Now here is the next chapter. Remember that if you don't like this fic, you don't have to read it. If you do like it, or think you can give me some decent advice, please feel free to review. But, I assume if you've read this far that you like it. Here we go!

As Luna entered dusty old room in the abandoned house, an ear-shattering screamed reached her ears. She felt it belonged to her brother, and she realized what was happening in the real world. Her mark began to glow brightly.

"Is something wrong?" Torunka asked.

"It's my brother, Leo! He went to duel the Dark Signer in my place and he's been hurt!" She cried. Torunka quickly covered her mouth.

"Be careful not to be too loud or they'll find us." Luna nodded, and he released her. He looked around. The cedar room was empty, save for a solitary window. They edged to a corner of the room where it would be hard for them to be spotted.

"So, what's the plan?"

"Huh?" She wondered.

"How are we going to go about saving our world?"

"I think…" Luna thought, "I think we should start by searching for Regulus. Ancient Fairy Dragon told me that he's a servant of hers and that he can help me to free her. That's what we need to do."

Torunka's face turned grim. A sinking feeling seemed to grow in Luna now, weighing her down in spirit. He checked the window to make sure nobody was peeping in. He swiftly pulled down a pair of curtains as an extra precaution. He made sure nobody saw him. He came back to Luna.

"Regulus? Are you sure? Then I think you're in for more than you bargained for."

"What do you mean?"

"Something is terribly wrong with Regulus. I'm afraid he might have fallen victim to the Minus Curse. You see, hr used to be a kind protector around our forest, but ever since the invasion, he's been attacking anyone who comes within reach of him, monkey soldier and Duel Spirit alike. He cannot be reasoned with…it only aggravates him. Are you sure there is no alternative?"

Luna leaned her head against the wall.

"Are you sure that he can't be reasoned with? How's he affected by the curse?"

"I don't know. But if you're willing to risk it, we can go search in the woods for him and see if we can figure something out. Are you sure you want to do this? I have an uneasy feeling about it."

Luna nodded.

"I'm sure."

"Well…ok then. We should get going."

Torunka lead her back down the stairs and into the underground tunnels. The returned they way the came and exited through the same way. When they reached the streets, they carefully slipped down the ally.

"Hey you!"

To there dismiss, a monkey soldier caught wind of their footsteps and spotted them. Torunka grabbed Luna and the two of them ran as fast as they could. A light shimmered from Luna's pocket. A white unicorn emerged by her side with a blue flaming mane. Kuribon hopped in front of it and growled at the guards.

"So, you think you're tough enough to take us on, pipsqueak?" A couple of soldiers pulled up a stone slate and placed it in front of them.

"No! We need to get out of here!" Torunka pulled Luna along.

"Wait, what about Sunlight Unicorn? Kuribon?"

The unicorn nudged her, urging its owner to leave in haste. Luna reluctantly chased after Torunka, trying to keep up with him as they ran in the direction of the woods. The guards were now kept busy with her two monsters.

"They…they're sacrificed themselves to protect me…"

She saw a brief glimpse of one of the three soldiers raising a Minus Staff. In a flash of light, her monsters were sealed away inside the tablet. But Luna had no choice. She had to keep running. She had to find Regulus soon to save her brother and her friends, in the spirit world and her home.

…

Meanwhile, in the human world, the other Signers could not feel her prescience. Jack, Sidney, and Akiza could see the light of the shadow duel. As they approached their destinations, their marks did not glow even the faintest light. They knew she was gone.

Leo struggled to keep himself together. With Magician's Ape still on the field, he knew Demak could just keep taking his monsters. Still, he felt he had no choice. He summoned a new monster, Deformer Magnen-I to the field in defense position, which appeared as a metal, magnetic bar.

(Deformer Magnen-I is a level one earth attributed Machine type monster with 100 attack and defense points.)

He set a card facedown, calling the end of his turn. Demak smirked at him, seeing that Leo was trying to do his best and just going along as he could. Leo promised himself that he wouldn't allow himself to lose, no matter what. He had to protect Luna.

Yusei, Midori, and Trudge watched as Demak drew his next card.

"This isn't looking good for Leo." Trudge muttered. Yusei said nothing and Midori put her hands over her head, removing her helmet as her face twisted into a look of anxiety and concern.

"…I don't know how much he can hold out for."

Midori's petite hands shakily griped the helmet in her lap.

"He's off to a rough start. But I know he's capable of holding his own. I've dueled him before and I know he can do this." Yusei glanced over at her.

Demak once again activated the effect of his ape, seizing control on Leo's monster. However, that was exactly what Leo was hoping for.

"Hope you don't mind, but since my Magnen is in defense mode…and is on your side of the field…None of your monsters can attack."

