The Star Pathfinder and the Future Dragon
Summary: Reincarnation in a world based on a TCG was bizarre to experience after dying in a terrorist attack. More so, when the Crimson Dragon partnered me with a dragon never belonged in 5D's, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon. My existence was already changing the status quo. So, I might as well reach the Signers earlier if I had to; Z-ONE wasn't the only one going to shape the future. [SI-OC]
AU Notes: Heya readers! ParallelPenSW here! While this account is new, I actually have another account that I write on (which penname I will not mention here), but due to demands (when hundreds of people are following you... you get the gist) and a hefty writer's block on that account, I wanted to write this because... plot bunnies. Yeah, the crazy kind that wouldn't leave you alone. I just... needed a break from my other account. Basically, I haven't written a fanfic in a while, so I'm pretty amazed this came out the way it did.
Deals with: Reincarnation, a duelist who's just gotten back into the YGO TCG after a long while but got chosen, and the Crimson Dragon meddling with time because said chosen person has foreknowledge but said Dragon would rather not have Z-One have his way. Pairings are up in the air.
Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1: A Call to Action
"History is a relentless master.
It has no present, only the past rushing into the future.
To try to hold fast is to be swept aside."
- John F. Kennedy
My current name is Aria Hughes. While my past name in a different life is/was just as important, I'd rather not say. Just say that after I died, I accepted I was never coming back to the life I had before. I had to keep on moving forward, for those that I loved in the past and for myself. It's hard to explain it without getting emotional or tearing up. But all I can say is that in my past life, I had finally got to the point where things I worked hard for paid off.
Let me tell you my relationship with Duel Monsters for starters.
In a country where regionals/locals or Trading Card Games (TCGs) competitions were barely held like they had in the US or Japan, the Yu-Gi-Oh fanbase where I lived was geared towards the anime. As a girl who held an interest in TCGs was odd in itself, I had followed the series till 5D's, but I fell out of the fandom to focus on my school studies and other things took my attention. While I love the intricacies of the gameplay that was YGO, I just didn't see it as something I wanted to spend excessive money on. My parents in my past life were already spending on other things such as my musical education along with the instrument that I played with, that I didn't have the heart to spend their money on a card game.
The only deck I ever owned as a kid was a Yugi Starter Deck, and that was a fake print. Pretty depressing, honestly. Well, at least as a Yu-Gi-Oh fan. I bet Yami Yugi was rolling in his grave. Especially when I remembered an episode about the Exodia Deck with fake prints in the Duel Monsters anime and how that was frowned upon.
To get by, the only time I did play was on video game ROMs; but it was lackluster at best with an AI as an opponent.
It wasn't till I graduated college and got a stable first job that an old-time punk rock fashion nerd friend, Tessa, had invited me to one of her local card shop hangouts where her circle of friends who were playing the game with the current up-to-date format. They were very kind enough let me borrow their decks and (very) patiently taught me the current rules and crazy new summoning methods that were created such as XYZ Summoning, Pendulum Summoning, and even the new Link summoning. It was scary and overwhelming at first, but I learned, improved, and had fun.
The community there was a blessing for me.
With that reintroduction to the game, I was back in full swing catching up on the anime I've missed and found new friends in that TCG community. It was entertaining and touching when they managed their time to binge-watch with me through Zexal, Arc-V, and even start on Vrains. They came by the card shop usually to play and see my reaction towards the anime, even though they saw the plot of the story coming from a mile away having already seen them. For those who had the chance to keep following the anime and TCG from the start, they found my reactions amusing and interesting.
Soon, the card shop felt like a third home to me. While most people would call you out on playing with proxy cards (fakes), in Tessa's (and now my new) community of friends, they understood that having and even buying original cards were a luxury. Not everyone could afford a competitive deck and only a few of us ever had the chance to join an official competition. The money conversion to buy original cards to our currency was hardly in our favor to the point that even buying Common rarity cards were considered pricey. The prices got absurd the higher the rarity went. I guess our group was just focused on having fun, whether it was just discussing what was happening in the metagame, having casual duels, and making weird themed decks.
