuya moved the unhinged door at the entrance of the house to the side to find the same woman with two children, cowering in fear.

"No! Stay back!" Yuya was surprised at the woman's reaction to him. "I beg you! Spare my children!"

Yuya greeted them with a kind smile, which was shared by the other Lancers. "It's okay. You just left in such a hurry that you forgot to take your stuff with you." "So we're returning it." Gong finished. Yuya took the basket from Sylvio, who looked at it disappointingly, and offered it back. "Here you go."

"Just take it! It's all yours! Please, just leave us be." The mother's words perplexed the Lancers, causing them to look at one another.

In response, Gong, Sylvio, and Yuya slid their Duel Disks over to them and knelt. "You got it wrong. We just came to give you your food and water back." Gong assured them. "And thanks to me, we didn't drink a drop or sneak a snack." Sylvio added, which earned him a glare from Celina.

Yuya offered the basket again. "Here..." The youngest son left his mother's grasp and ran over. His mother cried out in fear as she reached out for him, "No, come back!"

The little boy then went to the basket and started to bite a tin to open it. "Get back here!" The mother told her son. Smiling, Celina reached out a hand toward the boy. "Leave him!" The mother desperately cried out. But Celina only peeled the lid for the boy so he could eat, which the boy happily devoured.

Soon, they were all sitting at a table. The family was consuming their rations and became happy and relaxed. The boys were scarfing down the food and water. Sylvio was looking at them and in a longing look. Yuya and Celina were sitting down with the family.

Gong turned toward Sylvio with crossed arms. "You quit ogling that food like a hungry pup! Those peepers need to be on the look out for the enemy." Sylvio just closed his eyes and frowned, earning a sympathetic smile from Yuya.

"Thank you. I'm sorry I mistook you for those invaders." The mother apologized. "But who are you? What are you doing here?"

"We're looking for a friend of ours. Her name is Zuzu Boyle. She has blue eyes and pink hair, and a bracelet on her right wrist. And she also looks like her." Yuya gestured to Celina. "Seen anyone fitting that profile?" Gong asked.

"No. And if she was here, she's probably been turned into a card by now." The mother then looked sadly at the ground. "There's not many of us left."

The Lancers were surprised by this. "But... how can that be?" Celina asked. "I thought the Resistance was holding their own against the warriors of Duel Academy." The woman sadly replied, "Not anymore."

Spade Branch - Heartland City - Xyz Dimension

Shay stood outside of the ruins of his former school. He then flashed back to when the invasion happened. He had restrained a red-uniformed Duel Academy duelist while Yuto interrogated him.

Past - Heartland City - Xyz Dimension

"Dimensions?" Yuto asked. "What's your master plan?" Groaning, the Fusion Warrior answered, "Our universe has been split into four dimensions: Fusion, Xyz, Synchro, and Standard all exist separately. But Duel Academy will bring them all together... that is the will of the Professor!"

"No, never!" Shay angrily threw the soldier to the ground. "I'll turn you all into cards!" Yuto placed his hand on Shay's arm. "We can't." "It's payback!" Shay argued. "Start down that road and we'll become like them." "So what?" "Acting like savages won't save anyone or bring about peace."

Present - Spade Branch - Heartland City - Xyz Dimension

Shay removed a stuck door to a classroom. Looking around, he found a destroyed Xyz Duel Disk and picked it up. "The Resistance has been wiped out. All of them!"

Ravaged House - Heartland City - Xyz Dimension

The mother continued to tell Yuya and the others the story. "I can't remember the last time we saw a Resistance fighter. In fact, I don't think any of them made it." This surprised the Lancers.

"Even my dear husband. He... he was turned into a card!" The children felt their mother's sorrow and comforted her by placing their hands on her.

Narrowing her eyes on the Duel Disks that Yuya, Gong and Sylvio placed on the table, she bitterly said, "Dueling has brought nothing but suffering to this world!" This piled even more guilt on Celina. "Because of Duel Academy, they have even started to resent dueling..."

"Keep away from that can of sardines!" Gong's outburst got Yuya and Celina's attention. They saw Sylvio being restrained by Gong while reaching for some of the tin food. "But Gong... the food's calling me over!" Sylvio complained weakly. "Well, tell it you're too busy right now!"

