Chapter 21: Twisted Entertainment

Hello again my people, sorry for the wait I've been pretty busy, but here's the latest chapter featuring the remainder of Yuri vs Yuya, and boy, will this rattle Yuya. Get ready for some Infinite's theme.

(Synchro Dimension: City)

"Well Yuya, I'm waiting. Show me your entertainment, and I'll show you mine." Yuri stated, licking his lips as he ran on the road with Yuya riding in pursuit.

"I will, Draw!" Yuya shouted, smiling at his card, "I summon Tuning Magician in defense mode." The card of Jack Atlas that he received from Sam materialized on the field (ATTR:Dark/ LV:1/ATK:0/DEF:0). "Now due to its effect, when its summoned I lose 400 life points while you gain 400 life points!" Yuya said as a yellow light went from him to Yuri, their life now differencing by 3500. "Since you've gained life points, I can summon this card from my hand, appear, Performapal Life Swordsman!" With that, a small fighter appeared next to the mage (ATTR:Light/LV:1/ATK:0/DEF:0). "Due to its effect, its attack is equal to the life you gained, so it has 400, and now I use my set Pendulum Scale to bring back Radish Horse and Timesword Magician!" Yuya said, the pendulum reviving the 2 monsters Yuri had destroyed on his turn. "Radish Horse's special effect activates, now I can target a monster we each control, my card gains power equal to my horses power, while your monster loses that power, so I'll increase Life Swordsman to 900 while Rafflesia falls to 2000!"

Yuri grinned, "At this moment, I activate my Quick Play Spell, Predator Plast! I reveal Predator Plants – Drosophyllum Hydra in my hand, and place a Predator Counter on Radish Horse, reducing its level to 1." Yuri said as a counter was placed on Yuya's horse. "I'm taking a guess and saying you were planning on Synchro Summoning, well sorry to tell you, but half the points of the Predator Counters are to disrupt your enemies plays. My deck pretty much has a built in mechanic to counter your summons."

It was Yuya's turn to grin, "I figured as much, so I came ready as well. I activate Pendulum Rising to send my horse back to the Extra Deck, since it's a Pendulum monster, and summon a Pendulum monster from my deck whose level is equal to its original level! Appear Performapal Longphone Bull!" Yuya shouted as his horse vanished and was replaced by a new monster (ATTR: Earth/LV:4/ATK:1600/DEF:1200). "Now it's effect lets me add a Performapal with 1000 or less ATK to my hand." Yuya said as he grabbed a new card from his deck, Yuri doing the same due to the effect of Predator Planet. "I tune my level 4 Bull, level 3 Timesword Magician, and level 1 Tuning Magician together! Hero's blade that sets forth unyielding light! Here and now, along with a flash, awaken! Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 8! Enlightenment Paladin!" Yuya chanted as his monsters vanished, reforming as the warrior that bested Shinji (ATTR:Dark/LV:8/ATK:2500/DEF:2000). "Enlightenment Paladin's effect activates now, letting me add a Spell from my graveyard to my hand, and I choose Smile Word, which I now activate!" Yuya said, recalling his father's card to himself and playing it once more.

Yuri groaned, "Again with this, I know how it goes, you increase the attack of all of our monster by 300 since there are 3 monsters."

"Yes, but now I can use Life Swordsman's effect, letting me tribute it to add its power to Enlightenment Paladin, giving it 400 ATK!" Yuya said as the little warrior vanished to give its power to the paladin. "I know taking the direct approach will be ineffective due to your plant's effect, so I'll have to take a little detour…with the Action Magic, Detour!" Yuya activated the card he had previously picked up while riding. "Now I can negate Rafflesia's effect and deal you 500 damage!" Yuya said as Rafflesia seemed to wither while Yuri chafed against the wind.

"I see what Yuya's up to." Reiji noted as he adjusted his glasses while the rest looked at him. "The difference in power is 1700, so when his Paladin attacks, the damage Yuri will take will be leave him with 2200 life points, add in Paladin's effect, and Yuri will fall."

"Awesome, take him down Yuya!" Yugo and Shingo cheered as the rest looked on.

"Enlightenment Paladin, destroy Rafflesia and end this duel!" Yuya shouted as the magical warrior took his swords and lashed out at the plant.

"I banish Predator Plast from my graveyard in order to prevent Rafflesia's destruction by this battle." Yuri says as he grunted from the damage, as he himself was still vulnerable (Yuri LP: 3900 – 1700 = 2200). "I also activate Predator Plants Reborn to revive Ophrys Scorpio from my graveyard!" Yuri opened his other face down, revealed to be a trap, and in a flash, his scorpion returned. "Due to its effect, I can send Cordyceps from my hand to the graveyard to summon Predator Plants – Fly Hell from my deck!" A new plant appeared beside the scorpion, a small and vicious Venus flytrap.

"In that case I end my turn." Yuya said sadly as the effects of his father's card vanished.

(Security Headquarters)

Barrett, the Obelisk Force, and an unconscious Serena made their way through Security with the help of Aki. "The detention hall is down there, we can go there to find Yuzu." Aki said as they followed her. Suddenly, Barrett stopped, and closed his eyes. "What is it?" Aki asked as they stared at him, perplexed.

