Hi all! Hiyuusha here with another chapter of Yu-Gi-Oh: Tag Force!


Last time...


Mikage, the newly christened Dark Signer scowled, turning to leave the room as the building continued to collapse around her. How pathetic… she hadn't even gotten to summon her own Earthbound Immortal! Oh well… there was always next time.

"Sayer!" Akiza had cried, leaning over the rails as she called down to the man for any sign of a response.

There was none.

"Oh, give it up Akiza." Misty smirked, "Your precious Sayer is gone! You should rejoice… you were always saying how no one could understand your pain… well, now you can understand a bit of mine."

"Y-Your pain?" Akiza asked with a frown, taking a step forward as she remembered who she was accompanied with.

"Yes Akiza," Misty scowled, "I speak of the pain I was forced to endure due to the loss of my brother! But rest assured, this is only the beginning!" she raised her hand, pointing towards the psychic elegantly, "The next time we met… shall mark the end of your existence, Black Rose!"

"Misty," Akiza began, taking another step forward, "W-Wait!"

Whatever words Akiza planned on saying to the celebrity were cut off as a section of the building collapsed between them, blocking each other from view. Akiza grimaced quickly, turning on her heel as she stared at the disappearing Earthbound Immortal behind her.

She never noticed the floor above her cave in.

In an instant, the entire floor crashed down on top of her, riddling her with debris and scattered items that had fallen loose in the earlier tremors. Akiza cried out, falling to the floor unconscious, never seeing the pair of swirly eyes widening across the hall.

Once again, it seemed as though Carly Carmine had lucked out.


And Now…


-Chapter Fifty One-

Disappear


As fate would have it, Akiza was not to be the only Signer taking part in a ferocious Shadow Duel that night. In fact, it could be said that the two events had been timed perfectly, no doubt in hopes that two Signers could be taken out in one extravagant move.

It was a shame Misty had been unable to subdue her target… but perhaps the other Dark Signer would have more luck than she.

He would no doubt need it if he was truly planning on dueling the new King.

"Kalin… I'm coming." Yusei spoke aloud, staring out from his group's hideout towards some destination only he could picture.

Silently, the man grabbed his helmet, slipping out the backdoor after ensuring his companions were asleep. There would be no need for them to know after all… this was his mistake, something he had to deal with alone.

Yusei frowned, pulling the helmet over his crustacean hair as he leapt onto his Duel Runner, the Yusei Go. Reaching for the ignition, he found himself pausing, wondering if he was really about to pursue this course of action. Maybe he shouldn't go alone, or at least let someone know where he was headed…. He soon found himself putting an end to that line of thought. What would he say? He couldn't blame it on the Crimson Dragon, not this time. It was a similar feeling that pulled at him, but different somehow… and of course, the lack of his burning Mark all but ensured that the Crimson Dragon had nothing to do with this feeling of his.

"But even so…" the teen thought, turning the key and revving his engine in the otherwise silent night, "Sitting around here not doing anything is helping at all! The only thing I know, is that somehow… someway… Kalin is alive! And if I'm going to have any chance of getting to the bottom of this, I'll have to go with my gut! And my gut is telling me… that my path lies straight ahead!"

Revving the engine once more for good measure, Yusei rode off, not even paying second thought to the door slamming open behind him.

"Yusei!" Yanagi shrieked, waving his hand about wildly as Leo and Luna ran out behind him, "Yusei, where ya goin?!"

The crab-haired hero ignored their calls, turning the corner and promptly disappearing into the midnight streets.

He didn't know how long he was driving for… merely following along the dimly lit highway as it guided him towards his destination.

"Kalin…" he repeated the thought that had replayed itself over and over in his mind, "I'm coming."

-5D's-

"So, any ideas yet?" Enzo asked, turning to face Konami for the first time in an hour. "You've been sitting like that for half the trip now!"

"…." Konami didn't reply for a moment, though his gaze did narrow slightly as he regarded Enzo's words. "No… Deck Building can be rather difficult when you have little to work off of."

"Wha-?!" Enzo's jaw dropped, "You mean you haven't come up with anything?! But Konami, I mean… half the trip!"

Red Hat shrugged nonchalantly, feeling no need to lie about progress he hasn't made. "Like I said, Deck Building can be hard at times, even for me. Besides," he paused, his gaze hardening, "I don't see you making any new Decks over there. Stop trying to judge me."

Enzo reeled back a little, a bead of sweat rolling down his head in surprise. "Geez… someone took that comment a little too personally!" "Heh… I'm not saying anything against you Konami, it's just… surprising you know? Half the trip's gone by and you still haven't come up with a single idea other than Special Summoning?"

