Yu-Gi-Oh Tag Force: Cherished Evolution

by Mage of Hope

Part 1 of Tagforce series! Mix between anime and Tagforce series! When shy 13 year old Elize Simington arrives in Duel Academy, Jaden won't be the only person who can communicate with Duel Spirits anymore! Join her as she faces off against obstacles with her new friends and keep the title of "Red Hat Girl" with her own Deck full of Spellcasters and Charmers! Slight OC X Aster!

62. Ultimate Destiny Part 2

Wow, I honestly didn't expect so many reviews dedicating to which pairing is right for Elize, but I'm so glad to hear all of your choices and opinions for her! But, I decided...that I will ultimately announce the pairing for Elize as soon as the Society of Light arc is over. That'll give me some time to think on what pairing I should do for her, after all.

Also, just to let you guys know, after tallying up the votes from both the reviews and the PM messages I've received regarding whether Bastion will use a FIRE or WIND deck this chapter...well, you'll definitely know the obvious result when the duel between him and Aster begins! Now, let's get started!

Disclaimer: Mage of Hope doesn't own any Yu-Gi-Oh series, only the OCs!

---

"Bastion! BASTION! Wake up! You have to!"

Cradling a heavily battered and unconscious Bastion in her arms, Elize pleads for him to wake up as tears fell down her face, terrified and concerned for her friend. Though grief-stricken, she was relieved to realize signs of Bastion still alive, such as him coughing for air, his injured body trembling, and groans escaping his mouth.

'How...did this happen?! Why did this happen?!' thought Elize, holding Bastion close as snot and tears drippled down even more. 'This wasn't supposed to happen...Nobody was supposed to get hurt-! I...I...! Baston, please, wake up! PLEASE!'

What resulted from a duel ended up in a huge catastrophe between Bastion Misawa and Aster Phoenix. Nobody could have stopped the two once the duel between them started so suddenly. But...nobody could have predicted this.

---

A while ago...

- DUEL -

Aster - 4000 LP

VS

Bastion - 4000 LP

"I will allow you to go first, Aster!" decided Bastion.

"Hmph. How very gracious of you," spat Aster sarcastically, drawing his card. "I summon Destiny Hero - Dunker to the field in Defense Mode!"

Destiny Hero - Dunker - (DARK/Warrior) - LV4 - (1200/1700)

"I now activate his effect! By sending a Destiny Hero Monster from my hand to the Graveyard, I can inflict 500 Points of Damage to you! I'll send Destiny Hero - Fear Monger to the Graveyard! Now take 500 Points of Damage!"

A beam of light was fired from Dunker's palms and hit Bastion, sending him back, and though the attack made him winch, he still held his ground.

Aster - 4000 LP

Bastion - 3500 LP

"Once more! I activate Dunker's effect again and send Departed to the Graveyard! Go!"

Another beam of light was sent towards Bastion's direction, and a secondary Effect Damage attack was unexpected for Bastion, making him crash to the ground before struggling to get up.

Aster - 4000 LP

Bastion - 3000 LP

"Bastion!" called out Elize. "Are you alright?!" She glanced over to Aster, taken aback by his tense expression and sensing he's holding in quite a lot of anger. 'Aster normally doesn't use such aggressive tactics like this! He must be really mad! Well, we did stop him from succeeding his original plan, but...'

"Yes, I'm alright...though I am surprised by Aster's...unusual way of handling the duel now," admitted Bastion, giving Aster a smirk.

Unamused, and rather more ticked off by Bastion's reaction, Aster growled, "Just you wait...Now I'm more than ready to take you down! I end my turn from there!"

"No facedowns or any further moves? Huh, well, if you ask me, your move appears something only an amateur can do," scoffed Bastion, drawing his card. "I draw! I activate the Spell, Foolish Burial, to send a card from my deck to the Graveyard! I choose Infernoid Patrulea! Next, I activate the effect of Infernoid Antra from my hand! By banishing an Infernoid Monster from my hand or Graveyard while the total Levels of all Effect Monsters I control are 8 or lower, I can Special Summon Infernoid Antra to the field! Therefore, I banish Infernoid Patrulea from the Graveyard in order to Special Summon Infernoid Antra in Defense Mode!"

Infernoid Antra - (FIRE/Fiend) - LV2 - (0/2000)

Elize tilted her head in confusion. "Huh? I don't get it, Bastion! I mean, I understand you banished your other Infernoid Monster, but I don't understand how you could have still Special Summoned Patrulea with the other total Level condition. I mean, you didn't even have any other Monsters on the field to control before you summoned Patrulea!"

"...Wrong," said Aster. "What you stated was the truth, Elize, but in this case, even if Bastion didn't control any Monsters, the total Levels of the 'Monsters' he 'controlled' on the field were practically Level 0. Technically, this still meant Bastion could Special Summon Antra."

Bastion looked impressed. "Very well observed, Aster. Yes, you are correct in the fact that previously, I had controlled 'Level 0 Monsters' on the field. And here, I thought that you were so seething in anger, you weren't thinking clearly and were acting more of a berserker!"

"What did you say?!"

Bastion's eyes narrowed. "Ah...I was partially wrong. It looks like you're mildly a bit more of a berserker with that attitude you have now."

Aster growled, muttering sounds of stifled anger and frustration, and yet he made no comment over Bastion's insult.

"Regardless of the situation, I shall end my turn with two facedowns now!" announced Bastion.

"Finally!" Aster said, drawing his card. "I activate the effect of Destiny Hero - Departed from my Graveyard! During my Standby Phase, I can Special Summon him to your field in Attack Mode!"

Destiny Hero - Departed - (DARK/Warrior) - LV2 - (1000/0)

"But why give him his own...?" Elize's eyes widened when she realized the implication of such a move. "Bastion! He made it so that the new Destiny Hero on your side is in Attack Mode! And since his Attack Points are weaker-!"

"Yes, I understand. That means that since it's now Aster's turn, he can target my weaker Destiny Hero to deal more damage to me," said Bastion before smirking. "Very clever...so, he wasn't just throwing a tantrum during his last turn."

"Hmph! Clearly, you've underestimated me by thinking I had given into my anger!" Aster snarled.

Elize timidly raised her hand. "Um...to be honest, I think you did actually give into-"

"Shut it!"

"Okay, I'll shut up, now!"

Bastion narrowed his eyes and frowned, but decided to let it go, wanting to observe more of Aster's behavioral changes to see if he could use that to his advantage some more. "Well, since we're still in the middle of the Standby Phase, it's time for me to activate one of my facedowns! The Continuous Trap, Void Purification!"

"And what exactly does that do?" questioned Aster.

"Nothing...for the time being. I simply wished to activate it in order to get it out of the way."

"Simply get it out of the way?" Aster frowned and thought, 'No, he wouldn't activate that Trap unless it was something important, so either he's just waiting for the right timing to activate its effect, or it's used as a distraction so that I don't focus on that facedown card of his. I won't let him fool me!'

"I summon to the field Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude in Attack Mode!"

Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude - (DARK/Warrior) - LV4 - (1400/1600)

"I activate Diamond Dude's effect! By looking at the top card of my deck, if I happen to draw a Normal Spell card, then I can send it to the Graveyard and then activate its effect in my next turn!" After drawing the top card of his deck, Aster revealed it to Bastion. "I just drew Destiny Draw, so I'll send that to the Graveyard!"

Looking back and forth between the two duelists, Elize couldn't help but worry. 'I...I can't decide which one to cheer on, or even if I should cheer on this situation! I don't even know which one's worst at this point! I can only hope this doesn't escalate to something really bad!' she thought.

Aster glared at Bastion's field and thought confidently, 'He's already revealed one of his facedowns so far, and even if he pulls some Trap like Mirror Force or anything like that, I've already got some safety in my field, like Dunker in Defense Mode and Diamond Dude as my means for offense. I currently can't attack that high defensive Infernoid of his, but I can take care of the Destiny Hero I implanted on his field!'

"Diamond Dude, attack Departed now!"

Diamond Dude fired crystalized diamonds from his arms, firing them like they were daggers that pierced through Departed's body and destroyed him.

Aster - 4000 LP

Bastion - 2600 LP

"I know what happens next," spoke up Bastion. "Departed was destroyed in battle, but instead, he'll be removed from play."

"Hmph. It looks like you did do research about me, but it'll take more than research and knowledge to defeat me!" scoffed Aster. "I've experienced facing big brainer duelists like you, so you'll just be added to the bucket list of pathetic weaklings!"

"Hmm...interesting..."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that your type of wording is becoming similar to...Zane."

If there was any chances, even if a slim one, of Aster ever reconciling with Bastion, it flew out of the window the instant he dared to compare Aster to Zane, of all people. Zane, the duelist that used to value respect, but was now nothing more than a terrorizing and merciless duelist that viewed everyone but him as weaklings.

Such a comparison between Zane and Aster was enough to witness an enraged expression on Aster's face, though it was taking quite a lot for him to hold down his anger. If he hadn't already been agitated from Elize and Bastion stopping him before, he would have been annoyed, but now, he looked like he was no longer showing even a single ounce of MERCY.

"I set two cards facedown and end my turn! Now make your move so I can finish you off and get on with my life!"

"Showing such levels of aggression from one loose insult? Your composure's fading, Aster," warned Bastion halfheartedly before drawing his card. "I activate the effect of Void Purification! During my Standby Phase, I can return one of my banished Infernoids to the Graveyard! I'll return Infernoid Patrulea!"

'He activated that card during my turn, but didn't use it. Was that some random tactic to get me to lower my guard or something?' thought Aster, gritting his teeth.

"I suppose it's time for me to unleash the true power of my deck!" said Bastion. "But first, I activate the Spell, Pot of Greed to draw two more cards! I then activate Into the Void! Because I possess 3 cards in my hand, I get to draw 1 more card! But, the downside to this is that at the end of my turn, I must discard my entire hand!"

"Bastion...that's a really heavy risk...Are you sure you're up to it?" muttered Elize.

"Yeah, I thought you weren't someone who took unnecessary risks, but here you are, risking your entire hand," said Aster.

"You both are right," admitted Bastion. "But, just like testing a hypothesis, sometimes, a scientist must take risks in an experiment to see whether or not their theory is correct, and right now, I'm willing to risk this turn to make a turnabout! Now, I activate the effect of Infernoid Pirmalis from my hand! Right now, I banish Infernoid Patrulea from the Graveyard, and since I currently control a Level 2 Monster, I'm allowed to Special Summon Infernoid Pirmalis in Defense Mode!"

Infernoid Pirmalis - (FIRE/Fiend) - LV1 - (0/0)

"For safety caution, I activate Infernoid Pirmalis' effect! Once per turn, I can target a Set card on the field and then shuffle it back into your deck! I'll choose the left Set card you have!"

Aster's Set card flipped over to reveal to be a Trap known as Urban Demise before it shrunken to the size of a regular card, flying back to Aster's deck before his duel disk automatically shuffled the deck in place.

"I'm not done quite yet! Now, I activate the effect of Infernoid Harmadik from my hand! I'll Special Summon him after banishing Infernoid Patrulea from my hand to the Graveyard, and because the total Levels of Monsters I control are Level 3! Come forth, Infernoid Harmadik in Defense Mode!"

Infernoid Harmadik - (FIRE/Fiend) - LV3 - (1600/0)

"That makes me having a total of Level 6...Alright!" Bastion proceeded with his turn. "I activate Harmadik's effect! Once per turn, I can target a Monster on the field and destroy it! I choose your Destiny Hero - Dunker!"

With his purple translucent wings, Harmadik soared into the skies and reflected rays of light through his translucent wings, blinding and destroying Dunker in the process.

"However, there is a downside to this effect! I cannot attack with Harmadik on the turn he activates this effect, but that shouldn't be a problem! I activate my other facedown, the Trap, Eye of the Void! This Special Summons an Infernoid Monster from my hand, ignoring any Summoning conditions but also negating its effects until the end of this turn! I Special Summon Infernoid Sjette!"

Infernoid Sjette - (FIRE/Fiend) - LV6 - (2400/0)

"I'm not done yet!" said Bastion. "Next, I activate Antra's effect! Once per turn, I can target a face-up card you control and then return it back to your hand! I'll choose your other Monster, Diamond Dude!"

As Diamond Dude was forcibly returned to Aster's hand in a flash, Elize recalled that Bastion had summoned Antra on his last turn, and yet he didn't even activate his Monster's effect. "Um...Bastion? Why didn't you activate Antra's effect during your last turn?" she asked. "I mean, you did summon him before."

"I wanted to catch Aster off guard," admitted Bastion. "By not activating Antra's effect and making him assume that Antra's strongest point was his high defense alone. That, and I pitied him."

"Pity?"

"Yes...he's dueling like a barbarian, and I felt oh so pitiful for him..."

Aster snarled angrily at Bastion, and if one looked closely, there seems to be a slight, visible vein, though it disappeared as Aster was trying to keep his emotions intact.

Bastion continued his turn. "Now, it's time to attack! Sjette, attack Aster directly! And another thing! Sjette's effect activates! When he declares an attack, you have to banish a Monster from your Extra Deck!"