"Come out, you can't hide. I know you're there." Barrett then opened his eyes and sighed, "Hard way it is." He then through a knife in his pocket at a wall, and suddenly someone jumped out of the wall, revealing to have been hiding while cloaked. The ninja landed in front Barrett. "You must be Tsukikage, now where is…" Suddenly, Barrett looked up above him and grabbed a stale lollipop out of the sky before snapping it to pieces. "Out with Shiunin Sora." Barret said calmly as the boy jumped down alongside Tsukikage. He then looked back at his comrades, "You 3 grab Yuzu, and leave these 2 for me." As they ran off he stared at his opponents and armed his Duel Disk.

Sora and Tsukikage armed their Duel Disks. "We won't let you take Yuzu." Sora declared.

"I have served on the field of battle for years, so mere stealth won't help you. Try and see if you can get close to taking down a true veteran soldier." Barrett replied calmly.

(City Highway)

"My turn, I draw!" Yuri drew and gave out a dark chuckle. "During my Standby Phase, I can banish Cordyceps from my graveyard to summon to level 4 or lower Predator monsters from my graveyard, so come forth Darling Cobra and Sarraceniant!" Yuri cried out as his 2 plants revived in defense mode. "I use Darling Cobra's effect to add a Fusion card to my hand." Yuri grinned as yet another card came to his hand. "Next I tribute Sarraceniant to keep Gravity Gain on the field." Yuri said as his plant disappeared, enabling him to add a new card to his hand due to Sarraceniant's effect. "Now I activate Fly Hell's special effect, letting me place a Predator Counter on a monster you control." Yuri said as his flytrap shot a counter at Yuya's monster from its mouth.

"Action Magic, Recycling Action! With this, I can activate Action Cards that are in my graveyard for this turn, but they are banished afterwards. I'll now use Detour from my graveyard to negate Fly Hell's effect and deal you 500 damage." Yuya said as Fly Hell's mouth was forced shut and Yuri was pushed back as his life fell to 1700. "You were going to tribute Paladin to summon Hydra from your hand, so I had to stop it."

"Not bad Yuya, you can pick things up pretty well. In that case I'll activate Allure of Darkness, draw 2 cards and banish Hydra from my hand." Yuri said as he grabbed 2 new cards while getting rid of Hydra. "In that case I'll attack, go Rafflesia, Support Thorn!" Yuri shouted as Rafflesia launched its roots at Enlighttenment Paladin.

"I activate Damage Vanish from my graveyard to reduce the damage to 0, and then I'll activate Gumgumouton's Pendulum effect to prevent its destruction by battle!" Yuya cried out as the 2 cards formed a barrier around the warrior, protecting it from harm.

"Well I guess I'm going to have to change up the game a bit, so I'll activate Fusion Substitute from my hand to fuse Fly Hell and Rafflesia together! Come forth, draconian plant that thrives on its prey! Level 8, Predator Plants – Dragostapelia!" Yuri chanted as the 2 monsters merged in the fusion portal and revived in a new form (ATTR:Dark/LV:8/ATK:2700/DEF: 1900). "I now set one card on the field along with another card, turn end." Yuri then looked at Yuya with disdain. "Are you seriously still deluding yourself? I honestly don't know why I'm putting up with this. If you're just going to be a coward like your dad, what's the point?"

"What gives you the right to call my dad a coward?" Yuya growled furiously.

"Well can you explain why he left you as anything else? Sora told me how your dad abandoned you, despite being the Pioneer of Action Dueling and your home's champion. Either he chickened out and ran off, or he stopped caring. No matter what, he left you, didn't say goodbye, and is off somewhere, maybe with a new family." Yuri said bluntly.

"Shut up! My dad would never do that!" Yuya barked. "He's still doing what he did best on the stage, making others happy! I know he's still out there, and so does mom and the kids at school! I'll keep his memory alive, and one day, my father and I will entertain everyone together!"

Yuri sighed, "It's sad really, you don't want to believe he left you, so you try to recreate yourself as an image of him to keep him alive in your heart. Those ideals you say you believe in are nothing but a cover to hide what you truly are… a sad little boy who lost his daddy. You shed your face and became a mask to get away from your pain, and now you've forgotten to take it off or even that you put it on. Well let me break it down for you… we're in a war, and in war the weak die while the stronger remain. Dueling is a battle where only the winner smiles, the weak have their own frailty to blame. It's a sad fact but one that must be understood. Fools that duel for outdated ideals like yours are going to die; mercy has no place in this. If you want to make me smile, show me something worthwhile." Yuri grinned darkly as he continued to speak in that soft tone, "Show me your real face Yuya… the one that wields power. The one that understands that the only one you should make happy…is yourself, and no one more." Yuri chuckled, but he wasn't lying. After that mind link with Yuya, he realized Yuya had a deeper connection to the darkness deep within their souls. He knew it laid beneath the mask and he intended to remove it. Yuya would unleash his true nature, and all that power would be his own. In this hunting game, power was the only way out.

