Yu-Gi-Oh! Dissidia

With the reunion of allies, Crow now knows the location of Rex Goodwin. He heads to the Black Lake with his friends and as they slowly separate, Crow prepares to face off against the first legendary man.

Both of them were men who rode a flying duel runner and attempted to change Satellite for the better, and in their last confrontation Crow fell short. Now he vows to soar higher than ever and protect his friends from evil.

Destiny Draw 33-V

Crow waved to Yuma and Astral as Yuma dismounted the Blackbird. "Good luck you two!" he called.

"Don't you worry Crow, we've got this!" Yuma called cheerfully.

Crow laughed, and he gunned the engine to catch up with Shark's cycle and Orbital 7.

"Reckon he'll be okay?" Crow asked Kite.

"Please. He's too annoying to just keel over and lose," Kite replied.

"Plus, he's got Astral with him," Shark noted.

Crow raised an eyebrow. "Wow. You guys are a bunch o' cheer, aren't you?" he commented. "It's like hanging out with Jack, only he's harder to cheese off," he laughed.

Shark and Yugi, the latter of whom was seated behind Shark on his cycle, both grinned at that. They'd spent time with Jack, and Crow was easily on the right track for that.

Crow sighed. "Okay, once we get to the forest, you two will be off, right?" he asked.

Yugi nodded. "Yeah. If Bakura's where I think he is, and now that I know what this world is made of, then I think that I can track him down."

"I'll get you there, and then go find Vector," Shark agreed. "He won't be too hard to find, especially if he still has that flair for the dramatic."

Crow winced. "Guesswork, huh?" he asked. "Jeez, at least Kite and I know where we're going," he commented sympathetically. "All you guys have got is a vague direction to go in."

"Yeah, well at least we have transport now," Shark noted.

"That's a good point you bring up there, Shark," Crow noted. "Seriously, why couldn't we have had these from the start?" he asked irritably.

"It would have been too easy, and there aren't enough vehicles for everyone," Kite commented. "But now time is of the essence, and when you two don't know where you're supposed to be going it's fairly handy."

"Good point, Kite," Yugi admitted.

"Right, now I've got a question for all of you," Crow declared. "What was your favourite duel that you remember?"

Kite cracked a wry smile. "Truthfully?" he asked. "I am almost ashamed to admit it…but rather than the battle of the Galaxy-Eyes, my last duel with Yuma and Astral was my moment in the sun."

Shark frowned. "Tough choice," he admitted. "None of the duels that I had after…I…well, you know…" He trailed off for a bit as he though before smiling softly. "My tag duel with Yuma…that was something. The first time that kid ever showed some brains."

Yugi had a shining smile on his face. "That's easy!" he cried. "It was the duel that I had with Joey after Battle City, there duel where – hold on, isn't that the forest?"

The trees loomed out of the distance, and possibly something else as well. Crow glanced at Kite and saw his grip tighten under Orbital 7's armour.

"I guess we'll see you later," Shark commented.

"Good luck out there," Kite said. "You shouldn't need it."

"Same to you two," Shark replied, grinning and giving Crow and Kite a thumbs up.

"We'll see each other at the end!" Yugi declared.

Yes, and we'll have even more tales and time to exchange them then, Yami Yugi added.

"All right, let's kick some butt!" Crow cheered, and he returned Shark's thumbs up. "See ya later!"

With that, Shark peeled off, steering in the direction of the canyons that he and Yugi had come from.

Crow turned his attention back to the trees with a grin as they got closer. He flicked his lights on, and Orbital 7 declared, "A-Activating headlamps," before illuminating the path ahead. A gap in the treeline offered space for both the Blackbird and Orbital 7, and the two riders plunged into it side-by-side.

Crow looked over at Kite. "You sure you're good with this, man? Yuma told me that you were taking down your dad."

"He's blind to the truth," Kite replied. "He thinks I expired on the moon, but I was brought back later on. All he wants is a chance to see me again…"

Crow winced. "I never knew my parents," he admitted. "I didn't have anyone until I met the kids on the street and learned how to play Duel Monsters. It taught me how to read, how to do maths…it got me friends."

Kite hesitated before replying. "Dueling was always a means to an end for me. It was fun at first when Chris taught me, but then I had to be strong for Hart. Yuma and Astral taught me that dueling could be fun again."

"Ah, we've both had hardships," Crow reassured him. "But it all works out in the end, no matter what "destiny" says. Then again, as I've said before, who knows, maybe it was my destiny to say that."

Kite smirked. "Sartorius would probably be happy enough to provide his opinion on that," he observed.

"Oh jeez, I heard enough about him from Kaiba and Chazz," Crow groaned.

An echo suddenly sounded in their minds, and both Crow and Kite flinched. Crow's mark suddenly began glowing through his arm warmer, and the two duelists glanced at it.

"Guess I'm lucky enough to get a beacon to the guy that I'm gonna be fighting," Crow observed.

"Whatever that was…" Kite mused. "It sounded like an indication of something."

Crow sighed. "I guess it's time for us to part ways too, huh?" he asked.

Kite nodded. "Win this duel, Crow. I'll see you in an hour and a bit," he told him.

"You got it!" Crow replied, holding out his fist.

Kite smiled, and he shook his arm out of Orbital's grip and extended his own fist, bumping it against Crow's. Then he peeled away, and soon he was lost in the darkness of the trees.

Crow turned away and he focused on the route ahead of him. The trees were wide enough for his duel runner to pass through them, and the brush was flattened by the tires and nose of the vehicle. His Mark of the Dragon guided him, burning deeper into his arm and glowing more intensely as he went. It was seeking out its evil adversary, and Crow could see that he was moving upwards.

A beam of moonlight peeked through the trees, and Crow decelerated; Yugi and Shark had warned him that there was a cliff up ahead after all… He could see the trees ending, and a black lake shining beneath the cliffs. Crow screeched to a halt past the treeline and peered into the night. The moon had risen, and a strange maroon duel runner was parked on the edge of the cliff.

Rex Goodwin stood next to the runner, his back to Crow and his hands clasped. "So, you're here at last," he observed.

Crow retracted his visor and put his leg down. "Yeah, I'm here, Goodwin," he replied.

"You know, I did make this easy for you," Goodwin commented. "I have rarely left this location since my arrival, and yet your group managed to completely miss me. Fortunately, Yugi and Reginald were not so aimless."

"Hey, don't blame that on me!" Crow protested. "You know; you could have summoned one of those Earthbound Immortals to make it easier for me!"

"The Earthbound Immortals require the power of souls," Goodwin reminded Crow. "Depriving you of challenges in this world would have been…counterproductive."

"Counterproductive?!" Crow yelped. "Do you even know what we had to go through thanks to all your plans?!"

"You encountered a servant of the Shadow Miasma, the power of Nightshroud, and you finally faced Primo in a turbo duel," Goodwin observed. "In addition you suffered a defeat at the hands of your own allies, one who wielded the powers of both the light and the darkness, just as I intend to do."

"Hold on, are you sayin' that you teamed up with Zorc to try and get your crazy plan off the ground again?!" Crow asked. "Well that's just too bad, cause I'm not gonna let that happen! I thought that you'd redeemed yourself after Yusei beat you, but I guess someone like you can't change their Dark Signer spots!"

