The time has come for the Battle Royale, where 64 Duelists are going to clash for the right to be one of 8 Duelists who will move onto the Quarterfinals... yet almost none of them are aware of the true purpose behind this large-scale event. Not to mention that Reiji has pulled a huge gamble by allowing 5 of the 64 Duelists to be members of Duel Academy of his own free will, even though he has a reason behind letting them all join in.

Luckily, since the Battle Royale has only just begun? They'll be waiting before they make their move and begin the invasion. Basically, the Obelisk Force and the Ra Force members won't appear on the battlefield until they're given the green light. When they do show up, well... let's just say the Parasites in Serena and Yuri's heads have a reason for playing the waiting game.

Since we'll be seeing Ruri and Rin having more duels, I think it's time I explain why the cards of their signature Monsters changed the way they did in the previous chapter. In canon, it's implied that Yuri's deck evolved after he absorbed Yugo to make it possible for it to use Clear Wing, and I decided for this story to use that detail in a different way that links each of the Dragon Boys to their respective dimension's Bracelet Girl.

Basically, their decks can evolve, as best shown with Yuya and Yuzu in "Before the Four Worlds", with Yuri and Serena's decks having almost fully evolved due to the Parasites managing to unknowingly be inducing what causes them to evolve. This is another reason Rin and Ruri lost to them so easily, as both of their decks, along with Yuto and Yugo's, have barely evolved.

Last thing I'll bring up before we begin, since this just hit me and might have no way to be casually brought up in the story without being forced? While the counterparts are like twin siblings, I do have an oldest to youngest order set up for both sides. The boys are the same as the manga, while it's Rin, Serena, Yuzu, then Ruri for the girls. Rin's oldest due to being like Yugo's mother, and Ruri's youngest due to being Shun's sister.

With that, all I have left to say is... let the Battle Royale begin!

[Chapter 5 - Calm Before the Storm]

The scene opened to the LDS monitoring room, where Reiji was sitting alongside Reira, Nakajima, and all of his staff.

He waited where he sat until, after a minute or two, the platform elevator raised itself up as the LDS Trio and Sawatari were brought into the room. Hokuto had a bandage on his left cheek, while Sawatari had a suspicious look on his face.

"Alright Reiji, we came like you asked, so what's this all about? Better yet, what's up with doing this Battle Royale instead of the usual 1 vs 1 duels?" Sawatari questioned.

"I'm a little surprised you of all people would ask me something like that, considering you're getting a second shot at the Tournament." Reiji asked, testing him somewhat.

Sawatari scowled somewhat.

"Because I'm not stupid, that's why! Back in the first round, that Shun guy did too much damage to an Action Field and put his opponent in his hospital, who suddenly made all the nonsense he said look true when he suddenly began acting all nasty shortly after the field began falling apart! After that, Yuya's eyes glowed red in his duel, and Yuzu drew a card that glowed pink in her duel, even implying it was just created! So, are you going to keep playing dumb, or will you finally fess up?" He shouted, glaring at Reiji.

Hearing all of that caused Reiji to clap a few times.

"Quite the skilled analysis. I wonder if this is the result of your new deck and how you've changed somewhat since your duel against Yuya?" Reiji praised.

"Are you mocking me!?" Sawatari questioned angrily.

"Far from it, since you're actually correct. There is something more going on... and I have some idea of what it is, but not all of it, which is why I've called all six of you here." Reiji answered as he adjusted his glasses.

As he said that, the elevator rose up to reveal Shun and Yuto, with the latter trying to hold the former from charging at Reiji with limited success.

"What's going on here, Akaba!? Why would you give that Fusion Freak another chance in this tournament!?" Shun demanded, ready to attack him.

Reiji closed his eyes and said nothing, until finally...

"You're free to hit me if you want. That is, if you want this city to become the same kind of wasteland as your home." He revealed.

Hearing that, Shun's stopped struggling as he and Yuto gasped in horror, with the LDS trio all gasping in reply.

"What are you talking about?" Sawatari asked nervously.

"Something that will affect us all, and that I hope your skills will be enough to prevent, due to how your Abyss Actors are heavily focused on Pendulum Summoning." Reiji explained.

Sawatari had no idea what to say, so he decided to just listen as Reiji looked towards Shun and Yuto.

"First off, I believe you'll want to see this recording of something that happened during Yuzu Hiragi's match, because it was something that not only managed to surprise me... but horrify me in a way that even I never saw coming." He continued.

Turning around, everyone looked at the screen, unaware of a seventh LDS student coming up the elevator as the recording of Yuri and Serena cornering Barrett was shown to all of them... pausing at the moment the Parasites revealed themselves.

"What's going on here?" Yuto questioned.

"I'd like the answer to the same question, and a lot more!" Sawatari shouted, his body shaking from what he just saw.

"How are there more people who resemble Yuya, and... why is there someone who looks just like Yuzu?" Masumi asked.

After looking closer, Hokuto gasped.

"I recognize those two! Both of them ambushed me earlier today!" He shouted angrily, pointing at them.

Yaiba and Masumi's eyes widened.

"Those two did?" Yaiba questioned.

"Yeah! They ambushed me, and based on how they got inside, stole my ID card to get into the stadium!" Hokuto confirmed.

Reiji nodded in confirmation before looking at Sawatari.

"Now, to get you up to speed on everything..." He began.

Sawatari's face widened as Reiji told him about everything that was going on, leaving him to just stand there lifelessly as his mind tried to process it, and once it finally did?

"What the hell!?" He screamed.

Reiji then looked at Masumi.

"As for how there's another boy that resembles Yuya, and a girl that resembles Yuzu? That's because both of them have counterparts living in each dimension." He explained.

"So, that means Yuto's resemblance to Yuya is..." Masumi realized.