"I hate to admit it..." Celina interrupted. "But Sylvio has got a point." The Lancers were surprised by this. "Considering all the craziness we had to deal with back in Synchro, we really didn't get a chance to have anything to eat before we came here. Did we?" This was backed up by Gong's own stomach growling. Followed by Celina and Yuya's.

The two boys giggled at the scene, much to Celina, Yuya, and Gong's embarrassment. "Care for a bite?" The older brother asked as he offered a tin to Sylvio. "Really?"

But before he could take it, the door was kicked in. The Duel Academy warriors from before entered the house. The yellow one reported in his Duel Disk, "Seven targets found and soon to be acquired."

"Don't think so!" As he moved to card them, Yuya, Sylvio, and Gong re-equipped their Duel Disks. Celina remained behind and covered the family cowering in fear behind her. "Ah! Our new friends wanna play!" Much to the amusement of the yellow Fusion Warrior.

"Excellent. I can't wait for them to squirm and beg for mercy!" "Yeah, the begging's the best part!"

Yuya defiantly said, "You guys have a lot to learn. And we three are gonna teach you a lesson you'll never forget!" The duelists went out to the street for more space.

[Let's duel!]

GENERATING ACTION FIELD: CROSSOVER

The Duel Academy duelists watched in surprise at the Action Field as it was deployed.

The family watched from a gap in the building as Celina protected them. "I want you to stay back here where it's safe." The mother told her boys.

"All right, I'm up!" Yuya declared as he brandished his Duel Disk.

"I've never seen Duel Disks like those before." The Fusionite with the yellow blazer told his pals. His comrade on his right summerized, "So that means they're not the Resistance."

"No we're not, we're Lancers." Yuya asserted.

"You're Lancers?" The other Fusion Warrior with a red blazer asked, jokingly.

"Yeah.." Yuya then remembered the day the Lancers were formed. "We swore we would stop Duel Academy from wreaking havoc... and prove how wrong the Professor's interdimensional war is."

"No chance." The yellow Fusion Warrior retorted, followed by the one on his left. "Not happening."

"You might think we're just following the Professor's orders. But we'd carry out his plan even if he didn't order us to because we believe in his project!" The Fusion Warrior on the right said.

"Yeah, it's a mindblower he calls the Arc Project." The yellow Fusion Warrior explained as he extended his arms to the sky. "It'll merge all four dimensions into a single, perfect world!"

"A perfect world?" Yuya questioned. "Sounds fishy."

"It smells it, too." Gong agreed.

"I like my dimension exactly the way it is." Sylvio voiced out. "So you better back off, bub."

"What you're doing is wrong, can't you see that?" Yuya asked the Fusion Warriors. "If you knew our story, I think you'd see that Duel Academy's mission is hurting people... Real change comes from making people happy, not hurting them!"

Yuya then remembered New Domino and what Crow told them. "When we arrived in the Synchro Dimension, we didn't know what to expect, but thanks to a good friend we got the low down, and boy was it low.

You see, the city was divided in two. Topsiders lived in luxury and had everything they could possibly need, while the Commons were forced to live in their shadows, struggling to survive. If you tried to fight back, you risked Sector Security coming after you. They were the meanest of the mean and didn't mind playing favorites. We saw firsthand how Sector Security made life easy for the Topsiders, and everything but for the Commons. And that's cause they were controlled by a snake named Roget who had slithered his way into power and was secretly planning to take over the entire city. He planned to use the cover of a duel tournament to make that happen. Roget knew the winner would become the city's new hero - so he used every dirty trick in the book to make sure the outcome of the tournament would tilt his way no matter what."

Yuya then remembered the Friendship Cup, specifically Roget's underhanded tatics and Sergey. "In Synchro, they Turbo Duel! It was super entertaining, and super fun. Every round was filled with excitement and danger, especially with Roget's henchman trying to take down my friends and me! But I wasn't gonna let that stop me! I made it loud and clear to everyone watching that dueling should pull Topsiders and Commons together and heal New Domino City..."

Yuya then remembered Shinji and his attempt to change New Domino. "But not all my friends agreed with me." He then remembered how Shinji told him before their match that he was planning to lead a rebellion and overthrow the Topsiders.

