Knock knock.

The sound of a hand rapping across the door rang through Yuto's ears as he looked at it with interest.

Why was someone knocking on the door? There was still one more match in the preliminaries.

Yuto walked over to the door so he could communicate with the person on the other side.

"Alright, who's there?"

"It's me." A very familiar voice responded to Yuto's voice.

"Tsukikage? But how are you here?" Yuto asked the ninja.

"I'm a ninja trained by the Fuma Clan. Things like sneaking around are very easy for me." The ninja answered bluntly. "Don't worry about everyone in the underground, they are safe."

"That's good...but what about Gongenzaka?" Yuto questioned.

"He's alive...he's getting medical attention as we speak. And when he's patched up, they're sending him to the underground immediately." Tsukikage replied from the other side. "Once I am done speaking with you, I must go report back to Akaba Reiji-dono, and I will have to return to my mission."

"Your mission?"

"Yes. To infiltrate the underground."

"If that's the case, then you can surely rescue the others." Yuto said.

"No, that is not what Akaba Reiji-dono told me to do."

"What?! Why?! Doesn't he care about his comrades?!" Yuto questioned out of slight anger.

"It's not that he doesn't. If Reiji-dono had no regard for people's lives like those of Academia, I would have abandoned him a long time ago." Tsukikage paused before continuing. "Us ninja of the Fuma Clan don't accept or work under those who leave their comrades in the dust. Reiji-dono detests Academia, and crossed dimensions to fight them. Someone like him will not abandon like-minded comrades."

"Tsukikage…" Yuto whispered at the words of the ninja.

"Don't worry, I will report the movements of everyone in the underground. You should concentrate on fighting and aim for victory in the Friendship Cup. It's not just Reiji-dono, Akaba Reira-dono desires the same." Tsukikage revealed.

"Reira?" Yuya muttered out of surprise, the shy timid kid he saw in the Miami Championship desired the same way as Akaba Reiji.

"Yes." Tsukikage, unknown to the boys nodded his head. "Now, I must take my Lea very quickly."

"Wait!" Yuto called out suddenly, causing the ninja to halt.

"What is it?" Tsukikage asked.

"I need you to do something for me." Yuto spoke with a slight smile.


With Ruri

"Yuto...brother…" Ruri whispered inside of her room. Ever since her match, she's been lying down on her bed constantly chanting the names of her loved ones. Particularly her brother and Yuto.

Suddenly, Ruri's picked up the sound of a person knocking on her door. An envelope was slipped through the bottom crack of the door.

"An envelope…" Ruri murmured as she walked over to the door, retrieving the envelope. Ruri proceeded to open the letter, she was surprised to see what was inside.

It was a letter. And she immediately recognized the handwriting of the person who wrote to her.

It was Yuto.

"Ruri, the time I have to write this is short, so I'm sorry I couldn't say much while writing this letter. I'm glad your okay. Ever since you were kidnapped, Shun and I along with the rest of our comrades were worried sick about you. We thought we lost you forever...you wouldn't have liked what happened to your brother. As if him changing from the war wasn't enough, he became even more cold and distant than before. I couldn't even tell that he was your brother. So I wanted to say that I'm sorry, Ruri."

"I'm sorry I could never save your brother from his descent to hatred. At some points, he even had a hard time trusting me. Hopefully, with you back, he can start opening up again even if it is just by a little bit. There were at some points where I thought I would end up just like him, maybe even worse. But I clinged onto the possibility that you were still out there. I'm sorry I have to cut this letter short. But know this, I swear, I'm going to win this tournament, and carve a future where you, Shun, me, and the others back at home can be together again."

"Perhaps I should have been more protective of you. All this time, I kept assuring you that everything would be alright, but little did I know that those words were just empty lies. And had I not been so naive to you, I wouldn't be writing to you now as a desperate failure. Goodbye, Ruri, and know this…"

"No matter what happens, I will always love you."

By the time she was finished she noticed a few wet spots on the parchment, it was at this moment Ruri realized she was crying tears of joy.

"Yuto…" Ruri smiled as she closed her eyes. "If that's the case, then I'll do my best to help you carve that future...after all, it's something I've wanted also, and I'm sure brother feels the same way deep down in his damaged heart. And…"

"I will also love you, no matter what."


With Yuzu

Yuzu rose from her bed as she heard a knock on the door. She noticed an envelope being slid into the room. She walked over and grabbed it and opened it up. She widened her eyes as she read the letter that was directed to her.

"Hi, Yuzu. It's me. Your friend. You've probably been wondering where I've been all of this time ever since my disappearance back in Standard. But I want to let you know that I'm ok. I'm close by, closer than you think I am. I'm sorry disappearing like that. It probably made all of you worried sick, and I resent myself for making you feel that way."

"Unfortunately, I can't tell you where I am right now. If you found you, you wouldn't like it. And you're one of my best friends, second to only Gongenzaka, I hate seeing you sad, and that is the reason why I'm not telling you where I am, due to the fate I have been sealed to."

"This fate isn't bad. I will admit, but there is nothing about this that I prefer over being with you guys! Not everything has been going well recently! But I've been doing my best to hang in there! But…"

"It hurts! It hurts to know that you are so close to me, yet I can't see you! I hate it so much! I've already lost father 3 years ago, I don't want to lose you too!"

"So after you read this, just know, that I am close by! And that you don't have to worry about me...and know that I'm doing my best! And I swear Yuzu, by my own hand, I WILL see you again, if it's the last thing I see, I don't care, as long as I get to see you again!"

"And Yuzu, by the off chance I never come back, tell my mother back in Standard, that I'm sorry for being a bad son. No, tell everyone sorry. This is goodbye Yuzu, Stay safe."

"Your friend, Sakaki Yuya."

Yuzu hugged the letter to her chest tightly, not wanting to let go.

Yuya was alive, and he was ok.

But where was he? What's so bad about it that he couldn't tell her?

He's in this dimension, she knew at least that much, and he even said in the letter that he was close by.

Yuzu's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Melissa Claire's voice playing through the television.

"The final Duel of the first round! Our challengers are...Kurosaki Shun! And his opponent, Dennis Mackfield!" Melissa exclaimed as cheers erupted from the audience to Dennis' name due to his performance in the street a couple of days back.

"You mean...Dennis and that guy are Dueling?! And Dennis is traveling dimensions with Serena and the others?" Yuzu suddenly realized.

In their respective rooms, Dennis and a Shun were looking at the screen intently, both of them having their own expression in their face.

Dennis: Just a smile.

Shun: A frown as he thought back to their Duel in the underground area.

"Back then, he showed his combat techniques. That's definitely not something you learn at LDS." Shun muttered as he looked out the window into the night sky.

"I'll make sure to destroy you this time. Bit by bit." Dennis said from his room.

"Shun and Dennis? But they're both Lancers. Are they putting them against each other to cause internal conflict?" Yuto wondered.

In the council room, the council immediately apologized.

"You may not be pleased with this match, but…" Gale started.

"This match is quite noteworthy to us." Bordeaux followed. "Chairman."

"Yes."

"I'm not displeased. I find this match compelling as well." Akaba Reiji spoke as he adjusted his glasses.

Ryoga was glaring intently the screen which allowed everyone in the room to see.

Come on you bastard. Show your true colors.

On the grounds, Kurosaki launched himself into the air as he landed on the ground, driving off towards the starting line.

"Go, Kurosaki!"

"Make you sure you get first on this one too!"

"The defunct underground arena's strongest and most popular, Kurosaki!" Melissa introduced the Xyz user.

"Underground arena?!" Ruri repeated out of shock and horror. "Brother...you didn't…"

In his quarters, Yuto punched the table that was in front of him. "Damn it, Shun! Why do you have to go out and do something like that! You already know how Ruri and the others feel about this kind of stuff!"

