The next episode is here! Please enjoy!

Yusei didn't understand what Rudger meant.

"An ultimate god has now been set free."

"What! What are you saying?" Yusei was stunned.

Rudger removed the Duel Disk panel from his artificial arm. In the midst of this Crow turned around to see a stunned blonde standing behind him.

"Cassandra!" Laura exclaimed, recognizing her from behind.

"It's already over…I was outside the room listening to the four of you talking with Goodwin…and now it's already over…"

"You were with us the whole time and you didn't say anything?"

"Yusei," Rudger sneered, "If the four control towers are not activated by sunset, the door of the Netherworld will open and its king shall be resurrected."

He then pulled a string attached to his arm.

"I can't let that happen…therefore I can't allow you to leave this place…"

Suddenly, there was a great explosion. The suspension bridge was destroyed. As Rudger faded into dust, he turned his head and stared into Cassandra's eyes.

"Goodbye Cassandra."

Yusei tried to grab onto the ledge, but he couldn't reach far enough. Bits of wood and debris fell all around him into Momentum.

Sidney reached for him, but they were too far apart. In desperation, he let out a scream as he fell into Momentum's light.

"Yusei!" Everyone shouted, almost paralyzed as they watched him fading into the light.

Without warning, Sidney impulsively jumped in after him.

"Sid, what are you doing?" Laura tried to grab her in mid-descent, but missed. Soon, both Yusei and Sidney vanished.

"What the hell was she trying to do!" Laura emitted a frustrated cry, tears coming down her cheeks. The twins began to cry as well as they embraced each other for comfort.

Crow also felt the sorrow dawning upon him. The last of rocks and scraps of the bridge disappeared into the light. The black clouds still swirled above them.

Suddenly, Midori spoke in the midst of the grief.

"She believed…if only for a split second…she could bring him back."

Laura looked up.

"How do you know that?" Cassandra asked her.

"Was it in a vision?"

"No," Midori said. Laura appeared surprised.

"It was written on her face. I couldn't tell those were her exact thoughts…but she seemed determined. Right now, the best thing we can hope for is that the two of them will come back.

In the meantime…Jack and Akiza still have to seal the remaining towers…"

It was the most Midori had said of her own power for a while.

Elsewhere, Goodwin had somehow returned to the Temple beneath his mansion. As he stood on top of it, he stared at the glass case with his brother's arm inside of it.

He knew the final battle was drawing ever closer.

…

Everyone imprisoned by Earthbound Immortal Uru was released. Rally and Martha were among them. Martha looked around for Yusei and any of the others, a little confused as to why they weren't there. However, she breathed a heavy sigh of relief when she saw Rally standing among the crowd of mystified people.

Jack saw the group appear out of an orb of purple light as he was heading up an old highway above them.

It was good to know Yusei had won his duel. But, Jack still had his duel with Carly. He didn't quite believe it was here, though. Could she really have become a Dark Signer? Why?

The truth was, he owed a lot to Carly. She saved him and cared for him after he dueled a possessed Officer Trudge. She didn't take any garbage from him, and when she was at Awards Ceremoney…when Goodwin had arranged a betrothal between him and Sidney…she knew something wasn't right.

It was why she stormed up to him that night and started asking him so many questions. That night, she asked him whether he knew of it before then. She asked if that's what he really wanted, if it was what Sidney wanted. He knew that in reality, the answer to all of those questions were no.

He thought he wanted Sidney, enough so to try and force her to be his. He went along with Goodwin's plan. In the end, he tried to take his anger out on Sidney when Goodwin changed his mind.

In midst of all this, Carly had disappeared, and for the longest time he thought she had been a sacrifice. It was funny to him that Sidney noticed her glasses that were in his pocket. It forced him to remember Carly, to realize she had gone out of her way to help him even though he acted like a jerk.

And he repaid her with abandonment, with forgetfulness. Perhaps by defeating whoever this Dark Signer was, even if it was her…He secretly wished it would somehow bring her back. Somehow it would save her.

Even though all these thoughts were inside of him, his face was expressionless. He jumped over a rock with ease. The tower of the Hummingbird was dead ahead. Was Carly even there?

He still had her glasses tucked away in his pocket. This time he wouldn't forget. This time he wouldn't abandon someone who had given so much to him.

"Carly? Say something if you can hear me!"

The sound of an engine flooded his hearing and turned his attention to the opposite side of the tower. Someone on a red, stylish Duel Runner came around towards him. He thought they might hit him, but the Duel Runner jumped and glided over him, coming back around in a half-circle. The Runner finally stopped and front of him and he could see that the rider was Carly.

