And here we are with another chapter for YGO! Dunno why, but I guess I'm just enjoying the pace I'm getting these out and it's inspiring me to write more and more! That and I've got big plans for 'season 2' of this story, just you wait to find out what those big plans are!

As always, feel free to leave your thoughts on the chapter and have a nice day!

Chapter 26: Rising Shadows

Title Song: Nui Harime theme - Kill La Kill OST

"I don't understand…!" Kione said, slamming her shoulder against the door. "I get you two, but why me and Emma, we've got powers too, not Psychic ones, but still…!" She tried again.

"It's not budging Kione. Calm down," Emma said. Unfortunately for the girl, her wheelchair had been kept from her, so she was riding on Tanner's shoulders for now.

Lady Emma, you must get out of here at once! Emma almost jolted in surprise as Burstinatrix appeared. Darkness is rapidly encircling this tower!

Emma's eyes widened. We can help you escape this room, but after that, you must flee together as quickly as you can.

Suddenly, the door sparked, unlocking. "Huh? The lock shorted out!" Kione said, opening the door. As the three ran, Emma glanced back to see the spirit of Sparkman stood by the door, giving her a thumbs up, causing her to nod back with thanks.

They didn't get far before the entire tower began to shake. "Earthquake! Take cover!" Yanagi wailed.

Emma tucked in close to Tanner as the man ducked low, pulling her down into his arms as he used his body as a shield. Kione and Yanagi dived under the nearest table they could see.

Upstairs, Daiki, Luna and Akiza all dropped to the floor, "What the…!" Daiki grit his teeth. As he did, a vision suddenly flashed before him.

A girl with black hair in black and orange robes defeating a man in a sharply dressed suit.

A girl in red duelling a girl with black hair in black and green robes.

The Nazca lines of the hummingbird and lizard surrounding a certain tower.

Daiki swore, promptly apologising to the young ears of Luna. "We need to get out of here, now." The earthquake then stopped. "I'll grab Leo, you guys head for the middle of the tower."

He grabbed the chair, smashing it through the window. Climbing through, he quickly grabbed the boy and ran after Akiza and Luna.

The three made it to the large open area in the middle of the tower, with the walkways surrounding a long drop from the top floor to the bottom.

"Looking for Sayer? I'm afraid he's a little pre-occupied at the moment," An unfamiliar voice called out. Everyone turned to see a woman in a green dress walking towards them, her black hair flowing like a curtain of silk.

"Actually, we're getting out of here, Sayer's dug his own grave if the things I've seen are coming here," Daiki frowned.

"I know you. You're that super famous model!" Luna gasped.

"I have a name, little girl. My name is Misty Tredwell. But I'm not after you. Akiza Izinski, Daiki Izumi, I want the two of you to tell me, where is my brother?" The woman demanded.

"Your brother?" Akiza asked.

"And what's his name? We can't tell you anything if we don't know a name," Daiki asked.

"My brother's name is Toby. He went missing when he started getting interested in your little cult," Misty said.

"Toby… Toby Tredwell… The name sounds familiar, but I've never met him. Sorry," Daiki replied.

"Same here. Never heard of him," Akiza nodded, confusion on her face.

"Enough lies. I know your precious movement stole him from me. I want my brother back. Give him to me," Misty snapped.

"If you want any answered regarding inductions, you'll want Sayer. He tests newcomers himself," Daiki said.

"We don't know a thing, I promise you," Akiza assured the woman.

But Misty just frowned. "I see… if you won't tell me, I'll just force it out of your lifeless husks."

"Fine. If you're saying you want a duel, I'll give you one. Mystery kidnappings or not, this is my home. I'm not giving it up without a fight," Akiza growled, a panel accepting her words and presenting her red duel disk.

"I was looking forward to this opportunity to test out some of the new abilities I've been given. Let me show you a taste of what's to come," Her arm lit up purple, what looked like a lizard appearing on her right forearm.

"She's a dark signer!?" Daiki gasped, holding Leo in one arm while gesturing for Luna to stay behind him.

"That's right," Misty sneered, the expression not matching her calm face. Suddenly, there was a swell in power, and she erupted into purple light, shedding her dress. When the light faded, Misty was wearing a regal looking black robe with a white skirt.