"And the talk of the town after his performance in Central Park, the entertainer, Dennis! He's cuter in person!" Melissa commented quietly, she screamed out loud when she realized that the comment was picked up by the microphone as Dennis entered the stadium.

Dennis rose his hand to the audience. "I'll bring a dazzling illusion to the citizens of the City overflowing with friendship!" Dennis threw 3 random Cards into the air as he snapped his fingers. "It's showtime!"

The three Cards Dennis threw turned into bright fireworks which mesmerized the entire audience.

"Their Duel may just be a match worthy of wrapping up the Friendship Cup's first round! You can't say that you haven't been looking forward to this, you just can't! I'm shaking with excitement!" Melissa bellowed as the Duelists parked at the starting line.

Dennis and Shun glanced at each other as Dennis spoke the first word.

"We're fighting even though we're comrades, but let's do our best!"

"Hmph. Let this Duel prove whether or not we're really comrades." This statement caused Dennis to slightly panic on the inside.

Does he know? Dennis wondered, but he managed to keep his composure and he immediately responded.

"You're so cold." Dennis faked a pout.

"Now, let's get on with the final match! Action Field, on! Field Magic, Crossover Accel!" A sphere of Action Cards shattered as the stadium was enveloped in an Action Field.

Duel Mode! On! Auto-pilot! Standby!

3.

2.

"Riding Duel!"

1.

"Acceleration!"

Kurosaki and Dennis flew off at the declaration.

"DUEL!" Both shouted in unison.

Dennis had a lead in Kurosaki, but the Xyz user was quickly gaining on him.

"I'll show your true colors!" Shun gripped the handlebar and sped up, zipping right past Dennis, claiming the first corner and the first move. Shun took a Monster Card from his Hand and Summoned it. The Monster was Raid Raptors-Skull Eagle.

Skull Eagle: Level 3, 1000 Atk, 500 Def

"Next, from my Hand, I activate the Magic Card Raid Raptors-Call! First, I target level 3 or lower Raid Raptors Monster I control. Then, I Special Summon a Monster with the same name from my Deck!" Another Skull Eagle appeared next to the original. Next, the two turned into purple overlay units as Shun declared an Xyz Summon.

"Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 3, Raid Raptors-Devil Eagle!" Shun shouted as his Monster replaces the two that were used to Summon it.

Devil Eagle: Rank 3, 1000 Atk, 0 Def

"The monarch of the underground immediately threw out an Xyz Monster!" Melissa cheered.

"I activate the Monster effects of both Skull Eagles as Xyz Materials! Devil Eagle's Attack increases by 300 for each one!

Devil Eagle: 1000-1600 Atk

"Following that, I activate Devil Eagle's Monster effect! I use one overlay unit and deal damage to my opponent equal to the Attack of a Monster on the Field!"

Since Devil Eagle was the only Monster on the Field, Dennis took its Attack as damage. Devil Eagle flew up and turned to face Dennis, releasing a violent purple stream at the entertainer, causing him to spin out of control.

"Dennis already took massive damage!" Melissa cried out.

Dennis: 4000-2400 LP

"You're going with that again?" Dennis chuckled.

"What do you mean again?" Shun questioned the Entermage user.

"Behold! My discerning magic! Let me guess, there is a Rank-Up Magic Card in your Hand right now." Dennis predicted as he snapped his fingers. "Just like last time, you'll activate it next turn to Summon a higher-level Monster." Dennis thought back to their Duel in the underground.

"Kgh!" Shun grunted as he glanced at tone of the Cards in his Hand.

"Looks like he hit the mark!" A girl from the audience commented.

"He's so amazing!" A male from the audience exclaimed.

"Please see through my heart too!" A black-haired girl fangirled, prompting members of the audience that were sitting near to give her confused and weird looks.

"You shouldn't use a predictable Hand! You'll bring down the show's mood!" Dennis told Shun.

"You bastard!" Shun muttered under his breath so Dennis couldn't hear.

"An entertainment show has to be full of surprises!" Dennis spoke.

"You plan to discourage your enemy and gain the upper hand. LDS doesn't teach that tactic." Shun said, his suspicions about Dennis rising even more.

"Huh? Is that a compliment?" Dennis asked dumbfounded.

"I end my turn with these two set Cards!" Shun inserted two of the Cards in his Hand into his Magic and Trap Zone.

Come on Shun, expose that bastard for what he really is. Ryoga rooted for his friend silently in his thoughts.

"My turn, draw!" Dennis drew a Card and glanced at it, he was terrified to see it, but on the outside, he remained the same. "Ah, it's this…"

Shit! I must have forgotten to remove my Fusion Cards AGAIN! Dennis Cursed himself for being so careless. Shun narrowed his eyes at Dennis' facial expression.

"What do you want me to do, Lady Luck? Seriously." Dennis mumbled to himself. "Alright. After my discerning Magic is the biggest trick of the century!" Dennis snapped his fingers. Not long after, Shun's ears picked up the sound of an overlay unit being detached. When he looked back at Devil Eagle, it's remaining overlay unit was gone!

"What happened to Devil Eagle's overlay unit?!" Shun demanded for an answer, he then took notice of the Monster that was now on Dennis' Field.

"Huh? Isn't that Entermage Cup Tricker?" Dennis asked rhetorically.

Cup Tricker: Level 5. 1200 Atk, 1400 Def

Cup Tricker lifted up its cup to reveal an overlay unit, Cup Tricker put the cup back on and move fit around for a little before removing the cup once again, however, this time, there was no overlay unit.

"Just kidding. By using an overlay unit from an Xyz Monster on the Field, I can Special Summon Entermage Cup Tricker from my Hand." Dennis explained to Shun.

"Using my Monster's overlay units...such childish tactics." Shun retorted.

"But that's not all." Dennis thrusted his hand forward with a smile. "The targeted Monster, Devil Eagle, loses 600 Attack!" Purple electricity sparked around the bird's body, weakening it.

Devil Eagle: 1600-1000 Atk

"Damn it!" Shun cursed.

"Next up, we have the Magic Card, Magical Pendulum Box! With it's effect, I can draw two Cards from my Deck!" Dennis announced as he swiped the two Cards on top. "If they're Pendulum Monsters, I can add them to my Hand, anything else I get is sent to the Graveyard!" Dennis then looked at the two Cards. "WOW! The two are Pendulums!" Dennis' Magic Card began to erupt with confetti, trumpets glaring at the success.

"Dennis has Pendulum Monsters…" Ruri mused, surprised that Dennis had become even stronger since last time.

"Dennis is already throwing Pendulum out of the gate…" O'Brien trailed off, thinking it was a good idea to change subject. "Akaba Reiji, do you know that Dennis…" Akaba Reiji glanced at the boy and gave him a look, he adjusted his glasses before looking back at the screen.

"We don't know for certain, but yes, I have my suspicions." Reiji spoke in a quiet voice. "Something that caught my interest is that at one point he said he was taught by Sakaki Yusho, but he disappeared 3 years ago. And, if my memory serves me right, Dennis claimed to have come abroad. I don't ever remember Sakaki Yusho traveling abroad before his disappearance…"

"I set the Scale 3 Entermage Bonus Dealer and the Scale 6 Entermage Overlay Juggler onto the Pendulum Scale!" Dennis swiped both Cards onto his Duel Disk as the word PENDULUM played across the Disk in between the Cards.

"With this, he can simultaneously Summon level 4 to 5 Monsters…" Shun readied himself for a Pendulum Summon.

"Pendulum Summon! Appear, my Entermages!" Dennis rose his hand to the air as a portal appeared with three different colored beams of light flying out, revealing three different Monsters.

