Here is the REAL last chapter before the epilogue! This is going to be long and intense!

Yugioh: The Power of Four

Chapter 43: ARC-V — PART 29

"This is amazing! I've never seen anything like it!" Yuzu said as she gazed around the interior of the Airship.

"Neither have I! I still can't believe something like this actually exists!" Yuya shared her excitement and wonder. Astral smiled.

"Yes. This vessel is a true masterpiece. It was constructed well." Astral mentioned. When Yoko, Shuzo, Ryo, Gloria, Grace, and Kiryu all first saw Astral after boarding, they reacted pretty much like everyone else who met him. They were all reassured that he was a friendly being. Although he never admitted it, Astral was always amused by witnessing someone react to seeing him for the first time.

"I agree. I'm actually a little jealous that you got to ride in this thing three times now, honey." Yoko said to her husband, taking in every detail. Yusho chuckled.

"Well sweetheart, you've got your turn now." Her husband replied humorously before turning to Astral. "How long until we reach Yugi's world?" The Entertainer asked.

"We should arrive there in less than one hour." Astral answered.

"That actually sounds a little longer than when we went to Judai's world." Yusho pointed out. Astral nodded.

"Yugi, Judai, Yusei, and those with them may all come from the same world, but remember that they are not from the same period in time. The time differences are a factor into our traveling estimation. The farther back we need to go, the longer the trip itself would take. My apologies for that." Yusho shook his head.

"No need for apologies Astral. I'm just grateful that we will be there soon." Astral smiled back before he resumed in stirring the ship.

"This is simply breathtaking. Astral never had this Airship in my reality." Luna remarked, watching the shining stars pass by out the port side window.

"It's is pretty cool." Shark said, smiling at the excited look on Luna's face. He then shook his head rapidly, reminding himself to forget what happened just before they left.

At the same time, Ryo told Gloria and Grace about the unfortunate fate of his counterpart on Judai's world. Both woman held their hands to their mouths in shock.

"Oh no… that's awful." Grace whispered.

"I cannot believe it. And you still decided to go, knowing this?" Gloria asked. Ryo was resolute with his decision.

"Yes. I believe I can help Sho. I know the two of us meeting will be very awkward at first, but I'm sure we can get past it. I want to help him." He said with finality. The sisters reluctantly accepted his decision, despite the challenges they'll face when they arrive.

"Hey Shark. How come you're more moody than usual?" Gauche asked curiously. He didn't fail to notice the change in his friend's behavior just before boarding the Airship.

"None of your business." He snapped, not looking at him. Rio smirked.

"Kissing Luna felt that good, huh?" His younger sister teased. Shark blushed furiously.

"Shut up Rio! There's nothing to talk about!" He yelled, embarrassment very evident in his features. Rio didn't flinch one bit but instead smiled mischievously.

"You and Luna kissed?!" Gauche yelled at Shark in surprise. He refused to answer.

"Well, I kissed him… all he did was wrap his arms around me. He was really getting into it." Luna said as she smiled cheerfully. Shark grimaced.

"Dammit! Leave me alone, all of you!" Shark yelled before he marched away from them, seeking solitude. Kaito seemed very amused.

"Yuto and Ruri will no doubt get a kick out of this one. I have to admit, that was fun to watch." He commented. Gauche chuckled.

"I bet you'd would react the same way if Droite kissed you." He said. Kaito narrowed his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" He questioned. The big guy shrugged.

"Well, she has quite a soft spot for ya. Probably because you saved her that day when Heartland's robot went haywire and nearly killed her. I'm just saying." He said. Kaito highly doubted that. He couldn't imagine someone like Droite having those kinds of feelings for him…

"I'm glad we're finally heading home. Yugo and Rin must be worried about us." Ruka said.

"I can't wait to see them again." Rua said. 'Especially Rin.' He thought to himself. The boy also remembered his decision when he and the others returned. A decision regarding his feelings for Rin…

"They'll be relieved once we get back." Crow said before he chuckled. "Oh man. Carly would have a hell of a scoop if she saw this thing! Wouldn't you say Jack?" Jack smirked.

"She'd probably either get a Pulitzer or be laughed at as an alien conspiracist." He had no doubt Carly would have the story of her career if she laid eyes on the Airship. Jack then frowned slightly, actually having missed being with that clumsy yet kind and cute girl. He then mentally slapped himself for thinking that latter part. She was just a ditzy fan girl who obsessed over him, like Mikage and that Cafe la Geen waitress. Still, she did help him be a better person after his loss to Yusei in the Fortune Cup. Maybe he should talk to her again at some point after returning…

"I think we should use this time to inform everyone of what we just learned." Yugi advised the other protectors at that time. Judai, Yusei, and Yuma all agreed.

"Yeah. Now's as good a time as any." Judai said. Yugi decided to call the all who were present.

"Everyone, please listen! We need to tell all of you something before we go our separate ways!" Yugi called out. The whole group was quiet now and gave their undivided attention (including Shark, who rejoined everyone). "First, this is for those who fought in those barriers during the war. At first, we were under the impression that Jean-Michael Roget was behind it. However, we just discovered that he may have actually been used by a third party."

"What third party?" Crow asked.

"Thanks to some code cracking from Dennis Mackfield, we now believe that Roget's Gauntlet program was actually created by an Ignis." Yusei revealed. Most of the group gasped and looked at one another, stunned by the news.

"What the heck is an Ignis?" Gloria asked, never heard of them before. She, Grace, Ryo, Luna, and Kiryu were the only ones who were not aware of them.

"It's an advanced A.I. from a different world." Judai told her, to her great surprise.

"Seriously?" Grace questioned, also stunned. Manjome nodded at her, saying he was definitely being serious.

"Before we arrived on your world, the five of us," Yugi indicated himself, Judai, Yusei, Yuma, and Astral, "met four Ignis that aided us to come to your world." He said to all the newcomers. "They are our friends. The one we are talking about now, on the other hand, has proven otherwise. It was this Ignis that brought those enemy Duelists you all fought into those energy barriers."

"It was also responsible for controlling two of you against your will." Yuma said, earning horrified gasps from Kiryu and Luna. 'And forced Enna to fight against our other friends.' The boy thought upsettingly.

"That was what was controlling me?!" Kiryu said in shock.

"Apparently so." Crow said.

"It's hold over you was strong, Kiryu. But it wasn't as strong as our bond." Jack said with a triumphant grin.

"It also the one that sent Divine after me." Aki noted angrily.

"And he nearly killed us." Rua said.

"We were lucky to survive and win." Ruka added with relief.

"So it was this "Ignis" that forced me to fight you two?" Luna asked Shark and Gauche with fear.

"Sounds like it." Gauche said.

"Then this Ignis must be the guy that called itself that fancy title when it spoke to us." Shark added, remembering the being calling itself "The Light that was cast out".

"It was also the one that revived Heartland to duel us." Kaito said to Rio, who nodded in agreement.

"I definitely felt a bad vibe from that thing. I never would've guessed it was an A.I. though." Rio said. "But how could it bring someone back from the dead, or transport them to other worlds?" She asked.

"I'm much more interested in why this Ignis sent scumbags like Amon to mess with us." Manjome said in a hateful tone.

"And a witch like Vivian." Tèa added, sounding just as resentful.

"Sounds to me like it wants to send all of us into extinction." Kenzan guessed.

"That may well be the case. Unfortunately," Yugi continued, getting everyone's attention again. "This Ignis is not our only problem."

"What else is there?" Shuzo wondered. Yuya and Yuzu knew what Yugi was about to reveal, and they were not disappointed when he did.

"We were wrong about something we discussed at our meeting." Yugi drew a breath and released it before he told them. "Zarc is still alive, and he's currently on the move." This drew another shocking gasp.

"What?! Zarc?! I thought that bastard was dead?!" Kaiba shouted.

"You finished him off yourself, Yug!" Joey shouted. Yugi sighed.

"I wish I had, Joey. When Leo Akaba brought up Yuri's coma, I realized that Zarc's final soul fragment didn't merge with Yuya like it should have. Because of that, Zarc survived."

"For those who don't know, Zarc is a very dangerous man that was defeated in the past on the world we just left. We thought he was gone for good, but we were mistaken. We don't know where he is or what he is planning, but we will deal with that after all of you are back on our worlds. Yuya and Yuzu's counterparts need to be made aware of this, so inform them when you get back. Zarc could very well be searching for them." Yusei instructed.

"Good thing we just left with you two." Judai said, looking over at Yuya and Yuzu, who felt both fearful and relieved at the same time. "Like with Leo, he's got no way to follow us. It should be smooth sailing from here on…" Judai never finished his sentence. At that exact moment, the Airship shook violently, scattering everyone across the floor. It felt like the vessel had just hit something hard. Astral himself almost flew away from the control board.

