GT: Day 28 of Mega May, folks! Big changes coming here.
"Ah! Bright! Very bright!"
"Must you, Shingo?" Chaud flatly questioned the young man with brown and blonde hair before him in a suit.
"The light smarts, alright?" He complained.
Chaud sighed, "Name, Age, and Occupation."
"Oh come now. Must we?" Shingo dramatically sighed before squeaking when Chaud slammed a hand on the table.
"Name, Age, and Occupation," Chaud repeated in a stern, warning tone.
"S-Shingo Sawatari, 16, Duelist."
Chaud slowly removed his hands from the table, switching back to his original tone, "After Yuri, you were the first to Duel against Lan and his Link Monsters, correct?"
"Hmm…" Shingo leaned back in his chair, "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. It…"
"Alright, we're done here," Chaud stated with a flat look as he headed for the door.
"Ah! N-Now wait a minute! I did Duel Lan! Truly, I did!" Shingo exclaimed in a panic, reaching towards the dual-haired boy, "Come back here, dang it!"
"This isn't meant to be a comedy, Shingo. I need you to be blunt and not flowery," Chaud warned, walking back over, "Now talk about that day. What led you to it?"
"Well…It began the day before we Dueled. I was contacted by a then-anonymous 'benefactor' who wanted the Pendulum Monsters Timegazer Magician and Stargazer Magician. In return, I would receive the entirety of the Black Luster Soldier line, some of the rarest Cards ever!" Shingo explained, "The plan was simple for me. You see…"
Maylu grunted, holding on tight to the large blue wyvern-like dragon that soared through the skies. Following her beneath the dragon was Lan, grinning as he rode atop a skeletal golden dragon with muscle-like red skin on parts of it. Down below, Syuzo nodded as he watched the two. He then looked ahead at Yuto as he was managing to keep hold of the waist of a muscular knight atop a purple stallion with two spears in the knight's hands…while Ruri was riding sidealong atop a red car-sized wyvern wearing a collar with chain and black detailing, not looking bothered at all by the speed.
"Alright, alright! That's good!" Syuzo declared, clapping a few times and the four monsters came to him before vanishing as he removed the cards from his Duel Disk, "Not too bad today! You all did much better than the first lessons!"
"Please don't remind us," Yuto groaned as Maylu tried to stifle a giggle while avoiding gazing at Lan all while the Action Field shut down.
"I know it was just a solid hologram, but I'm still sorry for crashing into the cart filled with cabbage," Lan admitted before smiling, "And thanks, sir! You're a really great instructor!"
"Oh now you're just flattering me!" Syuzo chuckled, a bit bashful in tone, as he rubbed the back of his head, "I'm just happy you're all doing great here! You boys are naturals! Maylu, maybe you'd be better not riding on Monsters too high off the ground. I've been noticing how when you ride on a flying Monster, you start to freeze up and forget to do the routine."
"I…I'm not all that good with heights," Maylu admitted.
"That's perfectly understandable. A few Pro Duelists have a fear of heights and tend to stick to the ground during Action Duels," Syuzo assured before looking to Ruri, "I must say, Ruri, you improved the fastest of all four of you kids with learning to ride on Monsters. You seem to really enjoy the ones that take to the skies the most."
"Well, they remind me of my Deck," Ruri replied, "All my monsters are avian in nature, so taking to the skies feels like I'm able to briefly experience what they do. It was quite enjoyable riding on Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon today."
"It's really a ton of fun!" Lan beamed before seeing the clock outside of the viewing area, "Oh! It's almost time for school to get out!"
"You must be so happy we do online courses," Yuto noted with a half-truth since they were doing stuff online…just not classes.
"You betcha!" Lan beamed, "It's too easy and I'd likely fall asleep a lot in class!"
"He did in our classes," Maylu sighed.
"Oh! Lan, mind if I ask ya to go tell the kids that I'll be running maintenance on the Arc System today?" Syuzo requested, "They won't be able to Action Duel for today, so tell them all it's a day off."
"You gotcha!" Lan nodded, "You wanna come with, guys?"
"Nah," Yuto replied, "Gotta call our pals back home, y'know. Let 'em know we're here safe and sound?"
"Gotcha," Lan nodded, "Don't forget Anna's order, got it?"
"Oh trust me…I don't want a bazooka round to my face," Yuto shuddered.
"I need to get to the grocery store before it closes," Ruri spoke, "I need to get some of the ingredients we're missing for dinner tonight."
"Oh? What're we havin'?" Yuto asked.
"I thought it'd be nice to have some beef curry," Ruri replied, causing Lan's head to snap quickly to look at her with wide eyes of glee.
Maylu rolled her eyes as she grabbed Lan's shoulders and pushed him to the door, "Focus on sending the message to the others. Curry comes later."
"But Maylu~!" Lan whined.
"Be patient. You've spent several months without it, so a few more hours will do you some good," Maylu scolded.
"Aw phooey…" were the last words they heard from the brunette before the door slid shut behind the two.
"..." Yuto and Ruri blinked a few times at the closed door.
"Can't really blame him. Curry's delicious," Syuzo chuckled.
"Man…it really is a big shocker what these things can do, huh?" Lan pondered as he looked at his Duel Disk, "The more time I spend here, the more I keep thinking of ways to spread it once we deal with Academia."
"R-Right…"
"...I know a lot of people won't be up for it after what they did, but…it doesn't mean I won't try," Lan spoke, a determined look forming in his eyes.
"I know you'll do all you can," Maylu noted before putting a hand on her hidden card, "...Lan…"
"Hm?"
"Do…Do you think if we put them on our Duel Disks, they'll…" Maylu trailed off.
"...I…haven't really thought of that," Lan admitted, pulling his necklace out and opening it to look at his mom and Megaman, "There's so many questions…" he looked at Maylu, "Did you try it yet?"
"No. I only thought of it now," Maylu replied, shaking her head.
"Well…When the school's Arc System is done being looked over for standard maintenance, let's fire it up and…"
"...We have to believe it'll work, right?" Maylu offered.