Goodwin's mouth tightened, but he simply bowed his head and he fitted his helmet on. "The last time that I wore this, I failed to change the world, persecuted by the very men that I would come to rule," he noted. "Will our fates be any different this time, I wonder?" he asked.

He sat astride his duel runner, and dark marks appeared on his face and his sclera turned black, though his body didn't swell with muscles like it had last time.

Crow could see the shine of the condor mark on Goodwin's back and he frowned as his own Signer mark glowed painfully. Jeez, that's nasty. So this is what I felt like for Yusei and the rest when they met the Dark Signers, he observed to himself. He lowered his visor and bent over his duel runner.

Goodwin held up his hand, and a glowing purple track appeared in midair; twin to the condor mark shining on his back. Speed World 2 erupted over the track, tinting the area blue.

"All right, let's do this!" Crow yelled, and he accelerated forwards eagerly.

"Do not think that this will be easy for you, Crow!" Goodwin warned, and he took off as well, keeping pace with Crow despite his older runner and rusty skills. But then Goodwin crashed his own runner into the side of Crow's, almost preventing the Signer from making it onto the condor track, and he seized his chance to push his runner to the limit, heading for the first corner…and Crow slipped around him on the inside with a grin.

"Not happenin', Goodwin!" Crow laughed. "I take the first turn!" he called, drawing a card and adding it to his hand. "I summon Blackwing – Vayu the Emblem of Honour in defense mode!" he called, slapping the card down on his duel disk. "That's all for me this round!" he called. A stocky white-feathered, red-crested bird appeared on the field, robed in onyx and wearing sandals. (1/800/0)

"Then now it's my move!" Goodwin declared, drawing a card, and both duelists gained a speed counter, bringing them up to one each. "I summon Wicked Acolyte Chilam Sabak from my hand in attack mode!" he called, and a purple being with nine coiled snakes as lower limbs appeared on the field. (8/2500/0)

"Hold on a sec!" Crow called as he rounded the first corner. "Did you just summon a level eight monster without releasing any monsters?!"

"I did indeed," Goodwin replied. "Since I have at least five cards in my hand, Chilam Sabak can be summoned without releases!" he explained. "Now, Chilam Sabak, attack his Vayu!" he called, and Chilam Sabak sent its snake heads rushing forwards, snapping at Vayu and shattering it.

Goodwin selected another card from his hand and inserted it into his duel disk. "In addition I shall place one card face-down on the field and end my turn," Goodwin declared. A backed image appeared before vanishing.

Crow grinned, and he drew a card. "My move, Goodwin!" he called with a grin. "And now here comes the real deal!" He slapped a card down on his duel disk. "I summon the tuner monster, Blackwing – Pinaki the Waxing Moon!" he called. A black bird with an earring and a blue vest appeared, clutching a golden bow in its wings. (3/1200/1000)

"Then since I've got a Blackwing out on my field, I can also bring out Blackwing – Bora the Spear!" Crow added. He laughed as the spear-wielding monster appeared on the field. (4/1700/800) "You know what they say, Goodwin, birds of a feather flock together!" Crow said cheekily. "Especially when they get in on the synchro action!" he added, and Pinaki fired an arrow from its bow, transforming into three green rings that encircled Bora the Spear. "Now, level three Pinaki, tune with level four Bora!" Crow called as Bora faded into four motes of light. A spear of light shot down the rings. "I synchro summon my Blackwing Armour Master!" Crow called, and the powerful ebon-armoured winged beast appeared above Crow. (7/2500/1500)

"Take 'em out, Armour Master!" Crow cheered, and Armour Master lunged, shattering Chilam Sabak with a single punch.

"Good thing my Armour Master can't be destroyed in battle, huh Goodwin?" Crow asked with a grin as his monster settled back above him.

"Indeed," Goodwin noted. "It's also quite fortunate that my Chilam Sabak has another special ability!" he added.

With a hiss, Chilam Sabak appeared on the field again and turned black. Then the snake heads all transformed, sprouting arms until they looked like copies of the main torso.

"What?! I just got rid of that thing!" Crow protested.

"When Chilam Sabak is destroyed in battle it resurrects itself in defense mode as a tuner monster!" Goodwin explained.

Crow frowned. What's he trying to summon with a tuner monster that's level eight?, he wondered. He slid a card into his duel disk. "I'll cap that off with a face-down and turn things over to you – or at least, after I activate the effect of my Blackwing – Pinaki the Waxing Moon from the graveyard!" Crow explained. "Since he was sent there this turn, I add a Blackwing from my deck to my hand," he explained, and he held up a card. "I think I'll take my Gale the Whirlwind, how's that sound?" he asked.

"Unfortunate, but I shall still claim my lead regardless," Goodwin replied. "My move!" he declared, drawing a card and gaining a speed counter. "I summon Weeping Idol from my hand!" he called, placing a card down, and a stone idol appeared on the field. (2/0/500)

All right, he's got a level eight tuner and a level two monster out, so that means a level ten synchro monster, Crow thought, narrowing his eyes.

Goodwin smiled, and dark smoke began leaking from his body.

"Hold on, isn't that Shadow Miasma?!" Crow gasped. "What are you summoning?!"

"Heaven and fate," Goodwin mused. "These are the principles of all phenomena. We ride the spinning wheel of heaven and manifest here when we are called, Crow," Goodwin explained. "Now I shall show you the consequences of such manipulations!" He raised his hand into the sky. "Meeting powers such as this is one of them! I tune my level eight Chilam Sabak with my level two Weeping Idol!" he called. Chilam Sabak split into eight black rings and they spiralled into the sky. "Break your 5,000 years of silence and descend with the light!" Goodwin chanted as the rings encircled Weeping Idol and it faded into two motes of light. A spear of light shot down the rings. "I synchro summon Ascension Sky Dragon!" Goodwin declared.

A serpentine dragon materialized above the condor track, its shining appearance completely at odds with the purple flames of the track. It was a marble white, lined with gold, and its wings were like perfect sails. It had no legs, but its powerful clawed hands sliced lines through the air as it settled above Goodwin. (10/?/3000)

"Undetermined attack points?" Crow asked quietly.

"When this card is synchro summoned, it gains eight-hundred attack points for every card that I hold in my hand," Goodwin explained, holding up his left arm so that Crow could see his wrist dealer. "I hold four, so the mighty Ascension Sky Dragon has thirty-two hundred attack points!"

The majestic dragon roared as it drew itself up, its attack points skyrocketing in seconds.

"Like Slifer the Sky Dragon…" Crow mused. "Oh well, at least Armour Master is gonna be sticking around!"

"Are you sure about that?" Goodwin asked.

"What? What do you mean?!" Crow yelped in surprise.

Goodwin smiled and he gestured to his field. "I set this card for a reason you know, otherwise I would have kept it in my hand to power up Ascension Sky Dragon," he reminded Crow. He waved his hand. "You didn't think that Jack got his choices in cards just from his own brain, did you?!" he asked as the trap card flipped face-up. "I play Fiendish Chain, to negate the special ability of your Blackwing!"

Chains snaked from the trap and bound Armour Master. The burly winged beast struggled to get free, but it wasn't working.

"Now, Ascension Sky Dragon shall attack Armour Master with Ultimate Ascending Wave!" Goodwin declared. Ascension Sky Dragon drew itself back and powered up, before releasing a wave of light that blinded the captured Armour Master. Armour Master futilely attempted to shield its eyes, but the light shattered it.

