DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yugioh or any of its characters.

Author's Notes: Just as a fair warning, Jack and Crow will most likely be extremely out of character in this. This is because I haven't watched any of 5Ds.

Chapter 1: The Lost Card

An ear-splittingly loud siren was erupting through the corridors of the satellite, alerting everyone to evacuate. Scientists ran through the hallways, each trying desperately to escape the facility. There was a general panic; the reason being because the satellite was about to explode.

However, there was one scientist who wasn't running like his life depended on it. He knew that the situation was hopeless: the place would blow up any second now. His name was Hakase Fudo. There was only one thing he wanted to do before the whole place gave out and himself with it: to save his baby son.

Hakase sent him back down to the surface within a few moments, but could do nothing else but pray for his safety. It was then that things went haywire, mass destruction was spreading rapidly, and it took the city below with it.

Yusei woke up with a start. Panting, he sat up, thinking about the dream he had just had. It wasn't the first time he had that dream; it was a recurring nightmare for him. He knew the loss of the space station wasn't his fault, but…

He decided to get dressed and go outside to refresh his mind. He put on his favorite jacket and boots and walked outside. It was early, with clouds thick in the sky, hiding some of the sunlight. It looked like it would probably rain soon. The air was crisp and a bit chilly, but this did little to clear his thoughts.

His walk took at least twenty minutes, but it felt much shorter than it normally would have because he had been spacing out for so long. He didn't even notice where he was walking until he saw the familiar balcony before him. He walked over to the edge, enjoying the view of the city below him. He was just beginning to feel sleepy again when he heard a voice behind him.

"Oy, Yusei!" it was his friend, Crow. He turned around to face him, to see that Jack had come with as well.

"Oh, hi, you two," he replied. "What are you guys doing here?" Crow shrugged.

"Gee, I was just about to ask you the same thing." Crow said, a relaxed expression on his face. Of course, Jack was serious as always. To Yusei, it felt like Jack was always just slightly annoyed at something. Even though he knew this wasn't true, he took a certain amount of amusement out of it.

He paused. He didn't really feel like talking about why he was there, but knowing Jack, he would find some way to ignore his need for thinking time and make assumptions out of—

"Don't tell me it was that dream again." Jack said. Of course. He just had to confirm Yusei's instincts. Stupid Jack, he thought, always going around, making weirdly accurate assumptions about me. He sighed and gave a small smile.

"What gave it away?" he asked, feeling like Jack seemed to know everything.

"Simple," Crow interjected, "You always get that "quiet" vibe whenever you're bothered about something. And given that the only reason you come here nowadays is because of that dream thing, it was easy to put two and two together." Yusei gave him a slightly incredulous look. First Jack, now Crow? He wondered. Am I really that easy to read?

He decided to ignore that thought and blamed it on the fact that these two had practically known him his entire life. He gave them a brief nod.

"Okay, so maybe I came here to clear my head. So? Why are you here?" he asked again. It was Crow who replied first.

"Well, I was going to say "hi" to you earlier, but then I realized that you had already left. Without even getting food first! I swear, if you keep that up, then I'll—"

"Save the story, Crow," Jack interrupted, "We all know you're here because you're worried about him."

"Hey! Don't go around saying stuff like that for me!" Crow retorted. "As if you're here for any other reason!"

"I'm here because you dragged me out of bed, demanding that I give Yusei my top-notch "sagely advice." Hardly because I'm worried about him." He explained, still with a serious expression on his face.

"I did not say it was top-notch! I told you to stop being such a bad friend!"

"Same thing."

"You suck!"

"Guys," Yusei interrupted, "would you stop dissing on each other already? How about we go play Duel Monsters or something?"

"Yes. That sounds like a good way to start the morning." Jack said.

"… Fine." Crow grudgingly agreed. "So long as Jack quits being a bad friend."

"Crow...!" Yusei warned.

"Let's just go get our motorcycles, okay?" he suggested. And with that, they went to get prepared for their duel.

Several minutes later, three D-Wheels went speeding across the streets, and Yusei had finally forgotten about his previous nightmare. Riding on his motorcycle almost always seemed to have that kind of effect on him. He was wondering why he hadn't tried this earlier when Jack spoke up.

