Be sure to drop some reviews. I see all of them so feel free to speak out your mind and drop some suggestions or comments about the story. Criticism is also welcome (as long as it isn't brainless flaming of the story).
Disclaimer: Minor spelling, grammar, and other mistakes may be present (gonna be saying this every chapter since while I have looked over these multiple times, there are still always going to be mistakes that slip past me).
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Scale 02: Blazing Revolution
The next day…
Yuuji sat on a couch, staring at a TV intently. Scattered across the table in front of him were a bunch of Pendulum Cards that had just spawned in his deck after his duel against Black Death. On the TV was a video of a youth around his age with tomato-colored hair, performing a Pendulum Summon in front of thousands of onlooking spectators.
"Swing, pendulum! More and more!" Yuya shouted as he drew with all his might, his deck glowing in response as he does so. His pendulum necklace begins to glow as well as it swung around.
The tomato-haired youth paused for a bit, staring at his cards for a few moments in shock. However, this shock doesn't last long as his expression turns serious. The young man reveals two cards in his hand.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician!" Yuya declared as he placed the cards on opposite ends on his duel blade. Two bright, transparent blue pillars appeared behind him, as a magician in white holding a white staff with a circular hilt and a magician in black with gear ornaments scattered across its clothing rose into each of the zones. The numbers 1 and 8 appeared on the zones in a strange, golden font as a giant pendulum materialized in the sky above him.
"Now I can summon monsters between the Levels 2 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuya announced.
"What's happening?" Strong Ishijima wondered aloud.
"Swing, Pendulum of Souls!" Yuya chanted. "Draw an arc across the ether! I Pendulum Summon!" The pendulum necklaces draws a portal in the sky, with three beams of energy shooting out from it. "Come out, my monsters!"
Performapal Whip Snake, Performapal Sword Fish, and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon appear from the beams of energy, swarming onto Yuya's field.
"He summoned three monsters simultaneously?" Strong Ishijima's mouth went agape. "And that Dragon, it's a Level 7 monster! You shouldn't be able to summon high Level monsters like that without tributes!"
But the duel hasn't ended yet, which only meant one thing. This summoning method was completely legal.
The rest of the recording went as follows. Using a combination of his monster's field effects and Pendulum Effects, Yuya manages to break through Strong Ishijima's defenses, dealing the finishing blow with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's effect which deals double damage to the opponent when it battles a Level 5 or higher monster.
Everytime he watched the clip, only one thought arose in his mind.
This is so cool!
At first, Yuuji was a little surprised and disappointed that he wasn't the only one with this weird summoning method. But that feeling was quickly overshadowed by the bubbling excitement brought by seeing it in action.
"Moments like these are the reason I love dueling so much," Yuuji smiled.
He now had a whole new summoning method to learn about. To make things better, unlike with Fusion, Xyz, or Ritual Summoning, he actually had the cards required to do it.
Yuuji began looking through the cards on his table, taking the time to study his new cards thoroughly.
"There are so many new cards in here," The young man commented. "It's a little hard to keep track of all of them."
He took out a card from the pile. Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, the monster he used to defeat Black Death.
"Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon...a DARK Pendulum Dragon monster. So, Pendulum is an attribute, just like Synchro, Xyz, Ritual, and Fusion. Due to it having the Pendulum attribute, it gets an additional effect called a Pendulum Effect, which is active when it is placed in my Pendulum Scale."
Yuuji began rubbing his chin, deep in thought. He picked up the Spell Card, Antique Repair, comparing it with Phantom Dragon.
"That green part of the card...it looks just like that of a Spell Card," The young man noticed. "It must have some sort of significance."
An idea then popped up in Yuuji's mind.
Wait, I remember something. When I set my Pendulum Scale for the first time, on the monitor the cards were placed in the Spell/Trap Zone. Yuuji recalled. Only Spell/Trap Cards can be played in those zones, so if I am able to place my Pendulum Cards in them...
That would mean that Pendulum Cards are treated as Spell Cards, at least when they are placed into a Pendulum Scale.
...
Yuuji shrugged, "Not really sure why I would need that information, but I guess its a cool fact to learn."
He shuffled his deck back together, placing it back in the deck holder of his duel disk. He then glanced at the TV Screen, with was paused on the frame where Yuya was standing with all of the monsters he summoned using the power of Pendulum.
Now that I get a better look at him, doesn't he look just like me?
Minus the different styled hair, eyes, or clothing choice, the two of them looked eerily similar. Way to similar for it to be a coincidence.
"I don't remember my father ever mentioning that I had a twin," Yuuji frowned. "Did he hide it from me all this time?" Yuuji wondered before shaking his head. "No...it can't be. It's probably just a coincidence."
"Though..."
This did give him an idea.
Sakaki Yuya, huh? Maybe I should try and find him? I might be able to get us to duel each other.
What better way was there to truly put these cards to the test than by dueling another Pendulum user?
"They said he was from You Show, right? Guess it's time to go pay it a visit."
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An hour later, after struggling to navigate through the city, he finally arrived in front of You Show. He was surprised to see that many other people had a similar idea as his own, a large line forming outside of the school with odd architecture.
"Tch," Yuuji clicked his tongue before muttering, "I didn't think there would be a huge ass line like this. What the hell are they here for? Don't tell me they're here to see Yuya too..."
"Do you think they'd let me join?" A youth asked another. "Sakaki Yuya's Pendulum Summoning was the greatest."
"I hope so. Otherwise, I would've come here for nothing." Another youth replied. "Maybe they'll even lend us some Pendulum Cards of our own."
Yuuji silently eavesdropped on the conversations from the excited people around him.
Great. They are here to see Sakaki Yuya.
Most of the conversations he heard told a similar tale. Nothing really piqued his interest until he heard one certain conversation.
"Hey, I heard a rumor." A female youth said to her friend.
"A rumor?" Her friend raised an eyebrow. "What kind?"
"I heard that there was another Pendulum User somewhere in this city."
"Another one? That can't be true."
"A lot of people were talking about it, with some even saying that they saw it with their own eyes. At least, that's what I've heard."
Her friend sighed, "You really need to stop blindly believing these rumors. Most of them are fake anyway."
Yuuji's eyes widened at this conversation, but he quickly turned away before the girls noticed his gaze.
Rumors from the underground sure spread fast. Yuuji thought. It's expected though. There were a lot of spectators for my duel against that champion. But to think it spread that fast…
Luckily for him, the rumor didn't say anything other than the fact that there might be another Pendulum User. Saves him the hassle of people swarming him for info about his cards.
They can just go bother that Yuya guy for them.
After waiting for a good half an hour (there were way too many people), Yuuji finally managed to get inside You Show. What annoyed him was the fact that he had to fill out an application to join You Show, or else he wouldn't even be allowed inside. It made sense, but he didn't want to join a school specializing in entertainment dueling.
Not that there was anything wrong with it. He likes to have fun while dueling too. He just wasn't the type of guy who would like to entertain a crowd.
He dozed off when Shuzo, the principal of You Show, began his speech about the history of You Show and its purpose. Things he wasn't interested in hearing.
Others in the crowd seemed to share this same sentiment.
"How long is he going to talk?" A youth asked another.
"I want to see a Pendulum Summon now. I can't handle this old man's yapping any longer."
