Now, for anyone wondering why I've decided to recreate a story after my last two failed attempts? Well the answer's very simple; after I started reading some creative and popular Yu-Gi-Oh! Stories I began remembering the only stories I had fun creating (and at least tried to) and thinking of ideas for were part of the same fandom I liked since childhood, Yu-Gi-Oh. My main problem I just got with creating stories is I always contradict myself, because I kept asking others for advice to try to make the story entertaining for them, not for myself. So once again thank you Hiyuusha, Youngbountygirl and SlayersFan132 for making me realize this. They told me I needed to make the stories I create fun to do so I could enjoy creating chapters for it.
A/N: There will be a few OC characters within in this story, but will not follow the original 5D's plot as much as their will be a lot changes, twists, surprises and outcomes.
Disclaimer: Of course, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's or any other material used in this fanfic.
Tag Force: Dark Conspiracy
Chapter Zero
Prologue
It was a peaceful morning in Neo Domino City; the sun was high in the sky, shining brightly over the metropolis, announcing the start of a new day. The citizens of the city were carrying out their daily activities without a care in the world. Though, the residents of this intended utopia live in luxury and privilege mainly due to the labor they feed off from the inhabitants of a neighboring island that had once been part of the original Domino City before a terrible accident had occurred two years ago.
People were still recovering from the wounds it left, but some time has passed and a lot haven't taken it into consideration. Still, there was more to this city that met the eye; holding as many secret and mysteries yet to come into light, as the universe was infinite.
Meanwhile, in a bedroom residing in an apartment in the Downtown District, a figure clad in red was still in bed, trying to sleep. Twisting and turning under the crimson-red sheets, it seemed like he'd went another night with barely any sleep. Though, it was only expected! After everything that happened over a course of a night, it was only natural that he was a bit restless.
To think it all began with a dream!
Still, he wasn't afraid. After everything he'd experienced in Duel Academy from this dimension and the next, he'd pretty much gotten accustomed to these types of matters. When he had discovered that one of his Spirit partners he thought had died during his fourth year at the Academy after sacrificing itself to protect him might still be alive, well he couldn't contain his joy.
Though, what he had to do caught him off guard at first: sure he went up against Shadow Riders, Duel Spirits, Sacred Beast, and participated in Duels of Darkness, but he'd never had to do anything like this before.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter what I have to do," thought a grinning Konami, "I'll get you back no matter what."
"Then you better get out of bed and get ready," a female voice suggested. "It's almost time to go!"
Caught off guard, Konami's eyes snapped opened wide as his body fell from his sheets and flew off his bed.
THUMP!
He let out a small cry of pain as he fell to the marble floor, hard. He grimaced in pain and embarrassment as he stood up and turned to see his equally embarrassed Card Spirits; Guardian Eatos, Rosaria the Stately Fallen Angel and, Wynn the Wind Charmer.
"Maybe we should have announced our presence before speaking to you," giggled Wynn, her staff held in front of her face. "Oh, and I didn't know your started sleeping in boxer briefs."
Konami stared wide-eyed where Wynn was floating. He glanced down and his face reddened, before scrambling back to his bed and covering his body with the sheets. "I forget to put on my pajamas, how stupid!"
"Don't be so embarrassed," said Wynn, a big smile plastered on her face. "They do fit you reallll nice," she continued, stretching it out a good bit as Konami's face turned bright red in embarrassment.
Eatos slapped Wynn on the back of head. "Wynn, I thought you agreed you'd stopped being such a pervert."
Her cheeks puffed, "So sorry, Madame Eatos."
"You should probably speak to your elders a bit more respectfully," Konami suggested, hiding his obvious embarrassment. "After all, it's always been your lifelong dream to evolve into a Familiar-Possessed-Wynn, right?"
"That's right," replied Wynn in excitement, floating towards Rosaria and attaching herself to his arm. "That's why this big strong man's been helping me with my training." She squealed, snuggling closer to him.
"Um yeah, could you let go of me now?" he replied, attempting to pry the girl off. "You're a nice girl and all but, I told you many timeS I'm too old for you."
"Oh, come on," Wynn whined, rather disappointed that he rejected her again. "Don't act like you don't want to go out with me. Besides, you're only one-hundred and fifty years older than I am."
Konami couldn't help but laugh.
"You guys sure do amusing things, you know that?" he said with a rather carefree look. "What are you guys doing here, anyway? In case you didn't notice, I was trying to get some sleep." He yawned and went back to bad.
