I walked through the docks with Yuzu as we discussed the new deck. She'd learned the combo lines quite well, but was still struggling with playing around interaction. The main issue was that she'd go for risky plays into an uncertain board, such as going for a pend five against three backrow. She was improving, though, and that was the important part. There would be tons of PePe pilots at the tournament, and doubtlessly some of them would be running through the combos on autopilot without really knowing the deck. Those would be the easy wins (well, them and everyone not on PePe, but those people basically weren't worth counting), but the deck was still strong enough that one would have to play skillfully to beat even the most textbook of end boards.

Speaking of which, Yuya had decided to innovate with the deck, eschewing part of the Performage engine for a heavy focus on Odd-Eyes cards. During a duel with me, he somehow managed to literally create Odd-Eyes Pendulumgraph Dragon, as in the card he drew was enveloped within the light from his pendant an was completely transformed. I was pretty sure that wasn't exactly tournament legal, but screw the rules, Yuya had pendulum powers. Anyway, Yuya's Odd-Eyes DracoPals was surprisingly effective, being able to create varied end boards with many different forms of interaction. I was surprised to hear that he didn't have Double Iris Magician and the associated Pendulumgraph cards, but I suppose PendMages was more Zarc's thing.

I'd seen some weird brews of PePe over the last two days, including a multitude of different ways to access Blackwing - Zephyros the Elite, from Lavalval Chain to Raidraptor - Force Strix to even Dragunity Knight - Gae Dearg. That card was absolutely insane, even though it retained its TCG effects (as opposed to the anime version, which lacked the "Once Per Duel" clause). For the cost of 400 LP, one could gain an extra piece of material, an extra activation of Monkeyboard, and a draw off of Guitartle. It was well worth the investment. Of course, some people took it too far, creating decks that were half garnets with a ridiculously high ceiling but a high chance of bricking. I stuck to the Brilliant variant with the Baronne line

Speaking of cards transforming, Performage Trick Clown was now back to its TCG effects. That significantly put a damper on my plans to create a PePe FTK variant, but was probably healthier for the game as a whole.

"And despite all that work, you're still playing Swordsoul?" Yuzu questioned. "Isn't Performapal the best deck, as you said?"

"It's certainly the most explosive and powerful," I said. "But I think Swordsoul has a very good matchup into the current meta. It has more flex slots for silver bullet staples like Anti-Spell and Droll, and because I know the only deck I need to worry about is pends, I can play all the anti-pend techs," I explained. "I still think Performapal Performage is better, but I'm confident that my anti-meta build will be successful."

Yep, I'd revamped my Swordsoul deck yet again, tossing aside the Zefra engine in favor of the Brilliant engine as well as an Instant Fusion package with Elder Entity Norden. Those cards had never been legal at the same time as Swordsoul, and the synergy between the two was truly insane. The fusions would recur Ecclesia, Brilliant Fusion could bin an Ashuna which would allow for extension past Ghost Ogre, the double normal summon from Seraphinite opened up so many lines, and the fact that Seraphinite was level five meant I had access to the level nine synchro pool, specifically easy access to Shenshen, which also screwed over Pendulum.

"You were so excited about playing Performapal though," Yuzu said. "Why would you just drop the deck like that?"

"Eh, combo decks are always more fun to build and test than they are to play," I responded, before something caught my eye. "I've—hey, isn't that Masumi?"

The dark-skinned girl drew closer. "Yuzu," she began. "Do you know what's going on in Maiami City?"

"What do you mean?" Yuzu asked.

"Professor Marco was turned into a card. There have been repeated reports of a mysterious masked duelist assaulting LDS students and faculty," Masumi elaborated. "Do you know anything about this?"

Yuzu scoffed. "What makes you think I know something? Are you implying I'm behind this?"

"The black-masked duelist. Do you know where he is?"

"Yuto?" Yuzu questioned. "I've seen him twice, but I have no idea where he is. Why do you ask?"

"He also assaulted LDS students while asking about fusion! They must be connected, and you're connected to them as well!" Masumi declared.

"I don't know where he is," Yuzu protested.

