This chapter is going to ROCK your world! …You know I'm running out of things to say when I make stupid puns like that.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Linked

"Is… is he really…?" Larka finally said.

Hope nodded. "He's gone."

"Why?" Brandi said. "Why did Kai do that?"

"Probably to take leadership of the Judges," Will assumed. "It's very possible that if someone defeats the current leader in combat, the winner takes that position."

"Still, to kill Seiryu…" Mana said.

"He probably did that one for his own pleasure," Neo said in disgust.

"That, or he did not want any interferences with being the leader," Gen suggested.

"Maybe both. Does it matter? Either way, Seiryu's dead, and we have to stop Kai before he kills anyone else," Rue said.

"He tried to help us in his last moments," Hope said, still looking at Seiryu. "I can't help but feel a bit sorry for him."

Without a word, Angela went next to the corpse and wrapped her hair around it. Then she had it enter the ground, burying him.

"You…" Hope stopped herself, merely saying, "Thanks."

"I am happy to be of service." Angela walked towards the door, saying, "Are my orders to pursue the target?"

Larka snapped out of her daze at that. "Oh… yes, that's right."

"Affirmative." She exited the room, leaving the group to stare at where she had been.

"This is the third time she has done something from her own accord that can be related to compassion," Will stated. "These instances have all happened today."

"Are you saying something happened yesterday to make her change?" Miles asked.

"Maybe once Larka told her killing Rue was wrong, she started adjusting to more humane outlooks?" Darche offered.

"Wow, that means my death wasn't completely in vain," Rue commented.

"It never was," Draken told him. "Your more useful alter-ego came to help us, remember?"

"Just stating the obvious here, but I hate you," Rue said.

"I tend to hate everyone, but he has redeemed himself slightly in my eyes," Mephistopolis remarked. "Remind me to have his death be quick and painless when I take over the world."

Hahaha-no, Rue replied mentally.

"Either way, Darche might be right," Gaston said. "Or maybe she has just adapted by being around us."

Larka wondered if her words from the previous night had assisted that in any way, but kept quiet about it, instead saying, "I'm just happy to see her responding like this."

"Me too. It's an improvement from being speared," Rue joked.

"As interesting as this is, we can't afford to waste any more time," Max said. "Angela's already ahead of us."

"He brings up a good point," Draken said. "Let's go after her."

They exited the building to follow Angela, who had been going at a deliberately slow pace while waiting for them to come. Once they had caught up, she strode more quickly, leading them out of town and towards the mountains.

Seeing the peaks ahead of them, Miles winced. "Without support cards, we're going to have to climb that."

"Can't we just call a few Blue Eyes to fly up?" Rue asked.

"Well… I can try…" Darche held up his sword, which began to glow blue. After a few moments, he lowered it with a sigh. "I was afraid of that."

"What's wrong?" Brandi said.

"They've been scared away by the deletion," Darche explained. "The reason they helped us before was because it happened very shortly after the deletion. By now, they've had enough time to flee for safety."

"Just our luck," Miles sighed. "I hate climbing."

"We should let the ones who cannot climb as well go first," Zack suggested. "That way we will proceed at a manageable pace."

"What about Kazel?" Neo said. "I know it'd be tiring to take everyone up, but maybe she could help some of the slower climbers up?"

"I wish I could," Kazel replied. "Unfortunately…" She stretched out her wings with a grimace, revealing several wounds on each. "Ryuujin managed to scratch up my wings. I might be able to fly after some time to recover, but it is too risky to attempt at this point."

"Ah, sorry," Neo said awkwardly. "I hadn't realized."

"That means I am doing a good job at not complaining," Kazel said lightly. "Shall we begin?"

For most of the climb, there were no problems. Miles, Gen, and Kisara had the most problems, although Hope lagged a few times. They were assisted by other, fitter group members though, which decreased the amount of delays. This continued until they were nearing the top, and were on a wider stretch of land rather than one that was drastically steep.

It was at this time that they heard a distant rumble. Angela's eyes snapped towards the sound, saying, "Disturbance detected. Identifying source…"

She did not manage to detect what it was before the source slammed into the ground a few feet to the right of Rue. The huge boulder went rolling away, leaving Rue staring after it and exclaiming, "That thing nearly killed me!"

"Identification complete. The source is confirmed to be a series of boulders," Angela stated. "There is a 78.43 percent probability that a person is responsible."

"Three guesses at what group said person came from!" Miles said, jumping away as a boulder hit the ground to his left.

