A/N: A scene at the end of the penultimate chapter of the original "Verz Incident" reeked of "wasted a perfectly good plot". This chapter fixes that. And once again, I had to rewrite the duel to get the scenes I wanted to use. Also, I apologize for cutting this and the last chapter's titles short. There was literally not enough space to fit it all in.

-TRUE Final Battle – Disigma Achts and Coppelia Zwei-

The girls were flying quickly through the air on their brooms. They had to, for if they didn't, Majo Isabelle would undo all of their hard work. Thus far, they had fought their way through the Shadows and defeated Jou-sama, returning her to normal in the process.

"Minna-san?" Pop began, "Isn't it strange how Majo Isabelle just came in and…took over the Verz when Jou-sama was the one in control?"

"Not really," Onpu replied, "No one ever said Majo Isabelle couldn't be an opportunist."

"What surprises me is how that mad Witch keeps surviving after everything she tries," Aiko remarked, "I mean, come on! Someone should at least take her magic form her before she gets away again!"

"Anou ne…" Hazuki peeped, "Didn't…Didn't Jou-sama already try?"

"I think so," Momoko replied, grimly, "But with everything that went on, she probably stole her magic back anyway."

Hana tightened her grip on her broom. "Hana-chan remembers when she first got me and Doremi-mama…" she said, sadly, "It was horrible."

Doremi turned to face the white Ojamajo. "We have Jou-sama and Majorin to thank for beating her that time," she replied, "But for now, we gotta work on defeating her now. Jou-sama's still weakened from her corruption and Majorin is the only one who can protect her." She took a deep breath. "Now…it's our turn to protect them!"

Suddenly, several balls of corrupted magic rained down from above. The sounds they made alerted the girls to the attack, but it didn't save them from being hit. All of them suffered various levels of damage.

Doremi, Pop, and Momoko found themselves losing control of their brooms in addition to being lightly singed.

Onpu was knocked right into Aiko, who in turn nearly took down Hana.

Hazuki was nearly driven into the ground, being saved by, surprisingly, Hana's own predicament.

In any case, they managed to recover from the assault from above. The girls quickly started flying more erratically, trying to dodge the second wave of attacks. Hana -followed by the others one by one- managed to look up and see that it was three Witches attacking them. All of them had dark auras and various aberrant growths from the corrupted Verz.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Aiko exclaimed.

"I didn't think Majo Isabelle could work this fast!" Momoko remarked.

"More dodging, more fly-IINNGG!" Pop replied, dodging another volley of blasts.

The trio let loose a third assault on the girls. But now that they were aware, they had a better chance of evading the shots. Unfortunately, they were all but pinned down.

"Eradicate them all!" one of the corrupted Witches called, launching a volley of blasts.

"Eliminate them in the name of Her Will!" the second one shouted, throwing beams of corrupted magic.

"EXTERMINATE THEM!" the third one ordered, simultaneously casting numerous spells that picked up and threw the air, "EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINAAAAATE!"

The girls quickly ducked behind an infected tree. They knew it would hold up against the onslaught, so they had to think quickly.

"Minna-san," Onpu said, "I'll hold them off. You go on ahead!"

"But Onpu-chan-!" Doremi and Hazuki half-shouted.

"GO!"

Reluctantly, the group nodded and flew off just as the tree fell to pieces. Onpu turned to the three corrupted Witches and drew her poron.

"You want to fight?" Onpu asked, determination evident on her face, "Then come at me!"

The three Witches smirked maliciously. "Gladly!" all three of them replied, sadistically.

Off in the distance, the remaining girls could see what was happening. From their vantage point, Onpu was already engaging the three corrupted Witches. Already, flashes of purple light could be seen, prompting a lot of worry from the Ojamajos.

"We need to go," Aiko surmised. She tapped Doremi's shoulder to draw her attention. "Doremi-chan?"

"Ai-chan, wait!" Momoko interjected, "There could be more of them down the road!"

"Momo-chan's right, Onee-chan" Pop said, "Don't forget. We spread the Verz around to an extent while we weren't ourselves. You go on and fight Majo Isabelle. Leave the corrupted Witches to us!"

"But Pop-chan! Minna-san!" Doremi pleaded, "You can't! What if-?"

"We know, Doremi-chan," Aiko replied, "We know. But it's our fault the Verz had some extra ground before Majo Isabelle took over. Now we have to stop it. Like Pop-chan said: Leave it to us!"

A tear formed in Doremi's eye. "But…if something happens to you…I…I…"

Hazuki clutched the pink Ojamajo's shoulder. "Doremi-chan…" she peeped, "Don't worry about us. We'll…we'll be fine. I promise."

Doremi looked back toward the distance. The purple flashes had grown less frequent, meaning Onpu was either running out of magic and losing or she had managed to take them down. The latter was unlikely, given that even the corrupted Witches were still full-fledged Witches.

Finally, Doremi turned to face her friends. "Be careful, everyone," she said, grimly, "Especially you, Hana-chan. Pop-chan."

Hana and Pop turned to one another. The latter knew she was her sibling's responsibility, even if she was the more reliable of the two. The former loved Doremi in every possible way and didn't want to see her go again; she knew it would have to happen.

"Ganbare, Mama," Hana said, smiling sadly. She then hugged the pink Ojamajo. "Hana-chan will make you proud. Hana-chan promises!"

"You…don't need to make that kind of promise, Hana-chan," Doremi replied, sweat-dropping a little.

"So where do we go?" Pop asked.

"We'll go to the areas we struck when we were evil," Aiko explained, "That way, we'll at least have some idea of where we're goin'."

"Then that leaves Doremi-chan to go after Majo Isabelle then," Pop surmised.

Doremi nodded in agreement. "Just remember to stay extra careful, okay?" she said.

The girls nodded at the red-haired girl's statement. Then, they parted ways, going after the very areas they said they would. All of them were, deep down, apprehensive at the action, but there was little choice in the matter.

Majo Isabelle had to be stopped at all costs.

Hana landed right where Doremi fought and defeated her: Right on the outskirts of the kindergarten. She remembered the event clearly, for even though she wasn't herself, she still recalled everything that happened…right down to how she acted.

It filled the white Ojamajo with dread and regret.

She didn't have time to dwell on such things. The reason? She was being approached…by Majo Pi Majo Pon, Majo Miller, and the toddlers. All of them had dark auras.

"So nice of you to drop by, Hana-chan," Tekipaki said, licking her lips in a feral manner.

"You wouldn't hurt any of us now, would you?" Teki added, gathering her magic together with her fellows.

"Minna-san," Hana began, tearfully, "I'm…I'm sorry! I'm sorry for infecting you all with the Verz!" She then got down on her knees, ignoring the looks Majo Miller and the nurses were giving. "Hana-chan wants to fix her actions. Hana-chan won't stop fighting until you are all back to normal!"

"Then we suppose we can't turn you," Majo Miller replied, "But Her Will states we must destroy you, Hana-chan. And we will."

Hana got back up and prepared herself. This wasn't going to go well for her. That much she was sure of.

Onpu, panting, stared at the now-fallen corrupted Witches in both concern and pity. It wasn't their fault they attacked her and her friends, but all the same they had to be taken down. They were still breathing…but it only meant that they would recover eventually and come back after her or go after her friends again.

"Pururun Purun Fami Fami Faa!" Onpu chanted, "Bind them with chains!" The spell did the trick, and the fallen Witches were trapped in a coil of steel chains. She then walked up to them and relieved them of their crystals…only to put them in the remains of the infected tree. "When this is all over, I want you two to find your crystals easily."

And with that, the purple Ojamajo flew off. No sooner did she do so, another volley of blasts came out of nowhere. Surprised, Onpu turned to see where they had come from.

Four more corrupted Witches were flying her way…one of whom being Majo Ruka.

"You can't be serious!"

Momoko and Aiko landed behind some infected bushes by the road. They were at the outskirts of where Witches gathered to watch Witch Apprentices race the Tortoise and the Hare for their level 4 exams. But now the entire arena had taken on a much darker look no thanks to the corruption. Scores of infected plants blighted the fields and even blackened and scaly growths seemed to sprout from the very walls themselves.

Mota and Motamota could be seen walking around, along with the Tortoise and the Hare. All of them had dark auras and aberrant growths.

"This is horrible," Momoko cried, "How could something do this to them?"

Aiko put a comforting hand on the yellow Ojamajo's shoulder. "All the more reason to save them, Momo-chan," she replied, giving a reassuring smile, Although how we're going to save them…even I don't know…

"What do we have here?" A voice sounded form behind them. Aiko and Momoko turned around with a start long enough to see a blast from another corrupted Witch hurled into their faces. The two Ojamajos were thrown out of the bushes and into plain view, dropping their porons in the process. "We two really need to learn how to hide better!"

Aiko got back to her feet quickly enough, though Momoko had a harder time. "We're not gonna lose to you!" the blue Ojamajo shouted, defiantly.

"I fail you two on your sneaking exam," Mota mocked, sneering malevolently.

"You must wait until your next life to take it again," Motamota added, smirking maliciously.

The Tortoise and the Hare approached, grinning maliciously as they did so. They were quick and capable when normal and thus provided an incredible challenge for young Apprentices. But now that they were infected, they were clearly going to use their capabilities to tear them apart.

Aiko and Momoko grit their teeth in dismay. Here they were, at the mercy of three Witches and the two powerful animals. Worse yet, their porons were still in front of them and out of reach, so close yet so far away…

"Momo-chan," Aiko began.

"Nani?" Momoko replied.

"Get ready." Aiko gave a wry smile and a wink to the yellow Ojamajo. She got the idea…

Hazuki flew over the Magic Research Center…or rather, what's left of it. Gasping at the devastation, the orange Ojamajo descended, trying to make sure there were any survivors. No one seemed to be among the wreckage.

That is, until she glimpsed movement out the corner of her eye.

Turning, she saw the source. "M-Majo Heart?!" Hazuki gasped.

Majo Heart trudged toward the young girl. "You shouldn't have come here, Hazuki-chan," the Witch doctor warned, "Her Will dictates that you must be destroyed."

Hazuki put her hand over her mouth in horror. It was then when she saw it: A dark aura and several aberrant growths…just like the witches who attacked her and her friends earlier. She wanted to run. She wanted to hide. But deep down, she knew that was impossible.

"If…if I am to be destroyed," Hazuki pleaded, "Then…then can you tell me something?"

"Yes," Majo Heart replied, ceasing her approach.

Hazuki quickly readjusted her glasses. "How…how did Majo Isabelle pull all of this?"

Majo Heart closed her eyes in remorse…

"Pippito Purito Puritan Peperuto!" Pop frantically chanted. She shot a blast of magic right at the group of corrupted Witches pursuing her. They countered with spells of their own, effortlessly deflecting the red Ojamajo's attack. "Oh…why did I have to be as unlucky as Onee-chan?!"

"GET BACK HERE SO WE CAN KILL YOU!" one of the Witches called out, shooting a beam of magic as she did so.

The beam struck the ground beneath Pop's feet, tripping her up and sending her to the ground. She rolled over on her back and prepared a spell gain.

"Pipito Puirito-!" Pop began. She was interrupted by another beam striking her hand and knocking her poron away. "Kuso…!"

"So much for a mere Ojamajo," Another corrupted Witch mocked.

Pop shut her eyes, awaiting the inevitable attack…

Doremi stood her ground. She had just run down several corrupted Witches, but more were on the way. Also, her magic was running low.

"Where's Majo Toron when you need her…?" Doremi asked herself, indignantly.

By then, the Witches had shown back up. Doremi had no time to be dealing with them now, so she took flight and fled.

"Pirika Pirilala Poporina Peperuto!" she chanted, "Obsuring mist, come out!"

The spell did the trick. From her magic, a cloud of thick white mist billowed forth, catching all of the corrupted Witches in its grasp. They ceased their movements as the vanished inside.

Doremi knew this spell wasn't going to hold them for long. And so taking advantage of the distraction, she redoubled her efforts and fled toward the Castle. By the time the Witches snapped their fingers to clear away the mist, the pink Ojamajo was long gone.

Any wannabe usurper would go to the Castle to exert their rule, Doremi mentally explained to herself, So that's as good a place as any to go and defeat her. She gave an apprehensive look at her poron; its dim glow told her everything she needed to know: Roughly three spells before she runs out of magic. "Better make it count."

And with those words, Doremi continued her pace…

A lone figure sat on the throne within the aptly-named throne room. She enjoyed her newfound power, able to command any Witch who was infected with the Verz. Sure, there were a few insurgents who had managed to resist her control, but those would fall soon enough anyway. And then there were those who had yet to be infected.

Those young wizards, that filthy old man, and that dangerously powerful Witch who once ruled Majo Kai. The same applied to Mahoutsukai Kai and the ever-oblivious Ningen Kai.

All of them were a thorn in her side during her short tenure as the ruler of this world. But not for long. No…not for long at all. They will be infected soon…and they will bow before her and her superiority.

Beside her was another figure, this one clearly an apprentice herself but clearly being older than any of the Ojamajos. Her uniform was different as well; being a turquoise version of the uniform those Ojamajos wore when the supposed next Queen was still just a newborn. The being on the throne considered herself fortunate to have this Witch Apprentice enslaved to her will.

It was surprisingly easy to pull off.

Sitting on its personal perch was another figure, this one much like a tiny person. She was bored, reading a manga upside-down jut to see how it was. Otherwise, she would just roll her eyes and give a deadpan shrug.

"Let that pink brat come," the figure, Majo Isabelle, commanded, "I will deal with her…myself."

"I really am the unluckiest pretty girl in the whole world!" Doremi griped.

Here she was, at the Castle gates. Just her and the structure. All that stood between her and her entry were roughly a few hundred corrupted Witches. All of the eyed the pink Ojamajo hungrily.

"What's the matter?" all of them asked in unison, "Don't you want to fight?"

Doremi looked all around. Everywhere she looked, there were corrupted Witches, a lot of whom were just now flying in. There were now thousands of them, all bearing down hard on her from all sides.

She was trapped.

"Minna-san…" Doremi said to herself, "Gomennasai-"

Suddenly, a whirlwind of magic erupted into being around her. Being in the eye of the storm, she was certain she would've suffocated…but she didn't. Still, there was only one Witch that she knew of who had used this kind of spiral before…and she couldn't have been happier to see her.

