GU: This story is meant to take place before the "Beyond the Future" sequel I am currently writing. I apologize that much of this chapter is the same as the anime. In a few chapters, the story will change quite a bit, so be patient until then. Thanks!

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: The Ark Cradle Rewrite

Chapter 1: "The Ark Cradle"

What defines right and wrong?

A man thought those words as he stood in the center of a bright room whiter than the purest of lights. Despite thinking such deep thoughts, an expression was not visible on the man's face. This was because his entire face was concealed by a metallic mask. If his face could be seen, however, it would no doubt have an expression hinting sorrow, grief, and confusion.

In a location far away from the man in question, another man wore such an expression.

One would question if this being could even be called a "man." He was far larger than any ordinary human being, roughly three times bigger to be exact. His body had a metallic gleam to it, and his chest looked as if it were forged by a mechanic. His shoulders were massive in size, far wider than any other part of his already larger-than-average body. His unnatural looking maroon-grey hair defied gravity and did not falter in the rough winds around him. Perhaps the most intriguing thing about this man was his facial features that consisted of a green gem planted upon his forehead and red, empty-looking eyes.

Despite his menacing appearance, this monstrous being appeared to be in disbelief. His mouth was open and his soulless eyes were widened. The cause behind his distress was the three dragons that hovered above him in the dark, red sky. Underneath those dragons was a young man riding upon a red motorcycle. He was wearing a blue jacket with dark grey clothing underneath. His blue eyes stared back at the machine-man monster riding a much larger motorcycle opposite to him in sheer confidence.

The mechanical being with the name Aporia gritted his teeth as he faced Yusei Fudo and his three dragons. Above Aporia was a much larger machine that had a very futuristic appearance to it.

"They're all together!"

Riding not far away from Yusei Fudo was a man around the same age named Crow Hogan. He had orange hair and grey-blue colored eyes. He was wearing a red-brown jacket and he rode atop a yellow and black motorcycle.

"Our bonds!"

Next to Crow Hogan was Jack Atlas. He had blonde hair and purple colored eyes. He was wearing a white body suit with purple boarding that matched his eyes. He was also riding on a motorcycle called a D-Wheel that had a more circular appearance than the others.

"This is our hope!" Yusei Fudo cried out, accompanied by three loud roars emitted from the dragons flying above his head.

"To think he could Summon all three Synchro Monsters at once in those circumstances..." Aporia mumbled to himself, still looking surprised. "Is this the power of a Signer?"

"Let's go, Aporia!" Yusei cried. "No matter how much despair you try to throw at us, we'll never lose our hope!"

"Now we've revived all three of our Monsters!" Crow called out with a satisfied look on his face.

"Go on, Yusei!" Jack yelled over to his friend.

"Yeah!" Yusei nodded as he motioned toward the three dragons with a wave of his arm. "I activate Black Feather Dragon's effect! By removing all of the Black Feather Counters attached to it, the opposing Monster's Attack Power is reduced by 700 points for every counter removed. In addition, the opponent receives damage equal to the amount of points it loses! Black Feather Dragon has two Black Feather Counters remaining! Meaning Machinicle's Attack Power will go down by 1400 points! "

Aporia was speechless as he watched the data on his machine creature fall.

(Machinicle's Attack Power (ATK): 4000 - 2600)

"And you'll suffer the same amount as damage! Black Burst!"

As Yusei said this, the black bird-like dragon behind him flapped its feathery wings and unleashed a giant ball of black energy that crashed into Aporia's metal chest. The energy expanded and sent red sparks dancing over his shiny skin. He grunted slightly, but maintained his composure.

(Aporia's Life Points (LP): 4000 - 2600)

"And after losing the Black Feather Counters," Crow cut in, explaining the abilities of his dragon, "Black Feather Dragon's Attack Power goes up 1400 points!"

(Black Feather Dragon's ATK: 1400 - 2800)

"With that, Black Feather Dragon's Attack Power surpassed Machinicle's!" Crow hollered, accompanied by a large grin.

"Black Feather Dragon!" Yusei screamed at the top of his lungs with a fierce expression. "Attack Mechlord Astro Machinicle! Noble Stream!"

Black Feather Dragon released a red and black energy stream from its mouth. It crashed into the machine monster, shattering its shield and exploding off its arm. The force from the explosion collided with Aporia's massive arms. Unable to hide his pain, Aporia couldn't help releasing a much louder groan than the one he released earlier.

(Aporia's LP: 2600 - 2400)

"I activate Mechlord Astro Machinicle's Effect!" Aporia screamed, regaining his composure. "I remove a part of the Mechlord Emperors in my Cemetery from play in order to negate Machinicle's destruction! I banish Grannel Guard!"

A card appeared in front of Aporia before being swallowed up by a black hole.

"Yusei, take the match!" Jack Atlas called out to Yusei.

"Go, Scar-Red Nova Dragon! Burning Soul!"

The larger red-colored dragon began spinning upward, engulfing its body in hot flames. It collided right into Machnicle, diving right through its left arm. Aporia once again felt the pain as he shielded his face with his bulky arms.

(Aporia's LP: 2400 - 500)

"Mechlord Astro Machinicle's effect! I remove Grannel Attack from play! I negate Machinicle's destruction!"

As like before, a card was sucked into a black hole.

Aporia could no longer regain his composure. His eyes began twitching, and he broke into a cold sweat.

"This is absurd...! You're telling me that I've lost...?!"

"Aporia!"

Aporia growled as he looked toward his enemy.

"Our hope has surpassed your despair!"

Aporia narrowed his eyes as his enemies glared daggers into him.

"This is the final attack!" Yusei screamed into the sky, raising his closed fist. "Go! Shooting Star Dragon! Stardust Mirage!"

On command, a glowing dragon soared into the air, scattering a glittery dust behind it. Its body split into five, each a different color of the rainbow. Like a collage of missiles, they shot down toward Machinicle, crushing it into scrap metal. Aporia's eyes widened with terror as this happened.

The resulting explosion was catastrophic. Aporia and his three-headed D-Wheel were consumed by hot, yellow flames.

(Aporia's LP: 500 - 0)

The force was so strong that it momentarily blew away the red-black clouds in the sky, revealing a spiral-shaped castle floating in the background. Aporia desperately reached his hand up toward the castle, as if he could grab it.

"After coming this far, you're telling me our plan has failed...?!"

The three men came to screeching halt as they watched Aporia fly off the nearby dock, covered in flames. His huge body instantly sank like a stone. Yusei and his friends did not turn their gaze away as Aporia's body exploded underneath the ocean's surface. The force was strong enough to send waves crashing along the coastline.

And so he sank further and further to the bottom of the ocean. Aporia's entire world went black as the green gem on his forehead faded, revealing what appeared to be a computer motherboard underneath.

Back in the white-colored room inside the floating castle above, the masked man sighed as he watched his subordinate fall to his death.

"Lives end so quickly…" he said in a quiet voice, so low he could barely hear himself.

BREAK

Yusei, Jack, and Crow all turned to face one another. The fire still danced atop the ocean's surface behind them. The three young men smiled and called out to one another.

"You did it," Jack complimented.

"Yeah! We won!" Yusei replied with a much softer expression than he had earlier.

The three bumped their fists together in a sign of friendship and accomplishment.

As if blessed by the heavens, the red sky opened up, revealing the bright sun and a clear, blue sky. The castle from earlier was nowhere to be seen.

Not far away, excited voices echoed throughout a dome-shaped stadium. Up in the booth stood a man with an enormous pompadour. He was dressed in a red disco suit. He was known as the Master of Ceremonies, often called MC for short.

"It has finally been decided!" Master of Ceremonies shouted into his microphone. "We have reached the much anticipated result of the W.R.G.P.! This is most certainly a historical moment for the textbooks! A grand champion has risen amongst the group! The D-Wheelers standing at the top are... Team 5D's!"

The entire city exploded with a round of cheers that extended throughout the entire premises. The remaining four members of the team Yusei, Jack, and Crow belonged to, known as Team 5D's, raised their arms in celebration.

"We did it!"

One of the members was a small 11-year-old girl named Ruka Heartlily. She had a small, fragile looking body and petite arms and legs. She had bright green hair that was tied into cute-looking pigtails. She was wearing a red-black jacket over a yellow shirt. She also wore white, baggy shorts. She had a red and black hat on her head with the initials "5D's".

Ruka giggled happily as her twin brother, Rua Heartlily, danced around excitedly beside her. Rua looked very similar to his sister, though less feminine. His hair was the same, but he had his tied into a large ponytail. His outfit was similar to Ruka's, though he did not have a hat and he was wearing grey pants.

"We…!" Happy tears left the boy's eyes as he lost his words.

"Aww!" Ruka patted her brother as she continued to giggle.

Beside the children was a man with blue hair and blue-grey eyes. Though his eyes were cold and blank, he was wearing a friendly smile on his face as he watched Rua's antics. His name was Bruno, the super mechanic of Team 5D's. He was wearing a similar red-black jacket and a "5D's" hat on his head.

Standing by Bruno was Aki Izayoi, the second female member of the team. She had maroon-colored hair and shiny, light brown eyes. She was mimicked Bruno's smile. She was also wearing a red-black jacket. She had on a pair of tight, red short-shorts over a pair of black leggings.

"You did it, Yusei…" Aki whispered, her smile growing even wider.