"Is everyone okay?" Astral yelled in concern, trying to steady his ship. One by one, everyone reported no serious injuries, just bumps and bruises.

"I'm fine. Yuzu?" Yuya asked, helping his girlfriend back on her feet.

"Yeah, I think so. Thanks Yuya." She said gratefully.

"Gloria?" Ryo asked. His woman nodded while her boyfriend pulled her up.

"I'm okay. Grace?" She asked as she turned to her sister, who actually fell into Manjome's arms.

"I'm fine, sis. Thanks to Jun here." She said, smiling up at him. Manjome smiled back.

"I'm glad I caught you." He said.

"It's good no one onboard was hurt. Now can someone please tell me WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!" Crow yelled, clearly pissed off.

"Did we hit something?" Luna questioned. Just as she asked, the Airship shook again. This time, everyone held onto something so they all stayed on their feet. "Or did something just hit us?!" She started to panic. Suddenly, the light faded from the round windows in the cockpit. Nothing could be seen other than darkness

"What's going on outside Astral?!" Yuma yelled. Astral saw nothing through the windows either. He then tried to pull up the front holo screen, but it wouldn't come up. Astral then tried to get the Airship moving again, but the transport wouldn't budge an inch.

"Something is wrong. Whatever we hit is so large that all windows are being blocked, knocked out our holo screen, and we are apparently unable to move." He told the shaken group. "Someone will need to go to the platform on top to investigate." Yugi nodded at Judai, Yusei, and Yuma. They all agreed.

"The four of us will take a look. The rest of you stay here." Yugi instructed as he and the other protectors headed up a nearby set of stairs that led topside.

"Be careful." Tèa said to Yugi, who smiled and nodded back before he had gone up with the others. It didn't take long. Once the four were out onto the platform, they immediately saw the problem… and it was A LOT bigger than they thought.

"Oh man… you've gotta be kidding me?!" Judai exclaimed in disbelief at the impossible sight before them. In front of them was a gigantic dark yellow dragon, about twice as big as the Airship. It was crackling with dark purple electricity along it's body and massive purple and yellow wings. The most noticeable detail about the dragon was that it had five heads on long necks, each different in appearance. The head on far right was entirely made of fire, the center head was blue and had fins for ears, the far left head was made of metal, the center left head was entirely black, and the head in the very center was a pale white.

It's two arms, which had a purple energy ring on each wrist, were currently holding onto the upper cylinder portion of the vessel, explaining why they weren't going anywhere. The giant beast, to their horror, was doing more than just preventing their escape. It also appeared to be crushing the cylinder slowly… very slowly. It seemed the monster was in no hurry to kill all the Airship's occupants.

Yugi recognized the creature at once. He and his friends had faced it before on his world a couple of times. "I know that Monster! It's the Five God Dragon! But how could it possibly be here?!" He shouted.

"And why is it attacking us?!" Yuma added in fear.

"We'll figure it out later! Right now, it is trying to destroy the Airship! We have to stop it from killing everyone!" Yusei urged. They all agreed as Yugi and Atem merged together. He raised his Duel Disk to communicate.

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

Back inside the Airship, Astral and everyone listened as Yugi chimed in. "Astral! Everyone! Listen up! The Airship is being held in place by, as impossible as it may seem, the Five God Dragon!" The whole group gasped in horrified shock.

"Five God Dragon?! Is Yugi freaking joking right now?!" Joey cried out. He remembered all too well facing that overgrown multi headed monstrosity… twice.

"Yugi's never been one to joke about something like this, so I'm gonna say no he's not!" Tristan yelled in his friend's ear.

"How could it be out here in this place?!" Tèa asked, terrified.

"Astral, keep everyone inside and secure until we can get the ship free!" Yugi advised.

"Understood, Yugi. Be careful out there. I do not imagine that creature would release us without a fight." Astral replied. Kaiba snorted as he looked around the room. He wasn't planning on staying put while Yugi puts his life on the line, not by a long shot. And hopefully, not the only one…

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

"Here is what we must do." Yugi started as he turned to those present. "Our best plan of attack is to fight that dragon with the strongest LIGHT Monsters we have. If we can strike it enough times, it might release it's hold on the Airship so that we can escape." Yugi instructed.

"Why only LIGHT Monsters?" Yuma asked, confused.

"In Duel Monsters, Five God Dragon can't be attacked by DARK, WIND, EARTH, WATER, and FIRE Monsters. Only Monsters of LIGHT have the best chance of inflicting any kind of damage on it. The stronger LIGHT Monsters we have, the better." Yusei answered.

"What about your Egyptian God cards, Yugi? DIVINE Monsters can work too, can't they?" Judai questioned. Yugi shook his head.

"It's too risky to use them in this dimensional tunnel. The power the Egyptian Gods possesses could have devastating consequences if they were to battle out here. They might even cause unintentional damage to the Airship. No, our best and safest option is to use LIGHT Monsters." Yugi explained.

"Then you wouldn't mind us lending you a hand?" Yugi and the others turned to see Kaiba, Ryo, and Kaito smiling confidently at them.

"What are you guys doing out here?" Judai asked in surprise. Kaiba grunted.

"As soon as I heard what you're up against, I decided you "might" need some help. I brought these two along since they also have some powerful LIGHT Monsters to spare." He said. His companions nodded.

"The more fighters you have, the better our chances of succeeding." Kaito replied.

"Also, I felt this would be a chance to redeem myself for trying to stop you during the war." Ryo said with determination. The four smiled.

"The more the merrier, I'd say." Judai told him. Ryo nodded at him. Yugi smiled in approval.

"Very well. Here is the plan. Judai, Yusei, Yuma, Kaiba, and I will each battle one of the dragon's heads with our strongest LIGHT Monsters. Ryo and Kaito, you will both attack the dragon's hands pressing down on the Airship's main engine. Once all five heads are busy with us, you two will make your move to release the dragon's grip without being noticed. Our one and only goal is to get the Five God Dragon to let go of the vessel and then get out of here as fast as possible."

"So the five of you will be the distraction while we do the real work." Kaito surmised.

"Yeah. I'm sure Astral will hit the gas once we're free." Yuma said.

"Then what are we waiting for? The longer we stand here and chit chat, the sooner our ride home will crack like an egg." Kaiba advised. They all nodded.

"Let's do it!" Yugi shouted as his Millennium Puzzle glowed and the Eye of Wdjat appeared on his forehead. "I Summon the mighty Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning!" Yugi's 3000 Attack Point Warrior materialized to do battle.

"Right behind ya!" Judai said, his eyes glowing dark gold once again. He immediately knew which Monster to use. "I Summon Neos Wiseman to fight!" A dark skinned winged demon with an Attack Power of 3000 appeared to serve it's master.

"Time for the Supreme King to do battle." Yubel said in amusement, admiring Judai's Monster choice.

"I couldn't agree more." Replied the spirit of Elemental Hero Neos, pleased to see the Fusion Monster that combined himself with Yubel (A.N. Neos Wiseman was a Fusion Monster in the anime, while the real life version is just an Effect Monster). Both stood beside Judai, now with his Supreme King power active.

"I Summon Road Warrior!" Yusei called out while his red dragon head Signer Birthmark glowed. A 3000 Attack Point Warrior in gold and black armor appeared as well, armed with gauntlets with three claws each.

"Let's Kattobingu! Future Number 0: Future Dragon King Hope!" The same time the Emperor's Key glowed, Yuma brought out the newest 3000 Attack Point upgrade of his Ace.

"Battling a Monster that powerful requires the strongest Monster! Show yourself, Blue-Eyes Alternative Ultimate Dragon!" Kaiba's upgraded 4500 Attack Point three headed dragon reappeared, ready to blast apart anything in it's sight.

"Everyone, pick your target… and ATTACK!" Yugi ordered as he jumped onto his Soldier and flew toward the the center white head. Judai hopped onto his Neos Wiseman as he made his way to the fiery head. Yusei and his Road Warrior sped to the metal head, while Yuma and Future Dragon King Hope soared to the blue sea serpent head. Kaiba made a bee line with his Alternative Ultimate Dragon to the dark dragon head. They stuck with their Monsters in the hopes of keeping Five God Dragon's heads focused solely on them and not on the the Airship.

"Now we just wait for the right moment." Kaito said.

"Got it." Ryo replied. Above them, the intense battle took place.

"Luster Blade Attack!" Yugi's Monster slashed at the center head with it's sharp sword right along the snout. The head screeched in pain. It retaliated by attempting to chomp the meddling armored man into nothing. It's mouth missed by an inch before the beast got another cut right above it's left eye. Now starting to get annoyed, it opened it's mouth again and fired a giant yellow blast. Black Luster Solder barely managed to protect itself and it's master with the shield it held. 'That was close! If my Monster wasn't enhanced by the Puzzle's energy, we would've been goners!' Yugi shouted in his mind.

