Shay Obsidian

Shay Obsidian, known as Shun Kurosaki or Syun Kurosaki  (  Kurosaki Shun) in the Japanese version, is one of the characters in the Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime. He is Duelist from the Xyz Dimension who is one of Yuto's comrades, and serially attacked the Leo Institute of Dueling. Upon having similar goals to Declan and learning of his true target, the two agreed to cooperate, and he subsequently became one of the first Lancers.

Appearance
Shay is a tall young man with straight blueish-black hair that falls to his chin, and light green bangs in the shape of a wing partially tucked under some strands on the left. He has yellow-green eyes, and similar to Yuto, used to keep his face concealed behind dark glasses and a red scarf. He wears a blue trenchcoat that is tattered at the ends; the coat is belted shut, and is adorned with belted cuffs. He also sports grey pants and brown shoes.

Shay wears a Turbo Dueling suit in the Underground Dueling Arena and during the Friendship Cup. It is a dark blue and green color scheme and red scarf/ascot. In the past during his time at the Spade Branch of Heartland Duel School he wore more casual clothes; a dark grey shirt under a lighter one.

Personality
Deep inside his heart, Shay is a kind person with good intentions, but the horrors he's suffered due to Duel Academy have scarred and hardened his views deeply. Though he Dueled for fun before in a pro Duelist training school, in the present, Shay is a battle-hardened Duelist who shows nothing but fierce determination and serious perseverance in his Duels. In the dub, he tends to be more sarcastic. In a similar manner to Seto Kaiba, Reginald Kastle, Kite Tenjo, and Declan Akaba, he also carries an affection for his younger sister Lulu Obsidian whom he vows to rescue, and also highly regards his comrades. Unlike Yuto, Shay acts out more recklessly and impatient and is willing to crush anyone who he deems as his enemies, even warning Yuto not to stand in his way when focused on his goal. He demonstrates a powerful hatred of Fusion Summoning, and previously of LID, as Fusion Summoning has been used by his enemies and he believed LID to be associated with them. Despite his callous disposition, he can be pragmatic, agreeing to cooperate with Declan in furthering his machinations in exchange for information. Shay's time at the pro Duelist school educated him with an "iron will and steeled strength", concepts that he evaluates other Duelists on.

Shay tends to converse about his experiences when the comments of other people allude to them (whether such allusions are intentional or not). While Dueling, he demonstrates a more violent side when he uses "Raidraptor - Rise Falcon". Aside from these moments, he says little when he doesn't have to talk, not even bothering to learn the names of many of his opponents; he simply challenges them to a Duel. However, he often employs the word "revolution" and similar terms, reinforcing his strong belief of Dueling solely to defeat his enemies and protect his comrades. Despite his determination to protect his comrades, he initially prefers acting alone and dislikes it when others try to protect him by risking themselves but he drops this attitude after his duel against Crow where he is completely fine in helping his new comrades and often comes to aid the Lancers. However, the memories of the attack on his homeland have clearly scarred him, and when he was in the "Future Metropolis Heartland" Action Field for a second time, he was initially unwilling to discuss the events, but on later prompting by Celina, he admitted that the faces and laughter of Duel Academy students that had attacked Heartland would always remain in his mind. Shay has confirmed that he sees life as a battlefield and everyone else an enemy due to the loss of everything as a result of the attack on Heartland. This is especially shown during and after his Duel with Dennis during the Friendship Cup, where he pushed his opponent to reveal his true nature.

Despite his hot-headed nature he is shown to care deeply for his comrades including Yuto and Lulu. This was seen many times during his Duel against Sora and Dennis. He is shown to be arrogant and to have great pride in his skills. Shay initially didn't see any of the Lancers as his comrades but this changes during his duel against Crow which reminded him of something important to him, and he began to trust the Lancers and consider them as his comrades. This was seen when he approached Kite and defended the Lancers, also stating that he believed in Yuya as well. He later came to accept Crow Hogan as a comrade after their Duel, discovering that they had a lot in common.

Shay is shown to be very protective of and has a soft spot for children. This was seen during his Duel against Crow when he saw Tanner clinging to the back of "Assault Blackwing - Raikiri the Rain Shower" and showed genuine concern for him. He also expressed this towards Riley when the Lancers were about to depart for the Synchro Dimension and when he found out that Riley was protecting Celina all on his own from the Obelisk Force. He stated that the reason he started fighting was to protect children.

Shay has a habit of saying "field" in kanji (「」, Ba) instead of in katakana (「フィールド」, Fīrudo). In the dub, he makes a small number of bird and flight puns regarding his "Raidraptors".

Abilities
Like Yuto, Shay's Duel Disk possesses the ability to materialize the effects of Duel Monsters cards. The Disk also has the power to seal a person inside a card, though unlike previous uses of this power in the franchise, the entire person, and not just their soul. His Duel Disk is later upgraded with the function to produce an Action Field, and also appears to have dimensional travel technology incorporated into it. However, Declan modified it so that he could not seal a person anymore, and also seemed to have reduced its ability to materialize the effects of a Duel. . Shay is highly acrobatic and athletic, as seen when he jumped off of the sides of several buildings and rolled along the ground to break his fall during his first Duel with Sora Perse. He is also a highly skilled fighter, strong enough to defeat several guards each with a single blow while escaping from the Facility in the Synchro Dimension.

