"I think it's time we quit sitting here and get to it," Kalin suggested. "Fine by me. The sooner I beat you, the sooner you're out of Roman's control," Alex responded. "You're mistaken there. I'm not one of Roman's little puppets, I'm one of the ones pulling the strings. Unlike the one you had when you dueled Yusei, this mark is the real deal," Kalin replied as he raised his arm.
"So you're actually a Dark Signer," Alex said to himself, starting to get a very bad feeling. Meanwhile, Yusei and Crow had driven their duel runners to the top of a nearby hill so they could get a better look at the track Kalin made. "It's in the same shape as his mark," Yusei pointed out.
"Yeah, but how do we get Alex out of it?" Crow asked. "That's the problem, we can't. That barrier won't drop until the duel ends, and for Alex's sake, I hope he's the winner," Yusei answered. Just then, Jack's helicopter arrived at the scene and landed next to Crow and Yusei.
"Jack?" Yusei and Crow asked in unison, surprised to see their former friend. "Long time no see," Jack said before turning his attention to Alex and Kalin. "So Jack is here too? Perfect. Now the four of us will be back together again," Kalin said down at the duel field. "How do you know them?" Alex asked.
"That's a long story, and I'm afraid we're short on time, so I suggest you get ready to duel," Kalin responded. "Fine. Just don't lose your head when I win," Alex replied. "You've sure got some guts kid, you remind me of myself back when Yusei and I were friends," Kalin commented.
"What happened to you, Kalin?" Yusei asked. "I bet you thought you'd never see me again, Yusei. And to think, we used to be so close. And in case you've been wondering all these years, no, I haven't forgiven you for betraying me," Kalin said coldly. "You betrayed us when you took things too far," Yusei responded.
"I didn't take things far enough because of you and your weakness," Kalin rebutted. "I had no choice, Kalin!" Yusei shouted, trying to get through to Kalin. "What are you talking about?" Alex asked. "We all used to duel together in the Satellite. Kalin was one of our closest friends," Jack explained.
"So what happened?" Alex questioned, and Kalin's face contorted in anger. "Yusei stabbed me in the back is what happened!" he shouted. "That's not what happened Kalin!" Yusei yelled. "I don't wanna hear your lies Yusei! I've had enough of this idle talk, it's time to duel!" Kalin sneered as he turned his attention to Alex.
"Fine," Alex said as he turned his duel runner so he was facing the same direction as Kalin. "Please lend me your strength everyone," he thought to himself as he placed his deck in the holder. "Well, looks like we're finally ready to get this duel started," Kalin said. "Let's do this," Alex said before they both took off down the track, Kalin managing to take the first corner.
Alex: 4000 LP
Kalin: 4000 LP
Crow and Yusei pulled up the play by play of the duel on their duel runners. "Be careful Alex," Crow said, hoping Alex would pull through. "You must be careful Alex, he is an opponent unlike any you have faced before," Yubel warned. "I know. I have to end this duel before he can play his Earthbound Immortal, or I may not stand a chance," Alex responded. "I'll go first, and I play Infernity Beast," Kalin declared.
Level 3/Dark/Beast
ATK 1600/DEF 1200
"Next I place 1 card face-down and end my turn. Now, why don't you show me those skills of yours?" Kalin asked. "If you insist. I draw," Alex said as he started his turn.
Kalin SPC: 1
Alex SPC: 1
"I play Hunter Dragon in attack mode," he continued.
Level 3/Dark/Dragon
ATK 1700/DEF 100
"Now attack his Infernity Beast with Fang Strike!" Alex ordered as Hunter Dragon charged at Infernity Beast. "Not so fast Alex, I play the continuous trap Depth Amulet, so by discarding a card, your dragon's attack is canceled," Kalin explained as his trap moved into Hunter Dragon's path, blocking it entirely.
"So much for the direct approach. I'll place two face-downs and leave it at that," Alex concluded. "My move then," Kalin said as he drew a card.
Kalin SPC: 2
Alex SPC: 2
"I play Infernity Archfiend in attack mode," he continued as he summoned a monster with four red eyes.
Level 4/Dark/Fiend
ATK 1800/DEF 1200
"Now Infernity Archfiend, attack his Hunter Dragon!" Kalin ordered as his monster charged a ball of black energy before launching it at Hunter Dragon, destroying it.
