"Wait, so Yusei kissed you and told you it didn't matter?" Akiza's raised an eyebrow when Lise finished. "That was stupid."

"I know!" Lise threw up her hands exasperatedly. "Who the fuck kisses someone and then denies its importance?! Who the fuck kisses someone as a friend?! Call me old-fashioned, but I actually wanted my first kiss to be meaningful." She rubbed her red and slightly puffy eyes. "Now I just feel broken and really, really stupid."

"And it's not like you can avoid him and eat ice cream on the couch for the day. The Crimson Dragon made him promise to stay with you."

"Don't remind me," Lise groaned.

Akiza thought for a minute. "How about when this is all over, and if we somehow manage to save the world, we go over to my place, eat ice cream, and watch movies?"

"Really?"

Akiza winked. "I'll even let you cry until your eyes fall out."

Lise smiled weakly. "I'd like that."

"And Lise, just because it hurts now doesn't mean you're weak. You're one of the strongest, most stubborn people I know."

"Thanks."

"And after some time away from him, maybe you can move on, but we've got a job to do tonight."

Lise took a deep calming breath and wiped away the last of her tears. "Nothing quite like nearly getting killed and saving the world in a day, right?" She stood up, sighed, and cracked her back.

"You're not going back down there in those clothes," Akiza stated firmly. She grabbed Lise's hand and led her down the stairs.

"What's wrong with my-" Lise looked down at her tattered shirt and jeans that were stained with blood. "Oh, okay, you have a point," she admitted.

Akiza smirked and pulled Lise into the girl's bedroom. "Fish told me you kept spare clothes in here for when you visit Martha."

"Yeah, but I'm not gonna wear a dress."

"You don't have to wear a dress to look drop dead gorgeous," Akiza grinned widely. She pushed clean clothes into Lise's arms.

Lise quickly changed and immediately felt better. "Thanks, Akiza. You're the best."

"And I'm not even finished," she showed Lise a small metallic cylinder that she quickly fastened to Lise's left arm. "Not quite a bracelet, but probably the sickest arm band ever. Don't lose it, or I won't be 'the best' anymore." Akiza quickly dragged her fingers through Lise's hair to remove the more prominent snarls too, but left the headband in place. She put a hand to her chin and stepped back.

"So, whattaya think?" Lise reached for her hair nervously. "Do I look like I nearly died and had my heart smashed to pieces?"

Akiza took a moment to answer. "I think Yusei's going to be a sorely disappointed little motherfucker."

She smiled when her comment garnered the appropriate response. Lise laughed so hard she snorted.

Mitch, John and Taka's sobs could be heard through the door. Doctor Schmitt stared blankly at the tearful boys as Yusei walked in stiffly.

The moment the door had shut behind Yusei, Akiza and Lise stepped in quietly, the latter rather anxiously. Yusei's entire face turned vermillion and he opened and closed his mouth like he hadn't quite got a hang on what he wanted to say. His hopes were dashed as he realized Lise breezing by him without so much as a glance.

Akiza stood by Fish and Crow, smirking at her handiwork. Lise joined them, one arm across her body protectively.

Fish raised an eyebrow and shrugged in Yusei's direction. This was better than she'd hoped for. She exchanged a high five with Akiza to Yusei's frustration.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Schmitt," Taka suddenly wailed. "This is all my fault. It's all because of me!"

"And Martha?" Schmitt asked quietly. "She's really gone?"

"I'm afraid it's true," Trudge said, collapsing into a chair. "I was with her, I should've been able to save her, but I wasn't able to grab hold of her in time. It's my fault, not theirs."

All the boys moved in quickly to comfort the officer.

"It's not your fault! It's my fault!" Mitch insisted.

"No it's not, it's my fault!" Taka retorted miserably.

"No, it's my fault for not saying don't go!" John replied, bringing on a fresh wave of tears.

"That's enough!" Jack growled, banging his hands on the table. "Knock it off you dolts! Stop trying to take credit for everything!"

"What he means is you're not the ones to blame," Yusei explained, much more calmly. He tried to put on a comforting face, but after all the events that had recently gone done, it was proving difficult. "This is all the Dark Signers doing. They've taken Martha and our friends. We're not gonna sit around and blame ourselves for things the bad guys did. But I'll tell you what we are gonna do about it; we're gonna defeat the Dark Signers and get everyone back."

"Are you really saying that you can bring everyone back?" Dr. Schmitt asked. "How is that possible?"