The whirlwind expanded and spread out in a wave, blowing many of the corrupted Witches back. When the spell settled, a being with long, dark flowing hair and wearing a similarly flowing dress appeared by Doremi's side.

"Majo Tourbillon!" Doremi exclaimed.

"Now's not the time, Doremi-chan!" Majo Tourbillon chided, "You must go and defeat Majo Isabelle!" She extended a tunnel made of the same whirling magic as the previous barrier. It stretched all the way to the top, where the throne room was. "Now hurry!"

Doremi was about to enter the vortex when she decided to try and get Majo Tourbillon to help her. But when she did, she got a better look.

Majo Tourbillon had a dark aura but, thankfully, no aberrant growths.

"I'm sorry, Doremi-chan," Majo Tourbillon said, "But I fear I might turn against you at the most inopportune of moments. I can't take that risk!"

"I understand," Doremi replied, entering the vortex, "Ganbare, Majo Tourbillon!"

And with that, she flew through the whirlwind. As she did so, several corrupted Witches recovered from the initial attack and began throwing one volley after another. Fortunately, the whirling magic held it off and gave a safe passage.

Majo Tourbillon, Doremi thought, Arigatou…

From her vantage point, Majo Tourbillon was being assaulted from all sides by the now-recovered Witches. Her defenses were holding, but the strain from so many attacks at once… Even she had her limits.

"You may have had the most powerful magic of any Witch in the last one thousand years," one corrupted Witch spoke up.

"But even you can't defeat all of us without doing something 'regrettable'!" another finished.

Majo Tourbillon glared apprehensively at the horde. This wasn't going to end well if it went like this…

The wall burst open with a start, allowing a flood of whirling magic to come in. In the middle of it was Doremi.

She had made it. She was in the throne room. And she was ready to fight and defeat Majo Isabelle in a children's card game.

Majo Isabelle rose from the throne, chuckling. "I didn't think you would make it here, Doremi," she remarked, "But…this is where you lose…permanently!"

Bebe gave an exasperated sigh.

"Not on your life, Majo Isabelle!" Doremi shouted. Gripping her poron tightly, she made a move to insert it into the slot on her bracelet…only for the Spanish Witch to fire a beam of thoroughly corrupted magic at her. "Nani yo…?!"

"Do you really believe I would be interested in playing some card game?" Majo Isabelle rose from the throne and began approaching the pink Ojamajo. "Personally, I find it much easier to just kill you here and now!" Her lips curled into a psychopathic grin. "However…I don't see the need to get my hands dirty!"

"What…do you mean?"

Majo Isabelle didn't answer. Instead, she snapped her fingers.

No sooner than she did, a lone figure emerged from behind the throne. She had long brown hair and her uniform was the same as the one Doremi and her friends wore when they were raising Hana. A locket hung from around her neck. And like nearly everyone else she had seen thus far, she too had a dark aura and aberrant growths.

"Meg-chan?" Doremi half-gasped.

"That's right, Doremi-chan," Megan replied, "Now that you're here, you can surrender peacefully."

"I won't!"

"You don't even have a choice." Megan smirked. "I'm the stronger of us, Doremi-chan. If you don't want me to hurt you, then you will do as I say!"

"Perhaps she didn't hear you, Megan," Majo Isabelle mocked, "Best make an example of her while you can."

Doremi took a step back as the older woman obeyed without question. She summoned her keyblade and wielded it in her opposite hand to her Poron.

"Pirika Pirilala Poporina Peperuto!" Doremi chanted. At once, a beam emerged from her poron and headed right for Megan.

"Pokarana Popolonu Popololo Peperuto!" Megan chanted. Once done, a beam of her open was fired from her own picot poron.

Both beams collided, but Megan's was clearly the superior one. It split apart Doremi's beam and struck her starry dark aura. It took the form of Vylon Disigma, but even he wasn't able to hold off the attack. His form was pierced…and Doremi was struck in the chest and sent to the floor. Megan then walked up to the pink Ojamajo's fallen form and trained her Yin-Yang Keyblade on her heart. Doremi, who was still able to maintain consciousness, looked the turquoise Ojamajo in the eye.

"You really shouldn't have tried fighting me, Doremi-chan," Megan taunted, smirking.

Then, Majo Isabelle snapped her fingers, prompting Megan to hold her Keyblade still.

"Now that you've seen just how capable Megan is under my command," Majo Isabelle began, "I have a preposition to make." The Spanish witch waited for a response. When none came, she sighed with frustration and continued. "I want you to join me in ruling this pathetic world and leading it into a better era!"

"Why would I do that?" Doremi replied, sarcastically.

"Because this world needs its ideal ruler!" Majo Isabelle angrily replied, "That's why!"

"Majo Kai already has its ideal ruler," Doremi retorted, "And I would rather become a normal girl again then rule with you!" The pink Ojamajo's expression then went from a defiant scowl to a sheepish smile. "I would go on, but they're all clichés at this point!"

Bebe raised an eyebrow and even kind of smirked in amusement…right before giving Doremi a vulgar gesture.

Majo Isabelle growled in sheer anger at the statement. "After much consideration," she said through clenched teeth, "I have decided NOT to let you be my best minion! KILL THAT BRAT, MEGAN!"

"It will be done, Majo Isabelle-sama," Megan replied.

Doremi had managed to, in a way, take advantage of the situation. She had gotten a good look at Majo Isabelle's aura. More specifically, she looked at what she could discern from within it.

There was a large machine inside. It looked much like a mecha, but with a locomotive-themed appearance. However, it was rusted and damaged and seemed to have the same aberrant growths as the corrupted Witches.

Orbiting it like Overlay Units were six smaller figures. Doremi recognized these right away as being Hraes, Kaitos, Salamandra, Verz-o'-Wisp, Castor, and Kerykeion. The grinding of Machu Mach and the screeching of Disigma told her everything she needed to know.

Majo Isabelle had the auras of the Verz cards that corrupted her friends…just as she had the auras of the Verz cards that corrupted the Shadows and Jou-sama.

But now, Doremi wasn't sure if she would get to take advantage of this knowledge. Megan was standing over her, ready to run her through with her Keyblade. She stared apprehensively for a bit…and then closed her eyes.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound sprung up from behind Megan! Doremi's eyes shot open just in time to catch what made the noise. She shuddered slightly when she saw it.

It was Kada. And he wasted no time in grabbing Megan's arm and immediately teleporting out…taking her with him. At that time, Skaj entered the scene.

"Que?!" Majo Isabelle shouted.

"Nani?" Doremi gasped.

"Well, ain't this a party," Skaj began, his voice as faux affable as it usually was. He drew a note card and prompted black chains to emerge from it. "Don't worry, b***h, I ain't helping Light Doremi here…but I will if you decide to use something other than a children's card game…especially since you've got, y'know, and advantage in damn near everything else."

"SHUT UP!" Majo Isabelle ordered, "I have nothing to fear from you!" She smirked, though anger was still obvious on her expression. Immediately, she sent a stream of corrupted magic right into Skaj's chest, encompassing him within a cloud of Verz-corrupted darkness. But he didn't flinch. In fact, the cloud split apart and away from his chains. "QUE?!"

"That Verz you got there originated from your kind of magic," Skaj explained, "And since a different type of magic flows through my being…"

Majo Isabelle grit her teeth in anger.

"You didn't do this because you wanted to, did you?" Doremi asked.

"Hell no!" Skaj retorted, "Kada's orders!" He then gave a mock salute. "I'll be keeping a close eye on things."

And with that, he teleported away.

The thought of having to deal with an enemy who could not be controlled sickened Majo Isabelle to the core. The thought of another dangerous enemy who was in a similar boat didn't sit well with her either. And the thought of them actually manipulating her like this was crossing a line.

No matter. It was just a children's card game. She beat Majo Toron earlier that day, she could beat this brat, no problem. And once she wins…she might just be able to use the Resonance -as Majo Toron's notes called it- to corrupt and enslave Doremi anyway. After all, the Verz seemed to work best when used via this game…at least according to Majo Toron's notes.

Majo Isabelle snapped her fingers, causing her Duel disk to appear on her wrist. "So you want to play a children's card game, si?" the Spanish Witch inquired. Doremi simply inserted her poron into her bracelet's slot, transforming it into her Duel Disk. "I take that as a 'yes'."

"I won't let your insane plan go any further!" Doremi declared.

She and Majo Isabelle inserted their decks into the proper slots, letting the Disk auto-shuffle them. They then took their opening hands as their Life Point meters raced to 8000 each.

"Duel!" Doremi called.

"Not quite yet," Majo Isabelle replied, "Observe." She snapped her fingers. Moments later, a ring of Verz-corrupted magic sprung up around Doremi and began flowing into the Spanish Witch's Duel Disk, seemingly distorting its counter. "It's only fair that I have an advantage and not you! I will have double the normal Life Points while you only get half!"

"Not this time!" Doremi retorted. Immediately, her starry dark aura kicked up, warding off the cloudy darkness and forcing it away. "I will be playing without a loss!"

Majo Isabelle allowed a scowl to creep onto her face. Then…it curled back into a smirk. The reason? Likely because Doremi's action was too little, too late and that Majo Isabelle had 16000 Life Points, regardless.

"Now, we can duel," Majo Isabelle said, nonchalantly, "And I will be the one to attack first."

"So…I go first then?" Doremi surmised. Majo Isabelle gave an annoyed nod. "Fine. Atashi no turn! Draw!" Doremi gave a hard look at the cards in her hand…and gave a confused gasp. You've…all came? she mentally asked.

Her hand held Verz Castor, Thunderbird, Kerykeion, Mandrago, and Heliolope before she drew her card. Already, there were countless combs that could be performed. She had no idea what Majo Isabelle was running though, and this might not be too great a way to start. At the same time, she was also very unfamiliar with Verz monsters, so she didn't know if it were at all possible to start well or not.

Gomennasai…but I think I can find a way to use you five from the graveyard. Doremi shed a tear at what she was planning to do. "I activate the spell Hand Obliteration! With this, we both must discard our hands and draw new ones!"

Majo Isabelle winced at Doremi's card, followed with a simple grin. "I will discard Maxx 'C' to chain to it!" she declared. She inserted the card into her graveyard, allowing several small eyes to appear around her. "Better be careful about what you summon, you little brat!"

She grumbled as she tossed her cards and took a new hand.

Doremi placed her own hand into her graveyard and took her new cards. "I can work with this," she said, grimly, "Since I have no monsters, I can special summon Solar Wind Jammer from my hand!" Within moments, a massive ship flew in (800-400/2400-1200). Immediately, the small eyes increased in number, enabling the Spanish Witch to draw a new card. "Next, I summon Astell Drawn!"

And just like that, the all-too familiar artist appeared (1600/1000). Then, both monster turned into orbs of energy and spiraled upward.

"And with these two Lv5 monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" Doremi declared. Both monsters entered a galaxy-like vortex hanging above the arena. It burst in a rainbow explosion. Allowing for the descent of the floating city Doremi was known to summon (2400/1500). Once again, the eyes increased in number, allowing Majo Isabelle to draw another card. "Awareru, Number 33: OOPArts Super Weapon – Machu Mach!"

Majo Isabelle winced. "You can't do that!" she shouted, "Drawing is a Lv4 monster! And that thing is Rank 5!"

Doremi stared at the Spanish Witch in disbelief. "I was beginning to ask myself if anyone was ever going to ask. Guess I got my wish," she deadpanned, "Astell Drawn can be counted as a Lv5 monster when used for Xyz summons. That…and when he's used as such, I can draw a card!" Astell's visage appeared over Machu Mach' gigantic form; he waved his brush, scattering paint on Doremi's deck, enabling her to draw a new card. "I set two cards." Two reversed cards appeared before the pink Ojamajo. "Turn end!"

"I suppose I will have to take your floating city down then?" Majo Isabelle remarked, "Such a thing really won't stand too much of a chance…ESPECIALLY WITH 2400 ATK!" The Spanish Witch composed herself when she caught a glimpse of Bebe's disapproving glance. "So sorry, Bebe."

Doremi took a close look at the mute fairy and compared her to her master. She had no dark aura whatsoever. Immediately, she assumed that Majo Isabelle did care for her fairy…enough so that she would keep her safe from corruption.

Majo Isabelle snickered. "That man…he doesn't realize what he's done, does he?" she inquired, "I've seen Megan in action countless times. I've seen her capabilities." Her smirk widened. "This will prove once again how brilliant it was to enslave her to my will!"

"But you haven't witnessed Kada, have you?" Doremi replied, "You saw is shadow, Skaj, and how he was able to shrug your attempt to corrupt him. What makes you think Kada is any different?"

"Kada is a mere no name! He isn't even remotely capable of beating Megan whatsoever! If you're going to worry about one of those two, worry about him!"

Doremi frowned. She knew how strong Megan was and that her magic approached Jou-sama's, though it was thanks to her locket -the Heart of Witches- that she was able to get to that level of power in the first place. She had also been able to solve everything that was thrown against her with ease and seemed just about unstoppable.

But Kada was a different case. Doremi knew little about him other than that he was dangerous and could not be trusted. The fact that he had managed to get a Shadow -his own Shadow, no less- on his side only raised more suspicions about him.

"I…I fear Kada knows more about what he's doing then you think, Majo Isabelle," Doremi replied.

"I'll believe it when I see it!"

Doremi sighed. Even though Megan was powerful on her own, she worried for her safety…

Megan and Kada appeared just a mile outside the horde's presence. They were in a field of infected flowers, the sight of which bringing to mind the very corruption that was rampaging throughout Majo Kai. And yet, neither person really cared much about what was going on.

Mere moments after warping in, Kada released Megan's arm and leapt away before she could get a strike off. "You need to work on your skills," Kada stated.

"I beat you before," Megan replied, "I can beat you again!"

"Correction: You passed my test, which was to get off one successful strike." Kada paced a bit around the turquoise Ojamajo. "I also went easy on you and allowed you to get said strike off."

Megan's eyes went wide as her angry glare deepened. "Whatever! I'll still have you down before you know it! Pokarana Popolonu Popololo Peperuto! Tear him apart!"

The spell burst out of the poron and rocketed right for Kada. The dark orange Puer Magi stood there, whipped out what seemed to be a two-pronged lance and sliced the spell in half. Megan hissed at that.

