Disclaimer: We don't own Yugioh GX.


Judai's POV

At some point, Manjoume started leading the way—a great idea, given that I had no idea where I was going. The four of us ran all the way to the other side of the stinking mansion, where we found ourselves confronted by what would likely be a common enemy in this place: a locked door.

"So, any ideas on how we're getting in there?" Misawa asked.

I had one! I still had that needle-like piece of fur I'd used to get out of my own locked prison. I reached into my pocket.

"Hm..." Manjoume crossed his arms, thinking about what to do.

I didn't bother thinking about it—I just walked over and stuck my Kuriboh-fur lock-pick into the lock as Asuka watched.

Apparently Misawa didn't expect a prince to know how to pick locks because I caught his startled reaction out of the corner of my eye. "H-hey. What are you doing?"

I felt another set of eyes on me, and I knew that Manjoume was watching, too.

I didn't need to explain myself to either of them, so I just worked the lock. It wasn't any different from the last lock, so it wasn't hard. In a matter of seconds, I got that door open.

Throwing the door open in an act of inexcusable idiocy for which Yubel would certainly slap me upside the head every day for the rest of my life, I cried, "Johan!"

I didn't see Johan, but I did see somebody. I couldn't make out who it was before somebody grabbed me and pulled me into the room.

"Hey!" I protested.

There were two guys wearing uniforms that did not belong in the Society of Light's headquarters, both holding onto me. They were dressed like Misgarth's royal guard (if the royal guard wore all-white uniforms), which left me with the unsettling realization that I'd probably be facing one of the two male royals.

"Judai!" I heard Asuka cry at the same time as Misawa's voice said, "My prince!"

The guards slammed the door, locking it behind me.

Crap, I was an idiot! Of course they'd use this as a trap! Why wouldn't they? After all, I'd come with Johan, so we must have at least been on halfway decent terms with each other! The Light could figure that much out! He might have been a drone the moment they locked that door behind him, for all I knew!

The Misgarthian guards held me tight as... Oh, no. Not him! Why did this keep happening!? How come it always had to be my friends I faced in this lousy place!? I had, like, four real friends in the whole world, and I kept facing them!? The odds were ridiculously low!

Like the room I'd been in earlier, this one was big enough to duel in, but there wasn't a laser in here. The other difference: Prince Ojin, the crown prince and only heir to the throne of Misgarth, was the Light Drone I was facing.

"Well, well," Ojin said, his hands on his hips. "A two-for-one sale. This is my lucky day." He gave a laugh that wasn't anything like him.

"Ojin!?"

"That's right, old friend," he said, smiling wickedly. "It's been quite a long while now, hasn't it?"

Ojin and I had a lengthy history. Our father's were political allies, and I'd been dragged to his castle more than once as a kid to try and keep the alliance going. We'd hit it off really well, which was great for our dads and our kingdoms. This, of course, made him my only real friend growing up, so I was pretty bugged by the Light using him.

"So you're in the Society, huh? Where's Johan!?"

Ojin closed his eyes, that smile still fixed in place. "Relax. He's alright. He's just decided to change sides so we could stay friends, that's all. And you're welcome to join us, should you so choose to do so." He opened his eyes, laughing like another frozen-over person.

Great. I was too late to save Johan—he'd already been inducted! Which meant I'd probably end up facing another of my small number of friends. Now all I needed was Sho to become a real Light Drone and duel me, and I'd be facing all of my real friends!

I growled. Seriously, when I'd said this rescue mission was going horribly wrong, I hadn't had any idea. I had come with a group of friends and allies to save one friend, and, in the process, I lost another one. Now I had to save Johan! But, first, I had to get Ojin back to his senses.

"Forget it, Ojin!" I said. "I'm not interested.

"Oh, but you will be," he told me. "Just as soon as you lose your duel to me. Then you can join our group as the Monarch of the Wind. That's just perfect for you, seeing as you're a free spirit." He laughed.

Fitting as that might have been, I didn't want to join the Four—er, Five Emperors. "Tch..."

"So? How 'bout it? Or should I tell my men there to just zap you now? I'm sure they won't mind," Ojin said, gesturing at his guards with a wicked smile. Then he laughed coldly.

Oh, yeah. The Light had a definite thing for turning people into exact opposites of themselves.

On either side of me, the guards holding me raised what I could only figure were laser guns, given that they looked like guns. I mean, the Light didn't want me dead, after all, so they weren't real guns. The guys were ready to fire at their prince's command. I, on the other hand, wasn't too eager to trust his word on this one, given past experience.

"Before I answer, you swear on your honor that these guys won't zap me if I win?" I asked. As prince of Misgarth, Ojin was pretty big on defending his honor, so I knew even Light drone guards wouldn't zap me if he swore on his honor—they'd be disgracing their prince, after all.

Ojin just stared for a second, blinking. Then he grinned. "Heh. Oh, I get it. Lord Saiou's getting desperate. Then I guess I'd better hurry this up." He activated his duel disk, saying, "Let's go, Judai! You and me! The sooner we get this over with, the sooner Lord Saiou will be pleased." He looked a lot like Kourimaru just then.

"You didn't answer my question!" I pointed out. I was getting a nasty feeling he wasn't going to, either, which told me that I could expect to get zapped either way...again.

"Silence!" he commanded. "You're in my domain now! Do as i say, or I will zap you without fighting!"

Well, that wasn't something I could let happen. His guards readied their weapons, and I accepted that I'd just have to be quicker than them if I wanted out of this mess.

"Tch... Alright, alright."

The guards loosened their grip on me enough for me to actually activate my duel disk. Once I had, they let go completely and moved to guard the door, probably to prevent my allies from coming to save me.

"But you're a dishonorable liar if I still get zapped..." I added without conviction, knowing it wouldn't make any difference to this version of Ojin either way.

"Are you ready, Judai?" Ojin asked, looking serious.

"Yeah, I'm ready, Ojin!"

"Then here it comes! My one-turn kill!"

Yeah, did I mention Ojin had a one-turn kill strategy that tended to be a nuisance? In this case, it was downright deadly.

"Duel!"