Central Park, Miami City, 1st P.O.V.
"L-Lowell?! What are you doing here?!" Yuya asked as I looked at my hand.
"Sorry Yuya, but there is no way I can allow either of you to go on like this!" As I expected, Yuya hasn't seen Sora's outburst just yet; guess I have to push it even further, "Prepare yourselves! I won't be holding back!"
Sora: 1300
Yuya: 4000
Vs
Yuto: 3000
Vs
Lowell: 4000
"First, I Normal Summon Bestia Sprite from my hand. It won't be here for long since I'll be tuning my Level 1 Bestia Sprite with my Level 6 Bestia Galapagos Tortoise to bring out an old friend. Shine forth from the heavens your star-gazing main! Bring forth the Light for which we all seek! Synchro Summon! Reveal your true form! Level 7, Besita Valliant Alicorn!" The signature winged-beast descended onto the field.
Bestia Valliant Alicorn: Level 7 LIGHT Winged-Beast/Synchro/Effect ATK: 2400 DEF: 2700
"Next, I activate Bestia Sprite. By sending a Spell card from my hand, I can Special Summon it back onto the field!" The little humanoid with wings flew back out and appeared in defense mode. "And Bestia Sprite's special ability comes into play! By being summoned with her own effect, her monster effect then becomes that spell's effect."
"Say what?!" They seemed confused and I knew exactly how to act next.
"To activate it, I will tribute Bestia Sprite to use that effect! Now! Enchanting Replication!" My monster vanished as the white aura surrounded my monster. "With this, Sprite replicates the effect of the Spell Judgemental Light. If I control 'Bestia Valliant Alicorn' - all other monsters on the field are destroyed. Take this!"
LDS, Miami City, 3rd P.O.V.
The monster raised its head as the light pulsated from the horn. In an instant, the alicorn swirled its head as a magical twister emerged. On screen, they watched as the other monsters were swept away.
"Now, while I can't conduct my Battle Phase I can do this." She grabbed the last two cards in her hand and placed them on her duel disk. "I set two cards and end my turn."
"So she has a strategy against Pendulum Summoning?" Shun 's question was aimed for Kazama, one the other student took notice of. "Who's she?"
"She's Lowell Ember, a duelist from the You Show Duel School. Not a participant of the Miami Championships but a pretty decent duelist regardless." Kazama watched the screen as Bestia Valliant Alicorn and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon were fighting.
"...I reveal my facedown: Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" Lowell's monster dodged the dragon's attack. "This negates your attack and I can set this card to be used for another turn. "...Not everything can be won through smiles Yuya! I know this for a fact and if I have to beat you to prove it, then so be it! I'll be the one to open your eyes from the fantasy you're trapped in!"
Kazama observed as Yuya used his Pendulum Effect. A reaction that caused Lowell to smirk and reveal her other facedown card: Magical Cylinder. The redirection took the Pendulum User by surprise. Kazama glanced over to Shun, whom he knew might be seeing Lowell as somebody else like he was. There was nothing to go off as they watched Yuya having to end his turn and that's when Sora snapped. Strangely, the facial expression and gesture she had weren't one he should have expected. He deduced she only did this to push her fellow duelist into realizing the truth and had no ill will towards the Pendulum Duelist. Just as she was about to end her turn, the screen began to flicker out as Sora began yelling.
Now, all he had to do was wait and watch. Deeply hoping nothing too dangerous would befall this fateful encounter.
Central Park, Miami City, 1st P.O.V.
Sora finally vanished and I let out a huge sigh, going and sitting in the audience area. Duel over; we all survived. My hands were still shaking but I managed to hold off from going any further than I did. I know Yuto and Yuya would have a ton of questions, so I decided to be the logical one and not have them screaming from one end to the other.
"I don't know about you two, but how about we talk in the audience area about what just happened?" I asked both of them calmly.
"And why should we do that?" Yuya looked at me.
"Because of as much as I'd love to get into detail about it's not logical to have a normal conversation with someone when you're from the stage to the back of the park and it somehow is like talking when you're in close distance." I had an unamused look on my face, "So, how about you both sit down and talk it out? The last thing I want is to be the adult here and take both your decks."
I guess my logic had worked out. Silence followed before both of them agreed to my conditions. I did have them sitting too close to one another, but I was between them in the seats. This was a secret success in my head: good, now they aren't going to have that weird exchange.
"Okay first of all, what just happened to Sora?" That was the first thing Yuya asked his XYZ Counterpart.
"He went back to the Fusion Dimension," Yuto replied calmly.
"Went back?!" Well, more like forcefully brought back, but I don't need to tell him that.
Yuto nodded. "Yes. He was originally a person from that world."
"That world…?" Yuya's eyes narrowed.