Sjette shrieked as he flew high in the air, flapping his mechanical purple-colored wings that unleashed devastating fiery winds at Aster as the silver-haired duelist removed from play Phoenix Enforcer from his Extra Deck. Suddenly, a barrier surrounded Aster and protected him, much to Bastion and Elize's shock.

"I just activated my other Trap, D - Fortune!" called out Aster. "This activates only when you declare a direct attack at me! By removing from play 1 Destiny Hero from my Graveyard, I can end the Battle Phase! And the Monster I removed was Destiny Hero - Fear Monger!"

"Gh-! So, it was unfortunate bad luck on my end for selecting the wrong Set card at the time, huh?" muttered Bastion. "If I had selected the other Set card at the time, Aster surely would have been given huge damage...my mistake-!"

"And another mistake you're making is assuming that I'll let you get the upper hand on me!" said Aster. "Now hurry up and end your turn so that I can begin mine!"

With no more cards in his hand, and no other options, Bastion found that there was little more he could do. "Then, before I end my turn, I'll just activate another one of Sjette's effects! Once per turn, during either of our turns, I can Tribute a Monster, and then target 1 card in your Graveyard and then banish it! I'll Tribute Infernoid Pirmalis and then target...your Destiny Draw Spell card!"

"What?!"

Elize realized something with Bastion's latest move. "Wait, but Aster drew that card using Diamond Dude's effect and he was planning to use that effect on his next turn. What happens if that Spell card is no longer in the Graveyard?"

"Excellent question, Elize," praised Bastion. "If Destiny Draw is no longer in his Graveyard, Aster can't activate its effect, am I right?"

Aster clenched his fists at the obstacle Bastion presented before him, finding it both irritating and annoying. "...Yes."

"There you go. I end my turn, and seeing as I hold no more cards in my hand, there's really no need for Into the Void's effect to take place!"

"Draw!" Harshly drawing his card, Aster now knew that if he continued drawing this duel any longer, he might find himself in some serious disadvantages. "I activate the Spell, D - Mind! This activates only if I control no Destiny Heroes on the field! With this, I can Special Summon a Level 3 or lower Destiny Hero from my deck! I choose Destiny Hero - Doom Lord!"

Destiny Hero - Doom Lord - (DARK/Warrior) - LV3 - (600/800)

"Next, from my hand, I'm Normal Summoning Diamond Dude!"

Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude - (DARK/Warrior) - LV4 - (1400/1600)

"I activate Doom Lord's effect! Once per turn, I can remove from play 1 Monster on the field! I choose Infernoid Sjette!"

Clawing at the air, Doom Lord used his abilities to suddenly make Sjette vanish out of existence, or at least until the limits of his special abilities were up. Regardless, this left Bastion with only defensive Monsters and his only high offensive Monster out.

"I'm not too worried," replied Bastion confidently. "I know that my Infernoid Sjette will eventually return after your 2nd Standby Phase comes around, Aster!"

"You'll have to survive the next few rounds to make it that far!" Aster said. "Next, I activate Diamond Dude's effect! Once per turn, I'll draw a card, and if it's a Normal Spell card, I can send it to the Graveyard and then activate its effect during my next turn!" After drawing his card, Aster turned it over to reveal to be a Normal Spell card named Doctor D before discarding it to his Graveyard.

'Well, that's quite unfortunate,' Bastion thought. 'Infernoid Sjette has already been removed from play, so I can't exactly activate his effect if he's gone. I'll have to strategize a bit more on this situation in the case event that I fail to stop Doctor D's effect during my turn.'

"Next, I activate the Spell, Polymerization!" shouted Aster. "I fuse together Doom Lord and Diamond Dude on my field in order to Fusion Summon Destiny Hero - Dystopia!"

Destiny Hero - Dystopia - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (2800/2400)

'Dystopia...one of Aster's Fusion Monsters...I recall that he rarely ever uses his Fusion Monsters unless he gets more serious in a duel,' thought Bastion. 'I believe the biggest disadvantage for me is that because Aster rarely shows his Fusion Monsters, I don't have much data on his Fusion Monsters. This is a great opportunity to learn more, but at the same time, very bad for me!'

"I activate Dystopia's effect!" Aster continued. "When he's Fusion Summoned, I can target one of the Fusion-Material Monsters used for his summon, and deal damage to you equal to that Fusion-Material Monster's Attack Points! I choose Diamond Dude, which means you deal with 1400 Points of Damage!"

Aster - 4000 LP

Bastion - 1200 LP

'Bastion's running out of Life Points while Aster's hasn't changed one bit! Bastion's in trouble!' thought Elize, panicking.

"Next, I equip Dystopia with the Equip Spell, Delay Armor!" announced Aster. "Now, Dystopia! Destroy Bastion's Harmadik!"

Thrusting a palm forward, the D insignia pounced forward and, once making skin contact, destroyed Infernoid Harmadik in a large explosion.

"But I'm not done! Delay Armor's effect activates! If the Monster equipped with it destroyed another Monster in battle, I can destroy another Monster you control whose Level is equal or less than the already-destroyed Monster! Harmadik was Level 3, therefore, since your remaining Monster is a Level 2, I can destroy him!"

Another explosion occurred right before Bastion's eyes as his last, remaining Monster was destroyed, leaving him wide open save for his Continuous Void Trap, Void Purification.

"But that's not all! Now that that's successfully been done, you get dealt 500 Points of Damage!"

Aster - 4000 LP

Bastion - 700 LP

"I end my turn!" Aster then thought, 'Damnit, damnit, DAMNIT! I wasn't able to defeat that bastard this turn!'

"My turn!" Bastion said, placing his hopes in the card he drew which may or may not turn the tides on the duel. "Yes! I activate the effect of Void Purification! During my Standby Phase, I can target 1 of my banished Monsters and send it back to the Graveyard! I choose Infernoid Patrulea! I now activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards! Then, by banishing Infernoids Patrulea, Harmadik, and Antra, I can Special Summon from my hand, one of my most powerful Infernoids! Infernoid Onuncu!"

Infernoid Onuncu - (FIRE/Fiend) - LV10 - (3000/3000)

"What?!" exclaimed Aster. 'Damnit! That Monster's much stronger than Dystopia right now!'

"I activate Onuncu's effect!" shouted Bastion. "When he's Special Summoned, he can destroy all other Monsters on the field!"

Aster gritted his teeth. "In that case, I activate Delay Armor's effect! During either of our turns, I can send it to the Graveyard! That means that for the rest of this turn, Dystopia can't be destroyed either in battle nor by card effects!"

"Troublesome..." muttered Bastion. "A miscalculation on my part, but no matter! Even if I can't destroy your Monster, I can still deal even a bit of damage this turn! Onuncu! attack Dystropia!"

The large, monstrous-like Fiend Monster unleashed fire from within his jaws after powering up, sending a storm of fumes around Dystopia, who held up Delay Armor's transparent power to shield himself for just that one assault.

Aster - 3800 LP

Bastion - 700 LP

"I set a card and end my turn!" declared Bastion.

"My turn, draw!" Aster said. "I now activate Diamond Dude's effect that was used last turn for the Normal Spell effect! I now activate Doctor D's effect from the Graveyard! I remove from play my Destiny Hero Diamond Dude in order to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Destiny Hero from my Graveyard! I choose Destiny Hero Doom Lord!"

Destiny Hero - Doom Lord - (DARK/Warrior) - LV3 - (600/800)

"I activate the effect of my Doom Lord! Once per turn, I can remove 1 Monster, and I choose your Infernoid Onuncu!"

"Not so fast! I activate my facedown card, the Quick-Play Spell, Void Seer!" announced Bastion. "With Void Seer in play, I can target an Infernoid Monster, and that Infernoid is unaffected by your card effects for the rest of this turn! Of course, I obviously choose Infernoid Onuncu!"

"Shit!" cursed Aster. "Fine! If that won't work, how about this? I activate D-Dragging Hammer and target Dystopia! Then, I can equip him with the Destiny Hero Defender from my hand! If that happens, Dystopia loses Attack Points equal to Defender's Attack Points, which is 100 Attack Points!"

Destiny Hero - Dystopia - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (2700/2400)

Aster smirked. "You know what comes next, don't you, Bastion? Once per turn, Dystopia's effect will allow him to destroy a card on the field if his Attack or Defense Points changes! It's over for you! Once Dystopia destroys Onuncu, then you'll be wide open for a direct attack that'll finish this duel!"

"If you think I've come unprepared for your tactics, then clearly, you're not in the right mind and you've underestimated me," retorted Bastion. "I now activate the effect of Void Seer within my Graveyard! Since you tried to destroy my Infernoid using a card effect, I banish Void Seer instead of the destruction of my Infernoid!"

Aster growled. "DAMNIT! Why do you constantly keep putting annoying obstacles in my path!"

Bastion calmly spoke, "Because these 'obstacles' help point us in our own chosen paths. Just as these obstacles are guiding you, they are also guiding me as well, helping me decide what comes next."

"Guiding me...? Don't be absurd! These 'obstacles' are nothing more than annoyances!"

"Maybe for you, but you and I both know that if you don't pass these obstacles on your own, then you'll never get anywhere," advised Bastion, crossing his arms. "It's the same as every other challenge you've faced as a Pro Duelist, so you should be familiar with this."

"Grrrr….! I end my turn!"

"My turn!" said Bastion, drawing his card. "I activate the Spell, Painful Choice! By selecting 5 cards from my deck, I must now reveal them to you! Then, you select 1 card amongst them! That single card is then added to my hand, and then the rest go to the Graveyard! So, choose, Aster!"

'Hmm...they're all high-leveled Monster cards except for one...But I know the Infernoids by now. His Infernoids are Special Summoned through removing a lot of them through the Graveyard, or at least, the higher-leveled ones. If I want to avoid giving Bastion more of an advantage, I'll have to go for the Spell card since it'll be the only card in his hand,' thought Aster. "I choose your Spell card!"

"Excellent! I was hoping you would pick that!" Bastion said. "I now activate the Continuous Spell, Void Imagination! Now, Infernoid Monsters I control whose original Levels are Level 2 or higher become Level 1, and all Battle Damage they inflict upon are halved!"

'That's both good news and bad news for me,' thought Aster. 'Good because now, the Battle Damage will be halved, but bad, because now, because his Infernoids will all be Level 1, the summoning conditions will allow him to summon as many powerful Infernoids as possible. But, he doesn't have anymore cards in his hand, which means no Monsters to Special Summon this turn!'

Infernoid Onuncu - (FIRE/Fiend) - LV1 - (3000/3000)

"Even if the Battle Damage will be halved, that doesn't mean your Monsters will be safe, Aster!" shouted Bastion. "Onuncu! Attack Dystopia, now!"

Because Delay Armor was no longer in effect, nothing was shielding Dystopia as he was forced to take the full brutal force of flames that melted away his armor and burned him alive, leaving a large explosion afterwards.

Aster - 3700 LP

Bastion - 700 LP

"I end my turn!"

"My turn!" said Aster, drawing his card.

"At this moment, I activate Void Purification's effect!" shouted Bastion. "During your Standby Phase, I can target 1 Infernoid Monster in my Graveyard and add it to my hand! I choose Infernoid Devyaty!"

'So, I finally get to learn the other effect of that Void Purification, and it seems that Bastion's aiming for a full-frontal assault,' thought Aster. 'I should build up my defenses!'

Suddenly, Infernoid Sjette reappeared on Bastion's side of the field in Attack Mode, as though nothing harmful had come to him, much to everyone's surprise.

Infernoid Sjette - (FIRE/Fiend) - LV6 - (2400/0)

Infernoid Sjette - (FIRE/Fiend) - LV1 - (2400/0)

Bastion snapped his fingers. "Oh! I remember! It's due to Doom Lord's effect, isn't it? Two turns have passed ever since you used his effect to remove my Infernoid Sjette from play, and now, he's returned! And judging from your expression, I'd say you had forgotten until now, correct?"

'"No! Of course not!" 'Damnit! Another annoyance! Why does this keep happening to me?!' Aster thought. 'But, I know that Sjette's effect will make it so that by Tributing 1 Monster, he can banish 1 card from my Graveyard! I guess I only need to worry about Infernoid Onuncu! I'll place D-Shield facedown and then activate it during my next turn if he attacks, buying me time to gather my strength during my next turn! I'll use Doom Lord's effect this turn and my next turn to remove Bastion's Monsters from the field, even if that means I can't attack with Doom Lord!' "I activate Doom Lord's effect to remove from play Onuncu!"

'I anticipated that he might do that,' Bastion thought, watching Onuncu disappear from the playing field. 'But my strategy is almost coming together. Just a little bit more, and I'll be able to summon my most powerful Infernoid!'

"Next, I set a card and end my turn!"

"Draw!" After drawing his card, Bastion stated, "I activate the effect of Void Purification! I target one of my Infernoid Monsters that was banished and return it to the Graveyard! I choose Infernoid Antra! Next, by banishing 3 Infernoid Monsters from my Graveyard and as long as the Levels of the controlled Monsters I have are around Level 8 or lower, I can Special Summon Infernoid Onunchu from my hand! I banish 2 other Devyatys from my Graveyard along with Infernoid Antra to do so!"