Yuya shook, "No…you're wrong Yuri, dueling is about making everyone happy, I'll show you on this turn!" Yuya placed his fingertips on his deck and focused. He needed something, he needed a miracle. He had discovered the power of the Pendulum, and it had lend him its aide before, now he needed it again. He had to win this duel, for his friends, the City, Jack, and everyone back home. Don't let fear own you…swing past it. "DRAW!" Yuya shouted as his Pendulum lit up, causing his extra deck to light up and he opened his eyes staring into the silhouette of a new monster.

"On the Standby Phase following the turn it went to the graveyard, I can add a Fusion card to my hand thanks to Rafflesia's 3rd effect." Yuri said as a new card came to his hand. "I also use Dragostapelia's effect to place a Predator Counter on your Paladin which, thanks to Gravity Gain, will not be able to attack. Now show me what you've got."

"It doesn't matter how you try to stop me, with this I will turn things around. Using my set Pendulum Scale I revive Bull and Timesword from my Extra Deck, and from my hand Performapal Cheermole! Pedulum Summon!" Yuya waved his hand as his Longphone Bull and Timesword revived along with a mole with a cheerleader's outfit and pompoms (ATTR:Earth/ LV:2/ATK:600/DEF:1000). "Longphone Bull lets me add a Performapal to my hand, and with this the stage is set." Yuya said with a grin.

"For what exactly, you don't have any monsters to Xyz or Synchro summon with." Yuri questioned.

"You're right, but there is a card that can be summoned without one." Yuya then flipped out his Extra Deck to reveal an all new monster. "I tribute Cheermole, Bull, Timesword, and Paladin to summon it! From the peaceful depths of time, release the light throughout this wide world, and revive! Synchro Summon! Level 10! Super Magical Swordsman of Nirvana! Nirvana High Paladin!" Yuya cried out as his monsters vanished and were replaced by a bigger and buffer swordsman in bulkier armor with a larger blade. The light that shined from it seemed to awaken hope within everyone in the city (ATTR:Dark/LV:10/ATK:3300/DEF:2500). "I can summon this card by tributing one Synchro monster I control along with any number of Pendulum summoned Pendulum monsters as long as their levels equal 10, and when its summoned I can add a card from the grave to my hand, so come on back Smile World!" Yuya cheered as his father's card came back to his hand while Yuri added another card to his hand due to Predator Planet's effect. "Now it's time for the real entertainment to begin!" Yuya suddenly stopped as Yuri began laughing sickly. "What's so funny?!"

"You are Yuya!" Yuri said gathering himself before hissing, "Your naïve wishes are so pathetic their laughable. But you are right…the real fun begins now." He then activated several buttons on his duel disk, and suddenly, the entire track shook at the force of many explosions that went on throughout the city. Yuri smiled as he watched Yuya's eyes widened as he saw ripple after ripple pass through the city, ripping up the roads and causing several buildings to collapse. "This is a more proper field for our duel."

Growling, Shun quickly summoned up a few Raidraptors for the Lancers to ride on along with Sam and Yugo. They flew across the city to watch the duel. "Damn bastard."

As Melissa Claire watched the chaos from above she shook in fear, "What…what is this?"

"This is the beginning of the end; I activate my trap, Ruthless Fusion!" Yuri opened his face down and grinned, "Since you've special summoned a monster from your Extra Deck, this card allows me to Fusion Summon a monster using monsters on my field, so Scorpio and Dragostapelia, fusion! Two beautiful flowers with insect-alluring fragrance! Now become one, and from the hell beneath your petals, give birth to a new terror! Fusion Summon! Appear! Poisonous dragon with hungering fangs. Level 8! Starve Venom Fusion Dragon!" Yuri chanted as his dragon roared and awakened, staring down at his counterpart and the paladin (ATTR: Dark/LV:8/ATK:2800/DEF:2000). "The effect of Ruthless Fusion forces this duel into its battle phase, and Starve Venom's effect lets it gain ATK equal to Paladin's ATK!" Yuri laughed as his dragons power rose to 6100, "Now I banish Ruthless Fusion from my graveyard to force your paladin to attack it!" His face formed a dark sneer as he placed a finger on his forehead before moving it aside to tousle his bangs and said, "With this, the show ends."

As his paladin unsheathed its blade and ran towards Starve Venom's claws, Yuya acted fast, "I use Gumgumouton's Pendulum effect to prevent Nirvana's destruction by the battle, and I send Performapal Inflater Tapir from my hand to the graveyard to reduce the damage to 0!" The 2 cards formed a barrier around Nirvana High Paladin and protected him. Yuya sighed and wiped the sweat off his face before taking a look around the city, causing him to glare at Yuri with hate, "What kind of monster are you? Serena told me Academia carded people to unite the dimensions into 1, but you're just killing people left and right. Does this makes you happy, violent murder and chaos!?"