Etymology
His English name "Shay" is Gaelic for "hawk". His name could also refer to Shays' Rebellion, a famous historical uprising, given the fact that rebellion is a key aspect of his character. His English surname "Obsidian" is a glassy black volcanic material; an appropriate name for one having gone through the stress that Shay has. His Japanese name, Shun「」, means "falcon", alluding to his Xyz Monsters, while his last name can translate to "black blossom". Both of his last names are likely a reference to the black borders of Xyz Monsters.

History
Shay's homeland, Heartland City in the Xyz Dimension, was once a place where Duelists were loved and everyone enjoyed Dueling. Shay attended the Spade Branch of Heartland Duel School known for training professional Duelists. Shay was a rival to Kite Tenjo, the ace of the Clover Branch. Whenever the two Dueled, they drew large crowds of children who looked up to them. At one point Shay, Yuto, and Lulu watched a Duel of Kite's from the audience at an arena.

Heartland was attacked without warning one day by Duel Academy from the Fusion Dimension, and without an organized defense, lost comrade after comrade to their foes until they learned to fight back. On one occasion, Shay fled from several materialized "Ancient Gear Chaos Giants" during the early days of the attacks on Heartland. He, Yuto and three other Duelists attempted to fight off the "Chaos Giants", but the other Duelists eventually lost and were sealed into cards, forcing Shay and Yuto to retreat.

After capturing a Duel Academy Duelist, Shay and Yuto questioned him about the reason behind the assault. After the interrogation, Shay tried to seal the Duelist into a card, but Yuto prevented him from doing so.

Shay and four other Duelists arrived to witness Yuto Dueling Yugo. Upon arriving, Yugo fled on his Duel Runner and Shay asked Yuto where Lulu was. Yuto shook his head in response, prompting him to curse.

At some point after that, Shay cornered another Duel Academy Duelist, who informed him that Declan was the Professor's son. Shay theorized that taking Declan hostage would force the Professor, Leo Akaba, to return Lulu and then proceeded to seal the Duelist into a card, despite the Duelist begging for mercy. He and Yuto later traveled to the Standard Dimension to oppose the Fusion Dimension.

Pre-Arc League Championship
Having found out that Leo Institute of Dueling was run by Declan Akaba, and knowing that Duel Academy was run by Leo Akaba, Shay determined them to be allied with one another. He conspired to draw out Declan in order to defeat and capture him, hoping to use him in a prisoner exchange with Leo to get Lulu back. To this end, he assaulted Professor Marco, the teacher of LID's Fusion Summon course. He defeated Marco in a Duel and sealed him in a card. Sometime later, he surveyed LID from a nearby rooftop. His face concealed, he seemed to be analyzing or searching for something in LID with his Duel Disk's radar.

He later Dueled Herk, another LID employee, and was witnessed by Yuto after the latter was warped there by Zuzu's bracelet. Shay defeated Herk with his ace monster and sealed him inside a card as he had with Marco and sent both cards to LID. He later unwittingly saved Yuya Sakaki from three LID elites and Curio Sawatari, who were pursuing Yuya under the latter's orders. Yuya asked Shay on what was going on, but he gave no response. Shay Xyz Summoned again and defeated the three elites with his ace monster, sealing them in cards and damaging the nearby overpass. Yuya was knocked out in the process, while Curio was scared off.

When Julia confronted Zuzu and Sora and mentioned she was from LID, Shay appeared before her and knocked Zuzu aside, insisting that he would be Julia's opponent. Yuto arrived and attempted to hold Shay back, only for Shay to protest. When Shay noticed Zuzu, he mistook her for Lulu and asked if she had managed to escape with her own strength. Yuto knocked Shay unconscious with a punch to the gut, insisting that she wasn't Lulu, then carried him bodily over the shoulder. Yuya was en route at the time and as he approached, Zuzu's bracelet teleported Yuto and Shay away. Yuto later reiterated to Shay that Zuzu was not Lulu, as he'd seen her learning Fusion Summoning with a smile on her face, something that Lulu would never have done.

Shay moved to ambush Julia later, coming across her in an abandoned street and asking if she was alone and inquiring about Sora and Zuzu's whereabouts. Julia replied that she didn't know and planned to avenge Professor Marco. Shay insulted Marco for his lack of strength and determination. He admitted to her that he had indeed been the attacker of all the LID students, and urged her to sate her rage by defeating him in a Duel. Noting that she'd called in her friends, he claimed that she was underestimating him if she thought that two more would be sufficient to defeat him. Julia revealed that she'd been using herself as bait, sure that Shay would come after her. Her friends, Dipper and Kit arrived, while LID monitored the proceedings. Claiming it made no difference, Shay challenged all three of them to a Battle Royal.

