The Dragon's Cry

Evan's POV

Hey everybody, it's ya boy, Evan.

So, to give you a small briefing of the current situation, as you should know, I took a job by Roget that included taking down the Black Rose Witch, aka Aki from 5D's. Of course, I had other plans, and with help from Fujiko, I managed to find her hiding in an abandoned subway.

That was also when things first started going south. She wasn't very happy to have her not very secret hideout discovered. I tried to pull a Yusei and convince her that we have come to help her, but that didn't work and she became aggressive, so of course, we decided to settle the score with a duel, but that wasn't been working out well for me either. Aki had some new version of her Black Rose Dragon, a spell that stops the activation of Trap Cards that target, which made my two set cards useless, and of course a retrained Thorn of Malice called Thorns of the Black Rose because when Aki was lonely, she was also sadistic in 5D's.

Aside from the two useless set cards, I didn't have much on my field, except for Mystic-Flare Dragon, which had already lost 600 attack points due to the Thorns of the Black Rose equip spell. I didn't have any cards in my hand either, but it was my turn coming up, so I had to draw something. Preferably Half Shut, since we were already following the script of an anime duel.

"You can try to push me and Mystic-Flare back, but we won't give up on trying to save you!" I declared as I drew.

『Turn 3 [Evan] LP: 3400, Hand: 1』

I looked at the card that I got – Chrono Phantomus the Pendulum Slayer. If I had the Pendulum Scales to Pendulum Summon it, I would have been able to drop Black Rose Garden Dragon's ATK to 2500, but I didn't have them, and if I Tributed Mystic-Flare Dragon to summon Phantomus, Aki's dragon's effect would kick in, destroying Phantomus and dealing half of its attack power as damage to me.

"It seems like you're going to have to just take it, Mystic-Flare." I apologized to my monster. Because of Thorns of the Black Rose, I couldn't even change my Synchro to defense position and negate the damage that I would take the next turn.

"What is it? Are you finally starting to have your doubts about helping a monster like me?" Aki asked.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but you're no monster." I tried to smile at her. "If you were a monster, you would have gone out there and caused chaos, smash through every small fly that's in your way without any remorse; without any soul. That's what real monsters are, Aki. A creature without souls that don't feel remorse or loneliness. You are nothing more than a scared child that has lost control over her talent."

"I'm no child!" She shouted back at me. "Talent, you say? What talent do I have? The talent to destroy? These powers I have are no talent; they are a curse!"

"Even the ability destroy can be used for good, if it's evil that you are destroying with your powers!" It all has a purpose, if Real Solid Matter can help people, then Aki's powers too can…

"Destroy evil? Like this world that took away the only home for those who had no place to go?" I didn't like where this was going… "I've seen how wicked the world is, and it hasn't changed even a bit since I ran away! You're all the same! Trying to control my power, wanting to use me for your benefit."

'Says the woman that sided with the guy who's been killing children because they weren't psychic enough.' I thought to myself; I realized that Aki was blinded by Divine's powers, but as a devilish person myself, I was having a hard time not pointing that out.

"You're judging me without knowing anything about me, or the reason I came here," I told her. "So tell me, how are you different from the people who've been judging you, when you're doing the exact same thing?"

"I'm wretched too…" Aki looked at her hands. "I'm a wretched witch that everybody despises. And as the Black Rose Witch, I'm going to destroy you!"

"You're not getting through to her!" Fujiko shouted toward me. "It's useless!"

I wasn't so sure about that. I wanted her to lash out with all of her power and send all of the hatred she has accumulated against me. I would take it all and reach Aki's true self that she has been trying to keep hidden under that mask. She shouldn't underestimate how stupid and stubborn I could be.

"Come then!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms to the side. "Come at me with everything that you've got and try to destroy me! Turn end!"

"My turn!"

『Turn 4 [Aki] LP: 4000, Hand: 1』

"Battle!" Aki cried out. "Black Rose Garden Dragon attack Mystic-Flare Dragon!"

Here it came again! Black Rose Garden Dragon sent its tendrils toward Mystic-Flare Dragon, whipping it and breaking off its left cannon. The weapon flew back and hit a support column, breaking it, while at the same time another tendril hit me across the back.

