It has been far too long, everyone~! I am so sorry for the long wait. I have no excuse for making you all wait so long for this next chapter. ... Except for life, that is. But now! I am back, and I have for you a new chapter! Enjoy~
*OPENING*
(Instrumental)
(Pendulum Summon Process began as five different colored lights shot out of it. A portrait of Yuya, Timegazer Magician, Timegazer Magician and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon appeared. Portrait changed to Yuzu with her 'Melodious' monsters by her side. Portrait then changed to Bella with her Pirates and Utopia behind her. Portrait then changed to Seth on a black and purple dragon. Portrait then changed to Qing with her six ace monsters around her)
YO HO - let loose, of the rudder hard to port
(Title appeared on the screen with the stadium as the background)
YO HO- helter skelter, the best kind of life
(Shuzo, Yoko and the kids cheered for the teens of You Show as they waved to the audience)
(Instrumental)
(Many Duel Schools and their students were shown)
When the sun goes down, we'll have a farewell bash
(Camera zoomed in on Shun's serious face, Azuma looked at him worried and tried to reach out to him. Scene changed as Bella took Azuma's place and was playing keep away with her brother, their friends watching)
Don't be sad
(Yuto watched them fool around from a distance)
If we make it
(Reiji was in the control room, watching everything happening in Maiami City)
We'll meet again someday
(Yuya activated his Duel Disk and got into his dueling pose)
We'll set off straight through the headwind
(Yuya was dueling against Sora, Odd-Eyes Rebellion vs Frightfur Sabre-Tooth)
Tears... Tears... Until none are left, a man's gotta be strong
(Yuzu and Serena are seen back-to-back, as they spun and wore each other's clothes. Scene changed to Shun with his Raid Raptors as he took down his opponents.)
Friends... Friends... Someday we will laugh
(Qing is seen running through the woods away from the cloaked duelist, as the latter's monsters unleashed their attacks at her)
As if we have to make sure these bonds are firm and now, we all take hold
(Qing threw a card on her duel disk, summoning a monster and rode on it, saving her from the attacks. Scene changed to display Gongenzaka, Seth, Bella, Azuma, and a few others of the thirty-two duelists facing off against the Obelisk Force)
Of the map to the future, which begins to shine
(A boy who looks just like Yuya but in white drove into the stadium, glaring at a shadow figure on the other side of the stadium as he drove closer to him)
(Instrumental)
(The You Show group looked up at the camera from the stadium within)
If there was a word that could describe how Bella felt about the tournament right now, 'confused' would be one of them, though on a more lighter terms. It was not that she got lost in the Volcanic Area of the Action Field, as it was more that...
"So... I am going to assume you're Azuma?"
"Yeah. And you're Bella."
Bella knew she was an only child before she was adopted into the Sakaki family, and she knew she was the only daughter in that family. And yes, she knew Qing told her about there being another person with her face, but even so... Seeing someone else with the same face as hers was really something to her.
"I was told that we look alike, but looking at you now, I still can't believe it," the Xyz User said, she who had lost her mask during a... particular duel earlier.
Bella snapped out of her stupor at those words before responding, "Yeah, same here. But... Why? How can we have the same face? We're not twins or anything."
"Don't know, don't even care. Now, if you don't mind, I have better places to be."
As Azuma turned to leave, Bella reached out and grabbed her by the arm. "Hey, wait a second. And just where do you think you're going? If you have a pair of Pendulum cards-"
"I'm not getting involved in this silly part of the tournament," Azuma interrupted.
"Huh? What are you talking about? The rules of the tournament-"
"You can just forget about the rules. Or what? Are you really telling me that you haven't noticed it yet at all? Then again, those people have not sent that many people here. Are they underestimating us or are they the only spare members that they have?"
Bella grew confused when she said that, wondering what her Xyz counterpart was talking about, when a thought crossed her mind. "Wait... Are you saying people from that other dimension, from the Fusion Dimension... They're here?!"
"Oh. So she did fill you in on some of the details."
