Chapter 14: Treacherous Heroes and Conflicting Loyalties
Hello all, time for us to get to the latest chapter. Sorry about the wait, this chapter is pretty much Sora's betrayal of Academia, as well as a foreshadow of events in the future. Trust me, this story's just getting started.
(Synchro Dimension: City)
Yuri slowly followed Sora as the boy ran off to watch the duel, eventually settling on a nearby building where he could watch Sora and the duel while staying out of sight. Yuri glanced at the duel and winced, things weren't looking good for his Standard doppelganger. Yuya's concentration seemed all over the place, and his opponent, Shinji, was holding nothing back. Much like his duel against the ninja, Tsukikage, Shinji was using this duel as an excuse to unleash his pent up frustration towards the Tops, trying to rile the Commons into revolt.
In hindsight, Yuri could understand some of Shinji's frustration in always being held down by someone, namely the Professor, and did want to get revenge. However, at least Yuri had the decency to be professional against his opponents, while Shinji took every chance he had to attack Yuya, who had nothing to do with it. It didn't help that Yuya was struggling to get a grip over himself, much less duel properly. Yuri suspected Yuya was simply so worried about Yuzu's state of being that he wasn't focused on the duel.
He couldn't be more right; Yuya wanted nothing more than to leave this duel behind and go save Yuzu, and had tried to end it fast in hopes to leave and find her. However, in his haste, he allowed himself to get trapped by Shinji and was pushed against the edge. He didn't know what to do…he was so lost in his conflicted thoughts he could barely concentrate. Just when Shinji was about to deliver a heavy blow, Yuya closed his eyes when…
"YUYYYAAA!" Sora screamed from the building he was on, causing both Yuya and Yuri to look at him raising Yuzu's burned helmet before running off.
'Sora…he here, and he has Yuzu's helmet! That must mean that Yuzu must still be alive?! What am I doing here, the only way to reach Sora and save Yuzu is to win, and to do that…' Yuya looked around and found an Action Card overhead. He then launched his D-Wheel up in order to reach it, "Action Magic, Acceleration! Now I reduce the effect damage I'd take from Dart the Pursuit to 0!"
"Damn it!" Shinji cursed as the blast missed Yuya, "You won't escape next time! The Revolution of the Commons will be a reality!"
"Who knows Shinji, the real duel begins now!" Yuya stated, which Yuri had to agree with. Yuya was dueling with a much clearer head, and now seemed to be trading blows quite evenly with the commoner. As the duel went on, Yuya attempted to dissuade Shinji from his violent dreams of revolution… attempted being the operative word. "Shinji, I understand that you and a lot of other Commons feel helpless and pushed around, but what do you think anarchy is going to solve. We shouldn't be using dueling to fight. I want to bring smiles to everyone in the city, isn't that what you want."
Shinji laughed, "Smiles…oh we'll smile all right. We, the Commons, will smile once the Tops have been burned to the ground!"
Yuri sighed before placing his head in his hand, "Yuya, stop trying to reason with him when it's pointless and just finish him."
Shinji's newest Synchro monster, Bee Force – Hama the Evil-Crushing Bow, and drove Yuya back in a corner. Shinji then declared, "With this monster let the revolution officially begin, people of the Commons, join forces with me and together, with our monster, Hama the Evil-Crushing Bow, we will crush the evil that is the Tops!" Many of the Tops cheered for Shinji's victory while jeering at Yuya.
From his room, Yugo simply cursed, "Sorry jackass, I think I'll pass."
Yuya seemed to have a surprise of his own in the form of Tuning Magician, a small little female magician clothed in white (ATTR:Dark/LV:1/Atk:0/Def:0). The major downside was that upon summoning, Yuya took 400 points of damaged while Shinji gained 400 life points. From the motor pit, Sam gasped and looked in surprise, "Yuya-san, why are you using that card?"
Shinji laughed, "How sad, it seems your fate has been sealed if that pathetic card is the best you had; now it will be even easier to crush you."
