After a couple minutes, I started taking deep breaths to calm down. My gloves lay on my lap as my hands were covered in tears that I was frantically wiping off my face. Once I calmed down, I put my helmet back on and headed back to the tower.

The others were gathered next to the tower, looking around until Luna spotted me, "Yusei!"

Pulling up, I got off my runner, "Let me deal with the tower first, and then we can talk, okay?"

Each one of them nodded, and I entered the tower, heading directly towards the pedestal in the center while pulling Stardust out of my deck. I glanced at the card as I reached out to put it in, Thank you for helping me save Kiryu from the Dark Signers.

Gently, I placed it in the hole just long enough for the pedestal to light up, and then I booked it out of there.

As I watched it sink, two sets of arms wrapped around my torso, "Thanks for the hug, you guys. I'm sorry if I worried you when I vanished."

Crow and Trudge approached the bundle of humans, and Crow smiled at me, "Did you just ride on your monster?"

"I'm just as blown away as you are. That was not something that I expected to happen today."

He pointed behind me, "So, did you do that?"

Twisting as much as I could, I saw an orb of light float up, exploding outward to release dozens of little lights. Each slowly faded into a human beings who were standing where the duel had taken place, looking really confused.

Trudge was looking at them with a confused look on his face, "Who are they?"

Crow practically jumped, "They must be the people that were sucked up by Kiryu's Immortal!"

My torso was freed as the twins started jumping up and down, cheering in unison.

Part of me wants to remind them that there's still three more Dark Signers, but I'll let them have a small party before bursting their-

Beside me, Trudge stiffened as a purple mark appeared on his arm. Instantly, I swept the twins behind me while Crow took a few steps back, all eyes locked on the possessed officer.

"Congratulations on defeating your friend, Miss Fudo."

The voice was familiar to me, but it was the spider on his arm that gave it away, "Roman, what do you want?"

Trudge turned toward us, "I am your next opponent. I'm waiting for you at the old Reactor."

Just then, the mark disappeared, and Trudge went limp for a couple of seconds before shaking his head, "What just happened?"

Ignoring him, Crow turned to me, "You know that it's a trap, right?"

Nodding, I put down the visor on my helmet, "But honestly, at this point I just want to beat the living daylights out of him, so I don't care."


Pulling up to the massive hole in the ground, chills ran up and down my body.

This is where I spent the first year of my life. This is where my parents both died.

I got off my runner, "So, this is the Reactor. It's somehow both bigger and smaller than I was expecting."

Crow nodded, "You can see why no one ever comes here, can't you."

We made our way to the edge, looking for a way to get to the bottom. Everything was rusted over, making it hard for me to see any similarities between what was in front of my eyes, and the place in the pictures that I had stored away.

Of course, since those pictures were taken, Zero Reverse happened.

Luna walked to my side, "We found some stairs that lead down into it."

Pulling myself out of my musings, I forced myself to nod, "Alright then."

I walked to the staircase, and started carefully walking down. The staircase was metal that looked like it had barely survived Zero Reverse, and it kept shaking with every step that we took.

Halfway down, the stairs turned into cement, and I could hear the others breath a sigh of relief. I tried to relax, but something just felt wrong.

Once I reached the landing, I knew what it was. Our options were to continue down, or to cross a suspiciously new looking bridge going directly over the Reactor. Everything about it screamed 'trap'.

"Welcome Signer."

Roman had somehow appeared at the other end of the bridge without making a single noise.

Great. Dueling a Shadow Duel, which inflicts real damage, on a bridge that already looks shaky. Something tells me that he's going to try and kill me one way or another.

Cautiously, I stepped onto the bridge, "Hello again."

Yet again, he decided that the best course of action was to laugh at me, "Making it here means that you sent your friend to the Netherworld."

"You guys took a misled kid and turned him into a murderer! It makes me sick!"

Roman kept laughing, "It wasn't us, it was destiny!"

My hands clenched, "There is no such thing as destiny. It's just a fictional concept that people can blame for their actions when it causes controversy."

Laughter kept coming from him like he was a fountain of it, "It was your destinies to fight each other, just like it was for me to meet your father!"

"Sure, keep blaming destiny when you decided to kill every single person that you saw on a daily basis for years. That was a decision, not destiny."

His hand shot out, grabbing something on his mechanical arm, he smiled at me in a terrifying manner before yanking it, "You can keep denying and denying it, but there is no avoiding destiny."

An explosion came from below us, quickly followed by a pulsing multi-colored light that swirled around just below the bridge.

I stared down at it in shock, So, the Reactor is the light from my nightmares. Good to know.

After a couple seconds of silence, he started chuckling again, "This is the destiny that your father found when you were barely a part of his life."

"Shut up about destiny! I don't care, because you still chose to kill thousands for your own personal gain!"

The expression on his face was getting creepier and creepier as he rambled on, "I will bury you in this light like I did with your father!"

"You have completely lost your mind, haven't you?"

"Duel me, Fudo Yusei!"