Julia took the first turn, and Shay took the second, emptying his hand to call out his three "Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius", Setting two cards before ending his turn. Dipper and Kit made use of their powerful "Constellar" Xyz and "X-Saber" Synchro monsters respectively to destroy Shay's Set cards, return all of his monsters to his hand, and then discarding them. When Julia brought out Fusion Monsters, Shay looked angry at seeing the monsters of his enemy. Julia then inflicted effect damage twice, but before the second instance could defeat Shay, he used his "Raidraptor - Readiness" Trap from his Graveyard to reduce his Life Points to 10 and survive the turn. He expressed that he couldn't feel a steeled strength or an iron determination from their Dueling, while saying that in fighting his enemies, he learned to stand up from defeat to strike back at them until the day they're finally eradicated. He drew "Dimension Xyz" and used it to overlay the monsters in his Graveyard to call out "Raidraptor - Rise Falcon". Using its effect, it gained ATK equal to the ATK of all Special Summoned monsters his opponents controlled, raising its ATK to 16400 and allowing it to attack all their monsters, defeating all three of them. Before he could seal them in cards, more LID staff arrived, including Claude. Shay mocked them, having expected them to show up, and asked them to send out their boss. Their boss in question, Declan, revealed himself instantly, walking towards Shay grimly, commenting that if he wanted him, he had him.

Declan introduced himself as Leo Corporation's current President. Shay immediately challenged him to a Duel, but Declan wanted to know why Shay had been attacking LID students. Shay refused to tell him, but Declan deduced that Shay was fighting to rescue his comrades, and thus attacked LID members in order to draw Declan out, hoping to use him as a hostage against Declan's father, Leo Akaba. Shay confirmed that, but was surprised when Declan claimed that he didn't mean that much to his father. Declan agreed to Duel Shay as long as Shay met his conditions — entering the Junior Arc League Championship. He informed Shay of a powerful Fusion user and a Duelist who used a Summoning method unknown to Shay, explaining that he wanted Shay to aid him in his fight against Leo.

Arc League Championship
Shay kept to his end of the bargain, entering the Junior Arc League Championship under the banner of LID, alongside the students he had not long ago defeated. They had been mind-wiped into believing that he had always been a part of LID. He kept to himself, standing apart from the group, and soon found he was scheduled to Duel the Fusion user that Declan had spoken of, Sora Perse. He happened to cross paths with Sora later that day, sparing him a glance. Later, he watched the Duel between Julia and Zuzu and reacted significantly to the latter's Fusion Summon, but left before the Duel ended. He also calmly observed the new Summoning method that Declan had informed him about, the Pendulum Summon when it was used by Yuya Sakaki and Sylvio Sawatari. Before his match with Sora, Claude tried to give Shay a Pendulum Card that had been made for him, but Shay refused it and walked away.

Shay and Sora Dueled in the third match of the second day. Shay was shocked when the Action Field that was chosen for him to Duel on was "Neo Heartland City" and he didn't participate in the traditional Action Duel opening, simply talking about the attack on his homeland, Heartland City. Vowing to show no mercy to the Fusion user, he traded blows evenly with Sora using two "Vanishing Lanius", even countering the powerful effect of Sora's Fusion Monster "Frightfur Bear". After being accused of only defending, Shay remarked on how they'd had no organized defense in his homeland, and that eventually, they had to learn to win to succeed. He brought out "Rise Falcon" and used it to destroy "Frightfur Bear", once again creating a real shockwave. This prompted Sora to start getting serious. To this end, Sora Summoned "Frightfur Leo", but Shay evaded its effect with Action Cards and his own Traps. Shay then played "Rank-Up-Magic Raptor's Force", Ranking-Up his "Rise Falcon" into "Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon", and prompted much surprise on the part of many watching the Duel, including Sora. Sora survived the attack of "Blaze Falcon" and proceeded to Summon it to his field via the effect of "Frightfur Chimera". He taunted Shay, asking how it felt to be facing defeat at the hands of his own ace monster. Shay responded by explaining that in the Resistance they'd learned to prepare for the worst, playing "Rank-Up-Magic Revolution Force", taking back "Blaze Falcon" and defeating Sora with "Raidraptor - Revolution Falcon". After Sora's defeat, he approached him, but Declan warned him not to call any more attention to himself in the eyes of the public. Shay turned and left, ignoring the injured Sora's pleas to Duel him again.

Shay was in LID's monitoring room when Sora escaped from the hospital, and identified Yuto when Sora encountered him, explaining to Declan who he was. He demanded to be allowed to go and help Yuto several times, but Declan refused to let him. When the images of the area were lost due to Yugo's arrival, followed by the detection of a Synchro Summon, Shay realized that Yuto was Dueling the so-called Pawn of Fusion. Two days after Claude retrieved Yuto's Duel Disk, Shay wanted to talk to Declan, saying that he hadn't been able to contact Yuto since his disappearance, but Claude refused to let him disturb Declan, and kept Shay in the dark about Yuto's Duel Disk. Later, while watching Yuya's Duel with Iggy Arlo, Shay expressed shock when the former Xyz Summoned "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon", questioning why Yuto's card was in Yuya's possession. Convinced that Yuya knew what happened to Yuto, Shay decided to confront Yuya directly, but Declan stopped him by reminding him of their plan to use the tournament as a way to reach Leo. Shay sighed and left, with Claude promising to Declan that he would keep Shay under surveillance.