"Where did you get that Duel Runner, Carly?" He asked, "Second of all, since when did you ever learn to use one? Last I checked, you don't know how to Turbo Duel."

"Let's just say I thought it'd be more of a thrill to take you down on your own turf," She removed her helmet.

"I was waiting for you, Jack. I'm glad you made it…"

No, this can't really be Carly, can it? He shook his head, he couldn't believe that this Dark Signer was really her. But his eyes were telling him another story.

"I came back from the edge of death just so I could meet you, Jack." She explained in an almost dreamy tone of voice.

Jack was still unconvinced.

"What do you mean by that? What happened to you, Carly?"

He remembered her glasses in his pocket and looked down towards them for a moment or two. Carly's face turned grim.

"When you left me, I didn't stop my investigation into the mystery of the Crimson Dragon. So, I went to the Arcadia Movement looking for Akiza Izayoi and was killed by their leader, Sayer."

Jack face twisted in shock.

"Why would you do something so reckless? So stupid! Granted, I figured you a little clumsy from what little time I spent with you…but this…"

"I just wanted to get a little closer to you, Jack! But you pushed me away!"

Jack averted his gaze, tightening his fist.

"You're right, I did. I was self-absorbed and I didn't bother to stop and actually worry about someone besides myself. But, I thought you were sacrificed to the Earthbound Immortals!"

"You thought you could save me by defeating the Dark Signers. But, instead, I am the Dark Signer you have to fight in order to save everyone," Carly mused, "Tell me, are you having doubts about having to duel me?"

"No, so, why don't we quit joking around and get on with it," Jack growled, "If you truly wish to aim a bow and arrow at me, I promise you I will break it by force!"

Carly laughed.

"That's what I would expect from you. As Signer and Dark Signer we are bound by destiny to hate one another as the Immortals and the Crimson Dragon each other."

The symbol of the Hummingbird glowed on her right arm and its violet flaming geoglyph appeared along the ground. It reminded him of Yusei's first duel with Kiryu. He would have to be careful, and hope that he could manage to bring her down before her Earthbound Immortal came into play.

The two of them took off on their Duel Runners.

"So what do you say we start this duel of destiny, Jack?"

Jack still felt uneasy. Did Carly really want to fight him?

Meanwhile, off in the distance, Mina and Akiza could see the reflection of the geoglyph hanging in the sky. The two of them realized the duel had started. Mina paused and gazed at the reflection anxiously. Akiza calmed her by putting her hand on Mina's shoulder.

"Jack will be alright."

Mina sighed.

"He has to be. But, I'm still worried about him."

She started up the Jeep again.

"We have to keep moving. It won't be long until we reach the tower where Misty is supposed to be. Are you ready?"

Akiza fell quiet.

"I…I don't know. But, I have to be. I don't have a choice."

Inside the raging flames, Carly raced ahead of Jack, looking back at him with a look of disappointment.

"It's so ironic. You paid no attention to me when I was on your side. But now that I'm a Dark Signer you come to rush to my rescue! You're something, you know that?"

"Carly!"

"Jack," Carly snickered sardonically, "You can't avoid destiny. This duel was fated to happen. Now activate Speed World so our destiny can unfold!"

Jack pushed the button. A card flashed on his screen and suddenly the sky around them seemed to take on the hue of the flames that surrounded them.

"I don't need you to tell me how to duel," He grumbled, "Now let's see which one of us is going first, shall we?"

The two of them sped up towards the first turn.

Carly smirked. She knew Jack could fight if he had to rise to the occasion, and she liked that. But, the darkness inside of her waited quietly, watching for any trip that would cause Jack to fall.

"If you want to die, Carly, I will grant your wish!"

"I'm not the one who'll be dying, Jack."

As Jack sped up to pass her, she rammed into him with her Duel Runner. His Runner hit the wall of flames. The fire licked at Jack and he felt a searing pain on his right side.

He tried his best but yelled out. Carly laughed as she passed him and turned the corner.

"I guess fate has decided that I should have the first move."

"As if…" He muttered sarcastically. That was definitely something Carly wouldn't have done. If this really was Carly, he thought, then the same malevolence hung over her that had taken hold over Kiryu and the other Dark Signers. It was malevolence, he suspected, that would do whatever it took to win.

She could say whatever she wanted to about fate. But her actions spoke louder than her words.

"I draw a card, and summon Fortune Lady Light in defense mode!"

A deathly pale skinned woman emerged in a blast of radiant light, wearing a skin-tight, short golden dress and thigh high black boots. She wore a head piece that looked like a pair of bat wings erupting from her hair.

