Koros45 doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, or Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's

Chapter Twenty Seven: Dragon's Rage! Strike, Decisive Attack!

Atop the Dragon Mountain, Jack grimaced. It wasn't due to the frigged air at that high altitude either. Just one turn earlier, Red Demon's Dragon had proudly been at his side, powered up with a respectable 3300 attack points. Yet one Crush Card Virus later, and Jack had to recall his best servant while the virus in question wrecked havoc on his entire main deck. Now his deck had been vetted of all his strong monsters. Hardly a power deck at all in the given situation. Jack had three set cards, as well as his face-up Compulsory Recoil Device, but at the moment they were all moot considering what Jack was facing.

Kaibaman had managed to summon a third copy of his most iconic monster – the Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Jack looked at the score and was at least grateful that Kaibaman's life points were more than halfway gone. Jack was ahead, but that could change at any given moment. Currently Kaibaman didn't have any cards in his hand, while Jack held one – the trap card Synchro Sonic.

Kaibaman: 1850, Jack Atlus: 2700

Jack drew a card, and once again was disappointed by a second bad draw in a row.

"I'll pass!" Jack said, with two cards in his had.

Kaibaman drew a card. "You think you can escape my Blue-Eyes head on? Not even a weak monster to hide behind?! I'll show you the error of your ways! Burst Stream of Destruction!"

The azure beam exploded from the third Blue-Eyes' maw and fired directly at Jack

". . . As if I'd let such a thing reach me! I activate Revival Gift!" Jack declared as the wave of blue-white light rapidly approached him. "I can bring back a tuner monster from my graveyard, and by doing so I give you two revival tokens in defense mode. Now reappear, Dark Resonator!"

Jack stuck out one of his hands and his chosen tuner appeared before him with a chuckle in defense mode, blocking the Burst Stream as it appeared (3/1300/600).

Meanwhile, two jet black lizards with big googly eyes appeared on Kaibaman's field in defense mode. (3/1500/1500).

Kaibaman grinned. "All that just to bring back your Dark Resonator, huh? Since I can't destroy it in battle once, I suppose it was a good move. Well in that case I'll set this and end my turn."

Jack said nothing as he drew for his latest turn. He looked to the card he'd drawn – Top Runner. Another bad draw. It was useless in this situation. But then . . . Jack looked to one of his set cards. Maybe it wouldn't be so useless after all. He looked up to Kaibaman, still stoically standing on the summit of the mountain, and yelled to his opponent.

"I am Jack Atlus! I'll believe in my deck and my chances to win, even with your virus trickery! For now I'll just set a monster face-down, then I'll end my turn."

A set monster appeared next to Jack's defense position Dark Resonator, but it was a meager defense compared to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and the two tokens that faced it.

". . . Then I draw." Kaibaman said. He pulled the card off the top of his deck and stopped for a moment, the end of his lip curling up into a smirk. Then he took the card and immediately played it.

"With this card, I'll make this duel even more in my favor! I activate Card of Demise! This lets me draw until I'm holding five cards! But in exchange I must throw out my entire hand after five of my turns have passed. Too bad your won't be around long enough to see that!" Kaibaman said as he drew an entirely new hand.

"Then I'll activate the spell card, Soul Absorption! This gives me five hundred new life points each time a card is removed from play!" Kaibaman said as he activated the continuous spell card.

"But that hardly matters, because I'm going to end this duel right now!" Kaibaman declared, grabbing a card from his hand and holding it to the sky.

"I banish my first Blue-Eyes White Dragon and my Blood Vorse from my graveyard to call forth my Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End!"

Images of the Blood Vorse and Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared briefly before they vanished into nothingness. Kaibaman's Soul Absorption card activated, and Jack was frustrated as his foe re-gained one thousand life points due to the banished monsters (1850 → 2850).

Then from a miniature black hole, an intimidating dragon descended onto Kaibaman's field next to the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. It was teal in color, covered in golden armor and stood on two strong legs while a long tail wound behind it. From an orange-maned head off of a strong but slender neck, the dragon let out a shriek that caused Jack to shudder (8/3000/2500).

