"I suppose I'll start off this duel then." Finé said. "I draw. I'll set one monster face down, and two set two more cards. I'll end my turn."

Genjuro and the others watched on, hoping that the trio would be able to pull through.

"You got this you guys!" Yumi said. "Kick her butt!"

Before Hibiki took her turn, she spoke up. "Miku… Tsubasa-san… we need to win this and end this nightmare… for Chris-chan's sake too. If we work together, we can do this!"

"I'm with you, Hibiki." Miku said. "All the way."

"Right. Drive that determination of yours straight into her, Tachibana!" Tsubasa encouraged.

(Play: Yusei Battle Theme - Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds)

"Alright! I draw!" Hibiki pulled a card from her deck. "By discarding a card, I can special summon Quickdraw Synchron from my hand! I'll discard Quillbolt Hedgehog!"

The robot cowboy tuner appeared on the field.

"And then I'll use Quillbolt Hedgehog's ability!" Hibiki declared. "Because I have a tuner monster, I can special summon him from the graveyard!"

The familiar hedgehog with bolts on his back appeared next to Quickdraw Synchron.

"I can substitute Quickdraw Synchron for any Synchron tuner when I Synchro Summon!" Hibiki called.

Quickdraw Synchron pulled out a pistol and aimed at a rotating array of Synchron tuner cards. He fired the bullet, landing a clean shot through a Junk Synchron card.

"With my level 2 Quillbolt Hedgehog, I tune it with my level 5 Quickdraw Synchron!"

Quickdraw Synchron turned into five green rings, as Quillbolt Hedgehog flew through them and became transparent.

"Gathering roars turn into an echoing arrow which tears through the sky! Become the path its light shines upon!" Hibiki chanted. "Synchro Summon! Show yourself! Junk Archer!"

A tall warrior resembling an evolved version of Junk Synchron landed next to her, aiming a bow of steel right at Finé. It had 2300 attack points.

"Even without Junk Synchron, she already managed to summon one of her Junk Synchro monsters." Shiori noted.

"I'll set one card face down, and end my turn." Hibiki said.

"Then I'll go next!" Miku said. "Draw!"

She looked at the cards in her hand and smiled. No time to test out her new friend in a duel like the present.

"I activate the spell card, Polymerization!" Miku shouted. "I'll use it to fuse Destiny HERO - Malicious and Destiny HERO - Decider in my hand!"

The demon-like warrior and fish hero rose behind Miku, as they entered a swirling portal.

"Hero of inevitable evil, hero who decides the fate of victory! Now become one and reign in the pitch-black future!" Miku brought her hands together above her head, before bringing them down in front of her. "Fusion Summon! Come on! Destiny HERO - Dystopia!"

Miku's new hero of purple and yellow jumped down from the sky, before punching a fist forward to brandish its mighty 2800 attack points.

"That's a new one!" Yumi shouted.

"I activate Destiny HERO - Dystopia's ability!" Miku declared. "When he's special summoned, I can deal damage to your life points equal to the attack points of one level 4 or lower Destiny HERO in my graveyard! There's only one real option for that, and I choose Destiny HERO - Decider!"

The fishman hero entered Dystopia's chest, who held up his arms and roared.

"I can't attack on this turn, but that doesn't mean your life points are safe!" Miku said. "Squeeze Palm!"

Dystopia threw a ball of energy from his hand, blasting Finé in the face and lowering her life points to 10400.

"That's showing her, Hina!" Kuriyo cheered.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn." Miku said.

Finé chuckled. "I'm impressed, Miku Kohinata. On the turns we can't attack, you already lowered my life points."

"Glad I could deliver." Miku said. "You're up, Tsubasa-san."

"I'll carry on your drive, Kohinata!" Tsubasa said. "I draw! I activate the ritual spell, Super Soldier Ritual!"

A few platforms and torches appeared around Tsubasa.

"A new ritual card?" Finé narrowed her eyes.

"I've never seen this one before." Genjuro said. "Ogawa?"

Ogawa shook his head. "It seems that Tsubasa-san has gotten a few new cards without asking me to obtain them for her."

"From my hand, I'll send Gaia, the Polar Knight and Gaia, the Mid-Knight Sun to reach the requirements for this Ritual Summon!"

