Chapter 23: Desolate Heartland

Hello Everyone, how are you all doing!? I'm so sorry I haven't posted any new chapters in over a month, but between school and activities, I haven't had time until now. Since I'm on Spring Break, you'll get more chapters soon. This is the return to Heartland, as Yuto and Shun attempt to retake their haome from Academia's clutches, with new help this time. This chapter is also going to be the return of Luna as well as the first appearance of Michael, or for those of you more familiar with the Arclight's code names, Trey! Kyoji Yagumo from the manga will also appear in a flashback as well. We're also going to see a glimpse of Academia's General, Kaiser Ryo Marufuji! He's back, and instead of Edo, he'll be leading Academia hear. Definitely for the best as Edo's single minded hunt for Yusho caused problems in canon, so with Marufuji, it's a much more uphill battle. I hope you enjoy :)

(Xyz Dimension: 4 weeks prior)

"Father…Haruto…Droite…Kyoji…Chris…even Orbital. How could they do this?" The man raised his head as he saw the remaining buildings burn and fall, smoke filling the air, the sky dark and desolate…as his heart was. Why…why didn't Shun and Yuto listen to him and Kyoji, when they told them not to go. When they told him it was too risky…when they said they had to protect home first. If they hadn't left, Kyoji's brother…his brother…

The blank face hardened and snarled. "So be it, I won't rely on anyone anymore. Try to bring smiles to people…what was I thinking? Sensei was wrong, you can't talk to your enemies…you need to bring them down. I'll wipe them out, see how they feel, when a monster comes to crush all they hold dear." He then noticed as the soulless dogs that carded all he cared for laugh and confront him. Closing his eyes, he took out a card and placed it on his duel disk, "Dragon of revenge, there is nothing left within me to continue. Respark the burning wrath within my soul… so that together we may achieve our goal. As the hunters came in a pack, their eyes were blinded by a radiant light…the growl of a dragon the last thing they heard.

(Present)

Yuto raised his arm and looked at it…at himself. It was the same clothes he had worn before the light had absorbed him, and he felt himself lose conscience. This feeling…to be in his own body…he'd almost forgotten what it felt like. He remembered…moments of awakening. A duelist with hair like Ruri's…an Obelisk Force group…an old subway station…battling against an abominable dragon with a purple and pink haired man who looked like him and Yuya. He had been a ghost back then…but now…now…

"I'm back." Yuto said. He then looked at the charred remains of his happy city, and grew sad, "Back to see my home all but lost."

"How…you…Yuya…WHAT'S GOING ON?!" Shingo cried as he pointed at Yuto frantically.

Yuto sighed, "Oh great, you again."

"How are you here and what did you do with Yuya?" Shingo asked.

"I, Gongenzaka, would also like to know." Gongenzaka stated in a serious tone.

Shun put himself between them, "Knock it off, let me talk to him." He then turned to Yuto, "Is that really you…old friend?"

"Shun your favorite song from the Sonic series is Infinite's theme." Yuto said while chuckling.

Shun cheered, "It is you!" He then punched Yuto in the face and held him in a choke hold, "You promised never to speak of it!"

"Please…mercy Captain Falcon." Yuto croaked, causing Shun to twist harder. "Seriously…Sh… Shun…stop."

Shun they let him go, "Serves you right, best friend backstabber."

"Yeah, yeah I'm terrible." Yuto replied.

"So what happened to Yuya? Because I know you couldn't have been wearing a wig and faking as Yuya, you were always terrible in drama club." Shun snarked.

Yuto sighed, "Honestly, no idea. I just remember losing to Yugo, handing Yuya Dark Rebellion, and now I'm here."

"I KEEP YELLING AT YOU I'M RIGHT HERE!"A voice plucked from nowhere.

Yuto turned to his right and saw a familiar figure, who was…strangely transparent, "Yuya?" He then moved his arm so as to touch him, but found it go right through him. "What in the world?"

