Between My Brother and Me: Mors Omnibus

by Green Phantom Queen

When Zarc was defeated, he did not die, but was resurrected by the King of the Afterlife. Fueled by hatred, Zarc plans to enact his revenge and reunite with his sons. Allied with a group of killer duelists, Yuzu Hitagi must lead the charge to save everyone she loves. (12th Chapter: Brendan's off on a personal quest to delete Yugo! Plz R&R!)

10. Maiden of the Aqua

Once again, quick shout-out to Donjusticia for some of the cards used by Ayu. I cannot thank you enough.

Also, unless otherwise noted, duels will start with 8000 lifepoints. The Arc League Championship finals will start with 4000 under "specific ruling".

---

My mother once told me that strangers are "just friends you haven't met".

If that's the case, then it looks like I just made lots of friends in a single afternoon!

There's Chacu Challhua, and Misty and Kiryu and Yusei who are Dark Signers and there are also the other Earthbound Immortals too!

I can't believe what I have been missing. There are dimensions that have different summoning techniques and people, and there are so many strange and peculiar things that I've been blind to. Now that I'm a Dark Signer, I feel incredible! It's like I have become a PreCure, just like in all those episodes I've watched with Mom and Dad on Saturday mornings!

And just like all of the magical girls who I idolize, I have decided to use my powers to stop evil from getting their way. I am going to defeat the man who killed me, I am going to stop Academia and Obelisk Force from carding people and destroying my city. I am going to make the girl with Yuzu's face pay for letting me die…

And speaking of Yuzu, I want her to answer my questions. What has she been hiding? Why does she keep everything secret? What happened on that day she followed Shingo that has caused her to be so distracted lately? And does it relate to her learning Fusion Summoning from Sora?

Just thinking about her makes my blood boil! I can't believe she would keep secrets from me! I'm like her sister; sisters share everything!

Well, if that's how she wants to play it, fine. I don't need her. I don't need her father or Tatsuya or Futoshi or mom and dad either! I have my new friends to keep me company.

And we are going to have so much fun destroying anyone who stands in our way.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

9th Show

0-0-0-0-0-0

Maiden of the Aqua

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"So, you're a reporter?"

It's so obvious, yet Yuu Sakuragi can't help but ask it anyway. From the notepad and pen, the voice recorder and old-school camera sitting on the table, the look in this girl's eyes behind her glasses...of course she is a reporter.

Her attire definitely suits one who looks ready to race off towards the next big scoop. Jeans for easy walking, a long sleeved blouse with teal and periwinkle stripes to protect her skin from the heat, an orange vest with faux fur trim, a black go-bag strapped over her left shoulder with an orange glowing eye sigil painted on top...this outfit makes her stand out amongst the other wannabe reporters wanting to gain everything they need for the report that will grant them instant fame.

Resting over the reporter's heart is a badge that is unlike anything he has ever seen. It is round, the color of charcoal, the size of a yo-yo. In its center is a symbol of a circle with a pair of wings stretched out and two additional horizontal lines underneath, colored orange. It reminds Yuu of a glyph, perhaps of some prehistoric bat or bird by the looks of it.

The girl nods her head as she tucks a strand of hair that is neither black nor green but somewhere in the middle behind her ear.

"It's everything I've ever dreamed of doing," the girl, Carly Nagisa, answers with a smile on her face. "The minute I got my first camera for my 8th birthday, I was already taking photos of my parents, my neighbors, my friends...I loved seeing then smile and I wanted to write reports that would bring out the best in people."

Yuu nods his head. How the two met is an interesting story: today's matches for the Arc League Championship had ended and he was heading towards his favorite café in town, Tarot Café, when he was approached by Carly in regards towards his victory. She explained that she wanted to interview him and promised to pay for the meal if he spent some time with her.

In any other circumstance, he would have politely declined. But something about Carly just pulled him in. Maybe it was her eyes...yeah, that's it. They are a bright grey color like storm clouds just before a heavy rain was let loose.

Yuu takes a bite out his turkey club sandwich with extra mayo - which is something he is embarrassed to admit due to having many fangirls swoon over his "slender frame" - as Carly looks through her notes.

"You were last year's winner of the Arc League Championship," she begins. "And you use a Prophecy deck, right?"

Yuu nods his head. "It is a powerful deck to use due to its synergy with the 'Spellbook' Spell Cards and the amount of high leveled LIGHT and DARK Spellcasters that I could unleash if I should choose. I can still remember my final move like it was yesterday, unleashing the full might of World of Prophecy onto Kachidoki's monsters and granting me victory at the very last second."

"That's quite a feat," says Carly. "But to change the subject, I'd like to talk about what happened yesterday at the Arc League Championship."

"Ah, that was a very fine day. I have to admit that Yuya's duel against Shingo was beyond my wildest expectations. I hope to have a chance to duel him in the finals."

"I heard that it was an a gripping show, but that's not what I want to talk about. I want to discuss the duel between Shun Kurosaki of LDS and Sora Shiunin of You Show Duel School."

Yuu shudders. He recalls the rage, hate, the utter destruction that the two duelists unleashed. How Sora's innocent demeanor morphed into a visage of nightmares like his Frightfur monsters and Shun's rampage upon the former with his Raidraptors bombing everything in site. What terrifies him most is Sora's hatred for anyone who use Xyz Monsters - which two of his Prophecy monsters are - how Sora had fun watching many of these Xyz duelists burn and Shun's voice as he unleashed that final attack that would have easily sent a weaker opponent to the hospital.

He doesn't know who to be more terrified of - either the vengeance filled Shun or the demented child-like Sora.

Carly sighs as she flips a page of her notepad. "Sora Shiunin...little is known about him, outside his six qualifying victories to enter the championship and his deck of Fluffal and Frightfur monsters. From what I gathered from the duelists he fought, he displayed none of the characteristics that he unleashed in that duel. He mostly was there to showcase the work of Fusion Summoning to one Yuzu Hiiragi.

"As for Shun Kurosaki, I have already interviewed some of the elite students of LDS to see what I can dig , Masumi, Hokuto. They all have said the same thing in regards to their connection with him."

"And...what's that?"

Carly shakes her head as she looks down at her untouched hamburger and milkshake. This has made Yuu a bit curious - why order such a large meal if you are not going to bother eating it?

"They keep saying that Shun has been enrolled in LDS since last year, but there are no records of him in the Duel Database nor does he have a profile on the school website. Which can only lead me to one conclusion.

"Reiji Akaba, or someone under his name, manipulated their memories to cover up something big."

This causes Yuu to pause. How the hell did Carly come up with this hare-brained theory? Then again, it is weird that Shun just appeared at the last minute to participate.

But that raises another question - why is it that only those three are in the know about Shun?

Just as Yuu is about to ask why the CEO of the Leo Corporation would go to such lengths - and, better yet, why has he not heard or seen anyone named Shun Kurosaki until just two days ago - Carly hears her cellphone ring. From what Yuu can hear, and thanks to his love of Western music, it is the opening to the song "Apocalypse Please" by Muse. He never gets tired of hearing the opening of frantic banging of piano keys that mimics the dread one feels when they know that the end of the world has come.

Carly picks up her phone and places it to her ear. "Hello? Oh, Misty! What's going...what? No…are you...is it that serious?" Her voice drops. "Okay, I'll be right there. Just wait for me, okay? See you soon."

She hangs up and looks apologetically at Yuu. "I'm sorry. Some important business just picked up."

"No, it's okay," says Yuu. "So, will I be seeing you soon?"

Carly smiles. If Yuu could see the look in her eyes behind her glasses, he would have seen something...off about her gaze.

"Fate works in mysterious ways," she answers. "Oh, before I go...would you mind if I read your fortune?"

Yuu raises an eyebrow at that. What type of reporter goes about reading someone's fortune? Then again, a little luck for what is to come for the finals of the Arc League Championship could go a long way...

"Sure," he says with a shrug of his shoulders. "Let's see where this goes."

Carly smiles as she pulls out a deck of cards from her go-bag. She spreads the cards out onto the table, each of them holding a secret meaning just waiting to be revealed.

"Pick a card, any card," Carly says in a low voice. "Your fate is yours to decide, after all."

Despite how he uses a an archetype of monsters inspired by another set of cards used to predict the future, Yuu finds it kind of ridiculous that such an intelligent girl like Carly would be so into fortune-telling.

But no harm ever came from reading one's fortune, right?

Deciding to humor her, Yuu reaches out for one of the cards on the table. As he does, he notices that one of the cards is glowing. No, it's just a trick of the light. Cards don't glow like that…

And yet, why does he feel so drawn towards it?

Yuu's hand reaches toward the card, as if it is the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, tempting him with the information he will receive once he knows what lies ahead. He takes the card without hesitation, and when he flips it over, his eyes widen.

Bright light floods his vision, filled with various colors that shimmer and shine even if decided to close his eyes then and now. He can only stare at it, so transfixed at its beauty even as visions fill his mind.

Soldiers in blue uniforms marching towards innocent duelists, destroying them with their Ancient Gear monsters. The defeated duelists converted into cards as the soldiers laugh in glee. The rage of a boy with crimson eyes that he unleashes at these fools. The image of a large black dragon laying waste to the masses….

These images flash through his mind in the time it takes for one to blink. Carly calmly takes a sip out of her strawberry-banana milkshake as she notices Yuu's eyes now colored ebony with several pinpoints of light in them twinkling like stars.

"What do you see?" she inquires, her voice soft.

"I see...everything…" Yuu answers, voice empty.

Carly's lip curls into a smirk, her eyes turning black beneath her glasses. "That's exactly what I want to hear. Now Yuu, I need you to listen closely.

"First off, the very second I exit this café, you will forget that you were asked to have a meal with me. You will remember that you came alone to eat and think about how you will perform in the Arc League Championship finals. But whenever you see this sigil on your phone…"

She taps her badge twice.

"You will return to this state of trance, ready to fulfill any commands I text to you. You will have no waking memory of falling into trance, but instead have an indescribable need to obey.

"Second, in a few days' time, there will be a brigade of duelists in blue coats and silver helmets who will unleash absolute destruction in their wake. They are known as Obelisk Force and they fight using Ancient Gear monsters, ganging up on innocent duelists to break their confidence before depleting their lifepoints. If you happen to see them, duel them, destroy them. Make sure none of them are left standing."

Carly chuckles. "Of course, in order to stand up to such a threat, you will need the right cards. Like this."

She stacks the cards in her deck nice and neat before stuffing them into her go-bag. Then, she pulls out a black silk bag with a silver six pointed star in the middle, a five-petal flower in the center of the star. She places the bag into Yuu's other hand, and pats it.

"In this bag are cards that should synergize with your deck very well. It should invoke strong feelings within you. Use these cards correctly, and you will be unstoppable. If someone were to ask where you got them from, just say that they're from a big fan of yours."

Yuu makes no response as Carly lightly pats his cheek except with a twitch in the corner of his lips.

"And last, but certainly not least…" Carly frowns before her voice turns serious. "Do not trust Reiji Akaba. He is a liar, a manipulator, a puppeteer. He uses people to get what he wants. He does not show empathy on those he shall use as pawns. If you should happen to encounter the likes of Yaiba, Masumi and Hokuto, show them that card in your hand. Tell them it will make them change the way they see everything. Tell them that Reiji must hold himself responsible for his actions. Understand?"

Yuu nods his head in reply. Carly smiles as her part of the plan has been completed.

There is only one thing left to do.

Carly turns to a waitress passing by, said waitress confused as to why Yuu stares off into the distance, but Carly lowering her glasses so her ebony eyes stares into the frightened gaze of the waitress quickly changes things. "Can I take my order to go?"

And two minutes later, the mindless waitress has packed Carly's untouched burger to go. Carly gathers the rest of her stuff into her go-bag, finishes the last of her milkshake with a loud slurp, then waves one last good-bye at Yuu before she steps out, closing the door behind her.

The minute he hears the door close, Yuu blinks and looks around, wondering what has happened during the last few minutes. He then looks at the card in one hand, and the silk bag in the other, tilting his head at why he even has them.

Shrugging his shoulders, he sets the card down and opens the silk bag, pulling out a collection of cards. His eyes widen at what he sees...these would definitely give him the edge he needs at the finals.

As he sets the cards back into the bag for him to look through later, Yuu notices the card that was in his hand seconds ago. For some reason he should keep this card and show it to the right people, in order for them to see everything in a different light.

He takes a glance at the card's image, of a priest in white robes and a black book conversing with forest animals while a pillar of light shines down on him and multiple candles float about. Then, he takes a better look at the card's name.

It is Enlightenment.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

That didn't happen...she didn't see that happen!

Celina repeats this over and over in her mind as she sits on a bench trying to make sense of it all. All she wanted to do was get out of Academia, search for that Xyz Duelist Sora mentioned, then card him to prove to Professor Akaba that she deserved to be in the front lines, not to be held back just because she was Academia's Princess.

But no. She had to enter the Standard Dimension still traumatized from all the bloodshed caused by that vampire girl, and her disappearance alerted to by Obelisk Force members who proceeded to commit murder right in front of her eyes, all while she was paralyzed to do anything to stop it.

She was nothing more than a coward, and an innocent child paid the price.

She can still see the golden eyes of the girl - Ayu, was it? - staring at her, begging for Celina (or rather "Yuzu" as Ayu kept calling her) to save her, only for Celina to just stand there and do nothing except turn away in shame. All she had to do was say something - for Celina is well known for speaking her mind and could be very frank about her opinions on others - but her voice was caught in her throat. All she could do was turn away, not able to stomach what happened next.

The blood pooling out of the girl's neck, the light in the girl's eyes fading away, the terrified look on her face...Celina cannot get that image out of her head no matter how hard she tries, and that is nothing compared to the face of the woman who screamed Ayu's name in agony, cradling the poor child in her arms while Celina used a Lunar Eclipse Spell Card to flee, too ashamed to admit that she was too weak to do anything.

If Professor Akaba or any other student of Academia found out about this travesty...no, she isn't going to think about that right now. Not after the massacre she has seen, or all of the panicked students screaming for help and no one to come save them from a maniacal puppeteer or a vampire princess from slaughtering them like it was some sort of...some sort of game!

Taking a deep breath, Celina stares at her right wrist and grasps the spot where her bracelet would usually be. When she woke up, the first thing she noticed was that it was missing, most likely taken away by that vampire who used her as a meal.

Despite not knowing anything about her past, that bracelet has always been there for her. Whenever she asked Professor Akaba about its meaning, he would say that it was an important part of his plan for reuniting the dimensions. Why said bracelet should happen to be so important in the grand scheme of things never made sense to her, but just knowing that bit of information made her determined to help Academia no matter what.