The two knights rode onto the platforms, before going up in flames.

"Twin knights charging towards a new future, bathe in the flames of chaos and become one mighty soldier!" Tsubasa shouted. "I Ritual Summon, Black Luster Soldier - Super Soldier!"

Jumping out of the flames was a mighty version of Black Luster Soldier. This one had sharper armor, as well as red gemstones encrusted all over. Two red plumes billowed out behind his helmet. The warrior swung his blade, showing off 3000 attack points, making it the strongest monster on the field.

"3000 attack points!" Yumi said in awe.

"Synchro, Fusion, Ritual." Ogawa noted. "Three different special summoning types. It seems unlikely that Finé can take down all three of their varied decks."

"I'll set one card face down and end my turn." Tsubasa said.

Finé stared up at Junk Archer, Destiny HERO - Dystopia and Black Luster Soldier - Super Soldier. She simply laughed.

"If that's supposed to intimidate me, you've done a poor job at it." Finé said. "I draw."

She pulled a card from her deck, putting it into her hand.

"I'll flip up my face down monster, Jinzo - Jector."

A weaker looking Jinzo with wire dreadlocks stood before them, arms crossed.

"Then I'll activate Jinzo - Jector's ability, and tribute it to add a Jinzo to my hand." Finé said. "Then I can check all of your set cards."

The girls gasped, as their face down cards all revealed themselves. Hibiki's set card was Limiter Overload, Miku's was Destiny Sign, and Tsubasa's was Negate Attack.

"Because there were three traps on your fields, I can now special summon up to that many Jinzo monsters from my hand." Finé explained. "Unfortunately, I only have one, but that's good enough for me. Come forth, Jinzo!"

Jinzo was special summoned to Finé's field, with its signature 2400 attack points.

"Then I'll follow up with the spell card, Amplifier." Finé added.

A metal helmet appeared on Jinzo's head. The cyborg clenched his fists, as he felt his psychic energy boost up.

"Amplifier makes it so that Jinzo's effect only works on your traps." Finé said. "This means your face down cards are useless to you. And I'll give you a demonstration by activating my trap card; Tower of Babel!"

The ground shook, and a massive tower rose behind Finé, towering over them all.

"It's huge!" Miku said.

Tsubasa felt a bead of sweat drop down her forehead. "She's locked us off. We can't use our trap cards, and we can't risk using too many spells, lest we take 3000 points of damage."

Finé smirked, before holding out her hand. "Jinzo, attack Junk Archer! Cyber Energy Shock!"

I can't protect Tachibana with Negate Attack! Tsubasa realized, cursing internally.

The electrical blast was amplified by her spell card, as it shattered Hibiki's Junk Archer.

"Gah!" Hibiki was sent flying from the attack, even though she only lost 100 life points. She painfully hit the ground.

"Hibiki!" Miku cried.

"Tachibana!" Tsubasa shouted.

Hibiki groaned, but stood back up and walked back to them, their life points now at 11900. "I'm fine… but why did that hurt so much?"

"This is a game from the Shadows." Finé said as the golden eye on her forehead glew. "All the pain? Quite real, I'm afraid. And since you saw what happened to Chris, I'm sure you know what will happen once all of your life points are gone."

Everyone watching the duel stared in silent horror. Suddenly, the one on three advantage seemed to be gone, as a single slip-up meant that all three of them would lose in one swift swoop, with a price far bigger than any of them could imagine.

But still, they couldn't afford to falter now. They were already in the game, no backing out.

"I draw!" Hibiki said.

Hibiki frowned, as she couldn't do anything this turn.

"I'll set a monster and end my turn." Hibiki said. "I'm sorry, girls."

"Don't worry, Hibiki!" Miku said. "I'll make up for it! I draw!"

Miku put the new card in her hand, as she looked at Finé's field.

I can destroy her Jinzo with Dystopia, but she has a face down card. I can't really play it safe, but I can help things along a bit.

"I'll banish the Destiny HERO - Malicious from my graveyard, so I can special summon a second Malicious from my deck!" Miku called.