The attire reminded Daiki of the drone that Kione fought, but this woman's robes were decorated with a green marking below the waist, as were the shoulders of her black cloak that billowed behind her. A menacing duel disk now appeared on her arm.

"Let's duel Black Rose! You will tell me where my brother is!" Misty said.

"Akiza, beat this hag so we can get out of here!" Daiki said from behind his fellow Psychic.

"Excuse me?!" Misty demanded, but was ignored.

"No. Get the twins out of here!" Akiza said. "I'll be right behind you!"

"Luna! Leo!" All eyes turned to see Tanner and Yanagi standing on the lower floor. Behind them was Kione, while Emma rode on Tanner's shoulders.

"You guys broke out! Good job!" Daiki grinned.

"Yeah, but my wheelchair is missing," Emma grumbled. "Luckily I had my deck in my pocket."

"Akiza, catch up when you can," Daiki said, against his better judgement, he trusted the girl to win. "Let's go Luna. You four, meet at the stairwell nearest you."

"Yes. Run Daiki. Run all of you. Once I'm through with Akiza, I'm coming for you!" Misty warned them.

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Tanner agreed, and he led Yanagi and Kione back to the stairs.

When the group gathered, Daiki led them down the stairs. "Couldn't you have invested in more elevators?" Tanner grumbled as they ran.

"Sayer's not exactly one to allow equality amongst disability. If you can't walk, you're out the door," Daiki explained.

"Makes sense," Daiki screeched to a halt as he heard Leo speak. "Man… did someone get the license plate of the truck that hit me?"

"How are you feeling?" Tanner asked.

"I duelled Sayer… and lost… badly…" Leo groaned. "Where's Luna?" He asked.

"I'm right next to you," Luna sighed, much to her twin's relief.

"Feel like walking?" Daiki asked.

"I think so…" Leo moaned.

A soft giggle then seemed to echo through the halls, sending a shiver up Emma, Leo and Luna's spines, as well as Yanagi. "Excuse me… I thought I heard some people around here. This place is boring."

"Hold on… those clothes…" Emma gasped. The girl was wearing a gothic black dress with yellow lines along the sleeves, around the collar, down the front and back, and around the skirt. Her hair, contrast to the gothic theme, was bright and blonde, tied up in a ponytail with a hairband. A purple light was coming from her right arm, which was being swung around as she skipped towards them.

"Are you a dark signer too?" Kione asked.

"Not quite. Daddy had work to do, and so he couldn't make it to the show. But I'm here, I'm going to turn each of you into my new dolls!" The girl said.

Lady Emma, she is dangerous! The shadows… she's surrounded by them. Emma gasped, hearing Burstinatrix's voice.

"Wow! A duel spirit! Elemental HERO Burstinatrix, correct?" The girl asked.

"Wha…! You can see her?!" Emma asked, much to the confusion of everyone bar Luna.

"Of course. Would you like to meet mine?" She asked. Emma's eyes turned from shock to horror as she set eyes on a large purple worm creature that looked at Emma, before screeching with anger. "Isn't she beautiful?"

"Who are you?" Asked Daiki.

"My name's Nui, pleasure to meet you," The girl smiled, curtsying.

"I'll fight you," Daiki said. A card suddenly whizzed past his eyes, arcing around before returning to Nui.

"Nuh uh! My interest is in the two girls, Emma and Luna," Nui smiled sweetly.

"Me?" Both Emma and Luna asked, pointing at themselves.

"Uh huh! Daddy's told me all about the two of you. Both of you can access the Spirit world, just like me!" Nui beamed.

"YOU can access the Spirit World?!" Emma asked.

"Yup! Daddy can't though. He has me help him work with his monsters though. Zeeman's the same! I got bored of that though, so I came here!" Nui smiled. A purple flame ring suddenly surrounded them as the glow on Nui's arm became visible, a monkey drawing. "Looks like you're stuck here with little me."

"Fine. I'll duel you," Emma said. "Daiki, may I borrow your duel disk?"

"We don't have time for this…" Daiki muttered. "This place will collapse any minute!"

"Then it'll be quick!" Nui smiled.

"Tanner, hold me?" Emma asked.

"Sure kid," Tanner nodded, "Knock her deck into next week and let us get out of here."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea…" Daiki muttered.

Emma put on the duel disk. It was heavy, being the grown up version, instead of being Leo or Luna's specially modified ones.

