Anthony could do nothing but stare as Soso overlooked her prize, the doll that was once Kan'u Uncho. She then reached into a pocket on her dress and pulled out the doll that was formerly Bato Jusei, smiling as she did. "Well, it appears that I've begun to build quite a collection. And soon, I will add many more, until China is mine. After all, who could possibly stop the great power of Gi?" Anthony suddenly stopped trembling, as his hands tightened into fists and he began to make a run for Soso.

"SOSO!" he shouted as his peerage was about to make a move to stop him, but Kakoen, used to wrangling in her sister, beat them to the punch, as she wrapped her arms around him and planted her feet firmly on the ground, and Anthony struggled to break free, although Kakoen, being stronger than him physically, managed to keep him in line.

"Anthony, what are you doing? We have a plan!"

"Fuck the plan! I'm going to make that bitch pay for what she's done!"

"You can't possibly hope to beat me," said Soso, as Kakoton decided to stick to the plan.

"Karin, snap out of it! This isn't you talking, it's those White Clothes creeps!"

"LORD KARIN!" shouted Soso. "How many times must you be told this before it finally pierces your thick skull? I am a lord, and I deserve to be treated as so!"

"You deserve to rot in a hole, you heartless blowhard!" shouted Anthony, as he struggled even more to break free from Kakoen. "When I get my hands on you, I'll rip out your tongue and have you choke to death on your own blood!"

"This isn't good," said Choun. "He's gone ballistic."

"We have to stop him before he does something-Sui?" Kochu began to say, as the general in question broke away from the group, and darted towards Anthony, who managed to break away from Kakoen by stomping on her foot. Before he could even get close to Soso, he was blindsided by a haymaker, courtesy of Bacho. He fell onto the floor, clutching his cheek in pain, as Bacho looked over him.

"Sui, what are you doing!?" screamed Choryo.

"It appears that despite having the title of lord, Lord Anthony cannot even control his own emotions, let alone his subjects," said Ukitsu as Anthony got onto his knees, wiping a small trickle of blood from his chin as Bacho grabbed his shoulders.

"Come on, Anthony, get a damn grip! Killing Soso won't solve crap, no matter how much you want to!"

"Sui, let me go!" shouted Anthony, refusing to listen. Bacho put on a determined face and locked her lord in a huge bear hug, locking his arms on either side of his torso and keeping him from standing up, truly trapping him.

"Listen, I know you're angry at her, so am I. And you have every right to be angry. But don't do something that you'll regret, please."

Kochu smiled as she did this, proud of Bacho for taking her words to heart. She really had come a long way, and she was happy to see that she was helping others with problems that she once had. And it seemed to work, as Anthony slowly began to calm down in Bacho's arms. "I…I'm good. I'm sorry, it's just, I lost it. You can let go, Sui." She obliged, and to everyone's relief, Anthony was telling the truth, as he remained calm. Well, almost everyone.

"How sickeningly sweet. I think I might vomit," gagged Soso, as Anthony looked into her eyes, which were much more lifeless and dull than he remembered them being. The twins weren't lying either: she was definitely being brainwashed.

"Soso. Long time, no see, not that that's a bad thing," he joked, as Soso resisted the urge to pull her drills out.

"IT. IS! LORD! SOSO!"

"Hey, we're both lords here, you can be a little informal. Besides, for me, calling you by your name is enough of an improvement. Then again, Shunran and Shuran are the only reason why I retired 'Skull Loli.'"

"Skull Loli?" giggled Kyocho, unable to resist, as Jun'iku glared at the pink-haired general. Anthony turned to the laughing girl, and assumed that this was Kyocho, the general that had stayed behind during the Anti-Totaku Alliance.

"I'm gonna guess that you've been beaten, right?" he asked her, and Kyocho turned to the lord, and nodded, which made Anthony turn back towards Soso. "So she's been beaten, Shion beat Shuran, Aisha beat Shia, and I beat Yokai, after I won my rematch with Shunran. That's all of your generals, right? Which means that I can challenge you to a duel between lords for your territory!"

"Oh really?" asked Soso in a mocking tone as she shuffled her Graveyard and banished cards into her deck, as her Chaos Duel Disk shuffled her cards even further, as Anthony's own deck was shuffled. "You may have beaten me in the past, but that was just that, the past. I'm far greater than I once was, and have been eagerly awaiting the moment where you will finally realize the power of Gi! Your kingdom will crumble to dust while mine shall never falter!"