Infernoid Onuncu - (FIRE/Fiend) - LV10 - (3000/3000)

Infernoid Onuncu - (FIRE/Fiend) - LV1 - (3000/3000)

"When Infernoid Devyaty is Special Summoned, all Monsters on the field are destroyed except for him!"

"What?!" exclaimed Aster as his Doom Lord was destroyed. 'That means I can't use D-Shield and protect Doom Lord since he was destroyed! But, even if he lands a direct attack on me, I'll still have a chance to come back during my next turn!'

"I'm not done yet!" said Bastion. "From my hand, I Special Summon to the field Infernoid Devyaty, after banishing three other Infernoids from my Graveyard!"

Infernoid Devyaty - (FIRE/Fiend) - LV9 - (2900/2900)

Infernoid Devyaty - (FIRE/Fiend) - LV1 - (2900/2900)

"Devyaty's effect activates!" said Bastion. "When he's Special Summoned, all Spells and Traps except for Void cards are destroyed!"

'This can't be...! I am not losing! I am NOT losing!' Aster thought as his facedown card was destroyed, leaving him wide open for any direct attacks.

Bastion had everything in his playing field. Two very powerful Monsters that could easily wipe out Aster's Life Points in one fell swoop since his field is completely empty. No Monsters, Spells, or Traps. He was wide open for Bastion to attack.

And yet...Bastion decided to give Aster a chance to prove himself.

"You know, it's somewhat sad, seeing you like this. It's quite a disappointment," addressed Bastion. "You weren't giving it your all during this duel."

"Hah? What are you talking about?" questioned Aster.

"I could think of several flaws you've had during this duel and I won't even be trying hard enough," continued Bastion. "It's these flaws that are helping you lose this duel! And you can't blame anyone but yourself for the immature way you've been acting so far!"

"You don't know anything, so keep your useless comments to yourself!" snapped Aster.

"If I were to agree with you on that, either that'd be ironic, or I would be ashamed of calling myself a genius!" argued Bastion. "Aster, the reason why I'm calling this duel a disappointment is because you aren't acting like yourself; your cool and composed self. Now, you've grown more short-tempered, more hasty, and more angry! You're acting like a child on a tantrum!"

Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists at his side, Aster glared at Bastion, hoping that for once, the phrase, 'if looks could kill,' was actually true. "You little shit...! You call me a child on-!"

"I do! And this all stems from your motivation of revenge!" Bastion continued. "It's bad enough that you've been so obsessed with revenge, but you even had to drag innocent people in that meaningless quest for revenge! People that you've dueled, disrespected, and injured to the point of hospitalizing them! But, from the looks of things, you probably don't even care about your innocent victims, do you?!"

"And why should I?!" snapped Aster. "They were just nothing but worthless, annoying obstacles in my way! They wanted a duel? Fine! I beat them down just like every single criminal scum I've beaten! And if they didn't have the info or the card I needed?! Then they're useless to me! But now that I found out that The D was responsible for everything, there's no need to waste my time on scum on them!"

"There you go, treating everyone as though they're stepping stones to you!" yelled Bastion, pointing an accused finger at Aster. "Aster, I think it's time that someone engraved this little important fact into your stubborn head; something that should have been done a long time ago! Aster, you are not the best. You think that just because you're a Pro Duelist, that you're above people? That that gives you the right to disrespect others and even go so far as to harm them? That's not how a true duelist acts at all! A true duelist would never go so far as to do this!"

"...Are you finished?" snapped Aster coldly, having enough of Bastion's nonsense. "I don't care what you have to say! Pretty much everything you've been saying to me is completely nonsense and a waste of my time! Now hurry up already with your turn!"

Bastion sighed. At least he tried. "Fine...you know, you're quite fortunate, Aster. Two direct attacks from two very powerful Monsters will be more than enough to wipe your Life Points, but due to Void Imagination, the Battle Damage will be halved, so the total amount of damage you'll receive from two direct attacks from both my Infernoid Monsters will be added up to...2950."

That surprised Aster, but at the same time, brought good fortune to him. That meant that he still had a chance!

"Infernoids Devyaty and Onuncu! Attack Aster directly!"

Both Infernoids rose high in the skies before combining their fire breaths in a large, devastating unison fire-like storm, engulfing Aster in flames as well as filling his surroundings with flames.

Aster - 750 LP

Bastion - 700 LP

"I end my turn!"

"Gah...ah...My turn!" panted Aster, drawing his card. "I activate the Spell, Pot of Greed, and draw two cards!" 'This...is my last gamble! I'll bet it all on this!' "I activate the Spell, Fusion Destiny! I can Fusion Summon using cards from my hand or deck, and I'll choose Monsters from my deck! In exchange for this, though, I'll be forced to destroy my Fusion Monster at the end of the next turn!"

'Looks like Aster will be going all-out one more time...What sort of new Fusion Monster will he bring out?' wondered Bastion.

"I fuse three Destiny Heroes from my deck in order to Fusion Summon Destiny Hero Dominance to the field!"

Destiny Hero - Dominance - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV10 - (2900/2600)

'...A very foe, indeed,' acknowledged Bastion, curious. 'But what would he do with it now?'

"I end my turn!"

That surprised Bastion. 'What? Just like that? No, something's off...I'm certain of it! Maybe he's just waiting to power up Dominance? I know so little about this Monster! In fact, I've never even seen it until today! I'll have to trend carefully...At any rate, even if I don't do something, his Dominance will be destroyed at the end of this turn anyways...but what if he's aiming for that? His Fusion Monster must have some sort of special ability activated when destroyed by card effect! That's it! I must end this quickly!'

"My draw!" Bastion drew his card before ultimately deciding what his next move was. "I activate the second effect of Void Imagination! By sending it to the Graveyard, I can Fusion Summon an Infernoid Fusion Monster using Monsters from my hand or side of the field as Fusion-Materials! In addition, if you control a Monster Special Summoned from the Extra Deck, such as your Fusion Monster, and if I don't have any Extra Deck Monsters out, I can also use up to 6 Fusion-Material Monsters from my deck! Therefore, using my Infernoids Devyaty and Onuncu on the field, as well as the Infernoid Antra in my hand, and Infernoids Attondel, Harmadik, Patrulea, Piaty, Pirmalis, and Seitsemas from my deck, I'll Fusion Summon my most powerful Monster! I Fusion Summon Infernoid Tiera!"

Infernoid Tierra - (FIRE/Fiend) - LV11 - (3400/3600)

'To think that Bastion had some ultimate Fusion Monster on his own...Alright, BRING IT!' thought Aster, awaiting to overcome this challenge he's currently facing.

"Infernoid Tierra was created using around 9 Fusion-Materials," spoke up Bastion. "Of course, that means I must comply with his special abilities based on the number of Fusion-Materials used! First, we must send 3 cards from our Extra Decks to the Graveyard! Second, we must send the top 3 cards from our decks to the Graveyard! And finally, we can return up to 3 of our banished cards to the Graveyard!"

The two duelists followed Bastion's instructions based on Tierra's effects that were due to the numerous amounts of Fusion-Materials he had. This led to Bastion gaining somewhat of an advantage, especially from the third effect, whereas Aster found himself even more of a disadvantage from the first two effects.

It hardly would matter though, because soon, this duel was coming to a close.

'If I attack now, then I'll only inflict 500 Points of Damage. But if I attack with Hinotama, then his Life Points will be lowered even more and he'll lose!' thought Bastion. 'This will definitely ensure the destruction of his Fusion Monster as well as my victory, but if my hunch is correct, then something may happen should Dominance be destroyed by card effect! I can't let that happen! My decision is final! Plus, now, ' "I activate the Spell, Hinotama, and inflict 500 Points of Damage to you!"

Aster - 250 LP

Bastion - 700 LP

"Next, I attack with Tierra! Finish off Destiny Hero Dominance!"

As the mechanical winged firebreather and the powerful Destiny Hero of darkness clashed and engaged each other in combat to prove their worth over the other, Aster commenced with his actual plan. If he couldn't take down Bastion by brute force, he'll just have to drag Bastion down with him!

"From my hand, I activate the effect of Destiny Hero Dynatag!" announced Aster. "During either of our Damage Steps, when a Monster I control battles and my Life Points are lower than yours, I can send Dynatag from my hand to the Graveyard! No Battle Damage will come during our Monsters' battle, but in exchange, we both take 1000 Points of Damage!"

"What?!" exclaimed Bastion. "You're willing to go that far just to see me lose?!"

"Not just that! I'm already on the losing end, but if I'm going down, you're coming down with me!" shouted Aster just as Tierra and Dominance clashed one final time.

BOOM! A wide explosion illuminated the playing field, acting similar to a nuclear explosion. Once the light died down and the smoke cleared, the results were...catastrophic. Both duelists' Monsters were gone, and the duelists themselves were lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious and injured. Though, unfortunately, because Bastion was much closer to the explosion, he suffered more than Aster; his clothes tattered and burned, his wounds shown bleeding and burnt, whereas Aster was wounded, though not as much as Bastion, and he was even beginning to wake up, whereas the Ra Yellow wasn't.

Aster - 0 LP

Bastion - 0 LP

Duel: Tie

"BASTION! ASTER!" shrieked Elize, horrified to see the two boys' states. Out of the two, she hurried to Bastion's aid first, gently and carefully flipping him over so that he was facing front inside of laying facedown. Waves of shock rippled through her spine when she saw up-close more of how badly Bastion's state was. He was definitely bleeding from several of his wounds, including a serious head wound along with bruising that needed immediate medical attention.

Having woken up, Aster hissed in pain from his own injuries, but stood up with his own feet seconds later. He was already injured from his duel with The D earlier, but now he had gotten slightly more injured from the explosion that resulted in a tie. Even if he didn't mean collateral damage, he wasn't going to go down without a fight, that's for sure, even if that meant hurting Bastion!

'What an idiot!' thought Aster, glaring at Bastion. 'This is what you get for getting in my way! If you don't want to get hurt, you should have stayed out of my way! Now because of your interference, you have nothing but yourself to blame for your injuries!'

"Bastion! BASTION! Wake up! You have to!"

Cradling a heavily battered and unconscious Bastion in her arms, Elize pleads for him to wake up as tears fell down her face, terrified and concerned for her friend. Though grief-stricken, she was relieved to realize signs of Bastion still alive, such as him coughing for air, his injured body trembling, and groans escaping his mouth.

'How...did this happen?! Why did this happen?!' thought Elize, holding Bastion close as snot and tears drippled down even more. 'This wasn't supposed to happen...Nobody was supposed to get hurt-! I...I...! Bastion, please, wake up! PLEASE!'

Stepping up, Aster spoke rather coldly, "This is your fault. If you and that idiot Bastion hadn't gotten in my way, your friend wouldn't have gotten hurt. I guess it's quite fortunate for you, Elize, because Bastion practically took the blow for you when he challenged me first instead of dragging you along for a 2-1 duel." Pointing to Bastion, Aster continued, "Let the results of our duel be a warning to you, Elize! You get in my way, you're gonna end up like him, as well as all the other worthless weaklings I've already dueled!"

Trembling out of fear, Elize sniffled and was stuttering as she was trying to convey her words out while crying. "B-But...y-you didn't h-have to go this f-"

"For the love of-SPEAK CLEARLY AND STOP STUTERING OR JUST SHUT UP AND STAY THAT WAY!" snapped Aster impatiently. "You've already wasted my time so I am NOT in the mood to play Mr. Nice!"

Gritting her teeth in order to keep herself together, Elize tried her best to stop stuttering. "A-Aster...this was too much! Bastion, he-he's really hurt! I mean, really, really, hurt! This is...this is probably even worst than all the other duelists you-he-he-he needs medical attention, fast! Aster, please help-I-I don't think I-"

"After the shit you and Bastion did to stop me? After trying all your worthless and wasteful efforts to convince me otherwise? You can clean up your own sorry shit yourselves! You two got yourselves into this damn mess, so you clean it up! Leave me out of this!" scoffed Aster harshly. Knowing that Elize was crying, Aster further put salt in the wounds by mocking, "What? You think crying's going to change anything? You think just because you're crying for your friend, that you'll gain sympathy from me? That I'll help you out of the 'kindness' of my heart? GET REAL, ELIZE!"

Gulping down and trying to clear her throat, Elize tried to say, "B-But he's really hurt! He needs medical attention! Bastion-"

"And here you are, acting like a damn broken record on replay! I thought that after training you for a long while, you'd grow a spine, much bigger than the time when you stood up to your friends, but you're still the annoying, shy, and naïve weakling that I know and hate! You remind me so much of my past self; weak, naïve, and unable to do anything! But that's besides the point!"

Constantly sniffling and crying, Elize's mind was split between concern for Bastion and hurt from Aster. She tried to say something, anything, but all that escaped from her mouth were sobs and sniffles that she found herself unable to stop.