Eatos floated next to a still dazed Konami. "Well, like I said before, it's almost time to get ready. I thought you might overslept like you use to at the Academy, so we decided to keep you up personally like your friends use to."
"Really, is it that late already?" Konami asked, sitting up.
Rubbing his eyes, he glanced over at his alarm clock resting on his night stand.
It was only 7:00.
"You all remember that I never get out of bed this early if I didn't get enough sleep, right?" he asked, earning a nod from all three of them. "Then why would tell me to get out bed in the first place, if you don't mind me asking?"
Before an answer could be spoken a ball of yellow light appeared in the room, floating around the three spirits before zigzagging to Konami. Laughter could be heard emanating from it as transformed into a familiar creature.
"Hey, Konami," exclaimed Ojama Yellow, shifting its legs together. "Why are you still in bed? Chazz and Bastion are waiting for you at the lab! You're supposed to prepare for your exciting solo adventure."
"Waiting?" asked Konami with obvious confusion; he still had another three hours to kill before he had to leave for his adventure.
Rosaria shook his head in disagreement. "That's what we came here to tell you," he explained, earning confused look from the boy. "You see, that friend of yours who's always not being noticed had to reschedule your trip to Seven Twenty-Five."
…
"WHAT?" shouted the boy, obviously taken off guard. "Why?"
Wynn shrugged. "I don't know," she replied. "He was blabbing some kind of sciencey mumbo-jumbo and then some other complicated things I didn't understand, but to be fair, I wasn't paying much attention when he was talking. He was pretty boring, going into details with all those facts he finds interesting. Now I'm starting to get why no one notices him."
"You could say that again, my sweet wind charmer," Ojama yellow added, grabbing hold of her leg. "Bastion's long rant sent Chazz into dream land ten minutes into his explanation."
Eatos blinked. "I think you should get ready!" she suggested.
No sooner than that did he rush into the bathroom to get ready.
Wynn looked at the boy shut the door behind him, with a big smile. "I forgot how nice and plump his ass is!"
It would be another fifteen minutes before he came back out, revealing he was a nineteen-year-old man.
He was tall and had a light muscular physique, his skin was Caucasian. His dark brown hair was chunky and nape-length. The look in his blue eyes could tell you he wasn't someone who would lose his cool quickly. He wore a Slifer Red jacket with a high collar, black shoulder pads over a black shirt, and wore fingerless gloves. His lower body consisted of blue jeans with black knee pads, a belt with two holsters hidden under his jacket and black boots, had golden earring on his left ear, and had a Slifer Red Duel Disk attached to his left wrist.
He glanced at the clock again.
7:15
Glancing around, he realized he couldn't see his most prized possessions.
"Where's my hat, why can't I find it? I was sure I had it with me when I went sleep?"
Rosaria sweat dropped. "Instead of wasting your energy worrying about a material possession, I suggest you hurry up to the main lab," he sighed, face-palming. "I hope this helps." A dimensional portal of darkness appeared beside his master, summoning a towering purple machine with a glowing orb on top. "Interdemensional Matter Transporter should get you there in no time!"
-5D's-
In the Tops area of the city, Chazz and Bastion were seated in front of circular table within a laboratory, waiting patiently for the arrival of their red capped friend, but one was growing low on patience.
"Damn it, where the hell is that Slacker?" scowled Chazz, gritting his teeth. "Those damn duel spirits should have told him we needed to reschedule the time he gets sent on this wondrous adventure already."
"Chazz…" Bastion cut in. "I think he'll be arriving any minute. I don't take Konami as the type of person who takes these opportunities for granted."
"Oh?" bristled Chazz, dangling a red hand with a single finger and holding a red bag in his other hand. "He also didn't seem like a person who would just leave his most prized possession in some lab in the middle of the night and his supplies." His scowled deepened. "Three months have passed since graduation, but he's still the same immature slacker from first year."
Bastion covered his ears, listening to the Chazz rant about how irresponsible Konami is. He along with a lot of other students has been forced to listen to these types of things since the first year of Duel Academy.
A portal of darkness suddenly formed on the floor, taking both duelists by surprise as the Interdemensional Matter Transporter appeared before them, with Konami holding the glowing orb tight.
"Konami," smiled Bastion, standing up as he went to greet his friend. "I was worried you weren't you going to show."
"Are you kidding me?" exclaimed Konami with a smirk. "There's no way I could pass up an opportunity to get my original Spirit partner back." He glanced over at Chazz. "Hey, my hat," he shouted in joy, swiping it from the Princeton, and placing it on top of his head. "Thanks for finding it. I thought I'd lost it."
