Chapter 36: Plans for the Academy

"Yuya?! What are you doing here?" Yuya's disgraced father exclaimed,

"I could ask the same of you! Why'd you leave us all those years ago?" Yuya replied,

"I'll tell you later. I am glad to see that you are safe, however," Yusho smiled, "But I fear that this may just be a small victory for me. I have a spy in Duel Academy who reported that Leo is planning to invade Standard and Synchro soon enough." Yusho's face took on a darker look and shock spread among the Lancers. He then accepted his cane which Alexis had picked up and returned to him, giving the woman a warm smile,

"Come, come. Let's discuss this over tea, shall we?"

"Yes. It is good to see you as well as one can be, Yusho." Declan said, striding beside the man now leading them to his office,

"Well, you don't run a relatively successful rebellion against your father without taking care of yourself, can you, Declan?" Yusho laughed,

"Relatively successful? I don't even know if the Professor has acknowledged you?" Yuri piped up, Yusho's eyes narrowing when he saw him,

"Declan, why is your father's strongest duelist here?" He cautiously asked, and he also noticed the still restrained Ren, malice practically leaking from the bound duelist's eyes,

"Yuri is on our side, I can assure you. He has defected from Father and now works to take him down. I can guarantee you that much." Declan reassured,

"You don't mind if I have Alexis keep an eye on you, do you?" Yuri was asked,

"If it'd help settle you, than I don't see why not." The plant duelist answered. Eventually, with Gong, Sylvio, Moon Shadow and Jack Atlas going elsewhere to investigate, they reached a semi-large space, a good amount taken up by a desk with a rather plush chair behind it, bookshelves filled with various topics flanking it. Taking a tea set from a nearby shelf and also fishing out the necessary cups, Yusho put on the teapot and they all sat down on a couch.

"So, what brings you to Fusion?" He asked,

"I think it would be obvious, would it not? My Father needs to be taken down, and that is what we are here to do." Declan cooly replied,

"That is so." Yusho nodded,

"How have you been these past few years?" Declan asked, although anyone could tell it was just out of curtesy,

"Fine, I guess. The limp was annoying to get used to at first, but I'm as good as I'll be," Yusho then sipped his tea, which had been served, and looked to Yuya, "My son, I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you these past years. I can only assume how good of a duelist you are to have made it here."

"Thanks, Dad, but why did you even leave in the first place? Do you have any idea how hard it's been on everyone?" Yuya said, tears on his eyes,

"It is… regrettable when I left, but I had no choice. I knew Leo's plans, and if I didn't act when I did, Xyz may have been even easier for them to take down. We managed to fight off several waves, you know?" Yusho replied,

"While I do congratulate you on managing to hold back my Father's forces for as long as you did, and now this rebellion movement right under his nose, Yuya is right. A boy shouldn't have to go into his most crucial developmental years without a father." Declan responded,

"And taking him to war is acceptable then?" Yusho raised an eyebrow at Declan,

"As much as I hate it, it is like you said: regrettable."

"So you've been here all the time since you left Xyz?" Lulu asked,

"Yeah. Managed to get here and ended up running into Alexis and Jesse almost immediately. They'd just escaped the Island and I helped get them to safety."

"And for that, we are eternally grateful." Alexis smiled, Jesse nodding as well.

"Anyways, as much as I'd like to catch up, would you mind telling me what you've learnt since leaving Standard?" Yusho asked,

"Certainly." Declan replied.

Meanwhile, Rin and Yugo were catching up. "Do you know how long it's been?" Rin asked the Turbo Duelist,

"Yeah. Its been three months, two weeks, five days and we just hit seven hours when we met again!" Yugo excitedly exclaimed,

"You really kept track of the time for that long?" Rin knew that he was serious, but wanted to confirm anyway,

"Yeah! What do you take me for?" Yugo responded,

"It's good to see you again." Rin smiled, wrapping her arms around her best friend, and him doing the same, and they both let out soft tears of joy.

Almost two hours later, Yusho was fully caught up and he looked over at the bound Ren, "So this is the one possessed by this 'Zarc'?"

"Yes. Currently he hasn't been too much trouble though!" Izumi cheered, and the others couldn't hep but smile at her positivity,

"So, Duel Academy. What's our plan, Yusho?" Declan asked,

"Well, my current best plan is to stowaway on a supply ship to the Academy and then assault it from there."

