Paradox interrupted, "You have no hope of defeating me without Stardust. And I will prove that with my turn. I sacrifice Rainbow Dragon in order to summon Malefic Rainbow Dragon!"

Malefic Rainbow Dragon-4000

It's one of the most beautiful dragons that I had ever seen, it's true form probably competing with Stardust for most beautiful male dragon.

Judai exploded in fury, "Leave Johan's card out of it!"

Paradox smiled in a venomous way, "Oh, but what fun is that? I stole it because I would only have the most powerful creatures from each age.

I rolled my eyes as I muttered to my companions, "So long as they are dragons, apparently."

"Now, Rainbow Dragon, attack Junk Guardna!"

Holding up my hand, I shouted over the roar, "One of Junk Guardna's abilities activates. Once per turn, he can switch one of your monsters into defense mode."

Malefic Rainbow Dragon-0

The glare from Paradox grew, "I still have another monster that can attack. Go Cyber End!"

Electricity hit me, sending me flying back as Junk Guardna shattered, leaving me to crash into the ground.

Life Points Allies=2600

Staggering to my feet, I glared up at him as he laughed, "A Malefic Duel kills the loser, so the damage you get is real."

I spat out a little blood, "So, a Shadow Duel. But Junk Guardna's other ability activates, and it switches one of your monsters into defense mode when it is destroyed."

Malefic Cyber End Dragon-2800

Raising my hand, I pointed at one of my facedown cards, "Then I activate my trap, Miracle's Wake. It brings back a monster that was destroyed this turn. So my Junk Guardna returns."

Junk Guardna-2600

Blinking away the spots in my vision, I sighed, "Sorry about that. I lost us a good chunk of points there."

Yugi smiled at me, "Don't worry about it. I've lost more."

Judai laughed as he also smiled at me, "Ah, come on! You held out against two of the strongest monsters that I've ever faced! My turn is next?"

Both of us nodded to him, while Paradox spoke up, "I place a facedown and end my turn."

We watched as Judai drew his card, "Alright, here come my Elemental Heroes! Yusei, can I use your cards?"

Nodding, I watched him explode with energy, "Sure."

His smile grew even larger than before, "I use Polymerization to fuse Elemental Hero Neos with Junk Guardna, to create the first ever Synchro-Polymerization fusion of Elemental Hero Neos Knight!"

Elemental Hero Neos Knight-2500

"Part of his special ability is he gains half of the attack points of the warrior type monster that was used to summon him, raising his attack points by 700!"

Elemental Hero Neos Knight-3200

Judai flicked his hand in a dramatic way, "Now he attacks Malefic Cyber End Dragon!"

It shattered, and the Knight started flying toward the other dragon as Judai continued, "His special ability allows him to attack twice per turn, so say good-bye to your twisted version of Rainbow Dragon!"

Yubel's transparent form smirked, "There is a reason that you are the Supreme King."

Paradox glared at him, "When a Malefic Monster is destroyed, I can activate Malefic Tune. This allows me to draw two cards."

He smirked, and Judai sighed, "I place the remaining cards from my hand in the spellzone, facedown and end my turn."

Yugi smiled past me to Judai, "That was amazing! No wonder you were also considered a threat."

Judai laughed, "I may have saved the world once or twice in my time."

Is this what life is like when you find joy in the little things? We are fighting for our lives, and they act like we are having a picnic on the seashore.

Paradox was laughing maniacally, "I choose a new Malefic monster from my deck, and send Stardust Dragon to the graveyard-"

No! Not Stardust!

"-In order to summon Malefic Stardust Dragon!"

Malefic Stardust Dragon-2500

My breath caught in my chest as I saw the deformed version of him, "How dare you do that to Stardust!"

He kept going, as if I hadn't spoken, "Then I normal summon Malefic Parallel Gear."

Malefic Parallel Gear-0

Paradox soldiered on, "He tunes together with my Malefic Stardust Dragon in order to create Malefic Paradox Dragon!"