Alex: 3900 LP
"Now Infernity Beast, attack Alex directly!" he shouted as Infernity Beast turned and sprinted towards Alex, jumping into the air to attack him. "Look out!" Yusei shouted. "I play my trap card, Defense Draw! With it, the damage from your monster's attack becomes 0, and I draw 1 card," Alex explained as his trap moved in front of him, Infernity Beast crashing into it instead of him.
"Good move Alex, but you're gonna have to be great to win this," Jack said as he continued to watch. "That was a close one," Crow added as he let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, but it's gonna get closer. Kalin never did pull his punches," Yusei reminded. "Hm, not bad dodging that one. I place a card face-down and end my turn. Show me what you've got Alex, I like surprises," Kalin said. "Be careful what you ask for," Alex responded as he began his turn.
Kalin SPC: 3
Alex SPC: 3
"You know Kalin, I should really thank you for destroying my Hunter Dragon," he continued. "And why is that?" Kalin asked. "Because you've set me up to use this next card. I summon Cyberdark Horn in attack mode," Alex explained.
Level 4/Dark/Machine
ATK 800/DEF 800
"What good is some 800 point runt gonna do ya?" Kalin asked. "I wouldn't count him out yet. I activate Cyberdark Horn's special ability. When he's normal summoned, he can equip a level 3 or lower dragon from my grave to himself, absorbing that monster's attack points," Alex explained.
"Say what?" Kalin exclaimed. "I equip him with Hunter Dragon, giving him 1700 more attack points," Alex declared as Hunter Dragon reappeared on his field before attaching itself to Cyberdark Horn.
Cyberdark Horn: 800-2500 ATK
"Now my Cyberdark Horn has more attack points than your monsters," Alex pointed out.
"Except due to the effect of Depth Amulet, all I have to do is discard a card and your attack is negated," Kalin reminded. "Well as they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Cyberdark Horn, attack Infernity Beast!" Alex ordered. "You're so predictable. I discard a card to activate the effect of my Depth Amulet, so your attack is canceled," Kalin responded.
"Why would Alex attack if he knew Kalin could stop him?" Carly asked. "I think I see why. In order to stop Alex's attacks, Kalin has to keep throwing away his cards, which means there's less moves he can make," Jack guessed. "Right. If Alex can run Kalin's hand out, he'll have a much better shot at winning the duel," Yusei agreed.
"That's pretty smart," Crow commented."I place one card face-down and end my turn," Alex conceded. "Then it's my turn, I draw," Kalin said.
Kalin SPC: 4
Alex SPC: 4
"I tribute Infernity Beast and Infernity Archfiend to summon Dark Tuner Nightmare Hand," he continued.
Level 10/Dark/Fiend
ATK 0/DEF 0
"That can't be good," Alex commented. "Oh it is good, just not for you. Due to my monster's special ability, I can now summon a level 2 or lower monster from my hand, so I play Infernity Dwarf," Kalin explained as he summoned a rotund monster with a large ax.
Level 2/Dark/Warrior
ATK 800/DEF 500
"And now I dark tune Nightmare Hand with Infernity Dwarf in order to summon Hundred Eyes Dragon!" Kalin shouted.
Level -8/Dark/Dragon
ATK 3000/DEF 2500
"Something you should know. When Hundred Eyes Dragon is on the field, he gains the effects of every dark attribute monster in my graveyard. So since he gains the effect of my Infernity Beast, if I have no cards in my hand, like right now, you can't activate any spells or traps when he attacks," Kalin explained.
"You wanted me to keep attacking so you could empty your hand," Alex said as he realized Kalin had been playing him from the start of the duel. "That's right. Now Hundred Eyes Dragon, attack with Infinity Sight Stream!" Kalin shouted as Hundred Eyes Dragon launched a beam of purple energy at Cyberdark Horn, hitting Alex and making his duel runner spin out of control.
Alex: 3400 LP
"Hey Alex, is that some kind of new dance craze?" Kalin mocked. Alex managed to regain control of his duel runner and caught back up. "I'm glad you're not out yet, this is the best duel I've had in years. I can't wait for you to satisfy me more," Kalin said.
"Due to the effect of Cyberdark Horn, if he would be destroyed by battle, the monster he's equipped with is destroyed instead," Alex explained as Hunter Dragon was destroyed. "I end my turn," Kalin conceded. "I draw," Alex said before looking over his hand.
Kalin SPC: 5
Alex SPC: 5
"I tribute Cyberdark Horn to summon Armed Dragon LV 5 in attack mode," he continued.