"Wait a minute…this guy is going on and on about how little cards joined together can grow stronger…and despises the Tops for looking down on the Commons as well as weak cards… yet he considers Tuning Magician as weak and is mocking Yuya about it? I honestly wonder why Yuya isn't bringing this up, because this guy is kind of feeling more like a hypocrite than anything else." Yuri noted, while Starve Venom glowed in agreement.
However, despite losing his new mage, Yuya was able to survive Shinji's next assault and then started his turn, "DRAW!" He looked at the card, "Resurrection of the Dead…" as he thought of which card to revive, he felt a presence before him and turned his head to see the spirit of the young female mage from before, "Tuning Magician?" Suddenly his eyes widened as he suddenly saw the silhouette of what appeared to be a swordsman in front of him, his extra deck shining as he saw it. Smiling, Yuya whispered, "Thank you, Tuning Magician, I understand." He then turned his head to Shinji, who was riding behind him. "This duel ends now. With my Scale 2 Performapal Gongcat, and Scale 6 Performapal Extra Shooter, I can Pendulum summon monsters between levels 3-5 from my hand or face up in my Extra Deck. Swing, Pendulum of the Soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Come forth! My Monster servants!" With that his Timesword Magician and Performapal Silver Claw revived from his Extra Deck.
Shinji smirked, "Too bad, I activate the Continuous Trap, Bee Formation! Now I target Hama, and each time you normal or special summon a monster, Hama will gain 400 ATK, so now its power is at 3200!"
Not disturbed in the slightest, Yuya continued, "I activate the spell, Resurrection of the Dead! Now I can special summon a monster from the graveyard to my field, and I choose Tuning Magician!" With that, the female mage resurrected and winked at everyone. "Now since it was summoned, I activate its effect, transmitting 400 of my life points to you, Shinji." With that, Yuya's life became 100 while Shinji's became 3600, and Hama's attack power grew to 3600.
"What…why did Yuya summon that monster, is he just messing up on purpose to lose?" Melissa Claire asked from her helicopter.
"I've no intention of losing, I revived Tuning Magician because it is the key to my victory. Now I tune my level 1 Tuning Magician with my level 3 Timesword Magician and my level 4 Silver Claw! Hero's blade that sets forth unyielding light! Here and now, along with a flash, awaken! Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 8! Enlightenment Paladin!" With that a luminous paladin dressed in white, gold, and red spun from the Synchro portal and unsheathed its 2 blades, a hero ready to slash at evil (ATTR:Dark/LV:8/ATK:2500/DEF:2000).
"Incredible, Yuya has summoned a Synchro Monster!" Melissa Claire noted while the audience stared in shock while Yuri grinned in satisfaction.
Shinji simply laughed, "What does it matter, since you special summoned, Bee Formation brings Hama's power to 4000. Your paladin can't even touch it."
The paladin slammed its fists together while Yuya explained its effects, "I activate Enlightenment Paladin's effect, if it is summoned using a Magician as a material, I can add a spell from my graveyard to my hand, so I'll add Gap Power to my hand and activate it! Now Enlightenment Paladin gains attack points equal to ½ the difference between our lifepoints! Since the difference us is 3500, Enlightenment Paladin gains 1750 ATK!"
Shinji was in shock, "But that means it has 4250 attack points, placing it higher than Hama…"
"It's all thanks to Tuning Magician, while we were dueiling, I was using Tuning Magician in order to widen the gap between our lifepoints to prepare for this moment." Yuya said while Shinji stared in shock. "Not to mention, the only reason I could summon my paladin was through Tuning Magician…there are no worthless cards, only flawed duelists that don't see their potential! By believing in your cards and following their voices, even the weakest can overwhelm the strong!" Yuya said in a commanding voice.
"To think it could be used like that…" Sam spoke while Yuri and Jack both smiled at Yuya. In Jack's case, he was happy as Yuya was finally beginning to grasp what he said, while Yuri was happy because it shut Shinji's mouth…and he was reasonably impressed with his doppelgangers ability to use all summoning methods.