"But Shinji didn't realize he was playing right into Roget's hands. The Commons and Topsiders were just pawns in his game. He wanted the city to fall into chaos. Then he could step in and seize control! It looked like Roget was gonna succeed. Before the final duel began, a massive protest broke out! And if that wasn't enough, Duel Academy also invaded, and attacked everyone! New Domino City was falling into chaos..."

Yuya then remembered Roget's announcement of martial law and how Declan had interrupted it and exposed Roget's true nature to the city. "That's when Declan crashed in and set everyone straight!"

Yuya then remembered what Jack had told him exclusively after rallying New Domino against Duel Academy. "Just then, an urgent message arrived from the reigning Duel King, Jack Atlas. He challenged me to come face him in the Friendship Cup final. Jack wanted me to go bold and show the whole city what dueling meant to me.

Jack wanted me to duel the only way I knew how, by having fun. And that's what I learned to do, and that's what I'm gonna do now!"

Spade Branch - Heartland City - Xyz Dimension

Shay walked away from the ruins of his school as he thought to himself. "The scenery hasn't changed much since the last time I was here."

He then remembered when he interrogated a Fusion Warrior after cornering him and learned about Declan. Meeting him in Standard and agreeing to join the Lancers and his side to take down the Professor, his father, Leo Akaba.

"Deciding to team up with Declan gave me the best chance to save Lulu. I just hope I was right..."

Ravaged House - Heartland City - Xyz Dimension

Yuya continued his story as his favorite card, Smile World, was activated.

"Once I realized I was gonna duel for fun no matter what the stakes, my one-time enemies changed ways and joined my side. And it wasn't only Shay." Yuya then thought of when Sora defected and Celina handing him Zuzu's clothes when the two of them swapped outfits to confuse Obelisk Force in Standard. The implication of her brought a small smile to Celina's face as she watched Yuya talk.

"After first battling us, two members of Duel Academy joined our team. Our adventures together taught us that when you duel with all your heart, you can bring people together and change the world for the better, just like my duel with Jack changed New Domino City!" Yuya remembered the "Pendulum Pummeler" move he used to beat Jack and unite New Domino.

"Don't you see? Change comes from making people happy. They changed and you can too."

The yellow Fusion Warrior and his friends were unaffected by Yuya's story as he proclaimed, "The only things that are gonna be changing here are you three into cards!"

Gong and Sylvio nodded to Yuya as the three of them smiled.

"All right then!" Yuya yelled. "Swing far Pendulum!" Gong said as the Yuya's pendulum pendant swung to Timegazer Magician in the Right Pendulum Zone. Sylvio then continued the chant as the pendulum swung to Stargazer in the Left Pendulum Zone. "And carve the arc..." "Of victory!" Yuya finished. Together, the three Lancers summoned their aces as they raised their hands to the sky. "Our monsters are ready..." They then pointed to the Fusion Warriors as they declared their attack. "... to swing into action!"

Yuya, Gong, and Sylvio used their ace monsters to send the three warriors of the Fusion flying in a fantastic and entertaining display. Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Abyss Actor - Superstar, who had been equipped with Abyss Script - Fantasy Magic, flew upward as Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo slammed the ground with the butt of its naginata. It caused the Fusion Warriors to yell as its impact shook the ground. Abyss Actor - Superstar then descended and put his foot down on the cracks in the ground made by Susanowo's attack, causing the cracks to glow. Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon then blasted a fiery colorful blast with the icons of Smile World in it. The blast then circled around the Duel Academy duelists exploding and defeating them, sending them flying and screaming.

"So cool!" The youngest son said as he looked at the lingering Smile World. His brother agreed. "Those creeps aren't gonna bother us anymore!" Their mother started to smile as she began to regain her faith in dueling. "Maybe... I was wrong about dueling."

As the Action Field dissipated, Yuya closed his eyes and smiled as he continued to remember. "My duel with Jack really was a new start for New Domino City, but I still can't believe Roget wanted to destroy the city if it couldn't be his!" Yuya remembered what Celina told him and the others. How he tried to send all of New Domino into other dimensions. "Roget was crazy, and if he was trained by the Professor, I can only imagine what he'll be like."

Yuya then thought back to his reunion with Zuzu and how they all ended up being pulled into the wormhole. "I may have lost you, Zuzu, but I won't stop until I find you again! And I'll do it with the help of my friends!"

