Syrus was running up the last few steps of the staircase, which led to the very top of the building. It was a strange place; it was located underground, and had thirteen floors; unlike most other buildings, it counted its thirteenth floor. It was a pearly silver mansion on the outside, crowned with a giant silver disk; on the inside, it was a nightmarish lab, which was fully of surrealistic specimens in containers, some of which attacked Syrus and his friends. It also seemed to be the base for those strange enemies constantly attacking them, which, Syrus concluded, mean that their leader is here.

All the the halls were dimly lit by blue lamps, and the walls were smooth. A pattern of some kind ran across the expansive corridor. Syrus's panting was the only noise to bounce off these walls, as well as his heavy steps. His mind was full of numerous thoughts and guilts of the recent past. His Obelisk blue uniform was tattered from the last episode. He felt guilty; he could do nothing to save Neon. He felt like a fool for even following. 'Of all people, I'm the only one here?' he thought sadly and fearfully.

He stopped at the door, breathing deeply and trembling mildly. He looked at the small door before him; it was shiny, as if it were made of metal. It had a doorknob of a clear material, which was carved to be very detailed with deep engravings and designs on it. He sat down waiting. Someone is sure to make it. He was full of dread; he was sitting at the door to this mysterious enemy. He looked down the hall teeming with blue lights and the chilling darkness, wondering what might have happened to Neon. He remembered the explosion, the blinding light, the collapse of the ceiling, and most of all: the guilt. Was he useless?

A few minutes passed. No one was there. Then a thought occurred to Syrus. 'Maybe I can beat this guy!'. Then he completely shot down that theory. He wasn't good enough. Maybe Jaden or Zane, but they were in danger, somewhere. And whoever was behind that door had them at his mercy. So Syrus waited next to the door.

He felt pathetic. He couldn't do anything then and there, and only made it this far by hiding behind Neon. He got to his feet. 'I need to confront this guy! What's his name anyway...' Syrus thought. He felt he needed to. He had to prove himself, after what had happened. If he could beat that guy, then he'd be the hero; but then again, if he lost, he'd need rescuing once again.

A spell later, Syrus was drifting into sleep. He was drained from the trek up this horrendous mountain, and now he was at the summit which took his breath and hopes away. He fought the trickling, deceptive comfort. Many minutes after being drowned by it, he was rescued from it, fished out by a helping hand, which dragged him away from the dreadful pool and into a bright light behind the dark door he awaited at. Syrus coughed up the sleep with his fearful screaming, which was supported by the terror of his realization, the realization that he was laying helplessly at this fiend's feet, the one who rescued him. The figure wore a black cloak striped silver with the number '80' on its black zipper. It had a hood over its head, and stood a height greater Syrus had ever seen. Its feet were concealed by its long cloak, but its silver gloves were visible.

"I see there is but one who made it this far." the figure said. It closed the door. Syrus then regained his composure. He looked around; the room was large; it had no windows, but a had large mirror on the back wall resembling the insignia that every opponent had on their duel disk, as well as on the building they were in and on the decorations on the first floor and the walls connecting the sinister web that was the building. The insignia was silver and square, with four decorative and detailed prongs on every corner; the very floor was dotted with the insignia. The shelves on the left and right walls had dozens of books, as well as odd knickknacks like skulls, pictures, and stones.

"Who are you!?" He demanded in a shaky voice. "Where are Jaden and Zane!?" Syrus shot up to his feet, activating his Duel Disk on the way. Then the figure held his hand up, and then started to speak.

"You will know in time. I have a proposition: we duel. If you win, I will release your friends. But if I win, you will share their fate." the figure said calmly. Syrus was startled by this, wondering if he could hold his own, as well as save his best friends.

"Are you sure about that?" Syrus bluffed. He had great doubt about everything, but stayed strong, for Zane and Jaden's sake. "Before we duel, tell me what you are after!"

"I'm not after anything. I have it all. I just need to tie up a few loose ends in order to keep it all." the figure said. "My first task is to rid my estate of you, and every last one of your allies." Syrus was puzzled. What did he have? What did he need?

"You can't win! I'll make sure of it!" Syrus shouted.

"Prepare yourself," the figure said. "For the very worst."

"Duel!" Syrus shouted The mysterious man's duel disk activated. He finally found the one who was in responsible for everything that had happened. He was more nervous than ever though; he was the only one who wasn't caught up in a duel on the way to the main office. 'I have to win!', he thought. This guy, thing, or whatever he was, had Jaden and Zane. It was all up to him to save them. 'Can I win? Am I able to!? This could be my last duel...' he thought.

He had no idea who he was up against. He had a feeling he was tough; he was huge, taller than a normal man, and had an ominous air about him because of the odd trinkets that hung from his over coat and his expression of callousness, and by looks of it, quite powerful, assuming the command of a large organization and its numerous assassins, which were the main threat, seeing that they all managed to escape destruction time and again.

So far, Syrus and his friends overcame every opponent that confronted them. But now, Syrus could end it all or lose it all. Whatever may happen, Syrus was ready for the worst. No one was there for him; he was in the belly of the beast. Escape was out of the question; he was in the main office of the building, and every opposing force was outside the door behind him, as well as his allies. Syrus hoped someone would come to support him.

