I am uploading this chapter early, as a tribute. As I am sure many of you have heard the terrible news by now.

For being the creator that shaped not only my childhood, and many others, and inspired me and many others, we thank you for everything you've done.

The creator of Yu-Gi-Oh, Kazuki Takahashi.

Rest in Peace.

(1961 - 2022)

(Play: The Tables Turn - Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS)

Everyone couldn't believe what they were seeing. Not only was Chris standing there, so was Kanade Amou.

"Kanade…?" Tsubasa muttered, a few tears running down her face. "Is that… really you…?"

"Yo, Basa." Kanade said with a wave. "You've grown a lot. Not in the chest area, but in other ways."

"...it is you." Tsubasa said, wiping away her tears.

"Explain yourself!" Finé shouted. "You were sent to the Shadow Realm ages ago! Any normal human would have gone insane within a few days of the mental torture, how did you survive for nearly two years?"

"Oh, I did go crazy." Kanade admitted. "It was absolute torture, but… the will to avenge my family and the desire to see Tsubasa again kept me going. As long as I held onto that, there was no damn way I'd let the shadows take me! Hell, I took from them!"

Kanade's black eyes shined with passion and power as she held up a fist. She briefly glanced at Ogawa, who nodded, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"And while my Red-Eyes might not be with me right now, I got a deck from the Grim Reaper himself! I draw!"

Kanade drew a card, grinning. If it wasn't for the fact they knew it was her, she would have looked like a villain.

"I'll start with this! By sending one Infernity monster from my hand to my graveyard, I can special summon Infernity Wildcat!" Kanade shouted. "So I'll send Infernity Avenger!"

Kanade slid the card into the graveyard, before summoning a red demonic cat with flames on its paws.

"And then I'll summon Infernity Archfiend!"

A horned demon in black and green robes with wild orange hair appeared next to Infernity Wildcat.

"Infernity?" Miku said. "Wait…"

"I'll then activate the spell card, Foolish Burial!" Kanade added. "With it, I'll send Infernity Dwarf to the graveyard!"

She slot two more cards into her graveyard. Her hand was now at two cards.

"And then I'll set two cards face down!"

Kanade put down her last two cards, making her hand empty.

"Ah! There it is!" Miku said.

Hibiki remembered reading about the stories of Yusei Fudo, remembering one of the many duels he had been in against a man who had the title of Shinigami. "Infernity monsters rely on their effects, but those effects all have one requirement…"

"You need to have no cards in your hand." Tsubasa finished.

"That's right!" Kanade grinned. "This is the handless combo!"

"Reckless, huh?" Chris said. "I did get that feeling from you."

"I activate Infernity Wildcat's ability!" Kanade said. "When I have no cards in my hand, I can banish one Infernity monster from my graveyard to increase its level by 1. I'll banish Infernity Avenger!"

She pulled the card out of her graveyard, sliding it into the banished zone.

"And now, I'll tune my level 4 Infernity Wildcat, with my level 4 Infernity Archfiend!" Kanade shouted.

Infernity Wildcat turned into four rings, which Infernity Archfiend flew through, turning into four stars.

"When the curtain of darkness comes down, the eyes of the underworld will open!" Kanade chanted. "Swoop down, darkness! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Hundred Eyes Dragon!"

A black and red dragon descended onto the field. All over its body were dozens of glowing purple eyes, including a huge one on its chest. They all closed, leaving the single cyclops one on his forehead. It roared, shaking the field around them with 3000 attack points.

"I activate Hundred Eyes Dragon's effect!" Kanade said. "I can banish one level 6 or lower effect monster that's a dark element from my graveyard. Until the end of the turn, Hundred Eyes Dragon's name becomes that monster's, and it gains the monster's effect! And I choose Infernity Dwarf!"

The ghostly silhouette of a dwarf with a battle ax appeared, as all of Hundred Eyes Dragon's eyes opened up and absorbed the ability.

"So this is a new ace monster of Kanade…" Genjuro said, looking up at it.

"Geh, does it have to be that creepy?" Yumi asked, clinging onto Shiori.

"Battle!" Kanade shouted. "Hundred Eyes Dragon, attack Battle Fader! Infinity Sight Stream!"

Hundred Eyes Dragon unleashed a stream of purple energy from his mouth, obliterating Battle Fader.

