Leo: 2000

Devack: 2500

"After I send you to the Netherworld, Leo, your sister's next," Devack threatened.

"That's only if you can beat me!" Leo responded, sounding confident. "And in case you forgot, I'll remind you that I get a random Equip Spell thanks to my dragon." He drew his card and peeked slowly. "Yes! It's time I take the leash off my dragon, Devack!" Leo declared. Power Tool switched into attack mode. "Now if you thought he was tough before, wait till you get a load of his new hardware! First off I add the equip spell Double Tool C & D. Not only are we going full automatic, but I get to add another thousand attack points to my beast."

"All those power tools and no safety goggles," Devack taunted. "You should be a little bit more careful, boy. Especially since all you've done is match the attack points of my Ape King."

"That's what I was hoping for!" Leo grinned widely. "Now attack and give this Ape King the royal treatment!"

At the exact same moment Power Tool Dragon's attack hit Z-Man in the physical world, Regulus's attack hit Z-Man in the Spirit World,

Regulus growled fiercely, "Ancient Fairy Dragon, I release you!"

"What a wasted effort," Devack sounded bored.

"You forgot my dragon has a little bonus when he's equipped: he can't be destroyed!"

Blinding white light erupted from both attacks. Any monkey soldiers caught in the blast were instantly destroyed.

"You may have defeated me," Z-Man admitted. "But I have one last trick up my sleeve!"

Both Z-Man's were instantly destroyed.

Leo cheered. "I'll just toss that Double Tool C & D and Power Tool Dragon gets to hang around for a little R-and-R."

"Nice move," Trudge smiled. "Now that Devack's gone and lost his little monkey-"

"Leo's got himself into even more trouble," Yusei finished bleakly.

Devack laughed. It was creepy and ominous laughter. "I always find it amusing when a young duelist walks so willingly into one of my traps. Now with the power of my Dark Matter trap, these two monsters will be escorting you straight to the Netherworld."

"Well, while you're playing around with your gang of gorillas, I'm gonna equip my dragon with a power convertor. You're up!"

"My turn, Leo," Devack grinned wickedly. "I draw… and it looks like thanks are in order for allowing me to summon two monsters to the field last round."

"Why's that?"

"I need two sacrifices to summon out my Earthbound Immortal!" Devack's grin widened. The two monsters dissolved into a grotesque heart that beat above the two duelists. "By the power of the Dark Signers I summon Earthbound Immortal Cusillu!"

(Earthbound Immortal Cusillu: Atk: 2800 Def: 2400)

"Watch as the duel spirits become the fuel for your destruction! With their energies I can summon the most powerful monster ever!" Devack smirked triumphantly as his enormous monkey raised its fists behind him. He turned his eyes on his Earthbound Immortal and smiled almost lovingly, full of pride. This was his monster, and no matter what anyone said, Devack would always maintain that Cusillu was the best Earthbound.

"Oh come on!" Trudge complained. "What's with this guy and the monkeys?"

"He's a banana," Lise drawled.

"There's nothing in your deck that can stop Cusillu's power! It's immune to any attacks, traps and spells you might throw its way."

"Just my luck," Leo said. "You sure that's not cheating?"

"There's also the not-so-little matter of his graveyard bonus. Thanks to my Closed Forest field spell it receives an extra hundred attack points for every monster in my graveyard," Devack continued. "Perhaps next time you'll think twice about taking your sister's place in a shadow duel. Earthbound Immortal, attack!"

"I trigger my Power Convertor spell! As soon as I send it to the graveyard, all of my dragon's attack points are converted over to life points!"

Leo: 4000

Devack: 2500

"The move might make him a little weak until next round, but at least there will be a next round!" Leo turned and ran as fast as he could to escape the fist of Cusillu.

Leo: 400

Devack: 2500

The impact caused a pile of dirt to half cover Leo. He was still alive, just very battered.

All of a sudden, a small white bubble descended from the sky. It came to a stop beside Leo.

"Look!" Trudge pointed.

"Luna?" Yusei's eyes widened.

Lise blinked confusedly and swayed a little. Having Luna be in both worlds at once was wreaking havoc on her mind. But at least, for the moment, she wasn't babbling about random things. Then the bubble popped, and Luna was fully there; Lise stumbled out of Yusei's grasp and rubbed her forehead.

