You ever deal with one of those things that seem like it'll never get done and goes on and on? I'll tell ya, I've been slaving away at so many things since I was last here. Organic Chemistry, actually not being a fat sack (Still can't believe that I lost all of that weight)...and of course...

WORKING ON THIS BEHEMOTH!

Yes people, remember Omen of Uncertainty?

*Tumbleweed*

Well that's okay, I'm deeply ashamed I tried to pull...which writer is the worst at making stuff up as he/she goes along? I'm aware of Kishimoto sucking royally at it (People say ARC-V's ending was bad? Please, Naruto's was infinitely worse!), but regardless, things needed improvement, and I quite frankly got started too quickly for a story of this size.

So what's the gist here? Why, is it not obvious? This is the start of Dimension Dowsing! Yes, you heard it right, the story meant to salvage ARC-V after it was sabotaged from within by a head writer who decided to spite everyone and burn everything that had been built to the ground is finally here! After so much grief and toil that many will inform you exposed me as a petty and awful madman (I take full responsibility for it all), there is finally something to show for my labors!

Many thanks to Garrett for convincing me to NOT make the following a full rehash of Episode 54 and bore you all to death (And thanks to him for letting me stea-I mean, borrow one of his unused drafts and adapt some of his OCs, whom will be making their appearance sooner than you think), Donjusticia for reading over the draft that solidified that decision, and for anyone else who I tormented on the YCM Discord with my constant slew of ideas, before I was convinced to just write it all out by XBrain130. Seriously, thanks for putting up with me all that time.

For maximum immersion factor, I would recommend re-watching the first 53 episodes of ARC-V before reading this story (Or at least keep yourself in a mindset where they are fresh in your mind). Trust me, you'll be able to follow this story quite easily if ye do so ;).

I don't own ARC-V, that right goes to Konami and Studio Gallop. I mean, I wish I did, but then the number of deaths would skyrocket and the final boss would've actually been intimidating.

Dimension Dowsing - Present Swing

Episode 54: The Synchro Dimension: Neo Domino City

The D-Wheel.

The next evolution of the duel disk, this machine goes full throttle in a Riding Duel, which is known as the greatest expression in freedom…

The amber glow of the setting sun over the massive metropolis was a sight that created a variety of different opinions, whenever the mood to be wistful struck.

For those who lived at the very top, who held all the money and power in the world that they could ask for, in general, they considered it a beautiful sight that just served as the cherry on top for the world that they lived in.

For those who lived at the very bottom, who had no money, and rarely even any clothes on their back or food to eat, it was just another thing to highlight the trash that made up the world that they had been born into.

Of course, those were just general opinions among the population. There were of course, people who had their own opinions on the matter if they ever gave the sight a thought, regardless if those thoughts were influenced by their living conditions or not.

For a certain blue-haired young man who lived in those slums, the sight of the setting sun filled him with anger, reminding him of the injustices that had plagued his life, highlighting the despair and conditions that those whom he considered friends and family had to live in.

Another man however, who was covered in Criminal Marks, simply considered it to be the end of another day, and whenever those who he'd sworn to protect and care for admired it, he would consider it beautiful just as they did. Those smiles were worth it after all. But a belly full of food afterwards wouldn't hurt of course.

A certain youth never gave the setting sun any thoughts besides it telling him that it was dusk and time to grab a bite to eat before settling in for the night for the next day's work.

Likewise, a similar youth with glasses from up above also just saw it as dinnertime when his watch wasn't working to tell him. His companion however, considered it an amazing sight, and so the bespectacled youth would occasionally humor him.

For two girls, the setting sun showed them a city of many problems and issues, as well as the sides to those issues, highlighting how there was still so much left to do for their own goals.

For a certain man, the setting sun highlighted everything that he had worked to build, and that nothing would ever take it out of his hands, as long as his heart still beat. He would not let go of this power that he had toiled to gain, no matter what.

There were of course, several others with unique thoughts, but to reveal what went on in their heads would reveal far too much at this point.

So instead, let us focus on two people in particular who could not care any less about the setting sun. At least, not right at this moment.

After all, right now, they were having something very rare: The time of their lives.

"Come on, I know it can go faster like this!" Rin griped, sitting on the back end of the white tiger-striped D-Wheel with hornet-esque protrusions.

"I'm flooring it!" Yugo shot back. "I'm going as fast as it'll let me!"

The two orphans, the boy wearing a mostly white Riding Duel uniform, and the girl, wearing a pink-and-white one, were taking an opportunity to take a break, in as much as they could take a break, from their precious project. Their ticket out of the Commons, and into the Tops; the D-Wheel that they had spent months working on. Saving whatever money they could, reading up on how to build a D-Wheel and how to read the computer code for the programs implemented into it, finding a facility where they could build it, as they had no garages at the orphanage they called home, and of course, testing the machine at every step of the way.

It had not been easy, owing to Yugo having a poor attention span, them having barely any money to get some of the most critical parts, and Rin's temper whenever they came to a metaphorical wall…

But now, their precious machine was working. Bit by bit, it had won the duo several local matches, its performance improving as they grew more skilled at handling it. Trial and error had been the best instructors for the two, and now…

"I still say you're going too slow!" Rin barked.

"Oh yeah, then try this on for size!" Yugo yelled as he accelerated down the suspended highway further, causing both to scream in delight as they felt the wind blowing against them, becoming one with the speed that had long-since enticed them and everyone else in their city.

Of course, saying that the pair of an over enthusiastic idiot and back-alley street girl ever did anything with complete dignity was incorrect, but despite everything, they were enjoying themselves.

Especially because their goal was nearing. The moment they were waiting for was almost upon them. In less than a month, the Friendship Cup, their ticket out of the Commons, would begin, and the two young riders were planning on entering. It was their mission, their dream, and at long last, it was about to become reality.

So they had decided to go out for a joyride. While Commons didn't have any freedom to enter any of the districts where Tops residents lived, the highways in-between those districts and leading up and down to the Commons were mostly fair-game...so long as you kept away from those districts you were not allowed to enter.

Thus, the two were free to run up and down the roads hanging above the City, taking in the view of the worlds below and above them, while enjoying the rush and sheer thrill of the ride.

"YAHOOOOOOOOO!" Both of them exclaimed.

They went at it for an hour, taking turns when it came to driving, since while it was true that they had come for a rare outing of fun...it didn't hurt to keep practicing, since they only had the one D-Wheel and Duel Disk, and thus would have to switch between them whenever it would be their turn to duel.

Finally, they came to a fairly empty viewing lot, made solely for people who wanted to take in the view. A few similar locations had been claimed by rich Tops (Because of course they would do that), but most were ignored, and thus one of the few places that a citizen from the Commons could go to without being harassed (Most of the time, unless a particularly petty Tops resident decided to push them away for the heck of it).

The two gazed at the sunset, casting dusk on all of the districts. To these two aspiring riders, who wanted freedom, the setting sun felt like…

"A promise." Rin murmured.

"Eh, what?" Yugo asked, not catching it.

"Oh, it's nothing." Rin dismissed, before pausing to look at the sight. "It really is beautiful though."

Yugo gazed at the sprawling city. "Yeah, it is."

"...And it's almost time, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

They were silent as the weight of the upcoming event came crashing down on them. Expectations for the opponents they would fight. The difficulty of the journey ahead. Knowing that they still had a long road ahead of them.

"Yugo…" Rin said at last.

"Yeah?"

"Let's make sure we win this."

"Of course we're going to win this!" Yugo protested.

Rin made a sour face at him. "You somehow lost to Tama of all people in one of the last local tournaments!"

"Not my fault he found two copies of Torrential Tribute!" Yugo protested.

"I told you to side Puppet Plant during your duel with Polo, or he'd get you."

"Hey, Clear Wing nearly got rid of all of his Life Points! I didn't think he'd top-deck Soul Charge!"

Rin sighed. "Just promise me that you won't hold back. That we'll win this tournament, no matter what!"

That got Yugo to sober up. His face became serious and stern as he looked at the setting sun once again.

"Well...yeah." he murmured. "Yeah, it's a promise."

"You swear?" Rin asked, clearly trying to make sure Yugo wasn't blowing off.

"Of course I swear!" Yugo exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air.

"You'd better watch out Jack! 'Cause we're gonna beat you!"

A smile came across Rin's face, clearly enjoying her companion's determination. "Glad you understand."

"And then I'll buy one of those swimming pools in a swimming pool! And maybe a tub full of milk!" Yugo continued.

"Okay Yugo, I get it…" Rin sighed.

But Yugo kept on talking. "Oh, maybe we'll get one of those rare video games, like that one that was supposed to be all dark and gritty or something!"

"All right, I know…" Rin grumbled.

"Or one of those-"

WHAM!

"All right I get it!" Rin roared as she slammed her right knee into Yugo's stomach.

"Geez…" the girl sighed as Yugo gasped for breath. "You don't have to describe every little thing you see in those trash magazines."

"Oh come on! Like you're one to talk, how about that time you dueled Yanki?" Yugo managed to shoot back.

"Which time?" Rin asked rhetorically, rolling her eyes. "You mean the time I beat her, or the time when I also beat her? And don't call Kasumi by that stupid gang title. She just does it to look intimidating, which, FYI, she isn't."

"Wait, you mean 'Yanki' isn't her name?" Yugo asked innocently.

Rin just stared at her companion. "Someday that habit of mixing up names is going to catch up to you, you know that right?"

"Oh come on! I'm good with everyone else's names! What are the chances of people screwing up mine?" Yugo replied.

"You never know when." Rin explained in a knowledgeable tone. "Alright, enough soaking up the sunset, let's go home. I'm driving."

"Oh hell no, I'm driving!" Yugo replied. "I didn't get enough miles out of it today."

The two locked eyes at each other. Then they got into fighting stances and…

"ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS!"

And just like that…

Rin smirked. "Paper beats Rock."

"Damn it!" Yugo wept as he and Rin walked back to the D-Wheel, before the duo stopped right in their tracks.

The viewpoint lot they were located on had a short road that connected it to the main highway. This of course, is to make sure that people wanting to take a lookout or picture will be far enough away from traffic, and that D-Wheels and other vehicles are able to park without having to worry about crashing, and to be just close enough so that the driver is able to tell where exactly he or she is turning into.

Of course, with no sidewalk on that straightaway, it meant that the only area to walk around was the viewpoint lot, which was circular in shape…

And that right near the entry/exit of the lot, was a lone Security officer.

He seemed to be off-duty, even having taken his helmet off to reveal his face. His hair, which was mid-length and spiked upwards, was pure white. He was peering over a tablet, not focusing on the two Commons residents, but the two were quite familiar with Sector Security's brutality, and so did not feel reassured. He could easily choose to arrest them the instance they exited the lot.

Wordlessly, Rin got into the driver's seat, and Yugo scurried onto the back, and the two rode off, keeping themselves exactly according to the speed limit, hoping to avoid the security officer's attention. As they rode past him, both got a better look at his face, which was rather rough and sunken-looking due to being covered with pock-marks. Unusually, the officer's long, rough eyebrows were a sandy blonde instead of being snow-white.

He did indeed happen to glance at them, revealing a pair of cold and focused red eyes that seemed to pierce through Yugo and Rin, both feeling their hair stand on end and goosebumps on their skin. Just as quickly however, the officer returned to studying his tablet-screen, seeming to pay the two no mind.

That being said, Rin took no chances, and left driving at the speed limit, Yugo looking behind to make sure that they weren't being followed.

It felt like they were driving on eggshells while having arrows aimed at their heads, but in the end, the officer did not try to chase them down, causing both to breathe a sigh of relief and head for home. It had been a very close shave.

The officer continued to browse his tablet, examining the facial structures of the two individuals he had noticed at the viewpoint lot. While they were focused on the view/beating each other up, the officer snapped a picture of the two before moving in for a closer look, making sure that his D-Wheel's sirens and warning lights were off so he could sneak in un-noticed, which was helped by a custom feature installed into his D-Wheel to reduce engine noise.

