MEMORY LOCUS/?/?

Yusei groaned as he came to. What happened? he thought. He rolled over onto his back and sat up, regretting it immediately as a hard throbbing reverberated throughout his head.

He looked around, seeing Yuma, Astral, and Jaden lying a few yards away on either side of him, the former two on his right and the latter on his left. The Aspect meanwhile, was nowhere to be seen.

He heard the others groan and sit up as he had done and clutch their heads; apparently whatever had happened to him had the same effect on everyone. "Whoa…" he heard Yuma say, looking around as he got up. "Where are we?"

Yusei and Jaden got up as well, surveying their surroundings in hope of providing some answer. "I don't know," was all Jaden could say. Yubel? he inquired to the spirit in his mind.

"I'm here,' she replied.

Do you know where we are? he asked her. Can you sense anything?

"Gimme a moment," she answered. He waited awkwardly for a few seconds. "Nothing."

That's alright. Thanks. He then turned to Yuma. "I got nothing, sorry."

Meanwhile, Yusei had spotted his Duel Runner among the rubble. He ran over to it and turned on the screen, pressing the GPS icon and sighing when the results came up empty. "I've got nothing here too," he said regretfully.

"What exactly happened?" asked Jaden. Yuma shook his head. "We were just Dueling Akaine. I was attacking with my Utopia Roots, and then next thing I know we're here."

"I noticed a bright flash of light," said Yusei. "Did anyone else?"

"Yeah!" said Yuma.

"I did as well," said Astral.

"Kinda hard to miss," said Jaden sardonically. "You think something caused it?"

Yusei was about to respond, but then Akaine's revelation of the redcoat's past misdeeds flew through his mind. He cut himself off before he even began, eyeing the redcoat suspiciously. Jaden picked up on it and sighed. Only makes sense he'd be like that, he thought.

All of a sudden, they heard the sound of an explosion in the distance. "What was that?!" asked Yuma, startled.

Yusei didn't answer. I've got no idea whether or not I can trust these two, he thought. Right now, I should find a way out of here. That explosion's probably my best bet to find out where I am, where Save is, and how I can get us both back home. He grabbed his Runner by the handlebars and started walking with it.

"Wait, where are you going?" asked Yuma.

"I'm off to find out what that explosion is," said Yusei.

But before he could walk another step, Yuma stepped in front of him. "We should stick together," he insisted. "The Aspect's still out there, and they could come for any one of us."

"Sorry man, but that's not my problem right now," said Yusei. "I'm going to find my friend and then get out of here. You guys are on your own." He changed direction only for Yuma to step in front of him again. "They're after all of us," the younger boy insisted. "That means you too. You should stick with us so that you stand a chance against them."

"Sorry, but I can't stick with you guys," said Yusei as politely as he could. "I need to find my friend and take her home."

"We all need to go home," Yuma pointed out. "Meanwhile, the Aspect outnumbers us six to three, and they're not going to stop hunting us until they've got us. That's why we should stick together."

"No way."

"Why not?"

"Look, you seem like a good kid. But if what Akaine said about your friend Astral was true, I'd rather not ally myself with someone so suspicious." Yusei then nodded toward Jaden. "And then there's him and what he did. Between him and you guys, I don't think joining you guys is smart."

"I'm not that guy anymore," said Jaden at last. Yusei turned to look at him. "I'm not proud of who I was back then. Not a day goes by where I don't regret everything I did."

"That doesn't change the fact that you still did those things though," replied Yusei. "And that's what the Aspect's beef with you is about. Call me crazy, but I don't think it's wise to stick with someone who's done what you have."

Jaden shifted. Even though Yusei was right, his words stung all the same, and it got on his nerves a little to be judged by someone who had no idea what he'd gone through. "Well what about you?" he asked, a little defensively. "If what Akaine said was true, you're going to blow up your whole town with a reactor!"

Now it was Yusei's turn to feel the sting. Even though Jaden had said it as politely as he could, it didn't change the fact that it crossed a line. "I am not going to do that," he replied a little sharply. "That's still in the future, and the future can always be changed. You meanwhile have already killed several hundred people, so don't compare yourself to me."

Jaden shrunk a bit, both taken aback by Yusei's response and done in by the fact that he was right yet again. No matter what he said, the blue-coated youth would always have more of a leg to stand on.

Astral spoke up. "Pardon me, but I believe his point was that you are not without fault yourself. Putting aside what you will allegedly do in the future, there is still the issue of your abandonment of Save Haranou."

"I did not abandon her!" Yusei snapped again. "And I'm not about to be lectured on being a good person by someone who recruited a middle schooler to fight a war for him!"

"I believe you mean, win a war with me," said Astral, a hint of steel in his usually calm tone. "And Yuma has more than proven he is no one's fool. Considering the help he gave you in your last Duel, your suspicion of him should be alleviated by now."

"It's not him I'm suspicious of," replied Yusei. "It's you and him," he nodded again toward Jaden. "Now please Yuma, get out of my way."

"Cast doubt on me if you must," said Astral. "But I implore you to at least work with Yuma. His help was invaluable to me, and it would be of great help to you too." Yuma beamed at that, grateful to hear Astral had so much confidence in him. "Besides," he put in, "There's no way you can defeat Akaine by yourself."

"What makes you say that?" asked Yusei.

"Think about it," said Yuma. "When we Dueled her, she countered every single one of our moves. It took everything we had to gain even the slightest upper hand, and even that wasn't enough. I'm willing to bet she would've had a comeback for when her Prism-Warped Dragon was destroyed, and then we would've been in big trouble. You saw how well she countered your moves; not even your best Synchro Monsters lasted very long." He nodded at Jaden. "If Jaden Duels her with us, we might be able to beat her." Before Yusei could object, he went on. "I know you don't trust him. To be honest, what he did was really bad. But you see how ashamed he is, right? Why would he be if he was the monster Akaine said he was?"

"It could be an act," Yusei retorted. "You never know. He looks repentant now, but he just might be trying to fool us. And whether or not he's ashamed is beside the point; Akaine was right about him killing all those people; if we ally with him, it'll only confirm what the Aspect already thinks about us."

"That never mattered to me before," said Yuma. "I never do things based on what people would think of me, and neither should you. One of my friends betrayed me once and I redeemed him, so I say we give Jaden a shot."

Yusei pondered. He looked over at Jaden. "We don't have a choice, Yusei," said Yuma. "We don't have a shot at beating Akaine without him."

Yusei was at a crossroads. He didn't like it, but Yuma was right about Akaine. He'd planned on just finding Save on his own and bringing her back to New Domino City, but then he remembered how resistant to him she'd been before, and how much more resistant she might become if she saw him teaming up with a known war criminal.

He turned and walked over to Jaden. "I need you to answer some questions."

"Go ahead."

"Is everything Akaine told us about you the truth?"

Jaden sighed. "Yes."

"She didn't embellish it in any way, or leave anything out?"

