Chapter 35 – Awakening

The glass cup smashed against the wall, sending water and shards of glass everywhere. Elise huffed heavily, staring at the wet stain that now adorned the wall next to her wardrobe. How could I let something like this happen to him? He was my responsibility. As she watched the water trickle slowly down the wall, she couldn't help but wonder whether or not she was being silly about it all. After all, she had seen too many people to count die around her during the war now passed, and yet she felt angry about the condition that Tanion was now in. Is it because he's an outsider? He had no business in the war; it was only because of the actions of both us and the Grand Order that he was drawn into our world. And yet…

A knock came at the door. "May I come in?" came Darrien's voice.

Elise sighed. "Yeah, just watch where you step," she replied. "I broke a glass."

"Over a wall?" Darrien questioned after entering. "Still kicking yourself over Tanion, aren't you?"

"We brought him here, Darrien," she replied, reaching for a dustpan and brush to clean up the mess. "He was our responsibility and look what happened to him."

"You can't blame yourself for his actions, Elise," Darrien answered, kneeling down next to her and gazing at her with his golden eyes. "He may be younger than us, but he's still nearly an adult. He can take care of himself, and he did."

"He might never wake up."

"He did what he had to do," Darrien said. "And he did so of his own free will. What happened to him was not because we brought him here, it was because it was the right thing for him to do. It stopped the machine, did it not?"

"It did," Elise nodded, sweeping the remains of the glass into a bin. "He saved us all from whatever was on the other side of that bridge."

"We've seen too much war, but Tanion was a rookie," Darrien told her. "Yet he made the choices he did knowing that he might never come back from them. He was just as willing as anyone else here to do what was necessary to win. We can't blame ourselves for that."

"He just… he reminds me of everything we've lost, you know?" Elise reasoned. "I remember sitting with him on the outside of the castle just before Theta, just staring over the ocean, and it was peaceful. It had been so long since I'd even thought of the word, and yet here he was, a reminder of better times. Yet he too became a victim of our war."

Elise stiffened in surprise as she felt a hand rest upon her shoulder. "Tanion will be fine, I promise," Darrien said brightly as she turned and looked him in the eyes. "Once he's recovered, we can send him back to Eden and he won't have to worry anymore."

"Darrien, I…" Elise pulled him in close and hid her face over his right shoulder. "Thank you for being the voice of reason. I can get emotional sometimes."

Darrien rested his arms on her back. "We all can," he said coolly. "But you're my mentor, right? I have to make sure you're doing alright, otherwise that could affect your teaching skills."

Elise pulled away from the embrace with a sly smile. "After the incident at Ad Deir, I'd say you've just about surpassed me, wouldn't you?"

"There'd only be one way to find out," Darrien noted.

"True," Elise commented. "Perhaps another time though. Jorann wants me to stay at the laboratory for a few hours just to watch over Tanion with the guards. He reckons he will start rotating our stronger duelists through just to be sure."

"That's fair," Darrien said with a hint of disappointment. "I don't have anything to do until tomorrow. How about I accompany you?"

Elise nodded happily. "I'd like that."

After making sure that they hadn't missed any remaining bits of glass, Elise and Darrien made sure they had their duel disks on hand as they headed back to the laboratory. However, while she was still concerned for Tanion's wellbeing, Elise currently had other things on her mind. What was that just now? Was he just being kind or was there something more to that? Although she was aware that they had embraced at other times, the most prominent being at Ad Deir, this had felt more… intimate than the other times. She could feel herself smiling involuntarily at the thought, and had to quickly mask it so that Darrien didn't ask any questions. I can't let him get any ideas, can I?

Questions swirled in her mind as the two of them entered the laboratory to find that nothing had changed since they had last been present within Jorann a couple hours before. Relieving two of the four guards present within the building, Elise walked over to the monitoring screens to take in the reading coming from Tanion's body. Pulse, oxygen levels and blood pressure were all normal, and by all indicators it would appear as though he was just having a normal sleep. But to have been asleep for so long… something cannot be right. Just what is all that Duel Energy doing to his body? With the measurement tools for that being inadequate, it was impossible to tell what exactly was going on, and Elise could feel her chest getting tight with anxiety over what could happen to Tanion. However, a hand on her shoulder washed it all away.

"I told you, he will be fine," Darrien assured her.

As if on cue, one of the doctors spoke up. "Elise, his brain activity is increasing."