"Hey, if you're gonna face the future, I should warn you, it's pretty bright," said Anthony as he put on his sunglasses. "Hope you brought your shades."

"He's putting them on now?" asked Chohi in confusion as Choryo walked over to the group, while Kakoton and Kakoen stood a good distance behind Anthony on either side, so that they could face Soso.

"What's the deal with those weird glasses?" asked Kyocho.

"Usually, when big bro is about to do a big play in the middle of a duel, he puts them on. But he's never put them on right away, at least not that Rinrin has seen."

"Well, he has a lot to lose, and he has to give it his all," said Choun.

"Well, he has a plan," said Choryo. "He's gonna snap Lord Karin back to her senses. That's why Shunran and Shuran are putting themselves in danger like that."

"What do you mean?" asked Shokatsuryo, curious as to what this plan was.

"You'll see," said Choryo, not wanting to say anything while Ukitsu was watching.

"Lord Karin, we know that you're not in control of your actions right now! You're being used!" shouted Kakoton.

"But we refuse to let that happen! We will rescue you, even if it means going against you!" shouted Kakoen.

"Oh please, enough of this foolishness," said Soso as she made a purple aura coat both decks. "It's time to demonstrate just how far I've come!"

"Looking forward to it," said Anthony.

"LET'S DUEL!"

(Anthony: 4000 LP)(Soso: 4000 LP)

"I'll make the first move!" shouted Anthony as he drew. "And I summon my Ground Attacker Bugroth to the field in attack mode!"

His amphibious machine soon appeared, guns aimed at Soso, who merely looked bored (LV 4: ATK 1500).

"And now, I end my turn by setting two cards!"

Soso smirked as she drew, and looked over her hand carefully, as Anthony soon activated one of his face-down cards, with six multicolored gun barrels appearing on the field.

"I activate my Secret Barrel, which will deal two hundred points of damage for every card on your side of the field or in your hand! So that's 1200 points of damage right off the bat!"

The guns came alive, firing a fusillade of laser blasts at Soso, who held up her arms as the blasts struck the surrounding area (Soso: 4000-2800 LP).

"I'd say that was impressive, but I'd be lying. This is how you make a play! I activate my Fiend's Sanctuary, letting me summon a Metal Fiend Token to my side of the field, and you take any battle damage that I would take from it!"

A card appeared that had a magic circle surrounded by five lamps, and in the center was a metal statue of a demon, as the circle appeared, and out came a small creature that looked like a collection of mercury drops, with a featureless head, a body that ended in a tail with no legs, and two tentacle arms (LV 1: ATK 0).

"But I have no intention of keeping it, for I tribute it to summon my Summoned Skull!"

The token soon vanished in order to make room for a much larger monster, letting out a powerful cry as its exposed muscles rippled (LV 6: ATK 2500).

"Now attack with Lightning Strike!"

Electricity crackled as it built up between the wings of the Fiend-type, and it fired a lightning bolt at the Machine-type and blasted it into pieces, as the twins averted their eyes (Anthony: 4000-3000 LP).

"And now, I end my turn with a face-down!"

"But before you do, I play my Fires of Doomsday, to Special Summon two Doomsday Tokens to the field!" And sure enough, the will-o'-the-wisps appeared and floated around (LV 1: DEF 0). "And now, I draw! And I play my Night Beam, in order to destroy that face-down card! And the best part is, you can't activate it in response!"

The yellow beam of light locked onto the card and blew it to pieces, as Soso sent her Bark of Dark Ruler to the Graveyard.

"And I tribute both of my tokens to summon Zoa!" And as the tokens faded away to summon the huge fiend (LV 7: ATK 2600), Soso smirked.

"Ah, I see that you've seen the light, and have begun to follow my ways."

"Your ways? I'm pretty sure that you don't have a trademark on Fiend-types, seeing as Renfa has a good amount of them in her deck."

"I'm referring to the way that you copied my move, which follows my beliefs. You treat your peerage, and your cards, like friends, when in reality, they're nothing but tools to be used. And that blind trust clouds your judgement!"

"That's not true!" shouted Kakoton. "You should know that! The real Karin treats all of her subjects fairly! And that includes us!"

"I'm not going to bother correcting you again, because considering what you're saying, you're obviously delusional," said Soso.

"No, she's right!" screamed Kakoen. "The way that you've been treating us is completely unlike you! Can't you see what you're doing is wrong?"

