Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Temarocia though, and everything that happens in it.

"Milord Kyris, how was your business in Shunsuna?"

"It wasn't half bad," Landing in his throne and crossing his legs casually, The Hell lounged back and smiled. "I got to have a bit of fun with two of those guardians. I didn't get to see the Grafter though, which was a shame. Then again I guess it doesn't matter. If he had met me he probably would have wound up destroyed."

"That goes without saying." The shadowed attendant said. "Would you like me to prepare your evening meal?"

"Not yet," The young Warlord rested his head against one of his hands. "I'd like you to send out a little message for me first. I've got a couple of things I'd like to let the current men in charge of the countryside sectors know about."

Song of Temarocia

Chapter 17: Guardians of Two Identities (Part 2)

"That's right, I am!" The young man drew five cards from his deck. "Let's do it!"

"Duel!" They both yelled at the same time.

Daniel- 8000

Jason- 8000

Daniel grabbed the top card of his deck and drew it, adding it to his hand. "Flair, is Princess Alita alright?"

"No, she is currently running a fever." The samurai had yet to drop his guard, as he knew that Deondre would take that moment to steal her from him. "She is also not responding to me, so I believe she has lost consciousness. This may have something to do with the criminals who had her before the dog recovered her from them."

"It can't be helped then." Daniel fanned out his hand. "For now I'll have to beat you, Jason."

"That's not going to happen." The black-haired boy pointed at the Seer. "I don't know what kind of weird ideas you've got going through your head concerning our newest member, but knock it off."

"…" Daniel sweat-dropped and scratched the side of his head with a finger. "Umm, what are you talking about?"

"You're creepy because you've got creepy glasses, so that means you've got ulterior motives for her!" Jason crossed his arms across his chest defiantly. "Would you like to argue with me on this matter?"

"I have the feeling that even if I did argue you wouldn't listen." The Seer grabbed a card from his hand and threw it down, a silvery hero wearing futuristic armor and hefting a powerful energy cannon over one shoulder. "I summon Future Hero Cannon Man!" (1000/1000)

"Future Hero?" Jason tilted his head to the side at the strange hero. "That's really weird."

("In our world there are Destiny Heroes and Elemental Heroes, so I wonder what these heroes do.") King took a puff of his cigarette as his hand, which was trying to sneakily inch over to caress Alita's cheek, was smacked away by Flair. "You're becoming a nuisance."

"You are becoming a stalker," The samurai countered.

Daniel coughed into his hand sharply. "The effect of Cannon Man lets me guess the top card of my deck. If I get the type correct then during my next turn's standby phase you'll take 1500 points of damage." He placed his hand on top of his deck. "I guess monster." Holding it up, he didn't even bother looking before he dropped it into his graveyard slot. "I already know I was correct."

"Huh?" Jason blinked in surprise…and then pointed at Daniel with a couple of veins bulging out of his forehead. "CHEATER!"

"It's not cheating." The Seer pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose gently. "My ability to see into the future is entirely fair in Temarocia. This is a world where you have to take whatever advantages you are presented with."

"I see…" Jason nodded sagely, and then removed his deck from its slot, fanning it front of him and starting to rearrange the cards. "Well if cheating is legal here then I may as well go with the flow."

"…" Daniel started twitching. "You don't seem to get it."

"Of course I get it." Returning his now stacked deck to its slot, Jason grinned. "You're cheating, so I'll cheat to even the odds."

"I'm not cheating," Daniel reiterated calmly. "It doesn't matter whether you stack your deck or not. I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"Draw!" Jason held up the drawn card without even looking at it. "I activate the magic card Pot of Greed, drawing two cards from my deck." Adding two more cards to his hand, he grinned. "This predicting the future thing is really cool."

"That's not predicting the future," Daniel muttered, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. ("This guy…he reminds me way too much of someone that is just on the tip of my tongue…who though?")

"And now that my predictions of the future have come true, I'll do this!" Jason held up a monster card. "I activate the effect of Thunder Dragon, discarding it from my hand to grab the other two from my deck." He slid the card into his graveyard slot and added two cards from his deck to his hand, shuffling it up and putting it back in a random order.

"What's the matter?" Daniel placed a hand on his hip, showing he didn't really care. "Got tired of 'predicting the future' already?"

"Yeah, it really takes the fun out of the game." Jason threw a card in front of him and an oriental-looking man holding a curved sword appeared on his field. "I summon Tenkabito Shien in attack mode!" (1500/1600) "Attack Cannon Man now!"