"Yuya, before you ask how that is possible, think about it. Have you heard of any school called Academia or anything of that sort from this world?" I chimed in and Yuya didn't have a response, so I continued, "Then there you go. Sora is from a different world and so are Shun and Yuto."
"You got to be kidding me. There's no way I can believe that!" Yuya was still in denial and I shook my head.
"I swear, explaining a topic such as this is a pain in my butt," I grumbled before I cleared my throat after Yuto answered Yuya's question.
"Okay, just to make this quick, here's the rundown. Basically, there are four main worlds/dimensions/whatever people call them in play here. We have Fusion, which houses the Academia Duel Soldiers who are the main faction of enemies like Sora. Next, comes Synchro with whatever shit is going down over there. Then we have XYZ, where Yuto here comes from along with Shun, however, for whatever reason, Academia decided to somehow launch a full-size invasion to destroy most of their home. Lastly, we have Standard, where you are currently residing in. As you'd expect, each Dimension usually uses a singular form of Summoning. Sora's world uses Fusion, Synchro is well… they use Synchro and XYZ uses… you get the idea. Anyway, back to why Fusion and XYZ have a strong hatred-!"
"Wait, just how to do you-?" Oh no, I'm not getting derailed here.
"Don't cut me off Yuto; I'll explain after I get through this okay? Back to what I was saying, Academia decided one day that they'd go invade XYZ for whatever reason they had decided to turn that into a war zone using Duel Monsters. People turned into cards and XYZ didn't have any defense force to protect themselves since they only did it for fun - like how this game is supposed to be." I looked at both of them before continuing, "I don't why they decided to invade worlds through Dueling. Honestly, if they did it using military then things would be different but we have them using a card game. Back to the topic on hand about earlier Yuya, you need to open your eyes and not be stuck in your fantasy world. I know I'm being harsh but things are going on unseen by you every single day. That's why I dueled against you; I was hoping… it would open your eyes. It's the undeniable truth; nothing can change that."
I stopped there, putting both of my hands together. "Now, if you both would like to ask your question now, I'd really appreciate it."
"How did… How long did you know this?" Yuto asked first.
"I've known for quite a while, but it took me some time to recall," I replied to him, "If you want it exactly… probably once I saw Shun and Sora's duel."
"But… you're not from the Fusion Dimension right?" Yuya paused before his eyes widen, "Wait for a second, you said 'where you are currently residing in...' Does that mean you're from a different dimension as well Lowell?"
Um…. crap. How do I explain my situation? I can't just tell them "I'm from Earth. It's a world that is mostly the same, except that Duel Monsters is a children's card game that has no real stacks of a real place in normal society." That would be the death of me. And them finding out they are fictional characters. So, I need to phrase this very carefully.
"Listen, for the time being, I'm not going to confirm where I came from exactly. What I will confirm is that I'm not from Standard." This was the best thing I could do right now.
"And you can't tell us because…?" Yuto glared at me.
"If I disclose where I'm from, I'm afraid you'll be in more danger." That was a lie, but I didn't want to burden them any more than what's going on right now. "So once the Miami Championships are over, I'll tell you both. But, you have to trust me."
"Is it really that dangerous?" I knew Yuya had an honest concern.
I let out a huge breath. "If it wasn't, I'd love to tell you guys. Knowing what I do… it would rip the smiles and joy out of dueling. Even more than what Academia might be doing."
"I don't get anything about this dimension nonsense. But I know this!" Yuya cut in, a strong belief filling him and I could tell by his eyes, "Dueling is not a tool for conflicts! And even less for invading… The Dueling I believe in… is entertainment to make people happy and put a smile on their faces!"
Both of us stayed silent, letting Yuya go on.
"Even now, I remember it clearly." Yuya places a hand over his Pendulum, "My father united everyone with Dueling! That power was in the Action Dueling that my dad created and polished! The power to grab people's attention and bring a smile to their face. I even felt like I was just getting a bit closer to that… To think that Dueling is being used as a tool to hurt people…! I can't forgive it!"
A bright light appeared from nowhere, shocking all of us as all other power around us was cut, turning everything around us into nearly complete darkness. The only light source we have was the big ball of light coming from nowhere.
"Huh? Why did the power cut out?" I asked, standing up and we all shielded ourselves from the light, backing away somewhat.
"What is that?" Yuya asked.
The light suddenly took over the whole area and lasted for a while, until it finally died down. Once it did, all three of us looked towards the source of smoke that took place of the light. Squint my eyes, I tried to focus on who it was until I gasped, covering my mouth.
