This story was done in collaboration between me, Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and DaveMan1000 (both here and on DeviantART), and we own the OCs that are used in the story. AaronCottrell97 (known as stevecottrell on DeviantART) provided the Duel Layouts and additional ideas. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:

Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel

The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry

Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami

Gundam SEED characters, Orb, Blue Cosmos, M1 Astray, Strike Rouge, Murasame (c) Sunrise

Character of Lisa Drake (c) DaveMan1000

Character of David Xadashi (c) DaveMan1000

WARNING: Once again, this story is rated T for violence, some blood, suggestive themes, and some language. Reader discretion is advised.

WARNING 2: If you haven't read "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles Season 2", "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles Season 4", "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles (Pyramid of Light", "David Xadashi", "Lisa Drake", or "Team 4D's", you might want to do so before reading this story

Title: The Black Rose Returns

Opening up in the city of Washington D.C., the capital of the entire United States of America. Currently, things were relatively peaceful there despite the urgency from the president. He knew that more people had been vanishing from the New England states along with the state of New York, but was not sure on how they were disappearing. For now, he scheduled a meeting with the governors of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The president also requested that Rex Godwin of New York also join this meeting.

(elsewhere…)

Outside the famous White House, a limo finally pulled up. A minute later, the governor of Maine approached and opened the door, allowing Rex and Lazar both to emerge.

"Welcome, Governor Godwin," The governor of Rhode Island greeted.

"We're pleased you agreed to join the meeting," added the governor of Vermont.

Rex nodded without saying a word back, and he and the other governors were heading inside the White House.

(inside…)

Inside the White House, the governors and Lazar were being led by a few members of the president's cabinet staff down a couple of hallways. While walking along, Rex briefly closed his eyes and started thinking about his brief encounter with Rutger. The governor of Maine noticed the look of uncertainty on the gray-haired man's face and became intrigued.

"Mr. Godwin, are you alright?" he pressed thoughtfully, which caused Rex to look over, "Is something on your mind, sir?"

"N-No," denied Rex, smiling slightly, "Please do not be concerned with how I'm feeling right now, I am fine," He looked away and frowned slightly, "I'm just worried about the people having gone missing."

"We all are," reminded the governor of New Hampshire, "Which is why we should begin the meeting with the president as soon as possible—to possibly figure out the cause of the people disappearing."

The other governors voiced their agreement, and they continued to make their way to the Oval Office in order to meet with the president of the United States. Unknown to them, Rex and Lazar both knew the answer to the disappearance of the people, but they weren't planning on telling anyone.

(elsewhere…)

Back in the city of Hartford, a couple of days had passed. Things were going surprisingly well there, despite the fact more people had gone missing recently. Business at various places were booming, and visiting tourists were shown throughout. The main attraction, however, was the Orb Duel School.

(elsewhere…)

Inside Carlie's dorm at Orb, a door to the bathroom opened, revealing Carlie wearing a large towel around her body while also drying her hair with another towel.

"Oh, that afternoon shower hit the spot," gushed Carlie, before hearing her phone ringing, "I wonder who that could be?" She walked over to the nearby table and left the towel she was using to dry her hair on the floor, picked the phone up, pressed a button, and answered the call, "Hello?"

"Hey, Carlie!" The voice of Ben greeted.

"Hi, Ben!" smiled Carlie, "Are you calling to let me know when you, Mom, and Dad will be here?"

"Actually, I'm calling to tell you we're flying into Hartford, right now," The voice of Ben corrected, which caused Carlie even more excitement, "I guess the flight over was a lot quicker than we thought it would be. Anyway, we'll be landing at…Bradley International Airport… where we'll be waiting for you and your friends."

"Actually, I'll come alone," suggested Carlie, "I really want to take this opportunity for you, Mom, Dad, and I all to at least hang out like a family."

"That's a great idea, I mean a 'really' great idea," The voice of Ben said, appearing to really like the idea, "Can you be at the airport as soon as possible?"

"Just let me get dressed and I'll drive up," reassured Carlie, "Oh, I'm so excited! I can't wait to see the three of you again! Goodbye!" She hung up and sighed happily, "Ben… Mom… Dad…"

(elsewhere…)

Somewhere in the middle of Hartford, someone was speaking on a payphone.

"Yeah… See you soon," The person (male) agreed, speaking in Ben's voice. He then snickered in his real voice, "Geez, that Carlie… What an idiot. She actually fell for such a low effort ruse."

The person who had been speaking on the phone to Carlie was none other than Vincent Stevens, disguising his voice in an attempt to match Ben's voice as instructed. There was a very dangerous spark in his eyes, since it meant the next phase of Azrael's plan was going to come to fruition shortly.

(elsewhere…)

Inside Orb's docking bay, Matt and James R. were both hanging out with Mr. Murdoch and his crew, mostly working on their Duel Runners and/or the M1 Astrays.

"Matt! James! Are you both here?" The voice of Carlie called out.

That grabbed the attention of almost everyone in the docking bay, noticing Carlie, dressed in her new Victorian-styled outfit (including corset and black undershirt), showing up.

"What's up?" greeted James R..

"Wow, you're looking happier than usual," commented Mr. Murdoch, "What's the occasion?"

"I'm heading to Bradley International Airport," Carlie answered, "My family will be arriving at any time, and I want to spend a little bit of time with them before bringing them here to Orb to see you guys—maybe go out to eat at a restaurant like in the old days."

"Is that so?" pressed James R., "I kinda thought they'd be here a little later?"

"I guess Ben and his parents left home a little early and got lucky with their flight," figured Matt, before looking towards a smiling Carlie, "All I can say is enjoy your time with your family, Carlie."

As expected, Carlie felt giddy from the response.

(elsewhere…)

A little later, Carlie drives Bloody Kiss into the parking lot of Bradley International Airport before stopping. There, she removes her helmet and looks up into the sky at the possible planes either taking off or landing.

(inside…)

Inside the airport, there actually weren't a lot of people around, which meant it was easier for Carlie to make it to the gate where she believed Ben, Mr. Izayoi, and Mrs. Izayoi would appear from. Happily, she sat down at a seat and started to wait for them to emerge. She waited five minutes… ten minutes… twenty minutes… Carlie waited for about half an hour for her parents and brother to show up, but for some strange reason, they didn't.

"Weird…" Carlie mused to herself, "Ben told me he, Mom, and Dad would show up at this time, yet they still haven't shown up," She brought her right hand to her chin, "Maybe he might have been mistaken or something?"

Suddenly, the brown-haired young woman started hearing laughter aimed directly at her, causing her to stand up in surprise.

"My, my! And here I thought the infamous 'Black Rose Witch' couldn't be any dumber than I believed she was," A male voice taunted, causing Carlie to turn around and see the source of the voice, "You seriously believed your pathetic family was here to meet a monster like you?"

The source came from Dark Signer 1, Dark Signer 2, and Dark Signer 3, and the way they were grinning meant they were the ones behind luring Carlie to the airport on her own.

"Dark Signers…!?" realized Carlie, "It can't be… Did you go after my parents and brother?"

"Maybe we did, and maybe we didn't?" replied Dark Signer 2, shrugging, "You won't get answers from us that easily."

