And here is Chapter 18 of the Fusion Arc. Hope you guys are looking forward for what's to come. Some of you might think of this chapter as a filler, but it's still an important one to show progress on what's happening.

Anyway, let's get right to it.

Chapter 18: Overcoming Academia's Best

Academia – Parasite Laboratory

Yuya, Serena, Asuka and Atem stood back-to-back as the parasites closed in around them with Pharaoh hissing at them.

"Doctor…" Asuka glared at the man.

"I'm afraid none of you will be leaving here. Serena, it's too dangerous for you to go anywhere else. It's best that you stay by the Professor's side." The Doctor said.

"I'd rather die than stay with that man!" Serena spat.

"It's for your own good. I mean we all saw what happened with poor dear Ruri." Doctor gave a melancholic expression.

"Don't you dare say her name." Yuya growled.

"I'm just stating the truth of what has happened. Even the Professor has been caught off guard by what has happened. I think we can all agree that Serena's safety is more important than the ARC Area Project for the moment, at least until we can figure out a way to separate them again." Doctor tried to reason with them.

"You're a bad liar, Doctor. You say you want to help but this is just another excuse for your experiments." Atem said.

"I'm a scientist, experiments are my bread and butter. That being said, did I hear that you're going to a Mr. Seto Kaiba?" Doctor asked.

"What's it to you?" Yuya questioned.

"Oh, nothing. Just that I find that child to be ignorant of the possibilities that his Solid Vision has created for us. It's thanks to the Solid Vision System that I have created these parasites, but that fool insists on using it just for games. Pathetic." Doctor insulted Kaiba.

"But I've prattled on long enough, I'll be taking you all as prisoners now." Doctor snapped his fingers and the parasites starting to close in.

"I'll create a distraction, you three should go to Mr. Kaiba." Asuka said.

"You can't take him on alone, I'll stay with you." Serena said.

"Is that really a good idea? What about Rin and Yuzu?" Atem asked.

"It's why I should stay, if I go with you, they'll probably follow me and we'll bring more innocent people into this. You saw how destructive Rin's and Ruri's Duel was. It's for the best." Serena said.

"I don't like it…" Yuya admitted. "I know you're strong, but those dragons…and if yours takes control."

"I won't lose control." Serena stated. "Professor Daitokuji taught me the key to stay in control. Trust me."

Yuya wanted to stay but he knew Serena was right. It was best not to let the chaos of the Nature Dragons spread outside Academia. "Just be careful."

He felt Serena hold his hand and their fingers interlocked. "You too. I'll see you later."

"Come forth! Cyber Angel Dakini!" Asuka summoned her Cyber Angel.

"Appear! Moonlight Cat Dancer!" Serena summoned her original ace. The two monsters cut down the parasites, creating an opening.

"Let's go!" Yuya and Atem ran through the opening.

"I'll bust us out of here! Appear! Dark Knight Gaia Lord!" Atem summoned Gaia riding on a dragon and he used his spears to create a hole in the wall. Atem and Yuya jumped on the dragon and Gaia soared into the sky.

"Now you just have to deal with us!" Serena faced the Doctor.

"Very well. I accept your challenge." The Doctor activated his Duel Disk. Serena and Asuka followed suit.

"Duel!" Serena, Asuka and Doctor declared.

Serena: LP: 4000, Hand: 5
Doctor LP: 4000, Hand: 5
Asuka LP: 4000, Hand: 5

"I'm going first! Draw!" Serena drew her card. "I summon Moonlight Yellow Marten (DEF: 2000, LV: 4) in Defense Position!" Serena summoned her Moonlight Beast Warrior. "I set two cards and end my turn!"

Serena LP: 4000, Hand: 3
Doctor LP: 4000, Hand: 5
Asuka LP: 4000, Hand: 5

"Then I suppose that it's my turn. Draw!" Doctor drew his card. "I summon Parasite Caterpillar (ATK: 800, LV: 3)!" Doctor summoned a green caterpillar.

"Next, I activate the Continuous Magic: Insect Barrier! As long as this card is on the field, my opponent cannot attack with any Insect Monsters they have! I set one card and end my turn!" Doctor finished his turn.

Serena LP: 4000, Hand: 3
Doctor LP: 4000, Hand: 3
Asuka LP: 4000, Hand: 5

"Why would he play a card like that? We don't have any Insect monsters?" Asuka thought. "My turn! Draw!"

"Continuous Trap: DNA Surgery!" The Doctor played his set card. "As long card is on the field, all monsters on the field are treated as a type that I choose! And I choose Insect!" Serena's Yellow Marten turned into an insect type monster.