"What I'm doing is what I've dreamed of all my life! I'm going to rule this country!"

'Damn, they haven't made any progress yet. I better keep this duel going.' "Zoa, take down that Summoned Skull with your Glimmer Strike!"

The Fiend-type fired its X-shaped blast and tore through the Summoned Skull (Soso: 2800-2700 LP).

"And that will do for now."

"It seems that Lord Anthony has the lead for the moment," said Choun. "But the question is, can he keep it?"

"Don't doubt big bro! He will win!" said Chohi. "Get her, big bro!"

"He won't have a chance! I draw! And I activate my Shrink, so now your Zoa is only half as strong as it was prior!"

Anthony couldn't help but grunt in annoyance as his monster became half of its strength and size (ATK 2600-1300).

"And now I can bring out my Headless Knight to come and play!"

Her ghostly monster came to the field with an eerie moan from its headless body (LV 4: ATK 1450).

"And now, to attack!"

Her monster did as it was told, as it stood over Zoa and held its sword in a reverse grip with both hands, before driving the sword into the weakened DARK monster again and again, until it eventually shattered (Anthony: 3000-2850 LP). Just about everyone, with two obvious exceptions, cringed at the ruthless display.

"And I end my turn."

"Then I draw! And I play my Reload, letting me shuffle my hand back into my deck and draw the same amount of cards that I returned!" Anthony returned both cards that were left in his hand, Giga-Tech Wolf and Cannon Soldier, to his deck as he drew two more, and he smiled as he summoned a new monster to the field.

"And now, I summon my Guardian of the Throne Room!"

The large golden robot appeared, and while its duty was normally to protect the throne, this time it would be attacking it (LV 4: ATK 1650).

"And now, I'll have it take down your Headless Knight with Safeguard Missiles!"

The Machine-type fired three rockets from the launcher on its back, which blew Headless Knight sky high (Soso: 2700-2500 LP).

"And to end my turn, I set a card!"

'Oh dear, it appears that Soso is at a disadvantage,' thought Ukitsu with worry. 'I can't risk losing such a powerful weapon. And if I get involved, then I'll evoke suspicion in her, as she remains clever despite the brainwashing. Fortunately, it seems like she refuses to listen to the pleas of her lovers, or should I say, former lovers. How delightfully tragic.'

"I draw! And I play Card Destruction, which lets me-"

"You don't need to explain what Card Destruction does," said Anthony. "I have that card in my own deck."

"Don't interrupt me," snapped Soso as she sent her Possessed Dark Soul and Reaper of the Cards to her Graveyard, and drew two more cards.

"Perfect. I summon Gil Garth!"

Her monster was another fiend, although it looked more mechanical than anything else. Its head was covered in blue metal with green bolts along it, with a large piece of plate armor over its torso that had a collar shaped like an arrowhead. Its purple skin was visible underneath, and it had a piece of armor around its waist with a skull-shaped belt buckle, and it had steel pads on its shoulders and knees with curved yellow spikes, and on its forearms and shins were spiked steel gauntlets and greaves, and in its right hand was a curved sword that had a green edge (LV 4: ATK 1800).

"And now, to make this monster even more powerful! I equip it with Dark Energy, a card that can only be equipped to a Fiend-type, and increases its power by three hundred!"

In the right hand of Gil Garth appeared a blue crystal ball with a red and orange symbol on it, as demonic energy began to flow into the Fiend-type (ATK 1800-2100).

"Now slaughter that guardian!"

The monster jumped over to the Machine-type and slashed its head in two vertically with its sword, before it shattered, with the Fiend-type landing on its feet and glaring at Anthony (Anthony: 2850-2400 LP).

"So mean…" said Ryofu, not liking the brutality that the lord of Gi exhibited.

"It looks like the Guardian of the Throne Room failed his duties," said Soso.

"Maybe, but I say that he deserves a do-over. I play my Time Machine, which will bring back my fallen monster in the same battle position it was in!"

The large gilded robot returned to the field, as Soso ended her turn, and Anthony drew, then smirked.

"Hey, you know, it just hit me. I never showed you my favorite monster! Let's fix that. I tribute my Guardian of the Throne Room to summon the mechanical monarch himself, Machine King!"

Soon, his signature monster made an appearance, with Jun'iku's eyes widening and Kyocho having her eyes reduced to white orbs (LV 6: ATK 2200-2300).