"Everything that's happened so far, both here and in New Domino City, has been the work of an evil power. The destruction of the two cities, the mystical symbols appearing, the crazy lights suddenly erupting from the earth, the mysterious fog that came out of nowhere and covered everything, the Dark Signers caused it all. They're using the energy of the people taken to gain more power."

"You can really get Martha back?" Taka's eyes were wide with hope.

"And everyone else?" John added.

"Yes, I promise," Yusei bent down to address the little boys at eye level. "My friends and I are gonna fix everything, but right now you need to be brave and help take care of everyone that's still here."

"We've gotta head out soon, but I promise we'll be back. Thanks for everything," Yusei said.

"Of course," the doctor replied solemnly. "We're counting on you. Please be careful."

Yusei nodded and patted Mitch's head. "Try to get some sleep."

"So. That was quite the promise you made," Jack said when the door had closed. "We defeat the Dark Signers, and then everyone who disappeared will just magically reappear. You don't know that that's true."

"I know," Yusei admitted quietly.

"So why lie?"

"Look, that's just something I need to believe."

"What about the kids?" Trudge persisted angrily. "They deserve better than that, don't they?"

Lise slammed her fist against the wall. "Would you all just shut up for a moment?" She looked mentally torn as she glared at Yusei and ignored all the eyes on her. "Let's get this straight, okay? I am NOT sticking my neck out for you. I'm speaking up because you're right. The Immortals work like seals. Anything that comes in contact with them is sealed inside them. Defeating them breaks those seals, which should free the people inside them.

"That's wonderful!" Akiza exclaimed. "That means Yusei wasn't lying!"

"So we can move on now?" Jack asked grumpily.

Crow spoke up for the first time. "What I wanna know, before we go anywhere, is why Roman decided to pop by. He doesn't seem like the type to visit his daughter for no reason. It all just seems so weird to me."

"So if Roman Goodwin is your father, then that means the Director is your uncle?" Meena asked Lise, curious.

Lise shivered in disgust. "It means the Director is related to me by blood...if Roman was telling the truth and I am his kid, which is totally and completely gross!" She cringed. "That's gonna give me nightmares for a while if we survive this thing."

Fish took a deep breath. "I think I know why Roman went for Lise specifically." Suddenly every eye was on her and for once she didn't seem to be enjoying it. "Lise, before we were born there was a prophecy… The Oracle lived in Yliaster before it merged with me, and this prophecy was leaked to the real world. Your dad heard it and well, I'll just say it. The Oracle told me when our souls combined and I memorized it."

Fish closed her eyes and everyone waited silently. She opened them again, her eyes now glowing a soft blue. Then Fish spoke in an ethereal voice that was merely a mirror overlapping her own.

The first of the chosen will fall

To the moon and the gates of hell.

Child of the moon, she will be born as his equal.

The Sun Child

Shall be the Vessel to the dragon.

Just as the moon has,

The sun must struggle in the face of two gods.

As fated, sun and moon battle

To carry the ray of light or the curse of dark

Throughout the world.

Thrice upon the day the two entities meet,

A day that should never come to pass,

The power of corruption bides its time

And strikes without mercy

At the Sun Child's bleakest moments…

The blue glow in Fish's eyes died out and she shook her head to clear it.

The little color Lise had regained after Roman's attack quickly drained from her face. She slid to the floor and put her head in between her legs. She stared at the back of her left hand and the palm of her right. The sun must struggle in the face of two gods…

"What's she doing?" Leo asked.

"She's feeling light-headed." Fish shifted position. "I'm really sorry, Lise."

"No, no, don't be."

"Well, that certainly explains a lot," Yusei piped up.

Crow shook his head. "Not really. What's the whole 'sun and moon fated battle' thing about? The prophecy mentioned three, right? It sounded more like rice to me so I wasn't sure."

"The prophecy said 'thrice' and that means there are three encounters in which the 'sun and moon' clash. I think the second would be another encounter with Roman," Fish hypothesized. "As for the third, I have no idea. The sun and moon are Lise and Roman, but it could also be referring to the dark and light powers now residing in Lise's body. I think the prophecy is hinting that until the Dark Signers are defeated, Lise can choose to be dark or light, sun or moon. Anyway, the prophecy I recited during the tournament was the main thing here. Let's focus on that and getting rid of the Dark Signers."

"Agreed," Meena nodded.