The first two had come alone, as if they were being used to test the attacker's aim. The series of rocks that followed afterwards was much more serious, comparable to an avalanche. Realizing there was no way they could all be avoided, Will shouted, "Find cover! Use the stationary rocks as shields!"

Hope, Gaston, Max, Miles, and Gen were near the outskirts of the group and were able to take his advice instantly, ducking behind a large rock formation. Will took his own advice as well, with Neo right behind him. Kisara took cover with a smaller rock. Rue was not fortunate enough to be near a safe point, nor was Draken or Darche. Luckily, Ruecian reacted quickly enough to activate a barrier large enough to hold the four or them, which spared them from being crushed. Tenma and Kazel, being the largest and strongest monsters of the group, took up defensive positions around the hiding members to deflect rocks if necessary.

Brandi, Mana, Larka, Malon, and Zack had been towards the middle, thus they had the farthest to go for a safe point. Malon zipped straight to where Will and Neo were, barking frantically as the others followed. Mana was able to make it too. The other three were not so fortunate. One particularly swift boulder came flying towards Larka, one she was about to run straight into. Seeing the danger her friend was in, Brandi desperately lunged at her, knocking her away and towards the side of the path, where she landed on the ground. Her wild thrust had effectively gotten her out of the way of the same boulder, but she tripped, landing in the path of others. Zack reacted at once by flinging himself over her, and then the boulders connected. The resulting explosion of dust blinded the group, causing them to be unable to see the fate of their companions.

At the same time, one struck Kazel, who had been in a position ready to intercept it. The impact caused her wounds to flare, and her tail whipped out with a roar of agony. Tenma also managed to halt one, although without the pain Kazel went through. It was the third boulder that was the problem. It struck the rock Kisara was using for shelter with such force that it snapped off, colliding with Kisara. She shot back from the impact, going straight over the side of the mountain with a cry. Amongst all the confusion, almost nobody noticed her fall, the exception being Angela. She had been preparing to bring up a barrier against the boulders, but upon hearing Kisara, she turned and ran with extraordinary speed towards the edge and leapt after her.

Once the thunderous explosions of the boulders hitting the ground finally faded, it took a few moments for the choking dust to settle. When it did, Miles called out, "Roll call!"

"We're all right, barely," Rue said. "Good timing, Ruecian."

"Yeah, Rue, our Soul Monsters, and I made it," Draken confirmed.

"I'm okay," Hope said, coming out from behind the rock formation. "So is Gaston."

"I'll survive," Max assured. "You hanging in there, Tenma?"

Tenma had managed to completely halt the boulder coming towards him. He carefully rolled it aside and growled softly. "Yes, Master."

"We made it," Will said, referring to himself and Neo. "But that means we are missing some people."

"Kisara! Where is Kisara?" Kazel said, looking around anxiously. "I lost track of her when I was struck..."

Angela's return answered her question. With several leaps and flips, Angela came over the side, Kisara in her arms. Apparently she had used her hair as an extra set of limbs to grab rocks for support on her fall down the mountain, slowing herself down enough when she grabbed Kisara to jump off others and make her way back up.

Draken ran up to them at once as Angela set her down. "Kisara! You're not hurt, are you?"

"N-no… I'm fine… Angela saved me," Kisara answered, still in a state of shock. "T-thank you."

"I am happy to be of service," Angela answered.

Malon whined worriedly as Mana said, "That's not all we're missing! Where are Brandi, Larka, and Zack?"

"I'm here!" Larka staggered over to them, holding her left arm. "I nearly got hit, but Brandi pushed me out of the way…" She looked towards where Brandi had been when she did that, and the group members followed her gaze to a pile of rocks.

"No… they can't be beneath all that!" Hope said in horror.

"We've got to find out!" Max ran towards the rocks, but jumped back as something landed in front of him. It was a monster, one completely covered in copper armor. He had no visible weapon, but Max knew that did not mean it would be safe to try and proceed.

"I was hoping all of you would be wiped out by the initial onslaught," a voice said. The speaker came forth, showing it was a teenage girl wearing a hot pink shirt and blue jeans. Her blonde hair descended to her shoulder blades and had a pink headband keeping it back, leaving her green eyes exposed. "This will work as well though."

"Who are you?" Rue demanded.

"I am a Judge, and my name is Filia," the girl said. "My Soul Monster is Gattai, a Union Rider. Don't be fooled by his appearance; he will stop you if you try to go past this point."

"If you continue to try and block us, we'll attack you, Soul Monster or not," Hope threatened. "If our friends are still alive, they need our help!"

