Can Yusei come to a conclusion?

Yusei pulled up behind Crow's runner just as Chevalier de Fleur was leveled by Akiza's Herbicide Virus. He hopped off and jogged up to where Crow was standing.

"What'd I miss?" he pondered aloud in between breaths. "And who's Akiza dueling?"

"See for yourself," Crow answered in a solemn tone as he backtracked so Yusei could peer in on the match at hand.

"Her opponent is…..Sherry?" the lead Signer said in shock. "How long has this thing been going on?"

"I don't know how long they've been dueling," the Blackwing duelist replied while scratching his head. "I got here after one of Akiza's monsters was destroyed. Based on the explosion that came from it, I bet that it was her Black Rose Dragon that got wiped out."

"What about Sherry?" Yusei queried.

"That's where the duel turned around," Crow added. "She had her…..Chevalier de Fleur-whatever on the field, but Akiza managed to bait her into using her monster's effect on her Wall of Thorns trap, negated the Chevalier effect with a monster in her hand, and took it out along with over 1,000 of Sherry's life points."

"Wow," Yusei simply said. He and Crow stopped the recap and turned to watch the duel.

"Looks like I'm up then," Akiza stated as she drew to hold three cards. "This is my chance to play Spore of Life (LV 3, ATK/0, and DEF/900)." Next to the giant flytrap emerged a light green spore flanked by other pollen particles.

"With my little ol' spore on the field, I can drop one Synchro monster out of my graveyard to gain 500 life points," she continued while taking her dragon card out of the slot and increasing her score to 1,100. "In exchange for boosting my life points, I can't attack this turn. So you've been spared." Sherry only nodded her head once.

"To end my turn, I play two cards facedown," Akiza concluded.

"Even in this duel, Sherry hasn't lost her focus," Yusei thought to himself. "Just like when I dueled against her."

"I'm up then," the French woman said as she drew to hold three cards. "You truly are a worthy opponent, Akiza."

"What'd you say?" Akiza wondered aloud. Yusei and Crow looked at each other, equally stunned at Sherry's comment.

"You are a worthy opponent," Sherry repeated. "You and Yusei are the two duelists I have the highest respect for. While Yusei is calm and collective when he duels, you show fire and emotion in your face." Akiza just stood there with her mouth slightly open in amazement at Sherry's compliment.

"Um….thank you, I guess," the psychic duelist stammered.

"Now back to the duel," Sherry retracted as she pulled a card from her hand. "I call in Sacred Knight Joan." A knight resembling the heralded Joan of Arc burst onto the scene.

"Now I go after your Spore," the French duelist commanded her knight as it hurdled at Akiza's monster.

"I activate the Vine of Vengeance trap," Akiza countered as her Spore was sliced. "When a plant monster I control is destroyed in battle and I take damage from the attack, this trap negates the damage and hits both of us for half of the battle damage instead." Two streams of energy shot of the ground and surrounded both duelists, bringing Akiza's score to 300 and Sherry's to 700.

"Most impressive," Sherry complimented her adversary. "Looks like it's a fight to the finish."

"What do you think, Yusei?" Crow whispered. "How do you think the duel's gonna end?"

"Let's just see how this plays out," the lead Signer attempted to diffuse. "In a duel involving the most unlikely of opponents, the tide can turn in a snap."

"My turn," Akiza stated in confidence as she now held one card in her hand. "This looks to be the final turn." Sherry only narrowed her eyes at the red-haired woman's bold statement.

"I activate Return from the Different Dimension!" the psychic duelist declared as her last trap flipped up. "By paying half of my life points, I can bring back every monster I removed from play." She squinted as her score reduced to 150 and Black Rose Dragon descended from the sky, along with the first Evil Thorn.

"Now I'll remove my Hedge Guard from play so my Rose Dragon can render your knight weak," Akiza explained as she pulled the aforementioned card out of her graveyard and Sherry's knight's attack strength went to zero real quick.

"This might be it," Crow hissed through clenched teeth.

"Black Rose Dragon, obliterate!" Akiza bellowed while her beast launched what could be the winning blow.

"I still have my Sacred Destruction trap," Sherry interjected while her trap flipped up. "By sacrificing one Scared Knight monster on my field, I can destroy one attacking monster my opponent controls and inflict 1,000 points to both players." Sherry's warrior converged into a streak of light and slashed at the dragon's neck, annihilating it, and bringing both duelists down to zero. The impact was too great for either woman to withstand and they were blown backwards from the force.

"Sherry! Akiza!" Yusei shouted as he ran to check on them, Akiza first, followed by Sherry.

"Are they all right?" Crow asked as he ran up to Yusei while he checked Sherry's pulse. "Any serious injuries?" The lead Signer kept tabs on Sherry's pulse before he could answer.

"Well, I'm not sure," Yusei answered as he stood up. "See if you can get an ambulance over here. They may have very easily suffered a concussion." Crow nodded and dialed for emergency medical help as he ran back for the street. The black-haired duelist turned his attention back toward the unconscious duo and began to pace back and forth.

"They were dueling 'cause of me," he thought to himself. "They could've gotten hurt a lot worse." His thoughts were interrupted by the moaning of Sherry. Yusei stepped over and kneeled down to see if she could speak or open her eyes at least.

"Wha….what happened? Yusei?" she breathed. "Why are you here?" Sherry cringed intensely while trying to move.

"You and Akiza couldn't hold your ground when the duel ended," the lead Signer recapped. "And you both got blown away, literally."

"Is she all right?" the French duelist asked with worry in her voice. "I'm sor….ow…." She fell back into unconsciousness from the pain sapping her body.

"Everything's going to be all right," Yusei whispered as a pair of paramedics arrived on the scene and lifted Sherry and Akiza onto a stretcher. The lead Signer watched as they were wheeled into the idling ambulance and shipped off to New Domino Comm. Hospital.

"Yusei, come on!" Crow shouted from the street on his runner. "We have to follow them!"

"Please be all right, girls," Yusei pleaded in his mind as he dashed to his runner. "Fighting over me isn't worth causing harm to yourselves."

Now Sherry and Akiza are in the hospital because of their duel. Does one or both of them make it through? And what of Yusei? He has enough heart to show he's concerned for both of them. The next part should come in the next weekend. I have to watch Butler finish what they couldn't do last year. Keep reading and reviewing, people.