Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V: The Six Dimensions

by BlaiseCandell

Before the invasion of the Xyz Dimension, scans done by the Fusion Dimension reveal two more dimensions. The Ritual Dimension, and the Link Dimension. Within those two dimensions, Chiaki, Yuji, Miharu and Yuno have their lives turned upside down, and are tossed into a vicious war. Also, why are there five people with the same faces as them?

96. The Gemstone That Glitters

Starting Notes:

Welcome back! This chapter... is pretty much a full flashback chapter, haha. I think it's at least pretty entertaining though, so I hope you enjoy!

---

Chapter 96: The Gemstone That Glitters

Two years ago:

The thing about that shade of red, Kaito thought, was that it stood out from the crowd like a sore thumb. Bright, curling red, the colour of camellia blossoms, long and flickering like flames. He was still somewhat gathering his thoughts when she finally walked up to him.

"Kaito Tenjo?" She asked.

"Tsubaki Nagare," he said, wishing that his brain would start working again and that he would stop staring at her hair. "I assume, I mean."

"... you assume correctly." Tsubaki held out a hand. Kaito stiffly shook it, and wow, this was genuinely, painfully awkward. She spoke up a moment later, when it was really too awkward to stay silent. "Byron-san said that you were going to show me around Heartland Duel School today."

"Right." Kaito let go of her hand. "... he said that Thomas wasn't free today?"

"He's got a ranking match," Tsubaki said. "And interrupting Chris's work didn't feel right. Sorry to inconvenience you."

"... it's no trouble."

"Then I'm in your hands today, Tenjo-san." Tsubaki looked him in the eyes, before glancing away. "Regardless, even if it is no trouble, thank you."

"... if you want to thank me," Kaito said, turning to look at her. "Why don't we duel?"

"... it seems that Byron-san was right," Tsubaki said. "You really are all obsessed with dueling here."

Kaito folded his arms. "Are you any different?"

And then, like a lake thawing out, Tsubaki offered a thin, delicate smile. It was only for an instant. "No," she said. "Maybe he was right. A place obsessed with dueling is the place where I belong."

---

Two months ago:

"Do we all know our roles?" Tatsuya asked, leaning back. There was a certain tension in the air—it made sense though.

It was hard to keep calm when they were planning something of this magnitude. Something so horrific…

Something that they had to do.

"Remember, Michael, keep her away for as long as possible."

Michael Arclight raised his head, meeting Tatsuya's red eyes for a moment. He glanced away, fidgeting with his white gloves. "… fine," he said. "I'll do that."

… he didn't really want to. He did not want to look them in the eyes and see how they reacted to his betrayal.

And yet… here he was.

Here he was, because he'd lost his father, and he wanted his father back, and…

"Of course Academia can bring people back after tbey've been carded. Even if we card them, it's useless the moment that the others bring the cards back."

Before he knew it, the meeting was over and the rest had left. (He had to stop spacing out like that.) Thomas was the only one left there, and he slapped Michael on the shoulder, an unnaturally serious look on his face.

"Chris and Melia won't forgive us for this," Michael muttered.

"Well, fuck's sake, don't get cold feet now." Despite his words, his brother was every bit as tense as he was. "They're too sanctimonious to go for it, but we're not. You heard what Tatsuya said—this—"

Michael closed his eyes.

"This might be our only chance to get father back," Thomas finally said. "You know that Chris will understand eventually—nothing is more important than family. And Melia, no matter what she says, only gives a shit about Chris. She doesn't care about you, or me, or even father—or rather, she only cares about us as much as anyone else."

That's not true, Michael wanted to say, but the words caught in his throat, unable to escape. He bit his lip nervously.

Thomas looked at him one more time, scoffed and walked out of the room. There was no hesitation to his actions—just determination.

… Michael wished that he could be like that too.

He took out his deck, shuffling it by hand, before he flipped over the top card. It revealed a red monster, an alien-looking golem… this card, huh? Aztec Mask Golem. The card that his father had given to him so long ago…

It felt like a sign.

… he glanced at his hand—it was still shaking slightly.

He clenched his fist.

… I guess I have to do it, no matter what.

He stood up.

---

The roof of Clover Branch was rather exposed. While they'd put up tarps and things like that to keep things waterproof, the building still leaked on rainy days despite their best efforts—it was absolutely miserable. Still, it meant that when the storm clouds came, the roof was typically empty.

Thus, that was the place where Kaito Tenjo often found himself on days like this, when the clouds in the sky were thick and people were preparing for a storm. (It was one of the few times that he allowed himself to step away from a leadership role—people were used to this by this point. They could handle it.)

So he was there, staring at the sky.

When Tsubaki sat down next to him, he shifted over to make room for her. They glanced at each other briefly. She had been at Clover initially, but ever since Shun, Nue and Yuto had left, she had shifted over to Spade Branch to help Chris manage the restless people there. He hadn't seen her in a few days.

Neither of them were the type for useless chatter, so they didn't bother—they never had a lot of time to themselves anyway. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he wrapped an arm around her waist. They both laid there on top of the roof for a brief moment.

Neither of them said anything.

It was one of those things that they hadn't told anyone else yet, after all.

Eventually, Tsubaki stirred. "You were going out to search the area to the outside of the city today, right?"

"I am." Kaito glanced at her. "... want to come along?"

"... it's best that I don't," she said—they'd both known the answer anyway. It was impractical to ever have the two of them in the same place. (It did mean that he rarely got to see her any longer than this, but he had to keep reminding himself that it was for the greater good of the group.)

"... that's true." Kaito squeezed her hand. "... see you later then."

… she would always rest her head on his shoulder, but she spoke very little unless she had to. It was a fragile kind of trust. In a way, on the surface, she was very different from Nue—both confident, but acting in completely different ways. Nue was far more… open about how she felt, far more confrontational.

Tsubaki, however, looked at him with that carefully neutral expression. She stood up as well. She did not say 'stay safe' or 'be careful', because it was useless—they both knew that neither of them were the type to be impulsive. She did not say 'good luck', because neither of them ever needed luck.

Instead, she said, "see you soon."

Kaito stared at her for a while longer.

(Competence. Spades to Diamonds, Clubs to Hearts. Two crossed lines of red and black, and—maybe he and Nue might never have liked each other, but they certainly had very different tastes in partners, even if they'd both fallen for people that were considered the best of the best.)

He turned and walked away. Ten minutes on a rooftop, just basking in each other's presence.

… it'd have to do until he saw her again.

On his way out, he was assaulted by a blue missile. "Nii-san!"

Kaito couldn't help but smile. "Haruto," he said. His brother wrapped his arms tightly around him. "Good morning."

"It's already afternoon!" Haruto beamed at him. "Are you going out, big brother?"

"Yes," Kaito said. "Don't worry, everyone will protect you while I'm gone, and I'll be right back as fast as I can."

"I'm not scared!" Haruto beamed at him. Despite the invasion, Haruto had never lost his brightness. "I'm not scared at all! It's alright, because you'll keep me safe, right, nii-san?"

"Mm, yeah." Kaito tussled the top of Haruto's hair. "Of course I will."

"Love you, nii-san!"

"... love you too." He was long past feeling embarrassed at expressing affection, and certainly not for his younger brother. "Be sure to stay with father, alright?"

"I'll protect father!" Haruto held up his hand to his forehead in a salute. "Don't worry, big bro! I'll be strong, just like you!"

"Mm hmm." Kaito let go of Haruto, letting his brother move away. "I'm sure you will." He couldn't stop smiling.

---

"Melia."

Tsubaki raised her head, glancing over. "... Michael," she acknowledged. There was a brief moment of silence—Tsubaki reassessed her voice, kept it level and continued. "Is something wrong?" Both Thomas and Michael tended to spend most of their time at Spade rather than Clover—it made sense, considering the steady presence that he offered to all three of them, especially in circumstances like this.

Michael looked… uncomfortable. Briefly, Tsubaki allowed herself to feel protective over him—but she kept herself steady.

"Is there something that you want to talk about?" She said. "Did something happen?"

"... nothing much happened," Michael said. He still looked uncomfortable. "I think I found something in the ruins, but I don't want to go in there alone. Can you come with me?"

Come with him…

The obvious answer was to reject him. It would be far too reckless to leave the base when Kaito wasn't here.

But…

"It's alright if you're not free," Michael said, casting his gaze downwards. "I…"

… she could take the time. Byron would have liked it too. (Chris could refer to him as her father too all that he wanted, but that was a gross simplification of everything.)

"Sure," she said. "Let me tell Mariko that I'm going out first though."

"... do you need to?"

"I won't tell her why we're going until later, if that's what you want," Tsubaki said, though she would be the first to admit that there was no sincerity there. There was very little that she did not tell Mariko Ejiri. "But there's a policy that we say if we're leaving the base, so that we know who is available to guard everyone that's still here."

"... okay," Michael said. "I'll meet you outside then."

Tsubaki nodded. She walked through the school campus. Eventually, she found Mariko sitting in the old administrative office. The pale-haired girl was sitting in a rather calm and poised manner, but the moment that she saw Tsubaki, she kicked up her legs on a nearby shelf, turning and grinning at Tsubaki.

"I'll be out," Tsubaki said.

"Oh?" Mariko raised an eyebrow. "Your brother?"

"Michael."

"Now that's a new one… he seemed like the least demanding one of the three." Mariko shrugged. "Sure. Feels a bit weird for you to leave while Kaito's not here though."

"... do you dislike it?" Tsubaki asked.

"Dislike you leaving?" Mariko said lightly, though they were both aware that Tsubaki was not referring to that. "Of course I do. Best friends and all."

"... I mean how people look at you," Tsubaki said. "Because I'm here, people act like the other three of you are expendable when you're still heads and shoulders above the rest."

"Ne, Tsuba." Mariko glanced at her. "... even if people always compare me to you, I don't care." She raised her left hand, flicking out three of her fingers in the shape of a gun—still casual, despite everything. "People on our side look at me like I'm not dangerous compared to you. But—"

Her gaze drifted away.

"I have a job that I'm here to do," she said, her voice deceptively light—and yet her words were, as always, direct to the point. "I'll do it no matter what. So I don't care if Mariko Ejiri is always second to Tsubaki Nagare." She turned to Tsubaki with a grin. "No matter how they compare us, the fact still remains that our enemies are so terrified that they run from me when they see me—right?"

"You're terrifying," Tsubaki said. It was a compliment. "I'll be off then."

---

Vector looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "You had one job, Michael."

Michael winced. "... if Mariko-san knows that she's the only one from Hearts left in the base—" Because both Kaede and Hisako were in Spade, weren't they? "Her guard will be way higher. We might not be able to…"

"Ah, you fucked up." Vector smirked. It was not pleasant. "Miss Firebird King is easy enough to disarm when we have you. Meanwhile, Golden Blade has no attachment to anyone but that group." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Way harder to manipulate someone who's just straight-up following Tsubaki Nagare's orders half the time."

… I'm really working with this guy for something this serious, huh.

"Well, your job's just to get Tsubaki Nagare out of the way." Vector shrugged. "Let the ones taking Clover handle it."

"The people from Academia…"

"Yeah." According to Tatsuya, Academia would be stationing people all around both bases, and would launch attacks at full force to crush the Resistance.

And, most importantly…

The Resistance was almost seventy to eighty percent non-duelists. Civilians still played a role in resource gathering and things like that—but then that also meant that there were more people that had to be protected, than there were people to actually protect them.

"You handle your side of things," Vector said. He smirked. "Well, it wouldn't be fun if something didn't get messed up along the way!"

… they had divided things up, hadn't they? Ryoma, Alito, Girag and Thomas were going to Spade, while Tatsuya, Sachi and Vector were in Clover. Obviously, there were other members of Academia there too, but it wasn't like they really trusted Academia that much anyway. It was mostly based on their own people.

Michael stared at Vector for a moment.

Be careful. The words stuck in his throat again.

… after all, they were only going to hurt other people. Saying that they should be careful… felt disingenuous.

"Get going," Vector said. "Remember what Tatsuya said." He grinned. Michael didn't know how he could. "At least forty-five minutes, Michael. No matter how painful it is, you'd better keep her there, no matter what."

Michael winced again.

No matter what, he couldn't help but feel shame.

He walked to the entrance. Tsubaki was waiting for him.

What made it worse was that there was no suspicion in her eyes. Not that there was ever really anything strong there, but she just seemed… expectant.

… Michael almost couldn't take it.

But in the end, he took a step forward anyway. "Let's go," he said. "Thanks for coming with me, Melia."

"... anything for you, Michael," Tsubaki said, and Michael's heart ached and ached. "Let's go."

---

"No bracelets yet?" Tatsuya asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I don't want to clue them in yet," Eri said. She glanced away, drawing her hair over her mask. "If they're going to be good bombs, we need to time it right."

"... god, you're callous," Tatsuya said. "I like it! Psychological damage and all." He turned his head. "Have fun watching from your perch then. I hope you'll be just an entertained as I am."

"... sick bastard," Eri murmured, turning away. "Make yourself useful."

"Hah. Only if you're useful too."

---

And so—

This was where several stories ended, and several were twisted. Where heroes fell down the rabbit hole and emerged monsters.

Details. So many details could be given.

But at this point in the war…

There was no one that did not know what destruction looked like, not when they were forced to live in it daily. So there was no purpose in explaining further.

So—the first thing would be enough.

The roof of Clover Branch split open as a golem's fist slammed straight into it.

In Spade Branch, the Resistance was met with a sudden influx of invaders.

Sitting and observing from high in the sky, Eri Phoenix fiddled with the mask she was holding onto. "This is what you asked of me," she murmured. "... from here on out, the result is something that I should not interfere with…" She leaned away. "Is that correct?"

---

Mission Report #73: The Invasion of the Resistance Bases (12/X777)

Deployed 57 Obelisk Force units, 48 regular units, 7 Volatiles, 5 Special Units (further elaborated below.) Volatiles enlisted according to Plan of Action 5RA, as outlined by Academia Vice-Headmaster Eve Misogi.

Intended Plan of Action: Destroy current bases set up by the Resistance in a single move, weaken them and lower their numbers, minimise casualties in the long run.

(Note 1: Special Units include: Alumni Grace Tyler, Alumni Gloria Tyler, First Lieutenant Eri Phoenix, Second Lieutenant [Redacted], Third Lieutenant [Redacted].)

(Note 2: All casualties are, as of Academia Standard Code 2A, redacted.)

