A/N: I'm back! *Yay!* Though I am bit sad that only three people have reviewed on the previous chapter, I'm still going to move on with the story. No matter how many people will read and/or review, I shall continue on with my story. Sorry for not updating for almost four months. I appreciate it to those who were patiently waiting for a new update. I hope that I did not lose any readers for not updating in such a long time. But I would like to thank those three people for reviewing and to three people for following this story.
Big shout outs and hugs to:
A5L
Tornado-22
ProChampionDuelistA. K. A. Pyro
Ayumi San Sama
Tonite
PrincessSerenity1976
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's and all the characters within this show are property of Kazuki Takahashi, TV Tokyo & NAS. Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: The Force of Destiny and any OC characters within this story like Aki, Jake, Violet, and Reila rightfully belong to me. Black Star Dragon rightfully belongs to kenji1104.
Without further ado, enjoy this new chapter! ^^
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: The Force of Destiny
Chapter 3: Carly is Moving On?
It has been two weeks that Aki came back into the past. During her duration in the past, Aki got used to living with Akiza and sometimes she got used to sleeping over with Leo and Luna at the Tops. Within those two weeks, Yusei managed to finish Aki's hair band. Aki was happy that her father of the past had kept his promise to her, unlike her father from the future. She no longer had to worry about her powers going berserk but she still had to learn how to control her psychic powers with Akiza every other day. It was hard in the beginning and it still is but little Aki is determined to control her psychic powers.
After her encounter with Team 5D's, everyone had their chance to get to know Aki and her special ability. Jack was a bit surprise to know that a girl like her has the same powers as Akiza. After a few more days of knowing her, Jack tried his best to be kind with Aki but he still had some concerns for the young girl. He still couldn't trust her. Where did she come from and why was she separated from her parents? If he did not know any better, he could say that Aki and Akiza are sisters or mother or daughter since they look the same.
But that was a rubbish idea.
Ever since that day, when Kitty tried to kidnap Aki away from the Signers and the mark of the Crimson Dragon appeared, not one attempt was made to take Aki to Sayer. Aki wasn't sure if Sayer had given up on her or if he was up to something. Whatever it was, Aki was not going to let her guard down.
Yusei, on the other hand, couldn't stop thinking about that vision that he had when he held Aki. What did that vision mean? Why did it show him a vision of a dark future where Akiza is dueling Misty as a Dark Signer? Was it an illusion? Was it warning him just like the last time when he dreamt of New Domino City's destruction due to the over usage of synchro summons? Was it an imagination of his mind playing some tricks on him? Or was he simply feeling paranoid? Yusei hasn't spoken to anyone about that vision for he was afraid of what his friends would react. How would Akiza react if he told her that he saw her dueling Misty?
No, he would never tell Akiza about that vision he had until he has enough courage to tell her. It was not that Yusei was afraid to tell her, he just did not want her to be hurt.
Early in the afternoon, Aki is walking on her way to Poppo Time by herself, since Akiza was still in class. Aki waited for Leo and Luna to come out of school but she couldn't wait any longer. She decided to go to Poppo Time by herself. She already knows how to get there, so it was no problem for Aki to walk alone. Aki sees many people going in the opposite direction as she wonders what's going on. She turns around and follows a group of young teenage girls who were gossiping. Once they reached up to their destination, Aki sees a long line in front of an ice-cream parlor.
"Come and get a free sample of our delicious ice-cream," shouted a young woman with light-brown hair and hazel eyes. She was one of the employees to the ice-cream parlor. Her outfit consists of a red and white striped blouse with light-blue jeans. She wore a black apron with a small hat which had the name of the ice-cream parlor.
Aki knew that she couldn't resist ice-cream. It was her favorite dessert. Aki begins to reminiscence about how she and her parents used to enjoy going out together and buying ice-cream. They would order their favorite ice-cream flavor and then go to the park. This memory made Aki feel nostalgic but at the same time sad. She was now here in the past dealing with getting the Signers together and stop Sayer's plan from proceeding. If only she had some money to buy herself a chocolate ice-cream, that would make her feel better.
But alas, she does not have any right now.
"Hey Aki!" Aki turned around and saw Leo and Luna running towards her. Not far behind them, Carly was trying her best to catch up to the twins as she finally manages to keep up with them. "Aki, we were waiting for you at Duel Academy," Luna said. Leo looks where Aki was looking at and sees a long line, "What's going on down there?"
Carly noticed the long line below her and saw the ice-cream shop. "Didn't you know that this the new ice-cream shop that just opened?" Carly asked Leo. The young boy nodded his head in disagreement, "I've heard that they sell the best ice-cream."
"Really?" Leo asked. Carly nodded excitedly. "Can we go and get some, please?"
"Sure why not. It will be my treat." Leo and Luna were off to get their ice-cream. Carly was about to join them to get in line when she sees Aki standing there. "Don't you want ice-cream Aki?"
Aki really did want to get ice-cream but she was hesitant. She nodded her head and turned around when Leo calls her back, "Come on Aki, I know that you want to," he tried to convince her. "Don't you want chocolate ice-cream?" he asked her.
That did the trick as she once more turned around and smiled at her uncle. "Okay, I'm coming," she laughed and raced with Leo to see who get in line first.
Carly watched them race and smiled. Once they were a few feet away from her, the smile on her face faded as she sighed in sadness.
What will she do without them?
Poppo Time
In Poppo Time, Yusei is working on his duel runner alone. It was quiet and peaceful without his two best friends bickering every other day. Yusei was just glad that there was no interruption from them. Jack was across the street drinking his coffee as Crow comes into the garage along with Akiza. "Hey Yusei, look who's here to visit you," he shouted. Crow pushed his duel runner inside the garage.
Yusei looked up and saw Akiza standing there with a smile spreading on her face, "Akiza," he let go of his tools and embraced her in a hug. She melted into his arms and kissed him on his cheek. He let her go and notices that Akiza isn't looking too happy. In fact, she looked sad. "What's wrong?" he rubbed her temples.
Akiza wasn't sure if she should tell Yusei about Carly's situation but she needed an advice. "Yusei," she started, "Carly just got accepted as a journalist."
"That's great!" he saw that Akiza's expression didn't change. Why was she sad about her friend's acceptance to a new job? "Why are you upset? You should be happy that she's finally getting her dream job."
"I know that Yusei but that's why I'm not sad. Carly got a new job as a journalist and she's being asked to work in America. Do you know what that means?" She held onto his hands. Yusei nodded. "That means that she will no longer be here. She's going away."
Now Yusei understood. If Carly was going away, how will she deal with her relationship with Jack? How would Jack react if he found out that Carly was leaving the city for good? He just could not imagine how Jack will react to this news if they told him without considering the consequences. "When is she leaving? Does Jack know about it?"
"She's leaving next week and no, Jack doesn't know about it," Crow joined in the conversation. Yusei glanced at Crow as he further explained the situation, "Carly told me yesterday about her new job. She seems so happy that she's finally going to become a journalist but at the same time, she sounded depressed. Haven't you notice how Carly hasn't come over to Poppo Time in a few days?"
It was true what Crow said. In the past couple of days, Carly has not come by to Poppo Time to see Jack or anyone else in particular. Whenever she bumped into Crow, Akiza or the twins, she always told them that she was busy getting some scoop for her article. Carly always told them that she will come by to Poppo Time when she was done and spend some time with them but she never came.
"Jack has been visiting Carly but she has told him that she was busy writing an article. Yusei," Akiza massaged his hands, "Jack doesn't know that Carly is leaving New Domino City and pursue her dreams."
"Who is leaving?"
Akiza felt her body tingle with fear. She wanted to retract to what she said but there was no turning back. She was afraid that he would hear the news but, there in the doorway, Jack stood there. Jack has managed to hear that someone was leaving but who was it? Yusei, Akiza and Crow turned their heads towards the entrance of the garage and saw him standing there. "I'll ask again, who is leaving New Domino City?"
Akiza looked at Yusei with pleading eyes to not tell him who is leaving. Jack saw Yusei whispering to Akiza about something as she disagreed to whatever he just said. Yusei tried to convince her that Jack needed to know that Carly is leaving but she refused to let him tell Jack the truth. In a low voice she whispered at Yusei, "No, Yusei please don't tell him the news just yet. He needs to hear it from her. Please," she pleaded in distress.
"Carly."
