Chapter 36: Signs Of Doom: Part 1
The glowing bird-shaped Mark looms in the sky, directly above New Domino City.
From the Satellite. Sakura, Akiza, Minako, Trudge, Hotaru, Leo and Luna watch it. "What on earth is that thing?" Minako asks. "I don't know. It looks like one of those, Dark Signer markings." Says Sakura. She's sitting on her runner, sideways, with Grim lying down at her feet, while Akiza looks over the wound to her side. Akiza's trying to stop the bleeding, but more blood keeps running down.
"Sakura! Look who Yusei and I found!" Crow says, calling out.
They turn and look.
Yusei, Crow and Jack ride up on their runners, their headlights the only illumination in sight, besides the big glowing symbol and the distant lights of the City. "It is Jack, Yusei and Crow." Says Sakura. "Yeah, and from the looks of it, we're here right in time!" Jack says. Akiza stops tending to Sakura's wound and steps aside to stand next to her, her runner and Grim. Yusei steps off of his runner and walks over to Sakura, her runner, Grim and Akiza. Yusei sits down next to his half-twin. "What happened?" Asks Yusei. Sakura sighs. "It is a long story." Sakura says. Yusei moves the cloth away from the wound, the gash to her side is very deep and quite severe, blood just continues running down from the wound. Yusei covers it back over, putting a little more pressure into it to try and stop the blood flow. "The bleeding's not going to stop on its own. You're goin' to need stitches, but for now we'll just pack it over with gaze and keep it heavily bandaged up." Says Yusei. "This is all my fault. I let Sayer get to me and he wound up attacking you with his psychic powers at full force." Akiza says. "No, it isn't. Don't blame yourself for what Sayer did, it wouldn't be the first time I was attacked by him. We all thought he was gone when he fell into that mist back at the Arcadia building. I can't imagine what you were going through when you found out he was alive. I didn't really give it too much thought when I went up against him and yes, it cost me a gash to my side. However, you and I both came out of it more or less in once piece. Sayer on the other hand, won't be coming back. He's gone for good this time. So, don't put the blame on yourself, Akiza." Says Sakura. Yusei's still patching her up. "She's right. We all had to do something today that we really didn't want to do, but it had to be done. We had to duel people that were infected by the darkness and we freed them all. We also saved the innocent people who were trapped in their Earthbound Immortals." Yusei says. He finishes patching Sakura up. "You should be good for now until we can get you stitched up." Says Yusei. Sakura readjusts herself. "Looks like that'll probably have to wait until we take care of this new problem." Jack says. Yusei and Sakura both get up from the latter's runner. "Jack's right, we still have something to take care of." Says Sakura. Grim gets up to his feet, standing at her side. "So, you're Akiza, huh? Guessing that you won your duel." Crow says. He then looks over at the City. "But what's with the light show?" Asks Crow.
Just then, the ground starts shaking. Everyone reacts. "Aahh!" Both Leo and Luna scream, they then both grab a hold of Sakura around her waist to keep themselves from falling all over the place. Grim's fur is standing on edge. Hotaru embraces Yusei around his waist, who wraps his arms around her shoulders and holds her close to himself. "It's an earthquake!" Trudge says. "Maybe." Says Yusei.
Another light show has started, this one in the distance over the buildings of the Satellite. It almost looks like an Aurora Boralis, but with a decidedly purple tint.
"Huh?!" Akiza asks. "Or maybe not." Says Yusei. "Now what?" Jack asks. "Hey, I know that area." Says Crow. "Yes, I'm afraid that I do, as well. That spot, it is where the first Ener-D Reactor was." Sakura says.
The purple lights are coming out of the huge crater in the middle of the Satellite, shades of every color can be seen in the light, but it's mostly purple. "And I have a hunch the portal it opened up to the Netherworld, is now open for business!" Says Sakura, in voice-over.
From the depths of the Old Reactor bulges a lump of grayish slime, blocking out the lights. Lightning smites the ground around the crater as it keeps swelling up, overflowing the crater and spreading onto the landscape. In the depths of the sludgy figure, burn two round, red blank eyes. It opens a shapeless, cavernous mouth and emits something like a roar. Now it has hands and fingers made of slime, too, as it rises from the crater, it's assuming a form. As it reaches out with the hands, globs of slime about the size of duel runners fly from them and drip onto the Satellite streets. It oozes forward, crawling with its hands as much as anything else, flooding the streets with disgusting, charcoal-colored muck. Its features are more distinct now, slime dribbles from tall, spindly limbs that suggest a skeleton or insect. From a certain angle it even looks like a gigantic slime-tarantula that would send Uru scampering for its mommy. Except for the fact that it then extends two dragon-like wings, also gray and excreting slime. It sets its sights on the bird-shaped mark over the City. The things it sprouts from its 'head' look like horns, or ears, and it extends to its 'neck', the entire thing now resembles a skeletal quadruped, something like a ground-walking dragon, but with heavy armor around its neck and shoulders that recalls an insect and back legs that are unnaturally thin and wispy, they're just for show, and couldn't possibly hold any weight. It is not graceful or built for much of anything, but it is huge, tall, scary and an endless fountain of slime.