Shay defeated his next Championship opponent, Chalac from the Knights of the Duel Disks, in a one-sided match. Shay was later present in Declan's office, instead of in the stadium with the other Junior Youth competitors, when Declan rounded up the Top 8 Duelists from the Senior division. After Declan briefed them about the upcoming Battle Royal, he turned to Shay and reminded him that his duty was to observe the Junior Youth Duelists and find the ones with enough potential to join the Lancers. Shay complained that that would mean he couldn't Duel in the next round, stating that he would have no choice but to participate if the Youth Duelists lost, prompting a spiteful response from Kev Ravenwood. In response, he contemptuously told the Senior Duelists to do their best to stay alive and then left for the stadium, which he entered just as the Battle Royal was about to begin.

Although he was not seen in the opening ceremony, Shay participated in the Battle Royal to determinate potential Lancers candidates. His first encounter was in the Ruins Area of "Quartet of Quandary", where he encountered Ashley, Bram and Carl, students of the Knights of the Duel Disks who wanted to avenge their companion Chalac. He accepted their challenge and Dueled the three at the same time, easily defeating them with "Rise Falcon" in a single attack. Shay walked away, thinking they were unfit for the Lancers. He waited in the Ruins Area, where he encountered Yuya. They exchanged questions about each other, but Shay was angry that Yuya had Yuto's "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon", and accused him of harming Yuto. Yuya denied this claiming that he did not know what happened, but Yuto entrusted the card to him to make people smile with his Duels.

Before the two could continue their conversation, the previously defeated Knights of the Duel Disks students performed a Battle Royal between themselves with Yuya and Shay at the center launching attacks with their three "Assault Knight Slash" in order to physically harm the duo while keeping themselves alive through its effect. They further provoked them that they were "Dueling" and if they were displeased, they could join their Duel and pay the 2000 LP penalty for intrusion. The attack blew away both Shay and Yuya from one another. They caught a glimpse of Sora and members of the Obelisk Force. Sora declared his intentions of getting revenge on Shay and challenged him to a Duel. Ignoring Yuya's pleas, Sora instructed the Obelisk Force to deal with any interference, as the two left to have their Duel. Shay started strongly, bringing out three "Raidraptor - Force Strix" on his first turn and maximizing their ATK, before launching his attack. When questioned if he wasn't fighting seriously by Sora, Shay replied that he was always serious when he Dueled, even if he was facing a worthless opponent.

After a protracted Duel, Sora eventually Fusion Summoned "Frightfur Tiger" and used it to destroy all of Shay's monsters, defeating him and knocking him out of the temple door, past Celina, and down the steps. Badly injured, Shay was rescued by Celina, and further saved when Sora caught up to them by Sun Shadow, who stayed behind to Duel Sora, and Moon Shadow, who accompanied Celina and Shay. Three Obelisk Force members approached Celina, requesting that she come with them, but Celina refused, and Shay stepped protectively in front of her. They began a Duel, and Shay tried to take the first turn, but Moon Shadow initiated instead and protected them with his "Ninjitsu Art" cards, reassuring Shay when he asked that this was nothing compared to Shay's injuries. Shay tried to take his turn again after the Obelisk Force had all done so, but was this time upstaged by Celina, who he was shocked to see Fusion Summon. Shay witnessed Reed and Trout's entrance into the Duel and their subsequent defeat and sealing, as well as the arrival of Sylvio Sawatari, who saved Moon Shadow from the same fate.

However, even with Sylvio's help, the Obelisk Force still got the upper hand by Summoning "Ultimate Ancient Gear Hunting Hound". Shay told Sylvio and the others to back down, but before he could start, Gong interfered and gave Shay two of Sylvio's Pendulum Monsters, "Abyss Actor - Evil Heel" and "Abyss Actor - Funky Comedian" by using the effects of "Superheavy Samurai Transporter" and two copies "Superheavy Samurai Thief". Shay asked why he gave him Pendulum cards, which Gong answered that the rest was up to him to decide. Shay thought about the people who had helped him and were sealed into cards, and though he still decried their help as ridiculous, he finally decided to Pendulum Summon. He Pendulum Summoned three copies of "Raidraptor - Wild Vulture" and then used them to Xyz Summon "Revolution Falcon". Shay attacked all three of the Obelisk Force's monsters with it, winning the Duel for him and his allies. Afterwards, Shay witnessed the Duel between Sora and Yuya which ended without a result since the Battle Royal timer had ran out. Sora escaped back to the Fusion Dimension, but Declan arrived and with Sylvio, explained that they had passed the test to become Lancers.

Friendship Cup
Shay learned that Celina had switched clothes with Zuzu to come and ask him about what had happened in the Xyz Dimension. When Yuya challenged Declan to a Duel, Declan used "Neo Heartland City" again for the Action Field, much to Shay's fury. He refused to talk about his traumatic past to the new Lancers, so Declan explained the basics of what had happened. Celina revealed to Shay that she had originally come to the Standard Dimension to fight him. When he questioned Celina about what Zuzu had asked her, Shay confirmed what Zuzu had said; that Duel Academy students had hunted innocent people as if it were a game and that their faces and laughter would be forever in his memory. He then asked Celina why she resembled Lulu. He was surprised when he realized that Yuya's Pendulum-Xyz Summoning had likely been born out of Yuya's promise to Yuto and shocked to see the Summoning of "Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon".