Yuri simply sighed, "I may be the Professor's lieutenant but I'm not a mindless puppet." He then stared at the destruction around him and smiled, "I care not for utopia, I duel only for this, the destruction and loss of everything. Yes…destruction has to come before creation, and for my dystopia, I won't stop." He stopped running as Yuya stopped the bike, "Even after the Arc Area Project is completed, I will not end my hunt. I will continue to card and destroy, and I will not stop until everyone in all dimensions feels my wrath. Then, and only then, when everyone else is carded and dead at my feet…will my hunger be content. Now, why don't you hurry up so I can end you next turn."

Yuya shook in rage, "I'll stop you before that, before I end my turn I'll activate Wavering Eyes to destroy the monsters in my Pendulum Zones, now because of that I can deal you 500 points of damage and add a pendulum card to my hand!" As the cards in Yuya's pendulum zones were destroyed, Yuri was blasted back as his life was reduced to 1200 while Yuya added Performapal Gongcat to his hand to his hand. "Next I place Performapal Gongcat in my Pendulum Zone and activate the spell, Pendulum Halt! Now since I have 3 or more Pendulum cards face up in my extra deck, I can draw 2 cards!" Yuya looked at his new cards and suppressed a grin, "I'll set this and end my turn."

"My turn then, I draw." Yuri stated, before looking at the card and smirked, "I'm not paying the cost of Gravity Gain, so that card is destroyed." The card vanished and Yuri smiled, "Now I switch Darling Cobra to attack mode and bring this duel to an end. Starve Venom Fusion Dragon, attack Nirvana High Paladin!" Yuri smiled as Starve Venom charged at Nirvana, who brought up his sword to slice his dragon, "Starve Venom's special effect will destroy Nirvana High Paladin and end you with it do you have a defense against it?" Yuri asked as his dragon continued its head on crash.

Yuya revealed his face down, "I'll use Last Minute Cancel to switch Nirvana to defense mode!" As he said that Yuri snickered and Starve Venom whipped its tail around right at the magical warrior. At the last second, Nirvana puts his blade horizontally in front of it like a shield, and while his sword and he were ripped through like butter, Yuya was safe. "Nirvana High Paladin's effect lets me place it in the Pendulum Scale when it's destroyed!" On his right Pendulum scale, Nirvana High Paladin appeared with a Scale 8 compared to Gongcat's scale 1. As Yuri called another attack with Darling Cobra, Yuya responded by using Gongcat's effect to reduce the damage to 0.

Yuri grinned, "I'll admit that you don't know when to quit. I should've known better than to understand how much you'd cling to life. Your persistence is admirable, even if your dream is sad. Very well, let's move the stage to the final level, and see if you can turn things around next turn. I activate the spell, Circle of Enchantments, with this card I can send a face up spell or trap on my field to the graveyard in order to add one of the same kind to my hand." Yuri's Predator Planet disappeared as a new card came to his hand. "Next I banish Fusion Substitute to return Rafflesia to my Extra Deck and draw a new card." Yuri quickly took out his plant and placed it in his deck before whipping a new card from his deck and smiled. "Now I set 4 cards and end my turn."

The Lancers watched from above and Yugo snarled, "That lunatic just filled up his whole spell and trap card zone. He's fully loaded."

"We should go help, I can't just stand around while this copy of Yuya torments him." Gongenzaka shook with fury.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Shingo then looked at Reiji, who merely looked away before responding.

"We can't do anything, Yuri has us caught. If he still has another volley of bombs left, attacking him at once may just provoke him into setting them off as a last resort." Reiji simply looked at the 2 lookalikes, "We can only hope Yuya will win."

"My turn, Draw!" Yuya called out as he drew before looking at the card he got. "With my set Pendulum scale, I'll Pendulum summon a total of 5 monsters, Come Forth…"

"Not so fast Yuya!" Yuri called out, "I activate my trap, Nightmare Archfiends! Now I can tribute Darling Cobra to summon 3 Nightmare Archfiend tokens to your field!" Suddenly, 3 wispy demonic phantoms appeared on Yuya's field, laughing and mocking him (ATTR:Dark/ LV:6/ATK:2000/DEF:2000). "Now what will you summon Yuya?"

Yuya hissed, "In that case, right now I'll use them to pendulum summon Gumgumouton and Bubbledog!" The monsters that were previously in Yuya's pendulum scale appeared on the field in the remaining monster zones.

"At this moment, I activate the Quick Play spell De – Fusion to split up my Starve Venom back into Scorpio and Dragostapelia!" Yuri stated as his face up card was revealed and Starve Venom vanished in a shaft of light as his materials returned to the field. "I'll use Scorpio's effect to send another Hydra from my hand to the grave and summon Predator Plants – Stapelia Worm from deck!" Yuri laughed as a small plant like worm appeared on his field in defense mode. "Now I activate Flash Fusion, letting me refuse Scorpio and Dragostapelia, and reform Starve Venom!" Yuri smiled wickedly as his dragon returned the field. "Let me clear things for you Yuya, the only reason you've survived for this long is because I've let you survive this long. Stapelia Worm's special effect lets me negate the activation of an effect that would change the ATK of a monster and destroy the card, I could do it right now on Starve Venom, destroy it, and wipe out your monsters and life with Venom's final effect." Yuri then grinned, "But where's the fun in that kind of victory… prove to me that I'm not just wasting my time. Show me your power Yuya, I'll give you until the end of this turn, by that time, Flash Fusion will destroy Venom, which will cause Venom to nuke your field. In the meanwhile, try getting past my now amped up Starve Venom, oh and in case you want to use Nirvana's pendulum effect, I looked it up on the duel disk and I think Stapelia Worm can take it."

