GT: Day 16 of Mega May, folks! Last chapter of the first Arc of the story.
Lan had taken to a small pacing around the room, "...I…I really was close to doing it…Carding the jerk. When I finally realized later on that Yuri was about to Card Maylu…" he shook his head, "I came to a minute later and a hole in the wall of the house we had been in at the time. It was as big as my fist and my arm was down to just five inches to my elbow." He blushed, "Maylu whacked me with the soup ladle for the chicken noodle soup when she realized what I did and then went on to bandage it up from all the cuts the punch caused."
"Glad you're doing therapy for it," Megaman noted as Lan sat back down.
"Right. So what did you do with the cards and Yuri?" Chaud asked.
"I asked Yuto for a spare Deck holster and shoved them into it," Lan replied, "I wasn't going to let Academia get them back, especially Yuri because at the time if they did have a way to restore people, I refused to risk it."
Chaud nodded, "So…how did they take your new…discovery?"
"Well…"
-TWO YEARS AGO-
"If Ruri, Maylu, and I hadn't seen it, I may very well have not believed you on how this happened," Kaito noted, the Duelists all assembled with Maylu sitting nearby with Ruri in the remains of a conference room, a generator nearby running to provide light at night.
"What was that storm that erupted from out of nowhere?" Ruri pondered.
"It…kinda looked like a Data Storm," Maylu recalled.
"A what?" one of the other Duelists asked.
"They're rare back in our Dimension and occur in the Network. They're super powerful storms generated from high amounts of computer activity in it," Lan explained, "NetNavis strong enough could enter them and a powerful program or BattleChip was often their reward. If a NetNavi isn't strong enough, though…" he grimaced.
"Oh poor Gutsman," Maylu winced, remembering it.
"At least Dex had backed up his Data before he tried," Lan noted, "But for it showing up outside of the Network…I…I have no clue what happened."
"Well whatever it was…it gave you something that is…something else," Yuto replied, looking at the blue cards on the table.
"Lan said they were Link Monsters," Ruri recalled.
"Lan?" Kaito questioned.
"...It just came to me as I summoned," Lan explained, frowning as he looked at them, "Link Monsters go into the Extra Monster Zone unless a Link Marker is pointing to a different Zone and let them be summoned to those spots." he arranged Link Spider to be above Transcode Talker, "See how the Link Markers are pointing at one another? That's a Co-Link and some cards have effects when they do that."
"Not a lot of effects for some. Kinda reminds me of XYZ monsters like Gagagigo the Arisen," another Duelist compared.
"Other monsters from the Extra Deck can also occupy the Extra Monster Zone, but it will mean you need to use that monster for a Link Summon if you want a Link Monster," Lan went on as several whispers went off at that.
"A risky gambit then," Shun noted.
"These would've been nice to have as an extra way to fight Academia," a girl noted.
"They just had to hit the card factories first…" another groaned.
"Moving on," Kaito spoke as he gathered them back up and gave them back to Lan, "We need to talk about the Arc Area Project."
"...Kaito, I have a proposal," a girl with red and orange hair spoke up, a pink bazooka-like device over her shoulder.
"Anna," Kaito nodded.
"Lan and Maylu have Duel Disks that can let them travel to the other Dimensions," Anna noted, "Yuto and Ruri are in danger because of the other Project that goes with the Arc-Area Project. What if, and this will be crazy, we have the four go to another Dimension be it Synchro of Standard and start recruiting from them? Maybe pick up new cards and methods to help improve our Decks?"
Kaito blinked a few times, "Excuse me?"
"You want us to leave?!" Yuto demanded.
"For your safety," Anna replied, "You guys have been with us through it all, but whatever Academia wants with you guys we don't want to happen! It's important that we find these other gals and boys that look like you and warn 'em!"
"...A way to prepare other Dimensions for Academia?" Kaito pondered, rubbing his chin in thought, "..." he nodded, "We'll hear from Ruri and Yuto first before any voting is to be done."
"Like hell I'll leave if it means you guys are still in danger!" Yuto growled.
"..." Ruri had her eyes closed as she thought about what to say instead of Yuto's bluntness, "...I…think it would be best if we did leave."
"Huh?!" Yuto gawked.
"Ruri…" Shun whispered in surprise.
"I'm worried for the other girls that look like me," Ruri explained, gesturing to the markerboard set up nearby with the printed images of all eight with a large red 'X' on Yuri's picture, "Even Selena even if she's Academia. We have no idea why they want us or why Arc-Area is part of it all." She looked at Yuto, "I'm even worried about Yuto's counterparts, Yuya especially because he's likely Mr. Sakaki's son."
"That coward?" One of the teenagers there complained.
"Coward?" Lan repeated.
"He vanished the day of the invasion," Kaito explained.
"...Aaaand you don't think he got Carded like Yuma did before the invasion or kidnapped by Academia to get Yuya now that we know about his existence and that Academia wants him?" Lan pointed out.
A hush fell over everyone there. Ruri smiled on hearing Lan's explanation, knowing it was a sound argument for Mr. Sakaki. Moments passed as several looked away in frustration and others in shame, yet many had looks of realization on it.
"..." Kaito sighed, "You're right about that. Everyone, a vote. Those for Anna's plan for them going to the other Dimensions of Synchro and Standard to warn the four counterparts there?" Nearly everyone raised a hand, "All opposed?" Fewer hands went up, "...The motion passes. Tomorrow morning, you'll head to another Dimension. Your missions are to make contact with Yuto and Ruri's counterparts, Yusho Sakaki's son especially, and attempt to warn about Academia's plans. I'll have a USB for you all to carry with Academia's plans to give to whoever runs those Dimensions to prepare them. Hopefully the Virus Lan deployed is doing well on getting more information."
