Beyond the Unknown
Yuya gasped.
"How bad is it? Can we help?"
"We don't know and there is nothing you can do to help." Himika said sharply. "But your concern is appreciated. Come on."
She left the school, Hokuto, Masumi and Yaiba a step behind. Reiji joined them as they left. Masumi flinched.
"…Sorry for my earlier words, Sir."
"They were justified. You played poorly, Mother."
Himika huffed.
"I don't know who it was, but it was certainly not a god. Gods don't exist, and luck is an excuse made by those who lack skills. Eventually, I will find who our interloper was, and we will have a discussion about meddling. In the meantime, we need to focus on our current predicament."
Azeyma didn't fail to report those words to Yugo. The teen choked.
"I want to see her face when she meets you. You guys are very real, very supportive, and I really don't like when other people diss you."
"Which is why you journeyed all the way to Wherlyt to tell Gaius Baelsar how he was mistaken after you met us."
Yugo laughed. He hadn't so much told the Garlean as he had gloated to his face about it. When Baelsar had expressed his disbelief, the Astrologian had invited him to the Omphalos so he could complain directly to the Twelve. His face upon seeing the Eorzean pantheon in the flesh was one Yugo would forever treasure. Naturally, apologies had followed.
"Still, what was it about an attack?"
He found out one day later, when the rumors caught up with him. Apparently, LDS's Fusion Course teacher had been attacked by someone using Xyz. Yugo froze and smacked himself.
"Dummy! What have Yuto and Shun been up to since we got there?"
He decided to investigate. It wasn't hard. Apparently, someone with Yuya's face yet using Xyz had attacked Shingo Sawatari, one of LDS's students. Yuzu had been a witness, and it didn't help that the aggressor had mysteriously vanished the moment Yuya showed up.
Yugo focused on three facts:
The aggressor had Yuya's face. Who else had that trait? Himself, Yuto and Yuri.
The aggressor used Xyz. Yugo, meanwhile, used Synchro while Yuri's dragon had Fusion in its name. Yuto, meanwhile, originated from Xyz Dimension.
The aggressor had vanished in light when Yuya had showed up. Yuri had similarly vanished in light when Yugo had tried to run him over for attacking Rin.
Yes, Sawatari's aggressor could only be Yuto. And the incident also confirmed that, should the blonde go anywhere near one of his counterparts while Rin's counterparts were in the vicinity, someone was due a free Teleport. Or maybe the bracelet's spell worked like Flow?
But Yuto hadn't been the only one to land in Standard. Ruri's brother, Shun, was there as well. There were two Xyz natives in the Standard Dimension. Now, were they working together or had they parted ways? Much as he wanted to observe Yuya and Yuzu, the foreign pair was Yugo's problem since he had been the one to land them there.
"You reap what you sow." The blonde teen sighed.
"All are responsible for their actions." Nymeia retorted. "You may have gotten Yuto and Shun in Standard, but they are the ones who chose violence. You didn't."
"Right. Apologies, Lady Nymeia."
He was a student of the Spinner, after all. Still, the pair was his problem, so he decided to fix it.
Yet, for all her talk about the nature of Fate, Nymeia seemed willing and able to pull some strings of her loom for him. Not a day later, as he was investigating Yuto's endeavors – his counterpart seemed focused on watching over Yuzu – he caught a very familiar feeling from an alleyway. The blonde paused. His gaze met Shun's. Yugo, not thinking twice, dashed after him. The pair chased each other until they found themselves in an empty park near the docks. Shun glared.
"I was wondering what you've been up to, Fusion pawn. I am going to take care of you here and now."
"I told you my name was Yugo, not Fusion! I know the words sound the same but they're not! I am a Synchro native!"
"So, Academia has pawns in the Synchro Dimension as well? This is bad news." Shun's Disk activated. "At the very least, this place will be freed from your depredations."
"Big talk for someone who saw a perfectly peaceful city and decided to shake it with violence."
Shun paused.
"Yes, I did that. But the CEO of Leo Corporation is the son of Academia's Professor. Like father, like son. If I cause enough ruckus, he will come for me. Then, we'll see how much the Professor values his only child."
