The man watched the camera feed. "This was from March 21st then? The day of the break-in?"

"Yes, sir."

The video played. A cloaked figure ran into the research lab, snatching a group of twelve cards from the table. The thief glanced around frantically, before loud footsteps could be heard on the speakers. The figure turned to the window, broke it and jumped out of it.

This was quite the disaster. To think that out of all the projects in that lab, the thief had gone after those cards in particular… had he or she known or suspected what they were? Reiji turned to his secretary. "Send a copy of the footage to my father; he may have further insight on it." His father had always been surprisingly good at predicting the motives of criminals from a small amount of information. "Are the sensors up?"

"Yes. If anyone tries to enter Academia with those cards in their duel disk, we'll know."

A temporary measure, but they had to find those cards as quickly as possible. He sighed. "Do you have the emails of our new teachers? Asuka Tenjoin and Judai Yuki?" At the man's nod, he gestured for the man to write it down. "That will do. Thank you, Nakajima."

The man left the room. Reiji looked at the computer. So they couldn't do anything more about the cards until they got more data… and there was the other issue.

Yusho Sakaki's sons were coming to Academia.

He wanted to talk to them, but they probably didn't know much more about their father's disappearance than he did. Hopefully the culprit didn't come to Academia and they would be kept safe… heh. He was being so soft. Reira would laugh.

He closed the tab with one final look at it.

A storm was coming.

"What a surprise." Yuto glanced at the paper detailing all the dorms. "We were all put in Ra Yellow, but we're in separate rooms—Yuya and I are together with two other people, and it's the same for you two."

"Switch." Yuri said immediately. "I'll probably murder banana head here if I have to stay with only him and two strangers."

"Hey!... actually, that's true."

"Well, I'm perfectly happy with my room, so no." Yuto passed his copy of the paper over to Yuri, before grabbing Yuya's hand. "Come on, let's go."

"R-right!"

To his other two brothers' protests, they went towards the dorms. Ra Yellow was a fairly average dorm from the pictures he had seen while researching boarding schools online. Stained yellow brick walls, a kitchen on the first floor and stairs that led to the second floor, where there were identical wooden doors lining the corridor. Yuto grabbed the keys by the door labeled "027" and unlocked it. There was a simple room with four beds, one toilet (Yuya suspected that would be a problem) and a small counter, as well as a television at the end of the room. All in all, not too bad.

He had just settled on the bed when their other two roommates came in.

"And I'm telling you, the one and only Shingo Sawatari will get to Obelisk Blue in no time at all! You see, I'm the best duelist in Academia, and therefore... "

The other roommate, a tall and clearly muscular teen, groaned as the first one began talking about how amazing he was. He entered the room, before placing his things by a bed as well. Yuto shot him a sympathetic look. "Has he been like this all this time?"

"The whole way here." The boy looked at them, and Yuya felt short all of a sudden. "This man, Gongenzaka, is very happy to meet you. What are your names?"

"I'm Yuya, he's Yuto." Yuya said with an earnest grin. "Nice to meet you too, Gongenzaka!"

"Hey! Pay attention to me!" The three all turned back to the blonde teen who had just noticed that they weren't looking at him. "Do you know who I am? You should be honoured to be in my presence!"

"You're Shingo Sawatari," Yuto said calmly, surprising Yuya—he had never heard of this person before. "You're the son of Mayor Sawatari from Maiami City. Your father became mayor three years ago, and you went to Maiami Prep School."

"That's right! I'm glad I have such a loyal fan!"

"I'm not your fan." Yuto was glaring now, barely hiding his distaste. "We know each other—my name is Yuto Sakaki." Sawatari blanched, his face going white. "Have fun with the idiot, Gongenzaka, Yuya. I'm gonna use the toilet." He stood up, and Yuya watched with bewilderment as Sawatari actually shrank away from his brother as he walked past. It wasn't like Yuto was that scary, and how would Yuto know him anyway?"

Maiami…

"You're Sakaki?" Sawatari was staring at him, as was Gongenzaka.

He frowned. "Yeah. Didn't you see my duel? I was the last to duel, against Professor Chronos…"

"Yeah, I saw." Sawatari shook his head. "But you guys were smiling so much just now… you look younger when you're not duelling, you know that?" He stared towards the toilet. "Your brother is still just as scary as ever. I was hoping to avoid him for a while."