"Right!" Almost everyone agreed.
"Carded?"
Dennis winced at the harsh, disbelieving tone in the voice of the man before him. He was tall and imposing, even while sitting upon a mechanical throne. He was a tan-skinned bald man with light blue eyes. He was donned in a purple colored militaristic outfit with several black buttons and a spade pattern printed on the left side of his suit's collar, a purple cape with a black ending, and a pair of gray boots. He also had a black belt with a red line which both ended in a button on the front, and what appeared to be red circular strings across his chest with a pair of black gloves on his hands. His perhaps most noticeable traits were the armored plate at the left side of his head with what appeared to be a red circular lens and pronounced blood vessels on the top of his head.
"Y-Yes. I saw it with my own eyes and even recorded the Duel, Professor," Dennis replied.
"Show me," the man ordered, narrowing his eyes.
Dennis nodded. He tapped on his Duel Disk and a holographic recording of the duel between Lan and Yuri played. The Professor raised a brow on seeing the Data Storm roaring and Lan shoving his arm into it. His eyes widened when Lan began to unleash his Link Monsters and the insane effects Accesscode Talker and Cyberse Wizard had. He growled as the last part of the recording was Kaito Carding Yuri from behind before joining the others.
"Get the Obelisk Force. It's time we crush them completely like we did to the Forgotten Dimension," the Professor ordered.
"That's just it…Didn't Yuri say two escaped?" Dennis recalled.
"...The boy is one," the Professor realized before narrowing his eyes, "Go and ready the Obelisk Force to raze everything and Card everyone no matter what. Make sure you get that blond-haired Duelist as well to reclaim Yuri. After the XYZ Dimension is fully wiped out, head for the Standard Dimension to work on finding Selena's counterpart there." once Dennis left after giving a bow, the Professor paused the feed in the middle of Lan summoning Accesscode Talker, "...Link Summoning…Could it be a key to defeating him?"
"This is the best we could do for you guys," Anna noted as the four going looked at their new outfits.
Lan kept his headband, but he now wore a blue t-shirt with black jeans and an orange vest with two Deck holsters on his belt. Maylu was in a pink shirt with an open black vest, jean short-shorts, and black leggings. Yuto was wearing his normal outfit, but it looked to be almost brand new. Ruri, meanwhile, was wearing a cream button shirt with a violet and black skirt reaching down to her knees. She still had all her jewelry and had chosen to braid her hair and have it go over her shoulder. Yet one thing connected to them all was one single thing: their red bandanas remained on their bodies. Yuto kept his as a scarf while Ruri had hers around her waist to the right side of her body. Maylu had hers wrapped around her head like a hairband, her hairpin keeping it in place, while Lan had his like Yuto wore his.
"These are great, Anna," Yuto noted.
"Thank you for this," Ruri thanked.
"No problem! You guys just go find your other yous and get those reinforcements!" Anna beamed, "...And, uh…" she sheepishly poked her fingers with a small blush and pleading look, "…maybe a big meatball sub? W-With extra cheese and pepperoni slices?"
Lan chuckled, "When we come back to give a report on the situation, I'll bring the biggest one I can find."
"You're the best!" Anna cheered, "Well…not as good as Yuma, but still!"
Maylu smiled at that before Lan tapped her shoulder, "Hm?"
"It's a good look on ya," Lan complimented.
"O-Oh! Thanks, Lan…" Maylu thanked, her cheeks bright pink.
Anna giggled before whispering to Ruri, "Ya sure they're not a couple?"
"They say 'no,' but their actions scream 'yes,'" Ruri replied softly with an amused smile on her lips before Shun walked over, "Shun…"
"Make sure to stay safe there, Ruri," Shun advised, "Stay close to Yuto, Lan, or Maylu at all times."
Ruri nodded, "I will." she then gave him a hug, "You stay safe here, too."
"...I will," Shun replied, gently returning the embrace.
"Anyone tries to do something to her, I'll smack 'em with my Duel Disk or sic Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon on their asses," Yuto stated.
"Yuto…" Ruri frowned, giving him an annoyed glare and causing him to flinch and start sweating in worry.
'He's in trouble later,' Lan thought, a drop of sweat going down the back of his head.
"Okay, make sure to come back at times with a report," Kaito ordered, giving Lan a set of coordinates, "We're going to relocate all civilians to this location. Because you defeated one of their eight targets and I Carded him, it's likely Academia will send a group to raze where we have them and the Resistance down under the belief that I have his card."
Lan nodded, "When we get settled into Standard and if there's signs of Academia there, I'll try to hack their systems again, see if I can't find any new information."
Kaito nodded as he shook Lan's head before tugging it to make Lan move close enough to whisper, "Make sure your girlfriend gets some help for her phobia. She doesn't have to use it, but I'm concerned about her freezing up and her panic attacks."
"Right," Lan nodded, "Thanks, Kaito." he blushed, "But she's my best friend, not my girlfriend."
Kaito shook his head in exasperation. The four traveling stepped back from the other three in the room. Yuto grabbed Lan's shoulder and Ruri laid her hand on Maylu's shoulder. The two from Forgotten activated their Duel Disks and brought up the program. The four glowed before vanishing into mores of light.
The motes of light flickered into existence before gathering together and reformed into the four. As Yuto and Lan separated from each other, Maylu and Ruri couldn't stop the gasps of joy escaping their lips, earning the attention of the two. They looked to see the girls looking around and followed their actions…and barely stifled their own.
