Chapter 29: A Score To Settle: Part 2
The Giant Sign is burning purple against the Satellite landscape.
"Come on, Yusei! We're just getting started! If you thought my last attack was something, wait 'til you feel what's coming next! Archfiend's gonna finish Max Warrior with a…" Kalin says. Suddenly, Infernity Archfiend's attack points drop to 800. "Hey, what's happened to my monster's attack points, where'd they go?!" Asks Kalin.
"They disappeared along with my Ghost Gardna. See, once it was destroyed, your monster loses a thousand attack points! But hey, don't let that stop you from attacking!" Yusei says.
"I end my turn!" Says Kalin.
"It's my move, then! I summon Junk Synchron to the field in attack mode!" Yusei says. Junk Synchron has 1300 attack points. "And now, I'm gonna tune it and my Speed Warrior in order to synchro-summon, Junk Warrior! Let's rev it up!" Says Yusei. Junk Warrior has 2300 attack points. "Next, I reveal my trap card, 'Synchro Striker Unit'! And with it in play, I can now increase Max Warrior's attack points by a thousand!" Yusei says. 'Synchro Striker Unit' is a long, slim rectangular laser rifle wielded by Junk Warrior, raising Junk Warrior's attack points to 3300. "Time to fight! Max Warrior, take out Infernity Archfiend!" Says Yusei.
"What's going on?! Is it gaining more power?!" Kalin asks.
"It sure is! When Max Warrior goes in for an attack, he gains four hundred attack points! Go, Swift Rush!" Says Yusei.
"You've underestimated me, Yusei! I reveal my trap card, 'Infernity Force'! Now, if you attack an Infernity monster when I have no cards in my hand, 'Infernity Force' deflects the attack, and obliterates your monster!" Kalin says.
"Huh!" Says Yusei.
"And not only that, but I can now harness the power of this trap and summon a weaker Infernity monster from my graveyard! I summon, Infernity Necromancer!" Kalin says. Infernity Necromancer has 2000 attack points. "Hahahahahahahahaha!"
"Not bad, Kalin. But, let's see you stop Junk Warrior from attacking your Dragon!" Says Yusei.
Junk Warrior attacks, and Hundred Eyes Dragon takes the hit right in the huge eye on its chest. Kalin ducks and flies out of the cloud of smoke and debris, with 3700 lifepoints left.
On a wrecked highway nearby, watching the duel from a distance, stand Sakura, Crow, with Grim standing between them, Trudge and the twins. "Woohoo! All right!" Leo says. "Yeah!" Says Luna. "Thatta boy! Now it's time to set your sights on some lifepoints!" Trudge says. "Hey, why is Kalin laughing?" Asks Crow.
"Eheheheheheheheh. When Hundred Eyes Dragon is destroyed, I can select any card I want from my deck and add it to my hand. You might remember this monster..." Kalin says.
"I knew it. Hundred Eyes Dragon was just a setup!" Says Yusei.
Kalin looks over his shoulder at him, snickering.
Both of them know what that card is.
"I better build a defense, and fast!" Yusei thinks to himself. "I place two cards face down and end my turn! And since it's my end phase, Junk Warrior now loses its power boost, since the effect of my 'Synchro Striker Unit' wears off." Yusei says. Junk Warrior's attack points are back to 2300.
Kalin cackles and flips the card in his hand, of course it's Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu!
"If that's what I think it is, I'm in big trouble!" Says Yusei.
He and Kalin race onward, neck and neck.
The spectators watch, anxiously. "Come on, Yusei. Don't lose sight a' what you came here to do! I know Kalin's an old friend. I know we've all got history, but-you're here to defeat 'im, not to save 'im. You've already tried doin' that before, way back then." Crow thinks to himself.
Flashback. Wide-beam spotlights shine through the pouring rain as they light up one by one. The Security officer with the pointy mustache and his troops, seven with riot shields, at least two more beside with duel disks, three on runners, at least one car and two large tank-like machines with spotlights mounted on top, stand there in the rain, besieging the building.
Inside, one of the upper-story rooms. Kalin's standing to the side of the window, out of sight.
Yusei, Jack and Crow are away from the windows, out of sight. The only furniture in their stronghold is a row of lockers, a green couch and a table.
"We only want your leader! Turn him in, and the rest of you are free to go!"
"Not a chance, copper! Heheheheheheheh!" Kalin says.
Yusei, Crow and Jack look at each other.
Kalin leans against the window frame, looking contemptuously over his shoulder at the assembled forces and laughing. Kalin hears a sound and looks back inside.