"So, that's why you played Insect Barrier." Serena realized.

"That move won't stop us! From my hand, I activate the Magic Card: Lightning Storm! When I have no cards on my field, I can activate one of two effects! I choose to destroy all of your Magic and Trap Cards!" Lightning struck all of the Doctor's Magic and Trap Cards and Serena's monster returned to being a Beast Warrior type.

"Next, I release Blade Skater from my hand to Special Summon Cyber Tutubon (ATK: 1800, LV: 5)!" Asuka summoned a female warrior in a dancing tutu. "Battle! Cyber Tutubon, attack Parasite Caterpillar!" Cyber Tutubon rushed towards Parasite Caterpillar.

"I activate Parasite Caterpillar's effect! When this card is selected as an attack target, this card becomes a Equip Card to the attacking monster!" Parasite Caterpillar latched itself onto Cyber Tutubon. "That monster becomes an Insect-type and it cannot be released!"

"But it can still attack! Get him! Cyber Tutubon!" Cyber Tutubon struck the Doctor.

Doctor LP: 4000→2200

"Yes!" Serena smiled. "That's showing him!"

"I set one card and end my turn!" Asuka finished her turn. "Looks like your strategy to seal my attacks was useless!"

Serena LP: 4000, Hand: 3
Doctor LP: 2200, Hand: 3
Asuka LP: 4000, Hand: 2

"My turn! Draw!" Doctor drew his card. "I summon Parasite Fusioner!" Doctor summoned his hideous creation. "Isn't it beautiful."

"Hideous." Asuka answered.

"Thank you, but you see you were wrong before. My goal wasn't really to stop your attacks." The Doctor said.

"What?" Asuka questioned.

"No, I just needed to have another Insect monster on the field, that's all. Now with two, I have all the necessary pieces in place. By discarding one card from my hand to the Graveyard, I can activate the Quick-Play Magic: Super Fusion!" The Doctor played a powerful Fusion card.

"Super Fusion?!" Serena exclaimed.

"Super Fusion allows me to fuse monsters on either player's field to Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster! I fuse the Parasite Fusioner on my field with your Cyber Tutubon treated as an Insect Monster via an Equip Card!" A giant spiraling vortex was created and both Parasite Fusioner and Cyber Tutubon were sucked in.

"Host of the possessing parasite, become one with the inner voice and give birth to the queen that controls all parasites! Fusion Summon! Appear! Level 8! Parasite Queen (ATK: 1800, LV: 8)!" The Doctor brought out a very large Parasite.

"When Parasite Fusioner is used as material for a Fusion Summon, it becomes a Equip Card for the Fusion Monster!" The Parasite Fusioner returned and attached itself to the queen. "And thanks to Parasite Queen's Monster Effect, it gains 300 Attack Points for each Parasite Fusioner on the field!"

Parasite Queen (ATK: 1800→2100)

"Next, I activate the Equip Magic: Burst Blood! I equip it onto Parasite Queen." Parasite Queen unleashed a bloody red aura.

"Now that wasn't very nice the way you attacked a defenseless old man last turn, you need to be punished." Doctor looked at Asuka. "Battle! Parasite Queen, attack Asuka Tenjoin! Parasite Venom!" Parasite Queen unleashed a purple venom towards Asuka.

"I activate my Trap Card: Moonlight Beacon! This card forces my opponent to attack a Moonlight monster on my field!" The venom changed course from Asuka to Moonlight Yellow Marten and covered the poor Beast Warrior in venom.

"Thank you, Serena." Asuka thanked.

"That was a poor mistake, Serena." Doctor pointed out.

"What?" Serena glared at him. Yellow Marten then let out a scream of pain as she exploded and Serena screamed.

Serena LP: 4000→2000

"Wh-What? Why did I take so much damage?" Serena grunted.

"Burst Blood's effect. When the equipped monster destroys an opponent's monster in battle, they take damage equal to the Attack or Defense Points of the monster destroyed, whichever is higher. You took Yellow Marten's 2000 Defense Points as damage." The Doctor explained. "Furthermore, I'm allowed to draw two new cards from my deck, but I can't activate them this turn." Doctor drew two new cards.

"I set two cards and end my turn!" Doctor finished his turn.

Serena LP: 2000, Hand: 3
Doctor LP: 2200, Hand: 0
Asuka LP: 4000, Hand: 2

"My turn! Draw!" Serena drew her card. "I activate the Magic Card: Moonlight Fusion! This card allows me to Fusion Summon a Moonlight Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck using monsters from my hand or field as Fusion Material! But, if my opponent controls a monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, I can use a Moonlight monster from my deck or Extra Deck as Fusion Material!"

