Yusei and everyone else had returned to the hospital and were trying to figure out a plan to get Alex back. "What do we do?" Luna asked. "I don't know. We need a way to reach out to Alex," Yusei responded. "I have an idea," Yubel offered. "What is it, Yubel?" Luna asked, willing to try anything.
"A long time ago, while I was still under the influence of the Light of Destruction, I had possessed Jaden's friend Jesse, and Jaden was able to break my control over him by using Super Polymerization to fuse Neos with Jesse's Rainbow Dragon, which had Jesse's soul trapped inside it," Yubel explained.
"So you think that Alex's soul could be trapped inside one of his cards?" Akiza asked. "Yes, and I think I know which card," Yubel answered. "His Evil HERO Supreme King! It looked just like him!" Luna exclaimed, which Yubel confirmed she was sure that's where Alex's soul was.
"But how are we going to do this? We don't even have the Super Polymerization card, Nightshroud does," Jack pointed out. "Not anymore he doesn't," a voice said. They all turned to the one who spoke and couldn't believe who it was. "Neos?" Yubel asked. Sure enough, standing before them was the duel spirit of Alex's Evil HERO Neos.
"It's good to see you, Yubel," Neos said. "But how? We thought Nightshroud still had all of Alex's cards," Yubel questioned. "He does still have most of them, but the other Evil Heroes gave me enough of their energy to manifest myself physically, and I was able to escape Nightshroud with these," Neos informed as he held up Super Polymerization, his card, Evil HERO Galactic Ruler, and a blank card.
"What's the blank card for?" Yusei asked. "It's for a fusion between myself and Evil HERO Supreme King. If we can complete it and summon it against Nightshroud, I'm sure we can bring Alex back," Neos assured. "And just how are we supposed to do that?" Jack asked.
"That's where we come in," a voice behind Neos stated. They all looked behind Neos and saw Jinzo, Dark Crusader, and Breaker the Magical Warrior, prompting Yusei and his friends to jump to their feet. "What are you three doing here?" Yusei asked, ready to start a duel.
"Yeah, we thought you worked for Nightshroud," Jack asked. "That is where you are wrong. Our loyalty is to Alex, not the one controlling him," Jinzo answered, both Breaker and Crusader agreeing with him. "So how are you going to help?" Yusei asked. "We know that the only way to bring Alex back is to complete that card. We shall give up our forms in order to channel our energy into the card, completing it," Breaker answered.
"So you three are willing to give up everything to bring Alex back?" Yusei asked. "Indeed. Alex brought us into this world, and we would gladly return to the spirit world if it meant bringing him back," Dark Crusader confirmed, which both Jinzo and Breaker nodded in agreement.
"Thank you," Yusei said. "We are simply fulfilling our duty as Alex's loyal servants," Jinzo responded as the three of them dissolved into shadows before pouring into the blank card. After the last of them had been absorbed into the card, it glowed for a moment, and when the glow faded, the card had turned into a fusion monster that looked like Elemental HERO Neos wearing an altered version of Alex's armor.
"So this is it? Evil HERO Supreme Neos?" Yusei asked as he looked at the card. "This is all well and good, but we still have a problem. How are we going to get to Nightshroud to challenge him to a duel? We can't just wait for his army to show up tomorrow," Jack pointed out.
"Agreed. I know a secret way into the castle. We could slip in and get to Nightshroud without any problems," Neos informed. "Alright, so what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Luna shouted. Yanagi said he would stay behind to protect the hospital in case of any early attacks.
Yusei and the others wished him luck before they all left the hospital and headed for Nightshroud's castle. They got there and found the secret entrance Neos was talking about. They went down it and came out in the main hall. "Alright, he should be just at the top of these stairs," Neos informed.
"A shame you won't reach him," a voice said behind them. They turned and saw Lord of Dragons behind them. "So you're rebelling against the king? That's treason Neos," the spirit stated. "You're the traitor here! Alex is being controlled, and you're just following Nightshroud's orders instead of trying to get him back!" Neos shouted.
"Be that as it may, I cannot allow you to pass, at least not without dueling," Lord of Dragons responded. "The rest of you, go and face Nightshroud, I'll keep him busy! Take the stairs and he'll be at the end of the hallway!" Neos shouted. "Right! Come on!" Yusei shouted as they ran off.