"What happened?"

"Uh… ok, I'm curious. Before your brother comes out and tries to massacre me, can you duel me tomorrow?" He shrugged. "I'm an Entertainment Duelist too, you know? I'm Neo New Sawatari, the ultimatest best duelist!" Surprisingly, Yuya thought he heard Gongenzaka snort, but when he looked the boy's face was as stoic as before.

"Sure! A real duelist never turns down a duel!" He paused, thinking about his brothers. "Well, unless you need to water your poisonous plants, ride your motorcycle, go to work, use the toilet… you know what never mind. I'll duel you!" He gave a wink. "Let's duel tomorrow, alright?"

At Sawatari's nod, Yuya moved backwards on the bed—and noticed the shadow of a figure on the toilet door. He sighed, before he spoke up again.

"If it's fine with you," he said as loudly as he could get away with it while purposely gesturing towards the toilet subtly. "I'd like to know about how you met my brother." He saw a nod and Sawatari unknowingly mirrored it.

"Well, I was twelve and stupid and…" he puffed up, "well, not stupid but I was in Maiami Prep School with you, and I heard about…"

Yuya could tell that he didn't really want to say it. He already knew. Twelve was when his dad had left. "It's fine, I figured it out. Go on, please."

"So I was going over to tease you about it, but your brother stopped me because he heard me laughing about it. And well… he decided to duel me to keep me away from you."

Honestly, that didn't really surprise him. Yuto, Yugo and Yuri had always been extremely overprotective. He smiled. "Well, I assume you're not that stupid now, are you?" He said cheerfully. "Let's let bygones be bygones, right Yuto?"

Sawatari's quiet shriek caused both Gongenzaka and him to start laughing.

["Welcome to Duel Academia. I am Reiji Akaba, the Headmaster of this academy."]

Yugo leaned over to Yuri. "His hair is really bright grey. Do you think he's dyed it? Or is he like really old?"

Yuri rolled his eyes. "Why are you asking that, banana?"

["The fact that you have been accepted into this academy displays your skill and your potential. Above all, our purpose is to guide you to your full potential as duelists. We're the best academy in the world, and we assure you that you have not made a mistake by coming here."]

"I mean, look at his face! He looks like a robot!"

["All students here will be going to classes with all other students in their year. In a brief summary of the classes that you will be taking here…"]

Yuri heard snoring from next to him and resisted the urge to groan. However, before he could do something needlessly violent and painful to wake Yugo up, Rin Kurosaki came up with a large pink fan and smacked the back of Yugo's head. "Wake up, idiot!" She passed the fan to Yuzu. "Thanks."

[Firstly, you will have Card Theory with Professor Chronos di Medici. You will be taught other basic subjects such as mathematics and science as well, though on a less frequent basis due to this being a duelling academy.]

"Ow!" Yugo held his head. "Why?"

"Pay attention!" Rin scolded. "Do you want to get in trouble?"

["You will be taught other Summoning methods. Namely, Pendulum, Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, Ritual and Link. Some of you may already know these methods, and in that case, you may take a test to drop those classes in favour of taking classes with the second years—that is, those that have not skipped a year like you."]

"Of course not! But Yuto's paying attention and he's a responsible person anyway, so I don't need to!"

"That's no excuse!"

Serena sighed, as did Yuzu. "Guess we'll be seeing this often. Where are Yuya and Yuto anyway?"

He gave them a smirk. "All the way in front. Why, Yuzu? Do you want to talk to Yuya?"

Yuzu shook her head, oblivious to what he actually meant. "Nah. I can see just fine from here."

["We hope that you will enjoy your time here. Now, please follow Professor Chronos to the Duel Theory room."]

"Oh?" Rin looked up. "Is the speech over?"

Yuri patted her shoulder. "You should pay more attention." At her fuming look, he grinned and went to look for Yuya to complain about his roommates.

The moment Yuri Sakaki met Shingo Sawatari, he was immediately annoyed enough to consider murder. Unfortunately, Yuto was giving him the "be civil" look, so Yuya probably already talked the other out of it. Aww… pity. The pompous idiot could make a good snack for Starving Venom.