Crow winced, and he braced himself as the light hit home and wracked his duel runner. He cried out in pain as his life points fell to 2500.

"I shall end my turn with that," Goodwin declared, and Ascension Sky Dragon settled back above his duel runner.

The two runners curved around the track as Crow panted heavily. That Shadow Miasma is no joke, he noted. And we haven't even gotten to his Earthbound Immortal. I didn't think it was possible, but Goodwin's gotten even stronger since our last duel! He grinned to himself. But there's no way that I'm gonna let that stop me!, he vowed.

"My move!" Crow called, drawing a card. He grinned and added it to his hand. "I summon Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind!" he called, placing another card down. A small teal-feathered bird appeared on the field, with aqua feathers on its head. (3/1300/400)

"Now I'm gonna use Gale's special ability!" Crow called. "I'll halve the attack points of Ascension Sky Dragon!" Gale whipped up a whirlwind with its wings, striking Ascension Sky Dragon and reducing it to 1600 ATK.

Goodwin wasn't worried. "Even with that, Gale is still not powerful enough to defeat my dragon," he warned Crow.

"Course, I'm not finished yet!" Crow replied, and Goodwin smiled. Crow plucked the card that he'd drawn from his hand and slapped it down. "Since I've got a Blackwing out and about, I can bring out Blackwing – Harmattan the Dust!" Crow called. A black-feathered heron with red spheres surrounding its neck and a long bill appeared on the field. (2/800/800)

"Now I play Harmattan's ability!" Crow declared. "Since he was summoned to the field, I can pick a Blackwing monster on the field and increase his level by the level of that monster! So I think I'll pick Gale, and bring Harmattan up to level five!" Harmattan surrounded itself in a dust cloud and increased to level five.

"All right birds, let's do this thing!" Crow cheered. "Level three Gale the Whirlwind tunes with now-level five Harmattan the Sandstorm!"

Gale split into three green rings, which enclosed Harmattan. "Fly to us from the last days, cloaked in an obsidian wind!" Crow chanted as Harmattan faded into five motes of light. "Now I synchro summon the Blackfeather Darkrage Dragon!"

With a wild cry, a dragon covered in black feathers and armour appeared on the field. It had no limbs, just six blades and a pair of rod-like wings with large white feathers. Its scaled head was yellow, giving it the appearance of a beak, and a plumed tail sailed behind it as purple marks shone on its chest, differentiating it from its Signer counterpart. (8/2800/1600)

"Let's get this goin'!" Crow cheered. "Blackfeather, attack his Ascension Sky Dragon with Black Rage Storm!"

Blackfeather charged forwards with a shriek and slammed into Ascension Sky Dragon, shattering it.

Goodwin managed to dodge the worst of the shockwave as his life points fell to 2800. But he was smiling, much to Crow's surprise.

"Did I miss the joke?" Crow asked.

"I activate the other special ability of Ascension Sky Dragon!" Goodwin declared. "Go, Celestial Reincarnation!" he called, raising his hand into the sky.

The particles that made up Ascension Sky Dragon coalesced into two forms – Weeping Idol and Wicked Acolyte Chilam Sabak.

"What?! You mean that your monster can revive its synchro materials if it gets taken out?" Crow asked in shock.

"That's correct, Crow! What a shame that you've wasted two synchro monsters to destroy one, only to find that it was useless in the end!" Goodwin commented.

Crow gritted his teeth. "I'm done," he said irritably.

"Then it is my move!" Goodwin declared, drawing a card and turning the corner. He gained a speed counter and accelerated.

"Get back here!" Crow snapped as he gained a speed counter of his own and pursued Goodwin.

"If you insist!" Goodwin replied as he gestured backwards. "I attack Blackfeather with Chilam Sabak!"

"Are you crazy?!" Crow asked as the snake monster turned and charged at Blackfeather. Blackfeather charged in response and pierced Chilam Sabak, destroying it. Goodwin fell to 2500 life points, but he was smiling again.

I hate it when he does that, Crow thought.

"Since Chilam Sabak was destroyed, I can now resurrect it in defense position as a tuner monster!" Goodwin reminded Crow, and Chilam Sabak appeared on the field again, its snake heads now copies of its torso and its skin blackened.

"And now that I have, I shall play a speed spell!" Goodwin declared. "Go, Speed Spell – Level Tuning!" he called, snatching a card from his hand and slotting it into his duel runner. "Since I have three or more speed counters, this card can reduce the levels of all monsters that I control by one!"

Chilam Sabak fell to level seven, and Weeping Idol to level one.

"And now I shall tune the dark level seven Chilam Sabak with the level one Weeping Idol!" Goodwin declared. Chilam Sabak burst into seven black rings, which encircled Weeping Idol. "Lord of the flies, cast your shadow over this disgusting world!" Goodwin declared. Weeping Idol faded into a mote of light and spear of light shot down the rings. "I synchro summon Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons!" Goodwin declared.

Another dragon appeared above Goodwin, this one somewhat similar to Chilam Sabak, with burnished dark red skin and amber jewels embedded in its body, a torso that resembled the head of a fly, and twin massive draconian heads in place of wings. It had no legs, and the torso was topped with the upper torso of a pale-skinned woman with dark hair. (8/3000/3000)

Goodwin was laughing again as Shadow Miasma leaked from his body.

"Another Shadow Miasma dragon?" Crow asked in shock.

"That's correct!" Goodwin replied. "And your feeble efforts to destroy it will be all for naught this time; Beelze is immortal! You cannot destroy it in battle, nor with any special abilities or spell and trap cards, so don't bother trying!" He selected twin cards from his hand. "You're quite lucky that this is the end of my turn and my battle phase has already passed, so I'll leave these two face-downs for you to consider and pass the priority of play over to you, Crow!" Goodwin declared, slotting two cards into his duel runner.

Crow simply grinned as he looked at his dashboard. I'll just take him out with effect damage in that case, he thought. Even if Beelze is immortal, he sure isn't. He drew a card with a flourish. "All right Goodwin, it's my turn now!" he called. He grinned at the draw and he touched the screen of his dashboard as his speed counters increased to six. "First I'm gonna use the effect of Speed World 2!" he called. "I remove four speed counters and reveal Speed Spell – Angel Baton from my hand!" he declared. "Now you'll take eight-hundred points of damage!"

Energy gathered at the nose of Crow's duel runner and blasted Goodwin's, causing him to spin out. Goodwin groaned as he wrested control of his runner back on course and his life points fell to 1700.

Crow's speed had dropped with his speed counters, but he was pretty happy with his work. "Not bad, huh, Goodwin?" he asked, before preparing to insert Angel Baton into his duel disk. "And next I'll play…"

"I activate the special ability of Beelze of the Diabolic Dragons!" Goodwin declared. "When I take damage, the attack points of Beelze are increased by the damage that I take!"

With a titanic roar, two more heads forced themselves out of the shoulders of Beelze as it increased to 3800 attack points.

"Aw, come on!" Crow protested.

"Too bad, Crow. Another obstacle thrown in your path that you cannot surpass," Goodwin observed. "It becomes futile to defeat such foes, and you must adapt and plan around them…and join them if necessary…"

Crow was seething beneath his helmet, and he gunned the engine of his duel runner to catch up with Goodwin. "Just like you did when you abandoned Satellite and drove off the Daedalus Bridge?!" he asked furiously.