"..." Lan smiled softly at her, his free hand holding onto her own, "Yeah. We can't give up on seeing them again." he chuckled, "Maybe I can sic one of my Cyberse monsters on Yuri."
"Lan…" Mylu giggled, playfully slapping his shoulder, "Let's have Yuto summon his favorite card instead. Your cards already got him."
"Maybe let Ruri at him?" Lan suggested.
"Oh, better! Ruri and Roll!"
"Oh, the world won't be ready for that," Lan shuddered, "Ruri's the carrot and Roll's the giant tree they're using for the stick."
Maylu couldn't help the giggle that escaped her lips.
"A triple bullseye! Triple points!" the two looked ahead to see Yuya and the others standing before Shingo and two boys…with Yuya having three darts struck to his head by suction cups.
"Hey!" Lan barked, making them all jump as he ran up and over to Yuya, "You alright, Yuya?"
"Ah! Uh, I-I'm fine," Yuya assured as he pulled the darts off his head.
"Are you sure?" Maylu asked in concern.
"Yeah. Happens often enough in Action Duels," Yuya shrugged, "You gotta have a tough head at times for them."
"No wonder Lan and Yuto are naturals…" Maylu muttered.
"Ye-Hey~" Lan whined before Maylu spun around and scowled at the three boys.
"What are you thinking with that just now?" Maylu demanded.
"It's fine, it's fine~" Shingo assured as he held his hands up in assurance, "I disinfect them after each use and I didn't throw them hard at all." his eyes trailed her, 'Well hello~! Dye the hair, add some colored contacts, and put on the right outfit and we've got a perfect Dark Magician Girl in real life…' he cleared his throat, "I'm Shino Sawatari from Class 1. Nice to meet you all."
"Would say the same if not for the darts," Lan huffed.
"Lan, seriously, I don't mind," Yuya assured before Shingo grasped his right hand with his two hands.
"I was truly impressed by what I saw on the television app of my Duel Disk from a few days ago! You're quite talented! And that Summoning Technique you displayed for everyone-Pendulum Summoning-was truly magnificent!" Shingo spoke with awe in his tone, "I never knew Timegazer Magician and Stargazer Magician could do those effects! I always thought Timegazer could only prevent one of your Magic Cards or Trap Cards from being destroyed while Stargazer could only prevent Monsters from being destroyed by Battle!"
'Those must have been their effects before becoming Pendulum Monsters,' Lan thought.
"Well, that's because the ones I use are Pendulum Cards," Yuya replied.
"Truly now? So that means they're quite rare," Shingo noted before chuckling, "Ah, like I thought. Rare cards like those are only usable by those chosen people, right?"
"You don't have to flatter Yuya that much," Yuzu huffed as Yuya began to bashfully blush.
"Oh no, no. I truly do believe it!" Shingo replied.
'This is almost as bad as when I was the 'Hero of Yoka' when I was eleven…' Lan thought, seeing how Yuya was acting now.
"Would you care for a Duel to demonstrate them?" Shingo offered.
"Sorry, but nope," Lan replied.
"Huh? Why not?!" Yuya asked, snapping out of it.
"Mr. Hiigragi's running maintenance checks on the Arc System," Lan replied.
"He asked us to tell you guys since we were supposed to meet up with you all," Maylu added.
"Huh?!" Yuya gawked.
"That makes sense. You and Gongenzaka were using it for well over 200 times the last few days to perfect Pendulum Summoning," Yuzu pointed out.
"Aw…" the three kids whined before Shingo chuckled.
"Well, not to worry about that then!" Shingo beamed, "I was originally planning to duel one of my cohorts here, so I reserved time in the LDS's Action Duel arena."
Lan and Maylu stiffened a little at hearing that. LDS…Leo Duel School…Lan's eyes focused on Shingo's collar…and found the emblem of the school on it. It was the same emblem that Academia utilized for their bases…
"HUH?! At that place?!" Yuya gasped.
"You have a reservation there?! How?!" Yuzu questioned.
"I am a top student of LDS," Shingo replied, showing his emblem, "My father is also expected to become the new mayor of our fine city." he smirked as he turned his back to them and pointed a finger upwards, looking at them over his shoulder, "I merely asked and he made the arrangements for me."
'Oh great…A male version of an older Yai if she never made friends with us,' Lan mentally snarked.
"Amazing~" Tatsuya awed.
"A Pendulum Summon there would be so 'mazing!" Ayu cheered.
"Oh~! I'm getting all kinds of shivers from it!" Futoshi shivered in excitement.
"Mmm…" Yuzu gave Shingo a flat, annoyed look.
"Keep an eye on them," Maylu whispered.
"H-Huh?" Yuzu looked at Maylu, surprised at the sudden shift from a nice next door neighbor kinda girl to focused and honed.
"Keep an extra strong eye on Yuya's Pendulum Cards," Maylu went on.
"Welcome to LDS!" Shingo introduced to them all.
A pair of sliding doors opened up, allowing the group inside. With a gasp of glee, the three youngest looked around. The building's entryway was massive and had several indoor garden-like spaces in the main lobby alone with a large fountain in the center displaying a dragon fighting a magician, the water erupting from the dragon's maw and the top of the orb of the magician's staff and collided with one another, causing the water to fall down between them into a Pot of Greed that let it fall from its large smile into the pond beneath. Glass walls separated them from Duel Fields that students were using to practice ground Duels with several in the middle of ones.
"Leo Duel School, or LDS for short," Shingo went on, leading them through the massive complex that showed kids of varying ages either having classes focused on monsters, spells, traps, or the Extra Deck or were just enjoying the atmosphere in well decorated areas, playing Duel Monster-themed games that (after Lan took a moment to focus on one) were subtly teaching the mechanics of the cards the game was based on, or even having duels, "As you can tell from the name, this entire Duel School is run by Leo Corporation." he flicked his hair a bit, a smug smirk on his lips, "Of course, you can only be a student here by invitation only."
