I checked on Crow's runner as I heard an engine pull up behind us, "Who are you?"

Without looking up, I called over my shoulder, "Officer Trudge, Luna, Leo, meet my brother Jonathan, who everyone calls Crow. Crow, these are the youngest Signer, her brother, and the cop who tried to get me into the facility multiple times."

Crow laughed, "You either make friends, or you make mortal enemies. This is the first time that you managed to turn one of your enemies to a friend."

"Also dealing with the opposite, where one of my old friends now wants to destroy me and anything I care about, so it's a fair trade."

He stretched his arms, "I'm ready whenever you say that my runner is ready to go."

I stood up, popping my back, "It's as good as I can get it without an hour and tools. But we're under a time crunch, so it will have to do."

Both of us hopped onto our runners, and I twisted to look at him, "Crow, I want you to stay close to them. You were safe during this duel because you were the opponent, but they can steal your soul if you get too far from Luna. It will also be nice for them to have a guide who knows the area."

"Got it."


I raced ahead of the others towards Kiryu's tower. Kiryu, what changed you? What took away the guy who helped me accept myself as human?

There was movement ahead of me, drawing my focus there. Kiryu was racing directly at me with no signs of slowing down.

Swerving sharply to the side, I just managed to stop as he skidded to a stop right next to me, "I'm going to make you pay, Traitor!"

Taking a deep breath, I looked him in the eyes, "I understand that you believe that I'm a traitor. But I swear on my life that I never betrayed you."

Rather than respond like a normal sentient being, Kiryu instead cackled at the top of his lungs. He spun his runner around to face the same direction that I was, before raising his arm high above him. Once again, purple flames shot up around us, creating the track that would keep us in until one of us was dead.

As his arm came down, he screeched, "First one around the corner gets the first turn!"

"Sure," I agreed, thinking to myself, Thank heavens I fixed my runner after the last duel.

We shot off, and I started passing him when he started laughing, "You aren't getting the first turn!"

He slammed into my side, sending me flying into the wall of flame.

I managed to pull myself out of the flames as he started his turn, "I summon Infernity Necromancer in defense mode!"

Infernity Necromancer-2000

My brain had just enough time to process what his monster looked like before he continued to speak, "I place a facedown. Now let's see what you're made of, Yusei!"

What in the world is going on? It feels like he's trying to do this duel as quickly as possible.

Scanning my hand, I formulated a potential plan, "I summon Max Warrior in attack mode!"

Max Warrior-1800

"Now attack his Necromancer!"

Kiryu laughed, "What are you thinking?"

"That every time he attacks he gains 400 points."

Max Warrior-2200

The two monsters collided, causing his Necromancer to vanish. From my angle, it was impossible to read Kiryu's body language, so I continued, "The catch is, after he attacks, everything is halved until my next standby phase."

Max Warrior-900

Before I could mention the two cards that I placed facedown, Kiryu started talking, "I activate Limit Impulse, which lets me send two cards to the graveyard to summon two soul tokens. Then I immediately sacrifice them to summon Dark Tuner Nightmare Hand!"

Dark Tuner Nightmare Hand-0

He only has one card left in his hand, which means that I'm about to enter the world of hurt again.

"Then I use Nightmare Hand's special ability, which lets me summon a level 1 or 2 monster from my hand. Come forth Infernity Dwarf!"

Infernity Dwarf-800

I braced myself for the inevitable, now that he had no cards in his hand, "I Dark Synchro Summon 100 Eye Dragon!"

100 Eye Dragon-3000

His voice broke through the air as he cried out, "Take out her Max Warrior!"

A scream ripped it's way out of me as the attack destroyed my monster.

Life Points Yusei=1900

Gasping for air, I managed to activate my card, "I use Revival Ticket, which destroys one of my cards on the field to bring back my monster and restore the points I lost during one attack this turn."

Max Warrior-1800

Life Points Yusei=4000

"The card I destroyed was Limiter Removal, which activates when it's destroyed. It summons a level 4 or below monster to my field."