"Exactly what you're thinking, and I have more to say about that, but we'll get to it later. Right now, the important thing I need all of you to know is that, as of right now... all of Yuya and Yuzu's counterparts are in Maiami City." Reiji revealed.

Shun gasped upon hearing that.

"No way... Ruri managed to escape from the Fusion Dimension? If that's really true, then why haven't you tried to find her!?" Shun demanded, giving Reiji a murderous glare.

"Because if we try to find her right this second, we might give the Professor exactly what he wants... especially since he may have let her escape on purpose." He answered, emphasizing his last two words.

Hearing those words dispelled Shun's anger, replacing it with a look of confusion.

"Watch the rest of this recording. Hopefully, doing so will let you see why I believe your sister's escape might be part of his plans." Reiji continued, turning back to the screen.

Everyone did the same as it continued playing, and once they did... they saw it.

Yuto felt his body tense up as he saw the Parasites inside of Yuri and Serena form the facial expressions that caused the ominous aura and its demonic expression to appear.

"What the hell is that!?" Shun questioned, feeling himself shaking slightly.

Yuto suddenly screamed, getting everyone's attention as he fell to his knees.

"Yuto? Yuto, what's wrong!?" Shun questioned.

"Z... Z... Z..." He mumbled in unbridled terror.

Reiji glanced at this, knowing that it was a vague, yet clear sign to why Yuya, Yuzu, and their counterparts were important to his father's goals.

Once the demonic face vanished in response to Barrett being carded, Yuto felt himself calm down, and took heavy breaths as he held his chest.

"Are you alright?" Shun asked, a worried look on his face.

"Yeah... I'm fine, just... a little shaken." Yuto answered, still taking heavy breaths and holding his chest.

"What happened? You just saw that face, and then..." Shun asked.

"It was Dark Rebellion... it was afraid." Yuto explained, still shaking.

Shun's eyes widened.

"Dark Rebellion... was afraid?" Shun asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, in fact? I think it's still afraid." Yuto answered.

Reiji showed some concern over those implications, but realized he needed more information before he could say anything solid about them.

"Well, regardless of what caused your reaction? I do agree that whatever let those Parasites manifest that demonic face and aura is dangerous. After all, Shun told me that soldiers of Duel Academy need the people they card... meaning this is cause for concern." He continued.

Everyone turned back to the screen, which is where they saw the fateful moment when Serena's Parasite made her hands rip Barrett's card in half.

No one's reaction was a surprise as they saw the two halves fall to the floor, before dissolving away to mark Barrett was gone... never to return.

"No way..." Shun said, trembling slightly.

Shortly after that was done, then came the line that caused him to hear why Reiji believed that not only was Ruri in the Pendulum Dimension, but that the Professor wanted her to escape from Duel Academy in the first place.

"No worries, we'll have plenty of fun sealing everyone into cards once the Professor sends his forces to capture our counterparts. The time of Revival Zero is near." Parasite Serena replied.

With that, Shun simply stared until the recording finished with Reiji being freed from the Ivy Bind Castle.

"Is that why they were inside the stadium during Yuzu's duel?" Hokuto asked.

"It can't be... can it?" Masumi replied, though she was doubting her own words.

"No, I'm afraid Hokuto's right, as they tried to capture Yuzu Hiragi's mother for what was likely going to be either blackmail or a hostage situation." Reiji answered.

Both of them flinched after hearing that.

"I... I really don't want to admit it, but... after seeing that and hearing what you just said? You might be right." Shun admitted, barely managing to do so.

Reiji nodded his head as he turned back to the group.

"And here's my evidence to why I believe that, along with why I'm almost certain that the real Yuri and Serena are as against the Professor's plans as each of your sister and Yuto's counterparts." He replied.

He brought up the folder images linked to his copy of the Revival Zero folder, getting everyone's attention.

"What's this?" Yuto asked.

"Something I found when I ended up in the Fusion Dimension over 3 years ago, but I'll explain why I was there after we cover these last few details I need you to know." Reiji explained.

He closed his eyes.

"Whatever this Revival Zero means, I don't know, but... it's more than likely related to the Professor's goal of fusing the Dimensions together. By extension, it must mean that each of the boys' Dragons and the girls' Bracelets have some kind of connection. One that might be related to that demonic face we saw..." He continued.

His eyes reopened.

"And worse? If we consider Yuri and Serena aren't the only two with Parasites, and while I doubt this is the case with everyone in Duel Academy... it's possible that the Xyz Dimension was actually the second dimension to be conquered." Reiji revealed.

Yuto gasped once he heard those words.

"Don't give me that crap! There's no way that Duel Academy or anyone else from the Fusion Dimension attacked our home against their will!" Shun screamed, refusing to give such a theory any kind of consideration.

"So, you're saying that it can't be true under any kind of circumstance? Not even if, hypothetically, the Professor came a different dimension?" Reiji inquired.

Those words caused Shun to go silent, with Reiji's glasses being hidden by the light as if waiting for Shun to somehow retort or counter what he just told him.

"I... have nothing to say to that." Shun replied.

"But I do, though in favor of the Professor being from another Dimension, or more specifically... how he came from this one." Yuto replied, now with a serious look on his face.

Shun looked at Yuto in surprise, while Reiji gave him a nonchalant stare.

"According to your own words, you visited the Fusion Dimension and managed to get that important file about Revival Zero, and told Shun that you knew the identity of the Professor... except, that's the problem. Learning either of those things should have resulted in you getting carded. So, knowing that, how are you still here?" He questioned.

That caught everyone's attention, while Reiji's expression stayed unchanged.

"Because the Professor cares about me enough not to card me, and yet... he's certain that I have no chance of stopping him. After that, he sent me back here and basically challenged me to prove him wrong." He revealed.

"Wait... he let you escape, and told you to try stopping him?" Shun questioned, noticing an unusual pattern.

"Yes, and the scariest part? Even though I refuse to let this fact stop me from trying... he might be right about me being unable to stop him. After all, while I might be able to predict his actions to some degree... the same is true with him, and likely more so." Reiji confirmed.