Yusei and Akiza glanced at Crow. Akiza could not believe that he just told him the truth. Crow, on the other hand, did not mind telling Jack the truth even if it caused him to get punched in the face. Jack stood there with a shocked expression. Was this a cruel joke that he made up? If it was, then Crow was looking for trouble.
"What?" he asked. Jack looked at his three friends and noticed Akiza's expression change back into sadness. "You're joking right?" No response was heard. All three of his friends looked away from his cold glance that he was giving. "Carly is leaving New Domino City?"
"I'm afraid so," Yusei replied. "She's got herself a new job."
Jack felt like his whole world breaking apart. He now knew why Carly hasn't been coming and visiting him here in Poppo Time or why she hasn't allowed him in her apartment. The idea of Carly leaving broke his heart. He thought that there wasn't any secret between them. They shared the most intimate part of their lives and now Carly was leaving the city. Jack felt heartbroken, sad and most of all upset. Why didn't Carly tell him about her new job? With that in his mind, he left out of Poppo Time garage and slammed the door with force.
Yusei, Akiza and Crow watched Jack leaving as they cringed in fear when Jack slammed the door.
Aki, Carly, Leo and Luna were at the park enjoying their ice-cream. Carly heard the conversation that was going on between the twins and Aki while she was thinking about her predicament. How was she going to tell Jack about her new job?
"During lunch, many girls asked me where I got my hair band because they said that they really like it." Aki told the twins, "I told them that Yusei made me this hair band because I asked him to and now they all want the same hair band as mine." Aki's hair band was black with a sliver star that was placed on her left side of her head. Somehow, Yusei managed to fit so many wires that were light into the star.
Luna noticed that Carly wasn't talking that much. "Is everything alright, Carly?" she asked.
Carly looked up and saw Luna staring at her. She smiled at her and licked her ice-cream, "I'm doing fine. Swell." Carly continued to lick her vanilla flavor ice-cream while she tried to convince the thirteen year old girl.
Luna didn't seem too convinced. Something was up with the reporter girl. She could see it through her eyes and facial expressions but she decided to not push forward.
It was getting late, as the twins bid their farewell to Carly. They were off to the Tops. Aki was left with Carly, "Thanks for the ice-cream," she smiled.
"You're welcome Aki. I'm glad that you accepted my invitation." She smiled back at Aki. "It's getting late. Do you want me to take you to Poppo Time?" Aki nodded in delighted. Carly sighed and took the young girl to Poppo Time. She just hoped that she won't bump into Jack.
In Café la Geen, Jack is drinking his fifth cup of coffee while Mina is sitting in front of him talking about her investigation on Aki with Trudge and Kaz. Jack contacted Mina the following week, after Aki's arrival, and asked for her help to see if they could find out who are Aki's parents. So far, Mina did a lot of investigations on Aki but she has found nothing.
From afar, Stephanie watches Jack and Mina sitting together without Carly. One of her eyebrow arched up wondering where Carly could be. 'Maybe they broke up,' she assumed and continued to watch.
"According to my investigation, there is no information on whose Aki's parents are. I can't seem to find her birth certificate within our records. I believe that—" Mina didn't finish speaking as she yelped in surprise. Jack slammed his hands on the table causing the tableware to move and wobble. It also caused a little bit of his coffee to spill on the white table. Mina stared at him with a bewilderment expression. "Jack! What's wrong?"
Jack was still upset that Carly hasn't told him about her new job. He trusted in her in everything and now because of this situation, Jack felt betrayed. Jack wanted to feel happy for her but because of this; he could not think any good reason. No matter how much coffee he has drunk, he felt his heart broken. "Why Carly?" he began to mutter. "I trusted you."
Mina was startled by his sudden action while she heard him muttering things about Carly. 'Jack.' She saw him his hand tightening as his knuckles turned white. He loosens his grip and continued to drink his coffee. Mina stared at Jack for a moment trying to figure out why he's so upset.
Jack felt Mina staring at him and he gave her a questioning look, almost as if he was saying, 'What do have something on my face?' She looked down and continued with her investigation on Aki.
Arcadia Movement
Ever since Kitty has failed to bring Aki to Sayer, Devack had to convince Sayer that he wasn't going to fail this time in capturing the young girl. When Kitty came back to the old Arcadia building empty-handed, Sayer severally punished her with his psychic powers. He needed to take out his anger that he has been holding for the past two years. Just thinking about Akiza is moving on with her life with Yusei doesn't seem fitting for him. He hated the idea that Akiza choose Yusei over him.
He dreaded the idea of Akiza being with Yusei.
For several days she screamed, begged and pleaded to Sayer to forgive her for her mistake but he did not comply with her wishes. After her punishment was over, Sayer dragged her out from a private room and shoved her with the rest of the ladies. Birdie, Prettie and Avery were shocked to see their fellow friend and sister being punished.
"Let this be a warning to you three ladies," Sayer looked at Prettie, Avery and Birdie with anger. With that, he left an injured Kitty and the rest of the ladies shuddering in fear. The three ladies did nothing to stop Sayer's attack from Kitty.
Once in a while, Avery would try to get near Sayer and talk to him but she was always held back by Prettie. Now that Kitty's punishment was over and Sayer was gone out of sight, Avery and everyone else approached her and saw all the cut marks and the black and purple bruises on her ivory skin. "Kitty," Avery sobbed quietly.
Meanwhile, Devack was investigating for the last two weeks on where to find Aki but he has found nothing at all. Until recently, he heard that the new ice-cream parlor has been opened and has brought a lot of costumers. This made him happy and he knew who to assign to. "Birdie," he called out.
Birdie stopped staring at Kitty as soon as she heard her name being called out. She left her other two friends to tend Kitty. She entered the control room, "You called," she inquired.
Devack turned around and saw her standing at the door, "I did. I have a mission for you to complete. See this," he signaled towards the screen that was in front of him. Birdie saw an image of the ice-cream parlor that was in the main district of New Domino City. She nodded. "Our next target is this ice-cream parlor shop. I want you to take over the ice-cream parlor and at the same time capture Aki. Don't come back empty-handed or else you'll end like your companion did." He sneered at her.
Birdie maintained clam composure. She knew what Devack was doing to her and she wasn't going to fall into his game. "Yes sir," she silently hissed at him. Luckily for her, Devack didn't managed to have heard her menacing tone or her double-meaning message since he was busy looking at the screen and left out of the control room.
This time, Aki will be capture and given to Sayer no matter what. She was not going to suffer the same way as Kitty.
The following afternoon, Carly is rushing her way out of the busy office and towards elevator before it closes. Once she reaches towards the elevator, she groans in disappointment as the doors to the elevator closed, filled with people. Even if she did manage to get in, she wouldn't fit inside. Now she had to wait another extra five minutes before the next one could come.
Outside of the office building where Carly is working, Aki is standing at the main entrance waiting for the reporter girl to come out.
After Carly dropped off Aki to Poppo Time last night, she bumped into Jack. The weirdest and awkward feeling started to surround them as Aki ran inside and greeted her parents and Crow. Jack stood in front of Carly and stared at her. Carly did not want to see or bump into him but she couldn't avoid him. She didn't want to see his cold and violet eyes staring at her hard with anger and disappointment. She quietly greeted him and looked to her side and greeted everyone else with her usual cheerful and bubbly tone.
Jack had to pretend to not have heard about Carly's sudden departure to America but that did not stop him from staring at her. "Carly," he spoke out with force. She looked at him with intimidation. "Listen I want to talk to you about something…" but he couldn't come up with words to explain how hurt and disappointed his was. He saw her face turning slightly pinkish as she tried to look somewhere else. "Carly, I,"
The bittersweet moment was ruined when Aki came back out and thanked Carly for bring her to Poppo Time and smiled at her. Jack had to bite back all those curse words that he wish he could say but he remain quiet for the meantime. Carly bid everyone farewell and left in a flash hoping to not be in Jack's presence or hear to what he had to say to her. As Carly ran away from Jack, she could help it but to let her tears out. It hurts her to see Jack before she leaves New Domino City. She even feels worse for not telling Jack about her new job.
Back into the present day, Carly comes out of the building and sees someone familiar. She squint her eyes and notices that Aki is there. "Aki," she calls out. Carly walks up to where she's standing. Sure enough it was definitely Aki. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Akiza's or the twins' apartment?" she asked curiously.