Yugo had no answer to that. In Shun's defense, LDS had indeed tried to take over You Show, so he strongly doubted its CEO was a good person.
"What if you're wrong and the Professor doesn't care?"
"I'll risk the gamble. In the meantime, prepare to be carded!"
"You're willing to use your own enemy's methods, knowing how horrible they are?" Yugo growled. "I got bad news for you, then. I may be native to Synchro, but I actually live in Etheirys. And let me tell you something: in Etheirys, we use Duel Monsters to settle disputes or entertain people. If we have to fight, we grab a sword."
On this, he drew his star globe. Shun froze. A card flew past his head and drew a bleeding cut on his cheek. The young man snarled.
"As you wish."
He was about to summon a monster when a voice echoed.
"What's going on, there?"
The pair turned to see Yuya, startled by the scene. Shun paused.
"Yuto? No, your clothes are different."
The redhead looked alternatively between Yugo and his opponent. The blonde decided to act first.
"This is the one who attacked an LDS teacher! I tried to talk him down but he refuses to listen!"
Shun growled. Yuya ran to Yugo's side.
"If you're the one responsible, then I have to stop you. Duel!"
And he activated his Disk. Yugo sighed.
"Not how we do things back home but fine. If it's a Duel you want, let's do this!"
The three faced each other.
(Music: Shadowbringers – Don't be afraid)
Yuya Sakaki & Yugo Brightstar (Performapal Swarm + Speedroid Gamble): 4000 Life Points
Shun Kurosaki (Raidraptor Beatdown): 4000 Life Points
"I'll take the first turn." Yugo glared. "Since I control no monster, I can Special Summon Speedroid Terrortop from my hand and use its effect to add another Speedroid to my hand."
A centipede made of spinning tops appeared while Yugo searched for Double Yoyo.
"Next, I summon Speedroid Horse Stilts and use its effect to Special Summon Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice."
A toy horse with crystalline stilts for legs appeared and neighed. A yellow dice with red eyes appeared next to it. Yugo frowned.
"Red-Eyed Dice's effect: I choose Terrortop and make it Level 2 until the end of the turn… but it isn't staying that long." The teen joined his hands. "I am now tuning my Level 1 Red-Eyed Dice with my Level 2 Terrortop and my Level 4 Horse Stilts. Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down our enemies at speed of light! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"
In a pillar of blinding light, Clear Wing appeared before the pair. The moment it saw Shun, the dragon snarled dangerously, tail sweeping sharply behind it. Yugo reached out and petted his partner.
"I Set a card face-down and end my turn. Yuya, you're up."
"Got it. But how do you know my name?"
"You're famous."
"Ah. What's yours?"
"Yugo Brightstar."
"A pleasure. My turn!" The teen tried to smile. "First, I Set the Pendulum Scale using the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician."
The two magicians appeared above the teen, hanging in the air in a pillar of light. Yuya opened his arms.
"Swing, pendulum of the soul! Draw an arc of light across the heavens! Pendulum Summon! Appear now, my monsters! Performapal Cheermole and our all-time favorite: Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
A crystal pendant swung between the two magicians, its arc opening a portal above the field. The shy cheerleading mole and bicolored dragon appeared in two streaks of light. Clear Wing made a happy growl. Odd-Eyes purred and nodded.
"I Set a card face-down and end my turn. You go."
Shun tensed. The two dragons before him were powerful, but if they thought they had him cornered, they were in for a surprise.
"My turn! I summon Raidraptor – Vanishing Lanius, then use its effect to Special Summon a second Vanishing Lanius." Two green mechanical birds appeared. "And I use my second Lanius's effect to Special Summon a third Vanishing Lanius. I then Overlay the three of them. Obscured falcon. Raise your claws sharpened by adversity! Spread your wings of rebellion! Xyz Summon! Come forth! Rank 4! Raid Raptor – Rise Falcon!"
The three birds became light and merged in a swirling galaxy of black and gold. In a purple burst, a much bigger and much meaner mechanical bird emerged, its red eyes lighting up in quick succession. Yuya flinched. Yugo didn't.
"What kind of monster is that?" The redhead shuddered.
"A literal warbird." Yugo answered. "This said, I've seen worse."
Shun huffed.