". . . Chaos Emperor Dragon. . . One of the legendary Chaos Monsters." Jack said, stunned at the sight of the infamous card.

"Yes! As this deck is a reflection of Seto Kaiba's, naturally it would have all it's best cards! And Chaos Emperor Dragon's unique special ability is one of the strongest ever! It lets me destroy the entire field as well as both of our hands. And for each card destroyed, you'll take three hundred points of damage!"

Jack growled in contempt of such a brutal effect. "Such a ridiculous effect won't stop me! I activate my trap! Demon's Chain!"

Jack's next trap card sprung up, a long chain that wrapped around the chest of Chaos Emperor Dragon. The dragon roared in surprise as it hardly even got a chance to move as Jack's trap immobilized it.

"This chain stops your dragon from using it's effect or attacking!" Jack explained. "You'll have to try harder than that!"

Kaibaman glanced at the three cards in his hand, his mouth in a frown.

"In that case, I'll put both Revival Gift tokens into attack mode, and then I'll go right to the battle phase! I'll use the tokens to destroy that Dark Resonator!"

Dark Resonator let out a cry as the two attacking tokens rammed into it, causing the Resonator to shatter into pieces when the second attack went through.

"And now Blue-Eyes will decimate your hidden monster! Burst Stream of Destruction!" Kaibaman commanded as he proudly pointed at his dragon's target.

The stream of power shattered Jack's set Top Runner, which he then sent to the graveyard.

"And with that, your field is once again without any monsters. Even without Chaos Emperor Dragon's attack or effect, your situation is still next to hopeless." Kaibaman stated.

"Then I'll just have to reverse the situation once again!" Jack retorted.

"At this moment I activate the trap card Tuner's Reflect!" Jack said. "On the turn you destroy two or more of my tuner monsters by battle or card effect, I can bring two of them back, then you take damage equal to their combined attack points! A total of twenty four hundred points of damage!"

With a cackle, Dark Resonator burst from the graveyard (3/1300/300), surrounded by a fading dark miasma.

Next to it, Top Runner – a pearl white robot designed for long distance racing appeared, crossing it's arms in an x. It was glowing in a green aura (4/1100/800).

"Now take their combined anger upon your form!" Jack yelled.

The two auras from each of the revived tuners shot into the air, and spiraled down into a ray of light. It rammed into Kaibaman as a bolt of lightning, causing the masked man to cry out (2850 – 2400 = 450).

"Impressive." Kaibaman said as he bent over and clutched his chest. He had to take a moment before he stood up fully. "That was almost fatal. It would have been had I not played Soul Absorption earlier. To think you had a card to bring you back from the brink of defeat like that. . . . your deck is full of surprises." Kaibaman trailed off and looked to his hand, now consisting of three cards.

Jack responded with humor. "As a duelist, my goal is both the entertainment of the crowd and my opponent! It would be boring if all I did was use the same exact cards you see in every second rate duelist's deck!"

Kaibaman laughed at this, but continued to speak. "Regardless! I still have cards to use in this hand!"

He played a spell card with a hand's outstretched palm depicted on the card's art.

"This spell card is called Silent Doom! It lets me bring back a normal monster from my graveyard, but I must place it in defense mode! So I'll resurrect my second Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Jack tensed as the second of Kaiba's signature dragons appeared next to the other Blue-Eyes, both dragons plus Chaos Emperor Dragon made the two tokens still on Kaibaman's field seem almost like an afterthought if anything else (8/3000/2500).

"Your move." Kaibaman said with a smirk, still holding onto two of his cards.

Jack drew a card despite the tremendous advantage that Kaibaman had. He didn't know what to expect when he turned over his latest card. Then it was his turn to laugh hysterically, eyes wide.

"Kaibaman! You sought to degrade Red Demons' with simultaneous attacks from your Blue-Eyes, then tried to take control of it, and even tried to infect it with a virus when that didn't work! Well now you'll experience the pent up fury of my Red Demon's Dragon for yourself after so many transgressions!"

Kaibaman said nothing as Jack played his next card.

"I summon Vice Berserker!"