"From my Extra Deck, I fuse Moonlight Panther Dancer with Moonlight Crimson Fox and Moonlight Blue Cat in my hand!" The three monsters entered the spiraling vortex.

"Elegant beast dancing on the moonlit wilderness! The crimson fox of the hunt! Blue cat that prowls through the darkness! Spiral into the moon's gravity and become a new power! Fusion Summon! Come forth! The king of beasts dancing atop the summit of the moonlight wilderness! Moonlight Lio Dancer (ATK: 3500, LV: 10)!" Serena summoned her strongest Fusion Monster.

"Battle! Moonlight Lio Dancer, attack Parasite Queen!" Moonlight Lio Dancer charged in with the two blades.

"I activate my Trap Card: Parasite Reflector! When my opponent attacks a monster with Parasite Fusioner equipped to it, my monster isn't destroyed and I can redirect the Battle Damage to any player!" Doctor revealed.

"What?!" Serena exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you." Doctor smiled. "The one to receive the battle damage is Asuka Tenjoin!" The shockwave from the attack between Moonlight Lio Dancer and Parasite Queen headed for Asuka who screamed in pain and was knocked off her feet.

Asuka LP: 4000→2400

"Asuka!" Serena called out in worry. "Damn you! Moonlight Lio Dancer's effect activates! When it inflicts battle damage, all monsters on my opponent's field are destroyed! I destroy Parasite Queen!" Moonlight Lio Dancer created an arc with her sword swing.

"By sending Parasite Fusioner to the Graveyard, Parasite Queen isn't destroyed!" Doctor protected his monster.

Parasite Queen (ATK: 2100→1800)

"Now, will you continue your attack? My Trap Card: Parasite Reflector is still in play. If you attack, you will only damage your partner." The Doctor smiled.

"I end my turn." Serena reluctantly ended her turn.

Academia - Docks

"Don't worry everyone. We have plenty of food." Dennis said as he gave more trays of food to the escapees.

"Remember the order, green if they are healthy, yellow if there's only minor injuries, and red for critical." Ruka was tying colored ribbons onto the prisoners along with Rua and Manjoume.

Despite defeating the Seven Stars and releasing the barrier around Academia, it would still take a long time for the allies who have escaped capture to return to Academia. Also, everyone was injured in some way, and with a lot of non-Duelists taken prisoner, they all decided to take a ship and head back to the mainland once everyone arrived.

Crow came in with a still injured Gongenzaka, who kept insisting on going after Yuya. Jack and Kaito arrived later with Carly and Faker and a couple minutes later, Tsukikage came in with Jonouchi and Akari. That left Yuya, Reiji, Sawatari, Reira

"Dude, what happened to you?" Rua asked.

"Yuzu…for some reason she knocked both me and Akari out." Jonouchi said. "She's acting really weird."

"Weird how?" Johan asked.

"Well, she broke her bracelet and didn't seem to care about it." Jonouchi said. "I don't know what's going on with her?"

"She's not in control." The Dimension Guardians looked at the entrance where Rio came in with Shun. "She's most likely taken over by her dragon."

"What are you talking about?" Rua asked.

"You guys saw that tornado that appeared, right?" Rio asked.

"Yeah, it was weird. A tornado just appearing out of nowhere. It was probably a trick made by Academia." Jack guessed.

"It wasn't Academia…it was Rin." Rio revealed.

"Wait, what?" Crow perked up. "Rin made that tornado!"

"Yeah, but she wasn't in control. Her dragon possessed her." Rio said.

"What are you talking about? Duel Monsters can't control humans?" Crow couldn't believe it.

"I'm sorry, Crow, but it's true. We saw what it forced Rin to do. And now…" Rio looked at the depressed Shun. "We lost Ruri…forever…"

"What do you mean forever?" Kaito trembled.

"Rin's dragon erased all of Ruri's memories and it absorbed Ruri into Rin. There was nothing left of Ruri, but her remaining cards." Rio showed Ruri's deck.

"No way…" Aki covered her mouth.

"Shun, I'm so sorry." Kaito apologized.

"It's like what Daitokuji warned Serena." Johan recalled his daughter's Duel with Daitokuji. "Daitokuji warned that the Nature Dragons were a threat to humanity and that the best way to suppress their control was to remember their roots. Their aces before they obtained their dragons."

"But both Yuzu and Rin relied too much on their dragons which made it easier for the dragons to control them." Gongenzaka remembered their Duels that Yuzu and Rin used their dragons more than Ruri and Serena.