Reiji looked at everyone.

"Because the Professor raised me until the day he disappeared, leaving me to inherit his position as the head of Leo Corp." He revealed.

Gasps filled the room.

"Wait a second! Reiji, are you saying that the Professor is... your father!?" Sawatari realized.

"That's right... the Professor is none other than Leo Akaba." Reiji confirmed, closing his eyes.

And with those words, silence filled the room.

During the same time as Reiji's talk with Yuto, Shun, and his four LDS students, Yuri and Serena were seen inside the warehouse that was once used by Sawatari and his three flunkies.

Currently, the two had received a message from Leo about how they, Sora, and two other students had been invited to a Battle Royale in his son's tournament.

"It looks like we don't have to waste time in looking for Ruri and Rin." Yuri smirked.

"Guess the Professor's son inherited his father's confidence, but it's obvious he has no idea what he's up against if he thinks having us in public view will allow him to control or limit what we do." Serena replied.

Right as she said that, their Duel Disks lit up, causing both Parasites to make their hosts' faces look normal as Sora appeared with a chocolate bar in hand.

"Not only am I getting another chance to pluck the wings off of Shun, but I'm getting a great welcome party as well." He smiled with a sinister look.

He then took a bite of his chocolate.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Sora greeted.

"Not since you began your mission here in the Pendulum Dimension, and that horrible Xyz Duelist insulted our honor." Yuri replied, making a nauseated face as he said that last part.

Sora's teeth broke part of this chocolate bar with a loud snap.

"I can promise you this... if I hadn't been forced to uphold my cover when we dueled, he'd be the lying on the ground!" He stated, promising revenge.

Yuri smirked as he let out a quiet laugh.

"So, where are the other two who are supposed to join us?" Serena asked, noticing their absence.

"The Professor's filling them in on everything that happened with me. Since I obviously already knew all of it, he sent me over to make sure there were no issues first. Since there doesn't seem to be any..." Sora explained.

Pressing a button on his Duel Disk, it lit up like Yuri and Serena's had earlier. Five minutes later, a pair of flashes entered the warehouse, confirming their remaining guests had arrived.

"So, this is the Pendulum Dimension, huh?" A deep feminine voice remarked.

"I expected more from what's currently the best of the dimensions to live in." An airy feminine voice sighed, sounding disappointed.

The two Duelists in question were a pair of sisters who almost looked like identical twins, sans a few differences.

On the left was Grace Tyler, the younger sister. She was a fair-skinned woman with yellow eyes and long silver hair with two locks extending to chin length, with some of it hanging over her forehead in a messy fringe, and with a noticeable curl at the end.

What made her older sister, Gloria Tyler, look different from her was she had red eyes and golden-blonde hair. Said hair also looked sharper in certain places, and possessed an angled curve instead of a curl at its end.

Both of them wore a yellow version of the female Duel Academy uniform, showing they were ranked as Ra Yellow students.

"Did you expect a luxury suite or something?" Sora asked with a deadpan expression, right as he ate the last of his chocolate.

"No, just something normal." Gloria replied, being the owner of the deep voice.

"Yeah, this place looks like one of the abandoned buildings we see back home." Grace replied, being the owner of the airy voice.

"Really? I didn't notice that until-" Yuri joked.

He was immediately shut up by Serena slamming her fist into his face, making Sora and the Tyler Sisters stare as he flew into the air and then crashed down.

"Don't ever make that kind of joke again!" Serena screamed.

All three of them winced.

"Serena's gotten scarier since she and Yuri had their first mission..." Grace whispered, shivering a little.

"Don't let her hear you say that." Gloria whispered back, feeling a little nervous.

As Yuri slowly got back on his feet, Serena turned to the Tyler Sisters.

"Anyways... glad to see you two again after so long. If it wasn't for unfortunate circumstances, then we'd be able to have a full reunion." She remarked.

Silence filled the room, with Sora gaining a sad look on his face as that was said, prompting Serena to walk up to Sora and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Which is all the more reason you get your revenge on that Xyz Fugitive." She stated.

He raised his head in confusion, missing Yuri's smirk.

"We could never ID the Duelist who was responsible, so while there's no way to guarantee it... any one of them could be the Duelist who did the deed." Serena revealed.

Hearing that, Sora gave a toothy grin as he took out a lollipop.

"They say revenge tastes bittersweet, but... I think that's for receiving it more than giving it." He stated, taking a bite out of it.

Yuri gave a playful snicker at Sora's words.

"Moving things along, the Battle Royale we've all been invited to starts tomorrow at 12 PM sharp, and while Sora's fine since people already recognize his outfit? We'll need to get you two more casual outfits like mine and Yuri's to avoid making the audience and most of the other Duelists realize we're connected." Serena explained, glancing at Sora.

"That's something I never thought would be part of a mission." Gloria remarked, noticing the oddity behind it.

"It will make more sense once you understand why the Obelisk Force and Ra Force are waiting back at Duel Academy." Yuri replied, smirking as he did.

Everyone listened as he explained their plan for the Battle Royale.

Back with Reiji, the shock on Yuto, Shun, Sawatari, and the LDS trio's faces finally began to lose the shock from hearing the Professor and Reiji's father were one in the same.

"You're battling against your father!?" Shun exclaimed.

"I am, and that's the reason why I didn't tell you his identity when we met face to face. At the time, due to your reasons for attacking those associated with LDS, there was no way for me to tell you this information without the risk of you believing I was helping him." Reiji confirmed.

Shun lowered his head as he heard that, knowing that's exactly what he would have done. The fact that stung him even more when he realized that it would have also kept him from learning that Ruri had managed to escape from Duel Academy.

"Well, at least now I get why you're acting so careful with your plans and preparations against Duel Academy. You're basically playing a game of Chess with your father, and can't afford to rush any moves you make, or you risk losing." He realized.