The Signers' group watches the thing, their reactions ranging from stunned horror to exceptionally stoic dismay. "Uh-oh. Trouble." Yusei says.
The gray goop continues to drip onto the ground, some splats more approaching the size of cars. The substance looks to be about as viscous as spoiled milk or yogurt. An enormous, clawed foot stomps in the drops' wake and the thing roars again. Its draconic wings seem to have split, giving it two wings on each side, which is more of an insect thing. Its back legs have also shaped up, all of its limbs are thin and spindly at the top, sloping down to tree trunks at the bottom. It takes another step, with every stomp, the ground trembles a bit. It's nearing the water, its focus still rapt upon the mysterious new Dark Signer Mark in the sky.
"Whatever that thing is, it looks like it's headed towards the City!" Says Luna. "Sakura, Roman said that if we failed to seal the four towers in time, then the King of the Netherworld would appear!" Crow says. "I know, and I'm guessing that is him." Says Sakura. "As an officer of the law, it's my duty to arrest that thing! But unfortunately, at this present moment, I am off-duty." Trudge says, wimping out. "Hold on. Nothing bad has happened just yet. Maybe if we don't bug it, it won't bug us." Says Minako, talking very fast. Nobody's convinced of this, not even her. "Yeah, maybe so." Leo says. Luna winces, horribly, as her Mark lights up. "Luna!" Says Leo. "Oohhh!" Luna says.
Kuribon appears beside her. Luna seems to be in kind of a vision, no telling whether the rest of the group hears her speaking to Kuribon. "Kuribon!" Says Luna. Kuribon moans, sadly, curling its tail around itself.
"Uh-oh! Kuribon's saying if that creature makes it to where that Condor Mark is, a lotta bad things are gonna happen!" Luna says. "What kind of bad things?" Asks Yusei.
The first slimy foot splashes into the water between the Satellite and the City, waves flower out from it. Another splash and both front feet are in the water, as it moves ever closer to the City and the Mark.
"Oh, the very bad kind." Luna says, a little hysterically. "Okay. So we gotta stop it. Only question is how?!" Asks Leo. Yusei looks out at the thing, he doesn't have an answer and they need one fast. Yusei then looks over at Sakura. "Sakura. You wouldn't happen to have any ideas, would you?" Yusei asks. "Why are you always so certain I have one in mind, Yusei?" Asks Sakura. "It's just you seem to have ideas most of the time." Yusei says. Sakura's irises and highlights suddenly start flaring in crimson red light, while her sclera's fade to black, with glowing red veins across her eyes. "I might have a little something. How about a little Crimson Dragon assistance?" Asks Sakura, her voice menacing and echoic. Suddenly, as soon as she says that, each of their five Marks of the Dragon light up. "W-whoa!" Jack says. "Our Marks!" Says Akiza. The additional markings and symbolic designs along Sakura's body all start glowing, brightly, and the Seal of the Crimson Dragon follows shortly after. A red stream of light then escapes from within Sakura, making her become weak and almost collapses, until Jack catches her before she gets the chance. "Sakura, you alright?" Jack asks. "I'm fine." Says Sakura.
More lightning crashes from the sky and then the clouds begin to glow red. A familiar vermilion creature, edged in golden light, is winding its way through the heavens.
"It's the..." Jack says. "...Crimson Dragon!" Says Yusei.
Indeed, it is. The Crimson Dragon bells its odd cry, hovering in the air above them among forks of lightning. It turns toward them and lunges forward, as though to snap at them.
A bright flash of light.
Yusei, Sakura, Jack, Crow, their runners, Hotaru, Grim, Luna, Leo, Akiza, Minako and Trudge are soaring through an endless void of stars. "Whoa!" Yusei says. "Are we, inside the Crimson Dragon?" Asks Akiza. "Yup, and we're going somewhere in a hurry!" Yusei says. "Yeah? Well, I think our stop is comin' up!" Says Crow.
Ahead, they're flying toward a growing ring of light, like the end of a tunnel.
Another bright flash.