"It's the top ranked Duel School in the entire world outside of the Kaiba Corporation-created Duel Academy in Domino City a few cities over," Tatsuya noted.
"You sure know a lot about this place, Tatsuya," Futoshi noted in surprise.
"Well…Mama told me that this would be a better place for me to learn how to become a Pro Duelist, but when I was watching Yuya dueling against Gongenzaka and then Strong Ishijima and finally Yuzu, I knew that I wanted to go to You Show," Tatsuya explained, "The way Yuya was dueling, trying to make the audience have a fun time…it really excites me."
"I know the feeling," Lan nodded, "Watching Yuya duel was pulse pounding at times, but also really exciting, too." he blinked a few times, "Oh, Shingo? Got the wifi password here? I forgot I need to send a message to Ruri and Yuto and I've got no bars."
"You should really invest more of the Duel Points we earn to a better internet plan like Ruri and I did," Maylu sighed.
Shingo chuckled as he flicked a piece of paper over his shoulder like it was a dart, effectively landing it in the top of Lan's bandana, "Enjoy a taste of what we get here while you can."
"Thanks," Lan thanked, Maylu glancing over at him as he put his Duel Disk on in its standard mode…while hooking his PeT to it, 'This place has the same emblem Academia uses. Even if it's a coincidence, better to be safe than sorry.'
"This place sure is something," Yuya noted, looking at a list of courses on a nearby wall, "It doesn't just have the classes we run, but also specialized courses based on what Summoning Method fits you best. Xyz, Synchro, and Fusion…" Maylu flinched at the last one as Lan paused in what he was doing to hold her hand for a few moments, "Huh…They even have courses on Ritual Monsters!"
"Ritual Monsters?" Ayu repeated, tilting her head.
"They're monsters with a dark blue border that go in your Main Deck. You need a specific card played to summon them by either offering Monsters on the field or in your hand that add up to the level of the card you want to Ritual Summon," Yuzu explained.
"The Court I reserved is over this way," Shingo informed, "It'll be quite fun when we get there."
"It's as big as the one Yuya and Strong Ishijima dueled in!" Lan gawked, looking around at the massive Duel Arena they were in.
"So this is where we'll be Dueling?" Yuya pondered.
"Indeed we are," Shingo replied with a smile.
"Neat! Then…"
"Ah, but before you do, do you mind if we take a look at your Pendulum Cards?" Shingo interrupted.
"Huh? My Pendulum Cards?"
"It's just, well…We've only seen them in action, but not the cards themselves. It's important to know things like this when it comes to a new mechanic, right?" Shingo asked, "I mean, like those magicians. You said they look and work completely different to the normal ones, no?"
Yuya blinked twice before taking out Timegazer Magician and Stargazer Magician, "You mean these?"
Shingo apparently looked interested.
"So those are the cards that helped you against the Sledgehammer himself. Can we take a look?" Shingo asked.
"Um…Wouldn't it be better if Yuya just held them for you to look at?" Maylu asked, "It's how he let me see them." she gave Shingo a glare when the boy glared at her in a side glance without any notice from the others.
'She's figured me out,' Shingo thought in annoyance before shrugging as he tugged a little on his right collar.
"Maylu's right. I'd rather just keep hold of them and show you them," Yuya agreed with Maylu.
"..." Shingo sneered, "I see then. Plan B it is."
Shingo snapped his fingers and suddenly Yuya heard Yuzu cry behind him. He spun around and his eyes went wide. Shingo's friends had begun restraining Yuzu, Maylu, Lan, and the three children. Yuya angrily turned to him with a growl.
"Hey, what's your deal, Sawatari?!" Yuya demanded.
"I would have preferred if we did it the easy way, but I'm fine with doing it the hard way, too," Shingo replied as he brushed his hair off his face.
"You were after Yuya's Pendulum cards from the start!" Yuzu snapped.
"You're correct. Those cards do not deserve a loser like Sakaki to possess them! I, on other hand, am far more deserving of such rare cards!" Shingo declared, giving Maylu an annoyed look, "And you seemed to have figured it out from the start, huh?"
"I've seen your tactics before," Maylu replied, struggling with the tight grip on her wrist, "Lan's had to deal with that often when we were younger."
"Whatever," Shingo shrugged before glaring at Yuya with a sneer, "I suggest you hand over those cards right now. Well, unless you don't care about your friends' safety."
Yuya turned back to his friends who were still being held by Shingo's friends. The three children were terrified while Yuzu looked troubled at him. Lan grunted as he was pinned by a foot as Maylu kept struggling with the tight grip of the biggest of them. Yuya knew Yuzu could probably free herself easily, but she likely didn't want to think about what those guys would do to the kids if she tried anything. Yuya gripped his fist in anger and faced Shingo once again. Gulping, he sighed before passing his cards to Shingo who took them without a second of hesitation. After seeing them, his smirk got even wider.
"It's a pleasure doing business with you," he said before snapping his fingers, causing the three to release them all.
"Yuya…" Yuzu gasped as they ran over and she grabbed onto him.
"Sorry, Yuzu. But I couldn't let him hurt any of you," Yuya apologized, earning a shake of her head.
"It's okay. I'm just glad we're fine," Yuzu replied before frowning, 'I should've paid more to Maylu's warning…'
Shingo ignored them as he admired the two magicians in his hands, "With these cards, I'll become even more amazing~" he glanced over at Yuya, "Ah, but it wouldn't be a fair trade if you don't get anything back, isn't it?" he reached into his pocket and tossed several cards at the boy, "Here. All these cards in exchange for your magicians. You'll find yourself liking them, they're as useless as you!"
Shingo arrogantly laughed. Yuzu was a breath away from slugging him in the face with her paper fan as Yuya looked at the cards on the ground with a despondent expression.
"...Hey."
"Hm?" Shingo pondered as he looked at Lan.
"Let's Duel, Shingles," Lan declared.
"It's Shingo."
