XIV

Earlier

There was a difference between fighting what you didn't know, and fighting what you did know—but had no power to stop. So it was with Kōtsu Masumi. Numb inside and out, with impotent despair bubbling deep in her breast, she could only watch as Gladial Beast Domitianus stood tall among all who fought this chaotic Duel—willing or no.

"You have exhausted your Battle Phase," Markus Streiter said from behind and beneath his Fusion Monster. "You have no more monsters with which to attack—but my monsters ensure that I will always have plenty who are ready to fight in their stead. Because my Hoplomus battled, I will activate its effect, and return it to my Deck to Special Summon another Gladial Beast monster in its place! Tag Out—Gladial Beast Atrix!"

With a flick of his wrist, his rhino-warrior was vaporized, the bright light throwing Domitianus' ugly face into sharp relief. The light did not fully dissipate, even as a sleek, catlike creature in gray armor and violet silk strode onto the field with shield and sword in paw (Level 4: ATK 800 » 1300 » 1400/DEF 2000 » 2500 » 2600). Masumi realized Atrix was female right as the source of that light reached her eyes as well: the fires of Colosseum had hissed a foot higher, invigorating the Kämpfer's monsters further still.

"Gladial Beast Atrix' effect!" Streiter had to raise his voice a few decibels; Domitianus had chosen that moment to roar in jubilation as its own point gauge trended upwards as well, to 4100/1800. "If she is Special Summoned by a Gladial Beast monster's effect, I may send another Gladial Beast from my Deck or Extra Deck to the Graveyard, and have Atrix assume its Level and name until the End Phase! I send the Level 4 Gladial Beast Dicaerii—and then, because a Gladial Beast monster was Special Summoned from the Deck," he added, swiping another card from his shield-sized Duel Disk, "my Continuous Spell: Gladial Rejection will activate again, and Special Summon a second Gladial Beast from my Deck in Defense Position, whose Type is different from the monsters I control! I re-Summon my Beast-Type Gladial Beast Andal!"

Masumi bit her lip as she felt the earth begin to shake, and the familiar armored bear stomped onto the field (Level 4: ATK 1900 » 2500 » 2600/DEF 1500 » 2100 » 2200). That it had caused Colosseum to empower Streiter's field even further, as evidenced by the fresh gauges of 4200/1900 and 1500/2700 above Domitianus and Atrix, was—for once—of lesser concern. What made her more worried was that Streiter still controlled his Final Attack Orders—and being a Continuous Trap, it had circumvented the effect of his Spell Summoning monsters in Defense Position.

They're ready for war the moment they enter the battlefield, she thought.

"One card face-down—turn end. That ends my Beehive's effect, and returns my Hyades' ATK to normal."

The Fusion user could practically hear Shijima Hokuto dripping venom with every word he spoke. She couldn't blame him in the slightest—she hated the situation that Markus Streiter had thrust them into, hated it with all the helpless fury her heart could conjure. They were unable to attack the monsters they wanted, unable to restrain themselves from doing so—and unable to defend themselves in the process.

Hyades had barely returned to its 2400 ATK before Yaiba stepped forward, drawing his card. He didn't even look at what it might have been. "Battle Phase," he growled through gnashed teeth. "X-Saber Souza—attack Gladial Beast Andal! X-Saber Urbellum—attack Gladial Beast Atrix!"

Sparks flew from the monsters' blades as they crossed against each other, testing their edges—and then they hurtled for their targets with bloodlust in their eyes and battle cries.

Yet Streiter remained unmoved. "You're learning," he nodded. "But the lesson continues. Expurgate in infirma!"

His voice took on an unnatural snarl; Domitianus had spoken the cruel words with him. Before Yaiba's warriors had made it halfway across the field, the behemoth—half as high again as even those hulking giants—had waded into the fray with its trident held aloft. Its many blades sang as the weapon whirled through the air, repelling both monsters' attacks on the first strike.

Then, with its superior strength, Domitianus twisted its weapon at the shaft, sending four different blades spinning off in four different directions. Two of them buried themselves in the waterlogged field. A third sheared through Shen's face-down monster—his sole defense—revealing only the shade of a translucent, luminescent dragon that Masumi recognized as his Liwen, Dracomet of Light (Level 1: ATK 0/DEF 0) before it dissipated. The fourth and final blade found its mark in her own Amethys, spearing the armored knight dead center in the gem set in its armor, annihilating it moments later—and continuing on until the blade came millimeters away from piercing her as well.

Things had happened so quickly that it was a while before Masumi realized that Liwen being flipped face-up made it subject to Final Attack Orders, and forced into Attack Position. It was longer still before she remembered Amethys had already been in Attack Position, and yet neither she nor Shen had suffered even a single point of battle damage from her boyfriend's errant assault—in fact, Shen shouldn't have had a single Life Point left after Yaiba's attack struck him, she thought in growing confusion. How did—?!

"Trap activate: Xyz Universe!"

Hokuto spoke the four words as though each one aged him a decade. "With this card, I can target 2 Xyz Monsters on the field, and send them to the Graveyard—but in their place, I can Special Summon another Xyz Monster from my Extra Deck, whose Rank is equal to or 1 less than the combined Ranks of my targets, then attach my Xyz Universe to that monster as an Overlay Unit! I send my Rank 3 Hyades, and my Rank 4 Beehive!"

Meaning a Rank 7, Masumi thought—or, she added with growing elation, a Rank 6—

The skies above bloomed with stars, more than any sky ought to show at any time. The Fusion Duelist saw them swirl around a single point, then move with form and purpose as a dragon-like shape emerged amongst them—

"Come forth!" Hokuto thundered, raising his free fist high. "Sacred Ptolemy Messiers 7!"

He had barely just enough time to drop to a knee before the strongest monster in his possession hit the field with a WHAM, sending a muddy plume of vaporized water and jagged earth into the air. Star-studded wings unfurled, and the golden-white armor of his iconic dragon shimmered with as much radiance as the sun that outshone them all (Rank 6: ATK 2700/DEF 2000; ORU 1).

Hokuto was grinning, even as he fixed Yaiba with a disapproving eye. "You didn't give me much of a window to use this, by going straight to your Battle Phase," he said to him. "I'm lucky I was able to activate it at all—because Xyz Universe's second effect is the reason you're still in one piece! If I used its first effect, my opponent won't take any damage for the rest of the turn!"

"Huh?!" Yaiba gawked—but Masumi understood: everyone was everyone's opponent in a Battle Royale. Hokuto had used his card's drawback very cleverly, she thought. Markus didn't take any damage … but neither did we.

That was when Shen stepped forward. "Continuous Trap, activate: Creation of Dracomet! Since a monster under my control was destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I may Special Summon a Dracomet monster from my Deck! Furthermore, because Liwen, Dracomet of Light was destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I may use its effect to Special Summon another Dracomet monster from my Deck! I shall therefore Special Summon Pulao, Dracomet of Wind—and Suanni, Dracomet of Fire!"

Uh-oh. Masumi took a step backwards, feeling sudden unease creep into her insides as she watched two plumes of multicolored smoke twisting and writhing around Shen's body. At length, they separated and solidified, revealing two sinuous dragons: one green, roaring a deafening shriek (Level 1: ATK 0/DEF 1800); the other more scarlet in color, snarling like a lion (Level 4: ATK 1900/DEF 0). None of this, however, mattered to her—the fact that Shen had Special Summoned both of these monsters from his Deck had put her on high alert.

