Sho was on his way out when he heard Asuka call after him. He turned and asked,
"What is it now? Another peace offering?"
"No," Asuka replied, setting her face sternly. "Sora Shuinin was attacked last night."
"That's unfortunate… you're accusing me?" Sho asked, narrowing his eyes to match hers.
"It came to me during our duel," Asuka told him. "It makes sense - a former Academia student with such a grudge, he's almost stopped using Fusion Monsters altogether?"
"By that argument, it could have been you!" Sho scoffed.
"So you're denying it?" Asuka asked.
"The real question is, do you have any actual proof? Are you going to make some citizen's arrest or something based on a gut feeling?"
Asuka watched him leave, staring daggers into his back.
That night, a figure all in black crossed the pavement in front of the LDS.
Ryo activated his duel disk and placed a card on it, summoning Cyber End Dragon behind him. It raised its heads and fired a trio of beams up into the air.
"Seriously? There was an attack on the LDS?" Yuya cried in disbelief at Reiji's call.
"It's true," he replied. "Ryo Marufuji disappeared after his duel, and Sho after his. Ryo just appeared in front of the LDS building and battled multiple Leo Corp personnel. At the same time, there was an information breach in our systems. It appears Ryo's attack was just a diversion. Now there's no trace of either brother."
"I'll go help search!" Yuya sprang up and headed for the door.
"Hang on, don't rush out by yourself," Yoko called.
"You should help Dad go search," Yuya told her. "I'll take Sora and meet up with Yuzu."
At the docks, Yuya and Sora found Yuzu had brought Asuka as well. After a few minutes, they discovered a warehouse with the door open.
"Why does everyone always hide out here?" Yuzu whispered as they approached. Peeking around the doorway, they saw both Marufuji brothers dressed in sleek black body armor that covered them from head to toe.
"I got the data," Sho said, slouching on a box. "Leo Corp has just the detailed files we wanted, on every duelist in the city. Especially the Lancers."
"There were two spies all along?" Yuzu murmured, leaning on Yuya's shoulder. That was when someone dropped behind them from the roof above and announced,
"Three."
The four of them whirled around and stared in shock at who had appeared. Yuzu raised her hand to her mouth in shock.
"Yuma?"
As unbelievable as it seemed, Yuma Tsukumo was standing in front of them in the exact same armor as the Marufujis.
"Well, isn't this an interesting meeting?" Sho remarked as he approached them with his brother.
"I knew you were hiding something," Asuka said. "It was you who attacked Sora, wasn't it?" Sora gasped, his eyes widening, as something seemed to register in his brain.
"Like I said, it was unfortunate," Sho replied. "There was too much to risk by letting him snoop around, and then…"
"Then you looked Asuka in the eye and lied through your teeth to cover your back?" Yuzu said, fuming.
"I avoided telling the whole truth," Sho replied. "When the mission calls for it, there's no choice… eh, Sora?" Sora stiffened.
"I'm not that person anymore."
"Well, maybe not," Sho sighed. "If you were, I'd probably have to listen to you crying about losing to a 'filthy Xyz loving traitor' or something."
"Why you little creep!" Yuzu growled. "You don't even deserve to be called a hundredth-rate duellist, you… you thousandth-rate duellist!"
"Well now you're just being melodramatic," Sho gave her an unimpressed look. "Anyway, you're calling me a creep after everything Sora did to deceive you?" Yuzu kept glaring at him.
"A slimy pus-ball like you shouldn't even be called a duelist at all," she hissed. Sho was still calm, but Ryo wasn't.
"Yuzu… you have insulted my brother enough."
"I'll be your opponent, Ryo," Yuya said, putting himself between them. "If it'll get some answers, then let's just settle things now." Yuya could feel his dragons in his deck, their anger rising, and he steadied his mind to spread his calmness to them. The duel would only be to discover the truth.
"Fine," Ryo said. He raised his left arm and they saw that a duel disk was integrated into his armor. When he activated it, a blade appeared unlike any they'd seen before; a translucent electric blue and far more detailed, marked with individual card zones and data feeds. A second, smaller blade sat slightly behind and above the first. Screens and displays in the same color appeared surrounding the disk and Ryo's helmet.