Konami frowned, not all that pleased with his work either. "It'd help if I had a little more to work with… it seems that just the descriptions of Sayer's monsters won't be enough. I may actually have to Duel him for myself before I can…" he trailed off, returning to his thoughtful expression as he gazed out the window.

"M-Maybe…" Maia squeaked, opting to throw her own two cents in, "M-Maybe… if you stop thinking about it so much… the answer will come to you in time."

"Time…" Enzo sighed in defeat, "It's always the thing we don't seem to have."

"We do have time though," Maia countered, "We're stuck on this plane after all… for another few hours at least!"

"Well… you've got a point there." Konami admitted, "But I'm not sure how that's gonna help us. It's not like there's anything to do here that can take our minds off of things."

"T-That's not entirely true…" Maia frowned, "Y-You have your cards, don't you?"

"Well… yeah," Konami nodded, "I guess. But I don't see how that's going to help-"

"Oh but don't you get it?" Maia asked, clapping her hands together excitedly, "This is the perfect way to pass the time! We can do some Duel Puzzles!"

"Duel Puzzles…?" Konami asked blandly, raising an eyebrow at the girl.

Enzo blinked in surprise, "Oh yeah… I heard about those things! They're like tiny Dueling Situations you have to use strategy and thought to pull through! I never actually did one myself, but with all the cards we have lying around we might be able to put a few good ones together!"

Konami sighed, not really caring for the idea all that much. "I don't really think that'll help pass the time all that much-"

"Oh come on," Enzo interrupted him, slapping him on the back eagerly, "What's the worst that can happen, besides, you yourself said that you haven't come up with any ideas on how to beat Sayer. Who knows, maybe this will give you a few."

The green-haired psychic nodded in agreement, digging through her own cards for a moment as she sat down across from Red Hat. "H-Here, we'll start with something simple."

She spread the cards about the table swiftly, stuffing four cards in Konami's hand before finishing the rest of the Field. Konami sighed, it looked like he didn't have a choice in whether he wanted to play or not.

"U-Um… in this Duel Puzzle, you start off with 1000 Life Points, and the other person has 1500… the object of any Duel Puzzle is to wipe out the rest of your opponent's Life Points in a single turn. Do you think you can do that with the cards in your hand?"

Grimacing, Konami glanced at the cards he held and the ones thrown about the Field. In his Hand were four cards: Call of the Haunted, Makyura the Destructor, Dark Scorpion-Chick the Yellow, and the Rope of Life. On the Field were three cards: a Byser Shock on his side of the Field, and two Beautiful Headhuntress on the opponent's. As much as he didn't want to play, it didn't take him long to figure out what to do.

"I'll start by summoning Makyura the Destructor to the Field in Attack Mode!" Konami exclaimed, tossing the card down gently by his Byser Shock.

Makyura the Destructor-LV4-(1600/1200)

"Now that I've done that," Konami began, "I'll set one card and have him attack the first Beautiful Headhuntress!"

Since both monsters had the same number of Attack Points, both monsters were destroyed. Enzo frowned at that.

"Uh… Konami, why'd you do something like that? Even if you got rid of the opponent's monster, you wasted your Normal Summon and only have Byser Shock left on the Field!"

Konami smiled, "Because Enzo, Makyura the Destructor has an effect! When it gets destroyed, it allows me to activate Trap Cards from my Hand for the rest of the turn! But I'll be coming back to that later, because first… I'll have to attack the other Beautiful Headhuntress with my Byser Shock!"

Enzo frowned, "Uh… Konami, now you're just destroying your own monsters! Byser Shock only has 800 Attack Points, it can't defeat Beautiful Headhuntress!"

Konami just shook his head, tossing Byser Shock to the graveyard as he took damage.

Konami- 200 LP

Opponent- 1500 LP

"Oh ye of little faith… if you recall, I said my Makyura had an effect that allowed me to activate Traps from my Hand! And I intend to use that effect now to activate this, the Rope of Life!"

Maia smiled, realizing that Konami knew how to work his way through the task.

"This card only works by discarding my entire hand to the graveyard, but once I do… I can resummon a monster destroyed by battle and increase its Attack by 800 Points!"

Byser Shock-LV5-(1600/600)

"And since my Byser Shock was just summoned back to the Field, its effect activates!" Konami explained, "Which means I have to return my Set card back to my Hand!"

He smiled, picking his hidden Call of the Haunted back up. "And that's not all… since my Byser Shock now has 1600 Attack Points… I think I'll have him attack the Beautiful Headhuntress, wiping them both out!"

