Dueling Trigger Finger

by draconichero21

Worlds collide as a twisted tale interlocking the fates of both universes begins with the retelling of Battle City, but will cover the wide expanse of the plot of both series. Rated M due to profanity, Junko, sexual themes, Junko, murder, Junko, nightmarish imagery, and did I mention Junko?

75. The Invisible Clutch of Despair Part 2

(A/N: Believe it or not, I actually started this chapter the same night I posted chapter 74, but only a little bit of it. …Right, let's get this over with. Find your happy places folks. This chapter contains copious amounts of Junko).

---

On a train ride gone out of control, Yami and Weevil faced off with the Seal of Orichalcos in play, and Junko Enoshima spectating gleefully. Weevil took the first turn of the duel.

"I play my good friend Pheromone Wasp!" Weevil declared as a green dragonfly like insect with a long, bulging beige tail popped out of the card artwork with 800 attack and defense points. "It's not strong now, but the power of the Seal of Orichalcos gives it a 500-point boost." Pheromone Wasp's attack power increased to 1,300. "Next, I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn," Weevil said as the holograms appeared cluttered together on the right side of his battlefield.

"Very well!" Yami bellowed, going for the top card of his deck. "My move!" Examining his hand, he decided on his first move. "I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, a stronger monster than yours!" Yami then prepared to attack. "Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, crush his Pheromone Wasp now!"

Junko had a moment's pause at Yami's blatant stupidity with Weevil having two face-down cards. Hmm, maybe he isn't back at his whole potential. Oh well, if he loses in a downward spiral of agony, that's good for me at least.

"I don't think so!" Weevil exclaimed with a sinister grin. "You just activated my trap!" His face-down card flipped face-up. "A handy little card called Mimesis!"

"Oh no!" Yami gasped.

"Yup," Weevil said, adjusting his glasses. "It allows me to trade-in my insect monster for another one, so I get to choose which monster your Obnoxious Celtic Guardian attacks! And now, my Pheromone Wasp, return to my hand!" Weevil's monster vanished. "And my Parasite Caterpillar will take its place!"

A wormy green caterpillar sat on the battlefield with 800 defense points and tiny little winglets sticking out of its midsection.

"…Charming," Junko said, trying not to let it slip that she wasn't the biggest fan of creepy crawlies.

"Not that!" Yami gasped. "It has the power to infect my monster!"

However, Yami had already declared an attack and his Obnoxious Celtic Guardian destroyed Weevil's monster in one sword swing.

Weevil laughed and laughed. "You're absolutely right. Your guardian's been infected!"

Obnoxious Celtic Guardian was forced back and crouched down on Yami's side of the field.

"No!" Yami gasped.

"You're only half the duelist I remember," Weevil snickered. "Is that cause you lost your other half?" Weevil then began laughing his ass off.

Weevil had better watch himself, Junko thought. The Pharaoh may be ready to launch an assault of despair I don't think he's ready for. That said…he's not wrong, Junko thought, fiddling with a lock of her hair. If Yugi had been here, their teamwork likely would've kept the Pharaoh calm. And without the Pharaoh, Yugi is a simpering coward. How very interesting. Still…

Playing the part of the friend, Junko spoke up, "Deep breaths, Pharaoh. I know it's tempting to want to crush this little pill bug quickly, but you have to keep it together. Yugi's counting on you."

Yami grimaced. Whether she'd meant it or not, and she did, she'd only served to twist the knife further. It was an almost literal effect given Yami clutched at his chest. Yugi's lack of presence was truly a void inside his heart.

---

Meanwhile, the duel between Mai and Valon was getting underway and it was Valon's turn. "I start by playing this: Psychic Armor Head!" Valon's motorcycle helmet became a futuristic space helmet that had 0 attack points and 500 defense points, but gained 500 attack points thanks to the Seal of Orichalcos. "Next, I activate Graceful Charity, letting me draw 3 cards, long as I discard 2." Despite the fact that he was steering with one hand and drawing with another, Valon had no trouble multitasking. "Next, I'm settin' one card face-down on the field and ending my turn." The face-down hologram appeared alongside Valon's motorcycle, following him everywhere he drove. "You're up, Mai."

"Heh, amateur," Mai smirked. "My draw!" She looked at the cards in her hand. "I summon to the field Harpie Channeler!" Mai declared. A harpie monster appeared with orange hair, black wings and carrying a scepter in its right claw. It had 1,400 attack points and 1,300 defense points. It flew above Mai's head as part of the high speed chase across the desert. "And next, I'll activate its special ability. This will allow me to special summon any Harpie Monster to the field from my deck, as long as I discard one Harpie monster from my hand!" Mai declared. From her hand, she sent to the graveyard Harpie Girl. "And now, behold, the illustrious Harpie Queen!" Harpie Queen glided overhead on Mai's other side with her wings in front of her face to indicate she was in defense mode with 1,200 points. If there's anything I learned about Valon from our last duel, it's that he doesn't like to play monsters with attack points. Even with her low defense, Harpie Queen should be safe. "And now, Harpie Channeler, attack!" Mai shouted. "Take out Psychic Armor Head!"

"I'm afraid that's not gonna work!" Valon exclaimed. He held his arm out over his trap card and raised it up. "Reveal trap: Magnet Armor!"

"Oh no," Mai exclaimed. She'd expected a battle trap to be sure, but she didn't know what this did.

"Here's how it works, I automatically get to special summon any armor monster in my graveyard in attack position, but it gets destroyed at the end of this turn," Valon said.

"But I didn't send any armor monsters to the graveyard yet," Mai said, eyes shrunk in, confused.

"That's right, you didn't," Valon smiled. "I did when I played Graceful Charity. So now, give a big heaping, brief warm welcome to Jet Gauntlet!"

Valon gained a powerful looking gauntlet on his right arm. Using it, he swatted away Harpie Channeler as she flew in to attack, causing her to roll along the ground behind Mai and Valon as both it and the armored arm were destroyed.

"NO! Harpie Channeler!" The wounded chirp and injured look in Harpie Channeler's eye did not help make Mai want to cry just then. Her Harpie cards were special to her. How dare Valon!

"Bye-bye, birdie!" Valon exclaimed, laughing. "Too bad, Mai," Valon said. "Thanks to Jet Gaunlet, it and any monster it battles are instantly destroyed. But hey, at least you got your Harpie Queen on the field. Shame she won't be around much longer," Valon taunted.

"We'll see about that," Mai said. She looked at her remaining hand of four cards. "I set one card face-down onto the field and end my turn," Mai said, her trap set. I can't use this trap until my turn. I just have to hope I can hold my own until then. Mai thought.

---

Back on the train, it was now Weevil's second move. "This next insect should look familiar," he said, barely able to contain his troll-like laughter as he played Pheromone Wasp again. "Go, my Pheromone Wasp!" Weevil exclaimed, pointing directly at Yami. Since Obnoxious Celtic Guardian was infected with Weevil's caterpillar, it could not be used as a monster to defense Yami's life points, allowing Weevil to go in for a direct attack, stinging Yami for 1,300 points of damage, dropping him down to 2,700.

Yami growled from the injury.

"That's not all," Weevil said in singsong, "Attacking you directly just activated his special ability, which means my Wasp allows me to summon any insect monster in my deck directly to the field!" Weevil scooped his entire deck out of the deck slot of the duel disk. "And I know just who I'm going to choose."

Any insect monster level four or lower, hmm? Then there's only one logical option, Junko figured.

"I summon a Leech known as Leghul!" Weevil shouted. An elongated worm with large, purple pincers appeared. It had 300 attack points. Thanks to the power of the Orichalcos, Leghul's attack points jumped to 800.

"Then I'll activate the magic card Insect Barrier!" Weevil proclaimed. He laughed and then explained. "This barricade protects against any insect monster you try and attack with!"

"So you're defending against Celtic Guardian," Junko said. "And I take it you have a plan in mind to infect the Pharaoh's entire deck with insects."

"That's right," Weevil said with a grin.

"Right, I'm starting to see your plan as well as the cracks in it," Junko said.

"Cracks?" Weevil asked.

"Leghul," Junko said. "All of the 4-star or lower insect monsters in the world and you pick him. Girochin Kuwagata. Have you heard of it?"

Weevil blinked at Junko.

"You claim to be the best insect duelist in all the land, but I'm starting to see just how bad of a duelist you really are. Your aim is to make the Pharaoh suffer so much that he forgets his ass from his head, but you know what the flaw in that plan is? You're not taking his strategy into account." Junko held up four fingers. "I give this duel about 4 more turns each before The Pharaoh is beating you down within an inch of your life."

Weevil laughed. "The Pharaoh must truly enjoy your bravado, Junko."

"It's not bravado," Junko said, now getting annoyed. "In fact, do you want to be let in on a little secret?"

"Hmm?"

"You were never all that good. I used to work for Pegasus. I looked at all of the duels card for card in everyone's deck from all of the videos and battle data from Duelist Kingdom. And do you know what I found? The Pharaoh had Mushroom Man in his deck when he beat you."

"That's—"

Junko cut him off. "You were beaten by someone who chose to use Mushroom Man in their deck!" Junko exclaimed. She pointed at Weevil. "The only reason you won the regionals is because everyone in your region must've sucked that much harder. Did you even bother to enter the nationals? Or did Pegasus giving you a little pat on the head and telling you that you were a good boy make you think you were special."

"You shut your FACE!" Weevil exclaimed.