He laughed internally. Maybe his own roommates weren't that horrible after all.

"Duel!"

It was now around four in the afternoon. They had just sat through an agonizingly long lecture and Yuya was ready to finally wake up his brain a little. He had heard Rin and Yuzu scolding Yugo in the background and snickered. At least he had been sitting next to Yuri, and Yuri would never out him to anyone.

[Master Duel!]

Shingo Sawatari: 4000LP

Yuya Sakaki: 4000LP

"I, the Neo Ultimate Shingo Sawatari, shall begin! I will set the Scale 0 Abyss Actor - Mellow Madonna (7*/S0/1800/2500/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect) in the Pendulum Scale!"

Yuya laughed. "A Pendulum user too!"

"Yeah! I, Shingo Sawatari am the ultimate Pendulum user!" He held out his hand. "Mellow Madonna's effect! I will pay 1000 life points to add an "Abyss Actor" Pendulum Monster from my deck to my hand! I will add Abyss Actor - Trendy Littlestar (4*/S9/1000/1000/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect) to my hand!"

Shingo Sawatari: 4000 - 1000 = 3000LP

"Now I will activate the Field Spell Abyss Playhouse - Fantastic Theater! With its effect, I will reveal an "Abyss Actor" and an "Abyss Script" card in my hand! I will reveal the beautiful Twinkle Little Star and the Abyss Script - Fire Dragon Lair in my hand! Then, I can add an "Abyss Script" card with a different name to my hand!" He gave a bow. "To me, my Abyss Script - Opening Ceremony! I will set Trendy Littlestar in my other Pendulum Scale! Now, I shall Pendulum Summon! Come on out, Abyss Actor - Leading Lady (4*/S2/1500/1000/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect) and Abyss Actor - Superstar!" (7*/S3/2500/1800/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect)

Actors, huh? Actors of the Abyss… he could tell that Shingo was an Entertainment duelist too, and a very showy one.

"I will end my turn here! Come at me, Yuya!"

"Oh, I will!" He gave a bright smile. "Are you ready?"

"Of course! No matter what you throw at me, wicked dragon, I shall emerge victorious!" Shingo said with a cocky grin.

So he was the heel here, huh? "Draw! I will set the Scale 3 Performapal Gold Fang (4*/S3/1800/700/LIGHT/Beast/Pendulum/Effect) and the Scale 8 Odd-Eyes Arc Pendulum Dragon (7*/S8/2700/2000/DARK/Dragon/Pendulum) in my Pendulum Scales!" He extended his hand. "Prepare yourself, dark hero! I shall defeat you with the monsters I have tamed! I will Normal Summon Performapal Skullcrobat Joker (4*/S8/1800/100/DARK/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect) and his effect shall add Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (7*/S4/2500/2000/DARK/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect) to my hand! Pendulum Summon! Appear, Performapal Fire Mufflerlion (3*/S5/800/800/FIRE/Beast/Pendulum/Effect) and the one, the only Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"

"So the wicked dragon and its fire slave have appeared!" Shingo reached out his hand towards Yuya dramatically. "But I shall protect these innocent people—for it is the duty of my troupe!"

Rin, Yuzu and Yuto's eyes twitched. Yuzu gave a mutter under her breath. "Who needs to be protected? I swear, if Yuya doesn't win I'll break both their heads in with my fan."

"Break Sawatari's head." Yuto muttered in reply. "Just don't touch Yuya or we'll have to deal with those two."

Yuya wanted to sigh at those words. Come on, Yuto was just as bad as the other two and he knew it! "You won't be able to protect them from me! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon will battle! Crush Abyss Actor - Superstar!"

"Are you insane?" Shingo's eyes widened comically. "They have the same attack!"

"Yes, they do." He held out his hand. "Do it, Odd-Eyes! Spiral Strike Burst!" The blast from the attack destroyed both monsters. Shingo gave him a surprised look.

"Good move, Yuya." Yuto said with a smile. "When he takes battle damage, he can lower your monsters' attack points with Leading Lady."