Miku ejected the Malicious from her graveyard, before putting it away into her banished zone slot. She pulled out a second copy from her deck, special summoning a second copy of the demon hero in defense mode.

"Now, Destiny HERO - Dystopia! Attack Jinzo!" Miku ordered, holding out her fist. "Dystopia Blow!"

Dystopia jumped into the air, making a dark shadow in front of the moon, before diving downward with power crackling in his fist.

"I activate my trap card, Draining Shield!" Finé called.

"What?!" Miku shouted.

A barrier appeared between Jinzo and Dystopia. The hero's fist crashed against the shield harmlessly.

"Draining Shield negates your attack, and raises my life points by the attack points of the attacking monster." Finé said.

Miku grit her teeth as Finé's life points rose to 13200, essentially getting rid of the damage she had done with Dystopia's effect, and then some.

"I… end my turn…" Miku said, gritting her teeth.

"So, what was that about making up for it?" Finé taunted.

Miku was about to run over there and club her Duel Disk on Finé's skull (though no one could blame her after everything that she's done).

"Don't let her words get to you, Kohinata. Control your anger." Tsubasa said. "Rest assured, I'll be sure to cut through that arrogance. Draw!"

(Play: Yami Yugi's Theme - Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links)

Tsubasa looked at the card she had just drawn; the Black Luster Soldier.

"Perfect!" Tsubasa held out her arm. "I activate Super Soldier Ritual's effect in my graveyard! I banish it, as well as Gaia, the Polar Knight and Gaia, the Mid-Knight Sun, to ritual summon again!"

"Ritual summoning from the graveyard?" Kuriyo said in awe.

"So this is the skill of an Idol Duelist." Shiori said.

"One soul shall merge with light! The other soul shall merge with the darkness!" Tsubasa chanted. "Between light and darkness, the gate to chaos is opened! Ritual Summon! The Black Luster Soldier descends!"

The original Ritual monster landed on the field, brandishing its mighty blade. It clashed it against his Super Soldier variant, creating a spark.

"Two Black Luster Soldier Ritual monsters?" Yumi said in awe.

"Go! Black Luster Soldier - Super Soldier!" Tsubasa shouted. "Super Chaos Blade!"

The enhanced Black Luster Soldier swung his weapon, shredding through Finé's Jinzo. She winced as her life points fell to 12600.

"Black Luster Soldier - Super Soldier's effect activates!" Tsubasa called. "When he destroys your monster in battle, you take damage equal to its attack value in the graveyard!"

Super Soldier swung his blade forward, shooting a beam of energy right at Finé's chest. Finé grunted in pain as she took 2400 points of damage, lowering her life even further to 10200.

"And I'm not finished!" Tsubasa added. "Black Luster Soldier, attack her life points directly! Chaos Blade!"

The soldier slammed his blade on the ground, sending a wave of energy ripping through the ground.

"I activate my trap card! Counter Gate!" Finé shouted.

A gateway appeared in front of Finé, with a second one appearing behind her. The wave of energy entered the first one, before harmlessly passing behind her and slamming into the base of Tower of Babel.

"Counter Gate lets me negate an attack, and I can draw a card." Finé said. "If it's a monster, I can normal summon it."

Finé drew a card, before frowning. It was a monster, but it was too high of a level for her to normal summon. No matter, she could easily summon it on her next turn.

"Then I end my turn." Tsubasa said. "Sorry I couldn't deal more damage."

"Are you kidding?" Miku said. "You dealt 3000 points of damage, more than Hibiki and I have this whole duel. And you got rid of Jinzo, meaning we can use our traps again."

"You did your best, Tsubasa-san!" Hibiki encouraged. "We can definitely win this now!"

(Play: Dark Tuning - Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds)

Tsubasa smiled, but Finé laughed as she drew her next card.

"I draw. Because I have a face up trap on the field, I can special summon Jinzo the Machine Menace to the field!"

A monster identical to the cyborg appeared on the field.

"When summoned this way, Jinzo the Machine Menace's level becomes 6 until the end of this turn." Finé said.

"They got rid of one Jinzo, only for another one to appear." Kuriyo muttered.

"But this card can't negate trap effects like the normal copy." Shiori said.