Chazz snorted. "Yeah, well don't mention it. I don't need any thanks from a slacker like you." He then threw the red supply bag towards the boy. "Oh, and don't forget your supply bag holding money, medicine, first aid and pretty much everything essential to your survival, idiot."
Konami cried as the bag crashed into his arms, knocking him on the ground.
"Um, boss." Ojama Yellow said, appearing beside his face. "Don't you think Konami should leave? We only have a few minutes before the portal gets shut down for who knows how long."
"Hmp, I guess you're-" Chazz paused, noticing Ojama's black eye. "What happened to your eye?"
"Um," Ojama flinched, remembering the punch delivered by Wynn. "Let's just say never grab the leg of a female duel spirit and look at her panties," he replied, his face reddening. "But those strawberry printed panties sure did look delicious. Mmm Mmm," he said, licking his lips.
SLAP!
A steaming Wynn stretched out her hand she used to smack to the yellow beast.
"You little pervert."
"Um, Bastion," Konami began. "Don't you think I should leave for that parallel dimension? I only have a few minutes left before that portal shuts down for who knows how long."
He only replied by getting a mechanical remote out from his pocket and aiming it at the floor. Pressing one of its many buttons, a glowing, purple-rimmed portal appeared within the room, instantly covering the room they were in shadows.
"Now, as the three of us know, this portal's unstable," Bastion said, receiving a nod from Konami, "and like last time when we decided to follow Jaden to that alternative dimension, there's no telling we're you'll end up if you go in."
"Yeah, but you really don't have to explain this," sighed Konami, before a grin got plastered on his face. "I remember our adventure to that alternative dimension all too well," he reminded. "It's almost similar to the portal we used back then, but this time I need to call out my monsters and use them to charge it."
Chazz frowned, getting a serious case of déjà vu, but decided to keep his mouth shut.
Without another word, Konami got in front of the portal and out four of his ace cards.
"Mystic Swordsman Level 4, Eatos, Wynn and, Rosaria," he exclaimed as the four of them got summoned before him.
Each using their powers, all the monsters called out by their master assembled in front of the portal, each striking it with their strongest attack. In a moment, the gateway opened and, with a smile, Konami only had one thought on his mind. "I'm coming to get you!"
"Looks like he did it," thought Bastion, feeling a mixture of happiness and sadness.
Suddenly the portal started widening, engulfing the Duel Spirits and Konami as the portal's color had shifted black, much to Chazz's horror, as they backed up in fright.
"Hey, whiz kid, what's happening?" shouted Chazz, glaring at the former Ra. "Was this supposed to happen?"
Before an answer could be uttered, the portal consumed Konami. The boy caught within the portal was now falling into a parallel universe, separated from his friends.
"Yes, I'm afraid so," Bastion replied, as the portal vanished soon after. "That was a one-way trip. I can't bring him back until I materialize a portal, and that could take a year or so."
Chazz's eyes narrowed. "You know what?" he began. "I helped you supply that portal with power from my Duel spirits so it could function out of the kindness of my heart, but I still don't know why he's doing this or where he got teleported too, and the Chazz does not take kindly to being left out in the dark."
Bastion sighed. "I already told you, but apparently I put you to sleep with my long details. Maybe I should have just stayed with Tania in that alternate dimension instead of coming back with my friends who never notice me."
"Are you ignoring me?" scowled the Princeton, not like being ignored. "You still haven't answered my question."
"OK, fine," Bastion replied, face palming. "A few months after we graduated from the academy, Konami apparently was visited in his dreams by Kristya; his original spirit partner who we thought had died protecting him from Nightshroud," he continued. "He told Konami how he somehow got teleported to a parallel universe."
"Sounds like a goofy science fiction movie," replied Chazz until sighing in defeat. "But in hindsight, half the things I experienced in that God forsaken school, a parallel universe wouldn't be too farfetched."
"There's more to it," Bastion went out. "From what Kristya told Konami in his visit was the universe he'd been trapped in had sixteen years of more history." He took a deep breath, not sure if he believed what he was saying. "I still don't know how he ended up in such place, but Konami only cared about getting him back..." He paused. "So I decided to take time out of my busy social life-" Chazz snorted. "And help an old friend."
"So, in shorter words, he's traveling to some parallel universe so he can get his spirit partner back!" concluded Chazz, arms crossed, "Sounds pretty corny if you ask me."