Next to Jack, a thin fiend appeared, wearing a royal looking helmet and round leather armor on it's shoulders, forearms, legs, wings, and pelvis. It's skin was blue in color and it sported a wicked grin (4/1000/1000).

"Vice Berserker? A level four monster. . . . So you'll summon Red Demon's Dragon, the only strong card that escaped Crush Card Virus? . . " Kaibaman wondered aloud.

Jack readied his signature Synchro monster card, confirming his opponent's suspicions.

"Of course! Now witness as my dragon is summoned to the field a third time!" Jack stated.

"Vice Berserker is tuned by Top Runner! Now witness my very soul's presence once again!" Jack yelled.

Kaibaman chuckled. "Please. Even if you summon it again, it will have three thousand attack points - impressive against any other opponent - but against me, who currently commands three monsters with those same attack points, that's not going to turn the duel around for you."

"Three thousand attack points? No, I'll surpass that number once again." Jack boasted.

"From the abyss of hell, this dragon shall appear and bring me victory! Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Demon's Dragon!"

From the resounding flash of the Synchro summon, Red Demon's Dragon stood behind Jack, looking down proudly at it's master (8/3000/2000).

"Now against any other duelist, your Crush Card would have completely crippled them, but fortunately for me, Red Demon's Dragon was spared from your virus as it is a creature who inhabits my extra deck!" Jack explained, before he continued to speak.

"You may have been correct about my loss of power – Red Demon's true evolved form has been taken from me at the time being. The power I once believed was my birthright is gone as well. And you've literally sealed away my Assault Mode version of Red Demon's with your virus."

"Why does that matter?" Kaibaman asked.

Jack loudly answered. "Simple! The monster I Synchro summon by using Vice Berserker as Synchro material gains attack power! I take two thousand points of damage from Vice Berserker's effect, then Red Demon's Dragon gains that damage as attack points! If I can't evolve Red Demon's any more, I'll just empower it with my very own life force! Red Demon's dragon is my very soul, and I'd give anything to protect or empower it without regret!"

As Jack spoke, he was engulfed in a red aura, roaring as his life points were all but burned away (2700 → 700).

"If my burning soul has been put to sleep, then I'll just have to burn what remains to make up for it! Now accept all my pride, Red Demon's!"

Red Demon's Dragon let out an even larger roar as it's body was engulfed in the same red aura as Jack. Its threw back it's head, arms, and back as the aura surrounding it seemed to burn like flames (3000 → 5000).

"Five Thousand attack points?!" Kaibaman blurted out in shock.

"Of course, this comes at more than one cost." Jack explained. "The monster that I summon like this can only attack monsters you control that are in attack mode. But that's not a concern since it's target at the moment is in attack mode! Now my resolute soul! Strike down the third Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Absolute Power Force!"

Red Demon's attack was mighty, a massive burning arm that's heat could be felt by those watching the struggle. Yet the attack halted just before it made contact with the third Blue-Eyes, striking an invisible barrier and sending shock waves through the area.

"Quick Play Spell, Command Silencer!" Kaibaman declared, waving an arm as his card revealed itself. "This cancels both your attack and then I'll draw a card!" Kaibaman explained.

Jack frowned. "I end my turn, and since my Dark Resonator did not attack, Red Demon's double edged effect will now destroy it." Dark Resonator vanished in a blast of fire, leaving Red Demon's alone.

Kaibaman looked to Red Demon's Dragon and for the first time it seemed like it was a genuine smile rather than a smirk on his face. "I'm supposed to be the one who tests lost souls, but now it seems I'm the one being tested."

He drew a new card, now giving him four, and spoke. "But that doesn't mean that your test is over yet, Jack Atlus."

"First I'll activate my Wingbeat of Giant Dragon!" Kaibaman stated.

The Blue-Eyes that Kaibaman had revived earlier flapped it's wings, disappearing from the field as a powerful gust blew through the field, shattering both men's spell and trap cards as both of their coattails flapped violently in the wind.

Kaibaman added the card to his hand and grinned. "And now I'll sacrifice both of those tokens to re-summon Blue-Eyes!"

