LDS Tower, Miami City, 3rd P.O.V.

A light from her deck grew brighter and brighter until a blinding light enveloped all in the alleyway there in the alleyway. It slowly started to change in both appearance and color until only a muted rainbow mist remained in its place. Shapeshifting, it reformed into a large creature that let out a harsh roar. The roar went and shattered all glass in the proximity as the power went out shortly afterward. Then it split and scattered, into the darkness of the night. The destruction left in its wake: alarms ranging from cars, smaller light sources lighting up, murmurings of residence worried and buzzing about. All the while Lowell and the Duelist were gone.

"Sir, you've been fascinated with this footage ever since this came in," A woman commented as a man in a chair continued watching the video, "Are you this girl is worth our time? She could be a danger to this… the event that transpired."

"I have to agree; that amount of energy needed to produce such an effect outside of Solid Vision goes beyond all others beforehand." Another continued onward as the video showed the mist-like entity zooming around before camera shutting off. "This is far beyond just any regular creature; she's harboring a monster. If anything, Lowell Ember is a threat and should be eliminated."

The man waved them off before they could continue. "We already have the data and information that we could already have upon this duelist. Still, she intrigues me evermore with her unusual Synchro Summoning rates and now this… Have you gotten any new information regarding Lowell Ember or her activities?"

"Well while there has not been any additional information that hasn't been pulled up about her, we have noticed that she tends to be around these following duelists." A screen appeared showing the faces of Sora, Yuzu, Niles, and Yuya.

"I see… I want everyone to still keep tabs on her every move and be ready if an event like that transpires again. Continue on as normal…" He leaned back into his seat before switching to one screen, showing both Sabrine, Niles, and Lowell. "In the meantime, I want everyone to maintain surveillance and report any new developments regarding these three. If any more duelists like them suddenly come under the radar, alert me at once."

"Yes, sir."

The two employees left the room, but the man in the chair waited until they gone before sighing.

"Must you always be so sly?" Reiji inquired as Kazama strolled with his arms folded.

"What can I say Akaba? I really just don't like being around your goons - yet alone interact with them," He raised both his hands before lowering them. "So… I'm guessing you were hoping for some more juicy details regarding what went down yesterday? Hard not to notice all the news being reported on."

"I couldn't just have swept that just under the rug. Not after what that Duel Monster could do without being directly summoned by her." He then looked directly at Kazama, "...You did say that it manifested because a threat to her life was made?"

"Something like that; a monster manifesting and causing physical damage is rare but possible under extreme circumstances. Worst yet is the fact it didn't originate from a Duel Disk like those other mysterious duelists. Duel Monster spirits like that only manifest when something dire occurs to their master. Whether that be a threat to her life, an emotional breakdown far beyond her control or something akin to that… they will take a chance to do that." Kazama pointed to screen showing some of the damage from a new report. "Only thing that matters is their master's safety; anything else is null to their actions. An instinct many follow and that is what I wish to see from her."

"You wish for her to summon that monster inside Solid Vision? While dueling yourself?"

"Listen Akaba, as much as I'd love to see you go out and find this girl and duel her yourself, it would be much more beneficial if I'd be the one dueling." Kazama glared at the screen. "If she really ends up being what I think she is… it would be far too much of a risk for an excelling duelist like yourself to face her."

"...So you actually believe she's like you." Reiji saw Kazama get up and remove a Spell Card from his deck.

"I have to duel her myself in order to discover what's lying beneath the surface. Judging by her monster, I've got a good feeling on where she'll fall upon the spectrum." Kazama smirked, eyeing the Spell faintly glowing.

You Show Duel School, Miami City, 1st P.O.V.

"...Damn it, I lost again?" I groaned, lying on the ground as the Action Field faded away.

"I'll say this much. You survived a bit longer than last time." Niles chuckled as he walked over to me, extending a hand. "Much better at not spacing off into your little mind of yours."

"Not like the Action Field was helping!" I took his offer and got to my feet, fixing my hair. "You didn't tell me it was going to be in the sky! I hate heights!"

"Then you better get over that soon. Otherwise, you'll be having a really hard time when it comes to being an Entertainment Duelist."

"Don't remind me."

"Hey, guys! Did I miss an Action Duel between you two?" I was a bit startled to see the Pendulum Duelist suddenly burst onto the scene.