(Note 3: All general personnel listed below in Appendix A.)

Reported by: First Lieutenant Eri Phoenix

Result—

---

Mariko turned her head as she heard the noise. She took a step towards the door, pressing her hand to it—

It was locked.

She pushed against it, but the door didn't shift—it felt far heavier though, and the quiet, desperate creaking of the wood told her one thing—something had been shoved up against it from the outside, to stop her from getting out.

… this was very much a calculated move…

"Does anyone happen to be outside?" She called out, just in case. Silence greeted her. Mariko narrowed her eyes, walking towards the window. Around them, there were Antique Gear monsters—Academia soldiers were charging into the base. She could see a green flash by the school entrance—and well, it didn't take a genius to know what was going on.

"Oh, Izumi," Mariko said, covering her face briefly, her voice shifting in tone to something different from her usual cheerfulness. "... fantastic."

---

"Evacuate through the back entrance!" Kaede called out. People were running, but there had already been way too many losses before they'd been able to respond. "Hisako's keeping it open! Go to the backup base from there using the passages!"

Damn it. Academia had been looming over them as a threat, yes, but committing so many forces to a single attack… this had been planned too far in advance. They had also expected to be able to see Academia coming—they had regular patrols too, going around the area to see if anyone was approaching. Who had been on patrol this morning, and how had they not spotted anything?... right, it was supposed to be the Arclight brothers and Ryoma, right?

… in that case…

Still, Spade Branch was their responsibility right now. Chris was currently helping to defend the base at the front, while Hisako was helping to evacuate more people, while also grabbing some supplies. Kaede needed to—

In front of him, a pair of duelists fell back, turning into cards. Kaede looked up, narrowing his eyes. Standing there were two women, one with blonde hair, one with white hair. Both of them were grinning—neither of them were looking at him, just congratulating each other.

… it made his blood boil.

"That's twenty-two, sister."

"Na-tu-ral-ly!" The white-haired girl spoke every syllable separately. "It is us, after all!"

As he stepped forward though—

"Oi, Higuchi!"

A figure barrelled straight into him, knocking him back. Kaede turned his head. Alito looked at him with a smirk. There was something briefly troubled to it, but…

… that did confirm things.

Kaede raised his duel disk.

"Not going to ask?" Alito said—but there was a rough edge to his usually cheerful voice.

"Ask?" Kaede said. If he could kill someone with a look, Alito would have been incinerated on the spot. "You can take your excuses with you to the grave, Kiraku. Hell has no mercy for traitors like you."

"... jeez, I always forget that you're the one member who actually gets angry, huh?" Alito narrowed his eyes. "... to be honest, I've gotten so tired of waiting and waiting and being careful. I've been longing to kick someone in the teeth for months, and you'll do just fine!"

[DUEL!]

Alito Kiraku: 4000LP

Kaede Higuchi: 4000LP

[Turn 1: Alito] [H:5]

"I'll start!" Alito declared. "I'll Normal Summon Battlin' Boxer Chief Second!" The white-skinned warrior with red headgear appeared on the field, holding up his fists.

[Battlin' Boxer Chief Second (4*/500/2000/FIRE/Warrior/Effect)]

"Chief Second's effect. I'll Normal Summon another time this turn! Come! Battlin' Boxer Headgeared!" Next to Chief Second, the similar-looking monster appeared, with dark skin instead of white skin.

[Battlin' Boxer Headgeared (4*/1000/1800/FIRE/Warrior/Effect)]

"Headgeared's effect. I'll send a "Battlin' Boxer" monster from my deck to the graveyard! I'll overlay the Level 4 Headgeared and Chief Second now. Gather the flame of your soul on your fists! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Come on! Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke!" The tall, muscular warrior appeared on the field as well.

[Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke (R4/2200/2000/FIRE/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"I'll set a card and end my turn!"

[Turn 2: Kaede] [H:6]

"Draw. First, I'll activate the Field Spell, Evo-Selection," Kaede declared. Around them, magnified spirals started to swirl around in the air, resembling the shape of DNA. "Then, I'll activate the Spell Card, Evo-Diversity," he declared. "I'll add a "Evoltile" or "Evolsaur" monster from my deck to my hand." He added the card from his deck to his hand, before he placed it down. "Come—Evoltile Pholis!" A green, lizard-like monster appeared on the field—as large as Kaede's entire torso. Its tail flicked through the air—its red underbelly contrasted with its deep green scales.

[Evoltile Pholis (2*/900/300/FIRE/Reptile/Effect)]

"When Evoltile Pholis is Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon an "Evoltile" monster from my hand or graveyard in facedown Defense Position," Kaede continued. "So come from my hand—Evoltile Najasho!" A single set card appeared on his field—for a brief moment, it revealed itself, showing the shape of a long blue snake. "And since a "Evol" monster was Special Summoned, even if it's facedown, I can activate the effect of my Field Spell. Twice per turn, when a "Evol" monster is Special Summoned, or an "Evolzar" monster is Xyz Summoned using only Reptile or Dinosaur monsters as materials, I can take a Reptile or Dinosaur monster from my deck, and either send it to the graveyard or add it to my hand." He silently added the card to his hand. "I'll then use Pholis's effect. I can set one of two specific cards from my deck to my field. I will set the Spell Card, Evo-Force to my field!"

"All of that from two cards," Alito muttered. "Kani really didn't need to hype you up, you're already fucking terrifying…"

The name made Kaede tense up briefly. Traitors don't have the right to speak their name.

"If that was the case, you'd be far better off," Kaede responded after a moment, his anger spilling over. "Activating the Spell Card, Evo-Force!" His set card flipped over. "By tributing a "Evoltile" monster I control, I can Special Summon a "Evolsaur" monster from my deck, and this is treated as a Special Summon by the effect of a "Evoltile" monster. I'll tribute the facedown Najasho. Come—Evolsaur Cerato!" A large orange dinosaur with brown ridges along the top of its head appeared, letting out a growl, slashing its claws through the air as it stood on its hind legs.

[Evolsaur Cerato (4*/1900/1400/FIRE/Dinosaur/Effect)]

From Reptile to Dinosaur…

"Then, Evoltile Najasho's effect. When it is tributed, I can Special Summon a "Evolsaur" monster from my deck. Come from the deck—Evolsaur Lios!" A blue dinosaur appeared on the field, its body still oddly serpentine—halfway through evolution in a way. Red fur formed a collar-like structure around its head, and behind it, two bat-like wings lifted it into the air. It let out a sound that was half hiss, half growl.

[Evolsaur Lios (4*/1600/400/FIRE/Dinosaur/Effect)]

"I'll then use Evolsaur Lios's effect. When Normal Summoned or Special Summoned by a FIRE monster's effect, I can once again pick one of two cards to set to my field, though not the same two cards as the ones that Pholis grants me access to. I'll set the Trap Card, Evolutionary Bridge, from my deck to my field."

Another set card appeared on his field.

"With my Field Spell's effect, I'll add another card from my deck to my hand," Kaede continued. "And now, I'll activate the effect of Evolsaur Lios. By sending the Level 6 Dinosaur monster, Xeno Meteorus from my deck to the graveyard, I can target two monsters I control and have them copy that monster's Type and Level for the rest of this turn. I'll target Evolsaur Lios and Evolsaur Cerato!" The two dinosaurs glowed, two stars briefly appearing above both of them and dissipating immediately afterwards.

[Evolsaur Lios: 4* → 6*]

[Evolsaur Cerato: 4* → 6*]

"Two Level 6 monsters," Alito said. "Then…"

Kaede gestured forward. "Overlaying the Level 6 Evolsaur Lios and Evolsaur Cerato! Dark creature arising from the depths of the ocean, let your unkillable wrath burn through even the most suffocating air! Xyz Summon! Rank 6! Evolzar Lars!" An enormous black dragon appeared on the field. It was imposing and tyrannical, red dots scattered around the dragon's body. Its hands were enormous, even larger than its head. Enormous dark wings spread out behind it, just as majestic—the dragon let out a roar, claws slicing through the air.

[Evolzar Lars (R6/2500/1500/FIRE/Dragon/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"Lars," Alito muttered. "Of all the troublesome…"

Kaede fanned out the five cards in his hand, before he looked back at the field. "Battle Phase. Evolzar Lars attacks your monster!"

"You're still too hot-blooded, Kaede!" Alito gestured forward. "Lead Yoke will render your attack useless by detaching an Overlay Unit!" The single orb of light vanished—Alito still took the damage, but his monster stayed on the field.

Alito: 4000 - 300 = 3700LP

"But Lead Yoke's effect that increases its attack points is compulsory," Kaede replied. As the monster glowed, he gestured forward. "When my opponent activates an effect, I can activate the effect of Evolzar Lars. I'll detach an Overlay Unit and negate the effects of a card on the field until the End Phase—Wrathful Blaze of Reckoning!"

[Evolzar Lars: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]

"Counter Trap, Battlin' Boxing Cross Counter!" Alito shouted. "I'll destroy my own monster—and negate that effect, while also destroying Lars! And since it's a Counter Trap, you can't respond to it with Lars's effect!"

"... you get nothing," Kaede said simply. Lead Yoke turned into a blaze that shot towards his field. "Evoltile Pholis's effect is not an activated effect. When a monster I control would be destroyed by battle or by a card effect, I can tribute a Dinosaur or Reptile monster I control instead." The small lizard vanished, a barrier appearing that protected Lars from the attack. "And I've seen you duel enough to know that Cross Counter's final effect to summon a "Battlin' Boxer" Xyz Monster—which I assume you were going to use to summon King Dempsey—only works if you destroy the monster that activated the effect."

Alito wrinkled up his nose, but didn't respond to the effect. So his field was cleared, while Kaede still had Lars on his field, along with a Field Spell and a set card.

"I end my turn," Kaede said, narrowing his eyes. "Evo-Selection's effect. During the End Phase, I can choose one or two cards. I excavate that number of cards from the top of my deck, and then I send all monsters revealed by this effect to the graveyard. Then, I can attach a Reptile or Dinosaur monster from my graveyard to Lars as an Overlay Unit." He dropped two cards into his graveyard. "Take back your power, Evolzar Lars. I'll attach Xeno Meteorus!"

[Evolzar Lars: OU:1 + 1 = OU:2]

"... it's you, Higuchi," Alito said, shooting Kaede a competitive look. "You can do better than this, can't you? Or are you not taking me seriously?"

"... are you having fun, Kiraku?" Kaede returned. "Are you having fun indulging your urge to fight after allowing this to happen?" He whipped out a hand, gesturing to the area around them. "You can't even look the people that we've lost in the eye—"

"This is all for the people we've lost!" Alito clenched a fist. "Our parents, our loved ones, everyone."

Kaede paused.

"You guys keep plotting to take down Academia, but so what if we take down Academia? It doesn't make anything better!" Alito looked him in the eyes. "Kaede, there's no reason for us to fight! Academia just said that if we help them to reach the number that they need, then they'll bring everyone back. That includes your partner—and just like you loved them, I cared for them too! They were my classmate and friend! If you want Kani back, working with the Resistance won't help you at all!"

[Turn 3: Alito] [H:3]

"Draw!" Alito glanced through his hand, before he revealed a card in his hand. "Since you control a monster, I'm Special Summoning Battlin' Boxer Promoter from my hand!" The boxer in a dark suit appeared on the field.

[Battlin' Boxer Promoter (4*/1700/800/FIRE/Warrior/Effect)]

"I'll activate Promoter's effect! I'll tribute it and Special Summon two "Battlin' Boxer" monsters from my deck!"

"Trap Card, Evo-Singularity," Kaede responded. "I will Special Summon an "Evolzar" monster from my Extra Deck and attach an "Evoltile" monster and an "Evolsaur" monster from my graveyard to my monster as material. It's not an Xyz Summon though, so my Field Spell won't activate based on that. I'll choose Evoltile Najasho and Evolsaur Vulcano from my graveyard." Two red orbs shot up from the ground. "And now, come from the Extra Deck! Half-bird king of the earth, let your unkillable spirit burn away all that opposes you! Rank 4–Evolzar Laggia!" A smaller dragon appeared on the field, its body bright blue and glowing. Flames spun around it in a bright spiral, and its six wings beat swiftly behind it.

[Evolzar Laggia (R4/2400/2000/FIRE/Dragon/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

Then, Alito's effect resolved. On the field, Battlin' Boxer Uppercutter and Battlin' Boxer Sparrer appeared on the field next to each other—once again, a contrasting aesthetic, one dark and the other bright.

[Battlin' Boxer Uppercutter (4*/1600/200/FIRE/Warrior/Effect)]

[Battlin' Boxer Sparrer (4*/1200/1400/FIRE/Warrior/Effect)]

"Laggia…" Alito narrowed his eyes. "That's the one that negates Special Summons…" He pondered things for a moment, before he gestured forward. "Uppercutter's effect. I'll add Battlin' Boxer Switchitter from my deck to my hand. Overlaying the Level 4 Battlin' Boxer Uppercutter and the Level 4 Battlin' Boxer Sparrer! With the burning light of a supernova, descend, warrior wreathed in flames! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Number 79: Battlin' Boxer Nova Kaiser!"

A tall warrior that looked like he belonged in the tokusatsu genre appeared, made of bright red, yellow and white—a more heroic colour scheme could not have been chosen. He had bright, squarish knuckles held in both hands, and he punched the air. Stars and sparkles flew through the air around him.

[Number 79: Battlin' Boxer Nova Kaiser (R4/2300/1600/FIRE/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

Alito then looked at him expectantly.

"No response," Kaede said.

"Really?"

"When Nova Kaiser gets destroyed and sent to the graveyard, you can revive a monster for each of its Overlay Units," Kaede pointed out tersely.

"You…"

"You're right," Kaede said. "More than anything else in the world, I want them back. But not your way. I don't like your way."

"... Nova Kaiser's effect. I'll attach Battlin' Boxer Promoter from the graveyard to him as an Overlay Unit."

"Evolzar Lars's effect," Kaede countered. "I'll detach an Overlay Unit and negate your monster's effects until the End Phase—Wrath Blaze of Reckoning!"

[Evolzar Lars: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]

Nova Kaiser was burned by the flames, shrivelling back.

"And so, Nova Kaiser no longer gains attack points for each of its Overlay Units," Kaede said. "You got greedy. You can't defeat Laggia before you summon your next monster."