"Let us hope we hold out long enough for Ryo and Kaito to get their job done!" Atem replied as they continued their attack.

"Ultimate Nova!" Judai's Neos Wiseman unloaded a barrage of blue energy balls at the dragon head of fire. It definitely seemed to be irritated. The flaming head didn't hesitate to counter it with a giant vortex of flames intending to roast both attackers. "Dive! Dive!" Judai commanded quickly and twirled beneath the fire as it scorched past them. "Good one! Now let's hit him from right on top!" Neos Wiseman resumed it's attack, this time firing straight down at it's target. The fire head roared in pain and annoyance.

"It's working! We have it's undivided attention!" Yubel said gleefully.

"Keep it up Judai!" Neos cheered on it's master and creator. Judai had every intention of doing just that.

"Lightning Claw!" The clawed gauntlets on Yusei's Road Warrior sparked with golden electricity as it stabbed and made a sizable dent in the metal dragon head's neck. The roar it gave showed it was clearly not happy that it took damage. The head unleashed a huge green laser from the mouth, but Yusei and his Monster dodged it in the nick of time. When the pair came back for another strike, the beast opened it's mouth wider, preparing to snap it's jaws down on them. Just before it could, Road Warrior rammed it's spikes into the upper part of the creature's mouth. The head reared back and screeched in agony. 'So far so good!' Yusei thought to himself while his fight raged on.

"Dragon Hope Sword Slash!" Yuma's Future Dragon King Hope slashed at the neck of the blue dragon head, leaving multiple flesh wounds. The beast yelled painfully before it launched a massive gust of water from the mouth. The dragon warrior spun around and around with it's blades extended forward, actually drilling through the water before striking at the creature's tongue, cutting it off. An agonizing cry came out of that one. "Oh yeah! That just had to hurt!" Yuma cheered while he and his Monster moved back for another round.

"Blue Neutron Blast!" The attack of Kaiba's Alternative Ultimate Dragon was immediately intercepted by a stream of darkness from the black dragon head it battled. The two attacks pushed the other back and forth for a bit, but the dark attack began to force the lighter one back. Kaiba snorted. "You honestly think you can triumph over my Monster?! Think again! My Ultimate Dragon can never be beaten by the likes of you!" He retorted. Now it was the light pushing back the darkness, as if Kaiba's words somehow inspired the three headed dragon, with the result being that the dark head took great damage from the explosive impact on it's face. The head roared and shook itself, trying to shake the pain off. Kaiba laughed. "Let's go! I can do this all day!" He challenged the beast, who appeared to want nothing more than to have Kaiba as a snack.

During all the action taking place, Ryo and Kaito Summoned their own Monsters for their task. "Now's our chance! I Summon Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and Number 90: Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord!" Kaito's 3000 Attack Point Ace and 2500 Attack Point Number reappeared, eager to help it's master.

"Agreed! Come forth, Cyber Eternity Dragon and Cyber Dragon Nova!" Ryo's Fusion Ace with 2800 Attack Points and his 2100 Attack Point Xyz Monster roared to life. Both Duelists climbed onto their Ace Monsters and flew toward the upper portion of the Airship, while their secondary Monsters watched their backs. "I'll go for the left arm!" Ryo said, heading that way.

"Okay! I've got the right arm!" Kaito replied. Within seconds, the two were in position above the dragon's massive hands. Each was the size of a large boulder. Both Duelists knew that just one Monster wouldn't be enough to force the dragon's ever tightening grip to break. "This better do the job." Kaito said to himself before he got to work. "Photon Stream of Destruction! Photon Dominance!" Energy blasts from his dragon's mouth and his warrior's spear struck the monstrous hand. It flinched, but it still held tight. "Keep at it!" Kaito told his Monsters as they kept firing.

"Everlasting Blaze! Black Retribution!" Ryo ordered as his own Monsters blasted the other hand. He clearly heard the evil dragon roaring in pain, but it seemed bound and determined to crush the Airship no matter what. "I will not rest until you let us go, you bastard! I won't let you destroy us! Now feel the wrath of the Kaiser!" He yelled at the brute while his Monsters keep blasting away.

As they all fought to save themselves and their friends, they were unaware of the "real" trap that was waiting to be sprung…

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

The group inside watched the battle on one holo screen (which had finally come online) with awe. The four protectors and Kaiba flew around and struck the Five God Dragon's heads without missing a beat. So far, they were holding their own. Then on another, Ryo and Kaito worked to get the creature to release them. They all heard low but noticeable creaking sound from above during this time, and it was getting louder little by little.

"What is that?" Luna said in worry.

"The structural integrity of the upper section is slowly being compromised." Astral informed her.

"English?" Rua said nervously.

"He means we're all going to be crushed if we don't get out of here soon!" Ruka yelled at her brother, who flinched as she did.

"Doesn't this thing have any weapons?" Gloria asked. Astral sighed.

"This ship has been upgraded by the Ignis for greater inter-dimensional travel, but it was not outfitted for combat." He said with regret.

"That's stupid! Haven't those Ignis heard of "In case of an emergency" types of things?!" Grace yelled incredulously.

"I'll be sure to converse with the Ignis about that after we survive this ordeal." Astral assured her.

"There's got to be something we can do!" Yuzu said desperately.

"Perhaps our chances would improve if some of you with strong LIGHT Monsters can go offer your assistance. However, that would go against Yugi's orders to keep everyone inside." Astral said.

"I've got a super strong LIGHT Dino that could help." Kenzan offered, ignoring Astral's latter statement.

"My Moon Goddess can also be useful." Luna brought up.

"My Deck has a few LIGHT Fairy Monsters that are powerful too." Tèa said.

"Plus there's my Gilford the Lightning." Joey added.

"Yugi and Kaiba told the rest of us to stay here, out of the way." Gauche reminded everyone. Yuzu decided to put her foot down.

"I'm going out there!" She boldly declared, surprising everyone.

"What?! Yuzu, you can't! It's far too dangerous!" Shuzo yelled in protect. Yuzu didn't back down from her father's stern face.

"Dad, I'm sick and tired of everyone fighting to protect me! First it was from Reiji's father, and now this! I'm not some damsel in distress from those old fairy tales! I can handle myself, or did you forget about my Duel against Zarc?!" Shuzo stood, stunned by his daughter's protests. Yuzu then pulled out her new Ritual Monster. "This dragon came to me because of my strong desire to save Yuya! I know I can help Yugi and the others! They all fought to save me when Edo had me trapped! Well, I think it's time for me to return the favor! So please stand aside and let me fight with them for once!"

"Yuzu…" Shuzo gaped at his daughter. He couldn't believe she was talking to him this way. As her only parent, he alone was responsible for her well being. He would never forgive himself if he allowed any harm to come to Yuzu. On the other hand, Yuzu had a point. She wasn't helpless, and she proved it in that Duel. Maybe he had just underestimated her. "Yuzu, I don't want to risk losing you. I love you too much. But…" he took a shaky breath. "I can see that you are indeed strong and brave. I like to think I raised you right." Shuzo held Yuzu's shoulders. "I'll let you get out there to help kick that dragon's tail, but only if someone goes with you." He said firmly. She accepted that.

"Thank you dad." Yuzu said before she turned to her new boyfriend. "Yuya, you're with me, aren't you?" She strongly asked. He didn't reply. Instead he looked over at his mom, who looked ready to protest as well if he said anything.

Yuya hated this; not being able to help. Here they were, staying inside while Yugi and several others were putting their lives on the line for them. 'I want to go help them, more than anything. If only I could…'

Just then, his pendent glowed and he caught a glimpse of a new shiny armored dragon roaring to see some action. At the same time, a glow came from the attached box where he kept his Deck. Yuya opened his box, took out his Deck and drew the glowing card… which was exactly what he needed in this situation. The others seemed to have noticed but said nothing.

"Take it and help them." Yuya startled. There it was again. The same voice he and Yuri heard during the Duel against Leo Akaba. First it provided them with the Trap card that aided Yugi, and now it gave him the kind of Monster he needed to help save everybody. Who was it that kept speaking to him? Why was it helping? Yuya promised himself he would talk to Yugi about this when they made it to his world.

Yuya, however, had another problem. 'My mom still has my Duel Disk…' Before he could come up with what to say, his mother approached him… and had held out his Duel Disk. "Mom?" He asked, confused by her gesture. Yoko seemed reluctant, but she appeared to have made her choice.