"Battle, go Enlightenment Paladin! Attack Hama!" With that, Enlightenment Paladin connected the 2 blades pommel to pommel to make a twin blade katana. Spinning it very quickly, he slashed Hama in one strike, bringing the bee down (Shinji's LP: 3600 – 250 = 3350). "Now I activate Enlightenment Paladin's other effect, since it destroyed a monster you controlled by battle and sent it to the graveyard, you take damage equal to the attack points it had on the field!" Yuya said.
Shinji gasped in horror, "But Hama's attack power was…"
"4000." Crow finished as Enlightenment Paladin's shot a neon green energy blast at Shinji, reducing his life points to nothing, with Shinji screaming in utter hysteria (Shinji LP: 0).
"Unbelievable! With a complete turnaround victory, Sakaki Yuya advances to the semifinals!" Melissa Claire shouted while the crowd erupted in applause and anger. From his seat, Jack rose up with a grin, before turning around to contemplate the duel he had witnessed.
From his office, Roger stared at a chess piece, "Perhaps Sakaki Yuya is the key to my victory." He then left to visit the arena.
From the skyscraper Yuri sat on, he laughed, "Perhaps my counterparts will be more of a challenge than I expected. I'll be looking forward to it. Now where did Sora run off to, and what is he up to?" Yuri was about to leave before he heard even more yelling from the stadium and looked to investigate.
As Yuya drove back he heard the Tops roar in approval, "Well done Yuya…You did a great job at putting down that man's revolution, we thank you for that!"
The Commons however, eyed the boy with venom almost more potent than Starve Venom himself, "How could you do this to Shinji…to our comrade. Shinji fought for us, and by defeating him, Sakaki Yuya is nothing but an enemy to be crushed!" One of them yelled.
"There no doubt, he's an enemy who's shamelessly sucking up to the Tops!" Another roared, with many in agreement.
"Hey all of you calm down, so what does it matter if he won? This is the Friendship Cup, seriously does anyone understand it?" Melissa Claire noted. Personally, she did feel a sense of sympathy towards them, as a reporter she had unfortunately had to do a number of unsavory cases where they were ultimately victims. She could understand why some of them were upset, but attacking a boy who had been dueling under the same conditions as his enemy in a tournament meant to unite the city, well she couldn't side with them there.
Yuya turned sad as he looked at the crowd around him. In his wish to end the duel, he had forgotten to make them smile, and now they were even more divided. Was this really the right thing to do?
"A grand performance, young one." Yuya turned around with shock while Yuri eyed from his tower on the man walking towards Yuya, it was Roger in the flesh. "I must say that was a great duel, to use a card most would rather throw away to win. Perhaps there are things you may be able to do, perhaps the potential to be the strongest." Roger said, Yuri scoffed, knowing full well what Roger was doing.
A certain sore loser, on the other hand, didn't, "Hey punk, what's going on here!?" Shinji ran towards Yuya, seemingly ready to throttle him. "Don't tell me, are you making deals with the Tops?!" With that, many in the audience gasped. "Even back then, when you were being picked to duel Jack, were you making a deal with them the whole time?!"
Yuri smacked his head while Yuya was dumbstruck, unable to reply to such a false and cruel strike on his integrity. "Shinji…that doesn't make a single bit of sense. First of all Security was chasing us before Crow saved us, and we were always together after that. When could I have made time to make deals?"
"I'm curious as well, why is it that a random stranger out of nowhere was chosen to duel Jack Atlas…seems to me that he was snooping for something." One of the Commons stated, with many of them agreeing.
"So what do you have to say, Yuya?" Shinji asked in a bitter voice.
"I already told you I have no…"
"Enough, Shinji I believe you've crossed the line right now. I have had no deal with Yuya at all; I was merely impressed with his potential, and the potential of his allies." Jean said in a calm voice. "It is true that Yuya came from another world, but he also brought with him this, Pendulum Summoning, as well as Xyz and Fusion summoning later on. Now in a short time he can use Synchro summoning. I just feel that he can help elevate dueling to the next level. Besides, if there are external threats that could endanger the City and its people, it's important to have as many options as we can get." He then turned to the crowd, "His power could be quite useful in growing the City's power, with that we can defeat all who dare threaten us, would anyone disagree?"
