Hibiki was riding on Speed Warrior's shoulders, while Miku was flying through the air with Destiny HERO - Dogma. Tsubasa had chosen to ride her D-Wheel instead of calling for one of her monsters.

"Please, make it in time…" Hibiki said.

"Wait, do you see that?" Miku said.

As they drove down the road, they could see what appeared to be a dome of shadows on the horizon, where the school was.

"So what are the rules?" Chris asked.

"First, we will each select one monster from our deck or extra deck that has 2500 attack points or less." Finé said. "I select Jinzo."

Finé held up her hand, and the card appeared. Holding it out, the cybernetic creature was summoned.

"2500?" Chris asked. "Then I know who I'm gonna choose. Come, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

The card came to Chris' hand, and she summoned her loyal dragon of darkness. It roared at Finé and her monster.

I'd say that I have the advantage since Dark Rebellion's stronger, but we don't know yet.

"We've each chosen our main monsters." Finé said. "Now this is how the game works. Both players start with 5 hit points. The monsters will battle, and whoever would've taken life point damage instead loses a hit point."

So I do have the advantage, but…

"Each turn we will randomly grab a single card from our scattered decks. The card we choose will help decide a battle outcome." Finé continued. "If we choose a monster card, we can use its attack points to empower our monster for one battle. If we choose a trap card, we can negate the damage that we would've taken. If we choose a spell card, you won't be able to do anything unless you have four. Once you have four, you can steal any of your opponent's monster cards for a permanent power boost. Similarly, if you have more than one monster in your hand, you can use multiple for a greater temporary boost. If you choose not to activate them, you can keep them in your hand, but you can only keep a max of 6 cards."

"So to win this, it's not just about attacking." Ogawa realized. "It's about resource management too."

"You must physically grab your cards, and you are allowed to get to them in any matter, from simply running to them, or riding your Duel Monster." Finé finished. "Those are the rules. Understand?"

"Sounds easy to me." Chris said. "Let's do this."

"Game start!" Finé declared.

Chris looked around the battlefield, as she hopped from platform to platform, before grabbing a card. Finé merely grabbed the nearest card, which was embedded in a pillar.

"I'll boost Dark Rebellion with The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm!" Chris shouted.

"Then I'll boost Jinzo with Jinzo #7." Finé said.

Jinzo's attack points were boosted to 2900, while Dark Rebellion's became an impressive 4000.

"Attack! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! Lightning Disobey of Rebellion!"

Dark Rebellion flew forward, slashing his sharpened jaws through Jinzo. Finé winced, as her hit points fell to 4.

"She got the first hit in!" Yumi said.

"But this is just the start…" Kuriyo muttered.

Chris quickly ran and grabbed another card. Looking at it, she internally cursed. Phantom Knights' Spear. Shit, a spell card?!

"I'll boost Jinzo's attack with Cipher Wing." Finé announced. "Attack! Cyber Energy Shock!"

The cyborg's attack points jumped to 3800 this time. Jinzo held his hands together, before unleashing a burst of electricity at Dark Rebellion. The dragon took the hit well, but Chris screamed in pain as she lost a hit point.

"Chris!" Genjuro shouted.

She fell to one knee, grabbing at her left leg. "I… I can't feel my leg!"

"Oh, did I not mention this?" Finé chuckled. "Every time you lose a hit point, you'll lose all feeling in one of your limbs, with the last hit sending your soul to the Shadow Realm."

"You're a monster!" Yumi shouted.

"Why isn't she feeling it though…?" Ogawa asked.

"Oh I am, Ogawa." Finé said. "I'm just so used to pain like this that it's nothing more than a mere annoyance. I can't say the same for Chris, though."

Chris grit her teeth, standing back up. "This won't stop me!"

She ran and grabbed another spell card, Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Force. Not good. She looked to see Finé grab another card, but didn't announce she'd be boosting Jinzo's attack this time.

"Dark Rebellion!" Chris shouted. "Lightning Disobey of Rebellion!"

Dark Rebellion pounced towards Jinzo with his jaw aimed.

"I'll discard the trap I just drew, Cipher Bit, to protect my hit points."

She threw Draining Shield to the side, as Jinzo blocked Dark Rebellion's hit. Chris grit her teeth, as she ran to grab another card.

Oh yeah, this'll do some damage! "I'll boost Dark Rebellion with The Phantom Knights of Break Sword!"

Dark Rebellion's attack points reached 4500 as it roared.

"Unfortunate for you, Chris." Finé said. "Because this will hurt even more. I boost Jinzo with Jinzo the Machine Menace."