"I'll go first," Syrus said. "Draw! I summon Submarineroid (800 / 1800) in defense mode. I also set one card face down. I end my turn." The blue, cartoon-esque submarine with a tan bottom carrying a missile in its hands ,as well as one card materialized before Syrus. Its eyes narrowed toward the dark – cloaked man.

"Very well," the mysterious person muttered. "My turn. I draw. I summon Obsidian Dragon (800 / 2100) in defense mode and set two cards face down. I end my turn." A raptor – like rock being with piercing yellow eyes and jagged teeth, as well as two face down cards, appeared before the man.

"Is that all? My turn!" Syrus said. "I activate Shield Crush! With it's effect, I can destroy one defense position monster!" A yellow beam started toward the dragon.

"Obsidian Dragon's effect negates any Spell or Trap card that targets a dark – attributed monster, mine and yours." The beam dematerialized before it could make contact. Syrus grunted.

"Well, I switch Submarineroid to attack mode! Then I summon Patroid (1200 / 1200) in attack mode!" The stout police car standing on its back wheels and its arms before it appeared before Syrus, its alarm going off. It , as well, had a solemn look embracing its face.

"I activate Hidden Soldiers," the figure said. "When you summon a monster, I can activate Hidden Soldiers; it allows me to special summon a level four or lower dark – attributed monster from my hand. I summon Priestess Ohm (1700 / 1600)." A woman in ornate clothing, wearing a black head dress and emitting a sinister aura appeared before the figure.

'No!' Syrus thought. 'My Patroid can't go to defense mode. He doesn't stand a chance against the priestess.'

"I activate Patroid's effect to look at your face down card!" The figure's card lifted up; it was called "Blaze of Demise", which pictured two flames in a dark blue setteing; he had never heard of it, but had to watch out for it, because it was a quick play spell.

"I attack directly with Submarineroid!" he commanded. The submarine submerged itself, and started forward.

"I activate Blaze of Demise. With this card, I can special summon two Dark Blaze Phantom tokens (0 / 0) in defense mode. They cannot be tributed except for the summon of a dark – attributed monster." Two blue flame creatures with short arms and tail, with a single eye decorating their heads materialized.

'Why would he do that?' Syrus thought. The submarine landed its missile upon his opponent.

Syrus: 4000 ?: 3200

"I end my turn," Syrus said. "Enough! What is your name? What are really you after?!"Syrus ordered as he clenched his fists.

"Tis not important right this instant. My move. I draw. I sacrifice my Obsidian Dragon to summon Gaius, the Wicked Monarch (2400 / 1000)." A large human - like entity appeared; it was encased in dark armor, and emitted a powerful dark aura. "Upon summoning, Gaius removes one monster from play, and if it is a dark – attributed monster, you take one thousand points of damage; I remove my Dark Blaze Phantom token from play." The figure's remaining token was broken down inside a dark aura, which then threw itself upon Syrus.

Syrus: 3000 ?: 3200

"Then I equip my Priestess with the Sword of Dark Rites, which increases the attack power of a dark monster my four hundred points (2100 /1600)." A large and sinister sword appeared in the hands of the monster. "Now I attack your Submarine with Gaius and you Patroid with Ohm." His two monsters charged forward.

"Hold on! I activate Supercharge! If you attack one of my Roids, then I can draw two cards!" Ohm impaled the car and slashed downwards, destroying it, and Gaius dissolved the submarine with a blast of dark energy.

Syrus: 2100 ?:3200

"I end my turn," the figure said. "My name is Mercury. I tell you this because I'm afraid you won't last much longer; you'll have something to haunt you for eternity." Mercury grinned, and then looked sharply at Syrus.

"You don't scare me! I will beat you!" Syrus said. "My turn! Draw!" 'I can't take him on at the moment. I need to prepare a solid defense.' Syrus thought. "I summon Jetroid (1200 /1800) in defense mode! I end my turn." The red jet with the confident look in its eye appeared before Syrus. 'My trap will work! If he attacks Jetroid, I can spring a trap from my hand!' he thought.

"My turn. Draw." Mercury said. "I activate Dark Burst; it allows me to add one dark – attributed monster with fifteen hundred attack or less from my graveyard to my hand. I take back Obsidian Dragon. Then I summon Dark Crusader (1600 / 200) in attack mode." A large warrior ,clad in black armor and red cape, wielding a massive sword materialized before Mercury. "I attack with Ohm." The Priestess jumped forward, ready to strike.

"Hold on! I activate Jetroid's effect! It allows me to activate a trap from my hand whenever it's attacked. I activate Ring Of Life! Ring of Life destroys one of your monsters, and I gain life points equal to its defense! I choose Gaius the Wicked Monarch!" A ring of light surrounded the dark being and absorbed him; it then flew around Syrus, refreshing his lifepoints.

Syrus: 3100 Mercury:3200

Ohm continued its attack, splitting the jet in two.