The following day, Declan gathered the Lancers, including his little brother Riley. Shay was dismissive of the boy, believing that he wouldn't last against Duel Academy, but Declan revealed that they were instead going to the Synchro Dimension to recruit allies in their fight against Duel Academy. Shay was angry that they weren't taking the fight directly to Duel Academy and wanted to go there by himself, but Celina claimed that it would be suicidal for him to do so, and reassured Shay that Lulu would be as well-treated there as Celina herself had been. Shay was still angry at Yuya for taking Yuto's "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" card, but Yuto communicated to Shay from within Yuya. He told him that Yuya was an ally that they could depend on and trust. When Shay snapped back to reality, Yuya asked him what was wrong and the former replied it was nothing. Declan explained to the group that he'd upgraded their Duel Disks to travel across dimensions and produce an Action Field, and they departed for the Synchro Dimension.

Shay arrived alone in the Synchro Dimension, assuming that everyone else had been trapped between dimensions. He heard rumors of an Underground Dueling Arena where Duelists Dueled with their all and managed to gain access to it with the intention to recruit more allies. Finding the Duelists to be below his expectations, Shay quickly became a crowd favorite, defeating nine Duelists in a row, including Hunter Pace in Turbo Duels. Dennis and Gong arrived, having been picked up by the arena's owner Gallager, and Shay explained his intention to win his way into the Friendship Cup and Duel the Duel King, Jack Atlas.

Gallager ended up pitting Shay against Dennis in a Turbo Duel after the two directed mild barbs at one another. Since it was his tenth game in his winning streak, Shay was handicapped with a 1000 LP start, but he swiftly inflicted damage to Dennis. Dennis was able to prevent game ending damage and Shay did the same, using "Rank-Up-Magic Raid Force" to call out "Blaze Falcon" and nearly defeat Dennis. He was surprised at the intensity of Dennis's Dueling, given that Dennis was an LID student and grew suspicious. Dennis responded that he was indeed from LID and performed a Pendulum Summon on his next turn. Dennis performed a Pendulum-Xyz Summon to bring out "Performage Shadow Maker" and destroy "Blaze Falcon", but Shay avoided damage and brought out "Revolution Falcon" using "Revolution Force". Despite this, Dennis was able to Summon another "Shadow Maker" using the effect of the first one. Before the Duel could end, however, their Duel Runners were deactivated and they were sent tumbling, and were then arrested by Security.

Upon arriving at the Facility, Shay got into a fight with ten other prisoners and was sent to solitary confinement as a result. He heard the cheering during Yuya's Duel with the prisoner "boss", Chojiro Tokumatsu. Later, Shay resolved to break out of the Facility by himself. He climbed to the ceiling of the cell to trick the guards into coming in to look for him. As soon as they did, Shay broke out into the hallways and knocked the guards out with ease. He ran into Gong, who was part of a larger-scale breakout and had come to break Shay out himself. Shay claimed that he didn't need Gong, but he led him to a storage room to reclaim theirs and Dennis' Duel Disks, refusing to leave while unarmed. He intervened when Gong failed to save Yuya, Sylvio, and Chojiro from the Arrest Corps. He took advantage of the lack of Level of "Rise Falcon" to bypass the effect of the Corps' "Goyo King" and defeat them. They regrouped with the rest of the escaped Lancers in addition to fellow escapees Crow, Shinji, and Damon, but when they attempted to swim from the Facility, they were arrested personally by Security Director Jean-Michel Roger. Envoys of the Executive Council intervened on their behalf, and the Lancers were inducted into the Friendship Cup, with Shay set up to Duel against Dennis on the second day of the tournament in the first round.

Shay Dueled Dennis again in the final Duel of the second day of the Friendship Cup. Suspecting that Dennis was an agent of Duel Academy, he vowed to prove it during their Duel. Shay started off much the same as their previous Duel, using "Raidraptor Fiend Eagle" to inflict early damage to Dennis. Dennis called out four Xyz Monsters, "Performage Trapeze Magician" and three "Peformage Shadow Makers", but Shay defended with "Revolution Falcon" and used "Raidraptor - Target Flag" in an attempt to force Dennis to reveal his hand upon the destruction of "Trapeze Magician". He was able to break through Dennis's defense, accusing him of using tactics that weren't taught at LID, and he destroyed "Trapeze Magician". Dennis grimly revealed the card in his hand - "Polymerization", revealing that he was indeed from Duel Academy when he performed a Fusion Summon to Summon "Ancient Gear Chaos Giant". Remembering the monster from the attack on Heartland, Shay faced the now darkly talking Dennis, refusing to allow the monster to rampage again.

After learning about Lulu's kidnapping from Dennis, Shay became more enraged and Summoned his strongest monster, "Raidraptor - Satellite Cannon Falcon". He used it to defeat Dennis mercilessly, leaving him injured. After the Duel, Shay angrily approached Dennis and attempted to seal him into a card but he realized he couldn't do that, speculating that Declan removed that function from his Duel Disk. Shay attempted to punch Dennis instead, but he was quickly restrained and taken away by the stadium's security.