Could he? That was interesting, but not the point. "Now, since an "Odd-Eyes" card was destroyed, I can activate the effect of the Odd-Eyes Arc Pendulum Dragon in my Pendulum Scale! Once per turn, I can Special Summon an "Odd-Eyes" monster from my hand, deck or graveyard! Come from my deck, the dragon with the demon's eyes, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!" (7*/S4/2500/2000/DARK/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect)

Shingo gave him an encouraging grin, before he gave a bow. "So this is the ultimate dragon of the demon? I shall destroy it!"

"Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon will attack your Abyss Actor - Leading Lady! And when Phantom deals you battle damage, you'll take another 1200 damage for each "Odd-Eyes" card in my scales! Go, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon! Phantom Spiral Flame! Atomic Force!"

"Sorry, Yuya! But my Stage's effect activates! All monster effects you activate change to destroy one set card I control! And since I control no set cards, your effect does not activate!"

The dragon let out a breath of flame, which washed over Shingo and his monster, but did not deal as much damage as Yuya had intended.

Shingo Sawatari: 3000 - 1000 = 2000LP

"Destruction by battle happens after damage calculation though! Leading Lady will decrease your Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon's attack points by 1000!" (Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon: 2500 - 1000 = 1500ATK)

"Ooh, not bad!" He had originally planned to use Fire Mufflerlion's effect to defeat Shingo, but now he would actually have to wait until he could destroy the stage. "I'll end my turn there, over to you! Try your best to defeat me, hero!"

"Oh, I will!"

He heard Yuto sigh. "You're getting very into it…"

"My turn! Draw! Pendulum Summon! Return from the Extra Deck, Abyss Actor - Superstar! And come from my hand, Abyss Actor - Wild Hope!" (4*/S2/1600/1200/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect)

The monsters gave a dramatic bow.

"Now, for the performance! I will activate the spell card Abyss Script - Fire Dragon's Lair! When my Abyss Actor - Superstar destroys your monster by battle, you banish three cards from your Extra Deck! Then, Twinkle Little Star's Pendulum Effect! Superstar can attack your monsters thrice this battle phase, but no other monster can attack! Destroy his two monsters, Superstar!"

His monsters were wiped off the field. He gave a sigh as he banished six cards from his Extra Deck—his Performapal Gatling Ghoul, Performapal Odd-Eyes Metal Claw, Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon, Odd-Eyes Meteorburst Dragon, Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon and Hope Magician. That left his Extra Deck empty except for his Pendulum monsters—he should probably have used other cards, but…

Yuya Sakaki: 4000 - 1000 = 3000LP

"I will end my turn." Shingo held out his hand. "Well? Will you surrender, villain?"

"No!" He replied with a smirk. "You know, you prance around with fiends and dance with monsters—and yet you proclaim yourself the hero? I refuse to accept that! I, Yuya Sakaki, shall become the hero in your place!" He closed his eyes.

His Extra Deck might be gone, but there were still options left to him. All he had to do was to draw them.

Please… yes! "I will activate the Ritual Spell Odd-Eyes Advent! I can tribute Pendulum Monsters I control or in my hand to summon a Dragon Ritual Monster from my hand or graveyard!" He raised his hand. "However, since my opponent controls two or more monsters while I control none, I can also send "Odd-Eyes" monsters from my Extra Deck to the graveyard as tribute! I will tribute the Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon in my Extra Deck!"

The ground shook, even as the altar depicted in the card appeared, with the spirit of Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon vanishing into it. Then, it exploded, the dust forming into a new dragon. The dragon had a rock-like body with granite coating orange scales.

"Come, dragon who possesses the power of nature! Ritual Summon—Level 7, Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon!" (7*/2800/2000/EARTH/Dragon/Ritual/Effect)

Shingo gulped. "H-hey. That dragon is rather terrifying."

"Yep, it is! And it's going to tear down your stage! I will activate Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon's effect! When I Special Summon it, I return all Spells and Traps you control to the hand—and you cannot activate effects in response to this! Say goodbye to your field spell!"

Shingo sighed as the card returned to his hand. "You're gonna crush me, aren't you?"

"Yep! Pendulum Summon! Return from the Extra Deck! The one, the only—Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" The dragons let out similar roars. "Yes, yes. Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Abyss Actor Wild Hope! Spiral Strike Burst! Reaction Force!"

