I wasn't supposed to win that duel. She should've countered me. I shouldn't have won that duel. It was supposed to just be simple. I lose, I'm locked away, and Akiza moves on to the final round with Yusei with seeds of doubt about Sayer planted in her mind. But... no. I won and stole her position.

I won, and things turned out even worse than they should have.

o ~ o ~ o ~ o

Because of the rain, a recess was called on the duels, with the potential of even having them postponed until the next day. However, it dissipated before long, and staff were hard at work drying the road artificially to fit the Turbo Duel in.

Right... The final duel was decided to be a Turbo Duel. Yusei versus Sylvia.

Yusei absentmindedly fiddled with some of the inner workings of his Runner, checking everything, absolutely everything, to make sure it was in working order. The CPU was a check, the engines were a check, the cooling fluid tank was about half-full, which was more than plenty for just one more duel, and...

His fingers ran over the stainless steel chain connected to the wheels; the one Sylvia had provided him with because his old one was too quick to rust. Something about the cold chains made him almost regret having to go through with this. The way she'd looked during that duel, it was as though she'd completely lost her mind. She just... wasn't herself. He'd only known her for about a month, but he just knew. That wasn't like her.

In fact, that was something he'd have expected more from Akiza. Especially the powers... Sylvia was not in her right mind at all, and those powers... Were they hers? Did she have the same kind of power as Akiza did?

She was saying how she was afraid, and how she'd be locked away once that duel was over. At least, that's as much as he could glean through the howling wind and deafening attacks. He couldn't see Sylvia's face, having approached her from behind, so he couldn't know for sure if she actually even said that or not, nor what her facial expression was, but he could without a doubt see the tear streaks staining her cheeks when he caught her after she collapsed. She was too weak to say too much, but the pain was there, and the message was clear.

This had been burdening her since she came around to him, didn't it?

"We're cursed together... I didn't want to lose you..."

That pretty much confirmed her newfound bond with Akiza. Originally, he had gotten a bad feeling about her, and almost expected to have to face off against her in the final round. Her powers would have been difficult to fight against, but he was confident he could save her and find the real Akiza hidden somewhere in her Black Rose charade. But it seemed Sylvia had beaten him to it, simply by being compassionate and, at the same time, just plain scared.

Her anxiety had gotten worse since he was last with her. He had a strange feeling about the man--the apparent "medic" who took her away, too. He took both Akiza and Sylvia away, and from what he remembered, because of Sylvia's new attachment to Akiza and her strange uniform, it became clear that she'd forgotten him entirely in favor of... well, wherever Akiza came from.

There were also the two boys that were usually seen at her side that he had to take into account as well. They wore matching uniforms like she did, so it wouldn't be a stretch to assume that they were part of that same organization.

Yes, an organization. That felt like an apt description until he had a better name for it.

Yusei's mind was muddled with thoughts as he continued tinkering with his Runner, double- and triple-checking everything to make sure it was in perfect, working order. Because now, he thought, would be the final match. Even if it was friend against friend, something told him, something deep in his heart, that this would not be an easy match.

He couldn't hold back against Sylvia.

A strange itch, in his heart, or the back of his head, or wherever, reminded him that she was still in enemy hands. She'd been so afraid that she almost literally blew her top, in an outburst of emotions that had been bottled up inside for so long they must've gotten painfully potent.

Normally, Yusei would have stuck with his ordinary Turbo deck, but against Sylvia, he couldn't afford to play defensively. He'd seen the damage her new dragon can do, and he knew now that her now-famous combo of Thundery and Rainbowed Canvases was not one to be taken lightly. Her cards could quickly take control of the battlefield, although admittedly it's something he'd only seen with her standing deck, not her Turbo one.

He had seen her Turbo Duel once, on his own Runner, trying to win back the one that was stolen from her. But comparing them now, although they seemed so similar at the time, he realized that it must not have been quite the same. For starters, her Continuous "The Weather" Spell cards had been turned into Traps for the purpose of Turbo Dueling with the same archetype. That was already a rather big change, meaning she had to Set each of her Canvas cards before taking action right away. It also meant that going first would be to her advantage, so that she could set up her cards in advance.

So, in order to keep Sylvia from controlling the field, and thus controlling the duel, he needed to figure out a way to get Thundery and Auroral Canvases off of the field successfully. He didn't want to Synchro Summon Stardust Dragon and attack Thunder, only for her to fight back by sending him back into the Extra Deck.

It was like Compulsory Evacuation Device, but worse, because they could keep coming back. So, more like a Neo-Spacian Grand Mole. Er, something like that.

He was getting distracted.

Normally he would've scolded anyone who interrupted him while he was getting ready for the next duel, but now, despite his supposed tune-ups for his Runner, he was glad for the distraction from his thoughts. Besides, his Runner didn't really need anything. It was an attempt at keeping his hands and mind busy, and it only did half its job.

The door creaked open slowly and nervously, and Yusei could guess without turning around who had come to visit him.

"Um... Yusei?" came Leo's little voice from behind. "I know you're busy, but..."

Yusei tried to hide his sigh of relief as much as he could by standing up and straightening his back, feigning an air of confidence. "Don't worry about it. I just finished up, anyway. Did you need something?"

Leo seemed a little bit more confident in opening the door since he spoke, relieved that he hadn't interrupted or anything. He did, though, and Yusei was grateful for it.

"W-well, Luna and I just... wanted to run something by you real quick," Leo went on, walking further into the garage, his twin sister trailing behind. She seemed kind of nervous, fidgeting with her hands as she refused to meet his gaze, for some reason. "It's... kinda important."

Yusei turned to face the twins with his whole body, providing them his full attention. "Sure," he told them. "As long as it's quick; the match is going to start soon, and I have to reorganize my deck."

Leo nodded. "Yeah, but--it's important! It's about Sylvia, and..."

Yusei's interest was thoroughly piqued. "Sylvia?"

Leo nodded and turned to Luna. "Um, Luna... Maybe you should take over from here..."

Luna rubbed her arm nervously--her Marked arm, Yusei keenly noticed--and took in a shaky breath before she began to talk. "I... I think I remembered something from my past," she said, her voice quiet in the vast, echoing competitors' garage. "...and Sylvia and I... We were childhood friends."

Yusei's eyebrows shot up. "...What...? You mean, before...--"

"--she lost her memory," Luna confirmed, nodding ever-so-slightly, just enough that her pigtails bobbed a little bit. "...yes."

That meant that although Luna had forgotten Sylvia, she remembered her now--Yusei didn't know how, but figured it would be better not to ask, since it seemed personal--but Sylvia would be unlikely to remember Luna, even if she wasn't brainwashed anymore. Her amnesia seemed very serious.