"I came here to see you," she simply replied with a smile on her face. "That's if you don't mind."
Carly shook her head no.
"Then I have one question to ask you."
"Ask away."
"Is it true that you're leaving New Domino City to pursue your job?"
This took Carly by surprise as her messenger bag slid off her shoulder and fell on the concrete ground with a thud. "W-what? Where did you hear that?" she begins to panic. Quickly, Carly picked up her bag and hung over her shoulder.
"I overheard Jack and Crow last night discussing about you and about your new job and how you're leaving the city." Aki calmly stated. Before she went home with Akiza, Aki managed to hear Jack and Crow arguing about Carly's decision to leave the city and pursue her dream. "Is it true?"
A moment of silence hung over them while Carly didn't say anything. "Are you going to live in America?"
Carly's silence confirmed Aki's question.
So Jack already knows about her new job. She did tell Akiza to keep it a secret but it seems that she couldn't keep it to herself. Carly didn't want to blame her friend for spilling the beans but somehow after telling Akiza about her new job and how she was going to explain to Jack about her departure, she told Akiza that she did not want Jack to know about this. Akiza tried to convince the reporter girl to tell Jack before he could find out by someone else. She argued that she didn't want Jack to know about it because she feared that she'll never see him again.
And now that Jack knows, she felt even worse.
Aki noticed Carly's facial expression change. She felt bad for her. Seeing her aunt sad made her feel guilty for letting her know that Jack knows about her job in America. What would happen to Jake and Violet if they found out that their parents were not together anymore? Would they even exist? "Carly," she spoke up. Carly looked down at the young girl, "Do you mind if I spend the night with you and keep you company?"
"I don't know," Carly blinked. "Did you tell Akiza or the twins know that you're planning to coming with me?"
"I did and they said that it was fine. So can I come over to your apartment?" she asked. Aki hoped for a yes for an answer.
Carly smiled for the first time and grabbed Aki's hand. "Sure, I don't mind. Do you want to buy something to eat or do you want to buy some snacks?" she asked while she smiled but deep down she was depressed. She wanted to scream and cry. She wanted to vent out her sorrowful feelings to someone, anyone who would be willing to listen to her.
Instead, she smiled.
"Maybe some pizza," Aki suggested. Her stomach begins to growl as a small taint of red appeared on her cheeks. "I guess I haven't eaten any dinner." She sheepishly said.
They laughed.
Both girls bought pizza and ate together. Once they arrived to Carly's apartment, Aki spend her first hour reading a book while Carly was frivolously typing on her computer. On her desk, Carly had some books and notes spread out on the table as she looked back and forth between her computer and her notes. Aki was done reading her book and she began to color a coloring book that Carly had bought for her.
Carly stops typing on the computer as she begins to reminisce about last night's encounter with Jack. It was very hard for her to look at him in the eyes while she was trying to figure out what to tell Jack. It wasn't like her to keep any secrets. She tried her best to stay away from him or even visit him at Poppo Time but deep down, Carly was dying to see him; to be with him and spend her time with him.
She felt that she wasn't ready to tell Jack that she is going to leave but her secret was out. Jack now knows and there was nothing that she could do. What was Jack going to tell her yesterday? Carly took off her glasses as a tear slipped out at the corner of her eyes.
Aki noticed that the sound of clicks and clacks of the computer keyboard were not heard. She looked up and saw Carly staring into nothingness. Carly's glasses were off and for the first time, Aki finally gets to see her aunt without her glasses. Aki had to admit that her aunt had the prettiest eye color. She set her crayons down and sat next to the reporter girl. "What's wrong Carly?"
Carly realized that she is not alone and notices that her face is wet with tears. She quickly wipes her tears away with the sleeve of her long sleeve shirt and puts her glasses back on. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to keep hiding what she is feeling and so, she decides to tell Aki what is wrong with her. "I'm just sad that Jack already knows that I'm leaving. I was planning to tell him but I didn't know what to say. I mean I did want to tell him but what about us?"
"It would have been better if you told him the truth from the beginning instead of waiting until the last minute." Aki said. "Carly, I have another question. How did you become a journalist and how did you meet Jack Atlas?"
Aki already knows how Carly became a journalist and how she met Jack but she wanted to hear it again but now in a different perspective. She already heard it from Future Carly and now she wanted to hear it from Carly from the past.
The reporter girl stared at Aki and sighed. She decided to tell her everything. "I came into New Domino three years ago looking for a job as journalist since I'm not from this city. I came from the country side hoping to become someone important. When I first came here, I visited many offices asking for a job position but they all turned my down. I was about to give up when finally, an opportunity opened up. I began to work for Mr. Pitts, as an errand girl, and I started to work my way up. One day, I was moving some things around in my apartment when I found my old camera and I decided to show my boss that I wanted to do more than being an errand girl."
Aki stared at Carly with amazement. Carly continued, "I showed my boss that I can be a reporter. I showed him my photographs that I took as a child and he was impressed. So, he promoted me to be the photographer and a blogger. My first task was to write an article about Jack and where he had come from. It was hard to write an article about him since he was surrounded by Sector Security and it was impossible to have an interview with him. I couldn't stop thinking about Jack that soon I became a fan of his," she looked at her Jack Atlas teddy bear that was sitting on the couch, "After the Fortune Cup, I was lucky to meet Jack for the first time in the hospital after he lost his duel with Yusei."
Carly remembered the first time when she infiltrated into the hospital dressed as a nurse just to see and meet Jack. "I helped him escape from the hospital since he was dreading to leave but then Trudge got in our way and duel him. Jack asked me to help him duel, in which I complied. After he won his duel, I took Jack to my apartment while he had to recover him his injury. He was a bit obnoxious to have him around since he took and use everything that I had without asking for permission or at least saying thank you."
"He was so depressed that he wasn't talking to me. I took him out for a while but his attitude was sour. I remember when Jack kept looking at the tower that was on the other side of the city. I realized that he was looking at the Satellite area. It wasn't until I knocked some sense into him. I told him that he could start over again. I told him that he doesn't need to be a King to everyone and that he can do whatever he can and regain his title as King. It was thanks to me that Jack changed." Carly changed the topic of the conversation, "I'm going to be the best journalist. I'm glad that I'm getting this great job."
"But isn't your new job in America?"
Carly's smile faded. Aki was right. Her new job was on the other side of the world.
"Won't you miss all your friends and family?" Aki asked.
Carly nodded. She knew this was going to be hard. She was going to leave everyone and everything behind and start a new life. She was no longer going to be in New Domino City. Will Jack forget her once she is gone?
In the Izinski residence, Akiza is already sleeping. She had a hard time falling asleep since, she always sleeps with Aki, but since the young girl had asked her if she could spend her time with Carly, Akiza allowed her to go. She felt empty and hallow. She did not know why she was feeling this way but every time that she was with Aki, she felt more safe and comfortable. Akiza did not feel the same feeling when Aki slept over at the twins in the Tops. She knew that she could trust in them. She felt maternal towards Aki. Akiza started to twist and turn as her facial expression showed that she was having a nightmare.
In Akiza's dream, she is walking around in an infinite space. Everywhere she walked, she was surrounded by white fog. Once in a while, she heard someone, like a child, crying in distress but Akiza couldn't find this person. Akiza continued to walk around until two figures appeared before her. The first one was Carly. This made Akiza smile. "Carly, thank goodness that I'm not alone." Akiza then remembered that Carly was leaving in a week. "Carly, please stay. Don't leave Jack."
"This is my one chance to achieve my dream as a journalist." Carly replied with a small smile.
"Are you going to tell Jack about your new job?"
Carly's smile faded. "What does it matter? He already knows that I'm going to America."
"But he should hear this from you not from us." Akiza brushed her bangs behind her ears. "You should have told Jack as soon as you got the job. Carly, think about it; if you don't tell Jack about your new job, what do you think he's going to say?"
Carly stared at the psychic duelist, "I don't care what he has to say. Akiza, I'm going to leave and pursue my dream as a journalist. I'm not going to put my dreams on hold for Jack. Jack once told me that one day he'll get back his title as King but I won't stop him from pursing his dream. He is not going to put his dream on hold because of me." Carly raised her voice, "I just know that one of these days Jack will leave me and follow his dream."
