Hello everyone, and welcome to Chapter 21! First off I just want to talk about the Knights of Duels. The only monster we got to see from them was the Slash the Assault Knight, and I tried looking up their stats but couldn't find it. So I just had to guess and make the stats myself. I also find it just slightly weird that one of the knights are named Ashley, but I don't really care too much to stew on it. Next, I wonder how Yuto and Ruri are holding up?

Let's get started so you can find out what happened.

Ch.21: The Invasion of Standard

"Not here…"

"If you're looking for Yuya, he already went off to the ancient ruins area." Periwinkle eyes looked up to see an orange haired teen standing on top of a stone hill. Dennis put one gloved hand on his hip. "Hey!"

"You're…?" Yuzu spoke innocently.

"I'm Dennis. An L.D.S Exchange Student and Yuya's friend." Dennis gave a wink.

"Friend?" Yuya repeated. She's never met this person in her life.

"Yep!" Dennis jumped from where he stood on top of the hill and landed behind Yuzu. "Everyone who duels can become friends!" The Xyz user threw a hand out in front of him towards Yuzu.

"You dueled with Yuya?" Yuzu asked.

Dennis raised a finger. "We beat Ryouzanpaku in such an amazing combination that you wouldn't think it was our first time meeting!" The taller teen took a couple steps forward until Yuzu found herself pushed against the rock wall of the volcano area. He put one hand beside her head against the wall, and Dennis' shadow covered Yuzu's face as he got just a little too close. "I want to duel you and become your friend as well, Yuzu Hiragi."

"You know about me?" Yuzu looked up into Dennis' clear blue eyes as she spoke. A little sweat drop rolling down the side of her face. This wasn't the person she was hoping would do something like this. A certain tomato haired teen flashed by in her mind.

"You're the daughter of Yusho Duel School's principal, right?" Dennis said it as a question, but both people knew the answer to it. "I'm also aspiring to be an Entertainment duelist like Yusho Sakaki was!" The hand beside Yuzu's face turned into a fist, before he revealed a beautiful red rose and held it out to the pink haired girl. Dennis winked.

Yuzu looked down at the rose, before meeting Dennis' eyes once again with a hand on her hip. The girl decided to push this strange behavior to the side. "Sure, let's duel! As another aspiring Entertainment duelist, I'm interested..." Periwinkle steeled in determination. "In seeing how you duel!"

The two separated themselves across the bridge. Yuzu held up two Pendulum cards. "Since we both have one win, why don't we each bet two Pendulum cards?"

Dennis smiled, and snapped his gloved fingers. "Good idea. You are an entertainer!" The orange haired teen activated his duel disk and held it out in front of him. "This way will definitely be more exciting!"

YUZU LP- 4000

DENNIS LP- 4000

"DUEL!"

Dennis held a hand out with the other on his hip. "Well then, ladies first."

Yuzu smiled, but declined. "No, I want to see what you've got. I'll let you go first!"

Dennis just went along with it. "What an honor! My turn!" He picked up one card from his hand. "When neither of us control no monsters, I can Special Summon this card!" A monster with giant green stilts, purple clothing, and an orange hat appeared on the field. "Performage Stilts Shooter!"

PERFORMAGE STILTS SHOOTER LV.6 ATK:2200 DEF:0

"I set one card." Dennis placed his card before making a strange move. "Next I set Scale 10 Yellow Scarab in the Pendulum Zone!" The golden scarab with a giant emerald in its back rose up in one pillar of blue light. Yuzu quirked her eyebrows at the sight. "I activate Yellow Scarab's Pendulum Effect!" The emerald on the monster's back began to glow. "It increases all Spellcaster type monsters' Attack by 300."

PERFORMAGE STILTS SHOOTER ATK:2200 = 2500

"So that's why you only set one Pendulum monster." Yuzu 'ohhed' at the realization. "It was for the effect."

Dennis gave a half shrug. "You need two Pendulum cards to perform a Pendulum Summon, but you only need one to activate its effect!" The red haired teen put his hands on his hips. "I end my turn here."

He only used one Pendulum monster, so he must not have another Pendulum card in his hand. Periwinkle eyes narrowed as she began to formulate a plan. "My turn! I draw!" The girl drew, before revealing two cards from between her fingers. "I, using Scale 3 White Butterfly and Scale 9 White Flower, set the Pendulum Scale!" The two monsters rose up in two pillar of blue lights. They managed to glow a nice bright, almost angelic radiance from within their zones. "With this, I am now able to simultaneously summon monsters from Levels 4 to 8!" Yuzu raised one hand towards the portal in between her Pendulum monsters. "I Pendulum Summon! Now, you're on! Melodious Songstress Soprano and Melodious Maiden Tam-Tam!" This new monster had a giant maroon and golden gong, along with a red and gold gong stick. She was smaller than Soprano, and had dark grey hair while wearing a cyan green and orange outfit.

