Sorry for taking so long, but life happened. Here's the next chapter!

Cassandra had snuck out of the underground, slowly following the path of dust left by Bommer's Runner. She ran as fast as she could, but there was no way she could keep up with a super fast motorcycle, and she knew it.

She shivered from the cold, and pulled up her hood to shield herself from the wind. She looked up into the sky to see the mark of a whale had appeared. It had to be Bommer's she thought. No other Dark Signer had that mark.

The violet flames were visible just over the hill now. The singer took a deep breath and made her way up, mustering all her stamina. She briefly looked back. What would Rudger do if he found her gone?

She then began to wonder to herself. First there was Ken…defeated by Lazar. They brought him back as a Dark Signer for the soul purpose of bringing Cassandra to Rudger. But he failed, and Rudger himself came.

Then there was Bommer. He escaped death but for a moment, but Rudger turned him into a Dark Signer too. What felt worse was that Bommer had had thoughts of trying to get out and rescue Cassandra, hoping to redeem himself. It seemed like people who cared about her…her friends…and others… wound up working for the shadows.

Would she be among them soon?

…

Sidney drew her hand and her first card for the turn. For a fleeting moment, she saw the mark of the giant hovering nearby. It seemed eerie being so close to Bommer's mark, which resembled a whale. Was Yusei about to duel Kiryu?

The air carried bits of debris and damp materials, drawing the scent of rotting wood along with it. It caused Sidney to sneeze suddenly.

"You catching a cold?" Bommer asked, being slightly mocking. Sidney shook her head no. She slapped a card down onto her Duel Disk.

"I'm summoning Element Soldier in attack mode to start with."

A dark-skinned warrior in golden armor appeared bearing a white lance with a blue handle, ornately carved with ancient runes. His eyes flickered blue like a hurricane above the sea.

(Element Soldier is a Level 4 Dark Attributed Fiend Type Monster with 1500 attack and 1200 defense points.)

"I'm also setting a facedown in my Field Spell Zone, and another card facedown. That ends my turn, so for now…It's your move." She felt she had to be ready for anything now. If Bommer dueled Yusei in the Fortune Cup, he was probably a pretty tough customer to begin with, but as a Dark Signer, who knows how hard he would be to defeat…

But was defeating him really the point?

Bommer drew his card.

"I'm setting a monster in facedown defense position. Like you, I've also got a couple of facedowns to play. But, that's all for this round."

The facedown cards appeared on the field. Sidney figured it had to be a trap of some kind. She drew her next card; her nerves were already getting tense.

Her mind wandered back to her question from before. So, should she try talking to him? Maybe not, she was a good person…just not a skilled people person. Not like Laura. She wished her best friend was there. Where was she, anyway?

"I'm equipping my Scroll of the Bewitched Spell Card to my Soldier… to change it's attribute to Earth."

An arcane symbol appeared on the Warrior's back and made him glow like magma. He swirled his lance around.

"I'm also revealing my Field Spell, Gaia Power!"

A huge, ancient-looking tree emerged behind Sidney, shading everything under its branches and countless leaves. Its greenery gave off the aura of the earth's raw might, which seemed to strengthen her Warrior. Its attack points jumped to 2000.

"Gaia power gives all Earth monster 500 attack points in exchange for 400 defense points." Sidney explained.

She ended her turn with a facedown. Hopefully it would protect her if he tried to destroy her monster.

Bommer drew his card.

"I'll start by summoning Trap Reactor RR in defense mode!"

In green, jet like robot rocketed out from the ground and assumed a shielding stance. It met Element Soldier with a cold stare. Sidney was unsure of what to make of his monster. But if its name was Trap Reactor, she'd better be careful about her trap cards.

(Trap Reactor RR is a level four Dark attributed Machine Type monster with 800 attack and 1800 defense points.)

"I'll end my move with two facedowns. So, what are you going to do?"

Sidney drew her next card.

"You'll have to see for yourself," She replied, "I'm setting a card down."

Another facedown was set on the field. She then selected a monster from her hand. A furry gray and white puppy appeared with a green scarf around its neck. A bone-shaped dagger was secure in a sheath hanging from the scarf.

"This is my good friend, Shiba-Warrior Taro."

(Shiba-Warrior Taro is a level two Earth attributed Beast-Warrior Tuner with 800 attack and 600 defense points.)