"And since I have no cards in my hand, Hundred Eyes Dragon uses Infernity Dwarf's effect to inflict piercing battle damage!" Kanade added. "And since Battle Fader has no defense points, it's like a direct attack!"

"What?!" Finé shouted, before screaming as the blast took her down to 5500.

"Heh, even with a new deck and not dueling for so long, I still got it!" Kanade grinned, pumping a fist.

"Awesome work, Kanade-san!" Hibiki called.

"Yo, Hibiki!" Kanade called over with a wave. "I can tell Red-Eyes is doing well with you!"

"You knew her personally?" Miku asked her friend, a bit jealous.

"For like… less than a few minutes?" Hibiki laughed.

(Play: Yuto's Passionate Soul - Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V)

"Then it's my turn now!" Chris said. "I draw!"

Chris looked at the card she had just drawn, and widened her eyes.

You… can I really use you?

She put the thought to the side for now. She had to set up a proper field before even considering using it.

"I'll set a card face down, and then immediately activate it!" Chris said. "The Phantom Knights of Shade Brigandine!"

The ghostly chestpiece hovered next to Chris.

"So this is her true deck?" Tsubasa noted. "I saw glimpses of it in the Shadow Game, but this is the first time I'm seeing it in action."

Miku nodded. "This is Chris's true self… someone who I know enjoys dueling."

"Then I'll normal summon The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm!" Chris said, summoning the possessed helmet. "And with my two level 4 monsters, I build the overlay network!"

The two monsters turned into energy, entering the swirling vortex on the floor.

"Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose it with its treacherous fangs!" Chris chanted. "Now, descend! Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 4! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

Chris's signature dragon of darkness descended next to her once more, roaring at Finé.

"Consider this payback!" Chris shouted. "Ride the lightning, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! Attack her life points directly! Lightning Disobey of Rebellion!"

Dark Rebellion flew forward, before swinging his jaw upwards, nearly tearing Finé in half with an electric strike that brought her life points down to 3000.

Chris smirked. "That felt good. Then I'll set two cards. And I'll be getting rid of that stupid tower of yours!"

"What?!" Finé shouted.

Chris turned to the others. "This might sting a bit."

"We're ready!" Hibiki said. "Do it!"

"I activate my spell card, Emergency Provisions!" Chris said.

"The final spell counter activates! You'll lose 3000 life points!" Finé shouted. "Fall, Tower of Babel!"

The tower began to crumble towards Chris and the others, but Chris kept talking. "I'll send my two other face downs to heal 2000 life points! So we only lose 1000!"

The girls all held up their arms as the tower crashed on top of them. Cracks were sent through the ground around them all.

"Girls!" Genjuro shouted.

Finé stood in front of the massive crater where the tower once loomed. The dust settled, showing that they had all been knocked to the ground, with tears in their clothing, but they stood up without much issue since they had 13100 life points left…

Wait, 13100?

Finé widened her eyes. Somehow, they didn't take 3000 points of damage.

"Okay, surviving a building falling on you is off my bucket list." Hibiki said.

"You never had that on your list…" Miku muttered.

"Wow, that tickled." Chris said.

"You got anything better?" Kanade asked, unimpressed.

"How… how did you not take any damage?!" Finé demanded.

"Destiny HERO - Decider's ability activated." Miku explained, pulling the card out of her graveyard. "Whenever we're about to take effect damage, I can return this card to my hand and negate all of it."

"You…"

"Really cheeky how we still felt that even though we negated it." Chris said, rolling her neck.

"Whatever you throw at us, we'll break through!" Tsubasa said. "Do your worst!"

"With pleasure." Finé snarled. "I draw! First, I'll activate Pot of Greed and draw two new cards!"

She pulled two cards from her deck.

"That card is hella cheap." Kanade called.

"Silence. I'll start off by whittling down your defenses!" Finé raised a hand. "I activate Harpie's Feather Duster!"

A gust of wind kicked up, destroying all of the spells and traps the girls had.

"You destroyed Limiter Overload!" Hibiki said. "Thanks to that, I can special summon Speed Warrior!"

Hibiki's warrior on wheels took his spot next to her in defense mode.

"Thanks to the presence of your special summoned extra deck monsters, I can special summon Cipher Twin Raptor!" Finé said. "And since he was special summoned, I can also special summon Cipher Biplane!"