"But... There's another thing, isn't there, Luna?" Leo asked her, his expression cautious and more serious than Yusei had ever seen it.

Luna nodded a little again. "R-right... I... have a bad feeling," she went on. "I'm worried about Sylvia..."

Yusei's gut turned in a way that told him, to his own surprise, that he had almost expected this kind of message from Luna, who seemed to have some kind of supernatural understanding of... well, her cards. Leo seemed to believe her, even if he was just a bit skeptical about it all, simply out of trust in his twin sister, and Luna wholeheartedly believed that this was real. Given the strange things Yusei has seen with the Signer marks and everything, he wouldn't doubt that this was real, too.

He'd expected this kind of message, quite frankly, and dreaded it. There was something that unsettled him about the man who had escorted Sylvia and Akiza, presumably to recover in a hospital wing.

What's worse--or better, Yusei genuinely can't tell--is that the scheduled Turbo Duel is still going to happen. Either that meant Sylvia was better than he'd thought she looked, which she looked absolutely awful, or that they were going to keep going and Sylvia would have a very real chance of crashing, or that whatever was going on, the organizers of the Fortune Cup--Goodwin, he thinks immediately--are working hard to hide the fact that something's wrong, without giving a damn about Sylvia's well-being.

"...I'm worried too," Yusei finally admitted to the twins after a long stretch of silence. "That's why I have to make this work."

He didn't know what "this" was, or why it had to work, but the basic goal was to rescue Sylvia, if... he could do such a thing. Honestly, he didn't know what to expect with this duel, but he had a feeling it wouldn't be anything good.

Luna and Leo exchanged worried looks before they both stared up at Yusei with pleading faces. "Please help my friend," Luna asked him. "Well--our friend. Please help our friend, Yusei. I'm really worried; I think something's very wrong with her..."

Wrong with her? Yusei would've understood before, when she acted like she didn't know him at all, but clearly she knew him now. Still, he took Luna's warning to heart and nodded.

"I promise," he said, kneeling and resting a hand on both Luna and Leo's shoulders. "I promise I will do what I can for her." As if I wasn't going to already.

Luna and Leo looked reassured by this, and they even exchange tentative smiles. The twins gave Yusei their reassured smiles or pumps of excitement respectively before wishing him luck and nearly stepping out of the garage again.

However, Leo hesitated before leaving, and turned to meet Yusei again, who's now pulled his Turbo Deck out of its holster and started looking through his cards. "Ummm... Yusei?" Leo asked.

Yusei turned to him, with a hum of acknowledgement.

"How're you gonna beat her deck?"

"Leo, let him focus," Luna said from within the doorway. "We're distracting him now."

"It's just a question! I'm curious!" Leo protested.

Leo was rewarded with a thoughtful hum from Yusei, who looked wistfully down at his cards. There was a sizable pause between then and when he began to speak again, but in the end, Yusei sighed and shook his head. "To be honest, Leo... I have no idea."

Leo's eyes widened, genuinely shocked and surprised. "What?! But you're Yusei! You have to win! Besides, you're the one who's known her longest, right? You gotta have a good defense against her deck."

By now, even Luna had been surprised by Yusei's answer, and was curious enough to stop leaving in the doorway to wait for him to respond.

Yusei shook his head, though. "I've only seen her Turbo Duel twice," he said. "Once on her own, and once with me. Both duels were too short to gauge her true skills and her cards. But despite that, they seem similar to her standing Deck, which on its own is hard to beat." He'd need nuke cards to destroy her monsters and Canvases, and even then, there was still the unaccounted power of her Sky Dragon, which, almost like a canvas, could be painted into whatever kind of monster Sylvia wanted, offensive, defensive, or even balanced, all depending on which monsters she Synchro Summoned it with.

It was almost like a fusion, in a sense, but only similar in the way that Junk Warrior had to be Synchro Summoned with Junk Synchron, specifically.

From the time he'd spent with her in the Satellite, Yusei could tell that although she wasn't as up-to-date on Duel Runners as he was, she at least knew the basics and was willing to help. She seemed to look up to him a lot, and believe in him in a way that was admittedly quite similar to how Rally looked up to him. On the contrary, when asked to duel herself, she had always deflected the requests with self-deprecating comments such as "You'd be bored with me as your opponent," or "I'd just lose in an instant," as if she'd thoroughly believed that.

Yusei wasn't as certain as Sylvia was that she was such a poorly skilled duelist. He'd seen her hold her own in Turbo Duels, although admittedly, they had technically been stacked in her favor. Her first Turbo Duel opponent was a complete novice who had simply thought her Duel Runner was cool-looking and stolen it, and then her second one, Yusei had teamed up with her. Actually, even the duel she had against that Professor guy seemed almost rigged, like he was going easy on her on purpose.

The only real duel it seemed she'd won on her own--was it her own?--power was against Akiza, when she knocked her Life Points down from 4000 to none instantly. And that was out of sheer rage. Fear? Both?

He'd nearly forgotten that Leo and Luna were both there until they started humming with their own sounds of thinking, too. It wasn't until Luna's head perked up and she gasped, however, that Yusei really paid much attention to them at all.

"Rainbow Kuriboh...?" Luna looked around at thin air, as though she'd heard something. More than likely, she had.

Rainbow Kuriboh, no less. Yusei flipped through his deck until he found the card Sylvia had given him; a cry for help. "You mean this?" he asked, revealing it to Luna.

Leo's eyes widened. "Wait, wasn't that in Sylvia's deck before? She discarded it when the Professor made her, right?"

Luna nodded. "Rainbow Kuriboh's really worried, too. He says he senses something," she explained. "Something... dark and powerful has taken her."

Taken her? Yusei shook his head. "Worrying about it now isn't going to get me any more prepared for my duel with her now," he finally decided. "I have to rearrange my cards so that I can defeat her Weather Painters. You guys should return to your seats."

The twins finally nodded, and without any more hesitation in their steps, they closed the door behind them, leaving Yusei alone with nothing but his cards and Duel Runner in the garage.

Alone and pressured to not only win this duel to get to Jack, but to save Sylvia so that she could feel safe again.

o ~ o ~ o ~ o

Some time had passed. Over half an hour later, the intermission was over, and it was time for the next match. Yusei didn't feel any more prepared than he did then, but he had no choice. Despite mulling over the effects of her cards as he prepared his deck, he didn't have any real plan for defeating her. His deck, with the cards he had on hand, was the best that it could possibly be right now, and as scary as it was--as frustrating as it was--to think that he might not even make it past the finals before getting payback for Jack's actions, he had to scold himself, that now wasn't the time to be thinking of something so selfish.

Yusei had never claimed to be a perfect human being, but even now, when his friend was clearly in some kind of danger, all he could think about was himself, it seemed. Some friend he was turning out to be.