Friendship Cup Finals
Shay watched the Duel between Zuzu and Sergey Volkov and he was extremely shocked after witnessing Zuzu's brutal defeat. Shay later watched the Duel between Yuya and Shinji. He was set to Duel against Crow Hogan for his second Duel, and he theorized that Duel Academy might have more agents in the Synchro Dimension, vowing to expose them. Uncaring of the controversy between the Tops and the Commons, Shay warned Crow before the Duel that he wouldn't show him mercy if he was from Duel Academy. Crow's "Blackwings" traded blows with "Raidraptor - Rise Falcon" evenly, but despite losing a large portion of his LP, Shay was able to protect "Rise Falcon" and Rank-Up his monster to bring out "Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon" to destroy Crow's own ace monster, "Assault Blackwing - Raikiri the Rain Shower". Shay affirmed during the Duel that he didn't consider the other Lancers to be his comrades and that the loss of his comrades from the Xyz Dimension had caused him to view everyone else as an enemy and everything as a battlefield. He urged Crow to come at him, and Crow delivered, resurrecting "Raikiri" through Phantom Synchro and preventing Shay from getting an Action Card. Shay noticed that Tanner was clinging onto the back of "Raikiri", having been dislodged from his watching position and attempted to stop the Duel, but Crow refused and destroyed "Blaze Falcon". Shay used "Raptor's Force" to bring out "Revolution Falcon" and managed to get Crow to notice Tanner. Tanner was dislodged and Shay managed to catch him on "Revolution Falcon". He explained to Tanner that he had previously had children that cheered for him as well before returning Tanner to Zuzu, Frank, and Amanda. Crow thanked Shay, and Shay thanked Crow as well; as seeing Crow and the children had reminded him that he was fighting for the children of Heartland, before discussing his similarities with Crow. Shay brought out "Satellite Cannon Falcon" on his next turn with "Rank-Up-Magic Skip Force" and then reused "Skip Force" in order to call out "Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon". Crow was barely able to survive the turn and countered with a flurry of Synchro Summons on his next turn to bring out "Assault Blackwing - Onimaru the Thunderbolt", which defeated "Ultimate Falcon" and Shay with it; Shay smiling as he was defeated. Before going to the underground, Shay and Crow told one another to continue fighting their enemies, and they parted as comrades. Amanda, Frank, Tanner, and Zuzu later discovered that Shay had gone to the Underground Labor Facility when they took refuge there themselves.

Shay was doing cleanup work until Crow came down and explained that Duel Academy had invaded the City. He started fighting the guards until they restrained him, but was saved by Moon Shadow. Shay, Gong, and Sylvio then got their Duel Disks from Moon Shadow, who also informed that Riley was Dueling alone to protect Celina. Shay and Sylvio decided to go help while Gong stayed to protect Zuzu from Security. Their escape route was blocked off by an electric gate, forcing them to Duel against five guards, who were all defeated by Shay's "Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon". Gallager then came on a mining cart to capture them but crashed into the electric gate. The Arrest Corps. arrived and surrounded them but were stopped when Shinji activated the conveyor belt. Gallager returned to Duel them but was attacked by Duel Chaser 227 and his fellow former officers, allowing Shay, Sylvio, and Moon Shadow to escape; Shay exchanging a fist bump with Crow from far away.

Shay worked alone again, jumping on and off a boat to cross a river and get to the other side of a district, while wondering about the whereabouts of the Obelisk Force. As the rioting continued he was running around and muttering about the whereabouts of Duel Academy, unaware that they had already been defeated by Yuya, Riley, Sora, Moon Shadow, and Sergey, and that they retreated back to the Fusion Dimension. He found and rescued Riley from rioting Commons and accompanied him, Sylvio, and Chojiro to the Capital Building where they were joined by Declan. Declan asked Shay to have his "Raidraptors" to fly them to the Duel Palace and rescue Yuya, as Declan had predicted that this was where Yuya would have gone. They picked Yuya, Gong, Sam, Frank, Amanda and Tanner up from the bridge to the Duel Palace and brought them inside, where Yuya challenged Jack Atlas to a Duel. Shay helped the Lancers and Chojiro in fending off Security when they stormed the Duel Palace, tearing all of their enemies with "Raidraptor - Rise Falcon". During the Duel after Yuya managed to withstand the attack of Jack's "Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend" Shay remarked that it was too soon to be at ease. He later went out with the Lancers to quell the Commons' riots, seeking out Crow and intervening in Crow's face-off with Shinji Weber.

Shay succeeded in resolving Crow and Shinji's issues, as they both left Shay and got on their Duel Runners to show their support for Yuya's Duel against Jack. Shay watched the remainder of the Duel and smiled when Yuya won. Shay also watched Sora's broadcast and was shocked to learn that Roger defeated Sora and Moon Shadow. He quickly left before the broadcast ended, heading towards Security Headquarters to join the efforts in rescuing Zuzu from Roger. He broke into the building with "Rise Falcon" and found Gong and Sylvio at the control room where Sora had sent his message. Shay commented that Sora was likely still alive. After Yuya rescued Zuzu, Shay was the first to notice that Roger was still alive. Roger activated the Interdimensional Transportation Machine, which teleported himself and Zuzu to an unknown dimension. When Gong tried to prevent Yuya from being sucked into the wormhole too, Shay came to his aid and Sylvio to his, but they were all sucked into the wormhole and ended up in the ruins of a city. Shay informed the others that this was Heartland City in the Xyz Dimension.

