I'm back, baby!
Alright, first thing's first: I am sooo sorry for not uploading this for as long as I have. The truth is that after I graduated I put everything I worked on onto this small thumbdrive that I lost before I could but a laptop. Thus, every chapter of this story, my other stories, and even some that were never released were gone.
After that incident I lost inspiration for almost all of my works. Some of them I didn't know how to continue after doing another view-over, such as 'Why?' and this one. However, you will all be happy to know that I finally got off my butt and made this chapter!
Now keep in mind that on top of having three other stories still ongoing, I have a very crappy updating schedule. That is, I update when I have the time and inspiration. Because of that don't expect there to be a new chapter next week (though I'd be surprised if any of you have expectations for this story anymore).
One more thing I have to address before going on with the chapter: Slifer the Sky Dragon. In previous chapters, Slifer was the dragon that appeared for Shinji at certain times. I'm sorry to say, I will be removing Slifer from previous chapters as I will be rewriting them for grammar's sake. Unfortunately, I had put all of my ideas on the thumbdrive. And after this long I don't remember my reasoning for Slifer to be in the story. Unless an idea comes to mind before I do this, Slifer will be gone. I love that card to death, but it had written me into a corner. (To be honest that's probably why I put it in there in the first place XD) Shinji already has at least one Blue Eyes, so I don't feel it right to give her another extremely powerful card.
I'm sorry for the long author's note. But seeing as it's been many years I figured it would be best to give an explanation.
Without further ado, I welcome you all to the return of Silver Eyes!
Jack's eyes opened quickly as he shot up in bed with a gasp, his breath coming out in short pants. He placed a hand on his forehead as he felt beads of sweat fall down his face. His hands were clammy, his arms and legs in a cold sweat.
That… That definitely had to be just a dream. An intense one, too. Probably caused by the remaining adrenaline from his duel with Yusei. Yeah, that was it.
So… why did it feel like a part of him was ripped to shreds?
He closed his eyes for only a moment before shooting them open again, his shoulders stiffening. An image of Shinji appeared behind his eyelids, her cold, dead eyes staring into his. The image haunted him. He didn't want to think about it anymore but any thoughts that he tried to come up with only brought him back to her.
What in the world was wrong with him? He left her and Yusei back at Satellite. He shouldn't give a single crap about her. Not anymore.
But those eyes… the cold, angry stare pointed at him. It felt...wrong. Like it shouldn't be there.
"You killed me…"
Jack's eyes narrowed slightly, brows creasing in thought. What did she mean by that?
"Do you understand now, Jack? I didn't come here just for the card. I'm dueling you because you put Shinji into a coma!"
No… It couldn't be.
His fists clenched tightly, the blanket crinkling between his fingers and palms. The blanket was tossed to the side quickly. Putting on his boots, the dueling legend walked out of his room, grabbing his coat on the way.
He need to talk with Goodwin.
Deep blue eyes stared down at the concrete floor beneath him. His hands were clasped together, elbows resting on his lap. He ignored the seemingly-insane old man sleeping on the other bed in the cell, preoccupied by his own thoughts on what he had heard earlier, as well as what Yanagi had said about the Crimson Dragon.
Their cell was dark, the sun having set long ago and the lights turned off at curfew. He couldn't sleep. Not when he was told all of this information.
He lifted his right arm, staring at the unblemished skin that once had the mark of the Crimson Dragon. It was nowhere to be seen, but Yusei knew without a doubt that it was there.
'A Signer is one destined to help protect the world,' he thought to himself, frowning deeply as he laid himself down on the bed. His arm lowered over his eyes. 'Shinji… What would you have to say about this…?'
~.~.~.~
"Hey Shinji, I don't think I've seen you duel yet."
The short-haired girl turned to him, blinking once in surprise. She then looked down at her cards in her hands.
"I… I don't know how to…"
Now it was Yusei's turn to blink in surprise. "You don't know how? But you've got a full deck and everything!"
"Just because I have a deck doesn't mean I know how to duel!" He took a step back, holding his hands up in front of him in surrender.
"Okay, okay. Well, what kind of deck is it?"
Shinji looks at her cards. "It's a dragon deck. I always liked them so I figured why not, y'know?"
"Dragons? What kinds?"
She gave him a look as she held her deck close to her chest protectively. "You're acting...kinda nosey. What's with the sudden interest, Yu? You'd better not be trying to steal my cards," she added threateningly.
Yusei immediately shot that thought down. "Of course not! I just… was curious. You never let anyone look at your cards and you've never dueled. Even Jack and Crow are curious." At the mention of Jack, Shinji blushed and perked up a bit.