"Duelists young and old, professional and amateur alike, welcome back to the final match of this Fortune Cup tournament! This one will definitely be a doozy, because both of the competitors have made a huge impact on us today! First, let me introduce, the man who rules the duel, the shooting star of the Satellite! The one, the only, Yusei Fudoooo!"

His garage opened up and Yusei revved his engine, kicking off as powerfully as he could, and he leaped through the smoke machines spewing showy effects just beneath the garage door opening. Landing back on the concrete was a breeze, and steering around in a way to make the crowd cheer wildly took nearly no effort whatsoever. All he needed to do was complete a single lap before stopping at the starting line.

Before he could, though, the MC introduced Sylvia, next. "And his opponent, an unlikely contestant! The mysterious maiden, who seems gentle as a breeze at first, but strikes with ferocious tenacity! Please welcome the Painter in Pink, Sylvia Reviar!"

And suddenly, the crowd had gone from emphatically cheering to booing in an instant, Yusei's name still fresh on their lips. It made him feel sick, how quickly people could just change their minds. At first, they'd been so eager about Sylvia's presence and so... disgusted by his. Now, the situation had flipped completely. People were even calling her a witch now, as if she was the same as Akiza.

Was this how Sylvia felt during her duel against her?

When the opponent's garage had opened to reveal his opponent, riding her pristine white Runner with rainbow decals on the sides, at first, Yusei felt his heart skip a beat. He'd been nervous about meeting her face-to-face now, but to think he'd actually be her opponent, the adrenaline was starting to catch up to him faster than it usually did. He was going against a deck that he had almost no power against, especially with how strangely it worked.

Banish monsters, activate effects, and almost--no, none of them included destroying cards, which was the only opening Yusei had for a counterattack, especially with Stardust Dragon.

Originally, he was going to save Stardust Dragon for when he was going to duel against Jack. However, this was important, and he had a feeling Stardust would be excited to meet Sylvia, too.

Luna's been rubbing off on me.

Yusei was the first to reach the starting line and stopped, of course, but when Sylvia pulled up, there was something in his eyes that... scared him, a little. It didn't scare him because he thought he couldn't handle it--he already knew he was way in over his head, but he trusted his instincts, and he'd found plenty of trouble before this and come out... mostly fine. No, he was... less scared and more afraid for Sylvia, that there was something dark in her eyes that he'd never seen before, and that it was so different from herself that it felt unnatural.

It almost felt like the way she was in the match before, when she'd lost her mind.

"Sylvia," Yusei tried to speak. "Can you hear me? Are you alright to duel?"

Silence. The arena itself wasn't silent, but Yusei had already tuned out the cheering of the people asking Yusei to kick her ass, or of the MC describing the rules of a Turbo Duel, and the music in the background. To Yusei, there was only one voice right now that mattered, and that was Sylvia's.

"Sylvia?" he tried again.

Her eyes flicked to his with a sharpness Yusei had never seen. What was ordinarily a cheerful cerulean in her eyes had turned into a dull gray-green, almost hazel. It was keen, it was calculating, and it was deadly and soulless.

"All that matters here is my victory," Sylvia's voice spat, as though talking to a repulsive stranger. "For the Arcadia Movement."

Arcadia Movement... Yusei had been expecting something to be wrong, but this... Despite understanding the possible dangers going into this duel, he was still shocked to a standstill, and he couldn't say another word before the duel had to begin.

"Duelists, start your engines! Activate your Speed World Field Spells!"

This was it. There was no turning back. Whatever Sylvia was going through in her head, Yusei had to deal with it now. As her opponent, as her friend, and... well, as her companion.

As something a little bit more than friends, but certainly different from romance. Something almost... familial.

A guardian, perhaps? Yusei didn't know.

The countdown began, and Yusei revved his engine, drew his hand, and spared one last glance at Sylvia. Her own helmet, white with matching decals on her sides that almost looked like rainbow feathers, just like on her Runner, and near-indigo visor blocking his clear view of her face seemed a lot more cheerful and bright than she was. Too much of a contrast.

It fit Sylvia as she was before, but not as she was now.

The countdown finished far too quickly, and Yusei nearly fumbled in taking off while Sylvia shot ahead of him. In the end, she was the one who got the first turn, so Yusei was forced to go second.

"DUEL!"

Sylvia: 4000
Yusei: 4000

"Draw," Sylvia's voice played in his helmet, connected automatically. "I summon The Weather Painter Cloud in Attack Mode."

She wasted no time in getting them out on the field, Yusei noticed. Of course, she couldn't risk putting them in the center of the field, given what he remembered of her deck, so she'd placed Cloud cautiously to her center-right.

"Then I place one card face-down and end my turn."

Yusei would bet a Skyline that face-down was a Canvas card, and one he especially didn't want smack-dab in the center where she left it.

Thundery or Rainbowed Canvas. One of those two, it seems.

Yusei hesitated only for a moment before drawing his card. Sylvia's behavior was unnatural now. It wasn't like before, where she still seemed like herself, but didn't remember him. Now, she was completely different. Her playing style didn't change, but...

He couldn't think too much into it yet. Yusei drew the top card of his deck and began his turn. "Draw."

Sylvia: 1
Yusei: 1

After a quick scan of his hand, Yusei chose a card and played it. "I summon Ghost Gardna in Defense Mode!" he declared as his monster appeared before him, coated in blue.

Ghost Gardna: 1900 DEF

It'd hold out for one attack from Cloud, technically--or most of any of her other monsters, for that matter--but if that was Thundery Canvas out on the field, Yusei knew he wouldn't have that defense for long, especially if Sylvia decided to play Thunder right beside Cloud.

He could only do what he needed to now. Start off with a good defense, and if anything goes wrong, trust in his cards.

Trust in his cards, and in Sylvia.

"I place two cards face-down and end my turn."

The MC was babbling something about a slow start, but Yusei didn't care enough to listen.

Sylvia didn't miss a beat, drawing her cards and increasing their Speed Counters. "My turn!"

Sylvia: 2
Yusei: 2

"I summon The Weather Painter Rain in Attack Position," Sylvia went on, placing her in the center.

Rain appeared, her layered dress fluttering like a waterfall or cascade, completely stoic and neutral-faced next to her androgynous sibling in their formal suit. Yusei never noticed it before, but Cloud wielded a whole fountain pen and even held a little ink bottle to dip it into that sometimes floated behind them when they needed both hands to attack with their weapon.

He'd never noticed those small details before. Back in the Satellite, it was always Sylvia who marveled over their friends' cards, trying to draw them and succeeding with some, but... well, failing with most, just because of how complex they were. She could, of course, draw the simpler ones with nearly no problem, and Yusei remembered her one time interrupting him to shyly present a drawing of Snow hitting her airbrush because it seemed to have run out of ink. The pose, detail, clothing, everything looked good, and so of course, it wasn't that Sylvia couldn't draw well. Duel Monsters' designs were simply too complex, and Yusei had never noticed until Sylvia pointed it out.

