We are almost there! Just a couple of more chapters after this and the Arcadia Arc is done! What will Divine do in response to Salazar's defeat? What of Salazar himself? The answers will be shocking. Also, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Yugioh: The Hope of Six

Chapter 60: Arcadia Arc – Part 15

The moment Yusei's final attack struck him, Salazar was sent flying. During that instant, everything around him whited out. He could no longer see, or even feel, anything. There was nothing. Nothing at all…

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Salazar blinked his eyes, now suddenly standing on soft grass in a huge clearing. "What the? Where am I?" The last thing he knew was that Yusei Fudo had just defeated him in their Duel. He looked around and, with a shock, realized where he was. He was just outside his family's cabin. The boy couldn't understand why he was back at his old home, where his previous life had ended. No, where his family's lives have ended… by his hand. Salazar may have miraculously survived by being burned alive by his own fire abilities, but both his parents and younger sister were not so lucky. "Why? Why am I back here?" Just as he asked himself that question, it happened. The words that made him lose control.

"Xander… you betrayed me! You betrayed my family! How could you? HOW… COULD YOU?!"

Right before his eyes, the cabin erupted into flames. Through another vantage point, Salazar could actually see how huge the fire was. It looked as if the cabin was being consumed by a large beast from Hell. It was more horrible than he imagined.

"No… Salazar…. What have I done?" Salazar turned to see Xander sitting just far enough away to not get burned by the enormous flames. The boy was crying, to the shock of Salazar himself, who happened to be standing next to him.

Salazar then recalled those strange visions when the Crimson Dragon appeared during the Duel, and that one of them was Xander crying. He didn't understand why his former best friend was weeping. Xander had betrayed Salazar and his family. He shouldn't be feeling any kind of regret for that unforgivable act. Why was Salazar seeing this? Xander spoke again.

"This wasn't supposed to happen. It shouldn't have…"

"Do not despair, my son." Salazar saw Father Dane approach Xander and placed both hands on the boy's shoulders. He seemed to be trying to comfort him. "The Arcadia family has suffered a tragic end and it brings me great sorrow that this had fallen upon them. What has occurred was the devil's work. His demonic servant on Earth tried to drag us to Hell with him, but you and I were most fortunate to avoid that dreadful fate. We are truly blessed to have survived."

The next thing that happened shocked both Salazar and Father Dane: Xander shot to his feet and punched the priest in the face. It was not that all that different from Salazar's own punch. The old man was so caught off guard that he actually fell on his behind. After spitting out a tooth that got loose from the blow, Father Dane stared back at the boy with a look of upmost fury. "Xander Stanton! How DARE you strike a holy man?! Pure sacrilege that was!" Xander appeared just as upset. The flames consuming the cabin seemed to magnify the intensity of the situation.

"A "holy man"?! Are you joking?! What holy man makes someone sell out their best friend under threat of eviction?!"

"Eviction?!" Salazar exclaimed in shock. Surely he misheard that.

Father Dane sneered. "Don't you speak to me in such a tone! You did what was required of you!"

"You were going to have me and my mom kicked out of our home if I didn't help you!" Xander shot back. "Salazar Arcadia was the best friend I ever had! I never wanted to betray him! Never!"

"You yourself admitted that demons frighten you! You told me of the boy's demon fire after witnessing it with your own eyes! You aided me out of fear of his unnatural abilities!" Father Dane reminded the distraught boy.

"I am terrified of demons, because they deceive and harm innocent people! Salazar has done neither one to anybody!" Xander pointed a finger at the old man. "You followed me the day Salazar showed me his powers! You tried to get me to talk so you could cover your involvement! When I refused, you forced me to confess after you gave my mom that black eye! A real holy man would not do any of the things you did! You accused Salazar of being a demon, but you're the one that's actually hurting others! And for what?! Just so that you feel good, knowing that you did your "holy work"?! What a joke! You're no high priest! YOU are the real demon, not Salazar!" With that, the fiercely upset Xander turned and ran away.