"What the heck?"

Yusei patted her shoulder. "Nice to have you back to your senses, Lise."

"Oh, god, what did I say?"

Trudge tried to cover his laughter with a cough.

"Never mind," Lise said, "I don't want to know. It's not important, anyway." She pointed below, where the twins resided.

"Leo, please tell me that you're all right!" Luna pleaded, ignoring the commotion above her.

"Everything's under control." Leo grinned weakly.

"Of course it is," Luna said kindly, helping her brother to stand. "But it's time for me to take over, okay?"

"I guess I really let you down, huh, sis? I couldn't even win one little duel."

"That's okay, Leo. You've done a wonderful job."

"Huh?"

"It's true," Luna voice was quiet and tears welled up in her eyes. "Not as a duelist, but as my brother." She embraced Leo.

"Not so tight! You're squeezing the tears out!" Leo protested, but he returned the hug anyway.

Devack snickered cruelly. "I'm glad you could join us, Luna. My Earthbound Immortal has been waiting patiently. Let's duel, Signer!"

"Oh, we'll duel, Devack, and when I get through with you, you're going to wish you never messed with any of my spirit friends."

"Will I?"

Luna transferred her brother's duel disk to her arm.

"Let's win this duel, Leo." Luna rose to her feet, bringing Leo with her. Her Signer mark glowed brightly in the darkness. All the others' marks were alight as well. Luna's expression was very serious as she stared down the field. "Let's roll call. Looks like I've got Power Tool Dragon on my field… And you've got a giant Turkey Day balloon on yours!"

Luna/Leo: 400

Devack: 2500

"I'm glad you can still make jokes at a time like this. It's no fun taking the spirit out of someone who's lost hope. Speaking of which, it's high time I introduced you to one of your oldest friends. But first, I activate the Cursed Prison trap. Now I can summon a Synchro monster of my choosing, and it just so happens to be the same one you failed to save back in the Spirit World. Allow me to introduce my favorite prisoner: your precious Ancient Fairy Dragon!"

Luna gasped. Leo gaped.

Devack was as cruel as his word. A large cage manifested, housing the beautiful Ancient Fairy Dragon. Lise cringed; seeing such a magnificent creature locked up like that was physically painful for her.

"What did you do to her, Devack?" Luna looked at her monster in horror. "She isn't some beast you can throw in a cage!"

"That's exactly what she is, and unless she learns to behave, I'll tear her card in half!" Devack threatened.

"We'll see about that! I draw, and I use my dragon's ability to search my deck for a random equip spell and add it to my hand. And this one is going into immediate action," Luna's card turned out to be a large red shield that floated before Power Tool protectively.

"I forgot I had that card," Leo said. Although she can't stop Devack's attack, she can protect my dragon.

"I think I'll end my turn with two facedowns," Luna wrapped her turn up.

"A shield and a couple of facedowns don't exactly make the Dark Signers tremble in fear. If that's all you can offer, then I'm afraid the Crimson Dragon made a grave error in choosing you as a Signer-"

"Hey!" Lise protested.

"Not you," Devack said. "You're merely a vessel. No doubt your own choice of champions would be even more pitiful than the real ones."

Lise growled. Her eyes flared with rage and her hands clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. "Yeah, well, fuck you, too."

Devack rolled his eyes and continued. "You can't win. Now, Earthbound Immortal Cusillu, send this pathetic Signer to the Netherworld!"

"This Signer isn't going anywhere!" Luna countered. "I play the quick spell Limiter Removal, which doubles Power Tool Dragon's attack points."

The impact from the monkey's attack was huge. Dust and smoke flew everywhere and settled quickly enough once the attack was finished.

"That was very unwise!" Devack snarled. "I guess you didn't know that when I'm angry, it doesn't end well for anyone!"

Luna/Leo: 400

Devack: 2100

"If you have any parting words for your dragon, Luna, you had better share them now."

Luna/Leo: 200

Devack: 2100

"Are you okay? I'm here Luna."

"Don't worry, Leo. It's time to take back my Ancient Fairy Dragon," she promised, smirking.