"I've got no idea what that means, doctor," Elise admitted. "You're going to have to tell me more than that."

"It means he could be about to wake up."

"Let us into the room," Elise demanded immediately, already heading for the door.

Darrien followed behind her as the seal on the door was opened, allowing for the two of them to enter the room. Walking over to Tanion's bed, she could see the drip in his right arm and the various other cords attached to his body allowing for the doctors on the other side of the glass to monitor his condition. However, as she approached, she could begin to feel some sort of pressure emanating from Tanion's body.

"You can feel it too, huh?" Darrien asked her, noticing the look on her face.

"It must be because of all the Duel Energy he absorbed," Elise stated, putting a hand on the edge of the bed. "I wonder –"

Tanion's eyes opened.

It felt like she had been hit by a freight train. As her eyes began to flutter open, her head felt extremely heavy as her body tried to return to consciousness. Looking around as best she could while her senses returned, she could see that the glass had been shattered and all of the others present in the laboratory were seemingly unconscious from whatever happened. Looking to the far wall, opposite to the other with the door she had entered through as was now resting against, Elise could see that a hole had been punched through it, and alarm bells began to go off in her head. His deck…

"You're awake already," Tanion commented matter-of-factly as he walked back through the hole, donning his clothes and duel disk. "Not surprising. I hadn't expected anyone to be that close to me, so I wasn't focussed that close."

"What… what did you do?" Elise managed to say.

"I couldn't have anyone raising the alarm just yet, so I disabled all the electronics in the room and put everyone to sleep," Tanion answered. "Your strength is most likely the reason you are awake now."

"Tanion… what are you doing?" Elise asked, trying to stand. "We want to help."

The boy remained monotonous. "No one can help me with what I must do," he said. "Now get out of my way."

"No," Elise said, pressing a button on her duel disk and locking his to hers. "I won't let you go that easily. Even if you knock me out again, your duel disk isn't going anywhere. I won't let it. I won't let you."

"Neither will I," a voice came from beside her.

"Darrien? You are awake too?" Tanion noted, seemingly surprised. "I commend you both, but it's pointless. Don't try to stop me."

"The attack on the Conduit was supposedly pointless too," Elise pointed out, finally managing to get to her feet. "Tanion, we can help you. Just talk to us."

"No."

"We can't let you go just yet," Darrien said, also rising. "Tell us what you are planning, Tanion. Tell us what is going on."

"No."

"Then duel us," Elise said. "You win, then you go. We win –"

"You won't win," Tanion stated, readying his disk. "Let's get this over with."

DUEL!

What's going on with you, Tanion? Elise wondered in anguish as she looked at the boy's eyes. They seemed cold, almost unnervingly so. Not only that, but there was little emotion left in his voice when he spoke, and it made her wonder just what had happened to him in the last week that he had been under. Tanion, please, let us help you…

"I'll start then," Darrien said. "I activate the spell card Fusion Sage! This card allows me to add one 'Polymerisation' from my deck to my hand, which I then activate, fusing the Zerath in my hand with Shining Angel! Oh great Herald, become one with the light and shine forth with your brilliant radiance! Reveal your true strength and reign over this battlefield with your purity! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 10! Gabriel, Heart of the Light! (ATK:3700/DEF:3200)."

"Is that the extent of your strength, Darrien?" Tanion asked him.

"I know your deck, Tanion," Darrien countered. "Every single one of your monsters is EARTH Attribute, and since Gabriel negates the effects of all non-LIGHT monsters on your field, you can't use any of their effects."

"We shall see."

"Gabriel's monster effect activates!" Darrien continued. "Since Zerath was used as material for his summon, I can banish Shining Angel to inflict damage equal to its ATK! Take 1400 damage, Tanion!"

"I activate the effect of Magical Knight Merlin in my hand!" Tanion countered. "Since I would take effect damage, I discard it to negate that damage then draw one card for every 500 points of damage I would take. Therefore, I draw two cards, bringing my hand to 6."

Darrien grunted in anger. "I can't believe that you… I end my turn here," he said, looking to Elise. "Take him, Elise."

Tanion – 4000 LP

Darrien – 4000 LP

Elise – 4000 LP

"My turn then," Elise said, drawing a card. "Like Darrien, I too will activate the spell card Polymerisation, and I fuse Risen Soldier Vai with Risen Soldier Kyn! Soldiers of the earth, rise and charge forward onto the battlefield! Bring forth your strength to crush the enemy beneath your might! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 8! Risen General Pah! (ATK:2600/DEF:0)."