Bommer was surprised, but concealed it in a smirk. This girl is seriously thinking a little dog can stand a chance against his machines? Even in defense mode…What was she planning?

"Next, my Element Soldier will attack your Trap Reactor RR with slurry cyclone!" Sidney pointed to his monster. Her soldier twirled his lance and summoned a whirlwind of soil and water. It hurled towards Trap Reactor, when a sudden explosion burst from nowhere.

"I'm activating Fake Explosion Penta!" Bommer declared. Sidney felt the force of the blast push her back. She nearly tripped. A fleck blew past her and scraped her arm. But, when the smoke cleared, neither monster had been destroyed. The only thing that changed was the additional monster standing beside Trap Reactor RR.

"When I activated by trap, no monster was able to be destroyed. In addition I got to Special Summon a Summon Reactor AI from my hand."

The new monster was robotic in nature like Trap Reactor RR. It had a brighter, golden sheen to it. Shiba-Warrior Taro yelped.

(Summon Reactor AI is a level five Dark attributed Machine Type monster with 2000 attack and 1400 defense points.)

"I see. Well, I never expected this to be simple." Sidney muttered. She had no choice but to end her turn.

…

The explosion was visible farther away from the duel. Yusei and his party caught sight of it and started heading in that direction. His arm was glowing now, and he could already feel Sidney's anxiety reaching out like shockwaves from a live wire.

"Sidney…"

"Sidney's dueling the Dark Signer, isn't she?" Luna clutched her arm.

Suddenly, Yusei stepped on the accelerator of his Runner and started speeding up. Midori held on tight, somewhat bewildered by the sudden burst. Trudge tried to keep up with him.

"I need to find out what's going on."

Midori gripped tighter.

"I hope Crow is ok. I don't want what happened to the others to happen to him. I want him to be safe."

"You and me both. Just hang on, Midori."

They jumped a small hill and the Runner vibrated as it hit the ground. Everyone could see the barrier of purple fire up ahead.

As they approached Bommer was placing a card onto his field.

"I'm summoning Magic Reactor AID in attack mode!" He declared. The ground gave way to another robotic form with redish coating. It spun around its fellow monsters in a triumphant dance.

(Magic Reactor AID is a level three Dark attributed Machine Type Monster with 1200 attack and 900 defense points.)

"You couldn't stop me from getting all three of my monsters on the field. Do you know what I am going to do next?"

Sidney gulped. How could she have been so blindsided.

"You're going…to summon you're Earthbound Immortal, aren't you?"

Bommer concealed a laugh.

"You're ready for hellfire, I see. Well, I'm sorry to say that this is a different kind of hellfire than what you were expecting."

There was a dead silence. The ground shook, causing Sidney to trip and fall. She watched as a giant mechanical titan came down from the sky, its weapons all pointed at her. He had summoned a mighty card to the field.

"I am bringing out my Giant Bomber AIRRAID in attack mode!"

The sheen of its colorful metal was blinding. Its eyes wandered as its weapons continued to threaten Sidney with their unwavering lock.

(Giant Bomber AIRRAID is a level eight Wind attributed Machine Type monster with 3000 attack points and 2500 defense points.)

"Oh no, Yusei! What's that!" Midori cried.

"I've battled that monster before. That's Giant Bomber AIRRAID! That can only mean… Oh no! Sidney!"

His Runner broke through the barrier of flames and came to a halt a few yards away. The others were right behind them and came to a stop when they saw the purple fire. Yusei's eyes widened.

"….BOMMER!"

Bommer turned his head.

"Yusei? I see you've come." Bommer noted coolly.

Yusei could see Sidney trembling. It was trouble enough dealing with the terror of the Earthbound Immortals…but this machine…It seemed to be as cold as a hardened killer. She looked down to avoid staring at it.

"What are you doing? This can't be…"

"This has what has become of me, Yusei. I blame Goodwin, I find you have a share in my demise." He said.

"But Bommer! She doesn't have anything to do with this! Let her go!"

Bommer shook his head.

"I can't, despite the fact that I would like to. Besides…she insisted on protecting you from me."

Yusei slowly turned to Sidney.

"It's true, Yusei."

"What do you mean, Sidney?"

She kept her head down. Sidney didn't want to look into his eyes and face that fact that she was putting her life on the line. There was a good chance she could lose. But, she wouldn't allow herself to see it as an action in the wrong.