MELODIOUS SONGSTRESS SOPRANO LV.4 ATK:1400 DEF:1400

MELODIOUS MAIDEN TAM TAM LV.4 ATK:1000 DEF:2000

The pink haired teen looked up at her taller monster. "If I use Soprano as Fusion Material, I can perform a Fusion Summon without using a Polymerization card!" Yuzu did a quick, small bow before raising her hands up into the air. "I fuse Soprano and Tam Tam!" The two monsters followed their master's lead, and began to fuse together behind her. "Whispers of an angel. Echoes of the soul! Guided by the baton, gather your power!" Yuzu threw one giant fist in front of her. "I Fusion Summon! Now, come to the stage! Sing your song of victory! Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir!" Her ace Fusion monster appeared from her place within the pink flower she resided in.

BLOOM DIVA THE MELODIOUS CHOIR LV.6 ATK:1000 DEF:2000

"Fantastic!" Dennis yelled excitedly and snapped his fingers. "You're amazing! As expected of Yusho Duel School!"

"Save your praises for after my attack is over!" Yuzu retorted, and gestured towards Dennis and his monster. "I activate Melodious Maiden Tam Tam's Fusion Material effect! I decrease Bloom Diva's Attack by 500 and deal 500 damage to my opponent!" Bloom Diva began to sing, and Dennis had to cover his face slightly from the force of the wind thrown at him.

BLOOM DIVA THE MELODIOUS CHOIR ATK:1000 = 500

DENNIS LP- 4000 = 3500

"Battle!" Yuzu continued relentlessly, periwinkle eyes narrowed. "I attack Stilts Shooter with Bloom Diva!" Yuzu's Fusion monsters began to head straight towards the stronger monster. "Bloom Diva is not destroyed when battling Special Summoned monsters, and negates all damage the player would take! The opponent is dealt damage equal to the amount negated, and the monster that battled is destroyed! Reflect Shout!" Bloom Diva stopped Stilt Shooter's attack, and a green whirlwind flew out from the Fusion monster's mouth and destroyed Dennis' monster. Dennis cried out for a moment, and his shoes skid back against the ground. The Xyz user was forced to kneel as he neared the end of the bridge above the lava river.

DENNIS LP- 3500 = 1500

"Wow!" Clear blue eyes looked up at Yuzu and her Fusion monster. "That's quite an extraordinary monster you have there!" Dennis grabbed the railing, but soon turned around to find that he had accidentally grabbed ahold of an Action Card as well. The Performage user show Yuzu the card. "I'll activate the Action Card Flame Ball in return for your attack!"

The small ball of fire started to head towards Yuzu, the Melodious duelist not fearing the minor threat. "That's nothing!"

Light blue eyes narrowed. "Right now, I'm going to turn Flame Ball into a rainbow burst!" Dennis began to lift his fingers one at a time. "One! Two! Three!" The ball of fire disappeared, and soon turned into a yellow pinata of sorts. Once the yellow ball opened, a huge explosion of rainbow colored sparkles forced Yuzu to kneel and skid back as well. The force of the attack seemed to be double the amount stronger than what it should have.

YUZU LP- 4000 = 2000

Periwinkle eyes looked up in confusion while Dennis tilted his head to the side in slight worry. "Are you alright? Sorry for scaring you like that!" The Xyz user began to explain what had just happened. "By banishing Stilts Shooter from the Graveyard, I've made Flame Ball's damage equal to the greatest damage I've taken from you."

Yuzu smiled. Turns out Dennis really was a good duelist. "I activate the Continuous Spell Slow Tempo from my hand! Normal Summoned monsters cannot attack on the turn they are summoned. I end my turn here."

"I see." Dennis smiled charmingly. "Bloom Diva can't be destroyed by Special Summoned monsters. If you try and turn the tables with a Normal Summon, you won't be able to attack immediately." Light blue eyes narrowed happily at the challenge before him. "But, it wouldn't be much of a show if you didn't make it at least this difficult!" The boy practically vibrated from the excitement of this entertaining match. "My turn, I draw!" Dennis spun around dramatically, before leaning in slightly. "From here on it's my showtime!" The Xyz user showed Yuzu a certain card. "With Scale 2 Blue Whale and my already set Scale 10 Yellow Scarab, I set the Pendulum Scale!"

The two monsters stood together in harmony within their blue pillars, the portal beginning to open between them.