Yet that Professor still did not see her worth. Celina was still cooped up in the castle while lesser students were allowed to join in on the invasion of the Xyz Dimension. Hell, even Sora was allowed to invade and was then given his own mission to check out the situation in the Standard Dimension!

Along with the double standard unfairness of it all, Willow's words came back to haunt her. Professor Akaba saw her as his "daughter"...

What would Willow know about Celina? What would that black wearing bitch know about the intensive training that the proud Academia student went through in order to be the soldier that she is today? How dare that vampire make light of Academia's desires to bring the dimensions together. How dare that haughty cackling loon use Celina's own monster against her!

The next time they meet, Celina is going to take a wooden stake and stab it into that vampire's heart. No one makes a fool out of her!

"So this is where you ended up."

Celina looks up and gasps at the person looking over her. Then, she sighs in relief at who it is.

"Barrett," she says, and she genuinely means it when she adds, "Am I glad to see you."

A tiny forlorn smile forms on the burly face of Celina's bodyguard.

"It's good to see you too, Celina," he replies.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Ayu," says Misty, seeing the girl silently looking around the empty warehouse. "Are you okay?"

Ayu pays no attention to Misty's question. She doesn't notice that her new attire is just as dark as the outfits that Misty, Kiryu and Yusei wear. It is a black dress with indigo trim to resemble fish scales, and the skirt of said dress ends in little tassels with fish at the end. She wears boots with fins at the heel, matching black stockings decorated with images of whales, and the sleeves of her dress are long and billowing to emulate how a fish uses their fins to swim in the large, vast bodies of water they call home. Her former headband with yellow and green triangles is now black with a cute indigo scallop pattern.

Ayu is quiet, her eyes are glazed over as she takes two steps forward, looking at the scene in front of her...

…

…

…

She sees a duel that had taken place a while back.

The duel involves Shingo Sawatari backed up by his fanclub dueling against a person with lavender and grey hair, wearing a long red scarf and a black tattered cape. Their face is covered by a pair of goggles with square frames and their nose and mouth is covered by a mask. Yuzu is also there, confused as to what is going on.

The mystery duelist unleashed the Overlay Network, summing a large black dragon that seemed to be born in the midst of a raging thunderstorm. It easily destroyed Shingo's Frost Monarch with ease and the mystery duelist then shaved off Shingo's last hundred lifepoints with a spear that looked like it pierced through the haughty LDS student (when, in reality, it just pierced his coat).

And after the duel was finished, Yuzu was able to take a good look at the person who had the same face as Yuya. But before Yuzu could ask what was going on, there was a bright pink glow emanating from her bracelet just as Yuya, the real Yuya, entered the warehouse...

"Ayu? Ayu, wake up!"

Ayu blinks and staggers back, rubbing her forehead to relieve herself of a headache. Is it possible for the dead to even have headaches?

"What happened?" she mumbles, feeling the pain slowly subside.

"You were off in some sort of trance," Misty explains, placing a hand on the little girl's shoulder. "What did you see?"

Ayu turns and momentarily flinches upon seeing Misty's eyes, before reminding herself that this is normal. Although, it does feel weird to think that people with black eyes, purple tattoos and a bond with giant creatures can be considered "normal".

She then points to the center of the warehouse. "I saw...a duel."

"Really now?" asks Kiryu, tossing a pair of dice into the air before catching them. Yusei sits on the floor, legs crossed, eyes shut, head bowed in meditation, hands on his knees and a large spider web underneath him brachiating out like the points on a compass.

Ayu nods her head. "It was on that day Yuzu and I were getting ice cream for everyone at You Show. She ended up chasing after Shingo, leaving me walking back to the school with puddles of ice cream in my hands. There was...a duel between Shingo Sawatari of the Leo Dueling Institute and a boy who had Yuya's face except he had black and lavender hair and grey eyes. He also used Xyz Summoning…"

"Then that must be Yuya's Xyz counterpart," Yusei theorizes, opening his eyes.

"There are other versions of Yuya?" asks Ayu, still reeling from the revelation of Celina having a face similar to that of Yuzu's. "Wait, how were you able to figure that out?"

Yusei points to one of the lines of the shadowy web on the floor. Ayu looks down and follows the trail until she sees that it ends at her feet, like she is an obelisk casting that big of a shadow at high noon.

"One of Uru's abilities," Yusei answers. "As the first-born Dark Signer, I have the ability to connect with the minds of my fellow Dark Signers and see just as they see. It makes it easier to decipher clues that they might have missed."

"Uru…" Ayu repeats, hearing the name sound strange on her tongue. Like a word in a different language or a magic spell. "They're your Earthbound Immortal, right?"

"Correct, and soon you will know the names of the other three Immortals that we have come in contact with."

"Three of them? But the only Dark Signers with us are Misty and Kiryu. Where's the third one?"

Yusei chuckles, his smile empty like an abandoned cave. In a way, it reminds Ayu of the smiles Yuya wears whenever he wants to be alone. "She should be coming right...now."

The doors to the warehouse slide open as a female figure enters.

"Sorry I'm late!" says Carly, her jeans, shirt and vest now a billowing black cloak with a skirt split to the sides to reveal her long legs and held up by a snow white belt. Her cloak is embroidered with dark orange trim and she no longer wears her glasses, instead showing black eyes and a little red triangle mark at the bottom of her left eye. "There's a lot of people coming back home from the Arc League Championship, so I couldn't just teleport immediately."

"It's all right," says Kiryu with a nod off his head. "Last thing we need is to give paradise a heart attack before the real chaos starts."

"So, Misty-san...what exactly was the big surpri-" Carly's smile morphs into a puzzled look when she turns her gaze to Ayu, who is hiding behind Misty like children do when they notice something scary. "Misty? Is that…"

Misty nods her head as she pats Ayu's shoulder, smiling warmly. "Carly, meet Ayu Ayukawa, the girl that Chacu Challhua has bestowed his blessings onto. And Ayu, this is Carly Nagisa, Dark Signer of the Hummingbird."

"H...Hi there," says Ayu, waving hello. "Um, I hope we can get along."

There is silence as Carly looks at the girl who can be no older than ten and shakes her head in disbelief and horror.

"Chacu Challhua picked her?" Carly asks incredulously, looking at Kiryu and Yusei for confirmation on the matter. She cringes when the men nod their heads. "But why?"

Misty taps her chin in thought. "That is what we all thought when our designated Earthbound Immortals came to us with offers of gaining what we truly desired; our new 'purposes' in a sense. Perhaps we should ask him for clarification."

"Oh, that'd be fun," Kiryu snickers. "Ayu, be proud. You'll be meeting up with the 'extended family' in a few seconds. They would just love to meet you."

"Are they like Chacu Challhua?" asks Ayu, a bit curious.

"You'll see for yourself," says Yusei, beckoning his fellow Dark Signers to him. Misty, Kiryu and Carly approach their leader, seating themselves cross-legged so the four form a circle. There is an opening between Carly and Misty for Ayu. Yusei nods his head to the young girl, his voice so soft and coaxing, "Come, little sweetfish. Join us."

Ayu feels slightly hesitant, but the smiles on everyone's faces - despite their black eyes and red marks - makes her feel safe. She can trust them. After all, they are like her now...or is it the other way around?

With a bob of her head, she takes her place between the other female Dark Signers as Yusei places his hands over his knees. Everyone's attention is on him as Yusei's right arm begins to glow, revealing the mark of a violet spider.

"Come to us, divine servants to the Dark King of the Afterlife," he chants. "We, your avatars that have dedicated our undead lives to your service, ask to bring about corporeal forms. Through darkness and mirrors we traversed into a new dimension and have brought about a new avatar who wishes to learn more about her new goal, her new purpose. Come forth! Show yourselves, Earthbound Immortals!"

A harsh breeze blows throughout the warehouse. Shadows dance all around them as Ayu looks around nervously. She notices the arms of the other Dark Signers having a different violet mark: Kiryu has a humanoid, Misty has a thin lizard and Carly's arm shows a strange bird design that doesn't look like anything that she has seen before.

Ayu then looks down at the whale mark branded on her arm as she feels something bubbling from within her very soul. When she looks up, she sees the others in some sort of trance, heads bowed in meditation and eyes glazed over. Panic starts to fill her mind...just what is going on?

The young girl squeezes her eyes shut as she hears something roar within the warehouse, even though there is no one inside except the five of them. She feels her voice caught in her throat in an attempt to scream in terror, but then a bright light fills the room, causing her to turn away and shield herself.

If she is still alive, she would hear her heart pounding against her chest, her teeth chatter and perhaps her eyes would water with tears of undiluted fear.

She's too afraid to open her eyes, afraid to see what kind of terrors that she is about to face. Sure Chacu Challhua is nice, but she doesn't know if she can fully trust the other Earthbound Immortals.

Ayu...A very familiar voice whispers in her mind. It's all right. You have nothing to fear. Open your eyes.

Ayu shakes her head, tears falling down her eyes. She is too scared, she's not ready for this. She's not ready to become a Dark Signer!

It is all right to be afraid, little sweetfish. Chacu Challhua says in a soft, soothing tone. But you have a family here who will help you through this, one step at a time. Please...open your eyes.

Ayu grits her teeth, shaking her head once again. This is too scary for her.

"Please Ayu…" says Misty, her soft voice echoing in Ayu's mind, causing Ayu to open her eyes in surprise. "Look down."

Ayu doesn't know what to do; either do as Misty says or question as to how Misty is able to talk in her mind. She then feels something soft and plush in her hands.

Looking down, Ayu finds that the "something" is a black whale plushie with indigo lines that easily reminds her of Chacu Challhua. In fact, if she didn't know any better...

"Chacu Challhua?" Ayu asks, lifting the whale plushie into the air. "Is...is that you?"

Yes, little sweetfish. It is me. The whale plushie states with the voice of the hoary Earthbound Immortal. Its tail undulates in the air like a faithful dog wagging its tail towards its master.

"How did you become like this?" asks Ayu. She has plenty of plushies at home, many of them of aquatic sea life, but never has she had one that she is able to communicate with or capable of moving without the uses of someone manipulating them.

"Summoning the Earthbound Immortals in their true state is not practical," says Yusei, lifting his arm to reveal a black spider with red lines crawling up his across his arm like a tightrope walker until it reaches his hand. "So we sometimes have them summoned like this for comfort and to be aware that they are always there for us."

Ayu then takes a better look at the other Dark Signers. Each of them also have a similar black 'plushie' in their hands. Kiryu has a humanoid figure with blue lines and a single blue eye in the middle of its face that he hugs close to his heart. Misty strokes the head of a large lizard with sharp teeth and bulging eyes that clings onto her arm covered in green lines. Meanwhile, Carly giggles as a black hummingbird flutters around her shoulder, its body covered in orange lines.

"These are our Earthbound Immortals," says Yusei. "Mine is Uru, the Earthbound Immortal of the Spider. Kiryu's is Ccapac Apu, the Earthbound Immortal of the Giant. Misty is bound to Ccarayhua, Earthbound Immortal of the Lizard. And finally, Carly has ties to Ascilla piscu, the Earthbound Immortal of the Hummingbird. Say hello, everyone."

Hello Ayu, says a demure feminine voice. Welcome to our little family.

"W...who said that?" asks Ayu, looking around.

I am Uru, little one. The voice answers. Tell me, are you afraid of spiders?

"Only if they're giant and have plans to eat me," says Ayu, squeezing the plushie form Chacu Challhua close to her heart. She never did like spiders.

She is only a newborn, Uru. Ascilla piscu perks up, turning his head to Ayu. Give her some time to adjust.

And remember that the other Dark Signers went through similar stages of awe and disbelief when they became repurposed. Ccarayhua brings up. My Vessel was fortunate enough to be quite rational. After all, she has had experience with "unusual activity" for most of her life.

"You have?" Ayu asks, turning to Misty.

Miaty just gives a subtle nod of her head, seeing a young boy with auburn hair in Ayu's place. "I have. It's...very personal, though."

Nothing should be kept personal, Vessel. Ccarayhua reminds Misty. What separates us from the supposed "good guys" is that you share in each others' memories, pain, and experiences - channeling then into raw power that can be used to destroy the opposition. Those who keep secrets to protect their loved ones only end up losing everything when it all comes out.

But we are not those beings. Ccapac Apu chimes in. We do not run away from our pasts, but rather use our pasts as fuel for our goals. And we shall not let anyone stand in our way from what we desire.

"Which brings us to why you were summoned," says Yusei. "Tell us, Chacu Challhua...why did you decide to resurrect our little sweetfish into a Dark Signer?"

Chacu Challhua nods his head as Ayu stares at everyone with curious eyes. She doesn't see herself as anything special. Not like that Maria girl with the one-winged eagle on her dress who is into magic or the other students in her class who can contact youkai (specifically that Aya Soma girl who befriended the legendary Shinigami of the 13th Steps after surviving 49 days of running away from him). What would this giant whale see in her that would make her worthy to become a Dark Signer?

I watched you, Ayu Ayukawa...Chacu Challhua begins. The first thing I noticed was your compassion. When you bumped into Misty, you apologized for your action, however small it was, and decided to take time off of your search to lead her to Central Park so she can meet with her friends.

"When in reality, Yusei and I were doing some reconnaissance work and were watching the two of you the entire time." Kiryu admits, feeling his heart shatter upon seeing Ayu look in disbelief.

"So...you lied to me?" she asks. "Did I die for...for nothing?"

"No, Ayu," Misty hastily answers, seeing Ayu about to burst into tears. "I truly was waiting for Yusei and Kiryu to arrive. I hoped that they would be there before you went off to chase Celina and…" Tiny tears form in the corners of her eyes. "Please forgive us, little sweetfish. We only want to make you feel accepted. Please believe me when I say that it was hard for me when I foresaw you dying in the alley and I hoped that you wouldn't but…"

Ayu stares at how Misty lets that sentence hang in the air. She can't be mad at the older woman; after all, it was Ayu's idea to chase after the girl with Yuzu's face. It was Ayu's insistence that Celina was Yuzu that brought the attention of Obelisk Force. If she just listened to Misty and stayed put, then…

Then...

Misty covers her face with her hands in shame as her fellow Dark Signers stare at her with pity. While all of them have experienced loss, despair and other forms of tragedy in their short lives, Misty is the most aware and attuned to the emotions tied to her past, most of them revolving around her little brother.

It does not take a genius for Carly, Kiryu and Yusei to figure out that Misty sees her little brother, Toby Lola, in young Ayu Ayukawa. And just like how she failed to protect Toby from the likes of the Arcadia Movement, Misty failed in stopping Ayu from dying in such a gruesome manner.