"... I doubt it," Alito said. "Battle! Nova Kaiser attacks Evolzar Laggia! And—"

"Trap Card, Evolutionary Bridge," Kaede countered. "I will Special Summon Pholis from the graveyard and switch the attack target to it." The green lizard reappeared on the field. Nova Kaiser turned towards it.

Alito's eyes widened. "But—"

"I won't allow you to crush that monster yourself," Kaede said. Nova Kaiser sliced straight through Pholis. "So? What's your plan now?"

Alito grimaced. "I'll just have to make you use it," he said. "Normal Summoning Battlin' Boxer Switchitter!" With a white hood on the top of his head, the new boxer appeared, resembling a robot. He held up his fists, wearing red boxing gloves.

[Battlin' Boxer Switchitter (4*/1500/1400/FIRE/Warrior/Effect)]

"Switchitter's effect! Come back from the graveyard, Promoter!" The man in the suit once again appeared on the field. "Overlaying the Level 4 Battlin' Boxer Switchitter and the Level 4 Battlin' Boxer Promoter! Let's do this! Fists in the air, mauler, and entertain the crowd that dares to witness you! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Battlin' Boxer King Dempsey!" The red-skinned boxer with cannons strapped to his back appeared in front of Alito with a loud bellow.

[Battlin' Boxer King Dempsey (R4/2300/1800/FIRE/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"King Dempsey's effect. I'll add a "Battlin' Boxing" card or a Level 4 or lower FIRE Warrior monster from my deck to my hand!"

No need to bait me. I already know King Dempsey's other effect.

When Kaede didn't respond to that, Alito picked up the card. "Over to you…"

[Turn 4: Kaede] [H:4]

"Draw." Kaede glanced at his hand. "I will activate the Spell Card, Double Evolution Pill!"

"What?" Alito exclaimed.

"I'll banish a Dinosaur monster and a non-Dinosaur monster from my graveyard to Special Summon a Level 7 or higher Dinosaur monster from my hand or deck, ignoring summoning conditions!" Kaede picked up two cards from his graveyard, revealing them. "I will banish the Dinosaur monster, Evolsaur Cerato, and the Reptile monster, Evoltile Pholis, from the graveyard! Become fuel for the flames!"

Around them, orange flames rose up.

"Descend! Pyrorex the Elemental Lord!" An enormous black and gold dinosaur appeared on the field, surrounded by bright red flames, letting out a roar and slamming his sharp claws against the ground. He resembled magma, volcanic rocks, fire at the top and seeping into dark armour and rock.

[Pyrorex the Elemental Lord (8*/2800/2200/FIRE/Dinosaur/Effect)]

"Pyrorex… you've never used this monster before!"

"I suppose you would know that?" Kaede gestured forward. "Pyrorex's effect! I will target Battlin' Boxer King Dempsey, and inflict damage to both of us equal to its original attack points."

"What?" Alito gestured forward. "Then, I—"

"You needed to chain King Dempsey earlier," Kaede said. "I've already declared a target. Even if your monster becomes untargetable now, my effect still resolves." Not to mention, he could also just use Evolzar Lars, though he wasn't going to tell his opponent that.

"... I'll still use it!"

"Lars." Kaede swiftly countered the effect—both of their monsters lost one Overlay Unit, but his effect resolved without a problem.

[Evolzar Lars: OU:1 - 1 = OU:1]

The monster exploded, and both of their life points fell by a large chunk.

Alito: 3700 - 2300 / 2 = 2550LP

Kaede: 4000 - 2300 / 2 = 2850LP

"I'll activate the Spell Card, Fossil Dig. I'll add a Level 6 or lower Dinosaur monster from my deck to my hand." Kaede picked up another copy of Lios, immediately Normal Summoning it. "I'll set another copy of Evo-Singularity from my deck. Then, I'll send the Level 4 Evolsaur Vulcano from my deck to the graveyard. I'll change both Pyrorex and Lios to Level 4 Dinosaur monsters!" Lios's stats didn't change, but Pyrorex's stats most certainly did.

[Pyrorex the Elemental Lord: 8* → 4*]

And while Pyrorex would have a drawback if it left the field…

Xyz Summoning did not count as leaving the field.

"Overlaying the Level 4 Pyrorex the Elemental Lord and the Level 4 Evolsaur Lios! Flames that burn brightly, overflow and fly down like meteors! Xyz Summon! Rank 4, Evolzar Dolkka!"

The dragon that appeared had a bone white body, unlike the luminescent blue of the other two monsters from before. Its body didn't glow either. Lines ran along it—every part of its body resembled exposed fossils and bones, put together into a solid body. Blue eyes stared forward, before it spun through the air. Flames rained down around it, suspended in the air like daggers.

[Evolzar Dolkka (R4/2300/1700/FIRE/Dragon/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"You're only missing one," Alito muttered. "But…"

Kaede saw another person get carded in the corner of his vision.

… I can't waste more time on you.

But I…

That's right. After Kani was carded, his Number…

I gave it to you.

Because you were his friend and he would have wanted to protect you, and I thought that I could handle myself.

"My Field Spell adds Evolsaur Diplo from my deck to my hand. I'll activate the Spell Card, Fire Recovery," Kaede said. "I'll send a card from my hand to the graveyard and Special Summon a FIRE monster from my graveyard. Return—Xeno Meteorus." In front of him, a dinosaur with rocky scales reappeared, yellow spikes glowing as they emerged from its head and tail. White bone-like structures surrounded its face and tail.

[Xeno Meteorus (6*/2000/200/FIRE/Dinosaur/Tuner/Effect)]

"Xeno Meteorus's effect. I'll destroy a Dinosaur monster in my hand or field to Special Summon a Dinosaur Normal Monster from my hand or deck. I'll destroy Diplo in hand. Come from the deck—Frostosaurus!" Contrasting the rest of his monsters, an enormous dinosaur made of ice crystals appeared on the field next to Xeno Meteorus.

[Frostosaurus (6*/2600/1700/WATER/Dinosaur)]

"Overlaying the Level 6 Xeno Meteorus and Frostosaurus! Skeletal devil dictator, descend on my field now. With your body that glows with imperial light, crush all opposition! Xyz Summon!" In front of Kaede, an enormous portal of bright red flame appeared. "Rank 6! Evolzar Solda!" From within the flames, a dragon with bright, glowing scales appeared—its body was luminescent blue, and there were green lines acting as markings across it. Its claws were oddly thin—they resembled human hands. It let out a roar, breathing out—a burst of flame shot out from its jaws, hitting the ground. It looked like a far larger version of Laggia.

[Evolzar Solda (R6/2600/1000/FIRE/Dragon/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"You got all four of them at once?" Alito exclaimed.

"... I don't know what consequences you face if you fail," Kaede said. "But you're not on our side anymore, regardless. Solda attacks your monster, who gains 200 attack points with his own effect but still loses. You activate Veil in your hand. Solda negates it with one Overlay Unit. You activate Counterpunch in the graveyard. Dolkka negates it with one Overlay Unit. It is destroyed. You activate Nova Kaiser's effect in the graveyard. I respond with Solda's effect and use the other Overlay Unit. And that's it."

Alito's eyes widened and he seemed to struggle with thinking for a moment.

Kaede gestured forward. Solda, Dolkka and Laggia flew forward, while Lars hovered behind imperiously. The flames landed, the holograms burning brightly.

Alito: 2550 - 100 - 2400 - 2300 = 0LP

Winner: Kaede Higuchi!

Kaede took a step forward. "Get out," he said. "But give me his Number before you do."

"You can't make me do anything," Alito said.

Kaede took another step forward. "Considering that you were all carding people too, you shouldn't have forgotten," he said. "I won that duel. Your life is in my hands."

Alito took a step back. And then, he said, words coming out in a panicked rush: "It's not like it's my fault!"

"I don't care. You don't deserve—"

Alito carried on scrambling through his words. "If you're so mad about him being gone, take it up with Tatsuya!"

"... what?"

Alito went white as a sheet. "I—I mean—"

"What did you just say?" Kaede repeated. "What… did you just say…"

"He was carded because we accidentally stepped into an Academia ambush," Tatsuya had said with a shrug two months prior, on the day that Kaede lost the one person that meant the most to him. "I'm sorry. I carded everyone else there, but… all I can offer you is his card."

And yet, what Alito had just told him—

Alito took another step back. "Hey, man, I—"

Kaede lunged forward, grabbing onto the collar of Alito's shirt—abandoning all composure in favour of wild rage. Any part of him that had considered giving up to help more other people was gone now—he just needed to know. He needed to hear—

Someone grabbed onto his shoulder, yanking him off Alito and flunging him to the ground. His glasses fell off, clattering to the ground. Kaede pushed himself up on his knees, seeing Girag staring at him.

Kaede turned back to Alito. "Answer me!" He shouted. "Was the fact that I lost him not an accident? How long were you bastards planning this?"

Alito and Girag both stared at him, like… what, as though he was crazy?

And then, they both turned to go.

Kaede struggled to get up—when Girag had thrown him to the side, his ankle had twisted at an awkward angle. "I'm not going to forgive you!" He shouted. "And I'm going to make you answer me!" He struggled up, but by the time that he was limping on his feet, the two of them had faded into the mess and the crowd.

Damn it.

Damn it—

"Kaede!"

"... Hisako." Some part of how livid he was must still have remained on his face, because even in his blurry vision, he could see her surprise and confusion. "Can you see my glasses?"

"... yes, I can certainly see them." She leaned down, picking them up. "We've mostly evacuated, but… there have been a lot of casualties, despite my best efforts. I will assume that you were held up?"

"... I was. Sorry about that."

"We're only human," Hisako said. "It's perfectly understandable." She put his glasses back on his face. "We move and we regroup. Clover has Tsubaki, Kaito and Mariko. They'll be fine."

Kaede nodded. "... thanks."

"It is only natural that I'd come back to check on you." Hisako glanced at him—he could see her expression now. "... seeing you mad isn't something that I enjoy, Kaede. Tell me about it later."

He thought about it again and rage filled him, but he forced himself to stay still. He couldn't run that fast anyway, he wouldn't catch up to the athletes. Cowards. "... when we check on everyone," he said. He looked at the area around them, still locked in battle. There were still people that hadn't evacuated yet. "... let's finish off these ones. I don't want to leave a single person behind, if they're still fighting."

"... of course," Hisako said. "I assumed you'd say that too. Well… let's clean up."

---

They were rather deep underground now in the ruins. Tsubaki had no clue what Michael was looking for, and he'd looked very shifty when she'd asked, so she'd left the topic alone for his sake.

Still…

"We shouldn't stay out for too long," she said neutrally. "I could help you find it, if I knew what you were looking for."

"Um…"

… and that was the other thing. Michael looked way too nervous.

Tsubaki made a quick, if wild assumption. "Are you feeling threatened by something?" She asked.

"No! I mean, I'm right here. I'm fine!"

… definitely feeling threatened by something.

"... I'll go up and check the surface for a moment," Tsubaki said—when Michael turned to look at her with panic clear on his face. "Michael, I'm heading back to the base now if you don't tell me what's going on."

She turned to walk up.

"No!"

Michael's voice was pure panic. He seemed to be scrambling—and then, after a moment, he raised his duel disk.

… towards her. To clarify, considering how completely illogical that was—

He raised his duel disk towards her, the person who was trying to protect him.

"Melia," he said, "just… please stay here for now. Please."

Tsubaki took a moment to assess the situation.

… how…

"Michael," she said, "I would really like you to tell me, right now, that you didn't do this on the orders of our enemy."

Michael stayed silent, but the panic on his face told her enough.

"... what did they promise you?"

"... father," Michael said. "Our father. Everyone's parents. But… I know you won't understand."

"... you knew I wouldn't agree. You knew I would say no. So you decided not to ask." Tsubaki pressed a hand to her forehead. "... Michael. Do you truly think that it's worth betraying everything that we've been fighting for since July, for false promises like this? Why did they want me down here?"

"... because you and Kaito are the most difficult enemies to deal with right now," Michael said.

"Enemy," Tsubaki repeated. "Michael. The first thing that you've done for Academia is to manipulate me with your direct connection to me. Don't you see how this is…"

She paused briefly. She had no words for this.

"... Father wouldn't want to see us splinter like this," Michael said. "You… love him, don't you? Don't you want him back? The only reason he was carded was because he came to meet our teacher—that's why we're…"

"... no matter how much I want something," Tsubaki said, "... there's far too many things that I'm responsible for, for me to sacrifice it all for something else."

"That's the problem!" Michael glanced away. "... when you say things like that, then it really means that no one is special to you. You're trying to protect everyone and treat everyone equally without bias… but that means that you're distant from everyone. You can't treat everyone equally… right now, you're choosing all these people that you don't know over father! Father, who took you in, who brought you to Heartland, who—"

"... who asked him to?" Tsubaki murmured—a brief flash of irritation in her voice. Michael paused. "... Michael. I'll be taking my leave."

"... you can't," he said. "The entrance that we came in from has a lock. You can't get out without me."

"Then I'll go to a different entrance."

"I—" Michael swallowed. "If you go right now, Tsubaki, then they'll card me. I have to keep you occupied, no matter what… that's my role. If they think I'm useless…"

Tsubaki stared at him evenly.

… that was one of the most horribly manipulative things that someone had said to her. And it was sweet, kind Michael.

But, on the off chance…

Why was he making her make this decision? To decide whether to trust his words?

… she couldn't risk it.

"... fine," she said. She raised her duel disk. "But I'm not going to go easy on you. I'll win and go—simple as that. I…"

She glanced away.

"... I can't give my enemies any more than that. Even if you are my brother."

Michael shut his eyes briefly. He looked like he was in pain. And… Thomas had to be doing something else too, right? Something terrible?

… how had she not noticed them thinking like this? Had she really been so focused on everything else that she had missed this—that her brothers had lost hope and given in to the enemy? To be tempted to give in like this, make a deal with the devil…

… she just had to get back as fast as possible.

---

The glass window shattered as Mariko flung a chair straight through it. With the shrill noise, glass shards flew everywhere. Still, the chair was stuck in the window. Mariko shoved the chair all the way through the window, before she flung another at the window, widening the hole.

She glanced at it, doublechecking what was going on. She then glanced out of the window.

It was a long fall. But from here, she could fall onto the roof of the nearest connecting school building and make her way back to the main building.

Maybe…

She pulled the curtains off the window, before she strung them around a nearby set of pipes attached to the wall outside in a quick loop. She glanced at the length of the curtains and the pipes below.