To tell you the truth, by the time I finished the Arc-V anime and started on VRAINS, I hadn't had a deck to call my own. The cards that I used were the proxy cards that were stored at the card shop. It was there so you could have a "feel" for the deck/archetype before going/searching for the real cards and buy them. With the current format, there were so many things for me to choose from, and I liked a lot of things that were available. However, I did like fusion summoning and mostly Synchro summoning the most. Fusions mostly was now a lot more fun than in the GX era as they had more supports (you didn't to always play Polymerization) and deck archetypes available. As for Synchros, I guess 5D's anime nostalgia was responsible for that, but I couldn't see myself having my main boss monster from any of the Signer Dragons. XYZ, Pendulum, and Link summoning were fun to play too, but I liked playing them as part of the Extra Deck and side deck if anything.
It was Tessa, who uncannily with a sixth-like sense had called me over to her house one day said she was unboxing a deck pack. In the mail, she had finally received her Legendary Dragon Decks pack she bought online and from abroad. As her best friend, she wanted me to share that moment with her and I helped her do an unboxing video with her camera. We did a couple of takes and I was mostly in charge of making sure that the camera's focus wasn't blurry and setting it up from different angles. By the end of it, I was drawn to one particular card: Clear Wing Synchro Dragon in its alternate artwork.
"Do you like it?" She asked.
I nodded and smiled as I pointed to the card, "I like its artwork better than the normal version. I just never liked the lightning effects on that one. Here, it's like it's going to soar and pop out of the card from among the stars."
Tessa smiled knowingly back, "Then Clear Wing is now yours."
I gaped and put the card back into her pile. "What?! No way, it's an Ultra Rare! I couldn't possibly–"
"I'm insisting," She said, putting the dragon into a card sleeve and giving it to me, "It's as a thank you for giving me a lift on your motorcycle to god knows how many anime cons we've been to."
"Those anime cons were mostly for my music concert groups," I reasoned, still not accepting the card.
She chuckled, "And I happen to enjoy them too! It's not every day I get to brag my best friend is on stage playing with a whole group of other musicians for the love of anime and video games music! You should play your violin more often–like an electric violin, but that's my opinion."
I snorted. "A bit much on the flattery?" I was still saving up for that electric violin though.
"More like you're far too modest, lady," she quipped back amused. "Besides, I already have two Secret Rares of Clear Wing. This one is an ultra rare. Even if it's a different artwork, I don't usually play Synchros, I play Gem-Knights and decks with Pendulum monsters more often. The rest is mostly for nostalgia and collecting, but I'm hardly the crazy collector."
"Is it… really, okay?"
Tessa looked at me weirdly, "Do you have any problems with its monster effect?"
"No," I replied.
Heck, I had to say for a level 7 synchro monster it was powerful. Yugo/Hugo was a likable funny character at best, but I did like Clear Wing Synchro Dragon when it made its appearance in the Arc-V anime like the other Dimension Dragons. In general, I always did like dragon artwork no matter what fandom it belonged to. I just never imagined that I sort of gravitated towards a card like this before.
She persisted and shoved the card in my face, "Then Clear Wing goes with you. Call it a gut feeling. I've seen you at card pack openings with the others and none of their Synchro monsters attracted your attention like this one. I just think it's the card for you."
There was a five minute of awkward silence before she shoved it in my hand for real and swiped her deck box so I hadn't had the chance to return it to her.
"Tessa–"
"Trust me on this," Tessa waved a finger at me. "Next Saturday, when we do your first booster pack opening, maybe you'll attract the right cards. You seriously have a mean lucky gacha streak, you know?"
Tessa wasn't entirely wrong when it came to me and pulling out lucky draws. Even my mother had commented at times during my life I had a lucky hand in raffles. There was that one time in a raffle when I was seven I pulled a two plane tickets trip to Bali. Another story, was when I entered a raffle for my grandmother during junior high school and I won her an electric mixer. Even the others at the card shop would ask me to pull their gacha/randomized character mobile games as I was known to pull SSRs if I was really lucky.
I sighed and relented. "Fine, I'll fully accept it on the condition that I'll pull something that supports Clear Wing in my first booster pack on Saturday. If I don't, I'm returning this to you."
"Challenge accepted!"
Long story short, fast forward to Saturday and I chose a random "Battles of Legend: Light's Revenge" booster pack as my first opening. Tessa being the annoyingly sweet friend she was, told everyone at the card shop of our deal, which ended with the whole gang getting together to 'celebrate' my first original booster pack opening. I'm pretty serious it was a first for me in opening an official non-fake booster pack. The exaggeration and joking were ridiculous, but it would later be one of my most precious memories of the past. Our shopkeeper, Christian, was even recording a video through his phone as I opened it carefully, commemorating my first booster pack opening.