The first of the trio was Entermage Wind Sucker. Following that Monster was Entermage Wing Sandwichman and Entermage Ball Rider.

Wind Sucker: Level 5, 2100 Atk, 0 Def

Wing Sandwichman: Level 5, 1800 Atk, 2100 Def

Ball Rider: Level 4, 1000 Atk, 1800 Def

"Three level 5's, don't tell me he plans to Xyz Summon!" Yuto exclaimed from his room.

"Don't fret yet, Kurosaki! The show's just beginning!" Dennis lifted up his hand to Bonus Dealer, who had multiple shockwaves radiating off the Monster. "I activate Bonus Dealer's Pendulum effect! When I Pendulum Summon three or more Entermages from my Hand, I draw two Cards! Next, I Normal Summon Entermage Fire Dancer!"

Fire Dancer: Level 4, 1400 Atk, 1200 Def

"I overlay the level 4 Ball Rider and Fire Dancer! Show must go on! Artisan of the air, swing across the stage with grace! Xyz Summon! Appear now! Rank 4! Entermage Trapeze Magician!" Dennis chanted as his ace Monster swung next to him.

Trapeze Magician: Rank 4, 2500 Atk, 2000 Def

"This is amazing! Dennis pulled out an Xyz Summon! This is the very first Xyz showdown in Friendship Cup history! A red-hot development worthy of the first round finale!" Melissa exclaimed as the audience cheered out of excitement, urging both Duelists to keep fighting.

"If you keep this up, you'll pull the same trick as last time. How about revealing who you really are now?" Shun inquired, urging Dennis to reveal his hidden secret.

"Don't worry, my show's still going on." Dennis responded cryptically. "I overlay the level 5 Cup Tricker, Wind Sucker, and Wing Sandwichman!" The three Monsters turned into orbs as they flew into a portal which opened in front of Dennis, an explosion occurred as Dennis Summoned his Monster. "Show yourself, artist of the netherworld! Xyz Summon! Rank 5, Entermage Shadow Painter-Shadow Maker!"

Shadow Maker: Rank 5, 2600 Atk, 1000 a Def

"With Shadow Maker as the target, I activate Trapeze Magician's Monster effect! I can use one overlay unit so that Shadow Maker can Attack twice in this turn!" An overlay orbiting Trapeze Magician dispersed as Shadow Maker gained a purple aura. "Shadow Maker is targeted for an effect, so I activate its effect! By detaching an overlay unit, I can Special Summon another Shadow Maker from the Extra Deck!"

The shadow of Shadow Maker slithered to the slot next to it. The shadow formed into another copy of Shadow Maker.

"I activate the Monster effect of a Cup Tricker, which was used as an overlay unit and sent to the Graveyard! With its effect, I can detach an overlay unit from an Xyz Monster on the Field and attach it to another!" An overlay unit surrounding the first Shadow Maker left its orbit and traveled to the other one.

"Detaching an overlay unit and attaching it to another?!" Ruri gasped out of surprise.

"Next, I use Trapeze Magician's remaining overlay unit tans give my second Shadow Maker the ability to attack twice!" Trapeze's remaining overlay unit disappeared as the second Shadow Maker glowed purple. "After that, I use my second Shadow Maker's effect and Special Summon my third Shadow Maker!"

"Wow! Dennis has four Xyz Monsters with over 2500 Attack on his Field!" Melissa gaped while the audience cheered. "What's more, two of the Monsters can Attack twice! The sum...umm…" Melissa widened his eyes out of shock when she did the math. "1-15500 Attack?!"

"Battle! I attack Devil Eagle with Trapeze Magician!" Dennis declared as the Monster swung towards the bird, who turned its head at the Monster, seeing it approaching.

"Like I would let you! Quick-Play, activate!" Shun clicked a button on his Duel Disk, revealing a facedown Magic Card. "Rank-Up Magic Battle Up Force! When an opponent's Monster declares an attack, I can target an Xyz Monster I control, and, by using the selected Monster as material, I can Xyz Summon a Raidraptors Monster from my Extra Deck whose Rank is 2 higher than the selected Monster.

"Hmm, just as I thought, a Rank-Up Magic." Dennis commented.

"Ferocious falcon. Break through this fierce battle and spread your wings! Destroy our gathering foes! Rank Up Xyz Change! Appear! Rank 5! Raid Raptors-Blaze Falcon!" Shun chanted as his evolved Monster appeared in a blaze of fire.

Blaze Falcon: Rank 5, 1000 Atk, 2000 Def

"The attack still continues!" Dennis reminded Shun, who was already speeding up ahead, snatching an Action a Card from the ground and immediately activating it.

"Action Magic, Great Escape! With this Card, the Battle Phase immediately comes to an end!" Shun countered as Trapeze Magician attempted to kick the newly Summoned bird, but was met with nothing as he went back to Dennis' side.

"I end my turn." Dennis concluded with a sigh. "You're no fun, Kurosaki…"

"I activate a Continuous Trap targeting Trapeze Magician! Raid Raptors-Target Flag!" Shun chained the Card to Dennis' End Phase.

As the Trap was revealed, the Raid Raptors insignia was imprinted on Trapeze Magician's left eye, covering it completely.

"I draw one Card and reveal it!" With that statement, Shun ripped off the top Card of his Deck, glaring intently at it. "The drawn Card is Raid Raptors-Guard Lanius, a Monster! When the targeted Trapeze Magician leaves the Field, I destroy Target Flag and then check your Hand."

Dennis spaced out momentarily after looking down at his Hand, seeing Fusion in it.

"All of the Cards of the same type are destroyed and sent to the Graveyard!" Shun informed Dennis of his Card's effect. "You cannot hide your true colors for much longer!"

Damn it! He purposely waited for me to end my turn, now I can't set Fusion! I must protect my Trapeze Magician at all costs! Dennis thought to himself.

"What true colors? My show has no tricks at all." Dennis states as Trapeze Magician let out a laugh, however, it wasn't one of joy or happiness, it had a hint of sadism, and an allure of mischief surrounding it.

"What does Shun mean by true colors?" Yuto questioned from his quarters.

Yuya looked on at the screen, the mercilessness that Shun was showing was very familiar.

"It's almost like that one time…"

"I cannot afford to lose! To me, this is a battlefield, where losing the Duel means losing everything!" Shun bellowed, causing Yuya to search his memories for Sora's Duel against Shun.

"It's just like Shun and Sora's Duel." Yuya spoke. "That was when Sora revealed that he was a spy for Academia."

Yuto glanced at his counterpart with a perplexed look on his face. "Wait, you don't mean that Shun thinks Dennis is from Academia, don't you?"

"I don't know, but Kurosaki is acting the same way he did at that time." Yuya responded as he narrowed his eyes at the television, particularly at Trapeze Magician and Dennis.

"My turn, draw!" Shun ripped the top Card off his Deck as he detached an overlay unit from his Monster, which began to burn with a fiery aura. "I activate Blaze Falcon's effect! Once per turn, by detaching an overlay unit, I can destroy all Special Summoned Monster's you control and inflict 500 damage for each one destroyed! Go! Incinerate his mask with your blazing flames!"

"That's not good, Trapeze Magician is the main star of my show…" Dennis murmured nonchalantly, continuing to keep his mask on as he took a Card from his Hand and showed it to Shun. "From my Hand, I activate the Monster effect of Entermage Trick Guard!"

"Kgh! So he had an effect ready…" Shun grunted out of annoyance.

"By sending this Card to the Graveyard, I can target one Monster on the Field, the targeted Monster's destruction is negated! I negate Trapeze Magician's destruction!" Dennis selected as his Monsters were incinerated by the flaming falcon.

