Hello and welcome to Dreamless Nightmare! This is a Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's next-gen fic that has been in production for over a year. If you found this because you read Sunset Horizon, then you probably know a bit of the following. If not, here's a little of information.

A while back, I was posting sketches and (non-spoiler) profiles on my Facebook page. If you'd like to take a look, just search 'OCValkyrie' over there. Otherwise, I have a link on my author page right here on FFnet. I used to put the link at the ends of my chapters, but FFnet no longer allows copy-pasting, so I have to redirect you now. I also have a tumblr, if you'd like to follow me. I don't ask questions about who you are, but I'll answer any questions you have!

A few things I'd like to mention about this fic:

The parent pairings are Yusei/Aki, Jack/Carly, Crow/Luna, and Kalin/Misty. Because it is a next-gen, it will contain lots of OCs. If you have any complaints about them, please KINDLY tell me, either in review or PM. I am totally open to constructive criticism, so please tell me what you like/don't like about the characters. This sort of feedback would be amazing for me XD

The main OCs will have an in-fic intro, and the others you'll get to know as the story progresses.

This fic WILL be long! I'm expecting a good hundred chapters right now, give or take a few. I don't have the entire thing outlined yet! I have the general idea down, but it is a work-in-progress. I am a full-time college student and I would appreciate your support in however long it takes me to update. Also, there won't be any chapter names since I'm too lazy to think of a hundred-ish names. Please understand :)

As you may have noticed, I use the dub names for this. Mainly because I watched the dub first and those are the names I know. Also, I'd like to mention that my version of New Domino City (which is in Japan) is a cultural centerpoint of sort. It contains people of all nationalities and descents thereof. Please don't ask me questions about why the characters have western names in Japan. This is the answer you'll get. However, if you would like to know what the exact nationalities of each character is, I would be more than happy to tell you that.

WARNINGS. This fic is rated M. It will contain very dark themes, death, self-harm, possibly gore (nothing worse than you saw on the sub of the show), mature themes (there will be no actual frickle-frackling, but there will be strong allusions to it), crying teenagers, crying adults, underage drinking, and possibly other things that I can't remember right now. Please ask if you're concerned about any of the above or something I may not have mentioned. I will be happy to give you a non-spoiler answer.

The last thing I have to mention (saving the best for last!) is that this fic is not an entirely solo project. It's being beta'd by the amazing Miss Rapis-Razuri and duels are being written by RealityRlySucks!

There! Have a hefty chunk of text as we get started!

Oh, and I'll get a cover photo done soon-ish :) It'll take some extra work since I have to draw the characters from scratch, rather than manip something together like usual.

Now, the moment you've all been waiting for (or I have, anyway), chapter one of Dreamless Nightmare!

Dreamless Nightmare
Chapter 001

Friday, January 7th

Footsteps sounded against the stairs at a hurried pace, moving quickly to reach their destination. As their owner reached the turn near the bottom, he placed his hand on the banister and leapt over the glass-paned railing before taking off for the kitchen.

"Good morning, Seero. You're late."

The young man flashed a bright grin at the older man in the room, crab-shaped hair with golden streaks bleached through it standing tall as always. His tanned skin looked paler than usual in the fluorescent kitchen lights and his cobalt eyes peered through black-framed lenses over a coffee cup.

Reaching a hand to scratch through his own spiked hair, Seero abashedly murmured, "Uh, yeah… About that…"

Shaking his head, the other man took a sip of his coffee and waved his free hand in dismissal. "Never mind. One day won't kill you. Just don't tell your mother."

Smiling widely, he replied, "Thanks, Dad! You're the best!"

…

My name is Seero Fudo. I'm eighteen years old and a high school graduate for two years. I graduated at sixteen, two years ahead of everyone my age. They say I'm a genius, but I don't know about that. Seems a bit farfetched.

I'm not one for monologuing, but here's a little bit of background to get you caught up. See, thirty years ago, my dad broke the way of society by turning around the system and becoming a saviour. He was a lowborn punk from the worker colony of Satellite who managed to break free and save the city, several times over.

Of course, he didn't do it alone. He had friends around him—including my mom—that he relied on more than anything. He stresses the importance of friendship and bonds pretty frequently. I mean, I agree. I have a group of friends I'd do anything for. I just get sick of my dad's lectures.