The skies above, blackened in Xyz and Forgotten, was as bright and cheerful as they had once been prior to Academia attacked. There was an abundance of trees about them with a large shrine to their backs. Lan ran ahead to the entrance of the path to the shrine and couldn't hold in his awe at that sight before him, the others joining in as they witnessed it as well. A massive city laid before them alongside a coastline. Rivers parted parts of them and were interconnected by the bridges along them. Within the cove of it laid a roadway that led to a massive circular dome which connected further to two different parks. Ruri and Maylu covered their mouths as tears began to fall, neither able to form even a single word for the magnificence before them.
"Is this…paradise?" Yuto asked.
"No clue," Lan replied before looking at the others, "But we should get some information. If people get curious, just tell them that we're from the countryside. That'll help with people understanding our curiosity. We'll need to start getting an income, too…"
"We can earn that from Dueling," Yuto noted.
"Huh?" Maylu tilted her head.
"We didn't have a need to explain since no one's really had a need for spending them in our home due to the Invasion. When we Duel, win or lose, we earn Duel Points or DP for short. It's a currency that can be used in place of the currency used here," Ruri explained.
"You get a ton more for winning, however," Yuto pointed out, "You just earn points for the Duel and the number of Turns there were in it when you lose, but winning gives you bonuses for a lot of things like Special Summoning, Xyz Summoning, how fast you win and the like."
"And since this is the Standard, it'll mean the other methods will earn more, too," Lan noted before chuckling, "I'm a little excited to see what Synchro Summoning and Ritual Summoning are like."
"I wanna see how people react to your Link Summoning," Yuto stated in amusement.
"I'd rather keep it to just us for now," Lan noted before rubbing his chin, "...Wait…this place has all the Summoning methods…"
"Your point?" Yuto asked.
"...We need to see what cards work best against Fusion Decks," Lan replied as he showed his Non-Fusion Area Trap, "See if there aren't more cards like it than just this one and buy enough for everyone in the Resistance."
"Our first priority is finding a place to stay," Ruri advised, "Then we can start looking for cards that will prevent Academia's students from being effective in Duels."
"Oh…right," Lan sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.
"Good thing for us that everyone gathered their Duel Points prior to Academia's invasion and gave them to me," Ruri sighed, "With how many points that was, we could rent an apartment for a year."
"Oh that's a relief," Maylu sighed, putting a hand to her chest to settle her heart, before looking at Ruri and Yuto, "And we have to look for the two that look like you here."
Yuto nodded, "That Yuzu girl and Yuya Sakaki."
"Well…we're not gonna get any of that done if we just stay here. Come on!" Lan beamed as he started heading down the stairs, "Last one into town is a rotten egg! That means you, Yuto!"
"Hey!" Yuto barked as he ran after him.
"Boys…" Ruri and Maylu sighed.
If the view had been stunning from atop the mountain shrine, being inside of the city was indescribable to the four after months of being in ruined cities with little to no populace. Here, you couldn't go a few feet without people around, all hustling and bustling and just enjoying life. They couldn't hold in any smiles on seeing children playing about with cheers and laughs in the air. Maylu placed a hand on her card pendant, a small ache in her heart as she wished Roll could be there. Unnoticed by her, Lan was doing the same for his own pendant. They found a place saying there were apartments for rent and prepared to enter when the landowner stepped out and put a CLOSED sign on his door.
"Um…Excuse…" Ruri began.
"Sorry. Closed for now. About to head to see the Sledgehammer fight the coward Yusho Sakaki's son, Yuya, at the dome," he replied.
"Coward?" Ruri repeated.
"You didn't hear about it? Three years ago, he never appeared for a Duel between him and the Sledgehammer, Strong Ishijima," the owner explained, "He ran away, afraid he'd lose."
"Wait…Three years ago?" Ruri asked.
"What about it?"
"That was when Mr. Sakaki showed up at our home," Ruri spoke before pulling out a Spell Card showing a crayon drawing of a realm of smiles, "I was a student of his."
"That card…" he gasped.
'He showed up three years ago at the same time he didn't show up for a match?' Lan pondered, 'He must have been teleported to the Xyz Dimension…but how?'
"So you are a student of his?"
"I was, yes, but he had to leave because he found a lead on a friend of his that was planning to ruin everyone's smiles and endanger his wife and son," Ruri lied.
"He didn't run because he was a coward, but trying to stop someone he saw as a friend that was planning to do something to his family?" he asked.
"Yes, that's correct," Ruri confirmed, "Though, what timing! I was hoping to meet Yuya and Mrs. Sakaki! My friends and I were trying to find their residence, but to hear the son is going to be in a Duel makes things easier. Where is this 'dome' place?"
"I'll drive you kids there," the owner replied, "Honestly interested to hear about Yusho and what he was up to with the news you brought."
"Splendid," Ruri smiled, "I'm Ruri. This is my boyfriend Yuto and our friends Maylu Sakurai and Lan Hikari."
"We came from far out in the country," Lan added, "Ruri heard about this city from Mr. Sakaki and always wanted to come here. We only got enough recently to start living here."
"Heh. Good thing you spoke to me. Got a few good apartments for rent," the man smirked, "Name's Tetsu, Tetsu Yasashīie."
'It feels like a crowd excited for a big NetBattle Tournament,' Lan thought, sitting beside the other three in seats within a massive open stadium, all four now wearing scarves that hid the lower halves of their faces due to the breeze making it colder than normal.
