Doctor (stuck in Tabitha's throne room, adjusting his sonic screwdriver): Blasted thing, it just had to run out of batteries yet again! How in the world am I going to get in the TARDIS now? (looks up) Oh hey there! I've been wondering, where are those two anyway? Do you happen to know when they'll come to my rescue?

Footmarks were left on the burnt earth that used to be hot streaming lava. The stones and ground had small ice bits grow on them and on the ceiling above there were ice picks forming. In that underground polar desert the two former chosen duelists wandered, trying desperately to resist the cold. Subaru had it harder since he was wearing a short sleeved shirt, so he was rubbing both his arms in order to keep them warm. The more he breathed out air, the thicker the steams were getting. The samurai noticed that and took off his jacket, offering it to his companion.

"Here, this should warm you a little." he suggested.

"But what about you?" a concerned Subaru replied.

"I'll survive."

Nodding, the black haired duelist accepted the gift and put the jacket on him. Then his mouth betrayed a small yawn which he quickly covered.

"He's getting more tired. We'll have to find a place to rest soon." the samurai thought.

At Tabitha's castle, the witch and Leona were both sitting in front of its main entrance that lied at the end of a long stairway. Giggling, the two were discussing about the traps that were set to greet the heroic duo.

"That's such a dick move even for you." Leona commented.

"I have always been famous for my wickedness." Tabitha replied with pride.

"One thing's for certain. Those two gaylos will get lots of scratches!"

"Only scratches?"

"You're right. Those will be the least of their worries."

"Indeed they will. I always knew that making people suffer was the funniest thing in this world. But now I am taking it to a whole new level, Leona dear."

"And I'm happy to help. After all, this is so much fun."

"Toying with mortals is a great sport for witches like me. And rarely do I see humans who are as ambitious about this as you. I've been thinking, you could make a fine witch."

"Thanks for the compliment, but I'll pass for now, Tabitha-sama. Also, how's it going with the Doctor?"

"He's a pretty tough shell to crack, but I do believe that I'm slowly beginning to gain his trust. It's only a matter of time until I'll make him fall for me. And then the power to travel through time will be mine!"

"You mean with that blue box thing? And what will you do with it?"

"Imagine the endless possibilities, Leona. With that 'blue box thing' I will go back in time, erase all of my failures, make sure that all of my plans had come to success, and then the reign of the Queen of Evil upon this forsaken planet of inferior beings will be eternal! Hahaha!"

"Or you could just go to the future and conquer stuff there?"

"Hm, not a bad idea, but first I want to make sure that certain things are dealt with once and for all. It's more of a pride thing."

"I understand. So what am I supposed to do?"

"I wish for you to greet those two in your own way and send them into my trap."

"Your trap? What are you talking about?"

"You'll see." Tabitha replied with a grin and jumped into the pit beneath them.

"She's actually going to…" Leona gasped as she looked down to where her master went. "This should be interesting."

Meanwhile at our heroes, they were wandering down the darkened freezing corridors of the volcano; the moon's light from the crater that was vaguely reflected by the castle above being their only guide. In order to keep Subaru awake, the samurai chose to strike up a conversation with him.

"So what else has been going on here?" he asked.

"Oh nothing much, we fought an armored freak, an assassin that called himself The Monk and we also brought down both Tigra and THEM." Subaru explained in a nutshell the events of the past year.

"I remember people from the grand prix arena talking about how people shouldn't screw with THEM since they were really influential guys and stuff like that."

"Yes, but it was partially Tigra's mistake for kidnapping us chosen duelists. That ultimately led to a search crew that found her hideout and freed us. After that you can guess what happened."

"Yeah, I guess so. By the way, he told you about me, right?"

"You mean that red samurai that killed Tigra?" Subaru replied, knowing full well who the 'he' that his friend referred to was. "Yes, he did tell me, and he said that you introduced yourself as a friend. And what a friend you turned out to be…"

"Hey, I had my ups and downs!" the samurai defended himself.

"Don't worry, we all do." the black haired assured him and for a few moments silence fell between them. "How was Koji?"

"What?!" the red haired burst out surprised.

"I never had the chance to meet him because you know what happened. And you said that he was a very good friend to you. I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of person he was. Of course, if it won't hurt you."

"Nah, it's no sweat off my case. I've gotten used to it."

The samurai stopped by a frozen wall where he laid his back against it, then he pulled off his mask and sighed, his face saddened by the memory of his friend's death. In his mind Subaru began to blame himself for what he had done.

"Koji was…" Rad opened his mouth and stopped a bit to reflect. "… the reason I didn't off myself."

"What?!" Subaru exclaimed, surprised that someone as energetic and full of life as Rad was would even think of committing suicide.

