#sorry to my friends and loved ones yuri's dub voice might be my like. second favorite ygo dub voice ever im entranced by it

[cyberdragoninfinity]

arc-v is truly the most epic highs and epic lows of yugioh--unfortunately we have to watch a yugioh woman get screwed over by the writing AGAIN. (SORRY ALEXIS I LOVE YOU ALEXIS.) but also on the flip side this is some of the MOST bonkers kickass voice acting ive heard in any yugioh dub. michael liscio jr. went hard as HELL on this read!!! AND IT RULES.

[literaryeagle]

Okay, so the Yuri!!! on Ice item that I'll be reviewing today is Yuri!!! on Stage, on Blu-ray. (It’s also available on DVD, but I chose to get the Blu-ray because the image quality would be better.) I'm sure a lot of people have talked about it already, however I will translate the scene titles and discuss an additional feature that you might have missed if you didn't explore the menu screen. I will also show the bonus items packaged with the disc, and show the extra special items that you could only get if you ordered it from Animate! So, hopefully this review will still have something useful. ^_^

Just in case anyone isn't familiar with Yuri!!! on Stage yet, it was a live show that took place on April 29, 2017 at Maihama Amphitheater. The voice actors for most of the male skaters were there, plus the voice actor for Takeshi Nishigori, and series writer Mitsurou Kubo. They did a bunch of fun stuff like discussing their favorite scenes from the anime, playing games, and performing a NEW STORY that takes place after the TV series (the new story was an audio drama that they voiced live, so it wasn't animated). The Yuri!!! on Stage event actually occurred twice on that day... once in the afternoon, and once in the evening. There were a few differences between the two versions of the event, however the audio drama was the same story both times. The Blu-ray and DVD are a video recording of the evening version. As an example of one of the cute things you can see in the video, check out the image below... from left to right, that's Junichi Suwabe (voice of Victor), Toshiyuki Toyonaga (voice of Yuri), and Koki Uchiyama (voice of Yurio):

Sorry for my bad photograph of the screen, but taking high-quality screen captures from BDs is a no-no. Anyway, yes, the above image is a reference to Yuri poking Victor's hair in the anime, except here it's Victor's voice actor doing it to Yuri's voice actor. Hilarious! Also, wow, Suwabe bleached his hair to look more like Victor. Talk about dedication!

Want to know more? Keep reading for the rest of the review, plus a few more pictures!

There are no subtitles, so you'll miss out on a lot if you don't understand Japanese, although for some reason the end credits are in English. The scene selection menu is written in Japanese, but don't worry, I'll translate the scene titles for you! The first one is simply called "Opening", and it's the part of the show that introduced the characters and their voice actors. Unfortunately, the actors who play as JJ, Otabek, and Michele were not able to make it to the event, however they had recorded videos that were played later in the show.

The second segment is named "Jibun o Suki ni Natte... Popovich no Carabosse no Heya", which means "Like Yourself... Popovich's Room of Carabosse". (The "Like Yourself" bit is a reference to the title for episode 4 of Yuri!!! on Ice, "Like Yourself... And Complete the Free Program!"). The MC for this part was Wataru Hatano, the voice of Georgi Popovich and also the artist who sang the anime's ending theme, "You Only Live Once". Basically, the voice actors were divided into groups, and the actors discussed their favorite scenes from the anime involving their characters. For example, Kensho Ono (voice of Phichit) chose the "Congratulations on your marriage!" line from episode 10 as his favorite Phichit scene. He has good taste! Mitsurou Kubo also commented on the fans' enthusiasm for that scene. Here's an image showing Wataru Hatano on the left, and Mitsurou Kubo on the right:

The third part is called "Chou Chou Chou Chou Ganbaranba! Katsudon Pirozhki Soudatsu! World Question!" ("Gotta Super-Super-Super-Supercharge It! Katsudon Pirozhki Contest! World Question!"... Whew, these titles are a mouthful, ha ha!). For this part, a bit of dialogue from the anime had been translated into Russian, and after a Russian-speaking person read the dialogue out loud, the voice actors had to guess what scene from the anime it was. (For the afternoon version of Yuri!!! on Stage, a scene had been translated into Thai instead of Russian.) By the way, it turned out the Russian speaker's name was Emil, much to the amusement of Satoshi Hino, the voice of Emil Nekola.

Even though Mamoru Miyano (voice of JJ) wasn't able to make it to the event, there was a video of him giving the voice actors a hint for this Russian game. Frankly, the scene was pretty simple to guess even without the clue (you can hear Emil say "pirozhki" and "katsudon", which narrows down the possibilities quite a bit), but I'm always up for more JJ Style, so I enjoyed the hint video anyway.

The fourth section is named "Afureko Imagination Show" ("afureko" is short for "after recording", meaning adding sound after a film has been made... so I guess it can be translated as "dubbing" or something like that). For this part, they played various clips from the anime, but instead of using the recorded audio from the show, the voice actors performed their dialogue live! Very cool.

Next, the fifth part is called "Special Video Letter", which had video messages from Yoshimasa Hosoya (voice of Otabek) and Tomoaki Maeno (voice of Michele), since they weren't able to make it to the event. After that, there were a few more clips from the anime, with the voice actors for Victor, Yuri, and Yurio performing their lines live... but with something very special added to the stage! Part of the floor had been replaced with a miniature skating rink (just a small square of ice, really), so figure skater Honoka Kawanishi could perform Yurio's free skate during these scenes. Wow! Since the square of ice she had on the stage was so small, there wasn't enough room for her to do the jumps, but it was still a lovely performance. What a brilliant idea! Check it out:

The sixth segment is named "Roudoku Geki Hasetsu Exhibition Onsen!!! on ICE Victor with Friends" ("Reading Drama Hasetsu Exhibition Hot Springs!!! on ICE Victor with Friends"), which is probably the part of Yuri!!! on Stage that people have talked the most about already. As mentioned earlier in this review, it's a new story that takes place after the TV series. It was written by Kimiko Ueno. This story is not animated, but the voice actors are fun to watch as they read their scripts, and music from the anime is played in the background, which is a nice touch.

I won't get into too much detail about the plot, because so many other people have posted about it already. But to put it simply, the skaters have gathered in Yuri's hometown for an ice show called "Victor with Friends", however a little too much drinking and partying happens the night before the show. If you've ever wondered what would happen if Victor and Yuri both got drunk at the same time, well... it involves a lot of flexibility, and not much clothing! There's also a hilarious misunderstanding involving Yuri's drunken ramblings about a statue of Shachihoko (a legendary creature that is part tiger and part fish), which Victor mistakenly interprets as Yuri reminiscing about a really flexible ex-lover named "Chihoko". Silly Victor, getting jealous over a fish statue! It's pretty funny. (By the way, there was another live event in the summer called Yuri!!! on Festival which included a sequel drama, about Yuri getting possessed by a squid demon. Unfortunately, word has it that Yuri!!! on Festival will not be getting a DVD/Blu-ray release. Hopefully they'll change their minds, or at least release the drama part as a CD.)

Okay, moving on... The seventh part is called "LIVE You Only Live Once Yuri!!! on ICE feat. w.hatano". As you can probably guess by that title, Wataru Hatano did a live performance of the ending theme to the anime. He was accompanied by two backup dancers.

The eighth section is called "Ending", which had everyone wrapping things up and thanking the audience. After that, everything seemingly ends with the credits... If you have the Blu-ray or DVD, did your video player just go to the menu screen after the credits finished? That's what mine did, however there's actually more on the disc! If you look on the menu screen, the last numbered segment is part 8, which is the aforementioned "Ending". But after that, there's one more item, which doesn't have a number. So be sure not to miss it! This last bit is another version of the Special Video Letters from Mamoru Miyano (JJ), Yoshimasa Hosoya (Otabek), and Tomoaki Maeno (Michele). You can tell these must be from the afternoon version of Yuri!!! on Stage, because Mamoru Miyano gives a Thai clue instead of a Russian clue.

That's it for the show, so next I'll talk about the bonus items packaged with the disc, and then I'll talk about the extra special goodies that you could only get if you ordered it from Animate. Yay! First, there's a little booklet that comes with the disc. It has a shiny silver cover, but unfortunately my photo doesn't do it justice:

This is basically a miniature version of a pamphlet at that was sold at the Yuri!!! on Stage event, except the mini version is missing a few pages advertising Yuri!!! on Ice merchandise (although it makes up for it by having extra artwork for the last page). I think the reason why it's miniature is because it had to be the same length and width as a DVD case, to avoid an awkward packaging situation. It includes some really nice photos and profiles of the voice actors. I actually have the full size version of the pamphlet that was sold at the event, so I'll be covering that in a future review. In other words, I will wait until that review before I get into further detail about the contents of this booklet. (EDIT: My review of the pamphlet is now available!)

Okay, the other item packaged with the disc is this Makkachin selfie light, which can be attached to a smartphone:

Isn't that adorable? All right, next I'll talk about the additional goodies that were obtainable by ordering Yuri!!! on Stage from Animate. The first one is a "portrait". On the outside, it looks like a thin gray hardcover book...

...but it's not actually a book, because there's just a picture inside. But it's a very nice picture. What kind of picture, you ask? It's a beautiful textless version of the Yuri!!! on Stage cover art! Check it out:

So nice! And finally, people who pre-ordered from Animate under certain conditions were able to get a cute little Makkachin can badge. I took a close-up of it, so you can get a really good look:

Overall, Yuri!!! on Stage is funny and entertaining, and the bonus items packaged with the disc are cute. The additional special items from Animate are great as well, although I'd imagine those are sold out by now. However, please keep in mind that the Blu-ray and DVD are not subtitled, so you'll miss out on a lot if you don't understand Japanese (although the voice actors' antics are still fun to watch), so it's up to you to decide if that's worth it. The Blu-ray and the DVD are both still available on Amazon.co.jp (NOTE: the DVD is Region 2 only!), however Avex Pictures has placed a restriction on their CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays being shipped outside of Japan. Unfortunately, this means that Amazon.co.jp will no longer ship those items overseas, so if you don’t live in Japan you’ll have to either buy it from a source that’s not affected by the restriction, or get a shopping deputy to help you with the purchase.