Both of the Revival Gift Tokens let out a wail as they disappeared from the field, replaced by the second Blue-Eyes (8/3000/2500).

"And now that your Demons' Chain is gone, it can attack once again!"

The three dragons all snarled at Jack.

"However, I'll put Chaos Emperor Dragon into defense mode, then I'll set my remaining cards!"

Three set cards appeared on Kaibaman's field, giving Jack a bad feeling.

Jack drew a card and stopped as he drew Chain Resonator. The tuner greeted him with a grin on it's card art.

"With this card, I could use it's effect and special summon Clock Resonator, then double tune for Scar-Red Nova Dragon. But since it's been taken from me, I'll have to finish it with Red Demon's-"

Jack proceeded without hesitation. "We battle! Crimson Hell Flare!"

Red Demon's Dragon threw back it's head and neck while it began to build up a ball of magma in the back of it's mouth.

"Hold on!" Kaibaman shouted. "I'll use my trap card, Return from the Different Dimension! I pay half of my own life-points to bring back my banished Blue-Eyes, and Blood Vorse! You'd pay your own life on your very soul, and I'd do the same thing for my pride! Return to battle! Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Blood Vorse!"

Kaibaman groaned as his life points fell rapidly (450/2 → 225) as the first Blue Eyes fell from the dimensional warp and landed next to the other two (8/3000/2000). Blood Vorse was next to appear, crouching in defense mode on the far side of Kaibaman's field (4/1900/1200).

The three Blue-Eyes White Dragons roared in unison at Jack. It was an impressive sight to behold, but Jack's own dragon didn't even flinch at the newest arrivals.

"So you used your Wingbeat of Giant Dragon in order to move Blue-Eyes and sacrifice your tokens to clear up enough space for your current field!? Well congratulations for gathering all of them on your field and in your hand, but it's moot! Red Demon's, continue attacking! Crimson Hell Flare!" Jack urged as he drew an arm back for emphasis.

Red Demon's threw it's horned head forward, sending a stream of burning flames careening at the Blue-Eyes in the center of Kaibaman's field.

"Too bad I have a second trap card, Magical Trick Mirror! This lets me copy the effect of a spell in your graveyard! So naturally I'll use your discarded Polymerization!" Kaibaman grinned wildly as his trap card sprang up.

Jack was stunned as the assembly of mirrors on the trap card reflected the card he'd let go of to protect Red Demon's earlier. And now it was being used to create the stuff of legend itself, even as the vortex nullified the flames from Jack's attack.

"When three Blue-Eyes fuse into one, they create power incarnate! Now I fusion summon the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"Kaibaman yelled.

All three of the Blue-Eyes took to the air and shone with a bright light as they all flew into the Polymerization's vortex far above the field. The creature that emerged from the warp was huge, twice as tall as the powered up Red Demon's Dragon. It's three heads were impossible to miss, each with an edged row of scales that protected the top of each head, almost resembling a crown. The almost mandible like spikes on the side of the head had returned on all three heads. It had long, plated necks, and just like the dragons it was made up of, it had two colossal wings, a pair of thin arms that were bent forward, and two massive legs. The three headed Blue-Eyes announced itself with a thunderous roar (10/4500/3800).

Jack was beyond impressed. "Using my own copy of Polymerization from the graveyard like that!? You're tenacious no doubt, but Red Demon's is still stronger in a battle and your dragon is still in attack mode! Now attack Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"

Kaibaman scoffed. "You fool! Now I'll use my third trap card! Attack Guidance Armor! You may only be able to target my attack mode monsters for attacks, but with this card, I can now redirect it's attack to Blood Vorse!"

As Kaibaman spoke, a suit of demonic armor formed around the man beast in question.

"Now miss with your attack and regret your blunder!" Kaibaman said.

Red Demon's roared, the flames it it's maw stopping as it instead raised a clawed hand.

"Then show him his own blunder, Red Demons!" Jack cried out.