Chris paled as Jinzo's attack points jumped to 4800. Jinzo unleashed blasts of red energy from his eyes, hitting Dark Rebellion in the chest. Chris screamed again as she lost another hit point.

I can't feel my legs… Chris panicked. But I can't give up now!

She couldn't trust herself to run like this though. Without sensing where she was stepping, she was sure to mess up.

"Dark Rebellion!" Chris shouted.

Her loyal dragon partner quickly flew to her, before kneeling down and letting Chris sit on his back.

"Up there!" Chris shouted.

Dark Rebellion flew up to one of the platforms, letting Chris grab a card.

"I've drawn Raider's Knight!" Chris yelled. "And I'll boost Dark Rebellion's attack with it!"

Dark Rebellion's attack jumped to 4500 once more.

"Lightning Disobey of Rebellion!"

Finé scoffed at the card she drew; Cipher Twin Raptor. No point in boosting her monster right now. Jinzo took the full front of the attack, and Finé's hit points dropped to 3.

"Now it's even again!" Yumi said.

"But for how long…?" Ogawa wondered.

"Everyone!"

Hibiki sped onto the scene with Speed Warrior. Miku landed soon after, and Tsubasa drove up on her D-Wheel.

"What's going on?! What happened?!" Hibiki asked.

"Wait, you're involved too, Bikki?" Kuriyo asked.

"No time for that." Tsubasa said, taking off her helmet. "Tell us what's going on."

"Chris is in a Shadow Game." Genjuro explained, turning to the shadowy dome.

"Chris-chan?!" Hibiki shouted.

"A Shadow Game?" Miku asked. "But I thought the Nameless Pharaoh stopped them for good!"

"Oh my dear children, the Shadows never truly go away." Finé said.

"Wait… isn't that…?" Hibiki widened her eyes.

"That's Ryoko." Genjuro said. "But it turned out she was Finé the entire time…"

"Oh don't be a fool." Finé said. "Your Ryoko is taking a permanent nap while I take the stage."

"Finé… what the hell are you?" Chris asked.

"Well, I suppose I do have the time, and all the pieces are in play for checkmate." Finé said. "It wouldn't hurt to share my story."

The golden eye on her forehead glew brightly, and the shadowy dome morphed. Everyone's vision was blinded, and they were unable to see anything.

When their sight returned, they were all standing within an ancient Egyptian palace. While it wasn't real, the shining Sun beating down on them was making a few of them sweat. Sitting in a window of the massive stone building was unmistakably a younger Finé.

"What in the world…?" Genjuro said.

"This is just like an anime…" Yumi breathed out.

"Over 3000 years ago in Ancient Egypt, I served as an advisor and friend to the Pharaoh of the time." Finé said. "However, I was often looked down upon by the people. I had a position of power, yet my only real connection was being a childhood friend of the Pharaoh. I did not even have a Millenium Item to call my own."

"Finé? How long are you going to sit there?"

The younger girl turned to see a man in white robes with golden accents. Hanging from his neck was the Millenium Ring. Oddly enough, the man seemed to resemble the Dark Magician.

"Sorry, I was merely thinking to myself." The past Finé said, stepping down from the window sill.

"I understand that you're quite stressed, but you can always talk to me whenever you need to." The man said.

"Thank you, Mahad. But I need to be alone right now." Finé said, walking away.

"The only ones aside from the Pharoah I could truly call friends were Mahad, the Pharaoh's best friend and one of the High Priests, and his disciple Mana." Finé went on. "I believed that my life would have been completely pointless… until I met him."

The younger Finé was walking around the outside of the palace, expression quite bored. She looked up into the sky… before noticing something falling. She put a hand over her eyes to try and see past the harsh rays of sunlight. Following the trail of smoke, the ground shook as she heard a crash behind the palace. Standing up, she quickly ran to the crash site. Looking down in the crater, she widened her eyes.

"Finé!"

Walking up behind her, and surprising everyone was a tall young man dressed in similar robes to Mahad, except he had blue on his outfit, complete with a khepresh on his head. In one hand was the Millenium Rod. His expression was that of a frown, making him look very similar to none other than a legendary dragon duelist.

"No way… Seto Kaiba?" Miku said in awe.

"I believe that would be his past reincarnation, Priest Seto." Ogawa said. "I remember reading about this in several files that Kaibacorp provided. A lot like how that man, Mahad, was the past reincarnation of the Dark Magician."

"Wait, of a card?" Shiori asked.

Behind Priest Seto were several of the palace guards.

"Finé, the entire palace heard that crash." The man said. "Do you know what happened?"