"Oh, hi Yuya!" I waved with a smile.

"Lowell lost again. But she held up a pretty good fight this time." Niles snickered before I jabbed his shoulder. "Ow! What was that for!?"

"Don't go bragging around winning against me. I'm still learning Action Duels." I frowned before looking over to Yuya. "What brings you here?"

"Yuzu and Sora are out practicing Fusion Summoning again and I wanted to see you guys. Everyone's getting serious when it comes to the Miami Championships." His honesty really touched my heart.

"The Miami Championships? Oh right! Kind of forgot those were going to be happening soon."

"I do feel a bit bummed out that you're not going to participate. Would have loved to see you in the Youth Division along with Niles."

"She doesn't have to participate if she doesn't want too. Respect Lowell's choice Yuya." Niles then pulled out his phone after getting a message. "Hey, mind if we take a quick break? Need to take a call."

"Sure thing Niles! I think Yuya and I can pass the time somehow." He nodded and seemingly rushed out the door.

I took a moment to myself. Had to do something to past time, so the news was up for grabs. Headlines coming up went from: "LDS Testing an Advancement of Solid Vision" to "Invaders from the Future?! What LDS is hiding!" So many clickbait ones to just downright boring yet insightful articles. Written by journalists paying their bills and scraping by. I was so fortunate to arrive with funds in a bank account. Still, it was weird seeing articles so focused around a children's card game. Yet alone Solid Vision and that mess. This technology should be used for other things… and it was in a sense: The Fusion Dimension.

Still, with what limited knowledge I've gathered - from the episodes and summaries I read about before all this happened - Fusion was somehow incorporating this Solid Vision for military reasons. Causing real-life damage to Heartland, kidnapping a girl who is supposed to appear similar to Yuzu, and just the how Battle Royale segment to come… what was I supposed to do? There was barely enough information to go on. How could I properly even get an idea of what to do without knowing how this series even ends!? Not to mention the other shit I've got to deal with - like those strange duelists from last night.

I couldn't bring myself to bring either of them up. My gut said it would be bad; plus I was still wrapping my head over the concept that one of those characters was making an appearance here. So, I've been trying to do other things other than linger on those thoughts. Like, hang out with Yuya and Niles. Both of them needed sparring partners - in a sense - in between matches that wouldn't count toward their record. That was where I came in. Apparently, there was a way to get around it being recorded in a record called: 'Friend Records.'

Really weird to registered our Duel Disks to each other, but it gave them a chance to have them warm up their skills before matches or just to ease off tension. It also benefited me to do so as well. Helped to sharpened my rustic skills to be more in tune with my cards. Ruffle up my old instincts as a Duelist to better heights. The Duel Record for me wasn't too good at all; I'd lost every time to either Niles or Yuya. Did help me find some interesting combos to pull off like with last night.

"So Yuya, how are your matches coming along?" I decided to pass the time with some questions now."Did our little friendly matches help out!"

"They sure did! You're even improving yourself."

I couldn't help but laugh at the enthusiastic response. "Well, guess it wouldn't hurt to go for another round, right? I think Niles might take long enough for us to spice things up."

LDS, Miami City, 3rd P.O.V.

"Well, that was a blast! Thank you so much for assisting me earlier." A female hissed out, picking up a Polymerization card from the ground. "Would you like to come over my place sometime? I'm trying to learn Fusion Summoning and you seem pretty good."

She was an LDS Student talking to another. Clearly standing out from her peers. Raven-like hair flowed down to her knees as light green fringes were present as well, leaving her orange eyes in view. The uniform she wore was strangely alike to what Shingo wore and that was in a bad way. A light blue shirt, red necktie under a gold and red lined jacket. Short red skirt, black stockings leading into white Mary Jane's.

"Great! Then you stop over by my place after school tomorrow! I'll be sure to hook you up with some cards to make your Fusions even more likable!" She waves as she watched the student walk away.

Exiting the classroom, she gleeful chatted with some other students. They were in the hallway now. Bustling students walking back and forth; it was quite a busy time of day for anyone attending LDS. The noise continued to fill the halls as she traveled along, exchanging numbers and confirming meetups for the upcoming days. She almost appeared like an average student. At least to most people. But that didn't slide for one in the crowd. A stop in the hallway gave him the chance he needed. To assess the situation.