Yusei, Jack and Crow are removing their duel disks and placing them on the table.
"Wha? Whoa! What're you guys doing? Are you giving up? If we surrender, then it's all been for nothing! Let's get out there and fight!" Says Kalin.
"Get real and wake up!" Jack says. "This little revolution of ours has gone way too far, man." Says Crow.
"Wait, are you serious?" Kalin asks.
"Kalin, look. We can still escape out back." Says Yusei.
Kalin almost laughs, still with that frenzied, manic look in his eyes. "Escape? No way, I'm sick of running from these guys! Let's end this here, let's kick them out of Satellite for good! Don't you see?! This is our big moment, right here!" Kalin says.
"Right nothing. Our 'big moment' is never comin', Kalin." Says Jack.
"Guys, come on!" Kalin says. He looks from Jack's face, to Yusei's and to Crow's, all of them are completely serious.
"Things weren't supposed to go this far. Let's just get outta here while we still can. Come on, man." Says Yusei.
Kalin stumbles backward, distraught, confused, unable to accept this. "This can't be happening. Not here! Not now! We can't just give up!" Kalin says.
Something explodes, Security is firing something or other at the side of the building, and the room rocks.
"We need to get out of here, like, now!" Says Yusei.
Outside, the man with the mustache was done waiting. "Duel them if you have to, just take 'em down!"
The three runners were the first forward, zooming out into the night.
A pack of officers with duel disks ran up a fire escape.
While the four Enforcers ran across the catwalk above.
They couldn't catch up to the Enforcers before they leapt the edge of the building.
"We ran as fast as we could. We could've gotten away. But, Kalin couldn't leave well enough alone. And that's when things finally came to a head." Yusei thinks to himself, in voice-over.
Sometime later. Kalin's running down an alleyway alone, then stops and looks up into the falling rain. "What's the point? There's nowhere to run in Satellite." Kalin thinks to himself. He hears the noise of a runner engine and turns.
One of the Security officers on runners has caught up with him.
Kalin turns to face him, looking crazy again. "If I'm gonna go down, then I'm gonna go down fighting! Let's duel! I draw, I summon Vorse Raider in attack mode!" Kalin says.
"You dunno when you're beaten, do you! Fine. If it's a duel you want, I summon Montage Dragon!"
Montage Dragon destroys Vorse Raider, and the officer rides straight at Kalin, who has nowhere to run and knows it. The officer turns sideways, going into a skid. "You're finished!"
Kalin gasps, then notices something above him. When the officer hits the space Kalin was standing in a moment ago, he can't react fast enough before he jumps up and grabs the end of a fire escape ladder above, jumps down and lands on the back of the runner. The officer takes off riding, trying to shake him off, Kalin grabs him in a headlock.
Yusei appears at the other end of the alley, in time to see Kalin and the officer zoom past, wrestling for control of the runner. "Kalin! No! Kalin, stop!" Says Yusei.
The runner crashes through a solid wall and goes flying through the air, both Kalin and the officer are thrown off, yelling.
The runner hits the ground and spins a few times.
Kalin and the officer have landed some distance away.
Kalin pushes himself up on his hands, breathing heavily. "That's it, you asked for it!" Kalin says.
"Ugh." The officer lays on the ground, not moving, as Kalin advances on him. "I-am gonna…" Says Kalin.
He suddenly gets tackled aside before he can do anything to the officer. Kalin, down on the ground, moves to push himself up to his hands and knees, and looks over at the person who stopped him from doing anything to the officer.
Sakura's the one who stopped Kalin, she risked herself to save the officer. Sakura has her cloak wrapped tightly around herself, her long, wavy, raven black, red highlighted hair is still completely down, and she's favoring her left arm, that has quite a bit of blood smeared and running down her hand and arm.
Kalin stands up and walks over to Sakura. "You don't learn, do ya?! Why couldn't you just stay away?!" Kalin asks, furiously. He backhands Sakura, with a lot of force and anger behind it, sending her down to the ground. Kalin then stabs Sakura in the torso, causing her to scream out, in pain.
As soon as he removes the knife from her, leaving a deep wound in the lower-right side of her torso, just over the lower ribs. Grim suddenly appears out of nowhere and lunges at Kalin, knocking him down to the ground, with ease, his teeth bared and mere inches from his face, snarling at him. The knife went flying out of Kalin's hand when Grim pounced on him. Kalin, with all the strength he has, grabs a hold of Grim and slams him down to the hard ground, making him let out a whimper, in pain.
Kalin then gets up and sets his sights on Sakura.
Sakura's down on the ground, lying on her side, she's barely moving or conscious.
