Yugioh 5D's: Konami/Kazuki Takahashi

CFGX "Here's the next chapter. It's been real hard to put all this together in two weeks. This chapter is tribute to authors 5-Digit and Seed245445. I hope they like it. And I hope it get lot's of reviews. Here's goes..."

Kenichi Matsuda: 5-Digit

Sarah Lytle: Seed245445

Katherine continued to run, her lungs pounding but she could not stop. She didn't mind if she ran to the edges of Satellite if she wanted to see him. Jason had to be around here, he had to! She knew that he would be able to stop this, he could save Rico, he would save her sister, and he could save everyone, right? She was trying hard to believe it was true, but she was not sure what to believe.

She soon stopped. Her lungs were on fire, and she was now exhausted. She did not know where she was and she could not bear it. She couldn't hold back the tears and collapsed to her knees, weeping openly.

"Don't cry, Kat. Everything will be alright." Kat snapped her head up; even through her blurry vision she could still make out the figure. Gabriella had suddenly appeared in front of her. She was kneeling down towards her little sister, still garbed in the Dark Signer vestments Katherine had seen her in the first time she had met the Dark Signers.

Kat was already backing away. "N-No. Keep away from me. Don't come any closer to me! You aren't my sister!" Kat cried as she stumbled back.

"But I am, Kitten, and you know that. I also know what you wish for; you wanted to see Jason again, and I can help you see him. All you have to do is come with me." Gabriella held out her hand towards her tiny, frail sister, who was still shaking violently, at the very sight of her sister and the events that had just occurred.

"I won't do it. I don't trust any of the Dark Signers, and...and..." Kat stuttered she couldn't get the words out. The tears burned her eyes. She was now completely confused.

"Is that why you trusted Mana? You trusted her and she was a stranger, as well as a Dark Signer. But you trusted her over your own sister. The one person who looked after you, and raised you." Gabriella voice wasn't full of malice, but she was somewhat angry.

"Mana understood me. She was like what you used to be, Gabe. But you've changed. Why did you abandon me?" Kat whimpered more. "I want to see Jason and I would rather see Mana then you right now, if I have to see another Dark Signer."

Gabriella shook her head. "I can let you see Jason, but it isn't so easy to see the other person. Mana had fallen earlier in this war, struck down by the one person she thought she trusted. You see Kat, no one is truly innocent in life. More and more, you will get hurt by all except the ones who truly love you. I've always loved you, Kat. And I want to make things right. I understand how you felt. That is why I want to be able to make those people pay for hurting you. Don't you wish the pain would go away as well?"

Kat pondered on the question. Her head pounding, she was now completely confused. She had finally found Jason, but now he had left her again. Her sister was an evil Dark Signer, and the only other person she trusted had sunk to the shadows. Now she wasn't sure what to believe. "I just want all of it to go away. I want it all to be like it used to be."

Gabriella placed a hand on Kat's shoulder. "And we will make it the way it was, Kitten. I promise. I'll take you to Jason and we will be reunited in these flames of war. And I will hurt all the bad people who hurt you, and took your friends away as well, that much I can. But you have to trust me, like you always have Kat. I'll make everything right, just come with me."

Kat's mind felt fuzzy. She wasn't sure if she could make the decision, but her memories flooded back. The reunion with Jason, the way she said goodbye to Mana and wished to see her again, and the feeling of hopelessness and loneliness as Jason went to fight the war once again. It hurts her very soul and heart. Soon she could feel the sadness overcome her once more. Her sister was right; there had to be a way to stop the pain, and maybe this was the way to do it. Her eyes suddenly lost their serene glow and she nodded. "You're right. I want all this pain to stop. Make the pain stop. Please!" she practically begged.

"Very well, my little Neko. Now, let us make things right, for our future, together." Gabriella helped her sister up and led her away. All was now in motion; and a fated reunion was soon to be carved out in blood...

YuGiOh 5D's

Reverse of Arcadia

Ride 33: Coils of the Snake

Part 2: Blue with Envy

Back on the dueling field, the Dark Signer, who now shown her identity, glared back at the green mobile capsule. "You made a big mistake coming here, Victor."

"I came here to save you, Sarah!" the machine said in a metallic male's voice.

"I didn't ask you to 'save' me," the woman named Sarah snapped, "And I didn't ask you to follow me either!" the machine stood silently at Sarah's outburst, while Kenichi propped himself up against its frame, "I made up my mind the moment I joined the Dark Signers. So move aside and stay out of our way!"

Victor had realized that mere words could simply not sway the woman back into common sense. Perhaps if he tried the next best alternative... "You, sir. Are you still in position to duel?"