Salazar stood there, shellshocked by everything he witnessed. "He was forced to do all that? He never really wanted to hurt me?" The young Psychic Duelist stared in the direction in which Xander ran. He slowly shook his head in disbelief. "Xander…" Salazar began to shed some tears himself. He had been wrong about his best friend the whole time. Salazar couldn't believe it. He also couldn't believe how evil Father Dane truly was, to put Xander and his mother through all that he just heard. It was horrible. "I'm sorry Xander. I had no idea what Father Dane did to you and your mother. I'm really, truly sorry…" Salazar stood and silently wept for his best friend's suffering.

"Ungrateful brat." Father Dane scoffed at the boy's behavior before brushing the dirt off his robes.

Salazar turned to the old man, enraged. "BASTARD! YOU DESERVE TO BE IN HELL FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. Of course, Father Dane could not hear him, being a vision if the past and all. Salazar wanted more than anything to see that hypocritical geezer punished for his sins. Unexpectedly, the boy got his wish.

Father Dane took one more look at the still burning cabin, sighing deeply. "It was most unfortunate how all this got resolved. Still, it was for the best. There is now one less demon in this world…" Just then, the flames that were consuming the cabin retracted and took on a new shape: A giant demonic creature of fire with huge claws, fangs, and glowing green eyes. The old man now shook with fear and started to back away. "N-No. Please no…"

Salazar was just as scared upon seeing it. "What the…?"

The creature towered over the cowering priest, who tripped and fell from carelessness. "Stay away! Stay away from me, demon!" But the thing didn't "stay away". Instead it leaned forward, lowering itself until it was right above Father Dane. It eyed him, scrutinizing him with a low menacing growl. "No! Leave me alone! I am a hold man! You cannot… NO! NOOOOOOOOO!" That long dragged out scream was the sound Father Dane made before the creature lunged and consumed him with one bite. Nothing remained of the evil priest. The fire beast then reared it's head back and roared, victorious in it's punishment.

Salazar shivered with fear. "Woah…" He was both awed and terrified by what he witnessed. He then saw another jaw dropping sight. The creature shrank down and all the fire around it vanished… leaving behind only the badly burned form of Salazar's past himself. "That's… That's me! I was the thing that killed Father Dane?! I don't remember that!" Past Salazar just stood there, his expression vacant with blank eyes. And then, he fell to the ground on his chest... and did not get up again. Silence followed. The cabin was no longer ablaze, but it take some considerable damage. Not another sound was heard until…

"Salazar!"

"SALAZAR!"

"Big brother Salazar!"

Salazar knew those voices anywhere, but he just couldn't believe it. Both his parents and younger sister were shouting from inside the cabin. "My family! They're all… alive?!" Looking through the still open front door, three shadows seemed to be coming out from floor underneath the living room. Salazar later realized it was a trap door, one that his father made incase of an emergency. The surviving Arcadia family members continued to shout while resembling shadows in the dark.

"Salazar! Are you okay?!" Amelia yelled, very worried for her big brother. "Where are you?!" When she saw her brother's body, she fully climbed out of the trap door and ran to him. After turning him on his back, Amelia gasped in horror as she gazed down at his badly burned form. She tried shaking her brother awake, but to no avail. "Salazar! Wake up! Please wake up, big brother! Please! Wake up! Salazar!" She slowly began to realize the awful truth of her brother's condition. As it settled in, Amelia's eyes started to water. "On no… Salazar. No. NO!" She cried loudly, her tears falling her brother's body.

Adam and Eve joined her seconds later, both equally devastated by the loss of their son. "No… my son…" Adam grieved.

"Our Salazar… our boy…" Eve cradled her son's body as she wept.

"Mom… Dad… Amelia…" Salazar couldn't stand it. His family survived that dreadful fire only to experience the loss of his life. That's when he realized something wasn't right. "Wait a minute. I died that day? But… that's not what happened. Divine told me that I had survived that fire and was placed inside of some life preserving container, while my family perished. Why would this "vision" show me differently? It makes no sense. Unless…" His eyes widened with an unpleasant realization. A realization he didn't want to accept. "Unless he lied to me."