Me too. Me too.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" A voice announced behind the ground, drawing their attention. Under a spotlight in a dark room was a youth with tomato-colored hair. "Welcome to my one-man show today—!"
—Smack!
A pink-haired girl smacks the youth in the back of the head with a paper fan.
"What do you mean by one-man show? I'm here too, you know!"
"R-Right. Sorry, Yuzu." The youth apologized.
"Whatever," Yuzu shook her head. "Let's just get this duel started already. The crowd is already growing impatient."
Soon after that, they begin their exhibition duel.
[DUEL!] The two shout in unison.
Yuya — LP: 4000
Yuzu — LP: 4000
The duel proceeds as normal, with nothing out of the ordinary occuring. That is until Turn 3 rolls around, with Yuya building up hype with the crowd as he is about to Pendulum Summon.
Yuya reveals two cards in his hand.
"I set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 4 Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and the Scale 8 Timegazer Magician!" Yuya declared as he placed the cards on both ends of his duel blade. A familiar magician in black with gear ornaments scattered across its body and a massive red-scaled dragon with massive horns which had countless colorful orbs indented into it rose into each of his Pendulum Zones. The numbers 4 and 8 appear on the zones in a strange, golden font.
"Alright! Come, Pendulum!" Shuzo exclaimed with excitement.
[Pendulum! Pendulum! Pendulum!] The crowd of eager spectator's began to chant.
"Here it comes! I Pendulum Summon!" Yuya announced. "Come forth, Performapal Whip Snake and Performapal Sword Fish!"
However, when he tried to play the two monsters, an error message popped up.
...
There was a long pause as they waited for something to happen. But...nothing did.
"Hey, what's going on?" Yuya had a worried look on his face. "Sword Fish! Whip Snake! Why aren't you guys being summoned?"
That confirms it. He didn't take the time to figure out how Pendulum Summoning worked. Yuuji frowned. He just tried to summon Level 2 and 4 monsters when he current Pendulum Scale only allows for him to summons Level 5 through 7 monsters.
Unfortunately, just like Yuuji thought, Yuya had no idea of how to Pendulum Summon. The tomato-haired youth tried to mimic the conditions of his duel against Strong Ishijima, asking Yuzu to attack him to create a scenario of him being in a pinch.
Obviously, this backfired greatly.
—BAM!
"GWAH!" Yuya cried out as he is sent flying into the sky by Mozarto the Melodious Maestra's attack, slamming into the wall of the Real Solid Vision hologram much to everyone's shock—his Life Points dropping to zero.
Yuya — LP: 2400 → 0
Winner: Yuzu
Yuuji had an exasperated look on his face at what he had just witness, shaking his head as he braced himself for what came next.
The crowd's excitement quickly turned to disappointment as they watched the embarrassing display unfold. They had spent the entire morning eagerly anticipating this moment, only to be let down. Their frustration deepened when they discovered that Pendulum Summoning required specific cards—cards that only Yuya possessed. Outraged, the group accused Yuya of cheating in his duel against Strong Ishijima before storming out of the school in a flurry of anger. Once the chaos died down, only two people remained of the original dozens of spectators. Yuuji, and a young boy with short, dark blue hair.
The young blue-haired boy, named Tatsuya, expressed interest in joining the You Show School, believing that Yuya hadn't cheated during his duel against Strong Ishijima. The boy declared that he wanted to learn how to duel just like Yuya, making everyone smile at this heartfelt speech. The rest of Yuya's friends chimed in, giving him motivation and reassurance.
After this moment, Yuzu then noticed the tall silver-haired teen who was still present—who was tapping his feet impatiently—her eyes widened when she saw the boy's face.
"Yuya?" She asked aloud before turning to the actual Yuya. "Wait no, that's Yuya."
"I'm Yuuji. Though I can see why you would be confused," Yuuji spoke up, alerting everyone. "I was surprised when I found out that there was another person who looked like me too."
Shuzo perked up immediately, quickly moving towards Yuuji with fire in his eyes.
"Since you stayed here as well, that means you must be interested in joining our school, right?" Shuzo excitedly asked.
"No." Yuuji immediately shut him down, causing the man to fall flat on his face. "I don't resonate with the ideas of this school much."
"Then why did you come here?" Yuzu asked.
"I thought that would be obvious," Yuuji said before pointing at Yuya. "I came here to duel him. One on one."
Yuya pointed at himself, "Duel…me?"
"Yes, you. I want to see what you've got, Mr. Pendulum," Yuuji stated. "Surely you aren't chicken enough to decline my challenge, right?"
"Now wait just a moment," A tall burly man stepped forward. He wore a white school uniform with red and yellow highlights. Wrapped around his forehead was a red bandana. "You can't just walk in here and rudely challenge someone to a duel."
"I was speaking to Yuya, not you, Ogre," Yuuji frowned. "I had to wait for a good hour listening to a bunch of nonsense from you idiots, I'm not leaving here without a duel. If you're so eager to speak for him, you might as well duel for him too."
"Gongenzaka, wait…" Yuya tried to speak out to his friend, but Gongenzaka didn't listen.
"I, the man Gongenzaka, cannot tolerate such disrespect," he said as he activated his duel disk. "I need to discipline this guy."
"I'm so scared~." Yuuji mocked as he too activated his duel disk. "Let's see what you've got, big guy."
"Principal," Gongenzaka turned to Shuzo. "We'll be using your arena, I hope you don't mind."
"Oh…uh, I don't mind," Shuzo said as he stood back up.
"Good," Gongenzaka then turned to Yuuji. "Let's go."
"..." Yuuji silently followed the burly man into the arena.
The two stand on opposite ends of the arena, prepping their decks. The rest of the You Show Students watched the events in the spectator booth.
"That Yuuji guy is so mean." Ayu, a red-haired youth frowned.
"Yeah," Futoshi, a plump-looking boy with yellow hair chimed in. "Super mean!"
"I can see where he's coming from though," Yuya solemnly said. "I'd be a little pissed too if I was him. Waiting all that time just to see a pathetic performance."
"Don't be like that," Yuzu tried to reassure her friend. "Like we said before, none of this is your fault."
"...Right," Yuya didn't seem to agree, putting on his goggles.
In the section above, Shuzo began operating on the new Real Solid Vision machine he had just gotten.
"Alright, here we go!" Shuzo announced as he pressed a button. "Action Field On! Warrior's Wasteland!"
The Real Solid Vision machine began to work its magic, transforming the area around Yuuji and Gongenzaka into a barren wasteland. Scattered throughout the arena were swords that were all stabbed into the ground—each representing a soldier who had passed on during battle.
"A pretty cool arena," Yuuji commented as he tapped on one of the swords lodged into the ground. "This'll be fun."
"Are you ready?" Gongenzaka asked his opponent. "I'll defeat you with my Steadfast Dueling, and make you pay for your earlier comments."
"Still upset about me calling you an ogre?" Yuuji smirked. "I hope your anger won't blind you during our duel."
"I, the man Gongenzaka, have been taught at a very young age at the Gongenzaka Dojo to be in tune with my emotions at all times during battle," Gongenzaka replied. "Your sly comments won't be effective here."
Referring to himself in the third person? That's odd… Yuuji thought.
"Duelists locked in battle!" Gongenzaka suddenly chanted.
What is he saying…oh right, the Action Duel chant. How did it go again?
"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Yuuji chanted.
Nailed it!
"They storm through this field!" Yuzu continued from the sidelines.