Devack blinked uncomprehendingly. "But she's in my graveyard…"

"And that's just what I was hoping for. As long as she was stuck on your field it would've been impossible to get her back. But you sacrificed her, making her a free agent. And now by playing Respect Synchron she can join my team. With a heavy-hitter like Ancient Fairy Dragon on my side of the field, you and your Earthbound Immortal don't stand a chance of winning this duel!" Luna smiled sweetly, clasped her hands and twisted her body back and forth, the picture of innocence. Her eyes, however, betrayed her true spunk. She adopted a high, cutesy voice as she taunted, "Thanks for helping me get her back."

Up above, Lise laughed. "You tell him!"

"This cannot be!"

But it was, and Devack couldn't do anything about it. Luna's dragon rose onto her rightful owner's field. Her binding chains broke and she spread her wings with a loud, triumphant roar.

(Ancient Fairy Dragon: Atk: 2100 Def: 3000)

"You did it! You got her back," Leo grinned at his sister.

She nodded and smiled up at her beautiful dragon. "I kept my promise."

Thank you, Luna. You risked your life and your spirit to see that I was delivered from Devack's prison. Now that I am free, we can begin to heal the Spirit World.

"Look at that," Yusei said.

"She's beautiful." Trudge was smiling too. "For a dragon."

"Yes," Lise agreed. She unconsciously slipped her hand into Yusei's.

He blinked in surprise, and shot her a sideways glance, but he didn't pull his fingers away from hers.

"Normally, Limiter Removal's effect would destroy my dragon," Luna carried the on with the duel. "But if I send Central Shield to the graveyard my dragon doesn't have to go anywhere. Looks like that's two dragons to your none."

"Very clever," Devack admitted. "But even a hundred Ancient Fairy Dragons won't be able to help you now. Let's just see you try and take out my Earthbound Immortal!"

"Feel up to it, Leo?" Luna turned to her twin.

"Yep! Let's draw that card!"

"But before we play anything we activate our dragon's special ability, which uproots your Closed Forest field spell!" Luna said.

"No! You can't!" Devack complained fruitlessly as his field spell was obliterated.

"Take that!" Leo beamed.

Luna/Leo: 1200

Devack: 2100

"Now that the field spell is gone, Devack's monkey has no special abilities," Yusei remarked.

"Go for it Luna!" Lise cheered.

But Luna wasn't done yet. "Power Tool Dragon's ability allows me to add an Equip Spell straight to my hand. And now that I've got two, I'm gonna power up both my dragons! Devack, it's the end of the line for you and your monkey!"

"I'm afraid this is the end of nothing, little girl."

"We'll see about that!" Luna watched as Power Tool used his equipped rocket to plunge straight into the monkey's chest.

Luna/Leo: 400

Devack: 2100

"And what did I tell you?" Devack sneered when the dust had settled after the attack. "All you've done is destroyed Power Tool Dragon and hurt yourself."

"Try reading the card, numbskull!" Leo snapped.

"Yeah, he can't be destroyed as long as he's equipped with Rocket Pillar. And that's not the only bonus! Your monster loses attack points equal to Power Tool's attack points," Luna explained.

"You can't!"

"Stop whining, Devack. It's on the card." Luna smirked. "And now my Ancient Fairy Dragon's Equip Spell kicks in! All the life that I just lost was worth every point because thanks to Pain To Power, it all gets converted into attack points. I think she's still mad about being locked up, and it's time for her to get some payback! Whattaya think about that? Ancient Fairy Dragon, chase those shadows away!"

Ancient Fairy Dragon roared and rose into the sky. Multicolored lights erupted from her wings, bathing everything in an auroral glow. Cusillu dissolved into nothing. The purple glyph mark burning on Satellite's surfaced caved in on itself and vanished. Devack's hood flew off, revealing his baldness. The light vanquished Devack and the evil he had brought with him.

Luna/Leo: 400

Devack: 0000

"You did it, Luna!" Leo threw his arms around his sister and squeezed.

"No, we did it, Leo," Luna was smiling just as much as her brother. "Now the spirits will be safe and—"

She and Leo both gasped. A shadowy shell of Devack advanced towards the twins. Leo spread his arms wide in front of his sister, ready to protect her.

Lise dropped Yusei's hand suddenly and took off. A little too late, Yusei and Trudge realized what was going on.

"You think you've won? I won't fall alone. You're coming with me. This isn't over!" Devack rambled.

