"I see. So, that's what happened."

Sakaki Yusho removed his hat, running his free hand through his presprised hair, letting out an exasperated sigh. A frown adorned his face after hearing the events that had transpired between his students and Academia. To think that his students were facing off against one of Academia's strongest...and he wasn't there to help…

"Sensei, I'm so sorry!" Asuka dropped her head, her body trembling, the large crowd in the room nonexistent as she apologized to her teacher. "Had I been stronger...I wouldn't have been disposed of so easily! And we lost so many students because I didn't get there in time...the losses we have suffered are all my fault!"

"Calm yourself, Asuka." Yusho chided, giving her a light reassuring smile. "You were up against a strong opponent. If you want to make up for your mistake, then keep fighting for the others who have fallen. I'm sure that they don't blame you, and neither do I."

"Thank you!" Asuka responded gratefully, bowing her head down out of respect.

The now conscious and resting Yuzu watched from the side where she was sitting with a smile on her face. Uncle Yusho is just as I remember. He was always such a kind person. No wonder Yuya turned out the way he did. Uncle would be proud of his son.

"Now then," Asuka raised her head, a serious expression appearing on her face, "We have to take the fight to Academia! Each day, they are getting closer to figuring out our location! That Duelist Yuri took out 6 of our students on his own. If we don't take the initiative, we'll be wiped out!"

"Yes!" Yuzu spoke up, standing up from her chair. "We have to attack Academia now! One of their strongest Duelists is in our custody, our chances of stopping their plans have never been higher!" After her declaration, the large crowd of people shouted in support, further strengthening Yuzu's desire to take the fight to Academia.

Yusho smiled as he contemplated all that he has been told. "Very well, I have heard all of your thoughts and feelings, and I understand. Once we are prepared, we will all go to Academia!"

"What?" Asuka blinked as her and the other You Show students reacted with dismay. "No. Sensei, your leg is still-"

"That does not matter!" Yusho interjected, slamming his stick on the ground with determination. "I will not let my precious students who have fought so hard for their freedom return there alone. What kind of teacher lets his students fight while he sits back? I am going." Yusho said with a resolute tone. "Me and Akaba Leo used to be partners...friends, even. I'm sure I can make him end this senseless conflict! I can make him listen to reason!"

"Sensei…" Asuka mumbled with a dejected inflection. "I doubt even you could change the Professor's mind. A man who is willing to commit genocide for his goal cannot waver in his ideals."

"That may be so." Yusho acknowledged with a sigh. "Nonetheless, I have to try."

"Then that settles it!" Yuzu exclaimed, raising her fist with a fire burning in her eyes. "Our counterattack on Academia begins now!"

"Now, regarding the Duelist you fought, Yuzu…"

"Huh?" Yuzu hummed out of confusion. Why does Yusho...need him?

"I'd like you to take me to where he is being held."

"Sensei!" Asuka cried out in alarm. "You can't! You don't know what he is capable of! He is dangerous!"

"Maybe." Yusho replied as he slowly rose to his feet, wincing from the sharp pain that rushed through his leg. "But I would still like to talk to him. The boy...intrigues me."

Yuzu froze up. She knew exactly what Yusho wanted with Yuri. It had nothing to do with the boy himself really. He just…

He just wanted to see his son's face.

"Uncle…" Yuzu started, only to halt when Yusho held a hand up.

"I know. He will not be anything like Yuya." He said with a sad smile as the thought of his 11 year-old son entered his brain.

But even still…Yusho thought to himself with a glimmer of hope. If he shares the same face as my son...if he has the same drive for Dueling, then…

"I want to talk to him."


Meanwhile - Xyz Dimension - Heartland - Resistance Hideout

It was a long, eventful night. With the arrival of the Lancers to the conflict with Kaito. Sasayama Sayaka was not sure how much she could keep it up for...especially knowing how she confessed to letting Ruri get captured.

She squirmed in her light blanket on the floor. The floor was hard and rough, but she was used to that by now. However, she'd never get used to the chilling temperature as night hits Heartland, though it doesn't really have a day to begin with anymore as all of the pollution from the war has completely blocked out the sun.

So cold...She shivered to herself. Much colder than usual. Maybe the temperature was just lower tonight.

A part of her knew that wasn't the case at all.

Rising from her sleeping bag, she reached to her left blindly, feeling around the floor for…

There.

Sayaka grasped the pair of glasses and placed them on her face as she thought about what had happened earlier.