"Behold!" Shuzo said. "This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!"
[Action—!] The three younger You Show youths shouted together.
[Duel!] They all shout in unison as Action Cards are dispersed throughout the field.
Yuuji — LP: 4000
Gongenzaka — LP: 4000
[Turn 1: Yuuji] [H: 5]
Yuuji looked at the five cards in his hand and smiled.
A solid hand. Let's see if what I've been theorizing is correct.
"I'll start!" Yuuji announced, revealing two cards in his hand. The words he says next shocking everyone present. "Using the Scale 2 Antique Maker - Edison and the Scale 8 Antique Maker - Mira, I set the Pendulum Scale!"
Yuuji placed the two monsters on opposite ends of his duel blade, the word [PENDULUM] appearing between them in rainbow font. A well-dressed man with a light bulb in his hand and a woman in black holding a mirror in her hand rose into each of Yuuji's empty Pendulum Zone. The numbers 2 and 8 materialize on each of the Pendulum Zone in a strange golden font. A giant silver pendulum swung above him.
"Those cards…" Gongenzaka's jaw dropped.
"Pendulum cards!?" Yuzu cried out.
[No way!?] The three You Show youths exclaimed.
"But how?" Shuzo's jaw dropped as well. "I thought Yuya was that only one!"
"How does he...?" A stunned Yuya muttered as watched the events unfold with widened eyes.
"With my currently set scale, I can summon monsters Levels 3 through 7 all at the same time!" Yuuji announced. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! I Pendulum Summon! Come forth, my monster!"
The giant silver pendulum draws a portal, with a beam of energy appearing from its center.
"Appear now, the dragon born within the heart of dark phantoms, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (Dark/Dragon/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/SC: 4)!"
A giant purple dragon with bone-like armor, countless colorful orbs being scattered around it, and sharp amber eyes appeared.
"Odd-Eyes…" Yuya muttered as he pulled out his own Odd-Eyes Monster, which was glowing brightly—as if it was resonating with Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon.
"I set a card and end my turn," Yuuji concluded with a face-down.
"..."
Everyone was frozen, completely stunned from what they had just witnessed. Gongenzaka was the first one to regain focus, realizing that it was his turn now.
"My turn! Draw!" Gongenzaka drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 2: Gongenzaka] [H: 6]
"I don't know where you got those Pendulum Cards, but I won't let that distract me!" Gongenzaka declared. "I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Fighter from my hand! When only my opponent controls a monster, I can Special Summon it from my hand!"
A machine warrior with blue armor and giant gloves on its hands appeared.
[Superheavy Samurai Fighter (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 300/DEF: 1700/LV: 5)]
"Then, I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Hexagon! When I control a Superheavy Samurai Monster, I can Special Summon it from my hand in Attack Position!"
A giant machine with red armor, holding a giant pole in its hand appeared.
[Superheavy Samurai Hexagon (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 600/DEF: ?/LV: 6)]
"Special Summoning two monsters almost immediately…" Yuuji smirked. "He's good."
"Now I release my two monsters to Advance Summon!" Gongenzaka announced as his two monsters turned into particles. "Come out, Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1000/DEF: 3500/LV: 8)!"
A giant machine warrior with blue and orange armor, holding a two-headed lance appeared.
"When Big Benkei is Advance Summoned, I can change its battle position to defense mode."
"He changed it to defense position?" Yuuji raised an eyebrow. "But why?"
A blue aura surrounded the machine monster as he took a closed-off position.
"Battle!" Gongenzaka moved into his battle phase, shocking Yuuji. "Big Benkei attacks Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!"
"What!?" Yuuji cried out. "But it's in defense mode?"
"Big Benkai can attack while in defense mode." Gongenzaka declared. "Furthermore, when it deals battle damage, it uses its defense points for the damage calculation!"
Big Benkei's lance begins to glow, as it shoots out golden electricity that is then sent towards Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon.
"I activate Antique Maker - Mira's Pendulum Effect!" Yuuji countered. "When I would take battle damage from an attack, I can negate that damage; then deal damage to my opponent equal to half the damage I would've taken."
"But your dragon is still destroyed!" Gongenzaka shouted as Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon was destroyed by his monster's attack. He shields his face as the shockwaves of the attack are sent towards him thanks to Antique Maker - Mira's effect.
Gongenzaka — LP: 4000 → 3500
"Alright!" Ayu cheered. "He managed to destroy that jerk's dragon."
"But at the cost of some of his Life Points," Tatsuya said.
Surprisingly, Yuuji noticed that his Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon didn't go straight to the graveyard like normal monsters, but instead went into his Extra Deck face-up.
Wait, if what I'm thinking is true. This summoning method might be the most overpowered bullshit I've ever seen. Yuuji thought before smiling. Not that I'm complaining. If it helps me become a stronger duelist, I'll welcome these changes with open arms!
"I end my turn with that," Gongenzaka concluded. "It's your move."
"Right," Yuuji nodded as he placed his hand over the top of his deck. "My turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 3: Yuuji] [H: 2]
"Okay let's try it."
Yuuji pulls out Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon from his Extra Deck.
"With my currently set Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon!" Yuuji announced as the giant pendant drew another portal, with two beams of energy shooting out from it. "Return from my Extra Deck, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)! And from my hand, Antique Dawning Blaze (Light/Fairy/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5/SC: 7)!"
A floating, fiery blade and a purple dragon with bone armor appeared on Yuuji's field once again.
"Huh? Why is that dragon back?" Yuzu wondered. "Didn't Gongenzaka destroy it last turn?"
"Yeah, how is it back?" Ayu asked.
Gongenzaka was just as shocked.
"How?" Gongenzaka asked aloud.
"I'm not sure myself," Yuuji shrugged. "But from what I can tell, when Pendulum Monsters are destroyed, they return to the Extra Deck. And I'm allowed to summon them back onto the field whenever I Pendulum Summon as long as their levels are within my two Pendulum Scales."
"Wait, so that means that he can just continuously bring back monsters that were destroyed," Tatsuya's eyes widened. "And with Antique Mira's Pendulum Effect, he can bounce an instance of damage he would receive back to his opponent."
"Meaning that if this duel drags on, he will eventually widdle Gongenzaka's Life Points to zero." Yuzu completed the thought.
"That's…" Gogenzaka's jaw dropped.
"Overpowered, I know," Yuuji said. "But now isn't the time to be in shock, big guy. I activate my set Continuous Trap, Pendulum Trade! Once during my Main Phase, I can either place a monster from my field in an empty Pendulum Zone or Special Summon a monster from my Pendulum Zone onto my field. Descend to the field, Antique Maker - Edison (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 1300/DEF: 1200/LV: 5/SC: 2)!"
The well-dressed man in a suit disappeared from his Pendulum Zone, suddenly appearing from a portal onto Yuuji's field.
"Edison's effect now activates," Yuuji stated. "When he is Special Summoned onto my field, I can target a monster on your field, and destroy it! Say goodbye to your Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei!"
"I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Zen from my hand!" Gongenzaka announced. "When my opponent activates an effect that would destroy a Superheavy Samurai Monster I control, I can Special Summon this card, and negate that effect! Appear now, Superheavy Samurai Zen (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 2200/LV: 5) in defense mode!"
A machine with white armor, making a meditative pose, appeared on Gongenzaka's field.
