Starting Notes:
Welcome back! And now, we're in the Synchro Arc! *claps hands excitedly* I already have an OP written for this arc, but for symbolic purposes and to avoid spoiling a few important things about the start of the arc, that OP will be posted a little later into the arc, when the Lancers show up!
While most fics have their Synchro Arc start with the Lancers travelling to the Synchro Dimension, I would like to remind everyone that I purposely delayed the Lancers by a day. Therefore, there will be two days between Yuzu, Miharu and Yugo going to Synchro, and the rest of the Lancers arriving. Why is this important? Well… it means that the first few chapters will not have the Lancers for now. :D Enjoy!
Chapter 24: Settlers in the Synchro Dimension
"Yugo," Yuzu said, sounding mildly ticked off. "You have two seconds to tell us where we are before I hit you."
The blue and yellow-haired boy that looked like Yuno raised his hands in surrender. "Ok, ok! I think it might be my dragon's fault? We're in my home right now. Uh, if we're calling places dimensions by summoning methods, then this is the Synchro Dimension!"
Yuzu and Miharu exchanged a look.
Well. Miharu was pretty used to being stranded in another dimension for no reason at this point. That made two for two.
And, if Miharu had read Reiji Akaba's intentions well enough…
She turned to Yuzu. "The Battle Royale was likely an attempt on Reiji Akaba's part to avoid the Obelisk Force directly attacking non-combatants in the city," she said. "So he placed those opponents in front of us instead, who were proven to be stronger."
"But why us?" Yuzu shook her head. "I know that you and Yuno are from the Link Dimension, but everyone else is uninvolved in the war!"
"... I hate to break it to you, but half of the people in the Battle Royale were refugees from other dimensions."
"They were what?"
Yugo just looked increasingly baffled.
… this was going to take a while.
After she was finally done explaining the numerous bombshells involved in the Maiami Championship, she concluded the explanation with a single sentence. "And thus, Reiji Akaba, being rational, will choose to come to the Synchro Dimension first, since it is confirmed to be the only dimension currently untouched by the war. He will come here to find allies. And thus, as long as we stay safe, don't get reckless and especially don't try to stand out, we will reunite with our comrades."
"Oh, I know!" Yugo piped up. "You should both join the Friendship Cup!"
"... what did I just say," Miharu replied flatly.
Yugo grinned sheepishly.
"I actually think it's a good idea," Yuzu said. "If what we're looking for is allies, then, by winning a major tournament and standing out—"
"And then what?" Miharu asked. It wasn't an insult, or an attempt at condescension. "How will we explain why we have special summoning methods that are all our own? What if we use an explanation that is at odds with what the others use when they get here?"
"As long as we tell the truth…"
"Reiji Akaba may not necessarily be able to convince them with the truth. If we tell the truth, and he lies…"
Yuzu stopped talking. Miharu could see a strong sense of idealism in her eyes—the idea that if they simply tried to explain, tried to understand and told the truth, they would succeed no matter what.
Miharu didn't want that light to go out.
"We can still do that if you want," she said, dropping her objections. "But let's find a good place, settle down and do our research first. Please."
She looked down, before she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"I know you're just concerned about me," Yuzu said. "Thank you, Miharu. Let's find a place to stay first then." She smiled gently.
"Oh!" Yugo piped up. "I can bring you guys to my place!"
Yuzu and Miharu followed him, in the end. After all, he had to know how to get to where he was going.
"Oi, Yugo!" Yuzu shouted two seconds later. "We can't follow you if you're on a D-Wheel!"
In the end, Yugo brought them to an orphanage in what could be considered the slums. There were a lot of children there, and they all seemed excited to see Yugo. They were also very excited to see Yuzu, though that was because they were mistaking her for someone else—Rin, of course. Miharu had stepped back a little to avoid being seen first, because she had known that this exact thing would happen, if someone with the same face as Rin showed up here. She watched as Yugo hurriedly tried to explain that Yuzu was not Rin, she and Rin just looked incredibly similar.
Once the misconception was cleared up, Yugo led Miharu and Yuzu in. The orphanage's caretaker followed them in, sitting down with them.
"So you two are Yugo's friends from far away?" The caretaker greeted. She was a rather tall woman with long black hair and a sweet smile. "I am Martha. Nice to meet you two. Really, the resemblance to Rin is uncanny…"
"We're not sure why we resemble each other either," Yuzu said.
"Well, that's fine." Martha smiled sweetly. "I consider all of the children here my own, after all, and a friend of my children is certainly welcome to stay here. Especially because you're both young women! We can't have you alone on the streets!"
"Thank you," Miharu said politely. Then, for the sake of her own knowledge, she asked, "why is your city like…" She had no real words to describe it. "Like this?"
"... you truly are from outside the City then," Martha said with a sigh.
Yugo took over the explanation. "Neo Domino City is split into two areas," he said. "The Tops live in those luxurious skyscrapers that you see, scattered above, and the Commons live down here! Their quality of life is a lot better than ours."
"… I think I'm going to need you to explain more about your society, Yugo," Miharu said, mildly incredulous.
"Well," Yugo said, "the entire City is run by the High Council, technically, but in reality, it's run by Security, who are the ones who enforce the law. Security… well, Security tries to keep the status quo. So that means keeping Tops on top, and leaving Commons with nothing. And the Tops are just as bad. They themselves want to lord everything over us, and they don't want any of the Commons to be able to catch up to them, so they sabotage our education, stop Commons from getting jobs in the Tops area, and so on."
"... what I'm hearing is that this place masquerades as a meritocracy, but you can never actually rise to a higher socioeconomic class." Miharu rubbed her forehead. And here I thought illogical societies like that could never sustain themselves… what a mess.
"About right!" Yugo shrugged. "It's a real mess… and it's probably not going to get better. The Tops have been dominating Neo Domino City for decades. Security's a problem, but Tops are really the root of it all." He sounded more mature when talking about his home than when he was talking about anything else. At the same time, he was making this sound completely normal, when Miharu was pretty sure that it was not.
Yuzu looked uncomfortable. Miharu couldn't blame her for it. She had lived in a relatively functioning society, after all. The High Council sounded remarkably similar to the Grandmaster Council of the Link Dimension, except that unlike the Grandmaster Council, they were just puppets of another group.
… isn't this why checks and balances are supposed to exist? One group shouldn't be able to rule unchecked…
Miharu checked her duel disk again. Her locator program had not changed its answer. 'Location not found.'
Then, there was a ruckus from outside. Yugo stood up, heading outside. Miharu and Yuzu followed behind him, as did Martha.
Outside, there was a group of three men in grey uniforms. It didn't take a genius to know that this was the infamous Security that they had just heard about. One of them was holding onto a child who was crying, and Miharu saw Yugo's expression change to something angry.
"Are you the caretaker of this orphanage?" One of the men asked. "We found this child stealing food from the grocery store in the Tops!"
"... oh, dear…"
The child sniffled. Miharu felt some part of her click. It was a strange feeling in her heart—something akin to anger.
She did not like seeing children cry.
Before she could say anything though, the man continued. "If this child is truly from your orphanage, then we're holding you accountable for this action! There'll be an increased tax on you this month!"
Martha's face fell further. One of the kids, seeming indignant, shouted at him. "Damn Security! If you didn't stop us from getting to do any proper jobs, we wouldn't have to steal food!"
"Yeah!" This earned agreement from the other kids.
"Yeah!"
"Security's the worst!"
"Especially her!" Miharu frowned—who was that one kid talking about? However, she didn't get the chance to hear a response, because Yugo stepped forward.
"How about a duel?" He said boldly. "If I win against you all, you guys leave us alone!"
