The old door clicked shut as Yugo and Yuzu stepped inside the darkened house. The front hallway was pitch-black and dead quiet.
Yugo bellowed, announcing his homecoming, from top of his lungs. "Sister! I'm home!"
Yuzu winced, covering her ears. "Yugo, keep it down! People might be sleeping!"
A soft click echoed down the hallway. Warm light flooded from a doorway near the stairs, followed by the soft flickers of adjacent rooms turning on. Sleepy, dragging footsteps reshuffled across the floorboards as several small children emerged, rubbing their eyes in annoyance.
Behind them walked a young woman clad in a simple, modest church habit. Despite the late hour, her expression was soft and welcoming, her gentle eyes instantly cutting through the hallway's dim light.
"Oi, Yugo! Do you have any idea what time it is?" One of the older boys complained, yawning loudly. "You woke everyone up! Where have you been all the time anyway?"
"Yeah! Sister was worried sick about you!" A little girl chimed in, crossing her arms.
Yugo rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, sorry, sorry! But look, I brought someone with me!" He stepped aside, pulling Yuzu into the center of the warm light. "Sister, everyone—this is Yuzu. Yuzu, this is Sister. She takes care of all of us here. She is like a big sister to me, Rin and everyone."
The young woman blinked, her gaze lingering on Yuzu's face. For a brief second, her breath caught. "Rin...? Did you... change your hair?"
"No, Sister," Yugo clarified quickly, waving his hands. "This is Yuzu. She just looks like Rin. And she needs a place to stay for... well, I don't know how many days yet, but she's staying with us."
Sister's gentle expression relaxed into a warm, understanding smile. "Oh my. Forgive me, dear. You really do bear a striking resemblance to Rin." She stepped forward, placing a gentle hand over her heart. "You are more than welcome here, Yuzu."
Yuzu bowed deeply, her voice polite despite her fatigue. "My name is Yuzu Hiragi. Thank you so much for having me. I am deeply sorry for intruding on you at such an hour."
"Oi, Yugo," another child piped up, glaring at him through half-lidded eyes. "Where have you even been all this time? Everyone was freaking out thinking something terrible happened to you. And now you show up with a girl who looks like Rin... but isn't Rin. Where is she anyway?"
The atmosphere in the room momentarily shifted. The playful grin slipped from Yugo's face. For a fraction of a second, his eyes flashed with a cold, shadowed intensity—a flicker of dark resolve—before bursting back into a broad, toothy grin.
"Don't worry about it!" Yugo announced, pumping his fist. "I don't know where Rin is right now, but I'm gonna find her and bring her right back here! You can bet on it!"
A few of the older kids rolled their eyes. A couple of the younger ones smiled, reassured, while Sister offered a quiet, proud nod.
"Well, Yuzu," Sister said, turning her attention back to their guest. "Let's get you settled. Would it be alright if she stays in Rin's room, Yugo?"
"Ha! I was just about to suggest that!" Yugo said, resting his hands behind his head.
"She should also take a hot bath and freshen up," Sister added gently, examining Yuzu's disheveled state. "You look completely exhausted, dear. And you'll need a change of clothes."
"Honestly... I really am tired." Yuzu admitted, letting out a soft breath. "Thank you for your kindness. I feel so bad for burdening you like this..."
"No need to feel like a burden." Yugo chimed in blithely. "Sister and everyone here are great. Besides, looking at you, Rin's clothes are gonna fit you perfectly. You two got more or less the same size, so that's one less burden! Good for you, Yuzu!" He leaned in, casually looking her up from top to bottom.
SMACK!
A white paper fan materialized from thin air, striking Yugo square across the head with a sharp, echoing snap.
"Mind your own business, you idiot!" Yuzu shouted, her entire face flushed bright red with embarrassment as she gripped the fan tight.
Yugo rubbed his swelling head, wincing. "Ouch! What was that for?!"
The kids broke out into quiet giggles, and Sister covered her mouth to hide a light laugh.
"As always, you're completely hopeless, Yugo," one of the boys chuckled, shaking his head as the children began drifting back toward their bedrooms. "At least you didn't invite or bring a problem home once again."
Yugo flashed a bright smile as Sister led Yuzu toward the staircase. "Ah, about that, don't worry. I just defeated a Security officer, so they'll definitely want to find me. And since Yuzu was with me, we both might get wanted!"
The entire hallway froze in dead silence. Yuzu slowly turned around, while the kids groaned in unison. Sister exhaled a breath, she had a smile as if she was looking at something hopeless. But she wasn't angry.
# Alley
A blinding burst of light particles erupted in the middle of a desolate, narrow alleyway, illuminating the surrounding concrete walls for a brief second before dissolving into nothingness.
Five figures materialized in the dim light: Yuya, Celina, Sawatari, Riley, and Yume.
Yume stumbled slightly, steadying himself against a damp brick wall as he looked around the grim crossroad. "What is this place? It... doesn't look anything like LDS."
"Of course it isn't LDS!" Sawatari spoke. "Did you forget we just crossed through a dimension...? But it's still far different than I had imagined."
"Look above," Yume pointed upward, his eyes widening.
Yuya followed his gaze, stepping out toward the mouth of the alley. High above their heads, suspended beyond a layer of towering metallic support structures, sat a dazzling metropolis. Massive, gleaming shinning skyscrapers, floating transit lines, and monuments painted a picture of unfathomable luxury—a stark contrast to the dirty streets below.
"Look, Yuya," Yume whispered.