Aster didn't even hesitate to show his disgust at her. "Your sniveling and crying...you disgust me. You're just proving to me even more about how annoying and naïve you truly are! Well, news flash! The REAL world doesn't care about your crying! It won't give you sympathy! It won't hug you and tell you everything's alright! No, the real world is cold! Harsh! Heartless! So much corruption, evil, and injustice that it could never be contained! There's a difference between you and me, Elize! You probably grew up with a caring and close family, never having to experience the cruel parts of the world! Me? I had to experience all that while training to be a Pro Duelist! All while watching my back, avoiding any scams, dueling as though my life was on the line! And now, the one person whom I had initially thought to be like a second father to me, the one person whom I've trusted up till now, was nothing more than a fraud and a killer! You may not know this now, but eventually, when you go out and experience the real world, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about! Fools like you and Bastion have no place interfering with MY destiny!"

"Aster..." Looking up, Aster saw Sheppard approaching, looking quite stern, angered, and disappointed. "You...you've gone too far-!"

"Chancellor." Aster was still tense from his previous duel and his rant at Elize, but did slightly relax at Sheppard. "I'm just disciplining a naïve fool who-"

"No, what you've been doing is tormenting and ranting!" snapped Sheppard. "For too long, I've overlooked your duels with the other Genex Tournament participants, how you've always hurt the ones you've dueled and took away their decks only to toss them as though they were nothing! But no more! I won't allow you to continue this path of violence any longer!"

"So, just like those two weaklings, you're going to stop me and my quest for vengeance?!" accused Aster. "Stay out of it, Chancellor! The only reason why I had to deal with Bastion was because he got in my way!"

"And look what happened!" Sheppard addressed, pointing to Bastion. "Another innocent student is going to be hospitalized because of you! Do you not have any remorse, any shame, for what you've done?!"

"Not in the slightest," said Aster. "When it came down to it, I was willing to risk everything just to find the truth of what happened to my father, even if it resorted to using dirty tactics!"

"Aster, you-!"

As the two men were arguing, Elize had gone silent, still cradling Bastion close to her as though to act as a means of comfort. Her mind and emotions were all jumbled up and growing increasingly out of control as efforts to calming herself down were failing. She didn't know what to do now! Everything had gone so horribly wrong! She and Bastion-they just wanted to stop Aster from crossing the line of revenge, but they didn't think it would end up like this! She wanted to stop Aster, but at the same time, her concern for Bastion was more overcoming the need of stopping Aster! But, at the same time, if she doesn't stop him now, he might do more than hurt more people to get his way! But, Bastion's health was top priority no matter what her emotions told her!

"E-El..."

Glancing down, Elize saw Bastion coughing and trying to get her attention. "Bastion-! You're okay-! No wait, you're not okay! You just got hit by an explosion! Don't worry, Bastion! We'll get you help and-"

"N-No, I-I'll be fine..." coughed Bastion, placing a hand on her arm before attempting to get up.

"B-Bastion! You shouldn't be moving! You should lie down and rest!"

"I'll be alright...I...I just didn't expect Aster to pull off a kamikaze tactic..." chuckled Bastion, gripping onto Elize's arm and shoulder and trying to push himself up. Realizing that Bastion wasn't going to stop, Elize at least stood up with Bastion, helping him up and wrapping his arm around her shoulders and trying to get him to lean towards her for support.

"Listen...Elize...That duel...there was actually another reason I wanted to duel Aster other than just try to stop him."

"Bastion...?"

"Just...hear me out, okay? The other reason was because...I wanted you to witness the duel between me and Aster..."

Tears continued to drip down her face as Elize looked down in shame. "I'm sorry, Bastion-! I'm so, so, sorry! If I had known it would come to this, I would have done everything to stop this, I swear!"

"I know...you're too nice for that...but, at the same time, I didn't want you to, because I wanted you to see Aster for who he truly was..."

"W-What do you mean?"

"Aster is in a lot of pain, and I don't just mean physically," coughed Bastion. "He...he's emotionally hurt from not just the pain of losing his father, but also from the shock of finding out the truth, as well as being forced to grow up so quickly to become a Pro League Duelist...but still..." Bastion scrunched up his face, attempting to make a stern and serious expression. "But even so...that gives him no excuse for the crimes he's done, the people he's hurt...and since I provoked him, I've made him expose a lot of his strengths, weaknesses, and even how much pain and anger he's been holding in..."

"At the cost of you being so critically injured!" argued Elize.

Bastion coughed some more. "I-It was worth it...for you to witness it all..." Gripping her hand with his, Bastion told her, "Elize...I'm sorry if I have to burden you with this task...but I must...Please, defeat Aster...but not just with your dueling skills...I know...you don't like hurting people with your words even with the truth...but I can tell, you want to say something to Aster...so, let him have it...Just like I heard you did to Jaden for my behalf...For your sake, mine, and even Aster's...you need to do everything within your power to stop Aster from going down this violent path of vengeance..."

"But...why me?" questioned Elize. "Bastion-"

"The...the entire purpose of this plan isn't quite for you to win, though that would be quite nice for Aster to get a taste of his own medicine," admitted Bastion, chuckling. "But, more importantly, it's to get Aster to realize that...he's wrong. His path of vengeance...it won't satisfy anyone, not even himself...It won't appease his dead father, and it certainly won't help anyone...Only he can realize for himself before truly moving on..."

"Bastion...I..."

Elize's ears then caught wind of the intense argument between Aster and Sheppard that was still continuing even after what happened with Bastion. Both were unwilling to give in to the other, and their argument didn't appear to be heading anywhere except taking even more of a turn for the worst. If nothing was to be done, then something drastic or even more terrible may occur.

"You can't keep doing this, Aster!" protested Sheppard. "Not only is this path ruthless, it's wrong! You'll only end up endangering and hurting people in the process!"

"Only if they keep getting in my way! I keep telling people not to get in my way, but instead, they keep doing the opposite!" yelled Aster. "Chancellor, if you, too, get in my way, then I won't hesitate to bring you down, just like Bastion!"

"Aster, if you continue down this route, I WILL have no choice but to stop you," assured Sheppard, getting ready to equip his own duel disk. "I may not be a Pro Duelist, but I am quite experienced in many other teachings."

"Hmph! You think just because of that little fact, that'll be enough to stop me?" scoffed Aster. "I'll knock you down just like all the other duels I've faced so far! Then, once I'm done with you, I'll track down The D and avenge my father! Even if it means chasing him down to the ends of the Earth!"

"Aster..." Sheppard's expression softened, filled with nothing but sympathy and sorrow for the young man. "Please...don't do this. I don't wish to fight you, and while I am willing to do so in order to stop you, I still wish to resolve this peacefully. Please, I know how painful it must have felt, losing your father at such a young age, but do you really, truly believe that this is what he would have want-"

"Oh, don't give me that sort of bullcrap!" snapped Aster. "Fine, maybe I don't know what he would have wanted, but my father definitely deserves some justice! He died because of some scum, and I'll be damned if I let The D get away with this!"

"And what about your friends? Bastion, Elize, Jaden, and everyone else? If you just talked to them-"

"Those annoyances were NEVER my friends!" Aster bellowed. "You must have a screw loose if you thought for one SECOND that I ever thought of them as friends! I thought Bastion and Elize might be useful to me, but they were not only a waste of time and worthless, but they got in my way of my revenge! They deserved every bit of what's coming to them!"

Horrified, Sheppard questioned, "Do you mean...hurting them?"

"Yes! Bastion deserved the explosive beatdown after challenging me to a duel! He and everyone else are just hindrances! Weaklings that I don't have time to spare a second glance at! My destiny is finding and ending The D to avenge my father! And after him, Sartorius and the Society of Light are next! And afterwards, I can get on with my life and away from this pathetic island!" declared Aster. "NO ONE will get in my way! NO ONE will interfere in my revenge! And NO ONE is going to stop me from accomplishing my DESTINY!"

"I...I will!" spoke up Elize, stepping forward while still carrying Bastion. "I'll get in your way!" She turned to Sheppard and gently placed Bastion's body in his care. "Could...could you take care of Bastion for me?"

Realizing what she was going to do, Sheppard carefully adjusted Bastion's body into a more comfortable position as he looked at Elize with concern. "Elize...are you sure about this?"

Elize gulped and shook her head. "No...But I'm going to have to do it anyways..."

"...So, you aren't going to let me go, regardless of the situation?" questioned Aster.

Elize obliged his question with a nod, trying to swallow her fear. "T-That's right! I won't let you pass!"

Glancing over to Bastion, who was groaning all the way as he was being carried to a safer distance, Aster told her, "You know...my last duel ended in a tie, and we did set conditions on whether or not who would win or lose."

"Hmm...?"

"Elize, you and I both know there's only one way to settle this," said Aster, turning to her before gripping her finger from his forehead so tightly, if he asserted more pressure onto it, it just might crack. "A duel to decide everything our destinies!"

Elize really didn't want to Aster, as in, she REALLY didn't want to. Not just because she felt that she stood no chance against him, but also because she felt that Bastion's health and upmost need to seek medical attention was far more important than some duel!

"If you don't duel me right now, you'll never get another chance like this again!" Aster warned. "You can go and help Bastion if you want, but the second you do, I'll just walk away and find The D on my own!"

"Elize!" called out Sheppard, who was a bit far away, but could still see what was happening alongside Bastion. "I'll take care of Bastion! We're safe right here! I've already called a medical team, so they'll be here soon! So, you can deal with Aster yourself without any worries, alright?"

Despite her feelings and desire to help Bastion as well, Elize knew that Sheppard was right. The Chancellor's eyes met with hers, as, though reaching a unique understanding, both nodded to each other, as if acknowledging each others' actions. In fact, Bastion did specifically request for this sort of thing to happen, so for his sake and Aster's, she has no other choice but to stop Aster himself. "Alright, Aster."

"Finally..." Aster stepped back a good distance between activating his duel disk. 'I wasn't expecting three duels in a row, but then again, as a Pro Duelist, I have to be prepared for trivial things like this! I'll duel her, win, and then close this chapter on my life for good!'

'There's only so much I can do in this duel,' thought Elize. 'Even so, for Bastion's sake, I...I have to win! If there's even a chance of winning, even if a small one, then I'll take it!'

Bastion was safe in Sheppard's care for now, so Elize didn't have to worry about him. That meant that she could now concentrate fully on the duel without any interference. She was ready.

"DUEL!"

- DUEL -

Elize - 4000 LP

VS

Aster - 4000 LP

"I'll be generous and let you go first!" said Aster. "But trust me, it's the least you deserve!"

Elize didn't buy that and thought, 'He's only saying that because he knows that my deck's advantages are usually found in the second turn, because then, I can identity the other opponent's Attribute for my Charmer Monsters. Maybe I can take that to my advantage, instead! Take him by surprise!'

"I draw!" said Elize. "I activate the Ritual Spell, Doriado's Blessing! I sacrifice the Level 3 Blazing Hiita from my hand in order to Ritual Summon Elemental Mistress Doriado in Defense Mode!"

Elemental Mistress Doriado - (LIGHT/Spellcaster/Ritual) - LV3 - (1200/1400)

Taken aback, Aster thought, 'I don't think I've ever seen her using Rituals during our training duels! She normally uses Fusions, relies on the Flip effects of her Charmers, or hides behind high walls of defense! She's either trying something new, or she has some sort of new strategy!'

"Next, I activate the Continuous Spell, Ritual Cage!" said Elize. "With this, I take no Battle Damage from attacks involving a Ritual Monster I control, and in addition, Ritual Monsters can't be targeted or destroyed by Monster effects! I set a card and end my turn!"

'And there it is, one of her defensive strategies! Nothing I can't penetrate from!' thought Aster before drawing his card. "I activate the Field Spell, Clock Tower Prison!"

Upon rumbling across the playing field and emerging from underground, a large clock tower appeared along with walls surrounding the entire dueling field as the skies darkened to match the looming feeling of despair and dread within Clock Tower Prison.

'One of Aster's really strong cards! I have to get rid of it as soon as possible!' thought Elize. 'But right now, I don't have Mystical Space Typhoon or anything like that in my hand right now, so I'm just going to have to be patient!'

"Next, I activate the Spell, D - Spirit from my hand!" announced. "If there aren't any Destiny Heroes on my field, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Destiny Hero from my hand! I Special Summon Destiny Hero Diamond Dude!"

Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude - (DARK/Warrior) - LV4 - (1400/1600)

"Diamond Dude's effect activates! Once per turn, I can draw the top card of my deck, and if it's a Normal Spell card, by sending that card to the Graveyard, I can activate its effect next turn! The card I drew was Graceful Charity!"

'There's no doubt in my mind that he'll definitely activate Graceful Charity's effect,' Elize thought. 'But, the Clock Tower Prison is much more of a problem to deal with than Graceful Charity.'

Aster continued his turn. "Next, I set three cards facedown and end my turn!"

"My turn, draw!" said Elize, drawing her card.

"Clock Tower Prison's effect activates!" interrupted Aster as Clock Tower Prison struck 3:00. "Each time your Standby Phase arrives, a Clock Counter is placed onto Clock Tower Prison!"

Clock Tower Prison - 1 Clock Counter

Despite this, Elize wasn't really discouraged as she had some time before the true effects of Clock Tower Prison could take effect. "I activate the Spell, Polymerization! I fuse together Lyna the Light Charmer as well as Raging Eria to Fusion Summon Isis the Ice Charmer in Attack Mode!"