It was filled with several fields where people were playing Duel Monsters against one another for the roaring crowd as cheerleaders performed various routines to keep up the crowd's excitement. At times, Lan held Maylu close as Ruri held one of her hands along with one of Yuto's as they saw someone perform a Fusion Summon in the Duels, often creating terrifying beasts that Lan and Yuto glared at. Eventually, the field was emptied out and a slender man in vertical black and yellow stripes on his pinsuit walked to stand in the center of the arena, a tiny black mustache on his lips with gaudy red-rimmed glasses with an orange tint to the lenses.
"And now, it's time for the main event of the day! Today, we're having a Duel that's been three years in the making!" the man shouted as screens popped up, showing a profile of Yuya's face and the face of a large muscular man with his purple hair shaped into a crown and wearing gladiator armor, "Today, we have for you the battle between the current Champion, Strong 'Sledgehammer' Ishijima, and the son of the previous Champion and the Legendary Star Duelist Yusho Sakaki, Yuya Sakaki~!"
"Yuya…" Ruri whispered.
"So we're finally gonna see him in person and not just a pic," Yuto spoke, narrowing his eyes.
"Alright! I can already smell that new…" a voice cheered in excitement before a loud whacking sound went off.
The four looked to the nearby entrance and their eyes widened. Beside a large boy in a pompadour, red headband, and a white suit with wooden sandals and a tall older man with layered orange and brown hair in an orange and red tracksuit…was Yuzu, holding a large paper folding fan.
"That's…" Maylu gasped.
"Talk about a two-for-one," Yuto spoke in surprise.
"This Special Duel will be using the authorized Action Duel ruleset!" the man went on.
"Wait…Action Duel?" Lan repeated, their attention turned away from Yuzu to the announcer once more, now holding up a card.
"I activate the Action Field Spell, Frontier Fang Castle!" the man declared, tossing it high into the air.
The four felt another gasp rip out of their mouths that day as the field lit up brightly. Within moments, the entire place transformed into a massive stone-carved castle atop a cliffside with a massive forest behind it.
"Look upon this wondrous sight before you all! Brought to you by the LSD's Arc System!"
"Arc System?" Maylu repeated.
"You don't think…?" Lan began in concern.
"Guess you'll be getting to hacking sooner than we expected," Yuto scowled.
"Oh! Atop the castle!" Ruri pointed, making the three look and see the Sledgehammer standing atop it.
"Whoa! He's bigger than his face on the screens made him look!" Lan gulped.
"...Wait. Who's that behind him?" Maylu asked.
"Hm?"
The trio followed her line of sight. Sure enough, behind the Sledgehammer…was a clown. They were donned in reds and whites with puffy purple trim on the collar and sleeves with a large puffy pink wing underneath a white and red jester's cap.
"Behold! Our reigning three year Champion, Strong Ishijma better known as…THE SLEDGEHAMMER~!" the announcer cheered before the Sledgehammer bellowed loudly atop the castle, "And coming up these stairs is his challenger, Yuya Sakaki~!"
A moment passed and no one came up the stairs. Whispers and complaints began to escape the audience after another moment.
"You have to be kidding me."
"Did he run away like his old man?"
"Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
'These people…' Yuto scowled.
"...Wait a second…" Lan blinked a few times, "Uh…guys?"
"What is it?" Ruri and Maylu asked before looking at one another and giggled.
"I think the clown that's mocking the Sledgehammer behind his back is Yuya," Lan noted.
"...He's an idiot," Yuto summed up perfectly his first opinion of Yuya at that.
"Ah! Champion, behind you! Behind you!" the announcer and most of the audience shouted.
"Hm?" the Sledgehammer pondered as he turned around and let out a surprised noise at the taunting clown who quickly jumped away from him, "You! You've got a lot of nerve mocking me!"
The clown chuckled before removing his wig, hat, and mask…revealing it was indeed Yuya, "Hello~"
"You've got a lot of nerve mocking me!" the Sledgehammer growled, pointing at the boy as he mockingly bowed to him.
"I apologize for my rudeness! Well, then, with loving respect…" he winked at the man, "...allow me the honor of Dueling you!" he raised his arm up, revealing a Duel Disk as it quickly activated, "Let's see how great the Champion is!"
"How great I am?! Know your place, son!" Sledgehammer snapped, deploying his own, "I'll show you the skills of a Pro Duelist and give you some well-needed discipline!"
"Any idea what they meant by 'Action Duel?'" Yuto pondered.
"Do you think it means they Duel using a predetermined Field Spell?" Ruri pondered.
"No, they wouldn't name a Duel something like 'Action Duel' unless there was more to it," Lan replied, his eyes focused on the two Duelists.
"Duelists locked in battle! Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters! They storm through this field! Behold!" the announcer recited, raising a hand high up into the air, ready to snap his fingers, "This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling! Action…!"
"DUEL!" Yuya and the Sledgehammer declared.
Yuya: 4000
Sledgehammer: 4000
At that, the announcer snapped his fingers. A sphere of light appeared high above before it dispersed…raining down a multitude of cards.
"The Action Cards have been dispersed across the Field and out Action Duel begins!" the announcer declared.
"I'll allow you to take the first move," the Sledgehammer offered, "Don't forget that you can't draw on the first turn."
"I know, I know~" Yuya chuckled…before racing off and jumped off the side.
"!?" the Sledgehammer ran over to witness Yuya catching the handles of a wheel atop a tightrope that headed down into the forest.
"Ladies and Gentlemen~! It's my turn then and the start of our wonderful Dueltainment today! I'll start off our performance with my friend Performapal Hip Hippo!" Yuya declared, releasing his grip and landing atop a pink hippo Duel Monster wearing the upper half of a magenta and violet suit complete with top hat.
Performapal Hip Hippo: ATK800
"Catch me if ya can~!" Yuya taunted as Hip Hippo ran off into the forest.