"But you'll still take the damage!" Shun rebutted.

"Wrong! Trapeze Magician's additional effect states that effect damage lower than or equal to Trapeze Magician's Attack is reduced down to 0!" Dennis countered as a shield formed around him, protecting him from the flames.

"There is still no escape for your Monster! Raidraptors-Blaze Falcon is allowed to bypass your Monster's and attack directly! Also, when it deals battle damage, I am allowed to destroy a Special Summoned Monster you control!" Shun explained as he commanded an attack on Dennis, his Monster carried his order out and soared right towards Dennis.

Dennis looked up to his right to see an Action Card floating in the air, he let out a small smirk as he snapped his fingers. He held out his hand and grabbed onto Trapeze Magician, who took him up to the Action Card, which he grabbed and activated immediately after Trapeze Magician put him back onto his d-wheel.

"Action Magic, Block Draw! With this Card, I can negate an attack and draw a Card as well!" Dennis said as he drove his d-wheel to the left in order to evade Shun's falcon, drawing a Card from his Deck as he did so.

Shun drove over to an Action Card on the ground and snatched it. "Action Magic, Single Distraction! When you control only one Monster on the Field, that Monster is destroyed!" A lightning bolt appeared from Shun's Card as it wrapped around, bolting towards Trapeze, completely vaporizing the Monster as it let out a scream of pain.

The mask of the Monster slid of its face as it dropped to the ground, cracking into two.

"Trapeze Magician!" Dennis called the name of his Monster out of concern as the two parts of the mask dispersed into tiny particles.

"Dennis' ace Monster Trapeze Magician is finally destroyed!" Melissa announced.

"Unfortunately for you, the show is over! I activate the effect of the Continuous Trap, Target Flag!" The Trap reappeared in front of a Shun as it flowed a yellow outline. "Since the target has been destroyed, the flag of rebellion shall now be raised to show all of us your true colors! Now, reveal your Hand!"

The Trap cracked, and it eventually shattered into multiple particles as time seemed to slow down for the spectators as Dennis revealed the two Cards in his Hand.

Dennis let out a smirk.

Looks like the jig was up. It was fun while it lasted.

Oh well, looks like he has to fight seriously from here on out.

"Is this what you wanted to see?" Dennis asked.

The two Cards all but proved that Dennis was a member of Academia.

"Fusion…" Roget mused out of surprised, getting a little anxious at the revelation. "Have they finally come for me?"

"I knew it all along! Now, go ahead and use that Card! I set two Cards and end my turn!" Shun concluded as two set Cards appeared in front of him.

"Dennis…" Yuzu murmured, shocked at what she had just learned.

"Is from…" Ruri widened her eyes, not wanting it to be true.

"Academia!" Yuto yelled as his brows furrowed, showing a look of sheer anger on the features of his face.

"Academia...is here?" Yugo gaped out of worry, remembering the condition Heartland was left in, fearing the worst for the place he had called home. He didn't need this, first he lives in the slums for all of his life, then his best and probably only friend was taken away from him, and to top it all, he basically committed murder because he got confused by someone's appearance AND his only home was going to be attacked.

Heartland was lucky. In that City, most if not all of the people were unified to fight back against Academia.

But here, in the Synchro Dimension, god knows what would happen with the Tops and Commons divided and at each other's throats.

"Oh? This is quite the turnout." Gale said.

"You said that you were against this Academia you speak of…" Gray continued.

"But you have a traitor among your group." Azul followed.

"How are we supposed to trust you? How do we know someone isn't like him?" Bordeaux questioned.

Reiji merely adjusted his glasses as a response. "The Lancers are not the only people who has a rat in their group, you should look at your own group." Reiji spoke the last part so quiet it was not audible to anyone else in the room.

"Now it's time to show you my ultimate entertainment. My turn…" Dennis whispered, his voice and demeanor changing drastically. "Draw!" Dennis placed the drawn Card onto his Duel Disk. "I Summon Entermage Shattered Mask from my Hand!"

A new Monster, which was simply multiple fragments of a mask appeared.

Entermage Shattered Mask: Level 2, 0 Atk, 0 Def

"I activate Shattered Mask's effect! Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Monster from my Grave! The Monster's Attack is reduced to 0 and its effects are negated! Also, the Monster will be banished at the end of the turn! Revive, Trapeze Magician!"

The Magician rose from the Grave, letting out a very evil and chilling laugh that sent chills down the spines of the audience.

Trapeze Magician: 2500-0 Atk

"I use Shattered Mask's second effect, I conduct a Fusion Summon using this a Card and another Card I control!" Dennis exclaimed as his Monsters spiraled into a vortex. "Acrobat that freely manipulates even the pain! Merge with the infinitely form-changing strings that connect people, and become a new witch that spurs the sky! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 7! Entermage Trapeze Force Witch!"

A Monster appeared onto Dennis' Field that cackled throughout the night sky, its voice echoing for all to hear, to signify the destruction of a mask, and the rise of what it was trying to hide.

Trapeze Force Witch: Level 7, 2600 Atk, 1800 Def

"When Shattered Mask is used as Fusion Material, the Attack of the Summoned Monster increases by 1000!" Dennis revealed.

Force Witch: 2600-3600 Atk

"Following that, I activate the Magic Card Ancient Gear Chaos Fusion!" Dennis swiped the Card across his Duel Disk, taking the remaining Card in his Hand, Fusion, and sending to the Graveyard. "By throwing Fusion out of my Hand, and by banishing from the Graveyard Monsters Special Summoned from the Extra Deck equal to the amount of Fusion Materials needed, I can negate the effects and summon conditions of the Fusion Material Monsters in my Deck and Extra Deck, and Special Summon them!"

Dennis began to recite the names of the Monsters as the d-wheels of the Duelists grinned across the road, making a curved turn as he did so.

"Ancient Gear Hound Dog! Double Bite Hound Dog! Triple Bite Hound Dog! And finally Ultimate Hound Dog!" He took the four Monsters out of his Extra Deck compartment and held them up. "I Special Summon all four Ancient Gear Monsters!"

With loud barks enveloping the Field, Dennis' hounds took to the Field.

Ancient Gear Hound Dog: Level 3, 1000 Atk, 1000 Def

Double Bite Hound Dog: Level 5, 1400 Atk, 1000 Def

Triple Bite Hound Dog: Level 7, 1800 Atk, 1000 Def

Ultimate Hound Dog: Level 9, 2800 Atk, 2000 Def

Yuto's expression became even darker as he witnessed the hounds being Summoned.

"Ancient Gear…" Yuya grit his teeth. "That no good lying bastard…"

"Kick his ass, Shun." Ryoga said quietly.

"I fuse all four Ancient Gears!" Dennis declared, lifting his Hand into the air, beginning a chant, "Mechanized hounds that inherited ancient souls! Merge your ten heads, and become chaos and tremendous power! Fusion Summon! Appear! Level 10! Ancient Gear Chaos Giant!"

Chaos Giant: Level 10, 4500 Atk, 3000 Def

The Monster that did the most damage in the invasion of Heartland floated in the air, towering over everything in the stadium and causing its shadow glaze over the audience, who was looking at the Monster in awe, which was looking down at the people with that glowing red eye, as if the machine wanted nothing but to hurt them.

"I-It's enormous!" Melissa stammered. "W-W-What on earth is that?! He Summoned such a huge Monster!"

"This is…" Shun widened his eyes as memories of the war flashed throughout his mind, the same happened with the rest of the Xyz Duelists.

"Bastard!" Ryoga shouted out loud, causing the council to look at him with curious looks.

Ruri grabbed her head and cried out in pain, "No! Please, stop it!"