Isis the Ice Charmer - (WATER/Fusion/Spellcaster) - LV6 - (1900/2100)

"Isis' effect activates! Once per turn, I can declare either the LIGHT or WATER Attribute, and for every Monster on the field whose Attribute I declare is the same, I gain 400 Life Points for each one! I choose LIGHT, and since I have 2 LIGHT Attribute Monsters, I gain 800 Life Points!"

Elize - 4800 LP

Aster - 4000 LP

Knowing that Delay Armor's effect will prevent Decider from being destroyed, Elize turned her attention onto her next target: Diamond Dude. "Isis, please attack Diamond Dude!"

Twirling her weapon around, Isis pointed it at Diamond Dude and sent spikes of ice at him, penetrating his defenses before he exploded.

Elize - 4800 LP

Aster - 3500 LP

"At this moment, I activate my Trap, Destiny Signal!" shouted Aster. "Because a Monster of mine was destroyed, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Destiny Hero Monster from my deck to my field! I Special Summon Captain Tenacious!"

Destiny Hero - Captain Tenacious - (DARK/Warrior) - LV3 - (800/800)

Knowing Captain Tenacious' effect, Elize thought, 'This is bad...Captain Tenacious' effect will allow him to revive a Destiny Hero that was destroyed this turn during Aster's next turn! That means that Aster will be able to revive Diamond Dude! But, as long as I keep my cool and keep my defenses up, I should be alright!'

"I end my turn!"

"My turn, draw!" said Aster. "At this moment, due to Captain Tenacious' effect, once per turn, during my Standby Phase, I can now revive the Diamond Dude that was destroyed by battle last turn!"

Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude - (DARK/Warrior) - LV4 - (1400/1600)

"And now, I'll activate Graceful Charity's effect from my Graveyard! I draw three cards, and then discard two! I then activate Diamond Dude's effect once more to draw a card! ...The card I drew is Destiny Draw, so I'll send that to the Graveyard! From my hand, I now summon Dread Servant to the field!"

Destiny Hero - Dread Servant - (DARK/Warrior) - LV3 - (400/700)

"Dread Servant's effect activates! When he's Normal or Special Summoned, I can place a Clock Counter onto Clock Tower Prison!"

As Elize gasped in surprise, the Clock Tower Prison rotated its clock clockwise, reaching 6:00.

Clock Tower Prison - 2 Clock Counters

'It's okay! I still have some time!' thought Elize.

"Then, I activate my other Trap, Eternal Dread!" shouted Aster. "I get to place 2 more Clock Counters!"

"Oh! That means that Clock Tower Prison will have 4 Clock Counters!" gasped Sheppard.

"And...and that'll mean that Aster won't be hit with any sort of Battle Damage, making it much more difficult for Elize now," panted Bastion.

The activation of Eternal Dread caused the Clock Tower Prison to rotate six hours further, reaching all the way to midnight as the bell tower chimed loudly.

Clock Tower Prison - 4 Clock Counters

"Now, I activate the Spell, Polymerization!" continued Aster. "I fuse together Diamond Dude and Captain Tenacious in order to Fusion Summon Destiny Hero Dystopia!"

Destiny Hero - Dystopia - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (2800/2400)

'One of Aster's ace Monsters! This is really bad!' thought Elize. 'Not only does Clock Tower Prison's effect prevents him from taking any Battle Damage now that he has 4 Clock Counters, but Dystopia is on a whole different level, too! I knew this was going to be tough, but...No, stay calm, Elize! You can do it! You HAVE to!'

"Dystopia's effect activates! When he's Fusion Summoned, I deal damage to you equal to one of his Fusion-Material's Attack Points! I'll choose Diamond Dude! Now, take 1400 Points of Damage!"

Dystopia thrusted his light-embedded palm forward, sending a light-wave pulse towards Elize, knocking her off her feet and flat on her bottom.

Elize - 3400 LP

Aster - 3500 LP

"Now, Dread Servant! Attack Isis the Ice Charmer!"

Having dueled Aster many times over during their training duels, Elize tried to rile up her mind, trying to figure out what Aster's game plan was right now. 'Why would he attack with Dread Servant? He's much more weaker than Isis! Clock Tower Prison will definitely prevent him from taking any Battle Damage, but...unless Dread Servant has a second-Oh! OH NO!'

Seeing Elize's shocked expression, Aster smirked. "I assume you figured out what I've been trying to do, don't you?"

Elize thought, 'Regardless, I have to take out him out! I was waiting for Dystopia to attack, but this is more important!' "I activate my Trap card, Mirror Force-!"

"And I activate my Counter Trap, Trap Jammer!" countered Aster. "This negates and destroys your Trap!"

Elize flinched when her Mirror Force Trap card exploded, and from the explosion and smoke came the sight of Isis taking down Dread Servant with a single ice spell, destroying him. Due to Clock Tower Prison having 4 Clock Counters, though, even thought Dread Servant was in Attack Mode and was destroyed, Aster wouldn't receive any Battle Damage.

The non-existent Battle Damage was only a beneficial bonus, though. What Aster really sought after was Dread Servant's effect.

"Dread Servant's effect activates!" Aster said. "When he's destroyed in battle, I can destroy 1 Spell or Trap I control! I'm destroying Clock Tower Prison!"

Heavy, stormy winds scoured across the playing field as Clock Tower Prison began to crumble and remnants of its crumbling and destroyed pieces started flying away.

"When Clock Tower Prison with 4 or more Clock Counters is destroyed, I can Special Summon 1 Destiny Hero Monster from my deck, hand, or Graveyard! From my deck, I Special Summon Destiny Hero Dreadmaster!"

Destiny Hero - Dreadmaster - (DARK/Warrior) - LV8 - (?/?)

"Now Dreadmaster's effect activates! His effect destroys all Monsters I control except for Destiny Heroes, but there's no need to worry about that since all my other Monsters are Destiny Heroes anyways. Now, I get to Special Summon up to 2 Destiny Heroes from my Graveyard! Come forth, Captain Tenacious and Diamond Dude!"

Destiny Hero - Captain Tenacious - (DARK/Warrior) - LV3 - (800/800)

Destiny Hero - Diamond Dude - (DARK/Warrior) - LV4 - (1400/1600)

"Dreadmaster's effect makes it so that his Attack and Defense Points are the combined, original Attack and Defense Points of all other Destiny Heroes on my field!"

Destiny Hero - Dreadmaster - (DARK/Warrior) - LV8 - (5000/4800)

'I didn't expect to be facing him this soon! This is really bad!' thought Elize. 'While I know his weakness may be that if any of the other Destiny Heroes are destroyed, his power will significantly decrease, but right now, it's too massive for me to take on offensively!'

Thinking he pretty much had this duel in the bag, Aster proceeded to attack. "You lasted so much longer in our training duels. What a shame and a waste! Dystopia, destroy her Isis!"

Dystopia and Isis flew at each other and engaged in combat, with Dystopia using his close combat tactics and Isis relying more on her spellcraft. In the end, though, Dystopia had more of the advantage and eliminated Isis.

Elize - 2500 LP

Aster - 3500 LP

Unfortunately, while Elize's last remaining Monster, Elemental Mistress Doriado, was in Defense Mode and under the effect of Ritual Cage, that didn't mean she couldn't be destroyed in battle, which Aster was now aiming for. Fortunately for her, though, two of Aster's weakest Monsters couldn't pierce through Doriado's defenses, as the only Monster who could at the moment was Dreadmaster.

"Dreadmaster! Destroy her Ritual Monster!"

All it took was one punch from Dreadmaster to take out Doriado, causing the Ritual Cage to shatter as Doriado was sent to the Graveyard. But, this left Elize with no other cards on her field.

"Diamond Dude! Captain Tenacious! She's wide open! Attack her directly!"

A hail of diamonds and spikes rained down on Elize as she tried to shield herself with her arms to block out as much pain as possible. The combination from the two direct attacks was almost nearly enough to wipe out the remainder of her Life Points.

Elize - 300 LP

Aster - 3500 LP

"I end my turn by setting a card facedown!"

'The power of a Pro Duelist may be too much for Elize, even if she has been training with one,' thought Sheppard, noting how much of a huge disadvantage she's at. 'If she doesn't make some sort of miraculous comeback soon, then...she'll lose...'

"I draw!" said Elize, drawing her card. 'This could refill my hand, but at the same time, grant Aster a huge advantage in filling his hand, too! But, I have no other cards in my hand, so I'll just have to go for it!' "I activate the Spell, Card of Sanctity, meaning we both draw until we have 6 cards in our hands!"

'Giving her opponent more of an advantage? Didn't I teach her not to?' thought Aster, disappointed. 'Then again, I can hardly blame her, given her current situation.'

After drawing her cards, Elize's mind was filled with new strategies to try until she decided on one. "I activate the Spell, Fusion Recovery, bringing back one Polymerization and a Fusion-Material Monster! I choose Raging Eria! Next, I fuse both Raging Eria and Dharc the Dark Charmer from my hand in order to Fusion Summon Luna the Moon Charmer!"

Luna the Moon Charmer - (DARK/Spellcaster) - LV7 - (2500/2100)

"Next, I activate the Spell, Monster Reincarnation! By discarding a card from my hand, I can return a Monster from the Graveyard back to my hand! I choose Dharc the Dark Charmer I now set a Monster facedown!"

'Knowing her, it's probably Dharc the Dark Charmer,' thought Aster. 'Figures, considering that my Destiny Heroes are DARK Attributes. If she succeeds in escaping with that Set Monster of hers next turn, she could easily take control of either Dystopia or Dreadmaster! I can't let that happen!'

"Let's battle! Luna, please attack Captain Tenacious!"

Raising her arm, Luna gathered magic power for an offensive moon magic spell before blasting Captain Tenacious with the full force of her spell.

Elize - 300 LP

Aster - 1800 LP

If Elize had chosen to attack Diamond Dude, Dreadmaster's Attack and Defense Points would have further decreased due to Diamond Dude being the second weakest Monster on Aster's field, but Elize chose Captain Tenacious not just because it would reduce Aster's Life Points much more greatly, but had she had attached Diamond Dude, Aster would have just resurrected him using Captain Tenacious' effect, which would have been disastrous.

Destiny Hero - Dreadmaster - (DARK/Warrior) - LV8 - (4200/4000)

"I set 2 cards and end my turn!"

"My turn, draw!" said Aster. 'Her Luna's special ability is troublesome, but I have to take care of a more important threat; her Set Monster!' "Here I go! My turn! I activate the effect of Destiny Draw from my Graveyard! By discarding a Destiny Hero from my hand, I can draw two more cards! I discard Drawhand! Time for battle! But first, I activate the effect of Destiny Hero Blade Master from my hand! During either of our Battle Phases, by discarding him from my hand, all Destiny Heroes I control gain 800 extra Attack Points until the end of this turn!"

Destiny Hero - Dystopia - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (3600/2400)

Destiny Hero - Dreadmaster - (DARK/Warrior) - LV8 - (5000/4000)

"Dystopia's effect activates! By changing his Attack or Defense Points, once per turn, he can destroy a card on the field! And I choose your Set Monster!" Judging from the surprised expression formed on Elize's face, Aster assumed that he must have guessed the identity of her mysterious Monster correctly. "Just as I thought, it's your Dharc the Dark Charmer, isn't it? You're so predictable, Elize! It's why you could never beat me, even during our training sessions! You're a fool to think that you had even a 1% chance of winning against me! Your surprised look says it all!"

"...No, that's not it," corrected Elize, shaking her head. "I'm just surprised...that I was the one who predicted your strategy. Me, a young non-Pro Duelist against an actual Pro."

"What?"

To make her point, Elize said, "I activate my Trap, Divine Wrath! When your Dystopia's Monster effect activates, I can discard a card, negate the activation, and then destroy Dystopia!"

Taken aback, Aster reacted quickly. "I send Delay Armor to the Graveyard, and until the end of this turn, Dystopia cannot be destroyed in battle or by card effects!"

Dystopia first plunged his palm forward to send a devastating power palm at Elize's Set Monster, but she protected it by activating Divine Wrath, which sent a large lightning bolt to intercept the power palm before bursting apart, at the expense of the Delay Armor previously protecting Dystopia.

"Aster..." spoke up Elize, looking at him with a serious face. "Don't underestimate me. You and I both know how hard I've been training under you, so naturally, since you know my deck so well, I know yours, too, especially since you've used Dystopia to beat me over and over again. You really think I didn't have some sort of countermeasure against me, especially at a time like him? It was obvious that you were going to use his ability and even more obvious that you planned on using him against me. If you thought I didn't take our studies seriously, then you clearly didn't know me that well!"

Not willing to submit, Aster demanded, "And where did this smartass attitude come from? You think that just because you've gotten some knowledge over my deck, that you can act all high-and-mighty and confident? I told you not to let overconfidence cloud your mind, or did you forget?"

"...Isn't that hypocrisy, coming from you?" wondered Elize, further angering Aster. "But, I can see that you're getting angry, so why don't we just continue where we left off?"

"...Fine! Dystopia, destroy her Set Monster!"

