Dennis looked up from the ground as his Life Points hit zero. He smiled weakly at Celina, but before she could activate her Duel Disk to turn him into a card, three men in helmets and blue uniforms warped onto the field, surrounding them.
They ignored Dennis completely. "Target Celina identified. You are coming back with us, by orders of Professor."
Before they could grab her, Reiji's voice cut across the field over the stadium speakers. He sent a command to intercept enemy and save Celina and Yuzu.
Instantly, ten students appeared on the battlefield, leading by Yu Sakuragi, last year's champion and the strongest of the Youth Class. He stepped directly in front of the three Obelisk Force soldiers, blocking their path. Along with his companions.
"You people aren't getting anywhere," Yu said coldly.
Back in LDS Command, Reiji watched the screens. Nakajima turned to him. "President, the Fuma Ninjas have reported. They have successfully taken Celina and Hiragi Yuzu to the Ice Area."
Reiji nodded tightly. "Okay." He watched the main screen as Yu Sakuragi and the Youth Class Team began their battle with the Obelisk Force.
Reiji needed to see if Standard Dimension's best could hold the line.
# Northern Zone: Ice Area
The Ice Area was filled with giant, frozen rocks. Tsukikage and Hikage moved with blinding speed, carrying Celina and Yuzu. They ran and leaped so quickly that everything around Yuzu blurred. Only when they slowed down to a normal walking speed she could see and hear, so they wouldn't slip on ice.
Hikage let go of Yuzu, letting her stand on her own. Beside her, Celina violently twisted her arm out of Tsukikage's grip. Her face was red with fury. Since she spoke, her voice was high and loud, commanding like a general.
"What do you think you are doing?! Why did you interfere?! I was going to card that guy!"
Hikage looked at his brother. "Tsukikage, I am going back to aid in fighting the enemy. You take care here."
"Yes, Brother," Tsukikage replied. In a blink, Hikage disappeared.
Celina pointed a furious finger at Tsukikage. "Don't interfere with my fights! I know you aren't with Academia, but I don't need help! I can defend myself!"
Yuzu stared at her. The resemblance was terrifying—the face, the jawline, the shape of eyes, they were identical. Yuzu felt her emotional limits breaking. "Are you Ruri?! Yuto told me about You! You look just like me! Did you escape from Academia? Is that why they are capturing you? Have you found Yuto and Shun?" She said very fast.
Celina stood tall and crossing her arms. "I am Celina. I came here to prove my worth, but I have not escaped. But Professor certainly ordered the Obelisk Force to take me back."
"Professor?" Yuzu asked, confused. "Who is that?"
Celina's voice became serious. To her, the Professor was everything. "Professor is our savior. Few years ago, my world was destroyed by a terrible war. Terrorist sovereigns ruled over us. We were helpless, like ants against an elephant. There was nothing we could do."
She gestured sharply as she continued.
"Those sovereigns had special dark cards that could create monsters with actual physical bodies. And all we had was just holographic images. They crushed our homes like they were made of paper. The terrorists demanded unconditional surrender and began carding thousands of our people who refused, to make us obey. It was the sovereigns who invented the carding process to turn people into cards and lock them away forever."
Yuzu listened, horrified.
"But then," Celina continued, "the Professor came. He saved all of us. He took their carding process as a temporary tool to unite the worlds and open the gates of Paradise. We were able to beat the terrorists and be guided toward Utopia."
"Uniting them...?" Yuzu whispered.
Celina declared proudly. "Uniting the worlds into one perfect whole is how a perfect world will be created. I want to help establish it. I refuse to accept that I can't give my part in making this Paradise."
Yuzu shook her head. Utterly confused. "How can you call that honor when all you do is destroy?! Academia invaded the Xyz Dimension. You attacked innocent people and carded them. You call that honor?!"
Celina smiled a little, a cold, confident look. "Are Xyz people not Duelists? If they are, they should fight back. We won because we are strong. They lost because they are weak. We card them so they can help build Paradise. That is how it works. We gave them chance and they didn't win."
"How can you say such cruel things so easily?"
"Because I have seen war. And Professor guided us to peace," Celina dismissed. "I want to go to the frontlines, defeat the Xyz refugees, and earn my place alongside my classmates. Worry about your own world." She looked hard at Yuzu. "If you somehow beat the Obelisk Force soldiers here, Yuri will come. He is the Professor's top enforcer. He has never, ever lost a duel in his life. He only plays with his opponents before crushing them."
Yuzu clenched her fists. She was scared, but she thought of something else. "If you won't listen to me, go talk to Shun Kurosaki. He is the Xyz person who you are looking for, he has seen the destruction your Academia has caused. He knows the truth."
Celina crossed her arms, analyzing Yuzu. She didn't care about Shun's words or Yuzu's feelings, but she wanted to know why Yuzu was so worried about the Xyz people. "Fine. I will go talk to him."
Yuzu jumped up. "But first—we have to switch clothes."
Celina stood there, completely confused. "What?"
"We look exactly alike," Yuzu explained quickly. "If they see you in your clothes, they will catch you instantly. But if you are wearing my clothes, they won't know it's you. Plus I will attract their attention to me so you won't get noticed."
Celina grasped the logic. She nodded slowly. "I never liked this Osiris Class uniform anyway, though the class color matters nothing to me. It is strange not to wear Academia clothes. But it is a good idea." She looked at Yuzu. "Are you sure you are okay? If Obelisk Force sees you in this uniform, they will capture you."
Yuzu gave a smile. "I can protect myself."
Celina gave a small, rare smile back. "If you are believing." She reached up and instantly took off her red jacket, revealing her inner shirt.
"Wait! What the hell are you doing?!" Yuzu yelled, stopping Celina before she unzipped anything else.