Malefic Paradox Dragon-4000

Drums seemed to pound out a deafening rhythm, my whole body shaking with fury as I stared at the man who was using my best friend to toy with me. He smiled, "Oh, didn't think that you were the only one who could Synchro Summon did you? But that doesn't matter. I can use Malefic Paradox Dragon to bring back any monster from my graveyard. Your monsters all lose the same amount of points as the attack points of the returned creature. I choose Stardust Dragon."

Stardust-2500

What was left of my heart shattered, and I bit my lip to prevent yelling.

Elemental Hero Neos Knight-700

"Now that your monster has been weakened, my Paradox Dragon attacks it!"

One of Judai's trap cards flipped up, "Hero Barrier negates one attack if there is an Elemental Hero on the field."

I sent a smile to Judai, and Yugi spoke from my side, "Good thinking."

Nodding, I turned back to Paradox, who was glaring at us, "You think that's going to stop me? I activate Malefic Claw Stream. If I have a Malefic monster on the field, I can destroy one of your monsters."

Our Hero shattered, and another of Judai's traps flipped up, "I activate Elemental Mirage, which brings back one destroyed Elemental Hero that was destroyed this turn."

Elemental Hero Neos Knight-2500

"Since he wasn't normal summoned, he doesn't get the bonus points."

Yugi shook his head with a smile, "You certainly make sure that you have a plan."

"I just figured that it'd be rude if I didn't leave you a monster."

Paradox broke into the conversation, "But he still loses 2500 points due to Paradox Dragon's effect. I place two facedowns and end my turn."

Elemental Hero Neos Knight-0

Judai and I were on the edge of our metaphorical seats as Yugi drew his first card, when Paradox chuckled, "What are you going to do, Nameless Pharaoh? I'm certain that you've never met someone of my caliber."

Without even looking up, Yugi sighed, "No, but at some point I'm bound to. And then I'll be able to beat them twice as fast because I learned from dueling you."

Looking over at him, I shifted, "My cards are yours."

Judai nodded, "Ditto here."

Yugi smiled, "I use Reincarnation of Hope's effect, which lets me add any monster to my hand. I choose my favorite monster, Dark Magician. Then I activate Ancient Rules, which allows me to summon any monster above level 4 without a sacrifice. And I can't think of a better candidate than Dark Magician!"

Dark Magician-2500

As far as I knew, he was the last one to use it in a duel. By the time I was born, it was in a museum somewhere, never to be used again, "Woah."

Judai jumped up, "I can't believe I'm seeing it!"

Paradox seemed annoyed by our reactions, "It still gets its points taken away by my monster's effect."

Dark Magician-0

I rubbed the back of my neck, "Yugi, if you have to, destroy Stardust. I don't want to see him enslaved to someone like that."

A pulse of agreement came from Paradox's side, and Yugi nodded, "Alright. I'll keep that in mind. I activate Bond Between Teacher and Student. If I have Dark Magician on the field, I can summon his pupil, Dark Magician Girl!"

Dark Magician Girl-2000

As she emerged, I heard her mutter, "Woah, this isn't going to be an easy battle."

Dark Magician muttered back to her, "As long as we work together, we will win."

Yugi continued like nothing happened, "Then I activate Magic Gate of Miracles. If I have two or more spellcasters on the field, I can move an opposing monster onto our field in defense mode."

A set of gates appeared on both sides of the field, and the one on Paradox's side grew arms that reached for his Paradox Dragon. He panicked and flipped up one of his traps, "I activate Malefic Force! It equips to a monster and protects it from every effect."

Hope bubbled up inside of me as Yugi's smile grew extremely, "Thank you for revealing your trap. But you have another monster on your field-Stardust."

The arms yanked Stardust through the portal, and returned to his card, "Welcome back."

I gently placed the card on my disk, and he exploded out in all of his glory.

Stardust Dragon-2000

Judai laughed loudly, "That was the plan wasn't it?"

"Yes. And now all of our monster's points return to normal."

Neos Knight-2500

Dark Magician-2500

Dark Magic Girl-2000

Paradox glared at Yugi, "It doesn't change the fact that my dragon has 4000 points."

"That may be true, but I activate Dark Magic Twin Burst, which gives my Dark Magician a boost equal to the power of another spellcaster on the field, that spellcaster being Dark Magician Girl.