Sure enough, even as she looked back at them, Andal, Domitianus, and Atrix seemed to have grown an entire foot in the time Shen had built up his field. A quick look at their gauges—2800/2400, 4400/2100, and 1700/2800, each just barely visible over the heat haze from the flames that continued to spout from the field—confirmed her worst fears.

"I hope you know what you're doing," she muttered, though she doubted anyone heard her over the din.

"I couldn't risk Summoning this next monster until my Synchros had attacked." Yaiba, however, was close enough to her that maybe he had. "I Summon the Tuner monster X-Saber Pashuul," he declared, watching a squat, muscular figure not much taller than himself take to the field (Level 2: ATK 100 » 300/DEF 0), gleaming broadsword in hand, "and then I'll Tune him with my Level 7 Urbellum!"

With a grunt, Pashuul swung his huge blade twice in an arc, and a pair of rings sliced out from the edge. Another grunt, and he'd hurtled headlong into their midst, with Urbellum not far behind him. Instantly, the two warriors were subsumed into the growing mass of light—Masumi had to hold the crook of her elbow to her eyes—

"Let your silver armor shine!" chanted Yaiba. "Crush the hope of all who oppose you!"

"SYNCHRO SUMMON! Come forth! Level 9! XX-Saber Gatmuz!"

At once, Masumi realized why her boyfriend had been so reticent to show off his ace monster: the giant Gatmuz, already inch for inch the same height as Domitianus in his scintillating armor, seemed even more enormous thanks to the Field Spell Yaiba controlled (Level 9: ATK 3100 » 4000/DEF 2600 » 1700). Without any way of knowing that Hokuto had had his Xyz Universe handy, he would have run the risk of inflicting a killing blow on one of his own allies. By using his Battle Phase to attack with his weaker monsters, that risk was significantly lessened.

"All right, babe," Yaiba said to her, signaling the end of his turn. "I think I know what you have in mind. Just be sure you attack the right monster."

Masumi nodded—though she herself wasn't sure what she meant by that. As she tried her best to imagine another rock inside her brain—grind—she was looking around at everyone else's monsters. Fuyu didn't have a single one to his name, so attacking him with the only monster she controlled, Aquamarine, was out of the question. Hokuto's and Yaiba's were strong enough that they'd destroy her monster—but at the same time, they'd grant her a chance to use its effect to return one of Streiter's cards to his hand, like his damnable Domitianus.

Then there was Hotene, whose weaker field had been ignored practically throughout the whole Duel (is Markus intentionally leaving her alone because she was a fellow user of Contact Fusion? Masumi wondered)—sand—and Shen seemed even weaker still, though his Suanni could destroy her Aquamarine as well. But his Pulao …

Wait a minute … Suddenly Masumi's mind had begun to work at hypersonic speeds. Markus had proved himself intelligent as well—he seemed like the kind of man who would do his research. So he must already know what my Aquamarine can do; I used it during my first Duel with Dr. Grimm, so she has to have told her all about it. But her Gem-Knight was one of the weakest monsters on the field right now—in fact, there were only two monsters it could destroy. One of those was Hotene's Rider Petolphin, which the little girl could de-fuse to build up her field and essentially negate Masumi's attack. The other was Pulao—lap—whose effect could Special Summon another Dracomet monster from Shen's Deck, which would power up Streiter's monsters even more—

—polish—

—but he wouldn't have a chance to use any of them, she grinned in realization. Et voilà. All of a sudden, she'd realized what Shen was trying to do; all the monsters he'd Summoned at the risk of empowering Streiter's were about to pay off with interest. And so it was that she tensed, placed her fingers on the top card of her Deck—

"DRAW!"

—glanced at the card—and acted. "Battle Phase!" she shrieked. "Gem-Knight Aquamarine, attack Spiritual Beast Rampenta!" With joy in her heart, she watched her monster rouse itself, sprinting for Hotene's monster—

"What're you doing!" the tiny Duelist wailed at her. "You're just gonna destroy your own monster, Masu-chan! Rampenta has more ATK than he does!"

Masumi grinned. "Exactly."

She winked at her, but only for a moment—she needed to focus on Streiter. Already she could see he'd taken the bait; Domitianus was moving to intercept it. The Fusion ace had been correct in assuming the Kämpfer wanted her sole monster alive for as long as he could afford to do so; its effect was the only weapon the LID had of breaking his combo—at least in this very moment.

Because the monster she really wanted to attack was Pulao.

The effect of Liwen that Shen had used earlier was not exclusive to it; the moment Masumi destroyed Pulao, it too would bring out another Dracomet. But Liwen had another effect, she knew: if a Dracomet was destroyed while it was in the Graveyard, Shen could Special Summon it, though removing it from the field would banish it for good. And Suanni had a second effect of its own: during any of their Battle Phases, Shen could use it with any other monsters he controlled as Synchro Material, and bring out a whole other Synchro Monster before anyone could respond to it. If the monster he chose to Summon in Pulao's place was Bi'an, Dracomet of Earth—a Level 3—Masumi was counting on Shen Tuning it with his Level 4 Suanni and his freshly re-Summoned Level 1 Liwen to bring out his Gongfu, Dracomet of Brightness. On top of it being stronger than Aquamarine, its own effect would bypass Gladial Rejection, and effectively clear Streiter's field of his entire combo—leaving him at their mercy!

There was always the chance that Streiter would redirect her attack to his Gladial Beasts to trigger their effects—or even to Domitianus itself, which would severely deplete her LP, and most likely finish her off during Streiter's next turn. But it was a risk she was willing to take—and the knowledge that none of the monsters that did it would be Domitianus, thanks to Aquamarine, made her all the more willing. In fact, she was almost hoping this would be the case—no matter which monster Streiter made her attack, she had all but guaranteed the LID a victory today!

She'd thought of everything—and there wasn't a thing the Kämpfer could do about it.

"Expurgate in infirma!" With its guttural growl, Domitianus lunged forward, catching the broad, bladed shield of Aquamarine between the prongs of its trident. Then, with a surprisingly deft movement from the enormous monster, it twisted the shaft, disarming the knight and causing it to stumble to the flooded field with a splash. A second whirl of the trident sent the shield spinning away—

"AUGH!"

—and careening, Masumi saw with a stab of horror, right into Rokkaku Fuyu.

She almost swore at the top of her lungs then and there—only by biting her lip till the blood flowed did she manage to remain silent. But the shock of watching the Xyz Duelist slammed to the ground by something that heavy was compounded moments later—his LP gauge, already banged-up as it was, had plunged even further to a mere 500.

"The hell?!" Yaiba looked like he'd been punched in the mouth. Hokuto was silent, and completely white. Masumi didn't doubt she looked the same way; a chill of panic had risen from her bowels and frozen her insides. I didn't mean to hit Fuyu again I could never have done that to him why did my monster attack him directly—

And then—just like every crystal her mind had fashioned before a victory—it had come to her in a flash. Markus.

The Kämpfer was shaking his head. "And you were doing so well," he said, disappointment lacing every word. "I don't know what you were hoping to accomplish with that—but I don't doubt it would have been the end of me if it had worked. Fortunately"—he smirked—"since this is a Battle Royale, my Domitianus' effect does not restrict it to forcing your monsters to attack other monsters."

More blood flowed from Masumi's lip as she sank her teeth further in, furious beyond belief—and from her hands as well; she'd clenched her fists so tightly that the nails had broken her skin. She was angry with Markus for having foiled her winning strategy—but more than that, she was angry at herself for having overlooked this one tiny detail about the Duel they were fighting.