"Oh no…" Jonouchi's eyes widened. "That's why Yuzu knocked us out. Flower Dragon is in control of her and she probably wants to go after the other girls."

"Which means her next targets are…" Akari realized which made both Crow and Johan to jump to their feet.

"I won't let that happen!" Crow ran out.

"Wait, Crow!" Johan ran after him.

"Hey, you guys can't—" Before Manjoume could finish his sentence, a helicopter was approaching the ship they were on.

"Who's that?" Dennis asked as the others came out.

Two ropes came out of the helicopter and two men slid down them and landed on the ship.

"It's been a while."

"Right, Jun?"

"Big Brother Chosaku. Big Brother Shoji." Manjoume's eyes widened.

"These are your brothers?" Rio asked.

"What are you doing here?" Jun asked.

"Did you forget? Our goal is to rule over the political world, financial world and the card game world to make the world into the Manjoume Empire. And the ARC Area Project is our ticket to achieving that goal." Chosaku explained.

"Those prisoners were meant to be fuel for the ARC Area Project, we're here to take them back! And as punishment for betraying us, you'll be turned into a card as well, Jun!" Shoji growled.

"But he's your brother, you can't be seri—" Aki argued.

"That bum isn't worthy of the Manjoume name!" Chosaku shouted. "Instead of following the Professor, he chose to follow the Kaiser!"

"You're a disgrace to the Manjoume name! You are nothing and you will always be nothing!" Shoji insulted.

"You're…the worse brothers ever…" Jun growled.

"Want to prove us wrong, huh? In that case?" Chosaku activated his Duel Disk.

"Take us both out." Shoji activated his Duel Disk.

"Hey, 2 on 1 isn't fair!" Dennis joined Manjoume's side. "I'll be his partner!" Dennis activated his Duel Disk.

"Oh look, another traitor. Fine then, we'll take care of both of you losers!" Chosaku said.

"Don't worry, Jun, together we can definitely beat them." Dennis smiled.

"You should have stayed out of it." Jun was ticked off. "And it's Manjoume Thunder." Manjoume activated his Duel Disk.

"Duel!" The Manjoume brothers and Dennis declared.

Jun LP: 4000, Hand: 5
Chosaku LP: 4000, Hand: 5
Dennis LP: 4000, Hand: 5
Shoji LP: 4000, Hand: 5

"I'm going first! Draw!" Jun drew his card. "I summon Masked Dragon (DEF: 1100, LV: 3) in Defense Position!" Jun summoned a red and white dragon. "I set one card and end my turn!" Jun finished his turn.

Jun LP: 4000, Hand: 4
Chosaku LP: 4000, Hand: 5
Dennis LP: 4000, Hand: 5
Shoji LP: 4000, Hand: 5

"My turn! Draw!" Chosaku drew his card. "I activate the Magic Card: Fusion! From my hand, I fuse Lord of Dragon and God Dragon Ragnarok!" Chosaku's two monsters entered the spiraling vortex.

"Ruler of Dragons! Dragon of the gods! Become one right now and give birth to a might beast! Fusion Summon! Appear! Level 7! Dragon Djinn – King Dragoon (ATK: 2400, LV: 7)!" Chosaku summoned a shiny dragon.

"I activate King Dragoon's effect! Once per turn, I can Special Summon one Dragon-type monster from my hand! Appear! Emerald Dragon (ATK: 2400, LV: 6)!" Chosaku summoned another dragon.

"Battle! King Dragoon, attack Masked Dragon! Twilight Burn!" King Dragoon used is attack and instantly destroyed Masked Dragon.

"Masked Dragon's effect activates! When it's destroyed in battle, I can Special Summon a Dragon-type monster from my deck with 1500 or less Attack Points! Appear! My second Masked Dragon (DEF: 1100, LV: 3)!" Jun summoned another one.

"Emerald Dragon, attack Masked Dragon! Emerald Flame!" Emerald Flame destroyed the second Masked Dragon.

"Masked Dragon's effect!" Jun summoned his last copy.

"I set one card and end my turn." Chosaku finished his turn.

Jun LP: 4000, Hand: 4
Chosaku LP: 4000, Hand: 1
Dennis LP: 4000, Hand: 5
Shoji LP: 4000, Hand: 5

"Then, it's my turn! Draw!" Dennis started his turn. "From my hand, I summon Entermage Bubble Gardna (ATK: 800, LV: 4, PS: 2)!" Dennis summoned a small magician with bubbles for armor. The magician released some bubbles around the ship.