My face hardened, "Fine."

He held up his arm, and both of our marks flared up, causing the now-familiar pain to return to my arm.

Roman took the first turn, "Let's see how good you are. I place one facedown and end my turn."

So he's trying to bait me. But I have to get him fast and hard, before he can summon his Immortal.

"I can summon Quickdraw Synchron by sending 1 card to the graveyard."

Quickdraw Synchron-700

"Then I can bring back Level Eater from the graveyard by dropping the level of a monster whose level is over 5. So Quickdraw drops to level 4 to summon Level Eater!"

Level Eater-600

"Next Quickdraw randomly chooses another monster with Synchron as part of their name, and can replace the other Synchron in a Synchro summon."

Images of my other Synchrons appeared in a circle in front of him, rotating faster and faster until he shot one. Junk Synchron. Perfect.

I looked at Roman, "He chose Junk Synchron, so I tune Quick Draw and Level Eater together to bring out Junk Warrior!"

Junk Warrior-2300

"Junk Warrior, attack Roman directly!"

While the attack was going, I kept an eye on the trap, which didn't move, but his life points certainly did.

Life Points Roman=1700

He smiled, making my heart drop into my stomach, "I activate my trap, Wolf in Sheep's clothing. If I take a direct attack, I can summon a level 1 monster from my hand, as well as one with the same name from my deck. The one I select is Dark Spider."

Dark Spider-0

Dark Spider-0

Biting my lip, I grabbed a card from my hand, "I end my turn by placing a facedown."

Okay, so the non-stop smile is starting to freak me out. But I'm more concerned about the fact that all he needs to summon his stupid Immortal is-

"I activate the Field Spell Spider Web."

Well, crap.

Bracing myself, I watched as he continued his turn, "Now I sacrifice my monsters to summon Earthbound Immortal Uru!"

Earthbound Immortal Uru-3000

Roman was making a ton of ridiculous arm movement, reminding me of Jack during one of his duels, "Since there is a field spell out, Uru can attack you directly!"

I pressed the button, "Actually, he can't this turn. I activate Synchro Barrier. If I send a Synchro to the graveyard, then I don't take any damage. So I send my Junk Warrior away, and I don't get hurt."

He glared at me, "You can't avoid destiny forever. I place two facedowns and activate a spell called Destiny Activator. I take the top card on my deck and send it to the graveyard. If you draw the same type of card, then your life points are cut in half."

Drawing his card dramatically, he flicked it in my direction, "It's a monster."

I drew my card, showing him it like he did, "My card is a trap."

More laughter filled the empty pit, "Destiny is toying with you."

Getting really sick of that stupid word.

A muscle twitched in the corner of my eye as I bit back my comment about destiny, "I play Speed Warrior. And his points double the turn that he is summoned, which I am going to put to use by attacking you directly."

Speed Warrior-900

Speed Warrior-1800

Before I could do anything else, he interrupted me, "I activate Roar of the Earthbound. When I'm attacked directly while an Earthbound Immortal is on the field, the attacking monster is destroyed and half of its points are deal as damage to you."

Speed Warrior exploded and a wind blew right into me.

Life Point Yusei=3100

I looked up, and noticed something interesting. Roman had purple climbing up his face from the arm with the mark on it. Almost like it's taking over him.

Shaking away that morbid thought, I looked at my hand, Got to find a way to protect myself.

A headache was starting to sneak its way in as I set a card down, "I place one facedown and end my turn."

"That won't help you now that Uru is attacking you directly!"

Locking eyes with him, I tried to seem confident, "I activate Spirit Force, which negates damage and brings back a monster with 1500 or less points destroyed last turn."

"You won't be doing either of those things."

I jumped with surprise, "What?"

He held out his hand towards a card that flipped up, "I use Earthbound Wave, which negates a card that would stop an Earthbound's attack."

Webbing punched me in the stomach and I crashed to the bridge feet behind my original position. As I tried to move, I could feel the bridge shaking from the impact.

Life Points Yusei=100

Stumbling to my feet as it swayed like a boat, I tried to stay up without holding onto something.

The world was spinning around me because of the crash, making it hard to draw the next card for his stupid spell: Zero Guardna.

I reluctantly said, "Monster."

An explosion ripped through me, and I fell to the ground as my points dropped further.

Life Points Yusei=50

I couldn't help but think to myself, If I never Shadow Duel again, it will be too soon.

For a couple seconds, I considered not getting back up. Then I heard them.

"Yusei! Are you okay?" Luna shouted.

Leo called out, "You can do it Yusei!"

The kids can't see me give up.

I pushed myself to my feet, "I summon Zero Guardna in defense mode and place one facedown."

Zero Guardna-0

Despite how out of it my spinning vision was making me, I could hear him laughing, "You look awful, just like your father did in his final moments."

My power surged through my body, helping me make eye contact with him.

"That's right, I was one of the last people to see him. I was also one of the first people who wanted to help him make the Reactor. He accidentally discovered planetary particles, which worked as a gear in the universe, moving everything else along. Being so fascinated about these particles, he named his first child after them, hoping that she would be the thing that would bind strangers together."

