XII

Hotene's puppet wasted no time in being the first to carry out Dr. Grimm's wishes.

"My turn!" she shrieked, drawing her card with a furious flourish. Without bothering to look at it, she threw out a jointed arm. "I activate my Noble Spirit Beast Apelio's effect," she cried, "and banish a Spirit Beast card from my Graveyard to give all my Spirit Beast monsters an extra 500 ATK and DEF until the end of my turn!

"And then," she sneered, looking Masumi directly in the eye as scarlet flames wreathed every single one of her monsters, "I'm going to show you just how good at Fusion I really am, Masu-chan!" The sheer amount of venom in the little girl's voice made Masumi back away out of instinct. "I banish my Noble Spirit Beast Apelio, my Spirit Beast Tamer Laraand my Tamed Spirit Beast Apelio!"

Masumi was flabbergasted as she watched the monsters in question slowly approach one another, stretching out hands, paws, and claws alike. She's banishing three monsters this time—and one of them's a Fusion Monster, too!

She gulped. This is bad.

"When the bond between man and beast surpasses its strength," recited Hotene, "let the blazing inferno and the burning hearts of our prime be united with the courage of our allies!"

Masumi raised a hand to her eyes as she saw the three monsters touch one another very slightly—grasping hands and paws before being consumed in a light more blinding than any she'd ever experienced before—

"TRIPLE CONTACT FUSION! Appear, my strongest servant! Tamed Spirit Beast Gaiapelio!"

Heavy footfalls shook the earth, like a dozen elephants jumping up and down at the same time. Masumi lowered her arm from her eyes—and felt her whole body go slack at the unthinkable monster Hotene had Summoned: a lion-like beast the size of a small house, with black, multi-bladed horns ablaze in fire, a spiky, sunflower-like mane, and an entire forest grove supported upon its broad, white-armored back (Level 10: ATK 3200 » 3700/DEF 2100 » 2600).

Masumi took one look at that monster and was instantly grateful she'd Summoned her Emeral in Defense Position—otherwise, she wouldn't have nearly enough LP to absorb a hit like that. But she'd hoped to have kept that monster a little bit longer—maybe if she drew a third monster next turn, she might be able to pull something off.

Dr. Grimm, meanwhile, looked utterly ecstatic. It was evident that even she had not expected this incredible feat of Summoning. Words had failed her completely, and her dead eyes almost looked as if they were swimming in tears of joy—almost.

"Battle Phase!" Hotene screeched from atop Wendigo—eye-level with her ace monster. "Tamed Spirit Beast Gaiapelio—attack Gem-Knight Emeral!" The great beast lunged forward with the speed of a freight train, baying loudly and lowering its head—it was going to physically ram Masumi to kingdom come—

CLANG.

The sound came from so close to Masumi—barely inches away from her skull, it sounded like—that she'd opened her eyes out of instinct, and several long moments had passed by before her eyes began to make sense of what she was seeing.

The Fusion user saw the scarlet cape fluttering in front of her face, the half-moon blade held high above her head—the only force standing between it and the rampaging assault of Gaiapelio

Gardestrike?!

Masumi whirled round at Yaiba, wondering if he'd chosen to intercept the attack with his monster—before finally seeing the card on his field.

"Trap activate: Saber Deflect!" he snarled. The Synchro Duelist's teeth were bared, and his bamboo shinai was in his free hand and brandished right for Dr. Grimm.

"If I control an X-Saber monster when an opponent's monster attacks," he said, "I can target one of my opponent's monsters—and direct that attack right at it!"

Masumi would have kissed Yaiba then and there if she wasn't so stunned by what had just happened. Not only did he save me … but he's actually going to force Gaiapelio to attack another monster?!

"I've got just the monster in mind," he smirked, fixing the beam of his eye on Dr. Grimm. "And in case you're tempted to use that damned effect of your Wendigo on whatever monster I end up choosing, you can forget about it. Saber Deflect's effect can't be chained by any other effects—so you've got nowhere to go but down! I'm changing Gaiapelio's attack target … to your El Shaddoll Midrash!"

Dr. Grimm's eyes widened right as Gardestrike gave a mighty heave. Masumi gazed in awe as the wolf-like warrior gave a mighty roar of exertion, physically hurling Gaiapelio away from Masumi with the strength of a fallen angel. Hotene's ace monster stumbled across the field, roaring in surprise at the sudden resistance—and promptly careened into Midrash milliseconds after Dr. Grimm had dismounted from her monster. The dragon-puppet shrieked as one of Gaiapelio's horns impaled it through the stomach, crumpling a wing and sending both monsters crashing into a nearby building.

When the dust settled, Masumi cheered when she saw the broken body of Midrash dissolving into nothingness—and cheered louder still when she saw Dr. Grimm clambering to her feet, her puppet body scuffled and cracked in a number of places, and her LP now sitting at 9500.

Yaiba looked even more cheerful than she did, if that was possible—though he also appeared quite weary. "Saber Deflect's final effect," he panted. "During the End Phase of the turn I activated this card, I target one X-Saber I control, and shuffle it into my Deck."

Masumi swallowed. For one more turn, at least, Yaiba had saved her life—but it had come at the heavy price of an empty field. "You shouldn't have put yourself in this kind of danger," she said to him, feeling her voice crack—whether from gratitude or grief, she did not know. "All you did was make yourself a sitting duck."

"Better you than me," Yaiba said vehemently. "I'd rather live as another one of Dr. Grimm's puppets than live with knowing that I was the one who left you to die."

It felt as though the bitter cold of the dream had been dispelled; Masumi felt a sudden warmness expand in her chest at Yaiba's vow. Before either of them knew what she'd done, she'd walked right up to Yaiba—and embraced him.

For that all-too-brief eternity, Masumi didn't care that the Synchro Duelist was spluttering in surprise against her; nor did she care about the Duel, or the near-certain doom that awaited her at its end. For that one moment, every worry and fear she'd carried since the Maiami Championship had melted away … and Koutsu Masumi felt free.

It felt like another eternity before she could bring herself back to reality, and step away from Yaiba; the Synchro user had gone rigid and red in the face over what she had just done. Words seemed to have failed him completely.

"Was … was that part of the dream, too?" he managed to say.

Masumi smiled wryly at him—leave it to Yaiba to think about something so trivial in the face of death, she thought—but didn't answer. Instead, she turned back to the Duel, just in time to hear Hotene's shrill voice.

"I'm sorry, Doctor!" the tiny puppet wailed. Out of everyone in this alley, no one looked more shocked than she did over what her monster had done. "I didn't mean to—it was that card that did it!"

"I don't blame you, Hotene," growled the Psychic Duelist, although she looked desperate to find someone to blame. Her voice sounded muffled; she might have been grinding her teeth, had her puppet body any teeth in her mouth to grind. "It was an honest mistake, and it will not happen again, am I understood?"

Hotene stared at the seething marionette for a moment before nodding mechanically. "Yes, Doctor. It will not happen again," she repeated, before slipping a card into her Duel Disk. "I Set one card, and end my turn."

One face-down card appeared on the field, while two face-up cards left it; Masumi caught only a single final glance of Gardestrike before Yaiba shuffled it into his Deck, then sliding At One with the Sword into his Graveyard.

Shen now stepped forward, and drew his card with enough force to send gusts of freezing wind throughout the alley. He checked the card in his hand—and his dark eyes instantly glittered with a light that made Masumi step back.

"Do not despair, Doctor," he said calmly. "There is some good fortune in losing your dragon. Were it still on the field, I would not be able to show my true strength right now. That strength may not lie in Fusion Summoning, as yours does"—his eyes narrowed, giving Yaiba a look of pure venom—"but it will be enough to make that mewling boy think twice before harming you again."

True strength? "Yaiba … what did he mean by that?" Masumi asked, worried. Hugging her friend suddenly felt so long ago now.

Her friend had no reply; he, too, was staring at Shen with an uneasy look on his face.

"First, I will activate a second Dracomet Path," Shen said. "I will target three Dracomet monsters in my Graveyard, shuffle them into my Deck, and then draw two cards. After several long moments of swiping cards here and there, he drew a pair of cards, took one look at them—and smiled.

Now Masumi was scared. Shen had had his moments of emotion before—but she had never seen him smile even once before. Had Dr. Grimm's corruption poisoned her victims that much, that it rewrote their personalities completely?

"Since I control no other monsters, I may activate the effect of Jiaotu, Dracomet of Darkness," Shen continued, that smile still on his face. "I will send Pulao, Dracomet of Wind and Suanni, Dracomet of Fire from my hand to the Graveyard—and then, since one monster has 0 ATK, and the other 0 DEF, I will Special Summon a second copy of each from my Deck!"

Two monsters now swirled from out of thin air and onto the field, either side of Jiaotu; Masumi recognized the green, sinuous body of Pulao (Level 1: ATK 0/DEF 1800) alongside the scarlet, leonine figure of Suanni (Level 4: ATK 1900/DEF 0).

"Finally," Shen went on, "I will Summon Bixi, Dracomet of Water in Defense Position!" This, too, Masumi recognized from her earlier Duel atop Floating Cloud Fortress; the blue, turtle-like dragon soared up from behind Shen and growling viciously (Level 2: ATK 0/DEF 2000).

The sheer number of monsters on the field that Shen had Summoned in such a short time surprised her—and one of them, Masumi knew, was a Tuner monster. Is he going to

"Now," rumbled Shen, "I Tune my Level 4 Suanni … my Level 2 Bixiand my Level 1 Pulao with my Level 2 Jiaotu!"