"Unum in multis. Multi in unum," Streiter recited. "One among many … many together. When you fight as a team, either in Duels or in battle, you must always be mindful of what makes you strong … and what makes you weak. As Ædonai, we know this to be true, for we always fight as one. We know that any weakness we possess as individuals can be overcome by proper teamwork—which is why we must train as one, and think as one, so that we may fight as one! And that, Kōtsu Masumi, is what separates my army from yours!"

He took a step forward. "You and your friends are set apart by your different approaches to how you fight, how you train, and how you think," he said. "Because of this, you are not equally equipped to face someone who truly knows the value of teamwork as a weapon. Alone, you might have had a chance against me—but united as one, the bonds you have forged among yourselves are as fragile as glass. Yours are not the bonds of soldiers, forged in fire. One strike in the right place, and it falls to pieces." He cast a dispassionate glance at Fuyu, still sprawled on the ground. "You see how weak that boy is now, Masumi? Thanks to you, he doesn't have it in him to even stand up."

Masumi lost her temper. "It's because of you that he's—!"

"There is no room for weakness in ANY soldier, in ANY army!" Streiter bellowed, raising his voice louder than he had all Duel. "Look at how frail he is—how wasted and thin! No soldier would have him by his side. You should never have let him face me—in fact, you should never have given him the chance to raise his Duel Disk alongside your own! He would have been better off with that girl you sent on that fool's errand of hers. Instead, you kept him with you because you thought his presence would make you stronger. But he is no fit soldier, Masumi—just as you are no fit leader. He is only your weakest link—and because of this, he will be the first to fall today."

He drew his card, not even waiting to hear Masumi signal the end of her turn—she was too beside herself with rage to even speak. "Battle Phase!" howled the Kämpfer, wasting no time in making good on his threat. "Gladial Beast Atrix—attack Rokkaku Fuyu directly! EXPURGATE IN INFIRMA!"

Atrix flung her shield straight for the defenseless, helpless Fuyu. Masumi cringed as it struck him right in his lower back, making him skid face-down along the ground—but Atrix did not stop there. She strode forward, bloodlust in her cruel eyes and fanged smile—and drove her armored boot squarely onto Fuyu's shoulder blades, pushing down hard. No sound came from the fallen Xyz Duelist, save for a ragged gasp that was swiftly drowned out by the final, shrieking squeal of his Duel Disk.

The Fusion user felt sick. Streiter's next words—"Gladial Beast Andal! Destroy Pulao, Dracomet of Wind!"—did not help in the slightest. "And because a Gladial Beast is battling another monster," he added, "I can re-Summon Gladial Beast Vespasiaus from my hand once more, and use its effect to grant my Gladial Beasts 500 ATK!" With a plume of water, the rippling, muscular form of Vespasiaus surged next to Domitianus (Level 7: ATK 2300 » 3200 » 3700/ATK 0 » 900). It was impossible to tell which of them wore the more evil smirk on its lips.

Not that Masumi cared to tell the difference; she was forced to watch as the lynchpin of her strategy—which she had hoped to destroy with something much weaker than the 3300/2400 Andal that was charging towards it—was next to fall. With a single swipe of its heavy paw, Pulao was slammed to the ground, crushed to death by the armored bear as it bulled into Shen, unimpeded—it kept on going—

BOOM.

Monster and human hit the outer wall of Ryōzanpaku so hard that the entire section collapsed around them. With a final, baying snarl, Andal turned away—leaving behind a motionless Synchro Duelist with another Duel Disk that screamed in defeat, covered in bricks, mortar, and more cuts and bruises than she'd thought a body could take.

"Gladial Beast Vespasiaus! Destroy Spiritual Beast Rampenta!" At Streiter's command, the reptilian abomination became a blue-green blur, tipped with the silver edge of its sword. That blur bowled over Hotene's monster, who only had time for one final squeak of terror before that sword pierced its leaf-green plumage like a hot knife through butter. Vespasiaus hurled its sword high, displaying the slain penguin like some macabre trophy—before flinging its carcass right at Hotene, who was too slow to avoid it slamming square into her chest before it was vaporized.

The tiny Duelist looked as green in the face as Rampenta itself, as she picked herself off from the ground. Masumi had a feeling that the 1900 LP that remained to her had little to do with it. Being so young, Hotene hadn't imagined her monsters being destroyed in such a brutal fashion. Sure enough, she looked near tears at the loss; not even her Petolphin redoubling its efforts to protect her could give her the reassurance she was so desperately seeking.

"And finally," rumbled the Kämpfer, the gloves on his hands sparking with electricity, interfacing his movements with those of his Duel Monster, "Gladial Beast Domitianus, attack Sacred Ptolemy Messiers 7—but first, the second effect of Gladial Naumachia! By shuffling a Gladial Beast from my Graveyard or hand into my Deck, I can make my battling Gladial Beast gain ATK equal to its original DEF until the end of the turn! I shuffle the Gladial Beast Alexander that my Sagittari discarded to activate its effect—and strengthen my Domitianus further still!"

"Holy s—!" Domitianus' bellowing roar drowned out Hokuto's curse completely as Streiter raised his hands—and the monster raised its trident in tandem, the unbelievable ATK gauge of 6100 looming large over its bulk. It thrust out with the weapon, spearing Hokuto's dragon through heart and lungs alike. For a moment, there was silence—then, the prongs of the trident were withdrawn with a sickening SHLCK. Domitianus whirled the trident in a full circle overhead—and finally beheaded the mortally wounded monster with one swift stroke.

Hokuto, appalled by how the strongest creature in his Deck had been so easily butchered, could only stare wide-eyed as M7 crumpled before him with an impact that shook the earth, sending him tumbling painfully to the ground. He did not get up for some time, and Masumi bit her tongue, fearing the worst—but the Xyz ace wasn't motionless; she saw him feebly stirring even as his LP gauge plummeted to 100 with meteoric speed.

"Battle Phase, end!" boomed Streiter, and instantly she felt a chill, knowing what was about to happen next. "Because my Atrix and my Vespasiaus battled this turn, I activate their effects, and shuffle them into my Deck to Special Summon more Gladial Beasts in their place! Double Tag Out—Gladial Beasts Murmillo and Bestrouli!"

With a flash of light, Streiter's monsters were gone, and replaced with two more warriors. One of them Masumi recognized as Bestrouli—though whether because she was seeing the avian fighter in person, or under the influence of Streiter's Colosseum, it looked a lot bigger than she'd imagined, and its cannons looked a lot more threatening (Level 4: ATK 1500 » 2400 » 2600/DEF 800 » 1700 » 1900). The other—a repulsive-looking fish-man she assumed to be Murmillo—lurked half-in, half-out of the water, showing nothing above ground but its scaly head and the conch shells strapped to its back like jet engines (Level 3: ATK 800 » 1700 » 1900/DEF 400 » 1300 » 1500).

"Then, because I Special Summoned a Gladial Beast monster from the Deck," Streiter boomed, "I use Gladial Rejection's effect to Special Summon another one from my Deck, whose Type is different from those I already control! Since I control Sea Serpent-, Winged Beast-, Beast-, and Fish-Type monsters, I Special Summon the Aqua-Type Gladial Beast Retiari!" And a green-skinned lizard with a trident in its claws—though nowhere near as huge as the one Domitianus wielded—surged onto the field (Level 4: ATK 1200 » 2300 » 2400/DEF 800 » 1900 » 2000).