Carlie seethed, "You…" she threatened, getting into a dueling position, "If any of you did something to hurt my family, I won't forgive it! Come on, face me three-on-one!"

"Sorry, not interested," refused Dark Signer 3, folding his arms and watching as Carlie eased up, "Right now, you have far bigger problems than facing just us."

Carlie was not sure what that even meant, but then felt something smashing the back of her head, causing her to fall to the ground in a state of unconsciousness. The three Dark Signers all smiled at how easy this was. The culprit of knocking Carlie out was Vincent, who was looking as smug as he often was.

"And that," he was saying with a chuckle, "is how you knock somebody out—a fist to the head!"

"Not bad," said Dark Signer 1, "Although I still prefer a simple neck pinch to a punch."

"Who cares about that?" scoffed Dark Signer 2, "We still need to bring the girl with us to where Headmaster Azrael is waiting."

"Right," agreed Vincent, "But I just have one question about that," The three Dark Signers listened to the question, "Where are we supposed to meet him?"

Dark Signer 3 smiled, "The one place where we got our start," he answered, "The school Blue Cosmos in Albany."

Yikes…

(elsewhere…)

After traveling a good distance from Hartford to Albany, Calamity, Raider, Forbidden, and The Beast all pulled up in the parking lot of Blue Cosmos, one of America's most (in)famous dueling schools—and one still under investigation for rumored criminal deeds.

(inside…)

Inside an underground laboratory, Azrael and a couple of scientists were busy setting a machine up while waiting for their test subject to arrive. Suddenly, they heard footsteps, which were coming from Dark Signer 1, Dark Signer 2, Dark Signer 3, and Vincent—who was carrying the unconscious Carlie in his arms.

"We have the psychic duelist as you wanted," began Dark Signer 1.

"Well now, you actually succeeded," praised Azrael, staring at the four Dark Signers but mainly the first, still hooded three, "Wonderful work, you three. You've done really well."

With that said, the three Dark Signers reached over and lowered their hoods, revealing their identities as Orga Sabnak, Clotho Buer, and Shani Andras, three of Blue Cosmos's best duelists and Azrael's three favorite students. The way they were smiling signaled they were relieved to have made their headmaster happy. Vincent, on the other hand, was not so happy since he was not getting any praise for helping out.

"Hey, hey, hey! What about me?!" whined Vincent, causing the three Bio-CPU boys to glare in annoyance, "I was the one who knocked the witch out in the first place!"

"Yes, whatever," sighed Azrael, growing equally annoyed, "Just hurry and get the Signer…" He gestured to the metal table beside him, "…over here so we can begin the operation."

Grinning like a sadistic pervert over hearing the order, Vincent brought Carlie over to a metal table and laid her down, then began removing all of her Victorian-styled clothing, including the black undershirt and corset. As the spiky black-haired young man stripped Carlie, he even started to amuse himself by groping her inner, upper thighs and even pinching her cleavage in an attempt to humiliate her because she was unable to do anything back due to being in an unconscious state. Soon, Carlie was left only in her bra and panties. Vincent, however, was unsatisfied and started to reach over and remove those remaining pieces, but he got his left hand slapped by Azrael, forcing him to withdraw.

"Ow! What was that for?" snapped Vincent pathetically.

"You've done everything that needs to be done," scolded Azrael, "Now, you and my three students can leave so I can get the experiment started."

Grumbling under his breath, Vincent turned and left, followed by Orga, Clotho, and Shani. Finding Vincent to be absolutely annoying, Azrael turned his focus back to Carlie and strapped her to the table. However, that was also the moment where she began to regain consciousness.

"Where…" whispered Carlie, who slowly opened her eyes, "Where am I?" In her POV, her vision was initially blurry, but it soon became clear—especially when she saw Azrael smiling at her, "You!"

"It's about time you're awake," greeted Azrael in a 'pleasant' tone, "It warms my heart to see you're okay and talking."

Carlie tried to say something in retort, but soon found herself struggling because she was strapped to a metal table. What really scared her was when she looked down at herself, she found she was only in her underwear.

"Where am I?!" cried Carlie, blushing in embarrassment due to her state of near undress, "And why am I in my underwear? What did you do to me!?"

"Oh, I did nothing," insisted Azrael, not bringing up that it was Vincent who did the stripping, "Now, as for where you are, you're in my Blue Cosmos school—more imortantly, in an underground lab."

"Blue Cosmos?" repeated Carlie, "Why was I brought here? What do you want with me?"

Azrael smiled evilly, "It should be obvious, you know," he responded, "You're here to be used as a tool for helping me take down Orb, once and for all. Isn't that nice?"

"What?! You want to use me as a tool? I'll never aid you in destroying Orb!"

"Oh, you will," The evil blonde-haired man pointed out, "But first, I need to test your powers out. I want to see how useful they will be to me."

"You really expect me to play along with your schemes?!" snarled Carlie, "Well, you can forget about that! I'm not going to do as you say!"

"But since you're strapped to the table, you don't have much of a choice, do you?" countered Azrael, before looking to his team of scientists, "You know what to do."

The scientists approached Carlie and started hooking her up to the main device. Azrael, meanwhile, had withdrawn into the next room, where he and the other scientists would be safe from what was going to occur. There was a glass window, however, so he could see everything that went on where Carlie currently was. Wanting to talk to his prisoner one more time, Azrael pressed a button on the nearby console.

"Carlie Izayoi, I'm going to learn the secret of your psychic powers, and this device will help do the job," warned Azrael, "I hope you're prepared to take in what we're going to do to you."

"Just give it your best shot!" The voice of Carlie challenged defiantly, "You'll never get me to crack!"

The look on Azrael's face indicated he accepted the challenge and would make her regret saying those words, and he turned towards a scientist and nodded, which caused the scientist to fire up the device. In the other room, Carlie found herself getting electrocuted—mildly at first, so she only grimaced. Unfortunately, Azrael was far from satisfied.

"Raise the level!" he ordered, before grinning with anticipation, "I will learn how to control Carlie and her powers."

The scientist obeyed without question. For the next several minutes as the machine's power kept going up, and a now screaming Carlie was basically tortured by the scientists in order for her to show off her psychic powers. As they continued watching through the glass window from the safety of the other room, Azrael and the scientists all showed absolutely no compassion or humility throughout the process; they just wanted Carlie to try using her powers to escape. Even as she was being electrocuted to near death, Carlie still refused to do anything about it. Gradually, Azrael lost patience.

"Increase power to the max!" demanded Azrael, as the head scientist glanced over, "It seems she's willing to die in hopes of foiling my plans," He shook his head in disappointed scorn, "Well, if she won't do as I say, I'll gladly grant her that request. Besides, I can't stand people that are useless to me."

Another scientist looked at the nearby monitor, which read Carlie's current heart rate. If the machine were to increase to the maximum, there was a dangerously high chance of Carlie suffering a severe heart attack or worse. Nevertheless, the head scientist did as he was told and set the machine to the highest setting, causing Carlie, who was still in the other room, to scream more intensely as she felt as though her heart was going to stop at any time from the electrical torture. While still screaming in extreme pain, Carlie started to grow dangerously angry as her face managed to form a snarling-like expression, like a wild animal preparing to lash out at the people who captured it. Just then, the exposed birthmark on her right forearm started to glow—not a crimson red color like it did normally, but rather a dark purple as a form of corruption—and finally resulted in those psychic powers taking effect. Inside the main room, Azrael was the first to notice Carlie's birthmark glowing and became excited. That excitement was short lived when one of the scientists let out a shocked yell.