Kalin advances on her. "Time-to finish..." Says Kalin.
"Stop!" Yusei says. He places himself over Sakura, in an attempt to keep Kalin from doing anything else to her. Kalin stops short of Yusei, who's hunched over Sakura's barely conscious and almost motionless body. "Get-out-of my way, Yusei! I'm goin' to-put-an-end to this meddling pest!" Kalin says. "No, Kalin! You've done enough! You went as far as to seriously hurt and rape my sister, and that's something I can't forgive you for!" Says Yusei. Kalin steps back, in bewilderment. "She's-your-sister?!" Kalin asks. "Yeah, she is. We're half-twins, actually." Says Yusei. Kalin's getting that craziness back in his eyes. "It-doesn't-matter! She's gotten in my way more than once! Time-for-her-to-go-bye-bye!" Kalin says. He advances on Yusei, who's shielding Sakura from him.
Yusei then gets up and tackles Kalin, and they're fighting and wrestling, rolling over and over through the soaking wet alleyway. Finally, Yusei pins Kalin to the ground. "I don't care who you are! You're never goin' to do anything to my sister again, Kalin!" Says Yusei. "Let me go, Yusei! We have to stop them! We have to fight back! We can't let them win!" Kalin says. Yusei keeps pinning him down.
Jack and Crow run up behind them.
Sometime later. Security cars are searching the streets.
While the Enforcers are hiding in a building somewhere. Yusei's looking out the window, back to the wall beside it to stay out of sight.
"Yusei, it's only a matter of time before they find us. And Sakura's not doing so well." Says Jack. At the back of the room, he and Crow are each gripping one of Kalin's arms, restraining him. "Whaddaya thinkin', Yusei?" Crow asks.
Yusei looks into Kalin's eyes, as the prisoner glares at him.
Kalin looks almost sick or fevered, breathing heavily even though Yusei has long since caught his breath, there's little doubt that he would fight anything he could, including Yusei, if Jack and Crow let him go.
Yusei then walks over to Sakura, lying on something, but can't be made out. Grim's lying on the floor beside it, staying near Sakura, with his head resting on his paws. Yusei kneels down next to Sakura, placing one of his hands on her head, gently. Sakura flinches very slightly, but she has barely any strength to say much or move any part of her body. Sakura's getting worse and worse with each passing minute. "It's okay. It's just me." Says Yusei, soothingly.
Sakura's eyes open, looking up at him, weakly. Yusei hesitates at first and then moves Sakura's cloak out of the way to check on the injuries that Kalin gave her, avoiding to look at her still naked body. It isn't a pretty sight either.
It forces Jack and Crow to look away, instantly.
Sakura's left arm is completely blood soaked, from the open wound that's still bleeding badly. Yusei can see that Kalin basically sliced her whole left arm open, for something she didn't even do. The open wound in Sakura's torso is deep and blood's still running down from it. Yusei then covers Sakura back up again and places his forehead to hers, lightly. "I'm so sorry, sis." Yusei says. "Hey, this isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself, brother." Says Sakura, softly. Yusei touches her hand and gives it a slight squeeze. Yusei seems to make a decision in that moment, he stands up and turns his back, his face hard.
Kalin's right shoulder is bleeding, too, but Crow already checked on that injury, Sakura fought back and stabbed him straight through his shoulder. "You guys stay here. And please, watch over Sakura." Yusei says.
He soon walks out into the street, and three Security cars stop at the nearest intersection, appearing from all directions. It doesn't take long for Yusei to be surrounded with headlights, and more Security appearing from every direction. "I'm the leader of the Enforcers! I'm the one who's been organizing and planning the attacks! You said if I turned myself in, the others could go free! Well, here I am!" Says Yusei.
"Yusei!" Crow says.
Yusei looks.
An officer with a riot shield has Crow by the shoulder, and five more are clustered around him and Jack. One of the officers is cradling Sakura in his arms, knowing how serious her injuries are and the state her body is in. Another officer has Grim leashed and muzzled, he's restrained. They've already been apprehended.
The officer with the mustache walks over to Yusei. "Huh?!" Asks Yusei. "We did say it was the leader of the rabble we were after, but we know who the real leader is!"
Yusei looks up, a pair of Security officers are leading Kalin out. One has Kalin's arm with the stab wound through the shoulder pinned, the other's holding his head down.
"Huh?! Ah! Kalin! You're wrong, I'm the one in charge!" Yusei says.
A couple of paramedics in masks are wheeling the officer, who crashed earlier, on a gurney.