Both monsters were again discarded to the Grave, and Konami grinned. He was going to win. "Then, by activating my Makyura's effect again, I can activate Call of the Haunted from my Hand! This allows me to Special Summon one monster from my Grave, and I know just what to bring back! Behold, Dark Scorpion-Chick the Yellow!"

Chick the Yellow-LV3-(1000/1000)

"And now I'll finish it off with an endless loop!" Konami shouted, "First, I'll have Chick attack directly!"

Konami- 200 LP

Opponent- 500 LP

"And because he inflicted direct damage, I can add return one card on the Field to my Hand, so Call of the Haunted comes back! And since it's no longer on the Field, Cliff returns to the Graveyard! But that's just fine, because he'll be coming right back since I'm using Call of the Haunted yet again!"

Chick the Yellow-LV3-(1000/1000)

"And he attacks again!" Konami roared, wiping out the last of his opponent's Life Points.

Enzo stared at Konami blandly, "Well… you definitely aren't any fun…. You completely tore through that Puzzle without even a single hint!"

Konami shrugged, pushing the cards back towards an amused Maia, "What can I say? I'm good at dueling."

"Now if only I could get some of that talent for myself…" Enzo sighed.

-5D's-

Yusei's Duel Runner whined as it came to a stop on the outskirts of Neo Domino City, its crab-haired rider dismounting and turning to face the shaded silhouette standing above him.

"It's here…" Yusei thought aloud, knowing that this was where he needed to be. Removing his helmet, the man stood, gazing calmly at the person above him as he slowly began his approach.

Suddenly, he was forced to stop as a card suddenly flew past him, cutting into his cheek lightly as he stepped away. Quickly, Yusei turned, catching a moment's glance at the card that had cut him.

Vorse Raider.

His eyes widened. There was only one person he knew that had consistently used that card, and with how often he'd found himself thinking about him as of late…

"You don't know how long I've been waiting for this moment, Yusei." The silhouette grinned as he stepped into the light, revealing a darkly-dressed male with slick silver hair.

Yusei's eyes narrowed in recognition, "Kalin… so it really is you."

"That's right Yusei!" the man grinned widely, spreading his arms wide as he stood atop the hill, "It's me, Kalin, back from the dead! You have no idea how long I've waited… how long I've stewed in anticipation for this one moment Yusei!" Kalin grinned, leaping back on his Duel Runner as it tore the ground beneath him to shreds, "Ever since that day you abandoned me to the Securities… I've thought about how I could make it up to you! It wasn't until recently that I figured out what I could do…" he spread his arms again, his purple mark showing as Yusei watched on with wide eyes, "I've decided to send you to the Netherworld!"

"That mark… Kalin, have you become a Dark Signer?!"

"Kuku, so you figured it out huh?!" the silver-haired man laughed, "Took you long enough! And here I thought Satellite's Shooting Star was supposed to be smart?! Bah! More like a Falling Star if you ask me!"

He revved his engine and took off towards Yusei, his Duel Runner skidding past him and kicking dirt and debris into the man's face.

"Ack!" Yusei winced, stumbling backwards towards the Yusei Go as Kalin cackled, driving circles around at the man as purple flames ignited behind him. Before long, a giant shape of a familiar Nazca Line had been formed, though Yusei wouldn't see it from where he was standing.

"Well?!" Kalin asked as he roared back beside Yusei's Duel Runner, "How about it Yusei? Are you up for a little Turbo Duel, or are you gonna back out and ditch me just like that time?!"

Yusei flinched at the words and a memory of overwhelming odds crossed through his mind, Kalin's hand being dragged down among the masses… The man's eyes narrowed forcibly, and he leapt onto his Duel Runner.

"I don't know what drove you to join the Dark Signers, Kalin…" Yusei frowned sadly, "but I'll bring you back to your senses with this Duel! I won't leave you to rot here alone!"

"Bah!" Kalin scowled, taking off and leaving Yusei in the dust, "Yusei, Yusei! Ever the hero aren't you?! For what good that's done you! Tell me, have you managed to settle things properly with Jack yet, or are you two still running circles around each other with those half-assed Duels of yours?!"

Again, Yusei flinched. "You knew about that?" he asked, his Duel Runner trailing several paces behind Kalin as they neared the first turn.

"Of course I did!" Kalin spat, "I've been watching all of you! You, Jack, Crow… I have revenge planned for all three of you leaving me to die!"

"Revenge?!" Yusei asked, "Is that what you're after?"

Kalin scowled as he swerved his Duel Runner to the side, nearly clipping Yusei as he completed the first turn, "You'll find out soon enough Yusei! After all, it's my move! And with my new Deck… you'll be begging for mercy in no time! Draw!"