His reaction was greeted with much applause and slander, and from his pit Sam shook in frustration. 'How could you…I thought you understood, what it's like to be treated like garbage. What it felt like for Jack to look down on me. That's why I gave you that card. But you were working with the Tops the whole time.' He was about to speak when Shinji interrupted.
"What potential, what saving, don't try to confuse me with that crap. It was all rigged from the start…I was meant to lose from the beginning!" Shinji roared, leading to the shock, suspicion and hatred of many people.
Yuri smacked his head again, "Okay, I didn't even witness it, and even I know that makes no sense. 1st of all, Yuya was trying to duel peacefully the whole time while Shinji was the aggressor, 2nd how is it possible that Yuya could have had ties with Roger if he was being chased by him, and 3rd, there is no evidence that could even point to the duel being rigged. For god sake, Yuya played a monster that even Shinji dismissed as crap. If he was in league with the Tops, why would he even have that card? Is this guy drunk, because that's the only way he could put together this story. Either that or he was a delusional, hypocritical, violent asshole…oh wait I just forgot who I was talking about."
It seemed Roger was in agreement, "Shinji, the only one here who's giving out crap is you. Besides, even if the duel was rigged…wouldn't that mean you knew it was, and intentionally lost the duel?" When Shinji froze, Roger continued, "The only conclusion is that you're just being a sore loser. You lost to Yuya fair and square, but not wanting to admit it, you've created this story." He then scowled, "Send him to the dump; I believe we've found some trash that we forgot to throw out. Let the laborers decide what to do with him."
As Shinji was forced away, Yuya rode out of the stadium, in pursuit of Sora. Yuri slowly followed him like a hawk, jumping from building to building. In the meanwhile, he also dropped a number of cards into the alley ways and roads.
"When do we get to the fireworks Yuri?"
"Soon Venom…soon. I know, I want to burn the city to, but we just have to be patient." Yuri said, right now focusing on finding Sora.
Meanwhile,as Yuzu laid down in the shack, she was being struck by a strange and horrendous dream…
(Yuzu's mind)
Tears were in her eyes as she embraced the man she loved in the destroyed stadium. "It going to be okay Z***. Don't worry."
The man shook, "How can it ever be okay, after all that's happened. My mother is gone, and any care these people had for me is gone too. Why would they ever forgive me?"
She then moved a bit and cupped his face, "I know, it will be hard. But we can't just lose faith. Besides, you told me it was your duty to protect both the Duel Monsters and humans, right?"
He grumbled, "I also told you I had decided that they weren't worth it."
"But is that really what you think? I know that they treated your Duel Monsters cruelly, and didn't save your mother, but would she be happy with what you're doing? You don't want to hurt these people, do you?"
He then brought her back in his embrace, "No one ever cared about me, no one except my cards, you, and her. When you left and I lost her, I felt so alone. I just…wanted to protect what I loved."
She began to cry, "I'm sorry for leaving you, I promise, this time it will be different." As she stared at the 4 dragons, they all appeared to calm down. However, she then noticed something flying towards them. Her eyes widening, she yelled, "NOOOO!" She then pushed Zarc away as the missile came down on them…
(Real World)
Yuzu woke up with a start, and tried to get up, before finding that her body felt like molten lead. "Ugh, what happened?" Yuzu then remembered her duel with Aki, "Oh right, but where am I?" From what she could tell, she was in an abandoned shack in the Commons. Barely able to get up, she quickly wrapped the cloak around her, embarrassed as whoever took her also had seen most of her body exposed. She slowly trodded out, her muscles weak and in pain. "I hope everyone's alright.
A distance away, Yuya stopped at a street and yelled out, "SORA, WHERE ARE YOU?"
Suddenly he felt a hand cover his mouth, "Quiet, do you want me to get arrested?" He then pulled Yuya away and disappeared in the Commons sector. Once they were in the clear, Sora said, "I think we're safe, but don't be so reckless like that." He told Yuya.
"Sorry, so, do you know where Yuzu is?" Yuya asked with fervor, fear flowing through his system.