"All righty! It's time to give you losers a piece of your own medicine and turn you three into cards." Sylvio was working on the yellow Fusion Warrior's Duel Disk. "Hold on!" Yuya snapped from his reminiscence and ran over to Sylvio.

"How does this Duel Disk work?" "We can't turn them into cards!" Yuya grabbed Sylvio's left shoulder to get his attention. "We have to, Yuya!" Sylvio stood up and faced Yuya. "If not, they'll call for reinforcements!" "Even so, we can't duel down to their level! You know that!"

"Come on!" The three fusion duelists ran away from them while Sylvio and Yuya argued. "Just as I thought!" Sylvio said worryingly. "Go after them!" Celina ordered. "I can protect them by myself! Stop them before they get too far!"

Yuya, Sylvio, and Gong then chased after the three fleeing duelists. As the three Fusion Warriors turned a right corner, an explosion occurred, the dirt cloud being visible from the corner. Yuya wondered aloud, "What was that?"

Running to the corner, the Lancers saw that the three soldiers had been turned into cards.

"Looks like this is my lucky day."

The three Lancers looked up and saw who had done the deed. He had light blue-grey eyes, pale skin and blonde hair that curled up in a point with a dark green spiked front and bangs. He wore a black trench coat with a high collar over a grey shirt and white pants with black boots. He also wore a belt with two purple Deck boxes and a red scarf was wrapped around his right wrist. Behind him, a terrifying dragon was present. (FYI: This was Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon.)

"I love it when the prey comes to me." The duelist said as he raised his Duel Disk again.

A while later, the duelist, who the Lancers were informed was known as Kite Tenjo by Yuto via Yuya, had already beaten Gong and Sylvio and was now squaring off against Yuya.

The moment Yuya summoned Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, Kite immediately recognized it as Yuto's ace monster. "Yuya, why do you have that monster? You stole it, from Yuto. That must be it! You thief!" As he accused Yuya of stealing the card, Yuto's spirit overlapped with him, confusing him even more. "Or maybe not. Why do I sense Yuto's here?" Kite wondered as he kept seeing Yuya and Yuto being overlapped.

"Stop the duel!"

Kite gasped and turned toward the voice. Shay walked up to them with a boy and a girl.

The boy had red spiky hair and bushy eyebrows. His eyes were teal, and the front of his bangs were lined with yellow. He wore a maroon long-sleeved shirt, grey pants and yellow boots with white tongues and grey soles under a purple poncho that was emblazoned with a blue shield shape and green diamonds; two on the lower part of the shield and two smaller ones on each shoulder.

The girl was a bespectacled young girl with blue eyes and short light-purple and lilac hair that was restrained by light green and orange hair clips that resembled bicycle helmets. She wore a light blue dress with a teal turtleneck under a tan dress held up with brown shoulder straps and a blue belt that had a golden symbol resembling twin birds back to-back and green and orange pouches at both hips. She also wore brown tights, white finger-less gloves, white leg warmers with teal cuffs and straps, and light-orange shoes with green soles.

"Yuya's our friend."

Kite wondered aloud, "Is that...?" "It's Shay!" Sylvio cried out happily.

"Isn't it great, Kite? Shay's gotten these nice duelists to help our cause!" The girl exclaimed. The boy then noted, "I know what you're thinking. Three duelists isn't exactly an army, but still... it's something!"

"So then..." Kite then looked at the three again. "They aren't the enemy?" He furrowed his eyebrows at Yuya.

"No, they aren't. Believe me. They fight for what we fight for, to put an end to Duel Academy's destructive ways." Shay assured him. "How do you know this to be true, Shay? How are you sure?" "Because Yuya Sakaki, is someone that Yuto and I placed our trust in." Hearing Yuya's last name shocked Kite. "Sakaki?!"

"Come back with us." The girl pleaded. "Please Kite. We've missed you."

"That's too bad. I'm much better being off on my own!" With that declaration, Kite drew a card and slammed it into his Duel Disk's blade. When he did, Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon's wings lit up and blinded everyone in the vicinity, except Shay.

"Kite?" Yuya wondered as he looked at where Kite was after the light died down. A column of sparkles was fading away in place of where Kite was. A shocked Sylvio then gasped, "Kite, he's... gone!" They all just stared in shock there, as Yuto said, "Not good. If Kite's not on our side, we've got a whole new problem to deal with."