"Are you still holding a grudge over that puny act?" Goodwin asked. "Such matters are piddling in the face of conflict such as this…in the battle of Signers, the match for the Millennium, the dimensional wars…battles for reality, the light and the darkness!"

"Would you listen to yourself?!" Crow yelled. "Piddling?" he asked, waving his hand. "Everyone who was lost in Zero Reverse…everyone who the Dark Signers sacrificed! Everyone living in Satellite and New Domino City that was endangered!" he continued, punctuating the statement with another angry gesture. "You don't get to decide their fate!" Crow declared, slotting Angel Baton into his duel disk. "Go, Angel Baton!" he declared. "I draw two cards!" Crow declared, drawing twice from his deck. "Then I select a card to send to the graveyard!" he added, discarding Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite from his hand.

"You continue to fight?" Goodwin asked. He smiled. "As I expected…"

"I summon the tuner monster, Blackwing – Steam the Cloak!" Crow called, placing a card down on the field. A squat bird in robes appeared on the field and shielded itself with its wings. (3/800/1200)

"And then, since I've got a Blackwing out, I can also expand my flock with Blackwing – Kris the Crack of Dawn!" Crow added, placing another card down. A blue-feathered humanoid bird appeared on the field, wielding a ribboned blade and garbed in a crimson vest and sash with a golden mask over his eyes. (4/1900/300)

"You know what this mean, Goodwin!" Crow called as he threw his arm into the air, and Steam burst into three green rings. "Level three Steam the Cloak gives level four Kris the Crack of Dawn a little tune-up, to bring out the one who rules over all Blackwings!" Crow chanted as the green rings enclosed Kris. Kris faded into four motes of light, and as a spear of energy passed down the column, Crow called, "The ancient warrior, Blackwing Tamer – Obsidian Hawk Joe!"

A native American warrior appeared above Crow and alighted beside Blackfeather. His clothes were simple; a white tunic, leggings and moccasins, in addition to a golden chestplate and gauntlet with the left shoulder pauldron shaped like a beak. Crimson feathers covered the other shoulder and made up a spectacular headdress that was also adorned with four red-tipped white feathers, while eight black-feathered wings in the shape of feathers fluttered behind him. He carried no weapons, but the fingers of his right hand were deadly talons that sported sharp claws. (7/2600/2000)

"Pretty nifty, huh?" Crow asked. "Well he's got more than just a good-lookin' face you know!" He grinned. "But first Steam the Cloak's special ability will give me a Steam token since it left the field!" A cloud of steam erupted from the ground and turned blue. (1/0/0)

"Now back to Hawk Joe!" Crow called. He waved his hand over the field to access his graveyard. "Check out his special ability!" Crow said with a grin. "I can bring back a level five or higher winged beast monster from the graveyard each turn!" Hawk Joe raised his human hand, and a black tornado formed above him. "Wake up the Blackwing that sleeps in the graveyard, good old Blackwing Armour Master!" Crow called.

The muscular winged beast leapt from the eye of the tornado, his wings folded tightly around him, and he spread them wide as he passed the tornado's reach.

"A trio of weaklings that cannot surpass Beelze," Goodwin commented.

Crow frowned. "Can it Goodwin!" he snapped. "Even you're not dumb enough to not know about Armour Master's other ability! But instead of telling you, how about I show you!" He thrust his hand out and yelled, "Go show 'em what I mean, Armour Master!"

Armour Master drew back its fist and then lunged forwards, extending a wedge in its fingers. Beelze thrust one of her heads forwards to meet the strike and was rewarded with a wedge in the forehead. She screamed and the dragon head thrashed around.

"And now by removing that little wedge counter, Armour Master can drop the attack and defense points of Beelze all the way down to zero!" Crow cheered. The black splinter shattered, and cracks spread from the wound as Beelze writhed around and its strength dropped.

"Time for Blackfeather to go in for the finishing blow!" Crow declared. "Beelze might be immortal, but like I said before, you sure aren't!"

Blackfeather screeched harshly as it dived forwards, wings outstretched and mouth gaping.

Goodwin smirked. "I reveal the Mirror Force trap card!" he called, touching a button on his display. The trap card flipped up and a barrier formed around Beelze.

"My apologies, Crow, but now this trap will destroy all of your monsters!" Goodwin declared.

"Aw, no, you gotta be kidding me!" Crow protested as Blackfeather slammed into the barrier and ricocheted off. It scythed around and slammed into Armour Master and Hawk Joe, before shattering itself, and then Armour Master and Hawk Joe followed suit.

Crow ducked away from the blasts and he bit back a curse. "Guess now's as good a time as any to activate the special ability of Steam the Cloak from my graveyard," he admitted. "I can bring it back to the field by releasing one monster, so say bye-bye to my Steam token, and welcome Steam the Cloak back to the field!" he called. The Steam token evaporated, and Steam the Cloak emerged from a portal, shielding itself with its fans. "Guess that's all I can do now," Crow admitted.

"Indeed, and since your turn has come to a close, Beelze shall gain all of her strength back!" Goodwin declared as Beelze returned to 3800 attack points.

"Your tricks cannot stop Beelze, I'm afraid, Crow," Goodwin commented. "And once you are defeated, it will be the first step in the birth of a new world!"

"Hate to burst your bubble pal, but even if you do take me out you aren't gonna be beating Yusei, Jack and Yugi, to name a few," Crow retorted. "So go ahead and do your worst, I haven't lost yet!"

"Very well!" Goodwin declared as he drew a card and they both gained speed counters, bringing Goodwin up to seven and Crow back up to three. "I shall attack Steam the Cloak with Beelze!" he ordered, and Beelze swivelled around and lunged forwards. "Go, Beelze Carnival!" he declared.

"Hah! You fell for it!" Crow laughed. "I've got a little trap action of my own!" he explained as a trap depicting a black whirlwind tinged with lightning flipped up. "Go, Black Sonic!" he called. "I can activate this bad boy when you declare an attack while a Blackwing's partying on my field, and since one is it'll remove all of your attacking monsters from the game!"

"Remove them?!" Goodwin cried in surprise. "But that means…"

Crow chuckled. "That's right, Goodwin! Beelze might be immortal, but I'm not destroying her, I'm kickin' her can into another dimension!"

Lightning and sonic waves rippled from the trap card as Beelze's dragon heads plunged towards it. The heads wrenched and shrieked as the sonic waves hit at just the right frequency to open a dimensional portal – and with a final cry, Beelze vanished.

"Oh yeah, now that's the way we roll!" Crow cheered as he raised his fist triumphantly. "How'd ya like that, Goodwin?"

Goodwin simply remained silent until he entered a command into his duel runner. "I shall activate the effect of Speed World 2," he said. "By removing seven speed counters, I draw one card from my deck."

He drew, and he looked at the card as his runner fell back behind Crow's Then he smiled, and Crow flinched at the sight as he looked back.

"Since I control no monsters I can special summon Oracle of the Sun from my hand!" Goodwin declared as he placed the card on his tray. An Incan sage appeared on the field, robed in parchment-coloured robes and carrying a feathered staff. (5/1000/2000)

"Then I summon the Supay tuner monster!" Goodwin added, and a brown animal mask appeared on the field beside Oracle of the Sun. (1/300/100)

"I tune level one Supay with level five Oracle of the Sun!" Goodwin declared. Supay became a black ring, and encircled Oracle of the Sun. Oracle of the Sun faded into five black stars, and a streak of black lightning shot down them. "Now I call forth the monster of the darkness, the Moon Dragon Quilla!" Goodwin declared. Four blue and purple eastern dragon heads appeared, all linked by a stone disk with a moon face on it. (6/2500/2000)

"I shall end my turn there," Goodwin declared.

