A/N: I told you it was coming. Next chapter is the last one, the big climax. And not Scar Red Nova Dragon, something different. So, enjoy, and down the bottom is a snippet of the first chapter I'll be putting up once I've finished this one. It's first person POV, because, much as I don't write it often here, it's what I specialise in and it's what all my books are done in, so i thought I'd give it a shot here too. Have fun and review.


"How long has it been now?" Kiryu said quietly.

"Couple of days," Crow guessed.

"Probably less," Yusei muttered. "How are we supposed to just sit here? Who knows what's happening out there while we're stuck here?"

"Best not to think about it," Jack said.

There was a laugh in the darkness and their marks flared up. "You could always make a deal."

"Shut up, Nova," Kiryu snapped.

Yusei sighed and closed his eyes feeling Crow stroking his hair. They fell into silence once again, the only sound was their breathing. It was almost awkward. Yusei was pretty sure if they weren't such close friends they'd be arguing and fighting, but it seemed for now they were content to ignore each other.

"Nova," he said quietly.

"No," Crow snapped. "You're not making a deal with him."

"But-"

"No, Yusei," Jack said.

"But I-"

"Yusei," Kiryu said. "You're out voted, you're not doing it."

Yusei sighed and folded his arms. "You know, I'm a better duellist than all three of you and I have the most powerful immortal." He laughed and shook his head. "I don't think I should be listening to you guys anyway, no offence."

"Yusei," Crow said quietly. "You're being awkward. I think this is still Nova, or some kind of left over from him that's still effecting you."

"I'm fine." There was a quiet whimper and Yusei frowned and sat up. "Who was that?"

"Not me," Crow said. "Jack, Kiryu?"

"No," they both replied.

"Then..."

A soft silvery light came from the distance and moved slowly towards them. The creature gave a quiet mewl and Yusei glanced around at the others. They looked as confused as he felt. Then he realised just what the little creature was.

"Stardust," he whispered. He scrambled to his feet as she gave a small roar and took to the air, flying towards them. He caught her in his arms and hugged her close. "Stardust..."

"Is that... that's Stardust," Jack said quietly. "How did she get here?"

"She gave herself to save Yusei," Crow said. "Nova was about to drag him down and she gave herself to stop him."

Yusei smiled and hugged Stardust to him. The little dragon mewled and snuggled against his shoulder. Yusei laughed and took her back over to the group.

"At least we can see now," Kiryu laughed. "So... what now?"

"You keep asking that," Jack snapped. "None of us know. We just need to figure something out, I guess."

Stardust curled up in Yusei's lap, Yusei running his fingers down her back. Their marks flared again and there was a chuckle. Stardust lifted her head and snarled.

"It's ok, Stardust," Kiryu said. "Yusei's not stupid enough to make a deal with him again. Right Yusei?"

"Yeah," he whispered.

They fell into silence again and Crow wrapped his arms around him. He sighed and closed his eyes, trying not to think about how time was dragging in the darkness. Suddenly Jack and Kiryu started yelling at each other. Yusei frowned and opened his eyes, just as Kiryu shoved Jack to the ground. Crow sighed and pulled Kiryu away. Yusei sighed and closed his eyes. Stardust nuzzled his hand and he sighed.

There was a red glow in the distance and Yusei got up slowly, keeping Stardust in his arms. Jack, Crow and Kiryu stopped shouting, probably because Stardust's soft glow was pretty much the only light they had, and followed him towards the red light. A porthole back to the real world appeared in front of them and they stopped. Glaring at them from a black marble throne was The Dark King in Kiryu's body. Much as Yusei hated to admit it, the look suited Kiryu.

"What do you want?" Crow growled.

"Well, I wanted to see how my pets were doing," he said, leaning back on his throne. "It's been two days, haven't you killed each other, yet?

"We're a lot more loyal to each other than that," Kiryu snapped. "And get out my body."

"Where are we anyway?" Yusei said quietly.

"The Shadow Realm," he laughed. "It's much like the Spirit World, only you need far more power to access it. I am one of the few people who can access it at will and as such, I send important prisoners there. Your souls are trapped here and your bodies are safely kept as my prizes. Tell me, are you hungry?"

Yusei frowned and glanced at the others as Crow's stomach growled. "Now you mention it..."

"Here, Yusei..." he said quietly, reaching through the porthole for Yusei's hand. "Come through."

Yusei frowned and took his hand. He was pulled through and everything went black. When he opened his eyes, his arms were chained above him and his back against a wall, hanging there from his wrists. His shoulders were aching and his body was weak, but he didn't feel injured. He groaned and lifted his head. He was on top of the temple. The Dark King's throne was just in front of him and he could just about see Kiryu lying lazily across it, a glass of something red in his hand. He turned slightly. Jack was chained up against the wall just like him, with his head hanging lifelessly, eyes closed and Crow exactly the same on the other side. The Dark King stood and stepped around his throne, walking towards him.

