Chapter 35: Reunion in Fusion

Yuya still wasn't used to dimensional travel. It probably didn't help that each time had been by a different method, first using the teleporter card that Declan had made, the second in the Different Dimension Airship with Yuma and Astral, and finally, through the teleporter that the Fusion Dimension had set up in the Xyz Dimension. The first had felt akin to being turned into data, although he wasn't sure how exactly to describe such a feeling, the second felt perfectly natural, but this time there was a pull in his stomach that he couldn't ignore. Perhaps it was just the nerves of being so close to the finish line, so close to being able to go home and put all this Dimensional War stuff behind him.

As he appeared, he quickly glanced around, seeing an older-looking port, maybe 15 years out of date architecturally, with some strange silver objects floating in the sky. "Careful," Celina said, slightly surprising Yuya, and he realised that, for the first time, all of the Lancers were in a single area upon entering a new Dimension, "Those are the Professor's security system. They're all over the place and untouchable. Our best bet is to find a holdout of the few rebellion sects. Few because-"

"Because he's indoctrinating all of their children, right?" Shay asked, malice creeping into his voice, Lulu not-so-inconspicuously being pulled slightly closer to him before she lightly slapped away his hand,

"Well, yes," Celina admitted, "We should get going, though. It's been a while since I've been here, and I don't know how he's changed things." Celina then went to the exit of the small alley they'd appeared in, and looked around, "The coast is clear. Be swift." She said, and the Lancers followed, Jack mumbling some complaints about leaving Phoenix Whirlwind in the hands of Aster Phoenix, under an agreement of if a single scratch appeared, there would be consequences.

Moving on, the Lancers kept close to the walls, moving in long yet careful and purposeful strides, looking for a port like what Celina had mentioned, where they may have been able to commandeer a boat to go to Duel Academy. As they were walking, they noticed how the streets were practically empty, and they also saw several recruitment posters for Duel Academy, all conveniently ignoring the point of how the Academy practiced genocide and the recruitment of child soldiers. Going past yet another alley, the number of which they'd lost count, Yuto suddenly stopped, a glint catching his eye. Giving a small signal to Shay and Lulu, he moved towards the glint, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure jump down from the rooftop, and swing a fist at him. Deftly dodging out of the way, Yuto threw up his hands into a defensive position and analysed his attacker. A slight build didn't tell him much, but he could tell that the person was masculine, if only from the grunt of exertion when he'd landed. Blocking a few strikes, Yuto retaliated, his hand wrapping around the hood that the man was wearing, and he tore the hood down, revealing a cerulean head of hair, green eyes with a shock of yellow in them determined. "Who are you?" Yuto asked, weaving between strikes,

"Like I'd tell an Enforcer!" He growled, Yuto being surprised at the feminine traces in the man's voice, but he did notice the yellow parts of his irises flashing slightly,

"Do I really look like an Enforcer to you?" Another punch, aimed at Yuto's shoulder, hot, and Yuto grunted at the pain, but held steady,

"Do you believe that I'd believe your cover story? Your face is unmistakeable!"

"Ah, so you mean Yuri. I'm afraid that I'm Yuto, not your quandary. And besides, I'm from Xyz." A punch in progress stopped, the man's eyes squinting in scepticism,

"Prove it."

"Look at the duel disk on my wrist. Look at this." Yuto whipped out Break Sword, not bringing out Dark Rebellion, because for some reason, he felt a compulsion not to,

"Hmm. Doesn't prove anything."

"Then let's duel. The universal way of proving oneself, is it not?"

"Oh, and when I lose, you'll just card me!"

"Maybe once, but not anymore." Yuto then heard the sound of heeled boots approaching along with the near silence of his best friend's steps,

"Let me do this, Yuto," Lulu said, "If anyone can prove it I think I could." A smile was on her face,

"Fine. Just don't lose." Yuto replied,

"Yes. That part is unnegotiable." Shay agreed,

"Hm? More? Wait, your face…" The man trailed off seeing Lulu's face, "Very well, let's duel then!"

"Gladly!" Four duel disks activated, but only two locked on to each other, Shay and Yuto jumping up to the rooftops to watch, but also to keep guard.

"I assume Declan knows?" Yuto asked,

"Of course. Why would I not tell him?" Shay replied,

"Fair enough." Yuto admitted.