"What? What happened!?" pressed Azrael.

"The power level!" The lead scientist wailed, "The girl's psychic abilities are causing the machine to overload!"

"He's right, sir!" The second scientist confirmed, looking at the monitor and the out-of-control readings, "These readings from said powers are not like anything I've ever seen before!"

"Hurry! Shut it down!" shouted Azrael frantically.

A third scientist tried doing that, but the machine started sparking heavily, forcing the man to withdraw his hand lest he got hurt. Finally unable to take the strain, the console exploded. And inside the other room, the main device finally exploded multiple times before finally stopping. Inside the main chamber, Azrael and the scientists were taking cover behind a counter before peeking out to see that the coast was clear.

"Our work…" The second scientist uttered.

"My weapon!" gawked Azrael.

Within the next room, the device was wrecked beyond repair. Carlie, meanwhile, was still alive even after being shocked so much and at such a high level. The thing though was that she fell unconscious again. Her dark purple glowing Mark of the Dragon then ceased said glowing…at least for now.

(elsewhere…)

Later inside his dorm, Matt was sitting on his bed, reading a book when he heard his phone beginning to ring. He put the book down, picked up the phone, and answered whoever was calling.

"Hello, this is Matt Fudo speaking," answered Matt.

"Matt? Great, this is Ben Izayoi calling," The voice of Ben began, catching Matt by surprise, "I tried calling Carlie minutes ago, but I got no answer from her—which is surprising, since when I call she answers in a heartbeat. Anyway, I'm calling you because Mom, Dad, and I have arrived at Bradley International Airport, and we need Carlie, you, and the others to come and pick us up."

"Huh?" blinked Matt.

"Is something the matter?" The voice of Ben pressed, after a few seconds passed.

"Oh, nothing's wrong," reassured Matt, but became a little harder in his speech, "But Carlie left to meet up with you guys at the airport after receiving a similar call from you—which was almost three hours ago."

"What? I never made a call to her like that!"

It was then the dirty blonde-haired young man grew very concerned. Carlie claimed to have received a call from Ben three hours ago, but then Ben told him he never did that. Sensing trouble abroad, Matt resumed speaking to Ben.

"Alright, Ben, I need you to listen; I'm sending a taxi to pick you and your parents up," informed Matt, "We're bringing you all straight to Orb," When Ben didn't respond back, he went on, "Something's really wrong, and I've a feeling I might know what it could be."

Again, there was silence on the other end, but Matt could easily tell that Ben had become deeply worried about his sister.

(elsewhere…)

Inside Orb's gymnasium soon after the Izayoi family had arrived, Matt had called the remaining members of Team 6D's, as well as most of their friends and allies, for a meeting about Carlie being missing. Sherry and Shinji both were present for the announcement, too.

"If you're wondering what's going on, we have some bad news to go over," Matt was saying grimly.

"My daughter, and your friend, Carlie has been reported as missing," added Mr. Izayoi.

"Missing?!" cried Sean.

"It can't be," worried Ms. Simmons.

"Yeah, that's what we fear," admitted Ben, who had black hair, "It's the only possible clue we have at this time."

"What could have happened to her?" asked Janice.

Over with Ashima, the news of Carlie missing brought back some very unpleasant memories of the same thing happening to her. She got kidnapped and forcefully brainwashed by the Dark Signers to fight her own boyfriend in a Turbo Duel. She was saved and freed from their hold on her, but the trauma from the duel left a nasty scar in her heart. Since they were sitting beside her, Mayura and Asagi both noticed the expression of distress and silently placed a hand onto Ashima's forearm (Asagi) and shoulder (Mayura) respectively in an attempt to console her.

"Missing? No, that's not it," muttered Lisa, "If anything, I bet the Dark Signers were the ones who kidnapped her like they did with Ashima!"

"Dark Signers?!" gasped Ms. Simmons, while Mr. Kisaka did not look any better.

"Not again," frowned David.

On the stage, Ben, Mr. Izayoi, and Mrs. Izayoi each looked very puzzled at the mere mention of the Dark Signers—but it didn't take away from the fact the news of their daughter (Mr. Izayoi and Mrs. Izayoi) or sister (Ben) being kidnapped really scared them. It made sense they would be confused because they had no idea who or what the Dark Signers were, and Matt knew this immediately.

"I guess we'd better tell you about the Dark Signers," he figured.

"Brace yourselves, the tale won't be pretty," warned Zack.

When the long explanation about the Dark Signers and, by extension, Earthbound Immortals finished, the Izayoi family became even more distressed over Carlie being kidnapped by such monsters. Mr. Zimmerman, who was equally worried about Carlie, then approached and spoke up in an attempt to cheer the new visitors up.

"Well, for your temporary stay in Hartford, you three are more than welcome to stay here at my dueling school," offered Mr. Zimmerman, before holding his right hand out, "Even for free."

"Thank you, Mr. Zimmerman," said Mrs. Izayoi.

"This means a lot for us," agreed Mr. Izayoi, shaking hands with Mr. Zimmerman.

"Yeah… but…" mumbled Ben, before clenching his right hand into a fist, "I'm sorry, but I will never be happy during this trip until Carlie is found and brought back safe and sound."

"Worry not, Ben-kun, we shall find her," reassured David, "In fact, we will begin the search for her starting tomorrow morning."

Ben felt slightly better from hearing that promise. Lisa, meanwhile, remained thoughtful on something. Now that she was meeting Carlie's parents, she had a few questions to ask them regarding Carlie's backstory, but wasn't sure if now was the appropriate time. Ultimately, she decided to take a chance.

"Excuse me, sir, ma'am," called Lisa, causing Mr. and Mrs. Izayoi both to look over, "I hope this isn't a bad time for questions, but I'd like to ask you both about your daughter."

"Lisa, I don't know if-" Asagi began scolding.

"No, it's quite alright," The voice of Mrs. Izayoi interrupted, causing the wavy blonde-haired young woman to stop. She then gave the person (Lisa) who spoke up a brief nod, "Please, go right ahead."

"Well, we heard a little bit of what Carlie's early life was like with you guys," recalled Lisa, which caused Mr. and Mrs. Izayoi to feel uncomfortable as they listened on, "Then at some point, you left her at an orphanage," She stood up and walked towards the stage and placed her hands at the edge, "Is that all true? Just what exactly happened between the discovery of her power and leaving home?"

There was a long silence from both sides, and Lisa continued staring as though she was expecting an answer from Carlie's parents or even from Ben. Eventually, Mr. Kisaka approached and placed a hand on the pink-haired girl's shoulder in an attempt to get her to back down.

"Now, Lisa," frowned Mr. Kisaka, "that might have been a little too much at this time."

But then, he and Lisa looked and saw Carlie's parents smiling sadly at them, as though they knew that one day they would be asked that question by somebody. They just didn't expect it to be in a situation like this.