Kalin-4000 LP SPC-0

Yusei-4000 LP SPC-0

"First, I'll start things off with my Infernity Beast!" Kalin spat, tossing the card down in Attack Position. As he did so, a transparent dog-like creature emerged on the Field, a small ring of fire wrapping around its face.

Infernity Beast-LV3-(1600/1200)

"Now that I've done that," Kalin grinned, "I'll set one card and end my Turn!"

"Then it's my move!" Yusei shouted, watching both of their Speed Counters rise to 1 before drawing a card. "Alright! I think I'll rev things up with a monster of my own!" he grabbed the card from his hand tossing it down on the Field swiftly, "Check it out, my Speed Warrior!"

Speed Warrior-LV2-(900/400)

"Che!" Kalin grimaced, "Still using the same useless cards I see! No wonder you only managed to become King through a technicality! I know every card in that Deck of yours Yusei, so you've got no chance at beating me!"

Yusei grimaced, but he didn't let Kalin's words hinder him, "Is that so? Well then, if you really remember everything about my cards, then you know that during the Battle Phase of the turn it's Normal Summoned, Speed Warrior gets to double its Attack Points, meaning… that it now has more than enough to take out your Infernity Beast! Go Speed Warrior, take it out!"

Speed Warrior nodded, kicking his boots into overdrive as he leapt forward, intending to plow through Kalin's monster with ease.

"Not so fast Yusei!" Kalin grinned, "Like I said, I know every card you use, so I took precautions! This is just the first: Depth Amulet!" the Set Card Kalin had placed during his first turn rose up, revealing a shining amulet with a glimmering green background. "It's a Specialized Trap Card that lets me negate the Attack of a monster by discarding one card from my Hand! The best part is, it even stays on the Field until your third End Phase after activation!"

"That doesn't sound good…" Yusei grimaced.

"Not for you!" Kalin retorted, tossing an Infernity Archfiend to the Grave, "But it does make things easier for me! And since I just discarded a monster, your attack is negated, including that bonus your Speed Warrior would have gotten!"

Yusei grimaced as a shockwave rocked through their makeshift arena, knocking his Speed Warrior back beside him and blocking its attack. "Tch… that card's gonna be trouble… but this Duel is just getting started! I'll set two cards, and end my Turn!"

"About time!" Kalin growled, "Draw!" he smirked, tossing down another monster card in Attack Position "Hahaha! Behold, Infernity Archfiend!"

A pale, orange-haired Fiend appeared as Kalin spoke, spreading its arms malevolently while facing Yusei.

Infernity Archfiend-LV4-(1800/1200)

"Now… go Infernity Beast, attack his Speed Warrior and open up the path for our ally!" Kalin cackled, "Destroy!"

Yusei winced, his Duel Runner trailing behind as Kalin's first monster smashed through his warrior, knocking it to the curb.

Yusei-3300 LP SPC 2

Kalin-4000 LP SPC 2

"And now that all your Defenses are useless… it's time to for a direct attack!" Kalin continued, "Go my Infernity Archfiend! Wipe that look of this mongrel's face! Attack!"

-5D's-

"And now Rock Ogre finishes it with a Direct Attack!" Enzo shouted, completing his first Duel Puzzle of the day. "Heh, not so shabby now am I?" he asked, grinning proudly at his fellow occupants on the jet.

"Enzo…" Konami sighed, "It was a Beginner-Level Duel Puzzle, nothing to be impressed about."

"I-I think he was brilliant…" Maia said instead, slowly shuffling the cards back into her Deck.

Konami shrugged, "Everyone's welcome to their own opinion…."

"Damn right they are!" Enzo grinned cheekily, "Now, let's do another! I don't wanna waste this roll I'm on! Here, let's do this one!"

Konami tuned the pair out at that point, not feeling the need to participate any further. Standing, the teen made his way to the front of the plane, stepping in the Butler Quarters to see Wisteria's employee's hard at work.

"They're both taking this far too lightly now." Konami sighed, staring out into the dark skies, "Still, it shouldn't be too long now. That might even be Neo Domino off in the distance… and if we're low enough to actually see the city-"

"Is there a problem, sir?" Masakazu asked curtly.

"E-Eh…?" Konami blinked in surprise, turning to face the man, "Butler! Wait, what? No… there's no problem here…."

"Is that so?" the butler raised a brow curiously. "Somehow I find that relatively difficult to believe. Your tense appearance combined with your trembling, clammy hands gives me an impression of nervousness, and the fact that you look so exhausted gives me reason to believe you haven't slept at all during our day-long trip. This can only lead me to conclude that something is, in fact, very wrong."

