Chapter 26: The Truth

Yuya soon found himself riding in Declan's limo back to his office in complete silence. Yuya had tried to get some kind of explanation out of him, but he had insisted on not saying a word until they had made it to LDS, leaving Yuya more confused than ever. After what felt like an eternity, they finally reached the company's headquarters, Declan silently leading Yuya to his office.

"Alright, we're here. Now tell me what's going on!"

Declan took a heavy breath, knowing that this was going to be difficult. Nonetheless, it had to be done.

"I owe you an overdue apology, Yuya."

"Damn right! First you offer me protection, then you takeover my dad's school, now you show up out of nowhere-"

"I know what happened to your father."

This cut Yuya's rant short, his face falling for a minute.

"You...you do?"

Declan walked over to the window overlooking the city, deep in thought.

"Yes, but in order to get to that point I must tell you a story. Tell me Yuya, do you know how I came into possession of this company?"

"Your father died in a plane crash...right?"

"That's the story we told the press, yes. But the real story is much...deeper than that."

Walking back over to his desk, he typed a few commands into his computer, pulling up footage of a city being destroyed by duel monsters. Yuya gaped in horror.

"Wh-what is this?"

"My father's doing. Tell me Yuya, have you heard of Multiverse Theory?"

"A little, mostly from Sci-Fi movies, though."

"Good, that will make this somewhat easier to understand. For reasons I do not understand, our multiverse is comprised of at least 4 known universes, or dimensions, as it were. Three of them are named after and revolve around the three methods of summoning from the Extra Deck: Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz. Our dimension, known as Standard, has all of them, and now Pendulum Summoning."

"Okay..."

"Three years ago, my father abandoned my family for parts unknown, leaving myself to pick up the pieces. My mother, she...lost herself. For all their bickering and arguing, she loved father dearly, and his callousness crushed her. I went out in search of answers, but what I found..."

Yuya nodded, understanding where this conversation was going.

"But...how does my dad factor into this?"

"That's...why I owe you the apology. You see, our father's developed the Solid Vision with Mass technology, in coordination with Kaiba Corp. I knew that if anyone could get through to him, he would, so a week before his match with The Sledgehammer I contacted him, begging him for his help. Of course, your father agreed, and with reverse engineered technology I managed to steal from his base in the fusion dimension I sent him across time and space. But something went wrong, and I have no idea where he landed."

Yuya stared at the ground for a good minute, taking this all in.

"Dad's...alive?"

"I don't know for sure, but I believe if anyone could survive it all, he can."

"But why? Why would your father cause all of this destruction?"

"He's a madman bent on obtaining power. That footage you just saw? That was his forces invading and destroying the Xyz Dimension, trapping innocent duelists in cards for daring to oppose them. They don't care how many lives they take, all they want is chaos."

"No...you're lying, this isn't real! It can't be!"

"It is."

Shay stepped out of the shadows, his trademark frown on his face.

"You're that guy! The one who carded Panik."

"My name is Shay, one of the few survivors of their attack. They came without mercy, laughing like men possessed as we screamed for mercy, only for them to fall silent as they were carded. My home is in ruins, the only family I have left in their clutches. I wish this was all just a dream, but its the reality I've had to live with for three long years. We've fought back, but my people need support."

Yuya just stared at the floor, tears welling up in his eyes as Declan continued.

"I know this is a lot to take in, I wish this was all just a ruse. But its not, and the truth is we need your help. You're an incredible duelist, Yuya, and if we can find a way to perfect your Pendulum Summoning, then we can find a way to defeat them. Will you help us?"

Yuya remained silent mulling it over.

"This...this is wrong. Dueling isn't meant for destruction and war. Its mean to bring people together and make them smile. That's what dad taught me..."

"Yuya..."

"...Which is why I'll help you. I can't stand idly by and let this continue knowing I could be the key to stopping it. But just promise me this. When this is all said and done, you'll help me find my father."

"You have my word."

With that decided, Yuya got up to leave. But as he reached the door, he stopped, turning his head back around.

"And Declan?"

"Hmm?"

"Apology accepted."