Up in the broadcast room, a short man with unusual paintings on his face skipped about cheerfully. He looked like a clown and his wild, light purple hair only added to his odd appearance.

"Excellent! Excellent job making it this far, Team 5D's! Peace has returned to Neo Domino City!"

The odd-looking clown named Yeager smiled brightly and shot off party confetti.

"Here they are!" Master of Ceremonies continued commenting. "Jack Atlas! Crow Hogan! And Yusei Fudo!"

The three men drove into the stadium on their D-Wheels.

The three were participating in a tournament that played one of the most popular trading card games in the entire world, known as Duel Monsters. Decades earlier, this card game was started by a man named Pegasus J. Crawford of the wealthiest company in the gaming industry, Industrial Illusions. Its creator based its designs on Ancient Egyptian culture, but the game had evolved far beyond that in present time. Those who played this card game were referred to as Duelists. What once began as a game had now become a widespread profession among enthusiasts, who treated the game as a sport. In the present timeline, the game evolved even further, spawning what was known as Riding Duels. Riding Duels were a form of Dueling in which Duelists used their D-Wheels to compete with advanced rules and more intensity. Duelists who practiced Riding Duels were referred to as D-Wheelers.

What was supposed to be a friendly tournament quickly became a battle to save the city called Neo Domino City from destruction against a group of mysterious individuals. These individuals, known as Yliaster, claimed to have come from a ruined future, one where all of humanity perished. They were trying to destroy Neo Domino City for their own reasons, reasons they believed would save the future and erase that reality from existence. Yusei and his friends believed this was wrong and fought against this organization with all they had to prevent this from happening. Despite being badly beaten and dirtied, they had succeeded in their war.

"Yusei!"

Yusei looked up and saw little Ruka running toward him, with the rest of Team 5D's right behind her.

"Jack! Crow!" Rua called out to the other two, who returned the smile.

"You guys did it!" Ruka called out, beaming happily.

Yusei and Crow flashed their friends a victorious thumbs-up.

"Yeah!" Yusei responded.

Crow said nothing, merely giggling gleefully.

"Jack!"

"Atlas-sama!"

Jack looked up and saw three girls running toward him while shouting his name. He knew them very well.

The first girl was Carly Nagisa, the girl Jack had come to develop feelings toward. She had dark green, almost black, hair that flowed down to her lower back. Though she had beautiful eyes, she chose to hide them behind nerdy swirly-glasses. She was a person who did not like to stand out too much. She was wearing a yellow vest over a blue shirt with white strips. She also wore a pair of blue jeans. Though Jack had feelings for her, he was unable to express his feelings due to his dodgy personality and prideful demeanor.

The second woman was named Mikage Sagiri. She was the chief of the police squad, but acted like a fangirl around Jack Atlas. She had a one-sided crush on the man ever since she first met him. Mikage had blue hair and olive colored eyes. She was wearing her work uniform that consisted of a blue jacket over a white blouse and a blue skirt.

The third girl was the newest member of Jack's harem, a teenager named Stephanie. She worked as a waitress at a nearby café called Café la Green, a café affiliated with the famous Blue-Eyes Mountain coffee store branch. She had dirty blonde hair and brown eyes. Stephanie began to crush on Jack when she served him coffee at her work every day.

The three girls circled around their hero. Jack flashed them a friendly smile.

"You did it, Jack!" Carly admired.

"Atlas-sama!" Mikage fangasmed.

"You were lovely!" Stephanie complimented.

"It's an obvious result," Atlas bloated, patting himself on the back.

Knowing how cocky Jack was, Crow couldn't help but look toward Yusei and chuckle.

"Team 5D's."

The members of Team 5D's looked up when they heard a low, smooth voice call out to them. The voice belonged to Harald, a light-blue haired man with light brown eyes. He was wearing a white, tidy-looking suit jacket. Beside him was a Brave, a spiky orange-red haired man with green eyes. He was wearing a yellow vest over an orange dress shirt. Standing to Harald's left was Dragan, a man with spiky black and yellow hair and purple was wearing a black jacket over a green shirt.

"Team Ragnarok," Yusei called out, acknowledging the team they Dueled against in the World Riding Grand Prix Semi-Finals.

"You finally made it," Harald continued, wearing a friendly smile.

"Are you guys giving us your blessing?" Crow asked.

"Isn't that obvious?" Brave asked sarcastically, raising his closed fist.

Crow grinned and bumped his fist against the man's. "Then we accept!"

"Congratulations to all of you."

Another man appeared, this one more husky and muscular than any of the others. He had grey-brown hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in a fancy black suit with a blue bowtie around his neck. His name was Mizoguchi, a butler to the LeBlanc family in France. His master, Sherry LeBlanc, had previously gone missing a few months earlier.

"Mizoguchi! You returned?" Yusei inquired, looking happy to see the gentleman.

After Sherry vanished into a worm hole, Mizoguchi had been traveling around the world to find a way to save her.

"I did." Mizoguchi bowed politely toward the people standing in front of him.

Yusei looked around at all of his friends complimenting him. He smiled brightly. "Thanks, everyone."

Carly lifted the camera she always carried with her, watching the scene around her carefully. "Gotta collect data on the decisive moment!" She began flashing her camera rapidly.

Brave nudged Crow's arm jokingly. "But you know, you guys are a hella mess! You coulda' taken a little less damage out there."

"Don't gimme that." Crow rolled his eyes. "As if any of you guys would've done better."

"Don't be so sure of that!" Brave grabbed Crow's head in a playful headlock. Crow struggled to get lose, laughing. Harald said nothing, chuckling to himself as he watched the two.

"You did a good job out there, former King!" Dragan bellowed out to Jack Atlas. "But don't think our score is settled!"

"Bring it on!" Jack grinned. "I'll take you on whenever you want!"

The former enemies now locked arms casually. Though they were still rivals, they no longer appeared to hate one another.

Off to the side, Aki shyly walked up to Yusei, who was watching his friends conversing with each other. She darted her eyes around nervously and had a slight blush on her face.

"Yusei…"

Yusei looked toward the girl and gave her a warm smile.

"I'm glad you're safe…"

Aki's voice was drowned out by the shouts of Rua and Ruka, who ran over and grabbed Yusei's arm. They were cheering his name and giggling cheerfully.

"Yusei, you were so cool out there!" Ruka gushed.

"Yeah, totally!" Rua laughed. "You need to teach me more of your strategies!"

"Sure, when I have time." Yusei patted the boy's head like an older brother while smiling over at Ruka.

Aki couldn't help but sigh, wishing she could trade places with the kids. Yusei heard her sigh and lifted his head to face her.

"Oh, Aki, what were you saying?"

The twins saw Aki and quickly apologized for interrupting her.

"Go ahead, Big Sis Aki!" Rua insisted, raising his hands politely.

"Aki-san, what were you gonna say?" Ruka winked toward the older girl, knowing exactly what she wanted to say.

"Ah, I forgot. It wasn't that important," Aki laughed nervously.

Yusei and Rua appeared confused, both rubbing their hands on their chins. Ruka stared at the two in disbelief, wondering how men could possibly be so dense. She gave Aki a disciplining look before walking over and yanking Rua away from Yusei's side. Ruka then dragged Yusei over to where Aki was standing. Aki gave her a puzzled look as Ruka pushed her toward Yusei.

"Ruka, what are you…?" Yusei muttered, blushing slightly.

"Ruka-chan?!" Aki's face was far redder now.'

"What's the big deal, Ruka?! Geez!" Rua grumbled, pulling himself away from his sister's tight grip.

"I'm feeling hungry," Ruka complained, flashing her brother a cute smile. "Rua, buy me something to eat."

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm your adorable little sister. Why else?" Ruka commented, pushing her brother away from the two older teens.

Yusei and Aki, nearly touching one another, looked away from each other nervously as they watched Ruka push her moaning brother away.

"J-Jack and Crow were pretty good out there, weren't they?" Yusei chuckled, attempting to change the subject.

"Y-Yeah, they were."

As the two made no progress whatsoever, Jack and Carly were in a similar situation.

"Jack…" the girl said softly, grabbing his hand.

"Y-Yes, what is it?" Jack replied, maintaining his cool composure.

"Jack!"

"Atlas-sama!"

Before Carly even had a chance, the other two members of Jack's harem pushed her out of the way. Carly pouted as she watched them gush over the man. Carly forced a grin and took a picture of herself in front of Jack and the other two girls.

The celebrating team members were interrupted by the voice of Master of Ceremonies over the intercom.

"Now, we invite all participating members to attend the W.R.G.P. After Party being hosted by the Public Security Maintenance Bureau in one hour! We hope to see all of you there!"

Team 5D's walked toward their base, Poppy Time, as they laughed and joked with one another. As he listened to his friends, Yusei looked up toward the beautiful sky and smiled.

With this, Yliaster's ambition should be gone, he thought to himself, almost trying to reassure himself.

BREAK

"Welcome, everyone!"

MC's voice echoed throughout the inside of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau building, the organization created to uphold peace within Neo Domino City. The dining room was filled to the brim with Duelists, staff, and sponsors who played a part in the World Riding Grand Prix. The room was noticeably tacky, with decorations in every corner.

"Before we start the feast, we have many participating teams in the W.R.G.P. who would like to personally congratulate Team 5D's for their glorious win. Team 5D's, will you please take your seats at the winner's table?"

As he said this, he pointed toward a table located at the front of the room, just below the stage. It was covered by a red table cloth with gold siding. Red velvet chairs were lined on each side.

