Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V: The Fifth Factor
by dvdryms is a retelling of Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V with the inclusion of an additional OC character who is connected to Yuya and the rest of his counterparts.
"A young duelist with a troubled past arrives at Maiami city in order to participate in the Maiami Championship, but soon finds himself embroiled in incidents exceeding his wildest imaginations. With the prospect of an all-out war between dimensions, will this young man prove himself to be a dependable ally in the coming conflict...or a harbinger of disaster?"
Also available on Archive of Our Own.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V: The Fifth Factor provides examples of:
- Absurdly High-Stakes Game: As is the case with all Yu-Gi-Oh! series, the stakes of the Duels range from the Duelists' lives to the fate of the entire universe.
- The Ace: Yukio quickly establishes himself as this, having mastered Ritual, Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and Pendulum Summoning by the beginning of the story.
- Academy of Evil: What everyone recognizes Academia as, except for most of its members.
- Action Girl: Most of the female cast qualifies for this.
- Adaptation Expansion: More detail is given to what the Fusion and Original dimensions were like before Zarc and Leo’s actions.
- Adaptational Badass: Shingo Sawatari. Unlike what happens in the anime (where he remains a relatively weak Duelist with no wins to his name apart from team battles and is little more than comic relief), in this story, he demonstrates a surprising level of personal growth and competence during the climax of the Xyz Arc, going on to win several Duels on his own from that point on. Most impressive of all is his ability to push Yuri nearly to the point of defeat during the Maiami Championship's finals, forcing the latter to rely on his newly acquired Xyz Monster to win.
- Adaptational Heroism: Due to Barian World and the events behind it not existing in the Xyz Dimension, Byron Arclight never becomes Tron and remains perfectly sane. In Yuto and Shun's absence, he has become the leader of the Resistance and manages to hold his own against one of The Talons. On the other hand, see Adaptational Villainy below.
- Adaptational Superpower Change: Some characters have different decks replacing the ones they usually play with in their home series. Examples include Byron Arclight who has Bujins replacing his Heraldic Beast deck, Midori Hibiki who plays Evil Heroes instead of Darklords like in the GX manga, and Amnael who uses the Sacred Beasts rather than his usual Alchemy deck.
- Adaptational Villainy: The Planet Series. In the GX Manga, they were an antagonistic force due to the Big Bad's influence, and the worse they did was put those who lost to them into a coma, which could be reversed. Here, they're villainous of their own accord and leech off their user's life force, forcing them to duel others constantly to survive, killing the loser of any duel in which they're used. This goes double for The Earth, who was the ace of Jaden Yuki in the manga and heroic, whereas here it's as evil as the rest.
- Affably Evil: Amnael and the rest of the Talons. Although they are out to kill (not card) the protagonists so that the bomb can go off, they do not bear any personal grudges against them, and even compliment their foes when they make impressive plays.
- All Your Powers Combined: During the final battle against Zarc, Yuya combines his counterparts' ace Monsters along with his own through Integration Summon to form Supreme God Dragon Arc-V and finally defeat the former.
- Anime Hair: Apart from the canon characters, Yukio also follows this trope, with his hair being colored silver with light green highlights (the same as Zarc).
- Ascended Extra: Ray Akaba. Unlike the anime, where her presence was minimal, here, she Duels Zarc inside his mindscape and helps the boys escape despite her loss. Later on, she Duels Yukio and Serena while under the control of Zarc. Her backstory is also expanded a bit by making her Zarc's childhood friend.
- Audience Surrogate: Yukio acts as one, pointing out things like how the Dimensional Counterparts look nothing alike and how learning different summoning methods isn’t rocket science like other people think. And that’s just a few examples.
- Big Good: The Observer, a Duel Monster with an incorporeal form that took the form of Yukio's old teacher. He was responsible for sending Yukio to Standard following his unique birth and gave him the manga counterparts of the four Heavenly Dragons as a means to potentially forge a Monster that would be able to match Zarc.
- Boss Rush: Chapters 62-66 are basically this as Zarc summons powerful opponents from the previous series for the heroes to face off against, a list of which includes Marik Ishtar, Maximillian Pegasus, Darkness, Jaden Yuki, Z-one, Rex Godwin, Aporia, Vector, Don Thousand, and Yuma Tsukumo
- Berserk Button:
- As usual, Yuya doesn't like the idea of Dueling being used for violence.
- Yukio's is disrespecting his cards.
- The Big Damn Kiss: Serena gives Yukio one after he and Yuya managed to defeat Zarc in Chapter 73, to his utter shock.
- Big Damn Heroes: After Zarc throws down the gauntlet at his alter egos, Ray's alter egos and Reira, a horde of Duel Monsters emerge from Academia to attack them. However, at that moment, various Duelists from all the Dimensions emerge from spatial rifts to assist the heroes, taking down Zarc's army and opening the path to him.