Kada said nothing, opting to simply point his lance at the young woman.

"You asked for it!" Megan shouted. She got her broom out and quickly used it to take flight. No sooner did she do so, she began shooting beams of magic right at Kada. "You cannot beat me! So don't even try!"

Kada side-stepped and spun around each beam; he dodged five in total. Frustrated, Megan unleashed a much stronger beam…only for Kada to simply deflect it. Since magic clearly wasn't working, Megan decided to instead begin shooting beams from her Keyblade while flying erratically. Again, Kada simply either evaded or deflected the attacks.

Finally, Megan made the mistake of coming too close to the ground. Kada seized the opportunity and managed to rip the turquoise Ojamajo's locket from around her neck. Horrified, she quickly flew down to retrieve it, but Kada got there first and jammed his Lance into the ground around it.

"You're really not that tough without this locket, are you?" Kada inquired. A mocking tone could be discerned in his voice, though it was hard to notice. "You rely too much on it, just as your real self relies too much on excuses for…just about everything."

Urusai!" Megan shouted, "You don't know anything! You never knew anything!" She put a bit more distance between herself and the Puer Magi. "Pokarana Popolonu Popololo Peperuto! Tear him to shreds! COMPLETELY!"

And with that, another beam of magic was shot toward Kada. But this time, the Puer Magi didn't even try to dodge it. Instead, he raised his arms in a defensive position and took the attack. When the light faded, he was barely even scratched.

Dismayed and frustrated beyond a doubt, Megan reached for her Rhythm tap…only to find out that she had used the last of her Magical Seeds with that last attack.

"Look who just ran out of magic," Kada deadpanned. Megan had an angry reply right on the tip of her tongue. But instead of shouting it in the Puer Magi's face, she chose to try and fly off. "And where do you think you're going?"

At once, Kada drew a card; dark orange chains burst out from it. They rocketed toward her, catching up to and grabbing her broom with ease. The shock of the sudden stop knocked Megan off balance and closer to the ground. And with one final yank, Kada tore the broom from Megan's grip and sealed it within his card.

"You're not gonna run away this easily, Megan," Kada said.

Megan got to her feet and turned an angry eye toward the Puer Magi. "You know what? I DON'T EVEN NEED MY MAGIC TO DEFEAT SOMEONE AS WEAK AND PATHETIC AS YOU!" she shouted. She immediately split her Yin-Yang Keylade into its dual forms. "THIS OUGHT TO TEACH YOU A LESSON!" No sooner did she do so, she immediately charged right at him. "WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU, YOU WILL-!"

"Too easy," Kada deadpanned.

Right before Megan could hit him, Kada swung the blunt end of his Lance into Megan's two Keyblades. The force of the impact knocked them from her hands and, using the remaining power behind the counterattack, struck her in the chest. The blow sent her flying a good ten or twenty feet through the air and hitting the ground hard. Megan tried to get back up, but the blow she suffered was too much for her.

"I've seen others talk up about you," Kada began, "Or rather…'shilling' you, as they call it. And yet, here you are, failing to live up to the hype." His expression hardened further. "You and other people consider you capable, powerful, and all around incorruptible. And yet, you couldn't shrug off the Verz, failed to beat me when my actual power is below yours when you have your locket-" Kada picked up Megan's locket to emphasize his point. "-and you allowed Majo Isabelle to boss you around when you should logically have been able to ignore her orders despite the corruption." The dark orange Puer Magi tightened his grip on his dual-pronged spear. "All in all, you are just a mere tool, whose sole reason for existing being to provide an excuse for your real self to ignore her problems and run from her errors. Plain and simple!"

Megan passed out, unable to take Kada's speech.

"And when the going gets tough, you turn tail and run," Kada continued, "So when your opponent forces you to stay and fight, you really can't do anything against them, can you? You're just that weak then, aren't you?" Within moments, the young man released Megan's broom, causing it to land by Megan's side. "I will be confiscating your locket. Let's see how far you go without it."

At that time, Kada noticed another being appearing nearby. "You sure love overdoing it, huh?" she inquired. At first glance, she looked exactly like Majo Tourillon. However, her dress was black and her hair was a shade darker. At the same time, she bore scars from countless battles on just her exposed arms and face alone.

"Or do you just like toying with your foes?" she continued.

Kada shook his head. "My magic drains at a hellacious rate, no matter how careful I am, Shadow Tourbillon," he explained, "But to business: You recall our deal, correct?"

The woman, Shadow tourbillon, chuckled. "Naturally. You beat Shadow Isabelle and Shadow Ruka to my rescue. As such, the three of us are now in league with you and Skaj. However, had you failed in that first part…"

"I'm quite aware of that."

"So…what would you have me do?"

Kada took a defensive stance. "Assist your Light Half. She's outnumbered and won't last for too much longer unaided."

Shadow Tourbillon shrugged. "I was hoping you would let me take out Black Queen…Oh well, I haven't fought in a little over a year and this gives me the perfect excuse to do so!"

"Just don't kill any of the infected Witches," Kada continued, "We need as much trust built up from them as possible."

"And what are you going to do?"

"I will aid elsewhere."

"Good." The former Queen of the Shadow's predecessor curled her lips into a sly grin. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

Shadow Tourbillon rushed off with near-inhuman speed with those words. Kada felt unnerved just by being in her presence. He had heard of her power from Skaj, who in turn had heard of it from Shadow Ruka and Shadow Isabelle. He had desired to have such a powerful being on his side…but now the question was: Could he truly control such a being?

The Puer Magi shook his head in dismay. He would have to let Shadow Tourbillon have her way if he was to keep her on his side…

"That idiot man is doomed anyway," Majo Isabelle spat, "It's my turn!" She took her next card, smirking as she did so. "First, I activate Terraforming! This lets me add any Field Spell to my hand. And I will use it to get Geartown!"

"I know exactly what that card does, Majo Isabelle," Doremi replied, "I discard Increasing 'G'!" Immediately after inserting the card into her graveyard, several shiny eyes appeared around the pink Ojamajo. "It worked pretty well for you when you used it. No reason not to use it myself."

Majo Isabelle took her card and placed it amid the cards in her hand. She then inserted a card into the proper slot.

"You can draw all the cards you want, little bruja," Majo Isabelle spat, "But they'll never do you any good! I activate Trade-In!" At once, she discarded her monster and took two more cards from her deck. "By discarding a Lv8 monster, I can draw two cards." She looked at her newest cards and smirked. "And since you so kindly put it in my graveyard, I can revive it!"

"Nani?" Doremi replied, "What do you mean 'you can revive it'?!"

"I mean I can!" Majo Isabelle discarded another card, "By discarding Machine-type monsters whose total levels are 8 or more, I can bring back Machina Fortress!" The visage of a small mecha dominated by an enormous cannon appeared for a split moment. Then, a massive tank tore its way out of the ground and settled just before the Spanish Witch (2500/1600). "Scared yet?"

Doremi shook her head. "I've seen far worse things when fighting the Shadows, Majo Isabelle," she replied, "This doesn't even compare." The eyes surrounding her increased in number. "And because you special summoned a monster…" She took her next card. "…I can draw one!"

"I beg to disagree!" Majo Isabelle taunted, "I activate Geartown!" She inserted the spell into its specific slot. Moments later, the entire throne room changed into a massive town full of moving gears and pistons. "While this card is out, I can summon Ancient Gear monsters with one less tribute! Even normal summoning-!"

"That's not why you played the card," Doremi retorted, "Hardly anyone ever plays it for that reason."

"SILENCE! You do not know what I'm going to do!" She took another card from her hand. "I-!"

"-activate another Geartown," both said, with Doremi's tone deadpan and Majo Isabelle's maniacal, "And when Geartown is destroyed for any reason, I special summon any Ancient Gear monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard."

"It's a really common move, Majo Isabelle," Doremi retorted.

The Spanish Witch fumed angrily. "So what?! I still get a powerful monster!" she shouted. At once, she replaced the her field spell, causing the first Town to collapse as a new one sprung up. Moments later, the remnants of the old Town came together and formed into a powerful dragon made of old clockwork gears (3000/2000). "Meet Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon!"

Doremi shook her head. "Out of all the monsters I've seen my opponent's use, that thing isn't the most dangerous," she said.

"Oh really? Well then Gadjiltron Dragon! Take care of that fling city!"

On command, the clockwork Dragon took flight and charged headfirst into macho Mach. The Number retaliated with a beam of concentrated plasma, but the counterattack split off the Dragon's head. It continued on, smashing into the city's ring and then into its core, crippling it. No longer able to remain aloft, Machu Mach plummeted to the ground as Doremi shed a few tears; her Life Points fell to 7400.

"Now, Fortress!" Majo Isabelle continued, "Tear that insolent brat apart!"

Machina Fortress obeyed its mistress' orders and took aim. Once locked on, it fired a shell from the cannon on its back.

"Reverse card, open!" Doremi retorted, "Magic Cylinder hatsudou!"

Immediately, two cylinders appeared before the pink Ojamajo. One of them was poised to absorb the incoming attack while the other was aimed right at Majo Isabelle. The shell went into the first one and then came out of the second. The Spanish Witch had only a moment of shock before she was struck by her own monster's attack, knocking her to the floor and her Life Points to 13500.

"I'm starting to think you're not as good a duelist as you made yourself out to be," Doremi half-taunted.

Majo Isabelle got back up, her face contorted to a look of pure rage. "I'll show you who's a good duelist!" she shouted. Her looking over her hand only seemed to raise her frustration. "Hmph! I'll end my turn right here…"

Doremi frowned. She knew Majo Isabelle didn't typically act like this…but at the same time, she was all too aware of the Verz's tendency to alter a victim's personality. Majo Isabelle herself is technically a victim since she herself is infected, even if it was by choice. But with her personality going to the furthest level of insanity, she would naturally make many mistakes. Obviously being a novice would contribute to that as well.

"If you say you're a good duelist, then why do you need an advantage over me?" Doremi inquired, "If you were really that good, you would have no problems beating me on equal footing…or at a disadvantage yourself!"

"SILENCE!" Majo Isabelle commanded, "I am greater at anything you, a mere brat, are capable of! I will have any advantage I choose!"

"In other words…you're not great at all…"

Majo Isabelle's eye twitched. Here this…brat…was, mocking her for all she was worth. And a few months ago, she would quiver in fear and beg for mercy. She was starting to think she was losing her touch…

Onpu shot a begging stare at Majo Ruka. She had run out of magic fighting off her former mentor's cohorts and she was simply tired out. Still, she had kept fighting, managing to evade several blasts, trying to lure Majo Ruka into tiring herself out.

It wasn't working.

"I was right to make you my apprentice," Majo Ruka commended, "But as a betrayer to Her Will, you must be EXTERMINATED!"

"But…Majo Ruka?" Onpu asked, "Do you…do you really have to do this? Don't you have a choice?"

Majo Ruka solemnly shook her head. "The choice isn't mine to make."

Onpu looked up at her in pity. She began to believe that every Witch who had been corrupted by the Verz didn't want to be hurting everyone. Come to think of it, Majo Ruka's cohorts seemed to not be keen on fighting…and neither were the other three she defeated. To her, they were now all just victims.

And it was a good thing she didn't make any attempts to kill anyone.

"If you're going to kill me," Onpu continued, "Can…can I have one final request?"

"That choice isn't mine to make either…"

Onpu closed her eyes, expecting the inevitable fatal blow.

Suddenly, a noise interrupted the purple Ojamajo's stupor. Her eyes shot open, allowing her to see exactly what just happened. What she saw was Majo Ruka lying on the ground in a daze. Standing over her was Tooru. And unlike everyone else she had seen thus far, he lacked a dark aura.

"I'm always there~!" Tooru said, his voice a sing-song tone.

Onpu's eye twitched. "Eh, stick to dancing, Tooru-kun," she said sheepishly, sweat-dropping, "But…arigatou, Tooru-kun."

"Oh, it's nothing! If you died here, then what'll happen to me and your fans?" Tooru gave a big smile. "I would be out of a rival for being an idol!"

Onpu sighed. Typical Tooru-kun… she thought, "But at least your heart is in the right place!" The purple Ojamajo turned to the distance. "We need to go help the others. But first…I need to see Majo Toron." She showed the young Wizard her poron. "I have no magic left to fight with and I'll be useless if I try going without any."

"Then I will protect you all the way!"

Smiling, Onpu mounted her broom and took flight while Tooru conjured a skateboard. And with that, the two were off to the Maho-Dou's door…

"Atashi no Turn! Draw!" Doremi shouted. She took her next card and, upon looking at it, smiled. "Just the cards I need! I summon Summon Priest!" At once, the Priest draped in purple robes appeared, defending himself (800/1600). "And whenever I normal summon a monster, I can special summon Kagetokage!" Moments later, a small shadow appeared before the pink Ojamajo. It rose from the ground and glared at Majo Isabelle with its red eyes (1100/1500). "And then, I will activate Summon Priest's ability! By discarding any spell card, Priest can special summon any Lv4 monster from my deck!"

The Priest gathered his powers together and merged them with the energy of the sacrificed spell. Using it all, he opened a portal. And the creature that took advantage of it was another artist from before.

"So you have two Drawings in your deck then?" Majo Isabelle inquired.

Doremi chose not to answer. It was never a wise idea to reveal the contents of one's deck to the opponent, especially in this kind of situation. She had three of them in her deck alone…but she was seldom able to use them all in one duel. Regardless, it made drawing them easier in case she needed a quick Rank 4 or 5 Xyz.

"I overlay Preist, Kagetokage, and Drawn!" Doremi declared. Immediately, all three monsters transformed into orbs of energy that quickly spiraled upward. "With these three Lv4 monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" All three entered a gold vortex. Once they had vanished inside, it burst with a dark radiance. "When all turns against one, the powers that be will unite! Become the sole survivor and cleanse the world of evil! Xyz summon!" she chanted. Emerging from it all was the massive final member of the Vylons…and Doremi's own former Verz focus (2500/2100). No sooner did it appear, Doremi's starry dark aura expanded and began pulsating gently. "Awareru…Vylon Disigma!"

"So that's the card that-!" Majo Isabelle began, mockingly. Then and there, a look of abject terror crossed onto her face. "Que?! Que?! QUE?!"