Ayu takes a good look at Misty before she reaches out to lower Misty's hands over her tear stained face. The young girl then raises her own hands to wipe the older woman's tears away. She runs a finger down one of the markings on Misty's cheeks; even with those black eyes and blood-red marks, Ayu still thinks that Misty is beautiful.

"I forgive you," she says. "You told me that a new purpose was coming for me, and you stayed by my side while Chacu Challhua talked to me." She then leans forward, placing a kiss on the older woman's cheek and embraces the Dark Signer of the Lizard, feeling the plush form of Chacu Challhua sandwiched between them and the scaly form of Ccarayhua nuzzling her cheek. "It's okay. Please don't cry anymore, Misty nee-san. I understand your pain."

At those innocent words, it feels like Misty's heart breaks like a fine glass vase. More tears trickle down her face before she places her hands on Ayu's shoulders and grips them tight as if the girl is nothing more than a mirage that will vanish without a second thought.

"Oh Ayu," Misty whispers, hugging the strawberry haired girl tight. "I...I don't deserve your forgiveness…None of us do…"

She sobs for a few more seconds as Ayu feels something within her unbeating heart. As tears also flow down her face, an image enters her mind; that of a young boy handing Misty a locket…

When she has the time, she'll ask Misty who that person is. Ayu can tell that the little boy is very close to her.

Your second biggest trait is your determination. Chacu Challhua continues as Misty releases Ayu from the hug. Once your mind is set on something, you pursue it like a shark hunts for his prey.

"But if I didn't, I wouldn't have…" Ayu doesn't finish her sentence as she places a finger on her throat, tracing a line across it as a reminder of the person who killed her.

If not for you, someone else would have been the victim. Ccarayhua points out. Thankfully, my Vessel happened to have kept sight of you and managed to find you in the alley while that wretched Celina of Academia ran away like a coward.

And my Vessel along with that of Uru's were immediately on the hunt for that heartless killer and his allies. Ccapac Apu adds, staring at Kiryu with her large blue eye. They currently reside in his sleeve.

And to prove it, Kiryu pulls the cards out from his cloak and tosses them into the middle of the circle. There, Ayu can see the looks of horror on the faces of three men in blue military uniforms and silver helmets. Upon seeing the card with the soldier whose helmet has a gold gem...well, it takes the combined strength of Misty and Carly to restrain her before she tears the card in half.

"Be patient," says Yusei, voice soft as he brings a hand into the air then lowers it. Ayu finds an invisible hand patting her on the shoulder, relieving her of her anger for the moment. "You'll have your chance to enact vengeance in a short while. They can't do anything as long as they're pieces of cardboard.

"But back to Chacu Challhua...you were still talking, right?"

The third trait is your curiosity and desire to know more. Chacu Challhua continues. You wish to understand what has happened to Yuzu Hiiragi and how it pertained to what she has kept secret, and so I have given you the ability to peer into the past whenever you have a question on your mind. However this ability is limited to areas in which events have happened, like this warehouse.

Now, I noticed another event involving Yuzu and that Xyz Counterpart of Yuya that happened within this same warehouse. Why don't you see for yourself?

Without thinking, Ayu nods her head. Then, her eyes glow and instead of the Dark Signers and miniature Earthbound Immortals, she sees Sora and Yuzu in the same warehouse. There, she sees Sora hand Yuzu something…

A Polymerization Card.

Ayu understands; this is when Yuzu asked Sora to learn about Fusion Summoning. But then…

She sees Yuto leaping out towards Sora from the shadows, the cyan-haired boy dodging an attack with his Duel Disk. There seems to be some animosity between the two, but this is stopped when Masumi enters the warehouse, demanding for answers.

And before answers can be given, a bright light shines from Yuzu's bracelet and the vision fades away like darkness does when light shines in an empty room. Ayu places a hand to her forehead as she tries to make connections: Yuto dueling Shingo, then his attack on Sora, plus there was Sora's glee in attacking Shun at the Arc League Championship, not to mention that Sora taunting Yuto who she knows uses Xyz Monsters…

Don't go into it too quickly. Chacu Challhua advises. One step at a time. Right now, just try to absorb everything you remembered.

"It's still a lot though," Ayu murmurs, feeling her head spin with everything she has seen.

I think that this is enough for the time being. Uru suggests. Let the little sweetfish have her rest. Using her powers too soon after resurrection will tax your reserves, Chacu Challhua.

Very well. Chacu Challhua sighs. It is best that our newest member gets to know the other points in being a Dark Signer.

"Agreed," says Yusei. Then after a few moments of silence, he adds, "So, Ayu...any other questions?" Just as Ayu opens her mouth, he quickly adds, "Besides how all four of us died and encountered our Earthbound Immortals?"

"Is it that personal?" Ayu asks. She loves stories, but she herself is no gossip.

"No, but explaining them all would take too long, and we don't have much time," Carly answers. "Tonight, when you're lying in bed, we'll bridge our minds together into a story-telling group and you will know all that there is to know about us."

"Um, okay then…" Ayu nods her head. "So, how many Dark Signers are there in total?"

"Counting you there are currently five of us," answers Kiryu. "We need two more members to complete the entire set: one for Cusillu, the Monkey and one for Wiraqocha Rasca, the Condor."

As he says this, he traces some shapes onto the floor with a pointer finger. With every stroke he makes, a dark violet line appears until Kiryu has drawn two images: one of a monkey and one of a giant bird.

"But doesn't that mean they have to…" Ayu can't say the word without feeling like she wants to throw up.

Misty smiles at Ayu with a tiny forlorn smile. "It has to be this way. I'm sorry."

Ayu brings her knees to her chest, deep in thought. "What type of person does Cusillu and Wira...Wira..."

"Wiraqocha," says Misty, like she is giving a lesson at school.

"Right, Wiraqocha...what type of qualities do they want in a person?"

"Wiraqocha is quite picky when it comes to potential vessels, but Cusillu just wants a friend, someone filled with so much despair that he can't help but perk them up a bit," Carly answers.

"I see…" Ayu tilts her head like a curious bird. "So...there are other Dimensions out there: Fusion, Xyz, and Synchro. Academia and Celina come from Fusion, Yusei mentioned Yuto from Xyz...that means you're all from Synchro, correct?"

"That's right," Yusei answers as he and the others summon a single card from the shadows. Each of them are a bright silver color: a Synchro Monster. "And in that dimension, we specialize only in Synchro Summoning."

"So...does this mean I get to learn about Synchro Summoning then?" Ayu gasps.

"It depends if Chacu Challhua gave you a Synchro monster for your deck," says Carly. "Now, is that all you have to ask?"

"I have one more question. Not to be rude or anything but, uh…" Ayu blushes as she asks. "Are any of you... together?"

The four adults stare at Ayu as if she had just asked them where babies came from before Misty speaks up, already prepared to answer this sort of question.

"You could say that," she answers, sharing a smile with Carly. "Care to take a guess as to who we are partnered with?"

"Hmm…" Ayu taps a finger to her chin in thought as she stares into the eyes of the elder Dark Signers. "I think...Kiryu is together with Misty and Yusei is together with Carly!" She points to each person when she says their names. "Am I right?"

"Sort of," Carly giggles, sharing a glance at Yusei. If he was alive, he certainly would be blushing right about now. "Try again."

"Oh, how about...Yusei is together with Misty and Kiryu is together with Carly?" Again, Ayu points to each person.

"Strike two," says Kiryu, holding up two fingers. "You have one more try."

"Then is it Kiryu together with Yusei and Misty together with Carly?!" Ayu exclaims, absolutely confused. "Is it?"

The four Dark Signers just shake their heads in reply.

"Nope," Yusei answers.

"Then if it isn't any of those, then what is it?!" Ayu shouts. She went through all three possible combinations yet none of them are correct?

"It's all three of them," Kiryu answers. To emphasize this, he places his arms around Yusei and kisses his cheek before he takes Carly into his arms and swings her around. While Misty holds Yusei's arm tenderly, Kiryu adds, "We have such a tight bond with one another that we love each other equally."

"Ohhhhh…" says Ayu, nodding her head.

Then, as if struck by lightning, it hits her.

"Wait, what?!"

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Shun Kurosaki trusts Reiji Akaba just as much as he has a desire to card the grey-haired bastard.

The thought of Reiji deciding to "gift" him with an Action Field modeled after his home, and to fight in it against that heartless Fusion duelist, makes him feel sick inside. How dare that man give Shun what is essentially a kick in the face - to stand in a replica of his home while his sister is in the hands of Reiji's father and his friends are struggling to fight off against the brigade of Obelisk Force hunting down people like it is a sick game!

The luxuries that Reiji has given him for the duration of the Arc League Championship - a nice room in one of the most expensive hotels in Maiami City, a new set of clothes, room service, a chance to shower with hot water for the first time since the day of the invasion, a selection of cards that would make everyone at home saw off their arm and leg and an absurd amount of money for him to buy supplies for his friends - isn't enough to make Shun put his full trust in the CEO of Leo Corp.

Instead, it makes him feel as if Reiji has some ulterior motive in mind.

"'We both have the same goals'," Shun mutters, staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. His gold eyes glare back at him, filled with fathomless amounts of anger, hatred and exhaustion from everything that has happened. "What the hell does that entitled bastard know about my suffering? What would he know about fighting when all the does is sit and watch hundreds of monitors from the comfort of his own office?"

Of course his reflection won't give him the answer he needs. It just mouths back questions that he will not get answers to.

Snarling, Shun pounds a fist against the mirror before leaving the bathroom, now dressed in a pair of cyan pajamas. His coat and scarf were nicely laundered and are now hanging in a cabinet along with a new pair of socks, shirts and boxers.

He already ordered room service for dinner, but feels somewhat sick inside since it doesn't feel right to feed on pan-fried salmon with steamed vegetables while everyone else has to survive on day-old bread crusts and stone soup.

And the bed! Shun remembers all the times he has given up his blanket and pillow to give his sister these luxuries since she always donated hers to those less fortunate. Ruri always told him to keep them for himself, but he always insisted in his stubborn way that Ruri had to take care of herself first.

Oh how Shun misses his sister's voice, the gentle way she wrapped his arms around his tired body, her sweet melodic voice on the rare times she can sing without giving away her location. How much longer will it be until he sees her again?

Shun lies down, his mind and body exhausted from the battles he has fought against Obelisk Force and of Academia, having to watch all of his fellow citizens reduced to eating bread and soup from rations, huddling in a giant warehouse fearing for their lives. It just isn't fair!

And what's worse, that Yusho Sakaki, the man who taught all of them about dueling, about how dueling is meant to be for fun and smiles...he just left after an encounter with that sneering general, Edo Phoenix.

Shun rolls to the side, golden eyes staring at his Duel Disk as he wonders how Yuto is doing. He has not seen his best friend in days, not since Shun mistook that girl with pink hair - Yuzu, was it? - as his sister. Why Yuto would be so interested in a mirror image of Yuzu that would use Fusion Summoning of all things utterly baffles him.

Shun exhales as he closes his eyes, trying to get some sleep after everything he has done. Was carding those Leo Dueling Institute personnel worth it? Was him becoming just like the enemy, when Yuto and Ruri would reprimand using these tactics, just to get to Reiji Akaba, worth it?

Shun...doesn't have an answer to that. Or rather, he doesn't want to admit that these actions will lead him nowhere and that he will be walking into a trap.

But until then, Shun will agree to Reiji Akaba's request to fight in the tournament. And when the time is right, Reiji will end up just like all his friends - into a single card with his face forever contorted into a scream of pure agony.

As he falls asleep, one question fills Shun's tired mind.

Yuto, where are you?

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"So if I use this and tune it to that...I can make a Synchro Monster?"

Ayu sits on the concrete floor, the Earthbound Immortals having vanished to where Yusei summoned them from (except Chacu Challhua, who is next to Ayu if she needs comfort of any sorts), pointing at two monster cards before showing a silver card to Yusei. Never in her entire life did she dream of dueling with Synchro monsters! What would her parents, Shuzo-san, Tatsuya or Futoshi think when she reveals this new archetype at You Show Duel School tomorrow?

Oblivious to the awe and wonder in Ayu's mind, the Dark Signer of the Spider nods his head as he observes the cards in front of him. All of the monsters are of the WATER attribute, fitting someone tied to the Earthbound Immortal of the Whale, and each of them depicts an aquatic creature straight out of mythology.

From what he can see in Ayu's memories - that of a girl whose original deck consisted of fish who act on stage, having fond memories of visiting the aquarium, running a hand through the body of a stingray as it passed by, trips to the beach where she swam like the mermaids in picture books her mother read to her at night, her father recording her as she swam with dolphins, the hot summers where she would dine on grilled scallops with butter and the fish that her name is derived from, that one time where she and her parents feasted on sea urchin freshly caught and cooked by the lady divers in the area - being given a deck inspired by mythical creatures related to the wonders of water itself is nothing short of a generous gesture by Chacu Challhua, like a grandparent spoiling their grandchildren when they come to visit.

Then again, in comparison to how old the Earthbound Immortals are, Yusei and the others are just newborns.

"That's correct," he says, pointing to the monster that has the word 'Tuner' in its text. "All you need for a basic Synchro Summon is a Tuner and some non-Tuners whose combined level equals the level of the Synchro Monster you wish to summon. Plus, unlike normal Tribute monsters, you Special Summon the Synchro Monster from your Extra Deck."

"That's this compartment of my Duel Disk, right?" Ayu clarifies, tapping the left side of the card holder which is currently empty.

"That's correct," says Yusei. Then, he tilts his head at the red-haired girl. "Don't they teach this at the school you go to?"

"No," Ayu answers with a shake of her head. "All Shuzo-san teaches is Tribute Summoning. My old deck focused on that, but now I think that it's completely boring when compared to these monsters."

"Tell that to the Monarchs," Kiryu brings up, taking a bite out of the hamburger Carly brought back from the Tarot Café. Even if he no longer needs to eat, it is a good way to pass the time. "They get to activate their effects when you offer up monsters in their name, and are so practical that you can duel without ever having to use your Extra Deck."

"And the only way to summon your Earthbound Immortal is through Tribute Summoning," Carly adds, pulling a card out of her black and orange Duel Disk. "See?"

Ayu takes a good look at said card. Even though Carly is standing at least five feet away from her, her newfound vision allows to see the image as if it is staring right in front of her. The card depicts a larger version of the Ascilla piscu plushie - a black hummingbird with orange lines brachiating out across its body from its breast to its blade-like feathers. The card has an orange border and ten stars.