"With this, I am able to summon monsters from Levels 3 to 9 all at once!" Dennis raised one hand into the air above him towards the portal. "I Pendulum Summon! Come!" Dennis snapped his fingers, and two monsters appeared from the portal. "Level 4! Performage Damage Juggler! Level 4! Performage Flame Eater!"

The first monster only had a green and yellow top for its legs and chest. Two floating white gloves acted as hands without any arms to attach to the body. A star covered it's right eye, while it wore a purple wizard hat with yellow stars and a light blue cape. Four balls with question marks on them were juggled between both hands. The second monster was a literal bomb with wild light green eyes and a red cape with a blue hat and yellow stars on it.

PERFORMAGE DAMAGE JUGGLER LV.4 ATK:1500 DEF:1000

PERFORMAGE FLAME EATER LV.4 ATK:1200 DEF:1600

"I overlay my Level 4 Damage Juggler and Flame Eater!" The two rather silly monsters went into the swirling vortex in the ground, and out appeared an extremely giggly clown. "The show must go on! Artisan of the air! Swing across the stage with grace! I Xyz Summon! Come Forth! Rank 4! Performage Trapeze Magician!" The laughing clown waved to the nonexistent crowd.

PERFORMAGE TRAPEZE MAGICIAN RNK.4 ORB.2 ATK:2500 DEF:2000

"An Xyz Summon!?" Yuzu sweat dropped slightly, both from the heat in the volcano area and from this tough duel. However, little did both know that they were being watched by a girl with indigo hair and green eyes. Her face looking rather similar to another.

Serena focused her gaze on her Standard counterpart. The latter being too focused on the duel to notice. So that's the one Zero had mentioned. Yuzu Hiragi.

Dennis threw his hand out towards Yuzu. "Battle! I attack Bloom Diva with Trapeze Magician!" The Xyz monster began to swing on his trapeze, giggling almost maddly. Multiple rainbow colored sparkles flew behind the monster as both feet started towards Yuzu's Fusion monster.

The Melodious duelist threw her arm to the side. "That's no use! I activate Bloom Diva's effect! Reflect Shout!" The Fusion monster released a green whirlwind towards Trapeze Magician.

Dennis smiled, the Xyz user having predicted this course of action. "Let's show everyone a true show, Trapeze Magician!" Seeing the cue, the Xyz monster threw himself out of the green whirlwinds and didn't get destroyed. "With Trapeze Magician's effect, I can negate any effect damage lower than this card's Attack!"

"But Trapeze Magician will be destroyed by Bloom Diva's effect!" The Melodious duelist didn't understand as to why the Xyz monster wasn't destroyed yet though.

"Nope." Dennis popped the 'p' and raised both arms into the arm like a true showman would. "This is where I perform the super illusion of the century!" He lifted one finger. "One. Two. Three!"

Pink smoke suddenly engulfed the field, and once it had cleared a strange golden box with question marks on each side was on his field. Yuzu blinked her periwinkle eyes at the sight.

Suddenly, Trapeze Magician flew back from behind Yuzu and snatched up Bloom Diva. The Fusion monster being carried as if she were a princess. Both Special Summoned monsters jumped into the box, the lid closing on top of them. The box then exploding.

"What!" Yuzu cried out, before noticing a yellow glow from beside her. When the Melodious duelist turned to see what was going on, she saw Trapeze Magician now standing beside her on HER side of the field. "Wh-what is this?!" She looked back over at Dennis side to see her Bloom Diva on the Xyz user's side of the field. "What's going on?"

"Looks like I surprised you again!" Dennis explained. "I activated the Trap card Trick Box. With this, Trapeze Magician is not destroyed, and switches control with its effect negated in exchange for Bloom Diva!"

"No way!" The pink haired teen knew what was going to happen now.

"Battle!" Dennis threw a hand out once again. "I attack Bloom Diva with Trapeze Magician!" The Fusion monster spun once, and began to sing a beautiful melody. "Trapeze Magician. Rest in peace to the sound of Bloom Diva's sweet voice! Reflect Shout!"

The green winds engulfed both Trapeze Magician and Yuzu. The girl cried out as she was sent flying away, and the Xyz monster being destroyed. The girl was thrown right above the lava river, and once the attack had ended, she began to descend down towards the hot molten lava.

YUZU LP- 2000 = 0 LOSER

DENNIS LP- 1500 WINNER

Dennis began to run towards the falling girl. "It's too soon for you to be resting in peace!" The Performage user jumped over the railing, and caught Yuzu with both of his arms. The girl being held like a princess herself that was just saved by a shining white knight.

Periwinkle eyes widened in shock and fear. "Dennis! You're going to-!"

