"And that was the last thing he said?" Reiji asked.
"Yes, that was it," Yuya replied. Reiji propped his arms on his desk, interlacing his fingers in front of his face.
"It seems this organization has been watching us for some time." He paused for a moment. "Then there's the abilities they demonstrated… creating hard light constructs at will and short-range, intra-dimensional teleportation."
"That's not usually possible without cards, right?" Yuzu spoke up. "The Real Solid Vision technology is tied to them, and there are limits on what duel disks can handle? That's why the Crossover field is so minimalist, and projected objects like the Dimensional Highway still require bulky generators?" Reiji replied with a sharp nod.
"In complete honesty, much of Real Solid Vision's mechanisms remain a black box of sorts. I spent years reverse-engineering what my father had developed based on his memories from the Original Dimension. How, and why, it was tied so closely to Duel Monsters was long a mystery, that the answer to has since become all too clear." He ignored the nervous air that had risen in the room and continued. "Yet it would appear that these Dimension Duelists have not only recreated my father's technology, but actually improved upon it."
"So, what do we do?" Yuya asked.
"As of now, the Lancers are reinstated," Reiji replied. "I can't say for certain what to expect next, but we need to prepare to defend our home." He locked eyes with Yuya, trying to gauge his emotions. "This will be fully voluntary of course, but I hope you all understand the gravity of the situation we're facing."
Through the sprawling corridors of a high-tech base, black-armored duelists traveled to receive or begin their assignments. Within the heart of the base, Ryo, Sho and Yuma stood facing their Commander.
"I gave the order to withdraw," Ryo said, trying to give an explanation for the debriefing they'd just given.
"I acted overzealously and compromised our position," Sho insisted.
"I gave away my identity unnecessarily," Yuma added. The Commander saw that they were attempting to take blame off each other and raised his hand, silencing them.
"The mission, overall, can be considered a partial success," he said. "You retrieved data on Miami City's duelists, tested the Lancers' capabilities and even gained personal experience against Yuya Sakaki."
The three boys looked relieved. However, Yuma couldn't resist speaking again.
"Do… we need to make enemies of the Lancers?" He stiffened as the Commander shifted his gaze onto him.
"Unfortunately, we need to be prepared for anyone being our enemy." Satisfied that he had settled down the conversation, the Commander asked, "Are you ready for your next orders?" The other three snapped to attention and nodded simultaneously.
"Good. First, go rest up. Then, get ready for redeployment. I'm going to be stepping up our operations soon."
Several days had passed and Miami City was still on edge though they had gone without incident. The tournament had been canceled, unavoidable with multiple participants disappearing even disregarding that three of them were now fugitives.
"What an awful thing to happen," Shuzo stated. "That tournament was supposed to mark our childrens' entrance into the Pro Dueling world. Instead…"
"Did Yuzu agree to go?" Yoko asked him, and Shuzo grimaced.
"She insisted on it. I couldn't talk her down. What about Yuya?"
"With Yuzu going, there's no chance of him refusing even if there was before," Yoko smiled.
"Where is he now, by the way? And Yusho, for that matter?" Shuzo asked.
"Out," Yoko replied simply, with her smile unchanging.
They sat together on the bridge, looking out over the water.
"I never expected that I could be heading out across the dimensions again by next week, or tomorrow," said Yuya.
"I certainly didn't expect it either," Yusho replied. "I want so badly to come with you this time."
"But this is too important a time for your leg treatment," Yuya said. "You'll be able to do a lot more when it's healed better." It was a sad truth that Yusho's leg might never fully recover, but he had seen some improvements compared to the last three years when he'd had to rely on the limited resources of the Fusion Dimension's underground resistance. Yuya hesitated, unsure how to say what had been hanging on his mind.
"I always tried to bring your philosophy to wherever I went, but I had points where I didn't know if I could convey it. I thought we'd managed to get through to everyone, but now I… I'm a little scared, Dad."