"Excuse me, are you Sabrine Bakuno?" He walked over to the group, speaking mainly to the ebony-haired female.

"Kazama! Hello there! What brings over here?" One of the females asked before Sabrine could speak up.

"I just need to speak with Sabrine for a bit. Do you mind if I borrow some time?" He knew he had to be delicate around the obvious students. "She's not in trouble. I was just hoping to post an article about our recent transfers and how they are doing."

"An article? Sabrine, you should totally do it!" Another girl spoke up.

"Yeah! Maybe you'll get featured with the guy from Broadway. I've heard his XYZ Summoning is like watching a musical unfold." The first girl giggled.

"I - I guess it can't hurt to try it." Sabrine nodded with a bright smiled. "I'll catch up with you guys before class, okay?"

Sabrine waved goodbye and followed behind Kazama. They were slightly fighting against the flood of students. Soon enough Kazama opened up a room for them. It was an empty classroom that had been converted into a room for the school's journalism department. She walked in and looked around, a bit taken away by how advanced the machines were. Kazama stood back and closed the door, silently locking it behind him.

"If you were planning to blend in, I would have thought there would be more of an effort to blend in." Kazama approached the female student. "Especially when you are clearly lying to my face."

"Whatever do you possibly mean? I just recently transversed here!" The female seemed clearly nervous, being put on the spot like this.

"Playing dumb? How about... I show you why that doesn't work with me."

Kazama slammed a fist right into the wall. Purposely missing her head. While he wasn't aiming to directly harm her, he did feel a sharp edge barely grazing his throat.

"The hell!? Why did you do that for?!" She deactivated her Duel Disk, watching him take a few steps back and look at the little blood the injury gave him.

"Easy. If you retaliate akin to that, I know you're not from this Dimension. Besides, I purposely missed." He rubbed his fingers together before feeling at the healing wound. "So I'll ask you this again. Who are you really, Sabrine?"

"...Fine. Such a killjoy, aren't you? You're right. I'm Sabrine Bakuno from Dimension Zero. Intelligence division sent to not only locate you but to gain some intel from this Standard Dimension. Personally sent to gain a report of progress on development and locating harvestable sources." She curtsied down. "I have been looking for you for quite a while, Kazama."

"Have you? I thought they'd send you to directly speak with me."

"I couldn't just do that. Would have raised too much suspicion. Needed to blend in and all that jazz. Though, I guess that is why you sought after me; couldn't wait just a little longer?" She walked over to him, just before stopping.

"Just sit down. I do have business to speak with you about in regards to some recent activity."

Both took a seat at the table, Kazama pulling out a file and sliding it over. Sabrine picked it up, opening it revealed some documents.

"Whatever are these? You got yourself some very confidential documents here Kazama. Didn't bother to send them back to HQ?" She flipped through some of them. "My - there are even data for Pendulum Summoning in here."

"Could not risk it. Since I'm one of the few Reiji Akaba-!" Kazama began to reply.

"Reiji Akaba? Don't you mean Declan Akaba?"

"A few things to note in this Standard Dimension; everyone goes by their Japanese names. So if you don't want to be caught, use their Japanese names. Back to what I was saying: I could not just outright send these back without Reiji knowing I was the one who ratted him out. Took me a lot of work to even get him to even acknowledge me." He slammed his hand on the table. "I cannot afford to betray him if we are to obtain the Pendulum data. He hasn't perfected replicating a Pendulum Summon, but he is getting close."

"And once he does, these will be sent back home. I see; saves all of us back home from doing most of the hard work. Thought this out pretty far. No wonder why they sent you out here first." Sabrine stopped, seeing a name and photo on a document. "Wait… who is 'Lowell Ember?' Sounds like the fakest name I've seen heard before."

"That girl… is an anomaly. She just appeared recently and is registered to be attending You Show Duel School. I have my suspicions but I have yet to confirm them. No former records until they magically appeared only when needed. No prior history with family or friends that can be contacted easily. An un-standard deck that has a spike when it comes to Synchro Summoning. Sounds familiar to our situation, does it not?"

"Wait. Are you suspecting that she is one of us, right?" Sabrine placed the file down on the table and slammed her hand down on it. "I've never seen her once back home; she couldn't possibly be one of us."