"There's an entire city built right over the top..." Yuya murmured, his brow furrowing.
"Maybe we got at wrong place," Sawatari said, looking annoyed. "We should be there."
"Don't settle your value so high, Sawatari." Yume said, looking like he was watching a bad comedy.
"What do you mean!? You newbie..."
Before Celina or Riley could inspect the skyline further, a sharp, mechanical click echoed above them. High on the alley walls, several mounted security cameras swung around in unison, their lenses blinking with an aggressive, pulsing red light.
WEE-WOO-WEE-WOO!
A deafening blare of shouts erupted around the area. Footsteps closing in fast from every surrounding street.
"Why are they surrounding us?!" Sawatari shouted, drawing his Duel Disk.
"We have to converge into a duel to protect ourselves!" Yume warned, snapping his own Duel Disk active. "Look, they have their own Duel Disks!"
"Wait!" Yuya shouted. "I think they are misunderstanding something. Let's talk this out!"
"If you don't have guts than shut your mouth! I will handle them!" Celina commanded.
# Far Away From the City
Elsewhere in the dimension, two flashes of light illuminated a dark, damp gutter area before dissolving into the air.
Ryo adjusted his stance as his boots sank slightly into a pile of scrap metal. All around them lay mountain ranges of crushed garbage, dumps, and thick, rusted sewer pipes dripping murky water into stagnation pools.
"This is the place?" Ryo said, looking around at the surrounding dumps, garbage, and scrap metal. "It looks like a dump yard connected with sewer pipes. Or maybe just a trash yard."
"Let me take a look, Ryo-dono," Tsukikage said softly. In a blur of movement, the ninja vanished into thin air.
Ryo stood quietly, listening to the echoing drips. After exactly six seconds, Tsukikage appeared beside him once more.
"I just had a look from above, Ryo-dono," Tsukikage reported. "This place is around an ocean area, right in the middle of it. The city is right straight ahead, but on the other side of the water."
"I see," Ryo said, his eyes becoming sharp.
Tsukikage's expression also became serious. "People are coming."
"You saw the way to go outside, Tsukikage?" Ryo asked, his voice remaining dead calm.
"Yes, I did. But there is a very big security force and guards guarding it. And the city is also a long way ahead. And there is only one road to go."
"Don't worry," Ryo reassured him, his expression plain. "Just show me the way. I will follow you right behind."
"Understood."
Tsukikage ran like he was about to become invisible. Ryo followed right behind him. Both climbed over a mountain of dumpster of trash with immense speed and no help from their hands, reaching the ceiling and slipping outside through a gap in the broken roof.
Standing on the crumbling structure with focus and balance so the old ceiling wouldn't break beneath them, they surveyed the horizon.
"It's day, morning." Ryo's eyes checking location of sun. "The time is also supposed to be the same as ours. We left at around 10:09. The time around here should be the same. But the biggest problem is not fighting here."
Ryo crossed his arms, staring toward the distant metropolis. "It's to make the people here on our side to fight alongside us. But this very first feeling we got here is bad. It doesn't look like a great start."
"Pardon to interrupt, but a bad omen doesn't mean the stop of a journey, Ryo-dono," Tsukikage replied calmly. "It just means a great sign that we have to be cautious more."
"Hmm," Ryo nodded.
"We have to find others first, is that what you are thinking?"
"Yeah. I am most worried about Riley. Tsukikage, once we are out of here, I want you to find Riley first. If others did come into your vision than it's okay. We have to get into contact with the people of highest authority as well."
Tsukikage didn't say anything.
"Are you wondering how we all were teleported here scattered? Or if all of us are even here?"
Tsukikage didn't gave response but his eyes showed the question.
"Probably because our signatures were following different signals." Ryo explained. "We didn't had any knowledge about this place so we had to bet on any random place we could had come at. But the sync our Dus Disks were supposed to follow was of our own. So after getting into this dimension, that signal was scattered as well.
"I am worried about everyone, but Tsukikage, finding Riley is your first priority. Reiji and other can handle themselves in such situation as this, but Riley can't, even if he is with someone of Lancers let alone a stranger. I will try to find others. Probably they are at least with one or two of us Lancers. We will set a location as our spot to meet, and once you find Riley, we will meet there and the others we found."
"Understood."
Both vanished from the broken roof of the big dumpster building.
# Park
Four lights of particle appeared and vanished behind a garden.
Gongenzaka, Razz, Dennis, and Vance looked around, beholding a bright, green park surrounded by beautiful, clean streets and high-end shops. Kids were playing, adults were chatting near cafes, and people walked along the dirtless walkways.
"Is this the Synchro Dimension?" Gongenzaka asked himself.
"Looks like it is very clean," Razz said, looking around the dirtless place in awe. "People here must have a great sense of cleanliness and hygiene."
"It a good place," Dennis said, a wide smile spreading across his face. "Maybe we can use this place as a means to gather information and for a benefit to survive."
"But it doesn't look like a dangerous place," Razz said, his expression suddenly changing to one of deep paranoia. "Or could it be that kind of place in dark thriller animes where what you are shown is the exact opposite of what truly is?!"
"He definitely doesn't meant it as a survival in jungle, Razz." Vance said dryly, eyeing Dennis suspiciously. "And Dennis... that smile of yours is giving me a bad premonition."
Dennis's smile became even wider as he took out a hat and a mask, and adjusted them on his head and face, leading the group forward to blend into the unsuspecting crowd. And to show and introduce them.