"Nothing new as of late, as far as I know, but pretty much. Still, are you really telling me that-"
"Yes, they are here. And they already got to some of the contestants." As Azuma said that, she took out some cards from her pocket. To Bella's horror, the cards were no ordinary monster cards. Not when the 'monsters' on them were some of the participants in the Battle Royale.
"No way..." she could only breathe out.
"You're better off going into hiding for now. And if you run into any other surviving contestants, tell them to hide as well," Azuma advised.
As she was about to make her leave, Bella grabbed her by the arm. "And where do you think you're going?"
"Let me go. Someone has to get rid of the remaining Academia members. Stop me, and I will not hesitate to duel you, too."
"There is no way I am letting you duel those people alone. If they are as dangerous as Qing insinuated, then you will definitely need help."
Azuma shrugged her hand off her. "I don't need any help. Especially not from someone like you."
Bella widened her eyes in shock at those words. "'Someone like me'? What do you mean by that?"
"I've seen how strong the duelists in this world are. That is... if I can even call them 'strong'. There may be a few exceptions to such strengths, but overall? They don't stand a chance against Academia. You don't stand a chance against them."
The 'Pirate' duelist could only widen her eyes in shock at such claim. "You don't know that."
"I know well enough. Now stay out of my way and find a place to hide." Without another word, Azuma turned to leave, only to be stopped by Bella once more, as she stood in her way. "Did you not hear me the first several times?"
"Oh, I heard well enough. I just refuse to do as told," she said.
Azuma glared at Bella. She truly had no time to deal with this girl. However, if she was so insistent on getting in her way...
"Bella! Azuma! Hey!" came Seth's voice, as the two girls looked up and saw the ninja of You Show land down by their side. "Man, am I glad to have found you."
"Seth!" Bella gasped, mostly in relief.
Azuma, on the other hand, only looked at him with narrowed eye. "You're..."
Seth turned to the cloaked girl and was quite surprised at seeing her face. "Huh? Azuma, you're... Are you Bella's long lost twin?"
"No such thing," she answered. "You have a good timing, though. You can accompany me, if it can get your friend to cooperate."
Both duelists looked at the Xyz Resident in confusion. "Huh? What are you talking about?" the male of the pair asked.
"Hang on! Why is Seth okay?" Bella questioned.
"Because we dueled together once before. From that duel, I saw for myself in full how strong he is. I may have seen your Tag Duel with Qing, but from what I saw, Qing was the one doing all the work," Azuma answered.
"What are you talking about?! We both helped each other win that duel!"
"Did you really help Qing? Last I recall, she was the one who found out about the cheating that went on in that duel, and she was the one who also managed to prevent your loss in that duel. But you? You didn't catch on to any of that; only acted out as Qing told you to act. You didn't even think of setting up any form of countermeasure for if the duel did not go into your favor; just relied on these 'Action cards' to turn the tide. Qing is different. She may have searched for those cards as you did, but she did not rely heavily on them."
"But didn't Seth do the same thing?! How is he any different?! Not just him, but you, too. You used Action Cards in your Tag Duel!"
"I never said it was bad to rely on outside cards, only that you put too much faith in them. True, Seth did go around finding Action Cards, but he did not heavily rely on them. He gathered the cards to be used for later, but in no way did he bet everything on them. Plus, like Qing, he had also prepared himself in case if he was on the losing side of the duel. It is because of that that I am putting my trust in him. That is where you two are different."
Bella could not believe what she was hearing from her lookalike's mouth. Does she truly have that low of an opinion on her? While she could not deny that she had been reliant on those cards, but the same could be applied to everyone. For after all, Action Duel was the new and trending way of dueling these days. Very rarely do people do duels the old way now.
As for Seth, the guy was at a loss himself on what to do here. Heck, he did not know what was going on here with these two girls. He had only just arrived when they got into... whatever conversation they were having. And now?
Before anything else could be said, though, a scream was heard from a distance, putting them on guard.
"What was that?!" Seth gasped, as he and the pair of lookalikes turned to the source.
"That sounds a lot like Qing!" Bella noticed. Just as she said that, Azuma rushed to the source, to the two You Shows surprise. "Wait, Azuma!"