The mechanical glowing raptor landed on the field, as did the plane with wings of cipher energy.

"With Cipher Biplane's ability, both it and Cipher Twin Raptor become level 8!" Finé said. "And with these two, I'll build the overlay network!"

"Here it comes, you guys!" Hibiki said, tensing up.

"Galaxy shining in the darkness, dwell in the demonic god of revenge and become my very servant!" Finé chanted. "Xyz Summon! Descend, Rank 8! Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!"

The huge glowing dragon of cipher energy roared, spreading his wings. Chris grit her teeth, seeing her cards being used by the woman she hated the most. This time, she'd keep her promise of getting them back.

"I can hear the dragon crying." Kanade said. "He was the one that was your partner, Chris?"

"Yeah." Chris nodded. "I'm gonna get him and all the others back."

"Oh, I'm not finished." Finé said. "I'm pushing Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon to a rank you've never reached before. I'm rebuilding the overlay network!"

"What?!" Chris shouted.

Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon descended back into the portal, as Finé started to chant again.

"Galaxy shining in the darkness, go beyond the stars and become the almighty deity of destruction!" Finé chanted. "Rank-Up Xyz Change! Descend, Rank 10! Galaxy-Eyes Cipher X Dragon!"

Rising from the portal was a dragon twice the size of the one before, with four shining wings of Cipher. Three overlay units circled the beast, but what caught the eye of the girls were the monster's stats.

"Rank 10?!" Miku shouted.

"It has 4000 attack points?!" Tsubasa realized.

"Galaxy-Eyes Cipher X Dragon's effect!" Finé called. "I detach Cipher Biplane and Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!"

The two overlay units entered the dragon's chest, as its wings shined, nearly blinding them all.

"Until the end of my opponent's turn, light element monsters that I control cannot be targeted by your card effects!" Finé said.

"A 4000 attack point wall, huh." Kanade muttered.

"And Clear Wing's effect only works on monsters with levels." Hibiki frowned.

"I'll then activate the spell card, Monster Reborn!" Finé said. "Return to the field, Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!"

Chris widened her eyes, seeing her dragon land next to Cipher X Dragon.

"With these two, now I enter my battle phase!" Finé said. "Galaxy-Eyes Cipher X Dragon! Attack Hundred Eyes Dragon! And Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon, follow up with a direct attack. Double Cipher Stream of Destruction!"

Galaxy-Eyes Cipher X Dragon unleashed a stream of cipher energy, destroying Hundred Eyes Dragon. Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon followed up with a direct blast straight at the vermillion-haired duelist. Kanade was knocked onto her back as the life point total fell to 9100.

"Kanade!" Tsubasa shouted.

Her friend grit her teeth as she stood back up. "I'm fine, Tsubasa. Don't worry about me. Sorry for losing all those life points though."

Finé narrowed her eyes. Hundred Eyes Dragon has the effect to add an Earthbound Immortal to the player's hand upon destruction. Why isn't she calling upon one?

"It's alright!" Hibiki said. "We're just a breath away from winning. We can spare some life points!"

"How foolish." Finé said. "I'll set two cards and end my turn."

(Play: A Threat Approaches! - Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V)

"Then I'll go!" Hibiki said. "I draw! I'll summon Satellite Synchron!"

A satellite with a head, arms and legs floated around Hibiki.

"I'll tune my level 2 Satellite Synchron with my level 2 Speed Warrior!" Hibiki said.

"Another Synchro summon?" Finé muttered.

"Let's hit her hard and fast! Synchro Summon! Armory Arm!" Hibiki said.

A mechanical arm with sharp red fingers hovered onto the field.

"1800 attack points?" Finé said. "That's far too weak."

"Not for long!" Hibiki said. "I'll equip Armory Arm to Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"

Clear Wing held out her arm, and the gauntlet equipped itself onto the dragon's wrist.

"Okay, that's pretty badass." Kanade admitted. A cybernetic dragon with a bladed arm was cool.

"Armory Arm then boosts Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's attack points by 1000!"

Clear Wing roared as her attack points jumped to 3500.

"Chris-chan…" Hibiki said.

Chris closed her eyes. "Do what you must."

"Battle! I attack Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!" Hibiki said. "Whirlwind Helldive Armory Slasher!"

Clear Wing charged at Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon, becoming the whirlwind of blades again, this time with the sharp tips of Armory Arm at the front.