Dennis gave a calming smile and winked. "It's fine. When the monster swapped by Trick Box is destroyed, it is Special Summoned back to the original controller's field!" Once those words left his lips and Dennis looked up, Trapeze Magician once again appeared on the field in an array of bright white lights and stars. The clown laughed as he reached down and grabbed ahold of both Dennis and Yuzu. "Welcome back! Trapeze Magician." Dennis smiled warmly at his monster. Once the two were safely deposited back onto the bridge, Trapeze Magician vanished in a wondrous array of yellow particles.

Yuzu sighed, but a nice smile was on her face. "It's hard to admit it, but it's my loss." The girl held out her two betted Pendulum cards.

Dennis accepted them gracefully with his one black gloved hand. "And now, with this, we're friends!" The red haired teen smiled fondly at the shorter girl. "Let's both make it through the tournament and duel again!"

Yuzu was about to respond, when another female voice spoke. "You won't be making it out of this!" Yuzu and Dennis turned to look at another girl wearing a red jacket and indigo hair glare at them, or more specifically, Dennis. "Because I'm going to defeat you!"

"Huh- What!?" Dennis looked between Yuzu and Serena. The Xyz user couldn't help but see two Yuzu's. Even with their rather prominent hair, eyes and clothes differentiating them. "Twins?" Dennis looked at Yuzu, completely lost. "Who is that?"

She looks just like me… Periwinkle eyes widened. It can't be!.. Ruri!?

. . .

"I'm worried." Zero's modulated voice spoke up from the tense silence that permeated the two resistance fighters. Both duelists were currently relaxing, and leaning against a stone pillar, arms crossed. It looked like they were unconsciously mimicking each other. However, both contestants were actually very stressed at the moment. The reason being that Yuto had sent some sort of garbled, half baked message and hasn't replied to either of their replies since.

It was getting both boys riled up very easily.

"Forget the damn tournament, Yuto and Ruri could be in trouble!" Shun ground out, but he didn't move from his spot.

"You know the entire city is watching us right now Shun." Zero reasoned with cold logic. It hurt, but it made him acting on his emotions recklessly less likely. It was natural, to become almost robotic. "We can't give out our location to the entire world."

"I don't care! Ruri-!" Shun was about to retort, but the sound of footsteps caused both rebels to stiffen and hide behind the pillar slightly. Shun poked his head out slightly to see who had joined the ancient ruins area, yellow eyes blazing.

A tuft of green and red hair was his answer.

Seeing Shun relax from his stiff form allowed Zero to realize that whoever it was wasn't a threat. The masked man resettled himself against the pillar with his cape hiding most of his form, nails trying to dig through the black gloves and fabric of his suit. It was only a matter of moments before scarlet red eyes locked onto fiery yellow and masked violet ones.

"Shun Kurosaki! Zero!" Yuya called out in his surprised stupor. If he was being honest with himself, the Pendulum user didn't think he would be able to find the two dimension travelers so quickly. Regardless, Yuya clenched his fists and leaned forward. "I've finally found you two, so now you can answer my questions! About Sora! About Academia!"

"Now now Yuya." Zero pushed himself off of the wall and from the shadow that hid him to completely face the Entertainment duelist. "It would be best not to spill such… secrets out for the entire world to hear." Zero's mask reflected some light as he tucked his chin just a bit. "You do remember that this entire Battle Royale is being broadcast out to the entire world, right?"

Yuya grit his teeth. "That doesn't matter!" He threw his hand out to the side. "I want to know what happened to Sora! I want to make sure he's alright! He's my friend-!"

"Speaking of Battle Royales." Shun cut in sharply, obviously not liking how Yuya said Sora was his 'friend'. The Raidraptor too pushed himself off of the wall and faced Yuya with his fierce yellow eyes. "Why don't we have a battle? I've been waiting for you to arrive here after all."

"Huh?!" Yuya leaned back slightly at that, caught off guard.

"Shun." Zero warned, but let the Xyz user continue what he was planning to do.

Shun tilted his head to the side slightly, yellow eyes darkened by the things he had witnessed. "Duel me. Then we'll see if you are fit to become a Lancer, fit to know the answers which you are seeking." Shun readjusted the red scarf tied around his neck. "Fit to know more about us." Once he was done fixing his scarf, both of Shun's hands tightened into fists. "I know that Yuto and Zero fought with Sora Shiunin, and that you join Sora's side! I know how you interfered!" The Raidraptor snarled and pointed at Yuya. "So let's see which side your allegiance truly belongs to!"