"I'm investigating it right now, Seto." Finé said, looking down into the crater. She slid down into it, waving away the smoke. "...! Seto! There's someone here! They're injured!"

Seto nodded, before turning to the nearest guard. "Get a doctor, quickly!"

As the man ran off, the younger Finé knelt down to the man that fell from the sky. Her eyes widened at what she was seeing. The man was in armor that was blue with a few gold and green highlights, and a yellow cape-collar that covered his left arm. He had spiky blue hair, but what stood out the most was his skin. It was the same tone of blue as armor, and he had no mouth.

"Is… Is that an alien?" Hibiki asked.

"No…" Genjuro looked on in shock. "That's a Barian."

The Barian opened up eyes, looking up at the young Finé with his yellow eyes.

"Who… who are…?"

"It's going to be alright." Finé told him. "What's your name?"

"...Enki."

"We nursed Enki to health, and he explained to us about his origins." Finé went on. "The Pharaoh offered to let him stay until he could go back home. He gladly took up that offer, and even helped us develop as a civilization."

They saw scenes of Enki helping lead several construction projects, using his abilities for some of the heavier work. His appearance was more human-like, now having tanned skin, as well as a nose and mouth. At his side, at all times was the younger Finé, looking happier than she had ever been.

"As time went on, the two of us eventually fell in love." Finé said. "Those were the best days of my life, but alas, it had to end."

They saw Enki and Finé standing together on a balcony atop the palace. Night had fallen, and the stars were shimmering above them.

"You're going to leave, aren't you?" Finé asked

Enki nodded sadly. "I must return to the Barian World. My people need me to guide them against the Astral World."

"Then take me with you." Finé begged. "I want to be with you."

"I would, believe me." Enki said, leaning against the railing. "But the Barian World is harsh. A normal person wouldn't be able to survive there."

"But… you're my entire world… I don't want…"

Enki reached up and wiped away Finé's tears. "I'm truly sorry, love. But this is where we must part. I'll leave this to you."

Enki held up his hand, forming an odd sword which he gave to Finé.

"You may remember me by this blade." Enki said. "I suppose it may be an odd gift compared to your customs, but-"

"I love it."

Finé took the sword, looking at it in her hands. "Does it have a name?"

"Durendal." Enki said.

Finé turned the sword around in her hand a few times, smiling.

"...I won't say goodbye." Finé said, surprising the Barian. "I don't care if it takes me a hundred, or even a thousand years. I'll find a way to see you again, that's a promise."

Enki blinked several times, but nodded with a smile. "Very well then. May we meet again, Finé."

The Barian glew brightly, taking the appearance of his original form, before disappearing into the light. Finé looked up into the night sky, staring at all the stars, almost as if trying to see Enki among them.

"I promise you, I will see you again." Finé said, a tear running down her face.

Night shifted to day, as they saw Finé, now garbed in a white cloak that covered most of her body and shielded her from the harsh Sun. She had Durendal strapped to her side, and was loading a large travel bag onto a stallion.

"I don't suppose you could've told us that you were leaving."

Finé turned around to see Mahad standing nearby. Next to him was a girl in a beige top and skirt with gold bracelets and anklets. She was the striking image of Dark Magician Girl.

"Whoa, that's nuts…" Hibiki said, seeing the girl that resembled the favorite card of many Duel Monsters fans.

"Mahad. Mana. Sorry about this, but I finally found what I wanted to do with my life." Finé told them.

"Are you sure about this?" Mahad asked. "It seems pointless to me."

"Sensei, be less harsh!" Mana pouted. "She's doing this for love! Don't listen to what he's saying, I support you all the way!"

"Mana!" Mahad chided.

Finé chuckled. "You always were more reasonable. Thank you, Mana."

"But at the same time, I'll miss having you around…" Mana said, looking down.

Finé smiled, walking up to her friend and holding her hands. "I promise that I will return from time to time. This is not farewell."

"I would hope not."

The three heard a deep voice, as another person joined them. This new figure caused everyone to widen their eyes in shock, and a few even dropped their jaws. The tanned young man was dressed in a white and blue tunic, with a long dark blue cape. He had gold armlets and a headpiece with an eye on the forehead. But what stood out the most was his hair; magenta and black, spikey and sticking up, with gold locks in front of his face. The Millenium Puzzle was hanging from his neck, glowing brightly.

"Yugi Muto…?" Tsubasa said in awe. "No, if we're going by the files, this is…"

"Pharaoh Atem." Genjuro realized.

"My Pharaoh." Finé took a knee with Mahad and Mana. "I know my request seems foolish, but-"

"No, I'm here to say good luck."