『Evan, LP: 3400 – 1200 → 2200, Hand: 1』

ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon, ATK: 1800 – 600 → 1200, DEF: 1100 – 600 → 500

"Above you!" Avice cried out, and so I looked up.

One of the long metal lamps that were over our heads broke off and fell toward me, but before it could hit me, Mystic-Flare Dragon, smacked it to the side with its tail. Though that did save me, the strong wind that was being unleashed by Aki's powers was starting to cause cracks to appear in the walls, and with a support column gone, the area we were dueling in was becoming increasingly unstable.

"Avice, Fujiko, leave!" I ordered them.

"But what about you?" Avice asked me.

"I'll come when I finish this!" I narrowed my eyes. "Just get to safety, so I can focus on the duel."

"Are you insane!? If you continue your duel with the Black Rose Witch-"

"You will die!" Aki shouted, interrupting Fujiko. "Buried down here, along with me! That's your fate for challenging the wicked Black Rose Witch to a duel!"

I turned back to Avice and nodded to her. I had no intention to die here, nor was I intending to let all of this suffering be for nothing, by letting Aki bury herself. I was going to get out, but I needed to focus on the duel, and I couldn't do that while my little sister was in danger!

"Let's go Fujiko." I smiled in relief; thank you, Avice. "There's nothing we can do here to help my brother."

Fujiko looked at me. She seemed to want to say something, but then she suddenly closed her eyes and ran off toward the exit with Avice following shortly after. I was endlessly grateful to them for that. Because they were gone, I no longer had to worry about saving the lives of anyone, but Aki.

"Do you still think that there's a chance that I'm going to change my mind?" Aki asked me. "You said that you will free me from the darkness in my heart, but you're only talk! You can't save yourself, let alone me!"

"I still haven't ran out of determination to try!" I exclaimed. "So you've failed to break my determination as well, Aki!"

"Your suffering has just begun. But on my next turn, I'll destroy you." Aki lowered her Duel Disk. "Until then, I end my turn."

"Then it's back to me!" And I would need a good card to turn this duel around. "I draw!"

『Turn 5 [Evan] LP: 2200, Hand: 2』

"I set a card and end my turn," I said before raising my arms in front of myself to prepare for Aki's next turn.

"Have you learned how hopeless this is?" Aki asked me. "To fight for somebody that was forsaken by fate… my turn!"

『Turn 6 [Aki] LP: 4000, Hand: 2』

"I activate the Spell Card - Wonder Clover! I discard Witch of the Black Rose from my hand to let Black Rose Garden Dragon attack you twice!" Two attacks? Then my set card is… "Black Rose Garden Dragon, tear through Mystic-Flare Dragon! Black Rose Whip!"

Aki's dragon swung its tendrils at Mystic-Flare Dragon, whipping it. I clenched my fists, hearing its cries of pain as its remaining wing and cannon were torn away from its body and blood flowed out of the multiple wounds and cuts that covered its entire body, from head to toe. Another tendril skipped Mystic-Flare Dragon and whiplash me across the chest.

"Agh!" I dropped on my knees, feeling a metal taste in my mouth, and began coughing with a disturbingly large amount of red liquid slashing on the ground in front of me.

『Evan, LP: 2200 – 1800 → 400, Hand: 1』

ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon, ATK: 1200 – 600 → 600, DEF: 500 – 600 → 0

The ground was shaking, and more pieces of the ceiling were starting to collapse all around us. At that point, I could hear the worry even in Mystic-Flare's cries, but we were getting close. We shouldn't give up. Besides, we didn't have anywhere to run, if we decided to give up.

"This attack is the end!" Aki exclaimed, pointing her dragon toward us. "Black Rose Garden Dragon, attack again! Black Rose Whip!"

A second attack came, this time, the tendril hit Mystic-Flare's left knee, slicing it open. Again, my monster roared in pain before dropping on its front, unmoving. After dropping my only monster, Black Rose sent her tendrils toward me.