"Ow… Dammit, what's this thing doing here?!" I knew that voice from anyway even though it was speaking English to my ears and he removed his helmet, "Jeez…"
Now here was the moment where Tomato Head, Eggplant Head and Banana Head would have their moment… Oh come on I had to reference that at least once! But seeing him here, I knew what would proceed but what could I do? This is meant to happen anyway…
Seeing Yugo, Yuto, and Yuya in one place like on the show was both thrilling and chilling at the same time. As much as I would love to fangirl about this moment for seeing the three in this place, I still knew that after this point everything was blind from my point of view. Still, I wonder how exactly people think these boys share the same face: sure I've pretty much confirmed they're colorblind but seriously their eyes are different!
"I really don't understand why you think they have the same face as you," I sighed and motioned to Yuya, deciding to have this spoken under my breathe "You three share similar faces, not the same face. This is even worse than with Bruno and Antinomy."
"Pawn of Fusion?!" That brought me back into reality at what Yuto called Yugo.
"What kind of name is that?" I grumbled under my breath.
"Lowell, do you know what's going on here?" Yuya needed clarification and I guess that meant me.
"Well… do you really want to know?" I was hesitant to tell him, but if we could stop Yuto from dying together… it could work, right?
"I won't lose to a Pawn of Fusion!" Yuto didn't get the niceness of that compliment at all.
"I keep telling you my name is Yugo!" Is this going to be a running joke with him? I guess it's not as bad as what puns could be made in English… oh, how I love being the Japanese version!
"Quit it with Fusion this, Fusion that!" He was angered by the name, "Now I'm pissed off!"
"At least call him by his actual name during the duel," I grumbled under my breath.
"First you take away what I held precious and then you keep getting my name wrong!"
"You're the ones who took things from us!" Yuto barked back.
Really? Had you to blame and use the term things? Couldn't you use other words besides things…? Crap, my critique in writing it trying to come out.
"Shut up! We can talk after I beat in your face!" Yugo must have snapped now.
"...Yugo's going to kill Yuto." I decided to tell Yuya once the two started dueling.
"What?!" I loudly groaned at Yuya's outburst cutting me off.
"Not directly or intentionally mind you. During the battle, there is some debris flying around and one nearly kills you, but Yuto saves you at the last moment and somehow kills him." I explained as they continued to duel. "Other stuff happens but yeah, that's about it."
"Then, we have to stop them!" Attention returned to the duel at hand.
"How do we suppose we do that?" I raised an eyebrow before motioning towards the fact Yugo had a D-Wheel. "I rather not die getting run over."
"That doesn't matter! What matters to me is that neither Yuto nor this Yugo dies. Can't we do anything?" Just then, I noticed that it was coming close to the dragons appearing.
"Yuya, I don't have any way to end the Duel. You don't have any way to end the Duel. Even if we both joined as a joint party as a 'Battle Royale' mode, I don't think we could stop them." I bit my lip; this was a huge problem.
Both dragons stared at each other and let out a roar as if acknowledging their presence. Being put off by their presence, my attention when to Yuya sudden got pain.
"Yuya!" I helped him stand as he was holding a hand to his chest, over his heart, "Are you okay?"
"...What is this feeling!?" Yuya seemed to be experiencing some sort of pain, one that I wasn't too sure about, "My chest is burning even more than before!"
"Yuya?" His safety was my utmost concern at the moment before I looked over and noticed that Yuto's eyes changed.
"Yuto!" My eyes went to Yugo, whose eyes have changed as well.
"Very well, let's end this," Something about Yuto's voice changed and not for the better, "With my Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon… I will destroy you… and everything!"
This was not good! I had to do something; if Yuya wanted this as much as I did, there had to be some way. But what could I do? My deck relies on Synchro monsters in order to win victory. I had no OTK options in any of my Synchros. No Ritual monsters to appear. No Fusion monsters - didn't have a Fusion Spell or anything that would need Contact Fusion. Sure as hell I lack any Pendulums. Shit! Was I really going to see Yuto die before my own eyes!? And I couldn't do anything to stop it?
My body began to shake with fear. I had no answers. No way to win-! Eyes snapping open, I heard the cry of Yuto's Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon as it clashed with Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. What could I do? Shutting my eyes I feared the worst.
Central Park, Miami City, 3rd P.O.V.
Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon halted their battle. Another challenger's cry cut off all the lights in the area. Even the nighttime sky went completely void of light. Only sources of light that remained were from the Duel Disks and the two dragons. The challenge let outs its roar again before both dragons looked up into the sky. Slowly four rainbow irises opened before the dragon out a cry. All three dragons let out harsh shrieks before the larger dragon unleashed a mute rainbow beam onto both below. Both dragons dodged the attack and charged toward the larger dragon. Growling, the larger dragon unleashed another harsh roar that stunned the opposing dragons. Diving down, it split and scattered, into the darkness of the night. The other dragons cries were silent as each of the muted rainbow mist went its own way hastily. Lights in the city and sky slowly returning.
