Welcome to the afterword!

Yeah, we've come to the conclusion of The Paths of Destiny, so now we review our deleted scenes...

"The flaws in this is rather obvious," Batman didn't miss a beat.

"Dark Knight, you presume that we make a habit of vigilantism," Yuugi gently rebuked. "The differences between us and your people is that we acknowledge and forgive even the ones who may be seen as monsters within humanity, but punish those who may be seen as the average criminal."

Scrapped because otherwise I had no idea how this would go then.

"My deck revolves around the theme of angels," Ryou softly murmured. "Both the archangels... and the fallen. From the depths of the underworld, I call, Darklord Superbia! [2900/2400]"

A calm darkness seemed to settle over the field as shadows erupted to show a figure with black wings flared, a grinning facade, and the coldest grin ever seen on a face.

Badass or no, it was inappropriate, Ryou. Never again.

"And, because I really don't like you, I play Mischief of the Time Goddess*!" Diana called. "Your turn is skipped, and I enter my next battle phase!"

"What!" Xander yelled. "That's... that's..."

"I am an eliminator!" Diana shouted at him. "Endymion, player direct attack! Crescent Moon Slash!"

Dark purple energies impacted across his midriff and drove him back.

Xander: LP 2400 → LP 0

Scrapped. Anime cards I try not to use, but some are just so damned useful...

"Never let it be said that the eliminators of Kaiba Corporation are merciful," Diana nastily stated. "You, who have challenged the rule of the Citadel's queen, will face divine wrath! Trap card open, Enlightenment! I cannot summon this turn, but in exchange I can order a Spellcaster type monster to attack again! Endymion, one more time! Crescent Moon Slash!"

Overly dramatic, and very much so. Di, we need work.

"Not," Marik scoffed as he activated a card. "Trap card activate: Ultimate Offering. I pay five hundred life points to Normal Summon another monster from my hand. I choose to summon Mystic Tomato [1400/1100] in attack mode."

Marik: LP 4000 → LP 3500

The tomato squealed as it was cleaved into six by the three bodyguards.

"When Mystic Tomato is destroyed by battle and sent to the graveyard, I can summon one monster of fifteen hundred or less attack points in attack position," Marik smirked. "I summon Yubel [0/0]!"

The various failures associated with constructing Duels as well as 'How to Summon Yubels'. Sigh...

Ancient magic takes corporal form. Let all who see you witness the meaning of power.

I have no idea how this summon chant came about.

"This will assure you. Activate trap card, Royal Decree!"

"That's new," Rafael commented as the trap revealed itself. His face-down card turned grey, a sign that it had been negated.

"We are two people now," Yami sorrowfully answered. "It makes sense for us. We cannot use the same deck at the same time as we once could. Royal Decree will negate all other trap cards as long as it's face-up on the field."

Rejected soon after because I realise that Royal Decree would cripple the planned strategy...

Rafael's eyes widened. "Oh god, no..."

"I can only activate this Spell when there is a Dark Magician on the field," Yami smirked. "I destroy all your magic and trap cards!"

A ball of black magic flew from the Dark Magician's staff to impact onto Rafael's field, destroying the face-down card and the Gust Fan.

Yes, yes, the Dark Magician is all well and good, but there's a time and place for everything...

"Then, I play the card I just drew, Mystical Space Typhoon!" Valon announced. "And I destroy your Swords of Revealing Light!"

"I'm sorry," Yuugi looked lost as he revealed a face-down Counter-Trap, Dark Bribe. "Your card is negated, but you get to draw one card."

A written scroll twirled around the magical cyclone and dissipated it. Valon scowled as he drew again.

"Furthermore, when one of my Counter Trap cards negate your cards, I can special summon one very special monster," Yuugi whispered as the card fell upon the DuelDisk.

Rafael started. "What card?"

Yami looked concerned. "Which card... ah, the recompense."

Rafael looked blank. "Huh?"

"Each of us hold special cards meant to be the counterpart of each of us. Erm... Marik has Nephthys, Malik the Felgrand, Ryou the Angels, Bakura has the Demons, but I can't imagine..." Yami paused as his eyes widened. "Oh, wait. Yuugi has... Van'Dalgyon."

"Van'Dal– you have the Dark Dragon Lord!" Rafael yelped.

"Oh..." Yami smirked.

Van'Dalgyon the Dark Dragon Lord [2800/2500] was every bit as impressive as its name indicated. Standing about forty feet tall due to the miniaturisation of KaibaCorp technology, its wings flared out by side to side as it gave a bestial roar. To be honest, it looked like it should be rampaging an spreading death and destruction rather than remain tethered to a cute young man like Yuugi.