"Are you real, or am I ghost? Are you haunting me?!" Yuya yelled, understandably freaked out.

Yuto then looked around, "No idea…maybe it's because we're in the Xyz dimension. My home…or at least the remains of it."

Shun eyed Yuto, then looked around, "Come on everyone, we're wasting time here. Yuto we'll fill you in on everything on the way while you explain your story. For now…let's see if there's anyone left.

(2 hours later)

"And that's how we're here right now." Shingo finished.

"Okay 3 question. First of all, was it necessary for you to divulge every little bit of detail about your duel with Yugo? I'm pretty sure you wasted 40 minutes there. Second, did you have to describe the food in Synchro, because I haven't been able to enjoy eating since I lost my body and now I'm hungry? And finally, was it necessary to recount Shun strangling me and talking about the very conversation we were just having?" Yuto snarked as he glumly stared at broken slap of concrete and fallen buildings as they walked through the remains of the city.

"I was just trying to lighten the mood from the fact that our mission to Synchro ended in practical failure and to distract you so you wouldn't be so horribly depressed to see your home in ashes. Personally, I'd be pretty upset, so I was hoping to lighten the mood. But if you want to sink into depression that's alright with me." Shingo shot back.

"It didn't work, but thanks for trying. I appreciate it." Yuto said in a hushed tone, trying to take the awful truth that lay around him. Heartland had been reduced to a wasteland beyond recognizable. Shards of glass, slabs of concrete and sooty dirt covered the ground. The towns square had been turned upside down and crushed, leaving behind nothing but a giant trench. As if to reflect the mood, there was nothing but clouds covering the sky, no sunlight to pass through them. The wind was rapid and wicked, its gusts blasting tiny shards right into their faces. Grunting, Yuto led the group to a fallen building for cover.

Shun cursed as he wiped dirt from his eyes, "We need to found our old comrades. Hopefully Academia scum hasn't wiped them all out."

Yuto sighed, "Alright, we've got 2 options then, the Tenjo and Arclight Laboratory, or the Duel Lodge. We'll split up, Gongenzaka and I will go to the lab, while you take Shingo to the Lodge."

"Why do I have to take Shingo? You take him." Shun hissed.

"Because I don't want him!" Yuto argued back.

"Guys I'm right here you know." Shingo said glumly. "I get that no one likes me, but can we just move on already?" He crossed his arms and looked away.

Gongenzaka placed a hand on Shingo's shoulder, "I Gongenzaka, will have you know that we do appreciate your company, we just like to tease you that's all."

Shun sighed, "I'm just frustrated and tired at this point to be honest. Honestly, I don't hate you. In fact, you kind of make up for your like of dueling with comedic relief." He then smirked while Shingo sighed, even when he was complimented he was mocked.

"How about we just go together to the lab, then we'll head for the Duel Lodge?" Yuto questioned, and they all nodded. "Alright, let's go then."

They quickly went north through the dilapidated ruins while Sawatari hanged in the back and looked around, pausing when he noticed a strange figure in some ruined building, "Hey guys look over there!" He pointed at the figure as the 3 of them turned…at the same time, the figure heard him, dropped something with a clang, and then ran away. "Come on, let's see who it is!" Shingo stampeded towards the building while the rest of the group hustled to keep up with him. He later came to a small bag containing packs of canned food, and some water canteens.

"Hold it you loose cannon; if you run off like that, you may alert any nearby Academia forces!" Shun growled.

"Hey guys, check this out." Shingo said as he held some of the supplies. "I don't think Academia would carry these provisions with them."

Yuto's eyes widened, "There must still be some survivors! Where do you think they went?"

Gongenzaka nudged Yuto and pointed at a small trail of blood that led away from the bag, "Perhaps wherever the trail leads."