"Tch." Yuuji clicked his tongue. "So you had a response to that. No matter. I now activate Antique Dawning Blaze's effect! With it, I can equip this card to a monster on my field. While a monster has this card equipped to it, it gains 500 ATK for each monster currently on the field. With there being two on your field and one on mine, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon gains 1500 ATK!"
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon catches the blazing sword in its mouth, the flames of the sword burning hotter as its power increases.
(Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon — ATK: 2500 → 4000)
"4000 ATK just like that?" Tatsuya's jaw dropped.
"No way..." Futoshi muttered in awe.
"Battle!" Yuuji moved into his Battle Phase. "Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon attacks Big Benkei! Blazing Phantom Rush!"
Phantom Dragon runs forward, leaping into the air as it slices through Big Benkei with its flaming sword, causing the monster bursts into particles. Gongenzaka winces, being sent sliding back a few meters from the shockwaves of the attack.
"I end my turn with that," Yuuji concluded.
"My turn! Draw!" Gongenzaka drew a card and began his turn.
[Turn 4: Gongenzaka] [H: 4]
"I activate the effect of Superheavy Samurai Big Waraji!" Gongenzaka shouts. "When my opponent controls 2 or more monsters, I can Special Summon it from my hand!"
A golden machine appeared on his field.
[Superheavy Samurai Big Waraji (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 800/DEF: 1800/LV: 5)]
"Big Waraji's other effect now activates!" Gongenzaka announced. "When it is used for an Advance Summon, Big Waraji is treated as two tributes!"
The golden machine is destroyed as a portal then appears beneath it.
"Burn bright, warrior with a soul of flames. Stand strong and strike down your enemies with your manly blows!" Gongenzaka chanted. "I Advance Summon! Come forth, Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 4000/LV: 10)!"
A giant red machine warrior holding a blazing katana appeared on Gongenzaka's field.
"Impressive," Yuuji smirked as he saw the giant monster.
"I'm not done yet!" Gongenzaka shouted. "Just like Big Benkei, when Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru is summoned, I can immediately change its battle position to defense mode. Then, I'll equip Superheavy Samurai Soulshield Wall to my Enjimaru, increasing its defense by 1200!"
A green metal shield appeared in the empty hand of Gongenzaka's monster.
(Enjinmaru — DEF: 4000 → 5200)
"Now Gongenzaka's monster is stronger than Yuuji's dragon." Yuzu smiled with relief. "He can win this."
"Ooh, this duel is giving me the shivers!" Futoshi did a little dance of excitement.
"Battle!" Gongenzaka moved into his Battle Phase. "Superheavy Samurai Zen attacks Antique Maker - Edison!"
The meditating machine stopped its practice for a moment, quickly leaping towards Yuuji's monster. In one swift motion, it slashes through Yuuji's monster with its hand, destroying it and causing him to wince from the shockwaves.
Yuuji — LP: 4000 → 3100
"Now, Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru attacks Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon. Blazing Katana Slash!"
The massive machine warrior moves forward, clashing blades with Phantom Dragon. This exchange lasted a few moments before Enjinmaru eventually comes out on top—overpowering the dragon and causing it to burst into particles.
"Before the damage calculation, Antique Maker - Mira's Pendulum Effect activates, shielding me from the damage and bouncing half that damage back to you!"
Gongenzaka winces from the returned shockwaves as his Life Points drop again.
Gongenzaka — LP: 3500 → 2900
"I end my turn." Gongenzaka concluded.
While he was able to get out of that turn relatively unheard, Yuuji looked a bit unhappy about something.
Damn, I didn't think that Dawning Blaze would end up going to the graveyard instead of the Extra Deck. Yuuji frowned. Could it be because it was treated as an equip card?
That had to be the case since Antique Maker - Edison and Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon were both sent to his Extra Deck when they were destroyed.
Well, that sucks. He was planning on summoning it to easily increase Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon's ATK until it was high enough to defeat Enjinmaru, but now that wasn't much of an option.
Well, let's develop a plan after this next draw.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji drew a card.
[Turn 5: Yuuji] [H: 2]
He cringed when he saw what he drew.
"Antique Light Bulb? That is like the last card I needed in this situation."
...
Well, not all hope is lost. There was still one thing he could do.
"I activate the effect of Pendulum Trade once again!" Yuuji announced. "With it, I'll Special Summon Antique Maker - Mira (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5/SC: 8)!"
The woman in all black holding a mirror in her hand disappeared from her Pendulum Zone, appearing in front of Yuuji.
"Mira's effect activates. Once per turn, when she is summoned onto my field, I can add an Antique Monster from my deck to my hand!"
Yuuji thought about it for a moment before adding something to his hand.
"This'll work…" Yuuji smiled as he looked at the card he added. "I summon Antique Maker - Swinging Soul (Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect/ATK: 100/DEF: 2000/LV: 3/SC: 1)!"
A magician in a white cloak, holding a swinger pendulum in his hand, appeared.
"Swinging Soul's effect activates. Once per turn, I can switch the ATK and DEF of one monster on the field until the End Phase of this turn. I choose to swap your Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru's ATK and DEF stats!"
Gongenzaka was surprised as his massive monster was pacified with a single effect.
(Enjinmaru — ATK: 100 → 5200, DEF: 5200 → 100)
"Now that Enjinmaru's defense stats are lowered, Gongenzaka's field is now completely bare…" Shuzo muttered as he observed the duel from his post. "And with no cards in his hand, the odds of Gongenzaka making any sort of comeback after his monster is destroyed is slim."
"Now let's do this! Battle!" Yuuji pumped his fist forward. "Antique Maker - Mira attacks Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru! Crystal Beam!"
The mirror in the female monster's hand began to glow as it shot a beam of energy directly at the machine warrior.
"I, the man Gongenzaka, won't go down that easily!" Gongenzaka shouted. "I activate Superheavy Samurai Soulshield Wall's effect! By sending it to the graveyard, I can negate your attack. However, in exchange, the equipped monster's DEF is reduced to zero."
Enjinmaru blocks the beam with its shield, however, due to the power of the attack, its shield is mostly vaporized.
(Enjinmaru — DEF: 100 → 0)
"However, at this time, Superheavy Samurai Zen's effect activates!" Gongenzaka continued. "When a Machine-type Monster I control has its defense reduced, I can increase its DEF by an amount equal to half of its original defense until the End Phase!"
"Its original defense was 4000, right?" Yuuji calculated before he frowned. "That means…"
"Enjinmaru's DEF increases by 2000!" Gongenzaka declared.
(Enjinmaru — DEF: 0 → 2000)
"Dammit..." Yuuji cursed. "Now I can't destroy it with Swinging Soul."
With nothing left that he could do, he ended his Battle Phase.
"I activate the Equip Spell, Antique Maker's Will!" Yuuji announced. "By discarding a card from my hand, I can equip it to an 'Antique Maker' Monster I control. I choose to equip it to Antique Maker - Swinging Soul!"
A silver aura surrounded the magician.
"While a monster is equipped with this spell, it can't be destroyed by battle, and its ATK increases by 500 for each Antique Monster in my graveyard. Since there are currently two in my graveyard currently, Swinging Soul gains 1000 ATK!"
(Swinging Soul — ATK: 100 → 1100)
"I end my turn," Yuuji concluded his turn. "And with the end of my turn, Enjinmaru's defense returns to normal."
