Me: Geez, finally! I got writer's block or something and it took a lot longer than I expected to write this chapter.

Sky: Huh? Oh, you're updating Midnight Sun. Good, I want to know what the last line of the first chapter meant.

Shade: No you don't. You really don't.

Sky: What, more evil stuff?

Lucy: Heck yes! Shimmer's even being nice enough to let us make this story not have a happy ending!

Sky: *Glares at me* WHAT?! HOW DARE YOU?!

Me: Eep! I… I'm sorry! It just… works so well…

Sky: Oh, and I bet that Crimson Feathers is going to have a happy ending, isn't it?

Me: …Eventually. Not in the near future, but eventually.

Sky: *Grumbles* That's not fair! I'm the OC you made first! My story should have the happy ending, not Angel's!

Me: But… but… CF has to, because I have a second-gen story for its universe.

Sky: …And not mine?

Me: *Rubs back of head* I only have the idea for one that could have worked in either universe, but this one already has enough spin-offs and alternate timelines…

Sky: …Hmph. Just post the chapter, then.

Me: Okay… Uh, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds, but I do own my OCs… Enjoy…?

Chapter 2

I take a breath in and then let it out as a sigh of relief. We're in Neo Domino City. We're home.

Well, Shoshan and I are in the airport now, waiting for my luggage (Shoshan already has his), but still…

"Oh, I see your suitcase," Shoshan says abruptly. "I'll get it."

"Thanks," I say, still scanning the airport for my brother. He said he'd be here, but I don't see him. Hmm… I reach out through our mind-link, and quickly have my answer: Yusei is asleep. I can hardly blame him, and I actually think that's a good thing, since he's been so busy with whatever issue he's had at work…

"Alright, I got it," Shoshan says. "Any sign of your brother?"

"He's asleep," I reply.

"And you know that because…?" He shakes his head. "Never mind. I should know better."

I laugh a little. "Yeah, you should."

Shoshan joins in laughing with me for a few moments, but suddenly stops as curiosity crosses his face. He's looking behind me now. "Hey, is that—"

"Sky! Shoshan!" a familiar voice cries out.

I turn around, my smile growing wider. My magenta-haired friend is running across the airport to us, and man, has she changed a lot! Her hair isn't as long, but her bangs are styled the same way—without her stabilizer, I note. Not only that, but she isn't wearing that Victorian-style dress anymore. Instead, she has on jeans and a longsleeve shirt that matches her hair color, all underneath a white coat like doctors wear.

"Akiza! What a wonderful surprise!" I reply once she's at our side. "How long have you been here?"

"Oh, I'd say about ten minutes," she answers, returning my smile.

"No way! Our planes landed that far apart? What luck!"

Confusion writes itself onto Akiza's face for a moment, before she realizes the answer to what was making her confused. "Oh! No, I meant that I've been here—in the airport—for about ten minutes. I've been in Neo Domino for almost five days."

"Five days?" I ask. "I wish I could have gotten a ticket that early."

"I was really lucky to get it in time," Akiza admits.

Now it's my turn to be confused. "In time for what? I'm pretty sure you're the first of us that's back. There wasn't that much of a rush, was there?"

"I was transferred here after graduation, which was last week," she replies. "You didn't know that?"

"Apparently not… ah! But, uh, congrats for that!"

"Thanks," Akiza says. Then she claps her hands together, "Well, I only came to greet the two of you. I'm sure Yusei would like to see you, except—"

"He's at home, asleep," I interrupt. "Yeah, I know."

XXX

Sure enough, when we get to the old apartment, Yusei is passed out on the couch, a blanket haphazardly draped across him. When Shoshan accidentally slams the door behind him, all my brother does is grumble a little and roll over. Yep, he's definitely out.

Nevertheless, Akiza glares at my blonde-haired, green-eyed friend. "Be careful! Yusei needs his sleep!"

"S-Sorry!" Shoshan whispers in reply.

The next hour or so is spent trying to keep as quiet as possible. Akiza is right. Yusei needs all the sleep he can get, considering whatever the issue is he's been having at work. After that hour, though, Yusei stirs and sits up, rubbing his eyes.

I stare at him with a smirk on my face. When he actually opens his eyes and looks at me, he stares back blankly for a few seconds. Then Yusei blinks, registers what he's seeing, and says, "Sky? When did you get here?"