"Let's duel!" The two girls called, followed by a giggle from Nui.

N: 4000
E: 4000

"I'll go first!" Nui giggled. "I'll start by activating the spell, Foolish Burial! This lets me send a monster from my deck to the graveyard!"

Emma didn't know what to expect, but Nui soon answered her. "I'll send Shaddoll Falco to the graveyard. This activates Falco's ability. See, when he's sent to the graveyard by a card effect, I can immediately set him in face-down defence position."

A blank card appeared in defence mode. "I'll then set this guy," Another card appeared next to the first. "And I'll set these two."

Emma couldn't help but wonder what her playstyle was. "Your turn!"

"Guess I'm up then. First, I'll activate the spell Polymerisation!" Emma said, putting the card in play. "So by fusing the Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand, I'm already one step ahead of you!

"Heroine of flame, merge your power with the hero of the wind! Fusion Summon! Rise from the ashes! Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!" She chanted, her reliable fusion in play.

"Nice one! Crack open one of those face-downs and see what we've got!" Tanner grinned behind her.

"Battle! Elemental HERO Flame Wingman, attack the face-down on the left!" Emma commanded. Her fusion went to action, launching a plume of fire at the card, which flipped up. A dog in white emerged, crouched low and snarling before being destroyed.

Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter – LIGHT/Beast – Lvl 2 – (200/100).

"Well that's not good…" Daiki muttered.

"Why?" Asked Leo.

"Ryko's effect activates when he's flipped up! First, I get to destroy one card on the field, so bye bye Mr Wingman!" Ryko blew up, but so did Flame Wingman. "Then I get to send three cards from the top of my deck to the graveyard."

"But you're still taking damage from Wingman's effect, you take damage equal to that monster's attack points!" Emma pointed out. An afterimage of Wingman shot some fire at Nui.

N: 3800
E: 4000

Three cards went due to Ryko's effect. Nui's smile only widened. "Ooh! Yay! I've got effects! First is Shaddoll Beast! If he's sent to the graveyard by effect, I can draw a card!" So she drew. "The second was a trap, the third was Shaddoll Squamata. This card, when sent to the grave, allows me to send another Shaddoll to the graveyard. I'll choose… Reeshaddoll Wendi! She's got an effect too!"

"Oh come on…!" Emma rolled her eyes.

"I can set another Shaddoll monster face-down on the field. Let's choose my second Shaddoll Beast!" A new card appeared face-down on her field.

"If you're quite done…" Emma groaned. "I'll summon Elemental HERO Clayman in defence mode!" Her titan of stone appeared, arms already up in preparation.

Elemental HERO Clayman – EARTH/Warrior – Lvl 4 – (800/2000).

"Then I'll set these two face-down and end my turn," Emma said.

"Oh goodie! My turn again!" Nui smiled, drawing. "I'll flip up my Shaddoll Beast!" From the face-down card appeared a dark blue scaled, four legged animal with white scales underneath and yellow scales along the spine and up the torso underneath, and matching claws. Two red eyes glowed, before the monster roared.

Shaddoll Beast – DARK/Spellcaster – Lvl 5 – (2200/1700).

"Here's Shaddoll Beast's flip effect! I get to draw twice, then discard one card from my hand," Nui explained, carrying out her effect. "I'll discard Shaddoll Hound, who's effect is when he's sent to the grave, I can target one monster on the field and change it's battle mode. Mr Clayman, you can come out of hiding now!" Nui giggled.

"Uh oh…" Emma muttered as her defensive monster stood up, fists raised.

"Now I'll flip up Shaddoll Falco!" A small blue bird with black armour and metallic wings emerged. Emma then realised that all of the Shaddoll monsters seemed to have some kind of chains or string controlling their movements.

Shaddoll Falco – DARK/Spellcaster – Lvl 2 – (600/1400).

"Oh great, what does this one do?" Asked Kione.

"I'm glad you asked! I get to target a Shaddoll monster in my grave and summon it in face-down defence mode! I'll choose Reeshaddoll Wendi." The new card appeared between Beast and Falco.

"Next I'll reveal a trap. Sinister Shadow Games! This trap lets me discard a Shaddoll monster from my deck, and then I can rearrange the positions of any Shaddoll monsters that are face-down. I'll send Qadshaddoll Keios to the grave from my deck. I'll ignore his effect, but now I can flip up Reeshaddoll Wendi, activating her effect to allow me to summon a Shaddoll monster from my deck either face up or face down."

