"...and as soon as the burning faded, I looked at my arm, and the mark was right there." Mina finished explaining to Yusei.
Yusei hadn't said a word as Mina explained what happened to her in the helicopter. They were sitting in a small room in Martha's house, while Trudge stood near the door.
Between still recovering from his catastrophic duel with Kalin, hearing from the twins about Akiza's death, and what Mina was telling him now, Yusei was not liking where things were going. He only knew of the upcoming battle with the Dark Signers, and how his Mark connected, but the finer details were still unknown to him.
"Why me?" Mina asked, pulling Yusei out of his thoughts. "This is supposed to be that girl Akiza's mark, right? Why do I have it?"
Yusei sighed and leaned forward in his seat. "Mina... Akiza's dead. One of the Dark Signers killed her. My best guess is since the Dark Signers are still around, her mark is still needed. I honestly don't know why you were picked, though. Rex might know, though." He said.
"Are you sure she's dead?" Trudge asked. "She's the Black Rose Witch. For all we know, she could have teleported out, or got a shield, or whatever her powers do."
"Leo and Luna saw her duel. Watched her die. They called me on my D-Wheeler and let me know." Yusei said. "...I tried to help her. She acted like a vicious duelist, but when I dueled her in the Fortune Cup, I could see she was... scared, sad. I barely knew her, but I wanted to help her. If I'd been there... We're not going to let her die for nothing. Mina, do you have a deck?"
"I do." Mina replied. "I don't know if it's a very good one, but-"
"We'll work on it. You're going to need to duel soon. You're a Signer now, just like me, Luna, and Jack." Yusei said. He then paused, as if remembering something, and looked at Trudge. "Speaking of, have you seen Jack?"
"I think I saw his D-Wheeler heading into the Arcadia building, but outside of that, no." Trudge answered.
Yusei didn't immediately reply, but stood up from his seat, and started leaving the room. He needed to find Jack and let him know what happened. He want to the front door and opened it...
...and almost ran right into a tall, bearded man.
"Are you Yusei Fudo?" The man asked. "Do you know where my daughter is?"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Akiza was stunned by the amount of debris littering the area. She knew this was a business block, but all the buildings had been obliterated. And the Arcadia building was apparently right at the epicenter.
"The power of the Immortals is incredible, isn't it?" Ccarayhua asked. "Even our mere summon rattles the very Earth."
"This is... awful." Akiza muttered. "I never intended to-"
"You did not summon me." Ccarayhua interrupted. "You are not the reason for this devastation."
"I still agreed to that duel. If I hadn't, she wouldn't have summoned you, then..." Akiza trailed off.
"You are overthinking this. Trust me, once things get in motion, this area will more than likely be repaired. Besides, there were no... physical casualties." Ccarayhua said. "We'd best be on our way."
Getting out of the area proved to be quite an issue. Along with there being very little space due to the rubble, forcing her to climb over various piles, Akiza had to avoid numerous people, from rescue workers to new reporters. Dead or not, she was still the Black Rose Witch, pretty recognizable from the Fortune Cup fiasco, so being see was not the best option.
After about an hour, Akiza was finally out of the business district, and into an alley. As she walked, she realized that despite all the effort, she didn't feel winded.
'Perk of being undead, I guess.' Akiza thought. She then peeked out of the alley to see where she had ended up. Instantly, she recognized it as Neo Domino City's most popular shopping district. It was where she had gotten her first ever deck, along with her...
"Something wrong?" Ccarayhua asked, sensing distress in Akiza.
"...I think there's a port nearby. Ferries scrap over to the Satellite." Akiza said, changing the subject. "We get there, I can get to the old reactor."
Ccarayhua didn't answer immediately. He knew Akiza's life had been hard, but it was clear there were still some things she was keeping locked away. There were many causes, but he was unsure of which one was bothering her at the moment. He had just as much issue with Misty, so this would take some time.
"Are you sure you can get to the port easily?" Ccarayhua asked. "You do stand out a fair bit."
"As long as I keep to the back-alleys, I can get there no problem." Akiza replied.