"No, but – I mean… you don't know how that situation started."

"How'd it start?"

"It's a long story."

"I've got time."

"Okay then. So my school had been shifted to another dimension by Yubel-"

"Yubel did that?"

"Yeah."

"The spirit you're currently with?"

"Yeah."

Yusei exhaled. "Go on."

"My friend Jesse and I Dueled her to return the Academy back to our dimension, and at the last second, he sacrificed himself so the rest of us could all get back. I didn't want to leave him there, so I decided to go look for him. Some of my other friends came along, and we ended up in another dimension where they all got captured by the forces of Dark World."

Jaden's expression sank at the memory. Yuma, remembering his own similar experience, related instantly.

"The Mad King of Dark World sacrificed my friends one by one," Jaden went on, "And that's when I lost it. I went nuts on him. I was just so angry that I couldn't see straight. Then when it was all over, the Super Polymerization card fell into my hand, and I… I saw this weird shadowy person in my head. He told me he was the Supreme King, and that he wanted me to be who I was always meant to be. I was so desperate to fix everything that…" he trailed off. "…that I listened to him. I couldn't handle how guilty and ashamed I was, so I did everything I could to distract myself from it. By the time my friends snapped me out of it, everything had been done."

"So basically, you had a psychotic break," said Yusei.

Jaden shook his head. "I don't know what it was. It was like I was in a fog; like I was the one doing everything, but also like it might've been someone else."

"It seems to me that you were under some form of mental control," said Astral. "Two of our friends were placed under mind control to Duel Yuma once."

"That's right, yeah," said Yuma, remembering when Tori and Cathy had been turned against him.

But Jaden shook his head. "Even if it was mind control, the fact is I still did those things. That's the worst thing about it. Knowing I did it and that I can't ever take it back." He looked at Yusei. "Whatever you decide to do, I'll get it. But if you want me on board, know that I'll never try anything like that with you guys. Who I was and what I did is all in the past."

Yusei weighed his options. It was a gamble. But as Yuma said, he had no other choice. He could take his chances trying to get Save back on his own, but she would likely be in no mood to listen to him, and if he tried to Duel her, there was a chance she'd call the rest of the Aspect for backup. If that happened, he'd be easily overwhelmed by numbers. He could also understand Jaden's desperation to get his friends back from his desperation to recover Save and clear everything up. He sighed. "Fine. But I don't entirely trust you just yet."

"Fine with me," agreed Jaden. "I get why you wouldn't."

"Alright then," said Yusei. "In the meantime, we should go find out what that explosion was all about. Maybe if we're lucky we'll find out how to get home."

"Okay."

"Alright!" said Yuma, pumping his fist in the air. "Let's go!"

Yusei walked over to his Duel Runner and took it by the handlebars. "C'mon," he said, turning in the direction he'd heard the explosion from, "It came from this way."

With that, the other two joined him on either side. The three of them then made their way toward the source of the sound.

On the outskirts of the city opposite from where Jaden, Yusei, Yuma, and Astral had woken up, the Aspect – minus one – slowly stirred and woke. "What the hell happened?" asked Percy, rubbing his temple.

Ceren squinted. "The last thing I remember was confronting Viral on the balcony above where Akaine was Dueling Fudo and Tsukumo. What about you guys?"

"Same," came one response after the other. Evy looked over and saw Ehris still unconscious. "Should we wake her up?"

But before anyone could answer, the Goddess of Chaos stirred and slowly woke. "Good morning," said Tidus sardonically. "Glad you could join us." He was met with a glare. "Okay, so you're not in the mood. Got it."

"Where are we?" asked Evy, looking around. "Anyone know what city that is?" she added, pointing to it.

Percy squinted at it. "Doesn't look like any city I've ever seen."

"Considering what went down before we arrived here," said Ceren, "I'm convinced that city might not even be from Earth. We might just be in yet another dimension."

"So what do we do now?" asked Evy. "We don't know where Save is or what Viral did with her."

"We'll find her," said Akaine automatically. "I don't know how, but we're going to find Save and get her back."

"You know," said Ehris, "If you're looking for answers, you might want to ask these two." She spread her wings to reveal the simpering forms of Malith and Lilith. "I bet they're ever so eager to cooperate with us, don't you?" she asked, brandishing a threatening claw towards them.

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait!" said Tidus suddenly. "What're you doing? You're not gonna torture them, are you?"

Ehris gave him a look. "Well I'm not planning on massaging them. Seriously, how else do you suppose we'll find out what we want to know? They're not going to talk easily."

"If they're uncooperative, it'll be because you brandished a claw at them, Ehris! Torture only compels people to answer favorably, not truthfully, so anything they told us under duress wouldn't be reliable!"

"Tidus's right, Ehris," said Akaine. "Besides, we're the Aspect. We don't torture."

"You don't need to torture us," said Lilith to their surprise. They all turned their attention to her. "We'll tell you anything you want to know. But you should know how out of your depth you are against Viral. Fighting her won't be like fighting those kids from out of town. She's got more power in her little finger than all of you put together."

"What can she do?" asked Ceren. "And before we forget, why'd she possess Save?"

"You've already seen most of her powers," said Lilith. With a nod to Ehris, she added, "Any non-specific powers this one has, she probably has too. That, and you've already seen her possess your friend, but so far as we know, that's about everything. As for why she possessed your friend, she needed a large amount of Duel Spirit power to break the lock on it." She turned to Akaine. "Your Duel with those two guys provided that when your dragon and his warrior were about to hit each other."

"That doesn't explain why she possessed Save though," said Percy.

"Doesn't it?" said Tidus. "I mean, Viral only needed the energy to break the lock and suck us all in, and Save was the one she was closest to."

"No, that's not what I meant," said Percy. "I mean, why is Save so important? Does she have power or something? Was she the only one who could open the locket? If not, why not just take it from her and throw it herself? That's what I'm not getting."

"She doesn't have any we're aware of," said Akaine. "And considering Viral possessed her in the first place, we can assume that yes, she was the only one who could break the seal on the locket."

"Which begs the question," said Tidus cryptically. "Why was she the only one who could break the seal? Something about that makes me think someone's connected to her somehow, and that someone's involving her in this against her will. I mean, if they're not connected to her, why wouldn't Viral just take the locket from her as Percy suggested? Something about all this just doesn't add up." He turned to Malith and Lilith. "Do you two by any chance know who might be connected to Save? While I'm on the subject, is Viral working for them? What's her endgame here?"

"I don't know who exactly," said Malith. "I just know they needed your friend's locket to break them out of somewhere."

Lilith looked over at Malith, confused. "How'd you find that out? Viral never told us her plan."

"Well I mean, it's kinda obvious, ain't it?" asked Malith. "These guys' friend has a locket that Viral needs, and Viral herself is working for someone else, so that means whoever she's working for must need it, right?"

"One more thing," said Tidus. "Do you guys know where we are? We think we might be in one of the Twelve Dimensions, but we're not sure."