"That is why I want to test her myself. I can easily draw out whether she is or is not one of us. But either way, I am keeping tabs on her activity either way. Something about her is unnatural. And that unpredictable factor can either make or break the mission."

"Sounds like you have your hands full. If you need some assistance, don't be afraid to ask me. I'll do what I can to get the mission completed. But this Lowell Ember… I'd like the chance to duel herself myself."

"Then wait until after my Duel with her. I don't want you going all out against a regular person if it turns out to be a fake. Oh! That reminds me; you remember the rules of this Dimension, right?"

"Of course! I can't just flex my methods around while being a spy. I'll keep my head out of the trouble; just keep me up to date so I can send a report back to HQ soon. They'll be wanting a report soon enough. Since Yuya has already awakened his Pendulum Summoning."

"Consider it… done."

You Show Duel School, Miami City, 1st P.O.V

"And so, I'd use Valliant Alicorn's effect to bounce back the monster. Therefore I can control the monsters my opponent can currently summon. Though only if they are Special Summoned; regular Tribute monsters can easily bypass Valliant's effect." I explained.

"As long as none of those monsters are immune to that bouncing effect," Niles added on.

"Yes, Niles. That much is obvious."

"But yet you still lack to use it to punish Yuya whenever he Pendulum's Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. Or my XYZ Monsters."

"Firstly, I don't just pop the ability every Duel; otherwise it would be too easy to bait something like that out. Secondly, by allowing Yuya to Pendulum Summon I get some experience with the new Pendulum mechanic. And thirdly, it works for monster Level 5 or higher. That includes Ranks as well; you usually just drop a Rank 4 and I can't bounce it back."

"So your monster does have a restriction."

"Of course she does! Otherwise, Valliant Alicorn would be a bust card that would be banned."

"Um, am I interrupting at a bad time?" Yuya broke up our small conflict, entering the room unannounced.

"Oh, Yuya! No, not at all. We were just having some friendly chatter. Decided to break from dueling today." Niles looked up from his seat. "What brings you knocking back over here?"

"Nothing really. Just wanted to see what you two were up too." I sighed; Yuya was a pretty good kid, all things considered with what I knew of the guy.

"Though Lowell, I know you like using Synchros but you need to add in a couple of Spells and just run a Deck almost composed of Monsters and Traps." I pouted as Niles pointed that flaw in my Deck out.

"It's not too bad."

Both males gave me a look. Only then did I concede; at least Yuya's Pendulum monsters kind of helped balance the Deck a bit more. "Fine. Maybe I run too many Traps. Guess that gives me something to do today. Either of you wants to join me?"

"Since I don't run many Continuous Traps, I should switch out my third Magical Planter with something else…" I looked through all the packs and selected a few of the Spell cards. "Which one of these sounds better to add: Forbidden Chalice to negate the effect of a monster while boosting the attack a bit or add a third De-Synchro?"

"I'd say go with the Forbidden Chalice. Two De-Synchro Spells should be enough in the Deck." Yuya replied as I grabbed the Quick-Play Spell.

"Yeah, I guess it would be better than having a starting hand with three De-Synchros." I shrugged before looking at the small stack of Spells. "Think this is enough?"

"Maybe try an add a bit more. Maybe a Synchro Cracker or Night Beam. Or just throw in this Equip Spell." Niles tossed the card my way and I took a look at it.

"Lucky Iron Axe? Eh, might as well. Not like it will become a permanent addition." I added it to the stack and looked through the small stack. "This looks good enough."

"Now you're Deck is finally not just 50 percent Monster and 50 percent Trap. Now it's like 50 percent Monster, 30 percent Trap, and 20 percent Spell. More balanced than before."

"I really didn't think there was such a problem with her Deck." Yuya honestly spoke as I shuffled my new Deck. "I kind of like Lowell's Deck as it is."

"It kind of sucks when you're stuck with a hand full of Traps that can't save you when an Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon is about to blast you from the sky." I joked a bit, though I pushed that memory aside.

"Excuse me… but do I see Ariel, Priestess of the Nekroz?" A new voice entered the fray.

She startled me, my eyes glancing up to a female student looking down at the monster card lying on the ground. This was somebody almost my age. Possibly younger than me whose appearance stood out from others. A uniform akin to Shingo's; LDS uniform. That wasn't the only thing I noticed about her. The orange eyes and green fringes stood out against the black waves.