Level 5/Wind/Dragon
ATK 2400/DEF 1700
"And now I play Speed Spell - Half Seize. This cuts your dragon's attack in half for one turn and adds the attack he lost to my life points," Alex explained as Hundred Eyes Dragon's power began to drop.
Hundred Eyes Dragon: 3000-1500 ATK
Alex: 4900 LP
"Now Armed Dragon LV 5, attack!" he shouted as his dragon gave a strong uppercut to Kalin's, but didn't destroy it. "Why wasn't your monster destroyed?" Alex asked. "It's due to the Infernity Guardian in my graveyard. Since Hundred Eyes Dragon gains his effect, he can't be destroyed by battle or card effects if I have no cards in my hand," Kalin explained.
Kalin: 3100 LP
"I end my turn," Alex concluded as Hundred Eyes Dragon's attack points returned to normal. "Due to the effect of my Depth Amulet, it's destroyed at the end of your 3rd turn after I activated it. I draw," Kalin said.
Kalin SPC: 6
Alex SPC: 6
"I play Speed Spell - Power Baton. By sending a monster from my deck to the graveyard, Hundred Eyes Dragon gains all those monster's attack points for this turn. I choose my Infernity Destroyer, and he has 2300 attack points," he explained.
Hundred Eyes Dragon: 3000-5300 ATK
"5300 attack points?!" Alex exclaimed. "Now attack with Infinity Sight Stream!" Kalin ordered as his monster unleashed an energy beam from its eye and Armed Dragon LV 5.
Alex: 2000 LP
Alex SPC: 4
"And now Hundred Eyes Dragon activates Infernity Destroyer's effect, so you take another 800 points of damage," he continued.
Alex: 1200 LP
"I won't give up," Alex stated. "You may want to rethink that, one more attack and you're finished. I end my turn," Kalin stated as his dragon's attack power dropped. "My turn," Alex said before he looked at the card he drew. "Just what I needed to make a comeback," he thought to himself.
Kalin SPC: 7
Alex SPC: 5
"I play my face-down card, the trap Level Modulation. Now you draw 2 cards, and I get to bring back a LV monster from my graveyard," Alex explained. Kalin just grit his teeth and drew his cards. "Way to go Alex," Yusei complimented. "Wait, I'm confused. Wouldn't giving Kalin more cards be a bad thing?" Carly asked.
"Normally yes, but since the monsters in Kalin's graveyard can only use their effects if Kalin's hand is empty, it was the perfect move," Jack explained. "I play Speed Spell - Level Up. By sending my Armed Dragon LV 5 to the grave, I can summon Armed Dragon LV 7," Alex explained.
Level 7/Wind/Dragon
ATK 2800/DEF 1000
"And now I sacrifice Armed Dragon LV 7 to bring out Armed Dragon LV 10!" he shouted as he summoned the strongest Armed Dragon monster.
Level 10/Wind/Dragon
ATK 3000/DEF 2000
"Now that's a powerful dragon!" Crow exclaimed. "And now I use his special ability. By discarding one card, all your face-up monsters are destroyed," Alex explained as he placed the last card in his hand into the graveyard. "Say what?" Kalin asked. "Destroy his monster with Sonic Roar!" Alex shouted as his dragon let out a huge roar, unleashing a shockwave that ripped through Hundred Eyes Dragon.
"Due to the effect of Hundred Eyes Dragon, when it's destroyed, I can add 1 card from my deck to my hand," Kalin explained. "I get the feeling that's a card I don't wanna face," Alex guessed. "No you don't, but you can't inflict enough damage to win this duel," Kalin pointed out.
"Maybe not, but I can still eliminate most of your life points. Go Armed Dragon, attack with Dark Plasma Burst!" Alex shouted as Armed Dragon charged a ball of black energy in its palm before launching it at Kalin.
Kalin: 100 LP
Kalin SPC: 4
"I end my turn," Alex conceded, dreading what he thought was about to happen. "It's my turn, but due to the effect of Power Baton, I don't get to draw this turn," Kalin explained.
Kalin SPC: 5
Alex SPC: 6
"I play the trap Limit Impulse. By discarding 2 cards, I can summon two soul tokens," he continued as two white orbs with glowing yellow eyes appeared on the field.
Level 1/Dark/Fiend
ATK 0/DEF 0
Just then, numerous people in robes that looked like the Dark Signers' appeared outside the duel field. "What did you do to them?" Alex asked. "These people are going to become the sacrifice for this card," Kalin explained as he pulled out the last card in his hand. "What does that mean?" Alex asked. "I sacrifice both my tokens to summon Earthbound Immortal Ccapac Apu!" Kalin shouted.