"Well, I mean, no one's ever not in one of the Twelve Dimensions, know what I mean?" said Malith. "That's like me asking you if we're in a universe. But anyway…" she looked around. "This doesn't look like any dimension I've ever seen. It might be a way station."

"I don't understand."

"What, that we have way stations?"

"No, about where the way station is, exactly. Is it inside one of the Twelve Dimensions, or has it been a secret thirteenth dimension this whole time?"

"How do you know it's a dimension?" asked Percy. "'Way Station' could mean anything."

"I'm making a logical inference based on what we know," explained Tidus in an aside before returning his attention to Malith and Lilith. "Well?"

"They're pocket dimensions," explained Lilith. "Essentially smaller dimensions existing between larger ones. We call them 'way stations' because that's where we stop when teleporting between the bigger dimensions."

"Huh?" asked Ehris. "Why would you stop between dimensions and not just go from one to another in one trip?"

"Because not all of us have the power to make the jump in one go, you ignorant bitch," snapped Malith, clearly agitated by the suggestion. She regretted her words instantly when Ehris brandished a claw at her again. "Put it away Ehris," ordered Akaine. "You should've been more sensitive when asking the question in the first place."

Ehris's eyes darted from Malith to Akaine and back again. She hmphed and retracted it but said no more. Malith breathed a sigh of relief. "I like her," she said aside to Lilith, nodding toward Akaine. Lilith looked Akaine up and down before nodding in agreement. "She's a lot nicer than Viral, that's for sure."

"How would you two like to work with us?" asked Evy. Everyone looked at her. "What?" she asked. "They didn't like working for Viral, and we don't know where we are. Maybe now that they're free they'll lend us their help." She walked up to the two of them. "What do you say?"

"Hold on for a second," said Akaine. "Even if they didn't like it, these two still knowingly worked for Viral. We can't work with them."

"We didn't want to work for her, honest!" said Malith desperately. "She threatened us, like this one here!" She nodded at Ehris, who would've brandished her claw a third time if Akaine didn't shake her head at her. "But did you enjoy doing what you did?" she asked. "The Aspect doesn't work with people like that. If you honestly enjoyed doing what you did, then there's no way I'm tarnishing the Aspect's good name by letting you join. I'm sorry, but we've got a moral high ground to uphold."

Malith and Lilith's faces fell. "So much for that…" murmured Lilith.

"Let them join, Akaine," said Evy. "I'm sure they'd appreciate the chance to make up for everything they've done." She turned to them and smiled. "Right?"

"I don't like this," said Akaine. "If we let them join, it'll set a bad precedent. There are clear lines here and I want to uphold them."

"But they clearly regret doing what they did!" protested Evy.

"And Jaden Yuki regrets everything he did as the Supreme King," said Akaine rhetorically. "Should we let him off the hook for that?"

"Oh come on, what he did was so much worse!" argued Evy. "These two were forced to work for Viral! You can't lump them together with the Supreme King!"

"Evy's right sis," said Ceren. "There's a huge difference between their situation and his. It's just not the same."

"The situations aren't important," said Akaine. "If they enjoyed what they did, then they're not really repentant. Even if they were ignorant about Viral's plan, they were still complicit in her deceit, which is just as bad as being deceitful to begin with, and I'm not about to let people like that join the Aspect. Think about how that would reflect on us."

"Okay, but now think about this," replied Evy. "If they didn't enjoy what they did and were forced into doing it, that would mean you're turning away people who want to redeem themselves, and how would that look for your moral high ground?"

"It wouldn't look as bad as letting them join if they did enjoy it," said Akaine.

"Sis," said Ceren. "Think about what you're saying for a second. Don't you think you're being a little rigid with this whole moral high ground thing? I know your heart's in the right place, but your thinking is so black and white, and things aren't always that way."

"Let me stop you right there," said Akaine. "The moment we accept thinking in shades of gray, our vision becomes less clear. We'll start thinking that anything's okay just because it's for the greater good, and that's just not true. It's a slippery slope Ceren, and while yes, we won't entirely turn into the same people we're fighting against, we'll still start making excuses for our actions, and that's not a quality I want us to be associated with. I want us to be seen as inarguably and objectively good. I know that's not very down-to-earth, but that's the whole reason we started the Aspect in the first place. If we can claim the moral high ground in such a way that no one can dispute it, then our mission's been a success."

"Except who's going to look at us and say, 'oh those Aspect people are terrible for letting known criminals onto their side?'" asked Tidus rhetorically. "If we're such good people, then won't they assume that our reasons for letting them join are also altruistic?"

"Except if we let them join, we may as well let Yuki, Fudo, and Tsukumo join," said Akaine. "And we all know where that conversation's headed."

"I'd say it's already there," said Tidus. "Besides, these two have worked with Viral; if what they say is true, we're gonna need every hand on deck to fight her."

"All the same," said Akaine. "I don't want necessity to keep trumping morality. Ceren and I come from an era where people have gotten carried away by that kind of thinking."

"With respect," replied Tidus. "It's been the reverse for the majority of this operation. And necessity – that is, doing things because they're in one's interest – has been essential to human civilization for our entire history, it didn't start with your era."

"That's not what she said though," said Percy. "She's saying that doing things because they're in someone's interest opens the door to caring less and less about doing things for the right reasons until it gets to the point of doing blatantly corrupt shit and using whatever reason to justify it."

"Except the kind of people who would do that wouldn't care about the right reasons for doing things in the first place," said Tidus. "Trust me Akaine, I've worked eight years on the beat; I know what I'm talking about."

"I'm a little confused as to what she's talking about," said Evy, a little embarrassed.

"It's like this," said Akaine. "In the era that Ceren and I come from, there's this actor named Samato Yonde, who got in trouble for behaving belligerently toward his Korean co-star, telling her she wasn't being respectful enough toward him. This guy would yell at her to bow to him whenever he showed up, frequently told her her tone wasn't respectful enough, and outright called her a word that I'm not going to repeat here. He also told her to suck it, which from a Japanese man to a Korean woman makes me want to bash my head against a table until it bleeds."

"That's a little over the top, sis," said Ceren. "But continue."

"Anyway, he got in so much trouble for his remarks, and he appeared on television to give an official statement. But instead of saying 'I'm sorry I used a racial slur to denigrate you, I should've known better, and will work on never making this mistake again,' what he said was, 'I'm sorry if anyone was offended by my actions,' which as anyone will tell you is not an apology. The kicker is why: His representatives told him notto say 'I'm sorry I used a racial slur,' because if he said it then he couldn't deny it if someone took him to court over it. It wasn't about being accountable for his actions at all, it was about protecting himself in case someone sued him over it. Because that's somehow what happens when you admit you've done wrong, genuinely apologize, and say you'll never do it again. People sue you," she finished sarcastically. She let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and continued. "So that's one thing I mean when I talk about necessity trumping morality."

