Prologue

This was the end. He had done everything in his power to prevent this disaster from occurring, but it was all in vein. He created a nightmare and lost total control. The Ener-D Reactor was created to help people and improve the condition of the city, but instead, it will be the force that tears it apart. With Roman Goodwin taking command, it was only a matter of time before the city plummeted into darkness and chaos.

"Rex." Professor Fudo tried to lean his slim body up against the wall of the corridor, but his encounter with Roman left him injured and broken. He had tried to reason with his friend, but Roman had turned power-hungry and lost his mind.

"Professor Fudo! Are you alright?" Rex Goodwin ran to his boss, fearing they were now trapped in the exact situation they tried so hard to avoid. "What happened?"

The shorter man limped over, falling into the arms of his subordinate. "Your...your brother is going to restart the reactor and...increase the energy levels."

Rex's eyes widened in terror. "But..our predictions on what would happen if the energy levels rose any high showed that-"

"I know, but there's no stopping Roman. I've already tried. He's...he's too far gone." The professor spoke in a low tone, finally excepting his fate. If only he could have seen the signs sooner, the signs about his invention and about Roman.

"But the devastation? The city could be completely destroyed! All the lives of those innocent people outside the walls of this research center?" Rex couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe that this was how it was all going to end, at the hands of his brother. "We can still stop Roman."

"No! We can't!" Professor Fudo yelled at his old friend, looking up at him with anger in his eyes. He was not about let the fear and regret growing inside of him be his final emotions. "The mark on his arm! That hellish mark is to blame! You know that as much as I do, but..."

"But, what?"

"We can't stop the reactor from exploding. But, if all your brother's talk about dragons and immortals is true, then in a few years, there might be an even greater disaster awaiting for the rest of the world."

Rex held his breath, thinking back to all the times Roman went on and on about some future war he would have to fight in. Maybe the reactor exploding was not the end, but only the beginning. The beginning of a war to end all wars. The beginning of the war between the Signers and Dark Signers.

"Get out of here, Rex." Professor Fudo snapped Goodwin out of his short trance.

"No. I'm not leaving you here." Rex pleaded.

His old friend shook his head. "I can't make it out of here like this. Besides, the reactor was supposed to be my legacy. I'm going to go down with my legacy, or at least part of it."

"Part of it?"

Professor Fudo put his hand on Rex's shouldered and looked into his eyes. "Please Rex, save my son. He...he should be sleeping in my office. Take him with you and get out of here."

Goodwin didn't know what to say. What about Roman? Surely he could reason with his older brother and stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life. Then, he remembered something, something Roman had told him long time ago. His brother once said that there are times in our lives when we have no control over what we do. Destiny is in complete and utter control during these times. For some reason, Rex felt like this was one of those time. He should not try to stop Roman, but save Professor Fudo's son instead. Almost like destiny was tugging at his strings to go the other way. Like that baby meant something more.

"Alright."

"Thank you, Rex. Thank you for everything."

Goodwin let Professor Fudo slide down to the floor. Rex gave his boss one last pat on the back, knowing that after he turned away from the man in front of him, he would most likely never see his best friend or his brother ever again.

Rex stood, turned his body and immediately started running through the halls of the research center. He surprised himself when he noticed that he wasn't tearing up at the loss of the only world he had ever known. Maybe this was the right thing to do after all? He found himself coming up to the entrance of Professor Fudo's office, when the entire building began to shake. Roman certainly did not like to waste any time.

He bursted through the set doors and quickly spotted a crib on the left side of the office space. Rex walked up and noticed that the baby boy, barely even one year old yet, was sleeping peacefully. He reached down and picked up the young child. He held him in his arms for a moment, trying to see if the baby resembled his father in anyway. Certainly the raven black hair.

Rex sprinted out of the room in hast. The building began to shake more violently, violently enough to wake the once sleepy baby. He began to cry and Roman, never having his own father in his life to love him, simply let the crying continue. The faster he ran, the faster disaster seemed to craw near. Flashing lights and warning sirens of the security system began pounding against his eyes and ear drums. Time was running out.

"Where do I go?" Rex screamed at the top of his lungs. The whole place was about to be swallowed in fire and explosions. Then, he remembered the underground section of the building, with passageways extending all the way to the other side of New Domino City. Luckily, the entrance to the hidden maze was close by.

Rex quickly found his way to the underground tunnels. It was a straight shot through one long tunnel that would lead him and the still crying baby to safety. He ran down that tunnel like his life depended on it. Which of course, it did. Rex could hear loud crashing sounds and a swell of heat resinate from behind him. Roman had thrown the switch.

He kept running down the dark, endless hallway. Rex finally felt tears rolling down the side of his face. The whole world around him trembled in fear and everything behind him was incinerated in a matter of seconds. It was a miracle Rex was able to out run the reach of the blast. The tunnel began to fill with smoke and debris. Rex almost collapsed under the pressure, but that crying baby seemed to be the key that kept him going.

Before he knew it, Rex came upon a sealed exit. He put the baby down on the hard floor and pried the door open with his bare hands. After a swift breath of cold air hit his body, Rex picked up the baby in his arms once again and contorted himself out of the tunnel.

They were out. They were safe. They survived the worst disaster to ever occur to New Domino City.

"It's alright. It's alright, Yusei." Rex tried to calm the wailing child. "We're safe now."

He turned back around, not fully prepared to witness his brother's accomplishment. The city was in ruin. Blocks of destroyed buildings and roads scattered the once great metropolis. It seemed as if a large chunk of the city had disappeared into the waters. Rex couldn't even to begin to fathom the number of lives that had just been lost, including his brother and possibly all of his other friends as well.

"It's okay, Yusei. We're going to be fine." Rex cradled the baby, whose cries slowly turned into faint sobs. "Destiny was at work here. This...this disaster was always supposed to happen. But a war...there is always a way to stop a war before it begins. The war between the Signers and Dark Signers caused this, but it won't be the cause of the end of the world, I'll make sure of it."

Rex looked down at Yusei.

"We'll save the world and have our revenge."