Now, he couldn't help seeing the small details that he wouldn't have bothered noticing before, but Sylvia didn't care at all. The look in her eyes was one that Yusei was almost entirely unfamiliar with. Looking straight ahead, with a clear goal in mind, but it was almost as though she had no will. There was no passion in her eyes, no matter how determined she looked. It wasn't her.

She didn't even spare a second glance at her monsters, if just to look at them, think about them, or anything. Nothing seemed to matter to her but the road.

"Battle."

Yusei was forced out of his inner musings when Sylvia declared the Battle Phase, Rain preparing to attack.

"Rain attacks Ghost Gardna."

She didn't call out Rain's attack name, simply attacking as though it were normal. Yusei grimaced. If she was declaring an attack on a monster with higher Defense Points than her Attack Points, that could only mean...

"Activate Trap, The Weather Thundery Canvas."

He knew it.

Rain was suddenly coated in lightning, and when she struck Ghost Gardna, it jolted back and disappeared, forcing Yusei to add it back to his hand. Then, Rain disappeared into the Canvas, too.

"Cloud attacks directly."

Again, Sylvia didn't bother with the attack name, and Yusei was practically wide open. When Cloud dipped their fountain pen in their ink bottle and charged, coated in purple light, Yusei had to act fast before he'd just lost some precious Life Points.

"I activate my Trap! Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" Thankfully, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow popped up just in time for Cloud's attack to be intercepted, and a similarly violet barrier was created around Yusei until Cloud returned to their duelist's side. "I'm sure you remember what that does, right, Sylvia?"

Sylvia didn't respond, and Yusei bit his lip, flipping his card back face-down.

"I end my turn."

He wanted to think of something to say to Sylvia, to snap her out of... whatever it was. But in reality, Yusei hadn't known Sylvia very well.

She'd spent almost as much time in that uniform as she did with Yusei and his friends in the Satellite. She seemed keen on staying by Yusei's side, and as much as Yusei hated to admit it, he grew attached to her a lot quicker than he felt he should. She had a kind of light about her, something that was rarely found in anyone anymore.

Her sincerity was worrying to Yusei at first. There was almost no one in the world as sincere as she clearly proved to be. No one was just that kind without some kind of ulterior motive. Playing the damsel in distress, looking unassuming... At first, he was distrustful of her out of fear that she'd manipulate him and his friends. She must've had some kind of ill intent if she just popped up out of nowhere, right?

But... she made mistakes. She was reckless at first, running away as though that would make her presence any easier to bear, and she was even scared to duel before. When she was caught humming a tune she made for the first time, Rally had to spend an entire hour getting her to stop hiding under her blanket, and since then, no one had the heart to tell her they heard her when she sang. When Rally approached her one morning, she was scribbling something down on a piece of paper, except instead of a drawing, it was words.

"What's this?" he'd asked, and Sylvia would explain how it was a story of a lost girl, alone in a big city, and how she didn't know how to make her way around the world on her own. When Rally showed genuine interest, while Yusei couldn't help overhearing as he worked, Sylvia went on a long tangent, explaining her character's personality, values, beliefs, and the theme and concept of her story; a story of growth, coming of age, learning to adapt, and eventually, finding friends. She'd been stuck on that part, though, because she couldn't think of any satisfactory personalities to put faces to. She'd been considering Rally and the others as good candidates for inspiration, but...

Well, the point is, she was clearly passionate about what she did, and what she loved. The little things she did, the mistakes she made; everything gave the real Sylvia away. When she snuck in some new parts for Yusei's Runner, holding that core in her hands with no idea what to do with it, that was the final step Yusei needed to see that, really, she was actually harmless, and she did genuinely want to help.

Her love, her words, her actions, everything about her was genuine. She had a love for her cards, too, and a clear admiration for Yusei. It was why she followed him so far.

There were some things about her he would never understand. For some reason, Sylvia seemed to think it was important to try winning duels by being kind. Unfortunately, that's just not how the world worked, especially in the Satellite and New Domino City. Sylvia wouldn't make it very far on those ideals, Yusei had thought.

But instead, Sylvia won a duel by allowing her opponent to use Speed Spell cards, and she'd gone out of her way to save someone clearly dead-set on capturing them and taking them in. If it were Yusei in his position, Trudge would've been left to rot with the trash. Hell, he would've almost given anything to see that. But Sylvia wouldn't accept her victory in that way.

She also won against Akiza using her heart, too, it seemed. Despite the... circumstances of her victory, Sylvia reached out to Akiza, convinced her that they were friends, and...

...and since that moment, she wasn't the same. Not since she was taken away by those damn men.

The Arcadia Movement, was it? Perhaps Sylvia was rebelling against them and they decided to silence her somehow. This is how.

Speculating wouldn't get Yusei anywhere, and he knew that, but still. Despite being close to her, and despite seemingly knowing quite a bit about her, as he tried to hone in on her general nature as a person... Despite all of that, he couldn't think of the right thing to say to her.

Here she was, struggling, in need of saving, when she'd been so eager to support him before despite the clear distrust Yusei was treating her with, and now he couldn't think of a single word. What kind of a friend was he? Was their bond even strong enough?

Yusei couldn't afford to wait any longer. He drew his card and began his next turn.

"I draw."

He wouldn't be able to save her if he didn't win this duel. And that meant stopping her at all costs.

When he swiped a card from the top of his deck, Yusei hadn't expected to encounter his new card so soon. However, he had added it for the sole purpose of stopping Sylvia's deck, as scummy as it felt. He hated locking her down like this, but her effects were so roundabout and flexible that it was nigh impossible to perfectly counter them unless he had a way to stop her from activating the effects in the first place.

Hence his newly drawn card, Imperial Iron Wall, to prevent both players from banishing monsters. If she couldn't banish them, she couldn't activate the effects they needed, and that meant they'd be forced to stay on the field, and their Canvases would be rendered useless.

Of course, no good deck had only one trick to it, and Yusei knew that. However, that was the main strategy of Sylvia's deck. She was a good duelist; she paid attention to others, set up her field to lock them down, and although it was clear she was still learning, she was slowly gathering up the right cards to pull together a full win for herself. However, Sylvia was... admittedly almost like Leo, in a way. She was a bit inexperienced, and although her deck was strong and had loads of potential, she still had quite a bit to go before she could challenge literally anyone. As long as her opponent had a card like Imperial Iron Wall, Sylvia wouldn't be able to win. Yusei would normally try to help her find a counter to that.