… alright.

It would be a dangerous fall. But…

Well. It wasn't that big of a deal.

She reached into her backpack, pulling out a chisel, before she casually held it between her teeth. She then used the fabric to casually slide down with the help of the pipe. When she got to the point where the fabric ended, she placed both hands on the pipe, helping herself to slowly descend further and further.

No safety harness for her here.

At the part where the pipe stopped and reconnected to the wall of the floor below, she pushed her foot towards a part of the wall that jutted out nearby. Freeing up one arm, she took the chisel and chipped away at the wall until there was at least a feasible handhold for her to grab onto—and then the other. She then swung her entire body weight around, grabbing onto the handhold, though she kept the hand with the chisel free.

Alright.

She glanced at the roof of the building nearby.

… I still need to get lower. Maybe to that ledge down there… there aren't any windows here.

This really is ridiculously calculated.

She carefully made her way downwards, until she was able to stand with both feet properly on the edge of a building.

… she could probably make that jump.

So she did. She leapt and she landed, feet steady on the rooftop. She breathed out—her grin was wider now, despite the situation. Adrenaline like this would never not feel good. Still, she let herself briefly sink to the ground as the feeling of shaking hit—just to calm down her heart.

Now—

"Ejiri-san."

"… Izumi," Mariko said. She stood up again, though her grin was still uncontrollable. She didn't often get to smile in this particular way—hyped up on adrenaline, not hidden in any way. Sachi Izumi watched her—the green-haired girl looked genuinely surprised and impressed. "You guys even predicted that I would come down here, huh…?"

"I didn't believe it…" Sachi shook her head, clutching at the fabric of her shirt. "Weren't you scared?"

"Scared or not, needs must." Mariko looked directly at her. "Are you scared?"

Sachi bit her lip.

"Let me guess. You're here because Izumi told you to be, to keep me in this room so that I can't help anyone. If it's you two, it's the rest too. That's why the youngest Arclight took Tsuba out of the base today."

Sachi raised her duel disk. "... I'm meant to keep you here, Ejiri-san," she said. "... and I will."

Mariko glanced at her. She kept on smiling.

It wouldn't do to get mad at Sachi right now, after all… it would only distract her from what she had to do. She would think about things later.

"Fine," she said. She raised her duel disk in response. "I guess I actually have to duel today, huh?"

[DUEL!]

Mariko Ejiri: 4000LP

Sachi Izumi: 4000LP

[Turn 1: Sachi] [H:5]

"Thirty-seven cards left in deck, Izumi," Mariko said, folding her arms. "Give me your best shot."

"Spell Card, Graceful Charity," Sachi murmured. "Drawing three, discarding two." She put down another card. "Set one monster. Spell Card, Ghostrick Shot. Special Summoning a "Ghostrick" monster from the graveyard. I'll choose Ghostrick Skeleton." The small skeleton in a dark cloak appeared, swinging a dark scythe through the air—it was Sachi's favourite monster.

[Ghostrick Skeleton (3*/1200/1100/DARK/Zombie/Effect)]

"Then, I can flip up a "Ghostrick" monster. I choose my set Ghostrick Siren." A green-haired girl appeared on the field—she was clearly based on a mermaid, with a purple aquatic tail, but she also had purple cupid-like wings. There was spiked pink coral in her hair and some seashells around her waist, as well as a starfish on the top of her hair, clipped on her fringe. She held up a harp in the air, strumming it.

[Ghostrick Siren (4*/800/1500/DARK/Fairy/Effect)]

"When Siren is flipped face-up, I can send two cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard." Sachi picked up both cards. "Since at least one of them is a "Ghostrick" card, I can choose one of two effects. I will choose the first effect and add a "Ghostrick" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand." She revealed the card. "Field Spell, Ghostrick Parade. I can no longer inflict battle damage to you. Neither player can attack facedown monsters, and when my opponent attacks me directly, I can add a "Ghostrick" card to my hand." She gestured forward. "I'll activate Siren and Skeleton's effects. They both change to facedown Defense Position." The two monsters turned into two set cards on the field. "I'll set a card and end my turn."

[Turn 2: Mariko] [H:6]

Mariko swiped up the next card of her deck. She glanced at it, before she smirked.

"... we're a fun matchup, aren't we?" She said. "I'll Normal Summon Exosister Sophia." A brunette girl appeared on her field, dressed in a purple version of a nun's habit. The girl waved a flashlight through the air, a cautious look on her face.

[Exosister Sophia (4*/100/800/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]

"Then, the Spell Card, Exosister Pax!" Mariko revealed a card with a green border. A portal of light appeared to Sophia's left. "I'll pay 800 life points to add a "Exosister" card from my deck to my hand." A glow surrounded her. "I'll add Exosister Irene from my deck to my hand."

Mariko: 4000 - 800 = 3200LP

"However, there's also an additional effect. My Exosisters come in pairs. Irene's partner is Sophia. And since Sophia is on the field or in the graveyard, I can Special Summon Irene from my hand with Pax's effect!" A young woman with long, flowing grey-blonde hair appeared, smiling in a rather demure manner. She was holding up an enormous bag of things, as though she was going on a trip—and she was dressed in bright blue with white trim and stripes. She and Sophia held out their hands, lowering their heads in prayer to each other before turning back towards Sachi.

[Exosister Irene (4*/400/800/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]

"Irene's effect. Once per turn, I can place an "Exosister" card from my hand on the bottom of the deck, draw a card and then, since I control Sophia too, I can gain 800 life points!" Mariko cycled out a card in her hand. Irene turned to her, raising a hand to her chest and nodding, a white glow surrounding both of them.

Mariko: 3200 + 800 = 4000LP

"Then, with Sophia's effect, since I control another "Exosister" monster, I can draw a card. And then, since I control Irene, I can gain 800 life points."

Mariko: 4000 + 800 = 4800LP

"Three," Sachi said. "Thirty-four."

"Yes," Mariko said with a shrug. "I could… no, I think it's fine. I will overlay the Level 4 Exosister Irene and Sophia! "Angel of mercy, angel of death! Now, take human form, and at my side, crush all injustice in the world with your holy judgement! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Exosister Mikailis!" The monster had bright hair that was honey blonde—no, a far brighter shade—it almost seemed to emit light, streaming through the air like tongues of orange and gold flame. She was dressed in white robes, and in her hands, she held onto a sword—white, with a blue infinity symbol woven around it.

[Exosister Mikailis (R4/2500/1800/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"Mikailis's effect," Mariko continued. "On the turn she was Xyz Summoned, I can target and banish a card you control. I'll banish Ghostrick Parade."

"Trap Card, Ghostrick Renovation!" Sachi flipped up the card. "I'll return Ghostrick Parade to my hand—and activate a second copy from my deck." On the field, nothing visibly changed. "And since it's a new copy, Mikailis doesn't do anything to it."

"Exosister Mikailis's effect," Mariko said, gesturing forward. "I'll detach an Overlay Unit and add an "Exosister" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand. I'll add the Continuous Spell, Exosister Carpedivem to my hand."

[Exosister Mikailis: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]

"And I'll activate it."

Sachi visibly winced.

"Then, since I either control no monsters or only control Xyz Monsters, I can Special Summon Exosister Martha from my hand with her own effect!" A woman with long, bubblegum pink hair appeared, sweeping her ponytail behind her—she was dressed in dark clothing that would probably allow her to blend into her surroundings rather well.

[Exosister Martha (4*/1600/800/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]

"Martha's effect then activates. I can Special Summon Exosister Elis from the deck!" The new monster had long, honey blonde hair, dressed in green and white robes. She looked rather cheerful as she spun around on the field, though she still maintained the demure air that the rest of the Exosisters had. She clearly resembled Mikailis—which made sense.

[Exosister Elis (4*/500/800/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]

"... I want to take things slow, but you're not giving me a good option here," Mariko said. "Well, there's a way… I'll overlay the Level 4 Exosister Martha and the Level 4 Exosister Elis! Angel of pursuit that dances between sorrow and compassion. Keep your enemy trapped in your gaze and cast out all sin that catches your eye! Nothing escapes you! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Exosister Kaspitell!" Stella reappeared, her hair having gone from brown to pinkish-white. She swung a polearm through the air, a sharp and focused look in her eyes, her white and black clothing sweeping around her as she sped across the field. Her spear dragged along the ground, drawing glowing blue lines that joined together—almost like a seal.

[Exosister Kaspitell (R4/2300/800/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"If Exosister Kaspitell is Xyz Summoned using an "Exosister" monster as material, neither of us can Special Summon monsters from the graveyard for the rest of this turn," Mariko explained. The seal at their feet glowed. Kaspitell's cold gaze was still fixed on Sachi. "Carpedivem's effect. When I Xyz Summon, I can declare a card name, and the effects of that card on the field are negated until the End Phase. I choose Ghostrick Parade!" Sparks of light fizzled around the card—with its effects negated, Mariko was now free to attack.

"I'll detach an Overlay Unit from Kaspitell. I can add a "Exosister" monster from my deck to my hand."

[Exosister Kaspitell: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]

"Battle Phase!" She gestured forward. "Exosister Kaspitell! Let your righteous spear pierce the darkness! Attack the set Ghostrick Skeleton!"

She gestured to the right card—after all, she'd memorised where both monsters were, it wasn't that hard.

Sachi turned her head away, her hands pressed tightly to her sides. "... Ghostrick Skeleton's effect. I banish the top card of your deck facedown. Thirty."

"You're not wrong, but it doesn't matter to me," Mariko said with a smirk. The hooded skeleton was destroyed. "And Mikailis attacks Ghostrick Siren."

The other monster was flipped over.

"Siren's effect!" Sachi picked up the top two cards of her deck, dropping them into the graveyard. "... I add another copy of Ghostrick Shot from my deck to my hand."

"So you're planning on getting Skeleton back next turn?" Mariko shrugged. "Sure. Your move."

[Turn 3: Sachi] [H:5]

"Draw," Sachi said quietly. "... I'll set another monster and two cards. Then, I'll activate the Spell Card, Ghostrick Shot. I will Special Summon Ghostrick Skeleton from the graveyard." The small hooded reaper appeared on the field next to the set monster. "I'll flip up my set monster—Ghostrick Fairy." A purple-haired fairy appeared, cheerfully fluttering around the field, wearing a bright green dress. Her wings were also bright green and they lifted her in the air—though they were a slightly more yellowish shade of green compared to the dress. There were some accents of purple around her outfit, such as the bowtie on the front of her dress, as well as the orange butterfly that she had pinned to the back of her head.

[Ghostrick Fairy (2*/900/1000/DARK/Spellcaster/Effect)]

"Ghostrick Fairy's effect! I'll set Ghostrick Siren from my graveyard to my field. And then, for each of my set cards, I can change a monster you control to facedown Defense Position!" Both Kaspitell and Mikailis were forced facedown, vanishing from the field and replaced with holograms of set cards. "I'll then flip Skeleton into facedown Defense Position and end my turn!"

[Turn 4: Mariko] [H:6]

"Draw," Mariko said.

"During your Standby Phase, I'll activate the Trap Card, Ghostrick Night!" Sachi flipped up the card. "You can't Flip Summon while I control a "Ghostrick" monster!"

"... well, that's fine," Mariko said. She held out a card from her hand. "Normal Summoning Exosister Stella." The monster that appeared was a rather shy and gentle-looking brunette dressed in red, her arms holding up tons of boxes. She put some of them on the floor, bowing gracefully.

[Exosister Stella (4*/300/800/LIGHT/Spellcaster/Effect)]

"Then, Exosister Elis's effect in my hand. I'll Special Summon her." The blonde girl from earlier appeared. "And since I control Stella, I gain 800 more life points."

Mariko: 4800 + 800 = 5600LP

"And I'll be sealing off that Ghostrick Night of yours! I'll overlay the Level 4 Exosister Stella and the Level 4 Exosister Elis! The oldest of all angels, that writes the destiny of man! Signal the holy resurrection and rapture with your musical voice! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Exosister Asophiel!" With her hair having turned gold, Sophia reappeared on the field, now dressed in an admiral-like outfit—a white longcoat with black lines and trim on it. The purple theme of her original outfit had not been abandoned completely—her pants and sleeves still carried the same shade. She held onto a bright, silver-white bow, the same blue 'infinity' signs glowing around it in a beautiful pattern. Behind her, glowing blue arrows danced, made of light.

[Exosister Asophiel (R4/2100/1800/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"... Asophiel," Sachi murmured. "That's your favourite…"

Asophiel was the ace of this deck, even if most people tended to think it was Mikailis. Or rather, Asophiel was Mariko's favourite monster here, just because…

Well. She still remembered what Mother had said when giving it to her, on the day that she'd been scheduled to be scouted for Hearts Branch.

"This deck is for you to use while you're in Heartland, with this new opportunity you've been given. (...) Mikailis is the envoy of the sun, the angel of mercy and death, you see—meanwhile, Asophiel is the envoy of Venus, and she is the angel who writes and records destiny. You choose. Which do you prefer?"

"Neither player can activate the effects of cards in the graveyard on the turn that Asophiel is summoned," Mariko said. "And Exosister Carpedivem's effect triggers! I'll declare Ghostrick Parade!" The Field Spell fizzled out again. "Then, Asophiel's effect! I'll detach an Overlay Unit and return a monster you control to the hand—I'll choose your Ghostrick Fairy!"

[Exosister Asophiel: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]

Sachi's eyes briefly widened. Her monster flew back to her hand.

"... and now you don't control a "Ghostrick" monster, so Night's effect won't work on me," Mariko continued, her smile widening. "I'll Flip Summon Exosister Mikailis!"

"... no," Sachi said. "Trap Card, Ghostrick Scare!" Her other card flipped up. "I'll flip my two set monsters face-up—and for each of the "Ghostrick" monsters among them, I flip your monsters facedown!" Both Siren and Skeleton revealed themselves again. "I have two, so Mikailis and Asophiel go facedown now!" The two monsters vanished from the field. "And now, I control a "Ghostrick" monster again, so your monsters can't be Flip Summoned any longer! Also, Ghostrick Skeleton banishes two cards facedown from the top of your deck and Siren mills two from my deck to let me add another "Ghostrick" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand." She picked up the card. "Twenty-seven."

"... nice," Mariko said. She hummed briefly. "Setting a card. Over to you."

"... how can you be so relaxed, Ejiri-san?"