"Hey, so how exactly is this going to work?! There's three of us, but what order are our turns going to be in?!" Jack yelled. He had to yell because the wind was blowing in their ears, and their motorcycles weren't exactly meant for stealth. Yusei and Crow considered this for a few moments.

"Um, maybe you'll go first, then me, then—" Crow started.

"Wait, which one of us is "you"?! That could refer to either of us!" Yusei pointed out. Crow gave him an annoyed look.

"I was talking about Jack! Jack will go first, then me, then you, Yusei!" he explained.

"Watch where you're going!" Jack warned. At this, both Yusei and Crow turned to look back at him, saying in unison,

"Which one of us is "you"?!" they demanded.

"Both of you!" he exclaimed, annoyed at their idiocy. Yusei and Crow managed to steer away from a wall that was in front of them, but not before Yusei caught a glance of a fourth D-Wheel approaching them from behind.

"Hey, Jack! There's someone coming up behind you!" he exclaimed. Jack and Crow both turned their attention to this new person, who was riding a really big, overly elaborate white D-Wheel. He had long blonde hair and wore a black and white mask. Yusei was just beginning to wonder how he could see anything through a mask with no holes for the eyes when the figure spoke.

"May I take place in this duel, as well?" he asked, driving next to Jack, who gave him a glare.

"Do you usually challenge people to a duel before asking so much as their name?" he shot back.

"Ah, yes. Formalities. I sometimes forget those exist." He said, in an almost teasing manner. Yusei, who wasn't far ahead of Jack, was able to overhear the conversation, unlike Crow, who was the farthest ahead and kept bugging Yusei to tell him what was going on.

"HEY, YUSEI! WHAT ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT?! I CAN'T HEAR THEM!" Crow shouted.

"I think they're just getting on each other's case about stuff!" he replied.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" he shouted, "I STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"I SAID," Yusei shouted, "THEY'RE GETTING ON EACH OTHER'S CASE ABOUT STUFF!"

"OHHH…! WHAT KIND OF STUFF?!"

"SOMETHING ABOUT FORMALITIES!"

"SINCE WHEN DID JACK CARE ABOUT FORMALITIES?"

"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!" Jack shouted. "I CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING THIS GUY IS SAYING!"

"And this," the person in the mask said, "is why I don't usually talk to people on motorcycles."

After some more discussion, they came to the conclusion that Yusei would be the one to duel the newcomer. The duel lasted maybe five minutes, but as soon as the challenger declared his attack, everyone knew something was off. The moment his monster's attack landed a hit, the surrounding environment seemed to take the impact of it, as well. This was definitely strange, as Duel Monsters were only supposed to be highly advanced holograms, and not actually solid in any shape, way or form.

"What...?!" Yusei exclaimed, shocked by the sudden damage to the road, driving out of the smoke cloud that had formed on the street. Crow and Jack were just as shocked as he was.

"This guy's attacks are no joke! They're actually… real!" Crow shouted, trying to find the right word for the reality of the challenger's attacks. Jack still managed to keep a straight face.

"You're right! But there's no way he can beat Yusei; his field is practically flawless." He commented. Yusei smiled. It was nice to know Jack, at least, had faith in him. Especially since he had just drawn the card that would determine him as the winner.

"And now," Yusei announced, "Let these wishes combine to become a new, shining star! Become the path its light will shine upon! SYNCHRO SUMMON! STARDUST DRAGON!" he shouted in a slightly overdramatic fashion. His Stardust Dragon appeared in the air above him, and he felt almost invincible. This dragon had always been his trump card; it had helped him on various occasions. And from what he could tell, his challenger didn't have any cards that could take out his Stardust.

He thought about this for a moment. His opponent could very well draw a trap or magic card that could prevent him from attacking, but as far as he was aware, he had essentially guaranteed victory.

However, he didn't have much time to think about that when he saw his opponent draw a completely white card; there was no design or text on it or anything. Jack and Crow noticed it, too.

"Hey, is that even a real Duel Monsters card?!" Crow exclaimed. Jack was silent, waiting to see how this would unfold.

Yusei could have sworn that he heard his opponent chuckle before turning his card towards his Stardust Dragon. How is that going to do anything? He wondered, I mean, it looks as though someone just put a paper rectangle in his deck just for amusement.