"We've always known someone would ask us that question one day," admitted Mrs. Izayoi, "It's something none of us are proud of letting happen," She continued speaking as Lisa and Mr. Kisaka listened, "However, all of you deserve to learn the truth, and…we will tell you everything."

"To start, about us leaving Carlie at the orphanage… We had no choice," sighed Mr. Izayoi, as he sat down on the stage's edge, "When we first discovered her powers, we tried our absolute hardest to understand that Carlie was different from other people," He closed his eyes, "Shortly after she turned 10-years old, the breaking point was finally reached…"

A flashback ensued.

FLASHBACK

Returning home from school was Young Carlie, now 10-years old, and she looked pretty glum since she had another bad day there. She entered the living room, where Young Ben was the first to see her.

"Oh! Carlie!" greeted Young Ben.

"Hi, Ben…" mumbled Young Carlie dejectedly.

Flashback Mrs. Izayoi looked up from her knitting, seeing her daughter looking very down and became very sad that things were not going well for her daughter. Flashback Mr. Izayoi put down his newspaper and also saw Young Carlie looking real depressed.

"Carlie…" whispered Flashback Mr. Izayoi, before trying to smile, "Come on, cheer up," Young Carlie didn't look up while listening to him, and simply grabbed at her right forearm, "I know you're not happy about having an unknown power and birthmark, but I'm certain things will get better soon."

Somehow, that form of reassurance didn't make Young Carlie feel any better. If anything, it only made her angry—very, very angry.

"Well, why can't they get better, now?!" complained Young Carlie, losing her temper at a rapid pace, "Why did I have to end up with powers that I can't even control?!"

"Carlie-!" stammered Flashback Mr. Izayoi.

"Tell me!" yelled Young Carlie, "Tell me why!" While continuing to rant, her birthmark started to glow without anyone noticing—proving her power often triggered when she was stressed out or upset, "Why did I suddenly have to become different from other children?!" She soon finished her furious sentence, "Why! Why just me?!"

"It's okay, Carlie," cried Young Ben, trying to calm his sister down, "Take it easy, just calm down."

But it was too late, the whole living room started shaking itself to pieces thanks to Young Carlie's emotions accidentally triggering her unstable psychic powers. Bookcases were falling over, photo frames were smashed, forcing the other members of the family to take cover under a nearby table until the shaking stopped. Once again, Young Carlie was shocked and scared over what she unintentionally did. It got worse when her parents and brother emerged from under the table, and Flashback Mr. Izayoi slowly approached her…

*SMACK!*

…and a second later, Young Carlie soon cried out as she was thrown to the floor in slow motion, compliments of a very horrified Flashback Mr. Izayoi. He had his right hand raised, making it very clear he slapped his own daughter after she nearly destroyed the living room and took their lives with her powers. The look on his face, however, also made it painfully clear he hated himself for hitting Young Carlie.

"Honey!" shrieked Flashback Mrs. Izayoi.

"Dad!" added Young Ben.

By now, Young Carlie had calmed down from her anger, replacing it all with hurt and sadness as she looked up with a red mark on her cheek.

"Why did you hit me, Daddy?" whimpered Young Carlie, weeping softly, "Is it because I'm not a normal kid?" She stood up and tearfully glared at her own parents, "Because…I'm a monster!?"

Flashback Mr. Izayoi was too ashamed to say anything back, but, after that incident, Flashback Mrs. Izayoi knew that there was no other alternative… They had to tell their daughter the bad news about the next chapter of her life.

"Carlie, we need to talk," said Flashback Mrs. Izayoi.

"Huh?" pondered Young Carlie, sitting down on the couch.

"Listen well, your Father and I, along with Ben, will always love you very much. That's something I promise you," proclaimed Flashback Mrs. Izayoi, before sitting down beside her daughter. She then started to tear up, "But…the thing is, you can't live with us anymore."

This not only earned her a horrified gasp from Young Carlie, but also from Young Ben, too.

"Your Father and I have talked long and hard about this, but the only possible answer is for you to live at an orphanage," continued Flashback Mrs. Izayoi, before clutching part of her dress, "We're hoping that someone who can better understand you and your powers can adopt and help you."

A very devastated Young Carlie couldn't believe she was learning of this from her own parents, and neither could Young Ben.

"Mom! Dad! You can't send her away!" objected Young Ben, "There must be another way to help her! Please don't make her leave us!"

"We're sorry, Ben," apologized Flashback Mr. Izayoi, shaking his head, "But there isn't any other solution."

"We don't want our daughter to leave, but…" remarked Flashback Mrs. Izayoi, "We're just not properly qualified to handle the kind of power she possesses," She closed her eyes, "Maybe one day, she can finally return home…"

Both Young Carlie and Young Ben finally started to cry.

(new scene…)

Two days later, a heartbroken Young Carlie was left at the orphanage for her own safety. She watched as her parents, who had very sad looks on their faces, drove away, leaving her all alone in a way. Young Ben was seen tearfully waving goodbye to his sister, and Young Carlie waved goodbye, too. Soon, the car drove away until it was out of sight.

END FLASHBACK

The flashback ended, with everyone listening to the heartbreaking story. Mr. Izayoi, meanwhile, had tears running down his face as he strongly resisted the urge to cry.

"This was all my fault," Mr. Izayoi berated himself, "Rather than stay with parents who couldn't understand their own daughter, I thought it was better, for Carlie, that she stayed at… No, it was wrong! No, I forced her…" He slammed his fists on the edge of the stage, "…to live at the orphanage!" Faded stills of several incidents from years ago regarding Carlie's psychic powers were superimposed over him while he continued speaking, "When we first discovered her power, I called her a monster. Then I slapped her after she risked destroying our home. Worst of all was leaving her behind against her will," James R., Michael, Zack, and Matt all listened to the words of anguish, "I could never forget the look on Carlie's face back then. She just wanted someone to understand her, but I… I…"

Unable to take it any longer, Mr. Izayoi finally broke down and sobbed over what he felt were his own actions towards his daughter. All this time, he blamed himself for what ultimately happened to Carlie. Everyone else just listened in solemn silence, but Ben was the first one to break said silence.

"Dad…" he uttered, walking over to his Father and placing both hands on his shoulders, "It's not your fault, nor was it Mom's."

Mr. Izayoi stopped crying and looked up at his son. Mrs. Izayoi also looked surprised, but remained silent in order to allow Ben to continue speaking.

"Besides, have you both forgotten?" Ben pressed, fondly remembering his official reunion with Carlie a few years ago, "We've all reconciled with Carlie years ago after I visited her on the island of Sodor during the Battle City tournament. Remember?"

Mr. and Mrs. Izayoi both remembered it well. Although there was some hesitancy initially, they all became a family once more when it became clear Carlie forgave them, and they were very thankful for all that Discord did for her as well as Matt for helping to slowly reopen her heart towards other people through defeating her in a duel.

"I certainly remember it," accepted Discord, "Matty-boy was getting hurt by her during their duel, but he persevered and successfully helped her out."

"Listen, as much as going down memory lane is sweet and tear-jerking, the point is Carlie is missing," Michael spoke up, trying to get everyone back on track, "And Dave mentioned that we will begin our search for her at dawn," He stood up from his seat, "Before then, we should return to our dorms and get some sleep."