That continues back into the real world and down to the ground. When the tower of light fades, they find themselves standing at the edge of a familiar-looking garden. They're standing on the palatial island on which Goodwin's estate is built. But instead of the mansion itself, the Stairway of the Crimson Dragon that was under the house has risen to the surface, demolishing the mansion in the process, and grown way, way taller. The Crimson Dragon then returns to Sakura's body where it belongs.
"Where on earth has he taken us?! Isn't this the temple that was underneath Goodwin's mansion?" Jack asks. "So, this is where that Condor was coming from." Says Akiza.
The Condor Mark looms directly above the Stair.
"Wait, so then, the King of the Netherworld is heading here. But, what for?" Leo asks. "I don't know." Says Sakura.
Just then, they hear a familiar, echoing voice from the top of the stair. "In that case, allow me to explain! For you see, you may have succeeded in defeating the Dark Signers, but not in time to close the doors to the netherworld." Goodwin says. He's in his usual nondescript gray suit, but looks somehow even paler.
Everyone tenses, that tone of voice is pretty ominous. "Director?" Asks Minako. "Goodwin." Jack says. Grim's fur is standing edge, as his blazing red eyes are intensely locked on Goodwin, his teeth bared and growling, deeply. "So, tell us what is going on! Did we fail, is the world going to end?! And why is that thing headed here?" Asks Sakura.
"For the ritual." Goodwin says.
"What? What ritual?" Asks Yusei.
Goodwin looks out across the City at the King of the Netherworld approaching in the distance, it'll have to track straight through Domino to get there. "The ritual that has been carried out at this temple for many millennia." Goodwin says.
The beast takes another splashing step.
"Alright, so? What exactly happens at this ritual?" Asks Sakura.
"It all depends, dear Sakura. But this time, it's something that's never happened before." Goodwin says.
"So spill." Says Yusei.
"Haha. So eager, but for you to fully understand, I would need to start at the very beginning." Goodwin says. He pulls from behind him the big glowing canister, the Mark inside lights up.
And the five Signers' Marks pain them. "Ugh!" Says Sakura, Yusei, Akiza, Jack and Luna as one. All five Signers end up falling to their hands and knees. Grim, sensing Sakura's distress, moves closer to her, brushing himself up against her. "What is that?!" Luna asks.
"And it all starts with this!" Says Goodwin.
Still holding at herself, considering all the markings and symbolic designs that run along her body are all lit up and causing her quite a deal of pain, Sakura looks up at it, knowing the Crimson Dragon is not happy with this outcome. "It is the final Mark. However, what do you want with it?" Sakura asks.
"I want to use it!" Says Goodwin.
Jack looks up. "Sakura, remember what that spike revealed in the Fortune Cup?" Jack asks.
Flashback. Goodwin catches a huge, spinning, spiky piece of Greiger's runner, that crashed through the window of the top box at the Fortune Cup, with only his gloved hand.
Lazar, 'Skylar' and Jack watch, in growing bewilderment, as the glove on Goodwin's hand gets ripped up by the thing, revealing dull metal underneath. Goodwin's hand is made of metal. "Why d'you think I have that metal arm of mine?" Asks Goodwin, in voice-over. The flashback ends.
Back to the present. The five Signers soon get themselves back up to their feet, ready for a fight. "What's one have to do with the other?!" Jack asks.
"You fool. I had to construct it so I would have a conduit, so to speak." Says Goodwin. He picks up the canister, carries it over and sets it down on one of the two carved stone blocks on either side of the top of the stair.
"Just what are you planning, Goodwin?!" Sakura asks.
Goodwin seems to laugh a bit under his breath. Goodwin turns to show them his back and the violet Mark of the Condor glows on it.
Everyone gasps. "Another Mark?! But wait, that one..." Says Sakura.
"That's right, is that of a Dark Signer's!" Goodwin says. He flexes his muscles and his suit coat bursts, he is now bare-chested, his muscles unnaturally huge, his gray hair wild behind him. Glowing markings begin to appear on Goodwin's chest and face, his Dark Signer 'dye'. The sclera's of Goodwin's eyes turn all the way black. "Meaning that soon, I'll have the power of both the Light and the Darkness!" Says Goodwin.
"Oh no!" Leo says. "He can't!" Says Minako. "He won't!" Jack says.
"Mmhmhmhmhmhmhm! And just who's going to stop me? You?" Asks Goodwin. He's unclasped and lifted the lid from the glowing canister. Goodwin tosses it aside. Goodwin lays a hand on his own metal arm and from the looks of the sparks and flying pieces, he crushes it with his bare hand.
"Ah!" Akiza says. "Whoa, what is he doing?!" Asks Yusei.