Crow frowned. Well, there go my plans of beating this guy in a hurry. That Moon Dragon will keep on pumping up his life points, he thought. But I do have the cards in my hand to turn this around for now. Least he doesn't have the sun out yet.

He drew a card form his deck. "It's my move, Goodwin!" he called, and his speed counters increased to four, while Goodwin's increased to one.

"Since I've only got one Blackwing one the field I can special summon Blackwing – Gladius the Midnight Sun!" Crow called. A smaller humanoid bird appeared on the field, with white wings and long red plume on its forehead. It was garbed in heaver silver knight's armour, and wielded curved knives in each hand. (3/800/1500)

"I know it's getting repetitive, but you know that you like it, here comes another synchro summon!" Crow called. "Level three Steam and Gladius tune to bring out a new Blackwing sensation!" he declared, and Steam burst into triple green rings once again, encircling Gladius and transforming it into three motes of light. As a spear of light shot down the rings, Crow called, "I synchro summon the heroic raptor, brandishing the great blade of myth, the Blackwing – Nothung the Starlight!"

Another large humanoid avian appeared on the field, but more bird-like than Armour Master, with a crow's head and visible smooth purple feathers. Black wings with large feathers beat the air behind it, a black shoulder and chest pad protected its shoulders, and golden jewellery adorned its wrists, neck, and waist. Most notable was the silver-edged blue blade that it hefted in one hand. (6/2400/1600)

"Course, since Steam the Cloak was used to synchro summon, I get another Steam token," Crow commented, and a small cloud of steam appeared beside his runner. "But more importantly, since Nothung was summoned, his Homing Sword knocks eight-hundred points off your life points and Moon Dragon Quilla's attack points!"

Nothung drew his arm back and threw its sword at Goodwin. It hit him in the back and ricocheted off Quilla on its way back to Nothung. Goodwin gasped and his duel runner actually floundered a little as he fell to 900 life points, while Quilla had fallen to 1700 attack points.

"Clean 'em up, Nothung!" Crow called, and Nothing grasped its blade in both hands and flew forwards.

"I play the special ability of Moon Dragon Quilla!" Goodwin declared as he reached forwards. "It increases my life points by the same value as the attack points of your attacking Nothung!"

Moonlight shone from the face of Quilla's core, bathing Nothung in radiance. Goodwin's life points increased to 3300 as a beam shot from the other side and bathed him in light.

"You're still taking a heap of damage from this one, Goodwin!" Crow snapped, and Nothung brought its blade down, splitting Quilla in two. The power of the attack buffeted Goodwin again, and this time he came dangerously close to the edge.

"Goodwin!" Crow yelled in shock.

Goodwin managed to wrest control of his runner back and he grimaced as he fell to 2600 life points.

"I end my turn with that!" Crow declared.

"I wonder…why do you waste your time on sentimentality?" Goodwin asked. "Don't you realize that most of your adversaries are monsters beyond your grasp?"

"Oh yeah, well, maybe they might be, sure," Crow admitted. "But you aren't, no matter how much you wave around that evil flag, so I don't see the harm in it!"

Goodwin didn't have a response for that, so instead he drew his card, prompting both duelists' speed counters to increase; Goodwin's to two and Crow's to five. "I shall summon Apocatequil to the field in defense mode, and place one card face-down, and conclude my turn with that," Goodwin declared. An idol made of orange wood and robed in white appeared beside him, clutching a staff. (4/1800/1200)

"Maybe this won't be so hard after all," Crow observed with a grin. He drew his card. "My move!" he called, bringing his speed counter up to six and Goodwin's to three. "Not bad at all," Crow admitted as he looked at his draw. "I summon Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame!" he called. A humanoid bird with thick, feathered forearms appeared on the field. (4/1800/1200)

"All right, let's get to it!" Crow cheered. "Shura, take out his Apocatequil!" he ordered, and Shura charged forwards and sliced through the idol, shattering it.

"Here's where it gets fun, Goodwin!" Crow called. "Since Shura destroyed one of your monsters in battle, then he gets to rally one of his friends to the field – any Blackwing monster in my deck with fifteen hundred or fewer attack points!" His wrist dealer ejected a card and Crow slapped it down with a grin. "I think that more friends are always welcome, so why don't we welcome another Pinaki to the party, huh?" he suggested as another avian archer appeared on the field with a wry grin not unlike Crow's own.

"My, my, that's certainly an interesting prospect," Goodwin noted. "I think that I shall do the same!" he declared. "You see, my Apocatequil has a special ability of its own!" he explained. "When it falls in battle, I'm allowed to resurrect Oracle of the Sun!" he declared, and the shaman appeared on the field, clutching its staff.

"Next I shall play a trap card, Call of the Reaper!" Goodwin declared. "Since a monster was summoned from the graveyard, I can resurrect Supay as well!" The trap card flipped up, and it disgorged purple smoke that parted to reveal the ornate mask.

"Aw, come on!" Crow protested. "Guess I'll just have to take them out too," he sighed. "Pinaki, attack his Supay!" he called, and Pinaki drew back and arrow and fired, destroying Supay.

Goodwin frowned irritably. It's a shame that he couldn't have chosen a different order, he thought.

"Nothung, you're up!" Crow called. "Destroy Oracle of the Sun!" Nothung charged and swung its massive blade, cleaving Oracle of the Sun in two.

"Since you destroyed Oracle of the Sun, I move Fire Ant Ascator from my deck to my hand," Goodwin explained as he held up the card.

Crow sighed. "All right, I'm done," he said heavily.

"Indeed," Goodwin commented as he drew a card and their speed counters increased. "First I shall summon the Fire Ant Ascator tuner monster!" he declared, and the large crimson ant appeared on the field. (3/700/1300)

"Next I activate my face-down card, Call of the Haunted!" Goodwin declared, and the trap card flipped up beside his duel runner. "It brings back Oracle of the Sun from the graveyard in attack mode!" Oracle of the Sun appeared on the field and swung its staff.

"Next I shall tune my level three Ascator with level five Oracle Sun!" Goodwin declared. Ascator split into three motes of light, the motes transforming into green rings, and then enclosing Oracle of the Sun. Oracle of the Sun faded into five motes of light that aligned themselves into a line, and a spear of light shot down them.

"I synchro summon the one and only Sun Dragon Inti!" Goodwin called, and in a burst of sunlight, a dragon very similar to Quilla appeared, only red-skinned with the heads emerging from a grimacing sun symbol. (8/3000/2800)

"Well, that sucks," Crow admitted.

"I attack Pinaki the Waxing Moon with Sun Dragon Inti!" Goodwin called. Inti built up energy and blasted a beam of fire at the little bird.

"He's not goin' down without a fight, ya hear me?!" Crow retorted as he discarded a card. "By sending Blackwing – Kalut the Moon Shadow from my hand to the graveyard, Pinaki gains an extra fourteen-hundred attack points!"

A yellow glow emitted from Crow's graveyard and surrounded Pinaki, increasing it to 2600 attack points. Pinaki puffed out its chest, and then the fire beam slammed into it and shattered it.