Thanks for reading, everyone. I have other official Yuri!!! on Ice merchandise that I’ll be reviewing, so keep checking my blog for new stuff!

[real-life-pine-tree]

Arc-V Aftermath: Knight and Prince (22/26)

When all is said and done, things have quickly recovered in the four dimensions. But when weird things start happening, the Yu-Salad Boys and the Bracelet Girls quickly realize they have some loose ends to fix. Co-written with @violetganache42​​​.

WARNING: Dub names will be featured in the story.

As a girl who grew up in an elite environment, Lulu has access to everything she needs to look absolutely perfect. Shampoo to keep her hair silky soft, face cleanser to avoid possible acne, lotion for making sure her skin is smooth... She even has the finest ear picks in the city so her ears always remain clean.

Yuto, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Born in a middle class environment, he didn't mind if his face was slightly dirty or if his hair was out of place. Even when he started living with the Obsidians, he wasn't completely obsessed with his looks.

The next morning, at the Obsidian house, the couple were getting ready for the second round of the Team Duel Tournament. Needless to say, there was a strong difference in their morning routines. While Lulu was carefully brushing her hair before she could style it, Yuto was having a hard time cleaning his ears. After hearing yet another frustrated sound, she put her brush on her vanity and wheeled over to her private bathroom.

"Are you having a hard time?" Lulu asked.

"Sort of," Yuto answered, holding up an ear pick. "I don't really clean my ears a lot."

"Come here," Lulu said, patting her lap. "I'll help you get your ears clean."

Yuto walked over to where Lulu was and handed her the ear pick before kneeling down and placing the right side of his head on her lap. With her right hand holding the pick, she began helping him clean his ears. She used the ladle of the ear pick to scrape out ear wax, using her other hand to stroke his hair. Yuto let out a content sigh, closing his eyes as he let his girlfriend continue the intimate gesture.

When Lulu finished using the down puff to remove any extra ear wax, she gently patted Yuto's head, indicating him to switch sides. He shifted his head so the left side was on her lap. Lulu then tucked Yuto's stray bang behind his ear before repeating the process. He sighed again, adoring her gentle touch.

Suddenly, Lulu hit a sweet spot, causing Yuto to moan. "Lulu..." he muttered.

She suddenly remembered about his sensitive area near his right ear, where his small, faint, and somewhat noticeable scar was, hiding underneath the locks of light purple hair. Smirking, she finished cleaning out ear wax with the ladle before switching to the down puff. But this time, she removed extra ear wax very suggestively, using her other hand to gently touch his outer ear.

Yuto moaned from his girlfriend's gentle touches, his hand gripping the skirt of her pale yellow sundress. He adored this pleasurable feeling, wishing this moment could last forev-

"What are you two doing?"

The two looked up to see Shay standing in front of the bathroom door. They didn't hear him come in, but hearing his voice made things somewhat…embarrassing.

Yuto lifted up his head. "This isn't what it looks like!" he exclaimed, blushing heavily.

"I get that you two are bound to get these kind of moments, but we have a tournament to get to," Shay reminded the lovebirds.

"Right," Yuto said, leaving the private bathroom to get dressed. "Sorry about that."

After shutting the bathroom door when Lulu wheeled out to follow him, Yuto headed towards the bed where his clothes laid nicely across. He couldn't believe he was going to be wearing his pre-Invasion attire again; he wore it when he first met Lulu. Speaking of her, she was tying her hair into her signature bow-shaped style and secured it with her feather-shaped barrette before putting on her sunhat and white flats. To them, they were almost getting a blast from the past.

Yuto smiled softly. "Isn't that the sunhat you wore during the Heartland Spring Festival?" he asked as he finished getting dressed.

"Of course it is," Lulu answered. "It was the first time we hung out outside of school."

"And look how far we came," Yuto said, putting on his glasses. He gave Lulu a loving kiss. "Not even a horrible crisis can separate us."

"Of course, sweet knight," Lulu said. "Our love is unbreakable."

"You can flirt on the way over to the Center Duel Field," Shay pointed out. "We have a tournament to get to."

The trio headed out of the bedroom and went downstairs, with Kameron and Astra meeting up with them before making their way to the car and driving to LID. With this being the second day of the tournament, all the people who attended yesterday—including some of the Cardfighters—were returning to their seats while some of the losing teams joined the audience and took their own. As for the winning teams, they were brought to the Center Duel Field with their families and friends: Team Smiles with Yusho, Yoko, Skip, Mr. Strong, Allie, Tate, Frederick, Aura, and the Lancers, Team Noble with Kameron, Astra, Cathy, Alex, and Kite, Team Turbo with Akiza and a few other Turbo Duelists, and Team Obelisk with Leo and the former Obelisk Force members.

All around the stadium, many people were cheering for the four teams, especially for Team Smiles, who have become the fan favorite team…much to Yugo's chagrin. Despite realizing that Jean-Michel Roget was responsible for the High Council's disbandment, he still wasn't pleased with how everyone was preferring Yuya over him. They both endured contradicting sufferings, but he still believed the people loved the Performapal user more than him.

Rin quickly noticed Yugo getting tensed. "Calm down," she said, rubbing her boyfriend's shoulders. "Your Speedroids are just as entertaining as Yuya's Performapals."

"I hope so," Yugo said, still not relaxing.

With the four teams gathered, Declan and Aichi began the opening ceremony. "Welcome to the Team Duel Tournament finals," Declan said. "While yesterday's matches showed promising Duelists, only four teams were able to move on to the finals. Today the four teams will take part in a standard elimination round. The four teams will split into two groups with the teams dueling each other. Once the final two teams are determined, they will battle it out with the winning team being crowned the winners of the first-ever Team Duel Tournament."

"The teams facing off were selected based on their performances from yesterday," Aichi said. "We have the fan favorites of Team Smiles, the unbeatable Team Noble, the Turbo Duelists of Team Turbo, and the Wicked Dueltainers of Team Obelisk."

The audience applauded for the announced and outstanding finalists, especially for Yuya. Yugo stared at him from a not too far distance and wondered if everyone loved him because of his natural charm. He then started considering about changing his current hairstyle into a more attractive style.

"You alright, pal?" Crow asked Yugo.

The banana-banged Duelist ran a hand threw his hair. "I think I might need a comb-"

His response was cut short by the startled gasps of everyone in the Center Duel Field. He turned around to see what the big deal was, only to find Yuto strangling someone out of sheer anger. From the looks of things, the eggplant-haired teen must have recognized the former Obelisk Force student, as well as Sora, who was rushing from his team to where the incident was coming from. Sure enough, he also spotted his face and immediately knew who it was: the same person who killed Lono Osaku… Chazz Princeton.

"Well well, if it isn't the goth loner," Chazz said.

Yuto tightened his grip. "You're going to pay for killing my mom!" he snarled.

Chazz scoffed at the threat. "Like I was trying to kill her," he said. "I found out about the Professor's ultimate goals: save Ray Akaba and prevent Zarc Nightstone's resurrection. I thought killing one of Zarc's fragments might get me promoted. That woman was only an interference."

Yuto couldn't believe what he was hearing coming out of this psycho's mouth. If he was killed by the Chaos Ancient Gear Giant, he and his counterparts wouldn't have received new chances to find themselves and learn their Skills given to them by Zarc. He wouldn't have been able to get a job at ObsidianCorp and determine his future. He wouldn't have gotten his first kiss from Lulu. The words made him furious because he knows Zarc felt bad for what he has done yet Chazz doesn't seem to care in the slightest. Meanwhile, with Sora, he was just about to help calm Yuto down when he heard footsteps coming from Leo, who had overheard the explanation behind Lono's unfortunate murder.

"Mr. Princeton, how did you find out about all of this?" Leo asked.

"I overheard you talking about your plans to some crazy bug-eyed man," Chazz answered.

Leo knew exactly who he was referring to as his eyes shifted towards a certain someone in the audience: The Doktor, who was unsealed from his card once Yuya was revived and the dimensions split back into four. Yesterday, during the preliminaries, he was initially concerned when he was watching Team Turbo's duels and saw Rin Fusion Summoning Crystal Bell; he eventually relaxed and was pleased with how she integrated the Fusion monster into her deck and brought out the card's true beauty. Today, he heard what Chazz was talking about in regards to the Invasion and Revival Zero and how those plans inadvertently gave him an idea for a promotion. The poor guy can't seem to catch a break throughout the tournament's duration.

"Yuto, please unhand Mr. Princeton," Leo said. "I'll have to speak to him about not straying from direct orders."

Yuto let go of Chazz. "This isn't over," the eggplant-haired teen said, sounding calm yet miffed.

With the interruption taken card of, Declan proceeded to announce the pairings. "As I was saying," he said. "The first round is Team Smiles vs. Team Noble, followed by Team Turbo vs. Team Obelisk."

Well, isn't that peachy? Yugo gets to have a rematch against Yuri and no doubt he's going to show the Predaplant user just how strong he, his Speedroids, and his Clear Wings really are. As for Yuya, he was surprised to see him going up against his own cousin.

"How about that?" Yuri asked his teammates. "I get to duel XYZ again."

"Don't you mean 'moron'?" Dennis asked.