Finé looked up in surprise, as did Mahad and Mana. "My Pharaoh?"

Atem smiled, holding out a hand towards Finé. "Finé, I've known you for many years. Despite all our time together, never have I seen you so happy since you've met Enki. I wouldn't be able to call myself your friend if I didn't let you go."

"M-My Pharaoh…"

She took the hand, as he helped her up.

"Go on, Finé." Atem reassured her. "We'll always be here for you, as your friends."

Finé nodded. "Thank you… Atem."

Durendal glowed as their hands shook, as did Atem's Millenium Puzzle and Mahad's Millenium Ring.

Mahad held up his item in surprise. "What is…?"

A bit of the gold glow from the Millenium items entered was a brief golden glow, as the crossguard gained the Eye of Anubis that was seen on the other Millenium Items.

"Oh, wow!" Mana said in awe.

"I didn't know it could do that…" Finé admitted.

"Well then, I suppose this means that our wishes are with you then." Atem said.

"That's one way to put it." Mahad sighed.

Finé smiled, climbing onto her steed. "Thank you for the chance. I promise that I will return."

Atem nodded. "And we'll be waiting."

Finé rode off into the distance, and the memory started to fade from everyone's vision.

Finé's golden eye on her forehead slightly faded as the glow toned down.

"After that, I spent the rest of my years traveling the world, trying to find a way to reach the Barian World. I asked Pharaoh Atem to erase all traces of me from the historical textures, so no one would know of me in the future, letting me continue my plans." Finé went on. "Despite my body perishing, I was able to reincarnate within my descendents every few hundred years. Every moment of my various lives were dedicated to find a way to him… and then I found my answer."

"And what would that be?" Hibiki asked.

"Astral fused the Astral World with the Barian World." Finé's face made a rather sadistic grin. "So what if I did it again, and added our World into the mix?"

"You're out of your goddamn mind!" Chris yelled at her. "And besides, your sob story didn't move me one bit! We were in the middle of this Shadow Game, weren't we?"

Finé's face turned into a sneer. "You wouldn't understand a thing, Chris."

"And I don't think I'm interested at all!" Chris shot back, as Dark Rebellion flew through the air for her to grab another card. Oh, this is gonna leave one hell of a mark on her!

Chris held up the card, which was glowing brightly.

"I'll boost Dark Rebellion with Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" Chris yelled.

As Dark Rebellion's attack points jumped to 5500, Finé grabbed another card.

"I'll boost Jinzo with the power of Jinzo - Lord, and the Cipher Twin Raptor in my hand!" Finé shouted.

Jinzo held out his fists, as his attack points reached 6600.

"Cyber Energy Shock!" Finé shouted.

Jinzo unleashed a blast of electricity at Dark Rebellion, and Chris shouted as her hit points fell to 2. She nearly lost her grip on Dark Rebellion, as she lost all the feeling in her left arm, but the dragon made sure she didn't fall.

"Chris-chan!" Hibiki shouted.

"I'm far from done…" Chris muttered, as Dark Rebellion flew to let her grab another card. Damnit, another spell!

She looked at Finé, who sighed as she grabbed another card, Cipher Interference. "A spell card."

"Lightning Disobey of Rebellion!" Chris ordered, seeing the opportunity.

With 100 more attack points, the dragon managed to hit Jinzo and cause Finé's hit points to fall to 2.

"Now it's even again…" Miku muttered.

Chris grabbed another card, the trap card, Phantom Knights' Fog Blade. Whatever would happen next, she'd at least be safe. Finé drew another card.

"I'll boost Jinzo with Cipher Biplane!" Finé called. "Cyber Energy Shock!"

Jinzo's attack reached 3400 as he fired a ball of electricity.

"I'll discard Phantom Knights' Fog Blade to negate the damage!"

Dark Rebellion comfortably tanked the hit, and Chris let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in. But now wasn't the time to rest yet, as she quickly grabbed another card.

"I'll power-up Dark Rebellion with The Phantom Knights of Cursed Javelin!" Chris called.

Dark Rebellion's attack points jumped to 4100.

"Then I'll power-up Jinzo with a second Jinzo copy." Finé responded in turn, as Jinzo's attack points reached 4800. "Cyber Energy Shock!"

Jinzo unleashed the burst of electricity, striking Dark Rebellion dead-on. Chris screamed in pain as she was knocked off the back of her dragon.

"Chris-chan!" Hibiki shouted.

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon swooped downwards, grabbing his master in his claws as her hit points dropped to 1. Chris couldn't feel her arms anymore.