"Do you think we're stupid? You can't fool us. But, that's cute that you tried to take the fall and protect your little friend. Heheheheheheh." He pats Yusei on the shoulder, patronizingly.
As Kalin's being hauled into the van, he looks back. "Into the wagon, kid!" "Huh?!" Asks Kalin. He sees the officer with the mustache patting Yusei on the shoulder, sickeningly smug.
"Good job. Heheheheheh." He walks away.
Kalin can't believe his eyes, can't bear to see what he's seeing. Kalin loses it. "Uugh, uagh! How could you?!" Kalin asks.
"Huh?" Asks Yusei.
Kalin lunges forward, and is dragged back by the two Security officers gripping his arms and towing him toward the van. "Yusei, you snitch! How could you sell out your best friend like this!" Kalin says.
Yusei's surprised. "You're wrong, Kalin. I…" Says Yusei, trying to explain the misunderstanding.
And the two Security officers throw Kalin into the prison van. Kalin scrambles to his hands and knees, fighting for all he's worth to get at Yusei. "Mark my words, you'll pay, traitor!" Kalin says, screaming himself hoarse. And the doors slam shut. And the van drives away, Kalin screaming in the back. "Yusei!" Says Kalin, screaming.
The Security cars are all driving away, leaving Yusei, Jack and Crow standing in the street. Jack now has Sakura cradled in his arms and Grim's standing next to him, the muzzle and leash have both been removed from him. "Kalin! I'm sorry!" Yusei says, shouting into the night, maybe, somehow, he hopes Kalin can hear him. The flashback ends.
Back to the present. "Things were getting out of hand. The riots and the fighting had to stop, you had to stop! But, I was trying to help you, Kalin! I was trying to save you!" Says Yusei.
"You think I believe you?! You sold me out, man!" Kalin says.
Up on the highway. Sakura has somehow opened up a link between Kalin's runner console and hers. "That's not true! I may have been almost completely out of it that night! However, I can still recall what happened! Yusei was trying to surrender to Sector Security in your place!" Says Sakura. "Nobody should've surrendered, we should've stood up to them together! They backed down when things got tough! And maybe I should've done worse to ya back than when I still had the chance!" Kalin says, via-screen. Sakura growls under her breath. Sakura looks down at her left arm, the scar hidden by her coat sleeve and detached sleeve, and places a hand on it. "You did enough, you self-centered psychopath!" Says Sakura. "She's right, you haven't a clue how much damage you caused to her arm. She's lucky she walked away with her left arm still intact! Among other things you did to her that night!" Crow says. "How bad was it exactly?" Asks Luna. "Yeah, how much damage did it leave?" Leo asks. "Well, all I can tell you is that it wasn't a pretty sight." Says Crow. "Crow's right." Sakura says. She pulls down the left sleeve of her coat, making it go limp on that side, and slips off her armband and her detached sleeve, baring her left arm. Revealing the long, rigid scar down her left arm, as well as the several, rigid scars that run either horizontally or diagonally along the limb, and the additional markings that are etched along that arm. "When Kalin drove the knife through my arm, he kept going deeper. As he did that, he damaged all of the nerves and tendons in my left arm. So now, I can't feel or even so much as move my left arm anymore." Says Sakura. She puts her detached sleeve and armband back on, and then pulls her coat sleeve back up, hiding the scars and additional markings from view once more, and readjusting her coat on that side.
"We let Sector Security take over Satellite! So as far as I'm concerned, you did betray me!" Kalin says, personally now.
"I wanted to help you!" Says Yusei.
"Well, with help like yours who needs help! Besides, if you cared so much about me, why didn't you come an' visit me in the Facility?! Huh, Yusei?!" Kalin asks.
"We tried to visit you, plenty a' times. But every time we came by, they turned us away!" Says Crow, via-screen, through Sakura's runner console. He looks away from the screen, pained. "Man, I can't imagine what they did to you in there!" Crow says, via-screen. "Of course you can't, old friend! I coulda handled the insults and the solitude, but they, they took my deck from me! That deck was my life!" Says Kalin.
Flashback. Kalin sits in a stone box, huddled with his knees to his chest in a corner far from the barred window, the only light entering the room. His water-stained battleship gray shirt is tattered, his jeans ripped. He has a bandage wrapped around his right shoulder, that's all matted up. The mark on his face that's black in the present is tan, faded tracking dye, and he looks tired, bitter, miserable and far past the point of despair.
He hears a deep voice speak. "Hear my voice. I am a messenger from beyond the twilight. I can grant you a power like you've never known. All you have to do is accept the Mark of a Dark Signer. And then, you will be free. You will be unstoppable! You will duel again! And finally, you will be able to get revenge on all who have opposed you!"