"Bubbles!" Rua started popping some of them. Some of the kids started joining him as well.

"What the hell are you doing? We're in the middle of a Duel!" Shoji was getting irritated.

"There's nothing wrong in lifting other people's spirits in Duels." Dennis smiled. "On the turn an Entermage monster is summoned or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon Entermage Filmsy Slimmer (ATK: 100, LV: 4, PS: 3) from my hand!" Dennis summoned a magician made out of film.

"Next, I activate the Magic Card: Fusion! I fuse Bubble Gardna and Filmsy Slimmer!" Dennis's two monsters entered the spiraling vortex. "Ephemeral protector, melt into the escape artist who knows no plights, and become a new witch who can race through the heavens! Fusion Summon! Appear! Level 7! Entermage Trapeze Force Witch (ATK: 2400, LV: 7)!" Dennis summoned his Fusion Monster.

"Next, I activate the Equip Magic: Wonder Wand!" Wonder Wand appeared in Trapeze Force Witch's hand. "The Spellcaster-type monster equipped with this wand gains 500 Attack Points!"

Trapeze Force Witch (ATK: 2400→2900)

"Battle! Trapeze Force Witch, attack King Dragoon!" Trapeze Force Witch swung on her trapeze towards King Dragoon.

"Counter Trap: Attack Nullification! This negates your attack and ends the Battle Phase!" Chosaku played his set card.

"Such a shame, I set one card and end my turn!" Dennis finished his turn.

Jun LP: 4000, Hand: 4
Chosaku LP: 4000, Hand: 1
Dennis LP: 4000, Hand: 1
Shoji LP: 4000, Hand: 5

"My turn! Draw!" Shoji drew his card. "I activate the Field Magic: Union Hangar!" The field transformed into a machine hangar. "When this card is activated, I can add one Light Machine Union monster from my deck to my hand!" Shoji added a card to his hand.

"I summon A-Assault Core (ATK: 1900, LV: 2)!" Shoji summoned a yellow machine. "At this moment, Union Hangar's effect activates! When a Light Attribute Machine Union monster is summoned or Special Summoned, I can equip a Light Machine Union monster with a different name from my deck to that monster! I equip C-Crush Wyvern to A-Assault Core!" A mechanical wyvern appeared and attached itself to A-Assault Core.

"Battle! A-Assault Core, attack Masked Dragon! Core Blast!" A-Assault Core fired a blast that destroyed Masked Dragon.

"Masked Dragon's effect! Appear! Armed Dragon LV. 3 (ATK: 1200, LV: 3)!" Jun summoned another monster.

"I end my turn!" Shoji finished his turn.

Jun LP: 4000, Hand: 4
Chosaku LP: 4000, Hand: 1
Dennis LP: 4000, Hand: 1
Shoji LP: 4000, Hand: 4

"Man, this Duel is really intense." Crow commented.

"Yeah, all of them have made impressive moves, but neither side has lost any Life Points." Johan said.

"My turn! Draw!" Jun drew his card. "During my Standby Phase, Armed Dragon LV3's effect activates! I can send this card from my field to the Graveyard to Special Summon Armed Dragon LV5 from my deck! Appear! Armed Dragon LV5 (ATK: 2400, LV: 5)!" Jun powered up his Armed Dragon.

"But I'm not done yet, I summon Armed Dragon Thunder LV3 (ATK: 1200, LV: 3)!" Jun summoned a thunder version of Armed Dragon LV3. "I activate Armed Dragon Thunder LV3's effect! By sending a monster card from my hand to the Graveyard, I can send this card to the Graveyard and Special Summon a Level 5 or lower Armed Dragon monster from my deck! I sent Armed Dragon Thunders LV3 to the Graveyard! Appear! Armed Dragon Thunder LV5 (ATK: 2400, LV: 5)!" Jun summoned the Thunder version of Armed Dragon LV5.

"When Armed Dragon Thunder LV3 is sent to the Graveyard by the effect of a Dragon-type monster, I can draw one card from my deck!" Jun drew another card. "Next, I activate Armed Dragon Thunder LV 5's effect! I send a monster from my hand to the Graveyard to level it up! Appear! Armed Dragon Thunder LV7 (ATK: 2800, LV: 7)!" Jun evolved Armed Dragon Thunder again.

"Battle! Armed Dragon Thunder LV7, attack A-Assault Core! Thunder Punisher!" Armed Dragon Thunder released a thunder attack on A-Assault Core.

"By sending C-Crush Wyvern to the Graveyard, A-Assault Core cannot be destroyed!" Shoji grunted.