"Let's follow her!" Seth told her, to the 'Pirate' duelist's surprise. "What? Don't tell me you really expect me to do as she said and leave you here. There's no way I'm doing that."
A small smile formed on her face at such reassurance, and the pair ran after Azuma.
Meanwhile, with Azuma, the girl ran as fast as she could to the source of the scream. Or rather, where the source will end up at. She knew that sort of scream anywhere; she practically became accustomed to hearing that sort of scream ever since the tragic incident that occurred in her own home.
Lo and behold, as she had feared, she saw Qing falling from high above. And the destination she was dangerously close to falling on? A river of lava.
Azuma thought fast and activated her duel disk. "Magic Card, Auto-Flight!" As soon as she activated her card, wings spawned out of her back and she quickly soared towards the falling girl. Thankfully, she managed to catch her before she could hit the holographic lava and safely landed on the ground.
(Auto-Flight: Normal Magic: This turn, 'ALO' Fairy-type Monsters you control can attack your opponent directly. Damage inflicted through this effect becomes 100 times their respective level.)
"Qing! Qing, are you okay?!" Azuma asked the girl, who seemed frightened out of her mind, as her wings disappeared from her back, and her disk returned to normal.
"I... I could've died..." she breathed out fearfully.
The Xyz Resident did not understand what she meant when she said that, until she looked at her Duel Disk and was quite shocked at the Life Points shown.
Qing: 100 LP
Viola: 250 LP
'100 LP?! Not only that, but on her opponent's' field... What is that monster?' she wondered. Azuma looked back at Qing and noticed the girl seemed to be in a state of shock.
"Qing! Qing! Hey, snap out of it!" she shouted, giving her a good shake.
Qing flinched when she did, finally brought back to reality as she looked around her current surroundings. "T-... This is..."
"Are you okay, Qing?" Azuma asked once more.
Rather than answer, as the multi-deck duelist turned to her, she looked to her Duel Disk. Her eyes widened at the sight, with an expression the 'ALO' duelist knew so well. "I have to run..."
Azuma raised a confused brow at what her accomplice whispered out. "Huh?"
"Azuma! Qing!" came Bella's voice. While Azuma turned to her Standard Version in shock, Qing's face paled as she slowly looked up to her.
"You! I told you to find a place to hide!" the 'ALO' duelist shouted.
"I don't remember ever saying I will take your word for it!" Azuma retorted.
"Now, now, girls. Let's just calm down," Seth said, getting between the pair.
Before either of them could say anything, Qing spoke first. "You three... Get out of here, now!"
The trio looked down at her, greatly confused by the shout. "Huh? What's wrong, Qing?" Seth asked.
"No time for questions. Get out of here, before she catches up!"
Seeing her be this frightened really caught the others off guard, for they have never seen her this frightened before. What could possibly have her this frightened?
As if to answer their wonders, a roar was heard from above, right where Qing fell from, as the girl herself paled up even more from the sound.
"Too late..." Not wanting her friends to get involved in this dangerous duel- a duel they were sure to lose, even if they joined now, while Viola's Life Points were so low, Qing made an effort to stand back up on her feet, and attempt to flee. For all she knew, the Fusion Duelist may have some more tricks up her sleeve, tricks... that could result in a heavy loss for them. And she most certainly did not want her friends to get involved in that loss.
"Wait a second, Qing. What are you doing?" Bella asked.
"Saving you guys!" she forced out. "That girl wants me, and will do whatever it takes to get to me. Should you get involved-!"
"Wait a second, are you dueling someone right now?" Seth guessed.
"That doesn't matter! I have to get away from here... For you guys' sake."
"What are you talking about? Whoever you're dueling, we can help you!"
"No, you can't!"
"Well, well, well. Today truly does seem to be quite a festival, isn't it?"
At that voice, Qing's face paled even more, as a heavy thud hit the ground. The four turned to the source and were frightened- horrified in Qing's case- to see Kimeramon before them, looking down at the group very hungrily.
