Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Today was… certainly a day…

Yuya didn’t expect his duel with the Sledgehammer to be so… interesting.

Sure he was trying to put on a show, but he didn’t try to discover a new summoning method (even though he felt like he was looking through camera lenses then-) or get so famous.

“At least… the school will get more popular…” he whispered to himself, slipping on his pajama shirt, already wearing the pants, then sitting down onto his bed, goggles and necklace on the bedside table. His red and green hair was messy, wet from a shower, nearly covering his crimson eyes. “But… How did I even find that method? Was it…” he reached for his pendant, picking it up and making it sway, from one side to the other. “Because of my Pendulum?

Or… is something else at work here…?”

Just then, he felt it.

A strange presence, right outside his window, as if the very air had started to go into turmoil. Turning to look, he saw… a black hole? A red one, as if built on flames, yet… it didn’t suck anything in, but debris were flying out, even hitting the house, though Yuya was the only one home, so he was the only one who knew what was going on-

Then, he saw it. A blue blur, hurtling out, limbs flailing, features barely distinguishable, just falling, falling, fall-

SPLASH!

It landed into the family pool, water splashing everywhere.

But it was a person. Weird looking, but a living being.

“Maybe… it’ll come up…?” Yuya giggled nervously to himself.

One second. Ten seconds. Thirty seconds. One minute.

The creature was still in the water.

“... DAMMIT!” he shouted, jumping up and grabbing his goggles, running out of his room and sliding down the fire pole they installed, the sounds of his movement echoing off the otherwise still house.

The moments after he threw open the door were a blur, though Yuya imagined he threw on his goggles and dived in, barely able to see the being that landed in the crystal waters, but they made it out, if him being able to breathe and the water only lapping at his toes proving to be so.

“H… Hah… are you… okay?” Yuya asked, taking off his accessory-

Then freezing.

This… this person…

He looked like…

“Y-Y-Yeah…” the stranger replied, breath heavy with exhaustion. “T-Thank you…”

He looked to be a cross between human and animal- and he had a feeling he knew which one.

“S-So…” Yuya started, grabbing a towel nearby and wrapping it around the stranger. “Who are you?”

The person looked at him, his shallow panting replaced with a grin as he sat up straighter.

“Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog!”

-_-

“Well, I got enough rations to last us for another week,” Yuto sighed, carrying a bag of canned food inside the abandoned warehouse where Shay and Quattro sat, fixing their decks. “Please don’t eat it all tonight.”

“We know how to ration food Yute, calm down!” Quattro snapped, eyebrows arched in annoyance.

“Oi, behave,” Shay hissed, bonking his friend over the head with his duel disk. “We need to be-”

CRASH!

Everyone froze, noticing the sound from outside. Sharing a look with the others, Yuto peaked outside…

And thought he was dreaming.

The creature seemed to be… a hedgehog? Judging by the quills, jet black with red streaks, he was, with a tail and nose, crimson eyes shining as they locked onto Yuto’s steel ones.

“You…” Yuto whispered. “Who…”

The hedgehog studied the younger(?) one, then sighed.

“Shadow the Hedgehog. Now then… where am I?”

-_-

Declan was pretty done with today.

First off, Yuya had discovered a new summoning method, and knowing him, the tomato haired boy would refuse to talk about it.

Second, the anomalies popping up were… concerning…

Third…

There was now a… hedgehog(?) on his desk and it was making everything in the office, including him, levitate-

“WOULD YOU PUT ME DOWN?!” Declan roared, stuck in place by this anthropomorphic creature. “WHAT DO YOU WANT???”

“ANSWERS!” The white animal shot back. “WHO ARE YOU, AND WHERE AM I??”

“Tch- Declan Akaba, and this is Paradise City.” He informed the weird intruder, who seemed to calm down, then put everything down, even kind enough to keep it the same as before and plop Declan into his chair. “Now then… who are you? ”

The hedgehog stared, the smiled nervously.

“I’m Silver, Silver the Hedgehog! And uh… I don’t think I’m from around here."

Chapter Text

“So…” Yuya started, locking the door to his bedroom, the sun shining in as he carried a plate of pancakes, having eaten himself, now wearing his typical reddish orange shirt, red wristbands, goggles, cargo pants, brown belt, and boots. “You’re from another world ?”

Sonic was sitting on the freshly made bed, kicking his feet and picking at his gloves, seeming restless, yet careful to not mess up the comforter, a neutral expression on his face. “Yeah, and I don’t know how I got here… well, okay, I know how, but I don’t know why. ”

Yuya handed him the plate, then sat down next to his new companion. “Can you tell me? I mean… It sounds pretty interesting. And maybe we could figure out a way to get you back home?”

The Blue Blur’s eyebrows(?) shot up, staring at his companion, as if considering something, then smirked, as if trying to ease his new friend’s nerves. “That’s sweet Yuya, but it’s my problem, okay? You don’t need to worry about-”

“Dude, you landed in my pool and I’m now hiding you from my other pets, Yugi, and Mom,” Yuya shot back, pointing to the door as he spoke. “So you kinda made this my problem, buddy. So for the love of everything, how did you get here? And don’t try to trick me! … Please?”

The tension in the air was thick, so thick in fact, that one could cut a knife with the tension. Eventually, Sonic took a deep breath, then sighed. “Fine, I’ll tell you what I think happened.”

-_-

“So, let me get this straight.”

Declan pushed his glasses onto the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath. His office, after the whole night, was back to its pristine state, and his guest was now sitting cross legged… on his desk.

He was too tired to fight with the walking Christmas Tree.

“You’re from another world- not connected to mine or the ones I’ve told you about, and you believe your friend’s gems-”

“The Sol Emeralds, ” Silver specified, picking at his gloves. “And she’s from a different dimension too.”

“... Right.” Oh lord he was gonna regret helping this one- “The Sol Emeralds sent you here, along with your friends, Sonic and Shadow?”

“Exactly!” Silver agreed, standing up with a puffed up chest. “And I need to make sure they’re okay!” But almost immediately, his proudness deflated, and he sat down again, this time swinging his legs slowly, eyes trained on Declan. “But you’re not shocked with other dimensions. What’s going on here? Why did you think I was from… ‘Academia’?”

“Duel Academy,” Declan corrected, getting up and fixing his scarf. “Come with me, and I shall explain everything now.”

-_-

“Are you three serious?!”

Shadow demanded, fists clenched as he paced the hideout of the 3 XYZians- Yuto, Shay, and Quattro. They had explained why they were in the Standard dimension, and even now, he had a hard time processing it.

“Unfortunately,” Yuto sighed, shuffling his deck absentmindedly as Shay watched Shadow with mild interest. He had two toned teal hair with grey streaks, and yellow eyes that the Ultimate Lifeform suspected were contacts.

“Look, we know it sounds psycho, but our home’s gone,” Quattro spoke up, messing with his maroon hair in boredom. The scar on his right eye was no doubt from the war, then. “What’s left is a husk, and we’re just trying to get allies so we can stop Duel Academy.”

“Which is why you’re here…” Shadow stopped pacing, deep in thought. He needed to find Sonic and Silver, make sure they were here and not in XYZ or Fusion, where they could be killed…

Or worse, if the heathens realized they had powers. Shadow and Silver didn’t want Sonic to be captured again, or…

“So,” Shay spoke up, eyes trained on him like a hawk. “You’re from another dimension entirely, and these… Sol Emeralds, are the reason you’re here?”

“Yes,” Shadow confirmed, pulling out a Chaos Emerald. “I can get home easily with this, but…”

“But what?” Yuto asked, one eyebrow arched as Quattro stopped playing with his hair, focusing on the hedgehog.

“Sonic and Silver, my comrades. I need to find them. And I can’t leave- not with this war on the horizon.”

Shay laughed- a hollow, bitter laugh, slightly chilling Shadow, who tried to keep himself composed. “Too late- it’s already begun. But hey, we welcome the support.”

“And we’ll help find your allies as well,” Yuto promised, reaching out to shake hands.

Shadow took it, promising himself one thing.

I won’t leave them behind.

-_-

After that chaotic morning, Yuya left for school (boring!) and Sonic had the room all to himself.

And He. Was. BORED!

There was nothing to do except pace, and Yuya didn’t want him burning a hole into the carpet.

I mean… Yuya wouldn’t be that mad if I went out… right?

... I’ll be supersonic!

He grabbed his shoes again, shoving them on as he dashed out the window, careful to avoid any of the actual people- sticking to rooftops and skylines, watching everything below in a blur…

Until he saw Yuya.

He seemed to be talking to a girl with pink hair and pigtails, along with a kid with the wackiest hairjob known to man- Zuzu and Yugi, if he remembered correctly. He couldn’t hear them, but by the looks of it…

They were talking about him, if their panicked and confused expressions were anything to go off of. Of course. And this wasn’t his ‘overblown’ ego talking, it was Yuya making literal animal ears over his head!

“Well…” Sonic sighed, stopping and looking around the city. “What do I do now?”

Just then… he saw something.

A flash of blue, and in it’s place…

A child who seemed to travel dimensions- just like him. Blue hair in a spiky ponytail, sharp green eyes, blue uniform, and chowing down on a lollipop.

And the kid was staring right at Yuya, a wicked grin on his face. One that only meant trouble.

Oh, great. Gotta protect Yuya, and figure out who Mr Sweets here is!

Chapter Text

Sora had a mission. 

Survey Zuzu Boyle and Yuya Sakaki until it was time for the invasion.

He tried to ignore how they looked like Ce-Ce and Ri-Ri.

That wasn’t why he took the mission though.

Even though he really wanted to see Ce-Ce again, to make his family smile once more… He had his own mission.

Find out why Ai left home, and bring her back.

It made no sense back then, and it made no sense now. Surely she wanted a perfect world, especially one with Ce-Ce being with us again…

He snapped out of his train of thought as he saw…

A hedgehog?

A blue one, at that, atop of the building, with pristine white gloves, red sneakers, emerald eyes…

That were staring right back at him.

Oh, fuck me.

He didn’t really care that some freak of nature was staring at him, n-

In a flash of blue… it was gone?

As if he wasn’t… even there…

“I swear to god, I’m going crazy, aren’t I…” Sora murmured, a tight grin on his face, lip scared on the right, slapping his hands to his head, then sighed. 