Red Demon's Dragon slammed it's fist into the ground in response, and then a massive fireball fell from above where the dragon was hovering. The meteor crashed onto Kaibaman's field, spreading to both Blood Vorse and Chaos Emperor Dragon. The cards shattered one by one, and Kaibaman was stunned as both cards with destroyed.

Kaibaman was surprised as he sent both cards to his graveyard. "But how did you-"

"-Red Demon's Dragon's monster effect – Demon Meteor! When this card attacks a defense position monster you control, it destroys every defense position monster you control! And since Red Demon's used it's effect to destroy that Blood Vorse-" Jack explained.

"-Then you wiped out Chaos Emperor Dragon as well-!" Kaibaman said with a grimace.

The flames in Red Demon's fists died down as Jack ended his battle phase to set one card from his hand. The sound of the card being set reverberated throughout the field.

"Turn end." Jack said.

Kaibaman drew a card and chuckled. "Jack, you've proven yourself worthy enough to stay on this summit, I've never lost Chaos Emperor Dragon like that before, but my deck tells me this duel will end on this turn."

He raised the card and played it on his duel disk. "I'll equip my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon with the equip spell - Megamorph!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon let out a roar, necks rising upwards as it's attack points were doubled from an already impressive forty five hundred to twice that value. Three mouths each crackling with ionic energy as each head began twitching from the strain of the power increase. (4500 x 2 → 9000).

"Megamorph will double my dragon's attack points, as my life-points are currently lower than yours! You may use a power deck, but against the Ultimate Dragon, even your Red Demon's Dragon pales in comparison!"

"Now, Ultimate Dragon, attack and wipe both Red Demon's Dragon and Jack out in one final blast! Ultimate Burst!"

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon gathered up power in all three of it's mouths, creating even more white static in each as the air seemed to be ionized just by it's charging of it's attack. Each head shot forward and three burst streams melded together into a colossal beam that shot straight at Red Demon's Dragon, turning the entire space around them the color of the blast.

Jack yelled despite the approaching attack.

"I still have my pride as a Synchro user! Now counterattack, Red Demon's!" Jack commanded, despite his dragon's lower attack points. "Absolute Power Force!"

Once again, Red Demon's Dragon let the attack fly, the burning fist extending to be engulfed in the triple burst stream. Even as the blast seared Red Demon's skin, the red and black dragon flew towards the source of the stream of power that dwarfed it. Red Demon's Dragon kept it's fist extended outwards, flying into the light of Ultimate Dragon's attack, it's silhouette engulfed in the radiance.

Jack paused as Red Demon's skin had become charred and mottled, worn by taking the Ultimate Burst attack head on. It's ram horns had begun to crack, and it's wings were singed and beginning to tear apart.

The blazing fist of Absolute Powerforce clashed with the continuously firing beam, the contrasting orange and blue lights flashing as the attacks slammed into one another.

Both the duelists, and those spectating the duel were blinded as the energies clashed. Seto and Kisara had to shield their eyes as the shock waves created by the power struggle and the combined brightness were almost enough to knock them over. Then, as quickly as the struggle had begun, it was over.

Red Demon's stood still, as a statue would. It's arm remained extended but unmoving, as the right and left heads of Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon remained open, pointing at the enemy dragon despite having no more energy left to fire. The air smelled of ionized oxygen and smoke from the clashing attacks.

The middle head of Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon however, made eye contact with Red Demon's, the middle head's jaw open in what suggested shock. From the other side of the fusion monster, a bulky red and black arm protruded from a freshly created hole in Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon's back.

Kaibaman stood still, teeth bared in a grimace of disbelief as he watched his ultimate monster vanish. His life points falling soon after with a definite beep (225 → 0).

"How did you do it?" The duel spirit asked, looking to Jack for an answer.

"Trap card, Synchro Sonic." Jack said. "This trap card let's me destroy face-up spell or trap cards on the field equal to the number of Synchro monsters I control. At that time, I could only destroy one card, but it was enough." Jack explained as he held up the Red Demon's Dragon card on his duel disk.

"And since Megamorph was destroyed, naturally Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon's attack power became it's original value and it lost." Kaibaman finished.