The German swept a huge hand over the two monsters either side of Domitianus. "Because my Bestrouli and my Murmillo were Special Summoned by the effects of Gladial Beast monsters, I may activate their effects!" he said. "By targeting a Spell or Trap on the field, and then a face-up monster, I can destroy those targets! I therefore target and destroy both Saber Vault and X-Saber Gatmuz!"

"Bastard!" Yaiba let fly with the curse right as Bestrouli and Murmillo brought their weapons to bear. The former opened fire on Gatmuz, ripping its armor into a thousand splintered shards of silver and returning its point gauge to its normal 3100/2600. Scarcely had those shards hit the ground in their entirety than Murmillo fired a brace of missiles from the conches it carried on its shoulders; these struck home seconds later, and before the noise had faded, the pride and joy of Yaiba's Deck was little more than a cloud of photons being scattered in the wind.

He still had Souza under his control, Masumi knew—but against the endless tide of bloodthirsty monsters that was Markus Streiter's field, the swords his warrior carried might as well be made of wood.

And Streiter, it turned out, still had one more move to make. "Now I shuffle my Murmillo, my Bestrouli, and my Retiari into my Deck—and Special Summon this from my Extra Deck!"

Oh no. Masumi felt all hope leave her. He's going to Summon another one?! She could only watch as all three monsters clasped flipper, talon, and claw—their bodies shining with light, then dimming into darkest shadow:

"Twilight spirits of ancient gladiators! Gather under the name of the emperor and offer your power!"

"Triple Contact Fusion!" thundered the Kämpfer. "Come! Gladial Beast Nerokius!"

THUD.

The skies had darkened into early dusk—then darkened further still. Streiter's newest creation seemed to suck all light from the world around them: its six leathery wings blocked out sun and sky alike. Muscular arms, their skin gray as stone and almost as rough, crossed over thick violet armor that snapped with black lightning—and a bat's face peered out from the wall of plate and flesh that was Nerokius, shrieking a keening cry from its rictus grin, and sending icy claws of terror slicing deep into Masumi's heart (Level 8: ATK 2800 » 4000/DEF 1900 » 3100).

"Aw, man … " Yaiba looked ready to faint—this newest monster was taller than his Souza by half and as least three times as broad—five, if Masumi counted the wings. Nerokius strode up alongside Domitianus—almost as tall and wide at the shoulder as that monstrous serpent—and the two traded snarls and sneers of glee.

"Nerokius' effect." Despite their differences in size, Streiter didn't seem dwarfed by his monsters in the slightest. "While it remains on the field, it cannot be destroyed by battle—and furthermore, while it battles, my opponent cannot activate any card effects at all."

Masumi gulped. Her skin felt deathly cold as the ramifications of this unbreakable effect sank in. She had nothing in her Deck that could touch this creature—not even Aquamarine could get rid of it while the field it stood on was this strong. Streiter had effectively sealed off any way they had to win this Duel; if they tried to attack, he would just use Domitianus to redirect that attack to Nerokius. Thus, his field would be safe from harm, and any of their card effects—already hindered from focusing on his monsters because of Gladial Rejection—were all but useless now. And with Final Attack Orders and Gladial Naumachia still on his field, the LID had no choice but to attack.

"He's as good as invincible," Hokuto said weakly from where he half-stood, half knelt. Masumi had a feeling he was speaking for everyone—winning this Duel seemed hopeless now. "We can't beat this guy—not like this—"

The Fusion user had to agree. They needed help—badly—but were they in any position to get it in time?

There was no time to think about this further—and so she punched a number into her Duel Disk. Her heart rose as the call connected. "Are you two done yet?!" she shouted into the device. "We need you back at Ryōzanpaku!"

Angel-IQ's calm mezzo-soprano responded a second later. "We have the girls, and we are questioning them right now," said the supercomputer. "How is your Duel going?"

Masumi grimaced. "How many ways do you know to say 'bad'?" Because I guarantee you'll need to think of some new ones on the way over. "Look—Fuyu and Shen are down, and the rest of us aren't doing much better! We need help pronto, and we don't care who we get it from!"

Silence. "I must clear this with Himika-sama, per my orders," Angel-IQ eventually stated. "Please stand by."

You can't be serious! "To hell with your orders, Q!" shrieked the Fusion Duelist. "We don't have time for this!"

But the line had already gone dead—and Masumi couldn't help thinking their chances of victory had done the same.

Maiami City

"It would appear," Angel-IQ said to her assembled audience, "that we have a decision to make."

She glanced at Emina Rika. "Masumi-san wishes for our assistance, and I have been programmed to give it to her. If you feel ready for this, then by all means go to them with dispatch. However, I have also been programmed to follow the orders of Himika-sama—who has wished that the two of you be transferred to LDS for questioning."

The hologram laid a glance of equal length upon the twins, still encased within the prisons of hard-light Angel-IQ had conjured around them. "Nevertheless," she went on, "this programming does come with its series of exceptions and restrictions, only applicable in extreme emergencies. As the livelihoods of LDS students and LID personnel are on the line, this is one of those emergencies. The question now becomes … what will you do about it?"

The twin that could speak did not, choosing instead to glare at Angel-IQ through her blind and bloodshot eyes.

Angel-IQ landed silently on the pavement, walking towards her. "As I have said, you have attacked innocent people and provided no satisfactory explanation as to why. Under normal circumstances, your loss to us in our Duel would have resulted in your arrest. However, since I believe detention to be counterproductive in your case, I am therefore compelled to offer an alternative solution—one that will ensure you do not escape from our sight again, yet provide the LID with the help they so desperately need."

Kikyō signed something with her hands. She looked as though she was grinding her teeth. "That didn't sound good, Q," Rika piped up.

"No. She has agreed to hear us out," Angel-IQ corrected her, translating the sign language for Rika's benefit. "But she is very skeptical about trusting a mind she cannot read."

She spoke loud enough for the blind girl to hear, and she too looked like she was prepared to make a big mistake. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice flat and emotionless.

Angel-IQ tossed a lock of her holographic blonde hair out from her eyes. "We want your allegiance … Kiku."

Rika gawked. So did the redhead. "How do you know my name?!" she blurted out.

"I did not until I realized your sister was fluent in JSL," said the hologram, making a pair of signs with her left hand. "It was one of the most recurring words she signed in your direction. From there, the deduction was simple."

The girl called Kiku apparently had nothing to say to this. Unfortunately, Akaba Himika seemed to have plenty to say in her place—as a hologram of her had shimmered between Angel-IQ and Rika, startling the Synchro Duelist.

"Q—what do you think you are doing?" Her tone of voice was not one that any human being wanted to debate.

Angel-IQ, however, was no human. "You programmed me to be a protector of Maiami City, Himika-sama," she responded. "One of the parameters of this program required that I gauge the strength of any Duelist I battled, to judge if they were worthy of the same. And if the LID should fall against Markus Streiter, I will have failed in this function to protect."

Himika's hologram let fly with a burst of static that might have been a groan or a sigh. "If it were you and Rika, I would have no objection," she said. "I trust the both of you. I do not, however, trust them." She jabbed a finger at Kiku and Kikyō. "I do not want their powers being used on anyone without knowing exactly what they can do—and least of all on students that go to my school!"

"And what if there is no other alternative but to use those powers?"

