Hope everyone is well, and just want to say thanks to everyone who's been reading, commenting, etc. It helps to keep me going. The next chapter is ready. ^^

Chapter 59

Mokuba looked confused and asked, "What is he talking about?"

Alex took a deep breath and then looking at Mokuba, she replied, "If we continue this duel, because he's now taken over Andy's body, Andy could get hurt and maybe die."

Alex was doing her best to remain calm and in control, knowing that the stakes were even higher. Max looked at her and said,

"Alex, we can stop this if you want. We know how much Andy means to you."

Alex looked at Max and smiling a bit, she replied, "Thanks, but we've come too far to let it end like this."

She then looked at the hooded figure and said, "I know what you're trying to do, but it won't work, and before you say it, I'm not a cold-hearted bitch."

Max smiled knowingly and looking at Mokuba, he said, "Alex is using her knowledge of other duelists to her advantage."

Mokuba replied, "What do you mean?"

Max replied, "When other duelists, even extremely powerful ones, have had their backs against the wall, they break down and go on a rampage. Alex is aware of this, so she isn't letting him get to her."

Mokuba nodded in understanding. The hooded figure smirked and replied, "You're a lot tougher than you look. A worthy opponent."

Alex smiled and replied, "You, too, even if you've had to use underhanded tactics to get to where we are now."

Meanwhile, the others, who were awake, were still trying to figure out how to break free from their prisons. Jaden looked at Yubel and asked,

"Is there no way to get out of here?"

Crow added, "Yeah, I don't want to be stuck here. We need to help."

Yubel frowned and replied, "We're trying, but Alexa's right. It's up to those three."

Yubel looked down at Alex, Max, and Mokuba.

The hooded figure looked at the group before him and said, "It's my turn, and it's time to take things to the next level."

He then special summoned Kaiba's blue eyes on the field. Kaiba looked on in anger and said,

"How dare you?!"

The hooded figure smiled and replied, "Are you really so surprised? I have been doing this when I can, and your monster will help me defeat your girlfriend."

He turned his attention back to the duel and summoned a monster that looked surprisingly like Kiara. Alex looked confused and said,

"Doesn't she look like…?"

Mokuba replied, "Yeah, she does."

The hooded figure replied, "She does make an impression, but yes, it's her."

Alex commented, "I wondered what happened to her."

Kiara looked on at what was happening and then turning to the hooded figure, she yelled,

"You'll pay for this! I served you well and then you-"

The hooded figure interrupted, "I beg to differ on the serving part. But you can make up for it here. Don't you want to destroy her and get your precious Seto back?"

He jerked his head towards Alex, and Kiara narrowed her eyes. She calmed down and replied,

"Of course. That bitch will pay for stealing what's mine."

Alex raised an eyebrow and replied, "People aren't property, you know, and you never had a claim to begin with."

Kiara gritted her teeth in annoyance, but deciding to ignore Alex for now, she looked at Kaiba and said,

"Seto! I'm happy you're ok. Don't worry. I'll save you from this bitch and-"

Feeling annoyed himself, Kaiba interrupted, "Stop it, woman. Don't spout your lies at me."

Kiara looked sad and replied, "But I really wanted to save you. You know that she was supposed to kill you."

Alex rolled her eyes and replied, "You're late to the party."

Kiara replied, "What do you mean?"

Kaiba smirked and replied, "As Alex said, you're too late. She told me everything, about her original mission to our supposed past. We had a very long talk about it."

Alex smiled to herself, remembering that night after she, Kaiba, and Yugi confronted Max and told him what was going on. Alex and Kaiba returned to the mansion pretty late and then talked things over in their room. She had confessed everything to him, especially that she was aware of his past, even though she made it a point to tell him that she would never force him to believe in such things. Although Kaiba was skeptical, he could tell that Alex was telling the truth and decided to put his faith in her. Then the two of them shared a sweet kiss, and Alex could feel their bond become stronger than ever.

Kiara looked furious and turning to Alex, she yelled, "You manipulated him! I'll make you pay!"

Kaiba replied, "You don't know the first thing about me, woman. I'm Seto Kaiba, and no one manipulates me."

Alex smiled and added, "That's right. Seto is his own person, and he's chosen to believe in me, as I've chosen to believe in him."

Kiara was about to reply with a scathing remark when the hooded figure said,

"I don't have the patience for this petty arguing."

Alex shrugged and replied, "Same here, but your minion started it."

The hooded figure laughed and replied, "On that, we agree."

Kiara was about to reply when the hooded figure waved his hand to silence her although she still had freedom of movement. He then said,

"We won't have to hear any more of her screeching."

Alex laughed and replied, "Thank you, sir. My ears wouldn't have been able to take it, either."

Meanwhile, Yugi watched what was happening and thought,

Are those two actually getting along? This is such a weird duel.

Back to the duel, Alex said, "I believe it's still your turn, sir."

The hooded figure replied, "Of course."

He placed a card down on the field and said, "I end my turn."

Alex nodded, as it was her turn. After she drew her card, Sherlock turned to her and said,

"Miss, we've helped you solve most of the mysteries although you know there's still one that you need to unravel yourself."

Alex replied, "Yes, I know."

Sherlock nodded and then said, "Also, when the time is right, you know what you need to do, and don't worry about us. As Arthur and his knights said, we are here to help you, so it's ok."

Alex smiled and replied, "Thank you for all your help, sir."

She then turned her attention back to the duel and set three cards face down on the field. Then she changed her monsters' position into defense mode and ended her turn. The hooded figure looked surprised and said,

"You didn't attack."