"I activate Tribute to the Doomed!" Finé declared. "By discarding one card, I can destroy one of your monsters! And I choose Black Luster Soldier - Super Soldier!"

The monster was pushed into a coffin, which shattered, leaving nothing behind.

"And with a spell activated, Tower of Babel gains its first spell counter!"

Several cracks ran across the building, causing a few bricks to fall.

"When Black Luster Soldier - Super Soldier is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can special summon one Gaia the Fierce Knight monster from my deck, hand or graveyard." Tsubasa said, pulling a card out. "And from my deck, I choose Lord Gaia the Fierce Knight!"

A red and black knight swooped down on a dark yellow dragon. His purple cape and blonde hair billowed behind him. He clanged his lances, brandishing 2300 attack points.

"Then I'll activate the effect of Jinzo - Returner. I can bring back Jinzo from my graveyard, but he'll be destroyed at the end phase." Finé said.

The trio were seeing double, as Jinzo appeared next to Jinzo the Machine Menace.

"Then I'll activate the spell card, Limiter Removal!" Finé said. "This spell will double the attack of all my machine monsters."

Both Jinzo and Jizno the Machine Menace doubled in size, boasting 4800 attack points each. Even though Finé activated a spell, Tower of Babel didn't gain a spell counter thanks to Jinzo's presence, but that proved to be small comfort.

"Jinzo the Machine Menace!" Finé shouted. "Destroy Hibiki's face down monster! Cyber Energy Bolt!"

A larger ball of energy fired from Jinzo the Machine Menace's hands, obliterating Hibiki's card; Max Warrior.

"Now Jinzo, attack their life points directly!" Finé ordered.

"What?! But we still have monsters!" Miku said.

"Correct, I cannot attack either you or Tsubasa… but does Hibiki have any monsters?" Finé asked with a sadistic grin as Jinzo charged up his attack.

"Damn it!" Tsubasa cursed. "Tachibana-!"

"Cyber Energy Shock!"

Jinzo unleashed the blast of energy, electrocuting Hibiki. The girl screamed in pain as she took the full front of the attack.

"Hibiki-AAAAAH!" Miku screamed.

"Gah!" Tsubasa grit her teeth.

Both Miku and Tsubasa were electrocuted from the attack as well, though not as much as Hibiki was. Hibiki was left standing from the hit, but her eyes were glazed over.

"Girls!" Genjuro shouted.

"What just happened?!" Kuriyo asked.

"Oh, did I forget to mention? If you take over 2000 points of damage in one move, your teammates will share your pain." Finé grinned. "It's only fair, no?"

"Curse your underhanded tricks…" Tsubasa muttered, gripping her chest.

"At least thanks to Limiter Removal, those Jinzos will be gone by the end of the turn." Shiori said.

"Now, with my level 6 Jinzo and now level 6 Jinzo the Machine Menace, I build the overlay network!" Finé shouted.

"An Xyz summon?!" Ogawa shouted.

"...you just had to say it, didn't you?" Yumi asked Shiori, who looked away.

The two Jinzos entered a swirling portal on the floor as Finé began to chant. "Let the two psychic trap destroyers become one, as a new layered menace that will control all! Xyz Summon! Appear now! Rank 6! Jinzo - Layered!"

A larger Jinzo with a black and purple suit, and red and silver armor rose from the portal, crossing his arms. It had 2400 attack points, like the two monsters that created it.

"I activate Jinzo - Layered's ability!" Finé shouted. "I'll detach one of its overlay units, to take control of one of your monsters until the end phase! And I'll choose Black Luster Soldier!"

Jinzo - Layered unleashed a wave of brain controlling energy at Black Luster Soldier. The warrior tried to resist, but was pulled over to Finé's field.

"Although, the monster controlled cannot attack, nor activate its effects." Finé said.

"What good is taking my soldier when you can't attack with it?" Tsubasa asked.

"Oh very simple, really." Finé said. "I activate the other effect of Jinzo - Layered! Since there is a trap on the field, I can tribute one of my monsters to destroy one of your cards."

"What?!" Tsubasa shouted.

"So I'll sacrifice your Black Luster Soldier, to destroy Miku's Destiny HERO - Dystopia!" Finé said.