Reiji nodded his head.

"Especially since, despite the good it indirectly brought to your dimension... I made a careless move right after he sent me home." Reiji confirmed, closing his eyes.

"What do you mean? What did you do?" Yaiba asked.

"I was young and naive, and believed that if I couldn't make my father realize what he was doing was wrong, then a good friend of his might succeed where I had failed. That led me to ask none other than Yusho Sakaki for help, and right before... his match with Strong Ishijima." Reiji revealed.

Sawatari let out a surprised scream, while the LDS trio all let out gasps.

"Then... the reason Yusho didn't show up for his match against Strong Ishijima was-" Masumi realized, her eyes shaking slightly.

"Because I sent him there, and... he didn't come back. When I spoke with him, it was a week before the match, and I hoped that would be enough time for him to return. It wasn't, and soon after? I found myself unable to create a convincing cover story to explain his absence on the day of the match. A mistake I intend to correct if we succeed in stopping Duel Academy's invasion." Reiji confirmed.

"No wonder you yelled at me and Hokuto for talking bad about him." Yaiba realized, now regretting his words.

"Sorry about that." Hokuto apologized.

"Don't worry about it. Right now, what's important is making sure we stop this invasion. Not just to protect this Dimension, but to know which Duelists have the means to end Duel Academy's threat once and for all." Reiji replied.

His staff quickly revealed a symbol showing a Knight with a lance on it, getting everyone's attention.

"What's that?" Yuto asked.

"The symbol for a group I'm forming to fight against Duel Academy, a group known as the Lance Defense Soldiers, or Lancers for short. In a sense, this Battle Royale serves as my way of knowing which Duelists will have the skills to defeat my father." Reiji revealed.

He gave a confident smile.

"As much as my father believes I can't stop him? Back then, Pendulum Summoning didn't exist, and even my father doesn't have the means to create cards that counter them this early after their discovery. As such, there's no better time to create my Lancers than now." He continued.

"Let me guess, you want us to be part of these Lancers ourselves?" Sawatari assumed.

"I do, but you need to prove you have the skills, which is why I chose to make you part of the Battle Royale." Reiji answered.

He soon reached into his pocket.

"And it's why I've created these." He revealed, holding out six cards to the LDS trio.

It was a pair of Pendulum Monsters for the Gem-Knights, X-Saber, and Sacred archetypes.

"Alright!" Yaiba shouted as they received their new cards.

"So, I'm guessing you also want me and Yuto to use Pendulum Cards that you've made for us?" Shun assumed, recalling how Nakajima offered him a deck based on Pendulum Monsters that he refused to use.

Reiji said nothing for a moment, then adjusted his glasses.

"Actually, about that. When you dueled against Sora, you showed us a technique that not even I knew about Xyz Summoning, which has led me to consider something. That very something is why I said Yuri couldn't have used a Synchro Monster against Yuto." He answered.

Shun raised an eye, while Yuto just looked confused.

"It would be easier for you to see it than for me to explain it, so try playing this Synchro Monster on your Duel Disk." Reiji continued, tossing him a card.

Yuto watched as Shun caught it, and then formed his Duel Disk to play it.

Everyone waited for the Monster's hologram to appear... but it never did.

"Based on what you just said, I'm guessing that the problem has nothing to do with my Duel Disk?" Shun assumed, looking at him.

"It doesn't." Reiji confirmed.

"Then why couldn't Shun play that Synchro Monster?" Yaiba questioned.

"Because he's a Duelist from the Xyz Dimension." Reiji answered, closing his eyes.

Everyone was confused by that answer.

"Whenever someone summons a Fusion, an Xyz, a Synchro, or a Pendulum Monster? My staff monitors the energy level it creates. People from Standard leave low readings for the first three, while Shun and Sora both create powerful Xyz and Fusion energy. I never understood why this was the case... until Shun used his Rank-Up Magic, that is." Reiji explained.

"Basically, we can use every Summoning method, but only in their basic forms? While those from the other dimensions can only use the summon their dimension is named after, but as a result, have access to methods that we can't use ourselves?" Sawatari asked.

"Precisely, which means Shun can't use Pendulum Monsters, and by extension... neither can Duel Academy." Reiji smiled.

It didn't take long for everyone to realize what that meant.

"So, not only do they not have access to any cards that can directly counter Pendulum Monsters, but they can't even use them against us!" Masumi realized.

"That's right. So, do all six of you believe you're prepared for this?" Reiji replied.

From where they were hiding, the seventh Duelist smiled before leaving the room.

Morning quickly came to the people of Maiami City, who were still unaware of what would be coming, and that LDS hoped would stay as such until Duel Academy's invasion was over.

The scene opened to Yuya's house, where the Entertainment Duelist was shown to still be asleep in his bed. This eventually prompted a familiar card in his deck to glow red.

"Yuya, wake up!" Odd-Eyes shouted.

"Ah!" He shouted, tumbling out of bed.

His Dragon's spirit watched him hit the ground before he rubbed his back.

"What was that for!?" Yuya questioned.

"It was for waking you up early, which if I recall, you asked me to do last night because you wanted extra time to prepare for today's Battle Royale." Odd-Eyes reminded him.

"Oh... that's right." Yuya remembered, blushing in embarrassment.

He quickly began getting dressed as his Dragon understandably did nothing besides watch, being a mere Duel Spirit without Real Solid Vision to give him a body.

"Yuya, are you awake?" Yoko called.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Yuya asked.

"Because a package just came for you!" Yoko answered.

This surprised Yuya.

"A package? I don't remember ordering anything." He said to himself.

Grabbing his Deck and his Duel Disk, he slid down the pole, where all three of the dogs and cats were already eating from their two shared bowls and his mother was cooking his usual pancake breakfast.

"Where's the package?" Yuya asked.