"If Yuzu is going to go risk her life, then you should be the one to make sure she stays safe. Also… technically, you wouldn't be dueling, so I'm not worried about you breaking another promise to me. Just remember to give this back after we ditch that dragon." She ordered.

Yuya couldn't believe his mother was allowing this. He turned to his dad, who nodded approvingly. Yuya smiled and nodded back before he took his Duel Disk. "Thank you mom! I will definitely keep Yuzu safe and help save everyone here! Besides, I also happened to have a Monster that can help!" Yoko smiled at her boy.

"Then get going, both of you." She ordered.

"Shouldn't some us go with you?" Luna asked.

"We will be helping Ryo and Kaito. They can watch out for us." Yuya said. With that, Yuya and Yuzu rushed outside to help their friends.

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

Zarc, Lightning, and E'Rah observed the big battle with only mild amusement. Lightning floated on Zarc's left while E'Rah stood on the right. "So far, all is going as planned." Lightning noted. Zarc chuckled, his Duel Disk now active.

"Look at them, pelting against our creation with those meager Monsters. They actually believe they can best it? What stupidity." He said. E'Rah moved closer to him.

"They do not know what is in store for them. But we do. Don't we?" She asked, caressing Zarc's face with her hand. He leaned in and gave her a very seductive kiss. "I'll take that as a yes." E'Rah said, sounding satisfied. Zarc smirked back at her. Lightning ignored them, having no interest in such "interactions".

"You two might want to refocus your attention to the action. Our remaining primary targets have just shown themselves." The Ignis informed the dark pair. Zarc and E'Rah smiled widely at seeing Yuya Sakaki and Yuzu Hiragi appear outside the Airship.

"At last. I will feel immeasurable pleasure when I finally see them die… all six of them." Zarc said as the Goddess of Despair and the evil Ignis each made contact with the Demon Duelist, who had begun to glow dark yellow…

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

Upon stepping out into the open, Yuya and Yuzu didn't waist any time to get involved. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" Yuya asked. Yuzu nodded determinedly.

"I'm more than ready! I Summon Saffira, the Dragon Princess Deity!" Yuzu hopped onto her Ritual Monster after it appeared.

"So am I! I Summon Odd-Eyes Saber Dragon!" Yuya's newest Monster was a LIGHT 2800 Attack Point red dragon covered in silver armor. "I'll go help Ryo!" He said as he too hopped onto his Monster.

"Got it! I'll meet up with Kaito! Be careful and get back safely!" Yuzu told him.

"You too!" He said before they separated. When they arrived, they found that Ryo and Kaito hadn't made progress to getting the dragon's claws to let go.

"Need some help?" They both asked their respective partners when they arrived. They both were surprised.

"Yuya! What are you doing here?" Ryo asked in bewilderment.

"Yuzu and I both came to help get out of this mess. She's with Kaito. So, can I lend you a hand?" Yuya asked. Ryo hesitated before nodding, knowing he definitely needed assistance.

"That would be great." He told the younger Duelist.

"Okay! Here goes! Saber Burst!" A silver blast from the armored dragon's mouth was added to the other Monsters' attacks trying to make a dent. They heard the giant dragon groaning in more pain.

"Seems like it's working!" Ryo said after seeing the big hand nearly retracted it's claws.

"Yuzu?! You should be back inside the Airship!" Kaito said admonishingly when Yuzu appeared.

"You obviously need some help, so I'm here to give it to you! If you tell me no I'll hit you with my fan!" She warned him, but wore a smile as she did. Kaito couldn't help but return the smile.

"Suit yourself!" He replied. Yuzu nodded.

"Let's do this then! Sacred Radiance!" Saffira fired it's sparkling blue beam again to aid Kaito's Monsters. The hand clasping the ship flinched from the added assault, but still did not release.

"This thing is stubborn!" Kaito shouted.

"We just have to keep at it!" Yuzu called out, continuing the attack.

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

As the four and Kaiba continued to battle, they saw something very wrong. "Uh, guys… what's that dragon doing?" Judai asked nervously. The five of them saw that Five God Dragon was giving off an unusual energy… dark energy, that is. Yugi immediately knew what was about to happen, and it wasn't good at all for them.

"EVERYONE! FALL BACK!" He ordered, but they didn't get very far. All five heads gave a bone chilling roar as it unleashed a powerful dark energy pulse. The Duelists all got knocked off their Monsters and were each caught in a sphere of dark yellow energy. The Monsters tried to break free to rejoin their masters, but they could not scratch their new prisons.

"What is this?!" Kaiba demanded in anger and shock. He got blown back farther than the others until he became stationary just above the Airship.

"We're trapped!" Yusei reluctantly admitted, unable to break free like everyone else.

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

"Keep going Kaito! I know we can… AAH!" Yuzu screamed when the dark pulse erupted from Five God Dragon's hand. The burst blew back not just them, but their Monsters as well.

"Yuzu!" Kaito yelled, trying to reach her. He failed as Yuzu and her dragon were each incased in a dark yellow sphere that came out of the dragon's hand after the pulse. Kaito and his Monsters were held in place by smaller dark yellow hands that came stretching out of the huge dragon's hand.

"Kaito! Yuya! Help!" Yuzu and Saffira floated away, toward the massive main body of the dragon.

"Yuya!" Ryo shouted. At the same time Yuzu and Kaito got blindsided, Yuya and Ryo also got hit by the pulse. Like Yuzu, Yuya and his Monster both became trapped in a spheres of their own and were being forced away to the five heads. Ryo and his LIGHT Machines were unable to help, also being kept in place by the same yellow hands. "Dammit! What the hell's going on?!"

"No! Yuzu!" Yuya cried out as he also saw her being captured like he was.

"Yuya! What's happening?!" She yelled fearfully. Yuya had no answers, other than they were in seriously big trouble.

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

"Come on! There's gotta to be some way out!" Yuma complained, frustrated that he couldn't put a dent into the sphere containing him. The others didn't reply, knowing they haven't a way out either. It was then Yugi saw what truly frightened him, Judai, Yusei, and Yuma.

"YUYA!? YUZU?! WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING OUT HERE?!" Yugi yelled. Both teens looked down in shame after they joined the others.

"We're sorry, Yugi. We thought we could help." Yuya answered.

"We wanted to help everyone get away." Yuzu added. Yugi gritted his teeth, not believing things had gotten this bad.

"Next time I tell you kids to stay behind, I strongly suggest you take my advice!" Kaiba scolded harshly. Yuya and Yuzu didn't respond, knowing they had indeed screwed up big time.

Astral and the rest of the group still aboard the Airship watched helplessly as Yugi, Yuya, Yuzu, and the rest were captured.

"No! Yuya!" Yusho yelled.

"Yuzu!" Shuzo shouted.

"No! How could this have happened?!" Astral asked himself, frustrated at his inability to do anything.

Just then they thought things couldn't possibly get any worse… they all heard it. A bellowing laugh that struck their vey souls. A laugh so loud and strong that everything, including the dimensional tunnel itself, was shaking. The worst part was that that laugh came from the dragon that looked down on all it's captors. "Uh, since when can dragons laugh?" Judai asked, feeling more dread with each passing second.

"Yugi Muto… Judai Yuki… Yusei Fudo… Yuma Tsukumo… Yuya Sakaki… and Yuzu Hiragi. At long last, all of you are right where I want you… as my unsuspecting prey!" Said the Five God Dragon's center head. The beast laughed again at it's triumph.

Yuya gasped in growing horror after coming to a horrifying realization. 'No… that voice! I've heard it before! But it can't be him!' He really didn't want to believe it, but it was a voice he could never forget. He heard it while he was trapped inside his own body, saving Yuri while the owner of the voice tried to kill Yuzu in a Duel. "You! You're… Zarc!"

"ZARC?!" Everyone (including those on the Airship) shouted, not believing what they just heard.

The center head lowered itself until it was eye level with Yuya. The boy couldn't help but tremble at how huge the head was up close. The head gave a toothy smile.

"Yuya, how nice of you to remember me… your original self. Same to you, Yuri." Zarc said to the shock of the merged boys. "Yes, I know both your souls are occupying the same body. After all, I felt your soul leave me after your Duel with Yuya. Now both of you are at my mercy… again." Yuya barred his teeth at him as the dragon head chuckled evilly.

"Zarc?! How is this possible?! How could you be here?! Where are you?!" Yuzu demanded, trying to find him somewhere on the dragon's body without success. The head then turned to her.

"Don't bother looking for me, fragment of Ray. I'm not there in person. I am just using this magnificent creature to chat with you and your friends." Zarc answered.

"Where are you hiding, you coward?!" Yugi angrily demanded. Zarc gave a nasty smile.

"After waking up in Yuri's body, I found a way to leave my world and took it. Where I am now, I simply cannot leave. As much as I wish I could end you with my own two hands, I regret that I won't be there to do so. This will simply have to do."