Doremi tilted her head in confusion, but quickly understood when she saw it for herself.

In addition to the lights orbiting it, several other forms circled the powerful monster. All of them she recognized. However, three such forms were missing…and Doremi had a good idea of who they were. In any case, Majo Isabelle was clearly afraid of the Vylon Xyz monster…but the question was: Why?

Doremi shook it off. "I set two cards," she said. Two reversed cards appeared before her. "Then, I activate Disigma's ability! By detaching one Overlay, I can take any Attack Position Effect Monster you control and equip it to Disigma!" Disigma consumed one of the lights orbiting it. Then, it fired a tractor beam at Fortress. "Fortress will be absorbed by Disigma!"

"You amateur!" Majo Isabelle mocked, "Fortress has a special ability! When targeted by a monster effect, I can look at your hand and destroy any card I choose!"

Doremi shrugged as she revealed an empty hand. "Why do you think I set everything before using Disigma's ability?" she questioned, smiling, "Like I said. I've seen Fortress in action a lot. I know how to get around its powers on the field."

Majo Isabelle's jaw dropped open as one of her best monsters was turned into data and absorbed by the powerful Vylon.

"Now, Disigma!" Doremi called, "Attack Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon!"

Disigma was all too happy to oblige. He took aim and, conjuring a cannon much like Fortress's, fired a tremendously powerful shell. Doremi's expression was very hopeful.

Majo Isabelle shot a look of amusement. "You can't do math, Doremi! My monster has-!" she began. She was interrupted by the shell piercing through Gadjiltron Dragon's clockwork body with ease, completely and utterly blowing it to pieces. "But…how…?!"

"Disigma has another special ability," Doremi explained, "When he absorbs a monster, he becomes perfect against everything of the same attribute. Fortress and Dragon are both EARTH monsters."

"But it does count as being destroyed by a card effect…which means I can use this!" Immediately, Majo Isabelle placed a card on her field. In seconds, five small machines appeared. One by one, they unfolded and pieced themselves together like a jigsaw puzzle…except the result was an imposing humanoid robot (2500/2500). "Come forth, Meklord Emperor Wisel!"

Doremi grit her teeth. Wisel Infinity wasn't a card she was too familiar with. Then again, not as many people use it, despite being rather splashable due to the prevalence of destruction effects. Still, she had no idea of its effects, prompting her to be on high alert.

"And I'm certain Disigma can only use his ability once per turn?" Majo Isabelle inquired. This only caused Doremi to begin glaring at her. "What I thought! Maybe next time, leave the taunting to the more powerful people…such as myself!"

Bebe face-palmed at that comment.

"Turn end," Doremi muttered.

Aiko and Momoko stared at the fallen Witches. They were out cold, thank goodness, but they still felt guilty about hurting them like this. By their sides was Leon. He had come in to save them at the last minute, though Aiko's plan would've done that any way. In any case, his presence only made the ensuing fight easier to handle.

Aiko approached the downed Mota and Motamota. "Gomennasai…you two," she said solemnly.

"Oh, don't be," Mota replied.

"We were right to pass you girls," Motamota added.

"If you really want to save Majo Kai…" Mota continued.

"You must aid the others," Motamota finished.

"We will," Momoko replied.

Nodding, Aiko and Momoko mounted their brooms and took flight. Leon conjured a skateboard and followed them to wherever they were headed.

"So, where are we going?" Leon asked.

"Back to Majo Toron," Aiko replied, "Momo-chan and I really used up a lot of magic back there, even with your help."

"Better safe than sorry," Momoko added.

Leon grinned as he stopped. "Watch this!" he called, prompting the Ojamajos to stop and land. He conjured his Duel Disk first, earning him a few deadpan looks from the two Ojamajos. Then, he placed a monster card on it from his deck. "Awareru…Earth Giant Gaia Plate!"

Moments later, the form of a gigantic humanoid golem appeared (2800/2200). It growled as took its place by Leon's side.

"So…you can summon monsters," Aiko surmised, "But…aren't they just…?"

Leon shook his head. "Show them what you can do, Gaia Plate!"

Gaia Plate nodded its head and quickly introduced a small boulder to its fist, blowing it smithereens.

"I can see that," Momoko replied, "But…wouldn't summoning monsters just, I don't know, cost us magic?"

Leon shook his head. "For some reason, it doesn't," he replied, "I dunno, I guess it has something to do with the Resonance."

The two girls looked at one another and nodded. "Alright! Here goes!" Aiko declared, inserting her poron into her bracelet and turning it into her Duel Disk. She took a card from her deck and placed it on her field. "Awareru…Jurrac Guiba!" Nothing happened. "It doesn't work, Leon-kun…"

Momoko looked between the twosome before trying it herself. "Awareru…Madolche Puddingcess!" she shouted, placing the card on her Duel Disk. Moments later, the princess of the Madolches appeared (1000/1000). "Wow, I did it!" Her expression turned into one of worry. "But…why can't Ai-chan do it?"

Meanwhile, Aiko was looking through her deck. Normally, when she tried using her cards, she got a strange feeling, the likes of which can now be affiliated with the Resonance. But now…no such feeling was coming. It was as though her cards…were dead. And recalling what happened immediately after her bout with Shadow Aiko, she had a pretty good idea why…

A tear came to the blue Ojamajo's eye when she came to that conclusion. "Momo-chan," she said, sadly, "My cards…they're…they're-!"

Momoko went up to her close friend. "It's okay, Ai-chan," she said, comfortingly, "Maybe…maybe its only temporary?"

Leon gave an apologetic frown. He didn't truly know how death felt for someone who witnessed it, but he still felt pity for his rival. Her deck was dead, and he felt somehow responsible.

"Ai-chan," Leon began, "Gomennasai."

Aiko looked up at the blonde-haired Wizard and gave a saddened smile. She was about to voice her reply when she felt something in her Extra Deck. Pulling it out, she looked through it until she found the source.

Evolkaiser Laggia…and it was glowing a bright blue.

"Laggia…" Aiko muttered in awe. She then nodded her head in determination and put the card on her Duel Disk. "Awareru…Evolkaiser Laggia!"

In seconds, the powerful Xyz monster appeared before her, roaring its supremacy (2400/2000). It then descended to Aiko's side and held its claw out to her. Aiko smiled and took the claw, nodding.

"You…you lived!" Aiko said, amazed.

Laggia, smiling, nodded his head in response.

"I will take my move!" Majo Isabelle declared, drawing her card. She winced slightly at it efore turning to Wisel. "Wisel! Absorb that monster!"

"Eh?!" Doremi gasped.

Immediately, several green tentacles made of energy emerged from the core of the Machine Emperor. They raced forward, attempting to grab the Vylon. But when they got to it, Disigma simply batted them away. And even those that got through couldn't get a good enough grip. These factors forced Wisel to abandon its attempts to consume the Xyz monster.

"Que?!" Majo Isabelle seethed, "Why?! Wisel can absorb Synchro monsters already! Why can't it absorb Xyz monsters?! Especially since both come from the Extra Deck?!"

Doremi tiled her head, quizzically. "Maybe it's because Wisel can only absorb just one kind of Extra Deck monster…and that Vylon Disigma isn't the type Wisel can absorb?" she surmised, "Did…did you read the card right?"

The Spanish Witch clenched her teeth as she reread her card. "Damn…But that's okay, it's okay after all!" she said, "Wisel! Tear that Xyz monster apart!"

"But, they have the same ATK!" Doremi warned.

"I know! Oh and also, Wisel is DARK, so Disigma can't make the fight one-sided!"

Wisel obeyed its master's command and rushed forward. Disigma countered with another shot from its conjured cannon. The shell stuck a mortal wound to the opposing machine, but it had just enough strength to carry on. It sliced Disigma down the middle, destroying it just before it succumbed to its own damage.

"And that'll be it for me," Majo Isabelle said, her voice a little smug.

Doremi looked at both fields. Given that Majo Isabelle's was empty other than her Geartown, one would expect her to at least play a decent defense after ramming her only monster -a dangerous one at that!- into her own.

That's when she took into account that her one hand was empty…

Pop cowered against the wall of Mota and Motamota's house. She had been chased there by a small gang of corrupted Witches with only a handful of Magical Spheres left and not enough of a chance to use them. To say she felt as though the end was near would be telling the truth.

"Any last words?" one corrupted Witch inquired, raising her wand and preparing to send a spear of magic through the red Ojamajo's heart.

"There won't be any need for those!" a voice called.

Suddenly, several of the corrupted Witches were blown back by a wave of magic. The remaining ones were caught off-guard and stunned. Pop quickly took advantage of the situation.

"Pippito Purito Puirtan Peperuto!" Pop chanted, "Sedate the Witches!"

And just like that, her spell spread across the gang, knocking them unconscious. That's when she saw the source of the help coming toward her. And unlike the Witches who had just been downed, he had no dark aura.

"Akatsuki-kun?" Pop asked.

"Hai!" Akatsuki replied, "Thank goodness i-!" He then looked closer and sighed in embarrassment. "Gomen ne, Pop-chan. I thought it was Doremi-chan who was here!"

"You still have a thing for Onee-chan, don't you?" Pop inquired, her face a knowing expression. Akatsuki smiled sheepishly in response. "Onee-chan should be confronting Majo Isabelle by now. We need to keep the other Witches down at all costs!"

Akatsuki nodded. "I know." He conjured his own Duel Disk. "And this technique might help!" He placed a card on it. "Awareru…Number 8: Heraldic King – Genome Heritor!" Within moments, the sealed form appeared and unfolded, turning into a bestial-yet-clearly-intelligent creature (2400/1800). "You give it a shot! It'll help in the long run!"

Pop nodded as she inserted her poron into her bracelet. "Ok," she replied, reluctantly. She took a card from her Extra Deck and placed it on her Duel Disk. "Awareru…Haze Beast Basilicock!" In an instant, the large, fiery cockatrice appeared from a pillar of flames (2500/1800). "Sugoi…!"

"As long as we can do this, we don't have to waste magic and energy," Akatsuki explained, "Fujio, Leon, Tooru, and Oyajide have probably met up with the others by now and explained this to them. We gotta meet up somewhere and team up again!"

Pop stared into the distance and at the continuing devastation. It was heartbreaking to see such a thing unfold, but she had long since gotten over it. Even so, the others were still out there…and there was a good chance that some of them had already fallen to the Verz. After all, she nearly did so herself.

"Alright," Pop replied, "Iku yo!"

And with that, the red Ojamajo summoned her broom while the prince of Mahoutsukai Kai conjured a skateboard. Both used them to make haste and find the others…

"Atashi no Turn! Draw!" Doremi shouted. She looked closely at her newest card and gasped in surprise. "Alright! Since I have no monsters, I can summon this without release!" Immediately, she placed her newest card on her Duel Disk. Seconds later, a machine built to vaguely resemble an angel appeared. On its chest was something like a screen; it went from static to the face of a heavenly messenger (0/0). "Awareru…Temporal Machine God – Metaion!"

"And you believe that thing can beat me?" Majo Isabelle mocked, "With no ATK?!"

"Metaion has a plethora of powerful abilities. For starters, neither battle nor card effects can defeat him and I take no battle damage. Second, I would think twice about attack Metaion if I were you."

"So you summoned a shield then?"

"No. I summoned Kotake-kun's card. It has saved me several times already and paved the way for important victories I would have never gained!"

"So I was right then!"

Doremi grit her teeth. It was like arguing with a brick wall when Majo Isabelle was insane like this. However, if she really had been listening in good, then she would never attack it. In any case, she has bought herself another turn…and she immediately began dreading that she had again jinxed it…

Hana struggled to her feet. Her holding back had clearly cost her in the fight against her corrupted peers and the nurses in charge of taking care of them. Still, she had no choice but to do so; no part of her would've ever wanted to hurt them whatsoever, even if it was to survive. But the fact that they had already driven her into such a corner…they were ruthless.

Throughout the fight, she had mostly been using barriers and deflecting their own attacks away. The toddlers weren't too powerful compared to her as they were underdeveloped with their magic…but Majo Pi, Majo Pon, and Majo Miller…they were much older and more experienced. They were effortlessly taking advantage of her mercy and had thus caused the most damage.

"Pororin…Pyuarin…HanaHana…Pii!" Hana chanted, chokingly, "Let Hana-chan…make the babies…sleep…"

Hana's spell went off without a hitch. Unfortunately for her, the two nurses and Majo Mailer combined tier powers and deflected the spell, leaving it worthless.

"You really shouldn't have tried that, Hana-chan," Majo Miller warned, "What made you think that would have worked? Especially when your only other 'attack' was also easy to deflect?"

"We're beginning to wonder if you're really fit to be the next great Queen," Majo Pi and Majo Pon added, together.

"Hana-chan…just doesn't want to see you…hurt," the white Ojamajo replied, "I…I just…I just wanted to help…somehow…"

"And you have!" shouted a voice from out of nowhere. The source quickly rushed in with a large samurai -one that Hana recognized as True Six Warmen – Shi En (2500/1400)- by his side. He brandished his cane and quickly used his magic to stun the three corrupted Witches. The Shi En quickly put himself in between the group of insane toddlers and the white Ojamajo. "Daijoubu yo, Hana-chan?"

Hana's expression quickly changed to relief and joy. "Oyaji-san!" she called out, giving the old man a hug, "Hana-chan thought she was done for…"

"Hana-chan. Can you place a card on your Duel Disk?" Oyajide asked.

"Un!" Hana replied, "Pororin Pyuarin HanaHana Pii! Hana-chan's Duel Disk, come out!" And with that, her Duel Disk appeared on her left glove and extended outward. She then placed a card from her Extra Deck on it. "How's this?"

"Try to summon something," Oyajide instructed.

Hana nodded. "Awareru…Sacred Ptolemys Messier 7!" At once, the card glowed brilliantly…and the most powerful Sacred appeared by Hana's side (2700/2000). "Sugoi! Hana-chan did it!"

By then, the three corrupted Witches had recovered from Oyajide's attack. "So you want to play a children's card game?" Majo Miller inquired, "Very well. We can do the same!" At once, she snapped her fingers, triggering her magic and conjuring her own Duel Disk. And to Hana's surprise, she actually placed a card on it. "Awareru…Injection Angel Lily!"