"Mike's right," agreed Lisa, while stretching her arms out, "We'll need all the sleep we can get before we begin our search."

"But look on the bright side," James R. spoke up, "If Carlie was kidnapped by the Dark Signers, she would likely kick their butts and escape their hideout all on her own."

"That is true," admitted Ashima.

"Yeah! Carlie's a Signer, for crying out loud!" said Asagi confidently, "In fact, I bet wherever she is, she's dueling one of those darned Dark Signers, right now!"

(elsewhere…)

Inside Blue Cosmos's dueling chamber a day later, Carlie, now wearing a female Blue Cosmos school uniform consisting of a burgundy coat, white button-down shirt, a medium-length skirt, green tie, and even same stockings as her Victorian-styled attire, was in the middle of dueling against some students of Blue Cosmos. Currently, the field was as followed:
-Carlie (LP: 4000): Controlled 'Witch of the Black Rose' (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1200) and a Set card.
-Student 1 (LP: 300): Controlled 'Flame Tiger' (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 0).
-Student 2 (LP: 500): Controlled 'Dimension Fortress Weapon' (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 200).
-Student 3 (LP: 100): Controlled 'Koa'ki Meiru Powerhand' (Level: 4/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1600).
-Student 4 (LP: 600): Controlled 'Hunter of Black Feathers' (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1000).
-Student 5 (LP: 900): Controlled 'Reverse Buster' (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 0).

"Keh! Come on, witch, bring it on!" taunted Student 1, "We might be losing, but we're still standing firm and have a bunch of strong monsters flanking us!"

"It seems you guys never learned to give up when you're obviously outmatched," scoffed Carlie, speaking with a slightly deeper voice than she usually had. Despite being outnumbered, she was not worried in the slightest, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that."

"Why did you get accepted here, anyway?" demanded Student 2, "Because Headmaster Azrael took pity on you or somethin'?"

Carlie fearlessly and coldly stared at her opponents without saying a word back.

"A monster like you has no right to become a duelist!" The voice of Student 3 insulted, which still didn't faze Carlie, "Get the hell out of Blue Cosmos!"

"Get out before we force you out!" boomed Student 4.

"You know, we almost feel sorry for you," sneered Student 5, before making a HUGE mistake on his part, "You're a monster that's been abandoned by her own parents because they 'never' loved you!"

He and his four pals all shared a laugh at Carlie, who now had her head bowed with a shadow over her eyes, with nothing but contempt for her. Unfortunately, by saying that one thing directly to her face, they finally pushed Carlie's ultimate berserk button; she finally raised her head, dispelling the shadow and revealing the pure rage on her face and unmatched malice in her eyes. To make matters worse, the metal hairband keeping her hair together had also fallen off and allowed for her bangs to fall and partially cover her face. All in all, she was FURIOUS.

"You will not get away with trampling all over the feelings of others!" hissed Carlie, as she started glowing dark purple while completely losing control of her emotions. She raised her voice into a mighty shout, "This pain will be engraved upon all of your forms!" She drew a card, "It's my turn!"

Turn ?: Carlie Izayoi (LP: 4000)
Deck: 46
Current Hand (4): ?, ?, ?, and "Rose Tentacles"

Without wasting a second, Carlie removed the Monster Card ('Witch of the Black Rose') from the Monster Zone on her Duel Disk.

"I Tribute 'Witch of the Black Rose'," As the voice of Carlie spoke, she placed her drawn card ('Rose Tentacles') onto the very same Monster Zone, "and Tribute Summon 'Rose Tentacles' in Attack Position!"

'Witch of the Black Rose' faded away in a blue streak, and appearing onto the field was a huge, living rose monster with thorn roots for tentacles (Level: 6/ATK: 2200/DEF: 1200).

"So, the witch has access to other strong cards," muttered Student 2.

"Gee, you don't say, dumbass," Student 5 pointed out.

"But you can only attack and defeat one of us!" reminded Student 4, speaking to Carlie as she listened, "The rest of us will then grab the opportunity to defeat you, therefore sending you right back to the den where you rightfully belong!"

"That won't happen," interrupted Carlie dismissively.

The five Blue Cosmos students eased up, wondering if there was something they were forgetting about. Sure enough, there was something they were forgetting about—Carlie's only Set card.

"Continuous Trap, open!" announced Carlie, as her face-down card flipped up and revealed itself to be… "'Ivy Shackles'! All face-up monsters my opponent controls become Plant monsters during my turns only."

"N-No way!" panicked Student 3.

"Are you kidding me?!" added Student 1.

"Battle!" declared Carlie, holding her right hand (as her Mark of the Dragon on her forearm glowed dark purple) out, "Sick 'em, 'Rose Tentacles'… Thorn Whip!"

Nearly becoming real-like, 'Rose Tentacles' took hold of 'Flame Tiger' and crushed it into dust. The force of that attack nearly blew Student 2, Student 3, and Student 4 each away, but Student 1 wasn't so lucky—the wind blast caused by Carlie's anger and her psychic abilities was more than powerful enough to throw him into the wall as he got defeated (LP: 300 → 0).

Student 1 was eliminated!

"Damned witch!" swore Student 4.

"'Rose Tentacles's' first effect," warned Carlie, "At the start of my Battle Phase, for each Plant monster my opponent currently controls, this card gains 1 additional attack during each Battle Phase this turn."

The four remaining students stammered with terror.

"In combo with 'Ivy Shackles', your monsters become the Plant-Type during my turns," Carlie went on. She narrowed her eyes and pointed at Student 4 and Student 5, "And you two! Don't believe you'll survive my final attack."

"W-Why's that?" shivered Student 4, while Student 5 stayed quiet.

"The second effect of 'Rose Tentacles'," answered Carlie, going over what else her monster did, "Each time this card destroys a Plant monster by battle: I must inflict 300 damage to my opponent," Her expression darkened even more as her Battle Phase then resumed, "Go to Hell! 'Rose Tentacles', Thorn Whip 1!"

'Rose Tentacles' tightly constricted 'Dimension Fortress Weapon', destroying it and causing a massive backlash to blow Student 2 away as he lost his LP, too (LP: 500 → 0).

Student 2 was eliminated!

"Thorn Whip 2!" yelled Carlie.

'Rose Tentacles' then constricted 'Koa'ki Meiru Powerhand' and destroyed it, also throwing Student 3 against the wall with no LP left (LP: 100 → 0).

Student 3 was eliminated!

"Thorn Whip 3!" Carlie raged on.

'Rose Tentacles' went and constricted 'Hunter of Black Feathers', causing Student 4 to wince from the power of the 'Black Rose Witch's' monster and psychic abilities.

"Since 'Rose Tentacles' is destroying another Plant monster," recalled Carlie, "you take 300 damage!"

'Hunter of Black Feathers' was then destroyed, causing Student 4 to be thrown into the wall and to sustain not only battle damage but also effect damage (LP: 600 → 0).

Student 4 was eliminated!

Student 5 started backing away in complete terror, having been the one who pushed the so-called witch's sensitive button. Carlie had been saving this moment specifically for him, and she was going to savor every second of it.