(Enjinmaru — DEF: 2000 → 4000)
"Nice Gongenzaka!" Ayu cheered. "He managed to keep his monster safe!"
"Now Yuuji's vulnerable," Tatsuya stated. "It's the perfect chance to go for an all-out attack."
"My turn! Draw!" Gongenzaka drew a card with all his might as he began his turn.
[Turn 6: Gongenzaka] [H: 2]
"Before you do anything, I activate Pendulum Trade's effect!" Yuuji cut in. "With it, I'll move Antique Maker - Mira back into my Pendulum Zone!"
A Pendulum Zone forms behind Yuuji, with his monster slowly rising into it.
"I release my Superheavy Samurai Zen to Advance Summon!" Gongenzaka declared as his monster is destroyed. "Appear now, Superheavy Samurai Tetsukiba (Earth/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 2500/LV: 6)!"
A wolf-like machine warrior appeared, with sharp metallic claws and blue armor plating.
"Superheavy Samurai Tetsukiba effect activates! When it is summoned, I can target 1 card on your field and destroy it!"
"What!?" Yuuji's eyes widened.
" Say goodbye to your Antique Maker - Mira! Go Tetsukiba!"
The wolf-like machine warrior leaped in the air, slashing through Yuuji's monster and destroying it.
Dammit, now most of my defenses are gone. Yuuji frowned. This could get dicey.
"Battle!" Gongenzaka moved into his Battle Phase. "Superheavy Samurai Tetsukiba attacks Antique Maker - Swinging Soul! Fangbreaker Claw!"
The iron wolf leaped forward, attempting to slash through Yuuji's monster.
"Antique Maker's Will prevents the destruction of my monster!" Yuuji declared.
A barrier formed around the white-cloaked magician, protecting it from harm's way.
"But you still take damage!" Gongenzaka shouted.
Yuuji braces himself as a shockwave hits him.
Yuuji — LP: 3100 → 3000
"I'm not done yet!" Gongenzaka announced. "Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru attacks Swinging Soul! Blazing Katana Slash!"
The machine warrior's fiery blade glowed brightly as it jumped forward, swinging it down on Yuuji's monster once again—yet not reaching it as the magician is protected by a barrier once again.
"Ngrh!" Yuuji grunts as he is sent flying away due to the shockwaves of the attack, rolling across the ground a few times before coming to a stop.
Yuuji — LP: 3000 → 100
"I end my turn." Gongenzaka concluded. "And with the end of my turn, Tetsukiba's effect activates. During the End Phase of the turn it was summoned, Tetsukiba's battle position switches to defense mode!"
The iron wolf takes a closed-off position, as a blue, transparent aura surrounds it.
"Aw man, so close!" Ayu frowned.
"Why didn't Gongenzaka use his effect to destroy Yuuji's monster instead of his Pendulum Scale?" Futoshi asked. "That would've left Yuuji completely wide open."
"Did you forget about Antique Maker - Mira's Pendulum Effect?" Tatsuya replied. "If he did that, he would've only had his attack reflected back to him."
"Ow…" Yuuji rubbed his head as he got back on his feet. "That hurt like hell."
This guy is a lot smarter than he looks, targeting my Pendulum Scale like that. If his monster had done even 100 more points of damage, I would've lost by now.
Well, it's not like this position is any better either. He only had Swinging Soul on his field, which while it would be able to destroy Gongenzaka's monster using its effect, Gongenzaka would be able to just finish him off on his next turn.
"I need to set my Pendulum Scale somehow." Yuuji frowned. "It all comes down to this last draw."
Yuuji put his hand over his deck and took a deep breath.
My deck, don't let me down now.
"My turn! Draw!" Yuuji deck began to glow as he drew a card with all his might.
[Turn 7: Yuuji] [H: 2]
When he looked at what he drew, he smiled. A Pendulum Monster, just what he needed! "The Scale Number is kind of low, but it'll work."
Gongenzaka noticed the look on the youth's face, "I can tell from that look that you drew something good."
"That's right." Yuuji nodded. "But first, I activate Antique Maker - Swinging Soul's effect, using it to swap Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru's ATK and DEF stats!"
The pendulum in the magician's hand began to swing back and forth, as it used its power to alter the properties of Gongenzaka's monster.
(Enjinmaru — ATK: 100 → 4000, DEF: 4000 → 100)
"Next, I activate Pendulum Trade's effect, using it to place Swinging Soul into my Pendulum Scale!"
A white-robed magician rose into one of Yuuji's empty Pendulum Scales.
"Alright, guide me to victory, my monsters!" Yuuji shouted as his silver pendant began to glow. "Using the Scale 1 Antique Maker - Swinging Soul and the Scale 6 Antique Compass, I set the Pendulum Scale!"
Yuuji placed his cards on opposite ends of his duel disk, the word [PENDULUM] appearing between them in rainbow font as a floating compass rose into Yuuji's other empty Pendulum Zone. The numbers 1 and 6 appearing on the zones in a golden font as a giant silver pendulum swung above it all.
"Now I can summon monsters Levels 3 through 5 all at the same time!" Yuuji announced as his pendulum necklaces began to glow. "Shine, Pendulum of Destiny! Draw an arc across the ether, and reflect onto me a path to victory! Pendulum Summon! Return from my Extra Deck, Antique Maker - Mira (ATK: 2000/DEF: 100/LV: 5) and Antique Maker - Edison (ATK: 1300/DEF: 1200/LV: 5)!"
A well-dressed man holding a light bulb and a woman in all black holding a mirror in her hands appeared.
"Antique Maker - Mira's effect activates! When she is summoned onto my field, I can add 1 Antique Monster from my deck to my hand!" Yuuji added a card to his hand. "Then, I activate Antique Maker - Edison's effect! When he is Special Summoned, I can target a monster on your field and destroy it! Say goodbye to your Superheavy Samurai Tetsukiba!"
"I won't let you!" Gongenzaka counter. "Tetsukiba's effect now activates! When a Superheavy Samurai Monster on my field would be destroyed by battle or card effect, I can banish a Machine-type Monster in my graveyard instead!"
"Damn…" Yuuji cursed. "Now what?"
He was hoping to completely wipe out Gongenzaka's field, but with this effect, now even if he attacks, Gongenzaka will still have a monster strong enough to wipe out his few Life Points.
Dammit… Yuuji clenched his fist. What do I do now?
His former self would typically just give up in this situation, but that wasn't him anymore. Doubt is the killer of potential. He needs to do away with it right here, right now, like he did in his match against Black Death. The strongest duelist wouldn't give up even if he was backed into a corner.
There still has to be a way for me to win right? As long as I have monsters to play, the path to victory was still within my reach!
[Current Theme Playing: Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Sound Duel 1 OST: 9 - Swing! Pendulum of Souls]
—Badump!
Yuuji felt his heart skip a beat as the image of a monster appeared in his mind.
So, this is your answer, my deck. Yuuji smiled. Since you haven't given up, I won't either!
"I activate Antique Compass' Pendulum Effect!" Yuuji declared. "Using it, I can Special Summon an Antique Monster from my hand or graveyard! Return from my graveyard, Antique Dawning Blaze (ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5)!"
The fiery blade with a golden hilt appeared on the field once again.
"When an Antique Monster is Special Summoned onto my field, I can Special Summon Antique Tabletop (Light/Fairy/Effect/ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 5) from my hand!"