Heartland City
After informing the Lancers where they were, Shay separated from them to check on the Resistance base, but he found it abandoned and concluded that this comrades had been wiped out in his absence. He left the building and lamented that he'd thought that allying with Declan would be a shortcut to Lulu, remembering both when he'd first found out about Declan and their first meeting.

While Yuya and Kite were Dueling and Kite mistook Yuya for Yuto, Shay, Allen, and Sayaka arrived and cleared up the misunderstanding. He revealed that Yuya, Sylvio and Gong were his comrades but Kite still doubted him. Shay assured Kite that Yuya wanted to stop Duel Academy as much as they did, asking him to trust Yuya like he did. However Kite refused before disappearing in a flash of light after hearing Yuya's last name.

At the Resistance's new hideout, Shay revealed that they were able to find Yuya and the others because the refugees that they had saved before told their location and gave them their gratitude. Allen then suspected that Yuya was in fact Yuto himself due to their great resemblance and even using "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon", but Shay cleared the confusion, explaining that despite their resemblance Yuya is not Yuto and the latter had suddenly vanished. He furthered explained that he originally thought Yuya had stolen "Dark Rebellion" from Yuto, however, after watching Yuya throughout their battle at Synchro Dimension, he dismissed his suspicion as he now understood why Yuto entrusted "Dark Rebellion" to Yuya. Allen then explained that while they were gone, Duel Academy had launched a massive offensive attack that almost completely destroyed both Spade and Clover branchs' Resistance Duelists, including Kite's family. Shay blamed himself for this, thinking that if he and Yuto were there, they might be able to do something to change the situation.

Shay appeared to Kite after the latter shrugged off Allen and Sayaka's attempt to bring him back. He grabbed Kite's shoulder, prompting Kite to lunge away and threaten to turn Shay into a card as well. Shay told him to go ahead and try and the two started a Duel. Shay Summoned "Raidraptor - Rise Falcon" on his first turn, a move Kite called a disgraceful misplay, as that monster's effect requires the opponent to control a Special Summoned monster to be used. Shay was able to counter the effect of Kite's "Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon" with "Raptor's Intercept Form" and mitigate some of the impact of that attack with an Action Card, "Miracle". Kite claimed Shay was a coward. Shay brought out "Raidraptor - Blaze Falcon" and destroyed "Cipher Dragon", but Kite used "Cipher Spectrum" to revive it and Special Summon a second one. Yuya arrived and asked them to stop the fight, as they were comrades. Kite claimed that "Cipher Dragon" was a part of him and that he no longer needed comrades. Shay used a string of Action Cards in an attempt to take down "Cipher Dragon" but failed and brought out "Raidraptor - Ultimate Falcon". Kite chided him for claiming the Action Cards represented his new comrades and that the move failing must mean his comrades will fail too. When Yuya began talking about Kite and Shay's past and revealed that Yuto resided inside of him, Shay claimed he had had a hunch about that. Though "Ultimate Falcon" nearly won Shay the Duel, "Cipher Mirror Knight" and "Cipher Clone Magic" enabled Kite to come back and defeat it and Shay. Kite moved to turn Shay into a card after the Duel, but stopped to reconsider after Sayaka pleaded with him. Having already lost Lulu, Sayaka said she couldn't bear to lose Shay as well. Kite still seemed to be consider turning him into a card, but reluctantly stopped and proceeded to walk away.

Shay returned to the hideout and decided to split the Lancers into two groups to find Sayaka. He told Gong and Sylvio not to slack off.

Lulu Obsidian
Shay shows a fierce determination to rescue his younger sister and tends to overreact when someone mentions her. This is to the point of threatening his own best friend, Yuto, for stopping him from reaching a potential lead. When he mistook Zuzu for Lulu, he was shocked and wondered how she "escaped" and called for her again before fainting when Yuto punched him. When he Dueled Dennis and after learning that he was the one who assisted Yuri to kidnap her, he became full of rage and Dueled for her sake, showing how much he deeply loved and cared about her.

Yuto
Yuto and Shay are best friends, although Shay seems to dislike flaunting this fact. They have a strong bond of trust between them, as Shay showed no concern when Yuto Dueled Sora Perse to save Lulu, trusting Yuto's skill. However, they seem to have contradicting views regarding their methodology as they seem to work separately while in pursuit of the same goal, but seem to remain in contact with each other occasionally. Shay displayed concern when Yuto disappeared after his Duel with Yugo, and later demanded Yuya to explain what happened to Yuto and why he had "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon" card. Shay also considers Yuto his 'one and only best friend' as seen during his Duel with Dennis.