Kenichi tried to get rid of that lump in his throat, still perplexed that a machine was talking to him. Eventually, he was able to talk again, "Uh, yeah. That's why I'm down here in the first place!"

"Then stand back." a loud hiss was heard and clouds of steam exhausted from under the machine, causing Kenichi to stumble back. The metallic hood that made up the capsule began to rise and open up, until it stopped at a 50-degree angle. Two fang-like blades folded out from under it and formed a holographic screen between the two. It now looked similar to Sarah's recent duel-runner, except it appeared as a giant fanged serpent's head. What was more intriguing was what was under the capsule before it transformed. Between two trended bars locked an emerald-green duel-runner with a face-plate designed as a red-and-gold serpent. "It's simple. I will become your guide for the duration of the game. I'll act as an auto-pilot so you won't have to strain yourself. All you have to do is keep dueling. Can you do that?"

He did not have to ask; in no time Kenichi gathered his cards and mounted this new motorcycle. He was impressed on how advanced the format was. Nevertheless he inserted his field and graveyard cards onto the runner's dueling platform.

"You just don't give up, do you? I guess you'll have to learn the hard way!" Sarah sped off further into the fiery swamps. As a response, the trends on the machine began to accelerate and darted off after her.

Kenichi: 2700 (5)

Sarah: 3400 (8)

"Alright, time to pick up where I left off!" Kenichi exclaimed, "Because of Fiend Comedian's effect, I have to send as many cards from my deck to the graveyard as the numbers of monsters in your graveyard!" he picked up the top thirteen cards from the top of his deck and discarded them all, "Next, I activate UFO Turtle's ability! Now I can special-summon 1 FIRE monster with an ATK power of 1500 or less from my deck, like my Solar Flare Dragon!" a blazing, chinese dragon appeared (ATK: 1500).

"Time to finish what I started. I summon (5D's)(1) Lustsworn Serpun(1/ATK: 0/DEF: 600) in DEF mode and end my turn!" a young toddler-like child with a red snake's lower-half appeared, hurled in a fetal position, "Now the effect of my Venom Road kicks in! And since Serpun has zero ATK points, my trap has no effect on her!" a liquid snake bit into Kenichi's monster (ATK: 1000)

"It's my turn!" Kenichi drew his next card, "Lucky me! I just drew a second Solar Flare Dragon! I think I'll summon him in DEF mode!" a second fire dragon appeared (DEF: 1000), "Next, I switch my first dragon, also to DEF mode (DEF: 1000)! That ends my turn; but not before Solar Flare's ability activates, which dishes out 500 points of damage each!"

Kenichi: 2700 (6)

Sarah: 2400 (9)

"And the effect of Venom Road activates once again!" Sarah said, as two more snakes appeared and bit the dragons.

Solar Flare Dragon 1: (ATK: 500)

Solar Flare Dragon 2: (ATK: 1000)

"It's my turn again!" Sarah, drew her next card, "I'll pass this turn and let the effect of my Venom Road kick in!" two more snakes bit into the dragons, and the first one burnt out in ashes (ATK: 0), "Anything else you'd like to throw at me?"

'This is bad,' Kenichi thought, 'If I don't find a card that can take out that giant snake soon, I'm kaput!' he then drew his next card, and looked at it, 'Maybe this could help!' "I summon the tuner-monster Rose, Warrior of Revenge!" the rose-haired ninja warrior appeared onto the field (ATK: 1600), "And now, Rose Warrior, give my monster a tune-up!" the two monsters merged together as Kenichi chanted:

"From the ashes a new flame ignites, behold the power that burns hotter than the sun! Synchro-Summon!"

"Wildfire Dragon, go on the defense!" the fiery-scaled dragon appeared in DEF mode (DEF: 2400), "Now I activate his special-ability! By removing two FIRE monsters like Magma Drago and UFO Turtle, you get hit with 1500 points of damage!" the dragon spat out a huge ball of fire which slammed into the Dark Signer.

Kenichi: 2700 (8)

Sarah: 900 (10)

"That ends my turn!" Kenichi concluded, and the effect of Venom Road activated, costing Wildfire Dragon 500 ATK points (ATK: 2400).

Sarah drew her next card, "Vennominaga! Put out that pesky dragon! Go, Absolute Venom!" the Snake Deity spat out her corrosive venom which melted down the dragon on contact.

Jason: "But that's Kenichi's best monster!"

David: "Then he had better hope he pulls a stronger monster, and quick."

"Just face it already! You can't possibly destroy a 3000-ATK-point monster that's immune to card-effects!" Sarah laughed, "And even if you manage to destroy it in a one-on-one fight, I just need to remove a reptile in my graveyard from play and she's back on my field! And last I checked, I just destroyed your best monster! Now tell me how you plan to beat me?"