- Calling Your Attacks: Much like in canon, the characters call out and explain the effects of all cards they use when said effect is relevant. Moreover, when a monster's attack or effect has its own special name, the duelist in control of said monster will call out the name of that attack or effect when appropriate.
- Composite Character: Or rather, composite decks. Many of the characters have cards that combine elements from the original anime, manga, and (in the case of Legacy characters) past series.
- Dark and Troubled Past: When he was 10, Yukio's orphanage was hit with hard times. Wishing to survive, he participated in and became champion in the Underground Duel Circuit, an illegal tournament the Real Solid Vision system was set to maximum capacity with the safety protocols off, resulting in varying degrees of injuries or even death for participants before it was shut down.
- Doorstopper: As of July 31, 2021, this fic is complete with over 1.6 million words.
- Gender Flip: While Reira is revealed to be canonically a girl in the anime, in this story, her gender is changed to male.
- Legacy Character: There are a lot more characters from the past series who either appeared in person or have been mentioned in this fic. Others have appeared either as dueling simulations or are summoned by Zarc as a challenging opponent for the heroes to overcome.
- DM: Yugi Mutou, Seto Kaiba, Marik Ishtar, and Maximillian Pegasus
- GX: Saiou Takuma, Fubuki Tenjoin (not possessed but is dressed in his Nightshroud persona), Daichi Misawa, Yusuke Fujiwara, Johan Anderson, Tyranno Kenzan, Prince Ojin, Ryo "Kaiser" Marufuji, Sho Marufuji, Koyo and Midori Hibiki (from the manga), Amnael, Amon Garam, Darkness, and Jaden Yuki.
- 5Ds: Rex Godwin, Z-one, and Aporia
- ZEXAL: Anna Kozuki, Byron Arclight, Dr. Faker, Vector, Yuma Tsukumo, and Don Thousand
- Like an Old Married Couple: Yukio and Serena's dynamic in a nutshell, as several characters note.
- One-Winged Angel: After his monster form is destroyed during his final Duel against Yuya and Yukio, Zarc unveils his previously unseen evolved form, Supreme Demon Emperor Dragon Zarc, which almost defeats the two Duelists.
- Original Character: The protagonist of this fanfic, Yukio Tachibana, is the most prominent example. Others include Gerard and Savaris, a pair of Academia Elites who confront the Lancers on several occasions, as well as Genzou Urashima, a one-time antagonist during the Synchro Dimension arc.
- Post-Kiss Catatonia: Serena subjects Yukio to this after she kisses him in Chapter 77, leaving him in a frozen state that doesn’t respond to Yugo’s prodding of him.
- Pragmatic Hero: Unlike Yuya, who is a staunch believer in using Duels as a means to bring smiles to everyone and as a way for people to understand each other, Yukio views them as little more than a tool to accomplish one's goals, partly due to his harsh experiences in the Underground Duel Circuit. Over the course of the story though, he softens his views and comes to acknowledge that there is merit in Yuya's philosophy.
- Running Gag: Yukio has an extreme fondness for spicy food, to the point where he has created his own custom hot sauce by mixing several hot sauces together. All other characters usually act in revulsion, disgust, or flat-out faint when confronted with Yukio's special mix.
- Shout-Out:
- A lot of Reiji's D/D/D monsters reference characters from the Fate Series, such as Sunblessed King Karna and Destruction King Altera, right down to their described appearances and the name of their attacks. Made more glaring with D/D/D/D Legend Origin Valiant God-King Gilgamesh who is obviously based on the Nasuverse incarnation of Gilgamesh.
- Fittingly, a lot of the original cards used by Koyo and Midori are based on various characters from Kamen Rider, such as Contrast Hero Xtreme Chaos, Masked Hero Advent, Masked Hero Wraith, Evil Hero Incubus Imperator, Legend Hero Chronicle, and many more.
- Despite not being a Hero user, Yuto has a monster called Phantom Knights Void Falchion whose general description gives it an uncanny resemblance to Kamen Rider Saber's movie exclusive character Kamen Rider Falchion. Later on, he uses a monster called Phantom Knights Revolt Calibur, which is based on one of the aforementioned series' characters, Kamen Rider Calibur.
- Superpowered Evil Side: Downplayed. While Yukio is prone to going berserk like Yuya, Yugo, Yuri and Yuto, this happens only when the aforementioned boys enter their Awakening, with Yukio being unable to enter this state on his own regardless of his emotional state. The reason for that is that Yukio doesn't possess any of Zarc's soul fragments in his body, but can by influenced by the other boys' state due to being partly comprised of Zarc's human remains, which gives him a connection to them.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
- Amnael delivers one to Yuya, mocking his beliefs about using Duels to bring smiles by bringing up his Dark and Troubled Past. It almost works, but Yuya manages to pull himself together by recalling his father's advice and win the Duel.