"And as you can see, every Machine-type on the field makes him stronger, including himself! Now attack with Jet Punch!"

His monster blasted Gil Garth to pieces with its attack (Soso: 2500-2300), and the Gi ruler simply shrugged it off. "If that's the king, then I look forward to taking his crown, followed by yours."

"I end my turn, Soso. Gimme all you got!"

"With pleasure," she said as she drew. "I banish my Gil Garth, Reaper of the Cards, and Possessed Dark Soul from my Graveyard!"

Her three monsters appeared, one being the recently destroyed Gil Garth, one being Reaper of the Cards, a ghost in a black hood with a face consisting of three faded white orbs and decaying hands holding a long scythe (LV 5: ATK 1380), and the last one being Possessed Dark Soul, which was a demon with horns, wings, and a tail, its entire body being made of purple flames (LV 3: ATK 1200). All three monsters went into a dark portal, and sure enough, Soso's newest toy began to rise from it, and both Kakoton and Kakoen stepped back in fear, with Choryo grimacing (LV 8: ATK 2200).

"Allow me to repay you by introducing my own signature monster, Dark Necrofear!"

'Weaker than Zera, but if I remember correctly, it has a nasty effect. I better be careful with the way I take this thing out.'

"Now attack with Doom Gaze!"

"What is she doing?" said Kakoton as Dark Necrofear attempted to attack Machine King with her attack, but it had no effect as the Machine-type fired its own attack at the Fiend-type, destroying her (Soso: 2300-2200 LP). "She just took out her own monster!"

"I have a feeling that she planned that, Shunran."

"Now I end my turn, and through its effect, I equip my Dark Necrofear to your Machine King, and giving control of it to me!"

Anthony's eyes widened behind the black lenses of his sunglasses as his monster was possessed by the screaming ghost, and wandered over to the black void that the hands of Dark Necrofear stuck out of, being held in her dark embrace. "Damnit! I draw! And I set one monster before calling it a turn!"

"A wise choice. I draw! And I summon my Three-Headed Geedo to the field!"

Her three-headed monster appeared beside the possessed Machine-type, flexing its fingers (LV 4: ATK 1200).

"Now take down that face-down."

Her monster slashed at the monster, which was revealed to be an orange metal orb with four metal clamps and a radar on the front (LV 3: DEF 1000). The monster then clamped onto the Fiend-type, with Anthony smiling as he adjusted his shades.

"You aren't the only one who can equip monsters to your opponent's monsters, if our first duel rings a bell. Meet the weaker version of Blast Sphere, known as Adhesive Explosive! And now, during your next Standby Phase, your monster goes kaboom!"

"A minor inconvenience. One lowly monster is no big loss."

"What is wrong with you!? You always cared for everyone in your kingdom!" shouted Kakoton. "Snap out of this spell that you're under, please!"

Soso didn't even acknowledge Kakoton, and simply pointed at Anthony. "What was your monster's attack called? Oh yes, Jet Punch!"

Anthony saw the attack rush towards him and cried out in pain as the attack slammed into his stomach and knocked him onto his back (Anthony: 2400-100 LP), with everyone in his peerage gasping, with Chohi tearing up as Choun averted her gaze, not wanting to see this go any further. As Soso ended her turn, Kakoton and Kakoen were quick to rush to his side, as they slowly helped him up.

"Anthony, are you okay?" asked Kakoen with concern.

"Yeah, I'm good. Though I might feel that in the morning."

"Hmph! Helping the enemy now, are we? Truly, you two are a disgrace to Gi."

"Stop it!" yelled Chohi from the sidelines. "They're your friends!"

"Friends? Don't make me laugh. They are nothing but means to an end, tools to be used to reach my goals. To be friends with my peerage is ridiculous."

As soon as Soso said this, Kakoton hit her limit. "STOP! Karin, do you really not remember anything? Anything about us? Did that brainwashing really do so much damage? Wake up! It's me, Shunran! My sister and I were your first friends and your first loves! We made a promise to always be by your side, and even as we stand against you, we're trying to help you! I lost my eye trying to help you, and I would die if it meant that you were safe!"

"Karin, we've been nothing but kind to you for all of these years!" shouted Kakoen. "Please, try to remember how we saved you from those bullies all those years ago, how we bought you your best cards, how we promised to protect you!"

"What about me?" piped in Jun'iku. "While the reason that you sought me out was because of my intelligence when it came to battle, I joined you because I was in love with you, Karin, and you had no problem with that. You gladly returned my feelings, and I've never stopped thinking of you above all, even when I was captured!"