"Trap Open – Defense Draw! This card negates the damage I would take and lets me draw a card!" A barrier emerged out of the trap and surrounded me, so the tendrils hit it instead. "I'm still standing Aki! Even if Mystic-Flare is down!"

ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon, ATK: 600 – 600 → 0, DEF: 0 – 600 → 0

"Why are you still doing this?" Despite the soaring pain and the burning sensation all over my wounds, driving me close to falling unconscious, I managed to hear Aki. "Your body's broken, as is your dragon! You're going to die here, so why won't you drop that façade and admit that you lost? You can't save me!"

"Yeah… I already know that." I stepped back up. "The truth is, I can't save anything. The only skill I have is to duel, and my only power is to destroy. I've never saved anything, and I probably never will be able to build a connection with others. But I decided to accept what I'm and face the world, as the person I was made to be, instead of falling into despair."

"It's easy for you to say that." Aki looked away. "But now all of us can live with the pain of being alone, of being treated like a monster by not just society, but your own parents! To have everything taken away from you, because of something you can't control…"

"Not all can forgive the world for that pain," I nodded. "But you can. I know, because I've seen you do it!"

"What do you mean?"

"I've seen you, in another world, another you, but still the same. You were still hiding behind that mask because you were afraid to be hurt. But you moved forward in that world too, Aki! Because of a man that didn't stop believing that there's good in you, you began to move forward and found a place for yourself in that world! You found something that the Acadia Movement could never give you thanks to that man!"

"You're talking insanity." Aki looked away. "Another world? Another me? Let me guess, the man that saved me in that world was also another you, right?"

"No," I shook my head. "It was somebody that I could never compare myself to. And honestly, somebody I never really liked in the first place. But he managed to connect to you, Aki! He reached out toward you, and by accepting his kindness, you broke out of the cage you built yourself!"

"All of that pain must have driven your crazy," Aki replied. "I end my turn."

"Even when you're being yourself and talking from your heart, you're still unable to connect to people." Yuksel appeared next to me. "Talking to her is useless at this point, the only way to prove yourself now would be through actions. We have to win before this tunnel collapses and buries you both underneath."

'I know that, but how am I supposed to do that?' I tried looking at the cards in my hand. Chrono Phantomus the Pendulum Slayer and Timeline Fusion…

"If we summon a monster with less attack points than Black Rose, it will be destroyed, and we're going to take damage, losing the duel," Yuksel stated the obvious. "Berserk Phantomus the Fusion Slayer is the strongest monster you can call forth, but its attack points still falls a hundred points short. Our next draw is going to decide this duel!"

"Do you still believe that there's a chance for you to win?" Aki asked me. "Your monster's attack points are zero, it's hurt and practically useless!"

"Let's see, what my deck thinks about my chances." I looked down at the cards. "That deck is pretty stubborn and determined to win, so I'm sure that it's going to answer! Let's go! I draw!"

『Turn 7 [Evan] LP: 400, Hand: 3』

"That card is-!" Yuksel narrowed his eyes as he looked at the card my deck gave me – Sacred Sword of Seven Stars.

Yes, I could see it - the path the victory! It all played out in front of me, starting with – Sacred Sword of Seven Stars and ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon, Anomaly in the Dark Dimension, Black Rose Garden Dragon, finally going to my set card and then…

"You wanted to know if I believe that there's a chance for victory, Aki! And my answer is yes! No matter how many times you hurt me, I'll keep standing back up and continue to fight for you!" And I was going to win, for her sake!

"You will have to go through Black Rose Garden Dragon first!" Aki reminded me, but that wasn't going to be a problem!

"I activate Sacred Sword of Seven Stars! Through this card's effect, I must banish a Level Seven monster I control to draw two cards! I banish ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon!" My monster roared weakly as its body faded away, and it disappeared.

"So in the end, you forsake your own dragon, to try and gain an advantage." Aki sneered.

"I activate Anomaly in the Dark Dimension to Special Summon a banished DARK Monster! Return, ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon (Lv.7, ATK: 2400)!" My Synchro monster quickly materialized back onto my field, but this time without any of the wounds left by Aki's dragon.