The headmistress' mouth tightened into one of the thinnest lines Rika had ever seen. "Do not make me answer that question, Q." Her nostrils flared. "I want them in your sight and under guard from this point forward. Am I clear?"

Angel-IQ paused. Her blue eyes were inscrutable. "Yes, Himika-sama. I only ask that you have more faith in me."

Himika snorted. "A computer presuming to lecture me about faith," she groused. "What has the world come to?" Before anyone had a chance to answer her question, she jabbed a finger off-screen with a violent gesture that made Rika wince, and her image shrank to nothingness an instant later, leaving behind a long, uncomfortable silence.

Kiku eventually broke that silence. "That's the person you answer to? This is who you're expecting to help us?"

"Yes." Angel-IQ was swiping several cards across her Duel Disk. "Headmistress Himika believes in agreements that are built on trust, and not displays of power. It is not in her nature to trust people with whom she has never spoken—and indeed, did not know existed until today. I suspect you would do the same if you were in her place."

A few moments later, a shadow fell over them. Rika saw the familiar faint haze of Qliphort Alias' cloak shimmer overhead, its winged-diamond form covering the entire intersection.

"Now, I suggest you hold on tight." With a gesture, and without further warning, Angel-IQ lifted both her charges into the air. Kiku yelped, and Kikyō flailed frantically for a few moments in protest before they were deposited on top of Alias.

By now, Rika had gotten the idea, and was already conjuring her own mount; Daigusta Gulldos had rematerialized in front of her by the time Angel-IQ had boarded her own monster. "I will release you shortly," the hologram was telling both twins. "I do this because I do not expect you will try anything rash at present—unless you are that intent on falling faster than any Duel Monster you Summon will ever catch you. You will be little good to us that way."

Kiku nodded. So did Kikyō. "We understand," said the former, and—Rika could only assume—signed the latter.

"Very good." Angel-IQ waved a hand once, and instantly both twins scrabbled for each other, locking hands at the first chance they had. They breathed in for a long moment, out, both smiling in relief.

The Junior Synchro ace couldn't help but smile—even if she still thought the twins had cheated in their Duel—but the heartwarming feeling didn't last for long. "Rika-san." She stiffened at the sound of Angel-IQ calling her name. "I will give you a ten-second head start before I follow you back to the LID. If, on the off chance, these twins do try anything, they will most likely target you as they did before. I believe it will be harder for them to focus on a moving target, and so you may feel free to … express yourself during the flight back, if you wish. Within reason."

Rika barely heard the last two words over the elated cheer inside her brain. "Girl, you read my mind," she smirked.

"That is not within my capacity." But it was too late for Rika to hear her; the little girl had already roused Gulldos, sending her into the air with a single flap of its wings before speeding off for Ryōzanpaku. Within seconds she was making good on Angel-IQ's invitation, spinning into an aerial with a whoop.

Back at LDS, Akaba Himika sighed as she watched the two tiny dots in the sky become smaller still from her office window. It seemed Q was intelligent enough to understand implicit orders as well as explicit ones.

She wished that made her feel less uneasy.

A knock on the door disrupted her reverie. Only Nakajima could knock like that. "Yes?"

The burly aide walked in. "I just got off the phone with the Ministry of Defense," he said without preamble. "They have Ryōzanpaku surrounded. The moment Markus is done with his Duel, win or lose, the JSDF storms the place, takes him into custody, and gets the LID out of harm's way. Medical teams have delivered Gōdagawa to Maiami General, but we won't know the extent of his condition for a while."

"He won't go without a fight," Himika observed, her voice quiet. Nakajima had no reply to that. "Is there any news about our more pressing issue?"

"I spoke with the Minister personally on that one. The Prime Minister's been in contact with The Hague all day—the International Court of Justice will be issuing a statement regarding Leo's trial for war crimes later today. In the meantime, the Minister's found an alternative location for Leo, and they'll be able to move him tomorrow morning."

The headmistress considered this. "I still think tonight would be a better option. We can't risk any delays."

"Nor can the Ministry of Defense risk cutting corners," said Nakajima. "Finding a safe house isn't the problem—it's finding a safe route to it. We're not the States—we don't have the kind of witness protection programs in this country that they do. And I doubt that even they've had to contend with the possibility of psychic threats."

Himika was silent for a long time. "Check back with the Ministry one more time," she finally ordered. "If they're worried about unique threats, I can at least offer some unique defenses."

She stood up. "On that note, I must see my children. Ready the car once you've finished with the Ministry."

Nakajima bowed slightly, and left the office to do her bidding.

"Turn end."

The sight of Naumachia's effect expiring—and Domitianus' ATK shrinking back to a 4700 that might as well be forty-seven thousand—did little to quell the despair that seeped into Masumi's heart like so much ice water. Nor did knowing that Streiter had nothing more to put on his field reassure her in any way. What he had was enough—probably more than enough.

"My turn—DRAW!" She'd never heard Hotene sound so angry—or so determined to win. "I Summon Spirit Beast Tamer Rera in Attack Position!" Immediately Masumi's breath caught in her chest; as she watched the redheaded teenager shimmer onto the field, wooden staff in hand (Level 1: ATK 100/DEF 2000), she couldn't help but wonder if the tiny Duelist had been building up to this moment from the instant she'd started this Duel.

Sure enough: "Rera's effect activates when she's Normal Summoned," Hotene declared, nodding to her monster, "an' lets me Special Summon a Spirit Beast monster from my Graveyard! I Summon the Spiritual Beast Apelio I sent with my Rampenta's effect! Go!" She threw out her hand, and the familiar sight of a dark-furred creature (Level 4: ATK 1800/DEF 200) surged next to Rera, smoldering and growling with fury.

"Now for Apelio's effect!" The tiny Duelist swiped a card from her Graveyard, slipping it elsewhere. "If I banish a Spirit Beast card from my Graveyard, every Spirit Beast monster on my field gets 500 ATK and DEF for the rest of the turn! So I'll banish my Rampenta!" Scarcely had the name left her lips than Apelio began to smoke at the tips of its fur, baring its teeth at Streiter as its point gauge rose to 2300/700. Nor was it alone; Rera and even Rider Petolphin were giving scathing looks of their own at the German as gauges of their own—600/2500 and 700/3300—blipped above them. Masumi even suspected that Hotene's Pendulum Scales were doing the same from on high.

"But I'm not done yet! Not even close!" Hotene screamed, bringing her hands to arm's length and digging a heel into the ground. She looked thoroughly unhinged—even the little girl's shark-smile had not looked half as scary as this, Masumi thought. "I banish my Apelio an' my Rera, an' Special Summon this from my Extra Deck!"

And without a word, beast and girl extended paw and hand, each grasping the other as tightly as they could. That was all the warning Masumi got—not that she needed more; after spending so much time watching her counterpart Duel, she knew when to lift her arm to her face. The flash of light that followed would have left spots in her eyes if she'd reacted a millisecond later—and the gust of hot wind that followed would have stung them for far longer:

"When the bond between man and beast is at its strongest, the blazing inferno will be united with the burning hearts of our prime!"

"Contact Fusion!" Masumi heard Hotene chant above the din. "Appear! Spiritual Beast Rider Apelio!"

There followed a deafening roar, and a rumble of earth from paws heavy enough to crack the earth directly beneath, before her newest monster emerged from the light that had transfigured it. Though Rera—having since mounted its crimson-furred back—remained unchanged save for the glint to her eyes, that she was able to mount it at all was a testament to how many times bigger Apelio had grown, to say nothing of how much more ferocious it looked and sounded (Level 6: ATK 2600 » 3100/DEF 400 » 900).