Now, Yusei only hoped she didn't have Mystical Space Typhoon to get rid of it.

Sylvia: 3
Yusei: 3

"The Weather Painter Rain returns from having removed Ghost Gardna, thanks to Thundery Canvas."

Rain came back in Attack Mode, in the same position as before, wielding her marker pen neutrally and glaring at Yusei as though he was just any other opponent. He supposed he was.

It was now or never. Yusei hung tight to his card for now and grabbed Quillbolt Hedgehog. "I Summon Quillbolt Hedgehog in Defense Mode," he announced. "Then I place one card face-down and end my turn."

Something seemed to click in Sylvia's head then, and her tone, which had been coldly neutral before, gained a heated, sharper edge.

"Something wrong?" she asked him, taunting. "You took all that time deliberating; I thought you would've made a proper move against me."

Yusei's gaze hardened as he hung just a bit behind Sylvia. "Focus on your own turn," he simply said. "And don't underestimate me."

Sylvia huffed and drew her card without hesitation. "My turn."

Sylvia: 4
Yusei: 4

Something stopped her, though. She drew that card and nearly flinched, as though she'd heard something just barely enough to capture her attention. It was only a small moment, though, and Yusei had no idea what to make of it.

She swiftly carried out her next move.

"I activate the Speed Spell, Speed Fusion."

No!

Yusei had forgotten Sylvia also had a Fusion Monster in her deck. The Weather Painter Rainbow, right? She'd used it so rarely he'd forgotten, but Rainbow was fairly powerful. Stardust Dragon could only defeat it in battle by a small margin.

"I send Rain, Cloud, and from my hand, Sun, to the Graveyard in order to Fusion Summon!" she declared, with a confidence she didn't normally have.

Her three monsters gathered together, glowing in their respective lights in order to come together. Their powers merged, with a glowing sun in the center, surrounded by water droplets and little cloudlets, and soon they began to take a distinctive shape. The flow of Rainbow's dress, her hair, her cape, and gathering from all around her, seven-colored tubes of paint that orbited around her in unison.

Rainbow appeared, as daunting a presence as Yusei had ever imagined she'd be. He'd only seen her through the monitor his friends had set up when Sylvia Turbo Dueled in his Duel Runner, but even through the screen she looked stunning. Now, Yusei was almost overwhelmed by her presence alone, radiating a pure light that, frankly, clashed with Sylvia's current behavior.

She was like a goddess from the heavens, except a painter.

Rainbow: 2400 ATK

"Battle!" Sylvia declared. "Rainbow attacks Quillbolt Hedgehog!"

"I activate a Trap!" Yusei countered. "Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!"

With a frustrated grunt, Sylvia was forced to watch Rainbow attack Quillbolt Hedgehog, only for Yusei's Trap to create a barrier around it just like it did before. Yusei survived, but he could only hold on so long before Sylvia did something to counter him.

At least, he thought so...

"I place one card face-down and end my turn."

Just like before, she'd placed it all the way in the corner. It still felt a little bit odd to see such strange card placement, but of course, it must've been perfectly normal for her.

Focus. You can't let yourself get this deep in thought. Not only do you have to duel with everything you've got, you also have to save Sylvia. Call out to her; reach out like you did before!

Yusei shook his mind awake and drew. "I draw!"

Not bad. It wasn't perfect, but for now, it'll do. He has to survive until he can Synchro Summon.

Sylvia: 5
Yusei: 5

Say something. Say something!

"I remember something you told me once, Sylvia," Yusei tried. "It seemed like a one-off comment at first, but it led me to understand your beliefs, and your way of thinking, quite a bit. Do you remember what it was?"

Sylvia scoffed. "What purpose would I have for that? The Arcadia Movement is all that matters."

"Well, I disagree. You taught me something very valuable and very precious. In fact, it was a rare thing, to find someone like you."

There was a hesitant pause, but... "I couldn't have taught you anything. My worth is meaningless."

She was still in there somewhere. Some of her real thoughts were leaking out; at least, that's what Yusei hoped. And if she was still in there, all he had to do was dig a little deeper to find her. "You're wrong!" he declared. "If you don't remember, I'll remind you! Tank told you that you can't win every duel by being kind. Do you know what your response was?"

A beat. She was silent, as though debating how to answer. If she knew how to answer, Yusei wouldn't have to.

He could feel a fluttering somewhere in his heart. A feeling, a flicker of hope, that maybe I can reach her, and maybe she's not long gone. It was because of that reason that Yusei had come to the painful realization that he'd nearly given up on her.

You can't give up on her yet. Even if it seems hopeless, still reach out, still try to grab her attention.

Yusei examined his hand for but a moment before continuing with his devised plan. "I Summon Speed Warrior in Attack Mode! Then, I activate the Speed Spell, Reactor Pod!"

Speed Warrior: 900 ATK

"With Reactor Pod, I can select a monster on my field with 1000 or fewer Attack Points and deal you damage equal to their Attack. And I choose Speed Warrior!"

Speed Warrior launched an energy attack at Sylvia, despite his usual physical attack, and Sylvia flinched as she took the damage.

Sylvia: 3100

"Battle! Speed Warrior's effect activates!" Yusei gestured to his Speed Warrior, which was already glowing in its power-up aura. "Speed Warrior's Attack Points double on the Battle Phase of the turn it was Summoned!"

Speed Warrior: 1800 ATK

"Speed Warrior, attack The Weather Painter Rainbow!" Yusei commanded. His Speed Warrior skated on air, coming at Aurora with a posture that was ready for battle. "Hyper Sonic Slash!"

Speed Warrior attacked Rainbow, twirling on its hands so that its feet struck her, just like usual. But, of course, Rainbow was stronger. Yusei had almost hoped he could bait Sylvia into using Thundery Canvas's effect, but even if that didn't work, he still had a plan.

Sylvia didn't miss the chance to cause free damage to Yusei, though, and Rainbow deflected Speed Warrior's attack with a rainbow barrier she painted from thin air, then her floating paint tubes gathered together in a circle in front of her and, at the command of her paintbrush, shot beams of powerful light to destroy Yusei's attacking monster.

Yusei: 3400

Speed Warrior's attack wouldn't be in vain, Yusei thought to himself. Sylvia would come to her senses, one way or another.

Despite having taken damage from the attack, and although Yusei could feel the questioning gaze of... to be frank, more than ten-thousand people in the audience, he still maintained an air of confidence.

"I end my turn."

"What was the point of that?" Sylvia asked. "What did you hope to gain by attacking my monster?"

Yusei didn't answer her question. Instead, he asked, "Do you remember what you told us that day yet, Sylvia? You said it again, much later, when you split off from me. Go ahead; tell me what it was."