Kenichi growled in frustration. Sarah did make her point when she said her monster was indestructible. It just destroyed his strongest monster and it was already have one more Hyper-Venom Counter left to gain before it was game over. How could he fight against a monster that was nearly immortal?

"Don't lose your courage just yet." he suddenly heard the sentient machine Victor say.

"What? Who said I was nervous?" Kenichi chuckled nervously, "I'm not nervous!"

"Yes, you are." Victor stated, "Listen, I know things seem hopeless, but there is a way to remove Vennominaga. Trust me, I've been by her side for a long time."

"But how am I supposed to destroy that thing? You heard her; card effects can't touch it! And it's too powerful for anything left in my deck!"

"It's true, Vennominaga's effect makes her immune to card-effects. And she draws her power from the monsters in the player's graveyard. That's one of the keys to getting rid of Venominaga."

"Um, yeah, I tried to get rid of those snakes there using my last trap card. But that didn't turn out too good. Any other ideas?"

"There is one more thing you can try, but there's only a very few cards in Duel Monsters that would do the trick."

"Alright, shoot."

"Alright, imagine that Vennominaga was on your field, and by some coincidence its effect was negated. Now what would you do to replace a monster that's completely useless?"

Kenichi scoffed, "What else? Just release it to summon a..." then something clicked in his head, "Wait a minute..."

"Hey, Matsuda? Are you gonna make a move or what?" Sarah snapped.

"Oh, I'll move alright!" Kenichi declared as he drew his next card, "And it's gonna be a big one! By remove 6 speed-counters to activate the Shift Down speed-spell!"

Kenichi: 2700 (4)

Sarah: 900 (12)

"With this, I can draw 2 more cards from my deck!" he then drew two more cards. Kenichi knew he only had one chance to turn the tables. So he had better make this turn count. 'Finally! Just what I needed!' "Time to turn up the heat! I release your Vennominaga..."

"WHAT?"

"And summon the powerful (3) Volcanic Queen(6/ATK: 2500/DEF: 1200)!" the Snake Deity then burst into flames; everyone can hear its agonizing screech as the fires burned her skin, echoing until the beast was thoroughly incinerated. But that did not end there; the flames shaped itself until it was molded into a monstrous serpentine creature. Its long molten-rock body was encased in a row of invertebrate discs made of cooled magma. A pair of dark, burning wings spread out, under a stone dragonic head with a searing flame burning on top of its head. The beast roared as the flames seeping out of it burst out (ATK: 2500).

"W-what have you done?" Sarah whimpered, "Vennominaga can't be touched by any other cards! How did you manage to destroy her?"

"Vennominaga didn't fall because of a card-effect, Sarah," Victor said, "It was offered as tribute for another monster!"

"Talking runner's right!" Kenichi said, "See, your giant snake may be invulnerable to other cards, but without all of those ATK points it's just another weak monster! And what do you do with weak monsters? You scrap it for a stronger one! That's what's Volcanic Queen is for! It can be special-summoned to the opponent's field at the mere cost of one of their monsters!"

"So your released my Vennominaga to tribute-summon another monster to take her place..." Sarah scoffed, "You're not as stupid as I thought."

"You got that right! Now I throw down a face-down and end my turn!" a reversed monster appeared, "Now take your best shot!" the effect of Venom Road then activated, another snake latching onto the volcanic monster (ATK: 2000).

Meanwhile in Goodwin's mansion, Goodwin and Kaiba were watching the duel from the monitor...

Goodwin: "It seems that Mr. Matsuda is managing quite well, don't you think?"

Isis: "(scoffs) All he's done is traded one vice for another. I guess he hasn't taken account to the risk of having Volcanic Queen out on the field."

Jason: Nice one! With Vennominaga no longer on the field-"

David: "Now Kenichi's in bigger trouble!"

Jason: "Hmm?"

"It's my turn!" Sarah drew her next card, "That was a big mistake, Kenichi! You think I don't know what Volcanic Queen does? By removing four speed counters I activate the Magic Planter speed-spell! By sending Limit Reverse to the graveyard, I can draw two more cards," Sarah drew twice more, "Now, Volcanic Queen! Attack Matsuda directly!" the molten monster fired a stream of flames.

"I activate my trap, Draining Shield!" a barrier appeared over Kenichi and the sentient runner and protected them both from the attack, "And not only is your attack cancelled, all that firepower is added to my life-points!"