"Trap card open." Daniel's set card flipped up.

"Hah!" Jason pointed at him with a huge grin on his face. "My guy is unaffected by trap cards! I fooled you!"

"Not really." Daniel's Cannon Man was suddenly glowing, surrounded by a gray chain. "Chain of Events activates and equips to a Future Hero when activated. This card powers up the equipped monster by 500 attack points." (1500/1000) Cannon Man took aim and fired a powerful laser from his weapon into Shien, the warrior replying by throwing his sword across the expanse and piercing the hero. Both of them exploded at the same time. "When Chain of Events goes to the graveyard after being equipped to a Future Hero its other effect activates. I may now select the bottom card of your graveyard and make it the top card of my deck, if I so wish."

"The bottom card of my graveyard…AHHH!" Jason's jaw dropped as his Pot of Greed was spat out of the graveyard slot and it appeared on top of the Seer's deck.

"Also," Daniel slid Chain of Events into the graveyard. "During my standby phase I may pay 500 life points to return Chain of Events to my hand."

"SUPER CHEATER!" Jason screamed angrily.

"How is it my fault that you were stupid enough to do exactly what I knew you were going to do?" Daniel smiled slightly at the perplexed look that crossed Jason's face. ("Dance puppet, dance.")

"If you knew I was going to do that then even if I surprised myself it wouldn't surprise you so…so…" Jason's right eye twitched and he looked over at King. "Yo King, what's the deal with airline food?"

"…" The fake Frenchman took a puff of his cigarette, a bored look on his face. "Even for you that was absolutely stupid. Never say it again, ever."

"If you're trying to confuse my ability to read the future, then don't bother." Daniel yawned. "No amount of random actions will…" He sidestepped a shoe that was thrown at his head. "I'm not picking that up."

Jason jogged past him, picked up his shoe…and put it on his head. "Hah, bet you…"

"I did." Daniel smiled slightly again at seeing the black-haired young man twitch. "You can't confuse my ability, so let's just move on with the game."

"That's just what you want me to do!" Jason ran up and put his shoe on the Seer's head, running back to his spot. "Yeah, let's continue the duel though. I guess I can't beat your ability to see into the future. I set four cards face-down and end my turn."

Daniel glanced up at the shoe on his head, and cracked an amused smile before removing it and hurling it back at its owner. ("He's either smarter than he looks or he's just lucky. He's starting to see that my ability to look into the future isn't completely fool-proof. I knew the shoe was going on top of someone's head, but I didn't see it happening again so quickly after.")

"Draw." He grasped a card that left his deck and held it up. "During my standby phase Cannon Man's effect deals you 1500 points of damage!" A blast of energy appeared out of nowhere and slammed down onto Jason roughly.

Daniel- 8000

Jason- 6500

"And then," The Seer removed Chain of Events from his graveyard and added it to his hand. "I activate your Pot of Greed to draw two cards. The card recovered by Chain of Events is removed from the game when it goes to the graveyard." The draw effect card faded away and he drew two cards from his deck.

Daniel- 7500

Jason- 6500

"I activate Graceful Charity." Drawing three cards from his deck, Daniel discarded two of them and then held up another card. "I activate my own Pot of Greed, drawing two cards."

King whistled in amazement. "This guy is something else in the luck department."

"It gets a million times worse than that," Deondre said casually from off to the side.

"I activate I-Infinite Portal, adding one Future Hero from my deck to my hand." Removing a card from his deck, Daniel threw the card in front of him and a man wearing a futuristic hero suit that was built to resemble a bird's body appeared in play. "I summon Future Hero Cyber Falcon in attack mode!" (1200/800)

Another magic card appeared behind the monster. "I also activate the magic card M-Moment Scanner. This card allows me to destroy one magic or trap in play for every Future Hero I have under my control!" One of Jason's set cards exploded.

Jason stamped his foot against the ground angrily. "Aren't you done playing cards yet?"

"Not quite." Daniel pointed at his opponent. "Cyber Falcon, attack his life points directly!" The superhero dove right for Jason.

"Reverse card open!" One of Jason's set cards opened. "I activate the trap card A Hero Emerges, special summoning a random card from my hand to the field if it is a monster!" A lightning-covered dragon appeared on his field in a burst of energy. "Heh, there's one of my Thunder Dragons." (1600/1500)

Daniel didn't look surprised. "I set two cards face-down and end my turn." A pair of cards appeared face-down on his field.