Neos materialized a duel disk and faced off against Lord of Dragons. Meanwhile, Yusei and the rest of the gang had reached the top of the stairs and were racing down the hall, but were halted by a pair of duel spirits, namely Gorz the Emissary of Darkness and Archfiend of Gilfer.
"Jack and I will handle these two, you guys go on ahead!" Yusei shouted. Leo, Luna, and Akiza ran ahead, but were stopped by yet another spirit, the spirit in question being Archfiend General. "You shall not pass this point," he declared. "Leo, you and Luna go on, this one is all mine.
Leo and Luna ran past and came upon the room where Nightshroud was. "Are you ready?" Leo asked. Luna nodded and they forced the door open and saw Nightshroud standing at the other end of the room gazing outside. "Nightshroud!" Leo shouted. Nightshroud turned around to face them, his eyes glowing as if staring into their very souls.
"So it seems you have come to me. I take it you're here to duel?" he asked. "That's right! We're gonna get our friend back!" Luna responded. "Very well, if you are both so determined, you may face me at the same time," Nightshroud offered. "A 2 on 1 duel?" Leo asked, surprised that Nightshroud was taking such a handicap.
"Indeed. You shall both have 4000 life points each, while my life points will be 8000. You will both have your own field and graveyard, and my turn shall take place in between the both of yours, and no player may attack until everyone has taken a turn," Nightshroud said as he outlined the rules. "Fine, let's do this!" Leo shouted as they all prepared to face off, each shouting "Let's duel!"
Nightshroud: 8000 LP
Leo: 4000 LP
Luna: 4000 LP
"I'll go first. I play Morphtronic Datatron in attack mode," Leo declared.
Level 3/Fire/Pyro
ATK 1200/DEF 600
"Next I play the continuous spell Gadget Box, and due to its effect, once each turn, I can summon a gadget token to the field, but it won't be here for long. Due to Datatron's effect, if I tribute a monster on my field while he's in attack mode, you take 600 points of direct damage," he explained.
Nightshroud: 7400 LP
"I place 1 card face-down and end my turn," Leo concluded. "I draw. I play Evil HERO Voltage in attack mode," Nightshroud declared.
Level 4/Light/Fiend
ATK 1600/DEF 1400
"And I shall now activate his special ability, which means I can now add an Evil HERO fusion material monster from my deck to my hand, and I choose my Stone Guardian. Since I cannot attack yet, I shall end my turn," he conceded. "It's my turn, I draw. And I play Sunlight Unicorn!" Luna shouted.
Level 4/Light/Beast
ATK 1800/DEF 1000
"Now attack his monster!" she ordered as Sunlight Unicorn dashed towards Voltage and rammed into him, destroying him.
Nightshroud: 7200 LP
"I activate the effect of Evil HERO Stone Guardian. Since you destroyed an Evil HERO on my field, I can summon him from my hand in defense mode," Nightshroud explained.
Level 4/Earth/Fiend
ATK 800/DEF 2000
"I place 1 card face-down and end my turn. Alex, you can fight him! Remember the times we dueled? We're your friends, and we're here for you!" Luna shouted. "He cannot hear you. It is my turn, I draw. And during my standby phase, the effect of Stone Guardian activates, allowing me to add Dark Fusion from my deck to my hand. And now I shall activate Dark Fusion, and combine Stone Guardian and Flare Mage to summon forth Evil HERO Infernal Sniper in defense mode," Nightshroud declared.
Level 6/Fire/Fiend
ATK 2000/DEF 2500
"And now the effect of Flare Mage activates, dealing one of you 600 points of damage. Flare Mage, fire at the boy," he ordered. Flare Mage looked at Leo apologetically before launching a fireball at him.
Leo: 3400 LP
"And now Infernal Sniper's effect activates. Fire at the girl," Nightshroud commanded. Infernal Sniper looked remorseful, but did as she was ordered and launched a sphere of black energy at Luna.
Luna: 3000 LP
"I set one card face-down and equip Infernal Sniper with the spell Vicious Claw. I end my turn," Nightshroud concluded. "My turn, I draw. I activate the effect of Gadget Box again, summoning another token," Leo declared. "Repeating the same move as your last turn?" Nightshroud questioned. "Nope, because I summon the tuner monster Morphtronic Remoten in attack mode," Leo stated.