"We all lost family, and when Ruri was taken it was like someone had reached inside of me and ripped my heart out."

Shun was devastated about Ruri's kidnapping, and for good reason. She was his only remaining family member. As far as they were concerned, the Kurosaki parents were Cards. And Ruri was only taken away because she didn't help her.

"It's because I don't want to lose my comrades that I will fight with them!"

She didn't fight with her! She didn't even try to do anything to prevent Ruri's kidnapping.

"But as of now, no matter how much I lose, no matter how much I suffer, I will always be there with my comrades! I will stand by them…"

She wasn't there when Ruri needed her most. And Kaito, too...he was suffering and she was making no effort whatsoever to help him.

The guilt in Sayaka combusted. With determined eyes, she quickly rose to her feet, grabbing her Duel Disk and putting on her shoes.

Quickly yet quietly, she scurried out of the Resistance hideout. She couldn't tell any of the others. This was something she had to do on her own.

I will find you, Kaito!


Minutes Later

Allen sighed, rising from his place on the hardwood floor, throwing the blanket off. He rubbed his dry eyes rigorously.

Can't sleep. His aching body and the lack of weakness in his eyes made that all too clear to him. All of the things that had transpired with Kaito made sure of that.

Might as well be patrolling while I'm awake. Allen echoed to himself, not wanting to be consumed by regretful thoughts in regards to his former friend.

Rising to his feet and placing his shoes, which had a built-in rollerblade function in, on his feet, a sudden thought came to his head.

"Maybe I should have Sayaka patrol too." He muttered to himself. It's clear that the girl had been through a lot. To think that she had been harboring the true details of Ruri's kidnapping to herself...no wonder she looked so sad all the time!

Leaving his room after putting on his Duel Disk, he walked to the room Sayaka would usually reside in. Normally Sayaka would have the door shut when she was in her room, but to Allen's surprise, when he got to the door, it was wide open.

Sayaka had immediately tried to distance herself from the others when they got back. Allen could have sworn be saw her run to her room.

Oh no! Don't tell me...Allen started with panic in his eyes, running all around the Resistance hideout, which held very few people still awake. If Sayaka were to do something as stupid as that, this would be the perfect time to do it!

"Sayaka!" Allen shouted at the top of his lungs, fear evident in his voice. The survivors looked at him with an odd look, but he didn't care. "Sayaka!"

"Allen." A voice said. To Allen's brief relief, he saw an exasperated Ryoga walking towards him after about a minute of him calling Sayaka's name. "What the hell are you yelling for?"

"It's Sayaka! She snuck out! I...I think she's going to look for Kaito!"

"She did what?!" Another voice, Ruri cried out in shock, followed by the Lancers and other members of the Resistance as they came to see what the commotion was about.

"What does she think she's doing?!" Rio wondered out loud, her brain now in full panic mode. They already lost Kaito, they couldn't lose Sayaka too!

"It's too dangerous for her to be out alone!" Shun remarked.

"In that case, we split up into groups of two! We'll cover more ground that way!" O'Brien suggested.

"No need for me." Allen spoke as his red boots glowed with a round bright yellow. "It'll be faster for me if I go alone on my rollerblades!"

"Don't be reckless!" Yuya protested, now arriving at the scene and getting in front of Allen. "Searching alone is also too dangerous as well! We can help!"

"Shut up!" Allen shunned the Entertainment Duelist with a scornful glare. "Outsiders should mind their own business! Sure, maybe Yuto, Shun and the others accept you, but I will never look at you as comrades, especially when you're the son of a coward!" He shoved past Yuya, who could only stand there stunned as Allen glided down the staircase on his rollerblades.

"Allen, hold on!" Yuto called out, only to get no response as the boy just kept going farther and farther. He doubted that he even heard him. He furrowed his eyebrows out of frustration.

Ryoga grimaced at the side as well. He glanced at the stunned and dejected look in Yuya's eyes. He grinded his teeth together with a small hiss.

"Just what was that?!" Serena bellowed with a tight fist, an angry expression adorning her features. "Insulting you and just running off on his own like that?!"

"Sounds like someone else we know…"

"What was that?!"

"Nothing!" Sawatari immediately shut himself up in the face of Serena's rage.

"Yuya." Yuto turned to his Standard counterpart with an apologetic look on Allen's behalf. "Don't take what Allen said to heart. He's a good person...but like all of us he's been through a lot."

"Cut the crap."