"ACTION FIELD ACTIVATED: CROSSOVER," Yuya's duel disk AI announced. Ryo smirked as his disk announced,
"ACTION FIELD ACTIVATED: BATTLE DOME." A dome of purplish energy spread out through the warehouse, throwing objects aside and pushing Yuya's friends back.
"What is this?!" Yuzu asked as she pushed her hands futilely on the barrier.
"Our battle dome creates a barrier to prevent outside interference in the duel," Yuma said.
"Yeah? Well let's see how it likes our monsters," Asuka said, hitting the activator on her duel disk. Nothing happened.
"Sorry, but there'll be no ganging up this time," Sho stated. "And to make sure everyone's focused on the right thing…" Raising his duel disk arm, he caused a new force field to appear, separating himself and Yuma from the other three, in the same translucent blue as the new disks' lights.
"In a duel with Battle Dome," Ryo said, "only one action card can be picked up by either player per turn."
"Action cards are…" Yuya began.
"How the Lancers fight, I know," Ryo went on. "Well this is how we fight!"
"Well then, let's see…" Yuya said, starting his turn.
"You're going first against him?" Yuzu questioned.
"I activate the Field Spell, Sky Iris!" Yuya began. "Then I set Performapal Odd-Eyes Synchron in my right Pendulum Zone. I use Sky Iris's Effect to destroy a face-up card I control and add an Odd-Eyes card to my hand from the deck. I destroy my Synchron and add Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Now I Normal Summon Performapal Trump Witch!"
"Huh?" Yuzu remarked, surprised that Yuya hadn't Pendulum Summoned yet.
"I tribute Trump Witch to add Polymerization to my hand!" Yuya announced. "I use Polymerization to fuse Odd-Eyes and Performapal Longphone Bull! With an Odd-Eyes and Performapal monster, I can summon…
Creatures of performance and of glorious eyes, unite! Fusion Summon! Introducing, Performapal Odd-Eyes Metal Claw!"
He summoned a massive bipedal wolf covered in armor that resembled Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, with 3000 ATK.
"When Metal Claw is summoned with Polymerization, he is unaffected by other cards' effects," Yuya explained.
"So he can't be taken or negated by Ryo's new Infinity monster?" Yuzu noted.
"I set a card and end my turn," Yuya said.
"Interesting plan," Ryo remarked as he drew. "I summon Cyber Dragon Core! I'll use its effect to add Cyber Emergency to my hand."
"But now you can't summon Cyber Dragon..?" Asuka pointed out.
"Can't I?" Ryo replied, and placed a spell card on his duel disk's rear blade. "I activate Machine Duplication to target my monster with 500 or less attack points and summon two more copies from my deck… but because Cyber Dragon Core is treated as Cyber Dragon on the field, I summon the originals!"
Two Cyber Dragons appeared, one on either side of their smaller counterpart. Yuya flinched and his friends gasped at seeing two Cyber Dragons on Ryo's first turn.
"Now, I overlay my two level 5 LIGHT Cyber Dragons!" Ryo announced. "Xyz Summon! Arise, rank 5 Cyber Dragon Nova!"
"Already?!" Yuzu shouted.
"With Cyber Dragon Core still on the field, I can activate the Evolution Burst spell card!" Ryo called. I target and destroy your set card!" Yuya's trap was destroyed and he winced. He'd been counting on that to ward off attacks. Ryo was apparently thinking the same thing.
"Metal Claw may be protected from effects, but I can still defeat him with attack points!" Ryo declared. "Since Cyber Dragon Core counts as a Cyber Dragon on the field, I banish it to give Nova an extra 2100 attack!" The Core vanished and Nova's attack points rose to 4200. "Battle Phase! Cyber Dragon Nova attacks Odd-Eyes Metal Claw!"
Yuya turned on his Real Solid Vision powered roller blades and propelled himself sideways, building up momentum to launch off the side of the barrier and up to a platform, where he snatched an action card. With no other choice, he activated it.
"Action spell: Single Destruction! Cyber Dragon Nova is destroyed!"
Ryo's monster exploded and he flinched, gritting his teeth like he was in physical pain. However, he recovered quickly.
"Nice try," Ryo said, "but Cyber Dragon Nova has another effect. When you send it to my graveyard with a card effect, I can Special Summon a Machine Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck! Cry out once, twice, three times for victory eternal - Cyber End Dragon!"