"You aren't scared. You should be. Once per turn, I can detach one Xyz material to give Rise Falcon the combined ATK of all Special Summoned monsters you currently control."
One of the lights orbiting it was snatched by the falcon's beak. Its ATK soared to 6100. Yuya winced.
"This is gonna hurt."
"It won't." Yugo reassured. "Clear Wing's effect: when a monster effect targets a Level 5 or higher monster, partner negates it and destroys the culprit, then gains ATK equal to the destroyed monster's when it was on the field. Come on, Clear Wing! Reverse Revenge!"
The winged dragon roared as its wings shone with an electric green light. Shun could only stare as the light ensnared Rise Falcon and destroyed it. Clear Wing's ATK jumped from 2500 to 8600. Yuya stared.
"Okay, wow. Well done."
"Strengthening my friends is what I do best." Yugo preened. "In fact, outside of a duel, my offensive options are… a bit limited. I know exactly three spells meant purely for attack – four if we count King of Crowns, but drawing it is a gamble."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I'll explain later."
Shun was too busy swearing loudly and angrily. He took a card.
"Alright, Plan B. Quick Play Spell activate: Rank-Up Magic Raptor's Force! Since Rise Falcon was destroyed, I Special Summon it and use it as Xyz material to Special Summon a Raidraptor one Rank higher. The unseen bold falcon. Reveal your wings' unknown power here and now! Rank-Up Xyz Change! Come forth! Rank 5! Raidraptor – Stranger Falcon!"
The mechanical bird that replaced Rise Falcon was red and lacked talons. It remained big and threatening.
"I Set a card face-down and end my turn. You go."
He hated saying it. Really, he hated finishing like that. But Clear Wing's effect had him well and truly cornered, being able to make short work of both Blaze Falcon and Stranger Falcon if they made the mistake of using their effects. And he had used his only Rank-Up Magic. So, his only option was to stall for time. But he would survive. He always did. Yugo drew a card.
"My turn! And I'll start by summoning Tuning Magician!"
The cute Tuner mage appeared and shook the air with her weapon. The effect was instant.
"Tuning Magician's effect: when she is summoned, I lose 400 Life Points and you gain 400."
Yuya & Yugo: 4000 – 3600
Shun: 4000 – 4400
The Xyz native raised a brow.
"…Why did you do that?"
"A hunch." Yugo admitted as he touched his amulet. "My patron deity is the goddess of Luck and Fate. If I have the gut feeling I should do something, I'm safer listening."
Yuya nodded.
"Besides, it's just 400 Life Points. I won with less. I trust you have a plan?"
"I do." The blonde teen reassured. "Stilt Horse's effect activates from the Graveyard: I banish it and send Speedroid Skull Marble to the Graveyard."
The toy horse vanished. The marble dispenser went to the Graveyard in its stead. Yugo took a card.
"Next, I activate the Spell: Hi-Speed Re-Checker. I banish Skull Marble and target Clear Wing. Now, since they share the same level, that bit doesn't change, but Clear Wing still gains ATK equal to Skull Marble's Level, times 500."
Clear Wing's ATK had fallen to 2500. It instantly jumped to 6000 as Skull Marble left the Graveyard. Shun paled considerably.
"This will hurt a lot."
"Afraid so. Clear Wing, attack Stranger Falcon! Spinstorm Sky Strike!"
Clear Wing roared and flew up, then dived in a spinning green whirlwind. Shun gritted his teeth.
"Trap activate: Raidraptor – Readiness! This turn, Raidraptors I control cannot be destroyed by battle!"
"Doesn't shield you from battle damage. Turn end." Yugo retorted.
Shun: 4400 – 400
Yuya winced in sympathy. Without Tuning Magician's effect, Yugo would have ended the fight there and then. As it was, it was now his turn. And his pendant was beginning to act up.
"My turn! I will start by Normal Summoning Performapal Partnaga."
The friendly snake appeared next to Cheermole and patted her back. Yuya's pendant chose that moment to glow, its swing alternatively pointing Odd-Eyes and Tuning Magician. The message was clear.
"Can I…"
"Borrow Tuning Magician? Help yourself."