Moments later, a small angel wielding a massive injection needle appeared (400/1500). She shot a sly grin and a flirtatious wink at Oyajide, making him swoon. Then, she proceeded to make her attack on Shi En.

"And by paying 2000 life Points, I can give her 3000 more ATK!" Majo Miller added. She clutched her heart as her life went down.

Lily's needle doubled in size (400-3400/1500) right before impaling Shi En. The strike stole his life and sent Oyajide to his knees. He tried getting back up, but he felt real weakness.

"Oyaji-san!" Hana called, concerned. She rushed to his side.

"I guess there's a risk when fighting his way…" the old Wizard muttered…

"It's my turn!" Majo Isabelle shouted, drawing her card. She gave it a predatory look. "First, I will discard the Machina Cannon I just drew to bring back the Fortress in m graveyard!" At once, another Cannon appeared…and was yet again disintegrated to rebuild Machina Fortress. "Next, I activate Resurrection of the Dead! With this, I bring back Machina Gearframe!"

Doremi stared at her graveyard. Even though she never saw the card on the field whatsoever, there was the distinct possibility that she had put it there earlier…using her first card in the duel. Still, she didn't want to have to face a dangerous-to-kill machine, so she would have to wait and see what would happen next.

Instead of the sacred ankh, a large dagger appeared and seemed to pierce its way into the netherworld. Machina Gearframe emerged from the tear right before it closed up (1800/0). Then, Majo Isabelle looked over her hand Metaion; the Temporal Machine God seemed to be challenging her to try and get past it and her hand held nothing that would allow her monsters to hurt it or Doremi.

"I want you to feel fear before I tear you apart," Majo Isabelle muttered, "So I tribute Machina Fortress!"

In moments, the mobile Fortress vanished. Then, the dark aura encompassing her flared up dramatically, even allowing the creatures inside to become more apparent. Doremi shot a questioning look at the Spanish Witch.

"But Machiner's Fortress is really powerful," Doremi stated, "Why would you tribute it?"

"WEREN'T YOU LISTENING?!" Majo Isabelle seethed, "Obviously not!" Her aura boiled along with her anger. "As I said, I want you to feel fear before I tear you apart! So appear now…Verz Coppélial!"

And with that, the great monstrosity visible within Majo Isabelle's aura took form (2450/2050). It resembled a locomotive turned into a mecha, but the years had not been kind to it, given how much damage it had seemingly sustained. In addition, several tentacled growths not unlike those of the corrupted Witches had sprung from the metal. On top of it all was a small, similarly corrupted machine; it was clearly the thing piloting it.

So this is the Verz card Majo Isabelle has, Doremi mentally surmised, It's…not as powerful as the Verz dragons, other than Bahamut -gomen ne, Bahamut!- but I still have no idea what it can do!

"And if you think this will be the end of it, think again!" Majo Isabelle shouted, "I equip Gravity Blaster to Verz Coppélial!" Moments later, something like a clear pyramid appeared around Coppélial's hand. It seemed to focus its power, but did nothing otherwise. "Once per turn, I can have Gravity Blaster give my monster an extra 400 ATK…permanently!"

And with just those words, the pyramid glowed, enhancing the considerable strength behind the locomotive-like mech (2450-2850/2050).

Doremi grit her teeth in apprehension. "So…you spell will power your card up every turn?"

"Exactly! And these boosts remain even if Coppélial becomes somehow immune to spells or the spell leaves the field!"

The Spanish Witch's words only made Doremi more unnerved. She now knew that if she continued to stall, that thing would eventually become too powerful to take on. And even if she got rid of its equipment and even go so far as to weaken it with a Forbidden Holy Spear, the boosts would still linger. She could just find her Book of Moon or let Metaion come to her hand again and get rid of it that way, but she might not last too much longer to let any of those happen.

"And now…I have to end my turn with this," Majo Isabelle muttered, "Let's see if you can fight your way around Coppélial. That is…IF you can fight your way around it!"

Majo Isabelle's set up some advantage, Doremi thought, If I can't draw the right card soon, then there might not be much left for me to beat her with!

She continued to think long and hard before taking her next turn…

Majo Heart stood there, having finished explaining herself. She shot a sad look at Hazuki, for now she had no means of postponing her orders to kill. A single tear dripped from the Witch doctor's eye.

"Gomennasai…" said Majo Heart, "But this is all I can say."

Hazuki kept her distance. She was shocked to learn that Majo Isabelle had crushed Majo Toron in a duel and took their Verz cards. And she was even more shocked to learn that she had even extracted the corruption from them in injected it into herself.

The way Majo Heart had explained about the duel…Hazuki now had the sinking feeling that Majo Isabelle had cheated, given that she somehow always had the right cards in her deck when they shouldn't have worked otherwise.

But now, Hazuki had other things to worry about. Even now, the Witch doctor was attempting to attack, half-heartedly firing beams at the orange Ojamajo. Hazuki managed to evade them, but only just. Unfortunately, her luck was going to run out…and when it did, she was done for.

"Her Will cannot be fought," Majo Heart said, disheartened, "But I will make it as easy for you as possible to win!"

"Demo ne…I…I don't want to fight!" Hazuki cried, dodging another beam. It had grazed her arm, burning the flesh in the process. "Onegai shimasu!"

In moments, another beam struck, knocking the orange Ojamajo down to the ground. She tried to get up, but Majo Heart struck her again, stopping her motion. She looked up at the infected Witch doctor, unheard pleas in her eyes.

Majo Heart turned her head away. "Gomennasai…Hazuki-chan…"

Suddenly, something like a large, dragon-shaped plane slammed its way to the ground. The force of the impact knocked Majo Heart off balance, restoring hope to her eyes. Then, a young orange-haired boy jumped off the machine's head, prompting the corrupted Witch doctor to back off.

"It appears I can do nothing more," Majo Heart surmised, relieved, "Leave. Both of you."

The young boy -whom Hazuki recognized as Fujio- gave a confused glance. "Okay," he replied. He then took out his notebook and scribbled something in it, mumbling something about "Verz isn't as dangerous for some people as previously thought" or something along those lines. He then reached his hand out to Hazuki. "Hazuki-chan? Daijoubu?"

Hazuki reluctantly took his hand and allowed him to help her up. "Hai hai," she replied. She then turned to his dragon-shaped plane; a closer look allowed her to recognize it as Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack (2600/2200). And scanning Fujio's arm revealed his Duel Disk. "You will be wanting a duel later on, Fujio-kun?"

The orange-haired Wizard shook his head. "Not exactly, but maybe," he replied, "For now, we need to meet back up with the others." She then gestured to Hazuki's poron. "Can you try summoning a monster?"

Hazuki reluctantly nodded and inserted her poron into her bracelet to summon her Duel Disk. "Awareru…Daigusta Sphered!" she called, placing the card onto her Duel Disk. Moments later, the Vylon-empowered warrior of the Gusta appeared before her (2000/1300). "S-sugoi!"

Fujio simply nodded at the comment. Then, he teleported back to the top of Dracossack's head and ushered it to take flight. It did so with a roar of its engines. Hazuki mounted her broom and took flight while Sphered conjured a sphere of air and used it to trail by her master's side…

"Atashi no Turn! Draw!" Doremi shouted. She drew her card…and then looked at Metaion with sadness. The Temporal Machine God bid the pink Ojamajo farewell as he returned to the deck. "Gomen ne, Metaion…"

"So that's his fatal flaw," Majo Isabelle surmised, "He's little more than a one turn wall!"

Doremi shook her head. "Metaion is far more than that!" she shouted back, "He's the guardian Kotake-kun gave to me. When I need him, he becomes my next card." She then looked at her new card. "I now activate the spell…The Beginning of the End!"

No sooner did she insert the card into its slot, a massive black glyph beneath the entire duel. The light itself seemed to be sucked out as Doremi's starry dark aura encompassed the entire area. By the time it was through, the duel was quite literally a clockwork town hanging in the middle of a night sky.

"I can only activate this card when I have seven or more DARK monsters in y graveyard," Doremi explained, "By banishing five of them…I can draw three cards." The forms of five monsters -all five of the Verz cards in her graveyard- appeared before her and vanished into the glyph. Tendrils of the starry darkness extended forth and touched her deck, causing it to glow a brilliant pink. She took her three cards. "I will set one card." A lone reversed card appeared before the pink Ojamajo. "Turn end."

"Where's your guardian now?!" Majo Isabelle mocked, "Hanging out in your deck like it always does?"

Doremi looked at the single remaining card in her hand and the field. She knew she could just activate one of them now and been done, but that wouldn't quite work out with what she wanted to do. Majo Isabelle needed as much damage done in one turn…and her strategy should assure that…

Aiko, Momoko, Hazuki, Pop, Akatsuki, Leon, Fujio, and all monsters they've summoned were by themselves, waiting at an abandoned crossroads. They had just met up but were still waiting on at least four others. It was getting tiresome.

"Didn't you say we would all meet up, Akatsuki-kun?" Pop asked.

"Yeah," Akatsuki replied, "But I didn't think Tooru-kun and Onpu-chan would take this long."

Aiko sighed. "Yeah, now we've lost a lot of time and the other Witches are probably closing in on us now!" she half-shouted, "Any more brilliant ideas?"

"We could use Magical Stage to try and guide them here," Hazuki suggested.

"But wouldn't that also lead the corrupted Witches here too?" Momoko replied.

"Considering we're going around with monsters," Leon added, "We already stick out like a sore thumb. Let's go for it!"

"I'm in agreement with Hazuki-chan," Fujio replied, "After all, Hazuki-chan and I had to use magic to track you guys down too."

"Or we could wait for the sounds of combat to draw them in!" Pop retorted, pointing up at the sky.

The others followed the red Ojamajo's point and quickly saw numerous corrupted Witches flying in. Immediately, the group stopped any relaxing they were doing and got back on the defensive. Their monsters quickly braced themselves and prepared to protect their masters.

In seconds, several of the corrupted Witches had summoned monster of their own. Cards such as Mainspring Soldier (1800/1200), Fortress Whale (2350/2150), Number 19: Freezerdon (1000/2500), and Flaring Jewel Dragon – Stardust (2500/2000) were not only discernible…but just a handful of the monsters now approaching. More were sure to come into view; by which time, the scenario would become inescapable.

"Minna-san!" Aiko shouted, "We need to move. NOW!"

The group nodded and quickly took flight.

"I'll create a diversion!" Momoko announced, "Peruton Petton Palalila Pon! Smokescreen, come out!"

The spell did the trick, conjuring a massive smoke cloud in between the group and the approaching Witches. But then, several of them used magic of their own to quickly break it up, exposing them once again to the eyes of the horde. And no sooner than they did, the monsters pressed on the attack.

Dracossack fired a burst stream of missiles from its mouth at Flaring Jewel Dragon – Stardust, but the latter's ability made it immune to destruction from tat single attack and the damage inflicted through it was minimal. Fujio then had it use its effect and projected two holograms of itself (0/0); they appeared to sheath the dragon-like plane.

Daigusta Sphered intercepted an attack against Hazuki from Fortress Whale and redirected the damage.

Gaia Plate slammed its fists into Freezerdon only to be met with a Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. It crushed it easily enough, but the trap card always returns.

By now, more powerful monsters had appeared. Among them were Photon Streak Bounzer (2700/2000), Skull Daemons Dragon (3200/2500), Ancient Fairy Dragon (2100/3000), Elemental HERO Escuridao (2500/2000), Tinplate Archduke (2200/1200), Number 104: Masqurade Magician – Shining (2700/1200), and Magician of Black Chaos (2800/2600). And more were coming into view.

"Minna-san!" Aiko called, "Take out the Bounzer first!"

"On it!" Leon complied. He immediately directed Gaia Plate to begin its assault on the dangerous Bounzer, but the Skull Daemons Dragon intercepted, forcing him to call off the attack. "And what are we gonna do about that thing?!"

Moments later, something like a massive burst of stardust followed by what appeared to be a series of icy spires bursting out of the ground rocketed toward the battle at hand. The former struck the Masquerade Magician while the latter struck Ancient Fairy Dragon. The former's controller activated a Number Wall to secure her monster's safety and the Tinplate Archduke used its power to force Ancient Fairy Dragon to defend, allowing it to shrug the ice-based attack.

The source of the attacks came flying in. Onpu was flying on her broom and had even let Tooru ride it with her. Their monsters -Stardust Dragon/Buster (3000/2500) and Gantara, Brave General of the Ice Barrier (2700/2000), respectively- were flying in; the latter was using the former as a steed of sorts.

"Good thing we got here in time!" Tooru called out.

"What took you so long?" Pop griped, "And how did you find us?"

"The fight wasn't that hard to find," Onpu replied, smiling sheepishly.

Escuridao introduced his claw blades to Basilicock's neck. The Haze Beast attempted to reply in kind with a breath of fire, but the Tinplate Archduke interfered again. The fiery basilisk let out a death cry as it fell to the ground, lifeless. Then, the Elemental HERO and the Tinplate warrior turned their attention to Gaia Plate.

"We can't fight them all off!" Pop warned, "There's too many of them! We need to get out of here! Now!"

"Pop-chan's right!" Onpu added.

"Leave it to us!" Akatsuki replied. He and the rest of the FLAT4 nodded to one another and quickly set about using their magic. All four of them wasted no more time and snapped their fingers, the two strands of hair that stood up vibrating in response. Moments later, the entire scenery changed to a dull monochrome as all action stopped; only themselves, the Ojamajos, and all of their monsters remained unaffected. "We're stopping time long enough to retreat!"

The girls forwent replying and simply mounted their brooms, preparing to fly off; Pop placed her monster's card into the graveyard, causing Basilicock's fallen form to turn into energy and follow it in. The FLAT 4 quickly eschewed and dismissed any skateboards they had conjured in favor of joining the girls on their brooms. Meanwhile, the non-flying monsters used the flyers as steeds/companions and took off, intending to protect their masters.

It was utterly terrifying…to see just how many Witches there were. And just as frightening were how many of them were summoning monsters; for every three to five Witches there were, there was at least one monster. These included but were not limited to Number 32: Marine Biting Shark – Shark Drake (2800/2100), Cyber Twin Dragon (2800/2100), Guardian of Order (2500/1200), Sword Breaker (2700/1000), and too many others to name. All were more or less as dangerous as the others.

"Oh my God…!" Momoko remarked," I…I didn't think so many Witches had taken an interest in this card game!"