"Why…" Yuto trailed off as his blood began to boil and his heart rate accelerating.

"Looks like you've seen it before." Dennis spoke sarcastically with a smirk on his face. Shun already knew that Dennis was merely taunting him, as he already knew that Shun had seen the monstrosity before...too many times before.

"Explain yourself." Azul commanded Reiji.

"I've considered the possibility that our enemy has wormed its way into the Lancers. But what about you?" Reiji questioned. "I'm certain that the enemy has already slipped into the City."

"And I wondered what you were about to say." Gale said stoically.

"You look like you've already identified the person in question." Azul stated.

"You are in the know, aren't you?" Reiji retorted. The four council members flinched and adjusted their positions in their chairs.

"In any case, let's see this Duel through to the end for now." White Taki suggested. This suggestion was agreed upon, as cancelling the match would cause the citizens to be thrown into disorder, and that is something the council wanted to avoid at the moment.

"Dennis just Summoned a level 10 Monster, a titanic being towering at 4500 Attack!" Melissa commentated, not wanting to keep her eyes off of the Duel.

Dennis let out a sadistic smirk, "Now, let the hunting games begin!"

"Why does it always have to be like this?" Yuto wondered out loud. Suddenly, he felt the presence of something else forming in his mind, a familiar dark presence.

"Because life in this world is hell. It's about time you accepted that fact."

"Kurosaki's life is currently still at a healthy 4000! However, all he has is a 1000 Atk Blaze Falcon, while Dennis harbors Entermage Trapeze Force Witch and Ancient Gear Chaos Giant, both of which have 2600 and 4500 Atk respectively!" Melissa gazed upon the Field.

"Allow me to show you gratitude for ripping off my mask." Dennis said.

As the behemoth known as Chaos Giant flew over the stadium, Shun glared at it as the shadow of the Monster enveloped Shun.

"I will not let this loathsome Monster roam freely again!" Shun proclaimed.

"If you could do that, then Heartland would still be peaceful, right?" Dennis taunted the Xyz user.

"Shut up!" Shun shouted out of anger.

"Battle! I attack Blaze Falcon with Chaos Giant! Crash of Darkness!" Blaze Falcon was immediately caught in Chaos Giant's hand, which collided with the ground, causing it to shake and break. Shun let out a loud grunt of pain as his d-wheel spun out of control, however, he managed to stay in front of Dennis and regain control in time.

Melissa was about to say something when suddenly, one of the wings of the now deceased Blaze Falcon came tumbling at her, she froze in her spot, as it was moving too fast for her to dodge. Fortunately for her, the Wing dissipated into multiple tiny particles, saving her. Melissa had a look of shock on her face with eyes as wide as she could make them.

"Dennis...is starting to be more brutal…" Melissa whispered to herself. She spoke back into her microphone, "Perhaps this is another act like the one on the streets not to long ago!"

Shun: 4000-500 LP

"Brother!" Ruri called out of concern, touching the television with her hand, despite knowing that it would do nothing.

Shun then noticed that Blaze Falcon's corpse was still on Chaos Giants hand. The abomination of a Monster continued to crush the Falcon, before throwing it away like it was trash, the Monster smashed the glass of the stadium skylight, despite the physical damage that was occurring, the crowd was cheering.

In his throne room, Jack, who was watching the entire Duel, narrowed his eyes, keeping a mostly emotionless expression on his face.

Shun clicked his tongue as he glared at where his Monster was thrown, the sheer mercilessness of the whole thing made him think back to the invasion. The day when all light disappeared from Heartland, and darkness shrouded the city and broke down piece by piece, structure by structure, person...by...person.

"I'm going to murder that bastard." Ryoga clenched his fist, utterly hating the sight of Chaos a Giant with a passion.

"It's toying with its target...why do they have to fight like that?" Despite there being no one in the room to answer that question, Yuzu still asked it anyway.

"Looks like it's game over! With Trapeze Force Witch, I can attack you directly! Now, end this!" Dennis commanded, prompting Force Witch to swing over to Shun in order to finish the job.

"Not so fast, Quick-Play, activate! Rank-Up-Magic Death Double Force! Using this a Card, I revive Blaze Falcon who was destroyed in battle!" Said Monster rose from the ashes literally in a burst of flames. "Next, I get to Xyz Summon whose a Rank is two times the Rank of the revived Monster! Supreme falcon. Carry on the wishes of your fallen friends, and fly off to the sky of victory! Rank Up Xyz Change! Appear, Rank 10! Raid Raptors - Ultimate Falcon!"

Ultimate Falcon: Rank 10, 3500 Atk, 2000 Def

"Your Monster is 100 points too short, and this is still my victory! Continue your attack, Trapeze Force Witch! Trapeze Force Witch's effect activates, when an Entermage battles a Monster you control, I can target that Monster an decrease its Attack by 600!" Dennis revealed.

"The effect of Ultimate Falcon states that it is unaffected by your Card effects!" Shun countered as he glanced at Dennis.

"Your Monster will be destroyed still!" Dennis exclaimed.

"Continuous Trap, Overlay Breast Armor! If a Raid Raptors Xyz Monster I control were to be destroyed by battle, I can detach an overlay unit from that Monster and negate destruction!" Shun explained as his Trap was opened. Trapeze clashed with Ultimate Falcon, Shun kept a serious and calm look on his face as Ultimate Falcon flew backwards to avoid destruction.

Shun: 500-400 LP

"And Kurosaki slithers out alive with only 400 life remaining! What will he do?" Melissa wondered.

Dennis grunted out of annoyance at Shun's persistence.

"Why? Why won't you just let me hunt you down?!" Dennis shouted.

"Because...I am a member of the Resistance! And we of the Resistance never give up! We won't lie down and let our enemies kick us around like helpless dogs!" Shun responded quickly.

"Go, Shun." Ryoga said.

"Show him the power of the Resistance!" Yuto bellowed.

"Kgh! You seem to forget that Chaos Giant can attack all Monsters at least once! Go, my Monster!" Dennis directed his hand towards Shun's Monster. "It's been fun, but now it's time for you to lay down and die!"

"From my Hand, I activate the effect of a Raid Raptors-Guard Lanius! When a Raid Raptors Xyz Monster I control is targeted for an attack, I can attach this Card to the targeted Xyz Monster, negate its destruction and make the battle damage 0!" Chaos Giant punched Ultimate Falcon with so much force, that multiple shockwaves ensued from the fist of the giant. Some of these shockwaves caused little fragments of glass to break off of the stadium, while the people watching felt a loud rumble in the ground, sort of like an earthquake, much to their surprise and fear.

"K-Kurosaki survives just barely with 400 life points yet!" Melissa stammered as she fought against the shockwaves, holding her hat with one hand to make sure it doesn't fly away.

"I see, that's the Card you drew from Raid Raptors-Target Flag." Dennis realized. He smirked to himself as he looked at Shun. "I end my turn."

"My turn, draw! I activate Ultimate Falcon's effect, by detaching an overlay unit, I negate the effect of all Cards you control until the end of the turn. Furthermore, all Monsters you control lose 1000 Attack!" Ultimate Falcon caught its last overlay unit in its mouth and crushed it, prompting two green waves to rush from the bird and onto Dennis' Monsters, causing them to cringe and slump down.

Force Witch: 3600-2600 Atk

Chaos Giant: 4500-3500 Atk

"Battle! Raid Raptors-Ultimate Falcon, attack and destroy Trapeze Force Witch!" Shun pointed at the Monster. Ultimate Falcon opened his mouth, chairing a bright yellow orb of energy, it let out a roar and the blast shot out of its mouth, enveloping Force Witch, destroying her. Dennis covered his face with his hand to protect himself from the dust. Parts of the road broke apart due to the impact of the attack, and the audience inside the stadium felt quite a bit of shaking, much to their dismay.