"What is he doing?" Yuto questioned in disbelief.
"...Do you think it involves all those 'Action Cards' that fell from the sky?" Maylu guessed.
"Could be, Maylu," Lan agreed.
"What's Yuya doing?!" Yuzu demanded.
"He should be facing his foe with the Heavyset Style!" the pompadour male demanded.
"It won't be long before I catch you," Sledgehammer growled, "I draw and play Feast of the Wild LV5! Now I can summon two monsters from my hand that are Level 5 each, but their effects are negated! So come out! Swamp Battleguard and Lava Battleguard!"
A burst of magma erupted from the ground to his left as a puddle of swamp water appeared to his right. From the magma and swamp water, two large, muscular monsters emerged with wild hair and either green or red skin.
Swamp Battleguard: ATK1800
Lava Battleguard: ATK1550
"And now I release them both to Tribute Summon a new monster!" Sledgehammer went on as the two Battleguards fell from the castle, "Come forth from the depths of the hidden woods, crushing the giant trees in your way…" he recited as the two monsters turned into green motes of light that fell into the forest, "King of Savages, Ruler of the Wild, decimate all that stands between you and your prey! Tribute Summon!"
A beam of light erupted from the forest. Loud roaring erupted from it as birds escaped through the air. A massive blood-red hand ending in claws easily toppled one of the trees as a massive foot crushed another. With a bellow, the iron cudgel in its hands swung and decimated the part of the forest it was within, revealing it to be a far bigger and armored Battleguard.
"Come forth and be hailed by your new subjects, Battleguard King!"
Battleguard King: ATK3000
"Holy…!" Maylu gasped.
"It's as powerful as Galaxy Eyes Cypher Dragon," Yuto gasped as Hip Hippo skidded to a halt before it.
"Hoo boy…" Yuya squeaked as Hip Hippo's eyes bulged out as his jaw dropped down to the ground.
"Your old man may have ran from me, but I won't let you do it as well! Battle!" Sledgehammer declared, "Crush that Hip Hippo with your cudgel!"
Yuya spotted something out of the corner of his eye and grinned as he swiftly grabbed it, "Lucky me~! An Action Card!"
"He found one of the cards that fell!" Ruri gasped as Yuya played it.
"Action Card - Evasion!" Yuya declared, "Your monster's attack misses!" Hip Hippo curled up into a ball as Yuya jumped into the air, letting the two avoid the cudgel's strike, "Rolling Hippo~!"
"Oh~! So these Action Cards must be cards you can find and use during the Duel," Lan realized, "It's like finding a BattleChip in the middle of a NetBattle!" he jumped up, pumping a fist into the air, "Come on, Yuya! You've got this! Keep up the dodges as you get your strategy going!"
"He can't win if he only evades! He has to battle, too!" the pompadour male shouted, overhearing Lan's cheering.
"Huh?" Lan pondered before looking at the guy, "Whatcha talkin' about? Of course he's fighting!" Lan replied.
"The boy's right on that, Gongenzaka," a woman's voice spoke up, making them look to see a shapely woman approach, sporting long blond hair in a tight-fitting teal sweater and hip-hugging jeans.
"Oh! Yoko!" the dual-haired adult male beamed in recognization.
"Who's that?" Yuto pondered.
"That's Yuya's mother and Yusho's wife," Tetsu replied, having returned from the snack counter during Yuya's turn.
"That's his mother?" Maylu asked.
"Yuya's reinventing himself as he's Dueling," Yoko explained, "But he needs to find another fast."
"Why?" Lan asked before seeing the Battleguard King prepare another attack, "Huh?!"
"Battleguard King can attack twice per turn if there's a monster on the opponent's side of the field," Yoko explained.
"There's cards that can do that?!" Maylu asked in shock.
"Come on, Yuya! Find another Action Card and save your buddy!" Lan called out before the cudgel came down hard, unleashing a massive amount of dirt and debris from the impact…before Hip Hippo ran out of it with a relieved Yuya on its back, "Phew…"
"He found another Evasion?" Maylu pondered before seeing Yuya's Life Points go down, "Oh!"
Yuya: 2900
"Why did it go down?" Ruri pondered, sharing confused looks with Maylu.
"He grabbed the Action Card - Miracle," Yoko replied, "Unlike Evasion, Miracle saves your Monster, but you take half of the Battle Damage still."
"So instead of 2200…it became 1100," Lan calculated as Yuto narrowed his eyes at the Duel.
"Action Duels…" Yuto whispered, honestly fascinated, as the Sledgehammer ended his turn with a facedown.
"Mrs. Sakaki, what did you mean by Yuya reinventing himself?" Yuzu asked.
"Yuya's lived the last three years underneath a mask of buffoonery," Yoko explained, "He made fun of himself before allowing anyone else to make fun of him for his father running away." she smiled as she looked at a screen showing Yuya still riding atop his Hip Hippo, "But Yuya really wants to become like his father. The legendary Star Duelist he always admired since he was a little boy."
'He wants to be like Mr. Sakaki?' Ruri pondered, watching as Yuya drew while Hip Hippo jumped atop a stone aqueduct of sorts.
"Everyone~, we are approaching the climax of our thrilling show today! My lovely assistant Hip Hippo here has a wonderful effect in that he can act as two tributes for an advance summoning!" Yuya informed the audience before Hip Hippo waved to the audience and raced off to the end of the 'aqueduct' and jumped off with Yuya, "I now release my Performapal Hip Hippo to advance summon today's main attraction!"