She scoffed. "I have no need for such useless memories," she spat coldly. "All that matters is the Arcadia Movement."

When I find out where that damn building is I'm going to storm it and drag you out of there if I have to. Akiza too, for that matter.

Sylvia drew her next card, as though she was satisfied with the answer she gave him.

Sylvia: 6
Yusei: 6

"I place one card face-down, and then..." Sylvia turned her harsh gaze toward Yusei, stale-green meeting ocean blue. "Rainbow attacks Quillbolt Hedgehog!"

But again, she was attacking recklessly, as though she could do anything about it. She knew about Yusei's face-down Scrap-Iron Scarecrow by now, didn't she?

"Scrap-Iron Scarecrow negates your attack!"

She gave an annoyed scoff, but Yusei didn't flip his Scarecrow face-down yet. He still needed to see Sylvia's reaction to it.

"Sylvia, listen to me! Do you remember the card I gave you for good luck back then? Back when you won your Duel Runner back from the thief?" Yusei pushed. "Scrap-Iron Scarecrow is in your deck somewhere too, isn't it? It's in there, somewhere, and it's close to you!"

"Shut up!" she cried. "I don't care about you! All that matters is the Movement! All that matters is Sayer, and you're getting in my way!"

"Is that really what you think?!" Yusei tried to pull up closer to Sylvia, but she avoided him as much as she could with the fixed speed of her Speed Counters. "Try and remember the friends who're so close to you!"

She shook her head violently, as though the action would force some hateful thought from her head. "Shut up! I end my turn! Just go already!"

Yusei felt his confidence welling up. "Gladly!"

He drew, and their Speed Counters went up.

Sylvia: 7
Yusei: 7

At this point, they were at an impasse, although who knew how long it would last. All Sylvia needed to do was summon another Weather Painter and attack Quillbolt Hedgehog, and then there would only be Scrap-Iron Scarecrow to stop him from taking damage from her ace Fusion Monster.

But Yusei had just drawn the perfect monster. His heart beat fast, he clutched his card, and his smile, however small, was enough to throw Sylvia off guard again.

With the vigor he'd shown all his opponents prior, Yusei placed his card next to Quillbolt Hedgehog. "I summon Junk Synchron in Attack Mode!"

As Junk Synchron appeared, Sylvia seemed to cringe, or... something. It was almost as though she was fighting herself in her own thoughts. Yusei hoped that was the case. If she was being brain-controlled somehow, he'd want Sylvia to fight through it.

Junk Synchron: 1300 ATK

He hated to admit it, but all evidence pointed that way. Sylvia wouldn't have done all of this otherwise. She was so scared... Yusei had to step up to help her. He owed it to her, for forgiving him even when he thought the worst of her.

"Junk Synchron's effect allows me to Special Summon a Level 2 or lower monster from the Graveyard, so say hello to the Speed Warrior you destroyed last turn!"

Speed Warrior arrived and folded itself into a defensive position, just on the other side of Quillbolt Hedgehog.

Speed Warrior: 400 DEF

"And now, I tune Speed Warrior with my Junk Synchron! Let's rev it up!" Yusei watched proudly as his monsters came together, three rings and two stars, to create a brilliant light from which he summoned one of his signature monsters. "The stars come together to light the way. Become the path that lights the way! I Synchro Summon, Junk Warrior!"

"Junk Warrior..." he heard Sylvia mumble under her breath, thanks to her helmet's microphone picking it up. Yusei almost wanted to ask if she remembered him, but he held back. Not yet.

Junk Warrior struck its signature pose, and Yusei went on. "When Junk Warrior's Synchro Summoned, it gains the attack of all Level 2 or below monsters on the field, and I think you see where this is going!"

Quillbolt Hedgehog stood and offered some of its power to Junk Warrior, who gladly accepted it and added it to its own.

Junk Warrior: 3100 ATK

Sylvia didn't seem too terribly upset, but Yusei was sure she would be after Junk Warrior fought.

Unfortunately, he didn't really get that chance. Not just yet, anyway.

"I activate Rainbow's effect! When you Special Summon a monster, I can banish her to negate the summon and destroy your Summoned card!"

Perfect.

"I don't think so!" Yusei countered easily. "I activate my Trap, Imperial Iron Wall!"

"What?!" Sylvia actually looked back now, genuinely surprised. She clearly hadn't been expecting Yusei's lockdown.

"Sorry," he said to her. "But I won't be allowing you to activate any more of your Canvas's or Weather Painters' abilities anymore. Imperial Iron Wall's effect prevents us both from banishing our monsters!"

As his card revealed itself, the Imperial Iron Wall itself formed a back line behind Sylvia, blocking her Painter's access from the Canvas cards. Even now, Rainbow was being suppressed of her own ability by a somewhat dark aura, and Sylvia was left with her mouth agape.

Did she really have no counter to this? It almost felt too easy.

Yusei remembered thinking Sylvia's deck was nearly unbeatable, but all he had to do was think about it from a different angle. If he stopped her from banishing her cards, she couldn't activate their effects. On the other hand, they couldn't come back if he was the one to banish them, either, and they didn't particularly have the most Attack or Defense Points. If he prevented them from activating those effects or destroyed the Canvas cards, all he needed to do was simply destroy her monsters, and they'd have trouble coming back from the Graveyard.

In reality, her deck, as flexible-looking and creatively built as it was, was... not actually that hard to beat, especially if Yusei got an early start on chipping away at her strategy.

Well... He still had to defeat her, one way or another. That Trap in the corner worried him a little bit, but the second Trap she'd set was most likely another Canvas card, which would be useless now.

"Battle! Junk Warrior, attack Rainbow! Scrap Fist!"

Junk Warrior, skating through the air on ice blades, twisted and pulled back its fist, preparing for a powerful attack. However, just before he could hit Rainbow with it...

"Activate Trap! Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!"

"What?!"

Junk Warrior was stopped in its tracks by a familiar Trap, which Sylvia activated in... what almost looked to Yusei like melancholy. The trap defended Rainbow, preventing Junk Warrior from defeating it this turn.

There was almost a kind of recognition in her eyes when she played that card, her eyes wide as she did, but she didn't say anything more. She simply swallowed--Yusei could hear her quivering breath--as she waited for his next move.

There was a long beat. The two rode in momentary silence, ignoring the world around them. The crowd was only interested in the speed of the duel, and the flashy attacks and low Life Points. Yusei was on the cusp of getting his friend back.

"...Sylvia? Do you remember Junk Warrior?" he finally asked.

Sylvia didn't answer, but her breath's hitch was more than enough for him.

