I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds or Zexal. The characters belong to their own creators.
Synchronic Sacrifice
It's been fourteen years since the Signers stopped the destruction of Neo Domino City from Illiaster. Everyone went on their separate ways. Yusei and Aki got married. Crow and Sherry tied the knot and were living somewhere in France. Leo became a world renowned turbo duelist. Jack and Ruka were also married and they were the only ones to have a child together. Little did they know that the period of peace would not last for much longer.
…
Jack was sitting on the couch when woke up from the vision he had just witnessed. All of the Synchro Monsters the Signers wielded were destroyed and the entire world became a living nightmare.
He turned towards Ruka and was about to tell her what he had just experienced when their son, Kaito, came running in. Even though things were looking dark, Jack couldn't help but smile when he saw his son. Kaito (his real name is Kai) had both his mother and father's hair. He had blond hair that was collected into a large spike, but there were green bangs in the front.
Kaito was smiling and said, "Can you have a duel with me?"
The matter of the future was urgent, but Jack didn't have the willpower to deny his son anything. Kaito was a formidable opponent, despite his cheerful nature. He managed to draw in every duel against Yusei and won against everyone else. Jack knew he was going to lose, but he couldn't bear to make his son unhappy, so he agreed to have the duel. There were more pressing matter, so Jack secretly resolved to end the duel as quickly as possible.
After the duel, Kaito said, "Daddy, you just let me win this time."
Jack was surprised because he tried to make it look as convincing as possible. When he asked his son how he could tell the difference, Kaito answered, "Your eyes. They weren't fierce."
Ruka suddenly said, "Kai, Daddy is a little busy right now, so he wanted to end it quickly."
Kaito's smile returned to his face. As he left the room, he said, "This duel doesn't count. When you are done with work, we are going to have a serious duel."
Jack was relieved that his son was not angry and replied, "I promise I'll duel you however many times you want after I'm done with work."
"Do you truly mean that?"
"An Atlas never goes back on his words."
After Kaito left, Jack proceeded to tell Ruka what he had witnessed in the vision. When he was done, Ruka said, "We should inform all the others. I am afraid to know what this means. First the war in the world of the Duel Monster spirits, now a danger threatening to destroy all Syncros."
Several weeks before Jack received the vision, the Ancient Fairy Dragon contacted Ruka told her about the battle against an unknown dark force. The spirits were holding their own against the darkness, but nobody knows how long they will last.
Their phone suddenly began to ring and Ruka picked it up. After the call ended, Ruka said, "It was Yusei. He reminded us that the war council is tomorrow. They might have found something."
When Ruka mentioned the battle undergoing in the spirit realm, all of the Signers pitched in and tried to end the war, but with no success.
The next day, everyone arrived at the new Momentum reactor that Yusei built. Yusei was the first one to address the situation. He said, "The danger in the realm of the Duel Monster spirits is unlike anything we have ever faced before."
Jack asked, "Do you know exactly what it is?"
"It is the King of the Netherworld. I know we defeated him a long time ago, but that was when he wasn't in his true form. Now, he is gathering power to attain his true form and invade our world to get revenge."
"How much time do we have left?"
"By my guess, we have three days at the most."
"What do we need to do to defeat him?"
"I'm working on it right now. We need to defeat him before he crosses over into our world."
"That means we need to go into the Netherworld, but we permanently sealed the gates when we defeated the King of the Netherworld. How are we going to get there now?"
"We aren't going to the Netherworld. The King of the Netherworld is in the realm of the Duel Monster spirits. He is gathering all of the energy in the spirit realm before crossing into our world. That was the force the Duel Monster spirits were fighting. Ruka is going to use her powers to open a gate for us to pass through. I'm going to use the energy of the reactor to amplify her power."
Jack looked at Ruka, worried about her safety, and she nodded at him, assuring him that everything was going to be alright. Yusei continued, "I need two hours to prepare everything. Once the gate is open, we're going to seal the King of the Netherworld away permanently. If you need to do deal with anything do it now."
There was something that Jack needed to do, but it always made him uneasy when he thought about it. He had a feeling that this was the last time he was going to be in the area, so he decided to get it over with. Jack went to the cemetery where Carly was buried and stood in front of her grave. Carly died twelve years ago when she fell of the top of a building. Her pursuit of journalism and dedication to him caused her to delve into the dangerous parts of the world.
Standing in front of her grave, Jack remembered the last words Carly told him. "You're the King. You deserve to be happy. Don't let things get you down, and never be sad for my sake, even if I'm gone." Jack followed her words and continued on with his life, even though it grieved him very much when she died.
He placed a hand on top of the headstone and said, "Thank you for everything: the advice, the support. I wouldn't be the person I am without you. I'll always wish you were still here, but I'm going to live my life the way you wanted to. This is goodbye."
After the her death, Jack never visited her once because it brought him too much pain. He never got to pay his final respects to her. Before he left, he place a bouquet of flowers in front of her grave.
