A/N: This is the final installment of our trilogy, what comes after Unseen Enemy. I know we left off on a sad note last time, so let's pick up where we left off! I promise, no sad ending this time. Duel spirits talking is in italics, and words echoing in heads is written in bold and italics. Enjoy! We don't own Yugioh GX.
In the woods outside of Domino City, there was an odd stone castle. Nobody used it—heck, nothing human even knew it existed. The only things that lived there were duel spirits, which all believed to be evil. They were wild and dangerous, and they would attack any and all humans they saw. So said the stories.
All was calm in the castle. The dungeon was empty, the halls had no guards, and the throne room lacked a ruler.
Suddenly, a massive lightning bolt hit the floor of the throne room. When the smoke cleared, a confused two-tone brunette stood there, his head throbbing. His headache wasn't helped by him trying to figure out what had just happened. The last thing he remembered, his friends were all here, being attacked by Yubel. Yet, looking around, he was the only one present. All of his friends were gone, even Yubel.
So, did it work, or...
Suddenly he heard a voice in his head—a very familiar voice. He'd been hearing it in there a lot lately.
"Arg. Oh, my head," Yubel said. "Nice work, kid. I'm gonna be feeling that one for awhile."
Judai started. "Wha—Yubel!?"
"Arg..."
He looked around, but she wasn't anywhere to be seen. Remembering that card she'd given him, he checked his coat pocket. He was surprised to find two extra cards in there.
"Huh?" He pulled them out and looked at them: Yubel – Terror Incarnate and Yubel – The Ultimate Nightmare, two-headed dragons that Judai hadn't seen since before this whole light thing. "Your other forms..."
Yubel appeared beside him, looking dizzy. She was swaying back and forth. "Yeah, you idiot. Did you forget what you just did?"
He hesitated before saying, "I...fused with you..."
"That's right. And, in doing so, your darkness merged with my light. But those two, though both evil, couldn't coexist peacefully together and became unstable, allowing that Super Polymerization of yours to absorb them and seal them away in there." She swayed again. "Arg. Say, why are there three of you?"
Judai stared at her for a moment, absorbing that. "I guess you're feeling worse than me."
"I guess. Arg... No, wait, I don't guess, I know!" Suddenly she stopped swaying and looked at him, upset. "Judai, I'm so sorry! I only wanted to punish you for reminding me of what I had become, and instead that monster made me do far worse to you! I even cost you your first girlfriend because that dumb light used and abused my jealousy and made me act selfishly! That's why I sent Ayumi in to watch over you. I filled her with nothing but my guilt and sympathy and sent her to help keep you sane. I can understand if you hate me for all of that, but please try to understand, I didn't have a choice either! That dumb light's power was way too strong for me to overcome! Please forgive me, Judai!"
"It's okay. It wasn't you, so it's not your fault. Besides, I've known that for awhile now," he said, smiling at her.
"Wait, you have!?"
"Neos told me what was going on... That's why I wanted to become a duelist so suddenly. He said I had to win duels to make that card safe to use."
"So that's why, huh?"
Judai nodded then looked around, slightly worried. "Wonder how long it's been... I mean, it's not like everyone just vanished into thin air!"
"Who know. We just did, I think," Yubel teased, though she was looking sick again.
"Heh." Judai closed his eyes, grinning. Then he thought about that for a moment. "Dang it, they probably all think I'm dead!"
Yubel gasped. "You think you've got problems! I just realized I'm a part of you now! In other words, I no longer have a body of my own! So what's gonna happen to all my followers!? Without me, they'll have no place to go! They'll be subjected to the cruelties of prejudiced humans again!" She looked at Judai and said, "Judai, we just can't let that happen! After all, I promised I'd watch over them from now on! We have to do something!"
She was right, and Judai knew it. He just didn't know what to do. "...Right, uh..."
"Judai. You have to stay here."
"I can't do that!" he protested.
"I'm not saying you can't leave or anything, but you have to live here so I can take care of the monsters! Come on, work with me here! This is no time for a selfish attitude! We need to compromise a little!"
Dang, his life had just gotten a whole lot more complicated. He highly doubted the fiends would go from thinking of him as Yubel's servant to listening to him as if he were Yubel.
"...Isn't there someone else who can do that?"
"Have you seen these guys?" Yubel asked. "They're all idiots or driven by revenge! If I left one of them in charge, why, you may find yourself constantly fighting an army of angry, revenge-driven spirits. I was born and raised to be queen, and, though I never made it, I still got enough experience as princess to pull it off. There's no one out there that's better than me."
"But they hate humans," he protested. "Are they really gonna follow a human, or you in a human's body, if you're not the one calling all the shots?"
"Uh, Judai? I'm not so sure you're human anymore..." She sweat.
"I can't stay here, Yubel! There's gotta be some other way..."
"Well, could you at least stay here til you figure it out? Otherwise I'm afraid they'll appoint Brron as the new king, and not only is he and idiot, but he's crazy! They don't call him 'Mad King' for nothing, ya know." She looked at him lamely as she finished.