Yuya gulped, knowing Yuri was right. He looked at the cards in his hand and replied, "Don't think I'm done yet. I tribute 2 of these tokens to advance summon Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon from my hand!" The 2 tokens vanished and Yuri grinned as Yuya's own dragon graced the field, the very thing he'd been waiting for (ATTR:Dark/LV:7/ATK:2500/DEF:2000).

Odd-Eyes raised his head and stared at Starve Venom imploringly, "Brother, what are you doing?"

"My sworn duty, I am protecting Yuri, heir to the throne." Starve Venom snarled.

"What, but we promised to-to him, and her… that we'd give people another chance. If you continue doing this, we will be swallowed once more. Why are you doing this? You purposely led Clear Wing to Dark Rebellion to have their wielders fight…Dark Rebellion is sure of it. Do you seek to become what we once were?"

"I made no promises…and I couldn't care less about these dimensions or these filthy humans. I've no wish to see Yuri be consumed, I will save him. And if I must crush his counterparts and end them along with these dimensions, so be it." Starve Venom growled at Odd-Eyes as the 2 duelists watched in perplexed states, unable to understand the language only Duel Monsters knew. "If you get in my way, I won't hesitate to crush you into the dirt along with Rebellion and Clear Wing. No mercy or regret!"

Odd-Eyes seemed near tears, "But…after all we've been through…remember the good times. I know things may look bleak but humans aren't all bad. My new master has the same smile he had…lets work together to keep it big brother…"

"I AM NOT YOUR BIG BROTHER! WE AREN'T EVEN RELATED, AND EVEN IF WE WERE I WOULD'VE DISOWNED ALL OF YOU!" Starve Venom roared in rage, ignoring the pain within him as he spoke these cruel words.

"You mean…you really don't care…"

"No I don't! If you 3 hadn't held me down before none of this would've happened! Yuri had that smile too before, and humanity reminded me why they should die since they took that smile away!" Starve Venom attempted to ignore the strange cracks of pain that formed within him as he spoke. "You were always too weak and soft, I always knew you were unworthy to guard the King."

Odd-Eyes couldn't even reply and Yuya felt a glow from his deck, and he took out Clear Wing, Feeling the simmering rage within the card. Suddenly, both Yuya's and Yugo's eyes flashed as they witnessed the silhouette of a dragon, and they both said, "Very well, I activate Shuffle Reborn to revive Tuning Magician from my graveyard with its effects negated!" Yuya's small mage revived once more alongside Odd-Eyes. "Now the rest of Shuffle Reborn takes effect, so I return Gongcat to my deck and draw a card!" As Yuya's Gongcat returned to his deck, Yuya placed his hand on the top of his deck and closed his eyes, there was only one card in his deck that could save him now. "Draw!" Yuya looked at his card and called out, along with Yuygo from above as one, "I tune my Level 1 Tuning Magician with the remaining Nightmare Archfiend token I possess in order to Synchro Summon a level 7 monster!" Yuya's mage vanished and his demonic token flew through the light that would awaken Yugo's dragon! Spread your wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down your enemies at the speed of light! Synchro Summon! Appear now! Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" With that, Yugo's ace monster appeared on the field, ready to crush Yuri and Venom (ATTR:Wind/LV:7/ATK:2500/ DEF: 2000).

"Awesome, Yuya summoned Yugo's dragon!" Sawatari noted as they looked on from above.

"Together we can take Yuri down." Yugo growled.

Clear Wing turned to Odd-Eyes and spoke, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine… don't worry sister."

"Been a long time Clear Wing, I knew you couldn't stay away for too much longer." Starve Venom snarked.

Clear Wing turned her head towards Starve Venom and snarled, "I know he's not okay, and I plan on making you pay! Don't try blaming your own failures on us, and don't think I'll forgive you for hurting Odd-Eyes! It's time to surpass my limits and stop you for good!" With that Clear Wing roared and Yuya understood completely what he had to do next.

"I activate Pendulum Shuffle to return one Pendulum card on my field to my deck in order to add a Pendulum monster to my hand with the same scale or a Pendulum spell or trap card. I choose to add Pendulum Call to my hand." Yuya looked at the card in his hand and looked back at Smile World. Activating Pendulum Call would require Yuya to…send Smile World to the graveyard. To do so would mean discarding his father's wishes to gain victory. He couldn't do that; he couldn't just abandon his ideals. But…he needed to win this duel…he needed to defeat Yuri. Yuya looked around the highway he rode on and saw the burning and smoking city, courtesy of Yuri's handiwork. He had to win this duel for Jack's sake, for Yugo's, his friends, and the people Yuri had hurt, then he could head off to save Yuzu. "I discard Smile World…and activate Pendulum Call in order to add Xiangke and Xiangsheng Magician from my deck to my hand, and now I use them to set the Pendulum Scale once again!" Yuya called out as the 2 new Magicians appeared on either side of him.