"Hah! What an overconfident child!" The Security trio lifted their duel disks. "Very well!"
Yuzu was about to step forward, but Miharu stopped her. If they used other summoning methods, they would expose themselves, after all.
And if Yugo was anything like Yuno, then he was probably pretty strong. They'd be fine.
[DUEL!]
Yugo: 4000LP
Security 1: 4000LP
Security 2: 4000LP
Security 3: 4000LP
[Turn 1: Yugo] [H:5]
"I'll start!" Yugo declared, drawing his hand from his deck immediately. Miharu had already seen his deck from that time in the park—Speedroids, right? Interesting. "I'll Normal Summon Speedroid Horse Stilts!" A white and green rocking horse with two metallic legs appeared in front of him, rocking back and forth.
[Speedroid Horse Stilts (4*/1100/1100/WIND/Machine/Effect)]
"And with Horse Stilts's effect, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower "Speedroid" monster from my hand!" Yugo grinned. "So meet my good friend, Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice!" A blue four-sided dice with a red eye on each of its sides appeared, three metal balls floating around it.
[Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice (3*/300/1500/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]
"And I'll tune the Level 3 Tri-Eyed Dice to the Level 4 Speedroid Horse Stilts! Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down your enemies at the speed of light! Synchro Summon! Appear now! Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" The beautiful white dragon that he had summoned on that day in the park appeared in front of him with a loud roar.
[Clear Wing Synchro Dragon (7*/2500/2000/WIND/Dragon/Synchro/Effect)]
Yugo grinned recklessly. "Setting a card facedown!" He called. "Over to you!"
[Turn 2: Security 1] [H:5]
"That's a pretty rare card, kid!" The Security Officer drew a card. "So rare, in fact, that I don't think it should belong in the hands of a Common like you!"
"As if I care what cards Security thinks I should have!" Yugo snapped back. "Or did your friends not share the lesson that Rin and I taught them the last time they bothered us?"
The officers laughed, clearly not taking him seriously. The one who was taking his turn placed down a card. "I'll Normal Summon Vigilante Zeni!" A black-haired man who had been squashed into a comical artstyle appeared, wearing an eyepatch.
[Vigilante Zeni (4*/1600/1200/EARTH/Warrior/Effect)]
"Then, by making Vigilante Zeni's attack points 0, I can Special Summon a Level 3 or lower "Vigilante" monster from my hand! Come—Vigilante Gata!" A wildly different monster appeared—looking like a white and green robot of metal, with two large, beady black eyes.
[Vigilante Gata (3*/800/800/EARTH/Warrior/Tuner/Effect)]
[Vigilante Zeni: 1600 → 0ATK]
"And I'll tune the Level 3 Gata to the Level 4 Zeni! Tear through the mist of darkness, which raises doubt, and illuminate the truth! Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 7! Sniping Heiji - Type 0!" In front of them, a grey-skinned warrior appeared, with a large blue ring of beads surrounding him. However, there was absolutely no fanfare from the crowd. It seemed that this monster was far too commonly used in this dimension.
[Sniping Heiji - Type 0 (7*/2400/2000/EARTH/Warrior/Synchro/Effect)]
"I can send a card from my hand to the graveyard to use Sniping Heiji - Type 0's effect! I can target and destroy a monster you control, and inflict 400 damage to you! Submit to the will of Security!" Golden coins shot out towards Clear Wing like bullets.
"I will activate Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's effect!" Yugo replied. "Since a Level 5 or higher monster activated its effect, I can negate that effect, destroy that monster, and Clear Wing gains attack points equal to the attack points of the monster which was destroyed for this effect until the End Phase! Dichroic Mirror!" Clear Wing's wings reflected bright light, winds cutting across the field and reflecting the golden coins, ripping the other Synchro Monster to shreds.
[Clear Wing Synchro Dragon: 2500 + 2400 = 4900ATK]
"If Sniping Heiji - Type 0 is sent to the graveyard while both of its Synchro Materials are in the graveyard, I can revive them!"
"I will activate my Continuous Trap, Dragon's Bind!" Yugo replied. The purple-bordered card flipped up. "While I control this card and Clear Wing, neither of us can Special Summon monsters with attack points equal to or lower than Clear Wing's original attack points!" A pulse hit the field, preventing the two Vigilantes from reviving. "And you've already used up your Normal Summon!" It was a move that was clearly rooted in knowledge of what the officers here did—speaking volumes of how often Yugo had faced them in the first place.
"Brat!" The Security Officer said angrily. "I'll set a card and end my turn!"
[Turn 3: Security 2] [H:5]
"Draw!" The second Security Officer glanced at his hand, before looking at Yugo's field. "I'll set a monster and two cards facedown!"
Miharu frowned. They didn't look like they had given up hope. Those set cards…
[Turn 4: Security 3] [H:5]
The third officer also set a monster and two cards facedown, before ending his turn.
Yugo, however, didn't seem surprised. He just grinned. "If I lost to you all when your plays are that obvious, then Rin will hit me when she finds out!" He said cheerily. "Your set cards. They're the elemental Mirror Forces, aren't they?"
The three of them had their faces turn to stone.
"Thought so." Yugo drew a card. "I might be reckless, but it doesn't mean that I don't use my brain!"
[Turn 5: Yugo] [H:3]
"Draw! Spell Card, Heavy Storm!" The entire field was swept by winds, tearing all of the set cards off the field in an instant—along with Yugo's own Dragon's Bind, giving him free reign to Special Summon monsters again.
"Heavy Storm?" One of the officers said incredulously. "Where did a kid like you get a card as rare as that? You're nothing but a Commons!"
"I got this one as a birthday present, thank you!" Yugo smirked. "And now, I will Normal Summon Speedroid Terrortop!" A chain of red tops appeared, all of them in a line and zooming around Clear Wing, before stopping in the appropriate Main Monster Zone.
[Speedroid Terrortop (3*/1200/600/WIND/Machine/Effect)]
"Since Speedroid Terrortop was Normal or Special Summoned, I can add a "Speedroid" monster other than Terrortop from my Deck to my hand!" Yugo grinned widely. "And then, since I control a WIND monster, I can Special Summon Speedroid CarTurbo from my hand!" A red and white monster that resembled a playing card appeared. A blue engine-like object was in the middle of the card, giving it more of a 3D shape than just a card.
[Speedroid CarTurbo (3*/800/1200/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]
"I will tune the Level 3 CarTurbo to the Level 3 Terrortop!" Yugo declared. "Magical sword with the form of a cross. Use your power to rend all enemies! Synchro Summon! Appear now! Level 6! Hi-Speedroid Kendama!" The other Synchro Monster that he had used during his duel with Yuya, Yuto and Yuno appeared on his field, dark blue metal shimmering in the daylight.
[Hi-Speedroid Kendama (6*/2200/1600/WIND/Machine/Synchro/Effect)]
"Kendama's effect," Yugo continued. "I'll banish a Machine monster from my graveyard to inflict 500 damage to you!" He pointed to the second Security Officer, currently shielded by a monster. "Brutal Swing!" He removed Terrortop from his graveyard, and Kendama lobbed itself at the Security Officer, earning a yelp from the irate man.
Security 2: 4000 - 500 = 3500LP
"I will then have Kendama attack you directly! Ken-Sara-Tama!" The 'you' in question was the first Security Officer, who had no monsters shielding him, after all. Kendama smacked him head-on, though since it wasn't Solid Vision, the officer wasn't knocked back.
Security 1: 4000 - 2200 = 1800LP
"And then, Clear Wing will finish you off! Helldive Whirlwind Slasher!" With winds swirling around it, the beautiful dragon dashed towards the first officer, eliminating the rest of his life points with a loud howl.
