Spirit and Soul Intertwined

Chapter 4

"What's going on?!" he gasped, staring at something behind them.

Yubel turned around. In the distance, they spotted the figure of a predominately white and blue pegasus.

"Is that Sapphire Pegasus?" Yubel asked aloud.

"Johan!" Judai gasped.

Before Yubel could say anything, Judai charged forward toward the distant ravine. Yubel floated after him. As they got closer, Yubel realized what was happening. Johan had been backed toward the edge of the cliff by an unfamiliar intimidating looking man. The two of them were dueling. The man had a huge fusion monster on his side of the field. Meanwhile, all Johan had was Sapphire Pegasus and a few gem forms of the other Crystal Beasts, seemingly having been destroyed in battle.

"Attack his Sapphire Pegasus!" the man exclaimed, swinging his arm.

The man's monster slashed Sapphire Pegasus to pieces. Johan yowled. The force of the attack sent Johan flying backwards.

"JOHAN!" Judai cried out, throwing himself between the two duelists.

Johan's fingers barely gripped the edge of the cliff.

"Judai!" he yelped, flinging his other arm over the cliff. He was trying to haul himself up, his nails desperately clawing at the rocky ground as he kept his grip.

"Hey, get out of here kid," the man grunted. "This duel doesn't concern you."

"It does now!" Judai raised his arm, his duel disk shifting into position. "I don't know why you're battling him but I'm taking over this duel for Johan!"

"Fine," the man growled, placing some cards on his duel disk. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn."

"My turn! Draw!" Judai wasted no time, slapping three cards onto his duel disk. "I summon Legendary Hero Neos and Neo Spacian Flare Scarab then use contact fusion to fuse them together!"

The monsters appeared for only a split second before they were enveloped in light and their bodies swirled around as they combined. Then the light disappeared and a dark figure took its place.

"Flare Neos!" Judai pointed at the man. "Attack his monster directly!"

Flare Neos attacked the monster, splitting it to pieces and sending the brute of a duelist flying backwards with a yowl. Johan's arm slipped off the cliff. He yelped, squirming a bit as his fingers barely clung to the rock. Judai whipped around.

"Johan!"

He charged toward him, his arm outstretched. Johan's fingers slipped.

"JOHAN!"

Judai's scream pierced Yubel's heart and before they knew what they were doing, they threw themself forward and grabbed Johan's arm. His weight dragged them down, their heart skipping a beat. Gritting their teeth, Yubel tugged Johan as hard as they could toward solid ground, stumbling backwards. Johan flopped on top of them. For a moment, Yubel felt dazed. *Why did I save...*

"Yubel..." Judai stared at them, his eyes bright but welling with tears.

Yubel smiled. Of course they saved Johan: he was important to Judai, and Judai's happiness was more important to them than keeping him like some kind of possession.

Johan glanced up at him. "Judai!" He threw his arms around him.

Judai hugged back for a few moments, then backed out, resting his hands on Johan's shoulders.

"What did that guy want from you?!" he asked, his eyes wide.

"He was trying to steal my Crystal Beasts," Johan answered, still shivering. "He cornered me at the cliff and..."