Konami snorted, glaring at the man half amused as he gathered his thoughts. He may have tried to act bored and distant, but the truth was, he was worried. Divine… no, Sayer had been up to things while he was asleep, and the loss of Peru's tourist population was quite the shock to wake up to.

"Well, you certainly are the observant fellow aren't you?" Red Hat asked, "My clammy and trembling hands huh…?"

Masakazu smiled, "It's my job to be observant. I do have to tend to the needs of the owner after all, and as we both now, at times she can be rather… petty."

"Wisteria can be a handful at times huh?" Konami sighed, "Not that it'll matter much longer… not with everything that's about to happen."

"So you are concerned then. I suppose it is not all that surprising. You wake up in an unfamiliar place at an unfamiliar time, only to turn on the television and find that half the populace has disappeared in a flash of light. How heart-wrenching…."

"Why do I get the feeling you're being sarcastic?" Konami grimaced, "There's a lot at stake here…. And if Sayer's as powerful as Enzo said he is… what does that say about the other Dark Signers?"

A bolt of lightning cut off any further conversation, and the jet shook from a sudden change in pressure. Half the room's occupants nearly fell from the turbulence, tripping and stumbling about as they attempted to maintain a sense of normalcy as they roamed the jet's corridors.

"What the hell?!" Konami winced, catching himself on the wall near a window, "What was that?!"

Masakazu frowned, his eyes narrowing as he turned to regard the boy coolly. "Perhaps you should turn your head and find out."

Konami's eyes widened at the implication, and he turned, slowly, his hands pressing against the glass of the jet's window as he gazed down towards the earth below. Slowly, thousands of purple lights swiveled into a bleeding heart beneath them, an earth-shattering pulse erupting with each beat as the heart suddenly burst into the sky, nearly taking out one of the plane's wings as a pillar of purple light crashed down beside them.

"Augh!" Enzo cried as he stumbled into the room, "What's going on?! What's with all this shaking?!"

Masakazu closed his eyes boringly, turning away from the approaching group and setting his hand cloth down on one of the chairs, "It would appear as though a Shadow Duel is occurring beneath us. If this sudden force is any indication, a great foe has just been summoned into this realm."

Enzo blinked in confusion, opening his mouth to speak until Konami's hand clenched his arm. "H-Huh? Konami?"

"Enzo… look at this." The teen whispered, his eyes bulging as he stared down through the window.

"Look at… what?" Enzo asked, his voice trailing off when he saw just what Konami was referring to.

A great black mass was erupting from the earth; dark blue lines lining its sides as it grew and grew, growing until it towered over most of the city, staring down at the purple flames burning beneath it with its single evil eye.

"What… is that?" Enzo asked, stumbling away from the window in shock. "It's enormous!"

"That," Konami grimaced, "is an Earthbound Immortal."

The hulking mass roared -despite the lack of a mouth- and stomped forth, ignoring the plane in its entirety as it focused on something far more important.

"This is it Yusei!" Kalin Kessler cackled from below, "The final attack!"

Yusei grimaced, his Duel Runner barely staying on the road due to the unnatural damage it was forced to endure. The numerous Infernity attacks… the power of Kalin's Hundred Eyes Dragon… and now this… thing. Glancing at his Life Points, the boy frowned. He had no defenses, and less than 1000 Points left. He was finished.

"Go Ccapac Apu!" Kalin snarled, "Send this bastard to the Netherworld! Wicked Trample!"

The Earthbound Immortal roared once more, one of its black hands rising up through the earth, tightening into a hulking fist and slamming it down towards Yusei's Duel Runner. The crab-head grimaced, closing his eyes in defeat.

"This is it…! I'm finished!"

The fist smashed down, meeting the top of Yusei's Duel Runner with a great crack as a burst of red erupted from the man's arm, engulfing him and everything around him in a crimson orb that blew the Earthbound Immortal back. Kalin's eyes widened in surprise, his own Duel Runner skidding off to the side as the wave of crimson light overtook him.

"What the hell?!" the Dark Signer spat, closing his eyes in fear of blindness, "Yusei!"

But the crab-head couldn't hear him, for by the time the Crimson light had died down the purple flames, Kalin's Earthbound Immortal, and Yusei were gone.


-Chapter Fifty One-

END


With one loss under his belt, Yusei disappears from the earth entirely! Will the Crimson Dragon protect him on his road to hell? And what of Konami and Enzo? With their jet having seen the last of the Duel, they should arrive in Neo Domino within moments! Find out what happens, next time, on Yu-Gi-Oh: Tag Force!