Security 1: 1800 - 2500 = 0LP
"Yeah!" Yugo pumped a fist in the air. "That's my turn!"
"You made a mistake!" The two remaining Security Officers seemed angered by their comrade's defeat, and they certainly made it known. "Your Dragon's Bind is no longer on the field!"
[Turn 6: Security 2] [H:3]
"So we can Special Summon as much as we want! Draw!" The man snatched a card off the top of his deck. "I will Normal Summon Vigilante Zeni! And by making Zeni's attack points 0, I will Special Summon Vigilante Gata from my hand!"
There were a few groans from the kids at the unoriginality.
"I'll tune the Level 3 Gata to the Level 4 Zeni! The damage will wreck the world. Noble warrior, stand up and suppress those who dare to stand against us! Synchro Summon! Level 7! Samurai Destroyer!" An orange and gold, noble-looking robot appeared, with a bright blue orb in the middle of its chest, glowing with a vibrant light.
[Samurai Destroyer (7*/2600/1400/EARTH/Machine/Synchro/Effect)]
"Attack Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" The orange warrior lumbered forward. "And when Samurai Destroyer battles, you cannot activate cards or effects until the end of the Damage Step. Plus, the monster it battles has its effects negated until the end of the Damage Step!" The orange robot punched and destroyed Clear Wing. Yugo winced.
Yugo: 4000 - 100 = 3900LP
"I will end my turn!" There was still a set monster on the opponent's field as well, unknown to all of them. The other Security Officer drew a card.
[Turn 7: Security 3] [H:3]
"I will Flip Summon Assault Dog!" The Security member declared. A black dog covered in green armour appeared, with a large gun mounted on its back.
[Assault Dog (4*/1200/800/EARTH/Beast/Effect)]
"I will Normal Summon Jutte Fighter!" A cartoonish man with a pair of thin-framed glasses on his face appeared on the field, squinting his eyes.
[Jutte Fighter (2*/700/900/EARTH/Warrior/Tuner/Effect)]
"And now, I will tune the Level 2 Jutte Fighter to the Level 4 Assault Dog! Face the fangs of the wild beast! Synchro Summon! Level 6! Goyo Predator!" A tall, barbarian-like monster appeared, wearing a black mask with long purple horns, and a green cloak with white fur around the edges.
[Goyo Predator (6*/2400/1200/EARTH/Warrior/Synchro/Effect)]
"Goyo Predator attacks your Hi-Speedroid Kendama!"
Yugo's other monster was destroyed as well. His life points fell by another miniscule amount.
Yugo: 3900 - 200 = 3700LP
"And then, I can Special Summon the monster that Goyo Predator destroyed by battle to my field! Come, Hi-Speedroid Kendama! Attack your former master!" The blue metallic creature appeared on the Security Officer's field, before dashing forward and smacking against Yugo's side.
Yugo: 3700 - 2200 = 1500LP
Yugo did flinch at the blow, implying that Security somehow had access to Real Solid Vision.
"Luckily for me, that's the end of your turns!" Yugo said with a bright smile. "So I can turn it around!"
The Security Officer laughed. Then, their duel disks buzzed as three more Security Officers arrived.
[INTRUSION PENALTY: 2000LP!]
Security 4: 4000 - 2000 = 2000LP
Security 5: 4000 - 2000 = 2000LP
Security 6: 4000 - 2000 = 2000LP
The kids let out cries of anger.
"Oi, what's this!"
"You can't just do that!"
"What?" One of the officers shrugged. "He did say that he would take all of us on, right? We never said that there were only three of us here!"
Miharu let out a 'tch' sound. How awful. She contemplated if she could help out without her Link Monsters, and decided that she couldn't. Plus, anyone who intruded now would just be taken out immediately, since Security would take three turns before them.
Yugo, however, didn't ask for help. He just carried on grinning obliviously.
"Sure. Three, six, I'll win anyway!"
"Cocky brat—"
Then, the duel disks buzzed again. Another arrival? The Security members all looked confused. Then, a red motorcycle sped into the area, the rider pulling off a helmet. She was a young woman in her early twenties—quite a few years older than Miharu, Yuzu or Yugo—with bright purple hair. Her hair was rather long and straight. She was wearing a comfortable black and white fleece jacket, with white fur around the collar, as well as long black leggings and dark red boots. She placed the helmet on the D-Wheel. Miharu spotted looks of relief on all of the kids' faces, as well as Yugo's.
"Kirijo-san!" One of the officers said, sounding surprised. Now that Miharu was paying attention to them, all of the officers looked mildly mortified. "We—this child was—"
[INTRUSION PENALTY: 2000LP]
[~Security Clearance 1 accepted. Turn order shifted.]
Arisu Kirijo: 4000 - 2000 = 2000LP
"We have a protocol in place for this," the purple-haired woman said, raising her duel disk with a sigh. "Children who are caught committing crimes, unless it's one of the exceptions listed under Code 435, are to be gently escorted back to their homes. The officer in charge is to collect the address and name of the child and their guardian, and submit it to me." She narrowed her eyes. "This is a direct violation of protocol. Thus, in this role, you no longer speak for Security. I do."
"Arisu-san!" One of the kids cheered, and the rest joined in.
"Arisu-san, you're the best!"
Miharu glanced around—the kids seemed to really like this woman, even though they were so clearly against Security.
"Security Clearance 1," Arisu Kirijo said, though she shot a reassuring smile to the kids beforehand. "Despite the fact that I intruded last, my turn is automatically moved in front of all Security members who intruded at the same time. So it's my turn—draw!"
[Turn 8: Arisu] [H:6]
"Arisu!" Yugo seemed far more enthusiastic—and unlike the other kids, he wasn't using any honorifics for her.
"Hello, Yugo," Arisu said, sounding just as warm. "Maybe someday, you'll stop picking fights that are clearly stacked against you." She glanced at her hand. "I play a reactive deck, you know. It's a hassle to bail you out. I'll just reduce their moves and leave their defeat to you." She placed down a card. "I'll Normal Summon Crystron Prasiortle!" A large green turtle appeared in front of her, made of bright green crystals that both jutted out like spikes and formed a hexagonal pattern on the back of its shell.
[Crystron Prasiortle (2*/500/2000/WATER/Machine/Effect)]
"Then, I'll activate the Spell Card, Transmodify. By sending Praisortle to the graveyard, I will Special Summon a monster from my deck that has the same Type and Attribute as it, but is one Level higher." The turtle dissolved into green, sparkling dust. "Come—Crystron Smiger!"
A white tiger made of metal appeared, with veins of bright smoky quartz running through its body. Spikes jutted out of its back—it was certainly a byakko, based on the legendary white tiger. It let out a loud roar.
[Crystron Smiger (3*/1000/1800/WATER/Machine/Effect)]
"And I will activate Prasiortle's effect. By banishing him from the graveyard, I can Special Summon another "Crystron" monster from my hand. Say hello to Crystron Thystvern!" A bright purple monster appeared, long amethyst crystals forming its wings and dark metal forming the middle of its body. Its body resembled a dragon, but its face was that of a fierce beast.
[Crystron Thystvern (3*/1500/1500/WATER/Machine/Effect)]
"Thystvern's effect," Arisu said with a confident grin—much like Yugo's own. "I will destroy Smiger to Special Summon a "Crystron" Tuner from my deck. Come—Crystron Citree!" A cheerful, feminine monster appeared, most of its body made out of black metal. Yellow-green gems formed a dress-like structure around its body, with twin 'bangs' of hair on both sides of its head. It twirled around cutely in front of her.
[Crystron Citree (2*/500/500/WATER/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]
"And I'll tune the Level 2 Citree to the Level 3 Smiger!"
"A Synchro Summon already!"