"Yuya…" Gongenzaka said sadly as he realized Yuya was compromising his beliefs in order to take Yuri down.

"I understand Yuya's pain, but at this point, he needs to stop Yuri so we can move on and save Yuzu and Serena." Reiji stated.

Yuri smiled as he looked as he rode atop his dragon with Yuya in pursuit, "So you finally abandon the lies you tell yourself. Holding onto Smile World for so long had been a foolish decision on your behalf, rather than to face the truth, you tried to cling to such naïve wishes and fancy ideals in order to feel morally righteous. However, now you face the truth. In a world with the laws of the jungle you need power to survive. At the end of the day, we're all killers in this war. Trying to justify what you're doing and toying with beautiful goals is hypocritical and contemptuous." He then sighed, "In a way, you and your Lancers are no better than the Obelisk Force and Academia."

"TAKE THAT BACK YURI!" Yuya shouted, "WE'RE NOTHING LIKE YOU!"

"And explain to me why and how." Yuri shot back.

"Unlike Academia, we didn't start a war and card hundreds of people! What you and Academia is just plain evil, you want to create a utopia that was built off the deaths of so many lives, and the worst part is your attitude to it! You're not just fine with carding people, you enjoy it! You like seeing flee in fear and terror while you pursue and card them! For you, it's all a big hunting game to see who can kill the most people! We just want to end the war and stop Academia, and bring peace and joy to everyone in the dimensions! It's like comparing light and darkness, we have nothing in common with you!" Yuya roared as he started breathing heavily out of rage, feeling the familiar angry wrath of the Black Shadow build within him.

"Actually light and darkness have a lot of commonalities when you think about it. While the darkness may prevent you from seeing what's there, light blinds you from the truth just as well. Besides Yuya, can you really tell me if Akaba Reiji is as moral as you wish or shares your wishes as well?" Yuri asked slyly, prompting Yuya to freeze up. "Can't respond right, I suppose you're still not completely on board with how Reiji formed the Lancers, what with him using his tournament to kill off the weak until he had a group that could actually fight back. Probably got that idea from his father, Akaba Leo…the Professor and leader of Academia." Yuri smiled as those words slowly sank within Yuya, whose eyes widened. "He didn't tell you, did he? I can understand why, he's not exactly a great father figure or a good man, but I'm sure you'd understand due to your own failure of a dad." Yuri chuckled as Yuya grew annoyed. "But that aside, your group isn't exactly squeaky clean in terms of morality. Kurosaki Shun for instance, has carded several dozen of our soldiers, even a few who were battered and defenseless. And that's not starting with the several people he attacked in your Standard Dimension, if what Shiunin told me is true. So Academia shows up and cards his hometown and I kidnap his sister in the middle of the night and hold her hostage, and his response is to go into another dimension, card several innocent people as a means of finding the Professor's son, and use him as a bargaining chip to rescue his own sister. Well-meaning maybe, but a tad reckless and morally ambiguous. Oh, speaking of morally ambiguous, Sora, am I right! Sora isn't exactly averse to carding people, and even carded Tsukikage's brother, but that doesn't seem to stop you from letting him join."

"Shut up, it's nothing like that. Sure, a couple of us made rough choices, but that doesn't make us even nearly as bad as you!" Yuya shouted back at Yuri.

"Oh really, well can I let you in on a secret, do you actually know how many people are actually going to die from the Arc Area Project?" Yuya shook his head and Yuri laughed, "Zero, no deaths at all. Once the dimensions have been merged, all the carded people will be turned back into physical form. It may take a while after that, but the Professor's grand plan is to actually make amends with the Xyz citizens afterwards and rebuild their city. Afterwards, there will be no war or problems…at least that's what he says. So in that sense, there's actually no difference between you Lancers and Academia! You're both delusional fools that blind yourself with fancy goals without seeing the truth of the fact."

"Oh and what about you?! You talk so much about our own foolishness, but who says you're any better! Your bombs have probably just killed several people, and you say Academia doesn't seek to kill anyone!" Yuya shouted back.

"Who says I give a crap about the project. I honestly don't care either way, but at least Academia provides me with some amusement. I used to be naïve and foolishly followed its goals like a sheep before in the past, but that's changed. We're all out for ourselves, and we fight only for what matters to us. The difference is that I don't care about hiding myself behind a front of morals or decadent dreams. I card and kill people because I enjoy it and because it gives me a sense of purpose to be inflicting something of permanence rather than a temporary illusion. And like I said…" Yuri paused before looking at the city around him and grinned, "Even after this, I won't stop, I'll keep carding until there's nothing left." Yuri then closed his eyes and a dreamy smile came to his face, "Then…and only then, will my own utopia be formed, because after all, the only true utopia…is dystopia."