"Oh…" she says before looking at the card bearing Chacu Challhua that sits on her lap. "Then that means I can get Chacu Challhua out on the field easily! My strongest monster needed two tributes too!"

"You will also need a Field Spell Card to ensure he stays on the field," says Yusei, tapping at the description in Chacu Challhua's card. "If there is no Field Spell, then he'll be destroyed."

Ayu takes a better look at the description of Chacu Challhua. Yusei is right; she would need a Field Spell to keep him on the field. She looks at the other 40+ cards spread out and quickly spots a Spell Card with a temple made out of marble which depicts a pure white statue of a woman wielding a trident in her hands..

"Like this?" she asks, pointing to said Field Spell on her right.

"Exactly like that," says Yusei, looking at its image upside-down. "That is a nice Field Spell, you know."

"And speaking of old decks, did you win any important duels with your Aquaactress monsters?" Misty asks, a book (Palimpsest) in her hand. Ayu was shocked to learn about the abilities that came with being a Dark Signer, particularly that one about storing items within the shadows for later use. Once she learns how to master it, she can't wait to start stuffing as many books, snacks and anything else she might need for the future! Think of how much cleaning she could get done if she could shove everything to the side.

The young girl looks at Misty, wishing she could lie about having an impeccable duel record, then shakes her head. "No. Two days ago, I lost my duel in the championship to my opponent whose cards essentially copied the effects of my cards. And...I also forgot that I can't attack on the first turn."

At this, Ayu can't help but feel embarrassed. Here she sits in front of four expert duelists who use Synchro Summoning admitting that she is that much of a klutz in the art of Duel Monsters. She can already hear the other Dark Signers, their Earthbound Immortals and even Chacu Challhua laugh at how utterly pathetic she is.

Why would Chacu Challhua even gift her with such magnificent cards when she's not that good of a duelist in the first place? She doesn't seem like someone strong enough to Synchro Summon, let alone being strong enough to just Tribute Summon Chacu Challhua into the field.

And after using Carly's phone to look up the effects of Ancient Gear monsters, Ayu can't help but shudder. Giant mechanical behemoths who hit like a truck, could inflict Piercing Damage on face-down monsters and had the power to prevent the opponent from using face-down Spell or Trap cards when they attacked? How would she be able to fight against the likes of Obelisk Force if she couldn't even remember that the duelist who takes the first turn can't initiate their Battle Phase? And on live television?

At that thought, tears swell in Ayu's eyes once more. She's so weak; she doesn't deserve to be a Dark Signer. She places the card near her face, her tears splashing onto Chacu Challhua's image all while the plushie of his likeness sits on her right knee like an attentive and understanding puppy.

It is okay, little sweetfish. He states. You are not alone in your fight against Academia. You have a family willing to guide you in your new purpose.

"But…" Ayu whimpers as she looks down at Chacu Challhua. "What if I fail you and the other Earthbound Immortals? What if I lose to those monsters? What if I prove that I'm not worthy of...of…"

"You are here with us, willing to learn and to open your heart to truths that no normal child would possibly believe," Yusei begins, his voice silencing Ayu's fears like one snuffs out a the flame of a candle. He reaches out and wipes a tear that trickles down Ayu's face with a thumb. "One step at a time. With just a little practice, you will become unstoppable. And then, no one will ever try to hurt you ever again."

Ayu looks up and sees Kiryu, Misty and Carly smile at her, understanding the worries and fear that swim in her head like fish in the large tank back at her house. At this, she recalls Yuya's words after her defeat against Reira, and she doesn't know whether to be happy or sad about the similarities seeing as she still has no idea what happened to him or Yuzu.

"Believe us when we say that were all like you in the world of dueling," says Kiryu, finishing the last of his burger. "If you think Synchro Summoning is hard, try using monsters on the field while you have no cards in your hand!"

"Or those who can turn your opponent's monsters into stone," Misty brings up.

"Or monsters who gain strength when they level up," says Carly, looking through her deck and pulling out a card. She flips it over and smiles upon seeing a small yellow fairy staring back at her.

"The point is that we all know what it's like to be in your shoes, Ayu," says Yusei. "And we can use those bonds to create something new, powerful, vicious enough to obliterate Obelisk Force and those associated with them. So don't cry anymore, Ayu. We'e here for you."

At this, Ayu slowly nods her head and wipes the tears from her eyes. She can do this. She can perform a Synchro Summon. After all, if Gongenzaka can learn it to improve his Superheavy Strong Style, Ayu can learn it so she can help stop Academia from hurting others.

"Okay," she says, her eyes no longer teary or gold. Instead, they are black as ebony.

"Now," says Misty. "Why don't you test your abilities? Try and gather the cards with your mind."

Ayu looks at Misty in confusion before she looks down at the cards she has laid out by type - Monster, Spell, and Trap. Then, she closes her eyes and concentrates on seeing each and every card float into the air. She has seen this on television several times - people levitating objects like cups and spoons with just a single thought.

One of the cards starts to wobble as if lifted by a gentle breeze. Then a second, and a third and a fourth...all of them start hovering an inch above the ground as Ayu opens her eyes. They quickly collapse onto the floor like leaves.

"Try again," says Misty, her voice sweet and patient like watching a baby learn how to walk for the very first time. "Just stay calm. You can do it."

Ayu nods again as she stares at the cards once again. It reminds her of that Roald Dahl book, Matilda, where the titular character somehow obtained the powers of telekinesis to enact revenge in the name of her teacher, Miss Honey. The red-haired girl focuses on what she recalls from the book and watches as the cards suddenly stand up before floating in mid-air. Then, they dance and leap about in excitement. Ayu looks in awe. She can move things with her mind!

Ayu can't help but laugh as she stands up and moves her hands in the air, the cards rising like the tide with her movements as if she is Yen Sid, controlling the rising water that threaten to flood his magic tower. She dances and twirls and the cards mimic her. Her body sways in undulating movements, her eyes lowered in a drowsy haze of pleasure as she finds herself lost in a trance, humming a soft melody that she has not heard of yet seems oh so familiar to her as the cards loop through the air without a care in the world like the dancing water shows she has seen online, splashing, leaping about.

"Ayu…"

Ayu blinks and the cards fall once more, some of them sticking to her head and shoulders. She stares into the eyes of her fellow Dark Signers who can't help but chuckle at Ayu's dream.

"I'm so sorry!" Ayu exclaims, bowing to the others and the cards that were stuck to her now joining their brethren on the floor. "I had no idea what came over me!"

"It's okay," says Carly. "The adrenaline rush that flows through when one uses their powers for the first time is quite common."

"Try extending a hand out this time and use it as a ruler," says Kiryu, stretching his arm out as a bent soda can from a faraway corner shoots towards him. He crushes it in his grip until it turns into dust. "Keep your eyes on your arm, following it towards your fingertips as if there are strings attached to them, connected to your cards."

Ayu looks down at the cards in the ground before she stretches her right arm out. Eyes focused on her hand, she feels power spread throughout her fingers before the cards lift once more. Then, she turns her hand around, palm up, as she stares at the cards and imagines that she is pulling them down to the ground as if they are wayward balloons.

Cards slowly begin to descend like birds and settle down onto her waiting palm. One after another, the cards stack themselves nice and neat like a series of books on a shelf until the cards are gathered into her hand. She curls her fingers over then, feeling their power before she slips the completed deck into her Duel Disk. Then, said Duel Disk glows before it becomes just as black as her eyes with indigo trim and the tray resembling the slender form of a dolphin or whale.

"I'm ready," Ayu declares, picking Chacu Challhua up from the floor and into her hands. She places a kiss on the tip of his nose and places him on her shoulder. "I'm not going to be afraid anymore. I am going to learn how to Synchro Summon and I'm going to use it to take down everyone who stands in my way! That I promise!"

At this, Yusei smiles before he bursts into a loud, maniacal laugh that causes Misty, Kiryu and Carly to look in alarm. They have never seen Yusei laugh before, and he definitely never laughed like a madman!

After a few seconds of this frentic laughing, Yusei calms down as he stands up, extending his hand out towards Ayu. "That's the spirit, little sweetfish! And in honor of your spirit, I say that this calls for a duel!"

His grin stretches out, a darker image to the show making smiles Yuya gives when he performs in an Action Duel. "What do you say, Ayu? Are you ready to show me what you got?"

Ayu looks at the hand before she stares into Yusei's dark eyes. Without hesitation, she grabs his hand and squeezes it with all her might.

"I am," she says. "Yusei Fudo...I challenge you to a duel!"

There is an awkward silence that hangs in the air as Yusei tilts his head to the side, deep in thought. Then, he cannot help but burst into laughter once more.

"Huh?" asks Ayu, confused. "What's wrong? Are you saying that I'm not up to it?"

"I think Yusei is just in disbelief on how forward you were in your request to duel him," Misty theorizes.

Yusei calms down once more as he walks ten paces away from Ayu. "All right, then. But we are only dueling to demonstrate how to Synchro Summon. Once you are successful, we end it there. Understand?"

Ayu nods her head and activates her Duel Disk. She draws her five cards as she stares at the other Dark Signers, her new family of undead brothers and sisters, and smiles. She is going to make them proud, that's for sure.

"Are you ready, Ayu?" asks Yusei. "Let's rev it up!"

"Let's duel!" Ayu proclaims.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Masumi, you doing okay?"

"Hmm?" says Masumi, looking up from her phone when Yaiba asks that question. "What did you say?"

The short Synchro duelist groans, resting his hand on his cheek as he, Masumi and Hokuto wait for their plates of shrimp, octopus and chicken to cook at their favorite yakinuku restaurant, Fireworks Feast. Their student IDs make it affordable for them to eat here once in a while, and they usually spend two hours grilling everything they wanted and have their clothes smell like smoke and roasted garlic after the end of finals or just for whatever reason came into their heads.

Normally, Masumi would be delighted in eating grilled octopus - something that she is embarrassed to admit to Yaiba and Hokuto - but she finds herself too distracted to even place the octopus on the grill.

"You've been moody the entire day," Hokuto observes, using some tongs to set two large prawns to be grilled. "Care to talk about it?"

Masumi nods her head as she uses another set of tongs to grill some octopus. "I've been thinking about yesterday…" she begins.

"You mean that duel with Shun?" Yaiba inquires. "I tell ya, I've never seen anyone duel with that much ferocity before. It literally tore the place down."

"The way he looked at the Action Field, the way he mentioned about his life…" Masumi feels her hands shaking. Something..something isn't right. Something in her heart is telling her that there is something about Shun that she doesn't know or perhaps she does know...

"Guys," says Masumi in a soft voice as if she is afraid of asking, "How much do we really know about him?"

At this, Hokuto and Yaiba freeze. How much did they really know about Shun Kurosaki?

"Excuse me," a soft voice says to them.

The three elite LDS students turn their heads to see Yuu Sakuragi at their table, a smile on his face as if he holds a captivating mystery on his tongue.

"What do you want now?" asks Hokuto, quickly flipping the prawns and octopus to the other side to avoid burning. "Came to brag about how your victory today?"

"Oh no, no," Yuu says with a chuckle. "I just came here because…"

"Because?" asks Yaiba, raising an eyebrow.

Yuu smirks, exposing pearly white teeth. "I think that it's time for you all to see the light."

He pulls out a card from the pocket of his blazer and flips it over. Then, a bright light floods Masumi, Hokuto and Yaiba's vision.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"I'll take the first move," says Yusei, drawing a card. "And I start by playing the Spell Card called Foolish Burial! When this card is played, I send one card from my deck to the graveyard."

Ayu looks at the Spell Card with curiosity. Clearly the card Yusei is sending to the graveyard is a monster that either has an effect activated when sent there or he's going to revive it somehow.

"Next, I summon my Tuner known as Junk Synchron!"

Rising onto the field is an adorable robot wearing orange worker clothes, a large hat, and little round glasses. A long winding scarf the color of snow is wrapped around his neck. (1300 ATK)

"And he has a nifty effect," says Yusei. "When Junk Synchron is Normal Summoned, I get to Special Summon a Level 2 monster from my graveyard in Defense Mode but with its effects negated."

"Like the card you sent to graveyard due to the effect of Foolish Burial?" asks Ayu.

"Exactly. So now I bring back my Level 2 Speed Warrior from the graveyard!"

Junk Synchro taps the ground and a new monster rises to the field, a grey robot with roller blades at the end of his feet, a pair of binoculars for eyes that are connected to a tube on his chest. (400 DEF)

"He's so cool!" Ayu squeals.

"And now that they're together, I Tune my Level 3 Junk Synchron and my Level 2 Speed Warrior! Let's go!" Yusei shouts.

Junk Synchro shrinks into three rings while Speed Warrior leaps into the rings, shrinking into two stars that dance like fireflies.

(*3 + *2 = *5)

"Clustering stars will call upon a new force! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Junk Warrior!"

Descending onto the field is Yusei's Synchro monster: a large purple humanoid robot with crimson eyes, two yellow extensions on its shoulders like blades and a long scarf similar to Junk Synchron. It flexes its muscles when it lands on the field. (2300 ATK)

"I end my turn there," says Yusei, nodding his head. "Think you can do just like I did?"

"I can do better than that! Now, I draw!" Ayu declares, drawing a card. She takes a good look at the cards in her hand, carefully reading the text on each of them so she doesn't make a single mistake, before pulling the card in the middle and showing it to Yusei. "And I start by playing my Spell Card, Mystological Tale!"

A Continuous Spell Card appears, depicting a hand on a book that reads "Mist" with a curious symbol on its cover: a fishtail covered in fog.

"When this card is activated, I can discard a 'Mystological' monster from my hand to draw one card. And the one I choose to discard is Mystological Siren!"

Ayu shows her card before sending it into the graveyard.

"Next, I tribute my Mystological Tale to Special Summon Mystological Siren from the graveyard! And when Mystological Siren is Special Summoned, I can Special Summon another 'Mystological' monster from my hand. So now, I summon my Tuner known as Mystological Hippocampus!"

Mystological Tale vanishes before an angelic voice like a chorus of birds is heard across the field. Rising from the mists is a beautiful figure of a woman with a cerulean fish-tail, her raven hair covered in seaweed as she rests upon a large rock. She stretches her arms, revealing wings the color of the ocean in the summertime. She wears a white tunic where the symbol of a fishtail surrounded in mist is worn on a golden chain. (1600 ATK)

Then, a loud whinny can be heard. Lighting crashes before the next monster appears: a creature with the head, body and hooves of a horse black as the darkest waters combined with a fishtail the color of algae. He too wears a similar pendant like that of Mystological Siren. (1300 ATK)

"She only needed to use just one card to bring the monsters needed for a Synchro Summon," Carly observes. "Not bad."

