Another day, another episode. So, I'll stop babbling and let you read the episode. Remember to R&R.

"The Dark Signers got to you…" Yusei said. Kiryu laughed.

"I'm not some puppet, I'm the real deal, Yusei! So prepare yourself for a bumpy ride to the Netherworld." Kiryu engaged his Duel Runner's Duel mode. Yusei knew there was no way out of this except to duel him, so he also engaged Duel mode. Each player started with 4000 life points, and Kiryu went first. They started racing. Crow put the duel on his Runner's moniter.

Kiryu drew a card. "I start by summoning Infernity Beast in attack mode."

A hellish hound appeared, with sickly green cheeks.

(Infernity Beast is a level three Dark attribute Beast type with 1600 attack and 1200 defense points.)

Kiryu set a card face down to end his turn. Yusei moved next, drawing a card.

"Kiryu, what happened to you?" Yusei called after him.

"Surprised? I'm not the same from when we were comrades. Even my deck has changed!" Kiryu wasn't going to talk, so Yusei summoned his monster, Speed Warrior. It looked like a skinny robot with a gas mask and ice skates.

(Speed Warrior is a level two Wind attribute Warrior type monster with 900 attack points and 400 defense points.)

"Since this is my Warrior's first turn, his attack points are double." Speed Warrior's attack was at 1800. Yusei then set two facedown cards, and declared an attack on Kiryu's monster. However, Kiryu countered with his face down, Death Amulet. By sending a card to the graveyard he could negate the attack. Since Yusei couldn't attack again, he ended his turn. Speed Warrior's attack returned to normal.

Kiryu drew a card. He summoned Infernity Fiend. The monster looked like a twisted nightmare, with multiple red eyes and a wicked grin.

(Infernity Fiend is a Dark attribute fiend with 1800 attack points.)

"I'll have my Beast attack your Speed Warrior." Infernity Beast's cheeks swelled and released a toxic fire that shattered Speed warrior. Yusei's life points fell to 3300, and his bike spun out and screeched against the purple barrier.

"Come on, Yusei, don't spin out of control." Suddenly, Kiryu's attention was directed upwards to see a helicopter coming in close. He started laughing when he saw Jack Atlas leaning out the door watching the duel below.

Crow and Midori saw Jack as the copter flew over them. The helicopter hovered in the air. Inside the copter, Sidney saw the intense glow of the barrier. Her marks were glowing like Christmas lights and she poked her head out the door underneath Jack's arm.

"I don't believe it! It's Kiryu."

"I take it you know him." Sidney remarked.

"We used to be part of a dueling group called Team Satisfaction. Yusei and another friend of ours were apart of it, too." Jack said. Sidney couldn't help but giggle at the name Team Satisfaction.

"…Is that Jack Atlas? Ha! A little late, don't you think?" Kiryu called up to them. Midori leaned over to the side to see Sidney and her marks glowing.

"…Hey, is that the girl you saw on T.V.? The one you and Yusei were talking about, Crow?"

Crow blinked and squinted. "…Woah, I think it is."

"Yusei!" Sidney cried out, worrying that he had been hurt.

Yusei regained balance and started racing again. He peered over and his eyes widened. Sidney had a concerned look on her face.

"Sidney, I'm ok." He called back. She sighed with relief. Kiryu snickered at he leered over at Sidney. He saw her marks.

"It seems the Star Princess has come to see one of her knights get torn down. You're just in time, you're highness!" He said mockingly. He then ordered his fiend to attack directly. A blazing hand came out of the sky to attack Yusei, but he managed to negate it with a trap known as Scrap Iron Scarecrow. Kiryu ended his turn by setting down a card.

Jack had the pilot put the duel up on the copter's monitor. Lazar stroked his chin as Sidney kept looking out the door, hoping Yusei would win soon. The gust emitting for the copter blew through her hair like a stormy wind.

Yusei drew his next card, and summoned one of his favorite cards, Junk Synchron. It appeared to be a three feet tall orange clockwork robot with a tall hat, vintage glasses and a white scarf.

(Junk Synchron is a Dark attribute monster with 1300 attack points.)

"I activate my monster's special ability to bring back my Speed Warrior." In a flash of light, Speed Warrior returned. He declared a Synchro summon, and a flash of white stars enveloped his two monsters. When the light cleared, a bigger, blue robot stood, with red goggles, a white scarf, skates, and rocket fists.

(Junk Warrior is a level five Dark attribute Warrior Synchro monster.)

"I'll attack with my Warrior and activate Shard of Hope. When I deal damage, I draw a card, and if it's a trap, I get to activate it."

However, Yusei had assumed that Kiryu wasn't going to risk his hand. But, he activated Death Amulet once again to negate the attack. Yusei had no choice but to end his turn.

Sidney squirmed past Jack as she jumped out of the helicopter. She landed with a thunk, flat on her back. The teen stood up, wobbling a bit as she rubbed her back. Jack jumped out after her to assist her in standing. She was still weak from the Duel she had with the Shadow Drone only a couple of hours before.