"Draw!" Jason discarded a card from his hand. "I discard Special Egg because there is a monster on my field that had been special summoned. I can now special summon a monster from my hand to the field, but for the rest of this turn I cannot make another summon." Another Thunder Dragon appeared on his field in a flash. (1600/1500)

("And now he attacks…") The Seer heard Jason declare the attack and watched his Cyber Falcon get vaporized. "Reverse card open. I activate my Future Signal. During my next turn's standby phase I can special summon a level four or lower Future Hero from my deck or hand to the field and draw one card."

"That's all well and good, but what about the fact that I'm going to attack you again!" Jason grinned at his other Thunder Dragon roared and released a blast of lightning from its jaws. "Take this, Four-Eyes!"

"Reverse card open." Suddenly the field was clear of all cards. "I activate the continuous trap card Pocket Dimension. All cards except this card are removed from the game and will not return until my Pocket Dimension is destroyed." Daniel laughed at the long-jawed expression on Jason's face. "Sorry to laugh, you look funny when you act like that."

"I'm not done yet!" Jason threw the last card he was holding in front of him. "I activate the continuous magic card Super Determination. If this card is my only card on my field then I draw an additional card during my draw phase. End turn."

"Draw." Daniel removed a card from his deck. "At this time the effect of Future Signal special summons a level four or lower Future Hero from my deck to the field." A silvery hero wearing hover jets on his boots appeared in play. "I summon Future Hero Hover Man!" (1000/1000) "Also I draw one card by the effect of Future Signal. Hover Man, attack his life points directly!" The superhero launched across the field and kicked Jason in the chest. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

Daniel- 7100

Jason- 5500

Jason coughed a couple of times and then drew twice. "I summon Earth Valkyrie Mecha in attack mode!" A tank-like humanoid machine appeared on his field. (1400/1500) "This monster's special ability lets me discard the top card of my deck. If that card is a monster then its attack rises by 500 points. If it's a magic card then I draw one card. If it's a trap then you draw one card." He flipped the pulled card over. "It's a monster." Discarding it to his graveyard slot, he pointed at Hover Man. "Go Earth Valkyrie Mecha!" (1900/1500) The machine unleashed a spray of missiles that pounded down on the hero and destroyed it.

Daniel- 6200

Jason- 5500

Daniel braced himself against the backlash and grasped a card from his hand. "At this time the effect of Future Hero Rescue Man activates now. By discarding it from my hand I can return a Future Hero that was destroyed as a result of battle to my hand!" He held up the Hover Man card. "When Hover Man is added to my hand by an effect he is special summoned!" The silvery hover-hero reappeared in play. (1000/1000)

"I place one card face-down and end my turn." Jason couldn't believe how annoying this guy was. ("He keeps dancing around with his deck and not working towards anything…is he mocking me?")

"Draw." Daniel pulled Chain of Events out of his graveyard and held up the card he had drawn from the top of his deck. "I activate the magic card Crystal Ball." He placed his hands on top of his deck. "I guess the top card of my deck, and if I am correct then I discard that card into the graveyard and draw two cards. If I am wrong the top card of my deck is added to my hand. I declare Future Hero Cyber Guard." He held the card up to show he was correct and then discarded it into his graveyard slot, drawing two new cards.

Daniel- 5700

Jason- 5500

King sighed sadly. "This duel is turning into a rather depressing situation…Jason can't beat an opponent of this caliber." While he was talking his hand was slapped away by Flair again.

"That is because Daniel can see into the future." Deondre tugged his face-mask down to reveal his grim smile. "That is the power of a Duelist Seer. They cannot be defeated by someone as simple-minded as your friend."

"We'll see, won't we?" The fake Frenchman took a puff of cigarette lazily.

"I activate Excavation of Magic Stones." Daniel held up two cards. "I discard two cards from my hand to add one magic card from my graveyard to my hand. I discard Chain of Events and Scrounging for Supplies to take back my Crystal Ball, which I activate again and call Chrono Searcher." He held up the top card of his deck to show he was right, discarded it, and then drew two cards.

Jason twitched a couple of times in frustration. ("He won't stop drawing cards!")

The Seer pointed at his Hover Man, which was swallowed up in a flash of light. "I sacrifice Future Hero Hover Man to summon Future Hero Disruption Man!" A towering humanoid in bulky armor appeared on his field. (2400/1500) "When this monster is tribute summoned one monster in play is destroyed!" The Earth Valkyrie Mecha exploded, a hole in space appearing inside it and causing it to implode in on itself. "Disruption Man, attack his life points directly!" The towering hero bellowed out and released a blast of pulsing lightning from its gauntlets.