-5D's-
A glowing, purple-rimmed portal appeared within the unoccupied streets of Neo Domino, and it was Konami who stepped out before it disappeared in a haze. What he could easily tell from a glance that this city was different from the one he left.
But none of that mattered at the time.
Rummaging through his bag, the man's eyes narrowed, pulling out a notebook containing everything he needed to know about his temporary home. Until he found Kristya, he had to live in this universe for a while and find out everything he needed to know about this Neo Domino City.
On the other hand, he shouldn't get too worried, because it's not like this peaceful little city is going to offer him too much trouble. Plus, maybe he could duel a few new opponents along the way. Who knows what sort of fun duelists in this parallel universe can offer him.
"My lord," Mystic Swordsman LV4 said, respectfully bowing to his knee. "With all due respect, I highly recommend you to study up on your alternate self. After all, when arriving here you became this universe's Konami Kudo, but didn't retain any of his memories. Bastion warned you there's no doubt that events in this universe played out much differently than they did in yours, so it would be in your best interest to learn what your alternate self was like before doing anything, my lord!"
"That's not any fun," groaned Konami, but decided there was no use in complaining knowing out of his four remaining spirit partners; Mystic Swordsman was the wisest of all of them. "Still, I guess you're right. If I don't want to blow my cover, I should probably ask my friends what my alternate self was like."
"That's good to hear, my lord," Mystic Swordsman replied, disappearing in a bright flash of light.
"He really needs to loosen up a bit and have some fun," sighed the red hat duelist. "And why does he keep referring to me as 'lord'? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter... I need to get to my apartment in the Downtown district, because even if the events of this universe have played out differently, I must assume my alternate self decided to live here as well, and since I've only graduated the academy three months ago, it's possible the citizens of this city don't know anything about him, and who knows. He might not be that different from me."
-5D's-
Konami was excited, walking past building after building in the downtown district as he entered his three-room apartment. As he made it into the apartment, his eyes immediately shot open.
An old wooden flooring, dingy pale walls, a ceiling lamp that barley illuminated the darkness shrouding him, a small couch in front of an old television resting on a worn down TV stand, and to top it all off, the kitchen was dusty, filled with mold and the box was wide open, revealing that the bedroom was in the best condition, having single yellow sheeted bed, and a closet filled with yellow jackets.
"EWWWWW," Wynn screeched in disgust from Konami's Deck. "How can anyone live in a place so nasty? Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ewwwwwwwww. Nasty to the max, even your dingy apartment is better than this one."
"Language, young lady," Eatos scolded. "But she's right. Are you sure this is where your alternate self lived?"
Konami grimaced, but quickly returned a smile to his face. "Well, I don't mean to brag, but the picture of a familiar yellow hat duelist with his friends at Duel Academy really reassures me it is," he said, pointing to a mantle hanging on the wall. "Though, I really wished it wasn't and, my alternate self was a Ra yellow. Looks like I really do need to find out about him."
Setting his bag down, his attention was turned to the corner of the room.
"A message?" murmured Konami. "Well, looks like I lucked out. Now I don't have to go to the trouble of messaging anyone," he laughed, taking a seat and pressing the computer. "At least this laptop's up to date."
Almost instantly, the screened changed. The calming yellow background became soothing blue, as a video chat box with a familiar face appeared.
"Hi, Konami," Alexis said, flashing him a warm smile. "I hope this isn't too awkward for you. You know, me calling you after our break up."
Konami eyes widened in confusion, but decided to go along with it. "Um, I-It's OK, I'm fine, Alexis."
"That's great, because you have to realize you're a nice guy and all, but you don't know how to stand up for your-" This time her eyes widened, but this time in realization. "Hey, why are you wearing red? I know it's been a three months since you graduated the Academy and you've been living in Neo Domino for two weeks, but I thought you hated red."
"I just decided it was time for a new appearance," Konami spat out without thinking. "After our breakup, I decided it was time for me to make a change and… and… and my clothes symbolize I'm not the same person you broke up with," Konami exclaimed, cringing a bit as if he were talking to the Alexis of his universe. "You now, how I was back then, right?"
"Well, of course," she replied, almost shocked. "Are you feeling OK? You're not acting like yourself."
He started sweating. "No, no, I'm fine," stuttered an awkwardly laughing Konami. "Never mind that, I was actually going to message you," he lied. "I wanted to reminisce on good old days me and the gang had at the Academy."
Alexis looked stunned, but a smile quickly returned to her face. "You really have changed," she concluded. "I never thought you wanted to relive your days at the Academy, especially after all the things that happened to you."
