Chapter 25: Reincarnate! Riding Duel That Surpasses Limits!

Cusillu recoils from the light and dissolves into sparkles, slowly.

Demak stands braced against the blast, but it's too strong, it blows back his hood and he shouts into the explosion, as his life points drop to 0.

The mark of the monkey disappears from the landscape, as though it had never been, not even disturbing the dust.

"We did it, Luca!" Lua says. "Thanks to you, Lua. Now the spirits will… Ohh!" Says Luca.

Demak lurches toward them, obscured by shadowy streaks in the air, a fearsome specter.

Lua puts himself between Luca and the horror, arms outstretched, protectively.

"I can't believe I lost!" Demak says.

"Ohh." Says both Lua and Luca.

Grim's fur is standing on edge, as he's baring his teeth, snarling at Demak. "Lua! Luca!" Sakura says.

Demak looms over Lua and Luca, his eyes completely black, he seems to be deteriorating, as they watch him. "Rudger, forgive me. I was useless. Glory to the Dark Signers!" Says Demak. With that, he begins to fall forward, reaching for them.

Sakura tackles them out of the way and Demak keeps falling, disintegrating into a pile of black dust that falls to the ground, lifelessly.

Lua and Luca stare, frightened and awestruck, over Sakura's shoulder.

In the spirit world. The mark of the monkey vanishes from the sky, and little wisps of purple light flit from the heavens, swirling into the ruins of Zeman's castle through the huge hole in the ceiling and returning to the designs on the wall. "Everyone is safe!" Torunka says. The purple lights each shoot into a card on the wall, and the duel spirits appear in the air overhead. "Luca, you did it! Just as I predicted. That child saved the spirit world!" Says Torunka.

Meanwhile, back at the monkey star of destiny, without the cover of dark clouds, the sun is most of the way over the horizon.

Sakura, with Grim, having Velvet and Subaru riding on his back, standing at her side, Usagi, Ushio, Lua and Luca are watching the sunrise. "Luca, are you okay?" Ushio asks. "Mm-hmm." Says Luca. Sakura kneels down and places one of her hands on Lua's shoulder. "Lua." Sakura says. "Hmm?" Asks Lua. "You did well." Sakura says. Lua's eyes grow huge and tears form in the corners. To him, such praise from Sakura means quite a lot. Lua wipes his eyes on his arm, immediately.

"Luca..." Says Ancient Fairy Dragon.

"Ancient Fairy Dragon and Regulus." Luca says.

The two duel spirits have appeared before them.

"What? Are they Solid Vision holograms?" Asks Ushio.

"No, we are not illusions." Ancient Fairy Dragon says.

"Whow! This is real?" Asks Ushio. He faints on the ground, comically, straight backward.

The other five glance back at Ushio, Subaru and Velvet laughing, childishly. "This is why adults are lame." Lua says.

"Luca. You fought well. Your power saved the spirit world. The spirits that Earthbound Immortal captured have safely returned home to the spirit world." Says Ancient Fairy Dragon.

"That means everyone is safe!" Luca says.

"Yes. Thank you, Luca." Says Ancient Fairy Dragon.

"It wasn't solely my power. Lua also helped me with his power. Sakura too." Luca says.

"Thank you, Lua and Sakura." Says Ancient Fairy Dragon.

"Ancient Fairy Dragon, will you battle the Dark Signers with us?" Sakura asks.

"Of course. If the Dark Signers become more powerful, the spirit world will face danger once again. After five thousand years, I will fight alongside you, even if it destroys me." Says Ancient Fairy Dragon. "I will also fight alongside you until my life ends!" Regulus says. They both glow multi colors, and the light streams into Luca's hand.

She now holds two cards. "Ancient Fairy Dragon. Regulus. Ah!" Says Luca.

The four of them and Grim, with Velvet and Subaru still riding on his back, approach the monkey control star. Sakura touches the door and it slides open. "Minako said the four towers regulate the previous Moment's spin." Luca says. "This is it." Says Sakura.