LDS's Fusion Ace activated her duel disk. "Fine. If you're unwilling to talk, I'll just get the answer out of you as a duelist!"

"Let's all calm down," I interjected. "First off, you're not winning that duel. I don't know exactly what LDS teaches, but it's probably not enough to win against Yuzu's deck."

"What?!" Masumi exploded. "Did you just... LDS has the top teaching methods, and as a proud student of the school, I believe that there is no dueling style that LDS is unequipped to defeat!"

"Like that time when you dueled against You Show. Oh, wait, you lost two and oh," I deadpanned. "Remind me, exactly—"

"You're LDS?" another voice interjected from behind us. As expected, it was Shun Kurosaki. He rushed forward at Masumi, nearly knocking over Yuzu as I pulled her out of the way. "Duel me."

"Can we please calm down and stop jumping to duel every two seconds!?" I yelled. "Seriously! If you want to duel that badly, I'll duel you, and while we're doing that, you can explain everything, since we're obviously not on the same page here!"

"I have no interest in dueling you," Shun said dismissively. "You aren't Fusion. LDS, on the other hand—"

"—teaches all Extra Deck summoning methods equally, including Xyz summoning," I finished. "Now then, would you... I don't actually know your name, do I? Regardless, would you mind explaining why you're running around trying to duel random people?"

"Fusion is the enemy," Shun said. "They must be defeated!"

"Yeah, we got that part," I said. "Dammit, this is going nowhere. Why don't we all just introduce each other first?"

"I've changed my mind. You're acting as a roadblock. I'll eliminate you first," Shun said, activating his Duel Disk and pointing at me. Then Yuto leapt out of the shadows, punching Shun in the stomach and causing him to double over.

"Shun! That's not how we do things," Yuto said.

"Ruri is right there!" Shun protested, pulling down his scarf. "All I have to do is defeat these Fusion users!"

"That's not Ruri," Yuto corrected, shaking his head. "Look closer."

After a few seconds, Shun's eyes widened. "She isn't... was this all for nothing?"

"Are you the culprit?" Masumi demanded. "What did you do to Professor Marco! Answer me!"

"I gave that Fusion user what he deserved!" Shun yelled. "Even if it isn't Ruri, we can't let these bastards walk free! Yuto!"

"Oy vey," I groaned, placing my head in my hands. Why did I ever think this would be easy? "Would everyone just calm the fuck down and start from the beginning. Nobody is dueling anybody until we all get the full picture of what's going on."

"Unacceptable," Shun said, raising his duel disk. Yuto attempted to tackle him, but Shun pushed him off, causing Yuto to fall into a ball on the ground. Masumi moved to call, but I shook my head. "Fine," I said, activating my own duel disk. "I'll duel you, and then we'll get some answers. In the meantime, Masumi, would you mind not calling more people? I'd prefer that this mess didn't escalate into a giant clusterfuck."

I usually didn't swear this much, but I was really out of patience.

"I summon Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius. Its effect allows me to summon another Vanishing Lanius from my hand. Now, I activate Raidraptor Nest. Since I control two Raidraptor monsters with the same name, I can add one Raidraptor monster from my deck to my hand. I add another copy of Vanishing Lanius and summon it by the effect of my second Vanishing Lanius. I overlay my three Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius! Obscured falcon, raise your sharpened talons in front of adversity, spread your wings of rebellion! Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 4! Raidraptor - Rise Falcon!"

The dark mechanical bird cawed as it hit the field, spreading its wings. It reminded me of Shuraig somewhat with its mechanical wings.

"I set two cards and end my turn," Shun concluded.

"Be careful, Joshua," Yuto advised me. "Shun is a skilled duelist."

"So far, I'm unimpressed," I said, drawing for turn. My hand was pretty strange, consisting of Anti-Spell Fragrance, Brilliant Fusion, Instant Fusion, Lightning Storm, Evenly Matched, and the Maxx "C" off the top didn't help that much. "I'm pretty sure Raidraptor can do more than just pass on a rank-4. Last time I dueled against Raidraptor, they were going for the Kali Yuga lock."

"Kali Yuga Lock?" Yuto questioned. As he did so, I activated Lightning Storm on backrow removal mode. "I don't think I've ever seen that card before."