"Of course, my friend," Yuri answered. "But Rin is proof that the word doesn't seem to affect him. Luckily I found a new nickname that would have better results."

He remembered the conversation he had with Yugo, Yuya, and Shay back at Heartland Park. He was aware of this Yuma person that Yuto replaced in this timeline. Apparently Yuma was the opposite of Yuto: rude, loud, and quick-tempered. In other words, he was more like Yugo. Yuri noticed how that comparison irked the banana-banged Duelist more than being called a moron, so he decided to take full advantage of that.

"The first round is about to begin," Declan announced. "So will Team Smiles and Team Noble please step up?"

The two teams walked towards the center of the arena to get ready for their matches against each other. Unlike yesterday, Shay knew Gong would be able to withstand his Raidraptors, so he would take part in the round. Lulu happily greeted Zuzu, while Yuya felt content with dueling his cousin. With the dividers and Action Fields set up, the three simultaneous duels begin.

"Alright Yuto, let's get this duel started!" Yuya happily exclaimed.

Yuto's furrowed his eyebrows out of perplexity on what was up with Yuya. Was this his Dueltaining style? Even if their souls were merged and he got some glimpses of Dueltainment during the Arc League Championship, it still confused him on how it is done. However, his cousin clearing his throat snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Come on..." Yuya half-whispered. "Aren't you gonna say something?"

"What am I supposed to say?" Yuto asked. He wasn't a Dueltainer like Yuya; heck, he hasn't learned what Dueltaining is throughout most of his life back at Heartland.

"Anything!" Yuya half-whispered again.

"Okay..." Yuto said. He straightened his posture. "This shall be a show worthy of a good performance!" Deep down, he knew that was a bad attempt at saying an introductory Dueltaining sentence.

Yuya was too embarrassed and surprised to even respond. "Let's just duel!" he said as he activated his Duel Disk.

Yuto activated his Duel Disk as well to initiate their first Action Duel with each other, following a shout of "Let's duel!" from the two.

The eggplant-haired teen went first. "I'll start things off with a couple of face downs," he said. "Your turn."

Yuya instantly caught on to the two face-downs; they were Yuto's signature starting move. He may have to plan out his turn carefully, and after scanning the Action Field for where the Action Cards may be located, he figured out his strategy. "My turn!" he announced as he drew a card. "And I'll activate the Ritual Spell Odd-Eyes Advent!"

"What's this?!" Nico exclaimed. "Yuya is Ritual Summoning?!"

"You bet!" Yuya answered. "And I'll use Performapal Splashmammoth and Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn for the Ritual! Descend from the depths of space and emerge in all your galactic glory! I Ritual Summon Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon!"

Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon is a Level 7 EARTH Dragon-Type monster with 2800 ATK and 2500 DEF. He had grayish-navy blue scales with dark orange skin, heterochromia eyes (red on the right, light blue on the left), and light gold borders all over his body, surrounding purple stones on his tail, arms, legs, and feet, keeping hold of a light blue orb on the center of his chest, and supporting the powder blue stones that help him levitate and fly. When this card is special summoned, all Spells and Traps the opponent controls are sent back to the hand and can't activate cards or effects in response…unless they want to pay 500 LP if they want to use card effects. Gravity Dragon's effect can only be used once per turn.

Aura was in awe. "An Odd-Eyes Ritual dragon!" she exclaimed. "How wonderful!"

"I activate Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon's special ability!" Yuya declared. "All of your face down cards are automatically returned to your hand, so don't even think about using them on me this turn!"

The two face-downs dematerialized from the field and reappeared back into Yuto's hand, much to his frustration. "When did you get that card?" he asked.

"When I got my other three new Odd-Eyes dragons," Yuya answered. "Now I activate my Skill: Mind Merge!"

With a roar from Gravity Dragon, he and Yuya merged their minds together, as seen by the teen's body falling limp onto the floor and the dragon gaining his owner's personality and mannerisms.

"And there it is, folks!" Nico exclaimed. "Yuya has pulled off another mind merge! What an amazing Skill he has!"

Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon roared happily as the crowd chanted Yuya's name. Meanwhile, Team Turbo was watching the simultaneous duels from the sidelines, including Yugo, who still couldn't get over how everyone was rooting for Yuya. Why did everyone like him anyway? Was it his hair? His face? His personality? Or even his dueling style?

Shinji noticed Yugo's frustrated expression. "You feeling alright?" he asked.

"No," Yugo admitted. "Those cheers should be for me! Yuya shouldn't hog the spotlight!"

"You said something about needing a comb, right?" Shinji asked.

"Yeah," Yugo answered.

Shinji gave Yugo a comb. "Here," he said. "You can borrow one of mine."

Yugo thanked him before taking off in search for a mirror or some sort of reflective surface. As he ran through the halls, he stopped in front of two bathrooms and headed insides the one designated for males; sure enough, there was a mirror hung up on the wall above some sinks, so he took the time to figure what hairstyle he should go with.

After a bit of pondering, Yugo started to comb out his bangs. As he did so, the blonde locks started to become less banana-shaped. Ultimately his bangs ended up looking more whispy with the shorter locks hanging in front of his eyes. He grinned as he winked and pointed at his reflection, a clicking sound coming from his mouth.

"Lookin' good," Yugo said aloud, happy with the results. "This should help attract some attention."

Meanwhile, back in the arena, Yuto was XYZ Summoning The Phantom Knights of Break Sword. "Rise, my mighty beast!" he exclaimed.

Break Sword galloped onto the field as the headless knight attached to the armored horse brought out his giant sword and wielded it on his right hand. Outside of the arena, a lot of female Duelists cheered for Yuto after successfully performing an XYZ Summon. Although he didn't care about his looks, he does make himself look nice enough up to the point where he looks handsome. Even if Yuya had more fans than his cousin, it was clear the eggplant-haired teen's natural charm can cause the ladies to swoon; it was practically the Kastles' party all over again.

Yuya noticed Yuto smirking as he adjusted his glasses, looking a bit surprised. "Looks like those fans are feeding his ego..." he mused.

"Since I used Ragged Gloves as an Overlay Unit, I'll use 500 life points to give Break Sword an additional 1000 attack points," Yuto said. "Now Phantom Knights of Break Sword, slay Yuya's dragon!"

With an ATK of 3000, Break Sword sped up towards Gravity Dragon as the headless knight readied his sword to unleash his attack. However, the tomato-haired teen was prepared.

"I activate the Action Spell Miracle!" Yuya exclaimed. "So Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon is here to stay!"

Break Sword slashed his sword through the dragon, not fazing it in the process; however, the normal 200 points of damage was halved as Yuya lost only 100 LP. Yuto then had no choice but to end his turn.

"And with that, Lulu Obsidian has secured Team Noble's first win for the round!" Nico announced.

Her duel against Zuzu ended somewhat early due to how powerful her Lyrilusc monsters were, especially her Assembled Nightingale. Even Zuzu was amazed. "Wow," she said. "I didn't think you were that good."

"Well I was the one who taught Shay how to duel," Lulu replied.

Zuzu was confused by that choice of wording. "Don't you mean he taught you how to duel?" she asked.

"Nope," Lulu answered. "I taught him."

When the Obsidian siblings were growing up, Shay never got a chance to duel because he was busy preparing himself for when he becomes the new head of ObsidianCorp. Once he was given permission to play Duel Monsters, Lulu let him borrow some of her old cards so she could teach him how to play.

Zuzu was surprised to hear that. "Oh..." she said, recalling how powerful Shay's Raidraptors are. "That's...pretty unexpected to hear."

As the two Energy Girls waited in the arena for their teammates to finish their duels, Yuya and Yuto continued on with stunning progress. They were neck-and-neck with each other, always finding counters and strategies to ensure them a victory. At that point, Yuya was able to set the Pendulum Scale with Odd-Eyes Mirage Dragon and Odd-Eyes Persona Dragon to Pendulum Summon Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon. He then overlayed Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon and Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon to XYZ Summon Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon. He was a Rank 7 WATER Dragon-Type XYZ monster with 2800 ATK and 2500 DEF. it had red and blue heterochromia eyes, dark purple skin, and light gray and light blue armor all over his entire body, encasing a dark blue orb on his chest. By using an overlay unit, Yuya can special summon an Odd-Eyes monster from the Graveyard if any of his or the opponent's monsters declares an attack. If this monster was sent to the Graveyard, an Odd-Eyes monster is special summoned from the Extra Deck except Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon. Each effect can be used once per turn.

"So that your replacement for Dark Rebellion," Yuto commented. He smirked. "Not bad, but Break Sword is still stronger."

"Not for long," Yuya said. "I activate the Spell card Spiral Flame Strike to wipe out your Break Sword!"

Using the first effect of Spiral Flame Strike, Absolute Dragon blasted out a magenta beam with black streaks spiraling around it to destroy Break Sword. However, Yuto was then allowed to bring Ragged Gloves and Silent Boots back on the field in defense mode, now at Level 4.

"Nice try," Yuto said. "But I still have the materials I need to-"

"Oh, I know," Yuya replied. "Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon, attack The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves! Double Slash Strike!"

Absolute Dragon used its signature move to attack and destroy Ragged Gloves; since it was in defense position, no damage was dealt. But oddly enough, Yuto wasn't annoyed. He was actually smiling.

"I can't believe it," Yuto said. "You actually fell for it."

Fell for what? Was this a trap that Yuto set up this whole time? That statement confused Yuya because he knows what his strategies are. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"You'll see," Yuto answered. With Yuya's turn over, he drew a card and smiled even more. "By banishing The Phantom Knights of Ragged Gloves from my Graveyard, I can transfer Phantom Knights' Wing from my deck to my Graveyard. And by banishing that card, I'll bring back The Phantom Knights of Break Sword."

