Alex: 9800 LP

Yusei: 4000 LP

Jack: 4000 LP

Crow: 2900 LP

Alex's field: Netherworld Spirit Abyss Dragon, 5 face-downs

Crow's field: Blackwing Armor Master, 1 face-down

Jack's field: Mad Archfiend, 1 face-down

Yusei's field: Max Warrior

Alex: You cannot hope to defeat me.

Crow: We'll see about that Alex. I set two cards face-down and end my turn.

Alex: The King of the Netherworld approaches. And once he arrives, I assure that all you see before you will be reduced to ash, so that an ideal world may be created.

Luna: Alex, what happened to you?

Akiza: I don't know Luna, but we just have to hope Yusei and the others can snap him out of it.

Yusei: You done with your turn, Crow?

Crow: Sure am, so who's up next?

Jack: Me. So get set Alex, because I have a few surprises in store for you, and not the kind you wrap up with a bow. Here goes.

Alex: 3 SPC

Jack: 5 SPC

Yusei: 5 SPC

Crow: 4 SPC

Jack: I place one card face-down and summon Magic Hole Golem in defense mode.

Level 3/Dark/Rock

ATK 0/DEF 2000

Jack: And now I activate its special ability. Once a turn, I can halve the attack points of one of my monsters until the end phase in order to let that monster attack you directly, so I cut Mad Archfiend's attack points in half.

Mad Archfiend: 1800-900 ATK

Jack: Mad Archfiend, attack Alex directly with Bone Shard Shower!

His monster flew up in front of Alex before chewing up the skull in his stomach, spraying the shards at Alex, who had to cover his eyes.

Alex: 8900 LP

Crow: Hope you don't mind me getting in on this Jack. I activate my Shadow Dance trap card. Due to this card's effect, since you took a direct attack, you take another 1000 points of damage, Alex.

A dark aura surrounded Alex, causing him some pain.

Alex: 7900 LP

Alex SPC: 2

Yusei: You see that Alex? You may have the power of light and darkness on your side, but we have a greater power, our bonds.

Jack: It's your go Yusei.

Yusei: Thanks Jack. I draw.

Alex: 3 SPC

Yusei: 6 SPC

Jack: 6 SPC

Crow: 4 SPC

Yusei: I summon Junk Synchron in attack mode.

Level 3/Dark/Warrior

ATK 1300/DEF 500

Yusei: And now I tune him with my Max Warrior in order to synchro summon Junk Archer!

Level 7/Earth/Warrior

ATK 2300/DEF 2000

Yusei: And due to his special ability, I can banish one of your monsters until the end of this turn, and I choose your Abyss Dragon.

His monster fired a bolt of energy at Alex's dragon, causing it to disappear from the field.

Jack: Alright, now he's wide open!

Crow: So let him have it Yusei.

Yusei: Maybe this will snap you out of it Alex. Junk Archer, attack directly!

Alex: I think not. I play the trap Offering to the Immortals. Not only is your attack negated, but I gain 2 Ceremonial Tokens on my field.

Level 1/Earth/Rock

ATK & DEF 0

Alex: Additionally, I can add an Earthbound Immortal from my deck to my hand.

Yusei: You what?!

Crow: You he mean he negated the attack, got two tokens, and an Earthbound Immortal all from one trap? How is that fair?

Alex: That is what happens when you face the perfect being. I have transcended humanity and attained the ultimate power, which I will use to usher in a new world.

Yusei: We won't let you do this Alex. I place 2 cards face-down and end my turn.

Alex: Which means my dragon returns to my field.

Luna: This can't end well.

Alex: It's my turn. I shall show you how powerless you truly are against me.

Alex: 4 SPC

Yusei: 7 SPC

Jack: 7 SPC

Crow: 6 SPC

Alex: I sacrifice my Ceremonial tokens in order to summon my Earthbound Immortal.

A giant stone heart appeared in the sky and began absorbing the spirits of the people of New Domino City.

Yusei: Alex, how could you do this?

Alex: Come forth, Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca.

Level 10/Dark/Winged Beast

ATK & DEF 1

Suddenly, they heard the King of the Netherworld roar and turned to see he had made it halfway to the city.

Jack: And as if we didn't have enough problems.

Just then, black creatures came out of its body and flew towards them.

Crow: Looks like he's invited some friends.