"Counter-trap activate, Raptor's Gust!" Shun declared before I could explain how he should've been comboing. "Since I control a Raidraptor Xyz monster, the activation of your spell card is negated and the card is destroyed!"

I nodded. "Enter battle phase."

"Battle phase? You have no monsters!" Masumi said.

"Stop messing around, Joshua!" Yuzu admonished. "Take this seriously!"

"End battle phase. At the end of the battle phase, I can activate the trap card Evenly Matched from my hand, since I control no cards. This card forces you to banish cards yu control face-down until we control the same number of cards."

"Giving up the entire battle phase just to activate one card..." Yuto commented.

"It's worth it," Yuzu pointed out. "If the other set card is a Raptor's Gust, Evenly Matched will make it offline. If Shun chooses to keep his monster, then Joshua can combo off without being interrupted."

I felt a swell of pride. She was learning! This was the marker of being a good duelist, understanding how to play around interaction, and Yuzu was finally getting it!

"I banish my set card face-down," Shun said.

"Main phase two. Activate Brilliant Fusion." I said, placing the continuous spell onto the duel disk. "Brilliant Fusion lets me fusion summon a Gem-Knight fusion monster using materials from my deck. I'll fuse Gem-Knight Garnet with Tenyi Spirit - Ashuna to make Gem-Knight Seraphinite."

The radiant gem warrior emerged from a vortex of light, its cape swirling around it.

"Gem-Knight?" Masumi questioned. "That's my specialty!"

I decided to ignore the peanut gallery for now. "Activate Instant Fusion. This card allows me to, for the cost of 1000 life points, special summon one level five or lower fusion monster from my Extra Deck, but it cannot attack and is destroyed in the end phase."

[Joshua: 4000 - 3000]

I was then presented with the utterly comical scene of an eldritch sea god emerging from an instant noodle cup on his chariot. Norden raised its trident to the sky, and a portal formed around it.

"When Norden is special summoned, I can summon one level four monster from my graveyard, but its effects are negated and it is banished when Norden leaves the field. Be reborn, Gem-Knight Garnet!"

The pyroxene warrior emerged from Norden's portal, its fists wreathed in flames.

"Now, I activate the effect of Tenyi Spirit - Ashuna in grave! Since I control a non-effect monster, I can banish it to summon a Tenyi monster from my deck, but I'm locked into Wyrms for the rest of the turn. I'll bring out the tuner monster Tenyi Sprit - Adhara from deck."

The brown eastern-style dragon emerged from the ghostly image of Ashuna, looking almost exactly like a slightly scrawnier and duller version of the monster that summoned it.

"I'll normal summon Maxx 'C' and synchro for seven with Adhara, Maxx 'C', and Garnet to make Yazi, Evil of the Yang Zing."

The dark dragon—sorry, wyrm—roared as it hit the field. The dragon was truly menacing, being orbited by several dark orbs as a miasma clung to its body.

"Yazi effect. I target one Yang Zing monster I control (Yazi) and one card you control (Rise Falcon) to destroy both. When Yazi is destroyed, I can summon any Wyrm monster from my deck in defense position, thus I'll bring out Swordsoul of Taia."

Yazi leapt at Rise Falcon, enveloping them both in an orb of darkness that eventually faded into Yazi's miasma. From the dark mist emerged Swordsoul of Taia, kneeling with its sword positioned defensively.

"Taia effect, banishing Yazi to make a token. Since I control a non-effect monster, I can banish Adhara from grave to add Ashuna back to hand. Synchro for eight, make Chixiao, Chixiao effect, search Longyuan." At this point, I had arrived at the standard Swordsoul combo, going into Chengying Chixiao pass with Anti-Spell set. Overall, it was more than enough to handle whatever Shun managed to topdeck.

[Shun: 4000 - 2800]

"Draw," Shun said. "I—"

"Anti-Spell in draw phase," I said, flipping over the floodgate. "Spells must be set before being activated, and cannot be activated until the next turn after they are set." An eerie mist filled the battlefield, clinging to the ground.

"I set one card and end my turn," Shun concluded. Ah, he'd topdecked a spell. In that case...