"Arisu-san is the best!" The kids cheered.
"Green crystal! Dissolve into the sands of time and be reborn with a new spark!" Citree turned into two rings that Smiger flew through. "Now, clash with our foes and strike down anyone in our path! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Level 5, Crystron Borahydra!"
A large, shimmering blue-green hydra appeared in front of her. The inside of its body was clearly made out of black metal—there was a dark shadow within the hydra's body that alluded to that. The shimmering body writhed, as four heads slowly drew themselves up, all of them simultaneously letting out roars. The hydra's tail smacked against the ground with a loud sound. At its full height, it was almost as tall as the orphanage that was behind them.
[Crystron Borahydra (5*/1500/2500/WATER/Machine/Synchro/Effect)]
"Borahydra's effect," Arisu continued. "When it is Synchro Summoned, I will target a Machine monster on the field, destroy it, and then Special Summon it to my field in Attack Position. I will choose Samurai Destroyer! Boracite Crash!" The hydra roared again, before literally spitting out a gigantic crystal, which flew towards the orange robot, destroying it in a bright green explosion. Then, the monster reappeared on her field.
"Wait a second! Samurai Destroyer's effect should have triggered there!" One of the officers exclaimed.
"... officer," Arisu said, sounding somewhat disappointed. "I am your superior. Samurai Destroyer is a standard issue Synchro Monster for grounded forces of Security, though it's only permitted for members with higher win records. Even I have a copy of it. Of course I know its effects—when destroyed by card effects, it revives a Machine monster—meaning that it can loop itself, or float into another monster in your graveyard." She raised a finger. "However, Samurai Destroyer's effect could only be activated after Borahydra's effect had resolved. There were no Machine monsters in that officer's graveyard, since Destroyer was automatically summoned to my field before the effect resolved. Thus, even if the effect would have triggered, there was no applicable target."
There was a moment of silence.
"I'm continuing with my turn now," Arisu said. "I'll banish Crystron Smiger from my graveyard to add a "Crystron" Spell or Trap to my hand." The purple-haired woman plucked a card from her deck. "I will set a card facedown, and then, I will send a "Crystron" card from my hand to the graveyard to Special Summon Crystron Sulfefnir from my hand!" A bright yellow dragon-like monster appeared, green crystals covering the golden-yellow body. The dragon let out a howl, striking its two claws through the air.
[Crystron Sulfefnir (5*/2000/1500/WATER/Machine/Effect)]
"Then, I must destroy a card I control." The set card that Arisu had just placed down exploded. "Now, Borahydra gains 200 attack and defense points for each "Crystron" monster that is banished or in the graveyard. Smiger, Prasiortle, Thystvern, Citree and the Rosenix that I just sent to the graveyard." Five bright gems appeared, and the hydra bit down on each of them, causing five colourful explosions.
[Crystron Borahydra: 1500 + 200 x 5 = 2500ATK; 2500 + 200 x 5 = 3500DEF]
"Battle Phase." Arisu spread out her arms. "Crystron Borahydra can declare an attack once for every Machine monster on the field. There are three on mine, and you did take control of Yugo's Kendama. So that's four attacks!"
"What?" One of them exclaimed.
"Borahydra will attack you two twice each!" The heads snapped forward, breathing out a stream of water that knocked both officers back.
Security 4: 4000 - 2500 - 2500 = 0LP
Security 5: 4000 - 2500 - 2500 = 0LP
"And Samurai Destroyer and Sulfefnir will take you out!" The other two monsters defeated the final intruder. All three opponents were wiped out before they could even take a turn.
Security 6: 4000 - 2600 - 2000 = 0LP
"Over to you, Yugo," Arisu said, waving a hand through the air. "That's all the help I'm giving you—I'm just setting the duel back to what it originally was."
Yes.
So Yugo was back to having only two opponents.
Miharu found herself very impressed by the woman's level of ruthless efficiency.
Yugo pumped a hand through the air. "You're always so cool, Arisu!" He said cheerily. "But you're right! They defeated my Clear Wing, and they still have Kendama! I have to avenge my monsters!"
[Turn 9: Yugo] [H:2]
"Draw!" Yugo declared. He grinned at the card. "Spell Card, Speedraw! Since I control no cards, I can draw two cards and send a "Speedroid" monster from my hand to the graveyard!" He cycled out his hand. "And I'll avenge my Clear Wing now! I'll Special Summon another copy of Speedroid Terrortop!" The chain of tops appeared in front of him. "With Terrortop's effect, I will add another "Speedroid" monster from my deck to my hand. And then, I will Special Summon Speedroid Taketomborg from my hand!"
A blue, thin toy creature with yellow squares forming its limbs appeared in front of him as well, right next to Terrortop.
[Speedroid Taketomborg (3*/600/1200/WIND/Machine/Effect)]
"I will tribute Taketomborg. I will Special Summon a "Speedroid" Tuner Monster from my deck." Yugo placed down the card. "Meet Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper!" A green-haired, humanoid doll-like figure appeared in front of him, with a long green and yellow scarf that resembled feathers.
[Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper (4*/1000/1000/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]
"With Fuki-Modoshi Piper's effect, I can excavate cards from the top of my deck, up to the number of WIND monsters I control other than itself!" He gestured to Terrortop. "Just one. Then, I can add a card from among them to my hand, but since I only excavated one, I basically just draw a card!"
He glanced at the card, before placing it down.
"Spell Card, Speedroid Wheel! By discarding a card, I can roll a dice, and then Special Summon up to 2 "Speedroid" monsters from my deck with a total Level equal to that result. However, if I don't Special Summon with this effect, I must take damage equal to the number I rolled times 500."
"But if you roll a number higher than 2, you lose!"
"No," Yugo said confidently. "Because I will never be incapable of summoning with this effect! I believe in my deck!" A dice fell on the ground, rolling across and revealing a 5. "Let's go! Come! Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice! Speedroid Block-n-Roll!" A large blue, glass-like dice appeared on the field, along with a guitar that had spikes around the wider part of it.
[Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice (1*/100/100/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect)]
[Speedroid Block-n-Roll (4*/1000/1800/WIND/Machine/Effect)]
"Red-Eyed Dice's effect! I will change the Level of Speedroid Terrortop to 4!" The top glowed brightly, four stars floating over it.
[Speedroid Terrortop: 3* → 4*]
"I will tune the Level 1 Red-Eyed Dice to the Level 4 Terrortop!" Yugo grinned widely. "Lively soul of swordplay. Synchro Summon! Come, Level 5! Hi-Speedroid Chanbara!" A large sword appeared on the field, its blade half vibrant red and half light green.
[Hi-Speedroid Chanbara (5*/2000/1000/WIND/Machine/Synchro/Effect)]
"And next, I'll tune the Level 4 Fuki-Modoshi Piper to the Level 4 Block-n-Roll!" Yugo grinned. "This is my strongest Speedroid! It was given to me by—"
And then, Yugo stopped talking for a moment. His enthusiasm faltered.
He recovered a moment later. "W-well, anyway, let me show you! Metal dragon with the power of the shining, free winds, take flight with the ideals of those who wish to rise! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake!" A large, shining blue-grey dragon appeared, with wings of glowing green energy. It let out a roar, flying around Yugo protectively, its wings folding around him, before it slid forward.
[Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake (8*/3000/2800/WIND/Machine/Synchro/Effect)]
"Kitedrake's effect!" Yugo called. "Since it was Synchro Summoned, I destroy all other cards on the field! Leisure Hurricane!" Winds swept up, bursting across the field.