Shingo Sawatari: 2000 - 900x2 = 200LP

"And now, Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon will attack Abyss Actor Superstar!"

"I will—"

"Nope. No card effects allowed. This is the finale! When Gravity Dragon is on the field, you have to pay 500 life points to use effects! Gravity Rest!"

"What?!"

Shingo Sawatari: 200 - 300 = 0LP

"Tada!" He gave his two dragons a high-five before they vanished, before offering Shingo a hand. The blonde took it as Yuya pulled him to his feet. "Thanks for the duel!"

"Yeah." Shingo grinned. "Thanks."

They began to disperse, heading back to the dorms and school. Yuya was about to follow Yuto, before he heard a voice.

"You… you are the one. Please help us."

He froze, turning to Yuto with an uncertain look. "Did you hear that?"

It was Yuri who answered. "We all did." He said, looking into the trees.

Yuya looked towards the direction the voice had come from as well. Then, he took off in a run, ignoring the shocked shouts of his brothers. The voice continued calling him, guiding him through the trees as he got closer and closer to it.

And then… a building, with broken windows and shadows cast all around it. He stepped closer to it.

"Yuya!" He heard Yuto call.

His sight remained on the door.

He wanted to know. Who was calling. Why they were calling.

He opened the door and stepped inside.

Inside something? Somewhere? It didn't feel like he was inside of the building he had seen, he was surrounded by murky darkness and—

"Yuya!"

His brothers' voices called on repeat. What was this place?

He heard footsteps, and a figure stepped in front of him. "You speak it. The demon's tongue." The figure hissed.

"Yes, I do." He said, although he felt disappointed. Somehow, the idea of having their own secret language had been something he enjoyed a lot, but to have someone else speak it…

The figure stepped forward again. "What is your name?"

"Yuya Sakaki."

"Do you seek power?"

He frowned. "No. I seek happiness."

The figure let out a loud laugh. "Happiness?" He asked, in normal words this time. "Truly, you are different from the ones who have come here all this time. Well then, those who wish not for power are often the best to wield it. Duel me, Yuya Sakaki."

"Hold on! I don't want to fight you!"

The figure gave a short snort. "You don't have a choice. Fight me. Or else, I will take their souls in exchange for your freedom."

The darkness cleared, showing him the image of Yuto, Yugo and Yuri tied onto stakes, raised from the ground. He bit his tongue.

"Are you more amenable to a duel now?"

"No. But I don't have a choice. Prepare yourself, spirit! Duel!"

Yuya Sakaki: 4000LP

Noelev En: 4000LP

Yuya frowned at the name. Noelev? What kind of name was that?

"I will begin. I will activate the Continuous Spell Replica of Sadness. Twice per turn, I can place a Sadness Counter on this card to Special Summon a monster from my deck. I will place two counters." The spirit paused. "I know not what your Master Duel is, but in this space we do not conduct them. So this will be a "Standard Duel", as it were. Now, come from my deck! Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio (4*/1200/800/DARK/Plant/Effect) and The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves!" (3*/1000/500/DARK/Warrior/Effect)

Yuya froze. Then, he clenched his fists. "You stole their cards? You bastard…"

"With Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio's effect, I will discard Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice (3*/300/1500/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect) to Special Summon Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra (3*/1000/1500/DARK/Plant/Effect) from the deck. Cobra will add Polymerization to my hand. Then, I will activate the effect of The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots (3*/200/1200/DARK/Warrior/Effect) and Special Summon it. I will Overlay my two Phantom Knights! Rank 3! The Phantom Knights of Break Sword! (R3/2000/1000/DARK/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) Then, I will play the spell card Polymerization! I will fuse the two Predaplants on my field! Fusion Summon! Predaplant Chimerafflesia!" (7*/2500/2000/DARK/Plant/Fusion/Effect) The spirit gave a sigh. "I end my turn."

"Unforgivable…"

He felt Odd-Eyes roar in his deck. Angry for his own brothers.