Before Yuya knew it, Break Sword was special summoned back onto the field, lacking any Overlay Units. "But that's not all," Yuto said. "I activate the very card I drew during this turn: The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Launch!"

He targeted Break Sword and used it to rebuild the Overlay Network; since its ability prohibits Yuto from special summoning non-DARK monsters for the rest of his turn, he managed to work his way around it.

"Cloaked in shadows and relentless in its objective, I call upon the most dangerous of dragons!" Yuto chanted. "Go, Rank-Up XYZ Evolution! Come forth and strike, Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon!"

Yuto's ace monster appeared onto his side of the field, with his tail whipping out, his wings bolting open, and his long chin reflecting the luminescence of the lightning before bellowing out his iconic roar. But Yuya wasn't worried. He knew Yuto has a hard time using his Skill.

"Now, Dark Rebellion, use your special ability and absorb half of Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon's strength!" Yuto commanded.

Dark Rebellion extended his wings and shot out purple lightning to encase Absolute Dragon in it while halving his ATK and adding it to his own, increasing it from 2500 to 3900 until the end of this turn. But the eggplant-haired teen wasn't done.

"I activate my Skill!" Yuto exclaimed, running over to Dark Rebellion. "Mind Merge!"

Throughout the past few weeks of training and practicing, he has learned a new way to manage his Skill. Once he got on top of Dark Rebellion, his eyes started to glow periwinkle—much like when he Awakened—as their minds started to merge and they acted as a single entity.

Yuya was flabbergasted. "You can do that?!" he asked. He always thought Yuto continues struggling to manage with his Skill, so seeing this was quite the surprise for him. But he didn't want to miss out on the fun, so he proceeded to activate his Skill. Seeing that he wanted this duel to be a Dueltainment show, there was no way he's missing this opportunity since his own cousin was involved.

"I activate my Skill: Mind Merge!" Yuya cheerfully declared. He and Absolute Dragon synchronized and unified their minds into one until he saw that he has become one with his monster, as seen by his unconscious body on the floor of the arena. The sapphire-scaled dragon let out a cheerful roar, indicating to the audience that the fun has begun.

"Now hold on a minute!" Melissa exclaimed. "Since when can Duelists use their Skills on their opponent's turn?!"

"I'm not sure," Nico admitted. "But it seems Yuya has other ideas in mind." He looked at their bios. "He and Yuto recently found out their mothers were sisters prior to the dimensions separating, so Yuya wishes to perform alongside his cousin."

"Well that's mighty nice," Melissa commented.

As Nico and Melissa commentated on the first round, Yuya started his performance through the body of Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon; he knew it was still Yuto's turn, so he decided to encourage him—who was still fused with Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon—to join in as well.

However, Yuto was deeply confused. Why was his cousin running around the arena? A confused sound appeared from Dark Rebellion, but Absolute Dragon happily roared again. It sounded like the two were communicating through their dragons. Absolute Dragon continued to cheerfully growl and roar at Dark Rebellion, wanting to convince him to join in on the performance. The latter was still confused on how Dueltaining even works; even if Yuto saw glimpses of it when his soul was fused with Yuya's, he still didn't quite understand it.

Lulu laughed in amusement as she watched the duel. "Come on, Yuto!" she called out. "Don't you want to have fun with your cousin?"

Despite the arena being split into three, Dark Rebellion started to softly purr, mostly because Yuto had a feeling Lulu liked the thought of him spending time with Yuya more. The last time they spent some bonding time together was a few days before the Paradise Prep school dance. Letting out a playful roar, the XYZ dragon proceeded to fly into the sky, ready for the performance.

As Dark Rebellion soared through the air, Absolute Dragon shot crystals out from his body as the XYZ dragon produced electricity from his wings. A display of crystals and electricity sparkled all around the dragons, astonishing the audience. "Incredible!" Nico exclaimed as Dark Rebellion did a midair backflip. "I've never seen such a performance!"

Everyone cheered enthusiastically at the stunning and marvelous presentation the two dragons were creating. Yuto was amazed by the reactions. Is this what Dueltainment is all about? Was it really all about keeping the world entertained and smiling? That's what Lulu believes in, and needless to say, Dark Rebellion looked pretty satisfied.

The two dragons continued their performance, shooting out electricity and crystals through the air. Electric bolts then came into contact with the colored gems, which caused them to explode and transform into fireworks. But while Absolute Dragon couldn't fly, Dark Rebellion soared in the sky, the fireworks causing his scales to shine. Yuto enjoyed seeing everyone cheer for him and his cousins. Maybe this Dueltainment thing isn't so bad after all-

"And the winner is Gong Strong!"

The two dragons quickly finished up their last round of fireworks shortly after hearing that Gong won. Through Absolute Dragon's gleeful roars, Yuya was happy to know Team Smiles was tied with Team Noble. With Dark Rebellion back on the ground, the two cousins ended their mind merges.

"So what did you think?" Yuya asked.

Yuto got off of Dark Rebellion, a soft smile on his face. "That was amazing," he answered.

"Aw, you can do better than that!" Yuya said, wanting his cousin to smile wide.

"Trust me, this is my biggest smile," Yuto clarified. He's usually a soft-spoken and quiet person, so in a way, he wasn't as energetic and outgoing like Yuya.

"Alright!" Yuya cheerfully said. "Now let's finish this duel!"

"Of course," Yuto agreed. "Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon, attack Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon! Mauling Mandible Charge!"

Dark Rebellion charged his wings with purple lightning as the purple orbs on them began to illuminate. He then flew over to Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon to pierce him with his long, sword-like chin. However, Yuya was prepared.

"I activate the Trap card Cross Damage!" Yuya announced. "Now you lose the same amount of life points I'm about to lose!"

As Dark Rebellion's chin stabbed through Absolute Dragon, the destroyed monster exploded, engulfing part of the arena in dark gray smoke that barely covered the two, who both lost 1100 LP each.

"Not bad," Yuto said as he ended his turn with a face down. "But Dark Rebellion still has an Overlay Unit."

"I know," Yuya replied as he drew a card. "But this duel is over. This is the final turn!"

Outside of the duel, the Cardfighters who were sitting immediately recognized that phrase Yuya said. They all know "final turn" meant a Cardfighter thinks they'll win based on the card they drew; does that mean he’s going to claim a victory for his team?

"Since Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon was Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon's Overlay Unit, I get to Pendulum Summon him back onto the field!" Yuya exclaimed. "So return to the spotlight, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!"

The Pendulum "portal" opened up and Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon ricochet back onto Yuya's side of the field. "But I'm not done!" the tomato-haired teen continued. "I activate the Field Spell Sky Iris to protect Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!"

Sky Iris was…well, a Field Spell card that prohibits the opponent from using card effects to target Magicians, Performapals, or Odd-Eyes in the Pendulum Zones. Yuya can also select and destroy a face-up card he controls in order to add one Odd-Eyes card from his deck to his hand, but this effect can only be done once per turn.

"I'm also setting this monster face down on the field before I end my turn," Yuya said, knowing Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon is weaker than Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon.

Suspicion crept up Yuto as his turn was about to begin. Yuya never played a monster in face-down defense position before. What is he planning? Regardless of the plan, Yuto drew a card, deciding it would be safer to attack Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon.

"Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon, attack Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon!" Yuto exclaimed. "Mauling Mandible Charge!"

As Dark Rebellion charged for the attack, Yuya smirked. "I activate the Action Spell Trick Distraction!" he declared. "Now Dark Rebellion is forced to attack my face down monster!"

Yuto was flabbergasted. "When did you get that?" he asked.

"During our little fireworks show, I secretly used Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon's body to bring the Action Spell over to my actual body," Yuya answered.

The face-down card appeared on the field and flipped itself up to reveal itself to be Purple Poison Magician, who was pierced through Dark Rebellion's sword-chin. Purple Poison Magician was a Level 4 Scale 1 DARK Spellcaster-Type monster with 1200 ATK and 2100 DEF. His Pendulum effect gives a battling DARK Spellcaster-Type monster that Yuya controls an additional 1200 ATK during the Battle Phase before sending this card to the Graveyard. His monster effect, which treats him as a Fusion Dragon card, enables his owner to select and destroy a monster on the field after he is destroyed through battle or card effects. Yuya knew exactly which effect he is going to choose.

"Since Purple Poison Magician was sent to the Graveyard, he's taking Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon with him!" Yuya declared. "Vine Whip Ensnarement!"

Purple Poison Magician brought out some vines from the ground and commanded them by whipping them at Dark Rebellion, wrapping him around them, and pulling him down into the Graveyard with the former. Yuri watched on and was proud with this strategy he witnessed because that's something he normally does.

"Not bad, Yuya," Yuri commented. "It seems my best features have rubbed off on you."

Yuto clenched his fists. "I see," he told Yuya. "You have become a lot stronger." He set a card face down.

"Yep!" Yuya happily answered as he drew a card. "Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon, finish this off with Phantom Spiral Flame!"

"Then it's a good thing I have this," Yuto said. "I activate The Phantom Knights of Wrong Magnetring to negate your dragon's attack!"

For quite some time, the two equally-matched Duelists kept going back and forth with each other in an seemingly endless chain of summoning, activating, destroying, and banishing monsters, Spells, and Traps, losing and regaining Life Points, and mind merging with their monsters. Three archetypes against one. It was almost like a special summoning galore… Almost… Eventually, the duel ended up getting a bit boring because of how long it's been going and no victor has been decided; fortunately, this stalemate revived some lost tension as they stood looking exhausted with 100 LP each.

Declan let out a frustrated sigh. "New rule," he spoke into the microphone. "If a duel goes on for too long, whoever has the most life points after four turns is the winner."