Anyway, so my dad is a legend here in New Domino City for not only uniting the city to Satellite, but he also saved everyone from the Dark Signers and a group called Yliaster. He was a Signer, a duelist chosen by the Crimson Dragon—a god—to help save the world. My mom, my best friend's dad, another friend's parents, and her uncle were all Signers, too. The six Signers formed a bond closer than anyone. That's probably why I'm so close to their kids. We all kinda grew up together.

But my dad, Yusei Fudo, was their leader with the Signer mark of the Crimson Dragon's head. That's why he's so much more legendary than the other Signers. He was the inspiration and strategist of their team. Not to mention, his potential with Clear Mind.

I followed in his footsteps as best I could. I always pestered him to teach me to duel and, as I got older, to teach me to build my runner. I'm definitely not as good with machines as my dad—he built not one, but two runners, out of junk—but my runner is still pretty badass compared to the generic ones on the market. It's nice to have connections to famous people.

Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention it, but my best friend is Jack Atlas's daughter. Plus, Crow 'the Bullet' Hogan and Leo Kewell are related to two other friends. Being practically related to the world's top three turbo duelists is definitely an interesting trip.

My parents both retired from professional dueling, but they still taught me and my little sister and have a match with us when they have time. See, my dad is a doctor leading the research on Ener-D. Most of his job is top secret, but we know that what he does prevents another tragedy like fifty years ago. You've heard of Zero Reverse, I'll bet. History books are chock-full of it.

My mom's a doctor in the medical field. She's an obstetrician, so while she has regular office hours for appointments, she still works late with paperwork and emergency deliveries. I mean, it's cool that my mom helps bring babies into the world, but I'd rather not think about details.

So, yeah. My parents are totally cool, but they aren't home very much. It's okay, though. My sister and I get along fine without them.

I gotta say, it is pretty cool how much my parents love each other. When I was younger, I thought it was gross when they'd kiss and stuff, but now I'm eighteen and understand a little better. I really hope I have a marriage as comfortable as they do one day.

If you haven't guessed by now, my dad is kind of my hero, with my mom in a close second.

I haven't really said much about my mom, have I? She's a psychic duelist. She has the power to make her duel cards real and inflict real damage. It caused her a lot of problems when she was younger and couldn't control it. But it's because of that that she met my dad. She says it's the reason she fell in love with him. See, he's the one who encouraged her to control it and stood by her while she tried.

Eventually, she did. Now she's a master at it. She can easily duel without accidentally using her powers. My little sister, Kali, inherited the psychic powers, but I didn't. My mom does what she can to help Kali control hers, but it's a tricky situation.

I did, on the other hand, inherit my dad's potential for Clear Mind. I haven't been able to Accel Synchro with it yet. I'm still trying to master that part of it. That's another thing I respect so much about my dad. He only failed an Accel Synchro once before he got it right. I've already tried countless times and I still haven't gotten it. But I'll get it eventually! I swear it.

See, my dream is to make it in the big leagues. My parents could probably make a call and get me a sponsorship, but I want to earn it. I don't want to ride my parents' coattails.

So, yeah. That's about where we're at. I'll let the others tell you about their backgrounds.

…

Yusei shook his head good-naturedly and said, "Go change."

Seero looked down at his usual outfit of faded blue jeans, a black novelty undershirt with his dad's old logo—Team 5D's—printed on the front, a white button-down shirt left undone, and a black riding jacket on top. Black riding boots, fingerless grip gloves, and his Celtic cross necklace completed his look. His father had never argued with his casual clothes before. Sure, back when he wore his Dual Academy uniform in disarray or if Kali's skirt got too short, he would say something, but not his everyday clothes. Confused, he asked, "Why?"

Flashing a quick smile, he murmured, "We're going running."

His grin spread wide again. He and his father had a routine of going running for an hour every morning at six. Yusei would go to the R.R.D. center every day at eight, regardless of how late he got home the previous day. There were days that he wouldn't even come home and stay at the lab two days in a row and others where he'd be out well after midnight.

A day like today, where he was home at ten-thirty, was a rarity indeed.

Seero had graduated from Duel Academy at the top of his class, but had never received an offer to go pro. Sponsors would scout tournaments held at DA, but they only paid attention to duelists in the top three classes. Seero had skipped his entire tenth year, so the only tournaments offered during his two eligible years had either clashed with his trip out to California to visit his best friend or weren't significant enough to attract sponsors.

His parents allowed him to stay at home and didn't force him to get a job as long as he worked towards his goal of going pro. His mother, Akiza Izinski-Fudo, had set up a schedule that provided he spent every day from seven-thirty until three-thirty at the public dueling track, working to make himself known. Then, when that was done, he'd pack up and go out to his sister's school, East Tops High, to walk her home.