"So wait," said Evy, "You want us to turn Malith and Lilith away and deny them the chance to redeem themselves because you think letting them join us is the same as some idiot being a bigot and failing to apologize properly in order to protect himself?"

"No," said Percy. "She's saying we shouldn't let the argument of 'we need all the people we can get' – necessity – outweigh the idea that we should try to do what we're doing in the most moral way possible, which means we shouldn't let people who've done bad things into our ranks – because good people allying themselves with bad people makes them look bad. She's saying letting these guys into our ranks will open the door to us making more and more decisions based on whether or not we have a choice or if it suits our interests rather than making them based on what's right, see? She only used the example of that actor guy because it was the best example of her point that came to mind."

"Thank you, Percy."

Evy frowned. "I think your example could've been better. I also think we should give them a chance. I get what you're saying now, but I don't think it applies here. Not letting people redeem themselves tells them they're a lost cause, and when you do that, they'll think, 'oh, they'll think I'm bad no matter what, so I guess there's no point trying to be good.' Nobody's perfect."

"That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to be. And for me, 'trying to be' means that if people can find even one reason not to listen to us, then they will, and if that happens our mission's already failed."

Evy shifted. "Can… can I be brutally honest, Akaine?"

"By all means."

Evy inhaled, exhaled, and gathered up her courage. "Listening to you just now makes me think that if people refuse to listen to us, it won't be because we took on people who might make us look bad. It'll be because of you and how you go on about… go on about… what you went on about," she finished anticlimactically. "Darnit, I had it, it's…"

"No, I get it." Akaine breathed in and out, her face a mix of "suck it up, she's right" and "goddamnit." "You're right, Evy. I'm rigid in my beliefs, and it's not always ideal, as paradoxical as that sounds." Looking around at everyone assembled, her face lit up. "I've got it. Let's put it to a vote. Those in favor of letting Malith and Lilith join us, raise your hands."

Evy and Tidus raised their hands. Ceren mulled it over for a while, then finally raised his. "Okay, put them down. Those opposed?"

Akaine, Percy, and Ehris raised their hands. "Hmm…" said Akaine, noticing the tie.

"What do we do now?" asked Evy.

"I… I don't know," Akaine admitted. "We can't do anything about it since there's nowhere to drop Malith and Lilith off to."

"Why don't we split up and look for Viral?" suggested Tidus. "Those of us who want to work with Malith and Lilith can go off with them one way, and the rest of us can go another way."

"Works for me," said Percy.

"Same," said Evy.

One after another, the rest of the Aspect agreed until only Akaine was left. "All right then. Let's do it."

With that, they split up into two teams, with Akaine, Percy, and Ehris going one way and Evy, Tidus, Ceren, Malith, and Lilith going another.

Trudge, Tori, and Blair made their way through town, having already woken up earlier. "There are so many places to look," noted Tori. "I don't know where to start."

"Hey, look at this!" called Blair. Trudge and Tori headed over to where she was. She was observing a poster depicting three winged women with various colored hairstyles wearing what looked like armor. "'Harpie Lady Sisters, live in concert,'" said Blair, reading the advertisement. "What do you think that means?"

"You don't think it means the actual Harpie Lady Sisters, do you?" asked Tori. "Maybe it's just a cosplay band."

"I don't think so," said Trudge. "Considering all we've been through recently, I wouldn't be surprised if we were actually in some sort of Duel Monsters Spirit World. In fact…" he looked around, noting the style of dress and hair colors of various passersby. "I wouldn't rule that out entirely."

"So what do we do now?" asked Tori. "We still need to find Yuma and get back home."

"I'm not sure," said Trudge. "But I think our best bet's to find the person responsible for bringing us here and get some answers from them. My guess is that Viral Vector person who was working with the Aspect."

"What do we do once we find her though?" asked Blair. "I mean, I don't think we'll be able to force her to answer any questions."

"We won't know unless we try," said Trudge. "In the meantime, I'll protect you two every step of the way."

"Thanks, Trudge," replied the two girls.

Viral – in Save's body – stood in front of an ornate building in the heart of the city. Suddenly her head began to throb, with the odd feeling that someone was trying to enter it. Viral knew what this feeling meant. She jumped down off the rooftop's edge and walked to its center to avoid being seen by anyone below and put the first two fingers of each hand to Save's temples. "Hello?"

"Report the status of your mission," came a voice from the other end.

"I've possessed the girl and transported her to the Memory Locus. All I need to do is find where the lock is and perform the ritual."

"Excellent. In the meantime, we've got a problem."

Viral gulped. "What problem?"

"We've detected other bodies in the vicinity that weren't there originally. Did you bring anyone else to this world?"

Viral paused for a moment. "If I could have the time to explain-"

"Explain WHAT, Viral?!" demanded the voice. Viral's heart rate rose. "If there are others in this world, they could interfere with the ritual! We can't stand it in here any longer, Viral! Do you understand?!"

"Yes, of course!" said Viral subserviently. "But please allow me to explain. You told me the people who sealed you away the first time were tired of you possessing them without their consent. I brought these outsiders here to provide bodies for you to avoid such a thing happening again in the future! You can have bodies again without alerting the population to your return! After all, if they got wind of it, wouldn't they rise up to seal you away again? I want to ensure your return happens without resistance!"

"Very well," rumbled the voice. "But any mishaps that happen are on your head."

With that, the throbbing was gone. Viral put a hand over her heart to calm herself down. There's nothing to worry about, she assured herself. All I have to do is find the lock, perform the ritual, and then my duty will be fulfilled.

"The last thing I remember about Viral was that she was supposed to go somewhere to release the Etros World Order," said Malith as her group went throughout town looking for clues.

"Do you know what will happen once she releases them?" asked Tidus.

Malith shook her head. "Afraid not. Viral never told us anything about the Etros World Order, just that she'd hurt us if we didn't do as she said. I shudder to think about what would've happened had she caught us listening," she added, shivering at the thought.

"Listening to what?" asked Tidus.

"She'd be talking to members of the Etros World Order," answered Lilith. "The plan to possess your friend and bring her here was underway ever since we found out you guys recruited her for your Aspect thing. All we know is that she's connected to one of the Etros World Order's people. We don't know who or anything else like that, just that they're connected to your friend somehow."

Tidus nodded his thanks.

"So how're we going to find Save?" asked Evy. "I know we should ask around, but how are we going to ask?"

"We can just describe Save to them and ask them if they've seen anyone like that around," answered Tidus. "When looking for someone, it's always best to give physical descriptors, as those are the kind that will stick out in people's memories the most." He reached out and tapped the person in front of him on the shoulder. When they turned around, he asked, "Hey there, have you seen a short purple-haired girl anywhere around here?"

"Actually yeah," said the man. He pointed toward a large ornate building. "She was headed that way, toward City Hall."

"Is that the fancy-looking building?"

"Yup. Just go through these alleys for about eight blocks, make a left, and it'll be in front of you."

"Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, no worries."

Tidus turned back to Evy, Malith, and Lilith. "We know where she's headed now. Let's meet up with Akaine and the others and tell them where she's going."

"I can't believe it was that easy," said Evy.

"Me neither," said Tidus. "But I'm so glad it was. C'mon."

"Remind me why we're just wandering through town again?" asked Blair as she and Tori followed Trudge through the maze of people. "We're not getting anywhere like this."

Trudge stopped for a moment, then pulled the two girls out of the flow of pedestrian traffic and pointed to a large ornate building. "See that building?"

"Yeah?"

"Any building that's that well-decorated has got to be important somehow. I'm thinking that if we go there we'll find out which part of town we're in and where we can find some help. If this world has a police station, we can get help from there."

"How do you even know if they have a police station?" asked Tori.

"I don't," Trudge admitted. "But if we're going to get home, we've got to start somewhere."

He led the two girls through a winding maze of alleyways until they finally arrived at the ornate building. "Finally!" gasped Blair in gratitude. "I thought we'd never get here!"

Tori squinted at a figure standing near the front of the building. "Wait, who's that?"

Trudge followed her gaze. "It's that Aspect girl, the one with the locket. But what's she doing here?"

He started toward her. "Wait!" called out Blair. "The last time we saw her, she'd been taken over by that Viral person, remember? We need to be careful!"

Unfortunately for Blair, her voice had come out louder than she'd meant it to. As the three of them stared at her nervously, Viral slowly turned her head around. "Well well well. Who do we have here?"

"An officer of the law who wants you for questioning!" answered Trudge. "For starters, where are we?! Why are we here?! And what do you plan on doing with Save?!"

Viral scoffed at Trudge's bravado. "You have no jurisdiction here, Officer. Do yourself a favor and stay out of my way if you know what's good for you."

"Okay then," said Trudge, refusing to be intimidated. "I'll just add threatening an officer to your list of offenses. Now I'll ask you again: Where are we, why are we here, and what do you plan on doing with Save? Answer me before we have a problem."

"I don't think you should threaten her Officer Trudge," said Tori nervously. "She looks scary."

"She essentially kidnapped us," Trudge replied. "I'm not letting her off until she tells me how I can get you home. Now," he added, turning back to Viral. "You still need to answer my questions."

"I have better things to do than deal with you, Officer," said Viral dismissively. She raised her hand at Tori. Blue energy gathered in Save's palm to where it formed a sphere. Without warning, Viral shot the sphere at Tori and Blair. The two girls screamed and braced themselves… but the impact never came. Confused, the two girls opened their eyes to see Trudge standing directly in front of them, smoking, but still standing. His breathing was heavier than it had been moments earlier.

"Officer Trudge?..." asked Tori nervously.

Trudge turned back and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry… I said… I'd protect you, didn't I?" He inhaled deeply, then drew himself up to his full height and glared at Viral. "Don't you dare try that again." He took a step forward. "If you don't start talking, I'll force you out of that girl's body…" he popped a muscle in his neck. "…and I won't use magic to do it."

Viral threw back her head and laughed. Then, without warning, she shot out of Save's body and disappeared into Trudge's. "Officer Trudge!" yelled Blair.

"Heh…" Viral chuckled. "What an idiot. Now to…" before she could move an inch, she felt the brunt of Trudge's service weapon pressed against the man's neck.

"Don't… move…" came the faint threat.

Viral groaned and tried to move. But the iron will of an officer of the law kept her in place. "Can't… move!" she groaned. Then, in a split second, she shot out of Trudge's body and back into Save's. "I didn't think you could thwart me…" she admitted gingerly as she stood back up.

"No one ever does," replied Trudge, although this was somewhat spinning the truth. "So are you going to come quietly?"

"Of course not," said Viral, shooting out Save's arm and engaging her Duel Disk. "I'll just have to get you out of my hair another way."

"Here's what you'll actually do," said Trudge, engaging his Duel Disk. "You're going to lose this Duel, then you're going to tell me everything I want to know about how I can get these two girls back home." He took his Deck out. "Last chance, creep."

Viral, as if to tell Trudge she wouldn't be told what to do by someone without spiritual powers, held up Save's Deck Zone. A yellow mass of energy congealed there and took the form of a Deck.

"They always choose the hard way…" bemoaned Trudge, inserting his Deck. His Duel Disk's automatic shuffler did its work in a flash. He stared down Viral as the two of them drew their cards.

"LET'S DUEL!"

"I'll start!" said Trudge. I need to get an advantage before she does! "And to start this Duel off, I'll discard my Tactical Espionage Expert to bring out Ticket Tailgater from my hand in Defense Mode!" Once he discarded, a futuristic female clad in blue appeared on his side of the field in a flash of light before crossing her arms and genuflecting. [Tailgater/DARK/Warrior/Level 2-3/1200 - 1800 ATK/200 DEF] "And when she's Special Summoned in Defense Mode," Trudge went on, "Her effect activates, allowing me to bring out up to two more copies of her from my Deck in Attack Mode! But I'll only bring out one for now." He took a card from his hand and showed it to Viral. "Since I'll be bringing out my third Ticket Tailgater from my hand too, also in Defense Mode!"

And just like that, there were two more of her. "But that's not all!" said Trudge. "Ticket Tailgater's other effect gives her one Level and six hundred Attack Points for each one of her that I have in Defense Mode!" He pointed to the Ticket Tailgater that wasn't genuflecting. "So now she's Level Four and has twenty-four hundred Attack Points!" (Ticket Tailgater/ L2 - L4; ATK 1800 - 2400) "Next," he said with finality, "I'll Set two cards face-down and end my turn." He narrowed his eyes at Viral. "Go."

"Certainly!" said Viral, drawing for her turn. "I'll start my turn off with the Field Spell Card Immortal Incubator!" As Trudge and the girls behind him looked up, a massive pink germ spore. Then, as if they weren't already disgusted enough, thick, gooey strands of… something dripped from the giant ball and stuck to the ground. "Don't react just yet," Viral said to Blair and Tori, whose faces betrayed their disgust. "Its effect now activates! When it's activated, I get to bring out an Immortal monster from my hand!"

"An Immortal monster?" asked Trudge. "What is that?! Explain yourself!"

"Oh I will," said Viral, "But first I'll show you what it is! Behold, the Eternalich of Application!"

On cue, a segmented roach-looking thing appeared on her side of the field, rearing back its head and shrieking at them [Application/DARK/Reptile/Immortal/Level 1/1030 ATK/0 DEF]. "Now, I activate the Continuous Spell Card, Leyline of the Eternal! This card prevents you from negating my Eternalich's monster effects when they're activated and banishes all non-Dark monsters sent to the Graveyard! But the effect I'm going to use is this one, where I can move one Reptile-Type monster I control to another of my Monster Zones!"

"Why would you do that?" asked Trudge. "That's the most superfluous tactic I've ever seen."