"Let's duel!" Lulu and the man declared,

Lulu Obsidian: 4000 LP

J.A.: 4000 LP

Turn 1: J.A.

"J.A.?" Lulu questioned, seeing the registered name of her opponent,

"My code. I'll go first, and set one monster and two face-downs. I end my turn."

Turn 2: Lulu

"Only that? Well, I draw! Since I control no monsters, say hello to my Lyrilusc – Turquoise Warbler, who then allows me to summon a Celestine Wagtail from my hand. Wagtail adds Lyrilusc – Bird Call, which I'll activate and send a Cobalt Sparrow to the graveyard. Next, I use the effect of Beryl Canary to summon itself and Cobalt Sparrow, Sparrow adding a copy of Sapphire Swallow to my hand. Now, I overlay Cobalt Sparrow, Beryl Canary and Celestine Wagtail! I Xyz Summon! Rise to the skies and swoop to our victory! Rank 1, Lyrilusc – Assembled Nightingale! Nightingale's effect increases her attack by 200 for each Overlay Unit she has, Canary giving an extra 200 points! Next, I activate the effect of Sapphire Swallow in my hand, Special Summoning her, along with a second Beryl Canary in my hand. I now activate Nightingale's effect, detaching one overlay unit to make my monsters immune for the turn. Now, I build the overlay network! Using all my non-Xyz monsters, I can Xyz summon. Starling with the voice of angels, take flight! I Xyz Summon, Rank 1, Lyrilusc – Recital Starling. Then her effect activates, giving 300 attack and defence to Nightingale for each material, and I chain Sapphire Swallow, allowing me to attach the Celestine Wagtail in my graveyard as material.

"Next, I activate Starling's effect, adding a copy of Canary to my hand. Then, Wagtail's effect, which attaches herself as an overlay unit to Nightingale. I now activate Lyrilusc – Bird Sanctuary, which allows me first to draw a card, since Starling has three overlay units, then I can turn Starling into overlay units for Nightingale!" Lulu saw her opponent's eyes slightly widen as her birds started to swarm, and soon she was left with only her Nightingale, who boasted an immense number of overlay units.

Lyrilusc – Assembled Nightingale: 0 ATK - 800 ATK - 1800 ATK - 2800 ATK, 3 ORU - 2 ORU - 3 ORU - 7 ORU

"Nightingale can attack directly and attack a number of times equal to the number of overlay units she has! Now attack with Wind-Blown Devastation!"

As her monster charged, her opponent flipped up a card,

"Negate Attack! Your first attack is negated, but not only that, but your battle phase is also ended." He declared,

"Then I shall end my turn."

Turn 3: J.A.

"I draw! I normal summon Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat. Then, I flip summon Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle. I activate my face down, the Rainbow Bridge of the Heart, which allows me to normal summon Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise as well. Activating Bridge's effect, I can destroy Ruby and add Crystal Rule to my hand, Ruby's effect allows me to activate him as a continuous spell. Activating Rule, I can special summon Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle, as well as set Topaz Tiger and Amber Mammoth in the Spell and Trap Zones. Now, I can return Rainbow Bridge to my hand, and also your monster!"

"NO!" Lulu cried as Nightingale was swept off the field, but she quickly recovered, "I activate the effect of En Natural – Birds. This is a quick-play spell which I can activate on your turn from my hand when a WIND Winged-Beast monster leaves my field. With this, I can summon one monster of those types from my graveyard, and then if it is an Xyz monster, I can attach monsters from my grave to it as material, equal to half the first digit of my life points. And this will be treated as an Xyz Summon. I choose Recital Starling, and since this is treated as an Xyz Summon, I choose to give it Beryl Canary and Sapphire Swallow as material. This then activates Recital's effect, and I chain Swallow's. This attaches Wagtail as a material and then gives Recital an additional 300 attack to herself for each material, plus Beryl's boost of 200 points!"

Lyrilusc – Recital Starling: Rank 1, 0 ATK - 1100 ATK, 3 ORU

"Very well then. I activate Crystal Discard which allows me to discard one 'Crystal' or 'Rainbow' card from my hand to add another. I discard Rainbow Bridge of the Heart to add Rainbow Dragon. Then, by banishing the cards I just used, I can set Sapphire Pegasus as a continuous spell. Now, since I control all seven 'Crystal Beasts', I can special summon the Rainbow Dragon. And that's not all. I now banish my Dragon and the Beasts to summon Ultimate Crystal Rainbow Dragon Overdrive who then gains 7000 attack because there are seven or more banished 'Crystal Beast' monsters with different names.