Good god, Ri-Ri and Den were right, he needed meds…

-_-

Someone from Fusion had arrived.

Shadow groaned, facepalming quietly, eyeing the newcomer out of the corner of his eye. Hidden from sight, he was standing in the gutters of the sewer system, out of the stranger’s eyesight…

And Sonic’s too.

At least he could rest easy about one of his allies, but Silver… he hadn’t seen anything related to the literally futuristic member.

It was concerning, but at least he knew where one of them were-

And he’s gone. Lovely.

Time to hunt him down…

Waiting for the boy to leave, he pushed open the grate, managing to squeeze his way out. Rogue had taught him techniques before.

Time to find Sonic… and warn him.

-_-

“All right… what do I do?” Sonic wondered, pacing back and forth on a building Yuya had told him about- apparently, his “duel school” for the card game Duel Monsters. Weird, but different worlds work in different ways, he suppose.

This kid was obviously not from around here, and judging by the way he carried himself, and his expression…

He didn’t seem normal. He was… not broken, but…

A little like him. Used to war. Fighting in one. And out for something.

And even though Sonic craved the adrenaline fighting gave him, he knew this was wrong. A kid around Tails’s age shouldn’t be like this. Either he was defending his home…

Or his home was the-

“Sonic.”

Snapping out of his train of thought, he snuck a glance to the right, noting who arrived. “Shadow. Heh, you found me…” he giggled a bit, trying to ease the tension.

“You saw him, didn’t you?” Shadow asked, his ally moving to sit down next to him. “The blue haired boy with the candy hair tie.”

“Yeah. Where did he come from?”

“Fusion.”

Sonic fully looked at him now, not doing a good job hiding his confusion. “Isn’t that a summoning mechanic? In this… card game?”

“It’s also a name for a dimension that’s home to a child soldier factory,” Shadow hissed, making Sonic flinch, then freeze as the words sank in.

“… I knew it…” Sonic growled, hands balled into fists. “There was something off about the whole… wait… how did you know about this?” He demanded, arms crossed as an eyebrow was raised. “Where he was from, and what it is. There’s no way you could’ve found out by going there…”

“And you’re right,” Shadow acknowledged, tracing circles onto the cold concrete. “I met some refugees from a dimension they invaded.”

“They invade other dimensions, huh…” Sonic wondered, tapping a finger on his chin. “Lemme guess- they use duel monsters?”

“How did you know?” Shadow asked, turning to face the other hedgehog.

“Because I’m living with this kid who wants to be a pro duelist- he saved me from drowning,” he explained, pointing down. “His name’s Yuya.”

“Yuya…” Shadow froze, then sighed. “Sonic, there’s this kid… I saw photos of Yuya, and this boy named Yuto? They… look like brothers.”

“... what do you mean?” Sonic questioned, pulling his knees to his chest.

“I mean they have similar looks, to the point you’d think they’re related, but Yuto swears he only has a sister and a younger brother, so I doubt that’s the case.” Shadow replied, then tensed a bit as he continued. “And that’s not all. This girl, Zuzu Boyle, I believe she’s in danger…”

“Wha- DANGER?!” Sonic shouted, jumping up with a start, panic clutching at his chest. “What do you mean?!”

“A girl, with her face, named Lulu- she was taken by Fusion soldiers.” Shadow explained. “So… we need to keep an eye out for her…”

“... Yuya’s gonna lose it…” he muttered, looking around-

… wait… oh no…

“FUCK! The Fusion kid’s here!” Sonic hissed, pointing to the front door where the student stood, obviously considering entering.

“... Sonic-” Shadow started, but Sonic was already gone.

Grabbing the kid, the hedgehog pressed him against the wall with a bang, hands on his jacket.

“Well hello~!” Sonic started, taking in the stranger’s bewildered face with a cocky grin, barely containing his rage. No way in hell was he letting this kid hurt his new friend.

“Looking for someone?”

Chapter Text

Sonic was never one for patience. This was something Shadow was painfully aware of, even now.

And when he felt threatened, or worried about his friends (which happened more often than before,) he’d go into fight-no-flight mode.

Not fight or flight mode, fight no flight mode. Which basically meant Sonic was out for blood…

And was probably about to kill the kid-

“If you think I’ll let you hurt the kid, I swear to Gaia-“ Sonic growled, smiling menacingly as his grip tightened, the small choking sounds barely registering to the hedgehog. If one were to look closer, they would notice how some of his quills seemed to become… darker? 

And his aura…

“SONIC CALM DOWN!” Shadow roared, pulling his ally off of the kid, letting the latter fall to the ground, massaging his bruised neck. “You can’t kill the kid- we need answers!”

The strangeness within the blue blur dissipated, leaving a slightly confused, yet bitter hedgehog. “I know, it’s just…” he trailed off, eyebrows furrowing. “He’s running.”

Shadow didn’t turn around, not finding it to be worth it. “Is he now…” he murmured, then grinned. “These kids are stupid. Someone ought to teach him a lesson.”

“Totally,” Sonic smirked, hopping up and stretching, relishing in the little creaks and pops. “Wanna grab him for me? I should get Yuya at least, I don’t want him out of my sight.”

“Sounds like a good idea, that one has a target on his back,” Shadow nodded, pulling out a familiar gemstone. “Meet me at the park nearby.”

“CHAOS CONTROL!” He shouted, and in a flash of light, the older hedgehog was gone.

“Well…” Sonic looked at the door, then dashed over to one of the windows, where he saw Yuya staring at himself in the bathroom mirror…

And he was gripping his arms so tight, that they started to bleed, the nails piercing his flesh.

“… Yuya?” Sonic whispered, pushing the window open with one hand, startling his new friend.

“S-Sonic! Hey…!” He chuckled nervously, trying to hide the wounds frantically, rinsing the sore spots with water. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, but…” Sonic wanted to bring up what he just saw, but desperation was clear in Yuya’s eyes, a type that was pleading for him to not bring up what he just saw.

So he didn’t.

“You’re in danger, and I need you to come with me now… please.”

-_-

Sora wasn’t sure what that… creature… was.

It looked like a hedgehog, but hedgehogs weren’t that fast…

And weren’t that dangerous.

It was like seeing Ri-Ri at his limit, which was something very hard to achieve.

But either way, this mission wasn’t worth it. To hell with what the Professor would do, he didn’t sign up to get mauled by that anthropomorphic nightmare!

Breath heaving, chest thumping, he ran, praying his legs could carry him fast enough as he dashed past pedestrians and cars, ignoring those squeaks and shouts of surprise and the blare of the horns.

… in a way, it felt like how it was when he was younger, with how he would run, screaming comedically from Jay, Jess, Sy and Ri-Ri, who wanted their cards and snacks back, with Den, Attie, and Suke chasing after the duo for stealing their sodas again, and Z, Ce-Ce, Ai, and Lexie chasing all of them for being too loud during their study session… again…

…

I miss that…

Sora didn’t notice his body slowing down, then him stopping in a dilapidated alleyway, but even if he did, he wouldn’t have cared.

Ce-Ce… if you didn’t die…

Would we still be like th-

“Found you.”

Sora froze, a crucial error that allowed yet another nuisance to grab his arms, pinning them to his back. Unlike the one who attacked him before, he had black quills with red stripes, strange jewelry, and sharper eyes. “Now then…

You’re in a lot of trouble, bud.”

-_-

Yuya couldn’t believe what Sonic told him.

“A… a war?” Yuya whispered, slowly sinking to the floor. “And… different dimensions? I-I mean, you’re from one too, but some like mine… and that messed up…”

“Yeah, I know,” Sonic sighed, then looked outside anxiously, as if he was trying to get out. “But we need to go. Shadow might need my help, and I don’t want to leave you alone.”

“… right, but… how will I catch up with you?” Yuya asked, pushing himself up slowly.

“You won’t need to!” Sonic smirked, swiping Yuya off his feet, grabbing him bridal style (don’t make this weird I’m begging you guys they’re not interested in each other-) and dashed out the window, rushing to god-knows-where.

Yuya didn’t really see it happening until he felt the wind press against his skin and mess with anything loose on his body, threatening to rip him away from Sonic.

But god, the rush was amazing!

It felt like he could push through anything, like limits were nonexistent-

“We’re here!” Sonic smiled, putting Yuya down as they skidded to a stop. At first, everything still felt off, but soon, it all cleared.

He was at the park, and…

Another hedgehog was sitting on a kid?!

-_-

“I knew they would be here…”

Silver smiled softly, watching from a tree overlooking the park, seeing Sonic and Shadow talking.

“You only got one hour. Bring your friends back so we can talk about this. And try to leave any civilians out of this.”

Declan’s words rang in his ears, the tone calm yet with twinges of nerves.

“Well…” he eyes the human Sonic brought, then sighed.

“The last part is probably not gonna happen…”

Chapter Text

“Shadow, get off the sweets add- did you shove an apple in his mouth?!” 

Sonic knew Shadow was… how did he put it… extreme at times.

But he didn't expect for the Hot Topic knockoff to be sitting atop of the Fusionist, or to use fruit as a makeshift gag.

“Sonic, he keeps trying to run away and scream.” Shadow huffed, nodding to Yuya in a brisk greeting, the latter meekly nodding as he stared at the kid in disbelief. “I had to keep him under lock and key.”

“U-Uh yeah, about that…” Yuya started, eyeing Shadow as he rocked on his heels. “What’re you gonna do about him? Take the kid to the XYZians Sonic said you met?”

“That was the plan. Yuya, correct?” he nodded. “My name is Shadow. Do you have any other ideas for this one?”

“... I know someone…” the tomato head started, holding still for a moment. “Someone with a lot of power. And who might believe us. But…” He sighed, crossing his arms. “I don’t wanna talk to him. Not anymore. But I can get you in contact with him.”

Shadow and Sonic shared a look, then the latter turned to Yuya again. “What do you mean? Who are you talking about?”

“... His name is Declan. Declan Akaba.” Yuya explained, and Shadow’s eyes darkened.

“Akaba? Kid, the guy waging the war, his name’s Leo Akaba. He’s Declan’s father! We can’t trust him!” Shadow explained, not caring for how Yuya’s face turned pale, or how he started shaking.

“... Leo… Leo is behind this…?” He whispered, a hand crawling to his mouth. “That…” he stopped shaking suddenly, his eyebrows furrowed. “... Makes too much sense… How long has the school been operating?”