"That's not true!" Akiza also raised her voice, "Think about all the good and bad times you and Jack had to face. What is going to happen with your relationship with Jack? What about all your friends that you made?" Akiza lowered her head, "I'm going to miss you."
"I'm sorry Akiza but no matter what you say or do won't make me change my mind. As for my relationship with Jack, well he can find someone else who can love him like Mina. I'm sorry Akiza, but once I arrive to America, I'm sure that I'll make some new friends but I won't forget about you or Jack."
Carly faded into nothingness before her very eye. The second figure approached the psychic duelist as she gasped in surprise. "Yusei," she whispered in awe. Akiza wanted to hug him but the way that he was staring at her make her recoil in fear. He wasn't looking at her with the same caring and loving eyes as he normally does. Yusei was staring at her with the same kind of look when he is dueling.
"Yusei!" Akiza called out with excitement. She begins to run towards him when he gives her the cold stare.
"Don't come any closer," he warned her. The way he just spoke to her made Akiza's heart twist in pain. Akiza took one more step. "I said don't come any closer!"
"Yusei, what's wrong? Why are you speaking to me like that?" Akiza stared at her boyfriend.
"What's wrong you ask?" Yusei begins to chuckle. "I think you don't know your place Akiza. I don't want you near me anymore."
"But why?" Akiza felt tears stinging in her eyes. She was not going to cry. 'No, not now please!'
"Do I have to spell it out to you?" Yusei sighed. "What I'm trying to say is that I don't love you anymore. We can't be together."
Akiza felt her heart breaking into millions of pieces. "No," she whispered, "I don't want to believe it!" A tear slipped down her cheeks. "I refuse to believe in what you're saying. This isn't happening." Akiza squeezed her eyes shut as the tears continued to slip on her beautiful face.
"I don't love you. We can never be together," he repeated. "It's over!"
She covered her ears. She refused to hear what she dreads to hear. 'No, this isn't real,' she mentally cried.
Akiza opened her eyes and saw Yusei and Carly leaving her behind. "Farewell Akiza," they said together.
"Wait, don't go. Where are you going?" She started to run as she tries to catch with them.
"Far away," Carly responded.
"Far away from you," Yusei said.
'No!' Every step that she took, it seemed that she was going in slow motion as Yusei and Carly started to part their way. "Wait! Don't leave me!" Akiza shouted in despair. "Carly! Yusei!" Akiza continued to shout but the more she shouted, the further they walked away from her. "YUSEI!"
"Yusei, don't leave me." Akiza muttered in her sleep as a tear slipped out. She continued to twist and turn in her bed as the nightmare continued on.
Birdie arrived to the ice-cream parlor shop as she watched with malice. She knew what to do: she activated her duel disk and drew out her ace monster. "Come on out Snowdust Dragon!" She concentrated for a moment as the duel monster began to materialize. Snowdust Dragon is a level eight, water attribute monster with 2800 attack points and 1800 defense point. It was a blue and ice-color dragon. Snowdust Dragon lowered its head as Bride patted it on its head. A smile pried on her lips as she called out, "Go Snowdust Dragon, freeze this place up!"
Snowdust Dragon let out a roar and covered the ice-cream parlor into ice. The ice-cream store was covered with solid ice as it gleamed in the moonlight. "Good job Snowdust. I'll take it from here." The materialized monster started to disappear. Now the next step she had to do was to infect all the citizens of New Domino City with a virus that Sayer had made. Birdie took out the small bottle and observed with caution. "Don't worry Kitty, I'll get Aki."
She walked into the frozen shop and saw all the ice-cream that the store has. Birdie opened the bottle and poured a small amount of drop into each and every ice-cream flavor.
The following day, Akiza was waiting for Carly and Aki in the park. Akiza did not have a good night sleep since her nightmare kept her up all night long. After she woke up, she could still hear Yusei's harsh words echoing in her mind. Never in her life would she expect to feel fear and loneliness. The first thing she did when morning arrived was to visit Yusei.
When she arrived to Poppo Time, she ran into his arms, crying, and hugged him. Yusei had asked her what was wrong and she told him about her nightmare. He listened to her as she continued with her story. Once she was done, Yusei reassured her that he will never abandon her. He hugged her and whispered to her that he will never leave by her side. After that talk, Akiza felt much better.
Yusei did not. Akiza was here and telling him about her nightmare and he did not dare to tell her about the vision that he saw two weeks ago. He felt bad for not telling her about his vision.
Now she was here in the park, waiting to Carly and Aki to arrive. Akiza wanted to do something for Carly. She didn't want her friend to leave without a proper farewell. Akiza came up with one good idea and she was so happy to tell Carly what she wanted to do. Aki was running her way towards Akiza that she didn't notice that she had come until she jumped onto her.
"Hey Akiza!" Aki hugged her mother, "Did you miss me?"
Akiza hugged the young girl, "I did. How was your night with Carly? Did you have fun with her?" Aki nodded eagerly. "That's great. Go on and play for a while I need to talk to Carly for a moment." Aki didn't complain and left happily.
Carly stared at her psychic friend, "So what is it that you want to talk to me about?"
Akiza fiddled her thumbs, "Carly, I want to throw you a farewell party before you leave New Domino City."
"A party for me?" Carly asked. "Akiza, this is so sudden but I'm afraid that I can't accept this." Akiza opened her mouth to protest but was silence by her, "I'm sorry Akiza but I don't want a party because I don't want to feel bad. Plus, I don't want you to waste your money on this party."
"But Carly," Akiza complained, "I really do. I really want to throw you a farewell party and we have spent some time together before you leave. There's no way we are not going to let you leave without a party. I'll even invite Misty and Kalin to come."
"I don't want you to throw me a farewell party!" Carly raised her voice at Akiza. She saw the psychic duelist wince in fear. Carly lowered her voice, "If you do, Jack's going to be there. I heard that he already knows that I'm leaving and right now I don't want to see him. Please understand me Akiza; I don't want to feel miserable when I'm leaving New Domino. It's going to be hard for me to say goodbye to all of you when I leaving this city."
Akiza was going to protest once more but then she stayed quiet. She didn't want her friend to leave with guilt. "Okay Carly. I understand. I won't throw you a party but will you at least let me come to the airport and say goodbye to you."
"Akiza, you're going to make me feel even worse if you come by. It is best if you don't. It will be better so I won't have to suffer." Carly turned her back and walked away.
Hiding behind the trees, Aki listened in their conversation. She felt bad for her aunt. She heard Akiza calling her to come so they can go back to Poppo Time to see the rest of Team 5D's.
~w~w~w~
Moments later, Akiza and Aki arrived to Poppo Time garage and she told Yusei, Crow, Leo and Luna about her plan. Before that, Yusei informed to the twins about Carly's sudden departure to America. They felt sad that their friend was leaving. Luna now understood why Carly was acting strangely the other day. Thankfully for them, Jack wasn't around to hear the story once more. Leo and Luna liked Akiza's plan but when she told them that Carly did not want a farewell party, they were disappointed.
"What are we going to do? Carly can't leave without us telling her goodbye?" Crow protested.
Leo had an idea, "Hey, what if we all take Carly to the airport together and wish her well on trip, instead of a party?" Leo suggested. Everyone began to think.
"I already asked her if I could take her but she turn down that idea," Akiza said.
"She doesn't need to know that we will take her to the airport. We'll surprise her by showing up," Luna aided. Leo smiled at his sister's idea. Everyone began to nod in agreement. "And if she decides to back out, we'll make her get on the plane."
"Then it is settled. We'll wish Carly good luck before she can aboard on the plane," Crow stood up in happiness.
"Shouldn't we invite Jack to come along?" Leo questioned.
Yusei crossed his arms, "I don't think we should. After he found out that Carly is leaving, he's too upset to see or talk her."
The ice-cream parlor is still attracting more consumers as the line grew bigger by each second. Birdie was busy selling ice-cream as she watched the consumers take a lick of the ice-cream in which she infected with a virus. One by one, some of the consumers felt their stomach uneasy. A teen boy dropped on the ground as the ice-cream that he had in his hands fell on the ground. The girl that he was dating knelt down next to him.
"Are you alright? What's wrong?" she pulled her dated close to her. He did not respond as she started to see that his face was turning pale, "Ken, what's wrong. Please tell me."
"Cho, my stomach hurts. I feel like throwing up," the one called Ken replied weak to Cho.