Emma was shocked. In one turn, Nui had already filled her field with three monsters, and was about to get a fourth. "I summon Shaddoll Dragon, face up!" The monster was a lizard with six limbs and a long tail. Two wings were on it's back. Black quills surrounded it's face like a mane, and it opened it's mouth, revealing a multitude of sharp teeth.

"Now Shaddoll Falco, please give Shaddoll Dragon and Reeshaddoll Wendi a tune up!" Nui smiled. Falco screeched, before flying up into a pair of rings, which the other two monsters flew through, turning into a combination of seven stars. "Awaken, O scourge of the mist. Let your roar echo across the valley. Spare none your wrath! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Mist Wurm!"

The monster in question was huge, barely able to fit in the wide hallways. No doubt in Emma's mind, it was the same monster she saw earlier, large, purple, and expelling constant purple mists and menacing lightning that crackled around it.

Mist Wurm – WIND/Thunder – Lvl 9 – (2500/1500).

"Now for Mist Wurm's effect! When he's synchro summoned, I can target up to three cards on your field and return them to your hand!" Nui smiled. "Isn't that just grand?"

"Not really!" Emma frowned. "I'm gonna act quickly then, I play my quick-play spell, Forbidden Chalice!" She called, playing the card. "This handy little card will give your Mist Wurm an extra four hundred points, but I'll take that to save my only line of defence! I'll also activate Half Unbreak! This card has the power to make one of my monsters indestructible, and all damage I take involving the monster is halved! It's your lucky day Clayman!"

Mist Wurm - (2900/1500).

"Well you're no fun!" Nui pouted. "Oh well. Time to play! Shaddoll Beast, attack Mr Clayman!" Her frown flipped upside-down as Beast lunged forwards, slashing claws through Clayman. What Emma was not expecting was the slash passing through her monster and hitting her.

N: 4000
E: 3100

With a scream, Tanner almost dropped her out of surprise. "What was that attack? It looked like it really hurt her!" He asked.

"I was afraid of this. The Dark Signers and all their minions fight with stakes equivalent to a Psychic duellist's power. All battle damage is real," Daiki grit his teeth.

"I'm not finished. You're about to be one step closer to becoming my new doll Star Guardian! Mist Wurm attack!" Nui was not being merciful.

"I… I discard Kuriboh from my hand!" Emma panted, winded, but still in the duel. "Thanks to him, my lifepoints are spared. You're not turning me into one of your monsters, no way!"

A small brown fluff ball leapt out of a cloud of smoke, blocking the surge of lightning and mist that was being launched her way.

"Oh darn," Nui pouted. "I was really hoping to put you out of your misery quickly, but you had to ruin my fun."

"Did… did Emma just use Kuriboh? Wow, talk about old-school," Yanagi spoke up.

"Never disrespect a classic grampa," Tanner grinned. "You ok kid?" He asked his charge.

"Not really… I feel like I got punched in the gut by a rhino," Emma groaned.

Suddenly another quake shook the ground beneath their feet. "Aw… those girls don't seem to know how to play with your food…" Nui pouted, looking up. "Well… I'm not looking to be crushed by this building of crazies coming down, so we'll play again another day, if you live to see it."

As she spoke, four marks lit up brighter than ever, those that owned those marks groaned. "What the… it's like last night with Yusei. First it started glowing, then this searing… warning…" Kione muttered.

Before anyone else could say a word, the flames dissipated, and Nui took off down the corridor. "I don't want to wait to find out what she might mean by that. I also think we're out of options. Come on!" Daiki said. Tanner passed him back his duel disk, and he took the lead.

Sprinting down the corridor, Daiki led them towards a window. "Oh no…" Kione sighed. "I don't like where this is going," She muttered.

"Leo, can I borrow Power Tool Dragon?" Daiki asked. "I promise, nothing bad will happen."

Confused, Leo nodded, handing his ace to Daiki. "Tanner, let's clear a path!" He then said. Tanner grunted. "Emma, duck!" With little time to comprehend his words, Emma quickly tucked herself close to Tanner's broad body as he and Daiki smashed through the window, followed by Kione, Yanagi and the twins.