Once he was done studying the pictures he had taken, he proceeded to pull up photographs of two other individuals, who, similar to the Synchro duo, were dressed in uniforms, but these were much more formal as opposed to the tight-fitting leather common in Synchro. The white-haired man specifically focused his attention on that of a girl who was wearing the Osiris Red outfit, albeit customized to her preference, according to her profile.

Wordlessly, he compared the facial structures of the two girls, running a program from his tablet to make sure...

The results came in. They were identical to each other. The boys too.

Quickly, the officer typed up a message, knowing fully well that he had found what they were looking for.

'Located Synchro Counterparts. Inform Eli and have him get Yuri in here ASAP.'

Then, a loud laugh from the distance caught the officer's attention. "BWAHAHAHAHA!"

A large dark-skinned man with a pink mohawk, wearing a sleeveless brown vest, stormed down the road, cackling as several bills flew from a rather large bag crudely tied to his D-Wheel. He was flanked by two Gyaku-Gire Pandas and three Maji-Gire Pandas, who roared angrily, as if to warn people away. The officer immediately recognized him as the hooligan known as Dobocle, who had previously been arrested for crashing his D-Wheel into an expo held by Dimension Express.

'Robbery occurred at Highway 5! The culprit is escaping on his D-Wheel! Requesting a Duel Chaser!"

The officer quickly fitted his helmet on, and, quick as a viper, barreled down the road on his D-Wheel, lights flashing as he caught up with the criminal, who looked back and sneered.

"Heh, a Duel Chaser? HAH! You guys ain't so tough, and I'm going to prove that right now!"

For a moment, the officer was tempted to not use his admittedly-customized Duel Chaser deck, and instead just use his personal deck that would literally turn the raging idiot's field into corpses, just to see the look on his face, but ultimately, professionalism ruled the day as the officer loaded the less-suspicious deck into his wrist dealer.

It wouldn't take long to defeat this raving muscle-head anyways.

Indeed, before his observed subjects had even exited the highway, Dobocle found himself flying from his D-Wheel, and landing on the cruel, hard pavement, his ill-gotten money scattered all around him, waiting to be returned to its 'rightful' place.

Being the oldest of the residents of their orphanage, Rin and Yugo in particular had to fulfill a fair number of responsibilities. Besides looking after younger children or doing chores around the 'house', so to speak, to assist the caretaker of the facility, one of their tasks was to help buy groceries at the market whenever the day came.

This was one of those times when having a D-Wheel proved to be practical in everyday life (And one of the main reasons why they had been allowed to construct and keep it in the first place), as it had customized compartments to carry items, which made it handy to pack food. Of course, because of the cramped spaces of the market, neither Yugo or Rin were ever able to actually drive it while shopping, instead simply pulling it alongside.

"Let's see...we got the leeks, the green onions, the oranges, the apples…" Rin murmured to herself, walking ahead with the shopping list, while Yugo was just a few steps behind.

"And that just leaves the meat!" he sneered mischievously.

Yugo had seen the list, and was excited to learn that they were getting actual meat from a butcher, not some canned gunk like tuna or Crimson Dragon forbid, Spam. Rin had had to force the Speedroid-user to wipe his mouth, seeing that he was drooling everywhere.

"Just don't try to eat all of it before the kids can get a bite in." Rin sighed. "And besides, it's pork, not beef."

"Who cares? Meat is meat!" Yugo drooled, imagining the week's dinner, though it was true that beef was his favorite.

The stall they were heading towards was a bit different from say, a fruit stand. While a fruit stand could simply be built as a tent, meat stands required refrigeration of the goods (If the meat was not dried and/or cured), and thus required actual metal instead of just wood. Of course, to make money in the commons, a stationary metal stand would not be enough, as it would be prone to vandalism from thugs or street fights over who would command it for the day. Thus, the solution, at least for the district where Yugo and Rin lived, were meat trucks, which could naturally hold refrigerated goods thanks to their size, and still have stands quickly set-up and dismantled, to help maximize profit.

"What'll it be?" A large, muscular man with short spiked black hair and a scar over his left eye asked gruffly.

"10 pounds of pork please." Rin said politely.

"10 pounds of pork! Get it out here!" the man roared back.

"Ah shaddup, I'm getting it!" an equally gruff voice called back.

"Just wait a little bit." the muscular vendor grunted, looking down at the two, before looking above.

It was just a reflex, one might say. But, as a side-note, regardless of whether or not they came from the Tops or Commons, businessmen in Neo Domino were cutthroat, and some were said to develop elevated instincts when seeking out deals or opportunities. Especially in the near-lawless slums of the Commons.

"Oi, you gonna buy something or just keep staring like a creepy schoolgirl?"

It was at that moment that Yugo heard a faint roar in his mind, followed by the hissing of what sounded like several snakes in unison.

He wasn't the only one. Rin could swear that a sound not dissimilar to a set of wind chimes tinkling in the wind, but whatever melodies those chimes had created were being drowned out by the rather loud hissing of snakes.

However it manifested in their heads, their instincts were coming to the same conclusion. Something was wrong.

They quickly turned back, to see a narrow alleyway between two run-down grey-brick buildings, but there was nothing in the alleyway...at least, nothing they could see, but could feel was still watching them.

"Oi! Look at me when I'm talking to you!" the vendor roared at the seemingly empty alley.

But there was no reply.

It was only a few seconds later that the vendor's partner, an equally buff man with smooth black hair that had a long braid at the back, wearing small round black glasses, appeared, holding the order in his hands.

"Alright, here's your order!" he announced.

"Uh, thank you." Rin said hastily, giving them the money as she and Yugo immediately walked away, packing the meat into the D-Wheel as they did so.

They were silent as they walked out of the shopping district, feeling a sense of unease that was not going away.

"Do...do you feel that something's...off?" Rin asked.

"Yeah...feels like I'm getting goosebumps…" Yugo muttered.

They kept an eye out until they finally got home, upon which the feeling of unease finally went away.

The next morning however, they heard how one of the more stable services/businesses in the Commons, that of Merry Meats, which had provided their services to several districts, had suddenly ended. Those rumors soon turned to factual reports as Security spread word of a mysterious fire that had destroyed their main facility...and the strange disappearance of the five-man crew that ran the business.

Of course, this was all but a prelude for what was to come.

Shortly after this, both Rin and Yugo could now definitely feel that someone was watching them, especially Rin whenever she was separated from the white-suited rider. It felt that no matter where they went, the feeling that they were being tailed or stalked would never go away. Trying to find whoever was behind it bore no fruit at all. No matter where they would search in retaliation, the stalker could not be found.

Of course, as they would soon find out, this person was no mere stalker.

He was a hunter.

Nighttime was always considered dangerous in the Commons whenever you lacked reliable transportation or a weapon, since you were liable to be attacked by thugs, thieves, delinquents, rapists, or even the occasional serial-killer. If you lacked a D-Wheel, the following were recommended as weapons: Bludgeons, knives, guns, brass knuckles, Molotov Cocktails, and/or of course, a Duel Disk.

Unfortunately for Rin, all of these options except for the Duel Disk were banned at the orphanage where she and Yugo lived, and they only ever had enough money for the one Duel Disk, which was attached to their shared D-Wheel.

As a result, when both she and Yugo were at the end of their rope at the week's end, and wanted to deal with the intruder on their lives, Yugo had driven off, hoping to find the mysterious predator. Rin for her part was left alone, trying to make her way back home.

But just when she thought she was in the clear...

"I hope you didn't think our game of Tag was over so soon before it could begin. Now...shall we begin the hunting game?"

With no duel disk, it was all the teal-suited duelist could do to run and keep away from the cloaked boy. The one who shared Yugo's face, a detail she noticed when he'd walked beneath one of the few working streetlights in the alleyways. It made Rin's stomach turn to see such a malevolent and sadistic expression on her closest companion's face, so much so that she had to mentally tell herself that that the hunter was not Yugo over and over in her head, trying to purge the terrifying image of the boy's snake-slit eyes out of her mind.

Yugo for his part was desperately riding through the labyrinth of streets, realizing that he'd been tricked by the mysterious duelist, and now frantically riding to find Rin.

"RIN! RIN! RIN!" He called.

But she was too far away to hear.

Rin gasped as she came to a dead-end, boxed in by buildings with no entrance...and the not-Yugo creeping closer and closer to her.

"Alright, I'm starting to get tired of our game now." he crooned mockingly. "Now, come with me, to the Professor's side."

Fear and adrenaline mixed and churned in Rin's guts, as the boy raised his duel disk, projecting a dark purple sword-shaped energy blade. "Now, how about we duel? Oh...wait, you can't, can you? What a shame…Ah well."

For a few seconds, he was still, with Rin fearful to even breathe.

At last, he spoke. "Predator Scent, activate, and with that, I send Predator Plant Heliamorrow to the Graveyard…"

Before Rin could speak, a horrific blend of a bird and a pitcher-plant, in spectral form, descended over her, before ensnaring her arms with its vine-like wings, mouth drooling with sweet-smelling slime. Rin gagged as the heavy smell of the slime/drool of the horrific creature began to overpower her.

"Wh-what the hell is this?" she managed to choke out, before a small blue-green blob with an imp-like face and sharp teeth manifested before her. It clamped its teeth over her right leg, but instead of feeling pain from the bite, Rin immediately started to feel dizzy, stagger, and then fall unconscious.

"Hmph, that was too long for being too easy." the cloaked boy yawned as he bent down to pick up his prize.

"Damn it, where is she?" Yugo groaned as he rode down this next alleyway, headlights on full power.

Then he saw them. Rin, unconscious, draped over the cloaked duelist's shoulder.

"Why you…" Yugo growled, ripping himself off of the seat of his D-Wheel and charging forward with his legs. "You bastard, what the hell are you doing with Rin?!"

"Hmm…" the duelist hummed, letting his face be revealed from his hood, with the light of Yugo's D-Wheel revealing…

"What the...is that my face?" Yugo gaped, stopping despite his rage.

The mirror image then sneered in triumph.

"Magic card, VIOLET FLASH!"

A bright purple flash of light filled Yugo's eyes, forcing him to cover his face. The white-suited boy groaned from the intensity of the light, until he felt it fade away, to reveal…

A completely empty alleyway, devoid of Rin and her pursuer who looked like Yugo's evil twin.

Yugo gasped. "RIN!"

He looked around like a wild animal who had been wounded, panic and despair seeping in. No sign of Rin on the roofs. No sign of the bastard-twin behind him or above. No miraculous scene of Rin breaking out of the bastard-twin's grip and beating the hell out of him. No indication that anyone had even been there aside from some weird sweet-smelling scent lingering in the air.

Yugo took another look, then a third, and a fourth. But the truth settled in soon enough.

Rin was gone.

The bastard-twin had taken away the one whom Yugo held the most precious in the world. Yugo had let him catch Rin, completely helpless to prevent her capture. Powerless to have even fought the bastard in the first place, failing to have even managed to duel him.

It was all the white-suited duelist could do but scream his frustrations to the nightly heavens, to the place where they'd sworn to fight their way to someday. The dream that they had both held, completely taken away and smashed to pieces. Now that she was gone, what was the point?

"DAMN IT!" Yugo screamed.

But before he could falter, he heard a sound very much like the gusting of wind, and even though its source was behind him, a bright green light. Without thinking, the boy turned around, seeing that the light was coming from his duel disk. As he walked closer to get a better look, he saw a single white card emerge from the screen. A card that he had held with him his whole life and considered his ace.

"Clear Wing?" Yugo mumbled as he realized that indeed, it was his ace monster that was emitting the bright green light.

What should he do? Take it? Leave it there? Why was Clear Wing glowing? What did it mean?

Instincts rushed through Yugo. He could hear the voice of a roaring dragon in his mind, but this was not the wicked hissing that had been plaguing him in the past week. It was the roar that Clear Wing let out whenever Yugo summoned it. It was the first time he'd heard that roar in his head. It felt like...it was urging him to take it. An instinct that was slowly coming over Yugo. His doubts were still there, but then he thought of Rin, and had the feeling that if he took the card, he could save her after all.

He reached, and clasped his ace monster in his fingers. Green light completely surrounded him, causing Yugo to cover his eyes for a second time.

But when he opened them...it was to an orange, malevolent glow.