"Y-Yeah," replied Konami, a fake smile still plastered on his face. "I would like to hear everything about our days at the academy, from the first to the last, and please go into explicit detail."
"Smooth," Giggled Wynn. "Maybe the reason why you don't want to be in a relationship is because you can't be in one."
He just smiled. "Hmmm, from a girl who never had a boyfriend the two hundred years she's been alive that's quiet the big claim."
-5D's-
Alexis couldn't help, but laugh as she reminisced on her friend's days at the Academy.
"And after that Obelisk Blue beat you up I literally had to run to your rescue and fend them off." She giggled, her hand clenched to her stomach.
Konami looked shocked. "OK, from what I could gather my alternate self is it total pushover, and because of his pacifist nature he can't stand up for himself, but has kind heart and not willing to duel unless necessary." He hung his back. "How boring, I refuse to act like this guy."
"My lord," Mystic Swordsman called from behind. "With all due respects you're going to have to act like your alternate self no matter how much you don't like it." He toke a respectful bow. "I'm sorry if he's not the person you thought he would be, but you can't change that."
Konami sighed, keeping his head turned. "Maybe I should test out a little experiment." He thought, turning his attention back to the video chat. "Alexis, it's been a while since first year so could you tell me how good of a duelist I was back then?"
She burst out laughing after that.
He blinked in surprise turning towards Mystic Swordsman with a big smile once again plastered on his face, before turning back to the screen. "I know I wasn't that good of a duelist back then." Said Konami, more boldly, but tried acting sad.
"Sorry," Alexis apologized, whipping a tear from her eye. "It's just that you retired from dueling after graduation. It was a shame you did, because you're struggling to find a job and barely making ends meet with those part-time jobs you barely manage to get. Actually, about a week ago you were so desperate for money you thought about selling a few of your cards at some point even your Eatos, Wynn, Mystic Swordsman and Rosaria."
After hearing that Konami turned his head towards the swordsman who sweat dropped. "My lord, maybe you should be yourself."
"Good idea," winked Konami, satisfied he'd won. "See you later, Alexis. Thanks for chatting with me like old times." He smiled, "But before I go I want you to tell the gang I'm about to take up Duel Monsters again."
"Really," gasped Alexis in disbelief. "Th-That's great. I'm glad knowing you're taking risks now. You really are starting to change. I'll talk with you soon, but I don't know when. I'm busy with my job as duel teacher, sorry."
With a soft click, Alexis's screen turned pitch back, leaving a relieved Konami in solitude.
"Well, this might be a bit harder than I thought," Konami murmured, pressing the power button, shutting his laptop down. "Still, who knows what type of excitement this city might hold for us?"
"Konami," scolded Eatos, in a stern voice, "Aren't you forgetting the reason why we're here?" she asked, arms crossed. "It's to find our comrade. So you can't just get sidetracked with everything you find exciting!"
He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't be such a stick in the mud, Eatos," grinned Konami. "No matter how much time I spend searching for Kristya, it's going to take me some time to find him either way," He then smiled. "Besides, what's the harm of having fun while we're on this awesome adventure?"
Rosaria sighed. "You really are a mystery, master," he said, floating next to Eatos. "Still, he's right. Who knows how long it'll take before he finds him, so there's no harm in enjoying a few sites along the way."
"See?" Konami grinned, as Eatos face-palmed. "Even Rosaria agrees with me."
Feeling defeated, Eatos just nodded, not wanting to spend more time chatting with her master in this apartment then she had too.
"OK, fine, but don't you think you should fix this place up?" Eatos asked, obviously disgusted. "Even if you're just here temporary, you should at least live in better arrangements than this. Especially since there'll be females living with you."
"For once I agree with her," Wynn complained, wrapping her arms around Rosaria's waist. "This place is nasty, nasty, nasty. Why don't you use those wise investments you made in your four-year stay at that freaky school?"
"You two are never satisfied, are you?" sighed Konami, walking across the floor to his supply bag. "Fine, but I'm not going to make his apartment any better than mine," he warned them, zipping it open and taking out a briefcase. "I want to keep my life plain and simple," he reminded, opening it and revealing it held who knows how much money inside, "so nothing too fancy."
Prologue
END
With Konami determined to find his spirit partner at any cost, he ventures into a parallel universe where danger lurks around every corner within Neo Domino City. Will he be able to make it out in one piece and get his old friend back, or will he drown in an infinite sea of ambition? Find out, next time, on Tag Force: Dark Conspiracy!