"I left it on the couch." Yoko replied.

Yuya turned to see a medium-sized box and walked up to it, looking around to see who sent it. To his surprise, it was from Yuto.

"Yuto sent me this? I wonder what it could be?" He thought aloud.

He then opened the box, revealing a pair of strange red shoes... or were they boots? He honestly couldn't tell. Luckily, there was a note in the box, which Yuya began reading.

"Yuya, these boots are an invention made by a friend of mine and Shun's from back home. I hope they help you during the Battle Royale." Yuya said as he read the note.

Seeing the note say to flip it around, Yuya did just that.

"These shoes use Solid Mass to generate wheels from the extensions on the sides, so they work just like Roller Blades, except the wheels are like car wheels. If you want them start moving, you need to think they're moving. Also, they can ride up walls without you falling off, so be careful if you're not trying to ride on any walls." He continued.

Yuya felt himself pale at the thought of falling off a wall or something similar, letting out an awkward laugh.

"Is it strange that I can actually think of why someone would need to ride up a wall?" He nervously asked himself.

He left the Roller Boots at the front door, and after eating all of his pancakes, chose to put them on instead of his usual shoes. However, when he tried to use them?

"Whoa!" He screamed.

Yuya suddenly felt himself being propelled forward by the wheels, nearly causing him to lose his balance.

"Hope I can figure these out by the time I make it to the stadium!" Yuya panicked, only standing on one foot.

Odd-Eyes did his best not to laugh at Yuya's plight.

The scene opens to the playground, where a sleeping Ruri was seen. As the sunlight began peeking through a gap in the plastic climbing dome, it brushed her eyes, causing her to open them and stretch her arms out.

"Who knew that sleeping in a place like this could be so comfortable?" She asked herself.

She poked her head out to make sure that no one from Duel Academy was nearby to spot her, and once she realized it was safe, fully left the dome. Once Ruri was outside, she got a good look at the stadium.

"I'm not sure if I can get in the stadium, so I may need to find someone who can pass a message to Shun or Yuto for me." Ruri said to herself, figuring out what she could do.

As she was thinking about what to do, Ruri noticed her Duel Disk receive a message.

She looked at it in surprise.

"Is it that mole from Duel Academy?" Ruri wondered, opening it.

The message appeared on screen, but its contents surprised her.

"Eh!?" She exclaimed.

It showed her details in a tournament registration, namely the Battle Royale that was about to happen, along with both Shun and Yuto's own tournament registrations.

"But I never signed up for... wait." Ruri questioned.

Ruri thought back to the message she received from mysterious rescuer, who knew that her comrades were in the Pendulum Dimension.

"Is it possible that they told them I was here and invited me to this tournament so I'd know where to find them?" She wondered, not even realizing what it meant for Yuto.

However, a few seconds after asking herself that? That fact finally hit her.

"Wait, if Yuto's in this tournament, then... that means-" Ruri realized.

She thought back to when she saw the vision of Dark Rebellion falling on him, and him apologizing to her. It wasn't long before she covered her mouth and cried tears of joy.

"I knew it, you're OK!" Ruri sniffled.

Having been motivated by the good news, Ruri prepared to run towards the stadium... only for her stomach to growl, making her blush as she held it.

"No, don't think about food right now. Especially since you can't pay for it." She told herself.

She began walking to the stadium, not wanting her hunger to get any worse from running.

Around the area they had stopped at to see Winter Bell during the time it briefly glowed, Yugo and Rin could be seen sleeping on a bench, with the latter resting her head on Yugo's lap like a pillow.

The letter on their Duel Runner had still been untouched, as they had had chosen to fall asleep when it was clear both of them were running on fumes, and using the nearby bench they found as a makeshift bed.

"Yeah, I'm the new King of the City..." Yugo tired mumbled, his head resting against the bench's top.

"Mhm..." Rin mumbled in her sleep.

Her eyes fluttered open, and then closed briefly as she let out a loud yawn, causing Yugo to briefly snort as he felt himself wake up from the sound.

"Huh? What? Is it morning?" he mumbled tiredly.

She slapped her cheeks to fully wake up, then grabbed Yugo's hands to help him do the same.

"I'm awake!" He screamed, shaking his head.

"Yeah, that was a mistake..." Rin whispered, rubbing her ears.

Taking a moment to remember what they were doing before they fell asleep; Rin recalled their plan to visit the stadium before the situation with her Winter Bell happened.

"Come on, we need to get to the stadium before anyone from Duel Academy arrives. If we're lucky, Ruri might be there as well." Rin reminded him.

"Oh yeah, let's get... huh?" Yugo replied.

Rin looked confused, but then noticed where Yugo was looking, causing them to see the letter that was left on their Duel Runner last night.

"A letter?" Rin said.

She walked over to their Duel Runner and picked it up, then opened it to see the letter's contents. Once she did, her eyes widened.

"Yugo... this is an invitation to whatever event's happening at that stadium right now." Rin revealed, looking at him.

"We're invited? But how? No one in this dimension should know who we are, and I doubt there's anyone mistaking us for our Pendulum counterparts when we could clearly see yours having a duel the other day." Yugo questioned.

"That's probably the most surprising part... this letter mentions us as Duelists from the Synchro Dimension, and claims they want us there to stop Duel Academy's invasion, which is happening today!" Rin continued, turning the letter around for him to see.

Yugo's eyes widened before he read the entire letter himself. After he did, Yugo made a shocked expression as he realized it was all true.

"How do they know about the invasion?" Yugo questioned.

"I don't know, but it sounds like this tournament is being held to gather this dimension's best Duelists in one place to fight them off. If they're going to come after me... then the stadium might be the safest place for us to be." Rin answered.

Yugo thought about it for a moment, and realized that she was probably right.

"Yeah, and it might be the only way to solve another problem of ours." He agreed.

"What problem is that?" Rin asked.