Dennis: 2400-1500 LP

"I end my turn, with this, Ultimate Falcon's effect ends, and Chaos Giant gets its effect and Attack back, however, the next effect of Ultimate Falcon activates during the End Phase, If this Card is Xyz Summoned using a Raid Raptors Xyz Monster as Material this turn, then I can apply the appropriate effect!"

"What?!" Dennis gasped out of slight shock, worried on what the effects would be.

"If you don't control a Monster, you would take 1000 damage! However, since you do control a Monster, all Monsters you control lose 1000 Attack!" Shun explained, causing Dennis to shoot his head towards his Monster, who remained the same.

Chaos Giant: 3500-4500 Atk

Chaos Giant: 4500-3500 Atk

"My turn, draw!" Dennis ripped the top Card of his Deck and glanced at it. "Perfect! I equip Ancient Gear a Chaos Giant with the Equip Magic Card Ancient Gear Mask! An enlarged mask similar to the one on the Card art appeared on Chaos Giant's face. "Battle! Ancient Gear Chaos Giant, Attack Raid Raptors Ultimate Falcon!️"

Ancient Gear Chaos Giant raised its hand and swung at Ultimate Falcon.

This action performed by Dennis surprised Shun.

"What?! But your Monsters have equal Attack!" Shun reminded Dennis.

"I know, but the effect of Ancient Gear Mask states that once per turn, the first time the equipped Monster were to be destroyed by battle, it is not!" Dennis infkrmed Shun, causing the Resistance Duelist to growl as his Monster was punched down into the ground hard, causing the ground to shake and the road to break.

"With that, I end my turn." Dennis concluded as he closed his eyes while smirking. "Still hanging in there, huh?"

"I will not lose! With my iron will and steeled strength."

"What an admirable spirit." Dennis complimented. "You learned that at the Pro Duelist Training School, am I right?"

Shun's ears perked up at this, internally, he was shocked, but he managed to keep his composure outside to Dennis, but the latter could tell that surprised him a little bit.

"How do you know about that?"

"I knew you were going to say that. Anyways, believe it or not, I know a lot about you. Shall I share a bit of valuable news to the audience? This...is from my time in Heartland."

Yuto paused when he heard that. "His time in Heartland?"

Flashback-Before the War-Heartland-Xyz Dimension

A deck of cards were laid out across a black table, as a large group of people were gathered around an orange haired boy with a mole on his face.

"It's showtime!"

Snap!

"Who in the audience will liven up this show with me?" Dennis paused and gasped slightly when he saw a girl in the audience that peeked his interests.

The girl had pink eyes, long dark purple hair which extends past her lower back.

It was her, Kurosaki Ruri. The girl that Dennis was tasked to find. And after he found her, he was required to greenlight the invasion.

Suddenly, Trapeze Magician out of nowhere grabbed Ruri by the arms and swung her over to Dennis, much to the girl's surprise.

Dennis took a bow to the girl, "Hello, young lady, what is your name?"

"Kurosaki Ruri." The girl replied politely.

This is her. The one I have been tasked to find. Damn, and I was actually having a little fun here too… Dennis thought to himself as he let out a sigh.

"Well, you must absolutely be my opponent if my Trapeze Magician sought you out of all of these lovely people!"

Now

"The adults and children watching all had smiles on their faces. But when I found her, the fun was over. It was awful." Dennis admitted out loud. "I wanted to keep doing those street performances. But...orders are orders. Since I found her, I had no choice but to greenlight the hunting game."

A frown could be seen creeping up on Dennis' face as he recalled the memory.

He remembered calling the Professor, the invasion starting, laying low so no one would get suspicious of him. He also remembered when he met up with Yuri so the latter could capture Ruri.

Dennis' frown turned into a small smile, ready to reveal the shocking truth.

"Her name was...Ruri."

"What?!" Shun widened his eyes out of shock.

"She's your sister, right? She was somehow freed from Academia recently, and I'm sure she's watching this right now. Thinking about it, it must be terrible, the entire invasion started all because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

This realization hit all of the Resistance members hard, especially Ruri.

"Ruri was wanted by Academia? But why?" Yuto questioned. What made Ruri so desirable that people from another dimension would come to capture her?

"The entire war...started because of me…" Ruri croaked, tears flooding her eyes, blurring her sight as they rolled down her face. "Everyone who was Carded...Yuto's father, Allen's parents, brother and I's parents...they're all gone because of me…"

Words couldn't describe how guilty Ruri felt at that moment, that the entire war was started just because of her.

This also meant that as of now, she had just become a burden to those who want to protect her, since Academia want to capture her again.

"Doesn't that make you mad? Doesn't that make you resent your sister?! Because of her, the entire war started! Because of her, your parents, your loved ones, and other people were Carded mercilessly! Doesn't that twist you in the wrong way?! Doesn't that make you want to hate her?"

Ruri covered her face into her hands.

They had every reason to hate her now.

Ryoga, her brother, Yuto, and the others back in the Xyz Dimension if they were to ever learn of this, they all had a reason to hate her now, because she had ruined their lives, just by being in the sight of a spy.

In Yuto's room, the boy was looking down at the ground, his eyes shadowed out.

"Yuto…" If his body was able to interact with things physically, he would have put his friend on the shoulder as a means to comfort him.

Suddenly, he felt a strong rush of anger flood throughout his mind and emitting off of Yuto. He also heard the boy growling and a dark aura forming around him.

"Yuto! Control yourself! We can't let the darkness take over now of all times!" Yuya called out to his comrade and counterpart.

"How dare he...put the blame on her?" Yuto spoke menacingly as he looked up, shooting open his eyes, revealing his irises to be blue. "It's not Ruri's fault…"

Little did Yuto know, Shun had just said the same thing to Dennis.

"You had the choice of green lighting the invasion. When you saw Ruri, you didn't have to greenlight the invasion at all! The entire war was your fault!" Shun shouted at Dennis out of anger. "And for that...I will get my revenge!"

"For the comrades you all have ruthlessly slaughtered…" Ryoga formed a fist with his hands as he remembered his fallen friends.

"And you, who took Heartland's smiles away!" Yuto continued Shun's speech as he remembered the looks of horror on the civilians faces as they were begging chased and sealed.

"I will crush you all! My turn!" Shun gripped the top Card of his Deck and sweeped it off the top of his Deck, he glanced at the Card and widened his eyes at the sight of it, before steeling his gaze as he continued with his move. "From my Hand, I activate the Magic Card Rank-Down-Magic Raptors Revenge!"

"What?! A Rank-Down-Magic Card?!" Dennis widened his eyes at the sight.

"Nice, Shun. Those Cards are rare to find even in the Xyz Dimension." Ryoga let out a small grin.

Rank-Down-Magic…Akaba Reiji and a certain boy sucking on a lollipop hiding somewhere in the stadium thought to themselves.

"By paying half of my life, I can Special Summon a Raid Raptors Xyz Monster from my Grave and use it as Material to Xyz Summon a Monster whose a Rank is 2 lower than it! Come back to me, Ultimate Falcon!" Said Monster let out an ear-ringing shriek upon return to the battlefield.

Shun: 400-200 LP

"Dauntless falcon. Hoist up the flame of anger, become the flash of light that burns the land to ash! Rank Up Xyz Change! Soar! Rank 8! Raid Raptors - Satellite Cannon Falcon!" Shun chanted as he Xyz Summoned his lower Ranked Monster.