"No way … " Yaiba was awestruck as all four of Shen's monsters rose into the sky, Jiaotu in the lead; the shadowy dragon glowed with a bright green color and split into two telltale rings of light:

"Divine phantom of heaven and earth," recited Shen. "Descend from your throne of stars, and bestow a new light upon your domain!"

Lightning struck the field as all three remaining monsters became seven different points of light, aligned in perfect formation inside the rings of Jiaotu—and something was coming down with that lightning … something big.

"Synchro Summon!" Shen bellowed. "The father of all dragons! Level 9! Chaofeng, Dracomet of Phantoms!"

The monster that emerged from the stream of energy was not so much big as it was long; easily a hundred feet long or more in length, even—with every inch of it clad in shimmering scales of every color Masumi could imagine: aquamarine and emerald along its back from head to tail, deep blood red along the underbelly—with a fringe of bright, deep gold in between. Four enormous feathered wings kept it aloft, a vivid crest adorned its eagle-like head, and a vast tail swished left and right with enough force to stir up miniature tornadoes in the dust (Level 9: ATK 2800/DEF 2200).

Masumi found it so difficult to tear her eyes from the captivating beauty of the Duel Monster that she almost didn't notice Yaiba backing away. "What is it?" she asked, noticing how worried he suddenly looked.

"I always had this funny feeling … that Shen was holding back on me, every time we practiced together," murmured Yaiba. "But I never knew he had anything like this in his Deck!"

The Fusion user gaped. "You're saying this is the first time you've ever seen him Summon that monster?!"

Yaiba nodded. "Yeah. So I have no idea what the hell this thing does … but it's going to hurt, Masumi," he said, gulping. "It's going to hurt a lot."

"Not nearly as much as she has hurt you, Toudou Yaiba," Shen shot back at them. "She has done nothing but betray us all from the moment she met us!"

The words felt like knives as they buried themselves into Masumi's flesh, and then into her mind. She felt her fists beginning to tighten again.

"Don't listen to it," Hokuto kept on saying, kept on trying to reassure her. "That's only Dr. Grimm talking—they don't mean what they're saying at all!"

"ENOUGH!" thundered Shen. "When Suanni is used as a Synchro Material, any monster it is used to Synchro Summon will gain 500 ATK and DEF. Furthermore, when Pulao and Bixi are used as Synchro Materials, any monster they are used to Synchro Summon becomes unaffected by any and all effects of Spell and Trap Cards!"

Chaofeng roared as its body became engulfed in a veritable rainbow of auras, while its point gauge rose to a massive 3300/2700.

"You may also recall that my Dracomet Leyline gains effects depending on the number of different Attributes belonging to the Dracomet monsters in my Graveyard," Shen continued. "Two Attributes will grant my Dracomet monsters an extra amount of ATK and DEF. Four Attributes, however, will not only prevent you from Setting monsters—but every monster you control is switched to face-up Attack Position as well!"

Yaiba gulped; even though he had no monsters to switch, it could not have been plainer that he was feeling quite defenseless at the moment. Masumi and Hokuto, meanwhile, grimaced as one as they both switched their respective monsters—Gem-Knight Emeral and Sacred Ptolemy Messiers 7—into Attack Position.

"Battle Phase!" roared Shen. "Chaofeng, Dracomet of Phantoms—attack Toudou Yaiba directly!" The vast dragon rushed for a suddenly dry-mouthed Yaiba, and began to circle high above him, its four wings slicing through the air like massive swords. Faster and faster it whirled, its revolutions becoming more dizzying by the second. Within moments, gale-force winds buffeted the alley, and Masumi had to drop to one knee to avoid being blown away.

"Phantom God Storm!"

Before Masumi could blink, a bolt of lightning had crashed down where Yaiba had been standing, blinding her. So loud was the blast of thunder that came with it that she neither heard the Synchro Duelist's scream of pain nor his smack into the wall—for Masumi, one moment, it felt as though the world had ended; the next, she'd opened her eyes to see Yaiba spread-eagled in the graffiti, his blood mixing with the chipped paint he'd been thrown against. He was not moving.

But Masumi, despite her horror, knew he wasn't defeated—a quick look at his LP gauge showed it at a scant 700. He had survived, at least for this turn—but Masumi would feel much better once he'd gotten back on his feet. At least Shen hadn't chosen to attack her monster—why that was, she didn't know. Unless she was mistaken, doing so would have ended the Duel—and her life.

She stared at Dr. Grimm. She's just toying with us at this point, she understood. She knows she's got us backed into a corner … so she wants to finish me off herself. She wants to make sure that I have absolutely no chance of being rescued before she does the deed with her own monsters.

Her thoughts were dispelled as she saw Yaiba begin to stir from the crater Chaofeng had blasted him into. Masumi immediately ran to his side, grabbing him by his arm and carefully extricating him from the wreckage so as not to cause him any more harm than he'd already been through.

"Thanks," Yaiba was just barely able to say. "Told you … it was going to hurt … " He sank to one knee, breathing heavily for a few moments, before collapsing prone upon the asphalt—still conscious, but completely spent.

A triumphant Shen folded his jointed arms, surveying the scene with the closest thing to pleasure a puppet's face could reproduce. "I will end my turn with that."

"Excellent." Of all of Dr. Grimm's puppets, Fuyu terrified Masumi the most. As he drew his card with a flourish, the Xyz user's voice had morphed into a gravelly—almost feral—growl in sharp contrast to his raspy whisper. His single red eye was fixed like a laser on Hokuto.

"I activate my Celestial Aura's effect," he snarled, "and Special Summon Satellarknight Rigel from my hand in Attack Position!" He slapped a card onto his blade with such force that it made Masumi wince; moments later, a burly human covered head to toe in blue, gold, and silver armor had appeared to the left of his Satellarknight Sirius, swishing its jeweled cape and brandishing a short blade in an attack stance (Level 4: ATK 1900/DEF 700).

"Satellarknight Rigel's effect activates when it's Summoned," added Fuyu, "and lets me target a tellarknight monster I control to give it 500 ATK—so I'll use that target on itself!" As Rigel pointed its sword right at Hokuto, the weapon began to glow with sapphire energy, and extended to roughly twice its length—its ATK now at 2400.

"Next, I Normal Summon Satellarknight Procyon—also in Attack Position!" he cried, as a smaller figure that Masumi remembered seeing in their previous Duel rose up to the right of his Sham (Level 4: ATK 1300/DEF 1200).

Now he had four monsters, the Fusion Duelist noted—all with the same Level—which made her all but certain he was going to perform an Xyz Summon this turn. And if Hotene and Shen had been any indication, Masumi had a strong suspicion that this one might be more powerful than any she'd yet seen from him.

"Procyon's effect activates when it's Summoned as well," Fuyu explained while his jointed fingers transferred some of his cards from one place to another, "and lets me send a tellarknight monster in my hand to the Graveyard so that I can draw a card!"

He did so, and grinned when he saw it, sliding it into his Duel Disk almost instantly. "Next, the Quick-Play Spell: Starcrossed Satellarknights!" he yelled. "By targeting a tellarknight monster I control, I can Special Summon another tellarknight monster from my Deck by shuffling that target into the Deck—and I target my Satellarknight Sham to Special Summon Satellarknight Capella in Defense Position!" Sham's armored form faded from view soon after—but was almost instantly replaced by another, bigger monster: a silver-gold warrior who appeared as though he'd been encased inside a chariot-like device from the legs down (Level 4: ATK 1100/DEF 2000).

Fuyu smirked. "Satellarknight Capella's effect activates when it's Summoned, too"—he paused here, apparently for dramatic effect—"and lets me treat any and all tellarknight monsters I control as Level 5 monsters!"

"Level five?!" Masumi's jaw went slack as Capella clasped its hands together, its gilded palms glowing with golden brilliance. Ribbons of light extended from its fingers as it spread its arms outward in a rapid flourish, connecting those ribbons to all of Fuyu's monsters like so many reins to horses, and—as an awestruck Masumi now saw—increasing their Levels by one apiece as bright yellow lightning snaked along their lengths.

"Four Level 5 monsters … " she murmured—even Hokuto had never pulled off an Xyz Summon with that many Materials! She quickly glanced at the Xyz Duelist; Hokuto was eyeing his counterpart with an apprehensive look upon his shimmering face.

"Now, using my Level 5 Satellarknights Rigel, Sirius, Procyon, and Capella," Fuyu growled, indicating each one with the same sweep of his hand, "I construct the Overlay Network!" All four monsters hurtled upwards into the sky, transformed into orbs of golden energy that were quickly lost to sight among the illumination given off by the cloud-threads above the Duel.

Then, an enormous galaxy of light, sound, and darkness erupted above them—releasing a deluge of lightning and thunder so blinding, so deafening, that it almost drowned Fuyu's chanting out completely:

"Invincible might of the skies, whose holy light was gifted by the stars who witnessed its birth, dispel the gathering darkness once and for all!"

A pair of silver-gold wings—each the size of a house, studded with millions of stars—suddenly unfolded inside the maelstrom of lightning, while the shadow of a dragon-like head began to emerge—

"Xyz Summon!" roared Fuyu. "The brightest servant of the heavens! Rank 5! Stellarknight Sacred Dia!"