"That can wait." Filia held up her Duel Disk. "Realize that if they have managed to keep their lives, they will certainly lose them if I activate one of my support cards on the rocks. They would collapse and crush the victims."

"Then what do you want from us?" Max snapped.

"A duel to decide who survives and who dies," Filia stated. "I do not care who I face. Pick as you wish."

"I will," Draken said.

"Draken? Why you?" Rue asked.

"Max and Larka aren't in a good state to duel, seeing as who is in danger this time," Draken explained. "That leaves me as the only person who has an agenda with her that can duel with a clear head."

"Oh? An agenda, you say?" Filia inquired.

"Your attack nearly killed Kisara. That's not something I can let you get away with!" Draken declared, activating his Duel Disk.

"D-Draken…" Kisara said, blushing at his statement.

"Interesting," Filia said. "If you are ready, we shall begin."

"The sooner the better," Draken said grimly, drawing his opening hand. "Depending on whether they survived or not, we might be on a time limit."

As they prepared for the duel, Hope said, "Are you all right, Larka? Your arm looks pretty bad."

Larka lifted her bloody arm, wincing. "It hurts, but I'm in a much better state than I would have been if Brandi hadn't interfered. I hope she is okay… I hope they're both okay…"

"I'm sure they are," Hope assured. "Let's tend to your wound. Letting you remain injured won't help them."

Angela had gone next to them as they talked. When she saw Larka's arm, a tendril of hair instantly extended to wrap around it, forming a bandage of sorts.

Looking up in surprise, Larka said, "Thanks, Angela."

"I am happy to be of service," Angela said for the third time that day. What caught Larka's attention was that compared to the other day when she had said it, her tone did not seem quite as emotionless as before.

Draken: 8000

Filia: 8000

"I'm going to make this quick!" Draken said. "I lay a monster in defense mode and a card down. That's all."

"Your actions could have fooled me," Filia commented. "I'll summon Rotting General. (1000/1500) His effect allows me to special summon a Zombie Tiger from my hand when he is summoned successfully." (1300/1600)

"Great, now Will's going to be on her side," Rue muttered. "OW!"

"I know our priorities," Will said shortly, removing his book from Rue's head.

"Do you know what Union monsters are?" Seeing Draken shake his head, she explained, "I can equip a Union monster to its counterpart to power up that monster, similar to equipping a magic card. I equip Zombie Tiger to Rotting General, which raises his attack by 500. (1500/1500) Rotting General attacks!"

"You've destroyed my Dol Dora." (1500/1200)

"That means the second effect gained from having my Union goes off," Filia said. "When Rotting General destroys a monster in battle with Zombie Tiger equipped, a random card in your hand is discarded. Get rid of the one to your right."

"My Brain Control is gone," Draken said tensely.

"Good. Now I activate an instant magic card, Combination Attack!" Filia announced. "I can use it on a monster equipped with a Union that attacked this turn. The Union monster is unequipped and my other monster can attack again. Rotting General attacks directly!"

The Rotting General's sword whipped out swiftly, catching Draken across the chest.

Draken: 7000

Filia: 8000

As Draken's Life Point counter decreased, the ground beneath him suddenly started to crack. Alarmed, Draken said, "What's happening?"

"This is the Life Point condition of our duel," Filia stated. "The loser will fall through the ground to their death. Call it generosity; you will be given a burial, unlike my friend."

"Your friend?" Larka asked.

"That's why I oppose Teknisk Wereld," Filia said grimly. "My best friend was killed by a volcano eruption when it was said to be a safe area. The fact is, this world is anything but safe. It has to go, as do those who defend it! When Rotting General attacks you directly, you lose a card in your hand. Get rid of the one to your left."

"I lose my Sapphire Dragon," Draken said. He did not want to argue with Filia's viewpoint. It would only take up precious minutes that he could not afford to waste.

"Once I lay two cards down, you may go," Filia concluded.

"On your end phase, since Dol Dora was in my Cemetery, he returns to my field with stats set at 1000. (1000/1000) Then I activate Cry of the Living Dead for my Sapphire Dragon." Draken smiled slightly. "I have to thank you for discarding him, or this wouldn't have worked. Now I can sacrifice both of my monsters to summon a Blue Eyes White Dragon! (3000/2500) He attacks your Rotting General!"

"I'm not going to let you do that," Filia countered. "I activate a trap card, Formation Union. It allows me to either unequip a Union monster or equip one. I equip Zombie Tiger to Rotting General. When you attack Rotting General, I take full damage, but Zombie Tiger is destroyed instead."