". . . So this era has their own man who is like Kaiba after all. Well done, Jack Atlus. You more than passed this test." Kaibaman said, this time with a prideful smile.

Jack turned to Seto and Kisara who were scaling down to meet both duelists. He was too exhausted to say anything in retort to Kaibaman.

"That was intense!" Seto said. "To think that my predecessor would be so skilled that a duel spirit was created in his honor. It shows me that I have much to learn about this 'Duel Monsters'."

"I didn't expect to see a Blue-Eyes like that last one!" Kisara added. "And that Jack summoned his own dragon so many times, and with so many additional abilities. To be honest, I didn't know which side to support."

Kaibaman scoffed. "Well I certainly didn't expect to lose, to be honest. Still, I must respect the right of the winner. I will help you should you have any request I can grant you within reason."

Jack sighed. "I didn't want to ask for your help about this, but I need a dragon scale. I owe a Witch of the Black Forest for her guidance."

Kaibaman chuckled. "Dealing with a witch? Wise of you to follow through. No matter how minor the request."

Kaibaman reached to the ground and pulled up a glistening smooth object of pure silver from the ground, tossing it to Jack.

"Dragons shed their hide this time of year, at least the ones that shed." Kaibaman said. "Any scale from this place should do, so long as it's one of a proper dragon. This one is special though. It's from Ultimate Dragon itself. Red Demon's must have knocked it loose during our battle."

Jack stopped for a moment to stare at the scale, then he was struck with an idea. "Any chance you could give your deck to Seto? I don't think Kaiba just left his deck lying around where I come from." Jack pointed out.

Kaibaman shook his head. "That is not a request I can grant. You see I am bound with these cards. As a duel spirit that is also a duelist, they are literally an extension of my soul. Seto, if you crave this power, you must find it yourself. But know that you have the strength to wield it."

Then he looked to Kisara. "And you. You have the power to channel it in any world. I think that you may be able to go with Seto yet."

Kisara scoffed. "I don't believe that. The air here in this world is bad enough for me, and my old wound-"

Kaibaman cut her off. "It's most likely because of me. I represent Kaiba, all of his strengths and his flaws. You may be feeling the wickedness that was once in his heart. I'm sorry if I'm confusing you – you'll understand if you travel to Jack's world."

Seto smiled and turned to Kisara. "Then we'll be able to travel together, my love."

Then he looked to his duel spirit counterpart. "Kaibaman. Do you know if this is true of the Dark Magician as well? He's our ally in this quest."

Kaibaman shook his head again. "I don't know. He's Blue-Eyes' rival, and commands much magical wisdom. If this works for Kisara, it should also work for him. So long as the bond between duelist and spirit is strong enough, it will travel anywhere with them. Look at Red Demon's. My Blue-Eyes spirits tell me it's been your partner for quite some time." Kaibaman said, looking to Jack even as he aswered Kisara's question.

Kaibaman grinned as he kept looking at the red and black dragon. "I never expected to see a monster just as ferocious as a Blue-Eyes, and your Red Demon's Dragon fits that criteria. I hope you uncover your lost power, Jack. If possible, I would like to see it for myself!"

Jack pocketed the dragon scale and looked to the Yusei Go. "Well I'll have to owe you one if we ever meet again, Kaibaman. Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of time right now."

Jack looked to Red Demon's, which was still on the field. "Friend, if you could still fly, then I'd have you take these two back."

Jack was about to say something else when Kaibaman took another card from his deck – Super Rejuvenation - and activated it. Red Demon's glowed in a blue light as it's wounds healed, good as new.

"Well now it can. Consider it a parting gift." Kaibaman said.

Jack nodded respectfully and looked to his two comrades.

"Kisara. Seto. You've earned my trust. Please take Red Demon's Dragon back to the castle and have it patrol the area until I return. I'll catch up in this." Jack said, propping up the Yusei Go.

Red Demon's bowed to the two of them, and Seto mounted on the back of it's neck before letting Kisara get on behind him.

Jack got on the D-Wheel and tested it, entering the pass code that Yusei had entrusted him with. Jack had to jury rig his duel disk into the port as his was a different model than Yusei's, but eventually he got the thing to turn on.