"But you take damage!" Jun pointed out as Shoji grunted as he took damage.

Shoji LP: 4000→3100

"Armed Dragon LV5, attack A-Assault Core! Armed Buster!" Armed Dragon LV5 charged and destroyed A-Assault Core and further damaging Shoji.

Shoji LP: 3100→2600

"You call me not worthy of the Manjoume name…don't give me that crap!" Jun shouted. "I'm still part of Academia while the two of you were expelled for being terrible Duelists!"

"You bastard…" Chosaku cursed.

"We're great Duelists, acknowledged by a worthy man like the Professor. Not like that fool Samejima and Kaiser Ryo. Because of them, we weren't given a chance to show off our true abilities!" Shoji grunted.

"You don't wait for a chance, you create it." Dennis lectured. "Just like you don't expect victory to fall on you."

"Shut up! I'm destroying you both! End your turn already, Jun!" Chosaku roared.

"I set one card and end my turn." Jun finished his turn. "At the End Phase, if Armed Dragon LV5 destroyed a monster in battle, it can Level up further! Appear Armed Dragon LV7 (ATK: 2800, LV: 7)!" Jun summoned one of his strongest monsters.

Jun LP: 4000, Hand: 2
Chosaku LP: 4000, Hand: 1
Dennis LP: 4000, Hand: 1
Shoji LP: 2600, Hand: 4

"My turn! Draw!" Chosaku drew his card. "I just drew a good card! I activate the Magic Card: Thunder Bolt! This destroys all monsters my opponent controls, say goodbye to your Armed Dragons!" A thunderbolt destroyed Jun's monsters.

"Don't think I've forgot about you, Clown Boy!" Chosaku glared at Dennis. "Battle! King Dragoon, attack Entermage Trapeze Force Witch! Twilight Burn!" King Dragoon unleashed its attack.

"What? But Trapeze Force Witch has the more Attack Points?" Ruka was confused.

"Trapeze Force Witch's effect activates! When it battles an opposing monster, that monster's Attack Points decrease by 600 points!" Dennis played his monster's effect.

King Dragoon (ATK: 2400→1800)

"From my hand, I activate the Quick-Play Magic: Shrink! This halves your monster's Attack Points!" Chosaku played his last card.

Trapeze Force Witch (ATK: 2900→1450)

King Dragoon's attack knocked Trapeze Force Witch off her trapeze and destroyed her and damaged Dennis.

Dennis LP: 4000→3650

"Now! Emerald Dragon! Direct Attack Jun! Emerald Flame!" Emerald Dragon unleashed its breath attack and it hit Jun hard.

Jun LP: 4000→1600

"I end my turn." Chosaku smiled.

Jun LP: 1600, Hand: 2
Chosaku LP: 4000, Hand: 0
Dennis LP: 3650, Hand: 1
Shoji LP: 2600, Hand: 4

"Hey, it's not nice to pick on your brother!" Dennis said.

"We told you before…" Chosaku said.

"He's not worthy of the Manjoume name, he's nothing more than a pathetic waste of space!" Shoji shouted.

"You…" Dennis got angry.

"Dennis, stop…it's fine…" Jun said.

"Well, it's not fine for me! My turn! Draw!" Dennis drew his card. "Using the Scale 2 Entermage Reversal Dancer and the Scale 6 Entermage Fire Dancer, I set the Pendulum Scale!" Dennis set his scale.

"With this, I can simultaneously summon monsters from Levels 3 to 5! Pendulum Summon! Revive from the Extra Deck! Level 4, Entermage Bubble Gardna (ATK: 800, LV: 4, PS: 2)! Level 4, Entermage Filmsy Slimmer (ATK: 100, LV: 4, PS: 3)!" Dennis brought back his two monsters from before.

"I Overlay my Level 4 Bubble Gardna and Filmsy Slimmer!" The two monsters turned to blue and orange light and entered the spacelike portal in front of Dennis.

"Show must go on! Artisan of the air, swing across the stage with grace! Xyz Summon! Appear now! Rank 4! Entermage Trapeze Magician (ATK: 2500, RNK: 4, OVU: 2)!" Dennis summoned his ace monster.

"An Xyz Monster…" Chosaku reacted with disgust.

"Those monsters are nothing but a nuisance. When we take over the card game world, we'll eliminate all Xyz monsters!" Shoji declared.

"These Xyz Monsters aren't a nuisance. And they're much stronger than your monsters because they all have potential!" Dennis said. "I was shown that from the best Duelists of the Xyz Dimension as well as the Dimensional Guardians! And now I'll evolve as well! I pay half of my Life Points!" Dennis roared as he was covered in a familiar aura.