Alex: It would appear the King of the Netherworld is growing impatient. While not the end to this duel I had hoped, your loss was inevitable regardless.

Suddenly Black Rose Dragon and Ancient Fairy Dragon appeared and began to destroy the creatures.

Luna: On this field, we can summon our monsters as well.

Akiza: You guys just worry about the duel and leave these guys to us.

Luna: We're behind you guys all the way.

Crow: Then what are we waiting for?

Yusei: Let's win this and save our friend.

Alex: Let me ask you this? Why do you continue to fight, when you know you have no chance of victory?

Yusei: That may be what you think, but no matter the odds, we'll persevere until we have a chance. We've never given up, and we won't start now.

Alex: Very well then, allow me to teach you that you have no possibility of victory. Due to Rasca's special ability, if I skip my battle phase, I can reduce your life points to 1.

Jack: You must be joking. No monster could be that powerful.

Alex: This monster is. Like I told you, you face the perfect being. You are no more than ants battling a giant.

Crow: What happened to you Alex? You never wanted to rule the world or tear it down and start over. You were our friend. You believed that we could change the world for the better.

Alex: The boy you knew is gone. He lost and I was reborn.

Crow: I don't believe you Alex. I know the real you is in there, and I'm going to drag you out of that shell you've thrown up around yourself no matter what it takes.

Alex: We'll see about that. But first, I activate Rasca's special ability, so hit Yusei with Polestar Obey.

Crow: I don't think so Alex, I play the trap Life Exchange! With this trap, the target of Rasca's effect changes to me.

Yusei: Crow, you can't!

Crow: You're our best shot at winning Yusei, and I won't let Alex knock you out of the duel, even if I have to sacrifice myself to see to it.

Alex: Sacrificing yourself to keep Yusei in the game, you must truly have faith in him.

Akiza: Yeah, the same trust you had in me during our duel against Misty.

Yusei: You have to remember Alex! You sacrificed yourself for Akiza because you had faith in her and cared about her!

Alex: Did you think I had forgotten? No, in fact I still care about her. I care about all of you, which is why I'm doing this, so that you can all live the life you deserve.

Yusei: Alex, even if your heart is in the right place, you have to realize what you're doing is wrong!

Alex: It's pointless to continue this conversation. Crow, you are truly a shining example of what humanity could be, and you have my respect. Now Rasca, strike him down!

Rasca unleashed a beam of purple energy on Crow, knocking him off the track.

Yusei: Crow!

Jack: He's done for!

Crow: 1 LP

Crow: Sorry Alex, but if I'm going down, you'd better believe I'm going down swinging. Due to Life Exchange's other effect, I can destroy a monster on your field if my life points decrease.

Alex: What?

Crow: As much as I wanna smash up your Earthbound Immortal, I'm going after your Abyss Dragon!

He engaged the boosters on his duel runner and launched himself at Alex's monster, ramming into it and destroying it.

Yusei: Alright, he destroyed it!

Just then, a black vortex opened by the temple and Alex's Shadow Dragon stepped out of it.

Jack: What?! But how?

Alex: Before Crow destroyed Abyss Dragon, I activated this: the Cycle of the Light and Dark continuous trap. As long as I have it, if you destroy one of my dragons, the other revives to take its place.

Crow: If that's the case, I release Blackwing Armor Master to activate the Blackwing Anchor continuous trap. That's it you guys, I'm afraid you're gonna have to take it from here on out, but I know you can do it. I know you can save the world and Alex.

Alex: Crow, even after that, you still want to help me?

Crow: This is gonna be a rough landing.

Jack: He's dropping too fast!

Crow managed to land on the track, but lost control of his duel runner and crashed.

Yusei: Crow!

Alex: I'm afraid that if Crow can't ride, then he can't duel either. I set a card face-down and end my turn.

Crow: I may not be able to duel anymore, but my friends still can, and I know they can beat you Alex.

Jack: Your sacrifice won't have been in vain old friend. It's my turn now.

Alex: 5 SPC

Yusei: 8 SPC

Jack: 8 SPC

Jack: And first I summon the tuner monster Sinister Sprocket!

Level 1/Dark/Machine

ATK 400/DEF 0

Jack: And now I tune Sinister Sprocket with Magic Hole Golem and Mad Archfiend in order to summon the Red Dragon Archfiend!