"And about half of them are using game breakers…" Pop deadpanned.

"If they're all using powerful monsters," Fujio began, "Might I suggest we set up a defense for when they renew their attack?"

"Hai!" the Ojamajos replied.

"I activate Xyz Reborn!" Pop declared. She placed the card into her slot and triggered it, bringing back Basilicock.

"I will use Dracossack's ability!" Fujio said. Dracossack immediately began projecting to hologram versions of itself (0/0). "Then, I will activate Zerozerock to protect them." A hexagonal wall appeared around the holograms. "And I will have these in hand just in case…"

"Be careful," Onpu warned, "I…I think the Xyz monsters we summon can only use their effects a handful of times. At least up to the number of monsters usually needed to summon them."

The others took the purple Ojamajo's warning to heart and decided to play it safer when using Xyz monsters.

By then, they had left the horde in the dust and were now flying at a breakneck pace. As they set a few trap cards and left a few monsters and spells in their hands, they quickly noticed that they may still be at a disadvantage. Even though time was still frozen, they all feared that the horde of corrupted Witches would try the same thing and again put the odds in their favor.

"Um…where are we heading next?" Hazuki asked.

"We gotta find Hana-chan," Aiko replied, "She's the only one of us who didn't meet up with us. I'm really worried about her."

"So are the rest of us," Onpu replied. The FLAT4 and other Ojamajos nodded in response.

"Oyajide went to find and help her," Akatsuki explained, "I hope he made it in time."

"And before you start, Onpu-chan," Tooru interrupted, "He wanted to help you, but I had already made my decision."

"…Ok…" Onpu reluctantly replied.

"But then…where's Hana-chan?" Hazuki asked.

Pop looked in a particular direction. "I bet I know," she replied, "Hana-chan said something about having been the one who infected the Majo Kai Kindergarten and expressing remorse for doing so."

"Then that's where we're headin'," Aiko surmised.

The group prepared to accelerate their pace when they noticed the Castle in the distance. Around the topmost spire, a zone of darkness -one side starry and the other ferocious- could be discerned. And just as they saw it, the FLAT4's spell wore off, returning everything to their normal colors and letting time flow freely again.

"Doremi-chan…?" Hazuki began.

"She's either in trouble or kicking Majo Isabelle's a**," Leon surmised.

"If that's the case, then wouldn't Doremi-chan have stopped them by now?" Hazuki asked.

"I'm gonna go with the former," Aiko replied, "But first we gotta find Hana-chan and Oyaji-san!"

The group nodded in agreement and accelerated their flight; destination: The Majo Kai Kindergarten. Several miles behind them, the horde was already taking notice of the group's leave and quickly speeding toward them…

"This is your end!" Majo Isabelle shouted, maniacally. She took her next card and looked at it with insane glee. "You recall the effect of my Gravity Blaster, do you not?" At once, the clear pyramid focusing the corrupted mech's power glowed again (2850-3250/2050). "And now…Coppélial!" Suddenly, Majo Isabelle jumped from her position and landed on top of her monster, replacing the corrupted Genex Controller that once controlled it. "Let's attack that worthless Bruja directly…together!"

With a roar of steam, the massive locomotive-like mecha crackled to life and began charging forward. Doremi simply stared apprehensively at it but chose not to do anything to stop it. She could, after all, withstand its direct attack as well as the attack from Gearframe.

"During the Damage Step," Majo Isabelle continued, "I activate Limiter Removal!"

At once, the powerful and corrupted machine began overclocking its parts, running for more feverishly than before (3250-6500/2050). At the same time, Gearframe did the same thing and began spurting sparks as it the relentless overclocking damaged its systems (1800-3600/0). Coppélial continued barreling forward, running into Doremi and blowing her backward.

Even though her aura was shielding her somewhat, the damage was still severe enough to cause tremendous knockback. Doremi found herself being thrown to the ground and her Life Points down to 900.

Doremi recovered, but now wished she hadn't allowed that attack through.

"I…regret not using Coppélial to finish you off," said Majo Isabelle in faux remorse, "Buuut…at least I still have to satisfaction of bringing you low! Gearframe! Finish her off!"

At once, the near-malfunctioning Machina rapidly charged forward. Too rapidly, in fact; the thought of it surviving was out of the question. However, its controller didn't see the pink Ojamajo discarding a card. And no sooner than she did so, a rocket-powered scarecrow came rushing in to intercept the attack (0/0). It didn't stand a chance, but it took the whole attack and created an obscuring wall of dust.

"QUE?!" Majo Isabelle shouted, wrathfully, "You had that thing waiting in the wings?!"

"Yes," Doremi replied, "I was able to draw a Quick-Attack Scarecrow. And with it, I was prepared against any direct attack you would've tried."

Majo Isabelle frowned. "Very well then," she said, sighing. She then turned to her monsters. "As a Union Monster, I can equip Machina Gearframe to any Machine-type monster I control!" Within moments, the malfunctioning machine attached itself to Coppélial, plugging itself into various ports and growths. "And during the End Phase, any monster affected by Limiter Removal is destroyed. However, Union Monsters protect those they're equipped to from destruction by battle or by card effect at the cost of their lives! Therefore…!"

Gearframe transferred what was left of its undamaged working parts to the corrupted machine it was attached to. Once it did so, it collapsed into a pile of spare parts.

"Don't forget, Majo Isabelle" Doremi warned, "Your spell's effect lasts only until the End Phase, even if your monster survives…"

At once, the violent rumbling of the mecha's engines ceased (6500-3250/2050).

Majo Isabelle snickered menacingly. "That doesn't matter," she replied, "I still have the win next turn…"

"There she is!" Pop called, pointing down.

They had made it just in time. Hana and Oyajide were barely holding up to the strain of having to fight against three opponents at once. The former had Sared Pleiades and Sacred Ptolemys Messier 7 one her field while the latter had Shadow of the Six Warmen – Shien and Armor Ninja – Blade Heart. Their adversaries -Majo Pi, Majo Pon, and Majo Miller- had a Fallen Angel Nurse – Reficul (1400/600) for each of the two nurses and Injection Angel Lily for the Senior Witch. And the lattermost was preparing to take down Messier 7.

"Not so fast!" Aiko shouted, "Block it, Laggia!"

"Ai-chan! Watch out!" Momoko called.

It was too late. Laggia had already flown in to intercept the attack. But by then, Lily had already taken some more of Majo Miller's Life Points to power itself up. Hana had only a brief moment of surprise before the Evolkaiser took the blow. And within moments, the now-impaled dinosaur-turned-dragon fell to the ground lifeless. Aiko felt a distinct pain in her chest upon its demise.

"Kuso!" Aiko muttered.

"I use Dracossack's other ability!" Fujio declared. Immediately, one of the holograms near the dragon-like plane turned into a beam and fired itself at Lily. It struck true, killing the monster instantly. "Now to get rid of those nurses!"

While the FLAT4 -now the FLOAT5 since Oyajide was in the same area- went to confront the three corrupted Witches, the Ojamajos landed by Hana's side. She was relieved to see them alive and well.

"Mamas!" Hana called out. She quickly hugged the girls as they got close. "Hana-chan though me and Oyajide-san were done for…"

"We're here now, so don't worry," Aiko replied. She then freed herself from Hana's grip and activated a card "I will use Resurrection of the Dead to bring back Evolkaiser Laggia!" Within moments, the sacred ankh appeared over the Evolkaiser's fallen form. Life was breathed back into him, allowing him to get back up and fight anew. It then turned to Aiko and smiled in thanks. "You're welcome, Laggia-san."

"Minna-san!" Pop called out, "Look out!"

In seconds, several monsters showed up, several of which had already been noted and seen. The girls knew who these monsters belonged to and quickly found themselves facing the horde of corrupted Witches. Spearheading them was one who seemed to be a Witch Apprentice…and she wielded a Chaos Number 39: Aspiring Emperor – Hope Ray (2500/2000).

"Take cover!" Aiko called.

Hazuki had Sphered rush in to take as many of the blows as possible, taking advantage of her immunity to destruction by battle. Several of them hit her and were reflected, but a few got past her and struck Dracossack and Gaia Plate; the former lived since Fujio had tokens on his field but the latter did not since it was Skull Daemons Dragon that launched the attack on it.

"Kuso…" Leon muttered.

"It appears you're surrounded," Majo Miller remarked, "Let's just hope your deaths are merciful?" She placed a card on her Duel Disk. "Awareru…Wingweaver!" In moments, a serene six-winged angel appeared (2750/2400) before the senior Witch. "Now destroy Blade Heart!"

Wingweaver did as she was told and launched an attack against the Armor Ninja. He braced himself against the attack and quickly found support from Stardust Dragon/Buster. The powerful dragon intercepted, prompting the powerful angel to break off her attack.

Meanwhile, Fujio had commanded Dracossack to intercept an attack from Skull Daemons Dragon that had been directed at Onpu's Stardust Dragon/Buster. It took the blow, but Fujio felt weaker due to the damage that got through.

Leon had set a monster to defend with, but it was quickly run over by Number 104: Masquerade Magician – Shining. The monster in question? Core Chimail Guardian (1900/1200). He then shot an apprehensive look at the Number just as Sacred Ptolemys Messier 7 intercepted a direct attack. Even though both had the same ATK, the controller of the Number Wall was nearby, granting Masquerade Magician – Shining invulnerability.

"Gomennasai…Messier 7…" Hana said, sadly. Then, she was struck hard by both Tinplate Archduke and Masquerade Magician – Shining and knocked unconscious.

"Hana-chan!" The other Ojamajos shouted.

"Damn you!" Tooru shouted, angrily. He activated Daemon's Axe and equipped it to Gantara. He then had his monster attack Skull Daemons Dragon, finally slaying it. "At least that guy's outta the way now!"

"Momo-chan!" Aiko called.

Momoko was having a truly monstrous time against Hope Ray. Even though she had summoned Queen Madolche Tiaramisu, things still weren't going in her favor. It was clear she was going to lose the rest of her Life Points at this rate.

Hazuki rushed Sphered to intercept, but the controller of Hope Ray was on her tail. She played five monsters: Zexal Weapons Lightning Blade (1200/2000), Tornado Bringer (1300/1800), Eagle Claw (2000/1200), Lio Arms (3000/1200), and Unicorn Spear (1900/0). All five of them equipped themselves to Hope Ray, dramatically boosting his power (2500-3700-5000-7000-10000-11900/2000); when they finished, Hope Ray wielded Lightning Blade in his right hand, Tornado Bringer in his left, wore Lio Arms as the armor it was, had the Eagle claw mounted on his back, and wielded Unicorn Spear using both of his extra arms. He then swung at Sphered with such intensity that he may as well be disintegrating her. And with Unicorn Spear negating her effects…she was done for.

Akatsuki sprang into action. "I activate Megamorph! And I equip it to Number 8!" he shouted. At once, the Heraldic King's power rose (2400-4800/1800)…especially since Hope Ray's controller was at low Life herself. "Now intercept that attack!"

Number 8 nodded and quickly went in between Hope Ray and Sphered. The powerful Number struck hard and all but sliced the beast into countless infinitely small pieces. The damage Akatsuki sustained from the attack has horrible…and he was completely knocked unconscious and only lived due to him still having a few Life Points left.

Hazuki gasped in shock, but before she could switch Sphered to Defense Position, Utoppia Ray discarded Lio Arms and struck again (11900-8900/2000). This time, there was nothing to intercept the attack, leading the Sphered's destruction. Hazuki was blown to the ground, unconscious from the absurdly powerful attack.

Basilicock shot a glare at Wingweaver, turning her to flaming stone and shattering her. But before it can make any other attacks, it was swiftly killed by Swordbreaker. And no sooner was she without a monster, Guardian of Order descended and delivered a brutal strike to the now-helpless red Ojamajo.

Fujio tried to have Dracossack intercept, but it was struck by a magenta beam that took its last Overlay and turned it into an armored crystal that was dragged to the side of a freshly summoned-by-Barian's Force Chaos Number 104: Masquerade Magician – Umbral (3000/1500). The strike was followed by a Cyclone destroying the Zerozerock and then by Cyber Twin Dragon destroying both Tokens. Shark Drake swooped in to take out Dracossack while Masquerade Magician – Umbral got off a direct attack.

Fujio was knocked out by their combined might.

"We flatten one powerful monster after another," Aiko muttered, "but they just keep bringing in stronger ones faster than we can take'em down!"

At once, those who were still standing switched every monster they had to Defense Position. But it wasn't enough to stop the onslaught; as of now, they were going to lose their monsters one by one. And it would continue until they had nothing left to defend with.

They were officially out of luck…

Doremi struggled to her feet. Even though she had managed to survive that last attack, it was still devastating enough to leave her in bad shape. Still, she had to be strong. After all, she had her combo all primed and ready.

Things were going to get better for her than ever before.

"You don't have a next turn…Majo Isabelle," Doremi finally retorted, "Atashi no Turn! Draw!" And with that, she took her next card. Sure, she could've used DESTINY DRAW, since her Life Points were low enough…but didn't feel like relying on it every time things started going south for her. "Reverse card, open! Return from the Different Dimension hatsudou!"

"Hmm?" Majo Isabelle grunted, raising en eyebrow. Suddenly, she realized what was happening. "You can't do this! My victory is the only one that's supposed to happen!"

Doremi shook her head. "By cutting my Life Points in half, I can bring back all of my monsters who have been banished!" At once, part of her remaining Life Points seemed to evaporate off her, reducing them to 450. Then, the amount lost tore open a vortex near the ceiling, calling five very familiar monsters. They wasted no time in landing by Doremi's side. "Return to me…Verz Castor! Verz Thunderbird! Verz Heliolope! Verz Mandragora! Verz Kerykeion!"

Majo Isabelle quickly began laughing. "Ahahahahaaahaha! So…You've g-got an army?! BIG DEAL! None of tHem arE A MaTCh for Verz Coppélial!" she mocked, her voice shaking, "You-You cAn't evEn scRatCH iT!"