And, if his family was lucky, he'd make dinner when he got home.

The Fudo family was sporadic with both parents out of the house so much, so Seero and Kali had learned to make their own meals. The older of the two had taken a home economics class as a required elective in sixth year and found he enjoyed it, causing him to look into cooking and make a hobby out of it. His family always appreciated it when he made a home-cooked meal for them. Both Yusei and Akiza had gotten through college on instant food and hadn't learned to cook since, so the fact that Seero picked it up on his own was nothing short of a miracle.

He had thought that he might have stayed up too late watching the championship duel between Jack Atlas and Crow Hogan last night and slept through his usual morning run. The duel had been in the afternoon in London time, which meant it started at eleven o'clock at night in Japan time. It was too much for the teen to miss and he found himself engrossed in the match.

He had meant to get up at five-forty like usual, but found himself falling asleep propped against his headboard with his laptop without setting his alarm. He'd been disappointed when he thought he'd missed his run—it was one of the only times he got to see his father anymore—but found it actually worked out for the best.

Grinning, he faced his father and said, "I'll go change and be ready to go in five!"

Sighing, the older man muttered, "Not without eating breakfast, you're not. Your mother would kill me if I let you go without-"

"-the most important meal of the day," Seero finished. "Yeah, I know. I'll grab some toast or something with a cup of coffee before we go."

"Haha… That's Yusei for you. Always more concerned of what his wife thinks than the health of his kids!"

The two men turned with unamused expressions to face the newcomer, a man with hair very much like theirs and a goofy smile on his lips. He wore a grey button-down shirt, black slacks, and a white lab coat. An eerie glow lit up the air around him as he tucked one hand in his pocket and ignored Yusei's glare with a jubilant wave.

Seero grinned. "Hey, Grampa! When'd you get here?"

Yusei's expression stayed flat as he muttered, "Really, Father, did you just come here this morning to mock me?"

Yusei's father, Doctor Katsuro Fudo, ignored the question and instead moved to lean forward as if propping his elbows on the counter. However, his ghost-like limbs simply slipped through the surface as he frowned and straightened up. "Damn, I miss coffee. Seriously. I haven't had a cup in nearly fifty years."

Yusei only smiled and held his cup closer to his father, then drew it back and took a long, hearty gulp from the mug. Lowering it once again, he smiled at his father and mumbled, "Now we're even."

The look on Katsuro's face resembled a puppy who had his favorite toy stolen from him as he reached out weakly. "That's… That's not even…"

Sighing, Yusei shook his head and said, "Tell you what. If you ever become, well, alive again, I'll treat you to a cup of the expensive stuff right away."

Grinning, he hopped onto the counter and sat there, suspending himself from falling through somehow, and said, "There was this awesome little coffee shop about two blocks from the old R.R.D. facility. I loved that place so much. I used to go there for lunch with your mother. Until, you know, everything blew up, your mother died, and the shop was obliterated," he added with a nervous chuckle.

Seero stared agape as he added cream to his own cup of coffee. That was a bad joke if he ever heard one. Granted, if anyone had the right to joke about Zero Reverse, it was him, but it still seemed to be in bad taste to him. "Grampa…"

Yusei's expression darkened and returned to normal so quickly that it was barely noticeable. Ignoring his father, he turned to his son and said, "Don't forget, Brianne's coming in today. You'll be able to get her from the airport, right?"

He nodded, smiling bright once again. "Yep! Her jet gets in at two, right?"

"Yeah." Yusei dipped his chin in response before glancing at the clock on the wall. It was already getting close to eleven. "You know, just skip the track today. I won't tell your mother. By the time we get back from running, you'll only have two hours before you have to go get Brianne. By the time you wash up and get to the track, you won't even have an hour. Not even time for a proper duel."

Seero scratched the back of his head. "Ah, yeah… As a token of good faith, I'll make a good dinner tonight! Or tomorrow, since you probably won't be here tonight, huh?" It was already getting late in the day and his father never pulled anything less than a nine-hour shift.

He hummed slightly as he thought about it. "Probably not. I was there for fifty hours straight, so Channing kicked me home to get some sleep. I'm going back in at one, so we better get going on that run."

The teen nodded and gulped down the rest of his coffee. "Right! I'll go get changed and be back in a sec!"

Yusei laughed and followed his son towards the stairs. "I need to change, too. I'm not running in this," he muttered, looking down at his cobalt blue button-down shirt and charcoal grey slacks.