As they followed the trail, they eventually reached a barricaded entrance. The group could hear voices coming from the other side. "..Quiet, hide hear, and pray that no one followed." They heard a woman's voice. Gongenzaka grabbed the gravel and concrete blocking them and hefted it away from them, revealing and old woman with 2 young children, her sons in fact. Whatever remaining color that remained within the woman's face vanished, and she put herself between her children and the group, "Please…spare them…just take me instead." She said, filled with despair.

"It's okay, we're here to help." Yuto said, showing them his scarf.

One of the boys beamed, "The Resistance!"

Shingo smiled, "Did one of you drop this?" He handed them the bag, causing the boys to rush and take out the food and water.

As the group smiled, Shun noticed a bloody wound on one of the boys, 'That explains the blood trail.' From his pocket, he took out a bandage and gauze strips and tended to the boys leg. "That can take care of that injury."

"Thank you all." The woman breathed with relief. "We thought all of the Resistance had been wiped out."

"What happened?" Gongenzaka asked.

The woman sighed, "Academia's attacks grew more brutal as time passed. The 2 main schools, the Spade and Clover Branches, practically all of them have been wiped out. My husband was carded as well." She then eyed their duel disks in fear, "To think such a game could bring this much destruction."

Determined, Yuto rose up, "Alright, here's what we'll do. We'll use the old Raid Raptor Signal trick from before."

"Got it." Shun then summoned 2 copies of Singing Lanius, and gave one of them to Gongenzaka. "Here's how it works, we'll take one of them with us to check out the lab. You guys guard them and keep one yourself. If the Obelisk Force show up, have the bird cry out. They can hear through long distances, so that will alert ours, and we'll run back to get you. If you get a message from ours, take this family, and follow the bird to the Duel Lodge. Understood?"

"Sure." Shingo said while Gongenzaka nodded.

With that, Shun and Yuto cloaked themselves and headed out to see if the old laboratory was intact. As they made their silent tread, Yuya looked at Yuto and questioned, "Who are the Tenjo's and Arclight's, and how do you know them?"

"The Arclight's and Tenjo's were some of the most influential people in the city, and the most intelligent. My father was close friends with Byron Arclight and Dr. Faker, being another scientist who shared their interests. I had the fortune of meeting their kids, Chris, Thomas, & Michael Arclight, along with Kaito Tenjo, and his brother Haruto."

Yuya's eyes narrowed, "You said that you're heading to their lab. Is that where…"

"It's how we managed to travel through the dimensions. Dr. Faker and Byron Arclight built a dimensional transporter so that Shun and I could travel through the dimensions." Yuto finished.

Shun stared at him, then said, "Don't tell Yuya anything too personal about us, okay Yuto."

"Sure, fine." Yuto replied, as Shun hustled in front of him.

"What's gotten on his nerves?" Yuya asked, but Yuto offered no reply.

As Shun kept ahead, only one thought was in his mind, "They made the transporter so that Yuto and I could save Ruri…because everyone else warned us not to…

(4 months prior)

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE'RE NOT SAVING RURI!" Shun roared as he grabbed Kyoji's shirt by the neck.

"I'm saying that what you're suggesting is reckless verging on absolute idiocy." Kyoji huffed in annoyance.

"Shun let go of him!" Yuto said, Pulling Shun away, he then turned to Kyoji, "What's the matter with everyone, I thought we all agreed we'd find her?"

Kyoji sighed, "It's not that I don't want to save her Yuto, but what you two are suggesting is suicide. Even if the portal does manage to take us to Standard, how would you even kidnap Akaba Leo's son. The odds are he'll be protected by highly professional guards. Trying to go incognito in a dimension when we don't have a clue on where to go there, and one that might have a strong Academia presence isn't exactly the best of ideas."

On the other side of the room, Kaito lowered his head, "Not to mention, the man who Yuto allegedly saw kidnap Ruri is nowhere to be seen. Odds are he went back to Academia."