“From what I’ve heard, he became the Professor about 6 years ago,” Shadow replied, tapping his chin. “But-”

“That’s when he went missing here,” Yuya interrupted, pacing between Shadow and Sonic now. “And then later Declan became so depressed…” he slowed to a stop, eyes wide with not fear- but realization. “... Declan knew about the war… he’s known for years…”

“Wait-” Sonic barged in, looking confused. “How are you sure Yuya?”

“... I've known him since we were kids…” Yuya explained, taking a deep breath before continuing. “He… he wasn’t really… affected, when Leo left… but then, 3 and a half years ago… he went missing for a few hours, and was found in the basement of his mother’s company… And then… he was always a serious guy, but now… he’s even more work driven…” he kept pacing, now wringing his hands. “And… oh god, that fight…”

“What fight?” Shadow inquired, hand on his hip, still sitting on a now knocked out Mr Sweets.

“Personal stuff!” Yuya snapped, then regained his composure. “Either way, he probably knows something. And he has a good security system, maybe he has a lead on your friend… Silver?”

Shadow took a glance at Sonic, knowing they were thinking the same thing. The kid has a point.

“I’m right here, ya know.”

Everyone jumped, turning around to see…

“SILVER!” Sonic shouted, giving his friend a fist bump. “Man, is it good to see you! You won’t believe what-”

“I know,” Silver cut him off, a tired smile on his face. “I landed in his office, and he came clean. He thought I was a lab rat from Leo's little dungeon.”

“... So Declan is aware…” Shadow groaned, trying to not look at Yuya, who was now very interested in his pendant, looking away from the others. “Well, what do you think about him?”

“He’s… very serious,” Silver admitted, smiling sheepishly. “And probably doesn’t like me too much- I nearly destroyed his office out of nerves- he was not happy with me!” rubbing the back of his head, he added, “But he seems to genuinely hate his old man for what he’s doing- doesn’t call the Professor anything but by his first name.”

“That doesn’t mean anything Silver.”

“Well…” Silver continued, looking a bit miffed now. “He also has been trying to figure out how to go to other dimensions, since the only way before was destroyed by Leo.”

“Was it in the lower floors of Leo Corporation?” Yuya spoke up, turning around, with goggles now on his ruby eyes, fists balled and now holding… 

… where did he get a bat?

“... How did-” Silver started, but was cut off.

“We’re going there. Now .”

-_-

… Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

“Chill out Yuto, the emo hedgehog’s gonna be fiiiiiiiine,” Quattro drawled, laying down on the sorry excuse of a couch they found earlier. Of course, the impulsive one somehow easily read his emotions, despite barely controlling his. “He’s probably just looking for his friends.”

“Maybe he is, but he doesn’t know this city!” Yuto snapped, throwing his duel disk at Quattro, who caught it with ease. “We finally have an ally, who, okay, might not know how to duel, but has actually fought before! Plus, how’s he gonna hide when he looks like a freaking duel spirit?!” By the end of his little rant, he was pacing, each stomp reverberating against the concrete underneath their feet.

“Oh for the love of- CHILL OUT!” Shay roared, then sighed as Yuto froze in place, fists balled and glaring at the floor. “You know better than to freak out! We need to keep a clear head, especially in a new dimension!”

“You’re not really helping Shay-” Quattro started, but the others didn’t really want his input at that moment.

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH THOMAS!!” both of the other XYZians shouted, making the marooned hair boy wince. 

“... Okaaaay, it’s the government name now…” he muttered, crossing his arms in annoyance as he went back to his deck, pouting evident. “Welp, I’m checked out then, suckers.”

“Good. You’re doing us a favor then,” Shay scoffed, ignoring his friend’s squawk of surprise, or shout of “HURTFUL!” Turning back to Yuto, he put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Yute, listen to me. Shadow will be fine. He seems to have a good head on his shoulder, unlike someone else in this room-”

“THAT’S IT!” Quattro roared, grabbing scissors and running at Shay full speed. “I’M GONNA MAKE YOU BALD YOU LITTLE-”

As the duo ran around the inside of the warehouse, shouting god-knew-what at each other, Yuto sighed, going to sit down atop of one of the many crates.

Well, it’s not like he’s gonna have to prevent a murder or something…

-_-

I think I have to prevent a murder.

Shadow quietly trailed behind a nervous Silver and Sonic, who were frantically whispering to each other, while Yuya carried the unconscious child, grumbling quietly under his breath. He had grabbed 3 capes and hoodies from… somewhere , and had forced them to put it on. 

One thing was abundantly clear- he had no patience for Declan at the moment.

“... So…” Sonic spoke up, trying to lighten the mood. “Where are we going again?”

“Leo Corporation,” Yuya replied, not even bothering to turn around. “That’s the only place that jerk’s gonna be at…”

“... You’re really mad, huh?” Silver chuckled nervously, trying to ease the tension.

But Yuya didn’t acknowledge it.

This kid… Shadow thought, but was distracted by the tower.

It was long and elegant, reminding him of a needle, sharp and poised. He wanted to admire it, and it was clear Sonic and Silver were intrigued as well, but Yuya didn’t falter. Instead, he kept walking, all the way into the lobby and up to the receptionist desk.

“Do you have an appointment?” The lady manning the desk asked, not looking up from her computer, fingers clacking on the keyboard, clearly thinking this wasn’t worth her time. The nerve

“Call Roland. Let him know I’m going to see Declan Akaba, and if anyone is to stop me…” Yuya held the bat up, face unreadable, especially with the goggles on. “Everyone in this dimension will know Leo Akaba is trying to kill us all.”

The typing stopped. Slowly, the woman looked up, fear clear in her now pale face. “I-I’m sorry-?”

“Call. Roland. Now. Like I said earlier, let him know Yuya Sakaki’s paying his old ‘friend’ a visit concerning the dimensional war,” he hissed, then turned to the elevator, beckoning for the hedgehogs to follow.

“Damn…” Sonic whispered to Shadow, who caught up with the others silently. “Yuya’s real pissed right now. He isn’t the type of kid to get angry easily.”

“... Yeah, well…” Shadow sighed, standing still for a moment.

“Secrets can do that to people.”

-_-

“S-Sir??”

Declan sighed, facing his right hand while his fingers continued to type on his computer, sitting in his fixed office. “What is it, Roland?”

“You have a meeting now…” He stammered, hands shaking as he fumbled to put his phone away.

Declan was slightly confused at that. He was sure today’s schedule was clear. “With who?”

BANG!

Just then, the doors flung open with a bang, making them both jump and face the new arrival…

“ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!” Yuya Sakaki himself roared, holding…

A bat in one hand…

And a child on his back… hogtied and gagged with an apple of all things.

“... Is this a hostage negotiation?” Declan inquired, cocking his head to the side. “Because I do not know this indi-”

“He’s from Fusion.” Yuya snapped, throwing the kid off his back with no grace whatsoever. “Where your father is MAKING CHILD SOLDIERS!!!”

… Okay. I’m fucked.

“Yuya, how did you find out about that?” he asked, trying not to show the clear panic going on inside his head.

“I found out from a bunch of talking animals!” he shouted, pushing Roland out of the way with one hand as said animals crowded around the doorframe, Silver being one of them. “NOT FROM SOMEONE WHO’S SO COCKY HE THINGS HE CAN DO EVERYTHING ON HIS OWN!!” He slammed the bat down on the desk, denting it badly.

Well, looks like I have to get a new one… again.

“Yuya, I can explain,” he tried, but his ex friend… did not care.

“TELL THAT TO MY DEAD BODY, YOU BASTARD!!!” Yuya screamed, grabbing his scarf and pulling him to his face. “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL THE AUTHORITIES?! A PRO DUELIST?! ME?! ”

“Oooo drama~!” SIlver snarked, eating popcorn with his other friends, making Declan glare at them.

For a moment, Yuya just held Declan, his breath heavy and sharp. The air was thick with unsolved tension, as if daring someone to snap. Eventually though…

“We’re dueling. You and me, right now,” He growled, throwing Declan back into his seat.

“And I’m not playing anymore.”

Chapter Text

Silver wasn’t sure of what to make of the situation.

Yuya Sakaki seemed to be a sweet kid, from what he heard in news reports and Declan’s debrief (which, looking back, seemed as if the human preferred to pretend his old friend was just a random stranger,) but right now?

He was more pissed than Knuckles and Omega combined on a regular basis. And that? That was something all right.

Instead of having the duel in his office, they moved to a nearby duel field Leo Corp owned, and truth be told, the Mobians were all very intrigued. Not really by the situation (though the drama was important to them,) but by the fact they were about to see a duel for the first time in person.

“So…” Shadow started, looking at Silver pointedly. “What’s their record like?”

“Duel records?” Silver asked, Shadow confirming with a brisk nod. “Well, Declan’s a pro duelist and has a 95% win rate. Yuya… only has a 65% win rate.”

That was enough to make Shadow stop dead in his tracks. “ 65? Versus 95?! That’s a thirty percent difference!!”

“... Are you sure? ” Sonic questioned, slowing down slightly. “I mean, didn’t Yuya discover this new thing or whatever?”

“What’re you talking about?” Shadow interjected, looking confused.

“Dunno, this new summoning move or whatever, Pendulum… I think?” Sonic shrugged. “Either way, I doubt the numbers can be right- he seems to know what he’s doing.”

“Have you even seen him duel?” Silver replied, and Sonic giggled nervously.

“Well, no , but-”

“Hurry up!” Yuya shouted from ahead, standing in the entrance of the bleachers, Declan already waiting on the duel field. “You guys go stand up there, okay?” He pointed to a box spot up ahead, looking like an announcer's box. “Do you guys know how to set up…” he paused, then turned to Declan. “OI! DO YOU WANNA DO AN ACTION DUEL???”

“I DON’T CARE!” Declan scoffed, pulling out a megaphone from his pocket (oh chaos it’s like Amy’s hammer-) “JUST HURRY UP!!”

“... Action Duel it is.” Yuya decided. Turning back to the hedgehogs, he continued, “Hey Shadow, can you teleport us up there?”

“Sure,” Shadow nodded, pulling out the emerald. “CHAOS CONTROL!!”