Yuya shook at Yuri's words, not knowing what to say. This was beyond insanity; it just couldn't be put to words. His brain hurt, and the Black Shadow seeped in. The anger he felt at Yuri's cruel comparison of Academia to themselves, the insults to his father's memory, and putting himself up as better finally got under his skin. "That does it, you fall now!" Yuya then rose his hand, "I activate Tuning Magician's final effect, when I control Magician monsters in my pendulum zones, I can special summon it from my graveyard, so revive Tuning Magician!" Yuya's female mini mage revived, decreasing his life to 500 while Yuri's became 1600. "Now I tune my level 1 Tuning Magician with my level 7 Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Young magician with adverse strength! Gain the shining wings of light. Soar to the summit of supremacy! Synchro Summon! Appear! Level 8! Dragon with piercing eyes of breakthrough! Supreme King White Dragon – Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon!" A now berserk Yuya roared as the dark aura surrounded him, and from the Synchro Portal, a new dragon with blue highlights flew overhead before going beside the Pendulum Dragon, growling in rage and fury (ATTR:Dark/LV:8/ATK:3000/DEF:2500). "With this dragon my victory is guaranteed! Wait what…" Yuya stopped as Yuri began laughing like a madman. "WHAT IS SO FUNNY!"

(Infinite's Theme Full)

As Yuri collected himself, a dark aura began to surround him as well, "It's just that this is what I was waiting for. You've shown me your power, and now it is mine! I activate my Continuous Trap, Predator Garden! With this since you special summoned a monster, I can place a Predator Counter on it and make its level 1, which leaves it perfectly exposed for this…"Yuri licked his lips as a Predator Counter appeared on the new dragon before opening his last face down, "I activate Dragon Creeping Plant! This lets me take control of a Dragon type monster you control since I control a Dragon type monster, as long as it's not the highest level monster you control, and thanks to Predator Garden, Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon isn't. The power is mine!" Yuri yelled as vines and roots shot from his trap and pulled it to Yuri's field, "Obey your master, obey me now!" Yuri roared as a dark aura manifested within the roots and corrupted the trapped dragon before it finally succumbed to Yuri's will. "Well it seems I now control a Synchro Pendulum monster, and you still can't stop Starve Venom's nuke burn once your turn ends. It seems I will win!"

Yuya hissed before grinning as well, "I activate Xiangsheng Magician's pendulum effect to make Bubbledog the same level as Odd-Eyes and now I overlay them both!" Yuya called out as the female magician on his right scale launched an arrow at the dog, making it glow with a red aura akin to Odd-Eyes before they both turned to orbs of light and entered the overlay network below them. "Dragon with dual colored eyes, gain the strength of the greatest storms and arise as the absolute tempest! Xyz Summon! Appear, Rank 7! Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon!" Yuya cried out as a new blue dragon appeared with 2 orbs of blue light surrounding it (ATTR:Water/Rk:7/ATK:2800/DEF:2500). "Battle, Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon! Attack Starve Venom Fusion Dragon!" Yuya called out while the Lancers shock turned to worry and fear due to Yuya's aggression and seemingly nonsensical move. "I activate Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon's effect, now I can detach an overlay unit to negate its own attack and special summon an Odd-Eyes monster from my hand or grave, and since I'm detaching Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon from it Odd-Eyes will be sent to the graveyard…and now it revives!" Yuya declared as his new dragon retreated, swallowing an overlay unit and revived his signature dragon. "Now I activate Xiangke's Pendulum effect to change Absolute Dragon from a Rank 7 to a Level 7, and now I overlay my 2 dragon's to build the network once more!" Yuya chanted as his dragons morphed into arcs of blue and dark light before entering the reopened network. "Dragon of dual colored eyes. Unleash that black scale of wrath, and eradicate all opposing enemies! Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 7! Dragon with eyes of rage! Supreme King Black Dragon – Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!" The dragon forged by Yuya and Yuto as one emerged from the network and howled as gusts and whirlwinds of darkness shook the City along with strands of lightning (ATTR:Dark/Rk:7/ATK:3000/DEF: 2500). "Now since I used Absolute Dragon as a level 7 monster to summon it, Rebellion can destroy all level 7 or lower monsters you control and deal damage to you equal to their power! So along with Stapelia, the treacherous White Dragon you stole from me will be gone and you with it!" A dark grin came over Yuya, "Ironic isn't it, the very move you made to steal my power is what kills you in the end. You should've ended this when you were ahead, and now you will pay the consequences, Overlord Howling!" Yuya roared along with his dragon, who absorbed Absolute Dragon's silhouette and launched it violent winds with the force of a hurricane at Yuri's monsters, the blast causing a massive explosion. However…when the smoke cleared, Yuya was shocked as he saw Yuri perfectly fine. Still riding atop of Starve Venom with his life points at 1500…and Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon in his Pendulum Scale! "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Yuya shouted incredulously.

Yuri simply began cackling once more, "What I've done is simply use Wing Dragon's effect, because whenever an Odd-Eyes monster I control would be destroyed…I can place this card in an open Pendulum Scale instead! I guess you were thinking too little of the dragon I stole…or maybe you were just hoping I wouldn't notice." Yuri then gave Yuya a sick grin, "But my point has been proven…just like the enemies you so despise, you claim to be righteous, when in reality, you see yourself as a God, or Supreme King, in your place. And now you'll face the end that all will find at my hand…the only thing your noble ideals will lead to...oblivion. Now why don't you just end your turn and quit wasting everyone's time?" Yuri trolled.