Goodwin reaches a real arm down into the canister and as it hits the surface, the substance inside flares neon green. "I told you." Goodwin says. A light shines at the top of the stair, like a huge star. No one can see what's going on. When it clears, Goodwin is holding his right arm out in front of him and the fingers twitch, it worked. "That metal arm was a conduit. A device to transfer the power of the Crimson Dragon to me!" Says Goodwin.
"But, why?! What do you plan to do with it?!" Sakura asks.
Goodwin now has the sixth and final Mark of the Dragon glowing on his arm. There's a seam visible above it, as though someone else's arm was hot-glued onto his just below the elbow. "What else, to become all-powerful, and rule the world! And now, with my Dark Sign and the power my brother entrusted to me, I shall! But, there's one other thing of power I need." Says Goodwin.
"And what would that be?" Jack asks.
"What else? The Crimson Dragon's heart of power." Says Goodwin.
Sakura glares up at him and clutches close to her heart, she's not scared and is daring him to try and take it from her. Grim moves to stand in front of Sakura, his teeth bared and snarling at Goodwin, viciously, positioned to protect his mistress. Yusei, Jack and Crow step up, knowing that it's Sakura who possesses it. Goodwin will have to go through them if he wants Sakura. They're glaring at Goodwin, daring him to so much as try.
"Oh, don't worry, dear Sakura. I already very well know that you and the Crimson Dragon have now become one with each other. And I believe I have Jack to thank for persuading you to do just that." Goodwin says.
"What do you mean?" Asks Sakura.
"I knew you wouldn't do it for yourself. And I knew from the start that Jack held very strong feelings for you. So, I used his love for you and just simply told him that if you didn't become one with the Crimson Dragon, that he would lose you to the Dark Signers." Goodwin says.
"So, you used me to get what you wanted out of Sakura?!" Asks Jack, furiously.
"Don't get me wrong, you did it out of love and good intentions, Jack. But, you saved me the trouble of unlocking the full powers of the Crimson Dragon by having her become one with it. I knew you would be the one to get her to do it and you did exactly that." Goodwin says.
"Sakura, I..." Says Jack. "I know, you don't have to apologize. You had good intentions behind it, Jack." Sakura says.
"Either way, now that the Crimson Dragon has become one with you, I can't just simply take it from you. But, I should warn you, becoming one with the Crimson Dragon comes with a price. You can't come out of it unscathed, it not only takes a toll on your body, but also your very life." Says Goodwin.
"What?!" Jack asks, angrily. "No, that can't be true." Says Yusei. "Guys." Sakura says. Jack, Yusei and Crow turn to her. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not doing so great. Ever since I became one with the Crimson Dragon, it has been taking quite a toll on me. However, I'm not giving this power up that easy." Says Sakura.
"Then I guess, I'm just going to have to duel it out of you." Goodwin says. He raises his Signed right arm and the tower grows even higher, more and more, wider and wider steps of the pyramid bursting from the earth.
"Ohh." Says both Leo and Luna. "Everyone take cover!" Jack says.
The rest of the island of Goodwin's mansion is quickly turning into a pyramid, as he now looms over the whole city, higher and higher, laughing, evilly, all the while of course. Finally it stops growing.
The Signers' group has moved to the freeway that leads to Goodwin's mansion, nothing of the island remains.
"Behold the perch of my reign to come!" Says Goodwin. The ground in front of Goodwin's feet glows and an altar rises out of the stone in front of him. The altar has ten rectangles on it and next sprouts a little device on the right-hand side with a slot that's just the right size for a deck. Yes, it's a dueling console. "But first, let us begin the ancient ritual for the King of the Netherworld! We will duel on the crest of the Condor, there I will crush you Signers and send you all to the Netherworld! In turn, he will do my bidding, and my ultimate plan will at last be set in motion!" Goodwin says.
Yusei, Sakura, Jack and Crow are already on their runners, ready to ride. "Have you lost your mind?" Asks Sakura, bluntly. "Yeah, you're the one who asked Yusei for his help in the first place, to take down the Dark Signers!" Crow says.
"I had my reasons! Now then, will you agree to this duel, or will you not?!" Asks Goodwin. On the last word, he seems to transform into a shadowy condor for a split second.
"Sure! If beating you means that thing goes bye-bye!" Yusei says.
"Sounds fair to me. But, you wretched Signers are the ones who'll be getting the beating!" Says Goodwin.
Sakura's irises and highlights start flaring, brightly, to match the glowing markings and designs along her body, while her sclera's have faded to black, with glowing red veins across her eyes. "We shall see! Let's do this!" Sakura says. She looks down at Grim, who's looking up at her. "Grim, shadow phase!" Sakura thinks to herself, speaking telepathically to Grim. Grim shifts his stance and bursts into a black shadowy mist, he's disappeared.