The members of Team 5D's walked toward the red0golden table, looking quite excited. Crow Hogan, in particular. When he laid his eyes on the expensive looking material, his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"Whoa, are we really gonna eat at this fancy-ass looking table?! Seriously, I haven't seen anything this tacky in my entire life!"

Crow, like his friends Yusei and Jack, grew up dirt poor in Satellite, the second half of Neo Domino City, formerly known as just Domino City. It was split during the Zero Reverse incident, a tragedy that killed thousands of people. Satellite was left out of the technological growth of Neo Domino City, and its citizens were discriminated against. Money was not something they had the luxury of. When Yusei and his friends saved Neo Domino City from the Dark Signers, Satellite was connected to the city, changing the situation altogether.

Present day Crow was now given the chance to experience wealth first hand. He happily rubbed his hand over the velvet chair, tears dripping down his face overdramatically.

"Is this what real velvet feels like?! I'm so honored!"

Jack Atlas, on the other hand, did not appear nearly as moved as his friend. He used to reign as King of Riding Duels in Japan, so he was fortunate enough to have been able to enjoy wealth and fame, despite his upbringing in Satellite. Jack shook his head at Crow's reaction.

"Really, how can you make such a fuss over something so sma-"

Jack's voice trailed off when he saw two items sitting on the table that were addressed to him. One of those items was a package of instant cup ramen. The other item was a cup of hot Blue-Eyes Mountain premium coffee. Jack lost his trail of thought and ran over to the items excitedly, screaming for joy. He tore open his package of cup ramen viciously, seeing it was the rare hot spicy noodle kind, his favorite flavor.

Aki rolled her eyes at the two men. "Will you two please act more mature?"

"Crow, you need to come hang out at our house more often," Rua said nonchalantly. "We have a ton of velvet furniture and all kinds of other stuff. We are in the Tops, after all."

Tops was the wealthiest section of Neo Domino City. Even the ordinary citizens were envious of them.

Crow continued to sob when he heard Rua's comment, wiping away his tears with his forearm. "You kids don't even know how precious your own furniture is!"

"Guys, hurry it up," Yusei interrupted flatly. "There's a long line of people waiting to greet us."

After hearing their leader, Crow and Jack calmed themselves down. The members of Team 5D's took their seats. They quickly noticed that Yusei was not over-exaggerating when he mentioned the length of the line. Long may have been an understatement.

The first to greet 5D's was one of the teams that lost earlier in the tournament, known as Team Fortune Ark. Jack, Aki, and Crow saw them once during the exhibition match against Team Ragnarok, though they never interacted.

The leader of the team, a woman whose face was concealed by a pink veil, stepped forward and extended her hand. Yusei shook it, smiling at the woman.

"Greetings, Team 5D's." the woman introduced herself in an Egyptian accent. "We are Team Fortune Ark from Egypt. We congratulate you on your outstanding victory." She bowed politely after she spoke.

The two men standing beside her also bowed.

"Yes, it is a shame we were never able to Duel against you," the first man with black hair tied into a ponytail continued.

"Maybe one of these days it will come to pass," the second bald man added.

"Thank you," Yusei replied. "Who knows, maybe we will meet each other again on the battlefield."

The greetings continued just like this, each team paying their respects. The other teams were people that did not interact much with them during the tournament, as they were paired against other teams. They greeted 5D's in this order respectfully; Team Mantis, Team White Tiger, Team Lightning, Team White Wind, Team Burning, Team The Arm, and Team Small Field.

The final team stepped up, known as Team Black Baron. The leader was a man wearing a black suit accompanied by a black top hat. He had brown hair and green eyes. Beside him was another man wearing a black suit. He had wild blonde hair and blue eyes. The third man had blue hair and narrow purple eyes. He was wearing a navy blue suit.

"You guys were something else!" the leader chimed, taking off his hat and bowing. He chuckled loudly as he finished his statement.

"Thank you for your kind words," Jack responded, nodding his head politely.

The blue-haired man took a step forward, also bowing his head.

"I find you guys pretty entertaining," he said, wearing a confident smile. "I hope we get the chance to meet in the near future."

On the other side of the table, Rua leaned forward and whispered into his sister's ear.

"Hey, doesn't that guy look a little suspicious?"

Ruka rolled her eyes at her brother's question. "Rua, whispering only works when the person isn't standing directly in front of you."

Rua looked up and saw the blue-haired gentleman staring down at him with a stern expression on his face.

"U-Uh, I was talking about… that guy!"

Rua quickly pointed toward Yeager, the director of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau. Everyone turned their attention to the little clown, who was busy stashing some of Jack's cup ramen into a small bag. He quickly panicked and hid the bag behind his back.

"A-Ah, no! This is not what you think!"

Jack Atlas rose from his chair, towering several feet over the impish man. A fiery aura surrounded his body. He began to crack his knuckles.

"Yeager, damn you! Every single time, always stealing my cup ramen! I'll never forgive you!"

Yeager dashed away before Jack had the chance to swing his fist forward. The tall man did not hesitate to give chase, and the two disappeared from sight.

The blue-haired man's frown flipped back into a smile. "Yes, you guys are certainly amusing." He pulled two black roses from inside his suit jacket and placed them into Rua's and Ruka's green hair. After he patted their heads, he took a step back to where his leader was standing.

"Sieg, don't stir up too much trouble," the leader scolded. He then turned toward Team 5D's with an apologetic look. "Please forgive my subordinate's rude behavior."

"A-Ah, no." Rua laughed nervously, rubbing his hand on the back of his head.

A small grin appeared on Sieg's face. He turned toward his leader and lifted another black rose to his lips.

"Subordinate? How could a word so dirty possibly be used to describe me?"

"Okay, that's enough! We're holding up the line!" The blonde hair Black Baron member grabbed Sieg and dragged him away, ignoring the man's protests.

"Thank you for your time!" The brown-haired leader waved toward Team 5D's as he chased after his teammates.

"Hey! How can you interrupt someone when they're in the middle of talking?! How dirty!"

Sieg's voice faded as he was dragged toward the other end of the large dining room.

"Do you guys get the feeling we were just greeted by a bunch of oddballs?" Crow asked.

"Say that after you stop rubbing your hands all over that velvet chair," Aki said blankly, looking down at Crow affectionately rubbing his hands up and down the soft material.

"Shut up! This is a once-in-a-life-time opportunity for me!"

"You shouldn't call your teammates oddballs, Big Sis Aki," Rua said while he stuffed his face full of food he took from the serving table.

"I agree."

Aki and the twins turned to face Bruno, the team mechanic, who was kneeling down in the middle of the floor beside their table. He was kneeling in front of a blue and white D-Wheel that had the words "Security" written along the side. He was busy taking the machine apart with a wrench in his hand.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing to my D-Wheel?!"

A taller man with black, jagged hair ran toward the mechanic. He was waving his arms around frantically. He was Ushio Tetsu, Mikage's partner, and one of the leaders of the special investigations team of the Neo Domino City Security Branch.

"I'm sorry!" Bruno called out as he ran away from Ushio. "I thought it could use a tune-up!"

"Doesn't the owner usually ask for the tune-up?!" Ushio raged on as he chased Bruno around the room.

Ruka calmly took a sip of water from the glass sitting in front of her. "Shouldn't he be more concerned about the fact that he's fixing it in the middle of the dining room?"

"This is revenge for my cup ramen!" Jack screamed, finally catching up with Yeager.

Jack whacked Yeager across the top of his head and dragged him back over to the table.

"Now be a good evil clown and get back to frightening our guests!"

"Y-You said something rather cruel just now, did you not?!"

Mikage managed to get Ushio and Bruno to stop causing a ruckus. Bruno apologized and put Ushio's D-Wheel back together. Ushio grumbled and took it out of the building.

"Now, that's it for our earlier contestants!" Master of Ceremonies cut in. "Will the finalists please step forward?!"

Three men approached the table. The first man had short, shiny black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a black muscle shirt and tight, black jeans. The second man had long blonde hair and green eyes. He was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans. The third man had spiky, dark red hair and light brown eyes. He was wearing a brown jacket and grey sweatpants.

"Team Unicorn!" Yusei exclaimed. "Long time no see! How are your injuries holding up?"

The black haired man, Jean, placed his hand on his hip and flashed Yusei a flirty smile. "We're doing just fine."

"We should be asking you guys how you're feeling after the spectacle we just witnessed," said Breo, the blonde haired member.

"You three are as reckless as always." Andre, the red haired man, flashed the team a thumbs up.

Just as Andre spoke, another team walked up to the table. The three men were all wearing casual T-shirts and jeans. The first man had spiky brown hair and wide, brown eyes. The second man had darker brown hair and darker brown eyes. The last member had dark blue hair and hazel colored eyes.

"You guys totally need to give me your autograph!" said the dark brown haired member, Yoshizo.

"Team Taiyou?" Aki called out questionably. "I thought you guys already returned home?"

"Not quite yet," replied the blue-haired man, Jinbei. "We decided to stick around for the finals and tour the city a bit first."

The leader with brown hair, Taro, laughed warmly. "We had no idea things would turn into such chaos! Boy don't we have a story for the folks back in town."

Yusei nodded toward the three. He suddenly heard a familiar voice called out to him.

"Yusei!"