With a flash of light, they were inside the box, which was exactly what the hedgehogs expected, with a fancy computer in the middle of the desk/ledge. “Okay,” Yuya started, turning on the computer quickly. “Y’all can pick the action field, but I’m going back down before Declan decides to throw his duel disk at my head.”

“W-Why would he do that?” Silver stuttered, the trio sharing a look.

“In case it hasn’t dawned on you, oh wizened beings, we don’t get along too well,” Yuya huffed, running out of the box and sprinting to the duel field, only taking him a minute. “ALL RIGHT GUYS, PICK THE FIELD SPELL!!” He yelled, turning around again.

“... WHICH ONE???” Sonic roared from the intercom, and the humans shared a look. 

“ANY OF THEM!!” Yuya shot back, arms crossed and tapping his foot.

“Awwwww, he’s like you~” Shadow teased, ignoring the other hedgehog’s glare.

“Oh shut up,” He sighed, then looked at the multitudes of options. “Uh… Castle of Chaos, Sweets Island…”

“What about that one?” Silver pointed to one on the screen, reading the name aloud. “Throne of Lies?”

“Sure, I mean, what can go wrong?” Shadow shrugged as Sonic nodded.

“Yeah, can’t be that bad!” Sonic agreed, clicking on the spell card.

Suddenly, they all heard a voice from the system, making the hedgehogs jump. “Augmented Reality Combat System- Energized!” With a whir of gears and machinery, the bland field changed into one that resembled a throne room- marble pillars lining the walls, with snakes twisting around it, cold steel floors, and steps leading up to an ornate throne, dark grey like the rest of the area, words carved into it. Declan stood in front of the chair as Yuya was right in front of the steps, examining the area with distaste.

“Looks like something your old man would like…” He scoffed, eyeing the throne, eyes flickering with… something.

“... Let’s just duel Yuya.” Declan hissed, turning on his duel disk.

“All right,” agreed, then winked at the hedgehogs as he started the chant, his own disk coming to life. “Duelists locked into battle!” 

“...” Declan stared, slightly baffled, but continued where his opponent left off. “Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters.”

"They storm through this field!” Yuya added, drawing his cards with a flourish.

Declan smirked, drawing his own cards as he replied, “"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling! Action-"

“-DUEL!!” Both of them shouting, a bubble of cards appearing, then scattering them across the field.

“I hope you’re ready to realize you were never truly worth anything, Yuya,” Declan sniped, making the other human bristle with rage.

“ I’ve about had it with your lies… ” He whispered, then raised his voice as he held up 2 cards in his hand. “I’m taking charge of this duel from the very start! I set the pendulum scale with scale 2 drumerilla and scale 5 barracuda! Swing far pendulum! Carve the arc of victory! I pendulum summon performapal corn and performapal secondonkey!!”

“... Huh. He really wasn’t kidding when he said they resolve everything with dueling,” Sonic commented as the trio watched from the safety of the announcer’s box.

“Indeed. But I’ve never heard of ‘pendulum summoning’ before… it seems the xyzians aren’t as experienced in dueling as they appeared,” Shadow mumbled, eyes fixated on Yuya’s monsters.

“Now, since secondonkey was summoned to the field, I’d normally be able to send a performapal to the graveyard. But since I have two cards in my pendulum scales, I get to add it to my hand instead! And the effect of corn also triggers! I can switch her and donkey to defense to add an odd-eyes monster to my hand too! So I’ll add Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, and Performapal Extra Slinger! And now, I'll end my turn!” Yuya announces, while also placing a card face down, then beckoning to Declan. “Your move, try to keep this entertaining, will ya?”

“Big talk for someone who can hardly duel,” Declan replied stoically, drawing a card. 

“OI!” Sonic turned on the microphone from the box before the others could stop him, absolutely seething. “He had a great turn, you jerk!!”

“Hardly,” Declan shot back, “His defense is pathetic and his offense, nonexistent. And despite how infuriating he is, he is innocent. I see no point in going all out and potentially hurting a child for largely no reason.”

“... Aren’t you only 16? And isn’t he 14?” Shadow asked, but was ignored by the grey haired teenager.

“Y-you’re just gonna go easy on him?! Talk about insulting…” Silver stuttered, giving Sonic a nervous look as the latter bore holes into the CEO.

“Actually, yes. That is exactly what I plan to do.” Declan confirmed, turning his attention to the duel once again.

“... You never change, you man baby…” Yuya gritted his teeth, mumbling under his breath, but no one heard him.

“I activate the effect of D/D Swirl Slime in my hand. By sending it and D/D/D Supersight King Zero Maxwell from my hand to the graveyard, I’m allowed to call forth a demon of a different dimension! I fusion summon! Come forth, D/D/D Flame King Genghis!” He shouted, the monster appearing making Shadow eye it with disgust.

“Fusion?!” He snapped, drawing his fellow hedgehog’s attention. “So he’s the son of the fusionists’ ruler, he uses fusion summoning himself, the little-”

“H-Hold on Shadow!!” Silver stumbled, trying to regain control of the situation. “h-he uses other stuff too! He mentioned something about exes, synchro something…”

“... I don’t know if I really like the guy…” Sonic muttered, his gloved nails digging into his arms, eyes never leaving the field.

“One fusion summon for one pendulum! Can’t say you’re playing much better than me over there!” Yuya jeered, a cocky smirk on his face.

“Number one, not trying. Number two, they’re hardly equivalent. It all depends on what you do with the monsters you bring out, not how many you can call forth. Speaking of, since I control a D/D monster, I’m allowed to special summon D/D Gryphon from my hand! And because I special summoned a D/D monster, Genghis allows me to summon another back from the graveyard, so return to me, D/D/D Supersight King Zero Maxwell!” Declan called, the field now having 3 monsters, each of them a powerhouse looming over Yuya’s.

“Three monsters on the field; two in attack with more points than either of Yuya’s monsters. I’m afraid Declan is clearly the superior-” Shadow started-

“Yuya’s gonna win,” Sonic interrupted, smiling a little bit- not proud or stuck, but definitive, clearly believing in his new friend.

“What?” Shadow asked, looking at his comrade, surprise clear on his usual poker face.

“He'll beat this guy in no time. I’m sure of it. Especially since Declan’s being cocky and thinking Yuya ain’t worth a dime.” Sonic explained.

Back to the duel, Declan shouted at Yuya, “Can you even stop such a measly attack as this? Maxwell, go forth! Using its effect, I can switch the defense points of one of your monsters to zero, and inflict piercing battle damage!”

“Not if I have anything to say about it! I activate my trap card command performance! This card lets me switch all of your monsters to defense position until the end of my next turn.” Yuya shot back, activating the card with a swipe of his finger.

“Congratulations. You survived one pathetic attack. But don’t get cocky now –  I could have defeated you this turn if I truly wanted to.” Declan scoffed, pushing Sonic over the edge.

“WHY YOU LITTLE-” Sonic screamed into the mic, making everyone wince at the screeching. “I DON’T EVEN BELIEVE YOU’RE HALF AS STRONG AS YOU SAY YOU ARE, MR KNOW IT ALL!!!”

“Then you would be sorely mistaken. You know, if I were truly worried about whether or not I’d win this duel, I would be far more cautious, but to be truthful I see no harm in revealing how I would have won. It’s simple, really. I know that what you have on your field and in your hand would have done nothing to prevent my attack. The only thing worth worrying about was your face down.” Declan replied, his voice clear and filled with finality. Showing his hand, he continued, "In my hand is the card D/D Othros. Since I didn’t normal summon this turn, nor use the secondary effect of my swirl slime, I could easily have used one of those to summon it to the field. And since it is a level four tuner, I could have tuned it with my other level four D/D Gryphon to make level eight D/D/D Cursed King Siegfried, who has 2800 attack – more than enough to take out your Life Points due to Maxwell’s piercing ability, and Genghis being able to take out corn so that Siegfried could attack directly – and who also has a special quick effect ability to negate any spell or trap on the field, including your command performance. Still believe you have the strength to defeat me?” He questioned Yuya, who didn’t even look angry anymore- more like he was expecting Declan to do that.

“I know I do! I normal summon my performapal extra slinger! With its effect, by banishing a monster from my extra deck, I get to destroy a card in my pendulum scale, and deal you 300 damage for it!” He snapped with a smirk.

“he… has monsters in his extra deck? Strange; he’s never summoned them, even when we used to duel in the past. Probably doesn’t know how, only using them as fodder for effects such as this…” Declan thought, bracing himself as his Life Points went down to 3700.

“Now, with performapal barracuda out of the way, I put performapal odd eyes valet in my pendulum zone! I’m now allowed to special summon monsters levels 3 through 7, all at the same time! So turn up the heat, odd eyes pendulum dragon!!” Yuya revealed, his dragon hitting the field with a roar, cracks forming around his feet from the landing.

“Haha, yes! He’s already got his boss monster out!” Sonic cheered, pumping his hands in the air as Shadow gaped.

“ That’s his boss monster???” He questioned, one eyebrow arching upwards. “It’s hardly on par with the others, and we still have yet to see Declan’s true ace…”

“But the dude’s mad underestimating him. I think if Yuya can hit him fast enough, he’ll be able to beat him!” Silver told his friends with an excited grin.

“We’ll see. But he can’t depend on that forever. Winning one duel with it doesn’t-” Shadow started, making Silver and Sonic share a look of annoyance.

“Lighten up, Gramps!” Sonic snarked, ignoring the death glare Shadow shot at him.

“Odd eyes, attack!! Spiral flame strike!” Yuya commanded, his dragon obeying without complaint.

“But it’s weaker!?” Silver freaked, jumping ever so slightly.

“And since it’s an odd eyes monster battling, drumerilla gives him a 600 point power up! Take out Maxwell!!” Yuya added, the monster destroyed as the turn ended.

“Oh, what do you know. Some semblance of strategy. I’d applaud you were it not for the sheer amount of card advantage I’m holding. In any case, I told you precisely what I could do last time. Let’s see if you’re prepared. I normal summon my D/D othros! D/D othros tunes level 4 D/D Gryphon! I synchro summon! Come forth, level 8 D/D/D Cursed King Siegfried!!” Declan summoned his synchro monster, but Yuya wasn’t too worried.

“He said that thing could negate spells and traps… good thing I’ve got pendulum abilities!” Yuya thought as Declan smirked.

“Siegfried, take out his dragon.” He told his monster, but Yuya spoke up.