"What was that?" Yuto turned to the voice to see an agitated Yugo.

"Just because you've been through things, it doesn't give you the right to shun people that are trying to help you!" Yugo said with a raised fist.

"I, the man, Gongenzaka, agree with Yugo's sentiment." The Steadfast Duelist nodded his head, disapproval at Allen's words and actions evident on his face. "I will not tolerate disrespect to my best friend nor his father."

"Gongenzaka, Yugo. It's okay." Yuya said, much to their surprise. He dug his nails into the palm of his hand. "Allen still thinks that my father abandoned them back when the invasion started...and I don't blame him. When my father left right before his Duel against Strong Ishijima, I sometimes thought that he had abandoned me. I didn't know why, but it was the only thing that I could think of...that he bailed on his family…"

He still didn't know the whole story about the disappearance of his father. But he had to just hope that he truly had good intentions and that he never tried to abandon his family in the first place.

"Well, why are we just standing here? Let's split up!" Shun urged, wanting to get to finding their friend and comrade already before something bad happened. "Yuto, you and me."

The boy nodded out of acceptance. "Right!"

"H-Hey! Since when did you become the leader?!" Sawatari protested out of frustration.

Shun ignored the boy's outburst as he looked to the group around, formulating groups in his mind. "Ryoga, you're with Rio. Ruri, with O'Brien. Serena, with Yuya. Yugo, go with Kaiser. Sawatari, you're with Gongenzaka, and don't slack off!"

"Tch! You know I'm getting really sick and tired of your high and mighty attitude, Kurosaki!"

"Shun." Ryoga spoke up, garnering the group's attention. "We shouldn't all go look for Sayaka. There is still a chance we could get attacked while we're gone, and we're low enough on Duelists as it is."

"I agree with my brother." Rio supplied. "Some of us should go look for Sayaka, and some of us should stay behind."

It was like an unspoken agreement between siblings that the two of them were going to stay behind and protect the Resistance base in case of a potential surprise attack. Plus, they both could count on the others to be able to find Sayaka and Allen.

"In that case, Yugo and I will stay." Ryo said, getting no protest from the Synchro user. Rio glanced over at Kaiser at this declaration, remembering the meeting after they came back from the battle with Kaito.


Earlier - Monetary - Resistance Meeting Room

"Not that I'm not happy that we're all back in one piece, but can we address the elephant in the room?"

"Are you speaking of me?" The dull voice of Marufuji Ryo said with a draw, earning an annoyed expression from Allen.

"Who else?!"

"Enough." Rio chided, wiping her face which was moist from the heat and stress. Sometimes, it felt like she was the leader of the remnants of the Resistance, considering that there really wasn't any structure of power whatsoever.

Right now, the members of the Lancers, the three members of the leftover Resistance, and Ryo were gathered throughout a meeting room in the monastery, the doors open so they could see the survivors and the long lines for rations.

Sayaka drifted by the doors, constantly looking out and away from the group. She couldn't bear to look at them now that they know that she had let Ruri get captured.

"Sayaka…" Ruri whispered as she reached for her friend, only for the Fairy user to creep away with guilt. She heard a whimper from the girl, and she rose to her feet and ran out of the room crying. "Sayaka!"

"Leave her, Ruri." Shun said with closed eyes, trying to hide his emotions. Yes, he felt bad for Sayaka's position and how she had run out, but he just didn't know how to talk to her now. He didn't resent her at all for letting Ruri get kidnapped, but…

It would take a little bit of time.

"But brother-"

"We can deal with it later, Ruri." Shun interjected, holding a hand up, showing that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. "Just give it a little bit of time, and wait for her to calm down."

Everyone else in the room sat as a wave of solemn silence passed over them.

They all felt bad for Sayaka to some degree, but that was not the most important thing at hand right now. They still had to decide what to do with Marufuji Ryo, former member of Academia and accused spy.

"Look," Allen started, looking away from where Sayaka ran and back to Ryo, "I still don't trust you. I don't think I ever will you, and if it was up to me I still wouldn't let you stay here. However, you saved Yuto, and you tried to help Kaito too...so I guess that amounts to something."

"I…" Ruri spoke, putting everyone's attention on her, "I don't know what the full story is, but he saved Yuto and Yuya. And, I didn't know his name before, but I recognize this man now. He took part in rescuing me and Rin from Academia!"