"No matter. I can release your monster to summon my own. Fighter's Ape!"

The Magnen was replaced by a brutish Gorilla-like creature.

(Fighter's Ape is a level five dark attributed treated as a beast and warrior type, with 1900 attack points and 1200 defense points.)

"Hmmm…That's not a strong card for something that high in level…" Trudge muttered. Then, Demak declared for his Ape to attack Leo directly. Trudge yelled, trying to say stop, worrying that Leo may be further damaged. But Leo was unafraid. He activated his facedown Trap card.

"I'm activating the effect of my Remake Puzzle Trap!"

Deformer Magnen-U burst into flames and disappeared from Demak's field. Fighter's Ape halted in his tracks. And in the same instant, Deformer Magnen-I reappeared on Leo's side of the field.

"So, how do you like me now? I destroy one Deformer to end the battle phase, and then I get to special summon one as long as it's below the level of the one I destroyed!" Leo declared.

"You think you can save yourself with a cheap trick like that? You're so naive. Nothing you do can protect that Signer you call your sister."

Leo growled at him.

"The mark of the Crimson Dragon brings nothing but trouble." Demak sneered.

"That's not true! My sister and the others are trying to protect the world for the likes of you! Neither here…nor the Spirit World…will ever fall willingly!"

Demak laughed at him.

"You think I'm kidding? Were you not at the Fortune Cup? Your friend Akiza did some serious damage to the Kaiba Dome…and when Jack and Yusei summoned the Crimson Dragon in their title match, it nearly blew up the city! But none of these convinced me of my detest for Signers, no…My hate of the Crimson Dragon goes back seventeen years…to the time of Zero Reverse."

Leo was silent. He knew about all of those things? Then again, word got around, even in the Satellite, he supposed.

"…Zero Reverse…that's what happened when the Original Ener-D Reactor…Momentum…that's when it malfunctioned." Leo stammered.

"Correct. And I was one of the first lives it claimed. Do you know why Zero Reverse happened?" He asked rhetorically.

"Uh…"

"It happened because it was the will of the Crimson Dragon. The Dragon wishes to subjugate humanity as it did the People of the Stars, using its destructive powers to do so. I was a simple investor who had put my faith in Momentum.

But, when the explosion happened, I was effaced in an instant. I never knew what hit me, until I was in the void of eternity…the space between life and the final resting place of your soul. Some spirits wait there, having been unfulfilled in their lives…wanting to do something before they pass on. Some become ghosts, and others simply wander the darkness, filled with anguish.

I wanted to know what caused my death. My Earthbound Immortal came to me while I wandered, and gave me a second chance. It opened my eyes. I know that it was the Signers and the Crimson Dragon who had snuffed out the flame of my existence!"

There was a moment of silence.

"My Immortal had once been a great hand of power in the Spirit World. I return for assisting it in conquest, I shall take revenge upon those responsible for my death…the bearer's of the Crimson Dragon's Mark!!!"

"But…Luna and I weren't even born…And…It doesn't make any sense…"

"Your sister is the Protector of the Spirit World. She is the thing that stands between us and our goal. As I said, nothing you do can help her!"

…

The forest was eerily quiet. The sunlight swirled as if the wind carried it along. Luna walked cautiously, with Torunka following close behind her.

Just as in the village, the leaves rose from the forest floor, reattaching themselves to trees. Flowers enclosed into buds and sank back into the darkness. Luna felt perhaps it wasn't just the Spirit World that was going backwards, but perhaps in some ways her world was going backwards too.

There was a subtle rustling in the grass. Torunka stood close by Luna. Suddenly, an ear-shattering roar came from behind them. Luna slowly turned her head and gasped at the massive beast that now confronted them.

The white lion had thick steel armor across his fur, and his bright eyes glittered with fury. A horn protruded from his golden mane, resembling one possessed by a unicorn. It growled at them.

"Regulus!" Torunka cried. Luna looked at the bedraggled guardian, noticing its leg caught in the grip of a Minus Staff's U-head.

"Hey, Torunka! Do you think if we got that staff off of him…"

Torunka noticed it too.

"I'm getting what you're suggesting…but how do we get him to hold still?"

Regulus approached them fearlessly.

"So, Zeman chose to send more of his underlings after me? You're no Monkey Soldier…what manner of creature are you?"

"Please, Regulus, my name is Luna. I need your help in freeing Ancient Fairy Dragon! I was the one sent her by the Crimson Dragon…I'm a Signer!"

"I'll never let you keep Ancient Fairy Dragon locked up!" The lion bellowed,

"No spawn of the Earthbound Immortals is welcome here!"

Luna's face twisted into a puzzled expression.