"I discard Obsidian Dragon to activate Dark Crusader's effect," Mercury said. "When I discard a dark -attributed monster, he gains four hundred attack points (2000 / 200). Now I attack you directly with him." The warrior gained a dark aura, and then jumped to Syrus, delivering a powerful slash to him that sent him flying.

Syrus: 1100 Mercury: 3200

"I end my turn," Mercury said.

'I can't go on...' Syrus thought. Then he remembered Jaden and Zane. They were still being held by Mercury, somewhere. Syrus rose to his feet slowly.

"My move!" he shouted. 'If I'm going to beat him, I need to get the right cards. For now, I need a strong defense.' He drew his card; it was Cyber Repairer. 'Perfect. With this, all my Roids will be safe for a turn.' "I summon Expressroid (400 / 1600) in defense mode! With its effect, I can return two roids to my hand from the graveyard, like Jetroid and Submarineroid! Next, I activate Machine Duplication; with it, I can choose a machine of mine with five hundred attack or less and special summon up to two monsters with the same name from my deck! And with one of their effects, I can return Patroid to my hand!" Three small, white cartoon - esque trains appeared before Syrus. "Then finally, I set one card face down. I end my turn."

"Very well," Mercury said."My turn." He drew his card and looked at it. "I'm afraid it's your last. I activate Ohm's effect. I can sacrifice one of my dark -attributed monsters to inflict eight hundred points of damage to you." Ohm sang a chant, which caused the Dark Crusader to break down into dark energy, and blasted Syrus with it.

Syrus: 300 Mercury:3200

"Next, I special summon the mighty Dark Armed Dragon!"

"What-" Syrus was cut off.

"Yes; as you can see, this is a dark incarnation of Armed Dragon. I would never have it if it weren't for your friends."

"What are you saying?!" Syrus demanded.

"It seems your the last one standing out of your entire team that came. I fact, they were destroyed before you even got here. All their most powerful cards are mine now."

"They...failed?" Syrus muttered. "What did you do to them?!"

"Same thing as your friends Jaden, Zane, and Aster. I sent them...elsewhere. And they probably were destroyed, as well. I would love to do it myself, but it's so much more fun to watch them squirm in an attempt to survive..."

"You have Aster too? And everyone else... you're sick!" Syrus fell to his knees. 'The best duelists, my best friends, gone. I'm the only one left... I can't go on... How can I? I was always the one in danger...' Syrus realized it was up to him to save them; there was no room for weakness, none. "Do your move." He said boldly. He couldn't let his head games get to him; 'Maybe he's lying,' Syrus thought.

"Very well. Dark Armed Dragon (2800 / 1000) can only be special summoned if I have exactly three dark – attributed monsters in my graveyard. I count three: Gaius, Obsidian Dragon, and Dark Crusader." Armed Dragon appeared, but it was more fierce, and nearly the color black, with gray claws and orange, menacing eyes and a powerful aura around it. "Now I activate its effect: I can remove from play a dark – attributed monster from my graveyard to destroy one card on the field. I remove my three monsters to destroy your three Expressroids." The dragon sweeped Syurs's side of the field with it's blade pronged tail, easily eliminating the three Expressroids. Syrus fell to his knees.

"I didn't stand a chance..." Syrus mumbled sadly. "What was I thinking? I'm not strong enough for anything. I'm nothing..." A tear fell from his eye. "It's over."

"I attack you directly with Dark Armed Dragon." The dragon lunged at Syrus with his claws, sending the boy flying quite a distance, knocking him unconscious.

Syrus: 0 Mercury: 3200

"You're mine now." Mercury said. He picked up Syrus's unconscious body, slung him over his shoulder and carried him out of the room, and went down numerous flights of stairs; after reaching the bottom, he went into an elevator, which lead to the basement. He entered a dark room; it was near empty on the floor, but a massive machine was on the ceiling, and a large screen was on the wall. He took Syrus under it and dropped him on the ground and stood back. The machine powered up, and in a few moments, Syrus was gone.

"The last of the hindrances are gone." Mercury muttered. "There is much to be done." He turned around and started off. As he walked, a thin, yellow creature peaked from behind the large machine hanging from the ceiling. It had eyes which looked drawn on; its pupils were green, and the outline of its eyes blue, which were paired with red eyebrows. It wore a blue, sleeveless robe and had blue gauntlets. It had jagged antennae on its head, which had levitating rings about them. It had many bracelets of gold levitating around its wrists, and had a cold collar. It held a card in its hand; it was called 'Tualatin'. It watched Mercury walk away. After feeling security, it flew toward the screen. Upon contact, it disappeared within it.

Syrus lay on top of a large building, unconscious. The surrounding buildings were much the same; nearly covered in window, silver and radiant in the sun. It was dead silent; all the people on the street were watching a large screen on the building adjacent to the one Syrus lay. On the screen was Jaden ,dueling someone; this man was the mayor of this great city. The people were rather content; the mayor never lost an execution duel.

Author's note: Constructive criticism is all I ask from you. All cards in this chapter a real. Before revision, I learned 'Gaius' was actually called 'Caius'; I will still call him 'Gaius' because it's cooler!