Dennis LP: 3650→1825

"That's!" Rio recognized that aura.

"Let's go! Trapeze Magician! Chaos Xyz Change!" Trapeze Force Witch swung on his Trapeze and flew high into the portal in the sky.

"Show must go on! Oh, magician of the sky, soar to the heavens and put on a show that the whole world can see! Chaos Xyz Change! Appear! Entermage Trapeze Chaos Magician (ATK: 2500, RNK: 4, OVU: 3)!" Dennis summoned a chaos version of Trapeze Magician.

"Battle! Trapeze Chaos Magician, attack King Dragoon!" Trapeze Chaos Magician swung on his trapeze really fast that he instantly knocked King Dragoon back and destroyed it.

Chosaku LP: 4000→3900

"This is nothing." Chosaku said.

"Trapeze Chaos Magician's effect activates! When it destroys an opponent's monster in battle, by using one Overlay Unit, it can destroy another monster on the field and deal its Attack Points as damage to the owner!" Dennis revealed.

"What?!" Chosaku exclaimed.

Trapeze Chaos Magician took an Overlay Unit and he swung around on his trapeze before soaring into the air and throwing the Overlay Unit at Emerald Dragon hard, destroying it and damaging Chosaku.

Trapeze Chaos Magician (OVU: 3→2)
Chosaku LP: 3900→1500

"Damn Xyz Monster…" Chosaku cursed.

"I end my turn!" Dennis smiled at a job well done.

"Nice one, Dennis!" Rio was happy at Dennis for using Chaos Xyz Change.

Jun LP: 1600, Hand: 2
Chosaku LP: 1500, Hand: 0
Dennis LP: 1825, Hand: 0
Shoji LP: 2600, Hand: 4

"My turn! Draw!" Shoji drew his card. "I activate Pot of Greed!" Shoji drew two new cards and he smiled. "This is perfect! Now I can crush both of you myself!"

"First, I activate the Magic Card: Foolish Burial! I send B-Buster Drake from my deck to the Graveyard!" Shoji sent his card to the Graveyard.

"It's coming." Manjoume prepared himself.

"Huh?" Dennis was confused.

"That's right, Jun. I banish A-Assault Core, B-Buster Drake and C-Crush Wyvern from my Graveyard and fuse them!" The three machines came out of Shoji's Graveyard. "Fusion Summon! Appear! ABC-Dragon Buster (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" Shoji summoned a combination of ABC to the field.

"I activate ABC-Dragon Buster's effect! By discarding one card from my hand to the Graveyard, I can banish one card on the opponent's field! I choose your Trapeze Chaos Magician!" ABC-Dragon Buster fired a cannon at Trapeze Chaos Magician.

"I activate my Continuous Trap: Emergency Trapeze! If a Entermage Xyz Monster is targeted by a card effect, by using one Overlay Unit, I can negate that effect!" Dennis protected his monster.

Trapeze Chaos Magician (OVU: 2→1)

"Damn you! I activate my Magic Card: Instant Union! I can summon a Fusion Summon by banishing the Union monsters in my hand, but the Fusion Monster isn't allowed to attack! From my hand, I send X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head and Z-Metal Caterpillar to the Graveyard! Fusion Summon! Appear! XYZ-Dragon Cannon (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!" Shoji summoned another Union Fusion Monster.

"Now to call forth the ultimate Union Fusion Monster! I banish ABC-Dragon Buster and Xyz-Dragon Cannon!" Both the monsters soared into the air.

"Union Monster of ABC! Union Monster of XYZ! Now is the time to combine together to create the ultimate manslaughter of machines! Fusion Summon! Appear! Level 10! A-to-Z-Dragon Buster Cannon (ATK: 4000, LV: 10)!" Shoji brought forth the combination of ABC and XYZ.

"As much as I want to crush your stupid magician, I need to get rid of the useless one! Battle! A-to-Z Dragon Buster Cannon! Direct Attack Jun! A-to-Z Destruction!" A-to-Z Dragon Buster Cannon aimed at Jun and fired its cannons.

"Jun!" Dennis turned to his partner.

"By sending a Magic or Trap Card on my field I can activate this set card!" Jun's set card started to open as his first one disappeared. "The card that was destroyed was Ojamagic! When this Magic Card is sent from the field to the Graveyard, I can add Ojama Yellow, Ojama Green and Ojama Black from my deck to my hand!"