"She's alright, my teammate and I rescued her, and then we hid her somewhere. She's in bad shape but we managed to heal the worst of it. She'll recover."
With that, Yuya felt a giant weight remove itself from his spine, "Thank god, but why are you even here Sora?"
"Another Academia duelist and I were chosen to retrieve Serena, however, it is likely that my partner has also been given orders to kidnap Yuzu." Sora said, unaware that said partner was watching him from the distance.
"You don't seem to be happy about that, are you?" Yuya asked.
"No…the truth is, back at Academia…we were always so focused on training and becoming soldiers. So when I met you guys…I guess you both became the 1st people I could call friends." Sora muttered while Yuya stared at him sadly. "After you wondered what had happened to Yuzu back at Standard, I teleported back to Academia to see if the Obelisk Force had mistaken her for Serena. They are lookalikes, and since they swapped clothing, it's possible one of them had made a mistake and taken Yuzu instead. However, I couldn't find her anywhere. Until, I learned that she hadn't been taken. My partner was actually assigned to go to Standard to kidnap her. But from what I heard he was somehow teleported away by her bracelet. You know, the same way that Yuto guy would disappear whenever you showed up."
"Who's your partner?" Yuya asked.
"His name is Yuri, and truth be told, he looks just like you. I have to be careful around him, because he's pretty sadistic and a bit off in the head. Not to mention, he's the guy who kidnapped Ruri and has been trying to get Yuzu as well." Sora said quietly.
"So he's responsible for this, well, now I know for sure Yugo had nothing to do with it. Come to think of it when Yuto and Yugo were dueling, Yugo accused Yuto of kidnapping someone. Think there's a Synchro girl resembling Yuzu?"
"Possibly, Yuri did tell me he's been here before, so it is a possibility. However, that's not important, what's important is that Yuri's not just planning on kidnapping them, he wants to lay siege on the City. He's already sent Dennis back to give the Professor the news and to get the Obelisk Force ready."
"Oh great, not another problem, so what do you want?" Yuya asked.
"Well, Serena was with Academia from the start, I don't intend to let her escape. But Yuzu…she has no part in this, I don't want her to go to that prison." Sora replied.
"And what, you're fine with taking Serena?!" Yuya yelled at the boy.
"That's different, she was our ally, if anything I'm bringing her home." Sora replied, annoyed as he knew the contradiction.
"Back to the home where she felt like a prisoner? I won't let that happen. We'll save her, Yuzu, and Ruri, no matter what." Yuya replied.
From the corner of his eyes, Yuri could see a covert communications device. It must be Security. Yuri decided to act fast and opened his communications on his duel disk, "Hey Sora! Sora, can you hear me!?" Yuri spoke in a whisper so as to not make anyone hear him.
Sora answered, "Yuri, what's going on?"
"Oh, fascinating to see you're not dead. Now if you don't mind, head to where we left Yuzu, I had to leave there to ward off Security. Tried to call you earlier but you didn't answer."
"What, is Yuzu alright!" Sora said in a worried tone.
"What, no 'Okay Yuri I'm on it.' Or, 'Stay safe, you can count on me.' Seriously, at least be somewhat concerned of me." Yuri replied. "As for Yuzu, don't know, which is why I need you to check on her."
"Alright Yuri, I'm on it. See you soon." Sora clicked off while Yuri eyed the communications device. "Better hurry, Yuzu may be in trouble, and she's in no condition to fight."
From the office he had returned to, Roger slammed his fist, "Great, so not only is Yuri here, but an invasion is soon to come. Just what I needed. There's no time to waste, I need to get Yuzu and Sakaki Yuya now."
As he eyed the 2, Yuri grinned. With hope Security had heard that, meaning Sora would be leading them and Yuya to Yuzu. As he looked at his Duel disk and noticed that the tracking device that he placed on Yuzu was moving, which meant she was moving. The slow distance it went meant it couldn't be Security, so she must be up already. "I guess the healing system works better than I thought. Better follow her." As he left, he grinned at the sight of Suecurity arriving and webbing Yuya, with Sora forced to run away. "Now I'll see where your loyalties really lie."