"I won't let you! I activate my other Trap, Primordial Shift!" Elize countered. "If you try and target one of my Monsters, then I can shift that target towards one of my own Charmer Monsters, and I choose my Luna! And, at this moment, I activate Luna's effect! When she's attacked, she can negate one attack, and then I gain Life Points equal to the Attack Points of the Monster who attacked her! So, I receive 3600 Life Points!"

Dystopia's attention immediately shifted to Luna, who deflected his punch with a transparent, blue-colored barrier surrounding her and Elize. The force behind the punch caused some sort of moonshine effect on Elize, healing her Life Points.

Elize - 3900 LP

Aster - 2400 LP

'Healing...Another troublesome trait of Elize's deck!' thought Aster. As much as he wanted to get rid of Luna right now, he knew he had to take care of Elize's Set Monster, but the only other Monster capable of doing that would be his Dreadmaster, because his Diamond Dude's Attack Points couldn't penetrate through the 1500 Defense Points Dharc had! At the same time, though, if he didn't take care of her Set Monster, then she would Flip Summon Dharc and use his effect to take control of one of his stronger DARK Attribute Monsters!

"...Dreadmaster, attack her Set Monster! Wipe out Dharc the Dark Charmer!"

Leaping into the air, Dreadmaster then crashed down onto the Set Monster. But, much to everyone's shock, the Set Monster wasn't Dharc the Dark Charmer, but a Spellcaster-Type Monster called Magical Undertaker, who was much weaker in terms of Attack and Defense Points than Dharc the Dark Charmer, so he was destroyed.

Even Bastion hadn't expected something like that, but now that he thought about it, it did make sense. Aster and Elize both dueled each other many times to the point where they knew each others' cards, or at least, most of their cards. If there was a Monster that could turn the tables on Aster if he were to be Flip Summoned, there was no way Aster was going to give Elize the chance to summon him.

"Huh?! I thought your Set Monster was going to be your Dark Charmer!" shouted Aster, taken aback.

"...I never really did say that my Set Monster was going to be Dharc," admitted Elize. "You just assumed that yourself."

Aster bit back any words he planned on barking, only gritting his teeth. If this was going to be the case, he should have had Dreadmaster finish off Luna the Moon Charmer, since her negated healing ability only lasts once per turn, but now, if he attacked her Luna again, then Elize would only negate the attack and heal her Life Points again in his next Battle Phase! Worst, she can't even be destroyed by Dystopia's effect because of her non-destructive card effect!

Before Aster could continue his turn, Elize intervened. "I activate the Flip effect of Magical Undertaker! I can target a Level 4 or lower Spellcaster in my Graveyard and then Special Summon it! I Special Summon Raging Eria in Defense Mode!"

Raging Eria - (WATER/Spellcaster) - LV4 - (800/1500)

"...I activate Diamond Dude's effect to draw a card and see if it's a Spell card!" Upon drawing his card, Aster noted that it wasn't a Normal Spell card this time and was forced to place the drawn card on the bottom of his deck. "I set a card and end my turn! At this time, both Dreadmaster and Dystopia's Attack Points returns to normal!"

Destiny Hero - Dreadmaster - (DARK/Warrior) - LV8 - (4200/4000)

Destiny Hero - Dystopia - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (2800/2400)

"At this moment, Luna's effect activates!" said Elize. "Because I used her healing ability this turn, you receive half of the Life Points I received this turn!"

Elize - 3900 LP

Aster - 4200 LP

'Well, that's at least one good thing that came out of this turn,' thought Aster, calming down.

"I draw!" After drawing her card, Elize thought, 'It's a good thing that I thought to put Magical Undertaker down instead of Dharc, because it's just as I thought, Aster knew my deck so well, that he knew that I might put down Dharc, but he was wrong this time.' "I play Graceful Charity, letting me draw three new cards but discard 2 from my hand! ...Okay, I activate the Spell, Incantation Mirage! By targeting a non Fusion-Material Charmer and a Charmer previously used as a Fusion-Material from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon them! I choose one of the cards I discarded, Hiita the Fire Charmer, and Lyna the Light Charmer in Defense Mode! However, their Attack and Defense Points will be 0!"

Hiita the Fire Charmer - (FIRE/Spellcaster) - LV3 - (0/0)

Lyna the Light Charmer - (LIGHT/Spellcaster) - LV3 - (0/0)

Glancing down at Dharc's card in her hand, Elize thought, 'I don't think I'm going to be able to trick Aster twice if I set him down now, so instead, I'll just do this!' "I sacrifice Raging Eria in order to Tribute Summon Dark Magician Girl!"

Dark Magician Girl - (DARK/Spellcaster) - LV6 - (2000/1700)

"I attack! Dark Magician Girl, please wipe out Diamond Dude!"

"I activate my Continuous Trap, Urban Demise!" shouted Aster. "Once per turn, when you declare an attack, I can target a Destiny Hero I control, and it gains 100 extra Attack Points! I choose Dystopia!"

Destiny Hero - Dystopia - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (2900/2400)

"Dystopia's effect activates! When his Attack Points change during either of our turns, once per turn, I can have him destroy a card, and I choose Dark Magician Girl!"

Dystopia's strength further increased, and at the same time, he used his newfound strength to destroy Dark Magician Girl with a powerful blast.

Left with no other choice, Elize knew she had to attack Diamond Dude with her other remaining Monster, Luna the Moon Charmer. "Luna, please attack Diamond Dude!"

Shooting a fully-powered moonbeam blast from her palms, Luna obliterated Diamond Dude, leaving no trace of him.

Elize - 3900 LP

Aster - 3100 LP

With Diamond Dude gone, that meant that Dreadmaster's Attack and Defense Points drastically decreased.

Destiny Hero - Dreadmaster - (DARK/Warrior) - LV8 - (2800/2400)

"I guess now, I'll end my turn!"

"My turn, draw!" said Aster. "I activate the effect of Destiny Hero Drawhand! Due to his effect, he can return to my field from my Graveyard, but in exchange, he'll be banished if he ever leaves the field!"

Destiny Hero - Drawhand - (DARK/Warrior) - LV4 - (1600/800)

"And with another Destiny Hero on the field, my Dreadmaster's strength increases once again!"

Destiny Hero - Dreadmaster - (DARK/Warrior) - LV8 - (4400/3200)

"I now attack your Lyna with my Drawhand!"

Proving to be as sharp and swift as his name, Drawhand quickly drew his gun-shaped hand in less than a blinking second before shooting an energy bullet at Lyna, taking her out.

Aster then scowled. "This is going to be troublesome...but, Dystopia! Take out Elize's Fusion Monster!"

Knowing she had to do everything to defend herself, Elize shouted, "I activate Luna's effect to negate one attack when she's being attacked! Now I gain Life Points equal to Dystopia's current Attack Points!"

Elize - 6800 LP

Aster - 3100 LP

"Now you're finished! That ability your Luna has can only last once per turn! Which means Dreadmaster will take her out now!"

Dreadmaster crash landed near Luna and utterly crushed her under his strong and large chains that he used for battle instead of merely his own physical strength in the form of fists.

Elize - 4900 LP

Aster - 3100 LP

"...I set a card and end my turn," finished Aster, deciding to end things on his part for now.

"My turn...draw!" said Elize, drawing her card, which revealed to be Monster Reborn. 'Monster Reborn...a very powerful and useful card to play. It'll let me Special Summon any Monster from the Graveyard, even from Aster's. I have to think this through carefully, though...'

"...If you don't take this more seriously, then you'll no doubt lose!" called out Aster, taunting her.

"What do you think I've been doing?" questioned Elize, getting a little snappy at him.

"If you were taking this more seriously, then you would have finished this duel off earlier! Instead, you're just stalling for time, hoping for some sort of miracle to happen when it won't! So, hurry up so that I can win against you and get on with my life!"

"Is everything always about you?!" Elize snapped angrily, losing her patience with him. "Are you acting like this is some kind of game?! That you expect to always be the winner?!"

"Within good reason and depending on the situation, yes," answered Aster, distastefully remembering the time he had to throw a duel with Jaden the first time they met. "But being a Pro Duelist doesn't mean it's a game. No, Duel Monsters stopped being a game when Pro Duelists aim for the top, and you already know that I do aim to be the top!"

"...So, just like The D, right?"

If looks could kill, Aster's glare would have already killed Elize. "Don't you EVER compare me to that murderous bastard ever again! The only thing we have in common is that we're both Pro Duelists! Though, after learning how exactly he got to be the best, he's nothing more than some imposter sitting on a throne that he never rightfully deserved!"

'...Aster, you and him have SO much more in common than just being Pro Duelists, but I'm not going to tell you that because I don't want you to get mad even more,' thought Elize, looking back on her card before an new strategy popped into her mind. 'Wait...that's it!'

"I equip Drawhand with the Equip Spell, Scroll of Bewitchment! Then by declaring one Attribute, that Attribute becomes Drawhand's new Attribute! I'll decide on WIND!"

Destiny Hero - Drawhand - (WIND/Warrior) - LV4 - (1600/800)

"What's the point of that?" questioned Aster.

"So I can do this! I activate the Spell, Element Chime!" said Elize. "I target 1 Monster on your field, and then, I can add a Charmer whose Attribute is the same as your Monster's Attribute! And since I chose Drawhand, that means I get to add my WIND Attribute Charmer from my deck to my hand! Wynn the Wind Charmer! Now, I fuse both Wynn from my hand and Hiita from my field in order to Fusion Summon Shandra the Sand Charmer!"

Shandra the Sand Charmer - (WIND/Spellcaster/Fusion) - LV7 - (2400/1000)

'Looks like...she's figuring out how to turn the tables on Aster,' thought Bastion, impressed.

Elize glanced at the field before her and knew she was in a predicament. She glanced at the remaining cards in her hand and thought, 'I can destroy one of Aster's Spells/Traps, but the question is, which one? Urban Demise is a troublesome card that'll activate if I attack with Shandra, but what if I target his facedown card? I have no idea what that does, but I just know I have to destroy one of Aster's Monsters soon, and that means getting rid of Urban Demise!'

"I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy Urban Demise!" shouted Elize, as a twister swallowed up and blew away Urban Demise, much to Aster's ever-growing irritation. "I attack-"

"At this moment, I activate my Trap card!" declared Aster. "D-Fusion! During your turn, I can fuse Monsters I control in order to Fusion Summon a new Destiny Hero! I fuse both Dreadmaster and Drawhand in order to Fusion Summon Destiny Hero Dangerous in Defense Mode!"

Destiny Hero - Dangerous - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (2000/2600)

'I've never seen this Fusion Monster before even during our training duels!' thought Elize. 'I have no information on him whatsoever, so I'm at yet another disadvantage here! First Dominance, and now Dangerous? How many other cards did he hold back on me?'

Wearing a smug smirk on his face, Aster couldn't help but take in pleasure for having a huge advantage over Elize. "I can tell that you're pretty bewildered, which isn't surprising, since you've never seen me use this Destiny Hero before."

"...How come you never-?"

"Why should I reveal all my cards to you?" questioned Aster coldly. "Elize, if you're going to ask stupid questions like the one you were intending on asking, then let me bluntly remind you why. You and I. Are. Not. Friends. That means I don't trust you. I never once did! You were just a means to an end to stop Sartorius and his cult of light! If you knew that we weren't and never are going to be friends, then you should have figured out that I wasn't going to grant you my full trust, either."

"But...we're a team!" protested Elize. "I...I know you said that we weren't friends and all, but even so, I wouldn't take advantage of you in any way!"

"Yeah, while we're up against Sartorius, maybe," scoffed Aster. "But, for all I know, you could be a spy for another Pro Duelist, recording my every movement! You're lucky that I know full well that you're not, but that doesn't change the fact that that has crossed my mind! Wake up, Elize! THIS is reality! Strangers will betray you at every chance they get for their own benefit! They won't care about you or your feelings, only themselves! ...Just like how I'm treating you."

Upon hearing everything Aster had to say, Sheppard did feel angry, but he mostly felt sorrowful and pitiful for Aster. 'Aster...you may have endured such hardships during your life...but the direction you are going with...it'll only end up in turmoil and hatred,' thought Sheppard. 'You'll end up alone, loveless, and nobody to trust...not even yourself...I believe it's a date that not even your father would have wanted...'

Elize knew. She knew full well because Aster had painfully reminded her over and over that they weren't friends during their strategy meetings and training sessions at every chance he got. No matter how nice or helpful she was towards him, no matter how much effort she put in stopping the Society of Light, it was never going to be enough for him. His heart wasn't going to be swayed, and frankly, she wasn't aiming for any romance, but more efforts towards friendship.

Still, even though she's tried, and even though she knew that they probably weren't going to be friends, Elize still couldn't help but feel hurt and pained.

"..."

"So, why don't you hurry up and end your turn already?" questioned Aster. "You and I both know your Fusion Monster isn't strong enough to take on both of my Fusion Monsters, and even if you do, you can't do anything because for the rest of this turn, D-Fusion will prevent my Dangerous from being destroyed by battle or card effects!"

"I..." Slumping her shoulders in defeat, Elize nodded. "I set a card and end my turn..."