“I don’t think so! I use the effect of my perfo-” He started, only to be cut off.

“Siegfried negates your spell card, dumbass.”

“... IT’S A GODDAMN PENDULUM!?”

“It’s in the spell and trap zone, meaning it’s considered a spell card, genius. Maybe try learning what your cards do before you duel with them next time.”

“It seems that’s the end for odd eyes,” Shadow commented as Yuya gawked at his opponent, confusion replacing his anger for a moment.

“Don’t be so sure! This is an action duel after all! Yuya?” Sonic called, snapping his friend out of his stupor.

“R-Right!” He shot back, running to an action card nearby, wedged underneath the purple carpet of the stairs. “I activate evasion, to dodge your attack!”

“A coward’s way out.” Declan sniped, pushing Yuya past the point of no return.

“... You son of a…” He started, then stopped, taking a deep breath as he smirked, usual joy now replaced with cruelty. “Well, I figured you’d love this kinda stuff, considering who invented it! Like father like son, right?”

Silence. Pure, tense silence. Declan stared, mouth slightly agape as his eyes had a hint of… betrayal? Shock?

“That… might’ve been a little too far…” Sonic whispered, backing away, grin falling off as Shadow and Silver nodded.

“Make your move, Sakaki Yuya. It will be your last.” Declan growled, clutching his cards so tightly, they started to crumple.

“You got that right! Because I’m gonna win this duel! And I drew just the card to do it!” Yuya grinned, not caring for his opponent’s threat.

“Depending on topdecks like amateur, I see. Though, what else could I expect from someone like you? Yusho certainly depended on luck rather than skill as well, and even then you haven’t managed to become half the duelist he was. It’s really no wonder he left you!” Declan shouted, his hair and glasses hiding his eyes, but by the way his voice cracked, it was clear he was trying not to cry.

“Oh Chaos and Gaia above…” Shadow murmured as Sonic flinched, Silver staring quietly with wide eyes.

“... TAKE. THAT. BACK!!!” Yuya screamed, voice raw with emotion as tears formed in his eyes, glaring at his former friend.

“Oh, I’m sorry; is this worse than you comparing me to a genocidal tyrant?” Declan replied sarcastically, arms crossed.

“... My lord-” Silver whispered, but was cut off by Shadow.

“He unfortunately has a point. Neither of them are in the right, assuming Declan is innocent.” he admitted.

“Yeah, Yuya went totally off the rails! What the heck was that?!” Silver added, pointing at the younger teenager.

“I had no idea he could get so angry… ” Sonic said, his voice filled with confusion and fear, unlike his usual self.

"I normal summon my PERFORMAPAL CHANGERAFFE! When it’s on the field, I get to choose one monster and negate its effects, and prevent it from attacking! Screw your Siegfried!” Yuya revealed, flipping it off with both hands, cards shoved in his mouth (think Yuri vs Sora first time in the manga.)

“Hey, lay off!” Silver shouted, earning a look of annoyance from Sonic.

“That was a good move though!!” Sonic complained.

“It was, but he’s really going overboard with this attitude!" 

“... I agree,” Shadow nodded, drawing attention to himself. “Declan does seem to be rather distressed ever since Yuya said he was like his father-”

“OBVIOUSLY!!” Silver snarked. “Seriously, this guy has no tact!!”

“Odd eyes, kill that stupid genghis!” Yuya shouted, ending the turn with the final attack

“... But…” Sonic interrupted, turning back to the duel field. “It looks like Declan’s pushed Yuya away in the past, and Yuya’s kindness turned to rage, because believe me, he doesn’t seem like the type to snap easily…”

“... Maybe…” Silver agreed, as Shadow nodded quietly, all of them now looking to see what would happen next.

“And with that, I’m afraid it’s time for this duel to come to an end,” Declan sighed.

“TRY ME, YOU BASTARD!!!”

“Gladly. Yuya, throughout this duel and throughout your entire life, one thing has been very clear. One thing that you somehow fail to notice at every given opportunity, so allow me to spell it out for you. You. Are not. Special. And I’ll prove it by setting the pendulum scale with my D/D Ark and D/D/D Zero Demise King Zero Machinex!!!” Declan revealed, shocking absolutely everyone.

“... Did he SERIOUSLY steal Yuya’s cards?!” Sonic gawked.

“Why would Yuya have had pendulum cards for Declan’s type of deck?” Shadow asked.

“He doesn’t ! But Yuya’s the one who made the summoning method, and I don’t think Declan made those with his permission…” Sonic grumbled, crossing his arms.

“... do you need permission for that?” Silver aksed.

“YES?!”

“...You…” Yuya growled, glaring at him. “ FUCKING LIAR! You think that this makes me look any worse?! Those don’t belong to you, you cheater! I sure as hell didn’t say you could make those!”

“Oh, and it wasn’t cheating when your cards changed into pendulums – a never-before-seen mechanic – thus altering their abilities mid-duel against the Sledgehammer, and served as the only reason you ever could have won that duel?” Declan questioned.

“... WHY DON’T YOU DISCOVER A SUMMONING METHOD AND THEN TELL ME THAT YOU PIECE OF-” Yuya screamed, but was cut off.

“No, it really wasn’t. If anything, it was worse. But, I digress. With my two monsters, I pendulum summon!” He raised his hand…

…

And nothing happened.

“... Where’re the mons?” Sonic asked.

“They’re… not working…” Shadow realized.

“... Well, look at this. You failed. You can’t even go behind people’s backs right!” Yuya smirked, confidence boosted.

“And you still fail to understand the concept of ‘skill’ and ‘backups.’ I use the pendulum effect of my D/D Ark, allowing me to destroy it as well as one other card on the field, so say goodbye to your dragon!” Declan snapped his fingers, the dragon dissipating in a form of yellow particles.

“Odd eyes!! What, too scared to face it head on?!” Yuya taunted angrily.

“I see no reason to engage in unnecessary conflict. Which is exactly why I plan on finishing you right here, right now! I activate the effect of my other pendulum scale, allowing me to add a Dark Contract card from my deck to my hand, so I’ll add Dark Contract with the Gate! Once per turn, this card lets me add any D/D monster to my hand, so now I’ll call forth D/D Savant Copernicus!”

“Well, Yuya finally got Declan to actually duel,” Shadow noted. “Not sure if it was a good idea though.”

“…Yeah. And he’ll beat him too.” Silver accepted.

“Wait, what?!” Sonic shouted in surprise. “No way-”

“He deserves it with how much of a jerk Yuya’s being!!” 

“It’s not like he’s innocent either!”

“Knock it off, both of you!” Shadow commanded, the others falling silent. “Both of them are in the wrong for what they’re telling each other, but Declan’s certainly stronger, if this is any indicator. He’s already done more this turn than Yuya has in the last few, and it seems he isn’t planning on slowing down anytime soon.”

Back in the duel, Declan announced, “I normal summon copernicus and activate its effect to send D/D necro slime from my deck to the grave! Now, from my hand, I activate dark contract with the swamp king. By using Copernicus and banishing genghis from the grave, I get to fusion summon a D/D/D monster! Come forth, D/D/D Dragonbane King Beowulf!”

“Come on, Yuya. You can block this guy…” Sonic muttered quietly, gripping the ledge so tightly, it started to crack.

“Next, I activate the effect of D/D necro slime, banishing it and swirl slime to fuse them as well! Come forth, D/D/D Oracle King d’Arc!”

“Haha, yes!” Silver cheered.

“Looks like this is over…” Shadow mumbled.

“D’Arc, destroy Changeraffe!” Declan ordered, making Yuya’s Life Points go from 4000 to 1300. “And now, Beowulf, with piercing battle damage, finish this duel!” 

“BUT HE’S IN DEFENSE!!” Sonic sputtered.

“He’ll still deal damage, even though Yuya’s monster is in defense. This match is through,” Shadow sighed.

“HELL NO IT ISN’T!!” Yuya roared, running past Declan. “I ACTIVATE THE ACTION SPELL MIRACLE, saving my monster, and sparing me half the damage!” Now, he was closer to the throne, only a few feet separating the duo as Yuya’s Life Points went down to 300.

“You’re so pathetic.” Declan whispered angrily as Yuya snapped.

“AT LEAST I’M NOT STANDING AROUND WHILE INNOCENT PEOPLE DIE TO SOMETHING I COULD HAVE STOPPED!”

“Please. Have you run out of topdecks yet?”

“Nope. This is the last one I need. I summon performapal friendonkey; and when he’s summoned, I get to special another performapal back from the graveyard, so come on back performapal corn!” 

“Oh, wonderful. More defense. And I assume you’ll be adding another odd eyes card?” Declan snarked, not caring for Yuya’s smirk, no longer brave, but one of cruelty.

“Trust me, it’ll be something you’ve never seen before!” Yuya cackled, then drew a card from his deck. “I add performapal odd eyes dissolver to my hand! Now… it’s time to SWING INTO ACTION! I OVERLAY MY LEVEL THREE PERFORMAPAL CORN AND PERFORMAPAL FRIENDONKEY!”

“Overlay?!” Silver squawked.

“XYZ summon. I’d believed he didn’t have any, but it seems I thought wrong.” Shadow admitted as Sonic cocked his head to the side.

“He… never said he had any…”

“So, you learned one method. Fascinating,” Declan rolled his eyes.

“Now, it’s time for a pendulum summon! Come back to me odd eyes!!” Yuya summoned his ace, confusing Shadow.

“... But-”

“Pendulums go to the graveyard, he told me last night,” Sonic explained.

“And since a monster was summoned, antidote nurse gives it an extra 900 attack! And when he moves in to strike down your d'Arc, drumerilla’ll give it 600 more!!” Yuya revealed, pumping up his dragon.

“4000 ATTACK POINTS?!” Silver shouted. “WHERE DID HE GET THIS SKILL FROM?!”

“... Maybe he was going easy too…” Sonic thought aloud. “Maybe… he never actually tries in a duel…”

“That’d make sense- he knows the methods well but doesn’t seem to want to use them often,” Shadow agreed. “So his record is inaccurate too…”

“And since an odd eyes monster of mine is battling, I can special summon Dissolver from my hand!” As Yuya added a card, Declan’s Life Points dropped from 3700 to 1300.

“This is fascinating. Not a bad play at all…” Shadow admitted with a hint of a smile on his face.