"I have a question," Blister said. "That Devack guy said they'd be waiting at the 'four stars of destiny.' Does anyone know what those are?"

"My guess is he was referring to the four control units that were built to maintain the original reactor," Meena responded. "According to our reports, they were the first systems to break when the Reactor, er, reacted. During development, each individual control unit went by a code name-Ccapac Apu, Ccarayhua, Aslla Piscu, and Cusillu. In the Keshwa language they mean the Giant, the Lizard, the Hummingbird, and the Monkey."

"Those are the Nazca Lines that disappeared," Akiza remembered.

Luna spoke, bringing up a very important point. "Isn't there a spider too?"

"The Spider is Uru, which was the code name for the Reactor itself. In order to reverse the Reactor and reverse the flow of negative energy, you have to go to each of the control units and turn them on."

"Roman's the Spider, right? Does that make him the boss then?" Akiza questioned.

"How are they supposed to stop these control unit thingamajigs?" Blister asked next.

"The dragon cards in your decks," Meena answered swiftly. "Those were the cards used to power up each of the control units. So Luna, it's very important that you get the Ancient Fairy Dragon back from Devack."

"How do you know all this?"

"Because Professor Fudo entrusted those cards to Director Goodwin."

"My father had those cards?" Yusei exclaimed, surprised. "So Roman was lying about my father looking the other way?"

"Obviously," Lise replied, rolling her eyes and getting back to her feet.

Meena cleared her throat, sensing tension in the dirty glares Lise and Yusei were directing at each other, and decided to break the silence. "The Director told me that Professor Fudo did everything he could to prevent the Reactor's explosion. He also said that he recovered the dragon cards and managed to get them to the Director."

"Is that all, Meena? Did Goodwin mention anything else about my father?"

"Not that I can recall."

Blister was doing some critical thinking. "So if Goodwin had those cards, how did everyone else end up with them?"

"Well, technically he released the cards 'into the wild.' He said he wanted to see if destiny really was at work. It was successful; the people meant to have those cards ended up with them, and here we are," Meena finished dramatically.

"Well, since Goodwin knows so much about destiny, he must know how this whole thing is gonna turn out, right?" Jack said sarcastically.

"It doesn't work like that. He doesn't know the future. There's no telling what could happen, but Goodwin is done playing his part. The task has been passed to you, all of you. The fate of the world has been put into your hands." She crossed over to the dining room table and unfolded a map. The entire island of Satellite was depicted with a river and the reactor explosion hole as natural landmarks and four red x's that were added markings.

Everyone, Signer or not, gathered around the map. They were so close to each other that one wrong step would squish another's foot and send them all tumbling like dominoes.

"Here's the locations of the four points." Meena pointed to each of the red X's in turn. "Giant, Hummingbird, Lizard, and Monkey. They're pretty spread out."

"What's the plan, hit all these units up one by one?" Trudge said.

"That would be a huge waste of time," Jack replied. "Besides, a duel is one-on-one. We're gonna have to split up and go solo. Four Signers, four control stations, it's a no brainer."

Trudge tried to redeem himself with a much more relevant question. "Who's going where?"

"The Mark of the Giant is Kalin's, so Lise and I will go there," Yusei answered immediately. Lise puckered her lips sourly, clearly unhappy with the arrangements, but she said nothing.

Fish burst out, "We'll go with them!" She grabbed Crow's arm in a death grip.

"Actually," Crow intervened. "The two of us will be scouting around to help if we see something weird, or investigate potential threats we might come across." He gave Fish a pointed look. She glared back but relented. Towards Yusei she performed the universal 'eyes on you' gesture.

"The Lizard is Misty's mark," Akiza said. "I'll head over to that station."

Luna thought out loud to herself. "Devack is the monkey and…I have to get Ancient Fairy Dragon. So I'm gonna go take him on."

"And I'm gonna go so I can root for you!" Leo exclaimed.

"So the Hummingbird must be…that other girl," Jack finished quietly.

"You kids wanna ride to your battle in a sector patrol car?" Trudge smiled at the twins, who nodded earnestly.

"And if it's okay, I'll go with you, Akiza," Meena offered.

"Sure," Akiza nodded approvingly.

"Guess I'm stuck at home again, watching the kids. I hope you all have fun saving the world." Blister waved a pitiful farewell.

"Are you ready, Luna?" Yusei called out in the darkness. Everyone was ready to go in their selected vehicles at standby before a large makeshift bridge.

"Yep!"