I could hear my dad's voice from the only video I had of him, You'll live to do great things, Yusei.

"My brother Rex and I were his assistants. We were there when he realized that every time he conducted a test, there would be an electrical storm in the city. At that point he decided to shut off the Reactor, calling it a danger to the city.

"Later that day, I discovered what he knew. Not only did the strange weather happen in our city, but it was also happening around the Nasca lines. So I decided to go there to investigate.

"When I got there, I learned about the story of the Immortals fighting the Signers and their dragons. While this was interesting to me, I decided to go to the lines themselves and see them up close.

"As I was looking at the spider mark, a man came out of nowhere, calling me by name. He told me that he was from a group named Iliaster, who were curious about me because of a birthmark on my left arm."

My eyes went to the metal where the arm in question should have been, Was he the fifth Signer?

"He told me that I was destined to start the war by waking up the Immortals with the Reactor. Before I could get more information, he disappeared in a sudden dust storm.

"When I returned, the Reactor told me what I had to do, and I took charge of the Reactor, since I was the only one willing to take that job from Dr. Fudo.

"By the time I had been put in charge, he had locked the towers, meaning that I had to go and unlock them. When I found him, he was trying to permanently shut down the Reactor, which can't be done unless all of the towers were shut. When he found out that I unlocked them, he stole the cards from me, and ran for his life. As he fled, my guards shot him, causing him to drop Ancient Fairy Dragon.

"I found out later that he gave the cards to Rex before sending his daughter away in an escape capsule. Meanwhile, I forced the Reactor to spin backwards after giving the mark of the dragon's head to Rex, giving into destiny."

His eyes noticed mine on him, "And you are about to go to the same place as your father. Uru, attack this Signer directly!"

"Zero Guardna can end the battle phase by being sent to the graveyard, so better luck next time."

Roman looked really upset at not being able to kill me, "I place one facedown and end my turn."

My next card was a miracle, letting me know that my deck was supporting me, "I place two facedowns and end my turn."

I knew exactly how he'd react to me having this many facedowns, and his next move proved it, "I use Earthbound Whirlwind, which destroys every trap and spell card on your field."

A smile came onto my face, "I think not. I activate Starlight Road, which destroys any card that would destroy 2 or more of my cards. Then as a bonus, it summons Stardust Dragon."

Stardust Dragon-2500

"Then, since Stardust is on the field, Shooting Star activates, and destroys a card. Maybe Spider Web?"

He glared, "I activate Anti-Emptiness, which stops your card's effect by dropping Uru's points to 0 until my turn is over. And then I end my turn, meaning that his points are back."

Drawing yet another card, I smiled, "My turn, and I activate Battle Waltz. This summons a copy of a Synchro on my field with all of the same qualities, just not it's ability. And since I don't have another Synchro, it copies Stardust Dragon."

Waltz Token-2500

"Now it'll attack you directly!"

Roman flicked his hand as a trap card flipped up, "I use Roar of the Earthbound. It destroys monsters with fewer attack points than my Immortal, and deals half of its points as damage to you."

I pointed at Stardust, "Go, Victim Sanctuary!"

He dissolved into sparkles, taking the card with him, "Keep going Token!"

Roman activated another card, "Brilliant Shrine Art! This redirects the attack to my Earthbound."

A huge cloud of dust surrounded us, with Roman laughing at the top of his lungs, "Too bad, but what can you do against destiny?"

Once the dust cleared, he shut up, "How are you alive?"

Spreading my arms wide, I sent him a smile, "I don't take any damage when my Token battles. Not only that, but your monster loses the same amount of points that my Token had."

Uru-500

I stared at him, "Look, I don't believe in destiny. All I know is that because my dad discovered the Yusei particles, my home was destroyed, leaving my brothers without their dads, and I lost mine as well. My family is responsible for all of the pain that this city has gone through, at least, that's what I've thought my whole childhood. Now I know that you are the one responsible. You killed thousands of innocent people, and just call it fate, or destiny, which is complete lies. You are an insane psychopath that deserved to die for betraying your friend and mentor!"

"Yusei!"

That voice didn't come from behind me.

I looked around and saw Crow in a window below me, "Crow?"

His eyes screamed his pity, "I am sorry for not noticing that my little sister blamed herself for the creation of Satellite, but at least you know the truth now. It wasn't your fault, or even your dad's. He was the one who stopped when it was dangerous, he was the one who tried to protect the city with his life. Sounds like another genius I know."

"Arigato, Crow."

I turned back to Roman, "I activate Stardust Flash, which brings back Stardust if he was released due to his ability. Now Stardust, take out the Earthbound Immortal!"

Rubble came down past us due to the attack, leaving Roman on his knees, also making the bridge sway once again.

Life Points Roman=0 Defeat!


A/N: Thanks to Lets-Go-To-Vermont and an anonymous Guest for reviewing on the original version of this chapter.