"What, do you want me to get mad and shout at you?" Mariko shrugged. "Shouting doesn't solve anything right now. Mother said once that rage is the mind-killer."

"... isn't it fear?"

"... nah." Mariko fiddled with one of her earrings. "If you're afraid, you're still thinking about how to secure yourself. If you're angry, you become illogical." She carried on smiling. "In this case though, I'm neither afraid of you, nor am I furious enough to crush you completely. Izumi—if you want to drag this on, if you want to keep me here, I'm going to make sure that neither of us have fun."

Sachi furrowed her brow. She didn't quite seem to understand. Eventually, she lifted up the next card of her deck.

[Turn 5: Sachi] [H:4]

"Draw." Sachi gestured forward. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Hand Destruction. We both send two cards from our hands to the graveyard to draw two cards." As they did so, she muttered another number under her breath. "Twenty-five. Activating the effect of Ghostrick Siren and Skeleton to flip them facedown." The two monsters vanished. "I'll Flip Summon Ghostrick Siren. I'll send two cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard and add Ghostrick Scare from my deck to my hand."

It was useless to hope that Sachi would deck herself out, Mariko knew. While duelists rarely shared their decklists—it was important to try and maintain some level of competitive advantage, after all—Sachi had once used Ghostrick Siren's effect seventeen turns in a row and not decked out, not to mention Ghostrick Parade. Tatsuya Izumi had once freely admitted that his cousin's decklist was 'absolute garbage, but it's Sachi, so telling her to cut anything she likes is useless, I sure as hell don't understand it'. Regardless, she ran way more cards than any sane person would ever run.

"Normal Summoning Ghostrick Fairy!" The cheerful fairy reappeared on the field. "Flip Summoning Ghostrick Skeleton. Mill three."

Mariko picked up all three cards, removing them from play.

"Twenty-two," Sachi murmured. "Ghostrick flip effects are not hard once per turn. Ghostrick Siren and Ghostrick Skeleton flip themselves facedown. Set one card, pass."

[Turn 6: Mariko] [H:4]

"Draw," Mariko said. She glanced through her hand, before revealing a card. "Normal Summoning Exosister Sophia!" The nun in the purple habit appeared right behind the set card in the Extra Monster Zone—that one, at least, was clearly Mikailis. "Then, the Spell Card, Exosister Pax. I will pay 800 life points and add Irene to my hand—and then, I'll Special Summon her."

"I won't let you Xyz Summon." Sachi defiantly flipped over her set card. "Ghostrick Scare. Flipping up Ghostrick Skeleton and Ghostrick Siren to flip your two monsters facedown."

"... is that what you think?" Mariko put a hand on her hip. "Say, Izumi. You discarded Parade last turn, didn't you?"

"... huh?"

"The only reason I didn't destroy it was because there was no use if you had a replacement," Mariko explained. "Now though… you don't. Scare doesn't declare targets yet! Trap Card, Exosister Returnia!" She flipped up her set card. "All monsters I control are "Exosister" monsters. By paying 800 life points, I will banish a card you control—I choose Ghostrick Night." The card vanished from the field—for a brief moment, Sachi looked surprised and panicked.

Mariko: 5600 - 800 = 4800LP

For a brief moment, there was something wry in Mariko's smile. "I knew you were strong enough to stall me for a while," she said. "Isn't that why you're here instead of anyone else? But it's time to put this to rest. After I banish that card, I immediately perform a Xyz Summon using monsters I control! I'll overlay the Level 4 Exosister Irene and the Level 4 Exosister Sophia!" The two monsters shot up in streaks of light. "Heavenly messenger, carry the strength of the divine down to the mortal plane! Silence the unworthy and empower the pious! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Exosister Gibrine!" A beautiful blonde woman in a white nun's garb appeared, holding out a silver rifle. Blue light formed an infinity sign around the end of the gun, and similar sparks of light danced around her as she floated in front of Mariko—already in Defense Position.

[Exosister Gibrine (R4/1400/2800/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"So, Scare can flip her facedown," Mariko said. "In fact, you have to. She's your only available target, isn't she?" Skeleton and Siren showed themselves, and Gibrine, with a nod to Mariko, slipped into facedown Defense Position. "But you can't suppress anything else any longer—you've flipped your monsters up with your own hands. Your Field Spell doesn't protect them anymore!"

"... Siren. Skeleton."

"Siren and Skeleton are compulsory effects, so you have priority to activate them before I can activate any effects in that chain," Mariko pointed out. "Which would be good for you in some situations… but certainly not here. Because that means Carpedivem resolves first." She tilted her head. "I choose Ghostrick Siren. Its effects on the field are negated this turn."

The card fizzled out again—Skeleton still banished three cards from her deck, but it wasn't as big of a deal.

"Here I go, Izumi," Mariko said. "Flip Summon! Exosister Mikailis, Exosister Asophiel, Exosister Kaspitell!"

The three Xyz Monsters appeared on her field, shining with light.

"Mikailis, Kaspitell!" The two monsters both held up their hands, both of their remaining Overlay Units dissolving into bright light.

[Exosister Mikailis: OU:1 - 1 = OU:0]

[Exosister Kaspitell: OU:1 - 1 = OU:0]

"I'll add an "Exosister" monster and an "Exosister" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand!" She picked up both of the cards.

"... you aren't scared of my strategy at all…"

"You thrive on uncertainty," Mariko pointed out. "Unfortunately for you, I don't think I've ever been uncertain about dueling. Anyway, two monsters in Defense Position, huh…" She smirked. "... Asophiel. I'll detach an Overlay Unit—return to the hand, Ghostrick Siren!" Asophiel shot forth an arrow that hit the ground in front of the mermaid, who flew back to Sachi's hand, even as the dark-haired girl watched her with surprise.

[Exosister Asophiel: OU:1 - 1 = OU:0]

"And now you're thinking that only one attack can get through, right?" Mariko smirked. "Skeleton has 1100 defense points. Fairy has 900 attack points. Even in the worst case scenario, Mikailis attacking you directly without a handtrap in hand and Kaspitell attacking Fairy, while Asophiel destroys the monster in Defense Position… you would take a maximum of 3900 damage."

Sachi didn't look surprised. So she must have accounted for that, huh?

"But," Mariko said, "that's only if this is all I'm made of. And I've already been stalled here for long enough at this point, I believe."

"... what do you want to do?"

"One thing," Mariko said. "Just one small thing." She put down a card from her hand. "Spell Card, Xyz Import. I'll target an Xyz Monster on my field—Asophiel—and a monster on your field with lower attack points—Skeleton. And then—" She gestured forward. "Ghostrick Skeleton becomes an Overlay Unit for Exosister Asophiel!"

"What?" Sachi exclaimed as her monster was pulled over to Mariko's side of the field, before turning into a single dark orb that was absorbed into Asophiel's bow. Then, as though it had been purified, a single Overlay Unit began to spin around Asophiel again.

[Exosister Asophiel: OU:0 + 1 = OU:1]

"You want to know something funny?" Mariko said. "I drew that at the start of this turn. In other words, your Card Destruction led us here." She glanced at the three cards in Sachi's hand. "One of those is Siren. Even if those are both hand traps… well, it'll mean that you're using up your entire hand this turn. Exosister Mikailis attacks Ghostrick Fairy! And Carpedivem's effect! Ghostrick Parade is destroyed!" The card shattered, vanishing from the field.

The purple-haired fairy let out a squeak as Mikailis pierced the air with her blade—she poofed into dust as Sachi shielded herself with an arm.

Sachi: 4000 - 1600 = 2400LP

Sachi immediately raised a card from her hand, though she looked slightly intimidated. "I took battle damage, so I can discard Ghostrick Mary from my hand. I can Special Summon a "Ghostrick" monster from my deck facedown with less attack points than the damage I took. I choose Ghostrick Doll." The set card appeared in front of her.

"That card flips all my monsters facedown during the End Phase of the turn that it's flipped face-up, right?" Mariko shrugged. "Fine with me. Asophiel!" An arrow landed next to the set monster, which flipped up, revealing a doll with pink hair, wearing a frilly blue and white dress, flowers in her hair. She looked like she was carved from porcelain.

[Ghostrick Doll (2*/300/1200/DARK/Spellcaster/Effect)]

And a brief moment later, she shattered.

"Attack directly, Exosister Kaspitell!" Kaspitell drove her spear into the ground right next to Sachi, her life points falling.

Sachi: 2400 - 2300 = 100LP

"Setting a card. Over to you."

"During your End Phase, Doll's lingering effect flips all of your monsters facedown!" Sachi declared. "Then, I Special Summon a "Ghostrick" monster from my deck in facedown Defense Position with a Level equal to or lower than the number of monsters flipped facedown by this effect!" Mariko's monsters vanished from the field—Sachi then picked up a monster from her deck, placing it down on the field. "I choose Ghostrick Mummy!"

… oh? Not another copy of Skeleton?

The monster appeared on her field.

[Turn 7: Sachi] [H:3]

Sachi then picked up the next card of her deck. "Fifteen," she murmured. "Fifteen… I'll Flip Summon Ghostrick Mummy." A rather cartoonish mummy appeared on the field—not intimidating at all, just the standard dark-skinned creature wrapped in thick bandages.

[Ghostrick Mummy (3*/1500/0/DARK/Zombie/Effect)]

"Mummy lets me Normal Summon twice per turn," Sachi said. "Normal Summon Ghostrick Siren. Send top two cards of deck to the graveyard." She picked up another card from her deck. "I will add my third copy of Ghostrick Shot to my hand. I will set one monster and activate Ghostrick Shot. I'll Special Summon Ghostrick Fairy from my graveyard… and flip up Ghostrick Skeleton."

Oh, she had another copy of it in hand? That explained it…

"I control Mummy, Siren, Fairy and Skeleton," Sachi said. "Four cards banished. Eleven left… overlaying the Level 3 Ghostrick Mummy and the Level 3 Ghostrick Skeleton!"

"So you can do it after all," Mariko quipped.

"Silence begets the opening of the gates of hell. Appear now, king of the mansion. Xyz Summon! Rank 3! Ghostrick Alucard!" A short, incredibly pale creature appeared on the field with pointy ears and no hair, the shape of his skull instead morphing into tightly spiked blocks on his forehead. A red and black cloak flared around him as he took a bow, a smirk on his face.

[Ghostrick Alucard (R3/1800/1600/DARK/Zombie/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"Alucard's effect. I'll detach an Overlay Unit and destroy a set card you control." Sachi gestured to the facedown Gibrine. Mariko shrugged, her monster vanishing from the field.

[Ghostrick Alucard: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]

"Then…" Sachi gestured forward. "Spell Card, Nobleman of Crossout. I'll destroy your set Exosister Asophiel and banish her." Another of her Xyz Monsters vanished from the field. "And then, using the Rank 3 Ghostrick Alucard as Xyz Material, I will overlay it onto itself. Beautiful angel manipulating the scene from the sidelines, step forward and claim your throne! Rank-Up-Xyz-Change!" The vampire turned into dark energy, before it exploded, revealing a girl with pink hair, snowy white wings with a few black feathers poking out from the sides. "Rank 4! Ghostrick Angel of Mischief!"

[Ghostrick Angel of Mischief (R4/2000/2500/DARK/Fairy/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

… there.

Sachi Izumi's main Xyz Monster, resting in Defense Position.

But…

Mariko smirked to herself.

"Ghostrick Angel of Mischief's effect," Sachi continued. "I'll detach an Overlay Unit from her to add a "Ghostrick" Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand. And Alucard lets me add another "Ghostrick" card from my graveyard to my hand."

[Ghostrick Angel of Mischief: OU:2 - 1 = OU:1]

"Activating the Field Spell, Ghostrick Parade," Sachi said. "Then, Siren and Fairy's effects. I will flip them facedown again. And I'll set a card… pass." Her hand was now empty.

[Turn 8: Mariko] [H:3]

"Draw," Mariko said.

"Continuous Trap, Ghostrick Night," Sachi called out. "You can't Flip Summon."

"... fair," Mariko said. "But, Izumi…" She smirked. "With no cards in hand—you do realise that Parade's effect only lets you add that card to hand after your battle negating effects have already lost timing, right? So if nothing you have negates an attack, you lose. Trap Card, Xyz Reborn! Return to the field, Exosister Asophiel!" The angelic warrior reappeared on the field. "And Xyz Reborn attaches itself to her as material!"

[Exosister Asophiel: OU:0 + 1 = OU:1]

"And by detaching one Overlay Unit from Asophiel, I will return Ghostrick Angel of Mischief to your hand!"

And if Angel of Mischief was gone, Sachi would only control facedown monsters, allowing Mariko to attack her directly.

"Ghostrick Renovation's effect in the graveyard!" Sachi declared. "I'll banish it from the graveyard and use Ghostrick Angel of Mischief as material to Xyz Summon another "Ghostrick" Xyz Monster! So your effect misses its target!" Ghostrick Angel of Mischief vanished from the field. "Cold metal, be filled with the long-lost dreams of a dead warrior! Xyz Summon! Rank 1! Ghostrick Dullahan!" A cute white horse appeared on the field. Sitting atop it was a set of black armour, with a black and red cape streaming out behind it. However, the monster was in Defense Position now. Asophiel's arrow shot by, missing it.

[Ghostrick Dullahan (R1/1000/0/DARK/Fiend/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"And when Dullahan is sent to the graveyard, you can add a "Ghostrick" card in your graveyard to your hand," Mariko noted. "You would then be able to add a hand trap and survive the next attack long enough for Parade to let you keep adding hand traps to your hand…"

"... if you know that already, end your turn," Sachi said. She was obviously tense and stressed out.

"No thanks." Mariko put her hands in her pockets briefly. "You're here to stall me. But you see…" She shook her head. "... I never expected to have to use this against you. It's an ace that I've only used against a few in private matches… mostly because it ruins my aesthetic." She paused—and then, reassessing her priorities, she cracked a smile. "But… I've allowed this long enough, I think. There's probably been plenty of damage while I've been stuck here with you."

She picked up a card from her Extra Deck. Above them, the holograms seemed to glitch for a moment.

"You know," she continued, "with Rank Up becoming more common, people tend to bring out more than one monster from the Extra Deck now, don't they? They swarm, they Xyz Summon, they Rank Up."

Asophiel turned to her, before she swiftly went to one knee in subservience. Around her, blue and purple hellfire burst forth in a ring.

"I use Exosister Asophiel as material to Xyz Summon," Mariko said—for a moment, her voice took on the tone of something sharp.