"Fine, I don't care anymore," Junko said, sitting down on the train. She crossed her legs and glared at Yami, dreadfully bored. "Pharaoh. Waste him. I'm no longer interested in this duel. It's nothing you can't handle."

"Junko…" Yami had never seen that dead cold-eyed look on Junko's expression.

"What? I'm bored. He's boring me."

"R-right…" Yami said. I'll have to talk to her about this later. Yami reached for the top card of his deck. "All right!" he declared. "My move!" he then drew the top card of his deck.

Weevil then started laughing. "Looks like it's the end of the line for you," he said, laughing even more.

"What's so funny?" Yami asked.

"Take a look at your Celtic Guardian," Weevil pointed out. "He's just not himself anymore."

An eerie green glow emitted from Celtic Guardian as he began to transform into a big, pink cocoon. Yami contemplated the problematic situation he was in as he tried to figure out what his next move should be. "I play Polymerization!" he declared. "Allowing me to fuse my knight and my dragon to form Gaia the Dragon Champion!"

A fearsome fusion flew onto the battlefield with its almighty 2600 attack points. It was a blast from the past for Yami and for Weevil. This monster had appeared in their last duel as well.

Junko looked at the field. Nope. Everything was still basic and boring, nothing to worry about.

"Now, Gaia! Attack!" Yami shouted.

Gaia flew down towards Leghul to destroy it. 1800 points of damage would certainly deliver a crippling blow to Weevil's life points.

And, as predictable as the sun rising in the morning by Junko's standards, Weevil was ready for it. He snickered and then said, "Hold on! You just triggered my trap, DNA Surgery!"

"What's that?" Yami gasped.

With no emotion in her voice, Junko said, "It turns all of your monsters into Insect-types."

"That's really bad, Junko," Yami said, wondering why she still looked so bored.

"You've been in tougher scrapes," Junko said. "This is how all of your duels play out. You get backed into a corner and then you win. You haven't even drawn Timaeus. You aren't out of options yet."

"I'll be sure to completely wipe out his life points long before then."

"Don't be absurd. You couldn't wipe out the dirt off his shoe with a hose," Junko shot back.

Yami was beginning to find Junko's support rather different than any of the friends he was used to. If she was so assured of his victory, why did she look so gloomy? He'd have to talk to her about that later. Right now, he needed to focus on the duel. Insect Barrier combined with DNA Surgery was his biggest obstacle right now. All he had to do was destroy one or the other and he could punch through Weevil's defenses. And, given what cards lay in his deck, he had plenty of options to do just that. Giant Trunade, Heavy Storm, Dust Tornado. The list went on. A self-satisfied smirk appeared on his face.

Junko's right. I'm getting bent out of shape for no reason. I just have to hold out until I can draw a winning card and to do so, I must believe in the heart of the cards.

---

It was still a race to victory on the open road as Valon and Mai competed to try and win the first ever duel fought while driving motorcycles. "My move," Valon said. "And since Psychic Armor Head is still in play, I can add any armor card from my deck to my hand instead of conducting a normal draw. And I choose this armor monster," Valon said as he drew a card to his hand. "Good ol' Buster Pyle!"

Mai gasped. "Oh no!" She remembered that card from the last duel. This wasn't going to end well.

"And now, I attack Harpie Queen with Buster Pyle!" Valon shouted and fired off the piercing bolts from Buster Pyle into Harpie Queen. Mai's monster was punctured in the arm and stomach and then cringed before falling to the ground and being destroyed. Mai's life points then trickled down to 3,500. The bolts in Valon's Buster Pyle then retracted. "What's the matter, Mai? You don't look so good," Valon said. "Feelin' the pressure? This is what having friends gets you!" Valon declared, clenching his fist. "It makes you weak!"

"You're wrong," Mai stated. She looked at her hand. I am not out of options yet. I can still turn this duel around. She reached for the top card of her deck. Joey, Yugi, I hope you two have rubbed off on me. "Here goes!" she shouted.

---

As Mai was breaking out her counterattack, Weevil was preparing to make Yami suffer. However, before he drew his card, Yami shouted. "Weevil, look out!"

Weevil crouched down before the back of his head hit a rocky overpass. Yami ducked down as well and Junko leaned back to avoid getting hit.

Well, at least that was something I suppose, Junko thought, still bored otherwise. It'd have been better if he just let Weevil get hit, but that wouldn't be you, now would it, Pharaoh?

Weevil snickered. "Thanks for the warning." He drew the top card of his deck. "Back to the game." He snickered to himself when he saw the card he drew. "I activate the magic card Cell Division," he said, placing it in the card slot. "And I'll use it on my Leghul!"

Junko clasped her fingers in front of her face, looking like a CEO behind their polished desk. I see, so that's why he chose Leghul. He needed to bait the Pharaoh into attacking so that he could attack directly while his monsters are crouched down behind Insect Barrier. And with Cell Division…yes that certainly doesn't give the Pharaoh much wiggle room. Okay, Weevil, Junko thought, standing up. This might be a duel worth being invested in after all.

"Oh no," Yami gasped.

Weevil laughed. "Thanks to my Cell Division magic card, I have two leeches for the price of one!"

The new Leghul's attack points then grew to 800.

"If you actually thought I'd be frightened by a monster with a mere 800 attack points, you're sadly mistaken," Yami said.

"Pharoah, darling, judge a monster not by its attack points, but by the power of its effect."

"It's effect?"

"Leghul can attack you directly."

Yami gasped. "What?!"

"I'm afraid what she says is true, Pharaoh," Weevil said. "I thought you of all people would recognize a good strategy." He pointed at Yami. "But I guess what I heard about you is true, Pharaoh. Without Yugi's help," Weevil said, pushing his glasses up by the nose, "You're nothing, but a second-rate wannabe."

Oh yes, go ahead and diss Yugi. That'll go over so well when he inevitably beats you, Junko thought. This is bad, but it's not unwinnable bad, Weevil. Don't count your mothballs before the hatch.

"As soon as I win this duel," Weevil said, "You'll be locked away forever with your better half."

"You're all talk!" Junko shouted.

"I agree!" Yami thundered. "If you're so sure you'll win this duel then prove it!"

"Very well," Weevil responded. He drew the top card of his deck. "I sacrifice my Pheromone Wasp and my Leghul in order to summon my Insect Queen."

Insect Queen emerged on the thorax with its six legs and gigantic thorax with an ear-piercing screech.

"Long live the Queen," Weevil stated. "And now for her crown, the mark of the Orichalcos!" With the field spell boosting her, Insect Queen had 2,700 attack points and 2,400 defense points.

"And," Weevil said, "Let's not forget about her highness' special ability. She receives a whopping 200 attack points for every insect monster on the field. So that's 400 for my two insects," Weevil said as Insect Queen's attack power increased to 3,100. "And 400 for the two insects on your side of the field! For a grand total of 3,500 points!" Weevil exclaimed. Insect Queen's attack power now reflected this. It was now the strongest monster on the field.

I see, so it was never about the direct attacks. Weevil must realize the flaw in his plan and a supped up Insect Queen certainly does make it far more difficult for the Pharaoh to launch a counterattack. Well-played, Weevil, but it won't be enough.

"But before it attacks," Weevil said, "I've got a surprise! Leghul! Sick 'em!" Weevil's leech sprang forward and clamped its pincers around Yami's wrist. "Surprise!" Weevil exclaimed. "It jumps over your defense and strikes you directly!" Leghul then leapt back to Weevil's side of the field.

Yami's life points dropped to 1,900.

"Now that it's served its purpose," Weevil stated. "I'll sacrifice my Leghul so my queen can attack."

How interesting, Junko thought. In the end, Leghul was but a pawn. Not what I would've done, but I do need to rethink my strategy of what Weevil is going for.

"Now, Insect Queen!" Weevil shouted as Insect Queen's life points fell to 3,300, "Attack his Dragon Champion! A green blast of energy shot out of Insect Queen's mouth and hit Dragon Champion, blowing it up and bringing Yami's life points down to an uncomfortable 1,200. "Since you're monster's gone my queen loses some attack points, but I gain something even more precious."

Yami and Junko had to watch as Insect Queen laid an egg.

"…Charming," Junko thought once more. Bugs could really be a prime source for despair it seemed.

---

As Yami and Junko contemplated the contents of their stomach, Mai was contemplating the contents of her hand. "My move!" Mai exclaimed and drew the top card of her hand. Her eyes narrowed. Excellent. This was just what she needed.

"I summon to the field Harpie Lady Airo!" Mai declared. The red haired harpie from her last duel entered the field of battle, flying overhead alongside Mai. "And I hope you haven't forgotten her special ability, all Wind monsters on the field gain 300 attack points." Her monster's attack power increased to 1,600.

"And that's not all," Mai declared. "I activate this card: Harpie Mating Call!" The card artwork of this continuous magic card was Cyber harpie letting out a sonic screech. "This magic card allows me to summon up to two different Harpie monsters from my deck as long as they have the same original attack points as the last monster I summoned, so say hello to Harpie Lady Ocupete," Mai stated as an orange haired Harpie appeared alongside Airo, "And Harpy Lady Keraino!" A harpie lady with spikey blue hair appeared on the battlefield. "Witness the trio of terror! Harpie Lady Sisters!"

All three Harpies screeched to showcase their power of 1,600 attack points and 1,400 defense points on the battlefield.

"And there's more," Mai said, holding up a spell card, "As long as I only control winged-beast type Harpie Cards, any equip spell I give to one monster, affects them all! And I equip Harpie Lady Airo with Cyber Shield!" All of Mai's monsters increased in power and defense to 2,100 attack and 1,900 defense points.