"That's a lot of hope that you're putting in me to have that specific card in my graveyard, Yugo," Arisu said. Never one to disappoint though, she picked up a card from her graveyard. "By banishing Crystron Polish from my graveyard, Machine monsters on the field cannot be destroyed by card effects this turn. Thus, this protects my monsters and his. Sadly, that includes the Kendama that you stole, but your Goyo Predator is done for." The Synchro Monster was wiped off the field.
"And then, Chanbara can attack twice per turn, and it gains 200 attack points each time!... not that it matters though, you kinda lose anyway. Chanbara will attack you directly twice!" Chanbara dashed forward, hitting the Security Officer twice.
Security 2: 3500 - 2000 - 2000 = 0LP
"And then, Kitedrake will attack you!" The dragon dashed forward, crushing Kendama, who was sent to the graveyard.
Security 3: 4000 - 800 = 3200LP
Well, the result was obvious.
Yugo ended his turn, but what was his opponent going to use against those two fields? In the end, the man simply surrendered, granting the win to him.
"Return to base," Arisu said, adjusting her coat. "I'll be expecting a proper report by procedure on my table by six tonight."
"It's four in the afternoon!" One of the officers protested.
Arisu raised an eyebrow. "Then I suppose you had better drive quickly. Oh, and if you have any mistakes in the report, I'm passing it up to the Security Overseer." Miharu saw actual fear in the group of officers' eyes. She didn't quite understand what they were talking about.
Everything about this place was just unfamiliar to her.
The group cleared out, and the kid that had been arrested ran to Martha, who carefully hugged him. Yugo grinned in satisfaction, before he walked over to Arisu's bike, kneeling down next to it and glancing around it.
"Still in perfect quality!" He praised.
Arisu nodded, before she glanced over at Miharu and Yuzu. She raised an eyebrow. "You two… are not Rin," she said.
"Oh!" Yugo blinked. "How could you tell?"
Arisu looked rather unimpressed. "Their hair is different, and if Rin was here, she would have fought those guys alongside you," she pointed out. "But that's enough about that. Where have you been, Yugo? I haven't seen you around for the last few months."
"Um," Yugo said. "I travelled to other worlds looking for Rin?"
"Calling other cities other 'worlds' is kind of xenophobic," Arisu said, clearly sounding sceptical of what Yugo was saying. From behind Miharu, Yuzu swallowed a laugh. "But I'm glad you're back, Yugo. Do inform me before you go again, alright?"
"Alright, alright." Yugo grinned. "Anyway, you mentioned—has she—"
Arisu's face fell slightly. "She's as busy as ever," she said, clearly trying to soften the blow. Yugo sighed after a moment, before he clearly cheered himself up.
"Anyway, introductions!" Yugo gestured to them. "This is Yuzu, and this is Miharu!" His informality was mildly off-putting to Miharu, but Yuzu clearly didn't mind it. "They're friends of mine. And Yuzu, Miharu, this is Arisu Kirijo! She's, uh, fifteen years older than us—"
"I am literally only five years older than you," Arisu deadpanned.
"Halfway into the grave, really—"
Arisu rolled her eyes.
"Anyway, she's kind of the best Security member all around!"
"The only good Security member," someone nearby muttered. Miharu saw Yugo flinch for a moment, but the blue and yellow-haired boy continued talking with bright cheer.
"She's super strong. She kind of taught me how to duel!"
"Oh. So you lived at this orphanage too, Kirijo-san?" Miharu asked.
"No, but I did spend a lot of time here," Arisu said after a moment. "I'm a Top, but my father was an advocate for granting more provisions to the Commons." She shrugged. "It wasn't a very popular opinion—if people's minds could be changed that easily, our city wouldn't exist. Regardless, I came down with him as a volunteer when I was seven. That's how I met Yugo. He was… two, I think, he had just come to the orphanage."
She reached into her pocket, pulling out her wallet and revealing a photo. There, a toddler with curly blue hair, with some small yellow fringe, was waving his arms cheerily, not a single care in the world. Next to him was a much taller child, clearly being Arisu, who was patting his head with a smile.
But in the corner of the picture, there was a girl seated on a chair, watching the two with a neutral expression. For a toddler, her face was rather…
Miharu recognised that expression. Those empty, aimless eyes.
"Who's that?" She asked, pointing to the girl.
Arisu and Yugo both grimaced for a moment. It didn't take a genius to link this with Yugo's discomfort about the person who everyone else here seemed to dislike. At the same time, they didn't seem to have expected her to see the girl in the photo.
"I'll introduce you to her when we meet her," Yugo said, clearly deflecting. "Anyway, Arisu! You're here, so will you stay for dinner?"
Arisu smiled sheepishly. "I'd love to," she said. "But with the Friendship Cup coming up, I do have a lot of duties to work on. Another time, alright?"
She leaned down, hugging Yugo.
"Love you, Yugo. See you soon." She waved to the other kids, heading back to her D-Wheel.
Yugo waved to the woman as she left.
Miharu observed, and she couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart.
She missed Ryoken so, so much.
After dinner, which Miharu felt bad about eating—after all, she and Yuzu were just another mouth for these people to feed—she headed outside. She heard the rumbling of an engine as she did so.
In the garage, Yugo was working on his D-Wheel. There was no one else there. He seemed so lost in it that he didn't even notice her come in.
Miharu sat down at the bench behind him. She cleared her throat.
Yugo practically jumped up. "Ahhh!" He shrieked, before he seemed to recognise her. Miharu thought that it was particularly telling that no one from within the orphanage seemed to react to his scream—he was probably just really easily startled.
"It's late at night."
Yugo blinked. "It is? Uh, I just wanted to get a regular check-up done!"
Miharu raised an eyebrow. "… and it's not because you want to take your mind off something?"
"Gah!" Yugo leapt back. "Are you a mind reader? How did you know?"
"Isn't it a normal thing to retreat to the most mindless thing when you don't want to think about things?" Miharu thought about the long nights that she had spent coding back in Den City, when she couldn't sleep because of how bad the memories were. "I doubt you would return home and spend the first night just out here alone for no reason. I don't know. Am I projecting on you?"
"… nah," Yugo said, cracking a smile. "So you do that too?"
"Yeah." She shrugged. "Want to talk about it? You don't seem like the kind of guy who gets serious very often, and I know I'm not Rin, but… I'm not good at talking, but I'm good at listening."
"… well, Rin was pretty bad at listening, but she always understood me." Yugo sighed. "Sorry. Seeing that photo today and hearing everyone insult her… it got on my nerves. I don't get angry or irritated often."
Seeing him so serious made Miharu feel conflicted. "The one who joined Security, the same girl from the photo?" She asked. Yugo blinked.
"Has anyone told you that you're scarily perceptive? Like…" He shook his head. "... I don't remember this myself, but Martha used to tell the story a lot before that person left. Apparently, when we were just kids, barely old enough to walk… no one was taking care of me. I was just two at the time. When I collapsed, another child carried me and barely managed to get to Martha's doorstep—that child had barely any strength at all. She was just a year older than me."
Yugo was smiling, as though recalling a fond memory.
"I don't remember it… but Martha says that she remembers that moment far too clearly. Because the only two words that my sister ever spoke, throughout the last fifteen years of our lives, were spoken on that day." He sighed. "She told Martha 'help him'. She refused to eat until Martha had checked me over and reassured her that I was ok. My first memories of being a child were with her, Arisu and Rin, who also came to the orphanage around that time. She always fussed over me, even if she didn't say a word. And then…"
He drifted off.
"And then what?"
"And then, when I was ten, she had a weird episode," Yugo recalled. "She just… she was just panicking, and then when she looked at me, she didn't seem to recognise me. Soon after that, she joined the Arcadia Movement, and she started spending less and less time here. And then, that man showed up."