"Wh-what is this?" Yugo gasped, as he realized where he was. Atop of a mountain that oversaw a sprawling city that made Neo Domino look small.

But unlike Neo Domino, most of this city was bathed in fire. If he strained his ears, Yugo could hear the awful noise of people screaming in terror. He could see the dark silhouettes of some kind of gigantic creatures in the distance, holding out their arms, before firing an immense blue beam into the city, creating several massive explosions in their wake. Pillars of purple light occasionally manifested elsewhere, and soon in their wake, yet more explosions, or, in one case, another shadowy giant aiming to cause more and more destruction.

Those scenes of devastation were burned into Yugo's memories as he watched the unfamiliar city be razed to the ground.

He didn't dare enter until the flames had died down, revealing a ruined metroscape coated in ash. Where proud buildings had once stood, there was rubble. The center of the city seemed to have had a massive tower that would've been impressive to see, except it had been cut down to size. Recognizable streets were now covered in twisted and melted metal, and had either collapsed or been buried. Yugo couldn't even tell if it was night or day, for the sky was filled with so much ash now, either the sun or the moon were blotted out.

"Is Rin really in this place?" Yugo wondered to himself sullenly as he drove over the uneven terrain.

For the entire day, the white rider rode his D-Wheel wherever he could, trying to learn about his new surroundings. It was more than a bit difficult however. A small group of people coated in more ash and dust than any Common immediately ran away from Yugo when he tried to ask them for information, while another group of people a few hours later, who wore weird blue outfits and strange helmets with red, blue, and yellow gems in the center, ambushed him in a Battle Royal duel that he thankfully was able to win, which he noted caused them to vanish in blue light.

At the very least, he did learn from his opponents that the name of this city was Heartland. What he didn't know was why it was being attacked. He figured it had something to do with the guys in the masks, and sometimes, some people in less decorated red, yellow, or blue outfits who played the same cards as them. Not that they were the only ones attacking the Synchro user however.

"GAH!" Yugo screamed, seeing, of all things, a katana, that had been thrown, landing in a cracked wall that he'd driven by, situated next to a rather large pile of rubble that may as well have been an entire building at one point.

"He might be aligned with Fusion!" a commanding, female voice called out, though Yugo couldn't make out what she looked like from where he was, only catching what looked like either a sword or a stick.

"It's YUGO, not Fusion!" The White Rider couldn't help but scream, until four roguish individuals, each with a noticeable red scarf being worn somewhere on their bodies, brandishing their duel disks, jumped him.

"Shit, I don't have time for this!" Yugo hissed, accelerating in the opposite direction just as his opponents yelled…

"XYZ SUMMON!"

"Xyz?" Yugo asked, before several monsters unfamiliar to him, each with strange lights orbiting around their bodies, lunged towards him in a manner very similar to their owners.

"Damn it...SYNCHRO SUMMON!"

And so the on-and-off dueling began with Hi-Speedroid Kendama and Hi-Speedroid Chanbara working to protect their master from the relentless assaults until he was able to escape.

When he did, Yugo dismounted his D-Wheel, and looked up to the ashen sky in sheer frustration. He seemed nowhere closer to finding Rin, and it seemed that no matter where he went, people were getting in his way.

"RARRRRGGGHHHH!" he yelled to the blackened heavens, slamming his fists into the ground.

Yugo found himself camping out in the mountains where he'd begun his quest, ignoring the cries of his stomach for food. He was used to going some fairly long periods without nourishment after all, and both he and Rin had had more than a few experiences of sleeping on the streets whenever they strayed too far from home.

Unfortunately, the Synchro user made just as little progress the next day as he did before, either encountering teams of the primary-colored uniform duelists, or one of the more ragged duelists scouting the destroyed city, and each time, they tried to attack him, and kept on confusing Yugo's name for Fusion. It managed to be both annoying and stressful at the same time. Annoying because everyone kept getting his name wrong, and stressful because he couldn't find Rin anywhere.

The only change from Day 1 was that Yugo was able to find a destroyed bakery in the wreckage of Heartland that had some leftover bread and sweets, so he at least managed to settle his stomach that night.

And as for the bathroom, well, again, he was used to dealing with this kind of situation.

Day 3 was starting out much like the previous two, though this time, the Synchro user decided to take a different route in the destroyed city, already growing tired of being caught in the crossfire of whatever was happening in Heartland. His mission was still to find Rin, but part of him (Or at least the part that nagged at him in Rin's voice) wondered if Rin really was stuck in this horrible place and that he should try his luck elsewhere. Then again, if she was here after all, then Yugo really and truly had to rescue her.

"What is wrong with this town?" Yugo grumbled to himself, stopping his D-Wheel on the road he was taking. "And where could Rin be here?"

"Rin, hey, Rin! Are you here? RIN! Can you hear my voice, RIN!"

But the only reply was the white rider's echo.

Yugo sighed, looking around. There really was no sign of Rin anywhere. Not at the tops of the destroyed buildings, not behind or in front of him on the road he was on, and nowhere near a road that was located on a lower level, where…

HIM.

Yugo's blood boiled as he recognized his face. The face identical to his, now uncloaked to reveal a cold, determined face wearing a dark cape over a set of ragged grey-and-dark-green clothes. It was the evil twin from before. It had to be.

"YOU!" The Synchro user roared. "I found you, you bastard! Don't you even TRY running this time!"

The caped-duelist didn't seem interested though, seemingly ignoring Yugo's inquiry with his own. "Are you with Academia?"

"...Huh?" Yugo asked, anger ebbing slightly from confusion, but only for a moment as his evil twin continued to speak.

"I heard something about Fusion!"

And just like that, the anger returned.

"Whose Fusion?! My name is Yugo! And I'm gonna beat the hell out of you!"

With that, the Synchro user's D-Wheel's disk portion activated, emitting four prongs of green-light, arranged in a vague arrow-shape.

Seeing this, the bastard activated his duel disk in response, revealing the blade to have the same purple color as the light it had emitted before. Yes. That was him. It HAD to be. Yugo was now completely sure of it.

"You ARE from Fusion!" Yugo's opponent shot back.

"Listen to when people are talking!" the Synchro user roared, accelerating off the road and diving towards the bastard.

DUEL!

YUGO LP: 4000

OPPONENT LP: 4000

"I'm going first!" Yugo declared as his D-Wheel slammed into the ground. "Since I don't control any monsters, I get to Special Summon Speedroid Terrortop right from my hand, and since I summoned him, that means I can add another Speedroid from my deck to my hand!"

A series of red tops, glowing with energy, and connecting to each other in a similar fashion to a centipede's joints, arose to the field, levitating above their user.

Speedroid Terrotop/WIND/Level 3/Machine/Effect/ATK: 1200/DEF: 600

"And guess what, the monster I added? I'm bringing him out right now!" Yugo said. "I summon the Tuner Monster, Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!"

A large golden die, with a large eye with a red pupil acting as the marking for the "1", with six glowing red orbs around it, manifested next to the top-centipede, pulsing as the orbs manifested.

Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice/WIND/Level 1/Machine/Tuner/ATK: 100/DEF: 100

Yugo raised his arm to his second monster. "I activate Red-Eyed Dice's effect! I target another Speedroid I control, and then a level between 1 and 6, making that monster's level equal to the one I pick! Meaning my Terrotop is now a Level 6 monster!"

The die pulsed again, with all six of its orbs shifting position to surround Beigomax instead.

Speedroid Terrortop/Level 6

"Alright you bastard, get ready! I tune the now Level 6 Speedroid Terrortop with my Level 1 Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!"

The die-monster transformed into a green ring, while the tops faded into six stars that lined up inside the ring.

"Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down your enemies at the speed of light! Synchro Summon! Appear now! Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"

From the star/ring formation, a horizontal beam of light burst from behind Yugo, flying upwards until a flash of green light shone through, and a massive dragon with a predominantly white body stormed onto the field, roaring as it flexed its arms. The dragon had no legs, its blocky body instead ending in bright green diamond protrusions and a white-and-black tail. The dragon's wings were a set of bright green panel extensions similar to the diamond extrusions, while block-like blue armor adorned several other parts of its body, particularly its head and six-fingered claws. The dragon flew besides its master gracefully, sparkles of light shimmering from its scales.

Clear Wing Synchro Dragon/WIND/Level 7/Dragon/Synchro/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000

"Synchro Summon, eh?" The bastard-duelist said. "So, there's a pawn of Fusion in the Synchro Dimension then!"

"Will you shut up about that?" The white rider griped. "It's getting fucking annoying! I set two cards face-down and end my turn!"

Two face-downs appeared on each side of Yugo's D-Wheel, before vanishing.

"Alright you ass-wipe, come on! I'll take down whatever you have!"

"Let's see you try to back those words up!" the caped-bastard retorted. "Draw! I'm starting off with Twin Twisters! I discard a card to destroy 2 Spell/Traps on the field, in this case, your face-downs!"

"Aw come on!" Yugo griped as Burning Sonic and Dragon's Bind were blown away by two small tornadoes. He'd been hoping to use them to lock his opponent down, but already his back row was out of commission.

"Next, I Normal Summon The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm!"

The bastard's first monster was a silver broken knight's helmet and disembodied hands, with blue spectral energy leaking out of the construct. Yugo was able to see through the knight's broken visor a blue blank face with two dark spots for eyes, which he had to admit was slightly unnerving.

The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm/DARK/Level 4/Warrior/Effect/ATK: 1500/DEF: 500

"I then activate the effect of The Phantom Knights of Ancient Cloak in my GY! By banishing it, I can add 1 'The Phantom Knights' card from my Deck to my hand! I choose to add The Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine, and then set it face-down!"

The set card manifested, surprisingly enough in the Spell & Trap Zone, but Yugo's foe wasn't done yet.

"The Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine can be activated on the turn it is Set when I have no Traps in my GY! I will activate it right now!"

When the card flipped face-up, another blue-specter monster floated out of it, this time being a plate of steel-grey chest armor with blue flames emerging from where the limbs should've been located.

The Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine/DARK/Level 4/Warrior/Normal/ATK: 0/DEF: 300 (Currently not treated as a Trap Card)

"Wait, what the hell?" Yugo spluttered. "Not treated as a Trap card? Since when do Trap Monsters do that?"

"My Phantom Knights aren't regular Trap monsters." the bastard replied curtly. "When they use their effects, they are not treated as Trap cards when summoned as monsters, freeing my Spell & Trap Zones for more of them! But that's the least of your problems. I overlay my Level 4 Cloven Helm and Shade Brigandine!"

The two ghost-warriors turned into thick streams of purple energy, flying through the air until a galaxy-portal opened up in the middle of the dueling field, causing them to dive into it. Just as they did, a pillar of blue energy burst from the portal, and a massive creature began to emerge.

"Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs! Descend now! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

A dragon, whose scales were colored in shades of blue and purple, roared, staring Yugo down. The creature had longer and more skeletal wings than Clear Wing, and was shaped a bit differently, being more bipedal in nature as it had two long legs that ended in fully formed feet. The claws were also adorned with two large blades, and the chest adorned with grey armor. A massive ram-like blade jutted out to serve as the beast's chin, and its body was covered in purple-and-pink orbs.

Yet, despite the beast's obvious differences to Yugo's dragon...he still couldn't help but feel that the beast was familiar, almost as if he was staring down another version of Clear Wing. A burning feeling, like heartburn, was building in Yugo's throat, and he only felt more enraged staring at this relative of his dragon, wanting nothing more than to tear it apart.

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon/DARK/Rank 4/Dragon/Xyz/Effect/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000

"So first you copy my face, and now you copy my dragon?!" Yugo roared. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"I'm the one who is going to defeat you!" the bastard yelled back, rage taking his face over as well. Yugo didn't know why though. What did Rin's kidnapper have anything to get angry about?

"Go! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, attack! Lightning Disobey of Rebellion!"

Obeying its master, the purple dragon's chin-fang glowed violently with blue energy, with electricity building in its wings, before it flew forward, aiming to kill its rival.

"Fight back! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, Helldive Whirlwind Slasher!"