Dark Magician-4500

"Take out his Dragon!"

Both Magicians yelled out as the spell launched, completely shattering his Paradox Dragon.

Life Points Paradox=3500

His eyes filled with hate as he looked at Yugi, "How dare you destroy my creature, you pathetic urchin! I activate Malefic Paradigm Shift, which instantly halves my life points to summon Malefic Truth Dragon!"

Malefic Truth Dragon-5000

Life Points Paradox=1750

A massive monster exploded onto the field, causing a massive wind to kick up. As the wind died down, Judai quietly pointed out one tiny little detail that I'm sure all of us noticed, "He fused with his monster…"

Paradox's eyes were so filled with hatred that I couldn't believe he could still see, "Care to do anything else, Pharoah?"

Yugi sighed, "I place two facedowns and end my turn."

At this point in the battle, Paradox's movements seemed to be still and robotic, "Fine then. I activate Malefic Selector, which allows me to add two cards to my hand as long as I remove two from play. I remove Malefic Parallel Gear and Malefic Cyber End Dragon. Then, I send both Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Blue-Eyes White Dragon to the graveyard in order to summon Malefic Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

Malefic Red-Eyes Black Dragon-2400

Malefic Blue-Eyes White Dragon-3000

"With Malefic Truth Dragon on the field, if any monster on your side of the field is destroyed, all of your monsters are destroyed. Red-Eyes, attack Dark Magician Girl!"

One of Judai's cards flipped up, "I activate De-Fusion, separating my monster back into Neos and Junk Guardna."

Elemental Hero Neos-2500

Junk Guardna-2600

His eyes locked on mine, and I nodded, "Junk Guardna switches it into defense mode."

Malefic Red-Eyes Black Dragon-2000

"I still have Blue-Eyes, which attacks Dark Magician."

He shattered as the impact crashed into him, causing Paradox to smirk.

Life Points Allies=2100

Stardust roared, and I smiled, "Stardust can negate the effect of any card that destroys two or more cards by leaving the field until the end of the turn. It also has the fun ability of destroying the card in question."

As Stardust turned to dust, he started to laugh, "My Truth Dragon has another ability. If I remove a Malefic Monster from the graveyard out of play, then I can negate your monster's ability. I remove Malefic Rainbow Dragon from play, then my Truth Dragon attacks Elemental Hero Neos."

Judai slid back slightly as his monster shattered into millions of tiny pieces.

Paradox started to laugh, "Now all of your monsters are destroyed, and you take 800 points of damage for each!"

The other two monsters exploded, and my world temporarily went black as I crashed to the ground.

Life Points Allies=500

I somehow managed to stagger to my feet, and the two guys looked as bad as I felt. Yugi's coat had gone missing during the blast, while Judai's had multiple holes in it, "Well, this is going so well."

Paradox's laugh was getting higher and higher in pitch, "I activate Quick-Spell Malefic Divide, which resurrects on Malefic monster until end of turn! I choose Malefic Stardust Dragon!"

Malefic Stardust Dragon-2500

"Attack, and prove to Yusei the futility of what future awaits him!"

Judai shook his head, "Man, what is it about my enemies and being total nutjobs?"

Yugi started to laugh, "Yusei, please tell me that our enemies get more creative in time."

Like Judai, I shook my head in disbelief, "Only in the ways of how they are crazy. And Paradox, you are definitely not from the future that I'm building, because I have made decisions for myself that you seem unaware of."

One of Judai's traps flipped up, "I activate Flute of Summoning Kuriboh. This allows us to draw either Winged Kuriboh or Kuriboh from anywhere in our decks. Yugi, if you would?"

"I move Kuriboh into my hand, and send it straight to the graveyard to end all damage for the rest of the turn."

Nodding, I looked at Paradox, "Tough luck, your Stardust goes back to the graveyard-"

Judai piped up, "And ours returns, due to its effect."

Stardust Dragon-2500

I gazed up at him, filled with determination, "Welcome back."

Yugi smiled at us, "Are you ready to win for your friends?"

Returning his smile, I bobbed my head, "Looks like it's my turn again. I activate Stardust Spiral Force, which brings back all monsters destroyed during your turn."