Asophiel faded into darkness, which seeped into the ground.

"A Rank Up?" Sachi murmured. "No one said…"

"The flip side of a coin," Mariko said. She held up the card. "Deity of darkness, wreathed in the blood of monsters past and present! Rip the stars out of the heavens, and bring such darkness that not even the storm could darken this world as much as your wrath! Let your monstrous cry echo, and echo, and echo, until gods and mortals go silent, horrified at the taint of your presence!... and your dirty, earth-stained soul that never dies."

The shadows around her writhed. They slowly rose up, and the hellfire rose to join them. They slowly took on a sheen that was almost mechanical in appearance. It was a tall, black and purple mechanical-looking machine, but there was something unearthly to it, something that looked like it could not possibly belong to a creature in this world. Hellfire writhed around it. Lasers glowed on its shoulders, ready to fire.

A war machine, born from shadows and hell.

Sachi took a step back.

"Rank-Up-Xyz-Change!" Mariko declared, spreading her arms out and smiling brightly. "Rank 12! Fell beast! Will of gods, weapon of extinction! Super Starslayer TY-PHON - Sky Crisis!"

The machine let out a sharp, whirring sound.

[Super Starslayer TY-PHON - Sky Crisis (R12/2900/2900/DARK/Fiend/Xyz/Effect) (OU:1)]

"What is that?" Sachi's eyes widened. "This—where did that come from? No one ever said that you had a monster like that!"

"... well, some know, some don't," Mariko said with a shrug, still smiling. "He's a cool monster, isn't he? Maybe more fitting to the deck I played before the Exosisters though… well, his main effect won't work against you, considering your monster's attack points, but I am known for doing far too much to deal with far too little." She nodded to her monster. "Typhon, if you will?"

The machine raised a large arm, gears whirring. It grabbed onto its Overlay Unit and crushed it.

"By using one Overlay Unit, Typhon returns one monster on the field to the hand," Mariko explained.

"What?"

"So you see why I like Asophiel so much?" Mariko said. "Feels a bit like home. Back off, Dullahan! Wrathful Expulsion!" The knight on horseback was blown off the field in a single laser from her monster.

[Super Starslayer TY-PHON - Sky Crisis: OU:1 - 1 = OU:0]

"And since your monster was returned to the deck, its effect doesn't trigger," Mariko said.

"... how do you know all my cards so well?" Sachi muttered.

"Know them well?" Mariko chuckled. "I don't know them well, not really. But you've been rising up the ranks, and I spend enough time watching duels from people here to know. If there was one person it would have been bad to face after leaving the Resistance, it's me." She paused. "... well, there's others, but… hmm, maybe that wasn't the best thing to say. Still, it all went according to plan."

She gestured forward.

"So, Typhon…" She gestured towards Sachi. "Act of God!"

The machine rose up, aiming its laser down.

"Extinction!" Mariko declared, and the laser fired down, blasting Sachi straight back. The girl tripped on her own feet, covering her ears—

She collapsed to the ground as her life points fell to zero.

Sachi: 100 - 2900 = 0LP

Winner: Mariko Ejiri!

That might have been slightly overkill. Still, it was always going to happen. Mariko was a member of the Resistance, after all.

Mariko had the responsibility to defeat anyone that worked with Academia.

And…

Sachi may have been under orders, but she had still betrayed the Resistance. No matter who had put her up to it, that was her responsibility.

Mariko turned towards the open door on the roof, where the staircase was.

… time to head back to Clover Branch. At the very least…

She'd help the Resistance escape, whoever was still alive, and see this to fruition.

"For me, there's nothing to regret," Mariko said, glancing back at Sachi. "I hope you're satisfied with your choices, the way I am—"

But you're none of the Resistance's business anymore.

---

From an area close to the border of Heartland, Kaito Tenjo was searching for something. However, at one point, when he stopped to take a drink of water and looked up in the sky—

He saw the smoke.

"What?" He muttered. He climbed up to the top of the building—

And then he stared at Clover Branch. Even from here, he could see people fighting.

He could see—

Oh no.

---

"Enough, Michael," Tsubaki finally said. She could barely breathe at all—and it wasn't from smoke. It was from the tight lid that she was keeping on everything. (A fire starting down here would kill both of them.) In front of her, a single, blazing creature floated. "You've lost."

Michael glanced away. "I…" His field was empty now, but…

But…

He had to hold the line right now. No matter what.

Otherwise it would all have been for nothing…

He picked up a card. Tsubaki glanced away, sighing.

… still, he had to make it count.

… he wondered how Thomas was doing. Hopefully, he and Chris hadn't met each other yet…

---

In the end, Yoshito Tenjo still managed to help most people that he found escape from Clover Branch. He was still a duelist, after all, even if he was certainly not as capable as his son. (He hoped that Kaito was alright.) Haruto was clinging to his side, but the two of them were about to evacuate when they came across a figure in the corridor.

Yoshito sighed in relief. "Is there anyone else that still needs help around here?" He asked.

"Of course there is."

"Huh? Where are they?"

"Right here," the mayor's son said, putting his hands in his pockets. "It's both of you." And when Tatsuya Izumi smiled, Yoshito drew Haruto back with a frown. "Don't you think that you've mostly been left alone, Dr. Tenjo? After all, I did specifically ask to be the one to deal with you." A razor sharp smile emerged on his lips. "One of the few favours that I asked for, shall we say."

"... you're working with Academia," Yoshito said.

"Oh, that didn't take you long at all." Tatsuya tapped his cheek, smirking. "You see, you might not remember this, but your son? Kaito Tenjo? A year ago, he and I got into a bit of a fight. He broke my jaw, you know. I was sore for about half a year afterwards. And you never let him get in any trouble for it, did you?"

Yoshito narrowed his eyes. For someone else's privacy, Kaito had stayed staunchly silent on his reasons, but it hadn't taken a genius to understand what was going on there.

Haruto spoke up, shouting in protest. "My brother should have done worse, after what you did!"

"Right, Tenjo junior, because you're definitely in the position to get snippy with me right now," Tatsuya said, folding his arms. "Do you know how long I've waited for this?"

"Waited to betray everyone?"

"Waited to get what I deserve," Tatsuya said. "You see, I hate perfect things." He smirked. "It was always a bit of a plague on my father—could never keep me entertained with the best toys, and that was all that he could ever manage—just all those petty little things. I much prefer things when they break. So, really… I just hate Kaito Tenjo. I just want to see what he looks like when he cracks—Nue already did long ago, and Kurosaki's already gone off his rocker. Only two left, really!"

"You won't get to my big brother!" Haruto retorted. "And you won't win against us either! Right, dad?"

"... right, Haruto." Yoshito turned back to Tatsuya. "Very well. If you won't allow us to leave, I'll face you—"

"Just you?" Tatsuya folded his arms. "Now that's even more boring."

"What?"

"I'll take you both on," Tatsuya said with a shrug. "Come on. Taking on an old man or a child alone? I'll just do both of you, it'll save time."

Yoshito was about to protest to keep Haruto out of it, but Haruto raised his duel disk. "I'll protect my father!" He called out, activating it.

Then, he had no choice…

"Fine," Yoshito said. "You'll be facing both of us!"

Tatsuya grinned—his smile was all teeth. "Good," he said. "Let's go then."

[DUEL!]

Tatsuya Izumi: 4000LP

Haruto Tenjo: 4000LP

Dr. Yoshito Tenjo: 4000LP

[Turn 1: Haruto] [H:5]

"You can take the first two turns," Tatsuya offered. "You'll need them."

"Take the first turn, Haruto," Yoshito said. At the very least, Haruto would be able to respond more quickly to their opponent's moves.

"Okay, father!" His younger son glanced through his hand. Yoshito felt a brief moment of worry—Haruto was excitable and had been practising dueling a lot, but he hadn't really been exposed to dueling with high stakes because of Kaito's protectiveness—it might end up backfiring.

"I'll Normal Summon Digital Bug LEDybug!" Haruto declared. In front of him, a ladybug made of bright blue and yellow metal appeared, glowing brightly.

[Digital Bug LEDybug (3*/500/0/LIGHT/Insect/Effect)]

Haruto had always been a huge fan of bugs, so it made sense that he'd chosen a deck of bugs—which were also LIGHT monsters like Kaito's.

"Then, since I Normal Summoned a Level 3 Insect monster, I can Special Summon Digital Bug Registrider from my hand!" Haruto played the card—he was mimicking Kaito's mannerisms, though Yoshito didn't think that Haruto himself realised it. A silvery blue water strider appeared, its thin legs spreading across the field. It skitted around, before stopping next to the ladybug.

[Digital Bug Registrider (3*/1000/1000/LIGHT/Insect/Effect)]

"Then Registrider lets me do two things! First, I can change all my monsters to either Level 5 or Level 7! I'll choose Level 7!" Both bugs glowed.

[Digital Bug LEDybug: 3* → 7*]

[Digital Bug Registrider: 3* → 7*]

"Then, I can change the battle position of a Insect monster I control! I'll change LEDybug to Defense Position!" The ladybug crouched down. "And when it changes from Attack Position to Defense Position, I can add a Level 3 Insect monster from my deck to my hand!" He revealed it—another copy of Registrider. "I'll overlay the Level 7 Digital Bug LEDybug and the Level 7 Digital Bug Registrider!"

"Such a quick Xyz Summon—and a Rank 7 one, just a single Rank below your brother's," Tatsuya said. "You really are Kaito Tenjo's brother, huh?"

"I'm going to win!" Haruto narrowed his eyes with childish determination. "Um… super awesome bug with those… really cool tusks! Um, crush him or something! Xyz Summon! Rank 7! Digital Bug Rhinosebus!" An enormous, silver blue beetle appeared—clearly based on a rhinoceros beetle. Behind it were several different wings—half bright silver and whole, the other half translucent purple film.

[Digital Bug Rhinosebus (R7/2600/2200/LIGHT/Insect/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"Since Registrider was used as material, Rhinosebus gains 1000 attack and defense points!"

[Digital Bug Rhinosebus: 2600 + 1000 = 3600ATK; 2200 + 1000 = 3200DEF]

"I'll end my turn there! Over to you, dad!"

[Turn 2: Yoshito] [H:5]

"I will Normal Summon Mist Archfiend from my hand with no tribute, with its own effect!" Yoshito declared, a tall fiend with red skin over enormous gusts of mist appearing in front of him.

[Mist Archfiend (5*/2400/0/DARK/Fiend/Effect)]

"I will then send a LIGHT monster from my hand to the graveyard to Special Summon Galaxy Knight from my hand in Defense Position," Yoshito immediately declared. His son's monster appeared on the field in front of him—Haruto seemed to brighten up when he saw it.

[Galaxy Knight (5*/2000/0/LIGHT/Warrior/Effect)]

"Then, I can add a "Galaxy" monster from my deck to my hand. And then, by banishing a LIGHT monster from the graveyard, I can Special Summon Ghost Ship from my hand!" An enormous wooden ship appeared in front of him, bright spirits floating around it.

[Ghost Ship (5*/1900/1000/LIGHT/Fiend/Effect)]

"I'll overlay the Level 5 Mist Archfiend, Galaxy Knight and Ghost Ship! Burning through a huge supply of energy, equipped with superior armour that will shock the world! Xyz Summon! Rank 5! Number 53: Fake-Body God, Heart-eartH!" In front of him, his ace monster appeared—an enormous monster that seemed to contort in on itself—yellow gloating orbs of light, grey and red metal beams. A glowing red beating heart floated in the middle of its 'chest'.

[Number 53: Fake-Body God, Heart-eartH (R5/100/100/DARK/Fiend/Xyz/Effect) (OU:3)]

"I'll set a card and end my turn."

"Heart-eartH," Tatsuya said with a smirk. "That monster's the one that pretty much can't be destroyed by battle or card effects, and then floats into a far stronger Number… isn't it?" He held out a hand, gesturing towards Yoshito's ace. "That's it, Dr. Tenjo. I'll make you bring out that monster's true form—that's what I want from you, specifically!"

"You'll have to get past me first!" Haruto stuck out his tongue. "Dad and I are going to take you down!"

[Turn 3: Tatsuya] [H:5]

"Let's get going then," Tatsuya said, still smirking. He revealed a card in his hand. "I'll activate the Spell Card, Kuji-Kuri Curse. By sending a Level 9 monster from my hand to the graveyard, I can draw two cards." He swiftly cycled through the cards in his hand. "Then, I'll activate the Spell Card, Generaider Boss Quest. I'll reveal a "Generaider" monster in my hand—like Utgarda, Generaider Boss of Delusion. I can add two "Generaider" Spells or Traps with different names from my deck to my hand." He picked up both cards. "Then, I place Utgarda on the bottom of the deck." He slid the card back into his deck. "There we go. I'll activate the Field Spell, Generaider Boss Stage."

A blue seal flowed on the ground, glowing brightly.

"Stage set," Tatsuya said with a smirk. "Time to move the pieces to the board. By sending a "Generaider" monster from my hand to the graveyard, I'll Special Summon Vala, Seidhr of the Generaider Bosses from my graveyard, but she is banished when she leaves the field!"

A woman with dark hair appeared, wearing a fiery red dress that went all the way down to her feet, some of the fabric pooling on the ground. There was a hood over the top of her head as she swept a travelling cloak around her. In her right hand, she held onto a staff. She stared forward coldly.

[Vala, Seidhr of the Generaider Bosses (9*/2500/2500/FIRE/Fairy/Effect)]

"A Level 9 monster with one move?" Haruto gasped. "No way, that's higher Level than mine!"

"Vala's effect," Tatsuya said. "When she is Special Summoned, I can Special Summon a "Generaider" monster from my hand or graveyard. I'll take back the monster I just sent there. Come—Mardel, Generaider Boss of Light!" A beautiful, blonde-haired fae woman appeared, wearing a light green dress, delicate fairy wings fluttering behind her.

[Mardel, Generaider Boss of Light (9*/2400/2400/LIGHT/Plant/Effect)]

"When Mardel is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add a "Generaider" card or Plant monster from my deck to my hand." Tatsuya gestured forward. "I'll overlay the Level 9 Mardel and Vala! Legendary demon that dwells within shadows of lore! Rise up now, and become the holy weapon that cuts straight through my enemies! Xyz Summon! Rank 9! Laevatein, Generaider Boss of Shadows!"