Yuya pursed his lips slightly in thought, before nodding. Red eyes dulled as his serious game face appeared. "Fine. I'll duel you!" Yuya made a fist. "I'll duel you and show how to smile once again! A duel that would make Yuto's trust in me true and unfounded!" Just as the two were about to start their battle, another voice spoke up.

"This card can attack directly with its effect!"

Red, yellow, and hidden violet eyes widened, and snapped over towards the person's voice. It was one of the Knights of Duels, the one wearing the dark blue cape and had maroon like hair.

"I attack you directly with Assault Knight Slash!" Carl smirked, his one visible grey eye gleaming. The knight slashed down, and a streak of purple light flew straight towards the other three contestants.

Zero, Shun, and Yuya all tensed. While crimson eyes had widened, yellow and masked violet narrowed in seething anger. All three barely managed to duck the attack that sped past them, and Zero swore he could feel some of his cape being clipped by the attack. When their heads turn to watch the attack, they were shocked to see another one of the knights sneering down at them.

"Assault Knight Slash can negate battle damage!" Ashley spoke calmly, and the knight produced a light blue shield that blocked the purple blast. When Zero took a good look at the situation, it turned out that all three knights had surrounded them. They were in the middle of a battle, and each knight had an Assault Knight Slash out on their field.

"Knight of Duels!" Yuya spoke up, still in slight shock. Both rebels and Entertainment duelist stood up.

Zero clenched his fists. "How dare they…"

"These guys never learn." Shun spat. He had already determined these 'knights' to be unfit for a position as a Lancer, so they weren't worth his time.

"I end my turn." Carl spoke up over the stewing rebels. "I think I hear some bugs talking."

"Then we should just squash those pests and kick them aside!" Ashley responded mockingly. "My turn!" The green cape wearing knight drew a card, and pointed at the three contestants caught in the crossfire. "I attack directly with Assault Knight Slash!" Shun, Zero, and Yuya just manage to throw themselves to the side. A small bit of Yuya's green hair was clipped.

"Assault Knight Slash can negate battle damage!" Bram spoke up calmly, and that same blue shield protected the knight from any harm.

Shun clicked his tongue. "They're acting like they're in a duel just to harass us!"

Yuya stood up now, the boy holding onto his left arm. "That's just-!"

"I end my turn." Ashley intervened. "We can keep this up until those pests are ground to bits against the stone floor!"

Bram smiled and taunted the two rebel fighters. "If you don't like it, then you can just join us and pay the 2000 Life Point interference penalty!"

"You bastards!" Zero hissed. "You dare to try and hunt us, to try and cheat us!"

"My turn!" Bram ignored the masked man's quickly rising deadly aura and pointed at them. The three were stuck between the ledge of the stone hallway and the knights. "I attack directly with Assault Knight Slash!"

The purple beam thrown from the Knight bore down on the trapped duelists, and they were forcibly sent flying. Shun, Yuya, and Zero each cried out from the pain in the blow. While the Raidraptor was thrown back against the stone pillar, hitting his back harshly, Yuya was thrown off of the ledge. It was only thanks to a random pillar that saved the Pendulum user from a fatal fall. Zero was blasted out of the hallway completely, and rolled against the ground and onto one of the big highway bridges. It was a surprise that his mask didn't crack of come clean off from the impact and skidding against the ground harshly. Though his body could feel the pain, thankfully there were no broken bones or pulled muscles.

"Zero!" Shun stood up, just barely wincing from the pain in his left shoulder. Yellow eyes looked over at Yuya, who was stranded on the sole pillar. "Yuya!" Shun growled, before focusing his enraged glare on the perpetrators. "You dare call yourselves duelists!" The Raidraptor raised his duel disk, but didn't activate it just yet. "Get out of my way! I have more important people to be worrying about than you parasites!"

All three knights grinned over at Shun darkly. "We're only just dueling. We aren't doing anything against the rules." They spoke with mock innocence that was badly hidden, and soon began to laugh.

While Yuya was struggling to climb on top of his pillar, Zero was beginning to get up. Violet eyes glaring strongly at the knights cornering his comrade. "Damn cheating cowards!"

That's when things began to get even worse.

"Zero!" Said masked man looked over at Yuya, whose scarlet eyes were looking at something else. That's when he could hear multiple footsteps. Following Yuya line of sight just barely managed to let him find the culprits to the noise.

Zero could only jerk back slightly, before his arms were forcibly grabbed and he was pinned down against the ground harshly.

"Ah!" The masked man cried out for only a moment. It felt like they were going to break both of his arms from how tightly they gripped them and from how far they were pinned behind his caped back. Another hand came and forcefully grabbed the back of his neck, and made the masked resistance leader look into the ground. He already knew who they were though.