Salazar then noticed something else. He recalled the quick flashes he had when the Crimson Dragon appeared during his Duel. Those flashes played out in full throughout this whole vision of his past. Each one of them were fully shown except…

The dark hole materialized beneath Past Salazar's dead body, frightening the grieving family. "What is this?!" Eve shouted in alarm. From the hole, a sinister laugh could be heard. It was a laugh none of them ever heard. The Arcadias were even more terrified when a dark yellow arm stretched out from the hole, grabbed Salazar's corpse, and dragged it downward… out of sight. They could do nothing to stop it. "No! Salazar! Give him back! GIVE BACK OUR SON!" The owner of the arm gave no reply as it brought Salazar into the hole, and vanished from sight. The family was further despaired from losing the body of one of their own. They knew not what occurred or why, but they knew one thing with certainty: Salazar had been taken from them, both body and soul.

The living Salazar was completely stunned to see that. What was that thing that took his body? What did it want? And why did Divine not mention any of it to him? Salazar couldn't answer any of those questions. Despite his confusion, the boy watched his broken family until everything went white once again…

After that, Salazar saw other visions that had nothing to with his past.

Divine and his Arcadia Movement base being attacked and destroyed not by Signers, but a couple of dark robed Duelists with purple birthmarks on their arms… one of them was Misty Lola, to the boy's shock. She blamed Aki for the death of her little brother.

Next, he saw Yusei dueling a very enraged Aki. Her father risked his life to prove he wanted her back, with Aki's mother helping him. Aki began to change for the better.

Aki saw evidence of Divine abusing and killing children he saw were took weak for his purposes, devastating the young woman.

Divine taking control of Aki against her will and forcing her to be more aggressive against Dark Signer Misty. Yusei tricked Divine into confessing that he was responsible for Tobi's death, not Aki. Misty had her giant green lizard Monster eat Divine alive for what he did. He was later resurrected and ended up in prison before long.

Divine tried to defeat Aki, Rua, and Ruka in a Duel to force her to come back. She refused, resulting in his defeat and landing back into prison… before escaping once again.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Salazar then found himself once more in the Izayoi mansion, lying on his back. He held his head while shaking it. "Did I…just see all that?" He muttered softly to himself.

Unbeknownst to him, Yusei and his fellow Signers also saw the events of Salazar's past and beyond. They could not have felt more pity and sorrow for the misguided boy. While the arm that took him seemed mysterious, the laugh that came with it sounded familiar. It took Yusei a moment, but he recalled the voice belonging to Lightning. 'So, Salazar died and Lightning brought him back to life. Why would he do that?'

Divine, meanwhile, was not pleased his organization's founder lost to Yusei. "Damn it all. If only that meddling Crimson Dragon hadn't butted in…"

"Well, it did." Kiryu commented, smirking.

"That's another loss for you." Sherry added. Divine sneered at his still chained up hostages. Before he could respond accordingly…

"You lied to me!" Divine turned to see Salazar staring at him, looking even angrier than he did.

"Excuse me?" The Arcadia Movement leader questioned.

"You told me that I was found alive in capsule until you woke me up, but that never happened! I really did die that day! Then some strange "thing" took my body from my family, who all survived! What was all that about? And how did I come back to life?!"

Divine clinched his teeth, stunned. 'H-How did Salazar know the truth?! There was no way he could know!' Salazar wasn't done.

"There's more! I witnessed the attack on the Arcadia Movement's old base, and it was not attacked by Yusei and the Signers, but another group called the Dark Signers! One of them was Misty, and she went after Aki while she was still working for you! After that, I saw how Aki really changed sides when Yusei dueled her and her parents helping him change her! Aki wasn't brainwashed like you told me: She made that choice herself after her parents accepted her!" Salazar still wasn't done. "Speaking of Misty, I also saw that it was you that killed her little brother, not Aki enslaved by the Crimson Dragon! Aki never even touched Tobi! Yusei exposed your crimes to Misty, who punished you accordingly!" The burned boy pointed his finger at the man he thought was his friend. "EVERYTHING YOU TOLD ME SINCE I WOKE UP HAS BEEN ONE LIE AFTER ANOTHER! HUMANITY IS NOT AS EVIL AS YOU LED ME TO BELIEVE! I SAW IT FOR MYSELF! NOTHING YOU SAID TO ME HAS BEEN TRUE, HAS IT?!"