Crow winced as his life points fell to 2100. "Didn't save Pinaki, but it sure shaved off the damage," he admitted. "Plus, I'll just get ta use his special ability to move another Blackwing to my hand!"

Goodwin didn't really react, but he slotted two cards into his duel disk. "I place two cards face-down and end my turn," he declared.

"Well, thanks!" Crow called as his wrist dealer ejected a card. "I think another Kalut the Moon Shadow oughta bring some life to the party, so let's kick this off!" He added the card to his hand and then drew, increasing his and Goodwin's speed counters.

All right, now it's time to get rid of Inti, Crow thought. Kalut can buff Nothung up enough to destroy it, and then an attack from Shura can finish him off! Only problem is, his Inti's special ability will knock me down a peg for the half of Nothung's attack points, and then I'll be in the danger zone of Speed World 2 no matter what monster I use to destroy Inti. He glanced at his hand and then the screen of his duel runner. Course, as luck would have it, the problem start mounting up. I don't have any speed spells in my hand to whack him down into nothing, and he's got two face-downs, and I'd bet anything that they'll probably stop my attacks straight! Then again, what choice do I have? I'll have to deal with Inti sooner or later, so I may as well make it now!

"Are you so craven that you flee at the sight of two face-down cards, Crow?" Goodwin asked. "I'm amazed; I thought that you'd jump at the chance to emulate the legendary man. A fool who throws himself into danger with only the immediate consequences of his actions in his mind! Only of course to fail, and pay the price." Goodwin flexed the fingers of his mechanical arm. "Perhaps you really are becoming like me, Crow. Only now you have fallen, and you begin to approach the situation as I would, wary of failing again!"

Unbidden, the image of Crow standing with Dark Signer robes and black scleras crept into Crow's mind again, and then the image of the dark Crow that had been formed by the Shadow Miasma. Crow shook his head, but he could get the purple shine of the condor mark on his back out of his mind. What kind of nonsense is this, me being a Dark Signer?, he thought. He shook his head again and returned his attention to the duel. "No way, Goodwin!" Crow snapped. "Maybe I'm being a little street smart, but I'm no coward, and I'll prove it! I already made my mind up to attack you anyways!"

He pointed across the field at Inti. "Your dragon doesn't scare me, so I'll attack it with Nothung!" Nothung dived forwards, and Crow discarded his second Kalut. "And I'll pitch Kalut into the graveyard, so now who's laughing, Goodwin?!" he yelled as Nothung sliced Inti in two.

"I am," Goodwin replied as his life points fell to 1800. The remains of Inti exploded, destroying Nothung and blasting the Blackbird off its tires.

"Oh no, don't you dare!" Crow snapped. He flicked a few switches, first activating the Blackbird's wings to stabilize it in mid-air, and then activating the extra boost. Then he fired his grapple hook at Goodwin's duel runner and snagged the back. The combination propelled him towards Goodwin, slowed Goodwin down, and kept Crow somewhat more stable as he thudded down onto the track ahead of Goodwin. His life points fell all the way down to 200, but Crow was too happy to care. "All right!" he cheered. "How'd you like that, huh Goodwin?!" he asked.

"An impressive display of pilotry, but an average demonstration of your dueling skills," Goodwin replied.

"Oh yeah?! See if you think this is average!" Crow snapped. He pointed backwards and yelled, "Shura, attack him directly!" Shura dived towards Goodwin with its claws extended.

Goodwin reacted with lightning speed, swiping his hand across his screen. "I activate the Offering to the Immortals trap card!" he declared. The trap card flipped up, depicting a stone heart and two small statues. "Since you've declared a direct attack while I have three-thousand life points or fewer, this card negates your attack!" he explained, and an energy shield surrounded him. "Next it special summons two Ceremonial Tokens to the field!" Goodwin continued, and twin stone statues appeared, one on each side of his duel runner. "Finally, this trap adds an Earthbound Immortal from my deck to my hand!" Goodwin declared, holding up the level ten monster.

"That lousy card again?" Crow complained. "Guess I'm stuck!" He tapped his screen. I'd better use this now. I have a feeling that I'm gonna need it, he thought. "I'm activating the effect of Speed World 2, removing seven of my speed counters in order to draw a card!" he called, and he drew quickly as his speed counters fell to one and the Blackbird fell behind Goodwin's duel runner. This'll help, he thought, and he slotted the card into his duel disk. "I play one face-down card, and that's it for me," he called.

"Quite right, Crow!" Goodwin commented. "It is indeed the end for you! You have failed! Light's champions are doomed, and this world is fated to end at the hands of darkness!"

"Would you quit it with that speech already?" Crow snapped. "You didn't really believe it last time, and you sure as heck don't this time! So stop lying to both of us, and make your move!"

"As you wish!" Goodwin declared, drawing a card. "First, since it is now the standby phase after Inti was destroyed, its special ability brings Moon Dragon Quilla back from the graveyard!" he explained, and Quilla rose from beneath the track.

"Next, I shall remove Fire Ant Ascator in my graveyard from play, and special summon Weeping Idol!" Goodwin continued, and another of the stone idols appeared on the field.

Goodwin selected the last card in his hand with a slight smirk. "You know what happens now, don't you Crow?"

"Hang on, those Immortals need souls to power them up!" Crow protested. "So that's why you haven't been summoning it!"

"Indeed," Goodwin commented. "You Signers are immune, but I can't say the same for any of my unfortunate allies. But they're all far away now, so I have no concerns about playing this card!" He swiped his hand through the air. "I release my two Ceremonial Tokens, in order to advance summon my Earthbound Immortal!" Goodwin called, and he placed the card down on his duel disk.

The two Ceremonial Tokens transfigured into purple light, and they ascended into the dark clouds. The energy merged into a stone heart, and suddenly, flecks of purple light began rising from the forest and the lake.

Crow gasped as he realised what the Earthbound Immortal was using as its power source. "The spirits!" he cried, remembering the Dragon Rulers.

"That's right, Crow!" Goodwin declared with a nasty grin. "All of them, beings that have been displaced from their homes, all brought to serve as challenges, and to power up my Earthbound Immortal when their job was done!" he explained. He looked up at the stone heart; the grooves were glowing with purple light and the heart was pulsating.

Here it comes!, Crow thought nervously.

"Now, descend to me!" Goodwin declared. "The most powerful of the Earthbound Immortals – Wiraqocha Rasca!"

Purple light surged from the stone heart. Crow shielded his eyes and he kept his attention on the track just in case a corner was coming up.

The immense surge of light was fading, and black objects were emerging from the curtain as it shrank; lined with pink. A hooked beak burst out of the light, and then two powerful legs with grasping toes. The black feathers were next, and the titanic condor screeched as it hovered above the duel field, whose size the Earthbound Immortal rivalled. It was larger than a building, and its wings beat slowly, but Crow could feel the shifts in the air as Wiraqocha Rasca settled itself. (10/100/100)

It might not have a lot of attack points, but it really doesn't need them when I hardly have any life points, Crow thought glumly.

"If you think that I'm going to waste my Immortal on your life points, then you are sadly mistaken, Crow!" Goodwin called. "I didn't just summon my Weeping Idol pointlessly you know!"

"You're kidding me, that thing has another special ability?!" Crow gasped.