“Now, dissolver, use your special ability!! With odd eyes dissolver and odd eyes pendulum dragon, I FUSION SUMMON!” He announced, slapping his hands together as if he was praying, making the hedgehogs gape.

“THE KID CAN FUSION SUMMON TOO!?” Silver screamed, pulling on his own quills. “HOW THE LITERAL HELL-”

“WHERE WERE THESE GUYS EARLIER?!” Sonic demanded.

“... Sweet chaos…” Was Shadow’s single comment.

“Fusion, xyz, pendulum. And too stupid to use any of them from the start.” Declan muttered.

“SAYS THE GUY WHO DIDN’T EVEN TRY HIS PENDULUMS AT THE START!” Yuya roared. “Come forth, performapal gattlinghoul! END THIS! For every card on the field, you get hit with 200 damage!!”

As the barrage of gunshots hit Declan, sending him flying, his Life Points finally hitting 0.

But as the CEO laid on the ground, he didn’t seem disappointed. He seemed enraged. “... Just remember… That I had the game from the start. Were it not for me going easy on you, and your desperate action spells, and ridiculous topdecking, you would have lost far sooner than I could have fallen. Get stronger, or stop fighting duels only luck can carry you through to the end of.”

“... hehehehehahahahHAHAHAHA-” Yuya laughed, not in a happy way, but in an angry, crazy way that sent shivers up everyone’s spine, even Shadow. “HA. HA. HA! All right, I admit, I’m not pro level, but I’m not nothing either! Unlike you, I don’t see people as worthless just because they aren’t as strong as you or Dad! You think you know everything, but you’re just a prideful fool. And honestly, stop pretending you care about me,” he snapped, leaving the duel field as it dissipated, head high and refusing to look at anyone. “You already proved you don’t, especially the last 3 years.”

For a moment, Declan looked like he wanted to shout, or call Yuya, to try anything -

But he didn’t. Instead, he pushed himself up, and left the other way.

“... We gotta go after them,” Shadow spoke up after a moment of tense silence, his voice tainted with hints of worry. “Neither of them are right about this, but they’re also gonna hurt themselves, with the way things are going.”

“... I don’t wanna admit it, but…” Sonic sighed. “You’re right. Yuya and Declan are just kids- sure they’re way older than us when we started getting involved in crazy shit, but still, they’re only teenagers, not adults.”

“But… that didn’t stop them from growing up too quickly,” Silver added, “Especially Declan, and Yuya too.”

“... I’ll go after Yuya,” Sonic decided. “I know him better, and I think I can handle him.”

“I’ll go to Declan then,” Shadow continued, opening the door of the announcer box. “Silver, can you go with Sonic?”

“Sure,” Silver nodded.

“Let’s hope they listen to us.”

-_-

If one were to pass Yuya Sakaki right now…

They would most certainly be concerned about him muttering under his breath, cracking his knuckles, and stomping with the force of a tank as he stormed to a nearby balcony in Leo Corp, of all places.

“Stupid knucklehead, thinks he knows everything…” he hisses as he paces the perimeter of the area, glaring at the floor. “WHY DOES HE ACT LIKE HE KNOWS EVERYTHING, I SWEAR TO GOD-“

“Uuuuuh… are you okay?” Sonic interrupted, stepping onto the platform with Silver.

“… Yeah, whatever,” Yuya grumbles after a moment of silence, walking to the railing and leaning over it, the wind teasing his hair and clothes. “Why’re you here?” He asked, not wanting to look at them. He knew they wanted answers. But right now?

Right now, he just felt… unsure. Was it okay? Was it not? He didn’t know, and didn’t want to care…

And yet he did. 

“... Do you… wanna talk about it?” Silver offered, moving to his left side as Sonic took his right.

“... He’s always been like this,” Yuya sighed, trying not to look at their faces. “Smart, quiet, and no people skills. I swear, if our families weren’t friends, he would have never bothered with me. I just…” he pulled out his pendant, making the gem swing. “I wish he wasn’t so prideful and just asked for help, and act like he knows everything-”

“Yuya…” Sonic spoke up, cutting his friend off. “Maybe… maybe he just needs someone to help him-”

“And that’s the thing!” he snapped, slamming his hand on the railing, still holding his necklace. “He doesn’t LISTEN! He doesn’t accept it or reach out, he thinks he can do everything himself-”

“Yuya, maybe he doesn’t think that,” Silver interrupted, silencing Yuya. “Maybe he thinks it’s his burden to bear, related to Leo and all, or that he shouldn’t involve others in a dangerous scheme. Sometimes, people looking out for others make mistakes, mistakes that hurt more, especially when they make it in the name of a good reason. No one has been there to help Declan besides whatever family he has left, and they’re in a bad headspace too. I’m just saying, maybe instead of getting angry at him, try to get him to see through your eyes, and while you’re at it, see through his too.”

“... You’re right…” Yuya admitted, but wasn’t done. “But… he’s rigid sometimes. He doesn’t look down on others- despite what he said earlier, he just…”

“Thinks he know more because of his experience?” Sonic finished with a knowing look.

“Yeah…” Yuya agreed with a nod, then took a deep breath, slapping his cheeks. “ALL RIGHT, I’M GONNA GO FIND HIM!!” he announced, turning on his heels and walking into the building, followed by an excited Sonic and Silver.

“WOOOOOO!” Silver cheered, following him at a slower speed, Sonic right next to the silver hedgehog.

“YOU CAN DO…” Sonic started, then slowed down. “Wait…

Where is he though?”

Chapter Text

It’s too much.

Everything is too much.

My brain hurts, my arms, legs, chest, heart, it all HURTS-

MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP-

PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEI’MSORRYI’MSORRYI’MSORRYFORGIVEMEFORGIVEMEFORGIVEMEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASESOMEONESOMEONEHEARMEI’MBEGGINGPLEASEYUYADON’TLEAVEMETOO

“-lan!? DECLAN! ARE YOU IN THERE!?”

With a heaving gasp, he stopped listening to his thoughts, looking up from the spot on the floor he was curled up in. His hair and clothes were a mess from his hands clawing at them, and his wrists…

…

He did it again. Dammit . 

Quickly covering them with the wristbands he bought a while ago and wiping his face, he sputtered out, “What do you want?! And who is this??”

“Shadow, remember?” The hedgehog replied, his typically cold voice having a hint of emotion in them- worry? Fear?

“… I’m fine,” Declan sighed, getting up and squeezing his wrists in an attempt to slow the bleeding. “Leave me alone, and go look after-“

“Sonic and Silver are already focused on him, but I doubt he’s hiding in a bathroom and refusing to accept-“ 

“I GET IT!!” Declan snapped, punching the door, wincing at the pain, but didn’t stop. “I KNOW HOW PATHETIC I AM!! I KNOW I STUPID I AM, FOR TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING BY MYSELF!! BUT I TRUSTED LEO, HE STARTS A WAR!! I TRUST MOTHER, AND SHE’S BUSY TRYING TO CLEAN UP LEO’S MESSES!! I WANT TO TRUST MY UNCLE, BUT HE ENDS UP LEAVING BEFORE I CAN!! EVERY TIME I TRY, I JUST GET HURT!!” 

He couldn’t stop the tears anymore, hot and fast, as he pounded on the door constantly, sinking lower and lower with every sentence, until he was back on the ground again, barely hanging onto the doorknob in a vain protest to keep Shadow out.

“… Declan. Either you let me in, or you will have to renovate the entire area with the damage I will cause to enter this room.” The hedgehog threatened, growling with annoyance.

… ugh, I don't have much of a choice… Declan decided, getting up and making sure his wrists looked completely normal before opening the door to see an arms crossed Shadow. He entered the room, looking around, but didn’t say anything about that, instead…

“You aren’t to blame.”

“… excuse me-“ Declan started, but Shadow didn’t have a mute button, sadly.

“You aren’t the problem because the parents in your life aren’t the best… except for your mother, she sounds more decent than the rest, but either way… You aren’t the bad guy. Even if Yuya’s idiotic ass says so.”

“… he isn’t an idiot…” Declan sighed, picking his sleeves. “He just… he can be a bit harsh when he’s upset, and I should’ve told someone about this, it’s true, but…”

“… It feels easier to handle everything on your own.” Shadow finished. “I know. Believe me, I do. And it took me a hell of a time to learn how to be in a team-“

“It sure as hell did!” Both of them jumped, turning to see Sonic, with a snarky grin on his face. “Heavens knows how you ever joined-“

“WOULD YOU LET ME HELP SOMEONE FOR ONCE?!” Shadow snapped, hitting Sonic on the head. “YOU SASSY PIECE OF-”

“CHILL OUT!!” Sonic protested, grabbing Shadow’s shoulders. Looking at Declan, he took in his disheveled state, and his eyes softened almost immediately. “You okay bud?”

“... Yes…” Declan answered, sliding his hands into his pockets, but not before he rubbed at his eyes again, trying to clean off any more tears. “Why-”

“Good! Because Yuya wants to civilly talk to ya, and I mean he won’t be a little idiot with his words, and you won’t be one either.” Sonic explained with a smirk. 

“... I’m sorry, wha-” Declan started, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yuya running up to them, still wearing his goggles.

“Declan!” Yuya shouted, skidding to a stop in front of him and the hedgehogs, Silver following suit. “Can we talk? No more shouting or rudeness on my part, I promise, okay?” 

… He… seemed more like a child. As if someone returned a piece of himself. 

“… All right,” Declan agreed, trying not to let his unease show as his hands curled up into protective balls.

It was not to punch or defend, but to ground himself.

-_-

Declan had led Yuya to his office again, with the hedgehogs agreeing to stand guard outside in case of intruders. Sora himself had been hauled away a while ago by Roland and the rest of security, and it was confirmed he was in holding, still unconscious.

… Whatever Shadow had done was scarily effective.

Either way, Yuya wanted privacy for what they were about to say.

“... I need to start this,” Yuya admitted, rocking on his heels nervously as they faced each other, goggles no longer on his eyes, his thumbs twiddling. “I… I didn’t have the right to make that comment about your dad. And to get mad at you for making Pendulums- I really don’t have any legal claim to it, I just…”

“No, don’t apologize for that.” Declan interrupted. “You aren’t wrong for that, ethically, it was wrong, and I still shouldn’t have done that.”