(Fortune Lady Light is a level one Light attributed Spellcaster type monster whose attack and defense are determined via its special ability.)

"On my next turn, and every turn after that, the level of my Fortune Lady Light increases by one, and her attack and defense become 200 times her current level. Because my Fortune Lady is level one this turn, her attack is 200."

As Carly looked at the cards in her head, she thought back to the other Dark Signers brought her back with them. She had sat in her room along, sobbing. She had not yet accepted her fate and couldn't come to grips with what had happened to her or why.

In the midst of it all, a voice from nowhere. It told her that if she wanted answers they would be revealed in her fortune. That would be the path destiny had planned for her. She went along with it, even though she felt like she was going crazy. Why should she listen to a disembodied voice?

Then again, fortune telling had been a hobby of hers in the past. She would use her cards to divine her fortune every day, and doing so that night eased her mind, at least for a moment.

A card in the middle of her deck had begun to shine brightly, and when she picked it up, it was a Trap card. Its name was Prophecy of the Future King, a card she was holding in her hand right now.

That night when she was alone in her room, that card had shown her a vision of the future. Her future. It was then she accepted her fate and her eyes blackened with the darkness of the Earthbound Immortals.

"I'll end my turn with a facedown card. Prepare yourself, Jack!"

Jack looked sternly at his deck as he drew a card.

"Fine then, it's my turn!"

At this point, Jack saw he and Carly were beginning to accumulate Speed Counters. He looked at the card in his hand. Jack had no idea what Carly's strategy would be. What could he do?

"I end my turn here."

Carly looked up.

"You're not going to do anything? No summon? No monster attack? Not even setting a single card on the field?"

She looked back down at her deck and drew a card to begin her turn.

"I see. You've accepted your destiny haven't you? If this is what you wish, I will gladly take your life with all the force I am capable of throwing at you!"

She looked at Jack with a hardened gaze.

"I'll sacrifice my Fortune Lady Light to advance summon a much stronger power! Fortune Lady Earth!"

Fortune Lady Light disappeared in a golden burst. In her place was a sorceress with a similar appearance. However, this one was much taller, with glasses, short brown hair, and a tan color to her clothes. Her skin had a slightly darker hue, and her expression seemed apathetic.

(Fortune Lady Earth is a level six Earth attributed Spellcaster type monster whose attack and defense are determined via its special ability.)

"Since I removed Fortune Lady Light from the field, I can special summon another Fortune Lady from my deck, and I choose Fortune Lady Dark!"

A woman in a purple robe with midnight violet hair emerged. Like Fortune Lady Earth and Fortune Lady Earth, she wielded the staff with a decoration and a blade on each end.

(Fortune Lady Dark is a level five Dark attributed Spellcaster type monster whose attack and defense points are determined via its special ability.)

Jack looked at the monitor on his Duel Runner, and as he suspected, the abilities of these two monsters echoed her previous one. However, when her saw their actual numbers, he was stunned.

Fortune Lady Earth had an impressive 2400 attack points, and Fortune Lady Dark wasn't that far behind with a similar stat of 2000 attack points. He knew if both of them attacked, he would lose right then and there. He had nothing protecting him.

"Get ready Jack, this is going to hurt."

This was unreal, Jack thought. No, it was insane.

"Alright! Fortune Lady Earth, attack Jack directly!"

With a wave of the sorceress's arm, sharp spikes burst forth from the ground, scratching and stabbing at Jack and bombarding his Duel Runner.

Jack howled from the pain and his life points dropped to 1600. Any Speed Counters he had gained were wiped out.

Blood started trickling down Jack's face and seeped into his clothes. Carly didn't hesitate to launch her second attack with Fortune Lady Dark. As her monster jumped at him to strike, Jack remembered the time he had spent with Carly, thought it was brief. She had been kind to him. She looked after him. She stood up to him to him once when he was a jerk.

But, she always tried to make sure he was ok when he was with her. She couldn't hurt anyone.

That was the real Carly, he thought. Carly couldn't hurt anyone…

As Fortune Lady Dark's staff came swooping down, cloaked in black energy, Jack grabbed a card and looked up at his attacker unflinchingly.

"I'm activating the ability of a monster in my hand!"

To be continued. Sorry it took forever and that there won't be a sequel anymore. However, if you're curious about the ideas and plans that were thought of and discussed, please visit my Journal on DA. I give people permission to use any of these ideas if they wish, as long as I am given credit. Until next time! The end is getting closer!