"According to the card negated, I can activate a different effect of Van'Dalgyon!" Yuugi called. "Because I negated a Spell, I can inflict fifteen hundred damage to you!"

"What!" Valon yelped as his life points decreased.

Valon: LP 4000 → LP 2500

Rafael frowned as he mentally translated the language. "'Funeral March of the Dark King?'"

"Such dark monsters do not traditionally seek the light," Yami sighed as the dark dragon roared and let loose a blast of dark flames from its mouth that engulfed the tiger and caused it to shatter with Valon's life points. "We won that card from Pegasus's protégée, but hardly ever used it. However, it seems that a lot has happened in three years for the dark dragon to side with the light..." he trailed off. "Oh, no, it balances out. So it's all fine... I think. I hope. There are worse things that could happen... like Yuugi could lose control of Van'Dalgyon..."

They shuddered.

Valon: LP 2500 → LP 1500

"I end my turn," Yuugi nodded.

The initial plan was using Van'Dalgyon. I switched soon enough because even I can't understand what I wrote.

Shadows darkened and danced as crimson flashed. "Sleep, little light, sleep, while your darkness finds a tribute to lay at your feet."

Amethyst eyes closed in magical slumber as the mini-explosion sounded.

Clichéd beyond words. I hate rhyming couplets...

Yami, Bakura, Marik and Malik all exchanged looks, then Marik turned away to ask Ryou and Yuugi something.

"Battle City all over again..." all three darks sighed once their lights were safely occupied.

"Although this time there's less blood..." Malik reminiscenced. "It's not fun at all..."

"That guy's the target?" Bakura snorted, discreetly giving the four of them a once-over. "That smell..." Russet eyes glowed momentarily before Bakura grinned.

"The Three Ritual Gods of Destruction," Yami reiterated. "A beast may hunt for all it likes, but this one points its fangs towards the light."

"We get to kill it?" Malik eagerly perked up.

"This wouldn't quite be Battle City without that, would it?" Yami rhetorically answered. "There are singe marks on the stadium floor. Doubtless the work of our errant Duellists. We can get ready for people to be hurt tomorrow."

"Well, we can always hurt them back," Malik murmured.

"For once, I agree with the maniac," Bakura laughed. "Our omote-tachi thinks we're domesticated. Highly unlikely."

Yami and Malik shared looks.

"Oh, we know you're highly uncivilised, Bakura," Malik began with a smirk.

"You and Ryou in the same room could be heard across the city–" Yami quickly dodged the shadow ball thrown his way.

Fun times...a bit inappropriate for the time, though...

An arm, armoured in gold that gleamed under the harsh fluorescent light, stopped the sceptre from splitting his skull. Batman saw the arm attached to a red-cloaked entity that gripped the weapon threateningly. The pale features of the female were twisted into a parody of hate.

"And here I was enjoying sleeping in," A cold masculine voice murmured behind the vigilante. Batman could tell; this person absolutely did not care about him one jot. "What are you doing, Apollymi Hunter?"

"Getting rid of a bat," Apollymi shrugged. "It shouldn't hurt, would it? He has no right to be here anyway."

"The skies are not under the purview of mortal law," Batman could almost see the demonic-looking features twist thoughtfully. "I see your point. But it would be very remiss of me to let you kill someone with potential."

Batman had heard of Malik Ishtal breaking into the Metro Tower and causing Superman to bleed. If one was willing to kill off one of Earth's most beloved heroes, one certainly wasn't going to be saving the hero hated by his own city. Thus, Malik Ishtal's saving him was very unusual until the reason was revealed.

Apollymi turned eyes of hate onto the being behind him. "And if I persist?"

"I will fight you," Malik simply answered. "Do you want to try that? You'll blow us both out of the skies. I doubt Ruin, Demise can fly, and if Garlandolf will save you. Strong Ritual Monsters are rather full of themselves."

There was a bleak silence before the bespectacled brunet turned away. "I hope you are defeated by Kaiba, or I might take things into my own hands."

"Even Kaiba might be preferable to you." Garnet eyes that might have been mistaken for twin pools of blood followed him and the Queen of Oblivion away.

Is this how a mouse feels like to be cornered? Batman wondered.

"Dark Knight," the cold voice murmured. "If you persist, remember that there are more things on heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Open your eyes."

The Dark Knight was caught up in the puzzle for a moment before he realised that he was alone.

Horrible action scene. Needed more work.

"Field stabilised?" Rafael growled into the phone. "Good. You can go participate in Battle City now."

"Sweet!" a male voice rang out on the other side. "Can I duel you, Rafael San? Can I, can I?"