Kenichi: 5200 (4)

Sarah: 900 (8)

"Fine! Then I activate the speed-spell Stray Lambs!" Sarah's speed-spell activated and summon two small fluff-balls onto her side of the field (DEF: 0x2), "By removing two speed-counters, two Lamb Tokens are summoned to my field! Next, I activate Volcanic Queen's ability! By sending one other card on my field to the graveyard, Volcanic Queen slams you with 1000 points of damage!" one of Sarah's Sheep Tokens disappeared and the Volcanic Queen fired off a ball of flames at Kenichi. He cried out from the flames of the impact.

Kenichi: 4200 (3)

Sarah: 900 (8)

"And now, during the end-phase when Volcanic Queen is on my field, I take 1000 points of damage or else sacrifice another monster! I release my other Lamb Token!" the last Lamb Token then disappeared, and Venom Road's effect activated.

Volcanic Queen: (ATK: 1500)

David: "This is bad. Thanks to the monster Kenichi gave her, Sarah can deal major damage thanks to its effect."

Jason: "Yeah, but she also has to keep a monster on the field to avoid taking any damage herself. At one point she has to run out of monsters and then she'll have to take 1000 points of damage. So she'll do anything to keep herself in the game."

David: "Let's hope Kenichi's lucky enough to last that long..."

"It's my draw!" Kenichi started his turn, "And the card I drew is the monster card known as Damage Bane! And since I don't have any cards in my spell/trap card zone, I can send this baby to the graveyard to draw one more card!" he discarded his monster and drew one card from his deck, "This must be my lucky day! I just happened to have a Shield Wing in my hand! I think I'll summon him in DEF mode!" the emerald-green avian appeared with its wings crossed in front of it (DEF: 900), "And guess what! Since it has no ATK points, he's not affected by your Venom Road trap! So good luck getting through this one!"

Volcanic Queen: (ATK: 1000)

Jason: "Nice one! Not only Shield Wing has 0 ATK points, now Sarah has to attack with three monsters instead of just one!"

"Sarah, please listen!" Victor's mechanical voice pleaded, "Whatever it is I can help you go through this! I you could just stop this madness right now..."

"Save it! I don't need you or your sympathy!" Sarah exclaimed as she drew her next card. That was when something clicked in the cogs of her mind, from that unforgettable moment that set this young girl's fate in motion...

Flashback...

...BANG! ...BANG! ..BANG!

The same rhythm echoed inside a pitch-black cell she was being kept in. The last thing Sarah could remember was driving across the flame-ridden city before avoiding someone in her direction, causing her to crash. She did not remember anything between then and now. The only thing she was doing now was trying to break down the door that kept her locked inside.

After what seemed to be an eternity, Sarah decided to take a rest; pain was ringing loudly in her left shoulder from the constant driving against the cold steel door. Many things that happened to her lately still had her confused. But more importantly, where exactly is she? And what exactly do they want with her?

Suddnely she heard a click and Sarah kept in alert. The door opened in front of her and someone entered. A small flicker of light appeared as an overhead oil lamp lit a dim light in the still dark room. The person she assumed was her abductor was shrouded an a black cloak. It would not have mattered at the moment because its cloak was removed over its head to reveal her identity.

Sarah let out a small gasp at the first glance of the woman's amethyst eyes and light-emerald hair, "Wait. Aren't you..."

Sarah was hissed at by a long, soothing shush as Gabriella placed an index finger across the blonde girl's lips. "I rather you not. Whenever I hear that name I couldn't help but feel...ugh, prissy." she retracted her finger and waited for Sarah to respond.

"What do you want with me?" Sarah asked, trying to keep a straight face.

"Want?" the Dark Signer almost laughed, "It's what you want, actually. And trust me when I say that I can give it to you. I can give you what you need to get back at everyone who has done you wrong."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Gabriella pouted, "Oh, poo. You don't have to act so tough. After all, you lost all that you cared about; your mother, then your father, and finally that busy garage you fought so hard to keep."

Sarah's eyes widened. She had told no one about her life. So how could she know about that? She stumbled to the back end of her cell, backing herself against the wall. She just stood helplessly as Gabriella moved towards her, until she barely closed the space between them, her wicked ambers cutting through Sarah's very soul...

"Oh, I know, Sarah. You barely knew your mother, being that she died right after she gave birth to her only child, leaving your dear daddy to work in that duel-runner shop you grew up in. You learned a lot over those precious years. Your knowledge on fixing duel-runners grew since the tender age of eight when you could take apart an engine, clean it and put it back together again. And soon your skills exceeded you father's, to the point that you can create many programs and applications to all those grateful customers." the Dark Signer placed her palms over Sarah's cheeks, the blonde girl shivering at her touch, "But the sad part of the story is, that a few years later, your dear father met his end in an accident. And even more sadly, a couple more years later, you met someone who you were led to believe was you destined soul mate; only for said person to turn on you because he was such a sore loser. And you lost the only thing you had left: that garage you fought long and hard to keep in your grasp."