"Turn…end." Yuya stated as the dark aura broke down and tears came to his eyes, having failed Jack, his friends…and his father.

"With the end of this turn, Flash Fusion's effect destroys Starve Venom…" Yuri said as he jumped off his dragon while cracks began to emerge around it, "and that triggers Starve Venom's final effect, destroying all special summoned monsters you control, and you along with them. Enjoy my entertainment…Sakaki Yuya." Starve Venom erupted like a bomb, shooting toxic venom that consumed Gumgumouton and Odd-Eyes Rebellion…before slamming Yuya in the ghostly image of a demonic dragon!"

"GGAAAUUGGHHHH!" Yuya screamed as the blast picked up the D-Wheel and himself, before blasting them off the track (Yuya LP: 0).

(Infinite Theme ends)

"YUYA!" The group shouted as many of the falcon's dived at Yuya's falling form, only for Yuya to be caught by a vine that wrapped around his neck like noose, cutting off him off from oxygen and severely hurting him. They watched as Yuri held the other end and was smiling like a mad psychopath. No…he was a mad psychopath.

"One last festivity my friend." Yuri then pressed a button on his Duel Disk, and the last rounds of explosions rattled the city, bringing so many building crumbling down. Yuri smiled as he saw Yuya writhe in pain as he attempted to break free, the blasts sending him swinging like a swing on a playground. He then eyed his friend, "SO WHO WANTS TO STRIKE AT MY NEW PINATA?! FIRST ONE TO CRACK HIM GETS FIRST PICK ON THE CANDY!"

"LET HIM GO YOU SICK BASTARD!" Yugo roared with everyone in agreement.

Yuri smiled sweetly, "Okay, then. There he goes!" He dropped the vine that held Yuya, causing the boy to plummet once more…only for Gongenzaka to save him while riding atop one of Kurosaki's falcons.

"Yuya hang on, please!" Gongenzaka said as he undid the vine, freeing Yuya's neck, causing the boy to burst out coughing he breathed deeply, attempting to regain his oxygen. Yuya then shivered as Gongenzaka, held him, clearly traumatized from what had just happened. "Hang on Yuya." Gongenzaka then landed on the highway along with the rest of the group as they confronted Yuya's wicked doppelganger.

"Psychotic freak, why are you doing this?!" Yugo shouted.

Yuri simply scoffed, "If anything else, because it amuses me." He then looked at the frightened performer and took out the Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon he'd taken, "That was fun Yuya, I hope your stronger next. Until then, I'll hold on to this." He then turned back to Yugo, "Now how about we duel, my sweet Fusion?" He said as he licked his lips.

"You're on, I'll crush you for Rin and Yuya!" Yugo said as he armed his duel disk which he'd detached from the Ringo."

However, as Yuri attempted to activate his own, suddenly it lit up to reveal one of the Obelisk Force, "Ugh, what is it now?"

"Yuri-sama, please help. We had just taken Hiragi Yuzu from her cell when Roger appeared and took her and Serena! Barrett-san is contending with Sora and Tsukikage while the Izayoi girl duels Roger! Please, we need you to turn the tides!" The faceless man said in a panic.

"Why didn't we just teleport Serena back to Academia while we had her?" Yuri sighed, "Never mind, I'm on my way." He then looked back at the Lancers, "Apologies, but our fight will have to continue later. I'm on my way to take Yuzu. If you want to stop me meet me at Security's main building."

"No way you bastard, we're ending this now…" Yugo along with Kurosaki and Shingo ran at Yuri, only for Yuri to teleport in a violet flash. Yugo then clenched his fist and roared, "DAMN YOU BASTARD!"

Fanmade OC Cards

Circle of Enchantments (Spell:Normal) - Send one face up Spell or Trap Card on your field to the graveyard. Add a spell or trap of the same type from your deck to your hand.

Pendulum Shuffle (Spell:Normal) - Target one Pendulum monster you control in one of your Pendulum Zones, return it to the deck. Then add a Pendulum monster from your deck to your hand with the same scale as the returned card or add one "Pendulum" Spell or Trap card from your deck to your hand.

For the sake of this duel, Shuffle Reborn and Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon had their effects altered a bit, while Longphone Bull was changed into a Pendulum Monster.

Well that ends this chapter! Before I say anything else I'd like to tank Nox Descious for letting me use Predator Garden, you have my infinite gratitude. Anyway, back to the story. This is a pretty horrifying moment for Yuya and the Lancers. The fact that Yuri was toying with him and crushed him so easily, drawing out the fight just as a means to torture Yuya and make him abandon his ideals even for a little bit will be a hard blow for Yuya. It's definitely going to make him both hateful and fearful of Yuri, as well as even more insecure of his capabilities. However, I think I should reword something I said before. I'm not more sadistic than Yuri is when it comes to Yuzu, I'm more sadistic when it comes to Yuya. There will be a bit of fluff between Yuzu and Yuya next chapter. Oh wait, I forgot, the next chapter concludes the Synchro Arc, so get ready to return to the Xyz Dimension soon!