"Hey, don't forget me!" shouted Kyocho. "I've always been on your side, or did you forget how you praised me when you saw me take down those bandits? I know that my skill wasn't the only reason why you recruited me!"

"And then there's me," said Choryo. "You coulda easily said no when I asked to join you so I could get stronger, but you let me join without a second thought, and with a smile on your face. And I know that you never thought of me as a tool!"

"SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!" shouted Soso as she gripped her head, seething in rage, as Anthony drew.

"I set one monster and end my turn!"

Soso growled, as she drew a card, and Adhesive Explosive blew up, taking her Three-Headed Geedo with it. She looked at her card, Zera Ritual, and pointed at Anthony's monster. "Jet Punch!" And the attack landed, blasting the monster, UFO Turtle (LV 4: DEF 1200), to bits, as a red portal appeared.

"Thanks for that! When my UFO Turtle is destroyed in battle, I can Special Summon one FIRE monster with 1500 or less attack points from my deck in attack mode! And I pick my Giga-Tech Wolf!"

"Cool!" said Kyocho, as Giga-Tech Wolf leapt from the portal (LV 4: ATK 1200)(ATK 2300-2400).

"No problem! I end my turn!"

"Then I draw! And I play my Monster Gate, which will tribute my Giga-Tech Wolf and have me draw cards from my deck, discarding them until I draw a monster that can be Normal Summoned! Then I Special Summon it to the field!" As his monster disappeared and the blue glyph materialized, he drew one card, and as he saw what he drew, he smiled so wide, his mouth practically reached his ears. "It's time to face the future! I summon the true master of the mechanical, the metal overlord that will pave the way to the future! Arise, Perfect Machine King!"

With the exception of Shia, everyone in Anthony's peerage stared in shock at the huge robot that towered over the possessed robot that Soso controlled (LV 8: ATK 2700-3200). Soso was aloof, Ukitsu was in surprise that Anthony had access to such a powerful monster, both Kakoton and Kakoen took a step back to fully grasp the scale of the Perfect Machine King, Jun'iku was dumbfounded, and Kyocho…

"Wow, first he uses FIRE monsters, then that huge guy! Lord Anthony is the best!"

"Rinrin knows!" said Chohi, as they began to cheer for Anthony.

"Anthony, Anthony, he's our man! If he can't do it, no one can!"

"What are you doing!?" demanded Soso. "You're my general, so why are you rooting for him? I command you to cheer for your own side, lest you wish to face punishment once he's been vanquished!"

"Go, Lord Karin, you're the best," said Kyocho flatly, her cheers being as stiff and lifeless as possible. "Go, Lord Karin, beat the rest."

"Perfect Machine King was already stronger than Machine King, and his effect grants him an additional five hundred attack points for each Machine-type on the field besides him! Now attack with Automaton All-Out Assault!"

The hidden missile launchers on the shoulders of the Machine-type soon opened up, and a huge barrage of missiles were quick to fire from them. Rather than bringing the palace down, they all locked onto Machine King and blasted it to pixels, with the portal that Dark Necrofear was behind closing (Soso: 2200-1400 LP)(ATK 3200-2700).

"And that ends my turn."

Soso drew, and looked at her new card, before she simply stood there, staring. She didn't move, not averting her gaze from the new card. Suddenly, her hand began to tremble, and Ukitsu felt a slight pain in his head.

'What's happening? Am I…losing my control over her?'

Suddenly, Soso cried out in pain as she put her hands to her head, and Jun'iku caught a glimpse of the card that she had drawn, as Soso began to scream. "That's her Zera the Mant. Why is she screaming over it? She can't be that mad that she just lost."

"Zera the Mant? That's the card that we gave her!" said Kakoen, when it suddenly clicked. "Karin, don't you remember? We bought that for you on the day that we met!"

"Ghghh…nnnghh…"

"And when you asked us why, we said that we were simply being kind!" shouted Kakoton. "Please, you have to remember! Karin, you need to remember!"

"What are you doing?"

"Giving them to you. I saw that you wanted this card, so I got it for you."

"Get…out of…my head!" shrieked Soso as Ukitsu grabbed his own head, a migraine pounding in his skull.

"KARIN, TRY TO BREAK FREE!" shouted the twins.

"Look, I promise, I'm not trying to do anything. And I promise that I'll always be here to help you. That's what friends do for each other, right?"