Yuya was taken to Roger's office, where the man was waiting for him. "Ah, Yuya, glad to finally be able to talk to you in privacy. Remove his handcuffs, please." With that the Security officers removed Yuya's shackles before leaving. "Apologies for that my boy, I was after the young Sora, I was scared of what he may do to you."
"What are you talking about? Sora's my friend." Yuya affirmed.
Roger shook his head, "How can you be so sure? He is a loyal Academia soldier, so his 1st loyalty will always be to his Professor. I used to be like that to, back when I worked for him."
"You were a member of Academia?" Yuya asked in shock.
Roger nodded, "Originally, I came here to spy out the place, but as I watched this society decay and warp it, I've grown to want to change it. That's why I want your help." He then turned to Yuya, "I believe in your wish to bring smiles, and I think you may have what it takes to best Yuri."
"Yuri, the guy from Fusion who looks like me?!"
"Indeed, back when I knew him, he was just a child striving to be a member of the army, but based on what I've seen and heard, he hasn't only been risen to my old spot as the Professor's right hand, but he's also possibly even stronger than Jack Atlas himself." Roger said, letting some of his fear of the boy slip.
Yuya was in shock, Jack had defeated him like it was nothing, and Yuri was supposedly stronger than even him. "If that's the case, why do you want me?"
"As I've said, you can wield all the summoning methods. If we work together, we may be able to defeat him. Security can protect Yuzu and Serena, and Academia won't lift a finger if they learn even their strongest was defeated." Roger replied, but Yuya wasn't convinced.
"By that, you mean that Yuzu and Serena will be used as hostages, don't you?"
"Do you think Reiji would be any different? Besides, he cannot help, I've rendered him powerless." He then showed Yuya an image of the City Council and Reiji being held by Security. "By controlling Security, I control the City, which makes me your only real option right now." When Yuya didn't reply, Roger sighed, "Let's watch Crow and Kurosaki's duel in the meanwhile while you decide."
Both Crow and Kurosaki were clashing back to back. From the bridge, Yuzu, along with 3 kids named Frank, Tanner, and Amanda. At one point, Tanner had accidentally slipped and fallen off, only to be saved by Kurosaki. Though at first they seemed to be opposite, Crow and Shun both slowly realized during their duel that they shared a lot in common. Both had a soft spot for kids, both used birds in battle, and both wanted to change an oppressive government that caused pain to them. Their battle pitted Ultimate Falcon against Onimaru the Divine Thunder, with Onimaru on top. As the bird launched the final strike, a bit of debris punctured a large billiboard of Jack Atlas, something said duelist chuckled at. "You haven't lost your spunk at all Crow, good to see that." Jack commented.
As Kurosaki left to the Underground, Crow stopped him, "Hey Kurosaki, what do you say, friends?"
Kurosaki chuckled before replying, "I don't see why not." He then gave Crow a fist bump before leaving.
"Aww, look at that, it seems that the crow and raptor can flock alongside each other. I guess that's what the Friendship Cup is about though. Having a good duel and making peace, what an amazing fight!" Melissa Claire bellowed from above.
Watching from Roger's office, Yuya smiled, before looking at Roger, "Sorry Roger, but I refuse to join you."
At that moment, Roger pressed a button, "I'm sending you all Hiragi Yuzu's coordinates. Find her and capture her." Just then, Yuya attempted to tackle him from behind but the Security Officers from before held him back before taking him away. Roger turned around, "It's a shame we could not be allies, Yuya."
"As though I'd ever ally with you, you won't get Sora or Yuzu. I believe in Sora and all of my friends!" Yuya said as the door closed.
Now alone in his office, Roger sighed, "I guess that means it will have to be the hard way then, a pity really."
It wasn't long before Security did find and chase after Yuzu. Though she attempted to run away, her injuries left her too weak to duel or run too far, and she gave out. Looking at the children, she wheezed, "Run, their after me, not you, just get out of her."
Frank scoffed at that, "As if, Crow always told us to look out for people in trouble, they'll either be taking none of us or all of us." Amanda and Tanner were in agreement.