"How are you doing this, Zarc? Attacking us and trapping us with this dragon?" Yusei questioned.

"And where the heck did you get Five God Dragon in the first place? We all know this isn't the same dragon you tried to destroy world with!" Judai added. Zarc chuckled again.

"First of all, Judai, this beast's name is not "Five God Dragon". Second of all, I received it as a gift from a new friend of mine." This statement got everyone more worried.

"What friend?" Yuma asked nervously. It was then that the metal dragon head joined the conversation, and it had a different voice compared to Zarc's.

"He received it from me, Yuma Tsukumo." This surprised all of them even more.

"Another voice?! Who could this new guy be?!" Judai wondered in fear.

Kaito, Rio, Kiryu, and Luna gasped in horror. They all heard that voice before. "Oh no! It's him!" Rio shouted in alarm back on the Airship.

"Him? Him who?" Shark asked, concern in his voice. Rio paled as she turned to her brother.

"That's the voice Kaito and I heard when we saw Mr. Heartland being burned alive!" The whole group gasped.

"I recognize it too! That's the voice that took control of me!" Kiryu added in shock.

"Me too!" Luna said. Comprehension formed in Shark's mind.

"Rio… are you saying the owner of that voice is…?"

"Yes Ryoga! It's the one Yuma and the others just warned us about before this attack happened!" Kaito came to that same conclusion in his prison.

"Dammit. So that thing has aligned itself with Zarc? Talk about double trouble." He said miserably to himself before he got the word out. "Yuma! Everyone! That new voice, it's the one Rio and I heard after our Duel with Mr. Heartland! That's the Ignis that aided Roget with his Gauntlet program!"

The protectors, Yuya, and Yuzu stared at the metallic dragon head in growing horror. 'The Ignis?!' They all thought, more fearful than ever. Lightning, talking through the metal head, sounded surprised when he spoke again.

"Oh? So you know what I am and my involvement with Roget? This is unexpected. How did you learn the existence of the Ignis?" He questioned, genuinely curious.

"We ain't saying nothing, you twisted computer glitch!" Judai protested. The Ignis grunted annoyingly.

"I am far from any glitch, Judai Yuki. I am the one that shall make every world my own… after your demise, of course."

"Make every world yours? What do you mean?" Yuzu asked fearfully.

"And how did you and Zarc even meet?!" Yuya asked. The two heads turned to one another before staring back at their prisoners.

"Lightning came to me when I felt no hope of regaining my true power." Zarc answered.

"Lightning?" Yugi asked.

"That was the name I was given by someone I once knew. But enough of that." Lightning said before moving on. "Just as Zarc said, I met him when he was in his most vulnerable state of mind."

"How?" Yuma asked. Lightning collected his thoughts before he began his tale.

"There was a time when I had become one with a vessel meant to unite the Ignis, for the purpose of becoming "perfect". Then, somehow, I had been cast out of that vessel and found myself in a dark, lonely place. I used my abilities to form what you would call a "safe house" to hide my return from any who might notice."

"Cast out… The Light that was cast out!" Shark said the words to himself with realization. 'That's why it called itself that when it spoke to me and Gauche.' Lightning continued.

"After that, I somehow gained a new power I never possessed: The ability to see things outside the world I knew. It was new, so I hadn't quite mastered it at the time. One thing I saw was a purple haired male human lying unconscious with some kind of machine scanning his mind."

Yuri gasped. "He's talking about Academia's memory scanner!" He told Yuya.

'That must've happened shortly after our Duel!' Yuya replied. Lightning went on.

"While the boy was being scanned, I learned I could send a fragment of my programming into that machine. I did so, and that was when I had talked to Zarc for the first time." Zarc picked up from there.

"I was very surprised when he spoke to me. He told me that he was blocking the memory scanner so that our chat could not be discovered, plus he erased all traces of his presence when he left. Leo Akaba was told that the machine wasn't malfunctioning when it tried and failed to scan Yuri's memories. He was also told that Yuri himself was the reason why nothing could be learned from his mind. The truth was that Lightning had manipulated the device to fool them into thinking that. Our talk lasted a while, but in the real world it only lasted seconds. The more we talked, the more we realized we had quite a bit in common… mostly our desire to annihilate all humans from existence. It was so refreshing to talk to someone who understands me."

"I'll bet." Kaiba muttered.

"It was Lightning who provided the means for me to join him in his "safe house", thanks to his unique abilities and Academia's Primary Inter-dimensional Transporter. I'm in another world now, where no one is aware of my existence. The only downside is that, in order for me to enter Lightning's sanctuary from there, I had to leave Yuri's body behind. That was fine by me; I was tired of being confined to a fragmented body anyway." Zarc revealed, much to the shock of Yuya and Yuri, who decided to take control for a moment.

"You what?! What happened to my body, you son of a bitch?!" Yuri demanded. Zarc laughed at his former fragment's anger.

"I left it lying around in an alley somewhere on that new world. I'm sure someone must have discovered it by now and… maybe put it in a coffin I suppose?" He guessed. Yuri seethed at the beast of a man. He wanted to strangle the bastard, but he just couldn't lay a finger on him. Not while he and Yuya were in this situation.

"Yuri, I'm sorry." Yuya told him. Yuri calmed a little and told him it wasn't his fault before he allowed Yuya control of his body again.

"During our discussion, I learned of the destruction of his other soul fragments and the ones responsible… you. I promised him I could help him regain the power he lost long ago if he did something for me in return: That he would destroy all opposition to me in the future. That was when our pact was formed, and we became partners since then." Lightning said.

"Wait a minute Zarc!" Yusei spoke up. "You can't get your full power back without your fragments from Yuya, Yuto, and Yugo! It is simply not possible!" Zarc and Lightning both laughed.

"Wrong, Yusei Fudo. Not only was it possible to recover my power… it has already been done! I am my old self once more! The power I possessed when I became one with my dragons is mine again at long last!" Zarc laughed further in triumph.

Everyone simply could not believe what they just learned. "It can't be!" Yugi and Atem said in disbelief.

"No way!" Judai yelled.

"Impossible!" Yusei shouted.

"No!" Yuma yelled.

"It's not true!" Yuzu protested.

"How?! How could you be complete again?! What did Lightning do?!" Yuya demanded heatedly. The dark dragon head joined in now, with yet another new voice… this time, a female one.

"It was I who gave Zarc what he needed to regain his true power. All Lightning did was bring me into the fold."

"What the?! Zarc has another ally?!" Yuzu said, aghast. Yuya and the protectors were speechless, learning that Zarc and Lightning weren't the only ones involved in their predicament.

On the Airship, Luna trembled and covered her mouth. Complete and utter terror overwhelmed her, forcing her to drop to her knees. "No… NO! NOT HER! PLEASE, NOT HER!" She screamed. Shark knelt next to her, perplexed like everyone else's reaction to her.

"Luna, you know who that third voice is?!" He asked urgently. Luna's terrified face was streaming with tears. She refused to look up.

"IT'S HER, RYOGA! THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR DESTROYING MY REALITY! I KNOW HER VOICE ANYWHERE! IT'S…" Luna couldn't bring herself to say the name she hated.

"Wait, you don't mean…?" Rio asked, dreading the answer.

"Who are you?! Tell us!" Yugi yelled, demanding an answer. The dark head smiled while revealing the numerous teeth threatening to tear them to pieces.

"My name is E'Rah. I am a Goddess of Despair, and soon to be one of your executioners, Yugi Muto."

Yuma, Astral, Kaito, Shark, Rio, and Gauche all had their jaws dropped. Luna trembled even more.

"E'Rah?! The same E'Rah that Luna told us about?!" Yuma exclaimed in disbelief.

"I do not believe this!" Astral shouted. E'Rah then turned to Yuma.

"Yuma Tsukumo, it is strange to see you alive again after I stripped you of your life. I was told you would not recognize me since we met never met in your reality. Still, it will be such a treat to kill you twice." E'Rah said in a sickeningly sweet voice.

"Ain't gonna happen!" Yuma protested. E'Rah chuckled as she gazed at the Airship.

"I know you can hear me in that piece of junk you call a ship, Astral. Where I'm from, you had imprisoned me to end my schemes. How badly you have failed, just as you have failed to save everyone with you now."

Astral did nothing but frown in frustration. He did indeed now wished the Airship had been given a powerful weapon system to fight back with.

"Luna told me how Astral locked you away! How did you escape?!" Yuma shouted, drawing the Goddess' attention back to him.

"I am so glad you asked. You see… it was Lightning that freed me from inside the Astral of my reality."

"WHAT?!" Everyone shouted.