He would soon learn, however, that the card his opponent had was far from a regular old paper rectangle. Because the white card suddenly began emanating a stream of Duel Monsters cards, which then shot upwards towards his Stardust Dragon. Said dragon folded its wings over itself, as though it was trying to protect itself by going into a defensive position. Yusei's eyes widened in awe of the scene commencing before him.

"What are you doing?! What exactly is that card?!" he shouted, starting to panic at this point. He didn't receive an answer to that, but his dragon was suddenly gone in a flash of light, and the stream of cards returned to the white one. However, it was no longer a white card anymore: it had turned into none other than the Stardust Dragon card.

"WHAT?!" Crow shouted, freaking out so much he forgot to watch where he was going. Snapping back to reality, he quickly turned at a corner to avoid crashing. "Did he just…!"

"Yeah," Jack replied, finally changing his expression into one of shock, although he still seemed calmer than Crow. "He just sucked his dragon into that card."

Yusei, however, was practically speechless. His dragon had been stolen before, but never quite like that. He gave his opponent a fierce glare as he drove closer to Yusei. Even though he couldn't see under his mask, he got the impression that he was giving him some kind of smirk.

"So, you see now, Yusei Fudo?" he asked in a taunting manner. Yusei's eyes widened. How did this person know who he was? "Now you, too, have lost something dear to you. Just like the people of old will…! Haha!" and with that, he accelerated away from Yusei as fast as he could, letting out a maniacal laugh along the way.

"HEY, YOU! WAIT!" Yusei yelled after the thief, but before he knew it, he had vanished, literally, into thin air. All three of them pulled over, halting their D-Wheels and staring ahead in amazement and shock.

A short time later, they were all gathered in Crow's house, where he had insisted that they all eat breakfast before addressing this new problem. They were all silent, contemplating what the heck that guy's problem was and why he wanted to steal Yusei's dragon. Yusei, the only one to hear the thief address him by his full name, was probably the most concerned out of all of them. How did he know who I was? He wondered. And what did he mean, "like the people of old will"? The people of old are just that; the past. They're not around anymore, so they can't be 'about' to lose anything.

His thoughts were promptly interrupted by Crow letting out a frustrated growl.

"Grrrrgh…! Just who does that guy think he is?! And how did he just… vanish like that?! It doesn't make any sense!" he said, a bit louder than he was intending.

"I agree. Just what the heck is happening here?!" Jack agreed. Yusei continued staring downwards, which he had been doing for the past several minutes.

"… He knew my name." he said. "He must have been after my Stardust Dragon from the very beginning."

"To do what, though?" Crow wondered. "It obviously can't be good, but still, what would he gain out of stealing your card?"

"Crow makes a good point," Jack commented, "If he can make his monsters' attacks real, then why would he need Stardust for? He can cause enough havoc as it is."

Yusei thought about that for a few moments. Really, it didn't make sense. Unless he was deliberately trying to provoke him, he had no reason to steal it at all. Now that he thought about it, that made sense. He had said, "Now you, too, have lost something dear."

"I think he was trying to provoke me," he said, "I'm not sure what the point would be, but he might be trying to lure me into doing something."

"Like what? With the way he vanished like that, it's not like he wanted you to find him!" Crow pointed out. Yusei, his head starting to hurt with all this confusion, vaguely started looking around the room until something caught his eye. It was an old news article. He absentmindedly picked it up and looked at it. Crow and Jack took notice of this.

"Yusei, focus on the task at hand!" Jack snapped at him.

"Seriously, Yusei! This isn't the time for an old newspaper!" Crow agreed. Yusei ignored them and instead focused on the picture in the article. "Hello? Yusei, you in there? Focus, will you!" Crow demanded.

"Look." Yusei said, showing the article to them. "Doesn't that look like the Stardust Dragon?"

Upon taking the time to look at the photo, the two of them realized that, indeed, the article of Venice's destruction had a dragon that looked uncannily similar to the Stardust Dragon.

"Huh. You know, I don't think I ever noticed that before. But, so what? That's not going to help us find your dragon." Crow commented. Jack, on the other hand, was thinking on more similar wavelengths to Yusei.