"Reverse card open!" Jason's set card flipped up and the attack slammed harmlessly against a barrier of light. "Five Elements Guardian is a continuous trap card that costs the removal of a wind, earth, fire, water, and light monster from my graveyard to activate. All damage to me is zero!"

"I end my turn." Daniel smiled calmly, not surprised at all. ("I can see your future, so therefore you cannot surprise me. Without that element there is no way you can win in this duel. Even if it is just for pride, I will not lose here….because if I lose then it proves that some no-name Adventurer is better than one of the prides of Mudeia. That is unacceptable!")

"Draw!" Jason glanced at the card and threw it in front of him. "I set one card face-down and end my turn."

"Draw!" Daniel glanced at Jason's newest set card. ("He won't activate it for the next turn or so, and going much farther into the future without aids is dangerous.") "I set one monster face-down and end my turn, since you have so skillfully evaded my attempts to hurt you."

Jason drew and threw the card in front of him, a spellcaster surrounded by five pulsing orbs appearing on his field. "I summon Five Element Magician in attack mode." (1600/1200) "When this monster is summoned and I have a light, earth, wind, water and fire attribute monster removed I can destroy all of your monsters in play!" A powerful blast of energy rained down and shattered Daniel's monsters.

"Trap card open." The Seer's monsters returned. "Past Relay activates after any number of Future Heroes are destroyed by a card effect controlled by my opponent. They return to play as they were."

Crossing his arms across his chest in frustration, Jason looked up at the ceiling. "If I have to duel so many cheaters while I'm here in Temarocia then I'm going to have to improve my deck, that's for sure."

"For the last time, I'm not cheating." Daniel pointed at the young man coolly. "Our lives rest on our abilities as duelists, as do the lives of thousands of people. Can you say the same?"

"Nope, can't say I've got that kind of responsibility." Jason continued to look up at the ceiling. "But you know, that doesn't mean a thing at the end of the day. If you can't say that you're happy with the way you deal with your problems then what's the point of thinking you're in the right?"

Daniel drew. "Please don't try to lecture me like you know what you're talking about." He added the card to his hand. "Mudeia is in a state of despair because our precious country has fallen to the hands of the five Warlords. Because of them…" His eyes started to darken from behind his glasses. "My master, the masters of the other Guardians, and the King of Mudeia died. The Queen is living her life in suffering and anguish because her husband has passed away and her daughter is out gallivanting around thinking that by doing something rash she can save Mudeia! That's not the answer! That's not the way that this country will be saved!"

"Is that so?" Jason asked unenthusiastically, eyes still finding the ceiling more interesting than his current duel. "Well you're allowed to believe what you want, I guess." He lowered his eyes to look across the dueling field evenly. "Even if you're wrong."

"What was that?" Daniel growled angrily. "Do you even know what this country has suffered because of those accursed Warlords? Can you really stand there and say that I'm wrong if you know nothing of the situation?"

"Yup." The black-haired young man stretched his neck to the side a little. "You're welcome to believe what you want, but I'll follow my own path in this weird-ass place."

"As will I," King added before his hand was smacked away again and a vein bulged out of his forehead. "You wanna die, Bushido Boy?"

"That's a pretty bold statement you make." Deondre frowned angrily. "It's also a pretty bold lie you state about Princess Alita being one of your gang members." His eyes narrowed just as darkly as Daniel's. "What do you intend to use her for?"

"…" Jason had suddenly gone silent.

Daniel continued his turn. "I sacrifice my facedown monster and Disruption Man to summon Future Hero Eternity Man!" A mighty thick-muscle silver hero with a pair of glowing jewels in his chest appeared on the field in place of the Seer's other two monsters. (2500/2100)

Alita's eyes slowly opened though her cheeks, face, and forehead still rather red. "Where are we," She muttered out weakly.

"We are currently being pursued by the Cross of Shadows and the Seer." The samurai blinked at the fact that the blond-haired Princess was no longer in his arms. "What the…"

"My dear," King said, having taken Alita from Flair. "Do not worry. You are a member of the Freaks Gang, and as such are under the protection of myself." He smiled widely at her, hearts in his eyes. "We shall protect you, my angel! Even if the sky were to fall towards you in anger, I would knock it away my mighty kicks of love!"

"Knock it off King," Jason muttered quietly, hands quietly clenching in rage.