"Bring it on! No one here is afraid of you, Goodwin!" Says Jack. "That's right! So ya got yourself some bulging biceps, so what! Take a look at these bad boys, built for speed and power, just like the legendary man himself! That's right, we'll soar as high as he did, in this duel!" Crow says.
Flashback. The Stranger who built the Daedalus bridge zooms off the end of it and soars away into the sun.
Back to the present. Goodwin clenches his teeth in a nasty smile, when he realizes what Crow's talking about.
"Then, let's get started! 'Cause Crow, Sakura, Jack and I are all set to rev it up!" Says Yusei.
The others hear their engines starting to ignite. "Go, guys! Beat 'im! Yeah!" Leo says. "You can do it!" Says Luna. "That's right. Be strong." Trudge says. "And be careful!" Says Minako. "Very careful." Akiza says. "Sakura. Yusei. Please, be safe." Hotaru thinks to herself, worriedly. She starts fidgeting with the hem of her skirt, nervously.
Above, the Condor Sign is rotating around its axis.
"First, a few ground rules. Since this is a four-on-one match-up, you will each start with four thousand lifepoints, while I will start with three times that amount, twelve thousand! Also, none of us can attack on the first turn. Are there any objections?" Asks Goodwin.
The Condor crest keeps rotating and an edge of it is now close to Yusei, Jack, Sakura and Crow.
Goodwin puts his deck into the slot of the automatic shuffler on his altar and it auto-shuffles.
The outlines of the Mark start flickering with purple fire.
"None here!" Crow says. "That all works for me." Says Jack. "Same here." Yusei says. "Me, as well. So, let's go!" Says Sakura.
They get a riding start and leap into the air, landing on the shining path of the Condor Mark. Yusei and Sakura in front and Crow and Jack flanking, the four runners sail toward danger.
All five duelists shout together... "Duel!"
Yusei, Sakura, Crow and Jack race along the endless road of fire, the Mark of the Condor, each one starting with 4000 lifepoints.
"Now, Signers, prepare to enter into a world of stealth, a world where every move counts! Prepare to enter, 'Speed World'!" Goodwin says.
Crow rides out in front, while Yusei, Sakura and Jack hang back. "An' you prepare to enter a world of hurt, Goodwin!" Says Crow. He draws. "I'll take the first move! Here goes. I summon Blackwing-Mistral the Silver Shield in attack mode!" Crow says. Blackwing-Mistral the Silver Shield has 100 attack points. A glimpse of Crow's hand. Two traps, an effect monster, a speed spell and another monster that might be effect or not. "And when a Blackwing's out, I can summon something else from my hand, something that's gonna really give me a serious edge! And a sharp edge at that! I summon Blackwing-Bora the Spear!" Says Crow. Blackwing-Bora the Spear has 1700 attack points, 800 defense points, is a level 4 monster and is an earth type monster. "I then place one card face down and end my turn!" Crow says.
He drifts back and lets Jack take the lead. "Which means, you get to deal with me now!" Says Jack. He draws. Mad Archfiend has 1800 attack points, 0 defense points, is a level 4 monster and is a dark type monster. "And I'll start by calling out Mad Archfiend! Next, I'll throw a face down and call it a turn!" Jack says.
He drifts back to ride alongside Crow and Yusei, and Sakura takes the stage. "Alright, I'm up!" Says Sakura. She draws. "And you are about to go down! Because guess what, whatever you are planning isn't going to be happening!" Sakura says.
"Oh, yes it will. It's been in the making for eighteen years, not that I knew it back then." Says Goodwin.
Vision/flashback. Visuals accompany Goodwin's words. The big glowing canister, and the Goodwin brothers, eighteen years younger, on either side. "You see, before my brother Roman, also known as your father, Sakura, released the power of Ener-D, he gave me the Mark of the Dragon Head, and explained that every five thousand years, the Crimson Dragon and the King of the Netherworld do battle, Light versus Darkness." Goodwin says, in voice-over.
Images flash. Craters in the ground, the five original Earthbound Immortals and the Crimson Dragon. The Mark of the Spider and the Mark of the Dragon's Head land on each of younger Roman's arms, Spider right, Signer left. The darkness afflicts Roman like a disease, covering his arm with purple-mottled skin, expanding up his shoulder and neck, onto his face, as he strains with sheer will to keep it at bay. As it branches onto Roman's cheek, slowly, his eyes turn black, his skin grows darker and symbols appear on his face. "And this time my brother's body was the battleground. Two marks, one symbolizing each, embedded themselves in his flesh! But, the Dark Signer Mark soon began to take control of my brother. Soon he was swallowed by its power, but not entirely. Roman still understood the importance of the Darkness being kept in check by the Light, so, he went to great lengths to expunge the light from his system, and give it to someone he could trust, me." Says Goodwin, in voice-over.