"Whatever, Single," Lan replied, "I'll do you a better deal than anything you've seen before. I win, I get back those cards you stole through coercion and threatening children. You win? I'll give you my whole Deck."
"Oh please. You probably have a lame one made from cards bought off the street," Shingo shrugged, "You…"
"Wrong, Shingo. My cards are the only ones in the world," Lan replied, "They are the Cyberse Monsters."
"Cyberse?" Shingo repeated, looking over at the shortest of the trio.
"Um…" he pulled out his Duel Disk and typed something on it, "I…There's no record of those cards!"
"That's because I'm their creator and they're legal," Lan replied, "Even got my own Summoning Method that you'll never master, let alone learn."
"?! Oh? Is that so?" Shingo questioned, inserting the cards into his Deck before a signal went off from his Duel Disk, "Hm?"
"That's enough. Your job was to only get us the Pendulum Cards."
"Oh please, mystery man," Shingo snorted, "From the very start, I've wanted the Pendulum Cards more than those cards you were offering me."
"What're you thinking?! Don't do anything uncess…" a pause happened on the speaker's end, "...President…" another pause, "...Fine. You're authorized to use them for this Duel. However, we will be receiving them immediately after."
Shingo snorted before snapping his fingers and the boys grabbed everyone but Lan.
"?! What the hell?!" Lan snapped, glaring at the boy.
"What? They're going to be helping out with our little Duel today," Shingo replied, "Now to decide the field! We'll be Dueling upon the the realm that which imprisons princesses, rise up here and now!" an Action Field Spell appeared in his hand, "Prison Tower of Darktown!"
He tossed it high into the air, causing the ground to shine brightly. The kids screamed as the two girls and Yuya held onto them in a spot the boys had dragged them onto. Chains burst from the light, rising high into the air…before the group was forcibly shot up high into it.
"Guys!" Lan shouted as they went far above until the lights settled down, revealing a dark, grimey city littered in chains with the kids and three teens all stuck atop a massive tower on a drawbridge.
"T-Too high! Way too high!" Futoshi panicked, hugging the wall.
"Big Sis Yuzu, Big Sis Maylu, Big Bro Yuya, I'm scared!" Ayu whimpered, holding onto Yuzu.
"It's going to be okay, Ayu," Yuzu assured.
"Okay…I am livid," Lan growled as he readied his Duel Disk.
"Enjoying the sights of Prison Tower of Darktown?" Shingo sneered.
"No. It feels like when I went to another country and got my money, passport, and cards stolen," Lan replied.
'He's still not letting it go…' Maylu thought, "Lan…"
"How did we even get here?!" Futoshi asked.
"Because we were still in the field when the Action Field went off, we're being affected by it as well," Tatsuya explained.
"If you want to save them, then you'll have to beat me," Shingo smirked at Lan.
"I was planning to kick you to the curb anyway, Simple."
"It's Shingo!" Shingo snapped.
"Duelists locked in battle! Kicking the dirt and dancing in the air alongside their Monsters!" Lan recited.
"Gh…" Shingo nearly tripped up before clearing his throat, "They storm through this field! Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution in Dueling! ACTION~!"
"DUEL!" both declared.
Lan: 4000
Shingo: 4000
"I'll start us off," Lan spoke as he looked at his Hand, "I set a monster facedown and set two cards facedown." he turned around and ran off towards the bridge, "Turn end!"
"Hey, don't you run off now!" Shingo snapped as Lan jumped into the air…and attached skates to the soles of his shoes and proceeded to skate off, "GAH!" he grit his teeth, "Run, you little twerp." he drew his card and looked at his hand, smirking upon seeing Timegazer Magician in his hand, "Well, well. I…"
"Not yet."
Shingo stiffened. The voice on the audio only link had changed. It was sterner…stronger in tone…
"And just who are you? I'm at a good point right now! I'm summoning Timeg…!"
"I thought I told you…not yet," the silver-haired man in glasses sternly warned.
"Hm?" Lan pondered, pausing in his skating to see Shingo frozen, "What the…?"
Shingo, meanwhile, rubbed his head to get the sweat off it, "What're you getting so upset for, huh?"
"Hey, Shingles!" Lan shouted.
"SHINGO!" Shingo barked, glaring at Lan.
"Any reason why you're not playing that card you just grabbed?" Lan asked.
"Hmph. I'm doing good without playing it just yet," Shingo replied.
"Oh please. You're just a coward."
"Excuse you?"
"What? You ambushed us and used us to threaten Yuya to give you his Magicians," Lan pointed out, "You're nothing but a dirty little coward who can't play a card."
"Dirty little…?" Shingo growled, "I'll show you! I play Ti…!"
"I told you not yet."
"!?" Shingo stiffened.
"See? Big ol' coward~!" Lan taunted, "I betcha your daddy is just the same exact thing like you, only bigger, whinier…and not sporting a bald spot on his head like you!"
"What's he doing?" Ayu asked.
"He's trying to anger Shingo, get him to start misplaying," Yuzu noted, "Holy cow…! I've only seen this in old footage of the early days of Dueling before Synchro and Xyz appeared with Duel Boxes!"
"Why you…!" Shingo snarled, "I'm no coward!"
"Then why do you keep freezing up when you wanna play that card, huh~?" Lan smirked, "Face it, you're afraid of me and my Cyberse! You wannabe cheapskate, two left footed, ill-mannered scumbag of a devious coward!"
"Grrr…!"
"Oh, and your fashion sucks!"
"THAT'S WHERE I DRAW THE LINE! I SUMMON TIMEGAZER MAGICIAN!" Shingo snapped, the Magician appearing with a flourish.
Timegazer Magician: ATK1200
"...You idiot…" the voice on the line hissed.
"HA! I knew it was Timegazer!" Lan whooped, "And that was a big ol' goofup!" he rubbed the back of his head as he skated backwards, "Sorry you're not with Yuya at the moment, Timegazer! Single over there threatened to hurt the kids, Yuzu, Maylu, and me if he didn't hand you and Stargazer over!" Timegazer's sole eye adopted a flat expression, "Don't worry! I'm dueling in Yuya's place since his Deck isn't complete without you guys!"