"You see?" Daniel grabbed another card from his hand, eyes still rather dark. "The two of you just see her as a cute girl you can hit on! Well listen up, little boys, but this is serious business. Kyris the Hell is no joke, and he can't be brushed off as just a little distraction…that's not what my master and the King died because of!"

"Eh?" King grunted out, a vein bulging out of his neck in anger. "What did you say about my love for this beautiful angel, you pompous shaggy-headed goober?"

"I said, just like Deondre said, that you don't understand the concept of friendship or a companion. This isn't some game where you can just declare her a member of your gang and that somehow makes it all better! That kind of joke isn't funny!" The Seer snapped up a card. "I activate the magic card E-Extraction Beacon, returning one Future Hero from my graveyard to my hand!" His Disruption Man slid out of his graveyard and he added it to his hand.

Another magic card appeared on his field. "I activate the magic card Bad Fortune. One face-up magic or trap card on your field is destroyed!" The Five Elements Guardian card exploded. "I then activate the magic card T-Tracking Device, letting me cut the attack of one monster on my field in half to let it attack directly!" (1250/2100) "Eternity Man, attack him directly!" The mighty hero leapt across distance between the two and punched Jason square in the jaw.

Daniel- 5700

Jason- 4250

"I end my battle phase and during my second main phase activate the magic card TIME Warp, removing T-Tracking Device, I-Infinite Portal, M-Moment Scanner, and E-Extraction Beacon to skip your next turn and my next draw phase. During my next turn all Future Heroes may attack directly! Then this façade of yours will be over!"

"This isn't a façade." Jason's shadowed eyes were revealed to show that he was angry now. "Earlier the guy that looks like he's trying way too hard to be dark and mysterious said 'Use' when he was talking about Alita becoming part of the Freaks Gang."

"Yeah I was." The Cross of Shadows glared at the young man's back. "Would you like to dispute my reasoning? A pair of guys who couldn't be any older than twenty years declare the Royal Princess a member of their gang? You can't tell me that you don't have ulterior motives."

("What did he say…") Alita tilted her head slightly to look at Jason's back. "A member of your gang…"

"A pair of guys like you two, who apparently haven't had childhoods, don't seem to understand what the truth is." King returned Alita to Flair and walked past the samurai to face the Assassin. "There's a term that a member of the Freaks Gang once told us about…a word that you use to describe someone you really care about…a member of your crew…" He puffed on his cigarette and blew the clouds of smoke at Deondre. "It's…"

"Knockin' Mama…" Jason said with conviction…until King came flying by and drop-kicked him into the floor, eliciting a weak giggle from Alita.

Daniel's eyes widened slightly. ("Princess Alita laughed?")

"The term is Nakama, you twit." He slammed his heel down on the back of Jason's head in retaliation for his stupidity.

"Ouch, I bit my tongue." The black-haired young man turned around to face King. "Well excuse me for not knowing how to speak Korean."

"It's Japanese, like Saika!" King yelled right in Jason's face before he got punched in the chin.

"Don't breathe your disgusting cigarette breath on me, you jerk!" Then the two were suddenly rolling around in a heap with Jason trying to pin King's legs and failing, therefore getting wailed on.

Alita was laughing so hard she was having trouble breathing, the red in her face getting worse. Even Flair was cracking a slight smile.

Daniel and Deondre couldn't look more pissed off. "Knock it off!"

Jason rolled to his feet and brushed himself off. "Whatever, continue your turn then…"

The Seer glared at Jason angrily, the two remaining cards in his hand shaking with his rage. "How can you possibly be so happy-go-lucky about this? Don't you care about the fact that you'd have a Royal Princess with you when you are traveling? Can you really carry that responsibility on your shoulders?"

Jason sighed sadly. "Good lord you're stupid…"

Daniel growled in anger. "Eternity Man, attack his life points directly!" The superhero leapt over the Five Elements Magician again and punched Jason in the face roughly.

Daniel- 5700

Jason- 1750

"I'm not done yet!" Daniel snapped up another card. "I activate the quickplay magic card Quick Summon, sacrificing Eternity Man to summon Disruption Man!" The bulky silver superhero from before reappeared in play. (2400/1500) "When this monster is tribute summoned I destroy a monster in play, therefore your Magician is gone!" The Five Elements Magician screamed as he was hit by a wave of sound energy and blown apart. "This is the end! You pair of low-class fools won't bother Princess Alita any…"

"Is that all she is to you?" Jason screamed angrily right before Disruption Man blasted him with a burst of sound energy and his field exploded.