"How dare you steal their cards…" The rage built up. "I will crush you. Draw. With the Scale 3 Xiangke Magician (7*/S3/2500/500/DARK/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect) and the Scale 8 Xiangsheng Magician (4*/S8/500/1500/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect) I will set the Pendulum Scales! Swing, pendulum of despair and rage! Create an arc of light across the aether! Pendulum Summon! Come, Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon, (5*/S1/1200/2400/DARK/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect) Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon and Performapal U-Go Golem!" (4*/S1/1600/1000/DARK/Fiend/Pendulum/Effect)

He would completely destroy whoever this was. "I will now Normal Summon Performapal Skullcrobat Joker. With its effect, I will add another Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon to my hand! Now—I will Overlay my Level 7 Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Dragon of the far north, bring your winter wind to us—and unleash the relentless blizzard! Xyz Summon—Rank 7, Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon! (R7/2800/2000/WATER/Dragon/Xyz/Effect) Then, I will Overlay my two Level 4 monsters! Magician who presides over all hope! Descend! Xyz Summon—Rank 4, Hope Magician!" (R4/S8/2500/2000/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Xyz/Pendulum/Effect)

They're in danger because of you.

This is your fault.

They'll never trust you again.

"Argh…! I will have Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon activate its effect! I will negate the effect of Predaplant Chimerafflesia! So now, it can't change the attack points of itself and the other battling monster! Wreck it, Absolute! Blizzard Emptiness!"

Absolute ran forward, unleashing freezing gales of wind on the plant monster. The monster was destroyed.

"While my Continuous Spell is on the field, I take no damage from battles involving my monsters. And when a monster is destroyed, I place a Sadness Counter on the spell!"

"No… destroy The Phantom Knights of Break Sword, my Hope Magician! Moon Blast!" The spellcaster shot out a bright gold blast that decimated the knight.

"Another Counter. And Break Sword's effect will special summon back two "Phantom Knights" with the same Level from the graveyard as monsters one Level higher. Return, Ragged Gloves, Silent Boots!"

"I will end my turn."

"Impulsive, Yuya Sakaki. Tell me… how will you handle this? Draw! During the Standby Phase, Chimerafflesia will add Polymerization back to my hand! I will place two Sadness Counters on my Continuous Spell! Come, Speedroid Terrortop (3*/1200/600/WIND/Machine/Effect) and Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice! (1*/100/100/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect) I will activate Terrortop's effect! I will add Speedroid Taketomborg (3*/600/1200/WIND/Machine/Effect) to my hand! Now—I Overlay my two Level 4 monsters!"

He couldn't be…

"Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Now, descend! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" (R4/2500/2000/DARK/Dragon/Xyz/Effect)

He could only gape as Dark Rebellion descended opposite him. He—no, this was just cruel… he forced himself to respond because he knew what would happen next. "I will activate Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon's effect now! I negate Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's effect!" The dark dragon was caught in Persona's magic, letting out a roar but not striking out.

"And now, I shall tune the Level 1 Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice to the Level 3 Taketomborg and the Level 3 Terrortop! Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down your enemies at the speed of light! Synchro Summon! Appear now—Level 7, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" (7*/2500/2000/WIND/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)

Clear Wing and Dark Rebellion… he closed his eyes. He had to cripple Dark Rebellion before Clear Wing came out, or…

"Now, I will activate the Spell Seed Fertiliser! I Special Summon two Plant monsters from the graveyard, but they cannot attack and are destroyed at the end of the turn! I will Special Summon Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio and Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra! Now, I will activate Polymerization! Two beautiful flowers with an insect-alluring fragrance! Now become one, and from the hell beneath your petals, give birth to a new terror! Fusion Summon! Appear! Poisonous dragon with hungry fangs—Level 8! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!" (8*/2800/2000/DARK/Dragon/Fusion/Effect)

Was he supposed to hurt them? He didn't want to…

"Starving Venom Fusion Dragon's effect. It will gain the attack of Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon. It will also gain the effects of Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon on the field. Battle! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon will attack Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon! Toxic Spore!" (Starving Venom Fusion Dragon: 2800 + 2800 = 5600ATK)

Starving Venom swooped down towards him. He held his hand up. "I detach one Overlay Unit from Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon to activate its effect! Once per turn, I negate the attack and Special Summon an "Odd-Eyes" monster from the hand or graveyard! Come back, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon! Frigid Barrier!" Absolute let out a fearsome roar as Starving Venom was blown back.