Yusei looked up and saw a man with long, light blue hair waving toward him. The man, Kiryu, had yellow criminal markers above and below his right eye. Beside him were two teenagers. The male teenager, West, had dark brown eyes and dark brown hair. He was dressed similarly to Kiryu. The girl, Nico, had long black hair and light brown eyes. She was wearing a white sun dress.

Not far from them was a tall, well-built man with darker skin named Bomber. He had long, dark brown hair and dark eyes that were nearly black. He wore tight clothes that defined his muscles clearly. Just like Kiryu, Bomber had a teenaged girl and boy tagging along. The girl was Bomber's younger sister Annie. She had curly black hair that flowed down to her back. Her brother, Max, had shorter hair that looked similar to his sister's. Both children had similar skin and eye color as their brother, and they were both dressed in oriental robes.

"Kiryu?! Bomber?! What are you guys doing here?!" Yusei cried when he saw his old friends.

"We've been here the entire time!" Bomber called back, shaking Yusei's hand tightly. "We wanted to surprise you after the tournament."

"Had I known things would have gotten this bad, I wouldn't have brought Nico and West along with me." Kiryu chuckled warmly, bumping Yusei's fist.

"Yeah, nor would I have brought Annie and Max." Bomber agreed, patting his siblings on their heads.

Crow looked up at the familiar faces while continuing to pet the velvet chair. "I'm not too surprised to see you Bomber. But Kiryu, is it really okay for you to be here? What happens if someone tries to take over Satisfaction Town while you're gone?"

"Thank you for the concern, but there is no need to be." Nico gave Crow an assuring smile.

"Big Brother Kiryu really turned things around after you guys left!" West gushed, patting his metaphorical brother on the back.

"That's right," Kiryu confirmed. "You guys may not have heard since you've been so busy here, but Satisfaction Town is now the most popular Dueling town in the west."

"And you, Bomber?" Jack inquired, facing the bulky man. "How have things over at Nazca been now that the Crimson Devil is gone?"

"It's been great, actually. After you removed the devil, there's been no sign of negative energy at all. I'm not the least bit worried about the Earthbound Gods rising again."

"But forget about us," Kiryu cut Jack off. "Some of the Duels we saw here were really amazing! Team Unicorn, Team Taiyou, it's a pleasure to meet you all face-to-face."

Team Unicorn returned Kiryu's smile and reached out to shake his hand. Jean winked at the man as he gripped his hand tightly.

"Likewise. You seem like cool guys."

"Thank you for the compliment," Taro replied while he shook Bomber's hand.

"Looks like we've been beaten to the table."

Everyone looked up to see Team Ragnarok, still in their casual clothing.

"Whoa, Team Ragnarok! It's a pleasure!" Kiryu rushed over and shook their hands as well.

After seeing how energetic his friend Kiryu had become since he last saw him, Yusei couldn't help but smile to himself.

"Nice to meet you," Bomber nodded to the team while following Kiryu's actions.

"Man, all this attention's gonna go to their heads," Brave grinned, looking over at the members of Team 5D's.

Dragan placed a hand on his hip and laughed. "It's okay. They deserve it."

"Not that I mind, but wasn't this party supposed to be for W.R.G.P. participants only?" Bruno addressed Kiryu and Bomber in a serious tone, but quickly corrected himself. "Where are my manners? Pardon me."

Bomber showed no concern, despite Bruno bowing politely. "Don't worry about it."

"We asked the evil clown to let us in," Kiryu explained, "since we're so close with Team 5D's."

"Yes, they were the only exceptions," Yeager nodded professionally. After a moment, his eyes nearly bulged out of his head and he raised his voice. "Hey! Don't call me evil clown!"

"My apologies, Yugger."

"It's Yeager! Yeager!"

"Isn't it about time you guys start eating?" Ushio interrupted, chewing on a chicken leg. "The food's gonna get cold."

"You guys should totally try some! It's really good!" Rua said, spitting out bits of food from his mouth. Ruka gave him a disgusted look and wiped her cheek with a napkin.

"Rua, you shouldn't start eating before everyone. Where are your manners?"

Ushio quickly hid his chicken leg and cleared his throat.

"Oh, right. I almost forgot," Yeager replied, lifting an eyebrow. He then clapped and looked toward MC. "Master of Ceremonies, please announce the start of our feast."

MC quickly pushed his plate of food out of sight and jumped from his chair. As he nodded, his pompadour knocked the microphone off the table. It took him a moment to set it up again before he replied.

"Right! Everyone, thank you for waiting patiently! You may all line up in an orderly fashion for your meal! We ask that you wait for everyone to be served once before coming up for seconds."

"Why don't all of you eat with us?" Yusei suggested, looking at all of his fellow Duelists. "There's enough room at this large table."

And with that, everyone in the room began to eat their meal. Yusei, Aki, and Ruka only had one plate, while Crow and Rua helped themselves to three.

"Jack," Kiryu called out. "Can you pass the salt and pepper?"

As if he was challenged to a Duel, Jack shot a glance toward his opponent and tossed the salt and pepper shaker across the table. Without spilling a single grain over the long table, Kiryu caught the shakers with his two index fingers. After doing so, he shot Jack a grin.

"Still got it after all these years! You're still a member of Team Satisfaction, all right!"

"You guys are still doing that?" grumbled Crow.

"Hmph. You're just jealous that you can't do it." Jack looked down at Crow through the corner of his eyes. "Care to prove me wrong?"

"You're as arrogant as ever. Fine!" Crow repeated Jack's actions with the second set of salt and pepper shakers. Without spilling a single grain on the table, Crow succeeded… in knocking Breo unconscious.

Yoshi grinned excitedly as he prepared to eat a large bite of his mashed potatoes. With his eyes closed, he lifted his fork to his mouth and slowly chewed, savoring the flavor of… a mountain of black pepper that conveniently landed on his food.

"That's hot! Water! Water!"

Taro and Jin did their best to revive the nearly toppled young man.

For the next hour, the chaotic dinner party with Team 5D's continued. Whether it was the pie eating contest between Rua and Crow, the epic arm wrestling match between Jack and Bomber, or a failed karaoke attempt by Yeager, any human being attending this party would say it was like nothing they had ever experienced before.

BREAK

Later on, Team Ragnarok pulled Yusei and his friends to the side.

"Yusei, do you guys have a moment?" Harald asked in a much more serious tone than he had during the party. "We'd like to talk to you."

"Yeah, we do. What is it?" Yusei's expression hardened. His body suddenly felt tense.

"The truth is," Brave continued, "we still sense something unsettling."

"Unsettling? What do you mean by that?" Jack lifted an eyebrow warily.

Without warning, all three members of Team Ragnarok underwent a transformation in their left eyes. Three unique marks formed from within their eye sockets. Each glowed vibrantly, but were a different color.

"Despite Aporia being defeated, our Rune Eyes still alert us of immediate danger." Dragan explained, pointing to his own glowing eye.

The Rune Eyes were incredibly rare genetic transformations only those who bear a connection to the gods of Norse Mythology had the birth rights to. Though they were quite noticeable, the three members could "turn them off" whenever they chose to.

"That shouldn't be right," Aki said, looking quite worried all of a sudden. "Aporia was formed from those three emperors of Yliaster. Now that he's been defeated, Yliaster shouldn't be a threat to us, right?"

"Our birthmarks aren't alerting us of anything, either," Ruka pointed out as she rubbed her left arm.

"Are you sure your Rune Eyes are working properly?" Rua questioned, not looking all that concerned. "Maybe they take a long time to wear off."

"No, our Rune Eyes are different from your Crimson Dragon birthmarks," Harald explained. "Your birthmarks respond to one another and to other energies similar in nature, such as our eyes. However, our Rune Eyes were forged to act as signals. They respond not to energy, but to positive and negative presence. The fact that they are still detecting such a negative presence is greatly troubling to us. We thought you should have the right to know, since you personally disposed of Yliaster's subordinate."

Yusei's eyes widened, and he shifted uncomfortably. "Are you trying to say Yliaster still has another assassin stronger than Aporia?"

"How could that be possible?!" Crow shouted. "Yliaster would have sent their strongest warrior after us, being the Signers and all. Who else could possibly be stronger?"

"Don't be so sure of that."

Everyone turned their attention toward Mizoguchi, Sherry LeBlanc's personal butler, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Mizoguchi, you were listening?" Yusei asked with a surprised look on his face. Kiryu and Bomber were standing beside the gentleman.

"So were we," Kiryu answered. "Mind filling us in? To be honest, I feel the same."

"I also feel the same as Team Ragnarok," Bomber concurred. "Because Kiryu and I were both Dark Signers who maintained the memories of our experiences, we are especially subject to evil aura in the air. We felt it earlier, but we didn't want to ruin the mood."

"As you all know, I spent a long time searching for a way to bring Lady Sherry back from the other dimension she fell victim too," Mizoguchi continued. "I still personally believe that her disappearance is related to a force we have yet to see."

"If any of that's true," Yusei replied darkly, "that would mean our defeating Aporia was meaningless…"

BREAK

Back in the ocean where Aporia's body rested, the water began to suddenly started to glow intensely. This lasted for around a minute before the water returned to normal again, so it went unnoticed by the citizens passing by.

In another dimension far away, the black spiral castle from earlier was floating in a mysteriously-colored sky. The clouds appeared to warp and bend with each passing second, and it had a multi-colored hue that was no specific color.

Inside the citadel known as the Ark Cradle, pathways bended and intertwined. Each path glowed the color of the Momentum energy, which consisted of many different colors.