"During your end step, I'll activate Chixiao targeting Seraphinite, banishing Longyuan from grave to negate Seraphinite's effects. Since a card was banished, Chengying triggers, allowing me to banish a card from your field and a card from your graveyard." A blade of blue energy emerged from Chixiao's sword, impaling Shun's set card and banishing both it and Rise Falcon from his graveyard. His set was revealed to be Dimension Xyz, a card I didn't really recognize.

"Let's finish this. Draw for turn, standby, main. Battle phase. Chixiao attacks you for game."

[Shun: 2800 - 0]

[Joshua: WIN]

Shun was knocked backwards by the impact of Chixiao's sword, landing a fair distance away along the docks.

"I lost?!" Shun growled, getting up from the ground. "I lost to a fusion user? I assume you're going to card me now." He walked towards me, hunched and staring at the ground.

"Calm down. I'm not 'carding' anyone, I just want to know what's going on here. Why do you guys hate fusion, why does Yuto look like Yuya, and who's Ruri?"

"I suppose I should start from the beginning," Yuto said. "Shun and I are not from this world. The world we came from is known as the Xyz dimension, and as its name suggests, it is a world that knew of only Xyz summoning. Until that one fateful day..."

It had been a bright, warm spring morning in Heartland. Yuto and Shun were arguing over something trivial, Ruri would shake her head but then get drawn into the argument as well. They would duel, Shun would talk about his dreams of becoming a pro duelist, and Yuto would talk of his dreams of a family. It was the dynamic they shared, a comfortable, familiar way of life. It seemed as though nothing could go wrong in their little slice of paradise.

Then everything changed when the Fusion Dimension attacked.

Men and women, dressed in blue coats, marched in ranks out of a pillar of light, duel disks at the ready. Wordlessly, they slaughtered the inhabitants of Heartland, summoning giants of clockwork gears to devastate the city before sealing people into cards. Men and women, young and old, those who were duelists and those who were not... it didn't matter. All of them were carded as Academia advanced.

Yuto, Shun, and a few others attempted to resist the invasion force, putting up a valiant effort before their allies were carded and they were forced to retreat. The remaining citizens of Heartland gathered into the Resistance, but their efforts seemed hopeless. Academia was simply too strong and too numerous, but they still held onto hope.

"And then my sister, Ruri, was captured by Academia," Shun finished. "She has the exact same face as you, Yuzu. I figured that capturing the Professor's son, Reiji Akaba, would be enough to force him out and cause him to return Ruri to us."

"You're wrong," a familiar voice said. Shun turned to face the source. Recognizing the CEO of Leo Corporation, he jumped up with renewed energy.

"Reiji Akaba! Duel me!" he demanded.

"Didn't you just get beaten badly?" Yuto questioned.

Reiji Akaba stepped out from around the corner of a warehouse. "My father harbors no love for me, I fear. I, too, seek to oppose his plans."

"It appears that we're on the same page, then," I concluded. "We're all against Academia, and therefore an alliance would make sense."

Reiji shook his head. "It's not that simple. I figured you were less naïve than that, Joshua."

I shrugged. "I assume you have some sort of grand master plan to recruit allies and probably want to test their skills. It's not necessary—give me a couple of days with them, and they should be up to speed in no time."

"I have seen the results of your little study group," Reiji said, smiling. "The fact that forty more people qualified for the Arc League Championship than expected has caused me no end of headaches. Yes, it is likely you could teach these two to become great duelists... but would they be receptive to your teachings?"

"Sorry about that," I said, grinning in a way that made me seem very much not apologetic. "As you said, I've taught over forty people how to be top-tier competitive duelists. What's two more?"

"Like I'd want to be taught by a damn fusion user!" Shun spat. "I don't care if we're 'all on the same side'. I still don't trust you—" he pointed at me "—and I definitely don't trust you." He then pointed at Reiji.

"I see," Reiji said, adjusting his glasses as he activated his duel disk. "Then I suppose there is only one way to settle this."

"Anyone have popcorn?" I asked. "This is going to be fun to watch."

I was promptly ignored by the rest of the group. My humor is wasted on philistines.