"Getting food." Yugo answered.

Rin blushed in embarrassment, realizing that they didn't have any money.

"Let's get going then." Rin decided.

With that, they got on their Duel Runner and began driving towards the stadium.

After a long wait, and Reiji finishing his final preparations... the time had come.

Hundreds of fans were seen in the stadium, already cheering despite the duels hadn't even started yet, with all of the Duelists in the Top 16 and the 8 who had been given a second chance (minus Shun and Sora) standing in the middle of the Duel Arena.

The other 40 who had qualified for the Maiami Championship after it began were nowhere to be seen, though it was implied that LDS was intentionally hiding their identities.

"We're finally here with the amazing Battle Royale that everyone's been itching to see since yesterday's announcement! The stadium filled up almost instantly, and there's been cheer sections set up for various schools like You Show and LDS, or even just a single Duelist like Michio and his deck of tasty treats. So, go ahead and start us off Nico!" joy announced from the crowd.

"Thank you Joy, and thanks to the audience for surviving the long wait!" Nico replied from the field.

The screen revealed he was standing in front of the 22 Duelists among the 24 known. In response, the various cheer squads began to cheer, with You Show's group being easily seen from where they were sitting, now rejoined by their students who had been absent the day before as a result of seeing the ugly result of Sora and Shun's duel.

"As all of you already know, today we are having what's called a Battle Royale! However, we have some news to reveal alongside it! So, to start this off? For everyone who's been asking what a Battle Royale is..." Nico continued.

He paused as a drum roll was played for dramatic effect, leaving everyone tense as they waited for his answer.

"It's a free for all where anyone can fight anyone! For each Duelist, the other 63 are their enemies!" He revealed.

The crowd gasped, as did the Duelists standing behind Nico.

"Yes, you heard me right! This is a style of dueling where up to 8 Duelists can either face each other one on one, or if they choose to do so, team up in a Tag Duel, regardless if they're also in a Tag Team, alone, or even a combination of both!" Nico confirmed.

The crowd was still silent, but their faces all showed how excited they were despite their inability to vocalize it.

"Even better? Their battlefield will be none other than... the entire city itself!

With those words, everyone let out a united gasp, unable to believe what they just heard.

At the same time, Reiji and Himika were looking at the stadium from the former's office. Standing behind him were the 8 Duelists who remained in the Senior Division, now aware of the truth behind the Battle Royale.

"The invasion could happen at any time, and I'm certain that any one of the 5 Duelists allied with Duel Academy will give the signal. There's also no guarantee that all, or even any of you, may avoid being carded in this battle. Despite that, will you still duel for the sake of making sure we keep Yuzu and her counterparts safe?" Reiji asked.

"Yes sir!" They replied.

Nodding his head, they were all dismissed as they began heading towards the waiting area that had been set in the city.

"Reiji, I want your honest opinion... how bad do you think our loses will be?" Himika asked, a worried expression on her face.

"I don't know... and that's what scares me most. While Pendulum Summoning may be our best weapon against father's forces, it still hasn't been used in a true battle against his Duel Soldiers." Reiji admitted.

Loses were going to occur, and that was an undeniable fact. The only thing that truly mattered was if they had the strength to stop this invasion before it became a war.

Meanwhile, at the same time as Reiji's talk with the Senior League and his mother occurred, Nico was explaining how the Battle Royale had been set up for deciding the 8 who would advance to the Quarterfinals.

"Here's how everything will work. Rather than taking out Duelists until only 8 remain, since then we'd see too many Duelists hiding, you will be collecting special Action Cards known as Pendulum Statues over a 24-hour period. You need at least two to duel, cannot use them in your decks, and must ante at least one of them during a duel. The eight Duelists who have the most by the end will advance to the Quarterfinals!" Nice revealed.

The competitors all gasped upon hearing that.

"Whoa... that means if you don't duel, and you can't win the duels you have..." Yuya realized.

"I, the man Gongenzaka, must applaud just how grand of an event this is." Gongenzaka praised.

After giving a minute for everyone to settle down, Nico continued.

"Now, for how the duels themselves will work? Here are some details specific to the Battle Royale itself. If one or more players from two different duels make contact, then those duels will merge. If both duels are single duels, they will become a Tag Duel, with the teams chosen based on which Duelists made contact at the time." He revealed.

He pointed to the screen, showing four smiley face symbols to show this in a visual manner.

"It's also possible for a Duelist who isn't dueling anyone to insert themselves into another duel, but be careful, because this will give you an intrusion penalty that will make your starting Life Points be 2000 instead of the usual 4000 to keep things fair." Nico continued.

This time, one of the smiley face symbols changed into a panicked face symbol, having the number 2000 beside it while the other three had a 4000 beside them.

"Finally, it's time for the biggest announcement, which is that as of this Battle Royale... the Real Solid Vision has been upgraded to the next level!" Nico announced.

"Upgraded!?" Yuya shouted in surprise.

The crowd all looked shocked at those words.

"To begin this grand announcement, the first thing you need to know is that the Real Solid Vision system has now been upgraded into the Augmented Reality Combat System, or ARC System for short! Second, this change gives the Monsters themselves more Action in an Action Duels... by giving them ability to dodge attacks!" Nico revealed.

Snapping his fingers, the screen showed how Rise Falcon dodged Wheel Saw Leo's attacks in the duel between Shun and Sora, managing to evade for a good amount of time before Shun grabbed an Action Card to officially stop it.

"After seeing this sight during Sora and Shun's duel during the first round of duels, LDS realized that Action Duels have focused more on Spell and Trap cards through Action Cards, and decided to fix this by allowing Monsters a small window to evade attacks. How this works is when within a certain range, a Monster can try and dodge, and if they succeed? It will be like using Evasion, but if the attack's shock wave still hits? It will instead be like using Miracle, and the Duelist will take half the damage." Nico explained.

He then remembered something.