"About an hour ago," I reply.

"An… hour…" He turns to Akiza. "I told you to wake me up when it was time to go meet them in the airport."

The magenta-haired woman folds her arms across her chest and shakes her head. "You aren't a machine, Yusei," she says. "You're a person, and people need sleep. With all the hours you've been working, it was only a matter of time before you collapsed from exhaustion."

"You do realize I managed to get a week off from work and could have slept at all later?" Yusei retorts. He shrugs, "Oh well, it's not like I can change that. How have you been, Sky?"

XXX

We spend the rest of the day catching up. Akiza tells us of her time in college, which is interesting enough in itself. And then there was this one point where she started talking in German, just to tease us. But she ends up leaving around seven—apparently she has the night shift.

So we get to hear from Yusei. Not about whatever the issue is, but about several other projects he's been working on. It's only when I start yawning that going to bed is even considered by any of us. "Mm… where can I sleep, Yusei?" I ask.

"Your old room," he replies, "I never messed with it. Oh, and Shoshan, you can sleep in my room. I don't mind the couch." He pats it a few times.

"Ah? No, no, I'll take the couch," Shoshan says. "You don't need to go through any trouble for me."

"Shoshan…" I say, shaking my head. I lean over and whisper into his ear, "You should listen to my brother. He might pull the Satellite card."

That's what I've dubbed it, when I use the fact that I grew up in Satellite to sway an argument with Shoshan in my favor. I've no doubt that my brother will say that.

"Oh, alright…"

"Say, why can't he sleep in Crow or Jack's room?" I ask.

"Because Crow's coming tomorrow and Jack has explicitly told me not to let anything into his room," Yusei replies. "Obviously Crow's going to want his room."

"Well… I can sleep in there tonight, and you can have your room," Shoshan says. "Then tomorrow… we'll figure something out."

"Hmm… that works," Yusei replies.

"Good," I say. "Then Yusei, make sure you actually get some sleep."

"I will, don't worry."

XXX

…Man, I must have really missed this room, because I seriously get the most amount of sleep I've gotten in a while. It's nearly ten by the time I get out of bed, pull on some fresh clothes, and head downstairs.

"…Yes, yes, now you just need to close the program," I hear Yusei say with annoyance. Then he sighs, "Do I really…? The password is GOOD DAYS. All caps. …Good. Just… tell me if anything comes up. …Goodbye."

I walk up to Yusei just as he hangs up his phone and pinches the bridge of his nose. I raise an eyebrow, "Something wrong?"

"Yeah, the issue came up again," Yusei replies. "I thought I'd left Zigzix detailed instructions on how to fix it, but… apparently one of the assistants spilled coffee on it, and so he called me for help."

"Huh. Well, at least it's dealt with, right?" I reply.

"For now," he mumbles.

A timer dings, and Shoshan appears from behind me, turning off the timer and… Oh wow. He's made pancakes. He dishes some out to each of us, smiling. "Enjoy!"

Oh, I certainly do enjoy them. I absolutely love pancakes. But while I'm eating my third one, I notice that Yusei has the TV on to a news station. The volume is turned almost all the way down, so I can't here it, but the caption says, "Another Duelist Vanishes into Thin Air". Next to the reporter's head is a video, likely of the event, which shows two young boys in Duel Academy uniforms Dueling. The young boy on the right activates a Trap Card, and then, for some reason, vanishes. His Duel Disk and cards simply fall to the ground.

"Hey, Yusei, you have any idea what that's going on about?" I ask.

"Hmm?" He looks at the TV and notices the news story. "Oh, that. It's… strange. For the past three weeks, there have been reports of either someone in a Duel or simply watching one vanish. No one knows why, or what's actually happening to them." Yusei narrows his eyes at the TV, and adds, "I think it might have something to do with the issue I've been having at work."

"…And that is…?" I ask.

But he shakes his head, "I can't tell you. Sorry."

I frown, and finish my last pancake. Yusei's raising more questions than answering them, and it's really annoying me. I know, I should respect his privacy and everything, and he did say that there were legal issues involved, but it doesn't help that I'm naturally curious.

"Oh! Look at the time!" Yusei suddenly exclaims. "Crow should be at the airport any minute now!"

XXX

Yeah, by the time we get there twenty minutes later, Crow's waiting impatiently—in the parking lot, for his Duel Runner, not us. It comes through right when we try to get his attention, and he gets all relieved that it's through, he doesn't realize we're here.