“... Okay hold up-” Yuya questioned with a raised eyebrow. “If you knew it was wrong, why did you do it?”

“... I just thought you would want to keep it to yourself,” He admitted, looking away in… shame?

…

Waaait-

“You thought I was gonna gatekeep it?!” Yuya sputtered, not fully processing what he just said. “W-Why?!”

“... Honestly? I don’t even know,” Declan admitted sheepishly, no longer meeting Yuya’s very bewildered gaze.

“... Declan, I did not become a jerk in 3 years-” Yuya whispered before shaking his head repeatedly. “Okay, ignoring that, I was gonna go to…”

The older one perked up at that in curiosity, cocking his head to the side. “To?”

“... Seto Kaiba?” Yuya smiled nervously, raising his hands in a mix of jazz hands and oopsies.

“... You were doing it to piss me off, weren’t you?”

“OKAY LOOK- HE ACTUALLY ACCEPTS HELP AND LISTENS TO PEO…” Yuya started erratically, then trailed off as he noticed…

… another portal…

It was right above Declan’s desk, and it was clear the owner knew what was happening too.

“Not again-!” He shouted, but soon, a blinding light covered the room, forcing the both of them to shield their eyes from the intensity.

CRASH!!

… Well, that didn’t seem good.

When the blare of the light seemed to finally die down, Yuya called out, “What’s the damage?!” He wanted to know before actually seeing it.

“... Yuya… Y-You need to look…” Declan stammered, which… was concerning.

“What are you-” He started, removing his hands, but froze as his eyesight came back. Because, crouching on the desk, a bike right behind it, seeming as confused as the duo felt.

Was another version of him. If he looked like a Blunana, had a scar across his right eye, and wore… earbuds?

-_-

“... Did you all hear that?”

Silver asked, trying to press his ear against the wall as they all shared a look.

“Not entirely, but yeah…” Sonic nodded, earning a confused look from Shadow.

“That was-” Shadow started, but rolled his eyes. “Whatever. We should probably-”

“WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE ME?!” 2 voices, one that was Yuya’s, the other unknown, shouted at each other, making all 3 jump.

“... So… We go in?” Sonic offered with a nervous smile and shrug.

“Yup,” Shadow sighed, then kicked open the door with a BANG, shouting, “OKAY, WHAT’S GOING ON?!” Silver and Sonic peeked in behind him…

And what they saw made their blood freeze.

A kid with blue hair and yellow bangs, wearing… a strange outfit, cyan eyes, but…

… his facial structure, his eye shape- it all looked like Yuya’s.

“... Another one…” Shadow murmured, then took a deep breath. “Who are you, and why are you here?”

The stranger’s head snapped to Shadow, eyes going wide. “What the…” he mumbled, covering his scarred eye. “Am I seeing things?” After squinting for a bit, he sighed, dropping his hand. “I guess not… But then, who are you guys?” He demanded, arms crossed as he stayed on the desk.

“You answer first, we asked!” Silver demanded, and the new one gaped before rolling his eyes.

“Fiiiiiiine,” he groaned, then pointed to himself, “I’m Yugo. And you are?”

“I’m Yuya Sakaki,” the tomato head started, then pointed to everyone in turn as he continued. “That’s Declan Akaba, Sonic, Silver, and Shadow.”

Yugo stared at all of them, his body tense, as if assessing how dangerous everyone was, then asked, “Where am I?”

“Paradise City,” Declan spoke up, “But where are you from?”

“... New Domino…” Yugo revealed hesitantly, trying to see if they’d react. Yuya turned to Declan in surprise as the hedgehogs shared a look that said, “I knew it.”

“... Are you aware of other dimensions?” Declan asked, making Yugo jump, then grab the edge of the desk.

“Some psycho took my best friend and sent me to this wasteland, and I just got here…” he admitted, then froze. “Hold on, how do you know??”

“... Long story,” Yuya mumbled, then looked confused. “Hold on, how did you get here?”

“Took a duel disk from a soldier guy,” Yugo told them, pulling out one that made Declan’s eyes go wide. “It had a button.”

“... May I see it?” Declan asked, reaching for it. Yugo looked confused, but handed it over anyway, leading Declan to flip it over and examine the screen and contents as everyone watched.

“... Holy shit…” He mumbled in amazement, then smirked. “It has a transportation mechanism. We can use this…”

“W-Wait-” Yugo stammered, getting everyone’s attention again. “Do you know what’s really going on? B-Because…” He trailed off, eyes wide.

“A pest like ya doesn’t need to know!” A rough voice cut through, making everyone turn to face…

“Quattro!” Shadow gasped. “H-How-”

“Yuto got really worried about you, and our monsters tracked you down,” Shay revealed, entering the room, followed by an annoyed Yuto. 

“I wasn’t that worried…” Yuto grumbled, then froze. “What the…”

“There is really more of Yuto, huh?” Quattro grumbled, then noticed Declan, and his whole demeanor changed. “YOU! YOU’RE THE PROFESSOR’S LITTLE BRAT!”

“OI!” Yuya stepped in front of the XYZian, glaring at him as he held his bat up again. “Leave Declan alone before I break every bone in your body!”

“I’d like to see ya-“ Quattro taunted, lifting his hand to strike, but Shay grabbed it with ease, keeping his comrade from following through.

“Chill out Quattro, we need him for info,” The raidraptor user explained, eyeing Declan with an unreadable expression.

“What a lovely day this is…” Declan grumbled, taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose. “How could this get any-“

“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!”

Everyone jumped, Silver even leaping into Sonic’s arms, before turning to face…

… someone? 

He had short brown hair, sharp eyes, and wore a long white jacket… and didn’t seem too happy.

“K-Kaiba!” Yuya stuttered, hiding the bat with a nervous smile. “W-what’s up?”

Kaiba looked at him, then at Yuto, then at Yugo, and then at the hedgehogs.

“...I think you need to tell me that.”

Chapter Text

“… Okay, I need to hear this one more time… ”

Everyone was sitting on the ground, except for Yugo, who was next to his bike, trying to make sure it wasn’t too damaged. Kaiba was staring at everyone dumbfounded, trying to understand what they were telling him.

“You mean to say that Leo Akaba- the Leo Akaba who used to run Leo Corp, Declan’s father, is turning children into child soldiers, invaded XYZ, kidnapped 2 girls from XYZ and Synchro that apparently look like Zuzu Boyle, and now Zuzu herself is potentially in danger, and we could be invaded at any moment?!” He relayed what he had learnt, his voice getting angrier with each word. “AND YOU KNEW THAT YOUR FATHER WAS DOING THIS?!” He roared at Declan, who flinched with a nervous look on his face.

“I thought I could handle it…” Declan muttered under his breath, earning a scoff from Yuya.

“Says the guy who couldn’t even steal pendulums properly~!” he sang, twirling a strand of red hair around his index finger.

"Oh shut up, you wanna-be clown."

"SAYS THE WANNA BE BADASS!"

“... Are they always like this?” Yuto whispered to Kaiba, who was pinching the bridge of his nose.

“They haven’t talked in 3 years, and that was for the better…” he grumbled as Sonic rolled his eyes.

“Maybe if they did they wouldn’t be so bitchy to each other?” Sonic added, shrugging slightly.

“We’re right here,” Both of them spoke up, glaring at the others, who all burst out laughing, save Shadow and Kaiba.

“Either way,” Shay interrupted, regaining control of the situation. “Please tell me you at least have a plan to gain some more allies,” He looked at Declan expectantly.

“Actually, yes, I do,” he admits, then notices Yuya’s cocky smirk. “Oh shut up, I can ask for help-”

“Oh reaaaaaaaallly~?” Yuya mocked with his grin, earning a chuckle from Quattro and Yugo. “What alternate reality is this, where you can actually ask for allies~??”

“I swear to god Yuya, I will throw you out the window-” Declan started, only for Kaiba to pointedly cough, making Declan sigh. “All right, you know the yearly Arc League Championship?”

“AKA the one needed to be a pro duelist that you run?” Yuya asked, looking confused now. “Yeah? But why?”

“I was planning for it to be a cover up, specifically the battle royal of the Junior Division.” Declan explained. “All of the citizens would be in the stadium while the match occurs in the city, keeping Obelisk Force away from innocents-”

“Hold it,” Quattro intervened, glaring at Declan. “You want kids to fight Duel Academy?!”

“Well, if it’s just the Junior Division, then it’s teenagers…” Yuya started, but trailed off as what Quattro said fully sank in. “... Declan, I swear to god -”

“Calm the hell down Yuya,” Declan snapped at him, then took a deep breath. “Duel Academy won’t expect it, and if they try to capture or… card anyone…” everyone tensed at that, “They’ll receive a nasty surprise, AKA pro duelists with enough strength to traumatize anyone.”

“Any duelists you’ve actually asked?” Yugo questioned, leaving his bike with a pat on the seat and moving to sit down in between Yuya and Declan.

“... I was planning on asking the Sledgehammer-”

“He would let half of us get killed, Declan,” Yuya interjected with an annoyed look.

“Just you dumbass, and frankly, he’s not the only one,” Declan retorted. “You know Hyper Trio?”

“AKA the most popular girl idol group in our dimension?” Kaiba snarked. “Yeah, they’d probably say yes- isn’t Katie related to Zuzu? Her aunt or something?”

“Yeah, and Wisp is my godmother,” Yuya added, “So I can get them to say yes.”

“Are they really good duelists?” Yuto asked, cocking his head to the side.

“You bet! They helped promote Action Duels when they came out, and they’ve been around for years!” Yuya explained excitedly. “Wisp uses XYZ, Katie does Fusion, and Storm has Synchro!”

“… Are you sure-“ Quattro started, only for Yuya to glare at him, silencing the poor XYZian.

“… don’t they have a show today?” Declan questioned randomly.

“Yeah, I-“ Yuya smiled, then froze. “… Ooooooooh fuck…”

“What’s wrong Yuya?” Sonic asked, getting up to stand behind him.

“… I was supposed to go to the show with everyone from You Show…” he mumbled with a groan, slamming his hand into his head. “AND I DIDN’T TELL ANYONE THAT I WAS LEAVING!!” He shouted, making everyone wince.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Shadow shrugged.

“… uh… lemme unmute my disk…” Yuya pulled out his duel disk, pressing some buttons, then turning pale. “… 963 missed messages and 873 missed calls.”