"The final attack," whispered Carlie, before raising her voice again, "Last Thorn Whip!"

And 'Rose Tentacles' destroyed 'Reverse Buster' in only a couple of seconds. But then, before he knew it, Student 5 found himself getting completely constricted by 'Rose Tentacles' and, thanks to Carlie's psychic powers, got nearly crushed to death before Carlie became satisfied with her revenge and allowed him to fall onto the floor, unconscious (LP: 900 → 0).

DUEL RESULTS: Carlie Izayoi wins!

Having won the battle royale effortlessly, Carlie made both her birthmark stop glowing and 'Rose Tentacles' disappear. In her mind, those five duelists were far too weak to challenge her, plus they never should have provoked her like that in the first place. Because when you play with fire, you get seriously burnt.

(later…)

Soon, Carlie was thrown into another battle royale-styled duel against three other Blue Cosmos students. A number of turns had passed, and this was the standing:
-Carlie (LP: 2900): Controlled 'Violet Witch' (Level: 4/ATK: 1100/DEF: 1200) and 'Twilight Rose Knight' (Level: 3/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000), and it was currently her turn.
-Student 6 (LP: 2200): Controlled 'Ryu Senshi' (Level: 6/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1200) and a Set card.
-Student 7 (LP: 2400): Controlled 'King of the Feral Imps' (Rank: 4/ATK: 2300/DEF: 2000).
-Student 8 (LP: 1500): Controlled 'Legendary Flame Lord' (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000).

"I Summon 'Blue Rose Dragon'!" declared Carlie, placing a card on her Duel Disk.

Appearing onto the field was the small, dragon-like creature with blue roses on its back and for wings (Level: 4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 1200). From there, Carlie was ready to take down more and more opponents, having a single monster capable of doing just that.

"I tune Level 4 'Violet Witch' into Level 3 'Twilight Rose Knight'!" continued Carlie.

'Twilight Rose Knight' turned into three Synchro Rings, which hovered over 'Violet Witch' before lowering and overwhelming her while also turning her into four orbs of light as a Summon Chant was then heard.

"Chilling flames engulf the entire world. Pitch-dark flower, set into bloom!" chanted Carlie in a very chilling tone (more so than usual, especially when combined with the slightly deeper voice), as the symbols 4 + 3 = 7 were shown briefly. From there, the four orbs of light within the trio of Synchro Rings turned into a massive beam of light, which slammed down onto the field around her, "Synchro Summon! Appear now, 'Black Rose Dragon'!"

Appearing from the beam of light and now standing on the field behind Carlie, was the dragon littered with rose-like features (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1800). With a ferocious roar, 'Black Rose Dragon' unleashed a mighty blast of wind that all three Blue Cosmos students felt and nearly got pushed back by. The wind was being amplified further by Carlie's psychic powers.

"The lousy witch!" exclaimed Student 7.

"I activate 'Black Rose Dragon's' first effect!" declared Carlie, before raising her right hand slightly upward, "Black Rose Gale!"

The blast of wind from 'Black Rose Dragon' grew stronger until the monster itself exploded into a rain of rose petals, taking every card on the field with it and leaving nobody with any monsters, Spells, nor Traps.

"Our cards are gone!" peeped Student 8, "The witch's monster actually wiped them all out!"

"When this card is Synchro Summoned: I can destroy all cards on the field," explained Carlie, going over 'Black Rose Dragon's' first effect, "However, this also destroys 'Black Rose Dragon'."

"Which will leave you open for an attack by us three when one of us gets a turn!" insisted Student 7.

"Unfortunately, my monster won't remain gone for much longer," Carlie interrupted, to the surprise of the other students, "Care to guess the reason for that?"

"'Blue Rose Dragon'-!" remembered Student 6.

"Correct," confirmed Carlie, briefly holding up the mentioned Monster Card, "When this card on the field is destroyed and sent to the GY: I can target 1 'Black Rose Dragon' or 1 Plant monster in my GY; I must Special Summon that monster," She allowed her card ('Blue Rose Dragon') to turn into another card ('Black Rose Dragon') before placing it onto her Duel Disk, "Let this pain overwhelm you… Resurrect, 'Black Rose Dragon'!"

Reappearing in a burst of purple fire in the center of the field was 'Black Rose Dragon', and it once again looked ready to rumble with the Blue Cosmos students (Level: 7/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1800).

"Battle," said Carlie, calmly but remaining just as vicious, "'Black Rose Dragon', attack my enemy directly," As she announced her monster's attack name, 'Black Rose Dragon' opened its mouth and charged a powerful blast of fire, "Black Rose Flare!"

The attack was unleashed, colliding with Student 7 as he screamed in pain from the resulting psychic powers and from defeat (LP: 2400 → 0).

Student 7 was eliminated!

Student 7 collapsed once the attack had ended. Student 6 and Student 8, growing terrified of this 'witch', both decided to just cut their losses and get the hell away from their enemy without even trying to finish the duel. Carlie, however, was not done making those who hurt her feel the hurt back; she silently thrust her right hand (with the glowing birthmark on the forearm) forward, using her powers to create an entire wall of ivy around the field and trap herself, Student 6, Student 8, and the unconscious Student 7 inside. While Student 6 and Student 8 were shivering over their predicament, Carlie, enjoying the fear shown by her enemies, slowly started to smile psychotically as both her birthmark continued glowing dark purple and her mind began to slowly deteriorate.

(elsewhere…)

Inside one of Orb's cafeterias, Matt and the others had gathered to do some thinking. A couple of days had passed since the search for Carlie had begun. Everyone had been searching all across the city for Carlie, but she hadn't been found.

"We've been searching the city for days, but it's like Carlie's disappeared or something," remarked Shinji.

"That's stating the obvious, but you're right; Carlie isn't in Hartford anymore," agreed Sherry, "Wherever she is being held, she's likely got to be somewhere outside the city."

"Matt, I don't know about you, but I think it might be time to take our search outside Hartford," requested Michael.

Matt stood up from one of the tables in response to the idea.

"I agree," said Zack, before focusing his attention back to his laptop—with Juri, Sean, David, and Lisa all looking over his shoulders, "Carlie must no longer be in the city if we haven't found any sign of her for days."

"The only lead we have is finding her Duel Runner seemingly abandoned at Bradley International Airport," recalled Sherry.

"Right," Zack acknowledged, before closing his laptop, "We know that's where the Dark Signers ambushed and got her."

"When one of them managed to call her and mimic my voice to fool her," put in Ben.

"Mm!" nodded Matt, "Ben, you'll come with me, this time," When Ben agreed to it, he spoke to everyone else, "Let's go, everyone!"

"RIGHT!"

With that said, everyone started leaving the cafeteria to head outside to the parking lot.

(elsewhere…)

Outside, everyone was seen emerging to get their Duel Runners in the parking lot. A few seconds after coming outside, David let out a surprised yell.

"Dave, what's wrong, man?" questioned Sean.

"O-Over there!" wailed David, pointing up ahead.

Everyone looked, becoming extremely surprised by what they were seeing.

"What the hell?!" demanded Sherry.

"Unbelievable!" flinched Discord.

"Is this some sort of joke?" came from Michael.