Someone started to scream as the teen girl named Cho turned around. When she turned around, she was surprised to see other people falling on the ground. Many of them were teenagers and adults. Others among them were children as they began to cry. They held onto their stomachs, groaning and moaning in pain. "What's going on?"
Moments later, a bunch of ambulances arrived to take the people that were infected by the ice-cream. Officer Testu Trudge was busy interrogating Cho as she explained what happened. He had interrogated other victims and they all told him the same thing as Cho. Trudge was stump. Why was everyone saying that their stomach hurt? Did the ice-cream have something that could have caused the citizens of New Domino City to make them feel sick? Whatever it was, he was going to find out.
Trudge had a hunch that the new ice-cream parlor had something to do with this epidemic crisis. He decided to go and check it out. The ice-cream store was still open, selling its best ice-cream. He was trying to find a way to get in, without the employees knowing that he is going in, and find out what was going on. Trudge saw that the back door of the store was wide open as he went in. Once he was inside, saw nothing.
"This is strange," he rubbed his temple, "Where is the manager of the store?" he wondered out loud. The tall officer walked into the store to see if he could find some evidence but only to be startled by the sound of a closing door. He stops in his tracks and hides behind a big box.
"Who's there?"
Trudge was shivering. It was definitely cold in here. It felt like he was inside of a giant refrigerator. He didn't want to be exposed just yet. He needed to know what is going on. He heard someone call out again, "I demand to know who's there!" Trudge remained quiet for the meantime as he hoped that he wouldn't get caught. He clucked his tongue in disappointment.
Birdie was standing in front of the door as she tapped her foot impatiently. "This is the last time. Show yourself or I'll attack you!" She activated her duel disk.
Trudge had no other option but to come out. He came out of his hiding spot. "Calm down Miss. I'm just an officer. My name is Testu Trudge," he held his hand up as he walked towards Birdie. "I just want to talk to the manager of this ice-cream store about this strange case. Are you the manager?"
She stared at him for a moment from head to toe. Birdie was not sure what to do but she had this vibe that he was bad news. "What if I am?"
"Like I said, I want to talk to the manager about the ice-cream. You see, many people have bought an ice-cream and they claim that their stomach hurts when they ate one. I'm just here to investigate."
"I'm sorry officer but I can't let you do that," Birdie drew a card from her deck.
"Why not?" Trudge asked while he lowered his hands. He was trying to get his radio when suddenly, he hears Birdie shout. "Stop!"
"Go Snowdust Dragon, freeze him!" Her dragon blew air cold at Trudge as he covered himself. Birdie smiled at her amazing job. Trudge was frozen into a human popsicle. "Now I need to capture Aki." A malicious smile formed on her lips.
This time, Aki was going to pay dearly.
Poppo Time
The doors to Poppo Time opened up as Mina came in running. "Jack, Yusei, have you seen Trudge?" Both young men looked at her as she came into a halt. She was catching her breath. "I tried to call him but he hasn't called back. I'm really worried about him."
Jack and Yusei looked at each other and nodded their heads. "I'm sorry Mina but I haven't seen him," Jack answered, "except, earlier ago, I heard him say that he was going to investigate that new ice-cream parlor."
"I already know that but he hasn't called back. Jack," she looked away, "I'm worried about him. He hasn't come back to report."
"Then we should look for him," Yusei called out. "I'll call everyone to help us out." He referred to Akiza, Crow, and the twins. Mina nodded Yusei a thanks as they were out to search for Trudge. They did not know the real danger that was going on.
Late afternoon, Aki asked Akiza permission if she could visit Carly again for a while. Akiza let her go but she told her that she should be back before seven. When Aki arrived to Carly's apartment, she was surprised to see the apartment a mess. Boxes filled up her apartment while Carly was packing her clothes in a luggage. "Why are you packing up, Carly? Isn't your trip to America next week?"
Carly turned around and she was surprise to see Aki standing by her door. "Aki, when did you arrive?" She continued to pack her clothes. "Never mind, I'm packing up because I want to have a head start before the due date and I don't want to pack my things at the last minute."
Aki knew that she was lying. "Is that so?" she sat next to the reporter girl, "Then tell me something: did you lie to everyone about your departure date?"
Carly didn't say anything and continued what she is doing.
"So you did lie to everyone about you departure."
Carly was surprised. She dropped one of her clothes into the luggage, "How did you know?" Aki raised her eyebrow, "Am I that easy to read?"
Aki had to giggle. "Well it is obvious. Carly, should have told everyone the truth. Everyone is sad that you're leaving, even me."
"Don't feel sad, Aki." Carly ruffled her hair. Somehow, she felt that Aki's hairstyle was exactly the same as Akiza but she guessed it was just some kind of fad that everyone was trying out. "Once I arrive to America, I'll email everyone every single day." Carly wrapped her arms around the young girl. "You know Aki; you're really smart for an eight-year old."
"So I have been told." Aki smiled at her surrogated aunt.
Carly returned the smile but deep down she was feel sad.
Leo and Luna have been informed about Trudge's sudden disappearance from Akiza. They were now standing outside of the ice-cream parlor store waiting for something or someone to come out. Minutes passed by and they saw nothing until Leo had a suggestion. "Why don't we get a closer look at the store? We're not doing any progress standing out here."
"Agreed." Leo and Luna were trying to find an entrance to the store when they see that the back door of the store is wide open. "Shall we go in?" Leo nodded and they both walked into the store. "Isn't this strange, there's absolutely nothing in this store." Luna observed.
Leo began to shiver. It was definitely cold. He rubbed his arms to keep himself warm while he looked around when he sees something shining, "Luna, over here!" he called out to his sister.
"What is it, Leo?" Luna approached her twin brother as he was pointed at something. "What's that?"
Leo got a closer look as he gasped, "It can't be," he walked backwards and tripped falling on his butt, "Luna, look it's…"
"Trudge," she finished for Leo. The twins found Trudge frozen in solid ice. He wasn't the only one frozen into human popsicle. There were other people frozen just like him. The twins heard the door slam shut.
"Who's there?" The sound of Birdie's footstep was heard. Leo and Luna quickly started to look for a place to hide when they hear the sound of a duel disk activating.
"What are we going to do?" Leo whispered to his sister. Luna looked distraught. "Luna."
"I'm thinking," she retorted back. "We can't call for help and we seriously need some help." She began to ponder, "I guess we're going to have to take on this person."
"Are you insane Luna? We can't do that!"
"Of course we can!" Luna rolled up her sleeves revealing her Signer mark, the front Claw of the Crimson Dragon. "We have the mark of the Crimson Dragon to help us warn the others."
Leo looked at his right arm which had his Signer mark, the Heart of the Crimson Dragon. "You're right. Let's do this." Both twins got out together and they were ready to face this person.
Birdie sees the twins coming out as they activated their duel disk. "Well, well, well, look who we have here. If it isn't the two of the six Signers." Both twins were confused. How did she know that they were Signers? She saw that they were confused. "Are you surprised that I know you're a Signer? Don't worry," she slapped a card on her duel disk, "I'll make you forget me. Come on out Ice Master!"
Leo and Luna both took one step back as Birdie summoned out her monster as she declared an attack. They both dodged the attack as they were now separated. "Now what?" Leo shouted out to his sister. His question was answered when he felt his arm burning. Across from him, Luna's mark also started to shine.
In Poppo Time, Yusei, Crow, Akiza and Jack were discussing about their results. Neither of them has found Trudge. Mina and Kaz were also there but they still could not find Trudge anywhere. They were still waiting for Leo and Luna to come back but they haven't shown up for a while. Earlier ago, Akiza went shopping and brought a present for Carly as she had the present wrapped up. She just hopped that Carly would not get mad her for buying a present, even if she did not ask her to get her anything.
Aki came in as she greeted everyone. She could see that they were all distressed. "What's wrong?"
"We're still waiting for Leo and Luna," Yusei said. "Where have you been?"
"I just came back from Carly's apartment."
"Is she still home?" Akiza asked. Aki nodded. "Great, I'll go to her place." She picked up the present, "I have to give her something," she referred to the present.
"I just remembered something," Aki placed her hand on her chin. Should she tell them that Carly was leaving, especially since Jack was there? She told them, "Carly is leaving tonight," Aki addressed to everyone.
"But I thought that her departure isn't until next week," Crow said.
"Apparently not. She's leaving tonight."