Level 3/Earth/Machine
ATK 300/DEF 1200
"And now my level 3 Remoten tunes with my level 1 Gadget Token and my level 3 Datatron to synchro summon Power Tool Dragon!" he shouted.
Level 7/Earth/Machine
ATK 2300/DEF 2500
"Now I activate Power Tool's special ability. Once a turn, it can add a random equip spell from my deck to my hand," Leo contined as his duel disk shuffled his deck and ejected a card. "Sweet, I play the equip spell Double Tool C&D. This gives my monster 1000 more attack points during my turn, and it negates the effects of monsters it battles during the battle phase," he explained.
Power Tool Dragon: 2300-3300 ATK
"Now attack his Infernal Sniper!" Leo ordered. Power Tool Dragon tried to ram its drill into Infernal Sniper, but she held her ground against the attack. "Vicious Claw's effect activates. When the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, this card returns to my hand instead, and then one monster other than the one mine battled is destroyed, and you take 600 damage," Nightshroud explained.
"Say what?" Leo asked. "Sunlight Unicorn is destroyed and your sister receives 600 points of damage," Nightshroud said as Luna's monster was destroyed, and she was pushed back by the explosion.
Luna: 2400 LP
"Luna are you alright?" Leo asked, which Luna responded she was okay. "The other effect of Vicious Claw activates, summoning an Evil Token onto your field," Nightshroud explained.
Level 7/Dark/Fiend
ATK 2500/DEF 2500
"Why would he summon a monster onto Luna's field?" Leo questioned, though he was about to receive an answer. "I play the trap Evil Blast. When a monster is special summoned to your field, it equips onto your monster, raising its attack by 500, but as long as this card is equipped, you take 500 damage during each of your standby phases," Nightshroud explained.
Evil Token: 2500-3000 ATK
"I set three cards face-down and end my turn," Leo concluded. "It's my turn, I draw. And I activate Infernal Sniper's effect, so deal the girl 1000 damage," Nightshroud ordered. "I play a counter trap, Divine Wrath! By discarding one card, your monster's effect is negated and she's destroyed," Leo explained as a blast shot from his trap, striking Infernal Sniper in the chest and destroying her.
"Way to go Leo!" Luna praised. "I won't let you lay a finger on my sister anymore, got that?" Leo declared. "As you wish, I shall dispose of you first. I activate Dark Calling. I banish Voltage and Stone Guardian from the graveyard to summon Evil HERO Lightning Golem," Nightshroud proclaimed.
Level 6/Light/Fiend
ATK 2400/DEF 1500
"And now his effect activates, so your dragon is destroyed," he continued as Lightning Golem launched a sphere of black electricity at Power Tool Dragon. "Not if I use his special ability. If he would be destroyed while there's a card equipped to him, I can send that card to the graveyard instead," Leo explained as Power Tool Dragon crossed its arms and blocked the attack.
"I equip Lightning Golem with the spell Vicious Claw. Now, attack Power Tool Dragon," Nightshroud ordered. "I play the trap Collected Power! This card will move every equip card on the field onto my Power Tool Dragon!" Leo explained.
Power Tool Dragon: 2300-3100 ATK
"Power Tool Dragon, counterattack with Crafty Break!" he shouted as Power Tool Dragon drove his drill into Lightning Golem's chest, destroying him.
Nightshroud: 6500 LP
"I set one card face-down and end my turn," Nightshroud conceded. "I draw. Evil Token, attack Nightshroud directly!" Luna ordered. The monster obliged, driving his fist into Nightshroud's stomach, sending him flying back against the wall, cracking it. "I hope Alex's body will pull through," Luna thought to herself.
Nightshroud: 6500 LP
"What?! Why didn't his life points change?" Leo asked. "Because I activated this, the Defense Draw trap card, which allowed me to draw 1 card and make the damage 0," Nightshroud explained. He suddenly stumbled a bit and brought his hand to his side. "Curse this fragile human body. This duel has gone on long enough," he said as he straightened up, waves of darkness rolling off him. "This doesn't look good," Leo commented.
To be continued...