This was a problem; the two neither had more nor less Life Points than each other. How are they going to declare the winner if they are tied? Worse, the two were already exhausted and their strongest cards were in the Graveyard.

"Yikes," Yuya said. "How are we supposed to-" His eyes widened upon seeing his cousin. "Yuto?"

Suddenly, much to everyone's shock, Yuto collapsed out of exhaustion. Because the Invasion made him slightly buffer than his counterparts, he had been recently working out at the Obsidian family gym, resulting in him getting exhausted easily; he also rarely took part in Action Duels, and seeing this one was his longest one yet, it wore him out immensely.

"Yuto!" Yuya exclaimed. He ran over to his cousin and kneeled next to him, holding the back of his head. "Speak to me!"

Yuto weakly opened his eyes and smiled. "I see her," he quietly said. "I see my mom." He took out Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon. "I leave Dark Rebellion in your care, Yuya."

"What?!" Yuya asked.

"Take care of him," Yuto said. "And remember to use your power...to keep the world entertained...and smiling."

Yuya panicked a bit. "But Zarc's no longer a problem!" he pointed out. "You can't-"

Just then, the sound of an amused laugh came out from Yuto; as it turned out, he was joking this whole time. Yuya looked offended, but he couldn't help but smile as well. "You sneak!" he exclaimed.

Yuto got back up, still laughing softly. "Gotcha," he said.

Yuya stood up. "Okay, you got me," he said. He playfully punched his cousin on the shoulder. "But that was a pretty good show we performed."

"It was," Yuto agreed. He held both of Yuya's hands. "Love you, cuz."

Yuya smiled even more. "Love you too, Yoot," he said.

All around the Center Duel Field, a collective sound of "Aww" was heard from the audience, who were touched by the cousins' fluffy moment. The two may have formed a bond during the Interdimensional War, but the revelations of their moms being sisters helped bring them closer.

"I hate to interrupt this moment, but I must declare a winner," Nico said. "So because Yuto Osaku was the first one to pass out, the winner of the final duel goes to Yuya Sakaki! Team Smiles is moving on to the final round!"

As the audience cheered and applauded after hearing the results, Yuya, Zuzu, and Gong's faces showed how genuinely content they were with advancing onto the tournament. The members of Team Noble, on the other hand, were all proud at how far their companions have gotten through, including themselves.

"Yuya, we did it!" Zuzu exclaimed. As Yuto released his grip on the tomato-haired teen, she ran over to him and hugged him tightly.

As Gong walked over to his teammates, Shay and Lulu approached Yuto. "It's alright," the heiress said. "We tried our best."

"Speak for yourself," Shay said. "I spent last night practicing for dealing with Fusion monsters and I happened to get stuck dueling the only non-Fusion Duelist on Team Smiles."

It was true; he was in the family dueling room last practicing his skills against simulations of Fusion Duelists because he was hoping he would go up against Team Obelisk, most particularly his rival Sora. Because of the arrangement of duels for the semifinals, he got stuck with Gong, his Superheavy Samurais, and his Synchro Summoning technique. The powerful effects and high DEF of his all-monster deck did a number on Shay, helping Team Smiles in moving on with a 2-to-1 score.

"Alright Team Turbo and Team Obelisk," Aichi announced. "It's your turn to duel. Good luck to both of you."

With the dividers already lowered back into the floor, Teams Smiles and Noble exited the arena to watch from the sidelines during the second round. Team Obelisk got up and walked away from where they were sitting to make their way towards the arena's center. At the same time, Team Turbo—albeit their stand-in Shinji—grabbed their Duel Runners from behind them and followed Yuri, Dennis, and Sora to begin the next set of simultaneous duels.

[real-life-pine-tree]

Arc-V Aftermath: Butterfly Connections (16/26)

When all is said and done, things have quickly recovered in the four dimensions. But when weird things start happening, the Yu-Salad Boys and the Bracelet Girls quickly realize they have some loose ends to fix. Co-written with @violetganache42​.

WARNING: Dub names will be featured in the story.

With the Team Duel Tournament slowly inching closer to its grand day, all twelve participating teams have been working extremely hard to prepare themselves for the big day. Team Noble, on the other hand, hasn't been fairing well recently. Lulu was still healing from her back surgery, anxiously and desperately waiting for the day she makes a full recovery, preferably before the tournament starts. Shay made plans to have Yugo check his prosthetic leg; his parents gave him a day off to make sure it gets repaired, so he decided to use it tomorrow. Yuto was also deducing from a list of XYZ Duelists which one will be the team's stand-in. With all three members forced to face their own problems, they may not be fully prepared to compete.

At the moment, Yuto was getting frustrated. He tried to find good XYZ Duelists to see if any of them would make a good stand-in, but due to Shay and Lulu coming from a high background, anyone he met became too scared, fearing their cards weren't on the same level as the Obsidian siblings. So right now, things weren't looking good for him.

As a breather, he decided to go somewhere to take his mind off of this and relax. Maybe the local museum the Yu-Salad went to? At this point, he needed anything to lower his frustration and focus on something else for a little while, so the museum may be the best place to go.

At the museum, Yuto was still a bit upset. His best friend and girlfriend were counting on him to find a stand-in, but he couldn't. He didn't want his team to get disqualified, but what could he do?

Frustrated, Yuto pounded his fist against a display case. "I wish there was a way to fix this," he confessed out loud, leaning his head against the display case. "I wish I could be helpful to my team. I wish..." He let out a frustrated sigh. "I wish things were back to normal!"

"You seem rather distressed."

Yuto heard an adult female voice and turned around to see where it came from. He noticed a tan-skinned, blue-eyed woman with straight black hair that went below her shoulder and two locks wrapped in gold rings, stopping past her neck. She also had a gold head wear around her head that had an emerald on the front of her forehead. She wore a white, ankle-length dress that partially exposed her shoulders, having black patterns around the neck and rims of the sleeves, and a pair of white flats. She even had some sort of golden Egyptian necklace. Who was this woman? Is she one of the museum's employees or was she visiting as well?

"Sorry," Yuto said, stepping away from the display case. "I have a lot on my mind. I'm-"

"You are Yuto Osaku," the woman said. "The fragment of Zarc Nightstone who is loving and compassionate."

Yuto was a bit baffled. "How...?"

"My apologies," the woman said. "I have heard about you and your other selves from the news. You four are taking part in an upcoming tournament, correct?"

Yuto nodded his head, still left a bit speechless on how she easily knew who he was. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I am Ishizu Ishtar," the woman answered. "I serve as the museum's curator. I recall seeing your friend, Yuya Sakaki, a while ago in this very room."

He also remembered that moment as well. He explained to Ishizu that after Yuya was revived, he, Yugo, and Yuri were temporarily fused into the tomato-haired teen's body, while also indicating about how he went on a tour of Paradise City and was shown the Egyptian exhibit.

"I see," Ishizu said. "So why have you come to visit?"

"It's my team," Yuto answered. "The tournament is in a few days and I'm worried my teammates won't be able to recover."

"Because of the injuries they received from the Invasion?" Ishizu asked.

Yuto looked anguished when he heard that, but it was true. He told her about Lulu receiving a huge scar on her back, ended up with temporary spinal plates, and recently got surgery to have them removed. As for Shay, he had his left leg amputated and replaced with a robotic prosthetic and how it's been on the fritz. As a result, he needs to find a stand-in for their team.

"I cannot blame them," Ishizu said. "Your best friend and girlfriend had grown up in an elite environment. They had to learn to adapt to harsh conditions. You, on the other hand, were born a commoner, thus the only injury you received was a light scar on your right ear."

Okay, her knowing who he was and what he was doing was one thing, but how does she even recognize their hardships like it was nothing? Was she psychic or something? Did she witness these events as well?

"How did you know...?" Yuto asked.

"I can see your scar hidden underneath your hair," Ishizu explained. "I have learned to pay attention to every detail, even the sorrow in your eyes."

Dang, she was extremely good at deduction. His scar was small and barely noticeable, so having someone with a keen eye and an observing mindset was pretty impressive.

"I can also tell you are nervous about other things," Ishizu continued. "While a recent formal party assured you that your girlfriend genuinely loves you, you are worried it might not last very long since you two met very recently compared to your other selves. You are also concerned about her not being able to walk again."

Maybe she was a little too good at observation. How did she even know what he was going through? Yeah, he had met Lulu several months ago and has grown to love her, but with recent complications, he kept finding himself questioning their relationship, even wondering if they would get married at all. He even felt bad about the spontaneous proposal when he first visited her. Has Ishizu been visiting the hospital for the past few weeks? He obviously doesn't recall seeing her there, so this situation became a bit more baffling.

"I can assure you that everything will work out," Ishizu said, lightly touching her necklace. "As long as you remain loyal and kind, you will have a bright future with her."

The necklace began to glow and flashed a bright light, blinding Yuto. In a matter of seconds, he regained his vision to find himself in a church, with a lot of people sitting down. At first, he wasn't sure what was going on and who these people were until he saw someone that looked like him and was wearing a suit. Is that his adult self?

"Is that...me?" Yuto asked.

There was no denying that this person was an older Yuto, but what was going on and why was he formally dressed up like that? He heard the sound of the church's double doors opening and turned to see who it was. There was no doubt it was a bride, but he immediately spotted the long, dark purple hair. It was Lulu, and she was…standing? She began to walk down towards the altar as the person played music on the organ. But how is that possible? Fonda said there was a high chance of her not walking and she had to be in a wheelchair.

"This is your future, Yuto Osaku," Izhizu explained. "You will live a long and happy life with your girlfriend. While it is true that you only met months ago, the love between you two is unbreakable."

Based on what she said, does that mean he and Lulu will get married? According to the vision, it seemed most likely; even though voices weren't heard from the people at the church, it was clearly a remarkable ceremony. He couldn't believe that this was actually his future.