Jun added the Ojama trio to his hand. "Now smallfries, serve me! The card I activate was…the Continuous Trap: Ojama Reverse Hurricane! When I'm attacked directly while I have three Ojama monsters in my hand, this card negates the attack!"

"Yellow!"

"Green!"

"Black!"

"Ojama Reverse Hurricane!" The three Ojama brothers spun in the reverse way and protected Jun from the attack.

"Damn it!" Shoji cursed.

"Then, by sending these three to the Graveyard, I'm able to Special Summon a monster from my Graveyard, ignoring the summoning conditions!" Jun sent the three Ojamas away. "Appear! Armed Dragon LV7 (ATK: 2800, LV: 7)!" Jun brought back his Armed Dragon.

"I end my turn." Shoji ended his turn.

Jun LP: 1600, Hand: 2
Chosaku LP: 1500, Hand: 0
Dennis LP: 1825, Hand: 0
Shoji LP: 2600, Hand: 0

"My turn! Draw!" Jun drew his card. "Brothers, you both told me that I wasn't worthy of the Manjoume name, but you're wrong. The ones who aren't worthy of the Manjoume name are you two!"

"You little brat!" Chosaku growled.

"Watch your mouth!" Shoji shouted.

"You were both expelled from the Academia for cheating your way to the top and the only reason you were able to reach the top in the political world and financial world was because you did underhanded tactics instead of doing things the honorable way, all those victories were hallowed, that's why you came after me because out of everyone in our family, I'm the only one that actually won in a fair fight while you had handicaps!"

"Shut up, Jun!" Chosaku shouted.

"Then prove me wrong, but it's too late. I'm ending this Duel!" Jun said. "I release Armed Dragon LV7!" Jun released his Armed Dragon LV7. "Appear Armed Dragon LV10 (ATK: 3000, LV: 10)!" Jun summoned his strongest Armed Dragon.

"Armed Dragon LV10's effect activates! By sending one card to the Graveyard, I can destroy all monsters on my opponent's field!" Jun discarded a card and Genocide Cutter!" Armed Dragon LV10 destroyed A-to-Z Dragon Buster Cannon instantly.

"Next, I banished Armed Dragon Thunder LV7 and Armed Dragon Thunder LV3 from my Graveyard to Special Summon this card! Appear! Armed Dragon LV10 White (ATK: 3000, LV: 10)!" Jun summoned another Armed Dragon.

"Two LV10's!" Chosaku exclaimed.

"And 3000 Attack Points!" Shoji panicked.

"Battle! Armed Dragon LV10, attack Big Brother Chosaku! Armed Dragon LV10 White, attack Big Brother Shoji! Armed Big Punisher! Armed Big White Punisher!" The two Armed Dragons launched their attack at the brothers and knocked them both over the ship and into the water.

Chosaku LP: 1500→0
Shoji LP: 2600→0

A fishing net the pulled out the disgraceful brothers, leaving them dangling. The escapees all cheered for Manjoume. "Alright, way to go Jun!" Dennis cheered.

"I told ya!" Jun glared at Dennis. "1! 10! 100! 1000! Manjoume Thunder!"

"Thunder! Thunder! Manjoume Thunder!" The escapees all chanted for Jun.

A large explosion caught their attention and soaring into the sky was Gaia with Yuya and Atem. "That's Yuya!" Gongenzaka said.

"Where's he going?" Rua wondered as Gaia flew away.

Just then storm clouds started forming over Academia and the wind started to pick up. "A wind storm…Rin!" Crow ran back towards Academia.

"Hang on, Serena…" Johan ran back towards Academia.

"My word…" Faker got everyone's attention.

"Dad, what is it?" Kaito asked.

Faker pointed to the rocky cliffs where they started to become overgrown by fresh grass, flowers and other plants.

"That's not good." Rio said.

Academia – Hallway

The hallway in which Yuya and Atem defeated the Obelisk Force was getting covered in plants and flowers and the roof was blown off to let in strong gusts of wind. Facing each other on opposite sides was…

"Flower…" Rin spoke.

"Cyclone…" Yuzu spoke.

And that is the end of Chapter 18. What did you all think of it? We got more hectic battles incoming, each one with higher stakes than before.

Let me know what you all think in the reviews and I will see you next time.

Preview: The Doctor continues to overwhelm Serena and Asuka as he evolves Parasite Queen, meanwhile, Yuzu and Rin meet with Melodious Flower Dragon and Wind Witch – Cyclone Dragon still possessing them. When Flower finds out what Cyclone did to Lyrical Eagle Dragon, Flower deems Cyclone a flight risk and plans to turn him into her puppet.

Next Time: Clash of the Earth and Sky!