"Jack was interested?" she asked. Yusei nodded, feeling a pang in his chest but he ignored it. She hummed in thought before giving him a sly grin. "Alright. I'll let you look at my deck...if you give me Stardust Dragon!"
"Wha-No way! I'm not letting you have my Stardust!" Shinji laughed at his flustered look.
"Calm down. I was just kidding." Pause. "Okay, I wasn't kidding. C'mon! That Stardust Dragon… it's special, I can feel it!"
"Special? How? How can you… feel a card?"
"I don't know. It's a little hard to explain. But I know that it's special. Just like my Red Dragon Archfiend."
"Speaking of which…" Yusei leaned in slightly, speaking in a softer tone so only she could hear, "Are you sure you want to give that to him? You've spent so much time getting it."
She nodded. "I'm sure." She took the card out of her deck and looked at it with a wistful smile. "This card… It doesn't belong to me. With me. I'm sure it's home is with Jack."
"If you say so…" Yusei straightened and crossed his arms, looking away with a less-than-pleased expression. Shinji glanced at him, then turned back to her deck. She went through the cards for a moment before taking one out.
Yusei felt a tug on his shirt and looked back at Shinji. He blinked in surprise at the card in her hand. "What-"
"I'm only showing you this one card, alright?" She held it out to him. He took it after a moment and looked at it. It was white; a Synchro monster.
Azure Eyes Silver Dragon
"Azure…?"
"It's my only Synchro monster," she explained, a soft smile on her face. He blinked, the smile turning to one of smugness. He blinked again. Did he imagine that? "Pretty cool, huh? I haven't shown anyone else any of my cards, so you're the first. And only. I'm trusting you not to tell anyone."
He gave her a slightly confused look. Why would she want to keep it secret?
"The element of surprise, Yu."
Did he say that aloud?
"No, you're just very easy to read."
"H-huh? What-"
"You said that last part out loud," she said with a chuckle and a big grin. He blushed and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Hey Yu," she said, getting his attention, "I don't know when I'll build up the courage to duel one of you guys. I mean, I understand dueling other kids, but you, Jack, and Crow… I don't want to duel my friends. It just doesn't feel right. Not to mention you three are way better at it..."
She gave him a big grin. "But maybe one day, I can finally build up my courage to face you! My Azure Eyes versus your Stardust Dragon! Sounds like quite a match, huh?"
Yusei blinked in surprise, staring at the child. She had never mentioned wanting to duel before. She usually avoided the subject. Finally, though, a smile broke out, and he gave her a big grin. "Yeah! Sounds like fun!"
~.~.~.~
His eyes snapped open, staring into darkness provided by his arm over his eyes. Arm lowering to his side, his gaze went to the dark ceiling, the image of a younger Shinji still fresh in his mind. His fists clenched at his sides.
"That Stardust Dragon… it's special, I can feel it!"
"This card… It doesn't belong to me. With me. I'm sure it's home is with Jack."
Those two cards… Both dragons. Both used the night the Crimson Dragon first appeared. Were they the key? Yanagi did say something about each signer holding a specific dragon. If that's the case, and his hunch was right, then he needed Stardust Dragon back. More than ever.
His eyes hardened with resolve.
'Please just wait a little longer, Shinji.'
BAM!
"Goodwin!"
The older man, along with his assistant Lazar, turned to Jack questioningly. "Jack, must you nearly destroy the doors?"
Jack didn't bother apologizing. Instead he marched up to Goodwin. "I want to know Shinji's current condition."
"Ah. Your childhood friend." Goodwin hummed. "You worry too much, Jack. She's is in good hands."
Jack blinked in surprise. Lazar noticed and grinned.
"I don't see why you're so worried about the Satellite," clown-face said with a shrug, earning himself a glare. "After all, you left both her and your other friends in that dump."
Jack growled lightly.
"Jack, is there something wrong?" Rex asked, looking to the blonde worriedly. Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. "Did something happen?"
There was a stretch of silence. Jack didn't know how to explain it.
"I… saw her. In a dream. She said I killed her."
The silence stretched even longer at the confession, none of them knowing what to say. Finally it was Lazar who broke it.
"That doesn't mean much," he stated with a shrug, "I'm sure what you saw was just that: a dream. Probably a result of your duel with your Satellite friend bringing up bad memories."
Rex placed a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Jack, I can assure you that she is still with us. I have the best doctors working to keep her alive. With our more advanced technology, she should be in much better hands."