Sarah whimpered as Gabriella's words pierced through her heart. Those days of betrayal and failiure flashed before her eyes like a nightmare. Gabriella smiled at the turmoil her captor was going through. And as to keep up the discord, she traced her finger across the girl's right cheek, and gently caressed her semi-spiky hair, twirling a small golden lock around her finger, "All that loss, all that betrayal; it all just coils around you each day, slowly squeezing away any bit of hope you have..." she then pulled back her finger, letting that bit of hair she was playing with end up in a small coil. "But now you can do something about all those who did you wrong."

Everything Sarah heard was true; she once had a decent life until the day her father died testing a duel-runner that had a serious problem with its braking. Then she met someone she could spend the rest of her life with. But when she beat him in a duel that day, he just turned out to be a sore loser, as Gabriella stated. And on that same day Sector Security arrived at her show with an arrest warrent for her. She was falsely charged for stealing a duel runner that belonged to the kid of a high-end member of Kaiba Corp. Sarah was taken to trial which lasted only 10 minutes, and was nothing more than a bunch of suits claiming that she had been running a chop-shop and was using the parts of stolen duel-runners to fix up the ones that were brought in to her shop. She was sentenced to 2 years in the facility for her 'crimes'. When the guys in charge of putting the marks on the new inmates found out what kind of deck she used, they decided to add insult to injury and made her mark look like it is now: a pair of snake fangs. In less than an hour she had gone from an in-love grease-monkey to a marked and shunned criminal inside the Facility.

Why did it have t happen to her? Why did everything good happen to her ended up being taken? Those were the questions that haunted Sarah every day. And now, this was just one more thing to add to her list. Now all she could do is let the tears leak out of her eyes as a strange scent assaulted her. She just dropped down on her knees and kept crying. Gabriella joined her on the ground as well, and wrapped her arms around the girl as if to comfort her.

"Ever heard the old saying, 'life's a bitch', or that 'life's just not fair'?" Gabriella whispered in the girl's ear, "Well, I bet whoever came up with that was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, that everything was handed to him on a silver platter; just like that punk you fell for. You deserve better than this, Sarah. And can give you the power to take what's yours, what's rightfully yours."

She was right. Why do everyone else manage to have the good life, while she lost everything piece by piece? It was just not fair. And it was not just envy talking, it was the cold fact of reality. But now she has an opportunity to change it all. After all, she has nothing left to lose, now does she? "Please help me..." she whimpered, "I want to make all of this go away!"

The Dark Signer grinned like a cheshire cat. That was just what she wanted to hear. "Consider that wish granted." Gabriella whispered as she licked her lips...

...End Flashback.

'Gabriella gave me a chance to get back on everyone who has ever turned their back on my and betrayed me. And I will not take advantage of this amazing gift she gave me for my loyalty! I'll prove my worth right now!' "It's been three turns since Lustsworn Serpun's been on the field! So now she evolves into her most powerful form!" the small snale-girl was enveloped in a thick veil of blue dust. The cocoon grew bigger and bigger to reveal a new monster.

The most noticeable part of this creature was the torso of a beautiful young woman with a head of flowing blue hair and midnight-blue eyes. Her breasts were covered by a pair of navy-blue cups; and around her neck was a black choker with a blue medallion with the olympian symbol Orphiel. Below her waist there was a large, aqua-green, gator-like body with two long tails. What she used for arms, there were a pair of serpentine coils of the same color, each one ending with a hungry looking crocodile head with a extra-long snout. Their eyes glared at their opponent with a burning hint of jealousy.

"What king of monster is that?" Kenichi exclaimed.

"This is the (5D's)(2) Lustsworn Herald of Envy-Leviathan(7/ATK: 2900/DEF: 1600)! And as her name states, this one is the jealous type, which makes it so all other monster on my field lose their special-ability! So Volcanic Queen's power's no longer a problem!" at that, the volcanic monster's flames died out and soon it was nothing more than a groaning embodiment of cooled molten rock. "And that's not all she can do. When she's successfully summoned to the field, her second ability activates, letting me remove a monster in my graveyard that has a higher level than Leviathan, and in return, apply that same monster's effect to Leviathan!" the transparent spirit of Vennominaga appeared before it was absorbed into Leviathan's pendant, "And in case you weren't paying attention, Vennominaga's special-ability protects her from any card-effect headed her her way! Also, she now gains power equal to the number of reptile-type monsters in my graveyard, to atune of 500 points per card!"