Kalin speaks, barely moving his mouth. He seems to have been robbed of that vibrant, competitive spark, that shrieking rage, but as he speaks, he begins to tremble, looking as though he can't shout, but might cry. He's in so much pain, with no energy left to feel it. "Good. But, I only want revenge on one person. Just one." Kalin says. He slumps over, seeming to faint. The flashback ends.
Back to the present. "I gave myself to the shadows so that I could have this one moment! This moment, where I make you feel the terror and the pain that you made me feel when you turned your back on me! And after I'm done with you, I'll keep you around long enough to watch Sakura suffer at my hands and squirm beneath me!" Says Kalin. He turns to his runner screen. "You hear me, Sakura?! Once I'm done getting back at Yusei, I'm coming for you to finish what I started! I'll be the one to personally bring you to Roman! Then, I'll make you my personal slave and it'll be my job to constantly corrupt you, and that body of yours!" Kalin says.
Sakura's listening through her runner console. "Maybe, I'll even keep Jack around and have him watch as I take you over and over again!" Says Kalin, via-screen. "Your nothing but a sick, delusional pervert and highly egotistical lunatic, Kalin." Sakura says.
"Now, back to you, Yusei! It's my move! And I now release Infernity Archfiend, and Infernity Necromancer!" Says Kalin. The two monsters turn into orbs of light and fly upward, combining to form the clenched fist that summons an Earthbound Immortal. "I summon to the field, Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu!" Kalin says. A beam of light soars from his upraised card to the fist in the sky, and it begins to pulse, gradually picking up pace. A fiery column of purple light shoots from ground to sky, sending energy rippling across the clouds. The ground rumbles, and the Giant appears, roaring its supremacy. Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu has 3000 attack points.
The Immortal can easily be seen from the highway. Luna cries out and clings onto Sakura's waist, while Leo tries not to do the same. Even Crow and Trudge look afraid. Sakura's fighting off the burning pain in her left arm. "Oh, man! That thing is huge!" Says Trudge. "Gee, ya think?" Crow asks.
"With that guy out..." Says Yusei.
"It's the end of the line! Man, I've been waiting a long time to say, Ccapac Apu, send Yusei to the netherworld!" Kalin says.
The Giant leans over and reaches for Yusei, just like it did before. Ccapac Apu reaches for Yusei and his runner, the ground erupts beneath the Giant's arm, blown apart by the sheer energy.
Flashback. As Yusei speaks, the same exact scene plays, Ccapac Apu's massive black hand reaches for Yusei, casting a shadow over him and his runner. Then just as the hand crashes down where he would have been, Yusei flies backward and hits the ground, thrown free of his runner, and bounces further, end over end. "The last time we dueled and he summoned this Earthbound Immortal, my duel runner's wheel broke before it could attack, ending the duel early." Yusei thinks to himself, in voice-over. The flashback ends.
Back to the present. "But, that's not gonna happen this time. This time I'm bringing that Earthbound Immortal down to earth! I hope this plan works! Here goes everything!" Yusei thinks to himself. "I reveal my trap card, 'Baton of the Hero'! And with it in play, I'm now allowed to choose the target of your monster's attack!" Says Yusei.
"So, that means…" Kalin says.
"That your Immortal's attacking Junk Warrior!" Says Yusei. Junk Warrior flies up into the Giant's hand, and explodes, showering him with dust. Yusei's lifepoints fall to 2400.
"Way to throw your monster out as a shield, Yusei! But this attack isn't over! Not yet! 'Cause when your monster gets destroyed, you take damage equal to your monster's attack points!" Kalin says.
"This isn't good. With Yusei's Junk Warrior packin' so much power, if he doesn't do something, he's done for!" Says Crow. "Come on, Yusei!" Luna says.
"I activate this, Kalin. The trap 'Burst Synchro Summon'! Now my lifepoints are safe from taking any damage!" Says Yusei. As the blast hits, a translucent shield, like a contact lens, appears over his head. "And then, due to the power of my trap, I can bring out a monster whose attack points are the same as the amount of damage I would've taken!" Yusei says.
"Does Yusei even have something that powerful?" Asks Leo. "Only one dragon that can win this." Sakura says. It takes Luna a moment, and she realizes what she meant. "Only Stardust Dragon!" Says Luna. "Exactly, Luna." Sakura says. "That's what I'm talkin' about!" Says Crow. Grim barks, as if in agreement.