Through a second door, stands a plinth, carved with the same monkey image seen on the outside face of the building, with a rectangular frame clearly meant to hold a card. "Luca, place the card." Sakura says. Luca steps forward with Ancient Fairy Dragon, somberly. "Mmm. Ancient Fairy Dragon, lend me your power." Says Luca. She puts the card in the plinth.

For a second, nothing happens, then the plinth's carvings light up around the card. They hear mechanical beeping. The building begins to shake. Lua looks around, with fearful curiosity. "We have to hurry up and leave!" Sakura says. Luca grabs her card, and they do. The doors slide shut behind them, and when they're outside they turn and watch.

The tower itself sinks into the ground, swiftly. The tower disappears beneath the surface of the earth, and within moments the spot on which it stood is bare, as though the tower had never stood at all.

They're amazed.

"What happened? What was that dragon? Huh? They're not here. What happened?" Asks Ushio. "Sheesh, it's nothing!" Lua says. "Ugh! Like I thought, it was an illusion." Says Ushio. Both sets of twins exchange looks and burst out laughing. "There are three towers remaining. This time, it is Yusei's turn. Kyosuke Kiryu! He is coming after you at the tower of the giant! However, I have to get going to my own duel, as well. Father, I shall be coming to deal with you, momentarily!" Sakura says. Her irises flare up, but only briefly.

Somewhere in the distance there's another tower, the clouds around it obscuring the waxing day and when the blue lightning strikes around its base, the heavens light up with the mark of the giant.

Meanwhile, blue lightning is striking elsewhere in the Satellite, around the crater of the previous Moment. The spire at the bottom of the well cuts to a candle as it snuffs out. "Demak, you're the one who vanished? I won't forgive you, Signers!" Rudger thinks to himself. He walks past the spire and down a stone hallway in that it's lined with cells and windows to them.

Rudger opens a cell door. Bommer's sitting on a plain cot near the door. "Come out." Says Rudger. Bommer looks up at him, the wary defeat of a cowed prisoner.

Rudger leads him to a catwalk over a huge, swirling multicolored void, apparently part of the Moment is still functioning. "Bommer, you planned to assassinate Director Rex Godwin of the Public Maintenance Department during the Fortune Cup. The verdict for that crime is the death penalty!" Rudger says. He turns and takes off his hood. "This judgment will now be enforced!" Says Rudger. Bommer's looking down at the swirling mass, nonplussed. "What is this?" Bommer asks. "This is the Gate to the Underworld. This gate connects to the land of the dead." Says Rudger. "Gate to the Underworld?" Bommer asks. "That's right. After you die, you will gain new powers and life. As a Dark Signer." Says Rudger. "Dark Signer?" Bommer asks. "Your inner fire yearning for revenge must still be burning. Remember your brother and sister who burned and disappeared! Remember your destroyed hometown! Godwin and the Crimson Dragon caused all this." Says Rudger. "That's right! My hometown! My brother and sister! It was all due to him!" Bommer says.

Flashback. "However, my mission isn't over! I planned to win this tournament so that during the ceremonies, I could publicly reveal what Godwin did. However, that's no longer possible. Therefore, I'll get my revenge now! Look at this!" Says Bommer. He points with a huge motion to the Sphere. "My village was completely destroyed! This is my village! My hometown! In order to resurrect the Crimson Dragon, Godwin used my village as a testing ground! And my village was…" Bommer says.

Huge flash of white light, stones rise into the air as they break apart. The explosion turned the whole place into a massive hole in the ground, not even rubble is left.

"All the villagers are missing, including my brother and sister." Says Bommer. The flashback ends.

Back to the present. "Mmgh! I will never forgive Godwin!" Bommer says. "That's right. Embrace those regrets as you die, and you will gain new powers!" Says Rudger. He walks onto one of the four catwalks that lead to the platform in the middle.

Bommer's standing in the center of the middle platform. A trapdoor gives suddenly beneath his feet and he drops into the maelstrom below. "Yaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Bommer yells. As he falls, one of Rudger's spiders is on the underside of the platform and shoots a thick thread towards him, which ensnares him around the neck, hanging him, as he makes contact with the misty energy. Bommer stops shouting.