"The student has surpassed the teacher, it seems," Tanion said, noting the strength of both monsters.

"I activate the effect of Kyn in my graveyard!" Elise announced. "By banishing it, I can double the attack of Pah until the end of your turn, meaning it now has 5200 ATK! With this, I end my turn."

"That's all you have to throw at me?" Tanion asked. "A 3700 ATK monster and a 5200 ATK monster? Do you really think you can stop me with such things?"

"Without your monster effects, your deck is neutered severely," Darrien said. "Without them, you cannot hope to surpass our monsters."

"We'll see."

Tanion – 4000 LP

Darrien – 4000 LP

Elise – 4000 LP

"Let's get this done. My turn!" Tanion said, drawing a card. "Since you control monsters and I don't, I can special summon this card from my hand! Come, Woodsman Knight! (Lvl:5/ATK:2100/DEF:1200). And then I activate the spell card Intel of the Knight! I negate Gabriel's effects, including the monster negation effect, and give half of his ATK to Woodsman, meaning he now had only 1850 ATK while Woodsman has 3950!"

"He has exactly the cards he needs," Elise realised. "The Duel Energy must have increased his ability to draw the right cards…"

"Then, I activate Fast Recruitment! By paying half my Life Points, I can special summon two Level 4 or lower 'Knight' monsters from my hand! Come, the Tuner monster Tuning Knight (Lvl:2/ATK:750/DEF:550) and Duplicate of the Knight! (Lvl:3/ATK:1100/DEF:800)!" Tanion announced as his Life Points dropped to 2000. "Duplicate's monster effect activates! Since it was summoned, I target Woodsman Knight to summon a token with Woodsman's Level! Appear, Knight Token! (Lvl:5/ATK:0/DEF:0)."

"4 monsters without using a normal summon…" Darrien whispered.

"Tuning's monster effect activates! This turn, Duplicate is treated as a Tuner monster!"

Elise gasped. "But that means…"

"I tune my Level 5 Knight Token to my Level 3 Duplicate! Synchro Summon! Appear before us now, Level 8! Royal Knight! (ATK:2500/DEF:2000)," Tanion said before continuing. "Additionally, I tune my Level 5 Woodsman Knight to my Level 2 Tuning Knight! Synchro Summon! Appear beside the Knight, Level 7! Charger of the Knight! (ATK:2700/DEF:1300)."

"Tanion, listen to us!" Elise pleaded. "We want to help you!"

"Royal Knight's monster effect activates!" Tanion said, ignoring her. "I destroy Risen General Pah and inflict damage equal to half its ATK! Take 2600 damage, Elise!"

Elise screamed as Royal Knight's blade swung through both Pah and her, sending her flying into the wall and causing her Life Points to fall to 1400. Darrien rushed to her side as she struggled to maintain consciousness, but the attack had led her to a horrific realisation. That attack… it was real. Looking behind her, she could see that the energy from the strike had crumpled the wall in a clear line that took on the same angle as the strike from Royal Knight's attack. This can't be happening…

"Battle! Charger of the Knight, attack Gabriel, Heart of the Light!"

Darrien weathered the blow, his feet sliding backwards under its energy until he slammed into the wall as his Life Points dropped to 3150. "You'll have to do more than that, Tanion…"

"Charger's monster effect activates," Tanion stated nonchalantly. "If it destroys an opponent's monster by battle, you take damage equal to that monster's DEF. And since Gabriel had 3200…"

"No, you can't!" Elise pleaded.

Elise continued to plead to Tanion as Charger went back to Royal Knight's side and the monster lifted his blade, its point aiming directly for Darrien. Please, Tanion, stop ignoring me… However, her efforts were for nothing. Energy erupted from the end of Royal Knight's blade, blasting Darrien through to wall and into the one behind it. Elise screamed as the assault ended and Darrien's limp body dropped to the floor, defeated.

"How could you do this to him?!" Elise wailed, tears welling in her eyes. "I thought we were your friends!"

"You are," Tanion said. "But you tried to get in my way. I can't allow this."

Elise sobbed. "What happened to you while you were under, Tanion?" she begged. "Please, tell me."

Tanion looked directly at her. "Royal Knight, attack Elise directly and end this," he ordered.

As Tanion walked away, the last thing Elise saw was Royal Knight's blade coming down over her.

"Sir, there's been a disturbance at the laboratory."