I fold my arms and tap my foot a few times, then shout, "Hey, we're over here, you orange-haired dodo!"

That gets his attention. "Who called me tha—Sky!" His scowl turns into a grin as he continues, "Yusei and… Shoshan, too! Nice to see you guys!"

I return the grin, and say, "Nice to see you too, Crow. Say, I still owe you that Duel, don't I?"

"That's right, you do!"

"Why don't we take your stuff back to the apartment, and then you can have your Duel?" Yusei asks.

Crow shrugs, "Fine by me."

XXX

Unfortunately, it ends up being a Ground Duel, because my Duel Runner decides to bug out for no apparent reason. Still, a Duel's a Duel, and I know neither of us is going to hold back.

"Mind if I go first?" I ask.

"It isn't gonna make a difference, but sure," Crow replies.

I smirk, "Be ready to eat those words, Crow. I'm not going to lose to you."

Crow's Life Points: 4000, Sky's Life Points: 4000

I look at my hand. It's a perfect starting hand for going up against my bird-named friend. "Alright Crow, I'm starting things off with a change in scenery! I activate the Field Spell Celestic Temple!"

The field we're standing in changes into the inside of an ancient sanctuary, complete with pure white stone pillars, all with stars on them.

"This grants all of my 'Celestial' monsters an extra 500 Attack and Defense Points," I explain. "With that out of the way, I Summon Celestial Angel to the field in Attack Mode!"

Celestial Angel ATK: 100 to 600, DEF: 100 to 600, Level 1

A young girl with white hair and a dress of the same color appears on my field. She spreads out her wings—both of them covered in pure white feathers. Then the wings start glowing.

"Oh, and when Celestial Angel is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon two 'Celestial' monsters from my Deck to join her," I add. "I choose Celestial Synchron and Celestial Knight-Venus!"

Celestial Synchron ATK: 700 to 1200, DEF: 1800 to 2300, Level 3; Celestial Knight-Venus ATK: 1700 to 2200, DEF: 1000 to 1500, Level 4

The angel flaps her wings, and two spirals of stardust appear in front of her. When the wind stops, two monsters are in its place. The first, a golden robot shaped much like a star, and the second, a female knight with long, blonde hair and bright orange armor.

"Heh, going for Quasar already, are you?" Crow asks.

"Not quite," I reply. "See, Celestial Angel's ability allows me to activate Celestial Synchron's ability, even though I didn't Normal Summon it. Celestial Synchron's effect allows me to Special Summon another 'Celestial' monster from my Deck, except it has to be Level 1. So… bloom, Celestial Rose!"

Celestial Rose ATK: 0 to 500, DEF: 0 to 500, Level 1

The star-robot turns into a circular platform. Light bubbles around above it, and when it vanishes, a rose with a mixture of silver and gold petals is resting on the platform. The rose grows a stem, thorns, and two leaves that seem to act more like tentacles, and hovers away from the robot as it morphs into its original form.

"And… that ends my turn."

"What, no face-downs or even a Synchro Summon?" Crow asks. "Man, you've changed."

"Oh, and you haven't?" I reply. "Let's see what your friends in America taught you."

He grins, "Fine, I will! It's my turn!" He draws his card and contemplates his hand. "Heh, I'll start things off with the Continuous Spell Black Whirlwind! Now, whenever I Normal Summon a 'Blackwing' monster, I can add another from my Deck to my hand, as long as it has less ATK than the one I Summoned."

A tornado of black feathers appears next to Crow, but it doesn't do much of anything else.

"Then I Summon Blackwing-Shura the Blue Flame in Attack Mode!"

Blackwing-Shura the Blue Flame ATK: 1800, DEF: 1200, Level 4

The bird creature that appears has arms, legs, and two giant wings covered in black feathers. The feathers around his head are blue.

"And, thanks to Black Whirlwind, I can add Blackwing-Gale the Whirlwind to my hand!" Crow continues. "But I'm not going to stop there, and I'm going to Special Summon the card I just added to my hand!"

Blackwing-Gale the Whirlwind ATK: 1300, DEF: 400, Level 3

This bird is a lot smaller, and lacks the arms that Shura has. Gale's head is covered in teal-green feathers, and body in dark, dark-blue ones.

