"Ichika!" Rin called.

"Ichika, call if you can hear us!" Cecilia called.

"Where are you, Ichika!" Charlotte called. The five girls searched around for Ichika when Charlotte told them his charm was stolen and he could be in danger.

"Charlotte, are you sure it was around here that you last saw Ichika?" Houki questioned.

"Yes, I'm certain of it." Charlotte confirmed.

"Ichika must be around here somewhere and we will find him!" Laura said. None of them were giving up on finding Ichika, but they can only hope they can get to him in time.

...

Ichika

Ichika chased down the thief that stole his charm, but the only way to save it was to duel for it. Not easy for Ichika since he has to do it without the spirit's help. The kicker was that it was Bane who stole it, but he's apparently being controlled by someone else from afar.

"You're not Bane. You're someone else that's controlling him, but why do you want my charm?" Ichika questioned.

"I want the power that lies within, and I will defeat you to have it." Bane said as the person that was controlling him was speaking through him. "Just hurry up and finish your turn. You've got nothing left to help you." He was right. He had 3600LP, but he also had Battleship Falconfly equipped with Battleship Armor giving it 2200atk points. Ichika had nothing left on his field and had only 2800LP. A couple good attacks and he's finished if he doesn't do something.

'He's right. I've got nothing to protect me.' Ichika thought. 'Thanks to Falconfly's ability, he'll be able to summon twice on his next turn. If I don't think of something, I'm done for.' Ichika tried to think of how he was going to get out of this because he can't lose the charm, but he has only two cards in his hand. 'Wait a minute. Maybe these two will be able to help me.' "I place two cards facedown to end my turn."

"My turn, and it could be your last!" Bane said as he drew his card. "First, I'm going to summon Battleship Strikefly to the field!" He summoned his black glider-like ship with it having 1600atk points. "Next, thanks to Falconfly's ability, I can summon twice this turn since a monster was destroyed last turn, but it has to be a fellow ship. That's why I'm tributing these two and summoning out Battleship Delta Starcruiser!" Bane summoned out his ace monster as his other two vanished with his ace monster with it having 2700atk points.

"Hold on. Why summon that thing when both of your monsters together had enough power to finish this?" Ichika said.

"I'm not stupid." Bane claimed. "Those two face-downs you have is probably to stop them or something, but I've got something that will help with that. I'm activating Impenetrable Barrier!"

"What's that?!" Ichika questioned.

"This spell card can only be equipped to a level five or higher machine-type monster." Bane explained. "It protects them from being destroyed by any of your spell or trap cards. Not only that, it gives Delta Starcruiser extra attack and defense points by 400." His battleship was given a barrier to be placed around it, but it's power did increase to 3100. "With that, you're done for now! Delta Starcruiser, attack him directly!" The battleship took aim at Ichika and was ready to take him out right there.

"Hold it! I play my trap card: Infinite Stratos Coverage!" Ichika said. "By taking an Infinite Stratos from my graveyard and removing it from play, I can weaken the damage I take by its attack points!" He took Blue Tears and removed her from play. When Starcruiser opened fired at Ichika, an astral form of Blue Tears got in the way and tried to shield him. However, his life points still dropped to 1200. "There's one more thing that trap does! I can take an Infinite Stratos in my deck and add it to my hand to replace the one I removed! The one I'll take is Infinite Stratos Shenlong!" He said as he took another card.

"What good will that do you?" Bane taunted.

"It will allow me to play my second trap card! I play Bonus Power!" Ichika said. "This trap card activates when a card moves from my deck to my hand by an effect. It allows me to draw two more cards." He drew two more cards and was coming up with a new plan to help him.

"You're grasping at straws here. There's nothing in your deck that will be able to save you." Bane taunted. "I think I'll end my turn there and let you continue with your suffering." Ichika might have survived against that last attack, but just barely managed to. If he doesn't do something soon, he could end up loosing everything.

"It's my turn!" Ichika said as he drew his next card and tried to think of something to help him. Luckily, he drew just the card that will be able to help him. "Perfect! First, I'm summoning out Infinite Stratos Shenlong to the field!" He summoned out another Infinite Stratos with her having 1500atk points.

"That little cyber girl can't save you." Bane said.

"Actually, she can. I play Riyoku!" Ichika said. "This card allows me to take half of the attack points of one monster on the field and add it to another monster!"

"What?!" Bane said as the mastermind knows what this means.