"Also, since I just mentioned them? Duelists can still use Evasion and Miracle, but to shake things up? They can now only be used when the Duelist holding them is the who's attacking." He added, showing both cards on the screen.

Everyone in the crowd began to murmur to one another, realizing these were big changes that could heavily influence the duels in the Battle Royale.

"Since some of you may ask this? To avoid giving Monsters who can Fly too big of an advantage, whenever a Duel begins, square platforms we've dubbed Crossover Steps will form around the area. These will let Duelist and Monster alike be able to attack anywhere and everywhere without issue. You can also find Action Cards on them." Nico added.

"Wow... no wonder this Battle Royale was built up like it was." Yuya remarked.

At that moment, the screen showed pictures of all 64 Duelists, with 40 of them having black silhouettes hide their faces.

Upon seeing the images... Yuya and Yuzu gasped as they noticed one of the silhouetted pictures heavily resembled Yuya.

"Isn't that..." Yuya asked.

"Yuto?" Yuzu said in shock.

"Now, for the last detail before we finally begin this epic event? The other 40 Duelists, not counting Sora and Shun's absence, which is likely because the two don't want to talk to or be near each other until the duels begin... are already out in the city! As they appear, those of you in the audience will see their pictures reveal themselves on your Duel Disks, meaning they could be anyone!" Nico continued, finishing the last leg of his explanation.

A minute passed after this, and then... the crowd began to clap and cheer, finally feeling the excitement of the event hit them all at once.

"Listen to those cheers! If you're already this excited, then let's not keep you waiting! Time to bring out the Action Field we made just for this event, Wonder Quartet!" Nico announced, holding his free hand into the air.

The 40 mystery Duelists began to see parts of the city slide open as they revealed pink energy domes, which began generating an Action Field that turned most of Maiami City in a mixture of a tundra, a volcanic area, a jungle with a river, and stone ruins.

"W-What's going on? Why did the city suddenly change!?" Ruri fearfully asked, having ended up in the Volcano section.

She quickly moved away from the lava flow.

In the Jungle section, while riding their Duel Runner, a look of shock hit Yugo and Rin's faces.

"This is new." Yugo remarked.

"From what I can tell, they use this ARC System to make fields as real as the Monsters, though it doesn't look like it's a Field Spell either." Rin guessed.

She touched part of a nearby tree, noticing it felt real.

"Imagine if they used this in the Friendship Cup." She continued.

Hearing that caused Yugo to go unusually quiet, and it didn't take long before Rin to notice he didn't reply to her like she expected.

"Yugo, are you OK?" She asked.

"We'll make it back, and once we do? We'll change the city, like we should have back then. That's a promise." He quietly replied.

Hearing that, Rin smiled as her eyes got a bit misty.

'Even in a situation like this, you still care about our promise. Though... that's exactly what I love about you.' Rin though, blushing a little.

Once that thought finished, Rin put all her focus on the coming duels, and eventual invasion of Duel Academy that they would soon face.

A timer soon appeared on the screen, showing the Battle Royale would begin in 2 minutes.

'This is it.' Yuya thought.

"Duelists... prepare your Duel Disks!" Nico announced.

Across the city and in the stadium, everyone did just that.

"Now, since this event is happening all over the city, I'd like everyone the audience join me for the Action Duel chant!" Nico requested.

The audience showed excited at those words.

"Good, because here we go!" He cheered.

"The Duelists, at this place of battle, shall kick their way across the earth and fly across the air on this Field with their Monsters! Fix your eyes upon the ultimate evolution of dueling!" Everyone announced.

Snapping his fingers, a sphere containing the Pendulum Statues burst apart, scattering them across the city.

"ACTION DUEL!"

With those words, the timer hit zero, letting out a loud buzzer as the Duelists in the stadium began running. Once they left the stadium, the timer reset, counting down from 24 hours.

The scene opened to the Iceberg Zone, which Yuya and Yuzu had decided to enter first.

Luckily for them, their choice had worked in their favor, as both of them had already managed to find a pair of Pendulum Statues in the snow.

"Glad to see our gut feelings were right." Yuzu smiled.

"I wonder if anyone else has found their Pendulum Statues yet?" Yuya remarked, brushing some snow off his.

As if to answer his question, a familiar laugh entered Yuya and Yuzu's ears, immediately getting their attention.

"That's good!"

Dropping from one of the larger icicles, the aces of You Show found themselves face to face with none other than Kachidoki, with Yuya's expression turning serious as he realized what was about to happen.

"Now that you have your Pendulum Statues, there's nothing to stop me from pulling you into the darkness!" Kachidoki announced, revealing his own Pendulum Statues.

"Fine! Then get ready to-" Yuzu stated.

"No Yuzu, this is my duel." Yuya interjected.

She looked at him in surprise.

"But Yuya, you don't have to duel him alone!" Yuzu replied.

"Except I do. Last time we dueled, I couldn't reach him, which is why this is a duel I need to win by myself." He replied, keeping his gaze locked on Kachidoki's.

Yuzu gasped as she remembered the words he wrote to her last night, and then smiled as she lowered her Duel Disk.

"Alright, just promise me you'll be careful, OK?" Yuzu requested.

"Of course, same to you." Yuya promised, smiling at her.

She smiled back before running off, with Yuya and Kachidoki readying their Duel Disks.

"It looks like our first duel is an exciting rematch between Yuya and Kachidoki! However, unlike when they last dueled? Kachidoki is now battling as an independent Duelist!" Nico announced.

As they stared at one another, Yuya took a deep breath.

"I'm not sure why you're so insistent about dragging me into the darkness, but I won't let myself fall in!" He stated.

"Survive long enough against me in our duel, and I might just tell you!" Kachidoki replied.

Both of them jumped back, seeing the Crossover Steps make their debut, with Action Cards randomly materializing across the area around them.

"LET'S DUEL!"