…
When Jack left to settle the matter that was on his mind, Aki was having a conversation with Ruka. "You are lucky to have such a cute son."
Ruka looked at Kaito sleeping on the couch and replied, "Don't worry. Once this is over, I am sure you are going to have a great family with Yusei."
"Thanks for the support."
"It's nothing. We're friends, right? Friends are always there for one another."
"There's something I wanted to ask for a while now."
"What is it?"
"Your son's name is Kai, but Jack keeps calling him Kaito. I can't help but think Jack can't remember his own son's name."
"Jack would never forget. Kaito is just a nickname. We gave it to him because he always managed to find the cookies we hide in the house, no matter how hard we try to hide them."
"I hope this experience doesn't traumatize him in the future."
"Kai is stronger than he looks, besides he's still young, so he probably won't remember much."
"Yeah, you're probably right." Aki looked at Kaito sleeping on couch and wished that this ordeal would just end, so she and Yusei could have the family they wanted.
…
Crow was leaning against the wall and talking to Yusei, who was working on finishing the connector to the energy reactor. He asked, "Do you really think we'll stand a chance against the King of the Netherworld in his true form?"
There was a moment of silence before Yusei answered, "I have to believe it. If I don't, we would already lose before the fight even started."
"Sorry for doubting you. I guess I'm just worried about the future and all that."
"I know how you feel, but we need to keep it together."
"You're right. We share a bond and need to work together. By the way, have you ever heard the story of the Sapphire Dragon?"
"Vaguely, it had to do with the Crimson Dragon, right?"
"Well, it was the son of the Crimson Dragon. The story goes like this. The Signers had destroyed the final Earthbound Immortal, that was even stronger than the current King of the Netherworld. Due to the power that was released, both sides were destroyed in mutual destruction, even the Crimson Dragon was seriously wounded. Seeing that moment of vulnerability, the rest of the Earthbound Immortals made a desperate attempt to control the world. The Sapphire Dragon was still young, but it was the only one, who could fight at the moment. It lent all of its power to a descendent of the Signer. That lone Signer defeated the rest of the Earthbound Immortals. Unfortunately, the Sapphire Dragon disappeared off the face of the earth after the battle ended. Some people say that it died, but nobody knows for sure."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"I thought you might want some company when you were working."
"If you want to help, hand me that wrench and the screwdriver as well."
As Crow got up to retrieve the items Yusei requested, he couldn't help, but think that if he wasn't a Signer, maybe, just, maybe, he might have a life that didn't require him to be in the clutches of death all the time.
…
When the Jack returned from the cemetery, he found everybody's family and friends were there to wish them luck. Jack pulled Yusei aside and said, "There is something I need to ask you. If I'm gone, who is going to take care of Kaito?"
Yusei reassured him and said, "I am going to have my assistant Faker take care of him, until you get back." There were two assistants who were helping Yusei, Baron Arclight and Dr. Faker.
"Are you sure he can be trusted?"
"I know you are worried, but nothing is going to happen to him."
Jack still felt uneasy, but he decided to trust his friend. He looked towards the gate that was created to the realm of the Duel Monster spirits. People he knew, like Kiryu and Martha, were there to wish them luck, but he couldn't help think that they were also saying goodbye.
Ruka gave Kaito a card, Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon. Its spirit resides in the realm of the Duel Monster spirits, so it would protect him when the right time came. She told him, "Take care of this card. It's your present for being good."
Kaito promised he would and went to his father. He asked, "Are we going to have that duel when you get back?"
Jack smiled and replied, "I promise I'll duel you right when I get back. An Atlas never goes back on his words."
Before all the Signers left, they entrusted their decks to the people they trust. They were traveling to the realm or the Duel Monster spirits, so they wouldn't need their deck, or even use it. As they walked through the gate, everyone was waving goodbye. Nobody noticed the darkness that creeped out through the gate.
Jack turned around one last time and saw the smiling face of his son one last time. When everyone was distracted, the darkness possessed Dr. Faker and made him its servant. After the gate closed, Dr. Faker, controlled by the darkness, put his hand on Kaito's head and changed his memories.
…
The Signers managed to defeat the King of the Netherworld with the combined efforts of the Duel Monster spirits. As the they were preparing to create another gate to bring them home, tendrils of darkness erupted out of the ground and began attacking them. Soon, the tendrils gathered together and formed a looming humanoid figure. They realized this evil was more than they could handle and had no chance in defeating it. There was only one option left, but everyone had hoped to avoid that scenario.
They used whatever was left of their powers and created a barrier. It would keep the monster from entering the human world. There was a great price to pay for that ability. Their life energy went into maintaining the barrier. In other words, the spirit realm was their grave.
Before he died, the last thought on Jack's mind was Kaito. Everything he did was for his sake. This was to protect his future. Jack felt tears roll down his face when he said, "Sorry Kaito. Daddy won't be coming home to duel you."