"It's true. When you're stranded in a foreign place where you don't know the language or anybody, you don't really have the craze to live life, now do you?"

"I guess so?"

"Besides, those trainers from the Genji camp were so damn harsh. They saw me as weak and inexperienced, so they pushed me even harder and almost reached the extreme of downright bullying me. Koji saw that and he tried his best to support me. He was always there for me, always patting my back and reminding me of how awesome I was when even I stopped believing that." Rad's voice morphed into a sorrowful moan and his facial muscles began to tremble, that being the first time that Subaru had ever seen him that emotional. "That life was hell! I was far from home, I didn't remember my friends and all I existed for was to train and battle the Heike. Trust me; I was this close of slitting my fucking wrists!"

"What happened then?" a highly interested Subaru asked.

"Koji walked in my room just in time. He knew what happened. I had failed miserably at that day's exercises, so I had been punished by the head of the trainers severely. I was beaten, humiliated, laughed at, thrown in the mud and told what a worthless piece of shit I was. And I came to believe it. I don't remember exactly how, but Koji did it. He talked me out of it. All I know was that his eyes were so caring… almost like those of a big brother. Hell, we were of the same age!"

"So he truly valued you."

"Yes, yes he did. He and the master found me, a total stranger. They could've easily abandoned me or given me to the authorities. But no, they sheltered me, they fed me, they taught me their language, they made me feel like home."

"Rad…"

"But apart from that, Koji was a pretty chill guy. He came from a modest family that had Genji sympathies, he was promised a hot girl to marry, he was taught martial arts from a young age, he had become a duelist around the same age and that was also when the master contacted him. He had it pretty good."

"So he was an accomplished dude."

"Yeah, not too shabby for his age… But deep inside, he was a little sad. I know, I know, how could a guy like him be sad out of all people? From our chats I found out that he loved dueling more than anything and what he truly wished was to join one of those underground dueling temples and become a strong duelist just like me. But that was not the case, for his family would not allow him to fully dedicate his time to a 'silly game'. His future had been decided ever since he was born. That's why he wanted to run away along with me and go on an adventure all around those islands. That was his dream."

"Wait a minute, wasn't he already at that temple with you and the master?"

"Yes, but he was not a permanent member. He could not live there because of his family. He was barely allowed one hour to visit us. In order to both keep in touch with me and have me earn the old man some money, he suggested that I joined the Genji, which I did unfortunately."

"I just don't get one thing. Why were you wishing so much to kill Tabitha and avenge your fallen clan if you were unhappy with the Genji?"

"At first I think it was because I felt mercy for all those slaughtered people. But later I realized that what motivated me was Koji's death. Sometimes I still see him… stabbed by those arrows… and she's there in the background… laughing and drinking that wine of hers. I just couldn't stand it anymore! I wanted some darned justice to be served!" Rad's fist trembled and his voice began to growl. "It's just not fair! Why must the kind nice guys always die and the assholes live?!"

"Sometimes life's just that unfair, Rad!" Subaru hugged him by surprise. "I know I've said it before, but I'm really sorry for what you've went through! Nobody deserves that sort of fate, not even you!"

Somehow the former chosen fire duelist expected that reaction from Subaru. He was always so caring and supporting, just like Koji. But if that was the case, then why did he still feel different from when that young samurai hugged him back then? Both Subaru and Koji were his close friends, or were they? Koji always admired Rad for his strong deck and dueling skills and sometimes he even expressed wishes of becoming like him. But Subaru… he only admired Rad for his hotheaded attitude and leadership skills. What's more, the racer never really liked being a samurai like Koji was, but boy did he love to see Subaru go on an intellectual chat. That mind of his always fascinated him and the fact that the boy had long black hair helped too. And when it came to dueling, Subaru would always impress him with his skills of dominating the Darkness civilization and getting control. Rad had to admit it, even when he lost to Subaru; he still admired how well the former chosen darkness duelist would stall for time until his finisher would arrive, no matter how annoying it was. Brilliant mind, good looks, strong duelist, why did he seem so perfect? Right then that was not important, what mattered was that they were there together. Rad responded with a late hug and closed his eyes, that moment of peace being what he needed to clear his mind. And yet, no tears fell, just a simple sniff. Those tough days as a samurai taught him to hold back those salty liquids of the eye.

Later the two found themselves reaching a lightened blue cavern. Once again there was a wall blocking their path with a button a little above them. Subaru carefully pressed it and had the wall raise itself to reveal the path they had to follow, but then a whip made of magic fire came out of the wall behind them. The samurai's immediate reaction was a jump on Subaru to avoid it, the two falling into the passageway.

"Are you out of your mind?!" an angered Subaru spoke as he tried getting up.

"Look out!" the samurai pulled him out of the way of a crate that was descending from above and would have crushed his skull.