"Dying soul, listen to me. If the flames of revenge are still in your soul, then listen to my voice! I'll give you one more chance to get your revenge against Godwin! But you must become a Dark Signer and defeat the Crimson Dragon's servant, Sakura Kuraitaiyou! This task was originally Demak's if he defeated that young Signer, but now it falls to you! Find her and bring her to me, by any means necessary!" Rudger says.

"I will defeat Sakura Kuraitaiyou. I will find her and bring her to you, by any means necessary. For my brother and sister who were engulfed in flames. In order to get my revenge against Godwin! Sakura Kuraitaiyou!" Says Bommer.

"You will resurrect as a Dark Signer! If you fail to bring my daughter to me, you'll die permanently and the task will fall to another Dark Signer!" Rudger says.

A pillar of energy surges up from the swirling void, around Bommer. Deep in the mist, he opens his eyes, shocked suddenly, his scleras are black. Bommer can see Rudger on the side of the Moment.

Ahahahahahahah! Ahahahahahahahaha!" Rudger laughs, evilly.

On the landscape appears a new Dark Signer mark, the whale.

Meanwhile, Sakura, on her D-Wheel, with Usagi sitting behind her, holding onto her around the waist, and Grim sitting down on his specially built-in platform, his harness is fastened around him and the chain is hooked up to his collar, which is hidden underneath his long, black fur, secured safely to both the platform and D-Wheel, and Ushio and both sets of twins, in their jeep, are zooming down the dusty street side-by-side, oblivious that...

Elsewhere on the streets, someone is looking for them. Bommer, the Dark Signer, is back on his monster-truck of a D-Wheel, which is sporting a purple-and-black paint job and replacement chariot piles in gold. He doesn't have a hood or cloak, just stripes on his leather armor. Bommer's the purple Dark Signer, with a left-side satellite-special facial mark that extends onto his forehead, just like Kiryu's, but wider and lighter, and on the left instead of the right. "Just wait, Sakura Kuraitaiyou. I will find you and bring you to your father, by any means necessary! Just wait, Godwin. I will defeat you!" Bommer thinks to himself.

Crow's D-Wheel still lies in the street, abandoned. However, now a refrigerator is standing on the side of the road nearby.

Crow opens the fridge door, having been hiding inside. He's still wearing his helmet, he rubs his head and falls to his knees, then to the ground on his face. Crow struggles up on his hands to look around. "Ugh!" Says Crow.

Flashback. "If you also want to live, then run away! But it might already be too late!" Jaeger says.

The ground is shaking again, and a blackish fog is spreading from the crater, enveloping the warehouse and heading for Crow. He runs and jumps onto his D-Wheel, dust explodes from beneath his wheels, and he takes off, the fog not far behind. "Damn! I refuse to die! I won't die in a place like this!" Says Crow. The flashback ends.

Back to the present. Crow has gotten to his feet and is pulling his D-Wheel up off the ground. He climbs on it before he falls over, and once in place, pulls down the left-side armbar, expertly. Crow can't walk, but apparently he can ride. He toggles the right-side acceleration grip and takes off.

As Crow rides down the street, he seems to see four guys relaxing on a stoop, chatting and eating lunch. "What? That's not fair!" The four guys vanish, they were never really there.

Another group of friends on the street cluster around one guy playing a gameboy or similar. "Awesome!" They disappear, also a mirage.

Next, a whole crowd of ghostly people, standing and cheering around two guys squaring off over a table, maybe they're about to duel. But, the entire crowded street is only a vision.

The street should be crowded, but Crow is completely alone. "Everyone!" Crow says. He turns around and zooms back the other way. Crow races past empty buildings and through empty streets, to his hideout in the shadow of the Daedalus Bridge. He brakes hard outside his hideout and pulls back the curtains. "Hey, everyone! It's me! You're here, right? It's Crow! Stop hiding and come out! Stop messing around!"

"It's Crow!"

"Huh?" Asks Crow.

A couple of kids are peeking out of the doorway of the building next-door. "Crow came home!"

The little girl, he told the bridge story to, looks down from the second story, along with a dog.

One of the little boys from the story. "Crow?"

"Crow!" They all run toward Crow, laughing and cheering.