"Do you remember what you told me back then? Back when Tank told you you can't win every duel just by being nice?" Another pause with no answer. "You said that maybe you couldn't win, but you could certainly try. You didn't even mean a literal duel when you said that. Any conflict, any one at all, could've been a 'duel' to you, and you still would've tried to pull through on your ideals alone. You were the one who made the choice to save Trudge when I felt it'd be safer for us to leave him behind. You were the one who turned the world on its head when I saw you offering Speed Spells to your enemy, who'd stolen your own property from you. And again, you dueled with everything you had to try and win with your heart. That was all you."

"I..."

"Finding someone like you is a rarity, Sylvia. I know you don't know who you were before, and maybe the amnesia had a lot to do with it, but even so, this isn't the real you! Even from what little I've seen of you, I know you're not the kind of person to do this!" he went on. "So no matter what you say now, I'm going to bring you back. I'm going to make sure you remember who I am, and I'll take your advice to heart, too. This time, I'm going to win you back, using nothing but my heart and my cards!"

Sylvia suddenly changed again. Her gaze was cold and hard when she turned her head back just a little bit to look back at her opponent. "That's a nice little friendship speech you gave there. When will you end your turn?"

Yusei gritted his teeth. "Don't play dumb with me! You know what I'm talking about!"

"I don't care! Shut up, shut up shut UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" She drew a card, eyes wide in some kind of crazed mania. "I draw!"

Sylvia: 8
Yusei: 8

"I summon The Weather Painter Rain!" she cried, slapping her card down haphazardly.

Yusei winced. Her poor cards...

Rain appeared on the field again, a second copy of the one she'd used as a Fusion Material Monster before, and adjusted her glasses, right next to Rainbow.

Rain: 1200 ATK

"Now I activate The Weather Wintry Canvas and attack! Rain, take out Quillbolt Hedgehog!"

She must've figured there was no point in hiding it, if it wasn't going to do her any good, so Sylvia had quickly flipped Wintry Canvas face-up and dived in for the attack. Of course, Yusei didn't let her finish.

"Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!"

Quillbolt Hedgehog was saved yet again, but Sylvia wasn't done. Rain wasn't her only monster, after all.

"Now, Rainbow! Destroy his damn hedgehog!"

Yusei was frankly unprepared to hear Sylvia say anything even remotely... bad like that, but she seemed genuinely pissed off. Rainbow's attack destroyed Quillbolt Hedgehog for good, but, Yusei thought thankfully, that only meant that he was safe behind Junk Warrior now.

"Yusei Fudo..." Sylvia's voice growled uncharacteristically. It was such a harsh, unexpected thing from her, that he felt a shiver run down his spine, although he'd never admit it aloud. "Yusei Fudo, you will not take my puppet from me! I still need this protege for her talents! You've broken her free once, and it won't happen again! You won't take Sylvia away from me!"

Right. That wasn't Sylvia. Not in her own mind, at least. Yusei glared, as harshly as he could, at the person behind Sylvia's mind.

"I don't know who you are or what this 'Arcadia Movement' is, but I'm taking my friend back. Messing with her will be the last mistake you make!" Yusei proclaimed with confidence. "I'll bring her back with my own strength! I draw!"

Sylvia(?): 9
Yusei: 9

"I activate the Speed Spell, Shift Down!" Yusei's Runner automatically slowed drastically behind Sylvia's, and his Speed Counters cut down by 6.

Yusei: 3

"By paying 6 Speed Counters, I can draw two cards," Yusei went on, as if he needed to. "And now..."

Please... I need help.

Yusei put everything in his cards, then drew two at once. A peek, and now...

Perfect!

Turbo Booster and Rainbow Kuriboh. He almost felt a tugging in his heart, or heard something just barely out of his auditory range, but he was happy. These two cards would be the perfect cards to help win the duel.

He plucked a card he already owned from his hand and played it. "I summon Hyper Synchron in Attack Mode!" Yusei called.

Hyper Synchron was a Level 4 Tuner Monster, so he already had a near-perfect monster to bring out Stardust Dragon. Maybe seeing Stardust Dragon would affect Sylvia the way it had his friends. They'd all been in awe, and Sylvia, although she saw it once from the audience stand, might reach out to him if she sensed Stardust Dragon.

Especially if she was a Signer, like Yanagi and Luna said. Luna might not have known what a Signer really was, nor did she understand it when she described Sylvia's glowing mark to him, but Yusei knew full well. Her arm was scarred and marred and just grotesque-looking in general, but her mark was definitely there. Rally had bandaged it, and so had her two Arcadia Movement friends. After all, Yusei had first spoken to her in the tournament after she'd gotten her bandages changed.

I can't imagine just how much it must hurt for you to activate your mark, Yusei thought grimly. He'd seen it bleed before. It was bleeding when he caught her after her explosion of power, and the rain must've made it worse, too. But now, she'd had a repaired uniform, or a brand-new one, and her sleeves covered her mark. There was no way of knowing now, how she felt.

"With Turbo Booster's effect, when I successfully summon a monster onto the field this turn, I can Special Summon it to my field as well!" Yusei went on, placing his newly drawn monster. "I hope you didn't forget our mutual friend, Sylvia. Rally would be ashamed if you'd forgotten him, you know."

A moment's hesitation while Turbo Booster spawned on the field, adjusting its yellow cannons as they aimed at Sylvia, and Yusei figured he had a chance to bring her back.

Turbo Booster: 0 ATK

"Battle! Hyper Synchron, attack Rain!" Yusei commanded, swinging his arm to the side.

Rain had been placed in Attack Mode, so Yusei at least had a chance to chip away at her Life Points. It wasn't as though she was just going to use Scrap-Iron Scarecrow on Rain and leave Rainbow to be destroyed, consequently taking more damage. Yusei knew that much.

Hyper Synchron attacked and successfully destroyed Rain, and Sylvia's Life Points took a little hit.

Sylvia: 2700

It was only 400 Life Points, but even that much was reassuring. Yusei would break through Sylvia's defenses and go all-in.

"Now!" he went on. "Junk Warrior, attack The Weather Painter Rainbow! Scrap Fist!"

"Activate... A-activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!"

Another negated attack, but Junk Warrior had still battled this turn. Yusei kept his eyes trained on the quivering duelist in front of him. "Thanks to Turbo Booster's effect, since Junk Warrior battled one of your monsters, it can Tribute itself in order to destroy your monster that battled mine this turn. So, Sylvia, say goodbye to your Weather Painter Rainbow!"

Junk Warrior loaded itself onto Turbo Booster's cannons and attacked Rainbow, destroying it for good, this time, and Sylvia cried out in pain.

Like, actual pain, and not the surprise of seeing a giant monster barreling towards you and attacking. She was battling something in her head, enough that it even caused her to spin out of control for a moment. Yusei narrowly avoided crashing into her, but she gained control of herself again and pulled ahead in a matter of moments.