Masumi could not resist a gasp as the monster within finally revealed itself in full with a deafening, roaring shriek—so loud that it simultaneously dispelled the lightning and shattered the few remaining nearby windows that had yet survived this Duel. The armored dragon looked almost identical to Hokuto's Messiers 7, even with its point gauge (Rank 5: ATK 2700/DEF 2000/ORU 4), although its gleaming armor appeared to outshine even that creature.

The ace monsters of both Xyz Duelists were now roaring threateningly at one another, functionally identical—each desperate to establish dominance over their counterpart. Masumi felt a chill race down her spine—she could almost feel the hatred that Fuyu was giving off as he stared at Hokuto; his mind had been almost completely rewritten.

For the umpteenth time, she cursed Dr. Grimm—long past caring that it wouldn't do any good right now.

"Stellarknight Sacred Dia's effect," Fuyu was saying in the meantime, a triumphant sneer on his porcelain face. "While it has Overlay Units, no Duelist can send any cards from their Deck to their Graveyard—and any card that returns from the Graveyard to the hand is banished immediately!"

Damn it. Masumi could feel her heart sinking more and more with each passing word. Fuyu had effectively sealed off her entire strategy by Summoning that one monster. Her Gem-Knight Fusion was effectively useless now; she'd only be able to use it a single time before it was out of her reach—and even then, she knew full well that Dr. Grimm would just use Egrysta's effect to negate that Fusion Summon.

"Battle Phase!" Fuyu's shriek was almost as loud as that of his dragon. "Stellarknight Sacred Dia—attack Sacred Ptolemy Messiers 7!" His dragon's jaws opened, revealing a blinding white spark of light that gradually grew in both size and intensity until it had filled the beast's mouth within seconds.

Huh?! "But the ATK points of both monsters are equal!" Masumi shouted—they'd both be destroyed in the battle!

"No, they won't," Dr. Grimm suddenly spoke, apparently having read Masumi's mind yet again. "I activate my El Shaddoll Wendigo's effect—and target his Sacred Dia so that it cannot be destroyed by battle with any Special Summoned monster this turn!"

Damn it! Masumi swore again, watching in anger as even more white light radiated from Sacred Dia's mouth in a blinding beam. It touched—for only an instant—the chest of Hokuto's ace as it prepared to strike in retaliation … but it never got the chance. In the instant after that, Messiers 7 had been completely pulverized into glowing dust, wiping out Hokuto's final defense in the blink of an eye.

Fuyu surveyed the destruction, looking just as triumphant as Shen had after bringing Yaiba's Life Points into the danger zone. "I end my turn with that," he said, his red eye fixed on Hokuto again as Sacred Dia hunched down beside him, growling all the while.

"Now do you know what it's like—Hokuto?" the Xyz user said, intentionally leaving out the honorific he'd always used up to this point, "How it feels to be abandoned by the only friend you ever knew?"

Hokuto took a step back in alarm. "What are you talking about?" Masumi shot back at him. "The Hokuto I know would never do anything like that to you, Fuyu!"

"You don't remember what happened when I tried to make it into a tournament on my own—without anyone else to Duel alongside me?" Fuyu scowled at Hokuto, and Masumi started. "I was expecting you to cheer me on when I started my qualifying run for the Maiami Championship—and so you did. But when I needed you cheering me on the most"—his red eye narrowed—"you … weren't … there.

"That loss destroyed me," growled Fuyu. "Oh, I had my doubts; I knew that you were always going to be better than me … busier than me, with no time left to help his friend do the best he could! But I never forgot what happened after that Duel … I realized that I was just as weak and alone as I'd been in the days before I ever knew you."

His voice dripped with corrosive venom. "And then … the second time I wasn't by your side when you needed me," he snarled, "I had to listen to some nameless classmate on the phone tell me that you'd disappeared before the invaders came … and I felt what little will to live I had left crushed into a pulp." He clenched his fist and squeezed.

Then, Fuyu drew himself up to his full height, a terrible look upon his porcelain face. "That sniveling wretch you've been Dueling beside this whole time?" he said savagely. "That was you, Hokuto. You made me into that coward."

"That's not true!" cried Masumi. "Yaiba told me how you two met! He told me how Hokuto kept you company while you were sick—he visited you every day, he taught you how to Duel! He even helped you pass your entrance exam into LDS!"

"You shut your damned mouth."

It was Masumi's turn to recoil as puppet-Fuyu turned his red eye on her. "You're in no position at all to stick up for your so-called friends, Masumi," the Xyz user said acidly. "You used my friendship with Hokuto to draw me into your little gang—and do you see what's happened to it now, because of how incompetent you are?!

"How many of your friends have you let down tonight, Masumi?!" he screeched, spittle flying from his ceramic lips. "How many more people are you going to use like so many Duel Monsters, just to fight your own pathetic battles?!"

Every single word felt like a hot knife being cruelly thrust into Masumi's flesh. It was worse because of whom those words were coming from; the Fusion Duelist felt tears trickling down her cheeks as Fuyu's tirade sank in.

And then, those knives dug further still into her body as Shen now raised his voice. "How many, Koutsu Masumi?!" repeated the marionette. "I trusted you with all of my heart and soul. After our Duel in the city, I truly believed you to be a kindred spirit—someone who genuinely wished to be an honorable and loyal friend to everyone she knew."

His voice became a growl, filled with the deepest loathing the Fusion Duelist had ever heard. "But tonight, you have proved yourself as nothing more than an insult to honor and loyalty," he spat. "You befoul the very concepts when you so much as speak the words that define them!"

Masumi sank down to her knees, biting her lip until it was a bloody mess, not even bothering to keep the tears from spattering at her feet. "You're wrong … " she squeaked, " … you're wrong … "

It's not them it's not them they're not in their own minds they don't mean a word they're saying don't listen to them

Hotene's voice pierced through her grief, further twisting the knives in the wounds they'd made on her. "And even after all that—you still think you're the best at what you do at LDS?" shrieked the tiny Duelist atop Dr. Grimm's Wendigo. "You didn't play like the strongest Fusion Duelist the first time you met me. So what if you were just trying to find out how we Dueled and what monsters we Dueled with? Does that really say anything better about you?" She crossed her arms. "I don't think so. I don't even think you thought of us as real Duelists today—real people. We were just more pieces in your little game … weren't we?!"

Masumi was too distraught to even speak a single word. She could only shake her head pleadingly, the tears still cascading down her cheeks while her mouth moved soundlessly. No … no …

Hotene cackled savagely at seeing the anguish so plainly showing on Masumi's face. "Where's all that strength of yours gone to now, Masu-chan?" she gloated. "Or are you finally starting to get it?! You never had a chance—you lost before you even started this Duel!"

The shark-smile spread across her face, wider than ever. "You don't deserve to call yourself a strong Duelist, Masu-chan. You don't even deserve to call yourself strong—or even a Duelist at all!" She waved a jointed arm down in her direction. "Look at how pathetic you are—sniveling in the dirt like a two-year-old who lost her favorite dolly."

"And you know what?" She curled her lip in a sneer. "It's never made me happier."

The last word hit Masumi like a lead weight had been swung into her gut. The Fusion user felt herself crumbling at last as the words of the puppet continued to torture her, long after they'd been hurled at her. She knew now that she had lost everything—this Duel … her friends … her life … but most of all, any confidence she'd ever had in herself.

I can't do this anymore … she thought, no longer trying to hold in her sobbing. I've failed everyone … it's over …

"My, my, my," Dr. Grimm said airily. "And they say I'm the expert at breaking minds. I may well have outdone myself tonight with these three.

"I'm afraid they're all correct, Masumi," she said, smirking at them. "Everything they've said is true. Your plans have been laid bare, your so-called pawns have all been captured—and even the dream you'd hoped to create for the sole purpose of defeating me is no longer yours to dream. Later tonight, I'll have paid a visit to the hospital at which you're all being treated. Then, all I need to from there is flip one little switch, and poof—they'll all be in another dimension, ready to start their new lives at Academia … the lives they've always deserved to live."

Dr. Grimm paused. "However," she added, a strange look upon her face, "as exemplary students as they have been tonight, I am still willing to part with them … if you're willing to listen to a proposition of mine."

Masumi stopped sniffling, and looked up, wondering if maybe she'd misheard the Psychic Duelist.

"Forfeit this Duel," whispered Dr. Grimm, smiling slightly. "Give yourself to me … and I swear on my honor as a Duelist that I will release these puppets from my control."

Forfeit … The very idea felt anathema to Masumi, even as she laid there on the ruined road, broken and defeated. It was the easy way out, a way to save face when up against overwhelming odds—but how overwhelming these odds were! All she had to her name in this Duel was a single monster on her field, another monster in her hand, and a Spell that she'd only have one chance to use on both of them—without any chance of success at all.

Midrash beat its wings once, and both it and its rider descended closer to Masumi. "Either way, Masumi, you have no more reason to fight a meaningless battle," she said. "Accept this truth, and it will make the end so much more painless for you. You can still end this nightmare—you can still save these people, and prove to them through your selfless sacrifice that you truly do mean the best for their well-being."

She came closer. "All you have to do is say three simple words"—she leaned in her ear—"I … give … up."


Each word felt as though an icicle had pierced Masumi straight through her spine. I give up.

As she lay there, shaking in helpless fury, her tears continuing to mingle with the dust of the ruined city, the simple sentence continued to echo in her mind, louder and louder, until it felt as though a dozen Dr. Grimms weren't simply whispering it in her ear, but shouting in it, deafening her and making her curl up into an even tighter ball.