Everyone was quiet, sinking in the huge number.

“Is it even that important?” Shay asked.

“Well, considering they don’t want him getting kidnapped, yeah,” Declan sighed. “Yuya, just call your friends.”

“Oh yeeeaaaah, I soooo wanna get butchered by them!” Yuya snapped with a glare. “But fine, I guess.” 

Pressing a button, everyone stood still as the ringing began, but it only took 2 rings before Zuzu picked up.

“YUYA!!”

“OH MY GOD-“

“YOU LITTLE SHITHEAD-“

“WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!”

“WE DIDN’T GET TO SEE THEM IDIOT!!”

“DAD’S HAVING A PANIC ATTACK-“

“YOUR MOM IS LOSING HER MIND-“

A blare of voices all started screaming, making everyone cover their ears as Yuya screamed back, “SHUT UP AND LET ME TALK!” After a moment of silence, Yuya took a deep breath and explained. 

“I’m at Leo Corp with Declan, Kaiba, and some others, and you all need to come here. Please . I’ll fill you in when you get here, but please… just hurry.”

-_-

Zuzu was honestly surprised Yuya was at Leo Corp. Especially how he and Declan stopped talking ever since Yusho went missing. 

So to find out Yuya had ditched Hyper Trio’s live show and was currently at the company was… a bit surprising.

Either way, they left Yoko and Skip with Allie, Tate and Fredrick while Yugi, Joey, Marik, Bakura, Mai, Gong, Sylvio, and Zuzu herself went to You Show, trying to theorize on what’s going on.

“Maybe he wanted to mass produce pends with both companies?” Bakura offered, only for Joey to scoff.

“Are ya forgetting he doesn’t like Declan all dat much? Nah, whatever’s happenin’, it’s gotta be big,” He snarked in his noticeable accent.

“Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with you Joey,” Marik nodded. “And plus, Kaiba and Declan don’t even get along too well either, so I don’t get why Yuu would force them into a room together.”

“Yeah, the whole thing reeks of suspicion,” Sylvio hissed, arms crossed as he tried to keep up with Joey, not leaving his side.

“Well, we have to trust his judgement, at least,” Yugi smiled nervously, “Though I don’t really wanna deal with Kaiba’s snarkiness today…”

“Eh, I don’t think that’s gonna be a huge issue,” Mai shrugged, the only one who didn’t seem too worried.

“You are so ignorant sometimes Mai…” Gong muttered, earning a glare from the lady.

“Well, let’s hope everything will be okay on some degree, okay?” Zuzu grinned nervously, all of them exiting the elevator and walking to Declan’s office. “Yuya?! Are you here?”

After a moment of scurrying behind the door, Yuya opened the doors, his typical smile plastered on his face, blocking the view of the room itself with his body.. “GUYS! Sorry for not telling you I was going-”

“Yeah, quick question,” Joey interrupted, an eyebrow rising. “What the literal hell is going on? You refuse to even look at Declan’s face on any form of media, next thing we know, you’re ditching Hyper Trio’s show for this?”

“Joey!” Sylvio and Yugi scolded, the former pinching his arm, while adding, “Watch your stupid tongue!”

“Okay, while I don’t like how this knucklehead phrased his words, he’s right, what’s going on??” Zuzu demanded, and for a moment, she saw a flicker of… sadness? Fear? On Yuya’s face, but it was gone in an instant.

“... Promise me you guys won’t freak out… okay…?” He asked quietly, still in the doorway.

“... What’s going on Yuya?” Bakura quietly replied, his face clearly betraying his worry. “You’re… not like this usually…”

“Yuya, just let them in already!” A voice, male, unfamiliar, called from inside, seeming to be impatient. “This ain’t the time to be twiddlin’ our thumbs!”

“You could be nicer about it Sonic,” Another teen voice, a bit different, chided, seeming to know the first one.

Just then, Declan appeared in the doorframe, making everyone except Yuya tense as they faced each other. “Come on, let’s tell them already.”

“First off- you’re one to talk. Second off, how the hell does someone explain this???” Yuya demanded with a bonk to his chest.

“Maybe now you get why I stayed quiet about it?”

“Oh shut up you wannabe-”

“BOYS!” Zuzu shouted, making both of them freeze. “Just get to the damn point!!” She threatened, waving her fan at both of them, who paled at the sight.

“... Should we just show them?” Declan asked Yuya, who was no longer smiling.

“Uh… they’re gonna be loud about it, but… yeah…” He agreed with a shrug and a silent prayer.

“Loud about what ?!” Marik and Mai snapped.

Declan and Yuya shared one more look before the latter opened the door to reveal…

…

……

… Okay what the fuck-  

“WHY IS THERE 2 MORE VERSIONS OF YOU?!” Bakura, Yugi, and Gong screamed, looking at horror at boys with Yuya’s features, if he had black/purple or blue/yellow hair respectively, standing near a bike with 2 others who none of them recognized. 

“AND A BUNCH OF ANIMALS-” Marik, Sylvio and Joey shouted, pointing at the unamused …hedgehogs(?), sitting on the desk.

“... Yuya, D-Declan?” Zuzu turned to them, the need to be angry or annoyed replaced with confusion and worry. “... What is this?”

“...” They shared a look, then Yuya sighed.

“I’ll explain… everything, I guess…”

-_-

Yuya wasn’t sure if things could get any more uncomfortable.

Now, as if the circle wasn’t big enough, it got even larger, and all of his friends were giving the XYZians, Yugo, Declan, Kaiba, Hedgehogs, and Yuya himself looks of disbelief and pure anxiety.

“... Okay, let me be the one to break the silence and say…” Joey started, looking pissed. “What the hell?! Seriously, this whole ass war is happening and barely anything is happening?! Please tell me you planned to do more than make us sitting ducks??”

“I did,” Declan acknowledged. “I was planning to go to Synchro for allies and help the resistance in Xyz-”

“Yeah, the first part is wishful thinking,” Yugo interrupted. “Declan-sama, if you get help from the Tops there, then pigs must be flyin’ or sumthin.”

“What do you mean?” Sonic asked.

“It’s basically a paradise for like, 5%, and the rest are suffering in slums,” Yugo complained, pointing at himself as he added, “I’m partially deaf, and it took my family years to afford hearing aids, as in, I was 10 when I got them. And my brothers are still working to pay back the debt.”

“... okay, but we should at least make sure Fusion can’t invade so they can’t take their resources,” Declan complied.

“Good point,” Yugo agreed, though he didn’t seem too happy about it. “But either way, would these girls even help? They sound like tops to me…”

“Katie is Zuzu’s aunt,” Mai spoke up, but not in a defensive attitude. “Storm is my sister, and Wisp is Yuya’s godmother, and Bakura’s aunt. They all care about us, and for this city too. Trust me, they won’t back down.”

“... Are they the only adults we can rely on though?” Yuto asked, not seeming too happy with it.

“Yeah, everyone else probably won’t be able to help much,” Marik admitted. “Don’t get me wrong, Skip and Yoko are cool, but both are pretty rusty when it comes to dueling.”

“Well, that’s lovely ,” Quattro complained, only for Shay to bonk him on the head. “OW!”

“Behave yourself,” he scolded yet again. “Well, I guess we’ll have to make do with what we have, won’t we?” He looks at Zuzu, then sighs. “And you’re definitely gonna need to-”

“No.” The single word that leaves her lips sends everyone into silence.

“But Zuzu!” Yuya protested, clearly panicking. “Duel Academy-”

“Could send all their duelists, and I don’t care!” She shot back with a glare. “I’m not scared! Yeah, I know they’re strong, but I don’t wanna hide from them! Not when everyone is in danger.”

“... If you’re with someone, then I guess you’d be fine…” Yuya sighed.

“I can stick with her,” Shadow offered. “After all, I have experience in this.”

“... Hmph, fine… I guess…” Zuzu sighed.

“All right, now then, is there anything else?” Sonic yawned. “Because I wanna crash on Yuya’s bed again.”

“Not that I can-” Declan started, only for a female, new voice to cut in.

“Well well well~ What an interesting story you folks’ve been spinning!”

Everyone turned to the girl in the doorway, purple hair tied back with a cat ears hairpin, sharp blue eyes that matched her bangs, blue jacket that was partially zipped up, a grey cropped top, purple fingerless gloves, laced tights under shorts, and leg warmers atop grey boots.

“A-Aibi!” Yuya and Zuzu stuttered, the standardees all sharing nervous looks at that.

“Who’s she?” Silver whispered to Sylvio.

“Hyper Beam’s manager…”

“Yeah, I am,” She confirmed with a grin. “Though Dimensional War? Damn, didn’t realize that was a thing-”

“Aibi, is it?” Shay spoke up, eyeing the girl with a sharp look. “What deck do you use?”

“Uuuuuuuh…” She tapped her chin for a moment. “Tear or Tearlaments, why though?”

Shay’s eyes narrowed as he continued, “And how long have you been in Paradise City?”

“...” Her own eyes seem to grow sharper, but her tone, playful and cheery, stays the same. “A year, I reckon. Why?”

“... Y’know, that’s funny, because I’ve heard rumors…” Shay admitted, walking up to her. “The Tearlament Sniper, they call her. A traitor to the Academy, having run after becoming a Vice General, right before the invasion in my home a year ago, and stealing precious documents and duel disks, with a cat hair pin and purple hair.” He paused right in front of her, waiting for the words to sink in.

“Wanna explain why you fit her description to a T?”

It was quiet, all eyes on the still smiling Aibi…

And then her smile dropped.

“Ugh, you are a pain, huh?” She groaned, not flinching at his hard gaze. “Fine, I’ll admit it. I’m a fusionist.”

“Is that why you became a manager?!” Yugi screamed. “To get close to Yuya and Zuzu?!”

She looked at both of them, who seemed angry, then sighed. “Yeah, but not to sell them out- to handle any pests Leo sent their way.”

“Like Sora?” Yuya asked, in a tone similar to the one she had earlier, not noticing how her eyes went wide.

“Yeah… did he already come here?” She replied, only for the others to nod. She facepalmed herself, then sighed, looking at them again. “Okay, here’s a deal.

I give y’all all the info I have on Leo…

But lemme talk to Sora first. Lemme see if I can work some magic on the kid.”