"Yes it is!" Lise shouted. But it wasn't only her own voice she spoke with; overlapping it was something older, more serene, yet more wild. Something ancient. Even if Lise herself meant the words, they weren't hers alone.

She descended right in front of the twins. Her irises glowed like red fire, as did her left hand, which she brandished before her. Devack shrank from the light and quickly began to dissolve like his Immortal, screaming as he disappeared.

"Everyone okay?" Yusei asked, as he and Trudge joined the others.

"Yep, just a little bruised and battered," Luna replied.

Lise blinked, and her eyes reverted to normal. "Jeez, I hope the other Dark Signers don't go out that way." She rubbed her left hand. "That was actually pretty painful. And creepy as fuck."

Leo turned around and bounced up and down in front of Lise. "That was so cool! How'd you do it!"

"I had some help. A lot of help, actually." Lise put her hand out. "But enough about me. It's your victory, guys. Congratulations!"

Leo and Luna both high-fived her.

"Leo," Yusei said quietly, kneeling down to eye level with the smaller boy. "You were really great."

The boy's mouth opened wide and his eyes filled with tears. He rubbed them away with his forearm. "But I couldn't win…I'm useless without help."

"That isn't true." Yusei laid a hand on Leo's shoulder. "Look, not everyone is born a great duelist. I sure wasn't."

"But I never win unless I've got someone there to help!"

"There's nothing wrong with that, Leo. It's the reason we have tag-team duels. Lots of great solo duelists get their start with a team, until they're confident enough to break away and do their own thing. And besides, you're still young. You've got years to perfect your dueling strategy."

Leo sniffed a bit, but nodded anyway. "Okay..."

"Um, Luna? I have a strange request," Lise said, twisting her hair a little. "Could you please never ever go to the Spirit World again? It does things to my head."

"Well, I can try, but it's not always my choice," Luna replied.

Luna…

The duel spirits of Regulus and Ancient Fairy Dragon appeared before the duelists.

"Regulus!"

"Is there a laser light show going on?" Trudge squinted at the spirits.

No officer Trudge, we are not illusions. We are real.

"Whoa! Did that thing just talk back to me?" Trudge made a sound like a dying fish out of water and collapsed in a faint.

"Grown-ups are so weird," Luna said.

Luna, by defeating Devack you have saved us all. The spirits captured by the Earthbound Immortal are free now, and they have returned home to the Spirit World.

"Has everything stopped going in reverse, too?"

Yes, all thanks to you.

Luna shook her head. "Not just me. I couldn't have done it without Leo's help. He set up Devack so I could finish him off, and Lise and Yusei stayed with him the whole time."

"I wasn't exactly 'all there' though," Lise pointed out.

"You weren't exactly 'there' at all," Yusei mumbled.

"No biggie," Leo assured Lise with a shrug.

Thank you, everyone, Ancient Fairy Dragon said.

"Our fight with the Dark Signers isn't over. Will you help us?" Yusei said seriously.

The Dark Signers are like a disease. If they are not vanquished completely then their power will grow back and the Spirit World will once again be in danger. We must finish this. I will fight alongside you, even if it destroys me.

I too will fight alongside you, until the bitter end, Regulus added.

Luna's dragon and lion changed into light that swirled in the air. They came to a rest in the girl's palms as two new cards.

"We did it! I finally have the card Meena said we'd need." Luna held them close.

Abandoning Trudge on the ground, the foursome approached the tower. The door opened easily with a single touch from Luna. Inside was a miniature pedestal carved in the shape of a monkey. A card-shaped hole resided in the middle. Luna placed the card in there and waited. At first nothing happened. Then all at once the carving shone with a bright yellow light. The tower began to shake.

"I have a feeling we might wanna run right now," Yusei said. Luna grabbed Ancient Fairy Dragon and the group fled from the building.

Lise rolled her eyes. "What was your first clue, Yusei, the glowing or the shaking?"

"Calm down, everyone, I'm awake," Trudge pulled himself back up to his feet. "I'm okay. W-wait, where'd the tower go? There was a tower here, right? Right?!"

"Uh…I didn't see any tower," Leo said, crossing his arms behind his back and staring off into space.

"I need some sleep. I keep seeing things that aren't there: towers, dragons, flying lions…"

Lise patted Trudge on the back. "It's okay. When all of this is over, we'll find a nice padded room for you."

Trudge let out a very unmanly whimper.