"Stop... Please..." Sylvia's voice whimpered in Yusei's helmet. "Y... Yu...sei..."

"Sylvia?!" Yusei couldn't speed up much farther, but he tried anyway. If Sylvia was in there somewhere, he wanted to get closer.

Don't break the rules of the Fortune Cup, if you ever want to see your friends again. If you want to face Jack.

That's right... Sylvia didn't even know about what happened to Rally and the others. That was yet another reason he needed to wake her up.

"Sylvia, hang in there!" Yusei called. "Break free! I know you can do it! I believe in you!"

"I... I..." Sylvia shook her head again, and he could tell her voice had become a bit shakier, less confident. "I-I draw!"

She was slowly starting to sound more like the Sylvia he knew. But for some reason, she still didn't quite recognize him. He just needed to push a little harder.

Sylvia: 10
Yusei: 4

"I... I activate the Speed Spell, Shift Down!"

So, she was using the same trick as Yusei did, huh? Fine by him. It meant Sylvia would be closer to his reach. Even if she drew two new cards, he had full confidence in his ability to defeat her. At least, if he knew her deck as well as he thought he did.

Sylvia: 4
Yusei: 4

"I set one card face-down, then I activate Summon Speeder!" Sylvia went on. "With its effect, as long as I have 4 or more Speed Counters--and I have exactly 4 now--I can Special Summon a Level 4 or below monster! So I Special Summon The Weather Crimson Pixie!"

Ordinarily, Sylvia would've summoned that monster last, as long as she had two other monsters on the field, so that she could quickly Synchro Summon her monster. However, she must've been especially low on cards she could use, so she had no choice.

Crimson Pixie appeared the same way as she normally did, with her flowing red cape, cute red dress, and her bright mechanical pencil with red lead. This time, however, she took a defensive position, and despite her brilliant red coloring, she was coated in all blue, like any Defense-Position monster.

Crimson Pixie: 0 DEF

Yusei had always thought there was something strange about the 'Crimson' part of Crimson Pixie. She could've just had a regular weather name, like Cloud, Rain, or Snow. But no, she was a literal crimson pixie, and quite specifically crimson.

Considering Sylvia's Signer mark, there was no doubt in Yusei's mind that Crimson Pixie had a relation to the Crimson Dragon.

Sylvia seemed to almost want to make another move during that turn, but eventually decided against it. "I end my turn."

It seemed almost... wasteful. Why Special Summon a single Level 1 monster when she could've simply summoned it normally, if she wouldn't make use of that extra Summon for something else? Was it an internal, intentional decision, or was that the Sylvia he knew crawling her way back into her own mind?

No matter. It was Yusei's turn now. He'd pull out a victory soon, he could feel it. "I draw."

Sylvia: 5
Yusei: 5

Even without the card he drew, he had all his cards in place. "I summon Ghost Gardna back from my hand!" he announced.

After all, he hadn't summoned Ghost Gardna again since Sylvia returned it to his hand using Thundery Canvas earlier. But now, it'd reprise its role, allowing Yusei to do what he needed to do.

"Now, I tune Ghost Gardna with my Hyper Synchron in order to Synchro Summon!"

"S... Stardust... ngh!" Sylvia struggled with a pain in her head as she slowed, just enough for Yusei to pull his front wheel ahead of hers and ride by her side.

Just one look at the young girl told him all he needed to see. Her head seemed to be pounding, and she had nearly made a move to grab her arm in pain while driving, although thankfully decided against it because of the dangers of keeping her attention off of the road.

"The wishes of our friends will remind you of what's important!" Yusei chanted, aiming his voice at Sylvia. "Gather together and become the path that lights the way! Let's rev it up! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

Opening its grand, white wings, glimmering in the sunlight, with detailed ruffles that fluttered in the wind, Stardust Dragon appeared at Yusei's side, unleashing a piercing roar to all of the stadium. The crowd went wild, and the MC yelled a little bit louder, reminding Yusei that he'd been there the whole time, although it wasn't like he cared.

Burning, searing pain on his arm, that he'd learned to associate with his Signer Mark painfully made itself clear to him. Unfortunately, from this angle, it was hard to tell if Sylvia's mark had revealed itself, as well.

Don't focus on that now. The duel is what's most important.

Stardust was at his side now, and even Yusei could see that Stardust felt bad for Sylvia. It wasn't even something that could easily be seen. Rather, it was more of a feeling Yusei got that he didn't quite understand.

Stardust Dragon began to glow thanks to an effect, and Yusei had to explain further. "Since Hyper Synchron was used to Synchro Summon a Dragon-type monster, Stardust Dragon now has 800 extra Attack Points."

Stardust Dragon: 3300 ATK

"Now, battle! Stardust, attack Crimson Pixie! Cosmic Flare!"

Stardust opened its impressive maw and attacked the little red--well, currently blue--fairy with a bright energy attack from its mouth, but Sylvia activated a Trap before she could be destroyed.

"Activate Trap! Mirror Force!" Sylvia's eyes held a hesitant hatred as she glared at Yusei. "All your Attack-Position monsters are now destroyed."

"I activate Stardust Dragon's effect!" Yusei countered again. "Thanks to Stardust Dragon's protective ability, it can negate and destroy any card effects that would destroy one or more monsters on my side of the field. Victim Sanctuary!"

Stardust Dragon disappeared in glimmers of light, sacrificing itself for the sake of Yusei's Junk Warrior. He was grateful to it, and looked forward to seeing Stardust again at the End Phase.

Good thing he'd attacked with Stardust first, just in case she activated a card like that. "Now, Junk Warrior! Attack her Pixie with Scrap Fist!"

"Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!"

Too bad. But next turn, Yusei knew he'd have her.

"Stardust Dragon returns to my field during the End Phase," Yusei finished. "With that, I end my turn."

And now... it was Sylvia's turn. He was almost there, he could feel it. Stardust Dragon and Junk Warrior, both raring to go, stared her down intensely, and Yusei could almost feel her within his reach.

He'd extend the same kindness to her that she showed him, even when he was suspicious of her; even when she knew he was suspicious of her, because that's just the kind of person she was. A person like that, a person so rare and so pure... That was someone who definitely deserved to be saved.

---

(Hey sorry for the abrupt ending but like I passed 10k words on this chapter so I need to get myself in gear and stuff. The duel isn't quite over yet, of course, but next chapter will hopefully be a bit more interesting than just shoving the duel down your throats. I'm... not entirely proud of this one, ngl, but hey. I'm powering through, I think.

EDIT: I added Yusei's Signer Mark showing itself here because it is IMPORTANT and I didn't quite pace it well enough at the end, to match up with the anime episodes. Hope you all don't mind; it's kinda a small thing in this chapter, but important to note for next time; you don't have to go all the way through to reread it.)