"I activate my trap card, Enchanted Javelin!" Finé said. "Thanks to this, I gain life points equal to your dragon's attack points!"

Finé's life points rose to 6500. Clear Wing tore through Galaxy-Eyes, lowering her life point to 6000.

"All you did was help me." Finé gloated. "You are a fool-"

"Armory Arm's ability!" Hibiki said. "After destroying a monster, you take damage equal to its original attack points!"

"What?!"

Clear Wing threw her arm forward, creating a massive golden hand that crushed Finé, bringing her back down to 3000.

"Sorry, I couldn't finish her off." Hibiki said.

"There's four of us left." Kanade said. "I'm sure one of us'll be able to take her down."

"My turn!" Miku said. "I draw!"

She looked at her hand and frowned. While she could summon a monster, something was telling her to hold off on it.

"I'll switch Destiny HERO - Dystopia into defense mode and end my turn."

"It's my turn now." Tsubasa said. "Draw!"

She looked at the cards, before realizing something. Galaxy-Eyes Cipher X Dragon's wings had stopped shining.

"So you see it too?" Kanade asked.

Tsubasa realized what she could do.

"I activate the equip spell, Fusion Sword Murasame Blade!" Tsubasa said. "This card can only be equipped to a warrior monster, increasing its attack points by 800. I choose Kohinata's Destiny HERO - Dystopia!"

Dystopia raised a hand, grabbing a katana out of the air. It merged with the arm, turning the hand into a blade.

"Kohinata!" Tsubasa said.

Miku nodded, having understood. "I activate Destiny HERO - Dystopia's ability! Once per turn, when his attack points are different from his original attack, I can reset them back to 2800 to target and destroy one card on the field! And I choose Galaxy-Eyes Cipher X Dragon!"

Miku pointed up at the huge dragon looming over them.

"Since Hibiki's turn ended, light element monsters of yours are no longer protected by card effects!" Miku said. "Noble Justice!"

Dystopia held out his normal arm, as the vacuum effect pulled Galaxy-Eyes Cipher X Dragon into his palm, where he crushed it.

"Now! Charging Gaia! Lord Gaia!" Tsubasa called. "Attack her life points directly-!"

"I activate the trap card, Xyz Reborn!" Finé said. "With this, I bring back Galaxy-Eyes Cipher X Dragon, and attack this trap as an overlay unit!"

The massive dragon took to the field again, and Tsubasa was forced to call off her attack.

"Damn." Tsubasa muttered. "I end my turn."

"I draw!" Kanade said.

"I know you can't do anything with one card in your hand." Finé said. "End your turn."

"Not exactly." Kanade said. "I summon Infernity Randomizer!"

An odd warrior that seemed to be a cross between a fiend and machine appeared on Kanade's field.

"I activate his ability! When I have no cards in my hand, I can draw a card and reveal it." Kanade said. "If it's a monster, you take 200 points of damage for each level. If it's a spell or trap, I take 500 points of damage. Let's see if I'm lucky."

Kanade put a hand on her deck, and drew one card. She turned it over, looking at it.

"The monster card, Infernity General!" Kanade said. "Since he's level 7, you take 1400 points of damage!"

Infernity Launcher shot a small ball of electricity at Finé, lowering her life points to 1600.

"Turn end." Kanade said, before turning to Chris. "Take it away."

"With pleasure. I draw!" Chris said. "I activate Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's effect! By removing two overlay units, I steal half of your monster's attack points! Treason Discharge!"

Dark Rebellion blasted electricity out of his wings at Galaxy-Eyes Cipher X Dragon. While Cipher X Dragon's attack points fell to 2000, Dark Rebellion's shot up to 4500.

"This is over!" Chris said. "Dark Rebellion! Attack-!"

Suddenly, her dragon was paralyzed, unable to move. Everyone else's monsters were frozen as well. The shadows at their feet had grown thicker.

"What the-?!"

"What's going on?" Hibiki asked.

"Oh, as we dueled, the shadows grew stronger." Finé said. "I ordered them to prevent your monsters from attacking entirely and negate their powers."

"You did what?" Tsubasa asked, stunned.

"Oi oi, that's against the rules!" Kanade shouted, as some of the onlookers booed and jeered as well.