Was it worth it, to give up now?

The question was all that was on her mind. She knew that conceding the Duel would mean giving up her friends, her education at LDS—even a chance at pursuing that career with her father's jewelry shop—but it would also mean that four other people would have the chance to keep on pursuing their own. Perhaps she would become a martyr, sealed just like Hokuto, remembered so as to inspire the survivors of this Duel to resist the advance of Academia …

Or would Dr. Grimm turn her into just another puppet as well? She had been after Masumi from the start, admitted to wanting to brainwash her into becoming just another faceless soldier. If that was true, then how long would it be before her Gem-Knight Deck was unleashed on Maiami City—on the very school that had helped the Duelist who wielded them become the best in her class? How long would it be before Yaiba, Hotene, Shen, and Fuyu would Duel against her again—before the Psychic Duelist decided to ensnare them once more, at some point in the future?

But there was always the other option, Masumi knew—to keep on fighting, defiant to the end, even though there was no possible hope of salvaging victory. Dr. Grimm would defeat her, thus ending her life, consigning her one-time friends to the same fate as before—soldiers in a war whose scope she could not yet understand …

She lay there, continuing to ponder the same question—Masumi knew that her life as she knew it was over, no matter what she did tonight. The only question that remained was to know if she could at least depart with some measure of grace, and save four lives in place of her own … or to go down swinging, and doom everyone in this dream to the machinations of Dr. Grimm.

And the more she thought about it, the more she knew that there was only one logical choice to make.

Her lips cracked, and the voice that came from them was the dry, choking wheeze of a crone; it sounded as though she'd just aged a hundred years.

" … I … " she croaked, but the words could not come out. " … I … "

But before Masumi could give that choice any more thought, a sound had distracted her: footsteps on the asphalt, the debris beneath them crunching like gravel under their weight. She did not know who it was, nor had she the strength to find out, she continued to lay there, despondent, as she prepared to make the last free choice of her life—

She gasped. Hands had suddenly reached under her left arm—softly, not daring to disturb her. Slowly but surely, they began to exert themselves; they were trying to pull her back up, but she remained there, limp and reluctant.

Yaiba, she realized with a sniff. He must have just gotten up himself. She could not resist a smile, as defeated as he was. The boy just didn't know when to quit, bless his heart—until you've wiped out our last Life Point, we can still win! That was what he'd said, hadn't he?

No, a tiny voice in her mind answered her, no … that had been Hokuto …

And Masumi gasped again as she felt—on her other arm—a second pair of hands.

Her heart skipped into her mouth, and her mind began to race—there were only six other people here; of them, four had been turned into puppets! Their hands wouldn't be nearly this soft, a part of her thought madly—she would know them from their touch! Which meant one of these pairs of hands had to belong to Yaiba, and the other—but that isn't impossible, said the voice in her head; he wasn't really here … he was just …

Grind.

Sand.

Lap.

Polish.

Et voilà.

The sudden jolt that shot through Masumi's spine was so intense that it felt like she'd been struck by lightning. She sat up, everything else completely forgotten, as the numbness of the surprise wore off.

All this time … she thought, her heart racing far faster than it ever had before. It was right in front of me this whole time, and I didn't even know it!

"Have you decided, then, Masumi?"

Dr. Grimm's voice, though clear as a bell, was only a whisper to Masumi's mind. She could not believe the insane thought that had just occurred to her—the reason why he was here, the reason why he was fighting—the reason why he continued to remain by her side, even as her friends dropped like flies—

"Tell me something, Dr. Grimm." The Fusion Duelist's voice still croaked, and her eyes still stung from the hot tears of before—but again, she paid them no heed; all that concerned her now was the revelation that continued to unfold in her mind's eye—

"If this isn't my dream anymore, like you said"—Masumi took a deep breath, more for her own fatigue than for dramatic effect—"then how do you explain this?!"

Her arms were spread wide as she rose to her feet—not because she'd done so, but because she was being supported by the two boys who had, more than anyone else, made her feel at home within the walls of the Leo Duel School.

To her left, Toudou Yaiba had hooked himself under the crook of her arm, being too short to support Masumi any other way. His teeth were bared, and he'd fixed Dr. Grimm and her retinue with one of the most defiant glares she'd ever seen in his eye—which said something of the Synchro Duelist's normally brash behavior. It was the figure on her right, however, that demanded her attention more than anything.

The look that Shijima Hokuto had in his eyes as he clutched Masumi's other arm in his hands could only be called "blissfully warm". It starkly contrasted with the fiery glint in Yaiba's gaze; his eyes did not stare down the Psychic Duelist opposite him, but rather wandered all around Masumi, searching her hungrily, a knowing twinkle to them.

"Am I to assume you're not conceding the Duel, then?" Dr. Grimm said. A nasty grin spread across her face. "If death is what you wish for, then very well. I'll make sure to pass along funeral arrangements to your family."

Masumi ignored her. "It took me a while to figure it out," she went on, tearing her gaze away from Hokuto with immense effort. "Considering what you put me through, I can't say I'd blame me for not realizing it sooner. And with how much effort you put into making sure I had no control over this dream, I wouldn't be surprised if you'd overlooked it yourself. But think about it … think about what you might have missed … or should I say, who?"

Something changed at that moment in Dr. Grimm's stance: the strings that arced into the sky from her jointed body tensed, and so did she. Her dead eyes were roving this way and that, devouring the sight Masumi knew she was seeing—she knew Dr. Grimm's mind was rapidly coming to the same conclusion she just had a moment ago—

"Exactly," she said, forcing a defiant smirk. "If this was your dream, then from the moment this Duel had started … Shijima Hokuto would have been fighting for you."

Dr. Grimm's eyes widened slightly in blank shock for a moment, and then it was gone—but Masumi had seen.

"But he never did, did he?" she continued. "Even when Hokuto appeared right before your eyes, you never stopped to think about why he might be here—even though you and everyone here knew that his real body had been sealed! To you, he was just one more opponent—another potential recruit in Academia's twisted army!"

"Your point?" Dr. Grimm's query came through clenched teeth.

"My point," Masumi said defiantly, "is that to me … Hokuto is my friend. That's why he's here with me—with everyone else you trapped in my dream by using those powers of yours! That's right!" she yelled loudly, for Dr. Grimm had taken a step back. "My dream! Not yours—you even said it yourself! No matter how much you've infected my mind, I still have some power over my own dreams—and the proof is right here!"

She waved her right hand around its wrist—the most she could do while Hokuto was holding up the arm that was gesturing to him—but even as she did so, more windows of possibility were opening up before Masumi, shining upon her with the first light of dawn—

"Hokuto is me, Dr. Grimm—he's been me this whole time," she said, standing tall, while Yaiba and the echo of Hokuto continued to stand either side of her, resolute as the twin bastions of a castle. "Which raises an important question, doesn't it? If I can bring back my friend from the grave so that he can help me fight you … "

Her eyes roved left to right, scanning the field, before she said, " … then what else can I do with this power?"

Dr. Grimm took another step back in agitation, the strings of her puppet body beginning to vibrate from how tensely they'd been strung. But Masumi paid her no heed; her gaze had already turned to the first Duelist she'd met earlier that day—who'd helped her forget, for a time, that Dueling was about more than just personal pride.

"Hotene." Masumi's heart felt like it would burst as the words fell from her mouth, almost as soon as she thought them—it felt as though someone else might be speaking for her. "I remember what you taught me today—that we all need a reason to smile every day, no matter what.

"Well, look at me now," she said, feeling that smile beginning to creep across her face inch by inch. "As crazy as it sounds … I feel happy. Because I know now that I'm not going to die tonight."

She laughed. Not the scornful, mocking laughter of her counterpart's puppet—a genuine, child's laugh, one that she probably hadn't had since she was a child herself. Masumi could feel everyone's eyes on her—the reddened eyes of Hotene foremost and widest among them—but she didn't care that everyone was staring, that she might be making a fool of herself. With every giggle and chuckle, she could feel the despair leaving her, the weight in her stomach lessening with every breath she took.

It felt like a long while before the mirth had left her, and she'd turned to the next Duelist she'd encountered that day—the next to have been ensnared by the wiles and wires of Dr. Grimm.

"Shen," she began, "I remember what you taught me, too—that if I can control my fear, then there's nothing else in my life that I need to control. Well—look at me now. I don't need to be scared anymore. I know now that I've been in control of this dream from the beginning."

And it was true, she knew. There was a reason Hokuto's presence had felt so welcome; his echo had been more than just her wish for her friend to return to the land of the living—he was a guide, a beacon of hope in Masumi's mind for when things became bleak—and how bleak they had been, she thought, before she'd come to this realization!

The Synchro user, for his part, remained standing where he was; whether he had understood her words to him, she could not tell—but for now, all her attention was focused on the thin boy whose whole world had been the very same Duelist that had helped save her tonight.

She swallowed, feeling that swelling sensation in her breast begin to expand even more. "Fuyu," she whispered softly, "I remember what you taught me—that strength isn't everything when it comes to Dueling; that what really matters is the knowledge of when to use that strength.

"Well … look at me now." She gestured to her Gem-Knight Emeral, the last line of defense she had to her name. "There's hardly anything standing between me and that puppet behind you—no Spells, no Traps, and only a single, simple monster. So I know now that I can only get stronger from here!"