"It helps that I've already seen Synchro Summoning up close," says Ayu, in awe at her two monsters. It is thanks to that Maria girl in school - Maria Ushiromiya if she remembers the name, well known for love of witchcraft and her tendency to cry "Uu! Uu!" when excited; the two became fast friends despite their lkkes being completely different - that she became interested in aquatic myths and legends.

"Really?" asks Kiryu. "By who?"

"The first time came from a student from Leo Duel School named Yaiba, back when my school had to fight against him and his 'friends' to stop Reiji and his mother from taking it from us," Ayu explains. "He fought off against a good friend of ours, Gongenzaka, and the duel ended in a draw.

"The second time came from Gongenzaka himself. Apparently, he personally asked Yaiba to teach him Synchro Summoning and used it to his fullest against Yuya nii-san! But that's a totally different feeling than me actually doing it in front of you for the first time!"

"Looking at their stats, you are capable of summoning a Level 7 Synchro monster," Yusei observes, looking at the display on his Duel Disk.

"I'm not gonna Synchro Summon yet," says Ayu. "I activate the effect of Mystological Hippocampus! Once per turn, I can discard as many WATER monsters in my hand to increase the level of a monster I control by 1 for each monster discarded. I offer up just one monster in my hand to increase the level of Mystological Siren to 5!"

She sends one card to the graveyard as Mystological Siren sings a simple melody. (LV: 4 -) 5)

"And now that I have both a Tuner and the required monster at the right level, I am going to perform a Synchro Summon!" Ayu announces, using her greatest performing voice. "On my left is the Tuner Level 3 Mystological Hippocampus and on my right is my now Level 5 non-Tuner Mystological Siren! Please give them a round of applause!"

And the audience complies as Ayu gives them her best showstopper smile.

"Now it's time for the main event! Let's go, you two! Let's Synchro Summon!"

Mystological Hippopotamus transforms into a trio of green rings while Mystological Siren forms into five shining stars.

(*3 + *5 = *8)

"Queen of the sea, rise from beneath the salt water and unleash the might of the seas to drown my opponents! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Appear before us, Mystological Amphitrite!"

With a loud splash, a magnificent chariot the color of the sky with dolphins painted on the sides driven by two hippocampus appears. Driving the chariot is Amphitrite, her long brown hair covered in nets, her olive-green eyes gazing at Yusei with compassion and interest, her body draped with a cerulean tunic. In her free hand she carries a silver trident decorated with pearls. (2800 ATK)

At the sight of the water goddess appearing on the field, Ayu's mouth drops like that of a big-mouthed bass at what she has unleashed. There, right in front of her eyes, is her Synchro Monster!

"I...I did it!" Ayu exclaims, seeing the silver colored card on her Duel Disk. She squeals and jumps in the air like a fish flopping about on land, Chacu Challhua somehow still on her shoulder as if he is attached there with velcro. "I really did it! I Synchro Summoned for the first time!"

"Good job, Ayu!" Misty cheers. "We knew you could do it!"

Ayu giggles as Yusei places a hand over his deck and his monster vanishes. Ayu does the same as she jumps and twirls around. "I can't wait to show this off tomorrow!"

"Why wait tomorrow?" asks Kiryu. "Why not duel now?"

Ayu blinks. "What do you mean? The Arc League Championship is over and I'm already eliminated and I can't go back to You Show Duel like this…"

"He didn't mean them," Carly clarifies. "Remember the three duelists up his sleeve?"

Ayu freezes at the thought of having to confront the person who killed him in a duel. "But, but I can't...I'm not ready to…"

"You'll be dueling with Misty and Carly to take them down," Yusei explains, approaching Ayu, crouching down and staring at her. "We know you can do it. Trust us."

Ayu gulps as she looks at Chacu Challhua. It is weird that a giant whale can give her such comfort, but he hasn't steered her wrong yet.

Go on, little sweetfish. A little practice will be good. The whale speaks in his grandfather-like way.

Ayu still looks concerned. "Are you sure?"

I have lived a long time, seen many people rise to the challenge to become Dark Signers. But you hold a powerful spark inside you. You have the strength and now you must show the determination to go and unleash the power of water at those who killed you and left you to die.

At those words, Ayu drops her head. He is right. She chose the path of a Dark Signer to get revenge on Obelisk Force, on Celina, on Yuzu...she will fight them head on, like she stands on the beach and waits for the tide to wash down on her.

"Okay," she says with determination. "Kiryu, let me at them!"

"That's the spirit!" Kiryu cackles, drawing the cards out of his hands. "Don't blink."

A black burst of magic appears in the palm of his hands before he tosses the cards onto the ground. Three bursts of light fill Ayu's vision before, right in front of her eyes,

"W...what the hell was that?!" The Obelisk Force member with a gold gem on his forehead mutters.

"Where are we?" said the Obelisk Force member with a red gem asks, looking around.

"Uh, guys…" says the one with the green gem. "I think we have company…"

"Oh gee," says Carly, rolling her eyes. "What made you come to that logical conclusion?"

"You guys are getting off lightly," says Kiryu, lips turned into a sinister grin at the thought of beating them into a pulp. "We could have left you as cards for all eternity or ripped them in half and let your halves scatter into the water where no one would ever hear from you again, or burn you, or put you through a paper shredder, or…"

"What Kiryu is implying is that we are giving you a second chance to redeem yourselves," says Yusei, taking a step forward at the Obelisk Force trio. "You have done a very bad thing, hurting our little sweetfish."

"S...sweetfish?" Obelisk Force - Gold stammers. "What do you mean?"

Misty scowls as she places a hand on Ayu's shoulder. "Does this face look familiar to you?"

Ayu stares into the face of the person who killed her. Her eyes glowing mad at the thought of this person having the audacity to kill her.

"Y...you!" Obelisk Force - Gold shouts. "You're...you're alive! But I killed you!"

"You killed me," Ayu states, slowly, gritting her teeth as she curls her hands into fists. "You KILLED ME!"

When she opens her mouth, it sounds like the whole warehouse shakes at the sound of her voice.

"Why did you do it!? WHY DID YOU DO IT?!" Ayu screams, eyes glowing purple.

"I...I…"

"Save your anger," says Yusei, placing an arm out in front of Ayu. "Murderers never give sane reasons for killing others. They just do it because it gives them a thrill, a sense of control, because they can get away with it and no one can stop them."

"You idiot!" Obelisk Force - Green screams, clocking Gold across the face. "You were supposed to card the little brat!"

"I couldn't help myself!" Obelisk Force - Gold whines. "You saw what that Guignol did, killing all of our fellow Academia students! I needed to get it out of my system...had to get it out before I went and…"

"Do what? Unleash your Ancient Gear monsters upon this paradise?" Misty finishes, her gaze petrifying the Obelisk Force soldiers. "We know what you did to the Xyz Dimension and we know of the chaos that was caused in our Dimension too. Jean Michel-Roget will have to answer to us very very soon.

"But for the time being, we need to discuss your punishment for the murder you put upon our sweetfish. So...let's make a deal. All three of you will have to duel three of us. If you win, you three can continue your mass killing/carding spree without us stopping you. But if you lose…"

She gives a humorless laugh, her mouth curled into a smirk. "Well, let's just say that 'sleeping with the fishes' wouldn't even begin to describe your fate."

"A...all we have to do is defeat you bitches in a duel?" says Obelisk Force - Gold. "Heh. We'll have this duel won in three turns. This will be like taking candy from a baby!"

Or the life out of a defenseless child. Ayu thinks, liking these guys less and less with each passing second.

"Then it's settled," says Yusei with a simple nod of his head. "You three will duel Misty, Carly and Ayu. All of you will have your own fields and start with 8000 lifepoints. Kiryu, let's give them some space."

"Can do, Yusei," Kiryu chuckles slamming his hands together before spreading them out. A large black gust of wind pushes the Obelisk Force soldiers to one side of the warehouse while Misty, Carly and Ayu take their positions, activating their Duel Disks and drawing their cards. Chacu Challhua vanishes from Ayu's side, with silent reassurance that he will be for Ayu when the duel ends.

"Before we get started, can I get your names at the very least?" asks Ayu.

"Aw, isn't that cute?" Obelisk Force - Red mocks, standing up. "The little girl wants to know our names!"

Ayu bites her bottom lip as the three laugh at her. She does not find any of this funny.

"I'm Shawn," Red answers. "Green is Kevin and Gold is Hunter. That good enough for you, sweetfish?"

Ayu's glare intensifies. "Only my family can call me 'sweetfish'. You are not my family."

Yusei and Kiryu lean back on some large oil barrels, the two male Dark Signers smiling to themselves at what is to come.

"Kiryu…" Yusei notes. "During that little show Ayu showed us...you slipped a card there, didn't you?"

"Me?" Kiryu asks with faux surprise. "Oh yes, that was totally me. Something to give the little sweetfish a confidence boost against these bastards."

"Care to tell me what that card was?"

"And ruin the surprise?" Kiryu leans close and kisses Yusei on the lips. "You're just going to have to wait and see for yourself, my shooting star."

"We'll allow you three to go first," says Misty as the lifepoint meter for all six competitors is set to 8000. "Don't disappoint us, boys."

"Hmph," says Shawn, drawing his card. "For my move, I summon Ancient Gear Hunting Hound in Attack Mode!"

With a loud bark, a large teal robotic dog leaps onto the field, snarling at the three female Dark Signers. (1000 ATK)

"And when it's Normal Summoned, I can inflict 600 points of damage onto your lifepoints!"

The mechanical canine barks once more and opens its mouth, unleashing a beam of energy that strikes Misty's Duel Disk, her lifepoints dropping to 7400.

"Next, I play Polymerization! I fuse Ancient Gear Hunting Hound on the field with the two in my hand!"

The well known card of Fusion Summoning appears as two more copies of the Hunting Hound. The three mechanical canines transform into beams of red, blue and yellow light before they fly into the card.

"Mechanical hounds who carry on the ancient spirits, flock together and become one with new power! Fusion Summon! Appear now! Level 7! Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!"

With a trio of howls, the Fusion monster appears, a mechanical Cerberus with six pairs of eyes and three sets of mouths ready to tear down anyone in its path. (1800 ATK)

Misty raises an eyebrow. "You decide to summon something like this even though I haven't even taken my turn yet? I heard that Obelisk Force was the cream of the crop. You're more like half-and-half to me."

"I'm not finished yet," Shawn continues. "I play Ancient Gear Factory to bring back an 'Ancient Gear' monster back to my hand. So I return one Ancient Gear Hunting Hound for even more fun later."

Misty rolls her eyes as she sees the card - the head of an Ancient Gear Golem about to be attached to its body - as Shawn takes a card into his hand.

"I end my turn there," he said. "Kevin! You're up!"

"Right!" says Kevin, drawing his card. "First, I play Ancient Gear Castle!"

He plays his Spell Card, depicting a humongous castle made of stone and armed with cannons and other medieval weapons under a black sky.

"And as long as this card is on the field, all 'Ancient Gear' monsters gain an additional 300 attack points. Plus, every time a monster is Normal Summoned or Set, I can place a counter on this card. And then I can use these counters as offerings for my stronger monsters.

"But until then, I'll copy a page out of Shawn's book. I Normal Summon Ancient Gear Hunting Hound from my hand and use Polymerization to summon my Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!"

"Blah blah blah," Carly mutters. "You're a lot of hot air."

Kevin frowns as Ancient Gear Hunting Hound appears and hits Carly's Duel Disk, also knocking her lifepoints down to 7400. And after one quick Fusion Summon later, the three headed mechanical mutt appears once more. (1800 -) 2100 ATK)

"And I end my turn there," says Kevin. "Hunter, take that little bitch down."

"Excuse me?!" Kiryu snarls. "Did you just call our sweetfish a female mutt?!"

"We're all gonna have fun with you after this is over!" Yusei adds.

"Whatever," says Hunter, doing his best to ignore ten black eyes, black as the eyeholes on that puppeteer's mask as she delightfully murdered those students. "I draw!"

He draws his card. "And I start by playing Magnet Circle LV2!"

"Huh?" Ayu blinks, looking at the card. "You're not gonna summon an Ancient Gear Hunting Hound?"

"Why should I follow the status quo?" Hunter says with a shrug of his shoulders. "Now, this card allows me to Special Summon a Level 2 or lower Machine-type monster from my hand. So I'll summon my Ancient Gear onto the field in Attack Mode!"

Rising onto the field from a mechanical crane is a strange machine, colored brown and grey with a single wheel, thin robotic arms, and two large grey gears. (100 -) 400 ATK)

"But wait, there's more! I have two more Ancient Gears in my hand, and they can be Special Summoned if I have an 'Ancient Gear' monster on the field! Oh what fun!"

Ayu finds none of this hilarious as she sees two more Ancient Gears rise on the field. (100 -) 400 ATK x2)

"And now I'll sacrifice two of my Ancient Gears to summon the one and only Ancient Golem! Suck that, girl!"

Two of the Ancient Gears fade before a giant of a monster rises onto the field, dressed in Roman centurion armor colored mud brown. A single red eye glares at Ayu, who glares at the monster with all her might. (3000 ATK)

"I end this with one card face-down and that's it," says Hunter. "Your move, ladies."

"All of that drama for nothing," says Misty, drawing her card. "You hype a big game, going on the attack on innocent little girls who do you no harm to compensate that you utterly pathetic duelists at is it. You give Academia, no you give Duel Monsters a bad reputation."

"Make your move!" Shawn snarls.

Misty smirks. "Gladly. First, I summon Reptilianne Naga onto the field in Attack Mode!"

With a hiss, Misty's monster appears. It is a girl, around Ayu's age, with grey skin and blond hair. Perched on top of her head is the hood of a cobra, her lower body is that of said cobra, and her hands are covered in snakeskin gloves. She hisses in delight at what she sees. (0 ATK)

Shawn laughs. "That's your opening move?! My Hunting Hound will love using it as a chew toy when I get to attack!"

"But you won't be doing so," Misty smiles. "Not when I play this from my hand!"

At the sight of the Spell Card in Misty's hand, Shawn blanches. "C - Creature Swap?!"

"Exactly!" Misty answers. "Now we swap control of one monster and, if what I'm hearing correctly, Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound allows you three attacks during the Battle Phase, right?"

Shawn whimpers as both monsters swap places. Reptilianne Naga pouts before hissing at her new controller with disgust.

"Oh, one more thing," says Misty. "Reptilianne Naga cannot be destroyed in battle and any monster who battled with her has their attack drop to 0 once the Battle Phase ends. But that's for later. Attack now with Triple Canine Canon!"

