Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's is owned by Kazuki Takahashi.
"The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but the one who causes the darkness." – Victor Hugo
Darkness. Evocatively, that word brings up fear, sorrow, anger, sadness, and a myriad of many other emotions within us. It also brings to mind corruption, greed, and anything that seeks to undermine the peaceful world I hope for. As I spend another day in the all consuming darkness, I can only reminisce my life to this day, and being practically immortal, I have all the time in the world. Even so, I am reduced to shaking my head in shame as to why my life suddenly reached the point it did, all those years ago.
I was always the forgotten one in my group. Stardust Dragon had the ability to inspire hope in others. Red Dragon Archfiend, while he may be devilish, imparted a competitive nature in those around him, along with the drive to succeed. Those two were rivals ever since they were born, each trying to outcompete the other. In that sense, I guess you could also call them polar opposites. Black Rose Dragon seems cold on the outside, but she is really just a kind soul who wants a friend. Companionship was her strength, she could both listen to your troubles and pour out her own to relate. Ancient Fairy Dragon, her most defining trait was her kindness and generosity. In fact, she was responsible for the (generally) peaceful nature of the People of the Stars. As for me, I was silent, withdrawn, and preferred the comfort of solitude as opposed to the others, I was never the social one.
According to our master, he created each one of us as ambassadors to the humans, as his warriors, and as guardians of the People of the Stars. While the other four quickly and easily found their purposes and sought to bestow their respective emotions upon the humans, I was quickly isolated. My traits seemed downright antisocial, and detrimental, so much so that I questioned my purpose in this world. I spoke with our master and he replied that I would find my purpose "in due time".
Several years later, an ancient evil arose in the form of the Immortals. They were vile, twisted abominations who only found pleasure by devastating others. In particular, they attacked the humans we were tasked to guard. Five brave humans begged our master for assistance in vanquishing this evil. Impressed by their bold request, he agreed, flying down to Earth, bringing the five of us in tow. He marked each of those humans on the arm with symbols representing his Front Claw, Tail, Wings, Rear Claw, and Head, as well as declaring that each of us was now partnered with one of the humans.
We confronted the Immortals, each of us firing our strongest attacks, and successfully defeating them. Our master used a powerful spell to seal them into the Earth so they could cause no further trouble. Before he was fully sealed away, the leader of the Immortals spun a web and captured Ancient Fairy Dragon, pulling her down with him. Horrified, we could do nothing to help, since we had drained all our energy fighting those fiends. The Immortals were sealed underground, creating marks on the ground later to be known as Nazca Lines, and earning those fiends the name "Earthbound Immortals".
Of all my years, one thing I never understood was our master's insistence that my name remained a mystery. Even my fellow dragons did not know my name. Only one person ever knew of my name, and that was my human partner. Our master gave him a strict warning to never reveal my name to anyone. True to his word, my partner took the knowledge of my name with him to his grave. I never did find out the reason our master wanted to keep me in relative obscurity compared to his other servants. Probably to give others the impression that he had only four servants, to hide the fact I was his secret weapon. After all, what one doesn't know can sneak up on him when he is most vulnerable. Of course, others not knowing my name made conversation incredibly awkward. I was repeatedly called the "Fifth Dragon", "Golden Bug Dragon", and to my embarrassment, "Skinny Stardust". When will these people get it in their heads, I look nothing like Stardust Dragon. Either way, those nicknames helped to further build up my enigmatic image.
The millennia passed, the Earthbound Immortals grew stronger, and the time came for a new generation of chosen ones. In his wisdom, our master selected the first one to come many years before the next four, probably to act as a mentor to them when they do arrive. Our master selected me as his partner. To help us blend in, our master adapted us into Duel Monster card forms. Oddly enough, where a normal Duel Monsters card had its name printed on the top, the space where the name would be on my card was blank. Eventually, my card wound up in my partner's possession as it travelled from person to person in Domino City, It seemed like a great match, he was silent, reclusive, and did loads of research, like me. Years passed, and he was employed, along with his younger brother, to work for KaibaCorp's M.I.D.S. department, as assistants in constructing the world's first Enerdy reactor. I saw the work for myself, and I had to admit, it was impressive. The reactor was constructed with the intent of providing the city with an infinite power source, provided it spun in one direction.