"Well, didn't think I'd ever see you around here." A voice suddenly said behind Akiza. Turning, she saw a man in biker gear with hair that looked like fire. Akiza did recognize him as Hunter Pace, a man who dueled Yusei in the Fortune Cup, despite not being a contestant and having to sneak in.
'So much for going unnoticed.' Akiza thought. "What do you want?"
"Black Rose Witch, right? Saw you get knocked out of the Fortune Cup by that Fudo kid. Put up a good fight, but it wasn't enough, was it?" Hunter asked. "Maybe all that talk about you bein' so scary's just garbage. Ol' Hunter can take ya. Duel me!"
"How convenient. Akiza, duel this man." Ccarayhua said. "My resurrection of you altered your deck. This is the perfect time to test it. Hopefully you can defeat him without Black Rose Dragon."
'Altered my deck?' Akiza thought, confused. She hadn't had a chance to really look at her deck when she was searching for Black Rose Dragon earlier, so she had no idea what Ccarayhua had done to it. But she had a feeling Hunter wasn't going to let her leave without a duel.
"Fine, but not here." Akiza said. "There's an old parking garage nearby. We'll duel there. Less people to interrupt us."
"Alright! Prepare to be smoked by Hunter Pace!" Hunter yelled.
'Oh, this guy is annoying.' Akiza thought. 'Hope this duel will shut him up.'
"Wonderful. Unfortunately, I'll need to leave you for a moment. I have... something else to attend to. Do not fret, though. I will be back." Ccarayhua said.
'You're abandoning me now?' Akiza thought but got no reply. 'Great.' She looked and noticed Hunter was already gone. Shaking her head, she started making her way to the parking garage.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
After taking Carly to her room in the old Ener-D reactor, Misty returned to her own, and sat on her bed. She took off a small necklace she had been wearing and brought it up to her face. It was a locket, and opening it revealed a photo of her and her brother Toby, taken a few days before he went and saw...
"Toby, it's done." Misty said. "I've killed the Black Rose Witch, the one who took you away. Sayer is dead as well. I still don't know if your alive or dead, but if you are alive, I will find you, I promise."
"Reminiscing, Misty?" A voice spoke within her mind.
"Ccarayhua!" Misty exclaimed, jumping from her bed. "You've returned. Why did you leave me?"
"Something has come up. A new Dark Signer has come to be." Ccarayhua explained. "They will be dueling at an old parking garage in the shopping district closest to the Arcadia building. I'd suggest you go collect them."
This surprised Misty, but she wasn't about to question the Immortal that gave her a new life. Replacing her locket, Misty left her room and headed for the room Roman used for meetings. When she arrived, she saw Roman discussing something with Devack. Roman noticed her walk in.
"Misty! I never properly gave you congratulations for killing a Signer." Roman said.
"Thank you Roman, but it seems something's come up. Ccarayhua has told me that a new Dark Signer has emerged." Misty explained. Both Roman and Devack looked surprised.
"Really?" Devack asked. "Roman, I thought you said there could only be 5 at once."
"There are supposed to be, yes." Roman said. "This is interesting. The mark of the Whale is already waiting for Greiger, and the Condor has not awoken yet, so how... Devack, take Misty to this new Dark Signer and bring them here at once! Whoever they are, they might be great help to our cause."
Devack nodded, and started to leave the room. When he did, Misty followed behind him.
'Ccarayhua, how could there be a new Dark Signer? And how did you learn of them?' Misty thought.
"Because I took them as a second disciple." Ccarayhua replied. "And I do believe they will be useful to us."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Akiza had managed to reach the parking garage before Hunter did, and she took that time to see what exactly Ccarayhua had meant when he said he altered her deck. And as she shuffled through her cards, reading the names and effects, she was surprised. There were quite a few devastating effects in it, but for hefty costs. She noted one card that was labeled as a "Dark Tuner" and was confused by its high level. Weren't Tuners usually lower leveled?
"What do you think? Impressive?" Ccarayhua's voice suddenly asked, jumping Akiza.
"Don't do that!" Akiza yelled.
"Apologies. My other business is concluded. In fact, it should help us reach the old Ener-D reactor faster than the port." The Immortal said. "In the meantime, we still have that duel with that man. Hunter, was it? Your new deck should do wonders. I assume you've learned how it works, so I will not be assisting you."