"…I'll go ahead and use Gale the Whirlwind's ability to halve Celestial Knight-Venus' power," Crow says after a few moments of considering this move.

Celestial Knight-Venus ATK: 2200 to 1100, DEF: 1500 to 750

"And now… I Tune my Level 3 Blackwing-Gale the Whirlwind with my Level 4 Blackwing-Shura the Blue Flame! Blackened wings, turn into the power strong enough to control the divine winds! Synchro Summon! Blackwing Tamer-Hawk Joe!"

Blackwing Tamer-Hawk Joe ATK: 2600, DEF: 2000, Level 7

The monster that appears is a lot more human-like than some of Crow's other monsters. I mean, it looks a lot like a dark-skinned man wearing some sort of skirt and golden-orange armor over his chest and shoulders. The only reasons why he looks like a bird are the two wings he has, and that one hand has talons rather than fingers.

Huh. I remember this card. Crow used it in the Battle Royale in the WRGP finals. "Glad to see I'm not the only one mixing things up," I say. "Oh, but if you think your monster is going to attack, think again! Celestial Angel's other ability lets me sacrifice half my Life Points, and in return you can't attack this turn."

I wince just a little as a bolt of electricity from my angel hits me.

Sky's Life Points: 2000

"Hah, that's a new one!" Crow shouts. "I never would have expected you to give up that many points just to negate one attack!"

"We'll see who's laughing after my next turn," I reply, smirking.

"Mm… I set three cards face-down and end my turn."

"It's my move!" I draw my card, and smile when I look at it. "Just to make sure none of your face-downs can do anything… I activate the Spell Giant Trunade! Now, all of them and your Black Whirlwind are returned to your hand!"

A whirlwind appears in front of me, sweeping across Crow's field and forcing all of his Spells and Traps back to his hand. Icarus Attack, Mirror Force, and Call of the Haunted—hah, all Traps that would have stopped my plan—are blown off the field by the whirlwind.

"Next, I activate the effect of Celestial Knight-Venus! Since I control another 'Celestial' monster—three of them, for that matter—I can take control of one monster you control until the End Phase. And you only have one… that's a shame," I say.

Crow scowls as my orange-armored knight charms his bird-man into coming to my side of the field. He knows, just like I do, that I've just won this Duel.

"Blackwing Tamer-Hawk Joe, Celestial Knight-Venus, and Celestial Angel attack you directly!" I shout. "This is the end!"

And the end it is, after the bird-man claws, the knight slices, and the angel punches Crow.

Crow's Life Points: 0. Winner: Sky Fudo.

"Dammit…" Crow mumbles. "I wasn't expecting you to pull that trick. But… good game."

"It was," I agree.

The two of us turn to go inside, but something is wrong. Shoshan is standing there, because he was watching us… but Yusei isn't, and I know he was there a minute ago. "Shoshan, where is Yusei?"

"Huh?" He looks to his side. "I… I don't know. I didn't see him leave."

I roll my eyes. 'Alright Yusei, where are you?'

…Is the thought I try to send out. It more or less bounces off a mental brick wall. So hard that I actually cry out in pain. "Agh! My head!"

"Sky? What's wrong?" one of the guys asks. I can't tell which one it was—or if it was both of them at the same time.

I don't answer for a moment. I try reaching out to Yusei again, but I can't even sense him. Zero, zilch, nada. Nothing. But… that can't be. That would mean he's dead, but I'm not in excruciating pain and my Signer Mark isn't being responsive—two things that would definitely happen if he is dead. But the only reason I can't sense him is if he is.

Just what is going on here?

To be continued…

Sky: Great. You just have to raise more questions than answering them.

Me: Well, I'm sorry! If you don't like what I write, take it up with the muses!

Sky: …Yeah, that isn't happening any time soon.

Lucy: *Sticks tongue out at Sky* Haha, you're scared of us!

Sky: I-I am not! You're just a million times stronger than I am!

Lucy: Whimp.

Sky: Grr…

Me: Lucy, don't antagonize her.

Lucy: Fine. But only because I know you'll revoke our right for the evil ending if I don't stop.

Me: …Yes. Well. Did you like this chapter? I hope you did. I made it longer than I might have the rest because of the wait. Please, leave a review!

PS: The "orange-haired dodo" insult belongs to Hope Hoshiko, who is awesome enough to let me use it. If you haven't checked out her stories, you need to. She's an amazing writer.