"Not bad, Mai, but not good enough," Valon said.

Mai smirked. "Oh? I'd say it's good enough," Mai said, confusing Valon. "Now, Harpie Lady Keraino, attack Psychic Armor Head!"

"Sorry to disappoint you love, but as long as I have more than one armor monster on the field, I can redirect your attack to one of my other armor monsters," Valon said, holding up Buster Pyle to blok off Keraino. "And Buster Pyle can't be destroyed by battle, nor can I take battle damage during its battles. So your attack is gonna have no effect." However, when Keraino slashed his arm, the claw marks fractured it seriously. "What?"

"Sorry," Mai said, "But Keraino's nails are especially dangerous. Any monster it attacks can't attack for two of its owners turns. That'll keep my field healthy and you out of luck."

Valon looked at his scratched-up arm through the analyzing lens of Psychic Armor Head. The damage to it was severe indeed, but the auto-repairs were already underway.

"Next," Mai said, "I attack Buster Pyle again with Harpie Lady Ocupete, and activate this trap card: Harpie Feather Storm!"

A bunch of feathers shot out of the trap card and into Valon's arm as Ocupete scratched at it with her talon. Buster Pyle lost its sheen and paint job, feeling heavy on Valon's arm.

"Harpie's Feather Storm completely negates the effect of any monster targeted by battle," Mai said. "Your life points are looking pretty exposed, Valon. Lucky for you, I can't attack anymore after Feather Storm is used. So, I'll simply place one card face-down," she said, as the face-down hologram trailed behind her motorcycle, "And end my turn."

"I gotta tell ya, Mai. You're one hell of a spitfire," Valon said.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, hon," Mai said.

"You know, Mai, I always thought you and I were birds of the same feather," Valon said, staring up at the sky. "You always felt like you were alone, and I really was alone. When I was little, I grew up in an orphanage in the church."

"Save the sappy backstory, Crocodile Dundee," Mai said. "I'm not interested. Whatever led you here today isn't the result of your harsh past or your philosophy, it's the choices you made. You chose to let whatever past haunts you consume you. You chose to use it to destroy humanity and let it turn you bitter. But I don't feel that way. Not anymore. Over the course of Battle City, I realized something: what good is fame and fortune if you have no one to share it with? That's why, from now on, the duels I have, the victories and achievements I make, I want my friends to be a part of it."

"You're so called friends are teenagers. They're kids."

"They're kids who appreciate me for who I am without a care for my age, and I feel the same. And out of all of them, it's Joey who…" Mai stared at the sky, "I can't explain it really. He's a complete idiot, but every so often, he'll do a complete 180 and then seem like the coolest person in the world."

Valon's ride slowed own. "What's he got that I don't got? What can Joey Wheeler do that I can't do? I'll tell you what! Nothing!" Valon shouted.

Mukuro and Miho were driving not that far back, and therefore they were close enough to hear this. And while Mukuro had no analytic skill like Junko, sometimes, certain things seemed pretty obvious. Is he…envious of Joey?

A dark shadow consumed Valon as he started laughing. "I know what I'm gonna do…I'm gonna beat you, Mai," Valon said, as his engine roared and he pulled ahead of her. "And then I'm going to show off your soul card to Wheeler! Then you'll both see that friendship is nothing but a big joke. The only person you can rely on is yourself!"

"He's lost it!" Miho exclaimed. Mukuro nodded in agreement.

"My move!" Valon shouted and pulled a card in his deck. "Thanks to Psychic Armor Head, I can pull any armor monster in my graveyard to my hand, and I choose this one Big Bang Blow!"

Valon got a new armored gauntlet on his left arm. "It's curtains, Mai! When Big Bang Blow is destroyed in battle, it destroys every monster on the field and both players take damage equal the attack points of all the monsters they control, so I'm only gonna take 1,500 damage, plus the damage I take from having my monster destroyed, bringing me down to only 900 life points. But you Mai, you're gonna lose the duel!" Valon spun around and drove towards Mai, targeting Keraino with his left arm. "Eat this, Chicken Wing!"

"Sorry to disappoint you!" Mai declared. "I activate a trap: Harpie Lady Cockatrice Formation!" Mai's Harpies gathered together and took the form of a Cockatrice that gazed piercingly at Valon's left arm, turning Big Bang Blow to stone.

Big Bang Blow was then shattered by Keraino's claws, forcing Valon to spin around Mukuro and Miho, swerve to the other side in front of them and catch up with Mai once more. He growled.

"Harpie Lady Cockatrice Formation can only be activated when I control three or more Harpie Ladies. Then, it negates that monster's effects and switches it to defense mode. And when its destroyed, you lose life points equal to the combination of its attack and defense points. Lucky for you, your armor monsters are pretty weak."

Valon's life points dripped down to 3,500.

Valon looked at his ruined Buster Pyle through the lens of his Psychic Armor Head, and then he looked at the three cards left in his hand. If he let Mai have her turn at this rate, he was a goner. He needed a strategy and fast. Luckily, he had just the things he needed to keep himself in the game.

"I activate Recycle For Parts!" Valon declared. "This allows me to send 1 armor monster to the graveyard and gain 500 life points in exchange." His life points went back up to 4,000. "And next, I activate Full Armor Gravitation. This'll let me pick up the top 10 cards from my deck and I can summon as many armor monsters that appear to my side of the field, as long as I remove the rest of those monsters from the game. So let's see what I've got, shall we?" Valon picked up the top ten cards and played them. "Say hello to Black Hole Shield, Burning Knuckle, Active Guard, Over Boost, and Double Cloth Armor!" Valon became decked out in a full set of armor cards, which included a second, red layer over his entire armor set. All of the monsters had 500 attack points thanks to the Seal of Orichalcos, except for Burning Knuckle. Burning Knuckle instead had 1,700 attack points. Valon clenched his fist equipped with this card. "Hope you're ready for a real fight now, Mai, cause I'm gonna send you and your motorcycle, and all of your talks of hope and friendship, on the highway straight to hell!"

"We'll see about that," Mai said. "My move!" She looked at the two cards in her hand, neither one was a safe option to use with the field set up in its current fashion. "Harpy Lady Keraino, attack his Burning Knuckle now!"

"Did you forget already?" Valon asked. "I can redirect your attack to any armor monster I wish, and I choose Double Cloth Armor!" Valon declared.

Keraino slashed at Double Cloth armor, only to cause an explosion that consumed the armor and her. Valon swerved left to escape the explosion, but Mai was sent into a spin towards her right and almost hit the nearby cliff with her back tire. She skidded to a halt as Valon stalled in front of her, having turned around.

"Whenever Double Cloth armor gets destroyed, it takes the monster that destroys it with it without me taking damage," Valon explained. "But you do take damage, equal to half of your monster's attack points!"

Mai snarled as her life points drained down to 2,450.

Valon then drove away, encouraging Mai to eat his dust.

"Are you all right, Mai?" Miho asked her as she and Mukuro slowed down to check on her.

"I'll be fine. Valon wants to play rough? I'll show him just how vicious I can play," Mai said and revved the engine of her motorbike, catching up to Valon in no time. She still had two monsters to attack with and she wasn't going to let Valon get the best of her.

"I'll attack again!" Mai exclaimed, "Ocupete, strike!" Since Valon had lost Double Cloth Armor, he'd have to sacrifice a different monster if he wanted to keep Burning Knuckle in play.

"Activate Black Hole Shield!" Valon exclaimed as Ocupete's claws clanged against a solid worm hole exuding from Valon's opposite arm. This caused Black Hole Shield, Valon's left arm armor monster, to vanish. Valon's Burning Knuckle may have only had 1,300 attack points now, but it was worth the price it seemed given Burning Knuckle was still on the field. "Sorry, Mai, but Black Hole Shield can protect any armor monster from damage and destruction for the remainder of the turn. I'm not done with Burning Knuckle yet. Can't have you destroying it too soon."

"So I see," Mai said and looked at the two cards in her hand once more. "I summon to the field, Cyber Harpie!" Her monster appeared with a cry. "And since Harpie's Mating Call is still in effect, it gains more power with a double-layered cyber shield!" Cyber Harpie grew in power to 2,300 attack and 1,800 defense. "And there's more. Since Airo is still in play, Cyber Harpie gains more power." Mai's monster was now at 2,600 attack points. "And that'll end my turn, Valon."

I need to find a clear way around his armored defense and go straight for his exposed life points. I need to figure out something soon, I'm running out of options.

---

Mai was not the only one struggling with her opponent while in motion, Yami was still wondering how the hell he was going to deal with Weevil's Insect Queen. The desert canyons had passed them by and their surroundings now consisted of high rising green trees.

"My Insect army is slowly infesting the playing field," Weevil said. "Just a few more turns and your bug bait!"

"And what does that make you, Weevil?" Junko asked. "Frass?"

"No! I'm the bug that'll be devouring him!"

"Devour the Pharaoh," Junko said, slapping her cheek in faked shock, "My, my, the fanfiction yaoi writers will have a field day with that line."

"Junko, please," Yami said to her.

"Oh, relax, Pharaoh. It's Weevil. He's annoying, not threatening. Things may look bad, but like I said, you can do this. Just do what you always do and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Or is your loss to Rafael making you question your skills as a duelist."

"No," Yami sneered, glaring at Weevil.

"Good, then let him have it," Junko said.

Yami was starting to see Junko's method of cheering now. She was similar to Celeste, tough on him and poking at his shortcomings so that he could buckle down and realize what he had to overcome.