Cyber End Dragon had to slump over and still filled the whole warehouse, shifting stacks of crates aside as it materialized.
"My Battle Phase continues! Eternal Evolution Burst!"
Remembering the new rule, Yuya realized there was nothing he could do. Metal Claw was destroyed and he was flung backwards, reduced to 3000 life points.
"Before I end my turn, though," Ryo said, "I have a question. Can Yuri hear what I'm saying?"
"He's listening…" Yuya replied.
"I couldn't help but think back to Academia, and how much I hated him."
"He's… not surprised," Yuya relayed Yuri's reaction.
"Yes, I hated him because I could see what he really was, but also for all the attention the Professor heaped on him, how he was always the strongest… and because I wanted his job."
"That is an interesting thought," Yuya heard Yuri speak up. "Funny how for as much as the Professor claimed to fear Zarc's power, he was so eager to use it for himself. Makes you think how things could have gone differently, doesn't it? Would the Professor have locked me up? Or maybe he would have just had me killed?"
Yuya shook off the disturbed feeling from Yuri speaking so candidly.
"Were you going somewhere with this?" he asked Ryo.
"Just something I wanted to get off my chest, I suppose," Ryo replied. "Your turn."
"Did all this start from your duel with Shun?" Yuya asked as he set himself back in position.
"Or after ours?" Asuka asked, looking at Sho. Neither brother answered.
"I activate Pot of Riches!" Yuya declared. "By returning three Pendulum Monsters that are face-up on my extra deck or in my graveyard to my deck, I can then draw two cards! Odd-Eyes, Trump Witch and Longphone Bull return from my graveyard to deck!" Yuzu was relieved, noting that Yuya had used up his entire hand on the field that Ryo had promptly demolished.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with scale 1 Performapal Monkeyboard and scale 3 Performapal Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix!" The two monsters rose up in pillars of blue light. "Since Monkeybaord was activated in a Pendulum Zone this turn, I can search my deck for a different Performapal - I add Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn to my hand! I now use Sky Iris's effect again, and destroy Light Phoenix to add Odd-Eyes to my hand again. Since I don't have a Performapal in both Pendulum Zones now, Monkeyboard's scale increases to 4 - but, it'll go back once I set my other zone with scale 8 Odd-Eyes Unicorn! I can now Special Summon monsters from level 2 to 7 simultaneously!
Swing, Pendulum of the soul! Carve an arc of light across the sky! Pendulum Summon! Come out, my monsters! From my extra deck: level 2 Odd-Eyes Synchron, level 5 Light Phoenix, and from my hand, with his beautiful dual-colored eyes, level 7 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
The monsters emerged from the streams of light, Odd-Eyes Synchron in defense position with 600 DEF, Light Phoenix and Odd-Eyes in attack with, respectively, 2000 and 2500 ATK.
"Now let's battle!" Yuya declared, leaping onto Odd-Eyes' shoulders. Yuzu was glad he had a plan, having seen before that Pot of Riches prevented Yuya from making Special Summons other than Pendulum for the rest of the turn. Ryo didn't look surprised either, and as he looked over Yuya's monsters his eyes settled on Unicorn and widened.
"Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attacks Cyber End Dragon!" Yuya declared. "And when an Odd-Eyes monster attacks, Unicorn lets me target another Performapal monster and add their attack points to the attacking monster! I target Light Phoenix so Odd-Eyes gains 2000 attack during this battle! Spiral Flame Strike Burst!" Unicorn's horn shone and rained down waves of light. Odd-Eyes' mouth blazed with red, golden and black flames as his ATK rose to 4500. Ryo gasped out loud, showing genuine panic for the first time in the duel, and tapped at one of the hard light screens projected from his duel disk. In a flash of blue light, he vanished, and Yuya and his friends watched in shock as he reappeared on a platform in the air, grabbing an action card.
"This turn's action card is mine!" he called. Disappointment flashed over his face for a moment when he looked at the card before activating it. "Quick Guard! I switch Cyber End Dragon to defense mode!" Cyber End hunched over further and wrapped its wings around itself before it was engulfed in the flames. Ryo turned his head and squeezed one eye shut, shielding his face.
"Odd-Eyes' effect would activate against a level 10 monster, but zero damage times two is still zero," he grunted.