The three heads of Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound turn their attention to Reptilianne Naga who screams and covers her face with her hands as she is hit with three strikes of these energy blasts as Shawn's lifepoints dip all the way down to 1700.

"Wait," says Ayu, noticing Shawn's stats. "Why are his lifepoints lower? Shouldn't he have lost 5400 lifepoints?"

"Remember that Ancient Gear Castle is in play," says Carly. "And it states that all 'Ancient Gear' monsters gain 300 attack points."

"Ohhh…"

"You idiot!" Shawn snaps at Kevin. "You just had to play that Ancient Gear Castle!"

"It's not my fault you didn't provide protection for something like this!" Kevin retaliates. "And besides, your monster is now at 0 attack points; you're safe for the next turn!"

Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound whines as his attack score plummets all the way down to 0.

"Safe?" Misty asks, tilting her head. "I wouldn't say that for sure. Now that there are two monsters with 0 attack points, I can Special Summon one of my favorite monsters onto the field."

"Are you sure those contacts of yours need a new prescription?" asks Hunter. "I only see one monster on your side of the field!"

"And it looks like you boys need to clear the rocks out of your heads," Misty replies. "I said that there are two monsters with 0 attack points on the field; the monster I have in my hand can use monsters from your side too!"

"What?!"

"I offer up both Reptilianne Naga and Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound to Special Summon Reptilianne Vaskii!"

Both monsters sink into the shadows before a new monster rises in front of Misty. Unlike Reptilianne Naga, this monster is a woman around the same age as Misty. Unlike Misty, the monster with white skin, two pairs of arms and wearing battle armor of purple and gold. Topping her head of red hair is an Egyptian headdress with an uraeus and in one of her right hands is a lotus flower. Her lower body is that of a cobra with black and brown scales. (2600 ATK)

"I end my turn there," says Misty. "Now Carly, I think it's time for a change of scenery."

Carly smiles as she draws her card. "I think it's time to bring about new doors to the future. I play the Field Spell Future Visions!"

Carly plays her Spell Card, and the normal looking warehouse becomes a celestial realm filled with glimpses of landscapes - a desert, a plain, a forest - passing them by.

"Now as long as this Spell Card is on the field, any monster that is Normal Summoned is Banished until our next Standby Phase. If that's oh so confusing for those gullible little heads of yours, let me demonstrate! I summon Fortune Fairy Light in Attack Mode!"

A pillar of light shines in front of Carly, revealing a young woman in a black bodysuit and matching thigh-high boots along with a yellow dress appear on the field. Matching the dress, the Spellcaster also has short yellow hair and glowing yellow eyes. Perched upon her head are two large bat wings, and a glowing eye symbol shines on her forehead. She strikes a pose, pointing her wand - a brown curved staff with a yellow sun in the center and a scythe's blade at the end - at her opponents. (?/?)

"Huh?" asks Ayu, tilting her head at the Spellcaster's stats. "Why does she have undetermined stats?"

"Because the attack and defense of a 'Fortune Lady' depends on her level," Carly explains. "In the case of Fortune Lady Light, she gains 200 attack and defense points per level."

Fortune Lady Light giggles as her stats rise. (LV: 1, 200/200)

"And here comes Fortune Lady Light's effect! When she leaves the field, I can Special Summon a 'Fortune Lady' monster from my deck. And I choose Fortune Lady Fire to take her place!"

Fortune Lady Light waves good-bye as she leaves the field in a pillar of violet light. Then, a pillar of flame erupts where the yellow-dressed Spellcaster once was and a Fortune Lady with short red hair and equally red outfit appears, brandishing her wand with glee. (LV 2, ?/? -) 400/400)

"Fortune Lady Fire's effect activates! When she's Special Summoned onto the field, I can destroy one monster you control and you lose lifepoints equal to that monster's attack points."

"Wait," says Kevin. "By attack points, you mean original attack points or what it currently has?"

Carly looks at Fortune Lady Fire's text before she looks up and answers, "Current."

Fortune Lady Fire lets out a cry as she brings her staff down, two streams of fire charging towards Kevin's Ancient Gear Hunting Hound and melting it into slag. Kevin's lifepoints drop to 5900.

"I'm not done! Next, I play the Spell Card known as Fortune Lady Calling! Since I have at least one 'Fortune Lady' on the field, I can Special Summon another 'Fortune Lady' from my deck with a different name. So here comes Fortune Lady Water who gains 300 attack and defense points per level!"

Carly slips another Spell Card onto the field, depicting a Fortune lady with cyan hair confronting a Fortune Lady wearing a black cloak and orange trim similar to Carly's own. Emerging from the portal is a Fortune Lady with long blue hair rippling like water along with two long bangs hanging over her chest and an equally blue dress. (LV 4, ?/? -) 1200/1200)

"When Fortune Lady Water is Special Summoned, I get to draw two more cards," says Carly, making two more draws. "And now, Fortune Lady Fire and Fortune Lady Water...attack directly!"

Both the red and blue Fortune Ladies rise into the air, crossing their staffs together before bringing them down, unleashing fire and water magic that causes Kevin to fly back a few inches, his lifepoints now at 4300.

"They say that fire and water don't mix, but I think we can make an exception," says Carly, slipping a card face-down. "Now Ayu, let's see what you got."

"Oh...right!" says Ayu, drawing her card. This is so...so...unreal. Is she really fighting off against the person who killed her?

She is. And she has to make a good impression for her older brothers and sisters.

"I start with Graceful Charity," she begins. "And with it, I draw three cards and discard two."

The green dressed angel rises onto the field, sadly smiling at Ayu before the girl makes her draws. After staring at the eight cards in her hand, she takes two cards into the graveyard.

"And I'll put a stop to your monsters before you even get a chance to strike! I play my Spell Card Swords of Revealing Light!"

Ayu raises the card into the air as if she has lifted Excalibur out of its stone pedestal. A brilliant shines upon the field before she plays the card. A rain of glowing swords forms a prison in front of the Obelisk Force trio.

"What?!" Shawn exclaims. "How did that kid get such a powerful card?"

Kiryu just whistles under his breath as Yusei nods his head. "So that's what you gave her?"

"Surprised?" Kiryu asks with a raised eyebrow.

"No. Just amused. It takes a lot to surprise me these days."

"As long as this card is on the field, you can't attack for three of my turns," Ayu explains. "But you have that much time when we're done with you!

"Next, I play the Spell Card Water Hazard! When I have no monsters on the field, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower WATER monster from my hand!"

Which bypasses the effect of Future Visions! Carly thinks, seeing the Continuous Spell Card of a giant ocean wave rolling in, silhouettes of multiple Ocean's Keeper monsters seen within the water. She's picking it up so fast.

"The monster I choose to summon just so happens to be my Level 4 Mystological Siren!" Ayu announces. "And when Mystological Siren is Special Summoned, I can Special Summon another 'Mystological' monster from my hand...like Mystological Hippocampus!"

With a soft hum, the aquatic mermaid with bird wings appears (1600 ATK) and is quickly followed by the horse with the fish-tail (1300 ATK). Ayu smiles as she slips a card to her graveyard.

"I activate the effect of Mystological Hippocampus; I can increase the level of one monster on the field by 1 for every WATER monster I discard. I increase the level of Mystological Hippocampus from Level 3 to Level 4!"

Hippocampus whinnies as the Dark Signers know where this is going to go. (LV: 3 -) 4)

"It's time to Synchro Summon everyone!" Ayu cheers. "Let's go!"

Mystological Siren sings once more before her body shrinks into four stars while Mystological Hippocampus does a smart flip and turns into three glowing rings that the four stars enter.

(*4 + *4 = *8)

"Synchro Summon! Level 8! Appear before us, Mystological Amphitrite!"

Then, just like in her practice duel with Yusei, Amphitrite appears in her hippocampus-drawn chariot, silver trident in her hand. (2800 ATK)

"Now I activate the effect of my Synchro Monster!" Ayu declares. "When Mystological Amphitrite is Synchro Summoned, I can return as many 'Mystological' Spell and Trap cards in my graveyard back to my hand! Then, I can target as many cards you control equal to the number of Spell and Trap cards I added to my hand and launch them back to your hand! So I return Mystological Tale and Mystological Legend to my hand and send both of your monsters back where it came from! Good riddance!"

Mystological Amphitrite raises her trident as a large tidal wave of water rises onto the field. The Ancient Gear monsters are quickly washed back into the tide, their cards bouncing back into Hunter's hand.

"This is for ending my life!" Ayu snarls. "Mystological Amphitrite, attack directly!"

With another wave of her silver trident, Mystological Amphitrite summons another wave of water that completely soaks Hunter to the bone, dropping his lifepoints to 5200.

"I'm not done with my turn," says Ayu. "Next, I play Mystological Tale, discarding one 'Mystological' monster from my hand to draw one card."

Ayu plays the Spell Card with the book whose cover has a fish-tail covered in mist once more, slipping another card from her hand to the graveyard before taking a new card to her hand.

"And then I place one card face-down and end my turn," Ayu finishes. She then turns to Misty and Carly. "How did I do?"

"Not bad," says Misty. "You're making good progress. Now, let's see what's next."

Shawn gulps as he draws his card. He stares at what he has drawn before looking on the field. Playing Ancient Gear Hunting Hound isn't worth decreasing Misty's lifepoints by another 600 points of damage.

Why oh why was he commanded with these utter buffoons to go after Celina?

"I...I play Pot of Greed," Shawn stammers. "And this lets me draw two cards."

He makes two swift draws before staring at what he has obtained. Then, he smirks.

"First, I play Ancient Gear Fortress! On the turn I summon an 'Ancient Gear' monster, you can't destroy them with card effects or activate effects in response to their summoning!"

Shawn shakily plays his card, depicting an edifice carved from a mountain with smooth sides, large gears and a red aura surrounding it.

"But wait! I now play Ancient Gear Catapult to destroy Ancient Gear Fortress since I control no monsters! By doing so, I am allowed to Special Summon an 'Ancient Gear' monster from my deck...like Ancient Golem!

He plays his second Spell Card, a strange catapult colored rust red and brown with a laser at its front and spikes on its tires. Then, Ancient Gear Fortress shatters before the familiar form of the Ancient Golem rises. (3000 -) 3300 ATK)

"And that's not all! Since Ancient Gear Fortress was destroyed, I get to Special Summon an 'Ancient Gear' monster from my graveyard. Come back to the field, Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!"

A chorus of howls signals the Ancient Gear Fusion Monster's return, although Misty doesn't seem to be bothered by it.(1800 -) 2100 ATK)

"And that's all you can do," says Misty, shaking her head. "While your monsters prevent us from using Spell and Trap Cards during Battle, you're still stuck under the power of Swords of Revealing Light."

"I know that!" Shawn snaps. "But your monster is too weak to go after Ancient Gear Golem, so there's that! Now come on, Kevin! Let's see you do something brilliant for once."

"Hmph," Kevin grunts, drawing a card. "Well, looks like someone loves me today! I play Heavy Storm to blow all Spell and Trap Cards sky high!"

The familiar destroyer of Spell and Trap Cards appears before a harsh wind blows across the field, threatening to shatter Ayu's Swords of Revealing Light!"

"Not so fast!" says Carly. "Activate Trap Card, Bending Destiny!"

Carly's card flips, revealing a Counter Trap of a man walking down a long, bended road in the middle of nowhere.

"Since I control a Spellcaster monster, I can negate the activation of the card and Banish it until the end of your turn!"

"Oh come on!" Kevin complains, seeing his Heavy Storm card return to his hand. "That's unfair!"

"Coming from the horror stories of guys like you like to ruin your opponents' day by ganging up on them and using monsters that shuts down their Spell and Trap cards...that is absolutely hypocritical," Carly retorts. "Now come on, Hunter...show something new!"

Hunter snarls as he practically tears the top card from his deck. "I activate my face-down card, Ancient Gear Reborn! And with it, I bring back one of my Ancient Gears for another round!"

His card flips, revealing the robotic skeleton of a hand rising from the earth and scraps of metal magnetically controlled to reassemble said hand. Then, Ancient Gear rises onto the field. (100 -) 400 ATK)

"And that's not all. Next I play Inferno Reckless Summon! Since I Special Summoned a monster with less than 1500 attack while you control a monster, I get to Special Summon as many monsters with that same name from my hand, deck and graveyard. Of course, you also get that privilege, sweetfish…"

Ayu scowls as she sees two more copies of Ancient Gear rise, one from Hunter's graveyard and the other from his hand. (100 -) 400 ATK x2)

"Are you going to bring out Ancient Gear Golem again?" she inquires. "If you try to Normal Summon him, Carly's Future Visions will send him flying into your next turn."

"I know that!" Hunter snaps. "That's why I'm using a Spell Card I call Special Gear!"

He shows the card to Ayu before playing it on his Duel Disk. The card is a bright shiny gear in a rainbow-like background.

"When I have 3 'Ancient Gear' monsters on the field, I can offer all of them up to Special Summon an 'Ancient Gear Golem' from my hand and deck! Guess you should've considered that, huh?"

The three Ancient Gears fall apart before two Ancient Gear Golems take their place, glaring at Ayu and her Synchro Monster with piercing red eyes. (3000 -) 3300 ATK x2)

"And I end it there," Hunter smirks, folding his amrs over his chest. "Let's see if Aphrodite has what it takes to knock my wall down."

"It's Amphitrite," Ayu corrects, glancing at Misty drawing her card. She really dislikes Obelisk Force.

"All right Shawn," says Misty. "Let me put you out of your misery by making this short and swift. First of all, once per turn Reptilianne Vaskii is able to destroy one monster on the field. And, pardon my language Ayu, but that bitch has got to go!"

Reptilianne Vaskii slithers towards Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound before taking a huge bite out of one of the robotic head with her fangs, shattering it whole.

"And I'm not done," Misty continues. "Since the only monster I control is a Reptile monster, I get to Special Summon Reptilianne Hydraling from my hand and reduce the attack of one monster you control all the way down to 0. But in exchange, I must take damage equal to the monster's attack.

With another hiss, Misty's new monster appears (0 ATK) Then, Reptilianne Hydraling glares at Ancient Gear Golem, watching in glee as the behemoth of a machine slowly transforms into stone, all while Misty drops to one knee, her lifeopints down to 4100.

"Are you all right, Misty nee-san?" asks Ayu.

"I'm fine," Ayu answers, slowly rising up. "My opponent won't be though."

"W...Wait!" Shawn stammers. "I didn't even want to be here! Why do I have to be a part of Hunter's mess?"

"You could have stopped him from killing Ayu, couldn't you?" Misty inquires. "All you had to do was go after Celina and leave Ayu alone...but no, you let her die, you irredeemable monster!