Lustsworn Herald of Envy-Leviathan: (ATK: 6400)

Jason: "Now Kenichi's back to square 1; and with a monster of over 6000 ATK points!"

David: "That card... It's the same as the one Mana used on me. And if I'm right, then Kenichi is about to get into even more trouble."

"And since Leviathan is in my control, I can now activate this trap card directly from my hand! Go, (5D's) Envy Fragrance!" as Sarah slotted the card inside her console, a fog of blue must rolled in. The fiery walls around the two turbo-duelists suddenly started to close around them, only to be stopped by the two gator heads of Leviathan, making the arena that much narrower and more difficult to navigate. "While equipped to a Lustsworn monster, it emits a special fragrance that shares the users emotions to other monsters on your field, making them all 'green with envy', which means they can't attack other monsters on my field! But there's more! Since the equipped monster is Leviathan herself, it also narrows down the space around us, making it so you can't have any more cards on the field than me!"

"That's not a good sign, is it?" Kenichi guessed.

"Nope! And I dare you to try and stop her! In fact, I'll end my turn right now and let the effect of my Venom Road trap kick in!"

Volcanic Queen: (ATK: 500)

Goodwin: "So Kenichi went and charged recklessly without realizing the opponent's plot when it was staring him in the face..."

Isis: "Typical mistake; just fitting for an amateur he is."

"It's my turn! I draw!" Kenichi then drew his next card, 'This should help...' "I place a card face-down! That should do for now!" Volcanic Queen received its last venom-counter and was destroyed.

"It's my draw!" Sarah started her turn, "I activate another Snake Rain speed-spell! And by discarding one card from my hand, I can search my deck for four reptile-type monsters and send them to the graveyard with the others! And with that, Leviathan gains power for each one, plus the one I discarded for Snake Rain's cost!"

Lustsworn Herald of Envy-Leviathan: (ATK: 8900)

"And with that, I end my turn!"

"It's my turn now!" Kenichi drew his next card, "I summon (4) Royal Firestorm Guards(4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1200) in DEF mode!" a crimson dragon-like warrior with scaly spikes appeared standing on its serpent-like belly, "And as soon as it's successfully summoned, I can add 4 pyro-type monsters in my graveyard ad add them to my deck! Then I draw 2 more cards!" meanwhile, he added his Inferno, his two Solar Flare Dragons, and his Volcanic Queen. Then after shuffling, he drew twice from his deck, "And that's it for now!"

"My turn!" Sarah drew her next card, "I activate the speed-spell High Speed Crash! When I have two or more speed counters, I can destroy a card on both sides of the dueling field! And the card I choose to destroy will be my Venom Road trap, and and that pesky Shield Wing on your field!" the avian defender was then destroyed, as well as the slick and slimy terrain that disappeared with Sarah's trap card."Now, Leviathan! Destroy that last monster!" the Lustsworn herald opened the mouth of the left gator's head and fired off a stream on pressurized water to wash away the firestorm guard. Victor shifted his gears and drifted backwards, to prevent his rider from getting swept away from the excess water. "I end my turn!"

"It's my turn!" Kenichi drew his next card, "I place one card face-down and end my turn!"

"Is that the best you got? A couple of face-downs?" Sarah laughed as she drew her next card, "You have to do a lot better that! Leviathan, show him what I mean!" Leviathan fired a twin stream of pressured water at her target.

"I activate the trap, Iron Resolve! By paying half my points, I don't take any damage!" Kenichi's reverse-card created a barrier that protected him and Victor from the attack."

Kenichi: 2100 (12)

Sarah: 900 (12)

"Lucky break," Sarah scoffed and concluded.

David: "Lucky is right. Kenichi is barely hanging on; even as to halve his own life-points."

Jason: "He's got to have some more tricks up his sleeve! We just have to wait and see!"

"It's my turn!" Kenichi drew his next card, "I place another card face-down!" another reverse-card appeared, "That's it for me!"

"And I'll make sure it'll be your last!" Sarah insisted as she drew her next card, "Leviathan, attack! And make sure you take him out this time!" the monster obeyed and attacked.

"I activate my trap card Wicked Rebirth!" Kenichi said as he revealed his new reverse-card, "By paying 800 life-points, I can bring a synchro-monster back from my graveyard, but that monster's effect is negated! Wildfire Dragon, come on back!" Kenichi's fire-breathing dragon returned to his side of the field (ATK: 2900).

David: "Why would he summon a monster if it's in ATK mode!"

"Next, I activate the face-down card I placed a few rounds ago! The card known as Trap of Darkness!" Kenichi's second card then flipped up, "I can only activate this card while I have 3000 or less life-points. And by paying 1000 more, it can copy 1 trap card in my graveyard just by removing it from the game! And the card I choose to copy is Fiend Comedian!" the card changed its artwork to match the players decision. Afterwards, the card disappeared and was replaced by the same roulette spinner from the previous chapter.