From where he stood above them, Yuri sighed, "I guess it's time for me to play the hero and rescue the princess, isn't it? Oh well, I least I get to card some people."
However, before he could even move, a lollipop was thrown right at the guard's face, knocking him down. The others looked to see Sora with his duel disk on. "Hang on Yuzu, I'll take care of them."
Despite this, Yuzu wasn't in the mood to stay on the sidelines, drawing her own as well, "I can still fight."
Ultimately, the 2 were able to work together to overwhelm the Security forces, then ran away. However, the strain was too much for Yuzu to bear and she leaned on the side of a Commoner's house as she struggled to stay conscious. "Damn, why am I so weak?"
Sora placed a hand on Yuzu, "Don't worry, it's a miracle you're even awake, let alone standing." He then sighed, "It's time to send you back home Yuzu. I don't want you or Yuya to be a part of this war."
Yuzu stared at Sora, "If you don't want to do this, then why don't you join us?"
Sora shook his head, "You don't get it, and I'm still loyal to the Professor. I can't abandon Academia!"
"Then I guess there's no harm in carding you." A voice said. Sora turned to see Tsukikage staring him down with loathing. "In my clan, we were taught to be willing to sacrifice ourselves in order to protect the innocent and for the good of the world. However, that still doesn't change the fact that you carded my brother. He was the only family I had left, for that you will pay!"
Sora responded by activating the blade of his duel disk almost mechanically, "Very well, let's end this." He replied in near monotone.
"Wait…stop this." Yuzu said in a drowsy voice. "Sora please, don't you realize that Yuya and I are already a part of this whether we like it or not. Even if you try to protect me, the Professor will still send people after me. He won't stop, and he'll likely destroy Maiami City as well. Sora, you have to decide, if you choose to be loyal to the Professor, then you have to submit to being willing to card Yuya and take me. If not, then you can't just do things halfway. Sora, what is it that you want?"
Sora then looked at her and thought of his time at Standard. He remembered what it was like being with her and Yuya, between his wild antics and her wish to learn Fusion summoning. He remembered Yuya's mom, who had secretly taken him in to tease her son, as she told him herself, and treated him like a 2nd son. Before that, he had never truly laughed. Sure, he had enjoyed fighting alongside his comrades, but there was never any real joy. He then sighed and lowered his blade, "Alright Yuzu…you win." He then turned to Tuskikage, "I know that you can't forgive me for what I did to your brother, but can we put our grievances aside. We have to protect Yuzu and save Yuya. He's been captured by Security."
Tsukikage sighed before lowering his own duel disk, "Very well, I will take Yuzu to the Underground and hide her there, you go after Yuya. As for the 3 children, what should we do with them?"
Amanda spoke up, "We'll take care of Yuzu and go with her since she's not in good condition. Someone needs to watch over her." Frank and Tanner nodded in agreement.
"Then it's settled, I'll have to be careful though, my partner is probably going to be wondering what's going on, but so far he seems to trust me. I just hope that he doesn't catch on." Sora then left while Tsukikage took Yuzu and the children before leaving.
From his hiding spot, Yuri sighed with disdain. "Great, and just when I was feeling a small spark of comradery with the kid too."
"Are you upset Yuri?" Starve Venom questioned.
"Not really, just another person on my hit list now. It doesn't matter anyway, I can still track Yuzu, and if everything goes as I hope, it won't be long before the invasion begins. In a way, Sora actually did me favor. All I can do now is wait."
He then heard an announcement, "Alright everyone, sunset is coming close, so let's have our final duel of the day! Time to see who will win between the Dueling Warrior, Serena and the Speed Demon, Yugo!"
"So Serena's duel is next…time to find out what happens." Yuri then left to watch another duel of his, 'old friend.'
Well, that's it for now. I'm hoping to get the next chapter out by tomorrow or on Christmas Day, along with maybe a fluffy Zarc/Ray oneshot or something including Zarc. Speaking of Zarc and Ray, I've also decided to do a prequel story on why Zarc turned evil, it ties into this story, serving as background for the plot. Well, I hope you enjoyed this. :)