Judai groaned.
"Is that a yes, then?"
Reluctantly, he said, "I guess..."
"Good. Now about your friends..."
She kept talking, but Judai didn't hear. Something she had just said hit him hard right there: "I don't think you're human anymore."
"Wait, what?" he asked.
"Yeah, and I don't think you want your mom thinking—" she started.
"No, no, no... What do you mean, you don't think I'm human anymore?"
"Oh. Uh... Looked in a mirror lately?" she asked, sweating.
"...What?" he asked in a small voice.
"Now, just so you know, it's nothing compared to what happened to me," she said reassuringly.
Judai ran off in search of a mirror, not at all reassured that he wasn't a giant, two-headed dragon.
"I'm telling you, it's not that bad!" Yubel insisted as Judai frantically ran through her castle in search of a mirror.
"Yeah? But it's bad enough to make you think I'm not human?"
"Well, that, and the strange power I sense coming from you."
"What!?"
"I'm not entirely sure myself on that one."
He saw a full-length mirror at the end of the hallway. As he neared, he slowed, stopping in front of it and staring at his reflection.
In the mirror, there was a boy with his hair and eye color, definitely. But there were a few things that were off—his hair was a bit longer and smooth all across the top, his body was more toned than before, and the shape of his eyes was different. His jacket looked a bit different, too—longer and a bit of a darker red, he thought. All in all, he wasn't sure if he was looking at himself or someone who looked like him.
"See? Not that bad, right?" Yubel asked.
Judai kept staring.
"What?"
"...Whoa..."
Yubel laughed at his reaction. "Aw, come on! It mostly looks like you worked out for once! Well, that, and grew up..."
"...Okay, yeah." He pulled his attention away from his new appearance, trying to get back to the issue at hand. "Anyway, my friends. And parents. Who likely think I'm dead and won't know what to make of this..." He looked at his reflection again.
"You're on your own there, kiddo," Yubel told him. "That's a subject I didn't learn."
"Guess I'd better go home and let everyone know I'm alright."
Hayato, meanwhile, couldn't get Sho to leave the woods.
"No!" the blunette cried. "I'm staying right here!"
"But, Sho—" Hayato started.
"No buts, Hayato! These woods are home to all of Aniki's memories, including the day he died! So I'm never leaving them! I'll stay here and mourn his death in loving memory, forever!"
"Oh, wow," Yubel said, stunned. "Just when I think the kid can't get any worse, he goes and surprises me..."
Yeah, he does that..., Judai told her, also stunned. He walked over. "Hey, guys!"
Hayato gasped, turning to look at their friend.
"Oh... Hi, Aniki..."
Judai just waited for it to sink in.
After a moment, Sho said, "Wait, Aniki!?" He turned.
"Hey," he said. "What's up?"
Sho's eyes teared up, and he lunged at Judai.
"Anikiii!" he cried, latching onto the brunette. "You're alive! You're really alive! I'm so glad! I've missed you sooo much!" By the end of his little spiel, he was bawling like a maniac.
Hayato seemed to have gone into shock.
"Whoa! How long have I been gone, anyway?"
"I, uh, you're...," Hayato stammered. "Wow... Judai, is that really you!?"
"Yeah, Hayato. It's me."
Hayato grabbed him next, pulling him into a bear hug.
"Judai! It's really you!" he said, squeezing his friend. "I can't believe it!"
"Yeah! You can let go, though!" Judai said, slightly pained.
Sho didn't seem to notice Hayato's vice-like grip. Clearly he wasn't going anywhere for a long time. Hayato let go, though.
"T-this is great news! Come on! We've just gotta tell everyone! Hurry!"
Overly excited, the chubby boy ran on ahead.
Judai watched him go. How long has it been? They're acting like they haven't seen me in months or years... He looked at Sho and said, "Sho, he's right, we should go."
Sho just clung tighter.
"Sho! Can you let go, please?"
Sho shook his head and bawled some more, wrapping his legs around one of Judai's.
"...I can't walk with you clinging to me, Sho."
Sho still didn't respond.
"Sheesh! And you thought I was crazy," Yubel said.
Judai pushed at his friend, trying to get him off. "Sho! Come on! I wanna go home!"
"Aniki! I can't! I just got you back! It's too soon!" He bawled some more, holding on even tighter.
"...Sho...please let go? If you were upset about it, think how my mom's taking it."
"Oh, just pick him up and carry him! He can't be that heavy!"
Judai picked up Sho, who grabbed him around the waist and loosened his legs to make this easier for the brunette, then wrapped his legs around his friends waist instead. With Sho now held in an awkward position, Judai headed back to town.
Asuka stood outside of the Yuki's home, staring into space. The sound of crying coming from inside told her that Johan had broken the news to his family. He should be out soon, then.
Judai stopped when he saw Asuka standing there. He was carrying Sho bridal-style since the smaller boy had cried himself to sleep.
"...Hey," Judai said.
Asuka didn't respond, lost in thought. Judai walked up and stood next to her.