"That's okay, Yuya."
"Huh?" Yuya looked up and aside to Yusho in surprise. Yusho sighed and looked back with a weary smile.
"I used to tell you that you could solve all your problems by smiling no matter what. I was unable to see, for far too long, what a mistake that was."
"Dad, I…"
"No, I was wrong, and I'm sorry. You should never be ashamed of your true feelings. Just make sure that you don't lose sight of your principles, and you'll be able to find your way forward."
"You're sure?" Reiji asked, looking at a screen displaying a young man with spiky, blazing orange hair. Crow Hogan.
"Definitely," Crow replied grimly. "There have been sightings around the city, and the rumors have started matching your description - Dimension Duelists."
"I see," Reiji interlaced his fingers. "Perhaps it's time for the Lancers to return to the Synchro Dimension."
Ayu, Tetsuya and Futoshi gathered for a tearful farewell along with their families. Most of the students who'd come to their dimension had returned home for their safety; Kaito had returned to Xyz to guard it against any sign of the Dimension Duelists, but Kurosaki was coming with them, as were Asuka and Sora. Along with Gongenzaka and Sawutari, both of the ninja brothers, Reiji's bodyguards, stood with him; Tsukikage, the moon shadow, and Hikage, the sun shadow. That made for almost the full original lineup of the Lancers present (even Serena, technically), plus extra.
"Are you okay, Yuya?" Yuzu asked him aside.
"I talked to your dad earlier," he replied. "I made a promise that I'd keep you safe."
"He took some convincing that I -and all of us- weren't backing down," Yuzu said.
"I'm sorry… a few people have gotten quite protective," Yuya said, showing some embarrassment. Yuzu couldn't help but give a smile.
To be fair, I did die for a while, she thought, but decided it was better not to say it out loud.
"I just can't help thinking of the first time I was here, ready to head to Synchro, and everything that happened then," Yuya admitted. Yuzu took his hand.
"I won't let us get separated this time."
"Yuzu? Yuzu?" Yuya called, looking around frantically.
"I'm here, Yuya," Yuzu called back. Yuya blew out a relieved breath that felt like it was leaving his whole body. Seeing that they were all together, the group looked around at the recently-rechristened Neo Domino City, named in honor of some of their lost history being discovered (not to mention starting to consider how odd it was that 'City' didn't really have a proper name).
They were greeted by a black D-Wheel pulling up, the rider removing his helmet and grinning at them.
"Crow!" Yuya stepped forward. They took each other's hand and clapped each other on the shoulder.
"It's good to see you in person again," Reiji said, "but we have more urgent things to discuss, correct?"
"Right," Crow replied, his face growing serious.
"This was caught on camera and shown on the news briefly, but I got a recording before it was pulled from the air," Crow told them back at his house as he played a video on the old TV there. On the screen, a group clearly composed of Dimension Duelists faced off against police officers decked out in the gear of the former Security organization's Arrest Corps. The Arrest Troopers first tried firing their energy net guns to restrain the Dimension Duelists, to which they created energy barriers that tore the nets apart. The troopers next threw tear gas, but the Dimension Duelists simply attached faceplates to their helmets and surged forward, flattening the officers with hard light fields and in some cases, ripping their masks off and leaving them to succumb to their own gas. They left the troopers sprawled in the street, and Reiji paused the video as they were almost casually walking away.
"This is vital information," he remarked, adjusting his glasses thoughtfully. "For all of his many flaws, Jean-Michel Rojet did discover a weakness in battling with duels: you can bypass it all in the right circumstances and just go straight for the duelist. The Dimension Duelists have clearly accounted for this: forcing you to fight on their terms or you stand even less of a chance."
The back door swung open and the three children who lived with Crow; Amanda, Tanner and Frank, entered.
"Kids, I told you to stay outside," Crow told them.
"Yeah, we know, but-" the kids stammered together. "Shinji just pulled up! And there's a convoy of cops coming down the street!"