"Now that you mention it, Yusei," Jack said, "didn't this article come out before Synchro Summoning even existed? At that point, Stardust Dragon shouldn't have even been created yet."

"Exactly. Seems kind of weird, if you ask me…" Yusei replied, his voice trailing off slightly.

"Wait, so let me get this straight," Crow interjected, "You're saying that your dragon was there before he should have been? What does that even mean?" No one had an answer to that. Only then did Yusei notice a figure in the background of the picture.

"Hey, do you see that?" he asked.

"See what?"

"Look. If you look right there, you can see somebody. Here, let me zoom in…" with a few taps on the screen, Yusei had properly zoomed in on the figure in the picture.

He let out a gasp.

The person in the photo was the person who had stolen his Stardust Dragon.

"No way! How—what—what?!" Crow exclaimed, his words failing him.

"How is he there?! That was years ago!" Jack pointed out.

"There are exactly two explanations for this." Yusei declared. Crow and Jack looked at him expectantly. "The first, and probably most likely reason, is that someone took a photo of our thief here and photoshopped him into this news article."

"And why would anyone want to do that?" Jack asked bluntly.

"I have no idea." Came Yusei's intelligent reply. Jack facepalmed.

"Okay… and what's the other explanation?" he asked.

"The other explanation is that he somehow went back in time and attacked Venice with the dragon he just stole from me."

"… You're kidding, right?"

"Kind of, yeah." He replied, letting out a sort of half-hearted laugh. Crow gave him a skeptical look.

"… You're not actually thinking that's an option, are you?" he asked. Yusei shrugged.

"I really don't know. But… before he left, he said that I had lost something important, 'like how the people of old will.' Why would he say that?" he wondered aloud.

"Probably just to mess with you. I mean, we all know that time travel is impossible," Jack explained, "and given that he probably stole your dragon just to provoke you, I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one who photoshopped the article." Crow nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's probably it." He agreed. Yusei also nodded, then quickly got back to the emergency at hand.

"Well, in any case, we have to start looking for that guy. With the kind of damage his monsters can cause, who knows what he'll do with Stardust?" he concluded. It was then that he noticed the dragon birthmark on his arm and back began glowing. "What…?"

That's strange… it's like the Crimson Dragon is calling out to me. He thought. He looked over at his D-Wheel, where the Crimson Dragon resided. He suddenly felt spacey, like he was suddenly detached from the current scenario. It was the way he usually felt when communicating with the Crimson Dragon. But what exactly is he trying to say? Could it be that he knows where my Stardust is? He assumed that this was just wishful thinking, but given that it was the only lead he had towards finding his Stardust Dragon, he figured he should start there.

It was then that he realized that Crow was waving his hand in front of his face, trying to get his attention.

"Hey, Yusei! You still in there?" he asked. Yusei blinked, snapping back into reality.

"Um, yeah. Sure. But I think the Crimson Dragon is trying to tell me something," he explained.

"Really? Hey, maybe it knows where your dragon is!" Crow suggested.

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Yusei agreed, and with that, he rushed out the door, grabbing his helmet along the way.

"Hey, wait up!" he heard Crow exclaim. Yusei put his helmet on, got on his D-Wheel, and began speeding across the street before Crow and Jack could even catch up. He looked up at the Crimson Dragon, who had appeared above his head when he began driving.

"Crimson Dragon! I have a request. Take me to where my Stardust Dragon is!" he exclaimed. The Crimson Dragon lowered itself until he was obscuring Yusei's view. He squinted to see the road in front of him, until all he could see was the red glow of the dragon in front of him. And in a flash of light, he found that he was no longer on a road at all.

Crow and Jack stared in awe when Yusei disappeared in thin air, just like the thief from before had.

"… Um. Now what? Yusei's just… gone!" Crow exclaimed. Jack shrugged.

"For once, I truly have no idea." He replied.

"Well, we can't just stand here!" Crow protested. "He could get into danger out there!"

"Yusei's used to danger. I think he'll be fine. Besides," he explained, "he's vanished. How exactly are we supposed to track him?"

"… I hate it when you're right."

"Yes. Yes, I know."

Author's Notes: And so, chapter 1 has been complete!

It seems that I can't write anything without making it at least slightly more comedic than before. Oh, well. I hope you enjoyed it!