"Jason..." Alita's eyes widened as she realized what he had been so angry about…and then she started tearing up. "Is he serious? Just for that…"

"Nakama is the word that changed his life…" King smiled around his cigarette. "Surprisingly, the guy is dependable in that he'll do everything he can for his friends and their names. In other words," He grinned. "He's serious enough to stake his life on it. Just on a word…"

Deondre was suddenly behind Flair, his stilettos armed to strike. "We don't have time for this, sorry Flair."

The samurai's eyes widened as he realized he had let his guard down. ("I have failed in my duty…")

"Hey Glissement," King said from behind the Assassin.

Deondre spun around just in time to catch a kick to the face that sent him stumbling backwards.

"You aren't touching my angel," The fake Frenchman took a puff of his cigarette and then stamped it out on the ground. "You two don't understand what's best for her at the moment, or else you wouldn't be trying to crush her dreams like you are."

The Assassin quickly adjusted, rubbing a scuff-mark from his chin angrily. "That was a good shot, but if you were expecting me to fall from just that then you're out of your league!"

"I didn't think you would." Unbuttoning the top button of his silk shirt, King stretched one of his legs slowly and prepped himself. "I can't play around with you, since you're a killer and all that…so I'll end this right now."

"You can't possibly expect to take me down, with your speed…" Deondre blinked in surprise as King was suddenly behind him. ("How did he…")

"Les feu d'artifice par-dessus de Paris!" The fake Frenchman did a wide-spread kick that caught the Assassin's face with the curve of his foot and brought the back of his head crashing to the ground with enough force to crack the stone. Then he did a full 360 spin until he was looking down at the fallen Cross of Shadows. "I don't know what you expected, but I'm not easily beaten!"

"Neither am I!" Deondre did a handstand and threw a spinning kick at King's side, the blond-haired boy blocking with his shin. ("I can't match this guy when it comes to kicks, but I can certainly…")

"Please don't fight…" Alita coughed out weakly.

King frowned and skipped back a couple of steps. "You heard the lady. You behave and I'll behave…"

Deondre glanced over at Daniel. ("I'll at least wait until Daniel has won so that he can help me. This guy's kicks are pretty powerful…I nearly lost consciousness for a second there.")

"Whatever you were going to chastise me on, save it." Daniel pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Someone who can't even match me in a duel isn't allowed to speak down to me."

"Then it looks like," The smoke cleared to reveal Jason unharmed. "I'm allowed to speak down to you. I activate the trap card Essence Revitalize, gaining 2000 life points at the downside of letting you gain 1000 life points."

Daniel- 6700

Jason- 1350

"So you evaded my killing blow?" Daniel grimaced angrily. "What were you babbling on about before…Princess Alita…"

Jason's face suddenly contracted in anger. "You said it again, you bastard!" He drew twice for the effect of Super Determination. "I activate the magic card Element Formula, allowing me to bypass the requirements of the next card I play! And my other card is Five Element Cannon, which can only activate if I sacrifice an earth, water, wind, fire, and light monster on my field. All cards on your field are destroyed!" A powerful explosion of energy roared from the card across the field and obliterated everything in its path.

Alita's eyes widened in amazement. "That means…"

"Pocket Dimension is destroyed…" The Seer frowned as the two Thunder Dragons and the two set cards that Jason had lost returned to play. (1600/1500)x2

Jason pointed at Daniel. "Thunder Dragon double direct attack!" Both of his monsters unleashed a roaring strike of lightning that slammed into the Seer's body and wrenched a scream of pain from him.

Daniel- 3500

Jason- 1350

Dropping to one knee, Daniel felt the wounds he had suffered from his fight with Kyris open. ("I'm not in top form at all...and this guy is stronger than I had thought.") "But for Princess Alita's sake, I won't lose!"

"Cut the crap, you liar!" Jason's set card flipped up and his two Thunder Dragons disappeared, replaced by a huge double-headed version of a Thunder Dragon. (Another Fusion: Normal trap card; Select fusion material monsters on your field and send them to the graveyard, special summoning an appropriate fusion monster from your fusion deck to the field. This summon counts as a fusion summon.) (2800/2100) "You aren't doing this for Alita's sake at all!" The fusion monster released a double lightning blast that crashed into Daniel's chest roughly.

Daniel- 700

Jason- 1350

"Of course I am doing this the sake of Princess Alita!" Daniel stumbled backwards and drew his sword, feeling his strength sapping away.