"That is if he's even the guy? I'm not saying I think Yuto's going insane, but how the hell is it that you had a vision of this right when it happened?" Orbital piked.

Yuto looked away and took out Dark Rebellion, "If only I could explain…" He then punched the wall, "I was so close, I know it! Another minute or so and we could've saved her!"

Luna placed a hand on her shoulder, looking at him with a concerned face, "If you're sure in thinking that she was kidnapped, then the odds are she wouldn't be carded. With hope, she'll be alright."

"Damn it, I'm not just going to sit around and wait while Academia tortures my sister. If you all want to stay behind, so be it. I'll save her myself!"

(Back to the present)

'And I would've gone alone too…if Yuto hadn't went with me.' Shun pondered his desolate home as they ran and thought, 'I hope I didn't leave for nothing.'

"We're here." Yuto said, as the finally reached the lab, or at least what was left of it. Like everything else, the once brilliant laboratory that held experimentally advanced technology had been reduced to a pile of rubble. "Let's check the underground levels…see if there's anything left to salvage…"

Meanwhile, about 200 feet below the ground, a pink and purple haired girl was working with a pink haired boy on repairing a robot. "Alright, hand me the synchronizing diffuser." The girl said, leading the boy to hand her a rod-like tool. After adjusting the circuits in the robots head, she then connected it to its battery holster to recharge its energy quantity. "All that's left is to reboot his mainframe and he'll be good to go."

"Great, won't be long until he comes back. This may finally wake Kaito up." The boy replied.

A small light lit up at the top of the room, and the girl hissed. "Damn it, they've come back." She covered her head within a hood and pulled up her scarf to cover part of her face. Armed with a duel disk and a knife in the other, she quietly stalked through the dilapidated hall like a cat. She closed her eyes as she heard footsteps coming from above. 'Only 1…strange…usually those dogs come in packs. Even more so…it's like whoever this is knows where to go.' Not missing a beat, as the steps came closer; she threw the knife with near liquid accuracy. The masked figure dodged to the right just as quickly. She then threw a punch, only to have it blocked by the man, she then eyed the masked individual before her eyes widened in realization. "Yuto…" She then pulled off her hood and scarf and hugged him. "I almost killed you…"

"Don't worry…I'm fine Luna…also…too tight." Yuto muttered as he took off his mask.

Suddenly becoming conscious of herself, she pushed him away, looking away to hide her now scarlet face, and went forward to grab her knife that was lying on the steps. "How's Shun, where is he." She said in a cool tone.

"At the surface, serving as lookout." Yuto stated.

"And Ruri…did you find her?"

"No, but we did find allies." Yuto said in a hopeful tone.

"Really, who are they?" She asked in a curious tone.

"We'll fill you with all the details later. How's everyone else?" He asked in return.

She couldn't even turn to face, "Dr. Faker and Byron-san have been carded…as well as Kyoji and Thomas. Droite and Gauche-san have fallen as well."

Yuto paled, "What about Michael, Allen, and Sayaka? And Kaito, how is he doing?"

"Michael's with me, he's in the storage room. Sayaka and Allen are at the Duel Lodge. We've taken any remaining survivors there as our final base." Luna muttered. "Kaito on the other hand…"

"What happened, was he carded too?!" Yuto asked with worry.

"No…he's not a card…but…he's not…alright." She said quietly.

Alarmed by what she said, Yuto decided to head back to the surface to get Kurosaki, only to find that he wasn't there anymore. "Damn it, where did he go?"

"What's wrong?" Luna asked, having followed him.

"Shun's not here!" Yuto replied, looking around the area. "It doesn't look like there was a struggle, so I don't think he was attacked."

Luna looked up and noticed a trail of smoke in the distance, "Think that has something to do with it?"

"Shit, that's where we left Sawatari and Gongenzaka!" Yuto cursed, racing towards its source.

"I'll just assume that those are some of our new allies." She then radioed Michael with her duel disk. "Michael, I'm heading with Yuto to check on something. You continue fixing Orbital and then meet us there."