Akiza looked back at her new cards, noting a phrase that keeps repeating in the monster names: Hell Garden. It was vicious, practically evil, yet seemed... fitting for her.
"So you didn't chicken out of me, huh?" A voice said from the other side of the parking level. Akiza turned and saw Hunter, Duel Disk already set up.
"Let's get this over with." Akiza said flatly, readying her own Duel Disk. "I have somewhere to be."
"Don't worry, this'll be quick." Hunter said smugly.
"DUEL!" Both yelled.
"Hunter'll take the first turn." Hunter said as he drew a card. "And I'll start by summoning Burning Skull Head in Attack Mode!". A flaming skull appeared on the field.
(Burning Skull Head/LV 3/FIRE/Zombie/1000 ATK/800 DEF)
"I'll set two and end my turn." Hunter said, as two set cards appeared. "You're up."
'Starting almost the same way as his duel with Yusei.' Akiza thought. 'So, one of those face downs must be Zero Guard.' She looked at the hand she had. 'Well, I can work with that.'
"Alright, my turn!" Akiza yelled as she drew a card. "I'll start with the Field Spell Hell Garden!" She placed the card in the Field Spell zone, and the area changed. Black, thorny vines shot up from floor to ceiling, and the ground cracked to reveal writhing masses of black vines underneath.
"Next, I'll use the effect of Hyacinth of the Hell Garden. By discarding a monster from my hand, I can Special Summon it from my hand in Attack Position." She did just that, and from the cracks appeared a tall stem erupted, the top covered in small bell-shaped flowers colored black and purple. The stem, like the vines, had thorns, with two vines sticking out of the stem like arms.
(Hyacinth of the Hell Garden/Lv 5/DARK/Plant/2000 ATK/1500 DEF)
"Now, Hyacinth, attack Burning Skull Head! Vine Crush!" Akiza yelled. Hyacinth shot its vines out at Burning Skull Head.
"Nice try. I activate my Face Down Zero Guard!" Hunter announced. "If your monster attacks, I can pick a monster, and make it invincible by reducing its attack to zero!"
(Burning Skull Head: 800 ATK - 0 ATK)
"Maybe so, but it doesn't protect you from damage, now does it?" Akiza asked.
Hyacinth wrapped Burning Skull Head and squeezed, but the skull didn't shatter. However, thorns shot from its vines and struck Hunter.
(Hunter Pace: 4000 LP - 2000 LP)
"And now the effect of Hell Garden actives. Whenever my opponent takes damage, be it from battle or effect, I take half that damage, but can draw an extra card." Akiza explained. A vine shot up from the ground and slashed Akiza's arm. Akiza ignored the pain and drew a card.
(Akiza Izinski: 4000 LP - 3000 LP)
"I'll end my turn with a face down." Akiza said as a face down appeared on the field.
"Your own cards hurtin' you? Not the brightest play." Hunter said as he drew a card. "I'll start my turn by summoning another Burning Skull Head." Said skull head appeared on the field. "Now that I have 2 Zombie monsters on my field, I can Special Summon Kasha from my hand!" As he set the card down, a massive chariot with flaming wheels and a demonic skull on front appeared.
(Kasha/Lv 8/EARTH/Zombie/? ATK/1000 DEF)
"And I'm not done, 'cause Kasha's effect activates! When it's Special Summoned, I can shuffle as many monsters on the field as I want, and Kasha gains 1000 Attack for each one that was a Zombie! And since both my Burning Skull Heads are Zombies, that's 2000 attack!" Hunter yelled.
Kasha's doors opened, and the two Burning Skull heads and Hyacinth of the Hell Garden were sucked in. When it shut, Akiza and Hunter shuffled the respective cards back into the deck and shuffled them. Kasha began glowing brighter.
(Kasha: 0 ATK - 2000 ATK)
"Kasha! Attack the Black Rose directly! Blazing Slam!" Hunter yelled. Kasha rocketed forward and slammed right into Akiza. She was knocked back a bit but righted herself.