Outside, though they feared the worst, they instead found the police patiently waiting in front of Crow's house and largely ignoring Shinji, who stood with his D-Wheel off to one side - albeit with the hint of resentment still in his eyes obvious. One of the officers approached the Lancers and gave a short bow of his head. Even with his helmet and sunglasses, Yuya recognised him almost immediately.
"Duel Chaser 227? Wasn't that group disbanded along with the rest of Security?"
"That's right," 227 replied. "It's Officer 227 of the Neo Domino Police Department now. We're here to escort Mr. Reiji to meet with the city's new leadership."
"Thank you," Reiji said diplomatically.
"What about the rest of us?" Yuzu asked.
"I trust you to handle things," Reiji replied. "You've more than proved it."
"Is this normal for him?" Yuzu leaned over and whispered to Yuya as Reiji approached the government car. Yuya wasn't quite sure how to respond. 227 turned back to Yuya and removed an envelope from his coat.
"The Lancers are authorized to work with the NDPD in the apprehension of the Dimension Duelists." He gave another bow and returned to his D-Wheel. Yuya stared at the envelope and didn't think that he should really ask the man's real name until he was already driving away.
"So what are we supposed to do? Just fan out searching through the city?" Asuka questioned.
"Actually, I had a thought, Yuya," Crow said. "I kept your D-Wheel again. We could take a ride around town."
"Oh yeah?" Yuya asked. He turned to Yuzu. "Want to come along?"
"Well… sure," Yuzu replied, trying not to let anyone see her blush. Crow wheeled the red D-Wheel out.
"Kept her in top shape for you."
"I can stay with the kids, so the rest of you can do what you have to do," Shinji said. It was only a few minutes longer until Yuya was driving after Crow with Yuzu on the back.
Over the next few hours, they saw the way the city had been developing. There were no more patrols looking out for reasons to arrest Commons, the slum areas were visibly picking up, with shops and other small businesses having sprouted up all over, and a much greater diversity of people passing through. Still, something irked Yuya at the back of his mind, and it kept growing until he figured it out. Though the division between Tops and Commons no longer existed, it was clear to see who the wealthiest were in any area they passed through. In all the businesses they saw, it was also obvious who was being served and who was doing all the work.
"What's the deal?" he asked Crow. "I'm sure you notice it."
Crow took a moment to think how to reply. Yuya really had seemed to expect the entire city to completely transform overnight, and it was heartbreaking.
"This place used to be… inhuman," he started by reassuring him. "When you showed us, it came as a shock to look at just how inhuman what we'd thought was normal was. This is like breathing fresh air after not knowing what it was your whole life. But… at the end of the day, money speaks, and the Tops -that is to say, the people who were the Tops- have the most."
"Does it make you… disappointed? Angry?" Yuya asked.
"Things are steadily improving," Crow replied. "I can actually look forward to a better future for the kids. That's what I have to keep aiming for."
"Just make sure that you don't lose sight of your principles, and you'll be able to find your way forward." Yuya remembered Yusho's words, and his heart lifted again.
As they drove away, none of them noticed another red D-Wheel parked nearby. A young man sat with his helmet in his lap, tapping at a screen with a brown leather glove. The same glove brushed back his black and gold hair as he studied the zoom-in of Yuya and Yuzu on the screen, and his steel-blue eyes narrowed in interest.
A/N
Void Reader: I think we must have interpreted the ending differently. It appeared to me that Ray just transported the main cast to Miami Stadium to see Yuzu's return; before then, the dimensions remaining seperate (in fact, Leo reversing the uniting process) is a major plot point. As for Yusho's philosophy, I'm not saying it's wrong. I'm saying that there will still be people who can't accept it, and even among those who do, they may not have an easy time of it.
Next time: Yuya and Yuzu investigate how far the Dimension Duelists have infiltrated the city, and their Entertainment Dueling goes head-to-head with the shadowy group's tactics.