The blonde was silent, glaring at the floor. After a few more seconds, he turned to Rex. "I want to see her."
Rex frowned. "Unfortunately, you have a-"
"Reschedule it," Jack cut off, his glare now turned to the older man. "I want to see her. Now."
"...Very well."
"I will let them know of your arrival," Lazar stated.
Nodding, Rex led the turbo duelist to a lower part of the facility, where the infirmary was located. The journey was in silence. There were no attempts at conversation, something both were happy about. All he cared about at that moment was the sick teen lying on a bed. Once he knew for sure that she was alive he would put the stupid dream behind him and he could move on with his life.
The elevator door slid open with a ding and the three walked out. Jack took notice of the few nurses littering the walls. The very, very white walls.
Yep… Definitely an infirmary.
"Come." Red gestured to the man to follow, which he did very quickly. After getting the number of Shinji's room, he made their way over.
Jack lowered his gaze, his thoughts elsewhere. According to what Yusei said during their duel, Shinji was the one caught underneath the rubble from the explosion. That was a few years back. He doesn't know what she looks like now. She would definitely be thinner, but they needed a way to give her stuff to keep her, well, alive. Aside from being thin, he didn't know what else to expect.
His fears were alleviated when, to his silent relief, she looked better than what he expected. Her skin was a bit too pale for his liking, from what he could see from between the wires, bandages, shirt, and the blanket that covered her lower half. Her hair was a bit longer, now reaching her shoulder blades instead of just brushing her shoulders, and her weight was as expected. She was thinner, but with the technology Satellite has he expected her to be much, much thinner. A mask covered her nose and mouth, her head tilted slightly to the side. Her chest moved up and down, the heart monitor beeping steadily, the only indications that she was alive.
'She's here. She's alive,' he thought to himself, looking through the glass into the room. Due to the severity of her condition, he wasn't allowed inside. No one was; except nurses and doctors. It angered him for reasons unknown to him, but he pushed them down. It would do no good being angry about it. He may be a king in his own right, but even he knew that messing around in this place would get him in big trouble.
After a few more moments of staring at the near-lifeless girl, Jack stepped back from the glass, inwardly wincing as he unclenched his fists. How long had they been like that?
"Are you alright, Jack?" Rex asked. Jack nodded.
"I'm fine. I've seen what I wanted. Let's go." He turned and started walking to the elevator, afraid that if he caught even one more look at her, he'd never be able to look away.
When they returned to the upper floors, Jack was ready to turn and leave. However, it seemed that wasn't an option just yet. "One more moment, Jack."
Holding in a groan of annoyance, the man turned to Goodwin with his arms crossed and an annoyed look on his features. "What now?"
Goodwin seemed unperturbed by his tone, giving him a small smile. "I will be heading to one of the correctional facilities tomorrow. I will be gone for the day so if you have anything you need help with ask Lazar."
Jack scoffed. "Like I'd want any help from the freakshow." With that, he walked away.
He returned to his room. The sun had set a while ago. He didn't bother turning his lights on. He would be going to sleep soon anyway.
Sitting on the couch, he took out his deck and placed it on the table. He stared at the deck of cards for what seemed like an eternity, his mind racing. Absently, he reached out and took the first card, flipping it over and placing it on the table. Red Dragon Archfiend.
He grit his teeth.
"Mr. Atlas?" a voice called from behind him. Mina.
"What do you want?" he asked coldly. He didn't need this right now.
Mina seemed to hesitate at his tone before Taking out a clipboard and looking at one of the papers on it. "I'm sorry to interrupt, sir, but I have the rundown for tomorrow's duel."
Jack didn't answer right away, still staring at his signature dragon. Finally, he stood. "I won't be needing it. I'm not dueling tomorrow."
Mina's eyes widened. "W-What are you saying? You have a contractual obligation to your sponsors-"
"Tell them to shove it," he replied, turning to her heatedly. "I duel only for myself. Not some fat cat holding a checkbook." He looked back at his cards. "I'm not dueling anyone until Yusei gets out." He clenched his fists angrily. "I lost. To him! And until we have a rematch, I'm throwing in my cards!" His hand slammed down harshly on the dragon he cherished, the loud noise causing Mina to jump slightly.
"B-But, Mr. Atlas-"
"Don't you understand?" he asked, walking around the table and toward the large window that took up the majority of the wall. He stared down at the city. "Dueling isn't just for trophies or medals."
'It's sad that Yusei is the only one who understands this.'
He heard Mina sigh behind him and nearly let one out himself. He knew what was coming; a long-winded explanation as to why he had to duel tomorrow.