Divine was floored by all the revelations Salazar spoke of. How could he have learned all that in just an instant? Did Yusei's final attack in the Duel do something to make Salazar see all he claimed he saw? Whatever the case, the lead Psychic Duelist was in very hot water. Despite his very delicate situation, he tried to reassure his "innocence". "Salazar, I don't know what you are talking about! Yusei and the Crimson Dragon have obviously messed with your mind! I told you nothing but the truth!"

"The Crimson Dragon revealed the truth to Salazar about his past and your own actions!" Yusei countered. "It wanted him to understand everything!"

"It's all lies, Salazar!" Divine insisted. "I'm telling you, Yusei is trying to turn you against me! Against us, your people! He's as evil and ruthless as they come!"

Salazar went silent. Yusei stepped toward Salazar and gazed down at him sympathetically. The boy looked back up at him.

"Salazar… I had a friend named Bruno who had worked for an enemy that tried to kill everyone in Neo Domino City. I didn't know his true allegiance for a long while. He also kept important things from me. When I found out the truth, I was deeply shocked and hurt. But despite all that, I never hated him."

"Why not?" Salazar asked him. Yusei smiled.

"Because I never stopped believing in him. In the end, he did all his things to help me save the city from destruction." Yusei then looked up at Divine, scowling. "Divine, on the other hand, is nothing like Bruno. He doesn't care about you. He just wants to use you for his own ends."

Divine took an step forward. "Stop blathering your lies, Yusei! Salazar isn't going to fall for any of it! Remember, I arranged for one of my Elites to get Misty out of the hospital before the attack! That proves I'm not evil!"

"Yusei. I believe I can clear that up." Windy said, speaking from Yusei's Duel Disk.

"That voice again!" Divine exclaimed in fear.

"How?" Yusei asked.

"During your Duel, I have obtained a recording of what occurred in Misty's hospital room prior to the attack that Jack thwarted. I shall play it for all to see…" From Yusei's Duel Disk, a big hologram projected above everyone. It showed Misty Lola lying on a hospital bed, in her coma, with the blonde haired Elite Psychic, Michael, standing above her. His words were spoken loud and clear.

"So this is the famous Misty Lola? What a truly pitiful soul you are. You lose your weak little brother, losing your own life before coming back as one of those accursed Dark Signers, then became truly alive again before ending up in this state. In my own honest opinion, you should have stayed dead." Michael then chuckled in a very unpleasant way. "Fortunately for you, that is why I am here. At the stroke of midnight, this whole building will be razed to the ground by my Holy Light, ending the pathetic lives of the humans residing here, including yourself. All the sick and wounded will vanish from this world, as decreed by Master Divine."

Divine had the exact same expression Sly had when his misdeeds was exposed: Pale and completely horrorstruck. 'No… Michael you arrogant fool!'

Salazar's anger grew even more. "I knew it! You lied about sparing Misty too! You lied about everything!"

Divine gritted his teeth, unable to say another word. He had run out of excuses.

It was then that Mikage, Ushio, and a heavily armed squad of Neo Domino police officers had arrived from the ruined front doors. They didn't take long to surround Divine, cutting off his escape. "Divine of the Arcadia Movement, you are under arrest for multiple crimes against the citizens of Neo Domino City!" Mikage declared.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll give yourself up! You've got nowhere to go!" Ushio added authoritatively.

Divine drew another card from his Duel Disk, unwilling to comply. "NO! This is FAR from over!" He then played his card, which shot a huge fireball straight at Yusei. Before it could get close, Salazar halted the fireball mid-flight and dispersed it away harmlessly.

However, that was a mere distraction. While everyone was focused on the fireball, Divine played another card that made him invisible. This allowed him to slip away without being seen. By the time anyone noticed, he would be long gone. Divine ran past the officers, made it outside, and headed toward the front gate. He launched another fireball to blast a hole, allowing him to run straight through. He was visible again at that point. He next ran around a corner and found his own personal D-Wheel, parked near the main entrance to the Izayoi mansion. It was dark green, similar to the size of Aki's D-Wheel, and had a place to attach Divine's Duel Disk to it. After attaching it, Divine put his helmet on, climbed onto his vehicle, and started it up. The Arcadia Movement leader then sped off on the road without looking back.