"Your Impenetrable Barrier might protect your ship from being destroyed by effects, but it still is affected by them!" Ichika said as a power transfer was happening. Delta Starcruiser lost power while Shenglong gained it with the attack points being 1550 and 3050. "Shenlong, attack now!" Shenlong fired a barrage of attacks and tried damaging Starcruiser. She finished it by flying in with a set of weapons and destroyed Starcruiser in one powerful strike. Starcruiser ended up being destroyed with Bane's life points dropping to 2100. "Yes! I've got you now!"

"Don't celebrate just yet. This duel will still be mine, especially since your power-up is wearing off." Bane claimed as Shenlong's attack points dropped back to normal. "I believe it's my turn now!" He drew his next card and Ichika was worried about this. "Look at that. It would seem that fortune DOESN'T always favor the fools. I play Monster Reborn!"

"Not that!" Ichika said.

"That's right, and I'm bringing back Delta Starcruiser!" Bane said as his ship came back out on the field and was back at 2700atk points.

'Oh no! If that thing manages to land an attack, it's all over for me!' Ichika thought as it looked like this could be the end of things for him and the spirit.

...

The Mastermind

The mastermind behind this evil plan was controlling Bane from afar. He could see everything that was happening as he had a control over Bane. That also means he can see victory was in his sight.

"This was far easier than I thought. It would seem the boy is nothing without the spirit or the power of his charm to help him." The mastermind said as all he had to do now was give the order.

"Master Meldrick, I'm afraid we might have a problem." His loyal lieutenant reported.

"What is it? I'm just about to claim victory." Meldrick questioned.

"It would seem that Ichika Orimura's friends are within the area."

"His friends? So what? I'm just mere moments away from claiming absolute victory." Meldrick said as he didn't want anything to stop him just yet.

"So soon? I personally believe you deserve a greater challenge than this. Besides, we set this trap for Ichika alone. If his friends show up, you could lose the charm before it even becomes yours. You deserve so much more than this. A win like this means nothing to you, it's too simple and easy. Things are only worth something in this world when you have actually been challenged for it. Do you want that power just given to you or do you want to truly claim it as your own." Meldrick wanted the power now, but his lieutenant seems to have a way of getting to him.

"Very well, but I'm not letting an opportunity like this go to waste." Meldrick said as he had something else planned.

...

The Warehouse

"It would seem we'll have to settle this another day." Bane said as Meldrick continued to speak to him. "It would seem that your friends might be here any minute."

"My friends?" Ichika questioned.

"I didn't plan for others to get in the way, but I have other methods up my sleeve." Bane said. He reached inside his cloak and pulled out a switch. When he did that, he pressed the button and that activated a few bombs and they detonated. When that happened, fire started to spread through the building and it was spreading fast.

"What?! What are you doing?!" Ichika shouted.

"If I can't have that charm, no one can. However, I will come back for it if it's still in one piece." Bane said. "If you do manage to survive these flames, the day will come where I will claim the power you hold and nothing shall stand in my way." Now that he was done with Bane, Meldrick released his hold over him. When that happened, it was a like a shock to Bane's brain. He collapsed with the key falling out of him.

"They key!" Ichika acknowledged it leaving Bane. He needs it if he wants to get the charm out of there. He hurried over to get the key, but a piece of burning debris fell right over it and Ichika couldn't get to it now. Ichika looked around and saw the fire was spreading rapidly. If he doesn't get the charm out of there, it could be destroyed and the spirit could be lost forever.

...

The Girls

"Still no sign of Ichika." Rin said.

"I'm really worried now." Cecilia said as they were all getting scared on what might have happened to him. Suddenly, Charlotte gasped with horror as she spotted something.

"Look there!" Charlotte said as she pointed and showed smoke floating in the air.

"Smoke?! That means there's a fire!" Houki said. "I don't think any of us have checked over there yet. Rin, you and I will check it out! Ichika could be over there! The rest of you get the fire department!" With no time to argue, all of them did what Houki suggested and got moving as fast as they could.

...

Ichika

Ichika was doing what he could to save the charm, but it wasn't easy since it was chained to the ground. He tried pulling it as hard as he could, but it wouldn't get loose. He just couldn't pull it free. To make it more difficult, smoke was filling the room and was making it difficult for him to breathe.

"Come on! Come on!" Ichika pleaded as he tried his best to get the charm free. He pulled and pulled, but nothing was coming free. He was exerting all his strength, and with the lack of oxygen, Ichika was going to burn through all of his strength. However, Houki and Rin found the warehouse and saw it burning.