They were now standing next to Crow and Midori, who sat on Crow's Runner. Midori felt her head ache as she looked over to Sidney.

"The energy she is emitting, it's almost as great as that of the field on which Yusei is playing." She said.

Sidney looked at Midori and saw her bandages. "Are you ok?"

"For now, but I think Yusei might not be."

Everyone looked back at the duel. It was Kiryu's turn again. He drew and released his monsters to perform an advance summon.

"I summon Dark Tuner Nightmare Hand!" A twisted purple and red fiend appeared. It giggled at it hovered in the air above Kiryu's Runner.

(Dark Tuner Nightmare Hand is a level ten Dark Tuner Fiend with no attack points. When you summon it, you can summon another monster.)

Kiryu chose to also summon Infernity Dwarf, which looked like a short, chubby gray skinned man with red eyes, and mountain man outfit, and an oversized axe. Yusei knew what was coming next, and Kiryu was aware that he knew.

"Now comes a Dark Synchro summon! Shadows are devoured by darker shadows to reveal a world without light!" Nightmare hand turned into a huge dark blob that consumed the dwarf. A series of ten stars surrounded them. Suddenly, two vanished, and the stars turned black as the formed a circle.

"Come forth! One Hundred Eyed Dragon!" A black energy bolt crashed down. When the smoke cleared, a midnight black dragon appeared, with sickly light gray wings, and its whole body covered in lavender eyes. It stood at least three stories tall, and roared louder than the whirl of the copter.

(One Hundred Eyed Dragon is a level eight Dark attribute Dark Synchro Dragon with 3000 attack points and 2500 defense points. It gains the special abilities of all Dark attribute monsters in your graveyard.)

Kiryu sent in the dragon to attack. Yusei tried to counter with his Scarecrow again, since it goes back to his hand after activating it, and he had set it back down. But, one of the dragon's acquired abilities came from Infernity Beast, and as long as he had no cards in his hand, Yusei couldn't activate spells or traps. Junk Warrior was destroyed, and Yusei's life points dropped to 2600. He spun out of control again and found himself riding atop the barrier.

"Yusei! Don't give up!" Sidney cheered. Jack said nothing as he watched the duel intently. Yusei then managed to return back and was just behind Kiryu. It was his turn again. He summoned Rock Stone Warrior in defense mode, a monster that looked like an old rocky statue of some obscure creature that also had 1600 defense points. He then set a facedown card to end his turn. Kiryu's Death Amulet trap then expired, because it could only be used for so many turns.

He drew a card, and played a Speed Spell Card called Power Baton. He sent one monster in his deck (Infernity Destroyer, 2300 attack points) to the graveyard, to add 2300 attacks points to his dragon. His monster now had 5300 attack points. He had his dragon attack. The dragon had Infernity Dwarf's ability, which let it do damage even when a monster was in defense mode. But, Rock Stone Warrior was no ordinary monster.

"My Warrior cancels your battle damage for this round."

Rock Stone Warrior went to the grave, but Yusei was safe. Kiryu mused.

"Well, at least you'll be here for another round. But it won't do you any good old friend. You're going to pay for betraying our friendship on that rainy night."

"I had no choice." Yusei replied. At the end of his turn, Kiryu had his dragon use Infernity Destroyer's special ability, which dealt 800 points of damage, and brought Yusei down to 1800 life points. The blast caused Yusei to cringe and came to a halt for a moment before he resumed riding to start his turn.

Yusei didn't have anything in his deck that was strong enough to destroy Kiryu's monster. Not even his Stardust Dragon would be strong enough. He was between a rock and a hard place now, and he would have to act quickly.

Sidney bit her tongue as she could only stand by and watch. The tail mark began glowing again as a red aura of light covered Sidney's body. Jack's mark started glowing more brightly, as did Yusei's.

Though her wounds were still present, Sidney could feel a new found strength coming into her. She pushed away from Jack, and found she was able to stand on her own.

"Quick Recovery…so this is her third power. She can recover from her injuries more quickly when she's in the presence of another signer." Jack realized.

"Yusei, I believe in you, please…stay with us." The teen started to tear up as she whispered. Sidney needed Yusei. And what she didn't know was that he needed her.

…

In the copter, Lazar looked out the window at the duel. However, his attention became diverted when his cell phone rang. He picked it up and was surprised to see it was Cassandra.

"Lazar? Do you have a minute, where are you?"

"Cassandra? Why are you calling at this hour?"

"I need to talk to you about something, it's important…just hear me out."

"I wish I could, but…I'm in a very…sticky situation right now. Can this wait?"

"No…it can't. Please Lazar, you're my friend."

Just then, something caught Lazar's eye out the window. Another hooded figure was at the edge of the barrier watching the duel on lower ground. He had a colored decoration on his robe, which was a blue-violet shade. Lazar guessed it was another Dark Signer. But, when the Dark Signer removed his hood, he gasped.

"Lazar, is everything ok?"