Ultimate Crystal Rainbow Dragon Overdrive: Level 12, 4000 ATK - 11,000 ATK

"Now, go Rainbow Dragon, attack with Rainbow Overdrive Ultimate!" Lulu's opponent smirked, confident in his win, but Lulu didn't faulter.

"When Starling battles we both take the damage. Nice one, hot shot." She smirked, bracing for the impact, her opponent's eyes going wide,

"What?!" He exclaimed as Lulu's monster attacked the beam of light, splitting it in half, sending one half back towards the duelist who used it.

Lulu Obsidian: 4000 LP - 0 LP

J.A.: 4000 LP - 0 LP

DRAW!

"Rgh. Well, there's no doubt about it. You truly are from Xyz. And you've got the face of someone who I found recently. Get your group, and tell them to meet in the alley way precisely here," He said pulling up a map and pointing, "But split up and arrive at different times in the next ten minutes. We may tip off the Academy if too many people are in that place at once."

"Very well. Will we get your name there?"

"And more. I'll be off now." And with that, he disappeared. Moving back, Lulu signalled to Shay and Yuto that everything was alright, and went and informed the rest of the Lancers about what had transpired. A few minutes later, Lulu, Yuto, Shay and Yuya were standing where that man had told them to meet, and she then spotted him, and he beckoned for them to follow, where they were led to a wall, which he practically walked through. They followed after debating it for a moment, and ended up in a rather spacious room, where the rest of the Lancers were. "Teach will be here soon." The man said, his voice now entirely masculine and his eyes lacking the yellow circles. "The name's Jesse, Jesse Anderson, and welcome to the Yusho Duel School! The only holdout against the Professor's tyranny left."

"Wait, did you just say 'Yusho' Duel School?" Yuya asked, and at that moment, two girls rounded a corner, one unfamiliar, and one bearing the face of three of their group. "R-RinRin?!" Yugo exclaimed,

"Yugo?!" She also exclaimed, and the pair ran forward, embracing each other,

"Hehe. It's good to see two friends reunited, isn't it Alexis?" An older, male voice asked, Yuya's eyes widening. He recognised that voice,

"That it is." The other girl, presumably Alexis, answered, and the older man rounded that same corner, his and Yuya's eyes meeting instantly.

"D-Dad?" Yuya asked, shocked, and the clattering of a wooden cane could be heard,

"Yuya?! What are you doing here?" Yusho Sakaki asked.


Next Chapter Preview: Yuya catches up with his father, and Yugo with Rin. Declan and Yusho also start to prepare for the assault of Duel Academy.


Custom Cards:

En Natural – Birds

Quick-Play Spell Card

You can activate this card from your hand if a WIND Winged-Beast monster you control leaves your field during your opponent's turn. Special Summon one WIND Winged-Beast monster from your GY in attack position. If you summon an Xyz monster with this effect: It is treated as an Xyz Summon, also, attach monsters from your GY to that monster as material, up to half the leading digit of your LP. You can only activate 'En Natural – Birds' once per duel.

Crystal Discard

Normal Spell Card

Discard one 'Crystal' or 'Rainbow' card from your hand; add one 'Crystal' or 'Rainbow' card from your deck to your hand. You can banish this card from your GY as well as a 'Crystal or 'Rainbow' card; Activate one 'Crystal Beast' monster from your hand, deck or GY as a continuous spell. You can only use each effect of 'Crystal Discard' once per turn.


Hey all, thank you so much for reading, and I would like to apologise for how late this chapter is. A combination of homework and other irl stuff really kept me busy this week, and as such I was only able to finish the chapter today. I hope you all enjoyed, and now to reviews:

Aqua – Thank you yet again for your continued support, and I'm glad that I've gotten you theorising. I guess only time will tell if any of those theories are correct!

naminexriku – I would also like to thank you for your continued support! Unfortunately, one of the coolest Pendulum decks in terms of concept will not be appearing. I would also just like to let you know that every remaining chapter, of which there's like 25 or so, have been planned out, and there are unfortunately going to be no more OC duelists in the fic. Also, I doubt that Yuri will turn evil over the remainder of the story.

Thank you all yet again for reading, and I'll see you all on Saturday for the continuation of Pendulum of Darkness! - NightWingBOI