"Of course you'd think that, you ignoramus," said Viral as she moved her Eternalich of Application card to the zone adjacent to it. "But the reason I'm doing this is twofold! One, Leyline of the Eternal's effect lets me add one Eternalich monster from my Deck to my hand with less Attack Points than that monster! And two, it activates my Eternalich of Application's effect! When it's in a different Monster Zone than the one it was Summoned to this turn, I can draw two cards, then discard one!" Again, Viral then took another card from her hand. "And now I'll Normal Summon the Eternalich that I added to my hand – the Eternalich of Vision!"

A black-feathered bird appeared on her side of the field, squawking loudly. [Vision/DARK/Reptile/Immortal/Level 1/1020 ATK/0 DEF]

"Wait, is that thing also a Reptile?" asked Tori.

"Indeed," said Viral. "All the Eternalich monsters are Reptile-Types!"

"But it's clearly a bird!"

"Yeah," said Blair. "And the other one looks more like a bug!"

Viral shrugged. "That sounds like a 'you' problem. Now for my next move, I'll attack your two Ticket Tailgaters with my Eternaliches!" She thrust her hand forward. "Go an' get 'em!"

Trudge narrowed his eyes as his two defenders were struck to pieces. (Ticket Tailgater/ L4 - L2; ATK 2400 - 1200). "I activate my two face-down cards!" he announced, pressing two buttons on his Duel Disk. "The first card is my Call for Backup Trap! When at least two monsters I control are destroyed on the same turn, this card lets me add a Warrior-Type monster from my Deck to my hand!" He indicated his other card. "The other card is called Regretful Rebirth! When a monster I control is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can bring it back in Defense Mode!"

On cue, one of his Ticket Tailgater returned to the field in a kneeling position. (Ticket Tailgater/ L2 - L4; ATK 1200 - 1800). Trudge's Deck shuffler did its work and stuck out a card that he took. "So now that my Regretful Rebirth's brought back my Ticket Tailgater, I'll add my Jutte Fighter to my hand!"

"Well hooray for you," said Viral sarcastically, removing two cards from her hand. "I'll Set two cards and end my turn."

"Good!" said Trudge, drawing for his turn. "First I'll Summon Jutte Fighter in Attack Mode!" As a small caricature appeared on his side of the field [Jutte Fighter/EARTH/Warrio/Tuner/Level 2/700 ATK/900 DEF], Trudge thrust out his arm. "Next I'll turn both Ticket Tailgaters to Attack mode, and tune them my Level Two Jutte Fighter!"

As he spoke, Jutte Fighter disappeared into two neon green rings. The two Ticket Tailgaters each changed into two glowing balls, which were surrounded by the two green rings from Jutte Fighter before expanding into a column of bright white light. "With my three Level Two monsters, I Synchro Summon the Level Six Goyo Predator!"

As a weirdly-dressed black-and-yellow hulking figure appeared on his field, Trudge took another card from his Extra Deck. [Goyo Predator/EARTH/Warrior/Synchro/Level 6/2400 ATK/1200 DEF] "And just so he's not lonely, I'll also bring out Goyo Defender from my Extra Deck!"

Another small man in traditional Japanese dress emerged onto his field. Trudge thrust out his hand. "And now, Goyo Predator, attack her Eternalich of Application – with Goyo Judgment!"

"Hold it!" shouted Viral. "You've activated my Trap Card, Entropy of the Eternal! This card lowers the Attack Points of all Special Summoned non-Reptile-Type monsters on the field by five hundred for each of them there are! So since your Goyo monsters are Warrior-Type, they'll lose one thousand points each!"

"It doesn't matter," replied Trudge. "Goyo Predator's Attack Points are still higher than your Eternalich's, so it's still destroyed!" As if to demonstrate his point, Viral's insectoid Eternalich burst into pieces (Viral's LP: 4000 - 3630).

"You're only digging yourself deeper, Trudge!" said Viral. "I activate the Eternalich of Application's Immortal effect! I can Tribute one Dark monster with fifteen hundred or less Attack Points to return it to the field in the same Battle Position it was in when it left!" She pointed to her Eternalich of Vision, which disappeared. "And once it returns to the field, its Immortal effect will enable me to make the Attack Points of one monster on the field become two thousand! So your turn ends in failure!"

"Oh no it doesn't!" replied Trudge. "Because I'm activating Goyo Predator's effect! When it destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon that monster to my field! So I'll bring your Eternalich under my custody!" With that, the insectoid creature emerged onto his field.

"Awesome!" said Tori. "So wait, now can he use its Immortal effect to raise its Attack Points?"

"No," said Viral bitterly. "Immortal effects only activate when an Immortal monster returns to the field successfully. So since you interrupted it, you can't use it."

"I won't need to," said Trudge. He pointed at Viral. "Now I'll have your own monster attack you directly!"

Viral grinned wickedly. "That's a poor choice Trudge!" She pressed a button on her Duel Disk. "And here's how I know!" Her face-down card revealed itself to Trudge and the girls, who now saw its name – Poor Choice. "My Counter Trap Card negates one Summon, attack, or effect, then, since what was negated was an attack, you can't use the monster that attacked to attack until your next turn ends! So you won't be using my Eternalich against me!"

"I'll get you next turn then!" said Trudge. "But for now, I Set one card and end my turn."

"Oh, goodie," said Viral sarcastically, drawing for her turn. "I activate the Spell Card Immortals into Darkness! When this card's activated, I can add one Level Seven or higher Immortal monster from my Deck to my hand! I'll add Athánatos, the Embodiment of Grave Mystery!" She then took a card from her hand and placed it on Save's Duel Disk.

"Next I'll Summon the Eternalich of Accumulation in Attack Mode!" Enjoying the mix of disgust and horror on Tori and Blair's faces as what looked like a sea creature appeared on her field, she pointed to her other Continuous Spell Card. "And after that, I'll activate Leyline of the Eternal's effect to move the Eternalich of Accumulation to another Monster Zone! Then, I'll activate the effect of the Eternalich of Meditation in my hand! Since a monster was placed in a different Monster Zone than the one it was Summoned in, I can Special Summon it from my hand!"

With a crackling roar, the newest of Viral's oddities stormed to the field. [Meditation/DARK/Reptile/Immortal/Level 1/1040 ATK/0 DEF] "Next, I'll use the Eternalich of Accumulation's Life Point Leech effect which now requires you to pay five hundred Life Points just to activate monster effects! And then I'll activate another Immortal monster's effect in my hand!" She revealed the card to Trudge. "When an Immortal monster's effect activates, I can reveal Athánatos from my hand to negate the activation, then Tribute Summon him using a monster that you control!"

"What?!"

"Oh no!" Tori held her hand to her mouth.

"That's right!" laughed Viral. "But before I do, Athánatos's effect negates Accumulation's, so fortunately, you can still activate monster effects freely. But now I'll sacrifice your Goyo Predator to bring forth Athánatos, the Embodiment of Grave Mystery!"