"Y-You insufferable little…" Shingo growled, "Timegazer, destroy his monster! Chronomaly Magic!"
Timegazer deployed his weapon and charged at Lan's facedown card. Bitron appeared from the card, giving a happy digital chirping at the Magician.
"Huh?" Shingo blinked a few times.
Bitron: DEF2000
Bitron chirped excitedly as it quickly spun around like a top, causing Timegazer to be knocked away and crash into Shingo.
Shingo: 3200
"...Ow…" Shingo groaned, slowly pulling himself up.
"Sorry~!" Lan taunted as Bitron giggled at the boy, "But Bitron is a sturdy little Cyberse."
"Aww~! So cute~!" Yuzu and Ayu cooed.
"I've never seen a card like that," Futoshi awed.
"That's a Cyberse monster," Maylu explained, "Lan created them and saved me and Ruri with them."
"He really did make them?" Yuya asked in surprise.
"So is it my turn, Shingo?" Lan asked, skating in reverse in amusement.
"Rrrr…Fine!" Shingo spat, "I set two cards facedown to end my turn!"
"Good. So here I go! Draw!" Lan declared as he drew, "Now I summon Cyberse Wizard!"
"Cyberse what?" Shingo repeated before the green-haired wizard appeared.
Cyberse Magician: ATK1800
"Now I activate his effect! He switches your monster into Defense and I can now inflict Piercing Damage!" Lan declared.
"Oh no you don't!" Shingo called, "Trap Card open! Emergency Evacuation Device! Now I can bring my Timegazer Magician back to my hand!" a metal dome formed over Timegazer, blocking Cyberse Wizard's spell from hitting the Magician before it shot off the magician's card into the air and back into Shingo's Hand.
"Well, then that means I can attack you directly! Go Cyberse Wizard!" Lan declared as his monster charged at Shingo, who sneered as he swung his hand out.
"Go! Counter Gate!" Shingo declared as a gate appeared before him, soaking in the powerful blast, "Your attack's negated and I get to draw another card!"
"Gh…" Lan grimaced.
"Good try, but nobody gives a damn about trying!" He taunted as Lan just ended his turn, "Now for mine!" he looked at his card and smirked, "Nice. I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards!"
The person on the line looked at the cards he drew, "Using these correctly means you'll achieve a Pendulum Summon."
"Hm?" Shingo pondered as he looked at the two and read the effect of one, "Oh!" he smirked, "I summon Vorse Raider!"
A savage-looking, mustard yellow-skinned monster appeared, wearing leather pants, a leather spiked jacket, and a spike-littered helmet.
Vorse Raider: ATK1800
"Then I'll release it to activate the Magic Card Tribute Trade!" Shingo went on, "Now I can add a Monster that's one Level higher than the one I just released…like my Stargazer Magician!"
"He has both now," Yuzu gasped.
"He can't use them…can he?" Ayu asked.
"...He can if he watched the match against the Sledgehammer like he said he did," Maylu replied, causing everyone to tense.
"A super rare human like myself is suited to use super rare cards like these!" Shingo declared as he held up the two Pendulum Cards, "I now set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician!" Lan narrowed his eyes as he watched the two pillars form, the pendulum crystal replaced with one resembling a black and yellow dart, "PENDULUM SUMMON!"
Three beams of light shot out of the circle that was created. The first to form was a muscular warrior in orange and yellow armor, their right arm replaced with a machine gun of sorts sporting nothing but dark red darts.
"Level 5: Power Darts Striker!"
Power Darts Striker: ATK1800
"Level 6: Rocket Darts Striker!" Shingo went on as a female monster in all red and pink armor like the first appeared, a rocket launcher replacing her right hand and sported three darts for rockets.
Rocket Darts Striker: ATK1900
"And finally…Level 7!" Shingo continued.
The final light took on the form of a sleek, yet muscular, humanoid monster with pale blue skin. He was covered in blue and silver armor with his right lower arm replaced with a massive rocket-like dart.
"Ultimate Darts Striker!"
Ultimate Darts Striker: ATK2400
"He…He got it working…" Yuya gasped, shaking in disbelief.
"Yes~! This is Amazing!" Shingo declared in exhilaration, "Pendulum Summoning is the best!"
"This…This can't be happening…" Yuya whimpered, trembling in shock and disbelief.
"Yuya…" Yuzu whispered, reaching out and placing a hand on his shoulder.
Lan looked at the trio of machine-like Monsters before him as Shingo was just laughing euphorically over his achievement. He looked up at the two Magicians and saw that Stargazer had a harsh and stern glare aimed at Shingo while Timegazer's lone eye and posture showed him to be rather calm about it all…as if he already knew what would happen. Lan raised a brow at the Magician before focusing back on Shingo.
"No one can stop me now!" Shingo declared before pointing at the tower, "Yuya Sakaki! Now that I know how to Pendulum Summon, I have no need for you!"
"We're still in the middle of an Action Duel, Single," Lan taunted.
"SHINGO!" Shingo snapped, "Ba…" a twisted, distorted roar suddenly ripped through the air, its loud, furious bellows rattling the three Dart Strikers and making the kids hide behind the teens, "Gah! What was that?!"
"That was my Trap Card. Threatening Roar disables the Battle Phase for this turn," Lan explained, gesturing to one of his facedowns.
"Ghh...Fine! Then make your move, bandana boy!" Shingo declared, "Not that it will matter next turn!"
"Says you," Lan replied as he drew his card, "I play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards!" he drew them and nodded, "I summon Draconnet!"
Before Lan, a digital gate materialized. A white and blue oval emerged from it before it unfolded, taking a bird-like shape.
Draconnet: ATK1400
"Now I can Special Summon a Normal Cyberse Monster so long as it's a Level 2 or lower! Hello second Bitron!" Lan declared as a second Bitron joined the first, causing the duo to chirp excitedly at one another and start zipping about.