Declan Akaba
As Declan is the son of his enemy, Leo Akaba, Shay originally saw him as a target and based his attacks on LID to lure Declan out, capture him and use him as a bargaining chip for Lulu. Realizing that they both see Leo as an enemy, Shay agreed to work with him to form the Lancers. Shay is shown to not fully trust Declan and is frequently annoyed when his demands to take action are refused, forcing him to stay back and watch. Declan often had to request his subordinates to keep Shay under surveillance to ensure he didn't do anything reckless that could affect his plans. In spite of his annoyance, Shay usually relents and follows Declan's instructions, however, he was furious to discover that Declan had sealed the carding function of his Duel Disk permanently in his attempt to get revenge for Lulu and the Xyz Dimension once Dennis was defeated.

Celina
Shay was initially surprised to see Lulu's likeness in Celina. He was grateful to Celina for rescuing him from Sora Perse and immediately displayed protectiveness of her from the Obelisk Force. Celina seems to be the only one in the Lancers who can successfully persuade Shay and keep him in check, discouraging his foolhardy plan to rescue Lulu by himself. Along with Zuzu, Shay informed Celina of Duel Academy's horrifying invasion in the Xyz Dimension and Celina, in turn, assuaged his worries for Lulu and Heartland.

The two share similar personalities to the point that Celina is akin to a female version of Shay. Both can be rude, arrogant, and prideful of their skills, and ruthlessly card innocent people to complete their mission. They are the lone wolves of the Lancers, coming from different dimensions, and as such, prefer to operate independently. Never to go down without a fight, they appreciate the occasional help that comes in their way.

Lancers
Shay claimed to Crow, during their Duel, that he didn't see any member of the Lancers as comrades (probably due to Dennis' betrayal). When they were separated during their arrival in the Synchro Dimension, he assumed that they had become lost between dimensions and did not bother to search for them. His perception changes after his Duel with Crow, where he began to consider them as his comrades and repeatedly came to the Lancers' aid during their escape from the Facility and the underground. The Lancers finally earned Shay's complete trust after Yuya's Duel against Jack in the final match, as the Duel and its result made Shay understands that the Lancers, particularly Yuya, also wishes to stop Duel Academy and end the war as much as he does. Since then, Shay truly values the Lancers as his allies, which is shown when he asked Kite to trust Yuya and the others like he does.

Crow Hogan
Shay initially saw Crow as nothing more than another enemy, but their experience with the orphans that Crow looked after and Crow's struggles as a Commons caused him to realize that they had a great deal in common. His demeanor towards Crow changed from that point on, and he genuinely enjoyed the rest of the Duel and smiled when he was defeated. Before parting ways, Shay accepted Crow as a comrade. Crow helped Shay remember what he was fighting for and regained some of the trust lost in the Lancers. Shay's growing friendship with Crow also made Shay to open up more to the Lancers and eventually accepted them as his comrades as well.

Dennis Macfield
Shay's relationship with Dennis is less than great even before Shay found out his true allegiance. Before their first Duel, Shay commented about Dennis' Xyz being fake and later became suspicious about him as he believed someone from LID shouldn't be able to Duel the way Dennis did. When Shay found out that Dennis was from Duel Academy and helped in Lulu's capture, his rage reached a zenith. Shay even injured him and tried to seal him in a card. Thanks to Dennis, Shay lost his trust in the Lancers for a while.

Kite Tenjo
Kite is Shay's Resistance comrade. Before the invasion, he and Kite were rivals due to their different school branches and had friendly Duels several times. Shay respected Kite as fellow Duelist and rival, and later values him as important comrade after both joined the Resistance. While Kite also feels the same way, even referring to Shay by his first name in the Japanese version, the resulting invasion causes Kite to refuse trusting people from another dimension, even if it's Shay himself telling him that they are his trusted allies, which partly led to Kite distancing himself from Shay and the other Resistance members.

Deck
Shay runs a "Raidraptor" Deck, focusing on Xyz Summoning using monsters with the same name. Like Yuto, his Deck also features cards that can activate in the Graveyard. He has a considerable edge against multiple opponents due to the powerful effects of his ace monster, which takes advantage of his opponent's Special Summoned monsters, reflecting his hatred against Fusion Summoning.

His Deck also features "Rank-Up-Magic" cards, allowing him to perform Rank-Ups to Summon enhanced versions of his Xyz Monsters that are geared to destroy and/or deal damage to the opponent through their effects. However since "Rise Falcon" and its upgraded forms suffer from very low original ATK, Shay supports them with many Spell and Trap Cards (including Action Cards) to prolong their longevity as well as prevent his opponents from protecting themselves when Shay's monsters go on the offensive. His skill with these cards is said to be honed through real combat experience.

Following the Resistance's belief that the enemy will likely capture their allies, he includes some cards that allow him to recover control of monsters the opponent steals, such as "Rank-Up-Magic Revolution Force" and "Rescue Xyz".

Shay's Deck also features a loop, focusing on Xyz Summoning multiple copies of "Raidraptor - Force Strix", using its searching abilities alongside his "Raidraptor - Vanishing Lanius" and "Raidraptor - Fuzzy Lanius" to quickly overpower his opponent with multiple monsters while maintaining hand advantage.