The sheer anger in Yugo's voice made Miharu stop her own natural curiosity—she would ask about what on earth the Arcadia Movement was later. For now, she just listened.
"He's the Director of Security. Technically Arisu's boss." Yugo clenched a fist. "Jean Michel Roget. I hate him—I don't think that there's a single person in the Commons that would disagree with me. He's done a lot of stuff to suppress us. Three years ago, he showed up and offered to adopt her, and for some reason, she just agreed, even though she had always hated the Tops. And now she's a higher-up in Security, and I haven't seen her for three years."
Three years… Miharu patted his shoulder. She couldn't imagine not seeing her brother for that long.
(But what if you have to? A voice in her head asked. What if this war does take that long? What will you do then, Miharu Kogami?)
"She doesn't come back?"
"Arisu says she's doing fine," Yugo said. "And Rin's seen her around Arcadia, so she has to be at least still friends with the people she met there… but I just wish she would talk to me. Tell me what went wrong, you know? She's still my sister."
"... older siblings can be mysterious," Miharu said after a moment. "But they love us. They would never leave us behind. Your sister must have a reason, but… it doesn't make the fact that she's abandoned all of you for so long okay."
"I know. But everyone else already won't forgive her for it." Yugo glanced at his bike. "... I hear Commons cursing her name in the street and talking about corrupt things that she's done for Security, but… she's still my sister. If I don't believe in her, then no one will believe in her… she might really disappear then."
"You really love your sister."
"Someone has to," Yugo said after a moment. "We're all orphans. If we don't love each other, who's going to love us? Certainly not those that threw us away, or those that suppress us."
There was a moment of silence as Miharu digested that. Then, she said: "That's more insightful than I ever expected you to be."
"Hey! I'm smart, I'll have you know! Just a bit oblivious sometimes…"
Miharu nodded. "Then I wish the best for you," she said. "... family is important."
"Family is important," Yugo echoed. He turned to her with a wide grin. "Hey, thanks for listening. I know I ramble a little, but… I haven't really had anyone to talk to about this stuff, since Rin…"
A shadow crossed his face as he spoke that name—the name of Miharu's Synchro counterpart. Miharu touched her bracelet instinctively.
"Well, since Rin. Martha already has to deal with so much stuff, and the kids are… well, they're kids."
"I… won't say that I understand about the part with the younger kids," Miharu said. "I didn't exactly have someone who I'd consider a younger sibling. But I understand that feeling about worrying to be a burden. They always tell us that it's alright to be honest about our fears…"
She trailed off. Yugo was still grinning, but there was something understanding to his grin.
"But it's really not that easy," he completed. "Hey. That Academia place that wanted to capture you—they took Rin, right? The people who use Fusion?"
"Yes," Miharu said.
Yugo held out a fist. "I'll fight Academia alongside you guys then," he promised, sounding rather enthusiastic. "And while your Yuno isn't here, I'll make sure to keep you safe in his absence!"
"... as if I need Yuno to keep me safe," Miharu murmured, but she raised a fist as well, both of their clenched fists colliding in a fistbump. His hand was rough—clearly from all of the work that he did and the machines that he worked with. Her hands were far softer.
But despite their different experiences, they still had the same goal. To protect the ones that they cared for.
I don't like careless people…
But yes, I can get along with you. I wonder if that's a thing—that so far, every person with Yuno's face that I've met has been tolerable. Even Yuri.
Up in the area belonging to the Tops, there was a tall building that served as the Main Bureau of the Security Council. It towered over even the most fanciful houses, and it was shining with bright, colourful neon lights from inside it.
It was rather late at night, but there was still work to be done.
Footsteps clicked through the corridors as Arisu Kirijo walked to her office. As she opened the door, she noticed that the paperwork on her desk had shrunk by about half its original size. Said paperwork was all sorted neatly into piles on another table, properly filled in for her.
"I swear, you don't sleep," Arisu said aloud. "Sometimes, I wonder if your inability to speak ended up causing you to develop such fast writing skills as a result." She glanced around. "And this ability of yours to just lack presence is also mildly creepy sometimes. Can you move?"
Finally, she caught a glimpse of white from the corner of her eye. There was a hand waving through the air, wearing a black glove. It belonged to a girl who had been leaning against the wall, with such a lack of presence that Arisu hadn't even been able to see her until the girl had purposely drawn attention to herself. The girl had white hair which went down to her hips, and it was rather curly, and her long fringe covered her eyes, which Arisu knew were bright amber. She was wearing a face mask over the bottom half of her face, and an black eyepatch over her right eye. She wasn't exactly wearing the Security uniform—when someone was as high up in Security as this young woman was, or as recognisable as she was, there was no reason for that. Instead, she was wearing a long green dress, with black leggings beneath them and boots similar to Arisu's own. (Arisu had been the one to buy those for her, for her previous birthday.)
The girl gestured to the pile with a finger.
"Yes, yes, I appreciate it. I'm assuming that if you were in here all evening, you saw the report from the orphanage today?"
The girl walked to the dustbin, lifting it up to reveal a pile of shredded papers within it. Arisu nodded, not needing to ask any more questions about what had happened to the report. The white-haired girl then raised a note that she had written, with the names of the officers who were part of the incident on it. She rapped her fingers sharply on the table.
"Honestly, go ahead and demote them if you want to," Arisu said with a shrug. Considering that she had quite literally grown up knowing this girl, at this point, she understood her unspoken intentions better than most others, except perhaps Yugo. "If the officers haven't learned to stop harassing children, or to stop harassing that orphanage, more examples is never a bad thing."
The girl nodded. She picked up the note and walked towards the door.
"Did you eat today?"
The girl shrugged. Arisu sighed in exasperation.
"Alright, come on. We're going to go and get dinner, yeah?"
The girl raised her hands, signing out several words. 'Night stores closed.' Since sign language followed a different structure of language, Arisu had made sure to learn it. What the girl had actually meant was that it was too late at night, and thus, there wouldn't be any stores open.
"Then we'll grab some cup ramen." Arisu sighed. "You're overworking yourself, Ka—"
The girl waved a hand through the air, indicating that it wasn't a big deal. Arisu sighed.
"No. Older sister privileges. You're coming out with me."
The girl sighed as well. She finally made a sign of assent.
"Good."
Work could wait for another day.
Arisu led the girl out of the room. On the way, they bumped into two officers who bowed down to Arisu, but didn't notice her companion at all. Arisu was barely surprised at this point—she had grown up with this girl, after all. This girl who could barely be noticed, even in pictures. This girl, who had been nicknamed 'The Ghost' due to her absolute lack of presence. This girl, a nervous wreck anywhere but in a duel, but with a perfect record in terms of every mission she had ever been assigned. The jewel of Security, who refused to show her face.
Kaname Mizuchi hated it when people looked at her, after all.
"You really should go down and talk to Yugo," Arisu said. "It's been years."
Kaname looked at her, glanced away as quickly as she could, fidgeting with her gloves to try and calm herself down from her own anxiety.
"I know you have your reasons," Arisu continued. "But he misses you a lot, you know."
Quick hand motions through the air answered her, and Arisu blinked. "Huh? You'll meet him soon anyway? Why?"
Kaname gestured up to a billboard of Jack Atlas, as they exited the Security building.
"Oh. The Friendship Cup? Your…" Arisu clicked her tongue with some distaste. "Your father is having you participate?" Roget might have been her boss, purely because working at Security was her only choice to escape her previous circumstances, but she still didn't like the idea of someone who she considered her sister being the daughter of that man.
Kaname nodded.
Arisu grimaced. You trust that man too much. You've damaged your relationship with everyone else after being adopted by him, and I don't understand why, Kaname. What did he offer you?