"To think there are yet more people around who wish to get in the way of my capture. The duelists in this dimension sure are quite persistent. Or is the correct word to describe them 'stupid'?" Viola wondered.
The moment she spoke, Bella, Azuma, and Seth looked up to the Fusion User and were extremely shocked upon seeing her face. "Hang on... What?" the male of the trio asked.
"No way... Two Qing?" Bella followed.
Unlike the You Show Duelists, who were surprised to see someone with Qing's face, Azuma's reason was different. 'A face like my sister's...? Furthermore, those clothes...' She remembered those clothes quite well, along with the cloak this Fusion User was wearing. How could she not? When her many nights were practically plagued by the one memory that included those clothes.
"You... You're..." she could only breathe out.
Viola looked down at Azuma with a raised brow. "Hm? Hang on... Haven't I seen one of you from somewhere?"
Enraged upon the practical confirmation the 'ALO' duelist activated her duel disk. "It was you, wasn't it?! The one who took my sister away!"
While the Standard Dimension duelists turned to her in surprise at the claim, the 'Digimon' duelist only looked down at her in confusion at the claim. "Hm? I did what? Took your sister away? Is that why your face looks familiar? I admit I have carded up plenty of duelists, but I highly doubt I carded up any with your face..."
"Don't screw with me! You may not have carded her like your friends of the Fusion Dimension did, but you took her away! You took Noir away, you kidnapper!"
Both Bella and Seth became even more baffled at the words that came out of her mouth. As for Viola... A look of realization appeared on her face at the girl's claim.
"Oh! Now I remember. Weren't you that frightened little girl who only stood back and watched as your own sister horribly lost her duel? And cowered away in fear when she was getting taken away by the enemy? But why are you here? If I do so recall, don't you live in the Xyz Dimension? Why are you here in the Standard Dimension? Don't tell me you have been looking all over for little ol' me this whole time. Wanting to get revenge for what I did to your precious sibling. How foolish you must be."
"Shut up! I will make you pay dearly!"
Before Azuma could activate her duel disk once more, Qing grabbed her arm, keeping it down, to her and her friends' confusion.
"Don't duel her!" she warned.
Confused as they were, however, Viola had other plans. "Actually, by all means, join our duel. Them as well."
The moment Qing saw her raise her Duel Disk, no doubt to force the others into the duel like she did to her, the 'Naturu' duelist quickly began her turn. "Draw! I surrender! I forfeit the duel!"
Before Viola could press down a button on the duel disk, she stared at the Standard Duelist in shock, as did the others. "I'm sorry, did you just say you forfeit the duel?"
"You're here for me, aren't you? I'll come with you. In return, leave the others alone!" Qing offered.
Simply saying that they were puzzled with what she had proposed would be an understatement. "Wha-?! Qing! What is the meaning of this?!" Azuma questioned, causing the downed girl to glare back at her.
"She is far too strong for you to handle! For any of you, for that matter! I refuse to have you lose your lives over this!"
No one of the trio knew what to say upon such a claim, especially not from the one duelist they respect. Who was this Qing-lookalike to put so much fear in her?
Viola, on the other hand, was quite amused with the turn of events. "Oh? So you are willing to give yourself up? That easily? After the struggle you put on to get away from me? Then again, you did want to get me away from that other group of duelists we saw earlier before this duel, and you did try to warn those other folks who dared interrupt against joining- a warning they did not heed to. You must be very soft. As soft as most of the other folks in this dimension are."
Qing looked at her quite suspiciously when she said that, as did Azuma, as the latter questioned, "How do you know about the residents of this dimension?"
"I don't. But from what I have heard from reports, if I were to compare the duelists here to that of the Xyz Dimension, the group here are mostly on a baby level of dueling. They don't know how to actually duel."
While Azuma and Qing remained silent when Viola said such a thing, Bella and Seth were not as calm when they heard those words.
"What did you just say?!" the ninja questioned.
"Are you trying to say that we're weak?!" the 'Pirate' duelist followed.