Satellite Cannon Falcon: Rank 8, 3000 Atk, 2000 Def

"What's this?! Kurosaki Shun has performed a Rank-Down Xyz Summon! Just when we thing it couldn't get any better!" Melissa exclaimed.

Shun snarled as he thought back to the hellish war, how his comrades were Carded with no remorse upon defeat, and how the ones who couldn't fight in the first place were treated with even less remorse than that.

"For my comrades who were hunted in cold blood and sealed into Graveyards called Cards! I'll smash you to smithereens so no one can ever find a trace of your existence!"

"Brother…" Ruri whispered.

"I activate Satellite Cannon Falcon's Monster effect! Once per turn, I can use one overlay unit and decrease one opponent's Monster's Attack by 800!"

"Only 800!" Dennis laughed, but his taunting expression fell from his face when he heard the next part…

"This effect can be activated as many times as the number of a Raid Raptors in my Graveyard!"

Gasp!

"Six Raid Raptors rest in my Grave! Go! Satellite Cannon Falcon! Don't hold anything back, and incinerate with the rage of the hunted!"

Satellite Cannon Falcon opened its wings, which then prompted multiple guns to open from those wings, and they were all aimed at Chaos Giant.

Shun held up one finger.

"The first!"

An image of a Devil Eagle appeared in front of Satellite Cannon as it dispersed into particles, which flowed inside the core of the Monster, a bright green light emitted from the Monster as it let out multiple streams of green light at Chaos Giant, striking and weakening the Monster.

Chaos Giant: 3500-2700 Atk

"The path to defeat and despair stretches before you!"

Two fingers.

"The second!"

A second Devil Eagle rose from the Grave and the process repeated.

Chaos Giant: 2700-1900 Atk

"Taste the pain of my sister, Ruri, who's feelings and future you've crushed!"

Three fingers.

"The third!"

This time, Skull Eagle appeared from the Grave.

Chaos Giant: 1900-1100 Atk

"It won't end like this!" Dennis shouted as he reached out his hand for an Action a Card, but his d-wheel was launched upwards due to a rock in the road, making Dennis miss the Card.

"Ahh! He failed to grab an Action Card!" Melissa chimed in.

Shun furrowed his eyes as he gripped the handlebar out of fury.

"For closing off the path to his ambitions and goals. Taste the hatred of my one and only best friend, Yuto!"

Four fingers.

"The fourth!"

A cry from the Grave coming from Blaze Falcon could be heard as the Monster soon disappeared like the ones before it.

SHWOOF!

The sound of the beams rushing through the air rang in Dennis' ears as they clashed against his Monster, earning a loud cry of pain that played throughout the horrid night sky.

Chaos Giant: 1100-300 Atk

Dennis perked up as his eyes caught another Action Card, reaching out his hand, he yelled, "This time!"

Unfortunately for the Academia spy, his own Monster crashed his hand on the ground, splitting the surrounding area into small little fragments of what used to be the road.

SLAM!

The Action Card was launched into the air, Dennis lunged for it, but it was all for nought, as he still missed.

"Dennis failed to grab an Action Card again!" Melissa cried out of disbelief.

Shun noticed the falling debris crashing all around him as he used his survival instincts to swerve his d-wheel from left to right, managing to avoid falling off and staying safe in the process.

"Damn it! Even the Action Cards have forsaken me now that I've given up my entertainer role?!" Dennis continued to struggle against the road as he kept bouncing up and down, trying to balance and keep his d-wheel stuck on the ground.

"No matter how long they burn, the flames of my a Carded comrades' anger will never die! This one is for all of them, including all of the civilians who never had a chance to fight back!"

Five and then six fingers.

"THE FINAL SHOTS!"

Guard Lanius followed by Ultimate Falcon rose from the Grave, following the same process their predecessors went through. One last long stream of green pounded against the metal of the now weakened behemoth known as Ancient Gear Chaos Giant.

Chaos Giant: 300-0 Atk

Shun turned his d-wheel so his side was facing Dennis. He thrusted his hand to the side, "Battle! Soar, Satellite Cannon Falcon! Attack Chaos Giant!"

The bird let out a shriek in response as it activated its boosters and shot off towards the sky, going further up the atmosphere.

The crowd of the audience all gasped in awe as they looked up to Satellite Cannon, surprised that the bird was not stopping its ascent through the layers of the atmosphere.

"Satellite Cannon Falcon steadily ascends! It climbs on and on! Through the clouds and right through the Stratosphere!"

And the bird kept going even higher, showing that no matter how low those of the Resistance are put down, they will keep fighting and rise to new and higher heights.

As it continued to fly through the Stratosphere and the Mesosphere, it eventually ended its ascent right at the beginning of the Thermosphere, clocking in at about 87 kilometers off the surface of the earth.

The sun shone its bright radiant rays on the falcon as it opened yet another pair of wings, this time reddish-orange is energy flowing through the openings, forming the Raid Raptors insignia in space.

Satellite Cannon Falcon cocked it's turrents and with great aim, took its sights on the Ancient Gear Chaos Giant stuck on the ground.

The bird let out a loud cry of fury as a light blue outline enveloped the Monster as a blue sphere was seen emitting from its core.

From the ground, one could actually see a bright orange star of light in the sky.

Stuck in a small crater with no wear to run due to being too weak, Chaos Giant could only sit and await its fate.

"Bear the feelings of the hunted, and DISAPPEAR!" Shun shouted. "ETERNAL AVENGE!"

From its core, Satellite Cannon Falcon released a large light green stream, aiming right for Chaos Giant.

From the surface of the earth, the green beam could be seen rushing down towards the earth at its target at great speeds. Murmurs went flooding throughout the audience as the people worried for their safety.

As the beam came closer and closer, Dennis could only watch as his Monster was hit by the attack. His Monster wouldn't be destroyed due to Ancient Gear Mask, but it didn't matter.

Because the show was over…

BOOM!

The explosion ripped Chaos Giant to shreds as its parts were incinerated. The ensuing shockwaves threw Dennis off his d-wheel as he cried out in pain.

So this was the end...of the man who wore a mask for his entire life.

Thinking back on his life, Dennis had realized he had many layers of mask etched upon his face, masks that only one who looked deep enough could see.

All this time of deception through his life…

Yet he didn't know which one of his masks was his real one.

Dennis: 1500-0 LP

Dennis crashed across the ground, tumbling and rolling across the ground, his riding suit covered in scratches, dirt and grime as Dennis slowly and painfully lifted his head up.

"K-Kurosaki...you win…" Dennis ushered as he lost consciousness.

"It's...It's...It's settled!" Melissa concluded with a smile on her face. "The final match of the Friendship Cup's first round! The winner is Kurosaki Shun!"

The boy eating a lollipop took his leg off of the wall he was leaning onto and walked away.

Meanwhile, Jack Atlas stood up from his throne and walked away as well.

Melissa's eyes became black voids as she saw the damage of the road.

Let's just say...it wasn't safe for a Riding Duel.

"This is such a wreck…" Melissa trailed off, before fuming on a rage. "What are we gonna do now?! Geez!"

Shun shoved his helmet and threw it to the side as he walked over to Dennis.

"Brother...you wouldn't…" Ruri widened her eyes as she saw Shun strap his Duel Disk onto his hand. Even if Dennis greenlit the invasion, she still didn't like the aspect of her brother Carding him.

"No matter how many of you come from Academia, I'll annihilate all of you by myself!" Shun clicked his Duel Disk, the function that allowed him to Card people.

Easiest decision in my life.

What he was shocked by was the fact that nothing had happened. He clicked the button again and when it still didn't work, he began mashing the Card function.

"Damn it! Why can't I turn him into a Card?!" Shun questioned.

It was Akaba Reiji's doing...that bastard! He did it when he stole my Duel Disk!