Fuyu drew back, tilting his head, giving Masumi a very scrutinizing look that did not suit him at all, whether as a human being or as a puppet. But the rage in his eye had abated; he had not expected to hear Masumi say the things she had.

And now Masumi's eyes roved towards the fourth and final puppet in her dream—the cause of every torture and torment that had been heaped upon her and her friends for the past three days.

"As for you." Her voice suddenly became much more bitter; the temperature of the air around them might have dropped ten whole degrees. "I remember what you taught me more than anything, Dr. Grimm. You taught me the meaning of æmæth—you told me the truth. But it wasn't the truth you were hoping you could teach me. No—this was something you helped me realize a long time ago, before you infected my life like the disease that you are …

She felt her hand reach for her Deck, her fingers alighting millimeters above the topmost card. "That I am the best damned Fusion Duelist that has ever walked through the doors of the Leo Duel School.

"And look at me now!" Masumi shrieked at the Psychic Duelist. "Because tonight, I'm going to show you why!"

Her fingers touched the card, and she closed her eyes—

"It's … "

—she felt her muscles tense, from her shoulder all the way down to her wrist; her fingers twitched expectantly—

" … my … "

—the whole world seemed to stop, stuck between one moment and the next, as if its future hinged on these next few seconds—

"TURN!"

She drew the card with ferocious energy, feeling the shockwave radiate out from around her, disturbing the crushed debris in the alleyway as though by a sudden gust of wind. At the same time, a sudden fiery light, bright as the first rays of dawn, assaulted her eyes—so unexpectedly blinding that she had to shut her eyes for a moment almost as soon as she'd opened them, and so did not immediately see her card.

Masumi waited a few dangerous moments longer before she opened her eyes—she flipped the card in her fingers—

—and felt her heart stop as she saw exactly what that card was.

Her initial reaction was one of hopelessness—she could not use this card right now! Add that to a next-to-useless Spell Card and the two monsters in her hand and on her field, and she had nothing worth playing at all—nothing, at least, that would help her end this Duel in one turn!

She turned to look at Hokuto and Yaiba, feeling that her sudden downcast expression told them all they needed to know—but to her surprise, Hokuto's pleasant smile hadn't faded from his face. He stared back at Masumi, and nodded once.

For some reason, that was enough for Masumi. If her echo of Hokuto was willing to trust her this far, to the bitter end, then so would she.

Then here goes nothing! "I Summon Gem-Knight Alexand in Attack Position!" Masumi cried, watching her silver-armored warrior burst onto the field, its many gems casting multicolored lights all over the alley (Level 4: ATK 1800 » 1100/DEF 1200).

"Then, I'll Release Alexand to activate its effect," she continued, "and Special Summon a Gem-Knight Normal Monster from my Deck! I Special Summon Gem-Knight Crysta in Attack Position!" No sooner had Alexand burst into millions of tiny glowing fragments than those had reformed into an even larger armored knight, its silver plating glinting even more brightly than its predecessor (Level 7: ATK 2450 » 1750/DEF 1950).

"That's what I was waiting for!" cried Hokuto all of a sudden. "Quick-Play Spell: Sacred Burst!"

Masumi whirled around—she'd completely forgotten the Xyz Duelist had Set a card his last turn! Had he been saving it for a time like this?

"When I activate this card," explained Hokuto, "I can banish up to three Sacred Monsters in my Graveyard—then, I can target the same number of cards on the field to negate their effects until the End Phase of the turn!"

Masumi's heart rose so fast that it almost escaped from out of her chest.

"First, I banish my Sacred Omega to target my Continuous Spell: Sacred Belt, and negate its effect!" Hokuto went on. "Then, I banish my Sacred Pleiades to target Rokkaku Fuyu's Stellarknight Sacred Dia to negate its effects!"

The Fusion user felt her heart keep on rising as she watched Fuyu's face scowl at this turn of events; she could use her Gem-Knight Fusion to its fullest extent now, and her Brilliant Fusion as well—but would it be enough against—

"And finally," Hokuto grinned, "I banish my Sacred Ptolemy Messiers 7 to negate the effects … of Cursed Shadow's Snare!"

Dr. Grimm recoiled. "You're doing what?!" she hissed, her emerald eyes wide in horror; but the effect of Hokuto's card was already taking hold on the field. Sacred Dia's armor suddenly looked very dull—its shining luster gone—while the armor on Masumi's two Gem-Knights was now glinting so brightly that she briefly had to cover her eyes. Most noticeable, however, were the effects this had on Dr. Grimm's puppets; Hotene, Shen, and Fuyu each looked as though an earthquake had just happened right under their feet. They were reeling, struggling to keep their balance while the strings that connected them began to vibrate so violently that they looked like they were about to break.

This is my chance! "Now," Masumi said, swiping the card she'd just drawn, "I activate the Continuous Spell: Brilliant Fusion! I can use this card to fuse Gem-Knight monsters in my Deck for a Fusion Summon, but its ATK and DEF both become zero!"

Dr. Grimm's eyes briefly widened, and her hand had tensed, but Masumi knew that that caveat had convinced her—both Duelists knew there wasn't any point wasting her Egrysta's effect on a zero-ATK monster.

She bit back a smirk. Her mistake.

"I fuse my Gem-Knight Lapis with not one—but two copies of Gem-Knight Lazuli from my Deck!" Masumi howled. A sudden shimmering light appeared from her Deck, and three colored beams raced out of it, sucked into the vortex that had appeared behind her while she chanted:

"Blue and green stones of mysterious power, combine your brilliance to bring forth a new dazzling radiance!"

"Fusion Summon! This is my true ace!" she screamed. "Dazzling lady, Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Dia!"

The brilliance of Crysta and Emeral paled in comparison to the monster that had landed between them. Though Masumi's strongest monster had none of that strength to its name at present (Level 10: ATK 3400 » 0/DEF 2000 » 0), the Fusion user knew full well that its true strength had nothing to do with ATK or DEF.

"Gem-Knight Lazuli's effect!" she cried. "When it's sent to the Graveyard by a card effect, I can add a Gem-Knight Normal Monster in my Graveyard to my hand!" For her first Lazuli, she ejected the Sanyx she'd sent there at the start of the Duel; since it was a Gemini monster, it could be treated as a Normal Monster while it was in her hand or Graveyard. Then, for her second, she added the same Lapis she'd sent there with Brilliant Fusion.

"Now, I activate Brilliant Dia's effect!" she cried. "Once per turn, I can send a Gem-Knight monster I control to the Graveyard—and then, I can Special Summon a Gem-Knight monster from my Extra Deck, ignoring its Summoning conditions!"

Dr. Grimm's eyes grew wider, and Masumi could see them contract in sudden fear. "I won't let you!" the Psychic Duelist cried, swiping up a card in her hand. "El Shaddoll Egrysta's effect! Whatever you're planning on Special Summoning, I can negate that Summon, destroy that monster, and send a Shaddoll card from my hand to the—"

She broke off here. Masumi, her heart pounding, waited for the hammer blow to fall.

"What's going on here?!" Dr. Grimm was heard to mutter. "It isn't accepting the card!"

Masumi pulled back, momentarily confused, her strategy forgotten. Another Dueling error?!

Then … "And that would be the effect of my Chaofeng, Dracomet of Phantoms."

Six pairs of eyes—living, dead, and each as shocked as the next one—whirled to face the puppet of Li Shen.

"While Chaofeng remains on the field," he explained, his voice bolder and much more steady than the Fusion user had ever heard it, "my opponent cannot activate the effects of any monsters whose original Ats match those of the Dracomet monsters used to Synchro Summon this monster!"

It felt as though Masumi's heart had inflated, soaring so high into her chest that she felt as though she could float. No way … she thought, disbelief trumping elation. Does that mean he's …

"Chaofeng was Synchro Summoned using a FIRE monster, a WATER monster, a WIND monster … and a DARK monster," Shen said, with a long look at a suddenly horrified Dr. Grimm. "Which means that the vast majority of the monsters on your field—and those in your hand as well, I would wager—are useless to you now."

… He is!

And it seemed that Shen was quite right. As Masumi looked on in wonder, Chaofeng turned round to growl at the Psychic Duelist, who suddenly looked as though she was wishing to be anywhere but here. Flames of many colors spilled from the beast's jaws—red, green, blue, violet most prominent among them—and washed over the field in an instant. When the smoke had cleared, Masumi's heart leapt further still as she saw those same multicolored flames now binding both Egrysta and Wendigo. Hotene had scrabbled off the back the latter, her eyes wide with fear … or was it something else? Her eyes were not on the imprisoned Wendigo, but on Shen himself.

Masumi followed her gaze, and her heart leapt higher still; the glowing strings that connected Shen to Dr. Grimm's overriding will were disintegrating into dust. The features of the Synchro Duelist were softening now; porcelain and ceramic became flesh again, while once-starched clothes flowed and rippled like water once more.

"No." Dr. Grimm had finally found her voice. She was shaking her head, refusing to see what her dead eyes saw—that Li Shen—as swiftly as he'd been subjugated—had actually broken free of her influence.

Yes! Masumi pumped a fist as Shen crossed the distance between them with a single, mighty leap, farther and higher than any he'd performed yet, before finally taking up his former place next to Hokuto. His dark eyes glittered strangely as they gazed at Masumi—but it felt like a good kind of strange to her, as though the Synchro Duelist had just now seen a side of her that even he hadn't been aware about.