The white dragon roared back in defiance, and flew upwards into the air, building green energy in its wings, before spiraling downwards to face its opponent head-on.

The two dragons clashed, both seeming equal in power. When one moved, the other maneuvered perfectly to counter it. Yet it was a savage battle to determine which dragon would be on top. Which one would survive. Which one would be devoured by the other!

But they were equally matched in powers. One final head-on collision ended with a burst of energy that consumed both dragons, destroying them both and kicking debris and dust from the ruined city everywhere.

When it cleared however, both duelists were still standing tall, glaring daggers at each other.

"Damn it…" Yugo growled, hating how his field was bare.

"Over there!" an unfamiliar voice called.

Yugo looked forward and saw a boy around Tama's height, dressed in a tight purple trench coat, running towards them, flanked by yet more duelists similar to the ones that Yugo had fought earlier, being dressed in worn-down, battle-scarred clothing that seemed to mix into the dark ruined city.

"Tch...reinforcements." the White Rider growled.

Yugo would've loved to tear the bastard's allies apart. He really would've...but another set of instincts kicked in. He had no monsters to defend himself, and so if any of them decided to make a battle royale duel, it would probably not end well.

With no other choice, Yugo revved up his D-Wheel's engines, and stormed away, ending the duel with no result.

As he got farther and farther away, it began to dawn on Yugo that despite his hopes of finding Rin, he'd come no closer to doing so. She was nowhere near the bastard, meaning that she might've been somewhere else. The thought that he had just gone on a wild goose chase was immediately chased out of his mind. He couldn't give up hope. Rin was out there, and he would find her!

He had to.

"I swear I'll find you Rin! Count on it!" Yugo yelled to the sky, forcing away tears that threatened to form as a brilliant light consumed him and his D-Wheel…

And sent him right back to where he started, at home, right on the doorstep of the orphanage where he and Rin grew up. He'd seen children occasionally being adopted here and there, but in a place as poor as the Commons, such an occurrence was incredibly rare, since after all, there was no better home to be seen for several miles, unless you talked of the upper districts, which rarely showed interest in adopting Commons. He'd heard of a certain program started up by some French woman from the Tops that took in some kids, but it had never come for him or Rin, so Yugo didn't give it much thought.

It wasn't lost on Yugo that the one time he or Rin had a chance to leave the orphanage...it had not been for a better life, or...whatever it was that her kidnapper planned to do to her, but he was certain that it couldn't be good.

"Yugo!" a soft, older voice called.

Yugo was jolted out of his thoughts as he saw a middle-aged woman with medium-length brown hair and large glasses dressed in a simple outfit that came with an apron, standing near the gate entrance, along with a young girl with neat scarlet hair and simple dress, and a boy his age with similar crimson hair, albeit slightly messier, and more than a few dirt smudges on himself and the dark red-and-black garbage collector uniform he was wearing.

"Where have you been?" the woman asked, looking all over the D-Wheeler, as if to spot any injuries. "You and Rin were gone for so long! Tama said that he last saw you three days ago!" She then looked around. "And...where's Rin?"

"Rin was…" Yugo trailed off, his bravado from his prior declaration already trailing away.

"Was what?" the boy asked, instinctively grabbing onto the younger girl.

"She was kidnapped, okay? Are you happy?!" he yelled. "She got taken by some bastard who looked like me and now she's gone!"

It's often said that men shouldn't cry, as it shows weakness. But Yugo didn't give a damn about that right now. Right now, his strength just seemed to leave him, and he was left bawling over the shoulder of the one person he and Rin could really call a guardian, with one of the few friends he and Rin had outside of the orphanage lending a hand.

He told them the full story of course, leaving them in a state of disbelief at how outlandish it was...but considering the evidence that it had indeed happened before their eyes, they really had no choice but to accept it.

Masuyo Kimura, the brown-haired caretaker of the orphanage, did attempt to file a Missing Persons report, but Security barely paid it any mind. People disappeared all the time in the Commons, they reasoned, either because of gang violence, sex trafficking, forced conscription into the underground labor camps, or because they were thrown into the Facility for life and never seen again.

The caretaker was usually a calm and amiable person, but even she had her limits. Thankfully, she was able to calm herself, knowing of Security's rather heavy-handed retaliations against even the most minor of complaints.

Polo, the red-haired youth who had left his younger sister, Karen, at the orphanage while he tried to make money for his family by taking whatever jobs he could find, promised Yugo that he would keep an eye out for Rin or anyone else suspicious...but he sadly brought in no updates besides reports of the usual criminal activity in the Commons. Yugo appreciated it however, especially for those nights where he dreamed of his adversary arriving in Synchro to gloat, only to be defeated by a vengeful Yugo…

Of course, when Yugo woke up and realized that it was a dream, all of the satisfaction and catharsis just faded away. The lack of updates and life going on just made it worse.

Tama, the grouchy dark-skinned mechanic who had lent his services to Yugo and Rin while they were building their D-Wheel, and had offered advice whenever he could (When it wasn't his trademark pessimistic snark or sarcasm) just stared in shock when he heard about the whole matter. He wasn't exactly one to try to lift up people's spirits though, keeping the awful and perhaps likely truth that Yugo would never find Rin to himself.

Still, he offered to give Yugo some free tune-ups for his D-Wheel, if it might help, small as it was.

Word passed down to those outside of the orphanage, such as the delinquent Kasumi, who went by her street name of 'Yanki', and her gang, as well as some of the vendors who Yugo and Rin had known during their time spent building their D-Wheel.

But just because they knew, didn't mean that they could help (And getting 'help' from Kasumi was like trying to get water from fire, so Yugo really didn't bother besides holding her off in a Riding Duel). Yugo's only method of finding Rin was Clear Wing's mysterious power to teleport himself in-between dimensions, but much to his chagrin, it never worked when he wanted to. He tried all sorts of measures and plans to get Clear Wing's powers to work, but none of them even got a glow out of the card.

(Tama had just given Yugo a 'I cannot believe you just said that' stare when Yugo had lost patience with his dragon's lack of response after one particularly embarrassing incident)

So he spent his days tearing through the streets, mind bent on finding Rin's kidnapper, but no luck.

Bit by bit, Yugo began discarding that which he considered unimportant in his quest to find the one he held most precious in the world. He spent less time at home, and more time on the streets. He didn't pay much attention to local news, tuning out anything that he considered a distraction. He ate only when his stomach could not take much more of any refusal to eat, and he found himself sleeping less and less.

One night, Yugo was resuming yet another high-speed rage ride. If anyone happened to take a closer look at the boy, they would see heavy bags underneath his eyes, and a crazed, almost desperate look. They might've even seen a pale-green light sparkling on and off from his eyes as well. His clothes were messy, or at least messier than usual, and his D-Wheel, once polished constantly, was coated in grime.

"I'll find you Rin...I'll find you…" Yugo whispered softly, trying to keep his eyes open.

He started down another street, recognizing it as the one that would take him down to Tama's garage. He mentally went over the route he could take there to go home, but if he did that…

"No! Gotta find Rin! Need to find...her…"

Yugo felt his stomach growling. He hadn't eaten for awhile...but he was used to it. He could go another night without any food. Without any fruits...or even some nice, juicy meat…

He shook it off, accelerating so that he could jolt himself awake with the incoming wind. And indeed, this would've worked…

Had it not been for the fact that there was a sharp turn up ahead, and in Yugo's way was a tough wooden fence. Of course, he blasted through it no problem...but as a large number of discarded trash bags, associated refuse, and random bits of concrete were scattered behind it, his momentum quickly ended as he crashed, causing him to slam onto the ground, helmet dangling from his head.

"R-Rin...I'll save you...don't worry…"

And then darkness overtook his eyes.

"Is he okay?"

"He wasn't too badly bruised when I found him. Miss Kimura's getting him some soup now. Damn that idiot, he cost me my last two cups of Red Demon's Noodles!"

"Is this really the time for that?"

"No, but stupid costs extra. In this case, extra for me."

"Dude, you know what he's going through right?!"

"No shit, of course I know, and I also know he cost me-"

"Quiet! Both of you!"

"Y-yes sensei…"

"Hey, I'm just stating the…"

"Tama…"

"Um, right, ma'am…"

Slowly, Yugo opened his eyes. He looked around. Surrounding him were Miss Kimura, frantically preparing something warm in a bowl, and a very ashamed-looking Polo and Tama (Though less so with the latter). Yugo noticed that he had been dressed in his casual clothes of a plain blue t-shirt and grey shorts, and there was no sign of his riding suit.

"Where am I?" he murmured.

"Oh, thank goodness, he's awake!" Miss Kimura sighed with relief.

"You feeling okay, dude?" Polo asked.

"I swear...we can't leave you alone for one second without you doing something stupid." Tama grumbled, shaking his head.

"One more word out of you, mister, and I'll kindly ask you to leave my orphanage this instant!" Miss Kimura snapped.

Quite clearly intimidated, Tama backed away, letting the caretaker fuss over Yugo. Without hesitating, she shoved a bowl of hot noodle-soup (Which Yugo recognized as Red Demon's Noodle that had been poured into a bowl) in front of Yugo, along with a banana, glaring at him with a look that mixed anger and worry. Feeling a twinge of shame, Yugo silently picked at his food...until he realized how hungry he was and began chowing down on the hot meal, almost choking until a glass of water was handed to him, allowing him to force it all down and take a breath.

Everyone was silent as Yugo finished eating. Once it was clear that he had swallowed it all and there was no risk of him gagging again, the verdict was passed.

"I can't believe you were found in such a state!" Miss Kimura scolded. "Dirty, half-starved, and lying in a pile of rubbish to boot!"

"I was looking for-" Yugo began, but the caretaker put up her hand.

"No excuses, thank you very much!" she rebuffed. "Now, you are going to stay here and help with the chores. You've neglected them for too long! You are not to leave the orphanage for two whole weeks! I've already asked Tama to store your D-Wheel and riding uniform until then, so don't get any ideas about sneaking out!"

Yugo was speechless!

"B-but Sensei, I have to save Rin!" he cried. "I don't know what that weird bastard did with her! I don't even know if she's okay!"

"I am not going to let you kill yourself from exhaustion!" Miss Kimura said firmly. "It won't do Rin any good if she learns that you've died looking for her! Think about how that would make her feel! You're not going to save Rin by driving yourself raggard! Instead, you are going to get a good night's sleep and a hard day's work starting tomorrow, and that is final, Mister!"

"But-" Yugo tried, only to start feeling sleepy.

"I didn't think that over-counter stuff would ever kick in…" Tama muttered from a corner.

"C-c'mon…" Yugo yawned.

His bed was just so comfortable...he almost forgot what it was like to sleep in one...and his tummy felt nice and warm too.

"See you in the morning champ." Polo winked, but the expression on his face wasn't like his usual peppy grin, but much sadder and morose.

"Yeah...g'night…" Yugo managed to get out before he got knocked out cold.

Next morning however, he shot up from his bed, and was scrambling to find his D-Wheel, only to find Miss Kimura and Polo instead, the latter handing Yugo a broom and a note from Tama (filled with insults and complaints, before almost casually informing Yugo of the punishment he'd been handed).

It didn't help that a crowd of the younger orphans was standing behind him, looking at him with very anxious faces.

Yugo would readily admit that he was an idiot...but even he was able to get the message.

He felt incredibly guilty that he wasn't able to resume finding Rin, and even more so that he was locked up for even trying. He found himself doing twice the normal amount of chores that before, he and Rin would do together (If they were able to coordinate, but while they could work in tandem around complex machinery, regular household duties were a whole other story), as well as helping Miss Kimura with duties that he'd previously neglected.

Not only that, but Polo cheerfully came down a few times, requesting Yugo to help him with some of his work as well, specifically stating that it at least came with a cost-free lunch (Though he'd have to work his keep to get a proportionate amount of food). Yugo would've preferred saying 'no', but Polo, with that same smile on his face, informed Yugo that his compliance wasn't a factor.

So Yugo found himself either helping to lug around trash (With a cart, not a D-Wheel), help fix broken doors, windows, and stairs, or just work with hard labor with construction jobs, on days with Polo dropping by.