"Junko's right, you're a greedy, power hungry worm," Yami insulted.

"And what does that make you?" Weevil asked him. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you the one that wanted power, so much that you sold out your best friend just for a taste of it?!"

"It was a moment of weakness, and it won't happen again, right Pharaoh?"

"Right!" Yami shouted.

"Is that what you both believe?"

"Weevil, while I could keep my mouth shut and let you stand there and belittle the Pharaoh, it's not going to work. A person can only fall so low only once. Then, they climb back up. If they ever fall again, it will be to a lower point and not always for the same reasons. The Pharaoh is far too astute to give into your machinations!" Junko exclaimed.

"That's right," Yami said in affirmation. "So why don't you zip it and let's continue our duel? If you think you can win this duel with your head games, Weevil, then you're sorely mistaken. I'm too smart for that."

"What you refer to as head games, I call opening you up to the truth," Weevil responded. "And whether you realize it or not, it's causing you to doubt yourself!"

Leave that kind of work to a pro, Junko thought. The only thing you'll be opening on the Pharaoh is a rampaging beast that will serve you up on a plate with a pile of salt!

"Before you showed up, I was one of the most recognized duelists in the country! Soon I'll be back on top, just like I was before you defeated me in Duelist Kingdom."

"Pathetic," Junko said.

Weevil narrowed his gaze at Junko in irritation. Oh great. She was opening her mouth again.

"As I told you before, you were never all that good. The only reason you got so popular was because you had a thematic deck of all insects and a catchy name. There were other regions in the country and do you know who else was well recognized? Mako Tsunami, in no shortage of thanks to So Lingers the Ocean by Toko Fukawa."

Yami glanced aside remembering dealing with that hot mess in Battle City.

"And let's not forget the real Duel Monsters World Champion Seto Kaiba. Did you ever compete in the World Championship, Weevil? Or were you too busy enjoying being on top of your little anthill? You were? Then shut up!"

"I…"

"No! No one wants to hear your little sob story. It's not the Pharaoh's fault you can't be bothered to keep up with the meta. Or maybe you're just a lazy bully that enjoys being on top without wanting the effort to be on top. You enjoy the fame and fortune, but haven't the understanding of how to keep it, or why you deserve it? And that Weevil, is why you will always be on the bottom," Junko said, giving him a thumb's down, "Just like a dung beetle."

"Junko, you're going too far," Yami told her.

"No, if he's going to play head games with you, then you get to play head games with him, it's only fair. He wants you to face the truth, I say he should look in a mirror! He's not perfect, neither of you are. Heck, I'm not exactly flawless either," Junko stated. "Whatever brought us to this moment is irrelevant. It's here and there's only one way forward. Someone has to lose their soul, and I'll bet money that it's not going to be the man championed as the King of Games!"

Weevil sneered. Yami actually smiled. While he questioned her attitude, he had to admit that Junko had a point. It was not his fault that Weevil wound up this way and he had no reason to think he was ever going to be so blind to his lust for power again. He had slipped up in a moment of weakness.

As long as I have a friend like Junko supporting me, I cannot fail, Yami thought. "My move!" Yami shouted, drawing the top card of his deck.

"But first, a friendly reminder," Weevil said, holding up two fingers. "Two turns have passed since my cocoon first appeared!" Weevil declared. "It won't be long now before it hatches, and when it does you'll meet the same fate as your little buddy, Yugi."

Yami was through with Weevil's bullshit though. "Now I summon Kuriboh!" Yami shouted as the brown puffball appeared on the battlefield with its cute little coo in defense mode. However, it then grew horns and antennae.

"That means my Insect Queen gains two hundred more points," Weevil said as his Queen's attack grew to 3,500. "Remember, my DNA trap card turns all of your monsters to bugs!"

Yami growled and declared. "I place one card face-down." His turn was over.

Weevil cackled. "This train's been re-routed. Next stop Loserville."

"Oh, splendid. We get to see your hometown," Junko taunted.

Weevil sputtered in irritation momentarily at Junko's insult. It seemed he had a hard time taking whatever he could dish out.

Yami thought better than to tell Junko to be quiet this time. He'd learned her pattern of telling him how harmless Weevil was compared to him. He thought it better just to remain focused on the duel. He'd have a long talk with Junko later. After all, he had to be quick about his turn.

"Not if I play my trap first!" Yami declared. "Go! Natural Selection!"

"What?" Weevil asked flatly.

"You heard me, Weevil," Yami said. "There's been a change of plans! My trap card creates a clone of one of your monsters and adds it to my side of the field. Then it destroys the original!"

"Impossible," Weevil grumbled sorely.

"It's quite possible," Yami stated. "See for yourself!" He exclaimed, throwing his arm out wide as a copy of Insect Queen appeared on the battlefield, facing down Weevil's own. And then it chowed down on Weevil's monster.

"No! My Insect Queen! You can't!" Weevil hollered.

"He just did," Junko said with a chuckle as Weevil's monster exploded.

"Do you actually think you can beat me at an insect game?" Weevil asked. "Please! I'm the master of all insects!" The egg his queen had laid last turn hatched into a gigantic, gross centipede. "Meet my armored Centipede!" Weevil declared. It had 1,600 attack points, which quickly ramped up to 2,100 thanks to the power of the Orichalcos. "All right!" Weevil exclaimed, preparing to attack. "Destroy his Kuriboh with your poison fangs!"

Armor Centipede lunged forward and annihilated Yami's monster.

Weevil then smirked. "I'm afraid there's more. My armored Centipede gains 500 attack points for every insect it destroys, and your Kuriboh was part-bug!" He then cackled to his success. "And since I'm done," Weevil said as his monster's attack power increased to 2,600, "So's your queen!"

Yami's Insect Queen clone vanished from the battlefield, leaving only the pudgy cocoon Weevil had generated for the Pharaoh on his side of the field as far as monsters went. Things did not look good, but Yami and Junko both knew that this duel could only end in one way: Weevil's defeat.

---

With a Cyber Harpie on the battlefield charged up to 2,600 attack points, Mai felt pretty sure of herself that she had this duel under lock and key. However, Valon was ever determined to prove her wrong.

"It's my move," he said, drawing out his deck to get a new armor monster. "And say hello to my new left arm: Buster Knuckle!"

An armored gauntlet attached itself to Valon's right arm. It and Burning Knuckle now had 1,500 attack points. "Now, normally, I can't attack with more than 1 armor monster at a time, but if I play this card, I can! I activate the spell card Backup Reactor!" A pulsing energy reactor was shown on a spell card. "This magic card allows me to attack with all armor monsters in one turn whose attack points are over 1,000! But, in exchange, I can't activate the battle effects of any other armor monsters in play for the remainder of the turn, but it'll be worth it!" Valon shouted. "First, I'm using Burning Knuckle to attack your Cyber Harpie." Valon spun around and charged at Mai. "Come here ya bloody beast!"

Cyber Harpie bared her fangs at Valon and rushed in to fight him, Valon's Burning Knuckle slammed her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. A big burn mark bore itself into her abdomen, causing her to cough. However, Cyber Harpie got back up and slashed its claws along Valon's arm as he turned around and destroyed Burning Knuckle. Valon's life points fell to 2,900 as a result.

However, Mai noticed that her Cyber Harpie was not in good condition, her attack power dropping to 1,100.

"Cyber Harpie!" Mai cried out.

"Thanks to my monster's effect, your monster gets weaker," Valon said as Buster Knuckle's attack power became 1,300. "It may have cost me some life points, but it'll be worth it to hit you again!" Valon's Buster Knuckle cracked itself into Cyber Harpie's back, breaking its armor and causing the hologram to shatter as it hit the ground. Mai lost a little bit of control of her motorcycle as it wiggled along the dusty terrain. Her life points were now at 2,250.

"Next, I place one card face-down," Valon said, as the trap card appeared. "Your move, Mai. And you don't have many more left."

Mai looked at the sole card in her hand. It wasn't exactly a game changer. She needed something that could ultimately swing this duel in her favor and swing it fast, otherwise, she'd be literally driving into a dead end.

---

With Mai relying on the Heart of the Cards to draw her a win, the Pharaoh was ready to draw the card that would start his next turn off. However, as he drew it and looked at it, his duel disk sparked. Weevil then began laughing uncontrollably.

"Your time's up! It's been three turns since I transformed your Obnoxious Celtic Guardian into a cocoon, which means it's time for my secret weapon to emerge!" Weevil exclaimed. "Say hello to Poison Butterfly!" A colorfully winged brown butterfly appeared on Yami's side of the field with 2,700 attack points to the sound of Weevil's insane laughter.

"What's wrong?" Weevil asked. "You should be grateful you have such a strong monster. So what if it takes away 500 life points for every turn it stays on the field?"

So at maximum, the Pharaoh only has three turns left to win, including this one, Junko thought. And that's assuming that Weevil doesn't take away any more. I must admit, Weevil, I may have underestimated you just a tad, but now that your winning strategy has been revealed, you're not going to win, not by a longshot.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you," Yami said, shutting Weevil up.

Weevil wiped his mouth of drool. "What did you draw?" He looked down at the card in Yami's hand. "Come on, what is it?" Yami showed it off to Weevil, causing him to panic. "No! It's one of those Legendary Dragon cards, I'm doomed!"

And yet…you don't sound very concerned, Junko thought. And then, a thought struck her. Oh. I get it. DNA surgery is still in play, so no matter what monster comes out, it'll still be an insect. Well played, Weevil. Well, this should be good for a laugh.