Standing in the parking lot a very good distance away from the group was a familiar-looking young woman with brown hair.

"Isn't that-?" began Mr. Kisaka.

"Yes, it is!" acknowledged Mrs. Izayoi.

"It's Carlie!" exclaimed Ben.

"She's been missing for a couple of days," added Zack, "But now she's finally come back to all of us."

Slowly, Carlie, once again dressed in her new Victorian-style outfit (plus the corset, but minus the undershirt, allowing for some breast cleavage to be shown), walked towards the large group of people happy to see her. The people most happy were Mr. Izayoi and Mrs. Izayoi, both of whom tried approaching her. But that sense of happiness and relief was short lived, as once Carlie noticed her parents, she got angry.

"Stay back!" howled Carlie, causing her own parents to stop approaching in shock, "Don't you dare come any closer!"

When those words left her mouth, the birthmark underneath her gloved right arm started glowing dark purple again—which resulted in an earthquake happening thanks to the psychic powers. Matt and everyone else cried out as they struggled to remain on their feet, while Carlie stayed on her feet with no trouble. Once the Mark of the Dragon belonging to Carlie stopped glowing, the shaking ended.

"Did she just-?" started Janice.

"Carlie, what the hell's going on?!" yelled Lisa, "What's gotten into you?!"

Carlie ignored the pink-haired girl's anger towards her, and kept her focus squarely on her so-called parents—parents who left her at an orphanage without a second thought.

"Why are you here!?" demanded Carlie, horrifying Mr. and Mrs. Izayoi as they listened to what their daughter had to say, "I no longer need you!"

"Carlie…?" quizzed Mrs. Izayoi.

"You both have a lot of nerve showing your faces to me after leaving me alone at the orphanage nine years ago!" ranted Carlie, speaking as though she had not seen her family for over nine years, "Well, forget it! You don't love me, so I don't love you!"

"She hasn't seen her parents in nine years?" thought James R., puzzled, "No way, that's not what happened, at all."

"Carlie, what you're telling us isn't true," protested Michael, causing Carlie to angrily look over, "Don't you remember? You reconciled with your parents and saw them a number of times since then. And you never were alone while living at the orphanage," As he spoke, Discord, James R., Zack, Shinji, and even Sherry all stepped forward and nodded in agreement, "You made friends with me, James, Zack, Shinji, and even Sherry. Plus, you, James, Zack, and I were adopted by Discord J. Crawford."

Did Carlie even believe such a statement? No, she didn't. In fact, she only became angrier.

"What nonsense are you telling me?" hissed Carlie, "I haven't seen my family in nine years!"

"What?!" gasped Michael.

"I don't even know who you or those other people are!" Carlie spat bitterly, "You're all complete strangers to me!"

Those words stung everyone like the sting from a bee, ranging from Matt, to David and his friends, to the Astray trio, to Ms. Simmons and Mr. Kisaka, all the way to Mr. Zimmerman and Discord.

"She doesn't recognize any of us?" thought Shinji, "What did the Dark Signers do to her?"

"Carlie!" called Ben, trying to approach Carlie, "Sis… it's me, Ben. You remember me, don't you?"

"Ben?" whispered Carlie, before closing her eyes and smiling, "Yes, I do remember you. I remember how close you and I have always been," Ben smiled when he heard that, but quickly lost that smile when she got angry once again and resumed speaking, "I also remember how Mom and Dad pulled us apart and left me at an orphanage, all because I'm nothing but a monster!"

"Carlie!" cried Mr. Izayoi.

"We only left you there for your own safety!" insisted Mrs. Izayoi.

"Fudo-san, what's gotten into Izayoi-san?" asked David, looking at Matt, "She doesn't seem to know who any of us are."

Matt said nothing, but he knew how deadly the situation was getting. If Carlie got upset, she could become very destruction. Fortunately, there was one last thing he could try, and it was the Crimson Dragon. Nodding over his idea, Matt stepped towards Carlie, who took notice and got into a stance that warned him not to come any closer to her. Matt stopped approaching and removed his glove.

"Carlie, do you recognize this?" began Matt, rolling up his jacket's right sleeve and holding up his exposed right forearm—but mainly the birthmark (Dragon's Head) on it, "You have to recognize it, because we are alike!"

Carlie gasped, before removing her own glove and exposing her own right forearm, most notably her own birthmark (Dragon's Foot).

"The birthmark-!" stammered Carlie, looking down at her Mark of the Dragon before looking back up at Matt in shocked anger, "Who are you," As she continued to rage at him, Matt simply listened calmly, "and why do you have a similar birthmark to mine?!"

"He's not the only one," The voice of Michael pointed out, just as he, James R., Lisa, and David all exposed their own right forearms and revealed their respective birthmarks (Michael: Dragon's Wings, James R.: Dragon's Tail, Lisa: Dragon's Hand, David: Dragon's Heart), "We also have similar birthmarks to you."

Upon seeing the birthmarks from those individuals, Carlie flinched as her breathing started becoming rapid and she seemingly began having a panic attack. She then clutched the sides of her head as several memories were shown flashing before her very eyes, including some of her being tortured, being approached by Azrael, dueling and defeating several Blue Cosmos students, the whole nineyard.

"Carlie! Open your eyes!" hollered Lisa.

"It's us; your friends and family!" encouraged Discord.

Soon, the pain in Carlie's head ceased, and she appeared to calm down and look normal again.

"Yes… Yes, I remember, now," uttered Carlie, bringing hope to everyone again. Unfortunately, that hope immediately disappeared when she, yet again, became violently angry, "You're the people possessing markings I was told about, and how you all need to be destroyed!"

"Wait, what?" gawked James R., "Maybe I didn't hear that right."

"You're here to destroy us?" put in Lisa.

"Izayoi-san!" protested David.

"It's the only way… It's the only way the people who took me in shortly after arriving at the orphanage, the school Blue Cosmos, will ever accept me as one of them!" continued Carlie, "I have to do as they say to earn their love and respect!"

"Did she say…?" recoiled Mayura.

"…Blue Cosmos?" finished Asagi, "So they were the ones behind Carlie's kidnapping?"

"Oh no," fretted Juri.

"Swell, I guess Muruta Azrael is back at it again, trying to get this school closed down even though he's not allowed to set foot in even Orb's parking lot," grunted Lisa unhappily, before raising her voice again, "Yo, Carlie!" That got Carlie's attention, and allowed her (Lisa) to speak some more, "Since you're here, why not tell us where that bastard Azrael might be hiding?"

"How dare you!" The voice of Carlie interrupted, causing Lisa to stop speaking in slight fear. She didn't appear to be happy that Azrael was insulted, "Out of all of them… Out of the 'people' of Blue Cosmos, only Headmaster Azrael truly cares for me like a Father since he was the one who adopted me in the first place, understanding I have psychic powers," The rest of the group listened to the remaining words she had to say, "Everyone else there treats me with contempt, claiming that a monster like me doesn't have a right to stay at the school!"

"Headmaster Azrael?!" reeled Mayura.

"And he adopted Carlie?" pondered Juri.

"Boy, how much BS did he fill her in on?" Asagi whispered back.