"Aw~! They're so cute!" Ayu cooed, "Big Sis Maylu, look! Look! They're playing tag!"
"I see it, I see it," Maylu giggled.
"Is he going for a Rank 1 Xyz?" Yuzu pondered, seeing the Levels for the two Bitrons.
"No," Maylu replied, "He's going for something else entirely."
"Oh? Is Draconnet a Tuner Monster then?" Tatsuya asked.
"Nope," Maylu replied, "Just watch."
"Now I create the Circuit for our Tomorrow!" Lan declared as he swung his hand out to the sky.
"Circuit?" Shingo repeated before the Link Gate formed, "?!"
"Arrowheads confirmed! The conditions are for two or more monsters! I use my two Bitrons and Draconnet to set the Link Markers!" Lan declared as the two robots and digital dragon transformed into spiraling beams that rammed into three of the arrowheads, lighting them up, "LINK SUMMON!"
A blast of light erupted from the gate as a digitized horse's cry bellowed. A large figure charged through the gate, revealing a knight with two spears atop a steed, both made of green wireframes with bits of armor on them both. The knight clashed his spears together before throwing his head up and arms out to roar as his steed raised upon its hind legs and let loose a whinny.
"Link-3 Gaia Saber, the Lightning Shadow!" Lan invoked.
Gaia Saber, the Lightning Shadow: ATK2600 LINK-3
"WHAAAAATTTT?!" Shingo screamed in shock.
"Oh my gosh! Is that a new Summoning Method?!" Yuzu gasped.
"It…It is!" Yuya whispered, his eyes going so wide it felt like they'd pop out.
"The Dueling field…" a female worker gasped, seeing the Duel Field alter, adding two new spaces between the Player Fields.
"What are those two spaces between them? Why is that monster on one?!" a male worker pondered.
"The energy from this method is massive!" a second female worker exclaimed, "It's rivaling Pendulum Summoning even!"
"It's been classified as Link Summoning!" the first worker declared as the silver-haired man rose up to his feet, narrowing his eyes.
"Another Summoning Method unknown to us…" he spoke before ordering them all, "Get me information on him immediately."
"I'd like to use Cyberse Wizard's effect, but Gaia isn't a Cyberse monster," Lan noted, "So I'll go straight to battle! Gaia, take down Ultimate Dart Striker with Lightning Spiral Strike!"
"Grrr…" Shingo growled before slamming a foot into the trash can behind him, sending an Action Card up from it and was snatched by him, "I don't think so! I activate the Action Spell - Evasion!" Shingo declared as Ultimate Dart Striker leapt over the charging cyber knight, "Now your attack misses!"
"Tch," Lan scowled, "I end my turn with the Swords of Revealing Light, negating your Battle Phase for three Turns!"
"What?!" Shingo gawked as swords of pure light shot out of the darkened skies above and rained down upon his monsters, floating around them and Shingo, "Ghh…"
"Now to get your captives off of there in case you deliberately attack it when you attack me," Lan went on as he looked at the tower, "Gaia, Cyberse Wizard!"
Gaia's steed gave a cry as it and the wizard flew up to the top. Gaia offered a hand, helping the girls onto his steed, as Cyberse Wizard waved his staff, making a grid-shape platform that the boys climbed onto. The two proceeded to work together and brought them all down to the streets. Cyberse Wizard gave a formal bow as he flew back to Lan as Gaia nodded to them before riding off after the wizard, rejoining Lan at his side.
"Tch…" Shingo clicked his teeth in anger, seeing the non-Duelists making their way away from getting pulled back into it all, "You brat!" he drew a card before a familiar beep went off on his Duel Disk, "Oh what now?"
"The Pendulum Cards appear to be treated as Magic Cards when they are used on the Pendulum Scale," the man's voice informed.
"Huh?" Shingo pondered before looking at the card he drew and chuckled, "Oh, I really am chosen by the cards! I activate the Magic Card Cricket Close!"
"Cricket Close?" Lan repeated as the two Pendulum Monsters began to glow with a red aura.
"Now by negating the effects of two Spell Cards on my field, I can negate the effects of one of your cards!" Shingo explained, "And Pendulum Monsters are treated as both Monster and Magic Cards depending on where I play them! And right now, in the Pendulum Zones, they're Magic!"
"Huh?! But…But how?! I didn't know that!" Yuya exclaimed in disbelief as the two monsters were bound by a pair of transparent dart boards before their bodies shattered, leaving just the cards floating in the air, "No!"
The dart boards crackled before firing off a cyan beam each, striking the Swords of Revealing Light and dispersing them.
"Nice try with a trash card like that!" Shingo sneered, "People have been bypassing that for years now!" he pointed at Lan and mimicked throwing a dart at him, "But the rest…They'll belong to me just like the Pendulum Cards!" he swiped a hand out, "I release Power Darts Striker and Rocket Darts Striker in order to power up Ultimate Darts Striker!" the two monsters transformed and combined with Ultimate Darts Striker's dart, becoming a massive blaster, "First, Power Darts Striker gives Ultimate Darts Striker 600 Attack Points! Then, Rocket Darts Striker lets him now inflicting Piercing Damage! So even if you play one in Defense, no way you'll win~"
Ultimate Darts Striker: ATK3000
"3000 Attack Points?!" Futoshi gawked.
"Big Bro Lan's in danger!" Ayu panicked as Shingo ran into a building and jumped out of the second floor window, holding an Action Card.
"And I'll add a boost to it with Double Attack! Now take down that stupid Cyberse Wizard, Ultimate Dart Striker, adding double your Attack point for a total of 6000!"
"Huh?!" Lan gawked.
Ultimate Darts Striker: ATK6000
"How's he finding all those cards?" Maylu asked in disbelief.
"Some Duelists tend to favor one Action Field so much that they've memories all the places for Action Spells and Action Traps there and where they're normally found," Yuzu explained, narrowing her eyes at the laughing Shingo, "This must be one he's spent enough time on to find them all and memorize which is good and which is bad."