Doremi shook her head again. "That's where you're wrong…again." Then, Kerykeion and Thunderbird transformed into orbs of starry dark energy and spiraled upward. "So with these Lv4 Verz monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" Both entered a vortex, one that was gently expelling starry darkness not unlike Doremi's aura. Once both were inside, it burst with a space that looked like a night sky. Emerging from it all was a massive block of ice with a vague form visible from within; the entire thing itself glowed with a dark radiance that exemplified the night itself. "Living Spear of the Ice Barrier! Discard your despair and bring true hope to your being! Xyz Summon!" Doremi chanted. As she did so, a pair of yellow eyes glowed from within. The ice cracked. And finally, the massive beast within recoiled and shattered its icy prison, roaring for its newfound freedom (2350/1350). "Break free from the Ice Barrier, Verz Bahamut!"

"You've no Verz monsters in your hand!" Majo Isabelle mocked.

Doremi chose to ignore the insane Spanish Witch's ranting.

Then, Castor and Mandragora transformed into two more orbs of similarly starry dark energy and spiraled upward. "With these two Lv4 Verz monsters, I once again build the Overlay Network!" Dormei shouted. Both monsters flew into another vortex, one that was almost identical to the one Bahamut emerged from. This time, a slightly bigger block of ice emerged; it too was encircled by brightly darkness. "Odin's Lance from the Ice Barrier! Let go of your hate and immerse yourself in joys! Xyz summon!" Doremi chanted. Immediately, a pair of glowing red eyes appeared from deep within as the ice began cracking. Moments later, the powerful dragon inside flexed and outstretched its wings and limbs, shattering its frigid prison. It let out a roar as it surveyed those who dared oppose it (2550/1650). "Break free from the Ice Barrier, Verz Ophion!"

Majo Isabelle would have taken a step back had it not been for to the fact that she was still on top of her monster. "Y-Y-Y-You're Not goInG to wiN this! nOt with THoSe tWO monsters!"

"Think again!" Doremi retorted, "I summon Summon Priest!" Moments after placing her card on the field, the Priest appeared (800/1600). "And by discarding any spell card, I can have Priest special summon any Lv4 monster from my deck!" She took the only remaining card from her hand and slid it into her graveyard. At the same time, the Priest gathered his magic together and drew upon the energies of the sacrificed spell. Finally, he opened a portal, summoning an all too familiar juvenile Magician (1500/1000). "Awareru…Gagaga Magician!"

"SO WHaT IF You HAVe ThREE Lv4 MONsTErS ON YOUR FIELd!" Majo Isabelle yelled, maniacally, "YOU CAN DO NOthING AGAiNST ME!"

"I would say it again, but it would just go in one ear and out the other…again," Doremi deadpanned. I seconds, all three of her Lv4 monsters turned into orbs of energy and spiraled upward. "With these three Lv4 monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" All three of them entered a vortex identical to the ones from whence Bahamut and Ophion emerged, albeit bigger. Once they had vanished, the burst of starry darkness erupted forth…followed a block of ice that dwarfed the two that came before it. "Trident of Shiva from the Ice Barrier, I call upon thee! Release your rage and embrace peace! Be reborn from the ice under the powers of the Verz and condemn those who would destroy life itself! Xyz summon!" Doremi chanted. And as she did so, three pairs of golden eyes shined from within followed by faults appearing in the frozen prison. And with one great heave, the greatest of the Ice Barrier dragons turned the ice of its seal into a flash snowstorm, roaring with all three of its heads in its freedom (2750/1950). "Break free from the Ice Barrier…Verz Ouroboros!"

"You WiLL NeVER-!" Majo Isabelle began.

"It's too late to stop me from taking your victory," Doremi replied, "Reverse cards, open! Xyz Reborn hatsudou…times two!" Immediately, both of her other set cards revealed themselves; the dual icons appeared overhead and wasted no time in going to work, tearing open a portal to the netherworld and entering the abyss. "Be reborn…Vylon Disigma and Number 33: OOPArts Super Weapon – Machu Mach!"

Both monsters barreled out of the netherworld, neither of them looking -or seeming, in Machu Mach's case- merciful toward Majo Isabelle. Both icons turned into magenta orbs of light and began orbiting the two monsters.

"I now activate Machu Mach's ability!" Doremi declared, "By detaching one Overlay, I can target one monster you control whose ATK is different from its original ATK and burn you for damage equal to the difference!" The lone light vanished into the uppermost spire of the floating city. No sooner did it do so, several cannons emerged from the holes along the outside of its ring. "Go! Infinity Cannon!"

And just like that, the cannons unleashed their fire, pelting Majo Isabelle with one beam after another. She survived, but her Life Points fell to 12700. At the same time, Machu Mach absorbed the residual energy from the blasts, empowering itself off of it (2400-3200/1500).

"YouR AcE MonSteR MAY HaVE GaINeD SOme ExTRA FIrEPoweR…" Majo Isabelle muttered, "BUT IT REmAiNS UnABLe to DeFEat Coppélial!"

"I don't have to defeat it," Doremi replied, "I now realize that in order to stop the Verz…I must take each of the auras and purify them. Including the seven you carry!" She then looked at Vylon Disigma. "Are you ready?" Disigma screeched in anticipation. "Majo Isabelle? You remember Disigma's ability, right?"

Majo Isabelle said nothing, content with simply letting her eye twitch in utter dismay.

"By detaching one Overlay, Disigma can absorb any Attack Position Effect Monster you control!" Disigma consumed the Xyz Reborn that orbited it and used its energy to power its tractor beams. "Absorb Verz Coppélial and the auras of the remaining seven Verz!"

And with that, the powerful Vylon unleashed its tractor beams upon the hapless corrupted mecha. Majo Isabelle jumped down from it just as it was caught by the beams but could do nothing as her monster was dragged away. It staunchly held its ground, even seeming to throw off Vylon Disigm'a power.

Doremi extended her hand outward, causing her aura to stretch forth and touch the struggling mecha. "It's okay now," she said, soothingly, "Majo Isabelle was using you all to take over all realms for herself. She cannot be truly trusted." She felt the seven auras -the seven Verz cards whose power Majo Isabelle took- talk back. Angrily. "I understand what I and Machu Mach did to you. We ripped you away from them and prolonged this mess…made it worse…but listen to the others with me." The twelve auras within Doremi's aura interacted with the seven within Majo Isabelle's. Both sides learned much…and discovered just how peaceful Doremi truly was. "Arigatou…!"

And with that, Coppélial ceased its struggles and allowed itself to be taken in by Disigma. And with it, the auras consisting of Castor, Salamandra, Kerykeion, Hraes, Verz-o'-Wisp, and Kaitos. And upon absorption, Majo Isabelle's aura boiled violently as she writhed in pain; within moments, her aura had shrunk down to a mere cloud of malevolence before vanishing altogether. At the same time, Doremi's starry dark aura expanded, covering every inch of the throne room.

When the auras had fully merged with her own, Doremi suddenly could see everything going on outside the Castle. She saw Jou-sama, Majorin, Majo Toron, and Majo Rika fighting to defend the portal to Nngen Kai. She saw Majo Tourbillon and a Shadow who resembled her excellently holding corrupted Witches off just outside the Castle. And finally, she was alarmed to see a veritable army of corrupted Witches bearing down on her friends and the FLOAT5 and preparing to finish them off.

STOP! She mentally yelled, Please! Stop!

Suddenly, and to the pink Ojamajo's surprise, the corrupted Witches ceased fighting. In fact, their aberrant growths decayed and vanished from existence. That's when it dawned on her: "Her Will" now referred to herself. She had control over the Verz now.

She was the mistress of them all.

"I…I won't go down so easily!" Majo Isabelle yelled, her voice dripping with depravity, "I still have plenty of Life Points left!"

Doremi shook her head as her five monsters eyed her with pity. "Then…I will have to take you down the hard way. Gomennasai," she said, "Verz Bahamut! Attack Majo Isabelle directly! Frozen Verz Spear of Hope!"

At once, the powerful dragon let loose its breath weapon: A stream of cold darkness. It struck hard, knocking Majo Isabelle back and plunging her to 10350 Life Points.

"You're up Ophion! Frozen Verz Lance of Joy!"

Ophion was all too willing to let Majo Isabelle have it. To that end, it unleashed its own breath weapon: A jet of cold darkness. And like /Bahamut's attack before it, it too blew he Spanish Witch back, knocking her down to 7800 Life Points.

"Get her, Ouroboros! Frozen Verz Trident of Peace!"

Ouroboros drew back all three of its heads before unleashing a three-fold blast of cold darkness. Majo Isabelle hadn't gotten back up by the time it landed. She was sent right into the stairs, her Life Points plummeting to 5050.

"Vylon Disigma! Show no mercy!"

Disigma immediately rushed forward, plowing right into Majo Isabelle in much the same way as when Coppélial ran into Doremi. She struggled to get her footing back after the attack. Meanwhile, her Life Points fell to 2550.

"Damn…you, you little Bruja!" Majo Isabelle yelled, gasping, "This...is MY victory! I win by default! I MAKE THE RULES!"

"Majo Isabelle," Doremi began, "You've already lost. Just give up and spare yourself from more pain!"

"NEVER!"

Doremi shook her head. "Why do these villains always refuse like this?" she asked. She sighed. "Machu Mach?" The floating city made a grinding noise. "Hai. Finish her off! Fire of Vril!"

And with that, the powerful floating city unleashed its power. Energy gathered at the uppermost spire before coalescing into a beam. But instead of shooting toward Majo Isabelle, it fired upward…and summoned a giant meteor to plummet down on the Spanish Witch's head.

"NO! NO! NOOO!" Majo Isabelle yelled panicking, "YOU CAN'T DO THIS! THIS IS MY WORLD! MY RULES! I DESERVE THIS VICTORY, NOT YOU! I WILL-!"

Before she could finish, the meteor struck, blowing the screaming and insane Witch to the ground and dropping her to 0 Life Points. Majo Isabelle stopped just short of the throne, having been knocked out by the impact.

Doremi wins!

It was over now. The Verz was purified and, for the time being, held within her…

The Ojamajos and FLOAT5 stared in surprise. Not only had the horde stopped attacking, but they seemed to have reverted to normal. Only the presence of their dark auras prevented any real security.

IN any case, everyone had pretty much returned to their senses and were confused as to what was going on. Some of them quickly realized what had happened and either quickly fled in shame or approached the group to give their apologies. Others were embarrassed to find out that other Witches knew they enjoyed playing the card game and, again, either fled in shame or approached the group with the intent on explaining themselves.

From a distance, the top spire of the Castle had lost the starry aura enshrouding it.

"Doremi-chan…she did it!" Hazuki muttered, relieved.

Jou-sama, Majorin, Majo Toron, and Majo Rika settled down. The formerly-corrupted Witches had withdrawn after being beside themselves with guilt about the fiasco Majo Isabelle forced them to cause. And even though the Queen insisted on it not being their fault, they still felt like they were responsible.

Only Majorin and Majo Toron had summoned monsters to ward off the onslaught. The former had Chaos Soldier -Envoy of the Beginning- while the latter had Tech Genus Halberd Cannon.

"Minna-san," Jou-sama began, "Let's go to the Castle. I feel a celebration is in order."

"Hai, Jou-sama!" Majorin, Majo Rika, and Majo Toron replied.

The Witches aside from Jou-sama conjured their brooms and mounted them with Majorin allowing the Queen to join her. Then they flew off, followed by the two monsters…

Majo Tourbillon and Shadow Tourbillon watched as the Witches left the area. The former was relieved the fight was over while the latter was anything but. She even spied half of the departing Witches sporting several bruises from her blows.

"Well, that was the best fight I've had in a while," Shadow Tourbillon remarked, cracking her knuckles, "Though, it was a bit easy."

"You would've killed them," Majo Tourbillon retorted, "And yet…I'm glad you didn't."

"Hmph! Kada only gave me orders not to do so." The former ruler of the Shadows walked away. "I plan on sparring with Light Queen's Super Witch Form some time."

"Nani?! But even I can't really fight her like that! What makes you think you can succeed where I would fail?!"

Shadow Tourbillon smirked. "I have centuries of experience under my belt, Light Tourbillon. Something I believe you lack, she-who-slept-for-a-thousand-years?"

Majo Tourbillon frowned. "It's your funeral."

"Then I would finally find my worthy adversary."

And with those words, the powerful Shadow vanished into the shadows. Majo Tourbillon could only worry about her; she had seen how she fought and swore she was scared of her given how she tosses aside several corrupted Witches when she came to help. And throughout the battle, Shadow Tourbillon had proven fast, powerful, and capable of knocking out the corrupted Witches in droves.

A part of her didn't want to believe she had a chance against Jou-sama's Super Witch Form…but she did so nonetheless…

Megan got to her feet. She remembered everything about what had happened, from wanting to kill Doremi to fighting against -and being utterly curbstomped by- Kada and all the way to him confiscating her locket. She wanted it back, more than anything…but she now had a healthy fear of the dark orange Puer Magi, given how easily he bested her.

She picked up her fallen poron and flew off on her broom. She had a lot to think about…but no ability to do so.

Doremi exited the Castle. Behind her was Vylon Disigma, whom was carrying Majo Isabelle's unconscious form, as well as Machu Mach and the Verz dragons. Before her was a good view of Majo Kai, already starting to heal from the vicious corruption the Spanish Witch had inflicted upon it.

In the sky, she could spy the Ojamajos, the FLOAT5, Majorin, Majo Toron, Majo Rika, Jou-sama, Majo Tourbillon, and Megan. All of them landed before her.

"Doremi-chan…?" Aiko asked in disbelief.

"Did…Did you really…?" Momoko continued.

Doremi nodded. "Hai," she replied, "Majo Isabelle's fifteen minutes of lording is over."

"But what about the Verz?" Jou-sama inquired, "Did you stop it?"

"Hai, Jou-sama," Doremi replied, "But…" The pink Ojamajo outstretched her arms and extended her starry dark aura. Within it, all of the different Verz monsters aside from the Verz dragons and Vylon Disigma could be seen. "I am now the focus of the Verz itself."

The entire group took a step back. The fear in their eyes was as blatant as a sore thumb; they were deathly afraid of Doremi now that she had the power of the Verz and for her since they knew all too well that power corrupts.

"So…wh-what are y-you going to d-do, Doremi-chan?" Hazuki stuttered, her voice trembling.

"Mama?" Hana began, "Please don't take over Majo Kai!"