"And I promise the same."

The tattoo of Ukitsu illuminated for a split second as Soso let out one more scream before she dropped to her knees, eyes closed. She looked up and opened them, her eyes no longer faded, and she flinched as a flood of memories poured into her. The assaults on Ryoshu and Kikai, the defeat of Lord Bato and General Kan'u…the way that she treated Kakoton and Kakoen. Tears began to fall from the eyes of Soso Motoku, and Kakoton and Kakoen smiled. She was free.

"Shunran…Shuran…Keifa…Ki…Shia…I'm sorry."

"Soso, it's still your turn!"

Soso turned to Anthony, who was smiling. "And don't worry. When I beat you, I promise that you won't go to the Shadow Realm. These two will save you, and I know they can do it."

Soso looked at her cards, and her field, and she placed her hand over her Duel Disk. "I…surrender. My territory is yours. Just make sure that you take care of them, or you'll regret it." (Winner: Anthony)

'No, no no no!' thought Ukitsu as the phantom strings began to constrict Soso, only for Anthony, Kakoton, and Kakoen to rush over and grab her, pulling on her as she slowly began to change, the dolls falling from her pocket and beginning to change themselves, turning back to normal. Jun'iku and Kyocho joined in, and Soso was confused.

"Why are you helping me? After all I've done, all I said, you still wish to save me?"

"Hey, helping people is what I do," said Anthony, as he turned towards his peerage. "Girls, can you give us a hand, or seven? We could definitely use it!"

Everyone was quick to pitch in, and with all of their strength, one string snapped, then another, and another, until they all gave way, and everyone fell backwards, with Soso being saved, as Kan'u and Bato had been returned to normal, souls reclaimed, as Kakoton, Kakoen, and Jun'iku trapped Soso in a trio of hugs. Bacho went up to her father, and Anthony and Chohi went over to Kan'u. Over by the throne, Ukitsu panicked. He then stuck out his hand, as the Millennium Symbol on the Chaos Duel Disk of Soso fizzled, as he disabled the communication feature. He began to make a break for it, intending to inform his master of what happened, when he came face to face with Choryo.

"Ya know, I never did trust you, Ukitsu."

She then socked him in the face as he fell flat, unconscious, as Choryo pocketed his deck and broke his Duel Disk in two with her knee. In the meantime, Bato and Kan'u began to wake up.

"Su…Sui? Where…am I?"

"Soso's palace. We beat her, daddy. We beat her," said Bacho as she hugged her father, as Kan'u smiled weakly as she saw the faces of her boyfriend and sworn sister looking over her.

"I knew…you wouldn't let me down…"

"Oh, big sis!"

"Aisha!"

As everyone finished their reunions, Soso looked over at Bato and Kan'u as she knelt before them, bowing down, as Anthony widened his eyes, surprised at her humility.

"Lord Bato, General Kan'u, I just want to apologize for my actions. I don't expect either of you to forgive me, but I still wish to let you know just how sorry I truly am."

Neither of them could say anything, being completely stunned, as Anthony walked over to Soso. "Don't worry, Soso, it's cool. The past is past, and now, it's time to face the future," he said as he lifted his sunglasses.

Soso smirked. "That kindness of yours will be your downfall, and please, refer to me as Karin. That's my final order as a lord."

"No prob, Karin."

"Lord Anthony, I presume?"

Anthony turned to see Lord Bato slowly walking towards him, and Anthony grinned. "Yep, that's me. I'm gonna guess you're Sui's dad."

"Correct. As thanks for freeing me, I'd like to form an alliance with you and…thank you for taking care of my little girl," he said, with Bacho blushing. Anthony smiled and shook the hand of the older man, sealing the deal, as Soso tapped on her Duel Disk.

"It looks like the communication feature has been removed, either due to a failsafe, or Ukitsu. I was hoping we could use it to get some more information on our foes."

"Well, what about his Duel Disk?" said Kan'u, referring to Ukitsu. "His should be able to do that."

"Oops."

Everyone turned to Choryo, who was holding the broken remnants of the Chaos Duel Disk. She then looked down at the unconscious man. "So what do we do with this pile of crap?"