My eyes drifted down to the card on the pile. "Yeah, that's Ariel."

"Wow! I haven't seen that card in ages. I remember when Nekroz used to rule the scene. Ah, the days of Rituals were wonderful." This girl reminisced, hand pulling back from snatching the card. "How I wish Rituals would return."

"You used to play Rituals?"

"Well of course! Rituals are still a major part of my dueling style. Even if the Extra Deck has become quite a popular attraction. And it seems like Pendulums do little but only excel the usage of the Extra Deck." She scowled, most likely toward Yuya yet looking down at the cards. "But where are my manners? I haven't even introduced myself to you three. My name is Sabrine Bakuno."

"Sabrine Bakuno…?" I pondered the name, but not for long. "Well, my name is Lowell Ember. A pleasure to meet you."

"No. It is all mine. And what of your other two friends? I know the one known as Yuya but I don't know the other in your company."

"Sabrine, can you not just pry into others affairs?" A new male voice appeared, from a teenager approaching us; guess they were classmates or something?

"I was just coming over to socialize a bit Kazama. Don't have to be such a prick about it." Sabrine folded her arms.

Okay, this was getting a bit awkward.

"You two are from LDS, are you not?" Niles was suddenly standing up, facing both newcomers rather intimidatingly.

Speaking of cutting to the chase, it seems like Niles was finally speaking up. Gave me a chance to put away my cards while he took control of the conversation.

"Oh? How could you tell?" Sabrine tilted her head.

"I'm not blind; those uniforms give it away quite proudly. As do the pins."

"Guess they do. So what if we are with LDS?" The other male - Kazama I supposed - inquired.

"Well, for our recent track record. LDS has quite a bad reputation. Especially when it comes to Yuya over here."

"Can Niles just chill out sometimes?" I whispered to Yuya as we just watched the banter go back and forth.

"I've found it a lot easier if Niles just wears himself out," Yuya responded quietly back. "Or just let him go on for a bit before interrupting him."

I raised a brow at Yuya's answer. "So he's that kind of guy. Good to know."

"Yeah, I had to learn the hard way. But it makes things easier in the long run."

"...And that's why I came over. Kazama was being too shy to even ask Lowell for a Duel!"

If my ears could perk up, they'd do so right now with whatever Sabrine just stated. She wasn't… kidding right?

"A Duel… with me?" I couldn't help but be perplexed by this request.

"It's not like this is going to be recorded for the Miami Championships; you said yourself you weren't interested in participating." Sabrine stepped around with a grin. "So there would be no harm into entertaining the thought, should it?"

"Okay. I'll do it. We can duel." I made my choice and everyone seemed excited despite not even finishing my thoughts. "Under one condition."

"One condition?" Everyone peered over to me.

Revision: 11/16/18

This chapter now officially introduces Sabrine into the story. A bit more organic and befitting of her character to introduce herself here. This meant writing a brand new scene! I threw Kazama in because of reasons.

The second major change is with the ending; Duel still happening the next chapter but for different reasons. This is also a jab at me, realizing just how many Traps are used by Lowell. Gives for a fun scene and easy transition. That should be all.

And thus after my vacation, I'm back swinging with this chapter piece. I've laid out most of the pieces I need before we head into the Miami Championships, so I thought this chapter could set up a bit of exposition and foreshadowing for what's to come. Though that didn't mean there'd be no Duel coming up! Been planning to original have Kazama versus Lowell with Sabrine and Niles watching from the sidelines. Though I decided to change to give Sabrine a bit more time in the spotlight. Originally meant to be featured in this chapter, I noticed how long this was going to be and I've pushed it to the next chapter. Hopefully, this is a decent cliffhanger.

A quick thanks to AshuriIncarnate, HeroineXAlter, and FantasyQuester1996 for the follow. Also, I'm extremely surprised to find this has over 1K views already! Thank you all so much! Now onto the review left behind from the last chapter:

Diabolic Tracer - Yeah, Bestia Gatekeeping Witch is a bit busted. Her summoning conditions are there to make it not so easy for Lowell to simple pull this out whenever she pleases. The other two points, I'll briefly say that at the time Lowell doesn't exactly have a perfect counter or idea on how to counter them and Reiji's plan is pretty clear in this chapter.

That should be it for now; until next time I'll see you later!