"How right you are!" Yami shouted. "I've drawn the eye of Timaeus! Show yourself my beast!" Yami declared, slapping it into the proper disk slot.

The big green dragon emerged onto the battlefield behind Yami. Weevil's face, as he cried out in terror, resembled the famous painting The Scream.

"Now! Merge with Poison Butterfly to form…" Yami declared, waiting for the monsters to fuse, only to be met with an unexpected, poor turn of events. Out of nowhere, Timaeus roared in contempt and then vanished from the battlefield of its own accord.

Even Junko, in all her analytical wisdom had not expected that. Should she laugh? Should she cry? Should she say something? One thing was for certain all right. She was giddy with Yami's despair. His saving grace had just stabbed him in the back. Her jaw hung open as she fought the urge to have her open jaw form a smile, lest Weevil inform Yami of it.

"My dragon!" Yami exclaimed, horrified by the turn of events as Poison Butterfly remained on the field in its natural state. Even he understood what happened. "No! He's abandoned me!"

Weevil's laughter was as expected as it was cacophonic. "You realized what happened, don't you?" he asked. "The dark magic of the Orichalcos is still within you!"

And the roots and seeds of despair, Junko added silently.

Weevil began jumping for joy, clapping his feet together. "When the Pharaoh played the Seal of Orichalcos in his last duel, he turned his back on all his monsters. Now Timaeus is returning the favor! BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Weevil cackled.

Yami turned to Junko for counsel. She'd been silent throughout the whole ordeal. She was posed like she was trying to imitate Dio Brando. "What? Want me to console you? You know what you did, Pharaoh," she told him. "I'm not going to baby you. Think of another strategy. You still have life points. This duel is not over yet."

Yami was surprised by Junko's words, but no less thankful for them. Her tough love was as much of a boon as she meant it. Still, that was the only card in his hand. He had nothing to play. "My turn's done," he admitted, teeth grit.

"Music to my ears," Weevil said, wiggling his left one. "That means Poison Butterfly's effect is about to activate, and you lose 500 of your life points." Yami frowned as his life points fell to 700.

Junko began contemplating the actions she needed to take depending on the outcome of this duel. If the Pharaoh lost, she would have to take up Timaeus in his place and help save the world, bathing herself in the light and turning everyone away from the shadows that lay within her. It would make it that much easier to rip the rug out from underneath the world.

Alternatively, she could also abandon her plans with the Pharaoh, realizing he was of no use to her, spread word of his disgrace and make her plans come to fruition that much sooner and easier.

If he won though, her current plan proceeded as normal. And Junko waited with baited breath in anticipation that her plans would not have to change. After all, her current plan was the one that brought the most despair to the most amount of people, including those she was closest to. It would be a tragic, despair festered world that would leave the Pharaoh, and little Yugi, devastated that she could commit such actions. Yes, that was what she craved most. But, even then…

Ah, Pharaoh, win or lose, or somewhere in between, no matter what you do, she forged a smirk behind her hand, I continue to win.

"You've done enough damage for one turn," Weevil said. "It's my move!" he declared as he drew the top card of his deck. "Ready?" he looked at the card he drew. He slapped the card into the spell/trap zone. "I'll place one card face-down and end my turn." He then let fly a little chuckle.

---

"It's my turn!" Mai declared, managing to get the top card of her deck into her hand. She and Valon were now driving through a narrow pathway through a forest with Mukuro and Miho bringing up the rear. She looked at the two cards in her hand one of them seemed very helpful right about now. "I activate the spell card Harpie's Feather Duster! This will disable your face-down card with no remorse!"

"Harpie's Feather Duster, huh? Perfect!"

"Huh?" Mai was confused and then mortified when the face-down card of Valon's was revealed to be Gryphon Wing. "Oh no!"

"Gotcha, Mai," Valon said with a sly smirk. "Gryphon Wing is the bane of Harpie's Feather Dusters everywhere. Instead of my spell and trap cards getting destroyed, all of yours get destroyed instead!"

"No!" Mai shouted. Harpie's Mating Call and Cyber Shield were completely blasted to bits, bringing Ocupete and Airo's attack power down to a more reasonable 1,600 for Valon to beat over.

Still, Buster Knuckle only had 1,300 attack points and Mai had two monsters to attack with. She would just have to chip away at his armor one piece at a time.

"Harpy Lady Airo, attack Buster Knuckle!"

I'll be redirecting your attack to my Advanced Guard!" Valon declared. Mai's attack was diverted as Valon juked his motorcycle towards his left, allowing Airo to hit him right in the back with her talons. "And thanks to my Advanced Guard's special ability, I'm not gonna take damage this turn," Valon said as the card disappeared.

"Who cares if you can take damage? I'm still going to destroy one of your other monsters! I'm targeting Psychic Armor Head!" Mai shouted as Ocupete smashed its foot onto the top of Valon's helmet, breaking it and leaving him with only his natural motorcycle helmet on. Valon was left with only Overboost and Buster Knuckle, which now only had a pitiful 900 attack points. "My turn's done," Mai said.

"Too bad, Mai, cause the fun's just starting!" Valon exclaimed. He drew the top card of his deck, bringing him up to two. "First, since I have a Psychic Armor Head in my graveyard, it comes back to the field!" Valon exclaimed. With Psychic Armor Head restored to the battlefield, Valon now had 1,100 attack points on his Buster Knuckle. "And that's not all," Valon stated. "I also play this, another Jet Gauntlet!" This allowed Buster Knuckle to rise in power to 1,300 points.

Mai gasped. Oh this wasn't going to go well next turn at all.

"And now, I activate the special ability of my Overboost!" The thrusters in Valon's boots kicked in as he pointed them in front of him sending him speeding behind even Mukuro and Miho. Miho cringed as he drove by, Buster Knuckle poised to strike not Ocupete or Airo, but Mai herself. "This allows me to attack you directly!"

Valon punched Mai right in the face, causing her to stumble and swerve and drive inadvertently through the bushes. Mai screamed in pain, agony and fear as he spiraled out of control through the woods, getting scraped up from the out of control spinning.

"Mai!" Miho shouted in alarm.

Mai barely kept her back tire from going into the river. She had twigs and leaves in her hair and scratches in no less than four places on her arms and legs. She saw Valon speed down the pathway. She sneered as her life points officially dropped down to 950. She was on her last legs as she sneered behind her helmet. She revved up her engine and drove back onto the path to catch up to Valon. She would not let him make a mockery of her like this.

"Mai, are you okay?" Miho called out to her.

"I'm fine," Mai said. "Valon should be more concerned with himself."

"What's that, Mai? Can't hear you? I'm on the winning track!" Valon exclaimed, laughing. "Lucky for you, since I used Overboost's power, I lose the card." Overboost burst and disappeared, dropping the power of Buster Knuckle down to 1,100.

"We'll see about that!" Mai shouted. "Because now, it's my turn!" She drew the top card of her deck. It was completely unhelpful under the circumstances: Amazon Archers. She would have to go forward with what she had and she didn't like where this was going, not one bit.

"I attack with Harpy Lady Ocupete!" Mai shouted. "Destroy Buster Knuckle!" She shouted.

"Redirecting attack to Psychic Armor Head!" Valon shouted.

Huh? Not to Jet Gauntlet? Mai thought. Whatever, not my problem. "Ocupete! Attack!" Mai shouted.

Valon's life points dropped down to 1,400 as a result of losing his Psychic Armor Head. Buster Knuckle now only had 900 attack points.

"Now!" Mai declared, only to realize what Valon had just suckered her into. "No! My Harpie!"

Valon threw his head back and laughed. "That's right! No matter what you do, Harpie Lady Airo's goin' straight to the graveyard! And next turn, Psychic Armor Head will come back to the field! Sure, you can attack it again with Ocupete and destroy it for another 800 points of damage, but there's no telling what kinda monster I might have to deal with it on my turn," Valon chuckled. "Face it, Mai! You've lost!"

Mai gasped, driving, but her brain was clearly receding into a void.

"Mai!" Miho called out in alarm. No, she can't lose her soul! That would be too sad. Joey and the others have already lost Ibuki. We can't lose Mai too. There has to be something Miho can do. Tears started dripping from her face. Miho doesn't want Mai to disappear.

As Miho crumpled into a ball in her seat, her knee tapped into something in her inside blouse pocket. Miho gasped. She took out the flute that Ibuki had given her as part of Lords of the Duel. Music. Maybe that would help. Miho put her flute to her lips and started to play only to cough and make a poor sound.

"What are you doing?" Mukuro asked her.

"Miho just…Miho needs to…" Miho shook her head and didn't give an explanation. "Just let Miho do what she needs to do."

Miho began playing a solo on her flute with extraordinary ability. Somehow, against all the laws of physics, seemed to carry with it the weight of an entire orchestra. No, it may have gone against physics, but somehow, Miho's desperate pleas for help were somehow channeling the power of the Duel Spirit World. Perhaps it was her time spent in Virtual Reality. Perhaps Miho was simply a special young lady. Perhaps it was a side effect of the Seal of the Orichalcos. No matter what the reason, it didn't matter. The result was the same.

Mai, you can't give up. Remember our band. Remember our synergy.

Mai heard Miho's flute and, inside herself, it resonated. Mai could hear the sound of the flute. And then, even though none of her other band members were here, even though she could hear none of their voices, she could still hear their instruments. She could hear Joey banging away on the drums. She could hear the beat of Tristan's bass guitar. She could hear Téa's masterful finger work on the keys. She could hear Ibuki's shredding of the electric guitar. And, most importantly, she could hear her voice, but it wasn't to the sound of tunes, it was to Mai's triumphant call of determination. She wasn't giving up just yet!