As Masumi beheld her younger counterpart's ace-in-the-hole, she began to believe that the Junior Fusion ace had finally found a reason to prove herself superior to someone. When they'd first met, Hotene had been eager to prove the same thing to Masumi herself—she was the top student in her circuit, after all, and what Duelist didn't think of dethroning the boy or girl who ruled the school? But the Duels Hotene and Masumi had fought together in the time since had made them the closest of friends; during the time in between them—at least, when they could actually get the chance to enjoy being a kid—they'd laugh off all that boasting and jaw-wagging as being all in good fun. It was banter between rivals; the vanguard of the tried and tested against the pioneer of the next generation.

And then Markus Streiter had arrived. Suddenly the little girl who loved to flip, jump, Duel, and defy gravity—sometimes all at the same time, and as simply as though she was breathing—was nowhere to be seen.

There's nothing more dangerous on Earth, the Fusion ace thought to herself, than a child with something to prove. And Hotene, she knew from past experience, had more yet that she wanted to show to the enemies of LDS.

"Trap Card, open: Spirit Beast Ambush!" the little girl howled, and Masumi's heart skipped a beat. "When I activate this card, I can target 1 Spiritual Beast monster an' 1 Spirit Beast Tamer monster from my Graveyard, or if they're banished—an' Special Summon them in Defense Position! So I'm gonna Summon my Rera an' my Rampenta!"

But Masumi was grinning like a madwoman even before Hotene's chosen monsters had returned to flank her Rider Apelio, their translucent figures gleaming in the sunlight (Level 1: ATK 100 » 600/DEF 2000 » 2500, Level 4: ATK 1600 » 2100/DEF 400 » 900). She knew what was coming next—and neither the impregnability of Streiter's field, nor the sight of Final Attack Orders taking effect on both human and beast and switching them to Attack Position, could dim the notion of what might happen when it did come.

"Now you've gone and made me mad, Markus!" Hotene hissed. "I'll banish my three monsters—Rampenta, Rera, an' Rider Apelio—an' show you why there's no one else like me in my school, or in my dimension! LET'S GO!"

Her monsters were already drawing close together before she'd even hurled the last two words at her opponent like so many knives. Streiter's expression, Masumi saw, had visibly changed the moment it had registered just how many monsters Hotene was banishing—and perhaps to what end as well:

"When the bond between man and beast surpasses its strength," the tiny Duelist was chanting, "let the blazing inferno and the burning hearts of our prime be united with the courage of our allies!"

"TRIPLE CONTACT FUSION! Appear, my strongest servant! Spiritual Beast Rider Gaiapelio!"

The level of light and sound that thundered and fulminated from the heavens left Masumi in a state of near-sensory overload—like a fireworks show being condensed, grand finale and all, into a matter of seconds. The void that followed was almost as crushing—but by then, the vast bulk of Gaiapelio had made its full appearance onto the battlefield. Whiter of fur than a polar bear, broader of shoulder than a full dozen of them—and long enough from snout to tail that it supported a miniature forest grove upon its body—it let fly with a snarling roar, stamping a paw that could pancake a car with a single blow (Level 10: ATK 3200 » 3700/DEF 2100 » 2600).

Andal roared back, and together they served to vibrate every bone in Masumi's body from the sheer walls of sound that came with their mutual challenge for dominance. But to the Fusion ace's surprise, Streiter seemed to have forgotten about the Duel completely. His gray-blue eyes roved up and down, side to side, drinking in every inch of Gaiapelio as though it were some rare vintage of wine to be savored.

"Well, then." The Kämpfer spoke slowly—but not so haltingly that he was dazed or in shock. "It would seem that I have misjudged you, mädchen. Gwendolyn Grimm spoke very highly of your abilities in her report to Professor Leo. I see now that she was right to covet them."

He nodded, half to himself, ignoring Hotene's look of fury. "Such defiance, in the face of insurmountable odds … to Summon such a strong monster, even as the full knowledge of your fate is beginning to sink in … oh, yes," he mused. "In another lifetime, Menoko Hotene … you would have made for a truly powerful soldier. They might even have made you a student of my own, alongside the Golem herself. Perhaps the chance may yet come again."

The Junior Fusion ace's lip curled in a sneer. She seemed too beside herself to even speak her mind.

Then, Streiter relaxed, and held out his hand as if to offer it to Hotene. "Come, then," he smiled. "I would taste of your power. Make whatever attacks you will—there shall be no tricks this turn from me."

What?! Masumi's eyes flicked from one Fusion Duelist to another. But just as quickly, whatever ray of hopeful sunlight had broken through the storm of Streiter's grim face was snuffed out. "I will not offer this again," he told Hotene. "You have earned my respect for what you have done this Duel. That is not something that happens very often in my long life. I would very much hate to see you squander a once-in-a-lifetime gift."

Hotene still said nothing—but the angry fire in her baby-blue eyes had faded, choked by rising confusion. Masumi thought she could see the gears turning in the tiny Duelist's mind: her Gaiapelio was the strongest monster that the LID had been able to field thus far. It could run roughshod over Andal if she wanted it to—but what if this was just another one of his traps? Was Streiter offering her this chance, only to have his Domitianus double-cross her again and take out anyone he wished—even herself? Then there was Rider Petolphin—up until now, the monster had been lucky to avoid attacking anything; Streiter hadn't activated his crippling Final Attack Orders Trap until after Hotene had completed her last turn. But now that grace period was expended—and Hotene now found herself with a 700 ATK monster that wouldn't last two seconds against anything that Streiter had fielded. Perhaps she could use its effect to de-fuse the two monsters that composed it, but Masumi had a feeling Domitianus would just negate that effect and destroy it outright—and Nerokius would flat-out stop it from happening if she used it at the wrong time—

"Hit me."

So weakly had Shijima Hokuto spoken just then that, at first, the Fusion Duelist wasn't sure she'd heard him. Then, in the corner of her eye, she saw him step forward. He was limping, with a hand still clutching his side.

"Hit me," he said again, and this time he raised his voice enough that Hotene tore her gaze from Streiter at last. "I'm no good to you guys like this. I've got a hundred Life Points, an empty field, and nothing in my hand to fix it."

"What're you saying?"

Masumi got it a split second before Hotene did—and she could pinpoint the exact moment that the bottom dropped out of the little girl's stomach. "I can't do that!" She shook her head, tears in her eyes. "I can't hurt my friends!"

"Don't think of it like that," Hokuto said, calmly but sternly. "This isn't about you hurting me … it's about you stopping him from hurting me for real." He pointed to Streiter. "Do you want him to do the same thing to me that he did to Fuyu and Shen? You think he's going to show me any mercy just because I'm hanging on by a thread?"

Hotene cast a long look at the two fallen Duelists. If either of them had regained consciousness, they did not show any sign of it. "He's given you a freebie," Hokuto went on, "and that could be what makes or breaks this Duel for us. It's a chance we've got to take. If it pays off—if this helps us win—it'll be worth it to me."

"I … what if—" But Hokuto had such a glint in his eyes that Hotene's question died on her lips.

"Do you remember what Yaiba did against that Crowley guy?" he asked. "After that maniac blasted you off the top of the school? He told Masumi to trust him—told her that he'd make things right. And he did all that and more."