He tried to escape over to Tama's place during one of these 'excursions', but the young mechanic resorted to assaulting Yugo with his wrench in order to keep him out, before hauling the prospective Friendship Cup duelist back over to Polo and flipping him (Yugo, obviously) off for good measure.

Needless to say, Yugo did ultimately understand what they were doing (Which was helped by the fact that he was on a regular eating-sleeping schedule again), but that didn't mean he particularly found the 'lesson' to be enjoyable. As soon as the two weeks were up, that night he made a beeline over to Tama's place, whereupon he found his D-Wheel to be…

"Completely polished?" Yugo gaped as he observed the machine. It was completely clean, with not a speck of grime to be found.

"Honestly, the fact that you let it get that dirty is disgusting." Tama grunted. "Seriously dude, take maintaining your D-Wheel more seriously. I can give you a full list of the problems beyond dirt smearing the paint."

He did in fact via a clipboard. Yugo grimaced as he looked over the results of how his mad searching for Rin had taken a heavy toll on his D-Wheel.

While he did so, Tama capped off the 'moral of the story'. "I don't think Rin's going to give a damn if you show up to save her all covered in mud or whatever nasty stuff you crawl in, but being all skeletal and riding a vehicle that looks like it'll rust and break apart any second is a whole other story."

"Yeah, yeah…" Yugo muttered, causing Tama's eyebrow to twitch furiously at Yugo brushing him off.

"Listen to me when I'm talking to you!" he barked.

"Nah, I get it." Yugo replied calmly. "Thanks. Seriously, I mean it. You guys kept me from self-destructing."

"Well, for all the good that did, you're welcome." Tama grunted, shrugging his shoulders. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to put our D-Wheel back home and get some sleep so that first thing tomorrow, I can get back to finding Rin!" Yugo replied as he drove off.

Tama looked at the distance with bemusement, shaking his head. "Well, they say you can never dampen the enthusiasm of a moron."

As Yugo drove into the night, he started to hear an echo in his head. It was faint at first, so he thought he was hearing another rider, such as that new criminal that was making the news, known simply as 'Spirit', but the echo turned into something far stronger and clearer than a person's voice or the sound of an engine.

Yugo recognized the sound of a dragon's roar…

Clear Wing's roar…

Then, in his duel disk, a bright green light began to glow, and the roar of the dragon became even stronger.

"Wait, is...is this…" Yugo asked, not daring to hope.

But it was. The light became brighter, and Yugo immediately accelerated, knowing what was happening.

"Alright, I get it...let's go Clear Wing! Let's beat that bastard to a pulp!"

Yugo drove in the light, feeling himself get transported at long last. He didn't know where he would end up, but he knew that when he did, he would be ready for anything that got in his way. The path before him was clear, and nothing could stand in his way!

Except, as it turned out...there was something in his way.

To be specific, it was a large, sturdy lamp-post.

CRASH!

"Oh come on!" Yugo griped, ripping his helmet off as he surveyed the damage.

Thankfully, it seemed that whatever alloy Tama had used to refurbish the front of the D-Wheel was much more resistant than the previous one, as there was barely a scratch on the motorcycle. The same could not be said for the lamp-post, which had been totaled and fallen like a great oak tree.

"Geez…" Yugo muttered as he looked up and saw…

There, on a gazebo, stood the opponent from before.

Anger and determination flooded Yugo's mind.

"I found you, you bastard!" he growled. "Last time we got interrupted, but not this time!"

He was ready.

"Oi! Oi!"

It can be said that one of the most annoying and persistent ways to wake someone up, even if they aren't exactly asleep, is to say one word constantly and endlessly, just to get a reaction out of them. Sometimes it can be a child trying to wake up their parents, other times it can be a younger sibling pestering the elder…

And in Yuzu Hiiragi's case, it would be that of a boy whose face was very similar to someone she knew…

A boy whose face was right up in front of her own, while she was lying on the ground.

Suffice to say, the red-jacketed girl's reaction was what could honestly be expected.

"AIYEEE!" She screamed, immediately shoving the boy away as she shot up to a sitting position.

CRASH!

"Oww…" the boy groaned as his back lay against a white-and-yellow colored motorcycle-like vehicle with black hornet-like markings on the back and arm-rest sections. He recovered as quickly as he fell though, and immediately sniped back a retort. "Even when I'm checking to see if you're okay...Are you kidding me?!"

Now, had this been his usual scenario, the girl in front of him would've gone off on her own tirade and lecture, and perhaps thrown in a punch or kick or two while she was at. It would all also be punctuated with the word 'Idiot' enough times that if the duo had an American dime for each time the girl said (or rather, yelled) the word, they might have had enough money to move from their current living arrangements to a significantly better location.

Instead, all the boy's angry griping got him was…

"...Eh?"

Utter confusion.

It took Yuzu a moment to mentally recap what had just happened, as the boy in front of her, upon seeing that she had no clue what was going on, immediately turned to his motorcycle and examined it for damage.

Just at the start of the day, it had been the beginnings of the semi-finals of the Miami Championship, where the top sixteen duelists, which had included herself, her closest friend Yuya Sakaki, Noboru Gongenzaka, and the mysterious duelist from 'Heartland' named Shun Kurosaki. They had been sent into a battle royale, looking for Pendulum cards that had been scattered in a massive Action Field that sprawled across most of the city limits. Yuzu had ended up in a duel against a representative of the Anatolia branch of Leo Duel School, whose name was Halil, before the interactive nature of Action Duels had caused them to get caught in Gongenzaka's duel against a duelist named Olga, which had ended in both Yuzu and Gongenzaka claiming victory.

So far so good. It was an unusual format, but that was to be expected with Action Duels. They were designed to create a more intricate dueling experience, by using Real Solid Vision, a complete implementation of hard light into Duel Monsters' well-known Solid Vision, to make the holograms tangible and thus more life-like than ever.

What next?

The battle royale had been divided into four areas: Forest, Ice, Lava, and Temple. Yuzu had wandered into the Lava section, when an orange-haired duelist in an orange-and-blue suit had jumped out of nowhere, and introduced himself as Dennis Macfield, from LDS' Broadway branch. Dueling against him was nothing compared to Halil, and Yuzu, despite her best efforts, was ultimately defeated by him and his Xyz Monster.

Then, a girl with an identical face to hers, but with different clothes, had appeared on the bridge where she and Dennis had dueled, and challenged him to a duel, believing he was an Xyz remnant. They had dueled, but were suddenly interrupted by a group of masked duelists, before being taken away by, of all people, two ninja duelists, Tsukikage and Hikage.

It had been then that Yuzu had gotten her bearings, and learned who the duelist whose face was the same as hers was. Her name was Selena, and she had come from the Fusion Dimension's Academia, hunting down remnants of duelists from the Xyz Dimension.

Yuzu was then further reminded of what had happened prior to the battle royale. A duelist with a face identical to Yuya, but in black clothes very different from that of the white-suited boy in front of her. His name was Yuto, and he and Shun came from the Xyz Dimension after it had been attacked by Academia, trying to find someone who, like Selena, shared Yuzu's face. That someone was named Ruri Kurosaki, Shun's younger sister. Yuzu had even thought that Selena might've been Ruri, but Selena's usage of Fusion Summoning had put the kibosh on that.

And as for Selena herself, she explained that Academia's goal was to unite the Four Dimensions, explaining that goal to Yuzu as if it was something noble. Yuzu however, had seen a sample of that 'goal' when Sora Shiuin, a young boy who used Fusion Summoning as well, had dueled Shun. The resulting duel had destroyed much of the Action Field, known as Future Metropolis Heartland, and was closer to warfare than a simple game for fun.

Immediately, Yuzu revealed what the war's true purpose was, and encouraged Selena to find Shun and learn about the truth. The two had switched clothes (and Selena didn't seem to know that changing clothes smack dab in the outside was not normal, so that had been awkward), and went on their separate ways, so that the masked duelists, who were known as the Obelisk Force, would go after Yuzu instead of Selena.

It hadn't been long before exactly that happened, and three of the masked soldiers were about to duel Yuzu when...he appeared.

Yuzu shuddered as she remembered Yuri, the boy from the Fusion Dimension who shared Yuya's face, drop down from an icy ledge and order the Obelisk Force away, carelessly tossing the carded forms of Halil and Olga as he did so...oh right, Carding. A strange process by which Academia sealed people into cards, for a purpose Yuzu didn't know anything about, other than that a mysterious Professor had forbade Yuri to do that to her.

The two had dueled, but unlike her previous duels...it was an utter nightmare. Halil had been tricky, and Dennis even moreso, but dueling Yuri...Yuzu didn't want to even think about his nightmarish plant creatures. She had no choice, but to run, hearing Yuri taunt her, about how he was reminded of how he had hunted down Ruri and Rin while chasing her...forcing Yuzu to try to hide from him desperately, but to no avail…

Until the very white-suited boy fixing his motorcycle had driven out of nowhere, saw Yuzu, and disembarked his motorcycle to hug 'Rin', before Yuzu's bracelet had glowed a bright pink light, which it tended to do whenever...Yuya and those who had his face were ever together...and then it had been dark…

In fact, it was still dark, since a quick glance up at the sky revealed a moonlit night.

But...what did that mean right now? Yuzu was utterly clueless as she slowly got up, and looked around at her surroundings. Both she and the white-suited motorcycle rider were at the end of a dirty alleyway, surrounded by buildings that had peeling paint on them, revealing the brickwork from underneath. Weeds were growing out of worn-out pavement, and several discarded crates full of discarded bottles or cobwebs decorated the narrow space, along with empty oil barrels and dirty tarps.

"Ugh, really wish I'd brought a flashlight…" the boy grumbled quietly, glaring at the somewhat cloudy night sky. "At least it looks okay. Might have to take it over to Tama though, just to be on the safe side…"

Then he turned to Yuzu. "You need to be careful with it! Hell, you should know better than almost anyone else! You and I built this thing, Rin!"

"R-Rin?" Yuzu stammered, recognizing the name from Yuri's taunts.

"Yeah! Don't know why you're wearing that fancy red jacket, but since when were you this clumsy?!" the white-suited boy demanded.

"Um, I-I'm not Rin." Yuzu said meekly.

"Huh?" the boy asked, incredulously. "Of course you're Rin! Just because you're wearing different clothes doesn't mean I can't recognize you!"

"No, no, you're wrong! My name is Yuzu! Yuzu Hiiragi!" Yuzu defended, gaining a bit more confidence.

A few moments of silence passed before the boy snapped his fingers, as if a lightbulb had gone off inside his head.

"Now I get it! It's that amnesia thing isn't it! I just have to jog your memories, don't I Rin?"

The boy in front of Yuzu couldn't be any different from Yuri if he tried. Yuzu could feel none of the disturbing...aura, as one might put it, from Yuri. Plus, while Yuri seemed intelligent, the boy in front of her seemed to be as dumb as a sack of bricks. Not even Yuya would say or think something so asinine and…

Wait...Yuya…

Yuzu remembered what had happened before the second round of the MCS. When she had found an unconscious Yuya in the local park gazebo, and after he had woken up, and told her about Yuto, and a boy who had also looked like him, using Synchro monsters, named…

"Yugo?" Yuzu asked instinctively.

"Yes!" Yugo whooped cheerfully. "That's my name! I knew you'd start remembering Rin!"

Of course, then Yuzu realized a certain similarity between the name of the boy in front of her, and the name of the summoning technique belonging to the tyrannical dimension where Academia was based.

"Then, you're with Fusion?"

In an instant, Yugo's good mood and happy cheer dissipated, and his scowl returned. All of a sudden, he started to pick up on subtle differences from the girl before him in comparison to Rin. Her gaze was significantly softer, having none of the sharp glare of Rin's eyes, her facial expressions seemed much more delicate than Rin's, who even at her calmest had an undercurrent of stability, and her voice had inflections in it that Rin's voice had never featured.

Not to mention, he had yet another person to add to the list of 'People getting his name wrong in the last few weeks'.

"My name is Yugo, YUGO!" he snapped, emphasizing the shorter pronunciation of 'Yu' in comparison to Yuugo. "Don't get it wrong!"