~KD~

It was around midnight, with the group having arrived in Kikai several hours prior, with Bato going his separate ways to return to Ryoshu. The return to Kikai was a cause for celebration, as well as their victory over Gi, leaving only two major factions, Kikai and Go. Speaking of Go, Sonshoko, Kannei, and Rikuson were set to stay for another week before they had to return to Sonken, so Anthony was looking forward to spending a little more time with his allies from afar. As for not-so-welcome company, Ukitsu had been taken to the dungeon for interrogation the next day. Currently, Anthony was alone in his room, with a few candles lit as he lay awake on his bed and thought about the past few days, when he heard a knock on his door. He slowly rose out of bed and opened the door, coming face to face with Kan'u, who he let in right away before she could ask for permission, as he closed the door behind her, remembering to lock it this time. She sat on the bed, with Anthony sitting next to her.

"What is it, Aisha?"

"I just wanted to properly thank you for saving me. The Shadow Realm was…unpleasant. Nightmarish. But I endured it, because I knew you would pull through."

Anthony chuckled. "I would have, if it weren't for Shia calling me out. But don't worry, I will never let that happen to you again."

Kan'u then looked down, a somber look on her face. "Sei told me about what happened when I went to the Shadow Realm. About how you lost your temper, with Shuran and Sui having to bring you back to reality."

Anthony looked away guiltily. "Yeah…it's just, I lost everything, before I came here. And I didn't want that to happen again. I've been having nightmares, about losing you, and when I saw it happen…I snapped. I'm sorry."

Kan'u grabbed his shoulders and turned him towards herself. "It's okay…as you say, we just have to face the future, right?"

Anthony grinned. "I'd like that. But I'd appreciate if you spent the night, made me feel a little more secure. I love you, Aisha, and I don't ever want to lose you. I want to be with you for as much as I can."

"So do I. And…maybe…I have an idea."

Anthony was curious, as Kan'u bit her lip, clearly uncomfortable. "Anthony, I'm…I'm ready."

Anthony was about to ask what she was ready for, and then it hit him. She wanted to take the next step in their relationship. "Here? Now?"

"Yes! I don't want to lose you either, Anthony, and when I saw you being dragged by those chains, fall unconscious, suffer a nightmare, I was horrified. The thought of losing my first love horrified me. I love you, Anthony. And I'm ready to prove it to you, but only if you are."

Anthony thought it over. They had been dating for a few months now, and had been through so much. Was he ready? Yes, yes he was. "I'm ready, Aisha."

Despite being the one who asked, Kan'u looked anxious as she undid her tie and cast it aside. "This is my first time…I'm not sure how to feel, but…I want this. I need this. And I need you."

"It's my first time too," said Anthony as he took off his jacket. "But I'm glad that it's with you, Aisha."

That night, the bond between Kan'u and Anthony became even stronger than before, with the two of them solidifying their love for each other.

~KD~

"Get up."

From inside a cell in the dungeons, Ukitsu woke up, and panicked when he saw his master standing over him. He was a man of Japanese origin, with spiky light brown hair, purple eyes, and a tattoo of the Millennium Symbol on his forehead. He wore a green, black, and white robe with tan pants similar to Ukitsu, only the white sections were more pronounced, as befitting Genho Saji, leader of the White Clothes. Ukitsu backed against the wall as his eyes locked with Genho's.

"M-M-M-M-Master Saji! What are you-"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm breaking you out of here. I'm going to assume that you failed."

"Well, not quite. Even if Kikai is still around, Gi is lost. But they took my cards, and my Duel Disk was destroyed."

"Both can easily be replaced, with our secret weapon. And despite your failure, I still have use for you. Come now, we need to prepare for our next move." He then grabbed Ukitsu by the arm as the tattoo on the forehead of Genho began to glow, and the duo disappeared without a trace.


So much happened in this chapter! First, there's Anthony and Aisha losing their virginity. Just a heads-up, there won't be any sex scenes in this story, or any of the Koihime Duel stories and omakes. Here at Starpion Farms, we don't grow lemons, due to both inexperience and a wish to remain rated T. Sorry.

Second, Genho (and yes, that's how the text will be referring to him, as I'm 99% sure that's his first name) finally makes his grand return. For his age, he's eighteen, and his deck is a surprise, one that won't be shown for quite a while.

Finally, the Gi Arc is finally over! So yeah, there will be some breather chapters (not gonna call them "filler" anymore, since there's a good chance that some important stuff will happen, hint, hint, wink, wink) before we reach the Go Arc. Also, I'm moving the cut-off date for the Chosen poll, until sometime between chapters 60 and 61, as I currently have six breather chapters planned. Starpion out!