Still though, she didn't ask. If she did, her sister might pull away from her too. And then, Kaname would really only have Roget to rely on, and that would be awful.
"Are you still visiting the Arcadia Movement tomorrow?"
Kaname nodded.
"Alright. Be careful then." And that was all Arisu said—not pushing her luck any further. Still though, she allowed herself to hope.
Yugo. You will have your chance soon. So for all of our sakes, find out what's wrong with her. Please.
Duel 1 Summary: Yugo & Arisu Kirijo vs 6 Security Officers
Duel Format: Battle Royale
Turn 1: Yugo
Yugo Normal Summons Speedroid Horse Stilts (4*/1100/1100/WIND/Machine/Effect) and Special Summons a Level 4 or lower "Speedroid" monster from his hand. He Special Summons Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice (3*/300/1500) and tunes it to Horse Stilts. He Synchro Summons Clear Wing Synchro Dragon (7*/2500/2000) in Attack Position to the Extra Monster Zone. He sets 1 card and ends his turn.
Turn 2: Security 1
Security 1 Normal Summons Vigilante Zeni (4*/1600/1200) from his hand. He reduces Zeni's ATK to 0 to Special Summon Vigilante Gata (3*/800/800) from his hand. He Synchro Summons Sniping Heiji - Type 0 (7*/2400/2000) in Attack Position. He sends 1 card from his hand to the GY to destroy Clear Wing. Yugo uses Clear Wing's effect to negate and destroy Heiji - Type 0, before activating the Continuous Trap, Dragon's Bind, stopping his opponents from Special Summoning monsters with lower ATK than Clear Wing. Security 1 sets 1 card and ends his turn.
Turn 3: Security 2
Security 2 sets 1 monster and 2 cards. He ends his turn.
Turn 4: Security 3
Security 3 sets 1 monster and 2 cards. He ends his turn.
Turn 5: Yugo
Yugo draws. He activates Heavy Storm, wiping out all Spells/Traps on the field. He Normal Summons Speedroid Terrortop (3*/1200/600) from his hand. With Terrortop's effect, he adds Speedroid CarTurbo (3*/800/1200) from his Deck to his hand and Special Summons CarTurbo from his hand with its effect. He tunes CarTurbo to Terrortop and Synchro Summons Hi-Speedroid Kendama (6*/2200/1600) in Attack Position. He banishes Terrortop from his GY to inflict 500 damage to Security 2 with Kendama's effect. [S2: 4000 - 500 = 3500LP] Kendama and Clear Wing attack the first Security Officer directly. [S1: 4000 - 2200 - 2500 = 0LP] Yugo ends his turn.
Turn 6: Security 2
Security 2 draws. He Normal Summons Vigilante Zeni, Special Summons Vigilante Gata and Synchro Summons Samurai Destroyer (7*/2600/1400) in Attack Position. Samurai Destroyer attacks and destroys Clear Wing. [Y: 4000 - 100 = 3900LP] He ends his turn.
Turn 7: Security 3
Security 3 draws. He Flip Summons Assault Dog. (4*/1200/800) He Normal Summons Jutte Fighter (2*/700/900) from his hand. He Synchro Summons Goyo Predator (6*/2400/1200) in Attack Position. Goyo Predator attacks Kendama and destroys it, Special Summoning it to Security 3's field. [Y: 3900 - 200 = 3700LP] Kendama attacks Yugo directly. [Y: 3700 - 2200 = 1500LP] Security 3 ends his turn.
Security 4-6 intrude. Arisu Kirijo intrudes and thanks to her duel disk's programming, she goes before the three officers.
Turn 8: Arisu Kirijo
Arisu draws. She Normal Summons Crystron Prasiortle. (2*/500/2000) She activates the Spell Card, Transmodify, sending Prasiortle to the GY to Special Summon Crystron Smiger (3*/1000/1800) from his Deck. By banishing Crystron Prasiortle from the GY, she Special Summons Crystron Thystvern (3*/1500/1500) from her hand. She then uses Thystvern's effect, destroying Smiger to Special Summon a "Crystron" Tuner from her Deck. She Special Summons Crystron Citree. (2*/500/500) Tuning the Level 2 Citree to the Level 3 Thystvern, she Synchro Summons Crystron Borahydra. (5*/1500/2500) Since it was Synchro Summoned, Arisu destroys Samurai Destroyer and Special Summons it to her field in Attack Position. She banishes Smiger from her GY to add a "Crystron" Spell/Trap from her Deck to her hand. She sets 1 card facedown and then sends 1 "Crystron" card from her hand to the GY to Special Summon Crystron Sulfefnir. (5*/2000/1500) Sulfefnir forces her to destroy her set card. Borahydra gains 200 ATK/DEF for each banished "Crystron" monster or in the graveyard. (CB: 1500 + 1000 = 2500ATK; 2500 + 1000 = 3500DEF) Borahydra can declare 4 attacks this turn. It attacks Security 4 twice and Security 5 twice. [S4: 4000 - 2500 - 2500 = 0LP] [S5: 4000 - 2500 - 2500 = 0LP] Samurai Destroyer and Sulfefnir attacks Security 6 directly. [S6: 4000 - 2600 - 2000 = 0LP]
Turn 9: Yugo
Yugo draws. He activates the Spell Card, Speedraw. Since he controls no cards, he draws 2 and sends a "Speedroid" monster from his hand to the GY. He Special Summons Speedroid Terrortop from his hand, and adds another "Speedroid" monster from his Deck to his hand. He Special Summons Speedroid Taketomborg (3*/600/1200) from his hand, and tributes it to Special Summon Speedroid Fuki-Modoshi Piper (4*/1000/1000) from his Deck. He uses Fuki-Modoshi Piper's effect. Since he controls 1 other WIND monster, he excavates the top card of his Deck and adds it to his hand. He then activates Speedroid Wheel, discarding a card and rolling a dice. He gets 5, Special Summoning Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice (1*/100/100/WIND/Machine/Tuner/Effect) and Speedroid Block-n-Roll (4*/1000/1800) from the Deck. He uses Red-Eyed Dice's effect to change Terrortop's Level to 4, before tuning the Level 1 Red-Eyed Dice to the Level 4 Terrortop and Synchro Summoning Hi-Speedroid Chanbara. (5*/2000/1000) He then uses Fuki-Modoshi Piper and Block-n-Roll to Synchro Summon Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake (8*/3000/2800) in Attack Position. Kitedrake destroys all other cards on the field, but Arisu banishes Crystron Polish from her GY, protecting all Machine monsters on the field from card effects. Chanbara attacks Security 2 directly twice. [S2: 4000 - 2000 - 2000 = 0LP] Kitedrake attacks Security 3's stolen Kendama. [S3: 4000 - 800 = 3200LP] Security 3 surrenders. Yugo and Arisu win.
OC Cards:
Crystron Borahydra
(5*/1500/2500/WATER/Machine/Synchro/Effect)
1 Tuner + 1+ non-Tuner monsters
If this card is Synchro Summoned: You can target 1 Machine monster on the field; destroy it, and if you do, Special Summon it to your field in Attack Position. This card can declare an attack once for each Machine monster on the field at the start of the Battle Phase, and it gains 200 ATK/DEF for each banished "Crystron" monster and each "Crystron" monster in your GY. If this Synchro Summoned monster on the field is destroyed by battle or card effect: You can target 1 monster in either player's GY with ATK equal to or lower than this card's DEF; Special Summon it to your field in Attack Position.