Hip Hippo glowed before shattering into a spiraling mass of green motes of light that raced down past the falling Yuya and into the ground. A light shined from it before Yuya landed atop the scaled back belonging to a large red wingless dragon covered in bits of bone-like armor with two large curved horns on its shoulders and dichromatic eyes.
"Behold! The rare, noble dragon of dichromatic eyes! Odd Eyes Dragon!" Yuya finished.
Odd Eyes Dragon: ATK2500
"GH!" Yuto grunted, grabbing the side of his head with a hand.
"Yuto?" Ruri pondered in concern.
"You alright there?" Tetsu asked.
"I…I'm fine. Just…er…Just got worried for the guy. Seriously, jumping off of that thing on the pink hippo and doing that?" Yuto lied, 'What the hell? When that Dragon came on the field, my head started to throb…'
"The fun is just beginning!" Yuya declared.
"There it is! Yusho's/Mr. Sakaki's (famous) catchphrase!" the dual-haired man and Ruri cheered.
"Ah~! My blood is boiling in excitement!" the man cheered.
"Dad…" Yuzu groaned.
"Mmm…I don't get it. Odd Eyes Dragon has 2500 Attack, but Battleguard King has 3000," Maylu spoke before Yuya played a card that created a colorful tower of boxes, "Huh?"
"He's going after those cards again," Lan noted, seeing Yuya grabbing three different Action Cards and discarding them, causing the stack of boxes to deploy three different colored balloons, "Balloons?"
"That's the Continuous Spell Card Wonder Balloons," Yoko explained, "When Yuya discards a card from his hand to the Graveyard, it produces a Counter on the card. And by removing the card from the field…" they watched as the balloons landed on Battleguard King and exploded, engulfing the beast in a prison of balloons, "...each Counter it had decreases the Attack of a monster on the field by 1000."
Battleguard King: ATK0
"So you can use Action Cards as the cost for discarding," Ruri noted, blinking a few times in surprise.
"He was running through there to find other Action Cards," Yuto realized in shock.
"Ahh… This feels so exciting! You can't tell what's gonna happen thanks to those cards!" Lan exclaimed.
"I don't get it. Why didn't he grab them and hold onto 'em?" Yuto asked.
"You can only hold onto one Action Card at a time," Tetsu explained, "It's to prevent just that scenario."
"Go for it, Yuya!" Gongenzaka roared, stomping a foot and pumping a fist.
"When Odd Eyes destroyes a Level 5 or higher monster, his effect activates and delivers damage equal to half the destroyed Monster's Attack points," Yuzu noted, "If this hits and destroys Battleguard King…"
"4000 minus 2500 minus another 1500…" Ruri calculated before the two girls gasped.
"It's a One-Hit Knockout!" both exclaimed.
"...Hold on. There's one card more in the Sledgehammer's hand than he should have," Maylu noted, looking at a screen showing the annoyed Sledgehammer as Odd Eyes jumped into the air and fired a stream of red flames at Battleguard King.
"...Ah! It's an Action Card!" Lan realized when Sledgehammer sneered as he played it, revealing it to be Miracle, "Oh great…Battleguard King isn't destroyed and he only takes half the damage!"
Sledgehammer: 2750
"The guy's lost his nerve," Yuto noted, looking at Yuya's stunned expression, "He doesn't handle it when his own Action Card trick is used on him, huh?"
"Not fully," Yuzu admitted, "Normally, he duels Gongenzaka, who doesn't use Spell or Traps because of the effects of his cards needing to not have them in his Graveyard."
"Huh? An all Monster Deck that needs you to go without them?" Lan asked, looking over at Gongenzaka.
"It is my Steadfast Heavyset Style," he replied, crossing his arms firmly over his torso in resolution.
'Sounds like a Deck Dex would've liked,' Lan thought before looking back at the Action Duel to see the Sledgehammer reveal a trap card that boosted his monster's Attack by 2000 and then further when Yuya reluctantly ended his turn.
Battleguard King: ATK5000
"Holy cow! 5000 Attack?!" Yuto exclaimed.
"Run, Odd Eyes! Get Yuya to another Action Card!" Lan shouted.
"Oh, I can't watch," Ruri covered her eyes.
"Same here," Maylu agreed as she did the same.
"You won't get away! Battle!" Sledgehammer commanded as Battleguard King roared as he chased after Odd Eyes.
'Almost there! Almost…' Yuya thought, reaching for an Action Card stuck in a tree only to be knocked off Odd Eyes as Battleguard King slammed his cudgel onto the beast, destroying Odd Eyes and sending Yuya crashing face-first into the tree instead, "GAH!"
Yuya: 400
"The effect of my Trap Card Battleguard Rage now makes your monster go back into your hand instead of the Graveyard," Sledgehammer informed, "Now I activate the Quick Play Spell Battleguard Magic! When my Battleguard King destroyed your Odd Eyes, I now gain half of its Attack to my Life Points!"
Sledgehammer: 4000
"Oh shoot! With just one Spell card and an attack, the Sledgehammer's back to full health!" the dual-haired man panicked, "Ahh…Goodbye, my beloved Arc System…"
*THWAP!*
"Focus on Yuya, not the system!" Yuzu scolded as Sledgehammer set a card facedown once more.
"This isn't good…Yuya's down to the last of his Life Points and that big guy's got all his back," Yuto scowled.
"It isn't over," Lan replied, narrowing his eyes, "Yuya still has a chance. He just needs the right card to turn this all around." he looked to Yoko, "...Does he?"