Obelisk Force.

So Academia had finally decided to attack.

Even with this predicament, Zero still struggled and put up quite a hellish fight. He managed to kick the knee of one of the three Obelisk members, and he could hear the man hiss just behind his masked ear. As punishment for the attack, the Academia dog stomped down onto one of his ankles, causing a small grunt to emit from Zero's throat. It was definitely sprained, if not broken, he couldn't tell.

"Zero! Fucking Obelisk Force! Academia!" Shun tried to get to his leader's aid, but those damned knights still blocked his way. Even with this even more dangerous threat appearing before them! "Idiots! Step aside!"

"I'll make you pay for that you lap dog!" Zero hissed viciously as he was forcefully yanked upwards. The masked man having to bite his lip to keep from saying anything as his ankle burned from the weight of standing. Yuya was forced to watch the entire display with his widened, confused, and frightened scarlet eyes wide. The Pendulum user being forced to the sidelines from where he stood on the pillar.

"Yeah right. With the predicament you're in now? Please." The Obelisk member with a yellow gem leaned right into Zero's face with a wicked sneer. "You're at our mercy now, Zero."

Zero shook from sheer rage, and tried to break free just to try and wrap his hands around that peasants throat-!

"Well then, this is quite convenient." Zero tensed in his position, while Yuya tried to call out his 'friends' name.

"You!" Shun hissed, his back hunched and body tense as if a predator cornered by some threat.

"I've been waiting for this." Sora Shiunin spoke casually as his crazed emerald green eyes snapped open to meet Shun's sane ones. "I've been waiting to finally settle the score with you both. Shun Kurosaki! Zero!" Both resistance fighters said nothing to the crazy candy addicts words.

However, that never stopped Yuya. "Sora!" The tomato haired teen screamed loudly, trying to get his Fusion using friend's attention. The sky blue haired teen only looked back at him for a fleeting moment, and grabbed a green sucker before popping it in his mouth. The Academia spy certainly looked like the cat that had gotten the canary, both canaries. "Sora! I'm so glad you're okay!"

Sora kept his back to Yuya, and gestured to the other two Obelisk Force members that weren't holding Zero. "You guys take care of the knights. I don't care how you do it." The Fusion user spoke up over Yuya's callings. "Make sure they don't get in my way." Emerald eyes flickered to the struggling and persistent masked man that was fighting back even more strongly than before. "And keep a careful eye on him. We'll bring that masked bastard back to Academia once I've finished having fun with him and his buddy."

"Hey! Stop it, Sora!" Yuya continued stubbornly. Though his voice felt like it was going slightly raw from the action. Finally having enough, the Entertainment duelist began to climb down from the pillar.

"What's with that tone?" Carl snapped irritably. Both Xyz users were their targets, not some short midgets'. "And who the hell are you anyways!?"

"Obelisk Force." The yellow gemmed teen spoke harshly and with a cold frown. Both he and the green gemmed member activated their duel disks, and joined the Battle Royale without any penalty.

Zero reared back slightly as he realized what was happening in front of him. "No! I won't let you bastards destroy this world like you did with ours!"

"Silence you Xyz scum!" Obelisk red tightened his hold on Zero's arms, and the masked man leaned forward to try and aleve the pain slightly.

"Bastard! There wasn't even a duel!" Zero spat back towards this mindless puppet of a human being.

The Obelisk member's hold tightened even more, and Zero was sure that one of his muscles were torn from the action. His shoulder being dislocated wouldn't be too far behind, and both knew it. "It doesn't matter how we capture you as long as you're captured. You're a rather… special case." The masked man could feel the teen's malicious grin. "However… That doesn't stop us from carding you right now."

Zero grew even more tense as Obelisk red called over Obelisk green. The green member gave an equally dark grin at Zero as he raised his duel disk right in front of the masked man's face. No matter what would happen though, Zero would go so low as to beg or plead for mercy. He had more pride than that.

"Stop it!"

Just as Obelisk green was about to turn Zero into a card, another voice surprisingly spoke up and gained everyone's attention. Shun looked like he was about to lunge at the person closest to him and commit cold blooded murder. While the Knights of Duels were being disposed of quickly by Obelisk yellow, only Sora and Yuya were left to watch the proceedings.

"Oh?" Sora raised an eyebrow, his maniacal grin widening even more. He had finally found it. A weakness. "What's wrong? Afraid to see your little masked buddy become another card for my collection?" Sora cackled as he watched Shun take a threatening step forward. Sora raised his hand, and Obelisk green looked ready to turn the bucking Zero into a card at the command.

Shun stopped short at this turn of events. "Dammit… You bastard!" A deep growl crawled its way out of the tall teen's throat.

