Now, for the epic conclusion of my tag duel! This time, my excuses are working on the next chapter of my other fanfiction, Yuki Shiro and the Five Dragons, Life, and doodling around on cheap web RPGs. Enjoy!

Rally hesitantly drew his card.

"I can't attack my friends." He whimpered.

"You have to…if you wish to survive…" Rudger snickered. Rally slapped a card down. A red rocket creature with green eyes emerged, but quickly disappeared with the facedown monster on the field into a field of stars.

"I'm tuning my Turbo Rocket with my Dark Spider so I can Synchro Summon my Turbo cannon in attack mode!' Rally declared. A white and blue creature like the rocket before took its place. It started its engine.

"If I sacrifice my Canon, I can destroy another monster and deal damage to its owner equal to its attack points." Rally explained. Yusei stepped in front of Sidney.

"Rally, if you have to attack somebody, I will go."

Sidney grabbed Yusei's arm.

"No. This sounds so cheesy, but I should go, not you."

There was a moment of silence.

"Sidney…no."

"Yusei, please. If you don't let me, then you're no better than Jack or Goodwin…" She replied angrily.

"Sidney?"

"It seems like the only role I've played is something to protect. Like I said before…I'm sick of it. I can't just stand here. I won't do it. Everyone here means something to me…and of course…"

"No. I'm going to destroy my Earthbound Immortal." Rally interceded. Sidney gasped. Yusei urged him not to do it. But Rally shook his head.

"I'm not going to be a puppet of the Dark Signers…or an instrument of my friend's demise. This is my way of taking a stand against them."

The canon rose above the spider.

"Rally, don't do it! Attack me instead!" Yusei pleaded.

But it was too late. There was a massive explosion, followed by an unearthly shriek. The Earthbound Immortal was vaporized as the last of Rally's life points catapulted to zero. It was game over.

The Light from Sidney's Field Spell Card linger a second or two as the flames vanished and the mark of the spider disappeared from Rally's arm. Yusei ran to him as Rally fell from the force of the blast. Sidney ran after him, and looked over his shoulder as he caught his friend in his arms.

"Yusei…I know you can get us out." Rally mumbled. Yusei was fighting back his tears. Rally's body turned gray, and seemed to evaporate into dust. Rudger jumped down and was standing over at the edge of the crater. Four shadows appeared on the ground as the other Dark Signers emerged from the blackening night and congregated near him.

The tears trickled down Yusei's face. Sidney had her hand over his shoulder. Laura gently eased her away. She gave her a solemn look.

"Rally…Martha!" He cried. The other children, Akiza, along with Trudge and even Jack were starting to shed there own tears. Sidney bowed her head with mourning, trying to feel the painful sorrow of everyone around her.

Laura comforted her.

"It's ok. I know for you the crying usually doesn't come for you until the shock has calmed down. Don't be ashamed."

Rudger chuckled. Yusei glared at him. Kiryu walked up behind him was a malevolent smile, followed by Misty, Demak, and a hooded Dark Signers with Orange trim. He gave Yusei a mocking, pitiful expression.

"So sorry about that…What? And no little mouse? Were you too scared to let her come? Or are you just scared of me, Yusei?" His laugh seemed hollower. Yusei clenched his fist as he raised his head.

"Scared? Sure. But it won't stop me from defeating you. Scared? I'm scared of what I'm going to do to you! So be ready for it!"

Misty locked her gaze with Akiza. The hooded girl peered from under her cloak at Jack. He squinted, noting a familiar air about her. Demak looked around and sighed.

"Luna is not here either…Too bad." He pulled out a card and revealed it. Sidney recognized the monster on the card immediately.

"That's Ancient Fairy Dragon!" Sidney pointed. Laura cocked her head.

"Correct. Tell Luna if she wants this card she will have to come tomorrow to defeat me in a Shadow Duel. Otherwise her friend is mine!"

"…Tomorrow?" Laura questioned.

"We will all meet at the Four Stars of Destiny tomorrow. Signers and Dark Signers shall arrive on the stage of our last battle."

"Hey, wait a minute. What about now? This isn't over yet!" Yusei growled.

Rudger laughed as he and the other Dark Signers started to turn around and walk back to their hideaway.

"We're not supposed to finish this here. See you tomorrow at the Four Stars."

In an instant, they seemed to begin melting into the night sky. Yusei chased after Rudger. Jack quietly followed the hooded girl, who was traveling in a slightly different direction.

"Get back here and Duel me!" Yusei yelled. Sidney came up behind him, but after hearing him, flinched from approaching him and kept silent. In the meantime, Jack caught up with the other girl and managed to grab a hold of her hood.

"Hey, wait! Why are you so…"

A flurry of long black hair fell from the hood. His eyes widened when he realized who he was following. She stopped a moment after he froze out of shock.