Dark Magician-2500

Elemental Hero Neos-2500

Dark Magician Girl-2000

Junk Guardna-2600

A smirk grew on Judai's face, "I activate Neos Sprial Force, which doubles the attack points of any monster on the field. I choose Stardust."

Stardust Dragon-5000

Yugi grew an identical smile, "I activate Dark Magic Spiral Force, which selects a monster on the field and doubles its attack points. And who better than Stardust?"

Stardust Dragon-10000

Every drop of color flew out of Paradox's face as the three of us yelled, "Attack with Dark Cosmic Wave!"

Malefic Truth Dragon shattered into millions of pieces, and Paradox's voice disappeared with the purple clouds that had been swirling around us.

Life Points Paradox=0 Defeat!

All three of us collapsed onto the ground, and I pulled out my cards, placing them in the foot-duel pouch, "Well, I'm never going to forget this."

Judai laughed as he put away his materials, "I hope I never forget. This was the greatest day of my life."

Yugi pulled a camera out of nowhere, "Shall we?"

Somehow we managed to get back to our feet, find Yugi's jacket, and take three pictures on Yugi's polaroid camera. He held one out to me, "Am I really that famous?"

I tugged on his hair, "Mostly because of your hair and personality, so don't let it get to your head."

Judai turned to me, "What about me?"

"Even if you were, I wouldn't know. My brothers are the ones who follow the pro duels. I tend to focus on mechanics and those I care about. Dueling is just a hobby that I may eventually give up if I keep being attacked."

Yugi grew concerned, "And yet you are so good. Why quit?"

"It doesn't matter to me how good I am. If those I care about keep getting in mortal danger, I'm just going to quit. Plus, one day I want a family. I can't do that as a professional duelist."

Yubel showed up, and smirked, "I don't think anyone noticed."

I chuckled, "That's how I knew that Paradox wasn't from my timeline. I stopped hiding the fact that I am a woman. Anyone from my future would know that."

Both men went pale, and Judai muttered, "Yeah, that would make it hard to have a family and pro duel."

Another chuckle slipped out, "Let's go back to the roof."


"Woah, that's probably the strangest thing that I've ever heard. So, she's permanently part of you now?"

Judai nodded, "Most of the time I don't mind. I'm always in control."

Yugi leaned back, "That's not the case in my world. Yugi and his friends call me Yami. Yugi lets me duel most of the time because he doesn't want to get involved. Most of the trouble that follows us is my fault anyway."

One of my eyebrows tried to move in with my hair, "Okaaay, kinda noticed that. But I'm glad that I'm not the only freak."

They both laughed, and I let a smile cross my face, "Do you know how overwhelming it is to feel thousands of feelings? It kind of feels insane at points."

Yugi-no, Yami, looked over the railing, "Everyone looks so happy. I'm glad that we could prevent all of those deaths."

Yusei, your friends are waiting.

Stretching caused several pops to shoot through my back, "Yeah. Well, Yami, can we say goodbye to Yugi? The Crimson Dragon wants me to leave now, which means that Judai also has to leave."

Yami nodded, and a bright flash came from his necklace. Seeing them directly after each other, I could see the difference, "Sorry for leaving so soon, Yugi."

His smile was more innocent than Yami's, despite them having practically the same face, "Don't worry about it. It was nice to meet both of you. I saw everything from inside the puzzle."

I hugged him, "Take care, alright? I will know if anything happens, and I'm not too far in the future."

Letting go, I stared at the sky, "Maybe we will meet later on. After all, you are still alive that I know of."

Judai gave him a 'bro hug', "You'll definitely see me. I crashed into you on my way to my first day of school, and you gave me a card."

Yugi laughed, "Okay, I'll keep that in mind."

I climbed on Justice, and Judai managed to fit behind me, "Ready."

"Here goes."


Justice hit the road skidding, and I looked up to see the Kaiba Corp building back in one piece, "Thank heavens."

Something hit my side, "Yusei!"

I glanced down and hugged Luna, "Is everything okay?"

"Yup, but everyone forgot about it just like they did about the Dark Signers."


A/N: Thanks to MercurialDestiny for reviewing on the original version of this chapter!