With nothing else to do, he rushed over to Dennis' fallen form and grabbed him by the collar forcefully, this caused the boy to regain a tiny bit of consciousness as Shun prepared a hard punch that would connect to Dennis' face, however, before he could launch it, his arm was grabbed by a man in a white tank top.

"What?! Damn it! Let go!" Shun was restrained by two guys as he was taken away from Dennis, who was also restrained by a guy in a green suit.

"Academia is After me, Ruri, Rin, and Serena. What is their reason…?"

In the council room, Reiji turned around to leave, however…

"Where are you going?" Gale interrogated.

Reiji turned back as if to acknowledge Gale. "I want to see Dennis. I need to confirm a few things with him."

Reiji began to walk away, and he was followed by a Reira, Ryoga, and O'Brien. However, they were blocked by four men in white suits.

"What is the meaning of this?" Reiji asked calmly.

"We do not want to make a fuss over this issue." Gray spoke.

"We'd prefer not to fight anyone or have anyone interfere." Gale followed.

"For as much as possible, we want to maintain order in the City as it is." Azul continued.

"That is what we desire...correct, Chairman?"

"Quite so." White Taki confirmed. "We wouldn't like for you to leave our world out of something troublesome like the inter dimensional world. Do you understand that?"

In his room, seeing Dennis being carried out on a stretcher eased Yuto's mind a bit. Good, the bastard had suffered for what he had done.

Yuto's eyes returned to normal as he took a deep breath.

"Damn it, I almost lost it thanks to all of my anger and hatred...but to think that I have this much harbored inside…"


Meanwhile

Dennis was currently being pushed on a stretcher by two people, however, they halted when they saw three men in white suits.

"Wait. Dennis will be put in the custody of the Executive Council." One of the White suited men spoke as he revealed a contract. "Hand him over at once."

"That will not happen!" A member of Security exclaimed as he and two other members came running down the hall, stopping right in front of Dennis' stretcher. "Dennis is in our custody! This is a direct order from a Chief aroget of the Security Bureau."

The two men rolling the stretcher ran away after that, feeling the tension growing between the two parties.

"The Executive Council has decided tot age away his right to command. Which means that the order you received was nullified."

Suddenly, a bolt of electricity was seen in the middle of the two groups, much to their surprise. Then, a gust of wind sprouted from the ground, lashing out at their faces, causing them to look away, when they looked back at the stretcher, Dennis was gone!

"Dennis disappeared!"

"What happened?!"

"I will not hand Dennis over to the council!" Roget bellowed through the earpiece. "Find him immediately and capture him! Take away MY right to command? Hmph, if you old geezers are going to adopt that attitude, then we will have to take drastic measures as well."

Roget picked up a white pawn and moved it one space forward. As a result, the entire chess board lit up green as alarms blared off throughout the building.

"Notify all of Security. Begin the operation…"

"King's Gambit!"


Back in the Commons Area

When Dennis opened his eyes, the last thing he expected to hear was the voice of another. In fact, he was surprised that he even woke up in the first place. He had thought that Shun had a Carded him…

"You're finally awake."

If he had more energy, Dennis would have jumped out of fright at the sudden male young voice, but he was too tired to do so.

"Who are you?" Dennis asked.

The boy took a lollipop out of his mouth, giving him a smile.

"Shiunin Sora. A Duelist from Academia." Sora introduced himself.

"Right, I remember. You're from Academia, too." Dennis spoke, suddenly feeling a little better.

"I'm surprised that you're still the same." Sora admitted. "And you played a part in the Ruri situation…" Mentioning the name Ruri made Sora stiffen slightly, but Dennis didn't notice.

"Calling it a situation...I was just following my orders. Unfortunately, we have to recapture Ruri, but after that, all that is left is handing Yuzu and Serena over to Yu-" Dennis suddenly helped by a sudden rush of pain throughout his body.

"I'll take over." Sora offered.

"No, I will." A voice joined in on the conversation. Both Sora and Dennis stiffened, knowing who the owner of the voice was.

The other person's body and face were covered by shadows, but Sora and Dennis still knew who it was by the air changing around and the entire atmosphere.

It felt...intimidating in a unique way.

Sora could merely said a grin towards the unknown person. "You took a while to get here."

"Show me some more respect, Shiunin Sora. After all, I am a higher ranking officer than you." The person reminded Sora.

"Yes, yes." Sora smirked.

"To think that you out of all people would be here, Fu-ACK!" Dennis once again cried out of pain.

"Head back to Academia. We have no need for a soldier who can't even stand on his own feet." The silhouette of the person said.

"Besides…" Sora interjected before Dennis could rebutted. "The Professor already tasked me with retrieving Serena. He was tasked with retrieving Hiragi Yuzu. Originally we were going to have you capture Ruri, but we can just send Yuri, after all, he did capture her once already."

"Which reminds me, explain to me how Kurosaki Ruri managed to escape?" The silhouette asked, interested.

"Two people snuck in and broke out a Ruri and Rin, thankfully, we still have Rin, but Ruri is here in this dimension." Sora answered.

"Is that so? Hmph." The mysterious person turned to Dennis, who was holding his arm. "You need to head back." He held up his Duel Disk and clicked a button, emitting a light blue light.

"When you return, tell the Professor this…" Dennis perked his ears up, ready to listen to what Sora needed right before the light took him away from the Synchro Dimension.

"I will definitely carry out the mission he gave me."


Card Catalog

(I decided to raise Trapeze Force Witch's Attack from 2400 to 2600.)

Entermage Trick Guard: Level 4, 900 Atk, 400 Def, Dark, Spellcaster: When a Monster you control is going to be destroyed by battle or Card effect, you can send this Card to the Graveyard, negate the destruction.

Entermage Shattered Mask, Dark, Spellcaster: Once per turn, you can Special Summon a Monster in your Grave with its Attack 0 and effects negated. You can conduct a Fusion Summon using this Card and ONE other Card you control. A Monster Fusion Summoned using this Card as Material gains 1000 Attack.

Raid Raptors-Guard Lanius, Level 4, 1000 Atk, 1200 Def, Dark, Winged-Beast: When an Xyz Monster you control is targeted for an attack, you can attach this Card to that Monster as Material, that Monster cannot be destroyed by this battle and the damage you take is reduced to 0.

Rank-Down-Magic Raptor's Revenge, Magic: Special Summon 1 Raid Raptors Xyz Monster from your Graveyard, Xyz Summon a Monster whose Rank is 2 lower than the Special Summoned Monster using the revived Monster as Material.


Well, it's been 24 days since I've last updated, and I've had enough of it! If I don't update in the next 3-6 days, then I am giving up on this fanfic!

Nah I'm just kidding.

Anyways, sorry for the really late update, this time I won't state my reasons cause either A. You've heard them before. B. You wouldn't care. C. I just want to upload this now.

No chapter preview.

But we've FINALLY FINISHED the first rounds.

Just as a reminder, he are the people who made it through in no particular matchup order.

Aki

Ruri

Yuto

Yugo

Yuzu

Sergey

Chojiro (Albeit Damon got Carded)

Shun (Obviously)

Well, I've already got the matchups down on paper, but if you guys would like to request some matches, then maybe I'll switch things around.

Bridgey: Really, they shot Shingo in both feet so he couldn't win a single solo Duel. The only good Shingo solo Duels (in my opinion) was when he fought AND LOST a Duel against a Yu-boy. Yuya, twice. Yuto and Yugo, both once.

Skadi: I know you didn't say anything about but I had Dennis use Trapeze Force Witch because it's like the real Trapeze Magician, but the Xyz Monster is the mask.

Anyways, that is all for today guys, hopefully the quality of the chapter is better than last time.