"Guys, enough!" Qing shouted, before Viola could say anything to taunt them into dueling any further. "Look, just stop! You're getting what you want; there is no need to continue this any longer than you should!"
"Qing!" Bella gasped, in disbelief that the girl was really giving up that easily. Sure, whoever this lookalike is has a strong monster out, but surely with the right preparation, she and Seth at least can do something to get rid of it, can't they?
Thankfully for the multi-deck duelist, her Fusion Version seemed to have agreed to the terms, as she leapt off her monster. "Alright then. Since you seem serious about offering yourself, come over here."
"I already surrendered. Now get your monster to leave," Qing demanded.
Kimeramon let out a threatening growl at the demand, when Viola raised an arm to stop it. "Now, now, Kimeramon. She's right. Our duel has ended the moment she placed her hand on her deck any way. There is no need to continue." The Fusion Monster let out a huff right then and disappeared, as its duelist deactivated her duel disk.
Qing: 000 LP
Viola: 250 LP
WINNER: VIOLA
"Now then, as promised. Come on over here."
Qing was hesitant at first, despite willingly offering herself as tribute for her friends' lives. She may not know what was happening to her other two counterparts to know what her own fate would entail, but at the very least, it would be better than to have Azuma and the others get turned into cards, to have them suffer from a horrible defeat against this duelist before them.
Just as she took a few steps forward, though, Seth stopped her. "Qing, you're not serious, are you? We're not some helpless idiots, you know!"
"I never said you guys are, but between you and her, you guys have no chance to win against this duelist," she explained.
"You don't know that! If we work together-"
"How many times do I have to say it to make you idiots understand?!" Qing interrupted Bella, turning to them with a glare, much to their puzzlement. "I am not saying this because I was dueling her one-on-one... I am saying this because three other duelists joined our duel. And despite their best effort, it was all for nothing. She didn't just beat them easily; she defeated them during their own turn, and used their tactics against them! Without the help of an Action Card!"
That... None of the three knew what to say then. Not after hearing that. If what she said was true, then this lookalike must be on a pro-level. No... Just saying that she was a 'pro' may be a mere understatement. As such, as much as they did not want to admit it, there was absolutely nothing they could do help.
Sensing no further argument to come, Qing looked back at Viola, who only looked back at her with quite the innocent expression. She took in a breath, calming down somewhat, and proceeded onwards. Before she could get far, though...
"Commander Viola, we have arrived."
Eyes wide, Qing turned and saw a few Obelisk Force members approaching them.
"Good timing. There are some preys for you. Deal with them. But save the beat up one for me. The professor is expecting her," Viola told them, increasing her Standard counterpart's horror.
"Yes ma'am," the Obelisk Force trio responded, activating their duel disks, much to Bella and Seth's surprise and Azuma's ire.
"Hold it! That wasn't the deal!" Qing shouted as she turned back to her Fusion Counterpart.
"Hm? You mean the deal that I will leave the others alone? Except, I am doing exactly that. I am not doing anything to them. I can't say the same about them, however~" Viola said, an evil smirk on her face.
Qing only stared at her in disbelief at those words. Was this girl serious?! She was going to play with her words?! For what?!
"I do hope you are not planning on going back on your word now. The deal was that I don't do anything to your friends if you willingly come with me to the Fusion Dimension. I am holding my end of the deal, but should you go back from it... Well, I cannot guarantee if those people will be okay~"
All Qing could do in response to her Fusion Counterpart's taunting was glare at her. "Why you..."
"Qing, don't worry about us!" Bella shouted, getting her attention.
"What she said! You get away from here!" Seth agreed, baffling Qing at what she heard.
"What?! No way! There is no way I-"
"Just go!" Azuma shouted then. "I don't know why, but Academia is clearly targeting you for a different purpose. You can't let them have their way! I will take care of things here. If anyone needs to leave, it is you and your friends!"
"But-... Azuma!"
"Enough with the chit-chat already," Viola interrupted then. "Just make your choice. Either come with me and hope those people make it out of here alive, or try to make your escape again... And live with the guilt that you left them to a merciless monster."