A floating, wooden table appeared on Yuuji's field.
"What will summoning a bunch of monsters do for you in this situation?" Gongenzaka raised an eyebrow. "Even if you managed to raise one of your monster's ATK, it won't help you defeat my manly monsters!"
"You think?" Yuuji smirked. "Let's put that to the test, shall we?"
Yuuji extended his hand outward as a galaxy vortex appeared in front of him.
"I overlay my Level 5 Antique Maker - Mira, Antique Maker - Edison, and Antique Tabletop!" Yuuji declared as his three monsters are turned into energy and absorbed into the galaxy vortex. A pillar of light shot out from the vortex's center as he began chanting.
"The will of the oppressed who die on the battlefield burns bright," Yuuji chanted. "They wait for the one who guides the will of the fallen to victory! I Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 5! Rise up, courageous leader who fans the flames of rebellion, Antique Maker - Revolution Commander (Fire/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/R: 5/SC: 5/OU: 3)!"
A tall, red-haired man with eagle eyes in a black cloak with a black mask over his mouth appeared.
"An Xyz Summon?" Gongenzaka's jaw dropped.
"No way," Yuzu gasped.
I don't know how I did it either. Yuuji thought, but didn't voice it out loud.
"Antique Dawning Blaze's effect activates!" Yuuji announced. "By equipping it to Revolution Commander, it gains 1000 ATK since there are two other monsters currently on the field!"
Revolution Commander catches the blade in its hand, pulling his mask down to reveal the bottom half of his face. The blade burns bright as the flames wrap around both it and Revolution Commander.
(Revolution Commander — ATK: 2500 → 3500)
"Now here comes the climax!" Yuuji pumped his fist forward. "Antique Maker - Revolution Commander attacks Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru! Blazing Revolution!"
"Tetsukiba's effect activates!" Gongenzaka shouts. "By banishing another Machine-type Monster in my graveyard, I can negate the destruction of my Enjinmaru—!"
"Naive!" Yuuji's interrupted, surprising Gongenzaka. "Revolution Commander's effect now activates! By detaching one Overlay Unit, when it battles a monster in defense position, it inflicts piercing damage!"
One of Revolution Commander's three surrounding overlay units is absorbed into it's body. The flames surrounding him began to turn into a deep blue color.
(Revolution Commander — OU: 3 → 2)
"I'm not done yet!" Gongenzaka shouted. "I activate Enjinmaru's effect! Once per turn, when I would take damage in a battle involving a Superheavy Samurai Monster, I can pay half my Life Points to negate that damage!"
Enjinmaru's blocks Revolution Commander's attack with its own blade. Gongenzaka's duel disk begins shocking him as he payed the cost for his effect.
—Zzap!
Gongenzaka — LP: 2900 → 1450
"Alright, now that Gongenzaka's Life Points are safe, he'll win!" Ayu cheered.
"No, your fate has already been sealed!" Yuuji declared. "When Revolution Commander has Antique Dawning Blaze equipped to it, it can make a second attack during the Battle Phase!"
"What!?" Gongenzaka cried out.
"I now detach another Overlay Unit from Revolution Commander, allowing it to inflict piercing damage for this attack as well!" Yuuji shouted as another Overlay Unit was absorbed.
(Revolution Commander — OU: 2 → 1)
"Finish this, Revolution Commander! Blazing Revolution!"
Enjinmaru and Revolution Commander engage in a clash for a few moments longer, before Revolution Commander eventually overpowers it, destroying it and sending Gongenzaka flying from the shockwaves.
Gongenzaka — LP: 1450 → 0
Winner: Yuuji
[BGM (Background Music) Ends Here.]
The Action Field and monsters dematerialized, returning the two duelists back into the arena. Yuuji walked up to the fallen Gongenzaka and extended his hand.
"That was a fun duel," Yuuji smiled at his opponent. "Need help?"
"Yeah," Gongenzaka accepted the hand as Yuuji helped him back onto his feet. "That was some impressive dueling there."
"I can say the same thing about you." Yuuji said. "You really backed me into a corner there."
Yuuji then remembered something.
"Oh, and sorry about my rude comments earlier," Yuuji awkwardly scratched the back of his head as he apologized. "Being angry wasn't an excuse for me speaking out of turn like that."
"I should be apologizing as well," Gongenzaka said. "I, the man Gongenzaka, should've maintained a more level head, instead of getting worked up over a few targeted comments."
"Well, it's all water under the bridge. Hopefully we can start off on a better foot now." Yuuji replied. "Now what I'm really curious about is your deck. That whole duel, you never used a single Spell or Trap Card. You didn't try to search for Action Cards either. What's up with that?"
"I, the man Gongenzeka, believe in Steadfast Dueling."
"Steadfast…Dueling?" Yuuji tilted his head. "I remember you mentioned it earlier right before the start of our duel."
"It's a dueling style that involves fighting my opponent head on with only the monsters in my deck." Gongenzaka explained as he flexed his massive arm. "I also believe in dueling using only the cards in my deck, without receiving outside help from cards not a part of my deck like Action Cards."
"Amazing," Yuuji said in awe. "That's an awesome dueling philosophy."
"What about you?" Gongenzaka asked. "I noticed you also didn't go for Action Cards throughout the duel."
"Oh, that? I thought that since you didn't seem to plan on using them, it would be unfair if I used them against you." Yuuji answered. "Also, I'm trying to become the strongest duelist in the world. How can I make my way to the top if I don't know how to fight with just my own cards?"
Gongenzaka smiled at this, "That's a very manly way of dueling. I, the man Gongenzaka, am starting to like your way of thinking."
Yuuji smiled back, "Me too, big guy. We have to duel again sometime."
The two fist bump each other.
At the same time, the door to the spectator booth opened, with the rest of the You Show group entering the arena. Yuuji was then immediately surrounded by the three younger You Show students, who began bombarding him with questions.
"How are you so good at dueling?" Futoshi asked before doing a silly dance. "That last move of yours gave me the shivers."
The shivers? What even is that? Yuuji wondered.
"Where did you get those Pendulum Cards?" Ayu asked. "I thought only Yuya-oniichan had them?"
"Uhh…I'm not sure." Yuuji shrugged. "They just sort of appeared in my deck yesterday while I was in the middle of a duel."
"That's the same way Yuya describes what had happened to him when he got his Pendulum Cards." Yuzu said in surprise.
"What a coincidence that the two people with such similar faces both have access to a never-before-seen summoning method," Tatsuya commented.
"Not to mention similar dragons as well," Gongenzaka pointed out. "It can't be a coincidence that they both have an Odd-Eyes Pendulum Monster."
"I actually never thought about that," Yuuji said. "I thought it just had something to do with both of our pendants and our similar facial features."
All of this can't be a coincidence. Yuuji thought. But what kind of connection could the two of us have?
Maybe they were secretly long-lost brothers who were separated after a horrible incident?
Nah, there's no way that's possible. He already went through that thought process earlier. Other than their faces, they both have distinctly different features otherwise. Like how Yuuji was a bit taller than Yuya, or the fact that they had different colored hair and eyes.
"What do you think about this Yuya?" Yuzu turned to her friend, who had been silent the whole time—his goggles still over his eyes.
"Oh, uhh…I don't know…" Yuya seemed to be struggling to find the right words to say.