Alex replied, "You expected me to?"

Although the hooded figure didn't say anything, his silence was confirmation. Alex guessed that he wanted her to attack Kiara and/or Kaiba's blue eyes, but Alex had a feeling there was a dangerous trap waiting, so she chose not to.

The duel continued for a while, and then when it was Mokuba's turn, he went into his battle phase and tried to attack Kiara. However, before Mokuba could do so, Alex activated two of her trap cards. She said,

"When I activate these cards, I send one monster from my hand to the graveyard and then one monster from my deck into the graveyard. By doing so, I banish both that bitch and blue eyes."

She turned to Mokuba and said, "Sorry about that, but I just had a feeling."

The hooded figure smirked and replied, "Clever move."

Mokuba replied, "So attacking was a mistake?"

Alex replied, "Not necessarily, but I saw those cards he has face down. It didn't make any sense to put Kiara into attack mode like that. But you're free to attack now."

Mokuba nodded and then he attacked the hooded figure directly, taking away some life points from him. Alex watched Mokuba, hoping that he didn't feel disheartened that she intervened. She didn't want Mokuba to get hurt although she would try to keep her intervention at a minimum.

The hooded figure then took his turn, and after placing his monsters into attack mode, he ordered them to attack Max's monsters. However, Max had a powerful trap card waiting, which negated the attack. It was then Alex's turn, and seeing that everything was set up, she briefly looked to where Yuma and the others who were still unconscious were. She took a breath, knowing that the time was right. Then she said,

"I use my continuous trap card, time travel. I send Sherlock and all the cards in my detective archetype to the graveyard. So I can draw six new cards."

As Alex drew her cards, she couldn't help smiling, as her favorite archetype was about to appear. Max and Mokuba noticed this, and Mokuba asked,

"Is it time?"

Alex nodded happily and replied, "Yup, and this is going to be so much fun."

She then turned to Max and added, "After this, I hope you'll understand why I love doing this."

Alex summoned her sky strikers to the field, making multiple link summons in the process. It was like watching a magician perform magic, and as the others watched, Joey asked,

"What's that kind of summoning?"

Max looked at Joey and replied, "Link summoning. We'll explain later."

Joey replied, "Link summoning is awesome."

Jack was grunting something in annoyance although only Yusei could make out his words. Yusei sighed and said,

"You really should let it go, Jack."

Yugi turned to Yusei and asked, "Why's Jack upset?"

Yusei replied, "It's a long story."

Once Alex finished bringing her sky strikers to the field and setting three cards face down, one of the sky strikers turned to Alex and said,

"Awaiting your orders, commander."

Alex sweatdropped and replied, "I'm never going to get used to you all being able to talk, but ok."

She then ordered her sky strikers to attack the hooded figure's monsters, using necessary spell cards to boost their attack power and banish cards from the hooded figure's graveyard as necessary. Once she was done with her turn, the hooded figure nodded in approval and said,

"Well done. You understand that attack power isn't everything. Some people could use such a lesson."

He couldn't help looking at Kaiba and Jack as he made that remark, and the two of them looked annoyed. Meanwhile, Max observed that Yuma and the others were finally waking up. The hooded figure felt his power feeling depleted and noticing the cause, he groaned,

"You really are my worthy adversary. I've been waiting for one for a long time."

Alex replied, "I appreciate the compliment, sir, although I wish you hadn't gone through all this trouble and put everyone under a ton of grief."

The hooded figure replied, "It was easier to make me look like the villain. Don't you think?"

Alex narrowed her eyes and replied, "Perhaps, but…"

She trailed off, and unable to contain his curiosity, the hooded figure asked, "What is it?"

Alex replied, "You want to make yourself to be the villain, but I think you're just as much of a victim."

The hooded figure scoffed and replied, "Now don't tell me that you're feeling sorry for me."

Alex shook her head and replied, "Nothing like that. I'd like to think that I'm being perceptive."

The hooded figure didn't say anything in reply although he was confused by Alex's behavior. He had expected her to behave in a particular way, but so far, he was finding her unpredictable. Although it frustrated him, he found it curious at the same time.

The duel continued like so, and as the hooded figure's back was against the wall (figuratively speaking, of course), he had to figure out Alex's weakness. He thought that Andy would be her weakness although Alex was proving herself to be strong in the face of such trouble. Then he looked at Max but found him to be strong, too, as he couldn't find a way to break through his defense. So he turned his attention to Mokuba. He had an idea, and once it was his turn, the hooded figure said,

"I pendulum summon three monsters on the field. Then I set two cards face down."

Once it was his battle phase, he then ordered his monsters all to attack Mokuba's monsters. All of his monsters were destroyed, and then the hooded figure had one monster left that would reduce Mokuba's life points to zero. As Mokuba had no way of countering it, he was prepared for the worst. However, Alex quickly noticed the turn of events and thought,

I know it's dangerous, but I have no choice. It's time to use what Yusaku created for me.

She then used her trap card, the item that Yusaku was able to obtain for Alex, and said,

"I activate my trap card, transfer damage. By doing so, Mokuba stays in the duel, but I take half of the damage directly to my life points. Also…"

Max looked at Alex and said, "Damn it. I don't have the card."

Alex smiled and replied, "It's ok. I'll probably be out for a while, but you two can deal with him in the meantime."

Mokuba looked panicked and said, "Alex, I'm not worth it. Stop your trap card now."

Alex replied, "It's too late."

Once the trap card was fully activated, the hooded figure's monster attacked Alex's life points directly, reducing them to 1000. At the same time, her body was thrown against the wall, and she immediately blacked out.