"I'll make a deal with you, Shun." Sora decided to torment his prey for a moment. "Duel me, and if you win Zero won't be turned into a card." Emerald eyes narrowed, a bit of acid green flickering through them. "But lose or decline my offer, and he'll become a card faster than you can even take a breath." The Academia spy held out both hands in front of him welcomingly. "So what'll it be?"

Just as Zero was about to speak Obelisk green's duel disk was wedged right in front of his throat. "Don't speak, cowardly mouse." If only they knew what they were really dealing with, and provoking.

Shun clenched both of his fists, before turning on his heel and stalking away. His yellow eyes steeled, and set on the temple stationed at the top of some stairs down the hallway a ways away. "Fine. The temple will suit for a good place for our duel."

"Wonderful. Let's begin quickly! I desire to reap my revenge on both of you and turn you into cards by the end of the day." Sora grinned, and calmly walked over to almost stroll beside, and slightly behind, Shun. After a good distance, Sora turned back and gave a swift nod towards the Obelisk Force members, before continuing to stalk away. The Fusion user promptly ignoring any of Yuya's calls or cries as Shun lead the way towards the temple.

"Wait!" Yuya cried out towards Sora, and jumped between a couple of pillars as he yelled. "Sora! Come back!"

"Let go of me right now!" Zero yelled once Obelisk green had removed his duel disk from the masked man's throat. He managed to get one arm free and elbow Red in the face, before Green had quickly detained said arm. "You fucking bastards!"

Suddenly, Obelisk yellow laughed, and everyone besides Shun and Sora turned to look at him. The Academia soldier having managed to beat all three Knights of Duels, all of them currently on the floor in pain. "How pathetically easy. The duelists of Standard really don't stand a chance." Yellow raised his duel disk towards the three knights. A purple light shone for just a moment, before a card that once used to be Carl floated down on the stone cold ground right in front of his friends.

Ashley screamed at the sight as Bram spoke up. "T-This is against the rules!" The two knight apparently thought that the three Academia soldiers were apart of the Battle Royale.

What a deadly mistake.

"This is completely by the rules." Yellow spoke casually as he took a menacing step forward towards the two remaining knights. "The defeated should be erased."

Red tightened his grip on Zero, and a loud popping sound echoed out from across the field. Zero couldn't help but scream at the sheer amount of pain coursing through he left shoulder as it was dislocated. His yell tearing out of his masked throat and modulator increasing its intensity. "Just like how you should be erased." The teen whispered in his masked ear.

Meanwhile, Yuya was freaking out, sweat gliding down his face as he felt his rage boil at the horrible sight. "Stop it." He whispered.

'"They invaded the Xyz Dimension and tried to kidnap one of my comrades… my best friend's little sister!"

"Heartland was overflowing with people's smiles."

"The day when Academia attacked."

"They turned one person after another into cards!"

"In this reality, I saw countless people get turned into cards in front of my very own eyes!"'

"Stop it." Yuya begged softly, though more loudly, yet it fell on deaf ears. Scarlet red eyes had shrunk to pupil size and shook wildly as he watched Obelisk yellow raise his duel disk once more. They laughed as that awful purple light engulfed both knights, and each one was turned into a card that fluttered onto the ground. The Academia soldiers just kept laughing, while Zero continued to rage, and left the three cards to be blown away by the wind, forever lost.

They LAUGHED.

"Stop it!" Yuya screamed, his scarlet red eyes beginning to glow a dark blood red.

. . .

"What on Earth is going on over there?" Shuzo spoke in a quick, worried manner. Both feeds to the ancient ruins and volcano areas were suddenly cut off at some rather important and confusing moments. Both times where when Yuya and Yuzu were in some danger, and it didn't bode well with the father of Yuzu Hiragi.

"Who were those guys with those weird masks in the ancient ruins area?" Tate asked, looking between Frederick and Allie for an answer.

"I don't know, but they don't give me as bad of the shivers as Zero's mask does." The blonde kid shivered slightly. "That thing is just plain scary."

"It looked like Yuya, and even Zero and Shun were in some deep trouble." Allie furrowed her brow.

Yoko was practically glaring a hole into the screen. They weren't the only ones complaining either. Nico Smiley was also having to deal with an entire stadium chalk full of Miami Cities' citizens yelling and demanding for the footage to return. It honestly sounded like a riot was going to happen at any moment.

Perhaps that was why the security had seemed to double, if not triple, since the footage was cut off in the first place.