"Stardust Dragon, let's rev it up!" Yusei says. The contact lens becomes a huge, egg-shaped blast of light, twisting around at the top and lengthening into a cyclone. A blinding flash, and Stardust appears, roaring. Stardust Dragon has 2500 attack points.
"Well, you finally managed to summon your favorite monster! D'you actually think it's gonna make a difference?!" Asks Kalin. He places a face down.
Yusei draws. "Time to find out!" Yusei says.
"Not so fast! I reveal the trap card, 'Brilliant Shrine Art'! Now when you attack, your monster has to face my Earthbound Immortal!" Says Kalin.
"But, my Stardust Dragon doesn't stand a chance against that thing. I'm gonna need some backup, so I activate 'Angel Baton'! Now, I can draw two cards and send one from my hand to my graveyard! And the card I sent to the graveyard was Stardust Xiaolong! But with Stardust Dragon already summoned, Xiaolong instantly resurrects to the field in attack mode!" Yusei says. Stardust Xiaolong has 100 attack points, 100 defense points, is a level 1 monster and is a light type monster. Stardust Xiaolong is a Chinese-style dragonet that looks kind of like Stardust Dragon. It's quite adorable. "Next, I play a face down and end my turn!" Says Yusei.
"This is getting good, Yusei!" Kalin says.
"You got that right, and after I play my trap 'Superior Protector', it's only gonna get better! See, with this card's power, I can only take battle damage if Stardust Dragon battles." Says Yusei.
"All you've done is made your Dragon a target! Now all I need to do is crush it, so that I can crush you!" Kalin says. Ccapac Apu looks ready to grab the soaring Stardust right out of the sky. "Looks like you and your Stardust Dragon are about to get sent to the netherworld!" Says Kalin.
"Not if I send 'Superior Protector' to the graveyard to protect us!" Yusei says.
"Nice move, but you're still taking battle damage! Huh! And thanks to my little 'Wicked Trample' trap card, when you take battle damage from something other than a direct attack, that damage is doubled!" Says Kalin.
"What?!" Yusei asks.
"Ahahahahahahaha! Earthbound Immortal! End this now!" Says Kalin.
Yusei buckles down and endures the blast, he drops a speed counter, leaving him with 4, and his lifepoints are down to 1400.
The ground around the Giant's feet begins to cave and erode, the road cracks, and Kalin is forced down into the side of the road that is sinking and smashing itself to pieces, forced to the edge of the purple fire. Kalin cries out, in fear.
Yusei, on the edge of the fracturing sinkhole, veers down onto the broken track, closer to Kalin. "Kalin! What's going on?!" Yusei asks.
"Don't know!" Says Kalin.
"Take my hand!" Yusei says.
Kalin looks up, he's actually offering him his hand, as though they were still friends. Kalin looks up at him, surprised and startled. "Yusei!" Says Kalin.
"I made the wrong call, Kalin! I thought I could help you, I thought, 'maybe if I take the heat, Kalin'll turn himself around!' But, I get it now! You and I are friends! I should've found a way for us to fix things together! I should've stood by you!" Yusei says.
"Come on, buddy!" Says Crow. "Oh, Yusei! Huh?!" Luna asks. Her Sign has suddenly lit up. Luna looks over at Sakura, seeing that she's doing something, her Sign is lit up, as well. "Sakura, what are you doing?" Asks Luna. "Just lend me your Signer power, you shall be alright." Sakura says. Her voice is starting to turn menacing and echoic. Luna places her hand where Sakura's Sign is glowing, lending her, her powers. The additional markings along Sakura's arms start glowing as soon as Luna touches her Sign. "Now, to get the other Signers to do the same. Jack, Akiza, Yusei. Please, lend me your powers, as well." Sakura thinks to herself, trying to contact them.
Jack's Sign has lit, too. Jack looks at it, then off into the distance, probably toward the duel. "I hear you, Sakura." Jack thinks to himself. He closes his eyes and focuses on his Signer powers to lend to Sakura somehow.
As soon as that happens, the symbolic designs etched into Sakura's upper back begin glowing.
So has Akiza's Sign. Minako is momentarily distracted from driving, as Akiza looks at it, then off into the distance toward the duel, following Hotaru's gaze. "I can feel us all drawing together!" Says Akiza. "Sakura, I hear you." Akiza thinks to herself. She focuses on her Sign, too, in order to lend her powers to Sakura, as well.
The additional markings burned along Sakura's legs start flaring.