Yuzu frowned at her friend's indecisiveness, "Why are you acting so off? Don't tell me you still feel bad about what happened earlier. I thought we already established that it wasn't your fault."
"But it is," Yuya insisted. "Yuuji was able to immediately understand how to use Pendulum Summoning way quicker than me and even used it to help perform an Xyz Summon. Compared to that, I—"
"Okay, I'm going to have to stop you right there," Yuuji interrupted. "I didn't immediately know how to do it. I only learned the basics of it by rewatching your duel against Strong Ishijima over and over. Hell, I didn't even know that Pendulum Monsters were sent to the Extra Deck when they were destroyed before this recent duel."
Yuya was surprised by this.
"It has nothing to do with talent," Yuuji continued. "I was just smart enough to actually try and understand how the summoning method worked instead of just assuming that it would come naturally since it's something special that only I have."
"Couldn't you have phrased that a bit nicer," Yuzu frowned at Yuuji, only receiving a shrug in response.
"I can't help it. I'm a blunt speaker," Yuuji stated. "Sometimes, you just need to hear the cold hard truth, without unnecessary words to tone down the message. I can't have the only other person who can Pendulum Summon screw himself over due to self-fulfilling doubts."
"..." Everyone present was silent at his words.
Yuuji yawned, "Well, I'm tired. I already had my fill of dueling for today. I'll see you guys around, I guess."
He turned around, beginning to walk away. Just as he was about to leave the arena, someone called out to him.
"Wait!" A voice called out. Turning around, he realized the voice came from Yuya.
"Hmm? What's up?" Yuuji paused, raising an eyebrow at Yuya.
Yuya paused for a moment before continuing, "Teach me."
"Teach you?" Yuuji's eyes widened at the request.
"You have Pendulum Summoning practically figured out right now, while I'm struggling to even use it," Yuya said.
"Yuya…" Yuzu solemnly looked at her friend.
"That duel I had against Strong Ishijima," Yuya explained. "The cheers of the crowds after I managed to make a comeback using Pendulum Summoning, the smiles on everyone's faces. I want to be able to recreate that and use it to duel in a way that brings smiles to everyone's face, just like my dad did."
"..." Yuuji thought about it for a moment, weighing the pros and cons in his head.
Sounds like a hassle. But, if I can get him up to par, I might get myself a potential rival that can really push me to my limits.
"Hmm… Okay, I'll help you," Yuuji decided. "But, you have to promise me that duel I've been waiting for after everything is said and done."
"Deal," Yuya agreed to his demands.
"However, that'll have to wait 'till tomorrow," Yuuji said with a tired yawn, rubbing his eyes. "Right now, I need some sleep."
After saying his last goodbyes to the You Show Students (plus Gongenzaka), Yuuji left the school, making his way back to his hotel. Once he arrived, he placed his deck and duel disk away before he launched himself onto his bed. Dozing off as he thought back on his duel against Gongenzaka.
I wonder how Revolution Commander ended up in my deck. I don't remember having that card originally when my deck randomly transformed.
It was as if that card had been willed to existence. It didn't help that it had almost the exact effects that he needed for his current situation.
"Having its effect allow it to deal piercing damage to monsters in defense mode, that can't be a coincidence…" Yuuji assessed.
…
"Dammit!" Yuuji began furiously rubbing his hair. "None of this shit is making sense!"
Like how was I able to Xyz Summon so well in the first place? The only summoning method that I knew how to use aside from Pendulum was Synchro.
While he knew the theory behind the other summoning methods, he had never put them into practice before. The fact that he was able to Xyz Summon such a powerful monster so effortlessly was extremely puzzling.
...
Too much thinking for my tired brain to handle.
Eventually, he just gave up on thinking about it, shutting his brain off as he began dozing off to sleep. It was already weird enough that he had gotten these Pendulum Cards, this was tamer in comparison.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
At LDS Tower…
Nakajima walked into Reiji's office once again, clipboard in hand.
"Reiji-dono, we've detected high amounts of multiple different summoning energies earlier today," Nakajima said.
"Multiple?" Reiji raised an eyebrow.
"We've detected high amounts of Pendulum and Xyz energies from Haruki Yuuji's duel disk," Nakajima informed. "However, we've also detected sources of Xyz and Ritual Energies coming from other areas."
"Xyz and Ritual?" Reiji's eyes widened. "Has the dimensional war already begun spreading over here now?"
"We're not sure, but we're looking into it," Nakajima replied. "As for what you've wanted me to find on Haruki Yuuji, here is all we've managed to find out so far."
Nakajima handed Reiji a clipboard with the data.
"...He's an orphan child who had lost his father in a riot incident at the Outpost five years ago…His father, Haruki Gin was a former pro duelist who was a rising star in the dueling world before suddenly disappearing ten years ago after he was caught in a cheating scandal during an official duel…Has been arrested multiple times for violence against authority and being caught dueling in illegal circuits…"
From what Reiji could tell, Haruki Yuuji always acted in a certain way to find a way to duel powerful opponents. Most likely the main reason why his win rate was so low.
Reiji handed the clipboard back to Nakajima.
"Keep an eye on him," Reiji commanded. "Also, I'd like you to keep your eyes on the sources of the high amount of Xyz and Ritual Energies."
"Yes Reiji-dono," Nakajima bowed. "I'll get right to that now."
Nakajima soon left Reiji office, leaving Reiji alone with his thoughts.
Things are already progressing at a rapid pace. Reiji thought. It might be time for me to make my move now.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
A bit earlier…
"Argh!" A rough-looking man in sent flying into a wall, falling on top of a pile of other, unconscious men. The perpetrator who created the pile of men looked on with a disappointed expression.
"That wasn't even worthy warm-up," A youth with pink haired frowned as he deactivated his duel disk. He wore a black cloak the covered the bottom most of his body.
"Well, I did tell you that Standard was the weakest of the five dimensions by far, Yuga," A girl with scarlet red hair spoke as she was typing away on her laptop. She wore a similarly styled cloak, however unlike Yuga, her hair was cover by her hood.
"I know that Shizuka. But to be this weak? Come on," Yuga said with an exasperated expression. "Even the weakest from our dimension, who are completely powerless against Academia, can clobber these fools."
"Uhuh…" Shizuka half-heartedly replied as she had her complete attention on her laptop. "Just a bit longer…and…done. I've just figured out our target."
"About time," Yuga said as he approached her. "Spill it out, who do we have to find?"
"Akaba Leo's son." Shizuka bluntly stated, surprising Yuga.
"Akaba Leo's son!?" Yuga cried out. "Don't tell me we're going to…"
"Yeah, we're going to kidnap him obviously," Shizuka stated. "Then, we can potentially use him as a bargaining chip to get back the people Academia took from us."
"Are you sure that's going to work? I doubt some war hungry bastard like him would stop his conquest just because we kidnapped his son."
"Well, I don't see you giving me any other good suggestions," Shizuka said as she shut off her laptop. "And no, we are not going to charge into Academia and try to fight them head on, we'll only end up dying like the rest of our people."
"I mean, I don't mind either way," Yuga said. "If your confident in this plan, I'll follow along with it."
Shizuka smiled, "That's good. Let's start discussing the first phase of the plan."
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Elsewhere at a similar time…
—Thud!
"Wait, we can talk about this," A man wearing an LDS Staff Uniform pleaded. "What do you want, info? I have a lot of info, see." He pointed at his badge. "I'm a staff member at LDS, if you want to know all sorts of secrets, I'm your man!"