"I'm just going to go back to my private world of literal rainbows, okay?" Katsuro said, thrusting a thumb over his shoulder at nothing in particular before vanishing.

Seero stopped before leaving the kitchen and frowned at the spot where his grandfather sat until moments ago. Frowning, he wondered aloud, "Do you ever think he gets lonely…?"

Yusei shrugged lightly behind him. "I can't say. I know it strains him to come out of the reactor, though. I would like to see him more, but it's hard on him."

…

Fifteen minutes later, the two of them ran side-by-side in the community park that stood about two blocks from their home. It was their regular running place, though they changed the route for the sake of variety. Yusei turned to glance at his son and asked, "So, who won?"

Seero grinned and nonchalantly answered with another question, "Who do you think?"

"Jack?"

"Yup," he said, shrugging out of his zip-up sweatshirt despite the light snow fluttering around him. "Uncle Crow just can't seem to get past Red Nova Dragon."

He hummed a sound of acknowledgement. "Mm, yeah. He's a tough monster to beat."

Giving a humored smile, Seero asked, "Red Nova or Uncle Jack?"

"Yes," he answered, implying both of them were. "The last time I dueled Jack, I barely managed to take down Red Nova with a Stardust combo."

"Yeah, I remember! That was the best duel I've ever seen of yours," he chirped, enthusiasm pumping through his veins at the thought of his father's legendary combos. It never failed. Every time his father would duel, he'd be mesmerized by the surprises he could pull off. In the time since he'd arrived in the city at age eighteen, Jack Atlas—the World King of Duelists—had never been able to defeat him.

Though Seero had been called a genius—both off and on a runner—he knew his dueling ability paled in comparison to his father's. Even though he hadn't been an active duelist for the past twenty-eight years, his father still wiped the floor with him when they had a match.

The youth had made it his goal to one day beat his father.

In order to accomplish that, he knew he had to defeat some of the stronger duelists his father had beaten in the past, such as Jack Atlas, Crow Hogan, Kalin Kessler, Sherry LeBlanc, and the long-running Team Ragnarok, among others. The only way he was going to duel some of them would be if he managed to go pro. Though Crow would be happy to duel him without being a scheduled match, he still had a manager to appease.

Besides, it was Seero's dream to go pro. He wanted to make his parents proud and stand on his own among the world rankings. He knew his parents would support him no matter which path he chose, but dueling was his passion and he was determined to make it.

"Seero?"

He turned to glance at his father, raising an eyebrow inquisitively. "Yeah?"

He flashed an apologetic smile and nodded his head down the path to their right before starting down it. "Sorry we have to cut this short, but we gotta start heading back if I'm going to have time to shower before leaving."

The younger Fudo smiled said, "Nah, it's fine! I should probably check Brianne's flight to see if it's on time. And I still have to hook the sidecar onto Excalibur."

His father rolled his eyes and muttered, "You still haven't done that?"

Reaching up to scratch his head, he replied, "Well, I wasn't planning on oversleeping and missing the track today, and it's not like it takes long to set it up. Only if her fight is in, like, an hour early will it be a problem."

…

My name is Brianne. Brianne Lilian Atlas. My father is the World King, Jack Atlas, and my mother is the top duel reporter known to the world, Carly Atlas. My father has money like no one's business, so I've grown up in a rather posh environment. Our estate is in a lavish countryside outside of Los Angeles. I've always had private tutors and never set foot in a school except for when I'm visiting my second family, the Fudos.

Whenever my dad has a tournament that pulls him away from home—and it happens often—I go to stay with my best friend, Seero, my almost-sister, Kali, and their parents. It's hard for me to travel to new places because of my disability, so I just stay with them so I don't get lonely at home. My mom travels with my dad since her job keeps her on the tracks, anyway.

Oh, I forgot to mention it before. I'm blind. I have been since I was born, so keeping to the places I know is easiest.

The Fudos are really cool people, too. Dr. Yusei and Dr. If are both really kind and laid back with us. Seero's a total putz, but he's my best friend and I adore him. He was the first one to take me seriously as a duelist, so that's why we bonded so well. I was eight and he as nine when we met.

See, as a child, I had this complex where I thought my dad hated me. I mean, he's not the most emotive person in the world to start with, but being the seven-year-old daughter of the World King gave me a lot to live up to. Rumors would fly from left to right, saying that Jack Atlas's daughter would be as magnificent a duelist as he is – maybe better.