Qing may know which was the lesser of the two evil, and she did have faith that Azuma may be able to survive from whatever onslaught the Obelisk Force will throw at her, but what of Bella and Seth? Not to say she did not trust their abilities, but going by how Viola had trusted them to get the job done... She did not know the full extent of Viola's 'Duel Envision' ability, but if it extends to other duelists... There was no way any of them were safe from the enemy.
'What do I do...? If it's what I think, then I can't have them duel those people! But if I intervene, Viola will have them duel her instead... What do I do...?'
Just then, as Bella, Azuma, and Seth were about to activate their own Duel Disks, a familiar figure landed before them. "I don't think so."
Qing turned to the voice and, to her and her friends' surprise, saw Hades standing before them.
"Hades-san?" Bella gasped.
"What are you doing?" Seth questioned.
He was not the only one who got in their way, as another individual got between Qing and Viola. "You're not taking anyone away!"
Both Qing and Bella's eyes widened at the voice, as they turned and saw Junes there.
"Junes?! What are you doing here?!" the latter questioned.
"Looking for you! Especially after seeing what these people did to the eight finalists of the Youth contestants," the 'Chronicle Knight' duelist explained.
"What do you mean?" Seth asked.
"He means how they were turned into cards," Azuma answered for the knight, to his and Bella's surprise.
"Yeah... I still can't believe I actually saw that, but it's true," Junes confirmed. "Almost lost to one and got turned into one myself."
Viola raised a brow at those words. "So you are aware of how powerful we are compared to you, and yet you still want to get in our way- my way."
"Yeah... Because I'm a knight. And a knight would do anything for the person they would much give their life to."
Those words sent chills down Qing's spine, as the girl had a horrible feeling with what the guy was saying. "Junes, what are you doing?"
"Giving you guys an opening."
"He's not the only one," Hades spoke, activating his own Duel Disk.
"Wait, you're not really thinking of handling all three at once, are you?!" Seth questioned.
"We're dueling, too, whether you like it or not!" Azuma exclaimed.
"Not to say that you're weak, but if Jack-of-All-Trades-san is their target, it's best if she were to escape here with people she trust most. Besides, between having three duelists take on three of these bozos, it'd be smarter to have one strong one take them on alone."
Those words made the Obelisk Force laugh.
"Hey, did you hear that? This fool actually thinks he can take us on alone," Obelisk Red mocked.
"What a joke. If you think acting strong is going to help you, you're just dreaming," Obelisk Yellow said.
"Is it me who is acting tough, or just a bunch of fools frightened they would act as fools they were and lose to one duelist?" Hades retorted, instantly annoying the trio of Fusion Duelists.
"You've said it now," Obelisk Green said through gritted teeth.
"If you dislike it all that much, then by all means, make me pay."
Azuma and the others were not so keen on the idea. "Hold it! You're not serious!" the Xyz Resident spoke.
Hades glared at her. "Quit questioning and hurry on away from here. The sooner you find help, the better."
Qing shook her head at this. "Even so, I refuse to let any of you duel Viola! She's dangerous!"
"I would heed that advice if I were you. I don't hold back," Viola told Junes.
"I don't care. I'll do my duty as a knight," he retorted, activating his disk as well.
None of the You Show duelists could wrap their heads around what they were hearing. "No, you don't understand! She's not someone you can go up against!" Qing warned.
Despite her repeated warning, Junes refused to back down. "Just go!"
While the trio of You Shows could only stare at the pair of newcomers in shock, Azuma carefully looked at their expressions. One look... and she knew well that nothing was going to change their minds. Without another word, she rushed to Qing and grabbed her by the arm.
"Wha-?! Azuma?!" she gasped.
"Come on, let's go!" Nothing else was said, as the Xyz Duelist rushed to Seth and Bella and gave them both a little push, prompting them to run, with Qing getting dragged by Azuma.
"Wha-?! Azuma! Let me go!" Qing pleaded, only for her pleas to be left unheard.
With them gone, Hades and Junes kept their focus on their respective foes, who stared back at them.
"Alright... Let's start."