"I don't need your shitty info, LDS," A tall man with dark teal hair, wearing a red mask and sunglasses along with a long, dark blue trenchcoat stated. "I won't believe a single lie from the enemy."
"E-Eh?" The LDS Staff member began sweating. "Well, I guess there's nothing I do can do for you then. Now, can you please let me go?"
"There's one thing you can do for me."
"Oh really, what is it?"
"Sit there and pay for your sins, scum." The tall man coldly said as he pointed his duel disk towards the LDS Staff.
A bright purple light was emitted from his duel disk that enveloped the LDS Staff. When the light died down, the only thing left of the LDS Staff was a card which had his horrified expression printed onto it.
"Hmph," The tall man picked up the card, looking at it for a moment before pocketing it.
"Shun! What are you doing!" A voice suddenly called out for him. Turning around, he found a slightly younger teen with lavender colored hair, wearing punk-styled clothing, glaring at him.
"Yuto?" Shun removed his sunglasses and pulled down his mask. "What are you doing here?"
"I can ask you the same thing," Yuto said before pulling Shun by the collar. "What do you think your doing? Killing random civilians like that."
"He's not a random civilian, he's just another lackey of Academia," Shun stated as he pushed Yuto off of him. "I'm just doing what has to be done."
"Are you serious!?" Yuto asked with an exasperated expression. "We never even 100% confirmed that LDS is associated with Academia. And besides, I thought we agreed on only using force when necessary!?"
"This is necessary, don't you get it?" Shun clenched his fists. "That guy used Fusion Summoning. That just proves that the two places are connected."
"You seriously can't be this dumb, Shun!" Yuto shouted. "The people in this dimension are able to perform every summoning method, just because he used Fusion doesn't mean that he's affiliated with Academia!"
"Listen, Yuto." Shun said with a dark expression as he walked past Yuto. "I don't care if they're innocent or not. If anybody stands in the way of me and my goal to rescue Ruri, I'll annihilate them. Even you…"
Shun walked away after than, leaving Yuto behind.
Yuto clenched his fists and grit his teeth, "That guy, can't he tell that this path isn't the one the Ruri would want either of us to go down."
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Meanwhile, in the Fusion Dimension…
A cyan-haired youth with his haired tied into a ponytail, wearing a blue school/military uniform nonchalantly entered the massive room. Sitting on the throne at the room's center is a tan-skinned man with a commanding presence.
"I'm here, Professor," The cyan-haired youth said as he put a lollipop in his mouth.
"Good, I have a very important mission for you, Shuinin Sora." The Professor stood up. "I need you to go undercover in the Standard Dimension as a spy. I've gotten report that there were some Xyz and Ritual remnants who have found their way there. I need you to go take care of them."
Sora smirked, biting down on his lollipop, "You want me to clean up some trash lowlifes, huh? I can do that."
"I'm sure you can," The Professor said. "However, you won't be going on this mission alone. I want you to take Ryouga with you."
"That bastard!?" Sora replied with a tense expression. "But why? I can handle things all on my own."
"Think of it as insurance, Sora," The Professor answered. "Ryouga has been proven useful in missions like this."
"Ugh, fine," Sora accepted this decision. "Don't expect me to work together with him though."
"You won't need to. He'll have a different mission from you." The Professor stated. "Now, if you understand your mission, you are dismissed."
"Yes, Professor," Sora bowed before taking his leave.
The Professor turned around to the massive reactor behind him, which had hundreds of cards spilling into it that fueled the machine.
Just a few more pieces, Ray. The Professor thought. Soon, you'll be back, my precious daughter.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Custom/Altered Cards:
Monster Cards -
Antique Maker - Edison
ATK: 1300, DEF: 1200, LV: 5, SC: 2
Dark/Spellcaster/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: If a Pendulum Monster you control would be destroyed by a card effect, you can destroy this card instead.
Monster Effect: When this card is Summoned: You can target 1 monster your opponent controls; destroy it.
Superheavy Samurai Fighter
ATK: 300, DEF: 1700, LV: 5
Earth/Machine/Effect
Monster Effect: This card can attack while in face-up Defense Position. If it does, use its DEF for damage calculation. If your opponent controls a monster and you control no monsters, you can Special Summon this card from your hand.
Superheavy Samurai Zen
ATK: 100, DEF: 2200, LV: 5
Earth/Machine/Effect
This card can attack while in face-up Defense Position. If it does, use its DEF for damage calculation. If your opponent activates an effect that would destroy a "Superheavy Samurai" monster you control, you can negate that effect and Special Summon this card from your hand.
You can only use the following effect of "Superheavy Samurai Zen" once per turn:
—If the DEF of a Machine-Type monster you control is reduced, you can increase its DEF by an amount equal to half its original DEF until the End Phase.
Superheavy Samurai Enjinmaru
ATK: 100, DEF: 4000, LV: 10
Earth/Machine/Effect
Monster Effect: This card can attack while in face-up Defense Position. If it does, use its DEF for damage calculation. When this card is Summoned, change its battle position to face-up Defense Position. If you would take damage from a battle involving a "Superheavy Samurai" monster, you can pay half your Life Points to negate that damage.
Superheavy Samurai Tetsukiba
ATK: 1200, DEF: 2500, LV: 6
Earth/Machine/Effect
Monster Effect: When this card is Summoned: You can target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy it. If a "Superheavy Samurai" monster you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can banish 1 Machine-Type monster from your Graveyard instead. During the End Phase of the turn this card is Summoned, change its battle position to face-up Defense Position.
Antique Compass
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 3, SC: 6
Light/Fairy/Tuner/Pendulum/Effect
Pendulum Effect: Once per turn, you can Special Summon 1 "Antique" Monster from your hand or Graveyard.
Monster Effect: You can equip this card to 1 monster your opponent controls. While this card is equipped to a monster, that monster cannot attack.
Antique Tabletop
ATK: 0, DEF: 0, LV: 5
Light/Fairy/Effect
Monster Effect: If an Antique Monster is Special Summoned, Special Summon this monster from your hand.
Antique Maker - Revolution Commander
ATK: 2500, DEF: 2000, R: 5, SC: 5
Fire/Spellcaster/Xyz/Pendulum/Effect
3 Level 5 Monsters
Pendulum Effect: You can Special Summon 1 "Antique Dawning Blaze" from your hand or Graveyard.
Monster Effect: If you can Pendulum Summon Level 5 monsters, you can Pendulum Summon this face-up card in your Extra Deck. If this card has "Antique Dawning Blaze" equipped to it, it can attack twice during each Battle Phase. You can detach 1 material from this card to activate one of the following effects:
—Special Summon 1 "Antique Dawning Blaze" from your Deck.
—This card inflicts piercing battle damage during its next attack this turn.
Spell/Trap Cards:
Pendulum Trade
Continuous Trap
You can target 1 card in your Pendulum Zone; Special Summon it. You can target 1 Pendulum Monster in your Monster Zone; place that Pendulum Monster in your Pendulum Zone. You can only use 1 "Pendulum Trade" effect per turn, and only once that turn.
Antique Maker's Will
Equip Spell
Can only be equipped to an "Antique Maker" Monster. The card this is equipped to gains 500 ATK for each "Antique" Monster in the graveyard and cannot be destroyed by battle.