Jinzo held up his hand, absorbing Black Luster Soldier into his fist. It charged the blast, before throwing it straight at Destiny HERO - Dystopia, shattering Miku's mighty hero.

"I think that's enough punishment for now." Finé said. "I'll set a monster and end my turn. Your move."

Hibiki did not draw her card.

"Hibiki?" Miku asked her friend. "Are you alri-?"

Her best friend fell facedown on the ground, unmoving.

"Tachibana!" Tsubasa shouted.

"HIBIKI!" Miku screamed.

Chris Yukine opened her eyes, only to see nothing but darkness. She couldn't feel or hear anything. Just… nothing.

So this is the Shadow Realm? Chris thought. What's…?

Visions flashed through her mind before she screamed. She was there again, as the explosions went off all around her.

Seeing the bodies of her parents in the flames…

No… why are you showing me this?! I don't want to see this?!

Was this the eternal hell of the Shadow Realm? To be tortured by seeing the worst moments of your life forever? Tears ran down her face as her screams grew louder. She couldn't scream anymore, her expression growing passive. Only a few minutes, and the place had robbed her of her willpower.

The darkness was all that was left…

"Oi! You! Don't give in! Fight back!"

Through the darkness was an odd orange light that seemed to cut away at it. The voice was coming from there. A hand was reaching out towards her.

"Don't you dare give up on life!"

The shine returned to her eyes, and Chris grasped the hand. The darkness around them was disappearing…

Hibiki's solid vision duel disk was shimmering, almost threatening to go out.

"Tachibana!" Tsubasa shouted. "Get up!"

"Hibiki… Hibiki!" Miku cried.

Finé chuckled. "It seems the stain of the Shadow Game was too much for her. What a shame. If she is no longer able to duel, the Shadows will take her regardless."

The shadowy dome started to converge on Hibiki's fallen body.

"No!" Miku screamed. "STOP!"

Hibiki tightened her fist, and the shadows were all pushed back. She was breathing heavily, but slowly stood back up.

"What?!" Finé shouted.

"I won't… give up." She said.

"Hibiki!" Miku said, sharing the relief with everyone else.

"As long as I have life points left… I won't give up on life! I draw!" Hibiki pulled a card from her deck. "Since you control a monster and I don't, I special summon Level Warrior from my hand, and increase his level to 4!"

A caped hero in a red spandex suit took to the field, with stars on the front of his body.

"Then I'll normal summon Junk Synchron!" Hibiki called, summoning her familiar tuner. "With my level 4 Level Warrior, I'll tune him with my level 3 Junk Synchron!"

Junk Synchron pulled a cord on his body, turning into three rings. Level Warrior flew through them, becoming transparent.

"Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings, and strike down your enemies at the speed of light!" Hibiki chanted. "Synchro Summon! Appear now! Level 7! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"

Appearing from the pillar of green light was the mechanical white, black and blue dragon. Its signature translucent green cyber wings shone brightly as it roared, showing off 2500 attack points.

"This is our first duel together, Clear Wing!" Hibiki called up to her dragon. "Let's fight together!"

Clear Wing roared in approval.

"That's a new card of Bikki's." Kuriyo commented.

"It's so pretty…" Shiori said in awe.

"Battle!" Hibiki shouted. "Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, attack Jinzo - Layered! Whirlwind Helldive Slasher!"

Clear Wing became a hurricane of speed and pain, tearing right through Jinzo - Layered, lowering Finé's life points to 10100.

"I'll end my turn with that."

"Then I'll follow it up! Draw!" Miku called.

She looked at the spell card she had just drawn, as well as the looming tower above them. If too many spells were played, it would crumble and deal massive damage, but her hand didn't have any real options at the moment.

"I activate the spell card, Monster Reborn!" Miku said.

"That adds another counter to Tower of Babel!" Finé said, as more cracks seeped through the tower.

"Monster Reborn lets me special summon any card from our graveyards, but you know who I'm choosing!" Miku said. "Welcome back, Destiny HERO - Dystopia!"

Rising from a portal, Miku's purple and yellow hero took to the field again.

"And because he was special summoned, I can activate his effect again! I'll target the Destiny HERO - Decider in my graveyard to deal his attack points to you as damage!"