Yusei's Sign is shining like a beacon, and shines even brighter, as he reaches it toward Kalin. "Jack and Crow feel the same way, Kalin! And right now, like back then, we're fighting alongside our friends for something we believe in! But, I'm not fighting to defeat you! You have to believe me! I'm trying to save you! I'm trying to save my friend from the Dark Signers!" Yusei says.
Kalin's sincerely stunned that he still calls him his friend. "Your friend?" Asks Kalin. Then he starts resisting, convinced it isn't possible. "You can't! It's too late!" Kalin says. He slides down further, toward the fire. "Ah! Aaaagggh!"
"Kalin! No!" Says Yusei. His Sign burns even brighter. "Sakura, her powers are warm and powerful." Yusei thinks to himself. He focuses on his Sign, too.
The rest of the symbolic designs down Sakura's back begin glowing, as well.
Yusei's Sign suddenly vanishes from his arm.
And Akiza gasps, as the glowing Sign suddenly vanishes from her arm, as well. "Ahh!" Akiza says.
And Jack's. "What in the...?!" Asks Jack.
And Luna's. "That's weird." Luna says.
And fades from the mysterious arm in a tank.
The bird-shaped symbol etched along Sakura's forehead starts glowing. The Seal of the Dragon, that she had etched into her abdomen since she was born, is all lit up, as well. The red highlights in her raven black tresses are flaring in bright crimson red. Luna doesn't exactly know what's going on, but all their powers and Signs all gather to one person, the heart and soul of the Crimson Dragon, Sakura. Sakura's struggling to keep all the power together. "Sakura? No don't, it's too dangerous and too much for you to handle on your own." Says Luna. Sakura opens her eyes, her irises are flaring in crimson red, while her sclera's have faded to black, with glowing red veins across her eyes. "It is alright, why have the Crimson Dragon within me if I can't use it." Sakura says, her voice now menacing and echoic. She then glances over her shoulder at Luna. "Don't worry, Luna. Everything is going to be alright. Let's see if Yusei can finish this duel now." Says Sakura. She places her hands on her chest, right over her heart. The Seal of the Crimson Dragon on Sakura's abdomen is starting to go dim. Sakura then moves her hands off of her chest and as she does, a crimson red ball of power appears out of her chest and it's floating in her hands, it hurts her, causing her to nearly cry out, in pain. "What is that red power ball?" Leo asks. "Yeah, and what are you going to do with it?" Asks Crow. "It is the heart of the Crimson Dragon… and… I'm giving it up to Yusei… so he can win this… the right way..." Sakura says, pained. "No, Sakura don't. If you do, you'll die and I can't let that happen." Says Luna. "Go, Crimson Dragon. Go forth and help Yusei!" Sakura says. She lifts the Crimson Dragon's heart of power into the air and it shoots high up into the sky. The Seal of the Crimson Dragon suddenly disappears from Sakura's abdomen.
The Seal of the Crimson Dragon then reappears glowing red through the back of Yusei's jacket.
"What's goin' on?!" Asks Crow. "Our Marks have all joined up on Yusei! Sakura's given them up to help him." Luna says. "What?" Asks Crow. The additional markings and symbolic designs on Sakura's body have all gone dim. Sakura's pupils soon fade, leaving her eyes blank. Sakura then collapses backwards, only Crow's able to catch her in time. "Sakura!" Both Crow and Luna say.
Grim suddenly collapses to the ground, due to the link he shares with his mistress. "Grim!" Says Luna. She runs over to Grim and kneels down next to him, stroking his head, petting him.
"We're all in this together! Right now, we're all as one!" Yusei says. Suddenly, the top card of his deck starts glowing a bright golden color. "Huh? Something's calling to me." Says Yusei. He goes to draw it, hesitates, then defiantly draws it. "Time to find out what!" Yusei says. He draws and his speed counter rises to 5. Yusei looks at the card, still shining gold. "Of course, that's what I've gotta do! Just like the others and I had to become a team to fight the Dark Signers, my monsters have to unite to win this duel! And to make sure that happens, I summon Majestic Dragon to the field in attack mode!" Says Yusei. Majestic Dragon is small, pink and cute, tadpole-shaped with spoke-style wings that lack sails that would actually support flight. Majestic Dragon has 0 attack points and is a level 1 monster. "Next, I tune Majestic Dragon with my Stardust Dragon and Stardust Xiaolong!" Yusei says. Stardust and Xiaolong soar high, one beneath the other, and Majestic Dragon rolls over midair and spreads its spoked wings wide, growing bigger, beginning to shine pink, until Stardust and Xiaolong are surrounded with pink light. Stardust and Xiaolong appear mostly transparent with glowing gold outlines, stars shining brightly within the outlines, thin green rings circling around them. The myriad stars zoom into place and align with Majestic Dragon's single star, creating a wash of light. "And now, it's time I synchro-summon, Majestic Star Dragon!" Says Yusei. His new dragon is the next level beyond Stardust. Its design is futuristic, with spoked wings, like Majestic Dragon's, built perhaps for space but not for flying through the sky. Its very presence causes the air to shimmer with iridescent light, and it's absolutely beautiful.