"That's correct!" Goodwin replied. "By returning up to three cards to the deck, Wiraqocha Rasca grants me the ability to discard the same number of cards from your hand! Then, for every card that you sent to the graveyard, Rasca will gain one-thousand attack points!"

Crow grimaced. "So I'm gonna lose a card out of my hand, huh? Well, that sure sucks," he admitted.

"I'm afraid it's somewhat worse than that Crow," Goodwin replied. "Have you forgotten that I activated Call of the Haunted? It's a unique little trap card that leaves the field when the monster that it revived is destroyed. However, since I used my Oracle of the Sun as synchro material, it remains on the field! A perfect candidate for my Rasca!"

Weeping Idol and Call of the Haunted transformed into purple light, and they returned to Goodwin's deck. He slotted the cards in and watched as his deck auto-shuffled. Up above them, Wiraqocha Rasca screeched as pink energy rose from beneath it, and pink light blasted form its body at Crow.

Crow felt his Signer mark burn more than it had ever done in his life, and he yelled out in pain as he struggled to discard two of his cards. He heard the tell-tale trickle as Wiraqocha Rasca rose to 2100 attack points.

"A paltry number compared to my other beasts, but they have defeated all of your tricks, and Rasca can attack you directly!" Goodwin declared. "It's over, Crow! Accept defeat, and wait for your friends to join you, knowing that you have failed!"

"Yeah? Well, maybe next time, Goodwin, but this turn isn't done just yet!" Crow commented. "I play a trap card, Threatening Roar!"

The trap flipped up, and a lion's roar echoed from it. Goodwin covered his ears with a grimace of agony.

"How'd you like that, huh Goodwin?" Crow asked. "Now you can't attack me this turn!"

"Don't you realize that your delaying tactics won't work?" Goodwin asked. "You cannot possibly win! Rasca cannot be attacked, and Quilla will restore my life points!"

"There's more than one way to get at someone's life points, Goodwin," Crow replied. "Like I said before, your monsters might make you tough to get rid of, but who says that I need to go though 'em?" he commented cheekily.

Goodwin wanted to rage against Crow, but he controlled himself; tightening his mouth, breathing deeply, and focusing on the course ahead. "Is that so?" he asked. "Very well, Crow. Show me what you can do. Prove your convictions."

"Huh?" Crow asked. "Well, okay, if you want, then you asked for it!" he called. He drew a card. "It's my move!" he declared, and he smiled at his draw. He added the card to his hand and snatched up another. "I summon the tuner monster, Blackwing – Blizzard the Far North!" he called. A white feathered bird with a black crest and black wing edges appeared on the field. (2/1300/0)

"Now I'm gonna play his special ability!" Crow called. "By summoning him, I can bring back a Blackwing that's level four or before from my graveyard!" Blizzard perched on top of Crow's graveyard and pecked at it, withdrawing a card.

Crow slapped it down with a grin. "Come on out, the tuner monster, Blackwing – Decay the Ill Wind!" he called. A vulture-like humanoid appeared on the field, flexing its sharp claws. (4/1000/1000)

Goodwin frowned as he realized that the effect of Rasca had sent Decay to the graveyard.

"You've been bringing out dragons all match, and now it's time for mine to soar over the field!" He raised his hand. "Level four Decay the Ill Wind tunes level four Shura the Blue Flame, to make these Blackwings beat as one!" Crow chanted. Decay split into four motes of light, and four green rings sprang from the motes. They encircled Shura, causing Shura to fade into four more motes of light. They aligned, and a spear of light shot down them.

"Soar to power!" Crow cried. "Black-Winged Dragon!"

With a howl, the twin to Blackfeather Darkrage Dragon appeared on the field. Its wings beat the air with long feathers, and its red eyes and gaping yellow-armoured mouth stood out in stark contrast to the black feathers that covered its head, while six blades in place of legs sliced through the air. (8/2800/1600)

"Well, so you've finally summoned your Signer dragon," Goodwin observed. "It certainly took you long enough now, didn't it?" he commented. "But in defense mode? Quilla would make short work of it if I didn't have to remove your life points next turn with Rasca."

"Well, you know what I say; don't count your chickens before they've hatched," Crow replied. "Especially since I can return a face-up card form my field to my hand to bring this guy back from my graveyard!" he called, sliding a card out of his graveyard. "So, I'll return Blizzard to my hand, and…"

"Hmm?" Goodwin asked.

"Welcome to the field, Blackwing – Zephyros the Elite!" Crow called, and a humanoid bird with patches of orange and blue feathers appeared on the field. A long crest extended from its head, and its hands were bare, but without claws. (4/1600/1000)

"But, there's also the small matter of taking four-hundred points of damage," Crow admitted.

"Then you prove your point indeed, Crow – but instead you have taken yourself out of the match," Goodwin observed.

"Well, that'd be true if my cute little Black-Winged Dragon didn't have my back!" Crow explained. "Since he's on the field, I don't take any effect damage because he takes the hit for me!" Red lightning struck Black-Winged Dragon, and the dragon screeched as it fell to 2100 attack points and two feathers on each wing turned red.

"Instead of taking the damage, my dragon gets a Black Feather Counter, and for each Counter, he loses seven-hundred attack points," Crow explained. "And I can remove them all…" and the wings of Black-Winged Dragon returned to their normal colour. "…and slam you with seven-hundred points of damage for each one!"

Black-Winged Dragon blasted black and red lightning from its claws at Goodwin, striking his duel runner and reducing him to 1100 life points.

"Not only that, but one of your monsters loses the same number of attack points!" Crow called. The lightning deflected off Goodwin's duel runner, arcing through the air and striking Wiraqocha Rasca in the chest. The Earthbound Immortal screeched and flailed slowly as it fell to 1400 attack points.

Goodwin shook off the shock and he glanced around at Crow with an angry glare. "It's not enough," he commented.

Crow rubbed his head. "Yeah, you got me there," he admitted. "I need another turn to finish you off." He brightened up and slid another card into his duel disk. "So, I'll give myself some breathing room with this card, the Speed Spell – Half Seize!" he called. "Since I have three or more speed counters, this card halves the attack points of your Moon Dragon Quilla, and then I gain the same amount of life points!" He laughed happily as his life points rose to 1450 and Moon Dragon Quilla fell to 1250 attack points.

Goodwin realized in shock just how clever – and admittedly lucky – Crow had been. His Black-Winged Dragon has higher statistics than any of my monsters, and since he doesn't have any monsters in attack mode, I will be unable to destroy Quilla through battle and bring back Sun Dragon Inti to destroy Black-Winged Dragon. And even though Wiraqocha Rasca is still on the field, it isn't strong enough to defeat Crow with a direct attack! He looked at his deck. I have no choice but to draw, and hope for a speed spell to defeat him using Speed World 2, and if that fails…

"Hey, Goodwin! Quit daydreaming, I'm ending my turn!" Crow called. "And since I have, the special ability of Decay the Ill Wind kicks in – since I used it to synchro summon, then I take a thousand points of damage!"

"But you will not," Goodwin observed irritably as purple light surrounded Crow.

"You got that right," Crow admitted, and the light around him faded and appeared around Black-Winged Dragon. The dragon screeched as it fell to 2100 attack points again, but its defense points were unaffected.

"Right, now that that's done, take your best shot!" Crow yelled.

Goodwin drew his card quickly, but it was another Oracle of the Sun.