"Harpie Lady Airo, attack!" Mai shouted. She didn't have to declare a target, she knew Valon would redirect the attack either way to Jet Gauntlet and destroy both monsters. However, when Harpie Lady Airo hit the ground, blown away by Jet Gauntlet, she met eyes with Mai and smiled at her, blood dripping from the side of her lips. However, Airo's look was not scornful, or hateful, or even sad. She was smiling at Mai, at her mistress, at her true lord and master.

With a power mad battle cry that no one had ever heard Mai utter before, she tore ahead of Valon and made him eat her dust. She only had Ocupete flying behind her, but together, she knew the two of them would win this duel.

"I don't know what you're planning, but I know I ain't gonna let you have a chance ta do it!" Valon shouted. He drew the top card of his deck. "First, Psychic Armor Head comes back to my side of the field!" Valon shouted, his awesome looking helmet re-affixing itself to his head. "And next, I play this: Advanced Shield!" A silver hexagon armor piece attached itself to Valon's arm. It had 1,000 attack points, which increased in power to 1,500, 200 more than Mai's Harpie Lady. "My advanced Shield can't attack, but now I've completely blocked off any chance you have of dealing damage to me!" he declared.

"Don't be so sure!" Mai exclaimed. "It's my turn now and I'm about to turn this whole duel around!" She drew the top card of her deck and became parallel with Valon. "First, I equip this spell card, Aero Nail! This spell card increases my Harpie's attack power by 300 points!"

Ocupete gained the wrist-mounted blade on her arm began flying backwards, ready to strike.

"Now, I activate my final magic card: Harpie Lady Simurgh Bombardment! As long as I control a monster with Harpie in its name with 1,800 attack points or less, I can continue to attack with it as long as my opponent has monsters for me to attack, but no other monsters can attack this turn!" Mai declared.

Ocupete flew through the air and sliced Valon's Advanced Shield off, bringing Valon down to 1,300 life points, but, more importantly, only left Buster Knuckle with 900 attack points.

"N-no!" Valon exclaimed, realizing what was about to happen.

"Harpie Lady Ocupete!" Mai declared, "Attack again!"

Ocupete soared forward and into the woods and sliced up Valon's Buster Knuckle, causing him to lose 700 more life points, bringing him down to 600. With only Psychic Armor Head left on the field, Valon knew he was toast.

This can't be, he thought. "THIS CAN'T BE!" he shouted.

"End of the Road!" Mai shouted vigorously. "Harpie Lady Ocupete! Finish him off! Destroy Psychic Armor Head and end this high-speed duel!"

Flying out from the trees, Harpie Lady Ocupete flew up so high that Valon was blinded by the sun. He screamed as the monster dove down, poised to strike and then sliced straight through his helmet. The sudden impact and wind, caused Valon to lose control of his bike as he screamed and swerved out of control. His life points hit 0 and the bucking bike threw Valon from it into a bush, face-up as the bike spun out of control, kept going to the right, swerved, turned, crashed into a nearby cliff and then exploded!

Mai came to a complete stop. The duel was over and she had won. She smiled at her Harpie Lady as it vanished from the field. She then walked towards Valon to check on him. In his final moments, he deserved to have people near him.

Mukuro and Miho came up the road, slowing to a stop. When Mai reached Valon, she took off her helmet, seeing the Seal of the Orichalcos surrounding only him now.

Valon could feel the kiss of the sunlight creeping over his left cheek. He saw Mai standing over him as Miho and Mukuro came into view from his right.

"What are you doing?" Valon asked. "You won. Leave me here."

"No one deserves to be alone in their final moments," Mai said.

Valon smiled. "You've come a long way since your casino days, Mai Valentine."

Mai couldn't help but smile. "Do you understand why you lost?"

Valon breathed heavily as the Orichalcos began to take him. "Only if you can answer me one thing. Do you think people are worth getting to know? From a former loner to a current one, do you think it's possible for me to find the right people?"

Mai gave Valon her hand.

"What are you doing?" he asked, confused.

"We're going to save everyone that gets their soul taken by the Orichalcos. If you want to turn over a new leaf, I'd be happy to show you where to start."

"I don't suppose that would include room and board, would it?" Valon asked. "I ain't got no home or a job. I was a prisoner before Dartz took me under his wing."

Mai clasped Valon's hand. "I've got more money than I know what to do with. Using it to help someone in trouble is pretty cheesy for me, but I can spare enough to get you a down payment on an apartment."

Valon laughed and then took his hand away from Mai's and threw off his helmet. The glow of the Orichalcos was blinding his vision. "Hey, Mai. That was kinda fun, wasn't it? Our duel I mean."

"Soul stealing aside, I suppose it was."

Valon smiled. "I think maybe I'll try to do something with that." His eyes closed. "Card Games on Motorcycles…heh…heh…what a…concept."

And with that, he could muster no more resistance as the Seal of Orichalcos took his soul, leaving him comatose.

Mai shouldered Valon and stuffed him into the sidecar of the motorbike. "Miho," she said, putting her helmet back on. "You're going to have to ride holding onto me or Mukuro until we meet up with Joey, Tristan and Téa and the Jeep," she said.

"Miho will ride with Mukuro then," Miho said. She then sweat a little. "No offense, but you scare Miho with how you drive."

Mai slapped her shoulder. "None taken, hon. And thank you. Being reminded of what I have by your flute playing was the exact kind of ego boost I needed to win that duel." Mai gave Miho a hug. "Thank you, Miho."

Miho gave Mai a hug, sniffing. "Miho's glad you're okay, Mai."

Mai smiled, rubbing the back of Miho's head.

Mukuro broke up the sappy moment, but only because she was in her usual all business attitude. "We shouldn't dawdle," she said, strapping on her helmet. "We need to catch up with the Pharaoh and my sister. Come on, Miho."

"Right," Miho said and followed after Mukuro onto the motorcycle that Mai had been riding on. Then, taking a glance at Valon, Mai got onto the motorbike that Mukuro had been driving during her duel.

You're gonna owe me big someday, Mai thought. But for now, the most important thing is that you find your path, Mai thought. I found mine, she thought, thinking of band practice with Lords of the Duel. She started up the motorbike and began to drive forward, following after Mukuro and Miho. And I hope to never lose it…for anything.

---

While Mai's duel with Valon was over and Joey was already on the move to catch up with her, that just left Yami's duel with Weevil that had yet to be concluded.

"I believe it's my move now," Yami said, drawing the top card of his deck. He looked at the card he drew.

"Hurry up!" Weevil declared impatiently. "I can't wait to deliver your soul to Master Dartz so he has a matching set."

"The only delivering that will be dealt out in this duel will be the Pharaoh's size nine with your buttocks."

Yami sighed and just continued. He did, however, glare at Weevil. "You'll do nothing of the sort, Weevil," Yami stated. "This duel's not over! So I call forth Breaker the Magical Warrior!"

A red clad sorcerer, clad in armor and cloth, wearing a magician's hat and carrying a sword and shield appeared on the battlefield with 1,900 attack points and 1,000 defense points.

"And there it is!" Junko exclaimed, pointing at Weevil with both of her index fingers. "This duel is on its way to a speedy conclusion. Prepare to lose!"

"What do you mean?" Weevil asked. "The Pharaoh just triggered my trap card, Infestation!" A trap card flipped face-up that showed leeches covering the entirety of a human person. "The first thing it does is drain 100 attack points from each of our monsters," Weevil stated.

Armored Centipede now had 2,500 attack, Poison Butterfly had 2,600, and Breaker had 1,800.

"But it doesn't stop there," Weevil chuckled. "Next, the attack points we lost are added up and subtracted from our life points."

Weevil's life points were now 3,800, but Yami's were at a problematic 500. At the end of this turn, he would lose.

"You've got a plan, right?" Junko asked, folding her arms, smirking.

"You bet I do," Yami said calmly.

Weevil laughed. "Oh please. It's just about over. Poison Butterfly strikes when your turn's done. And since you're done to your last 500 life points, you'll automatically lose the duel!"

"My turn's not over yet," Yami said.

"Who cares?" Weevil boasted. "I still have almost all my life points. You can't win!"

"Life point differences aren't everything," Junko said with a smirk, taking her Dio pose. "But I'll let the Pharaoh teach you a lesson better than I could."

Weevil, however, wasn't letting Junko's bullshit get to him this time. "I'll tell you what, because I feel sorry for you. I'd be willing to do you a little favor before you lose. I have a card in my pocket I think you'd like to see. I can't wait to see the look on your face." Weevil then began cackling.

"Weevil," Yami growled, clenching his empty fist.

"Relax, Pharaoh, I'm just trying to be nice," Weevil said.

That's a lie if I ever heard one, Junko thought. But I am interested to see what you're up to. Though, I have an idea…and I doubt you'll like the results.

"It's the least I could do to repay you for ruining my life," Weevil said.

Yami's gaze became affixed on Weevil.

"You want to see Yugi, right?" he asked. "His spirit is trapped, deep in the caverns of Dartz's lair. And I know how to set him free."

Junko bristled with anticipation. Oh this was just too good to call Weevil out on being a liar. This was utilization of the crippling weakness she'd discovered in Yami. She had to see it in action.

"Tell me how to save him! Right now!" Yami shouted.