Yuya and Kachidoki drew their starting hands, officially beginning their rematch.

Around the same time, in the Ruins Zone, the sight of Sawatari nearly falling was seen as he just barely managed to grab his second Pendulum Statue.

"How did I think this would be a good idea!?" He questioned.

"Because you are a duelist who can't use his head!" Someone declared.

Sawatari was so surprised by those words that he fell a few feet, letting out a pained shout as he hit the ground. Once he managed to regain his bearings, he looked to the source of the voice to show a teenage boy with short black hair that had a gold strand, and said strand was somehow able to resemble a Q in shape.

"And distracting someone who's about to fall is!?" He countered.

The boy chuckled in response, holding out his two Pendulum Statues.

"It is if you're trying to make sure your opponent is cornered into a duel! That is, unless you're too chicken to duel me!" The boy replied, baiting him into accepting.

"Oh, no need to put me into that kind of position. I'll take any Duelist head on! So, whoever you are? Prepare to duel!" Sawatari announced with complete confidence.

The boy chuckled a bit.

"My name is Eita Kyuando, and prepare to lose to my high intellect!" Eita declared, readying his Duel Disk.

"LET'S DUEL!"

Both drew their first hands, with Eita still holding a cocky smile and Sawatari's expression turning serious.

Going back to the Iceberg Zone, the scene opened to Yuzu as she tried to find any nearby Duelists.

"Maybe I need to try a different field?" She thought aloud.

"Yuzu Hiragi! We meet in this icy tundra, just as I predicted!" A familiar female voice announced.

Hearing that, Yuzu froze up as she realized who it was.

"No, it can't be..." She groaned, hoping she was wrong.

Turning around, Yuzu saw Mieru sitting on a nearby rooftop with her Crystal Apple in hand.

"Yet it is, and I have come to duel you for one reason alone!" Mieru declared, pointing at her.

She jumped onto the ground, and then gained an angry expression on her face as her pointing finger shook with the same anger.

"Because I won't let you keep flirting with my Darling anymore!" Mieru announced.

Yuzu's face turned red as a blush fully covered it, which caused her to sputter slightly.

"Me? You're the one who keeps flirting with him!" Yuzu retorted.

"Don't turn this on me! Yuya is my fated person, so I won't let you have him!" Mieru countered.

"OK, that's it! Get ready to duel me!" Yuzu shouted.

Both of them readied their Duel Disks.

"LET'S DUEL!"

With those words, the two apparent rivals in love began their long-awaited duel.

At the same time, Yuto was in the Lava Zone, and just found his second Pendulum Statue.

"Now I'll be able to help Ruri if she gets caught in a duel." Yuto said to himself, pocketing it.

"Found you, Yuya!"

He turned around as he saw a pair of Duelists wearing clothes like Kachidoki, revealing them as the remaining two Duelists from Ryozanpaku, both of which stared at him with a sinister look in their eyes.

Considering they believed he was Yuya? It wasn't hard for him to realize why they had such a look.

"Let me guess... since Kachidoki was expelled from your school, you want revenge on me for leaving the two of you as the last hope for your Duel School's survival, right?" Yuto inquired.

The one wearing a hat, Takeda, snickered in response.

"That's right! We, the remaining pride of Ryozanpaku, shall be your opponents!" Takeda confirmed, readying his Duel Disk.

"The two of us will take advantage of the Battle Royale's rules to humiliate you!" Said his fellow student, known as Umesagi.

Yuto hated how the students of Ryozanpaku dueled, so this opportunity was perfect.

"I accept your challenge, so you better not run away, and I'll ante both my Pendulum Statues for this duel. Are you brave enough to do the same?" Yuto replied.

Umesagi and Takeda revealed their Pendulum Statue cards.

"Sure thing! After all, it will be fun to make you start over from scratch!" Takeda accepted.

"Now, are you ready to lose, Yuya!?" Umesagi inquired.

"I'm ready to duel alright! Unfortunately, there's one thing you're mistaken about." Yuto replied.

As he finally turned around to show his face, Takeda and Umesagi's eyes widened in surprise.

"My name is Yuto."

With those words, the first of the Battle Royale's many surprises was revealed to the audience.

The question now was how they'd react to it?

Even though there weren't any duels in this chapter? Next chapter will open with four different duels, and with the exception of Yuto's (since his duel is just Yuto dueling in Yuya's place against Takeda and Umesagi), they will all be fully shown! Not only that, but the moment with Yugo and Rin in the Jungle Zone was the last scene I needed to show before I could make their "Bonds of Four Worlds" chapter, so that's also on its way!

Reiji finally gave away some pretty big details, and with them came the reveal that Duelists from each dimension have certain limits on the cards they can use, a choice I made to not have Pendulum Monsters be the sole focus. I decided on this since each counterpart is a prominent character, and because Shun only Pendulum Summoned once.

Duel Academy is also starting to make their move, with Sora having returned, and the Tyler Sisters joining him. Also, in case the chapter didn't make it clear enough? Yuri and Serena are good friends with all three of them. I should also cover that, unlike GX, the color system is flipped around for reasons yet to be revealed, so Osiris Red (which Yuri and Serena are) is the highest rank, mainly because all of Serena's clothes are red.

This is also the reason I made the Tyler Sisters into Ra Yellow students, since Yuri and Serena are better Duelists than they are, yet they rank higher than Sora because of their strategies. As for Yuri's purple outfit? He's only wears it because Leo wants to make him look like the strongest among the students, which he isn't in this story.

Finally, I hope you all like the alterations I made to Action Duels, which was done to help remove some of the areas I, and other fans didn't like about how they worked in canon. This removes the common use of Evasion or Miracle with an alternative that relies on skill over luck. There are also actual reasons for it in-story as well, since Reiji created these changes to make Sora's knowledge of Action Duels become less reliable.

Until next time everyone, and stay awesome! ^^