"Carly? Is it you? I…I can't believe…"

She glanced over with her blackened eyes with neon blue swirls.

"Yes, it's me."

"Carly? What happened? Are you really…How did you become a Dark Signer? I thought you were captured and absorbed like…the others." Jack slowly let the words out.

Carly started walking away, but called back to him as a tear left her face and streamed behind her. Jack looked on at her.

"If its answers you seek, you will have to find me tomorrow. Until then, Jack."

As Carly vanished, Jack pulled her broken glasses from his pocket. He cradled them in his hand, a wave of guilt and wonder coming over him.

"If you became a Dark Signer…does that mean…oh god…Carly… you didn't…"

…

Soon, the group rejoined and returned to Martha's house. The children apologized profusely for the loss of Martha and Rally; it had been made clear that they should not blame themselves for what the enemy had done. They say down and everyone took turn relating what had happened to the others. Blister quickly sent the other children off to bed, as it was late and the events being described may have been too frightening for them. Once having heard the story, a question occurred to Crow.

"So…what are the four stars of destiny, exactly? Is it some kind of constellation or something? Sounds a bit mystical for my taste."

Mina took a deep breath.

"I believe he's talking about the four control panels for the old reactor."

"Control panels?" Midori wondered.

"When the old reactor malfunctioned, they were the first to break. They were the part of the machine that regulated the energy levels, and without them, the energy spiraled out of control. That is what caused Zero Reverse to happen."

Laura remembered a map that Shinju had given her and passed it over to Mina. She carefully unrolled it and pointed to four spots on the map. She pulled out a pen from her pocket and marked each of the spots.

"The Control Panels are located at these places. During the Momentum Project, the RRD gave them each a code name in the language of the ancient Peruvian tribes:

Ccapac apu, Ccarayhua, Asylla Piscu, and Cusillu. In the native language, these mean Giant, Lizard, Hummingbird, and Monkey, respectively."

"Those sound like the names of the Earthbound Immortals…" Sidney commented. Mina nodded.

"Yes. In fact, the reactor itself was called Uru. If what you've said is all correct, then I wouldn't doubt it if Rudger is the self-appointed leader of the group."

There was a moment of silence.

"Each of the four units was powered up by a card- the dragon cards you all posses. When the reactor was starting to go, Professor Fudo gave the cards to Mr. Goodwin. Later, Mr. Goodwin sent the cards out into the general public, hoping they would end up in the right hands…"

"Wait? Our Cards?"

"Yes. That's why it's especially important that Luna defeats Demak tomorrow. We need Ancient Fairy Dragon. One person needs to go to each of the units and turn them on using their cards."

Everyone thought a moment.

"Demak has the mark of the monkey, I assume. So, I should head there."

Her brother Leo jumped excitedly, insisting he go with her.

"Misty has the mark of the Lizard, so I will go to her station." Akiza offered.

"The giant is obviously Kiryu, so I'll be over there…"

Jack huffed. "I guess that leaves me with the Hummingbird. Very well."

"Ok. So we have a plan then. When you've each defeated your opponent, go inside the towers and set in your card. When the unit is activated, get out as fast as you can, alright?"

"Ok!"

Suddenly, Trudge got a thought in his head.

"We shouldn't go alone. How about I give you two a ride in my Sector Security car, Leo? Luna?" He asked. They nodded. Akiza and Mina decided Mina would give her a ride in her jeep. Jack refused to have someone go with him.

Midori looked up at Yusei. "If it's ok…I would like to go with you tomorrow."

Crow got a confused look. Her grandfather's face twisted.

"I feel… I need to be there."

"Midori…what about…" Crow muttered.

"I'm not going to let my fear control me. I may be small, but that doesn't mean I should spend my time cowering in a corner. Kiryu may be the giant…but…I'm going to prove that I'm not a mouse." She clenched her fists. Crow wrapped a free hand around hers to reassure her.

"I think I understand." Yusei replied.

Crow nodded. "Alright. You two better watch out then, ok?"

Etsuo stood in a corner of the room.

"I'd come with, but…"

"Oh grandpa!" Midori laughed.

Sidney seemed to fade into the background. Laura saw her sad face and knew she felt left out of the whole proceeding. She approached Sidney.

"…What am I to do then?"

"Well…what about Rudger? Last I checked, that goon is still running loose. I say you should head to the reactor itself and teach that guy what happens when you mess with the Star Princess!" Laura gently nudged her. Suddenly, a thought occurred to her.

"Oh crap…I just remembered that I left the car in the parking lot back at the science building…I can't give you a ride…"

Crow overheard them and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to take that guy on alone? I heard he nearly beat the snot out of you especially!" He hid a slight hint of worry.

"Yeah, well they had him until he cheated by using Rally there as bait! If he hadn't, he would've been Dark Signer-Sushi!"