The psychic took a deep breath. "Docking strength with courage to protect the earth's peace! Synchro Summon! Envoy of love and justice, Power Tool Dragon!" He called as they were falling, slapping the card onto his duel disk. Below them, the machine type dragon appeared in a flash, catching everyone in it's blue digger arm.

"Everyone ok?" Kione asked, rubbing her backside. No-one reported serious injury, all except Daiki.

"Oh no…" He mumbled. Surrounding the tower was one of the biggest monsters he'd ever seen. The first was a black lizard with green markings.

"What is that thing?!" Tanner asked.

"That's one of the demons the Crimson Dragon fought!" Luna gasped. "In my dream! One of the nasty demons that ended up taking Ancient Fairy Dragon!"

"Right. The true menace behind these Dark Signers. Power Tool Dragon, get us out of here," Daiki instructed his summon.

A few minutes ago

"Damn it. Goodwin got it all wrong," Sarah growled, pacing frantically.

"Two markings over the city. A lizard, and a bird? No! That's the Nazca line for the Hummingbird!" Marcus gasped. "Why over there!? Emma, Kione, Leo, Luna!" He breathed with horror.

Marcus' mark suddenly lit up brighter. "Emma… she's in a Shadow Duel?! NO!" He yelled.

"Not just her. Akiza's fighting too. Who're they fighting though…?" Asked Yusei. "And do we have the capabilities to stop them?"

"Well… if they all have some big nasty like Kalin, then we could be in for some more surprises," Sarah snarled.

As Power Tool Dragon travelled away at best speed, everyone looked up in surprise as something shot free from the top floor. Whatever it was, it then started sucking up purple lights. Emma glanced over the side. "Uh… that thing is sucking up people! Security, onlookers, anyone with a pulse is getting sucked in!"

As she spoke, a barrier of red, blue and grey energy formed around the shovel of their ride. "Uh… what's this?" Leo asked.

"My guess is, if you don't want to be eaten, stay inside this bubble!" Daiki grit his teeth. Tanner, Yanagi and Leo stayed close.

Suddenly, the object in the sky burst into a tower of purple light. When it faded, everyone gasped. Another black creature, just as large as the lizard, had emerged. It was as black as a starless sky, with orange markings running up and down it's body. A large pointed beak was attached to it's face. "A hummingbird…" He mumbled.

The massive bird cried in song, before stabbing it's beak into the tower, purple flames erupting across the entire floor. "It's coming down!" Tanner realised. The two giants then faded with a green and orange glow respectively.

"Did Akiza make it out?!" Leo asked.

"I hope so… Power Tool, take us down to the entrance, let's see if Akiza made it," Daiki commanded. The dragon descended, landing with a thud, just as a familiar white, one wheeled duel runner rolled up.

"Atlas?!" Tanner realised.

"Jack?!" Emma asked, thrilled to see her hero.

"I'll ignore your choice of transport and ask what happened?" Jack asked.

"Two Dark Signers and one of their underlings was in there! One was duelling Akiza when we left, then ran into this gothic kid…" Kione explained.

"Thought it was them. The monsters, the purple flames…" Jack muttered. "Where is she now?"

"She was still duelling that dark signer when we left. Not long later, this happened," Daiki told him.

"You just left her?!" Jack asked.

"She insisted she could handle Misty, said she'd meet when she was done. Evidently… Misty's tougher than she looks," Daiki pointed out.

Jack said no more, flooring his runner into the building. About two minutes later, he re-emerged, Akiza carefully rested between his arms, just as the building started to collapse completely. "GO!" The former king yelled as he revved away at top speed.

Power Tool Dragon followed, swatting aside loose debris that attempted to stop their escape. "The Arcadia Movement… it's gone! The entire building! Gone!" Daiki gasped.

"Let's head to the hospital, get ourselves checked out," Tanner advised.

"Good idea. Power Tool Dragon, follow that runner," Leo nodded, instructing his monster.

Morning came. Following examinations, the only actual damage was a nasty bruise on Emma's stomach and a few scratches on Tanner and Daiki's arms. Akiza was the problem. The doctors said that physically nothing was wrong with her. But she was undergoing some kind of mental trauma, and it was locking her in a coma.

Daiki put a hand on the glass as they waited for any updates with sad expressions. "Damn it… why won't you wake up…" He muttered.

"Poor Akiza…" Luna muttered.