"Useless!" Aki exclaimed. "Black Rose Garden Dragon's effect now activates! Since you summoned a monster whose attack is less than Black Rose, it's destroyed, and half of its attack is deal as damage to you! Be buried, by your own monster!"

Black Rose roared and began to flap with its wings, generating a strong wing that pushed back. And if that wasn't bad enough, rose petals were there too. Sharp like a razor rose petals were being carried by the wind at high speed, colliding with the walls and the floor, tearing small chunks off them.

"You're wrong, Aki! Mystic-Flare isn't going anywhere! A monster summoned by Anomaly in the Dark Dimension would be destroyed at the end of this turn, but until then that monster gains eight hundred attack points!"

"What?!" She gasped.

ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon, ATK: 2400 + 800 → 3200

"Because Mystic-Flare has more attack points than Black Rose, it won't be destroyed!" I told her. "And now, Mystic-Flare is going to attack Black Rose Garden Dragon, with its effect activating! Since it battles, a monster with less attack, I can automatically destroy that monster and inflict its attack points as damage to you!"

My dragon jumped behind me and then leaned its body forward, and aimed the cannons on its back at Black Rose. The weapons began to charge its green energy beams.

"Time Nullify!" Mystic-Flare fired its beams toward Black Rose; tearing everything in its path, before finally carving a hole through the opposing dragon's chest, causing it to explode and knock Aki back.

『Aki, LP: 4000 – 3000 → 1000, Hand: 0』

"With Black Rose Garden Dragon destroyed, Thorns of the Black Rose and Blooming Roses are destroyed as well." All the spell cards on Aki's field exploded into differently colored rose petals. "But due to the effect of Thorns of the Black Rose, when this equip spell is sent to the Graveyard because the equipped monster was destroyed – all the cards in your hand are destroyed as well."

"So be it." I dropped Phantomus and the other cards into the Graveyard slot of my Duel Disk.

"That's not all!" Aki raised her arm up. "Black Rose Garden Dragon's second effect! When this card is destroyed, I can banish two plants or Rose monsters to revive it! I banish Rose Witch andWitch of the Black Rose! Come back, Black Rose Garden Dragon (Lv.7, ATK: 2400)!"

Large tendrils shot out of the ground, in front of Aki, after which her dragon raised in front of her, and let out a deafening cry.

"What's more! When Black Rose Garden Dragon is Special Summon by this effect, all other cards on the field are destroyed!" The dragon began to generate another storm inside the subway, with the wind tearing off the walls, and sending debris flying in all directions.

"I activate my Trap!" I cried out, as my last set card turned face-up, but right then, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head.

Everything suddenly became blurry and I lost balance, collapsing sideways as the sharp petals struck Mystic-Flare Dragon and it exploded. I didn't know what happened, but I was feeling dizzy and the sharp pain was making it hard for me to keep my eyes open, or maybe it was the blood loss? But the duel wasn't over yet, I can't give up yet…

I reached the back of my hand, and winched, the pain increasing as I tried touching my head. I retracted my hand, and there was blood on it. I really can't catch a break, can I?

"Because Mystic-Flare was sent to the Graveyard, I can add one Spell Card from my Deck to the hand. I pick Half Shut." I muttered.

"It's useless!" Aki exclaimed. "With no monsters left on your field, you'll lose on my next turn."

"But I still have a monster on my field." I looked at my Duel Disk. "Mystic-Flare was sent to the Graveyard, but it wasn't destroyed."

"What!?"

My eyelids were already getting heavy, and I was still dizzy, so I wouldn't be able to stand up for this part. "My Trap Card was – Assault Mode Activate! By releasing one Synchro Monster, this card lets me summon its Assault Mode form from my Deck! Show yourself, ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon/Assault Mode!"

A glowing red line flashed through the cloud of smoke where Mystic-Flare Dragon exploded and its new version flew through, with a sharp cry. There wasn't a big change in appearance, except for a heavy bronze armor that covered its chest, knees, and shoulders, with large sharp thorns jutting out of it. A red visor covered the monster's eyes and its legs have become larger, with each of its cannons, now being double-barreled. The green cables that were connected to its limbs, generating energy claws, and the core buried in its chest, also had their color changed to red.

ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon/Assault Mode

Level: 9/Attribute: DARK/Type: Dragon/Effect

ATK: 2900/DEF: 2200

Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except with "Assault Mode Activate". If this card battles a Special Summoned monster, you can destroy the monster immediately with this card's effect without applying damage calculation, and inflict damage to your opponent equal to that monster's ATK. When this card on the field is destroyed, you can Special Summon 1 "ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon" from your Graveyard.

"But how?" Aki asked. "Your monster should have been destroyed by Black Rose's effect!"

"Monsters summoned by Assault Mode Activated are unaffected by card effects for the remains of the turn! Now, ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon/Assault Mode, destroy Black Rose Garden Dragon! And Mystic-Flare's effect activates! When it battles a Special Summoned monster, that monster is destroyed without damage calculation, and you take damage equal to its attack points."

A targeting hologram appeared before me as it leaned onto its arms, and aimed the cannons on its back at Black Rose. The weapons began to charge with pulsating red energy.

"Mystic Flare Barrel!" I called out my monster's attack and Mystic-Flare fired its beams through Black Rose, destroying it.

『Aki, LP: 1000 – 2400 → 0, Hand: 0』

『Winner: Evan』

I sat down, looking around as flames engulfed Mystic-Flare and it returned back into its card. I turned toward Aki, who was standing on the other end, holding a broken mask in her hands. And though the duel had ended, I still didn't have time to relax. That last attack from Mystic-Flare completely destabilized the place, and everything was falling in front of us. Aki turned toward me, tears reflected in her eyes, as she took a step forward, and a large piece of debris fell next to her, surprising her, and causing the girl to stumble and fall down.

"The place's coming down!" Yuksel yelled. "Draw!"

I was about to ask Yuksel what he meant when I noticed the dark aura around my right hand. It was the same dark energy we used for Dark Draw! I wasn't entirely sure what Yuksel had in mind, but I didn't have time to ask, so I did as ordered, drawing the top card of my Deck – it was Chrono Phantomus the Phantasm Slayer!

"Appear!" I cried out, and the dark aura flew into my card, giving it form.

Phantomus landed in front of me and threw its left wrist forward, the metal gauntlet opening up, and firing a single chain that wrapped itself around Aki's waist. After catching her, Phantomus pulled the chain, and Aki flew right into his arms.

"Physical…" Aki muttered, looking at Phantomus, then at me. "But your Duel Disk isn't activated!"

"Told you, that I understood you." I smiled, even as everything was collapsing around us. "Phantomus!" My monster looked toward the ceiling, knowing what it should do.

3rd POV

Avice and Fujiko were waiting outside the subway, listening to the dragons' roars and cries, as their only clue about what was going on down there. Suddenly, those sounds stopped, but nobody came out. So they wanted some more and still nothing.

"What's taking him so long?" Avice crossed her arms.

"Listen… the Black Rose Witch is a strong duelist. Even though your brother isn't weak, I'm not sure that he could win against her."

Avice looked at the older girl for a moment, then back at the subway. She didn't believe it, she should have felt if something was going wrong. If not for her, then Sola should have sensed it. Her brother was still down there, she just didn't know how he was planning to get back to the surface, or if he even had a plan prepared for that.

After a few moments, the ground began to crack, more and more, like something was trying to dig its way through the asphalt, but after just a few seconds, a metal fist broke through and continue to push the surrounding area of the road, increasing the size of the hole. If given enough time, most Duel Monsters had the strength to dig a hole from the subway to the surface, but for most of those monsters, doing that faster that the falling debris could hit the ground, would have been impossible. But not for Phantomus. With his strength and speed allowing it to throw nearly four thousand punches per second, the DARK Fiend was able to quickly reach the street above.

The monster climbed up and turned around, pulling the two chains it used to carry its passengers. The two girls understood exactly what was happening. They ran up to the Fiend and grabbed the chains, helping it pull the two humans up. Like Evan had promised, he found a way to get out. But his condition wasn't exactly good.

Discarding the multiple small cuts over his entire body, left from the sharp tendrils of Black Rose Garden Dragon, the boy had a concussion, from the heavy blow he took to the head, along with fractures on his arms and shoulders from the debris that has fallen on him, while Phantomus dug their exit.