"I do."

"I do."

Yuto witnessed the priest declaring his and Lulu's future selves husband and wife before the two embraced in a kiss, leaving their friends and families overjoyed and some with tears of joy. He was left nonplussed yet relieved and also a bit excited that this was the future that Ishizu predicted.

"So that's my future," Yuto said as the vision ended. "I really am going to marry Lulu. How can I make that vision come true?"

"While I cannot tell you everything, I can tell you two things," Ishizu answered. "First of all, speak to the lilac-haired girl who still believes in fairytales. She will be happy to act as your team's stand-in. Secondly, the next time you see Yugi Muto, tell him to come to this museum. I wish to talk to him about something that should have occurred years ago."

The lilac-haired girl who still believes in fairytales… Is she referring to Sarah Glitters? Does she know she'll be a perfect backup member of Team Noble? It sure sounds like it. Sarah and Lulu were great friends, so she actually may be the perfect choice for her to fill in the Lyrilusc user's place. Also, who was Yugi Muto? His name sounds familiar; although Yuto was within Yuya's merging mind, he may have had an idea of what his appearance was, but he might need to bring Yuya along to help find him just in case.

"Thank you," Yuto said. But he was about to leave the museum when Ishizu placed her hand on his shoulder.

"There is one last thing I must tell you," Ishizu said. "Lono is very proud of what you have done."

Yuto raised both eyebrows in astonishment. All this time, he believed he never got to fulfill his mother's last words and had let her down. Seeing where he currently was, from helping Yuya end the War to getting a job at ObsidianCorp, he realized Lono has always been proud of his achievements. He thanked Ishizu again for the kind words before leaving the museum to fulfill the two things that needed to be done. Since there was no school today, he can rule out Heartland Duel School as one of the places to look, but where was Sarah? If he had his Duel Disk with him, he could contact her, but he had the search for her the old-fashioned way.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Sarah was visiting Lulu, who was still recovering from her surgery. She was healing at a steady pace, but she was uncertain if her back would be fully healed before the tournament begins.

"Shay is going to get his leg checked tomorrow," Sarah informed. "He'll still be able to take part in the tournament."

"I hope I can recover by then," Lulu sadly said. "My family chose to sponsor for the tournament to help improve our fortune. Being on that field and representing the Obsidian name is important."

"I know," Sarah said, gently squeezing Lulu's hand. "I might not understand what you're going through, but you have my full support."

Sarah then asked how Yuto's been doing during the past few weeks and learned that he was struggling with finding a stand-in for Team Noble in case Lulu doesn't heal in time. He's requested as many Duelists as possible in the conglomerate of Domino City, New Domino City, Heartland, and Paradise City, but so far he had no luck. Right now, he was trying to de-stress for a while before resuming with his objective.

"Poor guy," Sarah said, sounding concerned. "The stress must be getting to him."

Just then, approaching footsteps were heard from outside of Lulu's recovery room. As they got closer, a figure appeared in front of the room. It was Yuto; "speak of the devil", as the old saying goes. Lulu and Sarah were both glad to see him; the dark purple-haired girl wished she could give him a hug if it weren't for her spinal scars. Nonetheless, the girls mentioned that they were talking about him and were worried if he was going to be alright. It was almost as if his instincts felt two people discussing a topic regarding him.

"Hi Yuto," Sarah said. "What brings you here?"

"Sarah, I'm so glad I found you," Yuto said. "Would you like to be Team Noble's stand-in?"

That was a question Sarah didn't expect to hear. He must've asked hundreds—or even thousands—of Duelists the same request, but it never occurred to him to ask her? Regardless, she happily responded that she would; since she rarely duels, this was an opportunity for her to use her Fairy Tails again. She was also curious as to why Yuto suddenly asked her with only a few days left until the first day of the tournament.

"Why me?" Sarah asked.

"I remember seeing your strategies in the dueling club," Yuto answered. "Your Fairy Tail deck is amazing and I want everyone to see them in action."

She recalled those rare moments when she did duel a few times in the dueling club. She worked as hard as she could to perfect her strategies ever since the day she first got her Fairy Tails. With her regained confidence during Yuya's time in the XYZ Dimension, she will be a prefect backup player for her team, especially helping out her friend win the tournament and represent the Obsidian family.

"Okay," Sarah said. "I'll do it."

"Great!" Yuto exclaimed, sounding too happy. "Now can anyone send a message to Yuya? I need him to locate someone named Yugi Muto."

The two girls' eyes widened when Yuto said Yugi's name. Sarah has never heard of him before, but he and Lulu both explained that their Pendulum counterparts met him when they went to the Fusion Dimension to have Leo initiate the separation procedure early due to the sudden mind merge. They both have an idea of what he looks like, but Yuya and Zuzu know him better than the XYZ duo, so that was why the tomato-haired teen needed to be notified. Fortunately, the spectacled girl brought her Duel Disk with her and said she'll message Yuya to help Yuto find Yugi.

"Thanks Sarah," Yuto said. "This is what Yuya needs to know."

Meanwhile, at the Sakaki residence, Yuya was skimming through his Performapal, Odd-Eyes, and Magician cards, memorizing the strategies he, Zuzu, and Gong came up with. They made great progress with their training, especially considering the fact that he and his pink-haired girlfriend have both excelled in using their Skills, both in and out of a duel. He stopped scanning through his deck to see Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and softly smiled while his eyes grew determined. They will soon be ready to start bringing smiles to the audience now that everything is officially peaceful. His deep thinking was cut off when a notification alarm sounded from his Duel Disk. He went to his nightstand and grabbed the Duel Disk to see who was messaging him.

Yuya's eyes widened as he read the message. "Someone wants to speak to Yugi at the museum?" he mused. "But why?"

Whatever was going on, it was clear Yuto needed his help in locating him. He replied to the text, asking Sarah where his XYZ counterpart is and where they should meet up. After clicking "Send", he organized his cards and placed them back into his Duel Disk, then he started putting his shoes on.

"Mom, I'm heading over to meet up with Yuto!" Yuya called out.

Yoko replied that he should make sure he returns before dinner, with her son saying that he will upon leaving his bedroom, bringing his Duel Disk with him to see if Sarah responded. Back at the hospital, she received Yuya's message, saying he's on his way, where Yuto is, and if they should meet up somewhere.

"How about telling Yuya to meet him at that small game shop?" Lulu suggested. "Celina said it originated from the Fusion Dimension."

"Small game shop...?" Sarah asked. "You mean Kame Game Shop?"

"Yeah, that's the one," Lulu answered.

As Sarah responded to Yuya's text, Yuto thought that was an interesting place to meet up. He figured that's where Yugi lives, but since all eight counterparts, especially Yuya and Zuzu, were frantically finding a way to get to Duel Academy and the Pendulum duo conveniently stopped by at Kame Game Shop, he might need to ask someone in the Fusion Dimension for directions. With this in mind, he made his decision to head to the Domino City portion of the mashed-up unnamed city immediately; after all, Ishizu most likely had something important to say to the tri-color-haired man.

"Ishizu sounded a bit concerned when she told me she needed to speak to Yugi," Yuto recalled. "I hope what she needs to tell him is important."

Before Yuto left the hospital, he quickly explained to the girls that Ishizu was the museum's curator who also knew about Zarc, Ray, and their reincarnations from the news, just to be sure they weren't confused. He said he'll explain more when he returns with the Obsidians, resulting in Lulu nodding her head and saying she'll see him later and Sarah stating she's looking forward to the tournament. Yuto waved goodbye as he headed down the hall towards the elevator. With a click of the "Floor 1" button, it brought him down to the main lobby at a steady pace. He departed through the automatic doors and proceeded to run down the sidewalk to meet up with his cousin.

Some time later, Yuto arrived at the Domino City section of the city; at one point, he chose to take the bus because it was most likely a far walk to there from the Paradise City section now that all four dimensions merged back into one. After being dropped off at one of the bus stops, he had to find someone to ask for directions to Kame Game Shop. He had a feeling of what path Yuya and Zuzu took to get there, but he wanted to be sure. He began running again through the streets of the Domino City section to look for the first person he sees.

"Excuse me?" Yuto asked a brown-haired teen wearing a green hoodie. "Where's Kame Game Shop from here?"

"Right down the block," the teen answered, speaking in a gruff tone.

Yuto thanked the teen as he made his way down the block. He wasn't kidding because the closer Phantom Knight user got to the game shop, the easier it was to recognize Yuya. Then again, it isn't hard to lose him due to his tomato-shaped haircut, Odd-Eyed-colored irises, his goggles with a light blue star on the right lens, and his main appearance in general. It's like finding a needle in a haystack…except the needle sticks out like a sore thumb.

"Hey Yuto," Yuya said, happy to see his cousin. "This is Kame Game Shop."

"Great," Yuto said, relieved. "Now we just have to find this Yugi person."

"Yeah... About that..." Yuya said as he and Yuto entered the shop.

Their search was going to be the shortest they ever went on because little does Yuto know is that Yugi lives and works there. Lately the shop has been a hit because he was selling vintage cards, which have become a popular trend throughout the city; how else was Zuzu able to obtain a vintage Polymerization card for Rin?

"Welcome to Kame Game Shop," Yugi said. "How may I- Hey there, Yuya. Long time, no see."

"Thanks Yugi," Yuya happily said. "Glad to see you too."

Not long after the Original Dimension returned, Yugi managed to keep in touch with his high school friends. He has also gotten much happier as his eyes are more open and no longer glazed. He noticed the eggplant-haired teen that looked very similar to Yuya although he was wearing glasses.

"I think I saw you before," Yugi said. "You're Yuto Osaku."