"You guys! Thank goodness. Thank good..." Crow says. One little girl jumps into his arms and vanishes before reaching him.

The girl, who listened to the story, does the same.

"Huh?" Asks Crow.

The three boys running toward him also disappear, he's alone. The kids were only visions, like the people in the street.

Crow looks at his hands, in horror. His nestlings are gone. The sky itself suddenly seems darker and the breeze stirs the dust, harshly. "This has to be a joke. Nooooooooooooooooo!" Crow says.

Sometime later. Crow and his D-Wheel are standing at the tip of the unfinished bridge, maybe he was planning to jump off, when blue lightning rends the sky behind him. He looks back and sees the mark of the giant illuminate the sky. "There you are, Dark Signers!" Crow thinks to himself. He gets on his D-Wheel and turns around, racing back down the bridge.

"He's over there." Says Sakura. They're seeing the same thing, and the mark of the giant is not far away.

Velvet clings close to Subaru, slightly, who holds at her hand, warily. "That mark belongs to father." Subaru says. "Daddy's under that mark." Says Velvet.

Sakura glances back at them from the corner of her eye. "They can feel him." Sakura thinks to herself. She then glances down at her hand, which is trembling, as the burning sensation has started up in her arm once again. "Just as I can." Sakura thinks to herself.

Bommer, too, is racing toward the tower, looking for her.

When Crow goes off a ramp above him and lands right in front of him.

Both brake hard.

"Sakura?" Bommer asks.

"Too bad, but I'm not Sakura. But I know you! Bommer, I can't believe you became a Dark Signer!" Says Crow.

"Who are you?" Bommer asks.

"I'm Crow. I'm replacing Sakura and challenging you to a duel!"

"You're not a Signer." Says Bommer.

"Be quiet! It doesn't matter if I'm a Signer or not! You took something important from me!" Crow says.

"Something important?" Asks Bommer.

"Don't play dumb! Due to your black fog, all the kids under my care vanished!" Crow says.

"Hmm?" Asks Bommer.

"Why did you involve the kids? They have nothing to do with this! If that's how you guys operate, then I won't forgive you!" Crow says.

"Won't forgive… I also can't forgive him. Even if I have to walk the path of death, I'll do whatever it takes to get revenge on Godwin! He made me choose this path because he killed my brother and sister!" Says Bommer.

"Then there's nothing to discuss. If you want to defeat Sakura, you have to defeat me first! But I'm telling you now, I'll keep you from getting to her. I won't let you get to my best friend! And even if you take me down, you still have Jack and Yusei to deal with before you can even get close to Sakura!" Crow says.

"How annoying! I don't feel like fighting you because you're not a Signer!" Says Bommer.

"Sorry, but I'm going to force you to accept my duel." Crow says. He holds up a device that's counting down from five minutes. "Do you know what this is?" Asks Crow. He slots it into a spot next to his duel disk. "If you refuse to duel, we'll go to the afterlife together. If you try to escape, I'll chase you down." Crow says.

"Fine. If you're that determined, I'll take you on. That will draw Sakura here!" Says Bommer.

The two drive to a suitable battleground.

"Crow, I'll ask you again. When the shadow duel is over, one of our souls will vanish. Once we start, there's no going back." Bommer says.

"You're so annoying! You took away my home! I don't need you to worry about me!" Says Crow.

"Fine." Bommer says.

"But there's one condition. Autopilot can't be used in this Riding Duel." Says Crow.

"Huh?" Bommer asks.

"This is non-negotiable." Crow thinks to himself.

Flashback to the end of Yusei vs. Kiryu. "In order to avoid attacks from the Dark Signers' Earthbound Immortals, I have to be free to use my driving techniques." Crow thinks to himself, in voice-over. The flashback ends.

Back to the present. "Let's go!" Says Crow.

"Field Spell 'Speed World'! Set on!" Bommer says. "Duel Mode on. Manual Mode." Says the computer.

Both D-Wheel screens show the 'Speed World' and shift to duel mode. The area around them is tinted purple and blue-violet fire springs up in the whale design, reflected against the overcast sky.

"Ahh!" Luca screams. "That's the killer whale geoglyph!" Lua says. "But there aren't any Dark Signers with a killer whale mark." Says Ushio.