(Akiza: 3000 LP - 1000 LP)
"And that will do it for my turn!" Hunter announced. "Gotta say, I was hopin' for more from ya, but you aren't so tough after all."
Akiza was quiet for a moment, before she grinned and drew a card.
"Well, it's time for me to change your mind then." Akiza said. "First, I'll activate my first face-down, Wicked Blooming. If I have no monsters on my field, then I take 500 Life Points of damage, but I can Special Summon a Plant monster from my hand."
Another vine came up from the ground, and wrapped tightly around Akiza's waist. Still, Akiza gave no reaction.
(Akiza: 1000 LP - 500 LP)
"Now bloom, Calla Lily of the Hell Garden!" Akiza yelled as she set a card down. A large, black, cup shaped flower grew out of the ground. Its stem lacked thorns, but multiple vines erupted from the sides.
(Calla Lily of the Hell Garden/Lv 4/DARK/Plant/1700 ATK/1600 DEF)
"Now I activate Calla Lily's effect. If I have 500 or less Life Points, I can Special Summon a Plant Tuner monster from my deck and raise its level by 2." Akiza explained, as a card came out of her deck. "Come forth, Alstroemeria of the Hell Garden!"
A larger cluster of flowers erupted from the ground. They all had fiery orange petals. Like Calla Lily, their stem had multiple vines shooting from it, though these ones had thorns.
(Alstroemeria of the Hell Garden/Lv 3/DARK/Plant/Tuner/700 ATK/300 DEF)
(Alstroemeria of the Hell Garden: Lv 3 - Lv 5)
"And now, it's time! I tune the Level 5 Alstroemeria, to the Level 4 Calla Lily!" Akiza yelled. Alstroemeria turned into 5 green rings, and circled around Calla Lily, which turned then turned into 4 stars.
"Let the Hell Garden's rage burn! Synchro Summon! Amon, the Hell Garden's Wrath!" Akiza called.
The rings and stars disappeared in a flash of light. When it faded, in their place was an extremely tall, muscular woman with red skin and a furious expression. Numerous vines wrapped around her massive arms. Her long black hair was wild. She wore a black breastplate and a short metal skirt.
(Amon, the Hell Garden's Wrath/Lv 9/DARK/Warrior/Synchro/2900 ATK/2500 DEF)
"Now, if I have 500 or less Life Points, when Amon destroys a monster in battle, that monsters controller takes damage equal to its current Attack!" Akiza explained. On hearing that, Hunter became worried. His face down wouldn't be able to combat that.
Suddenly, a black aura surrounded Akiza, and a purple flame encircled the area. Hunter looked around, now freaked out.
"Wha- what is this?!" Hunter asked.
"Your defeat." Akiza replied. "Amon, destroy Kasha! Wrathful Destruction!"
Amon ran to Kasha, and brought both of her hands up. She then smashed Kasha to pieces with her bare hands. The shards struck Hunter, leaving cuts that started bleeding.
(Hunter: 2000 LP - 1100 LP)
Before he could even register what happened, Amon rushed up to him, and brough her fists down right on him.
(Hunter: 1100 LP - 0 LP)
The aura around Akiza faded, and the Hell Garden and purple ring of fire vanished, along with Amon.
"Incredible!" Ccarayhua yelled. "Such a duel! You understood your new deck quickly and obliterated that man! Seems I did make the right call resurrecting you!"
Akiza looked at Hunter. He was on the ground, completely still.
"No... please tell me I didn't..." Akiza said, horrified.
"Don't worry, he's still breathing. None of those attacks should be fatal." Ccarayhua said. Before he continued, there were suddenly the sounds of a helicopter landing on the roof of the parking garage. "Ah. Impeccable timing. Your ride is here."
Akiza briefly wondered who the ride was but decided to put the thought aside. As isolated as the duel was, it was likely someone heard the duel from outside. She turned around and made her way up the parking garage's ramp.
Reaching the roof, Akiza saw a black helicopter, with a bald man in somewhat familiar looking robes at the controls. But that wasn't what surprised her. What did surprise her was that standing in front of the helicopter, staring at her in utter shock, was Misty Tredwell.
"Perhaps there are some things I failed to tell you." Ccarayhua said.