Level 8/Dark/Dragon

ATK 3000/DEF 2000

Jack: And now I activate Sinister Sprocket's special ability, which will allow me to destroy your Cycle of the Light and Dark trap card.

Yusei: Alright, if his trap is destroyed, Alex can't revive his dragons!

Alex: I activate Fake Trap. When you activate a spell, trap, or monster effect that would destroy a trap in my control, this card is destroyed instead.

Jack: No way!

Yusei: Oh man, it's like no matter what move we make, Alex is always two steps ahead of us.

Jack: Then let's see how he responds to this, the trap Half Straight. This lets me cut Red Dragon Archfiend's attack points in half until my next standby phase in order to allow him to attack you directly since he's weaker than your strongest monster.

RDA: 3000-1500 ATK

Jack: Now attack Alex directly with Scorching Crimson Fire!

Alex: I play the trap card Alchemy Cycle. This trap card reduces the attack of all monsters I control to 0 for one turn, but in exchange, if a monster affected by this card is destroyed in battle, I draw a card.

Shadow Dragon: 3000-0 ATK

Rasca: 1-0 ATK

Yusei: Oh no, with his dragon's attack points at 0, that means that Red Dragon Archfiend has to attack it.

Alex: Exactly, and once he does, his dragon will be banished.

Yusei: I play the trap card Scrubbed Raid. Jack, you can end the Battle Phase by sending one of the cards on your field to the graveyard.

Alex: But will he? Jack, you once walked the same path I do. You know that the bonds we form hold no merit, and that at the end of the day, we only have ourselves to rely on.

Yusei: Don't listen to him Jack, he's just trying to get into your head.

Alex: You speak as though I lie, when in fact I tell nothing but truths. Humans are selfish by nature. We ally ourselves with others for our own benefit, but when it comes down to it, the only person you can rely on is yourself.

Jcak: Red Dragon Archfiend, attack his monster!

Alex: 6400 LP

Alex SPC: 4

Alex: And now Shadow Dragon's effect activates, so Red Dragon Archfiend is banished, and you take damage equal to half his original attack points.

Jack: 2500 LP

Alex SPC: 7

Yusei: Why Jack? We had him.

Alex: And now due to Cycle's effect, Abyss Dragon rises from the graveyard.

Level -8/Dark/Dragon

ATK 2500/DEF 2000

Alex: And now his special ability activates. Since he was special summoned, I can send Red Dragon Archfiend to the graveyard to gain life points equal to half of his attack points.

Alex: 7900 LP

Jack: I place three cards face-down and end my turn.

Alex: So Jack, you realize I was right and that the only person you can rely on is yourself.

Jack: You couldn't be more wrong Alex.

Alex: What?

Jack: Back then I thought the only way I could succeed was to turn my back on my friends, but I realize I was wrong, and so are you Alex.

Yusei: Jack.

Jack: You say that the only people we can rely on is ourselves, but that's not true. All the people I've met and become friends with taught me that, including you Alex. And that's why I'm going to fight with everything I have in order to protect my friends, and I'll save you from yourself, just like someone I care for did for me. This one's for you Carly.

Yusei: It's my move Alex, I draw!

Alex: 5 SPC

Yusei: 9 SPC

Jack: 8 SPC

Yusei: And I activate Junk Archer's special ability, meaning your dragon is removed from the game.

Alex: You think that would affect me twice? I play the trap Ring of Destruction in order to destroy my dragon and deal us both damage equal to its attack points.

A metal collar attacked itself to his dragon's neck before exploding.

Jack: I play my trap Desperate Guard! Since I control no monsters, I can pay half my life points to make the damage from Ring of Destruction become 0.

Jack: 1250 LP

Alex: You may have protected Yusei, but due to the effect of my trap card, Shadow Dragon rises from the grave.

Level 8/Dark/Dragon

ATK 3000/DEF 2500

Yusei: I set a card face-down and end my turn.

Alex: You fools. You struggle, you fight, and for what? The vain hope that you can defeat me? I have outplayed you at every step of this duel and shall continue to do so.

Hey everyone. I decided to change my upload schedule to Tuesdays and Fridays. There's two more chapters left in this story, and I can't begin to tell you all how thankful I am for your continued support. I hope you all enjoy what's left, and continue to support me in the future. Have a great day and stay safe.