In front of him, an androgynous, humanoid figure with completely white skin appeared. Dark shadows formed around its eyes and spread down its entire body. Long blond hair, fuzzy and thick, ran through the air behind the figure, turning to red at the ends. Long, demonic horns and protrusions could be seen poking through its hair, along with from its shoulders and limbs. They held onto a fiery sword in one hand, and with their other hand, they summoned up a fiery sigil in the air—the same one as the blue sigils that had been conjured by his Field Spell.

[Laevatein, Generaider Boss of Shadows (R9/2500/2500/FIRE/Fairy/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

"Ah…" When Tatsuya looked at the monster, he almost seemed affectionate. "That's the spot."

"I'll activate the effect of Digital Bug Rhinosebus!" Haruto called out. "I'll detach an Overlay Unit and destroy the monster you control with the highest defense points! You only control that monster—so it's going bye-bye!"

"Good job, Haruto," Yoshito said with a nod.

"... hilarious," Tatsuya said with a snort. "I was wondering why you felt so confident with a single monster. Quickplay Spell, Runick Freezing Curses!" He revealed the card in his hand. "I skip my next Battle Phase. However, in return, I can negate your monster's effects and banish the top three cards of your deck!"

Ice arrows shot down, hitting Haruto's monster and sealing off its abilities—as well as removing some cards from his deck.

"But how are you going to win without attacking?" Haruto said, sounding confused.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll come to me," Tatsuya said with a smirk. "I'm not the hero charging into the dungeon, I'm the one that waits at the end." He glanced through the three cards in his hand. "... shall we take this slow? I'd like to actually have some fun here, after all. Laevatein's effect. Cast your body aside and let the strongest enemy feast on your flesh!"

Laevatein smirked—it was almost like Tatsuya's expression.

"Or, in game terms—I can tribute Laevatein at any point to bring out another "Generaider" Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck, as long as it's not a Fairy monster."

Laevatein cackled, before dissolving into shadows that swirled around in front of him.

"Tributing an Xyz Monster for another one?" Haruto gasped.

"World's karmic destruction that dances within the shadows of the dungeon. Crush and encircle our enemies in your insidious trail. Come! Rank 9! Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity!"

On Tatsuya's field, his ace appeared. A white and grey serpent whose body was extremely long appeared, its scales shimmering, its underbelly white, with grey scales covering the top of its body. It stretched upwards—its body went on and on, coiling around itself. It let out a loud hiss.

[Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity (R9/?/?/EARTH/Reptile/Xyz/Effect) (OU:0)]

"Since Laevatein had two Overlay Units, I can attach two cards from either player's field or graveyard to Jormungandr as Overlay Units." Tatsuya smirked. "I choose Number 53: Fake-Body God Heart-eartH and Digital Bug Rhinosebus!"

"What? You can just take our monsters?" Haruto covered his mouth as the two monsters turned into orbs, flying over to Tatsuya's side of the field.

[Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity: OU:0 + 2 = OU:2]

"Indestructibility means jackshit nowadays," Tatsuya said, making direct eye contact with Yoshito. "Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity's effect. I will detach an Overlay Unit from him—I'll choose your Heart-eartH. Then, every player draws one card."

Letting them draw? All of them picked up a card.

"Now, we all choose one card from our hand or field and attach it to Jormungandr as an Overlay Unit," Tatsuya continued, just as smug as before. "Choose your fuel for the flames, doctor."

Yoshito looked at the three cards in his hand. If Tatsuya had no way to attack this turn, then…

"I will attach Galactikuriboh to your monster," he said reluctantly.

"Digital Bug Websolder!" Haruto glared at Tatsuya defiantly. "Don't think that's enough!"

"Perish the thought," Tatsuya drawled, revealing a card in his hand. "Naglfar, Generaider Boss of Fire." The three cards joined the single spinning orb of Rhinosebus as Overlay Units. "Oh, did I mention that Jormungandr's original attack and defense points are equal to the number of Overlay Units it has times 1000? That was probably important."

What? Yoshito watched helplessly as the monster's attack points climbed.

[Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity: OU:2 - 1 + 3 = OU:4; ? → 1000 x 4 = 4000ATK/DEF]

"And now, my opponent added a card from their deck to their hand," Tatsuya said deliberately. "And you see, that's cheating when you're in the Generaider Boss Stage. In return, I can Special Summon a "Generaider" monster from my deck in Defense Position! Come! Loptr, Shadow of the Generaider Bosses!" A blond-haired male in a white coat appeared, smirking as he stood next to Jormungandr. There was an obvious resemblance between the monster and Laevatein, even if the inverted name didn't clue everyone in on the fact that the two monsters were in fact the same—Generaider Boss of Shadows, Shadow of the Generaider Bosses.

[Loptr, Shadow of the Generaider Bosses (4*/1500/1500/FIRE/Fairy/Effect)]

"And then I'll set a card and try to enter my Battle Phase—but Freezing Curses ends my turn instead. Over to you."

[Turn 4: Haruto] [H:5]

"Draw!"

"You added a card from your Main Deck to your hand," Tatsuya said with a smirk. "I'll Special Summon another "Generaider" monster from my deck! Come! Harr, Generaider Boss of Storms!" A tall, horned demonic-looking man appeared on the field, two long and straight red horns emerging from the sides of his head. He held onto a three-pointed staff, swinging it through the air. He was dressed in dark armour and a cloak.

[Harr, Generaider Boss of Storms (9*/3000/3000/DARK/Spellcaster/Effect)]

"And on my opponent's turn, when I Special Summon a "Generaider" monster, I can Special Summon as many Generaider Tokens as possible in Attack Position!" Three glowing blue sigils appeared, floating in his three open Main Monster Zones.

[Generaider Token (4*/1500/1500/LIGHT/Fairy)]

"I'm still gonna beat you!" Haruto revealed a card in his hand. "I'll Normal Summon Digital Bug Centibit!" A centipede made out of long, cuboid segments all attached to each other appeared on the field. The head of the monster was red, with two long white mandibles emerging from its head.

[Digital Bug Centibit (3*/1500/500/LIGHT/Insect/Effect)]

"I'll then Special Summon Registrider from my hand!" The same water strider from before reappeared. "I'll make both Registrider and Centibit Level 7, and then I'll change Centibit to Defense Position!" The glowing blue centipede coiled in on itself, as though to protect the more fragile parts of its body.

[Digital Bug Registrider: 3* → 7*]

[Digital Bug Centibit: 3* → 7*]

"And Centibit's effect! Since he was changed from Attack to Defense Position, I can Special Summon a Level 3 Insect monster from my deck in Defense Position! Come! Digital Bug Cocoondenser!" A white monster appeared on the field, coiling up in itself too—it was an eerie, glowing white, with some yellow light coming from the bottom of it.

[Digital Bug Cocoondenser (3*/0/2000/LIGHT/Insect/Effect)]

"I'll then Special Summon Dream Cicada from my hand!" A green and brown cicada appeared on the field, its legs clattering across the ground.

[Dream Cicada (3*/300/1300/WIND/Insect/Effect)]

"Dream Cicada's effect. I'll change Cocoondenser to Attack Position." The small insect shifted. "I'll then change Cocoondenser to Defense Position with its effect to bring back Digital Bug LEDybug!" The monster from before reappeared on the field. "I'll overlay the Level 3 Digital Bug LEDybug, the Level 3 Dream Cicada and the Level 3 Digital Bug Cocoondenser!" The two monsters turned into two streaks that flew around each other. "So uh, rock this field, ancient beetle of wisdom! Xyz Summon! Rank 3! Digital Bug Scaradiator!" An enormous green scarab beetle appeared, attached to a strange, dark blue roll of tape.

[Digital Bug Scaradiator (R3/1800/1400/LIGHT/Insect/Xyz/Effect) (OU:3)]

"And I'll activate Scaradiator's effect! I'll detach two Overlay Units, change Jormungandr to Defense Position and negate its effects!"

"... hmm, I don't feel like it," Tatsuya said with a taunting smirk. "Harr's effect. Once per turn, when a card or effect is activated, I can tribute two "Generaider" monsters I control." Two of the Tokens dissolved into light. "I'll negate the effect and destroy that card!"

"... you can negate it, but I won't lose my monster! I'll activate the Quickplay Spell, Bug Signal! I'll Rank Up Scaradiator by two Ranks!"

"... Loptr's effect," Tatsuya continued. "I'll tribute my remaining Token to Special Summon a Level 9 "Generaider" monster with a different name from my deck. Come—Frodi, Generaider Boss of Swords!" A tall, angelic warrior appeared, wearing white and gold armour—behind him, gold and white feathers formed long wings behind him. Platinum blonde hair streamed behind Frodi, a majestic mane of spun gold in the air. He swung an enormous, long golden sword through the air.

[Frodi, Generaider Boss of Swords (9*/2500/2000/WIND/Warrior/Effect)]

"That's fine!" Haruto clenched his fist, raising it with a hyped expression. "So now, with your super cool wings, take him down! Rank-Up-Xyz-Change! Rank 5! Digital Bug Corebage!" A large silver-white butterfly appeared, darker blue highlights around its wings.

[Digital Bug Corebage (R5/2200/1800/LIGHT/Insect/Xyz/Effect) (OU:4)]

"Then, I'll overlay the Level 7 Digital Bug Registrider and the Level 7 Digital Bug Centibit!"

Another Rank 7 monster, huh? Then that had to be his ace… Yoshito remembered making the card for him. Kaito's fond look as he'd presented the card to Haruto.

"Come forth, super cool moth! Xyz Summon! Rank 7! Number 28: Titanic Moth!" An enormous white and yellow moth appeared on the field, and despite the serious situation, Haruto looked extremely happy to have brought it out.

[Number 28: Titanic Moth (R7/2400/2200/FIRE/Insect/Xyz/Effect) (OU:2)]

However, just as Haruto was smiling…

Tatsuya clapped his hands together. "Alright," he purred. "Enough. Frodi."

Huh?

"By tributing "Generaider" monsters, I can target and monsters cards you control, up to the number of cards I tribute," Tatsuya explained. "I'll tribute Frodi himself and Harr." The two monsters faded from the field. "I will destroy Number 28: Titanic Moth and Digital Bug Corebage."

Haruto's eyes widened.

"Overextending, Tenjo Junior," Tatsuya chided, as though he was Haruto's upperclassman. "You're out of options now, aren't you?"

Haruto drew the two cards, before bitterly turning his head away from all the orange bordered cards. "... I'm sorry, dad… I can't do anything… I end my turn…"

Tatsuya raised two fingers. "Let's not forget Jormungandr." He detached an Overlay Unit from the serpent, and all of them drew cards. Haruto gave him a card, as did Yoshito himself—the serpent grew even stronger.

[Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity: OU:4 - 1 + 3 = OU:6; 4000 + 1000 x 2 = 6000ATK/DEF]

"Well, Dr. Tenjo? Can you make up for your son's mistakes?"

"Izumi." Yoshito stared at the green-haired young man. "... there is something truly, deeply wrong with you. I cannot believe that you have no reason for this other than sadism—no one can sustain for so long on something like that. Whatever it is… surely you must recognise that everything you do defies common sense. Did your father never address this?"

"That's the problem, old man," Tatsuya said with a shrug. "You know full well my father's not a saint. He never was. If I didn't bother him, he didn't care." He smirked. "He might even have liked me more like this. At least I never made things boring."

"You've endangered everyone for your own madness."

"Au contraire." Tatsuya smirked. "This is the most clear-headed I've felt in years. You'll never understand, I'm afraid. You were born whole—I never was."

Yoshito narrowed his eyes. He thought about events, about this young man in a suit and tie, about the quiet girl trailing his step the whole way, clutching onto him and afraid to speak to anyone.

"You don't have the right to destroy others."

"Tenjo-hakase, let's not play dumb." It was a sudden shift—before this, Tatsuya had been using the more casual 'sensei' when referring to him as 'Dr. Tenjo'. This, on the other hand, was respectful language—ironic for their situation. "We're in war. There're no rules to play by anymore."

Yoshito narrowed his eyes. He reached out for the top card of his deck.

"Good! You haven't given up." Tatsuya gestured forward. "Show me then. I like that more than preaching."

[Turn 5: Yoshito] [H:3]

"Draw."

Tatsuya raised a card from his deck. "Generaider Boss Stage's effect. I'll Special Summon Nidhogg, Generaider Boss of Ice from my deck—and of course, three Generaider Tokens." On his field, an enormous dark dragon revealed itself, pale ice crystals and golden lining all over its body. It let out a loud roar.

[Nidhogg, Generaider Boss of Ice (9*/2100/2600/WATER/Wyrm/Effect)]

"Trap Card, Call of the Haunted! Return from the graveyard, Heart-eartH!" His ace monster appeared on the field again. "And then, the Spell Card, Magic Planter! I'll send Call of the Haunted to the graveyard to draw two cards!"

Heart-eartH exploded again.

"When Heart-eartH is destroyed by a card effect while it has no materials, I can use it as material to Xyz Summon its true form!" A single streak shot up in the air. "When in times of desperation, come forth and defeat our opposition! Rank-Up-Xyz-Change! Number 92: Fake-Body God Dragon, Heart-eartH Dragon!" An enormous black and grey dragon appeared on the field. Its wings spread out, bright purple membranes with red, spindly spear-like structures holding their structure together.

[Number 92: Fake-Body God Dragon, Heart-eartH Dragon (R9/0/0/DARK/Dragon/Xyz/Effect) (OU:1)]

Heart-eartH Dragon… it was the true form of his ace monster, terrifying in battle…

So why was Tatsuya grinning like that?

"Yes, that's it! That's the one I wanted to see!"

Huh?

"You know, Dr. Tenjo. When you first showed off the Numbers, you showed them off against Dr. Arclight." Tatsuya gestured to the monster. "I don't care about Heart-eartH… but this one. The moment I saw this one, I knew I wanted it in my deck!"

"You won't have it! Heart-eartH Dragon attacks your Jormungandr! It cannot be destroyed by battle, and you take all damage that I would take from this battle! That's more than enough to finish you!"

"… I could have stopped you so many times this turn, and this is how you use that monster now?" Tatsuya gestured outwards. "Loptr's effect. It tributes a Token—come from the deck. You've already seen it—Utgarda, Generaider Boss of Delusion."

An enormous white castle appeared on the field—and then it began to move. Its towers twisted and distorted, their golden roofs glinting brightly. It was tall, mythical, strange—out of this world.