Yuzu jumped back, tears of fear leaking from her eyes as she squealed nervously at Yugo's outburst. Then the boy turned around, disgruntled.

"Yeah, you can't be Rin! Rin would never get my name wrong!"

At this, Yuzu sighed. At least she knew he wasn't with Academia, and he now knew for certain that she and Rin were not the same person. However, that still didn't explain where she was. The decrepit buildings that surrounded her looked so different from most buildings in Miami City, not to mention she had an instinctive, gut feeling, that she was no longer anywhere near home.

"So, um…" Yuzu asked nervously, wetting her lips. "Where are we exactly?"

Yugo turned around. "Huh? Oh. That's easy. We're in Neo Domino City. My hometown."

"N-Neo Domino City?" Yuzu cried out, fearing the worst. After all, if Heartland City was in the Xyz Dimension, and Miami City was in the Standard Dimension, that meant... "So, we're not in...Standard anymore?"

"Duh! We're in the Synchro Dimension!" Yugo huffed.

Yuzu felt as if ten thousand bricks were falling atop her, as the terrible realization that she was no longer home dawned. Separated from her friends, family, and...Yuya...in an unfamiliar land, after already being attacked by duelists who had come from other dimensions.

"We're...really...in...the Synchro Dimension?" Yuzu mumbled, legs feeling like jelly as she started to stagger.

"Uh, yeah..." Yugo replied with uncertainty, seeing Yuzu start to falter.

It was too much. Yuzu remembered the first time events had become overwhelming for her, when she had no idea of what was going on when Yuto had first popped up, and then, not too long afterwards when Shun had mistaken her for Ruri. Then the time when she feared that Yuya would never awaken after the duel that Yugo and Yuto had engaged in. And now, the fourth time seemed to be the charm, as she was now far and away from her loved ones, with no idea what dangers awaited her in a foreign land, all while the threat of Academia, and their apparent desire to capture her, now fully sunk in.

She couldn't help it. Hot liquid from her eyes dripped down her face, helplessness fully taking root within her. She was completely alone, and had no idea what to do now. Hands clasped to her face, Yuzu fell to her knees, letting despair have its way with her as she cried.

"Dad...Tatsuya...Ayu...Futoshi...Gongenzaka...YUYA!" the girl wept loudly.

For a few minutes, Yuzu let her tears out in full, not caring where she was. She couldn't handle the strain any longer, and just sobbed, unable to do anything else.

"Here."

Yuzu blinked, trying to see past the tears. Yugo was awkwardly standing over to the side, a pink handkerchief in his hands, offering it to Yuzu.

"Th-thank you." Yuzu sniffled, taking the cloth to wipe her face, before leaning against the worn-out wall, feeling completely drained.

Yugo looked at the girl before him, starting to realize that he'd made an error back in the icy tundras he'd been navigating just a few hours ago. He wanted to say something, but figured that that might not be the best use of his time, and that she might want to be alone for a few minutes. Quickly, he ran to the opening of the alleyway and looked down the street, which at this point was in a T-shape, with a wire-mesh fence guarding an inactive Duel-Lane Slot blocking off the road in front of him. Yugo had been around these roads enough times to know that to get to Tama's garage, he'd need to take the right pathway.

He breathed a sigh of relief. At least whatever had warped them out of the Standard Dimension hadn't plucked them in any of the Tops' Districts. That would've been troublesome.

The white rider walked back over to his D-Wheel, where the girl who looked so much like Rin, but was not Rin, sat on the ground, legs curled up to her face.

Yugo coughed to get her attention, still looking awkward. "Uh, yeah...sorry for taking you out of your Dimension. Clear Wing does that a lot."

"Clear Wing?" Yuzu asked, wondering how that explanation made so much more sense to her than it would've a few weeks ago.

"Yeah, ever since that bastard took Rin, Clear Wing's been taking me across dimensions so I could find her." Yugo explained. "I caught him in Xyz for a little while, but had to get out of there when reinforcements came. Finally beat him after I ran into that lampost in Standard, but still no sign of Rin anywhere."

Yuzu looked at Yugo for a few seconds, questions swarming through her head as she tried to keep up with everything that was going on. Why was this situation so complicated? "Uh, could you explain what happened from the beginning? Please?"

"Ugh, fine." Yugo sighed, only to then press a button on his D-Wheel that opened a compartment containing a pink-and-white helmet, before tossing the helmet over to Yuzu, who caught it awkwardly. "But if we're gonna be talking, I'd rather we do it while moving."

"W-wait, what?!" Yuzu asked, standing up as she hoped that Yugo was not saying what she thought he was saying.

Yugo pointed to his D-Wheel as if the question was a no-brainer. "Yeah, hop on. I've got somewhere to be anyways. I'll tell you about what happened to Rin on the way over to a friend of mine."

"D-Do I have to?" Yuzu stammered.

"Just get on!" Yugo scowled, putting his helmet on and fixing himself into the seat. "You can ride on the back. Rin does it all the time. It's perfectly safe!"

Of course, Yugo elected not to mention the number of times he and Rin had gotten injured testing their D-Wheel, figuring that it might freak Yuzu out even more. It certainly made Miss Kimura worried at the very least.

Putting the helmet on, Yuzu carefully propped herself atop the back part of the D-Wheel, which, while large enough to seat someone, would require her to grip the edges as tightly as possible if she wanted to stay upright/avoid getting smashed into the pavement.

"Alright, you good?" Yugo asked when Yuzu seemed to have seated herself.

The red-jacketed girl responded with a nervous nod.

"Alright! Gotta move fast before Tama hits the hay! Hang on!"

And before Yuzu knew it, Yugo was accelerating out of the alleyway and turning a corner onto the streets.

"AIYEEEEEEEEEEE!" Yuzu screamed as Yugo sped up. "S-stop! Slow down! Help! Someone! AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Come on, don't you have D-Wheels where you come from?" Yugo asked, completely nonplussed at going at his usual semi-hurry speed.

"I-I don't even ride regular motorcycles!" Yuzu squealed.

"Huh, you're missing out then!" Yugo smirked, failing to surpass a grin as he got into the groove of riding.

Yuzu shut her eyes, electing to only scream whenever Yugo hastily turned a corner. She swore she wouldn't let go, or even open her eyelids until she was certain that they were back on solid ground, all thoughts of conversing with Yugo about the circumstances of Rin's abduction completely out of her head.

Not daring to count the minutes, the girl from Standard was glad when she heard the words "We're here".

When Yuzu opened her eyes, she saw that Yugo had stopped in another backalley, this time in front of a two-story building with a garage door that had the word 'Scrap' spray-painted on it at various parts. To her left was a smaller door with a bell hanging in front of it on a string, a bell that Yugo immediately rushed up to and rang as roughly and loudly as he could.

"Oi, Tama! You there? I need you to look at this to be on the safe side! OI!"

A light at the upper floor turned on, and just a minute later, the door opened to reveal a boy with lightly tanned skin, dirty brown scraggly hair, and a dirty turquoise shirt and shorts for pajamas. His eyes had bags under them. Yuzu noticed that he was a few years older than her and Yugo, seeming just a shade older than Shun by a few months.

"What is it Yugo?" the sleepy youth asked. "I JUST got to bed!"

"Then I'm right on time!" Yugo chirped.

"...I'm not even going to try dignifying that with a response." Tama yawned as he took notice of the girl behind his client. "Oh hey, you found Rin, congratulations. Don't know where she stole that fancy jacket, but whatever. Can I go back to sleep?"

"I just need to borrow your tools to be safe, okay? Your place was closer tonight anyways! Oh, and that's Yuzu, not Rin." Yugo rapidly explained.

Tama blinked, clearly too tired to want to process Yugo's explanation, and yawned, eyes bleary from exhaustion. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to figure out how to translate Yugo's latest brand of nonsense.

"...Just...ugh...fine. You got ten minutes, and then I'm kicking you and whoever-the-hell-isn't-Rin out of here." Tama grumbled, giving up on logic as he pulled out a remote that he proceeded to press, opening the garage door.

"Alright!" Yugo cheered as he rolled the D-Wheel into the garage.

Yuzu felt nervous about stepping into another stranger's home, but followed Yugo into the garage anyways. It was no different from a basic mechanic's garage from Standard anyways, aside from being slightly dustier and messier, being filled with parts that she presumed could be added onto vehicles like the one that she had...ridden on, for lack of a better word.

"Yeah, usually I check up on the D-Wheel at home, but eh, this place was closer." Yugo explained as he examined the machine, eyes alight in focus.

Several pregnant minutes passed, with Yuzu fidgeting nervously, before a hand tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to shriek in surprise.

"AIYEEEE!"

"Gah! Calm down woman!" Tama startled, almost dropping the cups of tea he had in his hands. "The hell's with you, Rin? You're not usually this jumpy unless you're punching someone. Mainly Yugo, or Kasumi. Preferably Kasumi."

"Already told you, her name's Yuzu!" Yugo put in as he stood up. "Alright, doesn't look damaged. That's a relief."

"Which means that you can drink your tea, and skedaddle so I can get back to hitting the hay." Tama yawned.

"Um, so…" Yuzu began.

"Ugh, stop stuttering and just say what you want to say, woman." Tama grumbled.

Yuzu looked back at the young garage-owner, who looked at her grumpily, before turning around to speak to Yugo once again.

"You, you were going to tell me what happened to Rin?" Yuzu asked, causing Yugo to turn stone-faced again as he remembered that awful day.

Tama didn't cut in or interrupt, clearly knowing that this was not a joking matter, instead choosing to examine the fence outside that guarded yet another inactive Duel Lane.

"It all started a few months ago." Yugo began at last. "It was...weird. Rin said that she had this feeling that someone was following her, and well, when you're living in this place, you kind of get these kinds of instincts, you know? Heck, even I felt something, like I was hearing some kind of hissing roar. So we were keeping our eyes peeled, but...well…"

Yugo's voice trailed off again as the events played out in his head. Again, just as they had over and over when the girl of his dreams had been taken.

Sighing, Yugo told Yuzu a brief summary of what had happened to Rin. How she had been kidnapped, how Clear Wing had displayed a mysterious power to teleport him between dimensions, and how he had ended up in the city of Heartland, encountering the duelist who had fought Rin, before reinforcements drove him off and he had ended back up in his home dimension.

"I tried getting Clear Wing to warp me again, but nothing worked. I tried everything I could think of, and all I got was Security trying to arrest me for trespassing when I thought it would work when I was in danger!"

"You're lucky that you did that jaywalking in a lower Tops district." Tama reprimanded. "Otherwise, some rich asswipe would've put out an execution warrant for you, and you'd be out there on the duel lanes avoiding Security."

"I thought we agreed not to talk about that one!" Yugo snapped, blushing in embarrassment.

"I don't recall making a deal like that."

Yugo glared at the mechanic, before resuming his story. "Clear Wing finally took me to another dimension a few days ago," he explained. "And there, I found that bastard and gave him the beatdown he deserved!"

"And after that, we learned about 'dimensions'...or whatever science-fiction weird-shit Yugo stumbled into." Tama cut in.

"Oi, whose story is this?" the riding duelist shot back.

It was all Yuzu could do to stop herself from spitting out her tea when the dots clicked to the day that she found Yuya in the gazebo, fainting, and then later having Yuto's dragon in his possession.

"No, you've got it all wrong!" she revealed. "The duelist you fought was Yuto!"

"Yuto?" Yugo asked. "That was his name?"

Yuzu shook her head. "No! The one who took Rin away is from the Fusion Dimension! His name is Yuri!"

"...Who names their kid after lesbian porn manga?" Tama gawked.

Now it was Yuzu's turn to glare at the mechanic, which immediately shut him up. Tama thus wisely chose to vacate the garage and look up at the sky outside instead.

"Wait, wait, run that by me again!" Yugo demanded. "You're saying I took down the wrong guy?"

Yuzu nodded. "Yuto's just like you." she explained. "He had someone precious too. Her name is Ruri, and he and a friend of his, Shun, came to the Standard Dimension looking for her."