Divine couldn't believe how everything had gone so wrong tonight. Racer was gone, taken out by some unknown agent of the Signers. His Elites had all failed him. He failed to get Aki back and get Ruka. Losing Salazar's trust and loyalty was perhaps the most devastating blow of all. He needed the boy for the final part of his plan: the Alpha Fire. Fortunately, he had a backup plan just in case his main plan went sideways. Now it was time for him to implement "Plan B", and at last finish what he ended to do from the very beginning: Destroy Neo Domino City and kill every living person in it.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Back at the mansion, everyone noticed their enemy's absence. "Hey! Where's Divine?!" Ushio shouted. "Anyone spotted him making a run for it?!" All the officers shook their heads.

"Dammit! He got away!" Mikage cursed.

"The guy's as slippery as a toad!" Crow said with disgust.

"We have to find him! He can't escape!" Aki said urgently.

"We will." Yusei assured her. He then winched in pain, still hurting from his Duel with Salazar.

"Yusei!" Aki went over to him.

"I'll be alright, Aki." Yusei said, trying to reassure her. "My thick clothes took the worst of those attacks."

"That's not up to you. Let's have a look." Ushio butted in before he looked over Yusei's wounds.

"But where the hell did that bastard go?" Yugo questioned.

"Divine couldn't have gotten very far." Rin said.

"I will find him. Give me a second." Windy spoke loudly through Yusei's Disk.

While the Wind Ignis searched for Divine, Aki went over to check on Kiryu and Sherry, who were no longer bound in chains. "You two okay?" She asked. The couple nodded.

"We are. Thanks." Kiryu assured him.

"Don't worry about us. The important thing is to find that bastard before we lose him." Sherry said emphatically.

"Are my parents alright?" Aki questioned, concerned.

"They left for their secret bunker before the party got started." Kiryu answered.

"You should go check on them." Yusei advised. "Windy can contact all of us when he has an update on Divine's location." His girlfriend nodded.

"I'll be right back." Aki then ran to up the stairs to the passage leading to the secret room.

"Damn, what the hell happened here?" Ushio asked, now noticing Warlord's bloody corpse.

"The chandelier didn't like him." Kiryu said dryly.

"He's not the only one. There's another body upstairs, in the master bedroom." Sherry informed the detectives. "It's Skeleton Knight."

"There were two Elites here?" Mikage asked, stunned by this. Kiryu and Sherry both nodded. The female detective then noticed Salazar. "Who is he?"

"His name is Salazar." Yusei told her. "It's okay. He is not our enemy."

Salazar turned to him, surprised by the declaration. "Really? After all I've done to you?" He asked. Yusei gave him a friendly smile.

"You didn't know any better. Plus, you did just protect me from Divine's last attack. Thank you for that."

Salazar smiled back, now truly convinced of who he could really trust. "I'm sorry for everything. I was wrong about you… like I was wrong about Xander."

"That's in the past. We should focus on the present, and build a better future." Yusei told him, smiling back warmly.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Mom! Dad!" Aki was extremely relieved to find her parents, safe and sound in their safe room. It was small and surrounded by rock, but it had some furniture and a storage box for food and water. The Izayoi family hugged tightly, glad to be together again.

"Oh Aki! Thank heavens you're okay!" Setsuko said gratefully.

"I'm fine! You guys?" Aki asked in return.

"We're both fine, sweetie." Hideo replied before releasing her. "What's been happening outside?"

Aki explained the events in quick detail. While her mother and father were glad that all the Elites had been defeated, they were not so pleased to hear that Divine had escaped.

"So he's on the run?" Setsuko asked her. "He's gone into hiding?"

"We're not sure." Aki confessed. "But if I know him… he won't accept defeat that easily."

"You may be right about that." Windy chimed in from Aki's Duel Disk. Him speaking up greatly startled Hideo and Setsuko.

"W-Who was that?" Hideo demanded.

"It's okay. He's a friend." Aki said to her parents before looking down at her Disk. "Windy, does Divine have another plan?"

"I believe he does."

At the same time he was telling Aki of Divine's Plan B, Windy was also informing Yusei and the others. They were all shocked to hear of it.

"What was that?!" Mikage asked incredulously.

"You've gotta be pulling our legs here!" Yugo said, not believing it.