"But how?!" Luna questioned. E'Rah looked over at the metal dragon head that the Ignis talked through. Lightning took this as his cue to explain.

"Just after my conversation with Zarc, I began to search for a way to restore his true power without the need for his now destroyed soul fragments. I learned quickly that I could see into other worlds and realities. Hence, how I learned more about the rest of you. It was during my search that I stumbled upon E'Rah's defeat at the hands of you, Astral, Kaito, Shark, and Kyoji Yagumo. I discovered she had the power I was looking for. It was I decided that E'Rah would be needed. At the moment of her sealing, I uploaded another fragment of my programming into Luna's D-Gazer tattoo. From there, while she witnessed E'Rah being imprisoned, I converted my program fragment into energy and transferred it into Astral. With the connection established, I aided E'Rah's escape by corrupting Astral's life energy to the point where it could no longer keep the Goddess of Despair contained. She then broke free and finished what she set out to do in that reality before joining me and Zarc in my sanctuary."

Shark was outraged and disgusted that Luna had been used to free that monster. Luna herself covered her mouth and sobbed even more. The poor girl felt like she was going to be sick. "He used me… to free her?! It… it can't be…" She barely managed to say. Shark held her tight.

"That bastard." Shark said venomously.

"How dare you do that to Luna?!" Yuma screamed at Lightning. The Ignis and Despair Goddess chuckled.

"It was just a random choice. Ironic though that she, of all people, managed to escape her reality's destruction… only for her to be made a tool of mine yet again for my amusement." Lightning said with a snicker. Yuma growled at him.

"After using his power to bring me to his sanctuary, Lightning introduced me to Zarc. We immediately hit it off." E'Rah said to her delight. "I have never met a soul so dark and malicious as his in all my existence. Zarc was also drawn to the darkness emitting from me. It was as if we were made for each other, unlike that pathetic human who rejected him, Ray Akaba." She said the name with distaste. Zarc growled loudly when he heard his old girlfriend's name.

"You and E'Rah are together?!" Yuya and Yuzu exclaimed at Zarc in horrified shock. They couldn't think of a more dangerous pairing than those two.

"Lightning informed me that E'Rah was the answer to restoring my powers. After feeling the evil within her, I believed him. She truly is an incredible being." Zarc said honestly before E'Rah took over.

"I immediately agreed to help him. I gave Zarc a great deal of my own dark power, making up for the energy he would have gotten had he successfully merged with his other fragments." Zarc's dragon head gave a nasty smile.

"Yes, thanks to them I am now what I am supposed to be: The Demon Duelist with power equal to a god!"

Yugi, Judai, Yusei, Yuma, Yuya, and Yuzu couldn't believe all this happened right under their noses. They were so busy stopping Leo Akaba that they never considered the possibility that Zarc could still be alive. Nor could they ever have anticipated that he would find some allies of his own to help him.

"What about Roget? How did he get involved?" Kaito asked the Ignis. He seemed very eager to reply.

"I was hoping someone would ask me that question. After my talk with Zarc and before he regained consciousness in Yuri's body, I sought out the means for him to join me and have his revenge. This was also just before I recruited E'Rah. I decided to spy on Leo because he would be sure to have more information on his enemies… the same enemies Zarc had. Not long after, I stumbled upon Roget and his obsession with revenge on Yusei. When Leo and Roget agreed to work together, I realized I found the perfect pawn to test an experiment I had in mind."

"You did give Roget the idea of creating the Gauntlet program in the first place!" Yusei confirmed. Lightning smiled.

"Correct, Yusei Fudo. Just as I had before, I sent another program fragment into Roget's mind when he was using his holo communications to organize his Sector Security officers for the war. Once our "connection" was established, I got Roget working on the program at once. Due to my programming enhancement, it took him hardly any time to get the program complete. Of course, he was completely unaware of me driving his mind. It truly was a well conceived experiment. I made him believe that any opposing Duelist would face a facsimile of whomever I chose. In actuality, however, those adversaries were real… from your own worlds." What Lightning did not divulge was that he had "other plans" for some of the ones he had chosen…

"But Mr. Heartland was dead! How did you bring him back to fight Rio and Kaito?!" Yuma asked.

"An excellent question, Yuma Tsukumo. It has to do with how my body, my whole being, was altered after being removed from my perfect host. I could observe other worlds and send tiny fragments of myself through technology to influence events. Thanks to the Gauntlet program, I was able to take my newfound gift to a new level! The program allowed me to actually interact directly with those I wish to do battle… including those whose lives had expired. For those that refused to cooperate, I had to add a bit more force to it."

"Like you did with Kiryu, Luna, and the Jack Atlas from the Synchro Dimension!" Yusei accused. The Ignis chuckled.

"Right again. Most of the humans I've chosen were willing to play my little game, but those few needed a little "adjustments"."

"What about Enna?! You weren't controlling her! Why get her involved in all this?!" Yuma demanded angrily. Lightning chuckled again.

"You know about Enna as well? It is true, I did not possess her like I did with the humans. I actually tried to, but for some reason my powers had no effect on her. I suppose it had to do with her being a native of the Astral World. As for why I chose her and how I convinced her to fight on my behalf… Let us just say that I gave her a reason not to go against me." He hinted sinisterly.

"Why you!" In anger, Yuma tried once more to break through his sphere, but no matter how hard he pounded, he just couldn't make a dent.

Astral feared for his home world, Enna, and the rest of her people on it even more after hearing Lightning's words. 'Lightning… What did you do?' He asked in deep worry.

"Of course, failing to possess Enna was not my only miscalculation. I made Roget enter that sub program just for you when he finally faced you, Yusei. I was very much looking forward to watching you and Jack Atlas tear each other apart while under my influence. What I did not expect, however, was that your Signer Birthmark protected you from the sub program's influence." Yusei smirked from that.

"That's just goes to show ya that we aren't anybody's pawns!" Judai told him. Lightning grunted.

"Indeed. Regardless of the victories in the barriers, my experiment proved to be a success. Now I was fully confident I could indeed give Zarc his chance for vengeance. This all led to my master plan: Your capture and termination!"

"You used your powers to allow Zarc to Summon his new dragon here to attack us!" Yugi said in response. This time, Zarc answered.

"Yes he did. When Lightning learned he can use dimensional energy to enhance his powers, he decided to use it to set this brilliant trap for all of you. All we had to do was wait for you to leave my world and enter the dimensional tunnel… where we have you! There is no escape now for any of you!" Zarc revealed as he, E'Rah, and Lightning all laughed in unison.

Everyone, on and off board the Airship, began to realize just how screwed they actually were. They literally flew right into a giant trap that they just failed to escape from.

"No…" Yuzu said, now feeling hopeless as she stared at her protector and boyfriend. "Yugi… Yuya… I'm sorry." They turned to her, feeling just as bad as she was, if not worse.

"Me too." Yuya said, pressing his hand against his prison to reach his girlfriend in vain. Yuzu did the same. All Yugi did grit his teeth and look down, truly seeing no way out of this one.

'It can't end like this. Not when we were so close to keeping them safe!' Yugi cried in his mind.

"I know Yugi. I know." Atem said, not feeling so confident now.

"I can't believe we came so far, only to…" Judai couldn't finish what he tried to say. 'Asuka… Sho… I'm sorry. Guess I'm not coming back home after all.'

"None of this was your fault, Judai.' Yubel told him. He didn't respond as he looked away.

Yusei slammed his fist against his sphere prison, more pissed than he's ever been in his life. "Dammit! How could we have let this happen? We should've known! We should've…" He shook from the fury of their predicament and knowing they couldn't get away.

"Is there really… no way out?" Yuma muttered hopelessly.

On the Airship, Astral looked up at his partner, also feeling helpless. "Yuma…" He shut eyes and lowered his head in shame. He should've anticipated something like this would happen, but he didn't. No one did. Now they were all going to die. Zarc then revealed his next plan.

"After I kill all of you, and once I'm able to leave from Lightning's sanctuary, I will hunt down and eliminate all of Ray's remaining fragments! Along the way, I will retrieve my dragons before erasing my "former" fragments… starting with you two!" He informed Yuya and Yuri. "But first, Yuya… I want you to witness the death of your precious Yuzu. You kept her away from Leo Akaba, but that was all for nothing! Now witness as I devour her, knowing you could do nothing to save her from me!"

Zarc then opened the center dragon head's mouth wide, drooling with anticipation. It's shadow fell over a very frightened Yuzu.

"NO!" Yugi shouted helplessly.

"NO! YUZUUUUU!" Yuya cried out in despair, beating against his prison without any success. The other protectors, their imprisoned Monsters, and everyone else at the Airship could do nothing but watch the horrific event unfold. Yuzu cried her own tears as the dragon's jaws prepared to sink in on her.