"Thanks." Yuya grinned. "The fun is just getting started! Ladies and gentlemen, here comes today's main event! I am now going to Tune the Level 1 Tuning Magician with our dear Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Guardian of long-lost lore, open your eyes cleared by all this knowledge! Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 8! Copt-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
Odd-Eyes joined Tuning Magician in a pillar of light. From it emerged a sleek red and gold dragon, its crystalline eyes shining with inner light. On its back was a perfectly smooth ring adorned with eight diamonds, Coptic script linking each gem.
A single card landed next to Yugo, and it wasn't a Duel Monster card. It was The Bole. The Astrologian stared at it as realization dawned.
"Growth. I know what you mean, now."
Yuya took a moment to admire his new monster. Then he chuckled and turned to Shun.
"Let's hit the climax! Since it was Synchro Summoned using a Spellcaster-Type Tuner, Copt-Eyes gains ATK equal to the number of Spells and Traps in everyone's Graveyards, times 100. We currently have…"
"If that's its effect, allow me to help!" Yugo held him. "Trap activate: Dicetadium of Fate! I target Copt-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and roll a dice. If the number is 1, 3 or 5, it is destroyed. If it's 2, 4 or 6, it gains 1000 ATK."
"You would risk your teammate's attack on a gamble!?" Shun gasped.
"I told you: my patron deity is the goddess of Luck and Fate. She also happens to be the patron of weavers, gamblers, duelists and anyone who studies the stars. I am a duelist who studies the stars and is quite good with a sewing needle – if I say so myself. Let her be our judge! Roll!"
A sapphire dice with diamond numbers appeared and rolled. It landed on 4. Copt-Eyes's ATK jumped from 3000 to 4000 while the Trap went to Yugo's Graveyard. The monster's ATK further rose to 4400.
"Cheermole's effect!" Yuya declared. "Since Copt-Eyes's ATK has increased, she further increases it by 1000. Then comes Partnaga's effect: Copt-Eyes gains 300 ATK for each Performapal I control, but Level 5 or lower monsters cannot attack. I currently have Cheermole and Partnaga."
The dragon's ATK hopped to 5400, then to a flawless 6000. There was little which could scare Shun, but the sight of the monster was very much one. Damn Clear Eyes and its effect! The last time he had fought such a one-sided battle had been during Heartland's original invasion. But he still had a trump card…
"Copt-Eyes, attack Stranger Falcon! Day-Glow Blast Wave!"
The eight diamonds on the dragon's ring shone as the script lip up between them. Within the ring, golden light charged in an ominous thoom…thoom… thoom… thoom…
Shun gritted his teeth.
"Raidraptor – Readiness's effect activates: by banishing it from the Graveyard, I take no damage this turn!"
"Copt-Eyes's effect: Spell, Trap and monster effects cannot be activated during a Battle Phase involving it!"
Shun could only fall to his knees as the beam of golden light swallowed Stranger Falcon, atomizing the Raidraptor.
Shun: 400 – 0
Yuya & Yugo win!
(End music)
Shun rolled away. Such was the strength of the blast that he was barely clinging to consciousness, his vision all but gone while his entire body ached. He heard footsteps getting nearer and tried to move, in vain.
God, when was the last time he'd felt so helpless?
Tears rolled. It couldn't end, not like that! He had to fight! He had to…
"Mauling Mandible Charge!"
There was the stench of ozone and the roar of lightning. Familiar arms wrapped around him and carried him away. Shun smiled weakly and let darkness claim him as Yuto took him to safety.
Yugo swore.
"Thal's balls!"
The moment he caught a glimpse of the dark dragon, he jumped to Yuya's side and cast Collective Unconscious. The blue forcefield shielded them both as lightning struck the space between Shun and them. When the smoke vanished, there was no one in sight. The blonde sighed heavily.
"Twelve, if only some people weren't so quick to jump to conclusion!"
Yuya turned to him, awed.
"What was that, just now?"
"Magic." Yugo answered. "Yes, I can use it. It's fairly common, back home. Mine is geared toward healing and support."
"I can see that. For a moment, I thought you'd used Mirror Force."
The blonde chuckled and took The Bole. Now, he understood the cards' message.
The Arrow set him on a journey across the Dimensions, to meet his counterparts.
The Bole encouraged him to foster growth within them.