Masumi herself couldn't resist the slightest blush at the last word. As first kisses went, hers and Yaiba's could have been less memorable. She brought herself back to reality as the Xyz ace continued on, "It's no different here today. I just need you to trust me—like Masumi trusted Yaiba. Like he trusted us all."

It seemed Hotene had no real answer to this. Masumi could tell from the way she averted her eyes, and the way they were beading with tears, that Hokuto's logic had gotten through to her. But telling a ten-year-old girl that the surest way to victory involved sacrificing her own teammates like they were little more than chess pieces was difficult to reconcile. Little girls just don't think that way about their friends.

The tiny Duelist stiffened suddenly. Her hands had balled themselves into fists so tight that any cards they might have held would have creased and crumpled in her grip. She wiped her eyes, stared at Streiter with wordless fury.

And then: "Battle Phase," she whispered through gritted teeth. "Rider Petolphin—attack Shijima Hokuto directly!" She turned away from the inevitable, squeezing her eyes shut as if regretting the eight words already.

But Hokuto's fate had already been sealed: Rider Petolphin, after a second that stretched so long Masumi wondered if the Duel Monster might actually refuse to carry out the attack, turned once in the air—and slapped the Xyz ace square in the chest with its tail. The flukes either side, so wide as to spread the blow from head to foot, also muffled his cry of pain from the impact. For all this, however, 700 ATK could only do so much, and even as Hokuto toppled back first onto the ground, without even one Life Point to his name, his feet never left the ground from the force of the blow. Masumi even thought he'd winked at the tiny Duelist before collapsing where he lay, completely spent.

Hotene spent another second wiping her eyes. Then, it was time to direct her fury onto the one person who actually deserved it—albeit on the one monster he possessed that would satisfy her need for catharsis.

"Rider Gaiapelio," she hissed, "destroy Gladial Beast Andal!" She did not move from where she stood, even from the tiny earthquakes caused by every step her strongest monster took. They only grew louder and more violent as Gaiapelio charged Andal down with a mighty roar, trampling the armored bear beneath its vast paws and crushing it into digital pulp—but still she stood rooted to the ground, intent on showing her enemy that any semblance of mercy she might have possessed had been expended on Hokuto.

By now, very little of Andal remained for Gaiapelio to kick in Streiter's direction, catching the Kämpfer full in the chest and actually making him stumble. But he too remained on his feet, even as his own LP dwindled to 2600. Hotene gnashed her teeth at this, but even she knew there was little more that could be done—and so:

"Turn end." Just saying the two words caused her shoulders to sag; she looked ready to collapse just like Hokuto. But still she remained on her feet; Masumi was impressed with her defiance. "That ends my Apelio's effect, an' turns my Spirit Beasts' ATK and DEF back to normal."

The Fusion ace was quick to notice how diminished her monsters looked now—and somehow she didn't think it had to do with just the effect of her monster no longer applying. For she knew Gaiapelio had an effect of its own—but the downside was that it relied on Hotene having cards in her hand for her to use. Even the weakest of Spirit Beast monsters might have been the one out they needed to defeat Streiter's omnipresent Domitianus.

Streiter himself, meanwhile, had dusted off whatever dirt had been kicked up in Gaiapelio's attack from his suit. He fixed Hotene with an inscrutable look.

Then, quite abruptly, he smiled. "How did it feel?" he asked.

Hotene said nothing. "To be in control for that one small moment of your life—to hold that power of life and death over your fellow man?" The Kämpfer chuckled. "I don't fault you for being speechless—it's a lot to take in for the first time. But I promise you it'll get much easier—"

"Shut up."

Yaiba spun around so fast that something popped in his back. Masumi had actually taken a step backward in alarm. If she hadn't been looking right at Hotene at that moment, she would never have thought an innocent little girl could have spoken with such murderous intent.

"I don't ever want to hear you talk to me again," stormed the tiny Duelist. "Not another word. I will never"—she sliced her hand though the air as if she wanted a sword to pop into her palm—"forgive you for any of this!

"Yaiba!" The Synchro ace jumped at the sound of his name. "Take your turn before I do something he regrets!"

There was such venom in Hotene's voice that Yaiba did not argue. He drew his card so hastily that it nearly slipped from his fingers, and he fumbled with its edge for a few seconds before realizing what he had drawn.

"I Summon XX-Saber Darksoul in Attack Position!" At his command, there rose a gaunt, sinister-looking warrior in front of him, clad in a shabby red cloak with armor and black fur underneath (Level 3: ATK 100/DEF 100). The wicked-looking scythe he clutched in his hands looked far sharper than its point gauge let on.

"Now for my Souza's effect!" Yaiba gestured to his far stronger monster, who raised his hackles at the sound of his name. "Once per turn, I can Release another X-Saber I control, and give my Souza an additional effect: whenever it battles a monster this turn, that monster is immediately destroyed! So I'll Release my Darksoul!"

Souza clutched its blade, wreathing it in silver fire—and almost as quickly, a similar-colored blaze had erupted beneath Darksoul, immolating it before Masumi had even realized what Yaiba was trying to do.

"Now—Battle Phase!" The Synchro ace grit his teeth. "X-Saber Souza—destroy Gem-Knight Aquamarine!"

Masumi couldn't resist a smirk; Yaiba had thought this through for far longer than it had taken for him to make his move. Ironically, there was one other monster she knew from experience to have a similar effect: the gargantuan Fusion Monster that served as Dr. Gwendolyn Grimm's own ace in the hole. Being able to instantly destroy any monster it battled was powerful, because it could do so regardless of how strong that monster was. The only drawback was that because it destroyed by card effect, instead of by battle, no battle damage would be taken—but with effects like these, that was often the point, to safely take out an opponent's primary threat before using another monster to deliver the actual damaging blow to—

Her smirk slid off her face. Oh, no.

But it was too late to warn Yaiba; Streiter was already moving. "I told you I would not offer this chance again!" he bellowed. "Domitianus' effect! I redirect your Souza's attack to my Gladial Beast Nerokius!"

Whose effect, Masumi already knew—though she cursed under her breath for possessing that knowledge in the first place—would prevent Souza's effect from triggering, and force them to do actual battle! And that meant—

"Next! Gladial Naumachia!" Streiter thrust his hand at that damnable Trap. "I shuffle my Gladial Beast Andal from my Graveyard into my Deck, and make my battling Nerokius gain ATK equal to its original DEF!"

Yaiba looked like the bottom had dropped out of his stomach. His mouth worked soundlessly, helplessly.

Whatever curse might have issued from his mouth was drowned out by the horrid shriek that came from Nerokius. It surged forward with a single flap of leathery wings, stopping Souza straight in his tracks by catching his throat in its fist. As the Gladial Beast's point gauge rose to a breathtaking 5900, that fist closed around Souza's windpipe, crushing it with inexorable strength until Masumi heard a sickening CRACK. The X-Saber's swords fell from his lifeless hands to the ground with a final clang, but Souza himself—though his neck lolled grotesquely inside the iron grip of Nerokius—stayed where he was … at least until the bat-beast hurled his broken body right at the boy who'd Summoned him.

All of this had happened so quickly that Yaiba was still gazing slack-jawed at the scene even as Souza careened into him, slamming him to the ground and pinning him beneath its holographic bulk, muffling his cry of pain. His life gauge—now at a scant 600—hung over him like a sword on a fraying thread, ready to fall at the first puff of wind.