"Yeah, bring the pain, Miku!" Yumi encouraged.

"Squeeze Palm!" Miku commanded.

Dystopia threw the ball of energy at Finé's face, lowering her life points to 8500.

"And now, Dystopia attacks your face down monster!" Miku called. "Dystopia Blow!"

The hero jumped into the air and dove down, smashing his fist through… a blue jar that had a cyclops-like face within.

"Morphing Jar's effect activates!" Finé said. "We all now discard all the cards in our hand and draw 5!"

"Fine by us." Tsubasa said. Everyone in the duel had few to no cards in their hands. This refresh might help Finé, but it helped the three of them too. Miku looked at her new hand. It was a major improvement, but she couldn't do too much else this turn except strengthen her defenses.

"I'll tribute Malicious, to summon Destiny HERO - Dasher!" Miku called.

The hero on wheels sped next to her side with 2100 attack points.

"I'll set a card face down and end my turn." Miku said.

"My turn! I draw!" Tsubasa called.

She looked at Finé's field, seeing that aside from Tower of Babel, it was completely empty. She was defenseless; a perfect opportunity to strike her directly.

"I normal summon Charging Gaia the Fierce Knight!" Tsubasa said.

A knight resembling Gaia but with a light shade charged onto the field.

"Normally, he would require a tribute summon, but I can normal summon him at the cost of lowering his attack points to 1900." Tsubasa explained. "But with that, go my knights! Attack Finé's life points directly!"

Charging Gaia and Lord Gaia both charged at Finé, but the woman was ready.

"From my hand, I special summon Battle Fader!" Finé called.

Shooting out onto the field was a clock-like fiend. The mechanical hands turned and chimed the bell on its body, creating an eerie sound that stopped Tsubasa's knights.

"What?!" Tsubasa shouted.

"When my opponent declares a direct attack, I can special summon this monster to end the battle phase immediately." Finé said. "Too bad for you."

Genjuro frowned. "That would have been 4200 points of damage if it connected."

Tsubasa grit her teeth. "I end my turn."

"So close, yet so very far." Finé chuckled. "Now, it's my turn-"

"Sorry to interrupt, but it won't be!"

Everyone looked around at the voice. It was one that they thought they'd never hear again.

"Up here!"

Standing on the lower level of Finé's Tower of Babel was a hooded figure, and standing next to them was…

"I told you guys to kick her ass." Chris said. "You haven't been doing too well on that, huh?"

"Chris!" Miku called.

"Chris-chan! You're okay!" Hibiki shouted.

"Impossible!" Finé said. "How did you escape the Shadow Realm?!"

"How?" Chris repeated.

She and the hooded figure jumped down, activating their Duel Disks. They made a safe landing despite the height of the jump. Both of the Duel Disks sparked when they were activated, as their 4000 life points were halved thanks to them joining in the duel later.

Intrusion Penalty: 2000 Life Points

But thanks to this, the total life point pool increased to a healthy 11100.

"How, you might ask?" Chris said, standing up before looking at the hooded duelist. She equipped her D-Gazer and smiled. "Thanks to her. She got me out."

The hooded figure stood up with a smirk, dusting off their legs.

"Well, it's a good thing I played all that Assassin's Creed."

Everyone froze at the voice, recognizing its familiarity.

"It… It can't be…" Finé said.

The figure pulled down their hood, and everyone's eyes widened. Released from the confines of the hood was messy vermillion hair, shaped like a wing. The cloak opened up to reveal a torn pair of jeans and a yellow t-shirt, both worn down. As she placed on her D-Gazer, she opened her eyes, and something was off. While her irises were the same dark red, the sclera surrounding it was completely black.

Yet, it was unmistakable who she was.

"Hey everyone." Kanade Amou said, a confidant grin on her face. "I'm back from hell."

A/N: Been a while since we had a straight-up duel, so we're finally jumping back into the swing of things. My co-writer wanted to let you know how annoying it is to write this type of duel, though.

And here's another one of the big changes from canon too, with Kanade returning.

Next time, we enter the second half of the duel as the climax kicks in for the Season 1 arc.

Feel free to leave a review. See you all next time.