"Correct," Yuto answered. "I'm Yuya's cousin."

"Cousin?" Yugi asked. "Is that what you interdimensional counterparts are calling each other?"

"No, just me and Yuto," Yuya explained. "Turns out our moms are sisters."

Yugi was surprised to hear this revelation; he never thought those two were actually related. He was also informed about how their mothers were also residents of the Original Dimension before the split occurred. Speaking of past events, he shared his mournful words to Yuto about what happened to Lono since he now had an understanding of the Interdimensional War. He thanked the tri-color-haired man for his sympathy and explained how he, the Obsidians, and the Sakakis attended a quick, private funeral because he never had time to mourn her death until a few weeks ago. Naturally, Yugi understood what Yuto meant by that. With side talks done with, he asked why the two cousins stopped by.

"Ishizu Ishtar, the museum's curator, wants to speak to you," Yuto answered. "She didn't say why, but that I had to bring you to her."

Yuto also noted that she was a bit concerned about what she wants to say and it was also really important. He assumed it probably had something to do with the Egyptian exhibit the Yu-Salad checked out a while ago since he visited there earlier. Yugi was intrigued by this exhibit Yuto mentioned; he's heard of it from a few people, but he never got a chance to see it for himself because of him working.

"Wait..." Yugi realized. "How did she know my name?"

"I'm not sure," Yuto answered. "But my cousin and I better come with you just in case."

"Huh?! How did I get wrapped-up in this?!" Yuya asked.

Yuto told Yuya that something this important might have a possibility of them also being involved, so it never hurts to tag along and find out for themselves. Besides, Yugi has never been to that part of the city ever since Zarc's attack and the dimensional split, and the two are the only ones that can help bring him to the museum since they know how to get there from here.

"You are right about us being involved," Yuya said. "Who knows what else Zarc did when he was whole."

The Yu-trio all agreed to head over to the museum immediately, with Yugi hanging up a sign on the door saying what time he'll be back. As they walked down the street, Yuto remarked on how he took the bus to meet up with his cousin, which means they'll be heading towards the same bus stop that dropped him off. In all honesty, it definitely beats running several miles to Kame Game Shop in Yuya's opinion, even if the run was beneficial for his health. The three had already passed the spot where the brown-haired teen was; he probably went off somewhere, trying to find his insect-loving rival. A few minutes later, they reached the bus stop and waited for the next bus to take them to the Paradise City section.

During the bus ride, Yuto noticed Yugi was inspecting him. "Can I help you?" the eggplant-haired teen asked.

"You feel...familiar for some reason," Yugi confessed. "Almost like something is missing."

Yuto wondered what Yugi means and why he said something like that. Is he trying to remember an event or a specific person; well, he knows who Zarc was, what he did, and the aftermath of his onslaught, so it obviously couldn't be that. Ruling that out still left an igniting question: what quality does Yuto possess that felt familiar to their companion?

"How come?" Yuto asked.

"Seeing you seems to trigger a voice calling out to me," Yugi answered. "An ancient, powerful voice."

An ancient, powerful voice? Why would Yuto trigger it? Was it because he has something in common with it? Was his knightly, noble, loyal, and determined demeanor similar to it? Whatever the case was, it made him have more questions than answers. Hopefully, their conversation with Ishizu can help clarify things.

Yuya noticed his cousin's confused expression. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I'm sure this Ishizu woman has a good explanation."

Yuto looked at Yuya when he spoke, only to have his face change into a more "I hope so, too" expression. He wondered if this parallel between him and the voice is connected to what the museum's curator had to say. During that time, the bus dropped him, his cousin, and Yugi off at one of the bus stops in the Paradise City section. Coincidentally, it was the same bus stop that Yuto was at. Now they just need to figure out how to get to the museum.

"This area of the city isn't that different from Paradise City," Yuya said. "I know where the museum is from here."

Yuya led the way as the two headed downtown to the museum. As they walked, Yugi looked on his left and right to see the city section's different views. As a citizen of the Original Dimension who grew up in its Fusion reincarnation, he has never been to Yuya's hometown (at least, something very similar to it), so this was all new to him. The buildings were constructed in a way that greatly contradicted how his hometown was structured; it actually felt more like a city. Their stroll through the downtown portion left him awestruck; he couldn't believe how beautiful it appeared. Once the talk with Ishizu was done, he may have to schedule a day to visit the Paradise City section.

Pretty soon, the Yu-trio arrived at the museum. They climbed up some set of stairs before entering through the double doors. Inside the building, Yuya tried to look for Ishizu, but Yuto decided to take over since he knows what she looks like and will most likely meet up with her at the Egyptian exhibit. Yugi followed the two cousins through the museum until they reached the exhibit. Sure enough, the curator was still there, waiting for them.

"Hello Yugi Muto," Ishizu said. "I'm glad you could make it."

"You must be Ishizu Ishtar," Yugi said. "What is it you wished to tell me?"

"It is rather simple," Ishizu answered. She glanced at Yuya and Yuto. "Yuya Sakaki and Yuto Osaku, you were never meant to exist."

Yuya and Yuto were both taken back by what she said, with wide eyes and dropped jaws. All this time, they weren't meant to exist? But why? What event caused them to even be around in the first place?

"You're kidding!" Yuya exclaimed as Yuto clenched his fists in anger.

"No, I am not," Ishizu explained. "And neither were the other six counterparts. It was always supposed to be Zarc Nightstone and Ray Akaba. When I heard the Millennium Puzzle was discovered, I was able to see a series of events unfold before me. It was a straightforward timeline with two separate futures: a world with Synchros and a world with XYZs." She lightly touched her necklace.

Before the Yu-trio knew it, they were blinded by a light that emanated from the necklace. They regained their vision to see an island with some sort of castle; was this part of this timeline they were told about? In the island were a bunch of Duelists scattered around the island engaging in duels, but there was one group in particular that they spotted. They noticed Yugi and Téa with their friends, which the tri-color-haired man immediately recognized as Joey Wheeler and Tristan Taylor, leaving them speechless as what they're witnessing.

"You recognize those people?" Yuya asked.

"Of course," Yugi said, sounding happy. "Those are my friends!"

"Then what is this place?" Yuto asked.

"I'm not sure," Yugi admitted. "I never went to a place like this."

They soon were whisked away into a city in Japan, where a tournament was taking place; they saw someone that looked like Yugi dueling against a mind-controlled mime wielding a powerful monster. From the looks of things, he activated Brain Control to take control of the mime's token, causing an endless loop of drawing cards that let him win the duel and obtaining a monster card called Slifer the Sky Dragon. Of course, the person controlling the mime's mind wasn't very happy, which was later revealed on who he was as the Yu-trio then saw a blimp flying over the city. In it, Joey had won a duel against a bald Egyptian man, who had just fell unconscious, resulting in the darkness taking over his adopted brother named Marik Ishtar.

This villain, dubbed Yami Marik, was the main threat for Yugi and his friends as Seto Kaiba's Battle City Tournament progressed with its finals, before getting sidetracked by five former KaibaCorp employees and a green-haired kid. They soon witnessed another duel going on, with Yugi's look-alike and Kaiba going against an Atlantean person, who was the leader of an organization and the creator of a very powerful Spell card called the Seal of Orichalcos, which was capable of capturing the loser's soul to help reawaken an ancient leviathan. They also got a glimpse at a tournament being held in KaibaLand somewhere in America, where a pink-haired teen from Kaiba's past released a virus that removed a lot of his rival company's files. Finally, they saw a Shadow RPG between the Yugi look-alike and a sinister white-haired thief; as it turns out, the two were spirits from Ancient Egypt and a quest to regain the pharaoh's lost memories, leading to a Ceremonial Battle between Yugi and his other self, which was revealed to be Atem.

With that, another bright light flashed in front of Yuya, Yuto, and the adult Yugi, bringing them back to the museum and leaving them stunned at the set of events that should have unfolded years ago and how it affected the future.

"Those events led to many bright futures," Ishizu continued. "And many more Duelists became great heroes, including a bi teen named Jaden Yuki, a motorcyclist named Yusei Fudo, and a soon-to-be explorer named Yuma Tsukamo. If it wasn't for you, Yugi Muto, those Duelists wouldn't have been inspired."

"But what happened that caused that to change?" Yuya asked. "And what does this have to do with me and my cousin?"

Ishizu brought the three over to the golden box that supposedly contained the ancient puzzle. "It was when Solomon Muto donated the Millennium Puzzle to the museum," she answered.

"My grandpa?" Yugi asked. "I don't remember him having a puzzle."

"You were very young when it happened," Ishizu explained. "Solomon heard about the explorers who died trying to find the Puzzle, so when he obtained it, he feared for your life if you were to accidentally come across it. He thought donating it to the museum would keep you safe."

Yugi leaned forward to read what the hieroglyphics said in the box, which said, "The one who solves me shall gain the powers and knowledge of darkness…" He understood that his grandpa did this for his safety, but he was in disbelief that the Millennium Puzzle never made him into the more confident person that he saw his younger self become. The explorers must have died because they may not have been considered worthy of owning the Puzzle. He stared at the box containing the pieces of one of the Millennium Items, with a sad look on his eyes. He muttered out Atem's name because the two would have been amazing partners, much like brothers.

"So what lead to this timeline?" Yuto asked.

"In the original timeline, Seto Kaiba had scheduled to meet up with Leo Akaba in hopes of improving Duel Monsters," Ishizu answered. "But due to complications, the meeting was canceled."

"What complications?" Yugi asked.

"Your grandfather's Blue-Eyes White Dragon," Ishizu explained.

Yugi was surprised. "But why?" he asked. "That card is still in the shop. I never took it out of the box grandpa put it in because of how much it meant to him."