For a very long minute, he did not move, even as Souza's corpse disappeared into photonic dust. Masumi bit her lip … and finally exhaled in relief when she heard her boyfriend take in a long, deep breath, free of the deadweight that had been crushing him. The Synchro ace twitched for a moment, coughed, and stumbled to his feet.

"T-turn end," he managed to say. "XX-Saber Darksoul's effect activates during the End Phase of any turn it got sent from my field to the Graveyard, and lets me add another X-Saber monster from my Deck to my hand."

But he ejected his card into his fingers with such lackluster energy that Masumi could tell the blunder he'd made this turn was going to weigh on him for a long time. He was stealing looks at her every so often, too; no doubt he had an idea of how her next turn would play out. There was nothing she could do about that, though—except hope that she drew a monster, Set it face-down, and hope again that her Aquamarine would be as lenient as its 1400 ATK let on.

"My turn!" But the moment she'd seen the card she'd drawn, she inwardly groaned; Gem-Enhance, nestled in her fingers, stared back at her mockingly as if daring her to Set it instead. Although … She huffed. Perhaps next turn, she would have a chance to use it—but there was no way of knowing whether or not Streiter would destroy it before she had the chance.

She glanced at Yaiba. I'm so sorry. "Battle Phase!" she cried. "Gem-Knight Aquamarine, attack Rider Gaiapelio!"

It was a futile maneuver from the beginning: even as her armored knight lunged for Hotene's monster, Domitianus was already closing the distance between them. Its trident caught Aquamarine's bladed shield with a CLANG, pinning the weapon into his grip mere moments before he would have loosed it at Rider Gaiapelio.

Streiter's face was utterly unreadable. "Expurgate in infirma," he intoned solemnly. "Gladial Beast Domitianus' effect! I redirect your Aquamarine's target to Tōdō Yaiba—and turn your attack into a direct assault!"

"NO!"

As if Hotene and her Rider Petolphin had somehow shared the same thought for that one split second, the Junior Fusion ace's pink dolphin had lunged into the mêlée a trois, cannonballing into Domitianus' knee an instant before its trident tore the shield out of Aquamarine's grip, sending it spinning chaotically right for Yaiba. But that instant was crucial: where an uninterrupted toss might have hit the doomed Synchro Duelist edge on, and hard enough to have caused severe injury, Rider Petolphin's interference had caused the shield to wobble—to the point that when it did hit Yaiba, it did so with the flat of its bulk, slamming hard into his side and sending him skidding into the wall.

No amount of interference, however, could have changed the end result of the battle. Yaiba, his brown hair tousled, attempted to pull himself to his feet, but only got a quarter of the way up before he collapsed with a groan. Though it all, his Duel Disk squealed in Masumi's ear, fully emptied of Life Points—an uncomfortable reminder that she had been the one who'd dealt him the final blow.

There would be time to make a more heartfelt apology later—but right now, Masumi needed to make sure that time would come to pass. So she Set the final card in her hand—and with a sigh, prepared to signal the end of her turn.

But before she did—"That could have been the end of it, you know," Streiter commented, and Masumi froze where she stood, confused. "I still had one more Gladial Beast in my Graveyard—the Dicaerii I sent with my Atrix' effect. If I had shuffled that with my Naumachia, I could have redirected your Aquamarine's attack to Nerokius. It would have prevented that monster's effect from creating a hole in my field—and taken out all your Life Points as well. Hotene and Yaiba would not have lasted for much longer after that, I can assure you. So … why did I not do it?"

Masumi made no reply. She'd only just realized that he was right—it was a critical blunder, but would it matter? There was simply too much strength on his field—too much defense. Nothing in their arsenal could break through. She already knew how Streiter was going to conduct his next turn—he'd as good as spelled it out already. He'd go for Aquamarine with Nerokius, as he'd described, wiping out her Life Points in one fell swoop—and then move on to Hotene without stopping for breath. Rider Petolphin would only put up a token resistance with its effect before the Kämpfer wiped that out, too—and the tiny Duelist along with it.

"Because this," Streiter went on, gesturing around the field, "is not only how things should be—but how things will be … because of what we as Ædonai believe in. You, Hotene, and myself—we are not merely Fusion Duelists, the three of us; we are paragons of the method in our own right. We are the last ones standing—as we should be. As we will be." He stared solemnly at them all. "That is how this war I have started will inevitably conclude: with us standing tall … and with all others under our heel."

The Fusion ace's eyes were wet with tears. They roved over the still forms of Shen and Fuyu, then over to Hokuto and Yaiba, before finally stopping on a forlorn-looking Hotene. The poor girl's straw-colored hair looked so wilted as to be almost straight.

All of a sudden, a faint chime on her Duel Disk had distracted her. Her gaze flicked to the screen, where the icon of an incoming message was flashing in a corner. One look at Hotene told Masumi she'd received it, too:

» Angel-IQ: Brace for impact.

She frowned, bewildered—and then she understood the implications, and smiled. "Markus … has anyone ever told you how much stronger a single word can be than any weapon on Earth?" Masumi asked. "Any Earth?"

Streiter sniffed. "I'm German," he said shortly. "I know my history."

"So do I," the Fusion Duelist shot back. "And in all the battles I've seen and read about, there's been one truth clear to me: the best weapon of war … is the loudest voice that fights it. A voice that can be everywhere, at every time—a voice that can turn the tide of battle with a single word."

She frowned, ticking off her fingers. "Wait, no—that's not right. I think it's closer to nine."

Now Streiter was perplexed. "Nine words?" Masumi nodded, concealing a smirk. "And what might those be?"

"Don't ask me." She pointed to her Duel Disk. "Ask this."

Silence. By now, Masumi could see Hotene staring at her in her peripheral vision, wondering if she'd gone mad.

She sighed. "Ugh … talk about missing the timing," Masumi grumbled, burying a palm in her face. Then, turning her gaze skyward: "Q! I'm running out of things to say to stall this guy—can you just interrupt the Duel already?!"

"As you wish, Masumi-san." Then, a moment later: "Duel intrusion detected—two thousand-Life Point penalty assessed."

BOOM.

The Fusion user braced herself just in time—barely a split second after the computerized voice inside her Duel Disk had issued the warning, lightning and thunder had erupted right behind her, nearly blowing out her eardrums—but thankfully, not so close to her that she risked electrocution. She could smell ozone in the air, however—so strongly, in fact, that she did not immediately register the large splash behind her, so close she felt the droplets on her skin.

She blinked, her mind suddenly buzzing. It was too large, actually. It couldn't be Angel-IQ herself—as a hologram, she couldn't make a splash in real water, and she could elect not to do so even in water made from more hard light. Nor could it be Rika—the Junior Synchro ace was too small and light to cause more than ripples. Who had they—?

Masumi whirled around, and instantly felt her jaw drop. She only had a faint memory of what she screamed after that—because it was the exact same single word that Markus Streiter was suddenly bellowing in unison with her.

"YOU?!"

A/N: Oh, Duel intrusions. They never fail to add to already long and convoluted battles.

I almost waited to publish this for a couple weeks—I had my second shot last weekend, and my body felt like crap for a little while. But I recovered with time enough to summon one last writing binge. This is the result.

Right … that's it for all the backlog I've spent most of the past year building up, so I can't promise my usual pace in output from here on out. I need to rest my fingers, and my job's about to get hectic with both the country starting to open back up and summer staring me in the face, so I need those fingers at their best if I'm to keep functioning in any capacity.

Until the next update, folks—rate and review at your leisure as always, and thanks for reading! – K