Houki may have won against Ghoul, but Bane and his goons weren't going to let them go with it. They trapped them inside a cave while Bane stole all the stars and went for the castle. Ichika and the others tried pushing the rock blocking the entrance out of the way, but it wouldn't budge.

"Those cheats. I can't believe they would just trap us here just because they lost." Rin said.

"Keep pushing. We need to get out of here." Ichika said. They couldn't push no matter how hard they tried.

"It's no good. It won't move." Houki said. "Bane and those creeps didn't pass us to block the exit. There must be another way out."

"Houki's right. We just need to find it." Charlotte said.

"But where do we even go? Caves can be like a labyrinth." Cecilia said. "If we don't know which way we're going, how are we going to find our way out?" It did seem like they were in a tricky situation. That was until Ryu's pendent began to glow and was pointing the way.

"Ryu, what's with your necklace?" Rin asked.

"My pendent seems to be pointing the way." Ryu said as he walked in the direction it was pointing. "I think it might be showing us the way out."

"How can that be?" Cecilia questioned.

"Does your pendent have advance tracking and gps system?" Laura asked.

"Who cares? Let's just get out of here." Rin said as they all started making a run for it.

'No. I know the truth.' Ichika thought. 'His pendent must be pointing to where Peggrin's patch might be. We must be close to the castle, but Houki and I don't have enough stars. What do we do about that?' Ryu continued to lead the way through the cave as they followed the way his pendent was pointing.

"Hey! Look ahead!" Houki said. All of them looked to see a large gate ahead of them.

"What's a gate doing here?" Charlotte questioned.

"Only one way to find out." Rin said. They pushed against the gate and it opened. They looked to see they were in some sort of underground chamber. "What is this place?"

"I'm not really sure. Maybe we managed to sneak in the castle." Ichika said.

"Not quite."

"But you are not far off."

"Who's there?" Ichika said as they heard voices. Two men stepped out. One was wearing a white robe with white hair and black pants. The other was in black with black hair and white pants.

"Salutations." The one in white said. "My name is Ying"

"And I am Yang." The one in black said.

"Ying? Yang?" Ichika said.

"Can you help us get out of here?" Charlotte said. "We got trapped in a cave and are just trying to find a way out."

"Yes. We can show you the way out." Ying said.

"Of course, you'll need to face our challenge." Yang said.

"Why is nothing ever easy?" Rin said.

"What kind of challenge?" Ryu asked.

"A duel." Both of them said. Somehow they knew those two were going to say that.

"We have been hired by Master Peggrin." Ying said.

"If you wish to enter his castle, you must be willing to do battle." Yang said.

"They work for Peggrin?" Houki said as she didn't like the sound of that.

"I don't think these guys are going to let us go so easily if that's the case." Ichika said.

"However, winning is not enough." Ying said.

"Look behind us." Yang said as he pointed two a black door and a white door. "Only one door leads to the way out. You have to figure which one it is or you will be lost in a maze forever."

"Why am I not surprised this wouldn't be easy." Rin said. "Let's just go back. We can find another way out of the cave."

"Wait, Rin." Ichika said. "This might be the only way we make it out. Besides, this could also be our best chance for Houki and me to get all the stars we need to enter the castle. I think I see how this duel is going to go. It's a tag duel, isn't it?"

"Very good." Ying said.

"Yes. My twin and I only duel as a team." Yang said. Now that Ichika fully understood how this was going to go, he tapped into the power of his charm and the spirit within took over for him.

"You're on. Houki, will you duel beside me?" Ichika asked.

"Of course." Houki said. 'A chance to duel alongside Ichika AND get all the stars we need to enter the castle? This is a golden opportunity for me.' She thought as she loved it. All four of them took their positions and were getting ready to duel.

"Here is how this duel will work. Both duelists on each side will share 4000LP." Ying said.

"However, no one may attack until everyone has had at least one turn." Yang said.

"Sounds fair to me." Houki said. "Now, let's talk about how many stars we wager. I'm wagering two of my stars."

"Plus three more for me." Ichika said. "This is it, Houki. If we win, we will have all the stars we need to enter Peggrin's castle."

"That's assuming that you win." Ying said.

"But we will make sure that you don't." Yang said. All four duelists activated their duel disks for this tag duel.

"Let's duel!" All four of them said as both sides shared 4000LP.

"I shall make the first move." Ying said. "I start by summoning Shell Guardian to the field." He summoned out a turtle with waves on it's shell, but it only had 600atk points. "That is all I will do for this turn."

"All he did was summon one monster?" Rin said.

"Well, he did say that no duelist can attack until each one had at least one turn." Cecilia said.

"He must be setting the stage for his true attack." Laura said.

"It's my turn!" Houki said as she drew her card. "I'll start by summoning Twin Swordsman of Belief to the field." She summoned out an armored swordsman holding dual swords with it having 1700atk points. "That ends my turn."

"My turn!" Yang said as he drew his card and it was just what he wanted. "Take a look at this." He showed them a powerful monster he drew. "This card is known as Arashi the Sky." It was a monster, but he was placing it in his spell/trap card zone.

"Wait. Why is he putting a powerful monster like that there? He shouldn't even be able to summon a level seven monster right now." Ichika said.

"That's because it's not a monster, at least not at the moment." Yang said. He summoned out a box with the Japanese symbol for "wind" on it.

"What is that box?" Houki said.

"Arashi can be placed where our spell and trap cards go." Yang said. "There are two more like him."