"Whatcha thinking about?" he asked, although he thought he already knew.
Again, no response from the girl.
"...Asuka."
Sho snuggled up against Judai. "...Aniki. So warm..."
"Oh, hey, Sho...," Asuka said absentmindedly.
Judai sweat and grunted, shifting Sho in his arms. "Geez, for a little guy, he's heavy..."
"I know... Wait, what?" she finally looked at him. Correction: stared. "J-Judai...?"
"Yeah, Asuka, it's me," he said. "Though I gotta wonder how long I've been gone..."
"J-Judai! It's you! I can't believe it! Judai!" She slammed into him, hugging him tight.
"Oof!" he said upon impact. "Hey, good to see you, too!"
"That's all you have to say!? Judai. I thought I'd never see you again! I mean, I thought you'd sacrificed yourself to save the world or something! Do you know how happy this will make everyone!? Or how much it means to me?" She shook her head, saying, "Of course not, 'cause I never told you, but I've sure learned my lesson, so here it is. Judai, I lov—"
Not wanting to hear that, Yubel spoke over her, preventing Judai from hearing it, either. "Arg, gag me. Let me know when she's done. Ugh." Her presence in his mind weakened, and he could only assume she'd gone deeper into his mind.
Before Asuka could confirm that Judai had heard her, Johan came running out of the house.
"What's all the fuss abou—" He stopped and stared. "No way..."
"Hey." Judai held up Sho, asking, "Wanna come help me with this?"
"Judai! You're alive! Aw, that's just great! Way to make me a liar, pal!" Johan said, tears forming in his eyes as he ran over to help.
Johan took Sho out of Judai's arms. Asleep or not, Sho didn't like that. He hit Johan a bit, saying, "Aniki...baka..."
"'Cause I just got through telling your parents the bad news!" Johan went on. "So, how was it!?"
He sounded slightly excited, and, from the way everyone was acting, Judai was pretty sure he was asking about being dead.
"Honestly, I don't really remember much," Judai answered. "I activated the card, and the next thing I remember, I was standing in that throne room alone."
"So, wait, are you saying you didn't actually die?" Johan asked. "But we saw your body turn to dust and fly through the air! Come on, pal, don't tell me you survived that somehow!"
"Wait, what? What did you see?" Judai asked, startled.
"Judai! We saw you die with our own eyes!" Asuka said. "It was awful. The force of the fusion was too much for either of your bodies to handle, so they both fell apart."
"You're kidding!" Yubel said. "That means I'm dead!"
Judai tried to absorb that for a moment. "Wait, if my body...fell apart...then..."
"Don't ask me, kid! I'm the ghost that's possessing you now! That's all I know!"
Asuka nodded. "You're dead, Judai."
He paled.
"Well, maybe and maybe not!" Johan said, a bit nervous at the thought of talking to a zombie or ghost. "Why not check to make sure?"
Johan's voice suddenly sounded much farther away to Judai.
"...Check...?" he asked.
Johan put Sho down on the ground for a minute, then cautiously walked over to Judai and took his wrist, checking for a pulse. After a second, he started.
"Well! That's weird!" he said, sweating.
"What!? What's wrong!?" Asuka demanded.
Judai was as white as a sheet, looking like he was about to faint or something. "What's weird...?" he asked.
"Your pulse is normal," Johan said. "But that would mean you're alive and well, right? So what happened to cause that?" He thought about it.
Judai really wanted to hit him for scaring him like that.
"That is pretty strange," Asuka said. "I mean, if your real body died, then where did this new one come from? Did the card create it or something?"
"...Guys, I've already got a headache," Judai said. "Please don't make it worse."
"Well, the card was a fusion card, and fusion usually takes two separate objects and merges them together to form a new one, so maybe?" Johan said, ignoring Judai.
He was getting less and less comfortable with this discussion. Dead? New body? What the hell?
"...Guys..."
"Hold on, Judai," Johan said. "We're trying to figure this out. I mean, nobody just comes back from the great beyond like that, it's crazy! Hmm..."
"...Can you do that without me?" Judai asked, not sure he wanted to know what had happened.
Sho sprang up, wide awake all of a sudden. "Aniki! Why!? What are you thinking of doing this time!?" he demanded. "You can't! I don't wanna lose you again! Please don't—"
"I'm not doing anything!" Judai cut him off. "Calm down. I just... I'm tired, that's all. And I've got a serious headache."
All of this stress wasn't helping that any, either.
"...Agreed...," Yubel said. "...Johan just turned all black..."
"Then I suggest you get some rest before you go see your folks! 'Cause, once they find out, I guarantee you, sleep's gonna be impossible for the rest of the day, and hugs and kisses are what you'll get instead!"
Judai swayed a little bit.
"Yeah, I definitely wouldn't go in there if I were you," Johan said. "Better come with me, and I'll find you a nice, quiet spot where you can rest."
Johan hoisted Judai's arm over his shoulders and walked him off to find a quiet place for him to rest up a bit. None of these three were sure exactly how he was alive, but they weren't complaining, either.