Speed Warrior-900

Even with the distance between us, it was clear that he was not expecting that. His whole body tensed up as he spit out the words, "I end my turn."

My breath had finally come back, "I activate Card of Sacrifice. If your monster has more points than both of mine combined, I get to draw two cards. Catch is, I can't do anything with my monsters for my turn. So I place two face downs and end my turn."

Kiryu drew a card and instantly placed it face down, causing me to brace myself for the inevitable attack that was to come, "I use my Dragon's ability to use Necromancer's ability. This lets me summon a level 4 or below monster to my field. Infernity Archfiend, come on out!"

Infernity Archfiend - 1800

A smile crept onto my face, "I activate Slip Summon. If you summon in a way that isn't a normal summon, I get to summon the same amount with the same limitations. In other words, I also get a level 4 or below monster. Come on Ghost Guardna in defense mode!"

Ghost Guardna - 1900

Kiryu's voice raised in both pitch and volume as he yelled, "My Dragon attacks Speed Warrior!"

"No he doesn't, because Ghost Guardna takes the attack due to its special ability."

The words coming out of his mouth launched out like bullets, "Fine! Then I use my Dragon's ability to use my Dwarf's piercing damage!"

Life Points Yusei-2900

I watched with a smile on my face when Infernity Archfiend's attack points dropped like a rock in the ocean, causing him to snap his head towards me.

Infernity Archfiend-800

My smiling face and explanation did not improve his mood, "When Ghost Guardna is destroyed in battle, one of your monsters loses 1000 points until your end phase."

His eyes narrowed to a point where all I could see was black, "Then I end my turn."

When I drew my next card, a smile came onto my face, "I summon Junk Synchron."

Junk Synchron-1300

"Then I tune him and Speed Warrior together to bring out Junk Warrior!"

Junk Warrior-2300

My smile got bigger as I kept talking, "When I synchro summon, I can activate the trap, Synchro Striker Unit. This turns into an equip spell, raising my monster's points by 1000."

Junk Warrior-3300

"Now Max Warrior, attack his Infernity Archfiend!"

Max Warrior-2200

Kiryu laughed maniacally, "I activate the trap Infernity Force, which negates any attack on an Infernity Monster, destroys the attacking monster, and then summons a level 4 or below monster from my graveyard. Come forth Infernity Necromancer!"

Infernity Necromancer-2000

Shrugging, I continued, "Oh, no. It's almost like I predicted that you had a trap. Well, then I guess I'll just have my Junk Warrior take out your Dragon!"

To my complete and utter relief, he didn't have a way to stop the attack, so I got the relief of seeing it explode.

Life Points Kiryu=3700

"Whenever 100 Eye Dragon is destroyed, I can add a card to my hand."

Brace yourself, Yusei. The Giant is about to try and kill you again.

I looked at my hand, "I place two cards facedown and since this is my end phase, Synchro Striker Unit deactivates, which drops Junk Warrior's attack points by 800."

Junk Warrior-2500

Kiryu screeched with laughter, "I can't wait to destroy you, traitor. You're going to get what you deserve for turning me over to Security!"

A voice crackled through the system, and Crow's voice came through, "You're wrong, Kiryu. She tried to turn herself in to save you. They just knew who they were looking for."

His smile turned to a terrifying insane look, "But you all abandoned me. And because of that I was beaten to death after they stole my deck from me."

Months ago, I would have been shocked about what happened to him in the Facility. But now, it took every fiber of my good sense to not say: Have you even seen my face, Kiryu? I also went to the Facility, where I got electrocuted near to death!

Instead of yelling at him, however, I bit my tongue as Kiryu ranted about how he was offered a second chance at me on his deathbed.

He turned to me, "I will kill you. I sacrifice both of my monsters to summon Ccapac Apu!"

Ccapac Apu-3000

"Take out that pathetic Signer!"

I shook my head, "Nope. I activate Baton of the Hero, which lets me pick the target of your attack. I chose Junk Warrior!"

The pain ripped through me as Junk Warrior tried to take the blow as much as he could.