"Maybe," Rafael non-committally replied hanging up before sighing.

"Too much energy," Diana solemnly nodded, leaning against the brick wall of the alley the group had chosen to meet up at.

"I'm too old for this," Rafael groaned. "Where's Horse?"

"He… said something about Duelling." Diana shrugged. "Say, Rafael?"

"No."

"I haven't even asked yet!"

"I know you," the Guardian Duellist declared. "There are only three questions you'll ask, and right now what I'm thinking is most likely. Now that the unofficial part of the job is over, let's get on to the part in which we do what we're being paid for."

"What I don't understand is," Diana started. "Why would Boss hire eliminators at his own tournament? And have those same eliminators act as security?"

"Quality," the blonde growled. "Why else hire those two in his tournament? And in this case, you can never have too much security. Or have you already forgotten what started all this in the first place?"

Both Duellists adopted equally hardened expressions. The sound of shifting feathers around Rafael grew louder, while the click of jewels sounded around the female Duellist.

"Rafael," a voice sneered. Both Duellists looked behind, and down, to see Haga sneering up at them.

"Duel me," the Insect-playing Duellist challenged. "We haven't met since DOMA, have we?"

"A past I'd rather forget," Rafael coughed.

"The curse of Exodia lasts, doesn't it?" Diana muttered.

Haga winced. Six years after throwing the pieces of Exodia overboard the boat to Duellist Kingdom, and he was still paying the price. Duellists referred to his losing streak since then as the curse of Exodia. Even the unprecedented fall of Ryou Marufuji before his rise through the Duellist hierarchy seemed minor to the former Japan Regional champion's losing streak. Exodia had a long memory, was the word that went around.

"Duel me!" Haga challenged, undaunted, holding up his puzzle card. "We'll stake our qualification on this!"

"Rafael?" Diana looked at the blonde biker.

"We're both eliminators," Rafael shrugged. "Either you do it or I'm forced to do it."

"You're the challenged," Diana shrugged. "You try it."

"Mmm," Rafael grunted, his own new DuelDiskTM unfolding. Kaiba had insisted on the new DuelDiskTM, and had taken great pleasure in trashing one of the last legacies of DOMA with vindictiveness Rafael was thankful not to be on the receiving end of. Like other eliminators, his own DuelDiskTM was now the standard KaibaCorp DuelDiskTM Mark III, with added enhancements, such as extra weight to accommodate something. And if there was suspicious writing on the edges that looked like hieroglyphs that Rafael had read were supposedly protection charms, well, the boss was entitled to his quirks.

"Duel!"

Rafael: LP 4000

Haga: LP 4000

"As the challenged, I get the first turn," the blonde biker shrugged.

"Whatever," Haga growled, glaring through beetle-shaped glasses.

"Draw," Rafael looked. "I special summon Guardian Eatos [2500/2000] from my hand!"

"Right off the bat?" Diana spoke at the same time the current strongest Guardian monster appeared in a blaze of light, white wings flaring out, dressed in full Native American garb, eagle-headdress and a look of disgust shot in the opponent's direction. "That's fast..."

"And I equip Eatos with Gust Fan," Rafael continued, as Guardian Eatos grabbed a stylised Chinese folding fan out of the air [2500/2000 → 2900/1800]. "With my normal summon Backup Gardna [500/2200] in Defence mode. Then I set a card and end my turn."

"Twenty-nine hundred attack off the bat?" Haga blinked in shock before grinning. "Ah well."

Yeah, I initially considered Haga, but then I decided that I didn't want to figure out the dynamics of an Insect deck and so I chose others.

Anyway, this first started when I began expanding on the theme of my crossovers, and frankly it was a plot bunny that hit me over the head one day.

I think the main theme behind the Paths of Destiny is, well, the choices each person makes. It's like in a Duel, every card counts, really. Well, frankly most of the work went into, not character planning, but card interaction, i.e. planning out Duels. Copious reference to te YGO Wiki was needed, and the random card clicking helps when I'm stuck on what archetype to use.

GX was an accident, I swear. I have no idea, it just happened. I was planning Space Jump then, so maybe they came over for a look (?)

Anyway, the chief difficulty was making the Duels interesting to strangers to the game. I succeeded in some parts, and failed in others. Case in point, no one looks at my Yami or Yuugi Duels, but the most comments and praise come from Bakura and Ryou Duelling.

That's all folks! Keep up with Space Jump or the upcoming work, Exchange of the Spirit!

To all my beloved reviewers and favourites, thank you for all your support behind The Paths of Destiny! You are too numerous to name individually, so let us just give a big collective thank you!

Until next time, ciao!

LLS