"Now go, Ultimate Darts Striker! Attack Cyberse Wizard and end this Duel! ULTIMATE FULL SHOOT!"
The armor on the legs of the monster opened up at the outside halves, firmly pressing down on the ground. A reticule appeared in the orange visor of the monster's mask and targeted the Cyberse Wizard, who tensed as he readied himself for the oncoming strike. With a rising hum, the orange attachment fired off at him. Cyberse Wizard's skin turned blood red and veins began to bulge.
"Oh shoot!" Lan panicked before the attack slammed into his wizard, the explosion sensing Lan flying, "AAAARGH!"
"LAN!" Maylu cried out as the teen bounced across the floor several times before Gaia could catch him.
"Yes! I win! Now I…what?" Shingo gasped as he noticed something.
Lan: 500
"No way! That was supposed to be 4200 points! A One-Hit Kill! Why do you have 500 left?!" Shingo demanded as Lan slowly got up.
"My…second facedown from…the first turn was…Rush Recklessly," Lan explained, his facedown revealed, "This increases a monster's Attack by 700, making him 2500, so 3500 was my damage…"
"Fine. I end my turn and use Ultimate Dart Striker's effect, reviving my other two Dart Monsters in Defense Mode," Shingo scoffed, "Now go make your last Turn."
Lan narrowed his eyes as he began to reach for his Deck…before tensing as something shifted in the air. Static crackled before small patches of wind materialized in tints of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. More and more gathered as thunder rumbled in the air. Yuzu let out a yelp as, in the distance, a tornado made of the winds ripped out of the clouds and slammed into the ground, shattering the buildings into pixels as it began to move.
"Oh my god…" Maylu gasped, her eyes growing wide in horror at the massive tornado, "It's…It's a Data Storm!"
"A what?!" Yuzu asked.
"Gah! Sir, we have to shut down our scanners! That storm is too powerful!" a worker exclaimed as the machines in the room alongside the computers began to spark and explode, "ARGH!"
The man in glasses narrowed his eyes, "What in the world is that?"
"A Data Storm," the man glanced over his shoulder at a figure in the shadows nearby, "They're the physical result of multiple computer systems working on multiple things at once in a close area. Your system here must make them capable of materializing."
"A Data Storm…"
"It's coming this way!" Tatsuya panicked.
"We gotta run now!" Futoshi screamed.
"Lan, hurry!" Maylu shouted.
"Right! I'm…" Lan began moving towards them…
"LAN!"
…before pausing as a voice ripped through his ears, his eyes widening in recognition, 'Hub?' he turned around to see the oncoming Data Storm, "..."
"Lan?" Maylu pondered before Lan got onto Gaia's steed.
"Hurry! Into the storm, Gaia Saber!" Lan ordered.
"WHAT?!" Maylu gasped as Gaia's steed cried out in determination as it charged at the Data Storm, "LAN!"
"What is he doing?" Shingo questioned, Ultimate Dart Striker holding onto him to keep the tornado-like anomaly from pulling him into it as the suction started to form as it got closer.
With a roar, Gaia pierced the Data Storm with his lances, letting them into it. Lan grit his teeth as he held onto Gaia, his noble steed charging through the storm. Slowly, Lan reached out ahead with his right hand. A light shined just inches before the palm of it as the winds seemed to want to be pulled into the light. He roared as he reached out and grasped the light. The moment he did, the Data Storm dispersed and Lan lowered his hand and looked at the light that shot into his Deck, shaping into a card at the top of it.
"..." he smirked, "Gaia…Thanks for this." The digitized knight nodded as Lan jumped off onto a building under them and spun around to see Shingo in the sky via Ultimate Dart Striker flying him up to land on a building across from Lan, "Shingo, prepare yourself! Because this Action Duel is mine and my Deck's!" he drew and immediately played a card in his hand, "Let's go! I use Card of Sanctity to let us draw until we have six cards in our Hands! I summon my Cyberse Converter!"
From a digital gate, a new Cyberse materialized. It resembled a small satellite of sorts with a robotic angular 'head' made of a black LED screen with two large green devices at its sides that resembled rocket engines. It let out several beeps as it looked upon Gaia Saber.
Cyberse Converter: ATK1000
"Heh. You summoned something so weak and pitiful. It can't hold a candle to my monsters!" Shingo laughed.
"You're wrong about that. All cards are valuable in their own ways," Lan replied, "And Cyberse Converter has a fun effect when I normal summon it! Change Gaia into a Cyberse Type, Cyberse Converter! Cyberse Conversion!"
"Why's he turning Gaia into a Cyberse?" Yuya pondered as the new Monster shot a green beam of data at Gaia and his steed.
"Next, since I have a Cyberse monster on the field, I can special summon Backup Secretary!" Lan went on as a female, purple-haired monster with a digital cape, skirt, and visor with black secretary uniform appeared.
Backup Secretary: ATK1200
"And then I play the Magic Card One-Time Passcode! This lets me summon a Security Token!" Lan declared as a blue pass with a sheep-like monster stamped onto it appeared.
Security Token: ATK2000
"Now I create the Circuit for our Tomorrow!" Lan declared, causing the Link Gate to appear once more, "Arrowheads confirmed! I require two or more Cyberse Monsters! I set my Link-3 Gaia Saber, the Lightning Shadow, along with my Security Token and Backup Secretary into the Link Markers!"
Gaia nodded before shooting off into the Link Markers with Backup Secretary holding onto Security Token. The gate shined brightly before a new Monster erupted from it. It looked like a bulkier Decode Talker, but in whites instead of blues with a massive white and gold shield.
"I summon Link-3 Encode Talker!"
Encode Talker: ATK2300 LINK-3
"And now once more! Open the Circuit that creates our Tomorrow!" Lan declared, "Arrowheads confirmed! The summoning conditions are two or more Effect Monsters. I set the two Materials of Cyberse Converter and Link-3 Encode Talker in the Link Markers! Circuit combine!" Lan declared, "Seize the wind that connects to the Network! Link Summon! Link 4 Accesscode Talker!"