"But I can still attack directly with Light Phoenix!" Yuya shouted. His Phoenix flew upwards and shot down lightning bolts from its wings. Ryo was pushed back off the platform, but immediately recovered in midair and hopped back across several of them to the ground, barely fazed even though half of his life points were just wiped out by a direct attack.
"Now are you willing to talk some more?" Yuya insisted. "Why did you all make the attack on LDS now? Was too much given away in your duels? You must have been watching Sho's."
"I did see what Sho said, but I didn't call it off because of anyone getting suspicious. It's because I agree with him. This has gone on long enough. 'Entertainment Dueling?' Dueling for peace? No matter how you dress it up, at the end of the day we're still making our monsters tear into each other. Sure, you might have stopped destruction some of the time, but even in your quest to quell Zarc you couldn't save them all. What happens when too many players don't have a card to protect their monsters? What if they can't find the right action card, or get to one in time?
I mean, what's everyone supposed to do against you - let you win because they're afraid of your dragons?"
"Then… how can you justify dueling at all?" Yuya asked.
"Because, Yuya, to me, and my monsters, this is no game.
Now! I activate the spell, Cyber Emergency! I search my deck for my third Cyber Dragon, which I'll now Special Summon by its effect! And next, I activate Overload Fusion! I can Fusion Summon a DARK Machine by banishing materials from my field or graveyard! I banish this Cyber Dragon and every other machine in my graveyard!
Strike out for vengeance and rip victory from the grasp of the enemy! Fusion Summon! Appear, Chimeratech Overdragon!"
An even bigger robotic dragon sprouted multiple heads, shaking the whole warehouse.
"First, Chimeratech Overdragon sends every other card I control to the graveyard," Ryo said as Overdragon sent out a shockwave that staggered everybody. "Then, it gains 800 attack points for each monster used in its summon!" The floor cracked, walls shook, and a stack of boxes loosened right above where Yuzu, Sora and Asuka staggered off their feet. Everyone cried out, Yuya feeling like he was moving in slow motion as he turned, Sho and Yuma starting forward in shock as Asuka instinctively tried to move protectively in front of the two younger duelists.
"No!" Ryo shouted. Overdragon surged forward, the barrier collapsing and allowing it to throw itself over the three and block the crates as they tumbled down. Yuzu, Sora and Asuka looked up, shaken but unharmed as it rose back up.
"Never again." Ryo was trembling. "Never again." He looked back up at Yuya sharply. "It's too dangerous to continue the duel. You can win this one." He reached for his deck. Yuya pulled his out as well.
"It's a draw," he offered. "Now will you tell me what all this is about?"
"You," Ryo sighed. "All of the Lancers, but especially you. Entering the tournament, the data theft, all of it was planned ahead before we arrived."
"But why?" Yuya pressed.
"It's time to go," Ryo said, addressing his teammates behind them. "We've risked too much already. We're pulling out."
"You mean I blew my cover for nothing?" Yuma grumbled.
"Just because we lost a couple of duels doesn't mean we've failed-!" Sho argued.
"What do we do at this point, take on the whole city?" Ryo replied. "My decision's final." Yuma and Sho cast one last look across their rivals before both entering commands into their duel disks and disappearing. Ryo sighed again, shaking his head.
"Will you at least tell us what you want?" Yuya asked. Ryo paused before speaking again.
"The dimensions are wounded. There's a great, festering gash across each of them, and no-one hasn't been affected by the infection."
"You're not trying to..?"
"To reunite them?" Ryo scoffed. "You misunderstand. The damage is spiritual, not physical. It's the people who can't heal. We're going to achieve that the only real way possible: by finding the rot… and cutting it out."
"Who's 'we'?" Asuka asked.
"Remember the name," Ryo announced as he tapped the controls on his duel disk, and his voice rang out as he vanished. "We're the Dimension Duelists! The ones who will save the dimensions!"
And with that, what could be considered the first act, or arc, of the story can be considered over. I'll be ready to work on the next part as soon as it's safe to come out from under my desk from the storm of controversy that's doubtlessly coming, considering the backlash I received just from the way I handled the new characters, let alone having ones as villains.
Next time: Now that the Dimension Duelists have revealed themselves and retreated, the Lancers reassemble to prepare for what to do next.