Useless to me, he thought. "I activate the effect of Speed World 2!" he called. "I remove seven speed counters to draw one card!" His duel runner fell behind Crow's, and he drew again. He looked at the card and he frowned again. So, it seems that it is my fate to fail once again. Maybe it is I who will fall behind…yet there remains one more chance.

He opened his eyes and saw Crow looking back at him.

"Keep your eyes on the road, Crow Hogan," Goodwin declared. "For I attack directly with Earthbound Immortal – Wiraqocha Rasca!" he declared, and the giant condor dived towards Crow.

Crow screamed in terror and he screeched around a corner. Now the wicked god was behind him, its beak coming closer and closer…and it struck. The blow blasted the Blackbird into the air – and over the edge of the purple flames.

"No!" Crow cried. "No!"

His life points fell to a mere 50, but that was the least of his problems. He was in freefall, at the apex of the condor geoglyph and he had seconds to save himself.

Once again, Crow deployed the wings of the Blackbird, and gunned the engines. Then he fired the grappling hook, hoping desperately that the spectral flames, which could support a duel runner easily, would provide some purchase for the hook to grasp. After all, he'd slid to a halt on them himself –

The hook caught hold of Black-Winged Dragon. Crow wasted no time in blasting the flight engines, rising into the air, and thudding down on the track, awkwardly landing on a section of geoglyph leading back to the start. Black-Winged Dragon soared above Crow as they sped down the purple flame.

If there had been an audience, they would have erupted in cheers.

Crow heaved a sigh of relief and he wiped his forehead. His arm warmer came away soaked, and he felt terribly clammy. But he still had life left. He was still in the game.

"That was very impressive Crow," Goodwin declared. "Now, it is up to you to finish." He raised his hand. "I shall attack Zephyros with Moon Dragon Quilla," he declared, and Quilla blasted a beam of moonlight at Zephyros and shattered it.

Crow looked up at Black-Winged Dragon with a tired grin. "Thanks for saving me back there," he whispered. "I owe you one more by the looks of things."

Black-Winged Dragon angled its head so that its jaws almost seemed to smile.

"I end my turn," Goodwin declared. Now, will he draw the card that he needs…?, he wondered.

"All right, here goes everything!" Crow declared. "It's my…turn!" he yelled, drawing a card.

He smiled at the sight of Speed Spell – Final Attack.

"I remove the Black Feather Counter from Black-Winged Dragon in order to activate his special ability – and deal seven-hundred more points of damage," he called. Black-Winged Dragon released another burst of red and black lightning, which slammed into Goodwin, reducing him to 400 life points.

"And now, the final blow!" Crow cried. "I activate the effect of Speed World 2! By removing four speed counters, I can reveal a speed spell in my hand to inflict eight-hundred points of damage!" He held up Final Attack and showed it to Goodwin. "It's over!"

Twin beams blasted from the Blackbird, struck Goodwin's duel runner and reduced his life points to zero. Goodwin gasped as his duel runner was jolted by the shock, and he fought to keep control. His duel runner shut down with his life points, and began trailing smoke.

"Goodwin!" Crow yelled. The track was going to disappear again, he knew that from the last time they'd dueled, and Goodwin was stuck up there on a temporarily disabled duel runner.

"Leave me, Crow," Goodwin declared, and his voice boomed through the sky through an amplifier. "Leave those who have fallen long ago. I shall be dust before you can reach me, and when I am this track shall fall.

Up above him, Wiraqocha Rasca was falling backwards, the purple lights of souls escaping from its black form and its pink lights fading. It was fading slowly, and so was the track.

Crow couldn't see Goodwin, but he knew that he would fall if he stayed any longer. He turned away and accelerated. He came to a corner, and he triggered the flight mode again, angling around so that he landed on a tail spoke. Black-Winged Dragon had disappeared, and Crow kept his finger ready to deploy his grappling hook again. He periodically activated the flight engines to give himself extra bursts of speed.

Goodwin smiled as he saw Crow approaching the end of the geoglyph. I go with good faith that the correct outcome will come to pass…and our efforts to assist have not been in vain, he thought. He looked at his hand as it turned black, but when he saw his face in the reflection of his viewscreen, he could see that his eyes had turned white, and his marks had vanished.

Rex Goodwin closed his eyes and he turned into dust.

Crow saw the edge of the cliff, and he gunned the flight engines one last time. The Blackbird lifted into the air and Crow felt his stomach leap – and he landed in the grass, screeching to a halt just before the treeline. He leant back and he sighed in relief, before removing his helmet and wiped his forehead. His orange hair was even messier than normal, and the rush of cool air was welcome after such an intense match.

"Wait, what am I sitting around here for?" Crow asked. "I gotta go find the others quick!"

He turned the accelerator and he steered down the path that he'd opened up in the brush to get there.

So long, Rex Goodwin, Crow thought. Live on in legend.

My goodness, it has been too long. In the time that I've been inactive, I got a job, had to quit that job, started a new job and my closest has been subject to a land grab.

I owe you all an explanation for my long absence. In addition to wanting to finish scripting most if not all of the duels, I was also informed that my brother was in the market for a new laptop, and thus he'd give me his old one. The problem was that this was in the middle of his exams, and being a software engineer he had to transfer a ton of stuff off it. But he needed to study, and then after that he went down south for curling for three weeks and has only really been able to move stuff in the weekends.

This was a problem because, expecting it quickly, I swore off using my parents' laptops (as I have been for most of my writing tenure) until I had one of my own. Yeah, that ended up being a poor idea. I do apologize, but don't blame my brother for that. He actually still hasn't finished – I just finally had enough and caved in.

It will thus still be a while until the next chapter. Nowhere NEAR as long as the seven month – holy jebaz, where did all that time go?!

Right, enough excuses, reviewers! It has been too damn long.

TokusatsuLuv: Thanks. I'm sorry that I couldn't update as soon as you'd have liked.

JadenCage: Indeed. I think you'll like his final duel – the script is already written!

skydragonknight57: Probably not. Utopic Future is a special case – the only other monster would be Utopic Zexal, which probably also requires Astral.

chenj251: Thanks. Yeah, it really was a waste – and thus why episode 89 is one of my favourite ZEXAL episodes.

Jackpot2: Predictability would be boring, to borrow the words of the Dueltainers. Well, here's a taste.

Guest: Pretty much. There's a reason that he never rose beyond Slifer Red.

Rowknan: Exactly. The Pharaoh is the original badass. Yep, the Numbers give the ZEXAL characters (barring Kite, who doesn't use that many) a huge advantage. And yes, that is the case a little. However, as will be noted, victory in duels isn't the point at the moment, and there are many ways to torture our cast. Not that I enjoy it.

ssj3Ed: Thanks mate. A general announcement, at this stage it's likely that in the rewrite, the other five Barian Emperors would be the opponents of all five protagonists.

PendulumWizard: Thanks man. I had a fair bit of fun doing that. And now, the first of the final battles!

And there we have it! I've finished…six more scripts and made progress on most of the rest. The only one that is really on hold is the final one, due to Konami's refusal to create a certain card despite all the opportunities for it…if you frequent the Yu-Gi-Oh! Organization forums, then you likely know what it is.

Thanks to PendulumWizard and chenj251 for alerting me to mistakes. These have since been corrected.

So for now, I hope that you enjoyed, and good day! Hope to be back with more content for you all soon!

Sanokal