Trivia: Crystron Prasiortle is the only member of the Crystrons to not have a canon Synchro evolution. Meanwhile, Crystron Rion is only canonically used as material for Quariongandrax. Thus, this monster is Level 5, because its canon materials are actually Rion and Praisortle, even though those aren't the materials used here. The gem used in the name is boracite, a gem that occurs mostly in blue-green shades. Since the current Crystron cards are a bit odd in terms of what mythological creatures the Synchros are based on, I chose to use things related to rebirth, death and a cyclical nature, similar to Jormungand and a phoenix. Finally, since Praisortle is based on a turtle, I decided to pick a more aquatic evolution for it. Thus—the hydra. The multiple-attacks effect takes inspiration from the hydra, obviously. The effect on destruction keeps in theme with the rest of the Crystrons, though it's less restricted than Ametrix. The effect on Synchro Summon can technically be used to bomb Borahydra itself to revive a monster, but it actually takes inspiration from the Main Deck Crystrons' effects, which bomb a card to Special Summon a card. Borahydra is the 'closest' to the Main Deck Crystrons—while the rest of the Synchros are humanoid, Borahydra is still a beast like the Main Deck ones, and thus, keeps the same effect. In order to keep this card from being overpowered though, it has its stats inverted from Ametrix. (Fitting, as Prasiortle has higher DEF than ATK too.) Borahydra is slightly more powerful than Ametrix, but to be fair, it's 2023, and a lot of power creep has happened since then. I'd like to give Crystrons a chance to catch up, thanks.
… I was right. Giving this section seriously makes the chapter far longer than it has any right to be. I hope it does help in providing insight for the cards though.
Crystron Polish
(Trap)
If a Machine monster battles: Send 1 "Crystron" monster from your hand to the GY; this turn, Machine monsters cannot be destroyed by battle. You can banish this card from the GY; all Machine monsters on the field cannot be destroyed by card effects this turn.
Trivia: Based on the act of polishing gems. Really, I was just surprised that Crystrons had so little card protection, so I gave them this.
Different Card Effects From TCG:
Vigilante/Heiji - Type 0 - Anime-only cards.
Clear Wing Synchro Dragon - Anime effect.
Speedraw - Anime-only card.
Speedroid Maliciousmagnet - Anime effect.
End Notes:
I will explain more later on in the story, but you might already be able to tell that there's some stuff odd with how Yugo is describing the Synchro Dimension, or how he's behaving around Security. All I'll say is that I basically redid the entire worldbuilding and society of the Synchro Dimension, though I tried to make it not that apparent at first. All I'll request is that everyone approaches this fic without any preconceived notions that Tops/Security/Commons are in the wrong for now, alright? I think my personal opinion towards the society shown in Arc-V is… not quite the same as everyone. :) What I will confirm though, is that I intend on exploring the ways that a society can suppress a majority within their own nation, instead of just using the convenient idea of violence. I have… very strong thoughts on how badly the Synchro Dimension was written in terms of worldbuilding, so I decided that while the surface level stuff would appear the same—there's Commons, there's Tops, there's Security—most of the details have changed.
There will be… quite a few OCs in this arc, simply because 1) 32 characters are in the Friendship Cup, and while not all of the characters added are OCs, there are some added just for decks I wanted to try out. 2) I wanted to make Security more of a credible threat, so Security will be more than just Roget. And while 5Ds has a lot of characters to add, it doesn't have a lot of interesting characters to add that wouldn't be too overpowered for the Lancers to deal with right now. For those asking about 5Ds legacy characters—I do have quite a few serving as cameos, with some having a bigger role.
And I will nip this in the bud for now—Arisu Kirijo is not the major OC of the Synchro Dimension that I mentioned a long time ago. Instead, she is a well-meaning adult, and the Token Good Teammate of Security, because I do not want Security to all just be paper cutouts of angry policemen. The actual major OC of the Synchro Dimension will take a while longer to show off what she can do, though it's absurdly clear that it's Kaname Mizuchi—I'm not even going to bother to hide that. I will address the small discrepancies that aren't spoilers first—Kaname is not based on any of the Iliaster characters, I happened to give her that title before I remembered the Ghost from 5Ds. She is not actually mute—she suffers from severe anxiety and facial dysmorphia that causes her to be unable to speak around other people at all. The only way that she can even function is by wearing something on her face. She's a pretty interesting character, and her dynamic with Yugo is pretty different from most other sibling relationships I've written in this story so far. I thought it was a huge missed opportunity that despite Jack being from the same orphanage as Yugo, there was no real acknowledgement by the plot that relationships could be complicated between Commons and those who were formerly Commons, especially if they knew each other beforehand. So yay, relationships destroyed by classism! (This is sarcastic. :D)
Hope you guys enjoyed seeing Crystrons though—they were going to be a one-time cameo in the Friendship Cup, but I loved them a bit too much, and thus, Arisu was born. Arisu will certainly be a major character in the Synchro Arc, though she won't be in the Friendship Cup. And to compensate for not being able to give her Needlefiber, she has some nice additional Synchros to use as well. I'm taking the chance right now to introduce the two most major OCs in the Synchro Arc organically, since when the Lancers come to Synchro, I want to focus the narrative on the Lancers.
I think this is important to bring up—the anime is very inconsistent with what effect damage counts as being dealt to all opponents, or just one opponent. For now, the default is that effect damage is only dealt to one opponent, unless stated otherwise on the card itself.
I love Yugo's character. Idiot, but tactical, great at dueling, trusting and while he's inconsiderate, he's also reliable most of the time. Glad that I'm going to get to write him more this arc. While he's an idiot, I think that there's a level of emotional depth to him that Arc-V never explored properly. Namely, I want to point out his dream to defeat Jack in the Friendship Cup, but also to duel Rin there. Considering that everyone seems to know how the losers are punished, I interpreted that as them believing in the other's strength. Aka, the one who wins will get the other out. At the same time, I believe that they both want to be seen, in a society that is so clearly against them. There is a lot of idealism to their characters, as a result, and I wanted to show off that sensitivity here. While I'll still write Yugo as an oblivious idiot because he is one, I also wanted to take the chance to let him articulate his feelings about being a Commons.
Anyone that says that Kitedrake's design isn't literally amazing is lying to themselves. *clears throat* Anyway, Yugo doesn't get his duel against 227 here for the sake of logical consistency, especially because Miharu "overcautious" Kogami is here. However, feel free to assume that 227 was among the group of Security Officers harassing Yugo's orphanage, and he just happened to be doing Ground Duels that day, because I will be using him as an opponent in the Friendship Cup. :) Those officers are all getting demoted anyway so it doesn't matter.
Also, yes, the Arcadia Movement exists. More on that next chapter.
By my current outline, we have another chapter before the Lancers show up. Next chapter is also going to be quite fun to write for me! In fact, by the time you read this, next chapter is probably done, lmao. This chapter and the next chapter are both shorter chapters to start out the arc. Afterwards, the chapters with the Lancers are going to be a lot longer. :)
To naminexriku2468, Riding Duels here are different from both 5Ds and Arc-V. I'll say that I don't intend to include Speed Spells, if only because that's a lot of additional work and arbitrary restrictions. So no Spell restrictions or Speed Spells, or even Action Cards. However, I do intend on including Speed Counters. They'll be counters that build up every Standby Phase, so that someone can save them up and use specific effects with them. I think it'll be clearer when a Turbo Duel actually happens, so I'll wait until then to give a better explanation—but I will say that it's similar to the Turbo Duel Grand Prix event in Duel Links.
To DSpaceZ, that's a pretty amusing image.
To phantomdragons, yes, that is partially the reason. I feel like limiting the cast to only canon or legacy characters robs the writer of the chance to write so many interesting archetypes.
The next chapter will literally be posted in less than a day, that chapter is literally 5k words, and the only reason it wasn't a part of this chapter was because the narrative flow was bad. See you guys then!