"Everything is fair in the realm of Shadows." Finé said, as a matter of fact. "Now, I'll have all the time I need to summon my own monsters and defeat all of you. Nothing short of divine intervention will save you now."

"...divine intervention, huh?" Chris said. "Thanks for the tip."

"Chris-chan?" Hibiki said. "Do you have an idea?"

Chris nodded, as she put her plan into action. "I banish Phantom Knights' Fog Blade, to special summon The Phantom Knights of Cloven Helm from my graveyard!"

The ghostly helmet took to the field again.

"And since I have a The Phantom Knights monster on the field, I can special summon The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots from my hand!" Chris said.

A ghoul in chains and brown rags appeared as well.

"And with three monsters… I'll tribute all three of them to summon an incredible power!" Chris declared, raising a card above her head. All three of her monsters entered the card, which was glowing with power.

"Three tributes?!" Finé shouted, before remembering the shattered glass case. "No, impossible!"

"Three tributes for a tribute summon…" Hibiki thought. "That must mean-!"

(Play: Passionate Duelist - Yu-Gi-Oh! GX)

"The heavens twist and thunder roars, signaling the coming of this ancient creature, and the dawn of true power!" Chris chanted. "Show yourself, the Egyptian God Card, SLIFER THE SKY DRAGON!"

The placed the card down on her Duel Disk as it crackled with power. The shadows were all pushed away as thunder clouds formed overhead. Descending from the sky was a red dragon that dwarfed everything that had been summoned so far. Its long body practically went on for miles, its two sets of jaws shining in anticipation. The creature let out a mighty roar that forced everyone back.

"So this is the power of an Egyptian God." Genjuro said, as all the students looked up in awe.

"So cool…" Hibiki and Kanade said with grins.

"I never thought I'd be in a duel with an Egyptian God." Miku said.

"She had Slifer in her true deck the whole time." Tsubasa realized. "Small surprise we didn't find it earlier.

"We finally meet, Slifer!" Chris grinned. "Let's win this duel!"

The dragon spread their wings in approval. Finé however, chuckled.

"As impressive as that may be Chris, Slifer the Sky Dragon's attack points are tied to the number of cards in your hand. As you have no cards left in your hand, that means Slifer the Sky Dragon only has zero attack points. Even though my Galaxy-Eyes Cipher X Dragon had been weakened by your Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon earlier, 2000 attack points is still more than enough to defeat your Egyptian God Card.

"Why don't you take a closer look?" Chris said with a smirk.

Finé raised a brow, before looking at the information that Solomon's Duel Disk gave her. She paled, seeing the monster's attack points. "16000?! How?!"

"Your mistake was giving them a shared life point pool." Chris grinned. "I guess that since Slifer considers us to be dueling as one, it's getting its power from all of our hands."

The other four all looked at their hands to see their cards were glowing and sending their energy to Slifer. Hibiki had 5, Miku had 6, Tsubasa had 4, and Kanade had 1.

"Now this is what I'm talking about!" Hibiki grinned with a fist pump. "This duel is over!"

"You… you can't do that!" Finé shouted. "That's not how Slifer's abilities work! That's… that's against the rules!"

"Screw the rules!" Kanade grinned, flipping the bird. "We have Tsubasa's money!"

"KANADE!" Tsubasa angrily shouted.

"And this is payback for you using the shadows to stop our monsters!" Miku added. "Go, Chris!"

Chris smirked as she tightened her fist. All the pain that she had suffered in her life thanks to Finé… she was about to pay it all back tenfold.

"Finé… are you ready to repent?" Chris asked. "Like I said; before this day is over, I'd finally beat you!"

"You cannot do this!" Finé said, sweating as she looked up at the massive Egyptian God monster.

"Slifer the Sky Dragon!" Chris yelled. "Attack Galaxy-Eyes Cipher X Dragon!"

Slifer reared its head back, charging up energy within its mouth. Chris raised her arm, before pointing right at her foe.

"Super Electrical Conduction Wave - Thunder Force!"

Slifer the Sky Dragon unleashed a huge blast of electricity from the larger mouth, obliterating Galaxy-Eyes Cipher X Dragon, and the rest of Finé's life points. She screamed as she was electrocuted from the attack, as Solomon's Duel Disk was knocked off her wrist. As she hit the ground, her life points fell to zero. Her hair turned back to brown as she did.