"Good luck," Yusei smiled softly in their direction. "And Lise, thanks for helping me out back at-"

"I thought I made it clear," Lise interrupted, glaring fiercely. "I spoke up because you were right-nothing more and nothing less. In any other case you would have deserved what was coming for lying to those kids."

That shut Yusei up quickly.

"Come on, you two, stop bickering and give us a rousing speech already," Jack demanded.

"We're in this together. If you're ever up against the wall, just think of your friends and I know we can ALL make it out alive," Yusei obliged. He gunned his runner's engine and raced across the bridge with Lise close behind him.

"And if any of you loses your duel you'll have to answer to me," Jack added before he too sped away. I'm coming to help you, Carly. Cuz when I was hurt you took care of me, and when I was down you picked me up. Now it's my chance to return the favor.

The others peeled out for their destinations as well. Now everything was being set into motion, into play, for better or for worse.

Leo watched the darkness around him nervously. Black birds of an unidentifiable type flapped noisily in the distance.

"Hey," Luna suddenly said, putting an arm on her brother's shoulder.

The green-haired boy completely flipped out, screaming and flailing. "Don't scare me like that Luna!"

"You scare me when you scream like that."

Leo sighed. "Sorry but I'm all wound up and those are the creepiest birds I've ever seen."

"You shouldn't have come with me Leo," Luna sounded guilty.

"Neh, don't worry about me! I was just pretending to be scared so that you don't have to be," Leo said reassuringly. "Yeah that's it. I'm just pretending. See check it out!" Leo held up his duel disk before triumphantly placing it on his arm. "Ta-dah!"

"And what's the point of you wearing a duel disk?" Luna asked tiredly.

"I'm getting ready. All right Dark Signers come on and get some!"

"I'm the one who's gonna be dueling, not you," Luna reminded her brother. Then she suddenly gasped.

"Something wrong?" Leo asked.

"What was that screaming just now?"

"What screaming? I didn't hear anything."

"I figured," Luna replied. She leaned forward, concentrating, closing her eyes and rubbed her temples gently. "But I just thought that you might've heard it cuz it was so loud and powerful. I think someone from the Spirit World is calling out to me or something."

"What does it sound like? Is it Ancient Fairy Dragon?" Leo pressed impatiently.

"Hey, what's with all this Spirit World talk?" Trudge said.

"Luna can talk to Duel Monster Spirits from the Spirit World," Leo explained.

Trudge feigned surprise and then rolled his eyes. "How stupid do you think I am?"

"No!" Leo insisted. "It's really true!"

"Right, of course, and my sister can fly. She's got magic wings made of gold," Trudge scoffed, focusing again on his driving.

"Jerk," Leo griped. "Luna can talk to Spirits. You're just jealous because you're a boring ordinary guy with no special powers!"

"Huh?" Luna exclaimed, opening her eyes to find a bright light in front of her was actually Kuribon. "Kuribon what's wrong?" The little duel monster hopped about alarmingly, trying to convey his message. "Something bad is happening in the Spirit World, isn't it?"

Trudge glanced warily into his rearview mirror. "Who're you talking to?"

"Be right there," Luna promised softly. Suddenly she began to glow bright white. The light caught Luna's brother and the policeman completely off guard. The light extended into a huge beam that could be seen for miles.

Leo screamed and covered his eyes to avoid permanent damage to his retinas. The light faded quickly and Trudge pulled his car over the second he could see clearly again.

"What're you kids doing back there?"

The green haired boy managed to open his eyes and relax his tensed muscle. He whimpered in confusion when he realized his sister had completely vanished.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Luna! She's gone!" Leo cried.

"What?!"

"That big bright light just now; I think it took her away."

Trudge rolled his eyes dubiously. "Oh right, let me guess, she was transported to the Spirit World?"

"Exactly!"

"She wasn't beamed anywhere," Trudge said through his teeth. He let himself out of the car. "Come on, let's look for her."

"Don't waste your time," Leo advised sourly.

"Luna!"

"Man grown-ups never listen," Leo complained. "But if she is wandering out here all alone, that wouldn't be good."

"Luna! Where are you?"

"Luna! You're not here right?! If you're not here say something!" Leo called stupidly, running every which way to locate his sister along with Trudge.

"Luna!"

"Hey Luna come out! Luna!"

"Hey Luna!"