Yoko frowned before shaking her head, "No. He basically used up his one ace that would help him the most here his previous turn. If he had his Performapal Whip Snake, he could reverse the Attack and Defense points of Sledgehammer's monster. Paired with Performapal Sword Fish and Odd Eyes, he could've weakened him further, but…"
"But there's no way to get them all out, even if he had all three in his hand," Lan frowned before looking back out at the field, seeing Yuya had gone despondent on some of the screens, "..." he slammed his fists on the railing, "COME ON, YUYA!" everyone near him aside from Maylu jumped at his shout, "YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE! EVEN JUST ONE CARD CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!"
"He's got a voice to him," Yuzu noted.
"Lan's always been a loud guy, even when we were kids," Maylu noted, a few screens focusing on Lan that went unnoticed by him focusing on the teen on the field.
"THE FIGHT ISN'T OVER UNTIL THE LAST OPTION GETS PLAYED!" Lan went on, "DON'T YOU DARE BELIEVE IT'S OVER UNTIL YOU TAKE THAT CARD AND DRAW IT!"
Yuya looked up to the stands, barely able to see the brunette, 'That guy…' he looked at his Deck, 'I…still haven't drawn yet.' he looked at his hand to see Odd Eyes, a sword fish in a pompadour, sunglasses, and blades replacing the fins, a purple snake in a bowtie and tophat, and a wizard in white and silver robes with half his face covered in a white mask, '...I just need the right card…' the crystal on his neck glittered as he stood up, "I won't give up…Like a pendulum, this Duel swung away from me…but now…it's time for the pendulum to swing my way! Swing, pendulum! More and more!"
He raised his arms above his head and drew, creating an arc with his motion as Yuto's eyes briefly glowed along with Rin and Yuzu's bracelets. The pendant on Yuya's neck shined along with three of his cards including the one he just drew. Yuya gasped as he looked at the three cards. The white wizard gained a shield attached to his staff as his newly drawn monster, a wizard in red and black robes with the lower half of his face covered by the red scarf around his neck, gained a black and gold gauntlet. Meanwhile, Odd Eyes grew more white armor with two massive horns that sported several different colored baubles on them. His eyes widened further as the lower halves of his three cards turned green and an extra text box appeared above the original while a red gem and a blue gem appeared on the sides. His eyes narrowed as his necklace swung and swayed like a pendulum. He held out the two magicians, held between his pointer and index fingers.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician!" Yuya declared.
"Pendulum Scale?" Yuzu repeated as Yuya set the two cards on the ends of his Duel Disk, causing a multicolored 'PENDULUM' to appear between the two.
Pillars of light shone behind Yuya as the two monsters appeared from them. They rose up high into the air, a stylized '1' and '8' appearing beneath them once they reached a certain height. Between them, a giant version of Yuya's pendant appeared, swinging like a massive pendulum between the two monsters.
"Now I can summon any Monsters between Level 2 and Level 7 at the same time!" Yuya declared, "Swing, pendulum of souls! Draw an arc of light across the ether!" Yuya recited as the pendulum swung faster, creating a ring of light, "Pendulum Summon! Appear, my faithful monsters!"
"Pendulum…" Lan began.
"...Summon?" Maylu finished before three beams of light shot out of the ring of light and transformed into all three monsters in Yuya's hand.
"Whip to it, Performapal Whip Snake! Slice 'em and dice 'em, Performapal Sword Fish!" Yuya continued before bringing a hand skywards as his transformed Odd Eyes let loose a powerful roar, "Appear! Wondrous and beautiful dichromatic eyes! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
Performapal Whip Snake: ATK1700
Performapal Sword Fish: ATK600
Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon: ATK2500
"Gh…" Yuto grimaced, rubbing the side of his head again as the glow left his eyes, 'What is this sensation? It feels like when I first Ranked Up Dark Rebellion…'
"Whoo! Now that's what I'm talking about, Yuya!" Lan cheered, throwing a fist up into the air.
"Did you know Yuya was going to do this?" Yuzu asked.
"...Nope," Lan admitted with a shrug and an honest smile, causing everyone that had leaned in closer to hear the answer to fall over.
Alarms blared wildly within a tall tower in the city. Within a room littered with operators going at computers, numerous machines were letting loose the alarms as others were displaying multiple readings for varying wavelengths, power levels, and a myriad of things that would leave anyone not versed in them perplexed and confused.
"We're detecting high amounts of Summoning Activity in the area!"
"Hurry up with the analysis! What's giving off these kinds of readings?!"
"We've discovered the source! The unknown energy has been labeled as 'Pendulum,'" a female worker informed.
"Pendulum…Summoning?"
"Someone's developed a new Summoning Method?!"
"Hurry! Someone inform Master Reiji at once!"
"Three monsters at once?" Sledgehammer questioned in surprise before a tiny popup screen showing the announcer on it, "And that dragon's a Level 7 monster! He shouldn't be able to do that without an effect or tribute!"
"The systems aren't registering an error."
"That means his summon…is legal?!"
'It's like with me and Link Summoning,' Lan thought as Yuya got onto Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon.
"Performapal Whip Snake's effect activates! He switches your Monster's Attack with its Defense! And then Performapal Sword Fish's effect triggers, cutting its Attack down by another 600!" Yuya declared.
Whip Snake hissed as it smiled deviously at Battleguard King before holding up its tail…revealing a heart on a string at the end of it. The tail shifted and the heart began to sway like a pendulum while its eyes began to glow. Battleguard King's cudgel fell from its grasp as it put the Sledgehammer down on the ground.
Battleguard King: ATK1100
"My monster's Attack is…" Sledgehammer gasped as copies of Sword Fish appeared above Battleguard King and rained down on him, pinning him to the ground.
Battleguard King: ATK500
"In just two moves, Yuya brought Battleguard King down from 5000 all the way to 500," Maylu whispered.