Everyone looked at Jack. Mina now knew what was wrong with him and Kaz looked at him with confusion. He had no idea what was going on between Jack and Carly. Jack stared at them like the news had not affected him at all. So Carly was leaving tonight? He was not sure if he should feel happy or upset but he did not seem to care. Jack felt his arm burning as everyone else grasped their arms. Their marks began to glow. They knew who was in trouble, "Leo, Luna," he muttered under his breath. He grabbed his helmet, mounted on his duel runner, and he was off to save the twins.
"Jack, wait!" Yusei called out but Jack was already gone. He looked back at his remaining friends. "We should save the twins first but what about Carly? Who is going to go to the airport?"
"I shall go to the airport," Akiza was ready to leave when she felt the present being snatched away from her grasp. "Crow what are you d—"
"You and Yusei should catch up to Jack while I go and try to stop Carly from leaving." Crow puts on his helmet, "Those two are as stubborn as mules. I can't believe this situation has gone too far. I will stop Carly from leaving and bring her back to Jack. I know that Jack is hurt but ignoring it won't make him feel better." He puts Akiza's present in the back of his bag. Before he could start his engine, he felt someone pulling his shirt. Crow looked down at Aki, "What is it?"
"Can I join you? Please, I want to help." Crow nodded while Yusei threw him an extra helmet for Aki. Both Crow and Aki were gone in a flash as they were on their way to the airport.
"Shall we go?" Yusei asked Akiza. She nodded as they got ready to leave and save the twins from whatever danger that they were in. "Just hold on Leo and Luna," his arms burned more brightly meaning that the twins were in real danger. Mina and Kaz decided to follow them.
Back in the ice-cream parlor, Leo and Luna were defenseless. Every time they tried to make a move, Birdie attacked them without giving them time to do something. They were tired of running and hiding from her. "Luna, this isn't working. We need to attack," he drew two cards from his deck and summon out his monster. "Help us out, Morphtronic Magnen," Leo slapped his two cards on his duel disk. He put them in defense mode.
Birdie began to laugh, "What can those two magnets do with my dragon? Attract it," she burst into laughter. "Pathetic," she muttered. "Go Ice Master and attack them with full force!" she shouted.
Her icy spellcaster lifted its wand and blew a might wind towards Leo and Luna but Leo's Morphtronic Magnen took the hit and repelled her attack all over the shop. They heard her growl. Far away from them, Jack, Yusei, Akiza, Mina and Kaz were on their way to save the twins while Crow and Aki were on their way to stop Carly from leaving.
…that is if they can catch her.
~w~w~w~
In New Domino Airport, Carly parked her car in the parking lot. She came out of her car and grabbed a cart and placed all of her luggage and box on top of the cart. She pushed her cart into the airport and took out her documentation and proceeded into the airport. She turned around hoping that someone would come and stop her from leaving. She wished Jack was here and convinced her to stay and beg her to not leave him but she threw away that idea.
There was no way Jack would be coming.
"There no turning back once I aboard the plane," she said to herself. She stood there for another minute and walked in ready to leave New Domino City for good.
On the road, Crow and Aki were trying their best to get to the airport before Carly could leave them for good. Crow did not want her to leave just yet. She is a precious friend to Jack and more. He did not want to see Jack depressed and heartbroken. 'Don't leave us Carly,' Crow thought as he revved up his speed.
~w~w~w~
Back in the ice-cream parlor, Yusei, Jack, Akiza, Mina and Kaz made it on time as they saw Leo and Luna huddling in the corner while a woman attacked them. Mina let out a sharp gasp as she saw Trudge frozen in solid ice. Kaz looked around and saw that Trudge was not the only one who was frozen. Akiza could feel with her own powers that this woman had psychic powers just like her and that her monster was not a hologram image projected by her duel disk. It was the real deal.
"Well, well," she clucked her tongue, "More Signers decided to show up. Tell me where Aki is!" Birdie shouted at them. "Give her up to me! I'll promise not to hurt you if you hand over Aki the easy way."
"We'll never tell you where she is!" Akiza shouted back at her. What did she want with Aki? Why was she trying to get the young girl? Whatever it was, she was not going to allow anyone take her away from her. She activated her duel disk and began to search for a card that can defeat her Ice Master.
A vein popped on Birdie's forehead, "Then I take her away from you the hard way. Die!" her monster blew cold air towards them. Everyone dodged the attack and hid themselves behind Leo's monster as his monsters deflected her attack.
"We need to attack her," Akiza knew how to dealt with someone like her but the one problem was that she did not have any monster that can surpass Ice Master attack points. Then she realized that she can defeat her. Akiza searched within her deck and drew the spell card, Thorn of Malice. "Come on out Black Rose Dragon!" she called out while she concentrated on materializing her monster.
Black Rose Dragon began to materialize while Akiza was ready to take the next step. "Next, I'll equip Black Rose Dragon with the spell card, Thorn of Malice!" Akiza placed her spell card in the slot as her Black Rose Dragon began to grow thorns all over her body. The attack points of her dragon surpassed Birdie's Ice Master.
Jack did not understand what her problem was. Why did she want to capture Aki? He remembered the last time that he and Yusei discussed about Aki's situation, he did not know why some like her would want with her, other than the fact that Aki was a psychic duelist like Akiza. "Who are you? What do you want with Aki?" he shouted at Birdie.
"I'm Birdie. What I want with her is revenge." She gritted her teeth as she remembered what Sayer had done to his sister. "Revenge to what she did to Kitty. Just hand her over!"
"Then you have no right to ask us to give Aki to you!" He activated his duel disk and summon a random monster from his deck. Jack came out of hiding and faced Birdie, "Come on out Vice Dragon!" Although Jack does not have psychic powers like Akiza, he wanted to summon out his ace monster Red Dragon Archfiend.
"Jack, wait!" Akiza shouted but Jack ignored her.
Birdie laughed maliciously, "This is just too easy! I activate Ice Master's special ability. I place an ice counter on Black Rose Dragon," she smiled wickedly at Akiza. An ice counter appeared behind Akiza's dragon. There was no way that she was going to let Akiza destroy her monster. "Next, I'll sacrifice this monster to summon out another more powerful monster. Say goodbye to your Black Rose Dragon you witch!"
Akiza eyes widen in fear as the ice counter in front of her exploded causing her Black Rose Dragon to be destroyed. She felt pain coursing through her body as she screamed in pain. She fell back.
"Akiza!" Yusei shouted. He managed to have caught her in his arms. Akiza looked at Yusei with sadness as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Akiza!" the twins also shouted while they watched Birdie's new monster on the field.
"Say hello to my most power monster, Snowdust Dragon!" Birdie's new monster gave a might roar causing the twins to huddle next to Yusei and Akiza. Mina covered her ears while Kaz covered his face from the cold and harsh wind. Jack remained still while he watched Akiza faint into unconsciousness.
Jack gritted his teeth in anger. He was ready to summon out another monster, to be more precise, a tuner monster but he did not have the chance to because he was not expecting an attack like this. He grunted in disappointment. "Damn it!" he cursed to himself. If only Carly was here to support him then he would not have any problems facing Birdie. 'Stop thinking about Carly,' he scolds to himself.'She's already gone!' But his heart told him otherwise.
"Jack, are you alright?" Yusei shouted at him. Jack nodded as he looked away from Yusei and everyone else. He just had to come up with a plan.
Back in the airport, Carly was waiting to get on board and leave the city for good. She looked back towards the entrance hoping for some kind of miracle to come and stop her from leaving but she gave up. No one was going to stop her. 'I forgot to mention to them that I was leaving tonight,' she recalled. 'Goodbye New Domino City. Goodbye Jack.'Carly tried to hold back her tears.
The last thing she wanted to think was about Jack. She shook her head trying to shake away any wonderful memories with Jack but she could not ignore them. Carly felt like crying.
"Attention all passengers that are going to Hawaii, can you please head to gate number seven."
Carly got up and pulled her luggage. This was it. It was time to go. She ready to leave when someone she heard someone was shouting. "Carly wait! Don't leave!" She turned around only to see Crow and Aki rushing towards her. "Carly!"
Once they came into a stop, Crow held her arm, "Don't leave please."
"What are you two doing here?" she asked them. Was this a miracle? Was she dreaming? 'No, it isn't.' She thought. Instead of Jack stopping her from leaving, Crow and Aki were here. She felt her heart twisting in pain.