Aki wasn't without bruises herself. Thankfully, she had nothing broken, just a few cuts here and there, and the black robe she used as part of her witch disguise was torn apart, showing pieces of her Victorian influenced outfit underneath. After the two duelists were pulled out of the hole, Phantomus' body quickly faded away, with a small bit of darkness returning back into Evan's deck, where it belonged.

But neither Avice nor Fujiko were too concerned with how the monster came to life at the moment. Instead, their focus was on the two teens in front of them, and the treating of their wounds.

Aki quickly turned to the boy and placed her hands on him. "I wanted you that this was going to happen. Why didn't you get out of there alone, when you could do this?"

Avice stepped next to the red-haired girl, she must have not noticed her approaching, because she kept her hands on Evan's body, shaking him lightly. "It's no use, he's fallen unconscious. Let him rest."

"He was able to manifest his monster without Solid Vision," Aki turned to Avice. "Are you psychic too?"

Avice ran her fingers through the back of her hair. "Believe me, you will be able to have a long discussion with us about psychic powers, once my brother wakes up, but right now, you have to heal him?"

"Heal him?" Aki blinked, before shaking her head. "No, I can't do that! My powers can only increase the physical damage caused by my monsters' attack. I don't have any abilities that could help him."

Avice expected to hear something like that. Not just because in this universe, Aki had only developed her abilities as much as they would be of benefit for Divine, but because this was, once again, a different Aki from the one they knew. Similarly to how the Aki from the manga universe had a different psychic ability, connected to the prediction of what cards she would draw, this version of her would have a different power as well.

"Then we'll need bandages," Avice turned to Fujiko. "Could you go back and take a med kit?"

"I'll be back in no time." Fujiko nodded.

The Junk Duelist ran off back to the house, while Avice and Aki stood there, looking over the unconscious boy. Thinking quickly, Avice grabbed her brother's torn shirt and began to tear it further. If she could make makeshift bandages out of the cloth, it would still do more than to just watch him bleed on the street.

"I'm surprised that you haven't ran off yet," Avice stated, shooting a small side glance at the girl sitting next to her. "I mean, if I was in your place, I would be running for the hill already. After all, my brother is in this condition because of you. Are you staying because he beat you?"

Aki looked down. She didn't know what to say in response, didn't know if she was even supposed to say anything. "I don't understand. Why didn't he just give up?"

"Giving up means to lose," Avice shrugged. "And I'm not talking only about dueling. Giving up on being yourself because of what the world thinks you are, means to lose yourself. We're not from around here, we don't know how this city, this world, operates. But you have powers like ours, Aki."

"Powers like yours…" Aki looked down at her hands. "Does that mean, that I have a place to belong again?"

"That depends entirely on what he's going to say when he wakes up," Avice replied, pointing at Evan.

Aki looked nervously at Avice, before turning her attention back to Evan. "I would expect you to be angrier about your brother's condition."

"Yeah, it's actually pretty weird," Avice nodded as she wrapped the makeshift bandage she made around her brother's head. "We've gotten pretty apathetic to death and destruction. As messed up as it might sound, the thought that one of us might die is something we're pretty much used to. But my brother seems to always recover no matter how severe his wounds are, so I'm sure that he'll find the strength to fight through this as well."

So that was it? The reason he kept pressing on and never gave up during their duel was that he didn't care if he would die or not. That was a disturbing thought to Aki. As much as she hated the world, she was still afraid of dying, but these siblings weren't. Not just were they dismissive of their own life, but of each other's life as well.

Aki put her hand on Evan's forehead. She didn't know why, but her dark feelings of hatred, fear, and guilt were slowly starting to fade as well.