Jorann was in the dining hall when the messenger had come in. Around him sat Yusei, Yugi and Jack, all of whom were in the process of discussing what they now planned to do since the war was over. Jaden had left for the Spirit World only moments before, having explained that he was going to keep searching for word of the monsters that they had encountered during what was now being called the Battle for Eravand. However, while the mood in the room had been informal before, all of them immediately switched to a more serious demeanour at the mention of the laboratory.

"What kind of disturbance?" Jorann asked.

"We aren't sure, sir," the messenger stated. "The cameras in the room went offline a couple of minutes ago and we haven't been able to get the feed up. The last footage we had showed that the subject was still resting, but we took precautions and have a dozen guards positioned outside the door already, sir."

"That may not be enough," Jorann muttered. "Yugi, Yusei, Jack. Care to accompany me?"

"Of course," Yusei answered. "Tanion is our responsibility as well."

As they headed for the laboratory, Jorann mind began to whirl. It was apparent to all of them that the cameras going off was no co-incidence. Something had to have happened to Tanion, but he was unsure as to what. Could remnants of the old Grand Order have come for him? Now that Seto had control and was working with them, the location of Stromberg was becoming common knowledge. As neither of the Twin Commanders had been found after the Conduit was shut down, it was entirely possible that one of them might have managed to slip in and grab him. But they would have had to somehow found out about Tanion's condition. With Zera it might be possible, but that's still a stretch… In the end, he settled on the conclusion that he didn't want to accept. No one had come for Tanion. It had to have been the actions of the boy himself that had shut the cameras down. Elise and Darrien were in there…

"What the hell…"

The exclamation came from Yusei, who had arrived at the corner to the laboratory first. As Jorann turned the corner, he could see that the doors to the laboratory were wide open with all of the guards unconscious on the floor. His heart began to race as he approached, but they quickly realised that the guards were asleep, not dead.

"How could he have done this?" Jack asked.

"I don't know," Jorann admitted before hastily pulling out a phone. "Control centre, this is Jorann. Do you read me, over?" A silence followed. "Control centre, please answer. This is Jorann speaking to you. Do you read me?"

"Jorann, its useless," Yugi muttered from the top of the slope as he looked through the hallways. "I can't see any lights on. He must have disabled all electronics."

"Ridiculous. How could he have possibly done that?" Jorann asked.

"Gone the rules of old…" Yusei whispered. "We have to split up and find him. Yugi, head for the docks. I'll search the castle. Jack, head for the hangar bay. He cannot leave this island in the state he's in right now."

"Be careful," Jorann warned. "If he's done all this…"

Yusei, Yugi and Jack all nodded in agreement before splitting off into their separate directions. After making sure that all the guards were alright, Jorann rushed into the laboratory itself to find the place in chaos. Holes were blown into walls, machinery and people were scattered everywhere, but from what he could tell, they seemed to be asleep like the guards outside. However, upon peering into the now shattered room that Tanion had been held in, he noticed Elise against the right wall, one that looked like it had been torn apart by huge blasts of energy. Then, beyond it, he could see Darrien's body lying down near the far wall of the laboratory itself. Was he thrown through the inner wall…?

Hurrying to Elise's side, he noticed a large gash down her right arm that was bleeding profusely, the blood already having formed a small pool on the ground. Realising that her life was at stake, he took a lab coat from one of the unconscious doctors and began wrapping it around her wrist. Glancing over at Darrien, he could see no blood and the rise and fall of his chest, so he was alive for the time being. There's no telling if there's anything broken inside, though…

"J…Jorann?"

The voice surprised him, but he looked back to Elise to see her eyes slightly open. "It's alright Elise, everything will be okay," Jorann assured her.

"Where's…"

"Yugi, Yusei and Jack have split up to find Tanion as we speak," Jorann told her. "They'll cover the whole castle. At least one of them will run into him."

Elise shook her head in fear. "One alone… won't be enough."

Jack Atlas stormed into the hangar bay to find bodies already lying asleep on the ground. Wary that the boy could still be around, he held his duel disk at the ready in case he tried to jump him. To think that boy I met before the Battle of Eravand could now be causing all of this… Suddenly, he felt his vision beginning to falter as his brain tried to sleep. Falling to one knee, he realised what was happening and fought as hard as he could to ward off the sleep. I can't fall asleep now… I won't!

"I must say, Jack, I am surprised by you," a voice came from behind him. "I would've thought only The Three would be able to resist this."