"That was close… I owe you one."

"Don't mention it, egghead."

Once the crate went back up, the two advanced further in the strange corridor. This time Subaru pulled the samurai back as he was about to fall into a small unnoticeable pit that was filled with spikes.

"Now you don't owe me anymore." the samurai joked.

"Be careful, you dolt!" the worried darkness duelist spat at him.

"Ah, don't worry, it's not like we're in some huge danger."

"Um, we're approaching Tabitha's lair and the temperature is under zero degrees. How is that not danger?"

"Meh, you're over thinking it, let's just get a move on."

After more walking the two reached something that was strange even for them. From two small platforms on the ground there were two spiky metal balls that would occasionally be ejected into the air and fall back. Then there were two pillars, each with two spiky metal balls that were spinning around them.

"So how are we going to get past this?" the samurai impatiently asked.

"Just a second…" Subaru rubbed his chin, thinking of a plan. "Those balls are thrown in the air every four seconds. And the other ones are circulating the pillars in about two seconds. I just need to get the timing right…"

In the moment when the ejected balls landed back on their platforms, Subaru jumped above one of them and ended up between the two. The balls were ejected once again in the air and when they landed, he jumped above the second one and landed in front of the pillars. Not wasting any time, he immediately crossed one of them by the left while the balls were on the right side. Then he crossed the other by the right while the balls were on the left side. Those were the tensest six seconds of his life, but they were worth it.

Looking ahead, he saw that yet another circular slide awaited them. But this time he could see that at its basis there was a large pit filled with spikes. Unfortunately, he did not have time to think, for as the samurai was crossing the last pillar, the spiked balls hit him and he fell on Subaru, pushing him ahead and the two falling down the slide. Fortunately, the slide's end was yet again curved and it launched them above the spiky pit, the two landing on a small portion of rocky ground.

"This is getting old…" the frustrated Subaru complained.

"Ouch, my back…" the samurai moaned as he got up, his partner soon following.

Subaru looked around and he saw that behind them was the spike pit and ahead of them there were a small lava river, two platforms and a high wall. Then it struck him, that lava was not turned into burnt ground. That meant only one thing – they were approaching the volcano's core and most certainly were even farther away from the castle.

Swearing in his mind, the darkness duelist jumped above the lava river and landed on the frozen ground with ease, the samurai doing the same. Afterwards the two got up the two platforms and finally on the wall, climbing it with difficulty. Once they reached the top, the biggest surprise greeted them.

In front of them there was a long bridge that led to a long set of stairs that were going straight up. Underneath them there was a pool of still burning lava with a few frozen platforms floating above it. The two heroes walked across the bridge and climbed the stairs. Even though there were no more traps, the climb still felt as a long one. In those few minutes, the samurai could see his entire life in Feudal Japan right before his eyes. Longing, pain, regrets, wrath, vengeance, but also a few happy moments spent with his one friend. As for Subaru, he remembered his first encounter with the Doctor, how they built the Miramisu deck together, how Luna betrayed them, harming Edo and Tsugumi in the process, how he helped Rad return to his normal self and their adventure from the mushroom valley all the way to the now frozen volcano. They had both been through so much and yet Subaru could not shake the feeling that the hardest battle was not yet fought. Something big was going to happen, he could feel it.

"Look, it's the castle!" the samurai woke him up from his dream and pointed ahead of them.

"At last..." Subaru whispered and then he spoke to his friend. "Let's get up there quick!"

"Right behind you!"

The two rushed up the stairs but as they approached the mighty crystal palace, they slowed down, for there was some shining blue object lying at the very end of the stairs. As they approached it, the familiar face of Leona popped up from behind what was a frozen boulder.

"I'm back, bitches!" Leona announced them.

"Oh no, not you again…" Subaru sighed.

"Just what the hell do you want now?" an annoyed samurai added.

"I just wanted to tell you a secret." the girl replied.

"A secret?" the black haired boy asked.

"What secret?" the red haired one added.

"See you next fall!" the Lioness exclaimed and punched the giant object in front of her with all the strength from her right fist.

Suddenly the boulder began to move and before they realized, it fell down the stairs. Subaru and the samurai quickly turned around and rushed down, chased by the imposing frozen rock, Leona laughing her lungs out at the two. When they reached the bridge and ran on it, the boulder fell through it and made it collapse, making the two follow it in its journey to the core of the volcano.

Doctor (a disturbed expression on his face): Ouch, that must've hurt! Oh well, let's hope they'll be able to survive Tabitha's trap. (resumes his work on the sonic screwdriver) Come on already, work!

[In the next chapter]:

Our heroes land right where Tabitha was waiting for them. This is it – the long awaited showdown is about to take place! Can they defeat the evil witch or will they meet their doom at the volcano's core?