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. It's about time I protected somebody myself, instead of what usually happens. I don't care how badly I get beat up and how much I bleed. I don't want to just stand by and watch other people get hurt. Especially not you, Yusei… You've heard me say this before."

He said nothing.

"All my life…I've done the same thing, day in and day out. I never really…"

She took a deep breath.

"No. I'm not going to wallow in self-pity. I have more important things to deal with right in front of me."
Sidney was still shaking.

"Hit me with your best shot!" She challenged Bommer. He raised his hand, and all guns were now pointed on her Element Soldier.

"AIRRAID, bring down the fires of destruction and burn her soldier to a crisp!"

The bullets came down like rain. One of them struck her soldier, shattering it instantly. A few stay blasts circled around Sidney and burned away 1000 of her lifepoints. She now had 3000 left. If he managed to get rid of her remaining defenses, she would be finished.

Sidney felt the pain throb as she saw blood on her forearm trickle to the ground. She felt her head hurt and found her forehead had a small bruise from the force of a bullet that went passed her.

"I think that's enough punishment for now. I'm ending my turn."

Sidney sighed with relief. Her best hope was something that could fend him off until she could get a card that could destroy his monster.

She drew her next card and was grateful when she saw what it was.

"I'm starting off by activating my facedown Trap, Dust Tornado. I'm going to use it to destroy my Field Spell so any chance of summoning your Immortal is reduced to nil. At least then I'll only have your oversized War Plane to deal with."

"Not so fast, Sidney. I'm activating the Special Ability of my monster. I can negate the effect of your Trap and destroy it…as well as hit you with 800 points of damage once a turn!"

Sidney gulped. Not another round of bullets! Her Dust Storm was reduced to a breath of wind as she was pelted again with the onslaught of Giant Bomber AIRRAID. She was now at 2200 points. At this rate, she would lose her lifepoints pretty fast.

"Think of it this way. I can't counter anything you do next. So why don't you try again?" He taunted her. It seemed superficial to Yusei, though. It seemed like he wasn't planning on adding insult to injury lightly. But, he knew Bommer was merciless in the arena.

"I'll do better than try. I'm playing my Card of Sanctity Spell!"

A light emanated from her Duel Disk.

"Now we each have to draw until we have six cards in our hands. So this helps the both of us. But, I hope it will help me more than you."

"As I would expect," Bommer replied as he drew his cards. Sidney was able to draw five cards thanks to her Spell card. She drew Nutrient Z, Blast with Chain, Poison of the Old Man, Skull Dog Marron, and Baby Dragon. It wasn't a great hand, but it would have to do for now.

At least she still had Dimension Wall and Shiba-Warrior Taro. Her monster was immune to being destroyed by battle. But, she would have to be careful, since the first card she played would cost her another 800 points of damage. What could she do?

"I'm setting two cards facedown, and a monster in facedown defense position."

"So, I've back you into a corner already? Unless, you're strategy is not what it seems…Well, just hope that you'll survive my next turn."

Sidney rubbed her arm where she was wounded. The bleeding had slowed down and was close to ending, but it still hurt like crazy and the blood was drying hard and crusty over her marking.

Her head was still feeling painful as well.

She hoped she could fend him off. With Nutrient Z, Blast with Chain, and Dimension Wall, she had a heavy decision to make. Which was more important to her survival?

"I'll end my turn with Poison of the Old Man, which allows me to either deal 800 points of damage to you or recover myself by 1200 points."

A green and purple vile appeared before her. Despite the fact that she would like to deal him damage, she wondered if it would be safer to recover her own lifepoints. He still had all of his.

Then, she thought of her three trap cards. Wait a minute, she thought. There was something else that Blast with Chain did that could help her. Why didn't she think of it before? She'd only used it as an emergency power boost to her monsters in the past.

"I choose to deal 800 points of damage to you, Bommer."

She grabbed the purple vile and flung its contents onto the ground. The liquid seeped into the ground and caused Bommer's feet to feel like they were on fire. He now had 3200 lifepoints. He was amused that she was actually making an offensive move.

"Don't think you'll get another lucky shot. I can negate and destroy any of your Trap Cards. You may have that dog on your field…but what about the other? Can your other monster stand up against my fire power?"

She hoped her next strategy would not only keep her and her field intact, but that it would wipe AIRRAID out of the sky.

"It's my turn," Said Bommer.

To be continued in the next episode! Remember to R&R and see you here next time!