"I won't be able to see Yuya or Dennis duel now." Yoko frowned, before she suddenly seemed to perk up and rub her hand against her cheeks. "But I'll at least get to see dear Michio duel still!" The rest of the Yusho group sweat dropped at the mother's antics. Now was definitely not the time.

. . .

"This way! Quickly!" Two people rushed down an alleyway that was turned into one fit for the ancient ruins area. The shadows quickly engulfed the two, and Yuto pushed Ruri against the wall. The Lyrical Luscinia duelist was about to say something, when Yuto quickly silenced her with a rather deep kiss.

Ruri was too shocked by the sudden kiss to do anything or even have her brain process the moment. Taking the chance, Yuto quickly covered both of them with his black cape and stayed still, his lips still locked with hers.

The sound of racing footsteps caught their attention, and both rebels tensed even more. Out of the corner of his grey eyes, Yuto watched as three Obelisk Force members sprinted by the alleyway, having taken no notice of the two as they passed. Only once they couldn't hear their footsteps did Yuto allow himself to relax just a smidgen and release Ruri.

Both of their cheeks were burning red. Yuto did a quick, deep bow. "I'm so sorry about that! I wouldn't have done that, but I had to use both of my hands to cover us up with my cape and-"

"It's alright Yuto." Ruri spoke softly, almost as quiet as the wind itself, but it boomed in Yuto's opinion. The girl was touching her lips slightly. "I know you wouldn't do something like that without a good reason… It's alright." She gave a strained, if joking smile. "Though that was my first kiss you just stole."

The red covering Yuto's cheeks could even rival Yuya's hair. "Eh… I'm still deeply sorry about that. It won't happen again."

Ruri wrapped the Phantom Knights duelist into a warm hug. "And I said it was fine, I actually liked it a lot. Though the circumstances of it could be better, I still liked it." And she really did. The electricity she felt from the kiss was nothing short of divine. She wanted more, but the female rebel knew better than that. They were in a very dire situation right now, and there was no time for such thoughts. "Come on. We need to find Shun and Zero."

It was honestly a surprise that they even managed to escape their pursuers in the first place. Thankfully, Yuto had thought quickly, and summoned his Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon. Though the dragon struggled to move around too quickly within the confines of the hotel, the Xyz dragon managed to beat back the Fusion soldiers long enough for both resistance fighters to make a run for it. With the help of Phantom Sword clouding the Academia soldiers vision, they had soon made a clean get away from the empty hotel. All of the citizens having gone to the stadium to watch the Battle Royale, so both knew that nobody was carded, and were relieved to know that.

With a little encouragement, the two were soon speeding off as fast as they could. It wasn't long before they heard the loud screams of rage and chatter of others. What really caught their attention though, was that the person screaming seemed to have a modulator masking their voice.

Definitely Zero, and he seemed to be in some deep trouble once again.

Just as Yuto and Ruri managed to get on the highway, they heard a loud popping sound. The suddenly pain filled scream coming from Zero was enough information to know that Obelisk force was currently hurting, if not torturing, their leader.

They still didn't know where Shun was, or what could have become of him.

Both heard as Obelisk force began to laugh callously at Zero's pain. Pink and grey eyes widening, before giving a fatal death glare that could kill with just a look.

"Stop it!"

Ruri looked to the side to see Yuya on one of the pillars clutching his head, screaming. She also watched as Yuto hunched over himself and grabbed ahold of his chest. Sweat running down his face as he tried to take deep breaths. However, seeing Zero go through such pain, not seeing if Shun was alright, and everything that Academia had done to his home world made him snap.

While Yuya's eyes glowed a dark blood red, Yuto's glowed a steeled, dark violet.

It is done! Chapter 21 is up and at em! I have to apologize for such a delay, but I have been rather busy. As I'm sure most could relate, school has started once again, and I also have some extracurricular activities that prevent me from getting home. Couple that with homework and the basic things one does such as dinner and showers, and I find that I have little to no time to work on this! It's why this is rather short (in my opinion) from all the others and so delayed. It might be like this for a while, and I'm talking months, so try to be patient with me. I refuse to give in and let this become dead!

Though there comes another problem of the 'plot bunnies' migrating to another field. More specifically, a Yugioh and Harry Potter crossover with Malik and Bakura. I find such stories to be so interesting to me! I might actually try to do a story on it as well while doing this one. Give me an opinion in the reviews of PM, either one. I'll read it either way.

We finally know that Yuto and Ruri are safe! Thank God for small mercies! However, now Zero and Shun are in a deep pickle. Let's also not forget about Yuzu's predicament with Serena, and now both Yu boys are going berserk. I'm sure most of you know what this means… Oh man.

Favorite, follow, and leave a review!

With that, I await you all in Chapter 22! -MoonlightWright