"If you know your enemies and know yourself," he said softly, as though half to himself, "you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles." This made Masumi frown; those words sounded familiar to her. Then it hit her; Shen had told her that himself, during their Duel earlier that afternoon!

"If you know yourself, but not the enemy," Shen added, "then for every victory gained, you will suffer a defeat." He turned to Dr. Grimm, and something within that dark stare intensified; it felt as though his eyes were radiating waves of burning heat at the Psychic Duelist. "But if you know neither the enemy nor yourself … then you will be imperiled in every single battle.

"And you," he added, staring down the marionette without even the slightest hint of fear, as Chaofeng swished its ethereal tail above him, "know nothing about Masumi or her friends. You know nothing of the faith she placed in them, that she—we—could end the torture you are responsible for inflicting upon her!"

Chaofeng roared as if to accentuate Shen's defiant words, sending gusts of wind scattering about the alley.

Masumi had no idea what to say; Shen's reversal had been nothing short of a miracle—more unexpected and more satisfying than even what Hokuto and Yaiba had done for her just now. But there was no need to say anything, she soon figured—Shen had turned to look at her, very briefly; his eyes were twinkling in such a way that she knew, without even needing to confirm it for herself, that his loyalty was indisputable, unshakable.

"My Dracomet Leyline is still in play!" the Synchro Duelist now called out. "Since I have four Dracomet monsters with different original Ats in my Graveyard, every monster my opponent controls is now switched to face-up Attack Position—and furthermore, they can no longer Set any monsters while my Leyline remains on the field!"

El Shaddoll Wendigo—the only opposing monster in Defense Position—shuddered within its auric restraints, clearly resisting, but the unrelenting energy soon forced it into an attack stance. Then Masumi remembered that Wendigo only had 200 ATK, and her heart almost burst in elation—not only had Shen sealed off almost every single monster effect Dr. Grimm had at her disposal, but he'd also opened up an opportunity for her that she'd never have again!

The ripples of energy that lapped at her back briefly startled her; she'd completely forgotten she'd been ready to activate Brilliant Dia's effect! But in the brief moment it took for her to look at the waiting vortex, however, her nerves had just as suddenly become hard as steel. She was much more sure of herself, now—she knew that she could do this!

"For my Brilliant Dia's effect," she said, "I send my Gem-Knight Emeral to the Graveyard … and Special Summon my other ace monster—Gem-Knight Master Dia!"

The tornado of light peaked, spitting out a monster that was every bit as dazzling and gigantic as Brilliant Dia (Level 9: ATK 2900/DEF 2500). The broadsword slung over Master Dia's shoulder sparkled with every color imaginable—so blindingly bright that Masumi had to shield her eyes.

"Remember how Master Dia gains 100 ATK for every Gem- monster in my Graveyard, Dr. Grimm?" Masumi asked, a reckless smile plastered on her face. "Let's count them, shall we? Two copies of Lazuli, then an Emeral, an Alexand, a Gemresis, and three different Fusion Monsters—Rubyz, Madeira, and Zirconia!"

She gestured to her Master Dia, letting its point gauge speak for itself; Masumi saw, with immense satisfaction, a look of horror work its way across Dr. Grimm's face as the implications sank in—right as the gauge in question climbed to 3700.

"But I'm not done yet—not even close!" she yelled, slipping Gem-Knight Fusion into her Graveyard. "I activate Brilliant Fusion's effect! Once per turn, I can discard a Spell Card from my hand to return the ATK and DEF of the monster it was used to Summon to their original values, until the end of your next turn!" She indicated the sudden, blazingly bright light that had engulfed her Brilliant Dia, raising its own gauge to its usual, staggering 3400/2000. "And the best part," Masumi went on, "is that I can now use Gem-Knight Fusion's other effect! I'll banish my first Lazuli from my Graveyard, and return it to my hand!"

But just as soon as the card had been spat out of her Graveyard, Masumi had slipped it back in—her reckless smile growing ever wider all the while. "Now I'll activate my Gem-Knight Fusion," she screamed, "and fuse the Gem-Knight Sanyx and Gem-Knight Lapis in my hand for another Fusion Summon!" She slid the monsters in question—the final two cards in her hand—and felt the familiar funnel of energy swirling behind her once again:

"Gem of crimson fire!" she chanted. "Become one with the blue stone, and create a new light!"

"Fusion Summon! One who illuminates the shadows with unyielding resolution! Gem-Knight Zirconia!"

The broad form of her third-strongest monster (or at least, the second copy she'd kept stored in her Deck) now stomped out of the vortex (Level 8: ATK 2900/DEF 2500). It pounded its tire-sized piledriver fists on the pavement in anticipation of the battle to come, while beside it, Master Dia's ATK rose to 3800, thanks to the new additions in Masumi's Graveyard.

Masumi couldn't resist taking a step back to admire her handiwork so far: in almost a single turn, she'd turned one monster into four—and eighteen hundred points' worth of ATK into well over ten thousand. The combined radiance of all four of her strongest armored knights far outshone even the sunniest days of her memory. The freezing chill of this dream world no longer troubled her—she wanted to bask in it for the rest of her life.

However, the feeling of bliss soon left her; Masumi knew there was still work to be done. "Finally, I'll activate my Master Dia's effect!" she cried. "Once per turn, I can banish a Level 7 or lower Gem-Knight Fusion Monster from my Graveyard to have Master Dia gain its effects until the end of the turn!"

But which monster to choose? Masumi thought; the only two choices she really had to hand were either her Rubyz or her Madeira. Rubyz' effect would give Master Dia an even bigger boost in ATK—but there was still Nephilim's effect to contend with; Hokuto had not negated the effect of Dr. Grimm's gigantic ace monster. Madeira's effect, on the other hand, would give Master Dia no trouble bypassing that devastating ability—along with that face-down card Hotene still had on her field—but on the downside, she'd be sacrificing the potential to cause more damage.

She inhaled, exhaled, then inhaled again. Be the best damn Fusion Duelist LDS has ever seen, she reminded herself, glancing at Dr. Grimm and her remaining puppets. Play to your strengths—do what you do best to win!

"I choose to banish … " she finally said, " … my Gem-Knight Rubyz!"

An image of the scarlet knight briefly appeared in front of Master Dia, before being sucked into one of the gems that lined the broadsword it carried. The armored giant now hauled his massive blade from where it had been resting on his shoulder blades, brandishing it in an attack stance with a low growl even as his ATK dropped slightly to 3700.

"Now, I'll activate my Master Dia's inherited effect!" Masumi continued. "Once per turn, I can Release a Gem-Knight monster I control, and have Master Dia gain its ATK until the end of the turn! I choose to Release … my Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Dia!"

Her ace monster vanished in a sudden eruption of scarlet flame. That fire engulfed Master Dia soon afterward, but instead of vanishing inside the inferno, the flames appeared to be vanishing inside the monster's sword. The blade began to glow with a fiery brilliance—giving off enough heat to rival an industrial-size smelter—while its wielder's ATK rose even higher, until it sat at a titanic 7200

"Trap activate: Combination with the Spirit Beast!" shrieked Hotene all of a sudden.

Masumi's heart seemed to sink out of her chest and well into the pavement beneath her feet as the face-down card she'd just fretted over moments ago now revealed itself. She remembered Hotene using it in their previous Duel—and knew there was nothing she could do about it.

"If I control a Spirit Beast monster when I activate this card," the tiny Duelist smirked, while her gigantic Gaiapelio roared as if to draw even more attention to itself, "I can destroy monsters on the field up to the number of Spirit Beast monsters I control!"

Masumi cursed under her breath, while Dr. Grimm looked appraisingly at Hotene. She knew that both of them were thinking the same thing: Hotene had been waiting to activate that card just in case Masumi had the good luck to put together a strong field. In her elation, Masumi knew she had committed an amateur mistake: she'd consolidated too much power into her Master Dia—and now she was going to pay the price.

The Fusion Duelist stared back at her tiny counterpart, feeling her mouth go bone-dry. This was it, she knew; she'd hit a wall that even Hokuto wouldn't be able to help her climb this time around …

"I target and destroy … " Hotene said, her smirk growing even wider—was it a trick of the light, Masumi wondered, or had that red light in Hotene's eyes flickered suddenly—

" … El Shaddoll Nephilim!"

"What?!"

Masumi didn't know who had shouted—only that it sounded like a woman's voice, so either herself or Dr. Grimm. For all she knew, it might even have been both of them; her throat sounded as if she'd just yelled the word at the top of her lungs. Regardless, both Masumi and the Psychic Duelist had whirled upon Nephilim in utter surprise, right as some immensely powerful force detonated from within the equally massive Fusion Monster. Nephilim's torso was blown wide open by the explosion, unraveling the myriads of strings that connected it to the threads in the sky—and then the entire monster, thrown off balance by the force of the impact, began a slow but steady topple backwards.

Hotene stood tall against the fallen Nephilim, all traces of her marionette form slowly withdrawing from her body; she was regaining her humanity—and yet, even before her bright blue eyes and brighter smile had been restored to her, both of them were already shining in a way that rivaled the sheen of Masumi's Gem-Knights.

"Had ya goin' there—didn't I, Masu-chan?" Hotene snickered, winking at her.