"Hey… I just realised, we've got three Signers right here. Four if you count me," Leo piped up.

"For the last time, I don't think you're a signer. But we also have three Star Guardians here too. And Sarah and Marcus are both with Yusei in the Satellite," Kione noted.

"I think Leo's on to something. Jack, do you think we were brought together for a reason?" Luna asked.

"Perhaps Luna," Jack said, after a moment of thought. "But I think we'll need more than…" He was interrupted by the arrival of a smartly dressed pair, a man with black hair in a black suit, and a woman with remarkably familiar hair, dressed in a baby blue dress.

"Akiza… my sweet rose…" The woman mumbled.

The doctor and his assisting nurse left the room, and the man called him out, "Doctor! Will our daughter pull through?"

Daughter?! Daiki gasped. "Excuse me. Are you Akiza's parents?" He asked.

"We are. My name is Hideo Izinski, this is my wife, Setsuko," The man introduced himself. "And you are?"

"Daiki Izumi. A fellow psychic and friend of Akiza," Daiki said. If what Akiza told me is true, these two shunned her when she accidently revealed her power for the first time.

"A psychic? You have the same power as Akiza?" Asked Setsuko.

"I do. That being said. Psychic power isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's what you make it," He said, gesturing to Leo behind him. "Last night, I used the healing ability of White Magician Pikeru to heal this boy's injuries following a duel with a very bad psychic. We come in every shape, just like any other human being."

"We know. We regret our actions when Akiza awakened her power. We were scared. She brought fire from her cards to life, attacking me. I… I called her a monster…" Hideo nodded sadly.

"How is she?" Asked Setsuko, turning to the doctor, who took them back inside.

"We're connected through these marks, all of us, but none of us seem to be able to wake her up," Daiki gripped his hand into a fist. "What are we missing?"

"We don't know enough about her. And if she's rejecting Daiki, a fellow psychic, then the trauma is running deep. Sayer's completely disappeared, and with him gone, there aren't any options left," Jack said. He paused. "Unless… he might help her."

With that, he stepped into the room, everyone quietly following, curious. "I'm Jack Atlas," He introduced himself, not that he needed to, "And I think I know someone who might be able to help your daughter," He said. "His name's Yusei Fudo."

Meanwhile, over in the Satellite, the team of Yusei, Sarah and Marcus were just finishing up repairs on the Yusei GO, Yusei's runner. "Ok, let's test that new axle, give her some revs," Marcus said, standing back. Yusei did so, and the engine came to life, both wheels spinning with no problems.

"Nice job, sounds like you're pretty much done," Blister came over, carrying a laptop.

"Yup, just about done here," Sarah grinned. "What's the word in Neo Domino?"

"City's in a state of chaos. The Dark Signers decided to turn ten city blocks into rubble, and at least one hundred and twenty people have gone missing, including Sayer, the leader of the Arcadia Movement," Blister said.

"Think they might have been after Akiza?" Marcus asked. "Maybe Daiki?"

"Probably," Sarah nodded. "Either that or they got bored and went for a joyride in a bulldozer."

"Akiza's in the hospital, I hacked into her records and they say she won't wake up," Blister reported.

"A coma… well… that's not good," Sarah sighed.

"Think any of your magic mojo might help snap her out of it?" Blister asked.

"Maybe. Wouldn't hurt to try, if we could just get over there. Hey, maybe we should put some floats on this thing next and ride across the water," Marcus suggested dryly.

Suddenly, the wind started to pick up, and everyone looked up to see a helicopter coming to land. A man stepped out, dressed in a suit. "Senator Izinski?" Marcus noted.

"Izinski? Akiza's dad?" Yusei asked.

The group went inside. Martha brewed some tea while everyone sat or stood around the dinner table. "Mr Fudo, thank you for taking the time to listen to me," The man, Hideo Izinski, said. "I'm here because I heard you can help my daughter, Akiza."

"So. You're 'dad'. Yeah… Akiza told me all about you," Yusei frowned. "Not too flattering Senator."

"I know. But I'm trying to make things right, she's in the hospital, suffering from some heartbreak which is my fault," Hideo said.

"It could be that Senator. Or… she saw what happened to the man who took her in. Sayer. The leader of the Arcadia Movement. And if it's trauma, I'm guessing she saw him die or fall or get eaten by one of those monsters," Marcus said.