"Rin, see if there's anyone inside!" Houki said. Rin hurried over to one of the windows and tried to get a good look, but all the flames were in the way.

"It's no good, Houki. That fire is spreading fast, and I can't see if there's anyone in there." Rin said.

"Well, we need to make sure that if anyone is in there, they get out. Help me with the door." Houki said.

"How? What are you going to do? The flames are pretty close to the door." Rin said.

"Just tackle it as hard as you can." Houki said. Rin thought that was crazy, but they had to do it. The two of them readied themselves for it. "Now!" The two of them charged right at the door and smashed against it. "Again!" The two of them tried again, but it still wouldn't budge. "One more time!" The two of them went in for a third time and were able to smash it open.

"Oh man. It looks worse in here than I thought." Rin said as they had to hurry this up.

"Hello! Is anyone in here?!" Houki called as they looked around, but Rin soon spotted something.

"Houki, over there!" Rin said as she pointed to where Ichika was, still struggling to get his charm free.

"Ichika!" Houki called. "What are you doing?! We need to get out of here!"

"I can't! If I leave, my charm could be destroyed!" Ichika called.

"Don't be stupid! That thing can't be worth more than your life!" Rin said.

"I can't leave! I'm not leaving without it!" Ichika said as he kept trying to pull with all his might, but it was useless. It also wasn't good that all the smoke and fire has cut off his air and he could barely breathe anymore. The heat was getting to him and he was loosing vision. "I have to... I have to..." Ichika couldn't hold on anymore and ended up collapsing.

"Ichika!" The girls called and hurried over to him.

"Ichika! Ichika, wake up!" Rin called.

"It looks like we'll just have to carry him out." Houki said. They both tried to lift him and move him out of there, but they couldn't get him to move. They looked and saw he was still holding his charm like his life depended on it. "Ichika, just let go!" She tried breaking her grip on it, but Ichika just wouldn't let go. "Unbelievable. His grip is like iron, but he's unconscious."

"Houki, we've got to get out of here or else we're never going to get out of here!" Rin said.

"I know, but Ichika won't let go!" Houki said. "I guess we don't have a choice. This thing clearly means a lot to him. Rin, help me pull this thing out of the ground!" Rin thought this was crazy, but it seems like they have no choice. Both of the girls grabbed a hold of the chain and tried pulling it out as hard as they could, but it was chained down good.

"This stupid thing won't budge!" Rin shouted.

"Keep pulling! We can do this!" Houki shouted as they were putting everything they have into this. The two of them kept pulling and didn't stop at anything. Eventually, they were able to get it as it started to move. "It's working! It's starting to move!"

"Come on! Come out already!" Rin demanded. They both gave it one more good pull and they were able to pull the chain right out of the ground.

"Hurry! Our friends could be in there!" Cecilia pleaded as the others were outside with the firefighters and tried getting the fire under control. They feared what might be happening to their friends, but they were glad to see Houki and Rin came running out with them carrying Ichika.

"Ichika! Rin and Houki!" Charlotte called as the three of them hurried to them.

"Are you all okay?!" Laura asked.

"How's Ichika?!" Cecilia asked.

"I think he'll be okay, him and his charm." Houki claimed thanks to her and Rin saving them.

...

The Hospital

"I can't believe you two did that for me." Ichika said as he was resting in a hospital bed with his charm in his hands. He was showing his gratitude towards Houki and Rin for what they did for him. "Thank you, both of you."

"Yeah, well it wouldn't have happened if you weren't so stupid!" Rin said.

"Honestly, Ichika... What are we going to do with you? You gave us a pretty good scare." Houki said.

"Sorry about that, but I couldn't leave my charm." Ichika said as he was glad to have it back. "By the way, what happened to Bane?"

"The firefighters were able to save him, but he's in some sort of coma." Cecilia said.

"You should also be glad to know that Mentor Orimura will be on her way soon to see how you're doing." Laura said.

"Oh boy. If you girls are upset with me, I don't want to imagine what she'll do to me." Ichika said with all of them sharing a laugh.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to get some water." Charlotte said as she stepped outside. All of them were glad and having a nice moment, but Charlotte wasn't. When she was by herself, her joy quickly turned to worry and concern. 'I'm glad those three are safe, but someone is after Ichika just like Peggrin was. I just know whoever it is will be back, and somehow we're in greater danger than before.' She thought and she was right. This new enemy, Meldrick, is obviously dangerous and will do anything to get the power Ichika's holding. With the power to control minds, anyone could become an enemy. Ichika will have to step his game up.