Draken: 7000

Filia: 6000

"Don't start ranting towards her," Neo said to Will.

"I won't," Will said, his eye twitching. "I won't."

"Same difference for me," Draken said. "I lay one card down and end."

Filia was still calm despite how the ground beneath her was now cracked. "I activate my other trap card, Get Ride! It fetches a Union monster from my Cemetery to equip to its corresponding monster. I'll take Zombie Tiger to put on Rotting General. Then I summon Blood Orchis! (1700/1000) I will now have Gattai use his Deck Master ability. By discarding a Union monster from my hand, such as this Second Goblin, I can take one of your monsters to equip to one of my monsters. The equipped monster's stats increase by the amount of the monster equipped. I'll take your Blue Eyes and equip it to Blood Orchis! (4700/3500) Blood Orchis attacks!"

"I am very glad I can stop that," Draken said. "Attack Nullification halts your attack and ends the battle phase."

"Too bad," Filia said, frowning. "I end my turn."

Draken tensely looked at his next card and wiped away some sweat on his brow. "Thought I was a goner for a few minutes there, but this'll save me. I summon Spear Dragon (1900/0) and play a magic card, Stomping Crash! It destroys a magic or trap card on the field and deals 500 damage to the opponent. I'm assuming that since my Blue Eyes is now in the magic and trap card zone, I can use it on him as well."

"You are right…" Filia admitted reluctantly, watching the Spear Dragon crush away the power-up she had been given.

Draken: 7000

Filia: 5500

"To finish my turn, Spear Dragon attacks Blood Orchis!" Draken said. "He has to go to defense mode after attacking, but that's not something that can be helped."
Draken: 7000

Filia: 5300

"You have left yourself exposed," Filia told him, not even glancing at the ground. "Since you do not have any cards in your hand, I unequip Zombie Tiger to have Rotting General attack Spear Dragon. Zombie Tiger attacks you directly."

The raking claws had a noticeable effect on Draken's Life Points. If nothing else, it showed by a fresh wave of cracks appearing beneath him.

Draken: 5700

Filia: 5300

"If that's all for you…" Draken drew and instantly placed the card down. "One card and that's it."

"It's time to tear you apart," Filia declared. "I summon Heat Beast!" (1500/1000)

"No way am I letting you get away with that!" Draken said. "I activate Tidal Wave to destroy all of the monsters on the field!"

"How annoying…" Filia growled. "I end."

"Lucky you," Draken said. "I have to pass."

"I am not that fortunate," Filia stated. "I lay my monster in defense mode and end."

"I'm going to do the exact same thing, actually," Draken said, copying her.

"Fine. I lay another monster down. Go," Filia said.

The spectators watched anxiously, afraid that if Draken did not do something soon, the duel would drag out too long. He managed to dispel some of their fears by saying, "Now I can take the offense! I flip summon Ally of Justice Kaibaman (200/700) and sacrifice it to special summon a Blue Eyes White Dragon from my hand! My Blue Eyes attacks your new monster!"

Filia calmly sent it to the Cemetery. "My Death Dendol is destroyed." (300/2000)

"That's all I can do for this turn," Draken said.

When she saw what she drew, Filia's grim look became a bit brighter. "I flip over my Black Dragon (900/600) Then I play a magic card, Forced Transfer. We each pick a monster and they get swapped. Since we both only have one monster to exchange, you get my Black Dragon while I receive your Blue Eyes White Dragon."

"This isn't going to be pretty," Draken said with a wince.

"Then I summon Union Rider. (1000/1000) He allows me to take one Union monster on your field to equip to him," Filia said. "I'll take Black Dragon to give him. It doesn't increase his stats, but if you destroy him in battle, Black Dragon will die instead. Both of my monsters attack you directly!"

Of all the direct attacks to take, Draken found that suffering from one of his Blue Eyes White Dragon's blasts was about as bad as it could get. He stayed upright, but was temporarily blinded and had to rub his eyes a few times to clear them from the white lighting attack. Compared to that, the Union Rider's blow was hardly anything.

Draken: 1700

Filia: 5300

This time, Draken could feel the ground shift beneath him as it weakened. He forced himself to not look at it and betray his nervousness. Instead, he drew, and sighed in relief. "I summon Knight of White Dragon (1900/1200) and sacrifice him to special summon a Blue Eyes White Dragon from my deck!" Seeing Filia's confused look, he added, "Darche's Deck Master ability allows me to summon Knight of White Dragon without the ritual. The Blue Eyes doesn't have to wait to attack either, but that won't matter this turn since I'm playing Burst Stream of Destruction! I can only use it when I have a Blue Eyes on the field, but it destroys all of your monsters!"