Deep within the very core of the Ark Cradle sat a rather large laboratory. The room inside was futuristic in nature, and none of the technology looked like something of the present day and age, despite how advanced Neo Domino City had become.

Perhaps the most noticeable observation about the laboratory was the countless cylinder-shaped pods that lined the room. There were three lifeless bodies inside three of the pods. One of the bodies was Aporia's old body, his real body before he died. Unlike his metallic body, this body was human in nature and also quite old looking. The pods had some sort of technology that preserved the bodies inside.

Aporia's motionless mechanical body now rested atop a work table. His body was torn and tattered, revealing metal plates, wires, and microchips that made up his second body.

"What's wrong, Aporia? I still require your power. Won't you lend me your strength?"

The masked man road a metallic shrimp-shaped device. His voice sounded gruff and mechanical.

Aporia's response came not through his mouth, but directly through Z-one's mind. They were somehow speaking telepathically.

"Z-one...? So I lost?"

"Yes."

"I'm sorry. I could not keep the promise I made with you."

"However, things have taken an unexpected turn."

"An unexpected turn?"

"Within our original plan, the Circuit was to be completed upon your victory. Following, the Ark Cradle would appear. However, despite the result, the Circuit has still been fully charged."

"So you're saying the plan will live on...?"

"Yes, but things have taken a slight turn. There is a great chance that the future has changed once again due to an outside interference."

"An outside interference that changed the future? Was it Team 5D's?"

"The probability is high. But the change that has occurred in the future is irregular. Aporia, can I ask you to attempt to change the future once more?"

"Of course I will. I am your eternal friend."

Deep beneath the robotic mask, Z-one's soft blue eyes watered when he heard those words.

"Your loyalty will be rewarded, my friend. I am going to repair you, but this time I'm going to make some alterations. Are you okay with me doing this?"

"If it means our plan succeeding, I am fine with whatever you do."

After saying this, Aporia's eyes shot open. They began to glow a bright red as Z-one came closer to him.

"I see. Then I will begin your repairs."

Aporia said nothing else as Z-one brought out his machinery and began restructuring his body. After about 20 minutes of work, Z-one stopped when he heard footsteps approach him from behind.

"Aporia lost because you underestimated Yusei Fudo and his friends, Z-one."

It was Sherry LeBlanc, the newest recruitment to Z-one's team. She wore a cold expression on her face, despite her beautiful blue eyes and her gorgeous, long blonde hair. She was wearing a black and white Riding Suit that hugged her body tightly.

Sherry had recently been saved by Z-one when she fell into a time stream during one of Yusei's expeditions. It was after that Z-one showed her visions of the ruined future, completely changing her mind on the matter with Yliaster.

"Sherry, you were here?" Z-one inquired flatly. "Can I help you with something?"

"No, I just came to see where things currently stand. It appears that the Circuit was fully charged. I assume that means the Ark Cradle will still surface."

"Yes, but it is still occurring prematurely. Because of this, its arrival has been delayed by a few hours. That being said, the plan will move ahead as we discussed. Sherry, get ready to do your part as well."

"As long as you understand your position as well, I'll take care of it," Sherry replied bluntly, turning her eyes away from the man. "Defeating Yusei Fudo will be an easy task."

"No, it won't be that easy."

A sharp voice cut in, startling the woman. Z-one offered no reaction and merely looked toward the owner of the voice, who stood in the open door way behind Sherry.

"Who are you?!" Sherry screamed, activating her Duel Disk.

"Stop, Sherry. He is an ally."

Sherry stopped and stared back at the expressionless olive-green eyes that gawked back at her.

"Though I must say," Z-one continued, "I was convinced you were dead, Paradox."

Still standing in the doorway, the man clad in torn armor offered Z-one a forced smile. He had long, golden hair with purple highlights in the front. Sherry also noticed that his right eyebrow was an odd red color, different from his ordinary left eyebrow. Paradox's body was covered in dry blood and his clothes were torn to bits.

"Where have you been all this time?"

"After my defeat, I was trapped between two flowing currents of time," Paradox replied, panting in between. "Getting out took a lot of time and energy."

"I wasn't aware there was another one of you people…" Sherry mumbled to herself.

"I see you have suffered greatly," Z-one said in an apologetic tone. "I offer you my deepest apologies."

"Never mind all that. I just got back, but I've briefed myself on the current situation. To think even Aporia was defeated by Yusei Fudo's hand. This is a disgrace of ridiculous proportion."

Paradox looked at his own bloodied arm and gritted his teeth in frustration. He couldn't help but remember the moment of his defeat at the hands of Yusei Fudo, Judai Yuki, and Yugi Mutou.

"Does this mean that... my experiment was incorrect!?"

Paradox grasped his arm tightly and looked back up toward Z-one.

"Paradox, I realize you are injured, but we could use your assistance in making our current plan a success."

"I fully intend to have my revenge on Yusei Fudo, but the way you are going about this is all wrong."

"What do you mean by that?" Sherry cut in.

Paradox finally acknowledged her presence and gave her a disgusted look.

"Who the hell is this woman, Z-one? Just what have you all been doing in my absence?! Don't tell me that we, the self-proclaimed 'Four Stars of Yliaster', have grown so weak that we needed to start recruiting random humans!"

"I have every right to be here as you do," Sherry retorted. " I too intend to protect our future!"

"Hmph, forget it," Paradox replied, shaking his head. "We don't have the time for such trivial matters. More importantly, Z-one, listen to what I have to say."

Z-one's exposed eye narrowed as he prepared to listen to his subordinate.

"You can't defeat Yusei Fudo with our current tactics. It pains me to admit it, but he has an incredible ability. His strength comes from the bonds he shares with those close to him. The stronger those bonds, the stronger his iron defenses become. The fact that both Aporia and I were taken out by him is proof enough."

"Then what exactly do you suggest we do?"

"There is only one way to deal with a man like Yusei Fudo." As he said this, a small smirk appeared on the man's face.

BREAK

Back in Neo Domino City, Yusei and his friends continued their discussion with Team Ragnarok in the hallway of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau.

"Team Ragnarok, if what you're saying is true," Yusei said in a concerned voice, "that would mean defeating Aporia was meaningless."

"At the very least," admitted Harald, "it means we can't rest easy just yet."

As they spoke, Aki noticed Bruno acting strangely. His eyes widened and he looked as if he just sensed something the others could not.

"Bruno, what's wrong?"

Bruno opened his mouth to reply, but before he could muster up the words, his voice was drowned out by a sudden rumble. The rumble was loud enough to shake the floor beneath their feet.

High above the skies of Neo Domino City, in an area Aporia once used as his secret base, the Circuit glowed a bright purple. The Circuit was a massive circle of energies. Its appearance was similar to a computer's motherboard. As the material began to shine vibrantly, the shaking grew louder and more intense. Even the sky began to tremble from its touch.

Team 5D's and their companions grabbed onto what they could to keep themselves from falling onto the floor. The guests inside the dinner room began to panic, believing it was an earthquake.

The Duelists, however, knew better. Instead of panicking, they all immediately ran outside toward the stadium where the W.R.G.P. was held. The rumbling grew even louder, nearly piercing their ear drums.

"What the?" Jack voiced his concern over the intensity of the monstrous noise above them.

"What's this…?" Yusei asked quietly, appearing to be quite stunned.

"Hey!" Crow called his friends to get their attention. He pointed up toward the sky, where they saw something unbelievable.

They watched in horror as the sky literally began cracking apart before their very eyes. There was no way to describe it, because such a thing should have been physically impossible. Yet it was indeed happening, and it was an event that defied the laws of physics.

"What's going on?" Jack asked in shock, despite knowing very well what was happening.

The sky crumbled away bit by bit, revealing underneath it a dark region of black clouds.

"They sky's... splitting?" Aki looked very nervous, and her friends shared her reaction.

"You gotta be kidding..." Crow shrieked under his breath.

The Ark Cradle began to emerge from the region of black clouds, creating a supernatural lightshow around it. The Ark Cradle surfaced upside down, pointing its sharp top downward toward Neo Domino City.

"That's... the Ark Cradle!" Yusei shouted, his eyes widening twice as big.

The naïve citizens of Neo Domino City watched in shock and awe as this massive structure blocked out the sun. It loomed far above them, threatening their very existence with its presence.

Carly arrived on the scene along with Ushio, Mikage, and Stephanie.

"Wh-What the heck is that thing?!" Carly questioned out loud, pointing her camera up toward it.

"It's unbelievably huge!" Stephanie cried.

"This isn't possible!" Jack bellowed, raising his clenched fists. "The Ark Cradle shouldn't have appeared if we won!"

"Even if you say that, the thing's right above us!" Crow responded, pointing toward the object.

Jack growled, unable to refute what his eyes told him to be true.

"I don't believe this…" Bomber said quietly, hugging his two frightened siblings toward him.

"So it really ended up appearing after all," Harald said matter-of-factly. "Our Rune Eyes were trying to warn us of this."

"The Ark Cradle..." Yusei recalled. "The 'Final Momentum of Humanity' they called from the future..."

Team 5D's recalled what the three embodiments of Aporia told them before they fought in the tournament.

"That is the Citadel of God, the Ark Cradle. The place where the Yleidus are sleeping."

"The moment we of Team New World win the W.R.G.P., the Ark Cradle will show its true form as it descends upon the Earth."