?, ?, 1st(?) P.O.V.
"Ugh! I lost again!" I groaned in pain, lying on the ground as the Action Field around us dispersed.
I was a complete wreck; how could I have lost?! Victory was right in my grasp…
"Hey, need some help?" From the ground into the air, sight honed onto the extended gloved hand. "You did pretty well."
"Nah, she got her ass wrecked." I couldn't but hard throw a water bottle right into his face.
Loose cap spilling water as he yelped. The nerve of him! Why does he get to make fun of my dueling skills? It isn't like I wanted to be the kicking bad. It wasn't like XXXX was a total jackass like him. No wonder why I'd like to see him-!
"Calm that temper down. I don't want any lawsuit coming with that temper of yours." The relaxing aura of Alastor coiled around me.
The boiling anger inside me subsided feeling that familiar presence. XXXX must have sensed my monster's presence. Perhaps his own monsters were reacting to my own?
"Hey, we've been over this. Just because she's not a professional duelist like myself doesn't mean she's any worse than you. If anything, she's a better duelist than yourself." XXXX pointed as we walked over to the resting area.
"How would she be better than me!?" Of course, my other friend had his outburst while I decided to get a shake out of the cooler.
"For starters, at least she's more aware monster effects. Unlike you, who decided to basically run into my monster without looking at their effect." My professional friend began to explain. "Secondly, she does pose a different kind of fight than other duelists. Thirdly, while she doesn't exactly lack a decent deck, she lacks a refinement of her skills and practice."
"Exactly. I have a real-life job. Not one that solely focuses on performing in front of thousands." I took a huge gulp of my shake. "Becoming a professional duelist is barely easy. Many new duelists barely make it a year without sponsorships or a stable income."
"Way to kill the mood." I rolled my eyes at my friend's comment before I felt Alastor recede.
"You finally settled onto a deck of your own?" XXXX asked me as I took a seat on the other free bench.
"Why do you ask?" I tilted my head after drinking some more.
"I couldn't help but notice how your deck's… how do I say it?" He folded his arms before the thought formed in his head. Signaled by fingers snapping. "You're more consistent than before."
"Is it? I thought you've had that deck for, like, forever." My other friend was drying his face.
"You're not wrong… some of these monsters have been in my possession. I guess, I decided to use those who have been with me for the longest." I scratched my chin. "Kind of like how I re-added a certain trickster to my deck."
"Did you now? I didn't see you draw it." Both XXXX and I just glared. "Hey! I'm just saying."
I looked at the clock on the wall. "We have enough time for one more match. Want to retry the Battle Royale?"
"You betcha! I will show you guys that one combo I learned before XXXX negated it." My friend jumped from his seat as I closed the cap of my shake.
"I didn't even to negate that chain link in order to win. I did it for the style. Now, how about we give it our all. I want to be fully entertained!" XXXX proclaimed as we got up and walked onto the field.
"Another match?" I heard Alastor asked, the same chilled air surrounded me.
"Yeah. What could possibly go wrong? It is just for fun. We're not fighting for our lives or anything."
Revision: 11/25/18
Decided to change some major things toward the middle section. Decided to scrap the Duel because it didn't make much sense with what I got planned in the future. That was the only thing I'll state for this chapter.
Oops! So it would seem this chapter was longer than others; not totally expected but I digress. There was a lot to cover and I didn't feel like splitting this into two parts. With that being said, things are going to be changing from this point onward since Lowell has made a huge choice.
Updates may be sporadic since college is right around the corner. Hopefully, I won't have to go on a long and unannounced hiatus before I can get the next part up!
Thanks to stingray3344 for the follow and SmokedSalmonSushi for the favorite! I really appreciate everyone who's favorited or followed this story: it means a lot. Same goes for the fact we've already hit over 2,400 views. I wasn't expecting that much. So a special thanks to those who are supporting this story. Onto the review as always:
Diabolic Tracer - Alastor's change in personality was one thing I wanted to redo somewhat. An air of mystery was needed for this new direction and thus warranted the change. I'm more happy with his change; hopefully, I can show this whenever he appears next.
I can't speak much without spoilers in regards to the flashback. All I'll say is that more will be present in the future. It was a spur of the moment deal I was planning for a later chapter, but I've decided to now add them in every now and again if the chapter would work with that addition.
Now as for Mr. 4Kids (okay, to be honest when I first read that I was dying of laughter.), he'll come into relevance later. Though now I can't unsee him as Mr. 4Kids. Thank you for pointing out the mistake in Krystal's last name. I'll be sure to update that.
Either way, thank you, everyone, for reading and I'll see when the Pendulum sways again!