Masumi wasn't sure if she wanted to scold the little girl or crush her in the biggest bear hug she could; either way, she was much too happy to especially care. Hotene, too—now fully freed of the poisonous influence of the Psychic Duelist that had defeated her—now skipped to where Masumi stood, between Shen and the echo of Hokuto. Her Gaiapelio followed close behind her, leaping over the group of Duelists in a single bound.

It seemed to take hours before Nephilim finally crashed into the city beneath it, causing tremors for miles around. Every Duelist present, including Masumi and Dr. Grimm, was unseated by the earthshaking THUD—to say nothing of the storm of debris in its wake. How many buildings had been flattened by the impact, Masumi did not know, but the impact of an object that size would surely have been enough to alter the terrain of the immediate area.

Her monsters had taken most of the debris storm, shielding her—leaving Masumi unhurt, if rather shaken. But the wobbly feeling in her legs had soon passed as the full implications of what Hotene had just done sank in—Dr. Grimm's defenses had been broken; her strongest monster, both physically and otherwise, had been destroyed.

The Psychic Duelist seemed to realize this; she was now looking at Hotene with a mixture of confusion and rage. "How?" Dr. Grimm could only say. "I would have given you that power without a second thought! Your mastery of Fusion would have been unparalleled in Academia! How did she tempt you away from me?! What did you do?!"

She howled the four words at Masumi as though hoping they would mortally wound her, but both Fusion Duelists—older and younger—stood firm, weathering the tirade.

"Because she understands something about Dueling that you never could," Masumi replied. It surprised her how calm her voice sounded. "There's nothing wrong with Dueling for recognition or reputation—same goes for prize money or some other kind of power. But the youngest and the best of us"—she gave Hotene a glowing look—"Duel for something much simpler than any of those things … yet it's something far more valuable and precious to them."

"Aw, quit makin' it sound like some big deal, Masu-chan," scoffed Hotene in mock irritation, before breaking out into the biggest grin Masumi had yet seen her wear. "Sometimes a girl just wants to have fun, y'know?"

Her blue eyes met Masumi's own, and a look of silent understanding passed between them. We all need a reason to smile, Masumi remembered her saying earlier that day, feeling a massive smile of her own spreading across her face. She didn't dare try to suppress it.

Because—"Battle Phase!" Masumi screamed, extending a finger at Dr. Grimm. "Gem-Knight Crysta—attack El Shaddoll Wendigo!" The silver-armored knight raced forward with a mighty leap, lashing out with its plated fists—once, twice—and connected both times on the ceramic skin of Wendigo, cracking the puppet down the middle before it disintegrated completely. The force of the explosion knocked Dr. Grimm off her feet just as she'd gotten back up; only the threads connecting her to the heavens above kept her steady as her LP dropped to 7250.

"Next!" shrieked Masumi. "Gem-Knight Zirconia—attack El Shaddoll Egrysta!" The earth shook beneath the armored footfalls of the burly knight. It, too, raised its fists high, soaring into the air with a monumental jump—and both fists connected dead center with Egrysta's chest, cracking the half-melted armor like flatbread, going right through the innards, and coming out the other side. Both halves of Egrysta collapsed to the ground with dual thuds, left and right of their psychic mistress, who was now looking at Masumi with what she could only describe as horror-stricken hatred.

Dr. Grimm's big mistake, ironically enough, had been in the one card that had caused so much destruction in this Duel, Masumi now understood. Her reliance on Shadow of Fusion—while able to bypass the opponent's monsters so that her own creatures could hack away at their Life Points directly—left them on the field where they could still be used—whether to retaliate or to use their own effects where necessary. Dr. Grimm had been Dueling this whole time under the assumption that, having ensnared their controllers' minds, she would be able to use those monsters to her advantage—and she'd been right.

But she hadn't counted on one person.

"Gem-Knight Master Dia!" Masumi screeched, feeling the finality in every word she spoke. "Attack—!"

"No!" Dr. Grimm bellowed. She was breathing heavily—whether from exertion or sheer rage could not be certain—but she was still smiling as though she'd already won. "I'm sorry, Masumi … but I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

Masumi frowned, feeling her heart beat a furious cadence against her ribcage.

"Battle Royale rules," panted the Psychic Duelist. "If there's a monster on the opponents' side of the field, then it must be attacked first before any direct attack on their Life Points." She laughed savagely, though the effect was somewhat mitigated with how loudly she gasped for breath. "Doesn't matter if it's my monster, or someone else's," she smirked. "As long as I've got an ally with a monster to protect me … then my Life Points are safe."

It took Masumi a few moments to realize that she was right: Fuyu still had his Sacred Dia on the field … which meant he would take the damage of the attack instead of Dr. Grimm—who still had a considerable amount of Life Points to her name. Fuyu's, however, would be reduced to zero—and Masumi had no idea what would happen if a Duelist were to lose again in this nightmare of a Duel.

So close, she lamented, and yet so far. It was just like her Duel from last night—only this time, it felt much more demoralizing because she truly, genuinely had felt as though she was about to win tonight.

"So what will you do now, Masumi?" Dr. Grimm taunted her. "There's only one person you can attack now—and even I don't know what will happen to him when you do. In all my time with Academia, I've never battled anyone who lost twice in the same Duel." She smiled. "Are you willing to take that risk, hmm? To condemn your so-called friend—my only remaining ally—to an unknown fate, just so your other friends can finish me off for good?"

The Fusion Duelist's hands were shaking with rage. "Coward," spat Masumi. "You'd hide behind the life of an innocent boy, just to gloat at me for one more turn? You are absolutely—"

"—despicable."

Yet again, six pairs of eyes snapped towards a single figure.

Rokkaku Fuyu had drawn himself to his full height—not much next to Dr. Grimm—but there was a look in his eye that chilled to the marrow; Masumi felt too scared by this to wonder if this meant what she thought it could mean.

"What you're doing is despicable," Fuyu hissed again, his single visible eye burning a hole into Dr. Grimm's face. "Running away to fight another day is one thing—but leaving someone else to do the fighting for you is something else completely."

Dr. Grimm shrank back, mortified. "You would dare—"

"Yes, I would," replied Fuyu, louder than Masumi had ever heard him speak, "because that girl has proven herself a stronger Duelist than you will ever be! For all your monsters—all your Spells and Traps—the only strength I have seen from you has been your constant hiding behind puppets and tricks!

"The greatest mark of a Duelist is not the strength of her monsters," the Xyz Duelist rasped. "It's not even knowing when to use them—well, maybe a little," he amended, with a look at Masumi. "It's how she reacts in the face of all that strength."

"The strength of her spirit," Hokuto murmured from alongside Masumi, and the Fusion Duelist blinked—it had been him, she remembered, who had seen the frail Xyz user through thick and thin … who'd told him to use his physical weakness as an advantage …

Fuyu now reached a jointed arm above his head, and—Dr. Grimm recoiled in shock—physically tore out the strings that infested his scrawny puppet body, in a feat of strength Masumi had never thought possible from the sickly boy.

As Fuyu's body began to smooth out, as his skin began to reassume its normal bone-pale sheen, he continued gazing at Dr. Grimm. "That's how strong of a Duelist I am," he said to the Psychic Duelist. "I may not be half as strong as Hokuto-san … but I'm strong enough to reject you—and everything you stand for."

He stood up. "I'm not your puppet anymore," he said simply.

And he walked over to Masumi without another word, Sacred Dia drifting behind him.

No one dared speak as the Xyz Duelist approached her. Masumi, her heart pounding fit to burst, stared into Fuyu's eye, now its normal electric blue—and he stared back at her. Neither Duelist spoke; neither Duelist needed to.

This time, Fuyu was the one who embraced her, and whispered a brief, but no less heartfelt, " … Thank you," to Masumi, before turning on his heel to stare down Dr. Grimm.

For the longest time, it looked as though the Psychic Duelist had lost the ability to speak outright. Her dead eyes were perfectly round in their sockets; a look of burgeoning terror was beginning to work its way onto Dr. Grimm's porcelain face. Something ugly and corrosive was building up inside her; Masumi could feel the sheer hatred—

And then, she covered her ears instinctively as Dr. Grimm let out a wordless howl of rage. The sound was not at all human—it was the bestial banshee-howl of a demon, one and the same with the realm it commanded. The dream world shook under their feet, louder and more violent than ever before; it felt as though the earth itself was about to crack in two. Yet for all the sheer power and malice behind the shout, a corner of Masumi's mind knew this was nothing more than the impotent tantrum of a child who'd broken her favorite toy—whose last, best hope for things to go her way had just evaporated before her very eyes.

"You … " she snarled. Her eyes were beginning to glow with a devilish light. "You've ruined everything … I'll ruin you! You'll never be able to sleep again before I'm through with you!"

But Masumi had finally heard enough. "Consider this a 'truth of God', Dr. Grimm!" she shrieked, so loudly that her voice cracked. "You're finished! This Duel is OVER!

"Gem-Knight Master Dia!" the Fusion Duelist roared. "End this madness once and for all!"

Masumi's monster raised his scintillating blade high, preparing to strike the final blow—but hers wasn't the only one. The mane of Hotene's Gaiapelio was crackling with flames, multicolored energy was spilling from Shen's Chaofeng, and a mass of light—brighter than any star in the sky—was blossoming inside the mouth of Fuyu's Sacred Dia

"ATTACK DR. GRIMM DIRECTLY!"


As one, all four Duelists bellowed out the command.

As one, all four of their monsters obeyed without hesitation.