Trudge could only watch helplessly as his best monster was dragged down into the underworld, only to be replaced by a red dragon that reminded him of Akiza's. [Athánatos/DARK/Dragon/Immortal/Level 8/3000 ATK/0 DEF] (Goyo Defender's ATK: 0 - 500). "But I'm not done!" went on Viral. "Next I activate Entropy of the Eternal's effect! Once per turn, I can move one Dark Immortal monster I control to another of my Monster Zones to give it five hundred Attack Points! So I'll move the Eternalich of Accumulation to another Monster Zone to bring its Attack Points up to fifteen-ten!" (Accumulation's ATK: 1010 - 1510).

"And then Accumulation's Life Point Leech effect activates! When it's moved to another Monster Zone than the one it was Summoned to, you now have to pay five hundred Life Points just to activate monster effects!" She pointed to Trudge's remaining Synchro Monster. "Now I'll have the Eternalich of Accumulation strike down your stupid Goyo Defender with Lich Lash! Don't forget, if an Immortal monster I control battles, Immortals into Darkness's effect grants it three hundred Attack and Defense Points!"

Trudge kept his brow in a hard line as his last Synchro Monster was struck (Trudge's LP 4000 - 2690). But when everything settled, he was surprised. "Mind explaining how Goyo Defender's still on the field?" he bellowed.

"It's a side effect of having Athánatos on the field," explained Viral disinterestedly. "While it's on the field, monsters can only be destroyed by Immortal monsters' effects. But getting back to the fun, I'll now have the Eternalich of Meditation attack Goyo Defender with Lich Lethargy!"

Trudge bit down even further as he was bombarded with debris from the attack (Meditation's ATK: 1040 - 1340; Trudge's LP: 2690 - 1850). "And last but not least," said Viral, "I'll have Athánatos attack Goyo Defender to wipe you out with Grave Silencer!"

"Oh no…" said Tori, grabbing onto Blair.

"You made a mistake challenging me, Officer Trudge!" laughed Viral as the giant red dragon began gathering energy in its maw. "Imagine thinking that you, a human with no powers could stand against me! Now I'll show you how far out of your league I am!"

"Your dragon's already under arrest, Viral."

"HAH!" Viral threw back her head for the laugh, then brought it back down. "There's no point in trying to uphold your bravado, Trudge. My dragon's about to strike your Goyo Defender down with three thousand Attack Points, plus another three hundred courtesy of Immortals into Darkness. There's nothing you can do!"

"There's this," replied Trudge defiantly, tapping a button on his Duel Disk. "Reveal Trap Card, Under Arrest! This card takes control of your monster and brings it to my side of the field! The only tradeoff is that it can't attack!"

"All right!" said Blair as Tori breathed a sigh of relief. But to their combined surprise, Viral was impassive at her strongest monster going to Trudge's side of the field. "It doesn't matter," she said. "You said it yourself, your Trap Card's effect prevents Athánatos from attacking. And I've also whittled down your Life Points just in case you had something like this prepared. You may have my monster, but not only can you not use it, you're still losing. But by all means, go ahead and enjoy it if you think this is a victory."

"Oh I will," promised Trudge as he drew for his turn. "Because while I may not be able to attack with your dragon, I can still use it! Now watch as I release Athánatos to Advance Summon my Handcuffs Dragon!"

Tori and Blair cheered as Viral's dragon disappeared only to be replaced by a fishlike dragon whose widely warped maw resembling a pair of handcuffs. [Handcuffs Dragon/Wind/Dragon/Level 5/1800 ATK/1800 DEF] But their jubilation was short-lived. "You think you've gotten rid of it?" laughed Viral. "You're even dumber than I thought! All you've done is activate Athánatos's Immortal effect! When it's sent to the Graveyard by anything other than an Immortal monster's effect, I can Tribute one Dark monster with fifteen hundred or less Attack Points to return it to the field in the same Battle Mode it was in when it left! So goodbye Eternalich of Meditation, welcome back Athánatos!"

And just like that, Trudge's best effort was undone as Viral's giant blue worm was replaced with the giant red dragon. "And I know you've at least caught on to what happens when an Immortal monster returns to the field this way," said Viral. Not waiting for Trudge's response, she went on, "Its Immortal effect activates! When Athánatos returns to the field, I can force you to banish one monster you control! So make your pick!"

Trudge looked between his two monsters. It's a no-brainer. "I'll banish my Goyo Defender," he said gingerly as he took the card off his Duel Disk and placed it in his pocket.

"Of course you will," said Viral antagonistically. "Now since there's no other move for you to make, I suggest you end your turn like a good little boy."

"Shut up and go," came the blunt reply.

Viral chuckled as she drew for her turn. "First I'll use Entropy of the Eternal's effect to move the Eternalich of Accumulation to another of my Monster Zones to give it five hundred Attack Points. That in turn will activate Accumulation's effect, which now requires you to pay five hundred Life Points if you want to activate a monster effect. Next, I'll have Accumulation attack your Handcuffs Dragon!"

Fortunately for Trudge, the damage was minimal (Accumulation's ATK: 1010 - 1510 - 1810; Trudge's LP: 1850 - 1840). "And next," Viral went on, looking up at her behemoth. "I'll attack your dragon with mine."

Tori and Blair could hardly watch as Athánatos rained fire down upon Handcuffs Dragon (Athánatos's ATK: 3000 - 3300; Trudge's LP: 1840 - 340). "All right," said Viral, her tone indicating she was winding down. "I'll Set two cards and end my turn."

"This is horrible!" said Tori. "She's got all the stronger monsters and more Life Points!"

"It's worse than that," said Blair. "Now that she has him down to three-forty Life Points, he can't even pay the five hundred he needs to activate monster effects on her turn. I can't think of anything he can do to get out of this."

Her fears were confirmed when Trudge drew for his turn. "I'll Set one card face-down," he said, a little downcast. "Then I'll switch Handcuffs Dragon to Defense Mode. With that I end my turn."

Viral drew for her turn. There's nothing I can do to him right now, she noted. With his dragon in Defense Mode, I can't deal him any more damage. "You're a lucky man, Trudge. I pass this turn."

Trudge drew for his turn without a word. "I'll Set a monster in Defense Mode and end my turn."

Viral said nothing, instead smirking insufferably as she drew for her turn. "Oh, silly me! I forgot something! My Leyline of the Eternal has another effect! The monster I control with the least Attack Points is allowed to attack you directly!"

"Oh no!" Tori clasped her hand over her mouth.

"There's more," said Viral. "I'll use Entropy of the Eternal's effect to move the Eternalich of Accumulation to another of my Monster Zones to give it five hundred Attack Points. With that, Accumulation's Life Point Leech effect now requires you to pay five hundred Life Points to activate monster effects until the end of this turn." Enjoying the theatrics of it all, simply pointed to Trudge. "It's all over for you now, Officer," she gloated. "Eternalich of Accumulation, attack him directly!"