Jack grinned as he accelerated the machine, driving down the mountainside and heading straight for the forest. He heard Red Demon's give him a roar as his dragon disappeared into the sky with it's passengers.

Jack arrived at the forest about ten minutes later, grateful that the Yusei-Go could clear so much ground effortlessly. Once the trees began to get denser, Jack stopped the red bike and pulled off the helmet, dismounting and placing the headgear on the seat. He'd reached his second destination.

"Witch of the Black Forest! As payment for your help, here's what you requested!"

Jack's voice echoed through the forest and wind picked up through the trees. The sun was slowly starting to set as the trees' shadows got longer. Leaves blew lightly through the area.

The chuckle he'd heard in the woods earlier returned and he saw the witch standing before him, this time all three eyes open as she regarded him.

"Surprising. You actually did it. I thank you. This will help my studies considerably." The witch said as she extended her pale hand to claim the scale. As soon as she touched the scale, both she and it vanished, leaving Jack alone with the wind's laughter once again.

Then Jack revved up the red D-Wheel and made tracks. While the castle didn't have freshly brewed Blue-Eyes Mountain coffee, they'd surely have something for him to eat. And more importantly their whole group would be in one spot, and now with both D-Wheels to boot.

Jack felt something akin to relief as he drove the second of Yusei's D-wheels, recalling when he'd taken the first one from his friend. It felt right, like when he'd let Yusei use Red Demon's Dragon against Z-ONE. Apologies weren't things Jack readily gave out, but this would be as good of one that Yusei would get. Jack certainly owed him that, even if he didn't want to admit it.

Then Jack mused that he'd not gotten any real chance to catch up with Yusei at all. The whole trip had been rushed, and Jack had been too busy fighting Bakura, then being incapacitated by Shiro to even look for Yusei. And then once they'd reunited, they'd dueled Shiro and then were too tired to do much after the group's introductions were all had.

He'd cleared the forest, and the castle was getting bigger by each second he got closer to it. Red and black wings tore through the sky, as Red Demon's landed, kneeling before Jack as the Yusei Go skidded to a halt. Jack smiled at his victorious companion, savoring the scene for a moment, and raised it's card.

"Rest, Red Demon's." Jack said.

The dragon let out a growl of respect, bowing it's head and touching the tip of it's hand to the image in the center of the card. Red Demon's vanished and Jack felt a swelling sense of pride as he put the card back in his duel disk.

Then he looked around for some knights to help him roll the D-Wheel into the stables next to the Wheel of Fortune. Luckily, Giltia the Dark Knight was on patrol and the green armored knight was more than happy to assisted Jack with the task. Jack thanked the knight with a curt nod and the knight responded in kind before Jack recovered his own duel disk and left to find his companions.

The group needed to discuss the next plan of action. What were Bakura and Shiro going to do next? And what of Scar Red Nova? And just how was Shiro going to accomplish his plan of the 'death of all gods'? It sounded too ridiculous to believe but Jack had seen too much to dismiss it. And there was also the matter of Uru's resurrection to bring up to his former Signer allies. He had too many questions, and his appetite for answers was soon rivaling his appetite for food.

/

Note: Originally I was going to have this and the previous chapter be combined into a gigantic chapter but it felt too bloated. This way you guys get two chapters as opposed to just one. The whole duel had a lot of really technical plays in it since Kaiba(man) and Jack both like to show off with their effects and it was really fun but also really tricky.

Also as I mentioned in the previous chapter that I edited, I got Red Demon's Dragon's effect wrong – it always activates when you attack a defense mode monster, and can stop cards like Giant Germ, or Pyramid Turtle from using their effects, as they must be destroyed by battle to do so.

Originally I was going to have Kaibaman's Giant Germ be the trigger for Crush Card Virus, but since that version of Crush Card (I used the one from the later Duel Monsters anime) requires the monster to be destroyed by battle, it led to the revision of the previous chapter. Anyway I apologize if the revised chapter was confusing, but it was something I felt needed to be changed going forward as the error was about Jack's signature card which is one of my favorite cards bar none.