"And at that time... Neo Domino City will be destroyed as the world is reborn!"

Bruno glared up at the Ark Cradle with a knowing expression on his face. He called to Z-one in his mind, mentally asking him if he intended to destroy Neo Domino City.

BREAK

"Paradox, you can't be serious…"

Back up on the Ark Cradle, Z-one responded to his subordinate with a hint of disappointment through his monotone voice.

"You honestly wish to fall to such a level?"

Paradox narrowed his eyes and stared right into what little he could see of Z-one's.

"Z-one, the time has come for you to cast aside your naïve thinking and focus only on doing what needs to be done! The reason Yusei Fudo stands before us is because you took such dodgy precautions in your plan, hoping we could come to some sort of settlement with Team 5D's."

"You are as reckless as ever." Though his face could not be seen, the metallic man began to sound a bit defensive and angry. "You should be aware that it was your own recklessness that caused your defeat."

"Come again?" Paradox snapped back.

"Your only goal was to kill Pegasus J. Crawford, the creator of Duel Monsters. Your loss was guaranteed the moment you began acting outside of the original objective and stealing Yusei's Stardust Dragon."

"Even if that's true, it has nothing to do with my current strategy. I didn't spend my time trapped in time space twiddling my thumbs! I analyzed Yusei Fudo carefully and I came up with a conjecture. A man of his caliber strengthened by countless bonds will only crumble if we remove those bonds one by one."

"Z-one, I agree," Sherry interrupted. "I've gotten to know Yusei fairly well and I can say for sure that he is the kind of man who would not be able to function without his bonds."

"…"

Z-one could say nothing to his allies, knowing deep down that what they were saying was true.

"Z-one… I agree as well." Aporia reached his stiff arm up toward the man, speaking his opinion softly.

"Aporia, you were conscious?"

"I've witnessed the power of his bonds firsthand. We… need to teach them what it feels like to have your bonds shattered before your very eyes…!"

After sighing to himself, Z-one finally gave in to his peers.

"Very well. If my original plan fails, I will listen to what all of you have to say."

"I'm ready on my end," Sherry confirmed. "Though, you should be aware that the likelihood of this working is very low. Yusei is not the kind of man who would be scared off because of a mere threat."

"Regardless, we must at least try…" Z-one responded, looking away from Sherry's eyes.

Aporia grabbed Z-one's arm softly to get his attention. "Z-one, please hurry up with my repairs… I need to prepare for war."

"Please repair me as well," Paradox cut in. "I will attempt to regain my strength before I am called to the battlefield. I believe we'll only have a few hours at best before they come."

Z-one was silent for a moment before he answered. "Very well. I will be as quick as I can."

Sherry watched Z-one's actions very carefully. She couldn't help but have an interest in the man that was technically her enemy. Though she could not put her finger on it, she sensed an immense sadness coming from him, despite how threatening he was. And what was more, the sadness was very familiar to the woman.

BREAK

Back inside the Public Security Maintenance Bureau, Yusei and his friends stood in grim silence as they waited for Yeager's team to assess the situation. Yeager had thought it best for them to learn more about the situation before they made any rash decisions.

Kiryu and Bomber left to find a safe location for their children, promising to return as soon as possible. Carly and Ushio decided to return to the Security police station to gather those willing to prepare for emergency assistance. In addition, Stephanie and Carly were ordered to evacuate the city immediately along with all of the other Duelists attending the W.R.G.P. after party. The only ones still remaining were the members of Team 5D's, Mizoguchi, and Yeager's team.

Yeager connected their room to Kaiba Corporation's Department of Research and Development, where an overly energetic scientist by the name Akutsu appeared on screen. He had brown hair and wild, blue eyes. He danced around the room eccentrically, ignoring the immediate danger he was in. Akutsu was known for having a screw loose, and it was for this very reason. He was obsessed with Momentum and all research surrounding it. Yeager knew this man well and figured he was most likely viewing this entire situation as his personal playground.

"I cannot beliieevvee this happened~! The Momentum stooppedd spiinninng~!" Akutsu attempted to over-emphasize his words, stretching out his sentence to do so.

The workers of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau typed away at their computers rapidly. As dire as the situation was, the room lost all sense of order. The workers talked over one another quickly as they alerted their director of the increasing severity of the problem.

"The power level has fallen below 30%!"

"And the power level won't stop dropping! At this rate, the Momentum will reach a standstill!"

"Run a check on the system's program!" Yeager ordered his team. "Search for any strange patterns or disturbances in the system!"

BREAK

The streets of Neo Domino City were quickly overtaken by confusion and worry. The citizens began to fight with each other and nearby Security officers, all of whom were unaware of what was going on.

One of the officers named Kazama gasped when his D-Wheel suddenly began to slow down. He looked down at his data screen and saw his mileage was beginning to decline. He brushed his blue bangs out of his brown eyes so he could view his screen better.

"What the? I'm losing power."

"Same here," replied the green-haired officer beside him.

Their D-Wheels stopped completely.

"The Momentum in the D-Wheels...! It's no good! It won't budge!"

Just as their D-Wheels ceased function, the entire city was plunged into darkness. The power outage drained the Momentum from every part of the city, including hospitals and all Momentum-powered vehicles in the vicinity.

BREAK

"The system's down!" reported one of Yeager's workers, calling out to her co-workers in the darkness.

"All facilities have ceased function!" another man called out to Yeager, rising from his chair.

"Switch to backup power!" Yeager cried out.

"Yes, sir!"

The lights were restored as the system was switched over to its emergency energy supply.

"Director," one of the men addressed, "the Old Momentum has activated."

"What did you say?!"

Yeager knew how serious the situation was now. The Old Momentum was the first source of Momentum created by Yusei's father, Dr. Fudo. It was the energy that caused the Zero Reverse incident that took more than half of the city with it. It was this same source of energy that was utilized by the Dark Signers to attempt reviving the King of the Underworld onto Earth.

"It has begun to rotate abnormally in the opposite direction." The worker used his screen to bring up data on the Old Momentum as he spoke.

"Old Momentum!" Yusei cried on instinct, knowing full well the dangers it possessed.

"Is this the Ark Cradle's fault, too?" Jack asked aloud, knowing the answer.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Crow said quietly.

"Director, we are receiving a call from Sergeant Major Akutsu," the second worker informed Yeager.

"Put him through!" Yeager demanded. Akutsu appeared on the screen once again, looking just as excited as ever.

"Director Yeaaaageeeer~!" the scientist shrieked while spinning. "I have become well aware that we are facing quite the problem here! That is because that object contains within it Mooomentuuummm spinning in reverse rotation!"

"Reverse rotation?" Yusei echoed.

"Please watch closely!"

Akutsu, while spinning his arm furiously, pulled up a rendered image of the Ark Cradle. It contained an internal scan of the structure, which revealed what appeared to be an object rotating inside of its center.

"These are images our satellites captured of the object! Within the center of this object lies three Planetary Gears producing a massive amount of Momentum energy! And it is rotating in reverse, producing minus energy!"

"So using that," Jack concluded, "it's taken control of the Momentum in Neo Domino City."

"That is sooo correct! As long as it continues to rotate in reverse, aaaall of the Moooomeeeentuuuum within Neo Domino City will be at a standstill. And that is not even the most frightening matter at haaanddd~!"

Akutsu's expression suddenly straightened and his voice became more serious.

"That object... is slowly falling on us."

"What'd you say?!" Yusei cried, eyes widening in shock.

"If things continue as is, it will come crashing upon ground level within 12 hours! And the shock wave emitted from Neo Domino City will wipe out everything within a radius of several hundred kilometers!"

The room shared a collective gasp at hearing this information.

"I-I-In just... 12 hours?" Yeager gulped, turning to one of his workers. "How long will it take to evacuate all of the residents of Neo Domino City to the nearest cities?"

"All of them?" the worker replied nervously. "At minimum, it would take at least 20 hours."

Yeager gritted his teeth, realizing this would not be easy.

"That's not enough time!" Jack roared.

Yeager sighed, coming to a decision.

"I have no choice but to make an announcement with the emergency generator. Connect the emergency generator to the streets of the city."

BREAK

Back in the streets of the Neo Domino City, the confusion continued to spread as the people weren't given any information.

"For goodness sakes, this is really messing things up," one of the drivers on the road grumbled.

Team Taiyou was trapped in the middle of wandering citizens on the side of the road.

Yoshi looked around worriedly. "What in the world is going on here, guys?"

"I don't know, but I've got a bad feeling…" Jinbei replied in an un-assuring voice.

Taro did not say anything. He wore a serious expression, as if he were waiting for something to happen.

Just as Taro waited, Yeager appeared on all of the computers and TV screens across the entire city. All of the complaining came to a stop when they saw the director of the city staring at them, looking quite serious.

"Attention, everyone in Neo Domino City. I am the director of the Public Security Maintenance Bureau, Yeager. Please remain calm and listen to me. I am now declaring this a state of emergency. All residents of Neo Domino City are hereby ordered to evacuate."

Team Unicorn, standing outside of an Italian restaurant, began to realize what was happening around them.

"Did he say evacuate...?" Breo muttered aloud.

"What does that mean?" Andre asked to no one in particular.

Jean did not comment. He simply narrowed his eyes and waited for Yeager to continue.

"Everyone, please cope with the situation at hand. We are short on time. The object overhead in the sky is going to crash down upon us."