Minutes before Zero Reverse, Rex finds his brother sitting at a console.
Roman tosses the glowing canister behind him, letting it roll toward Rex. "Take this! Take this and run!" Roman says.
"Huh? What is in this capsule?!" Asks Rex.
Roman turns, looking slightly deranged, hounded. "The key to the world's survival!" Roman says.
"Huh?" Asks Rex.
"Good and evil were battling within me, brother. And I chose the path of Darkness. Gather the five Signers, then come back and defeat me!" Roman says.
Change flashback. Roman smashes right through the protective glass and pounds the big red button on the Reactor's console. "And with that, he unleashed the power of the Ener-D Reactor!" Says Goodwin, in voice-over.
Vision. Yusei, Jack, Sakura, Akiza and Luna stand against a black background, casting white shadows. "Soon after. I did as my brother asked, and prepared to fight the Darkness by gathering you Signers. And then..." Goodwin says, in voice-over.
Another flashback. Goodwin faces Roman across the lair of the Dark Signers. This is the confrontation that happened shortly before Sakura defeated Roman. "...As he so charged, I challenged him to a duel, Light against the Dark. Of good against the wicked." Says Goodwin, in voice-over. Roman activates his Dark Signer duel disk and Goodwin activates the duel disk built into his metal arm. Interrupt flashback.
Back to the present. Sakura, Yusei, Crow and Jack are listening, closely.
"And do you know what happened? I lost." Goodwin says. He opens his black-filled eyes, seeing a moment they cannot.
Continue flashback. Goodwin's cards scatter to the floor and he sinks to his knees, defeated. Smoke wafts from Goodwin's built-in duel disk, as his lifepoints fall from 1200 to 0. "Ugh!" Says Goodwin.
Roman walks over to him, his eyes filled with worry, though still dark. Roman frowns down at the cards left scattered on the ground, 'Mirror Force', 'Solemn Judgment' and 'Divine Wrath', then at Goodwin. "You couldn't have beaten me with those cards! You threw the match! But why, why?!" Roman asks, accusingly. Goodwin kneels there, a bit listless. Roman grabs Goodwin by the shoulders. "I have my reasons, Roman. Believe me." Says Goodwin. "What do you mean?!" Roman asks. Goodwin smiles, wanly, very weak. "I mean that... you're not going to be able to beat your beloved daughter. After all, this whole time you've been trying to keep her safe. Isn't that why you gave up your rights to Professor Fudo? Roman, I know you loved Keiko, and you'd have done anything to make her happy. Let's face it, the moment you saw Sakura after being separated from her for eighteen years, you saw so much of the woman you loved in her. In other words, your love for Keiko was what made you weak in the first place. And the way you feel for Sakura, is your weakness now." Says Rex. "So, I fell in love with Keiko, and Sakura is my daughter. What kind of reason is that?!" Roman asks. "Don't you understand, brother? The Light will triumph over Darkness, and then five thousand years from now, new Signers and Dark Signers will be chosen, and they'll do battle all over again! The cycle is never-ending! But now that I've lost this duel... that all changes!" Says Goodwin. "Changes how?" Roman asks. Goodwin stares up at him, his eyes slightly inhuman with intensity. "Because now that I've lost, I will be reborn as a Dark Signer! A Dark Signer who has… the Mark of a Signer! Do you understand what that means, brother! The power I'll possess!" Says Goodwin. "You've gone mad!" Roman says. Goodwin slumps backward, growing even more intense and manic even as he can no longer hold his head up. Goodwin looks up at the ceiling, seeing a bright light. "Soon, I'll have all the strength and might of both the Light and the Darkness! Perhaps you were not able to take on these two forces at the same time, but I assure you, brother, I am up to the task. And then, there will be a new victor in the battle between good and evil!" Says Goodwin. "No, Rex!" Roman says.
In the bright light Goodwin sees, a silhouette wings toward him, a bird so dark that even the white light does not touch its feathers. Its eyes are glowing red. It flaps its wings to land, as Goodwin stares at it, rapt and unblinking. "It's too late, it's already starting!" Says Goodwin. Black feathers begin to drift down over Goodwin's face, darker than night. The flashback ends.
Back to the present. "So now, you finally understand. With the power I've been given as a Dark Signer, I'll have the King of the Netherworld lay waste to all that there is! Then, with the power of the Light, I can have the Crimson Dragon rebuild the world, in my image, for me to rule!" Goodwin says.
"You have lost it!" Says Sakura.
"Wait a second, lay waste to all that there is?!" Crow asks.