"But it's not gonna be enough," Gongenzaka noted, "Odd Eyes will deal 2000 and its effect will deal 1500. That leaves the Sledgehammer with 500 still."
"I don't think so," Lan replied.
"Why do you think that?" Yuzu asked, frowning at the brunette.
"Because that was the effect of Odd Eyes Dragon," Lan replied as he pointed at the dragon, the gems all over its body lighting up brightly, "That is Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon."
"I don't think so! Go, Battleguard Howling!" Sledgehammer roared, his facedown flipping up, "Now your attacking monster goes back to the hand and you get damaged equal to its Attack!"
"Wrong! O Timegazer Magician, Master of Chronomancy, you who rules over Time itself! Protect my dragon with your ethereal powers!" Yuya chanted as the gauntlet on Timegazer's arm opened at the side, deploying a circular 'blade' resembling the gear of a clock that encircled the magician, "Timegazer Magician's Pendulum effect activates! When a Pendulum Monster battles, once per turn my magician will negate the activation of a Trap Card! Inverse Gearwise!"
At that, the image of a clock appeared over Timegazer within the 'gear' he was surrounded by. It rapidly spun in reverse and the Trap was forced back down. Sledgehammer grit his teeth before spotting the Action Card Yuya had tried to grab.
"In that case…" Sledgehammer jumped up and grabbed the card, "Action Card - Miracle!"
"Aw come on! Not halving the damage again," Yuto groaned.
"I don't think that's going to be what happens," Maylu noted, seeing Stargazer Magician waving his staff around, forming the constellation of Orion in the air.
"Stargazer Magician's Pendulum effect activates! It's the same as Timegazer Magician's Pendulum Effect, but it targets your Spell cards instead!" Yuya declared, "O Stargazer Magician, Master of Astromancy, you who rules over Space itself! Seal my foes with your ethereal power! Horoscope Divination!"
Stargazer slammed his shield and staff together, coming the weapons before him. The constellation shined bright before it slammed into the Action Card, forcing it to eject from the Duel Disk.
"E-Even my Spells are…" Sledgehammer choked out in fear.
"It's time, Odd-Eyes! Burn everything to cinders that you gaze upon with your wonderful dichromatic eyes!" Yuya declared as Odd-Eyes roared, jumped into the air, and fired a much larger red and black spiraling beam of flames at Battleguard King, "Spiraling Strike Burst!"
"Gh…I'll still be in the game! I'll have 500 Life Points left from your Odd Eyes's effect!" Sledgehammer shouted as Battleguard King tried to block the strike with a swing of its Cudgel.
"You're wrong! Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon's effect is that when he battles a Level 5 or higher Monster…you receive double the Battle Damage!" Yuya declared as the beam doubled in power and size, "REACTION FORCE!"
"Double?!" the dual-haired man gasped.
"Battleguard King has 500 Attack Points while Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon has 2500, so that's 2000…" Ruri noted mostly to herself.
"Double that and the Sledgehammer is receiving a whopping 4000 damage," Tetsu added it all up just as Battleguard King exploded and Sledgehammer was sent flying back, crashing down onto the ground facefirst.
Sledgehammer: 0 LOSE
Yuya: 400 WIN
"And, with that, our performance comes to 'The End!'" Yuya declared.
A stunned silence filled the arena. No one was sure to make of it. First, Yuya had been on the ropes…and then he unleashed a new kind of Summoning Method, allowing him to get three Monsters out onto the field. He whittled down Battleguard King to be weak enough to lose and his new method even gave his cards new effects that shut down Spells and Traps but also deal double the Battle Damage! The only two not silent though…
"WHOO~! That's my student right there! His blood's boiling!" the dual-haired man hooted and cheered, tears of joy in his eyes.
"Now that's a Duel right there!" Lan laughed, clapping, "Great job, Yuya! Oh man~! That was so intense! I wanna do an Action Duel now!"
That snapped Maylu out of her shock first, "Lan!"
"What? It looks so awesome!" Lan argued.
"Well you better come by the You Show Duel School tomorrow then! We'll be busy tonight celebrating Yuya's victory!" the man cheered.
"Dad…" Yuzu groaned.
Yuya got off Odd-Eyes as the Action Field faded away. He breathed in deeply before blinking a few times. He looked around…looking utterly confused.
"Huh? Wait…where'd the Action Field go?" Yuya pondered before seeing Sledgehammer flat on the ground, "Ah! The Sledgehammer?!"
"You won!" Yoko's voice made him look to see the four had gotten closer to the field-Lan, Maylu, Ruri, and Yuto having remained with Tetsu-, "You won against Strong Ishijima for your father! Well done, Yuya!"
"That was amazing, Yuya!" Yuzu beamed as, slowly, the crowd began to cheer and applaud.
"You did it!" Gongenzaka hollered.
"Whoo! Blood boilin'~!"
"To think that boy defeated the reigning Champion," Tetsu noted.
"He not only won, but also debuted a brand new Summoning method," Ruri corrected.
"Pendulum Summoning…" Yuto whispered before looking to Lan, who was focused on cheering and applauding Yuya's victory.
"Oh Lan…" Maylu sighed as the announcer ran onto the field.
"Bravo! Excellent! Congratulations!" he cheered as he held up Yuya's arm to the sky, "It was a splendid victory for our very own Yuya Sakaki!" he offered the mic to him, "Care to tell the viewers here and at home about this marvelous new Summoning Method you've debuted for us all here today?"
"Huh? Summoning method?"
"...Huh? He…doesn't remember?" Lan pondered.
"That's not good, is it?" Maylu asked.
GT: Final chapter of the first Arc is done! Now the next one begins soon!