Previews:

Chapter 57: The Wielder of Lost Artifacts

Summary: With Aki joining the team, Evan and his team are sent by Roget to deal with Divine, who, along with his lackey, who have become stronger than ever before. Meanwhile, Levant, Ventus, and Koharu visit the tunnels where Ventus found Avice not long ago. They find the gang whose leader Avice had defeated, but since then, a new leader has managed to take over wielding the power of a pendulum shard. To win their freedom, Levant challenges him to a duel…

Chapter 58: Child of a Lost World

Summary: Evan and his team arrive in Satellite, but the group finds out that Divine has been using a strange artifact to increase his control over others, and has taken control over most of the Security officers in the town. The officers begin a chance against Evan's team, and the boy decides to lure them away so the rest could find Divine and stop him, but the ChronoDevil duelist quickly finds himself surrounded. That's when a newcomer shows up and a duel ensues!

Chapter 59: Reverse of Arcadia

Summary: No longer having security on their trails, Avice and the others, continue advancing on Divine's position. Two former members of the Arcadia Movement called Okita and Liquid stop them and challenge the group to a duel. Fearing that Divine would escape, Avice tells Aki to go, while she and Fujiko start a Tag Duel against Divine's minions.

Chapter 60: Petals of the Lost Rose

Summary: While everybody else is fighting, Aki comes face to face with Divine. The former leader of the Arcadia Movement explains why the people controlling Roget wasn't him dead and gives Aki a chance to rejoin. Knowing of his manipulations, Aki declines and challenges Divine to a duel instead. During the duel, however, Divine uses his power to bring back Aki's dark memories and slowly takes control over her mind. At that moment Evan and Avice's pendant resonate…

Chapter 61: The White Assault

Summary: While most of the Greysons are on Satellite, Elizabeth and Oni pick up a signal from another pendulum shard, but while they try to retrieve it, they encounter a mysterious Duelist who challenges them to a Duel…At the same time, Lua and Ruka are visited by a Tracer calling himself Lucky, who plans to use them to get the Greysons' pendulum fragments.

A/N: First off, before anyone goes off crucifying Avice in the reviews for being a bitch that doesn't care about the life of her brother, there is an explanation about her apathy. No, I won't write it here, but somewhere around the end of the Synchro Arc, you will understand.

Evan also isn't having a great time when he's fighting that has a special power to inflict damage. In the duel against Nightshroud, he got burned alive, in the duel against Berberus he got his insides frozen and got some serious internal bleeding that required a surgery, which rendered him incapable of doing Action Duel acrobatics, and in the duel against Aki, he got beaten pretty badly once again.

About the duel, I only have to say that the reason Assault Mode Activate protects from Black Rose's dragon is that I'm using the anime version of the card. But even if I used the IRL version, the duel would have still ended in Evan's victory (ChronoDevil Mystic-Flare Dragon/Assault Mode gets destroyed, reviving the original, who can attack Black Rose and burn Aki for 2400).

Before I move to the reviews, I want to say that I'm amazed by the fact that I've got 5 reviews in less than a day. Not a very amazing feat, but it means a lot for me, so thanks to everybody who left those reviews!

Findarato: To answer your question: Perhaps? I personally like the idea of Plant monsters being more control focused than beatdown (high ATK), but it depends. One thing that's sure about Aki's deck, however, is that I'll give her Black Rose an evolution at some point.

Guest: The problem with giving Yuya and his counterparts a 1 on 1 duel are the stakes involved, since whoever wins that duel ends up absorbing the other and that's not something I want to do so early on in the Arc.

BlaiseCandell: I'll jump straight to answering the question about the awakening. Maybe? Evan and Avice's awakenings aren't connected to Zarc, so they won't be affected by it directly. Also, I just realized how much I used the word 'Lost'... I guess in the next set of previews I should but a lot of 'found' to balance it out xD

About the newcomer, I'll only say that it's an OC. And that they did appear once in a previous chapter for a very short moment.

Insertname: I'll just remind that Evan has become a mostly unfeeling murderer because of the influence of the True Darkness, so him genuinely carrying about Aki is simply remnants of his original self showing for a short period of time. And yes, Black Rose Garden Dragon is pretty overpowered, but it's YuGiOh so of course, her opponents will have an out to it.

And that's it. Thanks to everyone for reading this chapter, and I'll see you next time. WHICH isn't going to be tomorrow. I do hope to make a few more updates on this story until the end of this month, but I can't promise anything!

Diabolic Tracer out!