The revelation brought shock onto the faces of Allen and Rio. Marufuji had claimed to have saved Ruri and Rio when they met, but they didn't have any way to validate that, especially since Ruri wasn't with them and they were complete strangers.

And they trusted Ruri with their very lives...so if she said Ryo was in the clear, then…

"Everything that you said back then...wasn't a lie?" Allen murmured with wide eyes.

"Yes." Ryo responded with closed eyes. "However, considering what had happened to all of you, and how we were just random strangers, I don't blame you for your animosity towards us. Furthermore, my case wasn't helped by Rin going out of control, Academia attacking, and that faker that used my nickname."

So Rin was being controlled after all! Yugo thought with a smile, all doubts of the opposite being completely removed from his head. Good, now I just need to get the real her back!

"Wait, what was that about a faker?" Ryoga suddenly questioned with interest.

"Because our names sound similar, Ryo decided that we should call him Kaiser, a nickname given to him by people at Academia." Ryo explained, a look of guilt in her eyes as she realized just how stupid the misunderstanding was. "Sayaka later encountered an Academia Duelist who used his nickname and impersonated his style and Deck. So, we came to the assumption that if Ryo truly had deserted Academia, then why was he still being worshiped by the soldiers?"

"I may have a possible answer to that." Kaiser spoke up. "Word either didn't go around in Academia fast enough, or the Professor didn't tell the truth. After all, the soldier's faith in Academia would certainly waver a deal if they knew that one of the top Duelists had abandoned their ranks...simply because he saw the truth."

Rio covered her face with her hands, feeling like a complete idiot now along with Allen, who looked down out of shame.

That made so much sense. And they didn't even wait to consider that possibility for a second…

Yuto, Shun, Ryoga, and Allen all gasped in shock when they saw Rio lean forward, placing her hands on the ground in a pleading manner.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I should have considered your side of the story!" She apologized with a frustrated cry, anger building up in her gut for her own foolishness.

"Stand up." Kaiser responded with a frown. "A Duelist should not bow down to another, especially when they are not in the wrong. I, too, have a part in the tragedy that occurred that day."

As Rio rose again, Allen looked away, not willing to look the man in the eyes.

"I-I'm sorry too…"


Now

Now, she knew for sure that Ryo was on their side. After clearing the misunderstanding, Ryo had explained why he had left Academia in the first place. His brother had been Carded because he knew the truth, and even before Ryo had apparently not approved of Academia's methods.

He could be trusted to stay at the Resistance base.

"Okay. Does anyone else want to stay behind?" Shun asked as he scanned the group, only for no one to say a word or make a motion.

Yuto nodded as he and Shun stepped forward, ready to go look for Sayaka.

"In that case, let's move out!"


Meanwhile

Sayaka ran through the ruined buildings of Heartland, trying to ignore the rubble of what was once her home. If she was going to track down Kaito, she had to start with places that might have been dear to him.

The first and most likely place where she could find him was his home. Considering the Carding of his family was the reason he was in so much grief, it was highly possible that he would frequent a place that reminded him of them.

Heartland's destroyed and mixed up layout because of the invasion made it quite difficult for Sayaka to pinpoint the location of Kaito's house...or what was left of it. However, she had been there many times in the past with Allen, and even in this hellhole she could still remember what buildings used to be where.

Don't worry, everyone! I'll make it up to you all...by bringing Kaito home now! Sayaka thought to herself with sudden determination. She already let Ruri down, she wouldn't do the same with Kaito.

"What a surprise!" A feminine voice called out, causing Sayaka to gasp and freeze in her tracks. She looked up at a wrecked but still traversable staircase, where she saw two females walking down, looking down at her with malicious intent. "I didn't think that a citizen of Dumpland would be outside all alone. Right, Sis? And it doesn't look like she has any friends with her."

The girl who spoke was a fair-skinned woman, definitely a few years older than Sayaka, who had bunched up lower-back length silver hair with a portion that went over her forehead in a messy fringe. Her yellow eyes gleaming with a readiness to pounce, the woman clearly was an agent of Academia from the Duel Disk on her left wrist. And from the way she was dressed, she clearly wasn't some low runt like the Obelisk Force.

"Is she with the Lancers? Ehh, either way, this must be our lucky day, Grace." The other woman, blonde-haired and with a face that most definitely pinned the two women as twins, said with a smile, a hand on her hip. She too, while less feminine-looking than her companion, was dressed drastically different from the other soldiers. Her violet eyes scanned the Duelist in front of her with expectation.