"Wait, Shun and Yuto are finally back!?" Michael yelped.

"Long story, I'll fill in the details later!" Luna stated before she chased after Yuto.

Meanwhile, far up ahead, Shun was rapidly approaching the source of the explosion he'd heard. Following his Lanius screech, I giant explosion came from where Shingo and Gongenzaka were, so he ran to check it out. What makes it even stranger was that brilliant light that appeared before the explosion…and that roar. It was the screech of a dragon, and Shun had a good idea of whose it was. As he continued racing, the area finally cleared to the one where they'd left Shingo and Gong, when at that moment, something loud and annoying was flung right at him.

"HELP ME!" Shingo yelped as Shun ducked out of the way. Landing on his butt, Shingo looked at Shun and growled, "Thanks for the help Kurosaki."

"No problem." Shun then looked on and was surprised to see Gongenzaka lying on the ground, beaten. "What happened here?"

Opening one eye, Gongenzaka coughed before speaking, "After you left…"

Gongenzaka and Shingo carefully peered at outside through a tiny whole they found to monitor the area, when they heard footsteps along with…laughter. They then heard a mechanical noise akin to a dog barking, before someone spoke, "I guess my little pet here has caught the scent of some trash. Let's throw them away with the others." They could then make out the appearance of a duelist with a red Academia uniform not unlike Serena's, flanked by 2 more dressed identical to him, although one had a blue uniform and another yellow. The dog came back, and the red uniformed soldier stroked its chin, "Good boy, now where are they?"

As the dog eventually found where they were hiding, it kicked away the gravel, only for Gongenzaka to summon Big Benkei, batting it to the side with a single arm. Gongenzaka then looked at the family. "Don't worry, we'll handle this." As if on command, the Singing Lanius let out an ear bleeding screech, causing the Academia duelists and Sawatari to cover their ears while Gongenzaka groaned, "Hopefully Kurosaki and Yuto will be able to hear that."

"We don't recognize you from the Resistance databanks, but it won't matter." The blue shirt duelist stated as he took up his duel disk, "Soon the Arc Area Project will be complete, and the utopia the Professor spoke of shall become reality!"

"As if we'll let you win!" Shingo roared as he armed his duel disk and stood next to Gongenzaka, "We're taking you down, right here and now!"

Before they could engage however, a voice roared from above, "Yes, all of Academia will burn!" Suddenly, they were all blinded by a flashing light, and the roar of a dragon. A blast of energy shot out of the dragon's mouth, blasting the Academia duelists back. As they finally regained their vision, they found a blonde haired duelist in a black jacket staring down the Academia duelists with hate. "Are you ready to repent?" He then clicked a button on his duel disk, and the 3 men disappeared in a flash of light. He then turned around to Sawatari and Gongenzaka, and held up there carded forms. "Are you ready to join them?" He then activated his duel disk, prompting Gongenzaka and Sawatari to do the same…

"He forced us to duel him, and beat us down. Is he a friend of yours, because he's a lot like you, except 10x as unpleasant?" Shingo finished.

"Very funny." Shun then eyed the duelist with shock, "And yes, he is a friend." Trying to go for a smile, he gave out his friend, "Kaito…it's good to see you're alright."

Kaito didn't say a word, he simply approached Gongenzaka and prepared to card him. Seeing what he was about to do, Shun panicked and attempted to punch him at the last second, leading Kaito to leap back to dodge. "Get out of my way, Kurosaki!" Kaito growled, his voice dripping with venom.

"Stop it Shun, these guys are our allies, not our enemies!" Shun voiced frantically.

"You expect me to believe that! Those are big words coming from a deserter!" Kaito roared, arming his duel disk once more.

"I never deserted anyone! Kaito, please calm down!" Shun begged, but Kaito didn't say another word. Realizing he had no choice, Shun activated his duel disk in response, "Could this day get any worse?"