In different locations, Team Ragnarok, Kiryu, and Bomber were shocked when they heard this. Hearing this only caused them to quicken their pace to where they were all headed.

"All women, children, wounded and ill will be attended to first."

Team Black Baron were also evacuating, now currently near a sushi market.

"What's he talking about?" the team leader questioned, looking pale.

Siegfried felt a sensation watch over him as he listened. He began to clench his fists at his side.

"The Public Security Maintenance Bureau will send patrols to aid in this process."

As Yeager continued his speech, the blonde member of Team Black Baron began to panic. He eyed the Ark Cradle hovering high above his head.

"That thing's gonna fall on us?!"

Back to Team Taiyou, Taro's expression became sicklier as the severity began to sink in.

"No way..."

"They must be kidding!" Yoshi grasped the back of his head with both of his hands. He began to look scared and intense.

Like a row of dominoes, panic began to wash over the surrounding crowd one by one.

"No!"

"Let's get outta here!"

"Someone help us!"

"Screw the party," the Team Black Baron leader shouted. "Let's get the hell outta here!"

"Yeah, let's amscray!" The blonde team member was right behind his leader as the two dashed forward.

The Black Baron members turned around when they realized Siegfried was not following them.

"Sieg, aren't you coming?! You heard the director! If you stay here, you'll die!"

Sieg shot his teammates a glare. "How can you call yourself Duelists? You run at the first sense of danger?"

"The hell you talking about? This isn't about card games! It's about life or death! If you're gonna stay, be my guest! We're evacuating!"

Sieg growled as his teammates ran off without him.

"Damn cowards… I can't believe I was on the same team as them."

At the same time, Team Ragnarok hurried along in the opposite direction of the crowd.

"Phew, things got pretty serious!" Brave laughed.

"I can't believe that palace is really going to fall on us…" Dragan's voice trailed off as he spoke out loud.

Harald closed his eyes momentarily. When he opened his eye again, his left eye was glowing a bright blue. Inside the pupil of his eye, a shape that looked like an "F" formed. The other two nodded, beginning to run behind their leader.

Outside of the Blue-Eyes Mountain Café la Green, Stephanie ran frantically toward her workplace.

"Stephanie! What are you doing?! We have to get out of here now!"

Stephanie saw her boss running toward her. He had his backpack full of his possessions.

The teenaged girl shook her head sharply. "No matter what, I won't let them take Blue-Eyes Mountain away!"

"Who cares about this place right now?!" Stephanie's boss began to drag her away from the café against her will.

"But Jack really likes it here!"

The entire city came to life as men and woman of all ages rushed to escape their deaths.

The owner of the Poppo Time, the garage where Yusei and his friends stayed, refused to leave. She invested her entire life into the clock store she lived in. Her son, Leo, had to convince her to continue to live. After much reluctance, his mother finally gave in and decided to join him in the evacuation. Many other elderly people had to be convinced in this same way.

BREAK

"All right, get on board! And make it quick. Is there anyone left behind?"

Martha, the owner of the small orphanage in Satellite, looked around her to make sure all of her children were onboard the beaten up bus behind her. Martha was an African American woman. She had long, black braids and friendly, dark blue eyes. She was wearing a red and white robe that looked similar to a nun's outfit.

Martha was staring up at the Ark Cradle hovering above the city when she heard a voice call out to her.

"Wait!"

Martha turned around to see Kiryu and Bomber running toward her with their children in front of them.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Bomber attempted to catch his breath, stopping in front of the woman.

"We're friends with Yusei, but forget that right now. Please, we beg you to take these children along with you."

Bomber motioned toward Annie, Max, West, and Nico.

Bomber's little brother Max ran over and hugged his leg.

"No, I'm not going anywhere without you, Big Brother Bomber!"

"Me either!" His sister Annie repeated the action.

Kiryu turned to face Martha with pleading eyes.

"I heard about your orphanage from Yusei. You're the only one we can trust the children with."

Martha nodded empathetically. "Being an emergency and all, I won't question you too much. But aren't you two coming along with the children?"

"No, we're staying behind to help Yusei and the rest of Team 5D's."

"I see. Then let them on. I wish you two the best of luck. Tell Yusei and his friends that as well."

Kiryu bowed politely to the woman, placing his hands on West and Nico's shoulders.

Bomber did the same with his siblings. "Go on, get on board. I promise we'll make it back to you safely."

After a moment, Bomber's siblings gave in and hugged their brother one last time before boarding the bus.

Kiryu also hugged his adopted children affectionately. "Don't worry, kids. I promised your late father that I'd take care of you. I have no intention of dying today!"

After saying their goodbyes, Kiryu and Bomber drove off on a couple of junked bikes they found lying around the orphanage. They headed straight for the city.

Martha watched the two men ride off with a smile on her face. She looked around her one last time to make sure there were no children outside of the bus. Once she was sure, she boarded the bus and closed the door behind her.

The kids took their seats toward the front of the bus. They were sitting near Yeager's wife and son, both of whom had a similar appearance.

"We sure lucked out, finding this bus and all!" Martha said cheerfully, attempting to lift the passengers' spirits.

The orphanage's doctor said nothing. He had his eyes closed and appeared to be lost deep in thought.

Martha approached the man driving the bus, Saiga. Saiga was one of Yusei's friends who decided to stay at Martha's orphanage around a year before when Satellite and the city were joined as one. He was also known for taking any job asked of him in both Satellite and the city. Saiga had gruffly brown hair and slanted, brown eyes. Despite having more money than he used to, Saiga preferred wearing his old, torn clothes.

Saiga smiled toward the woman, placing both of his hands on the steering wheel of the bus.

"It used to be in the junkyard. A local officer really helped me out with a new ignition switch and a gas gauge. But this should be enough to get us out of here."

Martha nodded and took a seat beside the doctor. "Then let's take off right away."

"Martha..."

Martha turned when she heard one of the orphan boys call out to her.

"Is that thing really gonna fall?" the second boy asked.

"Is Neo Domino City gonna disappear?" the first boy asked, tearing up slightly.

"Don't be so worried 'bout it!" Martha said positively, flashing the boys a reassuring smile. "We're just goin' somewhere safe for the time being. I'm sure Jack, Crow and Yusei are gonna protect this city! And they've got great friends with them like the ones who just left!"

"You're right!"

"That's right!"

The two boys appeared to be satisfied. West and Nico added to Martha's comment.

"It's okay! Big Brother Kiryu's goin' there with them!" West encouraged.

"With Team Satisfaction and Team 5D's working together, I'm sure everything will be just fine!" Nico smiled.

"That's the spirit, kids! Stay positive!" Martha grinned warmly.

Saiga smiled to himself before starting the engine.

"Okay, let's head out."

The bus left the orphanage and Satellite behind them.

BREAK

The Security officers were lined up in front of Ushio and Mikage outside the Security police station.

"I'm so glad to see you all here!" Ushio called out. His voice grew quieter as he took note of how few officers were standing in front of him. "I really wanted to say that, but it looks like you're the only ones remaining."

"Yeah. A lot of them ran away," Kazama sighed, informing his boss.

"Hmm… I don't blame 'em, with that thing lingering over the city like that." Ushio rubbed his hand on his chin, understanding how his men felt. "Anyway, in this situation, we can't use vehicles that run on Momentum. However, as long as time allows it, we must get all civilians to a safe location. This will be a fight against time. We must aim to rescue, while forfeiting our own lives! If any of you wants to run away, now's your last chance."

Ushio was silent for a moment, waiting to see if anyone had any last minute objections. Kazama smiled to himself when no one said anything.

"Great! Your lives are now in the hands of Section Chief Sagiri and myself!"

"All injured and ill persons are our top priority!" Mikage ordered. "Guiding the remaining citizens comes after! We must not abandon a single life!"

"Roger!" The officers saluted their bosses before preparing to leave.

BREAK

"Hey, let's move it!"

"We can't escape like this!"

Citizens pushed and shoved as they selfishly tried to move ahead of one another.

Carly struggled to keep her balance as the two local hippies pushed against her bulky knapsack, attempting to shove her out of the way. Carly's knapsack was filled to the brim with many items, and a Jack Atlas teddy bear popped out of the side.

"C'mon, don't push me!" Carly struggled to keep the afro woman hippie and the long haired man hippie away from her.

"Hey! Those cars are still working!"

Carly stopped and looked up when she heard the shouts.

The crowd surrounded a blonde haired officer and his partner. They were driving an old fashioned military-style vehicle. It did not operate on Momentum, but old fashioned gasoline.

"Only those who are injured or ill are permitted to board this vehicle! Please stand back! It's not safe!"

"Please let us on!"

"I beg you! I have a child with me!"

The woman waved her baby in the air as the surrounding men began to bang their fists on the vehicle.

Carly took a step back to avoid the chaos.

"Things are getting pretty bad here..." The female hippie whacked her enormous afro into Carly's back, causing her to lose balance and fall onto the ground.

BREAK

Up on the Ark Cradle, Z-one was alone with a now repaired Aporia.

"You have quit being human?" Z-one asked his comrade in a questioning voice.

"I have," Aporia responded monotonously.

"You have come to be more human than anyone," Z-one reminded his friend. "Your very being consists of three embodiments of despair. Your grief lead to the creation of three human beings. After the fact, I resurrected you into three separate forms in which I called Lucciano, Placido, and Jose, whom you see lying before you."