"Then how about I show you instead?" Ishizu replied, her necklace glowing once more.

The trio was then brought to a vision of where he and his high school friends were at Kame Game Shop when Kaiba showed up. He wanted to have Solomon's Blue-Eyes White Dragon because there were only four in existence, but despite the offer of a suitcase of Duel Monsters, Solomon rejected the offer because of the connection he had with it. Later, the tri-color-haired man was seen the aftermath of what happened. He and his friends were mad at Kaiba for hurting Solomon after winning the duel against him. Just then, he took out a Blue-Eyes White Dragon card from his pants pocket.

"And look at the sweet prize I won," Kaiba said as he ripped the card in half, leaving everyone shocked at what he did.

"Grandpa's most treasured card!" the teenage Yugi exclaimed in total incredulity. His alternate adult self also watched as the events unfolded, much to his initial dismay.

"Why are you showing me this?!" Yugi asked Ishizu, tears forming from his eyes.

"Wait, I think there's more," Yuya said. But Yuto remained quiet, almost as if he was thinking about something.

The three saw teenage Yugi being handed the deck Solomon used, with the latter reminding his grandson to believe in the heart of the cards. As Joey, Tristan, and Téa escorted his grandfather to the hospital, the Millennium Puzzle started to glow; it looked like he was transforming.

In a flash of bright light, standing in Yugi's place was Atem, under the alias of Yami Yugi prior to recovering his memories. This left Kaiba startled at the transformation while the Yu-trio were more amazed. Well...almost.

Yuya had to cover his mouth to muffle a laugh. "What?" Yuto asked.

"Wow, Yugi," Yuya said. "Are you some kind of magical girl in this timeline?"

Yugi blushed out of embarrassment; there was no way he would be considered a magical girl—or a magical boy, technically speaking—in that timeline. ...Could he? He brushed off the thought as he, Yuya, and Yuto witnessed Kaiba and Atem's first duel; the rules to Duel Monsters were a bit different at that time before Battle City, so the cousins were a little confused. Regardless, they watched as the resurrected pharaoh was backed into a corner now that his opponent had summoned his three Blue-Eyes White Dragon, leaving them worried. Fortunately, their worries subsided when a victory move was about to be made that would construct the path to Yugi's legacy.

"Draw your last pathetic card so I can end this, Yugi," Kaiba said, sounding a bit impatient.

"My grandpa has no pathetic cards," Atem said. "But he does have..." He revealed a card. "The unstoppable Exodia."

Yuya was greatly confused. "Exodia...?" he asked. "Never heard of that card..."

"Not one card," Yugi explained. "Five."

He explained that there are five cards that create Exodia the Forbidden One: two arms, two legs, and a head. If you have all five of them in your hand, you automatically win the duel. Yuya and Yuto were dumbfounded at the fact that a monster existed with such an unbeatable effect. One might say it was basically invincible.

"That sounds a bit unfair," Yuya admitted.

"I guess the rules really were different back then," Yuto speculated, sounding a bit sad as his fists were clenched.

He was right; Duel Monsters had completely different rules when it was becoming popular. Back then, Duelists had 2000 LP and can summon high level monsters without tributing. At the same time, however, he couldn't stop thinking about what Ishizu said earlier. If he was never meant to exist, then what was the point of having a happy future with Lulu?

As the vision continued, Atem had just places all five Exodia cards in the monster zones. An aquamarine star appeared on the duel field, with arms and legs coming out of it before revealing a head and out came the Forbidden One. Kaiba stood there in fear as the winning move was about to be declared.

"Exodia, obliterate!" yelled out Atem.

With that, the unstoppable monster blasted away the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons as Kaiba screamed, bringing his LP down to 0. Off in the distance, his younger brother Mokuba was having a hard time comprehending that his older brother just lost a duel.

"This can't be right..." Yugi said. "In my timeline, Kaiba was unbeatable. How could I...?"

"There's more," Ishizu spoke, her voice heard inside their heads.

Yugi, Yuya, and Yuto continued watching to see what she means. They noticed a symbol appearing on Atem's forehead that resembled the eye on the Millennium Puzzle.

"Mind Crush!"

With the Punishment Game given to Kaiba, he fell to his knees, opening a gate that would lead him to become Yugi's greatest rival.

Meanwhile, at Leo Corporation…

"Mr. Akaba, I just received a call from KaibaCorp," an employee said. "Seto Kaiba has canceled the meeting due to suddenly falling ill."

"I see..." Leo said. He let out a sad sigh. "I hope he recovers. I wanted to see if he could help me add mass to the current Solid Vision technology."

A bright light flashed in front of Yugi, Yuya, and Yuto's eyes yet again, bringing them back to the museum with Ishizu standing not too far away from the display case. They were all very confused, especially, the cousins, on why it abruptly cut over to Leo Corporation.

"On that day, Action Duels were never developed," Ishizu explained. "Leo Corporation was soon forgotten as KaibaCorp became successful. But all was not lost. During the events of Battle City, Ray Akaba met a boy named Michael Lindonson, and over time the two became friends, which soon blossomed into romance and eventually became marriage."

That name struck a cord with Yuya and Yuto. "That must have been Zarc's real name," Yuya realized.

"Correct," Ishizu said. "But without that fixed point, Seto Kaiba was able to have his meeting with Leo, allowing Action Duels to trend. But because Seto first demonstrated Action Duels through rather violent strategies, that became the new trend, leading to Zarc Nightstone destroying the world."

Yugi definitely remembered that part because he was there when the attack happened. Prior to the end of the world, he had also heard the news of Kaiba and Leo releasing Action Duels to the public. Although they were enjoyable to everyone, he felt something was off about them. He wasn't the kind of person who likes violence, so he preferred not to conform to the social norm, which were violent duels.

"But there is more," Ishizu continued. "Originally the Natural Energy Cards were only supposed to free Zarc from the corruption of his dragons. But by that point the timeline was severely damaged, so the four dimensions were created as an attempt to maintain reality, something that not even the Akabas were aware of. As a result, duplicates of various people from the original timeline were created among the confusion."

"Then how come I never heard of Kaiba?" Yuya asked. "If Yugi knew about him, I should have seen him in the Fusion Dimension."

"You have," Ishizu answered. "His name is Declan Akaba."

Now THAT was a twist the Yu-trio didn't expect to learn about. A highly flabbergasted Yuya was very puzzled on how that was even possible. For the Yu-Salad and Energy Girls, it was understandable, but there may be more counterparts than he thought. Confusion kept racing in his mind and felt like he was going to pass out, with Yugi and Yuto helping him not faint. The tomato-haired teen then barely managed to regain his composure.

"But I saw Kaiba from those visions!" Yuya pointed out. "He looks nothing like Declan!"

"Correct," Ishizu said. "But when the four dimensions were created, Seto Kaiba was erased from existence, resulting in Declan Akaba being created to take his place. I am not sure why that occurred, but I suspect it was reincarnation."

Yuya felt like he needed time to process what he was discovering so far while Yuto was still saddened about how he was never meant to have a happy future after all. There were so many pros and cons to the two differing timelines that they don't know if them existing really was pointless. They weren't having suicidal thoughts, don't worry; they were just wondering what was the point of the Interdimensional War if Yugi was destined to have the Millennium Puzzle.

"So you're saying this is all because someone decided to protect his grandson?" Yuto asked, shaking in rage. "IT'S ALL HIS FAULT?"

Yuya tried to comfort his cousin, but Yugi wasn't sure if it was a good idea at the moment and recommended waiting until Yuto calmed down a bit. At the same time, Ishizu was wasn't expecting the sudden mood change from the eggplant-haired teen.

"You said I was going to have a happy future with my girlfriend!" Yuto told Ishizu. "Why did you show me that vision if I wasn't supposed to exist?!"

Ishizu honestly wasn't sure how to respond the situation, but she did feel bad about Yuto learning this discovery. The best she could do right now is to try and help him relax. "I only wanted you to bring Yugi Muto to the museum," she said. "You and your cousin were never meant to hear this."

"But I'm here!" Yuto exclaimed, tears coming from his eyes due to conflicting emotions. "What am I?! Why was I created?!"

Ishizu was silent for a few seconds, but she ultimately spoke. "You and the other counterparts were originally supposed to recreate the four original heroes and their love interests," she explained. "It was the only way to prevent the timeline from collapsing, but Zarc quickly realized what had happened, so he vowed to not let his legacy be forgotten."

With tears still pouring from his eyes, Yuto slowly began to understand the true reasoning behind the Yu-Salad's Awakenings. They were signs of Zarc wanting to reawaken his legacy, which explained the dark aura that sometimes emitted from Yuya and Yuri. The darkness was that desire to pick up where he left off. To continue his reign of terror all across the dimensions. To bring fear to everyone with only one single purpose: winning.

"Then that's all I am," Yuto realized, looking at his clenched fist. "Nothing more than a puppet for someone else's enjoyment."

"Yuto..." Yuya said, sounding concerned.

Suddenly, Yuto took off his Duel Disk and gave it to Yuya. "I'm sorry," he said. "But I can't take part in the tournament." Then before his cousin could say anything else, he ran out of the museum, heartbroken with the revelation.

Yuya, Yugi, and Ishizu were all concerned about Yuto and how what he has discovered will affect him. They should take action as quickly as possible, but they weren't sure how. The tomato-haired teen looked down at the Duel Disk his cousin gave him. As a lonely and timid child, he had no interests in Duel Monsters and only had his Dark Rebellion XYZ Dragon, which led him to playing the card game. Does that mean Yuto was thinking about not dueling anymore? The thought of it made Yuya upset.

"I better speak to Shay about this," Yuya said, clutching his cousin's Duel Disk. "I can't stand seeing Yuto this upset."