"What-"

"No questions, Yusei," he said. "I don't have time for questions. You and your friends are hungry, you haven't eaten in two days. How much longer can you survive? And without water too? How long can your simple love for each other hold you alive?"

"What do you-"

"What did I say about questions? I was being rhetorical." He frowned and leant over Yusei, leaning in to whisper in his ear. "Don't you get it? This has all been about you, Yusei. With you at my side, there would be nothing to stop me. You remember the power Nova gave you. He will work with no one but you, believe me I've tried." Yusei shivered as a hand move slowly over his stomach. "He refuses to take another host."

"I'm flattered, but not interested," Yusei said, trying to move away from The Dark King's touch. Kiryu had touched him like that once or twice, it was a familiar feeling, but not with any of the care Kiryu took. "Don't touch me."

"Oh, I'll do what I like to you, Yusei," he chuckled. "It amazes me that you don't understand how important you are. Join me, take back Nova and I will allow you dear friend Kiryu to return to me, inside me, as a partner, like you and Nova. I wouldn't let you be alone."

"No."

"Yusei, look at the position you're in here. More importantly-" he laughed and moved away from Yusei over to Crow "-think about the position your little lover is in."

"Leave him out of this," Yusei cried. "He's not even a Signer!"

He laughed and cupped Crow's chin, lifting his head, smirking as if he was doing it just to prove that Crow could offer no resistance to anything The Dark King wanted to do to him. Amber eyes glinted in the darkness as he looked over at Yusei.

"Hmm, Nova approved of him, you know?" The King said. "I know he liked the former owner of this body in some ways, but he was rather taken with your little blackbird. I'm not sure I see why, but then he was never one to go by looks alone, if I were you, I would have gone after blondie, if not my former host, but then, I suppose you have to take what you can get. So... you're going to let them all starve to death?"

"No, I just... there has to be something else," he said quietly. "Please, I'll do anything but that, just don't let them die."

"You'll do anything, but you won't join me?" he snapped.

"I couldn't do that-"

"Then... shall I pull your Crow's soul from the shadow realm and I could have some fun with him, hmm?"

"No, please, leave him out of this."

The Dark King frowned and slowly returned to Yusei, leaning over him. "Then what if you entertained me?"

"I- I-"

"These are my terms, Yusei, either you join me or you amuse me for a while," he said. "Or, I could just let you and your friends starve, or play with Crow. I haven't decided which will cause you more pain yet."

"I..." He frowned and glanced at Crow. "Alright."


Jack, Kiryu and Crow were waiting quietly with only Stardust to give them light. Stardust seemed to be crying out for Yusei. Crow sighed and took her in his arms, gently stroking her head, trying to calm her. She whimpered and whined, shaking and squirming, trying to get out of his arms and desperate to find Yusei.

"It's ok," he whispered. "It's ok, he'll be back soon."

She gave a whimper and seemed to cry before snuggling into his chest. He sighed and glanced at the other two. They looked as worried as he did. Something brushed his cheek and he turned away slightly. There was nothing there, but it felt real enough. He couldn't help wondering if this was just an echo of what was happening to his body in the real world.

Yusei stumbled through a porthole which closed up after him. He was gasping for breath and shaking. Crow let Stardust glide down to him and knelt by the side of him, gently helping up to sit up. He smiled and struggled to his feet, Stardust climbing onto his shoulder.

"What happened?" Jack snapped.

"Nothing much," Yusei said. Another porthole opened and a pile of food was tossed through. "I did get us some food through." He smiled. "He wasn't kidding about keeping our bodies as a prize. We're chained behind his throne, like trophies."

"Great," Kiryu muttered, opening up the bags of steaming take away meals. "Mmm, this smells amazing, Yusei. Whatever you did, that's amazing and so worth it."

"He'll feed once every twelve hours for the next three days," Yusei said. "He told me about Nova. Apparently, he refuses to take another host. He wants me or nothing. And he promised if I joined him, he'd bring you back, Kiryu, as his partner."

"I don't want to be his partner."

"I know, I didn't agree to it, but I was close. He threatened Crow."

"Yusei," Crow said quietly. "I can look after myself."

"No, not there," Yusei said. "Out there he can do anything he wants to our bodies and we can't do anything to stop him. We're shells out there. Like flesh dolls."

"So, what are we supposed to do?" Jack said, snatching a pot of food from Kiryu. "Just sit and wait until he kills us?"

"Gimme that back, Jack," Kiryu snapped, lunging for Jack.

Crow sighed and took the pot from them, only to be tackled to the ground. Yusei frowned. "You know there's more than one of those, right?" He tossed one to Jack and one to Kiryu. "We can't just sit here."