Weevil cackled. Like a moth to a flame, Yami had taken his bait. "Very well. In order to release his soul, you'll need a special card," Weevil said, taking a common Gokibore out of his pocket, but he only showed the back to the Pharaoh. "And I've got it right here."

"What?" Yami gasped. "Then hand it to me NOW!"

"That's not a nice way to ask," Weevil said, turning his body away from Yami. He then held the card as high in the air as he could. "Why don't you say pretty please with sugar on top?"

Yami, in a trance, walked towards Weevil. But, Weevil didn't let him get very far.

"Oh well, too late," Weevil said with a mischievous grin. "So it looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson in manners." He put his thumb and forefingers on the top center of the card. "Now say goodbye." Weevil then promptly, and on purpose, tore the card in half! "Yugi's gone forever!"

Oh how Junko wished she could see the look on Yami's face when he gasped. Her imagination was running wild and she could only be thankful that Breaker the Magical Warrior was blocking her happy, drooling face from Weevil's sight. The Pharaoh had to be in total despair right now. He had to be. This was too good.

Yami then compounded it by clutching his head and shouting, "NOOOOOOOO!"

Weevil then began to laugh.

"You snake!" Yami growled contemptuously.

Weevil laughed harder. "Don't you know a joke when you hear one? I tore up a useless bug card," he said, throwing the two halves to the wind. Neither Yami nor Junko said a word. "Hmph, you people have no sense of humor."

Oh trust me, I do. I'm just waiting for this to blow up in your face, Junko thought.

Yami returned to his original position, forcing Junko to adopt a sullen glare. The two nodded at each other.

"Clean your neck and wait, Weevil!" Junko exclaimed, pointing at him. "I can already hear the rattling of chains from the great beyond!"

"Junko is absolutely right!" Yami growled loudly. "You'll pay for that! Hear me, Weevil? You'll pay dearly!"

"That's right, exact your revenge," Junko said, forcing her face to resemble how it looked whenever she was bored. However, she was using it to express something else: pure rage. And it was hard to say exactly how much of it was an act right now. "Make him suffer for even joking about permanently driving you and Yugi apart."

Weevil flinched, intimidated by the look in Yami's scowl. However, he quickly found the threat empty. "There's nothing you can do now Pharaoh!"

"I'm going to have to disagree," Yami responded with tranquil fury, but it wouldn't be tranquil for very long. "Now!" he shouted. "Breaker the Magical Warrior! Activate your special ability!"

Breaker's sword glowed blue.

Weevil seemed unfazed at first. "Big deal, so you can destroy a magic or trap card." He then realized what he just said. "Oh wait! That's bad!"

"Sounds like you've realized I plan on destroying your Insect Barrier!" Yami shouted. "Allowing me to attack you with the Poison Butterfly you gave me!"

Weevil growled.

"Now, Breaker the Magical Warrior, destroy Insect Barrier!" Yami commanded.

With a beam fired from the slash of its sword, Insect Barrier was destroyed by Breaker the Magical Warrior.

"I told you you'd pay for that stunt you pulled just a few moments ago, didn't I?" Yami scowled. "I may have weakened my warrior's attack power by using his special ability, but it was well worth the price, for now I can destroy you!" Yami exclaimed.

With what? Junko wondered. At best you'll get Weevil down to 2,200 life points. She tried to figure out the Pharaoh's strategy, but with thousands of cards in Duel Monsters, trying to figure out which one would help him right now wasn't a simple task.

"Prepare to feel the wrath of your own monster, Poison Butterly!" Yami shouted.

Weevil screamed like a little girl.

"It's all over for you," Yami said calmly. "Go, Poison Butterfly!" he declared. "Attack his Armored Centipede!" With purple poison particles perpetuating like powder out of Poison Butterfly, Armored Centipede could not stand up to the attack and was destroyed, bringing Weevil down to 3,700 life points. "And now! Attack him directly Breaker!" Yami's armored magician struck Weevil across the chest and down towards his right hand, leaving him with 2,200 life points left.

Weevil stumbled about, but maintained his footing. He then began grinning. "Nice try, but it looks like your turn just came to an end!" he declared triumphantly, "Which means Poison Butterfly takes the rest of your life points." Weevil jumped into the air and clapped his feet together while laughing in mockery of Yami's fruitless effort. "Ha! Guess I win!"

"Too bad, I'm not done yet," Yami said.

Junko smiled. She'd figured out what Yami was planning now. This was going to be good.

"Now quiet down so I can complete my turn."

Weevil was confused. He waggled his arm about, index finger extended as he proclaimed, "What on Earth are you talking about? Both your monsters have attacked already! There's nothing more you can do!" His voice was slightly in a panic. Junko knew why. Because if there was something Yami could do, Weevil was going to get a one-way ticket to be Leviathan chow.

"I can still play this!" Yami shouted. "Go! Berserker Soul!" The card activated, appearing.

"What are you gonna do with that?" Weevil asked, glaring, but also curious.

"First," he said. "I must throw out my entire hand." He discarded the last card in his hand to the graveyard. "Now I shall continue to draw cards from my deck one by one and I'm not to stop until I draw a magic or trap card. Meanwhile, with every monster card I draw, I can attack you with a creature from my side of the field, as long as that creature has 1,500 points or less!"

Weevil gasped. "1,500? Wait a sec…" Weevil's mind trailed back as he realized just how much in advanced Yami had been planning this.

"It's the beginning of the end for you!" Yami shouted. He drew the top card of his deck. "I've drawn Queen's Knight! And since it's a monster," Yami said, putting the card in his graveyard, "My warrior can attack! Go!" he declared.

Breaker charged and slashed at Weevil, dropping his life points down to 700.

One more attack and it's over, Junko thought. Or so she believed.

"Now for my next card!" Yami shouted. He drew the top card of his deck. He looked at it. It was Gazelle. "Looks like you're out of luck," he said to the now cowering Weevil. "Attack again!"

Weevil's life points fell to 0 as Breaker the Magical Warrior slashed him across the chest once more.

Well, that was fun. Now let's—

"I draw again!" Yami declared.

…wait what? Even Junko was taken off guard.

Yami revealed Big Shield Gardna in his hand as he sent it to the graveyard. "Another monster!"

Despite his target having zero life points, Breaker attacked Weevil directly, causing him to cry out in pain.

As Yami declared, "This just isn't your day!" and pulled Alpha the Magnet Warrior to his hand, Junko broke out into a wide grin. Despair had seized the Pharaoh once more. With Berserker Soul in play, he wasn't planning on stopping until Weevil understood his pain. Junko could feel a beating in her heart as Weevil was attacked by Breaker once again. She had never witnessed such lovely despair before. Her face flushed and for a moment she could see her own breath.

Yami drew again, and again, and again. He was now up to seven successful strikes on poor Weevil.

And Junko wasn't going to do anything, but encourage this rampaging behavior. "Yes! Keep drawing monster cards!" she shouted, pointing at Weevil. "Keep attacking! He stole Yugi from us! Make him suffer! Make him pay! Make him feel despair!"

"I WILL!" Yami roared. Dark Magician Girl. Summoned Skull. Jack's Knight. Berfomet. Buster Blader. Yami lay an unrelenting beatdown on Weevil without remorse.

Junko was panting with pleasure so much she was almost laughing. "That's it! Strike him down! Let out your hatred! Let the heart of the cards guide your anger and furious vengeance!"

Weevil's soul was long since gone by this point and Yami kept attacking.

This continued as the train sped downhill with no one operating the breaks.

"RRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Yami's fury echoed through the canyon as Junko realized that the train was about to derail.

All right, I suppose that's enough. "Pharaoh! Watch out!" she shouted. She ran towards him just as the train hopped the track. Yami suddenly snapped to full alertness, breaking him out of whatever force had possessed his heart and turned him into a raging beast. He didn't have time to contemplate his actions though. He was already through the air as Weevil was tossed in the other direction.

"Weevil!" Yami shouted, only to be tackled by Junko from the side, the side of her head against his stomach. "J-Junko…"

Junko had her book out and was reading off a page in it, speaking in, what sounded to Yami like nonsensical gibberish.

A green barrier formed around the two of them, shaped like an almond as Junko grabbed onto Yami with dear life. The two fell hundreds of feet down into the canyon below as the g-forces caused Yami to black out. He reached out beyond the barrier and the cliff top continually growing smaller and smaller. "Yu…gi…" he got out before he completely passed out.

---

Yami woke up with a gasp, panting for dear life. He immediately bolted to an upright position. "Where…am I?" He looked around horizontally. He was in some kind of tent. His mind flashed back to the last thing he remembered. Grinding his teeth, he slammed his fists against his legs. He hadn't learned a thing from his duel with Rafael. He'd been so concerned with victory, he'd given in to anger. No, this was different. He'd already won. He just wanted to make Weevil suffer.

Tears dripped from his face as he gripped the blanket over his lap. Without Yugi to guide him, Yami realized he was slipping back into bad habits. Memories such as when he tortured Ushio with a vision of being eaten by giant worms, or the time he made a man think his body was made of clockwork when he stole Tristan's watch flooded his mind.

How could I lose such control?

He then heard a pleasurable little whine next to him, followed by someone touching his hand. He looked over and down to see Junko in a bed roll of her own. Her pigtails were sagging and she had a very pleased look on her face. "Ohhhhhh, baby, you really know how to treat a woman," she purred.

Yami gasped, only to quickly sneer. "Junko, I have no time for your games. Get up." He wanted a word with her.