"I'll take the first move, if you don't mind," Reiji said. Shun nodded. Reiji then proceeded to go through a fairly standard D/D/D combo, ending on Wave High King Caesar and Cursed King Sigfried with a Headhunt searched off of Gryphon. At some point he'd Pendulum Summoned Abyss King Ragnarok. When I figured he was about to pass turn, Reiji surprised me.

"Now, by using one D/D/D monster as the full material, I can Xyz summon this monster! God-king of hell who subjucates the world! Be born, deity of the machine! I Xyz Summon the Rank 10 Pendulum Xyz Monster D/D/D Deviser King Deus Machinex!"

The dark king lounged on its throne, giving off an intimidating aura. Even Reiji's other D/D/D monsters shrank back in its presence.

"Pendulum Xyz?" Yuzu questioned while Masumi simultaneously said "One monster as the full material?"

"Eh, the 'pendulum' part basically never comes up," I said. "The monster effect is more than enough. And yeah, there are a handful of Xyz monsters that can use one monster as full material. A number of them are rank-ups like Cyber Dragon Infinity or Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal; but some can even be summoned on non-Xyz monsters like Dingirsu, Machinex, and the entire goddamn Zoodiac archetype."

"I set one card and end my turn," Reiji declared.

"Draw. I summon Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius from my hand," Shun said. "When it is Summoned, I can Special Summon one Raidraptor monster from my hand."

"D/D/D Deviser King Deus Machinex's effect activates! Since you activated the effect of a monster on the field, by destroying one Dark Contract on my field, I can attach your monster to Machinex as Xyz material! Contract Termination!"

Machinex pulled the scroll from Dark Contract With the Gate and crushed it in his palm, causing a dark miasma to surround Vanishing Lanius. In an instant, the mechanical bird was gone, and there was another orb of light orbiting Machinex.

"Vanishing Lanus' effect still resolves! I special summon Raidraptor - Tribute Lanius from my hand and activate its effect to send one Raidraptor monster from my deck to the graveyard!"

"Machinex's effect activates once more," Reiji said. "By destroying one Dark Contract on the field, I can attach your monster to it as Xyz material. Contract Termiation!"

"I send Raider's Wing from my deck to the graveyard, as it is always treated as a Raidraptor card," Shun declared. "I now activate Monster Reborn to bring back Raider's Wing from my graveyard! And since I now control a Raidraptor monster, I can activate Raidraptor - Pain Lanius! By targeting Raider's Wing, I can Special Summon this from my hand, then take damage equal to its attack or defense. I'll take 2000 damage!"

[Shun : 4000 - 2000]

"Why would Shun do that?" Masumi questioned. "Raider's wing has 0 attack"

"Shun needs to take damage here," Yuto explained. "He must have another specific card in hand."

"This triggers my Raidraptor - Avenge Vulture! Since I took effect damage, I can Special Summon it from my hand." The trio of mechanical birds floated in front of the three demonic kings.

"I see," Masumi said. "He needed to get more Xyz material on the field, even at the cost of his life points!"

"Not much of a 'cost', I'd say," I commented. "The only point that matters is the last, after all."

"I overlay my three Raidraptor monsters!" Shun declared. "Obscured falcon, raise your sharpened talons in front of adversity, spread your wings of rebellion! Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 4! Raidraptor - Rise Falcon!"

"I see," I said. "Shun's goal was to perform an OTK with Rise Falcon, as it's the deck's typical punish for a board of special summoned monsters. However... I don't think Shun can win here."

"Reiji is out of contracts," Yuto noted. "Shun is free to use Rise Falcon's effect."

I shook my head. "Machinex has another activation condition."

"I activate Rise Falcon's effect! By detaching one Xyz material from it, it gains attack equal to the combined attack of all special summoned monsters you control!"

"D/D/D Deviser King Deus Machinex activates once more! By detaching two Xyz materials from it, I can attach your monster to Deux Machinex as Xyz material. Divine Subjugation!" Machinex raised its arm lazily and beckoned at Rise Falcon. Though the robot bird did try to resist the pull, it was eventually absorbed into Machinex, becoming another one of its overlay units.