A drop of sweat rolled down Sayaka's face. It was clear to her that they wanted to fight, and there was no way she could get away from it.

"Yes. Before heading off to HQ, how about we get a present for the Commander and Noroma-chan, Gloria?" The woman now known as Grace addressed her comrade, whose eyes were now scrunched up.

"On second thought, she doesn't look that tough." Gloria muttered with disappointment in her voice. "You can take her, Sis. A 2v1 just wouldn't be any fun."

"SAYAKA!" Before Grace could respond, a whirring sound entered the area. With a gasp at the voice, Sayaka turned around to see Allen speeding towards her on his rollerblades, deactivating them as he crossed and shoving a hand in front of her protectively. He grit his teeth as he shot the two Academia Duelists a glare. "How could you do something so foolish?! Going off on your own without telling anyone!"

"Allen!" Sayaka, still shocked from her friend's sudden appearance, looked down with shame. "I…"

"Never mind that!" Allen shoved the topic to the side, looking to the more pressing problem. "Get away from here! They're mine!"

"How perfect!" Grace's eyes lit up with a sinister gleam. "She has a friend!"

"Now we can get two Cards as gifts!" Gloria added in equal anticipation, licking her lips.

"How about you screw off! I won't let you lay your dirty hands on Sayaka! I will protect her!" Allen yelled as he glanced back at his friend. "What the hell are you still here for?! Get out of here and run!"

"B-But-!"

"It's fine!" Allen cut in with a wave. "Just stop arguing and run away!"

Time seemingly froze for Sayaka. In a split second, the memory of Ruri being cornered and Dueling the Yuto lookalike flashed through her head. Even now, she could still remember every moment. Ruri's cries as she was utterly dismantled in her last turn and subsequently defeated. The sickening sound as she crashed to the ground, defeated, and the chilling voice of her kidnapper as he disappeared with her best friend in a flash of light.

She was too weak and cowardly to do anything back then, and now she was about to go through it all over again with Allen.

"I'm staying!"

"What?!" Allen remarked with wide eyes and panic in his tone. "Sayaka, you can't-!"

"I don't want to regret this again! I can't abandon one of my best friends again, not when they need me most!"

"Sayaka, listen to me! You don't have to-!"

"Isn't this fine?" Grace interrupted with a hand on her hip and a smile. "After all, with two of us on each side, we can just do a Tag Duel. Right?"

"Yes." Gloria agreed, removing her hand from her hip. "Let's have a 2v2 Tag Duel! The rules are simple. Each team will share the same Field, Life, and Graveyard!"

"That's fine!" Sayaka exclaimed with acceptance, much to Allen's shock.

"Hey, are you serious right now, Sayaka?!"

"Yes. I have made up my mind." The girl responded as she removed her Duel Disk from her pocket, strapping it onto her left wrist. "I won't run away again! I want to have the courage to fight too!" Her Duel Disk activated, a light green hue highlighting her blade as she readied herself for battle.

After a moment of silent contemplation, Allen couldn't do anything else but smirk.

If that's how you want it, then…

Allen threw his hand back, whipping his poncho back and unveiling his purple Xyz Dimension Duel Disk, activating it as well as the blade shined with an orange light. Bringing the blade in front of him, he spoke. "I'll go with you as well!"

At the sight of this, Gloria grinned. "It's been a long time!" Curling her fingers into a fist and digging them into her palm, she activated her Duel Disk. A purple blade shot out of the Disk as Gloria removed five Cards from the top of her Deck.

Following her sister's suit, Grace also activated her Duel Disk with an excited smile. Like her sister, it had been a long time for her as well.

"This should be fun."


"DUEL!"

Card Catalog

NOTHING!


What's good, y'all! I'm just gonna skip the excuses and all I'm gonna say is that school stuff just got in the way.

Moving on, I hope you guys are okay with a setup, break kind of chapter. I've gone through a slew of Dueling chapters so I figured I should take a little break. Also, it will give me some time to actually look back on the Amazoness archetype because honestly I don't remember it at all considering the Tyler Twins Dueled three times, and one of them offscreen.

iacopo: grazie amico.

Apple Bloom: Thanks, but honestly, roller boots for Yuto isn't something that I have been thinking of. So, I don't think I'm doing that, it doesn't really suit him as he is now.

Anyways, in the next chapter Allen and Sayaka are taking on the Tyler Twins! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next one.

Until next time!

Take care, goodbye!