"So then, you're planning on destroying everyone and everything on Earth?!" Asks Yusei.
"Sorry, Mr. Would-be world-dominator, but we're not gonna let that happen!" Jack says.
"That is right, Goodwin! You may have the power of Light and Darkness on your side! However, we have something even stronger and you can't just take it!" Says Sakura.
"Haha! And tell me, what might that be?" Goodwin asks.
"It is the power you get for fighting for what is right!" Says Sakura.
The four duelists are resolute.
Trudge, Minako and the twins watch, nervously. Akiza and Hotaru's eyes glow with that same resolve, as well.
The four runners zoom around a corner. They're zigzagging their way along the Condor's tail.
"I'm summoning Sonic Boom in attack mode!" Sakura says. Sonic Boom has 2800 attack points and is a wind type monster. Sonic Boom is a black griffin, with silver metal protecting her forehead and the top of her head. She also has metal cuffs around her ankles. "Then, I shall place down a face down and end my turn!" Says Sakura.
She then pulls back to the side, now Yusei's up. "Now then, I'm summoning Max Warrior in attack mode!" Yusei says. Max Warrior has 1800 attack points. "Then, I'll throw a face down and end my turn!" Says Yusei.
"Finally, then, it's time, to show you the power, of both Light and Dark. First, since there are monsters on your field but none on mine, I'm allowed to summon forth Oracle of the Sun onto the field!" Goodwin says. Oracle of the Sun has 1000 attack points, 2000 defense points, is a level 5 monster and is a fire type monster. "And then, I'll follow that by summoning the tuner monster Fire Ant Ascator!" Says Goodwin. Fire Ant Ascator has 700 attack points, 1300 defense points, is a level 3 monster and is an earth type monster.
"A tuner monster?!" Crow asks.
"Not good!" Says Jack.
"Hm!" Yusei says.
"Yes, you know what's coming, don't you?! Next, my level-three Fire Ant Ascator tunes with my level-five Oracle of the Sun, to synchro-summon the one, the only, the beginning of the end for you four peons! The Sun Dragon Inti!" Says Goodwin. This monster is a big, golden, glowing sun disk, with four red and orange dragons waving out from its sides.
Sun Dragon Inti is a level-eight light-attribute dragon-type monster, with three thousand attack points and twenty-eight-hundred defense points.
"I don't know, that thing doesn't look so tough!" Sakura says, unconvincingly optimistically.
"Don't you worry, there's much more. Next, by removing the tuner monster Fire Ant Ascator from play, I can summon Weeping Idol!" Says Goodwin. Weeping Idol has 0 attack points, 500 defense points, is a level 2 monster and is a dark type monster. "Then, by lowering my lifepoints by one thousand, I can summon the dark tuner Dark Goddess Witaka from my hand!" Goodwin says. Dark Tuner-Dark Goddess Witaka has 0 attack points, 0 defense points, is a level 3 monster and is a dark type monster. "And now, I'll activate Witaka's ability. With it, I'm allowed to make her level equal to the level of one synchro monster that's out on the field! So, since Sun Dragon Inti's level is eight, Witaka's level now becomes eight as well! And now that she's packin' more heat, I'll have her dark-tune with the level-two Weeping Idol! So you see, just as I have both the power of both the Light and Dark, my field will have it as well! First there was the Sun Dragon, and now there is the Moon Dragon Quilla!" Says Goodwin. Moon Dragon Quilla has 2500 attack points, 2000 defense points and is a level 6 monster. It looks just like the sun dragon, except its face is the moon, with blue dragons. Goodwin throws down a pair of face downs. "But I'm afraid, Quilla won't be around for long. You see, due to my Moon Dragon's special ability, it is destroyed during the end phase of my turn!" Goodwin says. A little cloud appears and the Moon Dragon sets behind it, vanishing from sight.
"So then, why make such a production outta him comin' out? You really do have a few screws loose, don'tcha?! Oh well! This'll be over soon enough! 'Cause this next round, we're puttin' the hurt on ya big-time!" Says Crow.
Goodwin looks as though he's chuckling over something that he knows and he doesn't. "Yes, this upcoming round should be quite interesting indeed." Goodwin says.