Kenichi: 1100 (12)

Sarah: 900 (12)

"And you know how this goes; depending on where the pointer lands, either all your cards are removed from the game, or I lose more cards from my deck!"

"So you're relying on dumb luck again, huh?" Sarah laughed, "You remember what happened the last time don't ya'?"

"That was then! It's roulette time!" the arrow on the roulette table began to spin.

Jason: "If Ken can't beat that Leviathan here and now, then he's through!"

"Hey Leviathan! I got a joke for ya'! What's large scaly and gruesome and one more away from getting a major power-siphon? the table gradually began to slow down and then stopped. And to Kenichi's relief, it landed on a thumbs-up! "You!"

The Wildfire Dragon reared its head and launched a stream of white-hot flames to counter Leviathan's attack. The two attacks collided and released a massive cloud of steam that blanketed over the snake geoglyph. Eventually the stalemate came to a close when both monsters were destroyed in the shadows of the fog.

Sarah's eyes widened as she watched the burning flesh of her new monster rain down over the geoglyph. She could not believe what just happened; first she got cheated from her beloved Vennominaga, and now they managed to slay her supposedly-invincible monster with some lousy dragon! Sarah glared at her opponents as they rode over next to her. That tired smirk on that punk's face was enough to make her had her most powerful monsters, even one Duel Monsters' most treacherous beast, and still they were conquered. And all by this person; this 'clown', this 'slacker'! And what is worse, he was being guided by the one she thought was loyal to her, who would always stand by her. But now she knew that she was right all along: no one can be trusted, man or machine.

"Sarah!" Victor shouted, "Don't you see? Again and again you try to lash out your frustration on others. And again and again I managed to thwart that rage! And the reason I did it is not because I'm trying to hurt you!" Sarah's heart skipped a beat, the first time since this whole crisis began, "I know too well about all the times you lost what's important to you, and all the times everyone you thought you knew turn on you! But there's one thing that you can't lose, that can't ever turn on you! Someone who will always watch over you, just as I always have for as long as it have been!" Sarah gasped as his words slowly sunk in. Since the day she was shoved out of the Facility, she had been wandering around the city, unable to find a place she can call home, since she was denied her right back to her garage because of her criminal record. Ever since then, she had no choice but to wander aimlessly around New Domino City, causing nothing but trouble for Security and those who rely too much on money, power, and nobility. What she had now forgot that there was someone who what always there to support her, to guide her, to protect her. "No matter what the trial is, I will always be there for you! But now I need you to be there for me! I need you to break free of whatever hex those Dark Signers have over you! Do you understand?"

Now Sarah was able to grasp what Victor was trying to tell was desperate in seeking what she can get to make things different, to make things go back to how her life used to be. Sarah had built a protective shell around her, kept herself distant from the outside world. She had let her envy power over her and convert into pure hatred. She can see the truth now. And now it was time to break this shell and take whatever help she must to overcome this hate.

"Let's get this over with," Sarah muttered, "I don't wanna fight anymore."

Victor was relieved. All that needs to be done now is to end this farce. However this whole ordeal Kenichi had been through caused him to nearly pass out due to fatigue; it took Victor running over a small bump in the road to wake him back up."Who-what? Wait a minute, it's my turn, right?" Kenichi drew his last card, "I summon (5) Raging Flame Sprite(3/ATK: 100/DEF: 200) in ATK mode!" a small elfling appeared with middle-aged commoner attire, a flame-designed witch's hat and held a wooded scepter with a flaming gemstone, "And finally, I activate the Skill Successor trap card that's in my graveyard! By removing that from play, Raging Flame Sprite gains 800 more ATK points!"

Raging Flame Sprite: (ATK: 900)

"Flame Sprite, attack!" the small fire sprite fired a small ball of flames at the opponent and took the rest of her life-points.

Kenichi: 2100 (12)

Sarah: 0 (12)

The system on Sarah's runner caused the bike itself to shut down as steam sprayed out from the front around the console. When her runner stopped, Sarah stumbled off, only to fall over and be caught against, Victor's metal shell. Tiredly, she scuffled to the front of the vehicle, where she could see the being's serpent hood-plate. She plopped back on the ground as she rested her drying hand on Victor's 'head'.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...!"

"It's okay, mistress," Victor said, "And I am glad you came back."

Goodwin scoffed, "Perhaps this man has more potential than he's been given credit for. Isn't that right, Miss Kaiba?" when he received no answer, the Director turned to see that Isis was no longer there...