"Hmm… Clear Wing Synchro Dragon will attack your Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon! Helldive Whirlwind Slasher!"

The monster was blown away, but since it was in Defence Position, Yuya did not take damage.

I know that I won't be this lucky though. Next is...

"Now, I will activate the effect that Starving Venom stole from Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon. I negate Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon's effects."

Oh. That spirit made a misplay.

If he had negated it before, Yuya would probably be losing now... right?

It was... a little reassuring to know that this being was somewhat human, if it could make mistakes like that.

"And then I will activate the Quickplay Spell Rebellion Fangs in my hand. A Dragon-type Xyz monster on my field has its attack points doubled until the end of the turn! Go, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! Attack Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon! Rebellious Lightning Disobey!" (Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon: 2500 x 2 = 5000ATK)

Dark Rebellion came towards him.

And it froze. It let out a mournful howl, even as sparks flew from its body. Clear Wing and Starving Venom joined in. Yuya saw tears form in the dark dragon's eyes.

He felt tears on his own cheeks. "I've made you play an ugly role here, Dark Rebellion, Clear Wing, Starving Venom. I'm so sorry." He held out his hand. "Hey, Dark Rebellion… it's alright. Strike me down. I won't fault you."

Dark Rebellion gave another howl before it struck out with its lightning. Yuya bit his lip so hard that it began bleeding. He hadn't ever been subjected to the true force of Dark Rebellion's lightning…

Yuya Sakaki: 4000 - 2200 = 1800LP

The pain hit all his nerves, bit at his body. He barely managed to force himself to not scream, and even that was the least of his concerns.

"This is the pain of a Shadow Game." The spirit said.

Shadow Game? What the hell was that?

God, the pain was so much greater—normal Solid Vision might cause slight injuries, but nothing like this.

He forced himself up. He held out his hand. "End your turn." He breathed out. "I've braved your attacks—it's your turn to take mine!"

"Very well. I end my turn."

"Draw!" He saw the card. He knew what he would have to do. It didn't make it any easier.

"Pendulum Summon! Return from the Extra Deck, Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon! And from my hand, Performapal Trump Witch (1*/S4/100/100/DARK/Spellcaster/Effect) I will have Trump Witch activate its effect! I tribute it to add Polymerisation to my hand! I will activate Polymerization! I will fuse Persona and Phantom! Dragon that rides the high gale along the heavens! Arrive here now! Fusion Summon—Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon!" (7*/2500/3000/WIND/Dragon/Fusion/Effect)

The monster arrived, its emerald scales gleaming. He smiled at it softly, as it gave him a reassuring growl. "I will activate Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon's effect! When Special Summoned, I can return one face-up Attack Position monster to the hand! I will return Starving Venom Fusion Dragon—and since it's an Extra Deck monster, it returns to the Extra Deck! Heavenly Gale of Return!" So Starving Venom's effect wouldn't trigger...

"Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's effect! Since a Level 5 or higher monster activated its effect, I destroy the monster and negate the effect! Dichroic Mirror!"

"No, I won't let that happen. The second effect of Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon activates! Once per turn, an effect is activated, I can shuffle a Pendulum Monster in my Extra Deck into my Deck to negate and destroy the card! I shuffle Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon into the Deck—Sanctuary Storm!"

Both Clear Wing and Starving Venom were taken off the field. One more counter was added to the spell due to Clear Wing's destruction.

"Battle! Hope Magician will battle Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! They will both be destroyed!"

Both monsters were destroyed and the eighth counter was added to Noelev's spell. Yuya frowned at it. He didn't know what the spell did, but it couldn't be anything good. But he couldn't destroy it right now.

"Odd-Eyes Vortex Dragon will attack now! Holy Tornado!" Vortex shot out a large gust of wind, and it struck Noelev, forcing him to the ground.

Noelev En: 4000 - 2500 = 1500LP

Noelev gave a loud chuckle. "As expected, you aimed straight to kill me, Yuya Sakaki. Good. As long as you have both that resolve and… focus, you will be able to destroy the power that wishes to use us. When I take battle damage, my spell is destroyed, and you take 500 damage for each counter on it. However, your life points will not go below one. Show me your resolve, Yuya Sakaki!"

Resolve, he said…

"The first bullet! Feel your own despair!"