"How… how are you doing this?" Jack demanded, unable to lift his head under its own weight.

"I'm controlling your Duel Energy with my own, thus allowing me to control your consciousness. Duel Energy is linked to your body after all," Tanion said calmly, now standing over Jack.

"I… I won't let you do this!" Jack bellowed angrily, lunging out with his right hand at Tanion. Unfortunately, he fell short and ended up lying on the ground. "I refuse to let you do this to me."

"How much longer do you think you can resist me, Jack?" Tanion asked him.

Jack smirked. "Long enough to keep you here."

Glancing up as best he could at the boy, he noted that the boy seemed to be considering his words. After a short moment, the pressure on his body released at once and he waited for his body to return to normal before getting to his feet. Now eyeing off the shorter boy from a standing position, he knew that he had to keep Tanion in the hangar until the others arrived. I won't let you leave, Tanion. I swear it.

"You would duel me then?" Jack demanded.

"It is the quicker way," Tanion replied, readying his disk. "Although I could subdue you eventually via your Duel Energy, I would run the risk of others arriving. Let's do this."

DUEL!

"I'll start," Jack huffed. "I can special summon this card by discarding one Level 4 or lower monster from my hand, then reducing its Level by the Level of the sent monster. Therefore, I discard the Level 1 Mirror Resonator in order to special summon Power Giant! (Lvl:6/ATK:2200/DEF:0)."

"A level 3 in hand then, I suppose?" Tanion queried as Power Giant's Level was reduced to 5.

"I then summon the Tuner monster, Dark Resonator! (Lvl:3/ATK:1300/DEF:300)," Jack said, confirming Tanion's suspicions. "I tune my now Level 5 Power Giant to my Level 3 Dark Resonator! The ruler's heartbeat will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power! Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Dragon Archfiend! (Lvl:8/ATK:3000/DEF:2000)."

"You think your ace monster will be enough?" Tanion asked him.

"I'm only just getting started," Jack declared. "I set the last two cards in my hand. Turn over!"

Jack – 4000 LP

Tanion – 4000 LP

"My turn," Tanion said, drawing a card. "I summon forth Caller of the Knight! (Lvl:4/ATK:1700/DEF:1200). Then, since this card was summoned, I can special summon one Level 4 or lower 'Knight' monster from my hand. Come, the Tuner monster, Auxiliary of the Knight! (Lvl:4/ATK:1500/DEF:1400). Auxiliary's monster effect activates! If summoned, I can add one 'Divine Blade' or 'Knight' monster from my deck to my hand, and I choose Divine Blade Maglir! And now, I tune my Level 4 Caller with my Level 4 Auxiliary! Synchro Summon! Appear before us now, Level 8! Royal Knight! (ATK:2500/DEF:2000)."

"So, your ace monster appears…" Jack muttered.

"I now activate Royal Knight's monster effect! I destroy Red Dragon Archfiend and inflict half its ATK to you as damage!" Tanion cried. "Take this, Jack Atlas!"

Jack got hit by the blast from Royal Knight's blade and was thrown backwards, realisation dawning on his face as he came to a halt. That attack was real…

"Now, Royal Knight, end this!" Tanion ordered. "Sacred Blade!"

"I activate the trap Changing Destiny! This negates your attack, and now presents you with a choice!" Jack said. "Either you gain Life equal to half of Royal Knight's ATK, or I take that much as damage!"

"I have no need for extra Life Points," Tanion stated. "Therefore, I choose to wipe away another 1250 of your Life Points!"

Jack was thrown further back by the blast, his Life Points being reduced from 4000 to 1250 in the process. This boy… this is not the same boy I had heard about. Whatever absorbing all that Duel Energy has done to him, he is now a much more formidable opponent than I anticipated… Jack grunted as he got back to his feet, holding his left ribs in pain.

"I admit, I did not expect you to survive this turn," Tanion said. "However, that does not mean you can defeat me. I set one card face-down. Turn over."

Jack – 1250 LP

Tanion – 4000 LP

It's time to go all out. "My turn!" Jack declared, drawing a card. "Tanion! I will show you what true power is! I activate the effect of Mirror Resonator in my graveyard! Since you control a monster special summoned from the Extra Deck and I do not, I can summon it to my field, but I must banish it when it leaves the field! Come, Mirror Resonator! (Lvl:1/ATK:0/DEF:0)."