"Well no," Kiryu said. "Of course we can't. Here, girl." He set down a small bowl and opened the lid. Stardust hurried over and tucked in. "We need to figure something out, it'll just take time. How did the place look?"

"There was lot of smoke," he muttered. "And there were these dark creatures wandering around."

"I suppose we just need to think it over then," he said.

"That's it?" Crow said. "We just wait."

"Essentially."

"No," Yusei said, standing up. Stardust stood and jumped up into his arms. "You know what I'm thinking, Stardust?" She nodded. "Come on then. You guys wait here for a few minutes, ok?"

"You're stealing our only light source, Yusei," Jack snapped.

"I know," he said. "I think I saw a lantern in one of the bags though." Kiryu rummaged through the bags and pulled out a battery powered lantern. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

He strode off into the darkness, Stardust's soft glow lighting only a few feet around him. Finally, he reached where the small red glow was coming from. It was a dark red jewel.

"Hello, Yusei," Nova said quietly.

"I don't want to hurt my friends again," Yusei whispered.

"Then we won't."

"You say that every time and I do anyway. Why not find a new host? I don't want you."

"You'll hurt my feelings, Yusei..." He chuckled and Stardust growled. "So, what if we make a deal?"

"What kind of deal?"

A pair of cards hovered in front of him. One turned into Stardust and the other bathed in a red glow and formed a new card. Yusei frowned.

"Take it, Yusei, then you can call on my power whenever you desire. I can help you and return, I get to combine my power with your Stardust when I get out."

"You want to be bound to Stardust?"

"She will keep my powers from overwhelming you."

Yusei frowned and looked at the card. Nova Star Dragon; it looked like Stardust, only bulkier and armoured with red and black. He frowned. That kind of armour would be more suited for Jack's dragon, but it was a powerful card. He frowned and glanced at Stardust, who nudged his hand, silently urging him to take the cards.

"I can get you out of here, Yusei," he said. "You, Jack and Crow. With the King in Kiryu's body, we can't help him yet, but was can once the King has been beaten."

"Leave Jack and Crow with him. I can do this alone."

"With our help," Nova said as Stardust whined.

"Yeah. So, let's bring down the King."

He reached out and took the pair of cards. The world around him turned white and Stardust took to the air, throwing her wings open and growing to full size. The red jewel flashed and armour attached to her. She let out a roar and a wave of pure power burst from her, sending Yusei flying backwards and into darkness once more.


A/N: Preview snippet that I promised and I should have the last chapter of this done by this time next month.

The strange presence that I've felt around me for so long is there again, encouraging me to get up again, but I physically can't. It tells me it's ok without any words, it's just a feeling, and that this man will help me and look after me. I'm safe, that's all I know as my eyes close and I fall into darkness.

There are quiet voices around me. I'm actually comfortable for once. It's a really soft, warm bed. It's weird actually. It's not a hospital bed, I spent the last three weeks in one in the Facility, they're hard and lumpy and the sheets are scratchy. This is all soft and fluffy. I force my eyes open. Whatever I was expecting, it's not this. The voices become clearer, two of them. One is the man from last night, the other is more commanding, probably the boss of wherever I am.

"...of trauma he suffered while alive," says the voice I know. "He was very ill, it'll take time, even with his god helping him to heal. He'll probably be far more active and more difficult once he's recovered."

"What makes you think he'll be difficult?"

"Don't you know who he is? He's the former leader of Team Satisfaction."

Yes, my wonderful team now in tatters and ruin. The familiar voice mutters about me being awake and there's two men leaning over me. I groan and blink a few times, trying to make out the details.

"How are you feeling, young man?" the man I know says.

"It hurts," I whisper.

"Where?"

"Everywhere."

He laughs gently and it's surprisingly comforting. "Well, you'll get better. What's your name?"

"Kyosuke Kiryu. What's going on?"

The man I don't know folds his arms. "My name is Rudger, this is Demak. You have been chosen to join our ranks as some of the most powerful people in the world."

"What if I don't want to?" I say. He laughs cruelly and shakes his head. "I mean it. I just want to have my revenge on Yusei."

"You don't have a choice," Demak says. I frown and glare up at them. "However, your need for revenge is most likely why you were chosen. How did you get here?"

I try to think back, but there's just a blur. "I don't know."

"Well, being able to get here without help is impressive," Rudge mutters. "You obviously have potential, we just need to develop you. How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Still young enough to be moulded. Good."

"Rudger," Demak says, something kind of warning in his voice. "Not until he's recovered. He still needs time. I think we should let him rest up."

I'm not sure I like what Rudger's saying. I frown as they leave and shut the door. Whoever they are, I don't know if I can trust them or not. The strange presence around me assures me that they're like old friends, they're familiar and comforting, but it's been far too long since I trusted anyone and they've not let me down.