"Reptilianne Vaskii, attack directly!"

Reptilianne Vaskii complies, slithering toward her prey before she grabs onto his neck with her lower set of arms, watching as Shawn sputters for breath before hurling her opponent towards the wall, his lifepoints dropped to 0.

"That's all for me," says Misty. "Carly, you're next."

"I'm on it! My turn!" says Carly, drawing her card. "And on my Standby Phase, two things happen.

"First, due to the effect of Future Visions, Fortune Lady Light returns to the field. Then, Fortune Lady Fire and Water gains another level to increase their stats!"

Fortune Lady Light appears in a pillar of light, staff ready to inflict damage. Meanwhile, Fortune Lady Fire's Level is now 3 and she sports 600 attack and defense points while Fortune Lady Water is at Level 5 with 1500 attack and defense points.

"Next, I play my Spell Card Time Passage! And I'll use it to increase the level of Fortune Lady Light by 3!"

Carly slaps a Spell Card her Duel Disk, depicting Fortune Lady Light surrounded by displays of time. Fortune Lady Light twirls her staff as her stats increase. (LV: 1 -) 4, 200/200 -) 800/800)

"So Lighty has gotten stronger," says Kevin, trying to brush off how he is facing three monsters. "Even if you attack her, I'm still gonna be left standing."

Carly chuckles and shakes her head. "I'm not using her to attack...not when she's the perfect level for my next Spell Card, Lightwave Tuning! If I use this on a Level 4 LIGHT monster I control, it becomes a Tuner as long as it stays on the field!"

"Wait, there's a Spell Card that can make a monster a Tuner?" Kevin gasps.

"Seems someone feel asleep during Tuners 101," Carly chuckles, playing her Spell Card. It depicts Shining Friendship with three waves of light on a black screen. Fortune Lady Light's smile stretches out as she stares at Fortune Lady Fire.

"It's time!" Carly announces. "I Tune my Level 3 Fortune Lady Fire and Level 4 Fortune Lady Light to unleash the newest member of the Fortune Lady Sisters!"

Fortune Lady Fire twirls and becomes three stars while Fortune Lady Light becomes a set of rings. Both stars and rings dance and twirl together as Carly prepares her chant.

(*3 + *4 = *7)

"Spellcaster who seeks beyond infinity. I call upon you now to unleash everlasting pain upon the enemy! Synchro Summon! Level 7! Guide our destinies, Fortune Lady Ever!"

Descending onto the field is the newest Fortune Lady, the same one that appeared in Fortune Lady Calling. Unlike the other three Fortune Ladies, her outfit and hair are different colors - her hair is cyan and set into very long pigtails, and her dress is white with orange borders. Her staff is much fancier too - bigger with gold segments, a long black spiky curved blade at the end and a pink gem in its center. A pink eye rests on the center of her forehead. (LV 7, ?/?)

"Fortune Lady Ever gains 400 attack and defense points for every level it has," says Carly. "That's 2800 attack and defense points ready to knock some sense into you!"

Fortune Lady Ever smirks as she prepares her staff. (?/? -) 2800/2800 ATK)

"That's still not gonna be enough to stop me!" Kevin stammers, knowing that it is but trying to save face.

"You're right," says Carly. "I mean, I could just have Fortune Lady Ever and Water combine their attacks...but I'd rather do it in one go to save time! I equip Fortune Lady Ever with Bound Wand, increasing her attack by 100 times her level!"

Fortune Lady Ever smiles at the additional weapon in her hand, a wand tipped with a ruby. (2800 -) 3500 ATK)

"Um, Carly," says Ayu. "Your monster still isn't strong enough to take him out with one go..."

"She isn't?" Carly asks with surprise. Then, she looks down at her hand. "Oh, silly me! I forgot to play this first! I play Synchro Boost and increase Fortune Lady Ever's Level by 1 and give her an additional 500 attack points!"

Kevin's legs feel like noodles as he sees an Equip Spell Card of Tube Warrior glowing in a blue light. Fortune Lady Ever sighs as her stats rise once more. (LV: 7 -) 8, 3500/2800 -) 4400/3200)

"Now it's enough!" Ayu cheers.

"Your destiny is mine!" Carly shouts, pointing at her opponent. "Fortune Lady Ever, attack with Infinity Blast!"

Fortune Lady Ever lifts both of her wands into the air, a large orb of white crackling energy forming between them. She then swings her staffs down before Kevin's lifepoints drop to 0 and he joins Shawn at the wall with a groan.

"I'm ending my turn here, too." says Carly. "Ayu, you're up!"

Ayu gulps as she sees Hunter's two Ancient Gear Golems. Dealing with one of them is bad enough...but two of them?

No...no! She is not going to show that she is afraid. She can do this; she is going to be like Misty and Carly and she will destroy her opponent!

"My...turn!" Ayu screams, drawing her card. But when she flips it, she feels like time has stopped.

Hello, little sweetfish...Chacu Challhua chuckles from within his card. Are you ready to summon me?

Ayu looks at the field, at Misty, Carly, then turns to Kiryu and Yusei, then at her opponent. Is she ready? Once she summons Chacu Challhua, there is no turning back.

In less than a day, she has seen Yuzu taken away to who knows where, had her fortune ready by someone reading her face, saw a girl that looked oh so similar to Yuzu, had her throat slit, and was revived by an ancient whale and met with her new...siblings/friends the Dark Signers, along with learning more than enough knowledge that would make an interesting plot twist in the animes that she watches.

But to actually unleash Chacu Challhua? Does she have that courage to do such a thing?

….

…

…

Ayu looks down at the card and smiles. "I'm ready."

Excellent choice. Chacu Challhua answers.

"I activate the effect of Mystological Capricorn!" says Ayu. "When he's in the graveyard, I can Special Summon him back onto the field by offering a face-up Spell or Trap Card I control. So I offer Mystological Tale to let him return!"

Mystological Tale shatters before the figure emerges. Just like its zodiac sign, Mystological Capricorn has the upper body of a goat with white fur and a glimmering blue fish tail. It lets out a bleat as it sits in defense. (1800 DEF)

"Mystological Capricorn's effect activates! I can take one 'Mystological' Spell or Trap Card from my deck to my hand. And Carly, do you mind if I have a change of scenery?"

"Why would you - " Carly pauses as she realizes what is about to happen. She then smiles and nods her head. "Go for it!"

Ayu returns the grin with one of her own as she takes a card from her deck. "It's time to you to pay offerings now! I play the Field Spell Card, Mystological Sanctuary!"

She plays the Spell Card, depicting a pristine white marble temple that has a statue of Mystological Amphitrite in the center, along with statues of other aquatic creatures surrounding her. Future Visions fades away as the field changes into the steps leading up to the temple itself, a strange hush filling the field as Ayu can hear the sound of the ocean waves off in the distance.

"Whenever a 'Mystological' monster is Special Summoned by its own effect, I get to put a 'Myst' Counter on this card," Ayu explains. "Not that it's gonna be doing much when I'm done.

"Next, I play the Spell Card De-Synchro! I return Mystological Amphitrite back to the Extra Deck and Special Summon the monsters I used to summon her back from the graveyard. So let's make this a party, Mystological Siren and Mystological Hippocampus!"

A Spell Card of a blue swirling vortex with numerous white stars appears before Mystological Amphitrite bows and leaves. Then, both the siren and sea-horse rise in her place.

"Oh" Kiryu notes. "Is Ayu going to do another Synchro Summon of Amphitrite? Will she summon an even more powerful monster instead? Like Poseidon? Tlaloque? Hapi? No wait...Watatsumi?"

Ayu giggles - she actually knows each and every deity Kiryu mentions. "No, I'm gonna summon something even better! But before I do, I activate my face-down card. Go, Mystological Legend!"

Ayu's card flips over, revealing a group of people sitting around a campfire. One of them, a man wearing a tunic and with grey hair, is telling a story as the image of a mermaid appears in a cloud above his head.

"When this card is activated, I get to destroy as many cards you control for every 'Mystological' monster I control! So now, let's really say goodbye to those golems for good!"

A blue watery aura surrounds Ayu's monsters before spectral versions of them tackle Hunter's mechanical behemoths. Once the watery projections strike the Ancient Golems head on, the two explode, causing Hunter to drop to his knees as his field is completely empty.

"And now," Ayu chuckles, her grin wide as a shark. "Now I sacrifice Mystological Hippocampus and Mystological Capricorn to unleash a monster that will make you regret killing me!"

As she says this, the purple mark of a whale emerges on her arm as she raises the card into the air. Then, large purple lines form underneath her feet as she lifts her voice into the air and chants.

"Souls who rest in the earth, garnering such long standing grudges! Now come forth from the impure earth and lend me your power! Come forth, Earthbound Immortal Chacu Challhua!"

The ground begins to shake as Carly, Misty, Kiryu and Yusei look in awe. Ayu slams the card onto her Duel Disk and lifts her head to the sky. She unleashes a loud roar that cannot possibly come from such a tiny girl like her. But it does and soon enough a purple shockwave obliterates the warehouse, knocking down crates, barrels and trash away with the force of an F5 hurricane and when it strikes Shawn and Kevin, their bodies dissolve into purple particles.

A large bellowing roar accompanies Ayu's and soon, the sun is blocked by the shadow of a humongous whale the size of three blimps that stares down at Hunter as if he is a minnow. (2900 ATK)

You dare to make my little sweetfish cry! Chacu Challhua roars. You deserve everything that is coming to you at this point.

Hunter feels something trickle down his leg. All of this for killing a girl? All of this punishment just to get Academia's princess back?!

"Go Chacu Challhua," Ayu hisses. "Attack him directly! You too, Mystological Siren!"

Mystological Siren is up first, hands crossed over her heart before she unleashes a screech enough to shatter glass. Hunter cries in pain as his lifepoints drop from 5200 to 3600.

"You're next Chacu Challhua! Dark Dive Attack!"

Chacu Challhua grins as much as a giant whale can grin before a wave of shadows rises from the ground, striking Hunter and shattering his helmet. As hs lifepoints drop to just 700, he falls to the ground, revealing a teenage boy around Yuya's age, green eyes shimmering with tears.

"P...please stop!" Hunter whimpers, body bruised, heart hammering against his chest. "I...I'm so sorry!"

At this, something in Ayu...snaps.

"Sorry?" she asks, voice echoing with that of Chacu Challhua's. "SORRY?! You're not sorry! Sorry is if you accidentally bump into someone or break a plate, not for killing a little girl! If you were really sorry, you wouldn't have killed me in the first place! You should have left me alone, let me see with my own eyes that Celina wasn't Yuzu!

"But no! BUT NO! You had to let me die! You and all of Academia deserve this! You all deserve to be eaten by Chacu Challhua, never to see daylight ever again!"

"I'll do anything!" Hunter whimpers. "Please...spare me!"

There is silence as Misty and Carly look at Ayu. Ayu bows her head, eyes glowing violet and looking just like she is right at home with the other Dark Signers.

"Fine then," Ayu hisses. "Make your move."

Hunter scrambles onto his feet and shakily draws his card. What was he thinking? All he saw was a dark desire to relieve himself from the fears of being forced into Obelisk Force so soon...he's not ready for this. He wasn't supposed to be ready for two more years!

It's her fault, all Grand Lorde Guignol's fault! If she didn't kill all those people then he wouldn't be here…

...But who is he kidding? He knows that this was all entirely his fault, and he is going to pay with this with his own life.

With more tears in his eyes, Hunter shakily draws a card. Ancient Gear Fusion. Good if he actually had an Ancient Gear monster on the field.

Swallowing hard, he shakily places a hand on his deck to surrender, only for Ayu to growl.

"No surrendering!" she snaps. "Just end your turn!"

Hunter shakily nods his head as he sees Misty draw a card, hoping that she would make his defeat not as painful.

Instead, Misty smiles and places her hand on her deck as Reptilianne Vaskii turns to Ayu and smiles..

"I've already done my duty," says Misty. "What about you, Carly?"

Carly draws her card, looks at it from left to right, then also places a hand on her deck. Fortune Lady Ever and Water giggle and wave good-bye before they fade away. "Me too. Ayu, this is your time!"

Ayu nods her head, feeling power, confidence, pure rage filling her body as Chacu Challhua prepares to attack one final time.

"Obelisk Force," Ayu begins, raising her hands into the air. "Would you please...DIE FOR ME?!"

And Chacu Challhua unleashes one final wave of darkness that causes Hunter to scream in agony, his body vaporized and the other Dark Signers to be flung back as the ground is scorched with violet flames. Ayu drops to her knees as she looks at Chacu Challhua's card on her Duel Disk, an accomplished smile on her face.

"I did it…" she whispers. "I summoned... Chacu... Challhua…"

Then, she collapses onto the floor.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Wake up, little sweetfish. Wake up...

Ayu groans, feeling as if Futoshi just walloped her with one of his dinosaur monsters (she understood the pain of Futoshi's opponent very well). She blinks as she looks at the carnage: the warehouse district totaled, the Obelisk Force members gone…

And four unconscious bodies surrounding her.

"Guys?" asks Ayu, seeing her fellow Dark Signers. "A...are you okay? Please wake up! Wake up!"

But none of them do. Ayu places a hand to her mouth as she realizes what she has done.

"I...I killed them!" she gasps. "It's all my fault! I'm such a horrible person!"

At this, she begins to sob. What kind of person just hurts their friends? She is awful, just awful!

"It's okay, Ayu," says Misty, halting Ayu's mourning. "We're all right."

Ayu blinks, wiping the tears down her eyes. Even though Misty looks..well, dead, Ayu can still hear the older woman's voice within her mind. "A...are you?"

"We feel a bit of ringing in our ears but aside from that, we're right as rain," says Kiryu, slowly opening an eye to show that he's all right before he sits up. The other Dark Signers also sit up, none of them looking damaged from Ayu's final attack, even though the warehouse district is totaled and the bodies of the Obelisk Force now reside within the belly of Chacu Challhua. "Not bad for your first kill."

At that word, Ayu freezes. She has just killed someone. Not someone...she killed the person who killed her and two others…

She stares at her hands in horror, her lip trembling as it comes back to her. Ayu Ayukawa has just killed someone. None of the magical girls she idolized killed a human...a bunch of monsters, yes, but certainly not a human!

At the sight of Ayu about to cry, and of Misty practically boring a hole into his head for that remark, Kiryu hastily grabs Ayu and hugs her tight. "No, that came out wrong! I meant you did a fantastic job in summoning Chacu Challhua onto the field. It's okay, sweetfish. It's okay…"

Ayu feels Kiryu's concern take away most of her shock as she relaxes into his embrace, hearing the Dark Signer of the Giant continue to soothe her worries away.