"I know where this is going…" Tanion murmured.

"I activate the trap card Call of the Haunted, allowing me to revive Red Dragon Archfiend from the graveyard!" Jack continued. "Come, my very soul! (Lvl:8/ATK:3000). And then, I summon the Tuner monster, Clock Resonator! (Lvl:3/ATK:1200/DEF:600)."

"Here it comes…"

A red glow began to envelop Jack, his eyes glowing red as well. "My rugged soul, Burning Soul! I Double Tune my Level 3 Clock Resonator and my Level 1 Mirror Resonator to my Level 8 Red Dragon Archfiend! The King and The Devil, here and now shall become as one. A Raging Spirit! Lift up the very cries of Creation itself! Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 12, Red Nova Dragon! (ATK:3500/DEF:3000)."

"The monster that carved our path at Eravand," Tanion said. "You've finally arrived."

"Red Nova Dragon gains 500 ATK for every Tuner in my graveyard, and since I have Clock and Dark Resonator in the grave, it now has 4500 ATK!" Jack announced. "Battle! Red Nova Dragon, attack Royal Knight! Burning Soul!"

"I activate the trap card Knight Bulwark!" Tanion countered. "This turn, 'Knight' monsters cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects."

"However, that doesn't mean you escape the damage of the attack!" Jack pointed out. "Red Nova Dragon, teach him what true power is!"

As his dragon flew past Royal Knight and Tanion and rained fire down on both of them, Jack waited for some sort of reaction from his opponent. Instead, there was an eerie silence amongst the flames, and once they had dissipated, he noted that Tanion seemed completely unperturbed by losing half of his Life Points. What in the world…

"I end my turn with that," Jack said, refusing to show any sort of reaction to Tanion.

Jack – 1250 LP

Tanion – 2000 LP

"Time to end this," Tanion said, drawing a card. "Since I only control one 'Knight' monster, I can special summon this card from my hand. Come, the Tuner monster, Jester Knight! (Lvl:1/ATK:0/DEF:0). I then tune my Level 8 Royal Knight to my Level 1 Jester Knight!"

"What? You aren't going to Accel Synchro?" Jack gasped.

Tanion ignored him. "Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 9! Mary, Queen of Knights! (ATK:3000/DEF:2600). I then activate Mary's monster effect! I negate Red Nova Dragon's effects, and also increase her ATK by 700!"

"And now she is stronger," Jack said, eyes widening. "And with its effect negated, Red Nova can't negate an attack anymore."

"You want to know why I didn't summon my Paladin, Jack?" Tanion asked him. "It's because I don't need him to defeat you. I now equip Divine Blade Maglir to Mary and activate its effect! By returning Royal Knight to the Extra Deck, she gains 2500 ATK to now become 6200!"

"And because Red Nova Dragon only has 3500…"

"This duel is over. Mary, attack Red Nova Dragon! Imperial Judgement!"

I can't believe he defeated me so easily… Jack cried out in pain as the beam of light that had come from Mary's hand shot straight through his dragon and blasted him over 20 metres backward, his body tumbling over and over as his Life Points hit 0. I'm sorry, Yusei, Yugi…

"Jack? Jack!"

His eyes fluttered as the voice came through, and as his vision returned, he could see Yusei and Yugi standing over him. Glancing around, the first thing he noticed was an empty hangar bay behind the spot where Tanion had been standing only moments before. There had been a transport there before… how does he know how to fly one of those?

"Jack, what happened? Are you okay?" Yusei asked him caringly.

"I'll be fine," Jack said, although he winced in pain as he stood. "Yusei, that boy has become far stronger than I anticipated. Even Red Nova Dragon was no match for his monsters."

"How could he have –" Yusei cut himself off. "Never mind. It has to be related to the Duel Energy. Anyway, we saw a transport leaving this hangar and hurried over. I'm guessing he was aboard?"

"I assume so, although I have no idea how he can operate it," Jack pondered.

"It doesn't matter," Yugi said. "Right now, we need to find Jorann and get in touch with the resistance leaders and Seto. They need to know what has happened here, and we need to find out where Tanion is going."

"Agreed," Yusei said with a nod as he aided Jack to move. "If he did this to Jack without batting an eye, there's no telling what he will do next. We have to find him and stop him, before he does something that'll endanger us all."

Yugi nodded in acceptance. "The warning," he said. "For when the traveller wakes, the Knights will rule over all…"

Coming Soon - Jorann's Strength