"I am afraid it is true." Windy said before repeating his discovery. "Divine's original plan was apparently to use Salazar's power over fire to burn down Neo Domino City. However, with Salazar no longer at his side, Divine has resorted to using another means to achieve his goal. Just a second ago, I detected a signal from a moving source. I had accessed the multiple cameras spread throughout the city and learned that it was Divine himself, riding on a D-Wheel. I traced the signal to a large heat source below where his current base of operations was. The cameras inside proved the heat source was a large bomb that is now growing hotter by the second. Very soon, that bomb will detonate and destroy the whole city. It seems Divine is trying to make his way out before then."

"Damn that sore loser. What kind of bomb is it?" Yugo asked.

"There were no blue prints for the bomb in Racer's data files, but I did find surveillance footage of Divine speaking to a technician about the device. The "Alpha Fire" Bomb has been infused with Salazar Arcadia's unique DNA signature. The signal Divine used to arm it was a direct match to Salazar's DNA sequence."

"Divine never mentioned anything about a bomb to me!" Salazar said, greatly offended and alarmed from the revelation.

"How long do we have before detonation?" Mikage demanded.

"According to my calculations, the bomb will go off in approximately 30 minutes from now." Windy confirmed.

"No way we can evacuate everyone in time!" Ushio said in a panic.

"We have to stop the bomb from exploding!" Rua said matter of factly.

"Yeah, but how do we stop it?" Ruka asked.

"Windy, can you replicate the signal Divine used to activate the bomb and turn it off?" Rin asked.

"I am afraid not, Rin." Windy told her regretfully. "I have already tried that, but there was no response on the bomb's end. I fear Divine may have set the signal array to disable itself to prevent transmission interference."

"So what do we do?" Jack asked.

"The bomb will have to be disarmed manually." Windy replied heavily.

"I'll have a bomb squad over there asap!" Ushio declared before grabbing his phone to make the call.

"I strongly advise you take Salazar with you to the bomb's location." Windy told him. "He could be the key to shutting it down."

"You sure about that?" Kiryu asked the Wind Ignis.

"More than positive." Windy said.

"Then that's our plan. I will make sure Divine does not leave the city!" Mikage added before making her own call. "In the meantime, we should send someone after him and force him to shut off the bomb incase the bomb squad fails. More than likely through a Duel."

"I will go." Yusei volunteered before heading back outside toward his D-Wheel.

"Wait, Yusei! You're still injured!" Crow reminded his friend.

"I can handle Divine." Yusei replied as he reached his vehicle and took out his helmet.

"Yusei!" The young man turned to see Aki return and meeting up with him. "If you're going after Divine, let me come with you!" Yusei shook his head.

"No, Aki. I want you to go with Ushio and Salazar to the bomb. It's possible they may need more than one Psychic Duelist to prevent that explosion from occurring."

"But Yusei… Divine wants you dead more than anyone else! I don't want you to face Divine on your own!" Aki protested fiercely.

"He won't be!" Yusei and Aki turned to see Yugo and Rin approach. "We'll be lending him a hand!" Yugo said with a grin.

"I don't agree with that!" Aki shouted defiantly. "Divine is more dangerous than the Elites you both fought! It's too risky!"

"We are not scared of Divine! Out of everyone who fought, Yugo and I have the least amount of injuries! We can do this Aki!" Rin argued.

"But…" Aki tried to further dissuade them, but Yusei stopped her.

"Aki, it's their choice. I believe in them. If they want to help, I'll let them."

"Yusei…" Aki saw that she wasn't going to win this argument. Sighing deeply, she cupped her boyfriend's face. "Just… come back alive." Yusei smiled before kissing her.

"I promise." He then placed on his helmet and got on his D-Wheel.

Aki then turned to the younger couple. "You two, do what you can to help Yusei stop Divine." She instructed.

"You got it Aki!" Yugo said confidently.

"We won't let you or anyone else down!" Rin added with just a much confidence.

Yusei waited until the younger teens mounted their respective D-Wheels and put their helmets. "Okay! Let's go!" At that command, Yusei, Yugo, and Rin drove off to find and take down the Arcadia Movement leader once and for all.

Aki stood there and watched them disappear into the distance. 'Good luck… and be careful.'

To be continued.