"I didn't know you were good with kids," says Carly, noticing how Kiryu gently strokes Ayu's back like she is a kitten.

"I'm essentially the legal guardian of two kids back in Crashtown," Kiryu answers, watching Ayu sniffle. "Had to calm poor Nico and West a lot about the what happened to their dear old dad."

"Sergio was a good man," Yusei says with a solemn look on his face. "A shame that my powers weren't strong enough to grant him a full recovery - he lives on, but with most of his memories gone."

"But back on point," says Misty. "Ayu, we're so sorry that you had to experience that. We didn't want you to go through all of that trauma in such a short amount of time."

"Take as much time as you need to gather yourself," says Yusei. "We're right here if you need us."

Ayu quietly sobs in Kiryu's chest, hearing the Dark Signer of the Giant croon a lullaby in her ear as she feels so much love, care and comfort from these Dark Signers showing concern for her. It reminds her too much of a younger her, back when she would run to her parents' bedroom because she was afraid of the dark.

But she cannot run to her parents anymore, nor can she be afraid of the dark. She is a Dark Signer now, and they use the darkness as their ally.

"If it makes you feel better, their souls were swallowed up by Chacu Challhua," says Carly, recalling the first person she killed after her resurrection. "And they shall stay within his stomach for as long as you want them to stay."

"I never want to see them again," Ayu states, her mouth never opening to vocalize her hatred of those three. She squeeze her arms tight around Kiryu. "I don't want them to hurt anyone again."

"That's why we're all here," says Yusei, ruffling Ayu's hair. His shadow stretches out and connects with the shadows of the other Dark Signers, forming a ring of darkness before it links with Ayu like the tail of a kite. "But now we need to focus on Phase 2. That duel is going to bring some important people here and we will have them right where we want them.

"Tell me, little sweetfish. Does the name 'Reiji Akaba' ring a bell? And please, try to communicate with the mental link this time. You need to learn how to use it in the future."

Ayu lifts her head, still wrapped in Kiryu's strong arms, as she feels the words she wants to say line up like the stars in the Synchro Summon she performed (which is something she still can't believe - Ayu Ayukawa, the first student of You Show Duel School to perform a Synchro Summon!). She feels her mind connect to the other Dark Signers like she has just plugged in her sea anemone night light. She can feel a rush of emotions and memories swirl in her brain fast enough for her head to spin like she is on the merry-go-round spinning wheel in her school's playground.

"Take it easy," says Misty, bracing the young girl with a gentle yet firm hand on her shoulder. Ayu can feel a wave of calmness fill her from head to toe. "We're not going anywhere, little sweetfish."

Ayu exhales, feeling the the new sensations fade away like leaves falling to the ground as she explains, "He was at the You Show Duel School a few hours ago. I...I kinda ran away from him to search for Yuya and Yuzu…"

"Well, did you know that his father is the head of Academia?" asks Carly.

Ayu gasps. "He is?"

"Yes. Professor Leo Akaba, the creator of the Arc system that would eventually spawn the Action Duel phenomenon, is the one who trains innocent wide-eyed children in the Fusion Dimension to invade other dimensions to card souls under the misgided belief that they must prove that Fusion Summoning trumps all other methods." Carly explains, her voice filled with signs of absolute hatred for the man. "Academia sent one of its most heartless generals to create friction in our dimension and then launched a invasion into that of the Xyz Dimension a few months ago."

"Xyz Dimension?" Ayu repeats. "Yusei-san...you mentioned that Yuya had a counterpart there. Yuto, right?"

"Correct." Yusei answers.

"And...is there a city in the Xyz Dimension known as Heartland?"

"Yes."

"There's a duelist from the Leo Dueling Institute known as Shun Kurosaki who uses Xyz monsters!" Ayu gasps, putting two and two together. "He dueled against Sora from my school who used Fusion Summoning and stated his dislike for Xyz duelists."

At this, Yusei closes his eyes as he feels an invisible hand dig deep into Ayu's memories. He sees a boy with cyan hair and a blue coat licking a large strawberry lollipop. He stays still when he sees Sora unleash his Frightfur monsters with a demented grin on his face. He looks on when Shun Kurosaki unloaded his rage and vengeance within the Action Field.

"Ayu…." Yusei begins, his voice sounding like a parent nervously trying to explain the concept of death to a child. "Sora Shiunin...he's…"

"...He's from Academia, isn't he?" Ayu finishes, looking at how Yusei nods his head. "He did mention that Fusion was common where he came from...of course he would never mention that the 'from' was another dimension…

"But, why was he so willing to teach Yuzu all about Fusion Summoning? Unless... does it relate to how Yuzu has the same face as Celina?! And, now that I think about it...if all of you hail from the Synchro Dimension, then that means that there are Synchro counterparts of Yuya and Yuzu and there's also an Xyz counterpart of Yuzu and..."

"Stop right there," says Yusei, noticing how Ayu looks like she's about to collapse. "I understand that you're willing to learn so much about the situation, but slow down. You used up lots of energy summoning Chacu Challhua and need to rest."

"But…"

"No buts." says Kiryu, using his best 'father' voice. "Now, focus on one thing and one thing only."

Ayu looks at Kiryu and releases herself from his grasp as she tries to figure out what to think of. There are too many things going on: Academia, Obelisk Force, Celina/Yuzu, other dimensions, the other Earthbound Immortals wanting Dark Signers of their own, Reiji Akaba and his father...

At the thought of Reiji, Ayu can't help but feel angry. She already hated Reiji for that stunt of his mother trying to take You Show Duel School away, but something about him is just bugging her. His aloof personality, the way he smugly can take on Yuya, his skills in dueling. And now his father has caused so much suffering, being the ringleader behind the person who killed her…

Ayu curls her hands into fists. If only Reiji knew what it was like in her position or that of her fellow Dark Signers or those who were victims of Academia themselves! If only…

...Wait a second...

"Yusei," Ayu begins, eyes lighting up like fireflies. "You have the ability to see into my memories if your shadow links to mine, right?"

"Yes," Yusei answers.

"And I have the ability to look into the past if it involves a question of mine…"

"Correct…"

Ayu looks down as she closes her eyes shut, feeling the Earthbound Immortal of the Whale watching over her. "Chacu Challhua...can my ability also work on a person?"

It depends on the person. Chacu Challhua answers. And it also depends on you. Since you are just a newborn, you can only see one particular moment in time and any emotions that the person felt, you will too. Why do you ask?

Ayu smiles. "We have to make mean old Reiji Akaba pay for what he's done. And also because I want to walk in the shoes of Reira Akaba in regards to our duel."

At the sight of that smile and of the idea that blooms in Ayu's mind, the other Dark Signers quickly understand what she is planning…

And they also cannot help but smirk in response.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The plan is set.

After Misty teaches Ayu how to cast a simple glamour spell to make her look like she is alive, Ayu does her best to imitate sobbing hysterical women in the dramas her mother watches until help arrives.

And while everyone is so concerned about the four 'corpses', Ayu's sights is on Reiji.

It's too simple to convince him to let her stay with her friends; after all, who can resist the power of a little girl giving the biggest pair of puppy dog eyes ever?

"Oh thank you, thank you!" Ayu cheers, hugging Reiji tight. "This means so much to me!"

As she feels Reiji pat her on the shoulder, Ayu smiles and turns her gaze towards Reira. She feels the subtle

"You ready, Yusei?" she asks.

"Ready," Yusei answers. "3...2...1…"

Ayu feels a flame burning in her heart as she looks into Reira's eyes with a question in her mind, "What was Reira thinking about during their duel?"

To her surprise, Ayu finds herself in Reira's shoes this time. She feels...empty. Like there is a black void where emotions should be.

Ayu remembers the arena where she dueled Reira, and through Reira she can see Himika look up from the window of the dueling arena, the magenta-haired woman's mouth open into words that makes Ayu feel like she is a kicked puppy left out in the rain.

"Don't disappoint me, Reira."

Fast forward throughout the duel and Ayu feels nothing. No joy, no fear, no happiness...compared to Ayu cheerfully summoning monsters, embarrassment over that 'you can't attack on your first turn' gaff or the sadness she felt when losing, Reira feels absolutely nothing.

And what's worse is that after Reira encountered his 'big brother', Reiji only has this to say.

"Thanks for not being a disappointment."

Then, Ayu blinks and she sees Reira in the present time, the boy's haunting gaze staring back at her with fear and uncertainty. How does she feel after all of this?

Ayu feels...like things are going to work out well.

"He's perfect!" she cheers to Yusei. "I think he'll become good friends with Cusillu!"

…

…

…

And Ayu still has that big grin on her face as she, her parents, Shuzo, Tatsuya and Futoshi are in the ambulance. Ayako and Aru console their daughter in the stretcher all while Futoshi and Tatsuya ask her question after question as to what happened.

"Calm down, you two," says Shuzo. "Ayu must be pretty shocked about all of this."

"It's going to be okay, my sweetfish," says Ayako, patting her daughter's head. "Thank goodness you're safe."

"Why did those people want to kidnap you?" asks Futoshi.

Ayu shakes her head. "I don't know," she states, wrapping her arms over her torso. "I...I think it might be because I was shouting for Yuzu and…"

"Maybe those guys know where Yuzu is?!" Tatsuya finishes.

"I don't know for sure," Ayu answers. "I don't know at all."

As the ambulance blares its siren, Tatsuya notices something.

"Ayu," he asks. "What is that?*

By "that", the blue haired boy is talking about the black whale plushie in his friend's hands which was certainly not there before. Ayu giggles as she squeezes it tight.

"Oh this?" she asks. "It's a gift because I'm such a good girl. I call him Chacu Challhua! Isn't he cute?"

When Ayu lifts the plushie's eyes towards her friends, neither Tatsuya nor Futoshi know what to say. Something about how it eyes them makes the boys feel as if someone just dumped a bucket of ice water over their heads.

"Ayu," says Aru. "How did you get that?"

"Magic, daddy!" Ayu giggles. "It was magic! Oh, tomorrow I wanna show something special to everyone!"

"What's that?" asks Shuzo, confused as to how Ayu can go from traumatized to absolutely happy within the span of a few seconds.

Ayu giggles once more, her gold eyes briefly flashing to the color of ebony as she answers, "If I said it now, it would ruin the surprise!"

And as Ayu rests with her Chacu Challhua plushie squeezed tight in her arms, she is comforted by four other voices laughing alongside her in her mind.

She knows what is to come next.

Phase 2 is about to begin.

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Mystological Hippocampus / WATER / Level 3 / Beast / Tuner / Effect / ATK 1300 / DEF 1100

Effect: You can Tribute 1 face-up Spell/Trap Card you control; Special Summon this card from your hand. (You can only Special Summon "Mystological Hippocampus" once per turn this way. Once per turn: You can discard 1 or more WATER monsters from your hand to target 1 monster you control; Increase that target's Level by the number of monsters discarded for this effect X 1.

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Mystological Siren / WATER / Level 4 / Sea Serpent / Effect / ATK 1600 / DEF 1400

Effect: You can Tribute 1 face-up Spell/Trap Card you control; Special Summon this card from your GY. (You can only Special Summon "Mystological Siren" once per turn this way). If this card is Special Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 "Mystological" monster from your hand. (You can only use this effect of "Mystological Siren" once per turn).

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Mystological Capricorn / WATER / Level 2 / Beast / Effect / ATK 200 / DEF 1800

Effect: You can discard 1 Spell/Trap Card from your hand; Special Summon this card from your GY. (You can only Special Summon "Mystological Capricorn" once per turn this way). If this card is Special Summoned: Add 1 "Mystological" Spell/Trap Card from your deck to your hand. (You can only use this effect of "Mystologcial Capricorn" once per turn).

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Mystological Amphritrite / WATER / Level 8 / Sea Serpent / Synchro / Effect / ATK 2800 / DEF 2500

1 "Mystological" Tuner + 1 or more Non-Tuners

Effect: When this card is Synchro Summoned successfully: You can target any number of "Mystological" Spell/Trap Cards in your GY; Add those targets to your hand, and if you do, your opponent must return an equal number of cards from his/her side of the field or GY to his/her hand. If this card is in the GY: You can tribute 2 face-up Spell/Trap Cards you control; Shuffle this card into the Extra Deck .

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Mystological Tale

Spell / Continuous

Image: A hand on top of a book, the cover of the book depicting a fish-tail covered in mist and the words "MIST" in silver font.

Effect: When this card is activated: You can discard 1 "Mystological" monster; Draw 1 card. "Mystological" monsters you control cannot be destroyed by battle once per turn. (You can only activate 1 "Mystological Tale" per turn).

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Mystological Legend

Trap / Continuous

Image: A group of people surrounded at a campfire, with the story-teller having a thought bubble of a mermaid above his head.

Effect: When this card is activated: You can destroy 1 card your opponent controls for each "Mystological" monster you control. "Mystological" monsters you control cannot be targeted by your opponent's card effects. (You can only activate 1 "Mystological Legend" per turn).

Note: The preceding cards were all created by "Donjusticia" all creative credit goes to him.

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Mystological Sanctuary

Spell/Field

Image: A white marble temple with Mystological Amphitrtire in the center and statues of Mystological Hippocampus, Siren and Capricorn surrounding her.

Effect: Place one "Myst" counter on this card every time a 'Mystological' monster is Special Summoned by its own effect. You can Special Summon one 'Mystological' monster in your hand by offering as many 'Myst' counters on this card equal to the level of that monster. If this card is targeted by the effect of your opponent's cards, you can offer one 'Myst' counter to negate the activation of the card and destroy it.

---

"I Understood that Reference!"

The two students Ayu mentions (Maria Ushiromiya and Aya befriending the Reaper of the 13th Steps) hail from visual novels by Ryukishi07. The former is from "Umineko no naku koro ni" and the latter is from "Higanbana no saku yoru ni"

"DIE FOR ME!" This is the famous cry from Alice of the Shin Megami Tensei series. It is also the name of her most powerful attack.

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Yuzu: I honestly have no idea what to believe at this point. All I know is that the longer I stay here, the more I grow insane!

There is no reason for me to be celebrating, not when I have no idea what is going on with me, Sora, Rin, Ruri...all I want is some answers and no one is giving them to me!

Next time: If I want something, then I have to go get it myself. And what I want is to know more about the boy who once took pleasure in kidnapping girls who share my face. That, and if I want to be able to save Yuya and earn the trust of Rin and Ruri, I have to show them that Fusion can be used to help and protect, not to cause harm.

Will I be able to make everyone have a "Change of Heart"? I certainly hope so.