The world was lost to sight in the eruption of blinding light, searing fire, and deafening noise that followed. Masumi could hardly move for staying still; the ground was trembling so badly that it was a wonder she was still standing.

Then, just as quickly as it had begun, the chaos settled, and the dust cleared, revealing a sight of utter destruction. The combined attacks of the monsters had gutted the city for dozens of blocks around. Bricks, glass, and asphalt had been pulverized into fine powder, leaving behind hulks of trembling steel that threatened to collapse at any time. The wall of ÆMÆTH had been wiped out completely; its only sign of existence was a smear of color that had once been the many layers of chipped paint, that had borne the word Masumi had hated more than any other—it was gone now, all gone—

In the center of the destruction—amidst a shrill, familiar beeping noise—Gwendolyn Grimm, the Golem of Academia, lay at last, at long, long last … defeated, by Masumi's own hand, her Life Point gauge completely empty.

Zero.


Masumi felt too tired to cheer—even knowing this was a dream. She could do nothing more than slump to the destroyed pavement, breathing as though she'd just run miles. It felt like ages before she finally spoke.

"Hah," she panted. "We did it … we won."

That was all she felt like saying. There would be time later to soak it in—hours and days, perhaps even weeks and months—but for now, all she wanted to do was lie here, amidst the war-torn dreamscape, and never get up again …

"You know you can't stay," a voice said from above her. It took her some time to realize it was Hokuto. "You've got bigger problems than just winning a Duel for your life."

With what felt like the greatest effort she'd ever expended, Masumi opened her eyes.

The shade of the Xyz Duelist was still there—but even as she stared at him, Hokuto's form was fading in and out. Instinctively, she knew there would be no stopping it this time; the Duel was over—there was nothing keeping Hokuto's echo here any longer. Even if that echo had been a part of her all along—the thought of watching him leave to a place where they couldn't follow was torture.

It was this knowledge, perhaps, that finally persuaded her to get to her feet—although she still needed support from Yaiba and the others, who'd crowded around her, propping her up so that she could finally stand.

Masumi stared at the fading Xyz Duelist, swallowing, before speaking the words she knew everyone had on their mind—Fuyu most of all. "I wish you didn't have to go," she said, her voice thick. "I couldn't have done this without you. I don't know if I'll be able to go through this again … if you won't be there with me next time."

The smile that appeared on Hokuto's face was warmer than any summer's day. "Wherever Hokuto is right now," he said, "I don't think he'll need to worry about you at all. If tonight was any indication, I think you'll be just fine."

There was a sudden flash of light, and suddenly his form became more transparent than ever. "But on the off chance we're wrong," he added—his voice much more ethereal than before—"just remember: I'm closer than you think."

He stepped back. "I'll be going now," he said. "Hopefully, so will the rest of you, if you've done the job right." He glanced at the center of the mound of pulverized debris, where Dr. Grimm's body still rested. "I'd rather not have to find myself in this place again."

Masumi—despite her bittersweet feelings at the prospect of Hokuto's aspect leaving—was only too happy to agree.

"Take care of yourselves, now—especially you two," Hokuto was saying, with a look at Masumi and Fuyu. "Otherwise, I might find a way to break out of that card they put me in—and they wouldn't want that … no, they wouldn't … "

As his laughter echoed around the remains of the alley, a second flash of light bloomed around him, much brighter this time—and he was gone. The last traces of his words faded away to nothingness in the stillness of the ruined dreamscape.

Masumi stared at the space where her projection of Hokuto had once stood, then back in the distance to Dr. Grimm. She did not speak for a long time.

Then, quite suddenly, as if following some secret orders, she secured her Duel Disk, and set off into the desolation.

Yaiba and the others hurried after her. "What are you doing?" the Synchro Duelist wanted to know.

"This isn't the end of it." Masumi could still here Hokuto's words in her head. If you've done the job right … "If I don't put a stop to this tonight, then Dr. Grimm will keep on torturing me in my sleep for the rest of my life. She won't stop Dueling me in my dreams until she's turned me into a brain-dead soldier … or a dead-dead Duelist."

She clenched her fists. "This is my dream, Yaiba," she growled, quickening her pace. "I'm ending it on my terms."


Before she knew it, they were approaching the puppet of the woman Masumi had come to hate more than any other.

Dr. Grimm had taken the full force of that direct attack, and it showed. Every last one of the strings that bound her had been severed, and her articulated limbs were splayed at odd angles; if she'd been flesh and blood, the way her neck had been twisted would have almost certainly killed her. Cracks and burns were everywhere on her marionette body, from her porcelain skin to her jointed green hair—even her starched purple clothes. But she was far from dead; behind those superficial injuries, there burned a violet flame that Masumi was quick to recognize.

" … You've won, Masumi. I'll grant you that." The pleasant, affable British accent of Wendy Grimm had melded with the wicked, genderless growl of her alter ego. Ito and the Golem were inseparable now—there was no longer any distinction between the human without and the demon within. "But this is far from over—all you've done here tonight is paint a massive bulls-eye right on top of LDS. Every soldier in Academia will be hunting you down from this time forward."

With great effort, she twisted her neck the right way round, the joints making a horrible popping noise as she did so. "How does it make you feel," sneered the marionette as she began to stand up, "knowing that you've signed the death warrant of an entire dimension?"

Masumi's foot connected with Dr. Grimm's ceramic torso before either of them had realized she'd done it. The puppet tumbled back to the ground, sending clouds of pulverized debris every which way.

"Shut up," Masumi snarled. "I'm not afraid of you anymore. You will never touch me, or my friends, ever again!"

"Masumi," Yaiba said, starting forward, "what—"

But the Fusion Duelist was no longer listening to him. Her free hand had closed around Dr. Grimm's neck, hauling the broken marionette bodily into the air until she was at eye level.

"Now get out of our city, monster," hissed Masumi, making a fist with her other hand—the one wearing her Duel Disk—as she stared into those dead green eyes. "Get out of our world!"

Her fist drew back, ready to connect. "And get the hell out of my head, you bitch!"

The facial tattoos on Dr. Grimm's body suddenly flashed, and Masumi hesitated. She saw, once again, that accursed word, burned into her mind, never to leave her again—

—she remembered a final memory—the story of a man creating a monster—

" … merely speaking this truth …this one single word … was what gave life … "

—no, a servant, she had said, only it had grown too powerful—

" … more powerful, and more in danger of destroying his home and village … "

what had he done, she wondered, how had he saved them

And suddenly she understood.

"MÆTH!"

Before anyone could stop her, Masumi's arm had lunged forward as the shriek left her throat. Her Duel Disk's blade activated once more, slicing through the air—

—and into the eye of Dr. Gwendolyn Grimm.

Masumi heard the Psychic Duelist's scream of agonized fury howling throughout the alley as the puppet's porcelain face cracked from the force of the stabbing blow, deafening her—but still her arm stayed where it was, the blade of her Duel Disk lodged in the crumbling face of the puppet—

Suddenly, several things happened at once. The alley disappeared from Masumi's vision, flung out of her sight and into a room she had seen only twice before in her life, tucked away on the third floor of the Leo Duel School. Dr. Grimm's office-turned-apartment, no longer bathed in the warm light of the sun reflecting off the sparkling sea, was now shrouded in the darkness of the night sky. Its sole tenant, through whose gaze Masumi now saw, was dashing to her feet, breathing heavily—

Then, the scene disappeared as quickly as it had come, dispelled with a flash of light and a massive BANG that threw Masumi backward as if she'd taken a punch from one of her Gem-Knights. The puppet of Dr. Grimm had exploded, porcelain fragments raining down upon the victorious Duelists, suddenly too weary to celebrate their triumph even for an instant. Masumi could only stare through her fading vision as a vaguely human shape of shadowy fire remained in its place, meeting her gaze defiantly—before it, too, was erased from her sight.

In that last moment, before the final blow had connected, Masumi had remembered the story Wendy had told her in their first encounter—of the ancient Golem made by a man using that ancient, life-giving inscription; how when the town came to fear it, the man erased the first part of the word, leaving only "death." Now, the story had repeated itself; the Golem that had haunted her had crumbled into dust; as far as Masumi was concerned, it was finally dead.

A rumbling noise arose from all around them. Without any trace of fear, Masumi and the others knew this was the last time; the world around them all was beginning to crumble and crack. Steel beams crumpled, surviving windows shattered, and the brick walls that had survived that final attack toppled down around them. None of them cared enough to dodge it—it was a dream, after all; with the source of most of the dream's elements no longer inside the dream to maintain it, that dream was now beginning to collapse.

Masumi felt a slow smile form across her face as she came to understand this, even as she felt the rubble crush her body. Even in her last few moments of consciousness, though, the pain did not trouble her—it was little more than a persistent knock on the door, disturbing her from a well-deserved rest.

Then, almost without her knowledge, that vague sense of pain had left her, and Masumi knew instinctively that everyone was back where she belonged, in a place that she knew to be real.


A/N: Towards the last few hundred words of this chapter, I suddenly realized I only started this story six months ago. It boggles my mind that I've churned out so much material in such a comparatively short time.

Still … writing this Duel was physically exhausting. There's little more I can say beyond that—only that I'm glad it's finally done, and that I hope I've learned my lesson: the next time I want to plan a six-against-one Battle Royale on my own, be prepared to do a hell of a lot of editing.

There'll be one more chapter to wrap things up, and this will finally be complete. Thanks for reading! - K