Chris held up her hand, and all her cards that Finé stole flew back into her hands. She smiled. "I got you guys back…"

"Did… we do it?" Miku said. "We beat her?"

Kanade narrowed her eyes. "I don't think so."

The ground beneath them all shook, as the crater where the Tower of Babel once stood started to glow.

"Everyone, move away!" Tsubasa shouted. "Uncle!"

Genjuro nodded, as Sector Two was already evacuating the students.

"Foolish duelists…"

Rising from the crater was Finé once more. She was now atop a huge mechanical foundation, giving her the appearance of a giant. In her hand was Artifact Durendal, no longer stuck as a card. Both it and her forehead were glowing gold.

"Eh?!" Hibiki looked down at Ryoko's unconscious body, then back up at Finé, then back down at Ryoko again. "How?!

"The entire time we were dueling, Artifact Durendal had laid dormant below, gaining power from the dueling energy." Finé boomed. "With it, I was able to fully awaken its power and give myself a form without the need of a host body. This power will let me forcibly merge the two worlds together, you cannot stop me now."

"Looks like all those centuries made her a little crazy." Chris muttered.

"But you will all be punished for that humiliation." Finé declared.

Swinging Artifact Durendal, she launched a blade of energy that tore through the ground. She swung it again, but the attack was intercepted by Lord Gaia the Fierce Knight and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. Slifer the Sky Dragon flew behind the two, roaring.

"Your fight is with us!" Tsubasa shouted. "Go, Lord Gaia!"

"Clear Wing Synchro Dragon! Whirlwind Helldive Armory Slasher!" Hibiki called.

"Thunder Force!" Chris shouted.

Clear Wing flew at Finé, tearing through another sword wave. A nasty gash was left on Finé's armored form, but it regenerated almost instantly. Lord Gaia unleashed several stabs, but they had just as much effect as Clear Wing. Several electrical blasts from Slifer seemed to slow her down, but not by much. Nonetheless, Hibiki, Tsubasa and Chris kept her busy.

"Damn she's a sore loser." Kanade muttered. "We can't take her down in a straight-up fight. She's too tough."

Miku thought for a moment, before her eyes widened. "I know a way!"

She took off running in the opposite direction with the speed of a track star. Dystopia flew behind her to make sure that any debris wouldn't hit her.

"Oi!" Kanade shouted. "Where the hell are you going?!"

"I have an idea!" Miku said. "Keep her busy!"

Kanade rolled her eyes, but got ready to join the others, before she heard someone shout. "Kanade-san!"

She turned to see Ogawa, who threw a deck box at her. She caught it out of the air and opened it, before grinning.

"You're the best, Ogawa!" Kanade said, as the man waved and ran to help evacuation. Putting the deck box on her waist, she held out her wrist. "Let's do this!"

She pulled out a card and placed it onto the blade of the Duel Disk.

"Meteor Black Comet Dragon!" She called.

Appearing in a burst of light was her signature dragon once more. Almost immediately, it descended and nuzzled his head against her.

"Ah!" She laughed. "Yeah, I missed you too, but now's not the time, buddy!"

The dragon nodded, looking up at Finé and roaring.

"Meteor Black Flare!" Kanade ordered.

The dragon unleashed several balls of magma from his mouth, blasting Finé in the face.

"Been a while since we fought together, eh Tsubasa?" Kanade said, running to her friend's side.

"Mm!" Tsubasa nodded. "Together!"

"Hell yeah!" Kanade grinned. "Zwei Wing's back in action!"

As their monsters kept on fighting, Miku ran down the halls of the school, until she found the room she was looking for. The principal's office was missing a wall, but it let her see the entire fight.

"Come on, come on…" Miku pulled out the intercom and pressed the button to test it. "Hello? Yes, it's working! Everyone! Listen to me! Summon your monsters! It doesn't matter who you are, do it!"

All around, the various duelists and even several Sector Two members summoned several monsters.

"That won't be enough!" Finé shouted. "All you are beneath me!"

"Chris!" Miku shouted into the intercom. "Evolve Dark Rebellion like you did in our duel!"

Chris widened her eyes in realization, before smirking. "Oh, this is gonna be sweet."

She pulled out the cards she needed, placing them on her Duel Disk.

"Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" Chris called. "And then I'll activate the spell card, The Phantom Knights' Rank-Up-Magic Launch!"

Dark Rebellion briefly appeared, before entering a swirling portal on the floor.

"The dragon of pitch-black darkness! Rise from the flames of rebellion and bring us hope!" Chris chanted. "Rank-Up Xyz Change! Appear, Rank 5! Arc Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"

The enhanced version of Chris's dragon descended next to her, flashing his wings as they spewed blue flames.

"Your dragon is no match for me, Chris!"

"Oh yeah?" Chris asked. "Arc de Rebellion!"

Arc Rebellion Xyz Dragon spread his wings, as the flames grew hotter. Finé looked around, seeing the energy from every Duel Monster enter the dragon, including her own.

"What… WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Arc Rebellion Xyz Dragon can negate the effects of every monster on the field except himself, and gain ALL of their attack points!" Chris shouted.

"WHAT?!"

"Go, Chris-chan!" Hibiki shouted.

"End this nightmare, Yukine!" Tsubasa shouted.

"And send her on a one-way trip to the Shadow Realm!" Kanade finished.

"You got it!" Chris grinned, pointing at the sole attack target. "Arc Rebellion Xyz Dragon! BLACK ONSLAUGHT!"

Arc Rebellion let out a roaring screech, flying skyward, the moon behind him. He entered a dive straight towards Finé, aiming his jaw at her. Finé tried to block the strike with Artifact Durendal, but the dragon pierced right through the weapon, before tearing through her as well. The dragon flew back to Chris's side, looking away from the explosion. Finé could barely think as the flames consumed her.

No… I can't lose… I will be back one day… you cannot defeat me…

Her entire body shattered like glass, and the shadows all faded.

After several minutes, Dystopia flew in, carrying Miku. "Is it over this time?"

Chris let out a breath of relief. "It is."

The cheering from everyone watching was deafening, but it didn't drown out the feeling of victory.

"That was an awesome monster!" Hibiki said to Chris, before turning to Miku. "How did you know what the dragon could do, Miku?"

"Well, I dueled her." Miku said. "She almost beat me, but I ended it in a draw."

"I totally would've won if it wasn't for that darn Dynatag." Chris muttered.

The three of them turned to see the reunited Zwei Wing, having a moment together now that the battle was over.

Tsubasa and Kanade were in a tight embrace. Both of them had tears flowing from their eyes, though Kanade was keeping herself more composed. Kanade's eyes had turned back to normal, as she gently rubbed Tsubasa's back.

"I never thought I'd see you again…" Tsubasa said, voice shaking.

"Sorry for leaving you for so long." Kanade apologized. "I promise that I won't ever leave you again."

"You'd better."

After hugging for a bit more, they broke the hug and wiped their tears. Kanade turned to the three.

"So, you guys were taking my role while I was gone?' Kanade asked.

Chris shrugged. "I wasn't part of the group."

"Yeah, I know." Kanade said. "I did see you when I gave you your Duel Disk."

"Wait, that was you?" Chris asked.

"Yup."

Hibiki smiled. "Thanks for coming in and helping us, Kanade-san!"

"I can tell you've been doing a good job in my place." Kanade said, patting the girl on the head. "I saw it whenever you channeled my spirit."

"I was?" Hibiki said.

"So that's what that was." Tsubasa said. "So you were with us the whole time."

"Basa didn't give you a hard time, did she?" Kanade asked, even though she fully knew the answer.

"Uh…" Hibiki and Tsubasa both nervously laughed. "No… no she didn't! A-Anyways, these belong to you."

Hibiki held out a few cards to her. Kanade smiled, but shook her head. "Keep 'em."

"Huh? But-"

"They're your cards now." Kanade said. "And besides… I have spares."

Everyone (except Tsubasa) comically fell over. Meteor Black Comet Dragon's roar sounded like laughter.

"You have spares?!" Hibiki said.

"Yeah. The Red-Eyes Black Dragon I gave you was newer, kind of like the younger brother between the two I had. And Red-Eyes Fusion isn't hard to really get. Only Red-Eyes Slash Dragon was the card I didn't have an extra of, and I barely used him." Kanade said. "Never fit well in my deck, but he does in yours."

Hibiki gave Tsubasa a deadpan look, remembering her behavior earlier when it came to Kanade's cards.