Doremi closed her eyes. "This much power…it's too much for any single person to hold," she said. She then took out her deck. "Jou-sama? May I see the cards I left with you?" Jou-sama nodded and took out the cards. Immediately, the cards in both decks separated, half of them glowing pink while the other half glowed silver. When all the corresponding cards were with one another, they floated back into Doremi's hands. "The Verz deck…they're at peace now."

"So the crisis is averted once and for all?" Majorin asked.

"Doubtful," Majo Toron replied, "This happened once so far. Who's to say it won't happen again?"

"And if the Resonance can bring the Verz to life," Fujio began, "Then it could easily bring other things to life as well."

"And considering the size of this game…" Pop added.

"We'll talk about it later," Doremi replied, "Right now, we need to at least make sure the Verz can't hurt anyone again."

"Then why not destroy the deck?" Megan suggested, "I mean-"

"No, Meg-chan," Jou-sama said, shaking her head.

"Demo ne…Jou-sama! The Verz are evil and-!"

"I made the same suggestion right after being freed from its influence. It may be the simplest solution, but it isn't the right one." Jou-sama took the Verz deck from Doremi's hand. "The Verz were never truly evil, despite apearances. I brought this upon the world. Only I can stop it."

"Doremi-chan also has the ability to draw them in too, so long as she has Machu Mach and Disigma out," Hazuki stated.

"And she already has both of them here and then some!" Tooru remarked, pointing at the Number Vylon, and Verz dragons.

"To take the entirety of the Verz and put it back in this deck…We will need Magical Stage!" Majorin stated, "The more, the better!"

"But do we have enough magic?" Momoko asked.

Megan looked at her rhythm tap. It was still empty from after her bout with Kada and her locket was still in his possession. She had no choice but to reluctantly back out this time.

"Gomen ne, Meg-chan," Doremi comforted, "But we'll succeed. We have the FLOAT5 here to help, so we might just be able to pull through." She then turned toward each of the other Ojamajos as well as Jou-sama and Majorin; she handed them several cards. "If we add these to the mix, we might be able to guarantee it!"

The group accepted the cards. They then arranged themselves into a circle. Machu Mach and Disigma ascended to just above the center.

"Pirika Pirilala Nobiyakani!" Doremi chanted, holding up Number 33: OOPArts Super Weapon – Machu Mach's, Vylon Disigma's, Verz Mandragora's, and Verz Coppélial's cards.

"Paipai Ponpoi Shinyakani!" Hazuki chanted, holding up Verz Hraes and Verz Thunderbird.

"Pameruku Laluku Takarakani!" Aiko chanted, holding up Verz Kaitos and Verz Golem.

"Pururun Purun Suzuyakani!" Onpu chanted, holding up Verz-o'-Wisp and Verz Zahak.

"Peruton Petton Sawayakani!" Momoko chanted, holding up Verz Kerykeion and Verz Heliolope.

"Pippito Purito Hogarakani!" Pop chanted, holding up Verz Salamandra and Verz O'lanta.

"Pororin Pyuarin HanaHana Pii!" Hana chanted, holding up Verz Castor and Verz Azathoth.

Jou-sama, Majorin, Majo Tourbillon, and the FLOAT5 lent their magic to the mix. Jou-sama held up Verz Bahamut, Verz Ophion, Verz Ouroboros, and Verz Thanatos while Majorin held up Verz Nightmare

"Magical Stage!" All of them shouted, "Bring the Verz back to the deck!"

The twenty Verz cards resonated with one another and with Machu Mach, channeling their dark powers through the Magical Stage. Finally, the resulting beacon of magic passed through the Number and Vylon. The two monsters then added their strength to the mix, furthering the beacon and extending it all across Majo Kai.

Everywhere one could look, dark corruption that came from the Verz seeped out of the ground, trees, plants, creatures, and Witches and began flowing inward. Streaks could be seen all across the sky, snaking around and flowing toward the source of the magic. And as it did so, it changed from being a ferocious cloud to a serene night sky-like aura.

Within the hour, the entirety of the Verz was taken and was now inside the deck. Machu Mach and Disigma vanished, having returned to their respective cards. The Verz cards ceased glowing and reverted to energy, flowing back into the Verz deck. The only exception was Vylon Disigma.

"It is done," Jou-sama said, "Now…I have to make amends to the Verz." She turned to Doremi. "Doremi-chan…Arigatou. If it hadn't been for you and your perseverance…I fear we may all have suffered a horrible fate."

Doremi gave a respectful nod. She then took Disigma's card and presented it to Jou-sama. "Disigma is one of the Verz card, technically speaking," she said, "Do you think…?"

"No, Doremi-chan. Disigma seems to have chosen you as its master." The Queen smiled. "You can even summon him in one turn with little effort on your part!"

The pink Ojamajo took her card back. "Hai hai, Jou-sama!"

Then and there, five figures appeared over the horizon. All of them quickly approached the group. And it didn't take long to recognize them.

"Kada?! Skaj?!" Jou-sama gasped.

"Shadow Ruka! Shadow Isabelle!" Hana chirped, happily.

"Shadow Tourbillon," Majo Tourbillon stated.

"Eh…I'd say 'long time no see', but it really hasn't been that long," Shadow Isabelle replied, "How've you been, Light Hana?"

"Pretty good!" Hana replied, "And…Shadow Ruka?"

"You know these two?" Megan asked.

"We met them while we stormed Kage Kai Castle," Aiko explained, "They're really so much unlike their Light Halves!"

"And I can see that you've done a pretty good job taking down my Light Half," Shadow Isabelle remarked, "Good job at that."

"We didn't come here for idle chit-chat," Kada said, "We came to talk business."

"Wouldn't that be 'idle chit-chat'?" Skaj deadpanned, "Seriously, Kada."

Kada shook his head. "Chit-chat is meaningless banter. Talking business isn't."

Shadow Tourbillon chuckled. "Yeah, given how the former is all we've done since we got here…" she remarked, "I'd say they're one in the same in this case!"

Kada held back a retort, knowing exactly who he was up against. Megan looked at him with a hint of smugness. It did not go unnoticed, however, as he pulled out her locket; the sight of the artifact caused the girl to drop her smug expression as she recalled her "fight" against him earlier.

"I suppose you needed the reminder," Kada surmised. He then turned to the rest. "Skaj and I have formed an alliance with these three Shadow Witches. Shadow Tourbillon is the pure power and skill, Shadow Isabelle is the smarts, and Shadow Ruka is the morale," he explained, "We'll keep in touch."

Then and there, the group withdrew, vanishing into the Shadows. Kada, being the only one incapable of doing so, was simply assisted by Skaj.

The group brushed off the awkward meeting for the time being, though the threat Kada now posed could not be ignored. Majo Tourbillon gave her firsthand experience of her Shadow's capabilities. At the same time, Hana recounted her experiences with Shadow Isabelle and Shadow Ruka. Once both sides finished, everyone was severely distraught that they now had several powerful foes to deal with now.

"And I thought Black Queen was dangerous…" Majorin remarked.

"I just hope Kada keeps his word and remains on our side more often than not," Onpu reasoned.

Jou-sama closed her eyes in thought. "I'm surprised Shadow Tourbillon wants to challenge me in my Super Witch Form," she remarked, "However…considering what happened recently and what you've said on her, Majo Tourbillon, I wouldn't be surprised if she won."

"EH?!" Megan gasped, "Don't say that! You're the strongest Witch there is!"

"Actually, Majo Tourbillon's powers exceed my own. I'm only able to best her when I use the Seven Seals." Jou-sama turned to where Kada and his team once stood. "Eventually, I may have to fight Shadow Tourbillon…for whatever reason, be it her challenging me or threatening everyone I know and love."

The group sighed.

It was getting late, and they needed to start making plans. Kada and his team weren't in any true position of power right yet, but their location was unknown and thus would thus ensure that eventuality. Also, everyone needed time to some rest now that the crisis was finally over with.

It was going to be hectic to try and finish cleaning up the mess Majo Isabelle left behind…

Featured Duel: Doremi vs Verz Majo Isabelle

At the start of the duel, Verz Majo Isabelle triggers a trap and forces it to be a handicap duel. Doremi wards it off, but Majo Isabelle ends up starting with doubled Life Points.

Doremi LP (8000) – Verz Majo Isabelle LP (16000)

Doremi's turn:

Doremi has Evilswarm Castor, Evilswarm Mandrago, Evilswarm Heliotrope, Evilswarm Thunderbird, and Evilswarm Kerykeion as her opening hand. She draws Card Destruction.

Doremi activates Card Destruction, forcing herself and Verz Majo Isabelle to discard their hands. Verz Majo Isabelle chains with Maxx "C". Doremi draws Solar Wind Jammer, Xyz Reborn, Magic Cylinder, Summoner Monk, and Star Drawing.

Doremi special summons Jammer; Verz Majo Isabelle draws a card. Doremi then normal summons Star Drawing. She overlays both to Xyz summon Number 33: Chronomaly Machu Mech; she draws Maxx "C" via Drawing's effect while Verz Majo Isabelle draws another card.

Doremi sets Xyz Reborn and Magic Cylinder then ends.

Verz Majo Isabelle's turn:

Verz Majo Isabelle's original opening was Machina Gearframe, Ancient Gear Golem, Machina Fortress, and Red Gadget. She now has Trade-In, Geartown, Ancient Gear Golem, Gravity Blaster, Evilswarm Coppelia and Geartown. She draws Terraforming.

Verz Majo Isabelle activates Terraforming and uses it to add Geartown to her hand; Doremi chains by discarding Maxx "C". She then activates Trade-In, discarding Ancient Gear Golem to draw Machina Cannon and Meklord Emperor Wisel. She follows by discarding Cannon to revive Fortress; Doremi draws Kagetokage. She follows with Geartown and then activates her second, destroying the first; Geartown special summons an Ancient Gear Gajiltron Dragon from her deck; Doremi draws Xyz Reborn.

Verz Majo Isabelle attacks Machu Mech with Gadjiltron Dragon, destroying it. She then attacks directly with Fortress; Doremi activates Magic Cylinder, negating the attack and sending it right back at Verz Majo Isabelle.

Verz Majo Isabelle ends.

Doremi LP (7400) – Verz Majo Isabelle LP (13500)

Doremi's turn:

Doremi draws Pot of Duality.

Doremi summons Summoner Monk and uses Kagetokage's effect to special summon itself. She then uses Monk's effect, discarding Pot of Duality to special summon another Star Drawing from her deck. She overlays Monk, Kagetokage, and drawing to Xyz summon Vylon Disigma; she draws The Beginning of the End via Drawing's effect. Doremi sets Xyz Reborn and The Beginning of the End. She then activates Disigma's effect, detaching Kagetokage and targeting Fortress; Doremi has no hand, so Fortress cannot activate its effect. Fortress is equipped and Gearframe goes to the graveyard.

Doremi attacks Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon with Disigma; Disigma's effect destroys Gadjiltron Dragon since both the equipped Fortress and Dragon are EARTH monsters. Verz Majo Isabelle special summons Meklord Emperor Wisel since a monster she controlled was destroyed by a card effect and sent to the graveyard.

Doremi ends.

Verz Majo Isabelle's turn:

Verz Majo Isaballe draws Monster Reborn.

Verz Majo Isabelle attacks Disigma with Wisel, destroying both as they have the same ATK.

Verz Majo Isabelle ends.

Doremi LP (7400) – Verz Majo Isabelle LP (13500)

Doremi's turn:

Doremi draws Metaion the Timelord

Doremi normal summons Metaion and ends.

Verz Majo Isabelle's turn:

Verz Majo Isabelle draws Machina Cannon.

Verz Majo Isabelle discards Cannon to revive Fortress. She then activates Monster Reborn and uses it to revive Machina Gearframe. She then tributes Fortress to summon Evilswarm Coppelia. She follows by equipping it with Gravity Blaster and uses it to give it 400 ATK.

Verz Majo Isabelle ends.

Doremi LP (7400) – Verz Majo Isabelle (13500)

Doremi's turn:

Doremi draws The Beginning of the End.

During her Standby Phase, Metaion returns to her deck.

Doremi activates The Beginning of the End, banishing Castor, Mandrago, Heliotrope, Kerykeion, and Thunderbird to draw Swift Scarecrow, Return from the Different Dimension, and Foolish Burial. She sets Return and ends.

Verz Majo Isabelle's turn:

Verz Majo Isabelle draws Limiter Removal.

Verz Majo Isabelle uses Gravity Blaster to boost Coppelia's ATK by another 400.

Verz Majo Isabelle attacks Doremi directly with Coppelia. During the Damage Step, she activates Limiter Removal, doubling the ATK of all Machine-type monsters she controls. She then attacks Doremi directly with Gearframe; Doremi discards Swift Scarecrow to negate the attack.

Verz Majo Isabelle equips Gearframe to Coppelia. During the End Phase, Gearframe is destroyed in Coppelia's place since it's a Union monster.

Doremi LP (900) – Verz Majo Isabelle LP (13500)

Doremi's turn:

Doremi draws Summoner Monk.

Doremi activates Return from the Different Dimension, special summoning Castor, Thunderbird, Heliotrope, Mandrago, and Kerykeion. She then overlays Kerykeion and Thunderbird to Xyz summon Evilswarm Bahamut. She follows by overlaying Mandrago and Castor to Xyz summon Evilswarm Ophion. Next, she summons Summoner Monk and uses his effect to special summon Gagaga Magician, discarding Foolish Burial to do so. She then overlays Magician, Monk, and Heliotrope to Xyz summon Evilswarm Ouroboros.

Doremi activates both Xyz Reborns and uses them to revive Machu Mech and Disigma. She uses Machu Mech's effect, detaching its Xyz Reborn and targeting Coppelia; Verz Majo Isabelle takes 2450 damage while Machu Mech gains that amount of ATK. She then activates Disigma's effect, detaching the Xyz Reborn to equip Coppelia to it.

Doremi attacks Verz Majo Isabelle directly with all her monsters.

Doremi LP (450) – Majo Isabelle LP (0)

Doremi is the winner!

The Aftermath is near…

A/N: The aftermath chapter takes place during the September-December 2013 format. As such, there will be some new variety compared to the rest of the fic's duels.

PrettiWitchiMegChanChi's OC self was supposed to have a much better portrayal. However, due to her selfish and bratty attitude against me lately, I felt the portrayal seen here was necessary.