"As the Xyz materials on Rise Falcon were sent to the graveyard, I can activate Dimension Xyz, which allows me to Xyz summon a monster using monsters from my graveyard. Come forth once more, Rise Falcon! I activate Rise Falcon's effect—"

"And Machinex activates in response," Reiji finished. At this point, Shun was just being trolled.

"I end my turn," Shun said, scowling Machinex.

"Draw. Battle phase," Reiji declared. "D/D/D Deviser King Deus Machinex! Attack directly!"

[Shun: 2000 - 0]

[Reiji: WIN]

And for the second time in the span of half an hour, Shun was sent flying across the dock, this time after being flicked in the forehead by Machinex. I felt a bit sorry for him; he'd had quite the strong showing in the original but here, he was simply outclassed by decks and duelists that had grown far stronger in such a short span of time.

"You're outclassed," Reiji summarized. "While you duel with tenacity, your strategies are too straightforward, with little creativity."

"The battlefield is no place for innovation!" Shun protested. "You deal with your enemy as efficiently as possible."

"If you're fighting people who you know are using fusion, and mainly blind second decks at that, there are at least five cards I can list off that would allow you to effectively win instantly," I interjected. "Anti-Spell Fragrance, to prevent the use of fusion spells. Dimensional Barrier and Non-Fusion Area to prevent Fusion summoning. Grave of the Superancient Organism is effectively a one-sided Mystic Mine, and Retaliating "C" to lock the opponent out of the graveyard, which many fusion decks rely on. I could go on."

"All these cards prevent your opponent from doing anything," Yuto remarked.

"Exactly!" I said happily. "If your deck isn't actively preventing your opponent from playing the game, you're doing something wrong."

"You both duel like you were tempered in battle," Shun remarked. "I understand why it would be the case for Reiji, but what battlefield did you face?"

"Mystic Mine," I responded glibly.

"What?"

"He says stupid stuff like that sometimes," Yuzu said. "Just ignore him when he's like that."

"I resemble that remark," I shot back. "My comments are perfectly sensible and playing against Mystic Mine is absolute torture."

"If we could go back to the topic at hand," Reiji interjected, "I would like to invite you all to formally join the Lancers Selection. This is a team of elite duelists I am assembling to fight against my father and destroy his machinations. While normally I would wait until the championship, you have all proven yourselves in terms of dueling skill. I trust anyone that Joshua has taught, and I believe that you two—" he gestured to Yuto and Shun "—have the strength to get up to that level quickly. Yuzu, Masumi, a set of Leo Corporation agents will be along shortly to escort you."

Masumi nodded, while Yuto raised his hand. It seemed that some habits were still ingrained.

"And what should the rest of us do?" he asked.

"You will all be dueling in the Arc League Championship," Reiji said. "The purpose of this is to filter out duelists who are unworthy of becoming Lancers."

I gave Reiji a thumbs-up before turning to the Xyz Dimension duo. "So... do you guys want to start lessons now or tomorrow?"

Shun took off, probably to go angst about his defeat, and Yuto followed him. "I'll take that as 'tomorrow'!" I called.

As Reiji walked away, I moved to follow him. Once I had confirmed that Masumi and Yuzu were out of earshot, I lowered my voice and spoke. "You're taking them to have their memories erased, aren't you?"

"Do you have a problem with that?" Reiji asked, the underlying threat clear.

"I'd be lying if I said I had no moral issues with it, but what must be done must be done."

Reiji smiled and nodded. "I had a feeling you'd understand."

Author's Note: WOW this chapter was hard to write. I struggled with writer's block for over a week. I kind of wrote myself into a corner in terms of power progression and had to salvage the ruins of the plot from the mess I made. Speaking of plot, Joshua's involvement here is taking things significantly off the rails, and avoiding the boatloads of miscommunications and lack of information sharing in the original is going to cause the plot to go wildly off the rails.

I'm still not completely happy with this chapter, and this is the fourth draft or so. I think the pacing of the plot is going a bit faster than I'd like, but things should slow down around the tournament arc.

Perhaps I'm being too self-critical here. Please leave a review with your thoughts on how things are developing!