Life Points Yusei=2400

Kiryu started laughing, "Ccapac Apu's other effect comes into play. When he destroys a monster, you take that monster's points as damage."

I couldn't believe it, "You just gave me the perfect chance. I activate Burst Synchro Summon, which negates the damage that I would have taken and summons a Synchro monster with that amount of points. So come on out Stardust Dragon!"

Stardust Dragon-2500

Dealing with Kiryu's emotions during this duel is an adventure. I feel sorry for Crow, cause he also has to deal with my crazy emotions too.

Kiryu's quiet mutter came through the microphone, "Then I place a face down and end my turn."

As I drew my card, he spoke again, "I activate Brilliant Shrine Art. This makes it so that you have to attack my Earthbound Immortal."

I shook my head, "Fine."

My eyes scanned the cards in front of me, and a strategy appeared, "I use Angel Baton, which lets me draw two cards if I send one to the graveyard. Then Stardust Shaolong's ability activates, which allows me to summon it from the graveyard if I have Stardust on the field."

Stardust Shaolong-100

I pressed the trap button, "Then I return your favor by activating Superior Protector, which equips to Stardust. When this trap is activated, I can only take damage if you attack the equipped monster."

"Are you done?"

"Yup, go for it."

Kiryu nodded, "Then my Earthbound Immortal attacks Stardust Dragon!"

"If I send Superior Protector to the graveyard, Stardust can't be destroyed in battle."

Yet another cackle escaped his body, "I activate Wicked Trample. Any damage dealt in battle, not including direct attacks, is doubled."

I felt the wind ripping at my face and through my shirt, actually taking part of my jacket away.

Life Points Yusei=1400

A huge gash split the track in half, knocking Kiryu off balance. He started sliding towards the flames despite his attempts to get back on the pathway.

I shot up next to him, "Grab my hand!"

He ignored my hand, "No, I'm already dead, there's no point!"

Stretching farther, I almost could touch him, "I'm not going to let anyone else take you away from me! I'm done being a wilting flower. I tried to look for you when I was in the Facility, so I could say sorry for not defending you better."

As I kept reaching for him, I watched as the mark on my arm vanish from sight. Warmth came from my back, and as I turned to look, I caught a glimpse of a red circle-ish shape on it. The full mark of the Crimson Dragon.

The top card of my deck started glowing brightly, and a voice whispered, "You need to finish this duel."

Carefully, I drew the card. On it was a strange pink monster that I had never seen before: Majestic Dragon.

I quickly scanned it's description, and smiled, "I play Majestic Dragon."

Majestic Dragon-0

While I played the card, I kept one eye on Kiryu who was really struggling to keep control of his runner. I'm sorry, but this is the only way that I know to save you.

"I tune Majestic Dragon, Stardust Shaolong, and Stardust Dragon together to create…"

A name came to my mind as I spoke, "Majestic Star Dragon!"

Majestic Star Dragon-3800

The world shifted around me as a blazing light took away my sight for a few minutes. As my vision cleared, I realized where I was.

I was inside the dragon I just summoned.

Reading the card that had taken Stardust's place on my duel disk, I was in awe of its effects, "My Dragon can take one of the abilities of your monster, and negate all of the others. I chose the one that deals you damage if I destroy your monster, and then I destroy Ccapac Apu!"

My dragon shot through the giant with me still inside of it, ripping it to shreds. Then it flew down, and somehow Kiryu ended up in my arms, "I'm so sorry Kiryu."

Kiryu smiled at me, "I guess I didn't really hate you enough to kill you."

He reached up to touch my cheek, "I also wanted a second chance to tell you that you should face your problems and keep moving forward. Ironic, isn't it?"

He leaned up, planting his face against mine, kissing me.

Before I could react, he turned into dust in my arms.

Tears flooded down my face as my new dragon glided to the ground, dropping me off. I curled up on the ground and watched it fly off, slowly fading away.


A/N: Thanks to Let's-Go-To-Vermont, Dark Lord of the Fallen Angels and an anonymous Guest for reviewing on the original version of this chapter!