"We're here to stop you from leaving. Carly, I know that you're sad but pretending that you're happy that you finally have your dream job isn't going to make you feel any better. If I didn't know you any better, you were waiting for someone to stop you from leaving."
Carly felt her heart give a pang of guilt. How did he know that? "I don't know what you're talking about but I'm not sad. I know what I am doing. I have decided to leave and pursue my dream as a journalist. Crow don't you get it, this is my opportunity and I'm not letting it go."
"Carly, don't play dumb with me," he stared into her eyes, "I know that you're dying to stay here with Jack. Just admit it that you don't want to leave. Convince me that you're not sad. Anything, please; if you decided to leave then I'll understand."
"I-I," she began to stuttered, "It doesn't matter what you think. I know what I'm doing," she grabbed her luggage when she felt someone pulling her back. Carly turned around once more and saw Aki holding onto her vest.
"If that's what you decide, then I have a farewell gift for you from Akiza." Aki handed Carly the present.
Carly took the present from her. The present was wrapped nicely and it had a red ribbon above it. "Akiza shouldn't have gotten me anything," she whispered.
Aki started to twiddle her hands, "You know everyone is going to miss you so much."
"And I will miss them too. I'll keep in contact with everyone once I arrive."
"You have no idea how much you are hurting your friends, even me. Jack has been affected the most since he doesn't want anyone to mention your name. I know that he's hurt and so are you but please, don't leave with a broken heart. You know that saying, 'If you love someone let it go. If they return to you, it was meant to be. If they don't, their love was never yours to begin with', well I think that's a lot of baloney."
Crow and Carly stared at Aki. Everything that she just said sounded so mature and she was only eight years old. "Carly, if you plan to leave, make sure that you don't regret it later on." She concluded her speech. "Well, aren't you going to open your present?"
Carly obeyed and opened her present. She let out a gasp as she could not believe what Akiza had gotten her. She held up a sliver, heart-shape locket. Carly remembered when she told Akiza a few months back how much she wanted the locket when they went shopping together. She even remembered when she asked the price. How did Akiza manage to get her this? She saw that the locket has a button and pressed it. It opened up and inside there was a picture of her with Jack smiling together.
The picture inside the locket was taken after Jack and Carly declared that they were officially together. This triggered an effect on her. Who was she kidding to? She could not leave jack at a moment like this. She felt so horrible for not telling Jack the truth. If only she had told him from the start, she would not have to be dealing with this mess. "I can't," she chocked back a sobbed. "I can't leave Jack." Tears slipped on her face, "Crow, what was I thinking? Take me to Jack, please."
Crow pulled her into a hug and let her cry. Carly realized that she could not leave Jack. There was no way that she could handle this alone. Aki was right: she did not want to regret it later in life if she left Jack without an explanation. Once she was done crying, Carly felt relieve that she did not aboard on the plane.
"I'm so sorry. I know that if I leave, I'll be making the biggest mistake. I just can't live without my friends and Jack. Can you forgive me?"
Crow and Aki smiled. "We forgive you but right now, we have to rescues the twins." Crow placed his hand on his mark as it began to burn. "It looks like they're in trouble."
"What's wrong with them?"
Crow told Carly what they were doing before he had come to the airport. He told her about Trudge's sudden disappearance and the twins not coming back to Poppo Time. Aki listen to him as she began to worry if it was once of Sayer's henchmen was after her. If it was, then she was in danger. Carly, Crow and Aki came out of the airport with all of her things and packed everything in her car. Aki and Carly got in the car while Crow lead them to where Jack and the rest of his friend where at.
"This is the last time, hand over Aki NOW!" Birdie was practically screaming at them.
Yusei still held onto Akiza while the twins, Mina and Kaz hid behind Leo's monster. Jack was on the other side of the store trying to attack Birdie. Yusei wanted to help out but he could not do so because Akiza was knocked out cold. He felt her stir in his arms and he sighed in relieved to know that girlfriend was okay. Akiza's eyes fluttered open and the first thing that she saw was Yusei.
"Ow, what happened?" she rubbed her head. Akiza tried to sit up but Yusei pushed her back down to relax. He explained what happened after Birdie managed to destroy her Black Rose Dragon and how she was able to summoned out Snowdust Dragon, who was more powerful that her previous monster, Ice Master.
Jack had to summon out his Red Dragon Archfiend but it was hard due to Birdie's constant attack. Even if he did get the chance to battle her, there was no way that his Vice Dragon could destroy her monster. He drew another card from his deck and smile. Jack was ready to summon out his monster when Snowdust Dragon blew hard causing him to lose his card. "No!" he shouted.
His card flew across the store and landed towards the entrance of the door. "Shit," he muttered. Now he was unable to summon his ace monster.
Outside the store, Crow and Carly came into a stop as they heard a loud roar coming from inside. "Jack!" Carly rushed out of her car but she was pulled back by Crow, "Let me go!"
"You just can't barge in there," he pointed at the back door.
"HAND OVER AKI!"
Aki knew who that voice belong to as she ran back into Carly's car and hid herself. Crow rushed over to the young girl. Carly saw this as an opportunity to go in and save Jack from danger. "What's wrong Aki?"
"I know who's in there. She wants to capture me and take away. Help me," she began to cry.
"Don't worry Aki. We'll protect you from this person. I won't allow this person take you away. Just stay in here while I help out Jack." He turned around and noticed that Carly was nowhere to be seen. "Damn it! She went inside." Crow rushed into the store leaving a terrified young girl crying in Carly's car.
Carly walked into the store and saw Jack hiding behind a large ice cube with Vice Dragon. Across from her, a woman stood above them pointed at Jack as she declared an attack on him. She was about to scream to get out of the way when she looked down and saw a card on the floor. She picked it up, looked at it and knew who this card belong to. "Jack!"
Jack heard someone calling out to him but he was not sure if he heard right. He could still hear Carly calling out to him but he just assumed that it was all in his mind. "Jack!" he turned around and saw Carly standing there as she waved at him.
"Carly, what are you doing here?"
Birdie noticed Carly's presence. "Well, well, look what we have here," She saw her running towards Jack. "Snowdust Dragon, attack that girl!"
"Carly!" Jack shouted. Carly ran towards him while she dodged Birdie's attack with Jack's card in her hands. Crow just came in as he watched Carly recklessly rushing her way to Jack. He saw a dragon was attacking her. He followed her behind and pushed her towards Jack causing them to fall flat on their faces but they got away from the attack. "What are you doing here?"
Carly lifted herself up and threw herself into Jack's arms. "I'm so sorry for not telling you that I was leaving. Please forgive me. I'm so stupid," she cried into his arms. "I didn't leave. I'm here to stay with you Jack." She pulled away and he saw that she was crying.
Jack looked away from her, "But you hurt me Carly. I felt that you didn't trust me. You told everyone that you're leave but me. Why?"
"Because," she hiccupped, "I was afraid that you'll get mad at me. I was afraid that I'll never see you again. I'm sorry Jack."
"Do you think now it is a great time to be talking?" Crow asked. "We need to get out of here and save everyone!"
"I know that!" Jack snapped at him. "I was going to summon Red Dragon Archfiend but I can't. Not without my tuner monster." Carly nudged him and placed a card in his hand. He took the card from her and looked at it. "Where did you find it?"
"I just founded it at the entrance," she said. "Jack, I'm truly sorry for hurting you. I didn't mean to. Now that I'm here, I'm going to support you all the way." She gave him a small smile. Then she did something unexpected, she pulled him into a kiss which caused him to gasp.
"Umm," Crow tried to break them up but Jack and Carly were busy making out. Jack felt happy and relieve that his beloved Carly wasn't leaving. He heard her sigh in happiness.
Jack pulled away from Carly and rested his chin on her head. He looked down at her, "Carly," he gave her one final kiss before he was off to fight with Birdie. He summoned Dark Resonator without Birdie knowing about it. His arm felt much warmer than before as he felt something tingling.
Outside the store, the mark of the Crimson Dragon's Wings began to glow on Aki's back. She felt an immense power coming from Jack as she aided him. Her eyes went completely blank. "The ruler's heartbeat will now fly through here. Take witness to its creation-shaking power! My soul! Come, Red Dragon Archfiend! (1)" both Jack and Aki chanted together.