Majestic Star Dragon is a level-ten synchro monster, with three thousand eight hundred attack points and three thousand defense points.
"Kalin, your Earthbound Immortal's special abilities are powerless against my mighty dragon! In fact, my dragon can absorb them all and use them against you!" Yusei says.
The air around the Giant begins to sparkle with little blue lights. The monster reels, as if confused or weakened. Majestic Star Dragon absorbs the lights, looking right at the huge Immortal as though staring into its heart.
"And now, Majestic Star Dragon, end this duel!" Says Yusei.
Majestic Star, now shining with blue light, folds back its wings and bullets toward Ccapac Apu, and indeed appears to be a shooting star.
"Attack!" Yusei says.
Majestic Star blasts right through the Immortal's chest and flies out the other side, not even scratched, soaring away into the sky as the Immortal collapses behind it, bleeding electric blue sparks. A huge wave of darkness explodes from its back, threatening to engulf the Dragon, but Majestic Star easily outruns it.
Yusei and his runner are still sitting in a prismatic cloud of light from Majestic Star Dragon. Yusei gasps, as the darkness from the Giant's fall enshrouds Kalin and he groans and shields himself, trying to fight it. "Hang on, pal!" Says Yusei.
Majestic Star Dragon swoops down into the flames and back up into the sky, shedding the purple fire in another beautiful light show.
Down on the ground, bathed in iridescent, shimmery light. Yusei's runner is stopped, Kalin's lying across his lap, his head resting on the right-side arm bar, and he's in bad shape. "Come on, stay with me! I'm not giving up this time. This time, I'm gonna save you." Yusei says.
Kalin opens his eyes and looks up at him, his eyes have turned their normal color again. "Yusei... I spent years hating you and planning my revenge. I let my anger devour me and I willingly gave myself to the darkness! But in beating me, Yusei... you've found your friend, and although the shadows await..." Says Kalin, hoarsely, weakly. Yusei gasps. "... I need you to promise me something, Yusei. Stop beating yourself up over what happened. I'm the one who really messed things up. But now, finally, here at the very end, you did what you set out to do, you saved me!" Kalin says, hoarsely and weakly. "Huh!" Says Yusei. He realizes that Kalin's right, but still he's about to go. "Kalin." Yusei says.
Majestic Star Dragon soars high above a landscape painted with the Mark of the Giant. The Mark fades, and the sky turns gray again. Majestic Star remains, cruising high above them.
"You're not going to go and do something stupid like... lose to the Dark Signers... are you?" Asks Kalin, hoarsely and weakly. Yusei shakes his head no. Kalin's smiling, peaceful and benign. "Don't back down, Yusei. No matter what happens... push the shadows back where they belong...! Ggh!" Kalin says, hoarsely and weakly. With a small gasp of pain, he turns to black dust, evaporating in Yusei's arms. Yusei stares at them, even knowing this would happen couldn't soften the pain. "Kalin!" Says Yusei.
The spectators watch Majestic Star sail serenely through the sky. "Yusei did it." Trudge says. Crow and Luna watch over Sakura, still motionless in the former's arms, and Grim, lying on the ground, barely moving. "Sakura, come on. You have to wake up." Says Luna. "You can get through this, I know you can. You've been through worse than this." Crow says. His eyes start shedding tears, he can't bear the thought of losing his best friend. Luna's eyes are tearing, too, she hugs Leo for comfort. "If the Crimson Dragon doesn't return to her soon, she'll be gone. And so will Grim." Says Luna.
His runner parked some distance away, Yusei stands alone, staring out at the desolate Satellite landscape, his shoulders shaking, his face can't be seen. "They came to you when you were afraid and hurt. They took advantage of your pain. They twisted you so that they could use you as their pawn! They won't get away with it! I won't let these Dark Signers win!" Yusei asks. He clenches his fist, and a single tear falls and breaks on it. Several more fly from Yusei's cheeks, as he raises his head. "They're gonna pay for this!" Says Yusei, shouting to the sky. Full of resolve, he stands strong, watching Majestic Star Dragon glide away into the distance, trailing brilliant blue and white sparkles in its wake, and disappears into the clouds.