"Then why do keep calling a name she can't stand being called?" Jason's other set card flipped up to reveal De-Fusion and his Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon changed into a pair of Thunder Dragons again. "A guy like you, who doesn't treat her like a human, doesn't stand a chance! Double direct attack!" His two monsters released their power and sent the Seer skidding backwards even more.

Daniel- 0

Jason- 1350

The smoke created by the final strike cleared as Stonequill Jason exploded through it, forearm spines out and ready to strike. "Do you really want to do what's best for Alita or what's best for Mudeia?" His spiked tail came flying down in a spinning arc towards the Seer.

"They are one in the same!" Daniel blocked the heavy tail with his drawn Future Edge, bracing himself against the attack and countering by swinging the crystal-edged blade at the Grafter's head. "Can you really say you know what's better for her?"

Blocking the blade off one of his forearm spikes, Jason twisted on his heels and kicked the sword up into the air before being swallowed up in a pillar of fire and emerging in his fire Graft. "Inferno Spray!" He exhaled a powerful blast of fire directly in front of him.

"Have you so easily forgotten my ability to predict your every action?" Daniel, already standing off to Jason's side, lifted his sword up above his head and slashed down at the red-haired skull in his view.

Jason deflected the sword off of his arm, leaving a huge gash in his skin but also allowing him to complete a powerful punch right into the Seer's stomach. "I don't have a clue what's better for her, but I do know that if a member of my gang is in pain that I'll break the cause of that pain!" Then he switched to Burst Fox, the punch suddenly gaining enough power to throw Daniel off-balance. "Impact Setup Shot!" Jason continued forwards and punched the Seer in the stomach again while his target was still compressed slightly.

Alita watched the fight weakly, unable to believe it. ("He's pushing back one of the Guardians of Mudeia…") All of a sudden it didn't seem impossible. Was it possible that somewhere in this country there were people strong enough to help her homeland free itself from the grasp of Kyris the Hell?

Daniel coughed up a spray of blood and rolled head over heels backwards a few feet before he was back on his feet, breathing heavily. "What are you?"

"I'm Alita's Nakama." Jason lifted his head up, silver fox ears folded back in anger. "I'm also the strongest guy in the Freaks Gang! And I'm going…" He launched forwards and punched straight ahead, the Impact Shot getting blocked by the flat of Daniel's sword. "…to kick…" He sneered suddenly and released a torrential number of Impact Shots, pummeling the Future Edge and numbing the Seer's arm, as well as shaking him up to the point he could no longer stand straight. "…your ass!"

Flair stared wide-eyed at the scene transpiring before his eyes. ("Even though Daniel Pilkington is the weakest of the five Guardians of Mudeia, this is impossible…is this the power of the Burst Fox or the power of the dog?")

"I told you, all of your attacks are…" Daniel's moment of bragging turned into a moment of fear as he saw cracks appearing in the steel of Future Edge.

"Just because you can see it coming doesn't mean a thing if you can't do a thing about it!" Jason's body was surrounded by a powerful aura of wind energy. "Alita is Alita, not Princess Alita. If she had wanted to be called that then the ass wouldn't have been so careful to call her Alita, now would he?"

Daniel's eyes reflected how impossible he believed this situation to be.

"Now go cool your head off and sort out your priorities, Four-Eyes!" Jason shot forward and slammed his fists straight through Future Edge, shattering the sword into little pieces and hitting Daniel in the gut full force. "Impact Cannon!" Then the Seer disappeared as he was blown down the hallway and through the wall.

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One of the guards for the outer wall of Shunsuna screamed in surprise and dropped to the ground as something exploded out of the wall below him and shot into the sky. "What the heck, did someone fire a cannon inside the walls of the prison?"

The white and grey blur that quickly became a single star of light in the night sky had no answers for the very puzzled guard.

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Alita, despite how feverish and weak she felt, had to stand now. Using Flair as her crutch, she stared at the hole that had been created by one of the strongest Mudeia had to offer. "He lost…Daniel Pilkington, the Seer of Mudeia, lost…"

Jason turned to look at Deondre, cracking his knuckles. "You got a problem, bud?"

King took a puff of his cigarette, still standing between Alita and the Assassin. "I suggest you leave while you've still got the ability to do so. This isn't a fight you can win without your friend."

The Cross of Shadows frowned and pulled up his face-mask. "Flair, take good care of…" He glanced over at Jason for a few seconds.