Birdie watched from above trying to figure out what Jack was doing until she heard an explosion coming from his direction. The white and blinding light caused her to close her eyes as she felt the room getting warmer. She had no idea what was going on. The lights dim down as she saw a red dragon before her very own eyes. "No, it can't be!" she noticed that his right arm was shining brightly than before.
Akiza felt an immense power radiating from Jack as she gasped. "Jack is being aided. Someone is giving him power to materialize Red Dragon Archfiend." Yusei, Leo, Luna and Crow watched as their marks glowed brighter than before.
"Red Dragon Archfiend, attack Snowdust Dragon with Absolute Power Force!" he declared.
Red Dragon Archfiend attacked Birdie's Snowdust Dragon as she screamed. She felt like her body just got burned by Jack's dragon as she felt flat on her back. Birdie was unable to get up. "No, Snowdust," she whimpered. She felt into unconsciousness.
Everyone came out of hiding and stood a good distance away from Birdie as they made their way out of the store. Jack's Red Dragon Archfiend soon disappeared as his mark along with everyone else, no longer burned. In the car, Aki's eyes were no longer blank as she was drifted to sleep. The mark of the Crimson Dragon's wings faded. She used up all of her powers to help Jack. The people that were frozen by Birdie's dragon were set free as they all rushed out.
Trudge was the last one to come out cold and wet. Jack was glad that Trudge was alright. "It's good to know that you're okay."
"I know," he smiled at Jack. Trudge sneezed, "I think I might catch a cold. See you around Jack." Trudge was taken to the hospital by Mina and Kaz.
Carly told Akiza that Aki was in her car. When Akiza arrived to Carly's car, she found her asleep. Yusei had come by and lifted her up into his arms. Another vision flashed into Yusei's mind and this time he saw an explosion of a city as someone gave an earsplitting scream. He was about to drop Aki but he held onto her tight.
Akiza noticed this, "Are you alright, Yusei?" He nodded at her. "Are you sure? You kind of seem pale." She placed her hand on his forehead.
"I'm fine Akiza," he lied. He could not believe what he just saw. This was his second vision that got to see. Was this vision giving him a warning? What was it warning him about? What did this new vision mean?
Aki felt warm inside as she smiled. She woke up only to find herself in her father's arms. Yusei noticed that Aki was awake and set her down. This was getting strange. Two ladies show up and demand to give Aki to them. Who was after her and why? This was getting him so confused.
"You won't get away from this."
Everyone turned around and saw Bridie standing on her two feet. Aki quickly hid behind Yusei and Akiza. She did not want to see the malicious look that Birdie was giving her. She staggered her way forwards towards Aki but she was blocked by Jack and Crow. She placed a card on her deck, "Come on out Snowman Creator," her monster began to materialize as she smiled wickedly. "You might have won this round you stupid Signers but the next time, Aki will be captured by one of my sisters." She swung her arm indicating her monster to blow snow at them.
Once the gusty and cold wind decreased, just like Kitty, Birdie was gone. Aki was trembling behind Yusei and Akiza. This is what she feared the most. If Kitty and Birdie were here in the past, then that must mean that Avery and Prettie were not far behind. What if followed here in the past to look for Sayer? 'No, it can't be. They couldn't have found him so soon,' she mentally screamed.
Yusei and Akiza felt the young girl trembling. "Aki, are you okay?" Aki burrowed her face in Akiza's arms. "There, there, we promise to protect you." She patted on her back.
Jack and Carly excused themselves to leave while Yusei, Akiza, Aki, Crow and the twins watched them go hand in hand. They were all glad that Carly was staying here in New Domino City. They could not imagine a day without her.
"I'm glad that Carly decided to stay with us," Luna smiled. Leo and Aki nodded along with her.
"If Carly's dream is to become the best journalist, why did she pick Jack over her dream?" Aki asked. After that speech that she gave to Carly in the airport, she didn't expect Carly to react to it.
"Carly loves both her job and Jack. Before, she couldn't choose between her dream and Jack until she realized how much he means to her." Yusei looked down at Aki. She was still confused, "Forget it. You'll understand it later on."
Yusei was right, Aki did not know about love. The only love that she understood was parental love. The other kind of love that she saw with her parents and now with Jack and Carly was another thing.
Meanwhile, Jack and Carly were discussing about the job offer that she was given. She further explained her reasons why she did not want to tell him about her sudden departure, other than 'because she was scared'. She was afraid that the moment that she was gone, Jack would find another girl who he would love and forget her.
"I would never do that," he brushed his hands into her hair. It was soft and silky within his hands. "You're the one that I want. No one else is going to have my heart other than you. You're more than enough."
Carly blushed as she leaned into his chest, resting her head near his heart. "Jack," she whispered, "I'm so sorry."
"Will you stop apologizing?" He felt her flinch by his harsh tone. Jack looked down at her and this time with a calm and soothing tone he said, "I already forgive you. How else do you want me to forgive you?"
She looked up and the blush on her face increased, "Well," she played with the hem of his jacket, "maybe with a kiss?"
He chuckled at her suggestion. "Sure, why not," he leaned down as they lips met.
Carly relaxed into his arms and sighed happily. The kiss was beautiful and blissful. She never thought that a guy like him would fall in love with her and yet she acted so klutzy with or without him. She was glad that she was going to stay in New Domino City as long as Jack stayed with her. If he decides to follow his dream and become the World King, then she will follow him and watch him become one.
The moon glistened in the water while Jack and Carly continued to kiss under the full moon.
(1)The chant is from the Japanese version. I thought it might be good to have in there.
A/N: And that's a wrap! Thank you and I hope that you enjoy reading the third chapter. Though I have to say that this chapter involves more of Jack and Carly but there was a little bit of YuAki. I really had a hard time writing this chapter out since there was bound to be a small fight/duel. I hope that I did not mess up with the monsters' effect and if I did, please tell me so that I can edit it.
Now you're all must be wondering why I added the chant that Jack chants in the Japanese version. There's a reason: like I said this story is slightly AU, it is almost close canon to the anime, and this story is a parody of Sailor Moon R, I decided to add the chant as a reference. I know that I should not be mixing the English dub with the Japanese version but as mentioned before, this story is slightly AU.
And now, I'll be answering to your comments:
Tornado-22: Thanks for reviewing. I admit that the second chapter was epic too. I hope that this chapter is epic too. ^^
ProChampionDuelistA. K. A. Pyro: Thanks for rating the previous chapter. To tell you the truth, you're almost close but not close enough. I like how you're thinking but that's not what I'm planning to do. I don't want the bad guys to reveal Aki's secret just yet. Aki's secret, being Yusei's and Akiza's daughter, won't be revealed until later on. Just you wait.
Ayumi San Sama: I know right! This website is going through major changes. I hope that your spark will come back and you'll continue on with your story. I have re-read your story once more just to make sure that I don't forget what it is about. Maybe you should watch some Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's episodes to get your spark back. I sometimes do that to get my spark back but lately, I've been watching other anime shows like Soul Eater. It's okay if you didn't get to review the last time. To answer your question, Divine has started to make his move but you can't tell because the one who is doing the dirty work are Prettie, Avery, Birdie, and Kitty but he's still planning to make a move. Hmm...will there be any problems between Aki and Akiza, who knows but I have a feeling that something will occur...stay tune to find out what it is. *evil laugh* I'm glad that you're reading the Sailor Moon manga version to help you know what's going to happen in this story but this story is based more on the anime version. Hmm...maybe I can add some elements from the manga version.
This also applies to everyone who is reading or has this story on alert.
As for those who are following my other story, Akiza, Once Upon a Time, I'm working on it. I'm writing out the notes but since the new semester has begun, there isn't time for me to squeeze some time to write out my fan-fics since I have homework, projects, and other assignments that are beginning to pile up. Plus, I'm also beta-reading for a good friend. But, rest assure that I'm working on it to get it up ASAP.
The next chapter of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: The Force of Destiny is going to take some time to get it update. I'm going to ask you, the readers, if you can suggest someone to help me beta-read this story. I really need the help and that would be nice. I'm having a little trouble with my word usage and my grammatical errors. If you know someone please comment or PM it to me the person that you think that is capable of beta-reading this story. Thanks!
Once again, thanks for reading. Now some words of advice from the Champion of Love and Justice, Sailor Moon. "Please review or I shall punish you in the name of the moon!"