Aporia looked down at the three motionless clones of himself lying on the table. One was a child with long, red hair. One was a middle-aged man with silver, spiky hair. The last man was an elder with wrinkly skin and grey hair.

Aporia closed his eyes, looking away from the three beings.

"I no longer need despair. I lost to Team 5D's during the W.R.G.P. Final Match. Caught deep in despair, I was met with absolute hopelessness. It was you who saved me from that. Despair... I lost because I shouldered this feeling. I was held captive by my own emotions." Aporia opened his eyes once more and stared right into Z-one's blue eyes. "I give all of my feelings to you."

"Aporia..."

"That is why I have asked you to rip the three embodiments of despair from my body. By doing so, I stand before you as nothing more than an empty shell of my former self. I do not feel. I do not think. I will be a mere tool for our greater cause. I don't need despair or hope. That is what it truly means to be a machine. I will protect you as a machine, for the ideal future you wish for."

Z-one stood silent, listening to the words of his close friend with sorrow.

Paradox stood in the empty hallway, listening to their conversation. He turned away from them with a disgusted look on his face.

That was Aporia's greatest weakness, Paradox believed. His loyalty to Z-one would be his undoing. Paradox was different from Aporia. He had long given up on Z-one, and believed he needed to save the future with his own two hands. He would do anything to do so, even if it meant sacrificing his own close friends.

Not wanting to hear anymore, Paradox walked down the hallway to his laboratory.

BREAK

Back in the Public Security Maintenance Bureau, Bruno typed away viciously on the computer's keyboard. He was viewing the satellite images Akutsu sent them.

The workers had already evacuated at Yeager's order. Though they insisted on staying, Yeager would not hear them out. They finally realized that their boss intended to stay until the end, even if it meant his death. Honored by his sacrifice, they had saluted him and left the building.

Bruno turned toward his friends, continuing to type. "I've aimed all the satellite cameras at the Ark Cradle. We might be able to learn something."

Zooming in on the Ark Cradle, the screen revealed what appeared to be upside down skyscrapers and smaller buildings.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"A city? A ruined city?" Aki continued inquiring.

"What's the deal?" Crow wanted to know.

"Bruno!" Yusei called to his friend after noticing something. "Change the screen's angle!"

"Okay."

The screen flipped around on the material sticking out of the side of the Ark Cradle. After rotating several times, the screen revealed a bridge-like object.

The members of Team 5D's gasped loudly when they all came to the same realization.

"That's the Daedalus Bridge!" Jack yelled, referring to the bridge that connected Satellite to the city.

"That can't be!" Crow protested. "That's Satellite in the future?!"

"Then it's true?!" Aki cried, raising her hands to her chest uncomfortably.

Yusei's eyes widened in sudden terror. "Neo Domino City is going to be destroyed?"

Yeager jolted around to address his allies. "Is there any way for us to stop the Ark Cradle?!"

No one had an answer.

"Is there something we can do?!" Rua repeated.

Bruno interrupted the silence, knowing none of them had a solution.

"There may be."

Team 5D's turned to face Bruno, looking desperate.

"For real?" Crow asked.

"Bruno!" Yusei called his friend, feeling a bit of hope swell up inside him.

Bruno nodded to his friends. He then turned back to the computer screen to begin typing again.

"The Old Momentum in the Ark Cradle is rotating in a reverse direction. If it crashes into our larger Momentum rotating in a positive direction..."

"The reverse rotation would convert to a positive rotation. Right?" Jack completed Bruno's sentence.

"I see..." Crow replied.

"But the Momentum in this city is no longer rotating." Aki reminded them.

Jack and Crow released a simultaneous gasp, realizing she was right.

Yeager fell silent and closed his eyes. He sighed to himself before addressing them again.

"There may be nothing we can do now. All of you should evacuate as well!"

Jack and Crow were about to protest when Yusei noticed something on the computer screen.

"That's...!"

"What is it?" Crow looked around, confused.

Jack noticed Yusei looking at a video image of Team Ragnarok riding on their D-Wheels. They were dressed back in their feather-covered Riding Suits.

"It's Team Ragnarok!" Jack exclaimed.

"Their D-Wheels are running!" Crow pointed out.

BREAK

Outside of the building, Team Ragnarok drove up to Team 5D's.

"Team Ragnarok! How are your D-Wheels moving?" Yusei asked immediately.

Dragan chuckled softly. Harald smiled arrogantly.

"The heck?" Brave moaned. "You haven't even noticed?"

Brave pointed to his left eye, which was now lit up in a purple glow. A symbol appearing as an upside down "F" rested inside the pupil of his eye.

"Using this."

Harald's eye glowed blue while Dragan's eye glowed green.

"The Rune Eyes?" Aki asked.

Harald nodded to her. "Just as we haven't been affected by all of Yliaster's past actions, we aren't affected by the reverse rotation."

"I get it!" Yusei replied. "So our D-Wheels should also...!"

Yusei, Crow, and Jack ran over to their D-Wheels that were parked alongside the wall of the building. As they placed their hands upon the handles, their arms began to glow a white-red. They were the birthmarks of the Crimson Dragon, the proof that they were Signers. As soon as they made contact with the D-Wheels, their engines began to start.

"It worked!" Jack cried. "It's working!"

"We can still ride!" Crow called out excitedly.

"Right!" Yusei flashed his friends a thumbs up.

"Whoopie!" Rua cheered alongside the rest of Team 5D's.

Yusei stared up at the enormous structure floating above them. "Now we can reach the Ark Cradle."

"You're mistaken."

Everyone stopped cheering when they heard a familiar voice coming from Yusei's D-Wheel.

Sherry LeBlanc, Yusei's missing friend, suddenly appeared on his D-Wheel's video phone.

"Sherry! You're alive?!"

Mizoguchi quickly ran over to the D-Wheel. "My Lady!"

The others present silently listened in surprise as the woman continued to speak.

"Yusei, I've seen it. The future that is soon to come."

"The future?" he repeated.

"You would be best off not coming to the Ark Cradle," Sherry continued, narrowing her eyes. "I have seen the future. And in that future, you die when you come to the Ark Cradle."

Yusei's expression changed suddenly. His eyes widened greatly and he began to sweat nervously.

"I'll... die?"

OoO

A sudden development?! Faced with the fear of death hovering above him, will Yusei be able to move forward to protect Neo Domino City?

To be continued in Chapter 2: "Facing Death"

List of cards used in this chapter (In order of appearance)

Shooting Star Dragon

WIND

Level 10

Dragon/Synchro/Effect

3300/2500

Effect: 1 Tuner Synchro Monster + "Stardust Dragon"

This card can be Synchro Summoned during your opponent's turn. Once per turn, you can reveal the top 5 cards of your Deck. Shuffle them back in, and this card can attack the same number of monsters this turn as the number of Tuner monsters revealed. You can negate the activation of an effect that would destroy a card(s) on the field, and destroy that card. During either player's turn, you can remove this card from play. During the turn this card is removed by this effect, you can negate an attack. During the End Phase, it can be returned to the field if it is removed from play by this effect.

Scar-Red Nova Dragon (OCG: "Red Nova Dragon")

DARK

Level 12

Dragon/Synchro/Effect

3500/3000

Effect: 2 Tuners + "Red Demon's Dragon"

This card gains 500 ATK for each Tuner monster in your Graveyard. This card cannot be destroyed by the effects of your opponent's Spells, Traps, or monsters. When your opponent's monster declares an attack, you can select it, then remove this card from play and negate the attack. During the End Phase, Special Summon this card that was removed by this effect.

Black Feather Dragon (OCG: "Black-Winged Dragon")

DARK

Level 8

Dragon/Synchro/Effect

2800/1600

Effect: 1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters.

Whenever you would take damage from a direct attack or card effect, you can place 1 Black Feather Counter on this card instead. This card loses 700 ATK for each Black Feather Counter on it. Once per turn, you can remove any Black Feather Counters on this card to have any face-up monster(s) your opponent controls lose 700 ATK for each Black Feather Counter, and inflict damage to your opponent equal to the ATK lost by that monster because of this effect.

Mechlord Astro Machnicle (OCG: "Meklord Astro Mekanicle")

LIGHT

Level 12

Machine/Effect

4000/4000

Effect: Once per turn, you can select 1 face-up Synchro Monster your opponent controls, and equip it to this card. This card gains ATK equal to those equipped monsters' combined ATK. During your End Phase, you can send any of those monsters to the Graveyard to inflict damage to your opponent equal to its ATK. At any time, you can send 1 "Wisel", "Skiel", or "Granel" monster from your hand to the Graveyard to have this card gain that monster's effect(s) until the End Phase. If this card would be destroyed by your opponent's attack or card effect, you can banish 1 "Wisel", "Skiel", or "Granel" monster from your Graveyard instead.

Grannel Guard (OCG: "Granel Guard")

EARTH

Level 1

Machine/Effect

500/100

Effect: If you do not control a face-up "Mechlord Emperor" monster, destroy this card. When a monster you control is attacked, you can select a Synchro Monster equipped to a "Mechlord Emperor" you control: Treat it as a face-up Attack Position monster you control in the Spell & Trap Card Zone, until the end of the Damage Step, and change the attack target to it.

Grannel Attack (OCG: "Granel Attack)

EARTH

Level 1

Machine/Effect

1300/0

Effect: If there is no face-up "Mechlord Emperor" monster, destroy this card. All monsters you control inflict Piercing Battle Damage.