Celina tilted her head. "What? Is something wrong?"
"You can't just undress in outside!" Yuzu was completely flustered and blushing, embarrassed that Celina did not care about doing this in the open. She spun around toward Tsukikage, who was standing a little way off. He had already turned his head the other way, but Yuzu ordered, "hey you! Don't look! Don't try to do anything funny!"
Tsukikage did not move or say a word. He remained facing the opposite direction, but he still closed his eyes just in case.
The two girls ran behind a massive blue glacier. They shuffled around quickly and came back out minutes later. They had successfully exchanged clothes. Celina now wore Yuzu's top and skirt, her hair tied up by her ribbon like before though, and Yuzu wore the red, Osiris uniform, fast-buttoned to her neck.
Yuzu looked at the ninja. "Hey... Tsukikage, right?" He nodded silently. "Do you know where Shun Kurosaki is?"
"I do. He is in Ancient Ruins area." He replied.
"Then can you take Celina to him? You are fast, so you can go anywhere secretly. You are very helpful."
Celina crossed her arms, adjusting to the civilian clothes. "I don't need anyone's help! I can find him myself!"
Yuzu looked at her in shock.
"It is okay," Tsukikage interrupted calmly. "Truthfully, I myself am feeling somewhat overworked from all today's matches. I need rest." He looked up at the artificial night sky, which was filled with blackness and stars. "And night is falling. It is alright because she cannot be spotted easily." He turned to Yuzu. "You should find a place to rest too, somewhere no one can see you."
Yuzu nodded, slowly. "You rest too, Tsukikage. Thank you for helping us."
Tsukikage did not say a word. Celina and Yuzu nodded to each other and immediately started walking away in opposite directions, disappearing into the dark.
As soon as Celina was a safe distance away, Tsukikage vanished silently. He was following her through the shadows, ensuring her safety without being noticed.
At the far edge of the Ice Area, Dennis stood shuffling his deck.
"Ho... so this is it? Huh?" Dennis nodded to himself, leaning against a large frozen pillar.
A sudden, low violet light pulsed through the air beside him. A boy stepped—wearing a magenta jacket and uniform, and an eerie, playful smile.
"Welcome, Yuri," Dennis said with a relaxed smirk. "I was getting tired of waiting for someone. You just got here, but we already have a task. Let's act."
Yuri stretched his arms casually. "Don't prempal about me. Just tell me."
Dennis pointed toward the direction where Yuzu had gone. "Celina went that way," Dennis lied, already knowing the person in Celina's clothes was Yuzu. "She hasn't gone far. You can easily catch her."
"Yeah, yeah. I know," Yuri said, an eerie grin spreading across his face. "And here I thought she could give at least a good chase, but she is already found? Boring. Just as I got here and I know where she is... I'll wrap this up."
Before Yuri could move, a sudden crashing sound came from behind the drifts. Two duelists burst out. They raised their Duel Disks.
"Sakaki Yuya! We challenge you to a duel!"
Yuri stopped and glanced sideways at Dennis. "Sakaki... Yuya?"
Dennis shrugged, laughing. "He looks just like you. I guess they think challenging him will win them in the tournament."
"Eh." Yuri let out a cold, melodic laugh. "Even if he looks like me, these two have terrible luck today. Or perhaps... it is good luck that they met me. They get to be carded by me."
Dennis wanted a rematch with Celina, to settle his own pride. Even on a mission, he still wanted to prove he was better than her. Then he saw a squad of Obelisk Force soldiers marching in the same direction Yuzu had gone.
The artificial sky was already pitch-black.
# Stadium No. 1
At the nearest exit of Central Stadium No. 1, Principal Shuzo and the kids—Ayu, Futoshi, and Tatsuya—tried to go outside.
"Principal, hurry up!" Ayu said, running ahead.
"...I don't run that fast!" Shuzo panted, out of breath as he jogged behind them, clutching his knees.
Just as they reached the exit, two armed guards stepped into their path, raising their hands.
"Halt. Citizens are restricted from exiting the stadium premises."
"What?! Why?!" Shuzo yelled, waving his arms. "It is our right to leave! I want to go check on my daughter and make sure she is safe! What kind of rules are these?!"
"Please remain calm, sir," the guard replied impassively. "Everything is fine."
"Everything is fine then how come the cameras aren't showing anything?!"
"Everything is fine. People cannot interfere. And we cannot let citizens go out into the Active Duel Zones."
A sharp, authoritative voice echoed down the hall. Chairwoman Himika Akaba walked toward them, holding Riley by the hand.
Riley looked pale and nervous, clutching his stuffed doll tightly to his chest.
"Chairwoman Akaba? But what about the people who did not come to the stadium? The citizens outside?!"
"Surprisingly, all citizens of Maiami City came to the Stadiums today," Himika stated smoothly, her face a mask.
Shuzo frowned deeply, crossing his arms. "All? That's impossible. Dueling is famous, but not 'everyone' will come to see duels."
"Do not worry, it is just exciting for them," Himika dismissed. "Plus, we are using Real Solid Vision outside the stadium for first time. We do not want any unrequested accidents to happen. You do not want any accident, do you?"
"I... I see," Shuzo said, defeated.
"Thank you for understanding," Himika said, turning away. "The Youth Class matches are currently underway. We apologize for the broadcast interruption, but recordings will resume shortly. Everything is going according to our plan... Yes, our plan."
Shuzo glared at her retreating back. He saw Riley's small hand tighten against his stuffed doll at the word "plan." Shuzo knew something was wrong, but with the guards blocking the exits, he had no choice. He watched Himika walk away, the feeling of dread growing in his stomach. The kids followed him back into the stadium stands.
They had to go inside.