"A solid strategy. I presume your students are ready?"

"They have to be. They've practiced against the Honour Deck countless times, and with Yuri on our side our odds of victory only increase."

"I hate to be a downer," The mentioned boy interrupted, "But the Professor has likely accounted for the docks. He knows it to be the only vulnerability in the otherwise near-impenetrable defence that is Duel Academy Island."

"And what would you suggest, Yuri?" Declan asked,

"I say we take a boat, yes, but instead of stowing away, act as prisoners. I can put up an act that I found and captured you, the girls an added bonus, in an attempt to regain the Professor's favour."

"And if he asks why you didn't card us?"

"Simple. Does my duel disk look like a Fusion Dimension one? I can simply say that an unfortunate accident had my duel disk destroyed and I commandeered this one which doesn't have the card sealing function."

"That sounds… A lot more risky, but better." Yusho nodded,

"Agreed." Declan confirmed, "Get everyone ready. We leave as soon as we can."

"Yes!" The surrounding Lancers agreed.

The Mind of the Vessel

Ren had spent so long under the influence of this thing that he had become attuned to how dark his mind had become. He could still remember Izumi's smile, however, and he kept pressing on, if only to see her once again. Since his last attempt to take control back, he'd been relegated to a 'house arrest' of sorts, or perhaps 'mind arrest' would be more appropriate.

"Petty Worm, your time is coming to an end." The voice of the thing said,

"I have hope. And that will do you in." Suddenly, a bright flash of light appeared, and a woman appeared. She wore a white robe with the lower half of her face being covered by a veil, and the staff in her hand gleamed, despite the sheer darkness.

"Oh, you're awake." She said, seemingly surprised,

"What did you expect. It is my mind after all. Who are you anyway? A manifestation of my psychosis after being restrained by it for so long?" Ren growled,

"It?! IT?! You dare disrespect the Lord like that?!" The woman exclaimed, "At least you will be gone soon."

"I have hope that my friend will be able to stop it and free me. And besides, what's even going on?"

"Oh. My Lord, I thought you would have made him aware as to Your situation. I mean, it isn't like he is going to survive."

"You doubt my methods, Beyond? Do not forget your place." The voice rumbled,

"Of course not, My Lord. I was merely curious." The woman, apparently named Beyond, bowed,

"Your brothers. What of them?"

"Investigating the Fabric. This Sliver of Reality is very unstable."

"As is to be expected. Leave me with the Worm and go assist your brothers. They will need all the help they can get to Herald My arrival, after all."

"Yes, My Lord." Beyond disappeared in a similar light to the one she arrived in, and Ren sighed.

"So there are people who can enter here that aren't you or I?" He asked the voice,

"Of course. What sort of God would I be if I didn't have Heralds, after all."

"Oh, you're some sort of god? The things you learn when someone tries to have a conversation." Ren snarked,

"Why would I hold a conversation with you? A God such as I is above such mortals." Ren then felt the slight lightening that signified that the presence was gone.

"Izumi, please hold out a little longer." Ren said to himself, and while he didn't realise it, something changed in the deck slot of the duel disk on his body's arm.


Next Chapter Preview: The Attack on Duel Academy Begins!


Hey all, thank you for reading this week's chapter! Sorry again that this chapter is late as well, but school is being really annoying during the week, and as such the weekend is my only opportunity to write, really, and I'm supposed to upload on Saturdays. As such, I will be changing upload days to Mondays, as that gives me a tiny bit more leniency towards myself on when I need to get a chapter done by.

Shorter chapter this week as there wasn't much to cover, but next chapter is where things start ramping up! In the next six chapters we have some duels that I believe will be really interesting coming up, and then the final fight! That duel is going to be a behemoth of a duel, so much so that it will currently be a whole TEN chapters long! That will then put us in epilogues territory, and from there, the sequel, of which I have planned out the first twenty chapters!

Onto reviews!

naminexriku – I believe you may have misinterpreted what I said last chapter, but there will be no more decks that don't appear in canon in this story. I can take suggestions for the sequel in though, although Pendulum focused decks likely won't have much of a role.

Aqua – That reunions are. That they are indeed. I completely understand your worry about Ren and Izumi, and in retrospect, the ending of this chapter probably doesn't help that. And also, thank you very much for your reassurances.

As said before, chapters will now be on Mondays, and I look forward to seeing you all next week! - NightWingBOI