Jason and David rode down to the scarred remains of the geoglyph and dismounted to go check on Kenichi. Jason stopped to take a closer look at Sarah.

"I don't believe it," Jason said, "I that really you Sarah?"

The blonde girl smirked, "Guilty as charged. Who knew turning to the dark side could really take it out of you"

Jason smiled, "That's alight. I'm just glad you're back to normal."

Sarah smiled back, then noticed her arm starting to disintegrate, "Wish I can agree with you..." she looked back up to Jason, "There's something you need to know! The one pulling the strings in this war, she recruits most of the Dark Signers by looking into their hearts, trying to find whatever frustrates them. Then she manipulates their emotions into pure hatred. I think that's what happened to Mana Copperfield."

Jason turned away, figuring who that ringleader was, "I see..."

"Just be sure that ever you do, put those Dark Signers in their place and end this thing, okay? And please, take care of Victor while I'm gone, okay?" Sarah's never stopped smiling as he eyes fluttered closed and leaned her head against her precious machine, before she disappeared as dust in the wind...

"She must have had a real tough life," David said, "I think I understand what she's been through. And who knew it only took Kenichi's cards put her back in her senses..." he looked at Victor's pilot to see Kenichi snoring loudly, passed out from the stress he went through. David couldn't help but smirk.

Jason approached the second back-up station. It was similar to the first one he went to, except it was engraved with the kanji for 'fire'. "Fire, huh? Kinda ironic, I guess..." he placed the Thermal Genex card on the pedestal, and watched it glow a fiery red. After he retrieved his card, he turned to leave until he heard a small mewing sound.

He snapped his head back to see a mass of black fur hiding behind the bottom of the generator. He looked closer as a small black kitten; the tiny pet walked up to him. The Signer picked it up and brought it to him eye-to-eye. The cat had a grieved look in her emerald-green eyes; and around her neck Jason could see a sunny-yellow collar with a small black medallion engraved with a violet kanji symbol for 'darkness'.

"Hey, little guy. Are you lost?" the cat's ears perked up at Jason's question. And she meowed in response. "Well, I'll can tell you this; when this is all over, your owner will come back. I'll make sure of that." he settled the kitten over his shoulder and scratched her ear. She gave a loud purr at the new sense of comfort she was given. She could not have felt any more safer...

DUEL-MON DATABASE

(1) Lustsworn Serpun

Stats: [Reptile/Effect] Level 1 ATK/0 DEF/600

Attribute: DARK

Description: You can special-summon this card by discarding 1 card from your hand.

(2) Lustsworn Herald of Envy-Leviathan

Stats: [Reptile/Effect] Level 7 ATK/2900 DEF/1600

Attribute: DARK

Description: This card cannot be normal-summoned or set. This card cannot be special-summoned except by tributing 1 'Lustsworn Serpun' you control on the 3rd standby-phase as which that card was on the field. As long as you control this face-up monster, the effects of all other monsters you control are negated. When this card is summoned, you can remove 1 monster in your graveyard from play with a level higher than this card, and apply its effect to this card. When this card is discarded from your hand by a card effect, you can add 1 'Envy

Fragrance' from your deck to your hand.

(3) Volcanic Queen

Stats: [Pyro/Effect] Level 5 ATK/2500 DEF/1200

Attribute: FIRE

Description: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Special Summoned from your hand to your opponent's side of the field by Tributing 1 monster your opponent controls. If you Special Summon this card, you cannot Normal Summon or Set this turn.

Once per turn, you can send 1 other card you control to the Graveyard to inflict 1000 damage to your opponent. During your End Phase, either Tribute 1 other monster or take 1000 damage.

(4) Royal Firestorm Guards

Stats: [Pyro/Effect] Level 4 ATK/1700 DEF/1200

Attribute: FIRE

Description: When this card is Normal Summoned, select 4 Pyro-Type monsters in your Graveyard. Return those cards to your Deck, then draw 2 cards.

(4) Raging Flame Sprite

Stats: [Pyro/Effect] Level 3 ATK/100 DEF/200

Attribute: FIRE

Description: This card can attack your opponent directly. Each time this card successfully attacks directly, it gains 1000 ATK.

Jason: "Here's a review of the next Reverse of Arcadia. Yet another epic duel is underway. What could a small group of heroes do against a household of elemental rulers? Next time on Reverse of Arcadia: Hidden Potential! It's time to Accelerate!"

DUEL-MON TRIVIA-

Hey duelists! Did you know:

The Leviathan is a huge sea serpent in Hebrew mythology described in the Biblical Book of Job, and that is part of a Trinity along with Ziz and Behemoth.

Please Read and Review.