Appearing stunned at that move, Filia said, "I…I lay a monster down."

"We both pretty much don't have a hand, so I know it's all but over for you," Draken said. "I summon another Spear Dragon and attack your defense monster!"

"My Dark World Warrior Dark Sword is destroyed…" (1800/1500)

"That means you lose 400 Life Points," Draken informed her. "When Spear Dragon attacks a monster in defense mode, he still does damage. My Blue Eyes attacks directly!"

Draken: 1700

Filia: 1900

Grimacing from the attack and the condition of the ground below her, Filia drew. Seeing what it was, she shook her head. "All is lost… I summon Glacier Beast (1500/1000) and attack Spear Dragon. There's nothing else I can do…"

"I'm going to end this now!" Draken said. "I didn't draw a monster, but I can bring out my Deck Master. My Blue Eyes attacks your Glacier Beast, and Darche attacks directly to finish it!"

Draken: 1700

Filia: 0

"I've… failed…" Filia sighed, closing her eyes. "I should have known you would fight more fiercely to protect your friends. After all, you are trying to save them. I was… fighting for a memory…"

The ground beneath her and Gattai finally gave in, and they abruptly fell into a large pit that formed. It sealed once they were gone, leaving nothing to show that they had ever been there.

"That's that," Draken said, turning to the group. "Come on, we've got to see if they've made it!"

He met no arguments about that as the group rushed to the pile of rocks. Larka put her hands against one of them as she desperately called in, "Brandi, Zack! Please, answer me! Are you there?"

To their great relief, a voice that they recognized as Zack's responded faintly. "Larka! We're both here, but Brandi's unconscious. I think she fainted from air loss. I'm trying to keep these rocks from shifting, but I don't know how much longer I can manage to do that!"

"Don't worry, we're going to help!" Larka assured. "Just hold on for a bit more!"

Hearing that his sister could still be saved got Max to take action. "Tenma, help shift these rocks! Make sure that they don't wind up crushing the two of them!"

"At once, Master." Tenma began to pull one of the large rocks off the pile.

"I can help too," Kazel said, latching her claws around another one to move.

To their surprise, Ruecian silently went to one and started to roll it off the pile. Catching their looks, Rue shrugged. "Well, he is strong."

"It's better than standing by and watching," Gaston said, going to assist Ruecian. Darche and Neo did as well, leaving the other Soul Monsters to wait with their human companions anxiously.

Although they worked quickly, it seemed like ages before enough of the rocks were finally moved to expose the two that had been trapped. Thanks to Kazel's long neck, she was able to look in to see them. Zack was still holding back one rock that looked about ready to drop on Brandi, who lay next to him and did not move. Catching sight of her peering in, he said, "Quick, have Mana get her. There should be enough room now!"

"Right away. Mana!" Kazel called. "Come through here and retrieve them to lessen the risk, please. Everyone else, get out of the way!"

The group hastily went higher up the mountain and out of the path of the rock mound while Mana carefully floated through the entrance. She grabbed each of their arms and teleported to the group. With Zack's support gone, the rocks instantly slid down the mountain, showing what a narrow escape it had been.

"Whew, that was close!" Miles said. "Glad to see you both made it."

"Did we?" Zack said, giving Brandi an anxious look. "I think she just passed out, but…"

Mana was already tending to her by putting her mouth to Brandi's and breathing in to give her CPR. A few tense moments later, Brandi coughed, and her eyes opened. "What… happened…?"

"What a relief!" Larka said, finally able to relax. "You were both trapped under several rocks, and we thought you might have died!"

"Nah… I'm not that easy to kill," Brandi said, sitting up and smiling to reassure her.

Larka laughed at that, reassured by her easy manner. "Thank you for saving me. If it hadn't been for that…"

"Don't even think about blaming yourself," Brandi said sternly. "I chose to do that." She looked towards Zack. "Before I passed out, I thought I saw you shielding me. Looks like I needed saving myself. Thanks."

"I'm just glad to see you're all right," Zack stated. "What happened while we were under there?"

"Draken dueled a Judge, and he won," Gen explained. "Not much else other than that."

"We were lucky to get out of that in one piece," Gaston said. "Hopefully the next Judge won't have an ambush like that set up."

"Indeed," Will stated. "Either way, we have to go on. Is everyone ready?"

"As ready as we can be," Brandi said. The rest of the group seemed to agree to that, so they set off once more.

To be continued…