Yuzu wisely chose not to over-complicate matters by mentioning that Shun had also gone on a rampage carding LDS employees, which seemed to stop only because he was now...working with LDS for some reason? Given that she didn't know what was going on there and that she hadn't gotten the chance to talk with Yuto since Shun's apparently duel with Masumi and her friends, she figured that it wasn't worth talking about until she got some answers.

"So, the guy from Fusion's the one who took Rin?" Yugo asked, trying to get his facts straight. "And he got me to fight the guy from Xyz after he took this 'Ruri' person?"

"I think so." Yuzu confirmed, setting her cup down on a table. "I met Yuri not too long ago, just before you arrived. He wanted to take me to Academia to the...Professor. If it wasn't for you…"

Neither of them chose to entertain that thought. Instead, Yuzu gave the run-down on their situation.

"There are four boys in each Dimension who have the same face. You, my friend Yuya from Standard, Yuto, and Yuri. And then there's three other girls who have the same face as me...Selena, Ruri, and Rin. And then there's Academia...they were the people who destroyed the Xyz Dimension, and the ones who invaded Standard to capture me and Selena. They want to unite all four Dimensions for some reason too...and turn people into cards."

"Yeah...I took down some of those masked guys down myself back in Standard. Saved this wimpy guy who took off running." Yugo said, before blinking. "Wait, but if the Fusion guy who looks like me is one of the bad guys, then does that mean…?"

"Selena isn't an enemy." Yuzu explained. "She wanted to fight with Academia, but that was because she thought that they were actually doing good. The clothes I'm wearing right now are hers. We swapped clothes so she could get the story from Shun...but I don't know if she made it."

All was silent between the two of them as they mulled over the number of unknown variables and unanswered questions laid out before them, before Tama walked back into the garage, still having eavesdropped, but waiting for them to finish.

"...So, is that it then?" the mechanic asked. "We've solved the mystery about who stole Yugo's girlfriend?"

The D-Wheeler's face turned beet-red at that. "Sh-shut up!" he cried, "I mean, we're not dating or doing anything, I mean, you know that!"

"She's not your girlfriend?" Yuzu asked, genuinely surprised by Yugo's declaration.

"N-no, NO!"

"Don't lie about it boy. You two go at it like an old married couple." Tama sighed. "I'm honestly surprised you haven't joined the 'illustrious' ranks of our city's youth who taste the forbidden fruit at such a young age."

"SHUT UP!" Yugo screamed in embarrassment, not wanting to hear the mechanic's crass declarations on that matter.

Yes, he considered Rin to be the person he considered the most precious to him, but if he said it out loud, no-one, least of all Rin, would ever let him live it down. Besides, he didn't know if she thought the same, what with all of her punches and kicks flying around everywhere whenever she got mad.

Tama rolled his eyes at this, while Yuzu couldn't help but chuckle, glad to have something to laugh about after everything that had happened to her so far.

"So, to recap and make sure we're all on the same page, there's four dimensions, Yugo and Rin have alternate versions of themselves, one of whom is you, and there's an evil empire from the Fusion Dimension called Academia that's basically trying to take it over by turning everyone into cards, right?"

"Oh come on, aren't you the guy who complains when people don't pay attention?" Yugo griped. "What, do you want us to start over from the beginning? 'Cause I can do that, just let me and Yuzu head back over to where Clear Wing dropped us off and I'll-"

"First off, DON'T do that," Tama interrupted, "second, I complain about that because everyone in this city is an idiot with eyes as good as holes in swiss cheese, and third, I'm just confused on that subject since there's more than a few things in OUR dimension that I wanna see gels with this cosmic horror war story from hell."

"...What things?" Yuzu asked, realizing that while she'd had a good idea of what the Fusion Dimension (or at least Academia) was like, and most definitely an impression of whatever remained of the Xyz Dimension, the culture of the Synchro Dimension was not something she'd paid attention to.

Indeed, looking around just the garage, and then outside, there was quite a bit to unpack about Neo Domino…

"Come outside, and we can show you." Tama revealed, walking out, with Yugo following with no hesitation.

Trailing a bit behind, Yuzu soon found herself in the middle of the street next to Tama's garage. Looking around, she saw that almost every building was tightly packed together, and many of them were abandoned to boot. The buildings themselves were all in poor condition, and as she quickly realized, this uniform sight of grey was everywhere, and she had been sitting in that squalor from the moment she'd arrived in the city.

"This is a city built on competition." Tama spat in disgust. "99% of us live in these slums, where we're all known as Commons...while up above, well…"

Yuzu followed Tama's right hand, pointed at tall, gleaming white pillars that stood at various heights and angles, where if she could tilt her neck at the right angle, she could make out tall, gleaming buildings of glass and metal.

"Those are the Tops." Yugo put in. "The 1% who pretty much live well-off. Down here, we're losers, but up there, that's where the winners are. The Tops hold all of the power in Neo Domino, and we're the guys living under their heel."

"Y-you can't be serious!" Yuzu gasped. "This can't be real!"

"After what you just told us, you think something like this is unrealistic?" Tama snorted in disgust. "Sorry to say this Yuzu, but it is, and it's how our world works. A dirty, hypocritical hovel that will never change, no matter who wins and who loses."

Yuzu was somewhat reminded of Shun upon seeing Tama's attitude. But whereas the Raid Raptor user was violent and determined to avenge his hometown, Tama just seemed bitter and resigned to the grim reality of his.

Yet, Yugo seemed to be neither of those things.

"But there is a way for us to get out of the Commons!" he revealed. "It's called the Friendship Cup! The winner is considered the City's champion! And the current winner is a guy who's held his title for a few years now!"

"And that person is…?" Yuzu questioned.

"Jack Atlas!" Yugo cheered. "He's the first person from the Commons to have won the tournament! He's super-huge up there! If he can make it, so can we! That's why Rin and I built that D-Wheel over there! It's so we could enter the Friendship Cup, and challenge Jack ourselves!"

"Where you will most likely lose to The King or some random OP person from nowhere and be humiliated!" Tama said with false encouragement.

"Shut up!" Yugo barked. "We're not gonna lose! Once I find Rin, we'll enter the tournament together, and fulfill our dream!"

"If they don't find some lazy Tops patsy or filler trash from the Commons to fill up the spots" Tama snorted. "The last real big opponent Jack took down was the leader of the Neo Arcadia movement, and to be honest, it's a good thing that that deluded whacko lost."

"Oh yeah, well then if you're so determined that we won't win, then why'd you help me and Rin with those 'discounts' when we were building our D-Wheel?"

"It was all on a whim." Tama said automatically.

Before Yugo could put in another word, or Yuzu could ask about this unfamiliar topic, the ground shook, and a massive hexagonal blue pillar arose from a hatch installed on the ground.

"A duel is beginning. A duel is beginning. Caution. Caution. A duel is beginning. A duel is beginning."

"Wait, now what's going on?" Yuzu asked as the pillar opened up, revealing a set of six lanes that connected to another set of six lanes emerging from another pillar, and so on and so forth, creating a honeycomb network of roads high above their heads.

"Tch, it's those duels that Security has to capture rogue duelists." Yugo growled. "They're always making a show out of them."

Yuzu stared at Yugo, clearly wanting to know more.

So the white-suited rider began to talk once again.

"Like I said, the Tops pretty much rule over the Commons. There are a lot of duelists who try their luck challenging the Tops, but it never turns out well. Security is always out to capture them, and sometimes, they'll deliberately set up lanes like this so they can catch the guys. And a lot of them, they'll do it in a duel and broadcast it to everyone."

"Wait, you mean they duel on…" Yuzu asked, looking back at Yugo's D-Wheel.

"Yes, we play card games on motorcycles." Tama replied, immediately re-entering the garage and picking up a remote. "But that's enough exposition on that front. Yugo, get yourself and Rin's freaky quadruplet sister over here. I've got a feeling that that duelist is about to appear again."

"Wait, really?" Yugo questioned as he and Yuzu joined the mechanic, who had turned on an old television set.

"Okay, so they're already broadcasting. Not a good sign." Tama muttered to himself.

"Just tell me already!"

"Yup, it's him." Tama shuddered. "He's back."

"Who's back?" Yuzu asked.

"There's been reports of this crazy riding duelist going around and challenging people to a duel and then killing them." Tama revealed without a moment of hesitation. "People are already starting to call him the second coming of the Duelist Crusher...and it looks like his latest achievement is getting on the news at last."

Looking up at the screen, and registering the gruesome fact that the mechanic had shared. Yuzu saw a duelist riding on a motorcycle that was slightly longer than Yugo's. The D-Wheel was a dark, even shade of blue, streamlined, and with two rather large wheels at the front and back. The only additional color was that of grey-and-black plating in the middle of the vehicle's body.

The rider himself wore a sleek black-and-grey riding suit not too dissimilar from Yugo's own, though it was clearly more leather-based and reminded Yuzu of the stereotypical biker gang image. However, the duelist's helmet completely obscured his face, and the only reason Yuzu could call him a guy was because his figure was clearly masculine in nature.

"That duelist is apparently called 'Spirit'." Tama revealed to Yuzu. "No-one knows what he's after, besides going around and beating whoever he can find. Honestly, I'm surprised he didn't come after Yugo after all those days he spent racing down the streets trying to dimension-leap or whatever."

"Yeah? Well I don't care who he is or what he's after." Yugo said. "If he comes after me, then I'll make sure to beat the crap out of him."

"Really now?" Tama questioned with a look. "Alright then, let's see how Security handles him, and then we'll see if you can take him on or not."

Twenty minutes earlier…

The higher up a person is in an organization, the greater their responsibilities tend to be, and the greater their number of appointments and obligations increase as well. Of course, this also tends to come with the benefit of a much higher paycheck and greater prestige, which works very well when the time comes to make deals.

Something that Clark Smith was all too familiar with.

"Champagne sir?" a waiter asked politely and pleasantly.

Instead of replying, the blonde bespectacled man, who wore a grey business suit, shook his head in the negative, and thus the waiter stepped away. Clark Smith wondered sometimes where in the City these people had come from when they were hired. From the Commons for cheap labor? From the Tops for unruly cretins who needed discipline? He knew he would likely never get those answers, but it didn't hurt to wonder about that topic.

Tonight in particular, he did feel to be in a contemplative mood, as it would help the time pass by. The parties and arrangements held by the Tops were, in his eyes, a complete waste of time and resources when he could be in his office continuing to oversee his precious Dimension Express manufacture D-Wheels, cards, and/or new applications for Real Solid Vision. Yes, he understood his position, but he also could not help but find the more...frivolous and social aspects of it highly annoying.

Tonight was the regular business gathering. A place for the victors to mingle with others. To make connections, network, or perhaps even get out of the house because some of these people had inherited fortunes and thus had no motivation to go out and do anything truly productive.

Now, that was where Clark Smith could praise the Commons. At least in their position, there was greater motivation to improve themselves, if only to get out of the slums. Of course, there were also those Commons who seemed resigned to their fate, which disgusted Clark Smith just as much as the lazy play-boy millionaires, but then again, they just stuck to their little musty dirt-shacks and didn't bother him. At least for those Commons who did work hard, there was a goal they had in mind, and it tended to come with them engaging in hard work, even if there was the chance it did not pay off. He could always respect that kind of determination, even if there were times when it had to be crushed.

Not that his current company seemed to have any mind or knowledge on the topic. He had already memorized their faces, and he knew that they weren't his usual business partners or even interested in a deal. They were merely people to speak with to pass the time. There was no need to learn their names.

"You really should drink, Mister Smith, it's proper etiquette after all." a woman wearing plush white-and-grey clothing, topped off by a white hat with an orange band admonished. True to her statement, she was holding a glass of champagne, clearly savoring the alcoholic beverage.

"I...appreciate the sentiment ma'am." the CEO replied. "But I am a very busy man. I have to keep my mind as sharp as possible. The Friendship Cup is coming up, so I have to keep a closer eye on my company's projects."

"Bwahaha! You're a pure workaholic, that's what you are!" a fat man in a brown business suit laughed, face flushed from alcohol consumption, his neatly combed hair already starting to fray.