"Ooooh, if you insist." Junko sat up, her shirt missing, bra hanging off her. Only one of the straps was tight to her body. Yami could see almost everything.

"Junko, I…um…" What the hell had happened while he was unconscious.

"You were incredible," Junko purred.

Yami did his best to shake off what had or hadn't happened while he was unconscious. "Junko, what in the world were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that you're sexy," Junko said, playfully biting the air.

"Not about…whatever you're talking about, I meant about the duel."

Junko lay back down on her back. "You mean about Weevil?" Junko asked.

Yami nodded, glaring at her. "You were taunting him all throughout the duel. And when I lost control, all you did was insist I invoke more suffering."

"I mean, I was suffering too," Junko said. She frowned. "I miss Yugi."

"Junko, that's no reason to stoop to Weevil's level, or promote torture."

Junko put her hands behind her head. "I suppose you have a point." She wasn't exactly disagreeing with what she was saying. She loved using exact wording loopholes based on how she felt the world operated.

"Why did you do it? Even in my duel with Rafael, you encouraged my destructive behavior."

Uh oh. She was being interrogated. She couldn't afford to be found out now. And, judging from the situation, her sexy talk probably wasn't going to get her out of this one. Junko took a deep breath and came up with the most careful way to explain herself. "Did you ever rip the wings off of an insect when you were a child?" Junko asked. She answered for Yami before he could for himself. "No, likely not as Pharaoh and Yugi himself likely hasn't. "I take a bit of pleasure in that kind of cruelty every now and again. It's a bit of a bad habit of mine you see." Yami didn't realize the depths of which Junko was talking. "When I see people in pain, sometimes I want to encourage that pain. The Germans call it Schadenfreude. It's a term that means happiness at the misfortune of others. It's a very…human behavior, like tricking a vegetarian into eating chicken. In my case though, sometimes I lose myself the twisted enjoyment one normally gets out of this phenomenon. When I see you, or anyone, behaving out of malice, I suddenly want to see just how low a person can go with their anger and rage. I guess you could say…I find it fascinating." Junko knew she was playing a dangerous game. It was very close to the bare basics of her despair philosophy. She just had to ensure that Yami wasn't going to realize just how far the darkness in her went.

"That's a very dangerous way of thinking," Yami told her.

"I know that," Junko said. "But it's how I'm wired, much like how you are wired to be competitive and headstrong, or how Yugi is gentle and kind, or Joey is…well…an idiot."

Yami just stared at Junko.

"Look, if you don't want to be friends with me after hearing that, I can understand. I probably don't sound like the most stable person after saying all of that."

"Perhaps not, but that harshness has also helped me," Yami said. "You kept me focused during the duel. You encouraged me to go after Dartz when I was at my lowest point." He smiled at her, caressing her arm. "Perhaps together we could correct both of our bad habits."

Junko would've thrown back her head and moaned softly at how excellent it was to see Yami deeply entrenched in her antics. He didn't care that she had a "bad habit", he just felt that she could be helped. Then again, he was always trying to get Kaiba to change, so she realized she shouldn't be that surprised. And with that said…

"Am I going to start hearing your nagging when I go too far the way you give destiny speeches to Seto Kaiba?"

Yami smiled. "Perhaps you might."

A brief silence fell between the two.

"Where's Weevil?" Yami asked.

Junko puffed out one cheek. "Beats me. Probably in a ditch about five miles back. We fell pretty far. Besides, fuck 'em. He got what was coming to him."

"Junko, this is exactly what I'm talking about! That's no way to talk about another human being!" Yami shouted at her.

"Sorry," Junko apologized, sitting up, exposing her skin again. "I guess I just have a problem forgiving truly contemptable people. I'm a little broken inside, Pharaoh," she said smoothing a hand up the back of her hair. "Would you fix me?" she asked as she leaned close to him, her bra strap slipping further down her right arm. Any further and Yami would be able to see parts of Junko no other man had ever seen before.

"U-Um...I...uh..." Yami stuttered. "E-explain…um…that is to say…"

"Oh?" Junko purred. "Like what you see?" she asked, leaning towards Yami, putting her hand on his thigh, giving him a good look down her chest. She could see his face flushing as he stared at her body. However, after a few seconds, Junko broke out into a wry smirk, pivoted her upper body ninety degrees, threw her head back and laughed. She couldn't keep it in anymore. She'd tortured Yami enough. "Oh Pharaoh I'm just messing with you." She fanned herself with her left hand. "I couldn't sleep with my shirt on and get it all sweaty so I took it off."

Yami released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.

"Honestly, you've been sleeping pretty soundly though since the fall. Ironheart said I should let him know when you woke up," Junko said, only for her the gaze of her eyes to change as her smirk became mischievous. "Buuuut," Junko leaned in and put her nose right under Yami's cheek. He could see her exposed torso all the way down to her skirt. "Maybe you'd like to close up the tent for a bit, hmm Pharaoh? Make my little prank a reality?"

Yami could not form words. Yes. He was mad at Junko for being a bit not all there in the head, but she'd somehow made him forget all that and was now propositioning him for sex. As he tried to figure out what the hell to do, the tent flaps open up and a voice called out.

"Oh, you're both up."

Yami turned his head to see a little girl with brown pigtails that couldn't be older than seven standing by the entrance to the tent. She had a little trilby hat on with a red cloak over a pink dress with tiny brown boots.

Junko sighed. There went her best chance to completely convert Yami to despair up the river to fair middling FUBAR. "Chris…"

"Oh, I'm sorry…" the little girl apologized. "I heard you two talking so I thought I should see what was going on. I could come back later."

"No, I'd like to get up, actually," Yami said, getting to his feet.

Chris smiled. "Your shirt is dry now, Junko. You can fetch it from the rack when you're ready."

"Thank you, Chris," Junko said.

Chris then skipped away. Junko then put her back against the bed roll, spreading her arms out. "You sure you're okay to get up."

"Like you said earlier, wasting time is not an option. We have to go after Dartz."

"If you say so," Junko said, getting to her feet, fixing her bra.

"By the way," Yami said. "What was that language you were speaking when we were falling?"

"Oh, that? I suppose you wouldn't recognize Ancient Atlantean," Junko said, holding up her spellbook. "I told you, I've learned how to read it. I cast a protection spell on us to save us from the crash."

"Did you protect Weevil?" Yami asked. He did not want that on his conscience.

Junko was going to ask "Why do you care so much?" but she realized that would only dig her into a deeper hole. "I couldn't reach him in time," she lied. She had prioritized Yami. "The spell only works within a radius of three feet and Weevil was already tumbling in another direction. Judging from the distance he would've fallen and the fact that he had lost his soul and had no self-preservation instincts…yeah, he's probably not of this world or any world anymore."

Yami gasped, eyes shrinking in.

"You lost control," Junko said calmly. "We both did. Right now we can't worry about it."

"Junko, I've never—"

Junko held up a finger. "This. Was. Not. Your. Fault." While putting the Pharaoh in despair was her ultimate goal, he was going to fall the wrong way and break if she wasn't careful and she needed him to be full of hope right now. If he was going to break, it was going to be as her ward, to mask his despair fetish with his usual antics, just like her. "Weevil threw himself at you on a moving train while under the power of the Seal of the Orichalcos. If you want to blame anyone, blame Dartz."

Junko's words brought Yami some solace. He had no idea that, when it was eventually convenient for her, Junko would hold this over him like a guillotine.

"There's a sliver of a chance he may have survived, but we'll waste time looking for him. Now then, shall we go greet our saviors? That is the polite thing to do after all," Junko said.

Yami nodded, "Okay," he said and then walked out of the tent.

Junko watched him walk away, posing with her hand over her face, two fingers extended. Oh Pharaoh, you are going to be my favorite toy, she thought as she moved the black king in her mind. I'll let you maintain your footing for now, but your fate is already sealed. The black queen moved along the board, the entire side of which had entrapped the white knights and bishops with the white king at the center. I've seen too far into your heart for you to escape me now. I already have you in despair's clutch. And at any time, I can squeeze so hard it will destroy your heart. And when I do, it'll be goodbye King of Games…

Junko chuckled to herself as she pictured Yami with that sinister smile he'd shown in his duel with Rafael, his blue coat replaced by one that was white on one side and black on the other. Yami's pants were also remodeled in the same way, the color scheme inverted to his coat. The Millennium puzzle was black as pitch, glowing red at the center of the eye.

Junko broke out into a wide Cheshire Cat Grin. And hello...King of Despair!

---

(A/N: Pants to be darkened! Behold folks, your first glimpse at the new catalyst of The Tragedy. Is Junko right? Is there no saving Yami's soul from being corrupted by her wiles? Has the King of Games fallen for the Queen of Despair? Oh so many questions that I really don't feel like answering. It's that much more fun to leave you all hanging by a leash.

I'm not even sure how many of you expected Yami to go bonkers with Junko encouraging him when you read the situation last chapter. It was my plan all along to have Junko sinking her venomous fangs into the Pharaoh. And perhaps he is changing already. I'll leave you all to make the call.

Next chapter will probably short, combining the episodes where Yami faces the Orichalcos Soldier as well as Yugi, but if those two things aren't enough to plug a chapter all by themselves—I actually wanted that as part of this chapter, but it got too long and I didn't want the rollercoaster of emotions to be lost on what was to come—it's back to Yukizome's group and you can only imagine what that gaggle of misfits is getting caught up in. But that's all for later. For now, as always, from all of me to all of you, let your hearts stay human and your wrath draconic. Ja ne!)