"Yuya… I don't think your dad will be coming. Let's just pack up the cake, alright?"

"No! Dad will come! He will! I did all this just for him… he will come! Dad… please…"

Yuya Sakaki: 1800 - 500 = 1300LP

"The second bullet!"

Yuto flung Yugo into the wall. "Shut up!" He screamed. "Just shut up! I don't want to believe in that man anymore!" Both of them looked dishevelled, with tears on their faces.

Yuya Sakaki: 1300 - 500 = 800LP

"The third bullet!"

"Was it because I wasn't good enough?" He asked Yuri. His second oldest brother sighed.

"Hell if I know. Look, Yuya. I don't know how to comfort you." He sat down. "All I can say is that no matter what he thought, he is the one who wasn't good enough for us. For you."

He didn't believe it.

Yuya Sakaki: 800 - 500 = 300LP

"The fourth!"

Yugo was in the hospital, because he had gotten in a Turbo Duel with someone on the street who had stolen his wallet. The sign was beeping.

"We don't have much hope. Only a miracle can save your son now." The doctor told his mother.

Yuya buried his head in his hands.

Yuya Sakaki: 300 - 500 = 1LP (Cannot go lower)

"The fifth!"

"Listen there, kid." The man stepped towards him. "You're not cut out for the big leagues. You're so small. So fragile." He revealed his stained teeth. "I know how to make you break."

He screamed.

A fist slammed into the man's gut. Yuto stood there, even as the man choked and fell. Yugo was giving the man a disgusted look.

He ran and hugged them.

"The sixth!"

He walked down the stairs.

"Look. This won't work out." Yuri sighed. "We have to go. For all of our sakes, we have to go. Because we have to be with Yuya, and mum has to be able to live happily."

Yeah… he had been a horrible son for his mother.

"The seventh!"

Yuto, Yugo and Yuri were on the floor.

Yuto was carefully placing salt water on the wound on Yugo's face, even as the other had let out more stifled loud noises much like the one that had woken Yuya up. Yuri was bleeding too, but had clearly made Yuto work on Yugo first.

He could pretend he hadn't heard anything. Didn't know about what his brothers were doing in the night. Like he didn't wake up in the middle of the night to a silent bedroom nowadays.

He stepped into the room, and wordlessly grabbed a bottle of saline water from the shelf.

That wasn't his way.

He coughed as he forced his way through the vision. "That's not despair," he replied. "You have an odd definition of it. We lived. We fought through all of that. I still had Yuto, Yugo and Yuri. With them, I have no despair."

"Oh? The eighth bullet."

"I guess the children of Yusho Sakaki are pathetic runaways too. Maybe I'll track the other three down later and cut them open."

How dare he… how dare he…

Yuya blacked out.

He woke up in the middle of a bloody arena, even as Odd-Eyes was landing back next to him, still screaming for him to stop.

The man had died.

He finally screamed. Screamed, because that moment had lost him so much. Had lost them so much, all because of him…

"Is that all your will amounts to?"

"Come on, Yuya. You know you're strong."

"You will protect them, won't you?"

The spirits of Starving Venom, Clear Wing and Dark Rebellion appeared in front of him. They didn't say anything else. He already heard their message, loud and clear.

Yuya stood up. "I end my turn." He said hoarsely. "It's your move."

A/N: So… This chapter was going to be way, way longer than normal. Like, 12000 words long. I may have been a little zealous in finishing this particular introduction mini-arc. Anyway, I decided to cut it here. So the next chapter will resume the duel!

(Also, cutting it gives me time to proofread the next bit and make sure I didn't get anything wrong :))

Chapter Preview: Chapter 7–Empty Eyes

Yuya continues duelling Noelev, who on his turn brings out four fearsome monsters. Yuya must figure out a way to win against them, or he and his brothers' souls shall all be forfeit…

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

-Blaise

Edit: (8/7/19) Some minor edits to the duel to correct a few stats that I typed in wrong. Also, centralising of life points.

Edit: (17/10/20) Major duel edits to address the fact that I had no clue what I was doing when I first wrote this duel, apparently. Duel format also changed to the newer one. Hope you all enjoy! If I can finish edits up to the newer chapters, I'll probably finish off Chapter 13 and post that soon :)