"Well, since Yusei has to go fight Kiryu, and he's taking Midori…why don't I take you there? I want my chance to fight for the people I care about, too."

"…Um…" Sidney was unsure.

Some of the others had already started packing up for the night. Akiza, the twins, Jack, Ushio, and Mina, as well as the remaining kids had gone off to bed. Yusei and Etsuo saw the others still up and gathered around, with Midori gliding behind.

"Just so you know, I can rock a deck. My Blackwing deck has rarely if ever let me down." He mentioned. Yusei, not knowing what had been said before, vouched for Crow. Sidney finally accepted the offer.

Laura wasn't satisfied, however.

"Wait…So Crow is going to give you a ride to take on Spider-Man again…but what about me? I'm your moral support!"

Etsuo chuckled.

"Nobody's offered me anything to do…and I went to quite a bit of trouble to get my Runner back. What do you say?"

Laura's eyes sparked.

"…You'd give me a ride so I can go cheer for my friend!"

"Yep. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll all meet up before then, but…sure."

Laura jumped up and down, thanking him enthusiastically. Yusei perked up when he realized what was going on and sat down next to Sidney.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He worried, looking at the slowly healing scabs on her legs. She gave him a stern look.

"You guys all know who you're dueling tomorrow. Rudger is the only Dark Signer nobody has picked yet. Besides…somebody needs to teach that guy some manners. I mean…"

Yusei glanced away. At first she thought he would advise against it.

"Ok."

Sidney briskly hugged him.

"Thank you Yusei."

"…You mean, you're not worried?" Laura nudged him.

"Laura!" Sidney scolded her.

…

Meanwhile, Cassandra sat in a dark, quiet room when Rudger arrived. He seemed disgruntled. She wasn't sure what to say to him, but when he looked up at her, he gave her a disarming smile. The singer felt anxious; if he was still here, does that mean his opponents had been sent to the Netherworld?

"It appears I was somewhat overconfident in my duel. I must be more careful with my strategy if I am to face either one of them again."

Cassandra's eyes widened.

"They?"

"I was in a tag duel with the Star Princess and Doctor Fudo's son. Little did I know…one of my puppets turned on me and I lost the duel as a result!" He muttered angrily. Looking at her again, he tried to pretend it didn't bother him so much. He was usually the one to keep his cool in the group.

"So they're ok…"

"Yes. For now. I suggest you abandon any sympathy for them, however. They are simply pawns of Rex Goodwin, meant to do his bidding."

Cassandra resented Rex, and she even believed he might manipulate them. But were they really his pawns? She didn't think so. As Rudger lit a candle, he rummaged around in the desk nearby.

"Where is it?" He wondered aloud. Suddenly, a glint behind a set of books caught her eye. She pointed to it, and Rudger removed the books. Hidden behind them was a black box with a mark of an Earthbound Immortal on each of its faces. There was a lock surrounded by golden trim. The lock itself, on the face of the spider, was shaped like a malevolent, unearthly face. He pulled out a gnarled key from a pocket in his cloak.

"This was what I was looking for. Thank you."

"What is it?" Cassandra asked. He concealed a quiet laughter as he slid the key into the lock. There was a series of small clicking sounds as the box popped open, revealing a blood red velvet interior. On the top panel was another Dark Signer insignia in the shape of a condor. Cassandra knew none of the Dark Signers had that mark. Come to think of it, there was a whale too, and nobody had that either. What did it mean?

Wrapped in a delicate silk clothe, was a clear corked vile. The liquid it contained was deep color like red wine. Rudger gazed at it.

"There are indeed things Rex has not yet told the Signers. I know that for a fact. That shall be a fatal weakness to them."

Cassandra folded her hands.

"This is a gift to me from the King of the Netherworld. Even if all of the Dark Signers fall…If the Signers do not defeat us by sunset tomorrow night, the gateway to the Netherworld will open and the King shall appear to drag the world into his realm.

But more so…is what lies here. You see Cassandra… this drink is meant for the Star Princess. It is known only as Nightmare Toxin." He said. Cassandra gulped.

"Somehow, the Star Princess will come to consume this liquid. Should they succeed to defeat us all by sundown… it shall have no effect and be rendered useless. But, if they fail, the toxin will slowly sap the energy of the Star Princess…"

"Does this mean…?"

"When it has finished sapping all of her strength, the Star Princess will die! …And so will the Crimson Dragon. When this is done, the King of the Netherworld will taint their energy when he absorbs it into his body…thereby completing the absolute corruption of the world. No amount of purity will remain."

…

Well, that's a wrap for now. Be sure to be here for the next episode. But, it will probably be a character development filler. But, then we shall move on to the final SEVEN DUELS! But, just as a warning…things may not be what you expect. I've purposely made something in this episode misleading…any guesses? See you all next time! Read and Review!