- Reiji delivers one to Nightshroud, rejecting the notion that abandoning everything to pursue one's goal is a source of strength. Instead, Reiji claims this is a sign of weakness and counters that fighting while also properly shouldering one's burdens and responsibilities is a sign of true strength.
- Yukio and Reiji deliver one to Leo about how his plan has caused more harm than good and is more likely than not to have the opposite effects. Turns out they were right.
- Took a Level in Badass:
- Yuya Sakaki masters Ritual Summoning alongside his other summoning methods and even successfully performs an Integration Summon during his final Duel with Yukio.
- Yuto devlops his own unique brand of Pendulum Summoning, Phantom Pendulum, through his absorption by Yuya. He also incorporates Synchro Summoning, Fusion Summoning and Ritual Summoning in his Deck down the line.
- Yugo gains the ability to perform Pendulum Summoning after the Dragon Boys are freed from Zarc, as well as his own brand of Pendulum, High-Speed Pendulum. As an aftereffect of his absorption by Yuri, he becomes capable of performing Fusion Summoning, and later on, he masters the use of Synchro Summoning's evolved variants, Double Tuning and Accel Synchro.
- Yuri is given Pendulum cards by Academia prior to the Lancers' assault, and later on develops his own variant of Pendulum, Encroachment Pendulum. After absorbing Yugo, he learns Synchro Summoning, and later on incorporates Xyz Summoning as well.
- Yuzu Hiiragi learns Ritual Summoning from Asuka during her stay in the Fusion Dimension's You Show branch. When placed under the Doktor's control, she's given Pendulum cards, allowing her to perform Pendulum Summoning. Later on, she masters Xyz Summoning and Synchro Summoning as a result of the failed attempt to fuse her and her counterparts back into Ray.
- Serena learns Xyz Summoning during the Xyz Dimension arc, and later on uses Synchro Summoning and Ritual Summoning, with the former being likely a result of the failed attempt to fuse her and her counterparts back into Ray.
- Rin gains access to Pendulum Summoning and Fusion Summoning during the time she was under the Doktor's control. As a result of the failed attempt to fuse her and her counterparts back into Ray, she gains knowledge of Ritual Summoninng and Accel Synchro.
- Ruri learns how to perform Fusion Summoning while she was controlled by the Doktor. Later on, as a result of the failed attempt to fuse her and her counterparts back into Ray, she gains Pendulum cards, allowing her to perform Pendulum Summoning.
- Yusho Sakaki is well-versed in all summoning methods and becomes able to Pendulum Summon after receiving Pendulum cards from Reiji.
- Reiji Akaba incorporates Ritual Summoning in his Deck and demonstrates an evolved form of Pendulum Summoning, Transcendent Pendulum Summon, during his Duel with Nightshroud.
- Shingo Sawatari demonstrates his ability to perform Synchro Summoning during the final stages of the Xyz Dimension arc. During the Lancers' assault at Academia, he reveals that he can perform Ritual Summoning as well, while during the post-war arc, he displays the ability to perform Fusion Summoning.
- Noboru Gongenzaka adds Fusion Summoning to his Deck, and later on Xyz Summoning.
- Sora Shiunin incorporates Pendulum Summoning in his Deck after defecting from Academia.
- Shun Kurosaki gains access to Pendulum Summoning during the post-war arc by incorporating Raid Raptors Pendulum Monsters in his Deck.
- Reira Akaba incorporates Ritual Summoning in his Deck alongside his other summoning methods.
- Jack Atlas has access to his original anime ace, Red Daemon's Dragon and his manga ace Jeweled Demon Dragon - Red Daemon. Later on, he learns how to perform Fusion Summoning during the post-war arc, and also gains access to a second evolved variant of Synchro Summoning, Triple Tuning.
- Tragic Mistake: Leo Akaba's attempt to resurrect Ray and restore the Original Dimension backfires big time. Yuri's abduction of Rin and Ruri drives Yugo and Yuto to leave their own Dimensions in pursuit of the culprit, thus hastening the reassembly of Zarc's broken being. Furthermore, the Dimensional War Leo started to gather enough life energy for the Arc Area Project also served to fuel Zarc's power. By feeding on the intense negative emotions of the participants and victims, Zarc was reborn even stronger than before, to the point where the Natural Energy cards weren't able to affect him like they had before. To top it all off, Zarc reveals that he intentionally shielded Leo from the aftereffects his separation brought about, certain that he would act exactly like he ended up acting.