Her creature lunged at Trudge, ready to end him. And it would've, if not for one thing. "I've got bad news for you Viral," Trudge smirked. "This whole thing's a sting."

"What?"

"I'll show you. Reveal Trap, Sting Operation!" He pressed a button on his Duel Disk, to Tori and Blair's utter delight. "This Trap Card negates your attack, reduces your attacking monster's Attack Points to zero, and grants me Life Points equal to the Attack Points it's lost! So I'm not going away anytime soon!" He basked in the bright yellow lights that descended upon him, courtesy of Accumulation (Accumulation's ATK: 1810 - 0; Trudge's LP 340 - 2150).

"Only a minor setback!" snapped Viral. "Athánatos, attack Trudge's Set monster!" On her command, the giant red dragon reared its head and blew a stream of fire at Trudge's Set monster, which turned out to be the Warm Worm. [Warm Worm/FIRE/Insect/Level 3/600 ATK/1400 DEF] "All right then, I end my turn," said Viral, unimpressed. "Not like you can do much."

"Not like who can do much?" asked a voice. Everyone turned behind them to see…

"Ceren!" said Tori, surprised. "What're you guys doing here?"

"We got here as fast as we could," he answered. He turned to Viral. "Jig's up, Viral! We know what you're trying to do, and we're here to stop it! Now get the hell out of Save!"

"No," said Viral flatly. "And it's bold of you to assume you can do something about what I'm doing." She motioned to Trudge. "This idiot thought the same thing. Apparently, you're all in need of a reality check. None of you can do anything to stop me from releasing the Etros World Order. You can't stop me from doing it, like you can't stop me from destroying this poor sap over here." She indicated Trudge yet again. "But by all means, watch if you want."

"We will," said Akaine. "It'll be nice to see you run away with your tail tucked between your legs."

"Hell yeah!" said Percy. He turned to Trudge. "Kick her ass, Officer!"

"Will do," said Trudge. He drew for his turn. A big smile swept across his face as he saw what card he'd drawn. "You're about to eat those words," he said confidently. "I activate the Spell Card Gathering of the Stygian Forces! This card adds up to three Level Four or lower Fiend-Type monsters from my Deck to my hand! So I'll add my Stygian Security, Stygian Street Patrol, and Stygian Traffic Officer! Next, I'll Summon Stygian Security in Defense Mode!"

As a small blue fiend with wings on its head appeared on his field [Security/DARK/Fiend/Level 1/100 ATK/600 DEF], Trudge continued. "Next I'll tune Level One Stygian Security with my Level Three Warm Worm to Synchro Summon my Goyo Scout in Defense Mode!"

Once he finished speaking, Stygian Security jumped into the air and turned into a bright green ring, which circled the three dots that Warm Worm had become. The three dots lined up inside the green ring before expanding into a column of light, from which emerged a stout sentry i na panda mask. [Goyo Scout/EARTH/Warrior/Synchor/Tuner/Level 4/1500 ATK/1000 DEF]. "Next, Goyo Scout's effect activates!" said Trudge. "When it's Synchro Summoned, it reveals all face-down Spell and Trap Cards you control, then lets me add either a Warrior-Type monster or a Continuous Spell or Trap Card of my own from my Deck to my hand!"

On his command, Goyo Scout raised its hand, flipping all of Viral's face-down cards face-up. Trudge read their names. Fiendish Chain and Hope Buster. I've heard of the former, but not the latter. He looked at Viral. But in any case, the real threat is those Immortal monsters. If she keeps bringing them back, she'll keep getting rid of my defenses. Plus that Leyline of the Eternal's effect will enable her to attack me directly with whatever weakest monster she has. He frowned. One thing at a time.

"I'll add my Police Blockade from my Deck to my hand," he announced, adding the card his shuffler handed him. "With that, I Set one card and end my turn." He said nothing about the Eternalich of Accumulation's Attack Points, lest Viral be reminded.

Viral drew for her turn. She moved the Eternalich of Accumulation to another Monster Zone with Entropy of the Eternal's effect to give it five hundred more Attack Points and to lock down Trudge's use of monster effects. "But next," she said. "I'll sacrifice Athánatos to Summon Darkest King of the Netherworld in Attack Mode!"

Trudge, Tori, and Blair held firm as Viral's vile-faced vicar rose from a rift in the ground. [Darkest King/DARK/Fiend/Level 5/2000 ATK/0 DEF] All of them were thinking the same thing.

She's going to use Athánatos Immortal effect!

To no one's surprise, Viral said, "And next I'll activate Athánatos's effect in the Graveyard! I'll sacrifice my Darkest King to bring it back to the field!"

"Oh no you won't!" interrupted Trudge. "I activate my Trap Card, Police Blockade! This card prevents you from removing monsters from the field by card effects, including by releasing them as a cost!"

"WHAT?!" shrieked Viral in disbelief. "IMPOSSIBLE!"

"Holy crap, he's done it," said Tidus. "He's figured out how to beat Immortal monsters."

"He's figured out how to disrupt them," specified Akaine. "As great as it is, I don't know if this is a permanent solution. He might have to figure out something else."

"All the same, this is pretty amazing for someone who's only seen them for the first time," said Percy. Tori, Blair, and the rest of the Aspect had to agree.

Viral grunted. "I activate the Spell Card Double Attack! By discarding a monster, I can select a monster I control with a lower Level than the monster I discarded, and that monster gets to attack twice!" She nodded to the Eternalich of Accumulation. "So I'll discard my Level Four Fiendess of Profit and select my Level One Eternalich of Accumulation! But not to worry: Fiendess of Profit's effect lets me draw two cards! Now I'll have the Eternalich of Accumulation attack your Handcuffs Dragon!"

Trudge watched, a little sad, as the monster he thought would solve his Athánatos problem broke apart. But he saw the bright side. "I activate Handcuffs Dragon's effect! When it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, I can equip it to a monster you control for it to lose eighteen hundred Attack Points! So now I'll equip it to your Eternalich-"

"Which will do nothing," interrupted Viral. "I activate my appropriately named Trap, Hope Buster! When a monster's effect activates after it's destroyed, this card negates that effect! You do get to draw a card, though, so at least you have that."

Trudge's heart sank as his best chance at weakening Viral's forces went up in smoke. He looked at the two cards in his hand. I can't make it out of this, he thought grimly. Not with just these two cards! He looked over at Viral.

What's more, she has a counter for every move I make. Even though I have counters for her, it's done nothing to move the stalemate in my favor. What do I do?

TO BE CONTINUED…

To the cards then.

Trudge's can be seen right here: bdsceptyr/gallery?q=Trudge

Viral's over here: bdsceptyr/gallery?q=Viral%20Vector

Next chapter, we dip into Tidus' backstory and Trudge's continued Duel. Both involve Viral in different ways, too.

Till then, folks.