"Great, I've broken your spirit, and all that's left is to break your body, just like I did with Bastion and all those pathetic losers," insulted Aster haughtily.

Anger fueled Elize's rage, but she controlled herself in time as she clenched her fists as a way of control. However, Sheppard was angered by Aster's unnecessary statement and yelled, "Aster! That was too far!"

Aster frowned and replied back, "If she can't even handle a few insults and proves to be even more of a crybaby, then she doesn't deserve to be a duelist! I taught her this during our training, so she should handle this like a Pro should!"

Although hurt by his statement, Elize was more angered towards the fact that Aster simply disregarded the pain he inflicted onto Bastion and his victims as though they were nothing to him. And frankly, at this point, that probably was the case.

"My turn!" said Aster. He glanced at his drawn card and thought, 'I can't use this card to change Dystopia's Attack or Defense Points, and even if I did, it would serve as a double-edged sword to me, because if Shandra gets destroyed by a Monster's card effect, then her ability will force me to take damage equal to Dystopia's Attack Points. And even if I have some Life Points left, the risk is too high, and she may have another sneaky plan ahead. Additionally, once per turn, she can't be destroyed in battle. Looks like I'll have to take the offensive this time.'

Elize, after taking several deep breaths, managed to catch her breath and calm down, though she was still angry at Aster for what he's said. But getting angry right now won't help her win in the slightest. She had to calm down and think of a new plan during Aster's turn, depending on what he did next.

"I activate the Spell, Doppleganger!" said Aster. "By removing 5 cards from my deck from play, I can add 1 card from your Graveyard to my hand, and I think I'll choose your Card of Sanctity!"

"Why?" wondered Elize. "If you use that, you're giving me a possible advantage, too."

"True, but my hand's pretty empty at the moment, so I'll take what I can get. Draw!" After both of them drew their cards, Aster smirked. "You're finished! I activate Polymerization and fuse together Dark Angel, Dasher, and Dynatag from my hand in order to Fusion Summon Destiny Hero Dominance!"

Destiny Hero Dominance - (DARK/Warrior) - LV10 - (2900/2600)

'He's really going all out! If his three-way assault succeeds, Elize won't stand a chance!' thought Sheppard.

"I now activate the effect of Destiny Hero Dangerous! By discarding 1 card from my hand, I can send a Destiny Hero from my hand or deck to the Graveyard, and if I do, all Destiny Heroes I control gain 200 extra Attack Points for every Destiny Hero in my Graveyard! I'll send from my deck, Destiny Hero Drilldark! Now that makes a total of 10 Destiny Heroes, meaning that all three of my Monsters gain 2000 extra Attack Points!"

Destiny Hero Dominance - (DARK/Warrior) - LV10 - (4900/2600)

Destiny Hero - Dangerous - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (4000/2600)

Destiny Hero - Dystopia - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (4800/2400)

"Dystopia, attack Shandra, now!"

"Shandra's effect activates!" shouted Elize as Shandra was overwhelmed by Dystopia's energy force attack. "Once per turn, she can't be destroyed in battle!"

"But you'll still take the damage!"

Elize - 2500 LP

Aster - 3100 LP

"Dominance, take out Shandra and wipe out the last of Elize's Life Points!" ordered Aster, calculating the math in his head. If Dominance were to attack, not only would he destroy Shandra successfully, but the calculations indicated that Elize's Life Points would go down to 0.

"I activate my facedown, Draining Shield!" shouted Elize as a green barrier formed around her. "This negates your attack and heals my Life Points by the amount of Attack Points Dominance has!"

Elize - 7400 LP

Aster - 3100 LP

Tching, Aster hissed, "So annoyingly persistent! Fine, I'll finish off Shandra with Dangerous!"

Engulfing Shandra fully from head to toe with his claw-like cape, Dangerous swallowed Shandra completely and used his dark powers to destroy Shandra from the inside, as evident of the various spikes that appeared within his cape.

Elize - 5800 LP

Aster - 3100 LP

"Now, I activate the Continuous Spell, D-Faceoff!" said Aster. "Once per turn, during the End Phase, we get to compare all of the total Levels of all the Monsters we both control, and whoever has the lowest Level takes damage equal to the difference in Levels x 100! Right now, the total Levels on my side is...24! Yours only has 7, so that means that you lose 1700 since the difference between our Monsters' Levels is 17!"

Elize - 4100 LP

Aster - 3100 LP

"In addition, if I have the highest Levels and I control a Destiny Hero, then I get to target 1 of my Monsters, and it'll gain Attack Points equal to the difference in total Levels x 100! I'll choose Dangerous! Speaking of which, it's time for my Destiny Heroes' Attack Points to return to normal at this point, except for Dangerous, who'll gain 1700 extra Attack Points! I end my turn!"

Destiny Hero Dominance - (DARK/Warrior) - LV10 - (2900/2600)

Destiny Hero - Dangerous - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (3700/2600)

Destiny Hero - Dystopia - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV8 - (2800/2400)

"My turn!" Elize was about to draw her card but felt herself trembling under the gaze of Aster and his three all-powerful Fusion Monsters. At this point, it was anyone's game, given how both their Life Points have both increased and decreased several times during the duel.

But, this time, Elize felt completely uncertain. She always felt that there was no possible way for her to beat Aster, even while they were training. She felt that the gap between them was too large. As if a student could ever beat a Pro Duelist! ...Though, there was Jaden. But, she wasn't Jaden, just a girl who's only gotten a bit stronger ever since the start of the school year.

Hearing a loud thud sound behind her, Elize turned her head, and, to her horror, saw Bastion lying facedown as Sheppard was trying to rouse him awake.

"Bastion? Bastion, wake up! It's bad if you fell unconscious now! Get up!" pleaded Sheppard, shaking him while glancing around. "Damnit...just where is the medical team already?!"

As Sheppard continued trying to wake up Bastion, all Elize could do was just stare in silent shock and horror. She felt...utterly helpless. She was helpless, and right now, Bastion was just lying around; his condition having worsen as time passed without any medical assistance. Even though she has no knowledge nor experience in medical aid, she wished she could run over and help Bastion. Hell, just being by his side would have felt like she was doing something!

"Hey, in case you've forgotten, we're in the middle of a duel," reminded Aster. "If Bastion's seriously injured, then just leave him to Sheppard. He said that he would take care of him, not you, Elize."

Unable to bear it, Elize fell to her knees and started crying; her body visibly shaking as teardrops rained down on the ground she was staring at. "Bastion...I'm sorry...I'm so, so sorry...I can't...Please, wake up..."

"Crying and begging isn't going to save Bastion," scoffed Aster, glancing off to where Bastion was. "If that moron never got in my way, none of this would have happened. He would have never gotten hurt like he so rightfully deserved to nor would he have proven to be nothing but an idiotic weakling..." He glanced back to Elize and told her, "Take this as a lesson, Elize! Power is the only thing that matters in this god awful world we live in! Those with power can forge their own destiny! They won't have to deal with people like Sartorius or The D if they have power!"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Elize shrieked, finally glancing up and garnering Aster's attention. Furious tears raced down her cheeks as she stood up from her spot, raging emotions spiraling within her as she glared at Aster. "Bastion so rightfully deserved it?! A weakling?! Power?! Your own destiny?! You're sounding even worst than Sartorius or The D right now! YOU'RE PATHETIC!"

It was as though something cracked inside Aster, and not in the good way, as all of his hatred was now heading towards Elize, as evident of his death glare at her. Marching up to her, growling in seething rage, Aster wound up face-to-face with her, leaning towards her.

"You...You've just now proven to me to be nothing more than a useless disappointment! All that time training you, trying to prepare you for something important only for all of it to be a waste! In the end, you've proven to be more than just a disappointment...You've also proven to be nothing more than a pathetic, naïve weakling whose doesn't know her place is at the ground!"

The moment Aster approached her and ended up face-to-face with her, all of Elize's rage and anger dissipated and was replaced with uncertainty and fear. Even if she was angry at Aster, deep down, she knew she didn't want this. She never wanted anyone hurt or for any conflicts whatsoever. Truthfully, even if Aster did those horrible things she was still afraid of him not just for the potential harm he could do to others and her, but also because he instilled fear towards him during their training. She cringed at his harsh words, criticism, and even now, she was afraid as she was being backed into a corner by Aster's seething insults.

But, what brought her back and reminded her of her own truthful rage towards Aster was the sight of Bastion's current condition. He requested of her with all of his remaining might to help Aster, to snap him back to normal, not only with dueling methods, but through her own emotions as well. Letting loose what's on her mind and wearing her own heart on her sleeve may be key to stopping Aster and aiding Bastion.

Being reminded of that, in an instant, all of Elize's hate and anger raced back inside her as anger filled her expression. "ME?! I'M the useless disappointment?!" she argued back. "Why don't you get a mirror and take a look at yourself before saying that?!"

"What did you say?!" questioned Aster, shocked and angered at surprisingly being insulted by Elize, of all people.

Elize forced her fears down her throat as she focused more on her anger, continuing her emotional onslaught. "You heard me, loud and clear! YOU'RE the disappointment, Aster! You're no duelist! You don't even have an ounce of pride or honor! In fact, you're no hero at all!"

Trembling in anger, Aster tried to contain his emotions, but it was increasingly growing difficult, with how Elize was both provoking and insulting him. Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists was all he could do instead of literally beating down Elize, but anyone could see that he was incredibly radiating with seething rage on the inside.

'This little shitty-!' thought Aster in disbelief. 'Is she acting like she's better than me?!'

Elize took a step forward, and surprisingly, Aster both unconsciously and unknowingly took a step back, as Elize then jabs her finger at Aster's chest, glaring up at him. "I mean, for God's sake, take responsibility for what you've done! Stop acting like you're better than anyone, because Bastion's right, YOU'RE NOT! There's always going to be someone stronger than you! Smarter than you, even! It's the same issue with me, too! Jaden, Alexis, Chazz, Bastion, and a whole lot of other people are much more stronger and smarter than I am! And I'm not ashamed or afraid to admit that! And, as reluctant as I am to give you credit right now, our lessons together helped me understand that even further!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"You pushed me to my limits, even forcing me past my limits! You trained me, taught me a lot, and though your lessons were strict and harsh, they helped me grow strong!" admitted Elize. "But, more importantly, it helped me realize something significant! To become stronger, you have to pass all your trials! Whether they're personal ones, unfair ones, and even the most hardest ones! You have to pass them all in order to get stronger, to reach the top while staying your true self just like Yugi Muto did! But you...you're different! You may have passed a lot of trials and other obstacles, but right now, I don't see a well-respected Pro Duelist! I just see someone strong who let himself get carried along and be manipulated by something as nonsense as destiny!"

Aster knew he couldn't rebuttal at least the truth about overcoming trials and other obstacles because it was the truth that he did teach her that while training her. One of the harsh lessons he practically engraved into her mind. But, at the same time, he knew he couldn't stop his path here! Now when he was so close, especially after finding out the truth!

Feeling further insulted, Aster yelled, "My destiny has led me this far! It's helped guide me up to this point and even helped track down my father's killer! I'd watch what you say next, you little-!"

Normally, the kind Elize would be too frightened to dare stand up and speak against Aster personally, but right now, Elize wasn't harboring her usual kindred self. Right now, she didn't care about a single shred of kindness towards Aster, as he was the one who harmed Bastion deeply. "Once again, you're proving to be manipulated by destiny! Destiny, destiny, destiny, destiny, DESTINY! Even if you claim that everything was done for the sake of destiny, that still doesn't excuse you bringing harm to anyone that gets in your way! It NEVER will!"

"Even if that's true, so what?! The past is in the past! I seek only the future!" growled Aster. "The past is behind me, and right now, the only future I seek is avenging my father!"

"THAT'S A LIE AND YOU KNOW IT!" Elize screamed so loudly that she felt her throat ache. Still, she stood so tall in defiance that if it weren't for the height differences between the two, she would be looming over Aster without hesitation. "You say that the past is behind you, but that's a stupid lie! If it really was, then you would have moved on from your father's death! You're the one who said that your father wasn't just a card designer, but also a very kind-hearted man! Would a kind-hearted man want his own son to avenge him?! To waste his life going after a dangerous criminal?!"

"Again with this crap! Both you and Bastion said the same thing!" Aster yelled. "You don't know a damn thing about my father! You don't know anything about me! I've told you and him over and over to stay out of it, but you've chosen to continue hindering my path! And since Bastion is injured, you can be assured that that was both your fault and not mine!"

"Even after what's happened, especially with your part, you still-?!"

"Enough of this!" snapped Aster before marching back to his side of the dueling field. "It's your turn, isn't it?! So hurry up and make your move! I've got other important things to do than just stand around and waste time!"

There was no point getting further to Aster's head, and since they needed to finish the duel anyways, Elize had no other choice but to agree. "Fine!" Placing her fingers on her deck, she drew her card, hoping for a sign of victory. Her teary eyes widened when she saw her drawn card and a number of strategies popped into her mind before she decided on the correct choice to make. "I activate from my hand, Polymerization!"

"You're going to fuse again? No matter which Monster you choose, they won't stand up against any of my Monsters, remember?" reminded Aster cockily.