Clark tried to keep his face as neutral as possible, so that he could hide his disgust at the drunkard. At least his blue-haired companion seemed to keep an eye on him. Did they know each other, or did he simply share Clark's disgust at the decadence? Another idle curiosity of Clark Smith that would likely never be answered.

The CEO looked at his watch. How much longer was this waste of time going to last?

Clark Smith's watch was an advanced digital model. In addition to giving him the time, it was useful as a communications device. He could've used his duel disk for all of that, yes, but he found it to be too unwieldy a good portion of the time thanks to its size, and none of the people around him were duelists to begin with. They could watch duels and comment on them certainly, but the CEO suspected that it would take weeks for these people to even learn the difference between Normal Summons and Special Summons.

Back to the watch, the blonde noticed that he had been sent a message, and his eyes widened as he saw who the I.D. of the sender was.

"Pardon me everyone, I have to take this, something has come up."

Clark Smith immediately dashed behind one of the tents, knowing fully well what was to happen next.

Everything is in position. Permission to proceed?
-S-

The watch was too small for Clark Smith to implement a touch screen, which was the advantage that a duel disk offered. But it still had voice-to-text as a function. And as such, the CEO put his mouth as close to his watch as possible and whispered.

"Proceed"

Almost immediately after he spoke those words, the loud sound of an engine began to echo through the veranda, immediately breaking the calm, peaceful atmosphere of the gathering. Everyone stopped talking as the sound continued, and in fact, began to get louder and louder. Of course, they soon resumed flapping their lips once the shock wore off.

"What is happening?"

"Stop that noise at once!"

"I thought Dobocle was in the Facility!"

This last comment came from the man with the blue-hair, by the name of Daniel, who was watching over his associate, named Paul, who was a notoriously heavy drinker at gatherings thanks to his rather high-appreciation of good wine. He was known to actually try to keep his ears to the ground and thus keep up to date on the more intricate affairs of Neo Domino…

While Daneil would not play any extended role in the events to come besides screaming in terror alongside Tops and Commons alike during a terrible catastrophe less than a month away, he did play a role right now as he squinted over the horizon…

And saw a rider on a streamlined, plain dark-blue D-Wheel, racing towards the gathering, recognizing him as-

"It's Spirit!" he cried.

Clark Smith looked from behind the tent, seeing that SPIRIT was indeed on his way...he then proceeded to lightly slap himself on the face for referring to SPIRIT with that pronoun, groaning as he remembered an argument from just before the gathering. Granted, he'd still prefer arguing with someone who was actually intelligent than the lazy Tops snobs, but the topic of the argument still annoyed him.

But while the Dimension Express CEO was rather nonchalant about the criminal's arrival, the same could not be said of his fellow Tops.

"Run! Run!"

"Oh no, it's a Commons resident!" Kristina, the woman who Clark had had the displeasure of speaking with, screamed in terror.

"Someone call Security!"

As the guests scattered and ran, Spirit drove into the park, tearing out grass and dirt as he did so. He aimed his D-Wheel straight for a tent where Don Pierro, a rather obese banker, had been sampling some fine cheeses. The portly man with the thin mustache and yellow suit yelped in terror, getting out of the way just in time as Spirit ran through the tent, destroying it and scattering debris everywhere.

He repeated this twice more, destroying a stand where a small band of musicians had been playing, along with a tent that housed several rich and decadent fondues, and in his journey to get to these places, seemed to scatter more debris and shrapnel everywhere.

The guests were terrified by the intruder's rampage. Clark Smith however, simply stared at his watch, as if he was timing SPIRIT's performance.

The destructive rider drove to the end of the park, causing more guests to run for the other end. This unfortunately, was just what Spirit had been waiting for. He performed a U-Turn, and accelerated towards the guests who had all essentially herded themselves into one place, making them ripe for what he was to do.

On his D-Wheel, a blue-blade of curved energy that ended in sharp ends like a scythe activated, and immediately, the duelist slammed a card onto the disk.

"Diabolik Fighter, direct attack!"

A humanoid robot appeared alongside Spirit. It had long gauntlet-like fists, and was coated in dark-blue armor that, while fairly smooth, became blockier and rougher at the hips, and the legs ended in a similar fashion as the arms. The head too, was covered in armor that ended with long vertical extrusions that would remind an observer of horns.

Of course, the Tops who were observing the monster…

Soon found themselves right next to it as it flew in-between them, and spun around as if it were performing a flying break-dance. A flying break-dance that allowed it to use its hard, metal, hard-light body to attack the Tops, striking them with powerful blows.

Some were killed instantly by the force of the sudden attack, while others stayed alive just long enough to bleed out to death.

And Spirit was not far behind. He drove ahead of his monster that was beating the life out of the partygoers, and accelerated right into the center of the crowd, running over anyone unfortunate enough to get in his way. Those who did get out of his way were just as unfortunate. They immediately found themselves in the path of Diabolik Fighter following its summoner, and were subjected to the killer android's fighting techniques.

Fortunately for the Tops, Spirit suddenly seemed to lose interest, driving out of the park in a frenzy, Diabolik Fighter disappearing in a cloud of sparks.

"G-get the Duel Chasers!" Daniel cried, huddling together with Paul and Kristina.

"Now! Now! Now!" Don Pierro sobbed madly, having been so frozen with fear he had hidden in the wreckage of the cheese tent.

"I have already done so everyone." Clark Smith replied, stepping from his hiding place calmly. "Security has been called and...oh dear…"

Of course, Clark Smith was not horrified by the gruesome sight of the mangled bodies of the rich. Mainly because he had checked in advance to see if any of his business partners or their associates, or the associates of those associates, and so on and so forth, were there. And since they weren't, then he saw no reason to really be horrified or shocked by the scene before him.

"Oh lord…" he cried with crocodile tears. "How terrible...Security must defeat this monster at once! I'll call the hospital!"

"Th-thank you…" Kristina wept, averting her eyes from one unfortunate soul whose leg had been crushed by Spirit's D-Wheel before Diabolik Fighter had cracked his skull wide open, giving everyone a sight of his brains.

Of course, Clark Smith was surprised that the man had even had any brains to begin with.

In the very center of Neo Domino City, there existed two buildings, each holding the core of the order and security of the metropolis. The first was the Executive Building, which was home to the gathering of the Executive Council, the five figures who concerned themselves with the administrative side of things. The second was the headquarters of Sector Security, the police force of the city. The building itself was a set of massive interlocked towers, almost fortress-like in its configuration. It was from here that Security was directed to deal with any pressing threats.

In the control room, a rather large sprawling room wherein the center stood a large rectangular table-like podium, from which a set of holographic maps were projected that represented the structure of the City. At each end were four chairs, where an operator would sit, and at the end of the room was an enclosed space attached to the ceiling. It was within this room that the Chief of Security would direct operations if need be, and be informed of the situation.

"Chief, the culprit from District T-325 is on Highway 8. Security has been requested to apprehend him." a woman with maroon hair informed.

The Chief looked up. He wore purple robes that stood between royal and plain, with golden highlights. His dirty blond pale hair was arranged in a set of simple curls that exposed his forehead, and his dark green eyes were dark and cool, which served to accentuate his large curved nose.

"Ah, and the culprit is?" he asked calmly, gazing down at a chessboard that he had placed near his desk.

"It's the duelist known as Spirit!" the operator confirmed.

"Ah, yes, well, let us show this rogue the power of Security. No-one is to defy us." he replied calmly. "Have any Duel Chasers been mobilized?"

"Duel Chaser 227 has been sent after the fugitive."

"Very well. Let us keep an eye on this then."

The position of the Chief's office served multiple strategic purposes. Not only did it give him the ability to manually monitor his subordinates and the situation, but it also served as an additional line of defense if he were to be attacked, rare as the possibility presented itself. The original architect had questioned this when the new Chief had arrived to make changes to the organization, but he had agreed to do so in the end.

Of course, there was a third strategic advantage of the office's position. No-one was allowed to enter without permission or unless something particularly dire was happening, and the Chief certainly did not consider a single rogue duelist to be worth panicking over. This of course meant that his subordinates could not bother him, and that his privacy was completely assured.

It also meant that he could engage in remote conversation (albeit in textual form), without anyone being none the wiser.

I have sent a Duel Chaser after your SPIRIT. I hope this gives me the results I have been promised.

You have my assurance that he is superbly qualified.

I will hold you to it. I trust you are already watching?

Yes-sir, Jean-Michel Roget sir. I am :)

Very well.

Roget rolled his eyes. That being said, he could put up with this individual's eccentricities quite easily, so long as the individual continued to give him results. So far, the initial tests had done well, but this was essentially the proving/turning point.

"Do not let me down, any of you…" he murmured as he began to set-up the board, mentally going over puzzles and formations that would best fit the duel he was about to watch.

SPIRIT drove down the roads with speed that was frightening to the observer, and control that would've mesmerized anyone who happened to sit near him. Granted, there was no-one willing or able to do that, aside from one who was able to remotely monitor him.

"A duel is beginning, a Duel is beginning. All vehicles please leave the designated routes immediately. A duel is beginning, a Duel is beginning."

The sound of sirens was soon registered to SPIRIT, who turned around to see a plain-looking Security officer on one of the many mass-produced white-and-blue D-Wheels with installed green-lights barreling towards him. The officer was quiet, with a stoic frown on his face, eyes hidden from regular sight by his sunglasses.

SPIRIT however, quickly refocused on the road. The face of the officer was inconsequential, just so long as the mission regarding him was completed.

A light and a loud noise was also soon registered to SPIRIT, who immediately turned to see a helicopter taking to the sky, flying above the road so as to get a good vantage point.

"Good evening City residents! This is your top reporter Melissa Claire, coming to you live to give you an exciting Riding Duel tonight!"

"Is that cowgirl-airhead really being dumb enough to ignore the trail of bodies you just left behind?" a female voice from SPIRIT's built-in communicator griped. "Blech. Wonder how many guys she had to ride to get where she is…"

"My, my…" Roget sighed from his office. "The Tops must truly be starved for entertainment. What is the current route?"

"The fugitive and Duel Chaser 227 are on Route STC-11." the operator responded.

"Excellent, then there's no need to detour them. Let the Tops have their fun." Roget said calmly.

Back at the roads, Duel Chaser 227 was already preparing to take Spirit in. "Speed World Neo, set on!"

A wave of energy came over the duelists, initiating a duel.

"All right SPIRIT, make momma proud!"

"Get ready Yuzu…" Yugo said from the safety of Tama's garage. "You're about to see it."

"See what?" Yuzu asked, while Tama stared grimly at the television.

The two duelists sped down the track. One, a dangerous unknown rogue, the other, an officer who symbolized order and safety for one demographic, but oppression and danger for another.

The parties watching the duel all had their own views on the situation.

A blue-haired duelist and his associates watched grimly from an underground stadium, paying close attention to the unknown factor.

Jean-Michel Roget looked on with interest, running plans and back-up plans in his head.

Yugo and Tama stared at the screen with apprehension, Yugo wanting to see what the duelist was capable of, while Tama preferred just to warn his friend about it.

Up in the Tops, several individuals of a certain group in a certain place had learned of the atrocity, and were paying close attention to the danger that was presented.

A certain person, with wild salmon-colored hair who wore glasses with a spiral pattern, as well as a lab coat with long black gloves over a striped-green shirt, watched with anticipation, eager to see the fruits of her research and effort pay off. She snickered with glee, barely able to contain her mad excitement for what was to come.

Yuzu just stared, lost in the wave of new information, only having a bad feeling for what was to occur.

Finally, on the road, the two duelists declared those immortal words…

Riding Duel, Acceleration!

Well, how's THAT for an opener, eh?

Get used to the length people. Read Garage Kids (Which is in the middle of an edit...still working on it before I get the next File up), and you'll understand that 10k chapters tend to be a minimum with me, even WITH things being split up. What can I say, I like my details.

Ironic, considering how I started out...

*Flashbacks to the time when he thought making a super OP Yandere-Vampire was a good idea*

...Ah, those were the days. Dark, terrible, AWFUL days when I had no idea of tonal consistency...

So yeah, leave a review to share your thoughts, and I'll see you next time!

-Epsilon Tarantula-