A/N: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF YU GI OH 5Ds! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE CREATORS! THE ONLY THING I OWN ARE MY OCS!

Chapter 2: A Dreamscape

Yusei walked around the back alleyways for a bit, but paused as he heard a familiar growling sound coming from the next exit. He hid behind a trash can, keeping Ayumi in his arms and she stayed asleep much to his relief. He looked around the corner to see one of the demon dogs walking passed the exit.

He didn't move a muscle and Ayumi was sleeping without a sound at all. The dog paused and Yusei hid his head again. The dog growled a bit and he noticed the dog's faint shadow closing in.

"Over here!" called a voice that echoed with power. The dog turned and ran off in the opposite direction, making Yusei relieved.

Yusei turned, however, as a man who seemed in league with the angelic creatures landed in front of him. The Signer stood, preparing to dart away.

"Wait!" the man called.

"What do you want?" Yusei asked.

"The Crimson Dragon acknowledges your bravery and your will to make your friends stay happy. And that includes the child you hold, Ayumi Furukawa. The demon dogs, the Spezuns, here are the only ones wishing you to stay in death," the angel before him stated. "The angels, or better known as Chasans, belonging to the Crimson Dragon, are under his orders to protect you here and there in order for you to reach the mountain that will take you to your home. But there are many dangers that lie ahead, dangers that you and Ayumi will have to face alone."

"What mountain and what dangers?" Yusei asked.

"The Mountain of Fate," the angel answered. "Or better known as Mount Fujiyama in your current day. In the mountain, you will face trials with Ayumi that will decide whether you will live or head to your designated afterlife worlds. And this has only been succeeded upon once before, many millennia ago. If you two can manage to prove yourselves worthy of life again, it'll be a miracle."

"How will we even pass these trials?" Yusei asked. "If they're as dangerous as you say, how will we protect ourselves?"

"This world, Yusei, lies in your and Ayumi's furthest parts of your subconscious where your spirits are still connected to your bodies but are preparing to leave to the afterlife," the angel continued. "If you are even to leave this city, you must use your combined power to force yourself out of the city and open the path to the Mountain of Fate. Added, since this is a part of your minds, you can bring whatever you need at the time into this reality to protect yourself. Whether it be a sword or a force field or even Duel Monster, it is all possible as long as you put your energy into it. Beware, Yusei, the more energy you use to create these things only adds to the energy you do not have. If you use too much energy and you run out of it, you will die."

"I'll let Ayumi know when she wakes up," Yusei responded. "And you'd better be telling the truth."

"As a servant to the Crimson Dragon, I must always speak the truth," the angel responded. "Now, hurry to the edge of the City leading out. Before the Spezuns find you again." He then flew off with that.

Yusei got up and stayed still for a moment. But that was the best he was going to get as a lead in this godforsaken world. So, he had to head that way. He walked to the exit of the alleyway and looked around for any of those "Spezuns" as the angel, or "Chasans", called them. When he saw it was clear, he hurried out of the alley and began to silently run through the clear streets.

Yusei went on for a while before he found himself at the edge of the city. He touched the border and found a force field blocking the exit to the city. He gently woke Ayumi up and she looked at him, seeming a bit groggy.

"We're at the edge of town," Yusei told her as he gently set her back on the ground. "But I need your help with something."

"What?" she asked a bit confused.

"One of those angel creatures apparently called Chasans met me while you were asleep, actually saved us from an approaching Spezun as he called it," Yusei began and that shocked her. "The Crimson Dragon wants us to get to Mount Fujiyama. They know it as the Mountain of Fate. According to the angel, he says that when we go there, we'll both be put through trials. If we pass these trials, we should be able to return to our living friends and family. If we fail, we'll die and head to the afterlife."

"But Mount Fujiyama is so far away!" she responded seeming worried. "And how will we even pass the trials?"

"According to the Chasan, this world is kind of between our subconscious and the afterlife. Like a dreamscape, I guess," Yusei explained. "As such, if we focus our energy, we can create anything we want. However, if we use too much and run out of energy, we die. So we'll have to be careful." He touched the wall again, making it ripple a bit. "Now, that being said, our only way of leaving the city and getting to Mount Fujiyama is to try to combine our energy in a way and break the barrier."

"And how do we do that?" she asked.

"I guess we just focus," Yusei suggested. "But I'm honestly not entirely sure." They both placed their hands on the barriers when they heard angry barking and looked to see the Spezuns in the distance hurrying towards them. "Ayumi, focus. Alright?"

The young girl gave a small nod and they both closed their eyes. They focused long and hard, and just as it seemed like the Spezuns were on top of them, the barrier shatter throwing them back a bit from the blast and the Spezuns behind them a good distance.

Yusei immediately helped Ayumi up and they ran into the new path available to them, their goal in mind.