The Ewer reassured him: they were supposed to meet and interact.
The Spear warned him, however, that the journey would be particularly eventful.
The Spire steadied his heart: he would face destruction and chaos, and even cause it.
The Balance, rather than meaning Death, reminded him all things have a price – even life.
May we all as true equals die
Never fear unjust favor's bite
May we be judged by what is right
For this we pray, we pray, we pray,
We pray twinfold
"I don't think I can teach you." Yugo apologized. "Star-fueled healing doesn't feel your style. But I can show you how to properly Synchro Summon, since you showed you can do it."
Yuya's eyes lit up.
"I'd love that."
In the skyscraper housing LEO Corporation's headquarters, Reiji Akaba was focused on a screen. The screen depicted the utterly one-sided duel between Yuya, a teen with an identical face and a masked man in a longcoat. The duel had caught his attention because of the combined Xyz, Synchro and Pendulum energies recorded, on a level someone from Standard Dimension was simply unable to generate. Oh, but finding the three energies in one place shouldn't come as a surprise. Maybe some Synchro and Xyz users had picked a fight with Yuya Sakaki, so Yusho's son had decided to entertain them. But those energies levels? They were too great to belong to Standard natives.
Yuya Sakaki had been dueling with natives from the Synchro and Xyz Dimensions. The watch team had scoured the cameras on the double. The result, in Reiji's opinion, was completely worth it.
They had caught the duel just in time to see the Xyz user's monster use its effect, only to be countered by the Synchro user's dragon. The subsequent Xyz Summoning, using a Spell and the destroyed monster, was intriguing and Reiji was eager to investigate it. But…
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
Then, Yuya had stolen the show. Forget the Synchro user over-boosting his dragon. That kind of play was a classic. The true novelty was the red-haired teen combining Odd-Eyes and the Synchro user's Tuner to Synchro Summon a brand-new dragon. That had been new.
Not for him, of course. His work on replicating Pendulum was bearing fruit and he had already succeeded in combining it with Fusion, Synchro and Xyz. He simply hadn't shown it yet. His D/D/D archetype still had kinks to work out, especially Kepler and Galilei. They tended to glitch after some time in the Pendulum Scale. But Yuya had, either on his own or through the Synchro user's influence, successfully combined Pendulum and Synchro Summoning and gotten a new ace monster out of it. And Reiji had to admit he liked the dragon. Its first effect was murder in an Action Duel, where everyone was always searching for Action cards and filling their Graveyard with Spell. The second effect prevented bad surprises, like the Xyz user trying to activate his Trap from the Graveyard.
"Sir, we managed to get the full recording! Give us some time and we'll get the audio, too."
"Please, do." Reiji nodded. "The duel was interesting in itself, but I would like to have its context as well."
Better not jump to conclusion. Before he acted toward Yuya, the Synchro user or their Xyz opponent, he wanted to know what had caused the duel. He hadn't gotten his current job by being reckless.
Safely hidden from view, Sora waited until everyone was gone to holler in joy. It wasn't everyday he saw an Xyz loser being so thoroughly demolished, and that Yuya had dealt the final blow was the cherry on top. And he's used Pendulum and Synchro, on top of that! How was it not awesome? If he could wreak so much devastation with Synchro, what kind of hell could he unleash with Fusion? The blue-haired teen was eager to find out. But, first, he would have to teach his very first friend how to Fusion summon.
The Professor hear him, he would teach Yuya. Him, and no one else!
And here is our first proper duel of the story. It's short and brutal and a reflection of all three duelists' mentalities, and since Yuya didn't battle Reiji in You Show School, this is where he got the idea to combine the other summoning methods with Pendulum. Also, here is Copt-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, the Synchro counterpart to Rune-Eyes. Just like Rune-Eyes was named after the Runic alphabet, Copt-Eyes comes from Coptic.
Copt-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (8*; 3000/2000; Dragon/Synchro/Effect; DARK): "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon" + 1 Tuner Monster.
If the Tuner used to Synchro Summon this monster was a Spellcaster-Type, it gains ATK equal to the number of Spell & Trap cards in every player's Graveyard x 100. Your opponent cannot activate Spell, Trap or monster effect in answer to this monster's attack.