"...I fuse Blazing Hiita, Storming Wynn, Eria the Water Charmer, and Avalanching Aussa in order to Fusion Summon Aeolos the Aether Charmer!"

Aeolos the Aether Charmer - (LIGHT/Spellcaster/Fusion) - LV10 - (2900/2500)

'That's practically her most powerful Charmer Fusion Monster!' thought Aster. 'I don't really have much info, so I don't have any plans to counter that Monster! What does she plan to do now...?'

"I activate the effect of Aeolos!" announced Elize as tears furiously rained down her cheeks.. "Once per turn, I can only activate just one of Aeolos' effect! I activate his third effect! By removing from play a WATER Attribute Monster from my Graveyard, I can target 1 card you control and send it on the bottom of your deck, or rather, in this case, the Extra Deck! I remove from play Eria the Water Charmer to send your Destiny Hero Dominance away!"

To Aster's shock, Dominance was literally washed away when Aeolos awoken from his slumber and casted a water spell at Dominance, making the strong Fusion Monster fade away as though he was nothing.

"I attack Dystopia right now!" ordered Elize.

Aeolos yawned before summoning his elemental tome, flipping through the pages before thrusting his palm forward. Light shined down from above, aiming at Dystopia before something sparkling flew towards his way through the light's path. Whatever it was touched Dystopia and made him explode.

Elize - 4100 LP

Aster - 3000 LP

"I end my turn!"

"My turn, draw!" Aster drew his card and felt a smirk form on his face. He still had a chance to overcome this! His Monster was the strongest between his and Elize's, so if he took down her Aeolos, there's be nothing left!

"I activate the effect of Dangerous! By discarding a card, I'll send yet another Destiny Hero from my deck to my Graveyard so that Dangerous' Attack points increase by 200 x the number of Destiny Heroes in my Graveyard! There's now 13, so that makes it a total of 2600 Attack Points!"

Destiny Hero - Dangerous - (DARK/Warrior/Fusion) - LV6 - (6300/2600)

"I atta-"

"I activate the effect of Aeolos! His effect will make him use just one effect during either of our turns!" revealed Elize. "I remove from play Raging Eria, a WATER Attribute, so that he can activate his effect and put Dangerous at the bottom of your Extra Deck!"

"It can activate during either of our turns?!"

Aster was so taken aback, that he nearly missed his Dangerous glowing blue from being hit by another water spell before becoming an orb of light that flew towards Aster's Extra Deck area. He couldn't do anything but end his turn, which triggered the effect of D-Faceoff. However, because Aster had no more Monsters, where Elize only had 1, there couldn't be a comparison, as it would be unfair to compare when one had no Monsters, whereas the other had one.

Knowing that the D-Faceoff was over, which usually meant at the End Phase, Elize knew it was her final turn. "My turn...draw!"

'I can survive this turn! If she doesn't summon another Monster or increase her Fusion Monster's Attack Points, I'll be safe!' thought Aster, hoping his luck will run through.

Unfortunately for him, that doesn't appear to be the case. "I activate one of Aeolos' effects! I remove from play Blazing Hiita, a FIRE Attribute Monster, from play in order to inflict damage to you equal to her Attack Points!"

A pillar of fire burst from underneath Aster's feet before exploding, causing him to nearly trip, yet remain firmly still on his feet after being caught off-guard.

Elize - 4100 LP

Aster - 2200 LP

Knowing she had to deal the final blow, Elize wiped away her tears and angrily commanded, "Aeolos...finish this duel once and for all!"

Making his tome hover higher in the air, Aeolos began gathering massive amounts of light magic, before bringing down his arms, causing a wider pillar of light to crash down on the vulnerable Aster, completely depleting the rest of his Life Points.

Elize - 4100 LP

Aster - 0 LP

Winner: Elize

When the smoke from the blast of the light pillar spell vanished, Elize witnessed Aster still standing, but suddenly, he fell to his knees. Instead of collapsing into unconsciousness, he smacked one hand onto the ground to hold himself together, clutching to his face with his other hand as he began panting and recovering from his fatigued condition.

Aster heard soft and light footsteps approaching, and he didn't even need to look up to know it was Elize. "...So, what are you going to say now?" scowled Aster harshly. "Are you going to say some stupid friendship speech? Make me 'see the errors of my way?' Or are you just going to gloat that you won?!"

"..."

Further angered by her silence, Aster growled, "Well?! Say something! Are you just mocking me?!" Glaring up at her, it was almost as if all of Aster's anger vanished in an instant when he saw Elize's expression.

Elize didn't walk up to Aster out of compassion, out of the kindness of her heart, or even to offer her hand to Aster. Normally, she would at this point, but she didn't this time. No, this time, she wasn't showing him an ounce of mercy at all.

"..."

Upon not hearing anything from her for a while, Aster's anger grew, as he thought she was deliberately not saying anything just to insult and humiliate him further. "You...You think that everything is so SIMPLE!" Hissing in pain and anger, Aster continued screaming, "The things I've done, the choices I've had to make, all to bring justice and avenge my father! I've faced danger over and over again and every time I SPAT on even the slightest bit of danger because of how tough I've become! You have no IDEA what I've lived through! Suffered through!"

"Yeah, you're right! I don't know! I have no idea! I'm pretty much naive to the hardships you've suffered through!" shouted Elize at long last before pointing down at Aster. "But so what?! Does that actually excuse all the things you've done, the horrors you've unleashed, the damage you've done to others?! Do you actually believe that you have the right to use the 'oh no, my father died, I'm said, I suffered so much, I want to bring him justice' victim excuse on all the horrible things you've done?! You really think that excuse is going to cut it?!"

Unable to come up with a retort, Aster continued glaring up at Elize, as though her mere existence is nothing more than a stain on his life. This...this was the same, meek, weak, and shy girl that he trained for weeks to use as a tool ally against Sartorius and the Society of Light...and now, she's now only looking down on him, but also standing up to him and calling him out on his own behavior and actions?! Worst is that she can claim to be strong because moments ago, she just proved that she defeated him in a duel, and he is a realist.

"Shifting the blame as though it's not your responsibility...denying that any of it was even your fault...I was taught by my sister and Grandma that you should always take responsibility for your actions, no matter what!" Elize yelled. "I said this before, and I'll say it again! You're just someone strong who let himself get carried along and be manipulated by destiny! No, not just destiny! You were manipulated by Sartorius and The D, too! Just because you've become a Pro Duelist doesn't make you strong; it just makes you too overconfident! It doesn't make YOU the best!"

"So what?" snapped Aster. "Now that you've beaten me, are you saying that you're the best?!"

"Are you seriously focusing on that out of all of the more important points I've been making?!" questioned Elize angrily. "This has nothing to do with being more powerful than the other person! I don't even want to be a Pro Duelist! In fact, with all I've been hearing and experiencing so far, I'd rather spit on the Pro Duelist title instead! Aster, you're so caught up in the past that not only do you not acknowledge your responsibilities and the consequences, but you're also conflicted by your demons in the past!" Continuing to jab her finger at him, Elize exclaimed, "If you don't overcome those demons in your head, if you don't conquer your own trials and tribulations, then you will NEVER be the best! You taught me this, Aster, so you should know better than anyone what I'm talking about!"

Slowly, but effectively, all of Aster's mental defenses and conflicts were starting to seep away not just from Elize's words and actions as well as her victory over him, but also from the words of others as well. It was as though they were all gathering up and working together to stop him from going further into his path of vengeance.

"It's bad enough that you've been so obsessed with revenge, but you even had to drag innocent people in that meaningless quest for revenge! People that you've dueled, disrespected, and injured to the point of hospitalizing them! But, from the looks of things, you probably don't even care about your innocent victims, do you?!"

"You think that just because you're a Pro Duelist, that you're above people? That that gives you the right to disrespect others and even go so far as to harm them? That's not how a true duelist acts at all! A true duelist would never go so far as to do this!"

"Not only is this path ruthless, it's wrong! You'll only end up endangering and hurting people in the process!"

"You're sounding even worst than Sartorius or The D right now! YOU'RE PATHETIC!"

"Another innocent student is going to be hospitalized because of you! Do you not have any remorse, any shame, for what you've done?!"

"YOU'RE the disappointment, Aster! You're no duelist! You don't even have an ounce of pride or honor! In fact, you're no hero at all!"

"...You're a villain."

Aster...couldn't stop the fear in his body when he heard that. He thought his ears were playing tricks on him, so he glanced up and froze when he saw her expression, as it was a very familiar expression that he was used to. It wasn't surprising, seeing as he used that same expression on criminals and low-lives ever time he acted as a vigilante for justice. He used that same expression to display his disgust towards criminals and scum, viewing them as villains. But, for that very same expression to be used on him was...something.

Elize's expression was contorted into one full of hatred and contempt, focused only on Aster and Aster only. Sartorius and The D were far worst people than Aster, but at this moment, even if it lasted for a second, and even if Aster's crimes were lesser than Sartorius or The D, Elize was now viewing Aster as the worst villain in existence. She was looking at him like he was a monster.

"If, after all this, your heart isn't moved, if you show no signs of regret or remorse for all the horrible things you've done...then your heart must truly be just as dark or even worst than Sartorius or The D," spat Elize with disgust. "I don't care right now if they're the real enemies right now, because right now, I see that you're my enemy. You're nothing more than a villain."

That proved to be the final key to unlocking Aster's inner conflict as even he was started to grow doubts about what he's done. He worked so hard to be recognized as one worthy of both the Elemental Heroes and the Destiny Heroes, so to hear from someone who beat him, someone so kind and gentle that they could never harm anyone, that he was indeed a villain in her eyes, was...haunting.

All the voices that were leading up to this point, the people he's harmed, the things he's done, all of it leading to a massive inner conflict that was unavoidable as he's forced to fear them within himself.

"MEDIC! MEDICAL TEAM'S HERE! WHAT'S THE SITUATION?!"

Turning her attention away from Aster, a surprised look found itself onto Elize's face when she spotted the medic team arriving and surveying the situation. Immediately, a team rushed over to help Bastion inside the ambulance, strapping him down gently while also tending to his wounds in an emergency fashion. Meanwhile, Sheppard was talking to the team, possibly about Bastion's condition and berating them for taking so long.

When Elize turned back to Aster, she was shocked to see that he was gone. He just...vanished, possibly ran off when she went to see what the medical team was doing and too distracted to notice anything about his leaving.

As the ambulance left for Bastion's safety, Elize ran up to Sheppard. "Chancellor Sheppard! Is...Is Bastion going to be okay?"

Sheppard nodded. "He has some serious wounds, but he'll be alright. We can only pray that he recovers quickly.

Tearing up over the events that's happened so far, Elize couldn't stop herself from crying. "I'm sorry...I should have tried to stop Bastion sooner...I didn't want this much to happen...People weren't...they weren't supposed to get hurt...!"

Placing a comforting hand onto Elize's shoulder, Sheppard gently assured her, "Elize, please don't blame yourself. None of this is your fault. We've all chosen our own paths in life, therefore, nobody should ever be forced out of their own chosen paths...You and Bastion have chosen your paths, but you still held strong and kind in the end..."

"W-What about Aster...? You say that everyone should chose their own paths, but what if that path isn't right?"

"Then we help that people leave that bad path before it's too late," said Sheppard. "Elize, for my part in all this, for me neglecting any and all of Aster's problems during this tournament...I can only express my apologies..."

"W-what should we do now? What about Aster? What-"

Sheppard answered, "For now, all I can do to stop Aster is to prevent him any access of any use of boats and helicopters in Duel Academy. That is the most I can do right now. But, rest assured, Elize, we'll get through this. We all will together."

The two of them hurried off to the infirmary, where they were certain that Bastion would be there, deserving of a long recovery as the course of destiny was once against changed due to the events that occurred recently...

---

Wow, I honestly didn't expect to be writing for this long, but it was worth it for further character development, a much more interesting Season 2 storyline, and for certain events to happen later during the season.

Yeah, I know what you're all going to say in the reviews and PMs. "But, Mage of Hope! You made Aster pretty bad and serious this chapter!" Yeah, I know that but let's be honest, this is Aster personally. Did you want me to sugarcoat things? Make him cry and break down and act like a sweetheart to Elize all of a sudden? That'd be way too OOC. After what just happened, Aster needs time alone to think.

I know what you're all thinking, and despite what I've done to Aster in this chapter, I'm not trying to make him the villain of the season. Oh, yeah, he's a real pain and a jerk, even moreso in this story than in the anime, but isn't that how he is depicted in the anime? I'm just takign full advantage of that, while also trying to get him more character development.

I personally think it helps that Elize had to be the one to bring down Aster and to call him out on his actions, because not only will it help serve her character development, but think on the history between them. Elize was personally trained by Aster even if it meant being used as a tool, and she knew at least most of Aster's cards after going through rough training, so she had a better chance of victory than Bastion even if he, too, gathered up information about Aster's deck. But information vs information AND experience can only go so far...

That said, guys, school is back, so I'll be more busy than ever but I'll do my best to upload as much as I can! Read and review and tell me your thoughts about this chapter and what's to come! Bye!