'It's over.' The poor girl thought to herself. 'We've lost. We couldn't do anything to stop this. Dad… Yugi… Yuya… everyone. I wish there was a way we could've…' Yuzu was too upset to finish her thought. She had just begun to resign to her fate as the beast's jaws closed in on the sphere containing her. It would be over within seconds…

"Firewall Dragon, strike now! Tempest Attack!"

Suddenly, a powerful red energy beam struck Zarc's dragon head hard, making it recoil and roar in pain.

"What?!" Zarc, Lightning, and E'Rah shouted, shocked by the unexpected attack.

"What was that?!" Yuma yelled. The other protectors and Yuya were completely dumbstruck.

"Look!" Yusei pointed to his right. The whole group turned to see a cybernetic blue and silver dragon fly in to stand between Yuzu and the evil Monster.

"That new Monster just saved Yuzu!" Yuya said, hardly believing what he was seeing. Yuzu just stared speechless at the new creature.

"I've never seen that thing before! Who's Monster is that?" Judai questioned. Just as he asked, a new figure on a hover board came up next to the new dragon that protected Yuzu from death.

"Who is that?" Yugi asked, hardly believing a miracle had just happened.

"Where the hell did he come from?!" A very pissed off Zarc demanded as he stood in the sanctuary. E'Rah was also stunned by this turn of events.

Lightning gasped and stared very wide eyed at the new comer. 'Impossible! How could he be here?!' He asked himself angrily in his mind.

"Who… are you?" Yuzu asked, her voice still very shaky. The green eyed dark suited man looked over his shoulder, and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I am Playmaker. It's okay, Yuzu. Everyone is going to be fine."

"How do you know my name?" Yuzu asked, surprised further. Before he could reply, Zarc's dragon head growled and started at Playmaker quite menacingly.

"You just made the worst mistake of your life, human! For that sneak attack, I'll devour you first!" The Demon Duelist declared. Playmaker smiled.

"You won't kill anyone today." He said calmly.

"What makes you so sure?" Zarc asked.

"He is not alone!" Another new voice intruded, to the surprise of everyone. This one came from a white suited man in a visor that just joined Playmaker's left side with a hover board of his own. "Varrelload Dragon! Varrel Cannon of Lightning!" A golden electrical blast just smacked the five heads enough to feel even more pain. They saw that the attack came from another cybernetic looking dragon, only this one was red and silver with devil like horns on it's head.

"Another one?!" E'Rah blurted out.

"There's a lot more where that came from!" Came a third new voice. A confident looking man in a orange and blue flaming suit now floated to Playmaker's right. "Eat this! Go Salamangrate Pyro Phoenix! Rebirth Flame!" Before anyone could react, what looked like a flaming comet streaked above the five headed beast and struck all the heads in a rapid succession. The "comet" then revealed itself to be a humanoid dark red phoenix.

"Looks like the new guy brought some friends of his own!" Judai said. "But I just wish we could get out of here to help them!"

"I can do that!" The captured group turned to see a blue haired woman with two Monsters on either side of her. "Trickstar Bella Madonna! Shining Espoir!" A light pink blast from the wicked looking axe from a green haired fairy delivered another devastating hit to the enemy dragon. "Now while that thing is shaken up, let's do some reuniting! Marincess Great Bubble Reef! Whirlpool Flower!" Another long green haired woman, this time wearing a kimono and holding a flower staff, launched a swirling whirlpool of water at the closest prisoners.

Before they knew it, Yugi, Judai, Yusei, Yuma, Yuya, and Yuzu were not only released from captivity, but they were also with their respective Monsters once more. They were all free! "Yuzu!" Yuya yelled as he and his Saber Dragon moved to where Yuzu and Saffira were.

"Yuya!" The girl yelled joyfully as they hugged tightly. All the heroes smiled to see them together again.

Back on the Airship, the entire group watched the whole event in total amazement. "Who are those guys?!" Rua asked in awe.

"I do not know, Rua. However, it would seem we have received some last minute assistance." Astral said with a look of relief.

Zarc, E'Rah, and Lightning were shocked even further. 'Them too?! But how?!' The Ignis yelled incredulously in his head.

"Thank you! All you guys! But seriously, who are you all and how did you get here to save our butts?!" Yuma asked, more than happy to be free and with his Monster once again.

"We are allies of Playmaker. I am Revolver." The white suited man said, introducing himself.

"I'm Soulburner. Nice to finally meet all of you." Said the flaming man.

"And I am Blue Maiden." Said the blue haired woman. "It really is an honor to meet you guys. We've heard so much about you."

"You have?" Yuya asked. The four newcomers nodded.

"Ray Akaba told us everything. When she learned what would happen to you, she sent us to aid you by creating a portal for us to pass through." Playmaker explained.

"Ray?! You all know her?!" Judai said, amazed.

"We do. She's a really sweet person." Soulburner commented.

"Ray never mentioned any of you when the four of us first met her." Yusei said, referring to himself, Yugi, Judai, and Yuma.

"Yes. How exactly do all of you know her?" Yugi inquired.

"Playmaker introduced the three of us to Ray Akaba just recently." Revolver answered, indicating himself, Soulburner, and Blue Maiden.

"How did you meet her, Playmaker?" Yuya wondered. Playmaker hesitated before he responded.

"That is a story for another time, Yuya. Right now, I strongly suggest we move to free the rest of your friends and escape from here while we have the chance." He told the younger boy.

"Indeed. Take these and install them into each of your Duel Disks." Revolver said as he took out several silver disks and handed one to Yuya, Yuzu, and the protectors.

"What are they?" Yuzu asked, looking at his disk curiously.

"They contain a program made by a close friend of mine and enhanced by Ray's abilities. Not only will they protect you from being captured again, but they will also increase the power of your LIGHT Monsters ten fold." Playmaker explained.

"We did that for our Monsters, and you saw how much they hurt that big brute." Soulburner said as he pointed at the enemy dragon with his thumb. The Monster indeed looked like it was still recovering from the recent attacks. "Go ahead, slip them in."

Yugi and the others did install the disks. When they did, they became momentarily surrounded by a warm light… a light that extended to their Monsters. They all roared from the increase in power. "Woah, that was a rush!" Yugi commented. Judai then quickly realized something.

"Wait, are all your Monsters LIGHT? A few don't quite look it." He said, noticing nothing "LIGHT" about some of the new Monsters.

"My Firewall Dragon and Blue Maiden's Trickstar Bella Madonna are LIGHT, but the others aren't." Playmaker said.

"Then how did they inflict so much damage?" Yugi asked. Soulburner smirked as he showed what appeared to be Equip Magic card.

"When Revolver, Blue Maiden, and I Summoned our non-LIGHT Monsters for battle, we Equipped them with Scroll of Bewitchment. Another handy gift from Ray. It changes the Attribute of the Equipped Monster to another of our choice. Obviously, we chose LIGHT."

"We have more disks for each of your friends that still need help." Blue Maiden said as he revealed a few more disks.

"Some of us still need to keep Zarc's dragon occupied a little longer so that the rest can work to force it to release the Airship." Revolver suggested. Yugi nodded.

"Agreed. Judai, Yusei, Yuma, Kaiba, and myself can resume our previous attacks." He said.

"I will assist you there." Playmaker said.

"Me too!" Yuya volunteered. "I owe you for saving us!"

"So do I!" Yuzu said, but Blue Maiden believed otherwise.

"No Yuzu. You are the one Zarc wants to kill the most, so I don't think you should be on the front lines. You and I can help free the Airship instead." She said.

"I'm with Blue Maiden. I'll definitely lend you a hand in that department." Said Soulburner.

"I shall also take part in that." Revolver said. Yuzu looked disappointed, but she knew they were right. She then moved closer to Yuya.

"Be careful and come back alive, Yuya." Her boyfriend nodded.

"You too, Yuzu." He said before they shared a brief kiss. With that, the two groups split up to finish their work.

In no time, Blue Maiden had her Marincess Great Bubble Reef free Kaiba, Ryo, Kaito, and all their Monsters. She then handed another silver disk to Kaiba, who did not hesitate to use and felt new protection given to him. "Go! The others need you!" She told Kaiba, who looked annoyed that a girl saved him just now.

"You don't need to tell me." He said roughly before he and his Alternative Ultimate Dragon flew off to rejoin in the dragon assault. As soon as they were together, Yugi and those with him turned to face the evil dragon again with renewed hope.

"Okay everyone! Let's try this again! ATTACK!" With that command, all seven empowered LIGHT Monsters struck back hard at their gigantic enemy. The combined attacks caused far more damage than anything that hit it with so far. That, and with everyone flying around to dodge any counterattacks, made the evil trio's job that much harder.

"Dammit!" Zarc yelled in outraged frustration.