As I shifted through the 5 card pack I had gotten a Common Synchro Soldier, a Common Synchro Strike (Trap), a Rare Anti-Spell Fragrance (Spell), a Common Transmodify, and…
A Secret Rare Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon.
My gaping mouth was forever recorded in Christian's video.
The room exploded with cheers, laughter (mostly at me for my absurd luck), and Tessa, being my best friend, cackled as she shouted, "I told you so! See? Crystal Wing definitely supports Clear Wing!"
In the end, I laughed with everyone else and help the others randomly pick out packs and hopefully the luck would spread to them. From a couple of pack openings, while none were Secret Rares, they did manage to get some cards that were pricey for the current meta to be resold or used in their decks. Tessa grinned widely and declared that I was permanently Clear Wing's owner. In turn, I admitted defeat that maybe the dragon of the Synchro dimension was the card for me.
From that day on, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon became part of my deck.
What I didn't realize, my current happiness wasn't going to last for long.
.
.
Dying, was an agonizing and thankfully short experience for me.
The day I died was during a concert that my instrument group was playing for an event held by joint events of embassies that promoted culture and world peace. The diplomatic event mainly had people dressed in traditional garbs representing their country and musicians of different backgrounds coming in to play music. My friends from the card shop had attended it and my parents along with my sibling were there too expecting to enjoy music from around the globe. They were there to support me.
I had just finished performing a duet and was in the process of packing up backstage when it happened.
The first explosion shook the area.
Screams echoed through the venue, people were running.
The second one was larger.
I had my violin strapped to my back and a side bag that stored my wallet and deck. I was supposed to eat lunch with my family and then join my friends later at the card shop. I ran towards the back exit in hopes I could evacuate the area.
However, that was where the third suicidal bomber was. They were aiming for a VIP that was exiting the area through the same gate.
The third explosion sealed my fate.
At first, all I registered was blinding pain. Then, everything felt numb. A tang of salt overflowed my lips and a pool of blood formed where I laid. I was sobbing, whimpering, my body was shutting down, and my vision started to fade. I didn't want to die, not when I was enjoying the life I finally built with years of hard work. There were so many things I wanted to do with my life.
What I saw in peripheral vision was my broken violin case, side bag destroyed, and my cards in disarray. Ironically, the Clear Wing Synchro Dragon card was the last thing I saw before I closed my eyes forever in my first life.
I never got to say goodbye to my loved ones.
The life that I hoped to live to the fullest was cut short in a snap of a finger.
.
.
The afterlife, unfortunately, wasn't as short and only lead to infinite questions.
My spirit wandered in empty white space. Time was distorted.
How long have I been here?
Hours, days, weeks, or years perhaps?
My sense of time was warped, and that may be a good thing. The first time I was here I was a sobbing mess, exceedingly guilty and blaming myself for my death. Being by myself with too much time meant I was alone with my demons. Those questions haunted me… Why me? Why wasn't I smarter? Why didn't I escape with my life intact? Were my family and friends okay? Are they having my funeral? Did I cause them so much pain by dying and leaving them behind? And yet, even then, I reached a certain limit I had enough of pitying my current circumstances, swallowed my fears, and sought for answers.
Sometime in my current situation, I had noticed in the expanse space that was all white there was solid ground. So I walked and walked. It was surreal really when no matter how much I walked I didn't get tired. I never got hungry or thirsty. It proved that I didn't have a physical body anymore.
Even though it was a simple action, it took my mind off of things I had no answers to. At times I would go into a full sprint when I was frustrated but then would walk again. All I held was faith and hope that I was moving forward. I wasn't sure where I was going, but as long as I moved, it didn't let me tangle with unpleasant thoughts.
An indefinite period of time passed.
Depressingly, my mind was on auto-pilot as I kept on moving forward. I realized that if I looked back, I would stop and break down. That risk wasn't something I wanted. Now desperate and extremely lonely, I started to imagine that there was the end of the road somewhere in front of me. It was the last attempt of my mind from breaking that there had to be something I was walking towards to, a hope that there was a future.
Miraculously, my plea was answered.
In the form of a familiar celestial red being which I recognized was the Crimson Dragon.
If that wasn't crazy enough, another dragon was hovering behind me, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon.
If Clear Wing was huge that I could stand in its hand and I still would have space to lie down and roll around without worrying I'd fall, the Crimson Dragon was humongous – like Smaug the Dragon from the Hobbit films humongous. My height was an accurate measurement of how big its eye was. Honestly, the anime did not do it any justice. A normal human should have been frightened of it, but after for being alone for a long time, my tears fell down my cheeks in relief. I wept.