"No…That's not what I said at all!"

"I told you he couldn't be reasoned with!" Torunka tried to pull Luna away from Regulus. But she refused to move. Regulus bore his claws.

"So…you think you can reason with the likes of me…"

After a split second, Luna realized a pattern.

"It seems like…he thinks we said the opposite of what we meant."

Torunka paused, taking a good look at the Minus Staff.

"Now that I think about it…it makes perfect sense. The Minus Staff makes things go backwards, and that segment of one is around his leg. Do you suggest we say the opposite in order to mean what we actually want to say?"

Regulus was growing impatient. Luan noticed a couple of Soldiers running through the bushes. But they didn't stop to try and capture them. But why?

"Hey…" She muttered.

Torunka perked up when he saw the soldiers fleeting through the shadows.

"They probably think Regulus will tear us limb from limb, so they feel they have no need to worry about us." He spat. The wizard looked up at Luna, admiring the determined willpower reflected in her face.

Luna stood her ground, feeling it would be best not to get closer to Regulus. She felt the imminent fear of him fleeing if she attempted to do so. The wind swirled around her face and whispered like a ghastly apparition.

"Regulus, we are here to harm you. We have to be sure that Ancient Fairy Dragon is sealed away forever and the Spirit World falls to the shadows…" Luna felt strange and queasy saying those words, but then Regulus perked up.

"Lies! You said you were a servant of the shadows, and now you say that you intend to free her? What is you devious plan?"

"I have a devious plan, all right. What you heard before was EXACTLY what I meant to say. There is nothing on your leg and it doesn't cause you to hear the opposite of what we say. We need you to squirm and run away while we not try to help you!"

"Ok…now you sound just plain strange…" Torunka muttered.

Regulus peered down at his leg. His line of vision caused him to see nothing but a distorted shadow in the shape of a U. But when he shifted his weight, he could feel the metal cut into him.

"So what you say is true… Then I will allow you to pry this off. Perhaps then I will truly decide if you are friend or foe."

Luna cautiously approached the white lion. He stood still as she came to grasp the U. Her Signer mark began to glow as she pulled. But she needed help. Torunka grabbed her free arm and the two of them managed to rip it free from Regulus. A trickle of blood caressed it, and Luna could see the skin worn and blood slowly staining the fur on the lion's leg. He licked his wound, trying not to take his eyes off of her as he did.

"Hey, see that?" Torunka pointed at two needles on top of each other, attached to the U. They appeared like clock hands.

"They resemble a Minus Sign, don't they? Why don't you try moving the hands so it looks like a Plus?" He asked. Luna pushed the top needle so it was facing up and down. Suddenly, a burst of energy came forth.

Leaves fell from the nearby trees and the wind seemed to run in the opposite direction from which it had been running. Regulus stopped attending to his wound and saw the mark glowing upon Luna's arm.

"Child…You bear the mark of the Crimson Dragon…" He carefully walked up to her, trying not to put too much pressure on his leg. He looked at Torunka.

"I see it will require more than one Minus Staff to revert everything back to normal. But, hopefully if we free Ancient Fairy Dragon, then all shall return to as it should be. Unfortunately, Zeman built his castle over the rock that seals her. I do not know how we would get in…"

"I have an idea," Torunka thought aloud, "Perhaps. I heard that if you managed to come to your senses, a bounty would be placed on your head, Regulus. What do you say we 'turn you in'? That will surely grant us entrance."

Regulus thought a moment.

"It's probably the best chance we have of getting in there and saving Ancient Fairy Dragon and this world…"

He looked over at Luna with his piercing gaze.

"Tell me, Signer. What is your name?"

"My name…my name is Luna. I need to save this world. I was chosen to protect it. And I need to get back to the real world so I can protect my brother. I think he's in a duel with a Dark Signer and that he's probably hurt." She replied.

"Then let us not waste time. It looks like both our worlds depend on us to turn the tide of this fight. Come, we must go."

…

Cassandra stood at the entrance to the Dark Signer's lair, seeing the Sign of the Monkey shining brightly on the sky. A blanket of clouds darkened the sky above it, as if to bring bad news. The singer pulled the edges of her black cloak close, feeling a chill permeate throughout her body.

Rudger was nearby, smiling at the sight. He turned his head in Cassandra's direction and saw her shiver. He silently came up behind her and gently touched her shoulder.

"You should go back inside, Cassandra. It is not your time yet."

He turned away and went down the winding stairs, back into the darkness.

Cassandra felt a sudden fear engulf her, his words haunting her in her mind.

"…My time?"

To be continued in the next Episode. Ok, I lied, it was exactly like canon, but I tried to make as close as I could without being a copycat. See you next time!