"No…it can't be." The boy had messy brown hair. His eyes were blackened and were bright with a predatory glint. He looked to be in his late teens, and had blood red marks across his face. His expression was blank as he focused on the duel

Lazar recognized him as Ken Makoto, a boy from the Satellite who had been Smitten with Cassandra. He had participated in the Fortune Cup in order to hopefully win Goodwin's approval so he and Cassandra could be together. But, in an all or nothing match, Cassandra took his Runner and impersonated him. She lost, and wrecked his Runner on the process.

He was angry with her, and left her to return to the Satellite. Lazar was always intensely jealous of him, and couldn't forgive him for breaking Cassandra's heart. Also, Goodwin would not take action for certain other allegations Lazar felt should not go unpunished. He was sent home rather than to the Facility. So, only days before, Lazar had gone to the Satellite with a gun and put a bullet to his head.

Somehow, he was alive, and he was now a Dark Signer. Lazar's actions came back to haunt him.

Ken glanced over, and when he saw Lazar's face through the window, they locked each other's gaze. Lazar opened the other side door and got out. He closed it behind him, and made sure nobody else noticed him as he approached Ken.

"Lazar?" Cassandra was still on the phone.

"I'm sorry, I need to call you back." He hung up and put his phone away.

"So, I see you're back. I want payback." Ken's voice was hollow.

"I'm afraid today is not the day for that, you'll have to be patient." Lazar pressed a button that unleashed a huge yellow balloon with a smiley face on it. He started floating up into the air.

"I bathed in my own blood; I lost the one chance I had at her…because of you. You will repay me with your own." His words were dark and shadowy.

"You broke her heart." Lazar sneered.

"I never would have had to if my duel wasn't rigged, you snake…" Ken hissed.

"That was not my doing, but I will take credit, if you insist." Lazar tittered.

Ken mused. As Lazar floated away into the cloudy night sky, He called after him.

"Fine. I'll let you live, if only for a while. Say hi to Cassandra for me. Wait…don't bother. You'll both see me again before this is over."

Ken went back to watching the duel, and Lazar floated back to New Domino City.

…

Laura and Shinju had gotten together to reach an encore airing of the New Domino Honors Dinner hoping to see Sidney …and Cassandra's performance.

She sat on the couch in her long blue PJs, and Shinju simply wore a pair of red boxers as he held the remote for her. Laura munched on a bag of cheddar popcorn as they watched the singer's performance.

"Goodwin makes his speeches too long. It's about time we got to hear the song." Shinju poked Laura affectionately. Laura rested he head in Shinju's lap as she handed him the bag.

The living room was dark, but one could see the door leading to the kitchen, and the bookshelf next to the couch. In daylight you would be able to see the light peach color Laura had painted the room herself.

"Cassandra has an awesome voice. I wonder why I never listened to her before."

"You hardly listen to any music. I'm not surprised…I like the song. It's really original." She said, commenting on "The Hero's Lover." The second verse rang through the room's surround sound system.

When Cassandra finished and Goodwin called Jack onto the stage, Laura rolled her eyes, she reached for the remote to turn the T.V. off, but Shinju pointed at Sidney coming up to stand beside Jack.

Goodwin made his speech about Sidney no longer being a child, but a young woman. Laura couldn't help but laugh.

"What's he getting at?" Shinju wondered. "I think we already know that Sidney is now in a new stage of her life, right?"

Laura shushed him. "…for now, she is to be engaged."

She spat out her popcorn. "WHAT!? That's a lie! She would have told me about something that big! And hold the phone…she's only been on a few dates, she doesn't have a boyfriend or anything."

Shinju stopped her ranting only a moment to hear Goodwin conclude his speech.

"I am proud to say my foster daughter, Sidney Clay-Jacques, and Jack Atlas will be betrothed to each other as of now, and will be married in the coming months. Congratulations to both of you."

"Ummm, Laura, are you ok?" Shinju asked nervously as Laura stared at the screen, her eye twitching. Laura saw the scared look on her friend's face, and the smug expression on Jack's. Shinju was too worried about Laura's building anger to notice anything. Shinju was usually the cool and smooth sort of guy, and a man of action. But, when Laura was in one of her emotional storms, he would get really panicky sometimes.

"JACK ATLAS! I SWEAR I WILL HUNT YOU DOOOOOWWWNNNN! Goodwin may have SANCTIONED YOU TO MOLEST MY SID, …But mark my words, I WILL FIND YOU …and EMASCULATE YOU!!!"

"Laura, it's going to be ok. Please calm down." Shinju urged her nervously.

"Shinju, I love you, but please…just shut up for five minutes while I plot my revenge ok?" Laura said jokingly. Shinju sighed with relief. She hadn't lost it…yet.

"Ok. How are you going to get you're revenge?" Shinju asked.

Laura took a bite of cheddar popcorn. "…We find out what's going down, THEN we take our revenge…perhaps a change of GROOM is in order…"

Well, this wasn't one of my best episodes. But, Laura is an outgoing and energetic person. So, even though this was extreme, I found it to be in character. You know the drill. So R&R and have a nice day.