"And when all three are together, our most powerful beast will rise." Ying said. That didn't sound good. Ichika and Houki knew they needed to end this before they can summon that monster.

...

Conner

Conner arrived on the island himself, but he plans to rescue Mila. Conner walked to the castle, but since he couldn't just walk in through the front door, he needed another way in.

"You can't keep me out for long, Peggrin." Conner said. He took a vine and a branch and tossed it to an open window. It latched on inside and he climbed his way up. Peggrin was able to make it inside and hasn't met with any resistance. "That was easy. Maybe a little too easy." Conner found something suspicious. He didn't think getting in the castle would be easy.

...

The Duel

"It's still my turn." Yang said. "I activate Torrent Flash. This spell allows us to sacrifice one water attribute monster in exchange for drawing a card. I shall sacrifice Shell Guard." A geyser of water erupted under Shell Guard and destroyed it.

"You destroyed your own brother's monster?" Houki questioned.

"I did." Yang said as he drew his card. "That is to make sure Shell Guard's ability activates. It allows me to add a water attribute monster from my deck to my hand. I will take another Shell Guard and summon it to the field." He summoned a copy of the same turtle to his field.

"The same monster?" Charlotte questioned.

"They must be planning something." Ryu said. "These two must be use to dueling as a team. I don't know what to expect, but I know it will be trouble for Ichika and Houki."

"I place one card facedown to end my turn." Yang said.

"My turn!" Ichika said as he drew his card. "I summon Infinite Stratos Blue Tears to the field!" Ichika summoned out Blue Tears with her having 1600atk points. "Next, I activate Stratos Takeoff! This allows me to summon an Infinite Stratos from my hand or graveyard. I summon Infinite Stratos Schwarzer Regen!" Schwarzer Regen came out with 2100atk points. "Next, I activate Blue Tears ability! For every Infinite Stratos I have, you two will take 400 points of damage! Attack!" Blue Tears fired energy shots and blasted the two of them as their life points dropped to 3200.

"Nice. Since Ichika can't attack, he found a way to deal damage." Ryu said.

"Splendid, Ichika!" Cecilia cheered.

"I end my turn." Ichika said.

"Back to me!" Ying said as he drew his card. "I think now is the time. I activate my brother's trap: Dark Decision! This trap is perfect for tag duels. I select one card in my partner's deck. Then, he can add it to his hand. I already know. I choose Kesseki the Land!"

"An excellent choice." Yang said as he added that card to his hand.

"That looks like the same card as that Arashi." Houki said.

"Which means trouble for us." Ichika said.

"Your troubles hasn't even begun." Ying said. "I activate Torrent Flash!"

"Not again!" Houki said.

"That's right. I sacrifice Shell Guard to draw one card and a water attribute monster to my hand." Ying said as he took both cards. "The monster I chose Kaiyo the Sea! I place it with Arashi!" A second box appeared with the symbol of water on it. "There is more. I summon Feather Guard to the field." A raven with green tipped feathers came out with 1000atk points. "I also place one face-down to end my turn."

'He summoned a monster that's weaker than my swordsman? That face-down he just played must do something.' Houki thought. 'I better play it safe.' "It's my turn! I draw! I'll activate my spell: Sharp Vision! This spell will keep all our monsters immune from any of your trap cards until the end of this turn. That means that my swordsman is safe to attack!"

"Houki, wait!" Ichika called, but the attack already went through as Houki's swordsman slashed against Feather Guard and destroyed it with Ying's and Yang's life points dropping to 2500.

"You just activated Feather Guard's ability. When it's destroyed, I can add a wind monster to my hand." Ying said as he drew another card. "The card I choose is Tornado Guard."

"You're in trouble now. You've got nothing to protect you since those boxes are considered spells. Bad for you since my swordsman can attack twice." Houki said. "Attack!" Her swordsman attacked Ying as their life points dropped to a mere 800.

"Ha, you fool." Ying said. "I activate my trap: Equal and Opposite! This trap restores all the life points I just lost this turn." Their life points rose back to 3200. "There's more. If I happen to have a monster in my hand who holds attack points that are equal to the damage I just took, I can summon it. I summon Tornado Guard!" He summoned a monster a green monster with a tornado for a set of legs. It also had 2400atk points.

"Darn it. In that case, I end my turn." Houki said.

"You really are a fool. You don't realize that this is a tag match." Yang said. "You can utilize your partner's cards. You could have used Blue Tears." Houki realized what a mistake she made.

'He's right! I could have used Blue Tears ability and this duel could have been over!' Houki thought.

"You wasted a card and your turn. Bad mistake, one that will cost you. I draw!" Yang said. "I place Kesseki the Land on the field! Now all three are here!" A third box with earth symbol appeared.

"Now watch as we summon our most powerful monster!" Both said as the boxes open up and shot beams of light.

"Let us introduce our monsters. First, Arashi of the Sky!" Ying said as a floating piece of green armor with a face appeared.

"Second, Kesseki the Land!" Yang said as he summoned a brown sphere with arms and a face.

"The third is Kaiyo the Sea!" Ying said. The third was a blue set of floating claws with a face connecting the arms.

"Now watch as they become one!" Both said as all three merged together. Kaiyo was the legs, Kesseki was the center, and Arashi was the top. "We give you Planetary Balancer! His power will crush you!" Whatever monster those two just summoned could bring doom for Ichika and his friends, and they could be trapped forever.

To Be Continued...