Grim moves to stand up on his specially built-in platform, kept in place by the chain that's hooked up to his collar and the harness that's fastened around him, as his fur starts to stand on edge, his blazing red eyes fixed on the mark of the whale, his teeth bared, as he lets out a deep growl. "Does that mean there's a new Dark Signer?" Sakura asks.

"But it's weird. My mark doesn't throb." Says Luca. "Does that mean he's not battling a Signer?" Lua asks.

"Let's hurry!" Says Sakura. She speeds ahead.

The fiery pathway stretches ahead of the two D-Wheels.

"Without autopilot, the person who takes the first corner gets to choose who goes first!" Crow says.

"So how do we know when to start?" Asks Bommer.

Crow pulls out the device from earlier. "With this!" Crow says. He tosses it to the side on the ground, it's at 00:23 and counting.

"Don't worry. It's only a normal alarm clock. We'll start when that counter reaches zero." Says Crow

00:16.

Bommer nods, and smiles a little. "You fool." Bommer says.

00:10.

Starting blocks, last chance to exchange competitive glares before the duel starts.

Crow's got a good one.

They wait, silently. 00:04, 3, 2, 1, 00:00. The alarm clock beeps, and the D-Wheels are off.

"Duel!" Says both Crow and Bommer. Both start with 4000 life points.

"His D-Wheel has much more horsepower than my Blackbird. In order to win this duel, I have to take the first corner!" Crow thinks to himself. He taps the footpad and zooms onward.

"What? He's going to enter the corner at high speed? But you'll find out who's better at braking!" Bommer says.

On Crow's monitor, he can see him pulling ahead of him. "I'm going in!" Says Crow.

As they go around the curve, Bommer's D-Wheel skids to the outside. "I win the first corner!" Bommer says.

Coming out of the turn, Crow puts on a burst of speed.

Leaving Bommer far behind.

"You were bluffing! This wasn't about braking!" Says Bommer.

"Of course! If a machine that huge enters the corner at high speed, you'll be pushed outwards on the way out. Driving, like a duel, has secret strategies! I get to go first in this duel! I draw! From my hand, I summon Blackwing-Shura the Blue Flame!" Crow says.

Blackwing-Shura the Blue Flame has 1800 attack points and is a Level 4 monster. "I set one card and end my turn!" Says Crow.

"My turn." Bommer says. He draws. "I summon Trap Reactor•Y FI!" Says Bommer.

Trap Reactor•Y FI has 800 attack points and is a Level 4 monster. "Then I activate Diving Exploder's monster effect from my hand! I send this card in my hand to the graveyard. The attack and defense points of monsters on the field are switched until the end of this turn!" Bommer says.

"What? Switch the attack and defense points?" Asks Crow.

"There's no way a non-Signer can defeat me! Go, Diving Exploder!" Bommer says.

"Aaaah!" It swoops up and drops a bomb on Crow.

Big smoke cloud, but both duelists zoom out of it unharmed.

Shura now has 1200 attack points, to Y FI's 1800.

"Trap Reactor•Y FI, shoot him with RR Cannon!" Says Bommer.

"Rrrgh." Crow growls under his breath.

And Shura is shot down, with several explosions in its back.

Crow's life points fall to 3400. "Agh! Why am I feeling an impact?" Crow asks. Indeed, his D-Wheel is wobbling a bit and a bump in the rough ground sends it flying. Crow's now in mid-air, struggling to hang on. "Everyone..." Crow thinks to himself.

Flashback. The little girl, he told the bridge story to, looks down from the second story, along with a dog.

One of the little boys from the story. "Crow?"

"Crow!" They all run toward Crow, laughing and cheering.

One little girl jumps into his arms and vanishes before reaching him.

The girl, who listened to the story, does the same. The flashback ends.

Back to the present. Crow's still flying through the air, trying to land again. "I can't afford to lose! Everyone! I… Daaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Says Crow. He's fallen off the narrow highway they had been dueling on.

"It is too dangerous for a non-Signer to battle a Dark Signer. I don't know who is fighting. However, do not lose your cool!" Sakura thinks to herself.