From the gate, a familiar beam of lavender erupted from it. It spiraled around and shot into the clouds above before dispersing itself along with the clouds, revealing the powerful Accesscode Talker. The knight raised his spear into the air and gave a loud roar, sunlight shining down upon him as if the world favored his existence.
Accesscode Talker: ATK2300 LINK-4
"Accesscode Talker!" Maylu cheered, joy filling her upon seeing the Monster that defeated Yuri.
"It just parted the storm with its summoning…" Yuzu awed.
"A-Amazing," Yuya gasped, his eyes focused on the knight before looking to Lan, who was smirking with raw confidence, 'Lan…'
"Accesscode Talker's effect triggers! It gains 1000 ATK times the Link Rating of a Link Monster I used for their summon! Accesscode Talker gains 3000 Attack from the Link-3 Encode Talker!" Lan declared.
"Wait, what?!" Shingo panicked as the lights on Accesscode Talker grew stronger.
Accesscode Talker: ATK5300
"Accesscode Talker, attack Ultimate Dart Striker with Access Deletion!" Lan ordered while Accesscode Talker roared as he raised his lance up and shot off at Ultimate Dart Striker.
"N-Now wait a minute! Wait just a minute!" Shingo panicked as he backed away, realizing that the Data Storm had scattered the Action Cards and one was at his side now, "Huh?"
"No more waiting, Shingo! You're losing to my Ace and giving Yuya back his Magicians here and now!" Lan replied.
"Ghh…I think not!" Shingo declared, grabbing the card…before letting out a strangled gurgle, "N-No…" the card displayed a magenta border with a game of pool going on, "Not Break Shot…" a wall of giant pool balls went by, slamming into Ultimate Dart Striker and barely avoided his other two monsters, "That decreases his Attack by 900…"
Ultimate Dark Striker: ATK1500
"Which means you lose!" Lan declared.
Accescode Talker roared as his spear impaled Ultimate Dart Striker. The blue-wearing monster screamed as his body glowed before violently exploding, the shockwave shattering his fellow Dart Strikers and sending Shingo into the river by them with a terrified, girlish scream.
Shingo: 0 LOSE
Lan: 500 WIN
Accesscode Talker caught the two Pendulum cards that fell from the sky before flying back over to Lan. Lan smiled as he accepted the cards in the monster's hand.
"Thank you, all of you," Lan thanked, looking at Accesscode Talker and then to his Deck and Graveyard, as the Action Field faded away along with his Monster.
"Lan, that was amazing!" Yuzu exclaimed as the group ran over to him before Maylu got ahead of them all and hugged him.
"You terrified me when you actually went into the Data Storm," Maylu admitted.
"Sorry for the scare, but…" Lan looked at his pendant and whispered, "I…I heard Hub."
"?! You did?" Maylu softly asked, earning a nod.
"Yeah," Lan replied before seeing Yuya walk over with Yuzu's help, "Hey, man." He handed the cards over to Yuya, "I'm glad to give these back to you."
"...Thanks…"
"Let's get out of here before they snap out of their shock," Yuzu advised before they quickly left, leaving a down and dazed Shingo on the ground with his rear stuck in the air and his face planted firmly into the ground.
"Don't let them…"
"It's fine," the man in glasses advised.
"But Mr. President…"
"We'll have more opportunities to get data on Pendulum and Link Summoning," he responded before walking off, the figure in the shadows following, "...Were you expecting them to have survived?"
"Sakurai? Hardly. Hikari, however…" the figure spoke as he emerged from the shadows due to the windows, revealing him to be Chaud, "I had a feeling he wouldn't be Carded like everyone else."
Yuya sat on a bridge, gazing out solemnly at the horizon of the sunset. Footsteps reached his ears before someone sat near him. He tried to ignore the person…until they spoke.
"People will learn how to Pendulum Summon, just like how they'll learn Link Summoning," Lan spoke, "We both invented a revolutionized method for Dueling and people will figure it out like Shingo did with your Magicians." Yuya looked at him, "What about the people who made Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz? You think they were thinking it'd be exclusive to them?" He shook his head, "Nah. Give it time and people will be making Pendulum and Link cards along with support for them. Am I upset when that comes? A little. However, I'm also excited for when it comes. What will they do with it? What's gonna come next in a Duel? It's gonna be exciting and terrifying, but I'm more excited for what things people come up with using what I made!"
"Y-You're excited for losing what makes you feel special?"
"A little, but I know it's inevitable," Lan noted with a shrug, "I'm trying to be ready for it because I know it's coming. Especially after that Duel." he narrowed his eyes, "Someone was ordering him around during it to get the Pendulum Scale to work. That first draw he made must have been Tiemgazer and he was going to summon it."
"But you need to set it in the Pendulum Zone for that!" Yuya gawked.
"Exactly. And you saw how he was about to play it when I got him all wound up, right?" Lan reminded him.
"Huh? Um…Oh! He suddenly got terrified just before he could play that first card!" Yuya realized.
"Bingo. He had someone talking in his ear during the Duel, one who wanted to figure out Pendulum Summoning," Lan spoke, "And you can be certain they'll be after my Link monsters next. Joke's on them, though. Almost all my Link Monsters need Cyberse monsters." he opened his Extra Deck and held them up, "See?"
"Huh…They really do," Yuya noted before chuckling, "They'd have to take your whole Deck to make them work."
"Yep! But if they wanna make the cards, good luck. I'm hoping to ask your mom how copyrights and patents work."
"Huh? My mom?"
"Yuzu's dad is nice and all, but…um…"
"I get ya," Yuya nodded before rubbing his chin in thought, "That…honestly feels like a good idea."
Lan nodded, "Then it's probably a good idea to get this done sooner than later."
"Right. …And…thanks, Lan," Yuya thanked.
"No problem," Lan replied, offering a fistbump, "We're friends, after all."
Yuya nodded, returning the fistbump.
GT: Nobody expects the changes!