However, this first system was far from perfect, and it definitely had its flaws. Usage of the system caused natural disasters to start occurring all over the city. The engineer in charge of the project wanted to cancel it, but my partner had other plans. The fame and the glory that completing the system would bring consumed him. He decided to research occurrences similar to what was happening in Domino City. He then came across similar phenomena at the Nazca Lines. He travelled to the Nazca Lines and I was able to revisit the site where I had helped to seal away the Earthbound Immortals all those years ago. A shadowy character approached my partner and told him that he was disappointed that the Enerdy research would be stopped, telling my partner that the research must continue. He also stated that the people of Yliaster believed my partner to be a genius, acknowledging the mark my master placed on his arm when he was born. Finally, the stranger told my partner to look into the light emitted by the reactor. Without another word, the man vanished when a sandstorm blew in. Needless to say, the encounter left me feeling extremely uneasy. After all, it did occur at the Nazca lines, a site I considered the epitome of pure evil. Furthermore, I felt that my partner had just finished an encounter with the devil.
Against my better judgment, my partner decided to heed the man's words, returning to the research lab and looked into the light of the Enerdy system, observing the battle between our master and the Earthbound Immortals. From that point on, I could tell that he had changed, and not for the better. Evil had latched its foul jaws on my partner. He made the intentions of the lead engineer known to the project's funders, and they unanimously voted to appoint my partner head researcher of the project. The system possessed four safety switches, which could only be activated by using the cards of my fellow dragons. To be able to use the system, my partner needed those cards. Bypassing the security surrounding it, my partner broke into the vault where those cards were held and stole them. I could hear my friends cry out in outrage at being taken in such an undignified way for such a nefarious purpose, but I could do nothing but watch.
The next day, the lead engineer arrived at work like always, and announced his intentions to stop the project. One of the employees proceeded to tell him that he was relieved of his duties a while ago, while another told him that my partner took his place as project leader. Furious, the man confronted my partner, asking for an explanation. My partner calmly explained that he was to take over. The engineer simply stated that he set the seals on the safety switches, at which point my partner revealed the cards he stole from the vault. The engineer wasted no time in sprinting forward, grabbing the cards from my partner, and running out the room, dropping Ancient Fairy Dragon's card when the employees, who shot him as he was escaping, wounded him. To this day, the pain and regret of not being able to act still eats away at the core of my very being. That was the last I saw of Stardust Dragon, Red Dragon Archfiend, and Black Rose Dragon. I hope they have found their partners.
My partner, on the other hand, picked up the card that the engineer dropped, and excused himself from the room, an evil smirk on his face. Entering the control room, he chopped off his arm with the Head birthmark and placed it in a container filled with formaldehyde, using alcohol and painkillers to dull the pain. At that moment, I felt the ultimate sting of betrayal in my heart. Our master chose him as one of his five warriors, and my partner, but this man chose to turn his back on us. I could think of no greater honor than that, and the man throws it all away, just so he can get in bed with the enemy, to take their offer of power and use it for his own selfish gains of world domination. To say I was furious was an understatement, but I felt a small comfort in knowing that I no longer had a bond with him, that bond now resting eerily in a canister of preservative liquids. My former partner then started typing new instructions into the control panels, to override the ones already inputted into the reactor's programming.
Roughly an hour later, his younger brother entered the room, allowing the man the opportunity to toss his brother the canister with the arm. The man told his brother to gather the other chosen ones and defeat him, no matter how long it took. I almost considered forgiving the man on the spot, realizing that his good side had temporarily remerged from the demonic possession of the Earthbound Immortals, yet I could not forget what he had done, even if he was forced to do it by the Earthbound Immortals. The man implored his brother to leave, while a small portion of his true self remained, by pulling out a gun and firing two shots at the floor. Knowing he had no choice, the brother left the premises immediately. Sighing, the man finished entering new commands into the programming, specifically meant to force the reactor to spin in the opposite direction than intended. Declaring that he would be reborn as a Dark Signer, the man slammed his remaining hand hard on the button that activated the reactor's new programming, shattering the emergency glass that surrounded it.