No… I'm not going down… I'm still in the game!

She reached out towards the platforms as Dark Rebellion flew towards them. As they flew by, she grabbed a card, even though she couldn't even register her fingers were touching it. She pulled it close to read it, and it ended up being yet another spell card, The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Launch.

Dammit, another spell?! Chris mentally cursed. Wait, I have four!

The realization hit her like a ton of bricks, as she held up the four spell cards.

"I'm taking Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon's power back!" Chris shouted.

Finé widened her eyes, as the four spells shot a beam of energy that lassoed one of her cards. It pulled into Chris's hand, and Dark Rebellion's attack points got the permanent boost of 3000, reaching an incredible 5500. Finé grabbed another card and scowled, as it was the spell card, Psychic Wave. Not helpful at all.

"Go! Dark Rebellion! Lightning Disobey of Rebellion!" Chris yelled.

Finé held up her arms as Jinzo took the attack, lowering her hit points to 1.

"She's so close!" Kuriyo said.

"Just one more hit!" Yumi shouted. "Go, Chris!"

"You got this, Chris!" Shiori cheered.

Chris turned to the crowd cheering her on.

"Keep a cool head! You can win!" Tsubasa encouraged.

"You can land one more hit! We believe in you!" Miku shouted.

"Go, Chris-chan!" Hibiki whooped.

Chris smiled. This is a nice feeling…

Dark Rebellion let out a cheerful cry, swooping through the air and grabbing another card for Chris.

"And now, I'll boost Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon with The Phantom Knights of Stained Greaves!"

Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's attack points jumped to 6700, thanks to the permanent boost from Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon.

"That's the highest attack point value in the battle so far." Genjuro realized.

"There's no way that Finé can top that." Miku said.

Finé panicked, and started running as Dark Rebellion charged up his attack. She quickly grabbed a card… and her face broke into a sadistic grin.

"I'll boost Jinzo with Neo Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!"

Everyone's cheers stopped, as their expressions changed to horror. Jinzo roared, as his attack points jumped up to 6900.

"No…" Hibiki said. "Chris-chan!"

"Be devoured by the shadows, Chris Yukine!" Finé cackled. "Jinzo, end this game! CYBER ENERGY SHOCK!"

Jinzo charged up the ball of electricity in his hands, and Chris simply closed her eyes. The cyborg menace unleashed the blast, and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon shattered as Chris's hit points fell to zero. The girl fell out of the air, painfully crashing into the ground. The platforms around them faded away, as the cards all re-entered their Duel Disks.

"Damn it…" Chris muttered, unable to move her body a single inch.

"The door to darkness has opened." Finé said, her voice echoing as the golden eye on her forehead glew.

The shadowy dome started to shrink, covering Chris's body. She turned her head to Hibiki and the others.

"You three… don't lose… to that bitch…"

With those words, Chris's body disappeared into the shadows.

"CHRIS-CHAN!" Hibiki screamed.

Miku fell to her knees. "No… you can't be gone…"

Tsubasa's hands were shaking. Suddenly, she was the crying girl back at the stadium from two years ago, having just lost Kanade. "Unforgivable… this is unforgivable!"

"Well, that's one eyesore out of the way." Finé heartlessly said. "The three of you are next."

"You won't hurt anyone else…" Miku said in a low voice as her Duel Disk activated.

"We won't let you!" Hibiki shouted, tears running down her face as she activated her Duel Disk. "No one else!"

"I swear upon my cards, that we will defeat you!" Tsubasa shouted as she swung her arm out, as the winged blade of her Duel Disk shot out.

"How interesting, the three of you against one of me." Finé said. "Then to make this fair, how about I start with 12000 life points, and you three have a shared pool of the same number? Battle royale rules, where none of us can attack on the first turn."

"Fine by us!" Hibiki shouted, as the trio pulled out their D-Gazers.

"D-Gazers, set!" They shouted.

"DUEL!"

A/N: I uploaded this chapter earlier, thanks to Symphogear AXZ getting a Blu-Ray release.

The Shadow Game between Chris and Finé was essentially a twisted version of the Action Duels from ARC-V. I always thought it was cool how they ran around the field to pick up Action Cards, even though that was really just so writers could get themselves out of a corner.

And here's a bit of a change to Finé's backstory; she was from Ancient Egypt. Didn't seem too far-fetched of an idea, to be honest.

And the other big whammy, Enki's a Barian. I'm sure you all realize what that means for a certain other character later down the line.

Next time, we enter the final duel of Season 1. Hope you guys are ready, because it's gonna get crazy.

Feel free to leave a review. See you all next time.