"But yeah." Kanade said. "Keep em. I can tell they're happy with you."

Hibiki smiled as she put the cards away. "Thank you, Kanade-san."

"Can I get your autograph!?" Miku suddenly blurted out, causing everyone to laugh again.

Unbeknownst to them all, someone was watching them from atop a cliff that overlooked the school. They were garbed in golden Riding Duel gear, and had an odd bracelet on their wrist. Next to them was a D-Wheel of the same color.

"So they managed to beat her…"

They got on her D-Wheel and drove off, none of the girls realizing they were watching.

"I still don't understand why you dragged me into this." Chris muttered.

It had been a few months since Finé's attack. The school was being rebuilt, but it was still taking some time. During the gap, Chris had enrolled for the next semester for Lydian Duel Academy, and Hibiki and Miku spent all their time helping her get ready and adjusted. She had given Slifer the Sky Dragon to Sector Two, so they could keep it sealed away thanks to its incredible power. Ryoko was left in a coma, but they were all hoping that she'd wake up soon.

Finé's attack did have lasting effects. While the merge wasn't complete, it did result in almost everyone being able to summon real monsters. Thankfully, most of the Duel Monsters spirits were benevolent in nature, so those that want to cause issues wouldn't be able to do so that easily. But Sector Two was managing to handle that on their own quite well.

But with this in mind, everyone was more on edge than usual. Hence, why Zwei Wing had put on a new surprise duel. Not just to celebrate their reunion, but to bring smiles to everyone.

"I've already seen them duel." Chris said. "I'm going home."

"Kanade-san said they were going to do something different this time." Miku said. "Something that she thought up to be even cooler than a Sound Duel."

"Shh!" Hibiki said. "It's starting!"

"Oh, here comes some music!" Miku added.

(Play: Yuya's Theme - Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V)

The lights dimmed, and smoke puffed from the ground. Rising from the concealed stage was Tsubasa, garbed in a graceful dress that also gave her quite a powerful appearance. At her side was Black Luster Soldier - Super Soldier. She put the mic to her mouth to speak to the crowd.

"Everyone, thank you for coming! You don't understand how much this means to me." Tsubasa said. "I understand that we've all been through hard times, so I ask that you sit back and enjoy the show!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

A spotlight shone upwards, revealing there was a pillar. Standing on the platform near the top was Kanade Amou, her hair slicked up and sticking out in different directions. She was dressed in sharp black clothes with an "edgy" design. Flanking her was Hundred Eyes Dragon.

"Greetings, fools!" Kanade said, spreading her arms. "It is I, Kanade Amou!"

"Kanade Amou?!" Tsubasa said in seeming surprise. "What are you doing here?!"

"I'm back from hell, Tsubasa Kazanari!" She said, holding up a hand, as a small flame lit up in it. "And I plan on dragging you down with me, and ending this little show!"

"You villain!" Tsubasa shouted. "I won't let you do this!"

"Then face me, in a new duel that I've devised!" Kanade laughed. "Be prepared for complete and utter defeat!"

"They are too into this." Chris muttered.

"Good acting though." Miku said. "Even though she's playing the villain, Kanade's practically stealing the show."

"Yeah! Whoo!" Hibiki cheered, clapping.

"She's too into this too." Chris said, though she smiled.

"D-Gazers, set!" They both called.

Around them, various platforms and pillars rose. There were trampolines, crash pads and trapeze ropes too.

"Duelists, locked in battle!" Tsubasa announced, as Black Luster Soldier - Super Soldier aimed his blade.

"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!" Kanade said, flying down with Hundred Eyes Dragon.

"They storm through this field!" Tsubasa ran next to Kanade's side as she landed.

"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling!" Kanade stood up, back to back with Tsubasa.

"Action!" Tsubasa started.

The two of them stood on opposite sides of the stage, their Duel Disks activated as their monsters disappeared. Kanade grinned, as her eyes turned black again.

"DUEL!" They both shouted.

A/N: I don't have too much to say at this moment, as I can thankfully cover everything by the next chapter, which is something I've been waiting for a long time.

However, this will likely be the last time you see a duel with this many competitors. It becomes far too difficult for us to track everything going on.

I'm not going to ask for reviews this time, or anything like that.

Just remember Kazuki Takahashi, and thank him for this incredible franchise that he created for us to enjoy.

Thank you.