"Oh yeah! That thing's really feeling the pain now!" Judai said excitedly.

Meanwhile, Yuzu and her new escort arrived at the two dragon hands still slowly trying to crush the Airship's upper portion. The dents when the dragon's claws made were now more noticeable. They needed to move fast. Yuzu and Blue Maiden made their way to Kaito, while Revolver and Soulburner have reached Ryo.

"Thanks. Who are you people?" Kaito asked in wonder as he was given his LIGHT enhancement disk.

"New Friends." Blue Maiden simply told him.

"We have to hurry to save everyone!" Yuzu insisted. Kaito nodded.

"Okay!" He and the female Duelists then had their Monsters strike at their dragon hand, which felt more agony than ever.

"Thank you." Ryo said as he was given his disk and used it.

"Don't mention it." Soulburner replied with a grin.

"We must work quickly!" Revolver said. Ryo agreed.

"Then let's do it!" The trio then attacked their dragon hand. As with the other, it struggled to hold on, despite the much stronger bombardment it was taking. The evil behemoth continued press down, despite the torture it was enduring. Both simultaneous attacks kept going for what seemed like an eternity. Then, after several minutes of pounding… the dragon finally relented and retracted it's giant hands.

"Finally!" Soulburner shouted.

"We did it!" Yuzu cheered. She then gasped at the extent of the damage. The dragon left massive imprints that went several feet deep.

"That doesn't look good." Kaito said grimly. He had never once seen the vessel so badly damaged before. He didn't waste anytime in contacting Astral via his Duel Disk. "Astral! The dragon finally released the Airship, but the damage is not pretty to look at! Is everyone else okay?"

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

"That is great news Kaito. All the others are unharmed, but as for your damage report… I'm sorry to say it is more serious that you know." Astral said heavily.

"What do you mean?" Kaito asked over their comm system.

"We may no longer be in the clutches of Zarc and his new friends, but the engines are offline now. We cannot move the Airship in it's current condition." Definitely not good news.

"Can't we fix it somehow?!" Yuzu asked, now sounding desperate. Astral sighed.

"I would have to see how extensive the damage is before making an accurate assessment. If I had to guess, I would say that we would need more time than I'm afraid we may not have." He hated giving the bad news. Things started to feel hopeless again, despite the arrival of Playmaker and his team.

"Wait, what is that?" Rio asked, pointing to something on Astral's control console. The energy being looked down to see a blinking gold button he had never seen before.

"What is this? I have no recollection of this button being here a moment ago. But why now?" He said to himself. Astral believed it must've shown itself just now while he wasn't looking. Upon closer inspection, he saw an image on the button… an image Astral recognized. 'This is… the Cyberse World!' He thought to himself. Knowing this had to something to do with Ray and the Ignis with her, Astral pressed the button.

"Storm Protocol activated. Emergency Jump in four minutes." Said a voice from the control board… a familiar female voice.

'Aqua.' Astral said in his mind. At the same time, the entire Different Dimension Airship began to be enveloped by swirling blue, red, green, and orange lights.

"Emergency Jump?! What's that mean?! What's happening now?!" Grace started to panic.

"Something tells me we should find some seats and strap ourselves in now." Gloria told her sister urgently. Astral agreed. He had a very good idea now of what was about to happen.

"Everyone, get to your seats and secure yourselves immediately!" He ordered. As the group were busy getting ready for what was to come, Astral made contact with the others outside.

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

"Guys, check out the Airship!" Judai called, pointing at the damaged vehicle. Both outsides watched the ship being covered in many colors.

"What's going on?" Yusei asked, in wonder.

'The Storm Protocol has been activated!' Playmaker thought. As they all observed this, Astral's voice buzzed in.

"Attention! All Duelists outside must return to the Airship at once! We are about to depart!" Everyone but Playmaker gasped.

"I thought you said the engines were damaged?" Yuzu asked.

"It would seem that our transport has been given an upgrade we were not told about! Now proceed back inside! We have less than four minutes!" Astral advised. They all nodded.

"Yuzu, you and those with you get back inside first! We will cover you!" Yugi instructed.

"Can you guys make it?" Ryo asked.

"As soon as you all make it in, we will be right behind you!" Judai said.

"Trust us, we'll make it!" Yusei yelled.

"We'll be fine!" Yuma added.

"I'll be there too! Just hurry!" Yuya shouted. Yuzu hesitated before nodding.

"Please make it, everyone." The pink haired girl said as she, Blue Maiden, Kaito, Revolver, Soulburner, and Ryo retreated. The attack group still kept the five dragon heads in battle while this was happening. Just as Yuzu's group made it back to the main platform and ran inside, the fire dragon head had spotted them and let out a knowing roar. This alerted Zarc, E'Rah, and Lightning.

"What?! What is happening?!" Zarc yelled, not pleased that Yuzu is now out of sight.

"Are they going to try to escape?! But their vessel has been disabled! There is no way they can!" E'Rah cried out. Lightning was not happy with how things were progressing.

"It does not matter at this point! We must destroy the Airship! NOW!" Shouted the evil Ignis. The attack group saw that the five heads were now starting to charge up a combined assault.

'That voice… Lightning?!' Playmaker thought, not sure if he heard right.

"Yugi, get your group back inside immediately! Yuzu's group has returned and are now secure!" Astral called out.

"How much time do we have left?" Yusei asked.

"Precisely two minutes!" Astral replied. Yuma now panicked a little.

"We gotta go now!" He shouted.

"Back to the Airship! Move!" Yugi commanded as his group turned tailed and flew toward their ride home. As they flew, the huge dark energy ball above the dragon's head was nearly ready to launch.

The seconds seemed to have dragged on, with each adding more stress to everyone still waiting. "Where are they?!" Yoko shouted.

"They will make it." Yusho assured his wife.

"Less than thirty seconds!" Astral announced. As he did, everyone felt the Airship vibrate and hum loudly. "Yuma… everyone… hurry." He said softly.

"We're almost there!" Yuya yelled.

As Yugi and the others got closer, they saw the transport now starting to glow brighter. "This is going to be close!" Judai yelled.

"NO! NONE OF YOU WILL LEAVE ALIVE!" Zarc screamed in outrage as his and the other dragon heads fired their combined attack. It was closing in on the group fast. "YUYA! YURI! I WILL TAKE BACK MY DRAGONS!" Yuya then felt a strong tug from his Deck and Extra Deck. He knew Zarc was trying to take Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Starve Venom Fusion Dragon. However, to the surprise of the merged pair, both Decks were covered by a light emitting from Yuya's pendent. "WHAT?! WHY CAN'T I TAKE BACK WHAT IS MINE?!" Zarc yelled, greatly shocked by this. Neither Yuya of Yuri could fathom this, but they had a much bigger problem... which was heading right for them.

'We are not going to make it!' Yuya said in his head.

"Don't sound like a quitter, dammit!" Yuri admonished him, though he also felt the same. Just as the giant dark ball was upon them all…

"Yuya! Turn around and hold out your pendent! Do it!" Yuya, as well as Yuri, heard that same strange voice yet again. What it just told him to do made no sense. How could his small pendent do anything against something that large?! "Yuya, you must trust me! Do it now!"

Yuya, having no reason to doubt the voice after heeding it's advice so far, did as it said and held out his pendent at the incoming attack. As the dark ball made contact, the pendent glowed much brighter than it ever did.

The light was so bright that it blocked the holo screen at Astral's console. "Now what?!" Crow yelled. Astral didn't answer as he looked at the countdown again.

"Ten seconds! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six!" Some of the group held hands with others, praying they would somehow make it. "Five! Four!" Yugi's group barely just landed on the main platform. "Three! Two! One…!"

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

The next thing that Zarc, E'Rah, and Lightning saw was a massive explosion that covered the whole surveillance globe. Nothing could be seen except white.

"What happened? Did we destroy them?" E'Rah asked, not quite ready to believe it unless she saw proof with her own eyes.

"Lightning, did we succeed?" Zarc demanded, wanting answers yesterday.

"Allow me to get the globe back online. This shouldn't take long." Said the Ignis. The dark couple waited impatiently for the digital being to make good on his word. After a minute, the picture came back. What they saw… brought smiles to their faces.

Before the trio was an enormous field of debris that consisted of twisted and charred metal. The largest chunk was what seemed to be the main bridge of the Airship. Inside it were… blackened seats where their occupants previously sat. Even though he failed to retrieve Odd-Eyes and Starve Venom, Zarc laughed along with his dark goddess and their A.I. ally, knowing they had at last succeeded in destroying their enemies. 'Yes! They are all gone! Now no one shall stand in my way! NO ONE!' The Demon Duelist thought triumphantly as he continued to laugh.

To be continued.