"We pushed her away, and she joined that Arcadia Movement. This Sayer is missing or gone… and she won't respond to anyone else. Not even us or that Daiki fellow," Hideo said, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

"Before I let Yusei and Sarah run off on another crazy adventure, how about you tell us all the story from the beginning," Martha said, firmly putting some tea in front of Hideo.

"Alright," The Senator told them everything. That Akiza just wanted to duel, but her father kept getting caught up with work, it being his first year in office. He couldn't get time off work, he could barely get a present for her birthday, which was her own deck, but could never get the time to let her test it out. Eventually, they did get a chance to, but senatorial work popped up mid-duel and Hideo had to go. That was what sparked the flame. Rose Flame.

That was the day Akiza awakened to her psychic power. But instead of comforting the child who just accidently knocked her father flat on the floor, they shunned her. Hideo had even called her a monster.

"How could you say that to a little girl who just wanted her father's love?" Sarah asked, horrified.

Hideo and his wife got more fearful. Akiza wasn't even allowed near other kids her age. Then her parents threw her at Duel Academy. "I remember that day. I was in her grade. Different class though, so I didn't know why there was a hole in the gym roof," Marcus realised.

Akiza had ran home, just to find that her parents were enjoying a night without her. She blew all the glass in the house with pure psychic power, then ran. Hideo never saw her again.

He begged again. "Jack said that you might be able to wake her up, please, you have to try," Hideo wept.

"Right now… I'm not sure if I can," Yusei sighed.

"But you must try. Please! She's all I have," Hideo begged.

"Sir, right now, Yusei's recovering from a nasty duel that pitted him in a shadow game against a man we used to call a friend," Sarah said. "He couldn't make any decent plays, and then his opponent threw out something that he couldn't stop. It's only thanks to his duel runner failing that he's here before you today, and not pushing up daisies."

"For hope's sake Yusei," Martha spoke up. "You are going to help this girl or so help me…" Then it hit her. "Unless… you're afraid to duel again, aren't you?" She asked.

That got a reaction from her foster son, and Marcus could tell that the Signer was flashing back to that hand almost closing around him, crushing him, falling off.

"So it's true. You're still thinking about that duel with Kalin. Well you can't stay here. Wounds: healed. Bike: repaired. What are you waiting for?" Martha asked him.

"She's got a point man. You've got to get back in the game. Kalin beat you bad. So what? It's time to turn that loss into a lesson. If you get knocked down, get back up stronger than ever," Sarah spoke up. "That's one of Martha's key teachings. Don't let someone push you around like a leaf in the wind. Stand your ground."

Martha nodded, approving of her foster daughter's words. "If I've taught you one thing Yusei, it's to help your friends. They're waiting for you, and if what you've told me about these 'Dark Signers', purple lights and the end of the world is true, then you'll need their help."

"United, we stand. Only divided, do we fall," Marcus added. "It's time we got everyone involved. If what my mark told me last night is true, Emma's gotten her taste of the shadows. I want to keep her safe, but they'll keep coming for her light either way."

"Alright. I'll give it a shot," Yusei smiled, "Thanks Martha, thanks everyone."

"Just doing what we're meant to dude," Sarah smirked.

"Then you'll help?! Oh thank you!" Hideo sighed with relief.

Martha laughed. "And maybe when this is all over, you'll take her on a date," She added.

"HUH!?" Yusei asked with shock. "A what?!"

"I'm just saying, if you two have some kind of magical link, then-"

"I'm trying to save the world! Not date!" Yusei sputtered.

Blister burst into laughter, as did Marcus and Sarah. "He's already got a girlfriend!" He jabbed.

"His runner!" Marcus added, jabbing Yusei in the rib.

"If Crow comes back, tell him we've gone to help one of our own," Sarah said to Martha and Blister as they loaded into the private helicopter. "We'll be back before you know it! Just watch over the runners!"

Marcus: Why is the concept of someone like that Nui girl driving around a bulldozer terrifying...?

Sarah: Because the author loosely based her of Nui Harime?

Marcus: Probably.

Emma: She's no joke though... Nui... I won't let you harm the Spirit World...

Daiki: That's the second Immortal Servant revealed, who's next?

Kione: I hope they aren't as crazy as her though. Who would have thought a girl that young could be so crazy?

All: Next Time: History Lessons