"Whoa!" Leo breathed when he rounded a corner and came face to face with what appeared to be a rather strange looking fork. "That thing's pretty big… There it is; the mark of the monkey. This must be the control unit thing Meena was talking about. Hey, Dark Signer monkey guy, are you in there? Hello I'm ready to duel!"

"I've been waiting for you Signer…" Devack's ominous voice called out, startling Leo.

Purple fire spread out in all directions. In seconds Leo was surrounded and not with good odds. The monkey geoglyph shone purple in the dark sky.

"So if I'm in the middle of this monkey barrier that means…"

"Who are you?" Devack glared angrily. "What's going on? You're not a Signer. What're you doing here?"

"I'm here to duel you!" Leo declared bravely. "That is, if you're strong enough to take me on!"

Trudge ran up to a ledge. "Leo!"

"Is this some kind of joke? Where's the little girl? Why isn't she here? I told her to come," Devack reminded the boy.

"Yeah, well, she's busy. You're gonna have to duel me instead, mister," Leo informed the Dark Signer. "I may not be a Signer, but that doesn't mean that I can't rock a deck! Now come on! Let's see what you're made of!"

"I applaud your enthusiasm, I really do, but I'm afraid that you simply do not have the power to match me, boy," Devack warned, but nevertheless activated his duel disk as Leo did the same.

"You don't know that!"

"If you insist on being destroyed, so be it…"

"Let's duel!"

Leo: 4000

Devack: 4000

"Leo, get out of there! Don't be stupid!" Trudge called down to the twin, but his words fell on deaf ears.

Yusei pulled up and parked right behind Trudge. He took off his helmet and ran up to the overlooking ledge.

Lise collided unsteadily with the ground right behind him. "Whee!" she squealed, spreading her arms wide and half falling up to where Trudge stood on the ledge.

"What're you two doing here?" Trudge asked. He glanced at Lise's unusual behavior as she started to fly in circles like a top in place. "What happened to her?"

"Dunno, but I have a theory," Yusei sighed wearily. "We turned around when I saw that light. What's going on here?"

"Well first Luna disappeared to who knows where…"

"She must've gone to the Spirit World for some reason. That would explain why Lise is suddenly acting like a total ditz."

"Great, now you're babbling about the Spirit World and fairy tales too."

"It's not a fairy tale, it's real," Yusei replied, completely serious. "Luna must've gone to rescue Ancient Fairy Dragon."

"Ancient what?"

"I'll explain later, but right now we gotta stop this duel! Hey Devack! That kid's not a Signer. You can't duel him!"

"I warned him, and once a shadow duel begins it cannot be stopped."

"In that case, let's make some cookies guys… I like butterscotch…" Lise giggled crazily and slumped to the ground. "Let's get some butterscotch cookies from Girl Scout bathrobe man! Yay!"

"What is she on?" Trudge asked.

"Nothing, but I think it has to do with Luna disappearing to the Spirit World. Luna's never traveled there completely, so it must have affected Lise's head. Now she can't think straight… Come on Lise…" Yusei frowned and pulled her onto his back with surprisingly little difficulty.

"Let's get this battle going," Leo decreed. "It's my turn! I draw!" He looked at the card. "Awesome! I summon Morphtronic Magnen in defense mode! WITH Morphtronic Magnen in play, you can't attack any other monster on my field. Now I'm placing once card face down and ending my turn." Leo bit his lip, anticipating the next play. With my Morphtransition trap card face down, I can trigger its effect and negate an attack that my monsters might take. And then if I'm able to summon another Morphtronic Magnen next turn, I'll create a magnetic lock that'll stop him from attacking completely.

"Leo stop this! You've gotta find a way to get out of this duel!" Yusei shouted.

"No way!" Leo yelled back. "Don't you get it? If I defeat Devack, Luna won't have to duel him!"

Devack snickered menacingly. "I draw and summon Magician Ape in attack mode!"

(Magician Ape: Atk: 800 Def: 1200)

"I now activate Magician Ape's special ability, which means that once per turn, if I take one card from my hand and send it to my graveyard, Magician Ape is able to take control of one of your monsters."

Leo gasped as his magnetic monster was forced onto Devack's field.

"And with that out of the way, Magician Ape attacks you directly!"

The green-haired boy screamed as the electric power from the monster's staff inflicted real damage to him.

Leo: 3200

Devack: 4000

"Now you know the true power of a shadow duel. Don't worry, I'll send you to the Netherworld with as little pain as possible. That is the only mercy I can spare you."

Leo gritted his teeth. Luna...

And somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard an answering Leo.