"I don't like the sound a' that. Okay, Goodwin! Time to take you down!" Crow thinks to himself. "Here goes nothin'! First things first! I play the speed spell, 'Tune Up One-Two-Three'! Thanks to this, I get to roll a die, and then Blackwing's level increases depending on what number I roll!" Says Crow. His runner console shows a die spinning and a chart next to it. A result of 1 or 2 results in 1, a roll of 3 or 4 results in 2, and a roll of 5 or 6 results in 3. Crow rolled a 2, so he gets to increase his Blackwing Mistral's level by one, making it level 3. "Okay, Blackwing's level increases by one! And now, I'll use this Blackwing to tune my other one, Blackwing-Bora the Spear! An' I think you know what happens next! A synchro-summon, that brings out, Blackwing Armor Master!" Crow says. Blackwing Armor Master has 2500 attack points. "And did I mention? When a Blackwing is face up on my field, I'm allowed to summon the following monster without any penalty! That's right, Blackwing-Elphin the Raven, you can come on out!" Says Crow. Blackwing-Elphin the Raven has 2200 attack points. "Now, Blackwing Armor Master, attack that Sun Dragon Inti! Soaring Shadow Strike!" Crow says.
"Fool! Your Blackwing doesn't have enough attack points to win this battle." Says Goodwin.
"Hrrrr, we'll see about that." Crow says.
Two of Inti's dragon heads whip around and grab Blackwing's wings in their teeth. The sun shines brighter, scorching Armor Master at point blank range with a flaming corridor of fire. But when it dissipates, Armor Master is unharmed, facing it across a battlefield of sky.
"Ya see, Blackwing Armor Master can't be destroyed in battle, and any battle damage that occurred becomes zero! But wait, there's more! Whatever monster Blackwing attacked is tagged with a wedge counter, and once it wedges its way inside, that monster's attack and defense points become zero for the turn!" Says Crow.
This is exactly what happened to Inti, Armor Master stuck a small thorn into the sun disk when it struck and the sun is cracking down the middle.
"Meaning my other Blackwing, Elphin the Raven, can't miss!" Crow says.
Elphin swoops up and scratches the sun across the face in a big X.
"Hmhmhmhmhmhm. I'm afraid that's where you're wrong, Crow. There's no such thing as can't miss. Not for you. And not for the 'so-called' legendary man you've modeled your life after. Believe me, I know." Says Goodwin.
"What're you talkin' about?!" Crow asks.
"Hold on, are you saying what I think you're saying? That you're…" Says Yusei.
"...You're him?!" Jack asks.
"The one who built the bridge from Satellite?!" Asks Sakura.
"Back to the duel, and to your Elphin the Raven! Because any monster that destroys Sun Dragon Inti, is also destroyed and then you take damage equal to its attack points!" Goodwin says.
A blue lightning bolt strikes straight from the top of the stair to Crow on his runner. "Aaaaaaa-aaaaaaaa-aaaaaaa-aaaaaaahh!"
A blue-white dragon head peeks above a cloud that has formed on the other end of Goodwin's field. "Additionally, when Sun Dragon Inti is destroyed, I'm allowed to summon Moon Dragon Quilla from my graveyard. You see, Crow. Even when you can't miss, you can still be destroyed. That's a lesson I learned the hard way. Yes, I am the one who tried to build that bridge from Satellite. I thought I, too, couldn't miss. But, I was wrong. And now I know that if you really want something, you must do whatever is necessary to get it!" Says Goodwin.
"Not if it means hurting people! And that's why we're gonna stop you, right here and right now!" Crow says.
Goodwin holds up his Mark of the Dragon. "Hmhmhmhmhmhmhmhm!" Goodwin laughs.
"Ah!" Says Sakura. She looks up at Goodwin, then down at her Mark, as it flares brighter.
Then the other four Signers' Marks vanish from their arms.
"Hey, look!" Yusei says.
"No way!" Says Jack.
"Our Marks!" Akiza says. "They're gone!" Says Luna.
Suddenly, the additional markings and symbolic designs, along with the Seal of the Crimson Dragon, that run along Sakura's body start glowing even brighter. Then out of no where, the Crimson Dragon's heart of power appears in front of Sakura's chest, and this time she's not the one doing it. The Seal of the Crimson Dragon, along with the symbolic designs and additional markings that are infused along her body, all suddenly vanish, while her irises and highlights go dim, her sclera's shift to white and the glowing red veins disperse from across her eyes.
The Crimson Dragon's heart of power then flashes away and goes through Goodwin's chest. The six Marks combine together and the Seal of the Crimson Dragon appears on Goodwin's chest, while the additional markings and symbolic designs that were just recently etched into Sakura's flesh have now taken form on him. "Hahahahahaha!" Goodwin laughs.
"Goodwin! Somehow, he's taken them all for himself!" Sakura says.
With the Mark of the Condor lighting up his back, the Seal of the Crimson Dragon shining on his chest, and the additional markings and symbolic designs flaring along his body, Goodwin's laughing evilly. "Hahahahahahahaha! Ahahahahahahaha! You see? I'll stop at nothing to rule all!" Says Goodwin.