My psyche was already a mess. I didn't care if then and there I would have to disappear. My mind was happy enough that even if I did disperse into particles, I didn't go alone. The timeless journey that led me here at least was worth it.
~( No need for sorrow, Pathfinder. You've been found. )~
I blinked at the Crimson Dragon, surprised at its dual voice or both female and male at the same time. "Pathfinder?" I hiccuped, trying miserably to wipe my tears away.
In turn, a glowing mark glowed of the whole body of the Crimson snaked on my right arm. It wasn't the one I was familiar with from the anime where the mark was circular. The head mark was pointing to my wrist as its body was styled into a reversed 'S' shape, wings were on top of one of the curves, and the positions on where the claws were where I expected them to be. Nevertheless, what shocked me was that the Heart Mark was present in the front claw and unlike the other Signers, it was glowing white. Why was the Heart Mark there? Didn't Lua manifest his Mark far later in the last season? And why was my mark glowing white and not red like the other Signers?
A soft voice. ~( Z-ONE has moved far too soon. Counter him. )~
What? Did the Crimson Dragon just say he wants me to counter Z-ONE? The big bad in 5D's? How was I supposed to do that? A 'Pathfinder' never existed in 5D's.
Suddenly there was a sorrowful howl from the red deity. ~( The past Pathfinder was killed by the Earthbound Immortals before they truly ascended to their role. And so had their intended dragon. )~
When the deity explained that, my mind was filled with visions. The same vision from the anime, on how the previous war of five Signers and their dragons that ended with Ancient Fairy dragon taken hostage by Earthbound Immortal Uru before it was sealed. However, there was a flashback further in time before that. A priestess on her knees in a prayer, behind her a dragon which was only just taking the form of a white silhouette, which I recognized was supposed to be Clear Wing Synchro Dragon.
~( Their side had also created an adversary to counter us. )~
Black slithering roots attacked the priestess and the newly formed dragon, tragically ending both lives. In anger and sadness, the past Signers along with their dragons had fought back and the being that was a counter-balance on the Earthbound Immortals' side to the Pathfinder was destroyed.
~( The Pathfinder was supposed to further support the Signers; open the gate to miracles, so the Signers would grow and evolve. Yet, it was 5000 years too soon. Without their guidance, we lost Ancient Fairy Dragon to the Earthbound Immortals. )~
I was silent as I processed the information I was given. It still bothered me how I was here. "Am I the right person for this? I… I don't mean it in a bad way, there could have been others that you could have chosen from who might be better duelists."
~( The Pathfinder isn't the strongest in a fight, but the one that perseveres to reach out to all the Signers and awaken their full potential. You are aware of different timelines and dragon forms? )~
I paused as I recalled the manga variations of the Signer Dragons. "You mean like Stardust Spark Dragon, Hot Red Dragon Archfiend, Black Rose Moonlight Dragon?"
~( And where Z-ONE comes from, Fudo Yusei's Stardust Dragon evolved to Cosmic Blazar Dragon. From the timeline that was changed according to your knowledge, Stardust achieved a higher form instead. Nonetheless, given the circumstances, all Signers could ascend their potential fully. )~
Call me a fool, but I still didn't think I was that worthy of person to what the Crimson Dragon was hinting at. It was just still all too raw after being lost for so long that when I found something in this vast emptiness.
~( You have a chance to fully grow this time from the one you were robbed of, Pathfinder. Another chance, a future. )~ it reminded me gently.
The chance for reincarnation was tempting, but with reincarnation, there was a drawback. "Will I... forget my past life?"
~( You will remember it well, as your foreknowledge and information on the other dragon forms will turn the tide. Your circumstances will not begin well, but know that all efforts will always be rewarded. With your existence, new duel monster spirits will emerge helping you along the way. )~
Taking note of the Crimson Dragon's warning that I wouldn't start off well was terrifying, but I had the chance to start over. To live. With this reincarnation, I wouldn't forget the precious people I've met before or experiences I had with them. I was on a journey to make new ones too.
"I… I want to live again," I said resolutely. "And yet… how is Clear Wing Synchro Dragon here with me? I thought that Clear Wing belongs to another timeline or universe entirely."