"He once told me that I wouldn't have to think anymore! That he would think for me!" remembered Carlie, "Headmaster Azrael often tells me that the outside world is full of cruel, unforgiving people! He would never lie to me… Now that I think about it, he's absolutely right," She turned to face her so-called enemies, "After getting to know all of you, I can tell you're no different to those people—whether they are from Blue Cosmos or the outside world!"

"Carlie, please stop!" begged Shinji.

"Then, I'll show you…" growled Carlie, ignoring the plea, slipping on her glove again before activating her Duel Disk, "…just one more time!" While speaking on, her mind continued to slowly decline, "I will show you all the power of the 'Black Rose Witch', a horrible monster!"

Over with the Astray trio, Asagi then gasped out of horror when she remembered their encounter with Misty at the beach in New Haven.

"No way!" The wavy blonde-haired young woman recalled, causing Mayura, Juri, and James R. each to look at her, "I remember when we went to the beach and saw Misty…"

A flashback ensued.

FLASHBACK

Flashback James R., Flashback Carlie, Flashback Asagi, Flashback Mayura, and Flashback Juri were meeting with Flashback Misty during the trip to the beach in New Haven.

"Wait a sec," interrupted Flashback Carlie, which brought all eyes towards her. She directed her attention mainly to Flashback Misty, "Ma'am, you can actually read someone's fortune?"

"I can," confirmed Flashback Misty, "I do it by reading someone based on their facial appearance."

Flashback Carlie raised an eyebrow skeptically, because she found this to be rather dubious—but she did not want to actually say it out loud without making it seem like she was being rude. Undeterred, Flashback Misty only approached Flashback Carlie and raised her right hand slightly.

"If you would like, I have two minutes to spare before I have to go and change bikinis for the next shoot. How about I read your fortune?" offered Flashback Misty, "Don't worry, it won't cost you anything."

"Err, I don't know about that…" mused Flashback Carlie.

"Do it, Carlie," encouraged Flashback Juri.

"Yeah! Who knows? Maybe you'll get something great out of it," added Flashback Asagi.

Listening to the suggestion, Flashback Carlie turned to face Flashback Misty as a small smile formed on her face. She decided to go through with it without actually saying it. And so, allowed Flashback Misty to proceed with the fortune telling, who then gently took hold of Flashback Carlie's face using her right hand and stared into her eyes for what seemed like a long time. Flashback Misty stared, and stared, and stared, and stared, before…her eyes widened and she stumbled away from Flashback Carlie, clutching at her own chest in complete shock. Unfortunately, Flashback Carlie saw how Flashback Misty was currently acting and started to grow very nervous, wondering if the future that was possibly seen was bad or something.

"So, um, Misty…" Flashback Carlie spoke up, "What's my fortune like?"

Flashback Misty looked up, noticing the confused looks on the faces of everyone staring at her. Not wanting to potentially scare the person she tried telling a fortune to, she had no other choice but to lie about what she saw.

"N-No," declined Flashback Misty, shaking her head, "I actually saw nothing worth mentioning. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Carlie."

This reaction left Flashback Carlie very confused—yet worried. Was the possible fortune so terrifying that Flashback Misty didn't want to tell her about it?

END FLASHBACK

The flashback ended, with Mayura, Juri, and James R. each not looking too happy due to the fact they remembered meeting with Misty, too.

"Now I remember," admitted James R..

"You mean to say…THIS was Carlie's fortune?" frowned Juri.

Asagi nodded. Sherry, meanwhile, was deeply horrified over what happened to her former friend. Suddenly, she gasped a second time as another flashback ensued.

FLASHBACK

Near the end of the duel between Flashback Carlie and Flashback Sherry against Flashback Gwen (possessed), Flashback Gwen (possessed), despite being initially afraid, currently wounded, and about to lose the Dark Duel, looked up with a very dark smile on her face.

"Very impressive," remarked Flashback Gwen (possessed), causing Flashback Carlie and Flashback Sherry both to ease up, "Carlie Izayoi, I know now that you, indeed, are a very strong duelist worthy of being a Signer…" She then added in an ominous-sounding question, "But did you ever choose to become one willingly? Or were you forced to against your own will because of the cruel thing we all call fate?"

"Que diable?" frowned Flashback Sherry, puzzled.

"What do you mean by that?" pressed Flashback Carlie, sounding equally confused, "I'm a Signer because I feel it's something I must do; after all, this world is worth protecting from the likes of the Dark Signers!"

"Is that so?" grinned Flashback Gwen (possessed), amused by the sort of answer she expected to hear, "One day, you'll make a wonderful duelist…for the Dark Signers to use!"

"No, never!" refused Flashback Carlie, "If you think I'll magically join your side just by being told some words designed to confuse me, you're clearly untuned with reality!"

Flashback Gwen (possessed) was unbothered.

END FLASHBACK

The flashback ended.

"It was as though all of this had been foreshadowed perfectly," thought Sherry, "Damn you, Blue Cosmos!"

"Stop this, Izayoi-san!" called David, "Please understand that your Father and Mother both are in pain, as well!"

"No, Dave," cut in Lisa, "I'm sorry to have to say this, but Carlie's too far gone."

"Gone?" pressed Ashima, "Are you absolutely sure?"

"That's the likely outcome."

"No! She has to still be in there!" The voice of James R. argued, causing David, Lisa, and Ashima to look over. He continued to look hopeful that Carlie could be brought back to the light, "If Ashima can be freed from the Dark Signer's control, then Carlie can be released from Azrael's self-made control."

"It won't be easy," said Discord gravely, "Carlie claims she has no memories of us, meaning that the Blue Cosmos school must have done something to wipe out her recent memories and create a series of false memories."

That didn't exactly bring any relief to the group. Over with Matt and Carlie…

"Carlie, please listen to me! You're being deceived by Azrael and Blue Cosmos!" proclaimed Matt, "We Signers and Orb can help you remember the real you!"

"Liar! 'You're' the one who's deceiving me!" shrieked Carlie, "You, too, are an enemy! One of mine! You're an enemy who must be destroyed in the name of Blue Cosmos!"

To prove her point, Carlie raised and inserted her shuffled Deck into the holder on her Duel Disk, setting the LP counter up. Matt, realizing he had no choice, put his glove back on and activated his own Duel Disk.

"The only way my voice will reach Carlie's sealed off heart really does seem to be through dueling!" Matt told himself.

"That's right," Carlie coldly agreed, appearing to overhear the comment, "We're not friends! We are indeed destined to fight!"

"No, you're wrong!" denied Matt, before taking out and inserting his Deck into the holder on his Duel Disk and turning on his own LP counter, "This duel is to actually prove…" He pointed forward, "…that we're all friends! Anytime you're ready!"

As everyone watched from a good distance away, the epic clash between Matt Fudo and Carlie Izayoi, their first one-on-one duel against each other since years ago, finally began as their starting hands were drawn at the same time.

"Duel!" Matt and Carlie announced at the same time (LP: 4000) x2.

Sorry, everyone, but there's no new segment for "This week's noteworthy cards" this time around, mostly because the duels in this chapter are either barely seen or are instead finished off-screen. Either way, we have another very dark and drama-filled story arc to cover, this time focusing on Carlie's kidnapping and duel against Matt. As ever, stay safe in these trying times.