"DUEL!" They both yelled.

Elsewhere, an Academia officer, approached a tall man with a black jacket and dark blue hair. "Hell Kaiser-sama. We've lost contact with 3 of our scouts in area B6. The radio signal went off in that location!"

The man turned around, "What was the final transmission?"

"Are you ready to repent!" The teen said with a gulp.

The man sighed, "Same as before. Have all nearby squads scour the area there. Stay in groups, and radio in if they find anything. Avoid head on engagement," He then turned to his partner, "Come on Edo, you're with me."

"Where too General Kaiser?" The man called Edo replied.

"That location, of course. If it really is who I think it is, then they won't be enough to stop him. We'll end him ourselves." With that, the General left the Academia base, with his Commander in Chief, and several Obelisk Force soldiers in stride.

In said area, Kaito and Shun began their duel.

Kaito LP: 4000

Shun LP: 4000

"I'll start us off!" Shun roared, "From my hand I summon Raidraptor – Skull Eagle!" A mechanical bird appeared to the left of Kurosaki (ATTR:Dark/LV:3/ATK:1000/DEF:500). "Now I activate the spell, Radraptor – Call! I'll use it to special summon another Skull Eagle from my deck!" With 2 identical metal birds ready to roll, Shun called out, "I overlay my 2 Level 3 Skull Eagle's to build the overlay network. Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 3! Raidraptor – Fiend Eagle!" With that the 2 eagles vanished into the portal below them, unleashing a familiar avian creature to take its place (ATTR:Dark/Rk:3/ATK: 1000/DEF:1000). "Since I used them to Xyz summon, the effects of the 2 Skull Eagle activate, boosting my Fiend Eagle by 300 points each, so that's a total of 1600 ATK! However, now I use its effect to deal damage to you equal to the attack points of a special summoned monster on the field, so try this!" With that, an energy blast knocked Kaito off his feet, landing 10 feet back (Kaito LP: 2400). "I set 3 cards and end my turn."

"Draw!" Kaito roared as he drew a card. "From my hand, I summon Cipher Wing!" A mechanical contraption appeared next to Kaito, as Sawatari and Gongenzaka began to sweat from recognition (ATTR:Light/LV:4/Atk:1400/Def:1200). "Since I control a Cipher Wing, I can summon another one from my hand." An identical metal creature appeared, leading Kaito to activate a new card, "I activate the Continuous Spell, Double Exposure! Now I'll use its first effect to make the levels of my 2 Cipher Wings 8!" He called out as an aura of light shined around his monsters, leading Shun to great his teeth, knowing what was about to come next. "I overlay them both to build the overlay network! Galaxy shining in the darkness, embody the demon of revenge and become my very servant! Xyz Summon! Descend! Rank 8! Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!" With that, Kaito's ace dragon roared, ready for another fight (ATTR:Light/Rk: 8/Atk:3000/Def:2500).

At that moment, Yuto and Luna finally reached them. Catching his breath, Yuto stared at the duel in shock. "What's going on? Why are Shun and Kaito fighting?!"

"Yuto…" Luna spoke looking away from him. "The truth is…Academia found us because you and Shun traveled to the Standard Dimension." She stated sadly while Yuto just stared at her in shock.

He then turned to the duel and whispered, "You mean…the resistance fell because of us…"

That wraps up this chapter, next one will finish Kaito and Shun's duel. Just as a heads up, the next 1 or 2 chapters will be pretty duel fueled, then things will calm down a bit as some world building will be added. The Tyler Sisters are still going to appear in Heartland in later chapters, along with Dennis and Isao. I'll also be working on getting back to the Fusion Dimension as we get new information on Yuri's plans as well as what's going on there. Also, that little twist at the end is something I added, but it's true. It will be explained in another chapter or so! As Yuri always says, "GET SET TO GET WRECKED! PUNY XYZ TRASH!" See you soon:)