~( That is true. And yet what does Clear Wing Synchro Dragon represent? )~
"Synchro monsters," I answered in realization. Its name was quite literal. It made sense that it would be the thing that the Four Stars of Destruction (the antagonists of 5D's) wanted to eliminate.
~( Other previous forms of summoning do exist as well. The Future Dragon had always been your supposed partner. She will be with you along your way. )~
"Eh?! She?" I raised an eyebrow and looked at my Dragon. I was quite sure that its different form was Supreme King Dragon Clear Wing.
My hair was treated to a short burst of wind when Clear Wing snorted at me.
Then again, maybe not.
~( You're a catalyst in change, Pathfinder. Now, go. LIVE. )~
.
.
As soon as the Crimson Dragon said 'live', it was like the lights were switched off, but then a light came and I was immediately crying out loud wailing, noticing that my hands were far smaller than I remembered. My movements were restricted, and my eyesight limited.
I was a baby.
I won't bore you with the facts of the uncomfortable first months of infant life, but just say despite it, I had a full loving family. From the conversations from what I heard as a baby, I picked up facts about my family.
First of all, my dad's name was Brian Hughes and he was a Broadway-like performer from the Tops. As for my mother, Tiffany Hughes was a Satellite born musician. They had married young and founded the 'Starlight Theater' together which hosted musicals, magic shows, any sort of theatrical show you could name it. Now, when I said 'married young' that would also point out to the fact that I had four older siblings. Albert was the eldest at seven, followed by Eugene at five, Erika at four, Russel at three, and I was a few months old. With five kids around the place where we lived, it was always full of life. Not to mention that many of Dad's and mom's friends from the Starlight Theater would drop by our house and bring their own kids so they could play with us.
It was a family I dreamed of having in a past life that could eventually support me in my musical passion in the future. As for Dueling… it was up in the air for that. While I had caught my eldest brother playing the card game, I had no idea if my parents really dueled at all. However, if I was going to change things, I was planning to Turbo Duel. I wanted to connect with the main 5D's trio earlier was fascinated by the idea that with Turbo Dueling that you could 'Sense' the feelings of the duelist you were fighting. You know, the kind of the things they preached in most Shonen manga/anime about when you clash in battle, you understand your opponent. I did own a motorcycle in my past life to go to work, so you could see why I was curious.
Now, since I was too busy planning ahead at the time, I had forgotten that mom was Satellite born and there weren't any talks how it was a separated island completely yet.
The conclusion: that Zero Reverse was on its way and it wasn't on my mind until the day it happened.
Honestly, I don't remember what happened on the day the incident broke out. All I knew was that I passed out being held in Dad's arms from agonizing pain with no idea what occurred at all. I woke up in a hospital a few days later hurting, but alive. That time frame was a blur to me as I went in and out of consciousness. My health was getting worse that I was moved out of the country to a doctor my Dad had the chance of knowing.
When I came to, I overheard my father looking grave as if life sucked out of him. Gone was the large goofy grin and all was left was a shell of a man with a smile that I could even see he was trying hard avoid cracking. He was acting that everything was okay when things hardly were. I kept listening as I put together the clues.
"Your sons need mental help."
"...numerous operations."
"...She'll have a tough life ahead of her."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
To put it bluntly, my family was ripped apart by the Zero Reverse. My Mom and elder sister, Erika, tragically died in the incident. My brothers were psychologically traumatized. Dad had lost all of the members of the Starlight Theater who had been a family to him too. We were fortunate enough to escape, get out of Satellite when we did, and now we're out of Neo Domino City. It got worse when I was fully aware of my situation…
Due to severe injury during the Zero Reverse, my left leg was infected severely and I received help far too late.
To save my life, I had gone through operations that I don't recall at all.
I was now an amputee.
How was I going to help the Crimson Dragon change the timeline like this?
.
.
To be Continued…
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AU Notes: And that folks, is our intro to our main protag, an amputee. I have a knack to go create stories I want to challenge myself or try something that hasn't been done in a particular fandom. If I get enough feedback, the next chapter should be up by tomorrow (I'm just doing the proof reading for later). I'm not following any of the Stardust Acceleration/Reverse of Arcadia or the Tag Force games. Some things will diverge from canon while others will remain the same.
Add. Note: Aria's Dragon Mark is the one on the cover that I made. Yep, I made it from scratch by taking the original mark and making a variation of it. So it's my pic and I haven't taken it from anyone else. Just a heads up.
Thanks for reading! Don't hesitate to drop a review, favorite, or follow, and have an amazing day!