[Utgarda, Generaider Boss of Delusion (9*/2200/2700/LIGHT/Rock/Effect)]

"Utgarda's effect," Tatsuya said, sounding bored. "Tributing two Tokens. I banish Heart-eartH Dragon."

Yoshito's heart stopped.

"Your monster only comes back if it is destroyed," Tatsuya said. "That's the end, isn't it?"

Yoshito looked at the cards in his hand.

Nothing.

He couldn't do anything against this field…

He glanced at Haruto.

He had failed his boy. No, his boys, both of them.

"… my big brother…" Haruto raised his head. "My big brother's going to kick your butt."

"Oh, I hope he comes raging for me," Tatsuya said. "We haven't settled the score, after all. Now, I would activate Jormungandr's effect during your End Phase, but it is worthless, isn't it? Let's finish you off, simple and slow."

… I am sorry, Haruto. I am sorry, Kaito.

[Turn 6: Tatsuya] [H:4]

"Draw. Come. Jormungandr." The monster was boosted again.

[Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity: OU:6 - 1 + 3 = OU:8; 6000 - 1000 + 1000 x 3 = 8000ATK/DEF]

"You added a card to your hand. I'll Special Summon Harr in Defense Position with Boss Stage's effect, just in case you still have something you can do—then, Loptr will tribute himself. Come from the deck—Mardel!" Another copy of the woman that resembled a fairy queen appeared on the field. "I'll add another "Generaider" card to my hand—and now, it's time for the finale!"

Jormungandr reared up in the air, turning towards—

"No," Yoshito breathed out. "No, please, not Haruto, me, please—"

"Jormungandr, Generaider Boss of Eternity," Tatsuya drew out. "Attacks you directly, Haruto Tenjo."

"No!" Yoshito shouted—and then, Jormungandr launched forward. With the force of the attack and the Solid Vision, Haruto was thrown straight back into the wall—crashing halfway through it.

Haruto: 4000 - 8000 = 0LP

"Haruto!" Yoshito shouted desperately, immediately moving towards his son.

"Too late, foolish doctor," Tatsuya said. Behind him, Mardel and Utgarda lunged forward, knocking Yoshito down too.

Yoshito: 4000 - 2400 - 2200 = 0LP

Winner: Tatsuya Izumi!

"... in the end, it really is like that," Tatsuya said. "Look at this city. Even before Academia came here, everyone was so obsessed with dueling. I never understood that. Still don't, to be honest. So you made a city where everyone depended on the strongest duelists and then when Academia invaded, they still looked up to us. They looked up to us so much that three of your four showpieces tore themselves apart trying to keep up, old man. And we don't even need to talk about Kurosaki there."

He took a step forward.

"If you have any decency," Yoshito said, picking himself up and putting himself between Tatsuya and Haruto, "then spare my son. Please spare my son."

Tatsuya's lips went very thin. He took a step forward.

He shoved Yoshito to the ground.

"Enough," he said. "Who cares what you think?" And he whirled around—

A flash, and a single card fell to the ground.

Yoshito's heart broke.

"... and then you, useless doctor," Tatsuya said. "Don't worry. Your card will do well in my care."

And then, another flash—

And Yoshito Tenjo knew no more.

---

And so—

That was the aftermath.

When Kaito got back to Clover Branch, he searched for hours before he headed back to the Duel Lodge—where he was told the news.

Denial, denial, anger—

(He would never accept this.)

"So what you're telling me," he gritted out, "is that you left the base and left it vulnerable, and you managed to get yourself trapped during the biggest attack we've seen."

Tsubaki drew an arm in front of Mariko, as though to shield her from Kaito's wrath. "Her situation was unavoidable," she said, and Kaito wanted to snarl at her—was she really so obsessed with defending other people that she wouldn't even speak a word in her own defence? "She climbed down half the side of a building to get back to the Resistance."

Kaito took a step forward—she didn't falter. His mind was spinning and spinning—

His brother, his brother, his family—

He wanted to scream. But he couldn't do that in front of so many people, so all that spilled forth from his lips was unceasing fury.

"Don't be ridiculous! You promised to protect my brother. Where were you? Why weren't you there when they attacked us?"

"... I have no excuses," Tsubaki said. She glanced away. "... they lured me out. It won't happen again."

"... why the hell would I care if you say that it won't happen again? I've already lost everything because of this mistake—because of your negligence!"

Mariko spoke up from nearby. "That's not fair, Kaito—" Tsubaki made an aborted motion, clearly to tell her to stop, but Kaito shouted back before either of them could say more.

"I don't care what's fair! I've lost everything! Who's to say that you and Chris aren't just as much traitors as your brothers?"

"... I would never betray the Resistance," Tsubaki said. Her eyes met his—searching, that composure that had once calmed him more than anything else. "Nor you."

"Don't talk to me like you're so calm—I'll never forgive you. I'll never forgive any of you—I protected you all for so long!" He whirled his head around. "I protected everyone, and no one protected my family!"

And the rage built, and built—

(He shouted, and shouted, and so many unforgivable things were spoken, even if he was too blinded with rage to remember them all.)

"I'm leaving the Resistance," he snapped. "I won't—I can't work with any of you any longer."

He turned around and started walking out.

"Kaito!" That was Sayaka, chasing after him—

I failed to protect my brother. My father.

I failed to protect—

"Leave me alone!" He slapped her arm away. "Just stay here. I don't want to work with anyone! I'd rather be alone—I won't work with anyone any longer."

I won't—

Several people called out to him. But she did not try to stop him.

Perhaps that was what stung the most of all—the fact that even now, she was respecting his decision, letting him go and calm down.

I'm never coming back, Kaito vowed to himself, thinking about his brother. I won't be weak like this again. I won't care about anyone else.

They can live or die for all I care.

---

"You carded Haruto?" Michael shouted, horrified. "How could you?" The rest of the members of Diamond Branch were scattered around, and for some reason, none of them were responding to what Tatsuya had just admitted—not even Thomas.

Haruto. When their families had met up, the little boy would always follow all of them around like a little puppy—Michael had been the youngest child in his family, but even he would admit that his relationship with Haruto was the closest he'd ever come to being an older brother.

Haruto—Kaito—Dr. Tenjo, who had been nothing but kind…

"It's war," Tatsuya said. "We were told to card as many people as possible. Why should I make exceptions for anyone?"

"But—"

Behind him, Vector put a hand on his shoulder. "Now, now, I'm sure Michael's just frazzled," he said lightly. "He had to fight his own sister, after all. Give him a minute to process, will you, Tatsuya?"

"... hah." Tatsuya waved a hand in the air, seeming unbothered. "Do what you want, Vec. I'm not offended… yet."

Vector drew Michael back, even as Michael himself turned to look at the orange-haired boy. There was something oddly serious to Vector's face the moment that he turned away from Tatsuya.

Michael's head was still reeling.

"Come, mini Arclight," Vector said, still holding onto his shoulder. "Let's talk."

---

"Did it all go according to plan?" Edo asked as Eri entered the room, dropping the mission report on the table. She hung her cloak on the doorknob briefly, locking the room—so that they could have a proper, private talk about it.

"As well as it can go," Eri said with a shrug. "We lost both of our lieutenants to Hisako Fuyumori and Chris Arclight, but that's hardly surprising."

"... I suppose that the wildcards can be of some use." Eri had still been somewhat concerned that the group would turn on them, which was why she'd asked him to stay back at the base until she'd tested them properly. "The Resistance is in upheaval. Do we continue?"

"... if we wanted to crush them completely, the answer would be yes. But… we've already reached quota." Eri turned to him. She took off her mask, twirling it between her fingers. "... brother. Do you resent that I've taken this out of your hands for someone else?"

"... you were always the one who worked in the background. You're my dagger, I'm your sword." That was how it had been since they were born, after all. Edo stood up. "Involve me next time, step back when I need you to step back—that's all we need."

---

In the present:

"... Kaito resented me because I allowed my affection for my brother to allow me to be drawn out of the base," Tsubaki admitted. "He resented me because in that moment when I allowed my logic to falter, he lost his brother and his father."

Shun leaned back, processing the information. Finally, he spoke up. His throat was hoarse, but the words were clear enough. "... if I tell you that you were in the wrong for trusting and following your brother, leaving the Resistance exposed… I'd be a hypocrite, huh?"

Tsubaki turned away. "You would. But… to tell you the truth, Kurosaki, I never resented you. Or her, or Yuto. I am… sincerely glad that you're back."

"... I'll kick some sense into Kaito," Shun returned, looking away from her too. "Because you don't deserve to shoulder the responsibility of all of that, just because you loved your brother."

"… thanks." Tsubaki turned back to Nue. "... you know that we have other people that can guard her, right? If you wanted to fight…"

"I do. But more than running off to fight…" Shun clenched a fist. "It's a miracle that she's still here. She fell terrified and alone. When she wakes up, I want her to see me here. I want her to know that this time, I chose her—that she's not alone."

"... you've changed for the better, Kurosaki."

"No." Shun glanced away. "I'm still furious. But I think… I've just become more like who I used to be."

He turned to look. She nodded briefly, and then she turned and walked away.

Shun turned back.

For a brief moment, he thought he saw her eyelids flutter. But it was just a trick of the light.

---

OC Cards:

Evo-Selection

(Spell/Field)

If you Special Summon a "Evol" monster with a card effect, or if you Xyz Summon an "Evolzar" Xyz Monster using only Reptile and/or Dinosaur monsters as Xyz Materials: You can take 1 Reptile or Dinosaur monster from your Deck, and either add it to your hand or send it to the GY. You can only activate this effect of "Evo-Selection" twice per turn. Once per turn, during your End Phase, if you control an "Evolzar" Xyz Monster: You can choose a number from 1 to 2, then excavate that many cards from the top of your Deck, send any excavated monsters to the GY, also, place the other cards on the bottom of your Deck in any order, and if you do, you can attach 1 Reptile and/or Dinosaur monster from your GY to a Xyz Monster you control as Xyz Material.

Trivia: I genuinely always thought that Primordial Soup was a Field Spell, but that it was so bad that no one would use it. Luckily, there is no Field Spell, so I'm free to make this one really busted. *smiles* It's interesting to me that even without this card, the duel would have played out the same way—just with less hand advantage. All I really did was give the deck a Foolish Burial. Pholis/Najasho/Lios is already so good, and if you're not able to read your opponent's cards, getting wrecked by Solda/Laggia/Dolkka is pretty bad.

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End Notes:

Don't worry, we'll be returning to Yuto and the rest and addressing the implications of the last few chapters in a bit. :) Just had to get certain things done and out first… exposition is really hard. Ugh. I think I'm okay with this chapter though. Hope you enjoyed it!

Kaito: "Fuck. A pretty girl. I don't know how to deal with this."

I am not currently addressing the implication of there being different languages in this universe, but hey, I did say that they were from out of Heartland. In this universe though, Japanese is the dominant language—aka, it takes on the role that English has in our world. So just like how a lot of other countries have anglicised names now, even people in other places in the dimensions use Japanese or Japanese adjacent names.

Michael Arclight/Trey is genuinely a really sweet and kind character, but he also has a lot more depths than that—his loyalty is something that conflicts him and genuinely makes him struggle, but even when he contemplates things, he throws himself towards a plan that may not work just for the sake of hope. And he does develop to be a bit more mocking when confident in his skin, though he takes things more seriously when stressed out, as most people do. All this is to say—I have not adored a lot of characters as much as the Arclights, haha.

Using 'Dragon Dictator' for Kaede was definitely meant to give everyone PTSD for Dragon Rulers for a brief moment… but yeah, no, Evol, let's fucking go. I love Evols. And yes… I picked this deck before the Duelist Nexus pack was leaked. Konami has blessed me for once. Same for 'Golden Blade', though that was way more obvious—you would either think Heroic Champions or Exosisters, anyway. The idea of a cheerful girl with a deck of magical girl priestesses... also having Typhon, aka a weapon of the gods that also fiercely clashes with their aesthetic was really funny to me.

Disclaimer: I love Alito's character. I really do. It really is what it is though, and he was just the best option of the group. Once again… the Barian Emperors feel far more unreasonable when their motivation is changed from 'save their own world at the expense of others' to 'save their loved ones at the expense of others', huh? I did give him Turn 1 against Evol though because I didn't want to force him to get hit with Laggia/Lars Turn 1 lmao.

'Fear is the mind-killer' comes from Dune. I have no clue about anything when it comes to Dune, but the quote is at least enough in the public consciousness that I've heard it in a different context.

Obviously I'm not going to write Dr. Faker's name as Dr. Faker forever, but I've successfully avoided giving him a name right now, thank goodness. So, since we have Haruto Tenjo and Kaito Tenjo, and since both names are technically written in katakana with no meaning, I just used the same 'to' sound and named him Yoshito.

If you're wondering why Haruto uses Digital Bugs, it's because his manga incarnation uses Insect monsters. His ace in the manga was Titanic Moth, which I acknowledged here too. And I needed an Xyz deck that could spam Rank 5s for Number 53. When looking up the list of Rank 5 monsters didn't work, I resigned myself to reading through the list of every Level 5 monster to find extenders that were not Cyber Dragon for obvious reasons. In the end, I gave up and used Galaxy Knight.

And yes, of course Tatsuya uses Generaiders. :)

And yes, in Battle Royale formats, Jormungandr is broken as all hell. I once slated a 1v5 where Tatsuya got Jormungandr to 7 Overlay Units in one turn, but decided that this was more… fun.

Review responses!

To Neo-Warkid4, no comment. I'm not the type to treat a topic like that so lightly for the sake of edge though.

To Bryz0n, not gonna lie, Vampires are one of my favourite decks, but I prefer Ghostrick. :) And yeah, Yuto got rolled.

To TheRealD3lph0xL0v3r, Heartland's been mentioned to be carded yet.

To Infernal Enby, yep, autism rep :D Glad you enjoyed the chapter and the fic so far!

To T.V. 2000, you noticed that sneaky bit, huh? :) Yeah, Runick is horrifying. And personally, the Serena vs Alito matchup was really fun for me to write.

To phantomdragons, yeah, revealing Sachi's deck definitely meant revealing Tatsuya's deck too, tbh. And I guess you got your wish with Mariko!

Alright, see you guys next time! Also, 6ARC actually got a TV Tropes page, so if you'd like, feel free to edit it! It's linked on the fanfic recs in Arc-V, I think. Can't link it here bc ffnet is once again weird about links, but I'm hyped!