Except, because I was blind, I had never dueled in my life. I thought my dad resented me because I couldn't follow in his footsteps and make him proud. Sometime later, he surprised with a deck printed with Braille so I could use it. Being the cat lover that I am, he had Twin-Tigers set for me. It was the happiest day of my life when he personally taught me the rules and tactics. While it's true that I will never be able to turbo duel, at least I can duel.

Just over a year later, my parents brought me to New Domino City to visit my dad's old friend, Yusei Fudo. Seero was an aspiring duelist in his own right, so we dueled. Rather than dismissing me because I was blind, he simply dueled as if I was any other opponent. We bonded that day and have been best friends since.

My mom is convinced that we'll date, even though I keep telling her it'll never happen. Yes, she's a journalist with a great intuition, but sometimes I wonder. I mean, Seero's like my brother.

Besides, there's…

…

Brianne sat back in her cushy first-class seat on the plane, smiling in spite of herself as she listened to a recorded lesson on her phone. Her tutors had been quick to tell her that her trip to New Domino wasn't a vacation and that they had compiled lessons for her to listen to online and would check to make sure she had done her homework.

She sighed and leaned back, listening to the first of them on the plane because she knew she wouldn't remember once she got to her second home. The Fudos were extremely hospitable towards her and even gave her the spare bedroom for her use when she came.

Reaching out for the seat next to her, she slipped her fingers through the gated door of the carrier and murmured, "Don't worry, Nova! We'll be there soon!"

One of the perks to being incredibly wealthy was that she could buy an entire, four-seat private cabin for her flight when it was just her and her pet cat, Nova. She had gone with her mother to adopt a cat when she was ten years old and had chosen the kitten from an animal shelter, wanting to give a home to a kitten in need. The cat had been hers since the day she brought him home and it was her job to clean up after him and feed him.

It gave her a sense of independence when she got to take care of another, rather than be coddled all the time as the blind and frail heiress.

A knock sounded on her cabin door and, after a quick call of permission to enter, the door opened and a female voice said, "Excuse me, Miss Atlas. I'm here to inform you that we'll be landing soon and to ensure that you're buckled in for the descent."

It was Chelsea, the stewardess tipped extra by her father to ensure she received proper care and got where she was going. Nodding with a smile, Brianne replied, "Thank you! I appreciate your help!" She flashed a smile, silently griping about how she could buckle her own damn seatbelt. No point in getting bitchy with the poor woman. She was just doing her job. Surely she didn't want to wait hand and foot on a seventeen-year-old girl for the twelve-hour flight.

Almost a half-hour later, Chelsea came back into her cabin to help her get off the flight and walk her to her destination. Brianne stood up and, after asking the stewardess to get her carry-on, picked up Nova's carrier. Reaching out, she caught the stewardess's sleeve and moved to walk with her, mumbling a quick apology for needing her help.

Chelsea's voice sounded in front of her as she asked, "Excuse me, Miss. Where am I escorting you to?"

"My friend said he'd meet me by the gate. He said he would wear a black jacket and be holding a sign with my name. He said he'd be calling out to me, too, just in case no one walked me out." Seero really was a putz.

She smiled once again as she moved with the stewardess towards the exit of the plane. She always felt excited when returning to New Domino. Her friends were there and she felt so much freer when she could wander without being under the watchful eyes of her parents. Yes, she loved them to death, but sometimes they could get a little suffocating.

Little did she know, the biggest adventure of her life was about to begin.

So, who likes a little foreshadowing? What did you think? Just an intro, but we'll get into it soon enough XD For now, we meet two of the OCs, but more will come!

Oh, and I would like to add a note that Yusei's father's name is Katsuro Fudo and will be playing a part in this fic. He'll show a bit of a different personality than he had in SH ^_^ This one is far more adorable.

Please feel free to follow me on Facebook or Tumblr (all of the links are on my profile page)! I'm always happy to chat with you and answer questions, so don't be shy!

One last thing! I was thinking of getting a Livestream account and meeting up with you guys to do a Q&A sort of thing or just chat. If you'd be interested in doing something like this, please let me know what days of the week work best and what time frame! Please keep in mind that I'm in GMT -6, so your afternoons may not be the same as mine ^_^

Please let me know your thoughts on that and I'll see about setting up a time frame! I won't set it up until I have chapter two done, so if you just follow me on here, you shouldn't miss it :)

That said, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and I'll do my best to get you the second one as soon as possible!

Please review!

-Valk