The Grafter returned the look with one of utter contempt. "Say 'Princess Alita' again, I dare you."

Legs shaking weakly, Alita looked over at the Cross of Shadows. "Deondre, please tell the others that I'm in good hands here with my friends. We will find enough Adventurers who are strong enough to create a force that can defeat Kyris the Hell."

After another few moments of silence the Assassin nodded and disappeared.

Jason was swallowed up in a burst of flame, emerging from it in his fire Graft form again. "And once again Doctor Valerio makes a house call." He touched Alita's forehead with a finger. "Sorry about this, but I'm getting whatever it is that was making you sick out of you."

"That's why I gave the Curse-Eater card in the first place…stupid…" The blond-haired girl smiled weakly through the burning pain that erupted in her body as the potion that had been given to her was purged in the incredible heat created by the Graft.

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"Mon Cheri Alita, let me carry you while you recover! I shall make the ride as comfortable as a cloud of cotton as you press yourself against my warm back and whisper sweet nothings into my ear!" King leapt towards the blond-haired girl with his arms stretched out wide.

"That's enough out of you!" Both Jason and Flair yelled at the same time as they kicked the fake Frenchman in the face and floored him.

Alita, now looking completely fine, smiled at the three. "Thank you very much for offering, King, but I think I'm alright."

"Shall we finally get out of here?" Flair looked up at the ceiling and grimaced in displeasure. "I have the feeling like the longer we remain here the more strong opponents will appear, and I've had my fill of fights today."

"Agreed." Jason pointed forwards at the hole in the wall that had been created by Daniel's body. "Let's set off, Freaks Gang and Freak's Gang Member Accessories!"

"Are you calling me an accessory?" Flair shouted angrily.

"Well you're certainly not part of the gang, that's for sure." Jason ducked under a punch aimed for his head.

"Before we go…" Alita blushed as she said this. "I have something I want to say to the three of you."

"We don't have time…" Jason was silenced by a kick to the head from King.

"I just…" Alita took a deep breath and gathered her courage. "I wanted to thank you all for bearing with me. I know I've been a burden up to this point and I…"

"Shaddup," Jason said off-handedly as he stood up from the kick, not really affected by it.

"Huh?" The blond-haired girl blinked in surprise, not expecting to have been stopped in the middle of what she had wanted to say.

"I said shaddup." Jason put his arms behind his head. "We didn't do anything that we wouldn't expect another member of the Freaks Gang to do for us if we were in your position. If you really want to repay us though then make sure you do your best to make sure your dreams come true. The rest of the gang is somewhere in Temarocia, and we need to make sure they're all safe, especially Saika." He turned and started walking away slowly.

"Jace, you jerk!" King shouted at the dark-haired boy's back. "You don't speak to my angel that way!"

Alita stared at Jason's back in awe. "I…but…"

Jason sighed exaggeratedly. "As Sai once put it, 'Nakama don't need to thank each other for little stuff,' right?" He turned to face her, putting an arm around King's neck and grinning. "Ain't that right, Frenchy?"

"That's right, my dear angel!" The fake Frenchman grinned just as widely. "I would gladly do my best for your sake, just as I expect the same from you! We're like one big family…except that we allow dating because we aren't related or anything." He hastily added that last part.

Alita's eyes had started watering in the middle of Jason's sentence, but now she had tears streaming down her cheeks. "Nakama…my family…" Then she nodded happily, a big smile on her face. "I'll do my best!"

"Alright, let's get going already!" Jason turned and started marching off swiftly. "We've got places to be!"

Flair walked alongside the Grafter, a slight smile on his face as they got a little bit ahead of their other two companions. "It's been a long time...since she's smiled like that. Regardless of my personal opinion about you, dog, I am in your debt for fighting for her happiness like that."

Jason glanced over at the samurai. "You say something, Mr. Accessory?"

"I will behead you one of these days," Flair announced just quietly enough to be heard.

"That's what I thought you said." Jason grinned and looked ahead. ("We've got a whole bunch of things we've got to get to, but without a doubt it's going to be freakin' fun.") He couldn't wait.

End of Shunsuna Arc

Author's Notes: It was an extra-long chapter, but there was a lot of stuff I had to get out of the way in this chapter. And so the Freaks Gang (And one Accessory) now head out into the country to locate their other members. What awaits, will they meet the Guardians of Mudeia again, and what was Kyris's message? We'll find out in the next arc, named 'Rainbow Flower Arc.'