The results were horrifying. A massive surge of negative energy coursed straight down through the Earth's core that caused a tectonic shift, splitting off the city district the lab was located into its own island. The Earthbound Immortals were freed from their subterranean prison, and one of them bonded with the man who set them free, turning him into the first of their dark agents. As for me, I was engulfed by darkness. The Earthbound Immortals pulled me underground, in the same fashion as Ancient Fairy Dragon. With all seven of them surrounding me, resistance was futile.
Trapped underground, I met Ancient Fairy Dragon again, who had the misfortune of being there for millennia. I was pleased to see her again, a sentiment she shared. We talked and shared stories about what had transpired all those years ago. Surprisingly, despite the fact that she was imprisoned for so long, Ancient Fairy Dragon still had an optimistic viewpoint on her future, believing that her new partner would come and set her free one day. I could not share her optimism, considering the fact that my partner put me down here to begin with.
We spent the next few years keeping each other company, and I regret not spending more time with my friends when I had the opportunity. I was often in a corner musing to myself on life's twists and turns back then. One day, unexpectedly, she asked me for my name. Surprised, I asked her why she wanted that little piece of information. She replied that she had always wanted to know, considering the trouble untold numbers of people went to in order to find out over the millennia. Of course, all were unsuccessful. Humbled, I told her my name, and warned her not to tell anyone else, especially our master. He would blow a fuse if he ever found out. Hearing this, she giggled and promised me that my secret was safe with her. I hope so, I don't want my hide tanned.
One day, I saw a portal open up into the outside world. Ancient Fairy Dragon noticed it too, and commented that her new partner had arrived to reclaim her, and that she was needed in a duel that was taking place at the time. Not surprising, considering the fact that she had guided her all those years through those visions she was able to place in her partner's head. Before leaving, Ancient Fairy Dragon bade me farewell, and shared with me, her wish that my new partner would one day come to liberate me from this hellhole. I really hope she was right, I don't want to be trapped here for millennia like she was.
Sitting here in the darkness of the netherworld, all I have left are my thoughts. Time is cheap here, and one thing I can do is muse on my life, from my birth to how I got to this point. Of course, hanging my head in misery isn't going to change what happened in the past. The only other thing I can do is hope. Hope that my new partner will rescue me, so I can join the others in vanquishing the Earthbound Immortals others in vanquishing the Earthbound Immortals. That little spark of hope keeps me going each day, and makes my life slightly easier, not that it can get any harder. If I had one regret, it would probably be not spending more time with the others when I had the chance, always being lonely by myself. My master said that I would find my purpose in the world "in due time". Perhaps that purpose is to aid the others and support them. I cannot be certain. However, now that I think about it, I can be certain is that my new partner will come for me one day. Stardust Dragon must be rubbing off on me…
Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed my first story, which is basically the Fifth Dragon's POV on the show's events, with some of my imagination for what happened 500 years ago and what happed after Roman chopped off his hand. I decided to publish it before the Fifth Dragon's name is revealed, so as to avoid any reviews pointing out conflicts this story may have with any future plot. I may add the name to the story once it has been revealed, though. I decided to give the other four dragons personalities relating to their respective Signers. Hopefully, that isn't too cliché. In keeping with the joke that people invent humorous and unusual nicknames for the Fifth Dragon, I have included two or three of them in this fic. Sure some characters in-universe might know the name, but they'll probably behave like it's on the tip of their tongues when you ask them for it. In keeping with that, the Fifth Dragon doesn't seem to remember anyone else's name, except for that of the other dragons. After all, it can be hard to remember names if you have lived for over 5000 years. The Crimson Dragon is an exception, as he is respectfully referred to as "master". I also added some Ancient Fairy Dragon x Fifth Dragon hints in there, but probably noticeable only if you squint. Anyways, constructive criticism is welcome, but flames will be deleted. I hope any errors do not hinder you understanding of the fic, as I uploaded this story without the help of a beta reader, so anyone willing to offer his or her services in that regard is welcome.