An object that looked like a giant stone heart appeared above them. The people on the outside of the duel track cried out in pain before turning into purple orbs of light that flew to the relic. After absorbing all of them, it shattered and a beam of light sprung up from where it was.
A giant monster with blue lines running through its body then appeared, overshadowing Alex's monster. "So this is an Earthbound Immortal?" Alex asked, fear gripping his heart as he gazed at the towering behemoth. "Yes. This is the monster that I'll use to force you to join us after you lose this duel!" Kalin shouted.
Level 10/Dark/Fiend
ATK 3000/DEF 2500
"And now, attack his life points directly!" Kalin ordered. "What?!" Alex exclaimed in shock, wondering how Kalin was ignoring his monster. "When there's a field spell in play, such as Speed World, my Earthbound Immortal can attack you directly, and he's also not affected by your spells and traps," Kalin explained.
"I can't stop him, I'm gonna lose. Wait. I play a trap!" Alex shouted. "Weren't you listening? I just said traps don't work on my monster," Kalin reminded. "Maybe, but they still work on mine. I play the trap Ring of Destruction! With it, I can destroy my Armed Dragon and deal us both damage equal to its attack points," Alex explained as a metal collar attached itself to Armed Dragon's neck before exploding, sending Alex flying from the blast.
Alex: 0 LP
Kalin: 0 LP
Result: Draw
Alex lost control of his duel runner and crashed, rolling on the ground for a few yards before stopping. Kalin drove up next to him. "Well, I'm impressed you managed to force a draw instead of losing. I may not be able to take you right now, but I'll be back. I'll see ya around Yusei. You might wanna tend to your little buddy here, he's in pretty rough shape. Hahahahahahaha!" he laughed before driving off.
Crow and Yusei drove down to Alex, and once they reached him, Yusei got off his duel runner and ran up to him. "Alex! Come on, hang in there!" Yusei encouraged. "I'm sorry, I couldn't beat him," Alex said before he felt a sharp pain coming from his midsection. "My stomach," he said, pain etched into his voice.
Yusei looked at Alex's shirt and could see he was bleeding. "Yusei, get him in the helicopter! We can get him to the hospital!" Jack shouted. Yusei yelled "Right!" before picking Alex up and rushing him into the helicopter. "Stay with us Alex," Yusei insisted, but Alex was growing steadily weaker from the pain.
Mina pulled out a first aid kit and patched Alex up well enough that they could get him to the hospital. "Pilot, take us to the hospital now!" she ordered. The pilot nodded and took off for the city, flying as fast as he could. "Yusei, I can't keep my eyes open," Alex said as his eyes drifted further shut.
"Hang in there Alex, you're gonna be okay," Yusei assured before Alex slipped unconscious and Yusei tried to shake him awake. "Come on, wake up Alex!" Yusei shouted. Mina reached over and checked Alex's pulse. "He's okay, he's just unconscious," she assured.
"Are you sure he'll be alright until we get to the hospital?" Yusei asked. "Yes. I may not be a nurse, but I do know a fair amount about first aid," Mina responded. Five minutes later, the helicopter arrived at the hospital and a group of people met them on the roof's helipad with a stretcher.
They placed Alex on the stretcher and rushed him into the ER. Yusei, Jack, and Mina sat out in the waiting room, hoping Alex would be okay. "How could I let this happen to him? I promised his father I'd keep him safe, and look what happened," Yusei said, feeling like an absolute failure.
Jack put his hand on Yusei's shoulder. "It's not your fault Yusei. The Dark Signers are to blame for this," he assured. "Thanks Jack," Yusei responded, feeling somewhat relieved by Jack's statement. Just then, Jaden, Alexis, Leo, and Luna burst through the door and ran up to Yusei.
"What happened?!" Jaden asked in a panic. "Jaden, what are you doing here?" Yusei asked. "Goodwin told us Alex was being taken to the hospital. What happened?" Alexis asked. Yusei explained how he got separated from Alex and how he wound up in a shadow duel with a Dark Signer.
"So did Alex win?" Jaden asked. "No, the duel ended in a draw, but he hurt himself pretty bad in the process," Yusei answered. "I see. I can't believe this happened," Alexis said. "I'm so sorry Jaden. I promised you I'd keep Alex safe, and I failed," Yusei apologized.
Jaden just shook his head before replying "It's alright, I don't blame you for what's happened. What's important right now is that Alex pulls through." They all sat down, waiting for any news about Alex's condition.